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farfromstrange · 1 year ago

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Now That We Don't Talk | Frank Castle x F!Reader

BONUS FIC

See this post for more information on my Valentine's Day Special & Follower Celebration, but these fics can be read separately!

Read Is It Over Now? for better clarity.

Pairing: Frank Castle x F!Reader (past Matt Murdock x F!Reader)

Summary: You go home with the guy from the bar, and he makes you forget about your ex.

Warnings: SMUT (18+ MINORS DNI), oral f!receiving, use of "attagirl", slight Dom!Frank, song references, unprotected p in v, dirty talk

Word Count: 2.9k

A/n: You wanted a part 2, so you're getting a part 2! Anyway, I don't write Frank often, so I hope it isn't too bad. It's also not as spicy as you probably expected, but I wanted this to fit the vibe of the previous fic (link above). You don't need to have read it to understand this, but it is highly recommended because some references might confuse you. Thank you all for taking part in this event!

You believed that your life had ended when you lost him. He painted your world in the brightest colors, but by breaking your heart, he took them away. All that was left to see was a boring shade of gray in a sea of sadness.

Matt told you from the start that being with him wouldn’t be easy. You were willing to try. He needed someone, and you wanted to be that someone to him. You accepted him unconditionally.

In the end, giving everything wasn’t enough. He chose her over you, and the castle you two had built came crashing down on you while he stood idly by.

You’re not a bitter person, you have never been, but he made you fall for him; he made you believe that there was hope for the future and that you would grow old together. He stole years of your life in which you were trying to save him from himself. In return, he took the best care of you, but that doesn’t matter much now that he has taken your heart and shattered it like a glass of red wine on a white cloth.

When you left him, you thought the distance would kill you. You truly believed that this was the end of everything, not just your relationship with the man you thought was the one but yourself as well. “This isn’t what it looks like!” he said the day you found out the ugly truth.

“I trusted you,” you remember saying. You couldn’t even cry. The pain burned brighter than the sun, and it dried your eyes before they could even shed a tear.

He argued with you that, “It was just a kiss,” but you not once believed him.

“Are you sure about that? ‘Cause if I ask Elektra, I’m sure she will tell me the truth.”

“No.”

It was at that moment you lost all of your trust in him—in what could have been or should have been the two of you, forever—and it was also the moment that Matt realized he had lost you.

You believed that he took everything you ever were that day because your life revolved around him, and only him.

You remember him opening his mouth, having the audacity to apologize. “I’m sorry,” he said, begging you not to leave.

“Fuck you!” you had never sworn at him until that day.

You still remember the way the necklace with his initial felt when you tore it off your neck and tossed it at his feet. He knew you better than anyone, and you felt like you finally belonged somewhere. That necklace was a symbol of your undying love, or so you thought, anyway. Now you know that he may have known you to some extent, but you didn’t matter enough for him not to climb into bed with his ex-girlfriend.

You couldn’t even look at the necklace. He told you, “This is a piece of my heart,” when he gave it to you on a snowy Christmas Day three years ago. You cherished it the same way you cherished his soul. He was broken, but he was your broken man. He was everything to you.

Matt Murdock was your moon, your son, and your entire universe. It all seemed far away that you could ever feel about anyone this way again.

You saw a future with him. Married, a house in the suburbs, and working with Foggy and Karen in their new law office after everything they’ve been through. You were a hopeful person back then.

Karen told you that he went to a party a couple of weeks after you separated. He didn’t look like himself. You wonder if he felt anxious, knowing his only source of comfort was no longer there. You wouldn’t know until you asked him, but you refused to answer his calls.

Part of you felt euphoric, knowing that he was broken too, but you also felt angry because he was the reason you found your heart beyond repair as he stepped on it like a burning cigarette, and in your mind, he had no right to feel this way.

You’re a fucking traitor, Matthew Murdock! I wish we’d never met.

“Another one for the lady,” a voice says beside you.

Your empty glass of tequila disappears and a full one slides in its place. In your drunken haze, you see a head of brown hair, and his smirk makes you wonder if there’s more to him than he lets on.

“Thank you,” you murmur, tipping your glass to the stranger.

“Nah, don’t thank me.” He gets up from his seat and sits down on the empty bar stool next to you. “You look miserable,” he says.

“What if I am?”

“I’d tell you I know the feeling.”

You huff but offer the stranger your hand. You introduce yourself.

He smiles. Your name rolls off his tongue effortlessly. “Frank,” he introduces himself in return. “Castle.”

“Nice to meet you,” you say.

You thought nothing and no one could pull you out of the dark hole your breakup tossed you into. You believed yourself dead and long beyond the point of redemption. You accepted it. You swallowed in your misery, giving up on finding a new purpose in your life because the one great thing you had was no longer yours. He fell into a grave that he dug for himself, and he dragged your relationship down with him.

Looking into Frank’s eyes now though, you no longer feel like a corpse. And you realize that you are not dead, not at all—you are very much alive.

The door almost breaks off its hinges when Frank shoves you into his apartment and back against it. The decision to come back to his place was fueled by a lot of alcohol and the way he looked at you. You were desperate to feel something other than the hollow ache that has consumed you every day for months. His eyes told you that he may be able to give you just what you need, no strings attached.

The way he kisses you breathes new life into your mangled soul. He swallows your mouth and your needy moans with his own, and his tongue forces itself down your throat as your teeth clash in a fight for dominance. You’re both tipsy, but he seems to know just what he’s doing.

His calloused fingers burn against your skin. In the back of your mind, Matt is still so present. His hands are the ones you can’t help but compare him to.

The way he used to kiss you before fucking you into the mattress for hours on end, switching between tasting and fingering you until you were whimpering and begging him for release might have screwed you up forever. He told you one night that he wanted to ruin you for any other man. Back then, you both still believed that you would grow old together.

It is truly ironic how fast things change when you are truly happy and believe that nothing can burst your bubble.

Frank’s large hands brace against the door on either side of your head. His lips disappear from yours. “Who is he?” he asks, his voice rough like gravel.

You meet his eyes, unsure of what to say. Your mind is everywhere but here, and yet it is right with him. Whether it is alcohol or self-loathing, you’re not sure.

“What?” you whisper.

“You’re trynna forget someone. Who is it?”

He is a lot more perceptive than you thought.

You swallow, blood rushing to your head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t–” you didn’t what? Think? You feel utterly pathetic.

Instead of throwing you out though, like you expected he would, he reaches out to caress your cheek. His eyes soften as they gaze at you. “Whoever he is, he obviously didn’t treat you right,” he says. “If you want to go, I’m not stoppin’ you, but if you wanna forget whoever is fuckin’ with your head, I’ll make damn sure you forget his name by the end of tonight.”

There is something excitingly terrifying about the look in his eyes. A shiver runs down your spine, and your thighs clench at the thought of feeling his hands somewhere other than your face. Somewhere other than your hips and thighs. His kisses knocked the air out of your lungs. You want more, you need more, but you don’t know if you can take it. Not him—even though you’re also not quite sure if you can take him—but also the offer he is presenting to you. As lucrative as it sounds, fuck, you are not over Matt. And you’re not sure if you can ever forget him.

You want to though. You have to. And you want to be thoroughly fucked into the next day and forget the name of the man that makes you so fucking angry.

“Talk to me,” Frank coaxes your head toward him. “Do you wanna forget the useless bastard that made you feel this way?”

“Yes,” you manage a breathless whisper.

“Did he hurt you? Break your heart?”

You nod.

“You deserve better.” His grip tightens, and his hand slowly slides to your neck. “I’m not, but I’ll fuck you so hard, you’ll forget his name and scream mine loud enough for this fuckin’ city to know who’s making you feel good. ‘s that what you want, hm?”

He’s dangerous, but that has never turned you off, even when it should have.

And when you finally open your mouth and tell him, “Yes, please. Make me forget,” the switch inside of him flicks completely.

He takes his time to worship between your thighs. His tongue buried in your pussy, his lips sucking on your clit without mercy. He eats you out roughly but sensually, keeping you spread wide open for him with both of his hands and a force unmatched—like a five-course meal, and he has all the time in the world for you.

You’re lost in the throes of pleasure. You want to buck your hips against his mouth because no matter what he does, you’re on fire and you just can’t get enough, but he is so powerful that you can’t fight him. He has you at his mercy, your body in his hands, and all the control in the world over you.

You pull at his hair, moaning helplessly as he feasts on your pussy. You’re going mad, you’re sure. He’s doing this on purpose, driving you to the edge before stopping the wave. Frank waits until your orgasm is just far enough for you to last a little longer, kissing the inside of your thighs, and then he dives right back into your wet folds. He thrusts his tongue into your hole, licks up to your clit, and then sucks on the swollen bundle until your legs are shaking in his hands.

“Jesus, Frank!” you moan out. A trail of sweat runs from your temple down to your breasts.

Your hands search for something to hold onto, tangling in the sheets and the pillow behind your head before pulling at the fabric. You tried pulling at his hair, but he wouldn’t let you.

“That’s right,” he growls. “Come for me.”

Your back arches off the mattress. His name leaves your lips in a desperate shout as your orgasm crashes into you.

“Attagirl.”

Your brain is hulled into an endless fog, but Frank doesn’t stop.

Soon, you’re on your stomach, gripping the headboard as he pounds into you from behind. He is long and thick, and with every thrust, he forces your face deeper into the pillows. Your eyes have rolled back into your head. He hits that spongy spot inside of you whenever he pleases, and the gurgled moans from the pit of your throat spur him on to speed up, change the angle and thrust even deeper.

He pulls out all the way, thrusting back into you with full force until he is completely sheathed in your pussy. Your heat consumes him, and he sees red. But so do you. He has reduced you to a few incoherent thoughts, babbling his name in the wake of the drool that is dripping from the corner of your mouth.

And when you come this time, it is pulled back straight against his chest with his fingers rubbing circles over your already abused clit. You come with a scream of his name, and nothing else matters but his cum in your cunt and the unbelievable depth of the feelings he is eliciting within you.

You drop to the mattress like a wet towel, covered in his and your cum, and your sweat that has mingled with his. His smell lingers in the sheets as you bury your nose in it. He collapses on top of you. The crushing weight of him offers a sense of comfort that almost makes you cry. And he holds you as though you mean more to him than a One-Night stand he picked up to help forget a man who broke her heart.

“What’d he do?” Frank asks into the silence later that night.

You are lying on his bed, covered by only his thin sheets. He’s sitting on the other side, nursing a glass of Bourbon. He held you, he cleaned you up, and he offered you some clothes, which you denied. He is kinder to you than you thought he would be, and it warms your heart in a way you can only deem utterly dangerous with how vulnerable you are. Broken people make dumb decisions, and you do not ever want to go through the same pain again.

At least you know that you are still desired. That you’re not dead. Perhaps, there is still hope for a better future. You made Matt Murdock your life for the longest time, and maybe, as you realize now, that was a mistake. There is more to life than him, and you can live without him. That it took fucking a stranger after weeks of being miserable baffles you, but some things are just meant to happen. Maybe it was destiny, after all.

You look at him when Frank repeats his question. “What’d the bastard do, hm?” he asks.

Where do you even start?

When you last checked in on him through your mutual friends—you know it wasn’t the best choice, but you couldn’t help it—they told you that grew his beard, and he last had a haircut when you were still together. It suits him, apparently, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look at a picture of him.

Foggy told you that he isn’t taking home girls when they go to a bar, even though he could have all of them. He’s sad. He drowns himself at work and beats his fist bloody every night. The old you would have jumped up to help him. And it is true that you will probably always love him, in a way, but you refuse to crawl back to him.

The more you gave, the more he took, and at the first chance at getting a woman he claimed to no longer love when she came back into your lives, he took her. He couldn’t have wanted you as badly as he claimed if that was enough for him to flush years of loving each other and going through hell together down the drain, knowing it would break your heart into a million pieces. That is probably the worst part about all of it.

You take a deep breath. Frank is still staring at you intently, waiting for an answer. “He fucked his ex,” you finally confess. “Four years of being together and it still wasn’t enough.”

His grip tightens around his glass. “Want me to pay him a visit?”

You chuckle, but you know that he would. “No. But thank you.”

Matt was fading long before you left. Even if you did choose to forgive him, you couldn’t be his friend, so things are better the way they are now. You paid the ultimate price for sacrificing your heart to a man who had too many struggles to deal with himself.

In the silence, you find a little light. “At least I don’t have to pretend to like Jazz anymore,” you say.

Frank takes another sip, asking, “Jazz?”

“Yeah, Jazz. He loves it. He…He’s special. Well, he was to me, anyway.”

“Special? Fuck, the guy did a number on you, huh?”

You scoff. “You have no idea.”

The only way back to your dignity is to learn how to be without him. You have to turn yourself back into a mystery and learn how to trust someone again before your fragile heart breaks again.

“You still talk?” Frank asks.

You shake your head. “No. It’s over now,” you say. “We don’t talk anymore.”

“Told ya. You deserve better.”

“Nah.” You reach for his glass, taking a sip of the bitter liquor that you used to despise. Looking up at him through hooded eyes, you stretch his leg toward him.

You need to keep forgetting Matt’s name, no matter what it takes or the reminiscing will surely kill you.

“Right now,” you murmur with an irresistible smirk that makes him leap at you as soon as the words pass your lips, “I just need to forget he ever existed by screaming someone else’s name.”

Frank captures your lips in a bruising kiss, leaving you speechless and breathless all the same.

Matt chased you, he caught you, and then he lost you. And now that Frank has you, you never want to look back.

Now that you don't talk.

I don't have a tag list for Frank, so I'm just leaving this here.

#frank castle x reader #frank castle x female reader #frank castle smut #frank castle #the punisher #matt murdock #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock angst #matt murdock x f!reader #matt murdock x you #frank castle x you #daredevil #charlie cox #from the vault #bonus fic #inspired by: now that we don't talk

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collapsedglasshouses · 5 days ago

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FOLLOW YOU [Nick Folio x f!Reader]

: ̗̀➛ MASTERLIST

: ̗̀➛SUMMARY: At thirty-seven, Y/n’s life feels like a series of wrong turns—divorced, jobless, and still unable to say no to her parents' expectations. But when she meets Nick, a confident and carefree man ten years her junior, one impulsive night with him challenges everything she thought she knew about herself. : ̗̀➛PAIRING: Nick Folio x f!reader : ̗̀➛WARNINGS: MDNI (i warn you, i'll bite if i catch you), 18+, reader is ten years older than nick, SMUT SMUT SMUT [oral sex (f&m receiving), protected pinv, nick whimpering >:)], mentions that reader is a writer/wants to write, mentions of reader's previous marriage, mentions of matt's lotr obsession and how its shown in fanfics, swearing (idek if it is a warning on my blog anymore, its always present lmao), nick calls reader sweetheart, fluffy smut hehe, y/f/n = your father's name : ̗̀➛WORD COUNT: 6.2K : ̗̀➛A/N: So here's the long awaited request. Again... sorry it took me so long, but I just needed time to get into it. I also kind of answered another request with this (another anon asked for fluffy folio smut, so ur welcome <3). This piece is inspired by Follow You by Bring Me The Horizon and I hope you catch the references c: Enjoy and let me know what you think! <3 TAGLIST AND DIVIDER CREDIT AT THE END

Sometimes, you wondered where you had taken a wrong turn in life. You were approaching your forties, divorced, and had just quit the job you once swore would carry you to retirement. On top of that, you still couldn’t figure out why you lacked the courage to tell your parents "no" - especially when it came to attending their annual parties, extravagant celebrations meant to showcase their success in the music industry.

They had started their record label shortly after your dad had left his old band - right around the time you turned three. You didn’t remember much of life before then, but you had always been aware of the shift. Your mother loved reminiscing about the days when your father was a carefree, bubbly spirit, always lost in music and adventure. Yet, every year at this event, his attempt to reclaim that persona only made it painfully obvious how much everything had changed. It was a cruel reminder of the version of him you never got to experience.

It wasn’t that you didn’t love your father - you had your moments. But looking back on your childhood, you saw the contrast between his distant, absent nature and the high-spirited character he played at these gatherings. It was no wonder your marriage had unraveled so quickly - just over a year ago; you had recognized the same facade in your ex-husband, the same manufactured charm that cracked under the weight of reality.

Despite your silent vows to endure these nights for the sake of keeping your parents happy, the resentment still crept in, suffocating you.

You caught your own reflection in the bathroom mirror, adjusting the neckline of your dress - a simple black gown with a high slit, a deliberate choice against the more extravagant dress your mother had picked out. The discussion about it had already been held, and as expected, your mother had sighed in disappointment but relented. At least the heels and necklace sat right with her.

The event had been going on for an hour, yet it already felt like an eternity. Of course, you had arrived early to help with the final decorations, avoiding your father in the process. He had been too engrossed in boasting about their latest signing - a rising metalcore band. You hadn’t even bothered to listen to their music, uninterested in indulging yet another conversation about his triumphs. Worse still, he had managed to lace his bragging with subtle reminders that your own life was, in his eyes, going nowhere. His disappointment clung to you like a second skin, suffocating and inescapable.

You inhaled sharply, composing yourself before stepping back into the party, your practiced smile back in place.

An hour later, you found yourself stuck in a painfully dull conversation with a producer who couldn’t keep his eyes off your cleavage. You were contemplating an excuse to leave when your mother’s voice interrupted.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you.” She appeared at your side, her manicured hand pressing against your back as she steered you toward the bar. "I need you to meet some people."

You barely had time to react before you were standing in front of two men. One was tall, covered in tattoos almost from head to toe, while the other, slightly shorter, had long dark brown hair up in a bun. Both turned to you with polite smiles, setting down their drinks.

“Don’t be rude, Y/N.” Your mother’s whisper was sharp as she leaned toward your ear. “These are two of the members from our new band. Bad Omens, you remember?”

You forced a brighter smile, though it felt unnatural, and muttered a soft, “Hi.”

They returned your wave with casual nods.

“These are Noah, the singer, and Joakim, the guitarist,” your mother continued, beaming with pride as if she had personally discovered them herself.

Sensing your discomfort, they nodded again with small smiles, clearly recognizing your reluctance to be there. Without warning, your mother excused herself, abandoning you with them and leaving you scrambling for small talk.

You took a long sip of your drink before clearing your throat. “Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure’s all ours,” Joakim, the one with long hair, said with a smirk. “We didn’t know Y/F/N had kids.”

“Yeah, he tends to forget to mention that,” you replied, forcing a chuckle.

An awkward silence stretched between you, and you shifted your weight from one foot to the other. “So, how many are in the band?” you finally asked.

“Four,” Noah answered. “Our bassist got sick before the event, and honestly, I have no idea where Folio wandered off to.” He smiled, seemingly trying to put you at ease.

You nodded, looking around, already searching for an escape route. “I don’t wanna keep you up.”

“You’re not,” Joakim assured you. “We get how nerve-wracking these events can be.”

You appreciated the sentiment, but it wasn’t enough to make you stay. “I think I’m gonna get some air,” you excused yourself, not waiting for a response before slipping away.

Weaving through the crowd, you found your way to the second-floor balcony, a hidden haven where you knew you wouldn’t be disturbed.

Or so you thought.

Pushing open the door, you were met with the sight of a man sitting on the floor, staring out at the city skyline. The unexpected presence startled you, nearly making you drop the bottle of wine you had swiped from storage.

“Jesus, you scared me,” you breathed out, clutching the bottle tighter as he turned to face you.

He had dark hair, cut short, and a tattoo creeping up the side of his neck. Leaning back on his hands, he regarded you with mild curiosity - cigarette in his hand.

“Didn’t think anyone else would come up here,” he said simply, turning his gaze back to the view.

You sighed before settling down next to him, offering him some of the finger food you had grabbed along the way. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna judge you for running away. I do it every year.”

He chuckled, taking a pastry from your hand. “What band are you in?”

You raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I’m in a band?”

His expression shifted to surprise. “Not like there’s anything wrong with being in one,” you said, feeling how your face heated up.

You then took a deep breath before taking a sip from the bottle. “My father owns the record label. Which means I have to be here.”

“Ah,” was all he said.

You studied him. “That’s it? No follow-up? No sucking up because my dad might give you a better deal?”

He scoffed. “Considering you’re up here instead of schmoozing, I figured you’d had enough of that for one night.”

You exhaled a laugh. “Fair enough. So, who are you? Considering how you look, I’d guess you’re in a band.”

“What makes you think I’m in a band?” He exclaimed, mocking your earlier expression.

You smirked with him as he clearly enjoyed throwing your words back at you. “You look young, and your eyes still have that glint of hope.”

He laughed. “That’s dark.”

“And I’m not wrong.”

“I’m 27,” he said, feigning offense.

“Exactly. Younger than me.”

He shook his head, smirking. “I’m with Bad Omens. I’m their drummer.”

You tilted your head, defeated. “Damn, I really can’t outrun you guys at all.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, surprise threading through his words.

You sat up straighter. “What do I mean? You mean, besides the fact that you are my Dad’s new favorite topic to talk about when he’s not subtly bashing me for making all the wrong life choices?”

“Can’t be that bad if he still invites you to things like this.” He mumbled, making you roll your eyes.

“How encouraging of you,” you scoffed, pushing yourself up from the ground as a cold breeze drifted over the balcony.

“That’s always been my strength,” he said with a grin, stepping up beside you at the railing.

For the next few minutes, you both stared out at the city lights in silence. He radiated a calmness that made it easier to think about the things you’d been trying so hard to ignore.

“Can I be honest with you?” you murmured, your voice barely above a whisper, hesitant to break the peaceful quiet between you.

“Of course.” He glanced at you briefly before looking back at the skyline.

You exhaled. “Sometimes, I’m disappointed in myself.” The words left your lips like a weight lifting off your shoulders.

“Why?”

“I feel like I’ve done nothing with my life, and I’m rapidly approaching forty.”

“You’re really bitter for a woman in the prime of her life,” he mused, making you shoot him an offended look. He smirked before continuing. “Maybe you should try living in the moment… Just a little.”

“That’s easy for someone your age to say.” You crossed your arms.

“Come on.” He shrugged. “Being in a band is a great example. But let’s be real - I can’t see myself drumming at seventy. Well, I can, but my back definitely won’t be on board.”

You huffed but couldn’t help relaxing a little. He had a point, even if you didn’t want to admit it.

“What do you want to do?” he asked, curiosity sparking in his eyes.

“I want to go home.” You grinned, but he just rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious. What do you want to do with your life?”

You let out a long sigh, thinking. “Honestly? I’ve always wanted to write.”

“Like novels?” He took a final drag of his cigarette before flicking it to the ground and stamping it out.

You nodded.

“So why don’t you?” he pressed, and the frustration bubbled up - because that was the one question you never had an answer to.

“Because I need to make a living, and a few unfinished Word documents aren’t exactly paying my rent,” you muttered, running a hand over your face.

“If J.R.R. Tolkien had said that - our tour manager would be stuck with some pretty dull fanfiction about him, since no one would’ve written about his Lord of the Rings obsession.”

You chuckled. “Wait… so you read fanfiction about your tour manager?” You wiggled your eyebrows at him.

“You’re dodging the question,” he shot back, meeting your gaze. For a second, you held it before smirking and looking away.

“And you don’t want to admit you’ve read fanfiction about yourself and your bandmates,” you teased.

Before silence could settle between you again, he spoke up. “Alright, hear me out. Let’s get out of here. We’ll go wherever you want, do whatever you want. And - just to contradict your assumption - I appreciate creativity, but I’d rather not read fanfiction about myself.”

“You’ve gone mad.” You cried out in shock at his request.

That was when he made the statement that turned the whole evening around. “And you’re boring.”

Not even ten minutes later, the cool night air wrapped around you as you and the guy, who finally told you his name was Nick, slipped away from the grand event, leaving behind the murmur of conversations and the clinking of expensive champagne glasses. Your father’s party had felt suffocating, each forced interaction weighing you down like a stone. But out here, under the city lights, you could finally breathe.

“So,” Nick mused, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, “where to?”

You glanced at him, his dark hair slightly tousled from the wind, his expression open and waiting. For a moment, the answer eluded you. You hadn’t expected him to actually follow through on his offer to go anywhere, do anything. Most people just made empty gestures, but not him.

Then, a memory flickered in your mind. “There’s this small carnival on the edge of town,” you said. “I haven’t been there in years. And it’s open until midnight.”

Nick grinned. “A carnival? I like it. Lead the way.”

The cab ride was filled with easy conversation and laughter, the lingering tension from the party dissolving into the background. When you arrived, the sight of colorful lights spinning in the distance and the scent of cotton candy and fried food instantly lifted your spirits. It was a world away from the pristine elegance of your parents’ gathering, and you welcomed the contrast.

“Alright,” Nick said as you both stepped onto the fairgrounds, hands tucked into his pockets. “What’s first? Ferris wheel? Haunted house? Overpriced snacks?”

You tapped a finger against your chin, pretending to deliberate. “You know, I think I’d like to see you utterly fail at one of those impossible game booths.”

His mouth fell open in mock offense. “Excuse me? You know I’m a drummer. That means, I have impeccable hand-eye coordination.”

You laughed, nudging him toward the nearest booth, where a pyramid of cans sat daringly on a wooden shelf. The game operator smirked as Nick handed over a few bills and took aim with the weighted baseball. His first attempt barely rattled the metal. The second was better, but still, they stood firm.

“You know,” you mused, watching him narrow his eyes at the stubborn cans, “it’s okay to admit defeat.”

“Never.” He rolled his shoulders back and took a deep breath before throwing his final shot. To both your surprise, the cans crashed to the ground with a satisfying clatter.

Nick turned to you with a triumphant grin. “Told you.”

The game operator begrudgingly handed him a prize - a stuffed bear with comically large eyes. Without hesitation, Nick turned and placed it in your arms. “For you.”

You laughed, hugging the plush toy to your chest. “I have to admit, I’m impressed.”

“As you should be.”

For the next hour, you wandered through the fairgrounds, riding rickety coasters and attempting to best each other at whack-a-mole. The easy banter between you never faltered, and you found yourself genuinely enjoying the moment in a way you hadn’t in a long time.

Eventually, you found yourselves standing before the Ferris wheel, its towering frame outlined in twinkling lights. You hesitated for only a moment before Nick took your hand, tugging you gently toward the ride. “Come on. It’s not a real carnival experience without this.”

The ride attendant ushered you into a seat, and as the wheel began to turn, the world seemed to slow. The city sprawled out before you, a sea of golden lights stretching into the distance. The sounds of the carnival faded, leaving only the gentle creak of the wheel and the occasional burst of laughter from below.

“This is nice,” you admitted softly, hugging the stuffed bear to your chest.

Nick glanced at you, a small smile playing at his lips. “Yeah, it is.”

A comfortable silence settled between you as you reached the top of the wheel. The carriage rocked slightly with the breeze, and you shivered involuntarily. Without a word, Nick scooped closer, weirdly shrugged off his jacket since the carriage was rather small and draped it over your shoulders.

“You didn’t have to do that,” you murmured, touched by the gesture.

“I know,” he said simply, his voice warm. “But I wanted to.”

You turned your head slightly to look at him, only to find him already watching you. His gaze was soft, steady, and there was something about the way he looked at you that made your breath hitch. You didn’t really know if you would regret this whole thing, considering you had completely different lives. On top of that he was almost ten years younger than you. You didn’t even know what you wanted. Then, his words shot into your head again. ‘Maybe you should try living in the moment.’

Before you could get lost in your doubts, you leaned in.

The kiss was soft at first, hesitant - like testing the waters before diving in. But then Nick’s hand lifted to cradle the side of your face, his thumb brushing against your cheek, and you melted into him. The world around you faded, the moment stretching infinitely as his lips moved against yours in a slow, deliberate kiss. Your hands searched for something to hold onto and soon grabbed the front of his shirt to pull him even closer to you, causing him to sigh into the kiss in surprise.

When the Ferris wheel began its descent, you finally pulled away, your heart was hammering against your ribs. Nick studied you for a long moment before a slow smile spread across his lips.

“That was unexpected,” he murmured, though there was no surprise in his eyes - only something warm, something hopeful.

You swallowed, suddenly shy. “Was it… okay?”

His fingers trailed lightly down your arm before settling over your hand, lacing his fingers through yours. “More than okay.”

The city lights, the carnival sounds, even the crisp night air - they were all secondary to the warmth of Nick’s hand in yours, the lingering taste of the kiss still on your lips.

As you walked back toward the exit of the fairgrounds, his hand still entwined with yours, you felt something shift inside you. For the first time in a long while, you weren’t dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. You were just here. Living in the moment. With Nick.

And it felt right.

When you reached your apartment building that wasn’t too far away from the carnival, you hesitated at the door, glancing up at him. He watched you expectantly, his expression unreadable. In any other moment you would have said your goodbyes and vanished into the comfort of your home. But not today.

“Do you…” You hesitated, then exhaled, smiling softly. “Do you want to come in?”

Nick’s lips twitched upward, and without a word, he followed you inside.

The night was far from over.

You suppressed a giggle as Nick almost instantly pressed you against your front door, his lips meeting yours in a forceful manner, causing you to drop the bear he had won for you on the floor. It’s like you forgot to breathe for a solid minute, taking the moment in before kissing him deeper. Your tongues met as you clutch onto the dress shirt he was wearing.

You felt how his hands roamed your body as if he tried to memorize every inch of you. The need for him sat deep in your stomach and begged him silently for any kind of resolve from his teasing hands. Your hands wrapped around the back of his neck, fingers dancing over his hair as you slowly guide him towards your bedroom.

He let out a small yelp as he stumbled at the edge of your bed, causing you to laugh as you collide with him on the mattress. For a short second, you both caught your breath before looking in each other's eyes. The easy banter was quickly replaced with intensity in the form of his brown eyes staring at you as they darkened with desire.

You had seen this look in a couple of eyes before, but never had it felt anything like his gaze. Everything suddenly felt like it made sense to you. Like everything that happened to you needed to happen to lead you to this moment.

One of his hands slowly traveled downwards, hiking up your dress and grabbing your thigh before he turned you on your back. You instantly wrapped the leg he was gripping onto around his waist to drag him closer to you.

You felt his hot breath on your face, when he whispered. “As much as I love this dress, I bet it would look a lot better on the floor.”

“Just like your shirt.” You threw back at him with a smirk before leaning into him again, your lips meeting in another kiss as you slowly but surely slipped out of your clothes.

You sighed out in anticipation, while his hands started to travel over your body again. When his fingers latched to your pussy, drawing small circles over your panties, your thighs began to shake. “Holy shit. You’re already so wet, sweetheart.”

He added more pressure, watching as you threw your head back. “Shit, that feels good.”

“Does it?” He teased as his lips attached to your neck with wet kisses. “You like that?”

“Fuck… yes. I-...” You let out a small moan. “I need you.”

In any other scenario you would have felt weird. You couldn’t really remember when was the last time you let go of yourself, but when Nick softly giggled against your neck and pushed your panties to the side, your mind was filled with nothing but him. He was everything you saw. He didn’t wait long before slowly pushing two fingers inside of you.

“Fuck, if you already feel so good like this, I don’t even know how amazing you would feel around my cock.” He sighed in a deep voice.

For a couple of seconds he curled his fingers inside of you and you internally cursed yourself out for not getting with a drummer way earlier. But then, he suddenly removed his fingers without a warning, causing you to moan out in disappointment. But that feeling was quickly gone, when he carefully leaned on his knees and hooked his fingers into the waistband of your panties.

You looked each other in the eyes, as he slowly dragged the fabric down your legs. He never once broke eye-contact as he plastered small kisses on your inner thigh, slowly but surely getting to the part where you needed him the most.

Your back immediately arched when you felt his tongue on your pussy, taking slow but determined licks. “You taste so good.” He gasped, his tongue replaced by his finger for a moment, while you moaned.

After that he lifted your legs over his shoulder, while his mouth told you he knew exactly what he was doing. Before long, your legs started to shake in his grip. Your hands tangled in your sheets as he drew whine after whine from you. That was when you felt his fingers back inside of you, causing you to squeeze your eyes shut while almost screaming out his name. The combo of his curled fingers and the gentle suck on your clit caused you to arch your back even more as you felt the pleasure washing over you. Without a warning you snapped, crying out his name in desperate pleas as he tried to keep your hips from moving against his face. He could drag you through hell if it meant you could be held by him for any longer.

He coaxed you through your high, kissing your pussy until you stopped to shake under his touch.

You quickly sat up, dragging his face to yours. You could taste yourself on his tongue as you kissed him.

“I need to see you.” You confessed as your hands travelled to the button of his trousers, opening it - not wasting a second to slip it down his legs.

“How bad?” He tried to tease you with a lopsided grin and yelped when you took all your strength to turn the two of you - him now laying on his back.

You quickly straddled him, letting your hands roam over his torso as you placed small kisses on him - beginning at his neck, slowly making your way down to the seam of his pants. You didn’t even know who he was a day ago and you did exactly see yourself with a guy younger than you, but as you sucked and bit into his skin - marking your territory - you felt like being on top of him was the only place you belonged to.

You smiled to yourself when you felt him tense under your touch and ever so often he let out a breathy moan or bucked his hips upward. The evidence of his arousal was astonishingly clear, the bulge in his boxers clearly visible - almost begging for your attention. Nick felt like he was your one-man cult at this point.

You slowly slipped off the bed, kneeling between his legs while looking him deeply in the eyes. “I think you’re the one to explain how much you want this.” You mocked his teasing tone from just minutes before.

“Please.” He muttered under his breath - almost shaking. While you wanted nothing more than to hear him begging for it, you needed to admit that you were rather impatient yourself, so you slowly hooked your fingers into the waistband of his underwear - dragging it down so painfully slowly, he let out a long stuttering breath.

You carefully wrapped your hand around his member, soaking in the hiss he let out at the contact. You watched his face, observing every little reaction he had to you as you slowly placed your lips on the tip of his cock. “Oh, god-” Nick choked out.

You couldn’t help but smile at his frame. You were certain, the look he had on his face belonged in an art museum.

You placed a small kiss on the tip, licking at the drop of precum that gave the clear indication of his arousal, as if his hard on wasn’t enough. You hummed at the salty taste, leaning in to suck every last drop off him.

You didn’t look away from his face as you leaned in closer and took a long lick over his shaft. “Shit - Fuck… I-... That feels-... hmmm. You’re all I need.”

Your heart swelled with pride as you finally took him into your mouth, almost too enthusiastically bobbing up and down on his length. His moans sounded like the most perfect melody you’ve ever heard as his right hand landed in your hair to get some kind of stabilization.

“You need to… fuck- Imma cum if you don’t stop.” He whined out and the grip on your hair became firmer.

For a second, you ignored his call out, continuing to move up and down. Only when you felt him slightly twitch in your mouth, you pulled away - his grip loosening on your hair - causing him to moan out in frustration, his hips chasing after you.

You let out a small giggle as you stood to your feet again, crawling up to him with a playful glint in your eyes. His gaze darkened with something deeper, something unreadable yet intoxicating. The space between you felt electric, each inch you closed sending a thrilling pulse through your veins.

Just as you reached him, his hands found your waist, firm yet hesitant, as if savoring the moment before taking more. With a swift motion, you were on your back again, the cool air against your skin a stark contrast to the heat rolling off him. Your breath hitched as he hovered over you, his weight pressing into you in a way that made your pulse race.

His smile was slow, knowing, filling you with a warmth that you weren’t sure you had ever felt before. His fingers traced a lazy path down your arm, barely touching, but setting your nerves alight with anticipation. You could feel the heat of his breath as if he was your oxygen, teasing, making you wait.

When his lips finally brushed against yours, it was achingly soft - a whisper of a kiss that sent a shiver down your spine. He pulled back just enough for you to chase after him, your lips parting with a quiet plea. That was all it took.

He groaned softly before deepening the kiss, his lips molding against yours with slow, deliberate intent. His hand slipped to the small of your back, pulling you closer until there was no space left between you. The kiss turned feverish, needy, a slow-burning fire that threatened to consume you both.

Every brush of his lips, every teasing stroke of his tongue, sent sparks igniting beneath your skin. Your fingers found their way into his hair, gripping tight as you pulled him impossibly closer. He responded with a deep, satisfied sound, pressing into you, letting you feel the full weight of his desire.

Time blurred. The world outside of this moment ceased to exist. There was only him - his touch, his breath, the way he kissed you like he was starving for you. And as he broke away just enough to rest his forehead against yours, his breath rough and uneven, you knew this was only the beginning.

“You’re something else, you know that?” he muttered against your lips, his voice rough, edged with something unreadable. The warmth of his breath ghosted over your skin, sending a shiver down your spine. His words, soft yet intense, settled deep in your chest, making your heart stutter.

You blinked up at him in surprise, caught off guard by the way he was looking at you - like you were something rare, something he wasn’t sure he deserved to touch but couldn’t stop himself from reaching for. The space between you felt charged, a quiet storm building, the weight of unspoken things pressing down on you both.

His thumb brushed over your cheek, slow and deliberate, like he was memorizing the shape of you. His lips hovered just above yours, close enough to drive you insane, but he didn’t kiss you again - not yet. Instead, his gaze held you in place, searching, burning, making it impossible to look away.

For a brief moment, it almost slipped your mind that you had just met him hours ago. That this intensity between you had no logic, no reason to exist - but it did. It was there, thrumming beneath your skin, threading through the air between you, pulling you deeper into something you didn’t fully understand.

“I think if you don’t fuck me in the next couple of seconds, I’ll confess my love to you.” You joked even though you weren’t entirely sure if there wasn’t a tiny amount of truth in your humorous statement.

“Your wish is my command.” He answered with a smirk on his face, before he got up, rumbling through the pocket of his pants. He quickly opened the shiny package, before rolling the condom on his member.

After that he crawled between your legs again with a smile that warmed your entire body.

“So, you just have a condom in your pants at all times?” You joked, which he responded to with a teasing “You don’t?”

You hadn’t enough time to answer him as he dragged his cock through your wet folds, causing you to moan out surprisingly loud. You quickly bit down on your bottom lip to muffle the sound as he slowly pushed inside of you.

He placed his right hand on your cheek as he bottomed out, brushing your lip. “Don’t do that, sweetheart. I wanna hear you.”

You choked back a whine, swallowing hard as his words seeped through you. “That… That feels good.”

Nick smiled as he wrapped an arm around you. He lifted his hips, slowly filling you before bringing it back out. His name slipped over your lips like it was a prayer.

You meet his hips as you found your pace. Your head almost instantly felt dizzy, still being worked up from your previous actions and you knew he felt the same. Heat was building in your stomach as you repeatedly moaned out in pleasure, desperately seeking your climax.

“Please tell me you’re close. I won’t be able to hold back any longer.” Nick whined out, his forehead touching yours as you slightly nodded, not being able to form comprehensible words.

“Nick.” You whimpered out as his hand travelled between you, almost instantly starting to circle your clit again.

The movements of your hips in combination with his hand sent you over the edge almost instantly. You quickly leaned up and kissed him, your moan being swallowed by his mouth as you clenched around his cock. Not even ten seconds later, you felt him twitch inside of you, each thrust harder than the last before he pulled away from your mouth with a loud moan of your name - the grip of his hands on your hips almost bruising as he came undone.

His lips brushed against yours one last time before he pulled out and let himself fall to your side, his breath still uneven, his forehead resting against neck. The air between you was thick, charged with something neither of you wanted to name but both felt down to your bones.

For a long moment, neither of you spoke. You just lay there, breathing each other in, letting the world around you settle into quiet stillness. The only sound was the soft rustle of the sheets beneath you, the steady rhythm of your breaths mixing together in the hush of the room.

You turned your head slightly, just enough to look at him, your pulse still thrumming in your ears. He was watching you, his gaze unreadable yet full of something intense, something that made your stomach tighten. His fingers traced absent patterns along your arm, a lazy, absentminded motion that sent shivers through you despite its softness.

Everything about this felt unreal. The warmth of his body beside yours, the lingering press of his lips still ghosting over your own, the weight of what had just happened settling between you like a secret neither of you were ready to break.

It almost felt foolish, how easily you had fallen into this - into him. How just hours ago, he had been a stranger, a passing moment in the grand blur of your life. And yet, here he was, lying next to you, his presence as familiar as if he had always been there.

He let out a slow, measured breath and turned onto his side, propping himself up, discarding the condom in the trash nearby before leaning on one elbow as he studied you. “What are you thinking?” he asked, his voice low, rough around the edges.

You hesitated, your fingers absentmindedly playing with a loose thread on the sheet. What were you thinking? That this was insane? That you should be questioning it more? That you didn’t want him to leave?

Instead of answering right away, you reached out, letting your fingers trail down his arm over his tattoo, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath your touch. He didn’t move away. If anything, he leaned into it, like he craved it as much as you did.

“Stay,” you finally murmured, the word barely more than a breath. It came out quieter than you intended, but you knew he heard it by the way his expression shifted - something softer, something more certain.

His lips quivered into a slow, knowing smile, like the answer had been obvious before you even asked. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere,” he admitted, his voice tinged with amusement, but also something else - something real.

A warmth spread through your chest, easing away whatever hesitation had been lingering there. You exhaled, turning onto your side to face him fully, your fingers still tracing his skin absentmindedly.

“Good,” you said softly, and you meant it more than you probably should.

He didn’t say anything else - he didn’t need to. Instead, he reached out, pulling you close again, letting you settle into him like it was the most natural thing in the world. His arm draped over your waist, his touch easy, unhurried.

As you lay there beside Nick, the quiet hum of his breathing steady against your skin, a thought crept in - the kind you usually tried to push away.

How had you ended up here?

Just days ago, you were drowning in the weight of expectations - your parents’ insistence, the suffocating parties, the career that no longer felt like yours. You had spent years following a path you once believed in, only to realize too late that it had never really been yours to begin with. And yet, for all your running, you had never truly stopped long enough to ask yourself what you actually wanted.

Until tonight.

Tonight, you hadn’t thought about the past or the future. You hadn’t worried about disappointing anyone. You hadn’t been the woman who always said yes to keep the peace.

Tonight, you had let yourself feel.

Nick stirred beside you, his arm tightening around your waist as if he could sense your thoughts pulling you away. You glanced at him, the soft glow of the night casting shadows over his features. He was so young - too young, maybe - but there was something about him, something steady and unshaken, that made you feel more yourself than you had in years.

The realization sent a quiet thrill through you, equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.

This wasn’t a part of the plan. He wasn’t a part of the plan.

And maybe that was exactly what made it feel so right.

You exhaled slowly, pressing closer to his warmth, letting the weight of the moment settle over you.

For the first time in a long time, you didn’t care where the night would lead.

For the first time in a long time, you weren’t looking for the wrong turn.

Maybe, just maybe, you were exactly where you were supposed to be.

: ̗̀➛ dividers by @saradika-graphics

: ̗̀➛ TAGLIST: @measuredingold @cncohshit @circle-with-me @jilliemiw86 @justeli6 @sitkowski @exitwoundsx

#nick folio x reader #nick folio smut #nick folio fic #bad omens fanfiction #bad omens fanfic #bad omens fic #bad omens rpf #collapsedglasshouseswrites

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kuivma · 2 years ago

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foxian caelus (previous life) x Dan Heng

note ; (Dan Feng is Dan Heng's previous incarnation) he will be refered to as ying yue = his chinese pinyin

tw ; some of the characters may or may not be OOC I'm writing this sleep deprived no beta so good luck 🤞

it's been a week since I last opened Tumblr (ignore the times I went here to look at fics made by others instead)

if you didn't know already! foxians live 300-400 years and according to xianzhou standards; they're a short-lived species. fun fact : yukong is 246 years old meaning she's a kinda old lady now!

I don't know whether to refer caelus to his chinese pinyin name (qiong) like I would with Dan Heng's (ying yue) because I don't think readers would be familiar with it 🥹

let's start then??

"ying yue?" a familiar voice said, it was soothing to his ears as always.

"mhm?" the vidyadhara asked. looking up at the gold eyes of the foxian. sometimes— the dragon might find himself lost in those pretty, gleaming pupils.

"the tea is pleasant, truly isn't it?" the silver-haired man smiled. ying yue felt his heart flutter at that. it was no fair that foxians had the most beauty in all, or every species.

"of course, these are the new tea leaves that are popular as of now" the vidyadhara replied, tapping at the teacup. the foxian hummed, unconsciously his furry tail wagged while his eyes sparkled. it was no surprise when the latter absolutely adored the dragon.

the dragon followed the motion of the tail and smiled, it was adorable when foxians are excited.

qiong, smiled back. he leaned in, while his hands reached out to caress the latter on the cheek, the dragon leaned into the touch.

"it's no fair vidyadharas are so pretty" he mumbled aloud, the mentioned man laughed and replied "if vidyadharas are pretty, than foxians are heavenly"

the silver-haired flushed red at that comment, he huffed covered his face with his hand.

˚ · .

the two chatted on and on that time passed so fast, and it was already time to leave.

qiong mentioned he needed to do something, and no one should accompany him

"make sure you come back safe and sound, qiong"

"I will always come back silly" the foxian laughed like what the dragon had said was a joke.

but—

this time, he didn't come back

the vidyadhara could only wait centuries apon centuries— yet the only thing that remained was that charm. a small little charm that could only be hung on your necklace

˚ · .

a black haired man boarded the astral express, named Dan heng. he was quiet and reserved, and was very secretive about his past. he bore earrings with— a certain charm

when a silver-haired boy wakes up in the herta space station during a crisis,

Dan heng freezes for a second when he saw him— although Dan heng is reborn as well, he still has some memories of his past life. including ones of a certain silver-haired.

no, he shouldn't be thinking this right now. someone's life is at stake here. when he attempted CPR, before they even touched— he awoke

Dan Heng realizes—

caelus doesn't remember, he looks at Dan heng straight in the eye with no reaction and just curiousity— unlike Dan Heng's memories, where a long silver-haired foxian looked at him with affectionate eyes. calling out to him with a somber smile on his face.

he recalled that it was the last time he saw the silver-haired foxian

the more times they spend with each other, the more Dan heng wakes up in cold sweat when he recalls his past

in fact, these memories could mean something. Dan Heng felt his dragon instincts pop out more often than it should be, the times he had to swallow a growl when a stranger— leaned too close for his liking to caelus.

maybe this is something he could stop. but not when the two are alone in a room, the dark haired man couldn't help but bite and mark the smaller and take him as his own.

during the trip to xianzhou, when Dan heng reunited with the 3. march wanted to take pictures with a few props, it was a new stand he recalled that tingyun put up for trailblazers and travellers like luocha and the astral express.

"Dan heng?" he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the person who called his name. march

"look at caelus! isn't he so cute?" he looked at caelus, who is now bearing— fox ears headband on his head.

he freezes, it's almost like a common occurance to remember his past life because of a certain silver-haired boy.

that day, only the silver-haired could comfort him

okay I might be going a little crazy but I saw a Twitter fanart and I had to write this

I think this just counts as imagines?? I don't have time to write a whole fic so here's smth ig😭 sorry if the pacing is weird I'm slepy

I might plan to write more for the foxian caelus x Dan Feng part because I felt like I wrote too little

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goldammerchen · 1 month ago

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I wanted to write a fic today lietpruweek2025 day 4: Free Day | Polyamory Break, but couldn't (except I kinda did?). It was going to be a prequel for my unfinished Mythalia March fic (E!), happening after these notes for a previous prequel (oh boy), also Explicit.

Fic summary: In the woods, Tolys refuses to acknowledge the sudden visit of his once enemy Gilbert, that almost killed him more than once (and viceversa) almost succeding last time, if wasn't for Feliks intervention (partner of both). Or the Werewolf tries to ignore the Harpy, until the half-bird creature crashes into a tree...

(CWs: References to Past Child Abuse, Animal Death [if finished will get described, not just mentioned], (Bird) Children Death mention)

The gist of it is Gil (Harpy) looking for Feliks (Harpy), after he leaves and doesn't say where he went nor how to find him. Gil flies to Lithuania to find Tolys (Werewolf), hoping to either find Feliks there or for Tolys to know more than him. The three relationships is complicated~, Feliks having a romantic relationship with both once before enemies, until they were forced to ally... (some of this in published fic, specifically on chapter 4, where Gil tells Rode about his past).

This looks convoluted. Anyway, here it goes the outline / draft / concept.

More notes for context, most found in chapter 4:

Gil told the Teutonic Knights he was twelve, when he was ten. He looked older because Harpies grow faster (and live shorter lives).

Tolys has a necklace with one of his own canines, this allowing him to transform willingly, but he always has wolf ears and tail. Actually adding this where it should go.

"We were not on speaking terms since my mate befriended a heathen!" (...) "Correct, and not any Lithuanian, the one I hated the most! More than once we were close to killing each other, if it wasn't for our comrades saving the loser of the duel. If I didn't kill him first, I knew he one day was going to be my death."

The Pope ordered to kill non humans in Christian organizations. At some point after that Gil wakes up with a knife on his neck. He fights back and wins, escaping.

"(...) little did I know I would find both my enemy and my mate together. My happiness over my mate being alive was short-lived, because all I wanted was for that man to be gone; I wanted to be his death. Lucky me, neither had seen me, so I flew higher, and aimed my javelin with ease.

He hit his target... Feliks begged facedown Gil to save Tolys. Swan maidens here have the power to damage by 'channeling regret'. Rode thinks Natallia as a witch but no, she and Iryna are just more deities than all the other fic deities. "She channeled my regret to undo your wounds".

From here details mentioned in other prequel notes, that happens before this one, will be repeated down.

And here we go, I'm changing my mind about this but I want to have it noted down.

Tolys walking alone in the woods. He's worried about his future. He wants to be alone, yet the silent is interrupted by certain someone's loud voice, calling Tolys from above: Gilbert, his once enemy, almost killing him more than once (last time almost succeeding), last time almost succeeding if wasn't for Feliks.

Oh, Feliks. Tolys figures out correctly Gilbert must be there for his mate—thinks he always was Feliks second choice, and Feliks leaving with Gil for many months only confirms that. Except, Feliks visiting him recently, explaining he needed to leave (again) to "mull about his faults, and get his act together".

What faults? Tolys wasn't completely sure, Feliks was too shocked and heartbroken to explain properly. Three eggs, only one survivor, almost took away from the pair. Sorry went to see him to tell him he was leaving, again...

[Info that should be added later little back little in conversations: After Gil is injured in the war (losing one eye vision), and was healed enough to fly, Feliks left with him to North Africa. After more recovery he mates with his mate Feliks, and have 3 eggs back in one of Europe's mountains (I'm using the Carpathians a lot but for their childhood and first clutch, maybe another range)… It goes poorly, even since before the first egg. Something about the nest, that Feliks doesn't explain well, Gil being ill, only two eggs hatching, and only one surving, this one almost being took away. After the only surviving fledgling leaves, while Gilbert was sorrowful, Feliks leaves.]

...And now Gilbert was here, likely to torment him, or blame him over Feliks not being there.

So Tolys ignores the best he can the Harpy, it doesn't matter how much Gil yells his name, demands him to go to a near forest clearing, the I know you can hear me, I see your dog ears pointing towards me, or the insults.

But then there's a loud sound that startles him: Gilbert, who's blind in one eye, crashing into a tree. Even if he tries to care he does, and turns around to see Gil falling down the tree, scratching the trunk on the way down, nothing stopping the fall. He lands on his talons, harshy, and falls to his knees, feathers all around him. Tolys runs towards the Harpy, part of him scolding himself for this, after all Harpies are sturdy. Gil is the same person/creature that both almost killed him and saved him though.

Groaning, Gil checks his wing. Seeing Tolys, quickly goes from "I'm fine" to "this is your fucking fault you piece of shit! How will I cross the Mediterranean like this?!", puffing his feathers, hissing, and trying to scratch Tolys, who dodges him.

The crash was too loud, alerting Tolys' people. The come up with weapons, and they also recognize the until Teutonic Knights Harpy. They yell Gilbert to back off, pointing their weapons. At first Gil is defiant, but for once he just raises his wings (as much as he can injured). Tolys tells his peope that it is fine, that he must be there for his (he hates saying this) mate, but crashed. Reminds them that they are not enemies anymore, and doing anything stupid would cause conflict with the Harpies (and the other way around too, he tells to Gil).

After telling Gil to not try anything, the common people leave, but at a distance where someone like Tolys (and Gil) can still hear, they start talking about Tolys, someone else reminding them over and over that Tolys can still listen.

Left alone, Tolys tries to check Gilbert injuries (that includes visible scatches and in bad shape primary feathers), however he refuses to be touched (Tolys also thinks in old injuries inflicted one to the other, only their better healing having erased them). Instead they talk about Feliks, Gilbert saying that Feliks left a letter (that he refuses to show to Tolys). Upon learning that Feliks wasn't there, alredy having left...

"That idiot keeps doing this shit to me..." Hides his face behind his hands for a while. No sounds except ragged breathing.

Gil eventually stands up, knees almost giving up again.

Tolys: "You can't fly like this, not long distances. Stay with me until you've healed enough."

It takes more than a little convincing. Tolys piggybacks Gilbert to a watchtower :3 (Gilbert asks if that's fine, Tolys says his people will understand). Before they arrive, it begins to rain. Gil raises his good wind to hide Tolys from the rain, the water slidding off the feathers (at least for now).

On the watchtower, it doesn't take long for Gilbert to fall asleep, sitting agaisnt a wall (Harpies don't sleep lying down). Tolys struggles to fall asleep, thinking in Gilbert, Feliks, and the person he punched earlier after calling him a dog (drawback of his necklace with one of his canine that allows him to transform when he wants, the permanent pointy ears and fluffly tail); he is struggling to adapt to a life without a war to fight...

He wakes up again, startled: Gilbert has woken up screaming, looking at him yet his view is likely on the past, when his own men tried to kill him. Tolys moves closer, and hesitates to put a hand over a shoulder. Gilbert barely reacts.

Tolys: "I have nightmares too."

Gilbert: "About... About when I almost killed you?"

Sigh. "Yes."

Gil tells Tolys to sit on his good wing side (left), that thankfully is his good eye side as well—he does. Tolys is too tall for Gilbert to put him under the wing, at least not comfy enough for sleeping like both want... He wakes up next morning with his head leaning on a fluffy feathered thigh. He thinks in Feliks, and jumps back when he lifts his head to see Gil's face; too many fixed feelings.

Now Gilbert is more than sore than yesterday, struggling to move. He opens and closes his mouth several times, only telling Tolys what he wants to say after being encouraged: he needs help preening his wings, was at first too proud to ask, and contemplated in allowing his feathers to go bad. Once again Tolys thinks in Feliks, who did most preening himself, Harpies spending a lot of time in this. Tolys helps Gil, but refuses to touch a weird gland on the lower back, beside the base of the tail. Does help spreading the oily(?) fluid, and realigning the (looks notes) feather barbules.

Hours later, Gilbert is able to do some of his daily stretching... Tolys emitates him, and someone (kids?) below too. He gets fucking annoyed.

When Tolys brings food for both, Gil only eats the meat, barely chewing. Tolys gives him some of his meat, not all, and aside that practically eat both meals. Gil also keeps killing critters, more about that later.

Other day? Tolys invites Gilbert to one of his temples, the temples and faith that Gilbert tried before to destroy. The Harpy obviously doesn't want at first, and isn't happy either about the way Tolys smiles ("are you taunting me?" "no." {yes}). Gil tries to use the excuse of what will Tolys' people think, but Tolys actually wants for both to go to a open place on the forest, one with a God figure. They go, and the whole ordeal is umconfortable for Gilbert. They later talk about Gil believing again in the usual Gods workshipped by the Harpies, but actually in the Christian God a bit too, still. Tolys tells him he could like even more Gods, his ones—Gil refuses, but he will eventually... [Hima has drawn that dog that's totally not Anubis, Bastet, Atum, God, devils. If it believed it exist, I guess this inspired a bit the fic... It's a bit like "collecting" Gods to believe in though, but also syncretism].

Btw Tolys: "I prayed for your healing" = Gilbert getting flustered as hell.

While together, Gilbert keeps killing random small critters to eat. Tolys complains, to what Gil responds that he prefers eating frequently "now that he can" (starved at times by the Knights, and rarely eating well, not enough or not what Harpies need). He does sometimes avoid killing birds. This (or something else?) will remind Gil of his first clutch, and make him open up about what happened. Tolys learns about Feliks not making the nest on time, Gilbert unable because sick with fever and malaise, and not knowing because he left the Harpies as a child. Feliks' mom made the nest, stepping up after visiting, and after the first eat was laid (painful, difficult, both parents freaking out, no nest). In general the mother was more helpful to Feliks, often freaking out, more than Gil. Here Tolys tell Gil he is sorry about the unhatched egg and the chick that didn't survive, almost comprehending better than before why Feliks (and Gil) was so heartbroken: both about what happened, and worried if the only fledgling will ever return alive in his final form. This changed both Harpies, matured; has himself changed? He's not sure about what to do about his life, Feliks returned and left, Natallia probably thinks about him as a puny mortal—it doesn't help that Gilbert comments (not on purpose) that he gets well along with Natallia; birds kinship, while he will never fly...

Other moments while together: Gil petting Tolys on the head (feels nice, is a good distraction, let's pretend we didn't try to kill each other and that we want the same harpy), Tolys either as a human or as a wolf… In either case when he tries to get up, Gil pushes him down more than a bit harshy (stay there!), cue to a (physical) fight. At the end up both are tired and laughing about it. Also more non-serious fights, roughhousing--Tolys goes from no I don't want to have fun with you to forgetting that sentiment, let's horseplay again.

Other day (?) they visit one of the knights abandoned castles/forts (not sure yet), after Christians lost the war (:3). The place is semi burned down, and the barracks make Gil feel sick. He leaves through the window (can do short flights), and goes to sit on the roof. It takes a lot of convincing to get Gilbert down, and once he does, the first thing he does is hugging Tolys. Tolys internally: oh no I'm getting attached to him.

It doesn't take too long for Gilbert to be able to do longer flights... Tolys who started not wanting to talk to Gil, now is worried about being left behind again. He also (shit this should be moved somewhere else?) is getting internally eating by guilt, because last time he saw Feliks, he almost forced Feliks to stay by force, only the fear on Feliks' face making him desist. If he tried that again, it would ruin everything between them (better than ever before, who thought this was possible), and cause troubles with both his people and the Harpies... But he would stay though.

Anticipating getting heartbroken, Tolys is the ones who asks about where Gilbert will go, and if he will try to find Feliks—the Harpy is actually too angry with his mate to that for now. He could go to where one of his sisters lives (that he never met until his child was born; she thought there was no way his brother would have survived as a bird). He is more interested in traveling though, having missed alot while only staying with the Knights... He invites Tolys to travel with him (both south and east, to central Asia), but at first Tolys shoots this down, after all he can't fly: "I will slow you down"; his pointy ears and tails will cause problems around most people, and not using his necklace will only cause more problems on fullmoons. "We could still manage!" "Sorry, but no..." (fool).

Gil says he also wanted to stay close to where Erszi (centaur) lives, or in the town itself.

"In the town?" (A Harpy? In a humans+centaurs town? They have mainly stayed on the skirts or where Tolys lives, although that's explained by the complicated past).

"The town's lord is a vampire, even if he and everybody pretend he isn't. He asked me so many weird questions..."

The Swan Maidens are also somewhat near, and if Feliks ever returns, is not unlikely he would want to see both Natallia and Erzsebet...

...Tolys says he should stay with his people. Later, only when Gilbert takes flight to leave he changes his mind, having to chase Gilbert as a wolf.

#lietpru #pruliet #harpy!prussia #werewolf!lithuania #myth au fic #fic wips #hws prussia #hws lithuania #yes this almost 2.7k worDs are a draft. fuck #not pinging i'm unsure if unfinished/unpolished is allowed + is the next day here lol #also a little embarrased but hey now i have this here and on my docs #outlines/drafts 🪶#sr. tnddr

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calciumdeficientt · 6 months ago

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HAAAAI *twirls hair* care to write sum headcanons about my boy Colt? (THIS IS @redninjaoutfit 😋)

Colt De Luca is my son. I found him sopping wet in a cardboard box on the side of the road and I raised him as my own.

COLT DE LUCA HCS

He always sorta knew that he was gonna follow in his brother’s footsteps. He’s always looked up to Lucky, even if he doesn’t always appreciate his helicopter-parent way of keeping him safe and on the right track. While he calls his brother out for his hypocrisy, especially on the grounds of smoking, he knows that deep down it’s Lucky’s way of showing he cares.

EXCELS in art class, to the point that his artwork is shown as examples to other classes (including the older years) and is displayed throughout the classroom. He has a real natural talent for art, and he’s constantly working to improve upon his previous works.

Speaking of constantly painting it is always ALL OVER him. His hands, his shoes, his jeans, his hair. He just cant seem to get it off him, and because I like to think that primarily he works with oil paints, that shit does not come out, and often means he has stained skin. One time he walked into the auto shop with some red paint on his face and all the greasers jumped to go and find who’d hurt him. He had to explain to them that he’d been doing a life drawing of some tomatoes and had wiped his brow with the back of his paint encrusted hand.

Tries hard to do right by his brother but its just so hard when he’s been practically joined to the hip to the biggest bad influence in the greasers for his entire life. Lefty and Colt balance each other out. They’re ying and yang, opposite, complimentary, and one cannot exist without just a liiiittle bit of the other. Colt is zen, and peacekeeping, but he can walk the walk if he has to scuffle. Whereas lefty is bold and brash, but carries a little bit of sensitivity in him.

Gives me totally bonkers hippie vibes. Maybe it’d because he’s a sensitive soul, but I can just picture him with his hair down and out of his little coiffure, maybe a tie dye shirt, and some kind of beaded necklace on. He’s still got the paint covered jeans on, but they really tie the whole look together. He’s all about peace, love and understanding. And its coming from a genuine place too, a totally clean mind, because if Lucky even so much as suspected he was doing drugs he’s be picked up by the scruff of the neck and wrung out like a damp dish-towel.

Totally gets referred to as “Lucky’s brother” almost exclusively. This is done a lot by older students, and often means he has to play messenger for his brother who is VERY easy to find. The teachers also do this, but they also call him by his brother’s name. he doesnt think he and Lucky look that similar, but its clearly enough for teaches to grab him, demanding he turn in assignments that are most definitely not at his grade level. Maybe its because of the hair, they both have pretty distinct carrot tops.

#bully #bully cce #bully canis canem edit #bully scholarship edition #bully rockstar #bully se #bully oc #bully greasers #greasers bully #colt de luca #lucky de luca #lefty mancini

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stagefoureddiediaz · 2 years ago

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Costume meta 6x12

Thank you wardrobe team - for giving me half a chance with the costumes this week 😂 After the insane costume levels last week, it was nice to have fewer costumes to talk about this week! Have to admit I did go off on a bit of a side quest while writing this - shout out to fridge and beer theory 😳😂🤓

I'm not going to go character by character this week because they did something really interesting with the colour palette this episode. So I'm going to break things down colour by colour and it means I'll be talking about Wendell, Tamara and Connor as well!

Firstly there were 3 main colour in use in 6x12 - red blue and grey, with a couple of secondary colours also in play - the army drab green, white and pink. There were also some very interesting parallels at play in the costuming as well - not only in relation to the text, but specifically to the shooting - we see a lot of costume references to that arc as a whole and I'll go into those as we get to them.

as always the rest is below the cut to save your dash!

Red

So in 6x12 we see red/maroon used 4 times and on all 4 occasions its being worn by someone in the role of advisor and or parent/carer.

First up we have Athena (her in a rare denim wearing occurrence!!) in a wine red turtle neck - she is filling the role of advisor for Bobby here - providing him with information pertaining to the investigation into Wendell's death. she is displaying her care for Bobby and his wellbeing - pursuing a seemingly impossible task to help him get answers - she fully understands Bobbys need to pursue the case - the potential for it to impact on Bobbys sobriety if he's unable to get answers. I've spoken before about red being an energetic and powerful colour, we see both those aspects at play in this costume - Athena has powerful information that reenergises the case for Bobby. This is Athena in supportive spouse mode.

Next up we have Maddie - very intentionally in her dispatcher uniform and this putting her in maroon/burgundy. The use of her uniform is an indicator of Maddie managing things - putting up a sort of boundary. She is managing Buck in the same way she would manage one of her calls at dispatch. I need to mention the fact that Buck is in navy blue here - that he is wearing a tee that matches his own uniform and we barely see the grey joggers because he is standing behind the kitchen island. It is important to recognise that both of them are hiding behind being 'in uniform' and we see that fact effectively erecting barriers between them - it is only when the are both out of those colours that they are able to talk and understand (I'll talk more on that later on!).

Wendell's costume here is such a choice!!! Even if we hadn't been told in the previous flashback that Wendell was ex military, we would have been able to reach that conclusion ourselves because of this costume. does it remind you o the way they've styled anyone else on the show? perhaps a certain someone with their own military background?? thats right - this costume is straight out of the Eddie Diaz costume book! long sleeve maroon henley, olive drab combat style trousers and smartish leather boots. they've given Wendell his own twist - with the metal watch and the necklaces, but the look is deliberately meant to look similar to Eddie. The general audience will subconsciously draw the association.

For me this costume and its use in this particular scene is super fascinating - a conversation about 'getting back out there' and dating around a bit and the concept of impulsivity compared with Bobby knowing that Athena makes him feel like he's on solid ground. the costume is very much helping to foreshadow Eddies story here - he's going to take the road that Wendell suggests here - date around a bit - before figuring out what Bobby already has - that he wants and already has someone who makes him feel like he's on solid ground. the show has been paralleling Bathena and Buddie for a long time now, this is just another example of them doing this, especially because Bobby and Buck have been costume paralleled a lot, as have Athena and Eddie. The fact that the show has chosen to use this scene as part of this episode where those costume parallels are especially loud is really telling, clever and shows they're having fun with the build up of this slow burn!

Eddie - Like I've said above this is some very intentional costume paralleling going on in terms of foreshadowing for Eddie in the rest of season 6. But there is also the parallel to Athena and Maddie (we can pull Maddie into the paralleling because they chose to put Chimney in blue when Maddie get's home from work). the maroon is in the red part of the colour wheel and shares many of the same attributes - mostly relating to power, passion and confidence, but also its brown undertones hint at stability and comfort as well as protection.

These are all things we see from Eddie in the two scenes - the comfort and protection Eddie offers Buck in the first scene that allows Buck to fall asleep on the couch, with those same traits combining with stability, power and confidence in the kitchen scene. Eddie is the epitome of stability from bucks perspective - the Diaz house is a stable and supportive place and Eddie is at the centre of that for Buck. The power and confidence come from Eddies knowledge of Buck, giving him the space he needs and knowing when to push, but also from Eddie himself knowing where the line is - know ing that Buck won't benefit from Eddies full honesty at this point in time.

All of that is not the only thing that shirt is hinting at. I've spoken a lot about the use of maroon on male characters specifically as a symbol of fatherhood and parental responsibility and here is no different - Eddie making Christophers lunch in the kitchen scene (is this kitchen scene .3 or .4 ?) was a very deliberate choice for the simple reason that it connects to the shooting visually - right down to the choice of putting Eddie in dark trousers - mirroring Buck when he tells Christopher about his dad being shot. The Christopher of the equation remains relevant even now - as they actually talk about the shooting for the first time - he is not directly a part of the conversation, but he is still there in the background (in much the way the will still lingers in the background).

Blue

So fun overarching fact about the use of blue in this episode - it gets progressively lighter as the episode progresses! This is something the show has been playing with a bit this season - especially in connection with Buck. It's so informative as to the journeys of Bobby and Buck in this episode.

We do also see Chimney and Tamara in blue in this episode, but only once. Chimneys is in balance to the Red of Maddie - its playing into the colour trope of couples that we've seen the show use over and over to both draw parallels between the actual couples on the show as well as draw parallels with those couples and Buddie.

Here we Have Chimney in a shade of blue he wears a lot, I think this jumper is the same on we see him in when Maddie's kitchen floods, but the lighting is very different in the two scenes and that makes it hard to be sure. it is important to note that this blue doesn't sit in the same colour spectrum of the other blues in this episode - its much more of a green blue - having peacock or turquoise undertones. this is a deliberate choice - it still allows chimney to sit in the colour blocking of blue and red that we see in this episode and in the show more widely, but it also others him - he doesn't fit into the journey towards healing that we see the others go on.

Bobby goes through a spectrum of blue like I said. this first polo is really hard to define - its under a heavy filter which gives everything a greyish yellow tone - which the show uses in most of its flashback scenes. we can see its blue, but as to the specifics of shade, its hard to tell - it is definitely towards a navy colour, but not as dark.

This is a moment when Bobby is vulnerable, but is accepting of help - a darker navy wouldn't be the right choice here - bobby is in the darkness that navy hints at, but he is also accepting the help he asked for and this lighter slightly greener tone the filter gives the shirt shows us that - the greener tone suggesting growth.

Then we move on to the shirt we see Bobby in for most of the episode. The lighter navy with a bluish grey check pattern. The Check foreshadows (as always) the problems Bobby is going to face in his hunt for the truth of what happened to Wendell.

I loved the fact that they put Bobby and Tamara in similar shades of blue for this scene. its a brighter blue - much more of an azure or ultramarine blue - much more hopeful supportive and accepting. its meant to show us that they are in the same place emotionally, but also it ties the help they received from Wendell to the two of them - pointing out that because of him they are both on the right path .

Bobby then wears full dark navy blue when the Walshes are arrested (the picture of this is down in the other colours section of this post) with the same green jacket as the one he wears when he meets up with Tamara

Then we get this grey blue shirt when we see Bobby in full sponsor mode.

As you can see the blue gets progressively lighter as Bobby progresses through the episode and we end up with him a colour that matches the check from the first shirt. I think this is intentional - that we're supposed to read it as Bobby breaking out of things that have been holding him back up to now. The other thing about this blue/grey shirt is that it's almost the same colour as the knit polo that Buck is wearing . This is telling me two things - we are supposed to make the connection between where Bobby is at and where Buck is at respectively - that they are at similar points in their respective healing journeys - something made more obvious by the two costumes being worn at the same time in their respective scenes. The other thing it's doing is reinforcing the father son aspect of Bobby and Bucks relationship - visually connecting the two of them at the same time as the script.

Buck in navy - like I said above - this is very much about reflecting Bucks LAFD uniform - especially in relation to Maddie, Josh and to a point Hen. we get to see the grey sweatpants much more when it comes to Hen, because this is the person Buck has been most honest with up to this point and then Connor - once Buck establishes he's not part of Maddies schedule!

The navy is also an outward manifestation of Bucks internal struggles with the whole dying part of his reality post lightning strike. navy is often associated with depression and with avoiding confrontation (one of the reasons its used as a uniform colour so often) and attention. Here we have a Buck who is trying to do both - avoid causing confrontation and trying to deflect attention away from himself (the script also shows us this by is his leaving a note and running to Eddies) ad well as making it obvious that Buck is struggling with his mental health and over facing up to the reality that he died.

The final costume we see Buck in is this very light blue knit polo - which has grey undertones and connects in with crash and learn and the locker room conversation Buck has with Hen - about the secret to happiness. Having seen Buck in blue or grey for all of the episode, this bluish grey merges the two colours together and implies that the two different versions of Buck - the closed off navy blue one and the honest vulnerable grey ones have merged - erring more towards the grey version of Buck than the navy one. this is a clear choice - it shows Buck accepting and embracing that more vulnerable version of himself and we see that in action when he talks to Maddie about her over the top schedule.

The other thing with this pale blue is that it ties into a series of moments we've seen from Buck since 5x18. The blue suit of Hen and Karens wedding - representing the freeing himself of Taylor, the blue shirt from the locker room conversation with Hen when we see Buck really start to think about what it is that he wants/needs to be happy and when we find out that Kameron is pregnant, and now this one. All of these are moments when Buck is making progress in figuring out what he wants and how he can find his happiness - in some ways they are like the use of Bucks white shoes - where as those are a more general representation of his journey - the smaller steps as it were, these blue outfits are bigger strides forward.

Grey

I have so many thoughts about the grey of it all in this episode!! We only see Buck and Athena in grey.

Athena wears this grey turtleneck and waterfall front cardigan combo. Grey is a neutral colour, but it is also a colour of compromise and here we see Athena essentially compromising with bobby and giving him the information he needs to get in contact with Tamara.

The ribbed grey jumper that Buck wears to Eddies house along with the lighter grey sweats is such a choice. First thing to point out- this jumper has been put on over the navy blue tee - we can see a slither of the tee in the picture below - between the jumper and the sweats (costume department for the win on little details like these!)

Grey is like I said above a neutral colour, but it is also somewhat ambiguous - because of its place between black and white on the colour chart. it is also associated with wisdom and maturity. here we have a Buck who is being mature in his recovery - being wise

The fact that the ribbing gives the jumper an air of chainmail is also an interesting thing, it hints at the idea of protection - its not the full on protection of plate armour, but it is non the less a protective layer - in this instance it is Buck both protecting himself from Maddie's overbearing (but well meant) schedule, but it also serves as a barrier for the kitchen conversation - that in between stage we've spoken of, where Buck and Eddie aren't fully ready to talk about the full implications of the shooting. Eddie reads it and doesn't go into the full truth of what he remembers - the grey jumper is the visual representation of the fact Buck is still not fully ready to talk about it (even if Eddie is).

The use of ribbing also means this jumper fits into a theory i've been keeping an eye on since 6x01 with regards to Buck and vertical stripes - you can read it at the end of the 6x01 meta if you haven't already read it. Essentially though - Buck seems to wear vertical stripes when he is emotionally imprisoned or trapped in some way. this jumper is maybe stretching the metaphor a bit, but the theory works for this scenario - Buck is struggling - reckoning with death and the emotional trauma that has brought him. Its going to be interesting to see if this continues to play out in the rest of 6b!

The final thing to point out about this jumper is the long sleeves - and this ties into the costumes of all the other characters as well - when around Buck. If Buck is wearing short sleeves everyone else is wearing long sleeves and if Buck is wearing long sleeves, then the characters he interacts with (only Eddie) are wearing short sleeves. This is significant - Buck is his most open and honest about where he is at with his recovery etc when he's wearing long sleeves and his opposite is wearing short. Eddie wearing short sleeves appears to be concealing things from Buck - much like Buck has been doing with everyone else in this episode - not being completely honest with them. its a play on the idea of Buck being good at hiding his true feelings from others - in physical form and only making himself vulnerable when he has protections in place and he's with one of the few people who can understand his trauma (Chimney is the other one but we don't see them interact in this episode!).

Other colours

Hens costume is very much carrying on her costume theme from 6x11 - which is perfect - the orange brown and green place her in the same context as we saw her last week - its a form of continuity - she is still the representation of emotional strength and optimism through the orange, the brown is still the representation of stability and the green (which has gotten brighter) is still a reference to growth and security and health. The green being more obvious this epsiode is showing us the improvement in Bucks health - Hen is the most skilled medic on the show - her being in green is a show of that in connection with other characters when the scene is not about her directly - in this case - Buck and his health post death and resurrection.

Connor is an interesting one this week, the tan/beige jacket combined with the baby pink and blue pinstripe shirt is telling me a lot of things! Firstly the beige - beige is considered a 'boring' colour and as such it is often used to mask other things - its a colour that 'blends in with the crowd' and it being worn as an outer here is very much playing into that as a concept - outwardly Connor is deflecting attention away from himself - from his own internal struggles

The pink and blue pinstripe shirt however is saying a whole lot, firstly the use of pale pink and blue - colours that often have 'baby' placed in front of them as a denotation or the specific shades - baby pink and baby blue. This automatically and subconsciously encourages the brain to think about babies - the central theme of Connors arc on the show - pregnancy, babies/children and fatherhood or pending fatherhood.

Pink has lots of meanings attached to it, but pale or baby pinks are generally considered to represent immaturity and or naivety and I think that is what its use is trying to suggest here - it is foreshadowing and hinting at Connors actual feelings around Kameron's pregnancy.Its telling us that Connor hasn't actually thought through (not necessarily intentionally) the full reality of being/becoming a father when the child is not genetically his - its hinting that that is his journey (and Bucks) for the remainder of the season and pregnancy.

Again there are lots of meanings that can be attached to blue and it comes in a myriad of shades (probably the most wide range of shades of any colour to be honest) which also impacts its meaning. The blue pinstripes here are very much of the baby blue variety there are a couple of things that I think the use of blue here is trying to tell us - firstly blue at the lighter end of the spectrum tends to be positive, it also tends to be responsible and reliable. the fact that the blue stripes 'run through' the pink - the implication being that it runs through that naivety that I spoke about a moment ago - thats essentially a good thing - its telling us that the outcomes of this arc will be positive - I'm guessing that Connor will get his head around being a dad - learning and understanding that genetics don't necessarily make a father.

The other thing we need to talk about with regards to Connor - that I spotted and I think hints at things to come is his wedding band. in the above picture he is wearing it on his right hand rather than his left - as he has done all the way up to this point. THis can only be an intentional choice - in America the most common finger to wear a wedding band on is the left ring finger (its not something that would get missed or that would be put on the wrong hand by accident). Connors wedding band changing hands is pretty telling.

Interestingly there are a few things about wearing a wedding band on the right hand instead of the left - it is common in many countries - including Peru (👀) but it is also symbolic - before gay marriage was legal, it was (and still is) common for same sex couples to wear rings on their right hands as a show of commitment. The other (and possibly more relevant reason here) is that it is a fairly common thing for people cheating on their partner to do - it can be a signal of availability. Now I'm not saying Connor is out and out cheating on Kameron, what I am saying is that his wedding ring changing hands may be a visual signal that he is struggling with his relationship and is emotionally not al in it at the moment - that he is perhaps not feeling connected to his marriage because of his struggles with the baby and not being able to emotionally invest in that aspect of his relationship at this moment.

Its going to be very interesting and telling the next time we see Connor and Kameron on screen together if the ring changes back - and if we see it on the right hand again!

Maddie in black and pink when Buck and her have an honest conversation about their individual trauma and the way its interconnected is an interesting choice the black and pink has similar vibes to the maroon and black of Maddie's uniform, except its dressed down, its more flow-y and as a result more inviting of Bucks honesty and Maddie's own admissions. The pink is representing Maddie's nurturing tendencies, but also her unconditional love for her brother. I've said before that black is a colour of power and sophistication - here those traits are showing the power of growth and sophistication is both Maddie and Buck developing and understanding the complexities of their traumas and developing better ways of dealingwih them.

I've included the picture of the shooting below at this point because I want to highlight a couple of things. I've used this picture because its the only time we can see all of what Buck is wearing - White high-tops, black socks, grey trousers and the infamous white shirt with grey pinstripes.

Tamara is the first costume hint at the shooting arc we get in the episode. the white pinstripe shirt and the white high-tops are very much a direct reference to Bucks outfit. If we look at the bigger picture here and look at both the arc and the characters as a whole then we can see clear similarities between this arc and the shooting arc.

We have an 'overdose' as the catalyst in both arcs. Charlie both being dosed by his mother and his act of overdosing her, which leads to Eddie being shot as he tries to help. Then we have Tamara - in the same position as Charlie - she's being controlled in a similar way by the Walshes through her previous drug use etc. Wendell fills the role of Eddie in this arc - he is the one that goes in to help Tamara and ends up 'shot' (read shooting up as a metaphor for being shot!) as he tries to help. Only unlike Eddie, Wendell does actually die. Tamara also fits into the same roll as Buck - she is there when Wendell dies - in the same way Buck is there when Eddie gets shot.

Bobby and Athena placed in essentially the same roles (more on Athena in a moment) as in the shooting - a bit more of a lean into Bobby solving things where as Athena was more filling that role in the shooting arc, but the outcome is the same.

The arrest of the Walshes shows Athena back in her usual colour ways of black olive drab and white, which is an important touchstone for us as viewers (especially after we spent so much time in a coma world last week), but it also plays into the shooting arc throwbacks with her costume - the leather jacket is not identical, but its almost the same as the one she wears for most of the investigation into the shooter in the season 4 arc.

Finally we get Athena in this amazing purple jacket - dark purple being a colour of magic, spirituality enlightenment and wisdom. this jacket is in its own way connected to the shooting arc - the fact that Bobby didn't let Athena in that time - when he was trying to sponsor the drunk driver from blindsided (4x09). It shows us just how far they have both come since that moment.

Finally I have to talk about Bucks white high-tops because they were very prominent in this episode. I've had the theory for a while that they represent his journey towards happiness (there is a post on my pinned post all about it if you haven't read it or want a refresher!).

He wears them all the time he's not at the loft in this episode - their most prominent appearance is on Eddies Coffee table (buck I love you but you're a heathen!!) - literally the only time you should put your feet up on the coffee table is when you are at home - never at someone elses house - this plays into the whole 'this is Eddies house, I'm not really a guest' of it all. the fact that he does so in his white high-tops is actually really important - we've never seen those shoes anywhere except the floor up to now - Buck putting his feet up while wearing them is a symbol of both him being at home/ coming home, as well as a symbol - its foreshadowing that Buck's journey to find happiness ends here - at home in the Diaz house and as a part of the Diaz family!

we also see him wearing them at the park when he is contemplating the fire that lead to him being hit by lightnin after his appointment with Dr Salazar - again this is Buck very much on his journey - he is contemplative and making progress!

And there we have it 6x12 costume meta done!! Thank you as always for reading - it really does mean the world to me that you're interested in the costuming of our wee woo show!!

As always tagged people below - if anyone wants to be added to (or removed from) the list please let me know in the comments and I'll add you to the next one! Same goes if your url has changed and the tag is no longer working 😎

Until the next episode! 💜💜💜

@mistmarauder @theladyyavilee @loveyourownsmiilee @leothil @girldadbuddie @kitkatpancakestack @buckscurls @lemotmo @trashendence @elishareads @clipboardsandstethoscopes @comfortbuddie @fiona-fififi @callanee @calyssmarviss @pbandjeremiah @batgrldes @spotsandsocks @livingwherethesidewalkends @idontshitpostbuttheolympicpark @diazboysbuckley @sweettsubaki @shortsighted-owl @sherlocking-out-loud @dickley-buddie @favouritealias @hearteyesdiaz @ktinastrikesback @princesschez75 @bucksbuddie @oneawkwardcookie @leatherat @moniquekatie @wanderingwomanwondering @trickster-archangel @outrunningthedark @asharadaine @ajunerose @talespinner230 @pop-kam @swiftiebuckleys @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @butchjerry @mandzuking17 @yelenascowboys @copyninjabuckley @name-code-black-widow @rogerzsteven @bi-moonlight @wandiinha

#kym costume meta #911 costume meta #6x12 costume meta #911 costumes #911 on fox #911 fox #911onfox #evan buckley #bobby nash #athena grant #maddie buckley #eddie diaz #hen wilson #chimney han #911 meta #911 season 6

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snowball-doie · 4 months ago

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yes pls yap about your book xx

GURL WHERE DO I GET STARTED THERES 55 CHAPTERS AND 450+ PAGES- ummmm ok let’s see- we’ll start w the basics to get the ball rolling 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Now I don’t wanna hear a single thing about how my oc’s name is Aurora… I will mention rq that when I first started writing this back in Oct 2023, I did it alone, but then in Jan/Feb of this year, my friend made an oc named Kay and we decided to add her to the book— but my friend was kinda uncomfy writing about real ppl so we changed everyone’s names 😀 (it took so long). Here, I’ll just reference their real names so there’s no confusion, but if you see me tagging posts as “Jace thoughts” then it’s about this book, cuz we changed Johnny to Jace 🤝 ok let us go on w the plot.

Aurora started working as the boys’ new manager in 2018 after their previous one came under fire for treating the boys poorly in public. They hired Aurora cuz she’s trilingual (English, Japanese, and Korean). She went to school and worked in Japan, so she already had an in w/ entertainment in Korea, but applying to SM was lowkey just a meme to her, she didn’t think she’d actually get the job or have to move to Seoul. Welp! How the turn tables turned.

Anyhow, because she’s fluent in Japanese, Yuta IMMEDIATELY is like “you’re my friend now 😁” while the other boys take time to come around. And Aurora’s fine w that cuz they’re supposed to be coworkers anyhow— well technically she’s their boss lmao. But Taeyong is the next to get close w her because they do so much work together. Aurora recognizes that in order to make everything work like a well-oiled machine, she needs input from the boys, a voice from them to relay to the execs because she’s always just getting orders and the boys are never able to express how they feel about that. So her and Taeyong become like the mom and the dad of the group. She attends their practices, even if it’s just her sitting in the corner while she does work on her laptop. She’s at every single one of their events. And she gets Taeyong into important meetings so that he can be the boys’ voice rather than playing a game of telephone. It’s really nice. And to really encourage the boys to stay close with each other and whatnot, she yoinks the idea of the Dreamies’ friendship ring by buying the 127 boys matching small green pendant necklaces— But she knows that she’s not close enough with them yet for them to take the necklaces seriously if she gives them, so she asks Taeyong to take the credit instead. And it works. The boys wear the necklaces every single day, and Taeyong feels guilty as hell for taking the credit but Aurora always just laughs and reassures him that this is what she wants. Taeyong introduces Aurora to Ten, and the three of them become a lil clique. Meanwhile Yuta’s hogging Aurora by always hugging her, hanging out at her apartment, sleeping in her bed, etc etc. they’re very close. So close that when they get drunk together in her bed one night, they start making out, and he rolls on top, and she’s CERTAIN they’re gonna fuck until they stop and go “ya we’re just friends 🤝” lmaoooo

Anyhow. When COVID hits, Aurora and Johnny start to play video games and watch anime together because those are interests they share. They start to get closer, which is nice to Aurora because they were never really close before this. She always just thought of him as the frat boy type who spends his time seeing models outside of work and not the otaku kid who sits in vc with her from the minute they wake up to the time they fall asleep. During the Resonance era, Aurora’s meeting with all of the NCT boys to coordinate subunits, and the execs let her run these meetings irl (bless up) so when Johnny comes in, they talk shop for a bit til out of fucking NOWHERE this man goes “so what kind of guys are you into” 🙄 ok bud. Chill. But Aurora explains briefly that she likes guys with long dyed hair… She doesn’t care about things like eye color or height or weight or anything else like that. This mf goes “so are you into Yuta?” And she nearly falls out of her chair laughing bc no she’s not into Yuta, they established that quite a while ago. Anyhow! As Resonance era goes on, Aurora notices that Johnny’s growing out his hair?? And then he dyes it randomly one day without permission from the company, and he calls to brag about it???? Aurora calls Ten for the inside scoop….. which he doesn’t have, but she begs him to find out why the hell Johnny is doing this?? He’s being so weird recently! “Have you stopped to consider he likes you?” “What? No! Johnny’s the type to date models, to fly to different countries to fuck the prettiest women who are falling at his feet. He’s not looking at….. me.” “Aurora, he stopped fucking around back when you joined the company” HUHHH. Anyhow. Ten still does NAWT get the inside scoop, but that doesn’t matter, cuz when Chenle hosts a secret listening party of the album at his house, Johnny finally gets the balls to ask out Aurora and she says yes— And all the boys start trading around money. Apparently they took bets on whether or not he’d ever get around to it…..

Ok we’ve only just scratched the surface, but I’ve yapped a lot here so lmk what else you guys wanna know!! I can summarize more plot. Or I can talk about Aurora’s character, or her relationship/dynamic with the boys. Throughout the book, she’s close with different ppl, but the notable ones are Johnny. Taeyong, Yuta, Haechan (because of my other oc who he starts dating), Renjun, and Ten. I can talk about my Hyuck x oc plot line too— It’s childhood best friends reunited later in life and fall in love. Or I have 2 guy ocs, Haneul and Shiwoo who I can talk about. Shiwoo ends up w Renjun 🫣 Or there’s my friend’s oc, Kay, who starts w having a fwb relationship w Yuta until she starts dating Mark. She messy fr 😂

#op #ask #Jace thoughts #Johnny #Taeyong #Yuta #Haechan #ten #Renjun #mark

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spumonibones · 18 days ago

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Chasing Wings: Memoria, Chapter 26

Pairing: Xiao x Venti

First Chapter (Ao3) ; First Chapter (Tumblr)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter Song: Like That by Carmody

Update Schedule: Sporadic - I use #chasingwingsfic as the tag if anyone needs it to block/follow!

Lore/Story Notes: Honestly the biggest bummer of taking so long to writing this, next to of course the lore drops changing things, is that the references and hints that get dropped are near impossible to catch due to the long lapses between updates.So. The Mare Jivari lore that we had prior to Natlan was pretty critical to this fic. Given just how long this has become, how tired I am… I am just going to put notes where I need to in order to explain my decisions when we get there. That's right - we're deviating from canon now.

***

The morning moved both too fast and too slow - eagerness made time drag, but equally noon came too soon. Wangshu Inn had the rooms around Venti blocked - as much for the yaksha's privacy as well as safety concerns for guests. Even with Venti's assurances, Verr Goldet preferred to err on the side of caution with the threats karmic debt brought. Menogias bustled about, determined to put each and every one of them together himself. To ensure every aspect of his siblings and Venti were exactly as he pictured. Before it was his turn, the bard took great care to wash himself best he could. While he didn't regret his trip to Guili Plains, dirt got into places that he needed to rinse the itch off of. His legs didn't surprise him, but his arms and back? Or perhaps something new started to bloom and that irritated his skin?

Didn't matter, a bath easily removed it all. Fresh and clean, he simply wore a comfortable pair of undergarments and brushed through his hair. Was full of anticipation for how Xiao would look, what sort of outfit Menogias would go with. They had all urged the Geo yaksha to try and keep it casual - the goal was to pull as little attention as possible. To see what how his request would be fulfilled. Was full of anticipation for the evening, and all that would come with it.

In comparison was Xiao, sitting stiffly as Menogias focused. The Anemo yaksha was excited for this, but also there was an anxiety that kept his heart racing. His mind was full of what ifs and maybes. Thought of a city full of people he could hurt, and had to focus on suppressing the tremor that wanted to shudder through him. The sudden movement would agitate Menogias.

The Conquerer of Demons attire was closer to a fashionable sort of casual than just a normal casual. In spite of the soft lavender accents across the pale sage green top, the frog clasps made of noctilucous jade meant this was incredibly tame by Menogias’ standards. The style of pants were similar to the ones that Xiao typically wore, but were looser and lacked the mobility for combat yet made up for that in comfort and breathability. The sleeves reached his elbows, mostly only long enough to hide the symbol of his illuminated beast status from the mortals. There was a hint of gold embroidery along the collar depicting birds, tails long and traveling along the hem. If anyone dared to ask about his 'third eye,' upon his forehead, Xiao would simply dismiss it as a birthmark.

Xiao's typical boots had been temporarily confiscated, the leather apparently too worn and cracked to ‘be appropriate.’ Newer ones were on his feet, the Anemo yaksha not willing to admit how nice the soft new leather felt on his soles. Instead of his usual necklace, the one he wore as part of exorcizing the demons, was a chain of fine silver, and had a finely crafted crystal pendant. Inside of it depicted an Anemo crystalfly at rest upon a qinxin flower. On either side were small green jades acting as leaves, connecting to the glass as the stems.

As Menogias styled his brothers hair and, “cleaned” him up, Xiao took notice the Geo yaksha never touched his brows like Verr Goldet had. For a moment the anxiety was gone, as Xiao smiled in amusement at how protective Venti was of the yaksha's brows. The smile widening at remembering the bard even named them. Wonder if I should do that for his hand… He'd probably enjoy that, Xiao thought, oblivious to the pleased grin Menogias wore catching the expression.

As Menogias wrapped up, he nudged Xiao to look in the mirror. The Anemo yaksha normally didn't do much for his appearance - he always went for functional over stylish. Venti didn't seem to mind whether Xiao appeared clean or covered in dirt or even blood, and so Xiao continued to not mind. When the bird adeptus did come in with any form of grime, Venti would simply gingerly wipe it away. Even cleaned and wrapped a few scrapes Xiao had. The more he thought about it, really, Venti gave him more reason to walk in a mess than all tidy.

So looking at himself in the mirror felt odd. His hair hadn't just been brushed - it was delicately styled. Those longer parts of his hair were pulled back in a braid with a turquoise ribbon weaving through. In the back the longer strands and ribbon were pulled into a short ponytail. Gently pressed on top of the short ponytail was a small bouquet of qingxin flowers. On the right side of the braid, precise in its placement was a jade wing secured with a silver clasp.

Xiao almost didn't recognize himself.

“Well?” Menogias inquired, peering over Xiao's shoulder to see the reaction directly instead of from a reflection.

“Do you think he'll like it?” Xiao asked, cautiously running clawed fingers along the sculpted feathers in the pin. Next to his face, the Geo yaksha grinned.

“I know he will.” Menogias promised. Pulling away, he took long strides over to his bag of sewn miracles. Glancing back at his younger brother he gave a critical eye. “Don't undo what I did. Cloud Retainer was kind enough to ask her disciple Shenhe and a few exorcists to deal with any demons for a bit.” He reminded the other, not daring to risk Xiao running off to do what he did best.

What they all did best. This was a warning he gave each of his siblings.

"Right. You're first in rotation." Xiao reminded himself. Menogias was insistent his siblings got one nice picture taken with a Kamera before ruining his hard work with their duties. If that meant missing being included, he was more tolerant of that outcome.

"That I am." Menogias confirmed, stepping out to work on his next victim. Alone in the room, Xiao glanced at himself in the mirror again. Wondered if Venti would have as much trouble recognizing Xiao, as Xiao was having recognizing himself.

Being the most patient of the yaksha, Xiao had been the first one and thus had to wait through everyone else. Knew that Bonanus would be the last, given how heated she could get regarding Menogias and his fashion. One of the few topics those two argued about. Before her would be Bosacius, as the Electro yaksha was the most conspicuous and needed the most work to at least tame that aspect down.

While Xiao waited, he passed the time daring to contemplate the future. Even entertained fanciful ideas, such as what it would be like to live as though he and the bard were mortal. How that would look, would feel.

Realized he had been humming quietly as he did, and a small smile spread on Xiao's lips. The Anemo yaksha hadn't even realized he had been humming one of the many tunes the bard had played for him - solely for Xiao's ears. The time passed quickly, and then Menogias was back and all but (cautiously - he worked hard on those clothes!) dragged Xiao out. None of the other yaksha were out of their spaces, leaving the corridor empty save for three people. Menogias, Xiao…

And Venti. Menogias hadn't been exactly subtle in the approach, the bard's eyes bright and brilliant when he saw Xiao. I should try to look nice more, Xiao thought, stomach turning in flips as Venti’s whole face was that of delight and adoration.

“Look, we match!” Venti announced, motioning between himself and Xiao in excitement. Somehow able to speak, quite unlike Xiao right then.

As for the matching, they most certainly did. Xiao sucked in a breath, his ears going red as an influx of emotions hit him all at once. The usual plaits that hung next to the bard’s cheeks were pulled back, woven instead along the side of his head. When Venti did a quick spin upon Menogias' request, Xiao saw that the hair was tucked down in the back, acting like a flowerbed for several white flowers. Both of their clothing had subtle feather-like designs, nothing exceptionally flashy but the motifs mirrored the other perfectly. There were more pastel greens blending with whites and darker greens in Venti's compared to Xiao's.

The two had almost the same hairstyle, and after the few seconds he needed to function again, Xiao registered the flowers in Venti's hair were cecilias - a flower that only grew in higher altitudes in Mondstat.

Cecil. That was one of the names Venti had assigned to one of Xiao's brows. Had that been a subconscious act of connecting two things the bard was fond of, or a sign there were pieces of Venti that longed for them? A clench in his chest, shaky breaths left Xiao that were just as easily mistaken instead for being in awe.

An emotion he tried to focus on, to shift to, to not let his own fears take away this special moment - this special day.

Perhaps it was due to the way the pair matched, or that looking at a Venti in Liyue attire caused Xiao to see him differently. But in the past when the yaksha saw Venti, the first thought was typically, ‘Cute.’ Saw his round cheeks, and Xiao had to ignore the urge to bite them. As much as they looked like they had the same texture as almond tofu… Human flesh most certainly did not have the same texture as almond tofu. No biting was needed to test that thought out, this was a simple fact. Still, it typically remained an intrusive thought, but at least it was one the bard was willing to humor him on.

Instead, his first thought was, ‘beautiful.’ The sort that took his breath away, and forget where he was or what he was doing. That let him finally push those fears out of his mind. The only urge he could find was that of wrapping his arms around Venti's waist, pull him close until the bard's back could feel every beat in Xiao's chest that his heart carried for the other. To bury his face into black hair that mixed with blues and greens and flowers, to inhale the mingling scents of Venti and cecilias. A desire he couldn't act on due to Menogias still holding onto him. So he remained standing, cruelly still detached from the bard.

“Xiao?” Venti asked, moving closer to peer at the yaksha curiously. Knew the other wasn't upset. Flustered yes, that was a daily reaction. But it was as if Xiao froze up, too. "Are… You uncomfortable?" The bard tested, gaze curious.

"Not in these clothes." Menogias huffed, but finally released his hold on his brother in order to leave and get the next yaksha. The moment the monkey yaksha's hands were gone, Xiao moved forward to be next to Venti, pulling the bard's hands to rest by his cheek and mouth. "Do not ruin each other's hair if you plan on making out." Menogias huffed with a grin on his face as he closed the door behind him. Those were the types of reactions he wanted.

"We won't." Venti laughed, smile in his eyes between Menogias' comment and the fountain of emotions welling inside him from… All of it. Leaned forward to press his forehead against Xiao's, inhaling the scent of the yaksha both normal and new. Had no reason to pull away his hands that the yaksha was now holding. "You look beautiful." The bard whispered, cautious of the other's hair with the placement of his fingers.

"…So do you." Xiao murmured back, pressing a kiss on the knuckles of both the bard's hands. "I'm not as good with words, but… I understand why you use sonnets to describe what you treasure, when I look at you."

For an incredibly rare instance, Venti was at a loss of words. His cheeks started with a subtle pink before rapidly turning to a deep red. Found himself pulling back slightly, the almost unknown sensation of embarrassment had Venti pulling away shyly without even noticing. Still holding his hands was Xiao, of whom nervously followed with his steps.

"Was it … That bad?" Xiao inquired, brows knitting into worry. Even if his skills were bad, he had genuinely tried. Did this mean the attempt was so bad it came across insulting?

"Xiao…" Venti mumbled, averting his gaze as he calmed his heart down. "'Not as good with words,' he says and then says that like it's no big deal…" Venti wasn't actually pouting, but by trying to make himself, to come across as such, helped. Even got a soft puff of air that counted as a laugh from Xiao, the bard spotting the subtle twitch of movement from the yaksha's ears.

Perfect distraction, Venti thought, pleased that Menogias hadn't forgotten his request.

"Does that mean it was good?" Xiao asked hesitantly, leaning forward to press his nose against Venti's. The last few hints of nerves left Xiao's brows, relaxing while Venti laughed and returned the nuzzle.

"Too good. Are you trying to take my job, the one with the speaking? Hmm? You already have a job, Xiao." Venti laughed more, his grin widening when the adeptus joined him.

"No, I love listening to you too much to ever take that away." Xiao assured him, in spite of knowing the bard was simply being playful.

"Who are you? What happened to my sweet, shy little Xiao?" Venti mock-wailed.

"I'm barely shorter than you." Xiao reminded him, finally letting Venti's hands go so pair could embrace.

"So little. So tiny. My portable partner. So pocket sized, my little Xiao…" Venti continued, as if he didn't hear the reminder.

"See? Words are still your job. I give up." Xiao relented, accepting that Venti was going to clutch that half-inch of height he had on the adeptus like some kind of bizarre lifeline. Why it mattered, Xiao couldn't fathom. But it did, and the yaksha knew what battles to choose. "Fine. I'm your 'little' Xiao. Better?"

"Mmhmm!" Venti beamed, pleased with his victory no matter how small. "…Since it's still just us…" The bard began slowly, mischievous glint in his eyes. "While I did ask that we match, there are some differences in our outfits… Such as, mine has this really nice, pretty belt on my waist and yours doesn't." He pointed out, hands not releasing Xiao's face even as the yaksha’s ears turned red again. "Do you, Xiao, like my waist that much?" The red on the yaksha's ears quickly spread to the cheeks attached.

Really, it was the little things for Venti.

"…It just… Feels right when my hands rest there." Xiao mumbled, averting his gaze as he now had his turn being embarrassed.

"And yet… Your hands are up here, having a tryst with my back." Venti clicked his tongue, and briefly pulled from the embrace. Took hold of the yaksha's wrists, and guided the other's hands to rest on the bard's own waist. "Better?"

"…Much." Xiao admitted, the honesty garnering a pleased laugh from the bard.

"Then rest your hands there much as you like." Venti spoke gently, pressing a chaste kiss against Xiao's lips. Didn't pull away as he added, warm gaze looking into eyes full of fondness, "I trust you." The two lingered, savoring the moment while it was still just them. The sound of Menogias heading back out reached Xiao first, the pair sliding away but their hands remained clasped.

"-said don't untie anything!" Menogias could be heard scowling, voice starting muffled and ending clear as the door swung open. Trailing behind him was Indarias, her outfit closer to a sleek business casual. Part of her attire had a hood attached, with designs and decor to attract eyes to the hood itself. Trying to crawl out of the hood was the Pyro yaksha's hair, its flame-like strands daring to escape being smothered by flame proof fabric. Other than her hair, much like Menogias and Xiao, Indarias could pass for human if she chose to. So most of the work went into hiding that one noticeable adeptus trait.

The ties that Menogias had been referring to wasn't the hood - it was different clasps and ribbons that were being slowly put back together by the scowling Geo yaksha. Indarias huffed, holding her arms out while he fixed all that she had undone. "You do this every time! Me and Bonanus always get the frilly clothes, but then Xiao and Bosacius get the functional ones! I need to breathe, you jerk!" As she complained, Venti leaned closer to Xiao.

"Is that true?" Venti whispered.

"Don't let her fool you. Menogias would put all of us into frilly clothes if he knew it wouldn't attract too much attention." Xiao explained. "Being pretty women, mortals won't think twice about those two dressed that way."

"Awe, so we could have had cute, frilly matching outfits?" Venti asked, smiling wider as Xiao quirked a brow at that.

"…M-maybe next time." Xiao mumbled, looking away.

"I heard that and I'm holding you to it!" Menogias called over his shoulder.

"Shit." Xiao hissed with a wince, expression quickly turning to one of regret.

"You know, I think that's the first time I've heard you swear." Venti pointed out, and gave his Anemo yaksha a quick peck on the cheek as a consolation prize. Pausing before pulling back, a buzzing sensation crawling across his brain as the thought, 'my yaksha,' pointed out something Venti had missed.

Minutes ago, the bard slipped up and called the other, 'my Xiao.' Verbiage he had been trying to avoid, not daring to scare his partner away with moving too quickly. Yet it had slipped out in a moment of playfulness and…

Xiao didn't deny it. Didn't pull away or get spooked. Xiao accepted it as he had accepted so many other things about the bard. There was a lightness inside Venti's chest, the same as when his wings were spread and the clouds his audience. The bard pressed his shoulder against Xiao's instead of stepping back, not wanting to exit the space anymore than necessary.

"Do not untie anything again." Menogias ordered again, moving away to go collect his next victim. The second the door clicked behind him, Indarias eyed where he disappeared to. Never took her violet eyes away, and raised one finger to her lips. The other hand undid a single clasp, easily covered by her arms. After some time, eventually Menogias came out with Bosacius in tow.

With each reveal, it was obvious that Menogias had put effort into clothing that was inconspicuous. Tried to give each a flattering design, but equally to ensure they weren't overtly obvious either. Bosacius had a thick, broad jacket of which the sides allowed room and space to fold his second set of arms.

"Did she untie anything?" Menogias asked, squinting at Xiao and Venti. The two shook their head, because technically unclasping was different than untying. Technically. "Hmm." He gave Indarias a hard look, and shuffled off again.

Last out was Bonanus and Menogias - the Geo yaksha unafraid of venturing into a smartly dressed outfit and had his hair in high ponytail with cor lapis helping keep the hair in place. Next to him was Bonanus, frowning as she stared down the long sleeves that went past her hands. That was one way to hide her clawed arms… Her antennae were thinly wrapped with hair and ribbon, hiding them with an intricate style. The Geo yaksha did a quick glance over them all, before nodding in approval.

Xiao and Venti arrived first in Zhongli's closet. With the bard in his arms, the adeptus paused. Was brought back to months ago, when he first showed up in Zhongli's closet, bard in his arms… And how different things were. The ways in which not just Xiao changed, but the way the world felt around him.

That the man he held both times had shown Xiao what it meant to hope. Where the yaksha had once saw none, he found it everywhere he looked. Where he was once willing to give up, now he had a reason to live. How gently Venti would cleanse the karmic debt away, as if he were giving Xiao a treatment he never tired of giving for an illness that never left. Allowed him to feel the small joys again, to experience the feeling of happiness.

Yes, in the beginning Xiao had hoped that Venti was Barbatos for Morax's sake. But now… Now he wanted Venti to be who he wanted to be. Was starting to understand why Morax needed to be a mortal man. At some point, being Morax wasn't who or what the once-Archon needed. Now, he needed to be Zhongli.

"Xiao?" Venti asked, eyes searching the yaksha's face curiously.

"Thank you." Xiao spoke softly, kissing the bard lightly before setting him down. Venti blinked in surprise at the other, but while not privy to the yaksha's thoughts Venti was familiar with the way Xiao spoke. That softness blending with earnestness, thoughts and feelings the yaksha could only convey in actions. The adeptus knocked on the closet door, and within seconds it was opened up for them by Zhongli.

"…Welcome. There's fresh tea in the kitchen, if you are thirsty." Zhongli informed the pair, stepping aside to let them pass. The door stayed open now, the consultant waiting for the rest of the yaksha.

Belatedly, it occurred to Xiao that the initial pause Zhongli had wasn't due to being surprised at them being a little early.

No. It was that Zhongli opened the door, saw Xiao and Venti matching, holding hands, and probably no idea why.

What a fun way for a father to learn his son was dating his best friend.

#xiaoven #xiao x venti #xiaoventi #chasingwingsfic #slowburn

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surelenore · 2 months ago

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" some call her 'sister of the moon' some say illusions are her game they like to wrap her in velvet does anyone know her name ? "

basic information:

character name: Lenore Desiree Turei-Delacroix

nickname(s): N/A

face claim: Simone Kessell

mutation status: Gen I

birthday: January 18th, 2026

sexuality: bisexual + biromantic

moral alignment: true neutral

occupation: philosopher

work sector: sector five

affiliation: leader of moonscar

3 positive traits: confident, decisive, diligent

3 negative traits: self-serving, materialistic, fixated

biography (optional): will be linked soon! brief overview while i work up the energy to finish writing it: was in a disconnected town (that would probs better be referred to as a settlement) in NZ that basically worshipped the moon, almost everyone there survived the meteors but became mutants, a lot of in-fighting until the cure but yk they killed the first round of people who came in with the cure, became targets after they were cured bc of that. lenore and friend used lenore's ritual magic to like idk basically kill intruders and turn them into zombies (the obeying type) but eventually learned that that also kept them semi-immortal! turned it into a ritual and brought visible mutants who were on the run in to keep them safe. would draw straws for the sacrifice to keep things fair (unless someone wanted to volunteer). friend volunteered eventually and lenore's inability to let go of her was really homoerotic but eventually she had to! moonscar was found and attacked again. with lenore as the only person left from the original moonscar, she made the executive decision that they would relocate to sol city - the settlement was nearby enough + accepted mutants. upon arrival, with their newfound safety, moonscar became more of a... drink wine with the girlies but also occasionally commit atrocities in the name of everlasting life and whatever it is that the other girlies need! <3

questionnaire:

how do they feel about living in sol city? have they always lived there or did they travel from another settlement? She has not always lived in Sol City and sees it as nothing more than a means to survive. Her previous settlement was constantly under attack by anti-mutant humans soon after the cure, so it eventually got to the point that... when she was basically the only person left who had been part of all that history, she was like 'okay guys, we're moving.' That occurred ~20yrs ago.

do they trust the council’s leadership? why or why not? Not really, but she's never paid them too much mind. Human beings are so temporary!

if they chose their sector and profession, why did they make that choice? if they didn’t, why not? were they happy with their assignment or not? She didn't choose either. Really, she had not been Working™ working for so long that she did not care Where she was put... like, for the most part. Janitor? No thank you. Waste disposal? No thank you. Test subject? No thank you. But, for the most part...? Anyway, philosopher has been working out!

what’s one object that they always keep on their person? A necklace with a moon pendant. (While it is not the cause of her mutation, it does amplify its power... even if only psychosomatically...)

(mutant only section)

what is your character’s ability (or abilities)? Ritual Magic

are they gen i or gen ii? Gen I

what can your character do? what are their strengths? Lenore is capable of... pretty much anything magical! The only caveat is that it must be done through some kind of ritual or another, hence the name. However, even without ritual, she can purify evil, gain control over someone (if so desired) by speaking their name, and gain power from prayer and worship. She has semi-immortality -- an immortality that is dependent on her ability to provide sacrifices -- and werecat physiology on certain days of the month. On those days of the month, she has advanced senses and possesses the powers that go along with feline physiology.

what can’t they do? what are their weaknesses? For the most part, it's not a 'wave your hand and it happens' type of magic, there are steps Lenore must take for most of the magic. She can do some cool shit! Raise the dead, possess people, bestow powers... she just needs to complete a ritual for most of it. She will also, without fail, turn into a werecat every Harvest moon. Of course, that's less concerning now that the environment and the Earth's relationship to the sun and moon... is the way it is, but... In addition, while she may be perceived as immortal, she is not. Every month, she must provide one 'human' sacrifice (mutants are accepted, but... mutants are superior -- if they can get a human, they're gonna get a human). When given the option, Lenore (and Moonscar as a whole) will pick a human who's just shitty, but if that option doesn't arise, there has to either be a volunteer or they have to draw straws... and, as the leader, Lenore has become exempt because she's terrified of death.

is there anything else you’d like to specify about them? 1) On the physiology side, as a Gen I mutant, she, of course, has some visible qualities. None are too glaring -- golden eyes with slit pupils, a light tabby-esque striping, sharp canine teeth and nails -- but... ya know, when she's a werecat, please do picture the werecats from Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (which is also where the name Moonscar originated from <3). If they were live action, Simone and/or Lena would have been her secondary FC! 2) I will be writing an in-depth blurb on Moonscar because it has a RICH history that will be covered A LOT in her official intro, but... just some quick basics: has been in action since the 1800s and started as more of a settlement, shit got real after the meteor when there was a total massacre, recruited various visible mutants as a way to protect them with Ritual Magic, they were found again, they moved the base to Sol City to fly under the radar and things have gotten a lot chiller since then and also... a lot less extreme since they are not constantly under threat... more 'wine with the girlies' now, but still... any ritual, however disturbing, needed for [XYZ] -- that's what they're there for!

#i will finish her ACTUAL intro n get it up tmrw but!! until then!!#luv u lithotripsy #i will be removing the app information from this tmrw too just bc. it bothers me. the way it looks. BUT.#FOR RN. FEEL LIKE IT SHLD BE THERE.

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zealouscanonindeer · 1 year ago

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Dangerous Games 6

Synopsis: Who can wait until the party's over. Hopefully, no one will notice.

Rating: 18+ NSFW. Minors DNI.

Category: Smut.

For @choicesficwriterscreations holiday event. Using the prompt Getting caught at the holiday office party.

Finally, exams are over! Now, I am excited to write holiday fics and read all of the amazing stuff I have missed.

previous chapter series masterlist

"Have yourselves a merry little Christmas!! "

The staff of doctors, nurses, technicians and help of Edenbrook all raised their glasses in approval of the holiday cheer. Only a few stood impassively, the Annual Christmas Party nothing but a mere formality for them. The leader of his small group was none other than Ethan Ramsey, who dressed impeccably in his Armani blazer and pressed pants downed another drink, a necessity to survive the ordeal.

Truth be told, he'd never have even attended but for one junior fellow who had promised him that it would be well worth his time. Yet nowhere among the throngs could he spot the person he wanted. And then he saw her, his mouth going dry and eyes abashedly checking her out from head to toe, his body involuntarily deciding that if he didn't have her now he would most certainly die.

The light blush pink satin dress hugged her body, gently flowing slightly outward, ending mid calf, her gorgeous legs in nude stilettos. He observed the lack of a slit before his eyes landed on the dainty necklace enhancing her cleavage, inviting him in for more.

The refilled glass of scotch, slid harshly against the counter awoke him from his staring. The subject of his attention, however hadn't realized his apparent interest for she seemed still preoccupied in conversation with her colleagues.

A wave of laughter rippled through the room as people turned to look at one of the senior residents of the endocrinology department hang up mistletoes around the hall. Ethan's eyes followed him, slightly annoyed as he got closer to her table, she turned around, looking up at the plant and the man sitting opposite her, the paramedic he recognized.

They laughed before their friends joined forces pushing the two towards the tradition. He saw her nodding a 'No', only leaning in to give him a friendly kiss, excusing herself. She walked towards him, her deep honey eyes meeting his. Once she reached the bar, he finally heard her voice for the first time that evening.

***********

I stopped next to Ethan, eyeing him through my peripheral vision, smirking slightly on feeling his gaze on me. Turning to the bartender,

"One martini, please. "

I slid closer to him, as he eyed me, close enough to prevent any eavesdropping, I whispered.

"Glad you came? "

His Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped his scotch, his perfect poker face on.

"That remains to be seen. "

"Why? "

"I assumed when you said it was worth my while, you were referring to whatever you have underneath this. "

"You know what they say, when you assume, you make an ass out of u and me. In truth, I have nothing underneath this, nothing."

To emphasize my point, I slipped my hand into his blazer pocket, pushing one of my panties in there and gently patting it.

"Penny.. I.. "

I grabbed my drink smiling at my victory, starting to walk away before his voice boomed. I stopped in my tracks, pleased by his demand.

"Dr Kallie, a word in private please. "

I turned around, walking towards the exit with Ethan in tow. Closing the door behind him, he rested his warm hand against my lower back, my body reacting almost embarrassingly to his simple touch. I glanced at him questioningly.

"In my office. "

He led me to the desired floor, the uninhabited corridor further aiding our devious desires as Ethan turned me around, picking me up bridal style and opening the door to his office with his shoulder.

"I thought you're home would be a more private place? "

"It would be but I'm not sure I can wait that long. "

I smiled as he put me down bolting the door. I rested gently against his desk, running my hands along it. I glanced nervously at the glass doors, although the top part was completely transparent, the lower three fourth of the glass was tinted, making it almost impossible to see anything with clarity.

Ethan's voice brought me back as he loosened his collar and opened his top two buttons.

"Prove it. "

"What? "

"That you have nothing on. "

"Well then, watch. "

I reversed our positions, pushing him against the desk before beginning to give him a show. I ran my hands up my thigh, gathering my dress. As I reached higher up, I let the fabric slip through my fingers pushing the straps of my shoulder next.

I slowly slid the dress off enjoying the way Ethan's knuckled turned white as he gripped the edges of the desk. And just like that I stood before him completely bared.

"Rookie, on the desk and spread your legs. Now. "

He clicked his fingers, pushing himself off and discarding his blazer and untucking his shirt. I got onto the desk, spreading my legs to give him a view. He lowered himself slightly taking one of my legs in his hands, removing my shoe and kissing his way up. Reaching my upper thigh, he stopped, repeating the same thing on my other legs.

His lips reached for mine, as messy kisses ensued. I tugged his bottom lip, sucking on it before moving my attention to his neck, his beard rough against my lips as I continued down his neck. His hands rested on either side of my hips as he pulled me closer, dry humping as he continued grinding against my slit, the friction causing a loud moan to erupt through me.

He pulled away, adding his fingers, setting a perfect pace and curling them inside me. He bent down pressing his lips against my clit, kissing it as my pleasure burst. Unable to take it anymore, I whimpered.

"Ethan, I need you in me. "

He unbuckled his pants, pushing them down with his boxers, his dick twitching in excitement. Pushing my legs wider, I lowered myself onto the desk, resting on my elbows as he towered over me, sliding his dick against my wetness, ready to go before backing away.

"What happened? "

He rounded the desk, opening a drawer followed by the noise of tearing a condom packet. Sliding it on he returned back to his place between my spread legs.

Thrusting in, he moaned, his eyes clouded by lust as he began thrusting deep, the desk creaking underneath me as the intensity of his thrusts grew. Objects clattered as he continued, grunting loudly as sweat began to slowly descend on our bodies.

I let out small moans and pants, the pleasure skyrocketing as one of his hands came to rest on the nape of my neck, his chiseled features shifting in pleasure as his granted loudly, signalling that he was close.

He pushed me down to lie on my back, the change in angle causing him to go deeper. My walls clenched as I screamed his name, his own release following mine as he steadied himself with both his hands on either side of my head.

I sighed as the waves of pleasure swept through me, my head swimming by his closeness. He pulled out, removing the condom and throwing it in the trash.

We reluctantly began putting ourselves together, dressing to look like we hadn't just had sex on his office desk.

"Ethan, give me my panties. "

"You certainly didn't seem to need them before. Tell you what, why don't you drop by my place later to pick them up. Keep my blazer in exchange."

He wrapped it around my shoulders, kissing my forehead, leaving before me to avoid raising any suspicions. Too sore and tired to return to the party, I dropped a text on the group chat that I was heading home and would probably be asleep. Not that I would be getting any sleep tonight.

**********

The next morning I checked in for my shift, noticing two nurses giggling among themselves.

"New hospital gossip? " I questioned laughingly.

They stared at me, shocked that I hadn't heard the hot take yet.

"Haven't you heard? Dr Ramsey fucked someone in his office at the party yesterday. One of the staff members on the floor saw him but they couldn't see his partner."

" Damn the glass! He walked out of the party with lipstick marks on his neck...and apparently there was a lot of screaming." The other nurse chipped on helpfully.

"Really, You don't say. "

*********

@liaromancewriter @potionsprefect @jerzwriter @cariantha @peonierose @kyra75 @queencarb @genevievemd @tessa-liam @coffeeheartaddict2 @tveitertotwrites @openheartfanfics @choicesficwriterscreations

#aspen milla kallie #open heart mc #ethan x aspen #ethan x mc #ethan ramsey x mc #dr ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey #open heart choices #open heart fanfic #oh fandom #cfwc holidays 2023

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danganronpadedication · 4 months ago

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DAY 11: DANGANTOBER

Day 11: Favorite Character Design

Oh. My. God. I had the absolute HARDEST time picking who to write this post about. I went through four different drafts, first picking Izuru, then Gundham, then Kiibo, and now finally, Miu Iruma. For the most part, I think the character designs in Danganronpa are really hit or miss. You either get outfits that absolutely SLAY, or you get Kazuichi's highlighter jumpsuit. Miu is one of these character's whose outfits are runway worthy. But first, let's discuss who she is as a character. Miu is one of my favorite characters in V3. Usually, I don't really like the characters who make unnecessary sexual jokes and references, I find it very uncomfortable when done in excess. Obviously, there's exceptions to this, I can handle it when it's in confession form (SEND ME THIRST/GENERAL CONFESSIONS), or when I'm in-person. Anybody who knows me in real life, will know that my humor is very explicit in nature as well. But when I'm playing a game, I try to avoid anything like that. It's the same reason I'm not a big fan of Teruteru (even though if you're a fan of his, chances are you're pretty chill). But for some reason, despite being the BIGGEST offender of this, I find Miu to be a really fun character.

Miu reminds me of one of my friends IRL, and even that friend agrees with that notion. Miu is very funny, especially in her dynamics with Kokichi. Every time the two of them would interact during a trial, it got a very good laugh out of me. THEY WERE GOING FOR EACH OTHER'S THROATS (literally. Looking at you, chapter four).

youtube

She's actually smarter than a lot of people give her credit for. Her entire murder plot in chapter four was actually very well-thought out, from the minor tweaks in the code, to the fail safes she put throughout the game. If she had succeeded, there wouldn't really be any reason to suspect her, and she'd have had a monopoly on all information available in the Neo World Program.

She's also very useful post-mortem, with the Electro Hammers and that one EMP grenade being her creations. Kokichi even had her make a device that would allow him to fake control over the Exisals. Despite her death, she still plays a very big part in the final chapters of the game.

Even if you want to look at trials, she almost always guesses the correct killer. Two examples come to mind, mainly Kirumi and Korekiyo. With Kirumi, she states "I think the cleaning lady did it!" before the group even suspects Kirumi. With Korekiyo, she says "I think you killed them [Angie and Tenko] both!", while everyone was still operating on the idea of there being two killers. I think two blackeneds at once would've been very cool, but alas.

But, let me get back on track, and go back to talking about her design. Let's use this full-body sprite as a reference.

Like many V3 characters, Miu suffers from what I call "Dusty Palette". To me, the colors are too toned down from previous games, and it looks like everyone is covered in a layer of dust. Despite this though, Miu's color palette still manages to be pleasing to the eye. She's mainly pink, with hints of blue, yellow, white, and black. Initially, you wouldn't really think this color combination would work, but it does. The variation on shades creates contrast, the impression of gold detailing against black backgrounds and great shading. She gives like, pastel steampunk vibes. Like, you're LYING if you say Miu wouldn't rock this hat.

On the topic of accessories like this cool hat, Miu knows how to accessorize her outfit. She has on studded, fingerless gloves, goggles, a choker, necklaces resembling barbed wire, and harness straps with gold rings on it. A lot of what she wears has a sense of utility to it. The goggles are the most obvious ones, not only do they make for a good hair look, but she can easily pull them down to work on something. The gloves also fall in this theme, allowing for mobility and hand protection from machinery, while matching her style. The harness and straps are also utilitarian, holding up her socks and providing posture structure, but it's also meant to illicit more of a suggestive undertone. Anyone familiar with Korekiyo's favorite past-time will know what I'm talking about. This is very in-line with her character, wearing things that can be seen as risque, but aren't overtly so, because she's not actually experienced with that.

The lower half of her outfit, the awesome boots, knit or ribbed socks, the straps, and the flowy, pleated skirt all really go well together. The boots come off as a yassified version of Kiyotaka's boots, as well as Junko's. The colors match her palette as well, no mixing of metals here. I believe her boots are supposed to reminiscent of bondage boots, since that's quite literally an item you can give her in-game. The knit socks are giving Pinterest autumn girlie, it stands out a bit, but it's also kind of a statement. You just know those are warm and comfy. We've already discussed the straps, but me personally, I feel like those kinds of garters are really nice touches on outfits. Catch me on Dress To Impress putting those on EVERYTHING.

The upper half of her outfit consists of her jewelry, a chest and arm harness, the gloves, goggles, and pink sailor's uniform with a blue bow. The pink outfit set is so unique, especially when there's already a ton of other female characters in that same traditional uniform. The list is endless really, Sayaka, Toko, Sakura, Peko, Ibuki, Tenko, and Maki all sporting some variation of the outfit. But none of them have theirs in pink, and none of them have accessorized it like Miu has. Honestly, she's an icon, she's a legend, and she is the moment.

Miu is an amazing character, with even better fashion sense. While I can't CONFIDENTLY say I'd be her friend if she were real, I can definitely say she's provide joy when around her. She's smart, fashionable, and funny. I think she can be a bit awkward and insecure, but honestly, more reason to love her.

Just ignore the Love Suites, Love Across The Universe, and honestly, Free Time Event routes too. Jeez, Shuichi and Kiibo are victims.

And honorable mention goes to her admitting to giving Kiibo a camera function so he can take pictures of her...er...waste, and analyze it for her health. Once it was revealed that he was a camera for the entire game, basically streaming everything he sees, one must wonder how much the audience actually saw lmao. Tsumugi was sweating (truth) BULLETS after that reveal for sure.

#miu iruma #danganronpa #dangantober #v3 #danganronpa v3 #drv3 #drv3 killing harmony #killing harmony #danganronpa killing harmony #Youtube

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twistedtummies2 · 1 year ago

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The Scarlet Pirate - Chapter 2

This is the second of a six-part "Chapter Story" for my OC for Twisted Wonderland, James Killian - based on Captain Hook from Disney's Peter Pan. (Also featured are Smitty McCarthy, based on Smee, and Matthew Satyr, based on Peter himself...oh, and Nakoda - my Kaa OC - also has a role here.) The basic premise of this story has been in my mind for almost as long as James has, but for numerous reasons, it wasn't till just within the past few weeks I finally got a chance to develop and write it out.

The result is, I think, the single longest "Chapter Story" for any of my OCs for TW I've created so far. Take that information however you will. So long as this tale, that it went from a planned three-parter, to a planned five-parter, to now being a six-parter, standing at approximately 150 pages in total! Hopefully, all the work and length will be for the best. XD

As is typical for my Chapter Stories, I will be posting this one chapter at a time per day over the course of this week. For future reference, you can find the previous chapter here.

You can find the next chapter here.

WARNING: While this story, throughout all six parts, does not FOCUS on my kinks, there are instances of very mild stuffing/belching related content sprinkled throughout, as well as various instances of implied or near vore situations. If you're into these things, good on ya. If you aren't, just be warned they will show up here and there, although not with any degree of spectacle.

With that said...I hope you enjoy.

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

Nakoda was dressed in his preferred costume of casual clothes: a vest with a pattern like a Burmese python’s scales, and black denim trousers hiked up by a snakeskin leather belt, which matched the boots upon his feet. Black leather bracelets adorned his wrists, and about his neck was a simple necklace with snake fang pendants dangling from it like beads. A loose-fitting, cream-colored tank top was beneath the vest, which left little to the imagination as Nako’s arms and a portion of his chest were quite visible under the clothing he chose to wear. His hips were all in motion as he strutted along the beach towards the rest of your team. “Avast there, serpent!” barked James, looking rather alarmed. “What are you doing here?!” “I think I can guess,” you smiled, and called to Nako as he drew closer. “Are you here to replace Ruggie?” “Very assstute, my little ssscrumptiousss friend!” teased Nako with a wink, and tossed his dark locks dramatically. “Ssseems like I’ll be going on thisss little treasure hunt with the ressst of you. Sssounds like a good time, yesss?” “Well, that depends on the kind of good time you’re talking about,” you answered, very carefully. Nakoda just smirked his usual flirtatious smirk. Then his golden eyes slid towards James, who was staring at him with something akin to shock. The snake-boy grinned, showing off just a hint of his fangs. “Sssurprised to sssee me, sssweetheart?” he teased. James seemed unsure of what to say. Finally, his expression calmed. “Well,” he answered. “I suppose one Savanaclaw student is as good as another.” “Don’t tell me you two know each other, too?” you piped up, just as surprised. Both Nakoda and Smitty opened their mouths to answer, but James intervened. “We met, briefly, at the previous Beanfest Event. Nakoda actually was responsible for putting me and Billy Geant out of the running, as I recall,” James explained, giving the serpent a sort of half-hearted glare. Nakoda seemed momentarily surprised, though you weren’t sure what he was surprised about. Finally, he smirked and shrugged. “Hey, rules of the game,” he said, slyly, slinging his arms behind his head. “Well, at any rate, we finally seem to be fully assembled,” Azul remarked, and looked towards Crowley, arms crossed and his own face now in a scowl. “Really, though, I can understand why the Headmage is upset. You’d think even RSA would have more diligence than this.” “Oh, please,” scoffed James, and inspected his cane. “If I know the student they’ve chosen for this event’s captain, he’s being late just because he thinks it’s amusing.” “How do you know who they’ve already chosen?” Sebek sputtered. “Because I CHECKED, Crocodile,” sneered James. “Royal Sword chooses their students a whole week earlier than we do,” Smitty added with a nod. “James wanted to see for certain.”

“Well, who is it?” you asked, wondering if it was one of the RSA members you’d met in the past. Che’Nya, perhaps? Or Harmonia? It couldn’t be Neige, could it? “No one of great importance,” sniffed James, and made a thrust with his cane, as if practicing for a duel. “He had to be important enough, if you wanted to know,” Azul pointed out, sounding skeptical. “Pshaw!” coughed James, swiping his cane through the air. “With the seven of us in cahoots, rest assured: no matter who it is, he shall be but a notch in our collective scabbard!” “ONLY IN YOUR DREAMS, JAMES!”

James Killian turned around fast…then yelped and dove to the ground. “TAKE COVER!” he yelled, and Smitty pulled his hat down over his eyes and dropped beside him. Sebek yowled and toppled off his rock, while you and Azul ducked low, Grim hiding behind you both. All these reactions were in response to some huge, green blur quite literally flying out of the forest and soaring over the beach, swooping towards your party with a wild-sounding laugh. The green something then flew towards Dire Crowley…and the headmage let out a shrill yelping sound, comical in nature, as the thing snatched the feathered hat clean off his head! “HEY!” Crowley yelled, angrily. “That’s private property!” The something just laughed again, and finally came to a stop, hovering some ten feet over all of your heads. All of you looked up. You weren’t quite sure you believed your eyes. The mysterious something that had dive-bombed you all, like some overgrown bird of prey, turned out to be… “A boy?” The boy in question had to be within the same age range as you all, but he looked a few years younger. He had a slender yet fit physique, and wore a floppy sort of green beret upon his head, with a red feather pinned to it by a button. The button bore the crest of Royal Sword Academy. This was the only sign of his heritage one could see, as he was dressed in clothes quite unlike those of any other RSA member you’d met up till now. He was dressed in a forest green vest, with a collar that resembled a bundled collection of fresh leaves. Under this was a pale green shirt, with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, and trousers of a shade of green so dark it was almost black. On his feet were brown leather shoes, with long, plain white socks showing beneath them, and a plain brown leather belt with a nickel-plated buckle was fastened about his waist. On one side, tied to the belt was what looked like a wooden pendant, resembling a set of pan pipes; at his other side, a fighting baton - similar to the kind you’d seen Silver wield now and again - was sheathed inside a special leather hanger. His hands were partially covered by brown leather gloves. Eyes as green as springtime sparkled with a mischievous light behind a messy mop of red-orange hair…while a pair of pointed ears wiggled with cheerful, impish glee as the youth beamed down at your company. He removed his beret and popped Crowley’s hat onto his head. “Ha Ha! Y’know, I think this kinda thing suits me!” he sang out. “Whaddya think, Kes?” The one the boy addressed as Kes made her presence known with a sound like tinkling bells: it was a little golden pixie, who clutched her belly and kicked her legs as she giggled in that strange, jingling way that all pixies did. Her dragonfly-esque wings fluttered, a gleaming aura emanating from them as her tiny face fixed you all with a mischievous smile that matched those of her human companion.

“Give that back!” called Dire Crowley, stomping one foot angrily. “Why, I never…of all the rude, infantile…!” “Hey, hey, easy there, ol’ timer!” giggled the young man, holding his hands out in a placating gesture before floating downwards…though his feet never once touched the ground, even as he swept the hat off of his head and gave a mocking sort of bow, before offering the hat to Crowley. “Here you go, sir! Just some harmless fun!” Crowley growled and snatched back his hat, dusting it off and checking it for damage. “And I thought some of my own students could be childish,” he grumbled to himself. “HEY!” snapped Grim, angrily. “WE HEARD THAT!” “If the shoe fits, wear it,” smirked Azul. “Nya-ha-ha! Joke’s on you, I don’t wear shoes!” cackled Grim, much too triumphantly. You just sighed and shook your head wearily. Already you could tell this was going to be quite the experience… “SATYR!” The sharp, shrill shout from James Killian caught all of your attention. He marched forward, glaring up at the green-dressed Royal Sword student. The boy in green blinked and tilted his head…then his smile widened and brightened, looking less mischievous and more elated. “James!” he cheered, and drifted over, beginning to circle the red-dressed Heartslabyul student in mid-air. “Ha Ha! Wow, it feels like it’s been forever! How are ya doin’? Didja miss me, Little Codfish?” “Little what?” Grim couldn’t help but snort with laughter. Azul gave a sly smile and shushed him, wordlessly. James flushed and took a breath before answering, moving his eyes to meet the green-eyed gaze without turning his actual head. “More than you’ll ever know,” he practically purred, clutching his cane tightly in his hands, as he jabbed its ferrule into the sand beneath him, standing in a prim, proper sort of fashion. “Awww, that’s great to hear, I’m so flattered!” said the red-haired fellow, and then his smirk returned. “You’re lookin’ kinda the worse for wear, though…you humans get old so fast! Sure you feel up to the challenge?” James’ right eye twitched. He took a deep breath through his nostrils, and gave the phoniest, fakest smile anyone could imagine. “I certainly pray so,” he hissed through his teeth.

A hooting sort of chuckle, like that of an owl, interrupted the scene. Finally, the Royal Sword recruits had all arrived: six of them were marching towards the spot on the beach to join the mysterious “Satyr” fellow. They were dressed in costumes that seemed to be made largely out of faux animal hide, with images of a fox, a bear, two raccoons, a rabbit, and a skunk emblemized upon their various assorted outfits. They were led by the familiar figure of Headmage Ambrose the 63rd, the dean of Royal Sword Academy. The white-bearded sorcerer smiled a grandfatherly sort of smile as he approached, old eyes crinkling behind his spectacles as his blue robes fluttered about him. “Come now, Matthew!” he called out to the green-garbed boy. “Let’s not irritate our fellow mages any further! I’m sure they’re quite frustrated by our lateness as it is.” You and Grim felt your eyes widen. “Matthew.” That was the name that, apparently, Smitty and James had forbidden themselves to ever say. You looked towards James as the boy flew back and hovered over Ambrose and the other six RSA members’ heads; the scarlet cavalier’s eyes were filled with a boiling hot fury, and you could see his cheeks flex as he ground his back molars together. You looked back at the one he glared at. Matthew Satyr. So this was the person James Killian seemed so set against. “As a matter of fact, I, for one, AM quite frustrated!” Crowley snapped. “Honestly, Ambrose, allowing a student to steal a fellow Headmage’s personal belongings, and showing such insane impunctuality! What sort of example are you setting for your pupils?! Does your irresponsibility know no bounds?!” “Look who’s talking,” you mumbled to yourself. “What?” Crowley whirled about. “Nothing!” you smiled innocently, while the rest of your classmates all snickered…all, that is, except for James. His eyes remained razor-focused on the face of Matthew Satyr, who smirked back in a sort of challenging way, hands on his hips as he levitated over the others. You couldn’t help but wonder how he was able to do that; he had no broom with him, after all. Perhaps it was the work of a spell or potion you didn’t know about? In any case, the two Headmages soon settled their differences - however temporarily - and smiled as they addressed both of your teams. “Now, gentlemen, the rules of the Scavenger’s Hunt are simple,” said Ambrose the 63rd. “Headmage Crowley and I will give each of your teams a clue on where to begin hunting for the treasure chest. A few days ago, the chest was hidden by a neutral party of islanders. We know where to send you to start, but not even we know where the treasure has been properly hidden.”

“That’s where all of you will come in,” Crowley continued. “You will search within a radius, which we will dictate, around the area in question. Once you locate the chest, either by digging it up or otherwise finding its hidden spot, you will carry the treasure back to this exact spot on the beach. You have till tomorrow at twilight to achieve this task.” “You will, as you were previously warned, likely need both days to find the treasure. It is up to you if you wish to set up camp before you begin hunting, or at a later time,” Ambrose added. “But do remember,” added Crowley, “That the other team may not make the same decision that you do.” “Both teams are allowed to engage in direct combat with each other, provided it is non-lethal in nature,” Ambrose warned. “Use your strength and your wits to the best of your abilities to retrieve the chest we seek.” “The winning team’s captain - meaning Mr. Ashengrotto on my side…” Azul bowed gracefully. “...And Mr. Satyr on mine,” Ambrone put in. Matthew winked and pointed finger guns at you and your teammates, playfully. “...Will receive a trophy for their victory, and all those who participated in the winning team will get credit in a photo of the Hall of Fame in each school. Any questions?” asked Crowley. Grim raised a paw. Crowley pointed to him and checked: “Yes?” “Um…yeah, one little thing,” Grim meowed, tilting his head and twitching his tail into a question-mark shape. “What happens if neither team finds the treasure? I mean…if you guys don’t even know where it is, what if it’s not even there, or just super hard to locate?” The headmages looked at each other, then shrugged. “Everyone wins!” Ambrose chortled. “Everyone loses!” Dire Crowley said, at the same time. Grim facepawed. You heard Nakoda and Azul groan in unison. Matthew just rolled his eyes above you all.

“If that’s all, then here are your clues,” Ambrose said. He and the other headmage thus handed over rolled up pieces of parchment to both Azul and Matthew. They also named the multi-kilometer radius in which both teams would have to search, once they found the starting point. “Now, we’ll leave you all to your own devices. Remember, you must deal with all problems yourselves, and fend for yourselves accordingly,” said Crowley. “Good luck, Students of Sage’s Island!” boomed Ambrose with a broad smile. He and Crowley then faced each other, and said into each other’s face: “May the Best Team Triumph!” The pair snapped their fingers…and summoned a pair of brooms seemingly out of nowhere. Still giving each other daring expressions, the headmages hopped on and flew away out of sight. From this point on, you realized, you and your allies - as well as your rivals - were on your own. “Well!” Azul declared, as Sebek stood up to move closer to the rest of your group. “I think it’s time we begin our search.” “Ssseconded,” agreed Nakoda, with a nod. Azul stepped towards the Royal Sword team and extended a hand up towards Matthew Satyr. “I trust we shall enjoy this challenge!” he grinned, with his usual pretense of false friendliness. Matthew chuckled and scratched the back of his head, as Kes flitted about his head, glaring down suspiciously at Azul. “Ha Ha! Yeah, no. Sorry, Mr. Octopus, but I don’t do handshakes!” said Satyr, cheerily, then swept his hat off his own head. “But hey, good luck trying to beat me! I mean, yer gonna lose, but hopefully trying will be fun, right?” Azul’s grin became tight as he retracted his hand. “Yes. Perhaps,” he said, while Nako and Sebek glared at the cocksure boy in green from behind. Matthew smirked, arms over his chest…then raised an eyebrow in James Killian’s direction. “Hey, James!” he called down, and gave a mock salute. “May the best man win!” “There is only one real man here,” James answered, in a voice so frigid it was almost shocking. “And I promise you, Satyr, he intends to.” Satyr just laughed, as if what James said was a very funny joke, then spun around in mid-air as he waved for the other six RSA students to follow him. “Come on, everybody!” he cheered. “Let’s set up camp and then start hunting!” So saying, Matthew Satyr - and Kes - flew towards the woods, heading Eastward, with the animal-coat-wearing boys following close behind them.

James Killian glared after them…then blinked and looked down as he felt Smitty McCarthy tug at his coattails. He relaxed slightly, and nodded, as Smitty gave his companion a gentle, soothing smile. The rest of you watched the exchange curiously, but none of you ventured to address it verbally. “Well,” Azul coughed importantly, and stepped forward before turning to face you all. “As the assigned team captain, I vote that we begin our search immediately.” “Shouldn’t we set up camp first?” Sebek grunted. “Not at all,” smiled Azul, and gestured with a thumb in the direction the Royal Sword team had gone. “While we could save daylight by doing so, we’d lose valuable time to begin searching when our enemies won’t be.” “I concur,” James agreed, shouldering his cane with a flourish. “If we’re going to beat Satyr, we’ll want to get ahead of him.” “Right!” Smitty piped up. “And it’ll be easier if all of us are looking, in case of trouble.” “That’s one perspective,” Sebek said, in a slow, skeptical voice, clearly unwilling to trust anything either of them said. “Well, where should we sssearch?” Nakoda hissed, as he lounged back on the rock Sebek had been sitting on, like a lazy snake, soaking up the sunlight on his belly. You flushed and forced yourself NOT to look. “Nya! What does the clue say?” Grim asked, pointing to the little scroll Azul had been given. Azul held up a finger in a “one moment” gesture, then unraveled the scroll. He looked the contents up and down quickly, then frowned. “I don’t know,” he said at last. “What do you mean you don’t know?” Nakoda frowned, opening one eye where he lay. “I mean, I don’t know,” replied Azul, and showed all of you the contents on the scroll. “Unless a recognition of pure gibberish counts as knowing.” All of you peered with confused curiosity at the words on the page: Egattoc S’frawd Eht. “That’s not English,” mumbled James. “It’s not fae language, either,” Sebek added, nudging James aside rudely. “Nya…I dunno if it’s any language,” Grim put in, scratching his scalp with one paw. “For once, I think Grim’s lack of knowledge is correct,” Azul nodded. “I don’t think these are actual words. My guess is it’s some sort of code.” “Well, how do we solve it?” asked Smitty, adjusting his glasses.

“Maybe it’s based on letters of the alphabet?” you suggested, taking the paper from Azul to examine it more closely. “Like, maybe each letter stands for a number.” “I very sincerely doubt it,” muttered Azul, as he moved beside you, the rest of the team turning away with thoughtful expressions. “Translating that into numbers wouldn’t give us any kind of meaningful data.” “Thisss is all backwards.” The hiss made you yelp and jump. Nakoda had seemingly popped up out of nowhere peering over your shoulder, his face very, VERY close to your neck. You flushed at the close proximity and sputtered out: “Um…b-beg p-p-pardon?” “The words,” Nakoda said, and pointed at the paper. “It’sss all backwards.” “Well, we know it’s weird, but that doesn’t help us!” snapped Grim, puffing out his cheeks. Nakoda smirked. “I don’t mean backwards as in ssstrange, my fuzzy little meatball,” he cooed. “I mean it’sss literally written backwards.” “Brimstone and Gall!” James suddenly boomed, and slapped his forehead. “By Jove, I think the serpent’s got it! Look here…!” He snatched up the paper, and pulled his magic pen out of some inner pocket of his coat, hooking the crook of his cane onto his arm as he worked. After hastily scrawling away, he grinned and offered the paper to Azul. Ashengrotto inspected his work, and grinned. “‘The Dwarf’s Cottage,’” he read aloud, and grinned at the pair. “Excellent work, both of you!” “So the treasure has to be around there?” Smitty checked, curiously. “Well, it’s where they’ve told us to start,” sighed Azul, rolling up the paper and stuffing into a pocket of his large coat. “However, there’s a lot of ground to cover in the general vicinity of the cottage, including the old mines. If it was as easy as this, there wouldn’t be a need for a second day, would there?” “At any rate, if that’s where we need to start, that’s where we should go,” grinned Sebek, cracking his knuckles. “We’ll show those Royal Sword buffoons the power of Night Raven, and make proud the great Malleus in the process!” “You are literally the only one concerned about that sssecond half,” Nakoda yawned. “Regardless, Sebek has a point,” you said. “Let’s go, gang!” “Hold on. I’m the Captain,” tutted Azul with a wink. “Everyone, follow my lead. To the Dwarf’s Cottage!” So saying, the seven of you jogged off the beach and into the woods, heading in the direction of the old cottage. The Scavenger’s Hunt had officially begun.

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“Well, here we are!” you exclaimed, as your team approached the Dwarf’s Cottage. “Not ssso loud!” hissed Nakoda, and glanced around. “We don’t know how far those Royal Sssword fools have gone.” “Nakoda is right,” Sebek agreed. “WE MUST USE STEALTH! QUICKNESS AND QUIET ARE OUR ALLIES!” Everyone flinched. “Maybe when you ssstart using that, everyone elssse will,” hissed Nako with a sneer. “What do you mean? I AM THE MASTER OF STEALTH!” boomed Sebek, thumping a fist to his chest proudly. “You’re the Master of Nincompoops, more like it,” mumbled James. Sebek growled, bristling like an angry dog. You heard Smitty and Grim giggle softly; you had to hold back from doing the same. “The treasure is within a certain radius of the Cottage,” Azul reminded everyone, clearly trying to keep all on task (and stop Sebek from shouting at random). “That doesn’t mean we’ll find it in the cottage itself.” “I doubt it would be,” you said, and gestured to yourself and Grim. “The two of us have been in that cabin a few times, we’ve never noticed anything.” “Nya…not out in the open,” Grim suggested. “Maybe it’s under the floorboards?” “As was pointed out before, I doubt it’s that simple,” sniffed Sebek. “Well then,” smirked Nakoda, strutting forward and leaning against the door as he gestured to it. “Why don’t we peek inssside and sssee if there’s anything elssse to help us?” “An excellent suggestion!” James cheered, and began to march forward. “Come on, mates! We’ll find that-” A gloved hand on his chest stopped him short. Azul Ashengrotto smiled patronizingly into his face. “Who is the Captain here, Little Codfish?” he cooed. James’ smile fell. For a moment, he just…stared at Azul, with an unreadable sort of look. Then, he bowed respectfully and stepped back. “Of course,” he said, in a type of snakish way that Nako might have been jealous over. “You’re the boss.”

“Indeed I am,” smirked Azul, then turned serious. “Prefect? Grim? You two and Nakoda will accompany me inside the cottage to search for any further evidence.” You and Grim gave the octopus a mock salute. Azul then turned his gaze to the rest of the party. “As for you three,” he said, firmly, “I want you to stay outside the cottage. Keep an eye out in case there’s trouble.” “Sure thing, Azul!” Smitty cheered, giving a salute of his own. James and Sebek, however, each looked mortified. “Me? With him?!” they both exclaimed at once, then glared daggers at one another before yapping at the same time again: “HEY! I SAID IT FIRST!” “This is a team,” Azul reminded both, mildly. “Working together comes with the territory. Keep watch.” Reluctantly, James and Sebek muttered agreements to follow orders, but each still glowered at the other out of the corners of their eyes. Nevertheless, Azul seemed satisfied, and gestured for you and Grim to follow him. Nakoda threw open the door as you all approached, and gave an exaggerated bow. Azul smirked and returned the gesture, and the four of you stepped in with Azul taking up the lead. “Well,” huffed Sebek. “If we must work together, I’ll mind the back of the cottage. You two humans can watch the front.” “Works for me!” Smitty smiled, chipperly. James just grunted noncommittally.

Sebek scoffed through his snout and then stomped around the side of the cottage. James and Smitty then began to pace around the front. None of the three were aware, however, of a tiny figure - glistening like gold - watching them from behind a leaf in a tree. The little thing grinned with excitement…then flew off to find its superior… Meanwhile, you and your party closed the cottage door, and glanced around the dusty, cobweb-infested space within. “I think we’ll cover more ground if we split up,” you suggested. “I agree,” Azul said, then stepped slightly away from the group, addressing you all. “Any volunteers on where to go?” “I’ll ssstay down here on thisss level,” yawned Nakoda, rather carelessly peering around the parlor. Azul frowned but nodded, then looked at you. “Prefect,” he commanded, “I want you to stay down here as well. Keep an eye on him-I mean, an eye out for hints.” You smirked and nodded, before placing a hand in a casual, friendly manner on Nako’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Azul, I’ll keep an eye out for both,” you winked. Nakoda stiffened, eyes widening at the amiable gesture…then his scale-dusted cheeks flushed pink, and he let out a soft hiss, shrugging off your hand grumpily. You couldn’t help but smirk a little more at his embarrassment. “I guess I’ll go with Azul,” Grim announced, and smirked up at the octopus. “If I find the clue first, you’re gonna owe me a tuna sandwich! Capisce?” Azul grinned. “Is that a deal?” he questioned, ominously. Grim’s cocksure expression immediately changed. “N-Nya, uh…no, j-just…a figure of speech, heh heh…” Azul chuckled and adjusted his glasses before beckoning Grim to follow him. “We’ll take the upstairs area,” he announced, and led the fuzzy little fire-eared monster away to do just that. As you heard Azul and Grim’s footsteps creaking and squeaking upon the stairs, you looked at Nakoda. He was eyeing you somewhat suspiciously. “You? Keep an eye on me?” he hissed. “Well, those are my orders,” you shrugged, with an innocent smile.

Nako looked you up and down, then smirked and began to prowl towards you. Knowing he was trying to corner you, you stood your ground, even as he smirked in a predatory manner into your eyes… …But you felt something inside you tremble as one of his hands reached out and cupped your face, his fingers and palm split between your cheek and your chin as they curled around your jawline. “And what if I keep my eyes on you, inssstead?” asked the naga in disguise, in a seductive croon. You felt dreadfully nervous, but you managed to hold yourself steady. “I don’t think you could get away with eating me right now,” you replied. “And if you used your hypnosis for any reason beyond the game, I’m pretty sure the others won’t be happy. Do you really want to take the whole group on?” Nakoda pouted and removed his hand. “You’re no fun,” he huffed, childishly. You smiled with a sense of victory, and beckoned for Nakoda to follow you. “C’mon, let’s start our search in the kitchen,” you suggested. The snake-boy’s smile returned. “Mmmmm…my sssecond favorite place to be,” he murmured, and followed obligingly. Soon, the pair of you were poking around in the kitchen. You began to sort through the cupboard, looking at all the dishes inside; you wondered if perhaps a message had been stored inside of a cup or bowl, or perhaps tucked between the plates. You could hear Nakoda messing about with some cutlery behind you, and the thump and “swish” of him pulling out drawers and then closing them again. “Nothing in here,” he reported. “Any luck on your part?” “Not so far,” you sighed. You moved to shut the cupboard…and then heard a groan from behind you. It was a grating sound, like rusted metal. Alarmed, you turned around quickly to see the source… …And felt your face heat up immediately as you saw Nakoda bent over, peering into the oven he had just opened. The posture gave you a VERY good view of his backside. You could even see the crease between the cheeks in the back of his trousers… “Nothing in here either,” Nakoda murmured, and shut the oven door. He dusted his hands off on the back of his pants, which made his rump jostle from the impact of his hands against his glutes. A squeak left your mouth, unbidden; you quickly coughed to cover it up as Nakoda rose to his full height and looked back at you in surprise. “Ahem…uh…just the dust, sorry,” you muttered. Nakoda blinked…then smirked his usual serpentine smirk. “Yesss,” he hissed. “Jussst the dussst.” As he spoke, he ran his hands over his rump cheeks, where his dark pants were pale from the slight sheen of dust in question. You had to force yourself not to stare. “Sss-sss-sss-sss! You’re ssso cute,” Nako cooed.

“I’ve been told,” you mumbled, then shook your head, eager to change the subject. You moved away towards a pantry. “Um…ahem…since we’re both here, I have a question to ask you.” “Oh?” Nako returned, raising an eyebrow as he crossed his arms and leaned back against a counter. “When you joined the team, James seemed particularly surprised to see you. And you seemed pleased with that,” you remarked, keeping your eyes on the pantry as you scanned it. “I know you said the two of you met at Beanfest, but I got the impression there was something else on both your minds.” “Ssso?” “So, I’d like to know what it is,” you said, and shut the pantry, having found nothing of interest. You turned to face Nakoda fully, mimicking his pose and posture as you leaned against the closed pantry. Nakoda smirked wider. “Awww, you don’t trussst me?” he crooned. “Not as far as I can throw you, and that isn’t very far,” you droned back. Nakoda seemed momentarily hurt. He paused, looking you up and down…then tilted his head slightly. “Can you keep a sssecret?” “That depends on what it is.” Nakoda nodded in understanding. He glanced towards the exit of the kitchen - and the staircase beyond - then sidled closer to you, speaking in a hushed tone. “The Little Codfish offered me sssome of the money in the chessst, if I would rig the choices to let him join in the fun,” the naga confessed. Your eyes widened. “You’re both planning to steal the money?!” you hissed through your teeth, feeling anger bubble up inside you. “You wound me, Prefect,” Nakoda replied, and seemed like he meant it. “You think I want MONEY? Yesss, money is nice; it’sss what letsss me attend ssschool, it’sss a thing I never had much of, it’sss not sssomething I’m AGAINSSST having…but it’sss not what I really care about. Besssides, you really think the ssschools would ALLOW anyone to get away with it? Those chesssts are counted up to make sure not a sssingle coin is missssssing: James was offering a falssse promissse to begin with.”

While you doubted Nakoda’s first point, the second, you had to concede, made sense. A chest full of cash would tempt just about anybody to pocket at least a small amount. There had to be strictures set in place to make sure nobody - especially not those at NRC - tried to pilfer any of the prize you all sought. So the chances of James telling the truth, and being able to pull it off, seemed unlikely: after all the headmages themselves were directly involved in this. “Okay, fair enough,” you nodded, still doubtful. “But if that’s the case, why did you still rig the game for him?” Nakoda’s eyes danced. His grin was wide and wicked. “Because what I did,” he explained, “Was mesmerize the Headmage. I put the teeny-tiny sssuggessstion in his head that he deliberately choose James and SSSmitty for the firssst two players. It’sss the sssame way I was able to get people to hurt themssselves when I went after Viper’s reputation: I learned away to keep my influence jussst long enough to make them pull off a sssingle action, then completely forget they even did it, or what happened.” Your eyes widened even more, and you felt your jaw drop. “Then…you hypnotized CROWLEY and made him choose the two?!” “Yep!” Nakoda said, cheerily, and snickered. “Sss-sss-sss-sss! Honessstly, it was ssso hard not to LAUGH when it worked! His mind is absssolute PUTTY when you really get hold of it! I couldn’t resissst a chance to see if I could do sssomething like that!” You were thoroughly speechless; gobsmacked. “Wow,” you gulped at last. “That’s…I’m looking for a word, and ‘brazen’ is the best that comes to mind.” “I take that as a compliment,” purred Nakoda, holding his nose up high, then winked. “Don’t worry, by the way, I won’t make a habit of it. It wasn’t easy to find an opportunity to even DO that without getting caught. But as you can imagine, it’sss not sssomething I want getting out if we can all avoid it.” “Our little secret,” you promised, unable to deny you were having trouble not giggling at the idea of Dire Crowley himself being under the hypnotic sway of one of his own pupils. Perhaps you get Nako to help you convince him next time something needed fixing at Ramshackle Dorm. “Well?” Nako inquired, making a show of checking his nails. “Do you trussst me now?” “I believe you’re telling the truth,” you conceded, then frowned as you looked away. “But if James and Smitty were that eager to get into this contest, then we’ve definitely got to keep an eye on them. Even if they can’t steal the money, that doesn’t mean they don’t have other issues.”

“I think we know what the other issue is already,” Nako said seriously. “The Little Codfish didn’t ssseem very happy when he sssaw that SSSatyr guy, y’know.” You nodded; you had actually been thinking the same thing. Then your brow knitted in confusion. “One more question,” you inquired. “Why do people keep calling him that? First Satyr, then Azul, now you!” Nakoda grinned widely. He seemed eager to answer that question, and opened his mouth and lifted a finger as if he were about to… …But before he could get the words out, hurried footsteps came dashing downstairs, along with the sound of a yowling voice calling out: “MINION! MINION, IT’S HERE!” In a flash, Azul and Grim came darting into the room. Ashengrotto was holding another rolled-up piece of paper in one hand. “Is that the next clue?” you checked. “Yeah!” Grim cheered, grinning proudly. “I found it under one of the beds upstairs!” “Correction,” Azul interjected, clapping a hand to his heart. “I’M the one who actually SPOTTED the clue. YOU just climbed under the bed to get it, on account of being much smaller.” “Eh, minor details,” Grim replied, waving a paw about flippantly. “What does it sssay?” Nakoda asked. “I think it’s best discussed when all of us are gathered together and have found a place to camp,” Azul answered, and tucked the paper into a pocket of his long, large coat. “Let’s get out of here and make our way to a clearing where we can do just that. We have no idea how long it will take Royal Sword to get here, and they’ll want the clue as well.” “Sounds like a plan to me,” you smiled. “Ha! Seems like the game goes to us, so far!” “SCURVY LOUSE!” All of you jumped as you heard the sound of a particularly harsh shout from James. You then suddenly recognized the sound of other voices, whooping and hollering. “What in the world…?!” you gasped, as you and your three allies hastened to check on what was going on outdoors…

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While you and your party had been inspecting the cottage for clues, James, Smitty, and Sebek were standing guard. James, however, had averted his gaze from the woods beyond, smirking as he inspected the hook-shaped tattoo on the back of his left hand. Smitty noticed this. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. “Ahem! Uh…James?” “Yes, Smitty?” “Doesn’t it worry you?” he asked. “Doesn’t what worry me?” James responded, turning to look at his henchman. “The serpent in there,” Smitty said, tossing his head back towards the cabin. “What if he talks, James?” “Oh, there’s little he can do about it, if he does,” shrugs James. “It’s already too late now that I’m in the game, and after all, admitting it to too many people would get him in trouble, too.” “But…we made him a promise, James.” “Of course we did. Am I not a man of me word?” “Aye, James,” Smitty nodded, without an ounce of sarcasm. “Always!” “Quite right. And I have given me word that if we return with the money chest, I’ll give him a share.” James Killian sniggered and smirked. “One thing you can always say for me, Smitty: I never break a promise.” “I guess that’s true!” Smitty beamed, evidently quite cheered up. James grinned wider, clenching his hand into a fist, once more inspecting the hook. “I’ve got him this time, Smitty,” he vowed. “I’ve waited years for this…” “That’s not counting the holidays, either,” giggled the smaller fellow. James nodded,barely seeming to hear him. He changed his focus, now looking at his reflection in the gold topper, his eyes lost in a faraway place. “OI!” The pair of sailor-like Heartslabyul students jumped as Sebek appeared from around the corner, glaring suspiciously at the pair. “Keep your eyes peeled, you Stinking Codfish of a Human!” he bellowed at James.

“Aye, my eyes are keen, you errant Crocodile!” James yelled back. “And if you insult me sight again, I swear I’ll cast anchor in ye!” “Oh, is that so?” Sebek smirked. “Well, if you wish to use nautical jargon, you’d better do good by my liege and our prestigious school! Otherwise I’ll send you to David Jonathan!” Sebek snapped back. James just blinked back. “...Send me where?” Sebek blinked in return. “Um…Daniel Johnstone?” he tried again. James just tilted his head slowly. “...Donny Jamestown?” Sebek almost peeped. James looked at Smitty helplessly. Smitty leaned up and whispered: “I think he means Davy Jones.” “Oh,” James frowned, then glared up at Sebek. “Learn the expression properly, THEN make the threat, you blasted reptile!” Sebek blushed and ground his teeth together, clenching one fist. “Once this contest is over, I swear I’m eating you, human! See if I don’t!” he roared, and disappeared again. “Don’t threaten me with a good time,” muttered James to himself. “What was that?” Smitty asked, curiously. “Never mind, you fool,” James mumbled back, cheeks pink. “Ha ha ha ha ha…” The moment was interrupted when, suddenly, a dark, forbidding laugh seemed to echo through the area, coming down from the trees above. James and Smitty jolted to the alert, James clutching his cane and once more holding it like a sword…while Smitty ducked behind his associate with a mousey squeak. “Who goes there?” James barked out. The voice came again; cold and black as the North wind by night… “Bewaker, Great Spirit of the Mighty Green Wood Speaks. Beware, James Killian! Beware…!”

Smitty whimpered as he hid further behind James. “It’s an evil s-s-spirit, James!” he keened out, clearly VERY frightened as his knees knocked together. James Killian, however, though not unperturbed, seemed much less sure of that fact. “Is it, though?” he murmured, then lightly nudged Smitty away from him. “Stay here and keep guard.” “Y-You’re leaving me alone?” “Only for a moment,” James insisted. “Whatever you do, do NOT leave this spot. I sense dirty work afoot.” “If…if you say so, James,” Smitty replied, nervously looking around. “I do!” James rapped. “Now stand by, Smitty, while I take a look around.” So saying, James began to stalk towards a nearby tree, muttering to himself: “Spirit of the Mighty Green Wood, indeed…” James peered around the base of the large tree and hummed, then prowled past it and disappeared into the bushes, vanishing into the woods. Smitty was left alone at the front of the cottage. He tapped his fingers together nervously, glancing about, afraid of meeting some malevolent ghost. After a bit, he heard a familiar voice call to him… “Smitty!” “Uh, y-yes, James?” “Come over here! I need your help!” “Oh! Okay, James, I’ll…wait. But…but you just told me to stay here no matter-” “THOSE ARE ME ORDERS, SMITTY!” “Eep! Aye-Aye, James! I’m coming!” Smitty scampered off in the direction he’d seen James go. James, for his part, was frowning as he knelt down, spotting a set of footprints. They weren’t those of any of the Night Raven crew, he was sure… “Odds fish!” he gasped to himself. “What have we here?” “I dunno! You tell me, James!”

James blinked and turned…to see the blithe, oblivious smile of Smitty McCarthy inches away from his own. James gaped at his partner…then slowly began to smile, eyes narrowing. “Smitty,” he began, much-too-patiently. “Just exactly what do you think you’re doing?” “Helping you, like you wanted me to, James!” chirruped Smitty, brightly. “Carrying out your orders, and all that!” James felt one eye twitch. “My orders?” he returned, through gritted teeth. “Uh-huh!” Smitty nodded, oblivious to the way one of James’ fists began to twitch. “Didn’t you just call out to me and ask me to-?” “GO STRAIGHT BACK!” roared James, jumping to his feet and pointing off in the direction of the cottage again. “GUARD THE COTTAGE, YOU BLITHERING IMBECILE!” With a shrill squeal - “I’MGOINGI’MGOINGI’MGOING…!” - Smitty scrambled back in the direction of the cottage and disappeared. James Killian seethed as he watched him go, and tossed his head contemptuously. “‘My orders,’ he says!” he grumbled sourly. “In Chernabog’s name, whyever do I put up with that bumbling…?!” “Smitty. Just exactly what do you think you’re doing?” James froze…as he heard another voice, the very mirror of his own, echo from somewhere nearby. He looked in the direction…and smiled a slow, crooked sort of smile. “There you are,” he cackled to himself, and tip-toed in the direction of the voice. He soon found himself at the base of another tree. Looking up, James spotted the end of a brown shoe, and a hint of pale grin amidst the forest camouflage, which didn’t quite fit in. With a satisfied sort of growl, James took hold of the lowest branches and began to climb the tree… Meanwhile, Smitty skidded to a halt as he heard the voice call out again. “J-James?” he eeped. “Of course! Now answer my question, you fool!” demanded the voice. “W-Well, I…I’m returning to the cottage to help guard it, j-just like you said!” “Harumph! I said nothing of the sort!” “Wh-wha…? But J-J-James, d-di-didn’t you, I-I thought…!” “For the last time, Smitty!” thundered the voice. “Forget your post! Come here to my side, where you can be of some use to me!” Smitty gulped…then sighed and threw up his hands helplessly. “As you wish, James,” he mumbled, dourly. “Good man,” the voice said. “Oh! And one more thing: tell that DARLING, handsome Crocodile to join you. There’s something both of you ought to see.” Smitty blinked owlishly, looking around to try and spot his friend. “Um…c-c-come again, James?” “Human!” “YIPE!” Smitty turned fast to find Sebek approaching him with a scowl.

“Who are you talking to?” the crocodile-man huffed, hands on his hips. “Um…James, I…w-well, I think,” Smitty answered, scratching his head and looking around fretfully. Sebek arched a single eyebrow. “You think?” he repeated. “Y-Yes,” Smitty nodded, and removed his cap, nervously fiddling with it in his hands, revealing his messy, pale hair. He blushed bright red, not sure how to break the words to Sebek. “You see…uh…h-he told me to tell that you’re…um…w-well, that is, he wants us to-” “HERE’S YOUR SPIRIT, SMITTY!” Suddenly, the treetop above McCarthy and Zigvolt seemed to explode into a flurry of activity. James Killian came leaping out of it, swinging on a vine, much as he had when he had assisted you not so long ago. He landed on the ground as something else came zooming out of the tree, followed by a ball of golden light. As James nimbly landed, Smitty and Sebek could see that, in one hand, a familiar green beret was held in his grasp. “LOOK!” James called to the pair, and pointed upwards with his decorative stick. The pair looked to see the thing that had flown out of the treetops now circling above them like some bizarre parody of a vulture. Sebek gasped in alarm as Smitty sighed with relief. “Oh,” Smitty said, clutching his chest. “It’s just Satyr!” “Hi there, Smitty!” Satyr cheered, waving down mischievously, then turned to the yellow pixie beside him. “Y’know somethin’, Kes? It’s kinda fun being James!” The pixie flitted her wings and jingled something in return. “Hee hee! You’re right: it’s even more fun being ME!” So saying, Satyr swooped down towards the trio. Smitty and Sebek jumped aside to avoid a collision. James, however, swung his cane in a blind, sweeping arc to try and strike at his rival. The pointy-eared youth dodged it easily, and snatched his hat back out of James’ hand. “SCURVY LOUSE!” James screamed up at him, face red as his coat, and nearly apoplectic with rage. “Thanks for holding onto this, James!” Matthew returned, brightly, and popped the beret back onto his head. “Next time I’ll get more than that!” spat James.

Matthew Satyr smirked, and reached into the special holster at his belt, whipping out the collapsible fighting rod he carried at his side in place of a dagger or sword. Then, he put two fingers from his other hand to his mouth, and whistled shrilly. Once he did, with a whoop and a holler, the six other Royal Sword students all appeared, holding out their Magic Pens, ready for action as the fur of their animal skin capes whistled in the breeze. “Tricked!” Sebek exclaimed, realizing what had happened. “They didn’t go to camp at all: they followed us here!” “Right, Mr. Crocodile!” Satyr grinned. “And after we scare you all off, we’ll be taking whatever other clue is here, too!” “We’ll see about that!” James yelled, brandishing his cane like a cutlass. “Come down, Satyr! Try my steel!” “With pleasure, James!” Matthew grinned, and pointed his rod down at the crimson cutthroat. “Come on now! Let’s have some FUN!” So saying, Matthew Satyr dove downwards, and thrust out his weapon at James. Killian sidestepped the attack, and swung at the flying Royal Sword member…but Satyr spun away like a top. A moment later, James let out a shrill “YIPE!” as - WHAPP! - the baton smacked him in the rear. He whirled about with a ferocious glare as Matthew hovered a little bit off the ground, so he was eye-level with his NRC opponent. “Bad form!” James snapped. “Ready to lose again?” Satyr returned, tauntingly. “Not. This. Time!” James snarled, and thrust out with his own weapon. “EN GARDE!” With many a shrill crack and “thrack,” the baton and the cane locked with each other, then unlocked again; the pair of duelers swinging their blunt instruments like they really were proper, sharper weapons. Every blow James struck out, Matthew blocked it; every lunge from Satyr was parried by Killian. Back and forth they went with each other, each seeking an opening as they battled. While the pair were sorting out THEIR differences, the other Royal Sword students were closing in around the outnumbered Smitty and Sebek…but not outnumbered for long. By now, yourself, Azul, Grim, and Nakoda had popped out of the cottage to see what in the Underworld’s name was going on! You were all quite startled with the image spread before your eyes. “An ambush!” Nakoda hissed. “Blindsided by a cheap trick!” Azul groused to himself. “Ugh…if Jade and Floyd knew this, they’d never let me hear the end of it…” “You hold onto that clue,” you said to Azul firmly. “That’s what they have to be here for.” James pushed Satyr away from him just long enough to notice all of you. He roared out, pointing at Smitty and Sebek, who were holding up their own Magic Pens in defensive positions. “DON’T JUST STAND THERE, YE BILGE RATS!” he hollered. “STOP THOSE SCURVY SCALLYWAGS!” Azul sighed. “And here I’d hoped to avoid combat for as long as possible,” the team captain mumbled, then reached for his own Magic Pen. Nakoda did the same at his side. “It seems there’s no help for it.” “Come on, guys!” Grim cheered, ears sparking with cerulean flame. “LET’S GET ‘EM!” And so the four of you charged forward. You weren’t entirely sure what you would do, yourself, to help, having no magic…but you’d find a way. “I always do,” you muttered to yourself with a sigh. “It’s moments like this I almost wish I went to a normal school…”

To Be Continued in Part 3…

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