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tmntxthings · 7 months ago

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YOU 🫵 *points directly at that mean y/n, you, and that anon that asked for ansgt against rottmnt Raph* how very dare you !!!!!!

(If you have time and if your asks are open (didn’t see any warnings that it was close)) can you PLEASE do something fluffy and that reader is ABSOLUTELY head of hells for raphie? I’m talking flowers, I’m talking spending hours on a claw machine to get a plushie he wants it, I’m talking admiring and tracing his features slowly with the most stupid and hopeless in love expression the turtles have ever seen, im talking speaking up for him against anyone that mistreats him, doing his fav dishes, preparing balanced meals, paintings, little love notes, lipstick marks, poems under moonlight, I want devotion!!!! I want that sweet Puppy love !!!!! EVERYTHING. 100% a simp and isn’t afraid to show it, until Raph returns their actions, then they get bashful/blushing up a storm lol

thank you and have a good day

∑一Wherever You Go・゜・。

author’s notes: ain’t no way I’m doing that whole list we’ll be here forever, BUT don’t worry I’ll make sure he feels the love nonetheless

warnings: fluff, tooth-rotting fluff, bordering on a crack fic that’s purely just to show a character love ^ twas asked of me, unedited

Song: Never Getting Rid of Me by Christopher Fitzgerald

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It was no secret that you adored Raph. And it didn’t bother you one bit that everyone, big red turtle included, knew that you had heart eyes for him.

Your love language for him couldn’t be restricted to just one kind. You exhibited all kinds of love for him. You hoped it wasn’t overwhelming. It was hard to stop yourself once you had an idea though.

One time you saw a beautiful bouquet of red roses. Instantly you had them in your hand, and a receipt in the other. They reminded you of his bandana. So bright, eye-catching! And down to the lair you went, shooting off an incoming text to Raph to give him a last-minute notice.

Earlier occasions where you hadn’t sent a text left you waiting around at a manhole cover forever. If Raph was asleep it would be hard to rouse him with just a notification. He’d need a full on blare horn. Or worst case scenario the boys weren’t even at the lair! Thankfully, most of the time they were home. Raph buzzed back with a text saying he’d be right up to open the cover for you. Sewer covers were heavy!

When the round slab of stone was lifted you offered up the bouquet to the darkness below instantly. It was quiet for a moment, before Raph emerged, cheeks tinted a darker green. “For me?” He questioned, his tone held a quality as if it was unbelievable for him to receive flowers.

But you didn’t chide him for it. In fact you only smiled warmly and nodded your confirmation. “I thought of you the moment I saw them. What do you think? Aren’t they pretty?”

His hands finally went out, accepting your gift. Holding them gingerly and away from his plastron. He seemed to not want any of the petals to snag on his sharp edges. “Raph loves ‘em” he murmured, his eyes entranced by the blossoms now that he could get a closer look.

This moment right here was picture worthy! You wished you had Donnie’s ability to just record everything, that way you could screenshot this later. Maybe put it as your screensaver. Instead you just watched, hands clasped as you waited for Raph to come out of his stupor. Which he did, and started asking you about your favorite flowers and invited you down to the lair.

You don’t know how they got the arcade machines down there. But it sure as hell beat going to Chuck-E-Cheese! Nothing against the place but it costs so much and all the games down at the lair are rigged to play for free! Which was awesome because you had finally decided, you weren’t leaving the claw machine until you won Raph’s dream plushie.

The poor turtle had played this game constantly ever since they mysteriously got the machine. He was able to get two plushies but they weren’t the ones he really wanted. The ultimate prize was a brown teddy bear with a little red bow tie. He was absolutely adorable. And Raph’s obsession with winning his prize was even more endearing. So when Raph texted you a picture of his defeated expression against the glass of the claw machine, you had to take matters into your own hands.

Raphie 😍❤️😚🤗🥰 - [ <image> 🥺 it’s hopeless ]

Y/n - [ omw asap, don’t worry raphie i’ll get you teddy! ❤️💪 ]

Well, easier said than done is a term of phrase for a reason. You banged your head against the glass or you tried to at least. But Raph’s calloused palm was in front of the glass before your forehead could make contact. Still you drew back to bang it against his rough skin anyway. He knew your frustrations, the claw machine was merciless. You had been at the lair for well over two hours. The first thirty minutes in had been fine. You had chatted with Raph easily, confident that eventually you would get the hang of the mechanism.

But then an hour went by. And then another. Your concentration on the game had dried up the easy conversation between you and big red. The atmosphere was intense as if the two of you were in battle together. Currently you were both defeated. His other hand patted your back, knowing exactly how you felt. “It’s okay, maybe Teddy isn’t meant to join my pile of plushies.”

You took in a deep breath. Stopping your frustrated head thumps and turned to look Raph in the eyes. “You’re right, Teddy is meant to sleep right next to you! And I’m gonna make that happen!” You harrumphed as you turned back to the evil machine. It was your enemy. It was working against you. All you wanted to do was this one thing and make Raph happy! This time for sure, you thought to yourself as you hovered the claw over to where Teddy lay amongst the other plushies.

“Like a boss!!!” You yelled as you smacked the button that lowered the claw. Both of you watched anxiously as it dropped, its metal fingers enclosing around Teddy’s brown fur, and it started to rise. But you had been here before and didn’t dare to celebrate pre-maturely before the damn stuffed animal was in Raph’s arms. The grip the machine had on the animal was shaky at best. The claw swayed from side to side as it carried the plushie over to the drop box. You were sweating bullets and could smell Raph’s anxiety stink.

But before the claw reached its final destination, the plushie tumbled out of its hold. You turned to Raph who let out a breath he had been holding. You expected to see disappointment in his eyes but it was quite the opposite. He looked happy as his snaggle-tooth dug into his lower lip. “Nice try,” his eyes crinkled shut with his smile. “Wanna go play DDR?” You sighed, letting the claw machine have the win for now. Happy to see Raph’s eyes light up with a burning passion as he raced over to his favorite spot, the left side, for DDR. “Ready to face the master??” He goaded but it was pure excitement to play one of his favorites of all time. “So ready!” You laughed, hopping up on the dance pad to get absolutely demolished because you didn’t have any rhythm. But you played regardless because when Raph was having fun so were you.

And yes, later that night you did bribe Donnie with twenty bucks to replace that damned claw with one that would actually work. So next time you were able to win Teddy and present Raph with the ultimate present. It costed you another twenty to keep Donnie’s mouth shut about ever having any involvement so you could have all the credit and look like a hero in Raph’s starry eyes. He sent you pictures of him and the stuffed animal almost every night with his goodnight message.

Raphie 😍❤️😚🤗🥰 - [ <image> Teddy says goodnight! ]

Y/n - [ gnight teddy, and goodnight raph-a-la 🤗 sweet dreams ]

“What did you say?!” Your voice raised as you stepped into the lair’s common room. Shelldon had just so kindly lifted the manhole cover, since no one else from the group chat was responding! You thought it weird since usually someone was on their phone *cough* Donnie *cough* but sometimes they were busy! Which you understood. Until you had seen Shelldon’s worried pixelated expression as he urged you on down the sewer system to the abandoned subway station.

That was when you heard it. Heated arguing. It was hard to listen to especially when it was Leo and Raph. You knew how much all of them loved one another, a love that even harsh words couldn’t damage. But sometimes, things were said in the heat of the moment that weren’t meant to argue a point. They were said to hurt the other person. That’s where you drew the line. That’s where you felt the need to step in, even if you weren’t family.

“Leo, if you’d just try, even a little, at accepting the role as a leader. It’s not that bad-“

“If it’s not that bad then why don’t you just take it back huh?”

“You know why. Dad said you-“

“Dad said this! Dad says that! What are you his little pet? Since when do we do whatever Dad says?!”

“Leo, c’mon,”

“Raph if you don’t wanna be the leader anymore. Then fine. But don’t push it on to me.”

“I never said that, Dad thinks-“

“For someone who’s catchphrase is ‘boss’ you really like being someone’s little bit—“

And that’s when you stepped into the room. Eyes hardened as you marched in between the two turtles. “What did you just say?!” You dared Leo to repeat. But as he studied your stance and the way you got in front of Raph, as if protecting him from Leo, the blue turtle started to duck his head into his shell. Feeling remorseful for getting so heated. He made a ‘tsk’ noise before heading off to his room. Mumbling sorries as he passed by.

You turned to Raph to check the damage. It seemed like just the two of you now. You wondered if they had started fighting because Mikey and Donnie weren’t around. Raph was rubbing the side of his head, looking drained and it tugged on your heart strings to see him that way. You knew brothers argued, sure they even fought sometimes. But it was hard to see them go at it like this.

“I know you’re not okay, so I won’t ask. But just know Leo didn’t mean any of that. I know he didn’t.”

Raph gives you a weak smile in return. Like he doesn’t believe you. But doesn’t have the heart to say it aloud. So you go to him, grabbing his hands and pulling him towards the couch. He goes without resistance. Once seated, you turn to him and he turns to you. Your hands go up and you cup his face now that he is within your reach.

“He’s scared. Just like you are. I know it’s hard to tell right now when he’s saying anything but that. But you know Leo, he’ll spew just about any nonsense to not say how he truly feels.”

The words turn over in Raph’s head as he thinks. He sighs, softening in your hold as he nods. He looks a little better now. But you don’t let him go. You trace the contours of his face. Lovingly. Letting the tension in the room ebb out until the early argument has left both of your minds completely.

“It’ll be okay. I know it will.”

You murmur. Your hands finally letting go as Raph’s breathing deepens. He fell asleep to your touch. Leaned back into the couch as his snores start up. You scoot over until your head can rest on his arm, pulling up your phone to text Leo to get his ass over here. A portal silently opens up on the other side of you and as Leo sits next to you, you pull him closer with your arm.

“Dummy.”

You chide the blue turtle as tears fall down his green cheeks. He huffs at the insult but knows you mean well. When you leave the lair that night the two brothers are tangled together in a pile that will surely be four later on, alls forgiven.

Raph eats just about anything. His stomach knows no limits. So you could char the meat on accident and he’d still wolf it down like it was the best meal he ever had. While that was kind of him, you wanted to really impress his palate. So on the topic of food one late night text session, you asked of his favorites. To which a long list was sent over. So you had to ask him again.

Y/n - [ Okay, that’s really cool that you have so many. But which one is your favorite among the favorites? 👀 ]

Raphie 😍❤️😚🤗🥰 - [ that’s a hard one… uhmmmmm ]

With a lot of encouragement he managed to get the favorite list down to five choices. To which you just decided to hell with it, you’ll have a feast! It took a lot of preparation. And more time than you thought you’d ever spend in your kitchen. But five meals were cooked and prepared perfectly on your round table. Now, you wished you’d told Raph of your plan sooner and hoped to the moon above that he didn’t have plans tonight.

Y/n - [ >image< hungry? C: ]

Raphie 😍❤️😚🤗🥰 [ 😱 always! headin ur way ]

Raphie 😍❤️😚🤗🥰 [ hereeeeeeee open ur windowwwww ]

And yes somehow he fit. He was good at wiggling around. He cleared each and every plate once you had tapped out after trying to keep up with him. Food comas hit the both of you soon after as he got up and claimed he would do the dishes. He was so cute as he wobbled up sleepily from the kitchen chair. Arms full of plates and platters as well as cups for not only water but various sodas/juices had been served that you knew to be Raph’s favorites as well. When he had asked what the occasion was you didn’t have any in mind.

“I just wanted to!”

You chirped. Happy to feed him. Happy to have made his day. Now he was as careful as one giant turtle could be with your plates, but to his dismay the bottom one from the pile ended up breaking due to the clatter when he placed them in the sink. He wouldn’t know it until he was practically done with cleaning, feeling so good about himself for not breaking any of the— oh there it was. The last one. In pieces.

“Raph is so so sorry! You made a nice meal only for Raph to break your plate!”

No matter how much he wished he could fuse the remains back together, he’d need glue. And you apparently didn’t have any in your apartment. He sighed to which you hushed all his worries away.

“Raphie! It’s just one plate, I’ve got more! Plenty more as you can see!”

You, who had been drying the dishes he washed. Gestured with the damp towel towards the pile of neatly stacked plates that were all dry. The force of which you whipped the towel was more than you had intended and you both watched as that perfect stack fell over, onto the counter and off on to the floor.

“Well. I may need to go buy some more.”

You admitted sheepishly. Raph didn’t know whether to be upset for you or laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation.

“Yeah, let’s go get some now!”

After picking up and sweeping to make sure all the shattered pieces were in the trash. That’s exactly what the two of you did. It was little things that Raph did, like worry needlessly over you accidentally cutting yourself with one of the broken plate pieces. Or him getting shy at every compliment and gift you had to offer him. His humble nature. How he readily takes on responsibilities. His love for his family. His diligence when it comes to crime fighting and working out. His carefree side. You loved it all. You told him all the things that enamored you to him. And the two of you were happiest, when you could just spend time together like this. Doing little things.

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waywardnerd67 · 3 months ago

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Cowboy Chasing

Title: Cowboy Chasing Summary: Chasing storms was simple. Chasing the tornado chasing cowboy was a whole different story. Main Characters: Tyler Owens, Reader Pairing: Tyler Owens, Reader Rating: E - Everyone Warnings: Fluff/Angst Word Count: 2481 A/N: My first fic in over a year thanks to a certain tornado chasing cowboy :) I used my taglist from over a year ago. If you don’t want to be tag please let me know (no hard feelings, I totally get it).

“Are you sure?” Her best friend asked as (Y/N) continued to pack her duffel bag.

She sighed, “Yes, I’m sure. When he left we had a fight and I can’t live with myself if anything were to happen to him.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been chasing?”

Flashes of that last night played in her mind, “A few years…”

Her best friend took her hands, “Promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I promise.” (Y/N) smiled.

“Also, tell Boone he still owes me a dance.” They started laughing as (Y/N) zipped up her bag.

“Will do. I’ll call you when I get to Enid.” (Y/N) hugged her friend then made her way out of their apartment.

(Y/N) knew the drive to Enid, Oklahoma like the back of her hand. Every storm season that is where the chasers would gather to prep for the first chase. Checking the forecasts, she knew there was a chance the Wranglers would already be out on the road heading south towards Oklahoma City. She pulled out her phone, hitting Dani’s number and sending her a voice memo.

“Hey, I’m heading out to you guys. If you leave Enid, could you let me know. I appreciate it. Oh and don’t tell Tyler. Love ya.”

Dani’s response was immediate, “As I live and breathe, (Y/N) (Y/L/N). Girl, it’s been too long. We’re heading south on the 81 towards Kingfisher in the morning. Miss and love ya.”

Another voice memo came through, “Also, your secret is safe with me. Does this mean you’re back?”

(Y/N) shook her head. The thought of chasing again was exciting and terrifying. There was no way she could go back. Not after all the time that had passed and not after the last chase. No, this trip was for closure and nothing more.

Between several cans of Monster and singing to the top of her lungs, (Y/N) made it to Enid by one in the morning. A soft smile spreading across her face seeing all the cars, vans and rigs of fellow chasers. Two groups stood out the most. The pristine white trucks and van of Storm Par were parked all by themselves. Javi must have gotten more money from Riggs noticing their team now having a fourth truck code name Toto.

Then there was the all too familiar red Dodge Ram parked in the middle of the lot. (Y/N) couldn’t believe they still had the beat up camper and van. With their YouTube channel taking off, she figured they would have at least updated the camper. Knowing Tyler, he probably used any money to go to helping the families and loved ones after a tornado. Humanitarian was one of the qualities that had attracted her to chasing with them and following Tyler Owens wherever the wind blew him.

“(Y/N)?” A familiar voice called out.

“Hiya Boone.” She turned around to see Boone, Dexter, Lilly and Dani all walking back from the small 24 hour diner.

“‘Bout time you came back out with us! We missed you!” He pulled her into a hug before everyone else surrounded her.

For the first time in years, (Y/N) finally felt at home again. The years she spent chasing storms with her Wrangler family were the best years of her life. Until it all went to shit.

“Well, well, who do we have here?”

His southern drawl never failed to send goosebumps over her skin, “Hey Tyler, how are you?”

“I’m good, (Y/N). I’m very good.” He smirked.

Dani smacked his shoulder, “Don't mind him, he’s been watching Top Gun Maverick on repeat.”

“You look good, Tyler.” (Y/N) couldn’t help her eyes from traveling down the length of his body.

There was nothing noticeably different about him since she last saw him a year ago. He still wore the same blue jeans, brown boots, Wrangler belt buckle and dark button down. The only thing missing was his Stetson and she knew exactly where it would be.

She noticed he was taking inventory of her as well as those dark green eyes gave her once over, “You look good too. So, what brings you out here?”

“I was hoping to talk to you before you went out tomorrow, if that’s okay?”

Tyler motioned for her to follow him to his motel room. (Y/N) waved to her family when Boone stopped her.

“You’re not staying, are you?” He asked with dark chocolate puppy eyes.

She shook her head then said, “Annie wanted me to let you know that you still owe her a dance. You should come on by and square your debt with her after this storm season.”

His smile was infectious, “I will. It was damn good to see ya, (Y/N).”

She turned around to see Tyler leaning against the door frame of his room. She stepped inside, chuckling to herself seeing some things truly would never change. He had clothes laid out everywhere drying. An empty pizza box and three beers out of six left sitting on his table. The TV was on showing infomercials until the morning news came on.

“Ya know, if you’re wanting to head back out I don’t know if we have room for you. We have a big shot British reporter going out with us this year.” Tyler offered her a bottle of water which she accepted.

“Reporter? Wow… you’ve really hit the big time.” She didn’t mean for it to come out as snarky as it did, “Hopefully, they knew what they were getting themselves into.”

Tyler flopped down on the bed, crossing his ankles and resting his head on one of his arms. Seeing his body stretched out brought up older memories of their early chasing years. The thrill of getting close to a tornado and the adrenaline they would need to work off when they got to a motel for the night. (Y/N) knew that body as well as she knew her own and now she could feel her cheeks flushing.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” He asked, a knowing smirk on his handsome face.

She rolled her eyes, knowing she played right into his little trap. He knew she would think of the good times seeing him stretched out like that. Knowing she couldn’t help to be nostalgic and remember the good ole days. As well he could read her, she could read him. (Y/N) sat down on the opposite bed taking a long drink of her water.

“The last time I was with you, we had a huge fight.” She looked over at him as he moved to mirror her sitting position.

He leaned forward on his elbows, clasping his hands together, “Mmhmm.”

“We both said some hurtful things and I wanted to clear the air between us.”

His green eyes locked onto hers, “You’re wanting an apology.”

She sighed, “No. I want you to know that… that I care about you and the team. I didn’t want you leading them into unnecessary danger for more followers or views.”

“If I remember correctly you said that I was and I quote, A reckless tornado chasing cowboy with a death wish.”

She flinched, “I know. I was frustrated and we had just lost…”

Tyler stood up, running his hand through his golden hair, “Theo knew what he was getting into when he started chasing with us. Hell, he had watched you chase well before he joined us. We all know the dangers of this job, but it’s worth it if we can help the people here.”

It was the same speech Tyler had given her a year ago. She clenched her fists on top of her knees, unable to keep the anger from flooding her system.

“Damn it Tyler, he should have never been in your damn truck! He should have been with Dex and Dani in the camper, but you wanted him to experience the real thing. What did that get him?”

She covered her mouth as Tyler’s eyes widened, “Tyler, I’m… I didn’t…”

He stormed over to the door, “If you think that I don’t spend every moment of every day not blaming myself for your brother’s death then you never knew me.”

He was gone with the door slamming shut. (Y/N) punched the bed beside her to release some of the rage overwhelming her.

“Fuck!” She yelled out before the tears started to fall, “This was not how I wanted it to go.”

After an hour, (Y/N) left the room in search of Tyler. She knew exactly where he would be heading towards his truck. He was sitting up on the roof tinkering with some the gauges.

“I’m sorry.” She said, climbing up onto the bed of the truck, “I really didn’t come here to fight again.”

“Then why did you come here? It’s been a year since you told me to get out of your life for good. Why now?” He never looked up at her.

She carefully sat up on the roof, “I hated the way we left things. I would never be able to live with myself if anything happened to you and the last thing I had said to you was I hate you.”

He glanced up at her, “You don’t hate me?”

“I think you know that I don’t. I… I never could hate you.” She sighed, “Tyler, what we had was special. We both shared the same goals in life and careers. We were good together, but losing my brother changed me. All I could think about was I couldn’t lose you the same way I lost him.”

(Y/N) looked up when she felt his hand cover hers, “I’m sorry.” he whispered.

“Me too.” She squeezed his hand and a spark ignited in her chest.

“Come on, I need a few hours of sleep and you can stay in my room on the extra bed. I’m sure you need some sleep as well.”

He jumped down onto the bed of the truck helping her down as well. He jumped down from the truck holding out his arms for her. His hand gripped her hips and he lifted her from the tailgate setting her on the ground. Her body slid down his and once again her body flooded with heat.

“You know I could sleep in my car or get my own room.” She said softly, looking up at him.

“Scared something might happen?” He smirked, making her roll her eyes.

Pushing him gently, “Nope. I gave up chasing cowboys a long time ago.”

“Really? Yet, you drove nearly eight hours to talk with me. Sounds to me like you might still be chasing cowboys.” He leaned down, “Or am I wrong?”

His soft lips were close to hers and his woodsy cologne filled her senses. Her knees were going to buckle if she didn’t step away from her and she would fall right back into oblivion with him.

“We can’t.” She whispered, “I can’t stand back and watch you drive into tornados not knowing if you’ll come back to me.”

His eyes softened as he backed away from her, “I understand. You can sleep in my room and I’ll sleep in my truck.”

“Tyler, there’s two beds. We can share the room.” She caught his arm and felt him flinch.

He never turned to look at her, “You were always the strong one. I know I won’t be able to keep myself in control. Goodnight (Y/N).”

He walked to the driver’s side, getting in his truck. (Y/N) stood there for a moment before retreating into his room. She sat on the bed thinking about everything they had said and everything that was left unsaid between them. She loved him. She had been in love with him for nearly a decade and still was. She wanted to be by his side, but that fear of not knowing if he would come back to her kept her from doing what she wanted. The sun was peeking over the horizon when she heard the door open to the motel room.

She turned around to see Tyler staring down at her. Since she hadn’t grabbed her bag, she had opted to wear one of his white t-shirts for a night shirt. (Y/N) stood up grabbing her clothes that were on the small table.

“Sorry, I will get dressed and let you get ready.” She mumbled.

His hand grabbed her elbow, spinning her towards him, “Fuck it.”

His lips crashed to hers. Immediately, the stress and tension in her body melted as he wrapped her legs around his waist. Her back hit the mattress as Tyler began a hot trail of kisses down her neck.

“Ty-Tyler…” She moaned.

He lifted himself up, “I know, I know. We shouldn’t do this, but there is nothing in the world that I need more than you. Not storm chasing or anything. All I want is you and if this is the last time I get to be with you then so be it.”

Her heart was thumping rapidly against her chest, “You still love me?”

“Seriously?” He scoffed, “You think one little fight was going to erase you from my heart? Sweetheart, there is only one other woman I spend my time chasing other than you and that’s mother nature. There’s no one else in the world worth chasing other than you.”

She couldn’t help the grin spreading across her face, “For the record, I love you too.”

His breathtaking smile appeared and (Y/N) knew she was right where she needed to be. Tyler leaned down kissing her slowly, passionately. She was pulling his shirt off when there was a knock on his door.

“Go away!” He yelled, kissing her inner thigh.

“Tyler, we got a storm brewing just outside Bartlesville. If we hit the road now then we can beat Storm Par.” Boone’s voice was barely audible as Tyler groaned.

“Alright, we’re leaving in fifteen.” He rested his cheek against her thigh, “You think we could finish in fifteen minutes?”

She giggled, “It has been a while for both of us, but no I don’t. However, after chasing this storm we could pick up where we left off at another motel. Like the good ole days.”

“You’re staying?” he asked, helping her up and sitting her on his lap.

She nodded, “Cowboy, there’s nowhere else I would rather be than by your side.”

He kissed her again, gripping her hips tight. She moaned against his lips as she rolled her hips against him.

Tyler growled when Boone banged on his door again, “Be out in five!”

“Come on cowboy,” She kissed him, “I’m feeling it, so let's go chase it.”

“Yes ma’am.” He smacked her behind before they both got up gathering their stuff and heading out to the truck.

-----

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lilmissnoobster · 10 months ago

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Andrei Nolan NSFW Alphabet

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Andrei is a sucker for cuddling. Would lay on his back with your head on his chest calming down from the intense moment.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He likes his arms, the muscles he has built up over the years of serving in the military makes it easier to manhandle you into positions that he likes.

He loves your thighs; squeezing, pinching, gripping all of it! Would deem it an honor to be suffocated by them.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Deep in you for sure! If you’re not into that then he’ll pull out and cum on your entrance.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He fantasizes about a threesome with the two of you and Makarov. The thought of you between the two of them makes him feral.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Pretty average experience, knows a good deal about the body to give you more pleasure.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Mating press. Being able to manhandle you into the position while guaranteeing he can cum deep into you while getting a good view of your face.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Mid-serious, he doesn’t have much time due to being second in command so he cherishes the time he has with you. Will still laugh if something humorous happens.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Keeps it trimmed, not overly bushy but not clean-shaven.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

He looks at you like you hung the stars. Worships you and your body like it’s his last day on earth.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Not often due to his schedule, will send videos of himself doing it though to let you know that you’re on his mind.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Power-play, rigging, praise with hidden degradation, choking, brat taming, edging, and overstimulation.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Bedroom, but won’t complain if you end up in a closet or bathroom stall.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Seeing you in tight clothes.His main motivation is seeing you in his shirt and a pair of tight booty shorts.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Anything that could endanger your life if not well versed. Gunplay, knifeplay, choke collars. Does not like you not being able to communicate with him.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Is a mix of both, loves seeing you on your knees infront of him. But enamored by your taste, loves being crushed by your thighs when he does.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Likes to start slow, then builds it up until the bed starts to roughly shake like your thighs would be afterwards.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Sees them as a godsend. With how busy he is he loves releasing stress with his beautiful partner.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Only after research is done, does not like to try something new without seeing the risks and benefits.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

About three rounds, this Aussie man has the endurance to make them last a while though.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Sees toys as a plus, loves seeing how much pleasure he can get from you with a vibrator.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Is a fair teaser, knows that you will have to wait for him to have a chance to get away long enough.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Grunts and groans, talks you through it, occasionally moans if he is overstimulated. Has whimpered before when you take control and tease him for a while.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Used to have a Prince Albert piercing, removed it when he enlisted though for safety reasons.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Muscular body with a short, thick cock. Average length but nicely thick to stretch you.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Pretty normal, gets pent up if he doesn’t release about three times a week.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards

When he is done comforting you he dozes off after about ten minutes.

#cod modern warfare #call of duty #andrei nolan #cod smut #cod mw3 #cod x reader

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thesleepyfable · 3 months ago

Note

how would caz's daughters and suze react to seeing what has become of him?(aka his infected form) i'd imagine it'd be like a 50/50, 50% wholesome & the other 50% just c r i p p l i n g s a d n e s s ✨✨✨/lh

pls i want my heart cracked like an egg- :'D/j

It would start with confusion, which has been shared by everyone else's loved ones, because why is their husband/dad/brother, etc, in a cage on St. Kilda? It's an island off of Scotland that isn't inhabited. Now, it's suddenly a military base?

When they see him, it's clear shock and denial at first. They're looking at an infected Caz huddling in the corner of a cage, too scared to get close. He's equally ashamed as he is guilty for leaving them so suddenly to escape his problem, only to land himself in something much bigger that can never be fixed.

There's a lot of crying and apologise from him, but he eventually works up the courage to get close and hold Suze's face, because he's one of the rarities that kept their arms after turning. Suze notes how warm he is and how much she's missed that feeling.

As for Cait and Maidie, they're confused. Very confused. Thankfully, they're not scared, but they don't understand what's happened to their father. Caz breaks it down for them in a child-friendly manner before distracting them by asking about Christmas.

When Roy takes them away to show them off to the others, Caz and Suze get the closer they both need. It's a long talk with much reflecting and thinking about the future, but they decide to leave the past behind and move ahead.

'Does it hurt?'

'Not anymore. The further away I am from that rig and the closer I am to you, everything feels better.' A pause. 'I canne fucking swim though.'

'Are you taking the piss?'

'I wish I was.'

Cue them both laughing over the irony.

#Still Wakes the Deep

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that1insomniac · 5 months ago

Note

Jax vs Sans. the war of the smiley trashbags.

Could not have asked for a better ask to start this blog.

Jax

“Ooh, violence.”

Jax is a humanoid jackrabbit trapped inside of The Amazing Digital Circus. Throughout the first 2 episodes of the show, he’s portrayed as a sadistic person who appears not to care about harming others (including his friends).

Pros:

Digital Body (can’t ‘die’, immune to almost all types of death inducing methods)

Sadistic Nature (won’t care that much if Sans starts showing weakness)

Cartoon Physics Apply to Him (can teleport/run absurdly fast, stretch limbs, etc.)

Cons:

Arrogant (might give Sans an opening to attack)

Impatient (gave up driving the rig in Candy Carrier Chaos because the horn sucked)

Quick to Anger/Recklessness (doesn’t really think things through, can be rash)

Sans

*Can’t doge forever. Keep attacking.

Sans is a monster sealed underneath Mt. Ebott. Through most of the game, he’s depicted as a smiling, pun-telling, fourth wall breaking funny bone man. However, if you kill everyone in the game, he turns into one of the hardest boss fights in the entire game.

Pros:

Wide Variety of Weaponry (gravity manipulation, bone summoning, gaster blasters, KR, etc.)

Able to Dodge (this is unique in the game, as monsters don’t usually dodge attacks)

Able to Break The Normal Fighting System (attacking you on your turn, not letting you even have your turn)

Cons:

Low Stamina (can only dodge a certain amount of times, grows tired as battle progresses)

Stats (1 HP, 1 ATK)

Lazy (needs a lot of motivation to even start a fight)

Fight Explanation

So the way this fight will go is that we’re gonna assume that both characters are somehow teleported to a giant floating slab in the middle of nowhere, exactly as they are right now. Alright, let’s do this.

FIGHT

“JAX!! WHY DO YOU KEEP PUTTING CENTIPEDES IN MY ROOM!!!”

Ragatha’s screams echoed all through the tent, causing the inhabitants to stir out of their sleep. They didn’t blame Ragatha though, they all knew how much of a jerk Jax is.

“Chillax dollface, they’re not even real. All digital, remember?”

”WELL THEY FEEL REAL TO ME!!”

Ragatha attempted to hurl a sewing needle at Jax’s eye. He dodged it easily, and turned to face Ragatha, eyebrows raised.

“Really, dollface? I thought you knew better than tha-“

Suddenly, a shadow set upon the tent. Before anyone knew what was happening, a giant black hand had grabbed Jax and dragged him through the nearest door. Jax caught a glimpse of a swirling golden tower before being dropped onto a giant, flat, gray landscape.

Groaning, Jax got to his feet.

“Hey, what’s the big idea!?”

After dusting himself off, Jax looked around. He saw nothing but flat gray ground as far as the eye could see. Suddenly, from behind, he heard a voice. A low, menacing voice that shook him to his core.

“don’t you know how to greet a new pal? turn around… and s h a k e m y h a n d.”

Instinctively, Jax spun around and threw a punch. When he withdrew his fist from the air (he seemed to have missed his intended target), he saw a skeleton standing a few inches away with his hand outstretched.

“woahhh there pal, it’s just the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick.”

Jax was seething. First the stupid ragdoll had tried to kill him, and now this skeleton was mocking him. He was sure that this was one of Caine’s tricks, trying to make him “behave better”. Well he wasn’t going to take this, not from that damn AI and certainly not from one of his stupid NPC’s. He drew his fist back again and started trying to hit the skeleton anywhere he could, but no matter where he tried to punch, the skeleton seemed to be a few inches away.

“man, you really like trying to kill people you first meet. reminds me of a friend of mine.”

Sans decided that it was time to see if this rabbit was worth messing around with. Casually, he lifted up his hand and held Jax in place. Jax, stunned at his inability to move, watched as the skeleton’s ‘eyes’ went dark leaving 2 empty eye sockets that seemed to stare into his soul.

*Jax, LV. 19 - 54 ATK 48 DEF

*Seems he can’t be reasoned with…

“huh, LV. 19… wonder how you managed that.”

“What the hell are you on about skeleton, lemme go!” Jax was struggling against the invisible force holding him up. Sans obliged, letting him drop to the ground with a sickening crunch.

“Not like that, dumbass! I meant gently!”

Sans didn’t respond. He noticed the uneasy aura around Jax that he had previously thought was the eerie environment. This rabbit had to be stopped, lest it bring more chaos and destruction to its home.

“let’s just get to the point” Sans said, snapping his fingers

Jax whirled around. He was now in a 2 dimensional white box, facing the skeleton.

“Oh so that’s how you wanna do it huh, funny man?!? Give yourself a smaller space for you to run!?” Jax was fuming. He’d never seen anything like this.

”welp, i guess you know what they say… you don’t carrot all until someone shows that your actions aren’t white as fur.”

“Jeez that was awfu-“ Jax didn’t get a chance to finish because before he knew it, he was being slammed against one of the boxes walls. He quickly bounced back to his feet and lunged at the skeleton, barely missing the bones that shot out of the wall behind him. He charged, pulling a flintlock from behind his ears. He dodged more bones, then punched at the skeleton. As he had expected, the skeleton had dodged out of the way, but now he took aim and fired the flintlock right at the smiling idiot.

Sans still managed to dodge, driving the rabbit further into anger. Suddenly, a dragon skull almost as big as the fudge monster in the candy kingdom appeared and hit him square in the torso. It hurt like hell, but it couldn’t kill Jax.

“Hey stupid! I’m a human, not an NPC like you! You can’t exactly kill me!”

Sans stopped for a second. The rabbit’s words had confused him. Human? But this… thing clearly wasn’t human… right? Before he could ponder this question too much, he saw the bunny take aim again and dodged the bullet. Jax, now going to desperate measures to get one hit on the skeleton, pulled out a minigun he stole from the rig and opened fire on Sans.

Sans dodged all the bullets, but the constant assault was wearing him down. Very early in the battle, he decided to use his pre-special attack. Jax dropped his minigun as he was slammed from wall to wall, but he knew now how to dodge to bones. After hitting all for walls, he had to dodge around a bunch of bones.

”Is that all you got?!?” taunted Jax.

Sans’ smile widened as he stretched the box and sent the rabbit flying down the hall. Jax, not expecting this, was forced to twist his digital body in a way no normal body could to avoid the stream of bones down the hall he now zoomed down. He collided sharply with a wall and had to jump as yet more bones came at him. After that, yet more dragon skulls tried to blast him, forcing him to run screaming in circles. Finally, the blasters stopped, but then the skeleton grabbed him again and started outright pounding him against the walls.

At long last, all was silent. Jax was sprawled on the floor, flat as a pancake, while Sans was nearby, gasping and wheezing after all the effort he had used. Jax peeled himself up off the ground.

Holy shit, that hurt. This is the most brutal NPC that Caine’s ever made, thought Jax. He noticed the skeleton kneeling nearby. “Whassa matta with you bone man? All tuckered out?” Jax grinned malevolently, knowing his victory was within his grasp. Sans got to his feet.

“welp, guess it’s time for my special attack.” he said, grinning at the rabbitoid. Jax prepared himself, expecting bones, dragon skulls, or walls to rush him at any minute. But nothing came.

“So uhhh… wherezit at?” he asked.

Sans grin broadened. “this is my special attack. it’s nothing. and it ain’t gonna be anything either.”

Jax was puzzled. “You mean… you give up? Wow guess i’m better than even I thought.” He reached for one of his guns, but found there were none. No matter, he thought, i’ll just punch this guy into oblivion he stepped forward, and was instantly teleported back.

“nope. can’t attack yet. it’s not your turn.”

Jax narrowed his eyes. “You mean we’ve been fighting on the honor system this whole time?! That’s the stupidest shit i’ve ever heard!” He started running at the skeleton, but kept being teleported back.

Sans stared at him. “yep, common courtesy. i attack you, you attack me, so one so forth. an eye for an eye socket.”

“Quit… With… The… PUNS!!!” Jax yelled trying desperately to get at the skeleton, but no matter what he tried, he couldn’t get near him. This was too much for Jax. He wasn’t used to being unable to reach his goals, and now the ultimate NPC stood before him and he couldn’t kill him. Now laughing like a maniac, Jax started actually clawing at the invisible force driven between him and his adversary. Suddenly, black goop started running out of every orifice in his face. He doubled up, cackling, as the goop consumed him, sprouting multi-colored eyes all over his body. Jax had abstracted.

End of battle

Thoughts

This battle was hard to think about. As Jax technically can’t die, and Sans only dies if you don’t move during his final attack, this was tricky. Like I said, it all boils down to Sans’ final attack. In a battle of wills, who would win? Jax would have had to sit and do nothing for 5 minutes before getting the chance to strike at Sans, and I honestly couldn’t see him doing that (impatient bastard).

SANS WINS!

Do you agree with this? Lemme know in the comments how this would have gone in your mind. I read all comments and am really curious to hear your thoughts! :)

#tadc #the amazing digital circus #undertale #sans #sans undertale #jax tadc #fight blog #jax vs sans

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happenstnces · 2 years ago

Text

⠀CRIMSON CLOVER ✧ E. PRENTISS

✧ based off of this prompt. emily prentiss x gn!reader !

syn. it may be your job, but you’re getting sick and tired of patching her up. warning ! intentional lowercase, swearing, mentions of blood, alcohol, & smoking, suggested smut, enemies to a little more than friends, slight hurt/comfort & angst. wc. 2.4k

ೃ⁀➷ masterlist ! add yourself to the taglist here

the first time you met her, you immediately knew you could never get along.

getting her to sit down at the foot of the rig was a struggle on it’s own, she kept insisting that she was fine, that it was just a scratch, and she made it nearly impossible for you to just do your damn job. she huffed the entire time, rolling her dark eyes as you fired through the list of routine questions, acting as though you tending to the gash in her forehead was nothing more than an inconvenience.

“seriously, i’m fine.” she snapped, shrugging the hand you had on the top of her head away. you quirked a brow, “you need stitches.”

“no, i don’t. it doesn’t even hurt,” she raised her hand to prod at the open wound, but you were quick to catch her wrist before she could make contact and inevitably give herself an infection. “oh, i didn’t realize the fbi gave out medical degrees.”

you dropped her hand back to her lap and cocked your head in annoyance, hoping to god she would just shut up and sit there. “when you work in a hospital that isn’t on wheels, i’ll start taking medical advice from a nurse.” she muttered.

she wasn’t even sure why she said it, she didn’t have any particular hatred for paramedics, in fact, she often found herself very thankful for them. part of her felt bad for being so rude to you, you were just doing your job, but in her defence, getting clocked in the head with a two-by-four had slowed her down and allowed the unsub to escape; leaving her unwillingly sat in the back of an ambulance while the rest of the team followed in pursuit.

“perfect. next time you need a hospital on wheels, i’ll remember you said that.” you made sure your tone matched hers, infused with clear irritation, while trying to just scrape being professional. it may be petty, but your day hadn’t exactly been going your way, either. “and i’m not a nurse.”

“are you done yet?”

“did i say i was done?”

she bit her tongue, stewing in her annoyance until you snapped your gloves as you pulled them off. “there. now i’m done.” she narrowed her eyes at you, “thanks.” if she had only waited until she was a few more feet away, you would have missed what she mumbled beneath her breath as she strode towards the black SUV parked a little up the road.

“smartass.”

you didn’t see her for some time after that, either she had been extremely careful in the field (which sounded rather unlikely), or she had requested you specifically be removed from the rotation of paramedics that are first on the bau’s beck and call.

in all honesty, you wouldn’t put it past her—hell, you had even thought about requesting it yourself. the next time you saw her, you internally groaned, rolling your eyes when her back turned to you.

“please, roll your eyes harder. i don’t think they got a good look at the back of your skull.” judging by the smirk on her lips, she must’ve thought that was quite clever. you didn’t respond, keeping your eyes trained on the bloody knuckles cradled in your hands, brows knit together in annoyance. you didn’t have it in you to bicker with her right now, quickly making friends with silence.

“what? no snarky remarks for me today, sunshine?” she prodded, raising her leg beside her, foot tucked into the crook of her knee. you hummed, but said nothing. the quicker you could patch her up, the quicker you could continue with your day. “you bruised the bone.” you disturbed the lull that had snaked its way between you.

“no, i didn’t.”

“really?” you pressed ever so gently on the knuckle of her pointer finger, watching as she winced and swore and tugged her swollen hand from your grasp. “ow!” your brows raised knowingly, pursing your lips as if to silently say i told you so. “what did you do?” she was hesitant to slip her hand back into yours waiting open and patiently. “nothing, yet. if you don’t let me do my job, my story might change.”

you held her gaze for a second, as if to solidify your threat, but it quickly dissolved into a small smile that mirrored hers. “what did you do?” you changed the topic; maybe if you got to know her, your distaste would soften. you highly doubted it, but it was worth a shot, right?

“punched someone.” she said nonchalantly, “a few times.”

you let out a sharp puff of air from your nose, a sorry excuse for a laugh, and reached for the medical tape beside you. “i’d hate to see what they look like.” you were both silent again, and you didn’t speak until you had taped her hand and told her she was free to go.

“stop getting hurt, i’m sick of fixing you.” you called as she began to walk away. she turned on her heel and took a few steps backwards, biting back a laugh. “oh, no! what am i to do without my favourite nurse?”

you curled your lips downward, trying to hide the smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. “still not a nurse.”

much like before, a few weeks passed before your paths crossed again—this time, it wasn’t in the middle of your workday. you were walking home from a game night with your friends when she came stumbling out of a bar a few paces up the sidewalk, hand cupping her jaw as she cursed, rather loudly.

“fucking christ!” you weren’t going to say anything, hoping you could seamlessly pass by, until she spit a mouthful of blood in front of her boots, wiping the corner of her bleeding lip with the heel of her hand.

“prentiss?” you called out, stopping a few feet away. she looked up, and if you had been looking a little closer, you would’ve caught the relief that momentarily flashed across her face. “oh, hey.” she shook her stiff hand out, the once swollen and bloody knuckles reduced to faint green and yellow blots, wobbling on unsteady legs as she did so.

you scoffed, already wishing you could go back in time and keep walking. “what happened?”

“bar fight.”

“jesus,” you muttered, wryly chuckling in disbelief. “i’m starting to think you’re purposefully looking to get injured.” she smiled back at you, wincing when the movement stretched the open cut on the corner of her lip. “fuck,” she hissed. “guess i can’t stay away,” she spat another mouthful of blood on the pavement, “where else am i gonna find a nurse with such an attitude?”

you cornered her with your gaze. “you’re making it really difficult to want to help you.” again, that cocky, shit-eating smile lit up her face. “c’mon, what other patient do you love as much as me?”

“oh, love is not the word that comes to mind when i think of you, prentiss.”

“emily.”

“what?”

“my name. it’s emily.”

you nodded firmly, just once. “okay, emily. do you want me to look at that split lip, or what?” her smile only seemed to grow. “it sounds like you really want to. i dunno, i think you do love me. just a little bit.”

you nudged her with your shoulder as you began to walk forward again, silently beckoning her to follow, and it’s only when she was behind you did you let your sheepish smile present itself to the cement. you were quick to reel it in, turn your head over your shoulder, and nod up the sidewalk, an indication for her to come with you. “i don’t need you telling everyone i neglected an injured fbi agent. you coming, or are you too busy spitting up your teeth?”

she giddily smiled and began following the ghost of your footsteps, lighting a cigarette after a few blocks of silence. “are you seriously smoking right now?” she cluelessly looked at you, cigarette hanging from the intact corner of her lips, “oh, sorry. want one?”

“no, i don’t. i can’t believe you smoke.”

“why? tons of people do it.”

“yeah, and it kills tons of people—people who aren’t already in danger because of their job. you’re like a walking death wish.”

you came to a halt in front of the door to your complex, watching as she tossed it to the ground and stomped it out with the toe of her boot. “technically, i’ve died already.”

“i’m sorry, what?”

“don’t be. it was kinda cool, i guess. i don’t know.”

your lips smoothed into a small frown. you didn’t ask her to share, you didn’t want to prod.

she briefly explained how she had been put in witness protection after the doyle case as you made your way up to your apartment, finishing her story once you sat her on the lip of your bathtub and began rooting through your medicine cabinet. “i’m sorry that happened to you.” she shrugged it off as if it was nothing more than an insignificant, bothersome part of her week, like getting stuck in traffic or the grocery store being sold out of her favourite snack.

you watched her gently prod at the cut with her thumb, looking down at the dried blood smeared across her hand in confusion. “is this from me?” she looked up at you, brows furrowed in drunken uncertainty. she didn’t remember there being this much. “stop touching it.” after gathering what you needed, you sat cross-legged on your toilet seat and grabbed her by the shoulders, tilting her towards you.

“but yes.” you were cautious to grasp her jaw, ever so gently slanting her head to the side to get a good look, “damn, whoever you fought got a few good swings in. maybe you’re not as good as i thought,” you tried to lighten her confusion with a joke, only her intoxication blurred the line between harmless poking and genuine disappointment.

her face fell slightly. “emily, i’m kidding.” she hummed. she was silent for a long while, glassy eyes inspecting your bathroom as you dabbed the dried blood off her chin with a washcloth. “you’re not obligated to do this, you know.” she quietly confessed.

“to do what?” she grabbed your wrist and pulled your cool fingers from her face, turning her head straight to look at you. “to keep fixing me.” you let out a shallow, calm sigh, shaking your head. “if we’re still talking in technicalities, i am.”

you raised your hand to keep going, but she stopped you again, bloody fingers twisting around your own. “but you’re not. you could’ve kept walking. why didn’t you?”

“why didn’t i keep walking?”

she nodded, “i know you don’t like me.” and while there was a kernel of truth in her statement, you weren’t exceptionally fond of her, you couldn’t help but find her snarky attitude a little charming. “i can’t let you walk around like this. who’d trust an fbi agent that looks like they got their shit rocked?”

again, you tried to bring your conversation back to lighthearted territory. “you’re deflecting.”

“and you’re profiling me.”

this seemed to shut her up for a moment, enough time for you to wipe away the blood that had trickled down the column of her neck. you started to clean along the length of her forearm when she stopped you again, prying the washcloth from your hand and placing it on the edge of the bathtub beside her. “seriously, why are you helping me?”

you held her eye with your own slightly pointed. “can’t i, just…be nice to you? why do you think i have ulterior motives, or something?”

“because you’ve never been just nice to me.”

“you’ve never given me a reason to be.”

again, this seemed to stun her for the time being. whether it be the intoxicated mind-lag or not, she sat wordlessly and inspected your face as you began rooting through the first aid bag again. “i don’t have the proper stuff to stitch your lip,” you whispered, mostly to yourself, trying to think of a quick temporary fix until the morning.

“you can kiss it better.”

“ha-ha, knee slapper.”

she nudged your ankle with her foot, bringing your focus back to her face. “i wasn’t kidding.” this time, it’s you that was stunned to silence for a beat.

“you’re drunk.”

“i’m sober enough to know what i’m saying.” she cocked her head, fingers splayed along the small of your wrist. “i see the way you look at me. i know you want to.” she leaned ever so slightly, enough so you could faintly smell the cigarette smoke lingering on her tongue.

your eyes flicked from her own, her lips, then to her eyes again. “i don’t kiss my patients.”

“no? not part of your specialty?” she smiled, bottom lip slipping between her teeth. then she tipped her chin up, brushing her lips warily against yours. when she felt you start to kiss her back, your hands flying to cup her face in your hands, she poured a little more faith into her movements and kissed you like she meant it, like your lips against hers was the thing she’d been unknowingly missing.

“do you want me to stop?” she clarified between soft lip locks, hands trickling down your sides. “no.” and then your lips connected again, moving in perfect synchronicity, slow and gentle as you map out exactly what the other favoured. when you part your lips, emily hesitantly swiped her tongue across the bottom one, asking for permission.

you opened your mouth a little wider, your tongues rolling against one another as you explored each other’s mouths, hands roaming over clothed skin and shallow breaths swapping between you.

the next morning you’d awoken to an empty bed, naked body twisted around the cold, stark-white sheets you had found yourself entangled in the night before. it wasn’t until you fully sat up did you notice it; the small crimson blotch in the middle of the pillowcase beside you. it was impossible to miss, it made you grit your teeth and whip your head around in search of the source.

instead, at the end of the trail your clothing created, a sticky note on the bathroom doorframe anticipated your attention.

morning, sunshine. did you know the coffee place down the street does a nurses discount? i’d check that out if i were you. - emily.

you scoffed.

you were right, you could never get along.

an. mean lesbian emily number one in my heart forever <3 this is borderline ooc but idc this was a lot of fun to write :-)

tglist. ( open ! you can request to be added or removed here ) @mylilenbyheart @storiesofsvu @mickey-gomez @daffodil-heart

#marla writes #emily prentiss #emily prentiss x reader #emily prentiss x gn!reader #emily prentiss x you #emily prentiss imagines #emily prentiss drabbles #emily prentiss fanfiction #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds imagines #criminal minds drabbles #criminal minds fanfiction #bau x reader #bau imagines #bau drabbles #mw: crimson clover

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hannahshattuck · 11 months ago

Text

Subs Only $6.66

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers

Rating: E

Art by: @mxaether (view the amazing art here)

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cam Boy Steve Rogers, Trans Steve Rogers, Trans Character, Beefy Bucky Barnes, Professor Bucky Barnes, Professor/Student, College Student Steve Rogers, Mean Dom Bucky, Dildos, Sex Toys, Age Difference, Shrinkyclinks

Summary: "The hand wrapped around his dick stroked with every move of Steve’s hips. He saw the signs of Steve about to come but could tell on his face that none of the fantasies people have sent would send him over that edge. Bucky smirked as he hit send that his response would be the one to send Steve over that edge."

Written for @buckybarnesevents ShrinkyClinks Double Bang 2023

“Hi my little bunnies!” Bucky smiled at his computer screen as the live stream from his favorite cam boy started and the blond twink showed up on his laptop. Bucky couldn’t help but palm his dick through his sweats. Just seeing the twink’s face never failed to make Bucky’s dick stir.

“I hope you all have had a great day. I know I did.” The cam boy, who goes by Grant, giggled. “I was sent a gift from one of you lovely people and I decided that we could try it together.”

Grant leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed whatever gift he was sent. When it appeared on screen, Bucky couldn’t help the smirk that graced his face. The icy blue tentacle grinder was attached to a pillow with the provided straps. It was the top item on Grant’s wishlist and he’s talked about it so much on his socials that Bucky decided to buy it.

“Now, I know who it’s from and, before you all ask, no I will not be sharing their name. That’s for me to know and me only.” Grant laid back and slid his lacy, wine red panties down his legs revealing the other star of the show. “As you can see, I’ve been very excited to try this toy. I think I’ve soaked through three pairs of panties since I’ve received it.” Grant rubbed his fingers through the wetness that was leaking out of him. “Now I can’t wait anymore. Enjoy the show, my little bunnies.”

Bucky groaned as Grant slid two fingers in his pussy with little resistance. Bucky slides the waistband of his sweats under his balls and grip his dick tightly. He didn’t want to bust his load before he saw Grant get off. Grant pulled his fingers out and shifted so he was kneeling on the bed and grabbed the pillow with the tentacle grinder attached to it. He placed it between his legs and settled on the grinder. The cam boy rolled his hips experimentally and he let out a loud moan when his dick rubbed against the bumps of the grinder.

“Oh, god.” Grant moaned with his head thrown back. He gripped the pillow tightly, his pale knuckled turn as white as the pillow. He rolled his hips faster and with each brush of his dick against the grinder, his moans got louder and louder. Grant lifted his head up and looked directly into the camera. Bucky groaned and stroked his dick faster. The blissed out look on Grant’s face made him wish he was the cause of the cam boy’s pleasure. Although, in a way he was since he gifted Grant the toy.

“I’m gonna come.” Grant moaned as his hips moved faster. He looked like he was riding a dick and Bucky wished Grant was riding his dick. Grant’s moans became louder and his body hunched over as his hips stuttered with his climax. Bucky came not long after and his release coated his hand and some landed on his sweatpants. It’s a good thing Bucky didn’t have anything to do after this because there was no way he’d be able to focus after the show he just witnessed.

“Oh. My. God.” Grant took a deep breath as he collapsed on his side. His chest rose and fell with each panting breath. Bucky could tell that orgasm took a lot out of Grant and the dom side of Bucky wished he was there to provide the man the aftercare he deserved.

“That…was amazing.” Grant giggled as he rolled onto his stomach and kicked his feet in the air. The smile on his face proved that Bucky picked the right item to gift him with. “I’m going to get cleaned up now but I hope you came as hard as I did and enjoyed the show. I’ll see you all again, my bunnies!” Grant blew a kiss at the camera before he ended the stream. Bucky closed the web browser and shut his laptop. He cleaned himself up with a tissue since he wasn’t leaving his apartment today. After a show like that, Bucky would cancel all plans just so he could recover.

_________________

“Welcome to Literature 101. I’m Professor Barnes but you can call me whatever as long as it’s respectful. The syllabus is being passed out and in it, you will see the books we will be reading. You do not need to get all of them right now, unless you want, but make sure you have them at least a week before the start date. Now, if you’d turn to page-”

The door to Bucky’s classroom slammed open as a blond hair student stumbled in. The student pushed his glasses up his nose and Bucky’s heart stopped when he made contact with the blue eyes that fill his every thought.

“I’m sorry, Professor. I got lost and-” Grant started.

“It’s fine, just find a seat please.” Bucky luck must have run out because the only available seat was front and center. Grant slid into the seat and Bucky placed a syllabus on his desk with a small smile. Grant looked up at Bucky through his long eyelashes and mumbled a thank you as he took the syllabus. “Now, turn to the second page…” Bucky continued going through the syllabus and then had the students take turns saying their name, their major, and what they hope to do when they graduate. When it got to Grant’s turn, Bucky was interested to see what he’d say.

“Hi, my name is Steve. Right now I’m undecided but, um, I like art so I’m thinking of maybe going into art therapy or something for kids that are in the hospital for treatment. So…yeah.” Grant’s, well Steve’s, shoulders came up to his ears as red colored his cheeks. For someone so confident on his Only Fans, Bucky was almost shocked to see how shy Steve is in person.

“Thank you, Steve. I’m sure if you want to do art therapy, you would help many kids.” Bucky gestured to the next student to go but saw Steve out of the corner of his eye blush more with a smile on his face. Almost as if Bucky’s praise hit something within Steve. Bucky smirked internally knowing he could use that to his advantage.

_________________

“So one of my professors is so hot, you guys!” Steve, now that Bucky knows his name, says as he lazily works a dildo in and out of his pussy. “No, I’m not going to say what class, brock7894. Besides, it doesn’t matter anyway.”

DaddyDom41: i bet its anatomy. can show youre professor that pussy

sitonmahface: nah its pe

faeboy: is there even pe in college?

Bucky chuckles at the chat when they start talking about if colleges have P.E. as a class. Which, technically no, but Bucky won’t burst their bubble. He keeps switching his gaze between the dildo Steve has and the chat begging him to say what class. Seeing Steve so carefree on his streams, makes Bucky want to keep him forever but logistically he can’t let Steve know who he is since Bucky could possibly get fired for sexual misconduct.

“Alright, you guys. Enough guessing about my classes. What should I do for this stream? I’m already soaking as you can see.” Steve pulled out the dildo which was shiny with his juices. “I didn’t have a plan since I’ve been busy with classes.”

user23468234: you should ride that grinder again. you came so hard.

Steve grinned like a cat who caught the canary. “Oh, that’s a great idea. And I did come hard. Probably the hardest I ever came.” Steve pulled the dildo all the way out and gave it a lick before setting it aside. Steve leaned over out of the camera’s view and then quickly came back into frame with a wolfish grin on his face. “What if we made this even more interesting? I’ll hold off as long as possible and you all try to make me come by telling me what fantasies you have.”

Bucky shifted in his chair when Steve said that. The fantasies he has almost always involve Steve. Bucky bending Steve over his lap and spanking that pale ass until it turns a beautiful shade of red. Pushing Steve on his knees and forcing him to take Bucky’s dick deep in his throat. Throwing Steve on to his bed and eating out his cunt and sucking on his dick until the blond is quivering and begging Bucky to fuck him. There’s no way he could type out his fantasies and send them in the chat without making himself look like a creep. Although, compared to others in the chat, based on what “fantasies” they’ve already sent, Bucky’s probably tame.

“Oh my goodness!” Steve giggled. “I haven’t even gotten the grinder set up and you all are already sending in stuff.”

daddysbitchboi: i’d like to tie nyou up and watch as you get fucked by every dildo i have

SameulWilliamBenjaminJames3: I would ask you what you wanted to do. I’d be at your mercy for you to use my body however you pleased.

Bucky rolled his eyes at that comment. Has this guy never seen one of Steve’s videos? The twink is exclusively a pillow princess who wants to be used.

Bucky groaned as he saw Steve pull the icy blue tentacle grinder into view and attached it to a round pillow Steve always kept on his bed. When Stev straddled the pillow, Bucky’s hand shot straight into his pants. He tightened his grip at the base of his cock to stave off his climax. He needed to see Steve reach the end before he did.

“Alright, fuck,” Steve took his bottom lip between his teeth as his hips moved over the bumpy grinder. “I forgot how good this feels. Hng.” Steve threw his head back as his hips moved faster. He then slowed down with a blissed out look at the camera. “C’mon. Send me those fantasies. The one who’s fantasy makes me come might get a special treat.”

Bucky knew then he’d resign from his teaching position. He’d risk it all for Steve. With one hand, Bucky typed his response but waited to send it. With all the videos he’s seen of Steve’s, Bucky knows when the blond is about to come. The way a red flush makes its way across Steve’s cheeks and down his chest. The tendon in his neck bulges out as Steve clenches his jaw to stave off his climax.

brock7894: i’d tie you up and attach you to my fucking machine. youd take the biggest fake dick that could fit in that pussy

Bucky growled at that brock7894 ass. Trying to steal his boy. Not…that…Steve was his actually. The hand wrapped around his dick stroked with every move of Steve’s hips. He saw the signs of Steve about to come but could tell on his face that none of the fantasies people have sent would send him over that edge. Bucky smirked as he hit send that his response would be the one to send Steve over that edge.

_________________

“Remember that your final essays are due next Thursday. They count for half of your grade to please make sure to work on them with ample time.” Bucky dismissed his students and sat behind his desk and started closing the powerpoint on his computer. When the last student, or who he thought was the last student, left the door was slammed shut and Bucky heard the faint click of the lock. He turned his head and smirked when he saw Steve stalk over with a glare across his pretty face. “Mister Rogers. What can I do for you?”

Steve slammed a piece of paper on the desk and pointed at Bucky with an accusatory finger, “You knew who I was the moment I stepped into your class.”

Bucky looked down at the paper and smirked when he saw it was his chat response.

jbb32557038: if you were my boy i’d take you over my knee and spank that ass red. you’d be on your knees so quick that you wouldn’t know up from down. i’d force your jaw open, shove my dick down your throat and make you choke until you start begging for my cum. or maybe you’d be bent over my desk while i teach. every time a student fails there your sweet ass would be ready to take my frustrations

Bucky looked up at Steve with a shiteating grin, “Hey, you came harder than you ever did before.”

Steve’s glare deepend. “Isn’t there something in the rules about engaging with one of your students sexually? I’ll go to the dean.”

Bucky stood up from his chair and towered over Steve. The way the shorter man took a step back made Bucky grin more menacing, “And tell them what, sweetheart? That you’re a cam boy? That one of your professors watches your videos and did before you were his student?” Bucky stepped closer to Steve which caused the shorter man to back up. When Steve’s back hit the door, Bucky knew he had him in his grasps. “Or would you tell them that you came so hard from your professor’s fantasies? That your little dick twitched as your pussy exploded. That you soaked the pillow you had your grinder on. The same grinder your professor bought you. I was watching your videos before you were my student. Should I have stopped when you walked in that first day? Probably, but with the way you’re reacting I made the right choice of not stopping.”

Bucky gripped Steve’s throat and the blond’s eyes rolled back. The professor leaned in close so Steve could feel his breath on his lips. He gently squeezed the sides of Steve’s neck to get his attention. Crystal blue eyes met Bucky’s own storm cloud gray. “Now, if you’re done being a brat I’d very much like to kiss you and fulfill all my fantasies and yours. What do you say?”

#shrinkyclinksdoublebang2023 #hannahshattuck writings #bucky barnes #steve rogers #stucky #stevebucky #steve rogers x bucky barnes #shrinkyclinks

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chorne-the-firstborn · 11 months ago

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EEE thank you @l3o-lion !! To answer your question, most of the animations I post on here are tweening, specifically with Live2D.

I like using it for gentle looping animations & backdrops. (Character animations are a whole different beast? I usually only keep them to a couple functions like 'HandMove' or 'HairGoWoosh'" but this is the VTuber-making software so it's totally possible to make more complex characters. )

I made a tutorial for how I animate with L2D below the cut, if you'd like to see the details! :D

This is the file for that Artfight attack. (quick disclaimer for anyone reading out of context: THIS IS NOT MY CHARACTER DESIGN, they belong to Finchstick over on Artfight!)

I drew the image itself in Krita - for this one I tried to go for more of a fuzzy, painterly style because I wanted to make it look like a muppet. L2D can handle fuzzy textures and gradients without too much trouble most of the time which is something I really like about animating with it.

______________

So! Each different moving piece has to be its own layer. Naming and organizing them into folders helps a lot once I export it into L2D. The finished image needs to be saved as a .PSD file.

After it's done, I'll open the .PSD file in L2D and it'll look something like this:

Once the file is open I find the moving pieces of my character and select them. (I also lock the static layers before doing anything )

_______ M E S H E S ________

Once I have my piece selected, I open the automatic mesh generator ( located above the image, to the left ) and automatic mesh it.

(Keep the mesh generator window open and select / apply mesh to each moving object.)

______ D E F O R M E R S _______

Once the pieces have a mesh on them I apply warp deformers for each part. (I try to apply the deformer for each body part to the largest piece making up that part. For example, the part being used for the head deformer here is the upper part of the head.)

Each part of the face also gets a deformer - each eye, the mouth, etc - and those get shoved into the parent "head" warp deformer.

The deformers allow for parts of the face to move with the head, but they also allow for you to set more parameters per part and make your model look more dynamic. (There's a 3 parameter limit in the free version but if I need to make another parameter work I'll just brute force it and make a 'head deformer deformer' etc)

_____ P A R A M E T E R S ______

Once the deformers are set up, I start setting the parameters.

The program opens with these default parameters which are all intended for rigging a face, you can make your own custom parameters at the bottom of the window.

As for the green dots here, they represent points of extremes on the parameter! You can change what these are by moving the slider over the green dot, and moving the mesh on the selected object.

This can be a bit tedious, but it's fun to watch the model look more alive the more parameters you finish.

______ A N I M A T I N G _______

After I save my model as a .CMO3 file I open a new animation file in L2D, and drag and drop the .CMO3 into the window.

The model shows up much larger than the window. You can resize the window in the bottom left, (third and fourth fields from the top,) and shrink the model to fit inside.

(The free version has a limitation on how big your image can be in order to be exported. It usually takes me a bit of trial and error to get the right size for the image.)

The window below your image shows your tracks. You can have multiple models per animation, I usually just use one. The purple track represents the model while the orange represents the duration of the animation.

With that out of the way, it's time to set the keyframes! Under the purple model track there's a green drop-down window called 'Live2D Parameters'. Here, you can adjust your parameters in order to move your model to the right position.

(In order to make a looping animation, you can copy all parameter values in the first keyframe by left RIGHT clicking the dot on the green Parameters track, and then paste them to the last rendered keyframe.)

I adjust the parameters and keyframes until I feel satisfied with the result. Once I'm done, I just go to File > Export Image/Video > GIF animation or Video.

I make sure my image is sized correctly, and save! And that's about it. ( For this specific animation I also put some effects over it in Clipchamp. )

#Live2D #L2D #tutorial

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narrans · 8 months ago

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The Orion's Daughter : To Lands Beyond | Chapter 16 | Parley and Purpose

**~~~~~**

Chapter Sixteen | Parley and Purpose

**~~~~~**

Words could not describe the immense ship currently eclipsing the sun. I thought our ships in the neighborhood ports were massive, but this ship was on a whole other level. Yes, it belonged to giants, but there was a difference between hearing about the ships of the Orion and then seeing them in person.

Steele’s shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly beneath my momma and me. I didn’t know if that was merely because Steele was a little older or if he was wary and nervous for what was to come. Whatever the reason, I was prepared for nearly every scenario. Sure, I didn’t have my emergency bag, but all I needed was my sword and hidden dagger to start problem solving.

My momma reached over and held tightly to my left hand. I assumed it was because she liked the reassurance or that she needed the stability as we sat there perched on Steele’s shoulder, but neither of us spoke as we rode up to the Bennevis.

The ocean rocked and churned under the dinghy, feeling a bit like a bucking horse, as Steele stood and followed Wofur’s lead in standing and grasping the rope ladder that hung over the edge over the bow of the ship. As Steele grasped the ladder, two of the oarsmen leaned over and held the bottom of the ladder to keep it from twisting and pulling away from the ship.

“Allow us, Ser,” they said in almost perfect unison.

Ser? For some reason, I imagined the word capitalized and spelled with an “e” and not an “i,” but that was usually reserved for knights and officers.

Wait…

I looked up at Steele, glimpsing only part of his profile, as he kept his keen violet eyes affixed to the top of the ladder and the bow of the ship. An odd sensation crept over me as I braced for each step that he ascended.

Steele told me he was part of the military and that he studied warfare as well as some of the battles and strategies he used, but he never said where he was in the fray. Was he a grunt? A foot soldier? Or was he a knight? An officer?

I gazed up at Steele in awe.

There was still so much I didn’t know about him.

I decided to interrogate him about it later. For now, I kept my eyes wide open as Steele finally made it to the top. I glanced down and instantly felt a partial wave of nausea swirl in my gut. I haven’t felt something like that in a while, but looking down at the dinghy and the ocean from what was surely a lethal distance made me the slightest bit uneasy.

I didn’t let it show though. I swallowed dryly and turned my attention to the deck of the ship.

There was so much to see that I could have spent hours evaluating the scene before me. There were a few dozen deck hands scurrying around this way and that performing different tasks. Some of them were cleaning the deck. Others were checking the rigging. Others were swinging from ropes making sure the sails were being taken care of.

Regardless of what they were doing at the time, the moment Steele stood on the bow, all of them stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. Silence settled over the ship and nothing but the occasional flapping sound of a tarp being jostled in the wind broke the veil of silence.

It wasn’t until the shrill scream of a whistle snapped the crew to attention that anything happened. I turned my eyes to the Captain’s quarters and felt my jaw slacken as I spotted someone who I could only assume to be the Captain and the First Mate, but this isn’t what caught me by surprise. It was the fact that they were both women.

The Captain, Tanna Aludor, wore a light blue frock coat that was the same shade as the vests of the crew members. She wore a tri-pointed brown leather hat that sat on top of straight black hair that fell right to her shoulders. Her dark brown eyes were that of a predator, ready to strike and sound off a command without hesitation. Her knee-high boots sounded heavy as she strode across the wooden planks toward Steele. Her movements were sure and determined, just like how Steele had taught me to be.

The First Mate followed immediately behind, a mousy looking girl on the outside, but a burning blaze in her green eyes. Her light brown hair was tied back into one long singular ponytail that flowed behind her with an unearthly flow.

As the Captain passed, all muttered, “g’day Captain,” and kept their heads bowed until she had completely passed them.

Feeling it was only polite, I dared to stand on Steele’s shoulder as he subtly fell into some stance that must have been “attention” and maintained it until the Captain was within arm’s reach of him. Her charcoal eyes flicked to my momma and me just for a moment, giving me just enough time to imitate the gesture I saw the other crew members perform and for her to recognize it before her eyes flicked back to Steele.

“Captain, permission to come aboard,” stated Steele in his native tongue, keeping his eyes straight forward without looking her directly in the eye. My heart pounded excitedly, getting to see everything firsthand.

Then, with her right hand, she bent her elbow up toward her shoulder, keeping her palm facing her. She did not put her arm down and said nothing for several seconds. Mesmerized, I watched as Steele’s eyes widened before he shifted ever so slightly and mimicked the motion, but he kept his palm away from him, not toward himself. Then, after a moment, he lowered his hand, and Captain Aludor did the same. Only then did the Captain speak.

“Ser, permission is not necessary for someone of your rank aboard my vessel,” stated the Captain. Steele smiled and shook his head in amused disbelief.

“I am retired, Captain Aludor. The ship is yours regardless of my once esteemed rank,” replied Steele softly. I could tell he was maintaining formality by the words he chose to use, but his tone was friendly enough to promote conversation. “Please, allow me to introduce my comrades - my hanai. This is Raina Toro and her daughter Terrilyn Lun.”

There was an instant spark of curiosity from the Captain as she looked to Steele and then to my momma and me. Once again, I gave the same bow as before, but I dared not speak just yet. I had suddenly been thrown into a new set of customs and I was not about to interject incorrectly.

I made sure to make eye-contact this time though, ensuring Captain Aludor that I was not going to be overlooked. Steele taught me about the importance of eye-contact, and I was not about to back down entirely. Respectful, but not submissive.

And she saw it.

There was a moment where I swear I saw a flicker of intrigue before she looked back to Steele.

“Well, I shan’t keep you long then, shall I. Please, will you join me in my quarters for a discussion?” asked Captain Aludor as she stepped to the side and gestured to the Captain’s quarters at the stern of the ship. Steele, glancing back once more at his friend, turned and nodded once. Captain Aludor spun on her heel and, without another word, began marching toward the stern. Steele’s footsteps were significantly quieter, him not wearing any shoes, compared to the Captain’s bold stride. Still, Steele commanded the attention of the deck just as the Captain had done.

It made me wonder more and more about Steele’s background. He told me stories, but never spoke of his rank. I never thought to ask because of how he told the stories. He always sounded like he was among the soldiers, with them and not above them. Was this how the Orion organized their forces? Or was this how Steele conducted himself?

I knew what I would be doing tonight.

The Captain’s quarters were simple but sophisticated. A massive window took up nearly the entire stern of the ship, letting in the scene of the ocean behind her. There was a cot, desk, oil lamps that hung from the ceiling, maps and charts showing the topography of the ocean floor as well as lines showing the tides and flows of the ocean. There were odd devices measuring distance as well as dials and devices that I had no inkling of what they could do. I stared at the map for a few moments, really taking in the scope of the entire world.

What an amazing place….

What adventures awaited the horizons sketched on that paper?

The Captain and First Mate maneuvered around the desk and sat, gesturing to Steele and Wofur to sit as well. Steele nodded politely before calmly walking over and taking a seat opposite the Captain. For several seconds, the silence returned when the Captain leaned forward in her chair, clasping her fingers in front of her calculatingly, and peered over at Steele.

“Shall I overlook the formalities and address the subject directly, Ser?” Captain Aludor asked, speaking in their homeland’s native tongue. Steele, leaning back in his chair and clasping his hands in his lap, nodded.

“I believe that would be the best course of action,” agreed Steele, smiling politely as he glanced over at momma and me to make sure we were comfortable before redirecting his attention to the Captain.

“Very well,” sighed Captain Aludor. “We are on the brink of war.”

At this, Wofur stiffened while Steele remained completely unblinking. I knew this silence, and it was a contemplative one. Steele was pondering something, measuring the tone and situation as well as events leading up to now. In a matter of moments, he responded.

“With Keonune and Laryuen?”

The Captain’s eyes widened in surprise. Evidently, Steele had hit the nail right on the head. But how?

“Your reputation precedes you,” stated Captain Aludor. “Zeto, please retrieve the documents.” The First Mate, who hadn’t uttered a word, spun on her heel and rummaged through a drawer by the desk, and emerged with a stack of papers as long as her arm. For someone of my height, it was easily eight times my height. She set them on the table in front of Steele, but he merely looked at them as First Mate Vela Zeto began her explanation.

“Ser, this is all of the documentation we have had over the past few moons. Events have been building to their current status, and if the trajectory isn’t altered, all Orion will be in all-out war within the next moon, if not sooner. The counsels have already begun… preparations….”

I didn’t know why, but Steele’s demeanor shifted ever so slightly. His shoulders tensed suddenly, to the point where my mother and I had to readjust to make sure we didn’t slip noticeably to the other Orion in the room. More importantly, I don’t know why the First Mate looked specifically to my momma and me as she hesitated in her words. The pause was more than her trying to find the right word. It was like she was being… cautions. Sensitive. Careful.

Steele glanced at the pile of documents before looking back at the First Mate and the Captain. He didn’t even bother reaching forward. He merely shook his head, a tired smile pulling his lips upward, before he addressed them.

“As I have said, I have retired, and my last encounter with the leaders of Keonune and Laryuen is far in my past. I am retired - exiled if we want to call it what it is - and far removed from current events. What insights could I possibly provide that you have not already obtained from these documents?” Steele asked. I listened to his diplomatic tone and his cool, level headedness.

“Ser, it was your diplomacy that broke through to both of these leaders. It was your negotiations that prevented what would have been the bloodiest warpath of our time. I’ve read all of your work and others’ evaluations of your battle tactics, and your actions that day alone saved countless lives,” piped up the First Mate Vela Zeto. Her eagerness and tone told me she was well-read about Steele.

Was he really so well-renowned?

“And I am certain you will be able to sufficiently subdue them once again. Meet their demands and be willing to compromise,” stated Steele. At this, Captain Aludor readjusted in her seat and lowered her clasped fingers.

“Ser, their demands are unable to be met. If you would review the documentation, you would see what they are asking for,” stated Captain Aludor.

“Pouring over documents is for the council members and scholars who are immersed in recent events. It is one of the reasons I have been content in living in exile, among other whys and wherefores. I have paid my dues, and now I wish to wash my hands of this,” stated Steele.

“Are you saying you would be willing to allow this war to proceed?” asked Captain Aludor, voice as stiff as her upper lip and the look in her eye sharp as a sword.

“As I said, I have been content living in exile. There are others far greater than I whom you can seek counsel from, but the solution you seek does not lie with me. I offer my sincerest apologies that I was unable to assist you and that your travels were not as productive as you intended,” stated Steele.

I looked to the Captain and the First Mate before catching Steele’s stern look. It was a look I knew from years of trying to wheedle favor from him. He was obstinate and it was practically impossible to convince him to change his mind once it was made up.

With a single, courteous nod, Steele pushed himself up and smiled politely at both the Captain and the First Mate.

“Thank you for considering me and for considering my counsel, but I’m afraid I am unable to assist. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Steele said and, with one last nod, turned to his friend, Wofur Otagun. “If you will escort me back to the mainland, I would be most grateful.”

I could see Wofur’s apprehension. It didn’t take much to see he was waiting for the Captain to give some kind of acknowledgement in approval. I glanced over my shoulder, suddenly realizing that I could feel my pulse in my neck. Were nerves getting the better of me? I could only hope I wasn’t shaking as I waited with baited breath for something to give between the others.

Then, as the Captain’s eyes met mine, I knew she had been bested.

“Well, thank you for your audience, Ser. I am sorry on behalf of our own counsels that aid was not provided sooner, and I am sorry to have waisted your time. We will be departing in the next few days, but you won’t have to worry about us breaking the Directive of Noninterference. I only ask that you think about the circumstances once more and consider all of the factors. Regardless of your final decision before we leave, we come and go in peace and as allies,” stated the Captain. She rose to her feet and once again saluted in that same foreign way, waiting respectfully for Steele to dismiss her.

With a relieved smile, Steele acknowledged her gesture before he turned and strode toward the door. I could feel him shaking beneath me, but kept my head held high in confidence. Steele would have a million questions to answer from me later, but right now was not the time.

We needed to be the united front we always were.

The other Orion sailors saluted as Steele passed, but the passing glances between him, my mother and I, and the Captain conveyed their disappointment that Steele was not staying aboard.

The voyage back to our homeland was uneventful and silent, but also tense. I could practically feel the confusion in the air. What was there to be confused about? If they wanted to force him back, they could. Was it imperative that he come willingly?

We touched ground as my questions formulated and swirled in my head, threatening to make it ache, and Steele disembarked from the vessel. I heard his sigh of relief as he took several steps onto land.

“Steele.” Wofur had stepped off of the vessel with Steele and had followed after a few paces, far enough away from the other sailors who had brought us to and from the ship for them to not hear. They continued to speak in their native tongue rather than the Common I grew up with. “Please, reconsider.”

“My friend, my argument has been presented and my evidence laid out. I do not know what else can be said about the matter,” stated Steele. Wofur, hanging his head and nodding ever so slightly, reached into his coat pocket and withdrew the documents that were on the Captain’s desk. I didn’t need to see Steele’s expression to feel the way his posture and energy changed at seeing his friend present him with these immense documents.

“I ask only that you read through the circumstances and see what may await us on the horizon. It is not just our lands they are threatening. You heard the First Mate, right? That preparations are being made?” implored Wofur. “For the sake of you and for your hanai, please just read through the documents and think about it.”

I looked up to see Steele’s features harden as if they were turning to stone.

“You would press me on this, my friend? You would bring my hanai into this?” Steele’s voice rumbled in his chest, making his shoulders tremble beneath me. I glanced from Wofur to the partial profile I had access to while glancing up at Steele. “Careful, Mossback, because your words sound dangerously close to a threat.”

Wofur shook his head in disbelief and actually scoffed, both of which made me bristle defensively. I knew it wasn’t my place to speak out, but I couldn’t just keep quiet any longer.

“You heard my father,” I stated firmly, using my firmest and most decisive tone as I spoke in their language. All eyes turned to me, and I realized I needed to remember my manners. “Please, do not trouble him with your issues further. If he says he washes his hands of this, then respect him and his reputation to heed his advice.”

Wofur straightened up ever so slightly as he looked at me. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to establish superiority by emphasizing his height with a stretch, but I found myself mirroring his movements to show him I wasn’t intimidated. It wasn’t until I caught the glimpse of emotion in his eye that a spark of worry ignited within my thoughts.

The look was almost of concern and pity.

“If he will not read the documents, then I ask that you do. Perhaps you will understand the urgency and insistence we Orion have in requesting his attendance,” stated Wofur. He stepped up to the edge of the cliffside and carefully set down the stack of parchments and reports. He turned and looked back at me before offering what I thought to be a curious smile. “I can see much of him in you, young one, and I can only hope you’ve adopted more than his fighting spirit.”

“She certainly has,” complemented Steele as he glanced to me, smiled, and then returned his gaze to his friend. “Thank you, my friend, for coming. If I do not see you again before you depart, know your presence filled my soul. It has been too long since I’ve seen a familiar face from home.”

The two of them shook hands before Wofur turned and departed.

I watched all of them become nothing more than specks on the horizon as their ship remained anchored a fair distance away from our land. Something about seeing those sails tied tight made me believe that we had not seen the last of them.

Steele, with a sigh, finally tore his eyes away from the horizon and turned to the documents. He rested his hand on them absent mindedly as he raised his other hand for momma and me to step on.

“Steele?” called momma as she stepped forward and carefully placed her hands against his thumb. His violet eyes were distant as he stared blankly forward. He was obviously deep in thought.

Rather than take the hand down, I decided to take an alternative route and, despite my momma calling out for me to not do it, turned quickly around and climbed down Steele’s arm and ran along his forearm to stand on top of the documents he seemed vaguely focused on.

Finally close enough to see the words scrolled onto the parchment pieces, I took a few steps back and let myself read the foreign tongue I had been taught.

Immediately, however, I almost wished I hadn’t started reading.

The very first document was a topographical map, and I recognized the territory instantly. It was our homeland, but more specifically a set of islands right off of the Eastern coast. For the most part, I had only studied this area vaguely and knew that the people there often supplied fish to the towns and to the inland areas.

The marks around it, however, were what made my blood boil.

The marks around the island had only one word – captured.

Captured? As in the land had been taken over? By whom? The Orion? Did this have something to do with those two territories the Captain mentioned earlier? Keonune and Laryuen? Why were they invading our land? What about this Directive of Noninterference thing? Were they not holding to it.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Steele’s eyes no longer focused on the parchment pieces, but on me. He was looking at me expectantly, as if he wanted me to speak first; and so I did.

“Steele, would it be alright if I read through these? I want to know what your friend meant,” I said. My request made Steele stiffen, but he nodded.

“Yes, of course. You do not need my permission to learn,” said Steele.

“And if I have questions?” I prompted, wanting to ensure I had his support.

“You may ask them, and I will tell you,” he stated. Those violet orbs of his barely glimpsed the map at the top of the page, and his eyes filled with mild regret and frustration. His sigh sounded like a distant gust of wind over the fields as he turned and leaned against the cliffs, shoulders sagging slightly.

I listened as my momma tried to console him, but I knew instantly that Steele suspected from the beginning what those documents I was standing on contained. The problem, however, was that I didn’t know, but I was about to learn.

I hurried inside to our home and gathered all of the candles and lanterns I could so that I could read uninterrupted for the rest of the night. Goodness knew it was going to be a long one.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Continue

Beginning

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Book One: The Orion’s Factotum

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flycasual · 11 months ago

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First obnoxious OC post coming in hot (and dedicated to @sadetanssija, for your reading pleasure when you have time my dear) is the one and only: Phora. My love, my heart, my murder child.

This is going to be so long I am not sorry.

As I've mentioned previously, Phora is pretty much how I befriended my fiancé(e). I went to start RPing in the elder scrolls online after dropping out of the swtor RP community for like a year, rolled up my little street urchin that I had vaguely conceived of in Skyrim, and started putting her in situations. As one does. One of those first Situations I tried to put her in wound up being completely ignored by everyone both IC and OOC because everyone had gotten drunk (both IC and OOC, we were in voice chat). Everyone, that is, except one character and one person. Enter Forvyth Deravyn, and enter Ray. We fast became best friends after that, this was sometime in 2015, and we've not stopped writing together since.

So our journey begins in High Rock with my scrawny, malnourished little street urchin, 16 years old, stealing some money off of some drunk Imperial soldiers. Particularly the Centurion. As I said, none of them notice. Except the Centurion's Dunmer accountant. So Phora runs off, thinking she's gotten away with her really rather subpar pickpocketing, to use the money to buy the first warm meal she's had in a while. But before she can get far, she is cornered by this intimidating looking man with bright red eyes.

She's fucked, she thinks. This guy caught her. He's going to turn her in to the guards, or to the soldiers, and who knew what would happen then. She'd never been caught before, never been quite that bold before. Only he doesn't turn her in. He pulls her aside, chides her for relying on something like pickpocketing when she clearly doesn't have the talent for it, and offers her help. He didn't care that she'd stolen from Tyrrean Vanarius. He'd stolen from Tyrrean Vanarius. (Honestly, to this day we joke about how stealing from Tyrrean Vanarius was a rite of passage in the ESO EU RP community. He's very robbable.) But if she was going to steal, she should do better. Take things less easily missed, more easily misplaced, and be more cautious about it. In the future she was to bring those things to him, and he would pay her for them. Much safer for her, and much more stable than anything she'd had in her life. She agreed to try this, got her warm meal, and scampered off into the night. They do this little song and dance for a time. Phora collects small things people won't search for and brings them to Forvyth, Forvyth gives her a little money. Eventually Forvyth starts feeling like a real friend, the first person in the world to take a moment and show her some kindness, to help her. She hangs around him even when there is nothing for them to trade. At this point Ray informs me that if I want to, they have a really interesting plot we could take Phora down with Forvyth, but it will be rough. It will be sad. There's more to this than it seems. I of course say fuck yes. Thus begins the whirlwind story of Forvyth and Phora, to this day my favorite RP duo.

After a while Forvyth begins to "open up" to Phora. One day he comes to her and tells her the story of the lucky old lady and her children, and their god. This god, he explains, is the reason he has a family, and if she wanted, Phora could be part of that family too. A family was all Phora had ever wanted, with all of her being. She did not want to be alone. She wanted to belong and be loved. So, despite what would be asked of her, she agreed. The way Forvyth explained it had made it sound almost understandable. Sithis was their father, after all, and a father that missed his children. He only asked that some be returned to him sooner. She went with him, did what was asked of her, and joined the Dark Brotherhood. As a result, publicly, Forvyth basically adopted her and she went to live with him in his home in Wayrest.

It never fully sat right with her, but the Brotherhood gave her what she'd been desperate for all her life. Now she had friends, had a family, had a home. She convinced herself, deluded herself, that murdering people for the Dark Brotherhood was excusable, acceptable, because it was for Sithis, and he was god, and she was just sending their souls home. But it didn't stop her from asking questions of her new brothers and sisters, like what happens to the people we send to the Void? Are they happy? Are they at peace, at home? They never had satisfying answers for her.

(Art by @sbeep)

Forvyth was different in the Sanctuary. Colder, quieter. Not the man she thought she knew. When he requested to personally train her, the others were shocked he'd even spoken. But train her he did, and over time she became a fairly good assassin, and despite everything, grew to see Forvyth truly as her father. He taught her more than to kill. Taught her to read and write. To act, to put on a front. Some of it he taught unintentionally. In the end, despite this big family she'd sold her soul to gain, only he ever really felt like it. Even with him now colder and more distant, she loved him. She'd do anything for him. Which was why she felt so abandoned, so lost, when one day while she was out on a contract he disappeared. She returned to an empty home and a letter explaining his absence. Apologizing.

My Dear Daughter Phora. His intentions all along had been to destroy the Brotherhood, and he'd wanted help. An ally inside. That was what she'd been meant to be, that was all, but he couldn't do it to her. It was too late for him, but she could still leave and live the life he could not. Wherever life may take you next, may it be a brighter place than here.

-Forvyth Sailen

Only it was too late for her too. He was her family. Her only family. If he did this, they'd kill him, and she couldn't let that happen. She stayed as long as she could, hoping to find him before the Brotherhood could, or at the very least to be there when he struck and help him. But they knew he was a traitor, and as much as she played at feeling betrayed by him too, she knew they suspected her. How could they not? Eventually she ran.

Now here is where things begin to change, due to the nature of ever shifting MMO RP. The original plan was for Forvyth to die (Ray basically made him to be a boss), I figured Phora would die with him, or not long after, and that would be that. But like, we got attached, the group we were doing DB RP with partly fizzled out, so we kept them, and we changed things.

Forvyth tried to stay away for Phora's good, but he couldn't, and Phora wouldn't have let him. He would come back and then leave, and she would search for him. This took place over years. He would try to protect her from afar, feeling guilty for doing to her basically what had been done to him. When he was gone she ended up in other Situations, found new friends. One was a vigilante who taught her to be more than an assassin, how to truly fight, and defend others so she might be able to help her father like she wanted. When they parted ways she ended up working on a ship for a while, with some Totally Not Pirates, and found herself back in the Brotherhood's sights while there. She always tried to find that feeling of family, tried at least once to do what Forvyth asked and leave him behind. She came close, made friends that she loves very dearly, but she's never found family anywhere but with him. They would, both of them, do absolutely anything for each other.

We have since stopped doing MMO RP, but we still do Elder Scrolls RP exclusively with each other. We just have our own little Tamriel in our pockets where we write whatever the fuck we want and in it these two are together again. Phora's determined to see it stay that way this time and Forvyth is finally beginning to accept that pushing her away doesn't make her safer, and it doesn't make him feel better. He can't take back turning her into this, and without him she might have been dead anyway. They have a dysfunctional little family with Forvyth's "friend" (he doesn't really do friends) Drahyr/Dryra, and a small pool of allies, but importantly they have each other and they will keep fighting until they succeed or the Brotherhood kills them.

Phora is, as one might expect, intensely and fiercely loyal, but only to a select few. Once upon a time she was a bit of a prankster, though she's partially lost sight of that in the face of all that has happened to her. It's still in there though, deep down. She also does not share food. She's been food insecure most of her life so if she shares her food with you she likes and trusts you.

There she is, my favoritest little murder child and the reason I am so attached to the "reluctant guy adopts scruffy kid and becomes the shittest dad" trope. Forvyth and Phora reign supreme in my heart forever. This is also how I was generally introduced to Elder Scrolls lore properly, I'd never fully played any of the games and so Ray showed me the world through the Dark Brotherhood of all things so I am hilariously attached to the murder cult.

#tesblr #dark brotherhood #tes online #the dark brotherhood #tes oc #Phora #I could talk about her forever I didn't even get into her relationships with Edward or Bleeds or Aeironn #or the fact that for a while she dated the daughter of that Centurion she stole from lmao #art that isn't tagged is by me btw

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tarobii · 1 year ago

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@askpocketsans hi sorry this took so long I didn't know where to start lmao

so first off, here's a speedpaint of the initial drawing

(also a little peek into the design process of dream!)

(and yes, this big piece did come before the proper ref lmao)

now to itemize what the heck just happened:

the initial sketch!

a test rendering of the sketch (to work out colors and lighting)

coloring the sketch according to what I want to make move (there's no rhyme or reason to the colors--just don't let the same color touch if they're on different parts)

rendering each piece individually (as you can see I did lineart first and then coloring)

rendering the background

and done!

here's a clearer look at the separation sketch thing

(the colors don't have the most contrast but it gets the point across lmao)

also! it's not necessary to draw every piece separately; you can just finish the initial thing and then separate it after the fact, I just prefer to separate it from the get go so I don't have to do any cleanup work haha

once that's done I merge each body part/piece so each layer is a body part/piece

and that ends with this:

(man I even popped out the layer tab and there's still not enough space to show every layer 💀)

so like

one layer looks like this

once I'm done merging the pieces, I export the whole thing as a .psd (Very Important!!!)

now for rigging!

I boot up dragonbones and go to "New Project" > "Create Animation" > "Armature Template" > "Finish"

that will bring up the main workspace

from there, I go to "File" > "Import Assets to Stage" > select the .psd file > "Open" > "Import"

that leaves me with this

(note: right click empty space to deselect)

(also, if the background doesn't import you may have to go back to the psd and cut it up into smaller pieces)

from there, I check the canvas option and set the size

(yeah I know I use really big canvasses)

now for rigging!

when I rig I like to hide everything except for the specific things I'm rigging

it makes things less cluttered

now, select the "Create Bone" tool (or just press "E") and then click and drag where the bones should be

that leaves us with something like this:

in this case, the bones should automatically be attached (if you move the upper arm the rest of the arm will move with it) but in cases where that is not the case, you can manually set the parent bone by right clicking it > "Set Parent" (or press "P") > then clicking the bone you want to attach it to

now to make ik constraints (controllers) for the bones

I'll be showing you both types of controller--the type you want to use depends on how you want it to move

click on the bone you want to move, then go to the "IK Constraint" section on the left sidebar

(ctrl + click to select multiple bones)

for the arm I like to use "Create IK Constraint at End of the Bone" and "Create IK by Pick" for the hand

(don't forget to rename the controllers!)

this makes it so that you can move the bones like so

(don't mind how crunchy that gif is lmao)

since I have the upper and forearm bound to the same ik constraint, they move in tandem, and said ik constraint is bound to the end of the forearm bone

the hand (bone) will always point toward it's respective constraint (the little red dot in the gif)

and then rinse and repeat for every moving part heres the fully rigged skeleton (heh):

(also make sure to lock all the bones and assets after you make the controllers so you can only move the controllers)

now to animate!

go to the animation workspace in the top left

(Ctrl + B to hide the bones)

you set the loop here (in frames)

C: current frame S: start of loop E: end of loop

I set the initial and last keyframes of the loop here by selecting every controller (Ctrl + click) and clicking the flags

(that way the first and last frames are the same, making for a smooth loop)

now to actually start animating

I prefer to have this option selected:

it auto keyframes, so if I move a controller it's automatically saved to the timeline

(from here I genuinely don't know how to explain so bear with me here lmao)

those diamonds are all keyframes: aka poses that the animation *will* hit at the point in time

to make it actually move you need to go to a point between the start and end of the loop and move the pieces to wherever, then set it as a keyframe (or just move it if you have auto keyframe on)

once that keyframe is set, if you press space/play, it should automatically move between those two keyframes, smoothly

you can change how smoothly it moves with the curve editor

I don't really use the curve editor unless I think something needs to be eased in/out (like dreams arms in the original idol post)

(I don't really know how to explain further the animation is really a hand-on thing to me 💀)

here's what my timeline looks like when everything is done and animated

(I prefer to just pick a few points in time and animate everything to those points but you can keyframe at any point)

now to export the thing!

go to "File" > "Export" > pick whatever if you get the "This Texture is oversize" popup, I usually choose "Multiple Textures" (nothing really changes) > "Image"

and now we're here

things to make sure of:

Type: Sequence

Format: PNG

Animations: Current

FPS: whatever fps you were working in

Image Contains: Canvas area

Export to: wherever you want it to (you can see I have it going to the project folder with the rest of the idol stuff) (I suggest making a subfolder specifically for the frames bc they can stack up *real* fast

and then "Finish"

and then you wait for a bajillion years for it to export :)

finally, time to make it a video!

I use blender to turn the PNG sequence into an mp4, so here we go!

to the video editing workspace!

"Add" > "Image/Sequence"

navigate to the folder with the frames

press "A" to select all

set "End Frame" to the number of frames you have

set "Fit Method" to "Scale to Fit"

then hit "Add Image Strip"

that leaves us with this

(make sure to set "End" at the bottom right to the number of frames you have)

now for settings

go to format and change the resolution and frame rate

next, go to output

set the file destination

File Format: FFmpeg

open Encoding menu

open Video menu

Video Codec: H.264

Output Quality: Perceptually Lossless

open Color Management

View: Standard

Look: None

finally, hit "Render" > "Render Animation" in the top bar and sit tight while it exports

now, that was probably confusing so here are some videos I used myself (bc this was the first time I touched dragonbones in like a year lmao) [vid 1] [vid 2]

and also bonus video that I had on loop while I was making this hehe

#needless to say the whole process takes a long ass time #tutorial #tuxiatalks

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solalunar-eclipse · 2 years ago

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Lonely Stars

Rating: T

Characters: Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, E-123 Omega, Eclipse the Darkling, Dark Arms

Summary: Shadow and Eclipse are now stuck on the same planet, with no other blood relatives around. It’s only inevitable that they keep running into each other...but what effect will this have on how they see the other’s way of life?

The sun scorched irritatingly across endless swathes of golden sand, situated in the midst of the biggest desert in all of Efrika. There wasn’t a single bit of shade in sight aside from the giant pyramid towering over the landscape…much to the frustration of the five aliens currently heading towards it.

Eclipse stalked towards the long-abandoned pyramid (a well-disguised and defunct Eggman base), his eyes narrowed. He was already annoyed that it had taken him months to rig up his shuttle so it would even hold together long enough to get him to this pyramid, and now his feet were burning? This place had better be worth his time.

A general question appeared in his mind from the direction of Blurk, a cube-shaped alien.

“For the last time, Blurk, we’re here because I was told a long time ago that this planet has some kind of giant abandoned colony up in space.” he grumbled. “If what I remember is right, we might be able to use that to finally get our revenge!”

Rhygenta nuzzled up to him worriedly, their single eye as wide as it could get.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay! I did a scan with the shuttle’s radar and this place is super empty, remember? It’s the only base with a strong enough teleporter anyway, so we have to use it.” he added, more softly this time.

It was easy enough for Eclipse and the four Dark Arms to get inside—aside from the sand pits, but those were passed easily enough with a little help from Cregal. After that, though, they were forced to wander through a maze, search for well-hidden keys to open a couple of doorways, and then they still had to look throughout the entire pyramid just to find the teleporter room. “Someone must’ve been really dedicated to their decor.” the darkling muttered, rolling his eyes at the ancient theme inside Eggman’s base.

While he was busy complaining, three other figures managed to enter the base undetected from an entirely different direction.

“Are you sure the signs led this way, Omega?” Rouge asked, frowning. “I can’t hear anything nearby.”

“AFFIRMATIVE. A TECHNOLOGICAL SIGNATURE UNIQUE TO THE STOLEN G.U.N. SHUTTLE HAS APPEARED RECENTLY IN THIS AREA.”

The bat turned to Shadow, more than a little concerned. “And are you okay to do this mission, hon? I know this might still be a sore spot for you.”

The hedgehog sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, I hope it’ll be okay, but...” He shifted awkwardly, a little embarrassed. “…we started talking about tying up this loose end a while ago, right? I don’t know if it’ll be easy, especially now that we’ve had to dig everything up all over again, but I know you two always say it’s important to try.” he sighed.

Rouge smiled warmly at him. “Aw, hon, look at how far you’ve come! I’m so proud of you.”

“I CONCUR.”

Shadow looked away, blushing faintly. “Thank you…”

And with that, they headed into the base.

Thanks to Rouge and Shadow’s prior experience with this particular pyramid, Team Dark made it to the control room at about the same time as Eclipse, despite the latter’s head start.

“You?!” the darkling cried, infuriated.

“YES. US.” Omega boomed.

Eclipse snarled. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll just have to defeat you three and get that cannon in the bargain!”

Omega and Shadow both rushed him at once, and he soon found himself hard pressed to fight two on one, even with the Dark Arms at his side. “Blurk, armor!” he yelped, seconds before the robot’s fist would have collided with (and crushed) his face.

After a minute or two, he gained enough breathing room to notice that Rouge wasn’t even bothering to fight. “What do you think you’re doing?” he yelled, breaking free of a half-formed hold by Shadow to rush at her.

“What’s it look like, babe? Shutting the computer down!“ she chirped, smirking. “Permanently.”

“Oh no you don’t!” Eclipse roared, slamming into her side as hard as he could.

Suddenly, alarms began blaring across the whole complex. “Now look what you’ve done!” Rouge shouted, though she didn’t seem completely upset.

“W-what did I do?!” Eclipse cried, reeling backwards in surprise at the ear-splitting noise.

“You just triggered a total energy overload.” Rouge shot back. “In twenty seconds, this room is going to seal to keep the entire place from exploding!”

Eclipse blanched. “Dark Arms! We have to get out of here now!”

Shadow grasped Rouge and Omega’s arms, crying “Chaos Control!” as they vanished in a flash of light.

“Come on, let’s go!” Eclipse shrieked, racing for the exit…

…and then everything went black.

…

Team Dark had been waiting at Eclipse’s shuttle for too long. At first, they made some stilted small talk about the fight (“At least he didn’t dislocate my arm this time, I guess.” Rouge had quipped). However, as the minutes stretched on, even they began to worry.

“THE INFERIOR ALIEN LIFEFORMS SHOULD HAVE ESCAPED BY NOW.” Omega said.

“Yeah…” Shadow muttered. “What if they got lost?”

Rouge gasped. “There’s the smaller ones now, but where’s Eclipse?” she said, pointing to four little dots fleeing the pyramid.

The creatures rushed towards the shuttle and began to tug at Shadow’s arms and hands, pulling him back towards the hidden base. “Whoa, wait, what?” he asked, pulling away from them. “What is it?”

All four of them began to chirp urgently in their own language, but none of the three could understand it…until suddenly Omega had an idea.

“DOWNLOADING AND INITIATING THE FOX’S WISP TRANSLATOR PROGRAM.” he announced.

A few seconds later, four voices began to spill out through his speakers, all overlapping and cutting each other off.

“Help—”

“Stuck…”

“Hurt!”

“Can’t move…”

“WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO CONVEY?” Omega asked, turning it off again before his own audio systems overloaded.

“I suspect that Eclipse is unconscious and trapped in the pyramid.” Shadow said quietly.

The Dark Arms keened and whimpered at him, their message obvious. Please help him.

He sighed, somewhat reluctantly. “I suppose I can.”

Immediately, all four sagged with relief, the cube-shaped one even sinking into the sand with the force of their emotion. Shadow blasted off and into the pyramid, grimacing as the waves of energy began to interfere with his own use of Chaos. He was barely able to use his powers on the way in, but he certainly wouldn’t be able to by the time they had to get out.

He strained to pull together his last shreds of Chaos energy, gritting his teeth as he teleported through the sealed door. Inside, the room was a mess—debris was strewn across the whole place, bathed in pulsing red and blue light from the alarm system and the overloading core. Halfway across the floor, Eclipse lay unconscious, his body limp next to a medium-sized chunk of rock.

Cautiously, Shadow scooped him up and into his arms, making sure not to jostle his head. He rushed to the blast doors and set Eclipse down briefly before beginning to pry them open. Eventually, they creaked apart just enough that Shadow was able to slip through with the darkling in tow.

As he skated down the halls, though, he began to hear an ominous rumbling sound behind him…

The hedgehog gasped as cyan liquid began to pour out of the opening into the hall behind him and started skating faster. He leapt up onto a rail just as the energized coolant—whose holding chamber had finally given way—threatened to catch up, actually grinding his way out of the pyramid.

Unbeknownst to him, Eclipse had begun to wake up from all the noise. “Ugh…wha…?” he mumbled softly, looking up at Shadow. The last thing he remembered was passing out in that room—and-!

“Ah! D…Dark Arms!” he breathed, his eyes widening. “Where…”

Shadow glanced down at him, leaping from one track to another in the process. “Stay calm. We’ll be out soon.”

“But…they…” Eclipse wheezed.

“They’re safe.” the hedgehog replied gently, understanding. “All four of them are waiting outside at a safe distance for you.”

“Nnh…” he mumbled, letting his head fall back again. “Good.”

Shadow burst out of the temple, not stopping for an instant—as seconds later, the entire structure exploded in a burst of light. The Dark Arms hovered around Rouge and Omega in agitation, chirping nervously as Shadow hurried towards them.

He settled Eclipse down on the sand, leaving a little bit of space to allow the four creatures to fuss over their caretaker. Carefully, the hedgehog placed his hand on the back of the other’s head. Golden light trickled from his palm, seeping into the darkling’s body and healing his mild head wounds. Soon enough, he was able to sit up and look around more fully…

…but the second he did so, he jerked away from Shadow’s touch, finally registering what had just happened.

“You—you came back for me?” Eclipse asked, incredulous. “Why?”

“They asked me to.” the hybrid replied simply, gesturing to the Dark Arms.

A couple of the creatures in question helped balance him as he scrambled to his feet, his legs still a little shaky from the combined stress of near death and rapid healing. “Yeah, and what? You just listened all of a sudden? Like I’m supposed to believe that.” he scoffed.

“I did, actually.” Shadow replied, straightening up slightly. “I don’t like having lives on my conscience.”

“Ha!” Eclipse barked, his face twisting into a sneer. “Tell that to Black Death, I’m sure he’d love to hear that one!”

The hybrid winced. “That was…complicated.” he said tightly, turning away. “I wish that I had been able to think of a better action at the time, but unfortunately I did not have the benefit of hindsight.”

“Oh, what, now you want to be sorry? Now? It’s way too late for that, Shadow.” he snarled.

“I don’t expect your forgiveness. I just…am trying my best to gain a better perspective on what happened back then.” Shadow said. “Sometimes that means learning not to blame myself for things that weren’t my fault, and sometimes that just means figuring out how to live with the actions I took.”

Eclipse growled furiously as he stumbled over to his shuttle. “You’re lucky I’m in no shape to fight you right now, or else you’d be nothing more than a smear on this sand.”

Slamming the doors shut, the darkling raced to fire up the ship and get it out of there as quickly as possible before Shadow could change his mind about fighting. It was only once they were soaring safely in the stratosphere that he allowed himself to relax, beckoning the Dark Arms closer with a sigh.

Flashes of distress and worry emanated from all four of them, and he did his best to soothe their concerns as they flew to a secluded place in the midst of a forest. Only once the ship had touched down did Eclipse allow himself to sigh in relief.

A while ago, he had been forced to flee Angel Island (and the combined wrath of Knuckles and Shadow) after a botched attempt at stealing the Master Emerald. In fact, the only reason he’d escaped at all was a last-ditch save from Rhygenta. At the time, he’d barely been able to land G.U.N.’s shuttle in this particular spot in the woods before he and the Dark Arms had collapsed from exhaustion.

Since then, over the past six or so months, he’d been too busy planting the last few seeds from the fruit he’d been able to cultivate on Angel Island, patching up the Dark Arms, and carefully stealing parts to rebuild the shuttle after his less than perfect landing to actually exact his revenge on Shadow.

This raid on the Space Colony ARK had been supposed to—at the very least—allow him to dig up some ammunition on his traitorous relative, and at best provide him with a weapon to menace the planet with at a later date…and yet he’d been foiled again.

Eclipse ground his teeth irritably. “Why can’t I just have even one win against him? What am I missing?!”

The Dark Arms clustered around him sympathetically, but despite their best efforts, he found himself sinking further and further into despair as time went on. “...Father…” he murmured, an odd sensation prickling behind his eyes, “What would you have done?”

The darkling swallowed thickly, his hands tightening into fists as the pain behind his eyes grew worse. Nervously, Blurk offered up a funny memory—the day they’d somehow managed to get stuck inside a tree was one that usually made him smile. Eagerly, Cregal and Cyzer brought up their own as well, while Rhygenta simply nestled into Eclipse’s chest.

Eclipse let out a single shaky sob, sinking back into the chair as he allowed himself a wobbly smile. “Thank you…all of you.” he said, his voice trembling slightly.

Sitting back against the backrest, he let himself get lost in the good memories the Dark Arms had, relieved that he could at least have given them this.

…

It was the next morning, as Eclipse was carefully inspecting the fruit trees to make sure none had died or were beginning to fail, that a new idea hit him. One thing that had always been a vital part of every single Black Comet was a memory core, passively linked into the hivemind. It would record every thought and every moment that transpired from the moment of the comet’s creation until its destruction, so that the knowledge it contained could be salvaged by other Black Arms and the memories of others could live on.

So if Eclipse could only find his comet’s memory core, then he might be able to remember some of Black Death’s plans and work out a new way to defeat Shadow!

…and maybe, just maybe, he might be able to see some part of his father again.

Immediately, he rushed back to the shuttle, powering up its scanning systems and programming them to search for the specific characteristics of the core. Within moments, he had a ping on the screen—and it was only about a hundred miles from his location! So long as he didn’t power up the ship to its full extent, Team Dark shouldn’t be able to locate him either, which meant that he was essentially free to go right this second.

Within moments, he’d gathered the four Dark Arms into the ship and taken off, desperate to find some last remnant of his Comet, no matter how small. He could hardly wait; each passing second seemed longer to him than the last.

The moment the shuttle touched down in a field, Eclipse smacked the button to open the doors and stumbled outside, hurrying towards the half hidden black and red object. It was vaguely cone-shaped, and pulsed occasionally with a red light.

The moment Eclipse’s fingers brushed against the core, a wave of disappointment hit him with incredible force.

It was the wrong one.

Somehow, he’d ended up discovering the memory core from Black Doom’s comet instead. For a moment, Eclipse felt ready to give up, but then he pressed his hands to it again, reaching for the memories stored within it. Even if these weren’t his own home’s thoughts, he’d never gotten a chance to meet his uncle, after all. Maybe, as a matter of fact, this would be his one and only chance to connect with him.

Eclipse dove back in, preparing himself for a long, long story.

…

Much later, he blinked awake, shaking his head. “Ugh…that felt like forever.” He turned to the Dark Arms. “How long was I out?”

The four couldn’t quite agree, nearly leading to a squabble between Cregal and Cyzer, but in the end they settled on about half an hour. Eclipse sighed. “Alright then—I just looked at the parts where they interacted with this planet to start with, but I think I need to go back over it again and see if I can figure out what went wrong with Shadow.”

The five lifted the core together, hauling it back to the shuttle so that Eclipse could study the recordings in a modicum of safety. Once they were all inside, the darkling provided the others with a bit of fruit first before settling down to watch it again.

This time, nearly a quarter of the way through, he stopped.

“How did Shadow manage to give himself amnesia?” he muttered. From the moment that the hybrid joined the hivemind, it became very clear that he was missing almost all of the memories he’d had when Eclipse had first met him, with only a tiny fraction regarding Rouge and Omega remaining.

Eclipse wound back to the beginning in search of clues. He rewatched the scene where Black Doom first confronted the traitorous hedgehog a third time, frowning in concentration—and then froze. The human phrase ‘third time’s the charm’ sprang to his mind unbidden, as he stared blankly at the wall.

What had Black Doom been doing?

Eclipse had suspected, of course, that something had gone wrong, some mistake had been made. But Doom promising answers about the past, some of which he truthfully could not provide, to his own amnesiac son, only on the condition that all seven Chaos Emeralds were delivered to him first, was just…cruel. Unfatherly, to say the least.

Eclipse had expected that Shadow would receive a much more familial treatment, since he hadn’t actually done anything to hurt the Black Arms back then—seriously, Shadow hadn’t even remembered most of his time with the humans, so all of the brainwashing they’d probably done to him was gone as well. Rouge and Omega had spent time with him, sure, but it wasn’t like they’d moralized to him about the value of life and such.

That meant that Black Doom could have promised Shadow a purpose. He could have offered him a life with everything he’d ever wanted…but instead he purposefully kept Shadow in the dark about his own origins, his own family, for what? A little extra leverage? Even Eclipse knew that duty born from love was far stronger than from sheer curiosity, no matter how desperate.

It seemed to him that honestly, Black Doom had thrown away the best shot the Black Arms had ever had at getting Shadow on their side.

The darkling sighed, rubbing his brow irritably. The best he could get from this core now would be information on what not to do, he thought.

As he continued through the memories, he found himself more and more bewildered by Black Doom’s choices. Forcing Shadow to remember and relive one of his worst memories? As much as it might have shown the worst of humanity, Doom could have just told him about it, or shown him less personal examples. Making him reenact it all over again threw extra points away that he could easily have scored.

Trying to kill literally the only two people who had ever even considered Shadow’s feelings (as ridiculous as they might be)? He’d learned the hard way that that was the wrong idea too.

Eclipse shut down the recording the moment Super Shadow came into view. He didn’t want or need to see what was coming next, anyway.

The darkling rubbed his forehead, irritated beyond belief. It looked like he was back to square one all over again.

…

“Well, this is just fantastic.” Eclipse said sarcastically, his voice echoing off the rock walls.

“Listen, I want to be here about as much as you do. Maybe even less.” Shadow muttered.

Somehow, they had ended up in an even more frustrating mess than last time, if Eclipse was being honest. It had started out normally, with Team Dark showing up (again) to try and stop him, this time from finding a power cell to replace the one in the shuttle. It had burnt out recently when the darkling tried to increase its power, meaning that he couldn’t travel long distances until it was replaced. The team, having had their own suspicions about what Eclipse might want a Chaos-powered energy cell for, had come to halt his plans to snatch one from yet another old Eggman base.

Unfortunately for both of them, the base had been much more structurally unsound than expected, and part of the building had caved in, trapping Shadow and Eclipse inside a small area with walls so thick that the former couldn’t even teleport. Rouge and Omega had gone to find tools to help get them out, since none of them had discovered any Chaos Emeralds recently (to the bat’s great disappointment).

So now Eclipse, the Dark Arms, and Shadow were stuck in a confined space. Together.

The darkling rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

They sat in silence for all of a minute before Eclipse got bored and began to speak again.

“So…I found the memory core for Black Doom’s comet,” he began, watching Shadow curiously. “Since it stores basically everything that happened in that hivemind, I had to ask—how’d the “Ultimate Lifeform” end up with amnesia?”

The hybrid glowered at him. “And why exactly do you care?”

“I want to know what was strong enough to beat you. After all, just because I can’t defeat you in one-on-one combat doesn’t mean nothing can!” Eclipse smirked.

Shadow sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly. “I fell nearly two hundred miles directly from orbit to the planet’s surface at terminal velocity.” he said flatly.

The darkling froze. This time, the silence lasted only a few seconds.

“How are you still alive?!” he shrieked, skittering backwards slightly until his back pressed against the wall.

“It’s just like you said—I’m the Ultimate Lifeform.” Shadow said, somewhat proudly. “But really, Dr. Robotnik helped me as well (for his own reasons, of course) by putting me into stasis. That allowed me to heal properly and significantly increased my chances of survival.” he added.

“Okay, okay—ignoring the fact that you survived a descent that even the Black Comet can’t handle, why were you falling from space in the first place?” Eclipse asked, looking like he might develop a headache any second now.

“That’s easy. I was saving the planet from immediate destruction.” the hybrid replied.

“Ugh, of course you were. Bleh.” Eclipse stuck his tongue out in disgust.

“Listen, the people of this world are worth saving, whether you believe it or not.”

“How, exactly? Why don’t you tell me, since we’re already talking and you’re so righteous about it all the time anyway.” the darkling sneered. Secretly, though, he really did want to hear Shadow’s answer, mainly as a confirmation of either his cruelty or the brainwashing he might have undergone.

Shadow took a deep breath, a certain degree of peace entering his expression. “I will concede that not all people will be good, and not all people will contribute to the world—some do make it a worse place to be. But there are so many who work to make life better for others, whether they know it or not, that it’s worth it to let them all live. The benefits can outweigh the drawbacks, if we only give people a chance to prove it. Destroying the world merely destroys any chance that they have to improve things.”

Eclipse stared at him for a moment.

Shadow shifted awkwardly. “What? Listen, I don’t expect you to believe it—”

“No.” the darkling said. “No, it’s just…that last part’s almost exactly the same as what I said to F—uh, Black Death when he asked me what the point of the Dark Arms was.”

“Well, isn’t that something.” Shadow murmured, almost to himself.

“But, uh, I guess that means you really care about this planet, don’t you.” Eclipse added irritably, determined not to let his shock show.

Shadow shrugged. “The planet and the people on it are two different things. Do I care about the planet? Yes, absolutely. Do I care about the people living on it? …not all of them, that’s for sure.”

Eclipse blinked twice. “Did you just say you don’t care about everyone in this world?”

“Of course not! I could never—some of them are awful.” the hybrid explained. “I just don’t think anyone else should get to decide who lives and who dies, because inevitably some of the good people will get punished for the actions of the bad.”

“Huh.” Eclipse hummed, sitting back against the wall. “I guess you’re smarter than I gave you credit for.”

“And…you have a bigger heart than I gave you credit for.” Shadow said quietly. “You really do love both the Black Arms and your four friends there.”

“Well, obviously!” Eclipse cried. “Why did you think I spared you the first time we met?”

Shadow’s head shot up, his eyes nearly boring holes into the darkling’s head. “A living weapon is worth more alive than dead, ‘obviously’.”

“Wh—b—no! You were my brother! Family sticks together, no matter what!” Eclipse was shocked. “What, you thought I just wanted to use you for my own gain and that’d be it?”

“I mean, that’s literally all you did do.” Shadow shot back.

“I didn’t have time! If we’d repelled the invasion, you would’ve seen everything! I just needed you to stop fighting until I had the time to convince you that this was better!”

The hybrid sighed. “You could have just talked to me without the possession aspect, you know.”

“Oh, like that would’ve worked?”

“It would, actually.” Shadow snapped. “Ask Omega if you don’t believe me.”

Eclipse scowled. “That thing will say whatever you tell it to.”

Shadow leapt to his feet. “That ‘thing’ is my friend, and he has plenty of free will. Believe me, if I could stop him from speaking whenever I wanted, I would’ve suffered a lot less public embarrassment in my life.” The last part of his sentence turned fond and amused, suggesting that he cared less about that than he let on.

“HAVEN’T YOU HEARD THAT IT’S RUDE TO GOSSIP?”

Two nearly identical screams rang out, followed by a distinctly embarrassed silence.

Rouge snickered. “Don’t worry, it’s only us. We’ll have you out of there in just a few minutes!”

“It’s good to hear you again, at least.” Shadow said sarcastically.

“WOW. MAYBE I SHOULD LEAVE YOU IN THERE LONGER, SHADOW.”

The hybrid bit back a smile at that response.

After that, there was a more comfortable lull in the conversation for a few minutes as Rouge and Omega worked to free the other two. The Dark Arms did wince occasionally at the scrape of tools on rock, but a hug from Eclipse seemed to settle them down somewhat.

“Hey, robot.” the darkling called skeptically after a while. “Shadow says to ask you if talking would’ve worked to convince him to help us on the Black Comet. What do you think of that?”

Omega paused his work for a moment, turning to stare through the small gap he’d made directly at his friend, ignoring Eclipse entirely. “SHADOW. PERMISSION TO SHARE RECORDING?”

“…sure, go ahead.” Shadow muttered.

<…no reason. Forget I asked.>

“RELEVANT RECORDING CEASES THERE.”

Eclipse fell silent for the fifth time in their imprisonment.

“…so, according to him, at least, you did feel regret. Even at the time.”

“Yes.” Shadow said softly, staring off into the distance.

Even after Rouge and Omega had freed them all from the cavern, Shadow and Eclipse both remained quiet and did not speak to each other again until they had left the base and gone their separate ways.

The Dark Arms nervously tried to comfort Eclipse as he walked away, still confused more than anything. Before he left, the darkling hesitated and for a moment, looked back—but what he saw didn’t really surprise him at all.

After all, Rouge and Omega were only doing the exact same thing with Shadow.

…

About a week after the time Shadow had gotten trapped in a cavern with Eclipse, Rouge and Omega disappeared.

As soon as he had realized that they were missing and not just (fashionably) late to lunch, the hybrid became frantic, rushing all over the city in a desperate attempt to find his friends. The moment his phone buzzed, he pulled it out, hoping beyond anything for a text from his friends saying that everything was okay.

Instead, he received a mocking video from Eggman, showing his friends trapped in specially designed cells and unable to escape.

Shadow couldn’t help but grumble under his breath as he teleported back to his apartment (and not just because he’d need to get new antivirus software from Tails). He’d met the doctor enough times by now to know that he wasn’t going to hurt either of them—no, what he really wanted was for Shadow to show up. What he didn’t know was why…yet, anyway.

Carefully, he used Rouge’s special computer, completely encrypted even to anything Eggman might have, to trace the location of the message and get an aerial view or two of his current base. Just as he had finished his preparations and prepared to set off, though, he heard a loud banging at the window.

Shadow pinched his brow with a quiet sigh as he went to investigate. He’d been completely ready to go, and now this just had to interrupt him.

The moment he saw a frantic Eclipse perched on his windowsill, though, all of his frustrations vanished.

Carefully unlatching the locks, Shadow pulled the window open and hauled Eclipse inside. The moment the darkling’s feet touched the floor, he began to babble desperately, clinging to Shadow’s arm like he was a life preserver in the middle of the ocean.

“—and now they’re gone and I don’t know where to find them or what to do—”

“Slow down.” Shadow said calmly, turning Eclipse to face him. “Take a deep breath.”

He sucked in air abruptly, gasping.

“Now then. What happened?”

“The Dark Arms are gone!” he wailed, nearly on the verge of tears. “These—robots, they came and put them in this weird glass jar or something and just flew off, and, and I couldn’t do anything because I was too slow!”

He whimpered fearfully, his whole body threatening to curl in on itself. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to them, and I didn’t know where else to go…”

“What did these robots look like?” Shadow asked.

“They were big, and red, and round…”

“Did they have really weird smiles on their faces?”

“Yes!”

Shadow sighed. “The same person took Rouge and Omega. I was about to go fight him when you showed up.”

“Let me help you!” Eclipse cried. “I have to make sure my Dark Arms are okay!”

“…alright. But you have to follow my lead.”

“Of course, anything!” the darkling said desperately.

Shadow looked at him sympathetically. “Then let’s go.”

One shout of “Chaos Control!” and a flash of light later (because Shadow had learned never to go on missions without a Chaos Emerald again), the two stood directly in front of a large metal building.

And that was when the explosions started.

“You couldn’t have teleported us inside the building?!” Eclipse screamed, sprinting away.

“I can’t teleport to places I haven’t seen properly! Would you rather materialize half inside a wall?” Shadow shouted, dodging blasts and rushing at the door.

“Chaos Spear!”

Eclipse stared as Shadow wrenched the now blackened doors open with only his hands. “Maybe you defeating an entire army isn’t so impossible after all.”

Shadow’s ear twitched, but he showed no other reaction. “Come on. They’re all going to be waiting for us.”

They crept through the halls, staying well out of sight of any cameras or robot patrols.

“This is suspicious.” Shadow murmured, after a few strangely quiet minutes. “His bases aren’t normally this empty. He must want us to find him.”

“Well, the faster we do that, the better for us, right?” Eclipse said, hurrying forward.

Shadow looked around warily. “I don’t know about that…”

A few minutes later, they found the control room. Inside, Rouge was trapped in a small cell while Omega was held within an electromagnetic field, and the Dark Arms were stuck in four individual capsules.

Eclipse rushed forward, determined to free them—until the ground began to shake and rumble.

“What is this!?” he cried.

Shadow’s expression tightened. “It’s as I suspected. The doctor didn’t really want those Dark Arms here…he wanted to lure you and I in.”

“Oh ho ho, how right you are, Shadow!” Eggman cried, rising up from the floor in a giant robot. (At the back of the room, Rouge rolled her eyes at him, and Omega glared daggers into his back.)

“But of course, you will still have to fight me in order to get your friends back!” he added smugly.

Immediately, Eclipse charged at the robot, sliding between its legs and crawling up the back to the power pack. As Shadow launched a Chaos Spear, Eggman grabbed the darkling and hurled him across the room, slamming him into the opposite wall. All four of the Dark Arms shrieked in terror at the sight.

Snarling, Eclipse stood up—but then, he happened to notice a Chaos Emerald loaded into a nearby panel. He darted to one side, snatching it up and rapidly growing into his giant form with a snarl.

He slammed into the robot at top speed, nearly knocking it over, while Shadow leapt away from its next strike and hurled another Chaos Spear. Then, though, the hybrid noticed something that made him freeze.

Eggman was completely unfazed by any of this. Despite the fact that he was losing badly, he even seemed to be enjoying it.

Shadow teleported directly to the top of the robot, hovering behind its head and eyeing the readouts on the doctor’s screen suspiciously. While Eclipse kept him busy, Shadow managed to notice one that Eggman kept coming back to again and again…

Which turned out to be a detailed analysis of his and Eclipse’s Chaos usage.

“Eclipse!” Shadow cried. “You have to power down your form, now!”

“Why?” the darkling shouted back. “I’ve almost got him!”

“Yes, but he’s collecting data on how we use Chaos energy!” Shadow called out, making the doctor grind his teeth. “Every time you hit him like that, you’re helping him teach his robots how to fight us!”

“Would you shut up?!” the doctor yelled suddenly, becoming irritated for the first time…which only served to prove his point.

The darkling stared at Eggman for a long moment, growling furiously, before transforming back to his regular size and rushing over to Shadow. “Well then, what are we supposed to do now?” he grumbled.

“Well, I’m going to do this.” Shadow said calmly, and then promptly picked up Eclipse and threw him directly at the head of the robot.

The darkling automatically clutched at the plastic shielding protecting Eggman with his claws, before whipping his head around to stare at Shadow. “What was that??”

He shrugged, palms up, but there was amusement glinting in his eyes. “Since I can’t use Chaos attacks, this seemed like the next best option.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is, hmm?” Eclipse shot back, grinning. “Well then, let’s fight!”

He clawed into the plastic as deeply as he could, taking swipes at it until it was heavily weakened. Unfortunately, he was thrown off again before he could break through, and the two were forced to spend some time attacking the legs and arms of the thing until those began to fail as well.

After a few minutes, Eclipse noticed Shadow revving up a spindash on the floor and smiled wickedly. He curled his tail around a suddenly very surprised half-hedgehog and hurled him through the air as quickly as possible, finally breaking the plastic shielding Eggman.

Within moments, Eclipse had crawled up to the top of the robot and had one hand fisted in the doctor’s coat. The point of his tail gleamed dangerously in the light. “Today is the last day you walk this planet, you—!”

Suddenly, a bright light flared to life, and when the two aliens had cleared the spots from their eyes, Eggman was gone.

The darkling growled furiously. “How dare he run away! That coward…”

Shadow sighed tiredly. “He does have a tendency to escape at the last moment.” he muttered, his voice accompanied by a tapping sound as he opened up the cages.

“Wait, what’re you—Dark Arms!” Eclipse cried, holding open his arms as the now freed creatures rushed over to him. “He didn’t hurt any of you, did he? Cregal, Cyzer, you didn’t try anything silly?”

The cube-shaped being hummed happily, and Eclipse smiled. “I’m happy to see you too, Blurk. And—Rhygenta?” he gasped, looking around to see where the fourth one had gone.

Rhygenta was hovering nervously in front of Shadow, who had just had his own joyful moment with Rouge (who had been playfully berating Shadow for not giving her enough time to find her own way out) and Omega.

Suddenly, they summoned up all their courage, and darted forward to press into the hybrid’s chest fluff for a moment before retreating shyly.

“I think they’re trying to say thank you.” Eclipse explained.

“It was no trouble.” Shadow said softly, inclining his head for a moment.

“Maybe we’ll have to do that again sometime—it was actually pretty fun.” Eclipse said, his brain barely even registering the words his mouth was making.

Shadow’s eyes widened, but then his face softened slightly. “Perhaps so.”

…

It took Eclipse less than twenty-four hours to have an immense emotional crisis over what he had said.

Shadow? Fun? Understanding him is one thing, but how far have I fallen that I like spending time with the person who killed my father?

The person who was…extremely hurt by Black Doom…and has said that he regrets that moment on multiple occasions……

Eclipse stared blankly at a wall.

But if I’m not trying to conquer this planet or get revenge on him…

…now what?

…

Shadow smirked to himself, sliding the first batch of cookies into the oven. Incoming in three…two…one….

“SUGAR COMPOUNDS DETECTED. INVESTIGATION COMMENCING.” Omega boomed from the living room.

A thud came from outside the kitchen, followed by a skidding noise as Rouge slid to a stop right in front of the kitchen doorway. “Time to pay rent.” she declared, marching into the kitchen. She was wearing her ‘at home’ attire: a cropped sweater, leggings, fingerless gloves and fluffy pink slippers.

Shadow laughed quietly. “They aren’t even ready yet, Rouge.”

“I’ll be waiting in the living room, then.” she replied airily.

A few minutes later, Shadow’s timer rang, signaling to him that it was time to take out the cookies. Before he’d even finished opening the oven door, Rouge was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, a plate waiting in her hands. “Rent. Now.”

“You’ll burn your mouth if you don’t let them cool, you know.” he said, carrying the tray over to the counter.

“Who cares? They’re at their best when the chocolate’s still all melty inside.” Rouge shot back, taking three and piling two up on her plate with the third in her mouth.

“Suit yourself.” Shadow said, still smirking.

“Ah ill, hank oo hery uch.” the bat replied, already heading back to the couch to enjoy her ‘income’.

As the hybrid began to place the next series of cookie batter pieces on a tray, a sudden wave of dizziness swept over him, knocking him off balance. He leaned forward against the counter heavily.

“SHADOW. ARE YOU FEELING UNWELL?” Omega called out from the other room.

“Why, what’s going on?” he heard Rouge ask.

“HE APPEARS TO BE EXPERIENCING AN UNPRECEDENTED SENSE OF DISHARMONY BETWEEN HIS PHYSICAL LOCATION AND THE BALANCE SENSORS WITHIN HIS EARS.”

“Hon, you okay?” she called, getting up and hurrying over to the kitchen.

Shadow grimaced. “I think so…I can’t figure out what’s causing it though.”

“WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO INITIATE A SCAN?” Omega asked, having walked over as well.

“Sure, why not.” Shadow muttered.

“SCANNING…

“MULTIPLE CONFLICTING BRAINWAVE PATTERNS IDENTIFIED. SHADOW, I BELIEVE A MEMBER OF THE DARK ARMS IS ATTEMPTING TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU.”

The hybrid’s eyes widened. “Of course.” he whispered. After a moment of hesitation, he opened up his mind—and was hit with an absolute deluge of panic. He stumbled, but Rouge caught him before anything serious could happen.

“What is it, hon?” she asked, worried.

“It’s the Dark Arms…and they’re terrified. Apparently, Eclipse hasn’t spoken or even moved in several hours, and they have no idea why.”

“Are you going to check on him?”

Shadow sighed. “I can’t just leave him like this in good conscience. I’ll be careful, and I’ll return shortly.”

Rouge smiled halfheartedly. “More cookies for me in the meantime, I guess.”

With a flash and a cry of “Chaos Control!”, Shadow took off.

He appeared at the location the Dark Arms had shown him—in a forest next to an old G.U.N. shuttle. Within moments, all four of the Dark Arms had rushed out and began urging him inside. Once Shadow had stumbled up the metal ramp, he saw Eclipse sitting despondently against a wall, staring off into space.

“Eclipse?” he called softly, kneeling down in front of the darkling. “Eclipse, what’s going on?”

The moment his hands made contact with the other’s shoulders, the darkling gasped with a start and looked up at Shadow.

“Wh…” he began, his voice raspy from disuse. “What are you doing here?”

“The Dark Arms were worried sick about you.” Shadow explained, frowning. “They say you haven’t moved for hours.”

“No way…has it really been that long?” Eclipse asked, turning to look outside. Instantly, his muscles spasmed painfully, and he groaned. “Ugh…maybe it has.”

Shadow still seemed worried. “I think you should come back to our place for a bit. I don’t like the idea of leaving you out here all by yourself.”

“I’m not by myself.” Eclipse huffed petulantly, even as he got up to leave. “I have the Dark Arms.”

“Yes, and they came to me for help.” Shadow said firmly. “You don’t have to try and handle this on your own, you know.”

“I always have before!” he shot back, his arms folded.

The hybrid found himself smiling slightly, despite the circumstances.

“What?” Eclipse asked, going to walk out the door.

“Nothing. You just sounded a lot like how Rouge says I used to behave.”

Unfortunately, that only seemed to remind Eclipse of what he’d been thinking about before, as a slightly panicked look appeared in his eyes. “Come on.” Shadow said firmly, taking the darkling by the arm. “You need rest in a place that isn’t those miserable shuttles. And I should know,” he added, interrupting Eclipse’s almost-protest, “since I’ve spent plenty of time in them myself.”

With another flash, they were back at the apartment. Shadow sat Eclipse down on the couch, gathered the Dark Arms around him, draped a blanket over the whole lot, and had a plate ready with five cookies on it in forty-five seconds flat.

The alien blinked, looking down at the food. “What is this?” he asked, while the four creatures crept closer, intrigued.

“Chocolate chip cookies. They don’t contain meat, but I think you’ll find them nice regardless.”

Eclipse picked up one of them, noted that it was oddly warm, and bit into it. Instantly, his eyes lit up, and he shoved the rest of it into his mouth. “Mmm!” he exclaimed, his mouth full. He began to reach for another…

…only to discover that there were none left. Four very satisfied Dark Arms were clustered around him, though, which solved the mystery of where they had all gone rather quickly. Blurk in particular seemed excited, tuning to Shadow and opening their mouth eagerly (complete with a blue tongue hanging out) for more.

Eclipse couldn’t even find it in himself to scowl. Shadow went and brought back five more cookies for them, and Rouge and Omega entered the room after him, looking a little wary (unbeknownst to Eclipse, they had been hiding in the kitchen to give the others a bit of privacy).

“So! You guys were hungry, weren’t you?” Rouge asked, sitting down on one of the plush beanbag chairs on the floor.

The darkling’s tail twitched nervously. “Well, we haven’t had much besides fruit for the past six months, so yeah.”

Omega folded his arms. “I WAS INFORMED THAT THE BLACK ARMS ONLY ATE ANIMAL-BASED PRODUCTS.” His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Well…that’s what’s normally best for us, but we can survive on other things if we have to…” Eclipse explained sheepishly.

Shadow stepped forward then. “As important as this conversation is, I think we should probably shelve it for later. Right now, I have to ask: what was it that stunned you so much earlier?”

Eclipse flinched slightly, curling into himself, but didn’t lose focus again. “Nothing.” he mumbled.

Omega stared at him. “ARE YOU TRYING TO FRIGHTEN YOUR SMALL COMPANIONS?” he said pointedly, looking over at the Dark Arms. All four of the small aliens had clustered around their caretaker nervously, worried for him once again.

“N-no!” Eclipse insisted.

“Then let us help.” Shadow said.

He sighed. “It’s nothing, really. I’m just…trying to come to terms with the fact that after everything, I basically dedicated my entire life to my revenge. Now that I don’t hate you (as much) anymore, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with myself.”

Suddenly, a smile began to spread across Rouge’s face…before she realized what was happening and tried to tamp it down a little. “I’m not making fun of you, I swear.” she insisted.

“Well then, what are you doing?” Eclipse asked suspiciously.

“Eclipse, you sound exactly like Shadow did about a year ago. Like, I’m not even remotely kidding when I say that he went through the exact same thing as you.”

The darkling smiled weakly. “I guess it’s even more obvious that we’re…related then.”

Shadow spoke up again. “Well, while you’re figuring things out, you can stay here for as long as you need. Right, Rouge?”

The bat smiled for real this time. “Of course.”

“SHADOW. WHY DID YOU NOT CONSULT ME ON THIS DECISION.” Omega said.

“Because you don’t own the apartment.” Shadow shot back, smirking. “But I suppose I can. Omega, are you alright with this?”

“YES. ON ONE CONDITION.” the robot declared.

“Which is?” Shadow asked.

Omega turned to face Eclipse, stomping over and leaning down into his personal space. “IF YOU HARM EITHER OF MY FRIENDS, I WILL NOT HESITATE TO REDUCE YOU INTO ASH.”

Eclipse sneered. “Then you had better accept the same conditions in return.”

“OF COURSE.”

The darkling seemed surprised at how readily Omega had agreed. “Uh…okay then. But is there even anything interesting to do on this planet?”

Shadow shifted in place. “I know of a thing or two that I suspect you might like. Let me know when you’d like to see it and I’ll take you there.”

“Why are you doing all of this?” Eclipse asked cautiously.

“He’s doing it because he knows what it’s like to feel lost.” Rouge explained gently. “And he’s a big softie if you just take the time to get to know him.” she added, winking.

“Rouge!” Shadow cried, blushing a bright green as he shoved her face into the beanbag chair.

The darkling felt himself relax slightly as Rouge cackled, feeling somewhat safe for the first time in months.

…

The darkling had spent the night lying on the couch, still trying to come to terms with the fact that in about two weeks he’d gone from mortal enemies with Shadow to sleeping on the hybrid’s furniture. In the morning, he’d woken up to discover both Shadow and Rouge preparing breakfast, while Omega was banished to the dining area.

“Uh…why aren’t you in the kitchen?” Eclipse asked, getting up to follow the Dark Arms (who had already begun hurrying to the food as quickly as they could).

“THEY HAVE ACCUSED ME OF BEING PRONE TO OVERCOOKING FOOD.” Omega said sulkily.

“You almost burned down the kitchen trying to make scrambled eggs once!” Rouge shouted.

Eclipse snickered at that, while Shadow began to bring some of the waffles he’d made out to the table. “I’ve added some fruit to these, so they should hopefully provide some nutrients for you five.”

The Dark Arms began to eat as though they hadn’t each gotten at least three cookies yesterday, scarfing down the waffles (and in Blurk’s case, eating one whole). Eclipse carefully picked one up and took a large bite out of it…before noticing that everyone was staring at him.

“What?” he asked.

“I mean, normally people eat waffles with a fork and knife, but I suppose this can be an exception.” Shadow answered, even though it looked like it was physically paining him to say so.

Eclipse smirked and took another big bite of the waffle, nearly choking on it with laughter when Shadow covered his face in silent disappointment.

…

Later that day, as Eclipse had begun to settle into the guest room in the apartment (Rouge had made a lot of money over the years due to some of her more…obscure jobs), Shadow walked in, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

“Eclipse…” he began, “…listen, I want to believe you when you say that you don’t hate me anymore. But how do I know that this isn’t some kind of trick?”

“What, you think I’m going to wait until you trust me and then stab you in the back?” the darkling asked sarcastically.

“Well, yes, somewhat.” Shadow said bluntly.

“Couldn’t you do the exact same thing with the Dark Arms, though?” Eclipse replied.

“I would never do that!” the hybrid exclaimed.

“How do I know that?”

“…good point.” Shadow conceded. “So is this a mutual show of trust, then?”

“I guess it is.” Eclipse said, shifting in place uncomfortably.

Shadow’s expression became unreadable for a moment, making Eclipse even more nervous. It was hard enough to get a read on the guy without the hivemind to help, let alone when he was being stoic.

“Did you want me to show you one of the reasons why you might like this planet?” he said eventually, seeming a bit hesitant.

“That sounds alright, I guess. After all, you can’t just leave me hanging after yesterday, can he, guys?” Eclipse asked, directing the last part of his statement at the Dark Arms.

They all did their absolute best to shake their heads, making their opinions clear (and melting Shadow’s heart just a bit in the process).

“Alright then.” the hybrid began. “I was thinking we could go take a look at a rafflesia plant? It’s a parasitic flora that happens to be the largest flowering plant in the world. And it also tends to smell exactly like meat that has gone bad.”

Eclipse rolled his eyes. “Really? You want to show me a flower brought here by the Black Comet?”

Shadow shook his head. “No. This plant is native to this particular planet.”

“You’re telling me. That this place. Naturally grows a flower that smells like meat?” Eclipse wheezed. “There’s no way that’s true.”

Shadow’s expression took on a slight hint of pride. “Normally, they only grow on the Oceanic Islands, but they can be cultivated artificially. I think there might be one in Central City’s botanical gardens, actually.”

“Prove it.”

“With pleasure.” Shadow said, smirking just a little.

Eclipse felt an odd sense of interest growing inside himself, and ignored it in favor of suspicion.

…

“One rafflesia flower, present and healthy.” Shadow said, clearly relishing in Eclipse’s surprise.

The darkling restrained himself forcefully from swearing in the presence of the Dark Arms. “It does smell like meat! How?!” he gasped, turning to face Shadow.

The hedgehog stared for two beats at his shocked expression, clearly restraining himself from expressing anything. “I told you so.” was all he said, his eyes bright with triumph.

Eclipse felt the beginnings of a smile pull at his own face, and wasn’t sure whether to feel embarrassed or not.

Suddenly, though, he froze. “What is that?”

“What?” Shadow asked, turning to face the direction the other was looking in.

“That.” Eclipse breathed, pointing at a small, green, leggy creature crawling along a vine.

“Oh! That’s a stick bug.” Shadow replied. “Interesting, isn’t it?”

“It’s adorable!” he gasped. His eyes were practically sparkling, and his tail was swishing back and forth. “Are there more creatures like this?”

“You mean stick bugs, or insects overall?”

“Both!”

“Well, there’s lots more stick bugs, but as for insects…there are more of them than there are both humans and Mobians on the entire planet.”

“I need to see all of them.” Eclipse insisted, grabbing Shadow by the shoulders.

“So, does this mean you think Mobius might have some worth after all?” he replied, smirking.

“Fine! Maybe just a little!” the darkling barked, stomping away in half-hearted anger. “If it has more cool bugs and weird plants, then sure! Whatever.”

“How do you feel about carnivorous plants?” Shadow asked.

“What.”

“Plants that eat—”

“Yes I know that now take me to them.”

…

After a week and a half, Eclipse found that he could grudgingly admit that this planet just might be a tiny bit less worthless than he’d imagined. After seeing all manner of plants and bugs (and receiving one book that had lots of pictures of insects along with their names from Shadow) he found himself fascinated by the variety of life that existed there.

However, he was slightly less fascinated by Shadow’s consistent attempts to find foods for him to eat that weren’t meat.

“What do you think?”

Eclipse stared at the spread of food laid in front of him warily. “You’re telling me this is what people eat instead of meat?”

Shadow allowed himself a tiny smile. “I know it might look strange—and some of it isn’t as good of a substitute as others. But yes, this is what people eat when they’ve chosen to forgo meat.”

“Ugh, but why would anyone rather eat this stuff?”

“Concern for other living creatures, the environment, or even general health are all perfectly valid reasons, you know.” the hybrid explained.

“You know an awful lot about—wait. Do you not eat meat?” Eclipse asked incredulously. “You’re at least half carnivore, you know!”

“Well, yes, but I am also half omnivore. And so long as I make sure to get lots of protein, I do just fine. After all, I was designed to be able to survive in times where food was scarce, too.” Shadow added.

“Can you get enough protein in things other than meat?” Eclipse still seemed skeptical. “And why would you do that, anyway?”

“Absolutely! Several of these foods have plenty of protein in them.

”And as for your other question, Maria always wished she could do this, but she needed a specific diet in order to remain healthy and strong. I absorbed quite a few of her ideas, so I didn’t eat meat for her sake…and then I just continued like that after…everything. Rouge loves to eat bugs, though, and I have no problem with that—this is just a personal choice.”

“But you said ‘several’, not ‘all’.” the darkling pointed out, focusing more on the first part of Shadow’s statement than the second.

“Well, no, but—please wait just a little longer!” he cried, lunging towards Blurk. The Dark Arm had been a little overeager at the sight of all that food and dashed forward, their willpower failing quickly.

“I just wanted to explain what all of these are.” Shadow continued. “That way you know what they are and can hopefully pick your favorites.”

“So here we have some eggs—unfertilized, please don’t worry about that,” he began, rushing to explain upon seeing Eclipse’s horrified expression. “Next, there’s some vegetarian burgers of varying types. And here we have a carefully designed meat substitute. It is uncooked, but I can fix that if you’d like.”

“Cooked meat? Is that what everyone eats here?”

“Well, yes—most people would get sick otherwise.” Shadow explained.

“Would you?” Eclipse asked. He seemed genuinely curious, more than anything.

“I don’t actually know…” Shadow admitted sheepishly. “Like I alluded to earlier, I’ve never tried it.”

“Never?” Eclipse gasped. “Alright then, I’m making a deal with you right now. I won’t let either myself or any of the Dark Arms eat the people on this planet—at all—if you give some kind of meat a try. Just once.”

The hedgehog cringed, but agreed regardless. “I suppose I can manage that.”

And then, finally, to Blurk’s immense relief, they began to eat. Rhygenta seemed to like the eggs best, while Cregal and Cyzer nearly escalated tensions to ‘all-out war’ levels over the last few scraps of meat substitute. Blurk happily ate everything available (though Shadow had to drag them away from the vegetarian burgers so that there would be some left for Eclipse).

Eventually, there was only one item left, and Eclipse studied it skeptically. “Why does it look so…weird?”

Shadow smirked slightly. “I actually meant to ask you about this one in particular. I’ve seen people claim that this is an acceptable substitute for meat on a surprisingly regular basis. I just wanted to know if you think that’s true or not.”

Eclipse frowned suspiciously at him, but raised the food to his mouth anyway…

“Agh! Ew! What is this stuff?!” he spat, shoving the offending object across the table. “It’s all rubbery and tough!”

Shadow choked back laughter, snickering into a hand as he saw Eclipse’s horrified expression. “That’s how I felt the first time I tried it, too.” he explained, his eyes still gleaming with amusement.

“Just tell me what it is already!” Eclipse cried.

“It’s called a portobello mushroom.” Shadow explained. “Basically, it’s an edible fungus.”

The darkling made a noise of disgust. “And they consider that to be an adequate substitute for meat?”

“Some people who choose not to eat meat actually have similar questions.” Shadow said, still smiling.

Eclipse huffed irritably. “Well then, now that you’ve had your laughs at my expense, I say you have to eat two bites, since you knew what you were getting me into there.”

Shadow sighed. “I suppose it’s only fair…” he muttered, picking up the offending food and staring at it.

“Yes! Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Eclipse said excitedly, facing him again.

All four of the Dark Arms looked up at once, so now Shadow had a mini-audience as he commenced eating the mushroom.

By the end of his two bites, Eclipse and the Dark Arms were all laughing openly. (Shadow might have overdone his reactions just a bit for that exact reason, though…it wasn’t as if he’d never done such a thing before, though it had been a long time ago.)

��

“Oh! I don’t think the Dark Arms have met Spark yet, have they?” Shadow asked one day, looking up from his book suddenly.

“No…who’s Spark?” Eclipse said warily. He had been playing with the Dark Arms on the floor when Shadow had asked, so now all four of them looked up with nearly identical curious expressions, making him smile a little.

“They’re, well—a pet wouldn’t be quite the appropriate term, so a companion, I suppose? They’re very friendly, if a bit mischievous, so you needn’t worry about any hostilities.”

“Okay then, let’s meet them! You’ll be alright with that, won’t you?” Eclipse asked the Dark Arms, pulling them closer for a quick hug.

General noises of assent came from the creatures, prompting Shadow to stand up. “Wonderful! I had to leave them in the daycare for a while because, well, I was busy…figuring things out. But I’m sure they’ve had fun spending time with their friends.”

The darkling realized that Shadow meant ‘things’ with him, specifically, and smiled sheepishly. “Will you be able to take them back now?”

“If they get along with the Dark Arms well, then absolutely.” Shadow said warmly.

Once they arrived at the building, Shadow left Eclipse in the lobby while he went to go fetch Spark. The darkling’s tail twisted nervously and he held the Dark Arms close as he waited for Shadow’s return.

Eventually, the hedgehog reappeared, and motioned for him to come with a smile. “I’ve explained it all to them, so hopefully everything should go over smoothly.” he said.

“Alright…” Eclipse said hesitantly, walking down the halls with Shadow. “Why is this place so far out in the middle of nowhere, anyway?”

“It’s one of the best-located daycares in the area, actually.” he explained. “It’s close to both nature and a spot that’s high in Chaos energy, which makes it the perfect habitat for chao.”

“Chao?” Eclipse frowned. “What are those?”

“They’re friendly creatures with a high affinity for Chaos energy.” Shadow said.

“…sounds weird.” he muttered.

The hybrid allowed himself a half-smile. “I think you’ll find them rather nice, actually.”

He opened the door to a park, filled with small play equipment and various musical toys. The thing that stood out to Eclipse the most, however, was the incredible number of small, round, brightly colored creatures crawling all around the area. The darkling found himself hard pressed not to let out a high-pitched noise at the sight.

Putting his fingers to his mouth, Shadow whistled loudly. “Spark?” he called. “Come here!”

Suddenly, a little creature with a small snout and round body hurled themself directly into Shadow’s arms, cooing excitedly. The hybrid chuckled softly. “You only saw me a couple of minutes ago, you know.” he said.

Spark perked up at the sound of his voice, placing their front paws on Shadow’s chest and looking up at him.

Eclipse’s eyes widened. “They look just like you!” he gasped, taking a couple of steps closer. “Can I…can I hold them?”

Shadow straightened up, tension clearly visible in his movements. Despite his obvious trepidation, however, he delicately placed the chao in Eclipse’s hands.

Carefully, the darkling began to pat its head with a single finger. After a moment of deliberation, Spark curled up comfortably in his other hand and began to purr softly with a smile.

Eclipse’s eyes glistened. “Awww….”

Suddenly, he felt several shoves against his back all at once, nearly making him drop the creature. Eclipse whirled around to see all four of the Dark Arms pouting and staring at him with big, sad eyes.

“Oh, come here.” he muttered fondly, spreading his arms wide. The four rushed into him, sending him stumbling backwards as he hugged them—all while keeping the chao steady.

Soon enough, Spark noticed that they weren’t receiving attention anymore and worked their way into the hug as well, making Cregal growl and Cyzer take a halfhearted snap at their ear.

Eclipse frowned. “Play nicely, you two.” he grumbled, an extra mental nudge adding weight to his words. The Dark Arms, sufficiently cowed, flew out of his arms along with the chao and began to poke about on the playground.

After a minute of confusion (and several increasingly exasperated demonstrations from Spark), the aliens seemed to pick up on what the various items were for and brightened up considerably, beginning to play with nearly overwhelming excitement.

Eclipse and Shadow stood by, watching with almost identical smiles on their faces. When they noticed this fact, both looked away, embarrassed, before the former offered up a rueful grin.

“I’m glad they’re getting along.” Shadow said quietly, still not meeting his…brother’s? eyes.

“Me too.” Eclipse murmured, his ribs tight against his chest.

…

After a while, Shadow had grown comfortable enough with Eclipse’s presence to cautiously suggest a sparring session—mainly because the darkling had been getting more than a little bit antsy after being cooped up in the house for so long. They’d mutually agreed that he shouldn’t go out too often early on in his stay. The consensus was that if the public was already resistant to Shadow’s presence as a half-alien, then things likely would not turn out well for Eclipse.

Once Eclipse had agreed (enthusiastically), they’d headed out to an open field, though Rouge insisted that they didn’t go too far in case someone got injured. Shadow folded his arms, facing off against Eclipse.

“Alright. Rules: No severe lacerations or anything else that could cause significant blood loss. Also, no attacks that might trigger a concussion. Other than that, anything’s fair game, including using the Dark Arms.”

Eclipse smirked. “It almost sounds like you want to lose.”

“I just want it to be a fair fight.” Shadow shot back.

“Alright then, whatever you say!” he chirped, stretching out his arms.

The mood began to shift as the two circled each other, eyeing one another as they waited for the first move. After a second, Shadow charged.

His fist very nearly landed, too, and it would have set him at a significant advantage had Eclipse not leapt nearly four feet directly upwards. “Cregal! Wings, NOW!” he shrieked, only realizing after the fact that this maneuver placed him directly above a fully charged Shadow.

He used his newfound wings to soar farther away from the hybrid’s reach, before lashing out with his tail at Shadow. Eclipse managed to land a light scratch with that, but then Shadow turned the tables by grasping his tail and throwing him headlong across the field.

Eclipse bounced back to his feet just in time to launch a kick at the other’s face, and then the battle began in earnest. The two alternated between full-force punches and glancing blows, maintaining a delicate balance between sparring and all-out fighting.

After a few minutes, Eclipse had managed to force Shadow onto the defensive and even seemed as though he might actually win. However, Shadow had one last trick up his sleeve…or on his wrist, as it were.

The darkling’s eyes widened as his adversary unlatched a single golden ring from his wrist, rolling his shoulder as he pulled himself up to his full height. Suddenly, though, Shadow paused.

“We can stop now if this is…too distressing. I understand…” he said guiltily, looking at Eclipse’s stricken expression.

“No, no, it’s not that!” he said, waving his hands nervously. “It’s just…do you really not realize?”

“Realize what?”

Eclipse cringed. “Just…here.” He pointed at Shadow’s left eye, leaving his finger close to the crimson iris. “You see that, right?”

Shadow blinked once, bewildered. “Yes?”

“And this?” he asked, pointing in the same way at his right eye.

“What are you talking about, Eclipse?” the hybrid asked impatiently.

“And then there’s this.” he said.

Shadow’s stomach dropped. To him, it looked as though Eclipse was pointing directly at him…in a field of vision situated directly above the other two.

He fumbled in his quills for his phone, switching it into ‘selfie mode’—something that had taken him a while to learn how to do—and staring at the third eye that had just casually appeared in his forehead.

“We need to go back. Now.” Shadow breathed shakily, his hands trembling.

Eclipse gathered the Dark Arms close with one hand and held Shadow’s wrist with the other, concerned. “Alright…”

The moment they appeared back at the house, Shadow rushed to the living room. “Rouge!”

She leapt from the upper level of their home directly down onto the ground floor. “What is it?” she asked sharply, already looking around for the nearest threat.

“What’s happening to me?” Shadow asked, doing his best not to start hyperventilating on the spot.

“Oh—oh! Hon!” she gasped, dashing over and looking into all three of his eyes. The hybrid tilted his head up slightly, giving her a better view of exactly what had happened to him.

“How did this happen?” Rouge said.

“I…I don’t know, I just took off my ring and then this appeared!”

At that point, Omega appeared in the room, having heard frenzied voices from his own training room farther away in the house. “WHAT HAPPENED?”

Shadow turned to face him, distress written all over his face.

“AH. RAPID OCULAR TRANSFORMATION. THAT IS…NEW.”

Rouge glowered at him. “Can’t you see this is freaking Shadow out?”

“YES. APOLOGIES.” Omega said, lowering his volume by half in hopes it would help.

“Have you tried putting your ring back on yet?” Rouge asked.

He frowned. “No, actually…I’ll do it now.”

The moment he slid the golden inhibitor ring onto his wrist, the eye vanished. Everyone started at that, even Shadow himself.

“Weird.” Eclipse muttered.

“Hmm…I wonder why that happened?” Rouge said. “Maybe it has something to do with you spending more time around other Black Arms than usual?”

“THE EXCESS CHAOS ENERGY PRODUCED BY REMOVING YOUR RING MAY WELL HAVE BEEN CHANNELED INTO PROVIDING A MORE COMPLETE EXPRESSION OF YOUR DNA.” Omega added.

Suddenly, Cyzer swooped forward, clearly excited. They began to hover around Shadow hopefully, their eyes wide.

“What’re they saying?” Rouge asked.

“They’re wondering what would happen if I took off all four of my rings, and if this means I can utilize the Dark Arms’ powers as well.” Shadow said, and then paled slightly as he realized what he’d just done.

“When did this happen?!” Eclipse asked, some indignance creeping into his voice.

Shadow looked embarrassed. “I needed to communicate with one of them once, and they got so excited I didn’t have the heart to close the link—but I’m sure you’ll always be their favorite person, Eclipse.”

The darkling shook his head. “No, it’s not—never mind. It’s nothing, really.” he muttered.

Shadow felt waves of jealousy and…longing…emanating from Eclipse, and on an impulse he himself barely understood, he stepped forward and grabbed the other’s wrist. Eclipse started suddenly, turning to face Shadow—and then the hybrid pulled him into the most awkward hug in all of existence.

“Wh—what-?” he stammered.

“I don’t know, just…is this what you wanted?” Shadow muttered.

Eclipse sighed quietly, and wrapped his arms around Shadow in return. “…yes. Thank you, brother.”

“I wouldn’t have asked you to spar with me if I didn’t feel comfortable enough with you to do that kind of thing.” Shadow added.

The darkling squeezed him a little tighter, all words failing him.

(After all, he’d found family in the last place he’d expected when he crashed on this planet.)

…

One night, Shadow and Eclipse were looking up at the stars when Shadow pointed out a black speck against the sky.

“That’s the ARK.” he explained. “I grew up there. It’s where some of my best memories took place…and some of my worst.”

Eclipse sighed quietly. “I could say the same thing about my Black Comet.”

Shadow tensed guiltily. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be.”

“But—”

“Neither of us are the same people we were back then.” Eclipse insisted quietly. “Besides, now I just figure…more than anything, it was a bunch of really bad events all combined into one extra horrible situation.”

Shadow smiled faintly. “That’s awfully generous of you.”

“What can I say.” the darkling murmured. “I learned from the best.”

The two continued to watch the sky for a while longer, looking up at the place they’d both been “born” while living on a planet that neither of them truly belonged to—yet one that they had both claimed as their home. Most of the people on the world would never know (or if they did know, many would not like) that not one, but six aliens had taken up residence on the planet, but none of them cared.

After all, the only ones whose opinions mattered were ready to stand right by them no matter what.

And if Shadow and Eclipse cautiously leaned against one another—both literally and metaphorically—then that only made sense for two people who had fought with all the hatred and fear that could possibly come from many terrible misunderstandings…and yet, in the end, had chosen one another as brothers.

xxx

Author’s Note: Hey everyone! I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted any fanfics on here, and this is in a new format, so if you made it all the way down here...thank you so, so much for reading all twelve thousand (?!?) words of my crazy ideas. I hope you’re doing well, wherever and whenever you’re reading this.

Fun fact about this particular fic: it took me five revisions to even come up with a story that made sense, because Eclipse just did not want to cooperate. XD Thankfully, I eventually managed to convince him otherwise!

#shadow the hedgehog #eclipse the darkling #rouge the bat #e 123 omega #dark arms #sol's fanfiction #lonely stars #if you feel up to it i'd love to hear feedback on the new layout!#i chose it in hopes that it would make my fics seem more approachable :)#or if you leave any comment in general i will be very *very* grateful :D #but no pressure!#also as i mentioned on my last post #sorry for the lack of updates! that’s probably going to continue for quite some time #all is well i’m just quite busy ^^;;#thanks again for reading!!

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