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cock-holliday · 2 years

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Bait & Switch

Chapter 2/10

(Chapter 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

Post-Dreamland AU

Fandom: TXF

Rating: T

WC: 1969

By the time Scully made it out to Mulder’s car, she was in a fairly foul mood. She had managed to hit her head off every surface known to man, there was nothing in Mulder’s apartment that was available or safe to eat for breakfast, and it took her twenty minutes to locate his car keys. She almost resigned to calling him to ask where they were, when she recovered them from a pair of jeans that half-fell behind the couch.

She drove quickly, forcing her tense shoulders to relax.

It was a blur to headquarters. Her mind kept going back to what had caused this. It had to be a bad dream, but it felt so real. Yet…it couldn’t be real. It made no logical sense.

At work, Scully stood in the elevator, a little amused at how she towered over her colleagues.

As the agents slowly filed out at each floor in the ascent to her stop, she’d occasionally catch a whispered word or two as they departed.

“Spooky,” “Strange,” “Weird,” caught her ear.

When they reached Scully’s floor and she stepped off, a man spat “fuckin’ joke” at her back as she exited.

Scully stood there, lips taut in anger as the doors closed behind her.

She knew agents said things. They whispered about him often enough around her, but not quite this much. Was today a particularly bad day, or was this what it was like every time she wasn’t there? Her fists clenched and she stormed down the hall, making a bee line for the bullpen.

She flopped into her chair, putting her weary face in her hands before realizing she was sitting at her desk and not Mulder’s. She rose, sitting down instead at Mulder’s desk.

There would be no getting work done today, that she knew.

How could they possibly pretend things were normal right now?

She grew nervous the longer she sat there without Mulder.

Finally, when it seemed like he might not even be coming, a flash of red hair moved briskly up to their desks.

Scully frowned at Mulder’s appearance–her appearance. The hair was in a bit of disarray, curling at the bottoms and frizzing in places. He chose a good suit of hers, but the shoes were entirely too casual for work. She shook her head in a bit of a panic.

“Stairwell,” she told him as she stood, not bothering to wait for a response before heading for the door.

Mulder followed, trotting to keep up with her long strides.

As soon as they stepped onto the stairs, Scully was on him, leaning down to keep her voice quiet, “Mulder, I look disheveled!”

“I was in a bit of a hurry,” he countered.

“Mulder,” Scully sighed, rubbing a hand over her face, “I cannot come into work looking like a mess. I have to look professional.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied earnestly, ducking his head as Scully loomed down on him, “I didn’t know what all to do.”

Scully sighed again, nodding as her irritation subsided, “No, you’re right. I wasn’t even thinking about that. I should have walked you through some things.”

She looked around before reaching forward to fix Mulder’s hair a little and then taking in his appearance. There was very little makeup–which she supposed was better than him having gone overboard. The suit was a good choice, it was one she liked. The boots, however...

“Boots, Mulder? Seriously?”

Mulder shrugged, “Should I have worn pumps?”

“Mulder I have other dress shoes that don’t have heels on them.”

“Well, I couldn’t find them!”

Their voices had risen a bit and Scully snapped her eyes shut to calm down. This wasn’t helping. It’s not the biggest priority right now. It’ll be fine.

When she opened her eyes, Mulder was staring at her.

“I look like I’m dressed for a funeral,” he said.

Scully’s face scrunched and she looked at herself before snapping her eyes back to his, “I am dressed professionally. Why don’t you ever wear this tie?”

Mulder gave the beginning of a smirk, “It’s my funeral tie.”

Scully rolled her eyes, “Look, what are we doing here? We can’t just pretend things are normal and do our work.”

Mulder nodded, “I’ve been thinking, I think something happened in Nevada.”

“Nevada?”

Mulder nodded, “When we got stopped outside Area 51. Nothing seemed weird on the drive. Or going home. I felt fine at the apartment. Then when I woke up…”

“We were like this,” Scully concluded. “You think something happened when we were there? Why wouldn’t the effects be instantaneous?”

Mulder smiled a little. She imagined he was glad she wasn’t immediately brushing off his theory. This situation was preposterous, but she was forced to apply a different set of logic to these circumstances. If she remained hung up on the idea that this was impossible, they’d never be able to figure out how to reverse it.

“Maybe whatever this is started happening, and it took a while to catch up to us,” Mulder explained.

“Because we left?”

Mulder nodded.

“Mulder,” Scully began, “What is this? I mean, are we drugged? Is this a joint hallucination?” She leaned in closer, “Are we going insane?”

“Possibly,” Mulder nodded, “But not from this.”

Scully heaved a sigh and Mulder suppressed a smile.

“No,” he laughed, “I don’t think this is a hallucination or drugging. No one had their hands on us. We didn’t have any strange effects before waking up…” Mulder reasoned, “I think this is a classic body-swapping scenario.”

Scully balked at his answer, so he raised his hands defensively.

“Listen,” Mulder continued, “Transfer of consciousness has been documented. People trading places. Sometimes people with no known connection to one another. They wake up, speaking languages they don’t know. They wake up in places with no idea how they got there. There’s an X-File of a husband and wife who seemingly switched bodies in Nebraska. They both worked as scientists at a nuclear power plant--although it has been rumored that’s not all that place is.”

Scully held up a hand, “How did the couple fix it?”

Mulder grew quiet, “Well…they didn’t…”

Scully’s breath caught in her chest.

“As far as I know they’re still like that,” Mulder explained, “But,” he went on, “Another case in Peru seemed to occur after an eclipse. They stayed bodyswapped until the next one.”

“So what, we have to wait for an eclipse?”

“No, I think we need to recreate the circumstances that switched us,” Mulder concluded.

Scully paused, “Go back to Navada?”

Mulder nodded softly, “I think it’s our best shot. Either way, I’m almost dead certain that’s what started this. If proximity doesn’t reverse it, I still think the answers are out there.”

Suddenly the door to the stairwell burst open and Kersh’s assistant looked at them and sighed, “There you are. Donahue said he thought you went this way.”

“What can we help you with?” Scully asked, keeping her voice level.

She wasn’t a fan of the woman, and it was clear from their limited interactions that the woman was not a fan of Scully. To Scully’s surprise, the assistant put on a pleasant smile as she addressed her.

“Kersh wanted to see you in his office,” she explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“We’ll be in,” Mulder told her.

The assistant turned up her nose at Mulder’s response then gave another small smile to Scully before turning around and shutting the door behind her.

Scully blinked in surprise, but Mulder snorted a laugh, climbing back up the steps to the landing.

In Kersh’s office, Scully’s brow furrowed as she listened to the explanation from the assistant director, “I’m sorry, sir, but what does this have to do with background checks?”

“Nothing,” Kersh said sharply, “They thought they could use your profiling skills, and I’m happy to loan you out to them.”

“Right…” Scully breathed out.

My profiling skills.

Mulder slouched in his chair, pulling a curious look from Kersh. “He’s a religious extremist,” Mulder huffed, “What’s there to profile that the good ol’ boys in blue can’t figure out?”

Scully shifted in her chair as Kersh’s eyes narrowed at Mulder. At who he thinks is Scully.

“Sir,” Scully cut in, leaning towards Kersh’s desk, “I think what M…what Scully is trying to say is that it sounds like the threat assessment has already been conducted. It doesn’t appear as though there is much more to speculate on. Is he going to be questioned?”

“Yes,” Kersh nodded, “By you two.”

Scully sat back.

“Head down there to the compound and give an assessment,” Kersh went on, “He’s made implicit threats on federal buildings and we need to know if he’s for real.”

Much as Mulder’s tone coming from ‘Scully’ seemed out of line, he wasn’t wrong. This was something that any branch of law enforcement could handle. If he was a threat, they could get a warrant and arrest him. Something was missing from the equation.

“Sir,” Scully pressed, “Is he connected to someone?”

“I don’t like your tone, Agent Mulder,” Kersh replied, drawing a surprised look from Scully, “I know you had this lackadaisical rapport with ADA Skinner–one where you think you can refuse assignments and challenge orders, but that’s not the case here.”

“Sir, that’s not what I–” Scully tried, her voice small.

“Assistant Director, sir,” Mulder began, crossing his legs demurely and folding his hands politely in his lap.

Kersh looked at Mulder and his expression seemed to relax.

“Agent Mulder, I believe, was curious why we don’t simply arrest the suspect?” Mulder explained, “If he’s a severe enough threat, we could bring him in. Are we meaning to avoid some sort of other threat or avoid a spectacle?”

Kersh sighed, “Both. Pastor Graham is the brother of District Judge Graham. We’re hoping to keep this under wraps.”

“Of course,” Mulder replied sweetly, but Scully could feel the tension radiating off of him.

Playing nice had to be turning his stomach, especially in matters of nepotism hiding threats. It was turning hers.

“We’ll be discreet,” Mulder concluded, rising, “Will that be all, sir?”

“Yes, that’s all, agents.”

Scully stood as well, following Mulder to the door.

“And Agent Mulder,” Kersh called.

Scully forgot for a moment she was the one being addressed until Mulder poked her gently in the arm. She turned around.

“This won’t be a problem for you, will it?”

Scully could practically hear all the muscles in Mulder clench in irritation.

“No,” Scully replied with a nod, “Not a problem.”

“Good.”

In the hallway, Mulder let out a frustrated breath. Scully reached forward, grabbing Mulder’s wrist and surprising herself–and Mulder–when he lurched backwards under her strength.

“Sorry,” Scully said quickly, only drawing an amused smile from Mulder, “Mulder…are you okay?”

Mulder snorted and shook his head, “It’s fine,” he told her, “A new hair part and sleek tie isn’t going to fix my reputation, Scully, though I appreciate that you tried.”

Scully looked down at her feet, frustrated that Kersh had been so hostile. She thought back to the agents in the elevator. Sometimes Scully was certain Mulder was only digging himself deeper into the hole in which he resided. Now she wasn’t so sure he wasn’t only embracing his unavoidable fate and deciding to be a participant rather than merely a witness. Maybe a mix of both was the truth.

“What do we do now?”

“We go interview a suspect,” Mulder told her, “Nevada is gonna have to wait a bit.”

Scully’s chest clenched with anxiety. What if this was time sensitive and they missed their chance chasing down bullshit assignments?

“Virginia police need your, uh, profiling skills,” Mulder said with a playful smirk, nudging her arm before turning back and heading down the hall, Scully in tow.

#txf #msr #txf fanfic #xf fanfic #fictober22 #day 8 #b&s #b&s chapter 2

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muslimlawyersg · 1 year

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How to Identify the Qualities of a Good Muslim Lawyer in Singapore?

There is no doubt, finding a good lawyer is a daunting task. But no matter what, finding someone who is good with qualities should be your first priority. This is because the solution to your case will be in the lawyers' hands. While many lawyers appear to be good, the truth remains different from the inside. So wondering how to search for the best lawyers? So what makes a lawyer best in his profession? To help you, here are some best ways to identify the qualities of a good Muslim Lawyer in Singapore. ● Communication Skills The most important factor to consider when choosing a lawyer is communication skills. This means you need to choose someone who is good with words. If the lawyer will be able to speak openly and communicate with you, then it will be easy for him/her to handle the case. Any person interested in a matter, including clients, law partners, and others, should receive a response from a lawyer. Because the information the client wishes to share is essential to the success of the case. Besides, delaying a conversation or not being available as frequently as possible can lead to a failed case. ● Experience Another important factor to consider when looking for a Syariah lawyer is experience. This can be understood by the number of cases he has dealt with earlier. Also, make sure he is not biased. The legal profession is not the place for people who fake it until they make it. The best attorneys are passionate about the law, from studying it to practising it. A good Muslim lawyer in Singapore will fully comprehend the subject before drawing logical conclusions. Therefore, by putting your decision-making abilities to the test, you can assess a good attorney. They must be good at perceiving, comprehending, and understanding other people's emotions. ● Fully Organized The judicial system is made up of numerous parts. Making sure you are following all the laws and procedures of the legal process requires organization. Working with many types of evidence and private data is part of becoming a lawyer. Therefore, the organization is another good quality to look for in a Syariah lawyer. You may make sure that only the appropriate persons have access to these resources by using your organizational abilities. Being organized can also help you make sure that all of your legal documents are kept in order. When you need to use them as references for a case, this is crucial. ● Licensed A thorough comprehension of the law is necessary to practice law. The majority of law degrees need three years of rigorous study and mastery of legal concepts. This means when looking for a lawyer you should also go through their background, qualification and certification. A lawyer with a certificate and license proves that he has extreme knowledge and can help you win the case. However, to check this you can meet in person or also go through their online website if any. Going through their reviews and ratings might also help.

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imaginary-portal · 3 years

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Neighbors - Part One

Bucky x Fem Reader

Word Count: ~2k

Summary: Y/N works in the Avengers compound with her boyfriend Jonathan. Bucky Barnes lives in the room next door and finds himself falling for Y/N.

Part Two

Masterlist

Enjoy!

_________

"Y/N? Are you with us?" Y/N snapped her head up. She didn't realize she was staring off into space. The recent sleep deprivation has been costly. So costly that occasionally she sleeps with her eyes open. This meeting was important to plan the attack for the next mission. "Yeah. Sorry." She looked around the room, embarrassed. Bucky Barnes shifted in his seat. Y/N sparked his curiosity. He'd noticed her when he first entered the room, but he wasn't sure why she was there. Half of the room was filled with Avengers, the other half was experts and strategists. "Any suggestions?" Tony asked her, testing her attention span. "I'll have to think on it." Y/N said casually. "How about we take a lunch break. Clear our minds. Meet back here in 30 minutes?" Steve suggested. "Sorry, no one told me you're in charge of meetings now." Tony remarked. "Come on Tony. Look around. Everyone's tired. We'll figure it out after." Steve did have a point. Y/N wasn't the only one who looked drained.

During her lunch break, Y/N went back to her room, where she took a quick power nap. Bucky followed behind her, realizing his room was right next to hers. He wanted to know who she was, so he waited in his room until the lunch break was almost over. He left his room the same time as her. "Hey neighbor." Y/N said, looking refreshed. "Hi. I'm Bucky." Y/N shook his non-metal hand. "I know. I'm Y/N, I work in strategy." Bucky nodded, walking along Y/N's side in the hall. "Ah, that's why you were so tired. They overwork you." Y/N nodded. "Precisely. But I've never enjoyed a job as much as this one. I mean come on, I get free meals and lodging. Who'd pass that up?" The two of them laughed as they reentered the meeting room. "Y/N, welcome back. I'm ready to hear your ideas." Tony pressured her immediately.

_________

When the meeting finally ended, everyone left to grab dinner. Y/N sat with one of her colleagues, where they continued the discussion of the meeting. Her wandering glance noticed several times that Bucky was looking at her. He was sitting with the rest of the Avengers, who were talking about getting suit upgrades. Even though he couldn't hear her, he liked the way she talked with people. She seemed very enthusiastic and educated. "Oh, you like smart girl over there?" Natasha said quietly as motioned her head towards Y/N. Bucky shook his head, not realizing how long he'd been watching her. "No, I just didn't know who she was." Natasha smiled. "It's fine Bucky. You see him over there?" She pointed to a security guard in the corner of the room. He looked off into the distance to see the attractive man. Bucky looked back at Natasha, who wiggled her eyebrows. "We all have a normal person that we're interested in." Bucky looked back at Y/N and watched as a man approached her, interrupting her conversation. Y/N looked up at the man with a smile. The man bent down to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Natasha hissed. "Oh, she's taken. Sorry bud." Bucky looked down at his food, no longer interested in anything beyond his plate.

_________

The next day, the team had a successful mission. It did include some hasty improvising that Tony planned to discuss with Y/N about. He was still wearing his iron suit and had scratches on his face but he wanted to be sure Y/N wrote down his critiques. Y/N walked outside, seeing the Avengers standing in a circle, Steve and Natasha sitting on the ground. A medic cleaned up their wounds as Y/N spoke with Tony. Bucky watched the conversation keenly. Y/N took notes and was very receptive to the critiques. For a moment she seemed to be more patient with Tony than Steve was. That was, until she disagreed with Tony on something. Tony claimed that a mistake was due to her strategy but she believed it had to do with his suit. "Let's test it right now. Stand up there, fly down and blast that trash can." Y/N was confident. Tony did as she said, proving her to be right. "I'll let you get away with that for now." Was all Tony said before walking inside. Y/N scribbled something down in her notebook, smiling to herself. When she looked up, she caught eyes with Bucky, maintaining her smile before walking inside.

_________

The team split up for the next mission. Each strategist was assigned an Avenger to tackle individual weaknesses. Since Y/N showed up pretty well to Tony, she got promoted to Chief Strategist. Therefore, she was given the hardest team member to work with: Bucky. Bucky was only hard to work with because he doesn't engage with people often. He likes to have a plan and the less that plan involves other people the better. What Y/N would find, however, is that Bucky is easy to work with, so she didn't exactly understand what people meant by that.

Y/N entered the meeting room with a computer and notepad. Bucky sat at the table, relieved to see Y/N as his strategist. Y/N sat across from him and logged onto her laptop. "So, what do you feel is your biggest weakness on missions?" She stood up to plug her laptop into the projector. Bucky watched her as he tried to think of his answer. "I guess it would be that I can't fly so I'm always stuck on the ground. I rarely have a height leverage." Y/N nodded, sitting back down. "What if I told you that doesn't really put you at a disadvantage?" Bucky furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "I mean, if flying was the main priority for a mission, only half of the team would be going. After looking at some of Tony's footage, it looks to me that your main weakness is your range." Y/N played a clip on the projector that showed Bucky falling because he couldn't reach behind him. "That metal arm isn't so flexible, yeah?" Bucky sat, astonished. "Yeah, you know what, you're right. I never realized that before." Y/N nodded, typing something on her computer. "So I scheduled you some training sessions this week. They're gonna teach you some new combat moves and flexibility, so it shouldn't be as much of a problem anymore." Bucky nodded, content with the plan.

"Wow. That was easy." Y/N said. "They told me you were the hardest to work with but if I was with Tony I'd be in a meeting for hours." They both laughed as Y/N shut her laptop. "So how's the compound life treating you?" Y/N switched topics. Bucky shrugged. "I mean I can't complain. I've spent a lot of time living in torture chambers." Y/N nodded, understanding the seriousness of the conversation. "I read that in your file. Are you getting any help for dealing with that stuff? You know, mental health is just as important as your physical health." Bucky shrugged again, not really answering her question. "Well there's a lot of resources here so use whatever you need. Not to sound corny, but I'm also available if you ever need someone to talk to. You know where my room is. My door is always open, unless my boyfriend is sleeping, in which case I advise you not to come to our door." Y/N laughed, realizing the ramble she went on. “Wanna grab lunch? I’m starving.” Bucky took up her offer, walking by her side in the halls. Along the way, he got a whiff of her perfume, which was a pleasant and enticing scent.

“Are you single? I can hook you up with my friend Clara. She’s the sweetest person you’ll ever meet.” Bucky shrugged, taking a bite of his sandwich. “Thank you but I’m not interested in a relationship right now.” Bucky lied. To tell the truth he was lonely. To tell another truth he was interested in Y/N. “Understandable.” Y/N said as Bucky swallowed his food. “So what’s your boyfriend like?” Y/N bit her lip as she thought of the perfect way to describe him. “Jonathan works over in aircraft. He’s very logical, focused. He has big plans here.” Bucky raised his eyebrows. “What about you? Do you have plans here?” Y/N nodded, poking around at her side salad. “I do, but they’re not as ambitious as his, you know? I’m already Chief of Strategy so I’m not sure how much further I can go.” Bucky shook his head. “Don’t limit yourself. I can tell you got potential.” Y/N smiled at his compliment. “Thanks Bucky, you’re a nice guy. What about you? Do plan to stay here, work government contracts?” Bucky nodded. “For now. But I guess wherever Steve goes I’ll go.” Y/N awed. “That’s sweet. I love a good friendship.” They both sat in an awkward silence as they thought of something to say. “What do you do for fun?” Bucky scrunched his eyebrows. “I don’t do anything.” Y/N rolled her eyes. “Come on. You gotta do something. You like music? Movies?” Bucky shrugged. “40s music is nice.” Y/N's eyes beamed. "Oh you must know Frank Sinatra, yeah?" Bucky nodded. "Yeah he's all right." Y/N took a large bite of food. "Classic." she said with a mouthful.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't two troublemakers." A man approached the table from behind Y/N. "Jonathan!" Y/N said, excited. She pulled out the chair next to her and the man took a seat, plopping his food on the table. "As you may know, this is Bucky." Y/N tried introducing the two, and Bucky corrected her by saying "James" as he shook Jonathan's hand. Y/N's eyebrow wrinkled. "You do nice work out there, kicking ass." Jonathan complimented as he began eating. Bucky nodded and looked down at his food, no longer interested in conversation. "How's aircraft today?" Y/N asked Jonathan. "Stupid, as usual." Y/N playfully rolled her eyes, but Bucky took him seriously. "What's stupid about it?" Jonathan swallowed and wiped a crumb out of the corner of his mouth with a napkin. "Everyone is so caught up in team work when sometimes things could be faster if we just worked alone." Y/N chuckled to herself. "Easy for you to say when you know everything that goes on there. Not everyone is as advanced as you." Bucky held back an eye roll, growing a distaste for the way Y/N was feeding the man's ego. Jonathan caught onto this, sensing a feeling of disapproval from Bucky. "You'll see. Things will be better once I'm promoted to supervisor." No one replied, instead eating more food.

"So how did you two meet? Is Bucky not logical enough or something?" Jonathan tried cracking a joke. "No, we just split up into groups so everyone needed help." Y/N rebutted. Jonathan shook his head. "They just say that to make the weaker ones feel better. The airborne Avengers: Iron Man, Vision, Falcon, their combat is much more calculated, less error." Y/N smacked Jonathan's shoulder. Bucky expressed an eye roll this time. He didn't know why he was still sitting with this obnoxious couple. "Be nice. And that's not true. Remember when I told you I proved Tony wrong about his suit versus my strategy?" Jonathan shook his head, a confused look on his face. "Well anyways, that's how I got promoted. I'm at a higher rank than you now." She stuck her tongue out a Jonathan, who gave her a kiss on the lips, smirking at Bucky as he pulled away. Y/N regained composure, wiping a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry Bucky. I promise he's nice when he opens up to you." She looked at her watch. "Shit. I have a meeting in five minutes. I'll see you guys later." Y/N quickly grabbed her bag, gave Jonathan a kiss on the cheek, and promptly left. The two men sat in an awkward silence. Jonathan swallowed the last bite of his food, glaring at Bucky.

"You don't go taking my girl, got it?" Asshole. Bucky nodded affirmatively, picking up his trash and leaving the table. ——————

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagine #marvel #marvel imagine #mcu #mcu imagine #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan #imagine #fanfic #crush imagine

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hopeymchope · 3 years

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Wonder Egg Priority finale thoughts

My Tumblr has a lot of anti-bully content, so it was probably no surprise when I began to watch and enjoy Wonder Egg Project this past spring. The series famously hit production delays that forced them to put out a mid-series recap episode, and that decision in turn forced them to push the final episode until late June. But now that the series (or at least season 1) is out there and complete, I thought I’d talk about how it all shook out in the end as well as the questions it left me sitting with.

For the uninitiated, here’s a bit of the context: Wonder Egg Project deals with four middle-school teen girls who’ve undergone hardships either at home or at school or both. They all lose someone they care about to tragic suicides, and then they discover the titular wonder eggs. They get these eggs from a vending machine and then, when they fall asleep, they enter a dreamworld where these eggs hatch to reveal a young person who recently committed suicide. For that night, it is the duty of the girl who got that egg to fight and defend that suicide victim from monstrous enemies that represent their abusers and oppressors. The girls are told that if they protect enough of these victims over many nights, they will be able to resurrect the specific person they lost to suicide. But of course, if you get injured or killed in the dreamworld, it affects your body in reality as well.

The squad: Ai, Neiru, Rika, and Momoe.

Obviously, bullying is among the topics most frequently explored here, but we also deal with so many other terrible things that people might experience during childhood and adolescence. Physical, verbal, and sexual abuse are all on the table. Coming to terms with one’s gender identity is raised. It’s a show that manages to tackle a lot of heavy subjects through the lens of what’s essentially magical girl combat. I mean, there are no outfit transformations or any of that stuff, but still.

With THAT out of the way, let me talk about how the series wrapped up.

It’s clear to the viewers that there’s a lot that doesn’t make sense during the show — it’s intentionally very trippy and ethereal at times — and there’s also a lot that raises obvious questions even if you grasp it. Where do the eggs and their connection to the recently deceased come from? How do the psychological traumas of the various egg-children manifest as monsters that can literally kill you? What’s the deal with Acca and Ura-Acca and their freaky dummy bodies? What are they getting out of this whole deal with the eggs and the girls? What do the repeated references to the “temptation of death” mean? How does access to the Egg Garden even work? Is it really possible to resurrect their dead friends? Is Mr. Sawaki a predator or a chill guy or what? Why did Neiru’s sister stab her? And so on.

The writers could’ve opted to keep things mysterious and hazy and metaphysical for the entire run or they could’ve provided lots of explanations and tried to ground this weird story in some sort of strange logic, but I’m actually pleased that they opted to go down the middle. There are answers for many things, but not for all. And when those answers come, they typically just raise more questions as well as doubts to their validity.

SPOILERS for the finale/”special episode” below the cut.

So, obviously the answers for Acca and Ura-Acca are centered around Frill. Frill is this interesting fusion between the artificial and the organic; her body can be injured like any regular physical body, but she’s actually an A.I. on the inside. Acca and Ura-Acca are the exact reverse of this — they’re human minds inside of completely artificial bodies. Exactly how Frill started invading girls’ minds to lure them towards suicide is kept incredibly vague, but she serves as the embodiment of the “temptation of death” that was so-often referenced in the show. Frill doesn’t really appreciate life or care about the finality of death, making her a pretty natural foe for the heroes who have spent the entire series learning to appreciate their lives and bemoaning painful losses.

Can you even believe this bitch?

Acca and Ura-Acca also have documents talking about how warriors of Eros need to battle against Thanatos, the embodiment of death, but what’s that all about? We don’t really get into it. Is Frill somehow Thanatos herself? I mean... I guess maybe you could go that route, but I sincerely don’t think that’s meant to be the case. I assume she’s just another player in the game, and she happens to have taken Thanatos’ side in things. Her artificial existence and resentment of her fathers leads her to treat death flippantly. She was programmed to be selfish sometimes, and that selfishness has ultimately manifested itself in the worst possible ways. Intriguingly, we see Acca and Ura-Acca act similarly selfish in how they drive our four heroes to risk their lives just to battle Frill. Acca in particular shows that he’ll risk anyone’s life to get to Frill, who killed both his wife and daughter. But Acca never has to risk his own life. He’s just risking other people. Both sides of the equation are treating human lives like disposable pawns in some kind of war game.

Y’all are SUPER-SKETCH.

It’s never really clear how these eggs work. We’re told that the Accas created the eggs, and honestly, I could’ve figured as much on my own. But they don’t try to explain how the eggs can contain the souls of suicide victims or how they manifest those people into dreams, and frankly, it’s probably better not to try.

I was really shocked that the girls actually manage to resurrect their dead friends. I was 100% certain that was going to be a scam and the point was going to be about learning to move on and live for the moment and appreciate those bonds while you had them, etc. And there is some of that. Alas, the price of resurrecting those people they care about is that the people in question no longer know them or remember them. That was pretty brutal... having our heroes nearly die over and over in service of people who ultimately will no longer care about them at all. Although they did the impossible and brought someone back to life, they had to lose those people all over again. I suppose this, like much fo the finale, emphasizes that we should appreciate our relationships while they last, because you can lose them for so many reasons. Regardless, I’m not surprised that Momoe just wanted to quit and avoid getting hurt after that. It’s understandable.

There’s a lot of discussion around parallels in the last two episodes. Parallel worlds with alternate versions of the self are raised multiple times, Ai gets an awesome encounter with a parallel version of herself that really brought her emotional journey to a head, and we even have to deal with a doppleganger of Neiru at the end. This leads to the revelation that Neiru looks exactly like her formerly deceased sister... a fact that presumably was part of what drove the sister to attack Neiru in the first place. Given that we’ve already been told that they were both genetically engineered, their identical appearances don’ seem that strange. But then the finale tells us that Neiru’s one dream is “to be human,” and suddenly the characters assume Neiru was an A.I. just like Frill. That... seems like a leap to me. I mean, she was genetically engineered to lead her company and never had a family of her own; no wonder she feels inhuman! So I’m not sure if I should take this at face value.

Neiru real or fake challenge

Another thing that I don’t think we can take at face value is Mr. Sawaki’s explanation of Koito’s death. In episode 12, we meet a parallel version of Ai who actually killed herself. The big boss monster for Ai to fight while protecting Alt-Ai? It’s a dark, abusive version of Sawaki. And our Ai inexplicably assumes this monster was made from her own fears. A very bizarre conclusion to jump to when you remember that every single boss monster has been the abuser of the victim that the girls were defending in that episode. By all available evidence, the Sawaki monster should be a parallel-world Sawaki who is very much exactly the scumbag he appears to be! Notice how Alt-Ai never says a damn word about the Sawaki Monster - never asks who he is or why he’s like this, etc? She’s not even surprised. That just lends further credence to my belief. FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE.

So in the finale, when our version of Mr. Sawaki claims (via a VERY awkwardly inserted voiceover) that Koito’s death was an accident after she tried to ruin his reputation because she fell in love with him, why should I believe any of it?! The previous episode introduced me to Abusive Sawaki! Sure, we don’t have any reason to assume our Sawaki is That Dick, but we JUST learned that he’s certainly capable. Furthermore, how could Koito suddenly be the ONLY accidental death among all of the available suicide victims in the dreamworld? She shouldn’t have even appeared there if it was just an accident! Although I’d like to believe that Sawaki was someone who Ai and the girls were jumping to conclusions about based on nothing... but it sure doesn’t look that way from here. And given how the show ends things, I fear we may have a hard time learning anything else about Sawaki. Ai changes schools and runs away, there is zero comment on what happened to Sawaki’s relationship with her mom... he’s just gone now.

As the final episode winds down, we see Rika and Ai fall back into bad habits, as they all treat Neiru just like they treated the girls they tried so hard to save. Rika acts disgusted by a friend and abandons her, treating Neiru the same way she treated Cheimi. When Neiru finally reaches out to Ai and calls her, Ai ignores the call and throws her phone away, thereby ignoring her friend’s needs in the same way she ignored Koito’s when she failed to record the bullying Koito was experiencing. You might even be able to connect Momoe’s choice to walk away for the sake of self-preservation to her decision to reject Haruka and walk away, honestly. And to compound the bad news that the show gives us near the end, we skip forward months to learn that Ai, Rika and Momoe have all drifted apart. Ai is in a new school, but we don’t see her with any new friends. She’s back where she started the show.

The difference, however, is that she doesn’t seem hopeless and lonely. She seems wistful, sure, but she never seems beaten down. She still treasures the friendships she built even if they wind up fading away. So there’s still a message in here about moving on, because even if you lose a person or a connection, it will forever matter.

*insert engine rev-up noises*

In the final moments, we see Ai preparing to run in the exact same pose she used back in episode 1 when she first stood up to the abusers within the dreamworld. This time, she runs to grab her chance to reunite with a dear friend. She takes charge of her own future and her own self-worth, somehow gets back into the Egg Garden (even though Rika wasn’t even allowed to enter after she rescued her specified victim, so uh... how did Ai get back in exactly... ?), and insists she’s going to use the eggs to see Neiru... even though the eggs only let you see the dead up to this point, so uh, that doesn’t really make any sense either. Consistency, motherfucker — DO YOU USE IT?

Amidst all the uncertainty that the finale left us with, at least we can see Ai find herself in a more confident place. She spends much of the series learning to stop running from her problems in the real world. Even after she gains confidence in the battles of her dreams, she struggles to face reality. It’s a huge step when she returns to school. Yet even in the very last episode, she opts to run away to a new school rather than cope with seeing Koito each day. But at last, she decides to take charge of her reality and try to reunite with her new best friend, Neiru. She’s wavered on her path, but ultimately, she’s grown. Although you could simultaneously argue that she’s failing to learn the lesson that rescuing Koito should’ve taught her...

“Ai Ohto is BACK!”

I don’t think any of us expected this finale to be a cliffhanger coming into it. And unfortunately, we don’t know if there will ever be another season or a movie or anything. Given how people reacted to this finale with such overt hate, I really don’t expect anything more. And I think that would be a goddamn shame. Even with a finale that doesn’t quite stick the landing, I still found it fascinating and engaging. The series is more than worth the trip for the characters, for the themes and topics it explores, and even for the fluid action scenes and music. And this is a series that was made by first-time writers and a first-time director! Yet I’d easily call it one of the best animes from the past couple of years. For total newcomers, that’s a goddamn TRIUMPH.

So I hope we reunite with these girls again. I hope Ai manages to get the band back together, find out exactly what’s going on with Neiru, and face down Frill. Even if they never wind up in some ultimate battle with Thanatos, I don’t know that that’s the point. All of us are in a battle with Thanatos every single day, after all. They just need to show how they’ve all gotten stronger together and truly overcome the “Temptation of Death” by beating back Frill (and her ridiculously powerful dreamworld bug-people) as a unit.

But maybe that’s too obvious and simplistic of a message for a show like this one. Maybe this complex ending centered on the main protagonist’s self-actualization and the value of fleeing relationships is more in keeping with the melancholy nature of the series.

... I still really want to see the more obvious happy ending, though. I think they deserve it.

#wonder egg priority #ai ohto #wep #anime #anime reviews #wonder egg special episode #wonder egg priority special episode #wonder egg priority finale #wonder egg finale #wonder egg

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mettywiththenotes · 3 years

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Thoughts on Bones and the bad decision making

The thing is about how MVA is being handled is that, generally, other animes that cut stuff out or have not as good animation as other seasons (which idk its literally only been one episode so we’ll see what else comes out of it, but I’m just stating the animation thing as one of the problems too) seems to be due to the time limit of an episode + how many episodes you have to fit in the season and evenly space it out + animation budget

Thats what I reason anyway. When I watch an anime and then read the manga, I notice stuff that didn’t get put into the anime, but I usually reason that “oh maybe it was the time limit of an episode and how many episodes they have left to put it in. If they couldn’t add that in but put this in instead, it’s probably due to what they think is more necessary to fit into the season before it ends. I can kinda understand that, and if its the case, I’m not really gonna hold it against them”

Same with animation, because adaptations usually try and space out the animation quality between Oh My God This Looks Ugly during a minor scene to Oh My God This Looks Incredible during an important scene. Again, I can understand that with budgets and the limit of available staff to animate. If you’re gonna hold back on some pieces of animation, I can definitely see the reason for sparing the Good Animation for the really important and impactful parts

But that doesn’t seem to be the case here

Bones cut out stuff that was actually quite important to understand the character. The League finding that racist cult and killing them was part of showing that they are decent enough to not be totally evil, and plus it tied in with Spinner’s arc of discrimination and that “empty feeling inside” which was actually caused by the people who lived in his town. Getting rid of his narrating too totally gets rid of that introduction to his arc, because when you first read that part in the manga, you think “why spinner? why spinner of all people? what distinguishes him from the rest?” and that question you ask yourself gets answered by his following development with Shiggy

Sure, Bones added in his narration in the forest, but the point of the initial narration is to make it feel personal. Spinner narrating in the forest is more like observational narration, rather than something personal. With 220, it felt like “Oh are we getting to Spinner’s arc? Are we getting his development or smthg? That sounds interesting, since he’s a background character. I wonder what will happen” but with the narration in the forest, it kind of gives off the feeling of “Why is Spinner narrating? Why did it switch to him? He’s just watching them, but is this important? I don’t understand”

There’s a difference between personal narration and observational narration. For example, lets compare a vlog and a documentary. A vlog is something personal, and when you watch it, you’re getting a glimpse into the persons life. That’s what I’d say Manga Spinner’s narration is equivalent to, because it literally starts off like “Whats up guys, I’m Spinner from the League Of Villains! We’re not in the best of conditions, as you can see, and we’re trying to work our way back to the top! Stay tuned!”

Anime Spinner’s narration is probably equal to a documentary, stating what has happened and whats going on now. And describing what Tomura’s face looks like. In fact, the description of the face is probably the only personal thing the anime put in from Spinners POV so far. I guess they were trying to keep that bit in to add that “personal” feeling we didn’t get from the initial narration, and since its such a small moment, it would quite easily fit into a few seconds of the episode without running over the episode limit but. there’s a big difference between “Whats up guys, I’m Spinner from the League Of Villains and we’re homeless, but we’re trying to get better!” and “His face looked like an eager child”

With the League in the shed scene, there was an awful lot there to be concerned about being cut. First we have Toga and Twice’s interactions, wholesome and sweet, which was supposed to cement their friendship which would make it all the more heartbreaking when Twice breaks down over Toga being in danger. For anime onlys, they could go off the past scenes from past seasons but idk that bit with them in the shed was supposed to be a recent reminder, to refresh your memory and such

Then we have Compress and Shiggy, because that mention of the sushi was supposed to be something Shiggy would remember and look back on, showing how connected he is with the League. With Spinner and Shiggy, that was meant to show the unrest and tension in Spinner and his ideals, and when he grabs Shiggy to yell at him, thats supposed to show you how much this matters to Spinner and how that moment tells the reader “Oh this arc is about Spinner and Shiggy”. The arc is about the League as a whole, but it’s meant to tell you as the reader that “This main villain and one of his background lackeys are going to have conflict”, and thats interesting!

Dabi’s entrance and what he said about recruitment was meant to be a build up to his conflict with Hawks. It was also meant to show how Dabi, despite seeming pretty aloof, still chooses to come back to the League and be a part of things. That despite Dabi trying to separate himself from them, he still finds a place to belong. Him bantering with the other members also showed how familiar he is with them, again, to show that this is a place he belongs

The Big Thing with Horikoshi is build up. The man slow burns to hell and back, and while it’s frustrating, it’s good. The Dabi Reveal’s burst of excitement in the fandom was because of that build up. It shows that Hori is willing to show little bits of development to really make the pay-off of waiting and reading worth it when something impactful happens.

Now, I can see why that would be a bit of an issue for the anime, because again, time limit of an episode and how many episodes/seasons you have to fit the storyline in and evenly space it out. Fitting it all in while still creating that feeling of tension must be hard, and I can see why it would be too.

But this isn’t about fitting in. This isn’t down to time limit or episode space. The simple fact is that Bones already screwed too much with it before MVA even started. They messed around with storyline, with the cuts, with dragging out scenes that really don’t even mean much - except for that scene with Enji thinking about his family, cuz that had meaning, but it was just way too dragged out. With dragging out scenes, both with and without meaning, I can see that as the studio trying to make fit the length of the episode but it just doesn’t work

And then there’s the Beach Episode for the girls, which wasn’t necessary at all. And I could also see that as them dragging out the season in order to potentially make S6 the League’s arc. But that didn’t happen

Instead, they rushed it, tried to fit it all in, while trying to keep in that Popular Characters Are Here So Please Watch element. Which AGAIN doesn’t work as good story telling because if you’re going to stretch it out for the Popular Characters, you need to evenly space out what scenes are used where and still be able to tell a coherent story. Which isn’t the case here because they prioritized Popular Characters Are Here So Please Watch instead of the actual plot

So I don’t think it’s about time limit of an episode + how many episodes you have to fit in the season and evenly space it out, not in this case. It genuinely is just bad decision making

Animation is kind of an exception because of that whole priority of saving the budget for Oh My God This Is Incredible scenes as opposed to minor scenes. We’ve only watched the first episodes so far and there is that whole concern with the characters height and Spinner’s face, but we’ve yet to see the rest of the arc, so I’m personally gonna hold out until its over to really judge the animation. With the heights and Spinner’s face though, I can see that it probably (probably) wasn’t the case of “We hate these characters fuck you”, it’s likely more about “We have to get this out and done on time so idk just quickly draw and get it over and done with”, you know?

Anyway lol I don’t think I’m saying anything that hasn’t already been said by the fandom, but I still felt compelled to talk about it. It’s such a shame, because anime onlys don’t get the full experience of what happens.

MORE THAN THAT, it’s all very well and good saying “Anime onlys please read the manga”, but for a lot of anime watchers, the only way they CAN follow the story is through watching it. I think I remember reading about how its hard for people with ADHD to focus enough to read the manga (I know thats the case for one of my irl adhd friends at least) and then there’s also the fact that they may lead busy lives. But it’s because of this rearranging of the arcs that I know it has to be frustrating for anime onlys too because they don’t get the full experience and they hear from manga readers that they aren’t getting the full story either! I’ve read some posts about how manga fans were excited to connect with their anime-only friends without spoiling anything, and the anime onlys just ending up confused and unimpressed. I feel for them and I know it has to be frustrating from both ends

Thats kind of why “being creative and messing with the storyline” doesn’t work in anime adaptations. Adding stuff in and having anime only episodes is nice for creativity and stuff but you have to be able to still have time for the rest of the story in order for it to work, otherwise you just end up confusing everybody, and again, those who can’t follow the story through manga miss out on the fun

I’m not an animator, nor am I entirely sure how production and such works, this is only based on the aspects that seem more logical with animes and why they do the things they do. So if anybody who actually is an animator or knows more about this than I do wants to come forward and tell me whether this is right or not, I’d be happy to be corrected with constructive criticism

Same with the ADHD stuff. I don’t know everything about it and there’s likely exceptions to the focus thing, but please don’t hesitate to also correct me on that

If you’ve made it this far, then thank you for reading my thoughts on Bones and how they’ve dealt with everything. Once again I’m sure I’m not saying anything that hasn’t already been said but still. I’m just putting my thoughts down

#bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #bnha season 5 #my villain academia #league of villains #studio bones

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uwuwriting · 4 years

Text

Hawks w/ fem!reader who’s struggling to conceive

Request: If you're still accepting bnha requests, I was hoping you can write one for Hawks and his s/o (defs can be gender neutral, trans, etc.). I've become attached to the kiddos you have written for them and I'm wondering, what if they had trouble conceiving? From IVF to surrogacy, not everyone has an easy time making kids. Whatever route they take is up to you (whatever fits best), but I think it would be a sweet moment where they dont think they can ever have kids then BAM! Suddenly, twins. - @sykandron

I’ve been reading some hc from other fandoms *cough* Haikyuu *cough* and I felt that it was about time to tackle this ask. Since I’m a 17 year old toddler you would assume that I know nothing about this. But I study biology and that doesn’t make this any easier bc I don’t know a single thing about this topic. So I did my research and I tried my best. Hope you like it. Love yaa. 💖💖💖

warnings: triggering content, trouble conceiving, some depressive thoughts.

-Keigo and you have been together since high school and he married you last year.

-Even though he’s a pro hero which is a very stressful and time consuming job, it doesn’t take him much time before he wants to start a family.

-You are in love that’s for sure so a person made form your love is not hard to imagine but you are beyond concerned.

-Keigo doesn’t have much time for himself and as much as you don’t mind not seeing him for long amounts of time but a child needs to see their father.

-And you don’t believe that you can raise a child on your own.

-Your relationship has been built on trust and communication, so you sit down and talk everything through him.

-If he’s being honest he has been concerned about the time he will get to spend with his child as well because he’s number 2....and that’s a handful.

-So you made an agreement.

-You would make a schedule that Keigo would have to follow unless something urgent came up and he would try to minimize his time spent at work.

-You would give this schedule a try for a month and if he could keep it up you would begin to try for a baby.

-Surprisingly he made it work and had to leave for an emergency only four times.

-So you got to baby making and you went at it for months.

-When you got no results even after trying the “best” positions and eating specific foods that would make you more fertile, you started getting discouraged.

-Keigo suggested going to the doctor to check if something was wrong, with both of you.

-After your appointment you had to wait for some days before you could get your results back.

-And boy if they weren’t disappointing.

-Turns out that you both had problems of your own, Keigo not having a strong enough seed and you having an overly hostile environment so conceiving would be a challenge.

-To say your were devastated was an understatement.

-You closed yourself off and for the first time in your relationship, there was no communication.

-Keigo tried talking to you, tried to pull you out of your own thoughts, but to no avail.

-Your brain was working against you and it showed.

-You wouldn’t eat, you slept longer and became sloppy in the workplace.

-He would find you bawling your eyes out in the bathroom and then coming out with a hollow look.

-It was killing him as much as it was killing you.

-So he did some research.

-And when I say some I mean that he went to like 15 doctors and bought 50+ books about the issue and he came up with around 10 solutions to your problem.

-Of course the last two on the list were the ones you wanted to avoid, adoption and sperm donation, not that you minded adopting but you wanted a small Keigo to be honest and the idea of donation was off the table.

-You felt very uncomfortable with the idea.

-So after he talked to you and convinced you to try what he found, you agreed to try for a year.

-If nothing came of it you would adopt.

-And that’s how it all started.

-Vitamins and special pills, doctor appointments and hormonal treatments.

-Nothing seemed to work and you were staring to get disappointed.

-It was nearing the end of the deadline you had set when you started throwing up in the morning.

-Your appetite changed and everything smelled awful, your feelings were all over the place and you couldn’t seem to control your tears.

-Keigo was the logical one for once and took you to the doctor.

-When he came inside the room with the results of your tests with a smile so wide and bright that it blinded you, you knew something was up.

- “I’m happy to announce that you made it! You are pregnant dear.”

-You swear that the whole clinic heard your squeals.

-Keigo went full dad mode even though it would be some time before the baby could actually be seen on a sonogram.

-He changed his work schedule even more, staying home longer and minimizing his patrols.

-Sure he was the number 2 hero but his baby is his top priority and you cannot change my mind.

-When you got your first sonogram and saw them, Keigo had been called in for an emergency and try as he might he couldn’t avoid it.

-You had to push him out of the clinic because he wouldn’t leave.

- “The public is in danger you dumb bird!”

- “I AM NOT MISSING MY CHILD!”

-What in the world??

-You got home before him and you waited patiently, sonogram in hand and two champagne glasses one for actual champagne and one for some apple juice.

-The moment he stepped through the door he rushed to you and would’ve tackled you if you weren’t pregnant.

- “Are they healthy? Is everything alright? I don’t like that smile you’ve got. Is it the baby or because I ate your Doritos, I swear I’m going to buy you more!”

- “YOU ATE MY DORITOS????”

-When you raised your hands in the air he saw the pictures you were holding and he focused on that and that alone.

-You followed his gaze and giggled, patting the space next to you and pecking him on the cheek.

-He looked at the images in front of him and....was confused beyond belief.

-Is..is that a baby? It looks like a shadow. Is it a shadow? Are all babies shadows? Shadow babies....

-Seeing the look on his face you let a hearty laugh before grabbing his hands and making them into fists.

-You brought them together and traced one of them with one finger while your other hand was tracing one shadow on the sonogram.

- “That’s one baby and that’s another baby.”

-He froze, looking at his fists with his brows furrowed until it hit him.

-Twins.

-He was having twins.

-All this hard work for a baby and he had been blessed with two.

-He looked at you then, tears forming in the corners of his eyes as a smile made its way on his face.

-He hugged you tightly, his tears wetting his your shirt and a string of ‘thank you’s and ‘I love you’s spilling from his mouth.

-He was truly happy with his family.

-Just him, you and your two nuggies against the world.

BONUS:

- “Weak sperm my ass I got you pregnant twice in one go.”

- “It doesn’t work that way you dumb KFC meal.”

- “Chicken nugget juniors disagree with you. Ain’t that right my little chicks??”

TAG TEAM AY: @brattyquirks , @the-arcana-fan-fic

#my hero academia keigo takami #keigo takami x reader #bnha keigo #keigo x you #hawks x reader #mha hawks #domestic hawks #hawks #bnha

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yakocchi · 3 years

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Story Creation Project // Eisuke & Soryu Story

So the fruits of labor of the players has finally paid off, only took... several months Granted, they did say they were going to release this in Dec upon the end of the surveys... they just conveniently left out it would be the near end of the month. i guess it was very low on their priority list bc this story is free but only available to those who helped “make” the story (aka those who voted for that team in the election). well bc of this, i have none of the other stories so im a bit bummed about that (kyohei......) but that’s what i get for not paying attention to elections idk if this will go to engl bc it’s actually a bit on the lengthy side for a free story, but on the short side for something ud pay for...

story behind the cut. please credit if you take any of it, thenk u (･ω･*) image-heavy!!

...

That day, I was to attend a particular party— and so I was clad in a dress for him to evaluate.

[Kara]: “What do you think...?” [Eisuke]: “Not bad.” [Soryu]: “Suits you well.” [Kara]: “...! Thank you.” [Baba]: “It really does have a nice vibe to it! The studded diamonds are beautiful.” [Luke]: “You can also see her collarbones quite well...” [Mamoru]: “How much did it cost to get that thing?” (I... don’t want to know the answer to that, if possible.) [Shuichi]: “If one considers the importance of this party, then it’s only logical to wear a dress like this, no?” [Hikaru]: “The organizer of the party today is some rich guy known for managing Las Vegas casinos.” [Ota]: “So let’s hope you don’t mess up and cause trouble for Eisuke and Soryu, hmm?” [Kara]: “I-I’ll be careful.” The party is to be a business event, requiring a partner to accompany you. Naturally as his partner to the party, I’ve been requested to behave accordingly for such an event. (It looks like all of the invited guests are VIPs from the societal underworld, huh...) (In case something were to happen— Samejima, dressed as a woman, will be acting as a partner to accompany me.) (I absolutely cannot afford to be careless here...) Feeling a bit lightheaded from my anxiety, I dizzily take a seat when—

[Eisuke]: “Even now, what’s there for you to be scared about?” With my back facing him, Eisuke fastened a gorgeous necklace on me. [Eisuke]: “Who chose you to be their partner?” [Kara]: “...!” [Eisuke]: “If a woman was deemed unworthy— then she would have never been chosen to be our partner to begin with, no?”

(t/n: he doesn’t give a possessive modifier for “partner”, but since the beginning has stated that either Soryu or Eisuke is your partner, I did an overall “our”. if u want to be fancy i guess it would be “my/his” depending on which route you take)

[Soryu]: “He’s right.” Soryu kneels in front of me, pulling out a pair of stunning high heels from a box before gently putting them on my feet. [Soryu]: “Don’t look down, straighten your posture, and face forward.” [Soryu]: “Don’t grow restless and just act confidently.” Prompted to stand, I see myself, dyed to his personal tastes, reflected in the mirror. I was hardly recognizable from my usual appearance, and a smile naturally bloomed on my face from it—

[Kara]: “...Okay!” [Eisuke]: “That will do.” [Soryu]: “It’s time. Let’s go.” Following behind the hardy backs of the duo, I leave the penthouse.

...

The dazzlingly-decorated party venue was filled with the showy laughter of gentleman and fine women. Eisuke and Soryu left their seats upon being called by one of the other guests, leaving me alone with Samejima.

[Samejima]: “...”

WOW HOT

[Kara]: “Samejima, you’re very pretty today.” [Samejima]: “...Thank you.” As I spoke to Samejima, who had a complicated look on his face, a lone gentleman then walked up to us.

[Sponsor]: “Welcome to my party.” (...! It’s the organizer of the party himself.) [Sponsor]: “Lovely lady, who is your partner?” [Kara]: “Mr. Ichinomiya and Mr. Oh; they’ve left their seats for the time being...” [Sponsor]: “...Oho, so you’re the partner of those two.” (...? For whatever reason, it felt like he said that with some sort of implication behind it...) [Sponsor]: “Then surely they aren’t married yet, hm?” [Sponsor]: “Young miss, you must be the fiancée of either of them, no?” [Kara]: “Um...” (What’s a good, “normal” reply to that...?) Feeling a bit hesitant—

[Eisuke]: “My sincere apologies for being late in giving my salutations, sir.” [Soryu]: “Has our partner done something careless in front of you?”

[Sponsor]: “...My, my, if it isn’t Mr. Ichinomiya and Mr. Oh.” Looking at the pair who had appeared behind him, the party organizer breathed a quiet sigh. [Sponsor]: “I have heard of your accomplishments for quite some time.” [Sponsor]: “Since this is the first time I’m delving into business in Japan— Please, I ask you to assist me kindly.” Leaving us with a bright smile, he goes away.

[Soryu]: “Sorry for taking a while to come back.” [Eisuke]: “Did he tell you something?” [Kara]: “No, nothing really.” I responded with a smile, but internally I let out a sigh a relief from being freed from the prior tension. (As you’d expect from a world-famous, wealthy man... he has this aura about him.)

...

Afterwards, business talks began— and so the partners (of the guests) were moved to a separate room. (Lavish meals, brilliant casinos... feels like the sort of service meant for celebrities, huh.) Sometimes, I was able to talk with the other guests... but I couldn’t keep up with the conversation, and my smile grew stiff. [Kara]: “...Samejima, can I go outside for a bit of fresh air?” [Samejima]: “Very well; let’s go.”

...

Leaving the room with Samejima, we then came across the party organizer in the hallway. [Sponsor]: “Oh my, were you displeased with my hospitality?” [Kara]: “N-Not at all.” [Kara]: “Apparently this venue has a lovely garden and pool, so I wanted to see if I could stroll around a bit...” [Sponsor]: “...Then, I shall guide you there myself.” [Sponsor]: “I’ve finished all of my greetings just now, so I’m free.” [Kara]: “Huh? Uh...” [Samejima]: “Please wait.”

Seeing the man wrap his arm around my waist, Samejima tries to put him in check. [Samejima]: “I’ll come too.” [Sponsor]: “...My deepest apologies, but women taller than me are not my type—” [Sponsor]: “As being looked down upon someone is what I hate most of all.”

[Kara]: “Huh...?” (What’s going on? The atmosphere’s suddenly...)

[Samejima]: “But...” The second Samejima grabbed hold of the willful man’s arm— [Sponsor]: “...I told you not to look down on me.” At the snap of his fingers, men in black suits suddenly rushed in and surrounded Samejima. [Kara]: “Samejima...?!” (t/n: she also pretty much outs samejima as a boy here bc she uses –kun when saying his name)

[Samejima]: “Guh-...” [Sponsor]: “I leave you all to that young miss over there. Please give her lots of love.”

[Sponsor]: “Well, then... let’s set off together.” [Kara]: “gh-...” As I flinched from the strong grip on my shoulder, I was forced onto the elevator.

Taken to a room this way, I was then roughly thrown onto the bed. [Kara]: “Kyaa-...” [Sponsor]: “Eisuke Ichinomiya, and Soryu Oh... Since just about forever, I haven’t been able to stomach either of them.” He grabbed both of my arms and pinned me down, a cruel smile on his face.

[Sponsor]: “Though I’m young, I do find it absolutely insufferable when in the ‘underworld’, one looks as if they own the place.” [Sponsor]: “So I hosted today’s party to teach them a lesson.” [Sponsor]: “Heheh... I’m looking forward to seeing their faces— their faces when they realize their partner has been defiled, tainted.” (He made them bring a partner just so he could go harass them. How devious!) [Kara]: “Please stop...!” [Sponsor]: “It’s futile to resist, you know.” [Sponsor]: “At this time, your beloved prince is simply absorbed in discussions related to my business—“

[???]: “And just who is absorbed in what kind of discussion?” Coupled with the familiar voice in my ears was a SLAM!

With the door open, the figures that appeared were—

[Eisuke]: “5 minutes is my limit for such a dull discussion.” [Soryu]: “Release those hands, now.” (Eisuke, Soryu...!)

[Sponsor]: “My, my, quite the early arrival, isn’t it?” He lowers me from the bed to the floor to serve as his hostage, pointing a gun at Eisuke and Soryu. [Sponsor]: “How did you know I was here?” [Soryu]: “Don’t underestimate our minds.”

Smiling at Soryu’s words, Eisuke taps the area below his throat with his index finger. [Eisuke]: “It’s only natural to put a collar on your pet dog, right?” (“Collar”...Is he referring to the necklace he put on me?) [Sponsor]: “I see... so that necklace has a GPS fitted inside of it.” [Eisuke]: “Since this is an event where crafty types have gathered, it was best to take some precautions.” [Eisuke]: “However… I’m disappointed in you. I was thinking that we would be able to have an entertaining little business chat, but.” [Soryu]: “Now receive your punishment for deceiving us.” [Sponsor]: “…If you’re willing to say that to me…” [Sponsor]: “Do either of you know just who you’re pointing that gun at?!”

[Eisuke]: “That’s our line.” [Eisuke]: “...Right, Soryu?” [Soryu]: “Mhm.” —BANG! [Sponsor]: “gh-...” Right when Soryu smiled a devilish smirk, a bullet was fired at the sponsor’s gun, knocking it off his hands.

[Soryu]: “Come here!” [Kara]: “gh-...Got it!” With the very heels Soryu himself had put on me, I trample over the sponsor’s feet with all my strength. [Sponsor]: “Gugh-...” [Eisuke]: “Well done.” [Soryu]: “Let’s go.” [Kara]: “Okay...!” While the sponsor was crouched over the floor, we all rush out of the room. [Sponsor]: “Kgh-... I won’t let you get away!”

...

With Eisuke leading me by the hand and Soryu protecting my back, we run down the hallway. [Black Suit]: “There they are, over there!” [Soryu]: “...They’ve got us on both sides right now.” [Eisuke]: “Over here.” Taking the chance to enter the blind spot of the black suits’ (field of vision), we escape through a nearby door. But then…

...

[Eisuke]: “...Did you make it in here?” [Soryu]: “Appears so.” [Kara]: “Th-Thank goodness for that... but...” (They’re so close...!)

The room, appearing to be a linen closet of some sort, was tiny— and so the three of us were tightly packed together. [Eisuke]: “Soryu, do something about that huge frame of yours.” [Soryu]: “Just cram in, Eisuke.” (You two, stop whispering by my ear...!)

Eisuke stood in front of me, while Soryu stood behind. With no space in between, both of their sturdy bodies pressed against me, their body heat also transmitting through to me. (Naturally, I was terrified up until a moment ago… but now, my heart’s beating so wildly it’s about to burst…)

[Eisuke]: “...Their footsteps are getting farther away. We should leave now.” [Soryu]: “Three people moving around would be quite noticeable, so it’d be better to split into two groups.”

[Eisuke]: “...Obviously, you’re coming with me.” [Soryu]: “I’ll protect you without fail.” [Kara]: “gh-...!” Two hands were stretched out towards me. I took hold of one of those hands, which belonged to—

Eisuke’s Side (You are Eisuke’s Fiancée)

a minor annoying part is that u dont actually “pick” a choice: eisuke is just technically episode 2 and soryu episode 3 (btw yea u can skip to soryu’s on here without a problem story-wise)

I took Eisuke’s hand. [Eisuke]: “Naturally.” Eisuke smiles as if to tell me “good job”, before placing his own hand on the door. [Soryu]: “Eisuke, wait.” [Eisuke]: “What?” [Soryu]: “You’re not carrying a weapon.” [Soryu]: “It’s possible that the pursuers are close by, so wouldn’t it be better for me to leave with her?” [Eisuke]: “...” After a brief moment, Eisuke firmly embraced me as if to flaunt in front of Soryu. [Eisuke]: “Do you take me for the kind of man who can’t protect this one person?” [Soryu]: “...” [Kara]: “Eisuke...” [Eisuke]: “There’s no time for pointless talk. Let’s go.” [Kara]: “...All right!” Following right behind Eisuke, I dash out of the room. [Soryu]: “...Looks like there was no reason to be worried.”

...

We hide in a blind spot for a moment in order to discreetly observe our surroundings. [Kara]: “I wonder if Soryu will be all right...” [Eisuke]: “He’ll have no problem.” [Eisuke]: “He recognizes the importance of the head of the Ice Dragon’s life the most out of everyone.” [Kara]: “...!” From those words uttered without hesitation, I felt that I had caught a glimpse of their absolute bond of mutual trust. (And even if Eisuke didn’t bother saying that, I can sense this mutual acknowledgement that they have with each other.) [Eisuke]: “...Looks like there’s no one after us.” [Eisuke]: “Run for it.” [Kara]: “All right.” [Kara]: “...-wh, Huh?!” Eisuke swiftly lifted me over his shoulder before running down the hallway without breaking a sweat.

the imagery on this is great, just watching this random guy hulk this lady around as he stomps down floors

(I-I’m being taken around like this again...!) (…I have high heels on, so I wonder if he’s doing this for me because of that.) [Eisuke]: “Don’t fall off.” [Kara]: “ngh- ...Okay!” (…Even though if we’re found out by our pursuers, it’ll be the end of it all… and even though this should be a critical, grave state of affairs…) I’m comforted by Eisuke, where I can see that even he seems to be having fun, and his dependability— and I’m not scared at all. (If I’m together with Eisuke, then it’ll definitely be all right.) And just like the conviction in my heart had told me, we made it downstairs safely without being seen by our pursuers.

When we had eventually made it down to the third floor, I could hear the sound of footsteps in the direction of our path. [Eisuke]: “Looks like they’ve gathered a line of defense downstairs.” [Kara]: “So it’ll be tricky to leave through the front door on the first floor, huh…” On guard, Eisuke stopped moving— only for us to sense that the sound of footsteps were approaching us from behind this time. (We’re surrounded…?!) [Kara]: “Wh-What should we do...” [Eisuke]: “...” Eisuke shifted his eyes to the window right before sliding my body off his shoulders, adjusting his hold on me into a full embrace from the front. (t/n: ....it’s just a bridal carry but with more words)

[Eisuke]: “Take a deep breath, and hold it in.” [Kara]: “A breath?” [Eisuke]: “From there...” Tightly hugging my body, he sets his leg onto the frame of the window. [Eisuke]: “No matter what happens— you absolutely cannot let go of me.”

(...It couldn’t be—) Right after I saw his smile, more wickedly beautiful than anyone else’s in this entire world—

My body was gently floating in the air— (Y-You’re kidding, right...?!)

—SPLASH! After I had felt like my organs had vanished into thin air, the feeling was immediately followed with that of the heavy downward pull of water all over my body. (gh-...The pool’s here?!) [Kara]: “...gh- Pwah—?! Haah, haah...” [Eisuke]: “Not a bad dive there.” Eisuke swam as if nothing had happened, and I reached the side of the pool first. [Kara]: “I-I thought I was going to die...” [Eisuke]: “What are you saying?” [Eisuke]: “When you’re with me, it’s simply impossible that I’d let you die.” While looking up at me he slicked his wet hair back, making my heart squeeze fervently. (t/n: my head doesn’t feel like making better-worded imagery for this im sorry lol)

(Eisuke, you’re just too cool.) Then, before I had even realized it, I brought my lips to that very forehead glistening with water. [Eisuke]: “...” [Kara]: “Huh-... ah—“ (I-I…What did I just do?!) [Kara]: “S, Sorry for doing that without permission! My body just, did that on its own…” [Kara]: “Umm... Ah- right, I wonder if Soryu made it out safely.” [Eisuke]: “...I believe I had told you that he’d have no problem.” When he rose from the pool, he took off his suit jacket before wiping the water off himself.

[Eisuke]: “Besides, you should worry about yourself instead.” [Kara]: “Huh...?” Without saying anything more, he silently covers my soaked form with his jacket. [Eisuke]: “Let’s go.” [Eisuke]: “...It’s time for the finishing touches.”

...

Going over to the front of the building, everyone there were members of the Ice Dragons, who had also tied up the black suits from earlier. [Kara]: “Why are the Ice Dragons...” [Eisuke]: “They were called in when Samejima had contacted us to report that you were kidnapped.” [Eisuke]: “Since they didn’t take much time to get here, then before long…” [Eisuke]: “…He’ll arrive, hm?” Eisuke smiled with a huff as the person in his field of vision was—

[Soryu]: “Eisuke.” [Eisuke]: “You’ve done well.” [Soryu]: “By the looks of it, you’ve made a flashy escape.” Having captured the sponsor, Soryu had appeared from the building with the Ice Dragons accompanying him. (Soryu, he’s safe...!)

[Sponsor]: “Guh-...Unhand me! And don’t look down on me!” [Soryu]: “Well, now then... What should we do, Eisuke?” [Eisuke]: “What a foolish question.” Grabbing onto the sponsor’s tie, Eisuke swiftly makes him kneel onto the ground with a jerk. [Eisuke]: “He’s of no use to me.”

[Eisuke]: “...He put his hands on something that belongs to me, after all.” [Sponsor]: “kgh-...!” Eisuke looked down at the man from an overwhelming height, wearing a smile that could freeze one’s spine. (It’s been a long time since I’ve last seen that expression of his.) [Sponsor]: “I-I’m sorry... I-I’ve apologized now, so, please...” [Eisuke]: “Soryu, I leave the rest to you.” [Soryu]: “Mhm.” [Sponsor]: “gh-… Please, forgive meee…!” Hearing the man’s shouts behind me, Eisuke presses me to get in the car.

...

As soon as we arrive at the suite, I get pushed into the bathroom. [Eisuke]: “Face your back towards me.” [Kara]: “Eisu-... ngh-“ The hot shower beating down on me, he zips down the fastener of my soaked dress. (mn-... Eisuke must also be cold, and yet...) The fingertips touching my spine were burning hot. [Eisuke]: “Where did they touch you?” [Kara]: “Huh...?” (By “they”, he means...) What flashed through my mind was the time when we were running from the black suits, and had fled into that narrow room.

[Kara]: “Are you, perhaps, referring to Soryu...?” [Eisuke]: “Who told you that you’re allowed to say any name besides my own?” [Kara]: “ngh- Ah-...” He dropped relentless kisses along my back, the same back that Soryu had touched before. Stroking my skin while leaving red marks of ownership, my body that had grown accustomed to such things shivered with excitement. [Kara]: “Nn... Please wait, something like this is..., ah-“

[Eisuke]: “I recall that I had warned you,” [Eisuke]: “that you should worry about yourself instead.” [Kara]: “Huh...?” (When he had said those words along the poolside, he meant that I should worry about myself - as in my “body”…?!) [Eisuke]: “I’ll have to discipline you so you can learn just who may satisfy this body.” [Kara]: “gh-... Aah,” His skin presses against mine to cover me, and I feel his heat all over my back. Somehow, the heat of our touches is much hotter than usual— [Eisuke]: “Don’t forget this, not even for a moment;” [Eisuke]: “...That the only one that may touch you, is myself.”

[Kara]: “Eisu, ke... Aah-...” I had a feeling that this was the beginning of a long, fierce night with the indulgent Eisuke’s passion—

...

(t/n: Eisuke’s POV)

(...I’ve done something that’s unlike me.) While occasionally gazing at the sky that had begun to whiten for the day, I play around with the sleeping Kara’s hair. (Naturally, I’m confident in being able to protect her.) (But, if I wanted to be more certain of her safety in that situation... it would have been wise to choose to leave her with Soryu, who had a weapon.) The scene replays in my head— that time we had made our escape in that cramped room. Even if I know in my mind that it was physically inevitable that Soryu would have to touch her— Just recalling a man other than myself touching this body, lit a smoldering blaze within my jealous heart once more. (It was only a risk to have her come with me, someone who was unarmed.) (Given the situation at hand, it was also possible that my own life could have been threatened.)

(But, there was an adequate reward for my troubles, no?) Remembering the kiss on my forehead along the poolside, my irritation dissolves into joy. (She seemed bewildered by her own actions, but…) (I suppose she was longing for me to the point where her body moved on its own?) It’s not bad to let her do what she wants once in a while… With this thought in mind, I brush her bangs aside to give her a kiss on the forehead in return.

[Kara]: “…Nn-…” [Eisuke]: “Did you wake up?” [Kara]: “Ei, su... ke..., mn-“ Her hoarse voice reminded me of the sounds she made as I thoroughly satisfied her last night. Wanting to make her cry out even more, I press my lips to her throat, then once again, causing a sweet breath to spill out of her lips. [Kara]: “Mn-… Why, so suddenly…” [Eisuke]: “I’m in a good mood, so.” [Kara]: “...Ah-“ I forced her waking, burning body to lie face-down. The proof of ownership I had made along her back caught my eye— and my chest was filled with elation. [Kara]: “I... I only just woke up...” [Eisuke]: “I didn’t ask for your own circumstances.” [Eisuke]: “I’m going to do what I want... and that’s all.” “It’s not bad to let her do what she wants once in a while”— It seemed that thinking such was simply on a whim.

lol SIKE well it’s not really a sike as it is him just going “well my mood changes a lot, welp”

[Eisuke]: “What is your duty?” [Kara]: “ngh-… to satisfy you, Eisuke.” [Eisuke]: “If you understand that— then good.” Next to yesterday’s mark, I place my proof (of ownership) for today. (So that it never disappears, I’ll engrave my mark every day.) I smile, knowing that you’re the only one who could ever make me take the time to do such things, and I amuse myself with this morning’s dalliances.

FIN

Soryu’s Side (You are Soryu’s Fiancée)

I take Soryu’s hand. [Soryu]: “Let’s go.” [Kara]: “Okay... -Ouch!” [Soryu]: “What’s wrong?” [Kara]: “My hair was, pulled by something...” Following the tautly-pinned strand of hair to its end, I find it intertwined with a button on Mr. Ichinomiya’s suit jacket. [Eisuke]: “...” [Kara]: “Sorry, I’ll take it out immediately! Pardon me..." I draw my head closer to Mr. Ichinomiya’s chest, loosening my hair while trying to undo the knot. (U-Uh? The tangle is more complicated than I thought.) [Eisuke]: “What are you dawdling on for?” [Kara]: “S-Sorry...”

[Soryu]: “...” (-gh… You can’t act like this— The more you try to hurry, the more you won’t be able to untie it…!) (There’s nothing here that looks like it could cut hair, so all I can do now is to try to forcibly pull my hair out…)

[Soryu]: “Eisuke, sorry, but...” Immediately after Soryu’s voice met my ears– He tore off the button on Eisuke’s suit with a snap. (-gh, Soryu...!)

my man just yanked that off like it doesn’t cost 600 ps5s worth to repair

[Soryu]: “I’ll pay you back for it afterwards.” [Eisuke]: “...It’s cramped in here, so quickly get out.” [Soryu]: “...Let’s go, Kara.” [Kara]: “O-Okay...!” I bow my head to the smirking Mr. Ichinomiya before sneaking out of the room with Soryu.

...

While Soryu protected me the entire way, we ran through the front door without a moment’s rest. [Soryu]: “When I was informed by Samejima of your abduction, I arranged for a car.” [Soryu]: “Ride that car over there.” [Kara]: “Got it...!” The moment I was about to grab onto the door of the passenger seat, I could hear the voice of one of our pursuers from behind me. [Black Suit]: “Looks like they’re getting away in that car! Don’t let them escape under any circumstances!” [Soryu]: “...Persistent bastard.” [Soryu]: “Kara, I’m relying on you to drive.” [Kara]: “M-Me...?!” [Soryu]: “As they’re armed, I’ll have to fight back. You only need to think about shaking them off.” [Soryu]: “...It’ll be all right; since it’s you, you can do it.” [Kara]: “...!” Soryu’s eyes gaze directly at me, and not even a remnant of anxiety dwelled within me any longer. (When Soryu makes decisions, he always derives them from results he believes would prioritize my own safety.) (...I have to believe– both in Soryu and in myself.) [Kara]: “I’ll try to drive as safely as I can…!” [Soryu]: “I’m counting on you.” [Soryu]: “...Well then... time to join forces.”

...

Stepping on the accelerator, the car races off to weave around the neon streets of the night. [Soryu]: “The number of cars following behind... is only 2, huh?” [Soryu]: “Underestimating us, I see.”

—BANG! To force them off of the road, the single bullet he fired shot out the car tire entirely. (Amazing— For him to be able to pinpoint like this is...!)

[Black Suit]: “Shit- he got me...!” Losing control of the steering wheel, the car swerved about as it drove off the road. [Soryu]: “One left.” —BANG! BANG BANG! Soryu avoided the gunshots of the pursuers while checking the passenger side mirror— all the while also firing his own bullets. (I always knew that Soryu was an amazing person; but now that I see it right next to me, I can experience the real deal.) (With this, we’ll be able to skirt around them quite soon…) Thinking that, I look over at the rearview mirror— and another trailing car had appeared from the shadow of the other car. (He’s aiming at Soryu with that gun! Watch out…!) At the same time I had turned the steering wheel, a bullet fired from a pursuer grazed the frame of the side mirror. [Soryu]: “...!” [Kara]: “Soryu, are you okay?!” [Soryu]: “Mhm... you saved me there.” [Kara]: “Thank goodness that worked out.” I let out a sigh of relief for a second— when the sound of a gunshot had echoed behind me, cutting through the darkness.

[Kara]: “I’m going to speed up...!” [Soryu]: “Mhm.” [Soryu]: “…I’ll wrap this up.” Soryu, who had readjusted his hold so the gun was readily positioned next to his face, completely repels the second car. (The palm sweat from my nervousness is making the wheel slip around, and my heart is beating so nosily that it’s going to explode.) (But, for some strange reason, I don’t feel like giving in…!) [Soryu]: “When I give the signal, step on the brakes and turn the wheel to the right.” [Soryu]: “There’s no other cars coming after us from behind, so just plan to make that turn to the best of your ability.” [Kara]: “Got it.” Looking at me with a sidelong glance Soryu smiled at my nodding self, as he loaded his gun with bullets— [Soryu]: “Now!” [Kara]: “kgh-…!” —BANG! The second I turned the car— Soryu, in a surprise attack, shot through the tire of the pursuer’s car. [Kara]: “W-…We did it…!” [Soryu]: “With that, they won’t be able to follow us anymore.” (Th-Thank goodness…) As I felt the strength suddenly leave my shoulders, I park the car on the shoulder of the road. I then hung my head with a deep sigh, when Soryu gently placed his hand over mine clutching the wheel.

[Soryu]: “You did well.” [Kara]: “Soryu...” Lifting my chin with his fingers, he gives me a gentle, light kiss.

[Soryu]: “You truly are a woman with guts.” [Soryu]: “...I’ve fallen in love all over again.” [Kara]: “gh-...I have, too.” [Kara]: “Seeing you act so strong and cool… it made me fall in love with you again.” [Soryu]: “...” In our sweet silence, I sensed another kiss coming— when I heard the sound of a police siren.

[Mamoru]: “Yes, that car over there~ I’m positive that they’ve violated traffic laws~” (...! That voice– it’s Mamoru’s.) Mamoru gave us a fleeting glance before waving his hand here and there as if to say, “get out of here, fast”. [Soryu]: “Eisuke arranged it.” [Kara]: “I wonder if Mr. Ichinomiya made it out all right?” [Soryu]: “If it’s Eisuke, he’s probably smiling in glee over capturing that guy (the sponsor) right now.” Soryu chuckles as if confident in his guess, before taking off his seatbelt. [Soryu]: “Let’s switch seats.” [Soryu]: “I’ll drive until we both calm down.” [Kara]: “...Okay!” Switching drivers, we went off on a driving date for a little while.

...

After we had cruised in the car for long enough, we head to the penthouse.

[Eisuke]: “Have fun driving around?” And just like Soryu had said— Mr. Ichinomiya, who had managed to return safely, crossed his legs with an elegant smile. [Soryu]: “Mhm, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to have a good time.” [Soryu]: “Here’s a souvenir for you.” Soryu presents a box of wine from a high-class liquor shop, a place where we had stopped by during our drive here. [Eisuke]: “…Is this how you intend to repay me?” [Soryu]: “Not bad, right? As compensation for tearing off a single button, it’s far too much.” [Eisuke]: “I’m the one who decides whether it’s sufficient as compensation.” But although he had said such words, Mr. Ichinomiya accepted the wine box in apparent satisfaction and rose from his seat.

[Eisuke]: “But Soryu, there is still one more thing you owe me for.” [Soryu]: “The matter with Kishi, is it?” [Eisuke]: “How do you plan to repay that debt?” [Soryu]: “I’ll take care of the aftermath of that man from here.” [Soryu]: “With that, you have no more complaints, do you?” [Eisuke]: “Fine.” After they smile to each other at their arrangement for later, Mr. Ichinomiya leaves the penthouse. (The conversation itself is incredibly terrifying, but…)

[Kara]: “You two really are close, hm?” [Soryu]: “...” I smile about it subconsciously, and Soryu silently stares down at me. [Kara]: “Soryu?” [Soryu]: “…Even if it was Eisuke, he’s still someone you shouldn’t be drawn towards.” [Kara]: “...What do you mean by that?” [Soryu]: “I’ll teach you.” [Soryu]: “I’ll have to thoroughly take my time with your body, hm.” [Kara]: “ngh-…!” Seeing Soryu’s alluring smile, I feel my spine sweetly ache with a thrill—

...

(t/n: Soryu’s POV)

Pinning Kara to the bed, the immature emotions of mine that had previously vanished were revived. [Kara]: “mn-... So, ryu...” [Soryu]: “Show me yourself, and show me well.” [Soryu]: “While looking at your face... I want to make love to you from the front tonight.” [Kara]: “ngh-…!” Words that are unlike me spill out of my lips, and her face becomes dyed in this bright red. (I know that I’m the only one who will ever see this very face of yours, but…) (…I’m not myself today, given that I was jealous by the likes of Eisuke.) When we had escaped into that cramped room, Eisuke was in front of her. Standing behind her, I had been able to see her ears turn red— An ugly jealousy drove myself to the point where I had wanted to ask which man had caused her to act like that. [Soryu]: “...This was caught by the button, huh?” [Kara]: “Huh…? Ah, that’s right.” (The reason for tearing off Eisuke’s button was the same.) (The feeling of wanting to quickly separate her from Eisuke had won over me— even more than the feeling of not wanting her hair to get damaged.) Combing through her hair, I find traces of the button having been tangled along the tips of the strands. Absolutely unable to allow such traces to be left as is, I carefully undo it with my fingers. [Kara]: “Soryu…?” [Soryu]: “...Even if it was to be a single hair of yours— I won’t allow you be touched by other men.” (...I don’t want to let other men touch you.) As if I had been speaking to myself, or perhaps as if I had meant those words as a sworn promise, I brought my lips to her loosened hair. With her eyes mixed with both confusion and joy, she quietly stared at me.

[Kara]: “Soryu, is it that... with Mr. Ichinomiya, you’re...” (...Don’t say it.) In order to protect my pride, I steal her lips and seal her words. [Soryu]: “If you know— then, obediently, let me make love to you.” [Kara]: “gh-, ah-…” Holding her tightly from the front our skins pressed deeply together, and her delicate, thin body trembled in my arms. [Kara]: “Ah-… So, ryu…” [Soryu]: “...” [Kara]: “ngh... you’re the, only one I love...” [Soryu]: “I know.” (Even if I know that... I simply cannot control this childish possessiveness.) (As long as I yearn for you, this feeling will never give out.) [Soryu]: “...I believe I told you to obediently let me love you.” [Soryu]: “If you still something to say— then I’ll simply have to render you unable to say anything else.”

[Kara]: “ngh-… Ah-… ah… mn-“ This dry, thirsting heart can only be satiated by one, and one thing only— desiring her heat— In yearning, I embrace the soft body in my arms with all my heart.

FIN

And then afterwards they put a long list of nicknames of those who participated. i did find my own nickname which made me wheeze in surprise bc my nickname on there is mostly a joke and i never changed it since. well now i can’t change it bc im on the newspaper now

THE REAL FIN

...beh this was ok. except this wasn’t a love triangle tho….. why did they make ppl go through 3 rounds of surveys over several months, go mostly quiet for another couple of months (so ~9 months total for this whole thing) and then proceed to not write the main appeal of the prompt. sometimes i wonder if they’re trying to wean kbtbb fans off of it so they can become fans of more recent Vol series… but instead im probably just going to move on to other pastures when the time comes. so uh let’s try harder next time

idk maybe the players’ exact ideal from what i gathered (establishing a love triangle, and then creating 2 diff “ending” paths) would’ve been too long for the length they were willing to write. which is also kind of lame bc the audience (people interested in eisuke and/or soryu, aka kbtbb players who likely invest in vip room from time to time) is definitely a paying playerbase? idk how much it costs for Voltage to write a story, but... idgi. i don’t have any of the other project stories to compare but as it is im just baffled LOL

edit: yeeuh finally reread it with less tired eyes and made appropriate edits. hopefully it is better than before now

well, as always, thanks for reading!

#kissed by the baddest bidder #kbtbb #soryu oh #eisuke ichinomiya #spoilers

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elduwrites · 3 years

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Reminders That I Love You - Chapter 3

“Don’t be a brat.” Cas tugged his hair again. It was harder this time and lasted until a small moan escaped Dean’s lips. Then the contact was gone. Damn. He usually had more control than that. But they had been very busy, and angry with each other, lately. This was a welcome change of pace.

“Anyway, I believe in you.” Cas grinned. “Now be quiet, I need to concentrate on my work.”

Also available on AO3

Word count: 4916 (story total: 7603)

Chapter 3/3

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

When Cas returned, Dean laid naked in the middle of the bed, legs spread and hands beneath his head. He grinned up at his boyfriend who stopped in the doorway for a while, just starring at him.

“See something you like?” Dean asked, letting his tongue dart over his bottom lip for good measure.

“Yes, you’re very beautiful Dean,” Cas replied matter-of-factly. Then he walked closer, keeping his eyes plastered to the man on the bed the entire time. “And you’re being very good for me.”

“Not like you asked me to do anything complicated.” Dean looked away, lightly biting his lip. He wanted to be good, especially after the evening they had, but he had to earn it.

“The complexity of the task does not dictate how pleased I am when you succeed,” Cas said sternly as he sat down on the bed, leaning over the other man. “Some days I want you to prove just how good you can be for me. Today is not about that. For now, I want to remind you how wonderful you always are to me Dean. Even when you don’t see your own worth.”

“What if I want, or need, to prove that I can be good for you?” His voice was small even to his own ears, but it needed to be said.

“Then that’s for another day.”

“But-”

“No,” Cas said firmly. “On Saturday I will have you collared on your knees with my cock in your mouth while I research my next paper, but I have a different plan for tonight. Are you going to be a brat and question my decisions, or will you be still and obedient like my good boy ought to?”

Dean swallowed hard, but kept his lips closed. Saturday could not come soon enough. But Cas knew what he needed, and what he could take. If he said that this wasn’t the day for proper play, then he was right. Of course he was. Dean looked up, meeting the others gaze and held it until his boyfriend smiled.

“Good,” Cas said. He ran one hand through Dean’s hair, tugging slightly before letting go. Dean leaned into the touch, whimpering slightly as it disappeared. “Remember these?” Cas pulled a bunch of pens out of his pocket. Except, these weren’t normal pens. They were the temporary tattoo markers they had bought for when Claire was desperate to draw on them. Cas had insisted that they were better for their skin than regular pens, and their niece was overjoyed with the vibrant colors that were much easier to cover their arms with.

“I remember,” Dean replied. How could he not? The guys at work always commented on his wonderful new tattoos whenever Claire had spent an artistic weekend at their place. They were rather hard to wash off too. Not that he really minded that part, it was usually a nice reminder of a good family weekend.

“I presumed you would. Now you’re going to lay back, relax, and stay as still as possible, while I cover your skin in all the reasons I love you.”

“Kinda hard both to relax and stay still,” Dean said. Mostly just to say something back to that declaration.

“Anyway, I believe in you.” Cas grinned. “Now be quiet, I need to concentrate on my work.”

Dean took a few deep breaths, relaxing into the mattress as well as he could. Meanwhile, his boyfriend’s big hands ran down his chest, barely grazing his nipples, down his stomach and up his sides. He whimpered again, pushing up into the touch. Why had he denied himself this closeness for so long? Those hands on him were better than almost any sensations. Perhaps except for those fingers in him.

“So beautiful,” Cas said, leaving a small kiss slightly under his left nipple. It was followed by the familiar sensation of the marker on Dean’s skin. Familiar, but still different than when their niece was ‘making him pretty’ as she liked to call it. Cas’ hand seemed surer and less hesitant than Claire often was. And the skin of his sides and stomach was more sensitive than his arms and calves, which were usually the body parts decorated. As the pen stopped its motion, Dean looked down his body. Sure enough, the word beautiful was written in red over one of his ribs.

“Incredibly kind.” Cas left a kiss under the first word, then wrote with a new pen over that same spot. Soon the word kind shone out in orange letters.

“You’re so good with Claire, Madison and little Bobby. The best uncle and godfather anyone could wish for.” Another scribble over his skin. Dean focused on keeping his breathing even so as not to disrupt the others work. When he looked down again, amazing uncle, was written in bright yellow.

Another kiss, halfway down his side, then. “You’re so open and accepting of everyone who need it. I’ve never seen you judge anyone for anything other than being hateful assholes. And those people always deserve it.” The pen moved over his skin once more. As it stopped, Cas moved his hand to squeeze his hip lightly. Dean squinted at the newest word. It looked like it said accepting in deep green letters.

“Dude, are you making my stomach into a fucking rainbow?” Dean asked incredulously, while his boyfriend put down the green marker in favor of a blue one.

“Why are you surprised by this? I make everything into rainbows.” That much was true. After years of hiding his sexuality from overly religious parents, Cas had put all that repressed energy into buying and creating rainbow colored-everything. There were at least seven different flags, and far too many t-shirts. They had rainbow-colored throw pillows in many different designs, and a shower curtain decorated with a tree with rainbow leaves. There were rainbow coasters, cups, water bottles, and at least fifty different buttons and stickers. Everything Cas painted these days were either rainbow inspired, bees, flowers, or, somehow, all of the above. Dean had barely kept him from hanging up rainbow curtains in their living room. That shit was just tacky, and therefore banished to Cas’ office. The office that contained a stuffed rainbow unicorn next to the stuffed bee on top of the bookshelf. Not to mention the queer section of that bookshelf that had the books sorted by rainbow colors. So okay, this was not actually surprising. Still though…

“Don’t mean you have to make me into one.”

“Why does it bother you more that I’m writing in color that that I’m doing it in the first place? You seem to have your priorities mixed up sweetheart.”

“I dunno… It’s just real obvious is all.” That was a bad excuse. He was aware of that. It just felt different in all these colors than it would have otherwise. Even so, his boyfriend was right. It didn’t actually matter. So why’d it feel like a big deal?

“It’s not like anyone else is going to see you this way. Right Dean?”

“Of course not.” It was far too cold for him to go shirtless anywhere other than inside their house. And even during summer, he preferred to wear at least a t-shirt. Only Cas got to see him shirtless for long periods of time.

“Then why does it matter? I like you like this.”

“I dunno.” Dean looked away, biting lightly at his lip. It was hard to argue his point when he didn’t actually have any reasoning, and Cas was all cold logic. The rainbow thing wasn’t a problem either. Not really. He was just caught off guard was all. But there was no way he could admit that now.

“Do you know what I think?” Cas moved so his knees where on the other side of the other’s hips, rested his hands next to Dean’s head, and leant down so their faces were mere inches apart. “I think you’re trying to rile me up. I think you’re being difficult on purpose. This,” he ran his right hand down Dean’s side, stroking over the words, “doesn’t actually bother you. You’re just clinging to the only argument you could find because affectionate words make you uncomfortable. Perhaps you’re even angling for a punishment?”

Dean whimpered lightly at that. Trust his boyfriend to psychoanalyze him in a situation like this. As if they didn’t have better things to do than trying to get to the bottom of his issues. His fear of intimacy as both Cas and Charlie was so fond of calling it. This was not the time.

“Is that it Dean? Are you trying to make me be rough with you because that’s easier to deal with? Would you rather have me spank you till you’re a writhing mess or perhaps slap you hard enough that you’ll feel it for days?”

“Please.” He wasn’t sure what he was asking for, but his boyfriend seemed to have enough ideas of his own. As long as Cas gave him something.

“Too bad really, that I already told you we’re not doing that tonight.”

“Cas. Please.”

“I’m not changing my plans just because you’re being a brat,” Cas almost growled. “However, I can’t let that kind of behavior go completely unchecked either.”

“Please.” Dean repeated. By now it could be called pleading, almost begging. His boyfriend usually liked that, was more likely to fulfill his wishes when he asked nicely. But it didn’t seem like he was budging this time. His expression was blank, not betraying any of his thoughts. Would whatever he was planning be good or bad? Well, it was always good with Cas, but sometimes that also meant torturous. Then again, that was often the best of all.

Cas suddenly sat up until he was kneeling over him. Then he ran his hands slowly down the other’s shoulders and chest, stopping to pay extra attention to his nipples. Dean swallowed the groan that wanted to erupt as both his nipples were pinched hard.

“Don’t be quiet on my account,” Cas said, pinching even harder. Then he let go off the left one, only to bend down and bite it. Dean moaned, arching his back into the pleasure-pain sensation.

“There you go. Keep making those pretty sounds for me,” Cas grinned down at him before leaning in to capture his lips in a rough kiss. Dean quickly opened up for him, allowing his boyfriend to dominate his mouth completely. As the kiss broke off, Cas moved so sit next to him on the bed again, one hand resting comfortingly on his stomach. Dean put weight on his elbows, wanting to follow, but one sharp look from the other man made him rest back onto the bed. That earned him a soft smile and a gentle hand playing with his hair.

“Touch yourself for me,” Cas said, giving a significant gaze down to the others cock, then back up to his eyes. Dean starred at him for a moment before he followed the order, slowly jacking himself off. This seemed too simple. Was this evening really all about pleasure? And affection or whatever?

“Faster. Put some effort into it.”

Dean fastened his grip and speed his movement to a pace that would have him desperate in no time.

“Good boy,” Cas murmured into his ear. “Tell me when you’re close.”

Oh. Of course. Dean closed his eyes, jerking himself in all the ways he enjoyed the most. Firm grip. Fast movements. A twist of his wrist on every third or fourth upstroke. Pausing for a moment to run his thumb over the slit, coaxing more pre-cum to ease his movements. He was hurdling steadily towards an orgasm, feeling his boyfriend’s heavy gaze on him the entire time.

“’M close,” he moaned out.

“Stop. Hands on the bed.”

Dean quickly followed the order, breathing hard as he tried to calm down. He whimpered sightly at the receding orgasm. It was so close, but far out of his grasp.

“So good for me,” Cas murmured, then leaned down to kiss his stomach. “I love seeing you like this. So desperate to please.”

Dean smiled, relaxing further into the bed. He was still on edge, desperate for release, but it seemed somehow less important. He was pleasing Cas, and his boyfriend would surely take care of him.

A sudden feeling of a marker over his skin almost made him flinch, but he managed to stay still as not to mess up the other man’s work. Peering down, he saw his boyfriend with a blue marker in hand, obviously continuing where he had left off earlier.

“Cas? What?”

“You didn’t think I was done, did you? I already told you I wasn’t changing my plans. I don’t like leaving my projects half-finished.”

“I guess not.” It certainly had seemed like he’d changed his plans. Dean really should have known better. When Cas first made up his mind, he stuck to it. He peered down at his stomach, seeing desperate to please written under the green accepting.

“Dean. Look at me.” Cas laid a hand on his cheek and starred intently at him as their eyes met. “Indulge me in this. Let me show you affection. You deserve to be loved.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dean tried to look away, but the other’s eyes were captivating, holding his gaze steady. “Indulge yourself or whatever.”

“Imprudent boy,” Cas smacked his hip lightly. “I want to worship you, just let yourself enjoy it.” With that he picked up a purple marker, putting the tip of it against the skin right above Dean’s hipbone.

“You deserve to be loved,” Cas repeated while writing what was probably the same words into the other’s skin. Dean barely suppressed a shiver as those words finally washed over him. How many times had Cas told him that by now? And how many more times had he found himself doubting it?

“Now continue touching yourself.”

Dean’s hand moved almost on autopilot, wrapping around his cock and jacking it with sure movements. He kept his eyes open this time, taking in all the emotion in his boyfriend’s eyes. No one could convey emotion through a look quite like Cas. And he was using that ability now to express all the love he insisted that Dean deserved. It was enough to make a guy believe him.

Pleasure built up within him even faster this time around. He jerked off until he was moments away from orgasm before he moaned out that he was close.

“Stop.”

His movement stilled immediately, but he clutched the base of his cock for a few deep breaths before he was calm enough to place his hand back on the bed. Perhaps even closer than Cas would have taken him if the former had been doing the touching.

“You’re doing remarkably well.” Cas left a kiss to each of his cheeks and the tip of his nose. Dean whimpered in return, struggling to keep himself from pleading for release. He really needed to come. Preferable five minutes ago. Instead, his boyfriend took up the red marker again, and started writing on the right side of his stomach. Dean couldn’t find the energy to read the words anymore, but it was impossible to ignore the several times Cas murmured “good boy” into his skin while he kissed around the new words. In return, Dean let out an undignified sound somewhere between a whimper and a moan. He was being good.

“Yes. Good boy with his pleasing sounds.” Cas smiled down at him, while stroking over his stomach in small circles. “And you are so good to everyone Dean. You care so much. I’m in awe of the love you show to all the people around you. Such a wonderful, caring man.” There were more pen scratches and kisses against Dean’s stomach. This time he simply breathed through it, letting the words and affectionate touches wash over him.

“Not to mention the love you put into your food. Before you, I mostly ate just to sustain myself. Now I do it for pleasure as well. You taught me that through your food, you’re such an amazing cook Dean.” More writing on his skin. More fingers tracing patterns on his stomach. More kisses to his side and chest, followed by a sharp bite to one nipple. He arched into it, chasing the mouth as it moved away. His boyfriend chuckled and pushed him back down with a flat hand on the middle of his stomach.

“Touch yourself again.”

He did. With fast strokes, spurred on by the hands exploring his body. Every time Cas pinched his skin or twisted a nipple, he moaned loudly. All the touches went straight to his dick, and within a couple of minutes he was writhing on the bed, barely able to contain the orgasm.

“’M so close. Please Cas.”

“Stop. Now.”

His movements stopped, but he looked pleadingly up at the other man. “Please Cas. I can’t… I need to come.”

“Patience sweetheart. You can wait. And you will.”

Dean whimpered again, but kept his mouth shut. There was no use arguing with Cas’ decisions. He had made that mistake in a similar position once before. That night he was not allowed to come at all. Taking several deep breaths calmed him enough to remove his hand, and finally look up at his boyfriend once more.

“Good boy. Now, where were we?” Cas looked down at his writing, tracing the words with a gentle finger. At that point, even the small gesture was enough to push Dean towards the edge. He shook with self-restraint, clutching the sheets hard and focusing on his breathing.

“Oh yes,” Cas continued in an even voice. “You, Dean Winchester, is one of the most selfless people I have ever met. You give so much of yourself to others. You say yes to helping out whenever the chance occurs, with no regard for how it will affect you. Every fiber of your being seems determined to change the world for the better. Your selflessness was one of the first things I noticed about you.”

“You’re way too articulate,” Dean half-moaned, earning him another chuckle. Then the pen was back, tracing over his skin. Followed by warm lips, copying the pattern of the letters. Every point of contact sent tingles through his already over-sensitive body, forcing small sounds of out him.

“You keep me grounded and sane. I’ve spent so much of my life with my head in the clouds, not really wanting to partake in the world around me. You changed that by showing me how good reality can be. I want to experience real life with you Dean.”

The statement was followed by more pen scratches, then kisses to his stomach, up his chest, and then peppering his face. Dean whimpered, lifting one hand to clutch at the others arm. A tear found his its way down his cheek, but was soon kissed away. It was all too much.

“Shhhh, just one more thing now,” Cas murmured into his skin. “You are doing so well for me.” Their lips met in a long, soft kiss that swallowed all the sounds coming out of Dean’s throat. Then Cas moved to write a last word on his stomach with slow, steady movement. As the pen disappeared, one hand traced all the words on his torso while his boyfriend left three small kisses to his stomach, chest, and forehead.

“Do you want to know what it says?” Cas asked, his lips curling into a smirk. Dean inclined his head in a way that was meant to be a nod. Apparently it was enough, as his boyfriend continued. “It says excellent cocksucker. The things you do with your mouth are downright sinful.” Dean almost chocked on air at those words, and his lips fell open of their own accord. Cas took the opportunity to push two long fingers into his mouth.

“Suck.” That was a command he didn’t really need. Closing his lips around anything Cas put between them was second nature by now. His boyfriend had a borderline obsession with that part of his body. Not that Dean would ever complain. It fit perfectly with his own love of having his mouth filled. Oral fixation Cas sometimes called it, his voice always filled with awe or deep pleasure. “Now touch yourself.”

He was slower to follow the command this time, more focused on the fingers pushing slowly in and out of his mouth. Even so, his entire body lit up with pleasure as his hand wrapped around his dick. It only took a few pumps before he was back on edge again. Cas was tugging at his hair and moving his fingers steadily faster and harder into his mouth. Dean almost gagged a few times, but forced himself to relax. The pleased expression on his boyfriend’s face was more than worth it. Pleasure built with every jerk of his hand, and every movement of Cas’ fingers. He was hurdling towards an orgasm, and this time it didn’t feel like he could stop. Moaning around the fingers, he tried to say that he was close, but it came out as a garbled mess. Fuck. He was so close, but he didn’t have permission to come. And he didn’t have permission to stop jerking off. Starring up, he tried to convey his desperation, tried to plead with his eyes. It was hard to focus on anything else than delaying his orgasm, the world seeming hazy around him. As such, he didn’t notice Cas’ face coming closer until a dark voice whispered into his ear.

“Come for me Dean.”

Two more jerks of his hand and he did just that. The orgasm tore through him, almost making him black out. His whole body convulsed in pleasure as cum coated his stomach. It was so good. Cas always made it better than he managed by himself. Even when he technically was doing all the work himself. He kept jerking in slow movements, drawing out the orgasm while he slowly came back to himself. Soon he grew oversensitive, but kept up the movement until strong fingers wrapped around his own and dragged his hand away. He sighed in relief and pure exhaustion, blinking up at the man above him.

“Hello Dean,” Cas murmured with a pleased smile. “You did perfectly for me.” Dean blushed at that, looking away. That only earned him slightly annoyed sound from the man above him before his face was peppered with kisses. “One day you will believe my praise.”

“One day yeah. Maybe.”

“You will. I intend to remind you of it as often as necessary until you do.” The statement was followed up with more soft kisses to Dean’s face, and a hand carting through his hair. Sighing contently, he leaned into that touch. This was, possibly, his favorite part. Cas was always so affectionate after sex. All soft touches and endless skin-to-skin contact. And like this, during the afterglow, Dean allowed himself to drown in it. Except, they weren’t both basking in the afterglow. With more effort than he was ready to admit, he lifted a hand up to Cas’ hip, squeezing lightly.

“Want me to get you off too?” He asked with a grin, eyes slowly drifting down the others body.

“Not tonight. I already got all I wanted.” He did this every once in a while. Actually, he did it rather often. As if he got more pleasure from getting Dean off than actually having an orgasm of his own. It wasn’t anything Dean could pretend like he understood, but Cas surely knew his own wants best. He was certainly direct enough about shoving his cock down the others throat when he felt like it.

“You’re sure?” Dean met the other’s gaze again, searching for any shred of indecision there.

“Yes Dean. I just wanted to watch you come apart. I might, however, fuck you in the morning.”

“Yeah. Okay. Awesome.” He grinned again, probably looking dopey as hell, as he relaxed back into the bed again. This time determined to stay put. Everything was right with the world again. Well, except for the rapidly drying pool of cum on his stomach, but that was a problem for future-Dean. That guy had energy for all sorts of things.

“I’ll get a washcloth,” Cas said as he stood up from the bed. Because he was freaking perfect. Dean told him as much, causing a fond smile to appear on his boyfriend’s face. Cas’ hand found his, giving one last squeeze as he started to turn away. Pain flared from Dean’s knuckles at the contact, making him flinch. His boyfriend froze at that, starring down at him.

“Dean? What?” Cas dragged his hand close, inspecting the tender area closely. His face turned from confused to worried, eyes scrunching up in familiar fashion. Dean looked at the hand as well. Now that they gave it attention, it was obvious that it was red and slightly swollen. A miracle that it hadn’t been noticed before. “Dean what happened?”

“Umm… I got into a fight with the shower wall.” The last thing he needed was for his boyfriend to blame this on himself. Sure, it happened because Dean was angry about their fight, but that was on him. Neither of them needed Cas to deal with any misplaced guilt over that.

“You got into a fight with the shower wall,” Cas repeated slowly.

“Not my finest moment.”

“Dean,” Cas sighed. “You need to take better care of yourself.”

“I know.”

“You can’t hurt yourself just because we fight.”

“I know.”

“Next time you decided to fight an inanimate object, please make it a verbal match. That one you at least have a chance to win.”

“That’s uncalled for.” Dean tried to scold his face into annoyed, but couldn’t keep a smile from breaking out. Apparently Cas was not in a lecturing, or self-hating, mood. This was going much better than expected.

“You know I’m right.” Cas smiled lightly, then looked more serious again. “Does it hurt?”

“Nothing I can’t handle man.”

“Dean.”

“Yeah. A bit.”

“Okay.” Cas nodded solemnly, then put his hand down and turned towards the door. “Wait here.” With that, he left the room, leaving Dean to study his knuckles. They didn’t look that bad really. He’d damaged them much worse on several occasions, but he’d mostly outgrown that part of his life. That was a teenage and early-to-mid-twenties thing. Which was probably why they looked more painful than they really should, they were no longer hardened by abuse. Or maybe he’d just hit that wall harder than intended. He shook his head lightly and laid the hands back on the bed. It didn’t matter now anyway. With a yawn, he closed his eyes, making himself more comfortable.

He was almost asleep when Cas returned, so he just grunted noncommittedly as a greeting. Sleep seemed more important than anything. Until a bag of freaking ice was dropped on his knuckle. His eyes flew open, and he starred down at the offending item. His boyfriend gave him an amused glance as he placed an ice bag on his other knuckle as well. Okay, they weren’t actually ice bags. When Dean looked closer, he saw they it was frozen peas partly packed into a dish towel. That didn’t change the fact that they felt like big bags of ice.

“Why?” He grunted, giving the pea bags a dirty look.

“Because you refuse to take care of yourself, so someone has to.” He couldn’t exactly argue with that. Instead he sighed, watching as Cas took a warm washcloth to his stomach, wiping off all the dried cum.

“You’re really confusing my senses here.”

“Sorry sweetheart.” Cas gave him a quick kiss to his forehead, before throwing the washcloth towards a corner, turning off the light, and getting into bed. Moving around with the freaking pea bags was complicated, but his boyfriend was efficient as always when cuddling was involved. Soon their legs were tangled, a comforter pulled over them, and Cas had an arm around his waist and head resting between his chest and shoulder.

“I’m glad you came back,” Dean murmured into the darkness, half-hoping the other wouldn’t hear him. Of course, he had no such luck.

“Me too. And Dean?”

He hummed lightly in response.

“I promise to be better at reminding you how much I love you. Maybe even stop walking out every time our fights get too intense. But you have to stop pushing me away.”

“Yeah I…. Fuck, I’m sorry Cas. I’ll do my best.” He took a deep breath, starring into the darkness of the room. “And I love you too. You know that, right?”

“I do. Most of the time.”

“Well I love you all the time,” Dean insisted, then gave his boyfriend an awkwardly placed kiss on his forehead. It seemed like he had to get better at those reminders too. He looked into nothing for several long minutes while Cas’ breathing turned heavy, soon making way for soft snores. Shaking off one of the pea bags, Dean circled an arm around his boyfriend, holding him close as sleep finally took him as well.

#destiel #destiel fic #eldu writes #finally finished this thing #minors dni

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youvebeenlivingfictional · 4 years

Text

I’m Always Curious Part Nine

Previous Part | Next Part | Masterlist Notes: Not beta-read. Synathehol is a TNG thing I think, so. On Earth in this story they drink alcohol, thank you. I hope everyone is well :) Thank you to everyone that’s read/liked/reblogged/replied! I really appreciate it! Summary: I’d become too engrossed in an argument with Spock (albeit a friendly one) on the effects (and logic) of using time travel to go back and change certain events. My idea was, if two totally separate events weren’t known to have any impact on one another, what would it matter which order you visited them in?

Shock of all shocks, I didn’t sleep well. “What are you listening to?” Thira asked as I pulled my headphones out. “Oh, it’s...” I floundered before waving her off, “Don’t worry about it, I can only understand, like, some of it.” “What are you up to?” “I’ve got a lecture in--” I glanced at the time, “Like an hour, so I have got to run.” “Are you coming to Liquara tonight?” Thira asked, watching me gather my things. “Ah... I think so?” I glanced back at her as I packed my PADD into my bag. “You can take one night off,” Thira said, “Loosen up, have a couple of drinks...Maybe meet somebody?” She waggled her brows at me, and I laughed, unable to help it. “I don’t think that’ll be happening,” I said, pulling bag onto my shoulder. “Come on, when was the last time you dated?” Thira asked, folding her legs up under herself. “I don’t know, my last year of the Academy?” I shrugged. “...Yikes,” Thira muttered. “Thank you for that-- I’m leaving now!” I tacked on before hurrying out of our room. -- I did manage to make it to my Dominionese lecture on time, with a very large coffee (loaded with extra espresso and additional caramel drizzle). I got to the lecture hall just on time and took the only available seat left - right next to Captain Pike. I couldn’t help my stiff posture as I sat down, taking out my PADD and putting on the virtual display sensory headset that was left out for me. As the instructor began to lay out what we’d be working on, I felt Pike lean over, his bicep pressing against mine as he murmured, “Late night?”

I hummed the affirmative, picking up my coffee and taking a sip as if to prove it. I heard Pike chuckle beside me, and I fought the urge to turn my head, see the waiting smile. I kept my eyes on the instructor, then on the Dominionese that appeared on the headset. I could still feel Pike’s arm pressed to mine; that didn’t matter, right? I could focus on something other than contact. I zoned in on the text on the headset, letting my fingers move over my PADD as I worked through the first few rows of translations. Now and again, the instructor would interrupt us, calling on students to read their translations aloud, correcting for grammar and syntax. Pike and I escaped the questioning; I’d found that unless the workshops or classes were geared specifically toward alumni, instructors tended to leave visiting students alone. Pike didn’t lean over to chat anymore throughout the rest of the class, which was a relief, but he didn’t lean away, either. He was close throughout, arm still resting against mine, thighs occasionally brushing, or our feet would knock against one another under the desk. Every single time I’d tell myself that if this was Una, or Thira, it wouldn’t be making my heart jump the way it was. If this was Spock-- Actually, no. Spock would keep his limbs to himself.

Nevertheless, class passed without incident. I removed the headset as it ended, closing my eye for a moment to help it readjust. “Well, that was informative,” Pike piped up. I glanced over at him, nodding, and was more than a little relieved to find him focused on packing away his things. I turned back down to my PADD, saving the notes I’d taken as I saw Pike’s head turn back to me, presumably as a result of my lack of verbal response. “You heading back to the ship?” He prompted. “Ah-- No. There’s a language panel on Iconian in...” I glanced at the time on my PADD, “Like ten minutes, so, I’m just gonna hang out here.” "Packed morning,” Pike commented, brows raised. I shrugged. “I just--” “Like to keep busy?” Pike finished knowingly, smiling. I returned the smile in spite of myself, nodding. “Exactly,” I confirmed. “Well, try to get some rest some time this week, lieutenant,” the Captain said, standing and patting me on the shoulder as he passed me. I returned my eyes to my PADD, unthinkingly answering, “Yeah, you, too.” I heard Pike’s steps falter, but I didn’t raise my eyes to meet what I was sure was a questioning gaze. I just reopened my Dominionese and reviewed my answers until I was sure he was gone. -- I did not want to go out. After the last 24 hours I’d had, I just wanted to take an extra long, extra hot shower and curl up in bed with my PADD and a bottle Risian wine. But I also knew that if I didn’t go, I wouldn’t hear the end of it from Thira -- and possibly from Una. I got to Liquara a little while after everyone else (the panel on Iconian had run long and delayed my getting back to the ship; I’d taken longer to get ready because I’d had to re-talk myself into going every five minutes). “You’re alive?” Thira teased as I settled into a seat beside hers and across from Una. There were a few others at the table - Spock, Nhan, and Connolly, as well as a few people from engineering that I vaguely recognized. “I was just telling everyone how you had your headphones on this morning and you were listening to something that sounded so harsh, but kinda...Lyrical. What was that?” Thira asked. The surrounding party looked at me expectantly and I answered, “Klingon poetry.” “I wasn’t aware there as an intensive on Klingon poetry this week,” Una commented, brow raised. “This was more of an independent study situation,” I admitted. “Is there anything in particular that sparked your sudden interest in such a topic?” Spock asked. I shrugged, reaching for a menu and skimming it in favor of meeting anyone’s eye. “Just had the urge, I guess,” I excused before looking around, “I haven’t been here in a while, so, someone refresh my memory: are the slush-o mixes worth the hangover?” -- I stayed out later than I had anticipated. I didn’t partake in many sugary alcoholic drinks on the Enterprise, so it didn’t take long for a decent buzz to kick in. People peeled off as the night wore on, until it was down to myself, Thira, Una, Spock, and Connolly -- practically the ready room crowd.

I should not have stayed out, though. I should’ve had one drink and then ducked out gracefully. But I’d become too engrossed in an argument with Spock (albeit a friendly one) on the effects (and logic) of using time travel to go back and change certain events. My idea was, if two totally separate events weren’t known to have any impact on one another, what would it matter which order you visited them in? “My point is, if I chose first to go back and stop T.S. Eliot from writing Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and then subsequently traveled forward in time and stopped Oppenheimer from designing the atomic bomb--” “Why would you choose to halt the writing of a book rather than the creation of a catastrophic weapon?” Spock asked. “Okay, two reasons: One - It is a time machine, Spock, I’d have literally nothing but time. Two-- No, actually, three reasons-- two, that book came out in 1939, the Manhattan Project didn’t start until 1942, so I think it is safe to say that despite its historical significance to mankind, I would not be doing the world a disservice by visiting those events in chronological order.” “And the third reason?” Una asked. "The movie CATS was the first step to the subsequent tanking of Universal Studios in the 22nd century, so that’s my first priority if I ever get a personal time machine,” I said simply. His laugh joined in with the others-- my ear caught on that sound, the way it had the night before. My eyes darted to the other end of the table, and I felt my smile falter a little. I had been so engrossed in my conversation with Spock that I hadn’t even noticed the Captain settled on the other side of Connolly. Pike’s eyes met mine as the laughter settled, and I gave him a quick smile before averting my eyes. I could feel Una looking at me, and when I raised my eyes to hers, I found her brow quirked. She peered around Connolly at the Captain. “What kept you?” She asked. “I was speaking with Admiral Cornwall about our next mission. Nothing for us to discuss tonight. How was the lecture?” He asked. When silenced followed the question, I realized it had been directed at me. I met Pike’s eye again. “Informative.” I left it there, picking up the menu again and looking it over. Part of me already know I was going to be switching to water, though. -- I remembered why I’d liked being called to the ready room so much at the beginning - when there were so many of us, before I was better acquainted with the Captain, it was easier for me to hang back; I didn’t feel as pressured to speak up. And at Liquara, with Una, Thira, and Connolly there to steer the conversation, and Spock to interject (heavily), I didn’t feel that the conversation lagged anywhere. And I was being good - keeping my eyes to myself, only looking at the Captain when he was speaking; smiling and laughing an appropriate amount, and definitely, definitely not thinking about that sigh of his name and the giggle I’d heard the night before. “Don’t tell me you’re leaving.” Thira had managed to catch what I had assumed was a subtle shrugging on of my jacket, but what to her was apparently a beacon of retreat. I gave her a small, regretful smile. “I just realized how late it is.” “You’re not going to the long-range sensor lab again, are you?” Spock asked, watching me. Unbeknownst to me, he’d been there himself the night before, and had actually left shortly before I had. I laughed a little, shaking my head. “No, not tonight. I’ve got an Exoarchaeology and the 22nd Century intensive that I’ve gotta be up for,” I excused, “I already settled up at the bar.” “I thought you were going to ask about their drink special,” Una pointed out, raising a brow. I shrugged as I stood. “And I did. Right before I settled up. Have a good night, guys,” I cast a quick smile around, careful not to let my eyes linger on anyone for too long before I turned and left. That had been good, right? Natural. I had contributed to the conversation, I hadn’t hung on the Captain’s every word like some giggling schoolgirl. I’d more than earned that extra long, extra hot shower. And maybe one Klingon poem. “Headed for the shuttles?” Every single instinct told me to walk faster, pretend I hadn’t heard him. I turned in spite of this. He wasn’t too far behind me. I stopped walking, giving him the chance the catch up. "Sort of our only way to get back to the ship right now, so, that was the plan,” I nodded. Pike pulled his communicator out, raising it to his lips. I was a little tipsy, but I was looking at the communicator, I swear, not at Pike’s mouth. “Pike to transporter room. Two to beam up.” “But--” Before I could finish my sentence, we were in the transporter room. “But?” Pike asked before nodding to the crew. I gave them a quick wave before stepping off of the pads behind Pike. “But I thought the transporter room was out of commission until the Enterprise’s diagnostic was complete,” I said, following Pike to the turbolift. “Diagnostic was completed this morning, Enterprise was cleared,” Pike reported, brow furrowing, “I mentioned that earlier.” Maybe he had; I had been making an active effort at the bar to not listen too intently to what he was saying, and apparently I’d done too good of a job. I nodded once. “Right. Sorry, I must have slush-o mix in my ears,” I muttered. We stepped onto the turbolift, each reaching for the control panel. Pike and I both lowered our hands, and I heard Pike murmur, “Go ahead.” I entered my destination before Pike entered his. There was a pause before the lift hummed. “...Lieutenant, may I ask you something?” “‘Course.” “Please don’t take this unkindly, but,” Oh god, “Is everything alright?” I turned a frown up at Pike, confused. “Why do you ask?” “You seem to be burying yourself in work. Between the lectures yesterday and this morning,” How did he know about yesterday? “The long-range sensor lab last night, your lecture tomorrow-- I’ve been told you took Onafuwa’s one-day intensive?” Una. Blabbermouth. “All compelling evidence, but need I remind you, Captain, that we are in the same turbolift right now because we just left the same bar?” I pointed out. Pike’s brow quirked. “Be that as it may, I just wanted to ask the question on the off-chance it needed asking.” I turned my head again to face the turbolift doors. “I’m alright, Captain.” “...Then why couldn’t you look me in the eye and say that?” “Is that why you left?” I asked, looking up at him then. “Excuse me?” “The bar. Is that why you left the bar? To ask me this?” He blinked once, twice, then pursed his lips, shook his head once and said, “No.” I couldn’t help the smug look that overtook my features as the turbolift doors opened on my floor. Looking back, I’d pass the boldness off on the copious amount of slush-o mix I’d had at the bar. “Never join the Starfleet poker league, Captain. You don’t bluff well,” I said before stepping off of the lift and leaving him behind.

#Christopher Pike #Chris Pike #christopher pike/reader #christopher pike x reader #Christopher Pike/You #Christopher Pike Imagine #I'm Always Curious #captain pike #captain pike x reader #Captain Pike/Reader #Captain Pike Imagine #Captain Pike x You

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badapricot · 3 years

Note

If you don't mind, I'd like to respond back to your review of 1000 stars to the specific bullets you provided:

2. My reasoning for when Phupha told Tian to go back is that this is a man in his 30s while Tian, so I've heard, is supposed to be 21 or so, that's a whole ass (almost) decade in between them. Which makes me believe Phupha's whole hesitancy and what you describe as "slow" is that he is thinking that Tian is doing all of this out of infatuation instead of thinking rationally. He does not want to be the reason Tian didn't finish school, if in any case, they break up or he no longer wants to stay in PPD anymore. He feels like by making him stay it'll prevent Tian from achieving his true potential. Especially since he has $$$ and all of his opportunities are so readily available and if not, his money makes it so that it is (I mean that's how he got his heart in the first place). I feel like as the older adult, Phupha feels like he needs to put a limit to Tian's impulsivity (and we all know he's the embodiment of it). He's making decisions based on logic whereas Tian is making his decisions based on emotion (which ngl, makes sense since he felt empty and apathetic before he got a second chance to live). Phupha probably doesn't even feel like its love, just very strong attraction, so to have a young person be so willing to give up his education, something very valuable, out of infatuation for someone he met less than half a year ago doesn't sit right with him.

3. I do agree with you that their relationship (or whatever it is since they haven't really defined it) needing to end was melodramatic since, like you said, if you really want it you'll find a way to make it happen. I feel like it all comes down to Phupha not pursuing Tian bc he feels he can't provide him with what he's used to or what he thinks he needs.

6. I won't excuse the hurtful and cruel things phupha said to Tian but he was /grieving/ and the fact that Tian said it plain and clearly "I killed Torfun" in front of the /whole/ village is not going to make anyone want to sit down and try to analyze it and find evidence. This is someone who was perhaps like a blood sister to him (which quite frankly, I wish they would have elaborated more of their relationship, but alas. I think people in the fandom are quick to point fingers at Phupha bc the show didn't really /show/ that he really cared for her). If somebody admitted that about a family member you /loved/ who was run over/murdered/killed and didn't receive justice I think anyone would react the same way. We, as the audience, are aware of the events that transpired that night. Phupha does not. All he knows is Torfun was run over by someone, didn't receive justice for it, told Rang and Yod at the funeral he would never forgive the person who did this, months later after loving/liking/falling for Tian finds out through a third party that Tian received a heart transplant the same night she died, has her heart, walks in on Tian telling the village /he/ killed her and that's about it. He doesn't have the details to the gaps in between. On another note, I, too, don't like that he was cruel to him to "protect" him and in a way shows he's not quite ready to be in a relationship or at least shows his inexperience with relationships considering you can't lie to your partner every time you want to protect them if you want a relationship to thrive and be healthy. If it involves Tian then he has a right to know and to solve it together not one making decisions for the other. That part was not correct and I don't like that Phupha made him suffer for no reason, but the first part was out of genuine pain and grief so, for me, I can't blame him for it.

7. Again, They keep going in circles simply because Phupha feels like he could never amount to or provide what Tian is used to which is luxury and stability so he doesn't pursue or beats around the bush because he feels Tian can have someone who's his age and would probably have the same interests and life experiences and is still young enough and just starting life to give/provide him those things while he feels he's already done everything he could do with his life and is content with it.

I think the main issue is the fact that their relationship never progressed. It was all just them staring longingly at each other only for it to be quickly resolved at the end half heartedly. It kinda feels like the 2gether shit where they never really went through the show as an established couple without the drama immediately following (-_-) I wish they had focused more on their established relationship instead of everything else.

Sorry it took me awhile to get to this because of the length of the response.

2. I agree that Phupha is coming at Tian from a paternalistic place because of their age and power difference. Phupha feels responsible for Tian and doesn’t want him to throw away his degree for a relationship with Phupha. That was clear on-screen. But Tian doesn’t have to throw away his degree to be with him and that’s where my confusion and disbelief comes from. Phones and monthly visits don’t exist in the 1000 Stars universe? In real life, people have long-distance relationships for less.

6. I don’t blame Phupha for his reaction after Torfun’s death. It was him continuing to hurt Tian to “protect” him that made me go “Uh-oh is this a pattern?” because it was totally unnecessary. Like you said, it shows how immature he is. He can’t just be cruel to Tian every time he wants him to back off.

7. I was not talking about their relationship going in circles because of Phupha’s worry that he’s stealing Tian’s life. I meant narratively in Episode 9 they went from a heartfelt conversation outside, to slinging insults at each other as soon as Tian saw Phupha talking to his Dad. They’ll stare lovingly into each other’s eyes, and then they’ll fight like cats and dogs, rinse and repeat.

We completely agree on this. But at least in 2gether they got together before the last episode. At this rate, Tian and Phupha will only get together in a 2 year flash forward and it will be the last 10 minutes of the last episode, when their relationship should have been given more priority and earlier on.

#a tale of thousand stars #1000 stars #atots #asks #Anonymous

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celestialflamesme · 3 years

Text

| THE GUM CONUNDRUM | A Stashi One-shot | Fairy Tail Next Generation |

Ship: Storm Fullbuster x Nashi Dragneel

It was a normal, uneventful day in the magical town of Magnolia.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S OUT OF STOCK?!"

"SIR, YOUR CLOTHES!!"

Well, almost.

Storm huffed, exiting the grocery store (Why even call it grocery store if it didn't have the goddamn essentials?) just as Gale yelled "Pick the pace, prick! I have a book to get to!"

He rolled his eyes, "Gee, talk about priorities."

Gale sauntered forward, crimson eyes unimpressed. "Less talk, more walk."

The Demon-slayer frowned at him. "Go right ahead, I need to find another store for my damn gum!"

"Yeah no, Team Storm needs the goddamn leader to sign off the register or it's invalid," He shot him a dirty look, "Which one of you oafs decided on that rule again?"

"Hey, it's a good rule! Especially since the pyrofreak gets motion sick and takes like an hour to recover. Win-win!" Storm rubbed his hands evilly.

The archive mage deadpanned, "Right."

"Moodkill."

Storm scanned the street for any signs of that familiar blue vending machine but to no avail.

What the heck?! Wasn't it supposed to be an icon? Disrespect is what it was. Storm himself featured in their advert a few months ago and it sold quite a few million copies. (Nashi still glared at him whenever he brought that up. She'd received quite a few threats and demands to lay off the Ice Demon Slayer back then. Mira was thrilled. She however, was not.)

"Uh, Storm. You might want to get a look at this."

He waved a sheet of paper, his face a little too smug for the news to be good. The raven head squinted at him and proceeded to snatch it.

There, in bold black letters, was the title of his nightmare track.

FIORE GUM BANNED

"Fiore gum has now been officially banned after research suggested the carcinogen vinyl acetate was present in staggering amounts-"

Storm Fullbuster was a simple man, he had only 3 basic needs: Food, a roof over his head and Fiore gum (Bah, who needs clothes?) One pack per day, was that so hard a request?

"Well, considering the serious health violations here, it seems logical to ban it before it's released worldwide. Isn't that in like a month?"

He glared at the Archive mage, "Not helping, Gale."

"I wasn't exactly trying to," Storm flipped the bird at him for that, "But what exactly was it that you said before? Ah, priorities. Sweet, sweet irony."

Right now the ice mage had the urge to rip him a new one. Nothing would be sweeter. Ugh, Nashi was never going to let this go, was she? She'd smirk at him, bite that annoying little lip of hers, and say "Serves you right, Frostbite, for all the shit I went through. Cheers." And go celebrate while he was out there, maybe in prison-

"Dude, clothes."

"Fuck em, we have no time! We have to stock up on gum!" He jumped forth, causing an old lady passing by to shriek and swing her cane threateningly. Again, it was his Constitutional right to get the choice to wear (or not wear) whatever he wanted to! Talk about judgemental!

He could already feel the uncomfortable sweat on his brow. Damn withdrawal symptoms. He'd gone through this hell once before (When his mom decided to ground him the hard way for destroying a town) and was NOT going to go through that again. Nope.

"New mission: We find a pack of Fiore gum or die trying!" He pumped his fist in the air. "ALL ABOARD!"

"Oh bother," Gale grumbled.

...........

One rabid Chihuahua (those things were nasty, how the hell did people own them willingly?!) and an armada of Rune Knights later, the duo gave up.

"FINE! IF THE UNIVERSE WANTS TO PLAY DIRTY, I WILL NOT ENGAGE! NOPE! I'M GOING BACK!"

Gale huffed, "If only you were struck with this realisation 3 hours ago, I'd be at home. Content. Free. With no fear of a goddamn puppy pouncing at me from any corner." They collectively shuddered.

"And that kids, is how you cartwheel!" Nashi's giggle followed from in front of the guild quarters.

Typical, she'd be here having the time of her life while he suffered.

Okay, that was mean of him. It wasn't as if she truly had anything against him. He just loved messing with her. She was nice when she wanted to be.

"ETHAN! NOT THERE-"

Bang. Crash. Screech. The notorious triplet's head popped out of the trash pile near them, covered in grime. Nashi grimaced through her hands (God, her annoying nose was all scrunched up! Don't even start with her damn eyes!)

She sighed, pulling him out with one hand. "Your mom is gonna skin you alive, you know that, right?" The 7-year old shrugged in response and his relatively well-mannered brother Elijah facepalmed. How they were even related was beyond any of their understanding.

She ushered them in, and turned back to hoist herself on one of the railings upfront and swing her legs.

Oh, look at that, Gale left already.

He strode forth with a smirk that he knew she detested from her very being and tapped her shoulder, despite the fact that he knew she sniffed him a mile away.

She narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Nothing." He smirked again.

She rolled her eyes and continued to- chew?

He raised an eyebrow, "Whatcha eating, dumbass?"

Which is when she proceeded to pop a bubble at his face. Oh no.

She grinned at him like the cat that got the cream, "Not that it's any of your business." Pop. "But it's Fiore gum."

3 hours. He could feel the sweat and his fingers twitched impatiently. "Oh."

There were two ways he could play this.

Way one. Ask the dragon nicely. She was usually extra generous with her friends. It's not like she even liked gum.

"Mind if I borrow a piece?"

She blinked. "Uh, I mean, sure."

He couldn't help but smile as she fiddled with her pockets taking out papers and wrappers of all shapes and sizes. Despite all their banter, and her one sided hatred, Storm knew he like-liked the Fire Dragonslayer the second she punched him in preschool for being 'stupid'.

And now?

With her hair set back, and her bangs framing loosely in that annoying way she liked because it made her look 'Nashi', and her cute *cough* annoying *cough* lip that she was nibbling on, and her chocolate brown eyes-

Okay, she just said something. Abort!! Mission!! Abort!!

"Yes?" he blinked. God, was he pathetic or what?

"I saidddd," she drawled, "I have only one piece left." She twirled it around her slender fingers. Damn seductress. "And I really do like this flavour, so-" Without a word of warning, she popped it in her mouth.

She popped it in her mouth.

She popped-

SHE POPPED IT IN HER MOUTH?!

"Did you just eat it in front of me?" He gaped at her.

Her hazel eyes narrowed, "Uh, yes? Sorry bub."

Okay, Storm Fullbuster did not fight a possibly rabid Chihuahua, escape a bunch of Rune Knights and climb a wall just to be defeated this easily. This was another way the universe wanted him to prove his worth.

Oh, only for you Fiore gum.

Way two, here I come.

And then he kissed her.

..........

Okay, so he might have lied. Maybe he was kind of looking for a reason to kiss the pinkette too. And damnnnnnn, did he not regret it.

Papers rustled in the wind from when she'd dropped them in shock. He cradled her face tenderly, keeping his eyes open to admire her flushed face and half lidded eyes (And also to make sure he'd be ready when she decided to sucker punch him) and lightly sucked on her lower lip.

Oh fuck, she just moaned. He counted his blessings and maybe her freckles too as his tongue nudged her own and they fought for dominance. She tasted like cinnamon and apple and strawberry. (Was this how the forbidden fruit tasted like? If so, he'd dive headfirst into that pile of- was it apples? Not strawberries? Strawberries...)

Her hands were now gripping his forearms. He grinned into the kiss, aware of the effect he now had on the pinkette. Hopefully his. If she'd like.

Back!! To!! Mission!!

Right! He swiped the gum from her and broke the kiss, pausing for a few seconds as she struggled to catch her breath (Hoe!! He!! Finally!! Did!! That!!) He stroked her lip gently with his thumb, making her breath hitch. She still hadn't opened her eyes.

Time for the quick getaway. "OKAY! BUH-BYE BABE!" He kissed her forehead and rushed in the guildhall like a man possessed.

He actually did it! Fuck yes! Also Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Wait, why wasn't she chasing him?

He paused and turned to face the door. His guildmates stared at him curiously.

One second. Two.

"STORM FULLBUSTER, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!" She bellowed out, and he winced, sending a prayer above as he ran, once again.

.............

#stashi #storm fullbuster #nashi dragneel #gale redfox #nalu #gruvia #bixanna #gajevy #fairy tail #next generation #nashi x storm #nasha x greige

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ceescedasticity · 4 years

Text

Jin Guangyao’s Hoarding Problem, version 2, part 1

Okay I’m still not writing this PROPERLY.

Canon notes: This is mostly but not entirely CQL-canon. If I write it through to the end, it will probably turn out better than canon for JGY, but not what you’d call WELL.

***

Jin Guangyao has a lot on his plate: scheming for the Jin Sect’s advancement and Jin Guangshan's elevation to Chief Cultivator; scheming for his personal advancement within the Jin Sect; trying to get Qin Cangye to let him marry his daughter; trying to juggle his sworn brothers; dealing with the tragic death of his half-brother; dealing with the weird thirteen-year-old half-brother that's been dropped on him in some sort of power play; managing the whole Yiling Laozu… thing. There's a lot. He didn't particularly want more. Really.

So Xue Yang — all right, technically Xue Yang is his fault, in that he went and found Xue Yang and brought him back, but his father wanted someone who could do demonic cultivation for them, and that basically meant Xue Yang. The demonic cultivation (n.b.: demonic cultivation may involve any or all of animated corpses, murderous ghosts, and visible resentful energy!) was Jin Guangshan's idea, so Xue Yang is his fault. The whole demonic cultivation… workshop in a subsidiary Jin property near Jinlintai is also Jin Guangshan's fault.

(…This "workshop" needs a name. Wiktionary tells me that "dizang" (地藏) can be a literary term for cellar or basement. The workshop is not completely underground, but it partially is; plus, the word is also the name of a bodhisattva and the irony appeals to me. Hopefully this is not a terrible mistake, but: let's call it the Dizang.)

The Ghost General being chained up in a cell rather than being destroyed was… mostly Jin Guangyao's idea, actually. Jin Guangshan wanted to destroy the thing that killed his precious son, but he accepted that having an example fierce corpse — an example conscious fierce corpse — could only help their research. He also salivates at the idea of being able to control him.

Jin Guangyao floated the idea of also keeping Wen Qing, who after all was an unmatched physician…? Jin Guangshan blew him off. Who cared about a stupid Wen bitch, probably the Yiling Laozu's whore… he hopes she screams when she's burned.

The heavily bruised woman in Wen Qing's clothing does scream. She doesn't say she's not Wen Qing, because at least this way she doesn't have to go back to Xue Yang. None of the Jin cultivators assisting at the execution notice a thing, because they are all stupid.

Jin Guangyao doesn't know Wen Qing, but he knows of her, from his time in Qishan, and Xue Yang has met her and contribute a little more information. Wen Qing isn't afraid to get her hands literally dirty, but metaphorically — she doesn't like it. But she would do anything to keep her brother safe. Wen Ruohan kept her on a leash for years. It's doable. He can just keep her shut away in the Dizang, and no one will know.

He wants her to cooperate, not try to escape, treat anyone he brings to her for treatment, and prepare medicinal compounds upon request. In exchange, she gets to live, she'll be decently treated, Wen Ning gets a break from being a research subject to come see her at least once a month, and Wen Ning will be used only as a research subject — they won't use him to kill anyone.

She agrees.

Wen Ning gets his attention, when he's being escorted away after the first visit, and says that if his sister is given any victims to patch up and send back for more, he will end the deal himself, by killing everyone involved if necessary. He's… probably bluffing? Jin Guangyao really wasn't expecting conditions from that corner but agrees, sort of — any such patients will be negotiated for separately.

Then he has to go, cause there's a pledge conference he has to get to.

Jin Guangyao's reasons for having Su Minshan use a teleporting talisman to take Jiang Yanli to Wen Qing may include, but are not limited to, the following:

He actually kind of likes her, as much as he likes anyone in Jinlintai. She's always respectful to him. Her kindness reminds him a little of Lan Xichen.

If her life is saved because Jin Guangyao's man took her to Jin Guangyao's personal physician, then Yunmeng Jiang will owe Lanling Jin and Jiang Wanyin will owe Jin Guangyao. Granted Jiang Wanyin wasn't a whole lot of help to the last people he owed a massive debt to, but Jin Guangyao is a lot more willing to aggressively hold it over his head than Wen Qing and Wen Ning were.

Having Wen Qing's first patient be someone she would like to save, who is not a prisoner, may help… start slow. Ease into things.

If Jiang Yanli dies, Jiang Wanyin is going to become intolerable, and Jin Guangshan will probably push dealing with him off on Jin Guangyao.

So that happens.

Su Minshan is not otherwise occupied with a second flute. Wei Wuxian is running on too much resentment and not enough sleep, his own grief and guilt and fury tangled up with all the feelings he's been around — from the Burial Mounds, from the history of Nightless City, from the live people right there. He was at least half out of his mind when he arrived and it only got worse from there, and things… happened, and the corpses weren't listening to him anymore. He did try to stop it, when Jiang Yanli asked him to. He couldn't, but not because of outside interference. He just couldn't. And he's vaguely aware that Jiang Yanli might not be dead, that someone was yelling about a doctor, but she looked pretty dead and it was his fault and everyone wants the goddamn Seal and they're killing each other over it and he ruins everything he touches and there's nothing left, nothing, and Jiang Cheng is telling him to go to hell—

He falls.

The bloodbath grinds to a halt, slower than it should have with one primary driver. A lot of people are dead; a lot of people are still alive; many of them are even ready for action.

In another universe, Jiang Sect might have elbowed its way into taking the lead in the hunt for the Yiling Laozu's body. Jiang Cheng would have found Chenqing (and maybe something more, that he discreetly buried and never spoke of). In this universe, either someone stole Jiang Yanli's body or else — and he doesn't even want to let himself hope but he can't not — she is alive and he doesn't know where she is. Neither of these scenarios is acceptable. Finding her body (don't hope for more, don't hope for more) is the highest priority. Jiang Sect mostly clears out.

Much of the available members of Jin Sect take off for the Burial Mounds for plunder and wiping out the remaining Wens! [Who did not turn themselves in with Wen Qing and Wen Ning, that was stupid.] It really wouldn't do to have anyone else get the loot and/or have everyone realize the Wens are noncombatants. (The Jin know perfectly well they're noncombatants.) They aren't alone — there are a number of tagalongs from sects great and small — but it's mainly Jins. This is roughly as it is in the usual universe.

Lan Sect is abruptly preoccupied with internal issues, which internal issues are also taking off for the Burial Mounds, also as in the usual universe.

Nie Sect gets left with more than its share of cleanup, most likely also as in the usual universe.

Jin Guangyao, who as we recall rose to a position of significant trust in Wen Ruohan's Nightless City, takes a shortcut down to the bottom of the cliff (which is not actually lava that is very unsafe). Just to look, before he follows to the Burial Mounds to make sure they don't miss anything important in the looting.

He isn't expecting to to find Wei Wuxian somehow still alive. Just barely.

The logical thing to do would be to finish him, or summon everyone and let the careless handling kill him in minutes. Everyone wants him dead, he's clearly dying, simple enough.

Except…

Wei Wuxian is insane, and has been at least since he walked away from power and privilege to go camp in a mass grave with a pathetic bunch of fugitives. Probably longer. But there's no denying he's brilliant. No one every cultivated with resentment without Yin Iron before him, at least not at such a scale. And it's not like he's dangerous in this condition. And would anyone really be surprised not to the find a body? Maybe he turned into evil smoke and floated away. So maybe…

He has to wait for Su Minshan to get back, because trying to move Wei Wuxian in any normal way would probably kill him straight out.

Wen Qing gets about an hour break between healing Jiang Yanli to the point where Su Minshan can safely take her back to the normal Jin healers and Jin Guangyao and Su Minshan teleporting in with 90% dead Wei Wuxian.

(If he's here, no one is protecting the Burial Mounds. It was all for nothing.)

She thinks it might be kinder to let him die. She seriously thinks about letting him die. But she can't bring herself to do it.

There's only so much she can do, of course, in the absence of a golden core. But she can keep him alive, for the moment.

When he's stable — for the moment — Jin Guangyao comments that she wasn't surprised by the lack of a golden core.

Wen Qing says of course she wasn't, she was his doctor in the Burial Mounds for a year.

Jin Guangyao says that he was surprised, because he'd read Wen Zhuliu's reports and he never said anything about destroying Wei Wuxian's core — just Jiang Wanyin's. (He's lying. He noticed the oddity of Jiang Wanyin's non-missing core almost immediately after the war, and while at first he suspected Wen Zhuliu must have lied for once in his life, Wei Wuxian's non-use of spiritual energy led him to suspect something close to the truth. He wasn't sure Wen Qing was involved until just now, but that's not a surprise either.)

He says he knows she did it. (He's not lying. Wen Qing schools her expressions well, she had to in order to survive Wen Ruohan's Qishan, but Jin Guangyao is on another level.)

Wen Qing says it doesn't matter, it doesn't work without a voluntary donor, so it's of extremely limited utility. (This is not technically a lie, as it has definitely never been done without a voluntary donor. And it might be true in general.)

He lets it go, for the moment.

Wei Wuxian is slow to wake, and not in a very good place once he does. It's a relief and a comfort to know that Jiang Yanli is alive, and Wen Qing is alive, and Wen Ning is no less alive than before.

But with Wei Wuxian out of the way the Jins are going to kill everyone in the Burial Mounds and all of them know it.

Practically speaking it doesn't make much difference — the sects were going to attack the Burial Mounds one way or another, and Wei Wuxian was in no condition to defend anything. But dying trying to defend them would have been better than dying for nothing and abandoning them.

Wen Qing mostly doesn't blame him, because it doesn't make much difference and she knew he wasn't going to be making many rational decisions. But she tells him the best thing he can do to try to make up for it is not abandon her and A-Ning now.

He lives.

That doesn't mean he's well enough to reconstruct the Stygian Tiger Seal, or interpret any of his notes, or even talk to you, Xue Yang, does Jin Guangyao know you're here?

Xue Yang is eminently unsuitable for delivering supplies to a sickroom, and Su Minshan has a sect he's supposed to be running and can't be lurking around Lanling all the time. So, Jin Guangyao conscripts Mo Xuanyu, weird thirteen-year-old, who is desperate for any scrap of attention and approval and becomes instantly devoted to him, and who no one is going to miss anywhere else.

(If Jin Guangyao had waited a little longer to pull Mo Xuanyu into his orbit, this wouldn't have been the case — Jiang Yanli would have taken him under her wing. But right now she's isolated, still both convalescing and mourning, and Madam Jin keeps Mo Xuanyu well away from her.) (Mo Xuanyu considers Madam Jin's treatment of him completely normal, incidentally.)

And for a little while we have a status quo.

#things i'm not writing #jgy's hoarding problem tellfic

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anangelicday-mrwolf · 3 years

Text

Wolfsbane : Noblesse Fanfic (post-ending)

(previous chapter)

Chapter 51 – Nightmare Walking

Hair originally flaunting glamorous gold now stricken dark purple.

Bare torso marred with purple just as dark.

Atmosphere oh-so-ferocious, ridding the bystanders of any desire to approach, the operative part being the fact that it is from someone who is merely standing with his back visible.

And the building completely tattered into crumbles, an influential addition that renders the entire scene as intimidating as it can be.

Nobody would have stayed standing upon the immediate sight of the isle.

But it was Lunark who was at the scene.

“Frankenstein!”

Her voice even hinted elation as she lunged forward, screeching her sweetheart’s name.

She had been steeling herself for the worst-case scenario – Frankenstein’s death via 3rd Elder’s hand – throughout her marine marathon.

And here she was, confirming how he was at least on his feet, a reason legitimate enough for her to place her emotions above her logics that were suggesting she should first get a picture of what happened here.

Despite her ardent glee that matched that of a wife welcoming a husband back from the war, her body halted when her audience turned around.

There was still a distance between them, but the smile that had bloomed across her countenance froze in awkward distortion.

Her facial muscles were reformed in a violent speed when the lean figure wholly faced her, into those that someone would wear upon running into their parents’ killer.

“...What are you? Don’t even think about playing tricks with your tongue. You’re not Frankenstein. I can tell that you’re not.”

The man looked no different from the time when 1st Elder and 3rd Elder invaded werewolf realm. And from the time when she had met Frankenstein for very first time.

He looked exactly what he looks like whenever he deliberately forfeits the control over the Dark Spear.

Nevertheless, Lunark noticed something has changed, for a reason she could not define herself, the closest excuse being an instinct that would allow a mother bird to recognize her offspring among thousands of fluffy chicks.

With all circumstances put behind, Lunark did not hesitate to sharpen her eyes and lips with belligerence.

“What have you done to Frankenstein?”

That was when her party ended the long silence.

“We did nothing. He brought this on himself.”

We?

Just as I’d thought, the Dark Spear took over his body.

That was one mystery gone, but to Lunark it was simply checking the answer she had on her mind as correct. In other words, the weight in her chest has not been lifted at all.

In fact, the Dark Spear’s claim that Frankenstein was to blame for this added fuel to the concern blazing within her.

“What are you talking about? There’s no way Frankenstein would let this happen.”

“We are just as clueless of the exact reason why. Frankenstein chugged this tonic he’d have more often than water, just like a drug addict doing drug. And this is how things ended up.”

Lunark realized what was the tonic the Dark Spear was mentioning; it must be what Frankenstein had in his silver flask, which she witnessed upon her first visit to this island.

“Not convincing. Frankenstein is more thorough than any other creature I know, especially when it comes to research. He will never make any mistake in managing his own invention. What did you do to him?”

“We can’t deny that we have lots of problem with this world and this guy in particular, but we never lie. When Frankenstein returned from your domain, he briefly talked to that 3rd Elder guy, before he downed the whole cup of the tonic he made in his lab in advance.”

Upon mention of 3rd Elder, Lunark momentarily minced her lips, her rage reminding her that it was still there.

“And then he complained of mind-numbing vertigo, until he fell unconscious like a TV unplugged. At the same time, the iron-hard control he has been maintaining at last broke down.”

From Dark Spear’s mouth slipped a low snicker.

Lunark was now familiar with Frankenstein’s unique devilish laughter, but she has never heard such unpleasant, loathsome laugh.

She felt as if she were witnessing the declaration of war from a devil – no, from disaster itself.

“We have no idea how, but both his body and mind fell into slumber! And now we have full control of his flesh and bones!”

The Dark Spear raised Frankenstein’s head high, and maniacal cackle erupted from his throat; and it raised Frankenstein’s arms and looked around as if showing off what it had done.

“And as you can see, we were free to experiment what we can do. Although we couldn’t get a chance to gain experience from Frankenstein’s roommate. How unfortunate. Perhaps he foresaw that something wicked is coming his way; by the time we could walk around on our own, he was nowhere to be seen.”

At then Lunark’s stony face was struck by thousand chasms.

‘I knew it – he’s behind all this. And he scrammed after flinging a lit match into a barrel of gasoline. I will so not let him get away with this!’

To Lunark’s grimace, she was not given time to plot exactly how she can best beat the guts out of him.

The Dark Spear pointed its hideous crimson eyes, which used to be the most beautiful topaz blue in the world, at the werewolf warrior.

“But look what we have here – a new lab rat that visited on its own feet to substitute him!”

Lunark’s jaw muscles thundered with strain as soon as she processed how things were going.

By now she was supposed to race across the ocean in search of 3rd Elder; alas, she knew there was no way she could walk away from this scene. Instantly she stiffened from head to toe, to go ahead and step backwards.

The Dark Spear crooked the either side of its lips at her response.

“Speaking of which, it’s such a shame that Frankenstein fell in death-like slumber. We’ll miss our chance to make him watch how he will crush his lady by his own hands.”

Lunark happened to be calculating and measuring every option available to break free from her immediate position, hopefully escape unscathed, but Dark Spear’s statement made her brain freeze.

“...What are you saying?”

Asked Lunark in a flustered, desperate, pleading voice, something that should not be pulled out as of now.

Her heart decided to be selfish and outrun her logics.

“Oh? So you had no idea that this guy had feelings for you. Ugh, that reminds us of all those goosebumps we had to suffer. You can’t imagine how much agony and anguish he had assigned himself, weighing for millions of times his affection for you against his duty-slash-standing. And he just had to be a drama queen in the meantime; we were beyond cringed to observe him.”

The enlightenment, thanks to the courtesy of Dark Spear, hit Lunark’s head hard, already half-ridden of its functions, like a lash of a whip upon a skinned body.

‘Frankenstein has feelings for me...?’

Several centuries ago, during a pleasant afternoon outing as a child, her mother discussed how she got to be mates with her daughter’s father.

And she told Lunark that to feel love was to feel how the color of blood paints the heart, of which its color in turn paints one’s vision, which ultimately dyes the world.

Back then Lunark, being an innocent little girl she was, retorted if that means love would make her see the world in red, after the color of her own blood.

Her mother roared with laughter and told her that one day she will understand.

And right now, with her life in undeniable jeopardy, Lunark finally understood what her mother meant.

Her blood and heart and vision were bathed white, like crystal-colored feathers, magically glossing the after-war-like scene into snow white.

Sadly, her ecstasy did not long due to what was about to unfold.

“Anyhow, now it’s time to see how much of despair we can give to a living!”

The Dark Spear spread its palm out wide in a swaggering manner, towards Lunark.

Registering what will promptly follow, Lunark kicked off without thinking.

Bam!!!

Splinters of rocks and dust flew about from the spot Lunark was posted to a mere second ago.

The Dark Spear flung dark purple balls of energy towards the werewolf warrior scurrying here and there in evasion, and each and every last one of Lunark’s teeth ground brutally.

Not long after, Lunark emitted enraged shriek and attempted a counterattack.

“Give him back right now, you bastard!”

Lunark’s fist speared through the air, precisely towards where she wanted.

She had yet to shift into battle form, but she was a werewolf. A race with no superior when it comes to physical strength, and she even came with a proud title of a warrior.

Just when her punch was to do what it was supposed to do, Frankenstein’s eyes were cleared of blood-red haze, to instead pay Lunark a blue gaze buried beneath.

It was too brief to be dubbed a split second, but Lunark’s movement automatically ceased.

And hesitation on a battlefield is bound to end as a fatal error.

“Aaargh!!!”

Dozens of hellish darkness and sharpness pierced through Lunark’s every corporal plane and curve.

She was basically a breathing insect specimen, made immobile in midst of a forest of dark purple spears, too packed to shove even a hand.

“Now this is beyond our expectations.”

The Dark Spear sniggered, swinging the arm it just used to land ruthless blows upon Lunark.

She glared murder at the Dark Spear, as she felt sinister energy spreading throughout her shape through her wounds.

“No need to give us that look. We won’t kill you right now. We had thought of killing Frankenstein’s beloved right on spot, but... Change of plan. We have a better idea.”

Lunark’s heart, captured by anxiety, thumped skittishly within her ribs.

“We’ll be heading to Lukedonia.”

“...What?”

“Frankenstein does have a lot of people he cares for, you included, but his top priority is the Noblesse. Which is not surprising. His greatest fear would be to commit anything that could topple the peace of the Noblesse’s heart. So we would be able to stomp his heart for good if we wreak havoc at the Noblesse’s homeland. After all, physical pain can’t be any more meaningless for him.”

Lunark’s pupils quivered in frenzy, at the sight of an animosity claiming how it will run straight to Lukedonia right now.

“Now excuse us. We have a long way to go. Oh, and it’d be wise not to try anything to get yourself out of there. Thanks to Crombel and pieces of Blood Stone he used to own, our power has more than tripled!”

Leaving behind a sickening smirk, voluptuously sized cloud of dust, and a boom of impact, the slender human frame was gone.

“G-get back here, you...!”

Lunark yelled in alarm; she squirmed in gut reaction, to very soon grunt in pain.

Where she was impaled by dark purple javelins began to release much darker aura.

Of course, she could muster her powers in a flash to destroy all the spears and begin her pursuit.

‘But the Dark Spear is equipped with power that works against healing power, with our endowment of healing power no exception. And the natural-born destructive tendency given to Blood Stone would not leave me unharmed. Which means I’d get to start this battle with a handicap.’

So what?

Are you going to just give up?

It took less than a second for her inner voice to reprimand her, because of which the tremor of her lips was gone.

‘Of course not.’

Lunark shut her eyes for a moment, and the next moment her pink pupils conveyed nothing but determination.

‘Just you wait, Frankenstein. I will save you. Now I know how you feel about me, and though my lord told me to get over you... I’m more generous than you’d think. Generous enough to save my secret admirer’s butt.’

The grey-haired werewolf gnashed her teeth, and her vessels began to thud with resolute pulse.

And then Lunark howled, her hair dispersing with passionate battle spirit, and silver-white pillar of light ejected itself towards heaven.

(next chapter)

Well, there’s one good thing that Dark Spear has done for Frankie and Lunark - it testified that Frankenstein has feelings for Lunark XD. Now that the battles are about to unfold, I will be going back and forth between different places as I make progress with my fic. I’ll do my best to make sure there won’t be any confusion or misunderstanding as you read the future chapters. Hope you’d stay tuned for more!

#korean webcomic #korean webtoon #fanfic #noblesse #frankenstein #lunark #frankensteinxlunark #wolfsbane

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