#one day it’ll happen but grrr

[theclosetedskeleton]

If i actually passed as a guy it would be over for everyone

#unfortunately that has never happened #nobody who doesnt know im trans has correctly gendered me i always have to tell them #like irl #one day it’ll happen but grrr #closet rambles again on tumblr #trans

[ornii]

When it gets Dark Outside

Must be fun being a Super Hero, right?

Spider Gwen X Male Reader. (Y/n) has been flaking on his Girlfriend for a while now, and unfortunately it all comes to a head.

So. Let’s do this, one last time

My name is (Y/n) Riley, turns out my birth was your normal Mom and Dad stork story, I was created in a lab by a man named the Jackal, using the DNA of a guy named Peter Parker, unfortunately my dna wasn’t purely his and was mixed up somehow, letting me not look exactly like him. And for the last two years I’ve been New Yorks Spider-Man after Peter decided to retire and live comfortably with his Girlfriend, and I gladly took on the mantle of The Scarlet Spider-Man.

You know the rest, saved the day, got the girl and have been doing pretty decent hero work if I could say so myself. One of the biggest helps in that was my girlfriend, Gwen. She doesn’t know about my powers, I’m too worried what she might say, but it’s getting too much to hide, and I’m worried it’ll blow up in my face. Well, I guess it’s too late for that now.

It was ranging to be an average New York night for most. Bustling city, beautiful lights, and your run of the mill Supervillain trying to rob a bank, shocker.

Speaking of Shocking, The Scarlet Spider-Man swings though the city until he lands on a light pole, as police quickly surround a large bank embedded into central street.

“Long day?” He asks to the Police chief, George Stacy, who frowns at the web head.

“Focus, we got Shocker in the main Lobby, zapping anyone and anything that gets even a few feet near the parking lot, we’ve cut off the block to avoid casualties and civilians.” George said, Spider-Man nods and points to the bank.

“I’ll take out shocker, it’s up to you guys to finish clearing the block in case something happens.” He swings away and lands on the wall, crawling in though a window he sneaks onto the roof, the bank is, well was before it got blown to bits, a nice regal place. Marble floors, beautiful pillars and all, Spider-Man stood up and smirked. Standing below him was shocker, ready to fight anyone coming into the door.

“Got a hot date shocker?” He says, Shocker turns without hesitation and blasts his electric bolts, Spider-Man leaps out of the way and onto a pillar.

“Oh Cmon man? You’re breaking my heart.”

“Grrr! Step off Spider before I fry you!”

“Yeah, Like im Gonna let that happen, so why don’t you do your old man a favor and just surrender?” He asks, Shocker responds by attacking again, Spider-Man leaps over him and fired his web shooters, beginning to slowly web up the shocker, avoiding a blast but getting knocked into a pillar, he sees shocker wind up for a big blast, using his slingers he hurls a table at him, letting the attack hit that and causing a substantial sound wave, knocking the glass out of the doors, Spider-Man lands from the attack and prepares to fight, before seeing an incoming call on his mask. Gwen.

“Uh, Hello?” He asks, inside his dormitory, Gwen was sitting there, waiting for him.

“(Y/n)? Where are you? I thought you were ready to study?”

“Uh Yeah! I Just had small detour?” He says, avoiding a death blast, he webs shocker by the ankle, making him trip.

“Look I promise I’ll be there, just wait a little longer.”

“.. you aren’t doing anything dangerous are you?”

“No, you know me.” He says back, trying to convince the girl, who was silent for a moment.

“…Yeah.” Gwen responds with a bit of deadpanned sadness. She hangs up and Spider-Man turns to shocker.

“Alright, can we wrap this up I have something super important to—“ he says, before another incoming call appears.

“Again? What she’s—“ his distracted headspace was the perfect opportunity for Shocker, who hits him with a heavy blast to the chest, sending him flying out of the building in slow motion in front of the police, time slows down and he quickly fires his webs against the wall, using the momentum like a slingshot, he flies back though the building door with a big drop kick, sending Shocker into the wall stumbling, he changes his cartridges and fires his classic impact webs! The hit and explode on contract with Shocker, webbing him perfectly. He grabs and spins him around before hurling the villain right out into police custody. He sighs with relief and collapses down to one leg.

“Well.. that sucked, alright.” He stands up, taking a few deep breaths, before swinging out of the bank and back to his dormitory, bring a Highschool student on a boarding school in New York wasn’t the worst thing, granted he had no roommate so keeping his identity was much easier without his parents walking in on him. Granted it still was a hassle with school, but he made it work, he stumbled into the room via the window, tumbling in as he held his side, he tore off his mask to sigh in pain.

“Okay, just gotta get to—“ he looks up, and his eyes ran straight into Gwen’s, she looks rightfully stunned as he stands up, holding his side.

“I..can explain.” He says, and Gwen starts to get, obviously frustrated.

“Is this what you’ve been doing?”

“… Yeahhhh..” (Y/n) sadly admits, and Gwen was at a loss for words.

“I thought you were working at a homeless shelter or something, you’re Spider-Man? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted to! I just never really knew how you’d react.” He responds, her anger grows.

“So you lied? All this time?”

“Yeah, for a good reason Gwen! If I had told you and they found out who I was, I don’t know what would happen if something happened to you because of me.. I’d never forgive myself.” He admits, and her anger slowly began to subside.

“What do you mean?” She asks, and he sits down on his bed.

“If someone found out that I’m Spider-Man, they’d go for the people I love the most… and that’s, you.” He says in a halfway confession.

“..Love?” She asks and he nods, Gwen approached and sat next to him, her hand gently laying on his.

“I totally understand why you’d feel that way, I see you fight for you life protecting everyone, my dad included, even though he hates your guts. I was mad But, i Understand why..” she admits, and she smiles so, earnestly and the way she always smiles just, warms his heart.

“Thanks Babe, you don’t know how much it means to me to get this off my chest.” He says, Gwen slowly leans in, and (Y/n) does as well, taking the opportunity to try to kiss her, suddenly a hole in the ceiling begins to form seemingly out of some scientific tech, and a white figure landed. She Checks a device on her wrist.

“Rats, might not be the right universe to—“ she halts as she slowly turns to her side, and sees (Y/n) and Gwen staring at her, which was more of a surprise since Gwen was staring at another version of herself

Spider-Gwen. Normal gwen turns to (Y/n).

“So.. Something else you didn’t tell me about?”

#spider gwen #gwen stacy #spider gwen x Male Reader #gwen x Male Reader #spiderman #male reader #Reader x gwen Stacy #into the spider verse #Spotify

[arjaandsimoni]

Revenge of the Rakshasa Prince

Actually very recently…

Isolde’s Toy Kingdom, Arcadia

Isolde was in another sulk. Something was keeping her bestie hidden from her, no matter what she tried she couldn’t figure out where that little runaway had gotten to.

“Grrr… I don’t wanna get a new bestie, I’d just finished breaking that one in…” she grumbled, snatching up the juice box her doll brought her and sucking it down angrily. It was made of hedge fruits and the dreams of children on Christmas eve of what the morrow would bring, though it really just tasted like fruit punch.

She looked up as she felt something… off. Someone was in her castle, someone uninvited.

Suddenly, the doors to her throne room were kicked open and the thing Isolde loathed most walked in: a grown up!

She sat up in her chair and gritted her teeth, recognizing them immediately. The hair, the outfit, all of it. “YOU! HOW DARE YOU INVADE MY LANDS! TOYS! KILL TH…” she began, then paused and looked closer, squinting at the newcomer, “Wait… no… its…” she sat back, looking genuinely shocked now. “YOU?!”

“Aye, ‘s right.” grinned the newcomer. “How’ve ye been cous?” she asked.

Isolde frowned, “I’m quite well, no thanks to YOU! Where have you been all these centuries?! Do you have any idea the trouble you caused for us?!” she demanded.

The newcomer sighed, “Aye aye… look, ah didn’t tell ‘em ta make th’ bloody thing. Feck I tried ta talk ‘em outta it! Moot point anyways, its all busted now.”

Isolde sniffed, sitting cross legged in her throne, her arms folded over her chest, “… and? Why should I care what happened to that stupid, ugly thing anyways?”

“Because that’s what th’ decision was aye? ‘No contact with th’ traitor clan will be permitted as long as th’ blade endures.’ No blade, no ban.” she replied, “Now stop bein’ a wee brat Isolde. We’re needed, got shite ta be doin’.”

Isolde let out a ‘hmph’ and turned her head away with her eyes closed, “Not. My. Problem! The Tuatha de Dannan were disbanded ages ago. What do I care about the pacts and decisions they made?”

The newcomer glanced at the TV one of her dolls was holding, then reached over and turned it on, flipping through channels (which actually showed different parts of the mundane world) until she found the right one, then pointed to it.

“That’s why.” she said pointedly.

Isolde stared at the screen, seeing what was happening. “… and?” she asked, “So some chunk of India will be under attack by a monster. What concern is this of mine? We don’t bother with India.”

“Because, ye wee brat, if ‘e gets back inta power, ‘e won’t stop at just India. Those buggers are ravenous as locusts. They’ll tear up th’ land until there’s nothin’ left, ‘n then they’ll spread out from there. Eventually, they’ll even reach th’ west. If th’ King reclaims ‘is power, there’ll be nobody left fer ye ta play with… do ye want that again?” she asked, “Well, Izzy?”

Isolde shuddered, her eyes suddenly going wide as she gripped her head. Those memories were long buried, but of course this one would know all about gathering intelligence on a target. “STOP! STOP STOP STOP! LEAVE THAT ALONE! THOSE ARE PRIVATE!” she shouted.

“Well?” asked the newcomer, tapping her foot on the floor.

Isolde sighed, “FINE! I’ll… I’ll help… but it’ll take four of us!” she warned, “One for each!”

“Ye just leave that ta me.” she smirked, turning to go, “Just be ready when I call ye.”

A few days later, a movie theater in downtown London.

Claire grinned, chewing away on her popcorn as the crowd around her shrieked and shivered. On the screen a young girl played with a stuffed bear she called Chauncey, but the game they were playing was decidedly sinister in nature… downright disturbing really. She was dressed seemingly normal, in a black teeshirt, leather jacket, jeans, and biker boots with a sturdy choker around her neck.

She paused to breathe in deep, then smirked. Mortals who wanted to be scared, who sought out things that frightened them. What a wonderful discovery.

She looked up as someone sat down in the seat next to her, then whispered, “Enjoyin’ yerself?”

Claire cocked her head at her, then whispered back, “Do I know you?”

The newcomer grinned, “Aye, ye do… think hard now…” she nodded.

Claire focused, then raised her eyebrows, “Oh… you. It has been quite a while, hasn’t it?”

The newcomer nodded, “Aye… er… sorry ‘bout th’ lads chuckin’ ye in Inishmore… no hard feelin’s?” she asked.

The Dullahan sighed, “Pointless. Inishmore is destroyed. I try not to think too much about the past.” she replied.

“Aye, well how ‘bout th’ future then? Th’ near future.” she nodded, pulling out a smartphone and opening a still image. It was a bit odd, it showed a shipping dock on an island in what looked like India… but there was a sort of image superimposed over it, showing a giant standing in the bay, but not entirely real… or perhaps not real yet.

The Dullahan looked at it, then at her, then back at it, then sighed, “And you want to do… what… that rite?” she asked.

“Aye, caught on quick did ye?” she grinned.

Claire shrugged, “It wasn’t hard, that thing is gigantic, we’d have to be just as big to fight it… that’s the only way I know of.”

“Aye, well, ye in or out?” she asked.

Claire nodded, “I’m in, it’ll make for an interesting day at least.”

“Good, just be ready when I call ye.” she nodded, then added, “Er… why th’ popcorn though? Ye dunnae need ta eat.” she pointed out. Dullahan were about as close to undead as some fae got. They subsisted on glamour alone normally.

“I find the texture pleasing…” replied Claire.

The newcomer shrugged, then got up and walked out of the theater as the Dullahan grinned at a particularly well timed jumpscare startling the audience, soaking up their fear as it did.

The next day, Champs de Nedge, Arcadia

Two guards stood outside of Lady Sera’s castle, as they always did.

“Bit nipply today eh?” asked the one on the left.

The one on the right sighed, “Congratulations Timothy, this makes the five hundredth time you’ve asked me that joke.”

“Cor… really? Do I win a prize?” asked the first guard.

“Aye, and here it is!” replied the second, smacking him on the head with his lance!

“OW! What kinda prize is that?” he asked.

“Booby prize, now shut yer gob. Someone’s coming.”

Through the snow what appeared to be a young woman trudged, heading towards the gates. As she drew close the guards slammed their lances together infront of her, making an X before the door.

“WHO GOES THERE!” demanded the guard on the right.

“Out with it lady! We ain’t got all day!” said the one on the left.

The newcomer looked between them, then said, “Lads, ye sure ye wanna pull that stunt… with me?” she grinned.

The two squinted at her, then immediately withdrew their lances and bowed low. “OH! B-beggin’ yer pardon yer ladyship!” sputtered the guard on the left.

“Aye! Deepest apologies! Didn’t recognize you under who you’re wearing! She’s right straight ahead in the throne room!” added the one on the right.

The newcomer laughed, “Good lads, you’ll go far here. Now just stay put and make sure nobody steals the gate, aye?” she smirked, walking inside and through the castle.

Eventually she stood before Lady Sera, the Queen of the Icebound Heart sitting regal on her throne.

“Ah, its you. I was wondering when you’d arrive.” nodded the winter fae.

“Aye, so… dunno if ye know whats goin’ on but…” began the newcomer, but Lady Sera held up a hand.

“Yes, my children have become involved. I will join your efforts.” she replied.

The newcomer hesitated. “… just like that? Dun even need ta explain it?” she asked, sounding suspicious.

Lady Sera breathed in, “… my daughter has told me that protecting one’s children from those who would threaten them is part of being a mother. I can hardly ignore a threat of this scale, now can I?” she asked.

The newcomer shrugged, “Aye, suppose ye cannae. Very well, th’ other two are all set. Just come when I call ye ‘n we’ll sort ‘im out right proper.” she nodded, turning on her heel and leaving.

“Wait… if I may ask… why only come to us now Morrigan?” she asked.

The newcomer stopped, glancing behind her, “ ‘cause I buggered up, ‘n this is how I fix it.” she nodded.

Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka

Indrajit laughed in triumph, looking out at the giant rakshasa standing in the bay. “TREMBLE AND WEEP SCION OF HANUMAN!” laughed Indrajit, “FOR KING RAVANA ONCE MORE WALKS THE LAND!”

Arja grimaced, her eyes wide. She could feel Ravana’s power from here, waves upon waves of it. The sensation was akin to being an ant looking upon the face of a human about to step on them. Ravana was powerful beyond reason and logic, even Carman hadn’t been this awful! He wasn’t even a foe! He was a force of nature itself! They may as well try to stop a hurricane!

Simoni clawed anxiously at the ground, still in her garuda form, “What are we gonna do?” she whispered to Arja.

Arja shuddered, “I… I don’t know… he’s… I have no idea! I don’t know of ANYTHING that can fight something like that! No wonder Rama used a mundane blade!”

Suddenly, a voice echoed out, so loud that Arja fell to her knees with her hands over her ears and Simoni had to change back to do likewise, Dawn hissing and folding her own ears back.

WHAT IS THIS? WHAT HAS BECOME OF MY HOME? THESE MORTAL MEN SCURRY ABOUT MY LAND LIKE INSECTS… WHERE IS MY CASTLE? WHERE ARE MY SUBJECTS?

The voice of Ravana echoed throughout the island, all around them they heard people wailing and panicking, several of the older or weaker ones even fainting or being struck deaf or dead outright from his voice!

“FATHER!” cried Indrajit, “It was the work of that coward Rama! He used a horrible weapon to imprison you, but I destroyed it! You are free once more!”

The heads of the giant turned towards them…

AH, YES, I REMEMBER NOW. THAT STRANGE ARROW HE HAD… IT STRUCK ME IN THE CHEST, THEN I REMEMBER NOTHING AT ALL. HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?

“Too long father! Centuries! Let us rebuild your kingdom together, then we will bring all of India to heel under your glory once more!” replied Indrajit, rushing past Arja and Simoni as he ran towards the docks.

The two girls got to their feet, rubbing their ears, “Y-you said Morrigan had a plan?” asked Simoni.

Arja nodded, “That’s what King Hanuman told me…” she replied.

“Better be a good one.” nodded the garuda as she bent down and let Arja onto her back, flying off in pursuit of the rakshasa prince.

When they landed they found Nelen and the others a bit injured, but otherwise well. By now it was nighttime and Natasha, Nicu, and Tex had joined them… but right now the rakshasa weren’t paying attention to them. All of them on the docks were facing towards Ravana and kneeling, their heads bowed.

“Guys! Are you alright?!” asked Simoni as she landed.

“Yeah…” sighed Nelen, rubbing a sore spot on his arm, “Guess you couldn’t stop him huh?” he asked.

“Yeah yeah well no point in dwelling on it…” hissed Dawn, “How do we deal with THAT?! Unless one of us can pull a freakin’ megazord out of our asses I don’t think we’re going to!”

Sammi frowned, his rapier stained with rakshasa blood and his shirtsleeve torn, “That is an excellent question Dawn… I must admit I’m at a loss.”

“Yeah… me too…” whined Stephy as he stayed close to Tex, “I mean… that thing shouldn’t even be able to exist in this reality! How is it doing this?!”

“Sri Lanka.” replied Nelen. “Its Ravana’s former kingdom, something about the land remembers him and anchors him enough to stay… otherwise he’d need an avatar or something.”

“Aye, useful things, them avatars.” said a voice from behind him.

Nelen nodded, then his brain caught up with what he’d heard as he looked behind him. Standing there was a familiar person wearing baggy cargo pants with extra pockets, a black tank top over a chest binder, a pair of sturdy boots, and a long two-handed sword strapped to her back in a scabbard. They had bright red hair cropped short, and their body was spotted with scars here and there, a grin on their face. “Wait… LOREN?!" he exclaimed, "When the hell did you get here?! Is Clan Fullmoon coming too?”

Loren grinned at him, “Ooo, good guess, wrong though…” she smirked.

Sammi however took a quick step back from her, “Nelen… that is NOT who you think it is…” he said, almost awestruck.

Nelen looked between them, then glanced at Loren again, “Hang on, something about you does feel… off…” he muttered.

Loren grinned, “C’mon boyo, yer cleverer ‘n that… think… did ye just think ‘Th’ Maven’s Avatar’ was a fancy title?”

Nelen’s jaw fell open, “You’re… Morrigan?!”

She nodded, “Aye, knew we’d get there in th’ end. Dunnae worry, Loren is all in on this ‘un. After th’ mess with th’ manticore we knew shite was about ta hit th’ fan, so I had a wee chat with ‘er ‘n she’s lettin’ me borrow her body so we can do this.”

Simoni cocked her head, “We?”

There was a cracking noise, and two trees nearby bent towards each other, forming a natural arch… and through it suddenly was a swirl of glamour, and then the briars of the hedge, and three people walked out.

… at least, people shaped beings.

“Oh bloody hell, its mother…” whispered Sammi as Lady Sera strode out into the docks, looking around with distaste as if she’d just stepped in something.

“Hmph, I see you were not exaggerating the climate here Samuel… this is rather disgusting.” she frowned, her lip curling in distaste.

Next came someone none of them recognized, a woman in a black top, jeans, and biker boots with a sturdy black choker around her neck. She breathed in, and grinned wide, “Oh everyone in this town is terrified. What a feast!” she laughed.

Finally however emerged someone much smaller, someone who caused most of them to cry out in alarm. Sammi immediately drew his rapier as Nelen reached into his bag, Dawn hissing angrily.

Isolde, the Everblooming Rose, emerged and frowned at them. “UGH! THESE ONES?! This is who we’re saving?! Morrigan you jerk! If you’d told me it was them I’d have never come!” she shouted, stomping her foot angrily.

“Aye, ‘s why I didn’t tell ye.” grinned Morrigan. “ ‘sides, remember wut I did tell ye.”

Isolde took a deep breath, then stared at Stephy and stomped right up to him, her dress flouncing around her as she did. “Stephen Fullmoon. You are a HORRIBLE. WICKED. NASTY. TOY-BREAKING. FRIEND-STEALING. GIFT-REJECTING. BOY… and ONE day I will get repayment for every single time you’ve wronged me!” she snapped, then sighed, “BUT! If Ravana is allowed to do as he likes… this world just won’t be fun anymore…” she shrugged. “So, for now, you are safe from me.” she nodded.

Stephy was half-hidden behind Sammi, who had his rapier at the ready. Isolde looked at it, then she just rolled her eyes and walked away to a more open area of the docks. “WELL?! Are we going to do this or NOT Morrigan?!”

Sera and Claire walked towards her as Morrigan looked back at them, “Look, ye lot deal with Indrajit. We got Ravana, we just… need to pool our resources as it were.” she winked.

Then she went off to join the others… and as she did Ravana’s voice echoed again.

SO. THESE MORTALS HAVE TORN DOWN MY PALACE OF OLD, REPLACING IT WITH THEIR DISGUSTING HIVES? HMPH, TOO BIG A BOTHER TO PULL DOWN ONE AT A TIME…

The rakshasa king raised his hands above him, and they began to crackle with energy, and the water around his legs began to churn.

A GOOD EARTHQUAKE OUGHT TO CLEAR THEM OUT.

The others readied their weapons and spells as Simoni looked over, “Whatever they’re doing, they better hurry it up!” she whined.

Nearby, the three faeries and the goddess stood in a circle. They each took a deep breath, and then clasped their hands together.

“I am Isolde, Everblooming Rose, and I stand for Spring and all that blooms and grows.” intoned Isolde, and an unseen breeze swirled around her, raising a flurry of flower petals.

“I be Morrigan, Maven of War, ‘n I stand fer Summer ‘n all that burns hot in th’ land ‘n in th’ heart.” spoke Morrigan, and as if an invisible hand had lit a ring of gasoline around her legs, flames swirled up around her body!

“I am Claire, Dullahan Knight, and I stand for Autumn and for all that feel the chill of cold nights, long shadows, and creeping terror.” spoke Claire, and around her body a cloud of dry autumn leaves seemed to come from nowhere, swirling around her as she spoke.

“I am Sera, of the Icebound Heart, and I stand for Winter and for the ice without and within.” she spoke, and a swirl of frost erupted around her form as well.

Then, they all spoke in unison. “Let four be made one. Let the seasons become the wheel. We become the world, and the world stands against this foe!”

Then, they all seemed to break apart into the flower petals, autumn leaves, flames, and frost that surrounded them, the four symbols of the elements surging upwards into the sky as if to join together, forming a sphere of swirling magic and glamour in the sky.

This gave Ravana pause, the king releasing his spell before he finished it and looking over.

WHAT IS THIS? WHAT IS HAPPENING ON MY LAND INDRAJIT?

Indrajit scowled, staring at the sphere as it began to grow larger, and brighter, almost as if something was growing within it. “Father, I don’t know! I have never seen anything like this!” he called back.

The sphere grew bigger, and bigger, until it was the size of a building, and then it shattered and from within, and a pair of massive feet landed on the ground as a woman stood there, easily as tall as Ravana was! She had Isolde’s black hair, Morrigan’s green eyes, Sera’s face, and the powerful frame of Claire. She wore a leather shirt and a pair of leggings with boots and hovering behind her was a huge wheel, supported by seemingly nothing at all, with twelve spokes in it.

She glanced over at the group, then snapped her fingers.

WE ALMOST FORGOT…

It almost sounded like she chuckled, but she pointed at Aisha and gestured, and Claiomh Solias flew from its sheath towards her, becoming larger as it went! When she caught it the sword had become gigantic, but just the right size for her to wield it.

WHAT IS THIS? WHO ARE YOU?! demanded the rakshasa king as he glared towards her.

The woman turned to him, and in an eyeblink she was standing in the ocean, the sword held ready.

WE ARE SISTER TO MOTHER GAIA, SHE WHO WATCHES OVER THE TURNING OF THE YEAR. YOU MAY CALL US THE LADY OF SEASONS, AND WE ARE HERE TO STOP YOUR RETURN KING RAVANA!

The rakshasa king threw back his heads and laughed at this, as if he was told a particularly funny joke.

FOOL! I AM PROTECTED, NOTHING BRAHMIN CREATED BESIDES HUMANS CAN EVER HARM ME! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO DO?

The Lady of Seasons smirked at him.

WE ARE ALL OF THE FAIR FOLK, RAVANA. BRAHMIN DID NOT CREATE US. she replied, and for emphasis she stepped forward and slashed with Claiomh Solias!

Ravana roared and stumbled backwards, looking down at his chest in shock as blood oozed from the wound, then he glared at her and roared in fury, preparing to charge her down!

The group watched in shock as Dawn whispered, “… megazord…” then they looked up at a roar as Indrajit dove towards them!

“YOU DARE! EVEN AT THE MOMENT OF TRIUMPH YOU DEFY US! LEARN YOUR PLACE MORTALS! YOU SHOULD FEEL HONORED TO EVEN BE IN THE PRESENCE OF MY FATHER!” he snarled in fury, landing with a tremendous crash as the group scattered.

Indrajit straightened up, “I will let my father deal with your strange ally, as for this mortal rabble…” he took a breath, “MY RAKSHASA! HEAR ME! THE MORTALS OF SRI LANKA ARE YOUR’S! FEAST! FEAST TO YOUR HEART’S CONTENT!” he shouted.

The rakshasa at the pier stood up, then looked between each other, grinning widely, then as one they began to charge up the path to the city and with a loud roar they ran for the buildings, and the humans hiding within them!

“SHIT!” snarled Nelen, turning this way and that, but it would be like fighting a frenzy of piranhas! There were too many!

Arja and Simoni had much the same idea. Even for the firebird it was just too big a force to hold back…

But as the rakshasa drew close to the first building a sudden rain of fire cut them off! Then another!

“HAHA! GO MY FRIENDS! Lets show them how sharp our talons are!” laughed a voice as Simoni looked up with a grin.

Descending from the sky was a flock of garuda with black feathers, astride them were vanara, but these ones had rich brown fur instead of gold!

“Its Elder Rodas and his flock!” she cheered, “Akul and Lakshimi must’ve gotten through to them!”

Arja grinned, “Yeah, and those vanara aren’t from our village! They must be his friends too!”

As they said this the garuda elder flew down past them, a vanara warrior riding on his back as well. “You kids take care of Indrajit! We’ll deal with his army!” he nodded, flapping his way back into the sky as the rest of his flock dived and threw flames at the rakshasa, driving them back from the buildings.

Indrajit roared in rage, looking between them all, then lashed out at Simoni. Nelen grabbed her and threw her to the side before he could reach her however. “MOVE!” he shouted, then he braced himself as his eyes became emeralds and his antlers grew, the hunt god taking over as he took the full brunt of Indrajit’s fearsome claws… skidding to a halt a few feet away.

He hissed, then looked down at his arms, then back at Indrajit. “That… didn’t hurt half as bad as I thought it would.” observed Cernunnos, raising an eyebrow. “Girls. How DID he release Ravana? What did he do?” he asked.

Arja and Simoni glanced at each other, “He stabbed himself in the hand with the arrow, then it broke and released both of them.”

Cernunnos grinned at this, “Really… that wasn’t very smart Indrajit.” he nodded, breaking off a branch of a nearby tree next to the waterfront as it became a spear.

The rakshasa prince took a step back, grimacing. He had almost massacred the entire vanara race, that blow should have left nothing but a stain on the ground!

“Arja, remember what happened to your mom when you destroyed Claiomh Dorcadas? Did she get her powers back?” asked Cernunnos.

Arja gasped in realization, “No! She didn’t! Simoni had to use the arcane blade’s fragment on her!” she grinned.

Dawn laughed, “HAH! Which means Papa Smurf here isn’t at full power! GET HIM!” she yowled as the others nodded, then rushed him.

Indrajit ducked around Cernunnos’ spear, then under Drusilla’s club, but as much as they tried to hit him they just got in the way more often than not! There were too many of them to be effective, and while his strength was lessened, he was still an experienced warrior!

Finally Arja shouted, “Leave him to me and Simoni! You guys go back up Rodas and his flock!”

The others hesitated, but nodded and ran towards the Rakshasa army as Arja and Simoni stared down the Rakshasa Prince. Arja flexed her claws, sparks flickering between the tips, as Simoni clawed at the ground with her talons, flexing her wings.

Indrajit glared, then charged again as the two dove away from each other. Simoni shot into the air and circled around, grabbing Arja in her talons and flying into the air, then releasing her and sending a blast of wind to encircle her. Arja channeled fire into it and her body became a falling meteor! Indrajit scowled and dove away, narrowly missing being struck by it as the blast from it cratered the ground where he’d been!

He slid to a stop, only for a burst of wind to slam into his back and cause him to stumble, which was all the opening Arja needed! She leapt forward, her hands engulfed in flames, and slammed her fist home into Indrajit’s face, scalding his skin and burning away part of his mustache!

“AUGH! YOU DARE STRIKE ONE OF MY CASTE?!” he snarled, “EVERY SECOND YOU LIVE IS AN INSULT TO ME CHILD OF HANUMAN!”

Arja just grinned and leapt into the air, landing on Simoni’s back. “Hah! You talked so big back home. Killed millions of vanara, but now you can’t even touch one?!” she taunted.

Indrajit gritted his teeth, then leapt towards them, ready to lash out with his claws again, but as he did the fight in the bay continued.

Ravana threw a burst of energy towards the Lady of Seasons, who parried it easily with Claiomh Solias, then she spun and slashed upwards, scoring his body across his chest from his right hip to left shoulder!

The king roared in anger and pain, and this distracted Indrajit. He’d never heard his father experience pain before!

Arja and Simoni didn’t hesitate, Arja conjured a wall of embers before Simoni who filled her wings with wind and flapped hard downwards, sending a superheated downdraft towards Indrajit who cried out and fell to the ground, his skin blistering where it hit him!

“Again?! AGAIN?! NO! I AM PRINCE INDRAJIT! I CONQURED THE DEVA THEMSELVES! YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME! NOTHING!” he bellowed.

Back at the city limits the rakshasa were being held back by the combined forces of Rodas and his flock, their vanara allies, and the rest of Arja’s allies. The people inside the buildings watched the battle transfixed, unable to look away but too terrified to go help them fight back the rakshasa invaders!

Most of them anyways… one of the windows cracked open and a gun barrel pointed out. The building was a police station, now mostly abandoned as the cops were pretty much wiped out at the pier… but the weapons locker wasn’t and had some weapons that were meant to kill (dangerous wild animals usually.) A young man held a rifle steady, trying to get a clear shot at one of the monsters… and suddenly a feline girl shot towards their target, clawing at the rakshasa's eyes and going to dart away, but the monster grabbed her by the tail! She yowled and stumbled, and the man took his shot!

The rakshasa went rigid, but the bullet hit right in the temple and shredded its brain! It fell on its side, releasing the cat-like creature as she looked around, saw him, grinned and gave a thumbs up, then ran back to the rest of the fight.

The man inside looked at the rifle, then at the fallen rakshasa. “… they can be killed? We can… fight them?” he ran around to the door for the small room he’d been hiding in, kicking it open. “EVERYONE! I just shot one of the monsters and it killed it! We can fight them!” he called out.

The group hesitated, but many of the younger members of it grinned between themselves. They were rather sick of being afraid, “Where did you find the gun?” asked one.

Outside Stephy conjured a blast of frost, causing a rakshasa to fall on it’s face as it slid on a sudden patch of ice that wasn’t there before as Tex stepped forward with a pump shotgun that crackled with electricity and unloaded a round into it before it could get up, the gunshot literally cracking like thunder! He sighed as the cards shifted back into a normal poker hand. “That’s another one spent! There’s still tons though!” he frowned.

Stephy nodded, “Yeah I know, but what else can we do?!” he asked, sending another blast of snow out at the army, causing them to slide and stumble into each other as the ground froze. It was a most effective strategy for him and Sammi to use here they’d found. Freezing the ground temporarily took little glamour, and the rakshasa had no knowledge of how to walk on ice. Their home was a tropical jungle, they’d never needed it before!

Suddenly several gunshots echoed through the area! The young man inside had shown his fellows where the armory was, and now anyone who could use a gun was doing so. Rakshasa roared in fury, stumbling from wounds in their shoulders, guts, or legs, or falling outright from headshots.

A handgun would do little, but these were .243 caliber Winchester rounds meant to kill dangerous predators in the jungles. Even a rakshasa couldn’t handle those! Every window that could be opened had a gun barrel sticking out of it as several young boys with practice on a firing range, a few older men who had military service under their belts, a couple retired cops, and one woman who lived out in the outskirts and had a rotten time with animals in her herb garden opened fire!

Several more rakshasa fell wounded or dying, then Drusilla snarled and clutched at her arm before bellowing loud enough to rattle the windows, “I’M ON YOUR SIDE ASSHOLE! WATCH WHERE YOU’RE AIMING!”

The gunshots paused for a moment, then a single voice called back, “… sorry!”

Back at the waterfront Arja and Simoni fought against Indrajit, the furious prince now sporting burns and scalding on his flesh, his face blistered where Arja’s fist had hit it. “You… all of this is YOUR fault! SCION OF HANUMAN! WHEN MY FATHER TAKES THE THRONE I WILL MARCH MY PEOPLE ON YOUR VILLAGE AND SLAUGHTER EVERYONE WITHIN IT!”

Simoni flew out of his reach, the garuda nodding to Arja, “I think its time we get out the big guns. Hot wings?” she grinned.

Arja grinned back, “Hot wings.” she replied, and together they channeled their power as, once more, the phoenix took flight!

Huge fiery wings spread over the battlefield as Indrajit swore and stepped back, then his eyes widened. Something was… different.

The bird wasn’t entirely normal flames now, the very edges of the wings, and the talons and beak, burned golden. The changes hadn’t gone unnoticed by the ones conjuring it either. Arja looked at her claws, which now gleamed like polished metal, and Simoni’s claws on her talons were now akin to polished obsidian, her wingtips going jet back, though the rest was still emerald green like before. “Whats happening?” she asked Arja.

“I don’t know… but I feel… stronger somehow!” she whispered, “Simoni! Go! We can take him!” she grinned as Simoni nodded, the firebird arcing downwards towards the rakshasa prince!

Indrajit glared up at them, feeling the power radiating off them, but he didn’t flee. Perhaps he was simply too proud to do so, or perhaps he truly believed he couldn’t be defeated… he leapt, trying to grab them, but the phoenix got him first!

The talons closed around him and he screamed in pain as the flames bit into his body. Not just normal flames either! The golden fire ate away at his power! It burned away any spells he tried to use against them! “NO! HOW CAN THIS BE?!” he cried out, “F-FATHER! GREAT KING! YOUR SON IS IN PERIL! I BESEECH YOU!”

As he did Ravana’s heads turned to him, but that was what the Lady of Seasons needed. She lashed out again, carving another mark from his left hip to right shoulder, leaving his body quartered from the chest outwards. NOW! she shouted.

She thrust out her sword and Ravana cried out as his body went rigid!

“By spring’s blossoms and growth, I bind you!” she said in Isolde’s voice, and as she did Ravana’s right arm erupted into rose covered vines, the thorns sinking deep in to his arms.

“By summer’s fury ‘n heat, I bind ye!” she said in Morrigan’s voice, and his legs erupted in flames so powerful the ocean could not quench them, steam rising all around him!

“By autumn’s chill nights and bitter winds, I bind you!” she said in Claire’s, and thorny vines burst along his left arm as well, but these ones had no blooms, only thick long thorns. Dry and thirsty for his blood.

“… and by winter’s frigid kiss and deep silence, I bind you!” she finished in Sera’s voice, and Ravana let out one final scream as all his heads were frozen solid in one go.

TO THE WHEEL OF SEASONS WE BIND YOU! ONLY ONE FOURTH OF YOU MAY BE REAL, SO YOU MAY NEVER BE WHOLE… BEGONE! commanded the Lady of Seasons as she slashed again, and Ravana’s body split into four quarters as all but the rose covered one faded away, the remaining arm crashing into the ocean and disappearing beneath the waves.

Indrajit stared in horror, all pain forgotten. “No… NO THIS CANNOT BE! EVEN RAMA COULD NOT DEFEAT HIM WITHOUT THE ARROW! MY FATHER IS INVINCIBLE! HE CANNOT LOSE! I CANNOT LOSE!” he insisted, thrashing in their talons as they arced out over the ocean.

“Everyone loses sometimes Indrajit…” smirked Simoni.

“Get used to it.” nodded Arja.

Then together they tossed Indrajit into the air, and the phoenix’s beak stabbed forward into the prince’s chest. He let out a cry of pain as his body erupted in golden fire, then he fell down into the ocean with a loud splash and a huge cloud of steam. He did not come back up.

The two waited for a moment, but when he didn’t come up they immediately made a beeline for where the rakshasa were laying siege to the city… only to find a lot of dead rakshasa. The ones who hadn’t died had all fled when they saw Ravana go down and heard Indrajit’s cry of pain and defeat. Without their leaders they were wild rakshasa again, and it served none of them to stay and be killed.

They landed near Nelen and the others, changing back as they did and jogging over. “So… its over?” asked Simoni.

Nelen was sitting on a bench on the roadside, wiping his brow. He was sweating profusely from all the fighting, but he nodded. “Yeah, I saw what they did to Ravana. I don’t think even he can come back from that.” he smirked.

Arja nodded, “Er… yeah, we saw that too but… what did they do?” she asked.

“Ain’t it obvious ye wee monkey?” said a familiar voice as Loren walked towards them. “Just me this time, Morrigan said ‘good job ye lot,’ but she ‘n th’ others had ta bugger off. Takes a lot outta ‘em bein’ one person like that.”

Arja frowned up at her, “Pretend for a second I didn’t grow up in Ireland okay? I have no clue what that was!”

Nelen took a long pull from a bottle of water, then looked at her, “They bound Ravana’s body to the seasons, then cut him to pieces. One fourth to each season. Only that fourth exists until the season turns, then it stops existing and another part appears. Ravana isn’t dead, but he can’t come back unless all his body is together, and that’s not possible anymore.” he nodded.

Arja blinked slowly, “So… he’s gone, like permanently this time?!” she asked, almost afraid to believe it.

Nelen nodded, “It’d take something insane to bring him back, something that’d alter the entire planet and how it works. Unless Indrajit can pull that kind of magic, he’s gone.”

Simoni giggled, “Then he’s gone. We used the phoenix on Indrajit and threw him into the ocean after he caught fire, and he was pretty hurt already when we did.” she grinned.

Then the group heard cheering and looked over to see several of the people who’d been shooting the rakshasa standing next to them with their guns, pictures being taken to post on social media.

Nelen sighed, “… well, I think that about does it for keeping the supernatural secret. Hard to miss a freaking kaiju battle…” he frowned.

Loren nodded, “Eh, Jennie knew it’d likely happen in ‘er lifetime Nelen. Ye cannae expect ta keep stuff hidden forever, especially nowadays. If it wasn’t us, it’d be a lucky shot o’ a pixie, or a guy gettin’ a photo o’ his friend gettin’ dragged off by th’ gentry, or somethin’…”

Nelen sighed, “I guess, just UGH!” he threw up his arms, “WHY US THOUGH?!” he snapped in frustration.

Dawn grinned widely, “… because. Just…” she spread her hands dramatically, “… because…”

Next Story

Previous Story

#fiction #modern fantasy #supernatural adventures #lgbtq

[hideyseek]

11.27.2022

ITS DONE AHAHAHAA GOD ITS DONE!!

the NUMBER OF TIMES i had to stop and set my laptop down during this writing session just to tell myself OF COURSE THE READING EXPERIENCE IS JUST OKAY. OF COURSE THERE IS NO PACING AND TENSION. THE STORY DOESNT FUCKING EXIST YET and i simply DO NOT HAVE THE SKILLS TO WEAVE IN PACING AND TENSION WHEN I AM DOING A ROUGH DRAFT which is a NORMAL FUCKING EXPERIENCE TO HAVE JESUS CHRIST. LOL!

ok putting the rest under a readmore bc it suddenly occurs to me that these are really fucking long lol sorry guys

WHEW i will say the main thing i learned from this experience is that word count really doesn’t do it for me. having a roughly 250 wordcount expectation each time i sit down is helpful, but reaching a total wordcount is not nearly as much a feeling of accomplishment for me as i expected / as i think “drafting a full arc” might be. but also!!! it is NOT BAD to gently train myself to recognize and accept markers of progress that are not just “a completed and perfect longfic” bc hello i would only get one milestone at the end and would that sustain me? no!!!!!!! lol i accept that i must constantly fight my brain’s tendency toward perfectionism in every aspect of my life but god its annoying in this one

but it’s DONE and somehow with 150 words to go i suddenly sat down and drafted two full scenes??? well. whatever it’ll be useful. i’m remembering why the birthday party scene isn’t part of the first draft and it is because oh my god i sure do try to shove five or six different plot-relevant scenes into the span of what is probably a two hour event lol. WHATEVER IT IS FINE. I WILL MOVE THEM AROUND TO A LESS INSANE ORGANIZATION IN REVISIONS. WHICH I AM NOT AT YET. BC I AM DRAFTING. GOD.

but yeah if i could just GENTLY ENCOURAGE MYSELF TO ACCEPT that the first draft WILL BE ALL OVER THE PLACE PACING-WISE EVEN THOUGH I AM WORKING WITH A PRETTY DETAILED OUTLINE because IT IS A FIRST FUCKING DRAFT AND IT IS ACCOMPLISHING WHAT THE FIRST DRAFT NEEDS TO DO WHICH IS GODDAMN EXIST ONLY. anything else like characterization or coming up with a plot point or figuring out beats of a character arc or identifying a location for something IS ALL FUCKING BONUSES!!! hidey its BONUSES!!!!

godddddddddddddddd. anyway this is like. completely stream of consciousness this is just how i fucking think btw if u were curious. possibly this is also what the experience of talking to me is like but i wouldnt know

ANYWAY this has been exciting. i was kinda fucking going through it irl this month so only ended up writing maybe half the days? but it’s really encouraging to still have hit my wordcount goal and even if i don’t remember anything i wrote, at least to know the writing exists! i can’t revise nothing after all!!!

ok i am CLOSING THE DOC bc i am FORBIDDEN FROM FUCKING WITH IT but i DID read TWO SENTENCES that seemed like genuinely interesting and functional sentences that conveyed events happening! hurrah! what the fuck is even metrics for good writing? who KNOWS! ok no more looking at the doc however i CAN OPEN A NEW DOC for DECEMBER DRAFTING MATERIAL bc this month by month thing seems GENUINELY DOABLE!!!! GENUINELY SO.

WOW what a relief to have figured this out! of course it might not last which is totally fine but like FOR NOW IT SEEMS DOABLE. AND THEN WE WILL SEE!!!

i definitely leaned a lot into just uh, supplying haiji my direct internal dialogue for several of the scenes from today. what is a scene who FUCKING KNOWS i am just calling it a scene WHO KNOWS OK WHATEVER. french scenes if its a new guy its a new scene WHO KNOWS ok! and i definitely have been leaning A LOT into “telling so goddamn much about haiji’s internal state rather than just showing it” bc i have NO IDEA HOW TO FIGURE OUT THAT BALANCE. how is the reader experiencing it i wonder!! IDK BUT I WILL JUST WAIT AND READ IT OVER AND THAT WILL SOLVE MY PROBLEM GRRR genuinely this advice helpfully stops my brain in its tracks so consistently

ok!!!! yes! its done!!! it is done! i will worry about pacing and foreshadowing and consistent motifs and metaphors and imagery and canonical characterization and ALL THAT STUFF LATER which is NORMAL AND FINE bc those are THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT IN REVISION ANYWAY. first draft just needs to EXIST!!!!!!!!!!! AND IT KIND OF DOES!!

i do think i will want to do a few more things: set up a longer doc to collect all this draft material in order as i create it month by month (reminding myself the goal is semi-consistency and NOT setting a really high bar i cannot meet! 7k mercifully seems to have been a good estimate and yes my brain does want to be a stupid gremlin and say i should shoot for 10k but NO once again we are looking for CONSISTENCY which means it needs to be DOABLE WITHOUT RUINING MY LIFE!), i think i want to organize that doc / my draft material in general by “arc” lol whatever that means, and also paste in the rest of the scenes… actually i wonder if a notion doc would be better NO NO NO MORE FUCKING PLATFORMS GODDAMN JUST GSUITE FOR NOW. lol ok so maybe a doc for the “pre-aotake” section, one for “the bit between that and the birthday party” (?? this section is SUPER LOOSE IN MY MIND), one for “birthday party” if only bc that has like seven scenes in it. lol god i wish there was git diff for google docs …… i KNOW i have a few different versions of a couple scenes and it would be really useful if i could stash them somehow next to each other… OK nevermind just ONE DOC to fit everything together, its not long enough to break google docs yet, i don’t need to make arbitrary buckets when i haven’t even looked at the material. i can trust that the buckets WILL COME and become sharper and more clear in my head over time!

IT IS OKAY FOR ME TO BE IN THE TREES AND NOT LOOKING AT THE FOREST RIGHT NOW SO TO SPEAK. THAT IS WHAT DRAFTING FUCKING IS! aaaaargh!!!

ok i actually think next month i want to have 5k as my goal bc holiday obligations PLUS i will be writing for inception secret saito (!!!!) and relearning how my revision process works at a smaller scale so that will take some time. yeah that seems good!!

ok! and YES i feel like i could keep working THIS IS THE PLACE TO STOP. AND ALSO THE FEELING TO STOP ON. i need to practice NOT DIGGING MYSELF INTO A PIT JUST TO FEEL LIKE I “ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING” there are already things that got done!!! if i end eager to keep working that will possibly carry over into my next session and make everything pleasant and energetic instead of a big fucking drag!!!!

ok GOODBYE this is the longest fucking update in the whole wide world im gonna have to go on desktop to add a read more. if u are still reading here hi mwah i love and appreciate you lets be friends

#hidey does nano 2022 #WAHEY ITS FUCKING DONE

[phoenixblack89]

Chapter 7 - The Search Begins

Hallo wonderful peoples! 

I’m back again with another chapter for you lovely lot! 

I have tweaked the timeline a little, added another day to how long Sophia was missing but that’s cos I’m a donut and can’t do math when writing. Ya know when ya just get into a nice flow and only realise later that something you wrote doesn’t fit in the actual canon timeline? Yea that’s me hahaha

NOTE --- BOLD ITALICS are Daryl’s thoughts, Italics are Phoenix’s thoughts or another lady’s, BOLD are other males members of the group. It’ll make sense trust me

The awesome page breaker was made by @firefly-graphics​ (stupid Tumblr and their 10 image rule ruining my layout grrr)

WARNINGS: typical TWD gore, violence, slight depressive & suicidal thoughts, mentions of SEX, one angry redneck, one idiotic blond

TAG LIST: @lilythemadqueen @autocon23 @boondoctorwho @browneyes528 @writingdeadangel @darylsgirl @purple-serenity @fandomsaremykryponite @ @pandora-writes-stuff @littlegodzilla

MAIN MASTERLIST

SERIES MASTER LIST

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

Phoenix yawned and stretched as she sat up from the sofa, where she'd fallen asleep the night before after ensuring Carl and his parents were safely asleep. The pink tint streaming through the glass behind her told her it was shortly after dawn. The loud clanking from the kitchen echoed as she ran a hand over her head before standing up, her brightly dyed hair sticking up in all directions. Beth gave her a small smile as she skipped down the stairs towards the kitchen. The luscious scent of fresh coffee and bread wafted outwards and Phoenix felt her stomach crunch hungrily.

"Well good morning."

"Morning..." The red head yawned, slumping down into a chair at the breakfast nook, her head falling onto her arms with a dull thud. Patricia stifled a laugh and placed a large cup of black coffee, a small pitcher of milk and a bowl of sugar in front of her. Phoenix nodded her thanks and began preparing her coffee how she liked it.

Her neck had a kink in it from the harsh stiffness of the sofa's arm as she climbed onto the railing of the porch, the shower Hershell had kindly let her take had no effect in easing it away. Hours had passed since she woke and her nerves were getting to her again.

Sure she trusted Lori and Rick but her suspicions of Shane's story made her on edge.

The rest of the group paused in gathering stones to look up as a loud growling motor sounded in the distance. She sighed and glanced up the drive as the roaring, snarling of the others arriving began to break the peace of the farm.

"How is he?” Dale asked, his eyes glancing at the Grimes in hope.

"He'll pull through, thanks to Hershell and his people - " Lori began.

"And Shane. We'd have lost Carl if not for him." Rick quickly interrupted his wife and smiled weakly. Lori smiled as she accepted a hug from Carol. The whole group let out a collective sigh of relief at the good news.

"Thank God. We were so worried." Carol whispered as she let go of Lori. 

"How'd it happen?" Dale questioned as he approached, worry etched into the lines of his face.

"Hunting accident. That's all... Just a stupid accident." Rick explained, his hands on his hips as he glanced around the gathered group. "Hershell says we can set up camp over there, while Carl recovers. Let's get it started, then we can pay our respects to Otis." Rick sighed quietly, pointing over at a copse of trees near the field. The group nodded and set off on their vehicles.

"You still pissed at me, Firebug?" Phoenix lifted her head towards the filthy hunter and narrowed her eyes, running them up and down his figure. Daryl pulled himself to his full height waiting for her to say anything. She scoffed, shaking her head before following after the rest of the group. 

"Fine! Be that way!" Daryl called after her, her response being to give him the middle finger salute. He sighed deeply, slumping his shoulders once more before climbing back onto his bike and driving down towards the, quickly forming, camp.

"Blessed be God, father of our lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in Grace. Shane, will you speak for Otis?" Hershell said, turning towards the man; his borrowed overalls hanging loosely around his frame as he bowed his head.

"I'm not good at it. I'm sorry."

"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." Patricia tearfully pleaded, her eyes ringed with red.

"Okay. We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. 'We've got to save the boy.' See, that's what he said... He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead... 'Run,' he said. He said, 'I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.' And when I looked back..." Shane hobbled towards the mound of stones, placing his own on top before turning back to the new widow. "If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his." Shane rushed out, his voice shaking slightly. Daryl glanced at Phoenix, who raised an eyebrow and nodded.

At least someone else don't buy Shane's bullshit.

Phoenix sat in the tree overlooking the fire pit dug in the middle of their camp. The off white farmhouse looked slightly hazy in the heat of the day. She was shaded and hidden, safely ensconced in the large tree. Secretly keeping a second watch over the land.

The search for Sophia halted temporarily for a few hours so they could settle in, make camp and get to know the lay of the land better.

Daryl had gone off into the woods to hunt as well as track Sophia earlier that morning and Phoenix could see him now making his way over to the camp. A string of squirrels and rabbits slung around his bicep, his trusty crossbow over his shoulder. Phoenix had the perfect spot to appreciate the fine lines of his muscles as they moved under his shirt. She felt a tingle of desire run through her as the others looked up as Daryl came to a stop.

"Hey Daryl. Where's your shadow?" 

"My shadow? What the hell ya yappin' about?" He snarled, unloading his wares onto the nearby camping chair ready to skin. Shane ducked his head and smirked at Glenn; T-Dog let out a bark of a laugh.

"Come on Daryl, you know..." Lori giggled as he raised his eyebrow. "She's 5'7 without those ridiculous boots, short dark red hair, blond at the roots, looks like one smile from you would make her pass out..." Lori joked at the man, happy that they were safe and could take the time for some gentle ribbing and jokes, Daryl's face flushed slightly and glanced around the group. Everyone wore a similar expression of light hearted amusement. Daryl felt his anger rise up in his veins.

Was it that obvious he liked her?

He had tried to be careful and push her away. For her sake as well as his own. She was way, way too young for him as well as the fallout from the trauma she'd faced since the world went to shit.

"She ain't my shadow." He hissed out, straightening to his full height. The girls around him giggled.

"Gotta admit, she does seem to follow you around a lot." Dale said quietly from atop the RV. "Think she might have a little crush on you son." 

"Shut it old man! It ain't like that." He snarled up at him. "We hunt together. That's it."

"Be serious Daryl... Even you has to have noticed the way she looks at you!" Andrea stated, gesturing with her hand. "You tell her to jump and she would. Girl has it bad for you Dixon."

Phoenix's heart was in her throat. She didn't think anyone had seen her glances and longing looks towards the rough mannered man. She gulped quietly as Daryl scoffed in disbelief. He turned his back to the group and Phoenix sighed.

Maybe he was gonna walk away.

"Ain't my fault girl can't take a hint." Daryl said pointing off in the direction of the house, where her bike was parked. "I know how she looks a' me. Hell, I ain't blind! I ain't interested neither!"

Liar liar pants on fire Merle's voice said in his head you been lookin' at that sweet girl every chance you get. Hell, you even think o' her when you have a lil alone time baby brother. Oh yea, you like lookin at her fine ass body. 'membering her under ya at the CDC.

Phoenix felt her face blush again, but this time in anger.

Not take a hint!? Wasn't that a day or so ago when you had me pinned under you, you fucking dick! Or when you nearly kissed me before that herd rolled by! She thought as she glared down at him.

"Ooo whoo" T-Dog laughed as Daryl got angrier and angrier. "So ya told her, did ya Dixon?"

"Yea I did! I ain't interested in a fat, ugly bitch like her! Prefer a girl who ain't gonna crush me!" He snapped, running his eyes over Andrea to emphasise his statement. That was the last straw for Phoenix, who quickly and quietly climbed around the tree base to a branch behind the redneck as fury and memories surged through her mind.

She leaped down and landed silently before storming off towards her bike parked in front of the farm house; Shane and Rick looking up and watching her with a silent glance of concern between them. She picked her bow up and nocked an arrow as Daryl put one hand against the trunk of the tree, his fingers splayed to bare his weight. She raised the bow up to her eyeline and took aim. Right between his thumb and forefinger. 

Perfect spot.

Shane glanced up and saw her just as she released the arrow, standing in a panic and leaping towards the hunter to tackle him out of the way.

 "Girl is annoyin' as hell, followin' me like a lost -" Daryl let out a yelp as the arrow hit her target mid-sentence. He had been still bad mouthing the girl while she walked away. He leapt away from the tree and Shane, who landed on the floor, hissing at his jolted ankle as Daryl spun towards her.

"HEY DIXON! NEXT TIME, YA START SAYING SHIT ABOUT SOMEONE, MAKE SURE THEY CAN'T HEAR YOU!" She yelled, glaring at the man in anger. Daryl's face contoured into a vicious snarl and Phoenix paled, taking a step back in fear. The murderous look in Daryl's eyes was uncannily similar to another with the same face.

"YOU FUCKIN' BITCH!" He yelled and began to run in her direction. 

Phoenix dropped her compound bow and ran around the edge of the house towards the woods, Daryl chasing after her with his crossbow. She quickly dodged around Hershell, who yelled after her to be more careful and leapt over the short wooden fence at the edge of the property and took off into the woods. Daryl shouting at her to get back there as he ran after her. She ran deeper into the woods, forgetting to keep her steps light, leaving clear imprints of her boots in her wake. She paused and hid behind a tree to catch her breath. Tears began to well in her dark blue eyes as she thought of the horrid things Daryl had been saying.

Was it only because she had been there when he was drunk and wanted a quick fuck? Did that kiss mean fuck all? Did it mean nothing to him? If it did then why did he seem to want to kiss her again on the interstate?

A twig snapped under foot as Daryl grew closer, following the deep boot impressions in the ground. Phoenix peeked around the bark of the tree and hissed in pain as a bolt flew across her cheek, gashing it open. Blood flowed like a river from the wound down her cheek, neck and onto her chest.

"Daryl! Stop! She was angry! Just put the crossbow down and come back to camp! A bit of space and time to cool your heads..." Rick's voice said quietly from where the bolt had come from. Phoenix gingerly touched her cheek to the wound and winced. Dammit Dixon.

"Nah... little bitch needs t' learn not t' shoot a' folk." Daryl growled, his footsteps getting closer to her hiding spot. Taking a chance she darted off again into the trees. "Get back here woman!" He yelled once more, letting loose a bolt - which hit her face a little below the previous wound, and more blood gushed down her cheek as she stumbled and fell. Daryl dropped his crossbow and grabbed her, turning her onto her back as she struggled with his out reaching hands. "Stay still woman!"

"Get off me Dixon!"

"God dammit!" He yelled as he pinned her arms above her head and straddled her waist, trapping her legs with his own, his belt digging into her hip as he pushed his full weight onto her. She tried to free herself but couldn't.

Damn he's strong.. and heavy!

"What you playin' at huh? Firin' at me like that?! Huh?! Stop wigglin'!" Daryl breathed heavily as she wiggled underneath him, unknowing brushing her hips against his crotch over and over. His dick started to react to the sensation and he growled low in his chest.

God, he wanted to kiss her right then.

Phoenix suddenly stopped; eyes wide as she felt something hard and firm against her pelvic bone. Something she knew wasn't Daryl's knife, which was hanging on his right thigh. Her chest heaved as she stared up into Daryl's blue eyes and felt frozen with fear, his own showing anger and a spark of lust. Deep down she knew he wouldn't do that to her but that fear was ingrained deeply. Tears began to flow down her cheeks into her hair and cuts, making them sting and burn with the salty liquid.

"Let me go... please." She whispered, screwing her eyes tightly shut and turning her head. "Daryl... please... Let me go." She choked out, voice croaky from barely held back fear. Daryl realising what was wrong, quickly let go, scooped up his crossbow and stormed off into the woods. Shane and Rick approached her slowly where she lay crying silently.

"Hey." Rick said crouched beside her. He reached his hand out to her shoulder and she flinched before jumping up and running back to camp. Shane nodded after Daryl and began to follow the more volatile member of the group, knowing the girl needed some space.

She reached camp and grabbed her bike and bow, mindless of the injuries she had, blood splattering down her shirt and to the ground in a steady stream as Maggie and Andrea ran up to her.

"Oh my god! What happened to you!?" 

"Phoenix? Talk to us! What happened to your face?" Andrea said, grabbing for her arm, which she dodged. Phoenix growled and snarled at the blond woman as she placed her bow around her back. She kicked her bike into life and sped off towards the little church the group had found, to seek solace in God's embrace.

Daryl stomped through the woods. Anger at himself consuming his mind. Daryl stomped through the woods. Anger at himself consuming his mind.

Idiot his mind told him you know what she's been through and how she reacts to shit like that and still ya made her scared! She ain't never gonna forgive ya. You blew it! She ain't never gonna kiss ya ever again. What were ya thinkin'!? Gettin' turn on with her lyin' under ya when she was pinned? Damn fucked up!

"Daryl! Daryl! Wait!" 

Daryl turned slowly towards the two former police officers as they ran (or in Shane's case, limped) up to him.

"Why? So ya can yell at me!?" He spat, more and more angry with himself. "I didn't mean t' hit her! I wanted t' spook her is all, like she did me" he said ducking his head. "Ain't never hurt a woman before."

Rick looked to Shane for a moment then placed his hand on Daryl's shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"We know man. She didn't want to hurt you either... She has really good aim, could've hurt ya if she wanted but didn't. You know that right?"

"Yea I know... Best shot I've seen" he nodded and looked at Shane. "She's scareda me now, after pinnin' her down like tha'. Ain't gonna wanna be near me... Ya know why..."

Shane nodded sadly as Rick looked confused. Shane nodded in a way to silently tell Rick he'd tell him later. "She's always gonna be jumpy man, going through shit like that. You get that right?" Shane said quietly as the trio headed towards camp slowly. Daryl nodded as the trees thinned and the house came into view. "You can fix this man. I know ya can. Hell, that girl will forgive you even if ya were the devil himself. Just give her that Dixon grin she likes." Shane laughed, reminding Daryl of what started the whole thing in the first place.

"You like her don't ya, Daryl?"

Daryl paused and considered what he should say.

"Dunno what the fuck ya on about." He scoffed at the dark-haired man. Rick snorted quietly; Daryl flipped his head towards the sheriff with narrowed eyes.

"The way you were going on... Can only mean you do. Don't worry, we ain't gonna judge. She's a grown woman... sorta. She can date or whatever with whoever." Rick said, tapping him on the shoulder lightly, climbing the fence into Hershell's land. "Talk to her Daryl. She might surprise you."

Daryl stood there a few minutes longer before shouts of the women reached his ears. Daryl ran towards the group as they all started yelling at Rick and Shane at once. He came to a stop and flinched as Andrea jabbed his chest with her finger.

"YOU! It's all your fault! Isn't it? You hurt her and now she's gone! Like we don't already have a missing girl to find!" Andrea yelled, wincing as Carol glared at her.

"What ya talkin' about woman?!" Shane sighed, running his hand over his bald head.

"Phoenix! She came out those woods all bloodied up! She got her bow and jumped on the bike! She left! And it's all his fault!"

Daryl's face paled and he began pacing, his hands running through his hair as he thought about what he had done.

Of course, she'd run. She didn't feel safe anymore.

Daryl had always said he'd never hurt her. And he'd done it twice and then reminded her of...

Nah. I'm gonna find her, he thought, swinging around and heading to his own bike and throwing his legs over it.

"I'm gonna go find her." He stated as he drove off with only a vague idea where she might have gone. He just hoped she was there and not somewhere else.

The church was silent and thankfully free of walkers when she parked her bike up outside the door. She pulled her rosaries out from under the collar of her shirt as she entered. The dead walkers had attracted flies but she paid them no mind as she slowly made her way down the aisle towards the statue of Christ. She knelt and bowed her head as tears finally fell freely from her face. She screwed her eyes and began to pray. 

"Forgive me father. I've strayed from our holy mission." She whispered to herself in Latin. "I can't do this. I'm not made for this. My heart aches every day for the fallen. And my boys... I don't know where they are! I'm looking, I swear but I can't just leave this group. Daryl... he looks so much like Murph... Is this some sort of test lord? Did you make Daryl look like that to test my resolve to my mission? Or is this a new one? My heart screams out every second for my boys. You know this. Yet... I find myself growing closer towards him. I feel stronger for him every day. You put lustful thoughts into my mind about him. How can I do this when I'm sworn to another!?"

She fingered the sapphire ring around the top of her rosary gently and sobbed, her head in her hands as she cried. Her breaths came in short bursts as her anger rose.

Anger at Daryl.

Anger at the boys.

Anger at herself.

Anger at the world.

And anger at God.

"How can you do this to us?! You, who claims to love all! Yet you drown the world in disease! You leave us blind and lost! And scared witless! This is the last time I'll ever pray to you! Everything I've been through! It's your fault!" She raged as she began to pace, her hands clutching her hair tightly.

"I HATE YOU! I did your work with the twins and this is your thanks!? A plague?! People dying all the time in the most horrid fucking way?! Children being ripped to shreds like paper!? Me being attacked like that?! Being... You aren't the god I was led to believe in... I... I... I can't.... " 

Snarls reached her ears and she spun, seeing a group of walkers stumbling into the church. Dripping gore and blood along the floor. She spun and reached over her shoulder, quickly pulling her bow and reaching for an arrow.

Shit

She paled as her hand brushed the empty space her quiver usually resided. She had forgotten her quiver. Her knife was there but she couldn't take on a group of walkers with her knife alone. Her axe was back at the farm too as well as the guns.

"Fuck my life honestly." She grunted, shuffling and backing away towards the rear of the church. "This is cos I said I hated you ain't it?" She glanced at the statue and sighed. "Sorry JC. Need to use ya..." She stood behind the statue and waited until the first three walkers stood on the other side of it to align just right then pushed with all her might. The statue tilted and fell slowly. Landing with an echoing clang on top of the walkers, trapping them.

The others snarled and drew closer. She leapt over the altar and dived the blade into the walkers' heads over and over. Panting and sweating she sighed. The four remaining walkers had fallen to her anger fairly quickly. She sat against the end of a pew as the three trapped, snarled and reached out towards her. She wiped her face and clanged her head back. Legs stretched out in front of her. The fingers of the nearest walker just wiping over her steel toed boots weakly.

"Ya know. I feel a heck of a lot better for that" she snickered. "Gratuitous violence indeed." 

She smiled, remembering Murphy saying that once while on a mission. She dug deep into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled packet of cigarettes.

"Hope ya don't mind big guy. But I need this bad." She pulled one out and put it to her lips, rolling across slowly as the noise of a car and a bike came closer and closer. She took a deep drag as the engine stopped and doors slammed outside the church, watching the smoke curl in the air silently. From her position she couldn't be seen and was thankful for that.

She heard whispers before steps were heard lightly on the steps. She blew out the smoke and closed her eyes.

"Phoenix?" Andrea said quietly in the doorway. Andrea gasped as she saw the state of the church, knowing the statue had been previously standing the last time the group was inside the building. "Rick. Shane. In here." Rick and Shane, alongside Andrea, entered the church fully. Phoenix sighed.

Of course they'd come after you, she thought, pulling herself to her feet. They see you as a kid remember. If only they knew you were closer to their age than they thought.

The trio let out a sigh and lowered their weapons.

"Come on, back to camp. We got to get those cuts fixed up." Rick said holding a hand out to her as she stepped around the out reaching hands of the walkers. "You best not have got walker blood in there…" 

Phoenix laughed at that and shook her head. Walking past the trio and climbing back onto her bike, ignoring Daryl, who sat on his own outside the church on guard. She started the bike and raced off back to the farm as fast as she dared. Daryl sped alongside her and looked over at her. His heart, heavy with guilt as he saw clearly how he'd cut up her face. He had sworn at a young age never to leave a mark on a woman by his hand or by a weapon and here she was, proof of his failure.

His damning mistake.

He hung his head in shame as she sped up and over took him. Phoenix pulled down the driveway at an alarming speed. The gravel flew up around her with the spinning of the tires. She saw Lori and Glenn waving at her as she approached. She turned onto the grass and leaned sideways on the bike, her left elbow brushing over the grass by mere inches. She skidded to a halt right by her tent and pulled the bike upright; and kicked the stand down before lifting herself from the saddle.

Daryl sped up the drive behind her as did the car with Rick, Shane and Andrea. Phoenix scoffed and flipped the bird towards Daryl as he came closer. Making it clear he was not welcome near her at the moment. Daryl to his credit hung his head and slunk off towards the RV.

Phoenix ducked into her small tent and zipped the door shut before laying down on her sleeping bag and blankets. She threw her clothes off quickly and tossed them into the corner to be washed later, before opening the bottle of water she had, wetting a rag and giving herself a quick and rather useless once over to rid her skin of the worst of the blood.

She pulled on a loose shirt and pants before flopping down once again. She curled up on her side and felt her chest hitch. Her tears came so quickly she wasn't sure where they had come from. She felt fine in the church after taking out the walkers and now here she was a sobbing mess. She cried softly into her pillow and slowly pulled herself together again.

She could feel her cheek burning. It needed some real medical care but she couldn't bring herself to move. No one had bothered to check on her. Footsteps she knew were Daryl's sometimes stopped nearby but never came too close. Content to leave her alone.

Perhaps they thought her dead and didn't want to look.

She didn't care.

She wanted to go to sleep and not wake up.

At same time the idea scared her. It wasn't in her nature. Not really. She had to find her boys and she couldn't do that if she was dead...

Unless they were waiting for her up there…

If she was going up there…

No. Don't think like that she thought, gritting her teeth and standing.

She wasn't a weak pathetic woman. She'd faced down bullets from the baddest men in Boston. She could handle one arsehole redneck. She had handled Murphy MacManus for years after all and she knew very well that he wasn't the most friendliest man when they first met. She sighed and wiped at her face. Her right cheek burned and was feeling even more swollen than her eye had felt when that was first damaged, the swelling from that had only just gone down. The bruises remained, faded to yellows, sickly greens and purples.

Tap tap

She threw her head up towards the tent door and waited.

Tap tap

"What?" She ground out quietly. She heard the shifting of footsteps outside the door and a hushed whispered conversation. Carl glanced up at Daryl, who nodded at the tent.

"Just make sure she's alright." Daryl whispered to the boy.

"Why don't you just ask yourself?" Daryl's eyes shifted away guilty as he bit his lip.

"Just do it kid."

"It's Carl. Can I come in?"

"Who else is with ya?" She questioned, sitting up and pulling on her hoody, using the hood to hide her face. More hushed whispers followed by footsteps walking away. Daryl? Carol?

The footsteps were too light for her to make out who it was exactly.

"Just me. I swear."

"Come on in then. Shouldn't you still be in bed?" The boy unzipped the door and crawled in and closed it behind him.

"Well… yea…" His eyes widened slightly as the hoodie shifted and he saw her face for the first time. "Sorry about your face. Looks sore."

"Hmm" She gave the boy a once over, his face still too pale for her liking. "Your mother is gonna have a fit if she sees you up and about. Does Hershell know?"

"No. I snuck out." He pouted adorably. "But everyone's worried about you. Shane said he was gonna drag you out and to Hershell if you don't come out. Dad said... Nevermind'' he cut himself off at the narrowing of her eyes.

"What did he say?"

"Erm... That if Shane touched you.. That Daryl was gonna make him regret it." The boy said quietly with a chuckle and a blush, looking down at his fingers.

"Huh.... Do me a favour Carl?" She asked, knowing the boy was nowhere near ready to be running about and Lori would definitely try and blame her if she found out he'd been with her and not in bed recovering.

"Sure! Anything to help!" He brightly smiled and she nodded at the pile of laundry in the corner.

"Can you ask your mom and Carol if they'd mind giving those a scrub? I can never get the blood out completely."

That'd probably be a good way to let Lori know her injured kid is running around without telling outright, yea? 

The boy nodded and scooped her clothes up and scrambled out the tent. She huffed and laid back down harshly on her blanket. Throwing an arm over her eyes she took a deep breath, willing the ache in her face and chest away.

Best get out there missus. Don't want Shane and Daryl going at it again. Shane don't play fair you know this she thought sitting slowly and pulling on her biker boots. She crouched through the door and stood fully. She stretched her back, popping it in several places and walked slowly towards the fire in the middle of camp. Her head down, hood hiding her face and the injuries.

Carol and Lori smiled at her as she passed and grabbed a cup of water. She turned and sat on the other side of the tree away from the group, drinking slowly. Lori, Carol and Andrea exchanged looks as the two mothers made up plates for the hungry members of the group.

Lori glared at Daryl, nodding in Phoenix's direction. He shrugged and wandered away towards the stables. Lori put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips in annoyance.

Damn stubborn man she thought approaching Phoenix with a plate quietly. Silly stubborn girl. They need their heads banging together. 

Phoenix had her head leaned back against the rough bark and was enjoying the sun on her face.

"Here sweetie."

Phoenix opened one eye and took the plate from the woman, nodding in thanks. Lori opened her mouth then thought better of it and walked away. She ate quickly before walking over to Shane and Rick.

"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershell questioned, glancing around at the gathered group and frowning at the injuries on the former Saint's face.

"This'll be day four."

"County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations." Maggie said quietly, placing the documents down onto the hood of the car.

"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organised. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."

"Not you. Not today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out. And your ankle... Push it now, you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody. You shouldn't of been running around as it is!" Hershell commanded, pointing at the two former lawmen in turn, his expression leaving no room for arguing.

"Guess it's just me. I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there." Daryl mumbled, his eyes glancing towards Phoenix; who glared at him in anger, still pissed at the hunter for the harsh words two days before and shooting at her. Her cheek was smarting with pain again but she refused to allow anyone close enough to take care of it.

"I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane coincided, his eyes going between the two hunters whose tension could be physically felt.

"All right, tomorrow then. We'll start doing this right."

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them." Shane pointed out.

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp." Hershell's voice held a hint of worry.

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here..." "Look, we're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that. First things first: Set camp fully, get the lay of the land, find Sophia." Rick said quietly, ever the peacemaker.

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to... What happens if we find her and she's bit?" Shane said, his eyes darting to Carol and Lori, who were setting up the tents.

"I agree with Shane. If Sophia has been bitten..." The blond said grimly. 

"Andrea, I swear to god woman if you don't stop that negative fuckin' attitude..." Phoenix growled through her teeth, giving the blond her best death glare. Andrea folded her arms and raised her head, almost as if in challenge. Phoenix took half a step towards her before Shane put his hand on her shoulder, she glanced at him before shrugging him off and folding her arms across her chest. Daryl smirked slightly at the attitude the younger hunter was showing.

"I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."

"You do what has to be done." Rick softly muttered as Hershell and Maggie exchanged a look.

"And her mother? What do you tell her?" Maggie questioned, her eyes going to her father.

"The truth." Andrea said quietly.

"I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying 'til we're at a practice range off site." Shane volunteered, nodding to Rick. "I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience."

"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Rick glanced with Hershell, who nodded. "Thank you."

"That stuff you brought, got more antibiotics, bandages, anything like that?" The farmer's daughter asked, his eyes pointedly looking in Phoenix's direction.

"Just what you've seen." Rick replied as he, too, glanced at Phoenix's blood splattered face.

"We're running short already. I should make a run into town." Maggie volunteered, smiling at the group.

"Not the place Shane went?"

"No, there's a pharmacy just a mile down the road. I've done it before." She smiled, shading her eyes with her hand as the sun burst through the clouds.

"See our man there in the baseball cap? That's Glenn, our go-to-town expert. I'd ask him along just to be cautious."

"Give up our guns?"

"You heard Rick. We're guests here." Shane said as he plopped the sheriff's bag down onto the car hood with a clang.

"And you're okay with it?" Andrea questioned, watching as Phoenix stomped over to them, several of the group's guns in her hands.

"I don't recall being asked. Now lay down your weapon." Shane ordered as Phoenix smirked as she lay the gathered guns into the bag. Her own, found, gun amongst them.

"You may like rolling over, I don't." "And I, for one, definitely ain't giving up my axe or bow." Phoenix muttered as Shane held his hands out for her weapons. "My gun's already in the pile dude."

Like shite will I hand over my true guns. My berettas or the boys' magnums. It's just asking for fucking trouble.

"Look, I have to strip and clean them anyway. You still want to learn?" The man asked, his eyes going between the two women. Phoenix scoffed and waved a hand, shaking her head.

"I learnt in the 90's how to clean a gun and properly at that. Don't need you to teach me sweet fuck all." Phoenix stated, walking away with her bow bouncing lightly on her back as she swung her axe in lazy circles. Shane's eyes narrowed at the girl as he tried to do the maths on whether she was telling the truth.

The 90s? She ain't old enough....

"Go on. All right." Shane snapped out of his thoughts and nodded to the pretty blond in front of him. Shaking his head as he took a seat across from her.

"Sit down. Unload your weapon. Hey... hey... Check the chamber. Pull it back. Push that lever out. It'll slide off. You're halfway there." He instructed as his mind tried to do the maths on the red head's age in the 90s.

Rick sat on the porch steps, twirling his hat in his hands as his eyes flicked around the farm at his group. He stood quickly as Daryl walked by and called out to the man.

"Daryl. You okay on your own?"

"I'm better on my own. I'll be back before dark." He growled as he glanced pointedly towards Phoenix, who was laughing with the farmer's younger daughter as they hung some laundry.

"Hey. We got a base. We can get this search properly organized now." Rick drawled as he approached.

"You got a point or are we just chatting?" He asked, walking back to the leader with a frown.

"My point is, it lets you off the hook. You don't owe us anything."

"My other plans fell through." He grumbled, striding away as his eyes once again went towards the redhead girl, who was beginning to fiddle with her bike.

"We could give you more space. Set up over by the barn."

"No, no need for that. Better you stay close to the house. I don't say this easily, Rick. We don't normally take in strangers. I can't have your people thinking this is permanent. Once you find this girl and your boy's fit for travel, I expect you'll move on. We need to be clear on that." Hershell stated, fear lancing through him at the mention of the barn before waking away. Rick glanced back at the barn, his eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"Hello, farmer's daughter." Glenn whispered, watching after Maggie through the binoculars as she rode her horse, leading one towards the group. Glenn dropped the binoculars as Lori's face appeared, blocking his view of Maggie.

"Hi. Here's your list. And, um, there's one other item. I wrote it down separately. It's personal. If we could be real discreet about that, okay?" Lori fidgeted, handing the Asian man her short list, her eyes flicking to the Brit near them.

"Sure."

"Thank you." Lori breathed a sigh of relief. Lori began to walk away as Glenn read her second list.

"Uh, what is it?"

"Kind of missing the point of the whole discreet thing, Glenn." The tall brunette sighed, turning back to the young man.

"Oh, right. Um... I just need to know where to find it."

"Try the feminine hygiene section." Lori smiled as she walked away. Phoenix sniggered as she walked by, seeing Glenn's bright scarlet face; thinking Lori must be having her monthly.

"Oh. Enough said. Consider it done."

"I'm not weak and I'm not a coward." T-Dog panted quietly as he leaned over the wheelbarrow.

"I never said you were." Dale replied as he sterilised the pump with alcohol.

"No, what I said on the highway... I don't know what that was, where it came from. That wasn't me. If it's okay, I'd rather you never told anybody about that stuff I said." "What stuff? I couldn't get a word out of you all day." Dale smiled at the larger man, his eyes looking over the peaceful silence of the farm land.

"Say, man, you think there's a snowball's chance we'll actually find that little girl?"

"For the first time in my life I'm betting on the snowball." Dale frowned in confusion as he looked at the well covering, a large hole in the centre as if something had fallen through.

"Yeah. Me too."

Dale wandered over to the well. He peered downwards into the well, his face paling at the sight.

"Do whatever we have to. I don't care if I have to comb the woods like Rambo or fetch a pail of water. Everyone kicks in, does their part. Am I right? Do your part, don't complain. That's what I always..." the man said panting as he scooped some water into the ladle. Dale pushed the ladle of water out of T-Dog's hand quickly.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you." Dale explained.

The group approached the well slowly, peering down into its depths as Dale shone a flashlight into it. The bloated, water logged walker snarling and reaching upwards.

"Looks like we've got us a swimmer." Dale quipped.

"How long you think it has been down there?" Glenn questioned, glancing around at the farmer's daughter.

"Long enough to grow gills. And we can't leave it in there. God knows what it's doing to the water." Lori complained, her stomach feeling queasy as she stared down at the slimy looking walker.

"We got to get it out."

"Easy."

"Put a bullet in its head." T-Dog whispered. "I'll get a rope."

"Whoa whoa, guys. No." Maggie argued.

"Why not?" Andrea questioned, her eyes glancing back at the walker.

"It's a good plan." Glenn counted, looking around the group for support. "It's a stupid plan."

"If that thing hasn't contaminated the water yet, blowing its brains out will finish the job." Andrea stated with a grim look crossing her angular features.

"She's right. Can't risk it." Shane reasoned.

"So it has to come out alive?" T-Dog sighed.

"Personally, I'd just say this well was well and truly fucked in the arse with this thing's shit, blood and whatever else and seal it up. Do walkers piss and shit? It's been in there too long already... Oozing guts and pus into it." Phoenix stated, taking a mild satisfaction in Lori and Maggie's faces paling at the red head's descriptive choice of words and turned to Dale with concern across their faces. "But if ya wanna try and get the bastard out, be my guest. I ain't helping though..."

"Always a pleasure having your input Phoenix." Andrea spat, giving the girl a sarcastic smile. Phoenix tilted her head and gave the blond a glare, Dale raising his hand towards her as her fists balled.

"You wanna go blondie? You keep sprouting ya mouth and I'll shut it for ya." Phoenix whispered to herself, glancing down once more at the walker.

"How do we do that?" Glenn questioned finally after a moment of silence. The group flinched as one as an arrow sprang between them and hit the tree, a squirrel implanted onto the steelhead.

"Same way you hunt... Set the trap with summit they find delicious." Phoenix smirked, turning away from the group and striding off towards her kill. Maggie and Lori grimaced as the squirrel splashed blood and soaked the bark of the tree.

"He's not going for it." Dale said as he and Shane guided the chunk of canned meat towards the walker. "Maybe 'cause a canned ham don't kick and scream when you try to eat it." T-Dog whispered, his eyes on the walker.

"He's right. There's a reason the dead didn't come back to life and start raiding our cupboards." Lori stated, crouching at the well's edge.

"It needs to scent the blood pumping most likely. Fresh is always better." Phoenix mumbled, pacing with her bow, her fingers twitching around the leather grip as the group glanced at her.

"We need live bait." Andrea stated, glancing at Glenn. The man's face paled as everyone looked at him. 

"Have I mentioned that I really like your new haircut? You have a nice shaped head." Glenn stammered as Shane tied the rope around him. 

"Don't worry about it, bud. We're gonna get you out of here in one piece." The former deputy said, patting him on the shoulder.

Phoenix laughed lightly at the balls on the Korean as he swung his legs over the side of the well. Glenn was being incredibly brave but his face betrayed his nerves.

"Living piece! That living part is important." Glenn let out a deep breath and nodded quickly. "Nice and slow, please."

"We got you."

"Oh, you people are crazy." Maggie said in disbelief.

"You want to get it out of your well or not?" Shane snapped.

"Give us an eye there, Maggie." Dale asked, grabbing a hold of the rope with the others. Phoenix scoffed as Lori nodded at the rope, questioning whether the girl was really not going to help. Her reply was a set of folded arms and a turning away. Lori shook her head and grabbed the rope. 

"Doing okay?" Maggie questioned as Glenn disappeared into the well. 

"Yup, doing great. Living the dream -" 

"Little lower. Little more." Glenn suddenly let out a shriek as he plummeted quickly closer to the walker as the water spout broke free of its base and began rattling across the ground.

"Get it! Get it! Grab it! Grab it!" T-Dog and Phoenix leapt at it and grabbed it, slowing its halt. T-Dog groaned as he hauled himself backwards, his feet bracing deep into the dirt.

"Get me out of here! Get it off. Get off. Get off! Get me out!" Glenn screamed, batting the walker's snapping teeth away from him.

"Oh my God. Oh my God." Maggie repeated, clutching the edge of the well.

"Guys, get me out!" Glenn shrieked in fright, his voice cracking as he screamed.

"Come on, you guys." Shane panted, pulling on T-Dog's shoulders as the man braced his feet against the edge of the well and held on tightly to the water pump. The group tugged the rope and the man backwards away from the well.

"Get me out! Oh God. Oh God. Oh my God! Get me out of here!"

"Pull! Pull! Pull! Pull! Pull!" Shane hissed as the group pulled the rope. "Let's go, pull."

"Get me out. Get me out."

"Come on. Come on."

"Glenn! Pull him up! Pull him up! Pull him up!"

"Get me out of here!"

"Pull him up. Pull him up. Are you okay?" Lori panted as they all rested on the ground.

"Back to the drawing board." Dale muttered defeatedly. Glenn smirked up at the old man and laughed slightly.

"Says you." Glenn laughed, lifting the rope to show it had tension on it. The rope gave a lurch and Dale quickly grabbed it to stop it falling into the well. The group gathered round the well and clapped the man on the back. He'd successfully snared the bloated walker.

"Come on, guys, pull." T-Dog panted, his arms straining as he tugged. 

"Fuck's sake! Pull!" Phoenix yelled, her boots digging into the ground and leaving deep furrows in their wake.

"Come on, y'all." Shane panted as he pulled. The rope burning into everyone's bare hands.

"Almost there. Come on, pull, s. -" Shane panted, his ankle jarring with pain as his arms strained.

"Come on. Pull!"

"Come on, y'all. Together."

"Almost there. Come on, pull. Keep it coming. Come on, pull." Shane hissed.

"Watch out, dawg. Nice and easy." T-Dog leapt out the way as the head of the walker breached the top of the well.

"Just a little more." Phoenix hissed, her hand beginning to ache again. "Come on, almost there."

"You got to pull it, man." "We are pulling asswipe!" Phoenix growled, her gloves starting to heat up as the rope burned into them.

"It's stuck!" T-Dog yelled panicked as the walker flailed around on the lip of the well wall.

"Come on."

"Come on, pull!"

"Pull!" Andrea hissed, giving it her all at front of the line. Everyone paled as the walker split clear in two and heard the lower half splash back into the water as its torso began trying to crawl towards them. Phoenix gagged as it left a trail of congealing blood in its wake.

"We should seal off this well." Dale nodded, turning away from the well and the half walker on the ground. 

"Yeah, might be a good idea." Shane sighed.

"So what do we do about..." Andrea began before T-Dog viciously took out the walker, working off his anger at the situation.

"Good thing we didn't do anything stupid like shoot it." T-Dog replied sarcastically as he straightened and walked away, Maggie had lowered her head with a grimace of shock on her face.

"We'll come again tomorrow."

"You know there's always the chance..." Carol held her hand up and shook her head lightly.

"Don't. I really don't need to hear it anymore, Andrea. Save the thoughts and prayers." Carol tearfully said. "You never know, Carol." Shane whispered. Carol held up her hand, her eyes misty as she gazed down at the painted sign on the windscreen. "We can hang targets along that fence line there. That rise, it gives a natural backstop."

"I agree. It's a fair place to practice. Trees will shade us as well." Phoenix smiled at the pair, her eyes jumping around for danger.

"It's a good idea."

"Thanks."

"So how long before I can carry?" Andrea asked, her eagerness admirale. Shane chuckled lowly and shook his head.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." He replied.

"I'm not in a very patient frame of mind these days, Shane. You might have noticed that."

"No shit. Look, I ain't worried about you offing yourself, even though you got old Dale pissing his pants lately." Shane laughed lowly, his footsteps faulting in the uneven grass.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. He did come within a minute or so of being blown to hell because of me, to be fair."

"Look, I see you have the desire for gun work and desire will take you a long way. But something you need to know, so file this carefully."

"I'm listening." The blond stated. Phoenix paused at the fence and took aim with her bow, trying to judge the distance better.

"Paper targets is one thing. Easy to hit what ain't moving. But taking down an assailant, one that's trying to kill you, it's different. They say in that kind of situation things slow down. That's crap. They speed up. Adrenalin, ha. It'll cripple you if you let it. You need to use your instinct. You got to rule it out. Because somebody is going to die and you'd better hope that you're the one who's making that decision."

"It's same as hunting. Can't be a pussy about shooting a cute ickle bunny. Or ya don't eat." Phoenix muttered, giving the woman a glance as she strode off along the fence line. "How? I mean, how do you do that? Turn off a switch."

"The switch. The one that makes you scared or angry, sympathetic, whatever. You don't think. You just... you act. 'Cause odds are somebody else is counting on you. That's your partner. That's your friend. There ain't nothing easy about taking a man's life no matter how little value it may have. But when you get it done, you have to forget it."

"I guess I haven't quite got that last part down yet." Andrea whispered. "Speak for yaself. It's kill or be killed. Self defence. Survival. Plain and simple." Phoenix grimly groaned, skipping back to Carol who'd fallen behind slightly.

"But you're getting there?"

"I hope so."

"It's a good spot. It'll do." Shane finally states as he takes a final look around. His mind worked at 100 miles an hour on the puzzle that was the Brit.

"How come you ain't in England?" Phoenix glanced up from her blade at the scraggly teenagers in front of her. Jimmy and Beth stood before her with questioning looks on their faces. Curious as only teenagers and children could be.

"Came over here to study. Was working on an art degree at an Atlanta uni. Wanted to be a special effects artist. Making weapons for films and TV shows, ya know. Even went and studied with a blacksmith" She said quickly. That was her cover story and like hell could she let slip the real reason. No one could know.

"That why ya axe is so flashy? It can't be easy to clean or keep sharp?" Beth asked, pointing to the weapon leaning against her bike. It's quadruple heads glinting slightly in the sun, highlighting the black glass inlays in the blade. Phoenix chuckled and picked it up. Beth and Jimmy took a step back as she swirled it in an arch over her head. She bought it down and split the handle in two, making two shorter dual headed axes.

"Yup... It can be a righ’ fuckin' bitch to clean. But I made this at college, I can take this apart back to the main components and clean it. The blade is simple steel and glass. It's the same as any blade. Can be sharpened just like a buck knife or a regular axe." She explained to the teenagers. Jimmy held his hand out after she'd put it back together into one. She dropped the axe into his hand and barked out a laugh as his arms failed to lift its full weight, Beth biting her lip to not laugh at her boyfriend. "You need to work out more. Fuckin' hell, even Carol can lift that." She said quietly. 

Jimmy's eyes flew to Carol, who smiled their way, not knowing that they were talking about her. Phoenix nodded as she accepted her axe back and walked away as the teenagers began whispering to themselves.

"You need any help, Carol?"

"I'd like that."

Daryl climbed the steps of the RV slowly, his hand behind his back. He paused as he looked around the, now, spotless kitchenette.

"I cleaned up. Wanted it to be nice for her." Carol replied as she sewed a hole in T-Dog's shirt. Phoenix smiled lightly beside her, her own needle speeding through her jacket sleeve.

"For a second I thought I was in the wrong place." He cleared his throat and reached out to put a single white bloom in a brown beer bottle on the side.

"A flower?" Carol questioned, stopping her hands to give the rough man her full attention.

"It's a Cherokee rose. The story is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the trail of tears the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this rose started to grow right where the mothers' tears fell." He glanced at the flower before looking back at the grey haired woman.

"I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers blooming for my brother... But I believe this one, it bloomed for your little girl."

Carol smiled tearfully, her head ducking slightly. Phoenix glanced up at Daryl and gave him a subtle nod of thanks.

"She's gonna really like it in here." He said quietly before leaving.

"He's a good man at heart." Carol whispered to her, swiping away her tears.

"I know." Phoenix breathed, her eyes following Daryl's movements out of the window, feeling a surge of affection towards him. His head turned over his shoulder towards them as Phoenix had to swallow down the lump in her throat.

________________________________________________________________

Phoenix's eyes narrowed as she watched from the treetop as Lori glanced around her before squatting just outside the fence. The woman's actions confusing the girl, Phoenix shuffled forward before her eyebrows shot up recognising the small white stick Lori had in her hands.

No fuckin' way! That ain't…

She jumped out the tree and slowly meandered over to the sobbing brunette.

"You okay?" Lori quickly scrambled to her feet, shoving the stick into the back pocket of her jeans before nodding and walking away.

"I'm here if ya need to talk Lori!" Phoenix called after her as the sun began to go down. Lori turned and stomped up to her, an angry look across her face.

"Do me a favour and mind your own business! You're lucky I haven't told Rick about you encouraging Carl to run about today. He's still recovering! Stay away from my family!" She snapped, glaring at the younger woman.

"I sent him straight t' ya after he came t' me!" Phoenix's voice, taking on a slight Irish lilt in her anger. "I know he's still hurting. I also know you don't mean that. Everything that happened the last few days... You need an outlet for all that hurt." Phoenix said calmly. Her hands gripping her thighs through her jeans pockets, trying to not react at the outburst. Lori ducked her head and nodded.

"I didn't mean it... I'm sorry, I shouldn't be taking it out on you."

"It's okay Lori. I get it. Go on. Carl needs his momma. Go get some rest with ya hubby and kid." Lori smiled weakly and turned. Phoenix's eyes widened as she spotted a familiar blue cap sticking out of the woman's back pocket.

Fuck. A baby is really not what we need right now

#Fera Ingris #PhoenixBWrites #TWD x bds fanfiction #twd fanfiction #twd daryl #twd saints #twd fanfic #daryl dixon x oc #daryl dixon fanfiction #the walking dead fanfic #the walking dead fanfiction #daryl dixon #walking dead fanfic #walking saints #walking dead fanfiction #daryl dixon fanfic #walking saints fanfic #TWD x BDS fanfic #BDS fanfiction #bds fanfic #boondock saints fanfic #boondock saints fanfiction

[twst-headcanon]

Hii 🙃 May I request some headcanons for Ace, Deuce, Idia, Malleus and Leona with a s/o who loves stuffed animals and takes them everywhere?If it’s possible could you do a bonus reactions when their s/o uses the plushie to kiss them? Make it as fluffy as possible please >//< By the way I love your writing 💕

Heeyyyyyy !! So here is (finally !) the answer for your request ! Mod Amy helped me writing this I hope it’ll meet your needs !! It was fun to write and I might have get overboard at moments tehee~~~. Also thank you for your kind words, it makes us more confident and fired up !! Anyway enjoy reading !! ~Mod Ebi

Warning: Sweetness overload (or so I think), if you get cavities we won’t be responsible for it !!

S/O who loves stuffed animal and takes it anywhere.

Ace:

Well he was surprised at first. « Eh ? A stuffed dog ? Isn’t that a bit childish ? » Ace for the love of whoever you want please think before speaking. And the moment he saw their tense face, he immediately told himself « oh shit I fucked up » yes you did.

Poor boy felt really bad and apologies but the more time he spend with the plushie, the more he grew attached to it. “I’ve only had this smol cutie for a day and half. But if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this school and then myself.” They even became besties. « If it wasn’t already yours, I would have already adopt this ball of floff. » Sorry Deuce, your spot was taken.

Ace wouldn’t ever admit it but it brings him comfort to hug it when he sleeps during class using it like a pillow. It’s a wonder how the teachers never scold him about that.

And because he likes to hold it, he uses Grim as an excuse « You already have to hold Grim, let me hold my little puppy ! » and thus, he carries it around on his shoulder -No worries he won’t let it fall when if his life is at stake.-

If you use the plush to kiss him, he’ll give the dog many smooch back ! Until he sees his love a bit envious, that’s when he drown them in kisses too !!

Deuce:

What a cute bunny !! Does it have a name ? For how long did you have it ? He decided that from now on, he’ll to hold it his heart ! It’s just so lovely ! Like them !!

However his lover might not mind the way people talks about them carrying a stuffed animal but he does. He tried to warn them threaten them gently not to, but it didn’t work. What could he do to show some support...

OH !💡! He just got an awesome idea !!

A few days later when Deuce comes to his lover, he shows them a package. “Look at what my mother send me !” It was an old hare plushie. “This was mine when I was still an infant. I asked her to send it back to me. That way not only we match but your plushie won’t be alone anymore !”

Because he thinks his lover and their plushie are alike, he tried to sew a spade pattern under the eye of his hare (at the same place he have his.) Unfortunately he can’t sew for shit and had to ask help from Trey.

Once they use the bunny to kiss Deuce, and he asked he in return “A kiss ? I see then who would you a kiss back from ? Me or my hare ?” Ask for both and both you’ll received !!!

Leona:

At first he didn’t care that much about it. As long as they didn’t ask him to carry this lion plushie, our favorite lion shouldn’t have be bothered about it. Shouldn’t have.

Aha well too bad for him, because a big surprise he never thought would ever happened hit him in the guts.

This plushie was ☆*:.｡ everywhere ｡.:*☆.

During class sitting between him and his chosen one while they brush it.

During lunch “No Leona I won’t feed you, what if I stain my plushie ?”.

During your napping quality time, cuddling the stuffed animal instead of him.

... This has to be a joke. Who’s the boyfriend here ? Leona Kingscholar or that damn plushie ?!

No, wait a minute l! There is NO way his pride would let him to be envious of a fake lion ?!!?!?

BUT THEN HE SAW IT. His lover. Kissing. The toy.

OK THAT’S IT. LEONA HAS ENOUGH.

“Oi ! Stop that right now.” Leona ? What is it why do you look so upset ? “Put this damn plush down. Why do you keep pamper this thing more than me ?”

“... Leona. Love. Are, are you jealous ?” “Haa ?! Of course not what makes you think so ?”

He totally is. You can hear Ruggie wheeze in the background.

“*chuckle* Oh Leona if you were envious you could have say so ! I guess I’ll just have to correct that.” FINALLY.

But the only thing they managed to do, is make the smaller lion kiss him.

“Grrr you got this all wrong. Let me show you what I meant earlier.” And Leona swept them off their feet to kiss them like there is no tomorrow.

Idia:

*Gaaasssp* A STUFFED CAT ! IT LOOKS SO FLUFFY !!!!! HNNNN HIS HEART IS SOFT. Can he hold it too ? Can he pet it ??

He is totally on board with his lover carrying a plushie around. Usually cats flee before him, thanks to it he could try and train how to interact with felines !

Oh ! Maybe he should also tell how admirative he is of them ! Idia is aware that people can be mean, and for his lover to hold always with them without minding other’s thoughts ! How could he not fall even deeper in love ?

Now, your plushie have two person gushing and pampering it ! And when Ortho saw you he couldn’t help but to say : « You looks so cute together !! Like a family !!! If Idia is the father and you the other parent, does that mean I am « ojitan » ? »

Idia.exe has stopped working. ORTHO COULD YOU PLEASE NOT BROKE YOUR BROTHER LIKE THAT ??? HE IS BLUSHING SO MUCH HE LOOKS LIKE OVERHEATED.

-Not that any of you mind that, rather his comments made the both of you really happy-

If they use the plushie to kiss him, Idia will at first blush hard -his hair might as well turn a bit red- but he’ll use the plushie to kiss them back *indirect kiss !!!!!*

If he feels more bold, Idia would even turn it to a snuggle session and kiss them on their head and lips.

Malleus:

He might not show it, but Malleus found that little bat plushie extremely cute ! Unlike some he understands that you like to carry it around, regardless of if it’s a memory, if it helps you relax or even if there is no reason.

If anyone dares to make a bad comment about it, he’ll make sure remember their face. -But let’s face it who would dare to do it knowing that Malleus is their boyfriend.-

In a way to support you, he presents you his tamagotchi !! “Now like this, we know each other’s friends. They could even be friend don’t you think ?”

If you ever need it, Malleus would hold your stuffed bat for you (like if you need to go to the bathroom or whatever.)

During time like this, while you are not aware or watching, he’ll groom and talk softly to it, admiring it like he admire gargoyles.

“My friend I have a request. Please for the times I am not around, could you protect them for me ? Here is a little charm that would guard you if anything happen. I’ll count on you.”

If they use the plushie to kiss Malleus, he’ll chuckle and gently kiss you back. “Fufu did you perhaps wanted to start a Chinese whisper game ? Every loving gesture, I’ll lavish it a hundred times more back to you.”

((So I am not sure about the name “Chinese whisper game”, it’s called “téléphone arabe” in french but I’m not sure if I got the right translation here.))

#twisted wonderland headcanon #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland #twst headcanon #twst x reader #twst imagines #twst #ace trappola #ace trappola x reader #deuce spade #deuce spade x reader #leona kingscholar #leona kingscholar x reader #idia shroud #idia shroud x reader #malleus draconia #malleus draconia x reader #leona is a big spoiled needy cat nothing can convince me otherwise #also idia and cats cracks me up everytime #but more seriously #he have a beautiful smile I wish we could see it more often #sorry for the wait #hope it was fluffy enough #I also need more Malleus and tamagotchi content #may I add that bat are cute #Friendship ended with Deuce now my best friend is a dog plushie - by Ace Trappola

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic Heroes: Sweet or Shite? - Part 1: SILVER

There are some heroes I like. And there are some heroes I don’t like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That’s where this comes in.

This is a series in which I go into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the heroes in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves over the course of time. Two things to keep in mind:

1. These reviews will be focusing mainly on game portrayals. Though alternate media will occasionally be mentioned, it'll be for the sake of adding onto a point if a portrayal is similar enough, or to compare and contrast if a portrayal is different enough.

2. These are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don’t bite. :>

Anyhow, for today’s installment, I decided to challenge myself by starting off with a complicated one. Born from the future, and never content to stay put in said future, it's the saviour whose debut came from the most unfortunate game... Silver the Hedgehog.

The Gist: Once upon a time, in the distant future, there was an idealistic young hedgehog named Silver, gifted with the power of telekinesis for reasons unknown. With his amazing potential, he was truly destined for a wonderful, prosperous li-just kidding, it was shit.

“All two of us.”

For as long as he knew, the world was forever plagued by Iblis, the terrible Flames of Disaster. Cities stood in ruin, flames stood high, the floor was lava... it was a bitter life to be certain, all thanks to Iblis. Not even defeating the titular creature did much good, since it would simply come back to be a shitty boss fight another day. What was he - and his friend, Blaze, a character we definitely never saw before and definitely didn't have a completely different backstory before - to do?

Trust the first person he sees, of course. Even if they look like they might be related to the same Flames of Disaster that he fights so constantly.

If he had eyelids, he'd be winking at the camera.

This mysterious fellow, Mephiles the Dark, informed Silver that if he were to wipe out Iblis for real, he would need to take a trip into the past, and eliminate the root of the problem... Sonic the Hedgehog? That was what Mephiles claimed, yes. What was his proof? There was no proof.

That was good enough for Silver.

Oh look, it's Fleetway Sonic.

After an elaborate series of events, which should sound exciting but really isn't because it was just Silver going “Iblis Trigger grrr” in varying tones of voice, he was finally able to corner the blue hedgehog... twice! And despite having less fighting know-how than the hero who saved the world plenty of times, he effortlessly came close to killing the blue hedgehog... twice!

This looks like a jobbing for...

Why twice? The first time was halted by Sonic's friend Amy Rose, who Silver had met beforehand after she mistook him for Sonic, an understandable mistake that even the keenest of eyes would be forgiven for making.

The second time was also interrupted, this time by Shadow the Hedgehog. There's only room for one controversial non-blue male hedgehog in this franchise, sonny boy. Actually, his reasons were more benevolent than that: he wanted to show Silver the truth about what was going on, by time travelling to the incident that gave birth to Iblis. Why was one able to to this, so long as more than one Chaos Emerald was present? No one knew.

That was good enough for Silver.

“I challenge you to a dumb-off.”

As it turned out, Iblis was one half of a sun god called Solaris, the other half being the aforementioned Mephiles. The Duke of Soleanna wanted to reunite with his late wife by harnessing Solaris' power, which succeeded from a certain point of view since he's dead now too. The resulting blunder split Solaris into two halves. One half was all brawn, with little capacity for intelligence. The other half was Iblis.

Understanding the error of his ways, and after making peace with Sonic, Silver went back to the future to try something different, which consisted of doing the same thing he always did. Luckily for him, the script decided it would work this time, albeit at the cost of Blaze sacrificing herself... Maybe? Sort of? It’s not entirely clear what happened to her, and it’s not like this was the last we ever saw of her.

~La laaaaaa, la laaaaaa, la laaaaaa, heading to a better game, la laaaaaa~

But ohhhhh nooooo, turns out THAT didn't solve anything either! In the present, Sonic was killed by Mephiles, after the latter realised he should probably do that already if he wanted to make any progress at all with his plan. This incident led to Iblis being brought into the present, and they fused to become the omnipotent Solaris once more. Such power... such divinity... such devastation...

Actually, he was really easy. The antlion from Underground Zone was harder.

Manchild robots - 1, god of time - 0.

With their super forms in tow, Silver, Shadow, and the revived Sonic joined forces to defeat Solaris, with Sonic in particular going the extra step in retconning Solaris out of existence entirely. Since time itself reset, meaning Iblis was no longer a memory, Silver's timeline was given a second chance. What was he to look forward to in this new, promising future?

Shit.

The Design: Let's take a closer look at Silver's appearance, shall we?

Or rather, a certain thing that's wrong with it.

He's holding up fifteen fingers.

Yes, you all know what I'm pointing to: the hairstyle. Let it be known that I'm very aware of the intention behind this design choice. It's supposed to be based on the Japanese Red Maple Leaf, which holds a lot of relevant symbolism for Silver's character. This is a fine idea in theory, and I can respect the intent and the creativity.

But here's the thing: If it looks like a ganja leaf, people are going to say it looks like a ganja leaf. I know some fans will gnash their teeth at me saying this, but the fact of the matter is that intentions and ideas, no matter how good they may be on paper, don't always translate well into the final product. Unleashed Secret Rings Black Knight Sonic '06 in general is certainly no stranger to showcasing examples of that, and Silver's hairstyle is no exception. There are ways to incorporate symbolism in a character’s design without making them look like meme bait in the process, and no amount of “umm ackshually” will change that, I'm afraid.

That said, there's another reason why I'm staying clean of Silver marijuana: it doesn't work for a hedgehog character. With the other hedgehogs, their hairstyles are simple and get the point across: Sonic's goes without saying, Shadow's is more angular to befit a slightly rougher hero, and Amy's is a cute bob cut of sorts. But Silver? Even without the ganja, you've still got the two tentacles making up the back of his head.

I'd rather not be reminded of hentai quills, thanks.

“I thought Crusher-san would like it :’(”

I do find it hilarious that they went through numerous designs for Silver, and this was what they chose to go with. Some of his prototype designs may have fared better had any of them been used instead... but we didn't end up with any of those ones. We ended up with this one, therefore I'm judging this one.

But don’t worry, it’s not all bad with Silver...

The Personality: As far as actual character goes, Silver's personality is as straightfoward as most characters in the series, yet it's no less interesting, because it took a while for it to fully evolve to what it currently is. The seeds of his character - a good-natured yet awkward and rather insecure kind of guy, who doesn't fully understand how the present time works - have always been there, but it was often downplayed in earlier titles due to him being hungry for Iblis Trigger blood... or being an arsehole for no reason.

Although to be fair, everyone in Rivals is an arsehole for no reason.

Eventually though, after the writers gave him a Snickers, these traits got more opportunity to shine. Mostly in side media admittedly, but it's been noted in the games as well. With no Iblis to angst over, he's proven to be a surprisingly bubbly chap, who just wants to know how you're all doing, fellow anthro kids. And whereas his naivety was previously used for intended tragedy to benefit the evil plan of a guy who thought taking the -istoph- out of Mephistopheles would make him inconspicuous, now it's been used for a bunch of low-key contexts that do a much better job at endearing him to the player.

Finally, something I can relate to.

Hell, he even seems to have learned from the Mephiles incident, as he was quick to make it clear to the next shadowy deep-voiced anthro with demonic eyes he met that he wasn't gonna fall for any of them fibs no more, ya hear?

“YouTube and Twitter don’t count.”

All in all, it works well enough, in my opinion. His personality does pave the way for some funny and wholesome moments, and since they’re no longer trying to build him up like he’s Shadow 2.0, he's nowhere near as much of a tool as he was before. So I guess you could say... I like it?

Does this mean I can say that I like the character as a whole then, design and '06-induced idiocy aside?

Well, not quite...

The Execution: This is where the complication part comes into play. We know now that I like his personality, not so much his design, but that's only the half of it. It would be more accurate to say that I like his personality... and dislike everything else.

Aside from that, obviously.

For starters, the creation process for his character and story was summed up with, in their own words, “Think Trunks from Dragon Ball Z”. So he comes off as rather lazy and uninspired. Now I'm not expecting my Sonic characters to be 100% unique, there's always going to be similarities to other franchises no matter what you do, even if subconsciously or by complete coincidence. Taking inspiration in itself is no big deal at all.

But... was that it? Copying a DBZ character to such a blatant extent? Was there no other thought put into it?

Naturally, this ties into an overarching problem: the franchise's mid-00's habit of trying way too hard to be the anthro Dragon Ball Z. Sonic has had DBZ influences since the early days, with the Chaos Emeralds and Super Sonic, but it didn't assimilate itself into every waking aspect of his universe. It was merely an additional flavor that added to the complete package, in the same way that a Death Star with a moustache didn't mean the franchise was suddenly Star Wars the Hedgehog.

But come the turn of the millenium, nearly every main title in the series ended with Super Sonic and/or Super Shadow saving the day, while everyone else either stood around being useless, or only helping in ways that no one actually cares about. Including the in-universe President apparently, since only Sonic and Shadow were featured in the photo on his desk.

Amy smiled. “I guess the rest of us can go fuck ourselves, huh?”

This reached its peak with - of course - Sonic '06, with Silver in particular being an obvious result of this then-ongoing trend. And yes, it would be unfair to use him as a scapegoat, considering it was already a problem long before he turned up. But moreso than even Shadow, it's an era that Silver is forever a relic of, for better or for worse.

But it doesn't stop there. Since Silver is considered a mainstay character, his gimmick of being from the future also creates problems of its own, because in order for him to make further appearances, he keeps turning up for little explained reason, and thus he suffers the Deadly Six problem of being shoved into places where he doesn't belong, for fanservice's own sake. Take Sonic Colours DS for example, where he went back in time JUST to check out Eggman's theme park... Okay...?

On one hand, I’d visit it too, since it's made by Eggman. On the other hand, I’d stay clear of it, since it's made by Eggman.

And when there IS a justification with more weight to it? It's just recycling the '06 routine of trying to avert his ruined future, which isn't much better. The cause may differ depending on the story, but if his future is a permanent shitehole for one reason or another, he might as well cut out the middle man and stay in the present altogether, since that's where his friends are anyway. But they seem intent on not doing that, despite the future schtick being a noose around his neck at this point.

In hindsight, maybe this was a hint to how the rest of the arc would turn out.

And then there's his dynamic with a certain purple cat... No, not Big. The other one.

“I’m here, by the way.”

Simply put: I don't like this dynamic. At all. Or rather, I don't like how they keep milking it. Blaze's backstory was radically changed to justify her presence in Silver's future, and it really shows, since she barely even shows up half the time, as if the developers themselves forgot she was in the game. But her backstory has since been restored to her original alternate dimension interpretation, so hanging around with the grey hedgehog is all good now, right?

To be brutally honest, I probably wouldn't care for this dynamic regardless. But I would be more willing to tolerate it, and I'd refrain from groaning every time they're seen together... if they weren't intent on playing it up so much in spite of '06 being wiped out, sometimes with a bit of commentary involving their thoughts and memories, which only succeeds at making things more confusing. If Blaze is around, Silver will be nearby, and if he's not at first, he will be soon enough. This franchise does have a problem in general with restricting who's allowed to interact with who (I personally believe Sonic Heroes may have led to this, or at least it accelerated it), but I'd argue it's at its most insufferable here, with Blaze's potential and her entire world taking a backseat to being the sidekick of Ganja Man.

And you might say “Well, it's part of the franchise now, so you'll just have to accept it”. To which I ask: Have you accepted Two Worlds? Have you accepted Solo Sonica? Have you accepted Sonic's friends not doing much as of late?

Yeah. That's what I thought. “It’s just how it is” doesn’t mean you can’t criticise it.

Meanwhile, Marine is lucky enough to get so much as a shout out.

So yeah, I have quite an extensive list of grievances involving poor Silver. But... very little of it has to do with him, right? They're all indirect problems that he just so happens to be linked to, as opposed to someone like Chris Thorndyke, who is genuinely a shit character through and through. This is more comparable to Tails being bitchy in Lost World, or Amy being manipulative in Chronicles, or Sonic being a smug dumbass in IDW, or Shadow not wearing a Hawaiian shirt in Boom. Frustrating, regrettable, but not really the character's own fault.

Yet even after all that, there's one last kick in the teeth... How do you fix all this? And how do you fix it when he's since gained a sizable fandom, many of whom like him for these very attributes? If you leave it as it is, you're stuck with this big, awkward mess that everyone pretends to ignore. If you try to do something about it, you'll get complaints about disrespecting the True Silver Spirit, and you’ll get questions about why you didn't create a new character instead... And if you did use a new character for the sake of a clean slate, THEN you'd get complaints about not using Silver.

It's a tough call to be sure, and it's such a shame because like I said, I do appreciate his personality, so I can't say he's bad outright. But with all this... clutter, I can only put him in the average category. So, in he goes.

Crusher Gives Silver a: Thumbs Sideways!

Well, I'm glad this one's out of the way. Putting my thoughts into words with Silver was harder than it should have been. I do slightly regret starting this series off on a rather downer note, but rest assured, it's a lot more positive from this point onwards, since while I have higher praise for some heroes more than others, the hero characters as a whole fare a lot better than the majority of villains not named Eggman.

I guess you could say that I hope to show why Sonic's friends aren't as shitty as the haters would suggest. ;)

#Sonic Heroes: Sweet or Shite? #Opinion #Sonic the Hedgehog #Silver the Hedgehog

[lady-divine-writes]

12 Days of Blasphemy: Spices (Rated NC17)

Summary: In an attempt to help a group of refugees escape Baghdad, Aziraphale roams the local marketplace, bartering for everything his has of value to help them. Crowley finds him and offers him something he can use as currency, but Aziraphale refuses to just take it, afraid of what Hell might do if they found out Crowley helped them. So Aziraphale offers a trade, something very personal for the contents of Crowley's bag. 

And that's when they get stuck.  (2739 words)

Notes: Written for the '12 Days of Blasphemy' prompt 'spices'. I jumped ahead. Sue me XD Warning for wing grooming that turns into foreplay, a semi-public hand job that turns into a sort of blow job at the end, and come swallowing. Hurrah.

Read on AO3.

A bazaar in Baghdad, 816 AD

“Hello, Aziraphale.”

Aziraphale, hiding in the shelter of a three-walled, abandoned stall, jumps near out of his flesh, the voice materializing behind his left ear too close for comfort. But he knows that voice. It’s familiar, one that soothes away the goosebumps on his skin, the prickling hairs at the nape of his neck.

“Crowley?” Aziraphale turns to meet the grinning face of the demon who snuck up on him. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you. Seems I found you.”

“Yes, well, how escapes me.”

“I’ve heard you’ve been all over this marketplace trying to sell a few choice items – camel for one. Not being too secret about it either.”

Aziraphale’s brow crinkles. “If I’m trying to sell a camel, why would I want to keep it a secret?”

“Because this isn’t the type of place where nice people come out in one piece.” Crowley creeps closer, crowding Aziraphale against the farthest of the hard stone walls. “And you … you usually aren’t this reckless. So what gives?”

“I have my reasons,” Aziraphale replies in a deceptively steady voice. But Crowley can tell from the way Aziraphale pats the air while he talks, he’s nervous.

Not just. He’s terrified.

Crowley plays off that, leans closer, makes Aziraphale uncomfortable. Crowley wants him to be. He wants him to realize how stupidly he’s behaving, putting himself in danger. But he’s also hiding Aziraphale from passersby, or any of the number of cut throats whose attentions he’s garnered by his inquiries.

“Who are they?” Crowley asks.

Aziraphale draws back, tries to put space between them. But there’s nowhere for him to go, so he pulls himself up straight in defense. “Why would I tell you?”

“Because maybe I can help you.”

“Can I trust you?”

“Do you have a choice?”

Aziraphale rolls his eyes, but they snap immediately back to Crowley’s face. “I think that answers my question.”

“Look, my side has no interest in your refugees, but there’s a whole legion of soldiers and bounty hunters who do. So stop being so stubborn and let me help you!”

“And how do you intend on helping me? Hmm? Heaven won’t answer my missives so I have to use my miracles sparingly. Apparently I’ve already failed at keeping a low profile so gold is out of the question. And I have positively no idea what else I can use around here for currency.”

Crowley moves off but not too far. He reaches underneath his long shirt, fiddling at the waist of his pants, and pulls out a sack tied tight at the top with a leather strap. “Here. Take this.”

“I already told you, no gold …”

“This isn’t gold!” Crowley hisses, dropping his voice. “What I’m carrying here will feed your travelers for weeks. It’ll ensure you safe passage. It’ll keep them alive, Aziraphale. And you can keep your camel. One of your women is pregnant, is she not?”

Aziraphale’s jaw goes slack. He had only found out himself from the young lady a few nights ago. “How … how did you …?”

“There’s cinnamon, turmeric, salt, and saffron,” Crowley continues, dodging the obvious question. “Use the saffron carefully. It’s the rarest, so it’ll fetch the highest price, but it might get you some unwanted fans, especially in this town. By the way, if you want my advice … don’t let the sun set on you here.”

Aziraphale swallows, the call back to his own grave words from Eden sending a chill down his spine so fierce that, even in the stifling heat, he wraps his jacket tight around himself. Aziraphale risks a glance at the bag, then up at the demon holding it. “These must have been hard to come by. What do I need to give you for them?”

“Why do you need to give me anything for them?” Crowley growls. “Why can’t you just take them!?”

“That’s not the way things are usually done between our sides. If Hell finds out, I’m not certain they would approve. I don’t … I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Then steal them! Get the upper hand on me!” Crowley puts the sack down on a low ledge and gestures to it, invites Aziraphale to take it. When Aziraphale doesn’t move, Crowley turns his back, counts to five. But when he looks around again, the sack is still there, Aziraphale staring at him perplexed. Crowley snarls in frustration. “Or take it by force!”

Aziraphale jerks, appalled. “Force?”

“Yes! You can hit me! Hard! Across the face! Shove me to the ground, grab them, and run! Just do it, Aziraphale! Do something! You’re running out of time!”

That chill returns. Aziraphale is curious how Crowley knows, what Crowley knows, but it doesn’t sway him. “I can’t do that! I don’t condone violence!”

“Grrr! Why do you need to make things so difficult!?”

“Maybe I can trade for the things I need!”

“You have nothing to trade, Aziraphale! That’s your problem! Nothing of value!”

“Nothing of value to anyone else, but … maybe of value to you?” Aziraphale’s eyes become rounder, more hopeful – wide blue eyes that successfully halt every coherent thought in Crowley’s brain. Is Aziraphale suggesting what Crowley thinks he’s suggesting? Is he offering himself to Crowley in exchange for the sack of spices?

How did he come up with that idea?

Crowley would jump at it, he acknowledges privately and with disgust. God above, would he jump at it! He’d despise himself for doing it out of trade but he’d do it nonetheless because in the end, he’d still be helping Aziraphale.

Right?

It would probably discorporate Crowley, but it would be no less than he deserved.

But they can’t because, among other things, Aziraphale is out of time! Crowley knows it.

“I want …” Crowley starts without knowing where that request will end up.

“Yes?”

“… a feather.”

Aziraphale stares at him a moment, confused. “A feather?”

“Yes.”

More staring, deeper confusion. “One of my feathers?”

“No, an albatross feather – yes, Aziraphale! One of your feathers!”

“Why on Earth would you want …?”

“Because an angel’s feather is a rare commodity! It might give me clout in Hell!”

Aziraphale stares longer at his exasperated companion, considering Crowley’s offer like he has all the time in the world. “I guess that makes sense,” he mutters.

“Yes. Yes, it does.” Crowley tosses an anxious glance over his shoulder and out the thin fabric curtain that replaces the one absent wall in the stall. “So hurry it up and give it to me so you can be on your way!”

“Fine. All right. Just don’t … don’t rush me.”

“Gah!” Crowley expels, his head ready to explode. “Holy … frickin’ … mother of … gah!”

The shoulders of Aziraphale’s shirt begin to widen and the seams to tear. Starting with the tips, his wings extend, sliding through the holes, unfurling straight. They’re a little mussed from non-use, but they shine brilliantly against the sienna walls, in contrast to the hard-packed brown sand.

They take Crowley’s breath away.

Aziraphale gives them a few hard flaps. Two gazes dart down, both angel and demon scanning the ground for stragglers, but they see nothing. Aziraphale gives his wings a shake, but not a single feather falls off.

“I don’t get it,” Aziraphale murmurs, reaching out to touch his feathers, give the ones within reach a tug. “I haven’t opened up my wings in centuries! You’d think one or two would be loose.”

“The way they look, you’d think they’d be shedding like crazy.”

Aziraphale frowns. “Insults are not necessary, you know.”

“Don’t rip them out!” Crowley says when Aziraphale grabs one and yanks so hard, it brings sympathetic tears to Crowley’s eyes. “You need to relax. Coax them out.”

“I’m sorry, but the situation we’re in at present isn’t really conducive to relaxation!”

“Can I help you?”

“I suppose you’d better.”

“Can I touch you?”

Aziraphale looks into Crowley’s eyes – slit yellow eyes shimmering in the diffused afternoon light, intense in their sincerity. Why this demon has chosen to help him, Aziraphale may never understand. He shouldn’t think it common for demons to help angels and yet an Arrangement they have made. Crowley was an angel once, as were all demons. But he acts less like a demon than any demon Aziraphale has ever met.

Looks less like one, too, but that’s neither here nor there.

Aziraphale opens his mouth to answer, but inconveniently, his voice seems to have gone into hiding. So he nods.

Crowley reaches out and touches Aziraphale’s wings, both at the same time, smoothing the feathers with long strokes down, wiggling the errant ones, then sliding them back into place when they refuse to yield. From time to time, he gives a few contenders a tug, but not hard enough to hurt. His warm, strong hands on Aziraphale’s wings make the angel’s eyelids flutter shut. No one else has ever touched his wings before. No one besides him grooms them, and that’s rare as of late.

In short, his wings feel neglected.

As do their owner.

Crowley’s eyes land on Aziraphale’s face when his eyelids drift shut and don’t leave. Aziraphale breathes in through his nose and out through his mouth, sighing so deeply and contented that it should forgive a hundred of Crowley’s sins easily. Crowley tries removing feather after feather, but none will dislodge. His hands wander up to Aziraphale’s shoulders and start kneading the muscles there.

“You’re tense, angel,” he whispers. “Too tense. It’s not fair. You shouldn’t be tasked with this. And no help from Heaven? What do they expect you to do?”

“Mmm … don’t tempt me,” Aziraphale replies through heavy lips.

“I would never,” Crowley lies since the thought had crossed his mind. Tempting Aziraphale to relax enough for him to get a feather would be a simple thing. For that matter, he could tempt him into taking the spices and leaving with none of this ridiculous pretense slowing him down. But he can’t. He’d lose Aziraphale’s trust, then the angel might never speak to him again.

A friendship with an angel should only be worth what said angel can do for him.

But that’s not what Aziraphale’s friendship means to Crowley.

It means so much more.

As Crowley massages, Aziraphale’s wings shudder. From the corner of his eye, he sees one feather shift out of place. It doesn’t fall, but a tug tells Crowley that it’s on its way, ready to come out any minute.

He just needs to figure out how to help it along.

“I … I’m going to try something,” Crowley says, hands traveling down the front of Aziraphale’s shirt and around to his sides. “But I need you to …”

“To trust you?”

“Yes,” Crowley breathes, working down Aziraphale’s body, manipulating stiff muscles along the way. With each knot he unravels, the feather twitches, but it holds fast. He runs his fingers through Aziraphale’s hair, rubs small circles over his temples. He whispers more sweet nothings, each balancing on the razor’s edge of temptation but not quite tipping over.

When he runs out of ideas and kisses Aziraphale on the mouth, puts a hand on his cheek to keep him grounded, he feels they’ve gone a step back. Aziraphale’s shoulders go rigid again, his ab muscles locked as if he’s preparing to bolt. But after a beat, he reciprocates with a hand to Crowley’s neck and a whimper so sweet, it melts Crowley to the core. It spurs him on, makes him act irrationally.

Act out fantasies he never thought he’d own up to.

He positions his body against Aziraphale’s to keep him shielded, keep him trapped. Then slowly, ever so slowly, he lowers the waistband to Aziraphale’s pants.

“Is this all right?” he whispers because no matter what excuse he can give to Aziraphale and to himself, he doesn’t want to force him. He wants to help him, but greater good be damned. He’s not going to sacrifice their relationship to fulfill his own selfish needs.

He’s not God.

Crowley kisses Aziraphale again and again, one hand exploring blindly and finding the sensitive skin between Aziraphale’s legs, soft curls, and a wholly unexpected erection. Crowley winds his fingers around it, stroking so gently it’s barely a touch. Aziraphale gasps, his head falls back, but Crowley doesn’t stop kissing, planting a winding trail of them from his chin to his neck, stopping at the hollow to lick, and then traveling up again.

Crowley’s grip closes in a bit, then a bit more, his hand moving faster when Aziraphale’s gasps turn into moans. His wings shiver, plastered back against the dirty wall, making Aziraphale look like a butterfly pinned in the shadowbox of a macabre collection, and not even Crowley’s collection.

Hell’s collection if Crowley isn’t careful.

And that’s when reality hits him.

He’s going too far.

Crowley had only intended on loosening Aziraphale up, make his feathers more pliant. But Aziraphale is a hair’s breath from coming in this stall, pressed up against a filthy wall, blocked from the eyes of foot traffic by a thin curtain and Crowley’s body. With regret Crowley knows he’s doing Aziraphale a huge disservice.

Aziraphale deserves better.

“Tell me to stop, Aziraphale,” Crowley whispers though he can’t make his hand follow his own command. “Demand it. Tell me this is as far as you’re willing to go.”

“I---I can’t,” Aziraphale stammers, whining with the fear that Crowley might stop, might leave him there wanting, aching. “Please! Don’t stop! Don’t … for the love of …”

“I would never.” Crowley cuts him off before he can invoke Her name, the words rising in his throat and spilling from his tongue without any thought, without any effort.

And that’s when he knows he’s done for.

His free will, which he’s not sure he ever had anyway, has been forfeited, since he’ll never be able to deny this angel anything.

Crowley strokes Aziraphale’s feathers as he strokes his cock, the combination of sensations buckling Aziraphale’s knees. But Crowley’s body pressed against his keeps him standing. Aziraphale may be floating; the angel isn’t sure. If he is, he has no part in it. He feels himself rising, inside and out, the only thing anchoring him to earth, Crowley’s hands - fondling, caressing.

“Yes,” Aziraphale moans, back arched, face tilted to the sky. “Oh, Crowley! Yes … yes …” Aziraphale reaches out to hold Crowley, pull him near, feel at one with him. Aziraphale wants him so badly it’s become a thorn in his brain, plaguing him daily, begging to be plucked out.

But for the life of him, he leaves it. Lets it fester.

In Crowley’s head, a dozen realizations hit him at once, but the two most pressing are these:

Firstly, they’ve been found out. Here in this stall. Which means the discovery of Aziraphale’s little troupe isn’t far behind. No longer is Aziraphale out of time. The time he’s using is borrowed.

Secondly, Aziraphale is coming, Crowley feels it in the throbbing against his palm, the racing of Aziraphale’s heart marking time against Crowley’s chest, the stuttering of the angel’s hips, the choked off pleas that are a mixture of yes and oh and (spectacularly) his name.

“Crowley … Crowley … oh, Crowley …”

The demon inside him wants a trophy. Something to remember this triumph by. It may be something Crowley will hate himself over later but that’s such a grey area.

Nothing big. Nothing celestial.

Just a taste.

Reluctantly, he pulls out of Aziraphale’s grasp, bends down, and puts his mouth over Aziraphale’s cock as he comes.

Samples him for himself.

Doesn’t relinquish a single drop.

His eyes roll back and his body seizes, filled to bursting with white-hot power.

Aziraphale tastes like fire.

He tastes like fury.

He tastes like grace.

It’s glorious.

There’s barely a pinch when the feather comes free from Aziraphale’s wing, but with his orgasm spiraling through him, it doesn’t register at all. He could have had his entire wing torn off. He probably wouldn’t have felt a thing.

What does register is Crowley’s soft kiss to his cheek, his whispered, “Goodbye, angel. Good luck,” his body disappearing, and his heat bleeding away. When Aziraphale opens his eyes, his wings have tucked themselves behind him, the sack of spices still sitting on the ledge beside him.

And Crowley is gone.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #12 days of blasphemy #crowley x aziraphale #aziraphale x crowley #frankie writes

[thetailorofenbizaka]

Chapter 1–The Tale of the Scissors, Act 2: Exchange; Scene 2

The Tailor of Enbizaka, pages 32-42

For the Okuto family, Kayo was an illegitimate child.

Her mother Kagura had already been disinherited when she ran off with a man, but even so that didn’t change the fact that Kayo was related to the family.

Perhaps because he took pity on her for having no other family of her own, or perhaps because he feared the possibility of her spreading rumors about the Okuto family in her mentally ill state, her grandfather Okuto Gato had taken responsibility for her.

However, that did not mean that Kayo had been restored as a member of the Okuto family.

As soon as Kayo had recovered, she would be made to leave the house again—that was the pronouncement that Gato himself made to those around them.

The one who took care of Kayo while she was living in the Okuto mansion was a young servant girl named Tsukimoto Bufuko.

She had pretty blonde hair and blue eyes, and by her appearance she looked to be a pure foreigner. Yet, as far as one could guess from her peculiar name, there might have been some Jakokuan genes mixed in there somewhere.

It seemed she also had skill as a doctor.

Her knowledge was to the degree that even Mei’s father, a doctor himself, was in awe of her. It was thanks to her devoted care that as the four years passed Kayo’s burn scars had gotten to where they were hardly noticeable at all.

“My my, I’m impressed. I honestly didn’t think she would rebound this much,” Mei’s father was voicing in surprise, having dropped by to make a house call. “The patient does have miraculous recovery ability, but there is a great deal that’s due to your medical expertise, Bufuko-san. Where did you gain your knowledge?”

Praised by the doctor, Bufuko replied, acting a little bit bashful, “You’re too kind.  I was actually raised from a family line of doctors. So I had that influence…”

“Ah, so you’re similar to my own Mei in that regard, hm? Was your father a foreigner?”

“Yes. Lucifenian.”

“Lucifenia…So, from the Evillious region. My late wife was also from around that area.”

“Is that so?”

“I have heard that the Evillious region is far more medically advanced than Jakoku. I myself would love the chance to study their expertise, but…”

“It’s too bad cultural exchanges with foreign countries is forbidden in Jakoku, outside of here in the Izami domain where Onigashima is.”

“People like me still have opportunities to gain some foreign medical knowledge by living in Onigashima, but it’s far far less than you have, Bufuko-san—”

Bufuko waved her hand modestly at being praised again. “Enough already…Oh dear.” Bufuko stood, appearing to notice something. “It’ll be dinner time soon. I must bring Kayo her meal.”

“I see. Well then I shall head home myself before long.”

“Oh, leaving already? I had some food prepared for you as well, doctor.”

“Oh no, that won’t be necessarily. If I stay too much later I won’t get back to Onigashima before nightfall.”

“In that case, I will wrap up your portion in a rice ball for you. You can feel free to eat it if you get peckish during the trip.”

“I would be most grateful for that. Since you’ve twisted my arm.”

“I’ll get it ready for you right away. Just wait here a moment.”

So saying, Bufuko left the room.

“Miraculous recovery ability...hm,” the doctor muttered to himself, and then looked toward Kayo, who was lying down on a futon.

Her eyes were open, but they were blank, somehow.

“Doctor…”

Kayo spoke up to the doctor, eyes fixed in place.

“What is it, Kayo-san?”

“When will my burns be healed?”

“Your burns have already almost completely healed. You’ve hardly any scarring left.”

There was no lie in that. At first Kayo had suffered horrible burns all over her body, to the degree where even the skin on her face had been horribly charred; however, by now she had returned to her former beauty, as though none of it had happened.

But Kayo said only, “…That can’t be. My face was so hideous—”

“Then why don’t you see for yourself?”

The doctor pulled out a hand mirror, and brought it up to Kayo’s face.

Reflected in there was a beautiful black-haired woman.

But—

“Noooo! It’s hideous, hideous!”

Kayo suddenly screamed, and began to thrash on the futon.

“--!? Calm down! Kayo-san, Kayo-san!”

The doctor managed to soothe Kayo, and she eventually regained her composure, once more lying down on the futon.

And then she returned to having those vacant eyes.

The doctor sighed quietly, looking upon her.

“Even if the wounds on her body heal, those on her mind…”

.

“Sorry to keep you waiting~”

In short order Bufuko returned with Kayo’s meal and the bundle prepared for the doctor.

“Thank you…Well then, I take my leave.”

Once the doctor had taken the bundle, he quickly nodded to Bufuko and left the room.

“Anyway. …Kayo-saaan, I’ve brought your dinner for todaaay.”

Bufuko turned around to Kayo, and called out to her.

When she did, Kayo sat up from the futon and thanked Bufuko. “Sorry to trouble you as always...Ren.”

Ren was the name of Kayo’s dead son.

Naturally, as Bufuko was Bufuko, Ren was not her name. Not to mention, her age was different. Even if Ren were alive, he would be a four-year-old, but Bufuko was a fully-grown adult, at least past twenty. And she was of a different gender as well, for that matter.

The only real commonality they had was blond hair, but it was still extremely bizarre for Kayo to mistake Bufuko for Ren through that point alone.

“Oh no, Kayo-san. I’m sure I’ve told you many times now that my name is Bufuko.”

“Is that right…Well, thank you for the meal, Ren.”

“Sigh…” This sort of exchange had been going on every day these four years, so evidently Bufuko had half-given up on it. “Well, as long as you eat everything up and get better, that’s good enough for me, Kayo-san.”

Bufuko silently watched over Kayo as she took her meal.

Right around then, a new figure entered the room.

“Excuse me.”

It was a tall, delicately featured man with his long hair bound in a topknot.

“My my, Anan-sama.  Long time no see.”

The moment Bufuko saw him, she gave a deep bow.

Anan passed right by Bufuko and knelt down beside Kayo. Then he asked, “Kayo, you’re awake. I’ll ask you this only once now. Where have you hidden…the Okuto family ‘treasure’?”

Kayo looked up at Anan with a flabbergasted expression, but eventually replied, quietly, “…Like I’ve told you over and over again…I don’t know anything about a ‘treasure’ like that.”

Anan lifted his eyes, appearing about to say something once more. But before he could, Bufuko put a hand on his shoulder.

“Anan-sama, there’s no point! I think that Kayo-san truly doesn’t know anything. She doesn’t look like she’s lying, to me.”

“…Grrr.”

Anan cast his eyes down regretfully.

“They have to…have to be somewhere. The treasure that this woman’s mother—Okuto Kagura—stole from our home…The ‘Dual Cursed Blades’!”

“But given that Kagura-san died in an accident a year before the fire—”

“I know that! That’s why I’m looking into her daughter Kayo!”

“Kayo-san told me that she’s never seen such blades before, and even if they were hidden somewhere in her home, they would have burned up alongside the tailor shop in the great fire…”

“…No matter how we searched the ruins we didn’t find anything. Cursed blades that could be made a family heirloom would certainly be able to withstand flames of that level. In other words…Outside of asking this woman about it I have no other recourse to fulfill my mission.”

This samurai named Anan was a descendent of Okuto Gato--To put it another way, he would be a blood cousin of Kayo’s.

He had been entrusted by his grandfather with locating the family treasure that Kagura had taken with her.

What exactly it meant that he hadn’t completed that mission…I wouldn’t know, but at the very least it wasn’t very good for his standing in the Okuto family.

Anan had been periodically visiting Kayo’s room and questioning her ever since she’d arrived in the Okuto house, but ultimately he had been unable to achieve any results up to that day.

Kayo being unable to tell him the whereabouts of the blades was not because she was hiding it, nor was it because of her mental illness.

Just as Bufuko said, Kayo legitimately hadn’t heard anything from her mother about any blades.

“Hmph…Oh well. I have other business today.” Anan adjust his posture as he knelt and then said to Kayo, “Okuto…No, Sudou Kayo. I have been told that the tailor shop you were living in before has been successfully rebuilt. Thanks to the financial aid of the Freezis Foundation firm.”

“Goodness! That’s great news!” Bufuko rejoiced. But Anan’s face stayed stern. And Kayo made no change in her expression.

“I have also heard that you have recovered to the point where you can get by without difficulty. …Therefore, our esteemed magistrate has ordered me to have you evicted from here.”

“--!? You can’t be serious!”

Bufuko was the only one who objected there.

“Kayo-san has recovered quite a bit, it’s true. But her mind still…needs more time.”

“That’ll be true whether she’s staying here or not, won’t it? We can’t just let someone who’s not a member of this family stay here eating free meals forever.”

“Kayo-san is a granddaughter to the magistrate, and a cousin to you too, isn’t she? And yet—the magistrate has not yet forgiven Kagura-sama, has he?”

“…That’s not the only thing. There is a problem with the woman herself.”

“What are you saying?”

“Kayo-san’s late husband—He is another grandchild of the esteemed magistrate.”

“What!? This is the first I’m hearing of that.”

Bufuko looked extremely shocked, but Kayo made hardly any response at all.

This was common knowledge for her. For she had pledged herself to her husband while knowing everything.

“You know that the esteemed magistrate had four children, don’t you? One of those children was Kagura, one was my own father, and the son of one of the remaining two was Kayo’s husband—In short, Kayo married her own cousin.

“But that’s not such an uncommon thing here in Jakoku, is it?”

“You are correct, but Kayo’s husband also was disinherited from the Okuto family for his riotous ways...So it’s obvious that our magistrate would never think well of Kayo having married him. You could say that taking care of her to this point is a last act of charity from him. But that ends today.”

After Anan had said that much, he then said to Bufuko:

“You have been attending on Kayo until now, but that also ends now. Starting tomorrow you will once again return to being my servant.”

“Huh~~!?”

“Why are you so displeased!? You’re just returning to how it was before! …For that reason, you too will be making preparations to leave this house tonight.”

“Wha!? Why?”

“You must know that I am providing assistance to the Freezis Foundation Firm! And you cannot serve my needs while remaining here.”

“…So then I guess that means I’m going to be living in the Freezis Trading House too.”

“Hm, yes. It was only just rebuilt a few years back so it’s quite clean.”

“But we’ll have to come into contact with a bunch of foreigners, won’t we? How annoyiiiing~”

“Are you really one to say that, having by all rights the appearance of a foreigner yourself?”

“Yeah, but I’m born and raised a Jakokuan~”

“Stop your whining! I’ll chop you down right here!”

“Huagh…That’s why I don’t wanna…” Bufuko turned back to Kayo, shoulders drooping. “Kayo-san. Starting tomorrow I’m going to be working at the Freezis Trading House. So unfortunately, this is the last day I’ll be able to take care of you.”

Bufuko looked genuinely regretful when she said it, but Kayo, who had been expressionless up to that point, lit up in amazement.

“My my! Working at that big merchant firm! How good for you, Ren. I should do something to celebrate… But all your mother knows how to do is make new clothes…”

“…Then how about you make a new outfit for me? I feel like the kimono I have now clashes a bit with a western style house.”

“Alright. What would you like?”

“A maid uniform! Something frilly and foreign!”

Her reply had been instantaneous.

“A foreign maid uniform, hm? I’ve never made one before, but your mother will do her best.”

When Kayo smiled, Bufuko looked sheepish but happy.

<<prev------directory------ext>>

[medea10]

My Review of Interspecies Reviewers

End of January…um, 2020

“Grrr…this day was a crap show! The republicans rat-fucked our country and Brexit fucking happened. I’m gonna write some scripts and call it a night. Let me just check Twitter one last time before I…

Huh?

FUNimation drops newly-added anime, Interspecies Reviewers?

This smells scandalous, I must watch!”

It’s very, very, VERY rare that an anime licensor drops an anime that’s currently airing in Japan and doing it weeks after announcing a full release (no pun intended), plus a friggin’ English dub. And where there’s controversy, I will be there to sniff it out…eventually. I think I can squeeze one more anime to watch on a week-by-week basis. Hell, I shoved Domestic Girlfriend in at last minute in 2019 right in the middle of moving to a different state. I think I can handle a little anime like this. What could possibly go wr…?!

*one week later*

Oh fluffies! This escalated quickly!

So…Interspecies Reviewers is about a human name Stunk and an elf named Zel. They go around to brothels, spend some time with the ladies of the evening known as Succu-girls (because these girls suck you), and review their “encounter” with them for a tavern full of curious males. Stunk and Zel want to go around and conquer as many species, discovering all new kinks and fetishes, fondle all kinds of jiggly-bits and naughty bits from cow-girls, cat-girls, skeleton girls, succubis, fire salamanders girls, elves, fairies, slimes, demons, bird-maidens, cyclops, and oh-so many others. This is a vast world and there’s only so many brothels these men can tackle at a time.

Oh yeah, there’s also an angel named Crim. Stunk and Zel saved Crim, but Crim can’t go back to Heaven since his halo is busted. Although now, I doubt if he’ll ever get entry back into Heaven after being defiled by a cat-woman. I mean who among us haven’t lost our virginity to a cat-eared girl on a whim?

*ahem*

R.I.P. Crim’s virginity

So there you have it! A human, an elf, and an angel walk into a brothel and…that’s the anime!

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUUUUUU…..UH-OH: The sub was fine and I’m gonna leave it there with the subtitle version. As for the dub…What dub? There’s no dub! Dubs are just a myth here! Like I said before, FUNimation DID have this series. Emphasis on “DID”! They released the first 3 episodes in their normal week-by-week fashion, no worries there. They promised an English dub and released one episode dubbed, sounds about right! But then one night, they just drop this series!

Funimation on Jan. 31: After careful consideration, we determined that this series falls outside of our standards. We have the utmost respect for our creators so rather than substantially alter the content, we felt taking it down was the most respectful choice.

*sighs*

BOI!

Did you, FUNimation? Or was it Sony pulling the strings? But I’m getting ahead of myself here. A wide variety of things could have sprung this on! One reason could be that the voice actors felt uncomfortable with the material. I know some voice actors from FUNimation are a little skeptical here and if they voice something that’s borderline Hentai or IS HENTAI, they’ll use an alias name so that no one would be the wiser. I know it’s a job and money’s on the table here, but people are people. They have morals and boundaries! Not everyone can have the bravery to voice act in a Hentai like Dan Green (he totally did, you should look it up).

Another theory, Sony and/or FUNimation were being cautious and don’t want to air something so extreme in the naughty department. But if that were the case, how do you account for your full releases of High School DxD, Panty & Stocking, Conception, Keijo!!!!!!!!, Shimoneta, My Girlfriend is a Gal, and A Sister is All You Need? Then again, these animes were made and released prior to Sony buying FUNimation. But as of recent, FUNimation is streaming works from Aniplex of America that are kinda questionable. Where I’m going with this is that weeks after dropping Interspecies Reviewers, they add shows like Nisemonogatari AND Eromanga Sensei to their site. Ahem! Guys, where were those “STANDARDS” you were talking about earlier? Eromanga Sensei is downright illegal! Then again, none of these titles really reached full-blown bestiality like this series does! I mean, Sentai Filmworks happily released Monster Musume and that was borderline bestiality. But whatever, you guys do you!

Then again, no series has gone the distance by having several sex scenes per episode with the uncensored version going beyond the boundary quite like this.

Yeah…in this “woke AF” time we’re living in, if an anime doesn’t have an advisory stated at the beginning of an episode with lewd or controversial scenes, people lose their shit. Hence, Goblin Slayer’s debut and that one Sword Art Online episode! Whatever the case, now that FUNimation dropped this series, I don’t expect it to get picked up by any other licensor and it’ll probably remain in license limbo forever. There were a few voice actors set up to be in this anime including Monica Rial, Brittney Karbowski, and Amber Lee Connors. Only one episode was dubbed and good luck finding it now! But after this, I doubt these folks would ever finish what they started. And that’s a shame, because FUNimation voice actors have a knack for turning an anime dirty. Especially if you hire Monica Rial or Jamie Marchi (or both)!

I know every season, there’s a fight between American licensors in what animes they’re going to grab and show to their subscribers. FUNimation really could have taken a few extra minutes to do a little research on this one before jumping in a pool where the water is replaced by naked half-species chicks. For fuck’s sake, there’s a manga to this! Although, I’ve heard that the manga doesn’t even go this far! So this is disproving my rant! Let me just finish by saying that FUNimation really fucked up here. You could have streamed the series censored, have an age confirmation to watch the uncensored version, and then release that later down the line! But dropping Interspecies Reviewers has unleashed a fury of pissed off viewers who ended up trolling MyAnimeList and other websites. Yeah, thanks a lot! Those were some idiotic days on the internet! With all of that said, here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

*Stunk is played by Junji Majima (known for Ryuji on Toradora, Ryuunousuke on Assassination Classroom, Kimihito on Monster Musume, Nikaido on Shugo Chara, Racer on Fairy Tail, and Kouhei on Oreimo)

*Zel is played by Yuusuke Kobayashi (known for Subaru on ReZero, Tanukichi on Shimoneta, Arthur on Fire Force, and Marui on Food Wars)

*Crim is played by Miyu Tomita

FAVORITE CHARACTER: God bless this boy, I love Crim.

I know he’s got the short end of the stick in a lot of these reviews. But there’s nothing short about his stick if you get what I’m saying.

Yeah, I said it.

SHIPPING: DO STD’S EXIST IN THIS FUCKING WORLD?!

Look, all you need to know is that real love is not gonna happen in this franchise and just fuck it! Literally!

Actually, I really think the boys have a special place in their hearts for Meidri. I’m only basing this on episode 6 where the boys go to the Golem brothel to “Build-a-Bitch” and out of all the figures, ladies, and ways to build a bitch, their little Halfling friend builds a golem replica of Meidri. Maybe it’s because she’s familiar or they’re curious in case they end up having sex with Meidri in the future or if the Halfling has a thing for Meidri! I just know all four boys ended up fucking a golem in the likeness of Meidri AND gave it a great score.

But aside from that, there’s really nothing more to say except Stunk has a thing for that 500 year old fairy and Zel has a thing for a 60+ year old human.

IT’S FUN TO STAY AT THE…: It’s obvious that Japan has a thing for music made outside of the country. Especially those made in America (and England)! Recent examples are animes like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Eden of the East, and A Silent Voice actually using songs from groups like The Bangles, Oasis, and The Who. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE TIMES!

The OP song for this series is literally Y.M.C.A. except about getting your dick up to fuck!

And you know what? That was another missed fucking opportunity for FUNimation! This song could have gotten an English dub. Normally I despise it when English companies give an English dub to perfectly good opening and endings from Japan. But this would have been the ONE exception. GOD! Only in my dreams!

OH THIS IS WRONG: I don’t mean aspects of this anime! I’ve gotten used to the sex scenes and the shock factor of watching actual hentai at this point. Surprisingly, the one thing that got my feathers ruffled is at the end of some of the episodes where we get a small segment from a gentleman named Professor Ookina or Professor Poke if you will.

LOOK AT THIS FUCKING MAN!

Pokemon, why haven’t you sued yet? This is a sexual version of Professor Oak’s end-of-the-episode lectures. Unshou Ishizuka’s probably rolling over in his grave either from laughter, disgust, or that he didn’t live long enough to voice this colorful character. I haven’t settled on which to believe in!

ENDING: The last few episodes we saw a few interesting storylines. For one, we’ve got one brothel where all four adventurers gave the ladies a unanimous 10/10. Spend three days with the clones of a powerful woman and just all-around perfect scores. That is just unheard of! Even in the anime reviewing community, a perfect anime doesn’t exist. So stop trying to turn Interspecies Reviewers into the next Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. OKAY?! Not gonna happen! Just stop it! Stop it.

Then we had a gentleman who has generously been giving previous ladies of the evening perfect scores. This dude loves the ladies and sees the positives in all of them giving them all a perfect score. And I guess that does bring up a good point here.

Different strokes for different blokes! Not everyone is going to have the same taste as you. Stunk might have a thing for 500-year old fairies while Zel finds her old and disgusting. Zel might have a thing for Mitsue while Stunk finds banging 60-year old human whores repulsive. That’s where reviewers come in. They say the good and the bad when it comes to reviewing (insert profession here). In the case of this series, the boys have different tastes and when going to a foreign brothel, some of the ladies customs might confuse and weird out the boys. But in most cases, they had fun (except that afternoon watching girls laid eggs). So I’m glad Stunk and Zel found fault with the dude who gives 10/10’s like candy.

The final episode felt a little nostalgic as we revisit a race we haven’t seen since episode 2. Stunk and Zel find a business card for a demon brothel. They WERE supposed to go over and review the demon girls...

...but got side-tracked by the big-tit cowgirls.

Better late than never, but at least the demon brothel got some decent reviews by the boys. Good since demons are rated quite low in what men want to bang.

Then, the boys celebrate New Years by hitting up a good brothel to start the New Year off right. You know, start it off with a bang! It’s just that a lot of the popular brothels and Stunk’s regular hangouts are all booked up for the night. Lot of horny John’s on New Years! So the boys end up in a dream eater brothel. These girls take on the form of their dream succu-girl and believe it or not, the reviewers were very pleased. Almost like a pleasant dream!

Now conclusion wise, we really didn’t get Crim’s halo fixed nor did we go to Heaven to see Zel and Stunk get it on with some freaky angels. Instead, we get the same intro we got in episode one, reminding us that there are a barrage of brothels out there in this world and a bunch of succu-girls ready to suck your dicks off. And as long as we have succu-girls and brothels, there will always be reviewers like Stunk, Zel, and Crim to bust a nut! And I think Stunk is now going to visit his father’s harem now. Yeah, his old man has a harem. So there’s that! Too bad we’re not going to see that story.

I got to say…this wasn’t all that bad. In fact, I really liked this anime. And I’m usually rough on borderline-Hentai programs (and not in the good way). I am impressed at the creative way these men review these ladies and the brothels they work in. As an anime reviewer, I have to admire this. To take it all in with how these guys approach something such as having a one-night stand with a succu-girl! Each episode was a new experience with a new lady, sometimes two new brothels in the same episode. After their nights with a succu-girl, their reviews…actually, it’s best to watch it instead of taking my word for it.

NOW THEN! This is by no means on Top-Tier levels of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. So you people on MyAnimeList better knock it the fuck off! Yes, FUNimation dropped the ball by dropping this series when they’ve clearly licensed and dubbed WORSE. But owning them this way is just going to come off as weird when we look back at this years later and laugh. On top of which, FUNimation wasn’t the only one that dropped Interspecies Reviewers. Amazon Prime and at least three television stations in Japan dropped this series in the middle of its run.

Oh good God this was a fun and bizarre ride and it was fun while it lasted. Come on y’all, face the facts. There is no way this anime is ever gonna get a second season unless they absolutely censor the fuck out of it over in Japan. Look at all the Japanese channels that dropped this series not even halfway into the run! The best I’m hoping for is an OVA release. That way they can show us all the sex and nipples they want. But a season two? You’d have a better chance getting a Haruhi Suzumiya continuation! Yeah, I said it and I ain’t taking it back! Despite it not being available anywhere in the states, I advise my anime friends and followers to at least give this a chance (as long as you’re not grossed out by sexual discourse).

...

Medea, aren’t you going to give a number score like the Interspecies Reviewer lads?

*sighs*

I truly hate giving a number score. But for once in my written reviews, I’ll do it just this once.

If you would like to watch this series legally here in the states, you are shit out of luck unless you’re from Australia or Japan.

And once again…

R.I.P. Crim’s virginity!

#anime review #ishuzoku reviewers #interspecies reviewers #stunk #zel #crim

[starker-stories]

The Cold, Chapter 3 - The Messages Series

This chapter on AO3

By @thestarkerisobvious​ and @starker-stories​​

New chapters in the series post every Thursday.

All links are to AO3. You don’t need to be a creator to have an AO3 account. You can have one solely as a reader. But to read anything at all in this series, you can just be an anonymous reader and/or commenter.

The best way to keep up with The Cold is to subscribe to the story on AO3. And the best way to keep up with the Messages Series is also to subscribe. Click on the ‘subscribe’ button on each of the above links.

Tags: Tony Stark Feels, Peter Parker Feels, College Student Peter Parker, Established Relationship, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Tony Stark Still Has Arc Reactor, Arc Reactor Kink, Peter Parker is a Mess, Spider-Man powers, Communication, They Finally Communicate!, And Fuck Of Course Look at Who It’s Written By Of Course They Fuck, Avengers Compound

The entire Messages Series.  All links are to AO3.

Messages Unsent  (complete & posted)

Nothing More Than A Machine  (complete & posted)

Tomorrow  (complete & posted)

My Virgin (Revisited)  (completely & posted)

The Cold  (completely written) posts every Thursday  

Untitled Book 6  ( in progress )

Untitled Book 7  ( in progress )

Chapter 3:   Cat-4 Hurricane

“You haven’t hurt me,” Tony said. You’ve always been skittish about it. I’ve always been a hundred percent certain that you won’t because, on some subconscious level, even when you’re far gone, you know it’s me and you won’t hurt me.

“But, if you’re capable of dropping off the side of the tower like that? Pete, I wasn’t just scared because I love you and, yeah, it’s scary. It’s… I’d say impossible, but you did it.”

Peter shrugged.

They were approaching the berm they had been headed to. Tony could see a white concrete wall had been built into it — the beginning of a structure that had been abandoned post-snap. They were only a few dozen meters shy of it when Peter veered left, walking toward some abandoned building materials that had been left in the field. Large wooden poles about ten meters long lay stacked beside several planks, probably pieces of a future obstacle course. Peter casually hopped on top of the short pile and walked across it.

“The reason actual spiders can fall from the top of the tower and be fine is because of their surface area… Sorry. Tangent. That’s not the point.” Tony stopped himself from heading off on an irrelevant lecture.

“A human-sized body can’t. Not even a spider-bitten one should be able to. But you did.”

Peter gave Tony a sideways glance and another shrug.

“So… I’m not going to argue the point with you. Something’s changed. It’s a problem. It can be worked. You’ll be okay. I know you will. I absolutely know you will,” Tony said, his first worry, as always, being about Peter.

“Oh, I’ll be fine,” Peter said casually. He bent down and picked up a large wooden pole with his right hand and bounced it in his grip until he was holding it dead center. “I’m not worried about me.

“But I’m not sure what Fury’s going to do when he finds out I can do this…”

Casually, he hurled it, javelin-style, at the berm. The pole hit the concrete dead on, on its center. As accurate as one of Clint’s darts and as easily thrown. It hit with such force that the meter-diameter post flowered out along its length, the harder center core holding just long enough for the outer to spread back along it, until the entire thing, all ten meters long of it, fell to the ground in a pile of splinters.

Tony’s eyes widened. When he took structural engineering, they demonstrated the strength of materials under the stresses of extreme weather. From the way it shattered, Peter threw the pole with the force of a cat-4 hurricane. As easily as if he’d tossed a pencil. Tony looked at Peter in disbelief. Peter shrugged as if he’d done it a million times before and knew exactly what would happen.

His idea that what Peter had to say about his abilities should remain secret, grew resolute. There was no way he wanted anyone to know about what Peter had just done.

“Nick Fury can bite my ass.” Tony took out his phone. He keyed in for FRIDAY to turn off the compound’s surveillance where they were walking. And to erase the existing footage of what just happened. “He doesn’t need to know anything you don’t want to tell him.”

“There is a lot neither he nor the Avengers know about what my tech can do.” Tony paused. “I don’t trust him to use the knowledge in the way it should be used. Fury hasn’t done so in the past. He doesn’t have the excuse of HYDRA being in the midst of SHIELD for most of the things I found out. So if you want my advice, not that you have to take it, keep things to yourself until you’re a hundred percent certain it’s safe to reveal them.”

“Can’t. I’m tired of guessing, Tony. I need to know.” He picked up a second pole, tossing it into the air and catching it with his left hand, where he balanced it and aimed carefully. ”It’s not like Old-Cap is around to challenge to arm-wrestle.”

He threw the pole with more force the second time. He seemed to be aiming for the top of the berm but the tip did not clear it. The post caught the top of the hill and spun up into the air spectacularly. Peter cursed and tried again.

“I need data. I need the training ground. I need numbers. Objective numbers. Things are changing. My body is changing.” He picked up the third pole in his left hand and tossed it without much effort. It cleared the top of the berm by several feet and disappeared from their sight. “That’s why I need to talk to Dr. Cho. I need to know if it’s ever going to stop.”

Tony thought about it for a moment. “It’s okay to talk to her about all this. She can’t tell anyone what she knows or finds out about your abilities.” He looked up at Peter. “Doctor-Patient confidentiality. It’s why, when I need to see someone, she’s the one I go to. I’m not enhanced, but there are things… she needs to know things about the arc and my body that no one — well, no one but you — can know. So yeah, you should talk to her. It’s safe.”

Peter hopped down effortlessly from the pile.

“That’s good. Because… there’s a lot of things. I’m worried. You said on the roof that the suit was too high-powered for my ‘neighborhood Spider-Man’ thing. But I’m worried that any of the suits would be too high powered now. Not that I hit people anymore. Tony I’m afraid to. You built the… all of the Avenger tech is about kicking the big guys ass. I need to talk about tech that slaps the car thief upside the head and doesn’t let Spider-Man accidentally kill him.”

“I said the IronSpider was overpowered because you were determined to give it back. I wanted to make sure that what you replaced it with would protect you. But the suit will do whatever you tell it to. It’s designed for alien-fighting and not neighborhood-ing, but that doesn’t mean it can’t do both. If you learn how to control it. Alien-fighting’s just the default setting. There are other settings. You just have to think them.”

“Think? That’s what scares me. And I know what you’re about to say,” he countered before Tony could speak. He lifted one hand to fend off the argument. “You’re about to say you trust me but I don’t trust me. The nanotech is answering to my brain and… Jesus Tony... my brain has been going to some crazy shit lately.”

“My brain does crazy shit all the time and the nanotech knows the difference. There’s a simple Functional MRI down in Bruce’s old lab,” Tony explained, reaching out for Peter’s hand. “It can crudely show your brain lighting up when you think of different things. But better than that, I have Killian’s brain scan tools that he used to develop Extremis. Kinda plundered his lab for the goodies before I let the authorities in.

“It’ll show definitively that Intrusive thoughts are processed in different parts of the brain from the thoughts that control the nanotech.”

Peter’s shoulders sagged in relief and they started to walk again. His head dropped back and he looked up at the wide open sky as Tony talked tech. He squeezed Tony’s hand and listened as Tony described the way the IronSpider used different kinds of thought — focused, directed, and automatic — to control its abilities. How all Peter had to do was be inside the owner’s manual, see the beta and my development notes. Then while he was learning how to control the suit, cut back on his patrolling until he’d mastered the suit’s capabilities, both large scale and small.

He was suddenly overwhelmed with the beauty of the day. His lungs filled with blissful, healing air. It was as if he had been holding his breath for a long time. (Well, really since the day he had told Tony they needed to come to the compound to talk. Since then.) Suddenly he was overwhelmed with the amount of air available — but of course a field of green would be full of oxygen! Peter felt high, and a little giddy and a little foolish. Why had he been so afraid to ask Tony for answers? Of course the genius he was in love with would never fail him when it came to the tech.

“The turmoil in your brain?” Tony continued, unaware of Peter’s sudden re-discovery of the joys of breathing. “Of wanting to hurt the guy more than you actually do? That’s l'appel du vide. Those aren’t real desires, even though they feel real. There’s not a person in the world who doesn’t get those.

“But there’s also part of human nature that has negative thoughts which aren’t intrusive ones. Everyone has a dark side. You learn to control it. That 3D-real-time brain scan of Killian’s also works for biofeedback. That’s the sort of thing that helped Bruce get a handle on his aggression. If that doesn’t work for you, I know a guy… I saw him for a fixed-time solution to my anxiety. There are coping mechanisms for anger, the same as there are for anxiety. It’s a skill like any other. You learn it. You don’t just go — grrr… argh… angry! — and expect the issue to go away.”

“And we can test that right? The nanotech’s reaction to my new Cold-brain? It can be tested in the lab. Where it’s safe, right? In case we have to work on adjustments. Some ‘Peter might really be turning into an asshole’ adjustments.”

“Yes. You know I hate to give anyone credit for the cool shit, but for all of the crazy mad scientist that Killian was, this? The brain scan device? Seriously cool shit.”

“Yeah. I’m still glad he’s dead.”

“Nice thing? He was so secretive about his super-villain evil plan that he never patented the thing. Look for Stark to be able to keep you in diamonds for the rest of your life when it comes out next year,” Tony grinned.

“You can’t now?”

Peter stopped suddenly and turned Tony to face him, cutting off his next quip.

“Wait, before you buy me anything else…”

He took both Tony’s hands in his, and tried to speak.

“So the suit… scared me. A lot. But there’s more. I need to…”

He lost his nerve immediately and looked down at the ground. A sizable wooden splinter caught his attention and he picked it up. They started to walk again.

He crushed the wood in his hand as he tried to speak. He found another splinter, even larger, and picked it up as well.

“So I guess I have to apolog… I’m going to say that ‘s’ word you don’t like now. I’m sorry for what I said on the roof. About the suit. No, wait, don’t say anything yet.”

He threw the wood towards the berm, but didn’t follow it’s progress. He looked at the ground. Absently he wiped the sawdust off his hands on the leg of his jeans.

“Look… I… I said I meant everything I said up on the roof. And I did. But I didn’t take into account that I’m also really stupid. I guess… oh god.” He rubbed his face with one hand, then firmly put his hands back into his pockets. He couldn’t hide behind them now. “I know. I know that when I considered breaking up with you, and I had been considering that very seriously, I thought… you might, you know. Want the suit back. And I had to make my peace with that.”

“I made it for you. Only for you. There are two nanotech suits in the world. Not for lack of Fury and New-Cap trying. But… It’s something that I gave to you.” Tony hesitated. “A piece of myself.”

“Yeah, I should have known that. And you said that on the roof. And I heard you, I really did. I just didn’t process it at the time.

“But when I got home that night, Tony, when I was in bed, I did. I processed it all. And I want to tell you…” He reached out and touched Tony’s elbow briefly. “It means the world to me, Tony. Whatever else we are, outside of everything we are now, it means so much to me that you think of me as an Avenger like Clint and Nat. It means everything.

“So when you said I could… “ He stuffed his hands into his pockets, hiding them. The urge to reach out for Tony was even harder to fight.

“When you said I could make my own suit, without you involved, well, that meant a lot to me too. But that was…” He choked on the word. He couldn’t make himself say ‘immature’, but it was immature, like a child running away from home and planning his budget based on his weekly allowance. So he tried again.

“…But that was not-smart. I mean I do want to play with the web formula, because I always want to play with the web formula, but I can’t make a suit without you. Everything you said was right. I am Spider-Man. The world expects me to be bulletproof.”

“Well you can play with the web formula without the nanotech,” Tony said with a quick smile. “But it’ll be cooler with it. Because… you’ve really got something there, Pete. I wanna let you at the microscope — I put a second one in my lab at home — and get it down to where you understand it inside and out. And yeah…” He seriously didn’t play well with others. “That’s gotta be done with me, at least in part.

“But you’ve got to be bulletproof, baby.” Tony turned and faced Peter, taking his hand and holding it tight. “I can’t lose you.”

Peter nodded. Then he nodded again. Then he spoke, and his voice was a lot smaller than he had intended. “So, do you forgive me? For what I said?”

Tony sighed. He hadn’t meant to. He meant to simply say ‘yes’. Because of course he forgave Peter. He’d always forgive Peter. It just took him a moment to answer. To ‘process’, like Peter had said.

“Yes. I don’t think there’s much that I wouldn’t forgive you for, Pete. I know I hurt you. You had every reason…” He hesitated again. “But that? I’m not gonna lie. It was rough. You weren’t just rejecting the suit…”

“I was trying to push you away as far as possible. That night I was feeling really… bought. Because I felt so lonely. And feeling lonely meant I really started thinking how many things I can do for myself, already did for myself. And trying to pretend I could just keep on going without you. But I can’t. Even if the suit blew up tomorrow, I can’t go on without you.”

“I know I did a hell of a lot to deserve it. But the feelings were complicated.” He gave Peter’s hand a squeeze. “A lot less complicated now.”

“Okay. So, I said I’m sorry. And here’s what I’m going to do. Uh… damn. I have to tell you something else.”

#starker #Messages Series #Messages Cold #Von Writes Stuff #Thewitchway Writes Stuff

[ephemeral-afterlight]

Day 13: Adrenaline

(The road may seem long.)

Whumptober 2019 Day 13: Adrenaline

Word Count: 2701

Relationships: Anxceit, Logince, Moceit (past, NOT consensual), Moxiety (past)

Warnings: Rape mentions, rape aftermath (mild imagery/description), blood mentions, physical violence, mention of PTSD symptoms, cursing. Please let me know if I forgot any!

A/N: i was SO close. almost had it on time, grrr. anyway, here’s the ending to the series of short fics in this universe that i’ve built up for whumptober! i will be posting these fics as a single chaptered story on ao3 for easier reading, so this will be updated with the link when i get around to that!

Red.

It’s all red. Not just figuratively, not just the kind borne from anger. It’s not just the red that hazes your mind when you’re so livid that you can’t help but scream and yell and kick and punch and scathe and burn and lash out. It’s also the literal kind of red. A red that drips into his eyes, floods the rims of his waterlines, bathes his vision in claret. He smells the metallic aroma, breathes in the blood, and he’s seeing red.

The chains keeping him stuck to the wall are ripped from the hook.

Virgil doesn’t really remember much after that. He knows that he doesn’t hesitate for a second after he comes loose. He knows that he lunges at Patton, shoves him away without a second thought. He knows that Delilah dropped to the ground, barely able to catch herself in time, and he remembers the bruises. He remembers the bruises, the ones he gets as he beats his fists down on any open patch of skin, how his knuckles split from the force of punching his stupid face over and over and over and over and--

He remembers Delilah whimpering in fear. He remembers standing up on shaky knees and turning away from the unconscious Patton without a second thought. He remembers holding his hands flat up in the air as he approaches Dee, reassuring her that he wouldn’t hurt her. He remembers her crying. He remembers asking if it’s okay to touch her. He remembers pulling the chains from her wrists, metal falling away from skin rubbed raw, and he remembers the strangled noise she makes when the shock sets in.

Virgil pulls her into his arms.

She doesn’t cry for long, and Virgil doesn’t know if it’s from the shock or if she really is that brave, but he’s proud of her regardless. She sniffles into his neck when he uses his arm to support her, and her breaths are shaky when he helps her up the stairs. Locking that basement door feels like leaving a prison, leaving a life behind, and it’s true for both of them. 

Delilah manages to sit gingerly on the couch with nothing but a small hiss, and Virgil is still angry at himself for not getting to her sooner. He could have prevented this, he knows he could’ve. But now, as Dee rests with her eyes drooping and her limbs curled up to her chest, he can’t lament for times passed and mistakes made. He needs to focus on the present, focus as he pushes the dining room shelf in front of the basement door.

It’s hard. It’s hard to watch as Delilah falls apart a second time in the middle of Virgil’s 911 call, and it’s even harder when he has to help her get dressed. He brought her some of his own clothes (not Patton’s never Patton’s ever ever ever again), the most comfortable ones he could find in the depths of his dresser drawers. It’s just a soft hoodie and some sweatpants, but she can’t stand long enough to step into them, and Virgil can feel angry tears welling up in his eyes. She looks at anything but him when he pulls the pants up over her bare hips, then meets his blurred gaze by a wet one of her own when the hoodie passes over her head.

Virgil is still hugging her when the first responders arrive. 

“Virgil?” comes from behind him, a voice that’s all too familiar to him. Roman stands there in full uniform, badge shining on his chest, and Virgil can feel Delilah relax in his arms. Of course, she did say she was taken when she was younger. She must have had adults tell her about emergency calls when she was younger, and most children at that age really look up to first responders. He remembers being entrances with the firefighters themselves, how they seemed invincible when they rushed into the flames to save civilian lives, and he still has a respect for that line of work even now. “You better explain later.”

“E-Excuse me, sir… are-- are you a police officer? Y-You arrest bad guys?” Delilah asks, shaky and stuttering when she’s too afraid to keep eye contact. Roman’s eyes immediately soften, and the tone immediately lets him know to be delicate about this. He’s been to plenty of elementary schools to do presentations on what to do if you’re being kidnapped, or what to do if there’s an active shooter, and talking to children is like second nature to him. This child just has an older body than most of them, is all.

“Yep, that’s my job. I help keep people safe and make sure bad guys don’t hurt people. What’s your name?” Roman asks, clear and gentle as he sits down a respectable distance away from them, sinking into the couch as he signals for another officer to start in on getting through to the basement.

“O-Oh, I’m-- I’m Delilah. Dee,” she responds nervously, silently checking to make sure it’s okay with Virgil to share her name. Virgil can’t help but feel awful when met with the knowledge that she even feels she needs to ask. She should be able to trust people, should be able to trust the police, but she’s been down there so long, there’s not really any way for her to know much past what she was told when she was a kid. “You… are you gonna make P-P-- make Patton go to jail?”

“Of course. He’s a bad guy. He’s going where he’ll never be able to hurt you again, okay? You’re gonna be alright now, I promise,” Roman reassures, and Virgil has no problem giving him credit for not even hesitating a second when the name doesn’t match the body. Then again, he is married to Logan, so it’s not like trans people are a new concept to him. Virgil still loves hearing about how they met, loves listening to the ridiculous story and laugh because it was just such a Roman thing to do.

“Ro… is Logan here with you? Please… please get him. I need to talk to him. Urgently,” Virgil insists, imbues his voice with exigency, and Roman gives him a solemn nod. He reaches out to Dee, stop short and waits for her to give permission to lay his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of compassion, and the small smile she gives in return fills Virgil with a hope he didn’t know he’d lost.

Everything goes by in a blur. It feels like time is passing by too quickly. It’s all like a dream, a hazy end to a nightmare. He feels odd when Logan asks about their injuries. He feels ashamed when he describes their recent encounter to his paramedic friend. He feels angry when he tells Logan that Dee needs a rape kit. He feels drained when he asks to stay with her to make sure she remains calm and has a familiar face to lean back on for comfort.

They get into the ambulance and begin the drive to the hospital, and Delilah squeezes Virgil’s hand from where she rests on the gurney, and Virgil’s just glad that she doesn’t have to see Patton face-to-face again until she’s ready to put him where he belongs.

-

“Dee, it will be fine. I’m sure they won’t just stop loving you simply because you aren’t a boy. And if they do say something, they’ll have to answer to me,” Logan informs with a neutral voice, squeezes Delilah’s hand from where their arms are linked at the elbow. They’re walking down a street in San Francisco, avoiding patches of snow, and Dee sighs even as she looks at the Christmas lights and bustling shopfronts displaying clothing and toys and electronics in wonder. It’s getting much colder, and Delilah has taken to wearing scarves and sweaters and leggings, which Logan doesn’t really get. Leggings are thin, and it’s 20 goddamn degrees outside, so why not wear something that will actually keep you warm?

“I know, I know, it’s just… I can’t look like a girl yet. What if they forget to use the right name? Or what if they just say they won’t? I don’t-- I don’t want to finally meet my parents again for the first time in twenty-something years and have them not accept me,” Delilah mumbles, and although the repetition is somewhat exasperating, Logan gets it. He remembers what it was like telling his dad that he was Logan, not Madeline. He can easily recall the joy he felt when his dad clapped him on the back and asked him if that meant they could go on father-son fishing trips now, even as his mom looked at him in disgust every time she was around. Logan is unabashedly glad that she left them soon after. He grew up to be successful, with an amazing husband, a well-paying job, and doing work that saves lives, so it’s her loss, anyway. He wishes that it didn’t take him so long to realize that, but he’s okay now, so there’s no point regretting decisions that led him to a fulfilling life eventually.

“It’ll be okay. No matter what happens, I’m here, and Roman’s here, and Virgil’s here, and I know that even if they couldn’t be here to support you today, they’re probably still encouraging you telepathically all the way from Florida, anyway. Although telepathy is impossible, at least at this point in time, I have a feeling they’re still trying anyway.”

And then they’re sitting down at a table inside the warm, cozy cafe, and Delilah’s parents are somehow exactly what Logan expected them to be.

Her mom is a petite woman, curly brown hair and hazel eyes to match her daughter’s. She has prominent smile lines, and a soft voice that sounds like how honey tastes, and she reminds him of how his own mother used to be before she left them. “You’re… you’re here.”

The two are hugging soon afterward, immediately joined by her father. Dee’s father is a stocky man, sturdy and tall, and yet he hunches over in a way that makes him appear nervous. His voice is low in register, but unexpectedly shy, and he seems just as kind as his wife.

And… the child, the one that is sitting at the table in the corner, the one that Logan hadn’t been expecting to see. She looks remarkably similar to Dee herself. There’s no question as to who she is. She has long, bouncy locks, despite her age, and bright blue eyes to match her father’s. Logan wasn’t aware she existed. It’s a wonder nobody told Delilah she had a sister.

“I-- I know we’ve talked on the phone, but I just… it’s nothing like seeing you in person. We… your father and I have waited so many years for this moment. And you’re… here. Our child,” Dee’s mother says, tears filling her eyes, and her lightly wrinkled hands shake in her husband’s gentle grip. Delilah’s sister sits up more in her chair, confused and curious, and Logan gives her a small wave when she stares at him from her own chair. She waves back.

“I… I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you about him. I should’ve known. I should have been able to figure it out before…” Delilah trails off, and her own eyes look misty too. Her words prompt an incredulous exhale from her father, and he speaks fully for the first time since they all sat down.

“Nonsense. You can’t blame this on yourself. You were a child. Your mother and I… we spent a very long time feeling responsible for what happened. Over the years, we thought of every ‘What if?’ scenario you could possibly imagine, and it took us even longer to realize that this whole situation is nobody’s fault but the evil man who hurt you. It’s not our fault, and it certainly isn’t yours, either.”

They spend more time talking. They discuss how life has been without their child, and how much Delilah missed them. They introduce her sister, Caitlyn, and Dee reassures them that yes, she knows they didn’t replace her. In turn, Dee introduces Logan to them, and tells them about how much he, Roman, and Virgil have been helping her. Although Logan would never cry in front of strangers or in public, he does feel oddly touched that she thinks so highly of him.

“I like your eyeshadow,” Caitlyn speaks up at the first bout of silence that comes along, and the metaphorical elephant in the room is brought to everyone’s attention. Logan can hear the tiny sound as the air catches in Delilah’s throat, can sense the hard swallow as she shifts uncomfortably in her chair, and Logan reaches out to hold her hand tightly in a tactile version of comforting words.

“Oh-- Uh, yeah. Roman did it for me before the flight out here,” Delilah chokes out, and Logan rubs the back of her hand with his thumb. Her father’s brow furrow, and he stays quiet to simply observe. Her mother’s mouth falls open minutely, painted red lips parting with no sound to come from between them, and Delilah takes a deep breath. “I’m… I’m not Ethan anymore, mom, dad. I��m Delilah. I’m a girl. I really hope you can respect that.”

And her father tilts his head, smiles softly when his wife lets out a sob, and Caitlyn flicks a straw across the table towards Logan. Logan flicks it back.

“Sweetheart, I’m just glad I have my baby back. It doesn’t matter to me if you’re my daughter instead. I love you no matter what, and so does your father. And I’m sure Caitlyn is happy to have a big sister to look up to.” 

Logan feels like he’s intruding when the three of them get up to hug again, but he and Caitlyn are in an intense match of the newly coined Straw Soccer, so it doesn’t really matter much in the end.

-

“Hey, Virgil?” Delilah asks one day, leans against Virgil’s desk and looks down at him with a serious gaze. Virgil perks up, cranes his neck to look at her from where his head is rested in his arms, and lets out a hum to let her know he’s listening.

“Do you still love Patton?”

Virgil can’t control himself when he immediately shoots up, sits back straight and rigid in the chair at the mention of the name. The question feels loaded, like any wrong answer is a step in the wrong direction, the pressure that will set off the landmines surrounding him. Why is she asking? It’s been three years. It’s been three years since Dee first got out, and she’s still thinking about this? Has she been wondering all this time?

And… Virgil hates this. He hates every single moment of this, because he can’t lie to her.

“Yes,” Virgil whispers, manages to get out through the lump in his throat. Dee’s been better. She started HRT, is slowly working her way towards displaying the type of body she’s supposed to have. She got her name legally changed, has a new wardrobe, friends, a job, a stable life. She has a service dog named Lucy, and still gets panic attacks and flashbacks when she hears yelling, but she’s doing better. They’re dating, and she’s healing, and starting to try new things that she’s been uncomfortable with for so, so long. She’s taking her life back. And Virgil’s just ruined it with a single word.

“I’m sorry,” Delilah says, and Virgil can’t even meet her eyes, even as his heart feels like it’s splitting in half.

“I’m sorry you still love someone you also hate. That must be really hard,” Delilah murmurs sympathetically, and Virgil is taken aback, and tears spill over his lashes, and Virgil presses his wet face into Delilah’s soft white turtleneck sweater. 

“I love you, Dee, I love you so fucking much. I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

And Delilah just holds him tightly, presses a kiss to the crown of his head, and they’re going to be okay.

#whumptober2019 #no.13 #adrenaline #ts sides #sanders sides #ts virgil #virgil sanders #ts deceit #deceit sanders #deceit angst #transfem deceit #ts patton #unsympathetic patton #ts logan #logan sanders #ts roman #roman sanders #anxceit #logince #tw rape mention #rape aftermath #tw blood #physical violence #tw cursing #ptsd #jasper's writing

[cruelangelstheses]

to be loved

fandom: dragon age rating: G characters: sera/female inquisitor words: 1.6k additional tags: canon compliant, self-esteem issues, fluff description: rana lavellan teaches her girlfriend sera how to make dalish hearth cakes. a/n: hello!! :D i wrote this for @serappreciationweek day 2: ships!!

read it on ao3

—

Sera furrows her brow as she reads over the recipe. Looking back up at her girlfriend, she says, “Elfy cookies?”

Rana shrugs. “They’re the only cookies I know how to make,” she says. “Although technically they’re called hearth cakes.”

Sera sticks her tongue out and passes the paper back to Rana. “Whatever. More than I can make.”

“Not for long!” Rana says, setting the recipe down on a crate. “Besides, think of it this way. At least you can admit that you don’t know how to make cookies. That already makes you better than some people.”

Sera pretends to be uninterested in Rana’s “elfy cookies,” but she can’t stop herself from glancing over at the table where the ingredients are already set up. “How’d you get halla butter?”

“Remember that Dalish clan we met in the Exalted Plains?” Rana says as she ties an apron around her waist. “I traded them for it.”

Sera doesn’t quite know what to do, so she just watches as Rana measures the flour. She’s beautiful when she’s so focused, completely ignoring the brown hair that falls into her eyes from its messy, boyish cut. Lifting the sifter above a large bowl, she turns her head toward Sera and says, “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Sera blinks a few times in surprise. “But I’m not…”

“Not what?” Rana says as she starts to sift the flour. “Not ‘elfy’ enough? Screw that. I got these ingredients because I want to bake cookies with you. I want us to make our own ‘us cookies.’ Together.”

At that, Sera gives in and allows herself a smile. “Frigging weird, you are,” she laughs, grabbing an apron of her own and joining Rana at the table, where she’s finished sifting the flour and has begun adding hardwood ash and salt. Meanwhile, Sera grabs the recipe and skims over it to find the next step.

“I’ll do the spices,” she says, grabbing a spoon. While she measures and mixes in the spices, Rana prepares the butter. It feels kind of nice, actually, being able to do something helpful and productive, but she’ll reserve judgment for when the cookies—hearth cakes—are actually finished. Maybe they’ll turn out tasting terrible, and it’ll be all her fault. That seems more likely.

“Okay,” Rana says. “Now we have to rub the butter into the mix until it all starts to look like crumbs. I recommend using our fingers; it’s easier.”

Sera smirks. “Mess! That’s fun stuff.”

Rana flashes her a snaggletooth grin, a smile reserved only for those she cares enough about. Sera counts herself lucky to be able to see it. “I knew you’d like that.”

Rana tosses the hunk of halla butter into the bowl, then presses it into the mixture. The yellow-white mush quickly covers her long, tan fingers, and after a moment, Sera sticks her own hands into the bowl and starts pushing the butter into the mix. Their hands constantly bump each other, and they giggle as their hands go from buttery to coated in thin crumbs. Sera savors her girlfriend’s giggle, another rare joy from a woman mired in bitterness and exhaustion.

When they’re nearly done, Sera takes her index finger and draws a swirly design around Rana’s right eye and down her cheek in sticky crumbs. “Now you match,” she says, referring to the black vallaslin that adorns the left side of her face, though it’s much more intricate than Sera’s last-minute crumb drawing. Rana snorts and kisses her on the cheek.

Sera handles the next step, stirring in the sugar and dried cranberries, while Rana beats the egg in a separate bowl to pour into the large one. They take turns mixing everything together until the dough actually starts to look like it’s supposed to.

Rana gets an excited gleam in her bright purple eyes, eyes that have captivated Sera since the moment she first saw them glowing in the darkness. “This is where they actually start to taste like cookies.”

They sprinkle some flour on the table and dump the dough out. Rana presses her palms against the lump and starts to knead with both hands, her movements strong and sure despite her tiny frame. She looks like she doesn’t need much help, so Sera stands and watches, admiring the subtle ripples of muscle in her arms and shoulders. Finally, when the dough is about as thin as it’s supposed to be, Rana grabs a goblet, turns it upside down, and says, “Cookie time,” before planting it firmly into one corner of the dough, cutting a perfect circle.

They fall into a pattern: Rana cuts the cookies, Sera pulls them out of the dough and sets them on a plate for the time being. When they run out of room to make another round shape, Rana rolls the remaining dough into a ball and flattens it out like she did before, until it’s so small that she can’t cut it with the goblet anymore. “What do we do with that, Inky?” Sera asks.

Rana picks up the little dough ball and rips it into two. Handing one half to Sera and popping the other into her mouth, she says, “We eat it.”

Sera laughs a little and shoves her piece into her mouth, chewing cautiously, prepared to hate it. It’s sweet and flavorful, and she likes the way the cranberries mix with the pastry dough.

Rana watches her expectantly. “Well? How is it?”

Sera shrugs and smiles awkwardly. “I...I like it.”

Rana grins again, and again, Sera feels blessed to witness it.

The final step is to actually bake the hearth cakes over a flame. Rana grabs a flat iron griddle and lets it heat up over the fire in the corner of the kitchen. Per her request, Sera tosses a pinch of flour into the griddle, and they watch as it turns golden brown, signalling that it’s ready.

Rana pulls the griddle out and sets it back on the table, while Sera carefully places the hearth cakes around the edge—“If we put them in the middle, it’ll blacken them,” Rana explains. She can’t fit them all in, so they’ll have to do a couple rounds.

They stand next to each other, watching the cookies get larger. Rana still has the crumb design on her face, and Sera leans down and rests her head on Rana’s shoulder. “You’re fun, Inky,” she says as she stares into the fire. “And you’re sweet, underneath all that ‘Grrr, look at me funny and I’ll knife you.’” They both giggle. When Sera first met Rana, she thought she’d never hear a sound like that come out of her mouth. She seemed too distant, too hostile, too bogged down with responsibility and hurt. For her to open up, to let loose, means more than Sera could ever put into words.

When the first batch of cookies is done, Sera helps pull them out of the griddle and onto the plate from earlier, while Rana replaces them with the unbaked half. Sera grabs one and pops the whole thing into her mouth, even though she knows she should wait until they’ve cooled down.

To the surprise of no one, the cookie burns her mouth, and she has to chew with it open to get some relief. “Piss!” she yells, but she’s smiling, too, and Rana shakes her head in mock disapproval.

“So? How are they?” Rana asks, keeping one eye on the griddle. “Besides the ‘burning your tongue’ part.”

Well, besides the “burning her tongue” part, the baked cookie tastes even better than the raw dough, which shouldn’t be too surprising, but it kind of is. It’s like she was still waiting for the cakes to turn bad somehow.

“They...they’re good,” she says. “I thought they’d be terrible. I thought I’d make them terrible. Not elfy enough to make elfy cookies right. Maybe that’s stupid, but ‘til now, it’s all I knew how to feel. ‘Not allowed to be elfy, Sera, elfy is bad,’ but ‘not elfy enough, Sera, try harder.’ So instead of feeling like a human or an elf, I just feel like...a failed elf.” She frowns and sighs. “So it’s good. This is good. Because now cookies make me think of you and how much I like you, instead of frigging Lady Emmald.” She grabs another cookie off the plate and takes a bite out of it, smiling spitefully. “And now I can make cookies better than she ever could. So she can eat it.”

Rana’s gaze is soft and warm, like a comforting light. “I’m glad, ma vhenan.”

Usually Sera doesn’t like hearing Elvish—her inability to speak or understand most of it serves as just another reminder of her supposed brokenness. But when Rana calls her vhenan, it’s different. It has a certain weight to it; it swells with everything Rana feels and can’t express. It’s a word that Rana shouts in desperation when Sera falls on the battlefield, and it’s a word that she whispers against Sera’s chest when they’re alone at night. It feels right for once, to love and be loved by her.

It’s Sera that breaks the trance between them when she smells the burning. “Inky! The cookies!”

Rana jumps and quickly pulls the griddle out from the flame and sets it on the table. The cookies aren’t on fire, but they’re significantly darker than the first batch.

“Ugh,” Sera says, wrinkling her nose. “See, that’s what happens when you get too lovey-dovey.”

They stare at each other for a short moment, and then they both burst into laughter.

#sera #sera appreciation week #serappreciationweek #sera x inquisitor #sera x lavellan #female inquisitor #female lavellan #dragon age inquisition #dai #dragon age #seravellan #rana lavellan #my fics #happy elf lesbians!!!

[allisondraste]

In-Character Interview

Rules:

1. Choose a character

2. Answer as them

3. Tag 5 people!

I was tagged by: @haledamage

I’ll tag: I feel like all my typical tag-ees have done this before with multiple OCs, but if you happen to see this and want to do it, feel free! Consider yourself tagged by moi, and mention me when you fill it out so I can read it!

I’ve done this meme before for both Lucia and Niamh, but not for dear sweet Liss, so here we go!

What is your name?

“Elissa Odette Cousland, but most people call me Liss. I prefer it to my full name.”

Do you know why you are named that?

“My mother had a childhood friend named Elissa, I think. I’m not actually sure.”

Are you single or taken?

“Well… I’m not single, but I wouldn’t say I’m taken. I don’t like to think of relationships like that. Love isn’t possessive, you know?”

Have any abilities or powers?

“I’m proficient with a sword, or so I’m told. I’ve been practicing since I was a child. I remember winning against Fergus once. He was twice my size at the time, and so embarrassed because Oriana was watching.”

Stop being a Mary Sue!

“I’m not Mary Sue, but she sounds like a remarkable woman. I would very much love to meet her!”

What’s your eye color?

“Dark brown. I used to be self-conscious about them —all of the other girls I knew had lovely jewel-colored eyes, and mine were like… dirt or something. I don’t think of them that way anymore.”

How about your hair color?

“Technically, I’m blonde, but when I’m outside there is a reddish tint that comes out in the sunlight. ‘Strawberry blonde’ my mother always called it.”

Have any family members?

“As far as blood relatives go, Fergus is the only one left, but I don’t think family ends with blood. There is, of course Nate, Delilah, and her son Thomas. There are also the Wardens. In a way, my family has never been bigger.”

How about pets?

“None right now, but Fergus said that one of his hounds just had a litter. He’s asked me to visit and see if one imprints on me.”

That’s cool, I guess. Now tell me something you don’t like.

“Rendon Howe. Next.”

Do you have any hobbies/activities that you like to do?

“I love reading and writing! I’ll have to share my favorite books with you later. I think you’ll like to read some of them.”

Have you ever hurt anyone in anyway before?

“Many times. I speak and act before I think, and that impulsivity has caused people I care about a lot of pain. I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive myself for getting mixed up in Alistair’s relationship (although I’d argue that was his fault, too).”

Ever...killed anyone before?

“Yes. I’d rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.”

What kind of animal are you?

“A lion. Grrr.”

Name your worst habits.

“Like I said before, I’m impulsive. I do dumb, foolish things on whims and then always regret them later.”

Do you look up to anyone at all?

“I looked up to my parents while they were alive. My mother was a force to be reckoned with and my father was always so gentle and good. I miss them.

“I also admire Queen Anora. She’s one of the smartest people I have ever met, and such a competent leader too. Long may she reign.”

Are you straight, gay, or bisexual?

“That’s certainly not very many options is it? What if I didn’t fit any of those categories?

“To answer your question, I’ve been with both men and women. I like both men and women. I suppose that makes me bisexual.”

Did you attend school?

“Sort of. I had a tutor, Aldous, but I always learned faster than he taught. I read all the assigned readings and had the lessons memorized before he taught them, so I had a reputation for not going to class and getting up to all sorts of mischief. Fergus got in trouble a lot for covering for me. Aldous thought I was a rotten child, so did Nan, but my parents knew that I was just bored.

Ever want to marry and have kids some day?

“I think so, yes. I know I always did before all this mess with the civil war and Blight. I chose to become a Grey Warden because I admire them and what they do, and because it’s something to be a part of, a purpose that I lost. That makes a family more difficult, but not impossible.”

Do you have any fangirls/fanboys?

“Not that I know of, no.”

What are you most afraid of?

“Losing people I love. I’ve already lost so much. The thought of something happening to Fergus or Nathaniel or anyone else I care about… it keeps me up at night sometimes.”

What do you usually wear?

“Warden-Commander Lucia tells me it’s impractical to wear skirts while traveling, so I’ve begrudgingly agreed to wear the standard warden uniform while we’re on the road. I think it looks rather nice actually.”

What is one food that tempts you?

“I have quite the sweet tooth. Father once brought home these delicate little cakes from Orlais - Macarons, I believe they were called. I’d kill a man for one of those.”

Am I annoying you?

“Of course not! This is quite fun.”

Well it’s still not over!

“Oh good!”

What class are you (low/middle/high)?

“I suppose, as the sister of a Teyrn, that’d make me high class. I had all the privileges of the wealthy growing up. It’s been rather a shock to see how harsh the world is outside my safe castle walls.”

How many friends do you have?

“Too many to count. I seem to know people everywhere I go. Although, as far as good friends go, I can count them on one hand. There’s Nate, Alistair, Queen Anora, and Bria the Blacksmith. I think that the Wardens here will count among my friends too. I just need more time to get to know them, is all. “

“I would include the Warden-Commander too, but I’m not sure she’ll be able to forgive me for what I…did.”

What are your thoughts on pie?

“I prefer cake, but it’ll do. So long as it’s not that Starkhaven fish pie. Blech.”

Favorite drink?

“I love a good cider!”

What’s your favorite place?

“Until a little over a year ago, I would have said home, Highever. Now, I’m not sure. Denerim was rather nice… Amaranthine is too!”

Are you interested in anyone?

“It’s weird to say it out loud, but yes, in a way. It’s been this kind of unspoken thing between Nate and I for so long and it’s so different than anything else I’ve ever experienced. I don’t know that “interested” is a strong enough word for it.”

That was a stupid question…

“No! There are no stupid questions! Don’t beat yourself up like that.”

Would you rather swim in the lake or an ocean?

“Lakes seem safer, but it might be nice to take a dip in the sea sometime.”

What’s your type?

“You’re probably expecting me to say something like ‘grumpy dark-haired archers with daddy issues,’ and I’m going to disappoint you greatly. I don’t have a type so specific as that. When I think about people I’ve been attracted to in my life, they’re all so different. Some of them polar opposites even. They have all been kind, though. Kind and smart and good. I suppose that’s my type.”

Any fetishes?

“I don’t kink and tell.”

Camping or outdoors?

“As long as it’s not cold. I hate the bloody cold.”

#dragon age #my ocs #liss cousland #cousland #memes #thanks for the tag friend!!

[broken-clover]

Dust Strikers Story Mode 4/4

Part four of the story transcripts for Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers. I apologize for taking so long to submit this last section, I was suffering from a case of my-computer-is-laggy-and-I-can’t-play-Anji-to-save-my-life. I hope you can forgive me.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 (Slayer, I-no, Zappa, Bridget, Anji)

Slayer

Slayer: Interesting Bridget: What is it? Excuse me, you don't happen to have a bounty on your head by any chance? Slayer: Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not worth much of anything. But if your skills measure up to me, I might be worth your time. Johnny: Even though he's an old guy, I'm impressed that she wants to take on a guy. It just fascinates me. Anji: You think? I'm interested in guys too. Johnny: What did you say? Anji: Don't get any wrong ideas, now. I'm interested in their powers. Slayer: I agree with that way of thinking. That simplifies matters. Johnny: Wait, I'm not really... Anji: Now you're talking! I'm pumped!

Faust: This is an interesting symptom. I see, it's a cause and effect cycle. Axl: You, I never asked you to check up on me! Even though it's true that I've been through a lot, I've never had any doubts about my body. Faust: Oh, is that right? If there aren't any cures, that may very well be the best treatment. Axl: I'm more concerned about your body. Looks a little mysterious. Faust: Not to worry. It's all functional Slayer: Irregulars with an added spice that changes the world of men. Axl: You talking about us? Slayer: It's because of people like you that makes humans interesting. Even though you're blessed with great powers, it's normal to you. Very typical of how humans behave. Axl: It'll stress you out if you think so deeply. Zappa: Hahahahaha! Slayer: Look. Yet another fellow favored by the goddess of fortune. Axl: I do like women but I'm not sure about the goddess. Slayer: It must be the uncertainty factor that led you into running into me Axl: C'mon, let's just have fun...I thought this was supposed to be a party!

Potemkin: I heard from the president. I've been looking forward to this day to finally exchange shots with you. Slayer: One of the disciples, I gather. You think you can take me? You should beat him before coming to me. You'll pay a high price for this! Chipp: HEY! Hold it right there! You're the dude who founded the guild, aren't you? Slayer: That was quite a long time ago...I no longer have any involvement...but it is true that I am the founder. Chipp: That simplifies matters. I'm gonna destroy you! Jam: Looks like I've gotten myself into a hostile environment. Better get outta here... Slayer: Hmm, looks like you're a ki wielder. I'm interested in your combat style. Would you mind showing me some of it? Jam: I'm no cheap street performer. If you give me some of that spice, I'll think about it. Slayer: I should be able to accommodate you. Jam: That's a promise! Chipp: Quit ignoring me, both of you! You're going down!

Slayer: This is quite an unusual combination. Sol: I'm starting to get tired of your face Testament: Different being. What do you want? Slayer: Nope. Nothing in particular. Just happened to pass by. Testament: Then please go away Dizzy: Oh, you're Mr. Slayer, aren't you? Please excuse Testament's words. He doesn't mean any harm. Slayer: I'm not bothered by it. Don't worry. But this is quite interesting. Sol: So what the hell is your point? Slayer: Those who have veered off the path. I guess the same must be said of me. Testament: What are you insinuating? You better have a good explanation Slayer: My apologies if I offended you. I'm just genuinely interested in your powers Sol: You using us to kill your boredom? I think it's time you hung em up.

Millia: So...we meet again...Zato. Eddie: So you still haven't gotten over him? Millia: Shut up, you damn beast...I'm talking to him, not you! Eddie: What do you want to talk to ME about? Millia: I'm taking you down. I'm sick and tired of looking at your pathetic, bony remains. Venom: Not so fast...! Master Zato is regarded as the crown-jewel of the guild. You'll have to hand him over to me...! Slayer: I've told you the Guild is no more. No raison d'etre and no purpose. Continued existence will only bring further regret and despair. Venom: Oldtimers can keep their mouth shut. The guild no longer belongs to you. Millia: It has nothing to do with me anymore, I don't care what happens to it. I just want to take care of this guy with my very own hands. Eddie: Do you think it will be that easy? What do "I" think?"...Not so easy, "I" say. Venom: I sense you...Master Zato. I am going to free you, Master, from the evil spell of death! Eddie: Ha ha...this is great! Lowly humans who cannot accept death. That's the right evil spirit to have! Slayer: I'm the one who started all of this. I must atone for my past deeds. Fine, let us put an end to it all.

Slayer: Just when I thought it was all over. Gig: Grr... Slayer: Don't want to be adding more trouble. You looking for a dance partner? Gig: Grrrgh! Slayer: Very well then, mademoiselle.

Gig: Grr...grr... Slayer: That was very passionate, wasn't it? I had better get going now... Gig: Ghhh... Slayer: So long! Farewell!

Slayer: Take a look, Sharon. Tonight the moon shines beautifully. The red moon in the dark night sky seems to epitomize the world of man. Those that will shine and stand out amidst this corrupt day and age are those with immortal justice....Don't you think, Sharon?

I-no

I-no: That's an exciting combination. Potemkin: That red outfit and guitar...you must be... I-no: You remember me? That's nice to know. Potemkin: Someone like you go unchecked...lucky for you I'm a little busy now. You pull out and I'll let you go. Zappa: Grrr! I'm gonna curse you! Faust: Looks like this won't need treatment. If we take too much time, the patient is not going to make it. I-no: Look, the beasts are making noise. But I'm afraid I don't understand what they're saying. So loud and annoying. Potemkin: That should be enough! It's time for me to shut you up. Faust: Looks like it is your mind-set that needs treatment. Fine, I shall treat you, then. I-no: Trying to act tough, are we? You damned animals. I'll cut you up and feed the dogs!

Bridget: Something I can help you with? I-no: What a sweetie you are. What do I want? Let's see... May: If you're asking to be hooked up with Johnny, there's no way. I-no: I see, so there's more of you. Hey, I have a fun idea. Bridget: What is it? I've got cool tricks too. I-no: Demons' groaning sounds beautiful. Even more when they're in harmony. Dizzy: Are you trying to hurt everyone? I'm not going to let you do that. I-no: I love all that energy. Come on, play a tune for me. Bridget: I wouldn't underestimate me if I were you. Fall into the hands of the law.

I-no: What do we have here, the desperate bachelorettes council? Baiken: What kind of greeting is that? That's not a very nice thing to say Jam: That's right! You're rude! And what about you? I-no: Oh dear, don't be so uptight. It's just a joke, honey. Or were you offended 'cause I was right on the mark? Millia: You're a joke. Why don't you get outta here. I-no: Oh no. I'm scared. I guess this is how women become as they get older. Baiken: You crazy! I'll cut you up into pieces! Jam: I'm not showing you any mercy either! Millia: If you're not gonna get outta here, we'll have to get rid of you. It's as simple as that. I-no: You're such sweethearts. Very well, I make you cry lots. We'll find out how loud you can cry.

I-no: Hi there. Testament: What the hell do you want? I-no: Don't glare at me like that. You're scaring me. Testament: Get the hell outta here if you don't want anything. Unless of course you want to die. I-no: What do I want? Let's see...I'm here to hunt down all the monsters. I'd like all of you to die. Slayer: Ha, calling us all monsters, huh? You do realize I'm a disparate type? Too caught up in your own powers? Let me give you a lesson on manners. Eddie: Some excellent subject material. I shall test you to see if you are adequate for my body. I-no: Who do you think you're talking to? You can all bathe in your own blood! Testament: I'll show you this monster's power. You can repent your losses in hell!

I-no: You're late. You shouldn't make ladies wait like that. Sol: shut up. What are you wandering around for? Johnny: Hey, what a coincidence. Didn't expect to run into you here....guess yu're busy with a woman Sol: You stay out of it I-no: Ooh, another cute guy Ky: All of you! Freeze right there! I-no: and now a cute boy, too. Ky: Sol..! And Johnny the pirate, and you're..! I-no: I'd stay out of it if I were you. Why don't you just go home to mommy? Sol: That's enough chit chatting. Let's let the fists do the talking! Ky: ...Sol! I-no: The violent guy as always. Sure, why not...I'll cut you all up into pieces! Ky: I guess there's no alternative. Holy Knight combat was initially meant for handling multiple enemies. I'll show you what it's all about!

I-no: I see... Gig: Grr... I-no: So the caterpillar couldn't become a butterfly. Once a piece of junk, always a piece of junk, I guess. Gig: Grrrgh! I-no: Hahaha! What a joke!

Gig: Grr...grr... I-no: How was it? Did you like it? I'm sure you're quite satisfied. Gig: Ghh... I-no: I say that's enough for one day! Time for you to go to hell! Gig: Grr...

That Man:...good. Job well done. You may go now. I-no: Yes, sir! That Man: Well...I'll let you go this time. But refrain from actions that may throw off our plan. Especially if it had to do with him. I-no: But sir! That Man:... I-no: My apologies, sir. That Man: Now there is another good reason...to be killed by him.

Zappa

Zappa: Hey! Miss! Millia:...Yes? Zappa: If it's possible, can you be my wi... Millia:... Zappa: Actually, never mind... Axl: Dude, let me show you how it's done. Hey, you in the beautiful blond hair! Let me buy you a cup of coffee so I can see which glows brighter, your hair or your eyes. Millia:...Um, I'm in a hurry. Ky: You're Millia, the former assassin. If you're not with the guild anymore, leave the rest to the police force. No need to put yourself in danger. Millia: I'll take care of him. It's none of your business. Ky: But no, we have to... Zappa: What's all this talk about? Even the police are here. Maybe I should get outta...NO!...Happiness. Hatred! Hatred! Millia: Why don't I ever have luck with men?

Johnny: Whoa, check out this beautiful lady. How flirty you are. Jam: I'm not into guys like you. Take a hike. Johnny: Playing hard to get, are we? Zappa: Good cook! Good cook! Good cook! Jam: What's that? Zappa: High points as a wife candidate. Ready for engagement. Let me eat you up! Johnny: That's a dangerous pick up line Jam: A ghost? Very unscientific. Eddie: Ha! Your body shall be mine! Jam: You're much more scientific than him. Anyway, you're not my type either. You can all take a hike.

Zappa: Um, excuse me! I'm lost and was wondering if...if, if you wanted to die! Sol: Out of my way. Zappa: Where'd this big burn come from? Help me! I don't wanna die!...Die! You shall die! Dizzy: What's going on? No, Necro! Zappa: Wh, what?! My head's cold...It's blood! No! No! No!...Tear you up into pieces! Slayer:...Just a little nudge. Zappa:...Huh? Why am I going backwards when I'm moving forward? Huh? My head's on the wrong way...

Zappa: Um, excuse me, I was wondering... Baiken: Yeah what? Why are you so fidgety? Act like a man, will you? Zappa: Oh, I'm sorry. I'm looking for a person, Fa- Baiken: Fa...who? Zappa:...Fricken nasty! Baiken: What's going on here? I'm surrounded by freaks. Testament: How rude of you to say that. I've long given up my human name, but by no means am I a freak. Venom: This is a supernatural phenomenon. Quite interesting. I'd like to see more of your powers. Baiken: Man, this is a real drag. I'll blow you all away! Testament: Lowly humans shall die!

Bridget: Wow, what a massive frame you got. Potemkin: Well, I was born big. This fist I use for what I believe in and to engage in art, nothing else. Bridget: So you're an artist. Good for you. Maybe you can draw something for me? Faust: Should be safe if I've come this far. Bridget: Wow, landing using just an umbrella, that's amazing. You from the circus? Faust: No actually, believe it or not I'm a... Zappa: Dr. Faust! (sigh...sigh...) Faust: My goodness, he's caught up already. Bridget: This is remarkable! How do you bend your joints and run like that? You must be a yoga expert. Zappa: Quick, doctor, please do something! Look! I'm bent all over the place! Oh no!!! Faust: Looks like it's begun. I'll have to take drastic measures. Potemkin: Is it fate that I happen to be here? What the heck, I can help out. Bridget:...! What amazing tricks! Now it's my turn! Check this out!

Zappa: Good grief! I'm lost again. Plus it's getting dark. Gig: Grr... Zappa: Huh? Excuse me, is someone there? Gig: Grrrgh! Zappa: Aaaagh! Good time to pass out!

Gig: Grr...grr... Zappa:...I can sense it from you! I sense...a bitter grudge! Very similar...to me...aaaagh! Gig: Ghhh... Zappa:...Huh? What's going on? Why's my whole body so beat up? Gig: Grr... Zappa:...Huh?

Bridget

Bridget: Are you Testament? Testament:...you a bounty hunter? Bridget: You got it. Testament: Aren't you a little too young? What is this world coming to? Bridget: Nothing's going to change if you're so pessimistic all the time. Testament: How come you don't realize you are turning yourself into a machine at the price of countless bloodshed. I must teach you a lesson! Ky: Hold it right there! International Police Force is now... Jam: Ayah!!! Yes! This is my lucky day! Testament: Yet another shameless human looking to land a bounty... Jam: That's not what I'm here for. It's not very often you can hire 3 cute waiters in one day! Bridget: Umm, I'm a bounty hunter. Jam: Quick, let's have a match! I win, and you all have to work for me! I don't mind if it's 3 on 1. Cute guys beating you up is cool too! Testament: I can't deal with this. Let me through. Bridget: Fine, then. We'll do it all in one go! Ky: What? Me too?

Bridget: Something I can help you with? I-no: What a sweetie you are. What do I want? Let's see... May: If you're asking to be hooked up with Johnny, there's no way. I-no: I see, so there's more of you. Hey, I have a fun idea. Bridget: What is it? I've got cool tricks too. I-no: Demons' groaning sounds beautiful. Even more when they're in harmony. Dizzy: Are you trying to hurt everyone? I'm not going to let you do that. I-no: I love all that energy. Come on, play a tune for me. Bridget: I wouldn't underestimate me if I were you. Fall into the hands of the law.

Axl: Hey, what's that you're holding? I didn't know you had those toys, even in this day and age. Bridget: This is not a toy! It's a tool of my trade! Axl: Ouch! I'm sorry! What have we here? Playing pool at a place like this? Venom: How dare you insult my combat style. I say you deserve a beating. Axl: Hang on a sec! Something wrong with this era. Every toy's being used as a weapon. So what do people actually play with? Johnny: The best for of entertainment, I'd say is the thrill and romance of playing with fireworks at night. I'm pretty sure that's the consensus. Axl: You know what you're talking about! I'm actually great with fire myself...here we go!

Bridget: Whoah, everybody looks tough Chipp: Hey! what's a kid doing here? Eddie: A child. Attractive in terms of her youthfulness but too immature to become my host Bridget: You're not taking me seriously? Then let me show you my moves Sol:...back off. Don't be wasting my time Eddie: Interesting. I shall keep a record of the battle results for future reference Bridget: Don't be surprised! Here I come! Sol: What am I, a babysitter? I can't deal with this...

Bridget: Wow, what a massive frame you got. Potemkin: Well, I was born big. This fist I use for what I believe in and to engage in art, nothing else. Bridget: So you're an artist. Good for you. Maybe you can draw something for me? Faust: Should be safe if I've come this far. Bridget: Wow, landing using just an umbrella, that's amazing. You from the circus? Faust: No actually, believe it or not I'm a... Zappa: Dr. Faust! (sigh...sigh...) Faust: My goodness, he's caught up already. Bridget: This is remarkable! How do you bend your joints and run like that? You must be a yoga expert. Zappa: Quick, doctor, please do something! Look! I'm bent all over the place! Oh no!!! Faust: Looks like it's begun. I'll have to take drastic measures. Potemkin: Is it fate that I happen to be here? What the heck, I can help out. Bridget:...! What amazing tricks! Now it's my turn! Check this out!

Bridget: Whoa! What's this? Gig: Grr... Bridget: Some sort of costume party? That's a great costume. Gig: Grrrgh! Bridget: Wait. Is it real?

Gig: Grr...grr... Bridget: Phew, that was hard work. He's a big guy but that made it easier to get up close. Gig: Ghhh... Bridget: Umm...guess there's no bounty. Okay then, see you later. Gig: Grr...

Bridget: Hmm...starting to run out of travel money...and I'm getting hungry. Hey! That guy! Maybe he's... Bridget:....Umm, excuse me, sir...is there a bounty on your head?

Anji

Anji: You must be Ky Kiske, former leader of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights Ky: Yes, that would be me. And who are you? Anji: Last name is Mito, first name is Anji. I'm just a journeyman Ky: So what can I help you with? Anji: I'd like to challenge you to a match. I wanted to see firsthand the skills of a top-class warrior like yourself. Ky: I can tell from your presence that you're not an ordinary foe. Asian martial arts? Interesting. I accept your challenge. Slayer: In that case, count me in too. Fighting for the sake of fighting. To me fighting is life's best form of entertainment. Don't you think? Potemkin: I myself haven’t had any worthy opponents recently. Sure, I'll take you on. Ky: This is getting interesting. It's been a while for me too. Bring it on!

Anji: You're using that thing as a weapon? 'Assassins' are something, aren't they. Venom:...You should talk! Your combat style is bizarre too! Anji: I don't mean to be conceited, but my moves are second to none. How about a quick match? It may help me to learn new tactics. I'd like to say yes to your offer, but... Anji: I guess it's not going to be 1 on 1. Chipp: That's right. I'm not a nice enough guy to let go of this great chance at revenge! Testament: Sacred treasures? How effective my sorcery will be....please allow me to test it on you.

Anji: So you're Dizzy... Dizzy:...That is correct. What can I do for you? There's no bounty on my head anymore. Anji: Nope, nothing vicious like that. Jam: By the way, I'm the one who got the bounty. Thanks to the money, I've been able to open up my own restaurant Bridget: Hey, I wanted that bounty too. First come first serve, I guess. Life isn't always fair. Anji: I wanted to know where 'That Man' is. Do you know something? Dizzy: I'm sorry, I don't know much. Anji: All right, then. I guess I'll try somewhere else. Bridget: Is there a bounty on his head? Then I wanna know, too! Jam: I wanna know, too! Good chance to expand my restaurant! Anji: Hey, you guys are missing the point.

Anji: You know Sol, don't you? I-no: You meet a woman for the first time and that's the first thing you ask me? I want to know more about you. Anji: My apologies. Last name is Mito, first name is Anji. I'm just a journeyman. I-no: thanks for the introduction. And what can I help you with? Anji: I've been wanting to meet 'That Man.' I-no: Really. You won't live long, dear. Eddie: That's not necessarily the case. As long as you become a part of my body! Ha! Anji: Two on one? This is a tough situation. Faust: Looks like you're having trouble. I can assist you to the best of my humble ability. I-no. Thanks for showing up to your own funeral, doc! Faust: No matter who, my mission is to save lives. Let us apply some drastic remedies, shall we?

Anji: Finally found you. Sol:...It's you again. Anji: Let me ask you straight out. Do you have any idea where 'he' is? Sol: So what if I know? Anji: Can you tell me where he is? Of course I'm willing to work for it. You and I have a bout, and if I win, you tell me. Sounds fair? Baiken: Wait! Let me in on the festivities Sol: Sorry, not interested. You guys enjoy each other's company Anji: Even Justice feared my powers...Still not interested? Sol:...! Baiken: Shut your trap! You're starting to get on my nerves. I'll kick all of your butts right now! Axl: Whoa!...Damn it...is this a bad time? Baiken: Eavesdropping, are we? I'm not impressed! Axl: I just wanted to ask chief something Sol: And even you. Why does everyone want to stick their noses in other people's business! Axl: No worries, chief! Just a quick bout, no hard feelings! Sol: I'm not responsible for what happens.

Anji: Well, well... Gig: Grr... Anji: I'd like to see if my calculations...were correct or not, but... Gig: Grrgh! Anji: He's probably not willing to talk.

Gig: Grr...grr... Anji: Man, I thought I was gonna die! My victory, nevertheless! Gig: Grr...

Anji: If Gear wasn't created as a weapon...then what was the creator thinking...actually, no point think about it. Anji: Won't know until I meet him anyway. So...I wonder where he is now...

#guilty gear #Guilty Gear Dust Strikers #resources #dialogue #Slayer #I-no #Zappa #Bridget #Anji Mito

[rpkpopmemes]

stray kids mixtape album

triggers: depression

HELLEVATOR

“my life was rock bottom.” “i’m walking in a dark tunnel.” “i’m enduring through alone.” “i’m so unlucky.” “i don’t even have a map.” “i never want to turn around.” “i comfort myself.” “people tell me this kind of suffering is just a passing storm.” “if i want to succeed, even though i’m afraid, i need to set up a trap called failure.” “no one is there to grab it.” “i’m on a hellevator.” “there’s no one to care or worry about me.” “those quitting words keep hitting my ear.” “i’m praying to live.” “even if i succeed i’ll be someone’s clown.” “i’m getting weak.” “i keep pushing myself.” “i’m trying to look for an exit.” “run away from this place.” “i’m escaping from my dark past.” “take me to the penthouse.”

GRRR

“my mind is a mess.” “i don’t care.” “leave behind anyone who doesn’t understand.” “whether people view me in a bad or good light, it all feels uncomfortable.” “my frustration level is serious right now.” “i’m at war with myself.” “i know i shouldn't be like this.” “everything goes the opposite way.” “i want you to understand me.” “i don’t know what will happen.” “don’t talk to me.” “now i can’t even sleep.” “my pillow should be soft but instead of a cushion it’s a mountain of books.” “i want strength to break apart this situation but thousands of push-ups don’t help.” “adults who don’t understand think I’m a delinquent.” “they try but they tire me out.” “i can’t get rid of my anger.” “my mind is not normal.” “how much more do i have to be lost.” “oh my, what is this ??”

YOUNG WINGS

“i didn’t wanna seem young.” “i kept changing clothes for no reason.” “i wanted to be an adult.” “my eyes went from sneakers to dress shoes.” “days that used to feel long now feel so short.” “it’ll be hard to hide my joy.” “only my arrogance grew.” “i’m at the cusp of twenty.” “i wanna live my age.” “but i don’t wanna change, even if they say i’m immature.” “it’s foolish but i’m still young.” “it’s hard to become an adult now.” “i used to be a regular at the stationary store.” “but now that the time is actually near, i don’t know what to do.” “i’m not ready.”

YAYAYA

“watch out.” “where are you going today ??” “what’re you gonna do there ??” “you’re at the same places as the red carpet stars.” “they all expect you to be careful.” “the audience is in awe when they see your killer stage.” “don’t be so cautious.” “you don’t go far away.” “hold me.” “hold my hand tight.” “you’re so cruel in my dreams.” “when i open my eyes, it seems like you’ll disappear.” “i don’t care, i wanna go to you.” “i can’t believe myself.” “i can’t hide my shaking eyes.” “all of my passion is out.” “you’re busy even today.” “you drive everyone crazy.” “it’s been long since i’ve gone crazy.” “your value is worth a national treasure.” “i know i’m not good enough to have you.” “i’m at an age to get lost in confidence.” “i’m not afraid of anything.” “can’t nobody else do it like you.” “this is probably my greed but i hope you’ll hear this.” “watch over me ‘til the end.” “i’m all ready.” “every time i sleep i think of being number one.”

GLOW

“we can rest.” “it’s still too early.” “even though we can’t see the end, we must go to the end.” “why is an alarm ringing at this time; “it’s time to get up. you need to get up.” “i looked in the mirror. i look like a mess.” “but we’re cool kids looking like we got rained on.” “anyone can see we’re one family.” “if you’re sleepy, cheat a little, slightly close your eyes.” “practice goes harder once night comes.” “it’s sad but we’re hitting him hard.” “so where do you want me to go ??” “look at the night sky, look at the stars.” “days of silence follow, and then we all practice again.” “so much pressure behind the word debut.” “i don’t know where we’ll go.” “i can’t handle this dream sometimes.” “this is my last time.” “i won’t give up.”

SCHOOL LIFE

“sounds like the mosquitoes on a summer night.” “i wanted to sleep so i figured out how to sleep while walking to school.” “as soon as the bell rings, the teacher scolds the sleeping kids.” “why act like you don’t know ??” “why you keep saying stuff ??” “wishing tomorrow will be a little different.” “no need to worry.” “my days are filled with studying.” “so annoying.” “it’s not like i don’t have dreams.” “i’m always so small in front of grades.” “i can’t do what i want.” “please stop.”

4419

“how are you doing ??” “your spot next to me feels so empty.” “i wonder how you’re doing.” “i’m sitting at the back of the bus.” “i’m sitting at the back of the bus where we used to sit.” “i still remember the day i first met you.” “we were the same age and we got so close.” “it’s fall soon. the leaves are falling.” “we’re in different places with the same dream.” “someday we’ll meet again in the same place.” “i keep thinking about our memories in this small vocal room where we fought and talked a lot.” “recently, i got to know a lot of people.” “it’s been a while since i adjusted to this new place.” “i think i grew up a lot.” “i used to be afraid to go to the academies alone.” “i begged mom for us to go together.” “now i can go to seoul alone.” “i buy my own clothes now.” “we used to bond over comic books.” “thank you my friend.” “i won’t forget you.”

#rpkpopmemes #krp memes #roleplay memes #stray kids meme #queue