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brightwingedbat · 1 year

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Commander Nastazya 27 - What Lies Beneath

(This story involves spoilers from Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons.)

(Also VERY LONG)

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Commander Nastazya - What Lies Beneath - 1335 AE

It's a regular day at Commander Nastazya Ragewelder's home in Lion's Arch, sunny weather, a nice temperature. Both her and her mate Marcus Furyclash in their typical casual clothing, not doing much at all. Nothing could go better for them both, by all means they should be having a good time.

And yet…

Marcus' mind is still stewing on the thoughts of his brother Tantalus being alive, and how much he changed. How much he regrets not being there for him, and maybe he could've saved his brother from the life he was forced to live, a better life where the two of them could watch each of their sons grow. The thoughts echo in his mind as he gazes out to the sea from the breezy window.

Nastazya herself is still caught up in recent events, the shock of her kidnapped cub she rescued, and her old primus losing his tail and retiring. And then there's the thoughts of her wanting another cub, but unsure if she should go ahead, there's no telling what'll be in the future… Her role as Commander doesn't help with that either, it's still a hefty responsibility weighing on her.

They're both truly exhausted despite not doing all that much, and neither of them know what to do about it. That is until they both suddenly get a letter of invitation, from Rama of all people. It's an invitation to a party, seems Rama also has been finding the quiet a bit much lately and invited Dragon's Watch and other friends.

The two don't have anything better to do, plus it'll be a nice time to catch up with people again. They both agree to head on their way, but they do decide to go pick up some Ironbrew from the Black Citadel, a nice gift for Rama for setting up the party. Waypoint teleports and magic scrolls make for some quick travel.

---

The two arrive at the Red Duck Tea House in Cantha, and as they approach, hear Rama and Gorrik talk about how busy Marjory and Taimi are. On entering they realise that it's only Rama and Gorrik there, no one else has arrived. Curious, is everyone else really that busy?

Gorrik quickly greets the two when he sees them, but also comments on the two of them looking very exhausted. Strange, he thinks. Given the relative absence of world-ending threats he thought they would both appear far more relaxed, and yet that's far from the truth.

The charr simply brush it off, saying that it's nothing, just a bit tired after some recent events. They're sure the party will help ease their minds though, at least, they hope so.

Idle talks between the four reveal that everyone one else is too busy to be able to attend the party, despite all the food and drink Rama had ordered. It's just them, much to Rama's fierce disappointment. The gift from Marcus and Nastazya does help raise his spirits somewhat.

After a while of enjoying the food and refreshments, they finally bring to topic of the stack of papers on the table. Gorrik apparently sent in paperwork to start the Friends Detective Agency consisting of him and Rama, to the latter's disapproval of the name, but it's done now.

Aside from that, Gorrik gets a communicator call from Taimi, who apologises for not being able to attend the gathering. But she has news, the Jade Brotherhood have dug up something potentially very bad in Gyala Delve, which Gorrik calls an opportunity. The perfect time to gain some exposure as a detective company! Yao is also in the call too, and will be heading there.

Of course, the Commander and Lightbringer decide to also tag along with them. Things have been rather quiet for them, and they could do with the activity. That said, they don't seem all that enthused about it, something is making them hesitant… No point in dwelling on it further though, there's a problem and as always they're around to fix it.

They set off to the location of the mining trams at the east side of New Kaineng, but not before Marcus summons their packs of armour from a Mist rift, a small trick he's learned in recent time. Nastazya attires herself in her typical gladiatorial gear with her dual axes and greatsword, Marcus's gear is also mostly the same, but he has a new top similar to what Braham used to wear many years ago when they first met him.

Once at the trams, they take a lengthy ride to Gyala Delve, falling asleep during the ride at that too. They really must be exhausted…

---

On arrival to the jade quarries, they find not a single Jade Brotherhood member anywhere. Going further in they find Rama and Gorrik checking on an unconscious human. A short discussion on the place being essentially a ghost town, a scream interrupts them, immediately identified as Yao.

Nastazya and Marcus rush to the source of the sound, to find Yao struggling with a jade golem. A short bout with it allows Yao to get to fixing it up, they also tell the Commander that Chul-Moo is missing. The two charr split to question the Brotherhood around the quarry areas.

All information comes together as things are going very wrong, strange whispers, people acting odd. Very notably, a very thick haze within the mines. And once more just as they finished questioning they hear yet another scream, it's no shock to the two, they mutter complaints about do the Brotherhood all communicate by screaming?

Yao joins them too, together the three find Chul-Moo injured but awake beside a rock wall. As they're checking on him, a crazed Brotherhood member knows as Jin-Lee attacks them. Quickly, Nastazya and Marcus subdue the mad human, not that he's a match for either of them.

Once they're all safe, they talk with Chul-Moo about what's happening, and again it just adds more merit to the gossip of the other Brotherhood members. Yao suggests to Nastazya and Marcus about scoping out the inner parts of the mine, while also advising them about the Jade Bot filters available from the jade tech stands around.

Nastazya and Marcus decide splitting up and searching would do better than together, they have the communicators to keep in touch anyway if anything goes bad. And so, the charr delve further each armed with a jade tech scanner. Time to see what all this haze is about.

The air is thick within the massively open mines, and even more unsettlingly is the haze has an appearance not dissimilar to Void. Further scans find it composed of dragon magic like Aurene's, but with something else added to it… Gorrik confirms that Aurene says the Void is subdued, so whatever this is is something else, something wrong.

Curiously, Nastazya's breathing seems faster than normal and she starts hearing voices she shouldn't through the communicator when talking to Gorrik. Almorra Soulkeeper's voice, that can't be possible she thinks. Must just be static, can't be anything else. Marcus doesn't seem to hear any of these voices either, perhaps a merit of his experience as a Revenant.

Despite the voices, Nastazya continues the work, Marcus joining her once more as they test blocks of jade on globs of haze accumulating. Once done, they report the results to Gorrik who seems fascinated by them. Nastazya however asks Gorrik if he heard any other voices on their call, he assumes it might just be more Brotherhood interference.

Almorra's voice comes through the communicator to Nastazya's ears once again. "You… Always seeing monsters where there are none."

Ragewelder's ears flatten down and her breath halts, fear plain on her face. "I- I have to go." She mutters before putting the communicator away.

Marcus looks worriedly at his mate, a paw on her shoulder, she jerks up at the touch. "Naz? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing… Nothing. I'm fine." She responds with a slight heave to her breathing. Definitely not a good look for Furyclash to see.

"…You're clearly not, but alright. Let's finish up here first, this air here's real bad, might be that." Marcus says rather worriedly, he keeps close to his partner as he urges her to walk on further into the mines. He knows better than to try draw out an answer from her when she's like this.

"Y-yeah. Right."

---

The two travel deeper into the mines, meeting up once again with Gorrik, Rama and Yao. Plus Yao's jade mech Finn. As they go further in, with the help of Finn's explosives breaking down a rock wall, the group seem to be arguing amongst each other. Mainly Rama and Yao, while Gorrik tries to pacify them.

Marcus is too busy watching over Nastazya, until a demon ambushes them. Much to Marcus' horror, thanks to Mallyx in his head during the Void outbreak he's earned himself a deep phobia of the things. Ragewelder is quick to jump to the offense, removing the threat before it has a chance to hurt anyone, especially her partner who breathes a sigh of relief.

The attack manages to stop the arguing, which gives Gorrik a chance to ask Nastazya about the voices over the comms. She brushes it off, saying he was right about it just being interference while avoiding his gaze. The asura takes note of that, clearly she's not telling the truth.

Regardless, they need to continue further on, and encounter another odd demon with a void-like humanoid shape and white crackles around it. Together they all take it down, it seems to choke as it vanishes, with Nastazya taking a deep gasp of air at the same time.

When asked if she's alright, she mutters that it felt like she got the wind knocked out of her. Marcus doesn't waste a second to swap to Ventari in his head, administering a pulse of healing to his mate. A thankful nod from her, and yet more trodding towards the deepest part of the delve.

The tunnel opens up into a wide rocky area with three raised circular stone platforms in a vague mushroom-like shape, and above them swirls the unmistakeable energies of a Ley Line. Gorrik is quick to investigate, the jade this deep is absolutely thrumming with pure energy, charged by the Ley Line itself. The asura says he needs to get a closer look, which prompts Yao to get Finn to deploy a set of jade ziplines.

The moment they land on the first surface and walk forth, a hulking dark bipedal beast with a tentacled face and sharp claws appears. Rama immediately shouts out. "Oni!"

Suddenly it melts into a puddle of shadow, the puddles spread to each of the three stone platforms, a cloaked man rises from each. The same demon that vanished, but split apart. Gorrik claims it must be deceiving their senses and blurring reality, they have to split up to take it out. Rama and Yao head on to the other two platforms with Finn's ziplines, while Gorrik is aided by both Nastazya and Marcus.

The cloaked demon summons puddles of concentrated haze, bursting out in spirals around it. It focuses on repeatedly doing this over and over, while the three fighters all avoid the fierce, debilitating magics. Gorrik keeps up his holosmith defences, while Nastazya and Marcus go on an onslaught.

But just as they seem close to overwhelming it, their visions go darker, and suddenly they can only see the stone platform surrounded by the haze…

Nastazya's gaze darts around, Gorrik and Marcus have vanished… "Gorrik? Marcus?!" She calls out and receives no response, instead another being forms at the centre of the platform. Her eye widens in shock, a sight of someone long dead.

Forgal Kernsson, her partner in the Vigil, lost at Claw Island. The injured norn dissapointedly mutters. "You were special… one of the bravest warmasters in my order… Now that's changed, my friend."

"Wh-what…?" A slight sting to her heart, she shakes her head and quickly recovers her poise. "No, this is a trick. The demon's doing this."

More apparitions appear around the platform, slowly advancing towards Forgal in the centre. The haze seems to get thicker the closer they get, there's no doubt about it. Nastazya needs to protect him.

At the same time, Marcus also finds himself alone in a haze-filled platform. Going through much the same as his mate is, only this time he's given none other than Tybalt Leftpaw.

The disabled charr lays weakly at the centre, the same place that Forgal was. "You should be a little kinder to lost, broken things."

"Tybs…? But I am, I do care! I even lost use of my right paw like you!" Furyclash bellows out worriedly, it's now he notices the encroaching apparitions. "Kalla, you seeing this?"

The spirit's voice raises in his mind, serious given the matter at hand. (I am, but this doesn't seem right. I am using your eyes after all, if it's what you see, I see it too.)

"Yeah, it's not right. The demon probably, bastard. Gotta protect Tybs. Help me out here Razors!" Marcus calls, the spirits of Kalla's warband form to aid in fending off the monsters.

Clashing axes and greatsword, raining arrows and a spirit onslaught. Every apparition is reduced to dust, even though the two charr couldn't see each other, they were fighting the same opponents the whole time. The haze weakens, bringing them back out of the hallucination, with Gorrik successfully holding his own against the weakened encloaked demon. He's amidst shouting out. "Can you hear me? Yao wants you over on their platform. They need back up!"

Nastazya is quick to rush out a hissing remark, still focusing on the demon. "I know what you're doing. Using my mentor against me. You're pathetic."

Marcus keeps his muzzle shut, still getting his bearings after the shift back to reality. Kalla's warband dissipates back.

The asura ends up taken somewhat aback by Ragewelder's sudden outburst, he had been calling out to her the entire time with no response only to hear this now… "Commander? We'll talk later, I promise. Yao needs you now, okay?"

"Huh? Yao? Yes. Right." Nastazya snaps back from her rage, she glances over to the rather confused looking mate of hers. There's no time to question or answer, Yao needs help. "Let's go."

"…Uh, yeah." Furyclash feels much the same, no time to discuss. He soon follows his partner up the jade zipline to the jade tech engineer's platform.

"Help! I can't keep this up for much longer!" Yao shouts out desperately, they're barely fending off the demon's attacks…

"Sorry, Yao. Got out of sorts for a moment…" Nastazya utters apologetically, she and Marcus go to charge in to battle, but just as they get close they're drawn once more into the thick haze. Marcus and Yao vanish from Nastazya's sight, and instead she hears another voice…

"It's good to see you here." The silhouette at the centre of the platform becomes Eir Stegalkin, looking as wounded as she was before she was impaled by a vinetooth.

"STOP!" Nastazya inadvertently bellows out with a deep sorrow weaved in her voice. A harsh grimace forms upon her face as mordrem apparitions begin to appear, and go for Eir.

While she's fighting with all her strength, the illusory norn continues on to berate the Commander. "These people love you… You don't care…"

For some reason, these words bite harder than ever before. Ragewelder has to hold back her tears, she doesn't know why this is striking so harshly… "You know that's not true…" She utters mournfully, trying to keep her mind away from it amidst the demon's battle.

Marcus however only sees Yao vanish, but soon feels a pit in his stomach from the next sight. It's Nastazya, wounded and laying at the centre. "Naz-!" He calls out, but soon his attention falls more on the approaching demons. They're too fast, he needs to prevent them getting closer now, summoning the warband once again.

Nastazya hisses out hatefully, fangs bared. "Abandoning me once again, just like when you chased after Rytlock! Leaving me alone, to deal with everything myself! What kind of a mate are you?"

"N-Nastazya…?" This catches the revenant heavily off guard, his breath halts as he stares back at her. "But- But I- I didn't mean to…"

(Marcus, the demons!) Kalla roars in his head, pulling him back to the task at hand. He fires another volley of mist-rift arrows at a nearby demon, but he's losing concentration.

Ragewelder growls, glaring deeply at her mate. "You'll just leave me to die, like you did with Balthazar. You let him free, you killed me! I had to get myself back, and here I am about to lose everything again! It's all your fault! You could never protect me! Not even against Bangar!"

The words rattle Marcus straight to his core, tearing at him from within. "No, no, NO- I WON'T-! You're my everything, I couldn't bear losing you! I'll keep you safe, I promise! I promise! Please don't say this, please-!" He pleads with all his heart, tears already drip from his eyes, it's affecting his aim. Has Nastazya really felt this way the entire time? "I'm fighting, see! I'm still fighting for you!"

"For how long, until I die agai-" The voice is cut off as the haze weakens once more, Nastazya is standing with her greatsword heavy in her grip, an acute sadness in her eye. None of the wounds which were present to Marcus' eyes on her any longer.

Furyclash gazes in a heartrent expression, was that the haze doing that? Did she really say any of it? "Naz…?" He mutters out in a weak voice, looking on edge to burst into a sob.

Ragewelder isn't taking notice, recovering from her own experience. "I never wanted to hurt them. Eir…"

Marcus finds himself utterly silent, unable to act. Both he and his mate are stock silent. Only interrupted by Yao's next shout.

"Finn, shield Rama! Quick!"

"Defense engaged, The "Rama" has been shielded." The jade mech responds robotically, having jetted itself up to the final platform to set up the barrier. A massive wave of haze explodes from over it, with the shield breaking from the force, knocking the robot down.

"Commander, 'the Rama' could really use you over here!" The detective yells, having sustained some damage from the burst of haze.

Nastazya's focus goes entirely on Rama here, she quickly makes for the jade zipline up, rushing over to Finn and Rama. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" Her voice is on the edge of breaking, the haze is taking more of a toll on her.

Furyclash finally snaps to his senses on seeing her travel up to help Rama, he's not going to prove those words right. He needs to stay by his mate, he needs to keep her safe.

"Less apologizing, more helping!" Rama groans, before finally getting back to his footing with Nastazya taking the demon's attention.

"Do you see them, too?" Ragewelder asks, pure desperation in her voice. She needs an answer, this is tearing at her.

"Yeah. We're fighting them. What are you talking about?" Rama questions, all he's been seeing is the cloaked demon that originally split in three.

The haze starts to grow thicker once again, the others around vanish as a dreadfully familiar voice calls out. "I'm just passing through…"

"NO!" The utter pain that sparks through Nastazya's chest… A person to cut the deepest, an inspiration. A mentor. A friend. A hero. Almorra Soulkeeper.

"We need to talk… So many lives lost…" The wounded spectre hisses, glaring at the Commander.

"There was no other way…" Ragewelder's voice passes the point of breaking, this is getting too much, she can't hold it back any longer.

"I was nothing to you. You'll be the end of the charr!" More scathing remarks from Soulkeeper, made to cut into Nastazya's heart, to rive open her wounds.

Almorra was so much to her, the reason she got this far. To hear that from her, it's shattering. "That's not fair! I did everything I could! Almorra!" Her voice cracks as she shouts her old friend's name, tears stream down her cheeks. "I've put my all into doing what I can for everyone! All that I have! Everyone takes a piece from me- I DIDN'T ASK TO BE THE COMMANDER!!" She manages to bring forth her rage, her deepest rage against herself. And with it, strikes forth at the demons approaching Almorra.

Marcus isn't brought in to hallucination this time, he hears every word his mate speaks, and puts his all into trying to get her back. "Nastazya! It's not Almorra, it's the demon! You've got to snap out of it! Naz!" He calls and calls, but he's not getting through to her. All he can do is fight off the demons…

(The quicker we take this thing out, the quicker Nastazya goes to her usual self. Quickly, summon the- Demons!) Kalla's voice suddenly shifts, a most horrifying voice, deep and raspy. Unnatural…

Marcus, amidst summoning Kalla's warband, finds his fur stand on end. His ears flatten down and his tail curls beneath him. That horrible voice at the end… His eyes see what he summons, and it is not the spirits of charr. It is yet more demons, his wide eyes stare in pure fear. "No no no no no-!"

(You can't hold me forever, your body will be my vessel to take.) The venomous words of a great evil echo in his head, Mallyx the Unyielding.

Furyclash staggers back, holding on to his head, riving at it with both claw and metal. "NO! NO! GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" A streak of blood drips down his forehead, from none other than his own doing.

Rama stares at both of the charr, one is uncharacteristically fighting in a fit of melancholy, the other is literally clawing through his own skin. "Hey, what is going on with you two?!" He questions in an outburst, still struggling against the demon.

Yao and Gorrik both finish off with their split demons, arriving up to assist the others in the battle against the last. Yao approaches up next to Marcus, trying to rouse him from whatever it is he's doing. "Marcus? What are you-"

"STAY BACK!" Furyclash roars, backing away from the engineer. The demon's voice is echoing loudly in his head, threatening to take over, against and again. "Mallyx is in my head! It's not safe! RRRGH! GET! OUT!"

(YOU. ARE. MINE-!)

Furyclash snarls upsettingly, cowering away from his friends. He doesn't know what to do, he can't get it out. The voice is always there, digging in deeper, until…

(Marcus! Don't listen to it!) Mallyx's voice is torn away, replaced by another, a familiar voice…

"Wh-what…? That can't…" It manages to break him out of the hallucination, there's no demons he summoned, there's no demon in his head. Only… "Tybalt?"

(No fear, like you showed me on Claw Island! You can do this, I know you can!) It's clear as day, Tybalt Leftpaw, spurring him onward.

Back to his senses, he can't let himself fall to any more of the oni's tricks. "Right, Naz needs me." He glances to Yao, nodding affirmedly. "I'm good, oni messing with my head. An old friend snapped me out of it, now then…" He nocks an arrow, it soars accurately to one of the last encroaching demons, more accurate than he usually is.

(Perfect shot, just like me and my rifle!)

The felling of that demon reduces the haze once more, pulling Nastazya out of the hallucination. But she's still looking distraught. Fighting wildly, charging right at the now uncloaked oni. "No more, no more…!"

It stabs at Marcus to see her like this, he's never, ever seen her fight in such a desperate way. Not full of sorrow like this. "It's gonna be fine, Naz! I'm here!"

There's no response to him, she's locked away in a fierce onslaught. An effective one though, she's tearing away at the demon and barely giving it a chance to fight back. The beast learning first hand what happens when you enhance the emotions of a charr who fights with her rage.

With the other four joining in, it's a short matter of time before the beast is finally fallen.

And yet…

There's little time to cheer, as the oni floats from the floor and begins to recover all its wounds. Absorbing the ley line energies directly.

The others seem ready to fight once more, but not Ragewelder. She starts hyperventilating, the haze here is thick, she can barely breathe right. She falls to a knee, grasping her throat. And slowly, starts losing consciousness.

"Naz! Nastazya!" Marcus quickly runs to her side, holding an arm around her front, trying to prop her up. After the words he's been given from earlier, he's scared more than ever.

Rama doesn't want to take any chances here, he orders the others. "Let's get out of here! Now! The Commander's blacking out! We need to get her and go!"

Nastazya's hearing becomes fuzzy, as does her vision. The last things she hears, in the voice of Almorra Soulkeeper and Eir Stegalkin. (You haven't changed a bit. Killing and corrupting, it's what you were born to do.)

Her vision goes black.

---

Nastazya stirs, the light assaults her opening eye, and something tightly clenches around her paw. She glances over, to see her tear-filled mate's face. "…Marc?"

A huge gasp of relief comes from Furyclash, he immediately leans down over her, embracing around her. "Nastazya… I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry…"

"Wh- Hey, It's alright, I'm fine. See? C'mon." Ragewelder utters softly, trying to sit herself up, barely managing to get Marcus up too. She notices Gorrik, Rama and Yao are standing nearby watching too.

Truthfully, Marcus' apologies come from the blame thrown at him from the demon encounter, the failing to protect her. The demon was right, he did fail her again. "But I, I didn't protect you, again…"

"That… Don't beat yourself up over it. I wasn't much help, was I…?" She admits sadly, she can't look at him in the face, she barely noticed he was even there when Almorra showed up.

"Burn me, I could say the same here. That demon was…" Marcus shakes his head, he doesn't know what to say. He is at least gladdened his mate seems well.

At this, Gorrik clears his throat to get their attention. "Ahem, apologies for interrupting but- We were discussing what's next while Marcus was watching over you. Taimi called."

"And I'm still here!" She announces from the communicator without hesitation.

"Ah, yes. Well, Joon was angry, but thrilled about the energy source! We just need to lure that demon away, and we have some ideas! But they…" Gorrik hesitates, he knows the Commander won't like it.

Nastazya sits up properly, with Marcus beside her. Her brow furrows as she looks to the asura. "What is it?"

"We, uh… We're going to have to do some neuro-parasitological investigation, the demon seemed particularly attracted to you. Given it appears to prey on traumatic memories, this may be… Difficult." The asura admits.

Nastazya falls silent, she feels Marcus embrace her once again. Her tail swishes uncomfortably behind her as her ears droop. "…If that's what it takes."

Taimi speaks from the communicator once more. "Sorry, Commander. But it is important work. I'll fill Joon in. Keep us posted if you can. And good luck."

It's silent for a while after, Marcus finally speaks up, worried for his mate. "I think it's best if us two get back home, I want to keep a watch over Naz, away from this place."

Rama nods in agreement. "By all means, she inhaled a lot of that haze stuff. Probably better that way."

"Keep in touch, alright? Otherwise I'll get worried." Yao answers, a genuine concern in their expression.

"We will, I'll make sure of it. See you some time then." Furyclash gets himself up, then aids his mate to her feet as well. Her quiet is unsettling him, he's not used to this. "Naz?"

"…Let's go." She mutters, all of this has been too much, she doesn't want to talk.

Together the two set off, first to Arborstone, then the asura gate back to Lion's Arch. Their travel is some of the quietest the two have been while beside the other.

---

It's night time at Lion's Arch, Nastazya and Marcus are back at their home. They've been trying to relax the rest of the day, back in their casual outfits. But it hasn't been going well. Nastazya's mind's been stuck on the words the demon twisted, and Marcus can see it getting to her.

He doesn't know all of what she saw, she's not mentioned it. Not that he's mentioned what he saw either, he's too scared to.

The ocean waves and light sound of crowds from the outside fill the quiet, the two sitting side by side on the red couch.

At some point, it gets too much for Nastazya, she can't bear it. Her voice is light, her face scrunches in sorrow. "Marc… It's too much. I can't take those words anymore."

"Huh? What words?" He asks curiously, worriedly. He brings his right arm around her back, his tech paw on her side. "Tell me."

Ragewelder is quiet, but then the words burst through, loud and angrily. "I'll be the end of the charr, killing and corrupting is what I was born to do… Those voices were right, they all were! Bangar only went after Jormag because I had Aurene! We went into a civil war, lost so many of us and got us corrupted into frost legion all because I was the spark to the flame!"

Furyclash grimaces, that's what she's been tormenting herself over. No wonder she looks so distraught. He needs to try shift that mindset. "Naz, you know that's not fair on you, you didn't have any choice. Bangar's who mobilised them, not you."

She's not listening to it, the words are too strong. "But he only did that because of ME! We lost too many, Rytlock and Crecia lost Ryland, Ursa and Patia lost Maxim. I had to kill Elexus, even got Almorra killed! Who knows how many more warbands lost their families all because I'm this DAMNED DRAGON 'CHAMPION'!"

"Nastazya! That was all far out of your hands! You're not the one to blame!" Marcus finds his own voice raising, else he fears his mate won't listen to him. But it seems to just make things worse.

Nastazya growls harshly, not at Marcus, but at herself. All the guilt she has fit to bursting. "How the hell am I not to blame?! Everything went to shit all because of who I am, even before I was the 'Champion' I still got Faust branded! Tullia, Graw and Clio all died because I had to rush in to a brandstorm, all just to kill my own branded mother! I was always like thi-"

"NASTAZYA! STOP!" Marcus yells, utter sorrow laced in every word. He quickly pulls her near, nuzzled beneath his neck while he attempts to comfort her. Left paw brushing down the side of her neck and hair, he can feel her quiver as her sobs begin, and soon he shares in this. "Nastazya… Please… It's not your fault, it's NOT your fault… I don't know what you saw in that haze, but it twists you, twists what you know. Gorrik said so, when you were out."

"Marc… It- it was all so raw. I can still feel the impact, that those words were true." Nastazya mutters amidst her weeps, bringing a hand up to grip upon her mate's arm for support, for consolation.

"…The haze, it… made me think Mallyx was in my head, even saw Kalla's warband as demons. And that wasn't true." The next words, he's unsure to share. But if he can't do it, he can't expect his mate to either, so with a light-voiced tone he reveals. "…It also showed me you, you… blamed me for abandoning you to chase after Rytlock in the Mists. You blamed me for letting Balthazar kill you, and still do to this day. Is that… All true?"

Nastazya falls stock still, her cries catch to silence. Now she knows all of that is not what she feels, not at all. "What…? No. No, no, that's not true at all-! Why would you even think that?"

"Because the haze made me, just like it's making you blame yourself right now." His embrace around his mate's neck and back grows a slight tighter, his breath staggers followed by a sniffle. "You see? It's not true, you're not to blame. You aren't…"

Ragewelder is silent for a while, meekly nuzzling her snout in the crook of her mate's neck. "…Burn me, how the hell are we meant to get through this? It all feels too much. How are we-?"

Furyclash cuts off his mate's words before she starts falling into another spiral, he needs to support her above all else right now, he needs her support at that too. "We'll get through this, Naz… We always do, always have done…"

She starts falling into the despair again, just thinking about that demon's effects on her. It's debilitating. "…I don't know how much more I can take… It's always us- Every. Time! Why…? Why is it always me?!"

"I don't know… But what I do know is despite everything, we're still here. I'm still here, and I always will be here for you. Alright? You got that?" He tries to assure her the only way he knows how, his presence.

"…I got it. I got it." Nastazya repeats, trying her best to pull herself back. But her doubts are still strong. "…Burn me, I don't want to go back there. I don't want Taimi and Gorrik to rip these… wounds back open."

"I know, I know. I don't either. I wish I had an answer to all this, I wish I did. Whatever happens after all this, I'll do anything to make things better for you, whatever it takes." Furyclash promises, with all his genuineness. His mate is everything.

Nastazya at least feels a calm over her, gradually. Her arm moves to embrace her partner's side. "I'll hold you to that, so you better not leave me. Don't you dare ever leave me."

Marcus' voice is soft, he's glad, she's finally calming down. He knows exactly the right words now, the words to ease her. "I promise, I'll stay by you, no matter what."

A sudden memory, rushes right back. All those years back, in Maguuma Jungle. "…I remember those words, as clear as day. When you returned…"

"And I still mean them just as much as I did then. Always. No matter how much it hurts, I'll be there by your side to help, I'll be your pillar."

"…You are, and always have been the one that keeps me standing." Ragewelder mutters, a smile finally forms upon the side of her teary muzzle.

A tender quiet now envelops the two, nothing like the anxiety filled silence from before. They both know, as long as they're together, it'll all work out.

Just before the two head off to get ready for bed, there's one last matter to speak about.

(So, Marcus. When were you planning to tell me you and that warmaster got together?) The voice arrives in Marcus' head, Tybalt, seems the spirit has found a new home to hang out in.

"…Naz, there's one other thing I have to tell you." Marcus says with some cheer, he gazes cheerfully into his mate's eye.

"Hm? What is it?"

"When I thought Mallyx was in my head, I got snapped out of it by another voice. Turns out, when I was reaching out for a voice to replace him, I accidentally invoked someone new." Furyclash explains, he seems rather happy about this one to her though.

"Who is it to get you smiling like that?" Nastazya asks, her joy returning to her face.

"Tybalt Leftpaw." He announces, the smile on his face seems to spread wider with it.

Her eye widens, now that is a surprise. "What? Really?"

"Yeah, it's great, hearing his voice again. I've missed him. Somehow I'm a better shot with him invoked too, so pretty damn useful too!" A light chuckle from the male charr, his ears then prick up.

(Hey! Are you saying I wouldn't be useful without that? You got so mean…)

Marcus grins. "Just playing with you, Tybs."

"I suppose something good did come of us going down to that delve… How much does he know about us?" She questions curiously, she doesn't know anything about when she was out cold.

"Not much really, his memories are still just back from Claw Island. He's surprised I got together with 'That Warmaster.'"

"Oh, really now?" Nastazya hums, brushing her chin with a finger. "So he doesn't know we have cubs either."

(YOU HAVE CUBS?!)

Marcus grimaces, that volume was a shock to his head. "…He does now." He mutters, with a slight chuckle afterwards. He speaks back to Tybalt now. "Yeah, Vita and Galvar, they're four now. Good cubs, Vita can be a little menace. Galvar is a quiet boy. We should go visit sometime, you can see them through my eyes!"

(Ohh, this is so exciting! I bet they're cute!)

"The cutest cubs on Tyria, right Naz?" Marcus answers, smiling to his mate.

"What kind of mother would I be if I said no to that?" Ragewelder shakes her head, a light laugh escaping. "They are, the both of them. They're who we fight for."

(As you should! Ahh, I missed so much, being dead and all. But better late than never! Couldn't get stuck in a better person's head.)

"Aw, Tybs. You're gonna make my ears red." Furyclash brushes the back of his neck. "He says as we should, he missed a lot, but he's happy he's stuck in my head at least."

Nastazya crosses her arms, though she's still smiling. "Guess I have to get used to you not having Kalla around all the time, don't I?"

"I'll have her around now and again, don't worry about that. But…" Marcus sighs deeply. "I really missed Tybalt, y'know?"

"I know you did." She nods softly. "I'm glad you've found him that way, suppose I'll see how things go."

"It's gonna be great, I know it." Marcus soon finds himself yawning. "Ah, burn me. Think it's time to sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow, Tybs."

(You got it! We're gonna have so much to talk about. Ahh, you got old Two-tibs A'whisker excited even more!)

"Singe my whiskers, I almost forgot about that name." Marcus laughs cheerily. "Ahh, Two-tibs A'whisker and Bloodcovered Backstabbing Blackjack the Blade. What a pirate team we were."

"Marcus, bed time before you get stuck in another conversation. C'mon." Nastazya urges him, she's rather jovial about it thought. She's happy to see him so glad.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." Furyclash grins toothily, before finally joining his mate in readying for bed.

They've still got some doubts and fears hidden under their skin, fear about the oni and how to deal with it. But that can come when it comes, better to keep their minds focused on other things until then. Together, they can keep going on.

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #charr #nastazya ragewelder #marcus furyclash #gw2 spoilers #writing #what lies beneath

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yautjan · 2 years

Note

Ok, I'm Ari! hi!! I feel so weird asking this, and I hope this comes across as friendly as possible! Here goes-

This is wild but- in your most recent chapter, Ingo's little circle thumb rub... Some other behaviors in previous chapters... I've mentioned it in passing before but, we have REALLY similar headcanons for the boys?? Like, you'll add something and I'm sitting here vibrating in my chair like YES HE DOES THAT. HOW ARE YOU READING MY MIND. WTF.

Like, to the point that I'm wondering if... You've seen a post of mine on tumblr about it at some point? (It's literally the pinned post on my Submas blog @tragictrainmen) I know we as a community like to post our own headcanons for the boys, and those posts tend to slowly be absorbed by the collective Submas consciousness over time, so this isn't an accusation of copying or anything! but it's silly that I can't help but wonder if a headcanon list post I made actually inspired some of your own personal concepts for them hahaha. Idk how to word this In a way that doesn't sound weird or creepy? I've read over this 10 times ;^;

Basically, I am just incredibly happy to have found a fanfiction that coincidentally lines up so well with how I see them. It's like, the golden apple in the orchard. You know those jokes where they say 'no one writes content of your character the way you like so you have to go and write it yourself'? Anyway uh, you beat me to it lmao. You write them so good. Like you plucked them out of my head and onto paper. But you plucked them out of YOUR head bcus apparently??? *Pointing* Same hat!

And like!! It's not all the same lol. But the similarities that are there are sometimes so uh.. specific? For lack of a better word. Like, Ingo absent-mindedly stimming by rubbing his thumb on things?? What?? How?? I'm sitting here like 🤝 over every little thing haha. I'm not even sure if I'm asking you anything here at this point, but this thought has been building up in my mind for weeks and I just had to say something or I was gonna explode. 😅

Oh! Also! I wanted to tell you that I actively look forward to your chapter updates and they're the highlight of my day! 🥰

Hi there!!

First of all, you sound just fine, don't even worry!! I'm so honored you even came over here to ask and inquire and share these thoughts on top of the already wonderful things you have to share on the fic itself! AHHHHHH--

I have not seen the post in question until just this moment, and I'm replying before I go read it in full. The only headcanon I've specifically and consciously pulled from the fandom is Emmet flapping his hands when he's talking animatedly--everything else that is quirky ND-stuff the train twins do is either osmosis from reading other people's writings, my own personal headcanons/choices, and my own experiences as someone who is Also an autistic/adhd adult. (There is of course now a near-guarantee I will further osmosis your headcanons into the story once I delve into them so if anything else shows up then hey, welcome aboard to my Autistic Blorbo Show)

Honestly though what an honor to have the same hat. I was hit over the head with how much I fell in love with these goofy train men and their autism stares and the story potential the games gave us fans. And there's so many depictions I have read of them I enjoy but I just really wanted to write them with all the genuine honesty I could of being autistic adults in terrible situations (and semi-adopted kids to take care of). Emmet especially reflects so much of my own mental processing, while Ingo is much closer to how I mask. Together they combine into Super Relatable Autistic People and I'm just. So glad I'm not alone/that people enjoy this depiction of these poor little meow meows.

In summary

you 🤝 me very autistic train men

#submas #moose answers #in tandem au

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mai-melancholia · 1 month

Text

2nd Entry: Boundaries with Old Meme God, Thought Disruptions, Neutral Energy

I just finished this book.

It's a nice read, but I personally rate it 3.5/5 because I already knew some of the stuff in it. However, it's pretty informative if you want to delve more into attachment styles and how their dynamics affect boundaries. Some of the advices and suggestions are simple but still as effective if done right. so, I have serious-anxious behavior. However, every now and then I go back to my old habits of being disorganized. It's not something I would say I'm proud of; in actuality, there's a lot of guilt for my past that I have to accept and let go.

::TMI INCOMING::

TW: Abusive relationship

In the past, my ex, C, I was abusive to him. He was abusive to me. We both were pretty much abusive to each other. We did reconvene months later after the break up and to my surprise, he apologized for what he did. I also apologized for what I did because I have rather been abusive for a long time. I've been I was in a vulnerable spot, so you could figure that I was enamored and wanted to date him.

But he had his head correct on his shoulder and rejected my advances, knowing how vulnerable I am. Of course, knowing about my plight, caring people would ask things like "why would you be friends with someone who abused you?"

Ahem,

excuse me, did you miss the part where I said I was abusive to him too? I know right? Crazy. However, I will accept the criticism of "It would be unwise to go back dating especially if you two had a tumultuous relationship"

I just now went to therapy and developed trust in other people who are my friends to help me around this time.

::TMI END::

Ever since the break up, there have been two people who have and are helping me through this journey and navigation through my emotions: Chris and Storm.

Chris is one of the various exes I've dated during my disorganized behavior era as a kid.

But as time has passed, I met him again in one of my "reincarnation era" (which I will go into in a second), needing help actually. The breakup with C resulted in me severely experiencing one of the worst codependency I've ever had and the event itself was pretty much like a canon-event that further catalyzed the trauma to become more apparent to my eyes.

Storm is a mysterious meme god, and his wisdom is unfounded. In the first entry, I had talked about an advice that he had told me. I don't know his name, his identity, or anything. What I do know is unlike Chris, he's a relatively new person that I've befriended, and he knows me more than anyone would.

C does help me, but I know he's dealing with his own emotions; our relationship I will acknowledge is rather... strained but in a respectful way. Like we both are aware of the other person's feelings, but it does seem like it's hard to communicate with one another due to the different circumstances. I personally don't expect him to process emotions the same as me or give me respect that I [as the kid says it] "deserve".

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

So, it's been... about a week now since I've deeply went into this journey. And there's a part of me that feels extreme amount of shame and guilt (a common theme with me in these entries). The thought this time is about how I stopped therapy for even a brief moment, and now everything is shit again. Chris told me that's self blame and self-reprimand. And I'm like

yeah It is.

This part is a little blurry, but I know I felt relieved after he explained something to me.

It's a bit hard to essentially remember the good stuff now a days when all the bad ones are so strong and loud in my head.

The only thing helping me disrupt any of those thoughts, which is also still an ongoing thing that I'm trying to do in order to detox the fucking mind, is what C said to me:

I did feel an ounce of... not necessarily comfort, but reassurance and reaffirmation of my effrots being told this.

"It doesn't matter what he thinks of you. You're doing it right now. What he thinks is irrelevant."

"He doesn't need to know what you're doing and you don't need to know what he's doing. It's irrelevant"

It's going to be hard to hammer these thoughts in for those who struggle with codependency like I do, especially when your life's identity revolves around the people you are friends with or who you loved.

The truth is, I know part of my brain is telling the other part that I can wallow in these feelings of guilt and shame, but I am not sitting there, doing nothing about it. I'm not here to do it for anyone. In the end, I am doing it for myself because I don't know about you and now a days with people getting into "situationships", but I'm tired of not feeling grounded.

I'm tired of not feeling sure about anything.

The talk with Chris about thought disruptions did help and as mundane and repetitive as it may be, those negative thoughts are also repetitive and merciless too.

Storm mentioned something about neutral energy and how I need it more often (aka: It is what it is energy).

Transcription:

Me:

Staying asleep is a problem; falling asleep isn't. Somewhere in my sleep, I did feel tempted to "check on him" but I kept repeating in my head "it doesn't matter. It doesn't tell you anything if he's online or if he has you unblocked" "Focus on you"

Storm: those are pretty good reminders and if you can't get yourself to focus on you, focus on something else you need a lot more neutral energy in your life tbh

Me: wtf thtat neutral energy

Storm: halfway between positive energy and negative energy

Me: = =; example

Storm: positive energy: today I will be productive and heal negative energy: today I cannot bear to get out of bed neutral energy: today I continue to exist

Me: Oh. That's what you meant okay ;;;; I do need to practice that

Storm: likewise, positive energy: that person's actions don't reflect poorly on me, I am a good person negative energy: that person's actions must mean that I mistreated them neutral energy: that person is in control of their own actions and I am in control of mine

I'll be real with you chief, applying the neutral energy doesn't really help too much but I'll still incorporate it because it's helpful even if it hurts a little.

#mental health #journaling #codependency #trauma #journey

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foreverindreamlandd · 2 years

Note

I have a request for you, my queen 👑

Every girl deserves to have flowers in her life and a Bucky.

I would like a cute fic where Bucky gives the reader 💐 Maybe reader doesn't want gifts for Christmas so he buys her a greenhouse full of flowers 🌸

I wanna feel happy tears of love, pretty please 🥺

My Heart in Full Bloom

Pairing: Roommate!Bucky x GN!Reader

WC: 1.6k

Note: This fic is for those who have never been gifted flowers before (myself included). If I could, I would send you all a million bouquets. <3

And for Alice, you are the loveliest flower to ever bloom. <3

**********

"Wait, what?" Bucky asked, setting down the bowl of popcorn onto the coffee table in your living room.

You shrugged, trying to make light of the admission even though a slight sting of shame and embarrassment stirred inside your stomach.

"It's no big deal, Buck. I mean, I've been given flowers before, but they were from friends and family during high school for performances and stuff. I was just saying that I haven't had someone, like, buy me flowers before. For no reason other than just wanting to."

He stared at you, gaping for a few moments until noticing how uncomfortable it made you feel. Realizing that you didn't want to delve any further into the conversation, he cleared his throat, nodding a few times with a tightly set jaw as he relaxed back into the couch, trying to focus his attention back on Stardust.

You leaned closer to him, the feel of your arm pressed against his and your warm breath tickling his neck as you whispered in his ear, "If you had a flying ship, where would you go?" made him have to actively hold back a shiver.

He looked back to you, staring into your eyes shining up at him, a dreamlike smile on your face.

Bucky couldn't tell you his honest answer, that if he could fly on a ship he would travel to wherever you were. That ever since he met you last year days before moving in together with Steve and Nat. With weekly movie nights sitting on the couch, each passing week causing the space between you to slowly diminish into nothing. Or spending Saturday and Sunday mornings waking up together with coffee and pancakes, laughing over whatever adventures you had gotten into the previous nights.

Every moment in between those, where you became his best friend, then his favorite person, to the one who made him realize that home didn't have to be a place. You were his home. That, he was sure of.

No, he couldn't say that, though. Instead he said, "Hobbiton. Definitely Hobbiton."

You beamed. "I was going to say Italy, but your answer is way better. Save me a spot on the deck, alright?"

He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "As if I'd visit the Shire without you, sweetheart."

Nat and Steve returned from date night just then, whining for the two of you to make room on the couch so they could watch the second half of the movie.

Normally, Bucky would be annoyed that they interrupted his moment with you, but tonight he was grateful, because it provided enough distraction for you so that he could do some mental planning....

*******

The next morning, you walked into the kitchen with a sleepy grin as the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted into your nostrils. Apparently Bucky had gotten an early start and decided to get breakfast ready while you slept in a little longer.

But the first thing you noticed wasn't the blue henley that clung to the hard muscles of his back as he stood over the stovetop (though it usually was).

No, what first caught your eye was the vase standing on the counter, filled with gorgeous white lilies and purple lilacs.

Your brows furrowed, caught off guard by the beautiful display before you. "Did Steve grab flowers for Nat this morning? I thought they were still asleep."

Bucky turned to you then with a sheepish smile as he poured coffee into your favorite mug. "Actually, those are for you," he said, a blush creeping up his face.

Knowing better than to reach for the mug only to have it fall from your weakened grip, you just stared at Bucky, mouth parted in shock. "For...for me?"

He nodded. "For you."

You looked over to the flowers, fingers gently grazing over the smooth petals of one of the lilies, then leaned forward to breathe in the wonderfully fresh scent.

"Bucky," you said, voice almost a whisper as you stood straight to look at him, "You didn't have to do this. I didn't mean to make it feel like you were pressured to buy me flowers last night-"

"That's not it, Y/n," he cut you off, placing your coffee on the counter then scratching the back of his neck. "If anything, this is for me, because I simply cannot live with the fact that no one has ever given you flowers."

You bit your bottom lip, fighting the smile growing on your face from getting too big.

"I love them. Thank you."

Bucky smiled back, holding onto the secret that this was just the beginning.

******

This new morning routine continued on for the rest of the week. The next day you woke up to orange, pink, red, and yellow tulips in a clear glass vase, placed next to the lilies and lilacs.

The day after that, Bucky got you orchids. A part of you was annoyed that it was Monday and he had already left for work, so you couldn't jokingly reprimand him for spending more money on flowers. Not that your complaints were in any way genuine. No, the butterflies fluttering in your stomach made it very clear how much you were enjoying the gesture.

The following day, Bucky got you a bouquet made up of a variety of blue flowers: Blue Daisies, Bluebirds, Periwinkles, and Salvias. A note was written next to the blue vase that said Because blue is your favorite color.

You smiled at the note, fighting the urge to grab a pen and write back to tell him that you loved the color because of his eyes, and that even though the flowers were stunning, the petals had nothing on his crystalline irises.

So many flowers, so many beautifully bundled bouquets that now covered the kitchen counter.

You knew that you were going to have to throw them away, but the idea of getting rid of the gorgeous floral arrangements made your heart sink. Perhaps you could find a local shop that pressed flowers, and you could grab a stem from each bouquet to have preserved and framed forever.

Steve and Nat made no comments about the garden forming in the kitchen, as if they were somehow in on the game Bucky was playing with you. Whenever Nat silently observed the display, giving you a knowing side eye, you would immediately turned away from her gaze as heat rose to your face.

After a week of receiving flowers, you awoke to the familiar smell of coffee, jumping out of bed in excitement to spend the morning with your favorite person.

But when you walked into the kitchen, you frowned as you realized that Bucky was nowhere to be found, nor were there any flowers on the counter.

"Bucky?" you called out quietly to try not to wake up Steve and Nat.

Nothing. Your frown deepened as you walked over to grab some coffee.

You knew that the gesture had to end at some point, and you were grateful that Bucky wasn't spending who knows how much money on flowers anymore. You were beyond grateful for what he had done for you, but you still felt a small pang in your heart this morning. Not because there were no flowers, but because there was no Bucky.

Right when you took your first sip of coffee, the front door opened.

The first thing you saw were the sunflowers, obscuring your view of the blue-eyed man holding them.

They were absolutely, ridiculously beautiful, but your gaze was focused on finding a more lovely sight.

Bucky lowered the fresh bouquet, eyes wide as they met yours and he gave you a sheepish grin.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "These ones took a little longer to track down than I thought."

You shook your head. "Bucky, why are you going through all of this trouble? I can't lie and say that I haven't absolutely loved it, but I feel bad."

Bucky's eyebrows knit together in disbelief. "Sweetheart, don't feel bad." He handed the bouquet of sunflowers to you, and you closed your eyes as their lovely fragrance consumed your senses. Sunflowers were your favorite, and the knowledge that these beauties were now yours almost brought tears to your eyes.

He let out a long sigh before continuing, "If I'm being honest, this is something I've wanted to do for a long fucking time. Since I met you, basically. You're someone who deserves anything and everything that is beautiful in this world, even though none of it can compare to you. You outshine everything, Y/n. Everything I see that I think is beautiful reminds me of you, but all of it is just a fraction of what I think when I see you."

Your smile widened, and though the tears didn't fall, there was a fresh and undeniable sheen of them covering your eyes.

"I know I said that not receiving flowers was no big deal, Buck, but that was a lie. It was something I've always secretly wanted, was desperate to have. Not just the flowers, as lovely as they are, but the idea of someone wanting to give me something so beautiful, so full of life. But you know what?" You rested the flowers on the counter, moving forward to wrap your arms around Bucky's neck, his hands finding their way to your waist as he pulled you close.

"What, sweetheart?" he whispered, eyes piercing yours.

"I realized that it wasn't really the flowers I wanted, but the person gifting them." You leaned forward until your lips hovered over his. "And you, Bucky Barnes, were worth the wait."

**********

Tags: @maladaptivexxdaydreaming @eclipses-and-moondust @itsdawnashlie @peaches1958 @blackwidownat2814 @barnesafterglow @sweetascanbee

Thank you for reading! Feel free to check out my other stuff here. :)

No pressure at all, but if you enjoyed this fic, please consider supporting me through my kofi account!

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes #roommate!bucky #modern!bucky #gn!reader #bucky x gn!reader

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spicysoftsweet · 2 years

Text

cw: tokyo revengers recent chap spoilers, talk of mental illness, depression, suicide mention, long post idk

so if you guys followed me from hxh, you probably know that i LOVE trope deconstruction, particularly deconstruction of the shonen genre

like shonen at its core is meant to be a male power fantasy, particularly traditional shonen, think dbz and bleach for example, and even naruto (which accidentally stumbled on more complex themes which i can probably discuss at some other time). this is again apparent with tokyo revengers - while a lot of fem-identifying people can enjoy this show for various reasons, on its face it's meant to be a shonen

there's a lot of recurring themes which we often joke about ie. friendship no jutsu to defeat enemies, friendship being elevated to soulmate levels, rivals to enemies, admiration through fighting, etc

like i think i've already discussed this, these are all great ideals for young boys, but they're again ideals!!!

which is why i love this new chapter

obviously i don't know what's in wakui's head, but to me he's making it very clear that takemichi is so extreme and because we're so used to these qualities being viewed as good, some of us are missing the point

in real life, it is impossible to save everybody.

not only is it impossible, in many times it is unreasonable, it's dangerous, and it's selfish.

takemichi has shown time and time again that his motivations are not well thought out and are less about actually increasing more good in the world vs making himself feel like he's increasing value to the world.

how? initially with his fixation with saving hinata, a girl he barely remembered to a fixation with proving he's not a loser (which is essentially the real guiding principle here) to saving mikey, which multiple timelines have demonstrated that despite not necessarily being impossible to save, HE cannot be the one to do it

tbh i was done with takemichi personally when he saw a future where everyone was doing well and risked it all to the expense of ALL his other friend's, HINATA, who was his initial supposed goal, and even HIMSELF.

and this is a recurrent theme. Takemichi is not serving others. he is serving himself. because if he were planning on serving others, there are times where he would have consulted with others to figure out the best mode of action

over and over again, takemichi has decided that the way to save mikey is to remove obstacles around him. kisaki's antics, baji and draken's deaths, etc. in that way, HE becomes the obstacle, and mikey who is in and of itself is a destructive force becomes far worse, which is why i dub him an enabler

(which begs the question, if kisaki wasn't so intent on killing hinata which is obviously bad, is he really the problem? isn't he essentially mikey's leash in the future? obviously this is complex so i won't delve into it further on this rant)

but basically the problem here is takemichi is needlessly and selfishly persistent. he doesn't understand mikey. he doesn't understand anyone else in this realm. he has a grandiose sense of his own self-importance. he ignores facts (what do you mean 'he almost killed me' when you've seen MULTIPLE timelines where he kills people he's known more than you?) and does not use resources well

he is stuck in his own head even though by all means he is the perfect shonen protagonist

never give up! do what you can! save everybody! leave no one behind!

but he's literally left everyone behind multiple times with his one track mind

it's not 100% him afflicted with this savior complex, baji and draken are complicit in the same nonsense

but it's annoying and i'm tired of seeing it and he deserves to get his ass beat

end rant.

#mae has thoughts #tokyo revengers spoilers #tokyo revengers meta

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jiminrings · 3 years

Note

OKAY LISTEN idk if someone or you already planned sth like this but how about y/n finally decides to confess/tell jk but someone else claims to be her before she could do it so * cue to the angst bc y/n sees the whole thing/she hears from her friends * and ofc koo eventually finds out bc that b*tch doesn't even have the fucking lunchboxes 😑

cold senior!y/n x stem major!koo masterlist :D

stem koo's the three-peat king for having the best research papers, but he's the worst when it comes to believing the right person

"i think i'm gonna tell him."

you say it to no one in particular, really, but you hear yoongi rISING from his nap on the couch

it wasn't meant to wake him at all

it was just an epiphany of sorts that popped into your head

physically felt as if your head would just bursT if you didn't say it out loud to affirm your own thoughts lmao

"for real???" he's rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, very evident that he wouldn't wake up to finish his thirteen pending assignments but he 10/10 would wake up to hear your epiphany

yoongi is awake for the action!!!! lmao does professor roux from calculus think that he wakes up at the morning and doing shapes (or whatever they teach at calc) is the fIRST thing in his mind????

"interesting," he nods solemnly when you nod your head, reaching out for a fist bump before he plops to your shoulder, "i suggest dressing like a virgin wearing H&M when you confess. it would hit close to home."

yoongi's the touchy affectionate one between the two of you but you'll forgive him bc he's still sleepy

NOOOOOOO

jungkook doesn't look like a virgin wearing H&M :((((

his clothes aren't from there lol

"pass."

"say that you're a top verified contributor both in quora and brainly."

PLEAAAAAASE SJWHSHWHHWV

"nice idea," you snort as yoongs genuinely thinks that it'd get jungkook to propose on the spot, "but no cigar."

"pretend to love big bang theory."

"you're getting onto something here."

"your hobby is fact-checking rick and morty."

"yoongi wow you are on fIRE today-"

"your guilty pleasure is not wearing protective gear during experiments."

"where is this coming from??"

"OH!!!! i'll pretend to mug him or something and you can attack me!!!"

....

??????

yeah yoongi's train of thought just crashed

you were pretty sure he was going on a science theme there wHY DID IT DERAIL

yoongi looks confused because you look confused, as if he didn't just give you the mindblowing idea,, free of charge

lol but no he really didn't

"i'm not doing any of that shit, yoongs."

"oh yeah???" he squints at you and hollows his cheeks, taunting you entertainingly while he worms his way to your lap to nap again

"what are you planning to do?"

holy sHIT this is nerve-wracking

she feels like she's gonna pass out the whole time that she's been rehearsing this in her head

she's been waiting outside the classroom for twenty minutes now and the bell finally rang and she can't believe it!!!! omg is it game-time now

everyone's filing out of the room and she could just feel that jungkook would come out of the room last-

ALRIGHT FUCK THE BELL RANG

you could do this!!!!

everyone's filing out of the room and you know in your heart that jungkook would stay behind, his routine being to politely chat with the professor before he leaves

you're a lil nervous alright

you're scanning the room and there's only a few people left and your eyes instinctively go to the mini desk next to the door and-

FUCK

DID YOU FORGET TO BRING IT HOME YESTERDAY??????

goddamn it

yesterday was when coach jeong was mad because someone from your team just hAD to bring beer!!! and not even have the common sense to put it on a discreet thermos or sth and you know!!!! to not drink it in public or in front of the coach!!!!

doing laps on the oval field will now make you hurl on command just by thinking about it

you physically did not have the cognizance to go and fetch the lunchbox to wash it,,,, or like even move at all

FUCK IT

how are you gonna swipe the lunchbox now? now when the professor's packing up, jungkook's loitering around the classroom, and there's this girl who's-

wait

who's this girl??

who is she and wHY IS SHE EYEING THE LUNCHBOX

fuck it!!! here goes nothing

she's stepping completely into the room and making sure her block heels generate enough clacking,, hands already moving in practiced moments as she attempts in making it seem like she's rushedly putting the lunchbox bag into her tote — as if it's from there, and she's always done this

jungkook hears noises coming from the back of the room, eyes widening before he comes up the stairs in record time

"no. get your own."

he grips the girl's wrist, about to pry off her hands from his lunchbox

he hears her giggle sweetly, the melody being something he's heard before

"i did. after all, i did get you these."

"hyeji?"

hyeji's a pretty girl!!! a nice girl in jungkook's year that wears fit dresses and cartier bangles :D

she stands out really, sometimes literally because she appears in the school's flyers and advertisements

"hyeji," jungkook breathlessly connects the dots including the fact that she looks caught in the act; holding his lunchbox, her tote bag open, and a peek of another completely different lunchbox in her other hand, "i-it's been you this whole time?"

hyeji blushes, sheepishly tucking her perfectly shiny and neat hair behind her ears, "you caught me then."

kook laughs both in nervousness and giddiness, pushing his glasses up and suddenly conscious that he should've worn contacts, "b-but how? we don't share this class."

hyeji bursts into a giggle, blushed cheeks staining further than the five minutes she tried getting the perfect amount

"r-right! kinda amazing what depths you'd go for a person you like, hm?"

jungkook is about to pass out

HE'S PUT IN A SITUATION

a situation that he likes and is too giddy to find a reply for

he apparently doesn't need a reply, because a chair scrapes harshly against the floor and it brings him down to reality immediately

you cannot fucking believe what you just witnessed

you stand abruptly from the seat you've been frozen in with a great deal of urgency because you cAN'T stand to be in this room any longer

they actually forgot that the two of them aren't alone

that you're still here

little miss hyeji's just as shocked

you feel stupid and even more stupid that you're still holding a stupid notebook you even decorated

it has a doodle in the front and all the remaining pages are of the copies you've replicated on jungkook's sticky notes — the same ones you've been trying to make perfect just for him

"y/n!" he sputters when your backpack accidentally leans too much to your side and hits him on the way out

"move."

you’re feeling everything but fine and god you just hated that you always willed yourself to move oN

you’re beyond mad when you put on your jersey!!!

you’re irrevocably dejected when you put on your cleats!!!!

you feel cheated on when you zip up your duffel and walk all the way to the field!!!

it’s a combination of the type of frustration that makes you want to move plus the type that paralyzes you, the whole thing unlike anything you’ve ever felt before

you’re clearly in your head and frankly, you’re just too good

too good that there's no game at all because the only thing happening is you scoring

there's no passing going on or the sort

everyone is just :O looking at their captain to be in the most furiously determined state that they’ve ever seen you in

you don’t even realize that you’re the oNLY one moving in the whole field

“alright, alright — jesus christ! go to the bench and sort your head out, captain,” coach jeong literally has to JOG over to your spot to jolt you

oh there he is again

jaehyun just had to bench you didn’t he

sometimes it’s lost on you that jaehyun, just like seokjin, used to be your senior

he hated juniors with a burning passion and you’re the ONLY one he’s taken a tolerance for

((you lent him your umbrella and it coincidentially had to be a bad day for him tHEN that made him like you))

you’re having none of it though because this time, you’re the one who has the bad day and the captain title does nothing to appease you

“sure, coach.”

you mumble just as lively and walk to completely the fURTHEST side of the bleachers, being so far out that you could barely see your team

what are you supposed to do? simmer in the thoughts you so badly didn’t want to have in silence??????

"y/n?"

the voice you least expected to hear perks up right next to you

what the hell is jungkook doing here now??

he looks lost, two hands clinging onto his backpack straps before tentatively looking at you again

“did i do anything to upset you?”

so he wants to ask that?

you snort automatically, suddenly wishing that you didn’t walk this far because you can’t make an excuse that jaehyun’s calling for you

"because my bag accidentally hit you on the way out? no, jungkook."

jungkook knits his brows in question, seemingly take offense to what you’ve just said to hom

"we're not exactly associated for me to be mad at you, are we?" you emphasize even further, not caring the least bit that your words have an edge to them

he deadpans, pursing his lips before sarcastically smiling at you

".... so you're upset at me?"

://

jungkook takes your silence for him to delve further, not paying attention to how your eye is begging to twitch at him

"i asked if i did anything to upset you, and you said no. but that doesn't necessarily mean you aren't. you could be upset at me even if i didn't do anything to you."

wow

you sound like a real fucking nerd jungkook

"do you have any idea how condescending you sound right now?"

kook barely has a solid inch on you yet the nagging feeling that he’s belittling you makes you grip your fists tight, posture wavering

"so you do admit that you're upset at me?"

he’s not the most patient person either but something about you and the situation right now just makes him tick a little faster

your eyes narrow at what he’s aiming to get at, your hand on your hip feeling heavy at this point

"what does it matter to you if i'm upset or not? we are not-"

"i am associated to you!!! even to a degree!!! you walked me home!"

jungkook is the one who breaks first and he doesn’t look fazed to have opposed you so loudly, still standing by himself

"i would walk anyone home."

"no you wouldn't-"

"i would walk anyone who was as vulnerable and as anxious as you were, jungkook!!"

it is true

you’d walk anyone home within reason regardless if they were jungkook or not!!!

the guy in question only looks at you straightly, brows not stubborn but still just as unrelaxed

:((

"good to know. then you're not upset at me, and i didn't do anything to upset you."

"sure."

you only say just to spite him, about to turn your back and leave him completely to go back to your practice game

jungkook surprises you again and flips a switch just as quick as your mini argument of sorts escalated

"anyways!! i'm sorry for being a little off when i interviewed you that day. i got a 100 on that assignment, by the way :))"

what?

what’s he still doing here?

he’s talking about his grades and whatnot to you as if literally twenty seconds ago did nOT happen!!

"why are you still-"

"and the one who's been giving me my lunchboxes confessed to me today!! for hyeji to be the girl giving me them, it makes perfect sense."

you shrug away the weirdness that jungkook’s moved on from the argument as fast as this, trying a take two for a peaceful conversation

this time, you’re the one who unknowingly flips a switch at her name — something so foreign and sudden yet something you quickly grew to hate

"i wouldn't be so trusting if i were you."

that seems to hit a nerve on him again, making him scoff in reply

"good thing you aren't me then."

what is ON with him????

"watch it. i'm your senior, kid."

you’re more irritated than the first and second time around that you’ve been agitated this day

"why? are you normally this self-absorbed that you wouldn't trust a girl who's confessed??"

self-absorbed?

you aren’t the most selfless person ever but god do you know for a fact that you’re not vain as jungkook’s insisting you to be

you hate him.

you hate this version of him that isn’t the same jungkook you’ve known to like ever since the start of the semester

"same thing as polygraphs not being a hundred percent reliable. anyone could tell the truth as long as you ask the wrong questions," you detail on further because jungkook loves details, right? might as well give him several

"or did you even ask?"

jungkook scowls as if you’ve insulted his mother and his entire lineage, face contorting into everything but warm

"what does it matter to you? didn't you just tell me that we aren't associated? why are you projecting all your moaning on hyeji?"

WHAT

WHAT????

"you know what? maybe i am associated to you. i think i'd also tell this to everyone i'd walk home — maybe you shouldn't be too trusting, huh? maybe you shouldn't just let anyone walk you home."

the tears this time are more insistent to come out this time but you’d rather dIE than for jungkook to stain your pride like this

"no one should walk me home, besides you? is that what you're trying to say?"

no!!

for fuck's sake you aren't even finished with your point!!

before you could continue, jungkook shakes his head at you — the most disappointing shake of his head that it curses you soft

"what am i even doing? you wouldn't understand."

he closes the distance that’s been alarmingly shorter throughout the whole time, jungkook being the one to break it

"because no one gives you lunchboxes. no one exerts effort in making you cheerful — no one wants to go the extra mile for you, and no one wants to walk you home."

he's insulting you right to your face and that’s when your dam breaks, lips quivering impossibly as you stare him down with a genuinely pained gaze you didn’t know you carried

"you wouldn't know what i feel, because no one likes you."

jungkook gets the last word in.

he leaves you in the same field he's first approached you in nervousness.

today, he leaves it differently.

sweat isn't the only thing on your face but instead it’s the frustrating hot tears you haven’t had in awhile

your fists are balled but there's no power to the anger behind it

you’re almost always alone outside the company of the closest friends you’ve ever had — but this is the only time that you truly felt that you are alone.

today's a good day to give up on jungkook.

#WHAT DO WE THINK BESTIES!!!!!! alr this was the confrontation piece with all that build-up :D the pain #stem koo #jungkook imagine #jungkook imagines #jungkook oneshot #jungkook oneshots #jungkook drabble #jungkook drabbles #jungkook au #jungkook x reader #jungkook angst #jungkook angst imagine

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boyfriendsmalec · 2 years

Text

So now that one of the screenwriters for Bad Buddy has confirmed that Wai purposefully outed Pran and Pat, I want to know how people can keep defending Wai.

Look, I liked Wai too for the first four episodes of the show. I liked seeing how accepting Pran's friend group was of the idea of him dating another guy, how they all had a very cute friendship going on. But it has definitely become apparent from Episode 1 that there were some underlying problems with Wai.

Wai from the beginning is said to blow things off, Pran confronts him on this right away in the first episode how he will do anything to get an excuse to blow off class and workshop. Wai also is shown from the get-go to be a hot head.

Was it right for the Engineering people to harass him and belittle him at work? Of course not. But it doesn't excuse Wai's subsequent actions.

At the time of Episode 5 I excused Wai's behavior for him being drunk and being concerned that Pat was picking on his friend. But in Episode 6 he takes it to another level and tries to go beat Pat up with three other guys at a volunteer camp. Episode 7 he guilts Pran into taking on tasks that he already agreed to (I know people have said we should sympathize for Wai as he's likely the only working-class person in the friend group, but I mean honestly he should've found another way of getting someone to take over the role than guilting Pran HEAVILY into taking his position.)

And in Episode 8 he brings it to a whole other level by exposing Pat and Pran's relationship. I've seen people say we don't know his "reasoning" behind it but honestly do we have to know Wai's reasoning? Nothing can excuse his actions. Nothing.

Pran is supposedly Wai's best friend. But I think it's become apparent that Wai hates Pat more than he likes Pran. He hates Pat so much that he doesn't care about Pran's feelings about people knowing. In fact he acts betrayed.

It would be one thing if Wai privately confronted Pran about it. Then Pran could've explained his and Pat's whole history and why they feel like they have to hide their relationship.

But Wai took all their choices from them in deciding whether or not they want to be out.

While I don't believe the story will delve into Pran and Pat being outed as queer as they will about them being outed as a couple, Pat definitely wasn't out, and Pran maybe sorta implied he liked guys with his friends (see Episode 2, and further episodes where they keep gender neutral pronouns when describing Pran's mystery love interest) but not to the general public.

TLDR; Wai is an asshole of a friend and Pran deserves better.

#bad buddy #I didn't read this over so I hope it's coherent enough #but can people please stop defending wai...#like p'aof himself said he wasn't a good person #THE DIRECTOR HIMSELF #and the writers are jumping in on it too yet people are like 'but we don't know his reasoning'#there's no good reason for ANY of that

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softhairedhotch · 3 years

Note

Omg prompt 10 with Aaron I think could be really cute. I think he would get super flustered.

prompt: you confessed your feelings and we're about to kiss but then we get interrupted

warnings: none really but does second-hand embarrassment count?

A03

You watch as Aaron takes a book from the shelf, opening it to a random page and reading, lips silently moving along. He soon becomes invested, switching to the first page and starting the book from the start, moving to sit down in a chair. His brows are furrowed as he reads, eyes following along with each line, and your heart threatens to burst at the pure softness radiating off of him.

You've had feelings for him for almost a year now, falling in love the day he pulled you out of a burning building and took care of you with such care and worry in his eyes. You never acted on said feelings, worried that he'd reject you and spend the rest of his career, his life, avoiding you.

But as you sat in the library of Dave's mansion, watching him delve deeper into the world of fiction, you can't help but want to tell him.

So you do.

"Aaron?" You ask, making your way towards him. You sit on the table in front of him, allowing him time to finish his page and look up to you. He nods at you to continue. "I wanna tell you something, is that okay?"

"Sure. Is everything okay?" He sounds worried, concerned, and your heart clenches.

Fumbling with your hands in your lap, you stay silent. Now that you actually want to say it, your throat feels lodged and the words you'd practised for so long lay forgotten. Noticing your hesitation, Aaron leans forward in his seat and places his large hands on top of yours, instantly calming your hands and nerves. You find yourself blushing, and he smiles gently at you as you move to hold his hands.

"Okay, I had this whole, uh, this whole speech planned out," you start, now fumbling over your words. "But I can't remember it, so I'm just gonna, uh, well I'm just gonna come out and say it, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'm in love with you."

The silence is too loud, and you're sure your heart is going to burst out of your chest and fall to the floor with a dull thump. He doesn't say anything, but his eyes widen slightly and his eyebrows raise. You brace yourself for rejection, for the pain and hurt to overwhelm you and leave you in a fit of tears later in the day as you hug your pillow to sleep, but his hands squeeze yours and he gives you a full grin, dimples and all.

"I'm in love with you, too."

Apparently it's as simple as that.

He slowly stands up, never removing his hands from yours, and you join him until you're both standing face-to-face with your hands tangled tightly between the two of you.

"Can I kiss you?" He asks, inching his head closer to yours, noses almost touching. His breath fans your face and tickles your lips, and you feel as though you might crumble to the floor.

"Yes," you breathe, and he leans in further.

His lips brush yours, ever so gently as if pushing himself against you would cause you to suddenly disappear, and you move to press your lips together and it's so-

A cough interrupts you.

Aaron pulls away instantly, hands leaving yours and eyes searching the room. You frown; is he that embarrassed to have been caught kissing you?

You turn to find Dave watching you with a smirk. "Took you long enough, Aaron." At this, you look back at the man in front of you to find him blushing, small grin tugging at his lips.

"Yeah... well, they were the one to tell me. Now, if you wouldn't mind, Dave, I'd like to actually kiss them."

Dave rolls his eyes, raising his hand and pretending to talk with his fingers, before giving you two a wide smile and walking out. You turn back to Aaron, thinking that the other man left the room, and take his hands in yours. The two of you lean forward again, absolutely determined to kiss this time.

"Make sure you use a condom!"

Aaron splutters and you groan, falling into his arms and resting your head against his chest. The loud laughter of David Rossi begins to fade, finally walking away, and only then do you look back up into the eyes of the man you love.

His lips tug upwards, playful glint in his eyes. "Shall we try again?"

You nod, moving to kiss him.

"Hey, Rossi told me you needed me?"

"Oh for goodness-"

#prompt list #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x reader #hotch #criminal minds #aaron hotchner fanfic #gn!reader #aaron hotchner x gn!reader #this was kinda cute #i found the end funny so #hopefully you did aswell #don't worry they finally kissed #and it was AWFUL #NO I'M JOKING PLEASE #it was great #i mean it's aaron hotchner of course it's gonna be great #unless you're awful?#if so then you gotta practise buddy #sorry idk where i'm going with this

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morgana-ren · 4 years

Text

Come Down to the Black Sea III

Summary: The sea seems to call to you, but it’s not the tumultuous clash of the waves you should fear. Something lurks deep beneath the black waters, something sinister with a piqued interest and ill intent.

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Siren!Shigaraki, graphic depictions of violence, heavy sexual innuendo, implied noncon, foul language, sexual tension you can cut with a knife, and just general sexual grossness. Joking daddy kink also, if you count that.

PART I, PART II

Here you go! The third installment. Your seafaring friend finds your hot button and decides to plant some lovely ideas in your brain. Listening to them probably is not the smartest idea in regards to keeping your heart beating, but it certainly gets your thighs clenching.

Taglist: @lemonzoey, @babayaga67

You know, it's really rough to explain to your superiors at work why you're so distracted when it happens to be because a mythical being is giving you the cold shoulder.

You’re not entirely certain why it bothers you so much that your last encounter with him ended rather sour. He had made it perfectly plain from the get-go that his intent with you was far from pure. Murderous, in fact. He had almost drowned you on your first meeting and insulted you incessantly during your second. Not exactly a friendly track record.

Regardless, he’s made a permanent home crawling beneath your human skin, like some itch you can’t scratch away. You can try to justify it however you’d like, but you can’t ignore the truth. In a word full of mundane existence, you’ve found an oddity and as much as you’d like to pretend you aren’t, you’re drawn to it. It’s part of why you returned to the beach despite the clear and present danger. You’d found a living, breathing mermaid. Even more impressive, you’d managed to piss him off.

Mermaid? Is that accurate? He’s so sensitive to being classified wrongly, but still never told you what he was. Considering the circumstances, maybe you should be a little bit more concerned about other things rather than offending him, but it still bothers you.

Your ignorance isn’t due to lack of trying. You’ve done extensive research in the spare moments you have during the day, but nothing quite matches his description no matter how deeply you delve into the weirder parts of the internet, even going so far as to browse around on conspiracy sites on the darknet. Mermaid? Merman? Siren? Fish-guy? Some distantly related offspring to that Ripley’s Believe it or Not monkey fish? Relentless searching proved fruitless. Plenty of old sun-crazed fishermen claim to have seen merfolk in the waters or sirens on the rocks, but more often than not, it was a walrus or stage 4 sea madness. No one had a legitimate account of meeting with a real, intelligent creature of the deep. Nothing that came remotely close to him, anyway.

Despite being unable to focus at your job, getting home only doubles the anxiety. Restlessly sitting and twitching on the sofa, repeatedly trying and failing to read or watch some vapid TV show. You’re unable to keep your mind from returning to the ocean, to him no matter how hard you try.

Over the course of time, you become acutely aware that staying home clearly isn't an option, but you're not really sure what to say to him if you see him again. Why do you even care? Aren't you supposed to be ignoring him? You can excuse your obsessive thoughts about him since most people would have the same reaction to seeing something supernatural not once, but twice in front of their very eyes, but a lot of people wouldn’t continuously return to see it especially if it was malevolent.

You love that preemptively planning what to say to a sentient supernatural sea dweller is a part of your day. That's awesome. Can't look that one up on google.

You’ll compromise with your compulsiveness instead. Go a little early and watch the sun set down over the horizon instead of watching the moon rise. Most parents won't allow their children near your rock because it’s slippery and dangerous, and frankly, you don't think he'll show up when others can see him. He’s deadly, but a mob of terrified parents and curious beach goers has few rivals.

Maybe you can get your fill before he appears. It's better to keep away from him anyway. He wants you dead.

He wants you dead, you remind yourself.

And so you do. Tread the sandy trail down to your favorite little hideyhole and plop down on the hard surface. You kick your feet absentmindedly on the rock beneath you, watching the small particles of sand splay and regather with every motion of your foot. The crash of the waves, still tumultuous and ornery, slap the side of your makeshift perch and splash you with speckles of water every few moments. You don't mind. You needed to shower anyway.

You can't help but feel a bit more lonely than normal, even surrounded by so many more people than you usually are. Flustered moms urge their children in from the shore to wipe them down with towels and flighty young twentysomethings hoot and holler, laughing loudly as they pile into their cars to find their next big spot for the night. The moon rises and the beach empties, leaving you alone again. The ocean settles, and even though it feels better, you feel alone.

You close your eyes, resting your head sideways on your knees with your arms buckled around your legs. You're close to the edge, precariously so. You just want to be close to the water. You should move back.

In. out. in. out. in. out. in. out.

The waves seem to move in line with the beating of your own heart, a tranquil feeling that dulls your restless thoughts and engulfs you in quiet solace. The hum of the ocean resonating deep within you with each breath you take of the briny air.

You're aware enough to recognize that the sound of the sea is luring you into a false sense of comfort. The darkness seeping over the horizon doesn't make it easier, and soon your slowly wandering mind is on the brink of unconsciousness. You're dangerously close to falling asleep, and given the circumstances, that probably isn't the best idea, especially since you're precariously close to the water.

You can't help it, it's been one hell of a week. You haven’t slept. Haven’t relaxed. Haven’t felt at home in so long...

Listen, there's no guide online to look at that can help you through what to do when a malevolent fish-man hybrid has decided he wants to drown you. You can imagine it would say something along the lines of 'Stop going near the water then, dumbass' but that's like asking a religious person to stay away from church. It's the one place where you feel any semblance of peace, and you'll be damned if you're going to let the moonlight water marauder take that from you.

Still, it makes things in your life exponentially more difficult when you can't explain to anyone what's on your mind.

'Yeah, I met a mer...thing, and he's decided that he hates me and he wants to drown me, and that makes me sad. The one supernatural creature I get to meet and he doesn't like me. Bummer.'

They'd probably have you committed. That’s a bit much even for your eccentric proclivities.

Your body occasionally jerks you awake, probably its way of saying 'You cannot sleep when there are enemies nearby', but it feels like it's been weeks since you've had a decent night's sleep. The endless procession of days marked by existential crisis with the tacked on bonus of being aware of the existence of a nefarious fairy tale creature makes everything feel awfully surreal. It feels as if you've been running on pure adrenaline and are about to crash. Hard.

If you were smart, you'd go home and try to bank on the feeling of sleepiness currently plaguing you, but you just can't bring yourself to move. Even barring the flaxen haired fish dude just chomping at the bit to drag you under, napping this close to the sea is a bad idea in general. Tides change rapidly and all it would take is a few minutes of you being unaware for the waves to snag you and haul you off to a watery grave. They'd probably never find you, just like the others who disappear here at night.

But that's probably his doing, isn't it?

What does he do with the bodies exactly?

You really wish he wasn't trying to kill you, cause you have an endless list of questions you'd like to ask. What does he eat? Where does he live? Does he sleep at all?

Musing on all the things you'd like to know about him and his life leads you into fantasizing about being a talk show host interviewing him, and one thing leads to another and before you know it, you're conked out cold. You've managed to find an extremely awkward position to slump into, but even the horrid crick in your neck isn't enough to shake you from the dreamless slumber. Your body doesn't even have the energy needed to produce a dream, so instead, you just float through an endless void.

It could have been minutes, or even hours, really. You're not sure. The only thing strong enough to jar you awake is a sudden and intense feeling of dread that blooms in your stomach and gives you a form and sentience again. Your eyes snap open instinctively, and you're greeted with a pair of spiteful red eyes far too close to you for comfort.

"Jumping jesus-!"

Surprised is a nice word for what you feel, an ugly screech emanating from your throat as you kick out your feet, knocking yourself over and almost falling in the water in the process. You hit your head nice and hard on a particularly jagged portion of the rocks, and by the time your vision undoubles, the danger is just barely settling in.

Except danger is too busy cackling to be a threat.

You try to grapple with the panic in your chest and get a grasp on reality again after your literal rude awakening, but it's a bit rough when the sadistic jackass who perpetuated it in the first place won't stop laughing. Apparently he's too amused to take the opportunity to seize you, so you take the moment to scoot much further back and out of his reach, resisting the urge to plant your foot right on his stupid face.

Eventually he quiets down, but the grin never leaves his face. Much like everything about him, it's hostile somehow, mocking and disingenuous.

"Humans really are so stupid."

"Joke is on you, tunabreath. You wasted the perfect opportunity to actually grab me."

He shakes his head, tutting you. "I couldn’t resist. We like to play with our food too, sometimes. Scared ones taste better."

Is he implying he eats people? Okay, you know what? You don't wanna know. You doubt he'd be honest about it anyway, and would probably say whatever unnerves you the most. He seems a prick like that.

"I thought the entire point was to drown me and get it over with. You’re borderline obsessed with it."

He scoffs, little head fins twitching as he waves you off. "If I’m going to waste my time, don't make it so easy. It's less fun."

Okay cool, this is all a game to him; your life is a game to him. Nice. Fun. Great.

Something on your face must have given away your ire, because he simpers at you and another raspy laugh bubbles in his chest.

"It's not my fault you're stupid. You're the idiot sleeping next to the ocean when you know what's waiting for you when you get too close. It’s like you want me to devour you."

"I thought after your little tantrum last night, you were gone for good. You really can throw a fantastic hissy fit."

That wipes the smile from his face.

“Little brat.” He taps a claw on the rock, narrowing his eyes at you. “Tough talk from someone afraid of getting a little wet.” He drags out the final word with a mocking tone, clicking his tongue against his fangs with the final syllable.

“For the last time, I’m not afraid of getting wet-” It takes it a second to sink in but wow this all sounds so wrong. Your face darkens and a familiar tingle worms itself in your gut. Are you really that lonely? “And don’t say it like that!”

His brows furrow and he studies you with a slightly quizzical expression. “Like what?”

How do you explain to a dude who presumably has no cock and no human sexual experience about the sexual insinuations of human expressions? Wow. This is not a talk you thought you’d be having. The entire situation is weird, but this really sets the bar.

“I know you’re probably not familiar with it, but that sounds... weird. It just sounds weird, okay?”

“I don’t understand.” His lips curl downward in annoyance, arching a pale brow in your direction.

“Look, when a human and another human... do stuff, things happen to their bodies and-“ a twisted sense of shame curdles your stomach and you go to scratch the back of your head, avoiding his eyes. Your words trail off somewhere mid sentence. If you were looking, you could practically see the gears turning in his head, but a few seconds later, his face pops in realization.

“I’m fully aware of your human mating habits.”

“Don’t say it like that either! Jesus, you’re so awkward.”

A slow smile spreads over his face and he leans closer to you, tail swishing in a steady rhythm beneath the water. “Why? You’re over the ‘age of consent’, as it’s put, right? A sexually mature human female? Does it make you uncomfortable when I say things like that? Or does it make you something else?”

He trails his claws in a walking motion towards your out of reach leg, and embarrassment isn’t a strong enough word for the emotion that colors your face as you recoil from his wandering fingers. “Knock it off!”

“Has it been a while since someone touched you, little human?”

“None of your business! You’re such a creep! And what do you know about it anyway? Don’t you fuckin’ lay eggs or something?”

He ignores your pointed jab, licking at his chapped lips as he runs his piercing eyes over you a bit too invasively for your liking. “You wanna know, huh? I can show you.” He reaches towards you again and you wiggle back a few more inches, caught between his words and the friction igniting feelings you’re desperately trying to ignore between your thighs.

“I’m getting mixed signals here. Are you trying to drown me or fuck me?”

“Who says I can’t do both?” He tilts his head, gaze lingering on your lips before drifting down to your chest without shame. His attention still feels utterly predatory, but for a different form of predator entirely. “Your death doesn’t have to be entirely painful, you know.”

“S-stop it.”

He’s giving you whiplash with his intense mood swings, but you can’t deny the less than appropriate places his words drag your mind to. Heat ignites inside you, warmth spreading through your navel as your cheeks burn deeper than they did before. You will it away, trying to shake loose the thoughts from your mind. No fucking way are you even considering this.

“Look, even if our bodies were compatible, which they aren’t, it’s not like you wanting to kill me is a turn on.”

He gives you another lilting grin, flicking his tongue and hissing in a foreign laugh. “Are you sure? I know that some of your kind are into that sort of thing. Hard. Rough. Dangerous. And judging by your face-“

Another bout of blood colors your cheeks so intensely that you can literally feel it. Oh God, make it stop.

“-You might be.”

“Shut it, shark bait!”

“And who’s to say we’re not compatible? I know plenty. Something about the beach is an aphrodisiac to you humans. Not to mention~” Another grin, but this one gives off the undeniable air of ‘I know something you don’t know.’ “You have no idea what I can do.”

You can’t help but look back at him as he says it and you can tell he means every word. The unnatural scarlet glow of his eyes seems far too welcoming, calling to you like some sort of beacon in the darkness. The soft gleam of his silvery hair in the moonlight far too inviting. You want to touch it, wonder what it would feel like entwined between your fingers, what it smells like and how those claws would feel like scratching against the sensitive skin of your ass as he holds you steady against his hips.

You bet those fangs aren’t just for show, and judging by his attitude, he’s probably not afraid to use them. You bet they’d feel all sorts of nice scraping and digging into your flesh, biting you and licking that thick tongue up and over your neck, maybe even a bit lower if you asked him nicely. He’s so lithe, so strong, he’d have no problem fucking you against the rock even with the water resistance. His slick skin rubbing against yours, webbed hands squeezing your waist, kneading your tits, pressing the rounds of your neck until you gave yourself over to him completely and the taste of him is the last thing you ever knew.

Okay, you admit it. You are really curious to see just what it is he can do. You’d probably be the first human in history to find out, the first girl to be fucked to literal death by a siren. Would it really be such a terrible way to die? Being dragged under metaphorically and physically and spending your last moments in pleasure wholly unknown to the moral realm?

He smiles softly, watching you toss it around in your mind as he cradles his head in his palm. He’s beautiful, and you loathe it. You hate that you’re even considering this, even toying with the thought as if it’s really an option. What the hell are you doing? This is complete madness!

“You aren’t serious, are you?”

He gestures you forward seductively, nibbling gently on his scarred bottom lip, keeping your eyes squarely trained on his mouth. “Come a little closer and find out. I promise I bite. Extra hard if you beg.”

Another clench between your legs. Shake it loose, shake it loose! “Look, even if I believed for a split second you wanted to seduce me, you really think I’m going to literally die for the chance?”

“What else are you going to die for?”

Oddly deep. Not a thought you wanted to ponder right now. Expertly deflect it with sarcasm and ignore the fact that he has a very good point.

“Of old age, in my bed, surrounded by loved ones and piles of money I didn’t get the chance to spend yet.”

He scoffs, blowing air through his nose. “Sure.”

“Just what is that supposed to mean?”

He shrugs, shucking aside your irritation. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”

“Prick.”

He giggles, finding your crass human mouth oddly endearing. “Well, the offer stands. I told you I’m not going anywhere until you're under the water with me.” He pauses, considering you for a moment before grinning darkly. “I might just do it anyway, but it’s better if you’re willing. Not that I’ve ever been averse to a little struggle.”

“What?”

“It’s hard to say no when you can’t speak. I could easily bypass this little game of playing hard to get, but I want to see you squirm.” He eyes between your legs and you pray to the Gods that he thinks the dampness residing there is because of the watery environment. “I want to see you beg before the light goes out in those pretty eyes.”

“You’re a fucking perv!”

“I told you I’m going to watch you drown, you really put it past me to not take other forms of satisfaction from you while I’m at it?”

He presents a good point. You resent the fact that you don’t entirely feel repulsed by the thought. You should. You should be mortified and terrified and other words that end in ‘fied’. You should run and never come back. You know you should.

You lean forward.

“I’d like to see you try, fish boy.”

A strangely genuine smile spreads across his lips and his face seems to light up at your words. It's still menacing, but oddly cute; like a child getting ready and excited to play their favorite game.

"You really think you can win this, huh?" He muses, looking up at you through those pale lashes. "You sure are something, little girl."

"What do I have to lose? If you win, you kill me, and whatever else, but I won't care, because I'll be dead. If I win, I get to see that arrogant smarminess wiped off your face when you don't get what you want. You'll have wasted all this time for nothing, and I guess that's a small consolation prize alongside my life."

“Time means nothing to me, but if it makes you feel better about the situation.”

From the way he says it, you don't deny it. It dawns on you that you really know nothing about his people. Do they age like you? Do they age at all?

“How old are you?”

"Older than you by far, I promise. What a rude question. How old are you?"

“Old enough. But that doesn’t answer my question. Don’t deflect.”

"No manners, you humans." He ponders it for a minute. "You count the passing of time in revolutions around the sun, right? I'd bet I had been an adult for a very long time while you were still learning to walk on wobbly little legs."

It's your turn to laugh now, and he doesn't seem amused. "You're an old man! Ew! You're an interspecies cradle robber!"

"I'm not old! We live exponentially longer than you! I'll still be in my prime when you're an elder!" His pallid face is dusted slightly red in frustration, and it's almost funnier than his reaction.

"Whatever you say, grandpa! Do you have an undersea walker? Drink sea prune juice? Is that why your hair is silver? Cause you're old?"

Self consciously, he strokes the front of his long bangs between his fingers. "No! You're an immature little brat!"

"Back in my day~" You barely dodge a swipe from one of his claws as he jumps as far forward as he can and swings at you. "Careful gramps, you don't wanna hurt yourself. You’ll break a hip or whatever it is you have."

He sneers at you and you bask in the minor victory.

You sit in silence; him with a scowl tightly pulled across his thin lips, and you with a smug little grin. So it’s not impossible to get under his scales.

He’s a world class pouter, you’ll give him that. He doesn’t strike you as vain, but this is probably uncharted territory for him; actually talking to a human and subsequently being made fun of for his age. He’s probably not used to being mocked in any sense of the word, seeing as he’s a ‘non existent’ mythical creature. Maybe his kind are prideful, if a little childish. He claims to have existed for ages, but he still has the mannerisms you’d attribute to a male around your age. Maybe a tad immature and explosive himself. You guess some things don’t change with the species. Aggression, domination, and sex. And murder, in his case.

Some things are universal, it seems.

He’s making a show of ignoring you now, clicking his claws together in a subconscious attempt to threaten you. They are awfully sharp. You swear looking at them makes the gashes on your arm start to ache all over again. Occasionally the fins on the side of his head twitch in an almost catlike manner, turning toward whatever source of sound can be heard. It’s so strange to you, you can’t help but stare. He looks ethereal, even as impudent as he’s acting. With the backdrop of the ocean and the moon behind him, he looks like a painting that belongs in a gallery. You can’t stop yourself from leering at him.

You’re trying to ignore the fact that he definitely takes notice.

He's angry at you, displeasure still slightly evident in his face, but a small smile crooks his lips. You've clearly offended him but your leering goes a little way towards soothing the hairs you've rubbed the wrong way. For whatever reason, knowing you find him attractive puffs his feathers- er, scales- with pride. Body language relaxes between the two of you and a few minutes of quiet follows.

Yet, it's difficult to keep a pleasant silence when the company you keep is far from familiar. This isn't two friends relaxing on a beach; at least unless most friends are malevolent ocean dwelling creatures with an end goal of filling the other's lung with sea water.

The lack of noise makes you antsy, almost like you're anticipating something but you're unsure of what. It feels false somehow, like you're trying to turn this isn't something it isn't; comfortable. No matter how his casual demeanor tries to lull you into a false sense of security, you have to remain vigilant. One little slip and he'll drag you into a watery grave- among other things if he was serious.

“So… What do you eat?”

He slow blinks at you a few times before grinning, light glinting off his all-too-sharp fangs. “You mean besides you?”

There’s multiple implications to that, neither one of which you want to ponder for various reasons. Your panties are already uncomfortably damp.

“Yes. Besides us.”

Shrugging, he flicks at a small pebble on the rocks edge and plunks it into the water. "Same thing you would if you were one of us. There's plenty of fish down here, only difference is I can eat them raw."

Your nose crumples and you stick your tongue out slightly, imagining him taking a bite out of a still-twitching fish. "Ew."

He rolls his eyes, brushing your obvious disgust aside. "If I recall, don't you humans have multiple dishes you eat raw?"

"Well, I mean, yeah, but it's different. We actually prepare it."

"Sounds like a whole lot of fuss over nothing. Your weak stomach just can't handle it and mine can, and you seem to find that to be some sort of bragging point. Also, don't you humans have a tendency to put things in your mouth that don't belong there?"

“Didn’t I already tell you to shut up about that?”

"I don't know, I'd say the occasional raw fish is a lot less dirty than a human male c-"

“Oh my god! I am so sorry I fucking asked!”

He cackles loudly and you realize that he's officially found your hot button. Even worse is he knows it. "I mean that's not to say we don't have our own filthy habits, but you guys are inspiring-"

"Dude! Make like a tunafish and can it! I don't want to hear any of this!"

"Oh? Is that so? Because around 10 minutes ago, you were half ready to rip your clothes off and jump in here and let me try you even if it meant your death."

"Momentary lapse in judgement. Don't get too excited, grandpa."

He frowns again but seems less offended now that the initial moment had passed. "If you insist upon calling me a nickname pertaining to my age, I'd prefer daddy."

All humor drops from your face. How the fuck does he even know about that?

As if he can read your mind, he responds. "A lot of you humans like to reproduce here. I've seen quite a bit and heard even more. Like I said, you’re absolutely filthy creatures.”

“Ah. Yeah. That makes sense.”

“My offer stands. Come a little closer and I’ll show you just what I learned.”

“Creep.”

“That makes two of us, now doesn’t it?”

"I'm not the one bringing up sex every 3 seconds."

Hey, do you know how awkward it is to be having this conversation? With him? Right now? Do you know how utterly surreal this is?

“No, but you’re thinking about it, aren’t you?”

Your cheeks burn and you know it doesn't matter what you say. Your face is a dead giveaway. He knows it too, crossing his arm and arching a cocky brow at you.

“And I’m the pervert, huh?”

You wrap your arms around your legs again in a subconscious show of defense. "Yes, you are. This is a natural response to embarrassing topics. Topics you keep coming back to."

He shrugs again, his head fins twitching a few times. "I don't deny my nature. If I feel lustful, I act on it. Another reason you humans are inferior. You deny what comes naturally in the name of some form of... shame, is it? I have no bonds holding me back, while yours are pointless and dictated by some invisible and shallow form of ‘morality’ and ‘purity."

He’s… technically right. Still.

"You realize you're saying this to the person you're trying to kill, right?"

"I'm aware. Consider it a parting gift. You can feel what it's like to be untethered before I end you."

You roll your eyes so deeply that you’re almost certain you’ve detached the retina. “Oh, how very kind of you. So thoughtful.”

"It’s not entirely altruistic, but it's better than I was originally planning. I was just going to rip you apart the second I pulled you in. Of course, that was before I got a good look at you. It'd be a shame to waste such a pretty thing without getting a taste first.”

It's a twisted compliment, but you appreciate it, at least as much as the circumstances allow.

“Thanks… I think?”

"It's a good thing, I promise. I won't just touch anyone, you know. Most of your kind repulses me. I'm not an easy please."

"Oh." Another awkward silence. "What makes me so special, anyways?"

His face blanks over, eyes hardening and mouth pursing in a tight line. He opens his lips a few times to speak, but seemingly stops himself. His expression flashes confusion, then rage, then apathy in quick succession. "I don't know. It won't matter for long anyways, soon you'll be dead and I can move on."

“Not if I win.”

"You won't. I don't lose. Besides, I've already almost gotten you twice. It's only a matter of time before you slip up again, and I'll be there to catch you when you do."

"Put it like that and it almost sounds sweet." A smile tugs at your lips despite yourself.

His face flushes and he looks away from you, expression contorting. “It’s not. Don’t twist my words.”

“Spoilsport. Go eat a mackerel or something. You’re not yourself when you’re hungry. Or maybe you are. Either way, you’re cranky.”

"It's hard not to be cranky when there's a meal right in front of me and I can't indulge."

"Quit threatening to eat me. I get the point, it's just weird.”

His thick tongue flicks out and runs across those glimmering teeth and he just smiles. "Who said anything about eating?"

“Give it a rest.”

He swipes a small amount of water at you with his thumb and forefinger. "Deny it all you'd like, you enjoy the attention."

"Definitely. I love being the first human to be hit on by the world's first mermaid fuckboy."

A hybrid mix of a groan and a growl rumbles from his chest. "I'm not a fucking mermaid!"

"Oh, sorry!" The sarcasm is palpable, and he scowls at you again. You love the fact he doesn't deny the secondary insult. "I meant merman."

"Don't insult me. As if your petty, unimaginative fairytales could even come close."

"You have a tail, you live underwater, and you're half human. Sounds pretty damn close to me."

The look on his face is as if you just forced him to swallow something extraordinarily disgusting. "You have no idea what I'm capable of. And I'm not half human. You're half us."

Now that takes you off guard.

“What did you say? What do you mean?”

"It doesn't matter." He pushes himself away from the rocks, his tail slightly flapping above the surface. "Besides, you were right. I am hungry. I should probably find something to eat for tonight, unless you’ve changed your mind." He doesn’t bother waiting for you to retort before skillfully diving down back beneath the waves.

You want to stop him, but he’s gone before you can think of a creative way to say ‘hell no’. The slight dash of silver hair makes out towards the horizon and before long, he's gone. As always, he leaves you feeling more frustrated than anything.

You want to stay, to enjoy the ocean like you used to before he barged his way into your life, but it all just feels too strange now. He won't return tonight, you know that much.

Heaving yourself off your asleep butt, you begin your bowlegged walk back to civilization, left with nothing but the ache of a cramp in your hips and a strangely heavy feeling in your gut.

#Shigaraki x Reader #Shigaraki Tomura #Come Down to the Black Sea #See warnings up top

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etlunainmorte · 5 years

Text

✒ P.S. I Love You ✒

***

"Okay, so, listen up!" Nico announced later that afternoon as she faced all the occupants in the dining room, including herself ( who was at the head of the table ), V ( who was standing next to the fireplace away from the others, arms crossed over his chest, and Shadow lying on the floor next to his feet ), Avery ( who was sitting next to Nico on her right ), Roman ( who was sitting very close to his fiancée, feeling nervous and frightened ), and Griffon ( who was perched on Roman's chair and making the man much more nervous ). "The wedding is in five days, and we need everyone to participate in this. Ya don't want any frickin' ghosts photobombin' on yer wedding pictures and worse, yeah?"

"We'll gladly help." Avery asked as she took Roman's hand in hers and began squeezing it.

Roman, who bravely nodded and placed a hand on top of hers, spoke, his voice sounding admirably resolute. "How can we help you?"

Nico looked at V's direction and nodded at him, gesturing for him to come forward, and a few seconds later, (Y/N)'s journal, the old wooden box of photographs, and the radio containing all the voice recordings were scattered on the table for everyone to see.

"During our investigation, we managed to find these items that, we think, are vital clues to what's really happenin' here." Nico explained, then opened the wooden box to let the couple see the various photographs in it, especially the ones where (Y/N) and Victor were involved.

With furrowed eyebrows, Avery took some photographs and stared at them in disbelief. "Hey, this is great gran! I didn't know I still have these!"

"This man looks like V!" Roman added as he pointed at Victor in the pictures. "Why is he with her? I thought she's married to Doctor Lancaster in 1898!"

"That's exactly what we have to find out." V answered as he opened the journal and showed them the writings in it, which baffled the couple. "Apparently, Ms. Avery, your great grandmother was in love with someone else. She's in love with a man by the name of Victor Blake."

"Shut the fucking door up!" Avery exclaimed as she took the journal and read (Y/N)'s entries in it, herself. She, then, looked up at V and gave him a scrutinizing gaze as if he was telling them lies. "So, you're telling me that this man, this Victor Blake, is a third wheel, or something?"

"We're not yet sure. That's why we have to investigate further into this matter. Because," V said as he pointed at the strange image in one of the photographs showing (Y/N) and Victor's wedding. " ... something else was at play there."

"And because of that, we believe that we finally have a suspect." Nico added as she threw another photograph at the table. It wasn't an old photo, though. It was a printed screenshot of the strange man in white who materialized last night. And when Avery and Roman looked at it, the two felt shivers run up and down their spine.

"Oh, my God!" Avery exclaimed.

"It's the same man from the pictures!" Roman observed.

"And we're not done!" Nico said as she took her radio and played the recording in it, which made Roman's skin go pale. She turned it off before it could make the poor man faint.

"That strange man, these hauntings, and great gran's connection to this Victor." Avery hummed as she pondered for a while with all the available clues in front of them. "Something doesn't connect! It doesn't make any sense, at all!"

"We have our own,... suspicions. However, it would stay as that - suspicion. Unless we do something to uncover the truth. Only then,... can we put an end to these,... hauntings." V replied.

"So, here's what we need to do." Nico relayed, her tone as gravely serious as it can possibly be. "We need to split up into three teams. V, of course, would investigate on his own. Each team would have a radio and a spy cam, just like that one that the little chicken is wearing. The plan is simple, we just need to find more clues such as these. Along the way, we should also record every single thing with these gadgets. We might find the recordings useful later on."

"Saying that we need to split into groups, do you mean to say that we also have to check what's on the upper floors?" Avery questioned as she took one radio for herself.

"Exactly."

"Okay. I would go upstairs with V, then. I have access to the other rooms, after all." Avery offered as she stood up, determined to help with the investigation.

"No."

All the occupants in the room stared at Roman as he held his fiancée’s arm. He stood up and took one radio for himself. And with a brief nod and a sigh, he said, "I'll do it. I'll investigate the upper floors."

"But, sweetie!" Avery complained.

"Sshh, sshh. It's okay. It's time for me to prove I'm not always this poor scaredy - cat man you knew. I'll do it. You investigate here."

"Oh, sweetie!"

Nico and V awkwardly looked away as the lovers began smooching in front of them. And if it weren't for the tattooed woman clearing her throat, the two won't stop showering each other with kisses.

"I'll go with you, then - " Nico began but, she was interrupted as Roman's hand went up. Really showing off now, aren't we?

"I'll take the bird with me." The man announced, which made Griffon's eyes widen in shock and his beak drop in awe. "If you would allow me, Mr. V?"

The poet saw the horrified look on his familiar's face as the poor bird shook his head over and over again, probably in a gesture to not allow Roman to take him along.

Unfortunately for Griffon, though, V was moved by Roman's decision to finally man up and actually face his own fears.

"Of course." V answered, making Griffon almost fall off Roman's chair.

"Alright then. You go with me, Ms. Avery." Nico decided as she also stood up.

"Umm,..." Avery began. "Can we take the big black cat, V?"

V looked down at Shadow and nodded at her. The familiar understood this and went over to the ladies.

"So, good luck to all of us, then." Avery said as she took her own camera.

Nico turned to V as she playfully punched him on the arm, just like that one time before all the hauntings messed up their life. And with a sweet smile that V hasn't seen from her in a while, she said, "See ya later, V."

Strangely enough, Nico's words seemed to leave behind an impression on V. Over the last two days, he realized how reliable she was and how friendly she actually was compared to Dante, who just bossed him around. While he did survive the Qliphoth incident, he's still learning to live as a free man without having to worry about dying, or being judged by others due to his physical appearance and his unique personality. And Nico was actually the first person who welcomed him as a new member of the Devil May Cry squad. Not Dante, and not even Nero. It was her. She even went to such lengths to help with this mission of his, albeit with personal agenda of delving more into something paranormal and not demonic for a change.

But, still. Nico extending some extra effort with this,...

She deserved a token of appreciation. After all, they're kind of like friends now. When they see each other in the morning again, he would tell her that he agreed on splitting the pay in half. And maybe surprise her with a little gift after the mission. A new toolbox, maybe? Or a new hammer? Would she like that?

These things were still in V's mind as he made his way to (Y/N)'s room, and as he was about to enter the room ( there's no door now since Griffon destroyed it last night ), he heard a very pleasant noise that was coming from the first floor.

It was,... a piano? And a trumpet?

V turned and noticed that he was, once again, plunged into the past with the sudden change in the atmosphere. And as he searched for the source of the music, he noticed that there were few people in the place unlike the last time he went for a visit. He made his way to the library / music room and found a small group of people gathered there as they listened to some musicians performing some sweet and soothing music.

He turned to his right and actually noticed Victor Blake standing alone in one corner of the room, leaning on his cane, and looking intently at something in the distance. V followed his gaze and saw (Y/N) sitting in one of the plush maroon sofas. The beautiful evening gown she's wearing and the way her hair was styled suited her perfectly, and she was holding a fan just like the rest of the distinguished females in the room.

Yes, everyone else looked beautiful. But, to V, (Y/N) simply stood out among others. And Victor seemed to think of the same, as well, as he slowly made his way towards her. The girl noticed this and looked shyly away as she covered her blushing cheeks with her fan. And when the poet arrived and kneeled before her once more, she finally gave in and held out a gloved hand, which he proudly took and kissed. It was the actual scene from the first photograph of them he ever saw.

Then, the music slowly changed as the atmosphere around him seemed to morph, as well. And a few moments later, V found the two sitting in front of the piano. Victor played the instrument as (Y/N)'s angelic voice filled the room.

The atmosphere morphed once more and V saw them sitting together in one of the maroon sofas. Victor was now reading something to her, and as she listened with a look of wonder in those beautiful eyes, the poet looked at her with much more. It was deep, and, in a way, possessive. Like his eyes refused to leave her for even a second. Again, this was one of the scenes from those old photographs.

The surroundings around V changed and morphed several more times, showing him how Victor and (Y/N) grew close with each other, until it led him to the part where they were surrounded by other people, by very close and loving friends, who were trying to push them together to stand on a makeshift platform made of pillows. Daniella placed a veil on (Y/N)'s head and her maidservant gave her a single stem of a deep red rose. A man, who was standing in front of them, cleared his throat and began reading something from what looked like an encyclopedia. He fished out something from his pocket, making the others laugh, and produced two rings. He gave one to each lover and went on reading his book.

V smiled to himself as he watched the couple speak their vows and how they slid the ring on the other's finger. And when the people began cheering for them, Victor cupped (Y/N)'s cheeks and gave her a very sweet and gentle kiss that lasted for at least a minute.

The atmosphere changed once more and V saw (Y/N) dragging Victor upstairs towards her bedroom. He followed closely behind them and noticed the girl taking a folded stationery from her pocket and giving it to Victor. She, then, pressed a kiss against two of her fingers and pressed them on the note on Victor's hand. She smiled, stood on her toes, and gave the man a chaste peck on the cheek. She waved good night and opened her door, went in, and gave him another smile before finally closing it.

Victor didn't wait a moment longer and unfolded the note, and what he read there made his eyes widen. He abruptly knocked on the door, and when (Y/N) opened it, he hastily engulfed her in a tight embrace.

V felt his heart swell as the lovers shared a very passionate kiss.

Hands caressing and exploring. Lips moving in a rhythmic pattern. For a moment, V saw himself as Victor.

For a brief moment, he saw himself passionately kissing and caressing (Y/N).

The girl stepped backwards, leading Victor inside but never breaking the sweet kiss. After a while, V's eyebrows shot up to his hairline as he saw Victor's, his, metal cane flying from the room to the hallway, along with his cravat and one of (Y/N)'s shoes. Victor came out a few seconds later, looking so in love and excited, to retrieve the items. Then, he entered the room and closed the door.

Then, everything went quiet. V was about to turn and leave when he saw (Y/N) dragging Victor once more to her room. They kissed. They embraced. The cane flew once more. Victor retrieved the cane. They laughed.

Then, the same thing happened for several more times. Of them kissing. Of them embracing. Of the cane flying.

And after a few moments, everything went silent.

However, V didn't see the two of them again.

All of a sudden, a hand swiftly went down to V's shoulders. He turned around to see Maria, Avery's old housekeeper, looking worriedly at him.

"Young master, you've stayed too long! We must go!" She told him, took his arm, and dragged him away from the room. "Your friend needs you! You must hurry!"

"My friend?!" V felt like he was suddenly punched in the stomach upon hearing the words from Maria and immediately went down to see for himself.

No, no, no,...

This can't be! It can't happen! It can't -

V's shoulders dropped as he saw Avery, Roman, and Griffon looking down at something on the floor with pained looks on their faces.

"She was attacked, V." Avery told him. "I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything,..."

V ran to where they were and saw, in his utter shock, Nico's unconscious form on the floor. There were slashes all over her body but, what stood out the most was the wound on her right palm, looking as though it was intentionally put there. He took a closer look at it, and finally saw what it was.

The wound,...

... was in the form of three digits.

749

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✒ @la-vita , @micaelagua , @v-vic , and @birdgirl69 .✒

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#devil may cry 5 #vitale sparda #p.s. i love you #v x reader #v x you #chapter 11 #(Y/N) and victor

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