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amor-immortalem · 3 years

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I Could Care Less (About You)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort

A/N: I wanted to write something around the time when Arella first got to the devildom. We all know Mammon didn't like the MC very much. It's my own thoughts that he was especially mean in those first few weeks up until they made the pact and I kind of wanted to explore that in terms of his and Arella's relationship.

It all started with small acts of kindness. Taking the fall for him when items would go missing so he wouldn’t get strung up from the ceiling, saving a plate for him when he was late for dinner, letting him copy her homework when he didn’t finish his in time. Mammon can’t understand it. He and this human hardly know anything about each other but here she is, doing little things that would make his life just a little bit easier. Hell, he’d even stolen multiple objects of value from Arella and yet she never ratted him out to his brother despite knowing damn well who did it. She just let it slide.

If he’s being honest, it scares him. Did she like him that much or could she possibly want from something from him? Mammon was sure she was gearing up to ask for a favor from him. He decided whatever it was he wouldn’t do it. He may have had the task of looking after this human forced upon him by Lucifer but he wasn’t about to sit back and comply with it.

The demon made sure to let the human know what an inconvenience she was to him almost every day- most typically whenever he had to cancel his own plans to escort her around town. She took it like a champ though, never seeming to let it bother her. She was so kind it was almost annoying. Maybe it really didn’t bother her. That must be the only reason she’s pestering him now. He did have to give her credit for her persistence though.

“Come on, Mammon! Lucifer left me in charge of the grocery shopping and I can’t go out alone or I’ll get eaten.” Arella said as she trailed after the Avatar of Greed. Having only been here in the Devildom for only a handful of weeks, she was still actually afraid that a lower demon might make a snack out of her.

“Ask one of my brothers ta take ya. I got plans and you’re not ruinin’ ‘em this time.”

Had any of the other brothers been home, Arella gladly would have asked one of them, but they weren’t- not even Mr. Shut-In himself! It was just her and her insensitive guardian demon.

“They’re not home, you know that.”

“I don’t give a shit, human! You got a phone. Just text ‘em. Now scram! I got a poker game ta get to and you’re holdin’ me up.”

“B-but-”

“Diavolo almighty,” Mammon groans as he turns to her, “I guess ya didn’t hear me clear enough the first time so I’ll say it again nice’ an’ slow for ya so try to keep up, ‘kay? I do not care about you. I hate the fact that I have to babysit ya. You could get eaten and I couldn’t care less. Infact, my life would be considerably easier if ya weren’t around. Got it?”

“O-Okay,” Arella squeaked under the intensity of the white-haired demon’s gaze. “Understandable, have a good night then.... hope you win a lot.”

“Whatever,” Mammon huffs with a roll of the eyes. “I don’t need your well wishes.” With that, Mammon turns and heads out the door.

As she watched him go, Arella bit her lip to hold back the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. Once she was sure the demon was gone, the human sank down to floor, quiet sobs shaking her small frame. All she wanted was just an hour or two out of his time and he wouldn’t even give her that. She had never felt so resented before in all her 21 years of life- not even when her mother was alive had it ever been this bad. Now, as she wiped at her eyes, it really set in that she was left with no other option but to do this alone- gods forbid she ask one of the others for help and then it somehow get back to Lucifer that Mammon wasn’t doing his job. She would never hear the end of it from the greedy demon.

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The trip to and from the store had gone smooth enough. No demons had really bothered to pay her any mind, not even when she slipped off one of the higher shelves and smacked her head on the shopping cart resulting in the ugly bruise that had formed on the outer edge of her right eye. Bruises were something Arella was used to covering up, so it would be a simple enough task. She only had a little way left to go before she made it back to the House of Lamentation, but nothing can ever be easy for Arella.

Standing at the gates, blocking her path, was a small pack of demons. She had seen them eyeing her up in the halls at RAD during the passing periods. As they turned to her, Arella panicked- her heart rate skyrocketing as her body screamed at her to run. She wanted to but her feet wouldn’t move. It wasn’t until her brain processed that they were moving did her body actually turn to run. By then it was too late, they were upon her in seconds, knocking her to the ground with a tackle as she struggled and let out a scream.”

“Lookit you,” the one she presumed to be the leader smiled as he brushed some of the hair away from her face. “You sure do look tasty. I wonder where we should start first with you... dark or light meat?” He took a hold of her wrist, pulling it toward his mouth. He was about to bite down when...

“Hey! The fuck do the five of ya think you’re doing?!” The Avatar of Greed snarls as he watches the scene unfold in front of him. He had been in a good night after having won nearly all the games he’d played tonight before decided to call it quits- now it was soured. “Ya know what? I’m feelin’ generous tonight, so I’ll give y’all five seconds to get off that stupid human before I gut ya and string ya up by your entrails.”

He only needed until the count of one and a change into his demon form before the pack of demons made the right choice and booked it. The Avatar of Greed let out an irritated sigh as he walked over to Arella and hoisted her up by the arm.

“You’re fucking lucky, ya know that, girly? If I didn’t come home when I did, you’d be dead right now. How are you that damn stupid, huh?”

“’m sorry, I-,” Her voice was small and a little bit slurred as she tried to get her footing.

“I don’t wanna hear any excuses, right now. Just get inside the house go lay down or somethin’- whatever it is that you humans do ta calm down.” He gave her a bit of a rough shove and she scrambled for the doors while he gathered up the bags she had dropped and brought them inside the house.

Arella made a beeline for her room and curled up under the covers. Her headache from the fall earlier was even worse and now her arm was hurting from the strength of Mammon’s grip when he pulled her up from the ground.

“I want to go home....” she sniffled quietly into her pillow. “I should have never done this.”

The human thought she’d find a place for herself on this exchange programme but now she thinks this was all a big mistake. She had no idea what exactly she was signing up for only that something in the back of her mind yelling at her to do so. These last few weeks had done nothing but to serve her late mother’s words as true: that she was trash and so deserved to be treated as such.

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Out in the kitchen, Mammon is unloading and putting away the groceries that weren’t crushed or broken after the incident outside when he came across a bag filled exclusively with cup noodles. There had to have been at least twenty of them that she had managed to cram into the bag- all in his favorite flavor no less. A look of surprise crossed his face. He had only mentioned this in passing to her once before and he wondered how she managed to get her hands on them as this specific flavor was kept on the top shelf of that section. Not something that would be a problem for someone as tall as himself but for her? She was 4’11”! She would have had to scale the shelfs just to have even the smallest chance of reaching them.

Setting the package of cup noodles he was holding down, Mammon looked to Arella’s door before looking back to the noodles. Again, those questions rang in his head. Just what was her deal? He thinks, she’s always doin’ all these favors for me and never asks for anything in return from me. Well, no I can’t say that... She did ask one thing of me and that was ta go grocery shoppin’ with her because she was afraid ta go alone- for me ta do the one job Lucifer assigned me and I essentially told her ta fuck off. The demon thinks back to their earlier exchange- how he could see the fear in her eyes and the tears that were starting to form right before he left. Great.... Now I feel guilty... I should probably go apologize and see if I can get her to stay quiet ‘bout this whole thing...

Knocking on the door- something the demon hardly ever did- Mammon waited for a response. When he didn’t get one, he just let himself in. “Arella I-!” He stopped as there was there was a noticeable flinch from under the covers.

“I’m sorry!” She squeaked out, “Don’t hurt me.”

He raised an eyebrow at her response. Did she really think he was going to hurt her somehow? Well, all things considered, the demon can’t say he’s really all that surprised. He grabs the ends of the duvet and yanks it off of her, watching as Arella curls up and raises her arms to shield her head as if readying herself for blows that would never come.

Mammon knows that response all too intimately from the times where Lucifer would beat the ever-loving fuck out of him for indulging in his sin.

“Hey, calm down, okay. I ain’t gonna lay a hand on ya like that. Not only would Lucifer have my head, but I ain’t about beatin’ up on girls anyway.” He kneels down at the side of her bed and is horrified to see an ugly bruise marring the skin beside her eye. She does eventually calm down and pulls her arms away from her head after a few minutes of nothing happening. “Atta girl, now look at me,”

When Arella does open her pupils are dilated and now the demon is a little concerned. Humans’ pupils aren’t supposed to be that dilated, are they? That would mean... Mammon fishes his D.D.D. out of his pocket and shines the flashlight right in her eyes.

“What the fuck, Mammon!” Arella recoils as she hides her face once more and Mammon turns the flashlight off. “You’re such an ass!”

“I knew it.” He tsks, “When did you hit your head? Was it when those idiots tackled you to the ground or did you fall off one of the selves at the store?”

“I didn’t hit my head!” The human retorts, “I’m fine, my head just hurts.”

“Ya got a concussion, ya dumb human! Now out with it. Ya very obviously fell and I wanna know when it happened and how high you fell from!” For someone who couldn’t care less about her, he’s surprisingly concerned right now. If she slipped off one of the shelves at the store, he would be in hot water with Lucifer.

“I said I’m fine!” Arella abruptly stood up, swaying as she did, glaring daggers at the white-haired demon who looked up at her with a look of shock. Where did his docile little human go? “And what do you care anyway!? You said it yourself: You hate me and I’m just an inconvenience to you!”

“Now hold on a tick, I never said that exactly. You’re puttin’ words in my mouth. And you’re gonna fall standin’ on the bed like that. You’re already wobblin’.” he may not have said the part about hating her outright but at the very least he heavily implied it.

“Just get out of my ro-” She let out a yelp as she went toppling forward and the demon rushed to catch her. She landed slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“See I told ya you were gonna fall.” He huffed as he readjusted her while she pounded her fists against his back, struggling against his hold on her as he headed back out to the kitchen.

“Mammon, you put me down this instant! I’m not a sack of flour!”

“Stop being a brat and let me help ya!” The Avatar of Greed says as he places her on the island counter top. “Now stay there while I get you some ice for that bruise and some medicine for that headache of yours.”

Arella just sits there in shock of what he said. He wanted to... help her? That was new. She’s drawn out of her thoughts a few minutes later when she feels of bag of ice being pressed against the bruise. She let out a hiss as she tries to move away from it but it’s then that she notices his hand holding the other side of her face so she can’t move all that much.

“Quit squirming, will ya. It’s just a bag of ice.” He looks into her eyes before shifting the bag of ice over and running his thumb over the outside of her eye socket. “Doesn’t feel like anything’s busted in there. Ya got off lucky, kid... here take these.” he has a pill in his hand

“I’m not a kid,” Arella puffs her cheeks out in a pout. “Why’re you doing this when you said earlier that you didn’t care about me...?” she takes the medicine with a swig of water.

“Don’t get it twisted. I’m only doing this because if Lucifer finds out that you went to the store without me, I’ll be hanging from my toes for the next of the week. I’d rather not have a concussion of my own from getting dropped on my head when he decides I learned my lesson.”

“I won’t tell him if you don’t...” she says softly, “You don’t have to be nice to me. I know I don’t deserve it...”

“Huh?”

“N-nothing.”

“Now hold on there,” The demon says as he moves the bag back to where it was before, “You’re not gonna speed past that and act like ya didn’t just say what ya just said.”

“It’s nothing really,” Arella eyes dart around looking everywhere but Mammon’s. “Let’s just change the subject.”

“Alright, you can answer my earlier question then. How did you fall?”

“I slipped while climbing down from one of the shelving units at the store.... and smacked my head on the shopping cart.”

“No offense, but you’re kinda dumb. You were tryin’ ta get those noodles down, weren’t ya? You could have just grabbed whatever was at eye level or in your reach. You would have been an easy meal for a demon if you had passed out.”

“I know,” She sighed. “But that flavor is your favorite and I got everybody else’s favorites. It wouldn’t have been fair to not get yours.”

“It ain’t worth a concussion, short stack.” Once he’s sure she won’t move away, he lowers his hand from the side that isn’t icing the bruise and places it over hers. “Thanks though. And... I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I didn’t think you’d actually go out and try to get yourself eaten because I said I wouldn’t care.”

“I mean, that wasn’t my goal,” She sighed. “But I guess that’s the mess I got myself into huh?”

“Ya wouldn’t have if I would have done my job and gone with ya...” He scoots her over and then hops up on the island counter next to her. “I don’t get you, ya know...”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re too nice to me. I’ve been a jackass ta ya but you never seem to let it bother ya. You’re always coverin’ for me when I steal things from the house ta sell and you never said anything after I stole that necklace and other things from you. You save my plate at dinner when I don’t make it right away and you’ve lied right ta Lucifer’s face on multiple accounts for me... why? Why do you do these things?”

“I just wanted you to be nice to me. I know I just kind of got forced on you... I thought maybe if I extended the olive branch first, we could be at least somewhat civil with each other... but no matter what I did, it didn’t change the way you treated me so I just kept pushing harder and harder to see if maybe...”

“I get what you’re sayin’...” he hummed. “Let’s start over then... I’ll look out for ya for the rest of the year if you’ll forgive me... It would be ta both of our benefit.”

She nodded as he hopped down from the counter. “Alright, let’s go then.”

“Go? Go where?”

“Back ta the store, some of the stuff ya bought got damaged when those demons attacked ya.”

“Oh... Alright... This isn’t some kind of trick, is it? You’re not going to ditch me, are you?”

“Nah, I won’t. And if anybody wants to eat ya, they’ll have to go through me, first. Got it?” he says as holds his hand out to her. She hesitantly took it and he tugged her along after him as they headed out. She hopes that maybe they could even become friends at some point. That maybe- just maybe- this is a turning point for them.

Find more writings on my masterlist

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me swd #obey me! shall we date?#mammon angst #obey me angst #obey me mammon #obey me oc #om! mammon #arella #mammon x oc

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keouil · 3 years

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how you forget to be human

“so is she like,” scott hesitates. “cap’s first lady or something?” rated t. 2k+. steve/nat. also on ao3 / twitter / cc

Scott hasn’t been with the team for a long time, but he thinks he at least has enough working knowledge of how everyone operates.

The Winter Soldier—Bucky to Steve, James to anyone who dared—quite frankly still scares the living shit out of him, and that’s Magneto on a good day. It didn’t take much to deduce he seemed wholly uncomfortable in his own skin, his jaw coiled perpetually tight and the rigid set of his shoulders always in alert. It was uneasy just being around him, his discomfort bleeding over others and charging the air around his space with its own brand of disquieting; but always, without fail, Steve cushioned whatever apprehension anyone aimed toward his bestfriend.

Most of it came from Sam, and almost always in good nature as if to ease the brainwashed supersoldier into some semblance of normality; and Scott would fear for Sam’s life every time he opened his mouth, were it not for the also very obvious fact the Falcon held his own and didn’t appreciate handouts and the three of them seemed to be getting along uniquely (if not a little oddly) well enough.

The witch was a small problem, however. Simply for the fact she was a witch and Scott is wary because history taught him they burned all of them down in Salem.

He sees her wiggling those voodoo fingers around sometimes, almost unconsciously, and feels the hairs on his arms rise with every flick of her wrist. The energy around her isn’t suffocating the same way Bucky’s is. It was more a subtle nervous tingling; like she herself was afraid of the gravity of her own powers she had yet to have complete reigns on. Scott is oddly humbled by the fact and even empathises with her a little.

Steve keeps an eye on her and doesn’t bother hiding it, but it’s the archer who gets past her when it really counts. Clint Barton, who, surprisingly is the one he’s on the most similar wavelength with out of all of them: family man and all.

Clint Barton whose also friends with Natasha Romanoff.

Hawkeye who has simultaneously the most complex and impossibly simple relationship with Black Widow.

“I swear to god if you ring me up next time you’re out of goddamn Fruit Loops,” Natasha warns, digging through one of the five grocery bags on the kitchen island. She fishes for a few more seconds, before popping a colourful cartoon box out from under the bag and tossing it to Barton. “I’m bringing you in for real.”

Clint scoffs, placing the carton on the top shelf. “How many times have I heard that before?”

“Apparently not enough,” Natasha glares at him from her peripheral, scooping out Nutella and a pack of store-bought pryanik to lay on the table. Russian biscuits. For Wanda. “If I’m still stopping by an abandoned boarding house in the slums of Siberia every other week. Y’all grown men can’t do grocery shopping by yourselves?”

Scott blinks from his spot by one of the stools.

Of all the things he expected to wake up to in hiding from 117 countries from possible charges of aiding and abetting a war criminal, Black Widow casually arranging and organising their weekly rationale was nowhere near the top of the list. She did this all the while supposedly fighting for the other team.

This one needs no introduction.

Scott knows who Black Widow is. Scott knows Captain America, after all.

You don’t grow up in the land of the free without knowing his legacy even in minute passing. The man has been plastered on nearly every surface of the continent since the dawn of America. Scott has seen the news footages, read the official accounts, willingly devoured every single documentary or biopic helmed in honour of their nation’s greatest hero: he knows, down to the bone, the star-spangled man with a plan.

A forgotten and revered and rebirthed war hero.

How he came to know of her, however, is an entirely different story: because come the news footages, zoom in close enough you’ll see the infamous shield covering a much smaller and daintier figure; go over the accounts with a fine-toothed comb, they speak of a levelled dynamic between a commanding officer and a shadow leader; and, lest history not forget, the documentaries: Peggy, because behind every great man is a woman, Natasha.

“Now why would we do that if we got you?” Sam. He comes up from behind the hallway to playfully grin at Natasha before enveloping her in a small hug. She returns it easily.

Scott braces himself for what’s to come, because they came in a pair, and so: “Nat,” Steven Grant Rogers, in the flesh himself, pokes his head in not a moment later with a barely indisputable frown on his face. “You came here again?”

Natasha clicks her tongue at him. “Someone had to make sure you boys were fed.”

“That’s not— We can—” Steve stutters as he strides in, and Scott has to very carefully school his features into nonchalance because Captain America does not stammer. He sighs deeply before settling next to her, nudging her with his hip. “Tony atleast know you're here?”

Natasha gives him a pointed look. “Who do you think paid for all this?”

Scott watches their silhouettes grow smaller and smaller by the distance.

Even from afar, he can make out Steve’s absolute hulk of a frame: back impossibly straight in a way that bespoke authenticity, years of rigid military training drilled into his bones; only he seemed to mellow, somehow and very slightly, the fine lines of his shoulders angled in the direction of her voice. And Natasha: brave and lithe, nearly a head shorter and so much more smaller, facing forward in full confidence and a leisurely stride in her steps.

Siberia has a biting night air that seeps deep into the bone. But it’s also comforting somehow; all of them knowing, in one way or another, what it was like to be iced out from society.

They were all huddled by the makeshift campfire Barton fashioned out of some wooden logs and a matchstick. Sam, in charge of roasting marshmallows, was gently coaxing Bucky into eating one and promising him it’s not poisoned. Wanda was handing out steaming cups of hot chocolate brewed from the pack Natasha brought in a few hours ago, a staple in her weekly grocery runs because apparently the kid witch liked sweets.

Scott gingerly takes a sip from his mug, some of the warmth seeping into liquid courage he was building up for weeks now. He takes a deep breath before plunging himself into the waves.

“I can’t be the only one worried that the enemy has infiltrated our territory, right?”

To their credit, neither of them kill him on sight.

Wanda pauses in levitating one of the wooden logs above the hearth, a single bark of kindling hovering uncertainly over the air. Bucky has an unreadable expression on his face when he regards him. A look passes between Sam and Clint, betraying nothing of their inner thoughts at his outburst.

The fire is nice and toasty, but the air is stifling now and Scott has never felt more the outsider than at that very moment.

Until Sam breaks into a hearty laugh. “Widow?” he shakes his head amusedly. “No, man, Steve and Nat are tight. They’re past stuff like that.”

Scott furrows his eyebrows in concern. “But isn’t she—”

“On Tony’s side?” Clint quips, poking at one of the planks. Wanda finally drops the floating bark, and Scott doesn’t miss the flash of something in her eyes when she glances at him from the other side of the fire. He thinks he saw a spark of red for a second. “Sure, I guess. Technically she’s Team Iron Man or whatever that means. But Natasha is also fiercely loyal, especially when it comes to Steve.”

“What does that mean?” Scott asks in genuine confusion.

Sam opens his mouth to elaborate, words already forming on his mouth; before he seems to come to a belated realisation, blinks, and manages a nonchalant shrug. "Damn if I know,” he admits, turning over a puffy mallow and watching the crackles of fire burn its edges. “But she’s good for him. That’s all I care about.”

“And he’s good for her,” Clint returns easily, not an ounce of hesitation in his voice. “Maybe sometimes it’s just that easy.”

They hear the crunching of footsteps on snow creeping up behind them, and Scott takes this as his cue to stash the conversation for another time.

He watches them stroll in together carefully.

Steve holds the gate open for her and places a small hand on her back as they advance in the small patch of woods by the backyard. Natasha settles next to Wanda, hands going up and down her arms to warm the younger girl despite being the one having only just gone out for a walk in the middle of Russian winter: because, and at this Scott is now confident, the jacket resting on her shoulders three times her size was keeping her warm enough.

The quinjet doesn’t start up right away.

Scott is slowly panicking, because the realisation that he was truly out of his depth at fighting in the next greatest civil war of the century notches above his pay grade only viscerally begins to take hold.

He has a family back home, pets to feed, a little life saving every now and then; but never this colossal of a scale, never with the stakes stacked up so high against them, that it really could only ever be toppled down by the likes of fucking Iron Man and Captain America.

But Steve is still confident.

It’s so bloody obvious he was always going to keep at it, gunned down the concrete walls of the airport and clawed his way out of it brick by brick if need be. He was really and truly the good man underneath it all, and at the back of his mind, Scott still finds himself awed at the fact.

But he doesn’t know how on earth the man came out of that airport not visibly rattled, not at all unlike how Scott was currently feeling; and, as he processes the rest of their wayward expressions, he knew he wasn’t alone in thinking so.

“Cap,” Sam wheezes by the floor, fighting to labor his breathing with a hand clutched on his dislocated shoulder. “I still got the jeep parked outside. It’s not too late. We can hike the rest of the way.”

“No,” Steve replies, an edge of conviction in his voice. There is not a single tremor in his stubborn hands gripping the wheel. “That’s gonna hold us back days. We just need to be up in the air for now. We need—”

“A woman to come to your rescue again?”

This time, it’s Scott who sighs in deep relief at her voice. This time, Scott doesn’t fight the churn in his stomach at the prospect of having someone who nearly nicked him lifeless not even hours ago this close a range with them again. This time, she is not Black Widow, but simply Natasha Romanoff; Steve Rogers’ friend.

This time, Scott thinks, he will let them be easy just like that.

There was no more a sign of tremble in his voice or hands the entire battle, but at the lilt of her voice, he just crumbles.

“Nat,” Steve breathes out when he turns to her, hands fisting at his sides in an attempt to regain control. Just like that, he unravels; so easily and without preamble in the face of her steeled strength. “I can’t get it to turn on— And I— We have to get Bucky—”

“Work through it, Steve,” she cooes in probably the most placating voice he’s heard of her, but she doesn’t move to touch him when she comes close. Her hands are going a mile a minute over the control panel, pushing buttons and lifting levers. Steve is hovering by her side like it's the only thing holding him together. “You know how to fly this thing, right?”

Steve is visibly taken aback and angles his body to face her. “You’re not coming with us?”

The question hangs in the air.

It charges the silence around them and quells any of their growing uncertainty, because, clear as it was of Steve’s well-founded and undeniable leadership skills: they also knew, intimately, she anchored him through it all.

Sam was putting pressure around Bucky’s human arm as he looked back and forth at them tensely. He could feel Wanda hitch her breath behind him.

Natasha’s fingers keep flying away at the keyboard, until they feel the telling signs of an engine rumbling underneath and the overhead lights spurting back to light. The whole jet roars to life in the next second, heating fans whizzing and technical sounds beeping. She shifts some gears around and locks in a destination with the GPS navigation.

When she turns to look at Steve, it is then Scott forces himself to pry his eyes away and not bear witness to this part of his already over documented life. In that single moment of uncertainty, the what does that mean is meant like this: an intimate baring of a soul, heart, trust: in a way no words could ever begin describing or should even attempt to put to paper.

It is friendship at the most intimate level, it is soulmates on the most soul-crushing departure, and it is the everything else that comes after.

“Not this time, Rogers,” he hears her say, and Scott doesn’t have to imagine the slight fracturing of his iron-clad footing in the world swaying ever so slightly, when he replies with: “Then I guess I’ll see you around, Romanoff.” .

“So is she like,” Scott hesitates. “Cap’s first lady or something?”

They’re some seventy feet off the air above the Pacific Ocean, the moisture from the ocean drifting up to the open barracks and making the air glisten around them. Bucky is fast asleep somewhere down the lower levels with Wanda keeping watch over him, upon the fervent insistence of Steve arguing he needed rest. It came as no surprise that he also self-assigned himself the first watch of the night.

Sam is sharpening his knives, the grating sound of sandpaper slicing over iron piercing through the silent hum and drum of the night.

“Please,” he scoffs, looking over at him. “If anything, Steve is her first lady.”

#romanogers #stevenat #fic #natasha romanoff #steve rogers #romanogers fi #stevenat fic #marvel fic

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slashscowboyboots · 3 years

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The Stars Are a Part Of Us: The Brains Of This Outfit

This my “Almost Famous” inspired groupie fic, with appearances by @awrestlinggirlwholoves80sbands (Celestia/Alessia), @sexcoffeeandrockandroll (Absinthe/Amy) and @no-stone-no-bone (Velvet), plus yours truly as Karen. This is a pretty dark fic, with VERY mature themes and smut. Cross-posted on AO3

Tag list @izzysdenimjacket @no-stone-no-bone @sexcoffeeandrockandroll @awrestlinggirlwholoves80sbands @smokeandmirrorz @sodalitefully @roger-taylors-car @lost-in-the-80s @whisperess33 @shawolat @80snikki @rumoured-whispers

Warnings: Underage sex, drug use, drinking, implied violence. 18+ ONLY

1987

This must be her.

Izzy sat up straighter, watching as a short blonde shuffled toward the back of the bus, a huge bag on her shoulder and carrying a pillow in her arms. She didn’t notice him sitting in the next to the last seat, and she flopped down on the one behind him, setting down her pillow and leaning against it, then rifling through her purse till she found a book.

Bella Donna. The most beautiful one of all. She certainly was pretty, he thought, with her long blonde waves and huge blue eyes. She dressed like Stevie Nicks’ runaway progeny too, all ruffles and lace and faded jeans, although instead of Stevie’s platforms she wore a pair of snakeskin cowboy boots.

I’ve never seen a groupie play hard to get, he chuckled to himself. She must be something else. Watching her turn a page, he noticed her full lips pursing as she read the text. He couldn’t make out what the title was, but he could see a long-haired bare-chested hunk and a bosomy babe spilling out of her bodice in a passionate clinch on the cover.

Oh, shit, she’s reading romance novels. Probably wants me to seduce her.

Izzy didn’t think he was quite up to that.

87 had been rough on him so far. Getting busted on a possessions charge (thankfully, it hadn’t included a “with an intent to sell,” although that had been exactly his intention), sentenced to rehab and now on probation, with orders he continue to be piss tested on the road.

It was a miracle he was allowed to leave the country, but his lawyer (who was far too good to be in his pay scale, Izzy noted) argued that his client’s ability to earn a living shouldn’t be hampered by his arrest. (The fact that his paying profession had led to his arrest wasn’t lost on him either.) To his amazement, the judge had agreed, and Geffen, desperate to recoup their investment and make a little scratch before the band killed themselves, sent them with The Cult on a tour of Canadian hockey rinks. Woo hoo.

Just before the tour started, he and Niv were approached in a shitty dive by a curvy brunette introducing herself as Absinthe and claiming she was one of the Road Wives.

“Heard of us?” she asked, coyly batting her eyelashes.

Izzy took a sip from his Coke and nodded. Yes, he’d heard of all of them. The Flying Garter Girls, the GTO’s, the Road Wives. All conglomerates of groupies who traveled with bands and made life on the road even more colorful and chaotic.

“Of course you have. It’s an honor to travel with the Wives.”

Izzy rolled his eyes and lit a cigarette, blowing the smoke from his nose. “And you’ve selected us, I suppose.”

Absinthe smiled, the contrast of her crimson pout with her white teeth and skin visible even in the dim light. “We have. Our leader Velvet has chosen Axl as her traveling companion.”

Niven smirked, and Izzy raised his eyebrows. “Has this already been decided?” he said quietly.

Those red lips formed a tight line. “No. Axl said to take this up with you. ‘Izzy has the final word,’ he said.”

He took another drag, and she leaped at the opportunity to speak. “There’s uhh, four of us, and Celestia has picked Slash, and I,” she smiled, and Izzy swore he saw devil horns poke out of her dark hair, “I settle down with no man, but I’ve spent time with your drummer and won’t mind repeating that experience.”

He flicked his ash from his cigarette, bored disinterest on his unsmiling face. “And Duff is married.”

She swallowed, then nodded. “Yes, Duff is engaged, and has cordially informed us he will not require our services. Shame, there’s a tree I’d like to climb again and again.”

Izzy lit a new cigarette with the end of the first one and ground the butt out, then leaned forward on the table and said, “Shame, because I say no to the whole shooting match.”

The whites of her black-lined eyes became enormous. “Wait, you haven’t heard who’s with you.”

“I don’t care who’s with me,” he said, in a quiet but firm voice. “I’m on fucking probation and I don’t need any more headaches. And I damn sure don’t need four chicks we have to babysit.”

“Hear her out,” Niven snickered. “I gotta hear about the whore that wants you.”

Absinthe licked the front of her teeth. “Bella Donna. The most beautiful one of all,” she said softly.

Izzy shook his head. “Nope. I’m not traveling with anyone fucked up or underage.”

“She’s 21. And she blows a gasket over drugs.”

Niven elbowed Izzy. “She sounds right up your alley, mate.”

Izzy shifted in his seat, rolling the end of his cigarette in the ashtray as he chewed the inside of his cheek.

“She and I went to school together, and we’re older than the other girls. We keep them in line. They will not cause you any problems on the road. You have my word.”

Izzy slid his eyes to Alan, who shrugged. “Canada’s cold, Izz.”

Absinthe smiled.

He still wasn’t convinced. “She doesn’t use? Cause I’ve never heard of a groupie who didn’t.”

She shook her head. “Reads us the riot act if we do. She smokes weed every now and then, but I don’t even think she’s done that in the last six months.” She batted her eyes, sensing his interest. “Drinks the occasional beer, but she’s normally our DD.”

Izzy sighed, then downed the last of his Coke. “All right. One fuckup, and I don’t care what it is, if one of you broads even breaks a nail, your asses are heading home. Put that in the tour budget Niv, four bus tickets back to LA if any of them get the hiccups.” He stood up. “I’m not joking.”

No, a seduction was not something he was up to. Maybe a quick fuck when the bus got dark, if she loosened up a little. Normally, groupies sucked you off as a way of saying hello, but this one had tromped on past him and buried her nose in a book.

Honey, is that any way to welcome your man?

He leaned over the bus seat, carefully studying her. She wore a moonstone ring on one hand, a crystal ball set in a pair of hands ring on the other one, and gigantic sparkly hoop earrings. He didn’t especially understand this Stevie Nicks fixation, but if memory served, she’d fucked her way through Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, so as long as Rhiannon here didn’t wear a chastity belt, it was fine by him.

He tilted his head and asked, “Aren’t you going to say hi?”

Her eyes darted up from her page, then back down. “Hi.”

He had another great view of the top of her head. “Is this any way to act?”

She turned a page, her eyes not leaving her book. “I wasn’t aware I was a bother.”

Since Izzy’s arrest, patience was not something he had large reserves of. “Are you really going to do this?” he snapped.

Her eyes met his then, and he had a second to register how long her eyelashes were before he realized how irritated she was. “Do WHAT, may I ask?” she growled, her voice hard.

Izzy was thrown, but he shrugged it off. Maybe this is foreplay to her. “Why aren’t you in my lap right now? Daddy’s had a rough day.”

She went completely, utterly still, then asked, “What?”

A little voice in his head (something he heard much more frequently now that he was sober) told him something was off, but he blurted, “You’re my whore and I shouldn’t have to beg you to blow me.”

He watched her cheeks flush, then the sides of her neck, and he belatedly realized that this was someone you didn’t piss off. To his relief, she didn’t reach into her purse, but instead slammed her book shut and gritted, “Who told you I was your whore?”

“Well, I see you two have met,” Absinthe said, smiling as she sat down next to her.

“She did,” Izzy said, tipping his chin up, not taking his eyes off the blonde.

“Amy Louise, do you mind telling me what the fuck is going on?” She glanced up at Izzy. “Are you telling people I’m ‘Bella Donna the wonder groupie’ again?” Closing her eyes, she muttered, “Because you know how much I hate that.”

“Ahh,” Absinthe answered, “well, possibly. But you really should get to know Izzy.”

Her eyes darted back to him. “I’m good,” she snapped. “I think I know all I need to know.”

“What’s the hell’s that supposed to mean?” he growled.

“It means what you think it means.” She turned to Absinthe. “You are going to stop calling me ‘Bella Donna’ or I am going to make you stop. You got that?”

“Yes.” Shoulders slumping, Absinthe stood up and walked back to the front of the bus.

Izzy watched as the blonde laid her forehead on her palm, then reached into her bag and lit a cigarette with trembling hands. She looked up at him. “Did you get that, Hoss?” she said in a tired voice. “I’m not ‘Bella Donna,’ and I’m definitely not your whore.”

He nodded, then a small voice said, “Sissy? Is that my Sissy?” A younger girl with brown hair sat down next to her, and she immediately hugged her, then laid her head on her shoulder.

“I love you, Sis,” the younger girl said.

“I love you, too, Celly Belly.”

“Who’s that?”

“That’s Izzy.”

“Hi, Izzy, I’m Celestia.”

“Hi.”

“Izzy, this is my sister, Karen.”

“We’ve met,” Karen said icily.

“Why don’t you like him? He’s cute.”

Karen looked at her sister in horror. “He’s a drug dealer.”

“Former,” Izzy said.

“And a junkie.”

“Also former.”

“He has a girlfriend.”

“Nope, she left me when I went to rehab. For another guitarist with better drugs.”

“He’s cute. You should bang him.”

“Celestia. That’s not why you sleep with people.”

“Yes, it is,” Celestia and Izzy said in unison.

Karen rolled her eyes. “That’s not why I sleep with people.”

“Have you talked to Steve?” Celestia asked.

Karen breathed out a sigh. “No, not since he took up with that model. Catriona.”

“Steve is an idiot,” Celestia said, lighting up a cigarette. “I heard their record is multi platinum.”

“Yeah, they brought Mutt back.” Karen said. “When you sell that many records, that’s when the models show up.”

“Yeah.” Celestia blew out a plume of smoke. “Did you bring your hat?”

Karen crossed her arms and slumped in her seat. “Yeah.”

“Yay!” Celestia squeezed her. “ I know you don’t want to be ‘Bella Donna’ anymore, but I love it when you are.” She looked up at Izzy, who was still watching them. “I bet he could make you forget Steve.”

“I’m good.” Karen tightened her arms and scowled.

“Sissy, please be nice to Izzy.”

“Why?”

“Because I really like Slash. And Izzy will make us go home if we don’t behave.”

Karen looked at Izzy, then Celestia. “You really want to stay?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

“Celestia?” a voice called. “Baby, where are you?”

Celestia said, “I gotta go. I love you, Sis.”

“Here,” Karen said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a handful of condoms. “Don’t fuck him without one. I don’t want any more doctor’s visits.”

Celestia tucked them inside her waistband of her microshorts, then kissed Karen’s cheek. “I’m not going to get in trouble again, I promise.” As she stood up, she smiled at Izzy, then squealed, “Slashy!”

Izzy lit a cigarette and smirked at Karen. “Well, that was just absolutely fucking touching, but you twats are hitting the pavement the first stop we make.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Oh, yes, you are.”

Karen narrowed her eyes. “That girl is 16. Velvet is 17. And you’re planning to take them into another country to have sex with them, which the last time I looked was a criminal act.”

“Not if we dump your asses out before we hit the border.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Well, you’re not. I’m on probation and I don’t need this bullshit.”

“Yes, let’s talk about that. You do realize any of these girls, myself included, though I wouldn’t, can at any time say, ‘He raped me?’ ‘He hit me?’ Now for anyone else in this band, that would be any given Tuesday, but for you? You have a lot more to lose.”

Izzy’s eyes widened.

“I mean, Absinthe told you I was your whore, and obviously that’s not true. We’re liable to say just anything.”

He shifted in his seat, feeling a chill run down his back.

“Where are we stopping anyway? McDonald’s? There’s always a cop there with nothing to do. Maybe he’ll have time for a damsel in distress.”

Izzy swallowed. “What do you want?” he gritted, knowing she had the upper hand.

“You can show us ‘twats’ a little respect, for starters.”

“That’s rich, coming from you,” he spat. “Your ass is chapped because I was a dealer.”

“Hoss, don’t make me play my ace. Cause I have four of them, and I ain’t on probation.”

He ground his molars together. “What else?”

“We stay, and you provide us with basic human necessities. A place to sleep, food, and shelter.”

“And?”

“Take us backstage.”

“That’s a given.”

She shrugged.

“Then what?”

“Then your band runs around with empty balls and everyone is happy happy happy. ‘Cept you, you’re on your own with that.” She crossed her arms. “And I make sure no one is a headache. You’ll never know we’re here.”

“Can I believe you?”

She directly met his gaze. “Yes.”

“How do I know that?”

“I’m not a liar. I’ve been honest about everything so far.”

Why didn’t I meet you first? It would’ve saved a shitload of time. “Why are you here?” he snapped.

“Because your band has a body count, Stradlin.”

“The fuck are you talking about?”

“Todd Crew. Slash shot him up, did he not?”

Izzy took a deep breath. “He says he didn’t.”

“Do you believe that?”

“What I believe is none of your fucking business.”

“I heard he did, and Todd died in his arms.”

Izzy lit a cigarette and looked away. “We, ah, we were all gutted when he died.”

“Well, my baby sister is sleeping with Slash, and I want to make sure that is an isolated incident.”

Izzy took a drag. “It is. None of us are on smack anymore. Slash just drinks now, and I can’t do fucking anything.”

Karen met his eyes. “You’ll forgive me if I’m not entirely swayed by your testimony.”

He shrugged. Even though she was judgmental and unforgiving, he could see where she was coming from. If he had a sister, he’d shit himself if she took up with Slash. Or any of them.

She must be the brains of this outfit. She hates us all.

Karen shot him one final filthy look, then dug a Walkman out of her purse and closed her eyes, resolutely shutting him out.

Izzy sighed, then his eyes landed a few seats ahead of him. Duff had pledged undying fidelity to his fiancee and planned on recreationally drinking instead of fucking, and had already passed out cold, snoring loudly against the window.

I don’t have that option, Izzy bitterly thought. It wasn’t even that he wanted to drink or raise hell anymore. His rehab stint had opened his eyes to how close he’d skated to the edge, and just when he felt like he’d finally made it back to the land of the living, Todd had fallen into the abyss.

There’d also been the unspoken question, Is Slash going to be charged with murder? The band had closed ranks and called all the lawyers, and in the end, no one was indicted. Guns was already on thin ice for Axl and Slash’s separate arrests for statutory rape, and Izzy’s incarceration was the final straw. The brass at Geffen was adamant: One more strike, boys, and your asses are done.

He titled his chin up and blew out a plume of smoke. He hadn’t had many plans for this tour, but he had expected to spend it in the arms of a submissive woman. Sex hadn’t been forbidden by the terms of his probation, not yet anyway, and he’d been, well, enchanted by the idea of a babe who didn’t get fucked up and yet was enthusiastic to do his bidding in the sack. He could slap himself now for believing such a creature even existed.

He stole a glance at Karen, whose head had slumped forward. Even in her sleep, she looked weary, beautiful but worn out. He realized now, if Absinthe’s description was right, she was just a nice girl looking after her sister, and Celestia’s taste in men must be exhausting if Slash was any indication. Izzy felt his ears growing hot as he thought about how aggressively he’d approached her, even though he’d been promised she was a sure thing. Demanding she immediately hop on his dick wasn’t what he considered finesse.

Fuck, how am I going to get laid now? That thought was punctuated by a hushed moan from Slash, and Izzy wanted to pound his head against the seat in front of him. He’d just have to hope that somehow Canadian groupies were very willing yet went to church frequently.

Damn, woman, you’re sure you won’t change your mind about me? I can be romantic if you want me to.

Can’t do much about me being a dealer though. That ship already sailed.

He heard Karen stirring behind him, and turned to watch her stretch out and cover herself with a blanket. Since he expected to be wrapped in her arms, Izzy had packed away his own covers, so he buttoned his denim jacket and crossed his arms, sleep mercifully arriving quickly.

#izzy stradlin x oc #izzy stradlin fanfiction #guns n roses x oc #guns n roses fanfic

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palettepainter · 4 years

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DO NOT REPOST/EDIT/COPY/TRACE MY ART OR OC!!! Warning to his backstory, mentions of abuse and murder Adding yet another Hazbin Hotel OC to my swarm of other characters, because why not? His backstory is still in the works but I'll dump some ideas I've had for his personality/character/backstory below -Captain Cutthroat hails from Safe Haven, born to a wimpy scullery maid and being born at sea, Cutthroat's (or Kennedy as he was called when he was alive) life has been a rough sail on the sea's from the start. His mother, a small frail looking thing was sold to his father, the captain of a famous fishing crew as a servant/errand girl. His father, a brash, crude leader to a gang or rotten, backstabbing crew of pirates, and his father found a sick liking towards the skittish, pale looking cabin maid. Cutthroat is born out at seas and right after a long hard night at sea through a long storm. Years to follow are filled with back breaking labor given to Cutthroat curtsy of his beloved 'father', all the while he's under the sharp eye of all of his fathers intimidating crew members. Swabbing the deck after the crew had a drunk night of celebrating, washing the laundry, cleaning the dishes after meals - but at least little Cutthroat has his mother, it makes things bearable. Sneaking away scraps of food, managing to weasel his way out of trouble by the skin of his teeth, being made a fool by the crew members while his father barks with laughter along with them. But having his mothers side to cry into, it makes life bearable. -Cutthroat and his mother make their escape from his fathers clutches when Cutthroat is at the brisk age of 16, he's just turned in after he's finished mopping the decks, and overhears his dear old dad gabbling away with another sea captain. His father, not keen to part with his gold, bets his mother. Cutthroat is frozen with fear, anxiously watching and listening through the crack in the door, as the other captain earns himself a win - it is decided, Cutthroats mother would be handed off to him first thing in the morning. Cutthroat has done his best to push the memory of that night from his mind, but that night he was body was shaking worse then a scrawny nobody in a storm as he woke up his mother, and hurriedly made his escape with her in the dead of night. Life on the streets was no better for them, cold nights and days without food left his mother sick and weak, and Cutthroat had to work tooth and nail just to scrape by with savings for food. Lie, cheat, steal, he did it all - the boy had it rough in his young adult days, selling whatever he had on him for whatever coins of gold he could get to care for his mother. Unconsciously he follows in the footsteps of his father, turning to the black market where anything and everything can be sold for cash - if you're clever enough to know the ropes. Cutthroat knew the black market was not the most moral of jobs: trapping and hunting sirens without drowning was rare, but their scales and fins where worth a pretty penny or two. Snaring griffins was a shot in the dark, but their skulls and feathers would pay them enough to live comfortably for half the year. The more magical the creature, the more it was worth - but money is money, and Cutthroat, young and desperate, was prepared to sell soul and left leg for it -His mother, despite suffering from the abuse and mistreat by his father, still tried to guide Cutthroat down a good path, one that wouldn't make him turn out like either of them. She genuinely tried, but in her sick state she couldn't do much, even when at sea she was not the best - she would sometimes forget to feed Cutthroat as a baby, she simply didn't have time, would spend days on end sleeping when Cutthroat was old enough to take the burden of tasks off her shoulders. To wee Cutthroat, his mother was an angel, and you can imagine his distress when his mothers sickness grows worse. She becomes sicker and sicker by the day, every day she's a little weaker, more colour draining from her face. Enraged at his own weakness, Cutthroat takes his mother to the nearest inn, slaps some gold in the owners face, and sets off to sea in search for his father. New at sea he doesn't fair well, he gets lost a lot, nearly gets himself killed a few times, but somehow, through spite and determination (but mostly spite) he tracks down his father. Cutthroat may not be a good sailor, but at the age of 20, he's become pretty darn good at playing his cards right - he's young, his father is old, and the black market has taught Cutthroat the best ways to throw a man off guard. Cutthroat infiltrates his fathers ship, putting up the facade of simple new lad on the ship, and one by one he poisons his fathers crew mates, slowly by surely riding his father of his little lackeys, no one to call for now. Daddy dearest he saves for last, the poison works on him slowly, Cutthroat WANTS his dad to feel every bit of pain. Cutthroat draws out the torture, taking his sweet time to give back to his dad all the pain he put his mother through - just when his father goes to draw his final breath, he turns to give Cutthroat a pained crooked smirk, spitting blood before he slurs 'just like yer old man, eh boy?' - something within Cutthroat snaps, and he deals the final blow to his father with a knife to the throat (hence his name, Cutthroat) -With revenge done and his old man dead, Cutthroat spills oil upon the deck and sets the boat alight while escaping in one of the emergency boats, his fathers ship burns into the fog, and is left to crumble and rot at sea. Cutthroat, stronger and tougher, returns home, not regretting an ounce of his actions. Returning home to the inn, Cutthroat isn't prepared for the hord of staff and people crowded round his mothers room: There she is, laying in bed, face pale and forehead cold with sweat, bags under her eyes as a doctor tends to her at bedside. Pneumonia, and it's bad. Cutthroat is at his mothers side in a heartbeat, the tears already swelling in his eyes as he grips her hands, they're cold to the touch, and she can barely manage to keep her eyes open to look at him. When the doctor tells him that it is unlikely she was survive the month Cutthroat warns him to shut his trap, when the doctor offers for them to end her suffering humanly, Cutthroat has to hold the urge to throw a lamp. He yells at them to get out, to leave, and to never come near him or his mother again! As soon as the door closes, he breaks, leaning his head gently onto his mother as she weakly rests her hands in his wind swept hair. On top of having to get enough money for food, to pay to stay at the inn, and for whatever medicine he can find to ease the pain for his mother, Cutthroat decides it's time to skip town, he'll get her help elsewhere..They don't make it far, carrying his mother is not hard, years of working on his fathers boat built up his muscles - but the cold is not helping, and even Cutthroat needs rest. The pain is getting worse, his mother is struggling to breath, she's eating less, her coughing is becoming more violent. It takes three days of travelling for Cutthroat to realize the harsh truth, his mother wasn't going to make it, and he'd been putting her through hell by pushing her forward, when all she wanted to do was rest. Cutthroat asks his mother one day if she wants to rest, and his mother replies, barely above a whisper, that she is very, very tired. They both know what has to come next. Cutthroat ends her life, as swift as he can - it hurts him, hurts him so damn much - her death is sadly slow, Cutthroat does not have the power to make it fast and painless, so he cradles her body, his tears dropping onto her face as he howls with sobs, body trembling as she rubs her hands gently over his back one final time. Cutthroat gives her her own burial, in a nice field by the sea, which he knew she loved to look at -Cutthroat, having lost his only true family member, falls back into the ways of his younger, troubled self: he sells on the black market, does illegal trading, hunts down exotic creatures across safe haven and becomes a notorious criminal (the work nullifies the pain from his past, if he just keeps working, he'll forget it). Years later when hunting and trading of exotic creatures is banned in safe haven, that does little to stop Cutthroat, he continues about his way, not shy of getting rid of any lil sneaks that may run the risk of turning him in. Cutthroat eventually dies by a spear to his throat, the aftermath of a little disagreement between Cutthroat and another crew of traders that tried to swindle him of his treasures. It's no surprise to Cutthroat when he ends up in hell, and he makes himself very much at home at Hellside coast: Hellside coast is his turf, he owns that part of town, and even though visitors are scare, he does well to make his reputation known. He is a big dealer on the black market and a local hunter and trader of goods, he charges a high bargain, but is willing to trade for the right valuables. Despite his gruff and his towering height and strength, Cutthroat can be somewhat decent, he's a lil on the snarky side and makes playful jabs at visitors - jabs that often have a darker meaning or jabs that are meant to serve as a warning - 'Swimming eh? Knock yerself out meatbait, just make sure yet rugrats are attending too. All unattended children will be snapped up by a' sea serpent, don't stand a chance against those...HAHA! Lighten up, was just a joke..last year only half as many kids disappeared then usual' -Cutthroat, no matter what, deep deep DEEP down will always have a hidden soft spot for kids - he goes by the motto 'talk shit, get hit', if he sees someone being a prat or more so, sees someone being a prat to a someone who can't defend themselves, this man is quietly lumbering over to break things off, and this man gets violent very quickly when those who are weak are involved. This is mostly because Cutthroat, despite his reputation, understands what its like to be vulnerable and helpless. He claims he is not capable of being soft, but that's a big fat lie -He knows of Pip, and has actually grown fond of the little rats company. Pip came to Hellside coast when he was spending the weekend with his Uncle Angel Dust, he and Iridescence had been playing outside when a turf war broke out in the area they had been playing in. Pip, rightfully afraid, scrambled down to Hellside coast and hid in the first place he saw, inside an empty barrel by the coasts docks. Little Pip is then rightfully terrified and can barely manage to speak when the barrel is rolled onto the ship and the boat pulls out from the harbor. Hours go by, Pip is scared, his small body trembling from the cold. Deep below deck Pip finally manages to crawl out from his barrel, the sea tossing the boat and causing poor Pip to stumble his way along the boat, maybe he could sail back in one of the smaller boats? How far from shore could he be? News flash: Very far. Pip is very nearly tossed over board by the raging waves, until a firm hand grabs him by the scruff and drags him back inside, Cutthroat. Rightfully so Pip pushes himself into the furthest corner from Cutthroat. Cutthroat, rightfully so, tears Pip now with all his yelling and demanding 'What the BLOODY HELL where you thinking?!' - Pip, shaken and scared, soo begins to cry and the sight of Cutthroat and curls in on himself as the boat continues to rock...which is why he is very surprised when Cutthroat offers him a blanket (all be it a smelly one, but it kept him warm), a small meal and some water, and reassures him he'll make a turn around back to the docks as soon as the storm passes. Cutthroat roars with laughter when Pip meakly asks for Cutthroat not to throw him overboard, Cutthroat admits though he could easily toss Pip across the room no sweat, he isn't big on killing a helpless kid: maybe grow up a little first, then the next time you sneak onto his boat he'll toss you over, if that's really what you expect him to do. Pip becomes comfortable very quickly on Cutthroats boat, and Cutthroat quickly becomes annoyed at the boys jabbering and constant questions, as soon as he reaches shore the next day he drops the kid off at the hotel and makes his way back to his boat when he's sure the kid is A-okay at that fancy shmansy hotel. Every visit from that day on Pip visits Hell side coast, some days he'd simply watch Cutthroat do his thing about the docks, other days he'd follow behind him like a lost duckling, completely in awe at seeing a real pirate! Cutthroat is..50/50 with his company, he likes the attention, but he does love his peace and quite, and having a kid constantly chew your ear off made him realize how much he loved his silence in the afternoons, but somehow - he ends up liking the brat -When Pip excitedly told Cutthroat he wanted to be a pirate just like him, Cutthroat stared at him blankly, then replied with a casually: 'Heh, a terrible decision kid' - and told Pip to change his life goals fast. The day in which Cutthroat properly began to care for Pip was the day the little brat came running up to him, tears pouring from his eyes, Cutthroat didn't get a chance to ask what was wrong or scold him for fleeing up onto his ship with his tail between his legs, before two other men dressed in suits come rushing down the path. Cutthroat goes up to his deck to retrieve the boy when the two men approaching his ship, he goes to tell them his business for the day is closed and to come back tomorrow, but freezes when they explain they're looking for a little scruffy haired boy, how his father is looking for him, and demands that Peter be brought home. One scared look from the shivering boy is all Cutthroat needs to tell the two men that he ain't see no boy, and to get lost. Cutthroat couldn't pry all the details from Pip, but he quickly gets the impression that Pip's father, this Castello character, ain't a nice man. Cutthroat knows he's been through some stuff, he ain't the best person to be giving advice, but something about the sad slump in the boys shoulders and his messy untamed hair made him think back to a time when he was like that. From that day fourth, Cutthroat takes the boy under his wing. He asks Pip if he still wants to be a pirate, when Pip sniffles with a weak nod: Cutthroat says lil pipsqueak has a long way to go, ties a red bandage round Pip's shoulders, shrugs, and says that an old sea dog like him will just have to show him the ropes. The way in which Pip's face just lights up, it's hard for Cutthroat to not chuckle at. Pip becomes Cutthroats prodigy, at first, he spent time with the kid in hopes it'd make him feel better, but in the end, he too began to grow to enjoy their time together, his mouth would quirk up into a lazed but happy grin when he saw the pint size running down the beach to greet him, he couldn't help but be smug when Pip failed miserably to reel in an escaped fish from his net (may or may not have had several heart attacks when Pip was nearly swallowed by huge deep sea demonic lobster), can't help but ruffle that messy hair of his, can't help but tease at how utterly tiny Pip is, how terrifying he is for a pirate in training, he's seen scarier goldfish! Cutthroat loves that little brat, and also loves the free adoration and idol like praise Pip gives him. That's all for now! Had a tone of fun drawing this guy so I hope you like him! Cutthroat/Pip/Iridescence - me

#HHOC #Hazbin hotel OC #Ref sheet #My OC #Captain Cutthroat #OC #Palettes art

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lilikags · 3 years

Text

When Mom Tricks Come Handy

ೃ‧₊› a b o u t t h i s p o s t° ➮ Pairing: Kenma Kozume x fem! reader ➮ Series: Back to Me ➮ Tags: fluff, royal au, reincarnation au ➮ Part: 6 ➮ Word Count: 2962

--Your POV--

This was just like a job interview. You were dressed up in something nice, and you came prepared to show yourself off to your "employer". Of course, this would obviously last much longer than a job interview, but you could just think of it as an extended one. It was just about the same nervousness, the same confidence you had when you applied for a job during your third year of high school.

The moment you entered the room where you met the Queen, most of the confidence hid away somewhere in you and humbleness stepped forward in its place, sitting on top of your feelings of nervousness's lap. You looked down at the marble freshly polished floor, the carefully painted ceiling, the intricately carved patterns on the walls...

"It's a pleasure to see you, Lady (l/n)," her majesty started off. She had entered the room without you knowing, which startled you. Oh gosh, I need to start paying more attention to my surroundings. "Ah, yes, it's quite a pleasure to see you as well, your majesty," you greeted the empress along with a small curtsy. Her majesty always started with light greetings, promptly followed by a short and straightforward talk. You had talked to her a few times before, and she was definitely an intense person. "As you know, if we are on the same page, I have called you here to give you the details of the first test," she started, and you nodded. "I will have you manage the Archon Palace in the North for an entire month. I will visit you every so often, so please be prepared to greet me. You are to be assessed based on your skills in managing the palace both during events and on a daily basis. I have an informant who will inform me of the details. Your test will start when you arrive at the palace and end exactly a month after. That is all."

You quickly thanked the queen and curtsied, then was escorted out of the room by a servant, who led you to your carriage. You were going home to pack your things and get ready for the test. You hopped into the carriage and sighed, thinking about what you were going to do.

The test was like an open notebook test, used to only assess the application of the knowledge studied. You were definitely nervous; you had never done anything on this scale and it was very new to you. Your mother managed all the household affairs for you, since you had quit studying it a long time ago. But you did manage to go over it over the last few months of cramming, and you could probably relate it to some skills you saw at night.

The (y/n) in your dreams had at least basic skills to survive on her own. Of course, she was taught how to cook and clean and make the place all tidy and presentable. Well, you figured you would use those tips later when you managed the castle, so you wrote down a list of what you could remember and placed it with some other important documents you planned on bringing.

You wanted to pack your things yourself. There was just something special about it; perhaps it gave you the right temporary goodbye to your home that you needed. Or maybe you just wanted to do it because that girl always did it herself, but this is what you wanted to do and you were going to do it. It was definitely weird though, in other people's eyes. Anyone of your status would just tell their servants to get the things they needed and get on their way, unless they were hiding something. Well, you guessed you were hiding something, but it wasn't even in the baggage anyways.

You bid your parents a short goodbye as you left for the northern palace, and you slept to the bumps of the road as you made your way there. As soon as you arrived at the palace, you really knew it was really meant to be a long assessment, not some 10-minute pop quiz. The place was a mess- well, it still functioned, but it was still a mess. There was not an ounce of organization to be seen and you instantly wondered who had been in charge of the place before you arrived.

You were escorted to your room; it was actually quite nice. After all, this was a palace. It was made for the royal family, who always lived in such luxury. It was clean enough; the place looked clean and simple, with it just being very clean. That was one thing you liked about this palace, it was clean. There was no dust laying around, no rodents running around, no random stuff sitting around. It was clean and simple, in contrast to the elaborate paintings on the walls and ceilings; you'd have to fix that.

After taking the day to settle in, you familiarized yourself with the place and the staff. You had one of the butlers show you around, taking you to every place on the map you wished to see. It kinda felt like busy work, but it's not like you could back down now. All that cramming was for this, so you were going to do it. You attempted to speak to the staff, have a nice conversation with them, but nobody bothered to answer respectfully. They gave the shortest answers possible and continued working while you were talking to them. Well, they must be dedicated to their job- or perhaps they were told to act this way, who knows.

At the end of the day, the place was still pretty new to you, but it didn't feel completely foreign anymore. You were able to assess the situation, and in the morning, you'd tell them what they needed to fix up on- and it was a lot.

The next morning, you got up as the sun rose and you changed into something you had brought from home. It wasn't too fancy, but still presentable enough for the staff. Honestly, you wanted to wear (your comfort clothes) but you had appearances to keep up. Anyways, after getting ready, you headed towards your new office space. It was pretty nice, you had to say- especially the chair. It was comfier than any of the chairs you had at home, which was awesome. You then wrote out your entire script for what you were going to say to them. You weren't always up for "public speaking", but you were in the mood to get things done, so you were going to get things done. Simple as that.

Then, you decided to set up your simple system. Yes, you were going to make a system for these employees. Having good employees was one thing, but managing them was another. If you have good employees, but no organization, no sense of community, everything's going to be all over the place and nothing will get done. Well, that's what managers are for, right?

You ordered for the things that needed to be brought to be brought and called all of the servants over. You held your short script that you had made earlier this morning and took a deep breath as everyone piled in.

"Good morning, everyone. I have called this meeting to inform you of the new changes, which will start in three days, as I have supplies that need to be sent here. Now, as I was walking around the palace, I noticed many things about organization that need to be addressed immediately. I understand that it is very different than what you have been previously doing, and I hope you understand how this makes the process of doing your work much more manageable and efficient," you started. You looked at the faces of the servants. Some of them were intrigued, others looking away and not caring at all.

"First of all, I would like to address some of the organization issues you have here. Everything is all over the place, so I would like you to organize them. First, keep things in one place. Every time something is used, it is to be put back in the same place when it is finished being used. Next, I would like to invest in making the storage rooms much nicer. I saw them yesterday, and they are horrendous. I have just ordered some baskets; use them to organize the items in the storage rooms. Label them as well, so that everyone knows what basket is for which items. I will have Cain (the butler) handle the baskets," you explained, knowing this seemed pretty new to them. No one was particularly happy, as things were changing to something a bit different, and that was expected. As long as they did their job properly and followed the rules, everything would be fine.

"Next, I would like to introduce a new system. By my office, there will be a large board, where you can sign up for the tasks that need to be done that day. There will not be a set number of tasks you need to complete, but you must all complete everything by the day. I will also assign a leader to each group of servants, who will write me a report every 3 days on the work everyone has been doing. It does not need to be long, but make it a bit detailed; it just helps me make sure everything has been done well." You heard some sighs, and you knew full well it was more work for them, but you couldn't be going around all day and staring at them doing their work.

So, you put the system to work, and when the baskets and things arrived, you looked over everything. Honestly, there wasn't much to do then, if all the reports were all good. Well, that gave you time to plan for the decorations for when the queen would come visit, and so you spent your time doing that.

You researched different popular themes for the palace and selected one you thought her highness might like, though it required the place to be clean. There were way too many items in this palace, for sure. Of course, you could throw away many of them, but that would be such a waste. You could already think of uses for many of them. So, you decided to buy more baskets and hide them in plain sight. That way, you could keep them, and her highness wouldn't have a clue. It wouldn't hurt her if she doesn't know.

∞ ₒ ˚ ° 𐐒𐐚 ° ˚ ₒ ∞

Long days, always. Living in this place was lonely. Sure, there were tons of servants around, but you never felt much of a connection with them. You needed someone you trusted, someone you knew and someone who knew you. The first person you thought of was Kenma, but you weren't allowed to correspond with him during this time. The Queen would think you were trying to cheat, even if she read what was inside the letters. After all, you hadn't tried to prepare for years, and suddenly you're trying when you find out you're the prince's soulmate.

You were just about to go to bed. It was about midnight, a bit late, but not really. You were tired from dealing with all the servants; there was a huge fuss about a maid breaking an expensive vase. All of them in the room pointed fingers at each other, and after listening to everyone's stories, it was so clear that everyone was lying about something. No one's story matched up with the another's, so obviously everyone was twisting it for their own sake. You decided that you didn't like any of the girls in the group and seriously considered just firing the whole lot of them and hiring new ones. Well, in the end, you just let it all go with a warning. All that was really damaged was the vase; that could definitely be replaced. It wasn't like your budget was too tight; actually it was quite good. The only thing that concerned you was their attitude. These people really need to understand that they can be replaced...

It was about 4 in the morning when you woke up. Cain, the head butler, was literally the only one considerate and pleasant enough to talk to, but he really had to wake you up at 4 in the morning. You only had about 4 hours of sleep; your brain was still taking a vacation and it was truly difficult to force it back out.

As you exited your room in your nightgown, as it was still the middle of the night, you saw Alania, one of the better maids, with a candle outside the door. She led you to the office, where Cain was waiting.

"I apologize for interrupting your rest, Lady (l/n), but her highness has arrived. Please get ready to greet her," Cain explained. "I-" you said in surprise. "Thank you for telling me. I shall prepare right away."

Your brain flew back to your brain, luckily, and you were pretty alert now. Your gait quickened, as your thoughts raced through your mind. You ordered for the place to be quickly prettied up; there were still a few things that shouldn't be left in the open, and you told them to hold small things in baskets which were placed as decoration and large things in the storage rooms. It didn't need to be neat; the place just needed to be presentable.

As the place was being fixed up, you had yourself fixed up. It was much harder in the night, but Alania was skilled and made you look presentable in a matter of minutes. Since you were finished before some parts of the palace were cleaned up, you decided to keep her highness in the cleaner parts as the other parts not yet fully fixed up were worked on.

So, you went to greet her highness at the front of the palace and welcomed her. You apologized for being a few minutes late, though that really wasn't too uncommon. Nonetheless, you were just being respectful. You led her to a waiting room, where you talked and had some tea. You wondered when you could go back to getting your sleep, but it's not like you could leave her highness by herself; that would be extremely rude in this society. Casual did not exist, and that was such a shame.

After a while, her highness decided to retire for the night, and you had a room prepared for her. You led her to her room, then once she had closed her door, you started back to your room. It started as a walk, but as the desire to just get back in bed increased, it turned into a faster walk to a run. You sped up the stairs into your room, where Alania had been waiting for you.

You sighed as you slowed down, getting into a chair so that Alania could take off your makeup and accessories for you. They were so fancy you didn't even know how they worked, so you just let her. She got them off in no time and you changed into your pajamas as soon as they were off and flopped onto your bed. You were very tired by this time, and you instantly fell asleep as soon as you got comfortable.

The next morning, you weren't awoken by anyone. You expected someone to inform you that her highness was awake, but you figured she wasn't awake either. She probably didn't get any sleep until she got to the palace, so it made sense.

Alania knocked on your room when she came by a few minutes later, suggesting a dress for you to wear. You had instructed her to get you whatever dress for you to wear for the time you were in this palace, and she was great at it. You changed into the dress and had her fix up your hair and add on some accessories. Once you were all ready to go, you closed your bedroom door and started to the dining hall.

As you sat at the table, you realized it would be rude to eat without her highness, so you decided to wait as you read a novel you had brought with you, just in case you needed it. It would help pass the time, and it could be used as a conversation starter.

After some time, you heard the steps of a pair of heels entering the room, and her highness appeared. You greeted her as she sat across from you, and breakfast was served. You had small talk with her, making sure to always be respectful. Since you were asked, you showed her around the palace and told her some stories of things that you had to take care of. Gossip was always something women in high society talked about, even the Queen herself.

∞ ₒ ˚ ° 𐐒𐐚 ° ˚ ₒ ∞

You shuffled around the place, bidding your goodbyes to everyone as you hopped into your ride home. It has been a long month... and it was time to go home. You wondered about your results; they'd be released in a couple of weeks. You stared out the window, falling asleep on your way home.

『••✎••』 Extra Info * ˚ ✦ ⇢ If you haven’t read the other parts, find them here!

A/N: Hey guys! It's been a while haha. I actually made it longer than I thought I would. Honestly I rushed the ending a bit bc I'm lAzY but eh whatever welp I'll see you next time and that's hopefully soon! Love y'all! <3333

#kenma kozume #kenma kozume x reader #lili kags #kenma x reader #haikyuu x reader

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alolanrain · 4 years

Text

Cold

Galar is cold. The coldest Region Ash has ever been to and this is including Sinnoh. He’s wearing his thickest sweatshirt and pants, full on gloves instead of those fingerless ones. Gou is shivering next to him, the mountain dog anthro is still fairing better though since his anthro shift was made for this weather.

Ash’s tail lashed out and then quivered. Wrapping around his stomach and squeezing his middle. Gou eyed Ash, it’s not like Ash even has an inkling of control over his appendages. Ash just wants to get to the hotel and call it a very early night, since it’s only like three in the afternoon.

Their Specifically in Wyndon, for the worldwide Championship that all champions have to be at. Well all this year, the last twelve Ash has been sneaking by with Drake going in his stead but now Lance had put his foot sown firmly now that Ash is a double titled Champion.

“You can explore,” Ash pointed a shaky finger at Gou, Pikachu making it a bit hard with the way he was hunkering down on his shoulder, “I’m going to be taking a long ass nap.”

Gou snorted and rolled his eyes, “yeah, whatever.” He snipped back. Maybe the cold was getting to him more then Ash thought. But that didn’t matter now, getting to a warm room with a fluffy bed is more important.

“How may I help you this afternoon?” The receptionist asked politely. Though she eyed them like they were at the bottom of her shoes. Rich neighborhoods suck. Pikachu bristled slightly but calmed down when Ash pet the back of his partners tail that was on his other shoulder.

“Master suite for Champion Ash Ketchum on the Alt floor.” Ash mumbled. Pulling out his Champion card and putting it in the little machine right next to the computer behind the desk wall. It was custom at this point that every high end hotel had one of these machines to actually check if people were impersonating a Champion or not. Not like it would be easy with all the mythical and strong animal anthro’s on the line up. The only one closest to a plain human was Ash, a simple house cat Calico anthro, even then the red in his fur was so rich in color that the most expensive dye jobs can’t reach it.

“Oh sorry,” the lady was soon loosing her mock happiness, “it doesn’t look like-“

“The lights green.” Ash stopped her. Tiredly looking at the green light on top of the small black box. Not only was the color indicating that he is in fact a Champion, but also that he does have a room rented.

The receptionist grit her teeth in a false smile that faltered as her eyes moved to something with a slight horror on her face.

Before Ash could move, and with the fact that Gou gasped pretty hard right after the change in the Receptionist’s face, a light hand ghosted from the outside of his shoulder over to his neck. Ash unconsciously moved his head when the hand ran up his neck to cup his jaw.

“You’re freezing.” Good old Wallace. Blunt as ever.

“I feel freezing.” Ash couldn’t help the slight whine filtering into his voice. He lent into Wallace’s hand that still cupped his jaw a little and eyes fluttered closed for a few milliseconds before slowly opening again. Pikachu chirped in greeting to the Champion and Wallace moved his other hand to pet under the mouse’s chin.

“Get your room keys,” Wallace motioned you the small envelope, Gou moved and snagged them off the counter, tossing it to Ash who caught it on reflex, “I’ll escort you and your friend up to your room.”

“Thank you.” Ash whispered. Moving to lean into the taller man’s side. Pikachu gave an appreciative chirp when the blue haired man’s warm hand pet down the spine of the yellow Pokémon.

“Thank you, Champion Wallace.” Gou was more formal. Bowing quickly while walking before catching up to the two who stepped into the elevator.

“It’s no problem,” Wallace’s light cyan angel wings spread out a little to cup behind Ash and Pikachu, “I warned Lance this wasn’t the right time to introduce you. You’ll be shivering and teeth chittering the entire time.” He ran the hand behind Ash’s back from the middle of his shoulders down to the small of his back.

Gou eyes the two Champions, mentally stopping himself from asking why their so affectionate with each other. It was answered soon after when the elevator door opened onto the secret floor when they came face to face with the retired Ex-Champion Steven Stone and Champion Alder.

“Ashton!” Alder belowed happily. Moving to allow the trio out into the floor before pulling Ash into a hug. Minding his fluffy tail that spazzed a bit before winding around the man’s thick ankle. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Hi Alder,” Ash sniffed back some snot before moving to curl tighter into the hug, “long time no see.”

“Hello, Ash.” Steven hesitantly reaches out before cupping the back of Ash’s jaw and neck and running his hands up into the semi long hair to brush some hair back. “Your shaking.” Steven frowned.

“I told Lance,” Wallace muttered again while coming closer and pressing a quick kiss into Steven’s hair before facing Ash who was still curled into the hug with Alder, The man never minding how cold the calico anthro is, “but he never listens.”

“It’s because he’s a dragon.” Ash grumbled as he forced himself away from the really warm hug with the gargoyle shifter. “He’s warm all the time no matter what weather, it clouds his judgement.”

“But for twelve years?” Wallace didn’t look to convinced.

“I don’t know,” Ash was fully whining now, “I’m just super tired and really want a bed.”

“Room one hundred and twelve right?” Steven asked. Thumbing at his phone which must have all the Champions room numbers on them.

“Ye.” Ash grunted. Reaching back and grasping for Gou’s hand before trotting behind light gray angel. He didn’t really pay attention to the passing rooms theirs only a few until they reached to the biggest one, which usually goes to Lance since he’s the oldest and the longest lasting Champion

———

It wasn’t long after that when Ash was finally sliding into a big plush bed in his room. Gou right across the hall, the mountain dog anthro had made a point in declaring nap time for him also, so Ash doesn’t have to worry to much in case another Champion or some hotel staff accidentally thinks Gou is sneaking in with a stolen card. Ash doesn’t need a fucking repeat two year ago when he brought Dawn with him that one time to a large scale conference and she was accidentally accused of thieft of Ash’s second key card and trying to sneak into their shared room.

Ash was pretty vicious with both Lance and Drake, who had accused the girl, and publicly dragged their ass’s to the police station to make them pay bail for Dawn. Berating and verbally ripping into the Chinese dragon anthro’s the entire time while sitting next to Alder who drove them there.

He both made them apologize and he and Dawn went to a thrift store to go get some ice cream before heading back to the hotel where they stayed up all night to watch some movies.

The only reason why Brock wasn’t with them was that he already had a room with Misty and another Gym leader that they were friends with on a different floor, floor delta, which is also a secret and private floor for any gym leaders on or off work.

Ash curled his tail tighter around his body, not keen on the cold silk sheets at all, his sock covered feet getting encased most by the multi colored fluff. Sleep was also terrible, which increased Ash’s anger and pushed him to the point where he threw off the covered and hit his hands and legs against the bed like a toddler before getting up and slinging on his sweatshirt from earlier again.

Pikachu blinked lazily you from his spot under the rest of the pillows and half of the comforter. Only stretching and getting out of his half warmth cave because he doesn’t like it when Ash is cold when he isn’t and the way Ash is stalking about looking for some warmer socks he packed made Pikachu anxious. He hopped onto Ash’s shoulders when his trainer offered an arm put after finding said socks and putting them on over his existing ones on his feet.

Shuffling out of his room, Ash’s back met with Gou’s. Making both of them jump and twirl around. Pointing their fingers at each other like the spider man meme.

“Your room cold too?” Gou asked. Floppy ears twitching as he glanced down a millisecond at Ash’s bristling and thrashing tail.

“Iceberg cold.” Ash hissed as he stalked past the mountain dog anthro to go over into the kitchen and the thermostat.

“It’s already at seventy five degrees Fahrenheit!” Ash nearly yowled in rage.

“No way,” Gou trotted into the kitchen and gently shoving Ash away with his shoulders, ignoring the slight hiss and pinned back ears as he looked at the thermo, “holy Arceus you’re not wrong.”

“No shit!” Aah hissed again. Pulling back away from Gou more and going back to his freezing room to snatch his phone of the charger. A loud yowl sounded in his throat as he noticed that it wasn’t even charging.

“My phones nearly dead!” Gou’s voice barked from his room. He must have went to grab his as well.

“Mines at half battery,” Ash convened with him in the middle of the hallway again, “I’ll call Lance to see if he’s up and having the same problem.” No doubt the dragon would be nearly throwing a fit if his heat was shut off and his room freezing cold. Not like it would bother him to much since he has a fire core even if he’s a water dragon, which made absolutely no sense to Ash when he explained it earlier when Ash first came on as his secondary Champion.

Alder would be having a similar problem since he doesn’t retain a lot of heat as well. Cynthia should have no problem since she’s a dragon to and actually is used to the blazing tundras of Sinnoh. Wallace and Steven, even though Steven isn’t a Champion anymore and Wallace just likes dragging his husband to all these events, should be at least okay. Their wings are pretty heat absorbant and should last them a while before they truly got really cold. Four hours into their stay and it’s already been terrible.

Before Ash could even lift the phone to his ears there was a harsh knocking on their hotel room door.

“Sounds like Lance.” Ash grumbled. Ignoring Gou’s bristled shock state at such a harsh sound.

Peeling back his door he was faced by a seething Lance followed by Alder and then even Leon. The Griffin was shuffling his feet and he looked absolutely wrecked, black eye bags and frazzled wings and hair.

“Is your room cold.” Lance snarled.

“Good evening to you too.” Ash hissed back.

“Is. your. room. cold.” Lance turned even a little more violent with his voice.

“Of course it’s cold dipshit!” Ash spat back, “I was about to call you, and ask a bit more politely, if you guys were having the same problem.”

At this Lance tipped his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose. Taking a deep inhale that looked like it hurt his lungs before exhaling. “I’m sorry.” Lance muttered. Much more calm and respectful. “I didn’t mean to heat up any anger. I was angry and wasn’t right of me.”

Ash relaxed as well. Letting some of the fight in him slink away in favor but that didn’t stop his tail lashing back and forth. “I’m sorry as well.”

”did one of you check the vents in your room?” Alder pipped up tiredly.

Gou made a nose before pulling back from behind Ash and going to the nearest vent. It was opened and Ash tiredly watched as he crouched down and hovered his hand over the metal.

“Nothings blowing in out sucking out.” Gou informed. Padding back over and taking the time to press his chest into Ash’s side. Going and grabby the calico’s tail and wrapping it around his would fluffy one. He stuffed his face into Pikachu’s fur and the mouse Pokémon papped at the top of his head like an irritated kitten.

Ash groaned and leaned into Gou more, pressing Pikachu between his neck and Goums face more much to the timing ones discontent but he didn’t mutter anything more then a squeak. At least he was warmer then the cold room. He ignored the way Lance and Leon tracked the movement and the way his chest heaved up and down in a very tired sigh.

“How’s Diantha?” Ash asked. Not doubting she wasn’t fairing good at all being a black jaguar anthro.

“Hissing and spitting at anyone who gets to close,” Alder laughed nervously while moving to show the inside of his arm where his sweater sleeve was in tatters with some little blood drops welling up, Good think Alder has very thick skin, “she’s stolen Cynthia and buried herself under their combined blankets and pillows.”

“Sounds like her.” Ash agreed before doing a full body shiver. Tail unwinding from Gou’s tail and thrashing enough that it’s hitting the doorway loud enough to make an auditable thumps.

“Stop that!” Lance growled and moved his hand quick enough to catch Ash’s tail before it thumped against the wall. “I know you’re cold,” he ignored Ash’s hiss and the clawed hand coming down to press his fingernails into Lance’s scaled hands, “but we don’t need you hurting yourself in anger.”

“Much easier said then done.” Ash growled low in his throat. Tightening his hold onto Lance’s hand.

Gou and Pikachu looked wearily from Champion to Champion. Gou for once experiencing one of their ‘legendary’ spats that Ash rarely talks about. Pikachu was looking more towards Alder, hoping that the Rhino anthro would stop this but by the man’s distant look he was going to be no help.

Before anyone could say something else Leon piped up, “I feel like this is all my fault.”

That made everyone pause and turn to stare at him. A mix of confusing and annoyance filtering through their face’s.

“What in the fucking world are you talking about?” Lance asked. Turning more, as much as he can with his arm across his chest in Ash’s hold, to look at the Galar Champion. “You had nothing to do with what’s going on.”

Leon fidgeted even more. Obviously tired and overthinking things, but he carried on. “If I didnt let Rose talk everyone into coming here for the starting ceremony of the worldwide Championship then none of us would be here at this point. No one would be cold, Ash wouldn’t have brought Gou because you wouldn’t have been able to do his long overdo introduction, Alder wouldn’t have gotten his arm scratched by Diantha, and everyone would be relatively okay.”

It took a few seconds for everyone to let the griffins words sink in. But after that they exploded.

“That is so not your fault,” Alder started, “no one would have predicted this happening at all.”

“Alders right!” Lance added, “it’s not your job to leash Rose like that and even then you’re no way responsible for what’s going on.”

Ash sighed heavily. Shoulder slumping as he picked Pikachu off of his shoulder and kinda shoved him into Gou’s arm. Letting go of Lance’s hand as he walked past the two taller Champions and traitor over to Leon. Reaching out with both hands so he could cup the fallen griffins cheeks and make Leon look into his brown eyes.

“Hey,” Ash cooed, “don’t beat yourself up over this. The ceremony would have taken place at another Region and we would all be staying at another hotel, I would have to make my debut anyways an Gou would still be with me since he’s my research partner, the same things that’s happening now?” Aah waved his hands along the darken cold hallway and to the few open door’s that lead into the other hotel room’s, “could have happened the same way like it is now at a different hotel. None of us could have perdicted this would happen.”

“Sorry,” Leon croaked out, wiping away a few tears that were forming in his eyes, “just tired and over thinking everything.”

“I know,” Ash soothed a hand through Leon’s more then usual wild hair, making sure his claws doesn’t catch on a heavy knot or scratch Leon’s scalp, “I am too. We’re all tired but we’ll get through this.”

In truth Ash was already at his fucking limit. It’s to cold and he can feel himself loosing feeling in his tail and ears. His hands shook as he brought them back from brushing Leon’s hair and cradle long his face to clutch them close to his chest. Taking a short breath and exhaling. Suddenly he was made a yelping noise as Leon dragged him into a hug. A hug that somehow made Ash feel safer and was warm. Ash’s face lit up in a blush as he looked up to Leon in a bit of shock.

“Sorry... again.” Leon mumbled into Ash’s own bed head. Hot breath feeling nice against his cold ear even if it did flick itself at the feeling. “You’re probably the coldest one out of us all right now.”

“Diantha is suffering!” Ash protested, “she has shorter fur then I do!”

“But she has Cynthia.” Lance added. Moving to gently slide the tip of Ash’s cat ears between two buckles. The oldest man hissed slightly at the feeling. “Your fucking freezing! Are you sure you’re all right Ash?”

That got Pikachu’s attention and the mouse wiggled out of Gou’s grip and hopped from Alder’s shoulder onto Leon’s. Chirping in worry at Ash.

“I’m good buddy.” Ash cooed. “I’m good.”

Leon draged his large wings over Ash, but not before motioning for Gou also to join. Now that he had the two in his arms Leon seemed to settle down.

“Wallace is trying to figure out what’s wrong, yeah?” Gou hesitantly asked. More concurred in keeping Ash, who started to shake more violently even with Leon’s body heat, warm.

“Along with Steven.” Alder sighed. “But The elevator is broken so they have to walk down thirteen flights of stairs down and up.”

“Why didn’t they ask for Diantha’s Gardevoir?” Ash piped up, looking very unamused, “they could have teleported down there and up in the matter of seconds!”

Lance bit his lips as he made a pointed stare at the floor then swinging it over to Alder who made an even more expressive face.

“Who wants to brave the dungeon?” Lance asked after a few minutes. Looking at everyone who immediately hesitated but one.

———

“Dinatha!” Ash yelled as he barged into Diantha’s suite. The black panther immediately hissed, fur standing on end as she was curled up with Cynthia who had her wings wrapped around the big cat anthro. “We need your Gardevoir!”

“I fucking told Wallace!” Cynthia shouted you the roof immediately after. “That dolt said that it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Diantha kept hissing but Ash’s sudden yowl of anger drowned her out and also surprised her. Blinking in shock her mouth closed with a click!

“Bitch you are not the only one that’s cold!” Ash hissed as he stalked forward to looks for her belt of Poké balls that must have been stashed in the mountain of pillows. “You have a dragon that’s eager to cuddle while I’m stuck with the most touch hating people in the group, get the fuck over yourself and help you useless soft bellied Yamper.”

“Harsh.” Gou muttered behind Ash.

“It’s the fucking truth.” Aah hissed back. Grabbing the Poké ball and calling out Gardevoir.

The physic Pokémon grumbled about being out of her ball. Rubbing her arms over her own shoulders while looking around before turning to face Ash again.

“Hi sweetheart,” Ash chose to be nice and kept his temper down, Dinatha’s Gardevoir wasn’t one to really take shit, “we need you to teleport to Wallace and Steven and then teleport them to the main reception hall if their not already there by now and then teleport them back.”

Gardevoir grumbled loudly at Ash’s request. Scrunching her face to show her displeasure. Making motions with her hands like she was using Kalosian sign language.

“Baby I’m so sorry,” Ash’s shoulders slumped and a weak apologetic smile crossed his lips, “but I can’t make out what you’re saying because we’re both shaking to much.”

The Pokémon grunted before immediately disappearing out of the room and down the hallway.

“Thank you!” Ash cupped his hands around his mouth to yell out to the Pokémon. Who was probably already down in the flight of stairs to check if said husbands were there.

He whipped back around and stepped towards Leon, who still held Gou close, and buried his face into Leon’s own sweater. Opting to keep quite now and save his energy. Though his cheeks were some how permanently stained red at this point.

Gou reaches out and grasped the sweater sleeve of Ash’s elbow, tugging insistently until Ash is curled in his arms and then slept is hugging both of them together. Which was more warm then Leon just holding them by their waists with his wings closed as tight as he could get them around the two.

Lance had moved over to Alder, raising his wings questioning to the Unovian Champion and already rapping his long red scaled tail around the back of Alders ankles. The taller man ducked his head into Lance’s fuffy hair between his two curled horns. Thankful that the Kantonian Champion was willing to share his warmth with the rhino anthro.

It took five minutes for anyone to move next. Leon had moved his arm around Gou, causing Ash to tug Gou closer and lean into Leon’s arm wrapped around his waist, to dig into his pocket to pull out his phone. Thumbing through until he got to his contacts and clicked on one.

It rang three times until the other end came up. Leon put it on speaker phone and sent an apologetic glance towards the two under him that were right next to the speaker end.

“Leon,” a heavy growl sounded through the room, “you better have a good fucking excuse to be calling me at ten at night when you know I’m asleep at this time.”

“Sorry, Rai,” Leon flinched at the angry tone, “we just have a big problem at the hotel we’re staying at, something wrong with the electricity and heat, and we have some anthro’s who can’t really contain heat that well... and I was wondering if-“

“-that I would get up out of my comfy bed and come and help warm some people up?” Raihan injected over Leon’s voice.

“... yes?” Leon phrased it more of a question.

Another growl echoed out of the speaker, both Gou and Ash couldn’t help but flinch at how loud it was. Leon tightened his hold on the two with another apologetic smile that was more a grimace.

“Rai, please?” Leon begged, “two champions are literally about to go feral while another is gonna like... die of being to cold.”

“Damn right!” Ash and Dainatha belted out at the same time. Same tone and everything.

“Arceus. dammit Lee,” Raihan sneered, “You’re killing me here. You’re killing your friend and rival my dude.”

“Please?” Leon doesn’t care if he’s straight begging right now, he really doesn’t want to see Diantha and Ash actually go feral and kill like ninety percent of all league officials.

Another growl, “I’m on my way.”

Leon made a happy griffin noise, wings fluttering a little around the two boys in his arms.

“Yeah, yeah,” Raihan gave a heavy sigh, presumably getting up out of bed, “I’ll be there in like twenty minutes.”

“Thank you Rai!” Leon sighed happily before ending the call. Putting his phone back in his pocket before wrapping his arms around Gou’s back again, giving the boys a squeeze and tucking his head down into Ash’s head only to jerk back a little and blink in shock. “Damn your ears are cold.”

“No shit.” Ash weakly hissed. “We already established that.” He buried his face to try and not to let out a muffled choke as Leon started to massage his ears. Trying to get them as warm as he could.

———

“We’re back!” Wallace yelled out from the hallway, “and we brought a friend!”

Gardevoir teleported into the room and clicked her own Poké ball that Ash had left on the kitchen counter. The physic Pokémon not wanting to be out in the cold any longer and returned to her, presumably, heated Poké ball.

A much taller dude came sliding down the hall and nearly crashed into the doorway, ducking his head and coming into the room. He towered over everyone and his larger dragon wings were tucked close to his back unlike his large tail that dragged behind him.

“Leon.” He grunted.

“Raihan!” Leon beamed before letting go of the two boys and pushing them over to the dragon anthro, “Ash, Gou? This is Raihan! He’ll warm you guys up in no time. I usually use him as a heater as well when it gets super cold here in Galar.”

“Which is like ninety percent of the time.” Raihan pokes his slightly split tongue out at the Galar Champion who did the same before turning back and going over to Lance and Alder. The rhino more the happily greeting the griffin.

Ash squeaked when one of Raihans arms reached out and wrapped around his waist. He looked back over to the dragon who gave him a once over.

“Well aren’t you a cutie.” He purred. Dragging Ash closer until he was tucked against his chest.

Gou was given the same treatment. both of their face’s were burning red, but it wasn’t because of the nice warmth that was radiating from Raihan’s body. Next thing they knew Raihan was sitting down, dragging them as well until they were both settled on both his legs.

“Better?” Raihan asked.

“So much better,” Gou answered, eyeing Ash who just tilted his face more into Raihans warm sweater instead since his face was a blushing mess more so then Gou’s, “thank you Raihan.”

Raihan only hummed. Eyeing Ash’s tail that was still trashing and hitting his arm. “You good there kitten?”

“Uh-hu!” Ash squeaked out. Turning quickly to nab his tail and tuck it close to his chest to keep it from moving anymore. Ash felt so embarrassed as he hid his face more in Raihans, extremely toned, chest.

“Ash is just super tired and cranky,” Gou grumbled, from what Ash could see he was nearly asleep which hes fucking lucky, “he kept getting piles of rain or water dropped on to him, so Ash’s been cold since the moment we left for the airport.”

Gou wasn’t wrong. Ash had somehow continually been getting splashed with water. Be it from trees or accidentally bumping into someone with an open water bottle, Ash was drenched or at least damp most of the day. It’s why he was so cranky when they got to the hotel, Ash was actually looking forward to going out on a sight seeing trip after dropping their luggage off at the hotel, but all he could think about was changing into some nice warm pajamas and sleeping until Lance inevitably knocked on his door to check up on him and Gou.

“Poor kitten,” Raihan rumbled low in his throat, leaning more into Ash and the smaller could feel the dragons muscles shifting under his clothes, “todays just not your day is it?”

“You and Leon are making it better.” Ash said without really thinking. Making the mistake to look up into Raihans extremely pigmented blue eyes, which widened and the pupils dilated.

“Oh really,” The dragon purred out. Leaning down more into Ash’s face. “how so?”

“Leon tried keeping us,” he nodded a little to Gou who was no completely asleep, tail tucked into his lap and looked peaceful, “warm and he called you here to help. By the way thank you for coming, Diantha maybe a pain in the ass while cold but I can guarantee I’m much worse.”

“I’d like to see that.” Raihan sayed. Tilting his head to the side and narrowing his eyes at Ash who blinked wide eyed up at him.

“See what?” Ash cursed silently as his voice cracked a little.

“You all wild up,” Raihan gave him a little heated look, “bet you look hot while mad.”

Ash couldn’t help but snort a little. “I look like a fluffy ball of murder while mad, which is no way hot to see.”

“To each their own.” Raihan shrugged his shoulders and flinched the tiniest amount Ash has seen a person do when Gou made a sleepy whining noise before settling back down.

“So it’s gonna be like this for most of the night?” Diantha’s irritated growl echoed through the open room. Eyeing everyone that was standing around her and Cynthia in their pillow mountain.

“Most likely.” Wallace huffed. Wings starting to shake at the tiniest bit. “It’s only really our level and half of the Delta level, so most of the current gym leaders staying here tonight are good with bunking up with one another even more.”

“So we’re just stuck with the cold?” Ash asked. Reaching up for one of his numb ears and rubbing his pads into them, trying to stop them from aching so much.

“Again,” Wallace sighed, giving Ash an apologetic and worrying look, “most likely.”

Ash made a loud whining noise and curled up tighter. Shoving his face into Raihan’s hot skin of his neck that was open and uncovered from his sweater. The dragon hissed in shock and flinched away a little from Ash’s cold face.

“Sorry.” Ash muttered before pulling his face back down and rubbing it into Raihan’s, much less, warm sweater.

“S’okay,” Raihan was quick to answer, Tucking Ash and Gou more into his chest and even bent his head down to rub his face into Ash hair and ears, “don’t mind it at all, Kitten.”

Ash only hummed. Tilting into Raihan’s down right nuzzling fest and rubbing his own cheeks back against Raihan. Tonight’s gonna fucking suck but at least it’s not gonna be to bad.

Though Ash does wish he had taken a hot shower before throwing pajama’s on and sliding into that cold torture of a bed.

#wolfy writes #ash ketchum #gym leader raihan #champion leon #champion lance #champion diantha #champion alder #champion cynthia #gou #champion wallace #steven stone #dawn #pikachu #rose #oleana #not your average calico!au

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thelostandforgottenangel · 4 years

Text

Hide and Seek

Okay so earlier the other day while talking to @blossom-skies I was telling her how when my internet went down *AGAIN* I was playing hide and seek with my little ninja princess – we played sarcastic Hide-and-seek for three hours straight and while talking about this she mentioned how cute it would be as a fanfic

With Leonardo and Donnie… Later we agreed Mikey would be great dad for this too but it seemed so unfair to leave Raph out because I see him as a great daddy to his baby

That was it I wrote this because my heart couldn’t stand not to see them with their little ones playing a game while they are trying to do something important

@bloody-dark-shells03 @betelgeusessonajblog @lonelyheart-clubband @fyreball66 @nikitaboeve @darksaphire2002 @aurora-the-kunoichi @autumn-the-punk @midnightrebel669 @queendice98 @mistyroselove @angelicdavinci @raphtherebel @raphie-chan1 @luvroffictionalcharacters @waterstar2016 @bluesakurablossom @neattea-tmnt @midnight-chocolate-turtle @ravenousmonstrosity @ravn-87 @ellieandtheguys @tmntswagger @numberonecosmicgirl

Leo

As the leader Leonardo has so many responsibilities already on his shoulders between being the head of his team, the older brother, eldest son, the one who had taken the torch and was now in charge of all his brothers training after his father decided it was time for him to take a step back on top of having a 4 year old and twins on the way his plate was full and overflowing

But somehow even with all of that he still was one of the best father’s anyone had ever seen putting his baby above almost everything much like he did his beauty

Their son had been planned much like almost everything in their lives Leo being a perfectionist he had planned the time to get her pregnant so the baby would be born in the summer, had read all the stuff he could to insure conception, the number of times he had her in the bedroom in one day she was sure to be carrying after that first night but he had committed to giving it all to her for one whole week what he hadn’t planned was the fact that his child would be so stubborn; they had no idea what they were having and then the baby not wanting to come on time, coming over a month late but when the baby finally decided he wanted out he broke his mommy’s water while the whole family was in the middle of a movie night marathon

Leo was at her side the whole six hours and was so proud hearing they had a son, letting tears escape when his little boy was placed in his arms. Shadow was the spitting image of his father leaf green skin and blue eyes only added to the pride he felt in the room welcoming their little one to the world

The twins on the other hand – yeah they were far from planned one crazy passionate night after a successful mission during mating season, a few celebratory drinks and Leo had took her right there in the living room when they were alone both passing out on the couch, never expecting two months later wake up after a long night to see a little stick with a plus sign on his side table with a tiny note but once he processed what he was looking at he was down the stairs and in the kitchen where everyone was eating grabbing her up from in front of the stove yelling the news as he kissed and spun his girl around

But that reaction was nothing compared to hearing they were expecting two new additions so much more loving with her this time around hoping for at least a little girl

He had been unaware his lovely goddess had left for a while to go out with April and her girlfriend’s for lunch, and self care afternoon, and some shopping for baby stuff since he hadn’t really let her go anywhere in months worried for her safety, having thought she was in their room with the baby napping he had gone to do his daily meditation while they rested knowing how drained she had been.

It wasn’t until Shadow stumbled out dragging his little foam sword over to his daddy that he realized it was just them. He had been in the middle of his two hour long session and had hoped he would get to finish but the tiny child playing in his lap was a distraction, the thwack of the foam on his chest plate had him chuckling before the little boy was pulling on the tails of his mask

Asking nicely he tried to get his son to go play for a bit in the room while he finished up but he didn’t move actually standing in front of Leo holding his face in those tiny hands asking repeatedly for Daddy to play a game with him giving the cute face the leader had yet to learn to refuse

Finally thinking it could go in his favor the leader agreed to play their favorite game closing his eyes counting as he tried to meditate listening as the little one scurried across the floor losing track of his steps as he stopped immediately peeking out to see the his little ninja was hiding behind the couch his butt in the open with the tiny tail wiggling in excitement sighing with a grin

“Couch-”

“NO DADDY!”

Repeatedly he counted and waited for the boy to find his hiding spot then called out the hiding place all without opening his eyes being ordered to count again afterwards going at the same game until a huffy little face was in front of his pouting telling him he couldn’t guess making the leader chuckle as he got a long drawn out gibberish lecture on he couldn’t guess

It was cute when his little man acted like him smiling with pride as he gave finally covering his eyes counting one last time before hopping up off his elevated seat chuckling when he saw his little warrior laid on the couch covered by his blankie scratching his head as he walked around just talking to himself

He looked everywhere stating several times he was just too good of a hider praising his child highly for being a better ninja then him before slumping down on the floor his shell to the couch so Shadow could sneak up on him gasping in shock when he felt the little boy climbing onto his shell yelling happily he had won

They continued to play like that until finally he asked his daddy to hide. Leo was a little too good at the hiding able to get high up above the baby’s eye of sight but it was fun to sneak around until he dropped down from the roof silently right behind him grabbing up his son laughing as he tosses him up over his head catching the giggling child never realizing his lady was watching him from the doorway “You found Daddy! Look at my little ninja making daddy look like an amateur”

If anyone asks he will tell them Shadow won every round like the proud daddy he is and not wanting the game to end they played until he had to go out for patrol when it was time for the baby’s bedtime

Donnie

Working all the time makes him a little less aware of his surroundings or can sometimes be a little negligent about his love by accident

Now that don’t mean that from the second he met the love of his life he wasn’t hers completely, that he did small things to remind the woman that even if he wasn’t paying attention sometimes he loves his girl more then anything.

That he had proposed after knowing her for three months because he knew she was the one

I mean it’s not like the second she told him she was carrying his baby he put everything on hold because his world was carrying HIS child and he gushed for days always kissing at the little belly already there, or the fact that he had made a machine to monitor what he found to be two very healthy embryos, going out of his way spoiling his queen with getting anything she could ever need and want, made her feel beautiful when at five months pregnant she was way bigger then expected and couldn’t get around too good, or the last month of his loves pregnancy that he didn’t really leave her side rubbing her belly and massaging her swollen feet… and lets not forget those first two months of the twin’s life he really didn’t work because he was too busy adoring the beautiful little angel’s he had somehow created with the light of his life

Donatello is a wonderful father and can be very dedicated to his family but he’s still the genius we all know and turning his brain off can be difficult when he has an idea, but after they were born Donnie could be found all the time working with his two little princesses in his lap or in the double bouncer he made to have them on his desk to give his girl a break to pamper herself while letting them help him

Now he had learned not to let them in the lab after they started crawling fearing they could get hurt he had put up a baby gate had found a play pen for when they did got to be in there but it was quick to see if they wanted daddy they could climb both easy with the other’s help just to be in his arms and with his wife expecting baby number three the twins could easily outrun her on a good day

So today when his Queen had gone out for groceries and they had finished cartoons they had gotten away from Uncle Raphie who had passed out on the couch found the cookies they had promised Uncle Mikey they wouldn’t tell anyone about eating the whole box before both had scaled the gate sneaking up on him while he had been fixing his computer, both climbing into his lap one pulling on his mask while the other had nuzzled up to him “Dada is working sweeties” he made the mistake of looking down seeing both starring at him with the bambi eyes pleading for him to play with them

He couldn’t say no but needed to get done before Leo needed him to do anything so he started counting still working on his computer, he went to ten then looked up his eyes immediately falling on the overturned basket with tiny giggles coming from right under reaching one leg over and tapping the top, again he went to ten but with each game he changed the language getting a pat on his leg telling him to count right before seeing two displeased faces

This went on for a while until he stopped counting focused on a few wires until his youngest climbed up his legs pulling his glasses off and running as fast as she could when he reached for her “Hey I need those you little troublemaker!” both giggled wildly when he blindly followed seeing one tiny blur run out of the door her sister having knocked the gate over

Without his glasses he was completely blind and had to count his steps to make it easily around calling out to them hearing giggles from two directions laughing as he almost tripped holding his hands out

This was something they could do but shockingly both were together throwing their voices in a way nobody had taught them making it harder on him until he saw a little blur shoot across the floor getting down feeling his way knowing what would come next and as expected the girl’s sprung jumping on him making him fall to the floor in defeat hearing the joyous giggles as they climbed over his shell “Oh no you got me! Dada is down!”

The cute chants that they had won were followed by tons of sticky kisses and his queen’s laughter at seeing him on the floor. His glasses were back on his face before his little princesses took off running as he counted again getting up and placing his glasses on the table preferring the game better when he couldn’t see anything

His work long forgotten for now he called out to the girls looking everywhere until he got tackled again playing until he collapsed on the massive beanbag holding the twins laughing

He was found later in the den watching their cartoons by his family fast asleep holding them against him all out cold snuggled together

Mikey

As the baby of the family it was a shock when at eighteen he had told his family him and his girlfriend were expecting a baby and there were doubts at the beginning; Michelangelo was still a kid when they had found out and he wasn’t ready for a big responsibility like what would come with a baby but when he stepped up and asked her to marry him after they had found a abnormality with the infant his brother’s started to see why their father hadn’t been too worried, seeing the usually immature turtle being so serious took all of them by surprise.

They were married two moths later and a few months after that he had called them frantic because while they were wrestling on the couch her water had burst barely having time to get her to the needle room before the baby was crowning

She was three months too early he had to be prepared that she wouldn’t survive but as he stood by his wife’s side he never lost faith that the baby would pull through breaking down in tears when he heard that small cry as the little girl took her first breath wailing as she was cleaned up never stopping even as her mother held her but the moment that tiny baby was placed in his arms she stopped looking right up at him so calm so suddenly

She didn’t look abnormal; in fact she was perfect to him cooing as he cried kissing her tiny face

After a moment it sunk in just how perfect she was; her light green skin that was just a few shades lighter then his own was his new favorite color but around one eye she had a birthmark that was a healthy peach color in the shape of a heart making her just as unique as the heart on his plastron, as he unwrapped her he could see a little bit more peach in smaller heart shapes on her shoulder, her bright baby blues opened only minutes after birth and a smile that put his to shame when she looked up at her father so small the little girl practically fit in his hand but she was a fighter

Mikey seemed to grow up fast right there or as much as he could being the jokester he was when it came to her, while his babycakes recovered from the delivery he had done everything for his princess caring for her finding she was calmest in his arms forming a bond none of them could possibly understand

Over the last few years she excelled getting to all of her milestones before any child should but to her daddy she was his little miracle that brightened his days making him the proudest daddy in the universe

Today Mikey was in his Call of Duty game smack talking his friends before hearing his little princess calling him making him almost jump out of his shell looking over fast to find his little girl standing next to him huffing as he tried to get his heart to stop jumping out of his chest

Something he had still not gotten use to since the first day she had done it right after she started crawling was his baby was one of the best ninja’s he had ever met – she was so quiet that she could sneak up on her Uncle Leo and Grandpa still as energetic but when she wanted something she was able to switch on her stealth mode just to get it

When she really, really wanted something she went to daddy because she got her way with him

He looked over hearing her sweet voice calling to him softly she was giving him that cute big doe eyed baby face that melted him every time as her mother caught up to her carrying their nine month old daughter on her hip holding her belly out of breath both were hoping for a boy this time looking drained from trying to get her to get dressed well aware the sweet little girl was going to get her way with him when he turned off his mic pulling her into his lap nuzzling and kissing his princess until she giggled curling into him “It’s okay I’ll save you from mommy” he grinned when his wife rolled her eyes but gladly sat down resting her feet on his shell

A while later she took his headset off his head looking at it “Hey boys no nastiness my baby girl is on” seeing him speak into the foam piece she started babbling into the speaker getting several heartfelt aww’s from his buddies online before her daddy took out two of them fast both cheering together

His wonderful little distraction was helping him win both into the game together

He knew it was only a matter of time but she finally wasn’t sitting still

He would never say it but now he knew what his brother’s had been dealing with growing up with him although he couldn’t figure out why they had always been annoyed; when she climbed onto his shoulder wiggling herself into the small space between his neck and shell slumping over his dramatically growling his name in her deep voice that made them laugh telling him to play with her it was the cutest thing he had ever seen

Mikey wanting to finish this one round agreed quickly his eyes never leaving the T.V. hitting buttons as he sat her down shielding his vision with one as she took off counting loudly until she disappeared hearing the ruffling of her climbing into the laundry basket beside the couch struggling to throw the small rags over her until Leo walked in with an arm full of towels that had just finished in the dryer trying to help the woman who was close to passing out, the leader trying not to laugh looking at his niece when she reached for them

The tiny squeak as he dropped all of them on top of her had Mikey grinning seeing them moving as she curled into them finally going still calling her daddy to find her

Without missing a beat he glanced over seeing her little snout sticking out scooting closer before tapping her nose lightly “Hey is there room in there for me!?” the rate of speed from which she stood up looking shocked he had found her made the others burst into laughter, demanding him stop cheating and count again she took off fast climbing under Uncle Raphie’s chair hiding behind his legs.

It didn’t matter where she went the joyful giggles were a dead give away his favorite was her trying to hide so she could see him those baby blues always made him want to look at her

After the game ended he dropped the remote leaving the game as fast as possible leaping up over the couch grabbing her as he landed getting excited squeals from the kicking child. He tickled her kissing all over that little face cradling his baby close telling her how beautiful she was until she kicked at him making the turtle sit up pouting at her as she took one his hands at a time covering his eyes making him count

As he got to five he felt a small pressure on his shell as the little girl climbed up on him but didn’t react waiting until he heard the small click as one of his brothers hooked her in with his boards sling getting up hearing her giggle as she held the top of his shell. He walked around looking every where seeing his brothers dying as he searched acting completely oblivious to where she was stunned he couldn’t find the child until she climbed up squealing in excitement for finally hiding from her daddy in a place he couldn’t find

Now once she had calmed down he bounced around yelling it was his turn quickly going to hide by jumping over the couch sticking his head under the pillow waiting for her to get him after she finished her version of counting

Raph

The little pats of tiny feet walking into the weight room drew his attention away from the bar he was holding up having not been able to fall asleep feeling overheated but not wanting to wake up his mate for some fun he had tucked his love in and decided to work out until he was tired

Raphael had just started his third set he was surprised to see his little girl standing there with a sad look in the doorway; her princess pony sleep pants dragging around her tiny feet as she pulled at the shirt that was getting too small for her, that little lip set in a pout tears filling those stunning golden green eyes “Ay there kitten – what’s wrong baby ya ‘ave a nightmare?” seeing her nod he sat the bar back down on the hooks sitting up as she shuffled towards him sniffling, picking her up after hearing her telling him about the scary creature that had been chasing her “C’mere kitten” he kisses her head trying to calm her by rubbing her little shell the way she liked “Ain’t nobody gonna hurt ya ‘m the scariest thing in these tunnels ain’t no half ass loser gonna get ya while ‘m here, want daddy ta kick that monsters ass fer messin with m’ girl” he couldn’t help the smile that took over his face as she nodded fast curling up against him

He never thought for a second he would be right here in his life; sure he had dreamed of a better life but it was just that a dream

He had never thought he could fall for a beautiful woman who had become his best friend in a short time after meeting by accident, he had taken the risk showing her he wasn’t wearing a costume after a few too many drinks, for some reason she had liked him, he hadn’t thought she would love him for who he was green skin shell and all but all night she was at his side and as the night grew later her drunken self becoming more then friendly, one crazy night of uninterrupted passion turned into a few months later hearing her say that she was pregnant

Time stopped right there

Not knowing what to do or how to process the sudden news he had sat down too stunned to speak the fact that she had told him it was obvious she wanted to keep the baby and he didn’t even question it Raphael had took her hand pulling the sobbing woman against his chest holding her tight whispering a promise that they would face it together and from then life had been perfect and took off fast

They were a couple right off the bat driving one another crazy, ridiculous fights that always ended ion them laughing and finding they were a match made in hell, he loved laying on her chest talking to the baby so affectionate when nobody was looking being the teddy bear she teased him for.

He was a committed father before he heard that first heart beat, before he had even seen the sonogram he was wrapped around his baby’s finger. As she reached her final month the massive turtle surprised her one night by pulling the woman into his room covering her eyes until he was ready for her to see. Where all his weights and belongings had once sat he had moved almost everything out placing it in the tiny area she had been given her stuff was in there now along with a nursery he had set up for his little angel on one side having built a crib and gotten her a comfortable chair and made both of them a blanket

Their daughters birth had been a shock a month before her due date that his wife still hadn’t let him live down since it had been his fault, he didn’t think so but hey he couldn’t have been the only man to break their girl’s water during a slightly rough love making session- Maybe…

But since the night that little girl was laid in his arms he was glad he had taken the chance, letting somebody in because she made him believe in miracles, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen next to his girl a mix of both of them his life had been flipped upside down by that sweet face and he hope it never changed. In a few weeks his woman was going to deliver another little girl even though his brother said he couldn’t tell the gender they knew it had to be a girl, or that at some point in his life he deserved the mini him that had started it all that was curling up in his lap clinging to her turtle baby doll

“Tell ya what – how bout ya tell Daddy what will make ya feel better kitten?”

He gave her time to collect herself much like him she wasn’t good in voicing her emotions but hearing her small whisper snapped him out of his thoughts looking at her as she asked if they could play a game pleading with her daddy when he told her she really needed to go to bed

He wanted to finish his work out but seeing those big eyes shinning up at him he gave instantly never really able to tell his baby ‘No’ sitting her down covering his eyes starting to count as he did some curls hearing her giggle as she went and hid under the meditation pillows her feet just visible chuckling as she called him to find her, groaning as he tossed his water bottle making her jump looking so betrayed he hadn’t let her win trying to find a better spot in his weight room but when told to count he started just saying random numbers in a never ending sequence after so long she walked over pouting looking so agitated with him

That look told him he was three seconds from getting kicked in his shin making him straighten up before she was running as he jumped up starting towards the kitchen making her dive out of sight sneaking around the living room while he grabbed one of his protein shakes looking around not seeing her as he walked quietly through the area of their home even for his massive size he was so silent he managed to sneak up behind her when he saw her little tail wiggling as she crouched on all fours behind the couch sitting down smirking as she peaked out looking for him before sitting back looking so confused

He got low looking out over her head when she glanced around again trying not to laugh “Man I don’t know where he went but ya think he’ll find us ‘ere”

The screech she made had him on the floor rolling laughing loudly knowing they might have woken somebody as she jumped on him yelling he cheated before he had her in his arms amused as she tried to hit him but it dissipated quickly as she kissed his cheek covering her eyes trying to count knowing it was his turn to hide

Without thinking of it he quickly pulled into his shell watching his little warrior as she looked up to just see the huge shell hearing her laugh as she crawled forward peeking in looking for him her tiny hand patting his head making him come out never knowing they were being watched as his brother’s came in from patrol sneaking to their rooms without interrupting the game “Oh yer too good kitten… damn ya are so good at this baby I can’t hide from ya- Can daddy try again?”

The game went on until the last time he had walked around not seeing her at all until the turtle found her grinning as his heart melted completely finding her curled up in his recliner with one of the blankets he had knitted snuggled with her doll fast asleep; very carefully he lifted her up patting her shell when she stretched cutely sitting down as she nuzzled into his chest sleeping so soundly, he put his legs up knowing he wasn’t putting her in her bed kissing her little forehead as she snoozed on him

Raph watched over his girl nuzzling her as she whimpered making sure the nightmares didn’t return passing out at some point while brushing his fingers through her little curls being found the next morning by his wife and brothers still lounged back with his baby protectively held close curled up on his chest humming as the woman kissed them after draping a blanket over both to let them sleep a bit longer

#teenage mutant ninja turtles #blossoms idea #daddy turtles #turtles and their babies #tmnt leonardo #tmnt raphael #tmnt donatello #tmnt michelangelo #Raph is having a boy that is daddy's mini me #i was a sucker for this #Yes Mikey has the most kids!#got long sorries #tmnt 2014/2016

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sneezehq · 3 years

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Practice Makes Perfect

Ruby practices using her silver eye powers while in Atlas.

Me? Adding sprinkles of plot to my fics so that I can pretend that they're not just shameless hurt/comfort? It's more likely than you'd think. Anyway the majority of this is set during the early part of volume 7, during the time that elapses during Sparks. Content warning for brief mentions of vomit. Enjoy!

It's a relief to have finally arrived in Atlas. They're all grateful to have a break from traveling, as well as a place to hunker down and rest for a bit. But they also need to take advantage of this downtime to train and get stronger before they're forced to face Salem's forces again. And Ruby is determined to make use of every tool that they have access to.

So, after they've discussed the rest of their training plans, Ruby makes an announcement. "I want to practice using my eyes to take down Grimm. We need to take advantage of everything we can do to fight back against Salem, and I can't rely on just hoping that they work like I did back in Argus."

Her team is quiet for a moment, exchanging a few small glances before finally Blake pipes up. "That sounds like a good idea, Ruby. But." She looks firmly at her leader. "How exactly do you intend to do that?"

"Yeah," Weiss chimes in. "Did Maria tell you how she trained to use her powers?"

"Not really," Ruby admits, running her hands through her hair with a sigh. "Maria basically told me that the only training I would get would be on the battlefield. I figure that while we're here, fighting Grimm down in Mantle is the best opportunity I'm going to get."

"That sounds reasonable," Blake says. Weiss and Yang nod in agreement.

"Well, that's settled then." Ruby lets some of the tension seep out of her shoulders. "The reason I wanted to give you guys a heads up about this is I don't exactly have a lot of practice using my eyes, and sometimes it has kinda weird effects. Remember how sleepy I was after the Battle of Haven?" she reminds them, chuckling a little. "I'll need you guys to watch my back, just in case something goes wrong."

"Of course, sis."

"You can count on us," Weiss says instantly. Blake nods.

"Thanks, guys." Ruby smiles gratefully, but it fades when she thinks about what she's going to tell them next. They're probably not going to like it at all. "I also wanted to tell you guys because I don't want to tell Ironwood or the Ace Ops about what I can do just yet."

"Great, more secrets," Yang grumbles.

Ruby sighs. "Look, I don't like keeping things from the General any more than you do, but there's just so much we don't know right now. Plus, it's not just my secret to keep, it's Maria's as well. So for now, let's just keep this between us, okay?"

None of them look very enthused at the prospect, but when she looks at them firmly, they all nod begrudgingly. Ruby figures it's the best she's going to get.

"Okay, glad we could get that settled," she says, deciding to change the subject. "Now, who's ready for some breakfast? Go team RWBY!"

And so, her practice begins.

It takes some thinking to find a good window for using her powers, because she has to find an opening where they're both fighting Grimm down in Mantle, as well as either patrolling alone or far enough from the Ace Ops that they won't notice what she's doing. She gets her first chance about a week later when she and Yang are checking Mantle's defensive walls and they happen to stumble across a huge pack of Beowolves.

"Cover me!" she calls to her sister, scaling down the side of the wall until she has the entire group within her line of sight. Ignoring the sound of her sister firing rounds from Ember Celica, Ruby takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, concentrating on thoughts of protecting her sister, her friends, the people of Atlas. When she opens her eyes again, the world is engulfed in a flash of silver light, and she can hear the monsters howling in pain.

Her eyes sting at the too-bright light and her head throbs in pain, leaving her weak and dizzy, but she grits her teeth and forces herself to scramble back up to the top of the wall before collapsing to her knees. "Did I get them all?" she asks hoarsely.

"Yep." She feels Yang's hand on her shoulder, but her head is spinning too much for her to look up at her sister. "You smoked them all, sis. We're good. How're you feeling?"

Ruby can see her sister's worried expression without even opening her eyes. "Not—not so great," she admits, swallowing hard and shivering.

"You look like you've got a killer headache," Yang says, keeping her voice mercifully quiet as she crouches next to her in the snow. "How about we get you back to the dorms?"

"Okay," Ruby mumbles. Heading back sounds like the best idea she's heard all day. It sounds less appealing when she realizes that it involves moving from her current position, crouched on top of the outer wall of Mantle. Yang is gentle as she hoists Ruby into her arms and stands slowly, but the change in elevation still makes her head ache in protest. She swallows hard again to keep from throwing up, taking several deep breaths and letting her head fall back against Yang's chest.

"Hey, Ruby?"

"Yeah?" she mumbles, voice barely audible.

"I think you overdid it a little for your first time out." A pause. "Also, if you puke on me, I will kill you."

"Right." Too exhausted to respond further, Ruby lets the steady rhythm of her sister's heartbeat lull her to sleep, letting the pain and fatigue wash away in favor of unconsciousness.

When she wakes up that afternoon in her bunk, swaddled in blankets and with a cool cloth on her forehead, head still pounding faintly, she has to agree with her sister. Maybe she should start a little smaller next time.

Her next opportunity comes when she's working with Blake, helping vendors set up their wares down in Mantle when a pair of Ursai appear out of nowhere. How they even got there is a mystery, given that they're practically in the center of the city. They should have been long since taken out by the city's defenses.

Apparently, nobody told the Ursai that.

"It's like that wall isn't even doing anything!" Blake growls in frustration, standing between the helpless citizens and the roaring Grimm. "This is ridiculous!"

One Ursa would be easy enough to handle, but a pair of them might be tricky with just the two of them—unless. Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby spots that the vendors are far too busy trying to protect their stalls to pay any attention to what the pair of huntresses protecting them are doing. It's now or never.

"Blake!" she calls to her friend, tapping into her desire to protect her friends and the people of the city around them. The power builds more quickly this time, bathing everything in front of her in radiant light. The Ursai don't even have time to scream before they vanish.

"Great job, Ruby!"

Ruby nods in acknowledgement, wincing and rubbing at her forehead in an attempt to ease the now-familiar ache that's started up again behind her eyes. "Are the vendors okay?"

"Everyone's fine, Ruby. The Grimm didn't get anywhere near them."

"Good." Ruby forces herself to straighten up and smile at Blake. "What else do we need to do?"

"I think we can be done here, if you want. We've gotten everything set up, and I messaged the others to let them know that we're finished." Blake bites her lip as she looks Ruby up and down. "Why don't we head back?"

This time, Ruby makes it back to the transport ship before passing out. Progress!

Gradually, Ruby begins to find using the power of her silver eyes to be less draining. With every bit of practice, she finds herself becoming more confident in her abilities. The protective mindset that Maria had told her about is becoming more natural for her, and she finds herself slipping into that frame of mind whenever they go out on patrol.

But those aren't the only things she's learned how to do. She's also figured out how to adjust the strength of her powers, to stun or merely injure the Grimm instead of outright vaporizing them. You can never have too many tricks up your sleeve, after all.

With a brilliant flash of light, Ruby leaves the Nevermore frozen in its tracks, allowing Weiss to scramble out of its path just in time. "Thanks!" Weiss calls over her shoulder, glancing back at Ruby. When the younger girl stumbles slightly, Weiss is there in an instant to steady her partner. "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" Ruby reassures her partner, eagerly charging back into the fray. "Let's finish this!"

All her hard work pays off when they come face-to-face with Cinder once again. Ruby doesn't allow her worry for Penny and Weiss and Winter to make her panic, instead channeling her fear into her desire to protect her friends. Silver light washes over the icy cavern.

They might be surrounded by threats on all sides, but for now, at least, Ruby's friends are safe. They can deal with the rest.

#rwby #ruby rose #yang xiao long #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #fanfic #hurt/comfort #my writing #headaches

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capricornus-rex · 4 years

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Old Friend, New Family (6)

Requested by Anon | Prompt:

Hey I was wondering if you’d take a prompt where the reader is an ex-padawan who’s master died pretty early on in order 66, and was instead saved by a clone that removed his inhibitor chip. Then maybe they get separated, and years later when the reader is a crew member on the Mantis, they come across the clone again? How would the crew, especially Cal and Cere, react to meeting a friendly ex-soldier clone who’s close with the reader? Could you make it full of angst then fluff? Love your writing!

Tags: Defected! Clone Trooper, Jedi Survivor! Reader, Order 66 Survivor

Also posted in AO3

Chapters: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 | Previous: Part 5 | Next: Part 7 | Masterlist

6 of ?

There were debris that had to be cleared out of the landing pad, in case partisans and rescued Wookiees are nearer to that point once they rendezvous. The big problem was the AT-AT, the partisans had little to no resources in moving that away, but they need to clear the path for the other groups coming from the other side.

“Can’t exactly blow it up, can we?” you suggested.

“No, Spinner, we can’t blow it up,”

“Well, my next idea was to tow it until the legs come off,”

“We’ll need some heavy machinery to do that. I don’t see any working walkers or gunships here, do you?”

The day became very busy. The wrecked walker will have to wait, you made yourselves busy in the landing pad—receiving the new batch of supplies, tending to the injured, assisting the medics, and the like. When most of the work at the landing pad has been done, you join Strig and the others to the refinery.

The elevator door rumbled and revealed the forest trench, it was literally a hop and a skip to the platform up ahead. Most of the partisans had their gear to easily traverse the terrain, Strig noticed that you’re barely armed—save for your lightsaber, of course.

“You need some help getting across, Spinner?”

“I think I can hold out well,”

“Alright,”

Strig and the others went ahead with their grappling hooks and rope-guns, from behind, you ran the walls, hopped the gaps, and got rid of the flame beetles before you could grab the liana to swing across. From the platform, Strig watched you navigate through the trench.

“Huh, not bad,” he muttered under his breath.

You landed on the balls of your feet after climbing up the grate.

“I see that you ain’t rusty yet, huh?”

“Oh, I had some practice through the years,” you huffed, catching your breath. “I have a good training buddy too.”

A fatherly intuition was piqued from your last sentence. Strig tried his best to hide his overprotectiveness and kept it casual.

“Do you?”

“Uh-huh,”

There it is again, the side-eye to the right.

“Look, we’re gonna have to get to the high ground and there’s no way you’re climbing that and joining us at the top in time,”

“I think I can handle myself pretty well, Strig,”

“I don’t doubt that, but I’m trying to make this easy for you,” he tugged another blaster pistol from his vest’s utility belt and handed it over to you. “You’ll need this grappling hook.”

The tool leaves his hand, you follow Strig’s lead and then pulled the trigger as you pointed it at the ledge above. Both of you zip upwards and land on the balls of your feet when the length of the cord retracted back into the gun.

“You’re three years overdue with your explanation—two of them, at that,”

“Two?! Whoa hey, slow down there, Spinner, we’re just getting started with the mission!”

“Then let’s finish it quickly,” you coyly smirked and lightly thumped his chest with the back of your hand.

You gather at the edge of the platform here there’s optimum view of the whole refinery—at least the bulk of it—the pack leader peered through his binoculars and surveyed each portion of the area.

“Gerrera should be in the control center at the end of that hallway,” the pack leader points at the infrastructure. “They should also be close to the prison blocks over there, and then the Wookiees would be free. Come on!”

The group stalked through a shortcut in the forest that leads out to the suspension beams of the refinery. This time, you scaled the structure without using the grappling hook, but let everyone else climb up ahead first so you could follow.

The people in front broke down the ventilation grate for everyone to sneak through, later on, you joined everyone else in the command center—including Saw—but they were in the middle of the skirmish. The Stormtroopers that were stationed there were easily outgunned and outnumbered; you heard the whiz of a door and in the corner of your eye, indigo sparks covered the end of an electrostaff.

“Strig, [y/n], come on!” one of the soldiers, faceless in the room blanketed in red light, motioned at the two of you and headed strode through the twists and turns of the network of corridors leading to god-knows-where.

Cal just missed you, he appeared when the large blast door open and he’s greeted by the electrostaff Purge Trooper—you were already through the other door with the others en route to the prison block. A code read as “4B” was painted white on the dark grey metal walls of the cell block, however, it wasn’t easy freeing this batch of Wookiees. Your group had to fight through an entire security unit consisting of Stormtroopers and at least five Imperial droids.

“The insurgents have breached block 4B!”

“They’re outnumbered, we can take them on!”

By instinct, you took out your saber from your belt and started banking the shots to the Stormtroopers. Suddenly, the Stormtroopers’ morale sank below average level.

“[y/n], wait!”

“Oh no, they got a Jedi with them!”

The partisans needn’t to worry about the Imperial security droids—you had it covered. You were deflecting the tall droid’s heavy punches, you caught a glimpse of another running towards you and it was already running across the bridge connecting your platform to the other.

You staggered away from the droid you’re dealing with, you Force-pushed the droid to the one charging towards you and they fell down hard on the concrete floor below. From above, a small transport-gunship hovered over your heads, deploying more reinforcements; you spot a barrel of explosives that can destroy the gunship as well as the troops inside.

“Strig! Barrels!”

Using the Force again, you launched the barrels up in the air and Strig—being the sharpshooter that he is—made fireworks out of those gasoline-filled tanks with a single, perfectly-timed shot at the enemy. The gas wasn’t potent enough to make a large-scale explosion, but it was enough to overpower the Stormtroopers by cutting off their reinforcements.

When the gunship spun out of control and plummeted to that vat of sap that the Empire themselves have harvested, one of the partisans who infiltrated in the command center hit the button and set all of the Wookiees free all at once. It was a cacophony of cheers. Strig clapped you on the shoulder.

“I see you’re still sharp with that lightsaber, Spinner,”

“You still live up to my nickname for you, Sureshot,” you winked.

All of a sudden, the partisans started swamping towards the two of you—celebrating your teamwork, they started smothering Strig with tight hugs, tousling his head, hard claps on his back, and they showered you with the same treatment. Overwhelmed with the positive emotions flooding you from every direction, your only response is beam a smile and nod.

For the first time, this was what liberty feels like for you and this was a firsthand taste of it. It was something you, your master, Strig and the clones fought for once… before the Empire ruined everything. Strig watched you be showered with affirming words and cheers, and pats on the shoulder, beyond your sweet, innocent smile—he can feel that you’re just trying to keep up with everybody’s energy.

“You don’t celebrate much, Spinner?”

“I don’t save one planet from the Empire’s iron grasp every day,”

“You’ll get used to it,”

The leader received a radio call from the other faction, Cal has freed the rest of the Wookiees and has now regrouped with Mari Kosan. This furthered the celebratory mood of the partisans. It’s too early for a victory party, but it’ll be in order soon.

“Come on, Spinner, let’s get back to base,” Strig notices a graze on your shoulder. He wagered the adrenaline has numbed you of the pain for you to not notice. “We need that cleaned and patched up. You can get gangrene pretty easily with all the crawlies here in Kashyyyk.”

You playfully grimaced, “Will I have mushblooms growing out of my arm any minute now?”

“Oh yeah,” Strig played along. “I can see the stems popping out already right there!”

You’re glad that Strig retained his sense of humor.

Now that you and Cal have cleared the path for the partisans to freely navigate through the refinery, Strig led you to a shortcut that leads back to the landing pad. He collected some medical supplies from the box that you retrieved earlier and then began patching you up.

“Tell me if it stings, okay?”

“What am I, ten?”

“You still look like you are,” he lightly taps the tip of your nose as he chuckled.

The gentleness of his hands never went away over time. Even though it has been so long, his touch was still ingrained in your nerves. It made you flinch for a bit, but then calmed seconds later. It was the same kind of touch that he emitted when he offered his hand to the child who had lost her master.

“There we go, all patched up and ready to go,” Strig cooed.

“Thank you, Strig,”

“You’re welcome,”

Minutes later, you find that Cal has returned to the landing pad after his own side of the victory. You spring up from your seat and ran up to him—Strig’s eyes followed you until you’re at a finger’s length away from the redhead boy. Cal caught you in a hug, lifted you inches off the ground and lightly spun you around.

“We did it!” you cheered.

Out of impulse, Cal gingerly caressed your cheek and closed in for a kiss—right in front of Strig. This little display warranted a raise of the eyebrow from your long-lost guardian.

Strig loudly cleared his throat.

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anexplanationofunfortunateevents · 3 years

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the voting ends today but the fight almost certainly does not

Republicans are filing increasingly desperate and ridiculous lawsuits trying – emphasis on TRYING – to have votes thrown out because they’re big old losers who know they can’t win legitimately.

If you’re the kind of person who can get into the weeds of federal court filings on elections, you probably already have your hair on fire. If you’re not, I don’t recommend picking up the habit right now. It’s just going to make your head swim. These are so incoherent and meritless that even our corrupt federal judiciary and plenty of conservative state judges have frequently brushed them off. I get the sense that Trump’s lawyers are more hoping to win those cases than trying to win them. What they seem to be trying to do with these lawsuits is some mix of the following dishonest things:

depress turnout by making people feel like he can just have their votes thrown out so why bother;

set something, anything, up on track for the Supreme Court, which Trumpworld is (not unreasonably) confident they have sufficiently corrupted;

create a general sense that there’s some authority other than the voters who get to decide this election.

That is what makes me think Trump’s plan to barricade himself in the White House and tweet out a declaration of victory the first moment Fox News reports a good exit poll for him is only mostly about his pathetic need to self-soothe with an autocratic display. He’s also making one last go-for-broke play for the public narrative. He thinks – again, not unreasonably – that if he says he won, then he’ll get a bunch of “Trump Declares Victory” headlines and chyrons, which puts a thumb on the scale in terms of how people frame any resulting developments in their own minds. It’s not a good strategy, it’s more of a hail Mary, but it’s the only potentially helpful option he’s left for himself.

All of this has, once again, summoned the specter of the 2000 election.

We can’t look one day into the future. But we might be able to prepare ourselves for it if we look about twenty years into the past.

There’s kind of a fable that’s built up around the 2000 Florida recount that Republicans were just tougher and savvier and wanted it more, while Democrats clumsily Ned Starked everything up. It’s important to reject that premise as fundamentally abhorrent. In a functioning democracy, campaign strategy is irrelevant after Election Day, because voters are in charge. The Gore campaign, to its credit, was buying into the basic premise of democracy, and had therefore planned their campaign around trying to win an election fair and square. When you punish or condemn people for that, you are ceding ground to the fascists and agreeing to fight on their terms.

The Bush campaign was just fundamentally not operating from the premise of democracy, but from the premise that elections are merely a weak opening bid from the electorate. Before anyone even knew there would be a recount, they had already gamed out a scenario where they could win even if they lost. The contingency they’d planned for, that struck them as most likely, was actually that Gore would win the Electoral College but Bush would win the popular vote. They planned out a whole pressure campaign to create enough of an uproar to give some friendly Republican state legislatures somewhere just enough of an excuse to award electors to Bush even if their constituents had voted for Gore. That wasn’t the scenario they ended up facing, of course. But when you do those kind of war games, you have to think about what your opponent would do, which means the Bush team was ready to hit the ground running with a whole bunch of things they had been expecting Gore’s campaign to do. The core point of whatever they were going to do was always to create an excuse for the nuclear option of having Republican state legislators send Republican electors to install George W. Bush no matter what their voters wanted.

One major difference between then and now is that generation of Republicans knew what they were doing was abnormal and wrong, so they kept it under wraps. Now they’re so high on their own supply that they brag about it to The Atlantic, because they genuinely don’t realize that people will object and try to stop them if they give up the element of surprise.

In 2000, the nuclear option of state legislatures just ignoring their voters to install Bush was not something the Gore campaign could have reasonably foreseen, and even if they did have an in-house psychic to warn them about it, it’s not something they could have realistically stopped except by winning with the biggest margin possible, which they were already trying to do. In 2020, Republicans are basically trying to run the same play, but against Democrats who very much are as prepared as they could possibly be, and by “Democrats,” I mean Democrats at every level. Inside the campaign, Biden campaign senior adviser Ron Klain ran Gore’s recount effort in Florida, and is therefore the last person to have any illusions about the opposition. Their lawyers are fucking beasts. Outside the campaign, Democratic voters have already voted, dragged their friends out to vote, and are amped for whatever fight tomorrow brings.

And, unlike 2000, any formal government processes are going to have to go through House Speaker Nancy D’Alessandro Pelosi, and honey, she is not having it. Remember, Pelosi has already thwarted not one but two Trump regime connivances to steal elections. In 2018, she successfully deterred any attempt to undermine Democrats’ midterm victory. And with her crisp, digestible, precision strike impeachment strategy, she neutered the HUNTERGAZI plot that Trump had every intention of using to sabotage the election this year. (God only knows what other schemes she headed off by making an example out of the pressure campaign against Zelensky. Any foreign leader or official who might have been tempted to cave under similar pressure by Trump got put on notice that trying to appease him quietly was not going to make their lives any less complicated.) No wonder she felt emboldened to tell the Trumpist wing of the Supreme Court to sit their asses down if they know what’s good for them.

What Democrats – and other small-d democrats and progressives – can do, we’re doing. You need to take heart from that, and brace yourself for a couple of stressful weeks.

Unfortunately, we can’t control everything. We can’t control what Trump will do to seize the narrative, and we can’t do much about how the press responds. And again, I’d point back to 2000 as a cautionary tale. Did you know that most of the networks actually called the race right, and they did it pretty fast? It’s true! Early-ish that night, they called Florida for Gore. And, as a subsequent investigation showed, Gore got more votes in Florida! But the ballot count was tighter than it should have been – a lot of registered voters who were likely to have preferred Gore were kicked off the rolls in a racist purge – so they did a reasonable thing and retracted the initial analysis to say the state was too close to call.

I did say most of the networks. I’ll give you one guess which was the outlier. John Ellis – head of the decision desk (ie, the decision of when to call a race for one candidate or the other) at Fox News and first cousin of candidate George Bush and Florida Governor Jeb Bush – somehow knew something about the Florida vote count that the Associated Press didn’t. Late that night, as Gore’s numbers were actually ticking up, Ellis called Florida for Bush. (I might’ve been more circumspect making those implications five years ago, but these people have forcefully rejected the benefit of the doubt.) The other networks, embarrassed by the earlier retraction and exhausted after a long night, leapt after Ellis like lemmings in five minutes flat.

This created a narrative that seamlessly dovetailed with the Bush campaign’s evolving strategy: a Bush win was a fait accompli, so why was sore loser Gore insisting on this recount, wasn’t it taking way too long? Of course, the truth was that nobody actually wins an election before the votes are counted, so if Bush really wanted to get this over with, why was he so resistant to having so many votes counted even once?

Because, of course, while Bush’s top campaign people were out in front of the press loftily insisting that this recount was an irrelevant waste of the country’s time and attention, Republican lawyers were down in Florida doing everything they could to run out the clock. Deadline after deadline loomed and then passed with a bunch of Federalist Society hacks badgering and haggling over every single ballot. Said Federalist Society hacks included John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

So legal correspondents and voting rights advocates, unfortunately, aren’t crazy to have their hair on fire about the Supreme Court once again doing what happened next in 2000: the court ordered all the counts to stop until arguments that it scheduled for the day before an arbitrary deadline. Then they handed down a decision that even they knew was so incoherent and indefensible that they said it wasn’t supposed to be used as precedent in any other case, even though the Supreme Court’s job for over two hundred years had been to hand down rulings that lower courts could use as precedent.

(Seriously. Guys. If Doc Brown ever tosses you the keys to his DeLorean, your mission is to go back to 1999 and run Chief Justice Rehnquist over with it. Then – and this is important – back up and run over him again. Twice. Then you can go buy stock in Google or feed Trump to zombie vampire bats or hit up a Borders or whatever.)

If you’re not really familiar with this story, you’re saying “wait, what? Why did people stand for this bullshit?” FAIR QUESTION. There are a lot of reasons, though no excuses. One reason that’s been previously underrated, I guess, is that Bush hadn’t spent the week before the election running around telling everyone who would listen that “what we’re gonna do is, we’re gonna make ourselves a huge pain in the ass while people are trying to count votes, and then we’re gonna whine about, ‘why is it taking so long to count all these votes?’ Heh heh heh.”

If he had … well, I’m pretty sure at least 538 Floridians would have been alarmed enough to make a better choice than they ultimately did.

I always want to be able to share an action item. This time, I can’t. (Unless you can vote but haven’t yet, in which case, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING ON TUMBLR, GET YOUR ASS IN LINE AND STAY THERE.) I don’t know what the world is going to look like six hours from now. It’s entirely possible that there’s a Biden blowout big enough that Trump just gives up and flees the country. But assume we’re not going to get to take the easy way out of this. Get organized and stay fired up. WE RIDE AT DAWN, unless Florida and/or Texas breaks our way by 10:30, in which case, WE DRINK AT 10:31.

#2020 election #2000 election

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