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eternalxvenus · 1 month

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⇢ ˗ˏˋ broken promises pt. 3 ࿐ྂ

summary: Rafe promised to take you out and spend your birthday with you, but you don’t hear from him all day and then suddenly he shows up at your door trying to explain.

wc: 1.4k

notes: part three out in less than 24hrs?!? who would've thought

previous chapters: part 1 | part 2

Topper: hey we need to talk, it's about Rafe.

Your heartbeat started to pick up, but you weren't sure why. Topper didn't say it was anything bad, but you knew realistically he wouldn't be texting you unless it was.

You: hey Top, what's going on?

Topper: are you busy? can I swing by?

You: i'm on the mainland right now, can you tell me over text? i'm worried

Topper: yeah... so I don't know if you know but Rafe went to Kelce's party a couple days ago.

You: yeah I know

The sinking feeling in your chest lifts a little. You figured Topper was going to tell you Rafe had been doing coke since he knew Rafe was supposed to quit.

Topper: while he was there he started doing lines off the table. then a little later he started making out with Sofia. i'm not sure how far it went

You stared at the message for what felt like forever. Then a video pops up in the chat, so you click play.

There are some random people doing lines, but then in the back corner, you can see Rafe and his ex-girlfriend Sofia practically trying to eat each other's faces. You couldn't seem to find the energy to be sad about it. You felt almost indifferent but shocked at the same time.

You: thanks for letting me know Top

Topper: of course and just know you don't deserve that.

You click out of your messages and before you can think twice, your phone is ringing, waiting for your call to be picked up.

"Hello?" Rafe's voice came in through the speakers. He sounded tired but not like he had been asleep.

"Rafe. I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth."

"Okay... what is it?"

There was silence as you took a deep breath. Your voice was smooth and calm as you asked, "Did you cheat on me?"

You heard shuffling on the other end of the line. "What?"

"Did you cheat on me, Rafe?"

"No, I didn't cheat on you. What is going on?" He sounded baffled by your question.

"Don't fucking lie to me, Rafe! I saw the video," You tried to keep your voice low since your parents were probably asleep.

"Baby what are you talking about I'm not lying! I didn't cheat on you. You know what, I'm coming to the mainland. I'll be over there soon."

He ended the call before you could tell him not to bother. The last thing you wanted to see was his stupid face, knowing his lips were all over Sofia's, and God knows what else they did.

At the beginning of your relationship you were really insecure because of his history with Sofia but Rafe always assured you that he wasn’t interested in her anymore. You laid in bed staring at the ceiling while the video played over and over in your head. All you could wonder was what made your relationship with Rafe go left so quickly. You felt like crying and punching Rafe all at once. He made you feel so much at one time it could be so overwhelming.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱✩•̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

Your phone chimed a while later with a text from Rafe saying 'I'm here. Please let me in so we can talk.’

With a sigh you begrudgingly made your way downstairs and to the front door. When you opened it Rafe was standing there with a tired yet worried look on his face.

"Can I please-"

You put a finger up to your lips. "Shh. You'll wake up my parents." You let him inside and signaled him to follow you into your room. Before you can close the door fully, Rafe starts asking questions. "Why do you think I cheated on you? What video are you talking about?"

"Rafe, I saw a video of you sucking face with Sofia at Kelce's party. Did you fuck her too? Is that why you didn't text me all day?"

Rafe was looking at you like you'd grown two heads. "I am so fucking lost right now. I don't even think I saw Sofia at the party!"

You pull up the video and show it to Rafe. He watches it a few times before sitting on your bed with a sigh, dragging his hands over his face. You watch him with your arms crossed, waiting to see what he'll say. Rafe then pulls his phone out of his pocket, pulling something up.

"Look, this is a picture taken the day of the party." He shows you a random photo that was taken of him and Kelce, also displaying the date on it.

"So what?"

Rafe grabs your phone going back to the video and zooming in on the spot where he is seen kissing Sofia. "My outfit isn't the same in the video. It's an old video from when we were together."

Looking at both the phones you realize that he's right. "Oh... well why would Topper send me this if it's old?" You question out loud

"Wait a minute, Topper sent you this?"

"Yeah he texted me earlier saying we needed to talk but I told him I was on the mainland." You show Rafe the texts from Topper and he's seething.

"I could kill that son of bitch!" He shouted, and you had to cover his mouth, reminding him your parents were asleep. You sat on the bed looking at him, now you were the one who was confused so you decided to flat-out ask him what was going on.

"When you weren't talking to me I had told Kelce and Topper what was going on and he was the one who convinced me you didn't wanna be with me anymore. You were ignoring my calls and everything so he said I should just forget about you and not make things worse." Suddenly Rafe was on his knees with his hands on your hips.

"Baby listen, I know that I can be a major fuck up sometimes and that I don't have the best way of dealing with stress and everything but I would never cheat on you. I'm sorry about y'know, the coke and your birthday and everything else that I've ever done wrong, but I hope you realize that I love you so fucking much. You mean the world to me, and I don't wanna lose you." You stared at him with wide eyes as tears started to fall down his cheeks and brought up your hand to gently wipe them away. "So if you still want space, I'll give it to you. But I know I'm ready to change and make everything up to you."

You leaned down to place a soft kiss on his lips. You definitely weren't expecting him to pour everything out like that. "I love you too, and I don't want you to think I'm ever judging you or being a hardass. I just worry about you. If something ever happened to you..." you sighed, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"I promise not to make you worry." Rafe stood up and kissed you hard while cradling your face. He tried to leave to give you space, but you insisted he'd stay and said you'd head back to the OBX tomorrow. Rafe wanted to talk to Topper in person, which you didn't see going well, but you'd worry about it tomorrow.

You gave him plenty of blankets and pillows since he didn't want to take up so much space in your twin bed and chose to sleep on the floor. Once you'd gotten under your blankets, sleep whisked you away.

Rafe, on the other hand, could barely get his mind to calm down. He was fucking enraged with Topper for trying to pull some bullshit like that. Rafe should've known he was a snake. He noticed the way Topper's eyes would linger on you or how his hugs went on for a little too long. But Rafe didn't think Topper was stupid enough to try and break you two up.

Now that he had finally cleared everything up with you, he wasn't worried. Rafe was going to take care of Topper as soon as he got back to OBX. He'll make sure to get the point across that nobody fucks with his girl and his relationship.

part 4

likes, comments, and blogs are greatly appreciated!

taglist: @readingsmuts @1aarii1 @bingbongbum @stargirlsturniololover @babygirl229 @poisonedsultana @rafescamshoe @devils-blackrose @spiderflunk @quicksilversg1rl

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damagedintellect · 3 months

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You can't just talk about that Atsushi x reader in discord and then not have it posted anywhere please feed the hungry readers, me I'm the hungry reader!....I'm sure you've figured out who I am but I don't need anyone else knowing I'm a furry

💌 pfffft I mean you're right no one else needs to know you're a furry but bad news, your blorbos are not helping the furry allegations 😔 but I like omegaverse sooooo we're practically in the same boat if you will.

💌 I can drop a teaser since I decided to split it into two parts because writing 🍋 means I need to be in that headspace and oh boi am I too stressed lately!

Summary: Imagine if Atsushi had tiger tendencies that bleed into his everyday life as a result of accepting his ability. Now imagine it's say *checks notes* November-April.

Notes: Atsushi X reader, ADA reader, mutual pinning, heat/rut/mating cycles

Word count: 1,980 Part 1/2 [part 2 will be 🍋]

It was strange. You and Atsushi had been friends for a while, but as the winter months were coming to an end, you noticed he started being more protective of you. He had started unconsciously hovering over you in the office and would often offer to walk with you back to the dorms. You found it to be very sweet and endearing since you liked spending time with him, but a few days later, he accidentally growled at Dazai when the brunette put his hand on your shoulder. Atsushi looked mortified and fled the area with such haste he actually had a puff of dust follow him out. You've never seen him do that before. Turning to Dazai, he only laughed, humming to himself as if he knew why, but you were still baffled at what just happened to make him leave in such a hurry. The rest of the room brushed it off, so maybe it wasn't that big of a deal. If Atsushi wanted to talk about it, he'd bring it up on his own time, but he never did.

A few days later, you were pretty roughed up after returning from a mission. The moment Atsushi saw you, he pushed Kunikida out of the way and held you tight. He gingerly assessed your wounds, refusing to let anyone near you until Yosano cleared her throat, snapping him back to his senses. Once again, he bolted out of the room with a look of despair, leaving you mystified about what was going on. It seemed to click for everyone else, but you didn't have a clue what was going on. To be fair, you were still relatively new to the agency. You've only been with them for a handful of months, but they've already accepted you as family.

As Yosano was patching you up, she gave you a stern expression. "If he's making you uncomfortable, I can tell him to cut it out." You could feel your cheeks slightly heat up thinking about everything Atsushi’s done over the past few weeks. That has to be what she was referring to, right? You stuttered, trying to figure out what to say. "N-no, it's not that he's making me uncomfortable, i-it's just that I," you paused briefly. The moment you joined the agency, you knew you were doomed once you were formally introduced to Atsushi. He was just so friendly and caring it felt natural that you were drawn to the tiger boy. Over the past few months, you realized that you started developing a crush on him. Inside you were eating up all of this new seemingly possessive behavior, but the way he was running away immediately afterwards was concerning. You sighed almost defeated.

Yosano chuckled darkly "Oh I get it you like-" You immediately put your hands over her mouth. "Shhhh don't say it out loud! I'll never hear the end of it if Dazai were to hear."

As if on cue Dazai had burst through the door smugly "Never hear the end of it if I heard what?" You rolled your eyes at him. Yosano ignored the nosey idiot and delicately grabbed your hands "All I'm saying is you should tell him before April hits. It'd actually be easier on all of us."

Dazai gave you a smirk that already says he put together your secret. You frowned as you pulled him out of the infirmary. He was amused by your irritation but didn't say anything directly. You glanced back to Atsushi’s empty desk before setting your head down on yours. Confessing was going to be easier said than done.

Over the next week you would fail to confess your feelings for him. Part of it was because the words had a hard time leaving your mouth, to which Dazai would playfully mock "What cat got your tongue?" Other times Atsushi would scamper away after "overstepping" and he was too fast for you to get a word out edgewise. Sometimes multiple inconveniences would occur causing a series of unfortunate events. Needless to say you tried but didn't end up confessing. You were fine staying friends even if his random exits were starting to get to you. Was he scared of you? Were you making him uncomfortable?

You were walking past his desk to put a stack of paper on Dazai’s when he pulled you into his chair and shoved his face into the crook of your neck. You’re glad most people were out on a case today because the noise you involuntarily made was embarrassing. Kunikida was unbothered, too enthralled with his work to glance in your direction. Atsushi hummed, smiling against your neck as he took in a deep breath. The sensation caused you to shudder as he loosened his grip slightly pressing primarily his forehead to your skin. He felt hot.

"Hey, Atsushi? Are you feeling okay?" You asked shifting in his lap to look him in the eyes. His pupils were blown wide and he seemed kind of out of it. "Now that you mention it, it's a little warm in here." He seemed pretty dazed.

You brushed the bangs off of his forehead to press yours to his. "You should go see Yosano, I think you're running a fever." You stood up but he was still stunned by how you invaded his personal space a moment ago. You swear you could hear a soft purr come from him. After a beat he slowly made his way to the infirmary. Kunikida watched him almost stumble out of the room raising his eyebrow at you causing you to shrug in response. What was there to say, he wasn’t feeling well.

In the doctor's office Yosano sighed "It's that time of year again Atsushi, it's going to happen whether you like it or not." She looked at the thermometer and sure enough he was running a fever which means he's about to start his "mating cycle"

"It still doesn't make sense to me. Why am I the only one who has weird side effects of my ability!" Atsushi rolled his eyes slouching in his chair. You've been driving him crazy for weeks now. He can sense when you're near just by your scent and he keeps itching to be as close to you as possible. He knows he had a crush on you but recently it's been getting worse and the tiger has been acting on it without his permission.

"I wouldn't say that exactly, I mean just look at Dazai. The only difference is none of us have animalistic tendencies." Yosano pulled out some pills to help Atsushi for the week he's about to endure. She made them specifically after last year's cycle when the tiger went berserk. Which reminded her "Did you ever have that talk with (Y/N)?"

Atsushi hid his face in his hands. "No…I couldn't do it."

"Of course you didn’t," she huffed knowing it was a lost cause at this point. "You both are helpless."

Atsushi perked up suspiciously at her words "What’s that supposed to mean?"

She handed him the pills "It doesn't matter. Just go home, keep your door locked and take these. Dazai will come check on you in a few hours once he gets back." Yosano shooed him away to make another set of medications. Atsushi wasn't convinced she wasn't up to something.

The door opened while your back was turned so you didn't see Atsushi leave but you definitely felt a pair of eyes linger on your frame as he left. You sighed as you handed Kunikida your reports. He cleared his throat seeing you slump "It's not my place to say but if you're worried about him why don't you make him some of that famous soup you're always talking about. I'm sure that will help him make a swift recovery." Kunikida would rather stay out of it but after witnessing just how dense you and Atsushi really are, he figured a small nudge in the right direction couldn’t hurt. Otherwise he might have to deal with another of his colleagues moping at work and it's bad enough Dazai pesters him to no end.

You smiled wide "You're right! Thank you Mr. Kunikida, that's a great idea!" You hastily gathered your things and rushed out before you could hear the rest of Kunikida's suggestion. He was going to say don’t deliver it alone but he's sure someone will manage to stop you before you can do anything too reckless. He simply pushed up his glasses and continued his work. It wasn’t his fault the two of you couldn’t talk about your feelings like normal adults.

You on the other hand hit the market before going back to your dorm to make the famous soup. Kenji was always talking about how in his village they had a cure all soup and he showed you how to make it. Although not everyone was around to try it at the time. Atsushi was one of those people, but now was the perfect opportunity for it! You wasted no time at all packaging it up in a nice thermos, heading over to his room.

You stood in front of his door with your hand ready to knock when you were pulled inside and pinned against the door. Atsushi was visibly panting as his eyes focused on yours. It was strange since when were his eyes blue? You thought they were a mix of purple and yellow.

"I smelled you coming up the stairs." He rested his head on your shoulder "You shouldn't be here. Not when I'm like this." He was already in his sleepwear and his hair was disheveled more than normal. It looked like he just woke up from a nap or something.

You swallowed hard. It was now or never. "I don't mind, you know. I came here to help make you feel better anyhow." You lifted up the soup you made. Hopefully he likes it. This would be the first time Atsushi would be eating your cooking. The thought made you feel warm inside.

Atsushi's mind was flustered as he misunderstood what you came here for. "I can't ask that of you-" Sure he’s had fantasies about this situation but he never thought they'd come true. Recently you've been the center of all his "mating" daydreams. You always looked so cute under him and the prospect of you wanting to be intimate with him was crashing his train of thought.

Meanwhile you still thought he was feeling under the weather. "Good thing you didn't ask then." You cut him off leaning forward to pull him in your embrace. You know he's never truly had anyone to lean on in the past. You want to be that person for him. "I don't think you understand how much you mean to me. I've always seen you as more than a friend, Atsushi."

His eyes widened as he nuzzled into you. If this was a dream he hoped he never woke up. "I like you as more than a friend too." He sighed contently into your neck. You smelled so good to him it was making him dizzy. "Do you mind if we cuddle?" He was nervous, you could tell but you both already admitted to liking each other and you've never turned down an excuse to hug your favorite tiger boy before. You giggled at his hesitancy. He was being clingy and cute. How could you say no to him?

"I'd love to."

You put the soup down on the counter before Atsushi pulled you into his little pile of blankets. It was extremely comfortable and warm. You slotted so perfectly together like a puzzle. It was the absolute perfect setting for both of you to fall asleep in each other's arms, completely unaware of the misunderstanding that was waiting for you when you woke up.

[Part 2 ...coming soon]

#bsd imagines #bsd x reader #atsushi x reader #xreader #x reader #atsushi nakajima x reader #my bsd brainrot is showing #my inbox

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misc-obeyme · 1 year

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Forgetful MC

I wanted to try writing something in this style, as head canons with all the brothers. So here it is!

I am crazy forgetful, so I felt like writing how the bros would deal with an MC who is forgetful and/or absent minded. Maybe I'll do the dateables, too? Haven't decided yet.

GN!MC

Warnings: MC is forgetful. These are all things I personally struggle with, so it's pretty self indulgent. Tried to keep it gender neutral. Might be some ADHD symptoms too as I have that as well. Mentions of forgetting to eat. I think that's it though. Please let me know if I should add something here.

Lucifer

Gets annoyed with you at first. Why can’t you seem to keep track of things, MC? Important things are forgotten just as easily as unimportant ones and he doesn’t understand.

Eventually figures out that you can’t help it. It isn’t that you don’t care, it’s just that your brain doesn’t work that way.

Lucifer becomes your personal calendar. Starts sending you texts to remind you of important dates and upcoming meetings. Will send you a text the day before everyone’s birthday, even his and your own, just so you don’t forget.

Keeps a little basket that he puts all your forgotten items in when he finds them around the house. Gives them all back to you once a week. Secretly pleased at your delight when you find something in the pile you were looking for earlier.

Mammon

Figures out pretty quickly how absent minded you are. He’s always asking you if you’ve got your essentials - did you remember your D.D.D.? Got your textbooks, backpack/purse, etc? In the beginning, he complains about it a lot, but eventually it just becomes routine.

Brings extras of things to class and other places in case you do forget something. Need a pencil because you left yours on your desk back in the House of Lamentation? Left all your money sitting on your bed for some reason? He’s got you covered. You better be grateful, MC!

Reminds you of things you need when you go shopping. If you mentioned to him once that you need something, he’ll remember it even if it’s days later. You don’t need a shopping list, you’ve got Mammon.

Discovers that you will get lost easily because you can’t remember how to get places. He knows if you go somewhere new or somewhere you haven’t been to recently, chances are high that you’ll get lost. To prevent you from wandering aimlessly for hours, he won’t let you go anywhere alone.

Leviathan

Your forgetfulness becomes apparent to him when you can’t remember the plot of an anime you watched together a few weeks ago. It’s okay, MC, he’ll re-watch all the episodes with you to refresh your memory!

Anytime you spend hours in his room gaming or marathoning something, he checks to be sure you haven’t left anything behind when you finally leave. If you did, he will put the lost items in Lucifer’s basket.

Loves when you ask him a question about one of the items in his collection even if he’s already told you about it before. Levi is happy to tell you all about it as many times as you need!

Is a little baffled when you turn out to be really good at remembering specific things - like song lyrics, character relationships, and his personal opinions on different things. He finds it really endearing.

Satan

Realizes you have trouble remembering certain things right away. Figures out what you’re good at remembering and what you struggle with. He’s going to be your study buddy, MC. You need one to help make sure you remember the important things.

Due to studying with you, Satan knows that you’re not as forgetful as you seem. You actually retain information really well and have no problem with most tests.

Similar to how Levi figures out that you can’t remember anime plots, Satan discovers that you will forget the plots of novels, too. If you’re reading a series of novels together, he will give you summaries of the first books that you’ve already read. This way you don’t have to re-read the whole series when a new installment comes out.

He’s thrilled when you remember the name of every cat he’s ever introduced you to, whether it’s a Devildom stray or one that lives in a cat cafe.

Asmodeus

Of course Asmo is the one who realizes that you forget to take care of yourself. Takes the time to figure out your morning routine only to discover that there is no routine. Sometimes you remember to brush your hair, sometimes you don’t.

Things can’t go on like this, MC. He makes you a list of things you need to remember to do and tapes it to your bathroom mirror. There’s a morning and an evening edition. He’s lucky if you do a third of the list, but hey it’s better than the sporadic things you were doing before.

Will check your products to make sure you aren’t running low because you will forget to buy more before you run out. Will just buy the things you need for you while getting his own.

Regularly goes through your closet to rearrange your clothes. If you put clothes in the back of the closet, you forget they exist. He rotates them for you to keep your wardrobe fresh.

Beelzebub

And Beel is naturally the one who figures out that you sometimes forget to eat. He asks you regularly throughout the day if you’ve eaten anything recently. If you haven’t, he makes you come with him to find food.

Asks if you’ve eaten every morning before leaving the house because breakfast is the meal you seem to forget most often. Breakfast is important, MC.

Knows that sometimes you forget to do things like go outside or move around. Will make sure you go on a walk with him every day.

On days when you don’t have anything planned, Beel will take you out to eat because he knows that you’ll forget to eat at all if you don’t have a schedule of some kind. The instant he suggests it, you realize you’re starving and will agree immediately because wow you really need food this second you don’t care where he takes you.

Belphegor

Belphie doesn’t understand why all his brothers seem to think you’re forgetful. You always seem to know exactly where he left his pillow whenever he asks you. What are they even talking about, MC?

Reality is that your memory is incredibly selective and for some reason, you can never forget the location of a cow print pillow.

Pretty good at helping you to remember what you came into a random room for. If you pause after walking in and look confused, he'll ask you the right questions to get you to remember why you're there.

If Lucifer just put an item in your basket, he’ll take it out and leave it somewhere random. Has you hide in the room with him so you can giggle together when Lucifer finds the object and gets confused and/or irritated.

masterlist | part 2 with side characters | Thank you for reading!

#obey me headcanons #obey me shall we date #obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #it's my first time writing something like this #so I apologize for the lack of quality lol #misc writes

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dear-mrs-otome · 1 year

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Galileo Galilei - White Day

"These are for you."

MC is startled when out of nowhere Galileo offers her a bouquet of white flowers, wrapped in paper. (I see that wrapping job there sir, nice attempt at casual) They're very beautiful, she can't help thinking, but she's a bit baffled by the gesture - especially given his usual, standoffish demeanor.

She asks why he's giving these to her, and Galileo reminds her how she gave him chocolates last month, right?

He's merely returning the favor. She hadn't had any expectations that he might, but she's happy regardless.

Aloud, she laughs a little. "You're a conscientious person too," she tells him. (Echoing the way he'd called her that for gifting him Valentine's chocolate as an apology for using his telescope without permission in their very first story)

"I just don't want to be in anyone's debt," he replies.

She gladly accepts the flowers and remarks on how beautiful they are, but she's not familiar with what kind they are. He tells her he's not sure of all the specifics but they're a type of helichrysum - although usually those come in bright colors. These white ones came as a fluke from a university cultivation program, not the color they wanted at all. (AM I THE ONLY ONE READING SOME HEAVY SYMBOLISM HERE?)

He says when he heard they were just going to be tossed, her words came to mind. (How she'd mentioned, when they first met, that she felt like even chance encounters can have meaning) And with her having said something like that, he thought she would treasure these new flowers.

She's kind of silently stunned he remembered her words like that.

"You can throw them away if you have no need of them. Do as you please," Galileo tells her offhandedly.

"No!" she gasps. "I'll take good care of them!"

Galileo just does an about face at that and walks off without another word...but as he goes, the last glimpse she catches of his expression seems softer.

Back at the mansion on the balcony, she's looking at the flowers again and musing how they look like she's holding shooting stars in her hand. Maybe the same thing had occurred to Galileo, which is why he wanted to save the flowers? Because he seems to love the stars so much.

She stares up at the night sky, thinking about his still unseen heart.

~~~~~~~~~~

MRS. O'S TINFOIL HAT RAMBLINGS:

I already blathered a bit in tags o a different post about the flower symbolism, but let me do it again. These are white strawflowers, which are also known as helichrysum, fyi.

Very lovely, and they dry and remain almost perfectly preserved, hence some of their other names: Everlasting, or Immortelle. They symbolize eternal life or immortality - but also something 'always remembered' and some take it a step further and go with 'eternal love'. Usually they come in many different colors of pinks and reds, or white with bright yellow centers.

This has me side-eyeing things so hard though because the very first story we ever got of his involves MC wandering the Timey-Wimey Hallway, being called and cajoled by a sexy voice she later figures out is Galileo's, and she gets to witness a bit of his past and his imprisonment. Drake's story definitely was just a normal, meet-cute on the street style, nothing as mystical as timewalking. I have a feeling this is going to feature prominently in his stories, along with the heavy emphasis that there is no such thing as a random meaningless encounter.

BUT ALSO, here's heavy tinfoil time! Maybe I'm looking too hard but the symbolism doesn't escape me here of him identifying with and feeling empathy towards these white flowers that symbolize eternity (all pale colored, much like our hero, no??) that are an unwanted accident. A misfire of genetics that's only good to be tossed away and culled. I STAND BY MY DHAMPIR/ HALF-PUREBLOOD THEORY.

#ikemen vampire #ikevamp #ikevamp galileo #mrs o's translations of dubious quality #spoiler #spoilers #ikemen vampire spoilers #ikevamp spoilers #BONUS MRS O RAMPANT SPECULATION

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theglamorousferal · 9 months

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The Halfa King and His Court

So this is a fic that I started at the beginning of the pandemic that I kinda just hit a block with. I really like it as a starting point, but I’m not sure what else to do with it. I had a sort of bullet point outline but it seemed more like I was just tossing in every different DP fic plot line all together so it wasn’t going to make much sense. I was going to have there be a field trip into the GZ where the Trio judge whether the a-listers and Val have changed enough to have them join in with Team Phantom, there was going to be a reveal to his parents of him and then later on after Plasmius had been helping out then Vlad as well. It was gonna be this whole thing, but anyway. I’m not sure if I will continue this, so feel free to add your own spin on it or take it for adoption, I’m not sure how to do that exactly.

*****

“No.” Danny said, in a tone that rang with finality and a general sense of “I am so done with this whole situation.”

“Danny, I know this is hard to believe, but technically by the laws of the Ghost Zone Frostbite gave to you-” Sam started, only to get cut off by Danny's glare. She sighed. “Seriously Danny, it says right here in the text he gave you.” Sam shoved the scroll at Danny who scoffed and passed it off to Tucker.

“Oh man Danny, do you know what we could do with this? The new laws you could put in place?” Tucker laughed as he read what was written.

“The protections you could put in place for Amity and the Earth?” Sam hinted at poking Danny in the shoulder. Danny sighed.

“Guys, I get it, I could use this to my advantage, but there's so much more responsibility to go with it. I'd have to take over the general affairs from the Observants and Walker, though I guess Walker would have to do what I say wouldn't he.” Danny seemed to think about it.

“Let's say I did do this, what would I do? I don't have time to take care of the whole Ghost Zone! I'd need to pick advisers and establish some sort of method for figuring out small disputes, some way of checks and balances. Guys, you know I'm failing History and Government, and this is basically saying that I'd get complete control over the Ghost Zone and have to set-up an entirely new system!” He gripped his hair in frustration and panic. And it caused his friends to sit and think some solutions through.

“Well,” Sam began, “you could start with getting a few people you know that do know about this kind of stuff together and getting their opinion about it. Frostbite, Dora, Clockwork, Pandora, maybe Ghostwriter from what we know of his library and... maybe... Vlad?” she added the last person hesitantly. Danny shot a look at her of surprise and confusion, dropping his hands from his hair to his lap.

“Vlad? Why the hell would I ask him for anything?” He was honestly baffled as to why she would bring him up.

“Besides the fact that he has more knowledge of modern government compared to the others I listed, I think he would relish the idea of being able to mentor you at something.”She paused to consider something. “He seems to have calmed down a bit after his last scheme almost got your mom killed instead of your dad. He almost seems to realize now that your mom is completely dedicated to your dad and finds him a bit creepy. I mean, last time he was over, he actually asked Jazz some stuff right? Doesn't he usually ignore her completely?”

“Crazy-man acting less crazy?” Tucker snorted. “I'll believe it when I see it.”

Danny thought about it for a second and realized that Sam was right, he hadn't needed to fight the Fruit-loop since his last scheme put his mom in the hospital. She was fine, just had a concussion and a fractured leg, but it still had shaken him. In fact, Danny hadn't seen any sign of Vlad as either Masters or Plasmius since the incident except for when he visited when Mom first got out of the hospital.

“Yeah, maybe you're right, I should go and pay Uncle Vladdie a visit.” Danny stood and paused. “Should I bring the scroll with me to show him as proof? I doubt he'd believe me if I just told him.”

“Yeah, probably should. It's not anything that he can modify to fit his own needs anyway, just a list of laws.” Sam rolled it up and handed it to him. “Want either of us to come with?” She offered.

“Nah, I should be good to visit the cheese-head on my own. You guys mind covering for me until I get back?” They were supposed to be having a study-sleepover at Sam's.

“Sure thing, we’ll just cover our electives while you’re gone and tell my parents you went to get pizza.” Sam fished out some cash and handed it to Danny. “Actually, while you’re out can you grab some?”

“Sure, the usual?” Danny put the scroll and the money in his pocket.

“Yup, a large all veggie vegan cheese for me.”

“And a large extra meaty supreme for me!”

Danny laughed, “and a large extra cheese for me. I’ll place the order as I’m leaving Vlad’s. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” With that he transformed and took off through the ceiling.

Tucker turned to Sam. “Do you really think going to Mayor wack-job is a good idea?”

Sam sighed. “Tucker, you weren’t there that day, the look on his face when he saw Mrs. Fenton take the hit instead of Mr. Fenton…” Sam looked away thinking. “He looked devastated, and not just in the ‘the love of my life will never love me’ way but more in the ‘my actions are hurting those I love’ way. He looked like he realized that if he continued the way he was going that he might just accidentally kill either Mrs. Fenton or Danny and I think that would hurt him more than anything.”

#danny phantom #fanfic #danny fenton #dp #ghost king danny #ghost king au #Vlad masters #Sam Manson #tucker foley #Vlad redemption #fic for adoption #or for continuation #writing wip #WIP

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thepetesimp · 2 months

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(My) Top 5 VegasPete scenes

Listen. Listen. I'm surely not being original here. I'm certain this post has been made before, especially closer to the show airing, but I wasn't here then, and the spoons for such a post came right now, so I'm doing it now. Now, a warning: my choices will make you question my sanity. They will make you wonder wtf is wrong with me for *not* including specific scenes. They will make you question my VP taste in general. I know, I do too all the time, but the thing is, I have *reasons* for every single one being here and I will thoroughly explain, and if you're still baffled, I get it, I am too, but the brainrot works in mysterious ways. So, let's go (very long post incoming):

No5: The pool scene - Episode 14

LOOK, I COULDN'T NOT INCLUDE THIS SCENE OK? I'M NOT THAT STUPID (Pls don't kill me for not putting it higher, I know, it's a crime, I know-). Fun fact: I had seen a screenshot of the point in which Pete says he's hungry, before watching the VP arc, and I deadass thought it was fan subtitles, like a joke, a meme, SOMETHING other than what he ACTUALLY said. It was very funny when I found out the truth. God, this scene is heart-wrenching for all the right reasons. It had everything I could ever ask for and more I didn't even know I needed. I think my No1 reason for loving this scene so much is Pete's desperation to save Vegas and all the ways he showed it. To explain, we have: - him coming to find Vegas after resigning from the main family to be with him, - him being physically intimate for the very first time to such a degree (he fucking hugged Vegas from behind, I lost my marbles when I saw it), - him trying so fucking hard to say "I love you" without saying it, because he can't, it's not sth he can say, but holy fuck will he show in SOME way, - him saying he's Vegas' pet while dying a bit inside but it's necessary goddammit, Vegas won't get it otherwise, he won't understand that Pete *needs* him, - him killing the guy who shot Vegas without hesitation. I wholeheartedly believe he'd kill whoever that person was, even Korn himself, and I love it. ALSO, can we talk about the fact that the scene was dead silent, no music, nothing during their talk, then when hope is on the horizon a soft melody plays and then BOOM, Ink comes just as Vegas gets shot and you feel like YOU got shot along with him. I love the title of the piece, and I love how it gives me goosebumps every single time I hear it, and I love how *tragic* it is, because what we're witnessing is a tragedy, and would remain a tragedy if the hospital scene didn't exist. 10/10 writing, I can't believe this scene is real, I can't believe how lucky we are to have witnessed such a moment.

No4: Vegas hits Pete with the belt + tasers him when he escapes + finds him unconscious later - Episode 11

I am aware that I'm cheating with the last scene but I love it a little too much and it's the continuation of the previous one so I'll add it in. Ok, firstly, I had to include the scene which inspired me to write my first ever meta post in here, guys, it was essential. Furthermore, one thing you should know about me is that I love - what I like to call - "pre-VP VP", meaning VP interactions up to ep 11 (which is my favorite episode, you'll figure out why as we move through the list). It had everything; it had Pete refusing to eat, throwing his philosophy at Vegas' face, it had Vegas lashing out at Pete in a way he didn't even enjoy (he started shouting as he was hitting him to convince himself he was enjoying this but he wasn't, I'm biting my FIST here), we had Pete using the belt to escape, only for Vegas, the fucking SLUT with the loose shirt showing off his TITS, to follow him outside, we had the tasing and the catching and the soft handling of Pete's body as he fell (he totally carried him back bridal style), we had Vegas believing Pete would laugh at him for what his father did (oh Vegas you moron, he would never laugh at you, if only you saw his face when Gun slapped you), we had Vegas freaking the fuck out at a non-responsive Pete, we had it all folks. I've watched these scenes more times than I can count, they're fucking glorious. And the music too, oh God the music. You'll see me scream about the music a lot here, because it's one of the deciding factors in my preferences, so I have to mention it, just as I did for No5. Unfortunately, Shazam hasn't helped me find the first two pieces used in the scene (when Pete is hit with the belt and when he uses it to escape) but I know of the other two, which are Lost Register and Walking the Distance, which are such perfect titles for Vegas, aren't they? I don't have any intelligent things to say about these scenes, I just love them so fucking much, even though Vegas hitting Pete with the belt makes me flinch, even though Pete gets the worst treatment here (minus the ball roasting I guess), I love them so much, because it's the limit that Vegas surpasses, and the realization he did so was incredibly enjoyable to watch.

No3: Vegas tortures Pete - Episodes 10-11

Yes, I did cheat again but technically the two scenes happen back to back on the same day (it's not the same day, Vegas is wearing a different shirt, but we'll pretend it is okay?) and yes, I did put only Pete screenshots here, look at my name, what do you want from me? When I said I have a deep fascination with "pre-VP VP", this is what I mean people. These two scenes solidified my obsession with this specific dynamic of theirs. Pete was so fucking unhinged and it was the most beautiful thing I have laid my eyes upon. There are too many things to mention, I adore them so much. We have Pete not speaking a single line of dialogue during the scene in ep 10, we have ep 11 and Vegas changing his approach, touching Pete in a sexual way which unnerves Pete but he's still not lost complete control, we have Gun hitting Vegas in front of Pete, with Pete putting the pieces together, we have the fucking phone call to his grandma, which is the thing that makes Pete give up and it's wonderful, because after that we have Pete screaming - I love his screams, I've listened to them on repeat, I have issues - and trembling with pure rage as Vegas toys with him. I've watched these two scenes, both for fic purposes and for my own enjoyment, probably more than 30 times at this point and I loved every single one of them. Btw, can we pay attention to the fact that the sneaky bastards over at BOC put a slight variation of Stable Delusion during the moment in which Vegas puts his hand inside Pete's underwear? Because I noticed, and I hope you did too. A lot of VP fans said they truly noticed Pete here, which is fair tbh, even though I was a big fan of his from the start. He truly shines in these scenes and seeing this side of him is delicious every single time.

No2: Pete's breakdown - Episode 13

Fuck my whole existence, what am I supposed to even say here? How am I even supposed to touch upon this scene without losing my mind? How do I explain what this scene did to my brain when I watched it, and kept watching it, and never stopped watching it because it's so fucking important to me? Pff, whatever, let me try. I'll mostly use the music playing throughout the scene to help me describe my feelings about it. The scene basically starts with both Vegas and Pete being lost and miserable, each one for different but interlaying reasons. The music accompanying the scene is called Unspoken, because neither can really say outright what's bothering them, because they're hanging by a thread and it's so, so good. It's heavy and painful and it creates this uneasy feeling in your stomach, accompanied by the visuals. It goes on, until it stops, right as Vegas says "Isn't my fucking life like this because of them?", because of course it does, Vegas is one second away from snapping at Pete, but Pete doesn't hesitate, he says to Vegas the harsh truth: "It's your choice." And then, Vegas drops the noodles - Pete's food, Pete's nourishment - on the floor, and the music playing is called Calculating Catastrophe, which I *only just discovered* and I want to pull my hair out. The dream is gone, no more afterglow, only misery, because Vegas can't handle the truth, because Pete can't handle the lie, because it's all crushing down and Pete can do nothing about it but accept it, accept Vegas' cruelty, accept the knife in his throat. He's waiting to die, he says it, he grabs Vegas' wrist and then, only when he says he doesn't even have his humanity left, does the music resume playing, the OST called This Creed, just as Pete tells Vegas - tells us, the audience - what his "set of beliefs which guide his actions" is, and both Vegas and us watching are dumbfounded, we're as scared for what Pete might do as Vegas is, and it's so painful and so beautiful to witness. The music stops again as Vegas says "No" to Pete being just a pet, and both him and us are breathing a hesitant shy of relief, only for Pete to snap again, to scream at Vegas while showing his handcuffed wrist, to ask "what the fuck is this then?" and the music playing compliments this moment brilliantly, because it's called Absent Cognition and it's a 10/10 fit. And the most brilliant thing here is how they're BOTH HAVING A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CONVERSATION. They're talking past each other and Pete knows, he knows Vegas is stuck on his delusions because he can't do otherwise, he can't, it'll destroy him, but Pete himself also can't do this anymore, he can't stay, he has to go, "I'm sorry, Vegas, I'm sorry" (relevant post to this point specifically because I have lost my mind over it in the past). God, this scene is sosososososo good and so them, and I can't stop watching it, I can't get it out of my head. It's utterly stunning and I love it.

No1: The pill kiss/VP's talk - Episode 11

Ok. I am not normal when it comes to this scene. I have based my entire fucking personality around it since 2022. It makes me emotional every time I rewatch it, it gives me goosebumps just remembering its existence. It's because this scene is the shift in their relationship. It's them finally looking at each other in the eye and truly seeing each other. It's a promise in the shape of a pill, it's a revelation, it's rebirth. Vegas being gentle with Pete for the first time shifted something in me, as it did in Pete himself. Vegas is fighting it a bit at first; he says "Take it" to Pete harshly, demanding Pete take the pill, but when Pete rejects him, his tone gets softer. It almost sounds like begging to me and it's so powerful. Oh Bible, the delivery of some lines feel like a slap across the face, thank you. Little House on the Hill starts playing as Vegas lowers his body and puts the pill into Pete's mouth through a kiss. Even the title of the song is softer, their own little world in a little house, as they're coming closer through a promise that ended up not being kept: I can be gentle with you too. Please take the nourishment I'm giving you. And then he gets up, and sits on the floor, and the show literally gives us VP being on equal ground for the first time, truly equal: both battered and broken and looking at each other. And they talk, and Vegas starts opening up already after Pete asks him what happened, and then A Sky Sparkling starts playing as Pete talks to Vegas about his childhood, about how his father beat him up for losing, and then for winning, and I'm a sobbing mess on the floor at this point. (A Sky Sparkling = Vegas' worldview changing, gaining light, a new perspective. Fuck the titles of these songs have ruined me.) You'd think I'd have the most words about my all-time favorite VP scene, but I'm afraid that's not the case. I'm speechless. It'd given me such a visceral reaction that I simply don't know how to explain myself anymore. All I know is that I'll never get tired of watching it, of thinking about it, of analyzing it in my head. It's everything to me. I love VegasPete so much. At the end of this super long post, that's all I can say.

#this post made me want to do a Top5 Pete scenes too #VP scenes not included #(because obv the Pete moments in those VP scenes are one of the main reasons I chose the scenes I did here)#I'm a simple girl I have biases ok?#but yeah I'll think about it #as for VP #pls don't kill me I know I left out some very important scenes of them #the Hum Bar scene the garage scene the NC scene etc etc #but while they're also deeply important scenes and I love them they don't hit as hard as those I included here #hence me excluding them #but it's ok it's VP I can't not love every single moment we got of them together #it's not like they had hours of screentime lmao #*cries*#kinnporche the series #vegaspete #pete saengtham #vegas theerapanyakul

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outpost51 · 10 months

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The 51 Post

Figured I'd start some kind of digest!

Contents:

Things You Might Have Missed

This Week's Jams

WIP Breakdowns

From the Skwad

Around the 'Blr

Things You Might Have Missed:

I've got a taglist form now! Because who doesn't love a good form?

BRHP: Chapter 14 posted; Atria learns the meaning of touch starvation and really, really misses her dad.

WIP Intro: Caught in the Crossfire (18+)

WIP Intro: The Arsonist Chronicles (18+)

WIP Whenever (Open Tag): BRHP chapter 15 snippet; pop pop is having a time time

Crossing Over: the 5th entry into the Lighthouse in the Fog shorts; a new player has entered the fray, and a familiar face reappears.

Vampire Council lore and vampire origins lore

Aria/Omega snippety snip

This Week's Jams:

friends like these || Brassie [spotify/youtube]

Little Girl Gone || CHINCHILLA [spotify/youtube]

EVERGREEN || PVRIS [spotify/youtube]

Eyes on Fire || Gold Souls [spotify/youtube]

WHEN THE PARTY'S OVER || Cami Petyn [spotify/youtube]

Lizard Lady || Laura Doggett [spotify/youtube]

WIP Breakdowns:

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Chapter 15 should be coming out later today, with 16 slated for release sometime late this week or early next week. I'm finally in the chapters that don't require a ton of rewrites; most of what I've been doing is adding content. The whole thing is outlined through chapter 30 though! Since this is my entry for WIP Big Bang, updates will "stop" at chapter 18, since that's what I had published before the rewrites. After that, you'll have to wait for the release date! Which also means I have to wait for the release date for the serotonin, and that's going to be a nightmare.

Unlikely Adventures of Bitchface and Go F*ck Yourself

At this point, it's just a matter of making myself work on it. About a third of chapter 9 is written and the entirety of Act II is outlined.

Blinding Neon, Shades of Grey

nervous laughter

Stellar Parallax

Fuck, I missed this WIP. I missed Jane especially, she's so fun to write -- I'm about a third of the way into chapter 9 and it seems to be flowing pretty well? I just wanna get to the part where she and Saren beat the shit out of each other LMAO

Lighthouse in the Fog

Dunno if y'all saw, but the lighthouse keeper stories have a tag and a tentative title now! It's going to remain as a series of loosely connected shorts, and that may very well be what I end up doing with Xatal as well. Anyway, we have some lore groundwork laid! Look out for the 6th short later today!

In the Works

I still have questions in my inbox that I am absolutely getting to! I've also got a bunch of unanswered tags in my drafts and Notion. Losing a week and a half of planned answer time threw my schedule WAY off. Submission for SSSC #006 is in the planning stage. Hannah and the MILF Squad Get Up To No Good is about 30% written and fully outlined. I have... so many Kryterius prompts left to fill, and so many more spotify wrapped prompts left, send help. Still working on separating out the Daddy Issues smutshots, hoping to finish up the rewrites for the F!Shali one before the end of July. TIPYNTS is most likely going to come out in October, and by then I'm hoping to have a backlog of chapters to make posting more consistent.

From the Skwad:

Door's always open! 18+ writing server for both fanworks and original works! Camp is starting soon! We also have a flash fiction challenge and three bingo cards running until the end of the month!

@teamdilf continues to absolutely baffle me with her productivity here we go: A Cheesy Situation is now complete, ch 16 of Alice's Adventures in Andromeda is live, ch 18 of The In-Laws and the Grandparents is live, A Night in the IKEA dropped which I'm absolutely dying over, and that's not even all of it. holy shit J i don't know how you do it but i'll have whatever you're having thx

@thetrashbagswasteland dropped ch 4 of the Sunseeker rewrite and I'm adsfdafdadsf yes. thank you king

@sparatus is tearing me to fucking pieces with Make Less the Depth of Grief. i hate you (i love you)

@uraniumwriting also obliterated me with their FFF entry.

@wrathbites is back and I'm literally beside myself I missed the Vampire AU so fucking much.

oops @commander-krios got me invested in Star Wars please look at this.

@starknstarwars updated Smuggler's Ruin aaaaaaaaaaaaa

A few of our members participated in Shenko Summer!! @dandenbo wrote Volta and @mrsd-writes wrote both We Got Here the Hard Way and Forever Home!

@regalbois dropped a new original oneshot and has been going bananas over Bioshock lately and gifting us MORE mlm deliciousness, ch 3 of Magnum Opus went live last night.

@inflarescent has a new wippppp aaaaaaa -- intro post for The Roulette Paradox here!

@discoeffect updated Far From Any Road and I am devouring the first book so I can read this one!!

Around the 'Blr:

Have you checked out the Writeblr Directory or Writeblr Cafe yet?

I'm literally still thinking about @captain-kraken's Heitha translator.

@void-botanist dropped some witch lore I'm eating with a spoon.

@tc-doherty ALSO popped off with the conlang.

The dates IRL are lining up with the dates in @elshells's Agent Ace EXCITING also a new chapter is dropping probably by the time I post this lmao

@liv-is dropped this GOLDMINE of relationship writing tips also TIL what Liv does for a living not sorry

@writernopal first of all made me absolutely CRY being sweet in the tags last night and also dropped an aasoaf 3 sneep while i was composing this thank you my friend i needed the energy snack

did y'all see Find the Word XVIII from @artdecosupernova-writing i'm going FERAL

@tabswrites's Silver Sentinels has a second chapter, I am VIBRATING

@oh-no-another-idea just slid in with this little diddy that i LOVE.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Outpost Updates Taglist: @tabswrites @writernopal @freedominique @asher-orion-writes @liv-is @starknstarwars @captain-kraken

Ask to +/- in the tags, replies, DMs, or HERE!

#my fic #outpost updates #in which everyone learns korble cannot talk about himself without also sharing the floor bc anxiety #if i missed you throw something in my inbox or tag me!!#there wasn't a plan for this one but now that i know what i want to do i'll be collecting stuff throughout the week!

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kiliinstinct · 3 months

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Chapter 25:

Rating: R Pairing: Nalu FF.Net || AO3 [Ch: 1] ||| [Prev] | [Next] Happy First Update for 2024! Please remember to give thanks to @phoenix-before-the-flame for being my beta. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Next Update: Jan 24th February Post Dates: 12th and 26th

”Youuu're distracted 'bout somethiiing,“ Cana sang , playfully dropping most of her weight on Lucy's shoulder as she stared blankly into her soup bowl.

Grunting, Lucy struggled to support the added weight before nudging the bowl across the table; to prevent her bangs from enjoying an unfortunate dip in the heated dish. ”Am not.“

Playfully poking Lucy’s side with her elbow, she replied, ”Could’ve fooled me. Makin’ me worry the food isn’t good with how long you’ve been staring at it,” She snorted in amusement and gave another jab. “You didn’t even notice when I sat down.“

Lucy jolted up, knocking their heads together in the rush, ” Ow! Geez, calm down! I was exaggerating.“

”How long was I staring into space?“ Lucy asked, taking stock of the mess hall in consternation. It certainly was more active than she recalled. She bit her lip. Hopefully no one else took note of her obvious distraction.

”I dunno, “ Cana pondered. A familiar smirk toyed at the edge of her lips. “I’d say more like fifty-”

Her shocked groan gave way to the fortune teller cackling, ”That's not an exaggeration, that's an overstatement!“

”Relax, relax,“ Cana mollified, sliding off Lucy’s side to lazily produce a card, held deftly between her fingers. Lucy hadn’t realized she’d taken out the pack, ”I know you didn't mean to ignore your good buddy, so I'm gonna to give you a tiny reading to make up for the teasing.“ She winked, “On the house, of course.”

”Who said I wanted a-,“ Lucy's eyes squinted at the card, baffled when Cana flipped it in her fingers and away from her curious gaze, ”Wait, I didn't see which one it was-“

”You're not the one reading it: I am.“

”But that-“

”Ts-ts-tsh!“ She shushed, covering Lucy's mouth with a finger, ”No complaints. It’s rude to complain about free things. Just eat your food and I'll figure out the rest.“

When the fortune teller began to shuffle her deck with no further prompting or explanation, Lucy pulled her bowl back, pouting as the steam rolled into her face. It was a marvel that her meal was still so hot despite how long it sat while lost in thought. Perhaps it was whatever magic was used to heat it in the first place.

But those thoughts led her right back to square one: Natsu. Cana was right on target when she called Lucy distracted, but explaining what had her out of sorts was an entirely different matter. She didn't know where to begin sifting through the confusing tangle of emotions she was feeling.

What was her priority now? She couldn’t tell.

Taking the first spoonful, she began to mull it over again. Her guilt still plagued her, forever at the back of her mind, twisting her stomach into nauseating knots when she was alone. But Natsu's injuries held her fast and Porly's cutting words stayed cemented in her head. Most of all, was her time spent watching the draconis the day before. She forced the memory from her mind before her face could flush from more than her soup.

It was a miracle the whole village wasn't speaking of it. Gray was true to his word , keeping the scene he’d interrupted quiet. Lucy would have to thank him later. Better him knowing rather than Cana, who was currently sniffing out her secrets like a bloodhound. Lucy dreaded the thought of her full mental ruminations being revealed under the seer’s knowing, mischievous gaze.

A few bites more and she began to unwind, letting the warmth of her meal heat her up from the inside out. The gentle sound of card shuffling melded with the general chatter in the hall and the clattering of utensils through the room became a calming background noise. The soup really was delicious, bursting with flavor. While having no answer to her errant thoughts, the comfort of her surroundings and meal soothed her fraying nerves. Perhaps she should get seconds...

”So you're wanting to ask Natsu something, but don't know how to bring it up, eh?“

Lucy choked on her spoon, wheezing around the wooden utensil as the hot liquid scalded her throat.

”... eww, did that just come out of your nose, Blondie?“

”Cana!“ Mortified, she quickly wiped her face with a nearby rag, whining pitifully as the other laughed uproariously, “T-that wasn't- ... can we pretend that didn't happen?”

“Sure.” Cana's grin was devious. “Tell me what you want to ask Natsu.”

Before Lucy could ask why Cana thought she had something to ask, the fortune teller held up another card. Like before, she pulled it away before Lucy could read it. Though Lucy could’ve sworn she’d seen a circle of cups decorating the front. She knitted her brows together. Did cups mean something?

Cana managed to look offended, lips pursed together as she whined in an over dramatic huff, “I'm hurt, I thought you trusted my skills by now.”

The romni didn't bother replying, opting to raise her brows and stare, dubious of Cana's behavior by now. When she began eating again, Cana continued with a lazy drawl, “Listen, whatever it is, I'm sure I can help ya' figure it out. Or I could tell Natsu how you look with soup shooting out your nose next time I'm watching him. That's your call.”

“You’re not on the rotation.” Lucy replied with a level voice, despite taking a nervous bite.

“I wish.” She rolled her eyes, lips pursing together in a petulant pout, “But Master weaseled me on. I got no say in the matter. Now talk before I use this to make the most out of my babysitting time later.”

A sigh and she slammed the spoon down, face burning brightly, “Has anyone ever told you that you're absolutely insufferable sometimes?”

“That's more like it, now spill!“

Lucy vaguely wondered if Cana was the true gossipmonger of the village or if she just liked having a stranglehold on every secret she could get her sly hands on. Glancing around the hall, she noted everyone too wrapped up in their own discussions to eavesdrop and chewed her lip: considering her options.

Anything to keep Natsu from having more fodder to tease her with, she decided. "... when he was in Porly's hut, he had a lot of nightmares... or memories perhaps.“

”Yeah so? Does this have a point?“ Cana urged, cards dancing in her fingers as she arched them in a perfect bridge and began to shuffle again, ”I was hoping for something juicy you know-“

”He asked for someone named Igneel.”

The cards froze, one almost slipping from Cana’s grasp and Lucy knew she'd struck something. Her nose twitched, face twisting to a hard, neutral expression as she set her deck aside. Cana reached for a mug of ale she'd brought and knocked it back, impressively downing it in one go.

“... so you do know who that is.” Lucy said.

”I needed that,“ She exhaled, voice lowering an octave or two. ”Does he know?“

Lucy squirmed in her seat, uncomfortable with the heavy feeling that surrounded them, dropping her gaze as she pinched the tip of her fingers over and over anxiously. ”No, I don't think so. When I asked, Porly said he was a man long dead, but didn't give me anything more than that. I figure it's his business to tell anyway so I didn't want to pry. It's just...“

”Better to ask him then anyone else,“ Cana finished, finally meeting Lucy's eyes, ”go ahead. Ask him. Maybe you'll probably learn more than we have.“

Lucy blinked, “What's that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly how it sounds.” She explained with a shrug. “We've all caught the name at some point or another, but he's never explained more than Porly's said.“

Lucy hummed a noncommittal reply, thoughts already drifting back into the previous void they'd been in. Something was bothering her and the new information only made it worse. “... I had assumed everyone here was pretty open about their lives, but I suppose not.”

“What’s life without a few secrets? Can’t keep everything out in the open.” Cana said, returning to her deck of cards, “We treat each other like family, sure, but we know better than to push.”

Lucy snorted, “Save when you're teasing.”

“Well, duh, what's a good day without a little teasing?”. She swiped a mug out of Elfman’s hands as he passed by to prove her point. Ignoring his outraged blustering, she took a hearty swig until the taller man stomped away to replace his stolen drink. Lucy marveled at the fortune teller's ability to move her cards with one hand, eyes gleaming, “Besides, you make it so easy.”

With a scoff and bemused stare, Lucy resumed her meal, feeling a touch lighter than before. There were still many things she couldn't wrap her mind around, but at least she had a place to start. She would just have to find a good moment to ask Natsu and hopefully - her grip tightened on the spoon- not cross an unseen boundary.

They fell into companionable silence, with Lucy shoving her now finished bowl aside and

Cana counted her cards before shuffling again, muttering under her breath at every interval. It was a quiet, secure comfort that Lucy reveled in.

Not only from Cana, she realized the same comfort came from those around as well. Whether it be from Wendy's gentle check-ups or Mirajane bringing her along for chores or chatting with her siblings, Lucy couldn't ignore the fact she was settling in.

And while Lucy didn't know just how deep her roots had dug in, she was grateful for every moment of peace. It eased the grief that haunted her for over a year, and offered her the smallest inkling of hope that in time, everything would be far better than it was before.

She desperately wanted to believe that, even if guilt still gnawed in the cockles of her heart. In that silence, she decided she'd put herself on rotation to watch Natsu again. And this time, she'd ensure Makarov didn't take another three days to give it to her.

All things considered, the day was looking to be an easy one. Lucy was full and warm, resting easily on the table with her eyes drooping low from post meal stupor. A nap seemed on the horizon, but a sudden shout from the entrance snapped her awake and grabbed everyone's attention.

“Lucy! Is Lucy here?!“ Levy barreled through the hall, skidding against the ground as she twisted her way around the tables, barely noticing the ones she narrowly missed striking as she passed. Her hair was askew, puffing about her head in static and bits of dust and cobweb clung to her in patches.

Asides from skipping most of the festivities before it was interrupted, the smaller Romni looked as if she'd been buried beneath old books and dust bunnies for the past month. Considering the amount of times she refused to leave her archive, Lucy guessed the assumption wasn't far off.

Bracing herself, she stood, waving the smaller girl over, ”What's going on?“

Cana, reaching out to help brace Lucy's elbow, wrinkled her nose at one of her cards. ”Guess she found somethin-“

Levy came at them too fast, practically crashing into the table as she failed to stop in time. Levy gasped an apology as she hunched over the table with a sharp inhale of air. ”You'd be right! I KNEW I'd heard that story somewhere before.”

“What?” Lucy asked, flummoxed and feeling as if she'd missed a step, “heard what story?”

“Yours!!” She exclaimed, grasping Lucy's shoulders as excitement exuded off her like its own aura. “The one I transcribed for you! It sounded so familiar and I couldn't figure out why, but I found it. You've got to come with me, this is so interesting- erm, I mean,” She paused, cheeks turning red as she realized her passion was currently shouting directly in Lucy's face, “oh, sorry, sorry! Didn't mean to blast you with my breath there.”

“It... it's fine,” Lucy said, feeling slightly dizzy, “You didn't bring it with you?”

Levy reeled back at Lucy’s words in mortification. ”An old document like that is not going anywhere out of my protection charms, are you crazy? No, no, no, you simply have to come with me: right now.“

”What's the big deal,“ Cana asked, stretching her arms over her head, exposing her stomach in the process, ”It's just an old story passed down through clans isn't it?“

”Yes, but this one is from a completely different clan,“ Levy pressed further, biting back another excited squeal, ”yet it tells the same thing and has MORE to it. Seriously, this can't wait!”

She paused, took a deep breath and retracted her last statement, “Oh no, no, wait. It can wait. You probably have chores to do.” Levy’s excitement seemed to dull, she twisted a dangling cobweb hanging for dear life from a blue strand of hair and flicked it away. “It doesn’t have to be now if you have things to do.”

“I'm not all that busy...” Lucy started, glancing back towards the others currently peering from their tables to witness Levy's rising tide of emotions.

“Really? Great!” She chirped, eyes sparkling once more, ”Let's go. Right now!“

Cana was on her feet before either girl moved, cards pocketed and a third mug of ale emptied. (Lucy realized she missed that one being swiped and wandered towards the victim now missing their alcohol.) Clearing her throat, she slapped her hands on Levy and Lucy's shoulders and winked, ”I'm coming too. Been needing some more girl time. What d'ya say?“

Honestly, Lucy felt as if everything was happening all at once. She could barely keep up. Seeing no reason to deny Cana, she nodded and Levy wasted no time grabbing their hands, intent to drag them both out as quickly as possible. It took a hurried reminder from Cana for the transcriber to slow her pace, muttering a sheepish apology to Lucy in turn.

The trek to Levy's archive was faster than it was in the past. A fact that made Lucy proud of her newly growing abilities. The magic was still a faint whisper, but the comforting tendrils came at her call any time she needed a brace for her leg; while the pain she'd grown used to was ebbing away by the day.

Cana was a good companion on their trip, counterbalancing Levy's exuberance with sass and sarcasm, lightheartedly teasing both as they traveled the beaten path. When Levy grew too excited about her collection, the fortune teller would temper her with a cheery pat to her back and wide smile.

“It's been awhile since I've seen you this hopped to share a book, Lev.“ She spoke, voice dripping in sincerity despite the lop-sided, humoring smile.

A faint dusting of red covered Levy’s cheeks, twiddling her fingers through the barest of pouts, ”Look, I know not everyone shares my hobby, but I meant it when I said Lucy would want to hear this so-“

”I love reading,“ Lucy interjected, raising a brow, ”you could talk to me about books anytime you want.“

”Really?!“ Levy's shrill cry sent a few starlings to the air, taking flight from their positions in the trees alongside the road. ”Why didn't you tell me before?“

“You, uh, didn't ask?” Lucy countered lamely.

Their aimless chatter continued as they went, bouncing from idle gossip to fond stories with laughter filling in the gaps. By the time they entered the small haven for Levy's collection, Lucy had almost forgotten the length of time the collector spent looking for just one story.

She thought her first viewing of the library was messy, but Levy apparently had a talent for chaos that put Natsu to shame. It was like a cyclone went off,tearing every book from their shelf and piling them up in uneven stacks. They haphazardly balanced on the floor or were strewn across tables already struggling under the weight of yellowed scrolls and half open novels. There was barely any room for Levy’s small frame yet she found space to weave through with ease, leaving Lucy and Cana stuck by the doorway, too cautious to risk tumbling each stack into a bigger mess.

Cana sneezed as Levy tried to clear a path for them, sending dust billowing into their eyes.

“Sorry!” Levy said, scrunching her shoulders as she tiptoed around the many stacks that blocked the way, “I haven't ... actually reorganized yet.”

Cana's voice was a level monotone when she replied, ”That's obvious.“

”Hmph!“ Levy didn't bother replying, instead ushering the other two after her as she unearthed a couple of chairs for them to use before diving headfirst into the stack piled on the center table. It wobbled dangerously as Lucy rushed to balance it, heaving a sigh in relief when Levy pulled back with a bright smile, books still safely in position.

”Do you need help organizing this later?“ The celestial asked, imagining the hours it would take to make this place normal again.

Levy's smile grew even larger, ”nope!“ She quipped, simultaneously rolling out an old scroll carefully. Its parchment was thick, yellowed with age and torn along the edges, but Levy handled it with the gentle care a mother would their own child.

“This,” She explained reverently, ”This is what I wanted to show you. It's a small myth about the Sun and Moon shared between a clan of fortune tellers.“

This raised not only Lucy's attention, but also Cana's, who’s attention was slowly starting to drift away. Her back straightened and she leaned in close, gluing herself to Lucy’s side to get a better look as she whistled lowly. ”My people huh? I always slept through those stories as a kid, let's hear it then!“

Lucy nodded furiously in agreement, curiosity piqued, but the words wouldn't rise past her ribcage. A sensation of heavy weight began to form in her lungs, robbing her breath as she considered the paper before her. ”A story similar to my clan’s?“

”Erm,“ Levy scrunched her nose and looked at the ceiling, considering her words, ”I think it references yours, actually.“

”What?“ All thoughts and tumultuous questions fell away leaving behind an expanse of empty echoes in Lucy's mind.

How was that possible? Lucy always believed it to be a closed myth. And for it to be shared with a non- celestial clan…. She tried to dig through her memories, but she knew her clan always kept their distance from others. So when…? She couldn't wrap her head around it, sitting stiff as a board with wide eyes. How many more versions of the story existed out there in the world?

The library around her shifted, darkness creeping in at the corners of her eyes and a quiet voice, one she hadn't heard since Kage attacked, whispered in the back of her mind.

'Listen... and learn the truth.'

The truth? Her brows narrowed, face scrunching at the thought. At Levy and Cana's puzzled stares, she realized she'd voiced the question outloud and flushed, feigning dust catching in her throat, she coughed and waved them away, “D-don't mind me, go ahead and read, Levy!”

Sharing a look between each other, Cana shrugged and Levy nodded, both deciding not to pry further. Instead, they settled into their chairs as Levy smoothed the edges of the paper and clicked her tongue.

”I'll try to read it as accurately as I can,“ She muttered, eyes whirling down the paper to eye a few spots in the story, ”It’s a different dialect, one that i’m not so brushed up on, and the writing is a bit smudged in places.“

”You didn't put protections on this one?“ Cana asked, arms crossed, ” tsk tsk Ms. Librarian, that's out of character for you.“

”It was like this when I got it. I protected what I could.“ Levy earnestly defended, shooting Cana a glare in a silent order for the other to shut her mouth. Lucy bit back a giggle as she watched the two of them, calming down now that their focus was no longer directed at her.

”Anywho,” Levy waved her hands over the parchment bringing the attention back to the main topic. She cleared her throat a few times in preparation, “sorry if I don't tell it as dramatically as you do, Lucy: here goes!“

Levy began, eyes narrowed as she carefully translated the faded words; Words that felt all too familiar to Lucy and yet, completely new. They pulled her to the edge of her seat, lulling her to get lost in a story she thought she knew already:

Ages ago, when time first began and the world was new, the Sun and Moon crashed to the land below, shadows of their former selves and banished from the skies. The broken spirits roamed the lands, alone and uncertain what their new lives held.

The moon, an adaptive creature, befriended the world in her travels. She met the trees, the animals, the open seas, and all grew to love her. She was only human, but her gentle light stayed within, calming those around her. In time, she met her own kind: other humans, who traveled the world and studied the writings of the stars. She found a home and stayed, ignoring the empty feeling in her heart that spoke of a piece she'd long-lost.

The sun, so bright and fiery, was not so lucky.

Know this, my listeners, for this is a tale you must learn, lest you allow the fate of the sun to fall upon you. Take heed to my words and know them for the warning they are.

For anger and pain is a dangerous beast and it darkens the hearts of anyone who suffers in its grip. The sun, lost in a world he didn't understand; His memories of his former life were stripped away, leaving behind the sharp, stabbing pain of loss that hollowed his heart daily. At the rising of the bright orb in the sky, he'd suffer again and again, and no matter the distance he traveled, a cure could not be found.

”This pain... is this the truth of this world?“ He asked himself, losing hope of ever being like the others he came across. His body, inhuman, was deformed and monstrous. The animals feared him, the seas and forests refused him the comforts they could provide and nothing could replace the memories he had lost.

In time, he forgot everything but the pain and he learned hate. His body held within it a flame that had clung to his soul even as it shattered, but that heat was now blackened in anger and desperation. Unable to hope, he filled himself with the promise to end his pain no matter the cost.

Even if that cost damages the world. As the earth began to grow and change, and humans learned of language and magic, he leveled the land with his pain everywhere he touched and everyone learned the meaning of fear...

It was during this time that the humans of the land-

”Geez, this makes Lucy's story more sad than it already was,“ Cana muttered, interrupting Levy mid sentence.

She glowered through her bangs, ”Excuse me, I’m trying to tell preserved history here. Are you going to let me finish this or not?“

”Fine, fine, I'll shut up, geez.“

Satisfied, Levy continued.

- the humans of the land began to fight back. This horrific beast of scales and fire was too dangerous to leave alive and they refused to fall victim to the horrors he spread. His anger was a blistering sight, but their will to survive formed like a twisting gnarled tree whose roots settled deep into the earth.

They met the sun with weapons and magic and the sun thrashed them about like ants. The wars waged were of desolation and massacres, staining his once pristine claws and scales a deep red.

But the Sun persisted, for his broken soul found no solace, not even in destruction. Making the world feel his pain in vengeance did not soothe the ache in his bones, nor did it numb the pain the light above gave him. He was a broken, raw beast, still healing from wounds he'd long-forgotten and the world suffered for it.

And the Moon... she knew him from first glance, the empty void in her own heart screaming at the sight of her former beloved. His pain echoed in her ribcage and while she wanted nothing more than to settle his heart and return to the embrace of the soul she once adored, she could not allow her new family to fall. The humans were hers to keep and the Sun's mutual destruction had to end.

Her gentleness was a memory long lost and as her clan looked on, mystified by her fearless approach to this raging monster, the first kindling of hope sparked in their hearts. Her golden hair shone under the sunlight and the sun's eyes cleared at the sight of her.

This. This is what he was searching for. Was it not? He reached a claw towards her and she reached for him, shedding tears as she begged him to calm.

'Please, no more, be at peace and leave these people.'

He listened to her pleas and the attack in his heart came two-fold, one from his damaged soul, the other his drowning guilt.

'Is it you?' He asked, desperate for the answers he'd sought for decades, 'are you what I've been missing?'

Fate is a cruel thing.

When the moon thought the destruction would end, believing her words would reach him, the pain of the sunset struck as the blows of mortal weapons pierced his scales from all sides.

She had provided the perfect distraction and in her horror, the humans she had come to love, pressed upon her Sun with the same rage he'd given them, and his blood drenched the earth in a torrent of rivers.

There was no hope. No solace for the Sun as his life was slowly stripped from him. His last thought as he stared upon the brilliance of the who he'd sought for so long, was one of bitterness, not relief.

After so long, his soul had met the other, and in his moment of weakness, she'd betrayed him.

His final breath became a curse.

'May you meet the same end when next we see each other.'

A death rattle that jarred the bones of all swept the land and as mortals cheered, finally safe, the moon fell to the ground, crying the tears he would never see.

Love is blind, they say, but it's the other side of hate that’s unseen. It twists and reshapes the words and thoughts of those around you. And what once was something beautiful, can become twisted and full of horror.

Remember this, my listeners, before you let the hatred in your own hearts fester and burn. To know pain is to know life, but to drown within its depths is to spread the blood of the first dragon into the bowels of our souls, until nothing, but darkness remains.

Levy’s hushed voice barely registered in Lucy’s ears, the tale had swept her up, tangling her in its words and held her like a vice. Horror filled her throat, choking her from sound and breath.

This wasn't the tale she imagined from her favorite story. This was a fate that spoke only of tragedy, stripping away the hope of a happy ending. And yet, it still rang familiar, an echo of her nightmares that she struggled to make sense of. Nightmares that made her understand the moon’s desperate pleas and hopelessness as tears began to spill down her cheeks as she sat there unmoving.

“That was... '' Cana inhaled sharply, her own eyes red, “well it was something all right. Geez, my own clan…what a bunch of downers.”

Gently rolling up the scroll, Levy gave no comment as she clamped it shut, setting it aside to the only clear spot on the table. “I honestly think there's even more, but I'll have to look for it, I think. That or I just saw them in passing and didn't get to bring them here, but it's amazing right? To find a completely different ending than what Lucy gave?“

”I wouldn’t use amazing for a story like that…“ Cana shifted, unable to sit still as a dreadful silence settled among them. But that silence broke to a sniffle that alarmed her and Levy both.

Lucy's shoulders shook as an uncontainable sadness flooded her, ”... all the moon wanted was to help... and she still lost him in the end. He died thinking she meant for it to happen... That's awful, isn't it?“

In a rush, Levy and Cana both shot from their seats to comfort her, the scroll left behind and forgotten. But no amount of assurances could calm her as the tears continued to fall in rivulets down Lucy's face. She mourned both the Sun and the Moon, and felt their pain as if it were her own.

Something had shifted in the air. A deep mourning that filled the empty spaces between persons and weaved its way through the trees. Those attuned to the magic of the world felt it blanket their senses like a slow moving front of clouds rolling through the sky, forcing tears to gather in the corners of their eyes.

It passed through the village, waking sleeping infants with desperate cries and making many pause in their chores for a moment. It wrapped around the alcove and dipped past the bluffs to bring a silence to the Magnolia Forest, sending the lively fauna for cover and stilled the trees that surrounded a lone warrior still out for blood.

Erza felt it change the taste in the air and frowned. Her hunt, while frustrating, had continued long after she'd lost Kage's tracks. His residual energy had become her beacon, following the weak remnants of it since the day before, but this new sorrow overcame what remained of Kage's aura and left the redhead feeling hollow.

She gulped down an inexplicable urge to sob, eyes watering for a second. Whatever intense emotions that had crossed the area, she couldn't attend them, not when she was so close. She couldn’t afford to lose the weakening trail now Erza pushed onward through the thickets, sifting through the heavy air in search of her prey.

His disappearance, though odd, had led to many other strange occurrences. The bits of metal found in the wood and a taste of water and stars in the air. Magic was thick in the woods, with unfamiliar scents tumbling over one another vying for her attention to leap into action. In a way, her hunt for Kage was a lucky one, as it gave hint to something else brewing in the woods, long before the others would become aware.

A blessing in disguise perhaps, but something about the bits of magic Erza traced felt familiar. It haunted her in a way. Traces of memory from last year's travels weaved in and out of her mind and more than once, she thought of friends she'd made outside of the clan. Traders and information-gatherers alike.

The thought that one of those possible friends having their auras mixed in the miasma she now felt was strange. It filled her with an apprehension that clung to her nerves and raised her awareness to new levels of paranoia.

“I'll have to do another search,” She decided, muttering harshly under her breath, “after I bring that vile man back to the cells.”

If the particles of magic remained as they were, she even considered bringing along a travel partner: just in case.

But if she was to do any of that, she'd have to break free of this purveying sadness that clung to every fabric of her clothes.

Just who or what was amplifying such an emotion? She almost felt as if the world was mocking her, attempting to block her from her quarry.

Erza Scarlet, however, was not a woman to be so easily duped. While disoriented for a few seconds, she reclaimed her aura trail quickly and continued her trek. The mixture of magic was growing stronger, and with her enhanced hearing, she easily caught the echoes of battle from hours ago.

She was close; Too close to fail. And this time, she vowed, Kage would not escape her. His magic would be too weak now, and she was determined to use that to her full advantage.

With the sun on her back and the shadow of the trees covering her, Erza continued her advance, following the trail as it thickened in the air. The sounds of battle were slowly growing loud and - no, not battle, that was hours ago, then what was it?

A heavy crash echoed through the bushes and hills. This puzzling realization sped Erza's pace, anxiety rising as the magic and thuds were soon joined with the familiar smell of blood.

She hated that metallic tang in the air. It brought a twist in her gut and her face paled, recollecting battles from the past that left her shaken and troubled. For her home, she would fight as it was a necessary evil, but the proof of battle never became easier.

Was it Kage, bleeding out? No, if that were it, it would have happened already. She'd grown used to his tracks and injuries, what she sensed now was a different being altogether and the thudding through the trees thundered ever closer the further into the thickest part of the wood she went.

It took only a few more minutes of travel for her to realize that it wasn't just her advancing on the sounds, but the source of it was heading towards her as well.

And it was coming down fast.

She had enough time to brandish her blade, eyes narrowed and body poised for attack when a man stumbled through the bushes, hair tousled, smeared with sweat and old blood, and a hand clasped tightly to his sternum. Red seeped beneath his palm, telling her of a dangerous wound that stained his tunic and cloak. He fell to his knees, panting for air as Erza hesitated her action.

To attack a stranger who was already wounded...

But his hair, the fierce gleam of his eye and the red of a distinctive tattoo etched into the side of his face held her attention. Erza’s blade fell, but she still held it loosely in her grasp. She knew this man, but his appearance foretold of a danger she wasn't quite ready to face.

“... Jellal?” She asked, mystified by his appearance, “What are you doing here? We were supposed to meet when I -”

His cough interrupted her and a shaky hand rose in greeting as he struggled to his feet, “... discuss later, please.” He winced as he leaned against the nearest tree, catching his breath as he quickly tightened a sash over his wounds as a makeshift bandage. “I had hoped it would last long enough to find help, but I clearly overestimated my abilities. It's been a long time, Erza.”

Today was the day of many encounters, she gathered, as her next question was never allowed past her lips due to another, much larger man bursting through the same direction. His clothes were more torn, old from travel, with scraggly black hair twisting wildly down his back. He was less damaged than the other and instinct made her recover her sword to hold it aloft, lips curled back in a snarl.

“Halt! What's your purpose here?” She demanded, angling herself quickly to stand between the man she knew and the other, who laughed at the sight.

“So YOU'RE the one the shadow twerp was so worried about, huh?“ The man smirked, fishing out a small roll of bandages from a pouch on his belt, ”if that dumbass had held still for five minutes he wouldn't be struggling like that. Use this before you start shit.”

”I thought we were in a rush,” he replied, cheeks flushed from more than his jaunt through the woods. He turned his gaze away from the others and sighed, “besides it's not serious.”

“... a wound like that...” Erza deadpanned, eyebrows raised when the feral looking man tossed her the bandages. Reflexively catching the roll, she kept her back to the edge of the woods, keeping an eye on the man as she moved to examine Jellal's wounds, “... isn't serious?”

“You're not going to believe me if you don't see it for yourself, are you?” Jellal asked with a tired, sardonic grin, “Very well. It's been almost a year after all, inspect as you wish.”

Her frown was deep set, but she made quick work of removing his makeshift coverings, eyes glued on the wound with an intensity she was known for. “I was on the trail of an escaped prisoner. Once I'm done here, I'll have to leave.”

The larger man scoffed, eyes rolling, “Tch, no ya' won’t.“

”Excuse me?“

“Handled it.”

Her shoulders sagged in relief, seeing her old friend had told the truth. While bloody, it was shallow, an injury that would heal in time without much issues. With that out of the way, Erza's attention shifted back to the other, gaze narrowed as she considered her options. This man... while traveling with someone she considered an ally... could she think the same of him?

His teeth were sharp, smile too full of them to feel safe, and his red eyes were filled with a bloodthirst she recognized in most enemies. No, despite the odd circumstances, she didn't want to trust him at all and didn't like the fact one of her information traders was traveling with him. None of it felt right.

”And how did you handle it?“ She demanded, searching for any proof to trust the man.

Shifting to allow her space to work around his wound, Jellal grunted and spared a sour glance to his companion, ”Stop beating around the bush, Gajeel. I won't help you if she chooses to strike you for acting out.“

”Feh, spoilsport. Fine, see for yourself.” Hefting what appeared to be a sleeping roll off his back with more force than necessary, Erza was startled to realize a body was wrapped within it. A loud groan echoed as it struck the ground.

Right before her was Kage, unconscious but alive, and finally captured.

“He was already fucked up when he found us,” Gajeel explained, glaring at Jellal with disappointment, “but he put up a rabid fit to hold us off and that moron chose to take the damage rather than risk killing him, so I had to do it instead.”

“He's not our target to kill,” Jellal argued, clearing his throat when Erza moved to examine the body, “... in all honesty, we were looking for your clan, Erza. I won't lie and say us running into this man didn't give us a bargaining chip. We want to enter your village, if you'll let us.”

“And what makes you think I'd allow that?” She asked, voice a harsh whisper, “you've given me no reason to distrust you, Jellal, but this man is an entirely different story.”

“Cause we've got what you want,” Gajeel answered, stepping on Kage's still form with little regard to his health, “Information.”

“So how about it?”

#Fairy Tail Fanfiction #Nalu Fanfiction #Nalu #NatsuxLucy #Natsu Dragneel #Lucy Heartfilia #FT Fanfiction #Fairy Tail #Flame's Desire #Fanfiction #My Writing #My Fanfiction

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