#shai talks

[mandalhoerian]

leon kennedy + love languages analysis

It’s in Leon’s job description to help and serve, he’s always out there chasing bioweapons and their makers to save others or doing the bidding of his higher-ups — it’s all in the name of the right thing and out of his strong sense of justice. It doesn’t matter if he’s in an overbearing mission breathing down his neck in utmost priority, he will stop and try his best to help out a random citizen as you can see in RE6. He does also state in RE2 remake that helping people in need was why he chose his occupation, be it in his emo era too, Leon just can’t look away from innocent bystanders. Accepting to look for Claire’s brother when he just met her that night, and also the inability to leave Ada alone in the maze of the sewer he has no idea how to solve the puzzle to, and agreeing to whatever Helena wanted to show him when he was so suspicious of her because she was distraught and clearly in need of something are just some examples of this. 

He helps however he can, whenever he can; he also expresses great concern for the wellbeing of others before his own as it’s his main drive in life. Leon’s a man of duty and selfless in nature, the only time he’s done anything for himself was when he wanted to chase the trail of bioweapons in Eastern Slav Republic instead of pulling back like he was ordered to, and even that was work.   

Therefore we can say acts of service is his primary love language, so much so you would want him to take a break from it. 

Leon really doesn’t look after himself. 

His go-to self-destruction method is to indulge in alcohol to deal with his problems and drink away his feelings instead of seeking help. Maybe he doesn’t believe in getting help in his field of work (nobody has gone through what he has, and seen what he’s seen, and maybe he doesn’t want to bother people with any of it), but he does shut himself off and ignores his problems — doesn’t ask for help, at all. 

In Damnation, he pushes Hunnigan away when she tries to explain the situation to him and nonchalantly dissolves the conversation when she’s afraid he’s going to take off. In Vendetta, he’d rather fight Chris and put on a sarcastic demeanor than to express vulnerability when he clearly needs someone to be his confidant. He doesn’t want to share his burden, but will relentlessly pressure you to share yours.  

With his significant other, he would want to take on the weight of whatever’s on you regardless — from mundane things around the house like cleaning, fixing things, preparing breakfast so you can sleep a little bit more and being a great giver in bed to grander gestures like taking a bullet for you and becoming mean to you in order to keep you away from harm’s way (like he did with Claire at the end of Infinite Darkness, he lost his friendship with her but it kept her safe). Leon will go above and beyond to make life better and easier for you, but he is obsessed with your safety first and foremost. 

However, you will have problems with getting him to open up like I mentioned previously, he deals with his problems on his own and he won’t want to trouble you with whatever he’s going through at the moment — with the plus of his job being mostly confidential, it’s a struggle to help him when the most of his suffering comes from the loss and trauma that comes with it. 

It makes him emotional that you help in other areas though, when you clean up his place at times he is away for a long time, when you make a homemade meal cooked just for him, or when you offer to give him shoulder massages seeing as he’s extremely tired. He isn’t used to being taken care of, and part of him feels guilty, but he’s so appreciative and happy someone cares for him this much. 

Leon moves around quite often and is rarely at his place of residence, so he doesn’t spend a lot of time at home. Therefore, even when his place screams how fat his salary is from the outside, his house is not a home, it doesn’t have a lot in it and is basically empty like a ghost is living in it. And again, with being an agent comes the practicality of not having a lot on you so you can be more flexible, but it’s almost as if it reflects how little he thinks of his life and has nothing to leave behind if he dies on duty.  

He even has two default outfits, first is anything he can throw on himself (preferably jeans) with a leather jacket and the second is the agent outfit, which is just a suit (button-up shirts grew on him over the years.) He isn’t someone who treats himself aside from alcohol and he doesn’t care much for luxuries — the only materialistic things that could excite him were a bike and a bazooka, and both were found by him randomly and were tools to help him in action. 

What he chooses to own, though, are high in quality. His RE4 outfit has Schott’s Classic B-3 Sheepskin Leather Bomber Jacket is $1495 USD. He also drove to Racoon City in a Jeep that he had to abandon. Being rich makes you this carefree, huh? 

He has a lot more than he can spend, therefore I believe he would happily spend it on his significant other. Leon would be the type of guy who buys something out of nowhere because it reminded him of you, or that he saw you looking at it, maybe it was a chocolate bar, or maybe some random scented candle you thought looked sick. He loves seeing you surprised and delighted, and thinking of your space having the traces of him makes him happy — makes him feel the bond is more concrete and tangible. He’s a giver, so it’s only natural he gives presents too. 

Now, receiving gifts from you is another level of joy for him. Leon wouldn’t have thought he cared much about things like that but the thought. The idea of you thinking this much of him and putting your heart into it, there’s something intimate in it that has him feeling so important. Owning things you gave him has a special place in his heart, and he will take great care of them. Maybe he still has the wrapper of some ribbon from a package in his drawer, who’s to say? It’s the carnal desire to hold onto the proof of your existence, perhaps. 

Leon has absolutely no time at all for himself, and in his days off, they keep pulling him back for some unexpected emergency. His schedule is unpredictable. In RE4, he does say “Story of my life,” when Hunnigan reminds him that he’s on duty right now after he flirts with her. Then later, he reminds her that it was them who pulled him out of furlough for this when she tells him to fall back on his Eastern Slav Republic mission. Leon rarely gets any break from bioweapon fighting and over the years, the exhaustion has taken a toll on him, the only constant is chaos in his life, he scarcely can spare any mundane moments to his acquaintances as he barely has any time for himself. 

Quality time though, as he lacks so much of it, is something he yearns for deep down. I mean, hello, the way he wanted that dinner with Claire in Infinite Darkness? He really really wanted her company, and to catch up with her. He asked Shenmei as well. It's a crime that nobody accepted his requests, someone go get dinner with him right now.

It’s because he can’t spend time with people that he wants it so badly in the first place. That’s where he is also self-destructive and it’s a double-edged sword. He seeks company of flirtations because he’s lonely, yet he won’t pursue anything serious. He’s scared of committing to someone since it won’t work due to complications and the distance, it’ll get messy. 

He even deprives himself of friendships and is unwilling to let anyone get too close. Leon is an isolationist, yet he needs people in his life to process his trauma and grief and bully him about his drinking habits but keeps denying himself the company. 

And then there’s the fear of losing that person. He doesn’t spend any time getting close to people, he treasures the companions he has, but everybody is at an arm’s length. He already reacts so negatively to the deaths of allies he barely got to know briefly — Ada messed him up real good, too. How do you think he feels imagining what he could have had with her? He wants stability and settling, but Ada is anything but that. He chases every interaction to be longer, seeks her company just for their meeting to be stretched even by minutes. Leon gets attached so easily, and he deprives himself of time with them out of being scared by it. One part of him must be comfortable in his love for her because it’ll never become a reality, because she’ll never take him up to it, he’d rather take the suffering than the happiness. 

But quality time also is so important to him because it’s in these times of ordinary domesticity that he can find normalness outside the crazy undead shit he has to deal with. It helps him recharge and he craves having this to come back to. 

He would feel so guilty about not being able to be with his significant other, he could even forget important days and miss important moments of your life and he wouldn’t even know most of the time because he’s just so occupied and in survival mode for a while after he comes back. You would have to be understanding of his situation and forgiving, too, it’s not up to him whatever he gets called in for, and because you wouldn’t know what it was, it’s a great deal of practicing patience, and that’s why it’s hard being in a relationship with Leon. Hell, it’s the base reason why couples break up; the guy is inattentive and negligent and the girl breaks it off in the end. In this scenario, zombies are involved. 

You can only get the peaceful moments inbetween with him. And it has to be enough, and believe that he hates going away as much as you do and more.    

Leon hates being praised. He dislikes being heralded as some legend for getting out of Racoon City alive and his experiences ultimately leading him to rescuing the president’s daughter only to be elevated in praise more. 

He was just at the wrong place at the right time. He got lucky, ended up trailing behind Ada who was competent at what she did and reached the root of the problem just because he happened to run into her — it wasn’t him, it was just stars aligning. Pure coincidence. 

Leon sometimes thinks he didn’t deserve making it out, but he did anyway, and now this life of his belongs to a purpose, the purpose. 

He’s just doing his job. One shouldn’t be applauded for doing their job. 

Compliments make him uncomfortable and it’s the easiest way to make him clamp up on a conversation, he’ll vehemently deny whatever it is and change the subject. It looks like Leon’s being humble (he is), but there’s a deeper reason with an underlying imposter syndrome going on in the back of his mind. He just doesn’t feel worthy some days. 

Affirmations on the other hand also don’t come easy, he’s in one of the most coldly professional fields and it’s strictly business, and he is emotionally constipated and deeply traumatized, therefore there’s a lot he doesn’t say and he doesn’t know how to say, and he is bad at telling you what he wants. He’s good at sass and banter, but ask him to tell you about his nightmares and he’ll just hug you and go back to sleep. 

Leon isn’t used to expressing affection through words either, and prefers to show it instead. You’ll know he loves you even if he doesn’t say it outright. But with his significant other, though, he’ll do his best to learn to be more affectionate with words to you to show his appreciation — just prepare for shy and awkward Leon. The soft side of him comes out this way, he’ll hesitantly ask you to stay and he’ll look so young doing it that it’ll melt your heart.   

Leon is one touch-starved poor bastard. 

Here’s the reason why: he’s a pretty lonely guy but he’d rather indulge in the warmth of a person than letting them in. Solitude is a personal preference of his, and it leads him to seeking out temporary companionship to feed this part of his. Meaningless one-night stands are a go-to of his, as they mean no deeper connection but all the skin to skin contact and the soothing heat beside him. If he’s lucky, his partner would pet his head during the deed, or caress his face, now those are the treat. 

If he could just let go and the perfect opportunity arose, he would just lie in the arms of his significant other for hours being hugged by them, enveloped in the coziness, head empty and fuzzy. Those would be the perfect naps he needed, because wow does this guy not sleep well.    

It would be a first for him to get affectionate touches coming with a friendship as well, it’s been a lifetime since he let himself be that way with someone, it’s not easy to get him to be chummy and lighthearted with you in that aspect. He’s a well-mannered guy too, so he’s the type to keep a respectable distance even when he’s being playful. Half-hugs, back pats and handshakes are the best you’re going to get as his friend, and they don’t happen often.   

The clinginess blooms well into the relationship after Leon gets comfortable with exploring that childish, neglected part of his. He would adore hugs, hand-holding, reaching out to grab you casually while sitting next to you in the confines of your private space, you would feel his love through him seeking you out for comfort voluntarily and lowering his serious exterior to be relaxed around you. His utmost weakness is you playing with his hair and tracing his face with your fingers, because he goes out like a light almost immediately.  

Leon also won't be rough with you physically while bonking so don't expect playfighting and do not hit him while joking around, he gets thrown around and hurt so much as it is (the amount of being strangled by tyrants and plagas? no, he's not into choking), and he tends to be extremely tender and sweet. Though you might discover a pretty interesting side of him if you decide to be assertive and take care of him in bed, you might just get addicted to how shy he could get.

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#leon kennedy #leon s. kennedy #leon kennedy headcanons #leon s. kennedy headcanons #leon kennedy x reader #leon s. kennedy x reader #leon x ada #resident evil headcanons #leon kennedy x you #im adding the reader tag even though this is very leon-centric because i can #who's gonna stop me #leon needs a hug #and all the affection he can get #this is just a very long post about his loneliness and isolation #Honestly Leon's that pretty intimidating guy who turns out to be so sweet and respectful and i want him #god i love this guy i just want to wrap him in a blanket and give him a break #shai talks #character: leon kennedy

[idlebirdsparagon]

just got to another Astarion romance scene and got negged through his entire confession:

"...I needed to get someone on my side. And seducing you was easy, frankly [Rude. True, but rude]. So imagine how stupid I felt when I started to...genuinely feel something for you [Okay?]. Trust me, I was not happy about it [I'm sorry??]. You were a complication I didn't see coming [My bad???]."

that's the height of romance right there. pack it in y'all, we've peaked

(note: I'm joking of course, I've been going feral over this scene since I got it I love it I swear, but damn it's hilarious to watch Astarion run full tilt into an objectively rude confession and have it cut to my Tav's less than enthused expression [see below])

#astarion romance #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #astarion #baldur's gate 3 spoilers #(no spoilers please i just made it to moonrise towers and im working on rescuing the tieflings) #shai talks #my tav #(his name is Ariaza. I call him Aza)

[free-my-mindd]

#twitterpost #kat williams #real talk #club shay shay #interview

[thewintersoldier]

Just saw gotg 3 😭😭

#gotg 3 spoilers #ish not really tho #** #rocket raccoon #guardians of the galaxy #guardians of the galaxy vol 3 #shay talks

[ibnnlahad]

when your card declines at therapy so they bring out the 1755 lisbon earthquake incident

#shay cormac #shay patrick cormac #assassin's creed #dont talk to me im sensitive. i promise i will post interesting shay character analysis once im done sobbing over him like a baby #.epub

[shygirl4991]

SMG3 Sussy Notebook

ima tag smg3 sussy notebook spoilers and have the pics of the notebook under read more so you can pick if ya wanna see the notebook! These are highlights and not every page!

now that we have the pw for club penguin we can all log in and get all the cool skins, honestly i feel if mario just guess the password it wouldnt take him long to get it xD be faster then stealing the notebook and all

ah yes the start of the worlds longest slowburn its a super funny thought that right out the usb he gets his notebook and goes this bitch here ima make him my life rival

oh shit shout out to these two that showed up in SMG3 Gauntlet of gloom

suuuure buddy keep telling yourself that, seems even tho SMG3 marked him as his rival and hated him over what happen in college he still wanted to hang out with 4 and be friends but its not like he cares or anything...baka!

lmao the censor on what happen in the igloo ah yes nothing but hugging happen there nothing to M rated xD im guessing the real book in universe might have it a bit more detail given the big deal it was for wotfi 2023

we really dont talk about that hug

did...did i call it in my fic that this man legit is crazy about beans and hot sauce im dying i guess when your the bad guy with low budget for food you get use to the good classic beans and hot sauce

oh honey thats not how that works xD this man is smart but also oh so dumb i think he gets that from his avatar that and he is a few years fresh from the usb Update: @alianarepasa let me know its from a mad max episode i manage to miss it was a fun watch and now i understand what this means xD these peeps really went wild without internet poor toad

pifft im guessing he has masters degree specialized in psychology? other wise idk how he is a psychologist and he seems to be a good one from what we have seen but who knows he could be bullshitting his way through how evil xD

both our boys are ready to ride forklifts into the sunset someone draw this please xD

im laughing i guess SMG3 isnt much a fan of boopkins but seems he really enjoys being with the crew he wont say it but im sure he is a happy bean to finally be with the cool kids after years of being jealous.

he says but give this man eggdog or eggdog memes and he becomes Tari in a second

hey lads we found the page from SMG4 We Dont Talk About What Happened in the Elevator

he wants a castle but ended up with a sick lair in a coffee shop i think thats better!

okay putting my shipping heart away this is so interesting to me like he starts off thinking 4 is a loser and makes him his rival then gets jealous he has these friends and he isnt apart of them. We know SMG3 is lonely and lost as he doesn't know his purpose before becoming lord of the graveyard now being apart of the crew and now knowing who is he, SMG3 is much happier and closer to the crew. But the way he writes this feels like he likes the close contact with 4 and while he doesnt want to admit it could it be he legit does have romantic feelings? idk i feel these past episodes and this part really gets me thinking they have something here to really make smg34 canon naturally and not have the way they act with each other be to different might go more into this later.

this sparks joy thank you for including this and thats it for my ted talk thanks for reading again this is just my highlights i dont want to post the whole notebook here just stuff that gets my mind going!

#smg3 sussy notebook #smg3 sussy notebook spoilers #shay talks about the notebook #smg3 #smg4

[pettyprocrastination]

Pedro Pascal would do NUMBERS as a chaotic uncle character.

Like not a dad (he's got that covered already lmao) or the distant relative that comes by on holidays but the uncle/godfather who never actually wanted to raise a kid but ended up having to when his sibling passed away and the child was left to him.

trying his best but definitely had some bumps along the way and is now a salt-and-peppered bachelor toting around a snarky 15 year old that gives him shit every single day

chaotic "EVERYTHING IS FINE" vibes when somebody inevitably goes wrong but the night always ends calmly with them eating dinner together and watching a movie

#tj talks #spencer shay energy if you will

[justaz]

lance and hunk would so get married just for the fuck of it. like they so had a little vegas wedding with matt as the flower girl and stayed married for a few months then got divorced just for the dramatics

#pidge was hunks best man #keith was lances best man #allura was the ring bearer #lance wanted the drama of having an ex husband #and talked hunk into it bc he could find lance in bed w a lover and be heartbroken for like a week only to meet the love of his life (shay) #and end up getting married to her #(lance sealed the deal by making a joke about shay ‘rocking his world’ and hunk was immediately in) #((lances ‘lover’ is obviously keith)) #klance #hunk garrett #lance mcclain #keith kogane #pidge gunderson #katie holt #matt holt #takashi shirogane #princess allura #coran #lance wanted to be able to say ‘well my ex husband…’ and never explain who #just act all heartbroken but never specify that it was his best friend who he got married to in vegas and lasted two months together #‘i lost my kids in the divorce 😔’ #‘i just took my stuffed animals back lance jfc’ #another one of hunks motives was to make keith jealous and spur him into confessing #keith just flipped him off after informing him that he and lance have matching tattoos #hunk cried that night

[pjs-daycare-new-era]

Heya! For little anx, (he doesn’t have to answer/respond) here’s a little Toby plush. I have some bad anxiety too, stuffed animals helped me personally

(also love to the artist!!)

#pjs daycare #pjs daycare rewrite #undertale #undertale au #mod jay🖤 #mod lilac👑 #mod pixie 💫 #mod lotus 💌 #mod shai ⚔️ #anxiety sans #real talk

[the-gom-jabbar]

People: *wondering why the Imperium's leadership is so fucked*

Literally the Imperium Leadership at any given time:

#Shai Halud says live life make spice #I'm just imagining some poor clerk coming into talk to some Duke and he's there high as balls #No wonder things are so fucked #Everyones bugging out all the time #dune #dune 2021 #dune memes #frank herbert #paul atreides #children of dune #dune messiah #chapterhouse: dune #duncan idaho #god emperor of dune #spice melange #Spice melange is life #shai hulud says live life make spice don't give a fuck

[mandalhoerian]

cannot believe saddler is a palpatine stan down to the skincare routine

#resident evil 4 #re4 remake #re4make #has this joke been made already im new here #fandom: resident evil #shai talks #osmund saddler #sheev palpatine #darth sidious #leon kennedy #re4edit #re4 #resident evil

[idlebirdsparagon]

...and I'm just gonna casually add Loser, Baby to the rotation of songs I'll listen to on repeat for an absurd amount of time

#hazbin hotel #shai talks #hearing the words 'fucked up little whiny bitch' from keith david has brought me unbridled joy

[starswallowingsea]

idc about shu gender discourse but i was thinking about it this morning and i dont think shu would really use specific labels. to me his gender is just his art and his music more than anything else which makes it difficult to define with words. gender is a performance art

#shay speaks #enstars #shu itsuki #<- i talked abt this on discord earlier but i figured i'd post it since they liked it a lot #i dont think nonbinary or trans or cis really apply to shu's gender personally. he just is #do not start discourse on this post so help me god if you think differently i do not care #we can both have our headcanons in peace okay im not going to try and make you take up this headcanon #but trying to define his gender feels pointless to me bc i dont think he wants to define it u know #anyway its almost time for me to do my nightly reading so bye bye

[mirrortouchedsea]

(CW for Suicidal Ideation)

Hinata’s breath was heavy as he landed the final move of their act. The tinny music playing from their speakers went quiet and the audience clapped politely. It was always the same song and dance as the crowd moved on with their day. A few of them tossed some yen their way but otherwise it was time for them to regroup for their next performance. Yuta knelt down by the hat with some coins and bills sticking out of it, counting their earnings thus far. 

“Hey aniki! We might be able to eat well tonight! There’s like 3,000 yen in here!” Yuta exclaimed. The idea of a filling dinner made Hinata’s mouth water. Oh what he wouldn’t do for even warm noodles not from a cup. 

Hinata turned to grab the iPod from its place on the speaker, choosing the next song to play. He put the phone back and turned the volume up a little more to play over the evening rush. The music started and he and Yuta moved in unison around their little stage, taking in the crowd. There were some regulars that Hinata recognized, the businesswoman who was perpetually tired but always stopped for their performances and a few kids who looked up at them in awe as their parents were trying to usher them away. There were always new faces too, of course people traveled across the country all the time or took new trains or moved cities, but there was something different about the boy with the bright red hair at the back of the crowd. His sky blue eyes pierced straight through to Hinata’s heart and made him stumble when their gaze connected with his own. 

“Hey, aniki focus! We’re almost done, don't fail on me now!” Yuta whispered, carefully shielding Hinata from the crowd as he regained his footing. Yuta was always so quick thinking. Hinata got back to his position and finished up the routine, eyes looking for that boy he had spotted earlier. He half hoped the boy would come talk to them afterwards while they were packing up for the evening, but when he finally saw that shock of red hair, it was moving away with the rest of the crowd. 

Hinata sighed, disappointed. Maybe that boy would come back someday. There was something about him that drew Hinata in. 

Someone bumped his shoulder, drawing him from his thoughts. “Hey, aniki, are you alright? You seem out of it today.” Yuta’s hand rested on his shoulder and Hinata couldn’t help but smile. Wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around, the older brother checking in on the younger one? 

“Hey hey everything’s fine Yuta-kun, don’t worry about me. I was just thinking about that delicious dinner you’re treating us too~” He playfully pushed back on Yuta, the red haired blue eyed boy all but forgotten now. 

“Hey! It’s technically our money so I’m not treating you to anything!” Yuta scowled but the smile in his voice was obvious to Hinata. 

“Hehe, then dinner’s on me! Say ‘thank you aniki!’” 

--- 

It was a week before Hinata saw the red headed boy in their audience again. He had all but slipped his mind, but those striking blue eyes were impossible to forget. Yuta was introducing their next performance which allowed Hinata to take a better look at the older boy who had made his way to the middle of the audience. He was tall and what Hinata could see of his outfit seemed ill-fitting at best, along with a headband holding his hair away from his eyes. 

Hinata scrambled to his position as the music queued up and let his instincts take over. Every so often he found himself glancing at the red haired boy, trying to see what he thought of their performance, but his face revealed nothing. 

Why was he so focused on this one boy? It’s not like they didn’t have strangers who watched them sometimes, and none of them had caught Hinata’s attention quite like this boy. He really couldn’t be much older than Hinata, maybe 17 at the oldest. Was he an older brother too? The boy’s eyes made contact with Hinata’s and it took everything in him to not look away. 

Once again however, Yuta snapped him out of whatever trance he had been in and everything was forgotten. 

“Are you really okay aniki? You’ve been out of it a lot recently…” Oh how it pained Hinata to see the concern on Yuta’s face. Nothing was even really wrong per se, but Hinata was distracted nonetheless. 

“I’m fine, Yuta-kun. Geez, can’t your older brother have some peace?” His mouth ran faster than his brain and he immediately regretted it. Yuta’s face flipped through several emotions; hurt, confusion, exhaustion. It wasn’t like him to hide things from his brother, so why was he doing it now? “Whatever, let’s get some dinner. My treat~” 

“It’s our money!” 

--- 

The boy continued to make appearances at the twins’ performances on the street, becoming something of a regular but disappearing before Hinata could flag him down. Hinata wasn’t even sure what compelled him to want to talk to the older boy, but he wanted to say something. He had even noticed that the boy seemed happier and his clothes fit a little better, not like they were just the first thing he grabbed out of a donation pile. 

Finally, after almost a month of trying to say something to the boy, Hinata saw him walk up to their hat on the ground and drop a few coins into it. 

“Thank you!” He said, walking up to the boy. “Hope you enjoyed the performance!” 

The boy froze as if he wasn’t expecting to be greeted like that. There was a slight flush to his face. “I-it’s nothing, don’t worry about it. You uh…you were great?” The boy seemed unsure of how to reply, though Hinata was happy with the compliment nonetheless. Maybe… 

“What brings you here? I mean--agh, sorry! I just mean…I noticed you don’t have a regular schedule?” The words were practically falling out of his mouth and Hinata wasn��t really sure what they were doing. “Like you show up a few days in a row but then go three weeks without stopping by at all!” He was just digging a bigger grave for himself! Great! 

“Ah uhm…I’m not from around here.” The boy scratched at the back of his neck. Maybe Hinata should back off. 

“O-oh, yeah of course. Duh. Are you visiting family or something?” 

“Not quite. I really should get going though. See you…later?” 

“Yeah, see you later.” 

“Hey Aniki, are you coming or not? The food’s gonna get cold!” 

“Coming!” 

---

It was almost a month before the boy appeared again. In the time between, Hinata had come up with a million different ideas for what his life was like. Was he a delinquent who skipped school to hang out on the street with gangs (how scary! But he looked strong enough to fit in)? Or was he a runaway from a city far away, somewhere Hinata only dreamed of visiting like Okinawa? Maybe he had a bad relationship with his dad and ran away, a thought that Hinata hated to admit had crossed his mind more than once. Or maybe he just passed through the city on the way to somewhere else. That seemed to be the most likely option, especially if he couldn’t come very often. 

When the boy did finally show up again, Hinata had to hold himself back from practically jumping him after the performance. Something looked…different about him though. His eyes seemed more tired? Like he hadn’t been sleeping well. Hinata thought of a fight he had with his dad a few weeks ago that made it hard for him to sleep and thought maybe this boy was the same as him in that regard. 

Hinata decided to wave him down after the performance, hat in hand (they had done pretty well! It felt heavier than normal and even without counting everything, they’d probably have enough for breakfast too). 

“Hey! You look tired, are you--did you want to get something to eat?” Please say yes please say yes please say yes--

The boy’s mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. Did Hinata mess up? Oh he overstepped and now there really wasn’t any chance of getting to know him. Why was he so interested in talking to the boy anyway? Hinata had been asking himself that for a while now and he still had no answer. 

“I…I can’t. I need to go.” The boy turned and ran off before Hinata could ask more. He just kept messing up, didn’t he? Maybe he really was just a burden to Yuta and their dad and the restaurant owner. He shouldn’t have been born and Yuta would’ve been better off--

“Aniki! Sheesh, get your head out of the clouds. How much did we make?” Yuta grabbed the hat out of Hinata’s hand and quickly counted out the coins and bills. “Woah! We could eat a whole five course meal with this…” 

“Think with your head a little Yuta-kun. We’ve got breakfast paid for if we don’t blow it all tonight!” 

Yuta nodded before handing the hat back to Hinata. “So, my pick tonight?” 

--- 

Hinata signed the note, trying his best to keep the tears from dripping on it and smudging the ink. After his blunder with the red haired boy, he hadn’t shown up to their performances for over two months. Hinata was certain that he had messed up and was too forward. He didn’t even know the kid’s name! Why did he think the two of them could ever be friends? 

And on top of all of that, Yuta had become more and more distant from Hinata, as if Hinata just existing was dragging him back from his full potential. Yuta would have been better off as an only child and maybe Hinata deserved this life. Thirteen years living with their father, who had treated them as nothing but monsters, blaming them for their mother’s death and everything bad that had happened since, Hinata had resolved to run away. He’d make his way to the mountains and maybe he’d find someone willing to help him or maybe he’d slip into an endless sleep. 

Dear Yuta-kun, the letter had started. I’m sorry that I’m leaving like this, but I know that I’m just a burden to you. I’m sorry for that. I wish I had more to say but I just want you to be happy and maybe father will treat you better without me. I love you. 

The other letter, already folded and placed on the table, was much shorter, addressed to his father. 

Dear Father, I’m sorry I couldn’t be a better son. Please don’t take this out on Yuta-kun, it was my decision. 

The less words he spent on that man, the better. Hinata folded Yuta’s note and placed it on top before quietly exiting through the front door. 

---

Everything was cold. Hinata slumped against a tree, head between his knees in a last ditch effort to keep warm. Sleep should come soon and he could painlessly move on, at least that’s what he hoped. He barely registered someone approaching him, but didn’t look up. 

“Hey.” The voice was vaguely familiar, but where did he remember it from? A warm hand shook at Hinata’s shoulder. 

“‘M fine.” The words were barely a whisper. The other voice grunted before walking away. It was another minute before Hinata felt something drape around his shoulders and a cup shoved in his hand. Whatever was in it was steaming, warming his fingers. 

“Drink.” The voice said. And he did, the tea was very, very bitter. That voice… 

Hinata looked up, meeting a pair of bright, sky blue eyes. That’s where he recognized the voice from. Did he…live? In the mountains? The boy seemed to recognize him too. He was wearing a headband and what looked like very warm clothes that Hinata wished he had. Hinata finished the tea, trying not to focus on the flavor. It helped at least, in warming him up a bit. 

“Why are you here?” The boy finally spoke again. It sounded like he was unsure if he should be mad or concerned, or both, but he offered Hinata another cup of tea, which he accepted if only to warm his fingers up. He pulled the blanket closer around his body. 

“I…ran away.” Hinata looked downward, as if admitting this out loud was a cardinal sin. The boy gestured for him to continue. “I guess I just…I was dragging my brother down. I’m not really talented at anything like he is and I’m the reason our dad sees us as monsters. He shouldn’t have to deal with a brother like me.” Hinata wasn’t really sure why he was spilling this so easily. The boy was a good listener though, hanging on every word Hinata spoke. Was he shaking? He’d never admitted this out loud before and it felt oddly freeing to say it to someone. 

He waited for a response, anything to chase away the uncomfortable silence Hinata had created with his confession. He really fucked up, didn’t he. He should have just kept that to himself like he always did instead of burdening a stranger like this! 

“I…” The boy started, barely audible above Hinata’s racing heartbeat. “I’m glad you’re alive.” He sounded unsure of his words. Was he just trying to be nice? Of course he was, how else do you respond to a kid telling you something like this? 

“You don’t have to pretend.” 

“I’m not. When I saw you singing and dancing…I think I realized something--” The boy cut himself off, the suddenness of it making Hinata look up. A moment later he heard his brother calling out from the woods behind him. 

“Aniki! There you are!” Yuta tackled him to the ground, squeezing Hinata like he might just blow away in the wind if they weren’t careful. “You scared me! I can’t believe you’d do something like that!” 

Tears pricked at Hinata’s eyes again. “I’m sorry, Yuta-kun. I’m really sorry.” He buried his face in Yuta’s jacket. His nose started to run, from the cold or the tears he couldn’t tell. 

“You aren’t a burden to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you around Aniki!” Yuta pulled back, hands gripping Hinata’s shoulders. “Promise you won’t do something that stupid again.” 

Hinata wiped the tears from his eyes, sparing a glance where the boy had been. It was as if he had never been there at all and Hinata had just hallucinated the whole interaction. He looked back at his twin brother. “I promise.” 

“Now let's get you home and warmed up. Where’d you get this blanket anyway? It doesn’t look like one of ours.” 

“I…” The boy had been real, and he told Hinata he was glad he was alive (even if his explanation was cut short by Hinata’s brother rushing in). “I guess I just found it. There must be people living nearby or something.” 

--- 

The chatter of the night club died down for the night as everyone was getting ready to go home. Hinata’s feet were sore from running around, but it was satisfying to be back in a restaurant like this. It reminded him of his childhood working for the Chinese restaurant with Yuta. 

Rinne, the leader of Crazy:B who had wanted to get closer to Hinata, and by extension 2wink, slid a drink down the bar. It looked like a horrible mix of syrups and club soda, but one sip was all it took for Hinata to drink it all down. 

“Great job tonight Hina! You’re a real natural at this stuff.” Rinne was washing the other glasses behind the bar now as Hinata finished the rest of his soda. 

“Yuta-kun and I used to work in a restaurant so it comes pretty naturally to us!” 

“That so?” 

“Mhm!” Hinata slid the empty glass back to Rinne, who quickly dumped the ice and washed it before tossing the towel over his shoulder. The entire week they’d been working the club together, there had been something bugging Hinata at the back of his mind. “Hey, Rinne-senpai…did you ever watch our shows?” 

“Huh? ‘Course I have, vice prez wants us to work together so I’ve seen a few of ‘em.” 

“That’s not what I mean. I mean like…back when Yuta-kun and I did street performances.” 

Rinne paused for a moment. “Why’re you askin’?” 

“Oh, it’s nothing. You just reminded me of someone who used to watch them.” 

“Well I’m sure whoever it was is proud to see you singin’ and dancin’ on stage.” Rinne had come around the bar and stood next to Hinata, ruffling his hair. “Let’s get goin’ or I’m never gonna hear the end of it from Niki-kun.” 

#shay writes #enstars #ensemble stars #hinata aoi #yuta aoi #rinne amagi #OKAY ITS DONE I'M NOT THINKING ABOUT THIS PIECE ANYMORE. FUCK MAN #its at least finally no longer a wip. that's all i can say #got one person who said they liked it so to the blog it goes!!! #one less wip to worry about yippie!!! #2.8k words of me being a bit silly. that's what this is. #i probably could have extended the end a bit but augh if i thought about it any longer i would literally pass away #fuck that shit #so here we go. enjoy. i have a whole essay about aoi and amagi parallels i need to write one of these days when i reread mainstory #i'm working on reading boarding live rn i have like 9 chapters left. i'd keep working rn but augh eepy #probably just gonna watch an ep of a3 and go to bed or smth #anyway enjoy!!!! feels good to finish something a bit longer #probably no wip wednesday tomorrow just bc this is all i worked on this week... #also this is a second draft i never do that. well not never i've done it before #and this is i think a significant improvement on the first #okay i'm done tag talking for realsies byeeeeeee enjoy

[thewintersoldier]

#wendy i owe u my life for this #polls #shay talks #cannibalism #hannibal

[teecupangel]

Au where Desmond is a dragon, looking like an apple of eden, and going around through the times 'saving' things, aka changing Canon history so no good people die, like kadar/malik/sef/auditore family/Connor's tribe. He can speak telepathically, has some sort of breath attack (doesn't have to be fire, could be anything) and of course flies. And while he saves anyone, he is loyal to the 'protagonist' Assassin most (altair, ezio, Connor, etc)

It would be symbolic for Desmond to have a sunlight-type breath attack. It doesn’t spew actual fire but a beam of white light as bright as the sun and has the same temperature as the solar flare that he died to save the world from.

Desmond has no idea what the hell it is or how it works so he just calls it his ‘laser beam’ because it looks like a laser to him.

Also… you say dragon and the first two things I thought of are “oh god, Desmond’s hoard is gonna be all the important stuff in AC lore” and…

You know what would be funny?

If Desmond has this urge, this itch, this need so ingrained into his dragon self to…

Kidnap the AC protagonists.

Because dragons are well known to kidnap princesses and a brave knight going on an adventure to save these damsel in distresses are simply part of human culture by now.

Just imagine…

Malik, after having lost a rock-paper-scissor contest, having to be the one to ‘save’ Altaïr from the fierce dragon that destroyed Solomon’s Temple just to burrow deep into the strange place where the Ark had been, incinerating Robert and his lackies before they could kill Kadar then taking off with both the Ark and an angry Altaïr shouting to put him down or he’ll skin his lizard skin. When he get to the supposed dragon lair, Altaïr is just in the middle of the hoard, reading an old book, with a large dragon curled around him, purring like a cat… a large cat with a purr that makes the entire cave shake slightly. Malik just staring at Altaïr with a ‘why aren’t you trying to escape???’ and Altaïr just going “Malik, good, you’re here. I’ve found letters and journals that says Al Mualim has betrayed us. Here.” Altaïr throws a bag at him, making Desmond grumble in displeasure which he just rolls his eyes as he said “We’ll get you something shiny. I’m sure the Templars have something in Arsuf.” and Malik is just “WHAT???”.

And that is how the legend of a dragon underneath Masyaf is born. It is said it guards the most prized treasures and knowledge in the entire world.

… It should. The Levantine Brotherhood had to be careful in transferring all of Desmond’s hoard or they’d get an ear-piercing howl equivalent of “FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE!”

And the most annoying part is that they all know Desmond can talk to them telepathically. He just prefers to howl whenever he wants to be annoying.

The next one to be ‘kidnapped’ is Ezio and Ezio doesn’t need any dashing knight to save him. No, no. He got Desmond to just stay in the Sanctuary (which was made to be just as big as his home in Masyaf before because the Brotherhood had decided all secret lairs must have a basement as big as that… just in case the legendary dragon decides to visit or stay a while…) by promising to bring him as many shinies as he can.

Claudia is his favorite Auditore though because she figured a dragon would be a better guard for their money than a bank. Also, Desmond is okay with getting funds for any reconstructions or buildings Ezio wants to do because Ezio gives him more shinies which meant that they also have extra emergency money if they needed it.

And he managed to destroy the Papal Army in a matter of minutes. Sure, that meant Rome was left defenseless and the Borgias became known as the family that got Rome destroyed and sacked but… weeellll… at least Monteriggioni later became an independent state which is nice?

Edward found him… sorta by accident. He heard the tales of the legendary golden white dragon, of course. Of how it hoards the greatest most priceless riches in the entire world. But, by his time, everyone believed it to be a legend. Only those coming from Italy and Levant truly believed the legend. But Edward did ‘find’ a certain journal that talks about it from the headquarters of the Assassins that Mary took him to. So he went out to find this supposed dragon hoard and… well… he got captured on the way to the hoard.

In his damn ship no less.

The dragon just swooped right in and taken Edward from the helm, much to the surprise of his crew.

Adéwalé was the only one of his crew that had the heart to try and find him. He found Edward pinned to a very large hoard by one huge dragon hand and Adéwalé realized what Edward had been doing when he heard, “Alright, alright! I’m sorry! I won’t try to pocket anything anymore! Promise! Yes, I know this is my third promise today but I’m serious this time!”

Shay had heard the legends of the dragon but never saw it. Until Lisbon… When he got to the location where the POE was… the dragon was there, curled around it.

It told him that this POE was unstable and touching it would cause an earthquake that would destroy whatever was above them and Shay just went…

Alrighty then. He isn’t going to argue with the dragon of legends that can talk directly to his mind.

If Achilles still wants to take the POE, he can take it himself.

Achilles heard and believed the stories of the dragon, of course, so if the dragon says that then yeah… better order Shay to find all the other POEs in the manuscript and make sure they remain untouched for as long as possible then.

Desmond chills in the Grand Temple during Ratonhnhaké:ton’s time. His laser beam incinerates everything but does not have to give out any kind of flame at all so he can use it without worrying about accidentally causing forest fires which is nice. Desmond ‘kidnapped’ Ratonhnhaké:ton when he was a child but he let him go anyway so Ratonhnhaké:ton just started visiting him before he could kidnap him. The villagers believe that this means Ratonhnhaké:ton has been chosen by the dragon and it’s a chill dragon that’s only main problem is it likes to hoard feathers for some reason and that agitates all the other birds in the area.

Charles Lee… Charles Lee didn’t live too long in this one.

Also, Ratonhnhaké:ton doesn’t need a ship. He has a dragon!

Arno got captured by the dragon early on. The most embarrassing part was that the ‘knight’ who came to rescue him?

The pretty redhaired de la Serre girl he didn’t even know the name of.

And. It. Kept. Happening.

It’s gotten to the point that his father would check the dragon’s liar first if he can’t find his son and Uncle Pierre has started calling him ‘dragon bait’. He honestly preferred being called pisspot.

“Maybe this time you can finally ask her what her name is.”

“Shut up, Desmond.”

Jayadeep had to be the one to ‘save’ Jacob and Evie from the dragon that ‘kidnapped’ them. He knew the dragon had a liar underneath London and Henry had actually talked to the dragon twice now. He liked to be called Desmond and he was the same dragon as the one in the legends so he thought it wouldn’t take a long time for him to ask Desmond to give the twins back.

Unfortunately…

“Please, Evie, we need to go-”

“Just a few more minutes!” (gasp) “This is the first edition of the-”

“I found the rum! Lots of it! Hey, Desmond, can you get drunk?!”

“And this is the actual journal of Leonardo da Vinci, best known as an ally of our Brotherhood and- oh. Oh. Oooohhh… there’s a lot of nude sketches of a man in this one.”

“Where?! Trade you for a casket of rum?!”

“I thought you wanted to get Desmond drunk?”

“Right! Come on, Desmond. Let’s try and see if you can get drunk!”

Jayadeep sighed and left the hoard.

He’ll try again tomorrow.

#desmond as a dragon #desmond likes shinies and kidnapping assassins #sometimes he just likes to chill in his hoard #assassin's creed #desmond miles #altaïr ibn la'ahad #ezio auditore #connor kenway #ratonhnhaké:ton #edward kenway #shay cormac #arno dorian #jacob frye #evie frye #elise de la serre #technically she's talked about #henry green #jayadeep mir #adewale #malik al sayf #claudia auditore #ask and answer #fic idea: assassin's creed #teecup writes/has a plot