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lucabyte · 15 days

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i am looking at nohats au 👀 please share more

So! NoHats! I'm going to grab you and use this to ramble. A Lot.

The NoHats AU is @samhainian's it's just that I'm the strange little freak who takes the words said unto me and executes on them. But I can still do a little explainer on what our overall thoughts and vibes are. (And, that we are in fact propping up a little box with some cheese under it here. 🪤 Please (PLEASE) feel free to pick up what we're putting down.)

We're far from the only ones exploring a "what if siffrin fucking died" AU, though the main difference with NoHats is the placement of the death in the timeline. Instead of being 'Mal Du Pays Wins' or 'Act 6 encounter goes horribly wrong', the death is… Just after the (literal) falling action.

(This placement is because Sam is a comic book fan who thus has become used to characters being ripped away at the cruelest times by shitty writers. THANK FUCKING GOD adrienne is not that and isat is delightful yippieee, but, back on topic.)

Giving the party the full understanding of What Happened that you get by putting the death after black hole siffrin, but before the A6 encounter leaves an interesting gap to be filled. See, making Siffrin's death very much not Loop's fault means that… this once again reads (when not read as simply a tragedy...) as the universe doing what it sees fit to fulfull Loop's wish… Thus making Siffrin's death Loop's fault again, but only in their eyes. And only in a way they could express if they were honest about who they were…

And this is where having had excuse to waffle about my general Postcanon Loop thoughts the other day comes in handy, because Sam and I have that as our canon-compliant reading to begin with, NoHats plays off of a lot of the same readings of Loop's character. Namely: Uh Oh Somebody's Lying By Fucking Omission Again. (BECAUSE TO BE FAIR THIS TIME… HOW THE FUCK WOULD YOU HANDLE THAT?)

Now, neither Sam nor I are fanfic writers, so this has been a little bit trapped in our heads and DMs (and my unfinished art but,)

But our thoughts on how NoHats like… Goes.

Siffrin's death is peaceful, but that does not mean the aftermath of it is. I can't imagine the party takes it well, especially after understanding the circumstances of the Loops. (And, of note, in A5 where nobody had the discussion on what to do with each other's bodies should something happen…) But I'd imagine it traumabonds them somewhat (understatement of the century) and now knowing how the rest of the party feels, they resolve to travel together for the forseeable future.

The party track down Loop to deliver the terrible news, since they were clearly Siffrin's friend too, and invite Loop along to travel at least long enough to (let them grieve) get the burial over with. Loop, here, can be helpful in knowing what Siffrin would've wanted where the party would be at a loss. Loop, I think, takes a bit of a lead on the funerary aspects of it all, because, um. (Performing rites on your own body, huh?)

Then, as things are after a death, life just… Kind of has to continue on as normal. The party travel, pick up Nille, and get to know Loop as this mysterious new person. Maybe in this situation they might stay in Bambouche for a while to give Bonnie more stability since. They are probably taking it the worst. It would've come out of absolutely nowhere for everyone in the party obviously but god, for a kid? For A Kid?

It should be stated NoHats is not intended to be grimdark, just y'know. An exploration of grief. This is also why it's got a bit of a lopsided focus on Bonnie vs the rest of the party because hhrrhghghhghghhhghhghhh <- incoherent

Now, a crossroads.

How does the party discover Loop to be Siffrin? How long does it take. How much have the party embraced them as part of the family (especially with something as intense to bond over as this)?

There's the Odile option. Have her put it together and have to bring it up somehow. This could also be done by Isabeau, perhaps. He's smart. (which. God. If anything's the real Isabeau Torment Nexus it's this)

Then there's the other option batted around by Sam and I. The: The Universe Dislikes Duplicates option.

The items in the house that fzzt away when inspected. The Universe doesn't like there to be two of something, at least not when they're acknowledged. But one of something is just fine…?

Which is to say. I'm not a personal proponent of 'Loop getting their body back'. EXCEPT …… except this one time.

There's only one Siffrin now, so they don't need to be obfuscated to exist.

Consider, if you will. Loop swallowing their guilt for long enough to be comfortable. Falling back into old habits. Without another Siffrin around to compete for the niche of, they actually begin to act like Siffrin again. Not intentionally, it's just… The party is as welcoming as they've always been. And the party swears they keep catching glimpses of a face under all the light.

Then, one day, while still not fully human again, the resemblence becomes undeniable. Loop having not even noticed until everyone looks at them like they've seen a ghost.

Has it been months? How long have they kept up this lie? Is it even a lie, to them? They're Loop. But they were, once, Siffrin.

Even after explaining it, does that make it better or worse?

Bonnie cuts through the betrayed, struck-nerve reactions with a sobering "I missed you."

… Anyway !

Yeah so that's the vibe for NoHats. As for LoopLoops? That's more nebulous. I think it can go anywhere really in the NoHats timeline. I err personally toward the "Loop continuously replays the last 10 minutes before Siffrin's death almost immediately after they find out and have to parkour their ass up the House in the most distressing situation possible to try and get them to hold on, just please hold on." (Remember! Siffrin can remember the contents of Loop's loop backs in the A6 fight!)

But there is the possibility that this happens months, or worse years down the road. One last Loop back. Throw it all away for the chance to just get that one thing you didn't know you even wanted but now know you NEED.

Misc:

Okay miscellaneous time.

This is where I admit that I have a bunch of unfinished NoHats art that I haven't gotten around to yet because I feel like a right tool being so obviously Loop-Centric with my fancontent (I AM . . I REALISE I AM NOT DOING MUCH TO BEAT THE ALLEGATIONS.) So like if people want to see that please say because euaghghghhfh <- the nervous.

this is like the most fucked up place to do isaloop fr. anyway.

one of Sam's mid-game observations that I'm just going to share for no particular reason is that Bonnie's hair shares a bunch of shapes with Siffrin's. The flick up at the top, the 3 pronged shape of the fringe… just something to think about.

Without 2 Siffrins around to compare each other to it'd likely be a lot harder to notice Loop's similarities. Doesn't mean that those similarities don't sting more in this context though.

If you do NoHats without LoopLoops. The concept of this all fading into memory years down the line while they just have slightly-glowy but otherwise regular Siffrin hanging out is fucked up to think about. Just like real grief. Augh

6. a peek into the original dms as a treat from us

#LONG POST....!#be free our ideas. go forth into the wild. and by that i mean neither of us are fic writers so please HUNT US FOR SPORT #isat spoilers #looploops au #nohats au #isat au #isat loop #isat act 6 spoilers #not giving it more tags than that since feels rude to tag the rest of the party lol #lucabytetalks #but yes! to be extra clear: nohats is a 'please play in the space' invitation. because neither of us are big fanwork people! um!#it feels a little bit neglectful of us to not make more stuff for this AU ourselves but... we aren't practiced at that kind of thing. so.#open invitation! we know we won't make anything MASSIVE with this so.. don't hold your breath. and feel free to take the reigns.#we aren't like. the arbiters of 'sif fuckin dies' aus in general obviously but if you want to play with our specific ideas please do!#think of this post like prompts if you want to. go nuts #and @ a certain someone who said in the tags theyd maybe write something inspired. kisses you so sweetly. thank u for even considering it #also hi kaun i was thinking about your little snippet when typing 'act 6 encounter goes horribly wrong' 👋

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hanazou · 3 years

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So um .. I just recently found your blog and even though you haven't written that much but you really have a unique writing style and I'm in love 🥺💞 .

So may I please request fyodor and/or sigma headcanons or scenario (whatever you're feeling comfortable with ) being on a date with their s/o and getting lost somewhere trying to find their way back home ? I mean it's just so adorable and been on my mind for a while.

And thank you 💚

𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐲𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭.

— how did you end up here? getting lost wasn't on the agenda.

Book : Fyodor | Sigma

Genre : Fluff with romance or implied romance

Category: Scenario

Word count : 0.8K | 1K

Bookshelves : Leatherbound

Note : I love this request! Thank you so, SO much for requesting Fyodor and Sigma! Truthfully these are far from being my best works, but I hope you enjoy this, love! It took me a while since I had to make sure these are in-character :") Thank you for the patience!

I hope you enjoy these! 💛

“This is quite the view,” Fyodor smiles to himself, fingers treading around his chin like creeping vines. “Yokohama has a sophistication to it after all.”

“Fyodor,” His name from your mouth rolls out slower compared to the cars on the road near you both to give the impression that your patience is unscathed. “We’re lost.”

Yokohama isn’t too huge of a prefecture for you and Fyodor to get lost in while exploring for the sake of the upcoming Cannibalism scheme, but since you both insist to check out even the smallest of details because one can never be too perfect, exploring took the whole day. Outlining the landmarks on a map would have sufficed, but you and Fyodor agreed that travelling in first-person is more helpful in discovering things that can trick the enemies, and that agreement led you travelling together.

It wasn’t hard for someone to get drunk in this cozy atmosphere and forget why they were here, especially if they’re with someone they trust and are fond of. For you, that person happens to be this pale and sickly genius.

The foreign building structures, the bustling unfamiliar crowd, the compact scent from street food vendors you've never tasted, and the crunch of dry leaves under your feet, they are all different from home, but the striking allure and exoticness are undeniable. Hence, you and Fyodor lost track of time and direction. Not to mention his needy eye for aesthetic slows down the pace.

You don’t want to say this aloud, but this atmosphere and mood, doesn’t it feel like going on a date?

Never mind that—you both were having too much fun brainstorming for ideas, too many alleys to check out, too many manholes to note, too many dead ends to utilize for you to recognize both of you have strayed off the planned route. On the bright side is, Fyodor found the ideal, secluded, dead-end alley for him to station his sniper to attack a certain detective, but the bad side is, while chatting with him about how and where to allocate your pawns, you and Fyodor didn’t pay attention to where you’re going.

Where in Yokohama are you now?

Neither of you planned to walk this far around the prefecture, so you can’t pinpoint your position on the map inside your pocket.

“I have great confidence in my memory,” Fyodor gazes around. “I can find our way back.”

“Then why are we still here after—” you look at your watch. “—half an hour?”

“I thought that while having the opportunity, we should take our time to know this area better. There’s artistry in any form of structure even in those we will decimate soon.” He pivots his head to you. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

He sounds like he’s beating around the bush. He won’t admit he got both of you lost.

You hum. “You still don’t know where we are,” You bring the focus back to your point. “Let me take my turn navigating our way back home,” You reach for the minimap in your pocket. “You’ve had your share of getting us lost.”

You wonder how in the world a prodigy like Fyodor affords to get lost. You consider the possibility of him being distracted by this little trip (that feels like a date) itself since you caught yourself doing that, but you shake off that thought. You ought to stop being delusional.

“As you wish,” He smiles at your proposal. “But only because you insist.”

You make wild guesses of your current position by observing the buildings and shops, try to figure out where you are on the map, and take the lead in guiding yourself and Fyodor back. He follows your headship without any protests, taking the same turn as you elegantly.

You catch Fyodor also observing the map with you while he matches his legs in coordination with yours. His eyes turn to you and his raised dark brows ask you why you’re staring at him.

“Is it because you’re not confident I can take us back that you’re watching the map with such focus?” You bait, half smiling.

You want him to admit that he trusts you. It’s a pleasant feeling, hearing someone like him value your judgement.

He made a soft chortle from his chest. “Impossible, my dear,” Fyodor says.

He stops in his tracks.

The sudden halt makes you pause too, and you lower the map to look at his whole face.

You jolt when he takes your hand with his icy pale fingers, guiding your palm to rest on his chest. His coolness mixing with your warmth creates a perfect state of equilibrium that mirrors both your difference yet similarity with him.

“I simply enjoy our mundane little detour.” His voice's vibration from his chest rumbles your hand. His smile is like cotton, but the sharp violet in his eyes holds power over you. “Allow my heartbeat to be the witness of honesty in my words.”

His heartbeat thumps in an orderly calming pattern, his chilly skin still sheathing your hand to press it against his chest.

Ah.

So maybe getting lost isn’t so bad after all.

Your eyebrows quirk when you notice the same scenery outside the car window, forehead matted against the cold glass. “Are you sure this is the right way?”

Sigma’s lips tense down, still staring at the road ahead. “Uhm, yes?” His eyes dart at you for one second.

The two of you, Sigma and yourself, are on your way to visit the last potential location for Sky Casino to expand its branch down below. He demonstrated more than enough faith in your judgement when he invited you to travel to the cities under the sky, offering you a ride in his lavish car. If it were with another person, you wouldn’t see too much into this situation. But with Sigma, it’s a whole different story.

It was the having a luncheon together in a prestigious restaurant of a five star resort with him ordering the best dish for you with a warm smile when he described your order to the waiter. Another being his gentlemanly mannerism, he made a shallow bow when allowing you into his car and opened the door for you, also holding your hand as you got in. The hospitality and elegance from his demeanour excites your heartbeat.

In Sky Casino, he may be your employer and you his employee, but with just the two of you, he makes you feel like the most treasured royalty.

Sigma clears his throat, his fist in front of his mouth while the other around the steering wheel. “I’m certain I’ve memorized every route for the casino’s potential branches.” He glances at the note on the dashboard where the addresses are.

You raise your eyebrows seeing a tower ahead. “And I’m certain we’ve passed that tower in front of us at least twice.”

The expression Sigma makes is made of mild surprise, frustration, and gloom.

"Let's face it," You slouch down your seat. "We're lost."

Sigma repeatedly looks from the scribbled map on the dashboard to the road back and forth, fingers squeezing the wheel in uneasiness. “I could’ve sworn we took the right turn this time…”

Your shoulders deflate at the expression Sigma makes. You feel bad for putting it bluntly. “How about I drive while asking for directions from the locals? You must be tired since we’ve been travelling for hours.”

His head turns swiftly at you, long dual-coloured hair whishing. “You know where we are?” He asks before quickly turning his sight back to the road, stealing glances.

“Not exactly, but I’m familiar with the local dialect and I can ask for directions easily.”

The hesitation and disappointment are still evident on Sigma’s face. You purse your lips, hesitant in how to phrase your next words. “Employers employ people to be assisted with the workload and to have someone to share concerns with. I’m not here just for you to treat me like royalty, I’m also here to assist you.”

Sigma huffs a smile, taking chances to look at your face now and then. “Do you mind the treatment for a royalty?”

“No.” You deny a little too fast. You clear your throat, ignoring the heat in your cheeks. “Absolutely not,” You speak slower. “But even royalties have to give back, right?”

He fails to hide his laughter. He sounds so free, unrestrained, and possibly the most relaxed that day, making your cheeks swell with a prideful smile. As long as he gets to laugh, you don't mind sounding silly. “By asking for directions while talking using a local dialect?” He asks.

Sigma lightly giggles. “Alright, you win.” He slows down the car, eyeing the rear mirror to make a quick stop at the side of the road. “I’m afraid to crash us from feeling exhausted anyways.”

He makes a parallel park and the car comes to a full stop, engine still smoothly running and vibrating the interior.

You ruffle his silky dual-coloured hair as smooth as the leather seat. “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” You say, tinting his cheeks pink. “Allow me to treat you like royalty from now on.”

When you retract your hand, Sigma’s head automatically follows with the yearning to get more touch.

Your eyes enlarge and so does his. He whirls away, hands hiding his face. Loud and uncontrolled laughter erupts from your belly despite you covering your mouth to tone it down. You want to stop—but your chest keeps heaving out the joy, raising your shoulders to your ears.

Sigma shrinks in embarrassment, his long hair curtaining his face as he buries his head to his knees. He looks like a tulip in that driver’s seat. With his fair pale skin, even from your distance you can see the red on his face. “Please don’t tell anyone about it…” His voice can be barely distinguished from your untamed laugh.

“The secret’s safe with me.” You wipe a tear as your laughter slows down. You exhale a wide smile, unbuckling your seatbelt. “Alright, let’s switch now before the sun sets.”

“Wait!” Sigma springs out from his position and hurries his hand to land on yours before you open your door. You tilt your head, and he responds with “Don’t open the door yet.”

He dashes out and jogs to get to your side of the car. He opens your door and stands on the side with a shallow bow, his empty hand offered to you. You stifle a giggle when you accept his hand that gently helps you up until you fully stand outside.

You grin for the umpteenth time at Sigma’s chivalry that reminds you of the demonstration of romance during the regency era. It’s simple things like this that boosts your confidence and comfort around him. You can definitely get used to this.

That is until Sigma’s bow deepens so his lips kiss your hand.

You tense. You expected a normal escort when stepping out. The unforeseen princely kiss and his smile send you on haywire—why are you even there? Why did you go all this way into an unfamiliar city? Just to get kissed? To have him act like your Prince? Why is he even kissing you?

“Even without disembarking a journey I still get lost in your touch and laughter.” He straightens his body, elevating your hand to stay on his lips and chin. You feel his breath on your skin. “Thank you for giving me the honour of getting lost with you.”

Then you remember.

You're there to be with him.

📜 ; like what you read? visit my bookshop!

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mon-qi · 2 years

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OC Storytime! Krokus Edition

alright, alright, so @kittykittyhunter and @xivuuarath (and for good measure I’m tagging @vanoodle too because I know you like him) asked me to talk about one of my characters after all and tag them in the post so I am picking my latest abomination creation Krokus and going bananas after the readmore.

So, let me ramble about this chaotic delicate flower here:

SO, Krokus!

I made him last may/june for our tiny TTRPG / DnD group of three. As you can possibly tell, he’s a Tiefling! If you can not tell because you have no idea what a Tiefling is: that’s basically a human given ~demonic~ traits via their ~cursed bloodline~. That’s why they look like hilariously cliché christian devil pastiches, but it doesn’t necessarily make them, you know, bad, it’s just really good fodder for edgy backstories / career paths because people tend to distrust people who... look like THAT.

Anyway, I’m gonna stop right here to say that Krokus has neither fire-resistance (and by that, I mean both actual fire and spicy food, he has the palate of the whitest person) nor a particularly gloomy backstory or career path but both are... eventful I guess?

He was adopted at an early age by a retired adventurer of sorts who just kept picking up weirdo kids and raising them in relative peace, so there’s not much baggage there, what really messed with him though was a certain event that led to him developing his magic, which is aptly called ‘Wild Magic’. What this means is basically that unlike other spellcasters who get their magic from some sort of powerful extraplanar entity like a deity/devil/fey/etc etc. as clerics or warlocks would do, or from their bond to nature and surroundings like druids would, or even from their studies of the arcane, like wizards would... he’s a Sorcerer, which means his powers come from within himself. He doesn’t even have to do anything for it! And that’s part of his problem - he was basically exposed to/infected with... SOMETHING that awakened some chaotic magical energy in him that now really wants to get out, often at the most inopportune times (mostly when he uses his own magic - it’s like the stronger the spell he uses, the more likely it is to trigger a surge of wild magic right after, which can do basically... anything. From making a single daisy grow on his head to turning into a sheep to randomly healing someone to bringing forth a powerful and feared fireball explosion). Blessed with chaos, yay!?

That happened a few years ago when he was a teenager, and since then the wild magic has only grown stronger. While he really would’ve liked to just stay with his adoptive father and help him raise other outcast kids like he has before, he decided it’d be best to not ignore the potentially dangerous wild magic but try and get it under control, somehow. Also, he’s a naturally curious type and when he got the chance to stay with an acquaintance in a big city with lots of opportunities to study magic, he went there, working mainly as a translator for mainly magic-related texts and tomes and trying to study wild magic phenomena in his free time.

That’s where our adventure picked up - he was talked into an expedition that he only joined because of the hope of finding an artifact that could control his wild magic (spoiler: that was a lie. Or rather, didn’t work out). On the way he met his current traveling companions have a lot in common with one another, but contrast quite a lot with him! Feloki is a half-orc devoted to the goddess of life and agriculture and Yinven is a an earth-elemental druid who can and will shapeshift into animals for combat, connoissance or just for kicks. Both are very attuned to their surroundings, good fighters if necessary and healers in general, pretty relaxed overall and open to new experiences, while Krokus is... well, a skinny, weak beanpole who’d REALLY rather not fight because if he does, things quickly escalate. Our group has a saying about our biggest enemies so far that’s like “first they laugh, then they explode” because that’s what happens more often than not... :,) Krokus’ weapon of choice is basically just talking to people and creatures - he almost managed to instigate a goblin rebellion with enchanted grapes as bribes and talk down a dragon and convince it to move elsewhere, tricked some cultists and talked a retired pirate into escorting us to some cold-ass possibly dangerous islands. For his -honeymoon-, no less. He may not look like you typically imagine a 20 Charisma character (but CHA is a highly misunderstood stat and doesn’t = seductive powers but just. Force of will and he has A LOT of that. Also he’s good with jokes and can probably do some passable puppy eyes) but he knows how to talk. On the other hand, when pushed he can do some pretty scary things - his journeys and battles led him to defeat a lot of enemies (which he honestly struggles with, even if none of them were human/-oids) and his magical power only grew from that, ALONG with his wild magic surges... after accidentally summoning his first fireball which could’ve killed our whole party, he learned to control them - but sometimes they still just spill out. He can conjure small illusions, a magical ethereal hand, shoot fire, shape water, teleport with some thundercracks or just chuck random chaotic energy around. Oh, and read minds. Another thing he is pretty apprehensive about and doesn’t know what to do with. Along with his awesome but scary powers growing in magnitude and frequency, he also gained a bit more control over it via... luck. He doesn’t know why but all the randomness seems to be balanced with a ridiculous amount of luck - sometimes in battle, sometimes in daily life. On the other hand, when he made a very generous donation to the goddess of luck, she rewarded him with a good luck charm that just shattered when he relied on it. I guess he really has to learn to trust in whatever he comes up with himself!

Fortunately, his teammates are just relaxed/optimistic enough to just roll with whatever weird crap happens around him. I guess they’re a... grounding influence, haha.

So, uh, yeah, I guess I mostly talked about what’s happened to him so far so let’s count down some weird shit he has experienced or caused:

stunned some ruffians shadowing him and Feloki in a dark alley by loudly and cheerfully greeting them

basically, enthusiastically greeting just about anyone is the first thing he does

asking whoever he’s talking to whether they’re happy working for their boss is the second thing he does lmao

likes to bribe Goblins by offering “magic cherries” (basically enchanted grapes)

casually snatching a wizard’s staff from him while he wasn’t looking. It’s his now.

if fighting humanoids, you’ll bet he’ll not hurt them unless absolutely necessary but just. tie them up, tuck them in, wish them a good night and leave out a scented candle for them while they go about their business scouting out whatever dungeon.

speaking of which, he’s good at tying all sorts of ribbons, ropes, braids etc. While the party was resting once, he spent his part of the night watch absent-mindedly brushing and braiding our half-orc’s luscious hair. It’s calming to him and keeps him focused when he can’t afford to get absorbed in a book.

after parleying with a dragon didn’t work out, in the following battle against it he just... launched both himself AND the whole dragon’s hoard like 15 meters into the air and then started GLOWING like a tiny sun fjdklsa

“calmed” (= scare/confuse) an owlbear by trying to tickle it with a mage hand spell

first politely corrected a slip of the tongue by the BBEG, enraging him into retreating for a moment, and when the guy popped up again to surprise us and threw out ANOTHER one liner, Krokus just. experienced another wild fireball surge and just. kamikaze’d into the guy and pulverized him. RIP, nobody expected that

speaking of wild magic fireballs: that happened THREE TIMES. The chances of that are, technically 1% but Krokus somehow made that a 15%...

randomly grew a third eye during one battle/surge

to the party: “watch out for charm spells, especially today (it was Valentine’s)” himself, later AT the party: /promptly gets charmed and robbed

also at the Valentine party: wins FOUR games of chance in a row, right away, nearly dies from too spicy food

hates the cold, yet is named after a flower that blooms when there’s still snow outside

So yeah. He’s fun to play and I’m curious to see what else he will experience in the future!

#key ocs #krokus

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mariamermaid · 3 years

Text

Spontaneous

Fred Weasley x fem Reader

Summary: Fred and you loved to be spontaneous. Ever since your time in Hogwarts, there wasn´t a day filled with tediousness. But when Fred suddenly decides that it´s time to get married, things go wild…

Words: 2k

You didn´t hear the door close behind Fred. Instead you sat in the bathtub, filled with bubbles and candles spread around the rim of the tub. Music from the record player filled the apartment with soft tunes. It was natural that you flinched when the door suddenly opened and a gasp escaped your lips.

“God, Fred, what are you doing here? I thought you´d be at work all day!” You exclaimed after your initial surprise. You weren´t wrong, he usually was at work and when he came back from the shop he shared with George, he was usually very tired. Tired but happy. A flicker of a smile when he saw what you had cooked for him, but today? Today was different.

It wasn´t even 11 a.m., you had a free day, and there he stood; in the middle of the rather small bathroom with a grin from ear to ear. His eyes glowing in excitement.

“What?” You asked confused and leaned to the brim of the tub, but all he did was stare at you. He soaked in the view of you, covered in foam and your hair messily put up.

As quick as he had entered the room, he suddenly kneeled down to you, both of his hand grabbing the tub. It was the same look he had when coming up with new ideas.

“Do you want to marry me?”

His face was only inches away and a tint of blush crept on his cheeks. Completely taken back, you couldn´t help but simply stare.

“What?”

His hands grabbed yours, not caring about the water dripping over. “Do you want to marry me?”

He paused for a second. “Because I realized that I can´t imagine not marrying you! You know, I was at the store with George and it was like any other day and yet it wasn´t! I just knew, so I rushed back to you!” He started rambling until you interrupted with laughter.

He had joked about it since you started dating back in your days in Hogwarts. He would marry you one day, but Fred joked a lot if the day was long. On the other hand, you neither questioned marrying him.

“Yes, you idiot! Of course, I´ll marry you!” You finally exclaimed and he pressed his lips firmly on yours. Softly, he started pulling you up and lifting you out of the tub.

“Fred, you´re making a mess! The water…” You giggled in between kisses but he shook his head.

“No time, love. I already called the register office, there´s an open slot at 3 o´clock!”

“Wait what?!”

“I told you I want to marry you, why wait?” He sat you down on your feet again and wrapped a towel around your dripping body, so you wouldn´t get cold. “Fred, I… You…” There was no physical way you would bring out anything but stammering. Instead, you were just shaking your head. Smiling.

“You´re unbelievable.” “But it´s a reason why you love me, right?”

“Yes, I love you more than anything.” You pressed another kiss on his lips, short but passionate.

“No, excuse me, I have to get ready for my wedding day!”

George wasn´t as enthusiastic about randomly closing the shop without an explanation, but Fred begged long enough, telling him to meet him in London. Before George could object, Fred ended the call. “You didn´t even tell him!” You shouted from your shared bedroom and Fred´s head popped in; eyebrows raised. “Yeah, but he´ll find out soon enough.”

“Then call your sister, we need a second witness to a marriage. And Ginny just told me yesterday that she´d be in the city anyways!”

“Should I tell her why we need her so urgent?”

“Nope, she´ll figure it out later”, you grinned and your fiancé nodded agreeing.

“What about your parents, love?”

“They´re visiting Charlie.”

“But telling them? In any way?” You wondered and Fred came back to sit on the bed. “Well, sure mum´s gonna be a little angry, but we can have a bigger feast when we´re all in town! Ron is with Hermione in Austria, Bill and Fleur have been dealing with the house. Maybe we set a date or something, but the free appointment is only today, anyways we have to wait at least six months!” You sighed while fixing your hair.

“Molly is gonna rip off your head.” “Why only mine?”

“Darling, she won´t rip off her new daughter-in-law´s head.”

“Come one, hurry, we have only an hour left!” Fred, who was tall and usually bragged about his long legs, was a few feet behind you. “Do you think we even find a dress?” He asked.

“I don´t want anything special, after all this is just the official marriage service, not the actual ceremony with friends and family. But maybe something to look at least a little put together? You´re wearing a shirt and a tie as well!”

“Love, you always look put together and astonishing pretty.” Laughing, you jokingly hit his shoulder. “If you don´t stop flirting, I might have to put a ring on you!”

Fred opened the door of the shop for you and while you entered, your mouth fell open and you admired the view of dresses. A saleslady quickly approached the two of you, who were clearly overwhelmed. “Can I help you with anything?”

“I´m looking for a formal dress for the register office”, you explained and she nodded smiling. “So, when is the date, if I may ask?” “In about an hour”, Fred shrugged reluctant and watched grinningly how the face of the saleslady dropped. He enjoyed this a little too much.

“Oh dear, then we better begin…”

The first dress was a nightmare, the cut made you look uncomfortable and the material was itchy. While you waited in the fitting room, the saleswoman searched for a new dress. Fred casually joined her. “Ehm, I actually have to pick something up, a surprise for her”, he cleared his throat and she nodded understanding. “I think I can handle it, any last preferences maybe?”

“Actually, I saw this red dress in the front room?” The saleslady nodded in excitement and Fred thanked her before leaving the shop. The dress was the perfect Gryffindor red, it immediately reminded of your school times. You wore a similar one to the ball with Fred. But this one was made of a sleek satin material, the cut dropped off shoulder and it was tighter, hugging your body in the right places without being uncomfortable. You starred at yourself in the mirror.

“It´s perfect! Where´s Fred, I need to show him?” The saleswoman smirked knowingly.

“Your fiancé had to do some last-minute preparation, he told me that he would meet you at the register office”, she stated how Fred had previously explained. You furrowed your brows, but then you nodded as well. He was going to love you in the dress.

You saw the two red-heads, George and Ginny waiting across the street. You had thrown over your normal black coat, the dark heels and beneath the dress, nice and hidden. At least for now. George had his arms crossed in front of his chest, his face a little bitter and not very amused. Ginny spotted you firstly and embraced you. She seemed confused as well.

“Y/n, what is going on? Fred sounded so urgent on the phone?” Her brother nodded agreeing. “What is so important that we had to close the shop?” Before you could speak up, Fred suddenly popped up and joined your group, pressing a quick kiss on top of your head.

“Everything´s ready”, he nodded towards you. “Ready for what?” George continued bickering.

“Y/n and I are getting married.”

While Ginny let out a small scream of surprise, hugging you tightly the next second, George patted his brother on the shoulder. “You two were always spontaneous, I shouldn´t be surprised.”

There was no time for congratulations, the four of you hurried inside the large building and after asking for the directions and a waiting time of almost five minutes, you entered the office of Mrs. Carter. You took off your coat, both Fred and Ginny let out a small gasp. “You´re looking stunning”, Fred whispered and placed another kiss on your cheek. Mrs. Carter, who watched the two of you closely, nodded politely while shaking your hand and showing your seats.

“So, you´re Mr. Weasley, Fred right?” She asked while organizing a few papers. Fred nodded. “And you´re the lucky girl, who he surprised?” “Yes, very much.”

“I see you brought your witnesses”, she stopped a little confused when looking up and finding George, right next to Ginny. “Yeah, I´m Fred´s twin brother, and this is our sister Ginny.” The four of you grinned widely. “Big family I see”, Mrs. Carter smiled warmly.

“Then let´s get started, shall we? I need you to sign the papers here, they declare that you´re both here willingly today.” The two of you took the pen and signed ahead.

“Y/n, are you taking on Fred´s last name?” You stopped in your tracks, looking unsure back and forth between Mrs. Carter and Fred. “Y/N Weasley has a good ring to it, I have to admit”, Fred shrugged innocently. It wasn´t something you actually had discussed, but it felt right. So, you went with it.

“Yes, Y/n Weasley it is.” Mrs. Carter handed you the papers for the name change.

“Do you forge the marriage with rings or without?”

“Without”, you spoke up without even thinking, but Fred grabbed your hand, holding you back. “Actually”, he paused while taking out a small velvet box. Amazed you starred at him. “I do have rings.”

“Fred, you didn´t have to”, you trailed off softly, but he shook his head serious. “Just because we´re doing this so spontaneous, doesn´t mean we´re not doing it right.”

You melted at his words and it felt like falling in love with him all over again. It was you and him, sneaking out of the common room or skipping class to make out behind corners. The kisses after won Quidditch games. Running away hand in hand after those many pranks. Quiet nights on the couch, watching the fire and snow falling outside. Walking down hand in hand to the ball. Drunken nights filled with deep conversations on the astronomy tower. Christmas mornings with the entire family and baking cookies together. Falling into each other arms after the battle, knowing that you both survived.

All those moments leading up to the present, it was destiny.

“You´re amazing”, you breathed and kissed Fred softly. He put on the ring on your finger, you did the same with his. Mrs. Carter was beaming and Ginny took a handkerchief, wiping away a few tears. It was a beautiful scene. “Last papers to sign now, then your wife and husband!”

Two weeks later you found yourself at the burrow, both Molly and Arthur, Bill and Fleur and Ron and Hermione had come home within the past few days. A reunion was long after-due. And Ginny continued to claim that she would explode, if you didn´t tell soon. You were all seated around the long table in the dining area, chatting about the vacation and other miscellaneous things. Molly had baked pie and you had brought some chocolate mousse as well. Arthur, who sat at the end of the table, Fred and you next to him, then George and Ron, rose from his chair. It was late in the afternoon and most of you enjoyed a cup of tea or coffee, there was no intention of champagne, at least not yet. Molly joined her husband. As always, they smiled happily seeing all their children and family together.

“You know, even though it´s nothing too special, it´s always nice to see the family back together!” He exclaimed and, in the mean-time, you and Fred exchanged knowing looks. Fred rose from his chair, patting his father on the shoulder.

“Actually, dad, there are some news”, he paused, waiting for you to join his side.

“I would like for everyone to meet my official wife, Y/n. We got married two weeks ago!”

#fred weasley imagine #fred weasley oneshot #fred weasley x reader #oliver phelps #harry potter imagine #mariamermaidimagine

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thirstystarkey · 4 years

Text

HATE CAN SOUND LIKE LOVE • JJ MAYBANK

Summary: JJ and Y/N have always fought, since everyone can remember. They both have short tempers and a endless love for surf and chaos. But what happens when they have to pretend to be a couple? Well.. people always said that hate can sound like love sometimes.

Warnings: Mention of underage drinking, drugs, minor violence, some smutty scenarios and a ton of sexual induendos, JJ being a hot idiot and Y/N a wild girl brat

CHAPTER 06

While the HMS pogue cut it’s way through the river all the pogues, except JJ and Y/N, chatted happily sharing some cool beers Kie had previously brought with her.

“What’s going on?” Kiara asked her friends due to the strange silence between them. She was used to break their fights and now they didn’t even talked.

“Nothing.” Y/N started, a bit annoyed. “Aside from my best friends basically kidnapping me.” Y/N looked at JJ who agreed with his head at her saying. “What did you said to my mom?”

“Oh that..” Kiara changed her body language, automatically looking over at the other boys who didn’t seem very excited to explain either.

“Before they start, I just want to say I wasn’t participating I was just supervising!” Pope said. Raising both hands in the air.

“What could you possibly say to my mother that is worse than what you already done to us?” Y/N asked, afraid of the answer.

“We said you and JJ went on a date.” John B announced fast.

“What?” The red head girl gasped.

“That’s not all we said.” Kiara began.

“Are you guys insane?” JJ manifested.

“They are!” Pope pointed at John B and Kiara.

“We also told your mother you were dating JJ.” John B tried not to laugh.

“I’m going to kill everyone of you while you all sleep.” Y/N was beyond pissed. “I bet my mom didn’t believe that bullshit.”

“Well, she actually did.” Pope said. “She even said she already suspected it.”

JJ and Y/N shared a disgusted look between them. The idea of them dating seemed so surreal to Y/N she almost felt sick to her stomach. The idea of dating Y/N scared JJ, he never had a actual serious girlfriend and he knew Y/N didn’t do the whole one night stand stuff. They were polar opposites.

In the next few days Y/N was on a mission to avoid her mom. She slept at Kiara’s home most of the days and when she eventually went home Y/N didn’t stayed long enough for her mom to ask any questions or even have the talk. Y/N never took any boys home, no one ever stood a chance with her for she always thought they were stupid and didn’t care about the same things as her. They didn’t see her for her but rather for her looks and Y/N loathed them for that. The other boys saw her as a price, a price they could never claim for Y/N was no trophy. She was free, she was a force of nature, she had the ocean’s soul in her spirit.

“Hello? Y/N?” Kiara called while snapping two fingers in her best friends face.

They were all at the beach enjoying a hot late afternoon after a surf session but Y/N’s mind was off and far from being chill. She had a storm called JJ Maybank living inside her mind creating a itch she couldn’t scratch. All the looks she receive around the island made her want to fight them for believing in her best friends lie.

“Wha-”

Y/N wasn’t able to finish her sentence because JJ picked her up throwing her in his shoulder easily, running at the waves direction. She screamed loud enough to catch everyone’s attention, her friends just laughed at the view.

When the cold water hit her body she swore it felt like tiny needles poking her.

“JJ why would you do this?” Y/N fumed.

“Because we need to talk, girlfriend.” He tried to keep her in place while she tried to run back to her towel.

“Fuck off and don’t call me that.” Y/N pulled JJ’s hair making him let her go off his grip.

Back at the sand her friends were laughing at the top of her lungs pointing at her and the blue eyed boy and that alone made her angry. They were having so much fun with her situation and she wanted to kick their asses.

“Even if you two were dating I bet it wouldn’t last for a month.” Pope said trying to catch his breath with a hand on his toned chest.

“A month? I wouldn’t give these two more than a week, with luck.” Kiara made her point.

“I’m done with this, I’m going home.” Y/N was livid, at the point off almost crying with anger. “Have fun.”

“And your mom?” John B inquired, they knew she was avoiding her mom for dear life.

“I don’t care.” She mumbled. “I will deal with her.” She said shrugging her shoulders. “But I can’t deal with this bullshit now.” Y/N pointed at her friends.

When she finished packing her things JJ tried to stop her but he couldn’t catch her in time to talk to her, so he decided to call it a day as well making his way back to John B’s chateau.

Once home the redheaded girl thanked god her mom wasn’t home, Tina had left her a note.

“I’m working a late shift don’t wait for me, we still need to talk about JJ, I love you honey.”

A loud sigh was heard from her, after reading the note Y/N made her way to the bathroom, she needed a warm bath to relax from before. When she was done and the water had run cold Y/N stepped out and dressed some comfy clothes, her plan for the night was to lay in her bed and ignore her problems. Pretending like she didn’t even existed.

But the girl was in a bad luck strike for her phone rang with a buzz not long after she started watching Gossip Girl on netflix.

With was a text message from JJ, which was weird, they never texted. They only texted each other to mock one another or when he sent her memes making fun of her, which she secretly laughed at and sometimes saved them. Something she would never admit to anyone.

JJ 🏄🏼‍♂️: Meet me at our beach in 15, we need to talk. I’m serious now.

JJ was never serious so she knew something was going on. She didn’t knew why she jumped right off her bed first thing when she finished reading the text message, she put on her black vans and grabbed her oversized jean jacket along with her keys on her way out.

As soon as Y/N’s had arrived at the beach both her and JJ surfed, the reason he called it their beach, she saw JJ standing there, with his back against the lifeguard house, in his hand a lit joint.

“Why did you call me here JJ?” Y/N voice was soft, she was actually tired. “I don’t want to fight.”

“Neither do I.” The boy agreed. “But I think we should get back at them for this little stupid prank.” JJ suggests.

They sat together at the steps and JJ offered to share his joint with the red head girl, who normally didn’t smoke but it had been a long day so she gladly took his offer, immediately surprise because JJ weed was strong.

“What’s the plan?” She asked after freeing the smoke from her lips, passing the joint to JJ.

“We should let everyone think we are actually dating, for a month.” JJ said serious. He wasn’t joking.

“You mean, date date?”

“Yes smartass, date date.” JJ giggled at her confusion.

“You’re insane.” The girl blurred out. “Last week we couldn’t stand being close and now you want to pretend we are together.” She pointed back and forth between them. “Actual dating, as in you are my boyfriend.” She laughed.

If there was one thing Y/N and JJ had in common it was their pride. Both of them being to stubborn to lose a bet or to let anyone say they couldn’t do a certain thing. But they never thought the pogues would use that in their disadvantage.

“So what you say, frenemies baby?” JJ held his hand her way.

“Frenemies.” They said in unison.

“But meet me at my place tomorrow, we need to figure this thing out.” Y/N warned JJ while getting up.

“Is lunch included in that talk?” JJ questioned with a raised brow.

“I can make something.” Y/N rolled her eyes.

“Then it’s a date babe.” JJ winked at her blowing her a kiss but Y/N raised her middle finger at him.

Tag list 💞

@thatsonobx @starkeybaby @this-is-bigger-than--us @ahhireallydontknow @tomzfrog @alotbnouf @outerbankstings @jj-maybank-stan @jellyfishbeansontoast @rafecamerondeservesbetter @im-a-strange-thing @tangledinsparkles @tomfreakinghollandneedsaoscar @helplessquotess @tembo-ndoto @poguebx @k-k0129 @pleaseminho @obxmxybxnk @stilinskiandsuch @lcil123 @fandom-phaser @sexualparkour @myrandom-fandomlife @lasnaro @kristineee-obx @sw-eat-ing @strangebirds2 @kiarascarreras @jjswhore @milamaybank @marveloucnco @downbytheouterbanks @write-from-the-heart @justcallmesams @annedub @drizzlethatfalls @tovvaf @drewswannabegirl @whoreforouterbanks @newhopenessie @maybebanks @poguesrforlife @shawnssongs @wastedheartcth @rudyypankow @danicarosaline

#jj maybank #obx #outer banks #rudy pankow #jj #jj smut #rafe cameron #rudy #jj maybank fluff #jj maybank headcanon #jj maybank smut #jj maybank x reader #jj x reader #jj maybank x y/n #jj x y/n #sarah cameron #kiara #pope #john b

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mobiusxyearslater · 3 years

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A/N: This takes place towards the beginning of Arc 1. Please enjoy!

~Mun @t-vict101

A/N: Please enjoy this tale containing original content from our AU. This is the first of many to come, so please be kind to the other mun who is working hard to produce this story as well as loads of other free content for this blog.

~Mun @spacepumpkinz

Riding through the city upon his beloved motorcycle, Shadow the hedgehog finds himself in a peculiar situation. Just last night he was finishing up an assignment for G.U.N. until something crashed landed in Station Square. What he found was just a bucket load of problems that frankly he rather not deal with. First, a weird orb broke open and something seeped into his body. Second, a weird tall bird floats right into his arms then proceeds to make him go on a wild goose chase. Lastly, he’s tied up in a situation that he never asked to be in and forced to go to that damn blue hedgehog for help.

He grumbles a bit at the state of his situation and feels a pair of hands shift on his waist. He peeks back at the bird who seems to be just looking down in complete shame at what has happened. She did run around the city like a manic with no regard for others’ safety so that’s something. Shadow huffs out and shifts his eyes down the road.

“...Have you calmed down…?” he said with a deep gruff.

The bird flinches at his voice and sinks in the seat further, “...Yes sir.”

Sir? He’s never heard that one before. “...Good. Now you’re going to tell me EVERYTHING else you know about this thing.”

The bird gulps and tightens her grip on his waist, “W-Well I told you everything I know… T-The notes I had were destroyed on impact. And the only thing I know is that if we don’t get that energy source out of you, you could die..”

Shadow scoffs and rolls his eyes, “Don’t worry about that. I’m the Ultimate Lifeform, I don’t perish that easily.”

The bird slowly tilts her head giving him a look, “....D… Did you really just say that?? I-I mean ultimate lifeform or not, YOU CAN STILL DIE!!”

He peeks back at her, narrowing his eyes, “...I said don’t worry about it..”

She feels a cold sweat from his stare and straights up her posture, “I-I’m just saying! That amount of energy can do a lot to your body if you exert yourself too much!”

He huffs and looks out ahead, “Well gee, someone didn’t think about that fact last night when she went crazy and I had to chase her down..!”

The bird flinches at his remark and looks back down in shame thinking about their initial meeting. She woke in his apartment and was surprised to see an actual talking hedgehog. Let alone one that could walk and have a weird fashion statement. But it was when it was revealed she transformed from a human to a falcon that really set her off. Admittedly she could’ve reacted better, jumping out of a window with a 5 story drop is not a proper reaction. And neither is running around the city in a full panic and almost causing a near-disastrous collision isn’t a proper reaction either.

She bit her lip a bit and fiddled with her fingers, “...I’m… really really sorry…. I-I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”

Shadow huffs brushing off her apology, “You’re lucky no one did. Honestly. Don’t you know how to look where you’re going! How stupid can you be--” He peeks back at her looking down shaking making him cut off his words. He lets out a deep sigh looking back onto the road. “....Do you have a name…?”

The bird gulps a bit and fiddles with her fingers, “...A-Ailani… Um…” she looks towards the back of his head, “W… What do I call you? Mr. Ultimate Lifeform..?”

Shadow gives her a look and huffs looking forward, “Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog.”

Ailani nods and hums a bit, taking in his answer, “Okay… Shadow. W-Where are we going exactly.?”

“New Mobotropolis. There’s a group there called the Freedom Fighters that could help, in theory, without any annoying ulterior motives.” Shadow gives off a huff gripping on the handles, “Unfortunately there’s an annoying faker who’ll get a good laugh out of this for sure…”

Ailani snaps out of her trance once she hears the word “faker”, “...Faker? There isn’t like a clone army of you or something…. R-Right..”

There was a beat of silence before Shadow responded, “...Not anymore. At least I don’t think so.”

“YOU DON’T THINK SO?!” the bird screams out, “S-So this hedgehog is just like you??”

Shadow nods and huffs out an annoyed breath, “So much so that people often get us confused with one another somehow. He may look similar and have the same abilities as me but we couldn’t be any more opposites.”

All Ailani could do was sit back in her seat in utter shock at the information she just heard. There was a hedgehog that looked just like Shadow out there, so much so that they get mixed up. There was absolutely no doubt that Ailani would get them confused so there must be a way to tell them apart. She scratches her head a bit before bumping into her hair clip. An idea popping into her head, she perks up and takes out her hair clip then studies Shadow’s head a bit.

The hedgehog was still talking to himself about the annoying blue hedgehog, although Ailani tuned all of his rambling out. She leans over him and softly slips the hair clip into one of his quills. Shadow’s ear twitches a bit and he reaches up towards the hair clip.

“What did you--” he started to ask.

“It’s just my hair clip,” she chirps out “If you say there’s someone like you out there then it’s highly likely I’ll get you two confused. So this is just something that will help me.”

Shadow huffs a bit and grips on the handle shaking his head, “Whatever. If it helps you tell us apart then fi--”

Suddenly Shadow felt his heart practically beat out of his chest. It felt like it was going a million miles per second. He started to hunch forward slowly as a burning sensation grew within him. His bones felt like glass, his muscles like jello, and his vision started to blur. Despite his efforts to concentrate on the road, it came to no avail as the motorcycle started to swerve. Shadow tried to jerk it back to a steady path but it felt like he was being tugged back that forth between the road and the excruciating pain.

Ailani’s train of thought was interrupted by the sudden swerving and saw Shadow’s pain-filled form. “Oh, shi-- Are you okay!?” She asks reaching out to him.

He hits her hand away and growls out, “I’m FINE. This is nothi--” but instead of finishing his answer, he lets out a loud scream of pain clutching his chest and losing grip of the motorcycle’s handle.

The motorcycle swerved like a mad man causing Ailani to spring to action, reaching over Shadow and grabbing the handles. Her hands shake as she tries to bring the motorcycle to a stop but she was beginning to panic and lose her concentration, “UH! UH! I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I’M DOING HERE!!”

Shadow tries to reach for the handles again but a surge of pain rushes through his chest causing him to scream in pain. He growls out, “USE THE FUCKING BREAKS!!”

Ailani peeks at him and nods looking around the motorcycle, “O-Okay! Breaks! Breaks… breaks… Where… are they…”

Growing more and more impatient, Shadow grips on her face and turns her face to the handle brakes, “.....Squeeze those… left foot… then rig--” Before he could finish his instructions the burning sensation grew worse as hunches in more.

“Okay! Okay! D-Don’t worry! I-I got this!” Ailani reassured as she takes a deep breath and squeezes on the brakes slowing down the motorcycle. She manages to maneuver it into an alley and brings it to a stop. “Okay! Whew! Did it! Ah-- Right! You need help!” She hops off the motorcycle and carefully lifts Shadow off the bike.

She trots over to a wall and softly lays Shadow against it as he wrenches in complete agony. Come on Ailani, think! There has to be something you can do to help! Ailani stands up and paces a bit as ideas rattle in her head. Okay so I have no magic, no tech, and I probably don’t have the strength to kick him out! She suddenly perks up and pats at her belt a bit. She takes out a small blue vial and studies it for a moment.

With not much time to think against Shadow’s cries of agony, Ailani decides it’s worth a shot. She kneels down to him and lifts up his chin. Carefully she dropped a single drip of whatever the vial contained into Shadow’s mouth. Shadow began to cough violently once the substance began to travel down his throat. It tasted horrid but the pain almost immediately subsided. He finally felt a sense of relief and sighed out, laying his head back on the wall.

Ailani lets out a deep sigh, relieved that the solution worked and looks at Shadow stroking his quills back, “...You okay, Shadow..?”

Shadow coughs a bit and looks at her. He sighs out and nods, “...I am.” He peeks at the blue vial, “...What is that stuff anyway..?”

Ailani perks up and looks at the vial, “Oh! This?” She holds it up a bit proudly, “It’s a remedy that I keep on hand in case of emergencies.”

Shadow nods a bit then quirks a brow at her, “How did you know it would work? I thought you didn’t know anything about this thing inside me..”

Ailani scratches her beak and nervously chuckles out, “I-I didn’t? Eheh. This is the most potent remedy I have so I figure it might do something.”

Shadow just sighs up holding his head suddenly feeling his eyelids drooping, “..Potent is an understatement…. I feel so… exhausted.”

“Oh!” she chirped up, “That must be the remedy’s side effects..” She hums a bit looking around before taking Shadow back into her arms, “Here, you rest. I’ll try to get us somewhere safe..”

Ailani carefully sets Shadow onto the motorcycle and sits down behind him cradling him with one arm. It takes her a good few minutes to get it started again and to start driving it. The pace was slow but at least they were on the move. Shadow feels at his chest a bit thinking about what just transpired. He felt pain before but nothing like this. He almost felt like he was… vulnerable. The motorcycle swerves a bit and Ailani keeps a tight grip on Shadow while trying to steady the bike.

Shadow huffs and peeks up at her, “...Do you know how to drive this thing..?”

Ailani sweats a bit and peeks down at him, “W-Well I’m doing good so far r-right?” As if the timing couldn’t be perfect enough for her to swerve a bit more.

Shadow would take over right there but pure exhaustion washed over him as he leaned his head back on Ailani’s chest, “...Whatever… Just… Don’t break it… I like this bike…” After stating his final request, he succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep.

Ailani peeks down at him and breathes out softly. An overwhelming sense of guilt washed over her as if she was the cause of Shadow’s pain. Looking ahead she grips onto the handle tighter, “...I promise… I’ll get you to New Mobotropolis…. No matter what it takes.” she says as they ride off down the city streets as the sun sets in the horizon.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic au #sonic #archie sonic #archie sonic the hedgehog #archie sonic comics #sonic fanart #sonic fandom #sonic fan character #sonic oc #sonic oc character #OC: Ailani #Ailani the Falcon #shadow #shadow the hedgehog #fan fic writing #fanfiction #writing

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ibtk · 3 years

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Book Review: THE ANIMALS IN THAT COUNTRY by Laura Jean McKay (2020)

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through Edelweiss and Library Thing's Early Reviewers program. Content warning for violence, including that against animals. Caution: this review contains a spoiler in the form of an excerpt.)

'Well, I’ve got a secret for you, Miss Kimberly Russo.' She digs her sharp little nails into my skin. ‘What is it?’ ‘This flu means people can talk to animals.’ Her head shoots up. ‘I want the flu, Granny. Don’t you?’ ‘Grown-ups don’t wish they had diseases, and neither should you.’ ‘But don’t you?’ Outside, Wallamina and Princess Pie are nose and beak to the sliding door, trying to press their way through. Eyes shining. ‘Course I bloody do.’

I can see the wild in her. She looks and acts like any dog. Plays, wags, stares into my eyes with her baby browns; does chasey, catch, begs for biscuits. Then the dusk comes and she lifts her neck and howls the saddest song in all the world, and there’s that wild. Dingo, owl, night thing — that sound is a warning. Loneliest you’ll hear. Wraps around your face, your sleep, your dreams. She’s saying: ‘Hey, hey. There’s something coming.’ The rangers here are always telling me, don’t talk like that. They say how dingoes are just establishing territory, checking on their pack. Dingo admin. But stand on the hot road that runs from the gift shop to the enclosures, and listen to the dingo in her cage call out to the packs on the other side of the fence. Tell me that’s not special. Tell me she doesn’t know something about the world that you and me haven’t ever thought of.

Jean Bennett isn't you're typical grandma - unless you're picturing Gemma Teller Morrow, that is. Jean drinks, smokes, swears, and sleeps around, usually all at the same time, and occasionally with her gay and committed coworker, Andy. She's got a tiger tattooed on her boob, and a dingo named Sue imprinted on her heart.

A lowly guide who dreams of becoming a ranger, Jean works at an Australian wildlife park, run by her son's ex-girlfriend Angela and owned by Angela's father. Jean and her husband Graham landed there years ago, after bouncing around the world for a while. Eventually Graham left Jean to shack up with another woman; their only child, Lee, jumped ship too, but not before hooking up with - and impregnating - Angela. Now Ange mostly keeps Jean around for the free child care (and maybe also because Ange feels sorry for her).

As for Jean, she stays stuck in this weird, awkward morass for her granddaughter Kimberley - one of the few people she can tolerate, let alone love. Jean prefers animals of the nonhuman variety, and the Park's residents/captives are her found family. She has a special place in her cockles for Sue, a dingo mix who she helped rescue as a wee little pup.

Jean's precarious life is already teetering on the edge of chaos when THE FLU arrives - first in southern Australia, then at the Park's gates, thanks to none other than an infected Lee, as charming as he is irresponsible.

Zoanthropathy (from Greek: zóo, “animal”, anthroponis, “human”, pathy, “disorder”), aka zooflu, otherwise known as "the talking animal disease," allow humans to understand and communicate with other animals:

'The strain known as zoanthropathy affects cognition in humans, and it is believed that enhanced communication between humans and nonhuman animals is possible. Zoanthropathy is hosted and spread by humans. [...] The disease is very high in morbidity and very low in mortality. Infected humans appear able to communicate (encode) and translate (decode) previously unrecognisable non-verbal communications via major senses such as sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound with nonhuman animals.'

When Lee runs off with Kimberley - to commune with the whales on the southern coast - Jean embarks on a cross-country road trip to find them. Riding shotgun is Sue, whose keen nose points the way to Tomorrow (Tomorrow being Sue's conceptualization of Kimberley. Jean is Yesterday, and Lee is Never There. Scathing, yet accurate.)

As with most potentially animal-friendly tales, I was equally nervous and excited to dive into THE ANIMALS IN THAT COUNTRY. As it is, the book both thrilled and disappointed me; I almost feel like it deserves two separate ratings, one for the idea and actualization of the dystopian zooflu future - which is breathtaking - and another for the human-centered plot that propels the audience's journey into this world - which is decidedly less so.

Let's start with the zooflu. It seems like it would be awesome to be able to talk to animals, right? Think again. I mean, really turn the idea over in your head, sit with the superpower, and try to envision what this might entail. Given that most of the nonhumans we encounter on the daily are exploited, oppressed, or otherwise negatively impacted by humans -

be it the 25 million farmed animals we create, torture, and kill for food every year in the US alone; the "wildlife" (read: free-living animals) we displace, starve, and kill through habitat loss; the dogs and cats we buy, neglect, and then abandon at shelters; or the animals we unintentionally hit with our cars (or the bugs we trod on just walking down the street); etc. x infinity

- we are weapons of mass destruction. To most of our nonhuman kin (and sometimes our fellow humans, too). Instead of words of wisdom and messages of hope, we'd be more likely to hear cries of terror. Confusion. Pain and agony. Hellfire, everywhere. Created and fueled by us and our own.

Heck, I'm not even sure it would be beneficial to always know exactly what our beloved, nonhuman family members are thinking. I have a fifteen-year-old dog named Finn who's going deaf and blind and battling dementia. More often than not, I suspect that being privy to his innermost thoughts would freak me the fuck out. Not to mention break my damn heart.

And then there's the mode of communication: not just just verbal, as we're used to, but all-encompassing: "sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound." Think pheromones, sound waves, scratches and ticks. The beating of countless tiny wings, all bombarding your brain and trying to tell you something. That kind of thing, coming at you uninvited and from all directions, is apt to drive a person mad. And it does, as evidenced by zooflu sufferers who stuff their orifices with whatever's handy to block incoming stimuli - or, at the more extreme end, the pseudo-religious trepanners who invite strangers to drill holes in their skulls in a misguided attempt to relieve the pressure.

Talking to animals sounds like the stuff of dreams - but in McKay's hands, it's a nightmare.

And a pretty trippy one, at that: fittingly, the incoming messages that Jean's left to decode aren't quite what you'd call straightforward. There's a lot of translation required, and Google hasn't yet caught up:

I’m reading her body like some language I barely remember from a high school textbook. Bonjour madame, connaissez-vous le chemin de la gare? Let’s go to the station. Or, where the hell is the supermarket? I can parrot the words, but the meaning is in scraps.

Copies of this book should be sold with a sheet of acid, or maybe some edibles. I kid, but also not.

If, like me, you assumed that increased understanding and compassion would surely spring forth from this newfound ability to communicate with nonhuman animals, you'd be wrong. While some people do indeed embrace the flu, many others lash out: animal-free zones are established, and hungry citizens start hunting former pets, since they make for easy prey (apparently they've never heard of fruits and veggies?).

There's one especially excruciating scene that I don't think I'll ever be able to forget. Jean takes refuge in a makeshift church, only to catch a glimpse of how the missionaries make their sausage (stew):

A small fluffy dog has pelted out a kitchen door, thin bit of twine tangled around its legs, body blonde fire, screaming, Hello. Please. Please bite its soft. Quick. Help me. I jump up, calling the poor little bugger, but the parishioners shriek louder, climbing on their chairs like that dog is the snake from the garden of Eden. The woman rushes for her daughter and hauls her by an arm out of the room. It’s funny, for a second, until the laugh dies in my throat. The little dog, too tangled in the twine to move, slumps panting in the aisle. It’s not just m e. Where’s other me. She’s still — The god-botherers are faster than me. They grab that dog with WWF wrestling passion, using real lumps of wood, real knives. The little dog has enough time to issue a thick whiff of terror from its undercarriage, Help her, before they’ve slit it ear to ear right there in the pulpit. There was no blood with Lee. He didn’t even look that drowned. He might have come alive any moment. He might be alive right now in his grave. This little dog, though, is bleeding out on the beige carpet. The door to the kitchen is open. Matthew the soup cook leans on the jamb, then turns back. A fluffy tail on a chopping board. The steaming pots. Pain like a stab to my guts — he stirs a soup very much like the one he was serving up in the park.

Of course, this scene is so repulsive to most of us - Jean included - only because the animal being killed and consumed is designated for "companionship" instead of "food," at least in this particular culture. Chances are you've known and loved a dog or two yourself - and so the doomed beast transforms from a something to a someone. Not an unfeeling object to be used and discarded at will, but a sentient creature with her own feelings, desires, and loved ones. Had it been a chicken or pig, the result wouldn't be quite so horrifying; Jean herself eats meat, and justifies doing so, on several occasions.

Yet an earlier scene - in which Jean comes upon an abandoned tractor trailer truck packed with pigs destined for slaughter - will hopefully challenge readers to expand their circle of compassion:

I’ve seen battery hogs before — of course I have. But not out and about. Not staggering around and trying to walk, calling to whatever they think is ‘more’. Glazed eyes that strain like they’ve never seen sunlight. Skin stretched over bodies fed to the point of bursting — something between swine and meat. Saw some animal liberationists on the street in the city one time, saying factory farms were the same as Nazi camps. I called them bloody racists too. The pigs clatter past me down the ramp, fucked-up eyes on the road ahead, calling, Hello is it more. Those animal nutters were wrong, but not in the way I thought. It’s not the same as the Nazis: that was us doing to us. What’s this? [...] A hurt sow sits on her haunches, then lies down on the verge, panting unevenly under the slathering sun. Another weaves blindly over the asphalt toward her, flies spinning around her head. They push their noses into each other. Send me a postcard, the sick one says. Postcard, indeed. What the fuck. I watch more closely. The meaning bright off that tight skin. All the little bits saying, Leave me, and, I’ll hear about it, and, Don’t you see it. Move on. There’s more. The ones that can walk stretch their legs, for, More, more, more. I stand at the top of the truck ramp watching them break into a group trot toward the next paddock. Skin rippling. Hooves carolling. Know that heart-in-your-mouth run. Know exactly what ‘more’ is. I’ve seen it in Lee and I’ve had it too, at times. These pigs are half dead, they’re stumbling around, blind, mad, and fucking hopeful.

Even if many of the characters in this book resist the humanity clearly evident in nonhuman animals, I hope that readers will hold these passages close - especially at the dinner table.

Sue, our main nonhuman protagonist, is a fascinating character; like many of the semi-domesticated animals in the park, McKay paints her as a series of conflicting impulses: safety or freedom. Hunger or satiation. Dingoes or humans. She is fiercely loyal, much to her own detriment. She has wants and needs of her own, and she's often satisfied to set them aside for the good of her (adopted) pack.

And I guess that brings me to the second half of this review: the humans, most of whom are awful. Jean, exponentially so.

Initially I thought that Jean would be my people: she's a hard-drinking, mold-breaking badass broad who gets on better with animals than people. She has a mini-rescue in her backyard where she keeps some of the park's doomed relinquishments. (The public treats the park like a rehab facility when in fact it's in the business of entertainment - old, sick, injured, and "common" animals are routinely killed.) She and Kimberley spend their afternoons together designing the animal rescue they hope to build one day.

But Jean is kind of a terrible person. To call her a misanthrope is half the story: she's also senselessly mean and cruel, especially when drunk, hungover, or frustrated (in other words, 90% of the time). I don't fault Jean for her substance abuse problem - alcoholism is a mental health issue and should be treated as such - but nor is it an excuse for being such an asshole. (There's even a scene where she trolls people discussing the zooflu online, like a fucking American redhat.) She's shit to everyone around her, except for Kimberley and Lee (Lee, who could use a good ass-kicking).

And then there's Sue: Sue, who followed Jean across the damn country when she should have been settling into a dingo pack of her own. Sue, who found Kimberley and saved Jean's life. Sue, who is nothing but good and true and trustworthy. Sue, who Jean assaults on multiple occasions: kicking her in the ribs, binding her with rope to prevent her escape, and even trying to shoot her (with a gun that's thankfully empty of bullets). At one point, she "forgives" Sue for saving her life - as if Sue's the one who needs forgiveness!

Despite the abuse, Sue continues to stick by Jean's side, which galled me endlessly. Towards the end of the story, following the attempted murder, Sue gets revenge of a sort, dominating a delirious Jean and forcing her subservience. However, the book ends shortly thereafter, cutting any sense of satisfaction far too short.

I really felt cheated with Jean: I thought she might be my avatar in this world - but she's just another terrible human who doesn't deserve the company of animals.

Likewise, the whole subplot involving Kimberley's parentage is way over the top dramatic and unnecessary; it seemed like we were being plucked from a dystopia and dropped into a soap opera for a minute there. Just, gross. So yeah, there are definitely some aspects of the book that I appreciated more than others. THE ANIMALS IN THAT COUNTRY may be imperfect - but I'd still wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking to explore our relationship to nonhuman animals in a dystopian setting.

#books #reviews #book reviews #fiction #science fiction #dystopia #nonhuman animals #Laura Jean McKay #the animals in that country

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raendown · 4 years

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Pairing: TobiramaItachi Word count: 5077 Rated: T+ Summary: Itachi and Tobirama get a cat. They didn't really mean to. They certainly weren't prepared to.

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Meow and Furever

They hadn’t actually intended to get a cat. If not for their own collective lack of creativity they would never have even been inside the shop that day. Social niceties dictated they bring some sort of gift to Hashirama’s house-warming party that weekend but neither of them were any good at buying gifts for other people; such was the main reason they had a long standing agreement to the limit of one gift each during the holidays. Without any better ideas they had come to the conclusion that they would instead purchase gifts for Hashirama’s many dogs. That was just the sort of cute gesture he would adore and it came with the added bonus of not disappointing any human recipients.

So off they went to peruse through aisle upon aisle of nonsense toys that made an entire cacophony of noises when squeezed or shaken. It was standing at the end of aisle twenty-seven with a plastic hotdog between his hands that Itachi spotted the beast who would change their lives forever.

“Tobi,” he murmured from one corner of his mouth. When the other did not respond he reached out to nudge lightly with one elbow. Tobirama grunted, looking up from comparing two different squeaky donuts.

“What is it?”

“Look.”

He did. And what he saw was quite possibly the ugliest cat he had ever come across in his entire life. Situated behind glass in a wall of cages designed to attract potential pet parents while also keeping the animals safe, a pair of amber eyes glared back at him in a way that spelled death. Or possibly begged for treats. It was hard to tell under the absolute explosion of ginger fur and the massive jaw.

Almost before Tobirama could process the man had even moved Itachi was across the aisle and all but pressed against the glass barrier, fingers coming up to trace patterns in the air for the angry ball of fluff to follow with its eyes. The store employee standing nearby gave them a side glance that practically smelled like a sales pitch. She watched with dollar signs in her eyes as the giant orange cat stretched out both front legs and yawned, showing off uneven teeth sticking out in all sorts of strange directions, then pattered daintily closer to the glass where it sat and resumed staring at the brave human who dared to approach.

“What on earth happened to its face?” Tobirama wondered out loud. As though it heard him, the cat turned to look at him with both ears swiveled forward as best they could over the crumpled folds of skin. Despite its obvious feline roots one could almost mistake it for a pug with a face that squished.

“Poor genetics,” the nearby employee piped up. “He was born that way. It’s put off quite a number of potential owners.”

“I think he’s beautiful,” Itachi breathed.

When the cat looked back in his direction he cooed and wriggled his fingers enticingly. Tobirama sighed. After several years together he knew his partner very well and he knew the look in those dark, beloved eyes. Come hell or high water they were going to take that animal home. Oh he could put up a fuss and dig in his heels, he could come up with a dozen logical arguments why they shouldn’t or couldn’t, but when Itachi really wanted something he had ways of being quite convincing. All of them were very underhanded. None of them were the sort of thing Tobirama wanted strangers to witness in the middle of a public pet shop.

Still, he had a reputation to maintain. With as stern of an expression as he could muster he simply growled, “No.”

“But look at him!” Itachi whipped about to stare at him with wide eyes.

“I am,” Tobirama said. “He’s as ugly as sin.”

“He’s perfect.”

“The answer is no, Itachi, we are not taking him with us. We don’t have anything for a cat at home. He would destroy the furniture we only just finished paying off!”

Despite knowing this was a battle he would inevitably lose Tobirama folded his arms with every intention of standing his ground.

An hour later they were trooping out the front door of the shop with half a dozen bags of assorted feline paraphernalia and a plastic carrier containing one very smug orange monster. The inside was meant to be lined with blankets for extra comfort but after the third was ruined before it could even make it halfway inside the staff decided that perhaps it was best they keep anything soft far away from those sharp claws until the thing was no longer their problem. Tobirama said a silent goodbye to the sides of his couch even as he watched Itachi settle the carrier across both knees and murmur soothingly through the grated door. Incredibly, he did not get hissed at.

For the entirety of the drive home the two new cat parents discussed their options for names. On the adoption forms Itachi had written down the first thing that came to mind simply for the sake of being able to take him home quicker but that was one thing Tobirama had successfully put his foot down on. He refused to call out ‘Butternut Squash’ whenever he inevitably got angry at the cat for something. They tossed a lot of options back and forth and by the end of the drive it was narrowed down to two different options.

“I would have thought you’d be more excited about ‘Tang’,” Itachi mused. “It’s close enough to the word dang that you could almost feel like you’re swearing.”

“True. Unfortunately it reminds me of that awful drink powder my brothers were all obsessed with when we were young.”

“Ah yes. That would be why I rejected ‘Clifford’. I remember it a little too well from a show my own brother used to enjoy.” He frowned briefly, though it faded when his new monster gave off a sort of rumbling sound that might have been purr or growl, it was impossible to tell.

Pulling in to the driveway, Tobirama gave a sage nod. He’d never liked that show either. “Alright so what are we going for? I’ll leave the final decision up to you; are we calling him Winston or Rohan?”

He didn’t get an answer until after they had fought their way out of the car and in to the home with their many large bags. Itachi set the carrier down on the kitchen floor and then sat beside it to coo through the door soothingly. Whether or not it worked was hard to tell. Before opening the door to let their new family member roam free he paused to crane his neck up with a smile.

“Would you consider another option?” he asked.

“Seriously?” Tobirama lifted one eyebrow. “We just spent half an hour narrowing this down and you want to throw in a new contender?”

“Tesla. We could call him Tesla.”

“...because all that fur makes him look like he’s been in some sort of electrical accident?”

“Precisely.” As if to prove the point he’d already made Itachi squeezed the latch and twisted, swinging the little door open, then beamed with a parental sort of pride as their newest addition came stumping out of its carrier in a gait that reminded Tobirama very uncomfortably of his brother’s best friend.

True to his proposed name, however, the cloud of orange fur surrounding the cat’s massive bulk stood out from his body in raggedy clumps that gave a very good impression of being recently electrocuted. After pausing to rub himself up against Itachi’s knee almost incidentally he took a few cautious steps and lifted his nose to sniff the air. His misshapen little nose wriggled in time with his ears, swiveling front and back while he tried to take in as much information as possible about this new environment. Both humans watched him take a few more steps-

Only to plop his bottom down on the linoleum and declare the whole adventure business to be too much trouble. Instead he stretched out and rolled over to put all four paws in the air.

“I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean,” Tobirama murmured.

“Maybe that he feels safe here already?” Hesitating very briefly, Itachi reached out and dared to run his fingers through the wild hair covering the belly on offer. “Oh. Oh he’s so soft!”

“So clumpy, you mean. I wonder when he last groomed himself.”

His partner gave him a stern look. “Quit insulting him and just tell me whether or not you like the name!”

“Yes, I think Tesla is a good name for him,” Tobirama gave in. It wasn’t a lie, he did think it was a good name and it definitely appealed to his nerdy side, he was just a little too fond of the way Itachi’s nose wrinkled whenever he was exasperated. He was a little too fond of many things about this man.

Tesla himself seemed to approve of the name and he showed this by rolling heavily back on to his feet and strutting away from them both with his tail held high in the air. His short hesitant footsteps were surprisingly delicate for a creature of his size. Just as Tobirama was beginning to think that perhaps adopting him wouldn’t be quite as big of a change to their lives as he had initially suspected Tesla paused to lock his gaze on to the dishes piled up by the sink. With both of their families stopping by for visits over the past week there hadn’t been much free time to wash the dishes just yet so the stacks were getting just a little wobbly. That, of course, is precisely what caught Tesla’s attention.

Before either of them had time to do more than gasp with prophetic despair Tesla crouched down and launched himself upwards straight towards the tallest and most wobbly stack of dishes on the countertop. It was only by the grace of some god or other that all the bowls and cups he smacked in to face first were each made of plastic. A good thing, too, as they all immediately came cascading down towards the floor amid shrieking yowls of surprise. Tesla’s little claws screeched against the kitchen floor as he landed only to shoot out of the room in fright, abandoning his new parents to the task of cleaning up his very first mess.

Tobirama felt he was being incredibly generous by waiting until after they had spent five minutes chasing waywards cups that really wanted to roll their way to freedom before turning to his partner with both eyebrows on the upper limits of his forehead. Unfortunately for the sassy remark he’d been composing in his head, Itachi beat him to the punch.

“He lived his whole life in that shelter,” he reasoned. “A pile of dishes is probably something he’s never seen before; he couldn’t have known that would happen!”

“Don’t think logic will save him from my wrath every time,” Tobirama muttered.

Gathering up as much dignity as he could, he set all his gathered dishes down and swept out of the room. Now would have been a perfect time to actually wash the dirty cutlery and so on but he was much more concerned with what else their fluffy new resident could have gotten in to. Five minutes was a long time for a cat to be loose in an unfamiliar environment. All it took was a couple of visits to any of his brothers’ homes to know that pets were their own class of natural disaster.

As it turned out, his instincts were correct. Barely two steps past the kitchen Tobirama broke out in to a run as a terrible ripping sound reached his ears. When he skidded in to the living room it was to find Tesla halfway up their living room curtains, although by the look of the long rips he’d probably made it quite a bit higher before the polyester gave up its structural integrity. Granted, those curtains were ugly as ugly as he was and only remained in the window because they’d been a gift from Itachi’s younger brother at some point, but that didn’t make the prospect of replacing them any more pleasant.

“I should leave you there,” Tobirama snapped. Tesla wriggled until he could tilt his head for a very cute and innocent meow.

“What happ- oh! He’s stuck! Can you hold the curtains still so I can get him down?” Itachi inched around their cluttered living room to reach the window where he began stroking down the cat’s back, hoping to sooth him.

Tesla honestly didn’t look like he needed much soothing. He purred to have such gentle affection, a sound that could be compared to a dying lawn mower, and continued to hang in place as though such had been his intentions all along. It took the two humans working together several minutes to detangle all four sets of claws so they could set the cat back on the ground, whereupon he immediately leapt on to the couch and began kneading the blanket Mito had crocheted for Itachi as a birthday present several years back.

“You’re not going to stop him?” Tobirama asked incredulously. “He’s going to pull out all the threads and leave holes!”

“It’s crochet, it’s already full of holes. No one will notice.”

“Mito will notice.”

Like he’d been struck with lightning Itachi launched in to action, crawling over furniture to reach for Tesla and very gently encourage him to leave the blanket alone. Evidently having his activities interrupted was grounds for declaring war in cat language. The moment his claws were once again detached Tesla hissed wetly at them both and took off down the hall to disappear in to yet another new room. Both men hurried after him.

One cat, Tobirama thought to himself as they came to a skidding halt outside the bathroom. It was only one bloody cat. If he didn’t already know the exact devastated expression his partner would give him for doing so he would give up now and toss the bloody animal outside in to the garden. Gently, of course, because he was actually pretty fond of cats himself. But he was also fond of maintaining an orderly home life and while the cat he’d taken care of growing up had been docile, almost demure, it hadn’t exactly taken him a lot of time to realize this one would not behave the same. They may have chosen his name for the way his fur stuck out at odd angles but it was becoming very clear that Tesla had lightning in his veins as well. Tobirama could already predict many nights being awoken by an attack of ‘the zoomies’ as his brother called it.

“Ah! Tesla! Don’t eat that please!” Itachi hurried forward to rescue the bowl of sweets he kept on his side of the bed for the rare occasion he got a craving. “I don’t think those are good for you.” Tesla meowed curiously and made a valiant effort to follow the bowl, determined to continue inspecting the contents.

“Just let him sniff it and maybe he’ll leave it alone once he knows what it is,” Tobirama suggested.

“But what if he tries to eat one?”

With a sigh Tobirama looked down at the cat stretched up on his hind legs and shook his head. “Then I suggest putting it inside your nightstand for now. Come on, you, let's show you where your litter box and food are. Maybe that will calm you down.”

Tesla gave a very loud protest when he was picked up without further warning. As good as he’d been in the carrier, he didn’t seem to appreciate being swung freely through the air. Unfortunately Tobirama didn’t trust him to keep his claws to himself just yet and so he opted for holding the beast out in front of him like a stinky sack of potatoes rather than cuddling him up close as he would with any other cat. Considering the size of him it was no surprise that Tobirama’s arms began to feel the strain long before he finally made his way in to the laundry room where they planned to set up the litter, figuring this was the best place for any possible stinkiness.

Only after he had arrived and found himself in the middle of the room did he remember that they hadn’t actually had time to set anything up just yet.

“How much do you love me?” he asked in a flat voice. From behind he heard Itachi cough in a poor attempt at covering up a bit of laughter.

“Enough to lock you in here with him while I go get everything ready.”

Tobirama sighed despondently. It was probably for the best. Leaving Tesla in here alone would probably result in some kind of disaster. Reluctantly and with much pouting, he agreed, watching the door close them in like a prisoner might watch the door to his jail cell slam shut. When they were alone he set Tesla on top of the washing machine and wrinkled his nose in irritation when the cat immediately began pawing at a stack of clean laundry. He supposed he should say goodbye now to the idea of ever being cat hair free again. Not even a lint roller was going to save him from this explosion of puff.

By some merciful twist of fate it only took Itachi a few minutes to set up the food and water dishes in their kitchen and fill the litter box, something he did right outside the door. The sound of him pouring litter just a plank of wood away drove Tesla absolutely mad and set him to scratching at the door until finally Itachi opened it.

“Clearly he’s already decided which of us to attach himself to.”

“Well can you blame him?” Itachi carefully set the box down and buried his fingers in orange fur. “From the sounds of it I was the first person to ever give him a chance. Just look at this face, who could ever help loving a face like this?”

If not for the fact that he was overly aware he was making the exact same expression as the cat, Tobirama would have had some very different answers to that question. Instead he only darkened his scowl and turned away. Stupid animal. As soon as his partner spotted the thing he’d known they would end up taking it home but it was only now hitting him just how sleepless, fur-covered, and lonely his future was looking. The shame was probably the worst part. He was jealous of a cat. A cat. Well, more of an orange monster that was clearly plotting to steal all of Itachi’s time and affection away from him.

Doing his best to consciously smooth his face in to something more neutral and unrelated to cat based jealousy, Tobirama cleared his throat. “Shouldn’t we be showing him his litter box so he knows where it is? That’s supposed to be important.”

“Oh, right, yeah.”

“So maybe you should put him down, then?”

“But listen to him purring…” Itachi gave him a tiny smile that blossomed in to a full grin when he laid his head down against Tesla’s side to listen to his monstrous purrs from up close.

With a huff Tobirama nudged the litter box. “Just put him in it.”

It was already happening. The stupid beast was already stealing Itachi’s best smiles, the really soft ones normally reserved just for him when the two of them were all alone. And he was already feeling stupid for letting it get to him. Tobirama wondered if it would be a little too childish to bury the stupid thing in litter while it was still clean just to have what petty revenge he could; it wasn’t as though Tesla would really understand, after all. Stealing Itachi away wasn’t exactly premeditated.

Nor was it real, the man was still right there and he would no doubt still have a part of his large heart reserved for the one who shared his bed, it was just that Tobirama was already fairly sure their bed had just gained another occupant.

“Come on little one, like this!” Itachi used the litter scoop to dig through it like he was teaching a child something new.

“I think he knows how to bury his own shit,” Tobirama grumbled. “The store said he was box trained.”

“What if this isn’t the brand they used? Change can be confusing for anyone.”

“Oh for- I’m going to make dinner.”

So he did. Tobirama ignored the bemused questions that followed him out in to the hall, calling back over his shoulder that keeping up with Tesla’s explorations was Itachi’s responsibility for now as he himself stomped off to the kitchen while trying not to be obvious about said stomping.

Irritated as he was, he chose not to make anything too complicated for dinner, not wanting to let his distraction affect how well he cared for his beloved partner. He definitely had an advantage in this arena. Tesla was great and all but his paws probably weren’t all that useful in the kitchen - not to mention he would coat anything he touched in long ginger fur. Not very tasty for humans.

Eventually as he went about his business the familiar motions of chopping and stirring and fiddling with their faulty stove dials helped center him, calming the silly emotions he hadn’t been able to help. There was something about the simple domesticity of housework that never failed to bring him back in to himself. Probably because housework didn’t require much of his brainpower and so allowed him plenty of time to work through his thoughts without any expectations or outside pressures. Tobirama opened the dishwasher to pull out his favorite set of miso bowls and admitted silently to himself that he might have overreacted to getting a cat. Sure he usually loved cats and yes he had very much enjoyed having one as a child but he and Itachi had lived alone together for close to a decade at this point, their home had become a place where he knew that the rest of the world could fade away and he could envelope himself in nothing but the quiet man who stole his heart from the very first date. It was a little embarrassing to realize that he’d grown so attached to that concept that even as simple of an addition as a pet could make him feel threatened. Itachi would love him no less. Pay him no less attention. Really there was nothing to worry about.

Almost as though he could sense that a bit of mental peace had been reached, Itachi came wandering in to the room just as Tobirama was pulling down some glasses. He insisted on setting the table, for which Tobirama was grateful, and in only a couple of minutes they were both seated together devouring a simple yet delicious meal. The kitchen was Tobirama’s domain and his talents in that area only grew with each year. On the other hand Itachi hadn’t learned to cook until he was nearly thirty and his talents mostly included bowling water.

When Tesla came wandering in to the room with a plaintive yowl Tobirama found it in himself not to glare at the sight of his partner leaping up immediately to guide him towards the cat dish. He supposed the animal deserved to have dinner as well and they might as well eat at the same time. A small fragment of his mental peace was shattered when Tesla began to eat, however, and he realized the stupid thing snarfed down its food with a litany of disgusting sounds almost like he were gargling it. Just because he accepted that the beast would be living here didn’t mean he had to like the thing.

“Thank you for agreeing to let him come home with us,” Itachi said as he slid back in to his chair. Tobirama grunted. “I can’t imagine how it must have felt to stay in that place for so long with only a tiny cage to live in and never have anyone love him.”

Rather than answer all Tobirama could do was grunt again and stir his miso aimlessly while trying not to feel guilty for fantasizing earlier about tossing the thing out.

Dinner was quick, the clean up after even quicker, and even though it was probably a bad idea Tobirama decided that the rest of the evening would be his own, determined to ignore any shenanigans their new addition might get up to. Several people had told him over the years that he was too uptight. He would show them. Of course he knew how to relax, how to let the small things go. How much damage could one animal do in the short span of a single evening?

After the past couple of hours he already knew the answer to that question; he chose to ignore it.

Never having been a large fan of most popular TV shows, he spent the rest of his evening curled up in one corner of their large couch trying not to leap up and investigate every crash or yowl or quiet scolding word. Listening to his partner follow the cat around while Tesla continued learning this new environment did make him feel slightly guilty. Not guilty enough to actually go help though, not when getting the damn thing had been all Itachi’s idea. Sometimes he could be a nice guy but he certainly wasn’t that nice. Instead he combated his helpful urges by sinking farther and farther in to the cushions with every loud noise until he was all but buried between them and tried his best not to imagine what chaos was being made of his neat and orderly home. Whatever got misplaced he was sure Itachi would at least try to clean it up.

By the time his phone went off to tell him he should probably go to bed - a daily alarm he’d been using since college when his study habits grew wildly unhealthy - his efforts to relax hadn’t been nearly as successful as he would have liked but he wasn’t feeling quite so twisted up in knots as he had been before dinner. Tobirama called a few vague words down the hall to let his partner know he was tucking in for the night, pleased to hear Itachi call back that he would follow in a few minutes. A man of his word, he was in the bedroom getting changed when Tobirama came back out of the bathroom, teeth freshly brushed and flossed.

Since Itachi always took so much longer to perform his nightly ablutions Tobirama had plenty of time to slip under the covers and squirm about to find a comfortable position. He didn’t often move around much in his sleep but the older he got the more prone he was to aching limbs if he didn’t fall asleep in just the right position. Just as Itachi came out and crossed the room to turn out the light Tobirama at last found the perfect spot, spread out on his side just close enough to the center of the bed that when the other man crawled under the sheets he was able to fit himself right in to the cradle of Tobirama’s hips. As much as he liked to pretend that cuddling was something he only did for his partner’s benefit, it did help him sleep most days. Tobirama was grateful that slumber was such a private activity. There was no need for anyone else to know that under his gruff exterior he was nearly as sappy as his older brother.

Like he often did, Tobirama had trouble falling asleep. Listening to the sound of Itachi’s breathing evening out relaxed him, of course, but he still found himself distressingly awake to hear the sound of their bedroom door creaking open ever so slightly. A scowl touched his face when he felt the end of the mattress dip under a tiny weight.

“Do you really have to?” he grumbled under his breath.

As though in answer Tesla gave a low meow and trotted a full circle around the lump their bodies made together under the covers, looking for the perfect spot to lie down. No choice could have been more surprising than the one he went for. Tobirama was left blinking rapidly at the back of Itachi’s head when he felt soft fur press up against his neck; almost immediately his entire frame was practically shaken with the force of Tesla’s raucous purring. He didn’t even like the stupid thing but of course he was the one it wanted to cuddle with as they all slept through their first night together.

That, of course, was when it hit him. He understood at last why his partner had fallen so deeply in love with this creature and why it had been so important that they take him home. If ever there had existed a cat form of Tobirama himself it would be Tesla. Coarse and unrefined, prone to explorations and a curiosity that was never quite sated, he himself was exactly the sort of person many others would pass up without a second thought. He was grumpy, he was cantankerous, and he wasn't much to look at. But at the end of the day when it was only him and the ones he loved Tobirama was as soft as melted butter. If he could purr then he certainly would have every time he fitted himself around Itachi’s warm and welcoming form.

“Alright, fine,” he murmured, shifting so Tesla could curl around his head a little more comfortably. “You can stay. Just to be clear, though, I was still here first. And don’t you forget that.”

He didn’t get much of a reply but he wasn’t really expecting one. Tesla merely continued to purr, Itachi continued to dream, and Tobirama decided that he didn’t mind expanding his family just a little bit. Of all the possible choices for a pet it did warm him inside to know that, in a way, his partner had chosen to fall in love with him all over again.

#rae writes #commission #tobiita #tobirama #itachi #fanfiction

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punkscowardschampions · 3 years

Text

Zelda & Zach

ihatemyguts: Good thing you told me how bubble boy posi Robyn’s ‘rents are

ihatemyguts: ‘cos that felt like such a brush-off

ihatemyguts: I feel kinda bad, it’s low-key just upset her with no shopping trip pay-off 😬

inandout: your first date was today

inandout: the insane jealousy must have forced me to forget

ihatemyguts: Obviously

ihatemyguts: moping and staring out of open windows would be bad for your health

ihatemyguts: probably

ihatemyguts: can’t have that

inandout: mope hard enough and fling myself all over the house, they’ll call it exercise

ihatemyguts: I’d let Rob know but her parents would probably sue me

ihatemyguts: I did some research

ihatemyguts: and yeah, flare-ups fucking suck, but if she was struggling that bad rn she’d be in hospital getting her 💉 on

ihatemyguts: makes me ⁉️ if the meetup will happen

inandout: makes me wonder if her brothers are allowed out

inandout: if they are maybe they can help us smuggle her to the meetup

ihatemyguts: not just a pretty face

ihatemyguts: that’s a damn good idea

ihatemyguts: I can slide in their DMs

inandout: Cranking up the jealousy metre to give me a full work out, I see, are you gonna be a PE teacher when you grow up?

ihatemyguts: *prays they aren’t like 12*

ihatemyguts: imagine if that was my life’s ambition

ihatemyguts: wear unflattering sportswear and give kids complexes

ihatemyguts: even without the potential life-shortening illness, I’d reconsider that

inandout: it tracks that you’d wanna make them 💩 and bringing back the bleep test could work

ihatemyguts: okay I’m not 🦹‍♀️ or 🐯 levels of sweet but is that what you really think of me? 😏

inandout: I think there’s only one rebel teacher coming to mind and I haven’t watched that film so all I know is they stand on desks

inandout: probably not a perfect fit for you

ihatemyguts: I could force you to watch it for our first date

ihatemyguts: and ask you, what your dream job would be

inandout: Netflix and chill or cinema screening of the ‘classics’?

inandout: we could do a drive-thru

ihatemyguts: hmm 🤔

ihatemyguts: there are pluses to ‘em all

ihatemyguts: cinema, we could laugh at all the snobs and 🤓s

inandout: Cool, reach out to me with the time + date when it’s showing

inandout: Are you allowed 🍿?

ihatemyguts: oh hell no

ihatemyguts: have to find another way to hold my hand

inandout: 🦸‍♀️ said she was gonna look up ice breakers and stuff, hopefully it was a fruitful search and she won’t mind sharing the info

ihatemyguts: do you think she legit didn’t realize how thirsty that boy was for her

ihatemyguts: or is it all uwu coy-ness

inandout: It’s hard to tell

inandout: but if I remember my glasses I’ll do my best to decode her body language from 6 ft away

ihatemyguts: aside from hospital, have you ever met someone else with cf?

inandout: Nope

inandout: jokes aside, it really is discouraged

ihatemyguts: that’s a hard one to get your head around

ihatemyguts: far as adjustments go

inandout: getting Robbie at this meetup won’t be easy

inandout: separate ones mean we might not have her there

ihatemyguts: I reckon we can trust you and Kara to keep the teen love story fictional

ihatemyguts: for all our sake’s

inandout: She’ll get her man

inandout: it’s not like bad advice and dating pitfalls are just a click away

ihatemyguts: cosmos never steered ANYONE wrong

inandout: Yahoo answers neither

ihatemyguts: might be confused as to why they’re not related

inandout: [I like to think he’s just sending his fave yahoo answer answers now for the lols]

ihatemyguts: [meme back and forth lads]

ihatemyguts: if she gets her date we could go into the matchmaker business

ihatemyguts: start at home

ihatemyguts: 🤖 don’t last forever

inandout: Rob’ll need to be next or she won’t forgive us

inandout: and we’ll soon get tired/guilty of seeing the amount of 😿💔 spam the chat

ihatemyguts: we’ll have to liberate her first

ihatemyguts: in a literal way

ihatemyguts: not the pretentious, free your 🧠 type of vibe

inandout: Kidnap’s playing into her parents’ fears but we don’t have a better option

ihatemyguts: now it’s my turn for a potential 💡

ihatemyguts: what if that is exactly what she should do

inandout: jump scare them?

ihatemyguts: if she did some actual wild shit to show them they’re being suffocating, ‘scuse the mention, then they’ll have to compromise and let her do normal kid things and everyone will win

ihatemyguts: I realize getting her to wild out might be a problem

ihatemyguts: catfish it though?

inandout: 💡⭐️

inandout: getting her to agree to do it for real would take longer than we have but you’re right, faking it wouldn’t take any time at all

ihatemyguts: get Lauren to picture whatever the hell she’s up to

ihatemyguts: sorted

inandout: + there’s your next photo challenge ready to be accepted, dressing as if you were going on a date with 👵🌈✨ instead

ihatemyguts: hold my neon

ihatemyguts: and think, do we clue Rob in on this plan now or do it on her behalf first, ‘cos we could hit up her house phone with some madness to get ‘em sus now and when she’s like wuuuuut it’ll sound even more

ihatemyguts: or is that a bit evil genius instead of 🦹‍♀️

inandout: Does she even have a house phone? We don’t

inandout: you’ll have to find another way to trick my parents into believing I’m a badass

ihatemyguts: I bet they do

ihatemyguts: can’t trust a mobile

ihatemyguts: and I bet they don’t have a microwave, they’re that sort

ihatemyguts: obvs I’ll just direct them to Lauren on your friends list with a 🤔

inandout: We should probably warn her, in case she takes it the wrong way

inandout: or decides to stand up to them for her YA movie moment

ihatemyguts: yeah, you’re right

ihatemyguts: if she doesn’t go for it, her brothers might be of use still

ihatemyguts: have to focus my evil energy elsewhere

ihatemyguts: such as…

ihatemyguts: 🥁

ihatemyguts: [one of the crazier lewks from babyteeth for the photo challenge]

inandout: 🤞🏻 one of them is old enough to drive the people carrier

inandout: Uhh… that was a suspiciously fast transformation

ihatemyguts: didn’t know you was challenging a pro?

ihatemyguts: and someone with a lot of time on her hands

inandout: I do now

inandout: and I’m guessing it’s not every day you get stood up based on what else I know about you

ihatemyguts: it’s a first

ihatemyguts: not that I constantly ask people out

ihatemyguts: but that is what I’ve put across so fair enough

ihatemyguts: what am I interrupting for you?

inandout: I’m waiting on friends

inandout: this could end in both of us being stood up

ihatemyguts: am I a drag you down with me type?

ihatemyguts: hmm

ihatemyguts: nah, I’ll cross my fingers that your friends aren’t flaky

inandout: Late, but I’d be too if it wasn’t my house

inandout: What are you gonna do now shopping’s off?

ihatemyguts: life is one big photo challenge, right

ihatemyguts: yours is ‘whatever will make your friends double-take when they open the door’

ihatemyguts: it’s a good question

ihatemyguts: we’re going to virtual shop tomorrow but she wasn’t up for it today

inandout: Wait for it and their faces

inandout: + you’re virtually invited to watch movies and play games, you won’t be the only one who isn’t here in person

ihatemyguts: 👍

ihatemyguts: cool

ihatemyguts: meeting new people is my new thing, as long as your mates are down/not the level of nerd that they might get a nosebleed if a girl is about

inandout: Some of them are girls if that helps

inandout: and my brother won’t be there to bring down the cool

ihatemyguts: low-key a shame

ihatemyguts: have to meet him before the first date though

inandout: I’ve got a father you can ask for permission if you’re feeling old-fashioned

ihatemyguts: full set

ihatemyguts: fun

ihatemyguts: mines in scotland so we’ll let you off that trek

inandout: But a road trip is a coming of age movie staple! 😫 Has Netflix aired any YA without one + are you willing to take that risk?

inandout: mine’s a workaholic but we’ve got years to catch him

ihatemyguts: forget the meds, see who gets fucked up first

ihatemyguts: it’d be a journey, for sure

ihatemyguts: do you know what he does? ‘cos so’s mine and I couldn’t tell you, tbh

inandout: Or mix them up and see what happens when you take the ones for my 💩

inandout: He’s a sales manager, he says, but why so vague?

ihatemyguts: sounds like something they’d do at cool parties

ihatemyguts: and that sounds suspish

ihatemyguts: they should have this 🤓 but with a moustache instead of the buckteeth

ihatemyguts: dads are elusive creatures… conspiracy time, what are they all up to

inandout: Not sure that’s the topic Rich has been watching vids on but I’ll ask

ihatemyguts: he can always tactfully ignore you if he’s 😳

ihatemyguts: like he does with 👵🌈✨ when she’s extra

ihatemyguts: more than usual

inandout: Be harder to do that in person

ihatemyguts: I think everyone will still get on

ihatemyguts: unless fibrofog shows, then that’ll be teen show worthy drama, of course

inandout: I think he’s genuinely blocked, he’d need a 2nd account to find out about it

ihatemyguts: hope he’s seen catfish too

inandout: He’d be a fan of the one where the man refused to believe it wasn’t Katy Perry

ihatemyguts: it does seem like the sort of thing she’d do

ihatemyguts: poor bastard

inandout: 😂

ihatemyguts: ultimate photo challenge, catfishing everyone and then going for the ruveal

ihatemyguts: might need more than just a wig 🤔😏

inandout: Dressing like her would make my friends do a double-take

inandout: [pics of some of her outrageous lewks with his head put on]

ihatemyguts: 😂😂😂

ihatemyguts: you suit the 🍦🧁🍭🍩✨

inandout: We’ve probably got a can of squirty cream lying around for hot chocolate

ihatemyguts: inhaler but make it ~sExxxIii~

inandout: [a lil video of his failed attempt to re-create that in her insta DMs or wherever because idk if they can send stuff like that here]

ihatemyguts: Katy dat you 😍😍

inandout: I’ve agreed to only string you along for 4 years not 6 and I don’t have any savings to spend 25% of on a 💍

inandout: looks like the comparison starts and stops with our black curls

ihatemyguts: not much of an orlando bloom clone myself so it’s alright

ihatemyguts: pirate is always an excellent disabled-friendly costume though so add that to the ideas board we should start

inandout: If we decide the next meetup is fancy dress, Lauren will never go back home

ihatemyguts: that’s the mood

inandout: [sends her whatever he did for the photo challenge and his friends reaction to it because why not say they’ve arrived and there’s a similar feral mood here]

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nocturne-inuyasha-ff · 4 years

Text

Chapter Sixteen: On the Edge of Forever

Author's Notes: Thanks for hanging in there. Keep in mind while reading that most of the scene changes are different narrators and the narrators are not always what you would call "reliable." Meaning, that we only see what they see or hear or think, so the reader may not ever see what's really going on.

Happy reading!

Nocturne - Chapter Sixteen: On the Edge of Forever

Rated - M (for suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, and coarse language)

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru had the audacity to look confused - his one brow risen higher than the other. "This one assumed you might desire a moment to collect yourself after an arduous journey."

Kagome set her jaw, and she almost began tapping her foot in annoyance. "No, I want to see Setsuna and make certain she is well."

"The child was well when I last saw her."

"You saw her? When?" He'd made no mention of it on the trip over, which was flabbergasting to her. "Why wouldn't you tell me that?!" she demanded.

"It was unnecessary," he began before Kagome cut him off.

"Unnecessary?! You fool, it is never unnecessary to tell a mother the wellbeing of her child!" her anger seemed to be falling on deaf ears. "What if our positions had been reversed?"

"That is preposterous. I would have never allowed myself to be taken."

Kagome groaned. "No! That's not what I meant. What if something had happened to Setsuna? Would you have wanted to know?"

"It would have made no difference."

So, he didn't care. A part of Kagome was furious while the other felt numb from his admission. "I see," she responded. "Thank you for returning me home."

Kagome strode past him and out the door to begin the walk towards the village. She could only assume that Setsuna had been left in the care of her friends. So, that was now her destination.

Sesshomaru had not bothered to stop her. Whatever his intentions were with bringing her here, where everyone was not, were as mysterious as ever.

Kagome felt overcome with emotion and unsure of which one she wanted to address first, her anger, or her misery. Anger would likely fuel her longer, so she picked up that mantle until she could decompress later. She felt foolish to think that anything occurred from the point of their first joining until now would change the way the demon lord perceived her.

Sesshomaru stepped in front of her, breaking her out of her reverie. Kagome had honestly expected him to leave after dropping her off.

"Where are you going," he asked.

"What do you want from me?" she demanded.

"It would be astute for you to collect any possession you deem worthwhile," he explained.

Kagome crossed her arms. "Why would I do that?"

"It is not safe," he answered.

"Not safe?" she repeated incredulously. "And why may that be? Because I am human and incapable of protecting myself?"

His golden eyes narrowed at her, but he remained silent for the moment, knowing she likely had more to say.

"You've already killed Fan, from what else do you need to keep me safe? I haven't needed your protection before all this, and I don't need it now," she admonished.

Sesshomaru's brow piqued, "What leads you to believe that Fan Tsenpo is dead?"

"I saw you kill him," she said almost hesitantly, now beginning to doubt herself. Why was Sesshmaru stating otherwise? Her eyes had not deceived her.

"One would be a fool to kill Fan outright. His clan must be dealt with delicately. To murder one of their own in such a fashion would be considered dishonorable; and an action of the greatest offense. They would then hunt this one down without hesitation." He stated this matter-of-factly as if it were insane to suggest otherwise.

"I merely immobilized him for the time being to afford us the ability to escape."

"So...he's still…" she trailed off.

"Correct, wounded, but alive. It will likely take Fan some time to recuperate, but when he has recovered, it would be prudent to expect retaliation of some form."

"Oh, Kami." Fear enveloped her. If Fan were alive, that would mean he could come after her again, or more likely, Setsuna. Kagome shook her head, trying to shake evil images from her mind. "It was all too easy," she lamented.

"Indeed. Fan miscalculated your abilities, and I took advantage of his misconception to escape."

"So, you knew he would tell me to kill you?" she asked dubiously.

He gave her a stern look until his right lip pulled into a small smirk. "Fan did not get the idea on his own. His penchant for collecting oddities turned out to be his folly."

Kagome balled her fists in mock anger, "Don't get cocky! He could have killed me!"

"No harm would have befallen you."

The arrogant ass! "How presumptive of you, risking our lives based on what I can only assume to be a wild hunch!"

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle," Sesshomaru quoted.

"Wait, are you quoting a...a book? You realize that particular tome was written by a human, right?"

Sesshomaru made a 'hnn' sound. "I may have held disdain for mortals, but I am not so naive as to overlook the wisdom of those I may presume as weaker. Humans have not progressed this far by chance. They lack power, agility, and longevity, but some makeup for that in cunning. "

"Wow, Lord Sesshomaru, I am...speechless," Kagome said. She cocked her head to the side, studying him in a different light.

A small smile formed on his lips, "I find that to be unbelievable." His smile quickly dropped, and he looked past her and towards her little house. "Now, back to the matter at hand. It is recommended you find what you need presently or leave it."

Kagome reflexively turned her head to the house and back, "What? I'm not leaving. I am not going to run and hide. My friends are here, and they may be in harm's way because of me. No. I am staying."

Sesshomaru shook his head. "Miko, there are many preparations to be done and an unknown time to complete them. If you plan to risk your own life, I will not compel you to accompany me, but the same cannot be said for all those involved."

Why was he so wishy-washy, instructing her to come and then backing off. "Of course, you wouldn't. Just go then!" she demanded.

He did not move. Perhaps his words were empty, and he was trying to use reverse psychology to get Kagome to leave with him.

Kagome broke, her words quiet and venerable. "Please just go. This is already hard as it is. I can't keep playing this game anyway. Don't worry about us. We will be fine. I've been through worse."

"I cannot help but worry," he admitted.

"Why?" If he would even admit that much.

He reached out and ran his hands through the strands of her hair in a thoughtful gesture. "This one knows the miko can care for herself. That I do not question."

She grabbed his hand to stop the simple caress but did not let go. "Then why is it important that I come with you?"

"To leave you and the child would be dishonorable."

She closed her eyes and held her breath. "I release you from your burden. Go forth and be free from us."

He still did not move, "You are making this difficult."

"Good, because you have made my life difficult!" she bit out. "As if things weren't already hard enough for me. Now I have to deal with my feelings for you," she blurted before stopping herself. Damn.

"What feelings?" he demanded.

She spun away, having said too much. Looking at him was enough to push her over the edge, and she had to be strong.

Sesshomaru would not allow her to leave with his question unanswered and grabbed her, pulling her into his chest. His arm wrapped around her so that she could not pull free. His head leaned down to her ear, allowing some of his silver locks to cover her shoulder. His lips were close enough to graze her ear, but his words were soft. "Speak, woman. You hold your tongue no other time."

Resisting was futile, and she could feel herself melting into his chest. "I...think...I…" her words trembled upon her lips, "may love you..." The last three words came out as a whisper, but Kagome knew he heard them.

"What a fool I am. Now, please go." She turned her head away from him as much as she could. Anything to break the spell under which she was falling.

Sesshomaru would not let her go, and his voice was hard with his monosyllabic reply. "Why?"

"Why what?" she repeated with fear.

He turned his head closer to hers, "Would you think those feelings would make you a fool?" His words seemed to hold anger in them.

Kagome sighed, "Because I am human, and even if you were to return my feelings or pretend to care, I am just a blink in your life. I cannot give you what you need or deserve, and it would be selfish of me to ask."

He released her, his arm falling away, and Kagome was able to step back and turn to see him. His eyes were soft, but his lips set into a hard line. "I liken you to many things, but never a fool."

"Then, perhaps, I am overzealous."

"You have never aspired to be more than you are, and I would never ask that of you."

Kagome closed her eyes, set upon her chosen path, "Then it's agreed."

His words cut through her. "You are trying to corner me into your narrow outlook."

Her eyes snapped open, and she asked almost hopelessly, afraid to hear his words. "Then what do you want?"

"You."

"Why?" she lamented.

"You anger me."

Kagome nearly laughed in derision. "I anger a lot of people."

Sesshomaru raised his voice over her own. "You also give me pause. I've never understood my father's inclinations until now."

He stepped close to her again, trying to use his vicinity to express his words. "How a human could intrigue me, push me, plague me."

He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, and she did not stop him. "You infiltrate my every thought, and it drives me mad. The idea of losing you is a pain insurmountable."

Tears spilled down her cheeks. "I can't love you. It's...it is not fair to you. Please... don't say these things to me."

He used his thumbs to wipe away her tears, his other hand gently grasping her face. "Kagome, do not deny yourself. Least of all to me."

The weight of his words was not lost on her. In memory, she'd not once recalled him using her name. She had to harden her heart.

He tenderly tilted her chin and possessed her lips with his own. Warmth spread through her like wildfire, and she fought an urge to pull him closer so as to melt into his body. His hands never left her face as he waited for her to signal to him that there was more to be had. She longed for it to deepen, but pulled away before she allowed it to go too far.

"No," she pleaded, turning away from him. "I must-must... Please go."

He left quietly and swiftly, to where she did not know. It was for the best, she assured herself.

o - o - o - o - o

He departed expediently. Any more time spent in her presence would have had a different outcome, one that she may not likely desire, but he did.

Sesshomaru had never met such an intoxicating and infuriating person. In a different time, he would have reacted differently, or not at all.

Like his brow, he set his course and made haste. It was only a moment before he alighted outside the Houshi's home. He could sense that the taijiya was inside, alone, aside from the presence of his young child.

Without waiting for an invitation, he walked in. Sitting next to a hearth, the woman stirred a pot with her free hand. The infant was slumbering next to her.

The woman looked startled at his abrupt appearance, abandoning her meal preparations, "Lord Sesshomaru!"

He stepped before her, "I've come to retrieve the child."

She seemed confused, looking down at the baby. "What about Kagome?!" His arrival without the child's mother seemed to unbalance her.

Sesshomaru had no time for this, "She is safe."

The taijiya grabbed the infant up and stood up. She was right to feel uneasy but also had no reason not to relinquish the baby to its father. The woman carefully placed the sleeping child into her father's waiting arms.

He stared down at the child, who was gaining size with speed. Her hair had grown even longer, curling in fine strands around her head.

"Fetch Rin," he commanded, looking back up to the taijiya.

"Is something wrong, Lord Sesshomaru?" the woman asked with concern. She looked over to a corner of the room where her gear and weaponry leaned against a wall, ready for use.

Not answering her question, Sesshomaru changed the subject. "You have called for your brother, as I suggested?"

"Uh, yes. He has arrived. I think Rin is with him."

He felt a twinge of anger at the suggestion. Rin was of marriageable age, and it was preposterous for her to be alone with a male, even one he was acquainted with and had been a traveling companion. "Accompanied by who?"

"Miroku and the children," she responded hesitantly.

That, alone, did not mollify him, but he would deal with it soon enough. "My gratitude for keeping Setsuna safe. I will send word to you with instructions."

"Instructions for what?" she called after him.

He left without another word, leaving her question heavy in the air. The miko's human companions were much too wordy than was prudent. There was no time to answer constant questions.

o - o - o - o - o

Sesshomaru followed his nose the rest of the way through the village to find Rin. He located her in a clearing at the edge of the village. She appeared to be conversing with a young woman. Upon further inspection, Sesshomaru was unable to locate the houshi, nor his brood and his irk rose towards the taijiya for her false words.

There were many people in the clearing, most carrying belongings and supplies, looking as though they had just arrived from a long journey or were displaced settlers bearing all they owned. He noticed the now grown Kohaku among them calling out instructions.

Sesshomaru's arrival caused a hush among the group who all immediately began to arm themselves with varying weaponry. He glared at them all, daring anyone to attack.

Kohaku noticed the disturbance and lifted a hand, instructing the people to lower their weaponry, but many continued to give Sesshomaru defiant looks. The young man ran over towards Sesshomaru with a wary smile.

"Lord Sesshomaru, it is good to see you well. My sister sent word to me, expressing distress, and asked that I come quickly. When I learned that the suggestion came from you, I thought it provident to bring a team." Kohaku gestured to his people, still giving Sesshomaru wary, sidelong glances.

Rin had taken the opportunity to approach and smiled broadly. "Lord Sesshomaru! You have returned, which must mean that you bring Lady Kagome as well." She saw the child, now awake and alert, in his arm. Rin looked around, trying to find Kagome, and then back to Sesshomaru. "She is not here?"

Sesshomaru ignored her question. "With your mortal caretaker dead, I wanted to ensure that you are provided for." He looked around again and back at Rin. "I will soon be away from here."

Still smiling, Rin cooed at the baby and placed a finger inside the child's grasping hand. "I am happy here, my lord," she said cautiously. Glancing up, she said slowly, "I only worry about you."

Sesshomaru noticed from the corner of his eye Kohaku staring at the girl with a particular fondness in his gaze. He figured that young Rin could do worse than the thoughtful taijiya. She may undoubtedly need his care in the time to come.

Satisfied that Rin would not be left wanting, he issued a brief goodbye. "Be well, Rin."

Rin grabbed his arm, a look of concern drawing down her features. "Where is Kagome?" she asked again.

"You may tell her I will be waiting."

"Of course," Rin replied obediently. She still seemed perturbed over the turn of events, but would not question Sesshomaru.

He bid a final farewell to the pair and departed on a swift wind.

In-flight, he looked down at the child in his arms. She sat up and looked around in marvel, never having seen the world from this vantage. Her dark eyes alight with a quiet wonder. Those were the eyes of her mother, he knew. This was the only way to get her to see.

o - o - o - o - o

Kagome stepped inside her house again, for what she was unsure. Everything was exactly as she had left it, except for a layer of dust beginning to form. Funny how dust began to move in the moment that you stopped paying attention.

She sighed at all of the work she would have to do and nearly debated on taking care of things now rather than doing them later with a child to care for.

Her desire to be reunited with Setsuna was too great. Kagome exited the house and looked around. A shaky breath escaped her, and she chided herself for thinking that he would be here. Not after she ran him off. She left the house and set down the path towards the village.

She had gotten a mile barely before she was pulled from her thoughts.

"Oi! Kagome!" A familiar voice called out.

Kagome turned on her heel. Only one person she knew would address her like that.

Inuyasha ran up to her, pulling her into a friendly embrace. "You're okay!"

"Ungh, not if you don't crush me first," she joked.

"Eh? Sorry." He released her quickly and took an awkward step back. "I, uh, I'm sorry you were kidnapped...again."

Kagome bit her lip and smirked. "There's nothing to apologize for. You saved Setsuna, and that's all I could have ever asked."

"I was gonna come and save you, too, but it seems Sesshomaru beat me to it. Where is he anyway? Surprisingly he isn't here threatening to kick my ass again."

"He's gone. I don't know where to."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence. "So, you were going to come to save me, huh? Like old times? How did that pan out?"

Inuyasha scratched at his head, seemingly embarrassed, "Yeah, well, once Sesshomaru came and threatened everyone, we decided to come up with an alternate plan."

"Threatened you?" She asked.

"Well, yeah, he came here hours after you were taken and apparently told Sango to get her brother here. He basically implied shit was gonna go down."

"I see," she responded, thinking to herself.

"I guess that means he didn't kill that bitch or her badass brother, huh?"

Kagome's head snapped up, and her heart dropped. The danger was only gone for the moment with no indication of when it was to return. "No, unfortunately not."

"Keh, fucking figures. He drags you and the kid into this, and now he's bringing everyone else into his fucking mess, too. Then he takes off?"

"Likely to prepare," Kagome defended. "He was able to seriously wound Fan, and any counter-attack will not be immediate."

"Nah. Probably when we least expect it. He's a sick fuck that one."

"What do you know of him?" She asked suspiciously.

"A little."

"You've never even met him. How can you possibly know anything at all?"

"I uh…" he trailed off, and he looked behind her.

Kagome caught his glance and spun around to see a woman peeking out at her from behind a tree. "Who is that, Inuyasha?"

"That's um…" he stammered, "It's Shizuka."

"Shizuka?" Kagome asked, looking at the tree the woman seemed to be hiding behind. "Why is she hiding? Who is she?"

"Don't get mad."

"Why would I get mad, Inuyasha?" she inquired the guilty-looking hanyo.

He scratched at his head and looked up as he spoke, avoiding her stare, "Because she...she may or may not have been the one who snatched the kid."

"What," she responded in monotone.

When it seemed Kagome wouldn't blow up, Inuyasha called out, "Come on over."

Kagome seethed with anger at the fool before her. She stood silent while Inuyasha led a hesitant hanyo woman out towards her.

Her first inclination had been to lash out, but upon further inspection, Kagome instantly felt a surge of pity.

The woman was an inuyokai, just like Inuyasha. Her ears were turned down like she was a beaten dog, and she trembled so like a frightened animal. Inuyasha took hold of her hand and patted it reassuringly. "This is Kagome. She won't hurt you."

Kagome glared at him, but he was oblivious to her poignant stare. He only had eyes for this timid woman. The idiot would dare attempt to pass off this woman as some kind of ally? Yet, Kagome could feel that there was nothing nefarious about her. Strange that she couldn't pick up anything at all, no sense of her yoki, nothing.

The woman glanced up, hesitantly, and back down. She began to tug on Inuyasha's arm, trying to pull away. Something about the way Kagome stared at her, causing her to feel discomfort.

"You're frightening her," Inuyasha pointed out. "Don't be such a bitch. It ain't Shizuka s fault."

"Are you serious right now! I haven't said one cross word as of yet! Maybe you are scaring her by pushing her into situations she's uncomfortable with."

Inuyasha snapped back, "Maybe she can see your dagger eyes!"

"So immature," Kagome groaned.

"Such a stuck up whiny bitch," he snapped.

Kagome frowned. "I am not whiny. I know what I want. It's different."

Inuyasha scoffed, "Keh. Oh yeah? Then why are you alone again?"

Kagome gasped. "How dare you! I am alone because I have chosen to be alone."

"Lie to yourself, wench, but you can't lie to me. I know you too well."

Kagome thought that may be true to a point, but he was wrong about his opinion of her.

Shizuka looked supremely uncomfortable but said nothing. Kagome sniffed in derision, turning her attention to the newcomer.

"So, explain to me why she is sharing your company, and I shouldn't want to hurt her if she tried to steal my baby," she demanded.

o - o - o - o - o

Inuyasha explained on the way towards the village. He told Kagome how Shizuka had been a slave to Tsering and used for everything from a handmaiden to a spy. They did not even know her real name, instead, giving her a new one.

How he had extracted all this information from a girl who was clearly mute was beyond her. Still, she gave this stranger the benefit of the doubt because Inuyasha assured her that Sango and Miroku would collaborate the story.

Kagome was skeptical but also hesitant to doubt her friend's astute judgment. It would be best to keep this woman as far away from her babe as possible, just to be safe, she thought.

Inuyasha explained that a lot had happened in the weeks she was gone. Kohaku had arrived, bringing with him his entire clan of taijiya. The lad was doing his best to rebuild that which he had taken away. His guilt was something he would battle for years, if not the rest of his life. Survivors guilt at its worst, Kagome knew.

Apparently, Sango's summons prompted Kohaku to bring his foundling people to the village to settle. The old taijiya village was gone, decimated by an old enemy, its inhabitants eradicated except for two. Kohaku dreamed of making amends due to his guilt and began by recruiting worthy apprentices and others experienced in exterminating demons.

With the village seeming to attract yokai of all kinds, it seemed an appropriate place to settle and begin anew. Of course, many of the people Kohaku had recruited held a deep-seated hatred for yokai, no matter their affiliations, and found themselves unsettled by some of the village's inhabitants.

None of that seemed to bother Inuyasha. He held the woman's hand as they walked, occasionally running a thumb over her hand for reassurance purposes. Kagome felt an odd sense of jealousy wash over her when she noticed. She narrowed her eyes at the display and quickly turned her head before the lout could pick up on her mood. Kagome cursed herself for those twinges of envy. It's not as if she even wanted Inuyasha like that. Not anymore.

He had seldom been so tender and patient with her during their time together. Both of their stubborn tendencies clashed and caused many fights. Now, Kagome could see that what he truly needed to thrive would be someone demure. Someone who needed the protection he could provide. Someone to validate him after years of being nothing.

Kagome now knew that she was never the one for him, and it stung to see him look happy over someone that was a virtual stranger in comparison to their years-old relationship. She felt her throat catch thinking about her own happiness or rather lack thereof.

It just didn't seem fair that Kagome had left her family and her entire life to come to the past for a boy that now seemed enthralled with someone else. She tried to discreetly clear her throat without drawing too much attention to herself.

"What's your deal?" Inuyasha asked skeptically.

Kagome noticed that he had an eyebrow raised and likely wouldn't be convinced by whatever she said. "I just miss her," she said quietly. That was true, and he wouldn't question her. She hoped.

His eyes suggested he had his doubts, but he didn't push the subject, instead, going along with her. "Yeah, well, she's a brat. Just like her mom." His friendly smile trying to console her.

Kagome nodded and glanced over at the new woman being led along quietly by Inuyasha's side. She had not gotten a very good look at the woman and thought she saw some similarities to another. Odd similarities. The tilt of her eyes, even downcast as they were, held some disturbing familiarity. Kagome shook her head of the thoughts, clearing her mind of such notions.

Inuyasha stopped, and Shizuka tensed, hiding behind him. Kagome was puzzled at their hesitation but felt it herself and followed their eyes up. Up in the sky, there was a figure being swallowed in the clouds settling over the land. It was a queer sensation to have her heart drop lower into her chest than it had already done not long ago.

Did I make the right decision, she pondered, looking back at the pair whose eyes were still glued to the sky.

"Bastard is leaving again. Good fucking riddance," Inuyasha cursed. "He always rattles on about pride and honor, but be is a fucking hypocrite."

Kagome didn't respond, preferring to chew on her lip. For a second, she thought he'd come back for her. Not that it would change her mind. The idea of being an aging liability seemed unfeasible.

Inuyasha scoffed. "You're better off. Maybe one of the new guys that Kohaku brought would suit you," he suggested.

If looks could kill, Inuyasha would be 6 feet under. The best Kagome could do was one. "Sit, boy!" She commanded.

The beads around his neck glowed, and his face planted into the ground with a satisfying sound. Shizuka looked at Kagome with a mixture of perplexion and horror, eliminating any amount of satisfaction Kagome would get from the deed.

"He deserved it!" She defended against her wordless accuser. "He will be fine," she waved a hand.

Inuyasha lifted himself from the ground spitting dirt, "Dammit, wench! Don't fucking do that!"

Kagome grabbed Inuyasha by his beads, pulling his neck down and looked at Shizuka. "Beads of subjugation," she explained. "If he ever gives you any trouble, let me know, and I will bring him down a few notches."

Shizuka continued to look horrified, emphasizing her fright by taking a step back from Kagome.

Kagome frowned and let Inuyasha go. He growled and rubbed his neck, muttering obscenities. He grabbed Shizuka's hand and marched off with her, leaving Kagome behind.

She sighed and followed.

The village was just a few yards away, and the trio made their way to Miroku and Sango's house.

Upon entering, Kagome was greeted with smiles and tight hugs from her best friend. Sango hiccuped, stifling a happy sob. "We were all so worried, but when Sesshomaru came, I knew you were okay."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked. How had Sango seen Sesshomaru already? "Did he come here?"

Sango's eyes went wide with apprehension. "He did…"

Kagome looked around, noting the absence of her child, "Where's Setsuna?"

"He didn't bring her to you?" Sango questioned.

"Clearly not!" Kagome felt the blood drain from her face and turned to bolt from the door. Inuyasha stood with Shizuka in the doorway, speechless, and Kagome shouldered past him to get outside. He protested loudly, "Hey!"

Kagome ran outside, not knowing where to go or what to do. She could feel her adrenaline start to course as she stopped and looked in any direction. People were coming and going, working through their daily chores and errands, some looking at her strangely as she stood panting and looking around frantically.

Without having a set course in mind, she began running blindly, looking for anything. She could hear her name being shouted from behind her. "Kagome! Wait!"

She ignored whoever called, dashing through women who were running errands, children who were playing, and men returning from the day spent hunting and gathering. Kagome had a one-track mind at this moment where her instincts led her rather than her rationale.

Another voice broke through her, "Kagome?!"

She didn't stop running, but a pair of strong arms grabbed her and pulled her off her feet. "What's wrong?" she heard a frantic voice call out.

Kagome was able to see Rin standing in front of her, concern marring her features. "Kagome, please calm down."

She wrestled against the hands that restrained her, trying to pull free. "Let go of me. I have to find her," she cried.

Rin grabbed Kagome's hands in her own. "Please, listen. Setsuna is not here. She is with Lord Sesshomaru."

"He took her?!" Kagome yelled. She settled and quit trying to break free, finally noticing who had grabbed her up. It had been quite a while since she'd seen the young man, Kohaku. He'd grown taller, more filled, and masculine in his slayer clothes. He also looked concerned while holding her from causing harm to herself or others.

"Yes, that is true," Rin said. She looked sad for Kagome like she felt pity for a child who didn't know the real way of the world. "He said to come," she said softly.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked. "He said what?"

He allowed Kagome to go free, and she turned to look up at him in perplexion. Kohaku moved around to stand beside Rin.

"What are you saying?" Kagome asked. Come where she wondered.

Rin still held Kagome's hands and rubbed them in a soothing motion. "He wanted you to find them."

Kagome felt her heart fall. Now Setsuna was gone, too. Was it a punishment? Or was he using their child to bring her to him? Perhaps he did not find her capable of handling their child that would surely outlive her. "Find them?" she repeated softly. "Did he-was there anything else?"

"Yes, he said once you were ready, they would be waiting."

o - o - o - o - o

A/N: FYI, to any who may ask. No, Inuyasha isn't in insta-love with Keyuri/Shizuka. I'll just leave it at that.

Hmm, there will likely be some daddy-daughter moments in the chapter to come. That should be exciting.

Also, I know it seemed a bit anti-climatic that Fan bit the dust so easily. I mean, he's this hella strong yokai, right? Well, we've seen Sesshomaru lose an arm to his "weakling" brother, so I don't think it's a stretch to say that Fan overestimates himself a bit, or at the very least underestimates everyone else. I doubt he will make that mistake again.

#Chapter Sixteen #Nocturne #SessKag #Sesshome #Sesshomaru #Kagome

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shawnsvalentine · 5 years

Text

business + pleasure : one

description: shawn’s always been into older women but sloan is the exception that drives him wild

warnings: language, failed attempts at humor [2.6k]

It was a rarity for Shawn not to get what he wanted when he wanted it, and she made the mistake of adding to his perfect record as soon as she saw the white cylindrical box engraved with CHRISTIAN DIOR PARIS. There was an elegant note card attached at the top that had been sealed with a golden Giorgi Armani sticker. She made sure to open it while Cassandra was out with a client, knowing that the box wasn’t a care package from her mother.

For your collection. If you have one.

— Shawn xx

She couldn’t stop herself from gasping at the gift inside, the beautiful silk feeling foreign against her finger tips. The Strength mitzvah scarf, that she knew costed more than the thrifted one she was wearing when Shawn first approached her, every bit as gorgeous as it looked in the pictures. She knew that it was no coincidence that he’d chosen the S scarf, but she had no idea how he’d came across her name; she certainly hadn’t told him.

“Good afternoon, Sloan.” Her head snapped up to see him, just as alluring as usual in a plum button up and tight slacks. His eyes darted to the Dior package and he smiled, his whole face brightening at the sight of it opened. “I wanted to get you the whole ABC collection, but I figured you’d think it was excessive.”

“The only thing I thought was how odd it was for one of the board members of Giorgio Armani to gift me a Christian Dior scarf. Something you’re not telling us about your brand?”

He shook his head, his teeth glistening as a smile broke out across his lips. “Our scarves are just fine, you just struck me as a Dior woman.” Shawn wanted the next few moments to be scripted, for Sloan to wrap the scarf around his neck and pull him in so close that he could smell her signature fragrance personally. For her to mold her lips around his and grab onto his arms, moving on to moan sweet nothings into his ear. But of course, all she did was smile at him, thanking him for the gift. “Why don’t you wear it to dinner tonight?”

“Dinner?” What about Cassandra? was the subtext that both of them knew was written in invisible ink.

“A friend of mine just opened a restaurant about a month or so back, it’s in Brooklyn. Neither of our circles run in Brooklyn.”

She smacked his chest playful, taking note of the hard muscle underneath. “Excuse you, I live in Brooklyn.”

“Even better, we’ll be in your borough.” He knew he was playing a risky game by reaching out for her hand across the glass top mahogany desk, eyes fluttering up to catch her reaction. “Just one date. And if you genuinely think we’re nuts for sneaking around, then I’ll leave you alone. But at least let me buy you dinner before you turn me down.”

She laughed lightheartedly, using her free hand to point back at the color splashed creme scarf. “You already bought me a two-hundred dollar accessory,” He pouted, completely unprepared for her to shoot him down. “But yes. Dinner sounds nice. Pick me up at nine.” Sloan scribbled her ten digits on a loose sticky note, stuffing it in his pants pocket before sashaying her way to the break room for a cup of coffee.

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t positively giddy at the thought of spending a few hours with Shawn in public, completely uninterrupted by her boss or one of her colleagues. It meant actual conversation and not hushed whispers in between meetings and body language of strictly platonic professionals in case anyone barged in while Shawn was paying a visit. It meant getting to kiss him for the first time.

Sloan blinked back to reality as the Keurig began brewing her coffee, the black liquid filling up her boob-outline mug that she got on sale from Urban Outfitters. “Isn’t this like your third cup today?”

“What can I say, Kimmy, I love coffee.” Whenever Kimmy added her two cents where she didn’t bank, Sloan wanted to roll her eyes so far back they could get stuck. She couldn’t even drink coffee safely.

Kimmy disregarded the snark and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, glancing through the door as she sipped from the ice cold bottle. “Aren’t they just the cutest thing? Cassandra’s so stinking lucky, I’d give my right arm to date Shawn Mendes.”

“You’re left handed.” Sloan grabbed her mug and tried to return back to her desk in peace, but the sight of Shawn cozying up with Cassandra in the middle of the department’s floor had her sick to her stomach. They looked far too sweet giggling over nothing with one another, him practically nibbling on her ear, and all Sloan could do was wish that it was her. She hated feeling like a side piece, and even though she knew Shawn’s angle, she still felt like one. The girl he had to keep hidden.

Maybe: Shawn: It’s Shawn. I saw you watching us. I’m sorry. Will try to keep the office encounters to a minimum. SM.

Sloan: No, it’s not your fault. It’s on me

Besides, if you stopped showing up I’d never see you

Shawn: Fair point. I’m still sorry though. Going to try to wrap up this deal as soon as possible. SM.

Sloan: What the fuck is sm

Shawn: My initials. I initial all text messages, force of habit. SM.

Sloan: You didn’t have to— nvm. SS.

Shawn: SS?

Sloan: Sloan Spelman

“You have a shoot tomorrow morning and you’re texting? It better be with your Gucci connect to secure that cowboy hat.” Cassandra. Most everyone has complained about a fatal flaw of their boss, but Cassandra Rosen? She was all flaws. Sloan often wondered how the hell she made it to where she was, the Editorial Director of the Vogue Magazine, talent be damned. How could anyone put up with one hundred and sixty pounds of pure mean just because she got things done? It was an answerless question Sloan had been asking herself since the day of her interview.

“Y-yes, I was just confirming it for the New Age Western shoot.” Sloan made a mental note to double confirm the hat for the shoot, otherwise she’d be out on her ass for telling such a boldfaced lie. She was still a bit baffled they were doing a shoot around a custom made Gucci cowboy hat for Lil Nas X all because he snuck it into one of his songs. It was kind of crazy how a guy younger than her had managed to wrap brands right around his finger, and he couldn’t even drink yet.

Shawn was practically staring her down from the doorway, fighting the urge to defend her against Cassandra’s sharp tongue. He knew his way around Cassandra by now, and saying anything to help Sloan would only increase her raging paranoia. It was just better to sit this one out. “I’m about to head out, I’ll see you tomorrow, Cass.” He wanted to say goodbye to Sloan but he settled on a polite nod as he turned to leave.

The rest of her work day was utter hell with Cassandra’s constant bitching about how Sloan’s first editorial shoot had to be perfect, as if Sloan wasn’t already stressing herself out. The only thing that kept her above float, aside from her coffee and Toblerone bar, was the reminder that her date with Shawn was mere hours away. She kept pushing aside the overwhelming anxiety surrounding getting caught and focused on daydreaming little scenarios about the two of them in some obscure underground speakeasy with total strangers.

Sloan spent extra time in the shower, shaving everywhere just in case, and making sure she was fully lathered in her coconut meadowfoam body wash. After a solid ten minutes of back and forth, she decided on keeping her curls out and wild, scrunching her bangs so she’d actually be able to see Shawn. She was still deciding between a tight black dress and a silk tank top with floral patterned bottoms when he texted her. It was longer than his normal and she was fairly sure he was nervous.

Shawn: I’m on my way. Took a while to decide on car or subway, but ultimately picked the subway because I wasn’t sure about the restaurant’s parking. He may have mentioned something about a nearby parking garage but those scare me. See you in about thirty minutes. SM.

She started to panic watching the minutes tick by and she grabbed the top and pants, letting her towel drop as she dipped into her body butter. Her underwear was barely on when her doorbell dinged, her hand reaching out to throw on her fuzzy purple robe before shouting out that she was coming. She figured it was her friend Alicia coming to hype her up before her date, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. It was Shawn. “Is that what you’re wearing? Bold choice.” He handed her the bouquet of peonies he was holding before kissing her temple. It gave her chills.

He looked absolutely... delicious. The maroon button up he was donning was showing off a bit of chest hair and his lucky pendant, and he’d rolled the sleeves up to the swell of his forearm. His hair was slicked back perfectly, his brown wavy locks framing his face in a way she thought should be illegal. She gulped at the sight of him towering over her, the urge to mount him oh so very real.“You said a half an hour? I swear it’s been only five minutes or so.”

Shawn shoved his hands in his pockets, his feet tapping against the welcome mat. “I had terrible reception at the terminal, it probably sent the second I resurfaced.”

“Well, come in. You can wait on the couch while I finish up.”

He shut the door behind him, showing himself around the coat rack to her living room. She followed a concise color aesthetic from room to room, the living room obeying the laws of pink and gold. There were plants surrounding her plush pink couch, and white throw pillows to match the rug beneath the golden coffee table. He felt like he was sitting in a Vogue interior design spread. “How long have you lived here?”

“Since junior year of college.” She kept her makeup to a minimum, light foundation with eyeliner and mascara, using extra caution so her outfit didn’t get stained. “It definitely beat paying that expensive ass room and board.”

She completely forgot about shoes as she left the bathroom, Shawn’s attention immediately on her and his jaw on the floor. Sloan tried not to pay any attention to it as she slipped into a pair of black pumps. “What? Is this not venue appropriate?”

“I-It definitely is, it’s just that I wasn’t exactly, I didn’t expect...” He rose from the couch, eyes still fixated on the way the silk clung to her body and how her curly afro graced her shoulder. “I don’t think I’ve ever been legitimately speechless in my entire life. Until now.”

They walked to the restaurant, taking advantage of the warm air and quiet street, using it as time to warm up to one another. The overwhelming lust wasn’t enough to make them fall for one another, but the conversation was. She led, and he followed, a dynamic neither of them were quite used to but most certainly suited them. He was chivalrous, almost too much so, but she basked in the unfamiliar feeling of being treated like royalty. She wanted to get lost in him.

The restaurant was fairly busy but not at all chaotic. Patrons stuck to their tables, keeping conversation at appropriate noise levels for the ambiance, and the staff floated about as if they defied gravity. The architecture was fawn worthy with its sleek modernity meets upper class design. “Your friend owns this place?”

“Maybe friend is too generous a term, but we went to college together. We keep in touch, get together every now and then for a drink. He called me when it opened.” He gave the hostess his name for the reservation and she led them to a staircase that led out to the rooftop. There were only two other parties up their with them.

“Shawn, this is absolutely insane. Semi-private seating?”

He waved it off, opening his menu as he pretended to browse. “It was nothing, I promise. Jalen insisted it was the perfect first date table.”

She watched him closely as he went off on a miniature tangent about how he and Jalen met. They went from hostile roommates to close friends who jammed out together on the weekends, and that sparked their years long friendship. He was quite the storyteller, animated and engaged, careful about each and every word he strung with the next. Her senses were in overdrive the whole night, watching him be absolutely gorgeous without trying whilst actually listening to every precious word that slipped past his lips: and he made it far too obvious that he was doing the exact same thing.

“I know I’m getting ahead of myself but… what about a nightcap?”

Sloan tried not to laugh at his obvious attempt at a different date night activity. “You? In my apartment? Drinking? Nuh-uh.”

“What? Why not?”

She searched for the words to sugarcoat we’re not in the same tax bracket, that their shred of a relationship didn’t need an introduction to class divides this early. “I live in a rundown brownstone that I most certainly wouldn’t be able to afford if my nana hadn’t left it to me. And I’m willing to bet you live in a two-story penthouse on the upper east side that you can afford because Armani treats you a little too well.”

He took a longer sip of his drink this time, placing it back down with a bit more conviction. “Alright, touché. But just because I live like a douchebag doesn’t mean I am one. I’ve already seen your place, what’s the big deal?”

She took a moment to think about it, twirling her fork in the last few noodles on her plate. Maybe she was judging him too harshly. Maybe she was the one who was uncomfortable with the class divide and he wasn’t even thinking about it. She shook it from her thoughts, going back to the good time they were having all on their own on the rooftop. How good her looked staring back at her awaiting her response, the faintest hint of a grin on his rosy pink lips as he shifted his weighted onto his forearms. “Admit it, you’re just trying to get in my pants.”

Shawn gasped, his hand flying up to press against his clavicle to feign shook. “Me? Try to get into your pants? We haven’t even gotten dessert.”

She rolled her eyes, tapping her fingers against the table as her leg crept up the side of his. “You’re such a dork.”

He was suddenly that much more aware of their proximity, her arm flush against his and her body heat radiating onto him. Shawn flagged down the waiter for the bill in a split second, reading between the lines of her body language as well as her hand that and snaked its way to his thigh. He’d never signed his signature as fast as he did right then and there, shooting up from his chair to help Sloan up. He leaned down to whisper in her ear about what the night held for them when the most obnoxious, ear-splitting shriek stopped him.

“Sloan! This is so crazy, I was hoping us Fort Greeners would cross paths one day!” Her eyes were focused on Shawn the entire time, flickering back to Sloan only to shoot her an all-knowing smirk.

“K-Kimmy, hi.”

taglist: @shawnase , let me know if you’d like to be added!

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes series #shawn mendes fic #shawn mendes x black reader #shawn mendes x black original character #business + pleasure

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thatsparrow · 4 years

Text

(read on ao3)

The tears are still sticky on Caramelinda's cheeks when Amethar proposes.

"Look, I know this isn't what you wanted," he says, knelt down before her in his bloodstained armor, a messy spray of green sap drying across his breastplate. "It's not what I—" he exhales, heavy. "Fuck. I thought I'd be walking Laz down the aisle, not taking her place at the altar."

Taking her place. Caramelinda blinks her eyes closed, feeling fresh tears stinging hot against her lashes as she hides in the black behind her eyelids. Maybe if she keeps them closed long enough, she can imagine a new world where Lazuli is still alive.

"I'm sorry." Amethar's voice has gone tight and quiet. Fragile, almost. "I didn't mean it like that. I know I'm not—replacing her, or anything. No one could."

"No," Caramelinda says, opening her eyes. She's surprised at how rough the word sounds, how grief has turned her throat sandpaper-raw. "No one will ever come close."

"I know."

"I love—I loved her. I don't—" she cuts herself off, leaves him to fill in the rest. I don't love you. I don't want to marry you. I don't even know you.

"I understand." He tries out a smile, but it doesn't quite land. Falls crooked like a deflating balloon. "Believe it or not, I do have some idea of what you're going through." His expression shifts a little as he gives her a steady look, and Caramelinda sees some of the soldier in him, the steel-sharp resolve. "She may not have been my partner, but I did love her, too."

Guilt rises fast in her chest. It's so easy to linger in the shadow of her own grief that Caramelinda forgets she's not alone in her loss. "I didn't mean—"

"It's okay. You're hurting—I don't blame you for that. Hell, Laz isn't even in the ground yet and we're—" Amethar cuts off and laughs a little, harsh and humorless. "Fucking politics, you know? 'Heavens forbid we lose the alliance, too,' like that's the most important thing here." He rubs at his jaw, his hands restless. "I am sorry, though, that this is being asked of you. Bulb knows you deserve better."

Of you, he says. Not, of us. Pain aplenty weighing heavy on his own shoulders, but he won't shy away from his new role as crown prince, however chafing it might be. For all the stories she'd heard from Lazuli, the rumors that flurried through Candia like spun sugar—Amethar the reckless, Amethar the stubborn, Amethar the foolhardy—Caramelinda finds that they don't entirely square up with the man kneeling in front of her. His sister stolen from him in battle and any notions of love or romance stripped away by the obligation of an arranged marriage, and yet his main concern remains for her.

Amethar the noble, she thinks. Amethar the strong.

"It's okay," she says, settling a hand on his shoulder and gesturing for him to stand. "It'll be okay. I always knew my marriage would likely be a political one. Falling in love with Lazuli—" she pauses, swallowing around the thorny shape of Lazuli's name in her throat, "—that was luck, more than expectation. A fluke, albeit a very beautiful one." She's still wearing Lazuli's ring, a simple silver-stone band around her finger. "Maybe I should have known better than to trust in such good fortune."

Amethar hesitates for a moment, then reaches out a hand to take hers. His palm is warm and callused against her skin, his fingers broad and blunt where Lazuli's had been sure and slender. Still, there's a reassurance to his touch.

"I don't know how to be a husband," he says, slow. "Let alone how to be a good one, but I do promise that I'll always be loyal to you and faithful to our marriage. Whatever might happen, so long as I live, I pledge myself to you as your partner and ally." He gives her that bashful, sideways smile that she'll come to know well. "And as your friend, for whatever that's worth."

Amethar the honorable.

"I thought we were meant to exchange vows at the wedding," Caramelinda says, teasing a little if only to hide her surprise at his earnestness. "I appreciate it, but you don't have to say all that for my sake. It's a political marriage; I know what that entails."

"I said it because I meant it, Caramelinda." It's the first time he's said her name, low and warm in a way that brings a slight flush to her cheeks. "I'll say it all again up at the altar, too, but it's important to me that you know where I stand, if we're going to do this. Politics or no, I'm not going to be your husband in name only while the rest of Calorum thinks you're being played for a fool. I know I could never fill Laz's shoes, but that doesn't mean I won't try."

He runs a thumb over the back of her knuckles, pausing briefly before brushing across the ring she'd been given by Lazuli. What does he think when he sees it? There's no mistaking the sincerity of his words, but neither can Caramelinda ignore the bruising weight of Lazuli's absence between them. Him missing a sister and her missing a fiancée and what are either of them supposed to do when their very relationship is a reminder that she's gone? When she looks up from their joined hands, she sees that Amethar's cheeks are wet with tears.

"It should have been me," Amethar says when he notices her watching him. "Bulb, I wish it had been me. I don't know how to do this—any of it—without her."

"Me neither." Promise me that you'll come back, Caramelinda had said to Lazuli the last time they were together, Lazuli's armor buckled over her robes as she'd readied to leave for the front. Promise me that you'll come back, but Lazuli had just kissed her, sure and steady, and Caramelinda had taken that as its own sort of vow. She should have known better, though; Lazuli was always so careful with her words that her silence was its own answer.

Promise me that you'll come back—but she hadn't. And so now here Caramelinda is, alone for all that Amethar is with her, both of them silent in their mourning. She would offer him comfort if she had the words, but she doesn't even know what balm to apply to her own wounds. Still, if they can't absolve each other of their grief, perhaps they can lighten the burden by carrying it together.

"We don't have to decide or plan or do anything at the moment, right?" Caramelinda says. "I'm sure there will be plenty of that in the days ahead, enough so that there's no use worrying about it now. But we do have some time—maybe to talk, if you'd like?"

"Yeah," Amethar says, his voice rough and raw-edged. "That sounds alright."

It's then that Caramelinda realizes they're still holding hands. She lets go, feeling a little sheepish before reminding herself that it's nothing to feel guilty over. He is to be her husband, after all. Her tent isn't particularly large, but she leads him over to two floor cushions before pouring each of them glasses of sugared fruit wine.

"To Lazuli," she says, raising her glass in a toast.

"To Laz," Amethar echoes. They drink, Amethar nearly to the bottom of his cup. He wipes his mouth and gives her a curious look. "Is that what you wanted to talk about? Lazuli?"

Caramelinda nods and takes another careful sip. "I thought it might help, but if you don't want to—"

"No, no, it's okay. I'd like that, actually. It'd be nice to remember her, not just—what happened at the end."

The wine goes a little sour on her tongue. They hadn't wanted to let Caramelinda see her body, wouldn't even let her through into Lazuli's tent until she'd shouted and swore and vowed to call forth the power of the Bulb to blast them all into the heavens if they wouldn't let her go. Inside, Lazuli had been laid out on her bed, still as stone. They'd pulled the arrows free and done their best to patch the wounds, but lapis-blue blood had come away on Caramelinda's skin as she'd reached for Lazuli's hands, as she'd pressed her lips to Lazuli's cheeks. She doesn't remember how long she'd stayed kneeling on the floor, but she does remember that her legs were numb by the time she was helped to her feet and carried from the tent.

No, she doesn't want that moment to be all she remembers of Lazuli, either.

"What was she like when you were younger?" Caramelinda asks, taking a long pull from the glass to swallow down her pain. "I can't picture her as any age other than when we met."

Amethar smiles wide and his whole face seems to shift, turning on a coin from stoic to something easy and boyish, unreserved and sunshine-bright. "Man, she was such a big sister. You know that serious expression she used to have, but picture it on the face of a teenager. We used to joke that she was a grown-up stuck in the body of a kid, but then she'd pull some devious fucking prank out of nowhere. But that was her, you know? So fucking smart and sure of herself, and then this hidden streak of chaos running underneath. She'd tell you to learn your Candian history and meanwhile you don't notice that she'd cast an illusion switching the doors and the windows, or enchanting pieces of chalk to explode if you get the wrong answer. More of a wild card than I think she let on with most folks, but I loved that about her. A one-woman force of nature for as long as I can remember."

Caramelinda laughs a little, both at the memory and the look of nostalgia on Amethar's face. "I wish I'd known her, then. Not that she didn't have moments of levity, but I think her sense of responsibility had worn most of it out of her by the time we met."

"Well, hey, I've got plenty of stories," Amethar says. "You know, if you want."

She nods, and together, they spend the rest of the evening spinning Lazuli back to life with their words and memories, a shadow blurred a little hazy by wine, but built of too much joy and laughter for either of them to mourn.

#dimension 20 #a crown of candy #acoc spoilers #caramelinda rocks #amethar rocks #this is a little au-ish in terms of the timeline (re: lazuli dying and amethar and caramelinda's betrothal)#but I really like the idea of the two of them brought together from political need #and then building a relationship based on helping each other work through their grief #my fic

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unconventionalcoven · 4 years

Text

Where’s the Magick?

A reading for the collective:

What divine power is coming online? The Fool

What blocks exist in the system to integrating this? Six of Cups

What blocks exist in the collective to integrating this? Ten of Wands

Where in our lives can we be more accepting of others? Eight of Wands

Advise from Spirit on how to step into our power? Ace of Swords

1.a. What does our society have to gain from this energy? Three of Cups 1.b. A sign from Spirit for the people to pay attention to: Page of Cups

2.a. What darkness of the past must be revealed & healed? The Magician 2.b. How can the individual do their part to heal it for the collective? The Empress

3.a. What future awaits the collective on the horizon? Nine of Wands 3.b. Where should the collective be focusing our energy? Four of Wands

4.a. Where is humanity’s arrow being pointed? Strength 4.b. A sign from Spirit that you are on the right track: King of Cups

5.a. What does the collective stand to gain with this Ace of Swords? Ace of Pentacles 5.b. How does Spirit guide you to use it? The Sun

Analysis

I think it’s pretty obvious that the entire Earth is going through a transformational process at the moment, and it is also interesting that there is in particular a resurgence in paganism, witchcraft, and other empowering belief systems. At this moment in time, each individual in the collective is being faced with themselves, and the realization that they are in fact nothing more or less than The Fool, and by understanding what that means we can each come into closer alignment with our highest selves and heal the wounds of the world. The Fool card represents the leap of faith into the unknown, and by accepting oneself as the fool, you free yourself from the idea that you must control the world. Unconditional love is an open hand, and that goes for the tragedies of the world, especially when there is little to nothing you can do personally to affect it. By recognizing the smallness of yourself in the cosmos, you in fact become more powerful. When each of us in society accepts the relative meaninglessness of our lives and what we do in the context of the universe, we gain the gift of the Three of Cups. This card represents most closely the numerological energy of the number 3, and the playful childlike nature of it. Friendship, and the freely flowing of our psychic waters shared with each other is the most important foundation for society and humanity as a whole. This card reminds us of the importance of our relationships and what we have to gain by generously giving of ourselves to those we love: done consciously without the toxicity of codependence, and building the basis upon which we can build up our families, communities, and so forth with informed voluntary interdependence. Remembering we are The Fool, the Three of Cups shows us that by deflating our ego and accepting ourselves as the small imperfect being we are, we can find our most perfect place in society, through healthy and uplifting relationships. Spirit asks us to pay attention to the Page of Cups and what that means to each of us individually. The page is the apprentice, learning the ways of the water element, and I intuit that Spirit is asking us to follow its guidance to situations and opportunities for us to embody the Page of Cups. What this means is different from person to person, but think of what ways in your life you feel your emotions run wild or get the better of you. These are the areas of life and human experience that your soul is being drawn to understand and learn from. Follow your heart where it guides you and examine the lessons it brings you. By integrating the knowledge we gain from pleasure and pain, we transmute unfavorable energy and make the universe an objectively better place.

The systems of power in place, both visible and unknown to us, are suffering from the Six of Cups. This card represents a romanticization of the past, and a longing to go back. I think a most obvious example of this is the nostalgia for the economic prosperity experience by a lot of mostly-white middle class America in the past without the understanding of how that prosperity was built on inequality, oppression, and a robbing of the future in many ways with illegitimate financial practices. The system, however, in this reading relates more to the class system, government, deep state, and how they are shaped by the collective consciousness. (It is also important to note that if you who are reading this are an “awake” individual your consciousness is immensely powerful compared to many others, and where you point your perception is relatively important and it would do well to use your mind responsibly). I asked what darkness of the past is showing up now to be revealed and healed, and received The Magician. It is my understanding that we would all do well to think about our past, and not just the last 150 years. Power is Power. Look at any point in history, how many leaders would be considered even remotely moral or acceptable? How many injustices of the past exist, far bleaker than we care to admit. If you call yourself a witch it is your duty to learn your history. Look at how this power was developed, across cultures, to heal the sick, bring success to crops and business, all the good it could produce, and how the witches specifically were burned. How paganism was stamped out by the Catholic church who turned around and rebranded our traditions and rituals, understanding the power in them. Whether you’re “into” conspiracy theories or not, a small amount of research will show there is absolutely occultism used by the “most powerful” people on this planet. They use the most horrific and dark practices to establish their dominance, all the while convincing the general public that energy work is fake and anyone selling their services is a scam artist. They convince you you need pills to fix diseases caused by pesticides on your food, and criminalize ancient medicines that offer humanity the most benefit. But the age of Pieces is over. The divine feminine awakes, and each of us must embrace The Empress. By healing your divine feminine, and leading as an empress, that is to say, allowing the matriarchy to step into her power in your life, at her rightful place by the side of the patriarchy, holding hands and headed towards a life together, you heal yourself. It has often been said, to truly love oneself and try to heal in a society who’s aims are to convince you that you’re not good enough, is a revolutionary act. Do not look to the patriarchy of the system to try and save you. The structural Saturn (aka Cronos and patriarchal archetype) of all systems is neither good nor bad. It merely follow’s The Empress’s lead. Look to your mother wounds, and allow them to guide you with the Page of Cups to your ascension to an unconditionally loving being. Remember, that the power we are coming into of The Fool, is that of new beginnings, and understand “the system” and whatever that means to you is being blocked by a nostalgia for a past that never was, and never will be. Surrender to the unknown and remember it is okay to start all over.

The Ten of Wands card, suggests that the collective is not being blocked from accepting themselves as The Fool, but instead that our day in the sun is coming. I have great faith in people, and I believe we are all close to seeing how much more we have in common with each other than the difference we now think are so important. But on the horizon, awaits the Nine of Wands. What I see is that the collective is weary and waiting to assume their rightful place, remember the look of satisfaction on the man’s face in the Ten of Wands. His end is in sight. His work is nearly done. And what comes next is holding the line. The Nine of Wands, is a man at war, in battle, taking a knee, and planting firmly in place against his enemy. Remembering that of course cosmically there are no enemies, we are all one, and every experience we have as humans is a game, in the 3D reality we inhabit with our bodies, this knowledge does not mean that you should just give up and let the other side “win” the game. If you’re playing Mario Kart & beat your best friend, that doesn’t undo the love you have for them. It is important to remember discernment, and thinking about what actions are justified. To expand on The Magician, I believe that what is coming is a time of revelation, and a return of magick to the world. There are literally declassified CIA documents about remote viewing, and many other things that demonstrate the current sense (in America particularly) that there is no such thing as magick or spirits and even religion is scoffed at as fairy tales, is completely removed from the reality and science so many people use to disprove it. We are nearing the time to stand our ground, fight for what we believe in, and step into our power, knowing that we are stronger than we have been told or those who would oppress us would give us credit for. We will succeed with the Four of Wands as our focus. I suggest spending some time getting to know the voices in your head. Which thoughts are constructive and coming from your self, and which thoughts have been programmed into you by a society that has been constructed to convince as many people as possible to be soulless cogs in a machine. The Four of Wands asks us to build a life and a family for ourselves. The family can look however it does, tailored to each of us. This energy gives us a home and a love of others worth fighting for. It is becoming increasingly evident, that the chaos of our current times is being coopted by powerful people to steal as much wealth from the collective as possible and destroy the possibility of upward mobility to cement into power those who currently reside at the top. BUY LAND! Build a LEGACY. To paraphrase Hamilton: “plant seeds in a garden you’ll never get to see.” Think about what kind of world you would like to live in ideally, and then look to the Four of Wands to see how you can build this world with your current position in your life and the home you have. This card is about establishing a way of life, and is the most microcosmic understanding of the phrase: “think globally act locally.” Further, as a witch there are literally millions of ways of incorporating the craft into your home-keeping. Get creative, and share your tips & tricks with those close to you.

The Eight of Wands reminds us, that we are all on our journey. When perceiving others, remember they are on their path, and instead of judging them for where they currently are, it would serve you best to instead consider where their actions are leading them. Obviously, there are objectively horrible things being done, all over the world, I could not begin to comprise a list. This does not mean you have to accept bullshit from ANYONE. Remember the Nine of Wands telling you to stand and fight for the Four of Wands you are building. If everything is a game, the whole point of playing is either to win, or have fun! In this case I see the Eight of Wands reminding us, that even as we are faced objectively bad things and people, the course of consciousness is on its path to ascension and the arrow for humanity is headed towards Strength. I find it interesting this card is also of eight energy, and so it’s good to think also of what that means numerological. The number eight is of abundance and wealth, of our plans coming to fruition, it is an energy of things falling into place and coming together. This moment in history, is very interesting, and in retrospect we will see how what we are currently going through is is the contraction pains of birth. We tend and heal the maternal Empress, because she is suffering birthing pains. The new world is being born. There is not much else to say of the Strength card because it is I feel evident how we are all to grow stronger from what we are going through, as we as humans always do after going through a challenge. Instead, remember your own strength as Spirit guides you to embrace the King of Cups. Our divine feminine is in pain, and this is the patriarch she needs. One of love. Do not demonize the divine masculine. See him as completely and complexly as the feminine longs to be seen. Remember he is human too, and we are all 70% water. He too feels the moon pulling his psychic tides, if not as directly as those with a connection to their womb, then through his love for his queen. The King of Cups calls us to look for how we can allow the masculine in our life to be sensitive, vulnerable, and intuitively in connection to their emotion. Allowing us all to flow freely, in the energies that currently call. This may, or may not, manifest as an emotionally mature masculine energy residing in someone in your life; and may tie into building a life with them as suggested by the Four of Cups.

Finally, Spirit suggests that to fully embody The Fool as we are all being called to do, we should meditate on the Ace of Swords. In my opinion, a more modern representation of the air/thought energy captured by the swords would actually be a light saber. And by looking at the story and philosophy of the Jedi we see a clear picture of how useful one’s thoughts and will can be, as well as how dangerous and damaging. It is after all, a weapon. And still, a sharp edge is a very useful tool. As with all aces, this is a gift and represents a fresh start. Meditation, is perhaps the most fundamental advice for how to acquaint yourself with the Ace of Swords, and offers us a deeper understanding of our own mind, which is the only thing in this universe we have any control over. By respecting and exercising our minds, we stand to gain the Ace of Pentacles. This again is a gift, this time of material creation, which is all that wealth is meant to symbolize and represent. Money is merely the potential energy of something. If Spirit advises us to embrace the Ace of Swords, then this shows through mastering ourselves, and our minds we are freely given the world. This I see is the philosophy of a hunter/gatherer who knows through their deep connection to the Earth that their needs will be provided for. Remember that magick is rooted in our connection to the Earth, honoring her, and understanding our place as an extension of her as life itself. So step into The Sun. Spirit guides us to follow our path, for it is all that will ever be ours, and our actions are the only thing we can ever truly own. Being yourself, and understanding what that means, is the only thing you are here on Earth to do.

#tarot #tarot reading #witchcraft #magick #witch

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x1-imaginesreturns · 4 years

Text

The Key to a Curse - Dohyon Quantum Leap Part 2

Masterlist

Pairing: Dohyon x Reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 4,977

Notes: Ahh! It’s been too long since I’ve posted for Quantum Leap, but here we are with the new part! I’ll get back to my regular schedule after this, sorry for the long delay!!

Song Recommendation: Run Away - TXT

Quantum Leap : The Beginning

You and Aoi stared at him in silence for many, long, drawn-out seconds, before you silently exclaim, “182 years?! What the hell are you in here for?? And how are you even alive for that matter?” Aoi nods with you, gaping at the boy.

By his young appearance, you would have never guessed he had been alive for that long. Nothing about him seemed overgrown or gross either, his chestnut hair perfectly surrounding his face and his skin looked as if it had recently been washed.

He laughs slightly before answering, “Isn’t it obvious?”

His amber eyes flash, the pupils of his eyes dilating down to look reptilian, and a small puff of smoke came from his nose. “I’m a dragon,” he says, “And you humans seem to think we’re extinct. Course… maybe sending me to this school wasn’t the best idea, but we’re very much alive.”

“And who are you two exactly? I haven’t seen anyone in over fifty years,” he finishes. You and Aoi look back and forth between each other before you answer, “We’re students here. But… neither of us are under the effects of the mind control.”

Dohyon’s eyes narrow at you skeptically, and you start stumbling over your words as you attempt to give him an answer, “W-well… They thought Aoi here was a girl, so the serum didn’t work on him,” you continue, hearing Aoi snort in frustration behind you, “And I-”

You cut yourself off, unsure of how to explain your situation. “I… I come from another world. In fact, I just got here last night. I woke up in someone else’s body… and well they just happened to be the daughter of the Principal and have the exact same name as me.”

Your lips shut tight, and you’re confused as to why you just spilled your new life story to a dragon boy who’s been stuck in a closet at the end of a forbidden hallway for 182 years. But your wide eyes continue to look into his as he contemplates the situation. He breathes in deeply before asking you, “And what exactly is your name?”

“W-well… my name is y/n.”

Dohyon’s entire demeanor freezes, and his eyes widen considerably. He stands up, walking forward until he’s right in front of you. “Is that really your name?,” he asks seriously, his yellow eyes glaring deep into yours.

You hear Aoi step forward next to you, before you see him push Dohyon back slightly. “Hey don’t get so close to her! You’re gonna scare her,” Aoi says defensively, “And plus, what’s with that question? Of course that’s her name. She wouldn’t just lie to a dragon’s face! And don’t think that all humans are so ignorant to your species existing.”

“It’s okay Aoi,” you say calmly, placing one of your hands on Aoi’s shoulders, “And yes, y/n is my real name. It’s my name in the world I come from, and it’s the name the person I have taken over has as well.”

Dohyon’s eye twitches and for a split second, the entire room fills with a tri-colored light. It all absorbs back into him, and he quietly says, “Do you mind closing the door behind you?” You and Aoi look at each other again before Aoi turns around and closes the door.

As he makes his way back, Dohyon says, “If you’re here already… that means we haven’t delayed Talo and kdqmbg for long enough. Can I see your bracelet?”

You hold up your bracelet immediately when you detect his rushed tone and wild eyes. He examines it only for a second before letting your wrist go. “That’s strange… that’s the charm I… things weren’t supposed to start already! I’ve only been in here for 182 years, but this process was supposed to happen long after 1,000 years had passed…”

He trails off, starting to pace back and forth across the room. Aoi quirks an eyebrow up and asks, “Mind explaining to us exactly what is going on? You’re leaving things very vague for us over here.” Dohyon stops and looks at you both before answering, “I can’t explain everything right now, especially to you, y/n. I need more evidence to figure out if my hypothesis is correct. But that’s not going to happen until I’m set free.”

“So…, do you two mind helping me get out of this prison?,” he asks finally, but Aoi immediately counters back with, “Well, you can just walk out the door now, we’ve unlocked it.” Dohyon starts chuckling at Aoi’s remark before he says, “If it was that simple, I would’ve walked out of here the last time a student came in here to release me.”

“Someone else has tried before?,” you ask curiously, “Why didn’t they get you out then?” Dohyon sighs quickly before answering, “The school or some student caught him, because he was slain and soon enough the keys were returned to me, and an even stronger magic-lock system was put on my door, and the doors that will help me escape.”

“His name was Gunther by the way,” Dohyon finishes, his eyes clearly reflecting deep memories. “So how exactly do we get you out of here?,” Aoi asks, clearly not noticing Dohyon’s inner turmoil, “Since the previous person that tried got killed, I’m quite reluctant to help you in the first place.”

“Well, it’s for our sake in general. If I don’t get freed and find the answers I need… then most likely everyone in this world will die,” Dohyon states, a serious air filling the room, “And it’s for y/n. She’s in the most danger here… but at the same time… her bqmlakntcgq is the whole reason all of us are getting into this mess anyways.”

“My bqmlakntcgq…?,” you ask confusedly, “What did she do?” Dohyon just sighs at your question and answers, “To be honest, I don’t think you’re ready for the answer to that question yet. In fact, y/n, I’ll tell you right now…”

“Forget everything you’ve been told. Your entire life… has been a lie. An illusion of sorts.”

The entire room freezes for a second and you ask desperately, “What do you mean? I don’t understand any of this! Why am I so important? What has my family done? What have I done?”

Dohyon’s face softens with sympathy, and he says, “I hate not being able to give the answers y/n, but I think you’ll understand the best when the truth reveals itself. Which… I have a feeling that the truth will appear very, very soon.”

“But we will discuss all of this later,” Dohyon says, turning around to walk to the back of the small room, picking up a small box, before walking back to where he was standing formerly. “This,” he starts, “Is the only item that can leave this room. And when I open it…”

He trails off, opening the old and rusted box to reveal a set of three keys. The first one was decorated just like the one you had used to open the door, except the bitting cuts were clearly different, this time more round in shape.

The second key was more rusted than the box it came in, but it had hundreds of elegant dragon scales carved upon the shaft and bow of it. However, it had no bit, and the shaft just ended in a strangely shaped point.

The third and final key was made out of some sort of colorful gemstone, and wasn’t smooth in any sort of way. The bow was quite round, but from attached to both sides of the circle was a diamond-shaped piece of ordinary stone. The bit was also made of this stone, and was quite square compared to the other keys.

“These three keys will aid my escape,” Dohyon starts, once he thinks you’ve examined each of the keys, “Each one opens a certain door in the school, which will lead you on a quest to find one of the key that open the invisible locks on the door.”

“Only I can see these locks. There are five locks on the door in total, one key from the dragon head key room, and two from the other key rooms,” Dohyon says confidently, “And then of course, you have to unlock the physical door too. Make sure to not lose the door key.”

“I can’t offer you much help in actually finding the rooms and keys themselves, besides the first one,” Dohyon says, walking back to where he got the box from, “Gunther only told me what room the first key unlocked, and I carved it on the wall behind where the box was.”

Dohyon kneels down, using his magic to hold up a small flame before reading, “Room 57’s closet, which is in Ravinder Tower, is where the first puzzle awaits for you to complete. That is… if you’re willing to set me free from this place?”

Once again, you and Aoi share a look. His eyes are doubtful, and he looks over the keys in the box once again. Before waiting for him to give you any sort of answer, you say…

“I’ll help you escape Dohyon.”

Aoi’s eyes widen immensely, a few flabbergasted noises leaving his mouth, and Dohyon flashes you a charming smile. “Good to know. How about you Aoi?,” Dohyon asks, tilting his head towards him. “I-I’ll help!,” he cries out, before his cheeks turn slightly pink, “But don’t think I like you or anything dragon boy… I’m only doing this because y/n seems to like you.”

Aoi lets out a small ‘hmmph!’ sound and turns his head upward haughtily before you look back at Dohyon. He walks back over to the two of you and hands you the box of keys. “Be as safe as possible, will you? I don’t want the same thing that happened to Gunther happening to you. In fact… it is quite imperative that neither of you reach an ill fate.”

You nod confidently and say, “Don’t worry too much. Aoi here is the master of sneaking around the school, and I have a favor to ask of you, in fact.” Dohyon gives you a perplexed look before asking, “And what kind of favor would you need to ask of a dragon who’s currently stuck inside of a small room?”

“For every key we collect for you… will you answer one of my questions that I have? You know, about why I’m so important and how exactly you know my bqmlakntcgq and all that?,” you ask kindly and Dohyon sighs before answering, “Yes. You have my word that I will answer ONE of your questions for every key.”

You smile gratefully, before motioning to Aoi to open the door again.

“We’ll back soon then, with the first key!”

After you and Aoi trudged back to your room with the box of keys, the two of you immediately fell into deep sleep, no dreams even daring to bother the two of you that night. And when you woke up, the box of keys was still right on your desk, exactly where you had placed them last night.

Aoi didn’t wake up too much longer after you, and upon noticing the key box on your desk, he remarked, “Oh, so it wasn’t a dream?” Which sent you into a giggling fit, and Aoi simply sighed at your antics, slipping into the bathroom to get changed.

“So when are we going to go over to Ravinder Tower?,” you called out to him as you were slipping your skirt back on. “Probably tonight,” Aoi exclaims back, “Dragon boy seemed to be in quite a rush to get his answers or whatever, so we should at least respect that or something…” You quickly throw on the rest of your outfit, and Aoi asks through the door, “Can I come back in the room?”

“Yep!,” you answer back and walk into the bathroom after Aoi exits. You look right into the mirror, and shudder quickly before popping in the red contacts Aoi had given you. You brushed your hair quickly, and stormed back into the bedroom to grab your bag.

Aoi was already ready to go, so the two of you headed out towards Aeron Tower, where both of your first classes were. You had History of Magic Beings, while Aoi had History of the Dark Arts. After these classes, you and Aoi wouldn’t see each other until lunch, which is when the two of you planned to sneak into the staff room to pick up extra guard uniforms, which would definitely help the two of you if you got caught for some reason.

The first class seemed to pass by very slowly, but soon enough you were walking out into the school courtyard for your class called “Recreational Magic”, which definitely had you feeling quite nervous, as you knew for a fact you wouldn’t be able to pull off anything remotely magical.

But you still walked out there, only to see Dongpyo and a few other kids milling about the lawn. An older lady, who was clearly the teacher, was sitting across from you and the other kids, simply reading a book.

And as the large school bell chimes echoed throughout the school, the teacher didn’t even look up. All of the kids who were out there immediately starting pulling magic out of them, setting off huge bursts into the sky or creating shapes and figures with their magic.

But after a few minutes of just watching everyone do their magic, you simply plopped to the ground, unsure of what to do with your current situation. As soon as you did, though, someone kicked your back, causing you to fall forward from your position, and yelled, “Hmmm, what’s this?? The daughter of the principal herself sitting down during a magic class?”

As you slowly stood up to face them, dusting yourself off as you got up, you immediately saw it was Dongpyo himself. You froze on the spot as he stormed over to you, getting right into your face. Of course, you immediately saw his glowing, red eyes, but unlike everyone else’s they had a yellow ring outlining the pupil of his eye.

However, you had no time to dwell on it, as Dongpyo jeered, “What’s the matter, cat got your tongue? If you’re not going to play by the rules, I’ll give you a little taste of what the principal did to that new f̷̡̠̣̫̲̙͎͍̙̬̝̖̀̔̈̃̔̆̽̓͜͝r̶̭̣͂́̀͐̓ỉ̷̧̱̹̻̹̗͙̜̭̰̜̹͍͔̈͌͑̃̌͗̌̉̾̾͝ê̶̺͎͇̩̥ņ̸͇̗̖̫͉̹͚͉̥̘͍̙͖͐̎͊͐̚͜͝d̷̢͔̹̼̳̠̰͔͙̥̎̂̒́̏̑̔̊͑̐̀́͜͠ͅ of yours.”

Just as Dongpyo pulled his hand back, a blue energy charging in the palm of that hand, you somehow fell through the ground and into a hole. You spiraled downwards for quite a while before it opened up into a magenta-colored space, small gems floating in the corners around the room.

“Hello?,” you called out confusedly, “Is anyone there?” Your words echoed in the space around you, and just in front of you, a figure started to appear. He was tinted magenta, but his hair was clearly black, and his eyes were glowing a bold green.

He also wore the school uniform that you were wearing now, but he also had a beanie on his head. “Hi, I’m Gunther,” he says, “I’m the person or thing, I guess, who saved you from the mind control yesterday. And yes, I am the dead spirit of the last person who tried to save Dohyon. How I ended up in this bracelet, I have no idea.”

“But I don’t have much time for introductions, so just know that I’ll be guiding you along your way to rescue Dohyon. I know more about freeing him than most people do, anyway. But I’ll also be lending you my powers… so I’ll save you from whoever that was up there,” he finishes, flashing you a quick smile before you’re thrown back up into the real world, right where you left off.

You cross your arms to protect you from the blow, and just as Dongpyo lurches forward, a barrier appears in front of you, completely reflecting his attack. And as you look at your arms curiously, you knew this was definitely Gunther’s work.

As the dust from Dongpyo’s strike clears, you immediately see him smiling at you. “Looks like she does have something in her after all,” he states cockily, before murmuring, “Too bad it’s not really her own.”

He simply laughs before turning back to the people he was with before. ‘What the hell even just happened,’ you thought to yourself, ‘And who is controlling Dongpyo? This doesn’t seem like the behavior of someone who’s just under the effects of the mind control…’

Finally, after what felt like forever, lunch finally arrived, and you met Aoi exactly where you planned to meet in the first place. It wouldn’t be unusual for the two of you to sit together, as the rule was that you could only sit with your roommates.

You told Aoi everything that had happened already, including how you had met Gunther and your strange encounter with Dongpyo. Aoi took a few minutes to contemplate over everything before suddenly saying, “We’re definitely up against something bigger than what we think, that’s for sure. And I bet you anything… dragon boy knows something about it.”

“Like think about it, he clearly was a student here, and they found him out for being a dragon. Whatever, I can guarantee you that instead of locking him up, the would’ve put him in some sort of display or would’ve gone on a search to find more dragons.”

“Whoever locked him in there knew exactly what they were doing. I guarantee it,” Aoi says, pausing for a second as you nodded at his comments, “You know what… why don’t you use your question that you get from the key we’re finding tonight to ask him about it?”

You nod enthusiastically. “That will probably get me some of the answers I want anyways,” you state, looking Aoi in the eyes, “Well, looks like we got ourselves a date with Room 57 tonight!” Aoi giggles at your cheer, and raises his glass of water up to you secretly.

You clink your glass against his, and the two of you share a smile just as the bell rings.

You and Aoi had long slipped out of your school uniforms by now and had finished the few assignments that had been given to you today. And now, the two of you were scrambling around your dorm room, packing light bags for the journey ahead. You had already checked if you had the spare key to Room 57 that you swiped from the key room last night on the way back to your room last night, along with the key that would open the closet.

Aoi wasn’t so much packing as he was pacing around the room, muttering random, incomprehensible things to himself as he did so. And soon enough, he stopped on the spot and asked you, “Are you ready to go? Now’s the perfect time to go.”

The two of you had agreed to go a little earlier than last night, as Ravinder Tower was the one all the way across from your tower, Tenzin Tower. You slipped out of your room just as you did last night, and right as you got into the main hall, a strange magenta pattern appeared on your hand.

Aoi immediately turned around to raise an eyebrow at you, clearly asking ‘what is this?’. As the two of you kept walking, you pointed to your bracelet, indicating that it was probably something that Gunther had done to protect you both.

He nodded before pulling you along at a quicker pace. No guards seemed to be in any of the halls at all, and a slight feeling of dread and anticipation filled you as you edged closer and closer to Ravinder Tower.

Soon enough, you and Aoi were stalking up the stairs of the tower, heading straight towards Room 57. Aoi had already told you that it was a potions classroom, so you weren’t surprised when you saw the cauldrons that sat in the room, and the herb shelf that was behind the teacher’s desk.

And to the left of the teacher’s desk was the closet door. It was made out of very dark wood, and it hadn’t been smoothed out, giving the door a texture that almost looked like a flowing river. The doorknob and keyhole were made of the same material that the dragon key was, and even the bolts on the door were made of the gemstone that made up the dragon’s eye.

You sighed silently, before stepping ahead of Aoi and inserting the key into the keyhole. You slowly turned it, feeling its inner mechanisms come undone before there was the reassuring click as the key settled into its final position. The door creaked open as you pulled it, and you were met with a cramped room, which was definitely only big enough for one person to be in.

Aoi saw this and nodded, motioning for you to go forward. As soon as both of you feet were on the floor…

The surface dropped from beneath you, and suddenly you were falling with the entire room itself. Everything hit the new floor with a loud crash, and you immediately heard Aoi cry out from above you, “Y/n! Are you okay?”

As you shakily stood up, clutching your spinning head, you yelled back, “Yeah, I’m okay! Is there anything new up there?” Just as you say that, three panels on the opposite side of the room fall forward, revealing a small crawl way.

“No!,” he yells back down, “What’s it like down there?” You turn so you’re facing the hole and quickly yell back, “A small tunnel has appeared, I’m gonna go down it! Wait for me to come back up!”

Just as you start crawling forward you hear Aoi cry back, “Don’t go in there just ye-,” but as you find yourself entirely in the hole, his voice completely disappears. Figuring there was no reason to go back now, you continued inching yourself through the cramped tunnel. Your only source of light guiding you were small, glowing mushrooms that grew all along the enclosure.

After what felt like twenty minutes, you finally noticed a different kind of light ahead of you in the tunnel. And as you finally reached it, you fell forward once again, falling straight onto a wooden floor. You stood up, clutching your head, before realizing that the light was coming from a candle that lay on a table in the center of the room.

Slightly underneath the candle’s stand lay a note, which read…

Here lies the tomb of the ancient dragon king

His son is trapped in the castle near

The bloodline flows even as time continues

One secret heir

Within the books upon the shelves

Lay one secret after another

That only a descendant of the council can discover

And if you seek the key

Summon the friend that lies within yee

‘Within… me?,’ you thought confusedly, ‘Who’s inside of me?’ A poof of magenta smoke went off next you, and a familiar voice chimed, “They mean me, of course.”

Floating next to you now, was Gunther, an adventurous smile plastered on his face. “W-what the-?,” you exclaim, blinking your eyes a bit to make sure you’re not seeing things. “You’re definitely not seeing things, y/n,” Gunther says teasingly, “Sorry… I should probably mention that I can hear your thoughts.”

“You can?!,” you exclaim loudly, and Gunther giggles, “We can continue to talk about what I can and can’t do at a later time,” he says, “But for right now, it’s my job to help you find the key. I only have some idea of where to start, as they changed it all up after they found me out.”

He flies forward, snapping his fingers as he does so, somehow managing to light up the room. Right in front of the table you’re at, there’s a huge statue of a dragon, fire coming out of its mouth as it attacks a guard, who is blocking the fire with his shield. Around you are thousands of shelves of books, each one different in shape and size.

Gunther suddenly floats back, perching on top of the dragon statue with a worn down book in his right hand. He drops it down onto the table, and he flips the pages until he suddenly stops, pulling the words off of the page, somehow rearranging them into the shape of a key.

He drops the newly formed key into your hand, letting your examine it. The letters were clearly still imprinted on every part of the key, but each word was crossed over with so many others that it was hard to make out exactly what it said. The key was also smooth, and the bit carving was quite sporadic. You looked back up at him and asked, “How… how exactly did you do that so quickly?”

“Well, if you were like me and had to figure out the entire puzzle by yourself over a few different nights, you would’ve had to flip over the letter you just read to find the set of numbers,” Gunther starts, a smirk already present on his face, “To have to go over there to find the old poster that has the cypher to the numbers, to then find the books that each number is for, to then take the seventeen clues you are given to find the final book, which when you recite the puzzle, gives you the key.”

“But since this room knows me and knows I’ve already figured it out, it just led me straight to the key,” Gunther finishes, jumping down to sit on the table right next to you. “That certainly is… a lot,” you say astoundingly.

Gunther nods before bouncing up again, causing you to turn around to face him. “To be honest y/n, I’m surprised Dohyon actually asked you for help first. When I first found the key, it was just lying about in Aeron Tower, which is where my dorm was. When I touched it, the mind control on me completely slipped away from me.”

“I instantly had a feeling that this key was for one of the doors in the Forbidden Corridor, so when I opened Dohyon’s door to find him in there, I was shocked,” Gunther continues, “Dohyon was also extremely shocked, but quite refused to say anything on why he was in there or how I could help him escape.”

“Over and over, he kept telling me, ‘you’re not the one who can help me.’ or ‘there’s someone I’m specifically waiting for.’ Of course, I couldn’t help but feel a little dejected at these remarks, but after enough nights of me pestering him, he finally agreed.”

“And now that I’m thinking about it y/n, you’re definitely the person he’s been waiting for. But I think you are here at the wrong time,” he says seriously, “I think something has gone terribly wrong. I mean, I’m technically back in the world! It’s nice to have a physical form and all of that again… but it just feels wrong. I think you’ve tinkered with something that wasn’t ever supposed to be messed with.”

“But what do I know?,” Gunther jokes, clearly trying to get off of the serious subject, “I’ll return into your bracelet now, I think Aoi’s starting to panic up there.” And just like how he appeared, Gunther poofed back into your bracelet, disappearing entirely.

Knowing you couldn’t dwell on what you just learned here, you headed straight for the crawl way, and scurried back towards where Aoi was. As soon as you emerged back into the room you had crashed down in, it lit up, the pieces of the room floating upwards, bringing you along as it put itself back together.

You blinked a few times before Aoi rapidly flung open the door, to see you standing there, brand new key in hand. “Oh my goodness y/n!,” Aoi says, stepping forward to fling his arms around you, “I was so worried! But you’ve got the key… should we go to Dohyon’s now? Or tomorro-”

“Tonight,” you said firmly, “Gunther appeared down there to help me and now I have more questions than I did last night. And we’ve got to get them out of him somehow.”

You and Aoi storm back down the main hall towards the Forbidden Corridor. You knew that packing the key to his door was going to be a good idea, and it certainly was, considering you were too desperate to wait another day to ask him one of your questions.

Aoi would probably be upset if you didn’t ask the question he wanted to ask, so you figured you’d just get the next two keys easily, that way you could then start asking the questions that mattered to you.

Soon enough, you and Aoi were blazing into the corridor, key in your hand, ready to open the door. You undid the lock quickly, taking it out of the keyhole as you and Aoi slipped into Dohyon’s room once again, silently closing the large door behind you.

The room was lit up with the beaming moonlight, and Dohyon sat on the chair in the center of the room, exactly like he was yesterday. “I presume you got the first key?,” Dohyon asks, holding out his left hand, clearly indicating for you to give him the key.

You squeezed it in your hand, and exclaimed, “I’m not giving you this key until you answer my question.”

“Who and what are we even up against? What’s the point of even setting you free?”

(Part 1)(Part 2)

#x1 #x1net #x1 imagines #x1 imagine #x1 scenarios #x1 reactions #x1 dohyon #dohyon #nam dohyon #x1 dongpyo #dongpyo #son dongpyo #aoi #quantum leap

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sesskag1postchallenge · 5 years

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Ch2 - Operation Grandpup Drop (A SitBoy Discord Crack Fic)

Created by awesome people on the SessKag SitBoy Discord, one post at a time in complete wild abandon. This is a SessKag crack fic.

Chapter 2:

mythicamagicToday at 3:20 AM Sesshoumaru, meanwhile, had taken off on his own, eyes narrow. He could still hear the words of his mother ringing in his ears as he flew above the trees. But it was no matter. He felt certain he'd smelt Naraku's foul stench close by.

Walter205Today at 9:04 AM Inukimi watched her son go after giving the strange garment the briefest of sniffs before dropping it to the ground in his haste to leave. She sighed softly before turning to glance at the others. Her Sky Palace would be a most suitable location for the breedings to occur, perhaps she should round everyone up from both camps and have them waiting there for both her son and her hopeful second when they arrive?

Even if no one else breeds on their own, they could prove a useful distraction fodder for her amusement while she waited, in addition to an added incentive for her son and the miko to come visit her, if for no other reason then to "retrieve" their companions, then she would be able to spring her growing little plan into action. Nodding to herself silently, she smiled softly as her hands started glowing pink as she called her debilitating poison to the surface of her claws…

Slayer07/30/2019 While Sesshomaru stood shocked that this she/he incarnation asked to play with his hair. Naraku took his moment of shock to escape in a massive cloud of miasma

Stormie Like Weather07/30/2019 Poof! Frustrated, Sesshomaru glared at the new incarnation, "Do you always do what Daddy says, or can you think for yourself?" Gritting his teeth, "Your weak blood will sully my sword if I run you through."

Walter20507/30/2019 Jaken could still hear the clashing of swords but they were fading into the distance. Earlier Kohaku and Rin had tried to flee from Inukimi, leaving Jaken free to make his escape in the other direction. Trying to follow the path his Lord took through the forest, he came upon a hot springs. Neither his Lord nor the enemy he sounded to be fighting were present, although the miko's yellow satchel and odd items were strewn about the area, along with some signs a fight or two had taken place here.

His curiosity once again got the better of him as he examined several items from the Miko's Satchel, before coming across another odd garment, this one containing straps and two cups, the latter of which had soft padding that felt very pleasant to the touch. Jaken had no idea what this was used for but them came up with the idea that it might some kind of padded armor, meant to be worn under the clothes.

After stripping and bathing in the springs, he tried putting it on, but it seemed oddly sized for a toad of his stature. Still, he managed to get it where one cup protected his head and the other gave him some comfort when he sat down. On the negative side though his clothes couldn't quite fit over the armor but to be honest the padded armor covered enough of him that he didn't need to worry about it for the time being, after all the two battling warriors could return at any moment so Jaken hurriedly collected the other things into the Satchel before carrying it off into the forest, away from the sounds of battle.

mythicamagic07/30/2019 It smelled... Fusty. Or maybe it could be described as wet dog smell, but less without the dog and more... "Ah you're awake!" Kouga grinned, looking down at her. Kagome winced. Wolf. "K-kouga.." she sat up, squeaking when the furs draped over her naked body slipped down. She quickly hugged them to her chest. "Where are we? Where's Naraku?"

Stormie Like Weather07/30/2019 "Ah, there's no need to hide. I've already see-!" Clap! Her palm left a bright red mark on his cheek. "You've seen nothing!" She held fistfuls of the fur against her chest, and repeated slowly, "You. Kouga. Have. Seen. Nothing." He scratched the back of his neck, "Uh, right." He blinked, still smiling. She wanted to slap the stupid grin off his face, instead she gritted her teeth, "Thanks for saving me back there." Not catching a hint, he patted her head, "Of course I would protect my woman!" His expression quickly shifted to anger, "Where was dog breath!?" Kagome shrugged, "Back at camp, I was at a hot springs." That wasn't the point though, she needed to know, "Were you able to get Naraku?" Kouga shook his head. "Now that you are awake, I need to track the bastard down." He tilted his chin at a young wolf youkai to his side, "This boy will take care of you until we return." She looked over at the child and winced, "Wai-t!" But he was already gone.

mythicamagic07/30/2019 Kagome sighed. Well, there was no way she'd be waiting around twiddling her thumbs. She awkwardly glanced at the boy. "Could you um.. Turn around for a second?" The boy complied, and by the time he was given permission to turn back, Kagome was standing in a dress she'd somehow fashioned out of the furs that had been acting as a blanket. The boy blinked. "How did-" "No time~" she smiled brightly, waving. "I'm gonna go now. Do you have a bow and arrow handy?" Or underwear she wanted to add.

Stormie Like Weather07/30/2019 Itchy and smelling something akin to what she imagined an opossum might smell like, Kagome left with a bow, some arrows, and a package of food she suspected might be rancid. Trying not to be rude, she'd taken the offered package despite the smell, but with no intention of eating it, she left it by the entrance on her way out.

mythicamagic07/30/2019 Sango had taught her how to track, but it didn't exactly take a genius to work out which way Kouga had gone after leaving the rocky terrain. Broken twigs paved the way, like a hurricane had swept through. Wincing as the forest floor met her bare feet, Kagome raised her head, feeling the tell tale pull of jewel shards further ahead.

Stormie Like Weather07/30/2019 Unconcerned, Kagome made her way through the path created by the brash wolf, when something strange caught the edge of her sight. The little object gleamed in the sunlight. A plastic covered ramen cup..."How did this get here?" Looking further ahead, she noticed more items from the future dropped along the path. "Oh no!" She'd left her bag at the hot spring. "Some one has my backpack!" Stomp running, she gathered up her things, carrying them against her chest until she couldn't carry any more. She eyed her first aid kit in a bush. Her brow ticked. "I'm going to kill someone..."

Slayer07/30/2019 Jaken felt a shiver run down his back and a dark sense of impending doom.

Walter20507/30/2019 That sense of impending doom proved accurate when a distantly familiar female figure emerged from the edge of the clearing that he had been taking a breathing break in. It took several moments for Jaken to remember where he had seen the lithe figure with red hair and eyes before. While he couldn't remember this particular female's name, he recognized what she was instantly.

"You...you're...," he stammered as he took a few steps back with the satchel at his side.

"Karan, of the Panther Demon Tribe. I remember you, you're Lord Sesshomaru's Lackey. I bring an proposal to him, an offer from our leader Toran," said the figure as she came closer to him.

"N...no, stay back!" yelled Jaken as he started taking items from the largely depleted satchel and throwing them at her. Karan dodged most of them with ease but one item caught her interest for an unknown reason to her. A vial with a dotted green substance inside, with a little note attached that read; 'For Buyo, do not take to past'.

The cat's curiosity getting the best of her, she opened the vial and took a quick sniff before her eyes glazed over. She stuck her tongue and gently licked the edge of the green stuff before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed backwards, mewing and purring softly as she spasmed and thrashed about on the ground.

"Buyo must mean Panther Poison, I must keep this with me," exclaimed Jaken as he gathered the various spilled things, put them back in the satchel, then continued on his way.

Stormie Like Weather08/01/2019 "Merow...merow...merrrroooooow." Kagome swallowed hard, staring at a fully transformed panther demon as it batted at a squeaky toy she'd intended to use as a way to taunt Inuyasha. She blinked, and shook her head. The youkai suddenly hissed at the stuffed toy and it caught fire. "Merrrrrrow!" Her tail swished back and forth, and she rolled over onto her back, kicking in the air at an invisible opponent. Kagome sighed, "I'm so done today. If one more crazy thing happens..." That's when she heard the squawking up ahead. "Jaken." She seethed. His head was illuminated by the setting sun, and what he was wearing was unmistakable. The lace. The silk. The 600 yen price tag dangling from the strap. With a clatter, everything in her arms fell to the ground, and she charged the stupid toad with an arrow in her hand. "You perverted frog! Just you wait, when I get my hands on you, you're gonna pay!"

Walter20508/01/2019 The feeling of impending doom was upon him again. Turning his head as he heard a noise behind him, Jaken's eyes opened wide as he took in the visage of the spectre of death herself, an irate and familiar human female scantily clad in furs, eyes glowing as pink a color as the tip of the arrow that she held in her hand.

"Please no I'm sorry you can have it all back!" he squawked as he shrugged off the bra and dropped the satchel. All it did however was to make it where she could strike him at will without further damaging any of her belongings. With a cry of fury that channeled all of her frustrations of the day, she stabbed the arrow into his toaddy buttocks, causing him to cry out in anguish as the little purifying power there burned his slimy tooshy.

Flexing her arms that had built up years of strength from lugging around said packed yellow satchel, Kagome lifted the impaled Jaken up onto her bow and notched him into the sky as she pulled and released, sending the toad arcing into the night sky with a terrified yell on a pink contrail as she sent him blasting off again.

Collapsing to her knees afterwards as the adrenaline started to wear off, Kagome took stock of her belongings present. She picked up her brand new push up bra by one of the...uninfected straps and examined the slime and sweat infested materials within as she mentally wrote off the expense, knowing that even if she washed it five hundred times she would never be able to wear it without thinking of the toad wearing it.

Stormie Like Weather08/01/2019 After digging a small hole, Kagome said a few kind words about her bra before dropping it in, "I never got to use you, but you were one of the best bras I've ever bought online." She wiped away a tear with the back of her hand, "I wish I could have worn you at least once before the end." She pushed dirt over the tiny grave. For a moment she wondered if tempting the well's power would be worth it for the chance to have a bra again. Probably not. She could try to make one, but it'd be a sad comparison to what had been lost. There was a chance she'd run across one of the other two she'd brought with her, but the likelihood of finding them was slim, and who knew if Jaken had rubbed his slimy butt all over those as well. Backtracking to gather up the belongings she'd dropped at the sight of the filthy little creature, she noticed the panther demon had left the area. The faint sounds of battle laid ahead. With her backpack zipped closed, she pulled it up on her shoulder. Fists clenched, glaring at the path ahead, Kagome vowed to do more damage to Naraku than biting his tentacle the next time they met.

imjaneees08/01/2019 Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and she's a scorned woman who just got a few good bucks wasted. Underwears were ridiculously expensive and that was one fine pair she just got herself. Not mention if was probably desecrated by an overgrown toad with major personality problems.

A shiver went down her spine and Kagome didn't know if it was out of revulsion or her sometimes reliable sixth sense telling her that things weren't about her way again.

Stormie Like Weather08/01/2019 Darkness crept in, but she could still hear the clanging of swords and growls of youkai. Out of no where, Kagome fell back with an, "Oof!" Her back slammed into rocks while her chest felt like a brick sat on it. Coughing, she opened her eyes to the strangest visual. A woman, no a man, straddled her breasts. Glittery bearded, blood red eyes sparkling, hair tied up like Kaguras'. "Hey girl!" Kagome blinked, "Um, hi." She winced, "Do you think you could get off my chest?" He shook his head, "Daddy says I can't, but let's be friends anyway! Okay?" The crazy look in his eyes gave her chills. She nodded slowly while praying to Kami she'd make it through this.

Slayer08/01/2019 In a flash of red and white the bearded lady was tossed off of Kagome.

Stormie Like Weather08/02/2019 Blinking through the dust, Kagome expected to see Inuyasha standing there with his sword at Sparkle Beard's throat, but, much to her surprise, it was Sesshomaru promising his death.

imjaneees08/02/2019 Still reeling from the very creepy image of Kagura with a beard, Kagome silently prayed that if was the real Sesshomaru this time. She's had enough tentacle experience for one day.

Walter20508/02/2019 Both of them had been momentarily distracted by the pink arrow arcing up into the night sky in the distance with a screaming form atop it, but Sesshomaru with his superior battle prowess was the first to recover and managed to land a fatal blow against Murakumo. The incarnation let out a hideous death scream before it changed into mocking laughter before his form disappeared and a golem token appeared, split in half.

Sesshomaru sighed audibly, recalling that after his eleventh power up while hidden in seclusion that Naraku had gained the ability to provide golems for this incarnations in addition to himself. In addition, after his 13th hidden power up, he had gained the ability to equip his bees with biological boomboxes that mocked them whenever they defeated a golem.

Right on time came by a saimyosho going "kukukukukukukukukukukukukukuku..." as it flew by before being swatted by Sesshomaru's green poison whip. Turning, he headed in the direction that the arrow had come from earlier, before coming across the sight of a beared version of Kagura sitting on the miko's chest. He stopped and stared at the two of them before knocking the bearded thing off.

"Right, enough is enough for one day," muttered Sesshomaru as he unleashed an attack on the untypical figure. The incarnation deflected the attack, but by the time the smoke had cleared, Sesshomaru had gathered Kagome into his arms and formed the ball of light around them both before taking off into the night sky. The bearded Kagura tried to pursue but was rapidly being left in the dust.

revang08/02/2019 “Boo, that’s no fun,” Murakumo pouted, coming to a stop when the pair were out of his range of detection. “And just look what they’ve done to my lovely sakura pink hakama! This is going to take scrubbing.” After a minute of dejectedly stroking his ever-sparkly beard, he sighed. “I suppose I have to go report back to daddy now. He’s, like, so not going to be happy.”

Walter20508/02/2019 Inukimi sighed as she wrapped a hand around the enchanted necklace resting on her shoulders, watching the impudent half demon before her actually try to challenge her authority over all of them. He had drawn his sword and even dared to raise it against her, in her own sky palace none the less!

"Now you'll die for kidnapping us! Take this, Blades of Boulders!" yelled Inuyasha as he used the Rock Tetsuiga to unleash boulders formed into the shapes of claw strikes at his half brother's mother.

Unsuprisingly, a barrier formed into existence to block his attack, leaving him dumbfounded that one of his most powerful recently learned attacks was totally ineffective against his nemesis. As was usually the case, he fell back on a old friend of his next as he leapt into the air for his next attack.

"It's over. Wind Scar!"

At this point Sango, Miroku, and Shippou placed their heads into their hands. They knew he had run out of options at that point, but why does he think that that'll work? All three of them sighed out loud while the old energy attack struck and sizzled out against the barrier.

"Are you done playing tantrum, Inu Child?" asked Inukimi as her eyes started glowing with warning of potential punishments to come.

revang08/02/2019 Inuyasha growled low in his throat, still brandishing his Tessaiga. He didn’t know what this crazy bitch was capable of, and he didn’t like it one bit. There was no way in hell he was going to just let her keep them here captive. He still had to go find Kagome!

Miroku sighed and shook his head at his brash hanyou friend. He appreciated the protectiveness, and knew it was his way of caring for them, but sometimes.... Well, this had gone on long enough.

He calmly walked up and placed his hand on Inuyasha’s shoulder. “Come now, Inuyasha, is this any way to treat our hostess? She has promised Kagome will be joining us here. We should listen to what the lovely lady has to say.”

This last comment earned him a glower from Sango, and he smiled back at her guiltily, scratching the back of his head.

Walter20508/02/2019 "Naraku, today is the day that I will end your reign of terror. This time you've gone too far, going after my intended like that!" yelled Kouga as he leaped to attack the demon that had been looking for his trail.

"Ah, the young demon leader of the Wolf Tribe returns. Did you come to peacefully hand over your five shards of the jewel?" asked Naraku mockingly as he prepared for battle.

"Shut up and die!" Kouga yelled as he leapt into the air and attacked with a leg kick. He surpisingly made impact with Naraku's body, wondering why he didn't impact the barrier first. The answer became clear when his leg started being absorbed into Naraku's body.

"No! I don't want this, you can't take me like this, I won't let it happen!" yelled Kouga while trying to free himself from Naraku's digusting mass.

"Heh, what would you know about not wanting something? If you had any clue you would know that Kagome doesn't want you in the least, yet you still pine for her affections at every turn as if she's going to suddenly warm up to you. But don't worry, I'll give you the companionship that she never will as you become one with me," Naraku cruelly taunted as the wolf continued to be further absorbed into his body.

revang08/02/2019 Suddenly in the sky came a bright pink projectile, squawking shrilly as it raced directly towards the fighting pair. At the last second, Naraku threw himself back, just barely avoiding the dangerous missile of purity, but losing his hold on the wolf. The arrow yelped repeatedly as it tumbled over and over itself, finally resting in a thatch of bushes several yards away.

Walter20508/02/2019 Kouga was not one to waste a good opportunity to run away. In a quick swirl of dust he was gone, taking the screaming pink object with him as it was caught up in his cyclone. Knowing that Naraku would be chasing after him though, he changed direction and instead of heading back to the Wolf Demon Hideout he instead started chasing Puppyboy's scent, although he seemed to almost be flying as the scent on the air seemed.

Stormie Like Weather08/02/2019 "See!" Kouga thought to himself while running, "Kagome just saved my life, there's no way she could have known of my being in danger if she didn't feel it in her heart."

#sesskag #inuyasha fanfiction #sesshomaru #kagome #inuyasha #OnePostChallegeSitBoy

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nyxdelanuit · 4 years

Text

A Dream In Red Ch8

A03

A chorus of giggles followed your retreating forms through the field. Your arms gripped tightly around Kirishima’s neck as you kept watch behind you for your pursuers. Kaminari and Tetsutetsu seemed to have gotten turned around as Kirishima snuck the two of you into the tree line on the opposite side of the field.

“We should be safe here!” He grinned, crouching to let you off of his back. Despite sprinting with your full weight, he barely seemed winded. You, on the other hand, were breathless at his slightly disheveled state. “Things got a little out of hand today, huh?” You shook off the flush on your face to the best of your ability, giving Kirishima a swift nod. “I just wanted to check in with you before everyone else bombarded you. I figured a little breather might be nice? Sorry for the impromptu escape.”

“No, it’s okay! I had fun.” It felt like your smile could split your face at any moment. You couldn’t remember the last time someone actually cared for how you were feeling. Kirishima mirrored you with a smile of his own, although it was quickly replaced with a serious glare past you, into the field.

You felt his hands close around your shoulders, quickly guiding you up against a tree. His arms seemed to cage you in. You felt the blood rushing to your face as his body pressed up against yours. The contrast of the rough bark at your back and his warm body sent your head spinning. He didn’t spare you a look as he shushed you softly. You vaguely registered the rustling of the taller grass on the other side of the trees. A telltale whine drifted through the air, Kaminari. They must have followed you out here.

“Are you sure they went this way bro?” Kaminari’s signature whine making it easy to hear him, even from this distance. It was a bit harder to hear Tetsutetsu’s deeper reply, but it sounded like they had given up their chase. “Guess we’ll just meet up with them and the squad then. Damn Kirishima, stealing away the cutest girl in our group.”

“Aren’t there only two?” Tetsutetsu barked a laugh at his moping friend.

“Yeah, but..”

“I’m gonna tell Mina you said that.” A sharp cry sounded as you heard the two run off across the field once more. You dared a glance up at Kirishima. His face was surprisingly passive for how compromising the position he currently had you in. With a peek around the tree, he let out a soft sigh and looked down at you. He seemed surprised at how quickly he met your eyes, and how close your face had gotten. A sudden flush flooded his face, but he quickly let out a gasping laugh. You were quick to join in. The whole situation becoming absurd in hindsight.

You and Kirishima fell away from each other, wiping tears from the corners of your eyes. You slid down the trunk of the tree, sitting comfortably against the trunk. Kirishima quickly followed suit, sitting in front of you.

“Alright, will all of that business taken care of, how are you holding up?” A sigh escaped your lips and you shrugged a shoulder.

“I mean, all things considered, I guess I’m alright.” You looked to the ground beside you, winding the long grass around the trunk through your fingers.

“Y/N, you know it’s okay to not be okay in the situation? I’m not saying you should be throwing yourself all over me and sobbing, not that I would mind that either. But it sounded like Inasa was your friend for a long time and he did something that upset you. It’s okay to be upset about it.” You nodded, still focused on the feeling of the grass between your fingertips.

“Yeah, it kinda felt like he betrayed me in a way. He always went on and on about how he would be there for me and always protect me, but it just feels like he kept me away from so much. Who knows how many people he’s run off before this? I used to think that people just didn’t like me. I wonder which one is the truth.” You pouted, pulling strands of grass out of the crumbling dirt. You felt a warm hand against your face, gently coaxing you into looking up. Kirishima’s face met yours, a soft worry etched into his face. It was maddening how endearing you found the crease of his brow, the soft feeling conveyed in his eyes, the soft slope of his lips. How one person could look so handsome and heartbreaking at the same time, you would never know.

“I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m glad we met. Anyone who gave up having you in their life so easily is a fool. Just know that I’ll be there as long as you want me to be. So will the rest of the squad. We’re not an easy bunch to be around, but you make it seem like a cakewalk. That’s something special.” His hand fell away from your face, his fingertips ghosting against your cheek.

He stood abruptly, dusting himself off and clearing the air of the previous conversation. “Now let’s get you back to the rest of the group. It wouldn’t be very manly to keep you all to myself.” He offered his hand to you and pulled you up effortlessly. As the two of you made your way out of the treeline, you made sure to intertwine your fingers with his. This was definitely someone you weren’t letting go for quite a while.

A shrill cheer was all the warning you got before being bowled over by a pink blur. “My poor baby kidnapped and kept from her bestest bud.” Mina’s eyes seemed to glow with mischief as she glared at Kirishima. You chuckled softly as you disentangled yourself from the eager Pinky. You joined the circle of people waiting for you, falling in between Kirishima and Mina once again. The whole group was here now, including Tetsutetsu, who sat between Kaminari and Bakugou.

“Sorry I’m late, I hope we didn’t keep you waiting.” Your apology was met with a scoff from Bakugou.

“That’s alright, we’re just glad you’re still hanging out with us.” Mina grinned, leaning against your arm.

“Yeah, after everything I heard, I was worried you’d stop coming around before I got a chance with you.” Kaminari winked over to you, earning a thunk to the head from Sero.

“Way to be sensitive Zappy.” he frowned at the blond.

“Let’s just get to the point already. These losers are worried about that extra when you go home tonight. Since none of them want to say it themselves, I guess I’ll just have to. You should let one of us crash at your place tonight in case your lover boy decides to make an unwelcome stop.” Bakugou grumbled. Mina sighed, presumably at Bakugou’s lack of empathy for the situation, but you found it hard to be upset by his brash tone.

“I think that’d be a good idea, actually. Who is it going to be then?” Apparently, that was the wrong question to ask, since all the boys sans Sero and Bakugou launched into a heated debate. Bakugou simply rolled his eyes and allowed himself to fall back onto the grass.

Sero looked over to you, shrugging as the boys came up with competitions to decide who would get the honor of staying in your room tonight. It was amusing watching them go back and forth for a while, but the novelty wore off fast.

“Hey Mina, I think you’re the most obvious choice, right? I mean, we are the only two girls. We could even get some movies and popcorn and make a night of it.” Her eyes lit up, you already knew she would be up for some girl time.

“Deal!! Plus I won’t have to walk all the way home and back. I’ve got a few changes of clothes at the gym.” The debates of the boys fell to the background as you and Mina tried to decide on what movies should be on the agenda for tonight.

The boys were in the middle of an arm wrestling contest to decide the winner, and Bakugou joined in simply to beat the other three. The sun was starting to glow red behind the trees, and the cold spring wind bit at your hands. Mina caught your eye and gestured toward the dorms. Quietly, the two of you stood and waved goodbye to Sero. As you rounded the corner to the first building, you heard a shout from the field.

“Uh oh, looks like they figured it out. Let’s book it!” Mina grabbed your arm and sprinted into your building. The two of you booked it up the stairs, panting as you threw your door open and slammed it behind you, locking the deadbolt before bursting into laughter. Mina flung herself onto your couch. “Alright! Just you and me and a whole bunch of free time.” She waggled her eyebrows at you, drawing another laugh. She sat up, drawing her legs up to her chest to make room for you. You gladly sat beside her, turning on an inconsequential show as you were sure she’d want to gossip before movies.

“Soooo…” You were starting to wonder if the wild grin plastered on her face was just her default setting, “Tell me, our Kirishima didn’t defile my precious baby, did he?” Mina cooed at you and you swatted her away.

“Gods, Mina, no! He was just checking up on me. Besides, I’m a big girl, I don’t think there’s much left to defile.” You cringed at the high pitched gasp that was assaulting your ears.

“Whaaaaaat? I need details like yesterday. Don’t tell me it’s Mr. Big and Blustery?” You blanched visibly at that imagery.

“Oh gods, no. Honestly, it was just some guy from high school. It wasn’t even a real thing with him and me. Especially after Inasa found out. You would have thought that guy murdered my dog with the way he acted.”

“Laaame. But I mean, I guess it’s kinda the same for me. Being a hero in training doesn’t really give you much time to find a good relationship, huh? The only ones in our class to have a healthy relationship was Deku and Uraraka, but it took them three years to even confess to each other.” Mina sighed. “At least the hookup gossip was great. Anyways, that’s neither here nor there, we’re talking about you getting frisky with the local good boi. Yay or nay?” The full force of Mina’s gaze fell on you.

“I mean, I don’t know? It’s only been a few days. Plus it’s not like I don’t flirt with the rest of the guys. Why Kirishima?”

“You two just seem to wind up in the same place and the same time, that’s all I’m saying!” Mina prodded you with her foot, smirking knowingly at you.

“I just don’t think now is a good time to be worried about things like that. It’s our first semester of college, there’s a lot going on already.” You whined, pushing Mina’s leg away from you.

“Excuses! If not now, then when? During finals? When you get started as a sidekick? A pro-hero? When you retire? You need to take chances where chances are given, girl!” Mina hopped up from the couch and wandered to your kitchen, scavenging for snacks.

“Oh, like you and Sero?” Your quip brought more color to Mina’s face.

“Well he’s cute and all, but I’m just waiting for him to make a move, ya know? I’m traditional like that.” Mina flopped back on the couch with her findings. “Now, let’s get to watching some cheesy movies.”

The night seemed to pass uneventfully. You and Mina curled up on the floor in a nest of blankets and pillows as you relentlessly mocked every rom-com you could get your hands on. The first few yawns started to creep through you both when your phone chimed ominously.

Gale Face: Can we talk?

Gale Face: I’m outside your door.

You sighed, pulling yourself out of your cocoon. Mina raised an eyebrow at you, and you tossed your phone in her lap. She scanned the messages quickly.

“Want me to tell him to fuck off?” Her voice was rough and you knew she was as tired as you felt. You shook your head.

“Nah, I’ll see what he wants. I’ll leave the door cracked in case I need you.” She muttered an affirmative and settled back down into the warmth of the blanket, her eyes not leaving your form.

You slipped out of your door, leaving it open so that you could still see Mina if you needed to. Inasa stood across from you.

“Can we talk inside,” Inasa spoke softly as if he were speaking to a child.

“No. I’ve got someone over.” You left no room for debate in this. A brief surge of anger filtered through your thoughts and the sharp taste hurt your tongue. Inasa reeled his feelings back in.

“It’s none of my business. I’m sorry.” He at least had the decency to look ashamed this time. “And I’m sorry for earlier. I know I can’t and shouldn’t try to control you like that. I just can’t help how I feel sometimes.”

“That’s no excuse. You’ve been doing this for years. You drive away everyone I try to get close to.” You were determined to keep the emotion from your voice, but it was determined to break through. It was tough to swallow around the lump in your throat.

“They don’t care about you like I do! They could never know you like I do!” Inasa was trying to keep his voice level, but his feelings flowed over you, festering in their negativity.

“How would you know? You never give them a chance to know me!” You knew you were starting to reflect his feelings, his bitterness giving your words a sharpness you hadn’t intended. Inasa flinched away at your tone, yet he still reached out to you.

“Please, Y/N. I’ve seen how you act with them. If you want someone to be like that with, please let it be me. We’ve been through everything together, don’t throw it away like this. We could be something really special. Just say yes. Be with me, Y/N. You know just as well that you belong with me.” You started to deny him, but he pressed his finger to your lips and grabbed your hands.

“I get it, you want that kind of relationship. I can give it to you. Who better to date than your best friend? It makes sense, us together. You don’t have to explain anything. I already know what you love, what you hate. All that would change is that we would be closer.” Your stomach turned at his words. They made sense. There was no work, no strife, no miscommunication. He would always try his best to make you happy. You froze as his face neared yours. Did you want this? Were you just rebelling from this for rebellion’s sake?

Inasa’s lips captured yours violently. His passion fell over your mind like scathing fire. Tears fell from your eyes, and their cool rivers soothed your burning mind.

“Hey dude, it’s in bad form to kiss a girl without her consent you know.” Mina leaned against your door frame. Her eyes pierced through Inasa with a cold fury. “In fact, Babygirl was just telling me that she wasn’t looking for anything complicated right now, and you look like a whole bunch of complications from where I’m standing.” Mina pushed off the frame and pulled you from his grip. She tucked you under her arm.

“’Nasa. I don’t feel like that about you.” You felt sick. You thought maybe if you kissed, something would spark within you, and he would have been right. But you just feel tainted. “I think you need to take some time and think about what I really mean to you. You can continue to harbor these frankly unhealthy feelings for me, and we can go our separate ways, or you can reevaluate yourself and find a place in my life that works for both of us. As friends. You’ve always been like a brother to me.”

You felt the cold jolt of sorrow down your spine, no doubt from Inasa. You couldn’t bring yourself to look him in the eyes.

“I think you should leave.” Mina dismissed Inasa, guiding you back into your dorm. She bolted the door before sending out a quick text. Once she was satisfied, she took your hand and drug you to your bathroom. She placed you in front of the mirror and set out a bunch of things in front of you. “First, brush your teeth. He looks like he tastes gross. Probably mouthwash too, just to be sure.” You hiccoughed a weak laugh, following Mina’s orders. She took a soft washcloth from your cabinet and wet it with warm water. She rung it out and gently scrubbed the tears from your face. She finally deemed you better and hugged you close to her.

“I know it’s sucky now, but it will get better. He’ll either stop being an ass or he won’t, but that’s not on you.” She said softly, combing through your hair with her fingers. A knock at your door pulled you apart. Mina rushed to the door, opening it. You could hear a soft conversation as you walked out to the door.

Bakugou stood at your door, looking annoyed. “Sorry for not saying anything. I invited Bakugou over so he can keep watch tonight while we get some rest. He had a reaaally long nap earlier, so he’ll be fine.” Bakugou scoffed at Pinky but made himself comfortable on your couch. Mina took this as her signal to burrow into the nest on the floor.

You took some time to yourself, making tea for yourself and Bakugou. Mina seemed to fall asleep as soon as she settled in, but you doubt you would be getting much sleep tonight. You set a cup in front of Bakugou as you sat awkwardly. He didn’t seem to intent on conversing, but you weren’t keen on sitting in silence after tonight.

“So I hear you’re practicing your quirk on the others,” Bakugou stated, not bothering to look your way. You nodded.

“Practice on me. I’m going to be the strongest, so I need to beat you too.”

#Kirishima Eijirou #kirishima x reader #bnha #mha #bakusquad #nyx writes #adir

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