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shaynawrites23 · 3 years

Text

Be Careful, Soldier

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word count: 1330

Genre: fluff

Warnings: none

a/n: Tagging Emma @on-yourleft bc she encouraged me to write this, so if you enjoyed it, thank her!

also bucky comes back from the war bc i said so

The candles you were using for light flickered softly; the smallest one more than the others, as though it were fighting for its life. In vain, the tiny flame spun this way and that, but it was slowly dimming, and then it disappeared altogether.

You didn’t move immediately, a battle of your own taking place inside your mind as you attempted to convince your body to get up and light a new candle. Oh, how much easier it would be to work by the light of an electric lamp! You’d do it too, if your family could afford the electricity for that.

Heaving a deep sigh, you forced yourself out of your chair and stumbled over to the cupboard, legs stiff from sitting for so long. You yawned as you struck the match against the box, transferring the flame to a new white candle. Distracted, you nearly forgot to blow it out, doing so hastily when you felt the heat approaching your fingertips.

There. That would give you enough light to work for at least another two hours. What was more important than your beauty sleep? Well, that would be your work on Bucky’s new army uniforms. Your boyfriend had recently been drafted to serve in the war in Europe. His division, along with many others, was leaving tomorrow morning, and you were in the process of putting the ‘finishing touches’ on his jackets.

Two hours was apparently all you needed. It was pitch black outside when you folded, and placed the last uniform on the table beside you. The last candle flickered out, and no matter how hard you fought, you couldn’t keep your eyelids from drooping shut.

“(y/n)!” Someone shook you gently. “(y/n), wake up!”

You jolted upright, groaning when you felt how stiff your back was from sleeping in that chair. Your mother stood over you, urging you to get up and make yourself presentable as quickly as humanly possible. After all, you wanted to get to see your boyfriend off, didn’t you?

“Okay, I’m going, I’m going,” you grumbled, making your way to the stairs slowly as you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes. But then the doorbell rang, and you froze. Was it that late already?

Now you all but flew up the stairs. Never before had you put on a new dress that fast. Never before had you managed to do your hair and makeup in such a short time. Your mom would probably chastise you for not taking your time, but you could not care less. All you cared about was him.

As you descended the stairs again, you could hear him talking to your mother. She was telling him how proud she was of him, and he was in the middle of a reply when he caught sight of you and the words just died in his throat. A wide grin spread across his face as he ran over to you. His strong arms wrapped tightly around your frame and then he lifted you off of your feet, spinning you around in the air.

“Bucky!” you giggled.

“Jus’ happy to see ya, doll.” He set you down then, his thumb stroking your cheek. Your mother got the hint and shuffled into the kitchen to give you a few minutes of privacy. As soon as he heard the door close, Bucky leaned in to give you a sweet kiss. Gentle, loving, but altogether too short.

It suddenly hit you that this would be the last time he’d hold you like this, perhaps forever, and a tear rolled down your cheek.

“Hey, hey, don’t cry, doll!” His thumbs brushed over your cheeks, wiping away the tears. “I’ll be back before you know it. I’m a strong man,” he flexed jokingly, posing like a superhero, “I can handle any German!”

Despite the ache in your heart, you giggled, drying your eyes.

“I’ve gotta get going now, else my superior’s gonna have my head,” he chuckled. “I just came by to properly say goodbye to my girl.” His warm hand still cradled your face tenderly, as if letting go was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew he had no choice.

“Promise me you’ll come back safe?”

“I promise,” he breathed, “I promise. Doll, (y/n), I swear there is nothing in this world that can keep me from coming back to you. I just want to ask one more thing of you.”

“Anything, Bucky.”

“Will you wait for me?”

“Of course. I will wait for you. For five years, fifty years, or a hundred years. I’ll be here when you come back.”

He looked like he wanted to say something, but the growing commotion out on the street urged him to get a move on. So instead he grinned, tucked his uniforms neatly under his arm and playfully saluted your dad, who returned the gesture, as he came downstairs. Then, as he was almost out the door, he bent down to sneak another kiss from your lips. He took off running after that, to join his division in time for the parade before they’d leave.

“Write me!” you called after him.

Slowing down, he spun around, walking backwards now. “Yes ma’am!” he called back, before another soldier practically dragged him along by his shirt collar. You laughed softly at the sight, going back inside to wait for your parents once he was out of sight.

You didn’t even want to go to the parade to see the soldiers off; the only reason you did was Bucky. You didn’t care about the others, the only one you wanted to see off was him.

From your spot in front of the crowd, you were in the perfect position to scan each row of soldiers for his face. A lady tried to shove you back but you didn’t budge; you had fought for your place here and you weren’t going to surrender it.

Then you saw him, marching proudly with his head held high. You didn’t miss how more than a few girls let their eyes follow his movements and try to figure out whom he was searching for in the crowd. The urge to shout “that’s my man!” was strong, but you managed to suppress it; your mother would kill you if you did something so unladylike.

His piercing blue eyes met yours then, and you wanted to pluck him out of the ranks and hide him away safely where no one could hurt him until the war’s end, so strong was your love for him. However, you settled for blowing him a kiss. He didn’t move, didn’t break the pattern of soldiers marching in their steady rhythm without moving anything but their legs, but the wide grin that spread across his face told you he saw it.

Your eyes followed him until you could no longer distinguish his uniform from all the identical ones on the soldiers around him; that was when you let yourself be pushed and jostled until you eventually found yourself at the edge of the crowd, and, seeing no reason to stay, you headed home, hoping and wishing to every deity you could name, to let Bucky return safely to your arms.

Bucky didn’t notice anything different until that evening, when he was preparing for his first night on board a ship. As he removed the jacket of his uniform, he caught a glimpse of green thread, green like the grass of the meadow you both went for walks in. He took a closer look, and then he drew in a sharp breath. For the stitches in his jacket formed words, words he could almost hear you say to him, despite the distance between you.

Be careful, soldier. Come back to me. I love you.

He closed his eyes, picturing your face, and then he vowed he would return to you. even if it meant fighting off the devil himself.

He did not break his vow.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes one shot #bucky oneshot #bucky fluff #bucky x reader fluff #1940s bucky barnes x reader #1940s bucky x reader #1940s!bucky barnes x reader #1940s!bucky x reader #1940s bucky fluff #1940s!bucky fluff

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misc-headcanons · 4 years

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Hello dear Misc tis I the angst king in your inbox~ I had an angst idea the other day where basically, you know the poofing system in Steven Universe when a gem's physical state is near death they retreat into their gems to regenerate? Well, I had the idea of maybe Doffy, Ace and Law reacting to their S/O get poofed (lets say bc of a df power) for the first time and they actually think they are gone for good. Its okay if you don't accept it I know its kinda weird lmao

(So for OP lore's sake, I'm gonna call their DF the Gem-Gem Fruit. When the user is damaged too much, they retreat into a gem shaped like their favorite fruit that's also their favorite color. Examples for reference:)

Doflamingo

Doffy would be more shocked than upset at first. One minute you're walking next to him through the royal gardens, and the next, he hears a gunshot go off. Before he realizes it, he hears you gasp sharply and in one instant, he no longer feels your hand. He can hear who fired the shot, frantically yelling to one of their collaborators that he was aiming for Doflamingo--and missed.

He doesn't even look down at where you were laying on the ground, immediately rushing to ensure your killers didn't escape. A vein on his forehead bulged and his typical smile was gone as he slowly and sadistically subdued the would-be assassins, using his String Fruit to manipulate their bodies into killing each other in a brutal fashion. They killed you. They killed YOU. A part of him wanted to be angered at you for dying to such nameless worthless lowlives, but...he never could stay mad at you.

When he stopped seeing red, he looked back at where you two had been standing and stared at the spot where your lifeless body should have been. There was something glittering in the sunlight, and he cautiously made his way towards it to examine it, holding it up by his Strings. It was...a fruit? A crystal fruit?

As he looked at it, he swore he saw your reflection inside of it. You were sleeping soundly, floating around in a little void as you curled up against yourself. He stared intently at the gem until he realized he wasn't hallucinating, and then slipped your gem into his coat pocket before making his way back to the castle. Just to make sure he wasn't the only person who could see you in there, he slyly asked Jora if he could see something within the interesting "art piece" he'd found. When she said it looked like you were in there, he made his way to his bedchamber and set your gem on the center of his bed. He spent the rest of the day waiting for you to appear, not letting anyone else in the Family know about what had happened to you.

When you finally reappeared, Doflamingo was sitting in his chair with a relieved (and slightly annoyed, because you hadn't told him about this ability) smile/smirk on his face and asked if you enjoyed your brief "rest".

Ace

You were always throwing yourself into the heat of battle alongside the Whitebeard pirates, insisting that you'd be fine no matter what happened to you. Even if you'd told Ace about your ability, he still wouldn't be prepared to see you seemingly die and then see your body vanish out of nowhere.

When that finally did happen after you took a sword through the chest that Ace had failed to notice a Marine that had tried to ambush him, Ace's heart stopped when he saw the blade sticking out of you. It didn't seem real. It couldn't be real. His eyes widened even more when you slumped forward slightly and then disappeared, startling the Marine and everyone else who was watching the battle. He heard the sound of something clattering to the ground and saw a crystal fruit laying where you had just been standing, and he immediately knew what it was even if he didn't know the specific details of your ability. He could just tell you were in there, somehow.

He drove the Marine who'd stabbed you and his nearby allies back with a wall of flames, scooped your gem off of the ground, and sprinted away from the battlefield to get you to safety. Even if you survived that sword through the chest, he had no idea if your gem could be broken...or what that could possibly do to you.

Marco had seen Ace tearing away from the fight, and once he had dispatched the enemies he was fighting, he flew over to ask what had happened to you. Ace immediately placed your gem in Marco's hands and told him to get you back to the ship while he "took care" of the Marine who had stabbed you in a cowardly attempt to take him out from behind. Marco saw the look in Ace's eye and knew better than to try and convince him otherwise, and he flew back to the Moby Dick while carefully holding your gem to his chest.

When the battle was over, the entire crew was clamoring to see if you were actually inside of a gem and were asking Marco and Ace dozens of questions (most of which they couldn't answer). Marco offered to keep your gem in the ship's clinic until you re-emerged, and Ace refused to leave the clinic for longer than a few minutes at a time until you were back. He noticed that if he squinted into the gem hard enough, he could make out an image of you fast asleep. When you finally did reappear, Ace was so happy to see you in the flesh again that he hugged you with tears in his eyes and refused to let go of you until he'd held you for at least five minutes. Even if you could survive things that would normally kill a person, he never wants you to get poofed again on his watch.

Law

Law's rarely ever panicked during a battle, outside of fighting Doflamingo when he knew how one-sided it would be until he teamed up with Luffy. But the moment he sees you get sent flying from a massive enemy's punch and then slam against a wall that crumbles from the impact, his only thoughts are to get to you. His normal sense of composure is completely gone, and he Shambles everyone near you as far away as possible while he desperately yells your name. Even if you already told him what your Devil Fruit does, and he knows that you likely aren't dead...he still just saw his s/o get hit with a devastating, fatal blow. The logical, rational part of him is thrown to the wayside for a moment and is replaced with a protective sense of fear and worry.

He's even more worried when he can't find a trace of you among the rubble. If he can't find you, he can't take care of your injuries, and if he can't take care of your injuries, he'd lose you and...shit, where are you!? He'd be Shambling away random piles of bricks while using his bare hands to throw the other ones aside until his hands were scratched and bloodied. When he finally comes across a strange crystal fruit, his eyes narrow; despite the destruction of the building, and looking so fragile, the gem was completely intact.

His breath hitched when he caught a glimpse of you inside, and he felt a small sense of relief. Your ability had protected you, you weren't dead...just…recovering? Reforming? The specifics of your Devil Fruit were a mystery to him. Once he got back to the Polar Tang, he'd want to try to see if he could detect any kind of vital signs from your gem while you were inside.

He'd stay on the battlefield long enough to swiftly and coldly take out the large enemy who'd poofed you, and shortly after the lingering enemies would either be wise and retreat, or get killed by the Heart Pirates as they made their way back to the Tang. Law would immediately place your gem in the medbay, experimenting with different ways to observe your vital signs while you recovered: heartbeat monitors on the gem's surface, detecting changes in temperature from inside the gem, etc. The only thing that reliably showed anything was just looking into your gem to see you, but you weren't doing much--just floating peacefully with your eyes closed.

When you finally emerged from your gem, Law immediately sat you down onto the medical table so he could check you for any signs of injury or changes to your body now that you had reappeared. After that, he'd gently put a hand on your shoulder and try not to let on how worried he had been when he'd seen you get hurt. He never wants to experience that heart-sinking feeling from seeing you "die" any time soon.

#one piece #one piece headcanon #one piece headcanons #doflamingo #donquixote doflamingo #ace #portgas d. ace #law #trafalgar law #mine

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toshis-puppycat · 4 years

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Hello Again

Part Two

A/n: I think this is gonna be my go to gif for this fic (mainly bcs I can't art or create any form of art other than writing and even then I'll probably argue against it) but wow here's part two for Hello Again. I'm very excited to be posting all of this bcs I adore Toshinori, hes a sunflower in need of love. But this chapter doesn't explicitly go in line with him. Endeavor is the focus of today. I hope I got him at least a little, I've never actually written anything for him before. I didn’t explain it with the last part but the reader and Endeavor were good friends before she supposedly passed away. Uh kind of a RIP to him tbh. But I hope y'all enjoy.

Summary: Enji Todoroki recalls a lot of things over the years to get to where he is now. The memories of you are bitter, and it hurt. Whats going to happen now that your back though?

Pairing: Toshinori Yagi (All Might) x Reader, Enji Todoroki (Endeavor) x Reader

☆☆☆☆☆

Enji Todoroki was a simple man, one who wanted to be the best of anyone there ever was. To be the number one hero on his terms by his own merit. And he could do it. He had you on his side, his best friend. You two would take the hero world by storm when you both became official. And well, you would become partners too, opening up an agency together and get all the good sidekicks. All he had to do was ask at this point. Besides, you two had been in each others lives for years, from that accidental meeting as kids to now. You made the suggestion first anyways, he only scoffed at the time because you suggested it first. Bright eyed, all smiles screaming that you two would be the coolest duo to exist. You were the cool balm he needed for the harshness he was given by his parents (he'd never admit that though because admitting that would make him weak and he was not weak). You were strategic and fast, he could vaguely recall the first time you showed that. It was when his powers had just came in. He was four, and his hellflames were out of control. Luckily for him, you happened to be running around in that moment screaming in glee at the water you could manipulate, you saw him and quickly drenched him, cutting off any flame he could create for a while and exclaimed he had the coolest quirk. You decided in that split second you could see him screaming in panic at the fire around him, that you could use your quirk to help him and make sure nothing else caught of fire, which was not a major worry for him. But then he heard your kind voice say it was so cool because his quirk couldn't even hurt him, you saw that in all the chaos at four. Even in his mind something registered as not right. And as you two got older it became a bright red warning for him. When you were finally pushed out of that at 8, you were at an orphanage. He visited everyday despite any punishment that his parents could give him for not trying his hardest. You always told him they were being too harsh. But when they found out you were aiming to be a hero, they loved you after that. You were strong, and you were fast. Even if you couldn't beat him at this moment, you were impressive because no matter what you could wipe out any flame he could create. Or well they believed it was just water manipulation, you actually ended up having siren like qualities overall. You were just too embarrassed to admit it. When the two of you were accepted into U.A., well at that point you were unstoppable. Already in the stages of planning for your own agency, for when you could create it (and with his family's money he could do it soon he thought), he could guess that's also when everything went wrong. You were tired of sparing with him at this point, of course you always assured him that it wasn't actually him. It was because the two of you were used to each others moves, which he could understand. It was when you literally started walking over to Yagi that he got upset, his flames reaching a new terrifying height as you asked him to spar with you, all smiles and laughing as the boys face turned a bright shade of red. And when Yagi actually beat you, he almost burnt the student he was sparing with, furious beyond belief because how dare Yagi beat you. But then he heard you laugh and saw how your eyes started to sparkle with wonder and you quickly began asking him about his quirk as he blushed and stuttered answers out to you. You were fine of course, your quick also allowed quick healing something you always took advantage of. But after that you started dragging Yagi everywhere with you. Quickly exclaiming he was going to sit with the two of you and not allowing any input from him. He very quietly simmered in anger, he couldn't command tell you to stop hanging around Yagi. You'd definitely get upset with him. So he just settled for underhanded jabs at the other student and made sure he would spar with him instead of you. You pouted of course, but then you were all smiles and so proud of him for being willing to work with another student without any hassle. He almost burned Yagi after that. God how obvious did he have to be!

☆☆☆☆☆

Apparently the answer was to be incredibly blunt, he figured that out by their second year. He tried his best to flirt with you subtly, even Yagi picked up that he was doing it! So why didn't you? He got his answer when he overheard some "girl talk" when they asked you about him, like "what is it like being associated with the hottest guy in our year?" When he heard your shy reply of "He's my best friend and don't sexualize him" it kinda hit him that you really were oblivious to the world of crushes and maybe a little romance. He tried being more obvious that he was interested in you as more than the regular partnership you two previously thought of, still it was taking a while. In your third year it would be the perfect time to reveal everything to you! But then you came into school walking hand in hand with Yagi. And his whole world crashed, he almost actively tried killing him when they spared that day. Only stopping when you doused him in water, then furiously walking away, only vaguely hearing you ask him if everything was okay. Yagi took everything away. He took away the top spot at the school, he took away all the good sponsorships and now… he just took you. When you ended up pulling him aside later, Enji couldn't be upset with you. Because when you looked up at him with tears in your eyes while clutching at his uniform, he couldn't be anywhere near upset with you. Not when you looked happy and he was the one to change it. So he reluctantly pushed away any negative feeling he had about you being with Yagi and apologized for worrying you so much.

"Family had just been too stressful this summer y/n. I'm sorry I worried you." He still hated Yagi though, and when he heard Yagi would be leaving for America of all places, as far away from you as possible since he knew you were staying in Japan. That hatred festered, he decided to date you just so he could leave? That soon after you already told him you saw a future with Yagi? And he knew that you felt like that? He started burning down his room, fortunately his parents invested in some strong fire systems to take care of any outburst he ever had (and to make sure he didn't embarrass them through any weak actions he made). He hated this, he hated Yagi. But seeing you smile, he couldn't hate that. You invited him, when Yagi was leaving. He wanted to be furious, he wanted to know why. Why weren't you upset, but then he saw it. That tiny glimpse of what you were actually feeling in the moment, a part you would hide most of the time.

"I want him happy, Enji. I can wait a little longer if it gets us both to the point where we want to be in our lives." You said, you were smiling, but he could see it. You didn't want Yagi to go anywhere, but you'd never hold him back. You were like that. You weren't selfish, you weren't rude. You were just kind, always putting others before yourself. He didn't see Yagi off, but he knew the moment he left you were going to need your best friend. He could do that.

☆☆☆☆☆

He decided to focus on marrying someone, a quirk marriage. Someone with a powerful quirk to match his and they could have incredibly powerful children. You weren't going to do marry him. That as a harsh fact he had to see. You had a powerful quirk and he actually liked you, but you were unavailable for a number of reasons. So he decided on Yukikae Rei, she had a powerful enough ice quirk. One that if combined with his hellflame, would create some powerful offspring. When you found out when he was married you were furious, (not for what he thought selfishly for a split second) he never mentioned that he was even seeing someone in the first place, and he went an absolute hush hush path, like he was ashamed about marrying her (he wasn't but if you ever found out he married Rei for her quirk you'd kill him, if the public found out there would go any chance he had at becoming number one and that was something he need to be more than anything to not be a failure). He assured you that he just really (not really) wanted to marry Rei. You had hesitantly accepted what he said. He still never told you.

☆☆☆☆☆

You were both young, very talented heros. Rei wondered who you were, he knew. He could practically feel her questioning curious stares whenever they were in the same room, but she never asked him. She wished she did, that she met the woman who had her 'husband's' heart. He told her the moment he was able to that he'd most likely never love her because of someone else but he would treat her appropriately. She really wish she asked before she read the newspaper the day after your death.

Young Pro-Hero Siren dies at age 22

Pro-hero Siren, dies at age 22 today on xx, xxxx she was thrown from a building by a building after switching places with a student of Aldera Junior High who was in the custody of a villain. The villain in question has been taken into custody.

"She saved me and I never got to thank her."- Teen says

"She was a brave hero. A wonderful sidekick. We'll never forget her. "- Pro-hero Crimson Riot says.

"We lost a great hero in the making today. A true tragedy."- says bystander at the scene

Endeavor beat her for the first time that night.

As the years went by, life got worse. She had her children, then he would train them and when they inevitably failed him he would shove them back into her arms. Snarling that they had to try again. Three children were classified as failures to him. She hoped he'd give up. This was killing her. The pressure was too much. Then she had Shoto, and he ended up getting her ice quirk and Endeavors flames. She wished you married Endeavor instead, but you were dead. And she wasn't sure she could even blame you for what was happening now. It didn't seem very fair. When she had her breakdown, it solidified something within her. She despised her husband, and the only good things he'd ever given her were her children, children she'd never see outside of a hospital.

☆☆☆☆☆

Endeavor was furious, the years went by after you passed away but his anger never left. And when "All Might" came into the picture again it was like another slap in the face. He didn't do anything against him, but he was still furious. He should've just stayed in America. He wished he could feel something other than pity when he found out he was told about your death, but he could understand the mourning he was going through. He kept away from All Might after that, and focused on training his son. One showed much promise, his flames were powerful, along with the fact he shared his wife's ice quirk. He would mold him into what he wanted to become the new number one hero. To best All Might. Whatever the cost.

☆☆☆☆☆

His son was finally going to U.A. He wished you could see it. He wouldn't let you see anything he's done but you would've been involved with his children's lives, perhaps as their godmother. They go through so much, fighting against the League of Villains and later on during the internship the Hero Killer. He was furious for being forced to take the credit for the latter of the two, and then his son had to leave for that summer training camp. Then a student and a Pro-hero were kidnapped from said summer training camp. Then they finally saved the brat and an A class villain showed up and revealed All Mights "true form." He screamed at him "Stand up and show them why you're better!" Then All for One asked All Might if he remembered the pretty girl that he was seeing, and he should have made her suffer more and he knew. He knew that Villain was talking about you. You died because of your connection to All Might. You were killed for it. All he could think in that moment was All Might better kill this villain, he better be able to capture him. He better avenge your death.

☆☆☆☆☆

He became the number one hero after that. An insulting, demeaning promotion for him. Then Shoto was moved into the newly made dorms afterwards so he couldn't continue his rigorous training, it didn't even matter now though he was number one now. His daughter was, hovering. Checking in on him constantly. Like she knew it wasn't just him being upset with the fact of how he became number one. He never told them about you, and now it was too late to explain it and he didn’t think he’d ever be able to talk about you. Then he got a call from U.A. and he had to deal with his rebellious son.

☆☆☆☆☆

It was… annoying. Being at U.A so soon again. The rodent called all parents though. For some reason, that escaped him. But it was infuriating. Like he was calling him to rub in something, the sadistic bastard. He could vaguely hear him talking, thanking all of them for being there and he scoffed. 'You better be grateful.' Was his only thought. But then he said something that finally caught his attention after droning on about the new security measures that they already explained to them.

"We are attempting to allow a new staff member into U.A, however it was decided that this new staff member be introduced to the parents of our beloved students. So that you may include your own opinions on this matter." Nezu said.

He narrowed his eyes. 'What game was he playing?' Was the only question in his mind.

"Miss. Y/l/n please come out and introduce yourself."

'What?'

Then you walked out from behind the curtains, ones he didn't even notice when he came in. He could hear the other parents murmuring.

"Principle, while my husband and I agree it's… nice to be meeting this faculty member personally, why are we being introduced to her though?" He heard another parent ask, who was it? That child's parents. The one who beat his Shoto at the festival. What was his name? Bakugou Katsuki? He was attempting to brush this off, it couldn't be you. It couldn't. You died, you died over 20 years ago. There was no way it could be you. But then you said something.

"We felt that its best that the parents be informed-" you began, but it was drowned out because it hit him. It… it was really you. Then his hellflames suddenly burst out of control and he felt water drenching him. As quickly his flames appeared, you put them out and left him sputtering in shock. He barely heard your shocked gasp and yell of his name. You were alive, and you looked exactly as he last saw you. What happened? Was his first thought, but seeing your wide grin the only other thought he was was 'Hello again. I've missed you.''

☆☆☆☆☆

Taglist: @saratour, @yukiimanic, @theygottheircages, @itsallmightbitch, @toobsessedsstuff, @quirkyfandoms, @anxious-cat-with-cheesesticks, @traqicalromance

#Toshinori Yagi (All Might) x Reader #All Might #reader insert #Todoroki Enji (Endeavor) x Reader #bnha fanfiction #bnha x reader #pining #one-sided pining #Tiny bit of angst

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an-avid-reader · 4 years

Photo

Prodigy (Legend #2) - Marie Lu

my rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis of book 1 -

In a world where the Patriots, Colonies, and the Republic are at odds and there’s a plague in the poorer parts of the US, Day is an unstoppable street criminal with good intentions. When his family’s house gets marked by Republic soldiers, Day’s only thought is to steal a cure before his family member dies. June is a top student at Drake University—a prodigy. When her brother, Metias, gets caught in a cross-fire during a mission, June is fast-tracked to becoming a soldier. Her first mission: track down Day. As Day and June come from such opposite backgrounds, is it possible that their paths would’ve crossed otherwise?

Link to Goodreads // Link to review book 1 // Spoilers (book 1+book2) in review below!

I haven’t read a trilogy in what feels like a really long time lmao; I think it’s because I’ve noticed that sometimes, the second book acts like a bridge book aka nothing really happens except for the last 50ish pages, which tbh just sets up book 3 (It’s like that one useless episode in a tv show that literally has nothing to do with the plotline). I’m VERY happy this wasn’t the case for Prodigy - if anything, there was even more action and more character (and world building) than Legend, which I much appreciated. That means that I also have a lot to unpack; buckle up!

I feel like the most natural place to start is from the stuff I didn’t really enjoy from the first book, specifically the world building and all the questions. It was finally explained that the Republic is essentially nonsense propaganda and the civilians are being fed false information--they aren’t winning the war, in fact they are losing! We also learned that the Colonies and the Patriots are two separate uh ‘groups’? And the Colonies fund the Patriots, but the Colonies are straight up left in the dark (and the Patriots were also hired by the Republic, but more on that later). I wanted to also briefly mention that when June and Day crossed into the Colonies territory, it was like a completely different world--maybe not better, just different. We also kind of get a glimpse into the history of the world--how climate change just absolutely obliterated the whole world. Which, tbh, I feel like if an ice cap near Antarctica (or Antarctica itself) were to melt, it would be more than just the edges of the US that would be underwater--it would go up to the Statue of Liberty’s torch :)))))))). Nevertheless, I really appreciated these explanations as it added more depth and also provided context for the setting, which I found was lacking in the first book (which, I get, you don’t want to overwhelm readers, esp in YA, with all the world building right away).

The other thing is that I wanted to know more about the plague, and Lu came through!!! So the plague is being used to try to create people as bioweapons, which makes me wonder if they were trying to clone those who were infected (or maybe just wanted to collect everyone who has a similar profile to Eden). I still have a few questions of the virus--like why did Eden and that other boy on the train go blind? Does the virus affect them on a genomic level?! I also find it hilarious that in LA they were quarantined for rioting--I feel like that pretty much just showed how weak the Republic is and how their power is no longer ominous (idk if that makes sense??).

Next, I want to touch on the characters and the character building (specifically June and Day, but others too!). I wanted to start off by prefacing that I’m not a fan of the love triangle vibes that we got throughout the books (and to be honest, the ending sort of pushed that narrative a bit further, which is not cool :///). So I’m not sure if it was Razor’s plan to cut communication between Day and June (on purpose) to prevent them from messing up the Patriot’s plans/to prevent Anden from becoming suspicious of June, but I found it so FRUSTRATING that they couldn’t communicate at least once before the assination (and I mean talk, not the signal bc that stirred up a lot of confusion with Day). Their separation really tested their relationship, but I also feel like there was a permanent wedge placed due to the lack of trust, and again, the ending just hammered that home. I will say, I really appreciate June and Day being completely transparent with each other when they escaped from the Patriots and got in the cave. It was like a necessary evil, but at least they shared relevant information with each other, which I believe strengthened their partnership, even if it took a toll on their relationship. Part of me hopes that they end up back together in Champion, but I know that it may not be ‘what’s best for them’, especially with that huge piece of information we learned about Day--that’s the one thing I’m mad about. They spill the beans in the cave but he can’t even tell June that he’s dying, instead he breaks up with her and then they end up kissing?? AH!

Now for those…...love triangles…. .-. Let’s start off with Anden and June. I’m not sure how I feel about Anden; Lu paints him to be this kind of heartthrob and well-intentioned guy but he’s also sort of naive? Like I get that his whole plan is to reform the Republic with the help of June and Day so that the civilians are on board, but I hope he realizes that there will always be people who are going to 1) resist him and 2) betray him. I really hope he isn’t as quick to trust people as he was with June (which maybe that was because his judgement was clouded). As for being naive...how did he not see June’s paperclip ring???? And to add onto that - how did the Colonies not realize that ‘Sarah’ is actually June???

I don’t know it just seems very unlikely that he didn’t see it considering that June was fiddling with it during their nice little dinner. And also the fact that he was always itching to see her. I didn’t realize, however, that Anden is only in his early twenties—he also lacks the edge that June and Day have, you can tell that he’s a poised person. While it’s great that he stands his ground on the Republic, I find it hard to believe that he isn’t a pushover (even just a tiny bit). Thus, I don’t really see how Anden and June could be a good match; I also don’t think class should play a role into whether or not you should or shouldn’t be with someone.

That sort of brings me to another point, which is the idea of the Priceps and the Elector itself. I have so many questions about Anden's plans, and they mainly involve him. For example, would there still be an Elector (and Senate) after the Republic is reformed? If so, would his powers be minimized, or would he have the status of President? For Priceps, it wasn’t very clear in the book that she doesn’t have to be married to the Elector, but it almost seemed that it was implied; could Anden have chosen to be married and have a separate Priceps? What if the Elector wasn’t straight? So. Many. Questions!! That whole Priceps thing is one of the reasons I couldn’t give this book a full 5 stars, again, it sort of has to do with the lack of information (or the amount of assumptions I have to make).

The next love triangle I have major issues with is Tess and Day, which Day is mostly uh turned off by the whole thing (which I can get behind) but Tess is just so stubborn and tbh pretty jealous, which isn’t cute. I really hope that in Champion they end up reconnecting, especially since Day is practically on his deathbed, but as friends. Maybe Tess will understand where Day is coming from with his feelings about June. Part of me wants Tess to end up with Baxter but I also really don’t like him?????? Agh this really sucks! I wish their relationship didn’t end on such a sour note. Like yes Tess, you were always there for Day (especially when he needed medical care) and ever since they got into contact with June (or rather, when June was sent on her mission), everything went downhill—but I mean, at some point Anden’s father would’ve passed, and maybe things would turn out to be in a similar circumstance, except instead of June it could be a different girl? The fact that Day still calls Tess ‘cousin’ and she still went ahead and kissed him just made me feel slightly uncomfortable?? No, they’re not biologically related, but given the amount of time they spent together, they almost could’ve been. To some extent, I feel like Tess had a huge crush on Day, but she never wanted to admit it until they were separated bc she maybe didn’t realize how much he means to her/she wanted that cheesy movie-like feeling where the two best friends realize that they are perfect together but beyond friends?? I do believe that Tess deserves someone great though, I just don’t think that Day is the guy for that :///

The last relationship-thing I want to briefly mention is Thomas and Metias’ relationship. I’m glad that we have some LGBT+ representation here, but at the same time, I can’t help but wonder if it was forced or not (like a checkbox Lu wanted to tick). I don’t remember in Legend when Thomas kissed June, if there was a kind of repulsion/it didn’t feel authentic. To be honest, I really thought that Thomas was into June, but when we learn he is gay (or maybe bi), it just didn’t seem to fit the story at all??? Upon this revelation, June racked her brain for memories of Thomas and Metias when they were young and oh it just happens that Metias never ‘brought back’ anyone/any girls home. Listen, I’m all for diversity, whether that be the character’s race, gender identity and/or sexual preference, I just don’t want it to come off as the author just ‘checking off a box’; I’d rather it be genuine (even though it’s a fictional story!) For all I know, Lu may have planned this, but to me it just came off as an afterthought, that’s all :/ (and @ Thomas, just because you love someone and it shouldn’t be allowed bc of your ranks, it doesn’t mean you have to kill them even if CoMmAnDeR JaMeSoN said to).

I wanted to also talk about characters—more specifically Razor, Commander Jameson, Baxter, and Kaede (rip). So um I guess we’ll start with Razor aka the biggest con man there ever was. Well tbh I kind of found him fishy, just like June did from the get-go, I just didn’t think it was going to be that…bad??? This goes back to Lu’s foreshadowing—which I would say it improved as I wasn’t able to fully guess what was going to happen—she drops p obvious hints left, right, and centre, you just don’t see them until the events unfold; what may seem like a small detail (i.e. Commander Jameson in Razor’s room on the ship and Day (as a disguise) bumping into her) will end up being part of a bigger plan, so to speak. Part of me wishes we had a peek into his mind to see what he thinks like, and if he has more motives, besides just being “hired” by the Senate to assassinate Anden, maybe Razor has a personal vendetta?? I also definitely suspect that Razor and Commander Jameson may or may not be a thing *side eyes*. I’m excited to read Champion to see how he will stand up against the Elector / the Republic, and whether the other Patriots will stand by his side or if they will turn against Razor--especially because right now he’s in jail, but I doubt he will stay there for long! (which can someone explain why Razor and Commander Jameson only got charged with treason??? They almost flipped the Republic on its head).

Speaking of Patriots...there’s Baxter, which I don’t know where he stands. I think he’s definitely jealous of Day / the fact that Tess has feelings for Day even though he doesn’t reciprocate them. Just a dash of jealousy. But he did predict that Day would betray the Patriots, which makes me think that Baxter may have a part in an uprising, but maybe there’s a chance that he’ll see the whole story. Part of me also highly doubts that he’ll be rational; he seems to be someone with a heavy confirmation bias--I wonder if he knew that Razor was hired by the Senate or if it just went over his head. What if he’s the main villain in Champion o.O him + Tess would be interesting, especially Day does a last hurrah. But anyways, Baxter was just so arrogant, and I could feel Day’s own disappointment when he did exactly what Baxter had predicted. Yeap, there’s definitely going to be some tension that needs to be revisited.

Last and certainly not least, Kaede :( I’m a bit annoyed that she’s dead. It’s yet again another thing that could be used against Day (specifically his relationship with June; anything that comes near them dies). We got to learn so much from Kaede, and before we knew it, she got shot. It sucks because I think she seemed like a reasonable person and she always remained level-headed. She’s not one to judge quickly *cough cough Baxter cough cough*. Even in Legend she had her kick-ass moments, but she really saved them from the Colonies and how June and Day can’t really repay her unless they keep on going with their mission. Not cool to just kill her off like that though.

What I loved from this book, besides the character growth and the depth of their relationships with each other (especially on trust, or the therelackof), I liked how this book is just action-packed. I find with the second book in trilogies, we have a plan with a clear end goal (in this case, assassinate the Elector), and that plan just gets adjusted over time as we uncover information until it gets to the end of the book. Here, that main event ended up being smack bang in the middle, which isn’t something we see very often. It left more room for the story to develop and to allow us to really dig deep into the story, which I much appreciated. At some parts, it almost felt like a rush, especially as the story unfolds and with so many characters to consider--it was a page turner! I’m not really sure if I enjoyed Prodigy more than book 1, as I mentioned, I didn’t really like the love triangles and then Anden is just too naive for me to take him seriously. There were also some cliches (I let go of the breath I didn’t know I was holding), and honestly, I was not a fan of the ending! I think that’s the main reason why I can’t rate this higher than Legend to be honest. At least with the first book, there was enough closure that could give us a starting point for book 2. Here is was...let’s break up lmao jk also I’m not going to let June know that I’m dying, peace out.

This review is getting a bit too long lol, and I’m sure there’s something I forgot to mention, but overall I really enjoyed this book. The action, the intensity, the revelation of information and Lu’s foreshadowing make Prodigy a book that’s hard to put down. The characters’ dynamics are all over the place, which just adds to the chaos, but in a good way--it makes the story that much more interesting. I’m patiently waiting for book 3 from overdrive, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to read and review it by next week--I’m itching to know what happens next! [Please, let both of our main characters live p l e a s e]

I’d love to know your thoughts and opinions on Prodigy! Did you enjoy this book, how would you compare it with the rest of the trilogy? Let’s chat =D

Thank you for reading my review, I hope you are having a good day, wherever you are in the world!

~ Cassandra / an-avid-reader

#just one more ~ queue #prodigy #marie lu #book review #books #booklr #reading #bookworm #legend #trilogy

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starlitwhispers · 5 years

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come in closer, like the tide hoennchampion - 3000 words A/n: hi everyone, I’ll be moving to ao3, I’ll still post to Tumblr when I write, but it’ll be more frequent over there!!! Also mermaid au bc its freaking summer and I’m not in uni anymore!!!!!!!

So, the salty waves crash against the sides of his small, humble boat, while little pieces of duct tape attempt to hold broken bits together as the adhesive loosens from the moisture. He really should buy a new boat, after all, money is no object for him. But he prefers this one which he proudly names June, his favorite month. She’s good luck, he thinks, he’s had her since the first valuable fish he found. A master fisherman, he also thinks, fascinated by all the different fins and tails a fish can have. His mind becomes determined to find every rare one possible, collectibles he keeps for himself no matter the value. To him, its rarity becomes its value, not the monetary weight that may come along with it. Yet, with his collectibles, he becomes a slave to the sea, constantly searching and never-ending his hunt.

As the sun kisses the horizon and begins to paint the waters tangerine, he wipes his hands clean of dirt from the can of worms, admiring the view. And his ears catch a slap against the surface of the ocean. His head whips to the south end of his boat, his own feet tumbling across the small distance to find where the noise came from. Such a noise would definitely be a fish of some kind. Lo and behold, his eyes become full with the image of the most beautiful tail he would ever see. And such a tail of that size would mean an even bigger fish. He could not wait to display such colors on his wall.

But the tail returns to the waters and he frantically breaks out of his stupor in attempt to follow this newfound treasure.

He revs up his engine, pulling the handle with minimal strength. He trails this fish for another mile or so until finally, it disappears. The boat abruptly stops in order to keep to the place, in case the animal returns again, which he hopes it will, or else he will have just lost something he would vow to search for forever. In the meantime, he sits and waits while the moon takes its place in the sea above. He’ snacks on crackers when his stomach lurches and sips warm Earl Grey in order to calm his excitement. A small smile cracks the corner of his mouth, he just knows this new fish will be a fantastic find, he can feel it.

While he plans and wonders about his new chase, beneath him swims the wonder mankind has no knowledge of. The tail he so fondly thinks of belonged to not the month of June, but the month of May, so to speak. And this month, well, she was known to have the most beautiful tail of the merpeople. It only made her the most sought after among the mermen, but she would never reciprocate for some reason or other. Perhaps he was too muscular or he tried making his tail too flashy, or maybe he had bad fin maintenance. But she could not commit and her mind always seemed to be elsewhere, seemed to be above the surface, with the sky and the birds and the air.

She also does not fear the air, as the others do. Their tails cannot withstand the air for too long, but she adores the occasional breezes to be felt with the tides and spends more time than she ought to near the land. She combs her floating hair in the water with her hand, waiting for the sun to come back up, that way she may go back to the surface. Her people have only one condition about going to the top: never go at night. For this reason, if they are atop the ocean at this time, their bodies experience tremendous harm, especially if the moon is full. They do not know why this happens to be the case, but for the most part, they avoid the nighttime to avoid any kind of impairment.

In this way, the elegant and curious mermaid she is awaits the sunshine, and after hours peeking from her coral home, finally caught glimpses of the golden rays. And with all her might, she wags her tail so that she may reach the surface as fast as possible. Her eyebrows furrow though as the sunlight begins to go away quickly, the shadow of some larger object covering her sweet golden time. As she nears the top, she cannot slow her tail down in time and she realizes she will hit whatever great device that has floated in her way. She braces herself, closing her eyes and attempting to swim towards the end of it—

Bam!

Just as she began to break into the air, her head hit the far end of the hard, wooden object that she now identifies as a boat, a man-made item, and a loud “Ow!” releases from her whimper in pain. Her impact rocks the boat that also rocks the silver-haired fisherman awake. The young man groggily jots up and wipes his five o’clock shadow with his hand. He turns toward the direction his boat began to tip and sees the one thing he has sought since yesterday. His eyes become full of the image of golden scales and translucent fins at the end of the tail, almost as if the sun has personified itself in the body of a fish.

He wants this tail. More than anything. So, he goes after it. Immediately his body moves as fast as possible towards the large net, which he quickly casts overboard atop the floundering “animal.” Beneath the water, the mermaid feels her bottom half tangled in something as she tends to do her throbbing head and suddenly, her entire person has been pulled out of the ocean. Her body drops onto a hard surface and she’s no longer water-bound but flapping around on a small, wooden floor. In his hands, he has ready a spear to kill the animal. The fisherman stops extremely bewildered and fascinated. He cannot comprehend what sits in front of him, a half fish, half woman underneath the net which he had just pulled with all his strength from the water.

Sweat still covers his forehead from the effort he put in to acquire this “animal,” and he marvels in curiosity and enamor. Once the mermaid has stopped squirming underneath the net, she keeps still and peers through the holes at the man before her, also marveled by his presence. They stare at the other, never having experienced this kind of interaction before. He comes down to his knees and reaches for the net, taking it off of her. She does not lose eye contact.

He attempts to speak to her, but they soon come to realize, their languages are different. She cannot understand him and he cannot understand her. And while half of their bodies are not the same, he knew the other parts are, so he approaches her slowly and gently extends his hand to her to show that he no longer means no harm. How could he harm her? She is utterly beautiful and mysterious. She stares at his hand, realizing it to be the same as hers, and places her fingers atop his. His hand is drier, it feels as though his skin has more lines to it, while hers gives the impression of a more mucous-like texture. No matter, he does not seem to care, he only wishes to know more about her, to know everything. He tries to speak again, but she just turns her head to the side in confusion. So he softly releases her hand and walks away for a moment to his quarters below deck. He returns with a notepad, perhaps she can read but not speak? He writes ‘hello’ in several different languages, but she knots her eyebrows at the sight of all of them. It seems they shall never find a way to properly communicate with the other.

Then a thought occurs to him, perhaps it’s not that she cannot speak, but that she cannot hear? Maybe his words fall upon the deaf, and his assumption becomes true. Above the water, the merpeople cannot hear anything except the ocean and the animals that it inhabits. Not to mention that she cannot read because they do not write beneath the water. The two creatures become stuck in this position, and he tries in every way possible to tell her to come visit him whenever, as he would not leave until he learned more about her. He wants to convey to her that he will stay in this one place so that she may know where he is when she wants to visit if she desires in the first place (which he really hopes she does).

He somehow explains all of this through gestures, which she somehow understands, slightly. Well, very little of the message she understands, but she clearly grasps that he would like her to return, as he places her palm to his chest, above his beating heart, and with his free hand motions a ‘come here.’ Her cheeks inflame as she observes he has a very pleasant face and upper half body, the bottom half she still cannot wrap her head around. In the meantime, in the notepad he currently has, he writes his thoughts and impressions of the mermaid, along with a few sketches. She just continues to stare but also plays around with all the foreign objects around her. They do enjoy the other’s company but it remains painfully obvious to each other they would like a means of communication.

Suddenly, the daylight seems to have passed rather quickly, and the sun begins to set. She becomes frantic and he does not understand why. She flops in strain, trying to bring herself overboard to the water and he displays a great deal of concern that she might be in pain of some kind. He picks her up by her waist and his touch strangely calms her. He helps her overboard and the big splash of her body returning to the water bathes him. His person peers over the ledge as she fixes herself in the water and faces him.

She smiles.

And he knows.

He knows from her gentle gaze that she will be back again. The sun begins to rapidly set pulling under the horizon. She turns around to go back into the ocean and the moon barely starts to glow. And though he knows she will not be able to hear him, he says “goodbye” kindly from the ledge. She stops abruptly from going beneath. She heard him? She turns to him in confusion and he registers that his word may have reached her ears. But why now? Why not hours ago or five minutes ago? The sun is finally gone and the stars have illuminated the night sky. Her eyes pop widely at the observation the moon is out and night has come and she panics.

A gasp releases from her mouth as she plunges herself back underneath the water without warning to the fisherman, but when she is back in the ocean, she quickly realizes that the moon did not cause her any pain at all and she slowly resurfaces to the bewildered man. He speaks to her once more, to see if what happened previously may happen again.

“Where did you go? If I may ask.”

She stares once again, surprised she can hear his words so clearly, as well as confused that the night is not hurting her. She opens her mouth to reply.

“Beneath the water, I can’t be at the top when it’s nighttime, or else I’ll be hurt.”

He now stares at her in return, bewitched by her lovely voice as he could not imagine what it would sound like until now. He’d like to know more, so he continues to ask.

“But you’re not hurting now, are you?”

“Strangely, no. I’m not sure why.”

“Would you mind telling me what you are called?”

“May.”

May. Like the month. His boat becomes short by one month, and he thinks for a second whether or not he should rename his boat. Or buy a new one and name it after her. He cannot help but gaze upon her, her beautiful eyes and hair and skin, he’s no longer infatuated with her tail but her whole being.

“May… My name is Steven, I’m truly lucky to have met you.”

His words flatter her and while she does not understand how she’s not under any type of pain, she likes hearing him speak.

“Steven, tell me what you do.”

So, he tells her. He tells her his position makes him a collector of the sorts… but he explains he’ll most likely stop collecting now that he’s met her. She does not understand what he means by this but remains focused on him, hanging onto every word that leaves his handsome mouth. They converse for a good while but later say goodbye for the night as he does need his rest. She promises to come back the next day and neither can wait to meet again.

She meets him in the late morning and they find she cannot understand him any longer. They spend the day learning to communicate in other motions, learning the other more. However, when the night falls again, she does not experience pain this time, either. And a connection is made in both their minds when the moon comes out she can hear him once more and speak to him. They talk through the night and she still remains unchanged by the moon.

They continue this endeavor for a couple more nights and days, growing closer… more intimate. For the first time in a long time, he finds himself talking about his mother to her, although she does not understand what a ‘mother’ is. A few nights in, her skin no longer feels slimy and he’s able to hold her hand or sit closer to her when she comes overboard. In other times, he completely forgets her bottom half exists because she seems so human to him in comparison to all other women he’s been with. And in a lot of ways, he so dearly wishes for her to be a woman. To walk with him on land, to see the rest of the land that is out there and discover what she had no idea could possibly exist out there.

He wants to show it all to her. But finally their time comes to an end on another night and she returns to the deep blue beneath his boat. Deep anguish washes over him like the tide crashing against the sides of his boat, he cannot fall for a mermaid. She has nothing to offer him, she could not be the mother of his children or the wife he never thought he’d yearn for. Yet, she has become all these things in a matter of weeks, but she remains a mermaid.

Half his, half the sea’s.

He spends the rest of the night conflicted, and the rest of the day upset. He comes to the conclusion he must end this little rendezvous and release her back to the ocean. His heart tells him to stay with her but he could never be moved more than by his mind. Intellectual thought outweighs the strong feelings he may believe to be temporary (although he knows inside the memory of her will never fade). He decides, when she comes back to him the following night, he will end things.

That night will be a full moon.

She rises above the water to meet him, noticing the unhappy countenance he displays. She asks him what might be the matter, her voice and face becoming more human and personable by the second. He tells her it is nothing of importance, extending his hand out to her so that she may climb aboard. Her tail flops onto the deck, water trailing along with it. They begin talking. As they begin talking, with the silver-haired fisherman about to reveal his intentions to leave, the mermaid points out that it is a full moon.

“It’s strange nothing has happened to me,” she says. She turns to him in bliss, having grown fond of his company. “But it also makes me happy because then I can spend time with you.”

He swallows. Just as he opens his mouth to break the news, he stops. He observes her skin and that it is… glowing? She sees the confusion on his face and also notices her skin. And by some odd, cosmic force, she feels compelled to stare at the moon. The white light in the night sky seems to be the same iridescence shining off the mermaid’s body and tears stream from her eyes. She does not experience pain but rather experiences a change, she feels herself changing. Her large, gorgeous tail begins to shrink and she becomes frantic, unable to move during her transformation. He watches her fins dwindle into nothingness and finally the scales of her tail fall off, almost as if a snake shed its skin. And underneath the skin, a pair of legs.

Her body stops glowing after her tail has become completely nonexistent and legs take its place. She can move once again but no longer as a mermaid. She sits on the deck of his boat, nude, with a body she does not understand. The tears still stream, she has lost her ability to return to the sea. And just like that, it seems as if all his prayers had been answered. She could now be his, but would she be? He gazes upon her, still finding her the most beautiful marvel he has ever found.

She turns to him. “Steven, what will I be without my tail?”

He closes the distance between them, taking off his shirt and wrapping it around her exposed body. “I think, perhaps, starting today, you will be mine and I will be yours.”

The once-mermaid looks at him endearingly, but also still a little lost as to understanding how legs function. It would be no matter that she could not live beneath the ocean anymore, she always preferred the surface to begin with. And she is sure, that with this no-more fisherman beside her, he will teach her the ways to be, the ways she thinks she should have always been living.

He places a hand around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Resting his forehead against hers, he cups her jaw in his other hand, explaining to her that the world is a beautiful place to explore but that she is by far and always will be the most beautiful spectacle he’s known to exist in mankind. He takes her gentle face in the soft glow of the full moon and brings their lips together.

She no longer belongs to the sea and neither does he.

#hoennchampionshipping #daiharu #Steven Stone #trainer may #trainer haruka #daigo tsuwabuki #pokemon #mermaid au #rse #Oras

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sunflowercecil-blog · 5 years

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Captain’s Orders

it’s fiNALLY HERE! The long-awaited pirate fic ft cecil and julian bc im one homo bastard. If you missed this boat, this post caught some attention and people were asking for a fic. And, weeks later, I’m finally providing.

thank u to @bazzpop, @devorak-titties, @bitters-enthusiast and @timmys-and-scribbles (and all the anons!!!) who vocally wanted this and therefore gave me my Only motivation to actually write it. love all y’all uwu

warning!! there’s blood!! there’s swearing!! there’s... like... a kinda Stockholm Syndrome vibe to it! pls be careful idk people’s triggers pls tell me how to tag this osbsb. its all 3000+ words so get some fuckin popcorn lmao

without further adieu, i present to u: gay pirates

When he found the will to open his eyes, Julian recognised none of his surroundings.

The floor his knees pressed against was a dark burgundy wood, decorated with layers of chippings and scratches that scrawled all around him. When the floor met the wall, it grew into a lighter brown. But still just as damaged. The wood had dent after dent, little holes from sharp objects hitting it and chips lying scattered at the base. If it hadn't been obvious enough that this room was for more violent activities, there was a darkened patch of the wall that tinted red when the light hit it. His throat tightened.

With an attempt to stand, he found that his hands were bound behind a large pillar in the middle of the room. The pillar looked to be the most damaged thing here. The dark paint was a mere stain now, with the light core of the wood being the most exposed part. It curved and ducked and stuck out in morbid ways, like it was mocking the branches of a tree.

Julian craned his neck around, trying to catch a glimpse of his hands behind the pillar. If he knew what kind of knot he’d been tied with, he could potentially get out. His best efforts were weak shuffles and grunts, trying to twist around the base of the pillar to look. Had it not been for the support of the bonds, he would have fallen over.

Voices, muffled through the wood, hit his ears. Snapping up, Julian watched the door. Rays of sunlight filtered through the cracks and between the edges. They danced around silhouettes eagerly, trying to squeeze through to reach him. The words outside were barely audible, and he only caught snippets of words and phrases.

“… tied.” Ah. So they were talking about him. Unless they had multiple people tied up here. Actually, that wasn’t entirely implausible.

There was silence, and a small thud before the same voice squawked.

“Yes, Captain!”

Footsteps scuttled away, getting more distant. He wanted to relax, but there was still a shadow behind the door. It felt impossible to breathe, like any sound would alert the captain of his presence. Julian dropped his head, trying to catch a glimpse of the knot once more.

He stopped when he felt the sunlight hit his face, and rays of gold illuminated the red stains deep in the wooden boards below. The blood seeped between the cracks and faint lacerations that looked awfully like the scratches of fingernails. He stared, until the light was blocked once more. A silhouette crawled across the floor of the room. Julian looked up. The figure was encased in shadows, a glow of the sun behind them. It was hard to make out any real features. A captain’s hat perched on their head, the sway of tashes by their thighs.

When they stepped forwards and leaned against the frame of the door, Julian could finally see them. A tangle of red hair swept up when the hat was pushed sideways. It fell in thick straight locks, only to the ear until it was shaved.

The man had a rounded face and a button nose. Had it been in any other situation, he would have been cute. But this man also had scars down his neck and chest, which he proudly displayed with a half open shirt. Jewellery lined every patch of skin – a silver and golden choker around his neck; ruby and sapphire gems hung from chains and rested on his chest; his wrists were covered in shiny metals and gems up to his biceps, where his ripped sleeves finally covered his skin, but not enough to hide the deep black mark of thief on his left bicep. The shirt was a faded pink colour, mostly coated in stains now. All the buttons were gone, and the only thing holding it in place was the green sash it was tucked into. Underneath the sash there must have been a belt, because a cutlass dangled from the man's waist. It scathed against his leggings, but the tip harmlessly bashed into the thick leather of his boots. After letting Julian gaze, the man finally spoke.

“Well, well, well.” His voice was higher than Julian had been expecting. It certainly didn’t have a rough accent, or the choke of a smoker, but the confident, sultry tone was enough to throw him through a loop and convince him this man was a real pirate.

As he walked forwards, he closed the door behind him. Julian swallowed. The idea of being alone in a room with this man was terrifying. And... a little exciting. He'd met pirates before. But never young ones – never ones who were glamorous and cocky and perhaps a little feminine. The pirates he knew were as rough and tumble as they come.

His staring and daydreaming finally stopped when the captain was in front of him, staring down at him. Julian felt a little vulnerable. He was bound to a pillar, kneeling in front of this man. He could barely remember how this had even happened. Where he’d been, how he’d gotten here. But the questions scattered from his brain when the tip of the man’s sword was suddenly pressed under his chin. He gasped quietly.

“You deaf?” The man snapped, eyes piercing down at him. “I asked for your name.”

“Julian-" He choked, careful about how close his throat came to the blade. “Julian Devorak, sir.”

The captain raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. He kept the sword in place. “And how did you get onto my ship, Julian?”

As he opened his mouth, it suddenly came back. Stumbling through crowds, shoving people aside and sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him. With guards hot on his trail, he needed the closest hiding place possible. And it just so happened that a large ship was docked nearby, with men hauling aboard in a hurry. It was easy to blend in. Just panic and nod and hurry up. Before he knew it, the ship was sailing and Julian was a stowaway.

On a pirate ship.

“Your crew let me on.” He gulped, “They- ah- they must have thought I was just one of them.”

The captain pursed his lips. With a dirty look, he dropped the sword and tied it back to his waist. Julian let out a sigh of relief, but he wasn’t out of the water yet. He was still tied here.

“Yeah, that sounds like them. Bunch of burros, Dios mío.”

A feeling of confusion passed through Julian. Was he speaking Spanish? That would have explained the lack of a pirate voice. And, actually, a lot of his mannerisms. He wasn’t a Nevivion pirate. Which got Julian even more interested. But his questions could wait.

The captain, with an air of relaxation now, sat down in front of Julian. He pulled one leg up to his chest to rest his chin, jewellery dangling and clicking together as he moved. The way his eyes fell back to Julian's face - half lidded and dazed – made Julian gulp.

“So, why did you get on my ship?”

“I needed to hide, sir.” He quivered. “Guards were-"

A laugh cut him off, and the captain looked amused with his statement. He kicked Julian lazily, more of a playful action than anything malicious. With a grin, the captain quirked an eyebrow.

“A stowaway and a criminal? You really did fit right in. Your first time getting chased?”

Julian shook his head.

“Thought so. You’re too pretty to be good. Pretty boys are always the dangerous ones.”

Oh, Lord help him. A flirt edged on his tongue and he desperately tried to resist the immature urge to slip a reply. Julian bit his tongue, but the pain only really tempted him more.

“You must be lethal, then.”

And the immediate regret. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Julian’s eyes averted away in panicked shame. He was a dead man breathing. Flirting with a pirate captain, what was he thinking-?!

Soft laughter caught his attention and he risked a glance upwards. The captain was chuckling, head leaned back in a position all too lewd. Julian caught a brief glimpse of exposed chest and neck before turning away once more. But not quick enough.

“You enjoying the view? You’re quite lucky I haven’t killed you yet. Don’t get too confident.” The threat was spoken in such a fluid tone that Julian almost felt comfortable. Almost. He was still potentially going to die here. Unless he could talk his way out.

“I can be useful. You don’t have to kill me.” He begged. “I’m a doctor.”

The captain raised his eyebrows in surprise. He pushed forwards onto his knees and faced Julian, leaning in close to intimidate him. It worked. Julian swallowed thickly, flushed with fear. Or, at least, what felt like fear.

“You must be a coward to be begging for your life so soon. I haven’t nearly scared you as much as I could.” The low tone made him shiver, trying to squirm away from the captain's gaze.

“Either that or you’re extremely naive. I don’t think you know who’s ship you’re on.”

The captain stood, untying his blade once more, and pressed the sharp edge to Julian's neck.

They stared at each other, Julian's eyes wide with fear and desperation. He swallowed again, feeling the point press into his neck in a way that he felt familiar with. It might not have been the smartest idea to hint that he had a thing for pain.

“I am Captain Cecil Doran.” The pirate spoke down to him. Julian’s blood ran cold. He'd heard of this man. Whispers of his name in seaside taverns and warnings of his ship in the distance. He had never gotten a glimpse before. Julian struggled to comprehend it. He hadn’t expected someone who’s name was coated in dirt and blood to be so... clean? Beautiful? Not an eighty year old pirate with a parrot and a cutlass?

Cecil's chuckle caught his attention once more, and Julian spared a glance up.

“There’s that look. You’ve heard of me, haven’t you?”

Julian nodded wordlessly. The look in Cecil’s eye was animalistic. Like he was savouring the way Julian shivered and whimpered when he pressed the sword harder against his throat. The silence between them was thick enough to be cut through. Any movement from Julian could be fatal. A clumsy slip and he'd be bleeding out. Would his mark be able to repair veins and capillaries? For once, Julian wasn’t keen to find out.

Cecil opened his mouth. But the noise of shouts and thuds interrupted whatever he was about to say. The sword was yanked away and he looked over to the door. Pained yells echoed through the wood, and Julian watched Cecil’s eyes narrow at the sound.

In a split second, the cutlass had been slashed and Julian’s bonds were undone. He pulled his hands free, rubbing his sore wrists as confusion laced his features. A sword was thrown at his chest. Cecil was already on the other side of the room, hand pressed on the door, ready to leave.

“Prove that you can be useful, and I might let you stay.”

The ship outside the room had fallen into chaos. There was no easy way of telling who was from which crew. Julian could only identify the ones swinging over to hop on board as ‘the bad guys’. Even then, they melted into the fight quickly. The sound of metal clashing was almost louder than the shouts filling the air. Blood spilled quickly, and Julian watched the action with a tight knot in his throat.

A glimpse of Cecil caught his attention. The captain was in a spur with one of the attackers, and was clearly winning. The slashes looked light and easy when he gave them. It was sword-fighting. Intense and threatening and close – and then Cecil did something.

He lunged forwards and grabbed the man by the neck. It should have been a fool’s move, he easily could have been stabbed or thrown off. But the man trapped in his grip began to scream in agony, and Julian saw blood spill over Cecil’s hands. When his hand pulled back, there were deep burns around the man’s neck, so far into the flesh that blood had been drawn. The man fell to the ground weakly, clutching his neck and rasping as Cecil moved on.

There was no more time to watch. A yell from the left, and Julian was flung into a fight of his own. He barely dodged a swipe to his chest, gripping the sword tightly. Julian raised the sword he’d been given and struck, slashing into the attacker's side as they turned to face him. They gave a groan, but persisted and went for him again. The swords clashed over and over, and Julian’s battles were soon merged with the rest of the crew. Attack after attack, brawls and shouts and cuts and bruises until they were finally overpowering them, finally getting the upper hand. Julian struck a pirate in the leg and as they collapsed, he heard it.

“RETREAT, GET BACK, GET BACK-"

The crew showed no mercy. Even as they ran, they were tackled and cut and thrown about by the crewmates still capable of fighting. By the end of the fight, more attackers were lying on the deck than were retreating to their own.

The ships separated quickly. It was then that Julian caught sight of Cecil again. Standing at the edge, practically coated in blood. He wondered how much of it was actually his own.

When the opposing ship was a speck in the distance, the captain turned and looked at the groaning, writhing morsels with a grimace. He limped forwards.

“Throw them overboard. All of them. We've got no room for pathetic fighters.” Cecil grunted, apathy lacing his tone. He headed for the helm, no doubt to go hide in the captain’s quarters and patch himself up.

But Julian still needed to know if he could stay. And with injuries like those? Even infamous pirates weren’t safe from Julian’s martyr tendencies. He followed quickly, catching up to Cecil just as the man ducked into the door below the helm.

The door shut behind them. They were alone once more. Cecil looked back, eyes narrowed at Julian.

“You’re following me now? You really are desperate to live.”

Julian swallowed his pride and ignored the jabs. There were bigger things to deal with here.

“You’re injured. Badly. I told you, I’m a doctor, I can-"

“Shut up.” Cecil hissed, stumbling through another door. Julian followed.

The room he found himself in was much more well-kept than his previous experience. It was a long room, split into two halves by a thick red curtain. From what he could see, the walls were lined with shelves covered in trinkets and treasures. There was a window on the right wall, a view of the sea stretching for miles. The light shone down onto a desk, covered in maps and papers and neatly stored ink bottles. The desk had boxes beneath it, filled with glass bottles of exotic colours and little jars of herbs and foreign spices. The left wall had the collection of trinkets, as well as a few darts lodged into the wall in various places.

Cecil collapsed into one of the wooden chairs by the desk, blood dripping off his skin and sinking into the floor boards. He glared as Julian approached.

“Did I say you could come in?” He snarled, but Julian took no notice.

The doctor glanced around the room. There didn’t seem to be a great deal of options in terms of medical supplies. His gaze fell back to the captain.

“Do you have anything I can wipe the blood off with?”

Cecil’s eyebrows raised for a moment, and his lip twitched, but his face remained just as cold and bitter as it was when the attack started.

“Why? So you can hope to win my approval with care and attention? I already said, there’s no room on this ship for pa-"

“So I can clean your wounds and assure you don’t die, captain.” Julian interrupted. For an infamous pirate captain, he really had no common sense. It was a wonder he'd survived this long.

“There are healers on board. I don’t need a doctor.” He snapped back. “The more you piss me off, the more I want you to join the bodies going overboard. So, please, keep talking.”

Julian rolled his eyes. If Cecil wouldn’t listen to reason, maybe he’d respond to force. There were a lot of ways to do this. Sedate him? Seduce him? The possibilities were endless. If Cecil was as injured as Julian thought he was...

He took the risk. Moving quickly, Julian towered over the chair and placed two firm hands onto Cecil’s shoulders. As he thought, the man quickly shot up and headbutted him.

They both recoiled, groaning in pain as Cecil sunk back into the chair and Julian grabbed his nose. Blood trickled from under his fingers and he heard Cecil give a weak scoff.

“Didn’t work out like you planned?” He snarked. Julian shook his head.

“Actually, it worked out perfectly. Judging by your posture,” He gestured to Cecil's limp body, “You just gave yourself a concussion.”

There was a silence. And then, slowly, Cecil groaned and dragged a bloodied hand over his face. He grimaced, glaring daggers at the doctor's smug grin.

“You should bleed more. It’s a great look for you.”

Julian smirked. “Don’t tempt me, captain.”

Satisfied that Cecil wouldn’t be able to fight back for a small while, Julian approached once more. He pulled the captain up, helping him walk past the curtains and to the back end of the room – the sleeping area.

It was actually larger than the other half. A large bed was at the end of the room, with deep red sheets and messily placed pillows. There were more shelves, with pictures and paintings and trinkets and ... toys. Julian tried not to pay too much attention to those. He pulled Cecil to the bed and laid him down, wiping the blood on his leggings.

“Now, do I have permission to heal you?” He teased.

Cecil groaned.

“I'll take that as a yes.” And Julian was searching about the room for anything to use as bandages or antibacterial chemicals. There didn’t seem to be much. But a bottle of unopened gin bottle was his best bet at disinfecting any cuts, and a dirty rag was his only shot at cleaning the blood off.

He'd have to make do. After collecting his ‘medical supplies', the doctor returned to the captain. Who had... removed his shirt. Julian flushed. He stopped and stumbled and had to remind himself: infamous pirate captain, infamous pirate captain, infamous pirate captain. Definitely not the type of person to be attracted to. And yet, here he was.

Cecil appeared to notice the change in demeanour. He raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at his lips.

“Are you enjoying the view?”

Julian jolted. “N-no, I- um.”

The captain laughed. He sat up, and tossed his shirt at Julian's chest.

“Um.”

Julian held the fabric, looking between it and Cecil. He swallowed nervously, hoping to gauge some sort of answer for what the hell was going on.

“You need something to bandage the cuts. Use the shirt. I’ve got others.” He shrugged, sinking back into his bed. Cecil winced.

Okay. Doctor time. Yes. Julian shook himself out of his gay panic and stepped forwards. He rubbed down the blood stains, trying to keep a safe distance. It felt strained. There was a thick tension between them. Well. Cecil didn’t seem to care. He was too busy ogling Julian as he tried to clean up the wounds. It was getting hard to concentrate with his gaze.

But he got it done. With a bit of time and awkward eye contact and tension, Cecil was wrapped up and resting. Julian, gloves bloody, took a step back. He watched the captain breathe shakily, and slowly removed the gloves to clean them. Julian thought that now the chaos was over, it would be best to leave the captain alone. He headed towards the curtain, steps heavy. Cecil’s voice caught him as he left.

“Hey.”

Julian turned. Cecil was smiling at him, sitting up, resting on his elbows.

“You can stay. Only ‘cause you’re cute.” He teased.

With a choked noise, Julian nodded and fled the room – heart racing. He was technically a captive on a pirate ship. Fantastic.

At least the captain was hot.

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amoonmermaid · 6 years

Text

Baby it’s cold outside || season special! w/ Jaemin

my heartu

he’s so cute what the fafa

anyways, let’s get started

Minminnie here is your boyfie ::::)))))

how lucky smh

but first lemme take a selfeee how you met + dating

i swear he’s the cutest boy ever i can’t handle him jhdajksdfhsdbkd

o k ay

both of you went to the same school omg i cant think of any other thing than school i think im possessed by some kind of school demon wth

but yeah

he was quite popular, i mean??? how could he not????? have you looked at his smile????? and his eyes????? and his hole existence?????? woah s t u n n i n g

anyways. you kinda knew him bc all of your friends talked about him and how he was so kind and bright and how he helped them and stuff like that

but you were alwas so hmmMmmMMM bc you’ve never had the chance to talk to him? or to be related in some way with him????

does that makes sense???

mhm i think not but whatever

at some point of the semester quarter everyone had to get into a club or dO SOMETHING

like sports or painting or idk

so you, being the atHlETiC person you are, decided to enter badminton

“why?” -somi

“wHy NoT?” -you, obvs

so the first day of,,,,class??? you were ready and actually excited to do smth with your life ヽ(＾Д＾)ﾉ

you waited patiently for everyone to get to the court while you played with your racket, somi was there with you, just to kill some time while her own club started

when the coach called everyone to gather and explain everything to your noob butts, some left, leaving you with a bunch of strangers

˚▱˚ -you

“hi (。･∀･)ﾉ “ - jaems

and that’s basically how you two met

long story short, you became really close and practiced together all the time

you eve got to sit with each other in lunch time, get ice cream after school and hang with the sae group of friends

prolly you two made your respective group of friends become one

“you are like the mom of the group”

“sanha, we’re the same age”

“still (◕ᴗ◕✿) “

fast forward, jaems & you were inseparable, like thE sTrAw oF mY miLKshAkE

ya, corny af

anyways

“hyung, how do i confess???” - triggered jaems over the phone with mork

“just tell them you like them and that’s all” - stressed college student mork over the phone with jaeminnie

lunch time the next day:

“y/nireallylikeyouyouaresoprettyandicantstandbeingjustyourfriendanymoreplEASEBEMINE”

“omg yes (｡･･｡) “

so yeah, that’s the shitty back story

now getting into the R E A L story

the cold december weather was yet another indicator that the end of year holidays were here, besides all the decoration that your mom obliged you to put all over your house

smh what’s wrong with these ladies nowadays

it was midday when the lovely woman who raised you decided to leave you alone in a dark late fall noon for christmas shopping

“sweetie there’s uhm.... something to eat in the fridge, bye”

what a lovely woman

sO to get into the christmas mood, you decided to watch The Polar Express #fav4ever

and just when you were about to play the film, snacks ready, blankets ready, plushees ready,,,, your phone went off

guess who ::))

Jaemin baby ♡´･ᴗ･`♡

“Baaabeeeeee~ i’m cold, i need cuddles~~”

disgusting

you could tell he wasn’t at home, the chatter and car noises that could be haerd from afar gave him away

“i can’t i’m sick”

“bullshit, i just saw your mom and she told me you just got out of your bed, you’re a lazy liar smh” little did you know he was already at your front door with a bag full of instant noodles and some sweets

“you are also a liar, i thought you were home and i was considering getting ready to ge there to cuddle, did mom went to visit you?”

“heh ( ˘･з･) anYwAyS, i’m at your door, please let me iiinnnn”

this dork really, you hang up immediately and went downstairs to open the door, you looked at yourself in the mirror a couple of times to check your hair and get rid of all the sleepiness plastered on your face before receiving the smiley boy that was yours

the glee that he often carried when you two met was something that you came to adore so much, the euphoria that made his heart go wild whenever he got to make you smile and hold you in his arms made him realize that being with you was not a dream anymore

just seeing your blissful face was enough for him to make it through another day

and just like any other day, he embraced you in a joyful hug and pampered your face with the softest kisses only he was able to give

“i missed you~” his cooing came out muffled as he was snuggling his face in the crook of your neck, leaving some more kisses all the way up to your temple

“i saw you last night, minnie” the nickname melted his insides and made his grin go even wider, just hearing your voice tell him sweet things made him all sahjfdshhdskjdksnd

“more proof you are a liar, i’m dating a mythomaniac”

“but you still love me, and i love you as well”

“how do i know you are not lying? (◑○◑) “

“here, i’ll prove it” and asdfghdjkfbkfd you kissed him in the sweetest way possible, the innocent feeling lingered on one another’s lips as jaemin reciprocated the kiss with the same affection and a faint blush you always caught glimpse of whenever you two kissed

“hm... i’m not sure, maybe i’ll need more of those to tell if you’re lying or not”

“i’ll give them to you if you let me sTaRT the movie i was going to watch”

ten minutes after that, you found yourself pressed against his torso with a blanket thrown over your bodies and you laptop carefully placed over a pillow

one of his hands was drawing uneven paterns on your back wile the other one filled jaemin’s mouth with popcorns and other snacks

“y’know, maybe we should go christmas shopping with your mom”

“baby, do you want to freeze? no? i thought so”

cue the cutest pout no human is able to show

the thing is, this boy here, Na Jaemin, just wanted to get you some cute gifts and maybe get some couple stuff

bc jaemin is that type of boyfie and fight me if you don’t agree

and i actually don’t know how to end this so the end

sorry

this is shitty

#nct #nct 127 #nct u #nct dream #nct au #nct scenario #nct au scenario #nct scenarios #nct fluff #jaemin #na jaemin #jaemin fluff #kpop au #kpop scenarios #kpop fluff #sm #smrookies #sm au

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urbaneagle-writes · 7 years

Text

Dreams of a Hunter

Guess who wrote three different pieces for @finish-the-clone-wars‘ prompt (I swear I was doing it bc I couldn’t get the right feel for it;;) (I think I took it a little too vaguely but this is the one I’m most satisfied with lol) And guess who’s posting it in the right blog this time :D

… *cough* Anyways, enjoy~

It was cold. Too cold. Colder than the woods in the middle of a winter snowstorm. Didn’t Mama turn on the heating system this morning?

She rose from the bed, calling out for her mother, for her father, for either buir several times until the events of yesterday finally clicked in her mind. She opened her weary eyes and looked around, taking in the shabby walls and the ice-packed ground, and started to cry.

This wasn’t even her home. This was a shed that the scary person tossed her into. They didn’t even bother tying her up. Why? That question was answered as she scrambled towards door and then to the windows, finding every possible exit sealed shut. Not even a squeaky budge. Whoever had taken her had really wanted to make her feel miserable. She shivered and grasped at the lone sheet on the hay pile, using it to wrap around her shoulders as a makeshift shawl.

Was this the type of situation Papa had always told her to be careful about? But she never opened the door to a stranger when she was home alone, and if either buir were home she’d get them to answer right away! Even when she was outside playing with her siblings, they’d always stayed close to their house!

“The galaxy is dangerous,” Papa had always said, “and this city isn’t any less.” She always listened to him! Where did she go wrong?

The door slamming open startled her out of her thoughts, and a whimper slipped out from her without her meaning to. She stared up at the stranger entering the shack and could actually see what they looked like for once. She stared at the attire, realizing the familiar beskar’gam and the blaster that they held loosely at their side.

Her fear morphed into anger, like a river dropping into a waterfall, and she snarled. “Beroya.”

A deep chuckle escaped almost like static from the bounty hunter’s buy’ce. “Correct, adiik. Now come.”

She took a step back, anger– not fear, she refused to be scared– causing her to clench her hands tightly around the blanket. “Where am I?”

“Far away that your di’kutla buir can’t find you,” he said. Then he reached forward and grabbed her by the arm.

She had stiffened up at the words. Her parents are not stupid at all. “My parents are the smartest!” she cried, punching the hunter’s armored chest repeatedly. “They’re smart, they’re brave, and they’ll find me! They’ll find you!!” Her fingers ached with each punch, but she didn’t care. She needed to leave. She had to get away from this man, away from this place, away to wherever–

The grip tightened on her arm, hard enough to make her stop shouting and to start whimpering in pain. “Come now, Auri’ika. Don’t be such a hu’tuun.”

“That’s not my name!” Her voice cracked at the obvious lie. She tried to pull away, but her arm didn’t budge at all. “And I am NOT a coward! You’re the one who can’t even face my parents head on and just decided to run off with me!”

“I’m very thorough with my research, brat,” the hunter said coolly. “Now if you want to live, Aurii, you better come with me.” He pulled her but she refused to move, even though she could feel her shoes dragging across the ground. “It’ll be better if you behave, but I’m sure any bruises you get can be passed off from a bumpy ride on the ship.”

She sniffed. “You’re going to hurt a child?”

“You’re the child of an enemy.” The hunter suddenly lifted her up, gravity and vertigo fighting with the child’s body, and hauled her over his shoulder, ignoring all her shouts and punches as he marched out of the shack and into the cold.

She didn’t stop fighting. “Let me go!”

“You keep this up and you die,” he growled.

The details from their words inside the shack slowly embedded itself into her mind as she went over them. A realization hit her. “You need me alive for ransom!” she declared, a wave of triumph washing over her. “There’s no way you’re going to kill me!”

“You smart little shit,” the hunter scoffed. “You’re still going to die once we get what we want.”

Whether that was true or not, Aurii didn’t wait another moment. She wriggled out of the blanket that the beroya was foolishly holding onto, pushing at the back of his helmet for an extra boost, and slipped onto the snowy ground. Her skin was already tingling from the cold, but she darted away from the hunter and the shack regardless.

“Oi! Get back here!”

Aurii did no such thing. Despite her shoes and pants, she could barely feel her feet and legs at this point. She barely felt her feet trip over themselves and soon she was falling, rolling down the side of the powdery cliff.

She could only tell that she’s stopped falling once the world stopped spinning. The howl of the wind was too strong. The snow was blinding her. She continued to run.

Where was she going to go? She surely didn’t want to go back to the hunter; that spelled death. But she had no way to call for help or to find a way home, either.

No. Her freezing chest seemed to melt from the red-hot anger. She’d rather die than being used as bait.

A flash of light lit up the snow beside her, sizzling the ground as the powdered ice melted from the blaster fire. Aurii turned around, hands and teeth clenched and eyes wild with fury.

She only caught a glimpse of the hunter as the butt of his blaster connected to the side of her head, knocking her into darkness.

Aurii awoke, breaths shallow and fast. The cold and the pain disappeared, replaced by a lazy warmth and a sense of security in the form of a thick blanket that had tangled up in her limbs. An extra layer had somehow draped itself over her. Strange, since she’s only just collapsed onto the cot after returning from a particular grueling mission, with only a handful of troopers that she– regretfully– deemed was enough to go with her. All of them were in the medbay with a variety of wounds, while she was lying there with a wet cloth over her forehead.

“General Taum?” She looked up, one hand inching towards the lightsaber under her pillow; too late, she realized, that it wouldn’t be there. The source of the voice came from the side of the bed.

Commander Ace held a steaming much of caf in one hand, eyes full of worry. “Are you alright, Audr– sir?

She bit back the smile that was threatening to form. She’d let that little name-slip side this time. They were the only ones in this part of the medbay anyway. “Yeah.” The Jedi accepted the caf and downed it in one go, hot and strong and scalding as it was. Good enough to kick her fully awake.

She’ll get that hunter, one of these days.

#@finish-the-clone-wars #fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #star wars oc #legit spent my free time yesterday and today with three different characters with three different stories lmao #was late in posting pretty much bc of this-- actually wrote this out today #at least i have a new clone trooper oc name out of one of them xd #clone trooper nemo... (nemo basically meaning nothing in latin) hahahaa.... hah... damn;;#if there's any spelling mistakes or grammatical issues with the mando'a (probably not since most of them are nouns anyway) help me out xd #update: holy carp that is convenient #writing wednesday

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