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hauntedadagium · 2 years

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On paper Chancellor Izunia seems like the perfect hostage - a high ranking non-military official who obviously has the emperor's ear. He'd have all the information you could want and fetch a good ransom to boot. But from the start something in you says this is a bad idea. You can't justify it - he's eccentric and mysterious, sure, but he's a diplomat. A glorified pencil pusher, he's not a threat....right? It'll be fine.

THISSSS(!!). Okay so I interpreted this as a prompt because oh boy it gave me the juice I desperately needed to get back into writing so you're awesome thank you—

Interrogation

You finally pulled it off— your team successfully captured the Chancellor of Niflheim and brought him in for questioning. But as you butter him up to deliver the information you need, something changes. Just who is interrogating who, exactly?

(cw: anxiety/panic attacks)

"Thanks." Tugging at the collar of your shirt you loosen your tie, gulping down the nerves prickling heat up the back of your neck.

"He's in room seven," the guard nods down a clinical, white hallway as you remove your suit jacket.

The moment you'd been waiting for had finally arrived. You could now access all of Niflheim's secrets, spilling from the lips of none other than the Chancellor himself. If you were to be successful in garnering the right information from him, you could go down in history— but that wasn't important. The safety of the capital was your priority.

You checked your watch as you approached the room; a thing that was plain and scarcely decorated. All that it contained within was a metal table and chairs welded to the floor, a two-way mirror and a security camera. Sitting for hours in that room would have been just the sensory deprivation you needed to warm him up.

Time was ticking; it wouldn't be long before they would notice he was missing and come to placate their demands. Your answers needed to be swift, and honest alongside that, but rumours of the silver-tongued Ardyn Izunia were rife amongst your crew. You knew prying the truth from him would be a task frought with difficulty, sure. But you never expected danger.

You took a few steadying breaths before opening the door, eyeing him immediately upon entering. They had taken his hat but left him fully dressed, after searching him for weapons or anything he could possibly use to communicate his location. A chain attached to the middle of the table shackled his wrists, which you suspected lay in his lap underneath the table. It rattled as you drew his attention, golden eyes burning as you met his gaze for the first time.

"Chancellor Izunia," you addressed him as confidently as you could, walking over slowly to take a seat opposite. His stony-faced expression met you as you again looked up at his face, watching his silent, subtle movements grace the outline of your body, leaving him with a sly smirk.

"A pleasure," he finally said, deep voice rolling off his tongue with characteristic sarcasm. The chains rattled again as he sat back in his chair and sighed, turning his head to look about the room. "Pity we couldn't have encountered one another under different circumstances. You're quite lovely."

You weren't sure why such panic stabbed your heart as he finished studying the room and settled his eyes on you again. His presence commanded the whole room, as empty as it was, and you were the only thing in it that held his attention.

"Chancellor," You began, ignoring his obvious ploy.

"Please—" he interrupted, "—call me Ardyn."

You cleared your throat, "Ardyn." Staving off a frown, you watched his smile grow at the sound of his name coming from you. "You know why you're here. I won't bore you with the details."

"Oh please do," his typical sing-song tone grated on you. He wasn't taking this seriously at all. "I've got all day."

You knew time was short. He'd continue to play these irritating games with you until either you wore thin or his superiors made demands you simply couldn't refuse.

"I know you're planning to attack Insomnia. You're going to give me the details." You knew a blatant request would fall on deaf ears, but you wanted to carefully study his reaction.

His obvious lack of surprise indicated they already knew that you knew something of the impeding attack. That was the first piece of information, and albeit small, it was important. But what was their game? Knowing of their plan would only mean you could fortify your defenses to be ready for an ambush. How could that possibly benefit them?

"Figured that out all by yourself? My my," Ardyn leaned forward in his chair slightly. "Aren't you a clever girl."

His smile faded completely and you gulped again, folding your arms. You needed to make him sweat somehow, but your leverage was thin. All you had over him was his freedom, and though you were not above torturing people, it was totally against the rules.

Time to play him at his own game. Perhaps if you could ignite some spark of anger or pity, his arrogance would fail him. He would blurt out something untoward and foil himself. It was a weak plan at best, but you hadn't had much time to prepare. His capture was sudden, a result of opportunity, it was a miracle you'd gotten this far. The opportunity simply couldn't go to waste.

"Educate me then, Ardyn Izunia, on why you came to speak of peace and then schemed to put a knife in our backs once it's turned? Why plan an ambush? If your empire is so mighty, you would face us like men."

He twitched. Something so subtle you almost missed it.

"We didn't need to sneak around in the dark and wait to strike, no. But it's all the more fun to stalk an unsuspecting prey." His tone grew dark, leaning further forward over the table in his chair. "The empire will crush you."

You locked eyes. You couldn't even blink. His amber gaze bore into your very soul as you gritted your teeth and prevented yourself from striking him right then and there. He spoke about the oncoming war like it was mere child's play. Like they were guaranteed to win. Like Lucis was a pesky fly atop their perfect Kingdom of Eos.

Withdrawing his hands from his lap, he lay them atop the table.

Wait— your eyes darted between his face and his hands. They were unshackled. Had the team forgotten to chain him up before you went in there?

You felt considerably more uneasy knowing he could stand up, reach for you and touch you at any given moment. There was nothing stopping him from choking the very life from your eyes if he wanted, but wait— the camera, the mirror. People were watching. They would be on him before he could even lay a finger on you.

The panic must have been obvious as your mind turned through all the frantic thoughts at once, and Ardyn cocked his head.

"Is something the matter?"

Shit. You'd wavered. Bad mistake.

"No." You wanted to leave the room and compose yourself but that would only give him the satisfaction of making you uncomfortable. "I'm tired, Ardyn. Why don't you tell me what I need to hear, and I'll let you go? Either that or I can leave you in this flourescent, windowless room until your mind empties and you're begging me to let you out."

You said you weren't above torture; maybe of the physical kind, yes. But the mental kind arguably was worse.

The comment seemed to surprise him as you caught a slight raise of his eyebrows. He joined his hands neatly together and slid them forward. "You mean you won't keep me company?" He pouted mockingly, "We could have so much fun."

You tried to stop yourself from grimacing. Admittedly he was attractive, but he was a monster. The enemy. Even the thought of him touching you made your heart race with disgust.

You needed to stay on topic. Your weak tactics weren't getting you anywhere. "I'll leave you here for hours. Days. Weeks— But you won't know how much time has passed. There'll be no day, no night, no routine. You won't sleep or eat properly. You'll be humilited, being watched constantly, until your mind begins to unravel and your secrets along with it." You leaned forward, "I promise you, Chancellor, that I will get what I want."

"Is that so..." He spoke intentionally slowly, like he was calculating something. Even after your threats, he didn't seem to budge. You knew he was strong of character but his resolve was undeniable. Perhaps you should leave him to rot for a few days, but you didn't know how much time you had before they would come for him.

"I'll make you a deal," he said circling his finger on the table.

You took a deep breath, waiting to hear whatever nonsense he was about to spew. Undoubtedly it would be something trite or ridiculous, if you were any good judge of his character.

"If you insist on keeping me here, then here I must stay, but—" his eyes met yours, "—stay with me for the day. One day. No cameras. No watching. Just you and I."

You shook your head and laid your arms out on the table. "Absolutely not." He was crazy if thought you would agree.

"If you do, I'll tell you everything." His tone was serious, but you couldn't trust him.

"How do I know you won't just lie to me if I'm to comply with this request?" As soon as the words left your mouth, you saw him smirk. He knew you were considering it, and that meant one thing— you were desperate. Short on time.

"We can just... talk." He said with a casual air, waving his hand carelessly. "Would it be so bad?"

"No," you repeated, looking again to his unchained wrists. Attempting to subtly eye the room, you looked into the corner at the security camera. No red light. Odd, maybe it was broken?

You yelped slightly when you felt his fingertips brush yours, immediately withdrawing your hands into your lap. The reaction clearly spurred him on, sitting back in his chair with a satisfied grin on his face.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

You didn't believe him. Nothing was making sense. The shackles. The camera malfunctioning. His strange request. The sheer anxiety was giving you cramps, completely overwhelming your mind until you felt yourself struggling for breath.

Your chest began to heave as the air in the room grew thick, the walls seeming to shrink closer and closer to you. He only smiled as he watched you descend into blind panic, eventually steadying yourself enough to stand and head for the door. You needed to get out. Now.

Your hand wrapped around the doorhandle and pressed.

Locked.

"Hey!" You pounded your fist on it and looked over to the mirror. "Open up!"

Ardyn chuckled and slid his chair back, rising to stand. "Nobody is coming, dear."

You turned to see him stalking toward you. "What the hell is this?" Eyes darting left and right; you could see there was no escape. His burly form dwarfed you as he reached you, gazing down at your panic-stricken face.

"Just spend one day with me," he repeated his request, "and I'll let you go."

Ignoring him you turned and tried the handle again, pushing on it with full force and shaking the doorframe. "Hey!" You called again for your friends, but no-one answered.

"Come now, you'll hurt yourself." Ardyn reached a hand for your shoulder to turn you to face him, but you swatted it away, pressing your back against the door.

"You don't have a choice," He closed the gap between you, tilting his head. "You should have known better than to toil with the empire."

You were fucked, completely out of it, confusion and anxiety sailing through your body so fast you thought you might collapse. Something inside told you to beg for mercy. Locked in a room with a man who could easily overpower you if he wanted to, and by now you understood that nobody was coming to save you.

"A day," you wheezed out, clutching the door handle for support. "One day and you'll let me out."

"I promise," that snakeish grin returned. "You look pale, dear. Why not take a seat?"

Reluctantly you complied, staggering back over to your chair and slumping down into it. Defeated, you hung your head, vision swimming with stars. How could he turn the tables so quickly; one moment you were pressing him for informing, and the next he had you squirming in his hand. It was almost as if he'd planned this.

You must have semi-blacked out as you heard the rattling of chains and the cold snap of metal around your wrists, opening your eyes to see two large, metal restraints wrapped around them.

Immediately you tugged backward, painfully clawing at the clasp to try and pry them open.

Ardyn sat down slowly opposite you. "Behave, and I might think about taking those off." He slipped a key into his pocket. "Now, where were we?"

#asks #ardyn izunia #ardyn lucis caelum #ffxv #ardyn x reader #anon i love you #this was so much fun #kinda wanna do pt2

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wardenred · 7 months

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Angstober 2: Anxiety

A direct sequel for that first one, with a different POV.

“But it should be Norra, then, not I,” was the first thing Alita said when she heard her uncle’s proposal. It only made sense, didn’t it? Norra was three years older and already yearning for marriage, except she frowned at all the courtship opportunities their cluster of little villages offered. The odds here may be good, but the goods are odd, she kept saying, and even though she sometimes allowed one of the few upstanding young men to accompany her to a holiday market, she always returned from such outings with a frown. She dreamt of a different life, one of balls and splendor, the kind they had in the faraway, nebulous before.

Alita, meanwhile, was too young to remember most of it, and whatever hazy memories surfaced sometimes—usually when she was sick or in pain—she could never apply them to the person she was. She had no desire for balls, royal hunts, or leisurely salon mornings. A homebody by nature, she got overwhelmed even by the country fair after the first hour. Romance held no appeal to her, either. Whether it was because she was a late bloomer at seventeen or because it was merely not for her remained to be seen.

At any rate, she neither needed nor wanted the capital. The thought of her uncle going there was unsettling enough. Who would she play chess with? Who would teach her magic? Who would coax her out of the house for long walks down the river bank, pointing out birds and squirrels to each other? Still, she knew she couldn’t reasonably beg him to stay, not when the King himself had traveled all the way here to fetch him. But at least everything else would remain familiar once he left.

If she came with him, there would be no more comfort.

She opened her mouth to start explaining, but the look on her uncle’s face stopped her: urgent and high-strung, much like the turmoil bubbling behind her sternum.

“No,” he said gently. “I cannot take Norra. She would enjoy the capital a little too much, I should think; get ensnared by its joys and glitter. Under other circumstances, I wouldn’t wish anything less for her. But this is no pleasure trip, Alita. I won’t force you to come if you don’t want to, but I have to say this: I need you by my side. Because—” He leaned in, and Alita was struck by how pale his skin was. “I don’t trust the King.”

Alita’s eyes widened. Her stomach churned, and she hugged herself tight—for comfort as much as to conceal the trembling in her fingers. How could he say such a thing? The King was—he was everything to the country. He was the one who kept the Corruption at bay, who appeased the gods on the behalf of all people, who controlled the ebb and flow of magic under the great moons. No reason could feasibly exist to mistrust him.

Otherwise, they were all doomed.

Besides, a treacherous voice whispered at the back of her mind, in the unlikely event there’s any truth to this brash claim, wouldn’t it be kinder of Uncle Rythan to let me stay home?

Her uncle reached out to put a hand on her elbow. His fingers weren’t still, either. “I know I’m asking a lot of you, Alita. You don’t even have to decide right now. Dwell on it until morning, if you have to. I would of course prefer that you got some sleep instead, but...” His mouth quirked in a tiny lopsided smile, a sad smudge of mirth. “We are too alike, you and I, for me to seriously suggest it.”

Alita drew a long breath and counted to five before releasing it. “What would be required of me?” She could barely hear her own voice over the pounding in her ears.

“Be there. Listen. Watch. Share your thoughts with me, but only when we’re certain no one’s eavesdropping.” Uncle Rythan hesitated before adding, “And should I say so, ride home and help Norra assume permanent command of the estate as the new lady.”

Alita wished she could say she didn’t understand the implications. A thousand awful scenarios swirled in her head, each more catastrophic than the last. She tried to throttle them for now. Sleep indeed would be elusive tonight, anyway. She would get to untangle those terrors at night, with her diary, and that pretty green ink that smelled like peppermint, and probably calming tea.

But out of all the horrible futures she could envision, the one where her uncle ventured off alone looked the worst by far.

“I’ll go,” she said. A shiver ran up her spine, like an echo from his sigh of relief.

#warden's random scribbles #writeblr #original fiction #snippet #angstober2023 #day 02 #writers on tumblr #my writing #fantasy #family #anxiety

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ackerslut · 3 years

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of all i am made of (perhaps you are too)

ao3

Hugo does not believe in soulmates.

To be fair, he doesn’t much believe in anything but the feeling of coin in his pocket and the clever bite of his dagger. What use has he for god and destiny when he carves his own path of lies through time, with a sharp tongue and a cocky smile.

Why should Hugo believe the universe would gift him a soulmate when it already has made it perfectly clear that nothing is free?

Besides soulmates are rarities of the past--legends and folktales on the lips of elders and religious fanatics; the former clinging to superstition from the od era, the latter feeding false promises and hope to the instupid masses.

Soulmates are for hopeless romantics and tiny children. Not for Hugo.

“That does not surprise me,” Nuru says, the beginnings of a smile forming on her face.

She’s lying down in the golden field where they’ve set camp for the night. The contrast of the bright yellow against her dark skin is stunning-particularly in the moonlight, with her dark hair fanning out about her head.

Hugo, who is sitting upright a few paces away and playing with his daggers, frowns.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks, unsure if he should be feeling defensive or not.

Nuru folds her arms beneath her head, propping herself up enough to make eye contact with him. “Even if you had a soulmate, you wouldn’t know what to do with them,” she scoffs.

He snorts. “ You believe in soulmates?”

“Is that so surprising?”

“Yes, actually. I thought you were the rational one in this party.”

Nuru gives him an expression that indicates how stupid she thinks he is. “I might be the only person who can keep their head in a crisis, but that doesn’t mean I can’t believe in a higher power, Hugo.”

She rolls over, so that she’s laying on her stomach, facing him. “Burning stars fall in my homeland every year. There are stories of a sun princess who’s tears heal the dead. Varian somehow hasn’t strangled you yet. I think you’d better start believing in a god.”

“Or soulmates apparently,” Hugo mutters.

“Or soulmates,” Nuru says. “Would it really be that far-fetched?”

“Do I believe there’s someone out there who shares my dreams? Or has my name written above their heart? Hard pass, Princess.”

“Alright then, how about sharing the same soul?” Nuru asks, folding her hands together and resting her chin on them. “You’re telling me that doesn’t sound at least a little romantic?”

“I don’t have a soul.”

“Now that,” she says, a grin stretching across her face, “that I can believe.”

___

“I think Anya’s my soulmate,” Yong says dreamily, staring at Varian’s redheaded cousin like she hung the fucking moon.

Hugo, despite secretly adoring the round child, rolls his eyes. Hard. “Do you even know what that means?”

“It means we share the same time threads,” Yong replies distractedly.

Varian and Anya are nerding out over something-something Hugo would find interesting or fun to mock them over, but right now, for some reason, he’s more interested in Yong’s adorable-if not misguided-crush on Varian’s little cousin.

“Time threads,” Hugo laughs, cracking his knuckles. Yong winces at the noise, momentarily taking his eyes off the two babbling alchemists. “Alright, color me curious. What are time threads?”

Yong frowns. “You’ve never heard of time threads? Every child in Koto learns about them.”

Ah, must be some religious poppycock only spread in the fire kingdom.

“Well, I’m not a child living in Koto, am I?” Hugo replies lightly. “Spill, little pyro.” He pokes the kid in the shoulder repeatedly until he gets swatted.

“Her lady, Odiyesi, spins a thread for each person,” Yong recites in a sing-song voice. “This thread contains the beginning, the middle, and the end of our lives. If she so chooses, two threads will be intertwined-maybe even beyond the Snip, if she wills it.”

“The Snip?”

“Oh yeah, that’s when you die,” Yong says, side eyeing Hugo.

Hugo ruffles Yong’s hair. “And you think Anya is your thread partner. That’s so cute .”

Yong ducks out from under his hand, scowling. “Why did you ask if you don’t even believe it?” he mumbles, face pink.

“You know what I think?” Hugo asks, pretending like he doesn’t hear Yong. “I think you should go right up to here and tell her all that. Give her a heads up about your eternally bound souls.”

“Your soul is eternally bound to the underworld,” Yong shoots back, with a surprising amount of fire.

Hugo bursts into laughter. “That,” he says, “is the first thing you’ve said all day that makes sense.”

___

“What do you think about soulmates?” Hugo asks mildly. He has a glass of wine in one hand, but he’s barely tasted it. Instead, he stands, staring out the stained glass window and into the courtyard.

Donella, sitting behind her desk, looks up from Varian’s Ulla’s journal-recently procured by Hugo.

The amount of deception and sneaking around he’d gone through to actually get it out of Varian’s line of sight had been painstakingly difficult. And it had been even harder coming up with an excuse to Nuru why he needed to spend the night somewhere other than their current lodgings.

He doesn’t really remember the lie. Just the trust in the Princess’s face when she’d briefly patted him on the shoulder, telling him to be back by sunrise.

Donella closes the journal with a snap, leaning back in her chair. “What a curious question. And from you, no less.”

When Hugo turns around, she’s smiling that sharp smile-the one that makes his stomach plummet with discomfort. Something in him churns at that dangerous expression now, unsure of what he’s suddenly gotten himself into.

He gives a casual shrug, raising his glass to his lips. “Just making idle conversation, I suppose.” The wine tastes terrible. Still, he takes another sip before setting it down on an end table.

“Hmm.” His mentor eyes him skeptically. “What do I think about soulmates?” she muses, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I suppose the proper answer would be that I hate them.”

He frowns. “So you don’t believe in them?”

“You can’t hate something you don’t believe in, Hugo. Of course I believe in soulmates.” Donella must see the surprise in his expression because she laughs after a brief pause. “I would be hard pressed not to believe in them after seeing it with my own two eyes.”

Hugo blinks, startled. “You met someone with a soulmate?” he asks, disbelieving.

“You could say that.”

“How do-how did you know they were-”

She opens the stolen journal again, long scared fingers deftly flipping back to her reading place. “Because I could feel when she was in pain. Now shut up, Waif, I still have three quarters of this tedious reading to get through and only five more hours to do it.”

___

Even though Eugene has decided to make the conscious effort not to kill Hugo, the guy still shows mild animosity. And by mild, Hugo-of course-means that he drags him around, making him do tedious tasks and scowls whenever he gets close to Varian.

Whatever. It’s not as if Hugo’s going to complain, considering that it’s mostly his fault there was a demon monster briefly unleashed onto Corona that destroyed most of her capital city. As long as Varian isn’t blaming himself, Hugo calls it a win.

So he lets the Prince Consort drag him around the city and put his alchemy to work.

“You don’t have to stay,” Hugo says, at one point, when it becomes apparent that even though Eugene has no idea how alchemy works , he was still going to hover. “I’m not going to cut and run.”

The man had snorted. “Yeah, I already figured that one out for myself,” he’d muttered and then proceeded to not explain what that meant.

So here Hugo is, with an ever present shadow, hovering like he’s a fucking five year old. Hugo honestly doesn’t see what Varian sees in the guy-or Queen Rapunzel for that matter. She looks at the ex-thief like he hung the moon and all the damn stars in the sky.

“It’s because they’re soulmates,” Eugene’s buddy-Lance, Hugo thinks-had said when he caught him staring.

Hugo had scoffed.

Now, bored and overheated after a long day’s work, Hugo watches Eugene frown over some blueprints in the Queen’s study. Hugo’s not exactly sure why he has to be present for this particular part of the renovation project, but he’s too tired to protest.

“Are you and the queen soulmates?” he hears himself asking.

Eugene lifts his head, eyes alight with surprise. He glances back down at the blueprints once, before leaving the table to join Hugo by the open doors leading to the balcony.

“Weird question, coming from you,” he snorts, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms. “But yes. We are.”

Hugo doesn’t know what to make of that. “How do you know?”

The older man hesitates, something like understanding dawning on the man’s face. A small smile crosses lips. “Have you ever met someone that no matter how many times you tried to walk away, you couldn’t?”

Hugo swallows.

“That’s how I know. Now,” he claps Hugo on the shoulder. “If you’ll stop messing around, I need your opinion on whether Yong’s demolition idea or Varian’s solvent solution is going to work best for the lower district’s avalanche problem.”

___

At the end of all things-or perhaps the beginning-Hugo finds Varian on a rooftop.

It’s not hard to find him, as when Varian is brooding, he likes to perch. It’s a habit that the alchemist has either picked up from spending most of his time in a castle with high roofs or perhaps it’s born of chasing his dumb racoon into precarious positions.

Either way, Hugo learns early into his friendship with the darkhaired boy, that when he’s being introspective, he likes to pick a high roof and perch like a fucking woodland creature.

So when Varian goes missing in the middle of Corona’s lantern festival, it takes precious few minutes to find him.

“You are so predictable,” Hugo says, dropping down next to him. Heights don’t usually bother him, but the castle is impressively tall.

The other alchemist doesn’t really seem to mind, however. He lets his legs dangle over the edge, occasionally swinging in the air.

“Or maybe I wanted you to find me,” Varian replies easily. His head--tilted up, toward the stars that are mirrored in the constellations of freckles on his face-is wearing a peaceful expression.

Something in Hugo’s chest clenches tightly at the sight of it. There was a time, not too long ago, where he was convinced he’d never see Varian happy again.

But now, Varian turns his face toward Hugo and offers him a smile. “Or maybe I’m just predictable to you.”

The tightness in Hugo’s chest dissipates. What is left aches for something he can’t have.

“Or that,” Hugo says, instead of doing something stupid like trying to hold Varian’s hand or kiss the stupid expression off his face.

Varian turns back to the stars.

“You know, they say shooting stars fall in the direction of your soulmate.”

Hugo rolls his eyes. “Not you too,” he groans, eliciting laughter from his friend. “I thought out of everyone, you would be on my side here.”

“Aw, don’t believe in soulmates?” Varian teases, grinning boyishly. “Sun and moon, I should have expected that.”

“Yeah?” Hugo raises his eyebrows. “How so?”

“You’re so cynical. And not in the way Cass is-she’s like realistically -cynical. You’re just oh poor me I could never have a soulmate because my soul is made of garbage -”

Hugo clamps a hand over Varian’s mouth, shrieking when he tries to lick him. “I- stop -I don’t have to listen to this slander -”

“-and if you ever did find your soulmate you would be insufferable about it,” Varian goes on, catching Hugo’s wrist when he tries to silence him again. “You would spend the entire time trying to prove to yourself and everyone else that there was no possible way they could be your soulmate and when you couldn’t you would-”

He stops. Blinks at Hugo with realization dawning across his face.

Hugo’s wonders if Varian can feel his pulse racing where the smaller boy’s fingers wrap around his wrist.

“Yeah? What would I do?”

Varian’s lips purse. “I don’t know what you would do. I’d hope you would be smart about it.”

He lets go of Hugo.

Hugo immediately misses his warmth.

“And what would be the smart thing.”

“Well,” Varian draws out the word thoughtfully. He scoots close enough to Hugo that if the taller boy wanted he could wrap and arm around his shoulder. “Well, an excellent start would be telling them.”

“And how would you tell them? If it were you,” Hugo adds quickly, when Varian shoots him a questioning look.

Varian leans back on his hands, head tipped back, exposing his throat to the sky. “I would tell them my heart started beating at the same time as theirs when we touched. That there’s a silver dagger inked on my shoulder that burns when they’re angry and sings when they’re sad-”

“Varian.” Hugo’s heart clenches so hard he briefly wonders if he’s having a heart attack.

“-I would tell them that I dreamed in color the first night we lay side by side in the forest,” Varian goes on, ignoring him. “I would tell them that when we touch I see every color-even the ones that don’t belong here.”

“Varian.”

Hugo’s hand finds his soulmate's.

Varian turns his head to the side slightly, finally meeting Hugo’s eye. With his free hand, he cups the side of Hugo’s neck, tentatively.

“I would tell him that our souls are made of the same thing.” He smiles gently. “It’s just science, Hugo.”

Hugo laughs, pressing his forehead into Varian’s. “How is that the most romantic thing you’ve said yet?”

“Because you’re a closet nerd,” Varian says, right before he leans in.

Underneath a starlit sky, Hugo kisses the boy made of the same stuff as him.

___

#varigo #hugo vat7k #varian #nuru vat7k #yong vat7k #eugene fitzherbert #my fanfic #vat7k fanfic #tts #tts fafic

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savingprimrose · 3 years

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Hey there, I see youre asking for prompts and I had this idea a few nights ago: the survey corps soldiers are in a mandatory ball or smth like that for the military, and Levi sees the guys that hires him to kill Erwin all those years ago and he gets super pissed (because if he hadnt entered the corps he probably would have been sentenced to death for all his crimes, and then this rich guy plots to kill a high ranking military and a few years later he is free and partying like nothing ever happened.) Everybody sees he is in a sour mood, and Petra aproaches him to ask why and comfort him, whether he tells her what happened or not.

Anon, I'm so sorry it took me months. 🥺👉🏼👈🏼

I hope you like it!

READ ALSO ON AO3

Levi Ackerman hated going to Mitras for precisely two reasons.

One, he hates the rich, snobby people of the upper class.

And two, he hates parties.

And just socializing in general.

Talking to people makes his head hurt. And one of the main reasons that the Scouting Legion even goes to Mitras is, well, for number 2. And if number 2 is the reason why they’re being summoned to the capital then most likely number 1 is involved as well.

And well, you could say that Levi Ackerman will be having the worst time of his life. Thinking about schmoozing up to the rich - and expecting to dance with them with his two left feet - is making him wish he’d be eaten alive by a titan instead.

Levi sulks at the edges of the ballroom, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. He fishes out his pocketwatch from his coat pocket and curses under his breath, he’s only been here for literally 30 minutes and yet he feels as if he's been stuck in this cursed place for all of eternity.

Erwin has left him to go talk with Zachary and the other commanders, Hange is talking the ears off of some noble about titan research and hoping to get much-needed funds for the next expedition, while Mike and Nanaba are having the time of their lives - drinking and dancing.

And his whole squad is missing. He hasn't caught sight of them since the moment they stepped through the threshold of the palace.

"I'll go and fetch us some drinks, Captain."

Eld had said 30 minutes ago. He hasn't returned since.

"And I will get us some snacks."

Oluo had said right after but knowing him, he's probably trapped some new recruit in a corner and started flirting with them.

Levi wonders where Gunther and Petra are. They went off to dance around the same time Eld and Oluo excused themselves. He stands on his tiptoes and cranes his neck in search of them, quickly spotting Gunther on the other side of the ballroom, headed towards who he thinks is Eld.

Petra, on the other hand, is still missing.

Levi sighs and lowers himself back on his heels, slipping his pocketwatch back in his coat.

He decides to hunt down his squad - just so he can bid them good night. He's not needed here, anyway. And his headache is killing him.

Levi opts to find Petra first since he already knows where the boys are. He makes his way around the perimeter of the ballroom, looking this way and that for the familiar flash of sunset-colored hair.

He thought it would be easy to spot her from across the room with her hair but that has proven itself difficult with the number of tall people around and it pisses him off. He has gotten elbowed too many times in one night for his liking and Levi clenches his jaw tight.

Fuck tall people.

He decides to get some fresh air before trying to look for Petra again. He is nearing the balcony when he hears a familiar giggle behind his back and whirls around only to collide with yet another tall person who can't even be bothered to look at where they're going.

The collision caused a vein to pulse in his temple, making his headache even worse than it already is.

"Pardon me. I didn't see -"

The man stops mid-sentence upon seeing Levi's face and Levi has never wanted to kill a person so hard in his life than this very instant.

“I see you’re still alive, Levi,” Nicholas Lovof smirks, looking down his long nose at him.

Fuck this tall bastard most of all.

Levi’s blood begins to boil, “I see that you're out of prison you crusty old piece of shit."

Lovof laughs and Levi felt his hands twitch by his side, itching to punch the older man in the face.

“There’s nothing money can’t buy, Levi.”

Levi balls his fists and grits his teeth, doing everything he can not to slip the dagger out of his waistband and slit the bastard’s throat open right then and there. Levi hates how money makes the world go round. If he did not join the Scouting Legion he would've been thrown in jail for all the crimes he's committed and for all the people he's killed.

He would probably even be dead by now.

Lovof sneers, “What? Nothing to say to that, street rat?”

“Get out of my sight,” Levi seethes, each syllable laced with hatred and disdain. His hand subconsciously moving to the dagger at his waist.

Lovof's eyes dart to the movement of Levi's hand and his face breaks into another shit-eating grin, “You can’t kill me. You can’t even kill Erwin.”

A growl rises at the back of Levi’s throat just as a delicate hand wraps around his elbow, stilling his movement.

“Captain! There you are!”

His eyes fly to the hand curled around his elbow and he instantly knows who it belongs to. Levi watches as the hand slides down his forearm to cover his right hand and take it away from the dagger’s hilt.

He lifts his gaze from it and locks eyes with Petra as she squeezes his right hand with hers, “Dance with me."

She then turns to Lovof with a smile plastered on her face, "Excuse us, sir. I believe my captain owes me a dance."

Lovof smirks and raises his wine glass at him in a mock salute.

Levi nearly lunges at the old man but Petra squeezes his hand tighter to restrain him before leading him away from Lovof and into the throng of people in the middle of the ballroom waiting for the string quartet to resume playing music. The quartet begins playing a soft melodic piece that Levi thinks is more aptly played at a wedding.

“You know I don’t dance, Petra,” Levi nearly growls, still angered from his run-in with Lovof.

“Indulge me,’ Petra says as she transfers his right hand to her left and places it on her waist. She does the same with his other hand and leads him to sway alongside the couples beside them. She loops her arms around his neck and feels how tense his shoulders are. She gives him a small smile, one that he doesn’t notice as he is still adamant in glaring daggers at Lovof’s back.

Petra sighs as she leads him along in the dance. She knows that her captain hates social events but she has never seen him so close to stabbing a person in front of hundreds of people.

“Captain. Talk to me,” she whispers as she caresses his nape with her thumb, the gesture surprisingly tender and intimate and it catches Levi’s attention - his gaze finally drifting back to hers.

Levi relaxes a fraction as she continues to knead at his neck.

“That bastard should be rotting in prison,” He grumbles, hands tightening around her waist.

Petra nods, encouraging him.

”He’s -” Levi swallows, tries to contain the anger rising up within him, “He’s the reason why Isabel and Furlan are dead.”

Oh.

Petra knows about them - about Isabel and Furlan. They were Levi’s family before joining the Scouting Legion. She knew that they died in their first expedition outside the walls but that was it - that was all her captain has told her.

Levi sighs and proceeds to tell her the rest of the story, of how Lovof tracked them down and gave them a job to kill Erwin all in exchange for health care for their friend Yan and citizenship above ground.

“The Scouting Legion was coming for us whether we accepted the offer or not.”

Levi takes a deep breath and stops their slow dancing while the couples around them continued on, “Citizenship on the surface was all we ever wanted, Petra.”

He opens his mouth to continue but closes it again, realizing that they look like fools - standing in the middle of the ballroom while couples around them danced.

Levi takes Petra’s hand then and leads her away from the merriment and out into the balcony. He lets go of her and leans against the balustrade, tipping his head back to stare at the star-studded sky.

"They told me to trust them and that they will make it out of that expedition alive, that we will finish doing the job together and live the rest of our lives above ground.”

Out here under the starlight, he is more open, more vulnerable.

Petra remains silent and lets her captain tell his story uninterrupted. She is content listening and just being there for him - whenever and wherever he needs her.

She tips her head back as well, admiring the way the stars glittered against the pitch-black sky as Levi continued.

“I trusted them.” Levi swallows, "But they died, anyway. I -"

There's a tremble in his voice and Petra sneaks a glance at him and the look on his face shatters her heart.

Levi bows his head and whispers, “I couldn’t save them, Petra. I couldn’t give them the life they wanted.”

A moment passes in silence before a laugh escapes Levi's lips - mirthless and hollow.

Levi turns to face her then, "But no regrets, remember?"

She searches his eyes and wonders how he truly feels. He says these things but his eyes say otherwise.

Petra gives him a small, sad smile, and nods.

"Yes, captain. No regrets."

#rivetra #rivetra fanfic #levi x petra #levetra #rivapeto #ANON I'M SORRY #forgive me i love u #mine #clarza writes

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wannabe-fic-writer · 3 years

Text

All Over Again - Chapter 4

Summary: What was lost can be found.

Warning: 18+ Smut, Language, Violence.

I was in the holiday spirit so I wrote this chapter. Kind of just filler stuff and LOTS of fluff. Enjoy!

Ch. 3

* * * * * *

“Awe, look at you in your fall colors.” You tease.

Wanda laughs, eyes on something ahead of her before she focuses on you,“ Laura gave me the scarf. I didn’t realize how cold it’d be today.”

You find your eyes looking at the window of your hotel,“ is it snowing there?”

Instead of answering, she flips the camera and you see the mix of leaves and snowflakes falling.

As beautiful as National City is, you admit you miss the weather in New York. The snow and leaves falling added to the holiday spirit. The white and shades of red screamed Thanksgiving.

“You could always come back, at least for the day.” Your friend says, the camera turning back.

With a shake of your head, you tell her,“ I’d never make it back in time. Besides, Lena insisted I spend the day with her.”

The brunette wiggles her eyebrows playfully. Only for her jaw to drop at the expression on your face.“ Oh my god you like her!”

“What? No.” You try to play it off with a laugh.

Good ole Wanda though, she can read you like a book(without the powers).“ That’s why you were so eager to go back to NC. You have a crush!”

“No I-” do you?

The idea isn’t far fetched. Lena’s an incredibly attractive woman. Intelligent, caring, ambitious, funny, genuine. But you have far too much going on with your emotions to even consider liking someone. Right?

Were you not just telling Natasha how much it sucks to see her with Bruce? How could you go from hating to see that to suddenly liking someone? Is that really how your emotions are choosing to work?

Escaping the onslaught of thoughts, you find Wanda smirking at you.“ You like her.” She says with a nod and smile.

“Doesn’t matter whether I do or not. There’s too much going on for me to be exploring something like that.”

She scoffs,“ yeah right. As we speak you’re on vacation. There’s no greater time to explore. And if you like her, you deserve to pursue it. If anyone should get a chance at happiness, it’s you.”

Damn. Could you have asked for a better best friend?

“Have I told you that you’re one of the few things I’m thankful for Wan?”

Blushing a little, she tells you,“ you hadn’t but I knew already. I’m thankful for you too, I-” a sudden swirl of emotions race through her eyes, red magic flickering with it,“ I don’t know what I would’ve done without you these last few years.”

“You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, but I’m glad I could be there for you.”

It’s quiet on her end for a moment before she can pull a smile,“ love you Y/n, Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Love you too Wan and Happy Thanksgiving.”

With an over exaggerated kiss blown to the screen, Wanda hangs up, the lingering picture of her smiling face on your screen before it goes back to the generic wallpapered home screen.

You take a second to yourself, eyes trained on the city outside.

There may not be any snow, but NC definitely has its own way of showing the holiday spirit. In that, a lot of the skyscrapers have large light displays on them. And where there are trees, the orange, red, and yellow leaves fell from them.

Eventually, you get up to get ready. Taking a shower and putting on an outfit that reflects the season and holiday.

Having everything you need, you call a car, waiting for it in the lobby with a cup of coffee. Once in the car, you let Lena know you’re on your way.

It leaves you a little unnerved when she doesn’t reply as fast as usual. In fact she doesn’t reply at all but her doorman let’s you up so you know she’s home.

When she pulls her door open and you take in her slightly frazzled state you frown.

“Should I have waited to come by? Is everything okay?”

Lena’s heart melts at the worried expression on your face, a smile forming,“ no it’s fine I just, I forgot most restaurants are closed on Thanksgiving.”

A gasp leaves your lips,“ Miss Luthor,” you press a hand to your chest,“ take out is not a proper Thanksgiving meal.”

Her mouth opens to reply but seeing your expression has her keeping it to herself.

The few nights you’d spent here, you know Lena doesn’t keep her fridge and cupboards stocked.“ Come on, we’re going shopping.”

Lena will admit, she had a bit of a slow moment, wondering what shopping would do to solve the food issue. Arriving at the store though, she realizes you meant grocery shopping.

Walking around the store with you pushing the cart is probably the most domestic thing Lena’s done in a long time. She finds herself falling in deeper with you as she sees how, almost childlike you are: riding on the cart every so often, throwing completely unnecessary snacks inside, and doing small little celebratory fist pumps when you find exactly what you need.

“Okay,” Lena breaks the quiet,“ are you secretly a chef outside of being an Avenger?”

Currently the two of you stand in her kitchen, smooth jazz playing through the room’s speakers, Lena’s usual glass of wine on the counter mere inches from your glass of bourbon, as you prepare dinner. Admittedly Lena isn’t all that good at cooking, so she’s slightly fascinated with how easily you move about.

You raise an eyebrow, fingers sprinkling seasoning over the Cornish Hens,“ what’d you mean?”

“I just- you seem to be really good at this.” She gestures to you and the spread of food in front of you.

Shrugging, you tell her,“ I just learned from my dad. He literally taught me everything I know.”

There goes that tone again. Your voice sounding far off. You reminiscing.

You slide the pan into the oven, setting a timer, and looking back with a smile, nodding for Lena to come over.

She stands at your side, arms brushing with every move as you raise the lid off the skillet, steam rising from it,“ now don’t go sharing this recipe with anyone Miss Luthor.”

The CEO chuckles,“ well if it’s good I’ll have to capitalize on it.”

You laugh, eyes shutting with the action. So you miss the look Lena gives you, pride at being the reason you’re laughing and a longing to make that smile last.

From there you tell and show her the way you’d been taught to make yams: nutmeg, brown sugar, vanilla flavor, and butter. Then turning them over so the seasonings reach all the vegetables.

Grabbing a smaller spoon, you scoop some of it up, and hold it out to her. A hum of approval leaves Lena’s lips at the taste of it.

“That’s incredible.”

You watch the way her tongue runs over her lips, catching the remnants of the food, and resisting the urge to reach out and run your thumb across the pink muscle.

Opting to nod and jokingly say,” oh I know.”

She laughs with a shake of her head.

It goes like that as you continue to cook. Once a dish is done, you give Lena a taste and she tells you how great it is. Until you’re setting it all out on the table in front of where Lena set out the plates and silverware.

You both fix your plates and refill your drinks before sitting down.

“I’ll admit, this is a million times better than take out.”

While you hadn’t mentioned it before, you have to now,“ please tell me this isn’t the first time you’ve had a home cooked meal for Thanksgiving.”

The CEO shrugs, a sad smile covering her lips as she says,“ well I’ve spent the last two in my office.”

You raise your eyebrows,“ and before then?”

“Meals were made by the chefs. And holidays with my family were usually, well awkward. With the tension between myself and my mother and Lex’s silence. . .”

Reaching over, you cover her hand with yours,“ family can be tough. But from what I’ve seen it seems you have a decent one.”

The brunette looks at you quizzically. Did you not hear what she just said?

“Not the Luthors,” you clarify,“ I mean your chosen family. Kara, Alex, everyone else. They care a lot about you and you love them too.”

Lena smiles fondly at that. It’s true.“ And here I’ve yet to see your family, related and chosen.”

“As far as my given family goes, it’s just me and a few distant cousins. My mom was never around much and my dad passed years ago. Right after I’d graduated college actually.”

There’s the confirmation of her thoughts. Though she wishes it’d come at a different time.

She tries to lighten the mood,“ chosen?”

“Also complicated,” you chuckle,“ there’s all kinds of dynamics going around with them but we have each other’s backs in the end. I’d give my life for everyone one of them.”

“Anyone in particular?” She finds herself having to ask.

Praying silently that there isn’t. At least not in the way she’s referring to.

You nod with a smile,“ Wanda. She’s my best friend. A sister really. We’ve been close since she joined the team.”

She smiles for two reasons. One: you’re single. Two: it’s cute that you have someone like that.

Throughout dinner you both joke and talk about lighter topics. Despite the numerous looks you give each other, neither of you catch it.

When dinner is over(and leftovers are put away) you tackle the dishes and then move to the living room with your dessert.

“Okay, apple cheesecake. Never knew I needed it.” She says with a chuckle.

Your eyes widen in agreement,“ I know right. Apart from strawberry and classic New York, it’s my favorite.”

“I’m going to need you to make both of those for me, for research purposes.” She adds the last bit with a wink.

Laughing makes you lean just a little closer and Lena loves it. A quiet buzzing grabs yours and Lena’s attention.

The woman pulling her phone out.“ Speaking of desserts, my chosen family has an abundance of it and has invited us over.”

“Ooo, yes, I love desserts.”

She smiles at you in amusement and together you both get ready to leave, Lena insisting that you bring your cheesecake.

Unsurprisingly, christmas music is all over the radio on the drive over. You can’t say you expect anything less.

With Lena at your side, you knock on Kara’s door. The blonde pulling it open in seconds.

“Lena, Y/n, hi.” She hugs the both of you excitedly.

“Thank you for inviting us.” Lena tells her friend.

Stepping into the apartment, without a thought, you’re helping Lena take her coat off as she’s holding your dessert in one hand. With a blush, she thanks you, and you miss the wiggle of Kara’s eyebrows in her direction.

Mon-El throws a hi your way and everyone else does the same.“ Do I see more desserts?” He leaps up, happily making his way over.

You accept the quick handshake he gives before looking over your shoulder to the pan in Lena’s hands.“ Yeah, Lena says my cheesecake is to die for and it’d be a crime not to share it.”

The CEO’s jaw drops,“ I did not-” her elbow nudges your arm with a laugh,“ I didn’t say all that.”

Placing a hand on her shoulder you smile,“ but I could tell that’s what you really meant.”

“So cute.”

Your eyebrows pinch together at Kara’s mumbled words. You and Lena? Could she see your crush on the woman as clearly as Wanda had? Is it that obvious?

Figuring she didn’t intend for anyone to hear that, you refrain from commenting. Instead walking with Mon-El to the kitchen island.

“I never asked but what is it that you do?” Mon-El asks, head tilting in a way you’d seen Kara do a number of times.

You accept the glass of water he passes you,“ I’m a weapons specialist for the Avengers, occasionally moonlighting as a hero.”

“Me too.” His eyes widen as does yours.

“You’re a superhero?”

The man’s eyes widen, uncertainty flickering through his eyes as they search yours. Then he chuckles and nods,“ yeah. Super being Alien. I’m from Daxam.”

“Daxam.” You’d heard of plenty of planets, never that one.“ Where is Daxam? I’ve been to a few galaxies and planets, I’ve never heard of Daxam.”

He thinks for a moment,“ I’m not sure what galaxy it would be in but it orbited Rao.”

“Rao? Is that like another planet or a sun?”

Suddenly Kara appears at Mon-El’s side,“ what’re we talking about?”

You send a glance to Mon-El, wondering if Kara already knows. His nod and pursed lips tells you she does.“ Mon-El was just telling me about Daxam and the-”

“Star.”

“The star it orbits.”

It’s hard to place the expression on Kara’s face. Mainly because it’s a mix of a few emotions.“ Are you not surprised?”

You shrug,“ I am, just, well I’ve dealt with a number of aliens. Not many of them were good guys.”

Mon-El smiles widely, a matching one on Kara’s face. Little did you know, hearing that from you makes the blonde consider telling you about her heroic alter-ego.

Before she can mention it though, Winn comes sliding over, arms wrapping around you. Looking at him, you see the silverware hanging from his mouth.

Patting his shoulder, you pull back a little,“ hey buddy, what’s goin on?”

“This cheesecake is amazing.” His words come out with a little lisp due to the object in his mouth but you laugh nonetheless.

“I’m glad you liked it.” Finally he steps back and nods.“ How bout you show me where the rest of these desserts are.”

Together the two of you step over to the dining table where there’s a decent amount of desserts. You just have to put some of each on your plate.

When you plop down beside Lena she’s already wearing an expression of amusement. Looking at her, you smile softly,“ want some?” Her look of uncertainty makes you chuckle. Scooping a piece of pie up, you hold it towards her.

Hesitantly she leans in and eats the sweet. Your eyes once again drawn to the way she licks her lips then back to her green orbs.

“That’s really good.”

You quickly eat a bite,“ oh wow, it is.”

“So!” All eyes snap to Kara as she walks over with the guys,“ we did this earlier but a few of us weren’t here so we’re going to do it again.” The woman sits on the arm of Mon-El’s chair.“ What are you thankful for?”

Starting with herself, it goes around the room, until it gets to you.“ I am thankful for old friends and new,” you smile at the already smiling people around you,“ I haven’t known you guys long but you all mean a lot to me and I’m incredibly grateful to have met you all.”

Not being able to help herself, Kara throws her arms around you. Which incites Winn to hug the both of you and that just ends in a big group hug that dissolves in laughter.

* * * * *

Taglist: @username23345 @depressed-bi-bitch @fayhar @trikruismybitch @marvel-wlw @aznblossom @chicken-wang09 @bitchtits15

#lena luthor #lena luthor x reader #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #dcu #dcu x reader #mcu #mcu x reader #reader insert #all over again

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stiltonbasket · 3 years

Note

Hi!! Could I perhaps request LQR baby-sitting A-Yu and A-Lan for the renouncement verse? Thanks, love you <333

(brief author’s note: please please reblog if you can, since that’s how we get prompts for future chapters!)

Lan Qiren’s nephews keep overworking themselves.

This wouldn’t be a bad thing if they hadn’t been doing it for the last several years, but it’s beginning to wear on them. Xichen’s eyes are always red and swollen from writing letters by candlelight, and Lan Qiren doesn’t remember the last time he saw Wangji without trade reports in his arms and spit-up milk on his robes, so he finally puts his foot down and decides to give all three of them a break in early autumn.

“Xichen, go take a soak in the hot springs,” he orders, sweeping into the hanshi and shoving everything on Lan Xichen’s desk up one of his sleeves. “Now.”

Lan Xichen is so exhausted that he tries to paint a line of calligraphy onto the expensive wood of his writing table. “Shufu?”

“You heard me,” Lan Qiren scolds. “Go on! I’ll finish the petition forms by tomorrow.”

Somewhat bewildered, Lan Xichen ambles out through the hanshi’s back door and splashes into the hot spring, leaving Lan Qiren to march down to the jingshi and confiscate all of Wangji’s trade contracts. He also confiscates baby A-Lan, who is lying in Lan Wangji’s lap and trying to eat his jade pendant.

“What are you doing?” Wangji asks, watching him tug the rest of his letters out of Wei Ying’s hands and stuff those up his sleeves, too. “Uncle?”

“You and Wei Ying need a rest,” he announces. “I am taking your work to the meishi, and I am also taking your children. Do not come to fetch them until sunset.”

And with that, he straps Wei Shuilan to his chest and takes Lan Yu by the hand, bundling them off to his own residence before their parents have time to do much more than blink at him in confusion.

“Huh,” Wei Wuxian says, after he leaves. “I think your uncle has a point, actually. Let’s go to bed, Lan Zhan.”

When Lan Qiren gets back to the meishi, he settles A-Lan down for a nap and gives Xiao-Yu a snack and some silver puzzle rings to improve his hand-eye coordination. “It almost reminds me of the old days,” he sighs, as Shuilan kicks her chubby little feet before falling asleep with her thumb in her mouth. “Even if Wangji never went down for naps without a fuss.”

Lan Qiren was nineteen when he became acting sect leader, and he was also nineteen when he received custody of Xichen: not coincidentally, because the clan hoped that taking charge of the sect would prevent him from raising his nephew and allow one of them to take over his care instead. But Lan Qiren was nothing if not stubborn, so Lan Huan went with him everywhere—to meetings, discussion conferences, and even the odd wedding now and then, and was generally such an amiable baby that he adjusted to his uncle’s fraught travelling schedule without a fuss. In fact, the first time Lan Huan met Jiang Yanli had been during a week-long cultivation event at Lotus Pier, yawning in a sling on Lan Qiren’s back while Jiang Yanli napped on Jiang Fengmian’s chest, and Jiang Fengmian had even mentioned the possibility of a betrothal between the two babies when they were older.

“My wife wants to contract an engagement between Xiao-Li and a son born to her sworn sister, but Jin-zongzhu and Jin-furen have not yet had a child,” Jiang-zongzhu had sighed, letting his daughter’s little fingers wrap around his. He looked heartbroken at the mere thought of parting from her, Lan Qiren remembers—which was probably why he named her yan li, to hate separation, because Jiang Yanli’s premature birth nearly stole her away from her parents the moment she entered the world.

“Lanling is closer to Gusu than Yunmeng,” Lan Qiren pointed out. Yunmeng Jiang would make an excellent alliance by marriage, and he was fairly certain at the time that Jiang Yanli would grow up to resemble her mild-mannered father rather than her hot-tempered mother. He was right, of course, since Jiang-guniang took after Jiang Fengmian in both looks and character, but contracting a betrothal with her for Xichen would have done both of them a disservice—because Xichen could never have loved her as she would have wanted to be loved, and he could never have given her children, either.

“Shugong?” a little voice says at Lan Qiren’s elbow, distracting him from the possibility of a world where Lan Huan married Jiang Yanli and crippled Lanling Jin’s influence after the Sunshot Campaign. “Xiao-Yu is done with the puzzle. I have another one?”

“Already?” Lan Qiren asks. This is yet another trait Xiaohui inherited from Wei Wuxian despite not being related to him, and Lan Qiren feels his heart swell with pride at his great-nephew’s intelligence. “Then you may play with the wooden blocks on that shelf, and see how high you can build your tower without letting it fall over.”

Xiao-Yu settles down on the hearthrug to stack up the fine-carved building blocks, and Lan Qiren goes through his nephew’s papers in peace for another hour before A-Lan wakes up from her nap and wails for her milk at the top of her lungs.

“Do not cry,” Lan Qiren soothes, securing the child in her swaddle before heating a bottle with a warming talisman. “Here is your supper, and your xiongzhang is there on the mat.”

He has to keep A-Lan in his arms after that, since his tiny great-niece is so used to being held that putting her down would break her little heart; and Lan Qiren would rather die than let go of her, because he dearly misses holding his nephews, and not so long ago he was certain he would never have the chance to hold a baby again.

And then, as if cuddling A-Lan to his chest wasn’t wonderful enough, Xiao-Yu pulls one of Wangji’s old picture books out of Lan Qiren’s storage trunk and runs over to sit in his lap, pushing the trade contracts aside and replacing them with the fable of the magic lotus lantern.

“Shugong, read to Xiao-Yu?” the little boy begs, snuggling into Lan Qiren’s overgown next to his cooing baby sister. “A-Die likes this story best.”

Of course he does, Lan Qiren thinks, as he flips the cover open and starts to read. The tale of the magic lotus lantern was written about a child whose mother was stolen away from him, taken back to the heavens by force when her godly brother discovered the magic lantern that illuminated her way to the mortal world—and for a while Wangji believed that his mother was like the immortal Sanshengmu, who loved a human man and had a child with him before returning to the realm she came from. Sanshengmu’s story ended with her being reunited with her husband and son, and the little Wangji never gave up hope that his own mother might come back in much the same way, even after he was old enough to stop believing in fairy stories.

“Why did they fight?” Xiao-Yu asks, leaning closer to see the picture of the goddess’s lover with his brush and scroll. “That’s against the rules!”

“Sometimes people who love one another fight because they cannot understand their feelings,” Lan Qiren tells him, tapping the point of his soft button nose. “So it was with Sanshengmu and Liu Yanchang-gongzi, and when he awoke, she revealed her true identity, and explained why she sent a rainstorm to plague him after she read his poem.

“Both apologized profusely. Days went by, and Liu Yanchang finally recovered. By then the goddess and the scholar had fallen deeply in love, and marriage naturally ensued. Encouraged by Goddess Sanshengmu, Liu Yanchang continued with his journey to the capital to take the imperial examination, and months later, the goddess gave birth to their son, whom she named Chenxiang.

“At the same time, the goddess’s celestial family had learned about her marriage to an earthly man. Her brother, known as Divine Erlang, found his unruly sister and demanded that she renounce her new family and return with him to their heavenly home, but Sanshengmu refused, and battled him with the power of her magical lotus lantern…”

“I want to paint a portrait of this,” Wei Wuxian whispers, when he and Lan Zhan creep into the meishi after sunset to find Lan Qiren fast asleep on the floor, with A-Lan snoozing on his chest and Xiao-Yu curled up in the crook of his arm. “They’re so sweet, Lan Zhan!”

“Mm,” Lan Zhan murmurs, his eyes softening as he looks at the open book on his uncle’s desk. Lan Qiren clearly just finished reading it before he fell asleep, because the book is open to the very last picture; a color painting of a goddess embracing a youth and an older man with a lotus-shaped lantern hanging at the crook of her elbow. “Bring a blanket and a pillow, Wei Ying. We should let them sleep.”

(Lan Qiren often finds himself toting his little great-nephew and niece around the Cloud Recesses after that, and Xiao-Yu’s favorite place to play in his parents’ absence is always the house where his shugong lives.)

#wangxian #mo dao zu shi #my fic #wangxian arranged marriage au #renouncement verse #lan qiren #lan xiaohui #wei shuilan

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petri808 · 3 years

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@inukag-week Marriage prompt this idea ended up longer then intended so I’m breaking it up into chapters 😅

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

As Kagome rounded a corner of the castle hallway near her parent’s bedroom, she overheard something that sent a chill right down her spine. Knowing this could be her fate and accepting it were two different things, and maybe… just maybe she’d hoped they wouldn’t have subjected their precious daughter to such a medieval concept. Her back fell against the wall as her hands covered up the scream bubbling up in her throat. This wasn’t fair! It wasn’t right! How could they do this to her? All her life she’d played the dutiful role of Princess, never once giving into her whims, but oh how she longed for something more than these walls— And now it appeared she may never experience anything more than a royal obligation.

Unless she did something about it.

“Marriage in one year’s time as part of the alliance…” Kagome heard her father say.

“He is a good man and fine suitor. I pray Kagome will take to him well…” added her mother.

That was all Kagome could bear to hear.

She slipped away back to her room and gathered up only what would fit in a carry sack. The plainest attire she had, toiletries, precious personal items, and some money she had tucked away. It was a dangerous gamble Kagome was about to take and one she couldn’t even fathom the consequences for her parents. But in that moment, the thought of being sent away to some random Prince was akin to being sold like a slave and that was something she just couldn’t bear. They didn’t even confer with her on this! If they loved her, wouldn’t they have talked to her about this?! And yet at dinner they were still silent, never bringing up their plans for their daughter. Any doubts of running died away by the end of the meal and her mind was set.

Under the cover of darkness, Kagome donned her riding outfit cloaked by a hooded cape and stole away to the stables. She knew the stable boy would be away for his meal in the servants quarters, so as quietly as possible, she packed her horse for the journey. Buyo was a fine stead and waited patiently as Kagome loaded him up with a bed roll and her bag, making sure to use a worn harness rather than any of the royal gear. The last thing a lone woman traveler needed to do was bring attention to themselves. Finally with a bow and arrow strapped to her back, she lead the horse out of the castle walls to the world that awaited her.

It was imperative that Kagome got as far away as quickly as she could to avoid being tracked. Her parents would no doubt send out search parties once they found her letter in the morning. So, where should she go? For starters, she stayed away from the well-traveled roads within the cover of the forest. Using a map she’d stolen from her father’s war room, she surmised it would take about three days to reach the border between her country and the next one over. It was a start. Maybe get to their capital city where it would be easier to blend into a larger population.

Princess or not, Kagome was no shrinking violet when it came to getting her hands dirty. Most of the castle staff treated Kagome like a delicate flower— but not Sango. Her attendant had come from a well-respected noble house of warriors, and she was the one who taught Kagome to use a weapon, ride a horse, and other things not associated with a ‘proper’ princess. Oh, those were some of her fondest memories! And if there was one thing, she’ll miss is having Sango around to talk to. She’d thought about telling the woman but realized it would only put her in jeopardy to have such information. Maybe once she’d settled down somewhere she’ll send an unsigned letter so the woman would know she was okay.

Kagome stopped in small villages along the way only long enough to purchase food. She could have paid for lodging too, but that may have roused suspicions for a lone traveling woman. During the day she rode through worn earthen roads and at night searched out hidden caves or groves for shelter off the beaten path. Bandits were still a problem so she needed to be cautious since a pretty young girl could fetch a decent price in the slave markets. It was a lonely journey, her only solace the one book she brought to read by firelight in her makeshift camps. A favorite of hers. An ancient fable of a warrior priestess who fell in love with the very creature she was tasked to destroy. It was a sad tale, but Kagome fell in love with the idea of finding love in the most unexpected way.

“Not like being given away as property,” Kagome mumbled to herself. “I wanna love and be loved, is that too much to ask for?” Not because she was a Princess, and it certainly didn’t need to be a real Prince as long as they wanted her for her. She could be happy just living in a small cottage where she’d tend to a farm and raise their children. A simple lifestyle not full of obligations and surrounded by fake personalities just trying to gain a royals favor.

It took four days to reach the Inu kingdom and another two to the capital city. Kagome had only heard stories of it, so to see it with her own eyes it was quite a surprise. Not only was it bigger, but there was a larger mix of human and demons living amongst each other. Perhaps because it was ruled by a demon? Sango had told her the Inutaisho lord was a very powerful one but had an affinity for humans not always shared in their world. So much so in fact that he took a human Princess as one of his queens. That was certainly different to Kagome, because while concubines were still a thing in royal houses, having two Queens was not. Such a situation could cause territorial in-fighting and has brought down Houses before. It was a fascinating idea, and she had to admit there was a bit of curiosity as to what they looked like.

She boarded Buyo at a stable, then decided to wander around the marketplace to find something to eat, maybe clothing more suited to the commoner look she needed to portray. So, she wove her long hair up into a braided halo wrap style, strapped a small dagger to her waist, and set off into the crowded streets. This must be a major trading station, Kagome realized, because the market had a large variety of goods, some very exotic looking indeed. So much food, clothing, beautiful fabrics and accessories, weapons, really anything you could think of. The Princess in her ogled a few of the gorgeous dresses, but alas, that wasn’t her anymore.

‘Oh, what’s that…’ Her nose turned up to a sweet scent wafting over from a few stalls away. Something smelled decadently delicious.

She walked over to take a peak and found an array of different dessert type confections being sold. “So pretty,” Kagome mumbled as her mouth watered.

“Very and delicious too.” A voice spoke back.

Kagome turned to the female voice. “Oh, hello,” she smiled. “Have you tried these before?” She asked the young girl.

“Mmhmm,” the girl nodded.

The child looked about the age of 7 or 8, wearing an orange and pink colored fine silk dress. Her hair was styled, though was a bit of a mess as if she’d been running around. Certainly, this girl must be from a noble family, but as Kagome looked around and saw no one paying any attention to her, she wondered. “May I ask. Where are your attendants? A young one like you shouldn’t be walking around alone here.”

In an instant, the child’s small smile flipped into a quivering frown and moisture pooled in her eyes. “I-I got lost.”

“Oh dear.” Seeing the verge of tears ready to spill, Kagome kneeled down and hugged the girl. “It’s okay. I’ll help you find your servant.”

“I’m sorry!” The child whined and sobbed quietly. “I was bad and ran away because I just wanted a treat, but she told me no.”

“Shhh,” Kagome’s voice softened. “You’re gonna be okay. What’s your name?”

“Rin.”

“Rin, my name is Kagome.” She pulled back and wiped the child’s tears stained cheeks. “How about I get you a treat to cheer you up, hmm, would you like that?”

“Mmhmm,” the child sniffled and smile returning.

Kagome purchased a couple of the sweet cakes and handed one to the girl. “Now, do you know where your home is?”

Rin pointed towards the castle causing Kagome to flinch a bit. “You live in the castle?”

“Uh-huh.” The girl mumbled now happy with her treat.

Maybe Rin’s parents are nobles working for the King, Kagome surmised. It wasn’t uncommon for advisors or other higher ranking statesman to live in parts of the castle so they could be called upon at any time. And though she dreaded the chance of being caught so soon, this child couldn’t be left alone. “How about we wait a few more minutes just in case your attendant finds you? I’ll stay right here until then, okay?”

“Okay— Lady Kagome?”

“Yes?”

“Where are you from? How come you’re by yourself?”

Wow, this child was blunt, Kagome mused at her bright, inquisitive eyes. “Well, you see my parents are gone now, so it’s just me.”

“Awww! Me too, but I was adopted, and I love my new daddy! He’s mean to everyone else but spoils me,” she giggled. “What do you do? Are you married?”

Kagome was again taken aback at Rin’s questions, but she reminded herself that children are curious creatures and held no ill will towards it. She chuckled. “I’m not married and I um…” Crap! She forgot to come up with a cover story! “I’m a teacher, but since I left home, I guess it means I’m looking for a job. That’s why I came to the city.”

“Really?!” The child excitedly grabbed Kagome’s hands and started pulling. “We’ve waited long enough. Let’s go!”

“Wait! But your attendant?”

“She’s mean and I like you better.” Rin tugged harder. “Come on Kagome, take me home please! I wanna show you where I live.”

“O-Okay. Okay.” She wasn’t sure what got Rin excited all of a sudden, but she allowed the girl to pull her along.

While they made their way towards the castle, Kagome held onto the child’s hand. Rin appeared content now, happily pointing out different things as they passed by stalls or people and just behaving like a normal young kid on a stroll. Most of the noble children Kagome’s ever been around, were prim and proper whereas Rin had a feisty strength that reminded her of herself… when no one was around to see it. It must be nice to feel so free of restraint.

The entrance guards immediately waved them through once they saw Rin holding tightly to Kagome’s hand. The probably assumed she was just another one of the Princesses attendants or servants. It was a beautiful palace, sleeker than her own with gleaming white, alabaster walls, golden trimmed windowpane’s, surrounded by high-guarded walls. Once inside, Kagome was taken aback at the feudal decadence, but she couldn’t stop to really look closely because Rin was a girl on a mission. The child took them past surprised servants who bowed to the Princess with wary looks at this strange woman accompanying the girl. Down hallways, never deviating from her path into the heart of the palace.

Finally, Rin pulled Kagome into a room once she’d found who she was looking for.

“Papa!” The child squealed and ran towards a stately male with long white hair pulled back and a crown topping his head. “Papa Toga! I brought someone to meet you!”

#inukag #inukag week 2021 #inukag au #royalty au #inuyasha #kagome higurashi #inukag fan fic #inukag fanfiction #short multi-chapter #inukag fic #inukag week #inukagweek2021 #marriage prompt #The irony of fate #ch 1

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megaera-of-pigeon · 3 years

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Volume 2 but more chronolgically:

Nikki and Momo return from North where they’d wound up at the end of volume 1 along with Ace and Kimi. They go to Apple where they bid Kimi farewell because she has to stay and work there. Kimi gives Nikki a ring before they part.

Ace, Nikki, and Momo go to the Ash Institute of design where the 9 days war took place; they are looking for clues about King Sayet’s designs because they believe that Nidhogg posses something designed by him and they think that is a potential clue to the plot. They find a special mysterious symbol that is present in some of King Sayet’s works and believe it to be important. The principal of the school mentions Bobo had been there to look at King Sayet’s designs.

After their stop at the school, they decide to go to Bobo’s hometown because they miss her and are concerned :( They learn she and her mother are both missing from their home, but they find several letters Bobo had written to her mom that remained unopened, and deduced that Bobo didn’t know that her mom wasn’t there the whole time she was with Nikki.

They find a design in Bobo’s house that has the same special symbol that King Sayet had in his works! Using that, they discover information related to The Enlightened, and Ace narrates that story for them about the king who wanted peace, but when he was murdered placed the blood curse. They decide they need to get more information about this so they head to the Lilith capital to talk the the casket fairy that the royal family has since they guessed it would know the truth behind the legend, being old and associated with royalty and all. Conveniently, Royce sent someone to fetch them just as they were thinking of going to see the casket fairy.

Ace gets a carrier pigeon and has to peace out.

They meet up with Royce (it actually seems that our chapter picks up the scene literally the day after the Tree of Memories hell event lore with Royce and Neva takes place so refer to that for more on those two). The casket fairy gives them more information about the Enlightened and leads them to a chest that belonged to King Sayet. They open the chest via styling battle and see a phantom of King Sayet that gives them a cryptic directive to find “three paths” and unravel the poem in the rosebud

This is where our most recent chapter ends so I’m not sure how long until our actual storyline catches up with the rest of the volume. If we remeber back to chapter 1 of this volume, it picks up Nikki’s quest for King Sayet’s (three?) relics/designs that we learned about in chapter 6. I think ultimately the three items might be these objects?

I still don’t know where Ransa comes from. The Iron Rose had been disbanded by Elle for failing to get adaqute results on finding Sayet’s relics. Ransa is now with Nikki but they’re traveling to City Oren to talk with Elle because Ransa thinks that will help Nikki’s quest for these relics.

Nikki gets arrested by Elle when she goes to Pigeon to ask her questions because Elle is obsessed with finding the ‘final secret’ of the relics and the Rose casket and she believes Nikki has that answer.

Nikki is not aware of that answer.

Ace has to break them out of the palace and reveals that Elle is her sister. They put together some more clues: Sayet had been imprisoned in Pigeon Kingdom’s monastery for some time and is said to have seen the secret of the blood curse. He wrote a ‘poem’ on the wall that Nikki had seen, one they referenced a ‘destined girl’

Ace declares the Iron Rose reformed and makes Nikki their leader. Ransa, Debbie, and Mela show up and join her too. Now that that’s settled, Chloris is waiting to see Ace so they decide to go to the forest.

Nikki Momo and Mela were waiting on the edge of the forest away from their group for some reason. They get lured into the fog and wind up meeting a kindred child named Kyle. They were supposed to go find a girl named Rachel who guards the epic of the forest but Kyle tells them about this girl Elaine who also knows shit. They go to see Elaine. Elaine lets them look at her book the Memory of Time and they read some nonsensical stuff about the blood moon and a frigid dragon 🙃 not like a prophecy or anything.

Part of what they need to craft King Sayet’s relics is something called ‘elven star” and their clues plus Elaine’s book now point them to the stars’ reflection (or, lack thereof) in Lake Bovaly. Time to go to the lake of super happy fun times :)

Meanwhile, Ransa, Debbie, and Ace find Chloris and also realize Mela, Nikki and Momo are missing. They go talk to Rachel who says her sister Elaine had seen them—Elaine is in the Shadow City, and the only exit has been sealed for a thousand years

Nikki and Mela and Momo realize they’re actually in the Shadow city and are in trouble. But happily, Chloris lifts the thousand year old seal so they can get out (provided they change into a cute outfit first). The kindred are free and threaten to start a war again, o no wonder how that will end. Wonder if Chloris will have to mobilize the furries.

Chloris is very weak from lifting the seal and then Cesare biting him so the next morning they look for information to help him recover. Before they can do that they’re attacked and Chloris has to use the rest of his magic to protect them. He faints into his infamous coma. [unclear how he is walking around and fighting in the upcoming war for our hell event as they don’t solve this. Maybe he just needed a nap]

As Rachel and Elaine are trying to help Chloris, Nikki and the Iron rose put together more pieces about this elven star—Nikki believes it’s referring to Sayet’s technique of embedding memories into clothing. (My guess is Nikki will rediscover this technique and utilize it to create the Star Sea out of her memories of her friends in Miraland after the apocalypse event happens, which is where we get that cool SN video).

They can’t wake Chloris. Debbie suggests they go try to wake up the sleeping dwarf elder who is the oldest living being and probably knows how to help Chloris. Debbie also mentioned he’s connected with one of the relics and my guess is it’s that frangipani the dwarves gave to Nikki at the start of our last hell event lore. We didn’t get to read the story of what happened before our event started but that’s what I would predict.

Before they can get going Nikki is pulled into an illusion by Xiao zong who appears and starts on his whole “noooo Nikki don’t be the savior it’s so haaaard to take on the sins of the universe just give me to secrets instead” [at this point he makes Nikki ‘live’ the 9 days war via illusion which was the story we played during the Steps of Sorrow hell] Nikki won’t agree to give over the relic so they style battle. Nikki is getting her ass kicked.

The ring given to her by Kimi waaaaaay back at the beginning of this that was originally made by Sayet starts to glow and gives Nikki major stats boosts. Nikki defeats Xiao Zong. The world goes black. This is as far into Nikki’s story that we have accounted for, except perhaps in hell events that I didn’t realize took place after this point.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS: The main goal for Nikki in this volume is to discover the secrets left behind by King Sayet through his designs/his three infamous ‘relics’. She also discovers a connection between Sayet’s work and the True King/The Enlightened, the originator of the blood curse, who happens to be running around in Bobo’s body right now. There is also some connection between Sayet’s work and the secrets of the elves/Kindred, although since our 1,000 benchmark of when shit last went down big time with them was *before* the curse of blood was placed, the connection likely has to do with Sayet utilizing elf magic or elf techniques to create his designs, while also connecting those designs to the secret of the blood curse. At different points it’s mentioned that Nikki is looking for his designs/relics, but then I believe she finds his design(s)? somewhere between where the two sections of the volume are blurry, or potentially in a hell event, and it’s a recipe she has to craft—which turns into looking for ingredients to craft said designs by the time she gets to v2ch1. The hope is by completing the cryptic quest left by Sayet, she will uncover the secrets of why North went to war, why Elle and the other participants in the 9 days war are losing their memory, and how to save Bobo from demonic possession. And while I personally adore a story that takes a nontraditional approach to its narration, boy is it ridiculous the amount of legwork required to actually get a handle on this timeline.

#long post #love Nikki lore #love Nikki volume 2 #if anyone is interested I do recommend reviewing the chapter stories because they’re actually more interesting now #that we’ve sort of got a better sense of how they’re all working!!!

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katara0524 · 3 years

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Impromptu Ramblings about the NEO:TWEWY Demo

In case y'all weren't aware, I've been a pretty big fan of TWEWY for a couple years now, and with the sequel coming out next month, the excitement I feel for this game is greater than ever :) I played the Demo for the first time yesterday, and following a couple views of some livestreams of others playing it, I felt like sharing my (very ramble-y) thoughts prior to the release of the full game. This post WILL contain spoilers for both TWEWY and NEO:TWEWY, so if you want to avoid those from now on, please block the tags: #twewy spoilers, #ntwewy spoilers, #neo twewy spoilers, #ntwewy, and #neo twewy ^_^ Oh, and if you wanna keep up with any other posts I make about my experience with this game, please refer to the tag "kat plays neo twewy" :)

-First things first: I have not watched the Final Trailer and I don't plan on doing so to avoid spoilers, especially after the pre-release era of KH3 where a lot of the later trailers spoiled a lot of the endgame content. That being said, I've seen some minor screenshots from the final trailer including what many believe to be characters from the original TWEWY, namely Shiki and Joshua. That is all I know about the Final Trailer and I would very much like to remain as blind as possible going into NEO :)

-The very first cutscene was quite ominous in the sense that this game is likely going to be about "changing fate" (a recently common theme in Squeenix games, which I do appreciate), perhaps leading off from the end of A New Day in the OG and trying to stop an Inversion of Shibuya. Also worth noting that A New Day had similar aspects in which the main character experienced "future visions" of tragic events, although in A New Day these events were not able to be changed, while in NEO it seems like one of the main "powers" our protagonist has is specifically to rewrite these events and avoid a "bad ending." Very interesting indeed!

-I really like the revamped comic book style dialogue scenes, it's much more fluid and modern, which is an excellent direction for the series to take!

-I would love to have an actual PokemonGO knockoff of Final Fantasy creatures, please Squeenix that would be incredibleeeeee

-Also the LINE stickers??? Are so cute???

-I would just like to point out that Fret is an absolute treasure throughout this entire demo, he's hilarious and I will protect him with my life

-UHHHH don't like that Fret picked up some Reaper Pins just out of nowhere.....or the fact that they're apparently popular all over Shibuya.............did y'all not learn anything from the OG game or what lmao

-Okay so when I first got the "curry or ramen" scene and heard NPCs talking about the new curry place replacing the old ramen place I became IMMENSELY distressed that Ramen Don was totally cut from the game because....well, Ramen Don is a King okay?? But I'm glad to learn that no, he didn't fall off the face of the earth, he's still in business and he's the one opening the curry restaurant lolol. PHEW, crisis averted!

-.....I don't like the sudden appearance of a Wall Reaper and being able to read NPC thoughts. Wtf happened when they left the ramen place??? Are they playing the Game alive somehow?

-Okay so I have my own theories about this "Swallow" character and what they're up to but considering this is only the Demo and I still Have No Idea What's Happening, I'm just gonna say that I think Swallow intentionally led Rindo and Fret to the Crossing so they could join the Game. I mean, add in the fact that Swallow still communicates with Rindo during the Game and you've got yourself a suspicious character right there lol

-"Hey they're shooting off fireworks!" Fret honey that's not fireworks oof (see also: "*laughs* I'm in danger")

-WOOOOOO way to traumatize Rindo right off the bat like that LMAOO

-The visuals for the intro are VERY GOOD, the song is pretty decent until it gets all "screamo" (which I absolutely cannot stand sorry lol)

-Shoka is every Customer Service employee ever and I respect that

-Susukichi went from being "meh" to "WOW THIS GUY IS FUN" in the span of 10 seconds and I also respect that (he is also built like an Absolute Unit which is hilarious)

-The Wall Reapers (and just Reapers in general) seem.....way nicer and more helpful this time around?? Like in the OG the Wall Reapers were SO RUDE gfhjgjdfkhn and yeah I'm sure we'll get some like that but the juxtaposition of the first Wall Reaper in the OG compared to the first one in NEO is insane.

-The puzzles are quite a bit more entertaining this time around even if it's generally the same "fetch quest" formula lol

-"Rindo's Group" way to go Fret HFKJDGHSDFKJ mans really left the default name in there lmao

-OKAYOKAYOKAY so to those who aren't aware I am a MASSIVE SIMP for Sho Minamimoto, he's my absolute favorite and I think about him daily. HIS INTRODUCTION IS. INCREDIBLE. I LOVE IT SM.

-GOD hearing him actually SPEAK FULL SENTENCES is just SO SURREAL I love this sm

-Also the remix of his theme???? NEO TRANSFORMATION????? IT'S SO GOOD????????? It's like gone from a Boss Theme to a more triumphant sounding theme and I am HERE for it (every version of Transformation is just INCREDIBLE and getting a new one is even better)

-I Love Him, Your Honor

-Also idk how exactly but it's kinda weird seeing Sho in the OG vs NEO, cuz while he's mostly the same Insane Math-Obsessed Catboy, he's.....calmed down quite a bit?? Like OG made a whole point of how poorly he cooperates with others (not to mention just being completely unhinged and trying to kill everyone), whereas here in NEO he's......actually kinda working with others??? HELLO???? Sir what happened to you and Neku during those 3 years I would love to know all about it

-I guarantee you Sho is still probably scheming shite and will likely pull some total insane BS later down the road, and I am very much looking forward to that. Also, is he looking for a certain Pin or something??? Cuz he keeps talking about different Pins and even mentions "this is just another Psych Pin" like he's actively looking for a Pin to do something with. Maybe it also has to do with the "latent powers of Players" thing he mentioned as well??? What is this dude UP TO oml (also is he in contact with Neku at all?? they're both technically fugitives at this point right?? WHAT HAPPENED AFTER A NEW DAY I AM BEGGING YOU)

-I seems like Sho ALSO has an idea of what's going on in this specific game (even if he won't admit it straightforward). Per his quote "The game's 142,857. Factor it out," he's essentially saying, "This game is a neverending cyle, figure out how to get out of it" (or at least that's what I got from his "cyclic number" nonsense lolol)

-I do like how Sho mostly stays out of sight until he's needed for a battle or assisting with a mission, that's kind of on par with his whole "uncooperative" quirk from the OG, plus he might literally have to stay out of sight of other Reapers and Players considering he's likely breaking the rules of the Game (not surprising considering him and Neku broke practically every rule in the book during OG)

-The nicknames for Sho- I can't- They're so FUNNYYYY GFHJSDFKJ

-He goes from being called "Pi-Face" and "Tabooty" in OG to "Mr. Minami" and "M-Teezy" in NEO LMAOO

-(Wowee I just realized I've been mostly talking about Sho oopsies sorry y'all, this is what I meant by thinking about him almost daily he is THAT much of a fav of mine ghfkjsd)

-Okay RIP Fret and Rindo for not getting literally ANY explanation as to how the Game works OOF, that is kinda cringe that whoever gets the Pin earns points, not whoever erases the Noise (which like I understand but also URRRGGHHH I WANNA SEE THE SQUAD SUCCEED)

-"I should be going home now it's getting late" Oh you sweet summer child-

-Also love the mention of parents in this game???? KH you could learn a thing or two from TWEWY (poor Rindo's mom fhgjkdh)

-KUBO IS HILARIOUS I SUPPORT HIM AND HIS GROSS FACE (also thank you Final Trailer thumbnail for spoiling my suspicions about him very cool smh)

-Kaie is a LAD I also support him, go King type those funky texts I believe in you

-FRET PLS STOP SCANNING FHGJKSDHKJFGHFKJ he's like me when I scan in OG during Weeks 2 and 3 and see Taboo Noise coming after me ghfjdshfj

-Also Rindo can you stay off your phone for TWO SECONDS ik you're trying to figure things out but Fret is a jelly boi and I don't want him to be upset with you my guy

-Sho being an actual sorta mentor to the kiddos?? Who are you sir this is so unlike you ghfgskj what happened to the guy who tried shooting children in the face 8 times over LMAO (granted he's probably just using them but it's still nice to see him actually cooperating and sharing knowledge with the kiddos aaaaa)

-EYO EIJI OJI THE TIKTOK INFLUENCER IS BACK LMAO

-hgjkfshgkjf "we aren't glorifying capitalism on my watch" THATS SO FUNNY TO ME GFHJFSDGHJKS (also an all-orange ensemble is disgusting you deserve jail for one thousand years fkn Cheddar Goldfish Cheezit ass woman)

-WICKED TWISTERS NAME DROP EYOOO we love to see it

-gfhsgjf Poor Rindo embarassing himself for the sake of the Game that's incredible

-R e t u r n t o M O N K E. That is all.

-Dialogue during boss battles is HELLA cool i love that

-HHHHH THE KANON SCENE MADE ME A N G E R Y FRET STOP SIMPING MY GUY says the girl with a Literal Simp Encyclopedia and simps for pixels on a screen daily

-Can't wait to see the other Reapers :eyes emoji:

-CAN'T WAIT TO SEE NAGI MY BELOVED YEAHHHH WOOOOOO AAAAND that's about it for the demo lolol, I absolutely CANNOT wait for next month, this game is gonna be INCREDIBLE holy hell Prepare for more simping, more screaming, and more vibing from Yours Truly :) I fully intend on sharing more general thoughts like this on both Tumblr and Twitter so it's not just reblog-retweet-reblog-retweet with the occasional comment fhgskjd

If you wanna witness my insanity up close and personal I have a Square Enix Discord server called Sea Side Dreamers! You can look it up on Disboard, or you can add me on Discord @Katara0524#9244 for a direct link :) We have topics about Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, NieR, and ofc TWEWY (as well as other topics!), so if you want some good ol' chaos and chitchat, you're more than welcome to join!

#neo twewy #ntwewy #neo twewy spoilers #ntwewy spoilers #twewy #neo: the world ends with you #the world ends with you #twewy spoilers #twewy rindo #rindo kanade #twewy fret #tosai furesawa #twewy sho #sho minamimoto #long post #also shameless Discord plug lmaooo #kat plays neo twewy

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tothemeadow · 3 years

Text

Serendipity [Chapter 1]

When the kingdom of Ainamoryp falls, a motley crew of unlikely allies must come together to save the country.

warnings: swearing, mentions of death, mentions of blood

words: 3.8k

(a/n): All characters range from 19-20. Reader insert, reverse harem.

Dinton Keep, Ainamoryp, May 3rd, 492, 00:43

“The king! The king is dead!”

As soon as the declaration is shouted, there’s a growl of pain, then the unceremonious thump as a body hits the ground.

All around, flames lick at the stone walls, set the sky ablaze. The inky hue of the night is abruptly ruined by a brilliant orange, the smell of burning wood and bodies drifting along with the night’s breeze. The clamoring of swords crashing against each other rings throughout the air, seemingly traveling for miles. Horrified screams and blood-thirsty growls make for a gruesome, twisted melody, one that imprints itself on the brain and promises itself its unholy stay.

Heavy pants, cloudy eyes, a desire for murder.

This is what keeps Prince Shouto pressing forward.

Flanked by two guards, the three scramble through the narrow halls – the hidden passageways hidden behind the castle walls. A mere torch is their only source of light, a pitiful flame compared to the hellstorm raging through the city’s streets. Their movements are rushed, silent; there’s no time to be discussing the finer details of the invasion when the only thing playing on their minds it escaping. Gods be damned if more royal blood be spilt on the stone, seeping through and leaving a burgundy scar.

Despite the silence cloaking them, Shouto grits his teeth, the urge to turn back and fight ever present and growing. That’s his kingdom who’s suffering, hundreds of innocent people dying, suffering. And for what? Power? Wealth? If it were up to him, he’d go back and slaughter those intruding the lands, planting their flags and proclaiming their victory.

This isn’t how things were supposed to go.

“Please, my prince, we must keep moving,” the guard in front throws over his shoulder, as if sensing Shouto’s inner turmoil. “We have to get you away immediately.”

Funny how this works, how simple guards think they can control their prince, a member of the royal family. He could easily rip them a new one, put them in their place and insist they stand their ground, but he knows they’re right. There are too many enemies, even by Shouto’s standards. Even if he stayed around and fought, there isn’t a doubt in his mind that he would be slain right there on the spot.

Up ahead, a rickety wooden door comes into view, a heavy bolt holding it shut. The metal creaks as the frontmost guard slides it loose and opens the door. Heavy smoke hangs in the air, slowly spreading towards the surrounding woods and farmlands. Shouto’s heart clenches at the sight, at the putrid odor of death, the sounds of petrified screams. Closing his eyes, he tries to calm his rapidly beating heart, the anger boiling in his blood twinging the outlines of his vision red.

He’s a complete and utter fool for abandoning those who need him most.

Still, he allows the guards to lead him to an awaiting horse, a brilliant beast the color of ivory. Swinging up and onto the saddle with graceful ease, his cloak flutters behind him.

“Go! Now!” the guard with the torch bellows, eyes latching onto a group of enemy soldiers scaling a wall. “Get out of here!”

“You’ll be killed, dammit!” Shouto proclaims, his anger finally boiling over. “I refuse to have anybody else shed their blood!”

“You’re the prince, your highness,” the guard shoots back, both he and the other one drawing their swords. “There’s a watchpoint south of here, hidden away in the woods. Get there, seek for help. The soldiers there will lead you to safety.”

“Bastards, the lot of them,” Shouto hisses, “I can stay and fight.”

“No! You must go!” Before Shouto is given a chance to say anything in return, the guard strikes the horses rear. Letting out a shrill whinny, the horse rears up, landing back down heavily and taking off at a breakneck speed.

Cursing under his breath, Shouto watches over his shoulder as the two guards confront the enemy soldiers. They soon disappear from sight, leaving only the smoldering haze and raging fires encompassing the silhouette of Shouto’s childhood home. As the castle and surrounding city grow smaller and smaller with each impounding trollop of the horse, he can’t tear his eyes away, even long after it disappears from the horizon.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Levalon, Ainamoryp, May 3rd, 492, 10:14

Easy does it now, easy does it… Don’t get too close… And… Gotcha!

Snatching his hand away, Zenitsu quickly stashes the pigskin coin purse underneath his cloak. Heh, suckers, the lot of them. Most of them couldn’t tell the difference between their right hand and a horse’s ass, much less when someone steals their coinage. Briskly turning on his heel, he walks away, whistling casually.

It’s so easy.

On the market streets of the town, a large sea of people roam from stall to stall, buying smoked meats, freshly baked breads, the farmers’ latest pickings. It’s a jolly scene, the constant chatter of patrons and high-pitched yelps of young boys trying to direct potential customers to their father’s stalls. Zenitsu grew up on these streets, raised right alongside other peasant boys with no home or family to call their own. Perhaps it’s a sad story, one meant for lonely nights and listening ears, but it’s Zenitsu’s lineage. It’s what made him into what he is today, a thief with deft fingers and a pair of legs that could challenge a horse in a race.

An easy smile comes to his face. He’s long since grown used to the smell of piss and sweat clinging to the cobbled street, the hollow-eyed children staring long after the people carrying baskets and sacks of food. Everything is so horribly imperfect, but this is home. Hell, although he’s making his living in a dishonest way, it’s enough to keep a roof over his head and food in his tummy. And maybe, if he saves up enough coin, roll around in a bed of hay with a large breasted whore.

Sidestepping the crowd, he makes way towards the local tavern (Ye Olde Wife, can you believe that?), breakfast and busty barmaids on the mind. If possible, the patrons inside the tavern are nearly as loud as the ones outside. Kicking the door shut, Zenitsu heads for his usual spot at the bar, sliding onto the wobbly stool and shucking his hood down. Ale and body odor permeate his nose, the smell foul yet welcoming. Nothing is more greeting than sweaty men and alcohol.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” the owner’s crackly voice says. A stout old man with wild hair and a bushy mustache, he’s about as rough as they come, but to Zenitsu, he’s probably the closest thing to family that he’s ever had.

“Oh, come on, Gramps,” Zenitsu says, tapping the bar top with his fingertips. “You love seeing me, eh? I bring you plenty of service-“

“You flirt with the girls in here more than you order anything,” Gramps spits. Even so, he starts to step away, already heading to the kitchen to fetch Zenitsu something to eat. “Ungrateful bastard – it’s a wonder you’re not a father yet.”

“Yet!” Zenitsu calls after him. “Don’t jinx me, Gramps!” Easing back, he turns around, resting his elbows on top of the bar. Now that he’s closer to the kitchens, the smell of succulent meat turning on a spit makes his mouth water and his stomach growl. Gods, he is hungry. While he could easily steal something from the stalls lining the market street, he normally comes to Gramps’ tavern for a proper meal. And yeah, maybe he ogles the barmaids while he’s at it, but it’s merely a dinner and a show for him.

“Oh, shit,” some random man sitting at a nearby table says. “You mean you haven’t heard about the capital?” Along with him sits another man – they’re most likely miners, if their builds and dirty fingernails say anything. Knocking back his cup, the other merely shakes his head. “Them bastards from the north – Nialliv – they stormed it. Took Dinton Keep as their own.”

Now, it’s usually polite to not listen in on others’ conversations, but this is Zenitsu here. For as long as he can remember, his sense of hearing is astronomically better than the average human’s, and it’s actually quite a useful tool when it comes to his particular jobs. But this… The capital city being taken over? How come he hasn’t heard anything before?

“You’re telling me that Dinton Keep isn’t ours? Watch the shite spilling from your mouth,” the other man grumbles.

“Aye, it’s true. Took in the wee hours of this morning, I tell you. Apparently, the king is dead.”

At that, Zenitsu stiffens. The king? Dead?

“Fuck,” the companion curses. “And they haven’t said anything yet?”

The first one shakes his meaty head. “Only a few know, I guess. The messengers probably all got their throats slit. Gods bless their souls. It’d be a miracle if we’re all not dead by the end of the month.”

“How many are dead?”

“Hundreds, I take it. Mostly guards and members of the royal court, probably. No point in killing civilians if you don’t want to clean up the mess.”

“And the prince?”

“Disappeared. Haven’t heard if they found his body or not.”

“Oi,” Gramps barks, slamming a plate down on the bar before Zenitsu.

With a jolt, Zenitsu yelps. Whipping back around, he flashes Gramps with wide eyes. “Gramps,” he whisper-yells, “is it true?”

Cocking a bushy brow, Gramps leans forward, arms crossed over his chest. “Is what true?”

“That the king is dead,” Zenitsu says, slowly. He can hardly believe the words are coming out of his own mouth.

Pointing a thick finger at him, Gramps flashes him a warning look. “It’s not your damn business spreading the news around. People are gonna be in a panic when it goes public.”

Zenitsu pales. “No way…”

“I had a carrier pigeon come in this morning,” Gramps continues, voice tight. “Unless they kick them bastards out of Dinton Keep, Ainamoryp can kiss its ass goodbye.”

Glancing down at the steaming meat and eggs in front of him, Zenitsu’s body immediately says that his appetite is gone.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Roman Sea, off the coast of Ainamoryp, May 3rd, 492, 12:39

“Captain! Land clear up ahead!”

“Well, what the fuck you waiting for? This ship isn’t going to dock itself!” you screech.

The sky above is a limitless blue, not a hint of a cloud in the sky. The sun itself seems in a good mood, as does the waters. Your ship heads towards your homeland gracefully, the waves slapping against the sides in a hello, welcome back. As much as you love sailing and exploring new lands, home forever beckons for you, calls you back with welcoming arms. There’s nothing as relieving as setting foot on familiar land.

Although you’re young, you’re powerful. Already a captain of your own crew, the proud owner of The Pearl Lady, you’re meant to go places and the gods are surely smiling down at you. Granted, the overexposure of sun and salt water may have left your skin permanently freckled and mind scrambled, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re a force to be trifled with, and all be damned if they dare challenge you.

Hands settled on the wooden railing, you watch as the rest of your crew scrambles to prepare for docking, lowering the sails and readying the anchor. The coast of Ainanomyrp glimmers under the afternoon sun, truly a sight to behold, but something feels… off. Normally, other boats come to and from the mouth of inland, the capital city of Endeavor being a major port. However, there’s not another boat on the water, not even the small dingeys for fishing.

Your ship glides in smoothly, coming to a gradual stop by an open dock. Your crew pushes the anchor overboard, the salty water giving a final splash as your boat jolts to a stop. Hell, even the docks are unnaturally silent, not even a single ship hand or merchant in sight. All other vessels are docked, their decks bare of any people. Your crew shifts uneasily, clearly noticing the strange lack of other human beings.

“Uh, Captain?” the quartermaster asks you, hand instinctively landing on the butt of his pistol as he glances around, “Should we lift anchor and sail to another port?”

“Like hell we are,” you grunt, narrowing your eyes. Something’s coming. You can feel it.

Stepping away from the railing, you saunter down to the main deck, heading to the side where your crew set the bridge down. The clunk of wood striking wood echoes into the air; instead of it being a relieving sound – a sign that you’re truly home – it’s ominous. It’s only a matter of time before disaster hits.

“Keep your eyes peeled,” you tell your crew, “Something isn’t right.”

“Halt!” an unknown voice calls. Straining your neck forward, you catch sight of a small patrol of guards in dark gray armor clamber down the cobblestone steps leading from the streets to docks. While it’s somewhat of a relief to see actual human beings, you’re immediately on edge, body stiffening. Those are not the given uniforms of Ainamorypan soldiers.

“Fuck,” you grumble, biting the inside of your cheek.

Metal clanking against wooden boards fills the tense atmosphere as the patrol comes up to your ship. The group stands ramrod-straight, faces stoic, eyes sharp. The leader steps forward, neck craning as he looks up at you. “Who goes there?” he barks.

Clicking your tongue, you lean over the side of the ship, elbows resting on the weathered wood. “A bunch of merchants returning home. Everybody’s got to make a living somehow, eh? Now, if you’d kindly fuck off, I’d like to step on some actual dirt for once.”

The guard sneers, expression turning ugly as he flashes yellow teeth. “All incoming and outgoing ships are to be registered. And, as far as I’m concerned, your shitty dingey isn’t on the list.” With a metallic snap of his fingers, one of his followers hands him a clipboard and a hunk of charcoal. “Ship name, captain’s name, date of arrival and planned dismissal.”

At that, you bark out an incredulous laugh. “Are you fucking kidding me? When was this instilled?”

“Just this morning, actually,” the guard snips. “Since I’m feeling merciful, I’ll let you off with a warning just this once. Follow these orders or we’ll have no other option than to imprison you.”

Prison? Seriously? Just who did this dickhead think he’s talking to?

Scoffing, you draw yourself to a full stand, placing your hands on your hips. You could easily pull out your pistol and try to shoot one of the damned guards, but lead balls aren’t going to do much against a full suit of armor. “And I’m pretty sure I told you to fuck off.”

The same guard who gave the leader the clipboard and charcoal steps close and leans in, whispering something into the leader’s ear. The leader spares you a single glance, his eyebrow cocking in interest. With a wave of his hand, the rest of the patrol storm the ship, drawing their blades. Your crew readies their own blades and brandishes their pistols, murmuring unsure words.

“Captain (l/n) of The Pearl Lady,” the lead guard says, scribbling it onto his parchment. “Such a pleasure to meet a wanted criminal.”

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Dinton Keep’s dungeons, Ainamoryp, 492, May 3rd, 13:00

“Oi, oi! Keep your grubby hands off of me!” you bark, shoving yourself against the guards holding you by the biceps.

“Shut your damn trap, you filthy pirate,” the guard on your right seethes, his putrid breath clogging your nostrils. “Thinking you can just waltz right into Endeavor? What are you, an idiot?”

“Far as I was concerned, Endeavor used to be leagues more friendly than this horse shit.”

“I told you to shut up,” the guard barks. Lifting a hand, he cracks up alongside the back of your skull, leaving a thrumming ache. The other guard merely stays silent as he shoves you into the other’s arms, fishing a set of keys from his side and opening the door to a cell. “Fucking rot for all I care,” the guard spits, pushing you into the dingy space.

You sputter as you crash onto the jagged rock, your palms scraping against the surface. You hiss in pain as the guards slam the gate shut and lock it. The one who mocked you takes off with a bark of laughter as the other simply follows behind. “Bloody bastards,” you grunt as they disappear from sight. “I oughta wring their necks and hang them from the bow.”

“Are you alright?” a new voice speaks.

With a screech, you fling yourself to the side, your hip screaming in pain as a sharp rock digs into the flesh. You instinctively reach for your sword, only to be left blubbering curse after curse after remembering that the guards confiscated all of your weapons. Perched on the windowsill sits a boy no older than you, head topped with messy green curls and a face adorned with a sea of freckles.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you!” the stranger proclaims, waving his hands frantically before him. Hopping down from the wall, he holds his hands in front of him, much like he’s encountering a vicious wild beast. Which isn’t totally wrong, but still.

“Bullshit you didn’t! I’ll kick your ass, mate!” Scrambling onto your feet, your press your back against the cold stone wall, bloody hand clutching your bruised hip.

“I swear it! It’s just… Well…. Look, your hands are bleeding,” the stranger says, turning his hands so his palms are facing upwards. “Let me treat them.”

Your face curls into a snarl. “And why would I do that?”

“I’m a healer,” he continues, stepping forward and snatching your wrist. You yelp at the sudden contact and try to rip your hand away, but his grip is strong. Now that he’s up close and personal, you can’t deny the fact that he’s tall and muscular, the sleeves of his tunic rolled up and exposing the veins and scars riddling his forearms.

Holding your wrist with one hand, the other hovers above your scraped, bloody palm. A golden light emits from his hand, casting a warm glow over your own. Ah, so this guy is a magic wielder. While it isn’t uncommon for people to practice magic, you yourself have never taken an interest in it. Magic can be a finnicky force to deal with, and one who cannot rein in its power may be subjected to a world full of hurt.

With a sigh, you keep your emotions under control and allow this stranger to continue his treatment. For one, this guy is healing you for free, and secondly, he appears as though he can easily throw you through the stone wall with little effort.

“There,” he says once he’s finished, gingerly retracting his hands and flashing you a tiny smile. “It’s all better now, see?”

Staring down at your hands, you flex them into fists, noticing how whatever tension that was in them had disappeared along with the scrapes. Magic can truly be a wonderous thing, but in the wrong hands… Well, things don’t turn out as pretty.

“I don’t get it,” you say, sidestepping the stranger and planting yourself on the pile of dirty hay strewn about the floor, “why is a healer in a dungeon, of all places?”

At your question, the stranger visibly perks up. He follows your movements, getting onto the floor and sitting across from you. “I guess a proper introduction is needed, huh?” he says, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. “My name is Izuku. Izuku Midoriya. It’s a pleasure!”

“I didn’t ask for your name,” you snap. “I asked you why you’re here, not who you are.”

At that, Izuku huffs and physically deflates. “You remind me a lot of Kacchan…”

“By the gods, do you know how to answer a simple question? You know what, don’t even answer that-“

“The king is dead,” Izuku says, cutting you off. His large eyes don’t hold their friendly glow anymore, but rather one of determination and anger. “He was killed last night.”

You blink rapidly at him, your mind throwing itself in for a loop. Wait, wait, the king is dead? How is that even possible? The king isn’t a weakling, and you’ve heard stories of him being a powerful fire sorcerer. But now that you think about it, it would explain the change in guards, the lack of people filling the once busy docks and streets…

You inhale sharply. “How?” you ask, voice small.

“Forces from Nialliv intruded the country last night and took Dinton Keep by force. People were…” Izuku stops, wets his lips. “People are gone,” he finally forces out. “The king is dead, the prince is nowhere to be seen, and all of Ainamoryp is going to lose hope.” Wringing his hands, his gaze drops. “I was here when the intrusion happened. I was fighting off enemy soldiers with all my might, but I couldn’t save the city. People are dead because I didn’t work hard enough.”

“And then you were captured,” you say. “But why not killed?”

“They found out I was a healer – well, I specialize in herbology, but the point still stands. They had men and women on their side who needed medical attention, and I was simply another pair of hands to them,” Izuku answers dryly. “They threw me in here once everybody was treated.”

“Then why’d you help them? They’re the enemy, you fool. You wanna know what I would’ve done? Slit every single last one of their throats.” Shaking your head, you lean back against the wall and laugh, but there’s no humor to it. “When you have the opportunity to fuck your opponent over, you take it.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Izuku snaps, clenching his fists in his lap. “I can’t stand seeing others hurt. I’m a healer, for gods’ sakes. Not everyone is some filthy, selfish pirate like you.”

Snapping your attention back to him, you send him a steely glare.

“Wait, wait,” Izuku hastily says, reaching up and smacking himself on the forehead, “I didn’t mean that-“

“You said what you said,” you interject. “And you know what? You’re right. I’m so fucking filthy and selfish that I’m the captain of The Pearl Lady. I bathe in blood and gold, you pathetic little twat. And I like it. So, do us both a favor, shut your damn trap, and leave me the hell alone.”

Izuku audibly gulps, his hands falling limp in his lap. You almost want to laugh at him; whenever somebody hears of your infamous title, their reactions are all the same. Despite the stigma towards pirates, you’re still pretty damn powerful, and your crew voted you as captain for a reason. Turning away from Izuku, you settle onto your side, willing for either sleep to take over or for Izuku to magically disappear.

Your quartermaster was right – you should’ve lifted anchor and docked somewhere else.

Anywhere else.

#kny #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #mha #bnha #ny hero academia #boku no hero academia #kny x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #demon slayer x reader #kny bnha crossover #serendipity fic

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onebizarrekai · 4 years

Text

Meme Waker: That Final Thing

okay aight here we go here’s the big idea compilation you’ve all been waiting for or something like that

since I’ve finally accepted meme waker’s inevitable fate, I’ll share what I’ve had laying around about it. prepare yourself for a wild ride.

first of all, what existed of the planned character key:

Nightmare = Link Dream = Aryll Cross = Tetra Ink = The Entire Pirate Crew Granny Gertrude = Grandma Horror = Quill Killer = Medli Color = Komali Dust = Makar XGaster = Tingle (yes, you read that right) Fresh = Fado (?) Geno = Laruto Blueberry = Niko Error = Ganondorf Giant Flying Chicken = Helmaroc King Core Frisk = The King XChara = Zelda

So XChara was going to fill the role of Zelda–basically, what was going to happen was that when Cross and Nightmare reached sunken Hyrule, which was replaced by the Omega Timeline, they encountered Core Frisk and with their magical Core Frisk powers that apparently exist, separated XChara from Cross’s body. Because Error was hunting him down for whatever villainous reasons (I dunno, maybe he wanted to find Overwrite or something), XChara was going to spend the near remainder of the comic hiding in the Omega Timeline from Error. It was a pretty neat reference to the fact that Error doesn’t know where the OT is.

Unsurprisingly, considering when I was working on this, Nightmare and Cross may have eventually started dating. They were going to kiss during a fight that involved them accidentally rolling down a hill and then likely spend the remainder of the comic referring to each other as boyfriends, with no further indication of romance between them. I never really mentally decided whether I was actually going to incorporate this or not.

In moments where someone needed to present a musical instrument, Cross was going to play a keytar.

There is a very high chance that the entire comic was going to end up being an elaborate prank set up by Ink and Error.

After being rescued from the Forsaken Fortress, Dream was going to get crossbows and… I dunno, maybe be useful with them sometimes. One consideration was that he was going to complain about being stuck in a glorified retirement home and request joining the party.

Nightmare was going to have a fake ID with the name “Nathaniel Meyer” on it.

When Nightmare eventually pulled up the Gaster Sword, he was basically going to do a magical girl transformation and get a new outfit. I was considering holding a contest where people would submit new designs for Nightmare before I realized that I may have wanted to do it myself. Meanwhile, Cross’s design change at the same time was going to pertain to the fact that he had such a hard time with his uniform that he just wanted to start wearing normal clothes.

When XChara was separated from Cross, it would indicate that Cross can’t use the hack knife anymore, so I had to think of a new weapon for him. I considered giving him arm mounts with knives in them for no reason other than being extra, but I was probably just going to end up going with a regular sword.

Nightmare and Cross were going to be mistaken for missionaries at some point due to Nightmare introducing Cross as his ‘companion’.

Nightmare’s fake ID is actually a driver’s license. Cross questions how he could get one when he’s only fifteen, and Nightmare responds with “what can I say? I live in the country.”

The Giant Flying Chicken was going to evolve into the Cyborg Giant Flying Chicken before Nightmare and Cross fought it. It was already a robot, but someone decided it would be fun to make it look more robotic for some reason. Maybe too many people tried to eat it.

Because Blueberry was going to replace Niko, that meant there was going to be a form of challenge that he would present to Nightmare and/or Cross. They were probably just going to play Dance Dance Revolution.

The dress that Granny Gertrude gave Nightmare was actually going to be infused with magical powers. Either Nightmare could only access the power of the Triforce when he’s wearing the dress, or it was going to be a piece of equipment that turned his sword into a fire sword.

Nightmare was going to come back to the Village of Old People to see that his grandmother had conquered it with capitalism.

Dragon Roost Cavern was going to be replaced with a Pokemon gym.

When Nightmare supposedly kicked Error’s ass at the end of the story, he was going to say something along the lines of “Because fuck you!” and it would be the first and only f-bomb in the whole comic. Nightmare would proceed to say that it was the first time he’d ever said fuck and that he felt dirty.

The Triforce of Courage was just going to be called the Triforce of Porridge for exactly zero reason.

Some incarnation of Buffmare was going to exist in the comic, but only in a sequence taking place in Nightmare’s imagination.

When Cross realized his backpack was missing, it was because I realized his backpack was missing. I forgot to draw it. I decided that the backpack actually fused with him to create a Zelda-style magic pocket.

Nightmare was going to try to control a seagull with the command melody, but he was accidentally going to start controlling Cross instead and make him run into a tree.

The Tree Spirit was going to hold official interviews for placeholder guardians in Dream and Nightmare’s absence. These placeholder guardians were going to be Neil, the overenthusiastic French furry, and Ccino, the local emo kid who is absolutely done with everyone’s bullshit, and exclusively because they were the only ones who applied for the job. Neil was going to have an ulterior motive of becoming Gaston’s successor.

Neil and Ccino were eventually going to ‘get together’, if you can even call it that, and for no other reason than shitpost reasons.

Nightmare may have had a showdown with the Giant Flying Chicken while riding the Great Charizard from Dragon Roost.

Another possible concept for whole story was that it was a bad self insert fic written by a younger version of Nightmare, but it’s really unlikely that I would’ve gone through with that.

Nightmare and Cross may have needed to go on a fetch quest to find Ink’s brush in the ocean because they accidentally lost it, but honestly that would’ve served nothing for the progression of the story. Because XGaster put a tracker on Ink’s brush, they were going to have to enlist his help.

and that about wraps up my notes, now let me throw what I had sitting around of a script draft–reading this was a trip because I forgot that literally 60% of it existed:

(inside the mountain)

Cross: holy shoe, EVERYONE has wings? how is this a thing??

Cross: I’m frickin jealous

Chief: Oh. You must be. Those guys.

Horror: yeah man, I enlisted their help to capture the Chicken Terror, but then they were all like yo, it’s a robot! 

Chief: horror robot or not I told you that we weren’t going to capture the chicken terror for food because we’re not cannibals we don’t eat birds

Horror: but

Horror: we’re hardly even birds!

Chief: you know your job Horror. now get back to work. your actual work.

Horror: But… being the mailman sucks! 

Chief: Do I need to confiscate your axe again? 

Horror: OKAY FINE. I’M GOING. (flies away in a huff)

Chief: AND DO YOUR GODFORSAKEN LAUNDRY!

Chief: I apologize for that… so, how can I help you two today? 

Nightmare: You guys have like, some pearl thing or something? We need to like, collect three of them in order to… save the multiverse… or something like that.

(Camera dramatically darkens.)

Chief: It’s just as the prophecy foretold…

Nightmare: oh god what

Chief: You see, young whippersnappers… legend tells of a great hero that would rise up and save a bunch of people in times of desperation that they don’t even realize are desperate. the great hero would travel far and wide in search of the Pearls of Shiny to finally retrieve a great weapon that he would use to strike down the evil that few knew existed. also the hero would have a sidekick wearing stupid clothes.

Cross: EXCUSE ME

Chief: THAT’S JUST WHAT THE PROPHECY SAID

Nightmare: okay, y’know, I’m just gonna roll with it. where can I get the pearl?

Chief: Well… that’s where the hard part comes in. You see, the pearl belongs to my son… but he’s been acting like an edgy teenager lately.

Nightmare: Great…

Cross: Is there a reason he’s being edgy? Maybe there’s something we can do to appease his hormones.

Cross: Free food works like a charm for me.

Chief: No, it’s more complicated than that. When one of our people becomes of age, they climb to the top of Charizard Island to receive a scale from the Great Charizard that will allow them to grow wings.

Nightmare: the… great charizard.

Chief: But lately, the Great Charizard has been throwing inexplicable temper tantrums. No one can get close to him anymore. And with my son being of age, he’s decently pissed off about this.

Chief: We’re thinking that the Great Charizard is displeased about something, and it is also causing our shortage of food.

Nightmare: Wait, you worship something named after a Pokemon? 

Chief: Anyway, perhaps you two will be able to talk some sense into my son. Maybe he just wants to talk to someone his age that isn’t Horror or Killer.

Nightmare: What kind of names are those? 

Chief: There’s a letter that I wanted my son to read, and I’ve given it to Killer to hold onto. You can go get it from him upstairs in the first room near the stairs, just tell him I sent you. He’s the little guy in the short shorts, you’ll probably recognize him when you see him.

Nightmare: Can’t you just call him here? 

Chief: No, it is of upmost importance that you experience a basic fetch quest in order to become a great hero, because those fetch quests will become needlessly complicated before you even realize it.

Nightmare: ?????

Nightmare: I can’t even tell if you’re joking or not–

Cross: dude let’s just go get the letter

(scene transition)

(Killer dramatically turns around and it zooms in and says his name SSB style)

Nightmare: Wait, why do you get a dramatic introduction? 

Killer: Dayum. New faces.

Nightmare: Why is everyone ignoring my questions??

Killer: (needlessly sensual voice) So, what brings you here? (walking closer) 

Nightmare: (backs into wall) NO BUENO

Cross: You have a letter or something? 

Killer: Oh. Yeah. Chief gave it to me for some reason. Yo, catch.

(He chucks it like a ninja star. Cross catches it between his hands in front of his face.) 

Killer: Ey! You actually caught it! 

Cross: I’m a trained ninja.

Killer: So like, who are you guys?

Cross: I’m Cross. He’s Larry.

Nightmare: NIGHTMARE. MY NAME IS NIGHTMARE.

Killer: Aw man, I know the feel of having a really lame name and wanting one that’s cooler.

Nightmare: No. Like. My name is actually Nightmare. My senile grandma called me Larry earlier today and this loser picked up on it.

Killer: There’s no need to lie. I understand.

Nightmare: I’M NOT LYING!

Killer: anyway make sure you get that letter to Color there’s something I have to do–

(Killer zips out the door behind them.) 

Cross: what even the frick? 

Nightmare: that guy freaks me the frick out.

Nightmare: literally. I felt like he was coming onto me.

Cross: you’re imagining things.

(SCENE TRANSITION)  Cross: all right Nightmare I literally do not trust your ability to communicate with another person in a way that will make them feel inclined to give us something so just let me handle this okay

Cross: okay better yet wait outside the room

(Nightmare makes a less than amused face.) 

Cross: it’s for the greater good

(Cross walks into the room.)

Cross: hi my name is Cross and

Color: LEAVE

(Cross immediately exits the room.)

Cross: this is a lost causeNightmare: what

Cross: go make him bleed with your words

Nightmare: dude isn’t this the part where we give him the frickin letter

Cross: (pauses) :o

Cross: OH RIGHT

(Cross takes the letter and goes back into the room, leaving the door open)

Cross: oh yeah this letter is for you it’s from your dad or something

Color: Oh, wow. Can’t even be bothered to talk to me in person.

Color: Give me that thing.

(Color stares at the letter. It’s actually a letter from Killer filled with really bad pickup lines and other really creepy compliments.)

Color: What the hell, you said this was from my dad!

Cross: We thought it was–??

(Killer teleports in behind them, scaring the shit out of Nightmare) 

Killer: Suuuup~

Color: Killer I swear to god.

Killer: Here’s the actual letter, though you might not be happy with it.

(He flings it at Color and it lands in front of him. He reads it over, rolls his eyes and throws it in the trash.)

Cross: So uh… I don’t know what the letter says but apparently we’re prophesied heroes collecting a bunch of pearls to save the multiverse and the pearl you have is– 

Color: Can everyone just get out of my room already?

(everyone just leaves)

Nightmare: What even was the point of that stupid fetch quest?

Killer: Oh yeah, can you guys help me with something? Just a smalllll favor. And I can’t ask anyone else because I’m not supposed to do it.

Killer: I need some strong, reliable people…

Nightmare: Don’t touch me.

Killer: It’s just a small favor! And I mean actually small, it’ll take like two minutes.

Nightmare: I have doubts about this.

Killer: Great! Meet me out back by the spring.

Nightmare: Wait which side is the back–

(Killer is gone)

Nightmare: Cross which side is the back.

Cross: I don’t know??

(after spending twenty minutes going through the various exits trying to figure out how to get there)

Killer: What the hell took you so long.

Nightmare: Directions would’ve been helpful. There wasn’t even a freaking map anywhere in there!

Killer: The hollow is like the size of a middle class house! How difficult could it be to find out where to go?!

Nightmare: IT’S A DOME THERE IS NO BACK

Cross: OKAY, what matters is that we’re here, what the heck do we do now.

Killer: Okay, okay. (steps backwards) Look, if you look around here, it’s all a dried up spring. The Great Charizard was throwing a tantrum, a boulder fell down and it coincidentally plugged up the spring for the third time this week, which is literally our main source of fresh water. I’m honestly getting sick of this so I’m going to climb the mountain and see what’s going on because everyone else is too scared to do it.

Nightmare: God. You’re not gonna make us go with you, are you? 

Killer: Oh, no way. I just need you to throw me up that cliff over there so I can get into the cavern that leads up the mountain.

Nightmare: Can’t you fly?

Killer: Not thirty feet straight up. Do these noodle arms look like they can manage that? 

Nightmare: Whatever. But quick question. How the hell does one throw a person.

Killer: I weigh like fifty pounds. It shouldn’t be that hard. Also, if you’ve noticed, the wind is rapidly changing directions, so you’ll probably have the best effect throwing me when the wind is blowing that way.

Nightmare: Mhmm. Sure. Let’s just get this over with.

(Nightmare crouches down and Killer fuckin walks onto his shoulders)

Nightmare: Hey! Watch it!

(some way or another he throws Killer and Killer barely makes it to the cliff, face planting into the ground)

Nightmare: Well I guess that worked.

Killer: THAT WAS TERRIBLE!

Nightmare: YOU’RE WELCOME! COULD’VE JUST USED A DAMN LADDER!

Killer: NOBODY OWNS A LADDER HERE BECAUSE EVERYONE CAN FLY!

Nightmare: Then how the frick do people get up this cliff?!

Killer: THERE’S NORMALLY A BRIDGE BUT IT BROKE AND PROBLEMS LIKE THESE ARE PRECISELY WHY I’M CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN TO BEGIN WITH! ALSO I’M LEAVING BYE. (turns and leaves)

(cricket cricket)

Cross: Nightmare we should probably follow him.

Nightmare: No.

Cross: What else do we have to do. We solve their problem, Color can get his wings and then he stops being emo and gives us the pearl out of the goodness of his heart.

Nightmare: I’m not risking my life for this! If that guy is willing to do it himself I’m going to let him do it!

Cross: Dude, look at that guy. He looks about at capable fixing whatever the problem is as Ink is at providing emotional support. If this happens to be anything like a video game, we’re the only ones capable of solving anything. Besides, what else are we supposed to do? Hang around and wait for something to happen?

Nightmare: All right, fine. But how are we supposed to do something? It’s not like we can climb up a thirty foot cliff.

Cross: No, but we can swim, right?Nightmare: What?

(Cross draws a line around the rock covering the spring. It dematerializes into red squares and water starts to spew out of the spring. They both run back towards the side and climb up the cliff they came from)

Nightmare: Dude, what the hell was that?

Cross: I can draw lines around things with my sword and they do that and go away.

Nightmare: … do they go somewhere? 

Cross: I dunno.

(Meanwhile in Xtale, a boulder slams into the floor and almost crushes Fresh because of course he’s there)

(The spring fills up) 

Nightmare: You know I’m starting to have second thoughts about this swimming thing seeing as how I’ve never actually–(Cross kicks him into the water) 

(LATER) 

Nightmare: YOU ASSHOLE I ALMOST DROWNED

Cross: You’re exaggerating.

Random Dude: STOP RIGHT THERE! 

Nightmare: who.

Random Dude: YOU AREN’T GOIN ONE STEP PAST THIS POINT! YOU’RE LIGHT YEARS FROM FACING BROCK!

(nightmare squints)

(comic suddenly goes into a battle sequence)

Nightmare: whoa whoa what the hell is happening

Cross: oh my god it’s pokemon NIGHTMARE IT’S POKEMON

Nightmare: I DON’T HAVE ANY POKEMON CROSS THREATEN HIM

(Random Dude sent out MEWTWO)

Cross: DEAR GOD

Cross: LISTEN THERE’S A HUGE MISUNDERSTANDING WE’RE NOT TRAINERS WE DON’T HAVE POKEMON

Random Dude: tHEN WHY ARE YOU IN A POKEMON GYM HUH

Cross: Uh… touring?

Random Dude: OH

Random Dude: I SEE

(The Random Dude returns his Mewtwo.)

Random Dude: THERE HAS BEEN AN UNFORTUNATE MISUNDERSTANDING

Cross: Say uh, you didn’t happen to see a scrawny dude with wings pass through here, did you?

Random Dude: Oh yeah, he went into the next room and took the elevator to the top.

(silence) 

Nightmare: Why are there always elevators.

(two seconds later, they reach the elevator and there’s a dude standing in front of it) 

Nightmare: um excuse me we need to use the elevator

Dude: oh man I can’t find my glasses anywhere what do I do

Nightmare: excuse me I said move

Dude: oh man I can’t find my glasses anywhere what do I do

Nightmare: HELLO

Dude: oh man I can’t find my glasses anywhere what do I do

Nightmare: MOVE ASSHOLE

Cross: I think it’s a preprogrammed NPC.

Nightmare: UAGGGGHHHHH

(Nightmare throws himself into the person, but he slams into the STEEL WALL OF NPC)

Nightmare: CROSS TELEPORT HIM AWAY

Cross: wait are you serious what if that freakin kills him I don’t know where these things go

Nightmare: YOU SAID IT YOURSELF HE’S AN NPC

(Cross shrugs. He draws a line around the NPC and the NPC disappears)

(one elevator ride later)

Nightmare: (chokes) oh god

Nightmare: the altitude

Cross: nightmare this island is still lower than ink’s house.

Nightmare: PSYCHOLOGICAL ALTITUDE

(fwip)

Cross: Oh look, it’s that guy from earlier.

Nightmare: Got captured somehow. Why am I not surprised?

Killer: YOU KNOW WHAT SCREW YOU GUYS

(A really buff guy abruptly slams into the ground)

Buff Guy: FEAR MY WRATH, FOR I AM BROCK! LEADER OF ALL THINGS ROCK HARD

Nightmare: Look man, we really don’t have time for this, just let the shota hoe go, we’re just checking up on the huge-ass Charizard up there.

Killer: excuse me

Brock: I AM THE LOYAL GUARDIAN OF THE GREAT CHARIZARD! You can only pass if you defeat me! 

Cross: what the hell is even happening anymore

(Loud gym battle music as the gate at the entrance of the clearing slams shut)

Nightmare: LOOK WE’VE BEEN OVER THIS WE DON’T HAVE ANY POKEMON

(Brock war cries as he sends out a very anime geodude)

Nightmare: can someone please tell me I’m hallucinating all of this

Brock: WELL, IF YOU DON’T HAVE POKEMON, YOU’LL HAVE TO USE A RENTAL

Cross: What? But rental pokemon always suck.

Brock: YOU MUST PROVE YOUR WORTH SOMEHOW! AND BECAUSE YOU’RE SMALL CHILDREN YOU OBVIOUSLY CAN’T PROVE IT THROUGH SUMO WRESTLING.

Nightmare: I’m fifteen!

Cross: Nightmare I think you’re missing the point.

Killer: Good god, just let them through and let me out of here, they’re the heroes of prophecy.

Brock: PROPHECY

Brock: GOODNESS ME I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT

(Brock returns his geodude)

Brock: YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING

Nightmare: That would have worked?

Brock: BUT! IF YOU WANT TO FREE THIS TINY FELLOW HERE, YOU MUST COMPLETE A DIFFERENT CHALLENGE! FOR YOU SEE, HE TRIED TO PASS THROUGH HERE WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION! 

(Killer rolls his eyes. Nightmare squints, literally pulling a notebook out of his shirt. He writes something in it, walking up to Brock and holding it up. It says “Let the guy out of jail you dick”)

Brock: AHA

Brock: WELL

Brock: I CAN’T ARGUE WITH THAT

(He stomps his foot on the ground and the bars in front of Killer go up)

Brock: DON’T BE CAUSING TROUBLE NOW KIDS 

(He ascends back into the sky) 

Cross: I’m not even going to ask. That entire conversation felt like a drug trip.

(Killer dramatically throws himself onto Nightmare) 

Killer: I knew you would come around, my knight in–

Nightmare: Why did I assume that you had become any less creepy in the last ten minutes. Why did I even do that? 

Killer: Because your heart told you to.

Nightmare: Dear god stop touching me or I will literally pick you up and slam you into the floor.

Killer: Feisty. Anyway, I figured out why the Great Charizard is freaking out all the time. His tail is hanging down into the room below him and something is chewing on it like all the time.

Cross: What? Then why doesn’t it just, I dunno, pull its freaking tail out of the room like a reasonable creature? Or maybe take care of the problem on its own?

Killer: The Great Charizard is like a five year-old. It’s self aware, but it expects all of its problems to be solved by everyone else and throws tantrums when that doesn’t happen.

Nightmare: Well that’s stupid. Why does everyone act like it’s some holy being then?

Killer: Because it’s a massive, terrifying dragon that can breathe fire?

ok unfortunately this is where the script ends but I hope you enjoyed that

oh yeah, and some extremely old art that I found:

as well as a brief consideration to make the characters human before deciding that I just didn’t want to work on the comic anymore.

basically you will notice that most of this doesn’t have a solid outline, and you’d be right: I never actually planned it that meticulously. I mostly just winged it and threw stuff in over the course of time and never even really planned anything close to a definitive ending beyond “maybe it was a prank”. sorry if this is like… anticlimactic, but it’s all I could find!

#meme waker #long post

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yukiwrites · 3 years

Text

Drunken Proposal

Thank you so much for the support as always, @ramann! I had so much fun writing this I got a bit carried away ;v;)!! I hope you like it!

Summary: Chrom finally works up the courage to propose to Robin, right after the war against Plegia -- but when he meets her, she’s way more than a bit tipsy.

Commission info HERE and HERE!

______________________________

The war with Plegia ended, leaving a blur of emotions inside Chrom's chest.

The soon-to-be Exalt couldn't have done it without his allies, -- each and every one of them played an important and irreplaceable part in helping him through all of that -- but it was true that the one he owned to the most was none other than his tactician, Robin.

She had been there from the start, fighting a battle that wasn't hers -- all the while serving as his pillar of strength during his moment of weakness. He owned so much to her, he wasn't even sure how he could ever repay it.

That was also while not considering the feelings he harbored for her that were locked deep into his heart; feelings that now had a fertile soil to grow, away from any conflict threatening their borders.

He had vowed to himself that he would give Robin the ring which was passed down as heirloom within the Royal Family -- the Queen's ring, given to the first wife of all Kings in the Ylissean history -- once this war was over. Of course, he didn't want to impose any more on her plate than he already had with all that went on after they met. If she denied his feelings, he would simply pull away and continue their relationship as friends.

What was important here, most of all, was how Robin felt. As for Chrom, as long as he could spend time with her by his side in any fashion, he was already satisfied -- knowing that no one would truly be worthy of the Queen's ring as much as Robin, though vowing to bury his feelings if need be.

Chrom shook his head to dispel the gloomy thoughts, though it was a hard task in and of itself to even focus on thinking amidst all the noise around him: they were in the middle of the first celebration to the war's end, still in their camp at the border of Plegia's capital.

It was a necessary relief for the soldiers who risked their lives to protect their halidom, as well as the first step into the peaceful era that surely would follow after Gangrel's demise; even if Chrom didn't actually feel like partying.

He had lost too much to be able to leisurely forget his troubles by drinking away into the night, though he would still attend to boost the morale of the Shepherds.

Actually, he had just come back from his quarters -- after the initial speech, he quickly went back to fetch the Queen's ring, intent on gifting it to Robin that night without fail -- so he was still searching for a spot to sit when somebody arm-locked him under their shoulder.

"Theree's our man! I thought you left, pal!" Vaike snorted, his breath stinking of beer, if his rosy cheeks weren't proof enough of his drunk state. "I was already gonna," he hiccuped, "call dibs and say I won against'cha in a drinking comp'tition!"

Chrom was well used to Vaike's armlocks, but the drunk man was gripping at him harder than usual, so it took the prince longer than usual to slip out of it. "I'm pretty sure you won, Vaike, yes." He cleared his throat, though Vaike's tipsy roar of victory filled the air with his thundering voice before Chrom could even think of the next words to say. "Anyway, have you seen Robin anywhere? Last I saw her, she was at Lissa's table, but none of them are-"

"Hahaw!" Vaike interrupted, simply pointing to somewhere behind Chrom.

The prince saw everything in slow motion, to the point that even the noise started to deafen around him. Still, there was a lot of noise.

Amongst all the yelling, all the laughing, all the mug-clicking, there were countless drinking competitions: People clapping and chanting, 'Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!' in all directions.

The spot Vaike pointed to was the center of the biggest of such gatherings, of which Robin was the protagonist.

Gregor, Basilio, Flavia, Lissa, Sully and Gaius sat around the tactician and were the main instigators of the chanting, with a myriad of rank-and-file soldiers surrounding them. To Chrom's surprise, Robin and Lon'qu were the ones in the middle of all that tom-foolery.

Befuddled by the unexpected development, Chrom approached by huddling himself against all spectators. "What- what's Robin doing there?" He didn't notice he had to voice his own thoughts to be able to hear them.

"Oh, darling, she tried her hardest to resist." Maribelle of all people spoke calmly right beside the prince -- he had managed to huddle all the way towards where his little sister was sitting, beside whom stood Maribelle as a watchful guardian. "It seems Basilio taunted Flavia by saying his 'champion' -- that is, dear Lon'qu over there who keeps getting redder and redder as he chugs down this sewage they call beverage -- could outdrink anyone she picked and, alas, our tactician was her target."

"She was as somber and sober as me when this all started -- how could it develop into this within the minutes it took me to go to my quarters-"

"It was a rather amusing show, allow me to say-- ah, Lissa, darling, do not put that thing in your mouth," she interrupted the instant Lissa tried to take a sip of Gaius' drink, tapping the princess' shoulder without batting an eye. "Where was I? Ah- yes, it was an entertaining show, dear Chrom. Shame that you missed witnessing the unwashed masses gathering faster than ants on a cube of sugar when the word 'bet' was mentioned."

Chrom would laugh if all of it hadn't happened the same night he had been planning to propose of all things. Huffing, the Prince shook his head. "This has to stop -- Robin will hate herself tomorrow for doing this."

"Ah, the rumored 'hangover' of the commoners. Do tell me when she wakes up, yes? I want to bear witness to it." Maribelle giggled with amusement, taking her eyes off Chrom towards the climax of the competition: Robin managed to chug the gigantic mug down without passing out in the middle, thus being deemed the winner.

"WOOOOOOOOO!" Bellows of victory roared here and there -- Chrom wasn't even sure if those were louder than the ones they uttered after they won the godsdamned WAR -- along with the clinking of coins that streamed from the losers to the winners.

"And THAT is your proof," Robin lifted her finger as her head spun around the moment she banged the mug on the table, "that you should not underestimate women, that we can even outdrink you!" Her voice was sleazy with the stupor, though her passionate speech got her from applause to approving whistles and yells, all of which made the rosy-cheeked tactician nod with a silly-looking, triumphant smile. "With that- I take my leaave." She wobbled to her feet, ignoring or not noticing how Basilio threw promises of calling her in whenever he needed a beer-chugging champion. Her steps were uncertain and, well, tipsy, so it was no wonder she tripped the moment she was on her feet. "Whoa there-"

"Careful," Chrom managed to catch her on time, his expression half worried, half amused -- to someone who took everything so seriously as Robin too look as foolish as this was a sight to remember, honestly.

"Chrom! Juust the man I wanted to zee! Did you see me jus' now? I moooped the floor with that woman-hating, fig-dodger Lonk!" She tried to gesticulate, but she was still with both arms wrapped around Chrom's waist.

"Hah, yes, I did see it. C'mon, let's get you out of here." He picked her up on his arms, careful not to do it too fast lest she got dizzier than she already was, moving her towards another, quieter, tent. "There, do you want me to fetch some water? You're not gonna enjoy waking up tomorrow..."

"Water... Water would be good, yeah..." She shook her head, as though the stupor of alcohol had started to loosen its grip on her after being taken away from all that excitement. "Waaater..."

Snorting, the prince turned around towards the water barrel, not realizing something fell out of his pocket.

"Muh? Wazzat, Chrom?" Robin pointed to the velvet little box just as Chrom had filled a cup with water.

"What's wha-AAAT?!" He threw the water, the cup and both hands up in surprise, drenching himself in the process as he quickly took the little box to shove it back into his pocket. "It's- uh, nothing, I just- well, I-"

"Chroom, you're blushing. You're so cute when you blush..." Robin laughed heartily before patting the prince's head since he had been kneeling right in front of her. "What really was that, hmm? Some big secret you can't tell your better half?" Robin snorted, "no, wait, clearly you're the better half here-"

"Marry me."

"-cause you've given me everythin-" Robin froze on her words, feeling like that water had fallen on her head instead. "Marry-"

"Uh, I mean, would you- gods, this was not how I expected this to go." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, not really minding how his entire hair was drenched by now. "I had a plan and it didn't involve you getting drunk on me, but- I'll make sure to ask you again tomorrow... But for now, I want to give you this: it's the Queen's ring-"

"Queen?"

"... yes, the Queen's ring, passed down from generati-"

"Me?"

"-ons of Queens... This is going nowhere, is it? Haha!" Laughing, Chrom slumped on the floor, with the little box wide open to show the wonderful heirloom.

Little did he know that while he laughed, Robin picked the ring and placed it in her left finger. "I'm gonna be queen?"

"Well, that was the plan- wait, Robin?!" Chrom had barely lifted his gaze to Robin when he saw her getting up from her seat and loudly open the flaps to the tent they were in.

"I'M GONNA BE QUEEN!!" She shouted atop of her lungs, so loud that it managed to deafen all the other sounds.

"Robin?!" Mortified, Chrom fidgeted behind his fiancée(?).

"PAY UP!!!" Gaius' voice echoed from somewhere around the loudest tent, bringing even more mortification to the prince's heart. He hid his face between both hands, wanting to disappear.

Yet, why wasn't he able to hide the huge smile apparent on his lips? Everything about this was so silly! To the failed proposal to the drunken acceptance to-

"Ah, Chrom, I forgot to say something important!" Robin turned to him with a foolish, pink smile. "I do!"

... to the two words that made him the happiest man in all realms.

#chrobin #chrom fire emblem #chrom #robin fire emblem #my writings #yuki's commissions #fire emblem awakening

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 4 years

Text

tapestry 👑 XXXIII

Warnings: dark elements, sex

This is dark!(king)Steve and explicit. 18+ only.

Summary: King Steven had a wandering eye but you never thought it would fall upon you.

This Chapter: The reader says goodbye.

Note: So this is the end. I hope you all enjoyed having this adventure with me. It wouldn’t have been possible without you. The response was amazing and I loved all the discussion around king Thot and Lord Barnacle. Super fun! I love you all and I hope this ending lends you a little comfort... maybe I’ll find it in me to do a sequel one day or maybe we’ll just leave it at this. But I’m happy with what I’ve done and that’s good enough for me. Hope you enjoy.<3

Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply! Love ya!

masterlist

That night, Steven sat by the bed but would not lay down. He was convinced there was a plot against him; against you; against his unborn child. He watched over you as you tried to sleep though your stomach and the life within you barely allowed for that. And the vision of the bloodied woman cradled in your skirts; the king standing above. You had done that.

When the morning came, Steven went to his desk. You rose and dressed with the help of Lady Marion who was called to aid you. You were allowed no maid as it was thought that any could try to finish what Rita had begun. Rather, what you had begun. When she left, you went to sit with the king. You found yourself rubbing your middle; a new anxious habit, and calming as the storm roared within.

“My king,” You said at last as you watched him sneer at his pen. “Might I a moment?”

He looked up and the wrinkle left his brow. He sat back and smiled. He stared at your stomach and you pulled your hand away to the arm of the chair. You did your best to smile back. He could be amenable if you coaxed him.

“I was curious…” You paused and swallowed down the bile that threatened to rise. “My former maid… Marge… I do wonder what happened to her.”

“The… maid?” He set his pen down and scratched his chin. “Why?”

“I… was hoping, well, I trusted her and considering what has occurred I did hope to have one close who I did not suspect of… treachery.” You looked down and back up at him coyly. You touched your stomach and his eyes followed. He bit his lip and nodded. “You did not…?”

He sighed. “She was sent back to the laundries and she does remain in the capital.” He said. “You truly trust her?”

“She never wielded a blade and she did speak to me kindly. Unlike the other.” You pushed yourself up and slowly rounded the desk. “I am so lonely when you are not around.”

“You have your ladies,” He countered as you came to the side of his chair and took his hand. “We will soon be at Drissot and you will have your sister.”

“For a time.” You played with his rings as you spoke. “You haven’t forgiven me.”

“Forgiven you?”

“For running.”

“I have,” He turned his hand over and squeezed yours. “I have no reason to begrudge you. I’ll send for the maid to meet us at Drissot.”

“Truly?” You tried not to seem too eager.

“For you,” He assured. “And you will need a maid badly as you start to grow.”

“Oh, thank you, husband,” You bent and kissed his cheek. He turned and kissed your lips before you could stand straight.

“We cannot have you unhappy, it does not bode well for the child,” He pecked the back of your hand and let you go.

You swept back around the desk, want to dance without a care for your ungainliness. You kept calm and turned back to him as you reached your chair. “I am happy,” You assured him. “I have survived.”

There was a knock upon the door before you could sit and the king looked past you. You turned as Steven called for his visitor to enter and you held onto the the chair as you watched Lord Barnes enter. He bowed and crossed to you. He took your hand and kissed it in all formality. You felt the paper against you skin and quickly tucked it up into your sleeve as you rescinded your hand.

You spun back to Steven as he welcomed his lord.

“Barnes, you’re late.” He greeted shortly.

“Seeing to some housekeeping,” He returned as he passed you and stood before the desk. “I was not prepared to have you more than a week.”

“Yes, yes, but we cannot travel just yet.” The king dismissed.

“Of course not. An incident as such does worry us all.” Barnes affirmed. “I am glad to see the queen well despite it.”

“Very well,” The king sat up and squared his shoulders. “When we reach Drissot we shall deliver the news to the court.”

“News?” Barnes echoed.

“We have an heir on the way,” Steve beamed as he folded his hands atop the desk. “And it would unfortunately see further postponement of our trip to Asgard.”

“They will not be happy,” Barnes warned.

“I cannot further imperil my heir after such an incident,” The king explained. “We will carry on to Drissot and return to the capital thereafter. We can think of Asgard when my heir does arrive.”

“I shall go,” Barnes declared suddenly. “In your place.”

“What?” You gripped the back of the chair and felt the folded parchment in your sleeve.

“You?” The king asked.

“We needn’t a parade to seal the compact. I can have a party arranged and see to the negotiations myself.” Barnes urged. “How many times did I not see to your will abroad, your highness?”

“You would go in my place?” Steve pulled his hands apart and rubbed his jaw.

“Stay. Keep your wife safe, welcome your child,” There was a trace of melancholy to the lord’s voice. “I think it would be best for all that I go.”

“You are certain?” The king raised a brow.

“Most certain,” Barnes assured and he let out a long breath. Of resignation, of relief. “If the conditions favour me, I might return to a new prince. And… would it not solve more than just the issue of Asgard?”

Steven stared at his friend. He caught his insinuation and leaned back in his chair. “I gather you’re right, Buck,” He said at last. “Very well, you shall go.”

“And…” Your voice nearly cracked as you stepped forward. You looked between the men nervously. “I think… you should take my father. As my own representative and in fulfillment of his council duties.”

“Ah, yes,” The king perked up at your suggestion. “Of course. My wife should not be without a man of her own. We are one now. My hand is hers, and hers mine.”

You smiled. If you would lose Barnes, you would at least be rid of another pest. You let out a shaky breath and resisted the urge to peek at Barnes. He stood stiffly, only feet from you.

“Thank you, my king. My father should be most humbled by the task.” You said meekly.

“I will need a man with experience,” Barnes added. “Several. He should doubtlessly be an asset to the party.”

“So…” The king leaned on the arm of his chair. “When would you leave?”

“Tomorrow. When you leave for Drissot. I shall ride to the capital with Stark, if you’ll allow me to take him as well, and we will fetch Lord Malford and a few others.” Barnes talked slowly as if his thoughts could not keep up with his words. “Then to Shell’s Harth. A single ship all we’ll need.”

The king nodded and held his chin as he considered the plan. “You’re certain, Buck?”

“Do not pretend it is as it was,” Barnes said. “Separation is perhaps the best for us. Our only chance, even.” He looked to you for a moment and back to the king. “Ever the victor, your highness.”

The men stared at each other silently. You could barely breathe for the tension. The king was the first to speak.

“Ever right, my lord,” He said. “I wish you safe travels.”

“I wish you good health. Your child too.” Barnes replied. “And you, my queen,” He turned to you. “Keep well.”

He bowed and backed out of the room. You watched him as the weight settled in your chest and you watched him go. You turned back to the king as the door closed. His eyes clung to the wood and for an instant, a sliver of sadness coloured his face. It faded just as quickly as he looked to you.

“My queen,” He said softly. “You do look rather peaky. I think you should take some rest.”

“I think I should,” You agreed and rubbed your stomach again. “The road ahead will be a long one.”

👑

You brought the king his first wine after supper. You spent much of the day with him as he fretted over Drossit, Asgard, and your eventual return to the capital. The second followed shortly as you nursed your own slowly. The third he barely seemed to taste and he emptied the bottle with the fourth.

Halfway through the next, you helped him stumble to bed. You could say it was an effect of the stress or blame it on his usual thirst, but it was as deliberate as the steps you took into the bedroom. His arm was draped over your shoulders as his weight threatened to cause your legs to crumple beneath you. He belched as you angled him onto the mattress.

You unbuttoned his overcoat and he wriggled out of it drunkenly. You took his boots off for him and he yawned loudly. You sat beside him as his eyelids began to droop. He reached over and touched your stomach before you could move away. You stayed closed and rubbed his shoulder.

“You have me in you,” He slurred. “Growing inside.”

“I do,” You humoured and his hand slipped into your lap heavily.

“Amazing…” He closed his eyes and his head lolled back and forth. “So… amazing.”

“It is.” You whispered and watched him closely.

His breath evened out and he was soon snoring. He’d regret the wine in the morning when you were due to depart. A little suffering would do him well, you mused as you lifted his hand from your lap. He didn’t flinch as you set it down beside him and backed off the bed.

You turned away and reached up into your sleeve and pulled out the leaf you’d read after Lord Barnes’ departure. Steve hadn’t noticed as you excused yourself with a dramatic gulp as if to spew upon him. “Chapel. Midnight.” Two words and yet they said all you needed.

You neared the door and looked back at the king. You were assured he wouldn’t wake before your return. You left him to doze and passed through the receiving chambers. You snuffed all but one lantern which you took with you as you stepped out into the corridor. Your guard looked at you grimly.

“I cannot sleep. I wish to visit the chapel.” You lied. “To pray.”

The guard grunted but did not protest. He followed behind as you walked down the hall and took the familiar path to the castle See. He remained outside upon your order and you entered with your lantern held high. The altar glowed with the light of a dozen candles and the pews were filled with shadows.

You walked down the aisle and found your usual place. You knelt and looked up at the apse. This was wrong. You knew that, but you had wasted so much time doing what was right. What good had it done you? And you had erred regardless. In a moment of desperation, you did what was right for you, not what was morally correct. And it served you well, so what was one last sin?

You were early. A habit. You truly did pray for a time. Not for forgiveness, or guidance, merely a reflection upon all that had transpired. There was no absolution; no redemption; no forgiveness. It was too late for that. For everything.

You heard a click and glanced behind you but the door remained closed. Footsteps came quietly from the front of the chapel and a figure emerged into the light of candles from a doorway hidden behind the statue of some famous saint. Lord Barnes looked up at you and smiled. You watched him approach and your heart clamoured in your ears.

He lowered himself beside you and folded his hands. He looked up to the altar and his eyes shone. His lips remained curved; a knowing upon his face. You admired him in the dim. You wanted to remember him, remember this moment when he was gone from you.

“Why did do it?” You asked.

“I had to. For you.” He said quietly. “For the baby.”

“No, you didn’t.” You breathed.

“I did,” He insisted. “I know that because you came here tonight.”

“He won’t hurt me now, I have his heir inside of me.” You said.

“And when it has been borne? What then? Do you think he would abide a child that might not be his?”

You were silent. You looked down at your hands and picked at the bandage around the left. You shook your head. “And so we’ve come to say goodbye.” You uttered.

“And so we have,” He slid his hand over and wrapped his fingers around yours.

You looked to him and tried to smile. A tear trickled down your cheek and he turned you to him. He wiped away the droplet and leaned in. His nose brushed against yours and his breath surrounded you. “Don’t. I don’t want to remember you sad.”

You blinked away the tears and sniffed. You nodded and slipped your hand from his. You reached up to untie the bandage around your head and uncovered the gash across your cheek. The stitches tugged at your skin. He backed away slightly and looked you over.

“You are still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known,” He sighed. “Astonishing.”

You lowered your lashes coyly. “Even after what I did?”

“What you did?” He reached out to run his finger just below the cut.

“The maid didn’t attack me. She only saw us and threatened to reveal it to the king.” You raised your eyes to him again. “I didn’t just scar my face, I scarred my soul.”

“You did what you had to do.” He pulled you back to him. “You’ve always done what you had to do, so now, do what you want to do.”

You crashed your lips into his. You slung your arms over his shoulders and pushed your chest to his. He embraced you and held you close as his lips slipped from yours. He kissed along your chin and neck as you tossed your head back. His fingers twined in the laces of your gown and tugged blindly.

You ran your hands along his shoulders and down his chest. You felt the firmness beneath, longed for it. Your lips met again as you unbuttoned his jacket and he let his arms fall back as you shoved the brocade down them. You parted as your gown loosened and you wriggled free of your bodice with his help. You stood and let him rip the dress past your hips.

Your corset was next, along with his undershirt, your slippers, his boots, stockings, your shift, his trousers, until you were entirely bare. Until you knelt before each other stunned and eager. Your eyes roved the lines of his torso, the muscle along his arms, the length of his desire. A fire burned so hot the smoke obscured all but that moment.

You kissed him again, your bandaged hand cradled his cheek hungrily. He pushed you back until you were on your back upon the floor, hidden between the pews. The candlelight flickered behind him as he hovered over you. He held himself over you as he gazed down through the dim.

“Are you certain?” He whispered.

“You’re the only thing I’ve ever wanted in all my life,” You framed his face with both hands and felt his soft hair between your fingers as you brushed it back. “The only thing that no one’s ever told me I should want.”

He smiled and brought his lips to yours again. He trailed them down along your throat, they tickled, and lower, to your chest. He doted on your flesh as he teased one breast and then the other. Not the rough nips you had come to know but a tender and easy worship of your flesh.

You inhaled as you tried not to giggle. His beard tickled your stomach as he got even lower. He lingered there and drew his nose around your navel. “You will be a beautiful mother, I should hate to miss it.”

“Do not think of it now,” You rasped. “Please.”

“Oh, but how can I think of anything but…” He purred as he slowly dragged his lips along your pelvis. “This.”

He nuzzled your tuft of hair and his breath was hot along your sex. You squirmed and reached down to touch his hair as it hung around his head. He dipped his tongue between your folds and danced around your bud. You gasped and spread your fingers over the crown of his head. He chuckled but did not relent.

His mouth had you writhing. And when you neared your peak he did retreat to teeth and tease your thighs. Until you pleaded for more and his tongue found that sacred spot again. Several times thus and you could not bear it. You hugged his head between your thighs and arched into him.

“Please,” You begged. “Please.”

This time he did not cease. He lapped you up as you came and continued until you did again. He was reluctant to part as he left a trail along your stomach and chest and pressed his wet lips to yours. You tasted yourself on him; you tasted him.

You took him in your hand and stroked. He trembled and you did it again. He shuddered as you repeated the motion over and over. You bent your legs around him and he lifted his head. You guided him to you and he held your head in his hand as he gazed into your eyes.

“Are you…”

“Shhh.” You hushed as you let him slip inside of you.

He sank into you and his lips parted. He gasped and you ran your fingers along the top of his broad chest, your arm bent between you. You hooked your legs over his and tilted your pelvis into him. He thrust slowly, steadily, as if to savour every moment.

You spread your fingers over his shoulder and trailed down to his bicep as you gripped the hard muscle there. You moaned as you welcomed him. You longed for more and more. You rocked into him from below as he sped up. You pulled him down to kiss you as you were overwhelmed by the sheer pleasure. Unlike any you’d felt before or likely, would again.

He pulled away as his breath picked up. He slid his arm beneath you and lifted you in a single motion. He held you in his lap as you rocked atop him. You were in control as he marveled up at you. You knotted your fingers in his hair as you pressed your other hand to his shoulder. You could barely withhold your moans as you chased your climax.

You hissed as you came and he gripped your hips to keep you moving. He slipped a hand down and cupped your ass as he guided you. His groans thrilled you and you couldn’t stop even as your orgasm fizzled. Another awaited you alongside his as he buried his face in your neck and grunted.

You felt his seed fill you. You slowed and he twitched. You shivered as he raised his head and looked you in the eye. You never wanted to leave this place. To surrender this sacred secret. You clung to him and rested your head on his shoulder.

“I will write to you,” He whispered. “As much as I can. I shall recount every dream I have of you. Of the life we could have had. And we shall live it in our hearts. Apart but forever entwined.” His fingers crawled along your spine as the sweat cooled on your skin. “Will you write me?”

“Of course,” You promised. “As I shall read every letter until it should turn to dust.”

“And you will tell me if I should need to return?” He pulled back and you were forced to lift your head and look him in the eye. “Tell me if he hurts you.”

“Bucky…”

“Tell me.” He repeated.

“I will.” You swore as you pecked his lips. “I will.”

“But for now, one last goodbye,” He laid back with you atop him. “The present is always more satisfying than any future, for it is ours and we are here.” He caressed your thighs as he spoke, “We are alive.”

END

#tapestry #Steve Rogers #Bucky Barnes #dark!steve rogers #dark steve rogers #bucky barnes x reader #dark steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x reader #dark!steve rogers x reader #dark!fic #fic #dark fic #series #au #medieval au #mcu #marvel #captain america

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wonunuu · 4 years

Text

𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 🎀 𝙟𝙤𝙨𝙝𝙪𝙖 𝙭 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

fourteen:

Your feel your heart race and you breath getting heavier as you pace across your room, back and forth, while waiting for Joshua's call.

About an thirty minutes ago, you were sat on a chair in a corner in your room. On your right hand was a cup of apple juice, casually taking little sips as you read your book held by your other hand.

"I rolled up my sleeves and began to lather the shaving foam over his chin, all the way up to his ears. Then I hesitated, the blade over his chin. ‘Is this the moment to tell you i’ve only ever done legs before?’" You read your novel aloud out of boredom, acting as if you were the protagonist. After adjusting on your seat to feel more comfortable, you continue your book reading. "He closed his eyes, and settled back. I began to scrape gently at his skin with the blade, the silence brok-" DING. Your phone, placed on your desk across from you, buzzed. You placed your juice and book on the side, getting up to fetch your phone. You open it and you see that it's a text from Joshua.

joshua ?: just got home from work. i'll just take a short shower then i'll call you okay?

you: yeah! take your time :)

joshua ?: okay. talk to you soon hon 💜

you: yeah ttys!

'What if he asks about my voice? Will he find out?' Thoughts filled your head as you wait for his call. You plop yourself on your bed and go under your soft duvet with your phone still in hand. Trying to get comfortable, you place your pillows vertically against your headboard. Leaning back against the now soft headboard, thanks to your pillows, a sigh escapes your mouth. While you sit in that position for a good two minutes, you decide to switch. You put your pillows back in their proper place and layed down on your stomach with elbows on the pillow. You stayed like that for another two minutes, and as you were about to change your position, you hear your phone ring. You pick up your phone and answer. "Hello?" Silence. "Hello?" You repeat. Silence. "Joshua?"

"Oh! Sorry. It's just- I just feel happy to finally hear your voice after such a long time. I almost forgot what you sounded like." he replied through the phone. Relieved, you release a long breath that you have been holding in since he called. You were glad that he didn't notice the different tones between you and Minseo, but you also felt a pang guilt in your chest as lying to him was harder now that you developed feelings for him.

"How was work?" You started the conversation. "Tiring," he whines. "I usually go to the bar to sing, but there were a lot of people today, he needed some extra hands. You hear him let out a shirt grunt, guessing that he just plopped himself on his bed, like you did awhile ago. You get uo from your bed and head to your chair at the corner of your room, deagging your blanket with you.

"How was your day?" He asks you. His voice sounded hoarse, probably from his long day at work. "Nothing much. I didn't go out today. Lazy day, you know?" You repsponded with a giggle. You hear him let out a chuckle at your statement. "That's good. It's nice to have some lazy days sometimes." You nodded in agreement, but remembered that he couldn't see you so you gave him a 'mhmm'.

"We rarely talked like this before. You know, just simple and casual." He continued. "It's kind of refreshing if you know what I mean. We never really got a lot of time before to talk like this due to out busy schedule." Despite the long distance between you two, you can feel his longing and yearning for Minseo, and you can't help but feel bad. You try to change to the topic by asking him if he had eaten, which worked as he answered your question. He said he ate chicken at the bar and when he got home, he made himself some ramen. He asks you the same question, you replied. "Yeah! I had salad and some coke."

"Oh. Nice combination. Must've been real good!" He remarks, sarcastically, then letting out a laugh. Hearing his laugh also made you laugh, but the he suddenly gets quiet. You notice his silence, you immediately stop laughing. 'Shit.'

"Your laugh." he mutters, making your heart accelerate in fear of getting caught. "What about it?" You tittered, in attempt to hide your nervousness. "I don't think I've heard you laugh. You never made a sound while laughing before."

'Ah. So Minseo was one of those who laughed silently.' You thought.

"Actually, I feel insecure with my laugh. Hence why I've always prevented from making a sound when laughing." You lied, hoping that it was good enough and that he would buy it. "Insecure? You don't need to feel insecure about your laugh. I think it's the cutest laugh I've ever heard." He comments. You feel butterflies in your stomach at his compliment. "You're just saying that because I'm your girlfriend." You joked, biting your bottom lip as you figeted with your book from earlier. You hear him let out a laugh. "Maybe?" He played along, "No, I'm just kidding hon. From now on, laugh freely around me. I want to hear that pretty laugh of yours." He tells you. sincerely.

Your call with Joshua lasted for about four hours. It consisted of exchanging jokes, laughs, and a whole bunch of flirting. In those four hours, you learned a lot about him, just the simple general things, nothing too deep. You learned that he liked horror movies, and that he enjoyed drinking wine and eating cheese. He also said he preferred red over white wine, which you had to disagree because white is the superior wine. You also learned that he has a hobby of making bracelets and necklaces. You found that cute and endearing as you haven't met a person in their 20s who liked to make bracelets as a hobby, let alone admit to doing it. He said gives them to his family members and friends. He also said he would also make one for you if you like. You couldn't refuse, so you tell him your favourite colours and favourite flower-- he said he would use it as a 'charm'.

The four hour call with him felt magical, and made you fall for him deeper. Your fear of him leaving and shutting you out after finding out the truth increased. 'I'm sorry Joshua, I really am.'

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

⤷ you receive a text from a guy meant for the woman he once loved, unaware of the fact that she is already long gone. you decide to play along because well, you're bored.

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finally decided to pick my ass up and capitalize my text 😌 also sorry for the late update,, i was quite busy today 🤧

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#seventeen #seventeen texts #seventeen fluff #svt au #svt #seventeen social media au #svt scenarios #seventeen imagines #svt imagines #svt texts #seventeen fanfic #seventeen au #seventeen scenarios #joshua x reader #seventeen joshua #svt joshua

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