#I need to get better at drawing future leo. he’s to small here | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cordonian-literature · 3 years

Text

Forever Mine

chapter three

❦ summary — The time for Princess Riley to step into her role as queen fast approaches and finding the future king is Cordonia’s top priority. Commander Liam is aware of that, and has plans to make sure the princess ends up with someone suitable.

➺ chapter warnings: none

❦ catch up here!

➺ word count: (+/-) 2081

*all characters belong to Pixelberry, except those unique to my story*

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

The waves crashing and the fresh breeze brings life into Commander Liam’s step, who walks towards the beach with the King to his left. Constantine continues talking about his favorite parts of the Regatta, though Liam doesn’t care much to listen.

The Commander had been cooped up in his office for the past three days straight. He fell asleep and woke up in the same position in his chair, and whenever the King needed to speak with him, Constantine simply marched into the room himself.

He hadn’t seen a single glimpse of the princess since the picnic. Even now, Liam still hadn’t spotted her. He understood that she needed to give her attention to her suitors, but he became increasingly confused as to why he hadn’t put himself up to be one as well.

No matter how much he wanted to fling himself in front of Riley and be at her mercy, he knew it was no use: it was too late for him to become a suitor. And, more importantly, it wasn’t smart for Liam to put himself in such a vulnerable position.

Constantine’s words fall on Liam’s deaf ears, but the King goes on and on, not noticing that the Commander wasn’t paying attention. Only when Constantine walks away to announce the beginning of the races does Liam focus on him. As Constantine makes a few strides towards the front of the crowd, Riley appears next to him.

While Constantine speaks about the war and loyalty and Riley, the Princess’s eyes reach the Commander. Once Liam smiles at her, she pushes her shoulders further back, and her smile widens.

Months ago, after Leo had abdicated and Liam tried to teach Riley what he could, the princess had been reluctant to accept the role. She had even approached Liam with a request to tell her father to not announce Leo’s abdication. She wanted to draw it out, maybe wait until Leo had heirs that could take the throne and the crown could skip over the pair of siblings.

Her anxiety had overtaken her. Liam had been the one to witness the worst of it: the labored breathing and heavy tears and incomprehensible phrases. She had cried and asked him to leave her room, and though he had wanted to embrace her, he walked away.

But the next day, Liam urged her to continue her lessons. When she refused, he asked her what she was afraid of. He put it in his mind that whatever words she would utter he would make disappear from this world.

With her hands shaking, Riley had explained to him that ever since she was a child she had done absolutely nothing in the public light. During any event, Riley would only be allowed to stay long enough for the press to take pictures and for her to smile at important persons before she was led back to her room in the palace.

Liam knows her words are true, and from the bottom of his heart, he pities her. The poor girl had never expected to have so much responsibility on her shoulders. She had most likely come to terms with the fact that she would never have any political significance and was just meant to be a pretty pawn at a man’s side.

That day, which had been months ago, he had gently urged her to stand and told her that the people loved her and that there was nothing she could do wrong to upset them.

Most of the things he had told her were lies, but they had quelled her anxiety thoroughly. With every concern she had, Liam had a better plan as to how she would rise above it.

Now, while she stands next to her father as Neville’s, Rashad’s, and Prince Alexander’s boats launch themselves into the race, Liam’s heart swells as Riley begins to walk towards him.

Her angelic voice rings out, “I haven’t seen you in days! I’ve missed y—”

“RileyRileyRiley!” Maxwell cries, running up to the pair.

“Maxwell, what—”

“I’m really hungry right now and I’m smelling something fantastic from Zeke’s boat,” he says. “Please come investigate with me?”

“No!” she cries.

“Please?” Maxwell asks again before Riley can continue her sentence.

“It would be better for the two of you to join Lord Michael’s party on his boat,” Liam advises, though internally he hopes Maxwell will run off so he can get another moment alone with Riley.

“But—” Maxwell whines.

“Go see what Lord Michael is serving his guests, and I’ll try and figure out what Zeke has on his boat,” Riley proposes.

“Oh, and we can ask for samples!” Maxwell cries. “But remember, Riley, don’t be shy just take the whole tray. Say you’re about to pass out from hunger or something. They won’t risk the princess’s health!”

“Perfect, Lord Maxwell,” Liam pats Maxwell’s shoulder a bit harder than he meant to. “Now go along, the princess will catch up.”

Focused on food, Maxwell runs off, leaving Riley and Liam alone.

Riley’s giggle fills the air around Liam. He tries to come up with a joke to prolong her laughing, but before he can say anything she speaks.

“I should go talk to the press with my father.”

Liam nods. “Yes, that would be a good idea.”

“What should I say if they ask me about the war? Or about Prince Alexander?”

“Say that Cordonia’s generosity is greater than her selfishness, as the Regatta symbolizes. We didn’t choose conflict, we were forced into it.”

“Okay, that...” she pauses and frowns, causing an adorable wrinkle to appear on her forehead, “that makes sense. And what about Alex?”

“Prince Alexander,” Liam reminds her. He didn’t mean to be forceful, but her shoulders jerk up.

“Sorry, sorry! I just...”

“No worries,” he comforts her. Liam maintains a stoic expression, but his insides boil as he wonders how many affectionate nicknames she’s given people. Did Riley have a nickname for Liam?

“I...” Riley stutters again.

“Deep breaths,” he tells her, noticing her face becoming pale. She obeys his command, and once she’s calm again he continues. “Tell them that you and the prince are still getting to know each other. It’s true, and doesn’t make it seem as if you favor him.”

“Alright.” She nods at him confidently, looking towards the reporters still talking to her father. Liam thinks she’s about to walk off, but her eyes meet his again.

“I... will be in the library later tonight,” she states. “If it’s not too much to ask, will you meet me there? Shortly after midnight.”

“Why so late?” Liam asks, his curiosity peaked.

“I don’t want anyone to speculate, you see.”

Liam is partly glad at her responsible outlook, but is intrigued at the fact that she thinks people might believe she holds affections towards him. Is she truly just worried about how people would view her, or was she trying to hide her feelings as well? Was this her way of voicing her feelings?

Before the silence becomes frighteningly long, Liam pulls himself out of his thoughts. He reminds himself that this is her social season. It’s too late for anything to happen between them.

“Of course,” he tells her, lifting her soft hands to his lips, stopping himself from kissing her wrist.

“Wonderful,” she says, a slight blush appearing on her face as she walks away.

...

After the three suitors and their boats returned to the harbor and Lord Neville’s victory was announced, the short man made a beeline towards Riley, allowing her to compliment him.

From the sidelines, Liam wondered where this man’s confidence came from, and more importantly, how to get rid of it. He watched as Neville brought Riley into his boat for the party and kept her at his side while speaking to other nobles. Riley never made a move that showed she wanted to walk away from him, but the one time her eyes met the Commander’s, Liam understood what he had to do.

He didn’t stay for the beach party, even though Lord Maxwell lightly urged him to. Instead, Liam went back to the palace and straight into his office, where his right-hand-woman was waiting for him.

Zoe Zacharias, a talented and highly intelligent soldier that Liam had trained with. She was not prepared for the role of Commander as her strategic skill wasn’t as sharp as Liam’s, which is why she was not chosen by the King. But once she began working under the new Commander, Liam saw her improve and knew that she would be a perfect successor to him, God forbid his death were to come earlier than expected.

What was even better was the fact that she listened and went through with every one of Liam’s commands without question or hesitation.

“Commander!” Zoe salutes as Liam walks into the office.

Without batting an eyelash, Liam tells her to look into Neville’s background and history.

Zoe nods, a slight smirk on her face. “Need to find a weak point, sir?”

Liam grins. She caught on quickly. “Before midnight, if you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

Liam leaves to prepare for dinner, keeping his meeting with Riley at the back of his mind at all times.

At the dinner table, when he notices Neville sitting next to Riley and comfortably talking to her, Liam averts his gaze and hopes that Zoe has found something.

Thankfully, only an hour before midnight, Zoe enters Liam’s office with a report. Reading over it, the Commander’s shoulders relax. Leaning back in his chair he takes out a pen and a piece of paper to start writing a letter.

…

“Highness?” Liam’s voice echos along with the sound of his boots, reaching Riley. She lay on a pile of blankets in front of the fire, a small basket of food next to her.

“I thought we agreed that you would not call me that anymore.” She pats the space next to her, and that’s all it takes to summon Liam to her side.

He sits on the blankets with her, allowing his fingers to brush against her ankles and over the thin material of her dress. Liam glances up, seeing that Riley’s face was impassive. He allows himself to smile at the seemingly empty way she gazes at him, knowing what type of game she is playing.

Liam notices assortments of bread in the basket. “Will some bread lighten your mood, princess?”

Ripping a piece of bread from the loaf, Liam holds it out to her for half a second. When she doesn’t move to take the piece, he gently presses the soft bread against her lips, and her face becomes softer.

The glow of the fire lets the tiredness in her eyes shine through; Liam saw every uncomfortable emotion in her changed expression, and brought his forehead closer to her’s.

She was overwhelmed, he knew. She couldn’t muster the energy needed for these events. Liam’s pity for her runs deeper. Just an hour ago he had read an article written by the same reporters who had asked the King and Princess questions during the Regatta. They criticised the way she executed her answers and made false assumptions about her personality that made Liam’s heart ache.

The social season had so far only brought Riley pain, and Liam’s anger at the King increases. The old man was foolish, selfish. What was the use of protecting his daughter from a world he would later push her into?

Liam burrows his head against the crook of Riley’s neck, his heart calm when she asks if they can stay that way for a while.

But after a few seconds, Liam moves away from her. “It’s late, princess.”

She sighs and stands. “You’re right.”

Liam collects the basket and the blankets, putting them to the side where the servants could take it away. He takes her hand and softly kisses her knuckles, hoping to prolong the moment of quiet peace. But Riley takes her hand out of his grasp and gently rests it on Liam’s shoulder, then leaning forward to land a soft kiss on his cheek.

Liam’s expression doesn’t falter, but he waits for her face to come into view. He wants to view her kind eyes and loving expression before the stressful night ahead. But Riley turns her head quickly and leaves the room.

Minutes later, Liam leaves, too. As he makes his way back to his office, he hopes that Zoe has already delivered the letter.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

a/n: i know this is probably crap, and i know i havent updated in more than a month and im crazy sorry for that - life stuff got in the way and i wasn’t doing so well mentally either. but!! my mojo for writing is back!!! hopefully it stays lol

also, i understand my lack of updates was probably annoying, so please let me know if you want to be added/removed from the tags!! no hard feelings!

@twinkleallnight @gkittylove99 @sweatyrysconnoisseur @kingliam2019 @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @queenrileyrose @royalromancer @princess-geek @mom2000aggie @zoehanji @claireloutoo

#choices fanfic #trr fanfic #liam x riley #trr au fanfic #the royal romance #the royal romance fanfic #evil liam #liam rys #trr laim #trr riley #riley brooks #sorry for being gone for forever lol

41 notes · View notes

cant-blink · 3 years

Text

Favorite and Least Favorite Ghidorah Incarnations

Probably gonna regret making this post, but it’s been a long time coming, so let’s do it. I guess I should warn, not suitable for people sensitive to opinions that might be different from their own. Can’t believe I have to say that about a list of fav Ghidorahs, but alas...

Anyway, enjoy!

Let’s start with my Top 5 favorite Ghidorahs! Going from my most favorite down! All five of these are amazing and any one can easily become my #1 at any given time! :D But at the moment, my number 1 is...

Showa Ghidorah

Showa Ghidorah should come to nobody’s surprise, given how much I’ve been writing about him lately! I admit though, it wasn’t always like this. It took some time for him to grow on me, and he actually used to be one of my least favorite through design alone. But he has grown exponentially on me, and now I love everything about him! The manes are unique and I love the crescent moons on his heads too. His eyes are so big, and I feel they have more expression compared to other Ghidorahs. And the inspiration of the more traditional Eastern-style dragon is there in his face too.

His backstory and personality, though, is what really got me to change my mind about the character. His personality is perfect as far as I’m concerned! Coming from space to destroy planets just for the lolz, cackling maniacally all the way! Even the fact he was mind-controlled was something for me to delve into in my stories, on how such a thing impacts the character. It really opened my eyes to the more subtle parts to his personality, like I realize that Ghiddy wants NOTHING to do with Earth. He tried to destroy it once and that failure is all he needed to know to stay away. The plot device of mind-control is used to keep him coming back in future movies! Even when he defeated Godzilla and Rodan, he chose to fly away back into space! There’s layers to his character if you look deep enough!

There’s just so much story-potential to this guy, I love it! Even in real life, he has an arc, going from one of my least favorites to being the top of this list! That’s definitely special!

Overall, a lot of love for this character, often wrestling with Legendary for the number 1 spot! Speaking of which...

Legendary Ghidorah

The one that started it all for me and they’re second on the list?! Blasphemy!! Nah, seriously though, Showa and Legendary really do often switch places for me all the time! Just right now, Showa has squeezed into the top spot. For now........

Anyway, Legendary Ghidorah needs no explanation for being a favorite incarnation of the character. Whilst Godzilla has always been a very vague presence in my life, KotM’s is what had me diving headfirst into the fandom, all because of Ghidorah. Their design is amazing, sleek and intimidating! The detail that they whip up storms just by flying creates an awesome menacing atmosphere everytime they’re on screen!

The personalities between the heads is unique, providing all sorts of material for my writer side to explore! Their backstory is left open for me to explore as well, like where they came from and how their species functions! It’s been a lot of fun! I may be slightly burnt out from how much I’ve written and posted about them, but make no mistake, I still ADORE this Ghidorah and I have them to thank for starting this whole page in the first place!

Shin Ghidorah

That’s right, Shin Ghidorah exists in official TOHO canon and he needs more love!!

Shin Ghidorah was one I was introduced to not long after I learned Kamata-kun (oh, and Shin Godzilla) was a thing. With my obsession with Ghidorah, I wanted to know if there was a Ghidorah in the Shin universe and after some digging, I found that there was! Featured in a ride in Universal Studios Japan! And better yet, videos of it exists on youtube! I loved it the second I saw it!

The design is amazing and surprisingly unique! This is because Shin Ghidorah was originally a scrapped concept for the original Showa Ghidorah! Like, Shin Ghidorah is basically an oversized three-headed Skullcrawler with wings! Because you see those “legs” he has? Those are actually ARMS!! Ghidorah could’ve been a giant Skullcrawler all this time!!

I also love his movements, oddly enough. He doesn’t just fly, he SWIMS though the air, something I don’t recall seeing in any other Ghidorah!

The only thing I don’t like about him... is the fact that he wasn’t around longer! A shame the ride is so short, I would’ve LOVED to see more of him in a movie. Oh well...

Grand/Cretaceous Ghidorah

Both are the same individual, so they’re both in this entry! I remember learning about him through a video talking about Ghidorah’s most sadistic moment and this was it. Grand Ghidorah kidnaps children with the sole intent to devour them, but he doesnt eat them right away, no. He holds them hostage to stew in their terror, returning to them every so often just to listen to their screams and cries. You know he’s enjoying every minute, knowing he’s torn families apart. Without a doubt, all this is just a game before he destroys the world as Ghiddys do. The way he toyed with Mothra Leo, leaving him to suffer after beating him to near-death. Or the way he possessed one of the Mothra twins to try to kill her own sister! It was great! He has such a regal design too! I can see why the fanbase have come to call him Grand King Ghidorah, he’s absolutely majestic. Shame he’s overshadowed, likely due to not being in a Godzilla movie.

Cretaceous Ghidorah has a more Western-dragon look to him and it works. He is basically a baby Ghidorah and he is so cute! His big eyes and squeaky roars, I love it! He also SOMEHOW made me feel sorry for my least favorite dinosaur! That's some true power right there!

The regeneration ability too, is amazing! This is likely where Legendary got the idea, but Grand does it better by regenning from just a small piece of tail left behind. Just badass, all around!

Void Ghidorah

A controversial pick, I know. I made a whole post about my detailed thoughts on Void Ghidorah, see here. Long story short: I think he has great potential, just suffered from piss poor execution. I love the idea of turning this alien dragon into an interdimensional GOD, with followers and everything. His full-body model looks amazing! He’s the biggest and most powerful Ghidorah yet, the biggest kaiju in the entire franchise in fact, and I don’t see him ever being topped. Granted, I dun really judge how much I like a kaiju based on how strong they are, but it’s a bonus here. He needs all the help he can get!

Adding more, his roars are insane, not just a combination of Showa and Heisei Ghidorah! But sounds that are truly otherworldly.

Void Ghidorah deserves love, and a better movie. Guess I’ll just settle on Godzilla: Star-eating Wings as the go-to Void Ghidorah video!

I have no real opinion on the new ride Ghidorah, as I have yet to watch the full "movie” and thus, can’t judge how well I’ll like it compared to the others. So for now, tis neutral.

Now I’m totally going to get hate for this list of “least favorite Ghidorahs”, but this is my opinion. I don’t like any of them, and they’re all outshined by my favorite non-Ghidorah kaijus, and some even being beaten by my “meh” kaijus! Anyway, this is gonna go from “best” least favorite to my “worst” least favorite. Here goes:

Heisei/Mecha-Ghidorah

Tis no secret that I don’t particularly like Heisei’s version of the character. I’ve mentioned it more than enough. Oddly though, I liked the design when I first looked through Ghidorahs from past movies, and I DISLIKED Showa Ghidorah’s design. How things have changed when I learned more about both of them...

Now I’ve grown to not like Heisei very much. They took Ghidorah as an alien dragon that destroys planets for fun, and turned him into pets that I’m sure are meant to be cute, but just remind me of Furby’s in how creepy they are (tis not the good kind of creepy either!). I like the scrapped idea of him being an attempt to clone Showa Ghidorah from DNA left behind when he destroyed Venus, so I keep that canon in my head just for some attempt to like him more. Tis why I call him “Kitty Ghiddy” whenever I write him, I legit cannot take him seriously. Such a shame that he’s basically replaced Showa Ghiddy on merchandise, so it’s harder for me to find said Showa Ghiddy because of this thing. Oh, well.

Oh, and he replaced the BIDIBIDI of Showa with generic Rodan calls. And he also turns into a good guy at the end of the movie with Mecha-Ghidorah, and.... well, go down to the next entry for my thoughts on stuff like that.

GMK Ghidorah

He’s a good guy here. They nerfed the fuck out of him by having him be a juvenile (not even done well like Cretaceous Ghidorah), and turned him into a good guy. Granted, he was never meant to be in this movie in the first place and it shows. I’m a villain kind of person, and Ghidorah’s evilness is one of the biggest draws to his character for me. So taking that away... It just doesn’t work for me. It says something when I like GODZILLA more than Ghidorah in a movie. His design is okay, so at least he has that going. But...

Desghidorah

I really don’t like the design of the character. That’s literally it. I think four-legged Ghidorahs are very awkward looking; Ghidorah has a lot going on as is, three heads, two wings, two legs, two tails. Adding more legs... it’s just too much going on that tips the scales from ‘awesome’ to ‘messy’ in my mind. I can’t explain too well why I really don’t like the four-legged look to Ghidorahs, I just really don’t. But credit, he does pull off the look slightly better than the last one on my list.

AND MY LEAST FAVORITE GHIDORAH AND LIKELY TO GET A MOB ON ME IS.....

Keizer Ghidorah/Monster X

“An awkward horse” is what someone described him to me as, and I can’t help but agree. Again, that four-legged look breaks it for me but somehow, he looks EVEN MORE awkward than Des. I just can’t look passed it. Maybe it’s the front legs, or the wings looking too small for his body. Des just LOOKS a bit more natural in his four-legged-ness.

Making it worse for me, Keizer has a second form that I REALLY don’t like: Monster X. They don’t even resemble each other. I can’t help but feel MX was supposed to be his own Kaiju, but they felt pressured to make Ghidorah the final boss so they combined them. Dunno if that’s the case, but it feels like that to me. Not even getting into the “how the hell does a dragon come out of THAT, where does it all GO when he changes back?”. And the biggest thing: I don’t like human-looking characters. I don’t care for human characters at all in any sort of media, or anything that resembles humans too closely. I skip human scenes entirely just to get to the monsters. Tis why I don’t really care for gijinkas either. As far as I’m concerned, I like the kaiju for being kaiju, and making them human just takes away all things interesting.

If Ghidorah kept everything intact about his personality, but you made him human... I wouldn’t even give his character a second glance, much less devote my Tumblr page to him! But yeah, tangent over. Monster X just looks too human for my tastes.

Plus, tis hard to compete for my attention when you’re in the same movie as FW Gigan! It says something when Showa Gigan and Showa Ghidorah can share the screen and I love them both, but FW Gigan completely outshines FW Ghidorah...

So there we go, a complete list of my thoughts for every Ghidorah incarnation that I can think of. Hopefully I didn’t miss any. Again, these are my opinions and you’re free to like whatever Ghidorah. I’mma sleep now.

#ghidorah #king ghidorah #godzilla

17 notes · View notes

winryofresembool · 3 years

Text

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 30

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: At Waystation, pt 3/?

A/N: Chapter 30 already! This chapter was not an easy one to edit as I was insecure about a lot of things, but hey, it's out now and that's what matters, right? I am so aware things are progressing a bit slowly right now but I feel it's kind of 'necessary' to have a bit of down time before things start going down. (Not that I'm capable of writing actual drama.) Well, at least we'll find out a bit more about Leo's past in this chapter.

Without a further ado, please enjoy and let me know what you think (those comments really help me!!!)

Words: exactly 3000 apparently :O

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

...

After breakfast Leo asked Calypso if she would like him to give her a tour around Waystation. She agreed, but Leo couldn’t help but raise his eyebrow at his family members when Georgina asked if she could go with the flatmates and Leo’s mothers told her that they needed Georgie’s help in some Christmas chores.

“What?” Josephine asked innocently when she noticed Leo staring.

“I dunno, tía Jo. It just kinda seems like you don’t want Georgie to hang out with us,” he stated bluntly.

“That’s not accurate at all, Leo,” she denied. “I’d gladly let Georgina go with you but we really do need her help around here. Christmas isn’t coming if we all just slack off, right, Emmie?”

“I agree, dear. I haven’t even…” Emmie’s hesitance only deepened Leo’s suspicions. “...hmmm, taken care of our mistletoes yet.”

“Mistletoes?” Leo crossed his arms over his chest, briefly daring to wonder what would happen if he and Calypso were under one of those plants at the same time. He shook his head to dispel such an idea.

“Didn’t we agree that we don’t need stuff like that? You don’t even like Christmas!”

“I may agree that this holiday is way too commercial these days, but since Emmie has some mistletoes growing in her greenhouse anyway, I don’t see why we wouldn’t use them,” Jo commented. “It’s nice that Georgie gets to experience some of the old traditions even if we grownups don’t care about them.”

“Whatever,” Leo rolled his eyes, knowing he wouldn’t win that battle.

“Um, if you need extra hands,” Calypso joined the conversation, addressing Jo and Emmie, “I don’t have to go with Leo. I’d love to help too.”

Leo felt a twinge of disappointment because of Calypso’s suggestion. His insecure side yelled that maybe he had misread Calypso’s intentions all along.

“Oh, no, no!” Emmie denied immediately. “You are our guest; we want you to take it easy and enjoy your stay here. I bet Leo’s tour is a lot more fun than us peeling way too many potatoes and carrots for the casserole.”

“I wouldn’t mind peeling potatoes,” Calypso mumbled but Leo’s mothers pretended they didn’t even hear that. The flatmates simply had to accept that they wouldn’t have a chaperone - except maybe Festus - on their tour.

Once the two of them were outside, Leo’s thoughts went back to the time when he had first arrived at Waystation. Back then, he had been only 15, having just escaped from his latest foster home, which had been located far away in New Mexico. His foster family there had hidden their opinion on him very badly, giving him sly remarks about his looks and telling him to speak clearer English even though Leo’s English had always been fine, thanks to his real mother allowing him to learn both Spanish and English as a small kid. They had also made him do the hard work such as carrying heavy loads while the other foster kid of the family got the easy tasks. And when he had come home from school with bad grades, the foster parents had commented: “why do we even bother with you?”

At some point Leo had simply had enough, and by selling some of the few belongings he had he had managed to gather just enough money for one plane ticket and so he flew to Indianapolis without telling anything to his foster family.

After living on the streets and successfully dodging the authorities for a couple of weeks, the police finally found him and contacted the local social workers. Thankfully, after Leo put all his convincing skills to use, they agreed to not send him back to New Mexico, instead finding him a new foster family nearby. Leo hadn’t had high expectations because he had been in at least 6 different foster homes since his mother’s death and none of them had been a good match for him. Some had been abusive, some racist, some ignorant, some had had kids who were bullies, some had had alcohol issues… What had been common for them all was that none of them had treated him the way they should have.

That was why Leo had picked some bad habits too; he wanted to drown his feelings somehow and he ended up stealing small amounts of money from his foster family so he could buy alcohol from his older homeless ‘friends’. He had hated how it made him feel afterwards, but it had been the only way he had known how to deal with his issues. At some point he had even had suicidal thoughts because the guilt and trauma from his childhood got so bad he woke up covered in sweat after the same old fire filled nightmare almost every night. And going from foster home to foster home and feeling like none of those people cared what he really did with his life definitely didn’t help him regain his feeling of self worth. He had no future, no plans, no real friends or family and nowhere to go.

Luckily, during his worst phase in his last foster home someone from his homeless group mentioned having a relative in Indiana and that he was hoping to move there at some point in hopes of getting a new start for his life. That idea sparked something in Leo’s mind and when he started planning his big escape, Indianapolis was the first place that he thought of.

When he finally met Jo and Emmie, he was surprised. Seeing them spending time with their then 5-year-old adoptive daughter, he could tell that these women genuinely cared about the little girl and did everything for her wellbeing. Not only that, Jo was a mechanic just like Leo’s real mother and they had also other things in common. With some patience and showing that they cared, simply by making sure that Leo ate, rested and had something to do with his time other than dwelling on his sad past, they eventually won him over. And when Leo discovered thanks to Jo’s help that he himself had the skills to become a mechanic someday as well, he finally had a goal to reach and studying wasn’t quite as big a struggle for him anymore.

Soon, however, Leo became afraid that Jo and Emmie wouldn’t want to keep him around because he still had some bad days when he literally had to be dragged from his bed. He was also worried that maybe the women had heard what he had done in his past and were silently judging him. Instead, they surprised him by telling him that they wanted to officially adopt him much like Georgina because he was a part of their family now. As an added bonus they assigned him for therapy sessions, which really helped and the days when he didn’t want to do anything became less and less. Leo knew he was still a work in progress but this family had helped him so much and he had found his purpose, his home, at Waystation.

Calypso had naturally noticed Leo’s silence so eventually she asked:

“Are you OK? You’re being unusually quiet.”

“Oh, yeah, just dandy!” Leo exclaimed, trying to act more like his usual self. “I was just thinking about the times when I first moved in here.”

“Really? Do you want to tell me more about that?” Calypso asked curiously.

“I guess it won’t hurt.” Leo shrugged. “I don’t remember if I’ve told you that I was in a lot of foster homes before I got here. Well, my last foster parents were really shitty people and I was this close to… I dunno, doing something desperate. So I decided to just leave and ended up here in Indianapolis. I, um, was homeless for a bit but when the social workers got me into their hands they found me a new family, Jo and Emmie. At first they were supposed to only foster me for a time being but they ended up adopting me instead. I… haven’t told this to anyone, but they probably saved my life by doing that. The Leo from that time was far from the Super-Sized McSizzle that I am now,” he attempted to joke, but Calypso ignored that. Instead, she said:

“I’m sorry you had to go through that… but I’m glad you opened up about it to me.” Leo’s heart did an extra jump when he saw Calypso smiling at him supportingly. He would never get used to that. “And I’m glad Jo and Emmie adopted you.”

“Yeah, me too… When I first saw the place I was like, ‘wow, I wish I could stay here’. Obviously the people here are awesome - they are my family - but that wasn’t the only thing the 15-year-old me cared about. The cars and other machines Jo was fixing? So cool. I had only seen something like that at my childhood home and the nostalgia hit me like ‘boom’ right away.”

“I should have known it was the machines that convinced you to stay here,” Calypso teased, but Leo knew her already too well to get provoked by that.

“Nah. I mean, they’re neat and all, but Jo and Emmie did the actual convincing.”

“Okay, I believe you. So, was Jo’s garage what made you want to become a mechanical engineer?” Calypso asked.

“I guess the spark was always there but it took me a while to convince myself that I should try to pursue that goal. But when I started going to school again regularly – long story, don’t ask – I noticed that the sciences were easy for me, I was also decent enough at drawing – which of course helps with the blueprints and stuff – and Jo let me try fixing some of the simpler machines she had and turned out I wasn’t half bad. It was Jo and Emmie who kept pushing me to apply for the uni, though, because they believed in me more than I did. I’m thankful that they did it but… sometimes I still doubt...” Leo hadn’t talked about his insecurities even to his adoptive mothers so he felt that the fact that he was able to open up about it to Calypso was a big deal.

“I’ve seen you fix countless items,” Calypso said slowly. “I’ve noticed that you’re always… so different when you’re fiddling with your machines. More relaxed. Calmer. Surer of what you do. And your eyes sparkle and you hum some old school rock song while you work and I can just tell that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

Leo had to avert his eyes from her because he was afraid he would do something stupid like cry if he looked at her too long in that moment. No matter how encouraging his family, friends and the therapist were… it was still hard to get used to the compliments. And if he was honest to himself, he probably valued Calypso’s opinion more than anyone else’s at that point.

“Wow… umm… I don’t know how to answer that…” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“A simple thank you would probably do,” Calypso replied. “But know that I mean what I say. Now, how about you show me that famous garage?”

Leo did as he was told. He introduced Calypso to all the tools and machinery they used to fix whatever item the customer happened to bring in. He had a feeling that Calypso probably didn’t have any idea what he was talking about half the time because he tended to get very technical with the terms when he got excited, but she still seemed content listening to him. At least she wasn’t telling him to stop, which was definitely a plus.

To Leo’s surprise, Calypso went to the table where he and Jo used to draw their blueprints and asked him if she could see how he did it because she hadn’t seen his blueprints before. He complied, taking a pencil and a piece of blank paper from the stack and looking at Calypso questioningly.

“What do you want me to draw, then? I may have some experience on this but even I need some ideas first…”

“You can draw whatever you like. How about Festus?” Calypso requested.

“Festus?” Leo tapped the pencil against his chin for a moment, considering Calypso’s request. “Hmm, as you wish, Sunshine.”

He started making fast, swift motions on the paper and it didn’t take him very long to finish the sketch. Sure, the lines were a bit rough, but Calypso told him she was very impressed by how accurately he remembered even the little details, such as a dark spot on Festus’ back, how the tail curved when he was happy, and how he was missing a tiny piece of the tip of his left ear.

Leo felt a bit embarrassed by the praise. “It just comes with me hanging out with him so much. Nothing more to it, really.” He looked at the sketch for a moment. “Hold on, I feel like this is missing something. Can you look towards that window for a moment?”

“What, why?” Calypso asked, but turned anyway.

“Just adding something real quick,” Leo replied and started sketching again. He wondered if it was the lighting of the room but he thought Calypso’s cheeks seemed a bit darker than usual and she kept looking at the floor shyly. When he realized that he’d probably feel the same way if she was drawing him, he himself got flustered and decided to try to finish the drawing as quickly as possible. Within minutes he had drawn her next to Festus, playing with him, wearing the same holiday sweater and jeans she currently was.

“Can I see?” Calypso asked.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Leo gave the picture to her. “It’s not detailed or anything but I tried.”

Calypso kept staring at it for a moment. “Leo… this looks great! I mean, I don’t think I am that pretty but I am quite amazed that you managed to do this that fast!”

Leo wanted to say that there was no way the picture did her justice but he knew that would be a never ending debate so instead he told her: “It’s the experience, Sunshine. When you draw hundreds of blueprints you learn to be fast.”

Calypso turned her attention to the drawing again. “Can I get it?” she asked after a while.

“Why?”

“Because Festus looks cute, you weirdo. That’s a good enough reason, right?”

“Fine, you can have it. I’m not sure where I’d put it anyway.” Leo shrugged. He wasn’t sure why Calypso possibly hanging the picture on her wall made him feel a bit weird. In a good way, though.

Once the two of them left the garage, Leo pointed at a smaller building next to the ‘main’ one. A couple of pointy ears were peeking from the upstairs windows. “That’s where our foster animals live. I think the kid me wished on some level that I could have a pet but my mom could never afford one… but Jo and Emmie have been fostering rescue cats and dogs even before I got here. One of them was Festus’ mum; she was pregnant when she arrived here. When she had her puppies, I noticed that one of them was a bit of an outsider and we instantly formed a bond. Jo and Emmie allowed him to stay here even though he sure would have had adopters.”

“That was really sweet of them,” Calypso commented. “Can we see who’s in there right now?”

“Sure but we should probably let Emmie know about it because she’s pretty strict about who can go in. She may ask us to wear ‘bunny suits’; some of the animals may be sick and we don’t wanna spread the bugs around.”

“No problem, let’s go see her then.”

When Emmie heard what Leo and Calypso were about to do, she promised to stop her Christmas chores for a while so she could show them (mainly Calypso) around in the rescue house. Currently she was fostering two young puppies who had been found on the streets without their mother, a mother cat with her 4 kittens who were getting close to their adoption age, and an older cat with some kidney issues who seemed to however adore the little kittens.

Leo was watching Calypso’s reactions closely as Emmie was introducing her to the kittens. Soon one of the braver kittens climbed on the girl’s lap, giving her a tiny ‘meow’ and then started nuzzling against her sleeve.

“Aww, look Leo! He loves me,” Calypso exclaimed, smiling widely as the kitten started purring loudly on her lap while she pet him. ‘He’s not the only one,’ Leo thought in his mind. Aloud he asked: “Why do you sound so surprised?”

“I guess because I’ve never really handled cats so I didn’t know how they’d react to me…” Calypso noted more seriously. But then the happiness returned to her face. “You know, this one reminds me of you! He also has long, black hair like you and fierce eyes.”

“Fierce?” Leo raised his eyebrow. “That’s what you think of me?”

Calypso seemed to want to explain but with Emmie in the room she didn’t go to details. “Um, maybe? Hey, look! Another one is coming!”

This time a small ginger kitten was approaching her and Calypso extended her arm so the kitten could sniff her. The group kept making small talk about the cats in the room and continued snuggling them, but Leo’s eyes were on Calypso the whole time. He could see how happy she was about such a simple thing as kittens and it made him feel lighter, warmer again, even though he had just remembered some very bad times a few moments earlier. Maybe all of it had been meant to happen, he wondered briefly. After all, it led him here, to his family… and Calypso.

#caleo #leo valdez #calypso #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians #trials of apollo #my fics #caleo uni au

22 notes · View notes

kurlyfrasier · 3 years

Text

Terrified: Part 5

Raph x Reader

Synopsis: Raph saves you from ruffians one night in an alley after watching out for you for weeks without you knowing. Which leads you to getting to know the guys and becoming part of the family. But Raph keeps a distance and you don’t understand why.

Word Count: 1993

Warnings: I’m sorry. Also, I accidently switched back to 3rd person for the readers pov at the end of this. Oh, and some violence. Ummm....I have no idea what happened. I had no control, I swear.

I stormed out of Donnie’s lab to find Leo. He was considered a leader, maybe he would understand. Maybe he would get my hints. Or maybe I could convince him it was a waste of their time to see me home. Maybe-

“Oomph.”

“Whoa there, Y/n,” he set his hands on my shoulders, steadying me. I looked up through teary, frustrated eyes to find the very brother I had been looking for and launched, wrapping my arms around his neck as the tears silently flowed. He continued to hold me, rubbing gentle circles on my back as he cooed about how everything was going to be okay before I finally loosened my hold. He kept me in a loose embrace, looking down at me with worried eyes like any big brother would. I had always felt that brotherly pull toward all of them, except Raph; who made me feel warm and embarrassed and safe and frustrated.

“S-sorry,” I sniffled, rubbing the tears off my damp cheeks as my sight fell to our surroundings. Anything but him.

“Hey,” he leaned down to my eye level, shaking me gently to grab my attention. “Hey hey hey. There’s no need for apologies. Why don’t you tell me what happened so I can pummel who did this to you. Was it Raph?”

“Wha- Raph- Why?” I shook my head and met his ocean blues with a determined gaze. “That doesn’t matter- I think you guys should stop following me home-”

“Wha-”

“It’s not worth your time-”

“That’s not-”

“All of you have better things to do than make sure I get home safe-”

“Y/n,” Leo demanded my attention once more. “What brought this on? We want to make sure you get home safe. It’s not any trouble or a waste of time. We would do anything for you.”

“But-”

“You mean everything to-” He cleared his throat and towered above me, shifting on his feet. “Uh… to us. You’re like a sister to us. And we don’t let anybody hurt family.”

“Oh,” I breathed out, not feeling quite so burdensome. “Then maybe don’t force Raph to-”

“Raph? He’s the one who-”

“Yo! Dudette!” Mikey called from the couch just on the other side of the room. “When are we gonna race!?”

“Coming!” I answered with a tight laugh before looking back up at Leo. “Are my eyes red? You think anyone will notice?”

“No,” Leo smiled down at me. “Especially not Mikey.”

“Good,” I tiptoed up to peck his cheek with a quick thanks and skipped off to the couch, spirits lifted.

~~~~~~~~~~

Leo found Raph sitting against a wall in the darkened dojo, looking dejected.

“She asked for us to stop accompanying her home,” Leo told him, voice quiet in hopes of not upsetting his brother.

Silence reigned, so he tried again as he sat next to Raph.

“She thinks we have better things to do than keep her safe.”

“Fine,” Raph sounded rough, defeated, hopeless.

“It’s not fine, Raph. She thinks she’s a burden,” Leo dragged his brother off the cold floor and slammed him against the wall.

“I heard ya, Fearless,” Raph growled out, shoving Leo out of his space. “Just like I heard her beggin ya not to force me-” he choked out.

So this was your problem. Nobody got to you in the subway, except yourself. You didn’t want him and his brothers watching out for you anymore. You thought you weren’t worth their time- his time. Worst of all, he was the one that made you feel this way. Somehow he made you think you weren’t worth his time. That you weren’t good enough for him.

“You have to change her mind, brother,” Leo stated, calmer than he felt.

“Me?” Raph’s eyes bulged, incredulous. “No- I- I can’t. I’ll just mess it up. She already thinks- Just tell her I won’t follow her home if she doesn’t want me to,” he trailed quietly in the end.

“I’m not your messenger,” Leo ground out menacingly, getting nose-to-nose with Raph. “Fix this or you’re going to lose her.”

There was nothing Raph could say to that, even if he wanted to. It was the truth and he was terrified he had already lost you.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mikey and I were halfway through our last race when I noticed Raph and Leo walk in out of the corner of my eye, distracting me. Knocking me off the road. Or so I’d like to blame them when Mikey jumped up, rubbing his victory in my face. I ignored him. Setting the controller down I glanced back where I saw Raph minutes ago, only to find him staring down at me barely an arm’s length away, a slice of my favorite pizza in hand.

I was stunned, to say the least, as my eyes shifted between him and the pizza he seemed to be offering me.

“Ya hungry?” He asked, raising the pizza closer to my nose.

“Uh, yeah,” I timidly reached for the slice, being extra careful not to touch Raph. One touch and I knew I’d be back to square one of Operation: Move on from Raph. While playing the videogame with Mikey I had decided I may not be able to get the guys to stay away, considering they all seem to be adamant about keeping me safe, but I could control how close I am to Raph. Ergo, the plan to stay away from him. To keep me from crushing even harder on him. To keep my heart safe. To keep my sanity.

Leo was right, I am family. To most of them, at least, and Raph wasn’t going to keep me away.

“Ready for the movie?” He asked, surprising me. Normally he didn’t start conversation with me. It was always nods and grunts. We had a… strange friendship, now that I thought about it. We never really talked, but I had always felt magnetized toward him. Probably due to the fact that he saved my life.

“Uh… yeah,” I bit into my pizza, turning away so as to not be intimidated. He was at least a foot taller than me and nobody could ever tell me those muscles weren’t unnerving. When I wasn’t drooling over them, that is. “I’ll probably just sit on the bean bag, by the way, so I’m not so much of a bother.”

“Yer not a bother,” he said, voice husky, drawing my attention.

“My children,” Splinter stated. “You all know where drinks and more pizza is if you wish for more. I shall be meditating in the dojo. Enjoy your movie.”

We all mumbled our thanks through mouthfuls of pizza as he strode away. I took the chance to move away from Raph and sat down on the edge of the couch, glaring at Donnie, who stole the bean bag and pretended like he had no idea that’s where I planned on sitting. Mikey started the movie as Leo turned down the lights.

I had just started to relax when I was suddenly lifted, only to be sat back down on Raph’s lap as he loosely held me in his arms. I stiffened in his hold, willing my heart to calm down. Reminding myself not to get comfortable, that I was going home directly after the movie.

“Relax,” his breath tickled my ear as his arms snaked around my waist, pulling me closer.

I nodded, unable to formulate any words as I unconsciously melted into his hold.

“You always sit here. On my lap,” he continued to whisper, resting his head on my shoulder. “Where you belong.”

What did he just say?

~~~~~~~~~~

You froze in Raph’s arms, breaths becoming uneven as the movie carried on. He had no idea what movie was picked for the night. Nor did he care. His mission: to confess all, hoping beyond hope that you wouldn’t run away from him. He supposed he could always keep you trapped in his embrace, never to leave him. But he figured you wouldn’t like that much if you did decide to leave.

Eventually, after what seemed an eternity, you relaxed. Not long after that, he heard light snores rise to his ears. He decided that was his cue to carry you to bed. His bed. And this time he laid down next to you, more than a little unwilling to let you out of his sight, hopeful for tomorrow.

He laid there, intent on watching you sleep peacefully- just until he had to go on patrol. When you snuggled closer into his chest, his heart soared. Hair fell across your face and with a shaky hand he gently, carefully tucked it behind your ear. You sighed, stopping his heart. Vaguely, he wondered what he could possibly do to win you over. Eventually, he allowed himself to rest his arm around your waist, hoping it didn’t crush you.

After a half an hour of so, Leo knocked lightly on his door, signalling it was time to go above ground. Reluctantly, Raph moved his arm that was on top of you, but you latched on- stopping him cold, afraid he woke you up. After a few seconds he realized you were still sleeping, slowly he slid his arm out of your grip and tip-toed out of his room without a glance over his shoulder. Although it didn’t seem to help the temptation to crawl back in bed with you.

Once out of the sewers they flew rooftop to rooftop, looking for thugs, Foot, Kraang- anything to make the night go faster. Thankfully, his brothers left him alone, but that also made it a quiet night. Which allowed his mind to work on overdrive. Distracting him with thoughts of you: the smell of your hair, your soft skin, your curves, the way you felt in his arms- so small in his grasp. Granted, most humans were small compared to him and his brothers.

So when they came across a handful of Foot, his mind was elsewhere. So much so, he scarcely noticed the glint of a blade coming at him. He blocked it with his sais. Just barely, forcing it to slide off the edge of his three-pronged weapons and sliced up his arm. He hissed at the burning sensation that seeped deep into his muscles- deeper than the cut itself was. He spun around to plunge with his uninjured arm, but was stopped short by an arrow flying into his bicep, forcing out a roar before he fell to his knees.

His brothers were quick to surround him, easily knocking the swordsman down as the archer fled the scene, but not before forewarning them of Raph’s future- who had now face-planted into the pavement.

“It’s too late,” the archer shouted down at them as Raph succumbed to darkness. “He’s as good as dead.”

~~~~~~~~~~

You woke up with a start, recognizing the familiar 80s band posters and dumbbells surrounding you. You berated yourself, astonished you actually fell asleep in Raph’s arms the night before. You weren’t supposed to stay the night. That wasn’t part of the plan. Then you remembered what Raph said. That you belonged. You felt the blood rush to your cheeks as you swung your legs off the bed, preparing to face the typical Raph. The one who only looked at you to check for injuries. The one who kept his distance. The one who hid his kind heart that you had gotten a glimpse of that first night you met.

You took a steadying breath and made your way to the door, not expecting three somber mutants to be standing outside of Donnie’s lab.

“What’s wrong?” You looked at Splinter first, then Leo, and Mikey. None but Splinter were able to meet your gaze. “Where’s Raph?”

Suddenly, you knew something was wrong. Your breath hitched, your heart sped, and blood drained down to your toes. You were terrified.

“G-guys?” You whispered out. The words were barely able to pass the lump in your throat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 6

#tmnt #tmnt fanfic #raph x reader #raph #raphael #leo #donnie #splinter #mikey #im sorry #angst #violence #adorable #oops #movie night #my writing

45 notes · View notes

badwriting-baddesicions · 3 years

Text

TO DO

masterlist

ATEEZ:

Altar Boys Altered Boys (We’re The Thing Love Destroys) - WooSan

Aurora - 2Ho

Baby Baby You’re A Carmel Macchiato - San

Because I Met You I Draw A Bigger Picture - ATEEZ

(Don’t You Know I’m A) Boss That Leads You - WooSanSang

But You Won’t Do The Same - San

Dancing Like Butterfly Wings - WooSanSang

Do You Wanna Run Away Too? (All I Really Want Is You) - Hongjoong

Forever Fight As One - Seonghwa

I Will Become The Spring To Your Smiles - Mingi

Lonely Hearts - Mingi

Maybe You’ll Love Yourself (Like I Love You) - Hongjoong

Moments Like This - SanGi

One Day at a Time - ATEEZ

Pirate King - SeongJoong

Soon May The Wellerman Come -Yeosang

Spare Me What You Think (Tell Me A Lie) - SeongJoong

Star 1117 - SeongJoong

Sunrise - WooSanHwa

THANXX - ATEEZ

Think You’re Ready For The Monster Monster - JongSan

This Is Our Fate, I’m Yours - SanGi

Twilight - WooSan

Wave - YunGi

We Will Make This Love Together - San

Where’d You Wanna Go? How Much You Wanna Risk? - WooSanHwa

Wonderland - SanGi

(Roger That) Yes Sir I’ll Protect Them - Jongho

Your Red Lipstick - Wooyoung

You’re Not A Constant Star - SeongJoong

BIGBANG:

Monster - G-Dragon

We’re Classic Together (Like Egyptian Gold) - G-Dragon

BTS:

Agust D - Suga

Angel or Devil (What Should I Choose?) - Jimin

Best Years - TaeGiKook

Blood, Sweat & Tears - TaeJin

Don’t Leave - TaeGi

Dynamite - VMinKook

Euphoria - Jungkook

Filter - Jimin

Get The Ink, Get The Pen (Let’s Sign It) - J-Hope

Home - RM

How Did We End Up Here? - TaeGi

I Just Wanna Give You Love - VKook

I Want To Write You A Song - YoonKook

It’s Where My Demons Hide - BTS

Just One Day - YoonKook

Lights - TaeJin

Magic Shop - NamJin

Mikrokosmos -KookMin

My Feet Don’t Dance Like They Did With You - JinKook

My Heart’s Already Breaking (Go On Twist The Knife) - TaeGi

Play Pretend - Suga

Plz Don’t Be Sad - Suga

Pretty Words (On The Tip Of My Tongue) - VMinKook

Save ME - VKook

Speed Demon - VKook

That Should Be Me (Holding Your Hand) - YoonKook

The Truth Untold - Taegi

They Say Love Is Pain (Let’s Hurt Tonight) - V

Too Bad (But It’s Too Sweet) - V

We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal - BTS

Welcome To The House of Fun - TaeJin

What Can I Do? - VMin

Yo Ho Ahoy and Avast - KookMin

You and I (We Don’t Wanna Be Like Me) - VMinKook

Zero O’Clock - HopeKook

EXO:

2nd Grade (Maths Problems) - Baekhyun

Baby Don’t Cry - Chanyeol

Be Combative or Be Sweet Cherry Pie - BaekYeol

Blooming Day - Chen

Don’t Go - Tao

Heaven Knows I’m Falling (I Can Never Be The Same) - Kai

I Can’t Stand The Rain - XiuBaek

I Just Hit The Lotto - Kai

It Will Wet Your Wings - KaiBaek

Lost In Reality -Tao

Lotto - Lay

Moonlight - LuChen

My Answer - XiuChen

Peter Pan - Tao

Ring-a-Ring O Rosie (Whoever Gets The Closest) - Kai

She’s In A Long Black Coat Tonight - Chen

The Moonlight Fills Your Eyes - ChanKai

The One - Xiumin

Twenty Four - ChanKai

Unfair - Baekhyun

Wolf - Lay

GOT7:

I Wish I Was (Beside You) - Jackson

Just Right - BamBam

Miracle - Jinyoung

School Life (Again Today) - BamBam

Take A Sip From My Secret Potion - JB

(Remember All The Memories) The Fireflies and Make Believe - BamBam

HIGHLIGHT:

Prince Charming (Ridicule Is Nothing To Be Scared Of) - Gikwang

iKON:

I Feel So Right Doing The Wrong Thing - Bobby Monsta X: I Will Borrow The Skies - Jooheon. This Way, That Way, Forwards, Backwards (Over The Irish Sea) - Wonho

NCT:

All My Moments Want You - MarkHyuck

And I Still Want You - LuMark

Assemble - Lucas

Baby Don’t Like It - MarkHyuck

Baby Don’t Stop - Tae Ten

Baby We Two Distant Strangers - Yuta

Born To Be Wild - Haechan

BOSS - LuWoo

But My Heart Goes - Lucas

Candle Light - MarkSung

Can’t Even Talk, Still Stuttering - LuWoo

Complete - LuWin

Daisy Daisy (Give Me Your Answer Do) - Jaemin

Dance Around The Living Room (Lose Me In The Sight Of You) - JohnTenKun

Dear DREAM - NCT DREAM

Dream A Little Dream Of Me - LuWoo

Dream Glow - Yangyang

Drifting, Drifting, Drifting - Jungwoo

Everything Has Changed - Ten

Everything I Didn’t Say - NCT

Fireflies - NoMin

Fly Away With Me - MarkHyuck

Fool’s Gold - YuWinIl

Goodnight Sweetheart - Jeno

Grow Up - TaeTen

Hakuna Matata - LuWin

Hello Future - Renjun

Hold Me In Your Arms Tonight - MarkYong

Home - WayV

Howling At The Moon - JohnTen

Hugs and Kisses - Johnny

I Can’t Stop My Hand From Shaking - Jungwoo

(I’m Waking Up) I Feel It In My Bones - Taeyong

I Hate This After Dark - Mark

I Have Loved You Since We Were 18 - JaeYong

I Hear Them Coming For You - Jaemin

I Tend To Glow When You Are By My Side - NCT

I Want To Write You A Song - RenLe

If I Ask You If You Love Me (Lie To Me) - Jaemin

If I Could Fly - TaeTen

I’ll Be Right Here Beside You For Life - ChenJi

I’ll Be Your Genie - NoMin

I’ll Make This Feel Like Home - Shotaro

I’m A Wolf and You’re A Beauty - Jaehyun

I’m Giving Up On You (Say Something) - NoRenMin

I’ve Never Seen You In The Daylight - Jungwoo

Kick It - Taeyong

Killing Me - Yuta

La La Love - RenHyuck

Long Way Home - MarkHyuckWoo

Lost - Yangyang

Love Talk - TenWin

Lover of Mine - Winwin

Make A Wish - Shotaro

Misfit - Sungchan

Most Nights I Hardly Sleep When I’m Alone - Haechan

Music, Dance - Sungchan

My First and Last - MarkNo

My Flower - Haechan

My Heart Is Blind (But I Don’t Care) - MinSung

New Heroes - Ten

No Longer - Taeil

Not Alone - JohnMark

Of Guns and Roses - Renjun

Perche Tu Stasera Sei Perfetta Per Me - Mark

Punch - JohnJae

Puzzle Piece - NCT DREAM

Remember When I Broke You Down To Tears - RenMarkHyuck

Requiem - Jisung

Ridin - NoMinSung

Smooth Like A, Like A Snake - Doyoung

SOMEONE’S SOMEONE - Kun

Stop. Rewind. Turn Back Time - Winwin

Superhuman - YuMark

Take Off - LuWin

The Internet Is Great - TenWin

The Sun Will Shine Through - Ten

This Is Halloween - Taeyong

Till The Love Runs Out - Shotaro

TOUCH - MarkYong

Touch Me When The Sun Goes Down - NoRenMin

Wait For Me To Come Home - LuWooMark

Waited For Your Reply (Here In The Pouring Rain) - SungTaro

We Almost Rolled The Dice - Winwin

We Got That (Power) - Jaehyun

What Can I Do? - Jisung

Whatever It Take - JaeYong

WHO DO U LOVE? - YuWin

Wildflower - Haechan

With Great Power - Winwin

With You - Mark

You and I Go Hard At Each Other (Like We Going To War) - Chenle

You Are My Soulmate(s) - MarkHyuckHei

(This Is Our Sanctuary) You Are Safe With Me - ChenJi

You Became My Crown - MarkYong

You’ll Find Me In The Region Of The Summer Stars - Jaehyun

You’re My Everything - Kun

You’re The One I Want For Christmas - Xiaojun

You’re Unfair - TenWin

ONEUS:

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle All The Way - Hwanwoong

Princely Duties - Hwanwoong

Spooky Scary Skeletons - Ravn

Stay Oh (Baby Touch Me) - Hwanwoong

SEVENTEEN:

A Tiger Inside - SoonHoon

Call Call Call! - Hoshi

Extreme Musical Statues - JiGyu

Fallin Flower - JunHao

Fear - Meanie

Giving All My Secrets Away - MingSoon

Home - Dino

How Can I Love You? (If You Don’t Talk To Me) - SoonHoon

Hug - SoonHoon

I’m A Lost Boy - Woozi

Lay You Head On Me - Joshua

Love Letter - JiGyu

My My - Woozi

Smile Flower - Woozi

Snap Shoot - 2JiCheol

Splish Splash - Hoshi

Titanium - Meanie

SHINee:

Cafe Latte - Taemin

Good Evening - Onew

I Growl At You - Taemin

I Will Fight, I Will Fight For You - Taemin

Lucifer - JongTae

Our Page - Jonghyun

Witch - Taemin

SPEED:

Welcome To The Circus - Sungmin

Stray Kids:

A Sign of the Times - Felix

Astronaut - Bang Chan

Authorized Personnel Only (Back Door) - ChanLix

BEWARE - Bang Chan

Burger and Sandwich, Coffee and Tea - ChangLix

District 9 - Lee Know

Finders Keepers Losers Weepers - Bang Chan

I Need Someone - Seungmin

I Want To Breathe You In Like A Vapour - I.N

I’m Sorry (My Handwriting Isn’t Pretty) - ChangLix

Insomnia - ChanLix

I’ve Been To The Year 3000 - 2Chan

Levanter - Han

Little Steps - Han

My Side - Felix

Never Ending Story - JiLix

Please Baby Get Away From Me (I’m Poison) - Changbin

Spaces Between Us - Lee Know

The Story of My Life - 3RACHA

We’re Not Alright But I’ll Pretend - Felix

SuperM:

Better Days - KaiMark

Big Chance - TaemTen

(When I’m With You) Danger Seems Like A Good Thing - TaeKai

Even When I Lose I’m Winning - TaeKai

Please Excuse My Writing - TaemTen

The Only Heaven I’ll Be Sent To - KaiMark

Tiger Inside - SuperM

To You In The Distant Future - SuperM

Who Do You Love? (Is It Him or Me?) - KaiMark

Yeah Superhuman! - TaemTen

TXT:

0x1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You) - Yeonjun

Blue Hour - Yeonjun Dubaddu Wari Wari - Taehyun

Flip It On Me Say I Think Too Much - Huening Kai I Know I Could Lie (But I’m Telling The Truth) - Taehyun I Know I Love You - Yeonjun I Know You Don’t Give Two Fucks - Beomgyu (Sorry) I’m An Antiromantic - TaeGyu I’m A Loser - Soobin Loving You Is A Losing Game - Yeonjun

Magic - TXT

Oh My God (He’s A Really Bad Boy) - Yeonjun PUMA - TXT

Run Away - Huening Kai

Running Down To The Riptide - Huening Kai Small Town Boy (In A Big Arcade) - YeonBin

VIXX:

Fantasy - Neo

Hyde - LR

On and On - Leo

Thank You For My Love - Leo

Series:

The Power Within - Baekyeol

1-MAMA 2-POWER 3-OVERDOSE 4-LUCKY ONE 5-MONSTER FINALE-OBSESSION

#to do list

6 notes · View notes

phoenotopia · 4 years

Text

2020 October Update

So... we've launched. And our launch was... actually kind of... bad...

This is a dev blog, so I'll speak on it. But before that, we do have the game's steam page up. If you're anticipating the PC release, please do visit the steam page and add it to your wish list. It would help us a lot.

VISIT STEAM LINK

...

So what didn't go so well?

1. We launched in Nintendo's Americas and Europe territory. If you've been following the release, you'd know that America got the game first. We didn't move to launch in Europe at all since I thought the EFIGS languages (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish) were pre-requisites for Europe. By the time I learned that this wasn't necessarily the case, and attempted to course correct, the damage was done. We had half the allotment of keys to do outreach, and maybe some European outlets that would've covered us, did not.

2. When the game launched, rather than a victory lap, what we experienced was more of a public lashing. We did get some reviews that praised the game highly, but just as many reviews lampooned the game for its high difficulty or other failings. I've since released two patches (or 3, depending on how you count it) to address the difficulty. A lot of overnighters. If you recall in the last blog post, I thought it'd be a good start if we got 20 or so reviews on Open Critic. But we've only 8 as of this writing, and the aggregate score isn't so hot. So that's a fail by my metric.

3. A publisher reached out to us because they were interested in physically printing the game! Yay! But... to advance our talks, they wanted to see the game's sales numbers to ensure that there's a good chance their investment could be recouped. And unfortunately, the game's sales numbers are pretty low. They backed out :(

Some hard lessons were learned. The biggest lesson for me concerns how well we playtested the game. Looking at the original playtester list, it's a short list. You may recall from a previous blog post that our ability to test was severely hampered by technical limitations. Add to that, a lot of people on this list are objectively really achieved players. We're talking power ranked in Smash Bros, regular tournament goers, and people who've played and bested every Souls game. And as the maker of the game, I am most blind to the game's challenges.

Now, I'm definitely more of the opinion that you prioritize PC development first. I still have some reservations about some stages of PC development. But if you do PC/Steam first, you have the great benefit of being able to do Early Access, which gives you access to a greater testing pool. I now view it as an invaluable part of the equation. If we had been able to do Early Access for 1 or 2 months before release, we probably could have ironed out most of the game's difficulty and balance problems. Hard lessons, indeed.

There were a lot of other notable events that occurred over the past 2 months - the travails of press outreach, realizing my own limits as a developer, feeling defeated and getting back up again, etc. There's too much stuff to chronicle or go into detail. But it wasn't all bad.

Some good things did happen...

We got a publisher to publish for Japan! It came as a huge relief, because clearly, we don't know what the heck we're doing.

The publisher has been an invaluable source of information and feedback. They've recommended some changes to the game to improve user experience. Some of these changes I was hesitant to do at first because they concerned systems I thought integral to the identity of the game. But after trying it, I have to admit, they're good changes.

So a Japanese version of the game was moving ahead. And it looked like that'd be it. I wasn't planning to move forward with any other language translations due to the game's low sales and our funds being depleted.

But, I was approached by a translator who urged me to move ahead with translations. He told me he was willing to work for only a small price initially and then be paid the rest after from a percentage of the game's sales until the cost of the translation was paid in full.

I was surprised translators were willing to work under such a model since it's entirely likely the game's current low sales trajectory would continue and they wouldn't earn back the full cost of translation. But I was also flattered they were willing to take a risk with me. After that, I approached some others with the same hypothetical deal, and long story short, we're now moving forward with French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian translations. As for why these languages in particular, they were languages for whom I had contacts (because they reached out to me at some point in the past). And also because they were deemed more likely to be profitable based on their home country's gaming market/buying habits. I'd be personally happy to have my native language be represented, but it's not expected to be a profitable territory. But if the game does better in the future, it may justify the costs of translation. There could be a chance!

The plan right now is to get the game supporting these first round of languages and then to patch that into the Switch version as well as launch the PC version with these languages - all in December. A lot of things need to align for this to occur, so a delay isn't out of the question. It'll be busy... I'll update the blog again in latter half of December, probably near the game's PC launch date... OR to announce a delay. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Fan Support

While the past two months have been grueling, one good thing remains constant - fan art! Thank you everyone who submitted. It means a lot to me and the team!

Big thanks to Pimez who's taken on watching over the reddit community as moderator. He also combs the other communities and makes sure I see every new art piece. Despite juggling his own life and all these tasks, he still found some time to draw.

Pimez's piece reminds us that just because the new game's out doesn't mean we can't still celebrate the original flash game. The jail dog is a dog found only in jail and only in the flash game. I imagine Gail is just tossing a stick, and they're playing fetch.

A new artist to this scene æv draws both the Phoenix logo AND a super cute picture of Gail playing the flute. So precious, you want to pinch her cheek. Even the Sand Drake is enthralled!

Another new artist, beet4ppy arrives on the scene with two pictures! One features a no-nonsense battle-hardened Gail looking stoic and tough! Kinda reminds me of Vinland Saga actually. The other, a more cheerful group composition - I must say I'm a big fan of Fran's classic anime-style eye!

A returning artist, Cody G, returns with a picture depicting the tribulations of cooking. Gotta love Gail's frantic expression! I've heard the complaints, which is why we've added an option to slow the cooking mini-game down. An improved button font is also on the way.

Gamesing with two undertale x phoenotopia crossovers. Thomas being a robot builder makes sense taking a role similar to Alphys. But why is Alex dressed like a clown? Perhaps there is a hidden meaning here...

A new artist, Warotar, draws both a pooki wearing Gail's clothes and Gail wearing pooki clothes. Awww. The pooki is a bit scary - it kinda reminds me of a tragic event in a certain anime. But the Gail is adorable!

POL#5655 submitted this one to KM's discord which made its way to me. Here, a stylized Gail appears unnerved by the dark red eyes stalking her in the background. Are they bats or something more sinister?

A new artist, MilesCPW, arrives on the scene with three rare well-vectorized arts! Love it! One scene depicts Gail balancing a bomb on her head - that's a speedrunning trick I only learned about recently after someone emailed me a video O_O

The other drawing gives us new insight into Katash - he could actually look cute if he wasn't trying to kill you.

And the bees... Okay, this one got a chuckle from me :D

A returning artist roccy_chair draws this heart-warming scene from the beginning of the new game. Aww. Mika doesn't get much screen time for story reasons, so it's nice to see her represented.

UnrealWorld_32 returns with another drawing of Gail in Panselo, this time capturing a more idyllic time. I like the tranquil nature of this piece. And Gail does in fact play the guitar, denoted by the guitar in her room.

Returning artist shafiyahh draws a nice portrait of Prince Leo - looking regal and princely. I like the storybook art style of this piece. It made me immediately think of "the Little Prince" - one of my favorite books actually!

Negativus Core returns with a beautiful group composition of Gail and the gang - flying from a Switch shaped window - totally sensible considering the game is only Switch right now. As usual, I'm impressed by Negativus Core's use of challenging angles to frame a more dynamic shot of the characters. Great job!

And it wasn't only artists bearing the banner. I'd like to give a big shoutout to everyone in all the game's little communities (from the reddit to the discords to this tumblr). I've seen this community help newcomers with gameplay and walkthrough advice, discussions, updating the wiki, and so on. It does bring a smile to my face. Thank you everyone!

#phoenotopia

60 notes · View notes

thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Text

Gift (Indruck)

A second fill for @crepuscularlives

16. we didn’t read the invitation that said this party was formal so we’re in our ugly christmas sweaters. SFW

Duck’s fully prepared for Aubrey, and maybe even Mama, to tease him for his Newton family christmas sweater. When he gets to the Lodge to find everyone dressed swanky, he thinks it’s some sort of elaborate prank. He decides to ask Barclay, since he tends to be less invested in pranks than the others.

“Uhhh” Barclay points to a stray invite, “it said formal, see? We thought a change of pace would be fun.”

“Fuck. I just came straight from a family thing, didn’t think it’d matter.”

Barclay pats his shoulder with a warm smile, “Don’t worry about it, man, it’s not like anyone’s gonna toss you out for it.”

Duck grumbles something about not wanting to stick out as he turns, and spies an even uglier sweater across the room. It’s bright green and fire-engine red with, covered in old-school colored bulb christmas lights, blinking like fireflies.

Somehow, it suits Indrid perfectly.

The Sylph waves when we spots Duck, coming over to join him by the drinks table.

“Hello Duck, I’m glad this is the future where you’re here.” He ladles himself a mug from one of the two crockpots of eggnog.

“Howdy, ‘Drid. Glad I ain’t the only one who went for the ugly sweater vibe.”

Indrid cocks his head, “This is the nicest thing I own.”

Duck groans, reaches up to hide behind a hat that isn’t there.

Indrids smile widens, “I’m joking. It was a, ah, what do always call it...ah yes, a goof.”

He laughs, relieved, “Jesus, you got me good.”

“It’s payback for the time you convinced me that squirrels were carnivorous.”

Duck snickers at the memory of Indrid, in his moth form in the woods, eyeing the squirrels warily.

He joins Aubrey, Thacker, and Dani by the fire, and Indrid wanders over to oin them, taking a seat next to Duck when the human scoots over to offer him it. Thacker talks about the library and the regrowing cities, and Indrid’s face turns wistful. Duck suspects only he can see it, Indrid’s glasses showing enough of his eyes from the side to make emotions clearer.

(Indrid always sits across from people. The last few times they’ve met up, he sits next to Duck).

In spite of only some gentle ribbing about his clothes, he keeps picking at the sleeve of the sweater. It’s a little itchy, and he could have worn that nice green shirt with the pine tree tie that he likes. And every time he catches a glimpse of himself in a window, he’s back in space, watching an evil hivemind recreate it’s pattern on a mimic of his sister.

“Is it bothering you a lot?” Indrid murmurs.

“N-no, uh, I, uh, just, fuck, it’s nothin,” He stops talking, flees Indrid’s red stare to refill his cider. He pauses to talk with Kirby and Ned, is looking around the room for a new spot to sit (and for Indrid), only for a tan hand to wave him into a hallway.

“Here, try this.” Indrid ties a discarded gift ribbon around his wrist, and he’s no longer looking down at the wool sweater and jeans. He’s in a deep gray suit, with a green shirt and a silver tie.

“Holy shit. Wait, do I look-”

“-different? No, I left your physical form intact. I can make disguises of different magnitudes. A simple clothing swap is easily done. And I, ah, I did not want you to spend a night with friends lost in frightening memories.”

Duck’s about to thank him when the words sink in.

“There was a future where you told me. I, ah, you’ve mentioned what you saw at Reconciliation before, but not that detail.”

“Wasn’t scared so much as pissed.” Duck glances at his shoes, now well-shined loafers.

“Understandable. And useful; the odds were not in your favor, believe me. But well-timed anger can change the course of fate. Just as choosing mercy--even when others urge for violence--can. Punching me also reset fate rather dramatically.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

Indrid’s smile is small, and stunningly fake, “It was for the best. I’m going to get some more nog. Would you like some?”

“Nah, still gotta finish this. But I do wanna try some of that salmon dip.”

“In true bear fashion.” Indrid’s smile turns genuine when Duck snorts and elbows him.

They talk and mingle with their friends, Indrid making frequent returns to the nog bowl. Duck steps outside for air, comes back and spends a moment watching Indrid by the fire. Stern notices him, steps away from an animated conversation with a ghostly Boyd about art forgery to join him.

“Quite the dapper costume change.”

“Thanks. ‘Drid did it for me.”

Stern follows Duck’s gaze, then casually sip his wine, “Have you told him yet?”

“Told, uh, told him what?”

“Duck, you spend more time with him than almost anyone else.”

“Half my friends live on another planet now.”

“And every time you look at him, your smile changes. His does too. According to Barclay, he talks about you like you’re the most fascinating thing on earth. Right, love?” He kisses Barclay’s cheek as the cook joins them.

“Yep.”

There’s a crash as Indrid loses his balance and knocks over a lamp, which Aubrey freezes mid-air.

“Shit, he’s hammered.” Barclay sounds surprised.

“How much rum did you put in the nog?” Duck doesn’t remember the sip he had from Indrid’s cup tasting that strong.

“I made two batches, one with booze and one without. Indrid was drinking the non-spiked one earlier. Wonder when he switched.”

“About the time Duck changed clothes.”

“...How did you not catch us durin the Pine Guard days again?”

Stern smiles, “Barclay can be very distracting when he wants to be. And none of you have ever asked exactly how much I worked out.”

He has a point. As does Barclay when he points out that Indrid should have someone take him home after the party.

When Duck offers him a ride, Indrid chirps excitedly, bonks his forehead on the roof of the car, and climbs in. By the time they get back to the ‘Bago, Duck knows he can’t just leave Indrid here.

“You’re staying?” Indrid bounces on the bed as Duck turns on the space heaters.

“Just ‘til you sober up. I’ll stay out in the main cab so you can sleep.”

Indrid lets out a chirr that intensifies when Duck slips the ribbon from his wrist. It almost sounds perturbed.

“I mean, uh, I can go if you really need me to.”

Indrid shakes his head, barely managing to get his shoes off before burrowing under to covers, “Please stay as long as you want.”

Duck nods, excuses himself to use the bathroom, and comes back to Indrid chirp-snoring into the pillows. He’s such a cute, weird man. Duck will just sit down a second to make sure he doesn’t wake up and need something.

The one small seat is taken up by a binder, which opens when Duck lifts it. Instead of the expected paper avalanche, he finds drawings, each in their own plastic slip. He flips through it as he settles in the chair. Interspersed with the drawings are papers labeled in one or two two words of Sylph, and Duck reverse engineers their likely meanings from the images that follow them. The section with all the plants and animals must be “nature,” the one with parties and state fairs “events.” There’s even a section that’s all elements of winter holidays; the Rockefeller tree with decorations that suggest the 1930s, a menorah in a window, candles on the table of a house that’s seen better days. Towards the back is a section that has to be “friends.” There are one or two people who appear in images with Indrid. Including the kind that make Duck quickly turn the page. The further he gets in that section, the more familiar faces he sees; Barclay, Aubrey, Jake, Ned.

He sees himself, returning from saving the world, battered but alive.

“The odds were not good”

Tucked at the very back of the section, between the final empty pages and the binder, is a folded paper. Curious, Duck opens it.

It’s him. With Indrid. They’re on Indrid’s tiny bed, kissing.

God that looks nice.

Startled by his own thoughts, he tucks the picture back into the binder and sets the whole thing on the floor. Decides one of the paperbacks strewn on the floor is a better way to occupy himself then accidentally finding more personal images.

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

The world is ending, everything is ripping away into the sky, everything he’s fought for is gone. He failed. He didn’t want a destiny, and he’s failed the fucking thing anyway and it’s all gone and there’s no future for him now but to be torn into ash-

“Duck, Duck wake up”

He jolts, whams his head into the wall of the very intact Winnebago at the edge of the still standing Monongahela while a very alive, now-sober Indrid leans over him.

“Owfuck.”

“Oh, oh no, I’m sorry, you were very clearly having a nightmare and I figured you’d like it to stop.”

“Yeah” He rubs his head, “yeah I did. Thanks. Sorry if I woke you up.”

“Given that in many futures our positions were reversed, I don’t have a lot of room to complain about someone shouting in their sleep.” Indrid sits down on the floor next to the chair, stays silent as Duck coaxes his breathing to even out. A hand hesitates in the air, then touches his arm, rubbing it reassuringly.

No one else saw it. Not even Minerva or Leo, the only people who could understand the horror of seeing a thing unfold with scant chances of stopping it.

Indrid’s hand brush lightly over his own before returning to his arm.

No, not the only people.

“Indrid, can I ask you somethin?”

“Of course.”

“The day we let The Quell through and saved the worlds did you, uh, did you see what woulda happened if Aubrey hadn’t blown the gate apart?”

“Yes.” The reply is quiet.

“Do you, uh, still see it sometimes?”

“Now and then, but I have far more bad timelines in my mind, and more failures in my past, for my nightmares to draw upon than you do. That is half the reason I drank so much tonight. Around the time of the winter solstice, my nightmares increase in frequency and intensity, Sylvain only knows why. Sometimes substances dull that.”

“Oh, ‘Drid.” Duck turns in the chair. Indrid’s gaze stays straight ahead, but his fingers shred a nearby scrap of paper.

“The irony is, I love this time of year on Earth, in spite of the chill. I love the winter holidays, the gathering of warmth and light to hold one over until the spring returns. But my enjoyment of it is dampened by the workings of my powers and mind.”

“Fuck, guess I oughta count myself lucky I only got a few bad visions to remember.” The joke falls flat, and Indrid glances at him.

“That vision is nothing to laugh at. I’m glad you had it all the same, glad you triumphed and survived.”

“Woulda really sucked to accept my destiny only to fail at the last fuckin second.”

He shuts his mouth to stop the next thought from escaping; Indrid doesn’t need to know that he sometimes fears that everything he’s done and wants to do now that fate is no longer hanging a talking sword over his head will somehow be hollow.

“You were so much more than your destiny, Duck Newton. You still are.”

The sincerity, half-obscured in shadow and red lens, is too much. He doesn’t know what to say, or if he should say anything at all.

“Guess, uh, guess you likin the holidays explains that section in the binder.”

“Yes. Wait. Did, ah, did you look through the whole thing?” Fear slips into his voice.

“Uhhuh.”

“Even the, ah, the last page?”

“Yep. Some real beautiful drawin’s in there. Some mighty interestin ones too.”

Indrid nervously taps his fingers together, “Since you are about to ask, that future took place shortly after the cottonwood. You, you came by to apologize for punching me and to tell me you were glad I was alright and, and ask me to stay in Kepler and when I asked why, you did that. Just one little kiss. That’s as far as I got before the timelines changed. It’s, it’s alright, of course, that’s how timelines work, and you did eventually apologize.”

He did, two or three separate times, and each time Indrid brushed it off, insisting it was what needed to be done.

Duck sinks to the floor, turns on his knees to bring them face to face.

“What are you-” Indrid stiffens as Duck gingerly pushes up his glasses. He’s never seen Indrid’s face like this, uncovered but still human, and it takes all the air from his lungs.

“Which eye did I hit?”

Indrid touches the right side of his face. Duck tips forward, balancing his fingers on Indrids thighs, and kisses the corner of his right eye.

“There. Now it’s a real apology.” He whispers in Indrid’s ear, close enough that faint, hopeful chirps reach him. He moves a few inches down and over, lips the barest strip of air away from Indrid’s own.

“You, you don’t have to. Just because something appears in a future doesn’t mean it’s fated to happen.”

“What if I want it to happen?”

Indrid surges forward, cupping Duck’s face. His kisses re feather-light and sweeter than nectar, and Duck wants to drink them down, knows that after this taste he’ll never be full.

“Duck I, h, I want” Indrid clings to him, his words turning to chirps nd clicks, as he’s so overwhelmed by a little kissing.

“Want me to keep, uh, ‘apologizin?”

“So very much.”

“Then take me to bed, darlin.”

The instant they hit the bed Indrid pulls Duck atop him, fingers fawning over his body as he kisses him over and over. When they stop to catch their breath, Duck remembers something,

“‘Drid, what was the other half of the reason you got drunk?”

“A problem of my own making. I did not foresee just how you would look in your suit, and I was trying to avoid an, ah, embarrassing bodily response. Alcohol helps my kind of Sylph in that regard.”

Duck chuckles, nips Indrid’s lower lip, “want me to put it back on?”

“Not just yet.”

“Want me to kiss you ‘til we fall asleep?”

“More than I’ve wanted anything for Christmas in a long time.”

Duck kisses him, keeps teasing their lips together as he murmurs, “then consider me your resent, darlin.”

#indrid cold/duck newton #indruck #winter fills #taz amnesty

27 notes · View notes

jadekitty777 · 3 years

Text

The Thoughts We Carry

As promised, I had one entry near completion that I hoped be ready to post for @fairgameweek2021. I spent the last few days this week not getting enough sleep just to make the deadline (ssh I know it’s after midnight. Summaries are hard, okay?). I’m sorry I won’t have anything else ready in time, but I hope you all enjoy this one!

Day 4: Separation/Reunion

Dedicated to: @chiherah

Rating: K

Words: 6K

Summary: “I know everybody to some extent,” Qrow once told his nieces, and he hadn’t precisely been lying. At least, when it came to knowing other huntsmen in the four kingdoms, that is. Clover Ebi was just one of probably five-thousand examples. Yet, just as all shamrocks are clovers but not all clovers are shamrocks, all huntsmen are acquaintances but not all get to be friends.

That was why, upon arriving to Atlas, Qrow could tell there was more weighing on Clover’s mind than the Grimm addled streets of Mantle or Solitas’ fighter jet filled skies. More crushing, even, than the now-known threat of Salem on the horizon. A burden so great, it altered old routines and shadowed bright smiles.

And, as Qrow regarded the Aceops’ hasty roster change, he knew the solution to his friend’s plight was not one he’d need to seek, but one he’d need to bear.

Ao3 Link: The Thoughts We Carry

There were a few unanimous truths that came with being a huntsman:

The work was dangerous to the point most knew their future was beelining for a parking space in a graveyard.

Never falter in the heat of battle.

Keep bandages on hand because stemming an injury can extend a life from a few seconds to a few minutes.

Always know the best foods to forage in case civilization is too far or – worse yet – wiped out.

Pack light as work will require travel. It will require travel a lot.

Of all of them, the one Qrow was most familiar with was that last one. So much so, the towns he visited were just as much old friends to him as the people within them were. Vale and Patch were like playmates from primary school that were never forgotten no matter how much time had passed. Higanbaga was that party dude from university that always knew how to show him a good time. Atlas was that annoying classmate that he got stuck with one year on a group project and he was forced to put up with. And Mantle…

Mantle was that one struggling friend he knew could be doing better, if anyone would give it a break.

He felt that feeling in every swing of Harbinger, slicing through Grimm as he sidestepped potholes in the concrete and litter whirled up around his feet. Witnessed it when he peered through the city’s ever-present shadow to keep the kids in his line of sight, straining his ears to listen for the rest that shouts just blocks away nearly drowned out until they mysteriously stopped.

Despite knowing what it likely meant, he didn’t focus on it. He sheared through another Sabyr, and spun on his heels. Took in visual information in half a second: Weiss partially down an alleyway with Ren. Yang at his six. Blake a bit behind her. A Grimm leaping right for her.

His hand moved before his mind did, aiming Harbinger’s shotgun as Blake did the same with Gambol Shroud.

Another shot got it first.

A buzzing blast of green energy, not quite aura or dust, cleaved the beast in two. Similar shots rained from the sky, making quick work of the rest until the street was clear. The lampposts’ harsh red glows faded back to their calming yellow. From above, a drone expelling more green light rocketed up to the sky. As it hovered in the light of the moon and slowly floated down to ground level, its shape became more apparent and he could make out the features of a young girl with long, curling locks of ginger hair. Something about her was familiar.

It wasn’t until he heard Ruby’s choked gasp of “Penny?” that it clicked.

About a thousand questions rolled into his mind at once, but it was clear from the way his niece was suddenly bowled over by the enthusiastic android and the tears began to flow, that they’d have to wait.

After all, it wasn’t every day a cherished friend returned from the dead.

The other kids crowded around quickly, but Qrow couldn’t help but look to the one who lingered awkwardly on the sidelines, Oscar fidgeting with his cane the way Oz used to.

Something welled inside him that tasted a little like regret.

Not every day indeed.

It seemed ages before they started to make their way back to Pietro’s shop. Penny was deep in explanation on her miraculous revival, explaining how her memory chips had been recovered and her body repaired. In the back, Qrow let most of it float over his head. He wasn’t the only one.

“This is so… unexpected.”

He side-eyed Jaune, the blond’s face a mix of emotions that were hard to pin down. He couldn’t even begin to guess at what the other was trying to process. The joy of Penny’s return? The bitter unfairness it couldn’t happen for another that had been lost that day? The sorrow that Pyrrha now would never know that she hadn’t killed the android and could never make amends?

Whatever it was, it was definitely too much to handle on a regular day. Add two grueling battles, multiple aura breaks, and a long flight to Atlas on top of it all, it left little energy to deal with much else.

“But not unwelcome.” Qrow replied, catching his attention. “You don’t have to question the good things you get in life kid. You do that and you won’t stop to enjoy them.”

It was relieving it pulled out a small, but genuine, smile on the young man’s face. “That’s unusual advice coming from you.”

That’s because it wasn’t his.

Before he could think to respond, his sharp senses caught Ren tensing up. A sign he was detecting something.

His fingers were already halfway to his weapon when he heard it.

“Ah, and here I thought we had a problem. But it’s just Qrow again.”

His hand fell, a groan emitting from deep in his chest as he turned towards that painfully familiar voice. Sure enough, Clover and his poster squad of soldiers were heading their way. “Oh great, it’s you.”

“Salutations Captain Ebi!” Penny greeted with a salute.

"You know them Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked. He could feel her curious stare burning through his cape.

"Yeah. They're Jimmy's attack dogs.” He scoffed at them. “Though considering we cleaned up this mess, they're more bark than bite."

Clover laughed, stopping just a few feet away. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?" He thumbed back the way they had come from. “Guessing you’re also the flyer of the unidentified Manta a mile west here, huh?”

“Uh, well,” He spluttered a bit, not sure how to explain that.

He didn’t have to, as the second-in-command spoke up for him, “I can’t believe you!” Harriet spat, quick in her temper as she was on her feet. “We almost deployed hostiles on that ship. You could have at least radioed in!”

“Well, see we woulda. ‘Cept our radio was on the fritz.” Yang stepped up beside him.

His other niece flanked his other side. “We didn’t mean to cause a stir, really.”

Qrow didn’t know whether to be proud of their synchronization, refined from years of getting out of groundings together, or concerned for their physical wellbeing as Elm’s eyes lit up with recognition.

“Oh Qrow, don’t tell me these are your cute little nieces!” She was in his youngest niece’s space almost instantly, shaking her hand with such enthusiasm Ruby looked a little dizzy. “I’m Elm. Qrow’s told us so much!”

“He has?”

“Oh yes, once he gets going, he can never shut up about you two. It’s endearing.”

He did his best to ignore the teasing nudges Yang gave him or the flush working its way up his neck.

“Wait, hold up a second.” Another of the soldiers interjected. “You’re the Qrow Branwen? You don’t look anything like what I thought you would.”

As his eyes met with the other’s, Qrow realized with a start he didn’t know him. “And you are?” He spat a bit harder than he meant to.

He felt a little bad when it made the Faunus shrink back a bit, his wagging tail slowing. “I, erm-”

“Oh right, you haven’t met. This is our newest recruit, Marrow Amin. He’s a bit fresh, but has been an outstanding addition.” Clover spoke up, clapping a hand on his shoulder like a proud father. It was the slight twitch at the side of his mouth that gave away he was trying very hard not to drop his smile.

The kid definitely didn’t notice, his tail wagging at full speed once again.

Qrow decided to shelve it for now.

Thankfully, the quietest member was quick to draw all the attention his way as Vine cleared his throat and spoke over them, “As pleasing as this reunion is, I believe taking this discussion away from the middle of the street would be more comfortable.”

“Right.” Clover nodded, straightening up. “The General is expecting our report and, though unanticipated, I’m certain he’d be happy to accommodate your arrival.” He tipped his head towards Weiss. “We’ll contact your sister on the way in as well. Lieutenant Schnee will be relieved to know you made it back safely.”

Despite the propaganda recordings still running on loop overhead, Weiss couldn’t hide her happiness. “That would be wonderful.”

“Sooo, when you say accommodate, you mean beds? And food?” Nora piped up hopefully.

Elm grinned. “Mess hall is always open. All you can eat!”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Oh, I like you.”

In the corner of his eye, Qrow could see Ruby shifting uncertainly. He rested a hand on her back reassuringly. This wasn’t what they’d hoped for. They had wanted to gather more information before they approached James. But it’d be suspicious not to take it and the last thing they needed was for things to go south when they were so close to the finish line.

They would just have to hope they hadn’t lost James’ loyalty like they had Leo’s.

“We could certainly use it.” He finally said. “Lead the way boy scout.”

Though sleep came fast that night, Qrow didn’t rest easy. Despite the exhaustion weighing him down, his mind refused to quiet, whirling over and over again on an anxious loop. James’ flawed plans for Amity if they didn’t tell him the truth. Oz’s deceits. The relic still resting out in the open. Salem’s unknown course of action.

Normally, when his brain was this busy, he’d drown it in alcohol. Let everyone else figure it out as long as he could get some rest from it all. But that wasn’t an option anymore. He wouldn’t allow it to be.

That was how he found himself dragging himself out of bed at the crack of dawn and wandering down the already bustling halls. Anywhere else, he’d say it would be weird to be walking past so many people so early; but Atlas had the majority of its’ facility and students on a strict military schedule. Something about how it taught basic discipline and the sleep regimen was good for promoting better health and performance.

It was a crime against sleeping in is what it was.

Despite the fact his last visit had been well over a year ago, Qrow had no trouble navigating the uniform halls, finding his way to the Ace-Ops’ quarters in record time. He knocked twice, only having to wait a few seconds before the door was flung open. The cartoon flamingos on Harriet’s pajamas seemed to mock the rest of the academy already starting the day.

It’s tactical, Clover had told him once when he’d questioned the special treatment.

Privileged, Qrow had corrected snidely, ignoring the multitude of night crews given the same benefits.

Sometimes it was just fun to see if he could get a rise out of Mr. Perfect.

Speaking of, a quick sweep over Harriet’s hairline told him he was nowhere in the room. He did spot the others though, seated around the dining table. Elm had her hair wrapped up in a towel and a piece of toast in hand. Vine was sipping on tea and scrolling through news. Marrow was giving him that same starstruck look from yesterday, a spoonful of cereal only halfway on its journey to his mouth.

“Boy scout ain’t here?” Qrow asked.

Harriet quirked an eyebrow. “He’s in the garden.”

On a Tuesday? That was new.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Guess I’ll be on my way then. See ya.” He gave her a nod of farewell, heading down the hall.

“Hey, Branwen!” He paused, seeing Harriet leaning out the doorframe, her stare almost challenging. “If you start antagonizing him, I’ll kick your ass.”

That was… also new.

He smirked. “Like to see you try speedy.”

She only scoffed. From within, he heard Marrow pipe up, “Hare! You can’t say that to-” The rest of it was cut off by the door closing, but he had a feeling it ended with ‘The Qrow Branwen.’

He started down the hall again, the foreboding that had been weighing on him since last night quickening his pace.

It didn’t take him long to get to the garden. Natural to Atas’ standards, the room was as grand as could be. Twice as large as the training facility, the greenery filled every inch of space, broken only by specifically designed pathways students or staff could traverse. Some ran to small manmade ponds with wooden bridges built over them where koi fish would swim underneath while others led to displays of delicately trimmed hedges shaped to look like animals. As there was no plant life in Solitas’ ecosystem, everything in the room had been imported. Desert roses from Vacuo, sage bushes from Vale, black pines from Anima. There were even some sunflowers he’d brought years ago from Tai’s little patch at home, still valiantly clinging to life among the rosemary bushes.

Practically on autopilot, Qrow went down the right-most path which wound along to the far side of the garden, where the trees grew taller and the branches hung down like arms reaching out for a hand, close enough for him to reach up and touch. There was one in particular, a lone willow, which had become a popular hiding spot due to its’ thick, curtain-like tresses. So much so, that it had become better known as the Kissing Tree. Though it was too early for anyone to be there now, more than once, he and Clover had stumbled upon a pair of students trying to sneak in a private moment between classes.

To say nothing of the numerous times when the tree was empty and Clover would always wink at him and say, “Looks like there’s room for two.”

The first time, Qrow had been too shocked to respond. Every time after, he’d wave him off and say, “As if you could handle me.”

Clover would laugh and they would continue on, sometimes to the exit.

But more often than not, it was on their way in to the pen.

Compared to the rest of the room, the five-foot, stock panel metal fencing was a bit of an eyesore. Doubly so with the glowing blue devices placed on every post that would activate if anyone without clearance attempted to enter. Hence why it was kept in the back.

But for Clover, it was the best place in the entire garden. Qrow could already see him to one side of the cage, sitting on a bale of hay, gently grooming a lop-eared rabbit resting in his lap while another dozen of various breeds hopped about his feet. The soldier was humming a peppy tune, so lost in his own world he didn’t notice Qrow at the gate.

“Annabelle’s eating your laces.” He announced as he tapped his scroll on the gate’s scanner.

Clover jerked a bit, but not enough to disturb Dumpling, who only thumped his back leg for his attention to continue. He rested one hand on the lop’s back, shooing Annabelle away with the other, “Lil’ menace.” Before acknowledging Qrow with a nod and a “Good morning.”

“Was looking for you.” He replied, shutting the door behind him.

The second he had, Jynx honed in on him like a missile, torpedoing across the pen in seconds to race excited circles around his feet. Clover watched the antics with a teasing smile. “Somehow, I only half believe that.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Qrow carefully stepped around the dwarf rabbit and as he made his way over, plucked a daffodil from the treat container kept on a high-mounted shelf. He sat beside Clover on another hay bale, Jynx wasting no time as she leapt onto his legs and flopped onto her side. So content she was, she didn’t even bother to lift her head when he offered the flower, just munched it down when it got close enough to her mouth. He rolled his eyes, running a hand through her soft, black fur. “Still lazy as ever.”

“She can’t help it if she takes after her handler.” Clover pointed out as he returned to his brushing.

“Making fun of yourself over there, boy scout? ‘Cause I ain’t the parent here. I’m the uncle who spoils her rotten.”

Normally, they’d go at it for a while like this, trading verbal blows that were about as harmful as throwing a handful of feathers at one another would be.

Today, it was clear his friend wasn’t in the mood when he only hummed and said, “I suppose.”

In the quiet that followed, it gave him a chance to really look the other man over. Though he was prim and proper as ever, with clothes neatly pressed and boots shined enough to reflect the light, his face told the true story. Between the deeper lines under his eyes and slight graying at the base of his crew cut, Clover appeared as if he’d aged a decade overnight. Burdened by the weight of worlds’ most damning secrets.

Ones that he knew only got worse the deeper the hole was dug. Qrow felt so far under at this point, he wasn’t sure he’d find the sky again. And the worst part was, the only action he had left was to choose if he wanted to toss the next person the shovel.

Regardless of his convictions to be as candid and brusque as possible to his friends and family, the idea of burying Clover along with him was terrifying.

A quiet chattering drew his eyes back to Jynx. Her eyes were half-closed in blissful contentment, unaware and detached from the woes of her people. He rubbed a finger between her ears, the way he’d learned she liked all the way back when she was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. Back when she was so tiny, they’d almost missed her when clearing out the illegal dust testing facility deep in Mantle’s suburbs five years ago.

The mission had been a spur of the moment thing. He’d been tracing one of Salem’s subordinates when the Captain approached him. He still recalled how Clover had buttered him up as he explained that with one of their teammates sick, he was in need of a fifth and he ‘just couldn’t think of anyone more suited than Qrow’.

He wouldn’t say it worked or anything but, well, it just so happened the person he was looking for was also said to be someone of ‘scientific talent’. He’d taken the job completely on the merit of it being a potential lead, but if Clover wanted to shower him with compliments in the meantime, who was he to complain?

Next thing he knew, he was knocking a needle-wielding chemist unconscious and lifting guinea pigs out of overcrowded cages.

It took nearly the entire day to clear the facility. Most of the animals were either unaccustomed to being handled or traumatized from it, and it was difficult to recage them without risk of further injury. It was eventually left to the animal experts that had to be called in. Yet, despite the mission being technically fulfilled, Clover had been stubborn to leave, trying to find ways for them to contribute and becoming agitated if anyone tried to derail him.

Even at the time, when Qrow hadn’t yet known the younger huntsman well, he’d understood the behavior was unusual for the other man. It was hard to say if he simply became driven to assist, his soft spot for animals painfully clear, or if it was some mild form of Hunter’s Shock, the stress and horror of the situation putting him into a repetitive state.

Whatever it was, it was clear they were stuck there until the job was done.

So, mostly trying to look busy while staying out of the way, Qrow had found himself lazily strolling through the basement’s already emptied cage ring when his eyes, sharpened by years of looking down the barrel of a shotgun, caught the almost undetectable movement of hay breathing. Sure enough, brushing it aside revealed one of the smallest rabbits he’d ever seen – though she certainly had the loudest cry when he picked her up.

Like a mother responding to a distressed child, the Captain came running. Though his expression was quick to melt when he spotted them, easing into a smile for the first time that afternoon.

Lucky Number 13, Clover had cooed to her while Qrow cradled the shaking thing against his chest. He’d carried her the entire way back to Atlas, afraid she’d get lost or injured among the other hundred animals they’d rescued. At some point, she’d bonded with him.

“More like imprinted!” Tortuga had joked whenever the subject was brought up.

Keeping the rabbits after the mission hadn’t been planned, but Clover had managed to pull enough strings on Jimmy’s iron heart that the General had come out of it thinking he’d thought up the idea all along. The pen was made in record time and the recovering warren was introduced to their new home. Within days, each rabbit had a name, a toy, a bed and enough treats to hibernate a grizzly bear. Mostly provided by the Captain himself, though some of the other facility and students had donated to the cause.

They were officially presented as a wildlife addition to the garden – they were unofficially and more truthfully known as Captain Ebi’s pets.

Though the rabbits didn’t need constant care and the gardeners attended to their daily needs, Clover still swung by frequently, fitting them into a daily routine he kept to like clockwork. Monday and Friday mornings were given over to training. Tuesdays and Thursdays to team-building with the Ops through sharing or even making breakfast together. Weekends and Wednesdays were reserved for garden visits.

The reason for the change was obvious, but Qrow wasn’t quite ready to ask.

“So. Jimmy told you.” He stated instead.

Clover nodded. “Yeah. He did.”

“And… how are you doing?”

He’d been twenty years younger, when he’d been in Clover’s position. Barely graduated, when he took that first walk through the vault, Ozpin spinning grand stories and waving magic to life before his very eyes. He remembered how terrified he had been. He was just some feral kid from the forests of Anima who could barely figure out how his own Scroll worked. In what possible way was he up to the task of saving the world?

After being in the fold as long as he had, he quickly learned even people more capable than himself all tended to feel the gravity of the job.

Even someone as confidant and unshakable as Clover was not immune, his sigh long and drawn out. “Honestly? It’s a little overwhelming. I actually thought, that uh,” He laughed embarrassedly, “James had lost his mind.”

Qrow blinked.

Maybe the world really was ending.

“I woulda paid money to see that.” He teased.

Clover pinched him. “Oh shut up.” The lack of brushing made Dumpling start to fuss again, but rather than continue to pamper him, Clover set the lop back on the grass, before he lent back, letting out another of those long sighs. “I’ve been thinking a lot about how when I was a kid, I used to think the only way Atlas could possibly stay in the sky like it does was from magic. Then I grew up and the academy taught me different. It’s… terrifying, realizing how easy it’s been to lie to a whole nation’s worth of people.”

“Guess that means you agree with Jimmy’s plan then.” Qrow surmised.

“You don’t?” He challenged back, frowning. “We have thousands of people roaming these halls, none of them knowing that a few floors down lies one of the most powerful objects in the world. Don’t they deserve to know that one day they might be in charge of protecting it?”

Shifting uncomfortably, he averted his gaze, mumbling, “I never really thought about it. I trusted Oz to make those kinds of calls. And now he’s-” He felt his chest tighten, guilt a healed-over bruise pulsing on his knuckles. “Gone. Again.”

“I can imagine how lost that makes you feel.”

“I mean, I guess.” He grumbled, if only to save face.

But deep down, he knew Clover was right. Qrow wasn’t like him, or Oz, or James, or Summer or even Ruby. He needed someone to guide him on the right path. He screwed up things enough merely by existing – he couldn’t make it worse by trying to also make critical decisions.

Maybe it was that thought that made him add, “Starting to think I wasn’t cut out for this whole gig. All I’ve done is drag my nieces and their little friends into this whole mess and nearly got ‘em all killed. Isn’t really comparable to ‘restoring world communications’.”

“Yeah, I suppose being on the front lines at Haven and ensuring a relic didn’t fall into Salem’s hands is a bit more impressive.” Before he could even try to argue, Clover placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “We’ve all had to make some tough calls lately, but I know those kids were in good hands when one of the best huntsmen in all of Remnant was at their side.”

He could feel a blush creeping up his neck. “You’re just saying that because you’re completely starstruck with me.”

“I am.” The admittance was said with absolutely no hesitation, the man’s smile growing. “Qrow, some of my very best missions have been the ones I’ve gotten to go on with you. I admire you. Not because of your skill, but because you’ve never let the job change you. You scoff at your own fame and you don’t take missions looking at lien signs first. You do it for the right reasons, every time. I think that’s amazing.”

The blush was definitely on his face now.

Worse yet, the doubts and worries that had weighed on his mind for days now seemed to lighten, just a little bit.

Gods be damned, how did he always do that?

With no idea how to respond, he mumbled out a soft, “Thanks” hoping it came out more sincere than awkward.

“Anytime.” Thankfully, Clover backed off a bit, focusing back on the rabbits at his feet, picking up Bolt. Having gotten his name from how skittish he was, the cottontail took time to calm enough so he could be brushed.

Long enough for Qrow to compose himself before he spoke again. “So, how have things been otherwise?”

“They’ve been…” His shoulders fell, “Rough.”

Any doubts Qrow might have had before about the Ace Ops’ unannounced replacement crumbled right alongside Clover’s normally strong posture.

He shut his eyes, taking in a deep, bracing breath. As he focused on his friend once more, it was with all the unexpecting kindness he could muster that he asked, “Do you want to talk about him?” For a split second, Clover looked just like the rabbit in his lap – ready to sprint as far away as he could from danger. So Qrow quickly added, “You don’t have to, if you’re not ready.”

Silence blanketed over them like a snowstorm, cold and desolate. The kind of weather that blew in fast and came down slow, pressing everything into such an unnoticed hush most didn’t notice their homes being covered until they looked up and saw they were six feet under. That’s where Clover seemed to be now, stuck inside and standing at the front door, uncertain if he was prepared to create the unavoidable mess it would take to dig his way outside.

Only this time, Qrow had given him the shovel. He just had to use it.

Leaving the soldier to sort out his emotions, Qrow idly pet Jynx, fingers scoring through her sleek black fur.

And he waited.

His gaze drifted to the ring of Cypress trees that bordered outside of the pen.

And he waited some more.

When Clover finally did speak, it seemed a struggle, the words fighting their way out. “Can you imagine how it was for us that day, when we watched our own Knights turn on Vale’s citizens? It was like a nightmare. We didn’t know what had happened. No one did. Without James to explain – to speak for himself – the council started shutting down units left and right. The AKs, the paladins, even our Manta Flyers. We had to rip out billions of lien in automated equipment just so we could fly down to Mantle.”

As if he were a Flyer himself, Bolt suddenly leapt out of his lap, landing back on the grass below. He quickly crowded himself between Orion and Sirias, trusting the giant Altexs to protect him.

Clover just let him go, dropping the brush beside himself as he shook his head. “By the time we got there, the city was overrun. Normally, we’d have enough firepower to deal with it. But James had brought most of the troops with him. Even when they came back, none of them were allowed to deploy to the field until they got questioned. It was a mess. Students and soldiers were kept in lockdown. James was incarcerated. It was months before we learned anything. And every day the public was kept in the dark, every day people feared the other kingdoms would come for us, was another day Grimm surged to our borders.”

It was a familiar story. Beacon’s fall shook the world in a brutal way, leaving no Kingdom untouched. Borders closing. Grimm everywhere. The peace between nations suddenly balancing on a delicate string, just waiting for something to break it.

Yet of everything that had come after that one, awful night, it was the personal losses that struck the hardest.

“I kept telling my own team to just… hold on another day. That things would get better soon. But then-” Clover choked for a second, having to swallow hard. “We got a report of a nest of Centinels in the basement of an apartment complex downtown. We were still cleaning up some stragglers nearby, so I sent Harriet and Tortuga ahead. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes before Harriet started radioing in. ‘The building came down!’ she kept screaming. I’d never heard her so panicked.”

Qrow sucked in a sharp breath and for a second, he was right there with the other huntsman. Except, for him, it was with a scroll in his ear and Oz’s grief-filled voice shattering his soul as the headmaster told him one of his closest friends wasn’t coming home.

The flash of memory faded as quick as it had come, but the heaviness in his heart stayed as Clover pressed on.

“She told us that some Centinel acid had melted through a supporting wall. Tortuga had been slowing the damage while Harriet tried to get all the occupants out in time. Any other day, they could have done it. If we weren’t all running on empty, I know they could have. Instead, they were only halfway through when suddenly, it all just came down. Harriet was outside when it happened.” Clover lent forward, hay crunching under his grasp as he clutched onto it. “The whole time I was running to their position, I kept telling her everything would be fine. I’d use my luck and we’d pull him out and he’d probably laugh at us for worrying so much. Never knowing it didn’t matter how much luck I had.” He chuckled. It was a hollow, broken noise. “He was already gone. The pathologists said he’d died instantly.”

Then that chuckle turned into a sob.

Knowing better than most that there were no words that made this part easier, Qrow did the only thing he could as he slid a hand along the other’s back and tugged him close.

It was a quarter to nine by the time they were getting ready to leave. Clover gave one last cursory check to the food and water while Qrow mentally counted the warren for a fourth time – they didn’t need another incident like when Snowblossom escaped and terrorized the lavender field. He’d finished his count by the time Clover was ushering him through the gate.

He’d finished it again when it locked behind them.

As they started around the first bend of the path, he almost couldn’t fight the urge to go back just to be safe.

Luckily, Clover was a great distraction. “So now that you’re in Atlas, what do you and your entourage plan to do?”

“Uh.” Was that a trick question? “Help with Jimmy’s pet project, obviously.”

“Besides that. It’s not like we’re going to work you all 24/7.”

Qrow wouldn’t mind if they did. At least, for him. Free time seemed… dangerous, when he’d used to fill it with taking shots at the nearest bar. Really, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn’t really do much else. When he was bored, he went to a bar. When he had a day off, he went to a bar. When he was looking to have fun, he went to a bar. When he didn’t want to see people, then he skipped the bar, got a six pack, and drank himself to oblivion.

Shit.

He was going to have to find a hobby, wasn’t he?

In the end, he shrugged, replying glumly, “Guess we’ll have to figure it out.”

“What about training?” Clover held up a hand in a gesture of peace as Qrow frowned at him. “Not you. The kids. There’s going to be a lot ahead for all of us and the sooner we get used to working together, the better. And, well, considering their age I’m sure some of them are still rough around the edges too.”

He snorted, but didn’t argue that fact. Really, all of them were incredibly skilled, but that didn’t mean perfection. Ren was still flaking in the stamina department. Weiss had to work on her spatial awareness. Jaune needed, well, everything. After years of being a combat teacher, it wasn’t hard to pick out the kids’ flaws. To say nothing of Oscar who, without Oz as a crutch, probably would be better off if they just shipped him into a witness protection program.

It was time that worked against them all. Ideally, it’d be best enrolling them back into school, were they could finish off their graduate programs and gain the wisdoms of various professors who could help them hone their talents. But, seeing as that wasn’t in the cards, he supposed getting some pointers from some of the best Atlas had to offer was a decent replacement.

“I’m sure they’d like that.” Qrow could already imagine how Ruby would bounce off the walls at the idea of getting trained by real huntsmen. As if he were chopped liver, or something.

(He could also already picture her waving his complaints away. “Uncles don’t count. You’re obligated to do nice things for me.”)

“Great! We can work out a schedule once you’re all a bit more settled.” Clover was practically glowing, as if he couldn’t wait to start penning things in on his calendar. Dork.

Yet, he’d take this much happier, lively Clover over the despairing, grieving one he’d just consoled any day of the year.

In fact, the air was so much lighter than it had been, as they rounded another bend and the willow tree came into sight, he was already preparing himself for the other man to drop his usual line, retort already on the tip of his tongue.

Yet, as they came level with it, Clover did something even more daring as he reached across the space between them and caught Qrow’s hand in his.

He stared down at this grand declaration, then up at Clover himself, meeting questing, hopeful eyes.

Heart racing, he curled his fingers over Clover’s, and despite the other’s rounded knuckles or his own lanky fingers, despite mismatched calluses and hairline scars, despite the rings or the gloves, they seemed a perfect fit.

Perhaps, Qrow wouldn’t be so bored in Atlas after all.

#qrow branwen #clover ebi #fair game #fairgameweek2021 #rwby #fanfiction #Chase Firekitten's Tale

10 notes · View notes

takingcourage · 4 years

Text

Foliage

Pairing: Liam x MC (Eliza)

Word Count: 1,375

Summary: Liam, Eliza, and Eleanor visit a favorite part of the palace grounds.

Note: This story is part of my October Fic Giveaway and was inspired by @needalittlerain‘s request for “Collecting pretty leaves for later” with Liam x MC. Thank you so much for the request! : ) I hope it’s okay that I decided to include Eleanor in this one as well.

If you would like to make a request, please follow this link for more details.

Eliza had never intended for this to become one of their traditions. As she considered the years she’d spent in Cordonia, she could skip over the memories of many events with ease. Balls had come and gone, festivals and state dinners had the habit of turning into monotony in her recollections. But this occasion was one she couldn’t help remembering: it grew more precious with every passing season.

As a wave of nostalgia threatened to carry her away from the present, she stretched her fingers to find Liam’s hand. His grip was warm and secure, and he took advantage of their closeness to drop a kiss at her crown.

“Look at that smile,” he prompted in a quiet tone, cautious not to disrupt their daughter’s lively pace several steps ahead.

Eliza’s breathy laugh mingled with the crisp Autumn air. Though it was just past midday, it was late enough into the year that she’d had to wrestle Eleanor into a jacket and boots before following her outside. Based on the glimpses of wrist that fell below the sleeves, it wouldn’t be long before they needed to unroll another inch from the cuffs.

Shaking her head, Eliza pulled her own blazer a little tighter across her growing belly. “You wouldn’t believe how many times she’s asked to come out here today. It was all I could do to convince her to wait until you could join us.”

“I’m honored.” He gave her fingers a light squeeze. “It’s one of my favorite places too -- especially with the two of you.”

Eliza returned his gesture with a quick pulse, then dropped his hand to catch up to their daughter.

Still several feet ahead, Eleanor came to an abrupt stop and bent as close as she could to the grass. Though the lowest limbs were still inches above her head, she cast a cautious eye toward the sky above. “Hello, tree! How are you?” she asked upon reaching its slender trunk.

Stifling a giggle into her shoulder, Eliza watched Liam cross to the child’s side. Methodically, he squatted as close to Eleanor as the branches would allow, stretching a hand to brush a pile of leaves away from the roots. “Your tree looks very healthy,” he spoke, eyes turning up toward the young girl’s.

“Uh-huh!” she agreed proudly, her smile earnest as she met her father’s gaze.

“Should we check on the others?”

Predictably, Eleanor agreed, though she was hesitant to stray too far from her own sapling. One finger extended, she pointed him to all of the trees she could remember. “Daddy’s tree. Uncle Leo’s tree. Grandpa’s tree.”

He walked to each of them in turn, checking their appearances before offering his assessment of their health. Of the four, Eleanor’s had undergone the most significant changes in the few years since its planting. Eliza’s throat thickened with the reminder of the tree’s symbolic purpose. If appearances were anything to go by, their daughter’s reign would be steady and sure -- a welcome change from the trials they had faced over the past several years.

Liam’s voice snapped her back from her wanderings. “You have an excellent memory, Ellie. Do you remember the day we planted your tree?”

Running up to his knees, Eleanor nodded, eyes wide before something in her father’s look made her question the claim. Small brow creasing, she shook her head instead.

“Shall I tell you?”

The shaking head corrected its initial course, pigtails swinging wildly as she resumed her nod with renewed vigor.

Liam lifted her in his arms to give a better view of the higher branches, pointing to the remaining leaves while he recounted the story close to her ear.

Eliza stayed a few steps behind, hesitant to disrupt their time together. Their summer had been draining in more ways than one, and while they’d intended to go along with Liam on his series of diplomatic visits, her morning sickness had cut many of the tours short. Now that things were more settled and they were in Cordonia for the foreseeable future, she hoped their schedule would revert back to something a little more normal as well.

By the time she reached them, Eleanor was back on the ground, holding tightly to the stem of a tiny yellowed leaf. “Can we put it in my book, mama?”

Eliza laid out her palm to take it for safekeeping. “Of course.”

“Thank you!”

“We’ll start drying it when we get home,” she assured. As Eleanor bounded away in search of more, Eliza tested the serrated edge with the tip of her finger. It was a daintier specimen than what she might have picked, her own attention having been drawn to several sturdier leaves littering the ground. Still, there was no denying the one her daughter had chosen would make a fine addition to their growing scrapbook.

As promised, they secured the leaf beneath two volumes of Cordonian history shortly after reaching the royal apartments. From previous experience, Eliza knew that they’d be checking the leaf’s progress frequently in the following days. The questions were likely to start as soon as Eleanor finished her afternoon nap.

Perhaps it was a good thing that her nanny would be the one who was there to answer them, Eliza considered ruefully.

There were only a few minutes before she and Liam needed to leave for their afternoon meetings. It was too early to go, but too late for her to start on correspondence or any other projects. Casting an eye over the living room, she smiled as her gaze landed on the slim book on the middle of their coffee table.

She’d just picked it up when Liam entered from the study. Wordless, he came to her side and looped an arm around her waist. His chin rested lightly on her shoulder, hair soft against the apple of her cheek.

Still standing, she thumbed through the album, pausing to reflect on each of its couple dozen pages. The first held a perfect little leaf she’d found on one of their walks through the orchards when Eleanor was still a baby. Sitting at the base of the sapling, there was no doubt which tree it had come from. When she’d decided to keep it, she’d expected it to be a small memento -- not the start of a custom that resumed with each trip they made back to the capital.

Most of the leaves were ones that Eleanor had chosen for herself, fragile souvenirs rescued from decay after falling to the ground. Some were green and hearty, others golden and paper-thin. All were reminders of the time they’d spent in the orchard. All were reminders of how much the tree -- and their daughter -- had grown in three short years.

“I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone,” Liam murmured against her throat.

“Sometimes I wish it would slow down, just a bit.”

“Not until the spring. I’m rather eager to meet this little one,” he admitted, cradling the distinctive swell beneath her blouse.

“So am I.” With a glance toward the clock, she closed the book and lowered it back to the table.

“But no matter how quickly these years pass, I’m grateful to spend them with you. So grateful, Eliza.”

Her mouth was opening to return the sentiment when a quiet knock sounded from the outer door of their quarters. “There’s the nanny.” The words weren’t quite a complaint, yet she couldn’t bring herself to feel happy about leaving this moment behind. “We should probably go.”

“She can wait a little longer,” Liam insisted, drawing her chin forward for an unhurried kiss. Eliza sighed against him, forgetting all else for the few blissful seconds his lips were on hers. “Now we can go,” he whispered when they parted, fingers lingering on her cheek.

Mouth still tingling with heat, Eliza straightened her clothes, retrieved her briefcase, and fell into step at her husband’s side.

Sometimes their lives were busier than she would have liked. On occasion, she found herself wishing that duties didn’t take up quite so much of their time. But beyond this meeting, and the next one, and the next, they had a lifetime full of traditions of their own making.

#playchoices #playchoices fanfiction #the royal romance #liam x mc #fic request #follower milestone

31 notes · View notes

winterisakillerwrites · 4 years

Text

Becoming - Part Six

Title: Becoming

One Shot: 6/6

Character: Tom Hiddleston

Genre: Realistic(?) fluff; Angst

Rating: T

Summary: Learning about his son was only just the start of the story. As Tom Hiddleston struggles to adapt to this sudden change in his life, he comes to learn that becoming a father might be the biggest role he’d ever taken on. *Sequel/Continuation of Lovers’ Eyes*

Authors Notes/Warnings: This story came about because I knew there was still so much about Tom and his son that I wanted to explore. I fully intended this to be a quick flash forward into their lives, a snapshot if you will….They had other ideas and so here we are. This is technically all one story but has been broken down into parts to make the reading easier.

Thanks so much first and foremost to @ciaodarknessmyheart who has dealt with me throwing all of these ideas at her and has helped shape them into something coherent and wonderful.

And here we are, dear readers, at the end of this particular part of the story. This has been on hell of a ride and I’ve enjoyed getting to know this Tom and watching his relationship with Jaime grow and change. While this particular part of their story is done, I have potential ideas for future stories and situations I would like to explore. Until then, here is part six of Becoming. Hope you all enjoy!

Tag List: @tinchentitri @messy-insomniac-bookgirl @noplacelikehome77 @blacksuitofdoom @nonsensicalobsessions @theheartofpenelope @ms-cellanies @nuggsmum @inkededucatednnerdy @redfoxwritesstuff @just-the-hiddles @wolfsmom1 @theoneanna @hiddlescastle @sabine-leo @alexakeyloveloki @echantedbytwh @finchbaggins @kenzieam @ciaodarknessmyheart @ladyblablabla @trippedmetaldetector

Jaime had been thrilled to find Tom waiting at the foot of the stairs and, in that moment, Tom wished he’d had the forethought to have had a camera to capture the look of pure, unadulterated joy that spread across his son’s features.

“Daddy!” he squealed, all but throwing himself into Tom’s waiting arms.

Tom bit down on the rush of emotion which choked him at the boy’s sudden action and breathed, “Jaime lad” into his sandy hair.

It had been one of the brighter spots of that difficult day, holding his son in his arms. Breakfast was a quiet affair; Jaime, usually full of questions and stories, seemed to draw into himself as the morning drew on. Tom knew his thoughts were on his mother, knew the boy understood, at least to an extent, the magnitude of this day and of what he had lost.

Jamie had dawdled when instructed to go upstairs and dress for the day. They would be visiting the gravesite, a place Tom had only been once shortly after the funeral, and it was clear the boy was hesitant to do so. And Tom understood. It had been simply too painful to go back himself after the funeral, seeing her name and the dates carved in stone had made it all far too real. But this was something they needed to do, regardless of his own feelings on the matter. So Jaime had reluctantly taken the stairs to his room and rejoined his father and grandmother ten minutes later, following them quietly out of the house and into Keira’s car.

Tom spent the majority of the drive to the cemetery in quiet thought, his hand linked with Jaime’s. The firsts are always the worst. The thought swam through his mind as the car sped along. First birthday’s, first Christmas’, the first anniversary of their passing; they were all painful in their own ways. And this…This was never going to be an easy thing, he’d known that.

But nothing in him had prepared him at all for just how difficult it truly would be. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t known life without her, he’d spent the six years before on his own. But that had been wholly different. He’d known she was still out there, still living her life. Happy, he hoped, but out there living. This year…And it hit him fully for the first time that this year had been one in which she was truly gone. That he would never see her again. Never hold her. Never be able to beg her forgiveness for his selfishness and his self-centered choices that had cost them both so much. And all of this only cemented that fact.

The cemetery was quiet for a Tuesday morning. There had been a few people wandering about, Tom could hear the quiet murmuring of voices as they spoke to each other and to the loved ones they came to visit, but for the most part they were alone. None of the people he’d seen seemed to pay them any mind and for that Tom was exceedingly grateful. Part of him had feared looking over his shoulder to find cameras watching them, waiting for an image that would sell whatever story the papers thought would make them most coin. It was a part of his life he had feverishly wished would remain far, far away on this day of all days. And so far the fates seemed to be on his side.

Jaime, tearful and solemn, laid a small bunch of daisies by Eliza’s headstone. He whispered words Tom did his utmost best not to hear. It wasn’t that he cared little for the boy’s grief but more that he knew if he had any hopes of keeping himself together enough to make it through this trip, he couldn’t let himself hear them. Jaime needed him to be strong, needed to be able to fall to pieces and know his father would be there to set the world to rights again after. If Tom let himself fall apart, how could he possibly be of any help to his son?

Silence remained a steadfast companion as they made their way back towards the car. Tom helped Jaime buckle in and offered the boy a small smile which was returned with a trembling lip. The drive to the house felt both instantaneous and agonizing in length. No one spoke as the car pulled into the drive and they piled from it into the warmth of the house.

Keira disappeared into the kitchen almost as soon as she’d walked through the door and busied herself with lunch preparations, sending Jaime upstairs to change. Tom followed quietly behind her; his attempts to offer aid were brushed aside, leaving him nursing the gently steaming mug of coffee she’d handed him. He’d taken it with softly murmured thanks and watched as she flitted about. He could so easily see the strain of grief painting her tired features and felt a kinship with her for it. He considered briefly trying to engage in her conversation but thought better of it, the ground they held was shaky at best and Tom did not want to be the one to cause its collapse. Not today.

Loud thuds from above caused both to freeze. Tom shot Keira a knowing look and quietly slid from his chair and out into the hall. The thuds were followed in rapid succession by a crash and yelling. Tom was up the stairs and bursting into Jaime’s room before he’d consciously made the choice to do so. The boy was standing by his bed, tears streaming down his face several toys and a lamp scattered across the floor. Mindful of the glass, Tom made his way towards his son, crouching before him. He called the boy’s name and felt his heart break as wide, tear-filled eyes met his own.

“Oh my boy.” He pulled Jaime into a tight hug and kissed his head while the boy wept into his chest. Tom rocked him slowly back and forth, murmuring words of comfort into the top of his head. “I’ve got you. It’s alright. I’ve got you.”

Tears burned in his own eyes and he shut them tightly in a vain effort to stem their flow. There would be time enough to fall apart later, Jaime needed him now. Several minutes later the boy’s sobs quieted and his shaking slowed. Tom held him until he finally seemed to calm and Jaime sat silent in his arms.

Jaime’s voice was muffled from the way he had pressed his face into Tom’s shirt. And his father, though he tried valiantly, could not make sense of what had been said. With a calm, quiet tone, Tom pulled the boy back and asked him what he’d said. Jaime sniffed twice before murmuring once more, “I want Mummy to come home.”

The words shattered Tom’s heart and he gripped the boy tightly to him, unable to speak. When he finally found his voice, he was disheartened to hear the emotions he’d been trying so hard to tamper down resonating clearly. “I know. I wish she was here as well.” Several moments of silence passed before Tom spoke again. “But as long as you remember the happy times you had with your mummy then in a way, she’s never really gone.”

Jaime blinked up at him with glassy eyes. “Really?”

Tom nodded, leaning down to kiss Jaime’s head once more. “Really. As long as you keep her alive in your heart, she’ll always be there.” They sat quietly for several minutes before Tom sighed and pulled back. “So let’s get this room set to rights and go see what your Nan’s made for lunch?”

Silently, Jaime nodded and climbed off Toms lap. They made quick work of the mess Jaime had made (Tom refusing to let him anywhere near the glass from the lamp bulb) before heading back down stairs and joining Kiera in the kitchen. They passed the rest of the day quietly together, occasionally talking but mostly sitting together or watching Jaime play with Lego.

As Tom carried his exhausted son up the stairs, the small boy clinging to him, that night he was grateful to have made it through the day. His own eyes burned with tears and exhaustion but he’d done what he’d set to do; he’d been there for Jaime, been as strong as he could have been. There was time later to fall to pieces, though Tom knew that time would not be put off much longer.

Teeth cleaned and tucked into his bed, Tom watched as Jaime blinked sleepily up at him. He smiled softly, closing the book in his lap and leaning in to kiss his son gently on the forehead. “I love you, Jaime. Always.”

A muffled, “love you too,” echoed from beneath the covers. Tom smiled softly as he stood and flicked off the overhead light. He pulled the door to and slowly descended once more down the stairs.

“Tom?” Keira’s voice echoed from the living room.

Freezing on the landing, Tom took a deep breath to steady himself before answering, “Yes?”

“Can you come here a moment?”

Tom padded quietly down the hall and into the living room, finding Keira sitting on a chair, book in her lap. “Yes?”

She smiled quietly at him. “I wanted to thank you for coming today. I know I’ve not been the easiest person and we’ve not really ever gotten on but you’ve been there for Jaime and I appreciate that. So thank you for coming today. Jaime needed you and I think you needed him just as badly.”

He stood in the doorway, mind reeling. He wasn’t sure what to think let alone how to respond so he remained silent for several moments, staring at a spot a few inches above Keira’s head, before finally nodding and returning her smile with a strained one of his own. Rubbing his hands on his jeans, Tom took a breath and motioned at the door. “I should probably be on my way. Thank you, again, for having me. I know it’s not been easy for you, any of this.”

It was Keira’s turn to nod quietly.

Still unsettled, Tom turned and walked slowly down the hall and towards the front door. Bidding a silent goodnight to his sleeping son upstairs, he disappeared into the cool evening and set on his way home.

The next several weeks were a blur of activity, Tom spent several hours in and out of both Luke and his agent’s offices, working to finagle his upcoming schedule into something more home based. He had put the idea out there or maybe a theatre production, of at all possible, something that would allow him the flexibility of bringing his son more steadily into his life. Honestly, Tom would have been grateful for anything more locally based. He’d spent so much of the last several years running the world over and as exciting and challenging as that had been, he’s missed the comfort and steadfastness of home and of his family. With Jaime now in his life, it would be a good time to finally, truly start putting down roots.

Jaime appeared to be thriving in his new school. He’d made friends as easily as breathing and was consistently full of stories and ideas on his frequent calls and visits with Tom. It warmed Tom’s heart to see and hear his son doing so well. There were moments still when he could see the shadow of grief on Jaime’s face and Tom knew it was something that would take time to heal and fade. If it ever fully did.

The first weekend of October found Jaime in London with Tom, one of the first days they’d been able to plan a day trip between the boy’s school schedule and Tom’s own. His son had been a whirlwind of excitement on the drive up, asking Tom hundreds of questions about the places they passed and about their plans for the day. It would be his first proper meeting with his Gran, as he’d taken to calling Diana on the few phone calls they’d shared, and his Aunty Emma. Tom wasn’t sure who was more excited for the outing, his mother and sister or his son.

He’d been grateful at Emma’s forethought in bringing a camera for this outing. Tom would cherish the photo she’d captured of the way Jaime’s face lit when he first laid eyes on his grandmother and the way his mother’s echoed the same for as long as he lived. He’d hugged his baby sister tightly when she’d given it to him, professionally framed, a few months later as a Christmas gift and it hung in a place of pride in his living room.

They’d spent that day wandering around Covent Garden and, for the most part, they had been left well enough alone. A few braver fans had approached, shyly asking for autographs (which he agreed to with a smile) and photographs (which he declined). Jaime had been, thankfully, kept occupied by his aunt and grandmother though he did ask Tom if any more of his friends would be coming with them.

Jaime had been exhausted on the drive back to Keira’s that evening and Tom had, briefly, considered insisting that Jaime stay at his overnight and then heading back the following morning. Keira wouldn’t have fought him on it, of that Tom was certain, but a quiet voice in the back of his head yelled ‘too soon.’ So he’d buckled Jaime into the backseat of the car and driven his son home.

The day trips and visits happened with fair regularity as autumn turned to winter. Jaime enjoyed seeing the Christmas lights and decorations lining London in mid-December. And he’d been excited to finally meet Tom’s sister, her husband and their little girl, “my cousin!” he’d exclaimed when Tom had picked him up Christmas Day and driven him to Diana’s. Jaime had again babbled excitedly on the way home how he’d loved being able to meet his Auntie Sarah as well as his uncle and older cousin but that he’d been happier seeing his Gran and Auntie Emma (it was something Emma had lorded over Sarah for months after, much to Tom and Diana’s amusement).

January saw Tom flitting about trying to hammer out his remaining unsettled commitments for the coming year and with school in full swing, the occasional weekend visit from Tom took the place of outings. And February had been just as packed for both father and son, though Tom had been thrilled to receive the handmade card from Jaime in celebration of his birthday. He’d showed it off proudly to Luke, Emma, his mum, and anyone else who’d stopped by his home long enough for him to pull it out. Benedict had laughed good-naturedly, a knowing look in his eye.

By early March Tom found himself with time on his hands once more. He’d sat then with Jaime and Keira to discuss the possibility of an overnight stay in London. Jaime brightened as understanding dawned and it had taken a fair bit of discussion with Keira to figure out the when and how of the matter. A bank holiday weekend seemed to fit the bill and once the dates were set, Jaime had been absolutely giddy, talking of nothing else. And so Tom found himself pacing the living room in anxious anticipation two weeks later, waiting for his phone to ping once more.

Tom glanced again at the watch on his wrist and then out of the living room window. Keira had sent a text nearly half an hour before saying their train was arriving at Kings Cross. He’d insisted on going to pick them up from the station (as his initial he’d offer to drive up and pick Jaime up from Keira’s had been dismissed as unnecessary. “I’ve got plans to stay with friend up north and this would be on the way.”) but once again Keira had turned the offer down, insisting that Jaime would enjoy taking the Tube and the walk would do them both good. So he had relented, and watched the minutes tick by as he paced an ever growing groove in the floor by the living room window.

He sighed, and dropped himself onto the couch, grabbing his phone from the table beside it. This weekend had been months in the making and Tom had agonized over every last bit of it. They’d gone on countless day trips, both in and around London, but this would be the first time Jaime would be staying after. They’d spent some time in Tom’s house between activities, but never longer than a handful of hours. Yes, he had stayed with Jaime at Keira’s when she’d had an unexpected trip up north to help out her younger sister. But that had been in territory Jaime was familiar and comfortable with.

Emma had teased him mercilessly when he’d called and voiced his concerns two nights prior. All good-naturedly, but teased nonetheless. “Seriously Tom, it’s not like you haven’t done this before. It’s just on your turf this time.”

“Yes,” he’d challenged back. “It’s here and he’s never spent more than a night away from Keira’s before. What if he…”

“Tom, stop, please. You’ll give yourself grey hair worrying yourself like this. He will be fine and if he’s not, you’ll be there. You’re his dad, Tom, he trusts you.”

He took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair (god he’d need to get it cut soon it really was getting to be a touch too long). Emma was right, he was being ridiculous. Tom let out a soft, quiet sigh. “How did you get to be so smart?”

Emma’s laugh echoed in his ear. “Sarah is an excellent role model.”

“Alright, brat,” he answered with a chuckle of his own, “I see how it is.”

“I just call it like I see it, brother mine.” They both laughed. “So just take a deep breath and run with it. You have this and you know Mum and I are only a call away if you get out of your depth.”

He ended the call, still nervous but bolstered enough to relax. And then he’d spent an inordinate amount of time straightening his already neat home. Not that he though Jaime would care overmuch, but he’d had this innate desire to show Keira he could do this. That he was ready and capable to be the father Jaime needed. The father he deserved.

And now that the house was near spotless and groceries, movies, and activities for the evening had been acquired and set into motion, all Tom could do was pace back and forth like a madman, lost in his own thoughts. It therefore came as a surprise when his mobile pinged ten minutes later. God had it only been ten minutes? He glanced at the screen and found Keira’s message letting him know they’d alighted at the nearby Underground stop and were beginning to make their way towards the house. She’d verified the address with him and, when he confirmed, messaged they’d see him shortly.

Hand buried in his hair, Tom padded towards the front door and waited for the front gate bell to ring. When it did five minutes later, he quickly buzzed them through the black metal gate lining his property and pulled the heavy wooden front door open.

“Daddy!” Jaime squealed, breaking free of Keira’s grasp and darting towards the opened door. Tom caught him mid leap and spun the small boy around, his own face breaking into a happy grin.

“Hey buddy.” He kissed Jaime’s head and released him, turning his attention back to Keira who was making her way up the stone path, Jaime’s small rolling case in one hand and her own larger in the other.

Tom stepped from the house to help take Jaime’s case and invite Keira inside. She smiled warmly at him and followed him through the front door. Jaime had descended into the living room, climbing onto the sofa and talking a mile a minute about his trip. Tom smiled at the boy indulgently and turned to ask Keira if she would like a coffee or a tea.

She smiled warmly and waved him off. “I have a train to catch. But I wouldn’t say no to use of your loo.”

He’d showed her to the downstairs bathroom before padding back into the living room. Jaime pushed himself up at Tom’s re-entry and asked excitedly about the evening’s plans before transitioning into a detailed description of the movie he’d seen two nights prior that he thought Tom would love. When Keira returned several minutes later, she kissed Jaime goodbye and told him, in no nonsense terms to behave for his father and then, with a warm smile, to have fun.

She smiled at them. “I’ll see you both Sunday evening.” And with a hand on her case, made her way out the door and into the early afternoon light.

Tom turned back towards Jaime, who’d once again spread himself out on the sofa. “Have you had lunch yet?”

Jaime shook his head. “We had snacks on the train. But I wasn’t hungry then.”

“Are you hungry now?” Jaime nodded. “Alright.” Tom clapped his hands together. “Let’s get you fed and then we can get the afternoon started.”

Jaime bounced off the sofa and followed his father as he made his way into the kitchen. Ladened with sandwiches, crisps, and soda (“Just this once,” Tom admonished with a conspiratorial wink), the pair made their way back into the living room. They ate in companionable silence and once finished (and their dishes cleaned and put away), Tom turned and asked Jaime if he wanted to head to the park for a bit. To which the boy readily agreed.

Appropriately bundled against the chill, father and son made their way from the house and towards the nearby park. They spent the next hour and a half wandering around before Jaime spotted the nearby playground and excitedly dashed towards it, leaving Tom near panic in his wake.

Heart in his throat, Tom caught up with his impatient child and made his disapproval of the boy’s rash action known. “You cannot run off like that, Jaime. It’s not safe and you very nearly scared me to death. You need to stay with me when we are out and let me know when there is something you want to do. You cannot run off. Ever. Have I made myself clear?”

Lip slightly trembling, Jaime nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“I know,” Tom breathed, his heart slowing as the panic and adrenaline drained from his system. He smiled softly at Jaime. “Let’s go play for a bit now, alright?”

Jaime nodded and together they made their way into the fenced in play area. Jaime took great pleasure in climbing the metal climbing tower and then later swinging far higher than Tom was honestly comfortable with, on the nearby swing set. And when Jaime pointed at the open swing beside him, Tom didn’t hesitate to join him.

Tom was winded by the time Jaime had had his fill. He’d not swung on a swing set in far too long and he was clearly out of practice. Hand in hand, they lumbered their way back through the park and towards home.

A quick shower for Tom and bath for Jaime later, found both back in the living room in their pajamas. Jaime lay on his stomach on the floor, looking through the movies Tom had chosen for the planned movie marathon, his brow furrowed. The expression was so utterly Eliza that it ceased Tom’s heart. He brushed away the painful and fruitless desire the bubbled in him for this to have been a true family night. The three of them; Tom, Jaime, and Eliza preparing for an evening in after a long work week.

Tom sighed. That was something they would never have and the knowledge of it burned. But there was nothing he could do about it, no matter how badly he wanted. Clearing his throat, he smiled warmly at his son. “Anything to your liking?”

Jaime held up a Blu-ray case and smiled.

“Excellent choice.” Tom placed the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and bent to take the case from Jaime. Movie set up, Tom lowered himself onto the floor beside his son, settling into the nest of blankets they’d set up for the evening. He set the volume on the television low enough so he’d be sure to hear the buzz of the gate when the pizzas he ordered arrived.

They made it through nearly three films (and one and a half pizza’s between them) before Jaime’s eyes began to droop alarmingly. The boy had curled on his side against Tom, head half buried in the pillow he clinched tightly. Taking advantage of this, Tom gingerly pushed himself to his feet and padded towards the kitchen to put the remaining pizza into the refrigerator. He switched off the television, placing the remotes back onto the coffee table, before bending to pick his sleeping son off the floor.

Jaime stirred and buried his head into Tom’s chest at the motion before settling back into a doze. It was a bit perilous trying to navigate his way upstairs with Jaime little more than dead weight in his arms, but somehow he’d managed. Rousing Jaime to clean his teeth was a struggle but once managed, Tom was able to get Jaime into the guest bed and settled back into sleep. He made quick work of cleaning his own teeth and climbing into bed himself. Grabbing the latest potential script he’d been sent from his bedside table, Tom settled back against the pillows behind him and read until his eyes grew heavy and sleep lulled him into her alluring grasp.

The sound of his bedroom door creaking open startled Tom out of sleep what felt like only moments later. Soft footsteps echoed on the wooden floor as he pushed himself up, blinking in the darkness. Confusion flooded through him until belatedly understanding dawned. “Jaime?” He asked, his voice gravely with sleep.

He heard a soft snuggling as the edge of the bed dipped and his son crawled beside him. “Can’t sleep,” he murmured, burying his face into Tom’s chest.

“Bad dream?”

Tom felt Jaime’s head shake against his chest and waited for his son to add more. When Jaime didn’t speak after several long minutes, Tom simply wrapped his arm around the boy and let him settle quietly against him.

He couldn’t say how long they lay there, his son curled tightly against him. The feeling blooming in his chest at the pure and simple trust Jaime has for him was near indescribable. Tom wanted to say something to the boy, offer him words of comfort and of understanding. But everything that came into his head fell woefully short. So he remained silently, gently rubbing his hand up and down Jaime’s small back.

Time crawled by in inches as Tom watched Jaime’s breathing slow by degrees until it settled into the quiet, even rhythm of sleep. Once he was sure Jaime was out, he shifted slightly, moving the boy’s small head from his chest and onto the pillow beside him. Tom waited on bated breath as Jaime shifted, his face scrunching, and then relaxed.

Leaning his own head back against his pillow, Tom stared up at the ceiling. Every once in a while he felt Jaime shift in his sleep and he leant down, kissing his sandy hair. Tomorrow would be full of excitement; a trip to the zoo with Emma and then, if Jaime wasn’t too tired, possibly a movie at the Odeon, but for now Tom was content. He doubted he would ever reach the point where he felt completely at ease in this new role of father, but Tom knew without a doubt he wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.

#Tom Hiddleston #Tom Hiddleston rpf #Becoming #original Hiddleston child character (Jaime Hiddleston)#angst #grief #Dad!Tom #winterisakiller writes

88 notes · View notes

corancoranthemagicalman · 3 years

Note

💜🌻💜🌻💜🌻💜🌻💜🌻💜

It's been a rough day and I can't words but please accept these flowers 🌻 I look forward to continuing our slow bromance tomorrow if work doesn't destroy me again

-🐧🌻

Hey!! Sorry that today was so rough for you dear :(( I hope tomorrow is better on your spirits. Please, take this as encouragement:

💕🌺💕🌺💕🌺💕

Sighing, Dean dropped his keys into the small glass dish that rested in the hallway. Sam had been adamant about them having a damn key dish. Dean half thought it was ‘cause Sammy only ever knew about domesticity outside of the bunker from films. Not that Cas and Jack were any better.

“Honey, I’m home,” Dean called out, moving further into the house. He peered into the living room and saw it empty. His shoulders felt heavy as he dragged himself over to the couch.

Dean untied his boots, joints aching from work. Maybe he was on the healthy side of forty, but a long life of brutal work made his back pop and his bones creak like an old house. In a sense, Dean thought he was an old house. Creaking, moaning, and filled with ghosts.

Dragging a hand over his face, Dean stood up after he finished removing his boots. He carried them back into the hallway before making a beeline toward the kitchen. The lights were still on, though Cas left them on often for him when he knew Dean would be working late.

The tension in his shoulders eased at the sight of a yellow sticky note plastered to the front of the microwave. Cas’ neat scrawl informed him of a plate placed in the microwave and ready for reheating. Dean was supposed to be home for dinner this time, dammit. He had been working late nights all week. He missed his family.

Swallowing thickly, Dean set the plate to reheat. He didn’t even check to see what Cas had prepared. Dean rolled his shoulders, stretching his neck as the plate slowly spun on its course. Before the timer called out, Dean ended the microwave’s cycle. He didn’t know if Cas and Jack were already in bed. No need to wake them from the microwave’s blaring.

The plate was warm in his hands, a small helping of vegetables and something Dean could identify as pork loaded on top. Smiling to himself, Dean grabbed a fork and knife from the drawer beside him and carried his small dinner over to the table.

It was lonely. Dean hated that thought. He was sitting in his home that he bought with his husband for them and their kid. But he was sitting beside an empty chair and looking across at Jack’s obnoxiously painted chair. Cas insisted the kid pick out his own, and it was horrendous to look at. The entire kitchen was mix and matched from their own taste to the housewarming gifts but it was theirs.

And here Dean was, looking at it alone.

Sighing, Dean pushed his plate aside and rested his face in his hands. God, he couldn’t even eat. Couldn’t even with his family. He wouldn’t trade this life for the world—and hell if he wasn’t afraid that sometime in his future he would have to make that choice. He was a damn lucky son of a bitch to have this. To have a family waiting for him at home and a job that he wasn't afraid he’d never make it back from.

But Harry was working him like a horse, and the shop had been non-stop all week after that accident on the highway. And Dean was fucking tired. He wanted to eat dinner with his fucking family. Didn’t he deserve that? Hadn’t he earned that?

Steps sounding from behind Dean drew his attention. He raised his face from his hands and turned to see Cas moving toward him. There were bags under his eyes and his hair looked ragged. His smile was soft and gentle like April rain. He was still beautiful; still Castiel Winchester.

“Hey,” Dean whispered, holding his hand out for Cas to take. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“No,” Cas answered quickly, taking Dean’s hand and drawing closer. Stepping into his space, Dean moved his legs apart to accommodate Cas. He took the invitation and stepped even closer until his form was towering over Dean. Cas took Dean’s face in his hands and Dean felt any remaining tension melt away as if Cas still had some grace stored up for just this occasion.

Humming, Dean closed his eyes. “Couldn’t sleep?” He teased lightly, peeling his eyes open to look into that ever startling blue gaze.

Cas’ lips quirked into a smile. “I can never sleep without you.” He whispered back just as gently.

Dean snorted a quiet laugh. “I know that’s a damn lie. You sleep like the dead and snore like a tractor.” He quipped, quirking his brow up at Cas.

The roll of Cas’ eyes and the twitch of his lips was what Dean had wanted anyway. Cas nodded his head, conceding to the point. “Perhaps,” he eventually said, “but I always sleep better with you near.”

“Me too,” Dean’s throat felt dry, clenching around his words. He was surprised anything came out at all. “Cas,” he looked up at his husband, pleading, “I’m so sorry. I wanted to be home tonight. I did. I swear to God, Cas, I tried—”

“Dean,” Cas stilled him, rubbing his thumbs soothingly against Dean’s cheeks. “I know.” He leaned forward, gently kissing Dean’s forehead in a fluttering kiss. “We know.” Cas’ reassured him, speaking exactly what Dean needed to hear. He always knew what Dean needed to hear.

Smiling, Cas captured Dean’s lips gently, soothing the ache in Dean’s heart with the firm pressure of his lips against his own. He pulled back, still wearing that same smile. “When you get the weekend off, we’ll go up to Sam and Eileen’s. Take a breather.” Cas offered.

“Sounds damn near perfect,” Dean inhaled slowly. “As soon as I get the damn weekend off.”

“You will,” Cas spoke confidently. “This too shall pass.” He raised that dominating eyebrow, eyes filled with mirth. “You have faced off against worse things than an all-nighter.”

Dean sighed, nodding. “I know, but,” he chewed at his lip. He knew Cas would never judge him, but being vulnerable like this? It was something he was still working on. On communicating. On being open. “Usually with all of that shit I had you right beside me.”

Cas hummed, combing his fingers through Dean’s hair as his right hand moved to rest on Dean’s shoulder. “You might recall that there were several occasions in our lives where I was not beside you in the physical sense.”

Dean felt his eyes burn at those memories mixed with the sensation of Cas’ palm against his shoulder. His throat clenched and he swallowed harshly again. “Cas,” he began but to no avail.

“It’s true,” Cas spoke firm but gentle. “However, that does not mean there was a moment where I was not beside you.” Taking his usual seat at the kitchen table, Cas reached out. His palms were warm as they captured Dean’s hands in his own.

“We walk this life together now, Dean.” Cas finished this statement by bringing Dean’s ring to his lips, pressing the softest of kisses right there on the cool metal. “Through the bad and the good. And if that means you miss dinner and I have to cook, then so be it.” His voice was so factual, so sure. Dean couldn’t imagine Cas’ confidence in him ever wavering, since Dean could not recall a moment where Cas’ confidence in him ever had.

Dean pulled Cas’ hand to his lip, returning the kiss to Cas’ band. “I know.” His voice felt like it scraped against the roof of his mouth. “I love you so damn much, Cas.”

Cas smiled, small on his face but bright in its illuminance. “And I you.” He whispered, sighing with what Dean damn well hoped was content.

“Daddy?” A small voice called to them and an even smaller figure appeared in the entryway of the kitchen. Jack’s sleepy voice rumbled with a yawn before his eyes caught sight of Dean. He blinked in an attempt to fight off the sleep, blue eyes widening with delight. “Poppa!”

He raced over the tile floor of the kitchen, nearly sliding in his socks. Dean could hear the admonishment Cas had yet to say. Instead, Dean held out his arms for Jack and took the five-year-old in his grasp.

“Heya, slugger.” Dean grinned, kissing the top of Jack’s head. “What are you doing up, little guy?”

“I was thirsty.” Jack yawned, hugging his arms around Dean’s neck. “I didn’t know you’d be home or else I’d have waited up for you!”

Cas hummed under his breath, looking doubtful but no less adoring at Jack. He turned to Dean’s forgotten plate of food. “Why don’t I reheat this again and get Jack that glass of water?” He offered, grabbing the plate and standing.

Dean smiled gratefully at his husband before Jack’s chattering drew his attention again.

“And Mia said there was no such thing as angels but she’s wrong. She doesn’t even think vampires are real, Poppa.” Jack huffed, fiddling with the hem of Dean’s dirty shirt.

“What have we said about talking to your friends about monsters?” Dean furrowed his brow, looking at Jack.

Jack sighed dramatically. “It’s my secret. Like I’m Peter Parker.”

“Just like that.” Dean pinched his cheek, watching Jack squirm in his lap. “What did Leo think of the drawing you gave him? That happened today, right?” He worried at his cheek, fearing that he would have lost himself to the job. God, had that ever been his fear. Losing his family to the fucking job. He just hadn’t thought that job could ever be a normal one.

“Leo loved it!” Jack clapped his hands, taking the cup of water Cas carefully handed to him. “Leo said that he thought it was awesome. I think Leo’s awesome too.”

Dean smiled, watching as Jack drank some of his water slowly. He was growing up too damn fast. “Leo sounds like a good friend.”

The microwave beeped and Cas set the plate in front of Dean before taking his own seat again. “Leo’s mother asked if we had any plans for Memorial Day. Her husband is planning on doing a barbeque, and they’re inviting a few neighbors and friends over.”

“Do we need to bring anything?” Dean grabbed his fork, shoveling some of the green beans into his mouth. He took care not to disturb Jack on his lap.

“She said that’s not required, but it would be appreciated.” Cas hummed. “I know you are traditionally opposed to offering vegetables to our neighbors, but the tomatoes have just begun to ripen and I think we could make something nice with them.”

Dean attempted to hide his smile with another shoveling of food. “Sounds good to me, Cas.” His heart fluttered within his chest, the ache of today completely forgotten in the warmth of his husband and kid. Even if he didn’t get to have dinner with them, this was his damn family. “Sounds perfect.”

#ask c #🐧🌻 anon #anon #destiel #spn #ficlet

5 notes · View notes

scrawler-jay · 3 years

Text

of mice and artblock

So, midterms happened and I abandoned this blog for a while. But now I’m back, and I come bearing mice.

I’ve been really struggling with finding subjects I like to draw. I’m happy to work on skeleton studies until Judgment Day to better understand anatomy, but I know I need to balance “homework” art with “for fun” art, or else risk losing motivation for learning to draw -- and I’m so used to writing fiction at this point that no subject really appeals to me artistically unless it’s got 5,000+ words of story attached (or at least some narrative/character ideas, yanno -- something for my brain to pick at). The obvious solution is to draw concept art and characters from my written stories, but I feel really intimidated by that because I’m such a beginner artist that nothing I create now will do justice to the vision I have in my head.

I need art OCs and concepts – things that I will only draw art of, and have never written a story about. Stuff that doesn’t have to match a previously established, written story, and that I can change as I learn more and my skills improve.

I ended up drawing a bunch of mice.

This was initially just a whim. Human anatomy requires a lot of skill to pull off, especially faces and hands, but mice felt more beginner-friendly to me. Admittedly, I was going for a more cartoony style as opposed to photorealism, so if you’re looking at this from a realism perspective then these are pretty poor mice. However, I don’t feel ashamed of them, which I am taking as a good sign.

I kept drawing one mouse over and over. I ended up calling him Leo just because it was funny – “leo” refers to lions, but here Leo is just a little mouse. But of course, giving him a name (and a gender, incidentally) is the start of a story. Via a flight of fancy, I got it into my head that I wanted to do a painting of Leo trying to catch a big snowflake. I made some thumbnails of what I wanted the scene to look like, and then cut out a roughly 7 inch x 7 inch piece of watercolor paper from a big sheet that I had under my bed, sketched the scene in pencil, and then finished with watercolor pencils (and a white gel pen for the snowflakes). The process probably took 2.5 to 3 hours.

So, now the lore is that Leo is a mouse living in a little house in an old tree at the edge of the woods, and he wears a red scarf. I did not like this painting. It seemed over-saturated and the colors didn’t quite work the way I wanted them to. I ended up watching a tutorial on color theory, and decided to redo the painting using my newfound knowledge of color schemes. I used this color palette tool to get an idea of what kinds of colors would look good together, and settled on a complementary scheme with bluish green and brownish red.

And then, everything went wrong.

I tried to redo the painting, still working traditionally. I rushed the sketch because I was so eager to get right into working with color. This time, to avoid over-saturation, I used watercolors out of a pan rather than in pencil form. Mixing the colors in the lid of the pan took a really long time because I was so picky about shades, and because I continued rushing I didn’t allow the layers enough time to dry. Leo’s scarf (now green instead of red) bled into his russet fur, and the mailbox was the wrong shape, and I tried to erase a pencil line and created a dark blotch over an area that was supposed to be white with snow – and then I gave up.

I had downloaded Krita, a piece of digital drawing/painting software, a while ago, but hadn’t had any success using it because my desk isn’t big enough to accommodate both a laptop and my small tablet. Using my lap to hold the tablet was an exercise in frustration, and I knew so little about how digital art works that I just felt really overwhelmed and lost whenever I opened the program.

However, Krita (like most digital art software) has an undo button that I find very alluring, so I decided to try it again, now on a shiny new desk from Ikea that is actually big enough to support tablet and laptop together. I think just the space on the desk really made all the difference, but also I was determined to get this artwork of a mouse to a place where I felt satisfied with it.

I spent a solid 5 hours working on what ended up being a very simple colored drawing of a mouse catching a snowflake outside his little house. I barely blended anything at all, and there’s no light source that required me to shade anything – it’s just flat color. However, I really like these colors, and I think I did well (for an absolute beginner). I want to go back and add textures/shading to give an impression of depth, but I'm not sure how.

Leo – like all of my figures – feels really stiff, so I also want to work on gestures/studies of mice doing things. And, thanks to the popularity of mice as lab animals and pets, there are way more reference photos of mice than I expected! Most refs depict the house mouse, Mus musculus, but I did find the work of a wildlife photographer named Dean Mason who spent 15 years photographing harvest mice (micromys minutus).

Unfortunately, all of the prior artwork in this post I had drawn almost purely from imagination, and I think it shows. I studied two mice from photos in pencil, then erased the lines until they were barely visible and tried to do the fur texture in ink (with a dip pen, so there is some unevenness when the pen was extra inky).

Left is my first attempt doing the fur texture. I was more cautious with layering pen strokes, so you can see the lines of strokes fairly evenly. Right is my 2nd attempt, where I was bolder with the pen. I like these mice more than the one I created in the digital painting; these ones (especially the right) feel more Beatrix Potter-ish, which is a vibe I like.

Do I want to go back and fix the anatomy in my digital art of Leo? Yes. I also want to take another stab at doing this piece traditionally, but this time, I'd go monochrome and try to do everything in brown. However, part of me is exhausted from drawing ten million snowflakes and does not want to relive that experience with a gel pen -- I've already done it once with a tablet pen, and that was enough.

I have a hazy, far-off goal of creating a comic of Leo having adventures with another mousy friend, but that’s so far in the future that it’s not worth spending time considering right now. In the nearer future, however, Leo’s friend might become a reality – I know he’s an albino mouse (name TBD) who either escaped from a drug-testing facility (I loved The Secret of NIMH movie as a kid) or else is a pet who was dumped into the wild by a human owner who no longer wanted him. Leo is outgoing and adventurous, and this friend is shy and cautious.

#beginner artist #OC art #mouse #art

2 notes · View notes

timelock97 · 4 years

Text

Game Changer

Epilogue: What Time Will Do

Word Count: 5283

Warnings: Language, ADULT CONTENT (18+) [will be tagged]

_________________________________________

“How does it feel?” Leon whispers in my ear as he squeezes my hip over my dress. “Finally being my wife.”

I hum as we sway to the song playing for our first slow dance as a couple, one hand resting in his while one of his hands rests on my waist and mine rests on his chest. “I think it feels pretty damn good, but now you’re actually stuck with me, so no take backsies.”

He laughs at that, spinning me out and away from him before pulling me back into his chest again. He sighs, leaning forward to tease a kiss on my lips, whispering against them. “Oh darling, I would never do that.”

I smile, leaning in to seal our lips together for what feels like the millionth time tonight.

When we pull away, he lets out a soft sigh. “I think tonight has gone exceptionally well.”

“Indeed-”

“Who would have thought we could get everyone out here in Galar, it didn’t rain like the forecast predicted, they were able to clear and clean the field for today, and we have not had any unexpected guests.”

“Are you sure? I think there are a couple people from Team Yell that showed up-”

“Love-”

“You know they did-”

Leon laughs softly, “They aren’t ruining anything.”

I shake my head and brush my nose against his, “And it looks like Caroline and Raihan will keep the region from falling apart while we are gone for two weeks on a honeymoon.”

“Say goodbye to paperwork, meetings, and patients and alola to, well, the Alola region.”

I pull back, smirking, “I still want to know how close Alola is to Hawaii-”

“Can’t you just enjoy our trip-”

“My curiosity is piqued!”

Leon laughs again, spinning me out before dipping me as the song comes to an end. He brings us both back up into a kiss and mutters a soft “I love you,” into my ear.

The two of us then take turns with our own parents, me with my dad and him with his mom.

My dad sighs as we sway side to side, “Can’t believe you’re married now.”

“Soon you will be having to worry about grandbabies-”

“Please don’t, I still have a kid to get through highschool.”

I let out a laugh as we sway, after a minute I ask, “Are you happy, like with everything?”

“I wish you were closer to home, but I know you enjoy living out here, and I also don’t blame you.” My dad’s eyes drift about the area, eyes darting past the tented room. “But I think you and Leon will end up having Aiden come and spend the summer with you from how he has been talking to Hop.” We turn and look at the two, Aiden has a Goomy perched on his shoulder while Hop lifts his Rotom to show him his latest battle strategy.

“I knew they would be good friends, but what will you do if he decides he wants to move out here?” I tease, thinking about how I had been trying to convince my own parents to move out here after retiring.

“We will figure it out,” he mutters, chuckling. We sway for a few more minutes, my dad pulling me into a hug as the song finally comes to a close.

Leon reaches for me, his hair swaying side to side against his back. It had grown about five inches below his shoulders, just enough to style. We both grab a glass to call a toast. “We would like to thank everyone here for coming, for celebrating this wonderful day with us.”

“It has been a crazy year, and with that, we could not ask for a better day to spend with all of you here.”

“So, a toast to great friends, amazing family, and a future full of promises.” Leon calls out, making everyone cheer and clink glasses with one another.

“Now! Let’s all enjoy ourselves!” I call out, the music changing to a more upbeat song and I reach forward to grab my brother from the crowd, who grabs Marnie, who grabs Piers and so forth. The small dance floor is filled with people Leon and I could not live without, dancing and laughing together in one place.

Raihan manages to drag me to the side to hug me separately, and give me a few notes about places to go in Alola, only for us to be dragged back again. Leon managing to keep me within arms reach the whole evening, the world melting away.

As the night draws to a close, a couple of last minute pictures are taken before everyone starts making their way to Wedgehurst, or at least those who hadn’t left already. However, Leon and I instead walk back to his childhood home, finding Aiden and Hop sleeping peacefully on the couch.

Leon takes my hand and leads me upstairs to his room, giving us a little bit more privacy before we take a taxi to the airport to take a private flight to Alola overnight. He pulls me close to him, cupping my face and kissing me deeply as his other hand rests on my hip holding me there.

“Leon,” I whisper against his lips. He hums in response before leaning down to kiss me again. “Lee, baby,” I try again, eyes not wanting to open.

“Yeah, love?”

“We need to change so we can head to the airport.” I whisper, hands resting against his dress shirt, holding onto his slightly untied tie.

He hums, nodding before kissing the top of my head. “I can, I can unzip your dress, darling.” He whispers, but before I can turn around he stops me. “But first, before I do, I just want to tell you how beautiful you look. Arceus, (Y/N), you look so fucking beautiful and I can’t even fathom how lucky I got to say that you’re mine for the rest of our days.”

I lean up and capture his lips again, wrapping my arms around him and tangling my fingers into his hair that had fallen out of the french braid. We kiss for what seems like forever, but eventually we have to pull away. I press a few kisses against his cheeks and neck sleepily as I feel his hands slide down my back and unzip the fabric. He dips his head until his lips meet my jaw, running his teeth and eventually trailing gentle kisses there as his fingers brushing against my bare skin as he gently pulls the dress to help me out of it. I place a hand over my chest, keeping the fabric from falling too far. “Leo…” I mutter, making him sigh.

“I know, wait until we are out of town.” He chuckles as he takes a step back. He cups my cheeks before kissing my lips softly before he lets go to shrug off his jacket to hang up.

I turn around and shift out of the dress, the white gown pooling at my feet. I step out of it and unclip my bra, swapping it out for a more comfortable one and grab one of Leon’s tee-shirts to pull over my head. After I pull on a pair of sports leggings and fluffy socks, I turn and look at Leon. What I find makes me laugh, “Need help, hot shot?”

Leon is laying on his back in bed in only his boxers. He groans softly, muttering out an “I’m tired.”

I giggle as I walk over, moving the pile of clothes so that they are on top of him.

He groans loudly again before covering his face with his arm. “Why did we decide to fly out tonight?”

“Because we could sleep on the plane and have the day in Alola to explore. Of course that will be after we get settled in our house on the water.”

He hums at the thought before finally sitting up, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand. I shake out his shirt, handing it to him before taking the discarded dress clothes and hang it up beside my dress. It only takes another five minutes for him to be ready, our bags already waiting downstairs for us.

I take his hand and lead him, quick to say goodbye to Hop and Aiden who only mutter quiet goodbyes in their sleepy states before Leon and I are out the door and walk to the taxi that was already waiting for us.

Neither of us expect the other to fall asleep in the cab, but a soft knock on the window causes me to jump, which scares Leon, his arm tightening around me protectively.

“Sorry you two, but I need to get home to the wife and you two need to go on that honeymoon.” The taxi driver smiles, opening the door a little wider.

Leon gives him a small, tired smile before standing, dragging me behind him. Steven and Felicia smile at Leon and I when we walk over and offer to take our bags. They each give us a hug before ushering us inside the private plane.

Leon and I settle in our seats, which is more of a couch than anything else. His arm finds its home around my shoulder and if it weren’t for the fact that I had to stay upright until we took off I would have just curled up in Leon’s lap.

The pilot tells us we will be on our way soon, my head lulls onto Leon’s shoulder and I sigh into his ear.

“Soon,” he whispers, the plane jolting as we begin backing up to take off. My mind gets fuzzy, in between needing to fall asleep and trying desperately to stay awake for a little bit longer.

When the plane finally levels out in the air, Leon doesn’t hesitate to move seats, making me whine before he just scoops me up and moves me with him. He settles into a group of seats that he can strategically recline but still puts his feet up on the seats in front of him while kind of cradling me so that I was mostly on top of him, keeping me close as possible. It’s only a matter of him settling completely with a soft, “I love you, baby,” before I fall asleep completely curled up on top of him and wedged against the wall.

“Alola!” A small group calls as we exit the plane hours late, comfey floating nearby “Welcome to Melemele. We are so happy to see you have arrived in one piece and hope that you enjoy your stay!” They place lei around our necks and before we can get much further, I see someone holding a sign with my and Leon’s name on it.

He smiles widely as we make our way over, tucking the paper under his arm. “Let me take you to your home away from home.” He motions us to a cart where two Tauros are at the front. We clamber on and settle as he starts to drive along. People smile and wave as we head up the main street, turning off onto another path that takes us along the ocean, breeze blowing our hair around us as we see the house down the hill.

The house is gorgeous. Nestled on the most quiet part of the island where the water is quiet and the Pokemon are still wild. It’s our little slice of paradise for the next two weeks. We have to walk down a long dock to get to the large bungalow. All the windows could be opened for easy access to the deck and the floor was nothing but tile. It was the perfect beachy feel with both wick furniture, ocean smoothed decorations, and soft painted walls on top of the gorgeous views from every angle. Leon and I were in love with it from the moment we laid eyes on it. Once our guide walked back down the dock, Lee did not hesitate to scoop me up and carry me back to the door, bumping it with his hip before walking inside the home.

“We literally have been here less than a two minutes and you have to carry me in-”

“You are supposed to carry the bride over the threshold!” He laughs before pulling me into his arms to kiss my lips softly

I hum into the kiss, arms wrapping around his neck as we stand there in the doorway. After a minute we pull away and I sigh, “Leo, I need to go hop in the shower.” I look up and bat my eyes at him. “Would you want to join me?”

Leon’s cheeks flush a soft shade of red and he rubs the back of his neck. “You go on ahead, I am going to explore the house and unpack our things-”

“Don’t unpack everything, I have things that I wanted to surprise you with-”

“Or how about I go into town and do a little shopping then we can make dinner- lunch? I actually don’t know what time it is.”

I sigh softly, quietly slipping off my shoes and setting them by the door. “You do you, love.” I call over my shoulder as I walk inside, finding the master bedroom with ease, the bed set against the back wall and the door to the bathroom with a large shower with multiple shower heads nestled into the back. Oh this trip would be one to remember.

~ADULT CONTENT AHEAD~

Slowly, the first week slipped by. Leon and I spend time by the water, snorkeling, swimming, and just watching the sun rise and fall. At some point the two of us hike up a side trail into the trees, taking notice of the Pokemon that come and watch us at the edge of the trees. It makes my heart warm, spending quality time with Leon as my partner for the rest of my life, to grow up and grow old with. I couldn’t be happier watching him in the early morning after we had woken up and see him interacting with the small, wild water Pokemon that came poking into our bathroom where a large tub had been placed by out in the open. They take too him like water, jumping into the bath and playing with him. I happily take pictures and send them to Raihan as a “We are doing great!” But there was something missing from our perfect honeymoon.

“I’m going to go get changed out of my suit, okay?” I call over my shoulder as I walk away from Leon who is toweling off his hair from our day spent swimming in the ocean.

He pulls the towel away from his head and lets it rest around his shoulders. Leon smiles and nods, “Sure, baby. I am going to pull the leftovers out of the fridge and reheat them. Maybe throw in a movie while we eat before we shower off?” His voice is sweet, and after spending all day with him out in the sun with his abs on full display, I can’t help but feel a little more hot and bothered under the Alolan rays.

I nod as I walk in, feet leaving wet footprints on the tile as I move from the back deck and inside to our room. I wait and watch Leon enter the house at the opposite end of the deck, smiling to myself at the fact that he would be in for a surprise soon. I bite my lip at the memory of Leon’s hands on me on our wedding night, and the fact that I had told him to wait. Now finally being on our honeymoon I thought we would revisit the feelings of that night, but no luck. We had spent so much time together but at the end of the day we hadn’t done it. Which we had been waiting to do while we were away so we could solely focus on us, and of course we had with everything we had been doing. If I was at all honest, I just didn’t know how to bring it up at this point.

I walk over to the dresser and rifle through the bottom drawer and pull out a set of lingerie that I had bought specifically for the occasion. The white, lacy number had soft decals around the breasts, double strapped in an interket pattern paired with a white cotton thong with lace decal and straps that attach to matching garters. Once on I look at my reflection, fluffing my hair and eventually tossing on one of Leon’s shirts which easily hid everything but the bottoms of the large garters. I smile at myself in the mirror before skipping down the hallway.

I find Leon in the kitchen, humming to himself while our favorite movie plays on the television screen, the title music looping from being on too long. I bite my lip as I take him in, Leon’s hair is pulled up into a ponytail and his shorts are dangerously low on his hips, skin tanned under the Alolan sun. I waltz up behind him and wrap my arms around his torso, making him hum happily as he taps away on his phone. I press a few soft kisses into his back and allow my hands to move on their own, one sliding up his front to his pec while the other falls south, nails scraping against his skin just gently enough. I bite my lip when I hear his breath hitch, thinking that maybe something would happen when the microwave beeps, making us jump in surprise.

Leon chuckles and detangles himself from my grasp moving over to grab dishes from the cabinet. “Uh,” his voice is nervous and his cheeks are slightly pink, “Why don’t you grab our drinks and start the movie and I’ll get the food, yeah?”

I hum, moving past him to grab a beer and a wine cooler from the fridge, wiggling my bottom at him as I do before looking over at him. I get the last glimpse of his eyes falling back to my face and putting on a nervous smile. “Sure thing, Leo.” I purr, walking past him and back into the living room. I settle on the couch and toss a blanket over my lap, smiling over at him as he comes back over, plopping down beside me and handing me my plate as I start the movie. Now I just have to pace this correctly.

Once we finished eating I cuddle into Leon’s side, his arm resting around my back and keeping me pressed against his side as he made comments about the movie. After a bit, the hunger for him had started growing, and I finally decided to just deal with it.

I whine in annoyance, catching his attention easily as I shift so that I wasn’t nestled in his side, stretching out my back. “Not comfy,” I whisper, making him laugh.

“Probably tight from swimming all day, I can rub your back if you want?” He looks at me with sweet eyes. I watch as they go wide as I move to straddle his lap, nuzzling my face into the crook of his neck and pressing feather-like kisses there. He sighs underneath me, hands moving to rub softly into my back, “Did you just want to cuddle closer, (Y/N)?”

“I always want to be as close as possible,” I tease, lazily kissing his jaw. I hear him sigh again, hands moving to trace my calves and run up and down my clothed back. I slowly start to nibble on his neck, sucking and nipping gently on his skin as his hands tighten on my waist.

Leon’s breath hitches before he lets out a soft chuckle, “You, uh, you wanting some attention, love?”

I hum, moving away from his neck to take a look at the new marks on his neck. I can see his eyes are darker, half lidded in contentment. His hand cups my face as I lean down to capture his lips in mine. Finally. I slide my hands around his neck and leave one there before tugging his hair out of its ponytail, tangling my other hand inside as one of his hands slide behind my head to angle my head better. We kiss lazily for a long time, and I finally decide to move our little make out session a step further. Slowly I move away from him to take a breath, kissing his lips a little more forcefully as I grind my core over his center.

Leon pulls away with a pop, his eyes falling to where our centers were meeting. He looks back at me as he smiles slyly “You sly little thing, this is what you wanted? Why not just tell me?”

“I figured,” I pause as a wave of pleasure runs up my spine. “I figured showing you was better.” I whisper, his hands sliding to cup under my thighs and moving me softly. I tug at his hair and bring his mouth back to mine as his hands slide up and cup my ass, and I can feel a smirk playing on his lips as his hands slide against the garters.

He pulls away gently, looking at me with a devilish smile, “Darling, what do you have on?”

I smile and run my nails down his chest. I lean forward and let my lips linger by his ear, speaking softly, “Why don’t you find out?”

I feel his hands squeeze my ass, making me moan in surprise before his hands move to grip my shirt and tug it up until he has it almost over my head. I hear how he groans and I pull the rest of the shirt off before tossing it somewhere. His eyes linger, tracing the details as he starts brushing his fingers against the fabric. He pulls me forward, a gasp leaving my mouth before it turns into a moan, his lips mouthing at the skin of my neck before dipping down and on top of my chest. I tangle my hands into his hair again, tugging as I start to grind again against him.

He moans softly, and that prompts me to detangle my hands and go to unhook my bra, but he stops me. “I, I want to do it,” he mutters, hands sliding around to attempt to unhook the clasps. The longer he takes the harder he bites down on my collar bone. I whimper, moving to unhook it quickly as he runs his tongue over the new mark. His hands are squeezing and helping me grind down on him, and I can definitely tell that he is hard underneath me. Leon dips his head down and sucks a nipple into his mouth as one hand leaves my ass and falls to the opposite breast. I throw my head back and moan, making him groan against my skin as he moves to bring my mouth back to his.

“Leon,” I whisper, listening to him groan softly. “As much as I would love to stay here and-”

“I’d rather plow you into the mattress.” He states, making me groan as he lifts me up, standing and kissing me deeply as he walks back to our bedroom. I tug at his hair gently, keeping him as close as possible. I feel him pause, and I feel him place a knee on the bed. Leon is crawling on the bed while I am koalaed to his front, the same way he pulls me into bed on nights he is gone too long, or like the first time I had come home to him in Galar.

He lays me down so that I am laying in the middle of the bed, head resting on the pillows. Leon changes his pace, suddenly trailing kisses down my body, he takes his time on my chest, making me moan and sigh contently. As he gets lower, I look down at him, watching as his amber eyes look back at me, a small smile forming on his lips. “Darling, I know I said I wanted to plow you into this mattress, but I think I want to do something else with you, if you would let me.”

“Whatever you want,” I whisper, blushing as he kisses my hip softly. He wiggles down further until he is settled between my legs, and before I can ask, he kisses the wet patch on my panties, making me shudder and whimper out.

He hooks his fingers into the sides of my panties, looking at me with soft eyes. “Can I take these off, baby?” I nod, but he waits, “Need to hear you, love.”

“Yes, baby.”

He hums, a soft “Good girl,” falling past his lips as he attempts to get my panties off. He attempts to get them and the attached garters of with one tug, but the popping of seams makes him pause and look at them in confusion.

I giggle, sitting up just enough to unclasp everything and point out what needed to come off.

Leon chuckles, “Why was that so complicated?” He settles between my legs, pushing me down in the process.

“Believe me, putting it on the first time was a pain in the-” A gasp falls past my mouth as Leon licks a stripe up my core, causing my hand to fly to his hair.

I feel him chuckle into my center, testing the waters on what I like and don’t like, what gets the most noises out of me. I feel his mouth suck around my clit as his fingers pump into my core, a loud moan falling past my lips as my back arches. I hear him laugh as he pulls away from me, moving an arm over my hips to keep me down. Leon hums into me, recognizing the way I shutter. A gasp falls past my parted lips as I pant, the knot in my stomach tightening.

“Lee…” I whimper, tugging at his hair.

“Gonna cum, love?” He muses, rolling his tongue around my clit, “Cum for me.”

I gasp again as my body shudders, mind falling blank at the way Leon is playing my body. I whimper as he continues to pump his fingers into me, moving his face against my thigh as I whimper. I mewl as he adds a second and third finger into my core, pumping relentlessly as he leaves hickies all over my thighs.

“I,” I whimper, turning my head into the pillow and biting the fabric as I try to close my legs around his hand. “I never usually, never usually try and-”

“Oh, so my pretty girl has never done anything like this? Does she like my fingers pumping in and out of her?” Leon coos, nipping at my stomach in between the question, causing me to clench around his fingers. It doesn’t take long before I am cumming again, and Leon places his mouth over my core again to lap it up.

I feel Leon move above me, lips soft as he kisses my skin. My eyes flutter open and I give a lazy smile to him as he comes level with me. “How are you feeling, love?” He kisses my cheek before kissing my lips softly.

“Like putty,” I giggle, moving to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into a kiss. It’s softer than how we had been on the couch. He lazily peppers my face in kisses, body still spasming gently as I come down from my high.

He presses a kiss to my temple, moving so his lips brush against my ear as he bucks his hips into me. I moan softly as I hear him chuckle, “You okay for one more round?” I open my mouth to respond but he continues to buck against my center, making me whimper and moan.

“Lee, I-”

“Use your words, baby, what do you want?”

I gasp again, tangling my hands into his hair as I tug his face back so that I can look at him. He smiles as he brushes his nose against mine. “You, I want you, Leon,” I whisper, using my feet to carefully push his swim trunks down as far as I can get them.

He kisses me softly, moving to reach to the side and grab something off the side table. He tears the wrapper of the condom before sitting up on his knees to push his shorts down and slip the condom on. He leans down and kisses me again, muttering a soft “Ready?” against my lips.

I nod, and thankfully he doesn’t wait any longer before sliding into me. We moan in unison, his head falling into the crook of my neck. He starts to pump in and out, keeping his pace slow unlike the last two times. He moves to bring one of my legs up for a better angle, making me moan loudly underneath him. He keeps the same pace, the knot in my stomach growing again already.

“You close, love, I don’t think I will last very long.” Leon groans, gasping as he pumps into her.

“Not to far behind you-” I whimper,

He sighs, lifting his head to meet my gaze. “You feel so good around me,” he whispers.

The two of us moan in unison as we hit our highs, my head lulling back as he rests his head against my chest. We lay like that for what feels like an hour, the two of us slowly catching our breaths. Eventually he pulls out of me with a groan and I wince at how over sensitive I am.

Leon rolls to the side sighing at the cool sheets.

“Okay,” I manage to whisper, “Have you been spying on me masterbating or some shit, that was way too good.”

Leon looks at me and smiles, “I know you, I think I should know how to make my wife feel like she’s on cloud nine.” He chuckles before pulling me into his side. His hand tangles into my hair as he rubs my head, my hand falling across his chest. “Holy shit.”

I immediately laugh, “That good?”

He shakes his head before kissing my forehead. “Better than what I imagined.”

I hum, kissing his chest before speaking, “Guess I will need to return the favor at one point-”

“I mean, you don’t have to…” He smiles softly, cheeks tinted pink.

I move to sit up a little, almost falling in the process at the fact that my legs still felt like jelly. I giggle as he holds me up, leaning down to kiss his lips softly, “I’ll get you when you least expect it.” After a few minutes lazily making out and cuddling, my ears pick up on the movie still playing in the living room.

“I think the heros are storming the castle-”

“Oh my God, Leon,” I giggle, laughing into his side. I sigh after a minute before shifting away from him.

“Where you going-”

“I have to pee, no need to get an infection.”

“Oh,” Leon chuckles, sitting up as I slowly slide out of bed, “Uh, I’ll go turn the movie off, then we can cuddle more?”

“Or you can leave it playing until the television turns off-”

“The television doesn’t turn off here on its own-”

“Then fuck the movie, stay there, I will be back!” I yell making Leon laugh loudly as I disappear, my heart happy and my body glowing. Oh, if this is the rest of my life I could die happy.

_________________________________________

A/N: WE ARE AT THE END! I hope you all enjoyed! ~CG

Masterlist

#cg writes #champion leon #champion leon x fem!reader #champion leon smut #champion leon fluff #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon leon #pokemon shield leon #pokemon sword leon #dandeleon #dande

88 notes · View notes