#(although there are shades of that i guess you could kind of read it that way too) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

noonswrites · 1 year

Text

Muse

synopsis: Xavier just wants a picture of you so he can draw it. things don’t go according to plan…

warnings: blowjob, penetration, fingering

it was an accident really. a genuine, complete, accident. you just wanted to support your talented friend who had been begging you for a subject for his next painting.

“please! it doesn’t have to be a good photo of you, I just need one for reference” he says exaggeratedly as you make your way to class. his giant frame is never an inch away from yours if he can help it, and today is no different. he’s tugging on your arm like a lost puppy as he begs you to be his muse for the millionth time.

“oh, so you’re saying I take bad photos?” you reply snidely.

he grins widely, knowing your games too well by now “you know that’s not what i meant” and gives you a playful push.

“i’ll think about it xavier, but you should really find another victim”

“i believe the correct term is “muse” dork”

“keep calling me dork and see where that gets you” he puts his hands up, mimicking what he would look like “surrendering” to you.

Xavier wishes he could hide how excited he is to draw you again. He can’t wait to combine his two favorite things: you, and his obsession with art. what you don’t know is Xavier wants to take this opportunity to ask something he’s been too shy to say for years….

when the seemingly never ending school day is finally over, he walks you to your room. your hallmate left for the week, so it was just you and Xavier sprawled out on your bed. he sat at the foot of it, legs crossed while yours were draped over his lap.

he eagerly awaits you to send him a picture while you briskly scroll through your camera roll. you finally deem one appropriate for his next masterpiece, a selfie of the two of you. his arms wrapped around your neck while you’re giving him a jokingly disapproving look. at least, that’s what you think you’re sending him. Xavier however, receives a completely different image that you accidentally sent instead.

he quickly taps on the notification with his pencil ready, opening up a photo of your breasts on display. “o-oh my god”

“what?!” you exclaim, confused at his reaction.

“are you sure that’s what you want me to draw?” he says timidly.

“yeah, unless you have a problem with it i guess” it’s too late now, you’re absentmindedly scrolling through your phone.

Xavier tries to start drawing, he really does. truthfully, he started getting hard the minute he opened the photo and now he’s trying to get a grip on his pencil, which won’t stop shaking in his hand. you can feel his dick rising since your leg is still on his lap, causing you to look up.

this is when you notice he’s shaking. “Xavi, what’s wrong?”

Xavier can barely bear the nickname right now, combined with everything else he’s experiencing.

“i’m- i’m sorry. i don’t know if i can draw this” Xavier shows the phone to you and you turn a shade of red he doesn’t think he’s ever seen before.

“oh shit! oh fuck i’m so sorry oh my god fuck!” you cover your face with your hands.

Xavier, although nervous, tries his best to reassure you and puts a gentle hand on your leg. “it’s ok, i just didn’t think we were at that level, you know?”

you spread your fingers, peeking your eyes through “it’s fine, really” he gives a weak, bashful smile. a part of him kind of wishes you did send it on purpose, and it’s not like he hadn’t thought of his best friend naked before…

in a desperate attempt to change the subject you ask “does that hurt?” while staring at his now erect penis that creates a tent in his sweatpants.

“um- i- “

“i can help you with it if it does- i read somewhere that it hurts when you- you know-“ words are coming out of your mouth faster than your brain can process what’s happening now… “if not we can forget this ever happened and i won’t tell anyone- i promise” you’d probably regret saying that later, but right now, you can’t help it. you’ve had the biggest crush on xavier forever and if you’re being honest, you’re in a pretty similar aroused state right now.

“i don’t know… i don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable po-“

“i want to” you cut him off “i’ve wanted to for years Xavi” you’re crawling towards him now.

“do you want to?” you ask him, although the evidence is all over his face, he looks almost pained. his mouth is slightly agape and his eyes are focused on your lips. lips that he has thought of kissing for months now, but this time, he doesn’t resist the urge.

Xavier can’t hold it anymore, he takes your face in his hands and kisses you. it’s hesitant at first, both of you in shock that it’s finally happening. it takes seconds for it to get sloppy. you break apart only to climb on xavier’s lap, and you don’t miss the distressed look he wears as a result of moments apart from you. you’re quick to relieve him, sitting down with your thighs on either side of his hips, and both of you stifle a moan when your clothed cunt makes contact with his dick. now it’s your turn to grab his face and he loves every second of it, wanting nothing more than to fawn over you as you use him for your pleasure. you, however, won’t have that, stopping at nothing until he’s completely ruined.

you take his bottom lip between yours and suck on it, and Xavier swears he’s seeing stars. he starts getting messy as both of your lips are covered in each other’s spit and that alone is making him dizzy. he doesn’t even realize he’s begun to grind his hips upward trying to relieve himself in the friction you’re creating. you tell him to pull off his t-shirt and he does so immediately, and you do the same. he smoothes his hands up and down your waist as if you’re made of glass, looking you up and down with a mixture of reverence and desire. you almost want to laugh at him because you’d never imagine seeing your best friend like this, looking at you like he’d been starving for days and desperate to kiss you again, but you settle for giving him an amused smile.

“what is it?” he asks with the most precious look of confusion on his face.

“you’re so cute baby” his eyelashes flutter and he looks away, he shifts slightly while trying to pretend the new pet name doesn’t turn him on more. you can tell that he’s smiling too now, internally giddy.

you start to leave a trail of kisses down his neck, and he lets out a pleasure filled sigh. when you start to teasingly lick his abdomen he tenses up again, and you hear a soft “ah” escape his lips. you unbutton his pants and pull down his boxers and Xavier starts to tremble. he looks down at you with watery eyes and you take his dick in your hand. he lets out a hiss at your warmth.

you start to kiss his shaft and his brows furrow but his eye contact never wavers. if xavier could have this moment tattooed on his brain, he would. when you take his head in your mouth and suck he jolts, unable to control his movements at this point. you slowly take more of him into your mouth and hollow your cheeks. you start to stroke xavier’s leg with your free hand and xavier’s gaze softens at the tender gesture.

you slowly take him deeper into your mouth, astonished that you’ve made it this far without choking. “fuck” he cries as you fit all of him in your mouth. you start a slow rhythm of sliding your lips up and down his shaft and xavier lies back, helpless to your actions. you can feel how tense the muscles in his stomach and legs are, doing his best to hold back his impending orgasm. as you speed up, xavier begins to babble uncontrollably, a mixture of “you feel so good”, “you’re so pretty, fuck!”, and so on. you fondle his balls and he’s almost sent over the edge, but you pull yourself off of him just in time.

he stares at you, dazed “did i do something wrong?” god, you’d do anything for those puppy dog eyes.

“no baby, just wanted you to come inside me, is that alright?” xavier wants to pinch himself.

“y-yeah” he leans in for another clumsy kiss, drunk on the feeling of being so close to you. it’s full of tongue and lips crashing together, but quickly ends with a gasp as you guide his cock to your pussy.

xavier watches himself enter you in a trance, completely mesmerized at your facial expression and the stretch of your cunt. when your fully seated, a tear falls down his cheek. you admit, you may have overstimulated him a bit. you wipe it away with your thumb and apologize. “i’m sorry for making you wait my love” he doesn’t seem to care at this point.

Xavier reaches his arms around your waist and pulls you in closer, causing you to moan at the adjustment “you’re s-so warm” he lets out.

“can i take this off?” he says as a hand slides over the clasp of your bra.

“yeah” you reply, and he begins to fiddle with the hook. he slides it off of your shoulders.

“so, do you think i’m a catfish?” you inquire. he lets out a wholesome laugh and you follow suit. Xavier gently pushes a loose strand of hair behind your ear and places his palm on your cheek.

“i think you’re the opposite of a catfish” you blush and attempt to turn your head away, but he pulls you in for another kiss. he moves to kiss the corner of your lips, then your chin, your jaw, and finally stops at your neck. he nibbles your jugular and then sucks, and your hips buck forward as he finds your sensitive spot. Xavier moans and you take this as a sign to keep moving.

you grind down on him and Xavier does his best to mentally prepare himself for the onslaught of pleasure. he’s already about to cum, holding on just so he can get you to try to finish first. he slides his hands down to your ass pushing you down on his cock while he pushes his hips up, effectively guiding himself deeper than you thought possible. you yelp and Xavier watches your features contort, repeating the action so he can listen to you moan again and again. he shifts one of his hands close to your cunt and guides a thumb to your clit, rubbing it in circles, prompting you to jolt and start bouncing on his cock more eagerly than before.

“shit- shit- fuck!” Xavier doesn’t know what he’s saying anymore, he only knows that he’s been close to cumming for more than an hour now, and he’s about to burst. you wrap your arms around his neck for stability and pick up your pace.

“oh my god” he whines and his grip on your hips tightens. you realize how close he is, so you stop your movement.

“no- no! i need it please” his head falls into your neck and you stroke his back.

“i know my love, i just need you to ask for it nicely okay?” he lifts his head and you coo at his tear stained cheeks. “do you think you can do that for me?”

“y-yeah” you start to move again immediately, not wanting to prolong his suffering any further. Xavier cant stop himself from thrusting into you, and you let him, enjoying the look in his eyes as he starts to fall apart.

“are you gonna cum soon baby?” you ask after a particularly hard thrust.

“y- yes please- please can i c-cum?” Xavier is shaking uncontrollably now, his movements are sloppy and uncoordinated.

“yes my love” you smile “but you can’t take your pretty eyes off of me okay? i want to see you” Xavier is blushing harder than ever, he’d never admit that’s what sent him over the edge. he does his best to keep his eyes on yours, his mouth open and letting out angelic moans while his nails dig into your hips. he thinks your the most beautiful person alive as you keep up your pace grinding on his cock. his brows furrow and fresh tears arise as you continue to speed up, a look of tortured confusion mixed with euphoria on his face.

“i- i can’t please!” he wails. you finally cease your movement, panting. xavier pulls you into a tight hug, kissing your sweaty body in any place he can reach.

“thank you, thank you, thank you” he repeats between kisses. you flop down onto your mattress, and xavier hovers over you, smothering your face with kisses.

“baby, i want to make you cum now. can i? please? need to watch you cum” he babbles.

“you don’t have to Xavi, but yes” you’re still catching your breath.

“i want to” and without hesitation he slides his fingers to to your sopping cunt. “so wet… such a pretty pussy” you bury your face in the pillow.

“no need to be shy my love…” his thumb rubs over your clit and your thighs clench. he pushes them open gently, eyes fixated on your pulsing cunt. he slides two fingers in, feeling his own cum inside of you and trying his best not to get hard at the sensation. he curls his fingers upward and your hips shift at the sensitivity. he holds them down with his free arm and continues his ministrations. he probes for your most delicate spot and knows he’s found it when you squeeze his arm and whimper. you lift your head again and he meets your eyes, staring at you as he quickens his pace. you’re already worked up so it doesn’t take much after that, but what sets you over the edge is his decision to take your clit into his mouth and kiss it sloppily. your legs shake and kick and he happily continues to thrust his fingers as you ride out your orgasm, grinding down on them.

now you’re truly exhausted, and Xavier curls up next to you as you continue to catch your breath. “y’know, i was going to use the painting as a way to ask you out…” you perk up at this.

“really?!” xavier beams at you.

“yeah” you pull him into a kiss and he doesn’t stop smiling.

#xavier thorpe wednesday #xavier thorpe fanfic #xavier thorpe smut #wednesday #wednesday xavier #xavier x reader #xavier x y/n #xavier x you

2K notes · View notes

3rdeyeblaque · 7 months

Text

On September 26th we venerate Ancestor & Hoodoo Saint Aunt Caroline Dye on the 105th anniversary of her passing 🕊

Aunt Dye was a Seer, fortune teller, entrepreneur, & Hoodoo Woman who - without ever having picked up a mic or guitar - became one of the greatest Delta Blue's legends of all time.

Aunt Dye was born enslaved in Spartanburg, S.C around 1843 - where her parents died during her infancy. She first became aware of her gifts as a young child. She could see things that no one else could.

One story recalls Aunt Dye at 10 yrs old (still enslaved on the plantation) when she was helping to set the table for Thanksgiving Dinner: She started insisting that they had not set enough plates, that Mister Charley was coming. Charley was the Plantation owner’s brother, who was thought to have been killed 4yra earlier during the Civil War. Sure enough, later that day Charley came walking in the door. The family couldn’t believe it! He relayed the fact that he had been wounded, taken prisoner, and had not had the chance to come home until that day. No one ever knew how she could have guessed such a thing. It was then that her "little coincidences" started to become noticed.

As a young woman, she migrated westward to Elgin, Jackson Co., Arkansas, where she married Martin Dye. They had one child, a girl, who passed at 11mo. Through the years, they to in several children, some of whom were Aunt Dye's kin.

Despite being labeled "uneducated"- unable to read or write, she amassed a small fortune as a wealthy landowner, rental property entrepreneur, & most of all, as a Hoodoo woman & fortune teller. Though she never claimed the latter title, it was given to her by her clients across the region. Black & White Folks came from all over the mid-south, with an especially devoted group of followers from Memphis,TN. So many people traveled into the region just to see her that a train going into Jackson Co. was named, the “Caroline Dye Special.”

Aunt Dye divined using only a deck of playing cards. She never gave readings relating to love or the outcome of World War I, but she did offer visions of the future & insight on various matters such as missing people, animals, & objects. Although payment was not required for her services, she received up to 30 letters in a single day, much of etch carried payment for service. Some White businessmen in the area reportedly would not make an important decision before consulting her first. All day long, folks crowded her home waiting for a reading. So she took advantage of their large numbers & sold meals from her kitchen.

“White and colored would go to her. You sick in bed, she raise the sick. … Had that much brains — smart lady. … That’s the kind of woman she was. Aunt Caroline Dye, she was the worst woman in the world. Had that much sense.” – Band Leader Will Shade of the Memphis Jug Band.

Presently, Aunt Caroline Dye rests at the Gum Grove Cemetery in Newport, Jackson Co., Arkansas where she is forever remembered as the infamous Hoodoo Fortune Teller of the 19th Century.

Offering suggestions: playing cards, money/coins, Delta Blues songs that honor her memory

‼️Note: offering suggestions are just that & strictly for veneration purposes only. Never attempt to conjure up any spirit or entity without proper divination/Mediumship counsel.‼️

#hoodoos #hoodoo #atrs #atr #the hoodoo calendar #ancestor veneration #hoodoo women #aunt caroline dye #Hoodoo Folklore #Hoodoo History

166 notes · View notes

pureblisswrites · 11 months

Text

A guide to getting kidnapped and escaping 101

Chapter 1: The Schrödinger's Kat

Prologue

"Alright then. If that's what you want." He sighed again before his eyes went dark and he leaned in closer towards you. "I should warn you beforehand though, curiosity killed the cat."

"And satisfaction brought it back." You reply.

Pairing: afab! Psychologist! Reader x Bang Chan

Word Count: 2.1k

Genre: Crime, mafia au, eventual romance, slow burn, comedy (an attempt was made)

Summary: You are a fairly renowned psychologist and therapist but definitely not renowned enough to be getting kidnapped in the middle of the night. Is it one of your past patients with a criminal record? You don't know what the kidnapper wants but now you finally find out.

This story takes place in the same universe as "A guide to accidental murder and cover up 101" but with a different reader. I suggest you can read that too if these kind of stories are your type. But both can be read as standalones too.

"Going somewhere doc?"

"Um no?" You try to lie. It was like your brain had turned into mush now that you were face to face with this scary unknown man.

He sighed deeply at your poor attempt at lying. "Please follow me." He said to you politely and started going into the direction you had come from. He didn't even turn once to see if you were following or not. You could try to run away but you doubted it would be useful in any way. So your best bet for now was to follow him. You saw as he removed his blood stained gloves swiftly and just dropped them on a table in the hallway, seemingly not bothered at all by the fact that he was staining the table in the process too. After many turns and taking a fucking lift to the 3rd floor, you finally reached the apparent destination as he opened a door and stepped to the side. "After you." He bowed lightly.

You stepped in to see the huge room. From the walls to the furniture, everything was the darkest shade of black. It had a huge glass window through which you could see the view of the city. The room was designed like an office of a rich ceo or something. A black table in the middle. With chairs on both sides. And a bookcase on the wall parallel to the window. It definitely did not have the kind of books you'd read because you could see a thick file with the word 'contracts' stamped on it with red. Another one was labeled as '0325 blueprints' with a black sharpie in messy handwriting.

That was all your eyes could take in before he cleared his throat and gestured for you to sit on a chair and took a seat behind the desk. "I apologise for staining your shirt. I'll have your clothes delivered to you soon." He said while folding his jacket's sleeves till his elbows. And oh his hands are very veiny for some reason.

"Uh... my clothes?" You ask in perplexity. Talking about clothes though, you notice he's wearing a black jacket with a red rose on it over his plain black shirt. You are just grateful his clothes aren't splashed with blood now.

"Oh right. I'm sure you would have many questions." No shit sherlock. "Please ask away whatever you want. I'll try my best to answer as long as the questions are appropriate." Appropriate? What did he think you were gonna question him about? His love life? Egoistical bastard. You wanted to roll your eyes but you would rather not test him for now.

"So... who are you?" The most important question. And the first one you asked your clients, although you had their information files with you. Oh how you wished you could have his information file.

"You can call me Chris." He answered with a slight and what you could only call proud smile. Did this guy really think he gave you a good answer? This was not some introductions meeting, you wanted to know what he did. Guess you'll have to be straight forward with him. Afterall he did say you could ask anything.

"What... work do you do?" You make sure to not say anything he might find offensive. Because you should be worrying about such a thing after seeing him literally splattered with blood.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that. It's... confidential, let's just say." Yeah you kind of knew he wouldn't tell you about him possibly committing murders just yet.

"Fine. Why am I here?"

"To cure me." He says while fidgeting with the two silver chain bracelets he's wearing on his wrists.

"Of what?" You question with furrowed brows.

"Uh I- I think I might be, and I don't know for sure of course, um going crazy." He mumbled nervously, a contradiction from the way he appeared in front of his men.

Now that interested you. Okay so maybe you were writing a potentially illegal research paper on criminals and their psychology but you couldn't agree to this, right? You did have access to talk to a handful of criminals but always under the surveillance of a camera with guards there. You couldn't ask the questions you wanted to. Not without raising suspicions about if you, yourself were a bit crazy. Plus he didn't look too threatening now that he wasn't covered in blood. And what will he even get out of hurting or murdering you? Atleast he wasn't one of the psychopaths whom you had reported to be sent in an asylum and he screamed "I'll kill you one day" and a bunch of other stuff you didn't wish to remember again as he was dragged away by the guards. And it wasn't like this man was hard to look at. Yes pretty privilege and the halo effect were very much really. You were a mere human afterall.

"That still doesn't explain why I'm here." You knew exactly why you were here by now but hearing what he had to say wouldn't hurt.

"Aren't you a doctor specifically for that?" He asked as if you were dumb. Maybe he was thinking you were stupid. Which is great. You don't want him thinking or rather, knowing that you're too smart, too soon.

"So... you need help?" You ask as if you are still confused.

"Whatever way you wanna put it I guess." So he couldn't even accept the fact that he needed help yet. Great.

"And you couldn't come to the hospital I work at like a normal person for that?"

"What do you think?" He raises an eyebrow and you have to accept he looks ridiculously attractive while doing so. Get it together, you scold yourself. "Look I can't tell you what it is that I do. But I think you're smart enough to know it's not something that allows me to just walk into government owned institutions." Oh you knew.

"I don't see how that's my problem? You couldn't find a private therapist or something?" Now this is something you hadn't actually figured out yet. Surely just hiring a private psychologist would be lot easier than whatever he was doing.

"Unfortunately for you and fortuantely for me, I don't settle for anything less than the best. And no private people were as qualified as you." Oh?

"How do you even know that?" You ask, now in actual confusion.

"A friend of mine attended your seminar on psychodynamic theory last year and he was thoroughly impressed by you. He was actually the one who reccomended you." Okay what the fuck? Only top detectives and goverment officers were allowed to attend that event as you had to go through some truly disturbing and stomach churning cases to explain your points. How did he even have friends there?

"How lucky for me." You remark sarcastically.

"I know this might be a difficult situation for you to adjust to and I'm deeply sorry for that. But please understand that there was no other way." He explains while brushing his dark hair out of his face.

"Oh sure, as if you couldn't just, I don't know drop by my home for a few sessions? Why do I have to be held captive to help you!?" Now you have to put your 2 years of being in drama club in high school to good use. You have to let him think you are just so distressed by this situation, as any normal person would be.

"What? No, no. You're not 'held captive' as you put it. I just needed to get you under my protection if I wanted to do this." Just as you think this man can't surprise you anymore, he says something that makes no sense in the image you are trying to put together of him.

"Why?"

"You don't think I've got people who are just dying to know my secrets that no one else does and the ones you'll get to know soon enough? They can kidnap you and not with the intention of getting... 'help', but with the intention of hurting you, unlike me. And I can't let that happen just because I'm an idiot who thinks there's something wrong with me." As soon as you heard the sentence "that no else does and the ones you'll get to know" your brain was overflowing with serotonin. In a world where everything was already discovered and no one kept secrets from you anymore, this sounded like the best reward you could get after hearing people's mediocre stories about their trust issues because that one boy broke their heart in 5th grade.

"'Think'? I haven't even talked to you that much yet and I already know there's a lot wrong with you. You don't think you can just murder people or do whatever it is that you do and live with a healthy conscience do you?" The fact that he "thought" there was something wrong with him was laughable at the best and sad at the least.

He sighed again. "Right. But I want you to know that I'm not gonna force you to do this. If you don't want to do this, you're free to go. I mean you'll definitely need atleast a month of protection by my men because I know the news of you being here would've already reached to my... rivals, let's just put it that way."

"That reminds me, care to tell me how long have I been here for?"

He looks at his expensive looking watch before answering. "Somewhere between 20 to 22 hours." So it hadn't even been a day yet and his 'rivals' already knew about you being here? Just who was this man? He was like a messily wrapped present flowing wtih intrigue and enigma. So there was only one right answer at this point right?

"Kat and Nemo." You say, finally telling him the decision you made a while ago.

"Huh?"

"My pets. Get them here as soon as you can. They haven't eaten all day today, Oh my God."

"So- wait- does- does that mean you're doing this?" He asks in disbelief.

"No I just want to leave my pets here." You roll your eyes. "Of course, are you really that dense? And while you're at it, get my phone and laptop too." You could finally talk to him freely now that he had said he wouldn't hurt you... you think.

"Oh sorry I just still can't believe you agreed and-" he says incredulously.

"I'm sure we can talk later after you get my pets here." You get up to go to whatever room it was you were in.

"Where are you going?" He questions, standing up too.

"Back to that dungeon." You turn back to look at him.

"It's not a dungeon okay. If you don't like it, you can have another room." He stands right in front you.

"Fine then let me stay in your room." Yes he was hot but that wasn't the reason okay. Atleast not the only one. Maybe you would be able to study him more if you spent more time with him. For research, of course.

"What?" He asked dumbfoundedly. You were sure if he was drinking something right now, he would've choked.

"You heard me."

"Alright then. If that's what you want." He sighed again before his eyes went dark and he leaned in very close towards you. "I should warn you beforehand though, curiosity killed the cat." He whispers to you. So afterall he wasn't as dumb to not figure out your motivations yet. Yeah you didn't really do good in the drama club anyways.

"And satisfaction brought it back." You reply.

"Unfortunately nothing that is killed ever comes back to life." He says as if he's experienced it himself.

"Schrödinger's cat." You reply and watch his brows furrow. Of course he wouldn't know what that means.

"What does that mean?" He squints his eyes.

"Maybe I'll tell you some day." You shrug.

He rolls his eyes at that. "I'll send the contract to your room. Read it before signing." Wow so now you'll have to sign a contract? As if things couldn't get any more weird.

You were willing to do anything to unwrap the messily wrapped present that 'Chris' was. And maybe that was the first mistake you made before making many others that will lead you somwhere you couldn't even imagine yet.

A/N: look who posted finally after a whole month. I'm sorry for being late lol.

Comments and reblogs are very much appreciated!

Tags: @scuzmunkie @obeythemasters

229 notes · View notes

udretlnea · 1 year

Text

An Idealized Image

Prompt: You die after getting hit by a truck and inspect your suddenly ideal appearance in the new world. Inspired by this post by @mists-reading-nook

A/N: Man, starting a story with disconnected parts is fun and difficult. First time using this literary device so be patient with me.

Words: 755

You hadn’t expected getting hit by a truck to hurt so damn much. But you’d gladly do it again if it meant you’d protect a child from getting run over.

Although you were dying, you still could feel the barest sensations around you; vaguely there was muffled shouting and crying. Good, the kid was safe and the driver was getting yelled at. Not that that mattered to you anymore.

Oh well, at least it’s over now.

The first world has been chosen. Initiating upload link.

You thought you heard someone, but that’s crazy. You were dead. The dead don’t hear voices. Maybe this was one of those post-death auditory hallucinations. Do…do the dead even have those? Actually, I guess nobody would know…except the dying. Ugh. What a morbid thought. I expected myself to have prettier final thoughts.

Link established. Uploading soul to the Samsara system now. Beginning samsara cycle #1…godspeed.

There it was again. You started thinking that maybe you weren’t dead, when suddenly you felt your soul being pulled down…down…down into the darkness. Rather than become panicked you felt a sense of peace. You allowed yourself to be carried until you felt a shift in the pressure around you.

Before you could realize what was happening, you blacked out.

////

He’s not waking up…should I do it manually?

Hang on, what are those kitsunes doing?

You feel something tap-tap-tapping against your side. Your eyes flutter open, barely registering the fact that there’s green all around you. Turning your head, you see several orange foxes nudging your body. The sleep leaves you immediately. You surge to your feet and back away from them

They didn’t make any moves toward you. The littlest one stared at you with its big eyes; after a moment it seemed to be satisfied. It turned to the others and made a sound. It wasn’t long before they ran away, leaving you by yourself. Come to think of it, where were you?

Everywhere around, you can see plants, trees, and just general things you’d find in a forest-wait, forest!?

Oh no, where the hell did I end up? Is this some kind of spiritual afterlife? You run, not really going anywhere, just someplace to get your bearings. You find a small stream. Thinking quickly, you examine your reflection, fearful that you looked like a ghost. However, what greets you instead is your pristine face without any blemishes.

Huh? Is that…me? No, no it can’t be. I’m not that…I’m not this immaculate! This is a dream, this has to be a dream! You do anything you can to wake up; you smack, slap, and pinch yourself all in that order, but it’s no use. It seems you weren’t dreaming.

Defeated, you decide to examine yourself. Amazingly, your skin was smooth, but you don’t recall it being like that. Furthermore, your eyes were completely different. Since when were your pupils a yellow pinprick, or your irises a brilliant shade of silver? Most concerning of all was your hair. It was white as snow. You pull at it, looking closely at the roots to check if it wasn’t dyed. You looked rather beautiful. Additionally, you finally noticed that your clothes were different.

When you died, you were wearing a hoodie and regular pants and shoes. Now, you were wearing a simple white kimono; a closer inspection revealed that it looked like genuine silk. Confused yet satisfied with your examination, you looked at your surroundings. Everything was slightly dark as if it were nighttime.

Weird, but ultimately it doesn’t matter. What DOES matter is figuring out where the heck I am. You push yourself off the ground, shaking the dirt off of your clothes. You look around you, wondering which direction to walk towards when something catches your eye. Squinting, you could make out the silhouette of a city in the distance. It almost looked like Japan, but at the same time, it wasn’t. Well, there’s the path to civilization right there. Now all I need to do is get over there without trouble.

You notice a well-worn path. You take it, pleased that you took the first step in your journey. Hopefully, you’d find what you needed to know.

////

Elsewhere, a solitary figure was meditating alone in a different plane of existence. Here in this space, she would achieve eternity and resist erosion.

And then she felt it. A sudden wave of divine energy sent tingles throughout her incorporeal body. This was unprecedented…what could have caused it? She needed to know. She had to know.

#sagau #self aware genshin #genshin self aware #genshin imagines #it’s short but they can’t all be long. Or winners.#I’m satisfied I managed to include a somewhat cohesive story with hints of a plot #perhaps making a story with disconnected events will be easier than I thought.#genshin impact sagau #genshin fanfic #what if we started in Inazuma instead of Mondstadt btw?#I imagine Ei would be curious with you #oh we'll see where the plot goes

277 notes · View notes

whatsa-bi-as · 3 months

Text

first time

GN!reader x Haku Shota (Soul)

song; first time - Hozier

plot; a young couple talks about whether it would be worth trying again to make a relationship work

genre; angst

warning; none - let me know if I've missed any

word count; 1.4K

networks; @kflixnet and @k-labels

proofread; by the wonderful @gyumibear go check them out they've been a lot of help!!

a/n; I'm thinking of doing some stuff inspired by songs and this was kind of a test run :)

masterlist is here

“Do you think that this could have worked? You and me?”

It was a risky question, but one you hadn’t been able to get out of your head for weeks. It was eating you up inside, and if you didn’t ask it now, you probably never would. The silence that followed filled the air around the both of you and it was deafening.

“I don’t know. I mean, we tried. We tried twice, and Keeho always says 'third times the charm'. So maybe we would, maybe we wouldn’t.”

This was your ex-boyfriend, but your first love. This was the boy you had loved with all your heart, the boy you had watched grow into who he is now, the boy you had always supported with everything you could give.

“One of my mates tells me about this philosophical idea she read about. She thinks it’s just to make people have hope that things could have turned out differently. It’s the idea that there are different versions of people in different universes. ”

He smiled, but he didn’t say anything. He just let you keep talking and listened to you, like he always had, whether you were together or not.

“Which means that in one universe there's a version of us that never met, in another you were always my best friend but nothing more, and in some far off universe it worked out the first time. We never had to wonder if it would work because we… we knew we’d be together forever.”

“So we’re in the one where we tried, but it never happened.”

“Pretty much, yeah. That sucks, doesn’t it. Out of all the universes to be in, we got this one.”

He took a second to think about it. The idea of alternate universes was a lot to take in, especially when it was randomly presented to you late on a Wednesday night.

“What do you think we’re like in that last universe, the one where we never broke up? Do you think we call each other every night and put our beds together in Minecraft?”

You couldn’t quite tell if he was joking or not, but that was typical of him, always trying to make you laugh, even in the middle of a semi-serious conversation. Once he told you that he did that because he thought your smile was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, and deep down you still hoped that was the case.

“I like to imagine that we’re planning our future. I’m stressed about university applications and you're telling me to relax, that I’ll be fine. We’re also bickering over what colour the rug should be in the living room because you think it's the perfect shade, but I am convinced that it’s too dark for the colour palette we chose.”

“If we would bicker over anything, it would be over what mugs we have on the side and which ones go in the cupboard. You want the ones we use everyday to be on display and I think that glass ones would go better with the decor."

You could picture that argument, and try as hard as you might that one did make you laugh.

“That's the only right answer! It’s not only practical, but a house isn’t a home unless you add some personality to it, and what better way to do that than with mugs!”

“I guess one thing that doesn’t change between that universe and this one is that I know you better than you know yourself.”

The wind was not the only thing that sent a shiver down your spine. It was the fact that he was right, this boy could read you like a book, you didn’t have to say anything for him to know that you were upset, or happy, or stressed, just anything. He always knew exactly what to say or do, and although you used to love that about him, now it just leaves a bittersweet taste in your mouth.

“It's way too cold for us to be out this late.” He stood up and held out a hand to help you up. “Let’s get you home.”

“Do we have to go just yet?”

This night felt perfect. It was like a bubble had formed over the two of you, blocking out any fear and anxiety, but you knew that the moment you walked through your front door, you’d have to deal with all of it.

“You hate the cold. I’m honestly surprised you’ve lasted this long without complaining.”

You just looked up at him silently pleading for him to say no. For him to sit next to you again.

“We can walk slowly, but it’s late, it’s dark and it’s cold, so I’m walking you home whether you like it or not. And I’m not taking no for an answer, so..."

This was a situation you’ve been in before. He's not going to give in. You wouldn’t either if it was the other way around, so you take a deep breath and take his hand. The feeling sends a sense of nostalgia and hope deep into your soul. There's something about holding his hand that just feels right, like it was made to fit in yours.

The walk starts off in silence, the previous conversation soaking in like winter rain into a jumper. It was comfortable but as you got closer to your house and the seconds began to tick away, there was so much that you had to say, but so little time.

Passing the bench where you spent plenty of late nights when you first started dating you just let it out. All the things you'd been meaning to say over the last few years came out all at once.

“I did love you, you know. Sometimes it's hard for me to realise that I love people because in some ways it just comes so naturally. I know I love my family and my friends, because I mean that's a given, but when it comes to like, romantic love, that's a bit harder to realise. I don’t think I truly realised I loved you until I knew it would never be the same again. You’d never put your arm around me while we talk to our friends, you'd never pick me up for late night snack runs, or send me stupid pictures when I’m having a bad day, and I really, really miss that. I miss you.”

“You love me?”

“I did.”

“Do you still love me?”

“I think a part of me always will. You were my first love. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving you completely.”

“You were my first love too.”

You had reached your front door. The night was over. You had said everything you wanted to say, so nothing should really stop you back from going inside. You weren’t together, in theory you owed him nothing.

In reality, this boy was the first one to hold your heart in his hands and try his hardest not to let it break. He was your first love and it felt impossible to leave him. His hand in yours warmed your heart more than any blanket ever could. It just felt right to be with him, but you had to leave. This doesn’t work and as painful as it is, you just have to admit it. It would be for the best if you could find the strength to turn away.

Instead, you just look at him, admiring how his eyes shine like the stars, how he’s so young but already has laugh lines, and he doesn’t care because it means he’s lived a happy life. He was perfect, and the fact that it wasn’t meant to be broke your heart into smaller and smaller pieces every time you thought about it.

He was the one who broke the silence first.

“Can I kiss you? One last time to say goodbye?”

“Yes. Yes, you can.”

Breaking apart neither of you really knew what to say. You were both so different from the people you were when you first met, but the moment after you broke away it was as if nothing had changed. You were back to being those nervous kids again, whose cheeks got warm every time you held hands because it was all so new.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Shota.”

#kflixnet #k labels #soul angst #p1harmony fluff #haku shota #soul fanfic #soul x reader #soul x you #p1harmony #p1harmony x reader #soul p1harmony #shota angst #haku shota x reader #shota fanfic #p1harmony angst

40 notes · View notes

ohforficsakelibrary · 5 months

Text

You Brought Me Poison Flowers

Chapter 7: Maple - A child passed through the branches of a maple tree will have a long life.*

prev / series masterlist / masterlist

Series Summary: Joel and Ellie settle into life in Jackson, one more easily than the other, until Joel is reminded of what normal feels like. The kind of normal that he perhaps never had. A series of one-shot glimpses into a relationship (no true plot here, people.) Soft!Joel. Two touch-starved babes.

Chapter subtitles taken from Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham. Although herbal preparations are consistent with historic uses, nothing herein is to be construed as medical advice.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Herbalist!OFC (age-appropriate age gap)

Word Count: ~1.2K

Rating: Explicit 18+ overall / no smut in this part. Minors DNI.

A/N: Porch drinking and brotherly bonding with Tommy and Joel Miller.

*Don't read into this subtitle, there will be no babies here. But I see these boys as sturdy, protective, and steadfast and it felt fitting.

Friday night there’s a knock on the door and Joel’s heart jumps into his throat.

But it’s just Tommy and a bottle of whiskey and he swallows hard to will it back down.

“You still up for porch drinkin’ these days?”

Joel grins and claps his brother on the back, reaching for a hoodie off the coat rack.

“Alright, fresh batch, tell me what you think," Tommy fills Joel's glass and sits back in his chair expectantly.

At the first taste of whiskey on his tongue Joel very nearly wells up with pride.

“Shit. ‘S good, Tommy. You do somethin’ different with that one?” Joe holds the glass up to the porch light to inspect the shade of amber.

“Actually, added just a hint of maple syrup.”

Joel tips it in his brother’s direction in a salute. “It works.”

_____

They’re three glasses in before Tommy springs the heavy questions.

“So you and Len, huh?”

Joel turns to him, eyes wide.

Horrified.

“Bingoo,” Tommy takes a self-satisfied sip of whiskey.

“How the fuck…”

“Don’t worry, no one said nothin’,” Tommy grins. “Just the way you’ve been the last few days. Less–" he pauses, "disagreeable. Someone chilled you the fuck out.”

Joel is still looking at him with a frown.

“I just put pieces together. You were in the shop the other night. And you don’t fuckin’ talk to anyone else, so…”

Joel reaches for the bottle and helps himself to another heavy pour.

“Don’t worry, I ain’t sayin’ nothin’,” Tommy continues with a smirk. “And hey, she’s beautiful, man. Smart as hell. Waay out of your fuckin’ league.”

“Yeah, alright.”

“I’m serious, you ain’t gonna do better. She probably could–" and Joel kicks Tommy's boot.

“Yeah, alright, what’s your point.”

“Point is, even if it was just the one time. You needed it.”

Joel is quiet for a few beats.

“It was two times,” he mumbles.

“What?”

“The one night. But two times.”

Tommy’s eyebrows jump to his hairline.

“Four for her.”

“You’re lyin’. She was lyin’ to you, big brother,” Tommy points a finger at him.

“Sure didn’t feel like she was lyin’.”

“Did you two fuck in the barn? In front of my horse?”

“Wha, no," Joel thumbs the corner of his mouth. "No, it was after that.”

“Fuuck you, old man. Shit.”

“Still got it.”

“Don’t sound like it’s just gonna be the one time, then.”

“I’m makin’ her dinner tomorrow night.”

“Oh you are down SO bad, big brother.”

Joel grins.

“So I guess you’re sticking around for a bit then?”

“Yeah,” Joel huffs. “Yeah I guess so.”

“Tess gonna be okay with that?”

And it’s so automatic that Tommy doesn’t realize what he’s said until he notices Joel shift.

“I’m sorry. Fuck, man, I’m sorry. You know what? Forget it. Forget I said anything.”

And Joel says “it’s fine,” but big brown eyes betray him.

“Oh, Joel,” Tommy's gase softens.

And Joel stares back like a man drunk on the memory.

“Joel, I’m so sorry.”

And Tommy thinks he’s fucked it all up. That Joel will call it a night there and then and storm across the street to sulk in the privacy of his own home.

Instead he reaches for the bottle, topping up Tommy’s glass before his own.

They sit in the silence for a while longer before the younger man clears his throat.

“For what it’s worth…”

Joel snaps his head to look in Tommy’s direction.

“She never had anyone else. Len. After Andy died.”

“How long?”

“Three years, maybe?”

And Joel stares down at his boots.

“She needed you too, is my point there. Whatever it is that put you two together. Y’all need each other. More than you know.”

And Joel is silent for a long while before he starts again.

“I’m just gonna fuck it up again, aren’t I? Like I did with…”

Tess.

“You keep sayin’ that Joel, but you ain’t the same person. Not anymore. None of us are.”

“You wouldn’t know, you weren’t there," Joel growls, just this side of accusatory.

“You know what?" Tommy sits up straight and turns in towards his brother. "Fine. No. I wasn’t there. But let me tell you something about me, bein’ here.”

Tommy jabs his finger in the air, pointing towards the wood planks of his front porch.

“I fuckin’ failed too, Joel. When I found the Fireflies, I thought I found my purpose. Thought, yet again, that I could finally fight for something I believed in. But it’s all the same shit when there’s someone at the top. Just soldiers takin’ fuckin’ orders from some faceless coward who ain’t got the balls to step out there themselves.”

Joel rubs at his eyes with his thumb and index finger.

“And honestly, for all of Marlene’s flaws at least she had that. Maybe that’s how she convinced me to do it, I dunno.”

“But even that fell apart. Because people need hope, Joel. Some kind of light at the end of the fuckin’ tunnel. I was down so deep I didn’t even have that when I left. I just—left. Fuckin’ walked off into the darkness.”

“And it just so happened I stumbled ass-backwards into this place.”

“And then I started to see it again. Started to see light and hope and a future. And when things started getting serious with Maria, it, it was like—like I started to see life again, Joel. A year, five, ten, twenty years out.”

“When was the last time we had that, huh? Twenty something years ago? Fuck, I don’t even think I had it then.”

“‘S because you were stupid twenty years ago.” Joel grunts.

“Maybe so,” Tommy sits back in his chair and takes a long draw from his glass.

“How do you know this ain’t just you joinin’ some hopeless cause again?”

“Look around you, Joel. What hopeless cause? What cause at all? Growin’ food and protectin’ my community? A community where no one person calls the shots, and I know everyone’s name, and everyone pulls their weight? Protectin’ these kids? My kid? Yeah, fine. That’s a cause I’ll throw in for.”

“There’s a future here, Joel. Maybe our sins catch up to us, maybe they don’t. I ain’t delusional about that. But there’s something here that doesn’t exist anywhere else, not anywhere that I’ve seen.”

“We have a chance to be different here. I’m gonna take that. And I’m gonna work at it every day. To be a good member of this community. A good husband to Maria. A good father to that baby. Because this place gave me that second chance.”

“Maybe it’s giving you one too.”

And Joel sniffs hard and rubs at the tip of his nose with the back of his hand.

“Give it a chance too, Joel. Don’t think about fucking up. That’s the quickest way to do yourself in.”

And maybe life has finally knocked something into Tommy Miller, or knocked something out of Joel, because that motherfucker finally makes some kind of sense.

They’re quiet for a bit longer, listening to coyotes yipping beyond the wall.

“What are you makin’ Len for dinner?”

And Joel laughs when he realizes that a grin spreads across his face at the mention of her name.

“Probably steak? Garlic mashed potatoes…”

“A Miller specialty.”

“That's right, best foot forward. Ellie brought home some broccoli yesterday, probably throw that in.”

“Yeah,” Tommy grins, “yeah, she’ll love that.”

Joel smiles into his glass.

“I’ll bring a bottle of this by in the morning.” Tommy tips his glass towards Joel.

“Thanks, brother.”

“Hey, listen to me.” Tommy grabs Joel's sweatshirt sleeve. “Lennie’s a good woman.”

Joel meets his eyes.

“Don’t let her go.”

Taglist: @iamskyereads @harriedandharassed

Old chapters are hosted on the OFFS Library page. New chapters will be posted to Ohforficsake - follow me over there for future updates.

Shoot me a message @ohforficsake or comment under this post if you would like to be added to the taglist for updates! Thanks so much for reading.

#joel miller #tommy miller #joel miller fanfiction #the last of us fanfiction #pedro pascal character fanfiction #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal #ohforficsake

29 notes · View notes

imogenleewriter · 7 months

Note

What are some of your favorite fics? i feel like i trust your opinion so much since what you write is so amazing u have to read something just as loll

I've given rec's to anons before, not sure if you've checked any of those out. Favourites / Famous/Non-Famous / A/B/O / WIPs (although most are complete now!) / Recent Read Recs Pt 1

But, let's do a new recently read and loved list!

I Don't Wanna Face The Music by hereforh / @hereforh Word count: 95,378 (but there is also a pt 2, still a WIP and up to 80k). Rating: E. Uni AU. Strangers to Lovers.

Louis likes to think he's a pretty normal, typical lad. He likes spending nights at the pub with his mates, he loves football and is very close to his family. So when he moves to London for uni, he doesn’t think much will be different.

Until he makes these new friends who are nothing like his mates back home and change his life for the better - and this one boy who messes with his head from the get go and makes him question everything he has ever thought about himself.

Wind beneath my wings by lunarheslwt / @lunarheslwt Word count: 93,131. Rating: E. A/B/O. Strangers to Lovers.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Harry gritted out, wild-eyed. “You should be scared of me.” Louis opened his mouth to speak, to cut him off, to disagree, but Harry was pushing. “I could hurt you.” “You won’t hurt me,” Louis said, simple and assuredly. Calm. “I’m capable of hurting you.” “But you won’t. That’s not who you are, Harry. I trust you,” Louis whispered.

As an omega carer that works at a rescue and rehabilitation centre for feral alphas and omegas, Louis has experienced all sides of ferality. So Harry- a cold, near-mute, non-receptive alpha- was a challenging case for everyone at Phoenix Rehab Centre. Louis wasn’t expecting to feel drawn towards an aloof Harry, or to form a slow bond with him. He certainly was not expecting for his entire life to change in unforeseen ways.

don't want no other shade of blue by padfootyoudog / @louisisworthit Word count: 43,230. Rating: E. A/B/O. Enemies to lovers.

“I know you’re putting on an act,” says Harry after a moment, and Louis scowls when he realises the prince is actually amused.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” says Louis.

“All I’ve heard over the past couple of years are rumours of Prince Louis’ kindness, and generosity, and oh, he’s so handsome I can barely pour his tea without shaking!” says Harry, putting on a silly, high-pitched voice for the last bit. Louis’ scowl deepens. “I would already know if you were just another selfish, bratty omega prince. You can’t fool me, darling, but I admire your efforts.”

“As you said,” Louis grits out, “those are only rumours. I assure you, I’m a terrible person.”

Harmony by nouies / @nouies Word count: 6,175. Rating: E. A/B/O. Enemies to lovers.

Alpha Harry and Omega Louis don’t have the most amicable relationship at work. When they get stuck together in an elevator, Harry scents Louis after nothing else works to bring him out of his panicked state.

Their time trapped in the elevator together brings to light some misunderstandings, and maybe some feelings for each other, too.

We Both Got Nothing To Hide by lovelarry10 / @chloehl10 Word count: 43,811. Rating: E. A/B/O. Friends to lovers/mutual pining.

“Talk to me, Lou.”

“I can’t,” Louis mumbled, knowing he genuinely couldn’t say it. He couldn’t admit to what he was doing. “Don’t ask me to say it, because I can’t.”

“Then… I’ll try and guess. You’ve… got some stuff of Harry’s. Something of his to make it smell like him?”

Louis just nodded, eyes fixated on the floor. This was humiliating, but he knew Zayn wouldn’t stop until he found out what was going on.

“Okay. Like… a blanket, or a comforter or something?”

“Kind of…”

Omega Louis has a secret nest. Alpha Harry keeps losing his clothes.

through the jungle through the dark by YesIsAWorld / @louandhazaf Word count: 12,555. Rating: E. Road Trip, Ex-friends to lovers.

Louis and Harry were best friends, until they weren’t. Five years after they last spoke they’re forced to drive cross-country to visit an injured friend. If they can’t get over the past, it will be a very long week together.

Nailed By Louis by haztobegood / @haztobegood Word count: 6,311 (+part 2: 3,168). Rating: E. Enemies to lovers.

It had started as a joke, just two months earlier. Louis had tried to make recipe from HarrySizzles Instagram account. It looked doable: no strange ingredients, no scary kitchen machinery. Just a simple layered lettuce salad. The result had been catastrophic. His friends had laughed so hard at the disgusting appearance of his salad, and after a few drinks, Louis had been convinced to start his own Instagram to track his food failures.

these bad omens (I look right through them) by likelarry / @likelarryfics Word count: 82,322. Rating: E. Age Difference (all legal). Strangers to lovers.

How on earth does someone his parents' age look so damn hot? All of their other friends look... bland and boring.

But Louis, fucking hell. He's something out of Harry's wettest fucking dreams.

Where Louis is Harry's parents' friend and teaches at Harry's university. Harry can't resist getting a taste.

#my fic recs #recently read

38 notes · View notes

thebarontheabyss · 4 months

Note

Hiya! I've been learning ASL and it's super fun and I had 2 questions about it.

1) I know when talking people just understand each other, and I was curious if this applied to sign! I'm guessing yes because of inclusiveness, but talking and signing are really different, so maybe not? Also, if it does work, how? Because with talking, I've assumed it just is in a language you understand. Would you just understand sign? Would there be essentially a voice-over saying what they sign?

2) First of all, is He Without Name blocked from communicating or just talking? I keep imagining me teaching him signs to help him have more avenues to share his thoughts. But would that even work? Because I understand he's like a blob of shadows essentially, so does his hands even have enough visual depth for people to be able to read his signs? If sign doesn't work (kind of back to the question of can he not talk or not communicate) are there other communication tools we could use with him?

Sorry for the big focus on He Without Name, I just think he's so interesting, and really, the core of this ask is I want to talk to him more! Love you, love the game, have an amazing day!

What a fascinating question! First of all, it's so cool you've been learning ASL; I worked as a sign language interpreter when I was young, and although I'm super rusty, it's so important to know!

1) So there's no universal translator in the ethereal realms; it's more like people just understand the language they are being spoken (or signed!) to. You CAN hear other languages, but you will just understand them.

2) Which leads us to He Without Name. Unfortunately, sign language will be complex for him, just as speech is - unfortunately, his situation is not physical - it's more... cosmic. It's not a problem that will be easy to solve.

But it would be something I'll explore during the story - and I promise you will have a chance to properly talk with our lovely shade :)

#choicescript #wip #hosted game #fiction #interactive novel #interactive fiction #hosted games #cog #choice of games #thebarontheabyss #tbota #the bar on the abyss #he without name tbota #anon ask #answered #lore #oc lore

29 notes · View notes

ddostoyevskyy · 11 months

Text

❝𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐖 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍❞ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈: A Pay for Kindness!

Edogawa Ranpo

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒... Mentions of abuse, sexual assault, double meaning words/sentences.

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒... 2.04K

SERIES MASTERLIST

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒: 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐄, 𝐈, 𝐈𝐈 𝐈𝐈𝐈, 𝐈𝐕, 𝐕

Cough. They really do love mentioning my name, huh? I guess, it can't be helped if they always need someone like me.

Fishing his hands on his pocket as he roamed through the streets, wandering around the city alone - it was his first time to be travelling without anyone nor the white haired boy whose tagging alongside him. Although, he found it quite nauseu to have someone around when he can go out alone (he actually can't), he's not used to it (though, he won't admit). It was unusual for this city to be awfully peaceful, yet it's also too depressing to have it destroyed once, yet again. Crime will never stop nor it will fall asleep - it keeps going and that what keeps him going too.

The ironic thing about people with abilities are not being able to use their abilities in a right way - they choose to use their gifted abilities to cause ruckus and to hide the truth. But, no truth are hidden when it comes to him - he always knew the truth; Ranpo Edogawa is never wrong. The power of his knowledge to identify ones being like he's reading a book and the story are the plot of their life from their birth and crimes. Although, what he lacks is emotion. Reading a book that catches ones attention also captures their emotional mentality, making them feel every words written as they reflecting through the characters.

Ranpo never enjoy reading a book like how he enjoy reading someone's life without privacy. He's using his own advantages to accelerate in life - although, he guessed, he did too much - now, he have grown up too fast, too curious, and a coward to realized something he should've had.

Not all people are like you! Leave me alone! A voice of a little girl snapped him out of his own little world, the walls he created away from the reality and how people are not like him - crashed down as he started to see how the world works now, little by little as he stared at the people around him - looking so clueless and acting naìve. You're still a child, so am I. We should enjoy life to the fullest. Said the little girl on his head again. Although, she, whose a child like him before had no time to enjoy her childhood like he is.

He had grown up a little too fast and faced the reality a little too slow.

"Hah, so bored." He murmured, already feeling the vibration of his phone on his pocket as he continue to ignore the calls of his co-members. Kunikida must be fuming right now, but what can he do? I'm his senior.

"Oh? Saccho..." Ranpo's voice faltered as he witnessed the scene fold in front of him. He didn't expect to came across the President running his own errands - with a seemingly young woman besides him.

"...Who could that be?" He watch the President's mouth move as he talks, analyzing his expression and the wave of nostalgia on his aura. It was unusual for the President to smile, yet there's a small curve of expression plastered on his lips.

He frowned, nevertheless, he walk towards their direction as his eyes catches the up-front well-built building, scanning through the letters written in bold glass - the fine establishment were shining under the sun, reflecting in a shades of grey. He halts for a moment.

The Department of Justice, huh? He never thought he will capture the moment of the President talking to an authority - it was rare, seeing him even dressed well in a complete suit, looking ravishing and younger than his actual age. Fukuzawa finally noticed him, finally, as his grey eyes falter on the sight of his subordinate lurking around the street - alone.

"Ranpo," He acknowledged his presence, as the woman in the black coat turn her head, Ranpo's emerald eyes were on sight, staring at the young woman who looks back at him - a wave of nostalgia had hit him once in for a while.

"It's rare to see you alone in the streets. Ah, should I still introduce the both of you to each other?" Fukuzawa's question made Ranpo's eyes twitched as the young woman look away, a sudden intense atmosphere had been created.

This doesn't feel right. You thought, eyeing the way the man in front of you shifts uncomfortably. You watched how his hand balls into fist and loosened, the discomfort reaching through to tap on his shoes on the floor as you sighed.

Your eyes follow his form, noticing how he didn't change as much as before - yet, his body became lean and his face became more mature, the way his face fall in a stern expression were masculine, the lost emerald eyes you've seen before disappeared, replaced with a confident and more refined expression. And, the way he look at you were unreadable. It looks like you'll be eaten alive, yet you're quite relieved that there's no hatred plastered on his expression. It's been almost thirteen years after you've last seen him and honestly, you will surely understand if he ever planted any hatred for you after what happened.

"(Name)," Fukuzawa muttered your first name, as Ranpo's eyes flickered through your form. "She's a very reputable attorney now."

I can't believe this. Is this really... (Name)? His eyes scanned your face, although with your hair tied up in a low ponytail with a few strands framing your face - any people would look like a mess in this kind of hairstyle, but, you, you still look good - despite, the darkening bags under your eyes as a result of your sleepless nights, it was never a hinder to hide your beauty; followed by a touch of light makeup to highlight your beauty (well, you've still managed to put makeup on, atleast to look presentable). He noticed the cup of coffee on your hand, maybe, the sixth one for today. The black coat you're wearing were buttoned-up from your waist as he noticed you were clad in a suit under the coat.

You look... very professional and elegant as you bowed your head for acknowledgedment and he lowered his head back of respect.

"It's nice to see you again, (Name)." That's the only thing he has the courage to say as you held a small smile. It's nice to see them again, that's not a lie. But, after a long time without communication, you've became wary. The earlier interaction with Fukuzawa were stressful and now that you've bumped with Ranpo Edogawa were stressing you further.

"Yes, of course, Ranpo." His name slips on your lips like a honeyed butter, laced with a certain emotion that has him clearing his throat at the sudden realization.

"Well, it seems like you're still familiar with each other, I'm glad. (Name), if you're not so busy, would you mind another cup of coffee with us? I know a place that serves a good one." Fukuzawa uttered, breaking the tension in the air as you glance at your table, tapping on the screen as you checked on your schedule for today. Well, today seems like a mix of luck and misfortune; you have the time in your life for today, and you're gonna spend it with your past acquaintances.

"Well, I am definitely free for today. Just give me the directions and I'll drive us there," You waved the car keys through the air as you point the car parked inside the open area of the building's parking lot, "Care to join us, Ranpo?"

"I've never thought you will really pursue law, (Name)." Ranpo's voice erupted, breaking the nerve-wracking silence after Fukuzawa left the two of you on the table for a sudden call. The car ride were quiet, and even after you've arrived at the café which was also owned by the Armed Detective Agency, it was awfully quiet and you were quite thankful for him as he finally tried to make conversation.

"I really never did imagined too. I thought, I am all talk before because, it was a really tough journey. I accelerate a few grades when I took an exam and luckily, I managed to passed." You answered, sipping on the coffee. It surprisingly taste good as you silently beamed at the taste - oh, you were really going back here again.

"You're a very smart girl - oh, a woman now, I supposed," Ranpo replied, a grin plastered on his face, "It is no wonder you made your own wish came true."

"Well, what about you, then? You seemed very well-known to the police officers too. I've been hearing your name a lot after I've arrived in Japan." You shifted the attention away from you and he noticed how you easily managed to do that - no wonder.

"Oh, you were in abroad?"

You nodded, "Yes."

"Well, it's no help when they'll always need me everytime a murder case are discovered. The gullibility of the people is making m-"

"Ranpo, what do we think about the people whose intelligence are not like you, hm?"

He halted, eyes widening as he stared at you in bewilderedment - his hands were tightly grasping until he could feel his nails on his skin. The same girl with the exact words he heard thirteen years ago. You seemed to be aware of your impact to the man, seeing as how he became agitated and you quite panicked, alarmed at how his expression contorted.

"I, uh, I apologize -"

"Ranpo!" A sudden unfamiliar voice interrupt as your head whipped on the direction, staring at the new faces like a deer caught in a red light as you managed to catch your composure, chugging on the cup of coffee until it's empty as you wipe your lips with the napkin on the table.

"We've been searching for you. Why aren't you answering my calls?" A young man, with lean and tall body with glasses appeared in front of you - he's quite familiar, yet you couldn't pinpoint the exact information where you've seen him. The other much younger looking boy behind him, a white-haired with black streaks tips on the end of his.... unusual bangs were looking at you curiously, yet he appeared to be a little intimidated when he noticed your stares, although he gave you an awkward smile which you returned with raising your eyebrows in acknowledgement.

The man-tiger. You've seen him through the newspapers and he often appears on the television after The Guild's downfall. He looks strange, yet appalling in person - he's pale and the rareness of his heterochromia eyes... it's definitely a disease. You continue to eye the two of them until the blonde finally notices your presence - he might have forgotten I am here. The said man gave Ranpo a good scolding before turning his attention to you.

He cleared his throat, "And, mind introducing this lady to us?" He put a hand on his hip.

"(Last Name), (Name) or you can call her Attorney (Last Name)," Ranpo replied as you nod your head towards their direction, "(Name), this is Kunikida Doppo and Nakajima Atsushi. Both of them are part of the Agency."

Kunikida, as Ranpo introduced, extended his arm as you accepted his greetings, you turn to Atsushi to greet him too, awkwardly shooking your hand with a nervous smile.

"For a second, I thought Ranpo finally found a woman he could take on a date," Kunikida sighed, "Nice to meet you, Attorney. I've heard a lot about you."

Your eyebrow perked up, glancing at Ranpo who has his eyebrow raised on your direction too as you shifted your attention to Kunikida again.

"Well, I do hope Ranpo is not talking rather, oddly stories about me." You heard an audible grumble of disapproval from the dark-haired male as Kunikida shook his head.

"No. What I meant was I've heard how much of a great lawyer you are. You're quite the talk of the town after you've arrived here," He confirmed as you nod your head. "Especially, to the police officers."

"Thank you. Though, I didn't realized how much of an impact I made." You replied. You never really like to be praised, nor to be recognized to the public, you never really appeared on news. As much as possible, you want to keep your profile anonymous to keep yourself safe and your future clients. That way, no one can harm you or the victims. Still, the name, (Last Name), (Name) will still be recognized, at the end of the day.

"Well, (Name). Since, we already saw each other again, how about, we make some deal?" Ranpo spoke so suddenly, catching your attention. The audacity - hah. Although, he did help me in the lowest point of my life, as long as it's not something that will ruin my values in life, I guess.

"What is it, then?" You answered.

"Accompany us through your stay here in the city and I'll make sure the Agency will keep you safe, because I know how much of a danger you get yourself into." He replied, eyeing you directly with such a glint in his eyes. He could sense the wariness and doubt in you -something's never really had changed - you still love to wear your heart in your sleeve. He can read right through you.

"As long as it's never against the law. Because I know, too, how dirty the Agency can get and it's against my principles. Only this way I could repay your kindness." You let out a deep sigh, staring straight at him like the other two men didn't exist. You've examined his facade again.

Something's never really had changed - Ranpo still love to stare at you with those rich green eyes as you clenched on the ring on your finger under the table; the stone imitating the color of his eyes.

The eyes of the young boy that places the hope in your heart.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

#bsd fics #bungou stray dogs #bsd fanfic #[❤️; niko’s series]#bungou stray dogs x reader #ranpo x reader #bungou stray dogs ranpo #ranpo my beloved #bsd ranpo #bsd kunikida #bsd atsushi

77 notes · View notes

sarascamander · 6 days

Text

If you love Kit and Ty, you HAVE to read the Adventure of Holloway Holmes — it gives the EXACT VIBE of KitTy. I'm not even kidding. We have two wannabe sleuths absolutely pining for each other, crimes to solve, amazing banters, and just so much more! One of the similarities:

1. The main character is Jack Moreno who Kit wished he was. I LOVE KIT but Jack stole my heart in a way he didn't lmao. They both are sarcastic, hilarious, independent and undeniably in love with their partner in crime. Honestly, being in Jack's head is one of the best experiences of my love. It's so fun!

I wanted to close my eyes. I wanted to smack my head against the steering wheel. Off the top of my head, I could make a list: some fairly good weed, a lot of addies, condoms (not that those were illegal), unopened vapes (those were), this rare tentacle porn manga that Ty Bryce had paid me for but asked me to hold on to. After I got out of prison in thirty years, I already knew, Dad was going to make me have a super awkward sex talk.

2. And Holmes aka H (as Jack fondly nicknamed because Holloway Holmes is such a posh name in his humble opinion) is so precious!!!! I want to wrap him in a blanket burrito even though he is actually capable of breaking my arm without blinking. But god! Someone needs to take care of him. Although it's never been specified in the book, I'm 80% sure he's autistic. Either that or he was badly abused (which he was). He reminded me of Ty by the way he speaks and acts.

I examined his face. Then I gave him a smile. He was doing a Holmes thing, not looking me in the eye, so I moved my head until he was. This was something we’d been working on.

3. You know how Kit will suddenly drift to a paragraph of how beautiful Ty is? Well, Jack Moreno might give Kit a run for his money (he's so obsessed with H's knuckles and the thousands of shades of gold in his hair, it's embarrassing)

He made a frustrated noise. Then he smiled. The expression was a little stiff; he wasn’t used to doing it, and it was another of those things that he was self-conscious about. I’d read about people who get up at two or three in the morning—on vacation, no less, when they’re in Hawaii—and then they drive hours and hours, and all of it is to see the sunrise from this one specific spot, and I thought, Come to Utah if you want something worth your time

Context: they're in Utah. Jack basically said that Holmes' smile is prettier than the sunrise!! 😩

4. Their relationship is literally so pure and one of the things that get me insane about them is their communication!! They always worked hard to communicate with each other and sort things out it's so satisfying to read!!

“I lied,” Holmes said, but he still wasn’t looking me in the eye. “I am angry with you.” “I guessed.” “I don’t want to do this right now.” “It’s good practice."

5. Their banter is *chef kiss*

“I’ll tell him it’s a sex thing.” “Good,” Holmes said. “He’ll be pleased that all your hours of mindless pornography are finally paying dividends.” My jaw legit dropped. “H!” “Desk, please.” “That was so amazingly bitchy.” “Desk.” “And, like, also kind of evil. Which I loved.”

And there are literally hundreds of reasons to read this trilogy if you are craving for Kit and Ty. And although their vibes are similar, they are also their own people. And words can't say how much I adore them. The story and relationship is really beautifully written. I honestly don't care much about the crime but I'm obsessed with these two

Some of my favourites quotes:

He sat there in silhouette, head down. I knew the curve of his spine. I knew the span of his shoulders. Anywhere, I thought. I could be anywhere and know you

“You are my soul, Jack Moreno. I do not know why John Watson wrote his stories that way, why he wrote himself so small, when he was so much more. I do not think I will ever understand. But I do not want to know what I would be without you.”

I knew that he was something more than me, something vast and wonderful that I could only touch the edges of. But for someone like me, the edge was enough—just a glimpse was enough. And, more importantly for right now, I knew what he sounded like when he’d been hurt, the quality of his breathing, because I’d hurt him in a way few people ever had. Which was why, in those rare midnight hours when I could be honest with myself, I knew it was better this way, as friends. Because I didn’t deserve him

“But he was so much more. Sherlock Holmes was a brilliant detective, Jack. He would have been that regardless of other circumstances. But he was a good man—he was a happy man—because of John Watson.”

“What do you say to that, I wanted to know. What am I supposed to say? What do you want me to say? But what I was really asking was, How am I supposed to do this again? I barely survived the first time; what am I supposed to do when you leave me again?”

I had seen, this spring, jacaranda blossoms so pale they were almost blue, trembling with the breath of the mountains. I had seen, when I'd been twelve, a foil of goldfinches flocking against the crushed dusk. I had seen a shooting star once, thinning across the sky like combed silver. And I had seen Holloway Holmes smile.

There's so much but I don't want to spam so I really hope you give it a try!!

#jack moreno #holloway holmes #ty blackthorn #kit herondale

15 notes · View notes

starlit-hopes-and-dreams · 8 months

Text

Chapter 19 ~ Hope is a dangerous thing

Hidden Depths

Previous ~ Masterlist ~ Next

Also on ao3

Genre: Fantasy whump

CW: everyone is just *full* of self-blame, are we happy? Huh? So uh, blood, impalement–technically if you’re shot with an arrow you get impaled, right? Right. Also, *drumroll* lots of angst *gasp* and a healthy dose of denial. And I guess a tiny bit of minor whump, bc Orla, but it’s next to nothing, I swear. Unless you count the angst, cuz then we're all screwed 😂

WC: 2735

In which I really wanted some whump. I'm sorry but not really XD

AN: Ch 19 AKA the bitch chapter. I don't think I'll ever be completely happy with it so here it is. Sorry it took two months 😅

Orla

A grand adventure.

That’s how Orla had imagined the idea of leaving the city, traveling north until they found a quaint little village or maybe even a town to settle in.

She’d pictured it in her mind, aided by the sketched illustrations in some of the books she’d read in the palace’s library. A small village, each house a cozy cottage with a thatched roof, filled with kind people: families, grandparents, children, a whole community, one who would welcome them in with open arms. Resh could take up their father’s business or maybe even return to carpentry, although she wasn’t certain he’d apprenticed long enough.

A wave of longing for a life long gone washed over her, leaving behind slimy strands of loss and guilt. She pushed them away. Carr and her brother had those emotions covered in spades.

She glanced up from her book at her brother. The dark circles under his eyes were deepening, looking like bruises that worsened with each day that passed. Carr had noticed them as well and clearly had as much clue about how to deal with her brother’s sleepless nights as she did.

The guilt resurged; Carr thought she was at fault for what happened to Resh, but Orla knew better. Her brother had sold himself to the Crown for her, because she’d been ill. The words on the page before her blurred, so she looked out the carriage’s window instead, distracting herself with the view.

Dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves adorning the great trees of the Seleni Wood, leaves that were as big as her head. She’d found one on the ground and tested that claim, then rolled it up and stuck it in her bag to study closer later, fascinated with the white veins that contrasted sharply with the dark green of the rest of the leaf. Sturdy too, that leaf. The locals used them to wrap food they intended to smoke.

Orla liked the Wood. The shade provided some relief from the oppressive warmth they’d found in the north, warmth that didn’t seem near to tapering off even though it was late summer.

She would’ve liked to live here, but none of the towns or villages west of the Wood had been suitable. The people had either been too insular or downright hostile, so they were heading back east. Weeks of travel had dampened Orla’s initial excitement as much as her brother’s declining state. Nothing was as she had imagined, and she had an active imagination.

Like now. She had to be imagining all those eyes glinting out of the undergrowth as they passed by on what felt like increasingly unstable ground. It was bad enough that she closed her book and replaced it in her bag, right in time for the carriage to lurch to the side, slamming her into the wall with a squeak of surprise.

“The fuck!” Carr shouted.

Orla was impressed at how quickly Carr roused from her nap to full awareness, anchoring herself before she could be tossed from the bench seat. The carriage picked up speed, and the wood creaked, protesting the increased pace. Resh and Carr exchanged a loaded glance.

“What is it?” Orla asked, her voice cracking as the carriage pitched again.

Resh caught her arm before she could hit the wall a second time–Orla was thankful, her shoulder already throbbing from her previous impact. He said something to her, but she wasn’t very good at lipreading, despite Carr’s efforts–something with a b, and the rest was lost; she shook her head, wiping her sweaty palms on her skirts.

He shoved himself in the corner, one arm on each wall, one foot on the ground with the other on the bench. Then he moved, pointing to her. Oh. Brace yourself, maybe? Orla followed her brother’s example, clenching her teeth to keep from biting her tongue when the carriage bounced roughly again.

Sometime during that demonstration, Carr had put her boots back on and opened the sliding door to the front.

“We bein chased?” Carr asked the driver.

The rest of the conversation faded to the background as Orla caught a glimpse of a bearded man on horseback through the opposite window, holding a bow. Rangers carried bows, Orla knew. Maybe this one needed their help with something? The carriage veered sharply then, and Resh lunged across the seats to stabilize Carr.

The bearded man returned, slightly behind and to their left, but visible to Orla nonetheless. He smiled when he caught Orla’s gaze, and her eyes widened. She’d never seen a smile that looked less like one than his. A chill skittered down her spine, worsening when he pulled an arrow from what looked like out of nowhere and nocked it.

She felt frozen, her muscles locked in place. Her throat closed up, refusing to let more than the barest whisper of air through, nowhere near the scream she wanted to loose. The arrow flew through the window, embedding in the wall right next to where her brother was holding Carr steady. Orla watched as a crimson stain spread on her brother’s upper arm.

He grimaced, but the wound didn’t stop him from grabbing her and Carr and shoving them to the floor of the carriage. Orla curled into a ball, shivering. Why was this man chasing them? Was there only one, or were there others? The eyes she’d seen in the brush returned to haunt her with possibilities.

“Damnit, Resh, I can help,” Carr snarled, popping back up to rummage through the compartment under her seat.

But Resh spun, his hands going through one of the short, succinct signs Carr had taught them, one Orla recognized as ‘hold’.

The sign wasn’t really necessary, though, not with her and Carr both staring at the purple glow overtaking Resh’s brown eyes.

Orla gasped; it was the first time she’d seen him use his magic since he’d come back. She’d missed it. Missed the bond she’d shared with her brother because of it.

When she was little more than a toddler, she’d been more fascinated by the pretty purple light than the blocks Resh would float in the air for her entertainment. It was their secret, he would tell her as he built impossibly high towers for her to knock down.

It was their secret, he’d whisper, when he’d return with some fruit or bread at the end of a miserable, rainy day spent cowering under an alcove, hoping no one would kick them out for loitering.

Their secret, when he’d brush what remained of her hair out of her face, allowing just a hint of purple to shine in his eyes because he knew she loved it so.

Later, when the queen had deemed her well enough to resume her schooling, she’d learned more about magic. About how dangerous it had been to be a mage in Elysia. How it was still dangerous, the population’s opinion on magic widely divided.

This must be bad if it wasn’t their secret anymore.

“Orla.”

A hand patted her cheek with stinging force, just short of a slap. She blinked, feeling confused until the carriage tilted crazily again. Her arms shot out, bracing against the seats.

“You can’t freeze up, Orla,” Carr said, grabbing her hand and pressing a dagger into it.

The leather-wrapped handle felt foreign in her hand. It felt wrong, and she wanted to drop it. The look Carr leveled at her changed her mind, her fingers tightening around the hilt almost on their own.

“If anyone comes near you, stick that in them, hard, as hard as you can, you hear? Then you run. Run as if your life depends on it.”

“Who…” Orla’s mouth was far too dry. She watched, wide-eyed, as Carr pulled dagger after dagger out of the compartment, strapping them on. She always had the ones in her thigh sheaths, but now there were two hidden beneath her boots, two strapped to her wrists, one–Orla blinked. Where had that one gone? Or that other…

“Why do you have so many knives?” she asked, feeling her eyes getting wider and wider with each weapon Carr withdrew.

Orla glanced around, wondering if her brother knew about all this, but he wasn’t there. He wasn’t there he wasn’t there! Her breathing sped up, wondering if he’d been shot again, but then her eyes snagged on the opening to the front of the carriage. Had he climbed through that? It didn’t look nearly big enough…

“It’s gonna be alright,” Carr said, strapping something around Orla’s waist before taking the dagger she’d given her back.

An ominous creak sounded as the carriage bounced extra hard–followed by a nasty-sounding crack. The carriage listed heavily to the side, and Orla bit back a scream, held by the steadiness in Carr’s eyes even though her heart pounded. Her hand felt empty, and she suddenly wished to have the dagger back, craved its security even though she had no idea how to use it.

“It’s gonna be alright,” Carr said again, sliding the blade into the sheath at Orla’s hip.

Orla sucked in a breath, feeling a little better with the weight at her side. She stared at Carr, repeating her words in her head, over and over. It’s gonna be alright It’s gonna be alright It’s gonna–

The glow of Resh’s magic grew brighter, stronger, illuminating the entire cabin in lavender. Thank gods, he really was still there. It’s gonna be alright. Her brother would protect them. Whatever was happening, if the carriage crashed, his power would keep them safe. It’s gonna be alright.

Carr turned to look at him, and Orla found herself mimicking her motions, relieved to see Resh’s face peering into the cabin. It’s gonna…

Someone screamed as an arrowhead broke through Resh’s shoulder, jutting out from under his collarbone in a flash of crimson and silver.

No! Nononono… a high-pitched whine filled the cabin as her brother’s body sagged against the opening, blood staining his torn tunic. It was supposed to be alright! It still could be, right? Right?

But the purple light flickered, and the carriage lurched again, the motion flinging Orla back against the wall. It kept tilting until it seemed she was weightless, the world beyond the window a smear of green and brown. Carr reached for her, her body floating within the remnants of Resh’s fading magic.

This is not alright, Orla wailed in her mind as she careened past Carr but somehow stopped short of the opposite wall. Fingers grasped Orla’s flailing hands when she flew back in the other direction–Carr, dragging her closer, her mouth moving. She was trying to speak, but Orla couldn’t hear her through the terrible noises the carriage was making. Through the terrible noises she was making.

Carr’s arms curled around her shoulders, hugging her tight right before…

Purple light shattered.

Wood shattered.

Orla’s world shattered.

~~~

Carr

Carr stifled her groan as she came to, unsure of her surroundings or why her body ached so bad.

The floor felt soft beneath her, the scent of crushed grass and moist earth filling her nostrils.

Not the floor then. The ground. She was outside?

Her eyes snapped open. Outside. Bandits, chasing them. She raised a hand to her head, met a sticky patch of half-dried blood above her eyebrow. Well, that explained why that part of her hurt.

Wherever she was, it was dark. She listened, but aside from the sound of the wind rustling the leaves, everything was quiet. Unnaturally so. The bandits–ah, right. The carriage–it had crashed, flinging her and Orla around like ragdolls.

Flashes of memory assailed her. Resh’s magic, surrounding them, cushioning them from the worst of the damage. The cabin splintering apart, Resh’s magic fracturing, Carr’s arms surrounding the small, frail form of Resh’s sister.

Desperate to shield her when they were flung from the cabin, Carr had called earth, and it had answered. The impact had still been enough to knock her out, though. She hoped Orla had survived.

And Resh–his face as that arrow went through his shoulder. How had he managed the strength to shield them after that? Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She would make no assumptions. Having been through this once already, Carr told herself she could do it again. She’d find him alive again. She would.

Clenching her jaw, Carr dug her fingers into the ground and stared up at the weave of greenery above her that she could just make out. Vines. She’d cocooned herself in vines.

She waited a few minutes, listening. Were the bandits still around? But she heard nothing except the sound of the wildlife slowly picking up its natural rhythm again. Good enough. The light still streaming through the forest’s canopy stabbed into her eyes as she pulled the vines back.

Her head throbbed, but the ache wasn’t too bad. She lay still for a few moments anyway, letting her eyes adjust. The light was weak and patchy but not too much different from before, which meant she hadn’t been out for long. Hopefully.

Okay, enough with the waiting. Carr pushed herself up to find she was laying in a small patch of undergrowth, and… oh, thank fuck. Orla was splayed out next to her; if Carr had reached out inside her cocoon, she probably could’ve touched her.

The girl looked pale, too pale. Carr held her breath, waiting… there! Her chest rose and fell ever so slightly. Thank the gods.

“Orla?” she whispered, reaching out to touch the girl’s cheek.

Her eyes fluttered at the contact, but she didn’t wake. Fuck. Carr supposed she could leave the girl here; she’d be safe within the vines, provided she didn’t make too much noise, but what if Orla woke and was scared?

Carr didn’t have an answer for that, so she spent a few more minutes trying to rouse her. Just as she was about to give up, Orla whimpered.

“Orla?” Carr said, feeling a little desperate at this point. “C’mon, kid, I need you to wake up.”

“Lemme sleep,” Orla mumbled, swatting her away.

“No can do. We gotta move. Can you sit up for me? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I don’t… think so? But my brain feels scrambled,” Orla complained, finally cracking open her eyes. “What… where? Ugh, we crashed?” The girl winced as she sat up, her breath coming too fast. “Resh!”

Carr peered at her pupils, relieved to find them an equal size. “Yeah, we crashed. Can you walk? We need to find him.”

Now that Resh’s sister was awake, Carr burned with the need to find him, make sure he was still alive and stayed that way. Hopefully, the bandits had raided the remains of their carriage and left him lying in a ditch somewhere. Hopefully, one of the horses could be found. Hopefully, the sun wouldn’t set for a few hours yet.

Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully.

Orla was a little unsteady but able to walk. Thank fuck. Carr guided her, sticking to the underbrush for cover as she searched for the crash site. It didn’t take long to find; she followed a trail of splintered wood until she found the twisted, shattered mess of wood and metal at the bottom of a hill.

She stopped, looking up at the bank, then over her shoulder where she and Orla had been thrown. Without Resh, without her using earth at the last moment, they would have died, Carr had no doubt. A sudden stab of fear pierced her chest; had Resh saved any of his magic for himself?

“Oh gods,” Orla whispered behind her.

Resh had shown Carr, over and over, that he didn’t give a shit about himself as long she was safe. Add his sister into the equation…

“We need t’ find Resh. Now,” Carr said, her voice harsh.

Orla started crying. “How could he survive that?”

“He’s alive,” Carr said. “Has t’ be.”

She sent Orla to search the immediate area around the carriage, then started climbing the hill, which was steep enough that she was forced to use elemental earth to aid her. Maybe he’d jumped before the carriage tumbled down. Maybe that’s why his magic had broken. He’d be up there, hurt, sure, but alive, waiting for help to come.

She wouldn’t accept any other possibility, not until she was presented with his cold, lifeless body, and maybe not even then.

Image Description

[ID: The banner is a blue-green background, with tree branches arching over a set of blue-green eyes, forming an approximation of a face. The words Hidden Depths are written in white above the eyes. Any other images are purely decorative lines. end ID]

#hidden depths #whump #whump writing #original writing #original characters #fantasy whump #warnings above the cut #impalement tw #kind of #angst #minor whump #also kind of

19 notes · View notes

thee-morrigan · 1 year

Text

sincerity is scary

character(s): Holland Townsend, plus a lil Verda at the beginning (technically, Nate's not in this but my god is he living rent-free in Holland's mind) wc/rating: 3.2k / T (swearing) warnings: so many spoilers for Book 3 (all below the cut ofc!) read on ao3 in case anyone’s wondering, Holland still thinks the scariest thing she’s up against is her own stupid heart.

“Come on, Verda, you have to have something for me. I want to do things. I need to do things.”

“You know, some research suggests that feeling the need to be busy all the time is a trauma response,” the pathologist responded mildly, not looking up from the tray of instruments he was busy sterilizing. “That it’s a fear-based compulsion to distract your brain from meaningfully processing traumatic events.”

“You wanna send me those citations, then, and I can distract myself with some light reading?” Holland snapped back, but there was no heat in it.

Verda paused his work then and turned, giving a huff of laughter whose lightness was somewhat diminished by the careful assessment in his eyes as they swept her face. Although they’d started out, as many good friends do, brought together not by fate or fortune but chance proximity, they had quickly discovered bright shared threads of themselves in each other beneath the veneer of professional courtesy and had found themselves fast companions ever since.

He respected her as a colleague, of course; more than he’d expected, if he was honest. She had a stronger background in his line of work than he’d dared to hope in such a small station, which made her a useful colleague to have when he found himself stymied by something. And — perhaps most importantly — she didn’t pester him with questions she didn’t even know were asinine when a case experienced delays. He’d liked Detective Reele more or less, but she’d been marginally tolerable when things didn’t move at the speed she decided appropriate, regardless of whether he could make degraded tissue spontaneously re-materialize when she decided she wanted clearer fingerprints. No, Detective Townsend was a better colleague, that was certain.

More than just respecting her work, though, he liked Holland in general; she brought a borderline acerbic levity to the station that balanced against Tina’s more exuberant nature and his own tendency to forget to venture upstairs at least once a day. She wasn’t calmer than Tina, exactly — he wasn’t sure calm was a word that had ever been used to describe Holland Townsend. But if Tina was something in the neighborhood of bubbly, all iridescent soap shine and rounded edges, Holland was something sharper, something fizzing, like a live wire.

When he looked at her now, though, he saw less of the bright crackle of energy and more of the kind of nervous energy that led people to market abhorrent devices like fidget spinners. She looked restless. She looked tired.

—

Holland was tired. Goddamn exhausted, actually, if she was honest with herself, which seemed to be almost never these days. She didn’t let herself linger on the way that thought chafed any more than she let herself slow down enough for that bone-deep weariness to press its full weight against her.

It was better to keep moving.

“You know, you’re probably overdue for a vacation,” Verda’s voice, more tinged with concern than it had been a moment ago, cut through her reverie. “I’m pretty sure your promotion to detective didn’t entitle you to less PTO.”

The spark of wry humor in his comment didn’t fully mask the shade of careful observation in his eyes, but…it was an attempt. An easy out for her to muster her usual grinning nonchalance — the irreverent charm Adam had once snarked at her about relying on too heavily.

If it ain’t broke, I guess, she thought, swallowing the urge to sigh as she indeed summoned a half-smile, made herself look her friend in the eye as she tilted her head at him.

“There you go with that concern again, V,” she teased, rising from her perch on the edge of a spare lab bench.

“It’s almost like we’re friends,” he said dryly, although some of the tension in his face eased.

“Which is why I’m gonna let you get back to it and quit bugging you.” Holland moved toward the open lab door and paused, resting one hand against the door jamb as she flashed Verda a more genuine smile. “Thanks, though. For letting me bug you.”

He waved her comment off, though he returned her smile. “Anytime. Besides, I’m hoping things will finally start calming back down with those recent cases sorted. Then we’ll both probably relish any interruptions to the usual humdrum.”

It was all she could do to dredge up a hum of laughter in agreement before stepping back into the corridor, only letting her shoulders slump once she was safely ensconced in her office.

She hadn’t told any of them yet that she was leaving the station. She’d have to soon; she knew that, knew she’d been putting it off far too long already. And, as her mother had pointed out, it wasn’t as if she was never going to be able to see them again. Her friends would still be her friends. They just wouldn’t work together anymore.

Or mostly get to know what she even did for work anymore.

She wasn’t even entirely sure how much she could still keep Tina in the loop, as much as she might wish to. She didn’t have any reason to be particularly suspicious of Agent Pierson, the woman the Agency had sent to spy on Tina from within the station. But as much as she trusted Tina —with her secrets but also to take care of herself— she worried that the balm of having a confidant who was just hers was no longer truly available to her, at least not in the way it had been. Part of that fear, she knew, came from knowing she couldn’t reveal that the so-called new officer was not exactly who she seemed. In all likelihood, the whole arrangement probably really was for Tina’s safety, and probably nothing to worry about, but…Holland still felt like she was lying to her. And not the kind of lying she was comfortable with.

A liar and a coward, she thought as she sat at her desk, chin propped in her hands. She felt that constricting weight begin to settle against her, her skin too tight along her bones, and jerked to her feet again before that melancholia could curl catlike into her lap and trap her there.

She supposed it was useful that everyone had become so inured to her abrupt comings and goings from the station; no one bothered to look up as she walked out into the bright heat of the midday sun, its sticky warmth blanketing her body after a morning spent in the over-conditioned chill of the station’s air.

—

She ended up back in her apartment more out of habit than any real desire to be there. For a while, she found herself drifting, unmoored and aimless, between rooms. She should try to rest, she knew that, knew that if she could sleep she would feel better.

These days, though, she too often found herself reaching for sleep only to close her fist around endless, empty time.

She tried to read, to lose herself in another universe for a while, but gave up after she realized that while she’d technically read a whole chapter, she had no idea what had happened in it.

She thought about playing guitar but figured if she couldn’t focus on reading, she probably wouldn’t fare much better at making anything that sounded like music instead of discordant strumming.

Plus she was already bored of sitting still in the empty quiet of her apartment.

Pushing herself off her window seat, Holland strode to her dresser and tugged out shorts and a sports bra. Experience had taught her long ago that she couldn’t outrun her own brain, but at least she could tire her body enough that she was forced to sleep, at least a little.

—

Because she was already tired, it took longer than usual to find her pace, especially without any music to give her a cadence she could match. In deference to safety, she’d decided against headphones; probably a wise choice — definitely a wise choice, she reminded herself, hardly a choice at all unless she decided to start actively courting disaster — but one that did nothing to lessen the weight of that heaviness that kept pulling at her, brutal and swift as a rip current. Still, after three miles, she felt some of the tension in her body ebb, some of that near-constant tightness in her chest yielding its grip enough for breathing to come easier, deep and steady draughts of air filling her lungs.

For a long while, there was only the blessed gentle warmth of summer air, the quiet scraping thump of her sneakers against the sidewalk, and the pleasant ache of her muscles stretching and contracting. Slowly, mile after mile, she felt her body become less foreign, each pounding step bringing it closer to the skin and bones and thudding heart that she recognized as her own. Felt each clenching beat of that too-human muscle in her chest insisting it was where it belonged, safe within its cage of bone and flesh. Felt the reassurance that her heart hadn’t been torn from her chest and left, raw and bleeding, outside her body.

No matter how it might feel lately.

A liar and a coward.

The sharp dig of a knife between her ribs, the claws of that familiar tightness latching into her chest again, and—

Breathe.

She sucked in air with a sharp gasp, forced her lungs to expand, to draw air in and in and in until she could feel those claws retract.

Until she felt the thought she’d almost had, the one she still hadn’t let herself articulate even within her own mind, retract with them.

Another kind of lie. Another thing she was too much of a coward to confront.

Holland sucked in another breath, letting the sultry weight of that summer air fill her, fill all the cold, empty spaces that lurked within her. Let the warmth of it incinerate the other unarticulated thoughts and shadows of memory before they could turn their baleful, accusatory eyes back toward her.

Turning her own gaze outward once more, she scanned her surroundings, squinting at a nearby street sign as she passed and trying to decide how much further until she really would need to loop back. Holland’s run had taken her well into the outskirts of town. It wasn’t her preferred route, which snaked through the woods near the Cornerstones and eventually toward the marina, but at least this route hadn’t taken her through Wayhaven proper. Or required her to skirt the station, as her usual path would have. Even if she was leaving — even if no one seemed to really notice or care whether she was, at any given moment, in her office these days — she still didn’t think running directly past the station in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon was necessarily appropriate.

So Holland found herself instead approaching the winding series of long hills that would eventually lead her toward the hospital. Her knees ached just thinking about those hills. None were particularly steep, but they stretched further than was typically noticeable in a car. On foot, though…no, it was probably past time for her to begin finding her way back home.

It had been a while since she’d been on a long run. A long while, actually, and she knew her legs would likely ache come morning, even with the shorter maintenance runs she tried to squeeze in whenever she could. Which had been no chance at all these past weeks, between work and what felt like an endless cycle of injury and suffocatingly long recovery. Indeed, she felt the muscles in her thighs protest as she crested one hill before veering right, toward the streets leading back into town. Oh, she would certainly feel the cost of this impromptu long run in the morning.

Although it might be a nice change, she supposed, if her body ached from something other than having the shit kicked out of her by Trappers. Or crumbling buildings. Or winged giants who caused said buildings to end up in pieces on top of her. And those were only some of the most recent aches.

She rolled her shoulders, shaking her arms to diffuse the pressing tension of that memory, her breath a sharp scrape against her throat.

Fine. She was fine. Despite the strain of these past months, she continued to be perfectly fine. Had gotten through everything that’d been thrown at her. Not entirely smoothly, certainly not effortlessly, but…she had gotten through it. Would continue to do so, perhaps with greater ease than before if her new role indeed provided increased training. She could handle it. She would handle it.

It was the same argument she’d given Nate after the auction, almost two weeks ago now. As to whether she believed it any more now than she had then…another thought she wasn’t ready to have yet.

I am in love with you, Holland.

Another familiar ache in her chest, one more bruise on her already battered heart. She shut down that train of thought, almost stumbling as she worked to redirect that particular train of thought. To shut out the image that flashed across her mind’s eye, of how Nate’s face had looked in that conversation. The way he’d looked at her, the agony that had streaked across his beautiful face, and how neatly and thoroughly it had eviscerated her.

That pain. That pain that she had caused.

I don’t know how this is going to work.

She’d had to remind herself how to breathe. Had to remind herself to breathe through the lashing pain of how much she’d hated herself for putting that look on his face. And for knowing that it would likely be far from the last time.

Because she didn’t know either.

She didn’t know how to avoid it, this hurting him. Didn’t know how to be an easier person to love.

And as for what she did know, what she’d suspected and quietly fretted over for weeks now…

That hideous weight tugged beneath her ribs and Holland sped up, pushing past the bleating tremor in her thighs, the burning ache in her chest. Pushed that thought out, out, out—

“Fuck!” The word was little more than a hiss as the world tipped and roiled and Holland went flying, elbows skidding and knees barking as she hit the pavement.

Between the subsequent string of violent curses and what remained of her pride, she supposed she was relieved to still be closer to the outskirts than the town center. If running past the station in the middle of a Tuesday was arguably inappropriate, the selection of words that flew out of her mouth as she eased to a seat on the ground was indisputably so.

She winced as she examined the shredded skin on her forearms, her knees. She hadn’t even fallen well: the most she’d done before splaying gracelessly on the street had been to land more on her arms than her hands. Not her first choice, or at least it shouldn’t have been, but at least she hadn’t broken her wrists. Or anything else, as far as she could tell, looking her latest batch of wounds over as she rose to her feet.

Holland hissed again as she gingerly flexed her left leg, which had borne the brunt of the impact and now sported angry red scrapes along her knee and halfway up her thigh. Just scrapes, but ones that stretched painfully when she bent her leg.

Swallowing another mouthful of curses, she pulled free the water bottle attached to her running belt, unstoppering it with her teeth before she squeezed a stream of water along first one leg, then the other, and then the smaller scrapes on her arms and elbows. They stung like all hell, but at least they looked slightly better with most of the dirt and grime rinsed away. Naturally, she’d forgotten to bother checking if she’d needed to restock the handful of bandages she usually kept in one of the belt’s pockets; naturally, she only unearthed one after fumbling through every goddamned pocket, the lone bandage too small to be of much use unless she fancied ripping adhesive off part of an open wound later.

She exhaled, sharp and impatient, and raked a hand over the sweat-dampened strands of hair that had broken free of her stubby ponytail and now lay plastered to her forehead.

No new scars indeed. She snorted as she recalled Nate’s words in that forest clearing, back before they’d even known what manner of myth hunted her. She doubted it had occurred to him that she’d likely continue to rack up scars earned through her own sheer stupidity. God, but that felt like a lifetime ago.

She drained the remains of her water bottle before slotting it back in its elastic holster at her hip. She toed the ground, wincing at her protesting kneecap, and considered. Depending on the route she took, she wasn’t that far from her apartment. The circuitous route she’d intended to follow was obviously out, but she could take a more direct one and be back relatively quickly. Walking, it would take…she did the math, frowning. Walking back, assuming she kept her regular pace, would likely take her the better part of two hours. She stretched her legs again, shifting experimentally from one foot to the other. She was hurt, yes, but it was definitely only superficial, and not so bad she couldn’t probably run home as well as she could walk. Running would be faster, even with what would certainly be a much slower pace. Would likely cut the return time in half, actually, though she knew it would hurt. Of course, it would hurt to walk home, too.

Holland’s shoulders sagged. Since she’d stopped moving, her body had started to register physical exhaustion, had begun to grow heavy with it, and she wanted to be home. Wanted a shower and her bed and a different kind of silence than the kind that felt like a scream.

She did have another option, some small part of her mind pointed out before she shut that thought out, too. Technically, the warehouse, where she had a bed and a shower and certainly less silence, was a bit closer to her current location than her own apartment. However begrudgingly, Holland had to admit the thought tempted her. Tempted her more when she thought of the magic-imbued salve, leftover from what had been her most recent batch of injuries, stashed in a bathroom cabinet. To say nothing of the vampire whose mere presence soothed her more than any medicine.

Her frown deepened. She was tired of showing up at the warehouse battered and bloody. Really goddamned tired of it.

She straightened, rolling her shoulders and breathing deep. Her apartment wasn’t that far, and it was only a skinned knee. Well, two skinned knees, actually, and her elbows, but…

Holland released that deep breath and set off, a tentative jog while she found her new pace, toward the town center and her apartment beyond.

She didn’t much feel like reminding anyone how easily she broke apart.

#this is so maudlin lmao sorry #she's not having a great time #katie writes things #twc book 3 spoilers #twc spoilers #twc fics #oc: holland townsend #ship: your entire heart

27 notes · View notes

katsukisday · 2 years

Text

Sparks- Xiao

Pairings: soldier!Xiao x Princess!reader

Au: royal(?)!Au

Genre: fluff, angst if you squint

Summary: in which Xiao thought he’s not cut for happiness, until a certain stubborn princess proves him wrong

Warnings: Mentions of war, potential social isolation, unexpected pregnancy, bombs, intoxicating gases, unmentioned nudity if you squint

W.C: 2.6k

A/n: I’ve had this idea setting on my desk since last DECEMBER so I thought I’d share <33 also not proof read please lmk abt any mistakes

Likes and reblogs are appreciated.

The smoke was alerting.

Unlike the carbon disulfide, which he loathed more than one should, it was clear of any color and had a rather pleasant odor to it.

The green haired male was so, so close to making a sprint for safety, to save himself from yet another week of no sleep, illness, and migraines. But soon he recalls what the head general, the kind brunette known as Zhongli, fed his ears a million times before they sent him into this place: “friend, not foe.”

The male took a deep breath; friend, not foe.

The process went agonizingly slow. They told Xiao they’ll get him ready for what they referred to as a ‘ball’. He wasn’t really sure what it was but his best guess was that some ball shaped food was awaiting him, although he could not process why he need to get dressed to meet food.

The male was well aware he wasn’t exactly in the best state before he came in, but why was rubbing his feet necessary if they were going to throw a pair of boots on them anyway? He couldn’t make since of the use of all the powders and sticky liquids they were rubbing on his skin only to wash off a few moments later? It was a waste of the sweet-scented material in Xiao’s opinion. But he wasn’t here to imply his thoughts on these foreign items, that’s not his role and he will not be the man who meddles in other people’s jobs. Even on the rare occasions when he was asked which smell he preferred or if it was ‘too much’ Xiao remained silent; he will not speak unless his head general demands it. It’s always been this way.

After a tantrum of colors, the women dressing the male seemed pleased with the uncomfortable clothing they put him in.

Soon, he’s put in front of the reflective glass and he could barely contain his excitement over the sight before him. Xiao could not believe his eyes as a giddy grin made its way into the muscles of his cheeks. Sure, he’s seen himself in mirrors before, but he wouldn’t have recognized himself right now if it weren’t for the purple mark on his forehead and the peculiar shade of his hair.

Before he could express his gratitude towards the women who dressed him a few knocks came from the door, causing on of them to rush to it and open it with a few graceful moves.

The head general’s outfit was in fact very different from what Xiao was wearing, catching the latter’s interest; they’ve always worn similar uniforms with very few and specific design dissimilarities, so seeing Zhongli and himself dressed so differently is quite something.

Although Xiao would never bring it up, he was sure that the older man was plenty easier to recognize than himself, that with Zhongli always seeming to invest a lot of care into his appearance – to set a good example, Xiao presumed.

“Look at you,” the brunette started, his deep stern voice filling the room, “You look so clean and nice.” “Thank you, General Lapis,” the younger male acquires, dipping his head gratefully. “So do you, sir.”

The young women couldn’t help their expressions, either amused or surprised at Xiao’s ignorance and blatancy, as Zhongli let out a light chuckle.

“Thank you, Xiao, I’m glad you think so,” he smiled at the now confused boy. “Shall we get going?” “At your command, sir,” the forehead tatted male brushed the confusion off rather quickly. If not spoken about it does not matter, as he should not question the head general’s actions.

---

On their way to the grand hall the amber eyed general explained what a ball actually is, previously presuming Xiao would’ve been confused of it. He also Explained to him why it was held and how special he is, which was the reason he was invited to an event of such.

To be quite fair, Zhongli great respect towards the younger male, formerly known as Atlaus. He was born on the battlefield, given birth to by a female soldier who was foolish enough to never inform the heads about her pregnancy. She was supposed to be discharged with her baby but they were on foreign land and cargo wasn’t rare but impossible. And so, the green haired male, now referred to as Xiao, was raised on the frontline of battle, survived up till now by some miracle, and hadn’t known anything but it.

Before long, they stood by the hall’s enormous entrance. The door was flung by soldiers left and right. But of course it was, the life-sized hall behind the giant gates possibly holds the most important lives to grace the land of the living.

General Lapis didn’t have to ask, as the guards immediately recognized him and two of them gracefully walked to the door and pushed it open in practiced motion. If he didn’t know better, Xiao would’ve thought these men were automated just like the bombs he’s seen and used on the battlefield.

The sight before him was so beyond fascinating he could swear his jaw hit the floor. It was – his limited vocabulary could never form a sentence that described it fairly. Is this what they called heaven? Xiao doesn’t really recall dying but maybe this was his ‘oasis’ after walking in the desert for days on end.

He loved metaphors.

His nose tickled with mixed scents, not a single one unpleasant. The rainbow of colors, be it people, clothing, or visuals, was all sight pleasing; as if his eyes were getting cleansed after all the gruesome things he’s seen in the war.

“Enjoy this,” Zhongli pats the arm-tatted male. “It’s to celebrate you.”

Xiao’s train of thought gets cut off, glancing at Rex Lapis and back at the heaven, hesitant and distracted, stiffly nodding.

“Wh-what’re your commands, sir?” The shorter asks, unable to take his eyes off the colors that he couldn’t understand. The brunette by his side chuckles lightly; even though Xiao no longer works under him, he can’t change his habit. “I command you to do anything you please tonight; enjoy everything to the fullest.”

The words General Lapis said were more fascinating and foreign to Xiao then the ball itself. He turns to the older male, golden eyes staring at him in awe with a smile tugging at his lips, “Yes sir. Thank you, sir.”

He smiles contently as he pats Xiao’s back. “You earned it.”

Only then does the male in the brown suit, meant to cover up his burnt arms, leave Xiao's side; the absence of his worth present to take his place.

The short man tries to wander, glaring daggers at every mortal soul the dares glance his way. Xiao has always been left out, because he grew up among only adults and once he became a unit captain he wasn’t approached thanks to the scary aura that was him. He never had to socialize and so the amount of people staring and whispering was not but a bother to him, making him wish they’d go back to their business and not notice him like when he was staring at them from the entrance, little toys who had no idea of any but their own existence.

The male with the forehead mark successfully made his way through the gatherings, careful to avoid any uncalled-for contact whatsoever. Sooner than later, he finds himself standing by a long, long table covered with a thin, white cloth and all sorts of edible goods.

To Xiao this valued more than the whole of the ball, starting by the grand hall it was held in down to the people celebrating something they were utterly ignorant of. Food wouldn’t bother him. No, it won’t judge or whisper about him, plaguing his mind with self-doubt and other dark, implacable thoughts in the process. This –the mercy and silence of food – was all he could ask for at the moment.

“I personally recommend Almond Tofu.”

He practically jumps. One second, he was staring at the food and the next a female was right next to him, her warmth evidence of her assault of his personal space.

“Oh- sorry- was that too close?” the female before him chuckles, rubbing the back of her neck in an awkward manner. “It’s a habit, I apologize.”

Xiao does not speak to her, instead opting for ignoring her and turning back to the food. He may seem collected and calm, but the male was genuinely terrified of the girl.

He had no idea how his defense got walked through. He, the Xiao of unit 1, the man who led four units at the age of thirteen, who would sense if a person was fake sleeping by their shoulders, had this girl barge into his personal space without him noticing.

He wanted to blame it on the loud ball where anything, down to the thoughts in his own head, was muffled and almost inaudible, but Xiao knew he couldn’t. He killed seven men sneaking up on him not only during an active battle but also in a bomb zone. How could an average, clearly spoiled to the core female trick his guard and get so, so close? She could’ve killed him and he wouldn’t know until the blade was out his chest.

“Hey- don’t ignore me!” the latter grumbles, leaning a fist on the table to support herself. “I’m trying to converse with you, okay?”

“Which one’s the Almond Tofun?” He raises one of his oddly shaped eyebrows, not sparing the female in a sparkling dress a glance. He wasn’t interested in the food she mentioned all that much, but he thought that maybe having a conversation where the other side isn’t tense and scared of him isn’t a bad idea.

“Tofu,” she corrected with a slight snicker, grinning at the pale boy. “It’s this one.” Her jeweled finger pointed at a certain plate with white cubes on it. He would’ve thought it to be ice if it wasn’t for the temperature. “Hold up, I’ll serve you some.”

Xiao watches carefully as the female reaches for a round empty plate and serves a few pieces of the gelatinous cubes, adding what he assumes is a fork on the plate and then directs it toward him. He observed every switch of her fingers for any sign of threat but returned empty-handed. He does not know this strange female and couldn’t assume her intentions.

Then it occurred to him.

Friend, not foe.

General Lapis’s words crossed the arm-tatted male’s mind. He had complete faith in him and knew full well he wouldn’t bring Xiao somewhere threatening both unarmed and without any instructions whatsoever.

“Yo, forehead tattoo, my hand is starting to hurt,” Y/n grunts, pushing the plate further until it almost came into contact with his chest.

Xiao looked at the insistent female once in distrust, then at the peculiar dessert.

Friend, not foe.

Reluctantly, he pulls the plate out of her fingers, taking a step back to maintain a safe distance between the two.

“Enjoy! Everything the cook here makes is delicious. Don’t eat too much, though, so you get to try as much of it as you could.”

(a few hours later)

“And then he was like- ‘I don't know you’-” the female mimics with a funny face, earning herself a chuckle from the male. “Like hello? Do you think I’m that stupid?” “How bright of him,” Xiao chuckled. “If I were you, I’d just leave.”

For a very long while, Xiao watched the other soldiers talking and laughing together. He admits he hasn’t made any sort of effort in becoming close with any of them, he didn’t know what he was missing out on and so he didn’t long for it. But in reality, sometimes he wished they’d invite hi, when they all sat long at nights. He didn’t know what about him made them not want to approach him, seeing they never interacted with him to judge. It was like that for so long he got to the point of accepting the doom he lived in, convincing himself he wasn’t made for such.

But the pleasant warmth that filled his chest proved his theory wrong, and the girl sitting beside him telling him tales he wouldn’t’ve believed about his previous head generals proved every person that whispered ‘unapproachable’ and ‘scary’ loud enough so he could hear wrong.

“Tell me about yourself, Xiao,” the female suddenly suggests, looking at the male expectantly. “I only heard rumors but honestly none of it seemed to match what I saw of you today.”

Xiao looked at her, some of her features inaccessible to eyesight because the moon wasn’t bright and they chose to sit outside, away from the hustle of the ball. Her interest in knowing more about him and approaching him despite what she’s heard of him in rumors gave him a weird feeling.

He doesn’t recall if there were any other symptoms, but his heart slightly sped up and he felt his face heat up, too. According to what little he read it’s a case called being ‘flustered’.

He then feels weird sparks in his stomach. Like little, ticklish explosions in his guts. He had to go see a doctor because he doesn’t know how to cure this flustered illness thing by himself. So, just in case it’s contagious, he lays a hand over his mouth and nose, not wanting to infect the girl he has grown fond of.

Xiao thought he wasn’t cut for happiness and would never have the sort of connection even the old generals seemed to have, but the sparks lighting his stomach tonight proved it different.

#Genshin #genshin impact #xiao #xiao genshin #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin fluff #genshin impact fluff #genshin impact x reader fluff #genshin x reader fluff #genshin impact xiao #xiao genshin x reader

92 notes · View notes

roxannarambles · 7 months

Text

teal mask fixit-fic on the fly part 9

(Current story so far: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 -

Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8)

"Why am I here again?"

The two students wandered through the small park under the shade of the trees.

"Wow, Arven, can't I just want to go for a walk with one of my friends?"

"Yeah . . . you can, but I know you had me come out here for a reason."

Nemona caved quickly.

"Fine, yeah, I did. But I think you're gonna like this! Because I had a great idea. We're gonna try to find the Loyal Three!"

They stopped. Arven stared at her.

"Nemona . . . did you not pay attention to the little story? You know they're dead, right? The Loyal Three are right there. Buried under ground?"

He gestured at the little monument placed atop the pokemon graves, not too far from where they stood. Nemona rolled her eyes.

"Yeah I know that Arven, I didn't mean it literally. But look, I was thinking, from the descriptions these pokemon sounded pretty powerful. Maybe we could find others of their same species! So I wanted to gather all the information we could about them. Look for any hints as to where we might search for more of their kind."

Arven frowned.

"I dunno. Sometimes powerful pokemon seem to be a one-off sort of deal. There might not be any others."

"I know, but isn't it worth trying? They might just be really rare! That happens a lot too, people think there's only one and then there turn out to be more."

Arven was forced to admit that was true.

"Yeah, I guess so. Although honestly, if you're looking for strong pokemon, I'm surprised you're not trying to hunt down Ogerpon? I mean, that one's confirmed to actually be around."

Nemona chuckled,

"Oh believe me, I tried. Me and Juliana looked all over! Especially where you first spotted it. And also at the place rumored to be Ogerpon's den, and Paradise Barrens, and the Infernal Pass, and Oni's Maw . . . so on, so on. I wanted to ask Kieran more about it, too, but he's been hiding in his room all day."

Arven sighed.

"Yeah. I'm a bit worried about him, to be honest."

Nemona nodded,

"Same. I thought maybe if we found Ogerpon again, his family might let us show it to him and he'd feel better. But that plan kinda got wrecked, so maybe one of the Loyal Three would be good enough?"

Arven considered that. He shrugged.

"Eh, I guess it's worth a shot. What do you know so far on these guys?"

Nemona clasped her hands together, excited.

"Okay!! So far, not a ton. I've been talking to people in town, but mostly they just talked about folklore type stuff. The one called Munkidori is supposed to bring you success in your classes or career if you worship him. They said he used to be very dim-witted until he wished for wisdom. The one called Okidogi is supposed to bring success in relationships, and apparently he used to be small and weak until he wished for strength. And then Fezadip-- uh, Fezanti-- er-- Fezandipi? Um . . ."

She waved a hand,

"Whatever, the bird one, that one used to be ugly until he wished for beauty, and worshipping him brings you good luck and serendipity! Oh, wait. Fezandipiti! I just got that. Haha, that's cute."

Arven raised a brow.

"Okay . . . well. Is that it?"

Nemona glanced down at her phone.

"That's most of it. I also have notes about their physical appearances and personalities and some places that people thought they might like to hang out? It'll all pretty vague though. I was hoping that taking a closer look at the monument might tell us more."

They approached the humble little monument in the far edge of the park. It had a trio of stone statues-- a monkey, a dog and a bird, adorned with handknitted decorations. Nemona leanded down and studied the statues very closely, while Arven read the nearby plaque.

"Long ago, these three courageous pokemon blah blah blah . . . protected the town, defeated the Ogre, yadda yadda. Nothing useful."

"Hmmm."

Arven stood beside Nemona to examine the statues as well. After a long pause, he said,

"Not to be a killjoy, but what exactly do you hope to accomplish by staring at these statues?"

Nemona stood back up and groaned.

"I dunno . . . I guess you're right."

She gave the statues another mournful glance.

"It's not like they're gonna spontaneously appear here or something. I wish they would, though."

There was a deep rumbling, the ground beneath the trainer's feet shaking. Both of them startled.

"Wh-wha? Earthquake?!"

The rumbling increased, growing louder and louder, until the ground right in front of Nemona and Arven-- centered on the Loyal Three's monument-- split completely open, tearing the monument apart entirely. They gasped as they watched three figures claw their way from the dirt and out into the open air.

A monkey, a dog, and a bird. Perfectly healthy and whole.

Nemona and Arven gaped in disbelief at the trio of pokemon.

"N-nemona, are they . . ."

Nemona scrambled for her pokeballs, but the three legendaries were incredibly quick; they were off and running in the direction of the town (well, the bird flew) before Nemona could even whip her Pawmot out.

"AFTER THEM!" she yelled, taking off running.

"Wait, Nemona, what the heck is going on?!"

"NO CLUE! C'MON!"

In Mossui Town, Penny and Juliana were sitting on one of the stone walls, just chilling.

"Carmine ever say when her grandpa's gonna be done with fixing that mask?"

"Mmm, she said it'd be ready soon."

"Cool."

Penny sipped her lemonade.

"If you can't find the ogre how do you plan giving it back?"

"Just gonna leave it in its den."

"Ah. Yeah I guess that works."

Juliana slurped her own lemonade.

"Y'know it's pretty quiet around here. I kinda like it."

"Yeah? I think it's kinda boring. I wish something would happen."

"Juliana, c'mon. Be careful of what you wish for."

"What? I mean it. It's so--"

The ground began to shake.

"Whoa, hey, earthquake?"

"I guess?"

Not long after, they watched as a trio of pokemon rushed down the path from the apple orchard, then ran right by them through town, across the bridge and up the path towards Kitakami Hall.

"Um . . ."

"Penny, am I crazy or did those kinda look like . . . y'know."

"Yeah, they kinda did."

They watched as Nemona and Arven went tearing down the hill next, stopping short as they entered town. Nemona demanded,

"JULES! PENNY! Did you see the Loyal Three run through here?!"

Then she gasped for breath, looking like she was about to pass out. Arven reached out and prevented her from collapsing, saying,

"Easy, Nemona, they're not worth dying over!"

Penny answered,

"Yeah, they went that direction, towards Kitakami Hall."

Nemona panted,

"Quick, we gotta catch up to them!"

"I got you, girl," Juliana said, tossing her pokeball and releasing Koraidon. As Juliana and Nemona climbed aboard, Arven groaned,

"Oh man, do we really gotta--"

"GET ON OR EAT DUST, ARVEN."

Penny hopped onto Koraidon from the wall. Arven sighed,

"Fine, fine, jeez."

As the bright red lizard motorbike went tearing through town, Nemona shouted,

"Wait, we should swing by Carmine's house and tell her too!"

Soon they had pulled up in front of her house-- she happened to just step out into the front yard-- and were shouting at Carmine.

"Carmine, the Loyal Three are alive?? Somehow??"

"Wh-what?!"

"We gotta go after them!"

"Never mind that, Kieran's stolen the mask!"

"What?!"

"We have to go find him!"

"But the Loyal Three--"

"What's wrong with you, they're dead!"

"They're now undead!"

"We don't have time for this crap!"

"Agreed, get on!"

"On-- on that thing??"

Seated furthermost at the back, Arven reached a hand out.

"If you wanna find him fast, you better just come aboard."

Carmine made a displeased grunt but made her mind up quickly, grabbing hold of his hand. He hauled her up, although there was not much room left and she was sandwiched between Arven and Penny, more in Arven's lap than actually on Koraidon.

"Gun it, Jules!"

They went tearing off down the road, Carmine screaming.

"If I fall to my death I'm going to kill you guys!"

The four teens screeched to a stop at Kitakami Hall, seeing that a crowd of people had gathered there. They called to the Caretaker and the Caretaker told them,

"You just missed them! The Loyal Three were here, in the flesh! Such a remarkable blessing on this day. We welcomed them and fed them our most prized mochi and presented them with their Masks--"

"You fed them?! And gave them the masks?!"

"Aw, crap."

"I can't believe this. They're really alive again? This is ridiculous."

Confused, the Caretaker asked,

"I-is there something amiss?"

"Where are they now?"

The Caretaker pointed.

"They headed off as a group, towards the Oni Mountains."

Carmine suddenly gasped.

"Wait. You guys, I just realized where Kieran's probably run off to with the mask! This is awful!"

"You mean--"

"The Ogre's Den!"

"And the Loyal Three are probably--"

"We gotta go, now!"

They ran along the path through the Oni Mountains like they had death itself nipping at their heels. The most terrifying portion was when Juliana decided to continue running full tilt over the narrow stone catwalk that passed over the canyon, but Koraidon navigated it expertly and screeched to a halt in front of Ogerpon's den.

They had been correct. The Loyal Three were indeed here to harass Ogerpon for its final mask. And, it seemed, Kieran was here too-- the young teen had wedged himself into the den's entrance, while the three pokemon cried angrily and threatened him. The bird was pecking at him, and the monkey seemed to be charging up an attack.

"HEY! Why don't you three pick on somebody your own size?" Carmine yelled, jumping from Koraidon. She sent her Sinistcha out.

Juliana jumped down and sent out her Volcarona.

Then Nemona sent out her Pawmot. Arven sent out his Mabosstiff. Penny sent out her Sylveon.

Koraidon stood on his hind legs, unfurrowing his feathery crests and hissing.

The Loyal Three quickly lost all nerve, outnumbered and outmatched. They turned tail and fled in different directions, escaping too fast for the trainers to keep track of where they went. It didn't matter for the moment, though, as they had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Kiki, are you okay?!"

Carmine rushed over and crouched down, helping Kieran stand back up. Looking frightened but mostly uninjured, the boy stammered,

"I-I think so . . . they were trying to hurt Ogerpon, a-and I tried stopping them, but they defeated all my pokemon, s-so I . . ."

He trailed off. Carmine gently touched the light scratches on his cheek. She stated,

"So you guarded the den yourself."

He nodded meekly. She peered over his shoulder, asking,

"And how's Ogerpon?"

"S-she's okay, I think . . . she ran into her den when they got here."

Carmine took a few steps into the den to confirm that with her own eyes. She quickly re-immerged, saying,

"Yeah, it looks scared but okay."

The other teens looked relieved. Carmine continued,

"Which is good, because that means I can ask you WHAT THE HELL YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE DOING?!"

She turned on Kieran with rage.

"I-I--"

"You scared me half to death, running off like that! How could you be so dense--"

"Well how could you be so awful?!" Kieran suddenly shouted back, startling Carmine so much she fell silent. She stared for a moment in shock and then opened her mouth, but he kept shouting.

"ALL of you! I heard everything, you know! All your secret meetings that you had without me! How could you all keep such important secrets from me?! Knowing how important Ogerpon is to me!"

Carmine yelled right back at him,

"We didn't tell you 'cause we were worried you'd do something really stupid, and guess what, ya dingus, you did!"

Kieran glared daggers and snapped,

"I stole the mask because I didn't trust any of you to return it to Ogerpon!"

Carmine gave a short, bitter laugh.

"That's stupid! Why would we bother repairing it if we weren't gonna give it back?"

"I don't know, you mighta decided to just put it up on display like all the others! It's not like you gave those back either when you learned the truth, did you?"

"If we did that the whole village would have been in an uproar, you moron!"

"Hey, hey, guys, come on, let's not fight," Juliana said, stepping in,

"The important thing is everyone's safe now, right?"

The siblings glanced at her, clearly not agreeing. Carmine bickered,

"No thanks to him! Running off alone like that--"

"Me?! No thanks to you, hiding the truth all this time--"

There was a frightened little whimper, and Kieran stopped short. He looked into the den, where Ogerpon was curled into a ball, shaking.

All the vitriol left Kieran at once, his expression shifting into one of sorrow.

"Ogerpon . . . I-I'm . . . I'm sorry . . . we're scaring her . . ."

Carmine glanced away, her anger muted and looking a little guilty. Gently, Juliana said,

"Look, Carmine, I know you were worried, but Kieran's safe now. Okay? He obviously was just trying to do what he thought was best for Ogerpon."

Carmine grumbled.

"I guess."

Juliana stepped a little closer to Kieran. She said quietly,

"And Kieran, you were right."

He looked to her, surprised. She said,

"It was wrong of us to hide this from you. I do believe your family truly were doing it with the best of intentions, but it was still wrong-- so for that, and for my role in it, I really am sorry."

She glanced to her classmates. They all nodded, agreeing. Kieran's shoulders had been squared, but they now relaxed and he glanced away. Quietly, he said,

"You . . . you all did come to save Ogerpon when she was in danger, so . . . I guess I overreacted a little. I'm sorry too."

Carmine sighed. She nudged Kieran a little.

"Hey. Don't look so down. Did you get to give Ogerpon her mask yet? I bet that'll cheer her up."

Kieran frowned, looking worried.

"I-I tried to . . . but that's when the other pokemon got here. She was just about to take it when they scared her back into her den."

He reached into the little cave's entrance and took up the mask that had been propped there. It looked to be in perfect condition, its gems shining brilliantly in the light; Kieran's grandfather had apparently finished repairs just before he'd stolen it. Gently, Carmine suggested,

"Well, maybe now that things have settled down, she'd like it back?"

Kieran looked into the cave nervously.

"I'll try . . ."

Tentatively, Kieran stepped forward.

"Ogerpon? . . . Everything's okay now. My friends scared all the bad guys away. You can come out now."

The others came closer to watch; Ogerpon was still huddled in the far corner of her cave. She looked at Kieran with wide, frightened eyes.

"It's okay, Ogerpon . . . do you want your mask back?"

He took a few more steps forward, holding the mask out. Ogerpon made a scared little squeak and hid her face. Kieran looked crestfallen.

"She's scared of me."

"Oh, Kiki, she's just been through a lot lately. I'm sure she'll want it later when she's calmed down," Carmine said. He came out of the cave, his shoulders slumped.

"I dunno. She was like that when I first got here, too. She didn't trust me."

"Well she's only just met you, Kiki!"

Her brother slid down to the ground to sit, staring gloomily at the Teal Mask in his hands. Carmine made a 'tsk' noise and turned, saying,

"Arven, why don't you try giving Operpon the mask back?"

Arven blinked at her, asking,

"Me? Why me?"

She crossed her arms and answered,

"Because! When we first saw Ogerpon, it looked like you were pretty good at talking to her. Look, somebody's gotta do it, or else Kieran's gonna just sulk here the rest of the day--"

"--all right, all right! I'll give it a try."

He shuffled forward and looked down at Kieran.

"Would that be all right with you?" he asked quietly. Kieran hesitated, but eventually nodded. He held the mask out wordlessly.

Arven took it. He went to the cave's entrance, gazing in at the frightened pokemon. Then he glanced behind himself at the others, who were crowded round.

"Maybe everyone could, um . . . give her a little space? I have a feeling she might be nervous with so many eyes on her."

The others backed off awkwardly, leaving the cave entrance vacant, and Arven took a few more steps into the cave. Then he paused there a moment.

"Hey there," he said, softly.

The little pokemon had her face buried in her hands, but she looked up at the sound of Arven's voice.

"Hi," he repeated, giving a little wave. The pokemon flinched a little at the gesture.

"Hey, it's okay, bud. I won't come any closer if you don't want me to."

Arven set his bag down and then slid to the floor to sit. Ogerpon watched him closely.

"I'm sorry about all the yelling. Actually, to tell you the truth, I hate it when people yell too," he said, with a dry laugh.

"It's not your fault though. I promise."

The pokemon swayed anxiously on her feet. Arven studied her a little. After a bit, he mused aloud,

"Ya know, it's funny that you just happened to show up at that festival when my friends and I came to visit. Guess we were just lucky, huh? Or maybe . . . I dunno, maybe you just got so tired of being alone that it was finally enough to win out over your fears."

The pokemon crept forward just a little bit more. Arven could finally see her face properly for the first time through the costume-like leaf that covered her body. She had bright yellow eyes-- wide and innocent-- and a tiny pair of fangs, her face a vivid orange.

"You're a cute little rascal, aren't you? Honestly I don't get how anyone could be scared of you. Not that I mean you aren't tough, of course. You probably could have given those bullies a run for their money."

Ogerpon seemed to be much more at ease now. Arven zipped open a pouch on his bag.

"Hey, I've got something special to share, if you'd like. I don't give these out to many people, but you can be an exception."

He took a Leichi berry from his bag. At first, Ogerpon startled, anxious over what Arven was doing.

"It's okay, bud, it's just a berry."

He held the berry out. Ogerpon inched forward, gazing at it with her bright eyes.

"These are pretty good, if I do say so myself. I fought off a whole pack of Poochyena for them!"

Ogerpon took the berry with a sudden grab and backed off a few paces. She bit into it and then made a happy little noise. Arven chuckled.

"Told ya they were good."

She finished off the berry very quickly, her little fangs stained in juice. She came forward again and sat down beside Arven, looking at him with wide eyes.

"What, you want another? Well, I was saving these for making some desserts when I went back home, but I guess one more won't hurt."

The pokemon cheerfully ate the fat berry and hopped back and forth, chirping.

"More? You're killing me, bud. You do know how rare these are, right?"

Ogerpon nibbled on Arven's bag.

"Maybe you'd like an Oran berry? How's that sound?"

He tried to offer an Oran berry to her, but she made a garbled little cry and swayed on her feet, refusing to take it.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Guess this one is a bit of a gourmand. Leichi berry it is then."

He handed another over. Fortunately for Arven, it seemed Ogerpon was satisfied with three of the berries. She sat back down, licking the juice on her hands.

"So, um . . . on another subject, I kinda have something of yours. Sorry it took us so long to get this back to you, but we wanted to repair it first."

He took the mask from his bag. Like before, Ogerpon flinched at first, but she calmed down quickly this time.

"It looks good as new! It's supposed to enhance your battle powers or something, right? Probably a good idea to have it, then."

He held it out gingerly.

Ogerpon took the mask. She touched it softly and smiled.

When Arven immerged from the cave once more, Ogerpon followed closely behind him, wearing the Teal Mask. The others cheered at the sight.

"You did it, Arven!"

"I told you he could."

"Aw, I'm glad it worked out."

The shy little pokemon clung to Arven's leg, looking out at the others. Carmine told her brother,

"See, Kiki? Looks like Ogerpon's feeling a lot better now."

It seemed everyone was glad to see Ogerpon had cheered up-- everyone except Kieran. There was a tension in his expression when he looked at her. He muttered,

"Yeah . . ."

Carmine gave an annoyed huff.

"What's wrong now?"

Kieran turned away. He mumbled,

"I just . . . don't understand why she likes Arven, but she doesn't like me."

Arven quickly countered,

"That's not true, she's just a shy little gal."

"You said the Loyal Three arrived at the same time you tried to give the mask back, Kieran?" Juliana asked. Kieran glanced to her and nodded reluctantly.

"It's possible Ogerpon accidentally associated you with the Loyal Three attack," Juliana said gently,

"It was probably very scary and confusing for her, and she didn't understand what was going on."

Kieran's expression dropped into a look of horror.

"Y-you think so?"

Juliana tried to quickly reassure him.

"It's possible, but it's okay, Kieran. I'm sure she'll still warm up to you. You just need to give her a little time."

Her comforts seemed to fall on deaf ears. Kieran suddenly said,

"She probably doesn't trust me because I failed to protect her!"

Looking very frustrated, Carmine shot back,

"Kiki, that's not even true! You risked your life to keep her safe!"

"But my whole team fell, and if you guys didn't come when you did, they would have gotten to her--"

"KIERAN--"

"Whoaaa there, let's not get back into arguing," Juliana cut in.

"Yeah, agreed," Arven said, giving a pointed look towards the pokemon clutching his leg. Carmine sighed and started again at a quieter volume,

"Kiki--"

"I have an idea!" Nemona announced, cutting Carmine off. Everyone looked to Nemona; she had her hands balled into fists as she excitedly proclaimed,

"We should go track down the Loyal Three! As long as they're out there, they're gonna be a threat to Ogerpon, right? So we should go find them! Also, OH, also," she began to pace,

"The Caretaker said they gave them those masks back, so maybe we could get those back at the same time!"

Carmine crossed her arms and frowned.

"That's . . . a good point, actually."

"Those masks originally belonged to Ogerpon, right?" Arven asked.

"Yeah, that's right."

"So maybe we can give them all back to Ogerpon!" Nemona concluded.

Kieran seemed to like the idea, but he shook his head. He said,

"But everyone in the village would notice. You told me that was the reason you hadn't already returned them."

Nemona said,

"Oh. Right. Shoot."

Penny spoke up,

"Well, maybe not?" The group looked to her.

"As far as they know, they've returned the masks to their three guardian patrons. But if we don't tell anyone that we've chased them all down and taken them back . . ."

Nemona beamed,

"Yeah! That's perfect!"

Carmine smirked a little.

"Beat 'em up and take back what's ours? Yeah, I think I'm down for that."

". . . how do we find them, though?" Kieran asked.

Nemona flashed them all a grin.

"Don't worry, I've been doing my homework, unlike all you other slackers."

"Nerd."

"And I've gathered a ton notes on where the Loyal Three are likely to go. We'll split up into three teams of two, and head out in the different directions! That way we can cover the most ground at once and hopefully get the masks back as quickly as possible."

Kieran glanced back warily at the little pokemon hiding behind Arven.

"I think Ogerpon should go with one of us. Just in case they try to come back and hurt her again."

Arven nodded.

"That's good thinking, Kieran. How 'bout this, you and me can make a team and she can come with us?"

Kieran agreed. The others split off into teams as well and figured out where they were going to search.

Then they were off, delving into the wilds of Kitakami, hoping to track down their quarry.

At Wisteria Pond, team Julinemo had an easy time tracking down and dealing with Munkidori. Once they worked out it was Poison/Psychic, it fell quickly to Juliana's Corviknight and Nemona's Orthworm.

"That was almost a bit disappointing," Nemona sighed, once the defeated Legendary had escaped. She wasn't even all that upset that the monkey had given them the slip.

"Yeah, it was a bit weak, huh? Even souped up on those mystic herbs. Maybe we ended up with the easiest one of the three."

Nemona checked her phone, looking worried.

"If that's the case . . . I hope the others don't have too hard a time."

Meanwhile . . .

Carmine and Penny found Fezandipiti in Fellhorn Gorge, after a bit of a hike and a lot of scanning the skies. Carmine sighed in relief when they spotted it.

"Good. I did not want to be the only team that failed to get a mask back."

She turned to her partner and said,

"You're . . . Penny, right? You're my favorite Naranja kid out of the lot."

Penny gave her a confused look.

"I am? But we haven't even spoken to each other until now?"

"Exactly," Carmine said, taking a pokeball from her bag.

"Anyway, let's go make this bird sorry for ever leaving its grave."

The two girls approached their foe and quickly formed a plan; Penny sent out her Jolteon and Carmine sent out Morpeko. Yet, they were shocked when their electric moves did incredibly little.

"What the heck kind of bird is this?"

"Maybe it's not Flying-type?"

Carmine scoffed, gesturing at the pokemon.

"What do you mean? It's flying, isn't it? How couldn't it be Flying type?"

"Plenty of Pokemon that can fly aren't flying type. Venomoth, Magnemite, Garchomp . . ."

"Okay, smartass, I know that, I'm just saying-- wait, Garchomp can fly?! Since when?"

Penny recalled her Jolteon.

"Let's stay focused on the battle. It's been using Beat Up, so maybe it's Dark type?"

Penny sent out her Sylveon and tried using Moonblast, but Fezandipiti hardly even batted an eye at the powerful move.

"That's . . . concerning. Sylveon is my strongest pokemon."

The bird gave a cry, striking both its foes with Disarming Voice. Carmine had been battering away with Matcha Gotcha with equally feeble results.

"Ugh, Sinistcha, use Scald!"

"Sylveon, Baby-Doll Eyes!"

Fezandipiti gave another cry, hitting both its opponents again with the soundwave.

"Why are you wasting your time with stupid Baby-Doll Eyes?! You can see how little we're doing, we need to hit the damn thing!"

Penny lifted a brow and answered her mildly,

"Okay, you need to work on your anger issues, seriously. Baby-Doll Eyes actually helps us a lot here, this is probably gonna be a long battle."

Carmine scowled.

"Not if I can help it."

She recalled her Sinistcha, saying,

"It keeps using that annoying Disarming Voice so I bet it's Fairy type. Which means I get to introduce it to my brand-new ace."

Flinging a ball, she released a large black lizard streaked in hot pink. She called,

"Salazzle! Use Sludge Wave!"

Penny's eyes widened and she said,

"What, wait--"

It was too late; Salazzle quickly created a massive wave of toxic water, sending it out in all directions. The move struck Fezandipiti but did woefully little to it.

Slyveon wasn't quite so lucky. The wave of poison had the little Fairy-type writhing in agony. It didn't actually faint, but then Fezandipiti decided to rub salt in the wound by hitting Slyveon with a Cross Poison, and that was certainly enough to finish it off and for it return to Penny's pokeball.

"What the hell, Carmine?!"

"What?!"

"You don't just go around using Sludge Wave when you have an ally, you freak! Especially when your ally is Sylveon!"

Carmine looked surprised at how angry Penny was, as if she didn't expect it from her. Despite that, she still sassed back,

"We could have ended the battle right then and there, it's not like it would have mattered!"

Penny gestured at their opponent,

"Looks like it's still going on to me!"

"Well I was wrong, so sue me! It was a decent guess!"

Penny sighed, removing her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Someone really needs to teach you how to play well with others."

Fezandipiti struck Salazzle and Carmine cringed at what looked like a critical hit.

"I'm a sitting Ducklett out here as the only target, Penny--"

"Oh so now you want an ally?"

Carmine growled,

"We can argue after the battle, all right, for now let's just finish this!"

Penny sighed again and sent out another pokemon.

"Salazzle, use Flamethrower!"

"Flareon, Fire Spin!"

The flames engulfed their foe, but it still did not fall. Penny shook her head and said,

"Jeez, this thing has to have ridiculous special defense."

They watched as the bird swooped down low and landed on the ground before them, a soft glow enveloping its body. Carmine shouted,

"NO! Seriously?!"

Penny's reaction was not as loud, but she did groan-- she wasn't any happier with the battle being extended with Roost.

"Salazzle, return!"

"Flareon, Baby-Doll Eyes!"

Carmine sent out her Mightyena, and she looked like she was rapidly losing all patience.

"Mightyena, use Take D--"

She stopped short, hesitating for some reason. She glanced at Penny, then away, apparently pondering something-- then sighed. Her voice was strangely awkward as she asked,

"Um, d-does your Flareon have any physical moves?"

Penny nodded at her slowly.

"Yeah . . . Flare Blitz."

Carmine nodded, then turned back to Mightyena. In a calmer tone, she said,

"Okay, Mightyena. Use Howl."

The canine's cry pierced the air, raising the attack of both Mightyena and Flareon. Penny gave Carmine a surprised look.

"What? You wanted me to be a team player, right?"

Penny smiled at her.

Carmine said,

"Keep spamming those dumb Baby-Doll Eyes, I'll keep spamming the Howls. Let's finish this."

Penny nodded,

"Right!"

Meanwhile . . .

Arven and Kieran had the longest hike of the three teams by far. They had to travel all the way out into the Paradise Barrens before turning up the final member of the Loyal Three. When they finally spotted the huge green canine, Arven cheerfully patted Kieran on the shoulder, saying,

"There he is, I told you we'd find him eventually! Hard to miss something that big."

Kieran had been very quiet the whole trip, but he nodded gratefully now, saying quietly,

"You were right. Thank you for helping us find him."

"Of course! I'm a bit of a Titan pokemon expert, you know, so if you're worried about the battle, I'm sure things will go fine! We just gotta work together and--"

Kieran turned away from Arven, interrupting,

"Actually, I'd like to face Okidogi alone, if you don't mind."

Arven balked.

"Wh-what?"

Kieran began to approach the legendary, Arven following quickly behind him.

"I have to prove myself for Ogerpon. She needs to know I can protect her."

"Kieran, I'm sure Ogerpon knows--"

Kieran stopped so suddenly that Arven almost ran into him; the young teen shot Arven a gaze that was disturbingly cold.

"How do you know that? Did she tell you?"

"U-uh . . . no?"

Kieran nodded, looking to the innocent little grass type that still followed closely behind Arven.

"Yeah. Thought so. So maybe don't assume you know what she thinks and feels."

Arven stared, at a loss as to how to respond. After a few beats, Kieran said,

"Look, after I messed up the last time, I need to prove I can defeat at least one of Ogerpon's enemies. Please, Arven."

Arven looked to the nearby legendary, clearly not liking this at all. But he fought back against all his reservations, and eventually nodded.

"All right, I'll stay out of it. For now. If you get into a tight spot, though, I'm still gonna bail you out."

Kieran gave a single nod and then turned. He walked out into the clearing where Okidogi was lounging.

When the pokemon noticed him, it stood quickly to its full height and growled, leering down at him with sharp teeth and a vicious gaze. The shadow from the pokemon fell over Kieran and engulfed his entire body.

Kieran took a pokeball from his bag, fighting to keep his hand from shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut, holding the pokeball tightly.

Then he threw it. His lead pokemon appeared.

"Yanmega, Bug Buzz!"

The speedy insect sent a shockwave out, striking the canine, but the move didn't seem to even tickle. The dog made a noise that was alarmingly close to a laugh and then lashed out savagely with a Poison Jab. The dragonfly cried weakly and immediately fainted.

Kieran's eyes widened. Not a great start.

Clearly rattled, Kieran sent out his Poliwrath. Arven guessed it was his ace pokemon, based on the fight he'd watched earlier between Kieran and Juliana.

"Poliwrath, use Brick Break!"

The beefy water type leapt forward and struck Okidogi with a powerful chop.

They watched as Okidogi began to glow orange, raising one of its mighty fists; it sent its fist crashing down on Poliwrath with incredible force. Poliwrath was knocked clean backwards, immediately fainting from the Counter.

Worried, Arven couldn't help but call out,

"Kieran--"

His voice high and taut, he yelled back,

"No, let me do this, I can still do this!"

He sent out Cramorant, calling,

"Th-thrash!"

The bird flapped its wings and ran directly towards the huge dog without any hesitation. When it reached its foe it began to peck and beat at it with its wings, as furiously at the little bird could muster.

Okidogi looked more annoyed then genuinely hurt by the attack. It lowered its head and bit down on the bird, hard, its sharp teeth sinking into the poor creature.

Cramorant cried feebly but continued its attack as well as it could manage, flailing and pecking-- but it soon fainted.

"Okay, I'm really sorry, Kieran, but I gotta help you out here!"

Arven rushed to Kieran's side, but the boy stubbornly argued,

"I need to defeat him, you don't understand, I can't have help!"

"We all need help sometimes, Kieran, Ogerpon isn't going to think less of you for that!"

Ignoring him, Kieran tossed a ball, sending out his dragon type.

"Dipplin, Syrup Bomb, quick!"

Unfortunately, 'quick' was not a thing that Dipplin excelled in. Okidogi hit the little dragon with a Poison Jab, the apple rolling away for quite some distance. When the dragon poked its head back out, it looked weak and dizzy from poisoning. It still managed to fire a red, goopy shot at Okidogi, but the grass move didn't do much to faze it.

"O-okay, Dipplin, try Dragon Pulse!" Okidogi stomped up and smashed Dipplin with a second Poison Jab before it could react.

"No!" Kieran cried as the pokemon returned to its ball.

He looked devastated. Arven told him calmly,

"It's all right, Kieran. We'll beat him together."

He threw one of his own pokeballs.

"Mabosstiff, we need your help! I know he looks big but the bigger they are, the harder they fall-- we can do this! Use Psychic Fangs, boy!"

Mabosstiff turned to face his foe and barked defiantly. Okidogi growled in return.

Mabosstiff charged headlong at its foe. Okidogi swung a fist, but before the attack could connect Mabosstiff latched its jaws down on its hand, biting hard.

Okidogi howled in pain. It swung its hands together and smashed at Mabosstiff, with the shuddering impact of a Counter. Mabosstiff's fierce grip slackened and he fainted.

"It's okay, you did good, boy," Arven said, recalling the pokemon. Okidogi whined, licking his injured paw.

"Why did your pokemon do so much more damage?" Kieran asked, the frustration clear in his voice. Arven shrugged,

"Well, I was guessing this big brute's either Poison or Fighting type."

Kieran balled a fist, shouting,

"But I was so sure it's a Dark type! They're evil, all three of them-- it just makes sense!"

"It was a good guess, Kieran, but you saw how little your Bug and Fighting moves did to it."

Okidogi stood back up to its full height. It was glaring down at the two humans, snarling.

"Ooh boy, he looks mad. Quick, Kieran, we'd better send something else out."

Arven tossed a pokeball, releasing his Scovillain. When Kieran sent out his last pokemon, Arven turned to him.

"A Gligar, perfect! Use a Flying or Ground move, Kieran, let's hit him where it hurts!"

"O-okay . . . Gligar, Dual Wingbeat!"

"Scovillain, Zen Headbutt!"

The pokemon closed in and attacked Okidogi at once, Gligar swooping in and striking with its batlike wings at Okidogi's head, Scovillain smashing into Okidogi's torso with a pair of glowing heads. The dog howled and flailed, whipping its arms around. The Poison Jab caught Scovillain in the face(s) and it soon fainted to the move.

"Great work, Kieran, keep it up-- we have him now!"

Arven threw a ball, sending his Toedscruel into the fray.

"Gligar, Dual Wingbeat!"

"Toedscruel, let's teach this dog to sit and stay! Use Earth Power!"

Toedscruel's long tendrils wriggled down into the earth, and not long after, a volcanic blast of energy erupted beneath Okidogi's feet; meanwhile, Gligar dove at Okidogi's head, its wings slicing the air with a sharp noise before hitting its target.

Finally, the large canine succumbed to his attackers, staggering and then falling, collapsing onto the ground.

"Yeah! We did it!" Arven cheered, patting Kieran on the shoulders roughly.

"I knew we could do it together, little bud! Let's go see if he has that mask!"

The two trainers were indeed able to retreive the stolen mask from the oversized pokemon. Arven suggested that Kieran try giving the mask back to Ogerpon.

Kieran looked very reluctant, but he tried it anyway. Ogerpon's first reaction was to shy away, apparently still anxious about Kieran approaching her. But with Arven comforting Ogerpon a little and encouraging her, she eventually accepted the mask from Kieran.

When she did, Arven took a selfie with the three of them. Ogerpon wore her returned mask, chirping happily, while Arven grinned at the camera with a Victory sign, arm slung over Kieran.

Kieran's gaze was elsewhere, though, his eyes sad and his face stony.

#pokemon #pokemon s/v #pokemon scarlet/violet #the teal mask #pokemon spoilers #the teal mask fix it fic #yooooo finally posting this part #lotsa battles in this #nemona/juliana battle was pretty much skipped but I give those girls all the focus normally so it's fine #fun fact I literally did not understand fezandipiti's name until I was reading my fanfic outloud for proofing reasons and then it clicked

10 notes · View notes