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biteofcherry · 2 years

Note

Bucky and reader plus sex pollen and stuck in a cabin in the woods?

Petals

Bucky Barnes x female reader

warnings: sex pollen; slight dub-con due to sex pollen (but otherwise consented); unprotected sex; fingering;

~ * ~

“There’s not a single pill in this goddamn cabin!” You yell, slamming the cabinet door shut.

The heat unfurling in your belly, spreading its burning tentacles through your whole body, clenching around each limb and squirming in your insides, makes you impatient and angry.

Fear of what the unknown adds oil to this fire.

You went through every nook in this house and found nothing useful to help your state. For a place that belonged to a scientist it sure is poorly equipped in medicine.

It was supposed to be so simple. A boring reckon mission. Just to check the cabin and secure any samples of the ongoing experiments the former Hydra doctor ran in this place. They weren’t even that groundbreaking, it seemed at first glance.

He focused on plants and their genetics. No human experiments so far, no especially suspicious or dangerous ingredients. Just various plants, basic chemical reagents, stacks of Petri dishes.

As a member of doctor Banner’s scientific unit you were tasked with gathering all the potentially dangerous or simply unusual items. Bucky was your security. A one person army to save your civil ass if you got in trouble.

You made sure to take the highest precautions. With masks and gloves on, you carefully placed each item in a container which you later locked in special cases.

You tried not to show any reaction to seeing Bucky in a mask. The blue of eyes striking a more vibrant color in contrast to it. They seemed more piercing, too.

You saw Winter Soldier only on footage, with his black muzzle covering half of his face. Bucky was always Bucky to you, since the day you were introduced. But you couldn’t help the jolt of adrenaline as his attentive gaze observed your every move.

Once done with the inside of the cabin, you took the masks and gloves off and checked the garden behind the cabin. It was filled with completely normal herbs and vegetables, nothing out of the ordinary.

You admired the few flowers that grew along the fence, swaying gently on the breeze.

“I haven’t seen those in a while,” Bucky said then as he stepped right next to you, his eyes focused on the tall stem and deep red flowers cascading from it.

“They’re not very popular,” you nodded. “Some people have them in their rustic gardens, but it’s not a flower shop's desired item. Which is a shame.”

You traced one of the crimson flowers with your fingertip, gasping in surprise when the petals shivered and fell off at the mere touch.

One petal after the other, like ruby domino pieces that swung on the wind before dropping to the ground.

A puff of pink pollen gushed from bared stigmas, dispersing in the air.

It got into your airways quickly, itching the back of your throat then transforming into a very sweet aftertaste that dried out your mouth and made you thirsty.

Not more than ten minutes later, sweat broke out on your skin. A weird type of itching prickled your skin, making it oh so sensitive that a single brush of Bucky’s shoulder against you, as the two of you barged into the cabin, caused your whole body to tremble.

When it became clear he was experiencing some effects of the pollen too, you were instantly worried.

You were just a human, but if a super soldier reacted to a substance it meant serious trouble. Even if he was less affected compared to you.

Bucky stayed composed, only revealed his temperature starts rising and his muscles tensed.

When you ordered an immediate cleanse, Bucky simply walked out of the cabin to dive into the lake in front of it. You locked yourself in the shower, scrubbing your body over and over again. You had to switch the water to cold when your body started heating up.

Cold shower didn’t help much, sweat dampened your skin a few minutes after you stepped out of the bathroom.

Your first aid kit consists of dire needs medicine, there are epinephrine shots but no simple antihistamine pills. And your current state doesn’t call for pumping yourself with adrenaline.

Your body is producing enough of it.

“No pill would help anyway.”

Bucky’s low grunt startles you. In your frenzy you didn’t notice him coming back, but now that you turned to him you can’t help but notice everything about him.

He’s still wet from his swim. Drops of water shimmer on his skin, his brown hair seemingly ink black, heavy with water. He’s got only his pants on, not even fully zipped.

He’s standing by the kitchen counter, leaning over it, head bowed, arms strained as he grips the edge. Wood dents beneath his metal fingers.

“What do you mean?” You wipe the sweat off your forehead with the back of your hand. Skin on skin contact, though it’s only yours, makes you shiver.

“That heat-” your breath hitches when Bucky looks up at you, his eyes so intense.

Your thin tank top and flimsy bottoms that cling to your damp skin feel nonexistent with how he takes in your body.

He straightens and slowly walks over to you. Your heart rate seems to increase with each step that he takes. He backs you up against the cabinets. Towers over you, his massive form filling your vision and limiting the world for you to his body alone.

“That itching-” he trails his fingers down your arm, eliciting goosebumps along their way.

He slips his flesh arm around your waist and hooks his metal fingers under the strap of your tank top.

“There’s only one way to fill this hunger.” Bucky yanks on the strap, ripping your top off of you easily.

He captures your surprised yelp on his mouth; lips and tongue battling your resistance.

Bucky’s touch sets your body ablaze. The kiss both satiates a growing need, as well worsens it.

But he’s right - the itching beneath your skin melts into a pleasant hum, restoring energy in your body and making it shake with an urge to take more. Blood rushes through your veins, throbbing in your erect nipples and swelling clit.

“N-no.” You pant when Bucky’s kisses move from your mouth to trail along your jaw and down your neck.

Your hands fly to his shoulders, fingers digging into his flesh, but you don’t exactly put any strength into pushing him away. Your protest, too, is more against the meaning behind Bucky’s words not against the pleasure he strums your body with.

“No, it can’t be.” Your eyes close, body jerking in a jolt of sensation as metal fingers squeeze your breast. Smooth, cool metal grazes your stiffened peak.

“It was just-” a whimper escapes your lips when Bucky pinches your nipple, his other hand pulling down your bottoms. “Just petals. Just flower petals.”

Bucky kicks your legs wider apart as he slips his fingers between your folds.

“It made your petals weep for me,” he groans, stroking you and smearing your wetness around.

His intimate caress stirs up the flames of need, deepening the craving. It becomes painful, how each cell in your body seems to scream in need. Heat grows, trickling sweat down your back.

“Make me come!” You beg, fisting Bucky’s hair. “Just please, make me come!”

“It won’t help much.” He warns as he eases a finger inside you. “The pollen made your body receptive. It craves its counterpart.”

Your brain feels scrambled, unable to fully understand what Bucky means. Or maybe you don’t want to understand it, just want to feel more of him, take more of him. A second finger slips along the first, stretching your walls, and you moan.

“You need seed to fill you.” Bucky growls, pushing his fingers knuckles deep and pressing the heel of his palm against your clit.

You gush all over his hand, your pussy soaking at the mere mention of being full of him.

“You like that idea, Petal?” Bucky’s new nickname for you and the way he groans his question right next to your ear, make you shiver. “Want me to fill your sweet pussy?”

“Please, please,” you start mumbling, lips pressed to Bucky’s bare shoulder, lavishing it with your tongue.

His fingers feel good inside you, but it’s not enough. Like a burning after a really spicy pepper that no water can cool, the only saving is to dip your tongue in milk so the casein can break down capsaicin. How fitting that you need milky semen to wash out the burning in your womb.

“I need you to come for me first.” Bucky starts thrusting his fingers in and out of you, his pace gradually increasing. “Have to loosen your tight cunt, or I’ll hurt you.”

“It hurts more without you.” You whine, hips rocking back against his hand.

“So needy,” he mocks you.

Bucky curls his fingers inside you, flicking them in a come-hither move as he presses his palm against your sensitive nub. He commands all of your tension to draw into that spongy spot he’s tormenting, clenching your walls and stealing your breath.

Until the coil snaps and you come with a wail.

You sink your teeth into Bucky’s shoulder when he keeps rubbing you raw, prolonging the tremors. When he pulls out it’s with an embarrassing squelch. He pushes his pants down just enough for his cock to spring free.

Your legs are shaky, knees almost give out, but it stops being a problem the moment Bucky hoists you up. You cling to him, hands pressed against his back. Bucky hooks your legs over his elbows and slams you against the cabinets.

His dick rests against your pussy; red, leaking head of him bumping into your oversensitive clit.

You often heard your friends at work giggle as they made dirty speculations if super soldiers were also super endowed, but you never considered you’ll have a chance to find out how close to the truth they were.

Bucky might be even bigger than they imagined.

“Guide me inside you, Petal.” He grunts, licking the shell of your ear.

He rocks against you, his cock sliding up and down between your swollen folds. You slide your quivering fingers down across his chest and over his abdomen. You can feel his muscles flexing under your touch, your effect on him as strong as he has on you.

A needy sound escapes your mouth when his cock throbs as you trace up the length of him. When you close your hand over him, the tips of your fingers don’t even meet because he’s so thick.

You guide him to your entrance, gasping and throwing your head back as his tip stretches your opening.

Bucky stays still for a moment, his head tilting until he catches your gaze. Steel blue of his irises flashes something lethal and then he’s slamming into you in one stroke.

You scream, your fingernails needling the skin on Bucky’s back.

A prickle of pain seems to spur him on, his sounds low and gruttual as you slash his back in desperate attempt to ride out the mixture of pleasure and ache his rough fucking causes.

He presses against you harder, plowing into you with fast, deep strokes. He’s chasing to sate the hunger gnawing at his own bones, his care for you yielding to his own need. And in a twisted way it turns you on more.

Your back starts to hurt, the cabinets creaking louder and louder with your each move. When something behind you creaks and splinters, you let out a yip.

“Fuck!” Bucky curses, stopping for a moment.

A second later the world twirls in front of your eyes.

Bucky drops you both to the floor, taking the impact on his back first then swiftly rolling on top of you.

Your arms fall next to your head, cushioned on the wild fan of your hair. Cold tiles beneath you make you hiss at the contact, but don’t ease the heat that still licks your body with flames.

Bucky pulls your legs up against his chest, your ankles resting on his shoulders. When he thrusts back inside you his cock pushes deeper, nudging your cervix.

He falls forward, bending you in half as he reaches for your hands and intertwines your fingers.

His hips slam against your ass, snaps of slapping skin echoing through the kitchen. Your slick trickles out of you, sticky cobwebs stretching between your buttocks and Bucky’s balls each time he withdraws.

You’re almost nose to nose, Bucky’s gaze catching every flinch on your face, every twitch of pleasure.

“Beg for my cum,” he rasps out, feeling your cunt pulsing around him.

And you do. With eyes closed, head tilted back, you splutter pleadings and prayers as if Bucky was your god and you begged for a drop of water while stranded in the desert.

Each broken sentence urges Bucky on. Every cry and sound of his name falling from your lips makes him fuck into you harder, faster.

You truly cry, tears streaming from the corners of your eyes and down your temples, when he rips another orgasm out of you. Your whole body writhes beneath him, Bucky’s weight pinning you down so you don’t slip away as he pounds into you relentlessly.

Your pussy tightens around him like a vice, yet he keeps pushing and pushing, rawing your walls.

When Bucky finishes with a loud roar, his cum spilling inside you in hot, thick spurts, your senses seem to overload. Everything turns blank, your head filled with the buzzing noise of your blood rushing through you and Bucky’s groans of pleasure as his dick twitches inside you, filling you more and more.

You don’t know how long you’re out of it. When your consciousness reconnects with reality and your eyes flutter open, Bucky’s peppering soft kisses over your chest and face.

He’s still holding your hands. And he’s still inside you. Half-hard.

“Can you get off?” Your voice is hoarse and weak.

Bucky’s weight on top of you feels amazing. And that’s why you want him off, so it doesn’t become apparent you react to him even out of the pollen-induced haze.

“It’s not that easy, Petal.” Bucky looks down at you, then lowers his face so he can nibble on your bottom lip.

“You think it’s all over now?” He asks with a chuckle. “That one round is enough?”

You’re not sure if it’s the lingering effects of pollen, or just Bucky’s proximity and words, but your body tingles anew. Warmth blooms in your belly, like an opening flower stretching its petals to touch every part of you.

“Sorry, doll, but it’s not. It’ll take hours before it starts wearing off.” Bucky releases your hands and pulls himself up on his arms until he’s kneeling back.

He wraps his fingers around your ankles, gives each a kiss before sliding your legs down. He spreads you wide, throwing your thighs over his hips.

“It can be hours of suffering,” he says as he kneels up, hands firmly holding your hips raise them along.

“Or-” he rolls his hips into you, his cock twitching and hardening inside you.

Bucky spits down on your swollen clit and you cover your face with your hands to mask the flash of depraved pleasure it caused. But your body betrays you anyway, your pussy fluttering around his length.

“So, what will it be?” He asks, holding your hips up with ease.

“Fuck me!” You blurt out when a jolt of needy current sizzles down your spine.

“As you wish, Petal.” Bucky withdraws slightly then slams your hips back onto him, moving your body like a rag doll.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes smut #sex pollen #petals

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astrophysician · 10 months

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HERE IT IS

this is my definitely completely necessary, i promise, sonic style study!! i spent nine and a half hours on this canvas! aaa! i will master this style if it's the last thing i do!!!

more about my process under the cut!

the purpose of this study was to really get the proportions down as i figure out how sonic characters fit into my style. for this specific study i was mainly looking at the model sheets for the sonic team racing animation. i like the cartoony/sharp style combined with the more modern designs. eye and especially muzzle shapes played an important part in my progress with this.

my process began with looking at the sheets for sonic and shadow specifically-- sonic, because he's the blueprint for the style, and shadow because he's a lot like sonic and also i lov ehim. you can see i took lots of notes and "measurements" at first (on the left) and heavily referenced the poses from the model sheets. i made an effort to avoid relying on tracing at this stage. (and later on, i colored using my best judgement-- no color picking! gotta train your eye for color too!)

there's still so many intricacies that i'm trying to get an eye for, but after this i feel a lot more confident in portraying this style in a way that satisfies me. there's just so much to balance!!

after i felt comfortable with my more scientific approach, i tried getting more expressive, experimenting with different expressions and poses that i thought fit the characters (and injecting some of my headcanons obviously). this was to practice conveying each character's personality and as well as drawing them in ways that weren't completely static, like so much of my art has been lately (character designing kinda leans into that...)

i would have drawn more but i ran out of space and got tired lol. perhaps i'll do a part two, because i want to draw more characters interacting than who i usually gravitate towards. amy and knuckles were a dip into that. (side note, i was kinda shocked at how much easier knuckles was to draw with the right references, and how difficult amy is despite looking similar to sonic and shadow, who i have a lot more experience with. it's her hair...)

anyway, i'm very proud to have completed this, and i feel like it helped me improve so much! i highly recommend style studies if you have the patience for it. you can get the same effect by just drawing the characters a lot, but it feels good to sit down and really dedicate some time and space to it. for me anyway :)

#sonic the hedgehog #amy rose #shadow the hedgehog #tails the fox #knuckles the echidna #sonic #my art #astrophysician #does anyone know if tumblr still only tracks the first five tags....#i'd really. really like to use a lot more for my art sometimes #also ugh i'm sorry rouge but there wasn't enough room for you :(((#i'll have to put her in the next one #omega too... but i doubt i'll find a model sheet for him as easily #and i'm kinda scared of drawing robots LOL #omg. i have to include eggman too eventually #AND METAL SONIC. MAN.#hmm.... noticing a bit of a theme here....#...sth needs more girls

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aliasrocket · 8 months

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Hi! How do you think Rocket would interact with Reader when they wake up after a fun night together? I just need to know what he’d say in his morning voice, how he goes about cuddling, how he’d wake you up. Strictly for scientific research purposes obviously.

There would be a loooot of groaning, I imagine. Especially when both of you are half asleep, and you ask him a question, his morning voice would be so deep and rough.

masterlist. requests.

“Mm, Rocket.”

“What is it baby?”

“Get up.”

“No,” he groaned, curling up against you from your back as his hands further tightened around your torso. His muzzle was curving into your neck, forcing you to lift your chin to make room for him.

Rocket loves being the big spoon. No secret in that when he wanted to feel your hair on his fur, the slow rise and fall of your body at each breath you took against him.

I don’t think Rocket’s an early bird but on the off chance he wakes you up, he definitely has a hot cup of coffee in his hand and he’d shake your shoulder gently and once your eyes flutter he’d cast your hair aside to kiss your forehead.

“Morning, sunshine.”

“Sunshine?” You repeat back with a weak chuckle.

“I’m up at the ass crack of dawn for you, it was an appropriate nickname,” Rocket commended himself.

“Mm … for me?” You croaked, still attempting to blink away the sensitivity clogging your corneas.

“Yep. You have work, remember?” Rocket grinned.

“Work … WORK!”

“I had fun last night, princess!”

You zip around the room, gathering your clothes and salvaging what little you could of your messy hair. You simply didn’t have time for Rocket’s quips right now.

But they were fully welcomed once you finish your shift later.

#rocket raccoon #guardians of the galaxy #gotg #rocket gotg #ask response #ask reply #gotg fanfiction #rocket raccoon x you #rocket raccoon x reader #rocket raccoon fanfic #rocket raccoon fanfiction #rocket raccoon imagine #.alias.inbox.request.#.alias.drabbles.imagines.

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beneathh-the-brine · 7 months

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We're getting autistic up in this bitch!

IF YOU USE ANY OF THESE HEADCANONS DIRECTLY FROM THIS PAGE, LINK BACK DIRECTLY TO THIS POST AND CREDIT BOTH ME AND ROBOTMAGGOT/HOLLOW BY @ ING US. THANK YOU!

Have specific questions? Don't be shy, shoot me an ask, I encourage it! Currently this isn't an actual fan rewrite/entry, however I may reformat it/improve upon the writing and turn it into one in the future!

LONG TEXTPOST AHEAD

______________________________________________________________

A LOT of these are shared with @robotmaggot and I [@ophiu-chuss] believe a few were created by it, so I'm also crediting it!

Mini-rant, feel free to skip this: I'm deeply saddened by how basic and bland the new writer for the fandom wiki articles made Partygoers and Partypoopers, (Reducing Partygoers to human zombies and making Partypoopers human militia.) and how they took a lot of the monster/entity aspects from them. I am not afraid to admit I dislike both entries and that they're all fancy writing and no longer carry the charm that made both but especially the Partygoers as interesting as they were.

You can't just rewrite something and take away every single feature that made it special or caused it to stand out, even if you think it's "cringe". Sure, the original wasn't a Mona Lisa, but there was an idea there. An idea that's creative and interesting, it just needed a bit more love, not to be stripped away of what is is.

ONTO THE HEADCANONS! CLICK THE LITTLE LINK BELOW TO KEEP READING!

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SHARED BY BOTH SPECIES:

True sentience, sapience and intelligence. Both Partypoopers and Partygoers are incredibly intelligent beings, perhaps even more so than wanderers.

Ability to noclip voluntarily.

Slight muzzle/curve to their face instead of a nasal ridge. Partygoers have it more noticeably.

Mimicry of wanderer voices they've heard previously. Cannot mimic entity calls without significantly more effort. Partygoers cannot mimic how they sounded pre-assimilation. "Your voice is unlike before. Twisted and mangled."

Night vision. Partypoopers have a drastic upper hand with this ability. Partygoers have poor night vision, but can see better in the dark than wanderers. (Footnote: Despite this, neither can see in Level 6 as it's pure, true vantablack.)

Vague mammalian attributes such as warm bloodedness. (And Partygoers' direct connections to wanderers.)

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PARTYPOOPERS! (Or as I prefer to call them; Moonfolk!)

Identified with the wanderer-given scientific name populus lunae, meaning 'moon people' or 'people of the moon'. The moon can often be associated with mourning and sorrow, and the land which they populate is basked in longer nights than days.

Their masks are considered sacred to them. The blue color reflects their strong association with the night sky and the moon. Not all wear them permanently due to their importance, preferring to hang them on their walls or stow them away in their bags or pockets. One is never seen without their mask somewhere on their person, regardless of how shattered they become. When one dies, their mask is placed upon their face out of respect and used as a ceremonial mask, herbs, bones and other materials placed underneath it and on the deceased's face.

Partypoopers and Partygoers are unrelated to one another other than conflict, however it's assumed Partypooper's masks are to mimic Partygoers subtly, however, make them stand out in their own way. A sort of "stay away I could be dangerous!" (Note: Their masks are not attached to their face, nor are these masks part of their face, as a result, they cannot emote with them, masks staying stagnant. Masks are obviously capable of being removed, and many do this to avoid being identified as Partypoopers.)

Partypoopers have weak paralysis venom. Their teeth are semi-blunt with slight sharpness, and their fangs are stubby.

Partypoopers are also called 'Killjoys' and 'Moonfolk', the latter being the term they refer to their own species with.

Usually passive unless provoked, preferring to flee rather than fight due to their limited number of ways to defend themselves when not backed into a corner and able to bite or slash. More likely to stand their ground if armed with a weapon or two (Or in numbers.). There are a few notable exceptions to this.

In headcanon @robotmaggot and I have mixed the new and old Level 52 [Wikidot], giving them the names "52A" (The snowy forest area) and "52B" (The academy). Because of this combination/hybridization of the two levels, Partypoopers, considering they're level natives have certain adaptations as a result! They are the farthest from looking human and have zero human aspects aside from their bipedal stance.

When not speaking, Partypoopers communicate through trills, chirps, growls and hisses. They also have the ability to purr similarly to cats.

Thought to be extinct, however 'sightings' of them have been reported by wanderers.

ADAPTATIONS/KEY FEATURES!

Short but double-coated, mid-shade to dark grey in saturation fur. Can have other colors subtly added in, like blue-greys. This fur is both soft and warm, allowing them to stay snug in their natural environment, but also keep cool in hotter ones, just like double-coated animals. Any 'hair' they appear to have is actually specialized fur!

Floppy or pointy, slightly furred ears. Their ears are very expressive and allow for a wide range of emotions. Partypooper ears are always on the sides of their heads, not on top. These ears are very sensitive and can pick up higher frequencies than wanderers can.

Whiskers on their chins exclusively, which are easy to miss if you aren't up-close.

Claw or paw-like hands.

Their nostrils are not present on their face, rather directly beneath the base of their lower jaws.

Tails of varying lengths and fur types. Partypoopers are never tailless unless via mutation or a result of the appendage being cut off.

Eyelashes meant to keep cold snow off their eyes, not unlike a camel's but shorter.

Round/doleful looking eyes and pupils, larger than a wanderer's. Most Partypoopers always look sad, upset, worried etc.

Pale blue-grey to sapphire irises (Any shade of blue or purple, or any mixture that still shows the blue or purple.). Sclerae can also be colored.

Blood varies from red to blue/purple! Similarly to how wanderers have different blood types, but more literal.

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PARTYGOERS

Wanderer assigned scientific name venenatum hominem, meaning 'poisoned man'.

Partygoers are amalgamated ex-wanderers contorted and changed into something wholly unlike them. Despite trace DNA and some aspects of their humanity remaining, Partygoers are not classified as wanderers.

Partygoer can be shortened to just 'Goer or 'Goers for convenience.

Partygoers are found throughout all Levels but are only native to Level Fun.

When not communicating via spoken language, Partygoers huff, hiss, growl and cackle. They're said to sound similar to hyenas. Like Partypoopers, Partygoers can also purr. (Note: It's rumored they have their own spoken language as well.)

ADAPTATIONS/KEY FEATURES!

Partygoers can be any color, both eye and body. They can be multiple colors as well. No coloration is rarer or less common than another (With the obvious exceptions of melanism, albinism and leucism.). They may retain traits from when they were wanderers, such as freckles or heterochromia.

They have two ways of afflicting their targets with venom; their hand mouths (Attached at the thumb and running directly to their wrists. These mouths have no connection to their digestive tracts, only used for infecting.) and their true mouth via large fangs that sit where their upper canines would've.

Bone and cartilage have fused over some aspects, such as their feet turning to hooves, legs bending to be digitigrade and their facial nostrils becoming ossified. To remedy this, Partygoers have hole-like nostrils beneath a thin membrane (if more plush-like in appearance) or open/exposed nostrils (if fleshier in appearance).

There is no connection to method of infection and subtype.

Non-wanderers can be infected by Partygoer venom as well; however, this is incredibly rare, and those particular Partygoers are considered outliers. They also are often plagued by sickness and deformities, and don't last long compared to wanderer originating Partygoers. Note: Only one legitimate example of this has been recorded.

Their slit-like eyes are normal sockets covered by muscle and skin. These cuts in their face are incredibly expressive.

Most if not all of their original organs are partially decayed or assimilated. Most have a desire to consume flesh regardless.

Spines of differing appearance, length and sharpness running along their backs and shoulders. These can sense subtle changes in vibrations and temperatures.

EXTRA, PARTY HOSTS:

They communicate via the computers, it's advised to not trust any active connections. Use at your own discretion and use unique signoffs if coming across computers. Computers are not connected to the outside world, only other computers on their own individual levels. It is unknown how Party Hosts access these databases.

Party Hosts are predecessors to Partygoers (Similar in appearance, far taller in height and more disturbing in proportions.). They have a specialized form of venom that connects themselves to the entities they control. It's presumed only Partygoers can be afflicted by host control, however no one has seen a host and lived to tell the tale, so this fact is unfounded. When a Host dies, the most powerful Partygoer in the Host's hive is forcefully changed to a Host via the active venom in its system.

Even if you're dying of hunger, it's ill-advised to feast upon the corpse of a Host, no matter how fresh.

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ADDENDUM:

Field sketch of Partygoer skull recovered from locked off study room on Level ▇▇, pictured below. Partypooper skulls have never been obtained due to their scarcity.

#backrooms #the backrooms #headcanons #backrooms headcanons #partyspace #ophi.txt #partygoer #partypooper #entity 67 #entity 68

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quillpokebiology · 1 year

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Can I get some fun facts about gardevoirs, please?

Gardevoir Facts

-The scientific name for Gardevoir is "Psychicae Sentihominen" Which roughly translates to "Psychic feeling human"

-The pokedex doesn't mention anything about gardevoir's horns, but they are still able to sense the emotions of others with it

-Gardevoirs are good pokemon to have when dealing with trauma, as they sense others' emotions. They usually comfort their trainers by using calm mind or soothing them by rubbing their head with their hands

-Since ralts can't see very well (only bottom of their "feet") they developed a way to sense their surroundings with psychic abilities. These abilities never go away, so gardevoir can "see" even when their eyes are closed!

-When nursing, gardevoir will keep young ralts and ralts eggs under their "dress" (flaps of skin) to keep them warm throughout the night

-When you remove the hair on their head, gardevoirs (and gallades) are shown to have a short muzzle

-A lot of Princess movies have been inspired by gardevoir, as they look like princesses and have a nurturing side to a lot of young pokemon

-But even with the princess theme, ancient Hoenn, Galar, and Paldea would use them as nights for their power and protective nature

-The gardevoir have many similarities to humans, and scientists believe that we might've shared a common ancestor with this line (don't be weird with this information, please)

-In the Victorian era of Galar, it was common for wealthy families to dress up gardevoirs in expensive and rare clothing

-Male gardevoir tend to be taller and have longer limbs than female gardevoir

-Their hair is a lot more stiff than human hair, and takes a lot longer to grow

-Gardevoirs Hoenn and Sinnoh name, サーナイト (sirknight) is what people would call when they needed help from a knight. The name stuck around with gardevoir as knights were usually accompanied by them

-Gardevoirs horns are attached their heart. This fact also applies with gallade. It's best not to touch it, as it can hurt a lot

-In 50s Kalos, gardevoirs and kirlias spiked in popularity as young ballet dancers would look to it as inspiration

-There's myths of them all around the world of them being descendants of angels

Also, if you're curious, here's a link to gallade facts because they're in the same evolution line

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twilightangel83 · 8 months

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October Prompts

There are all sorts of fun prompt lists bouncing around October this year. So I'm gonna, just, pick and choose from all of them. This post is just a combined list for my brain. Feel free to use it if you want. (Alternate Prompts will be listed at the bottom) W-Whumptober AW-AI-Less Whumptober F-Flufftober L-Linktober LS-Linktober Shadow LQ-Linktober Quest

Day: Prompt(List); Prompt(List); etc.

1: “But now this room is spinning while I’m trying just to fill in all the gaps.” | Safety Net | Swooning | “How many fingers am I holding up?”(W); Drugging/Sick/Poisoned(AW); "I've Got You"(F); Merchant(L); Gibdo(LS); Master of Ceremony Zelda(LQ);

3: “Like crying out in empty rooms; with no-one there except the moon.” | Journal | Solitary Confinement | “Make it stop.”(W); Sensory Deprivation | Overstimulation | Isolation(AW); "Wait you love me?" "I always have"(F); Friend/Helper/Companion(L); Twilight(LS); Monster Motif(LQ);

6: “Do or die, you’ll never make me; Because the world will never take my heart.” | Recording | Made to Watch | “It should have been me.”(W); Conditioning | Mind Control | Forced to Hurt Somone Else(AW); Corn Maze(F); Mask(L); Shadow Beast(LS); Cultural Tool(LQ);

9: “Learning everything ain't what it seems, that's the thing about these days.” | Polaroid | Mistaken Identity | “You're a liar.”(W); Scar Reveal | Interrogation | Presumed Dead(AW); (...) at First Sight(F); Deity(L); Wall/Floor Master(LS); Scientific Host(LQ);

19: “I’ll take one final step, all you have to do is make me.” | Floral Bouquet | Psychological | “I’m not as stupid as you think I am.”(W); Taken For Granted | Left Behind | "Why wasn't I enough?"(AW); Keeping Someone Safe(F); Zonai(L); Gohma(LS); Potion Vendor(LQ);

24: “I’ve got a head full of chemicals; mouth full of ridicule.” | Goodbye Note | Neglect | “I thought they were with you.”(W); Failed Escape | Hunted Down | Too Tired to Keep Running(AW); (Melting Face Emoji)(F); Korok/Kikwi/Kokiri(L); Lizalfos(LS); Link Joins In(LQ);

28: “We might not make it to the morning; so go on and tell me now.” | Bloody Knife | Sacrifice | “You'll have to go through me.”(W); Whumpee Hair Pulling | Oxygen Deprivation | Sweating(AW); Soothing Touch(F); Light/Sparkle/Bright(L); Gloom/Malice(LS); Clash(LQ);

Alternate Prompts:

Betrayal(W) Aftermath of Failure(W) Brass Knuckles(W) Decoy(W) Body Modification(W) Playing Cards(W) Examination(W) Hunting(W) Drugging(W) Shaking(W) Panic(W) Broken(W) Miscommunication(W) Lab Rat(W) Reluctant Whumper(W)

Bloody Knuckles(AW) Gunshot Wound(AW) Separated from Loved Ones(AW) Drowning(AW) Blackmail(AW) Crying to Sleep(AW) Disowned by Family(AW) Electrocution(AW) Forced Feeding(AW) Bullied(AW) Suffocation(AW) Abandoned(AW) Grief(AW) Human Shield(AW) Self-Defense(AW) Lab Rat(AW) Memory Loss(AW) Misunderstanding(AW) Hypnosis(AW) Mutilation(AW) Mouth Stitched Shut(AW) Nerve Damage(AW) Nervous Breakdown(AW) Words Carved Into Skin(AW) Stalked(AW) Non-Consensual Touching(AW) Paranoia(AW) Peer Pressure(AW) Prison(AW) Silent Treatment(AW) Truth Serum(AW)

Hot Chocolate(F) “You told your parents?”(F) Wearing Each Other's Clothes(F) Candles, Lanterns, Fairy Lights(F) “Oh no, you’re a morning person!”(F) Reverse all the Roles(F) Fairytale Retelling(F) Give your Character a new Occupation(F) Crossover of Two or More Fandoms(F) Have your Characters Share the Last Table at a Cafe(F)

#whumtober #flufftober #linktober #AI-less Whumptober #lists #october prompts

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dingoat · 1 month

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❛ it’s okay. you can let go. ❜

[Ugggh omg I made myself cry writing this, so fair warning to anyone who sobs at animal stories like me, um, proceed with care. ~900 words, not remotely proofed because I can't read it again right now ahaha. THANK for sending this ask even though I broke my own heart with it!]

---

Twenty years.

In many ways, Ahuska had come to measure her life against Pexu’s.

A tough and scrappy little cub, gifted to Ahuska all those years ago. She’d been a mark of respect from Ahuska’s mentor, acknowledgement that she was ready to raise the challenging animal as a companion and protector, and a token of congratulations for being accepted into a Clan and finally striking off on her own.

And memories of those early days were impossible to separate from the day she met Crow.

The day her life had truly begun.

“I hope you forgive me,” Ahuska said quietly, stroking the broad, blunt head that rested in her lap, all four eyes gently closed. An apologetic smile tugged at her muzzle. “For not naming you myself. For letting Nel name you just because I thought it’d win points with her dad. You were so silly back then… both of you, really. I kept the bow she put on you, did you know that?"

Pexu’s fur was thinner than ever before, her quills patchy and blunt. Her breath was shallow, but she wasn’t struggling, not when she was able to lie with Ahuska and feel the warmth of her hands against her. Fifteen was a good age for a nexu.

And Ahuska had come a long way in her training, her skills, and once properly honed and backed up by some solid scientific education, her natural affinity for healing through the Force had allowed her to give many more years to Pexu’s life. She soothed the aches and strains, she dissolved the stone in her kidney that caused her abrupt, acute pain. She took care of her teeth, her heart, her joints.

“You remember that time you took a blaster bolt for Crow?” Ahuska murmured, her fingers feeling the edge of Pexu’s jaw, rubbing firmly up and down the edge the way she liked it. “We sure won’t, not ever. Stars, once in a lifetime is enough…” she shook her head slowly, and found the little scar on Pexu’s shoulder, all that remained from the burn she’d prevented from leaving its mark on Crow. “I bet you never wasted time remembering silly stuff like that, not when you could be thinking about stealing my damn donuts again.”

Ahuska still didn’t know how Pexu had managed to pilfer all six luxury creme artisanal donuts from the gift box sitting at her bedside while leaving the box itself closed and entirely intact, especially considering Crow had been out with her the whole time and, for once, couldn’t be blamed for the nexu’s bad snacking habits.

She huffed fondly, and stroked across Pexu’s quills. “That, or about basking under the Tatooine suns. You really liked that last visit, didn’t you? Syd was sweet with you, but I guess she always has been, I mean nexus have always been her specialty. But you’re prettier than any of hers ever were,” Ahuska grinned down at her, and knew that no nexu would every be quite so beautiful in her eyes as Pexu.

She knew she’d never be happy living without an animal or two of some sort at her side, but she wasn’t sure she could ever bring another nexu into her life. “Wouldn’t be right,” she murmured, as though Pexu was able to follow her thoughts. “They’d spend their life being compared to you, and none could ever live up to that.” As if to reply, the old nexu offered a quiet, rumbling pur, and lifted her head to bump against Ahuska’s hand. “That’s right, pretty girl,” she said, biting back tears as Pexu’s next breath was a little strained, and she caught up the great cat’s head in her arms and cradled it close. “Shh, hey, take it easy. Take it easy. You’re okay.” Ahuska wasn’t paying attention to the time. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting there, when the thrum of Crow’s heartbeat against her own let her know he was approaching. And not just him; Nela, too, just collected from the spaceport, who dashed over to kneel beside Ahuska without a word, throwing an arm around her shoulders and squeezing tight. “Hey, how’s she going?” Crow’s approach was a little more sedate.

He came in gently, settling down by Pexu’s rump and gently rubbing her favourite spot right at the base of her tail. The forked tip twitched, and her purr grew a little louder. “Hanging in there,” Ahuska whispered, still holding Pexu’s head, close against her chest. It was growing slowly heavier, her breaths ever shallower and less frequent. “But only just. I’m glad you made it. She’s… happy that you’re here.” And Pexu was. Ahuska felt it, that soft sense of peace that her beautiful old nexu felt, to have all her favourite, familiar hands resting on her. “She’s family,” Nela affirmed, and she couldn’t even say that much without a wobble in her voice, turning her head to press her face against Ahuska’s shoulder. Ahuska smiled, but her cheeks were wet. “She waited for you,” she whispered, before all her attention turned to Pexu, who now relied entirely on Ahuska’s arms to support the weight of her head.

She closed her eyes, and felt the way the Force shimmered inside her oldest, dearest companion. Aching for release. It’s okay. Her words, her thoughts, were for Pexu alone. You can let go, now. I love you so much.

#swtor #swtor fic #ahuska #nexu #dingoat writes

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saintsofwarding · 11 months

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WE SHALL BE MONSTERS

Header by Keltii-tea

Chapter 13: An Experiment

As Heisenberg locked the door, admiring the play of morning light across its rusted bolts, he thought on how long it had been since he really had a chance to cut loose like this.

Not, he realized, since before Rosie. Fifteen years wasn't so long in the grand scheme of his unnaturally-extended life, but given the events that had bracketed the span of time, it was more remarkable than others.

Now, things were gonna be just like old times.

At least, of course, until someone died.

As he willed the door to seal itself shut, growing the metal bolts into a twisted mass that stuck it fast within the doorframe, he heard Mia's voice echo from within the church.

"Heisenberg?" she said.

"Good morning, sunshine!" he called. He ambled over to the narrow slit window as Mia stuck her face into it, pale and flecked with blood. "How are you feeling? How's the arm?"

"What...what's going on?"

"What do you think? You said some pretty intriguing stuff yesterday. I, as you may know, like to do some experimentation of the scientific persuasion in my free time. What did you tell me...hm- Miranda did a bit of work on you? You don't want to be a monster again?"

"Cut the shit, Heisenberg-" She darted from the window. Heisenberg heard the door rattle. "Let me out! Let me out right this second!"

"Sorry, Mia, no can do. Y'see, I know you're not going to up and tell me all the sordid details of Miranda's experiments on you. So...I decided I'd create a scenario that would force the details into the open. I want to see the effects of extreme stress and hardship upon you in a controlled, observable environment so I might ascertain for myself what exactly the hell that bitch mother of mine did to you! Not exactly natural...my data would be laughed out of any legitimate scientific circles...but fuck it, you only live once, as the kids say!"

He considered, running back through all the slangy terms he'd heard Rose use over the years. "...Do they say that?"

"What...what the hell is this...this tarp doing-"

She cut off as a snarl rippled from the other side of the door- and the crackling of an oilskin tarp being clawed aside.

"Oh, no," Mia whispered.

"That would be the lycan I caught before you woke up," Heisenberg said, "and tossed, heavily concussed, into the church with you."

The hammering on the door increased. It sounded like she was throwing her whole weight against it, raining blows with feet and fists. "Let me out!" she screamed. "Heisenberg, you psychotic bastard, let me out-"

"You've got a gun, Mia," Heisenberg said, bending to speak through the keyhole. "Use it. Like I know you can. Didn't the Connections teach you anything? Or was it all about brainwashing little girls?"

The snarl got louder, a feral roar. Excellent, so he hadn't given the lycan a skull fracture like he'd feared. Heisenberg heard Mia's scrambling footsteps, her gasps, a scream- the screech of wood against stone as furniture was shoved aside. A mad dash for the gun, he imagined, which he'd set on the altar like a Milk Moon gift.

He went back to the window, but made out nothing but a blur of frenzied movement inside, the muzzle flash as gunfire shook the foundations of the small building.

"Put your back into it, Mia!" he yelled, and laughed.

What would Rose say if she was here? He entertained the idea of her approval, but it didn't feel right. She didn't have a vindictive streak, not like him.

Thought I taught you better, kid, he thought, bitterly.

When had he gotten to be so nasty? Somewhere around the time Miranda had claimed him as her top enforcer after Alcina had refused- well, it was Miranda, so more like 'graciously declined'- to do Miranda's dirty work of lopping off the heads of anyone who questioned her authority.

Miranda, after all, had to maintain her status as detached benefactor, glory from on high, a god that did not deign to touch the blood of her subjects. It was that, plus a healthy dose of spore-induced mind control built and maintained over generations, which had inspired such unquestioning devotion in the hearts and minds of the villagers.

He could only dream of such similar devotion- dream, and then build puppets that never had a will of their own to begin with. And Rose- well. Would he have controlled her mind if he could? He still wasn't sure of the answer. To keep her safe? To get his vengeance? If Ethan hadn't ponied up and taken down Miranda, if she'd thrown him aside like a used tissue and turned on Heisenberg and Rose, all those years ago-

Would he have done what Ethan had feared, and used her until she was used up?

It doesn't matter, he told himself, it happened a long time ago, but the question still gnawed at him like some kind of intestinal parasite.

Even now, Miranda had him in her clutches. The question of what he would do. The question of how she'd twisted him into something that would make a choice like that. How much of what he'd done was Miranda, and how much was all him? He supposed it was that very question that both dogged him and allowed him to keep going, to face each new day, to not succumb to the knowledge that he was, at the very core of him, undeserving of peace.

Inside the church, everything fell silent.

Heisenberg tensed. He'd gone on one of his dissociative spirals, and had stopped paying attention to his little experiment. Some scientist you are.

"Mia?" he called.

There came the sound of raspy breathing within. The lycan? Ah, shit, had it killed her?

"Mia," he said again. "You alive in there?"

Nothing.

Well, at least that was one problem solved. He broke the door seal and shoved the door open, releasing a wash of gunsmoke, of blood and mold-thick air. The church looked like a slaughterhouse after a productive day, the walls, the floor, the pews splattered in gobs of thick, black blood and chunks of busted-up organs. Silvery smoke rolled through the place, obscuring his vision, stinging in his eyes worse than usual.

Was this what those anti-mutant rounds did? He came across the lycan corpse, strewn in pieces over the flagstones. Force had blasted an arm and most of its torso away, leaving huge, ragged holes edged with silver burn scars. The corpse began to crystallize as he watched, crumbling into a blanket of scattered fragments.

He kicked its calcified skull lightly with his boot. The skull rolled over the flagstones, stopping as it jarred against the curled form of Mia Winters huddled in the corner.

Her gun was abandoned, as if thrown aside. Her back faced him, her arms clamped around her legs, drawn up to her chest. Her dark hair hung over her face as she rocked back and forth, mumbling under her breath. Heisenberg couldn't make out what she was saying. He stood there, observing her, then drew breath.

"Hey, Mia," he said. "Not that I'm not appreciating this whole Blair Witch act, but-"

"You...promised..."

Her voice slid from her, spiraling around her in the haze of blood and smoke.

Heisenberg stopped short.

Cold slithered through his nerves, striking to his core. It was Mia's voice, but the timbre was different, the rhythm of it. It was as familiar to him as his own face in a mirror, a scalpel cut to the lung, a cold caress down his face as he stood and shivered and waited for the moment to be over. It was pure, pounding rage, and despair like a pit opening under his feet, and the fall was to be forever, an endless plunge through the dark.

"You...promised," Mia whispered, and lifted her head. She turned, slowly, bones crackling in her spine. The shadows flickered around her- for a moment like the outspread shadows of many wings, fanning the air with phantom wind. "To help me."

She lifted her head. Golden eyes glowed in the darkness, and as Heisenberg watched, the whites of her eyes filled with glistening black, spilling over her lashes in long, oily streaks of black tears. "Forever," she said. "Forever. And you lied. You...you betrayed...me!"

"Snap out of it, Mia," Heisenberg ordered, shaking his finger at her.

"Don't you understand?" Her voice softened. "This is a gift."

She flung herself at him, snatching a shard of the lycan's crystallized body as she did. Her arm went back; with a howl of fury she plunged it into his shoulder, again and again, until her arm was black and red to the elbow, her face drenched with a mixture of his blood and her moldy tears. Heisenberg slammed his knee into her stomach; she tore away from him, tottering back, her golden eyes wide.

Agony blazed in Heisenberg's shoulder, but at this point he could tell the difference between a wound he had to worry about and one he didn't. Power blasted from him, clearing a circle in the devastation around him. With teeth grit he waved his hand, sending all the metal he could tear from the church- pew nails, dusty candlesticks, the door handle ripped from its moorings- at her with the force of a cannonball.

They slammed into her, flinging her back, and back, pieces encasing her and pinning her hands to her sides, much like he'd once done to poor dead Ethan. She crashed into the back wall of the church and stayed there, held in place by the force of his magnetism. Mia twisted against her bonds, hair falling again over her face. She convulsed. Black fluid spattered the floor.

Then she slumped. She didn't move again. The black stuff- Miranda's mold- dripped from the ends of her hair, a steady dring-dring-dring.

Heisenberg breathed hard. With a snarl, he worked his injured shoulder; fuck, and he'd just gotten this coat, too. He moved, slowly, over to her, not releasing his control on the metal that held her in place. He reached out and gripped her hair, lifting her head up so he could get a good look at her face.

It was normal again, crusty black tears notwithstanding. He peeled back an eyelid, but her eyes were back to their ordinary hazel. As he watched, wounds the lycan must have given her sealed up over her body, flesh crawling back together with a crackle.

"Huh," Heisenberg said.

She groaned. Still holding her head up by the hair, Heisenberg watched Mia come to. Her eyes opened on their own volition, and she blinked up at him.

"Oh, god," she whispered.

"What the fuck was that?" Heisenberg said. He dropped her head and backed off. "Is this some kind of sick fucking joke?"

"You...shouldn't have...seen that..."

"Seen what? Explain it to me, Mia." Heat pushed against his skin; his Cadou squirmed inside him, little crackling bolts of electricity sparking at his brain. His power surged, the metal in the room rising with a screech to whirl in little anxious tornadoes over the floor. Her metal bonds cracked apart, crumbling to the flagstones around her. "Explain to me why you were just possessed by Mother fucking Miranda-"

She broke with a cry, rushing past him. He grabbed out for her, but she was gone, vanishing through a doorway at the back of the church. Heisenberg stood there, breathing hard, the cyclone of metal rushing around him at skin-shredding speeds. He closed his eyes, but all he could see there was black tears, black wings, the glitter of scalpels, the dring of blood against a cold stone floor.

Guess that experiment was a bust.

***

It was a long time before he could make himself move again. He left the weird gun where it lay, made his frozen joints move- the air in the church was a hair above unbearably cold- and limped after Mia.

The doorway led to a flight of chapped, uneven stone steps, which in turn led to a subterranean vault, walls warped and crudely-built, outfitted with rusty torch brackets. The floor was damp, pools of dirty ice-sludge leaching from cracks in the foundations. A trapdoor-looking hatch was clamped shut with a rusted padlock. Heisenberg went to examine this, then moved on. Just past it, in wooden racks hung with decades of thick cobwebs, were stored hundreds upon hundreds of bottles of what looked to Heisenberg like wine.

He had something of an aversion to the stuff- Dimitrescu had practically worshipped the bloody brew she made, mixed with the juicings of unfortunate girls within her employ, though, she always claimed, not just any girl would do. These bottles looked a lot older than the ornate red and silver bottles she put out, made of thick greenish glass and corked with gobs of wax. Monks, maybe, stuck up here in some nearby vineyard monastery without anything better to do than artistically decompose some grapes. Now, it seemed, after the years had put all the monks in the dirt, their work was finally going to use.

Mia lay sprawled on the floor, her head on the ground, her legs kicked up against the wall. She had one of the bottles in hand, the wax seal broken off, and as Heisenberg watched she took a massive swallow of the dark wine within. She'd already drunk most of the bottle, and the fumes radiating off her qualified as a violation of the Geneva convention.

"Hey, Karl," she said, and actually giggled. "Karl. Huh. Can't believe that's your real freaking name."

She took another long drink of wine. "Not that there's anything wrong..." She trailed off. "...Just you expect a...a monster lord and mad scientist extraordinaire and a total complete dickhead to be named something more...more impressive than...Karl..."

"Take it up with Miranda, sweetheart," Heisenberg said. "Now get the hell off your ass. You have some explaining to do."

"Explaining?" She held up the bottle. "I got all the explanation I need right here."

"Fucking figures. Every time I get stuck in a house with a dame she's got some kind of issues. Turns out your biggest one is that you're a wine mom. What, did you and Ethan have a Live Love Laugh sign in your house? You bottle-feed Rose those fuckin...seasonal pumpkin drinks, too?"

He didn't mention that the one time Rose had made him try one- "Heisenberg, come on, they're limited edition...just a little sip..." -he'd actually really liked it. Something about the chemical aftertaste.

Mia turned her head to face him. The black tears had smeared over her face.

"Mean," she muttered. "Dumb face."

His temper began to boil, a ring of white around his vision. "What did Miranda do to you? Why did you pull that shit up in the church?"

"Not...not for you..." She rolled onto her hands and knees, using the bottle to lever herself upright. "Fuck off..."

"No."

"I said..." She blinked. "Oh. Oh, baby, I didn't mean..." Her eyes were glassy. She straightened, a hand against the wall. "I...I wanted to tell you, I really did..."

"Mia," Heisenberg growled.

"But...it's all okay, isn't it?" She swayed toward him. "We can be...a family. You and me and Rose...I always said everyone was counting on me, right?"

She lifted a hand, and before Heisenberg could flinch back, she pressed it to his chest, just over the suture scars.

Her fingers crooked, hooking into his shirt buttons; his Cadou squirmed, its pulse rapid and drumbeat-hard. Mia's skin was too-warm, sickly-warm, her bright eyes too close. All he could think of was the glazed look of a fresh corpse the moment before he sliced into its chest cavity.

"Ethan, Ethan," she whispered, coaxing, soothing. She flicked his top button open. "Don't worry. It'll...it'll be fine-"

Heisenberg's hand snapped around her wrist. His breathing felt sharp as broken glass. "Get your hands off me," he told her.

He flung her, lightly, back. She crumpled with a soft oh and folded to the floor. Blinking, shaking. She put her arms around herself.

"I'm not fucking Ethan," Heisenberg told her. "And you are so, so fucked up."

He stared down at her. Mia had closed her eyes, her hair draggled and filthy, her professional polish entirely worn away. She didn't even smell good anymore. All the anger had drained from him, all the terror, a scream in the night, a boy huddled in a dark closet, listening as Miranda murdered his mother, defying her abduction of him. Now he was numb, slightly out of alignment with his own body, as if looking in on himself from a distance.

Leave her, he told himself. Leave her to freeze down here. Walk away, go get those Ouroboros bastards, die in a fiery explosion like he'd always figured he would.

He didn't. He stayed there for a few more minutes, staring down at Mia, near-catatonic on the floor.

She didn't stay that way for long. He turned on his heel, leaving the basement for a moment. When he came back, he dumped the entire bucketful of snow right on her head.

She spluttered awake with a yelp, then twisted round to stare at him. "What the- fuck- what...whassamatter-"

"Enough of this bullshit, Mia," Heisenberg said. "You can't lie to me like you did to Ethan all those years. I get it, drinking away your sorrows is a fantastic self-medication method. But right now, it isn't doing either of us any good."

He sat on the upturned bucket. "Now, I'm gonna stay here until you tell me what's going on. And if you try to run, I'll hunt you down and tear your fuckin' head from your shoulders. Got it?"

She blinked at him, then turned and threw up in a corner for several minutes.

"Glad we can come to an understanding," Heisenberg said.

She slumped back against the wall for so long Heisenberg wondered if she'd passed out altogether. But when her voice grated from under her hair, she sounded like she'd regained a semblance of sobriety.

"Did you ever have anyone..." she began.

Heisenberg waited.

"Did you...ever have anyone who meant peace to you?" she said.

"...No," Heisenberg said.

"Mm." She shifted, pressing her hands over her face. "Ugh...I did. For a long time. And I ruined it."

"Ethan."

She nodded. "He was good. Truly, I mean, good. Not simply nice, I mean- he'd do anything for the people he loved. Anything. I...never told him. What I did...what I really did. So it was easy. It was like having two lives. One I lived with him, and one I lived when I went to work. Like...submarine compartments. The moment one was shut and locked, it ceased to matter, and I was in the other...and when I was away, when I was with him...I almost forgot what it was I was doing with the Connections."

"Building little psycho child death machines?"

"Yeah." She paused. "You did your research on the whole Dulvey incident, right? You know how all that worked out."

"Yup. Led to you sitting here with me in a basement in the middle of the goddamn woods."

"I just thought it would...go away...that Ethan would never notice...that I could just forget. But it all got so...complicated."

"Complicated, huh? You mean you didn't account for the mold-spawn?"

Her voice sharpened. "Rose."

"Yeah, I know the kid's name, Mia, I've been feeding her breakfast every morning for the past fifteen years."

He heard her exhale, her slight groan of pain. Little wonder. A killer headache was oncoming. "You have," she said, in agreement.

A quick dart of her eyes, holding his gaze for a moment.

"I saw her, there in the belly of the ship back in Regent City," she said.

"Yeah?"

"I saw what she'd become."

Heisenberg smiled despite himself, remembering Rose's defiant look, remembering how she hadn't backed down until he'd absolutely ordered her to. "Yeah."

"You took her from me, Heisenberg. I'll never forgive you for that. Never. But...the girl I saw back there...the girl you raised..."

She drew a shuddering breath.

"You did something right," she went on. "By her. And I can't hate you for it. Ethan was right to trust you with her."

Heisenberg didn't respond. He wasn't sure he could. Maybe Mia sensed this, because she looked away from him, pulling the remnants of her sweater around herself.

"Um," she said. "Miranda took me...I think two weeks before the village fell. I'm not sure. Time blurred together."

"Sounds right." That fit his recollection of when Miranda had brought her in, heavily sedated, and tossed her into the cage in her lab.

"For a while, all she did was take my blood. Do tests on it. Gave me...I'm not sure. I think herbal mixtures. She said she was measuring compatibility. I asked with what, but she...she never really spoke to me. I think I was nothing more than a test subject to her. Like..."

Her voice crumpled.

"Like little Eveline?" Heisenberg prompted, his voice dark. He'd seen the photos of the E-001, the little black-haired girl in an old-fashioned dress. So like Claudia it was impossible to not supplant her face for Eveline's in his mind.

Still, he remembered the cage Mia had been locked in. The cot in the corner, the straw on the floor. Mia really had been nothing to her.

You could have been everything, Karl. Everything I wanted. And you defy me like this? You're nothing.

"Later," Mia went on, "it all changed. I think something in the blood work. I think something...worked out."

She lifted her head, facing him. Her skin was so pale and sweat-sheened it looked like the texture of enamel.

"She started saying how important I was. How...how if all of this went wrong...if she failed...how I would be the resting-place of all her hopes."

Heisenberg leaned forward. "And?"

"She cut me open," Mia whispered. "And herself, too. Right there. Like it was nothing...reached inside the cavity and pulled out...I think it was her heart. It was black, weeping. And she put the heart inside me. I felt it grow around my own. I felt it...latch on."

She closed her eyes, the veins in her eyelids standing out like bluish wires. "Oh, god..." She pressed her hand to her chest. "She said if Eva needed a vessel, someday so might she..."

Silence fell.

Heisenberg stared at Mia. Neither of them spoke. At last, Mia's eyes flicked up, meeting his, bright and vivid in the weak light filtering down the steps.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked him.

He tilted his head, regarding her. "Do you want me to?"

She said nothing, then shook her head.

"I don't know if you can die, honestly," Heisenberg told her. "If Miranda made you into an immortal vessel for her consciousness, well, fuck. You're probably more durable than I am."

"I don't want this. I don't want...her."

"Neither do I, believe me! Once was bad enough." He narrowed his eyes. "And Wonder Boy Redfield never caught on that this had happened to you?"

"No. I knew that if I told him, he'd separate me from Rosemary, and after you took her...I didn't want to get shut away in a lab somewhere. I'd never find her then."

"Smart girl," Heisenberg said. He snorted. "BS-fuckin'-AA. What a bunch of hacks. Didn't see Ethan was moldy, didn't see you'd been body-snatched..."

"Chris is a good guy. Just...it's been a long road for him. Nothing I did made it any easier."

"Right, right." He straightened from the bucket and strode away.

"Where are you going?" Mia called.

"To save your ass." He broke the padlock holding shut the trap door with a click of his fingers, then kicked the hatch open.

A gust of freezing air washed over him, still and damp; within, he heard the steady drip of liquid, a distant watery rush, the hollow silence of a deep subterranean place. Rusty rungs were set into the rock wall of the tunnel beyond, leading down into absolute darkness.

He crouched over the hole, peering in, then straightened once more.

"Priest hole," he said, pointing.

"EXCUSE me-"

"Place the churchy fucks could run to escape anyone who didn't like their old time religion. Important, for folks in this region. Can you believe the surrounding territories' warlords thought they were heretics?" He chuckled. "Anyway, this land is riddled with tunnels and caves. And they all lead to one place. One place I know very, very well."

"The chamber in front of her lab," Mia gasped.

"Yup. The Black God's inner sanctum itself. Now, Mia, we stay here, you're toast. Miranda's gonna take over your body eventually, given your fracturing mental state, and then we're all fucked. But seeing as I'm a goddamn genius, I can pop you open, rummage around, extract Miranda's goop from you before it takes over your brain. I just can't do it here."

"Where, then? Her lab?"

"Nah, that place was leveled in the blast. But I know a place that wasn't. Way better, too. Cooler, more atmospheric." He waved a hand, indicating his own, unsatisfying, blood-covered ensemble. "And I can finally get some real fuckin' clothes."

Mia paused. She lifted her arm, watching dirty water drip from her sweater. "So long as I can get some too," she muttered. "I swear I haven't been this gross since I went four-wheeling with my cousins in the seventh grade."

"Four-wheeling?"

"Uh- like a motorbike but with four wheels." Another pause. "And way more mud."

Heisenberg grinned, showing off every tooth in his mouth.

"Mia," he told her, holding out his hand to help her up. "It was a rocky start, but I think you and I are gonna get along just fine."

#saints of warding #re8 fic #re8 fanfiction #karl heisenberg #rosemary winters #mia winters #ethan winters #alcina dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu #donna beneviento #resident evil village #re8 #resident evil #chris redfield #mother miranda #chapter 13

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south-sea · 1 year

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Mutually Beneficial

Shadow and Metal express affection in different ways, and Metal reflects on that.

~812 words

Reminiscing is not something Metal Sonic often, if ever, does.

He is not one to stop and ponder the emotional weight of things. To him, the world is a logical, scientific place. The sky is (usually) blue due to the way in which light scatters. The ground (should) be warm to the touch on a bright day due to absorption of the sun's energy. It is not pretty. It is not comforting. It is not worth dwelling on for any reason other than to review what the raw data may tell him about a planet and its qualities.

Some of (all of) Metal's favorite people are those who are regularly illogical and unscientific. Those who look at him with a certain expression of worry when there is nothing to be worried about—whether it's over a scuff of paint or a ripped-open but still-functional chassis. Those who ask after his own well-being, or those who unexpectedly regard him as an individual as opposed to a tool or a weapon or a thing.

Love is not something Metal Sonic understands, or for himself, believes in. It is a silly, illogical, unscientific product of an organic mind that not even his creator had been fully immune to.

He looks down to the hands he has held Shadow with, and wonders.

Maybe some part of him understands the reasons his favorite people are so motivated to treat him in such an unnecessary way. Others may be forgiven for assuming what qualifies as his "relationship" with Shadow is one-sided. Perhaps they see only Metal going above and beyond, bending his every process and objective toward someone else's maintained existence. What can he do for Shadow? What would benefit Shadow? What, outside of his devotion to Shadow, is Metal's purpose for existing?

What has Shadow done for him?

He looks down to the hands that Shadow has held, and reminisces.

Metal does not "need" things. He does not need to eat. Shadow sits beside him for meals regardless. He does not need to sleep. Shadow often attempts to drape a blanket over his legs anyway, if he isn't already laying atop it. He does not "need" to be included in the mundane, every-day actions of organic beings, and yet Shadow, somehow, knows better.

All things he has grown so accustomed to. All things he has become so used to that it almost fades into the background and qualifies as expected. Is that not, in itself, telling? To have gone from an environment where he did not "need" things, to one where he is allowed to "want", and yet he is rarely ever left wanting?

To his right is a doorway leading to a mudroom converted into a miniature workshop. Shadow did not need to stock paints and tools and supplies to maintain Metal's image. He does not need to take time out of his own day to buffer out chips or fix dents or repaint scuffs in his plating. And yet he does. Always, unfailingly, he does.

To his left is a corner in the den converted from dark emptiness to a miniature home-within-a-home. Metal does not need a comfortable blanket to sit upon while he defrags and sorts files overnight. He does not need fairy lights or curtains to draw or tiny shelves to keep things he likes. And yet, within three days of their settling in together, Shadow had provided these things and more.

Metal cannot feel textures or warmth in a traditional sense. It would be logical to assume he cannot appreciate a hug or a held hand or a brush of a muzzle atop his forehead in the same way an organic being can. It would be logical to regard him with nothing beyond a dismissive glance or a simple order. And yet always, unfailingly, Shadow holds and regards and addresses him with such a warmth it is almost overwhelming.

Shadow does not polish him as an extension of himself—as a weapon to be vain about—but to demonstrate care and worry and respect for him as an individual. Shadow does not include him at the table or address him in conversation to maintain appearances or to satisfy his own loneliness—but to acknowledge Metal as someone worth acknowledging.

What more does Shadow need to do, but to want to treat him like any other living being? Someone of his own, whose value does not lie in who or what he could or should have been? To be regarded not as a copy, not as a lookalike, but as his own person deserving of kindness and tenderness and patience and understanding?

Metal is not one to reminisce, believe in love, or entertain the illogical. But some part of him, as he greets his returning-home housemate and charge with blips of enthusiasm and fondness and the most carefully of held paws, perhaps finds the merit in it.

#shadow the hedgehog #metal sonic #second chance au #metadow #qpr metadow #fics by sea #i still don't know how to format the whole above-the-cut summary section of these

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ashleyfableblack · 11 months

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A little moment of scientific method and personal discovery between lovers in the Equestria Girls portion of The Eternal Courtship.

Love never dies in the Eternal Courtship. It only changes form. 👭💜💚💜👭

"Chryssi? I want you to do something for me, something maybe a little strange."

Chryssi looked up from the ledger in her lap. With a raised eyebrow she set aside her inkpen and closed the leather tome, leaving it centered on her office desk. She regarded Twilight with a amorous smile. "Of course, my love. What did you need?"

Twilight approached her partner tentatively. "I want to try an experiment. Would you take your old form for me? The Changeling one?"

The towering woman gave a curious tilt of her head before rising to her feet. With a whip of her translucent spidersilk mane she grinned her ferocious fanged smirk, exuding the confidence of her immortal power. In a burst of emerald fire her human form began to melt away. Limbs extended and twisted. Her hands morphed into cragged, powerful hooves. Smokey black plates of chitin formed across her body as her designer slacks and vestcoat burst and faded into ash. Translucent veins sprouted from her back, grasping the air like tree branches, webbing over and forming insect wings from the jade shell across her back. A meter-long, crooked spire resembling that of an exotic beetle thrust from her forehead. As the flames appeared so they vanished in wisps of sickly green power. In their place stood the massive dark form of the Changeling Queen.

She stamped a hoof, kicking up sparks of jade flame from the stone. She did love being theatrical. The spider-like snake-mare looked down to Twilight with her now saucer-sized serpent eyes and a flicker of her forked tongue. "Done." The monarch struck a statuesque pose, smiling wickedly. "You may behold my glory now" She chuckled, raising a pitted hoof to her fanged lips.

Twilight stepped closer with a giggle as Chryssi made a small circle displaying her body to her now-diminutive love. Her hooves clattered against the polished stone floor. It was a good thing they were in her castle. Her bughorse body was easily the size of a draft stallion, possibly larger and with a much longer neck. As big as she was now, her withers would be banging against the ceiling of Twilight's dormroom. Her head would've been poking around in the room upstairs.

Twilight reached out to touch her neck with both hands. Chryssi grew still at the sensation. She practically purred, something in her barrel making a pleasant chirping sound like the muffled harmony of a group of crickets. She drank in the moment like honey as the two women, one now in the form of a Changeling Queen, examined each other.

Curiously, Twilights fingertips traced the chitinous plates of her lovers neck. She quivered in excitement as she pondered the biological mysteries of her lovers ancient shape. She paused with the rough sensation of every scar, pit and crag. The two larger grey gouges drew particular attention. She considered their similarity to a vampire's bite of legend. Circling the wound-like pits she felt Chryssi shudder. Almost imperceptibly, she seemed to recoil. Something flashed behind her snake eyes for just a moment, something guarded. Something perhaps to discuss later.

"So, where are we going with this?" she asked. Her voice was surprisingly unchanged from her human form, deep, resonating, commanding yet very colored with her affection.

"I want you..." Twilight placed her palm to Chryssi's obsidian muzzle and gently stroked along her cheek "...to kiss me."

"You what?"

"You heard me."

Chryssi's brow knit. "Yes, I did but..." Her emerald eyes scrolled across her lavender beloveds face. Her serpent eyes had two irises, a pale jade outer ring circling a deeper emerald pool. Twilight had yet to ascertain the function of these lenses but currently both had grown to fill the pale-lime sclera. "But why?"

Twilight stroked Chryssi's cheek attempting to calm her. "I need to know something."

Chryssi raised a hoof to draw the lavender hand from her muzzle. Twilight regarded the feeling with a curious smile. Somehow, even without fingers, she could feel that her lover was "holding" her hand. "I need to prove something."

Her snake eyes were so much larger now, shuttered beneath dark eyelids of teal armored plates. Still, in them she saw the woman she had come to love. Her look was imploring. The massive bughorse flickered her tongue, tasting the emotions in the air between them. Smiling, she sighed.

"Twilight, you don't have to do this. You don't have to prove anything, not for me."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" Her violet eyes were practically dancing as she adjusted her glasses with a sassy grin. "Well, what if I want to do it for me?"

Chryssi was taken aback, gobsmacked into stammering. "I- Wh- Well-" She set her chin with an aggravated pout. "Now see here, you little twerp."

Twilight laughed. She'd won this round.

"Come on, Chryssi." she said with a flirty if playfully stern smile. She stomped her foot and flounced. The heavy material of her pleated skirt whispered angrily. Twilight dropped her register an octave. "Do it for your queen."

Chryssi melted. She was defeated. "I... Erf. Very well." She craned her long neck down to meet Twilight's gaze. Those violet eyes held her as a moth staring into a candle's burning taper. "Just be mindful of my fangs, beloved."

Again, Twilight reassuringly caressed the contoured chitin of her lover's face. "We've kissed dozens of times, Chryssi- and then some. I'm sure I'll be fine."

Chryssi straightened, raising a pencil-thin inky eyebrow. The corners of her mouth turned up in a sinister, wicked smile.

In her human form, she had fangs, to be sure. Where the average Homo Sapiens Equus had lateral incisors and canines Chryssi had elongated, sabre-like fangs. In this form, however, her natural arsenal was upped considerably. The Changeling Queen opened her mouth to display dozens of glistening fangs, ranging in size from a pocket-knife to a railroad spike. The sight was akin to staring into the gaping maw of a horse-sized constrictor snake.

"Okay, okay. Fair point." Twilight chuckled.

Chryssi began to say something but her tiny lover cut her off. "Now, if you're finished?"

Hesitantly, almost demurely, Chryssi lowered her head. A forest-green hue had come to the chitin of her cheeks. Parting her chitinous lips slightly, she leaned close to her human love. Heart pounding, Twilight took her partners muzzle in her palms. The lovers closed their eyes as their lips gently touched.

For several hushed seconds, they tenderly, if awkwardly, embraced as lovers do.

As gently as they'd come together, they parted. Slowly, their eyes opened. Each silently examined the other for any tell-tale signs of their experience. Each gave up a somewhat sheepish grin. It was the most vulnerable, almost embarrassed, Twilight had seen her ancient lover in all their time together.

Chryssi finally broke the pregnant silence. "Well? Did you find what you sought?"

Twilight beamed and cleared her throat. She straightened her glasses, biting her lip as she felt the rosettes burning on her cheeks. "Yep." She brushed aside a lock of Chryssis wispy silken mane which had tumbled between her eyes. "You're still you."

The couple shared a giggle as their lips came together once more, perhaps just a bit less awkwardly this time.

#my art #twisalis #twilight sparkle #queen chrysalis #mlp g4 #mlp fim #mlp eqg #mlp au #love #lovers #lesbian #pansexuality #exploration #changeling #eternal courtship #ashleyfableblack #lgbtq

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rorimoon9597 · 5 months

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"Paladin Cadets, please report to the briefing room." Artemis looked up from her homework, confused. She moved anyway, marking where she was and standing.

She made her way to the briefing room, wondering what she was needed for.

She entered the room when she got there, nodding to Curtis and the other Bridge Officers when they filed out from the meeting they were in.

She was the first to arrive, unsurprisingly. Leo constantly had things he was working on, and was always researching something or looking through old scientific papers. Rex spent his time baking, Alex was probably coming from the training deck, and Sava was probably coming from where she was helping in the engine room.

Her parents, Lance and Keith Kogane, were there already, and they smiled as she walked in.

"Hey, mija. I hope you weren't too busy," Lance said. Artemis shook her head.

"No, I wasn't. I was working on some math homework," she replied. Kosmo teleported up to her, begging for pets. She caved in.

"Man, I suck at math," Lance commented.

"You do," Keith agreed. Lance gave him an indignant look. "What? You came to my room after we found Kuro and tried to work out how many Paladins we had even though it's the simplest thing in the universe." Lance huffed.

"I was struggling that day." Artemis chose to sit in her seat, ignoring her parents.

Leo came not too long after she did, Alex, Sava and Rex right behind him.

"Are we late?" He asked. Shiro shook his head.

"No, you're just in time," he said.

"Alright." The other four sat down.

"What did you need us for?" Alex, ever the leader, asked.

"There has been a request for help from a Coalition planet," Shiro began. He smiled at the confused looks that were shared around. "I'll hand this to you, Lance."

"Thank you, Shiro," Lance replied. He stood at the front of the table, screen behind him clear to see. An image of a planet appeared on the screen behind him. "Shaatull is a planet that's relatively new to the Coalition. Their culture is based around crystals, and they have some really interesting theories about Quintessence and relationships."

"You can talk about it later on, okay?" Keith said, a reminder. Not dismissing him entirely, an invitation to talk as much as he wanted to when they had time to talk about it.

"Right. Anyway, Shaatull has certain creatures. None of them are insanely dangerous, because it's not a death world like Earth, or New Altea or New Daibazaal. Recently the head of Shaatull, Lady Ravra, reached out to us and requested our help with a creature that has been terrorizing the planet. Or, that's what they say about it."

"What does this creature look like?" Leo asked, genuinely curious about this creature.

"This is what it looks like." The image of the planet disappeared, replaced with a few images that looked like it came from a security camera. Not the best quality, but it was enough to give them an idea of the creature. "This is the creature that has been causing so much panic." Pidge rested her head on her joined hands.

"It looks like some sort of cross between a cat, a fox, and a phoenix or something," she observed. Artemis looked closer at one of the clearest pictures and noted that she was right.

It was nothing like what Artemis had seen, and she'd seen a lot. Her dad had a cosmic teleporting wolf as a pet, her grandmother was Galra, and she was training to become a proper Paladin of Voltron.

The creature, from what she could see, was gorgeous. Its fur was and amber colour, and it had a white muzzle from what she could see. The white went from the muzzle to somewhere around it's stomach. The tail was only slightly bushy, almost as if it were a combination between a fox and a cat tail. It's paws, which were like a cat's paws, had white socks. It had wings, which went from the same amber as its fur where the wings were connected to an off white colour.

"It's beautiful," she commented.

"It is," Lance agreed.

"The Atlas crew is working on finding where it comes from. While we are working on that, you five are to go to Shaatull and trap the creature. Do not harm it. When we know where it comes from, we will release it and figure out ways to stop this from happening again, to protect the creature's species, and the ecosystems of other planets," Shiro said.

"Yessir!" The five Paladin Cadets said, in sync. Determination showed on their faces.

"This is your first mission. We will set up check-in times to keep updated on your progress and to help you wherever you may need it. However, apart from that, you will only have each other to depend on." The thought made Artemis... nervous.

"We'll go pack as soon as we can," Alex said.

"Go do that now. We will sort out the check-in times," Allura encouraged.

"I agree with Allura there," Shiro said.

Clearly dismissed, the five of them stood up and went to their quarters.

"This is so exciting!" Sava said. Leo shook his head.

"It might be tough but..."

"How long do you think it might take for us to be able to trap the creature?" Rex asked, nervous.

"Patience yields focus," Leo reminded them. It was something that Shiro told all of the children he knew - Keith, all of the Paladins, the first MFEs, and now them, the Paladin Cadets, and the MFE Cadets.

They split up, going to their individual ways to their rooms.

Artemis cast one look at her homework, still on her desk. She turned away from it to grab a duffle bag.

She set out to pack it, grabbing underwear, a couple of hoodies, some jeans and spare shirts. She grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste too, as well as her hairbrush, some basic skincare products, and her shampoo and conditioner.

She grabbed some of her electronics, too. Her phone, headphones, and a tablet and the pen that went with it, as well as the chargers for those things.

She didn't over pack, fortunately. And she remembered to put in her pajamas, too.

Her phone pinged. She grabbed it and checked the notification that appeared on the screen.

MISSION ALERT - PALADIN CADETS TO PLANET SHAATULL TO ASSIST WITH FORGEN CREATURE. DEPATURE DATE & TIME: 20/4 1300. REPORT TO LIONS IN ARMOR.

Artemis checked the time, noting that she was set to leave that afternoon after lunch. She double checked her bag, making sure she had everything then triple-checked it. Once she was satisfied that she had everything she needed, she left her room and went to the Lion hangar.

When she was younger, her parents would take her and Alex around the ship, showing them all of the different places. She was four or five when they first did that, and she still remembered how it felt to be around the lions.

They radiated power, each and everyone of them. Black radiated power that told anyone and everyone that she was in charge, that she could zap them all if she wanted but chose not to. Green radiated the sort of power that came with scientists; smart, desiring knowledge, and using what they had to do their part.

Blue radiated the same sort of power that came from the ocean. Calm, playful, even, but with deadly currents and the ability to go from calm to raging quickly. Yellow radiated kindness, a solid rock to lean on when needed, and dependent.

Red had always stuck out to her, though. The lion was known to be fierce, unpredictable and dangerous to those who didn't know her. Hotheaded and reckless. Yet when Artemis first looked at Red, the only thing she felt from the lion was protectiveness, warmth like what one expected from a fire on a cold night, or a campfire. She was an observer, observing and making moves that no one could predict when she needed to. A gentle fire that would flair up when it needed to, often in the heat of battle.

Despite that though, Red was still rather stubborn.

"Hey, girl. We're going on a mission! I thought that I'd bring my stuff here now so that I don't have to worry about it later," Artemis said. Red's particle barrier went down, and she bent down, her jaws opening to grant Artemis access.

"Mission?" Red asked.

"Yep. We're being sent out to trap this creature from a planet known as Shaatull. It's not meant to be there, you see, so we have to figure out where it comes from and get it back to its home," Artemis explained. She placed her bag down and made sure that it would be secure.

"When?"

"After I have some lunch," Artemis replied. She stepped out of Red's mouth and onto the floor of the hangar. She turned to press a hand to Red's nose. "You won't be doing much except for flying to Shaatull and back. Sorry, girl."

"It fine." Artemis nodded.

Apparently, as her bond with Red grew, the lion would be able to speak in complete sentences. The fact that she was able to even hear simple sentences from Red was nothing short of an achievement. Not even Leo, the technological genius of the team, could hear simple words. He could only hear Green's growls and purrs and understand how they were meant to be taken.

Artemis walked to the cafeteria and grabbed some lunch. Looking around, she could see Leo, Sakura, and Shiro and Adam sitting together. Artemis got the hit and went to find her family.

It was easy, considering the fact that the red and black of both of her parents uniforms stood out among the sea of orange.

She slid into the seat next to Alex.

"I'm kind of nervous," Alex said. He was picking at his food.

"Hey, it's okay, mijo. At least you won't mess up your first mission as badly as your dad did when he first became the Black Paladin."

"Hey, I was mourning the loss of my brother," Keith shot back.

"I know. At least I was there to reign you in, eh?"

"Gay," Pidge said as she passed, a tray of food in her hands.

"That's glaringly obvious, Pidgeon!" Lance replied, a grin on his face. Artemis looked towards her twin and sniggered. No one else in the cafeteria bothered to look up. The Paladin's close relationship was normal, now.

Silvio slid into the seat next to Alex.

"I heard about the mission," he said nonchalantly, biting into the garlic knot he grabbed.

"It's nerve-wracking," Alex said.

"Our mission to free Shay's Balmera was super nerve-wracking," Lance reminisced. "So much so that we teased Hunk about his obvious crush on Shay." Keith snorted.

"I very clearly remember the way Pidge called Shay his girlfriend," he said. Lance barked out a laugh.

"Man, those times were... much better than the rest of the war." A grimaced passed both of her parent's faces.

"The problem I have right now is what we're going to do to trap the creature," Artemis said, pulling both of her parents out of their thoughts before they got too far.

"Simple. Get its trust, then trap it in a cage," Lance told her.

"But it won't trust us after that," Artemis said, pouting.

"It'll be fine, Arti. We'll have to break its trust to get it safe." Artemis nodded.

They ate in silence after that. Then, as one, the Paladin Cadets got up and put their trays back. They left the cafeteria and went to the armory, where the Paladin armor was sitting, already out for all of them.

Artemis grabbed the red armor and the accompanying undersuit. Sava grabbed the blue one, Alex the black, Leo the green, and Rex the yellow.

They ducked into the changing rooms, changing out of their Cadet uniforms and into their armor. Artemis grabbed the red pin and put it into a hidden pocket.

She went back to the armory and grabbed the red bayard. She threw the black one to Alex, who caught it and stored it away in his storage bars. They handed the others their bayards, too.

Now fully ready, they walked to the lion hangar.

"Mijo, mija," Lance said. He walked up to them and wrapped them both up into a hug. She returned it.

"Alex, Artemis." Both twins pulled away to face their dad. He handed them something. "Your grandma left these with me last time." Alex and Artemis gasped when they realised what their dad was offering them.

Two Luxite blades, like the ones the Blade of Marmora carried. One had a black grip. It stood out against the blueish colour of the blade. The other one had a red grip.

"What-"

"They're both linked to your life forces. The red one is linked to Alex's life force, the black one is linked to Artemis'. I was waiting for your first mission to give these to you."

"He's had them for years, since you were babies. He decided to give them to you when you turned eighteen, but then you were both chosen by one of the lions, so he decided to give them to you before you went on your first mission," Lance explained. Artemis reached out and took the red blade.

It was perfect in her hand, the red grip comfortable in her hands. The symbol of the Blades glowed with Alex's life force, his Quintessence. She pulled it out of the sheath and turned it this way and that in the light. She put it back into the sheath and hugged her dad. Alex joined her.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"Anything for my children," Keith replied. Lance joined them.

Artemis waved goodbye to her parents from Red's jaw, then stepped inside. She sat in the pilot's seat and, when the doors opened, shot off into space just behind Black. A wormhole opened, and she flew through, right to Shaatull's solar system, and far away from the Atlas and her parents.

Shaatull, though, was a pretty planet from space. There was pink, and some green, and yellow, too.

"The pink is land, the green is water," Leo informed them.

"Alright. I've got the landing coordinates here, I'll send them to you guys," Alex said. His face went from the nervous look to focused. Artemis, knowing Alex like she knew the back of her hand, could see the nerves still there, in his eyes. "Everyone got them?"

"Yep," Artemis replied. She entered them into Red's system.

"Ditto," Rex said.

"I've got them," Leo confirmed.

"Me too," Sava piped up. Alex nodded.

"Alright, team, let's go." Black sped up, heading to the planet. Artemis urged Red forwards, matching the speed that her brother set for them. She could see Blue on her right, just behind her.

They entered Shaatull's atmosphere. The grass and the leaves of the trees were all different shades of pink, and the sky was a similar blur hue as Earth's sky was. There were clusters of something sparkling in clusters on the ground.

"This kind of reminds me of Barbie Land from that twenty twenty-three Barbie movie," Sava commented. There was laughter through the comms.

"Let's not let the Shaatullians hear that," Alex suggested.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Sava replied.

They landed in the designated landing area. A group of Shaatullians were waiting for them, ready to greet them.

"Alright, the atmosphere is safe for all of us to breathe. We can leave our helmets behind," Leo said.

"Let's do that, then," Alex agreed. Artemis stood up and took off her helmet, leaving it on her seat. She walked out of Red and onto the ground, falling in step just behind Alex.

The Shaatullians were an interesting people. They were mostly humanoid, but they weren't entirely so. They were tinted dark colours that contrasted with the landscape, and came in all different colours. Artemis counted four fingers on each hand. They wore loose clothing, like robes that people in the Middle East would wear, which were pale in contrast to their skin. They had long hair that was tied back, and they were decorated in crystals.

Alex led them up to a Shaatullian who was a deep purple. A pink crystal hung around their neck, glowing slightly.

"Paladin Cadets, it is an honor and a relief to have you on our planet," the Shaatullian, who Artemis guessed was Lady Ravra, greeted them.

"Lady Ravra, it is an honor to meet you as well. I do wish that the circumstances were much better than this, though," Alex said.

"As do I. Now come, follow me, we must discuss our options." Lady Ravra turned around and led them through an estate that was huge.

The walls and floors were made out of a marble-like material, and there were crystals everywhere. In the chandeliers, in the artworks and arches of the hallways. Crystal statues, and crystal columns. Artemis looked around in awe, unable to tear her eyes away from anything in fear of missing anything.

"You can explore later," Leo reminded her. She nodded, and turned to face the front.

They came to a room that housed a crystal table made of some sort of brown crystal. The chairs, thankfully, were made of wood.

"Please, have a seat," Lady Ravra said. They sat down at the rounded table, Artemis on Alex's right, Sava on her right. Leo and Rex were on Alex's left.

Lady Ravra introduced them to her councilors, all of whom nodded in reply. In turn, Alex introduced each of them.

"So, about this creature?" Alex prompted. Lady Ravra nodded.

"Yes. This creature came on a trade ship. We have made sure that the people who have brought it to our planet have paid their fine for doing such a thing, but no one knows where the creature came from," Lady Ravra said. Alex nodded.

"Fortunately, the Atlas' scientific crew is searching for the creature's home. If all goes well, then we will be able to trap the creature and take it back to it's home planet," he explained.

"How do you plan on trapping it?" A councilor asked.

"We'll have to get the creature to trust us, which will take some time. We have a cage that we can trap the creature in when we get to that part, though it will be a while until we can do that," Artemis explained.

"So you wish to release it in its home world?" Lady Ravra asked.

"Precisely. And, with the information we receive about the creature, we can properly document it and enforce rules and regulations surrounding it to keep something like this from happening again," Leo added on to Artemis' explanation. There were murmurs as the plan was discussed by the councilors and Lady Ravra. Finally, she stood up.

"Paladin Cadets," she said. Her voice was clear, with a hint of a sound that was like crystals clinking against each other. "We will provide you with anything you may need in order to capture the creature. We trust that you will be sure to capture it." Alex stood up.

"We promise to help with this issue, and bring your planet back to stability," he said, using his Black Paladin voice. Authoritative, sure and steady.

This declaration closed the meeting, and the five of them were led to the rooms that they would be staying in. Someone had gone in and grabbed their things, because Artemis' things were at the end of her bed. Sava's things were at the end of another bed, right next to the one that Artemis had been given.

As soon as she was inside of their room, Artemis stripped off the armor. She didn't throw it anywhere, instead choosing to piled it up into a corner. She grabbed her spare clothes and put them on. She could hear Sava doing the same as her. Once they were done, they sat on their respective beds. Sava scanned the platter of food left for them.

"Safe for us to eat," she said. She grabbed a strawberry looking thing. Artemis grabbed a pastry thing. It was sweet when she bit into it, perfectly satisfying her giant sweet tooth that she'd inherited from her dad.

There was a knock on the door.

"Arti? Sav?" Leo called through the wood.

"Come in," Artemis said. Leo opened the door and walked in, followed by Alex and Rex. Leo sat on a chair while Alex joined Artemis on her bed, and Rex sat on the floor.

"You can sit on a chair, you know," Sava pointed out to him. Rex shrugged.

"The floor's comfortable," he replied.

"Check-in time, let's go," Leo said. He set up the communicator, they all crowded around it.

A holographic screen appeared, showing the faces of the Paladins. Artemis watched as worry disappeared from her parent's faces like ripples in water.

"How's it going?" Shiro asked. Right to the point.

"We came out of a meeting with Lady Ravra and her council not too long ago. They explained that the creature came in on a trade ship, though no one's sure when it got on," Alex reported. There were nods.

"The team is researching on where it comes from, but so far it's proved to be fruitless," Pidge told them. "Coran has been sent the images of the creature, and he has a team looking into it. Hopefully, with our combined efforts, we will be able to figure this out."

"We'll start searching for the creature in the morning," Alex said. Looking out the window, Artemis saw that the sun was setting.

"That's a good idea," Lance agreed, also eyeing the window that he could see.

They talked a bit more before signing off. The boys retreated to their room, and Artemis climbed into her bed.

"G'night," she mumbled.

"Night," Sava replied.

____________

The next morning, when she woke up, Artemis stretched and went to the bathroom. She showered and changed, threw her hair up into a ponytail and let Sava use the bathroom after her.

They were given breakfast by a servant. Artemis ate her fill, and left the rest for Sava, who ate her own fill after she came out of the bathroom wearing casual clothing as well.

They went to meet up with the boys afterwards.

"The best thing for us to do is to split up and search for the creature. It'll give us a better chance at spotting it," Alex said. He was typing something out on his phone, probably a message to the Atlas about what they were doing. "The creature has been spotted here multiple times, trying to steal food, so that's where we're going to start our search. Feel free to buy yourselves something while we're here."

"Alright," Leo said. They were standing not too far from where the market was, and even from here, Artemis could see all of the people milling around. Mothers with babies strapped to their backs, children chasing each other, and men talking to each other.

It was so interesting, and Artemis had always been one to learn about culture. Exploring a market place was perfect for learning about the Shaatullian culture.

"Lady Ravra gave me some maps. There's enough for all of us to have one each. Artemis, you take this area. Leo, you take this part. Rex, you take this one. Sava, you take this one. I'll search here." Alex pointed out each part. Artemis took one of the paper maps from her brother and a pen from her backpack and outlined her area. The others did the same on their maps, handing the pen back to her once they were done. "Meet back here before dinner time. Lady Ravra has invited us to eat with her."

"Copy that," the four of them said in unison.

They split up after that and went to find their areas. Once Artemis found the start of her area from where she'd entered, she started to explore and search for the creature.

The Shaatullians were rather fond of bright colours, she noticed. All of the stalls sold things like jewelry and scarves and clothing all in different shades, as well as some food. Curious about the culture, Artemis bought some candy. The candy tasted good, and they were in the shape of crystals.

Papa wasn't lying when he said that the Shaatullians find crystals important, she thought as she watched a mother buy her child their first piece of jewelry. Artemis couldn't help but smile at the child's happy expression as their mother helped them put it on. The vendor smiled as well.

"Come and get Soul Crystals here! Perfect gift for married couples and parents!" One of the vendors shouted. Artemis stopped, thinking about it. She was... intrigued, to say the least. And her papa would love to have a souvenir from this planet.

Artemis turned and walked to the booth.

The booth was covered in those simple crystal necklaces that Artemis had noticed everyone wearing, all of which glowed slightly, like Lady Ravra's. None of these ones glowed, though they came in all different kinds of colours. Pink, purple, blue, green, red and many others. The vendor grinned when they saw her.

"Well, hello there, traveler! May I interest you in a Soul Crystal for your significant other? Or perhaps as a gift for your parents?"

"What do they do?" She asked, eyes roving over the crystals.

"Well, these are an ancient tradition among our people. They are linked to two people's Quintessence. It allows for couples to feel each other's emotions, as well as acts as a compass of sorts for them, so that they always know where each other are, and how they are feeling."

"Is that why they glow?" She questioned. The vendor nodded.

"Precisely," they said.

"How much would it be to get a couple for my parents?"

"Fifty VIC," the vendor replied.

I have a few hundred VIC in my wallet, she thought.

"Buy. Lance like," Red said.

"Keep it a secret from him," Artemis said.

"Yes. Secret. Surprise." Artemis pulled out her wallet and pulled out a 100 VIC note.

"Here," she said, handing the money over.

The vendor took the note.

"Now, just close your eyes, and search for the crystals that match your parents. It's easier for those who have Quintessence sensitivity." Artemis closed her eyes, feeling for something that matched her parents. She opened her eyes and looked at the crystals her Quintessence sensitivity helped her zero in on.

"Those two, that blue one with white swirls and that red one that has gold in it, those match perfectly," she said, pointing to the crystals. They were on a basic black string. The blue one looked like the ocean, while the red one looked like fire.

The vendor boxed them up and tied the boxes with a ribbon without question.

"I wish your parents wonderful and fulfilling life, Young One," the vendor said. Artemis nodded.

She left the vendor after that and wandered around some more. The crystals she bought were in her bag, waiting to be given to her parents.

She continued around the market. She bought some fresh meat and some fruit for the creature to eat when she came across it. Part of gaining its trust was to give it food, which was a universal sign of 'I'm not here to fuck you up' with all species, not just people.

There was a commotion. Artemis looked over to see it.

The creature, which was the size of a cat that was somewhere between being an adult and a kitten still. It was trying to get some meat, but was being chased off by a vendor.

Artemis leapt into action. She ran after the creature, following along as it flew through the air and ran on buildings. She never took her eyes off of it, which caused quite a few close calls with other people.

"Hey, watch it!" One yelled.

"Sorry, gotta chase this creature," she shouted.

She ran around a corner, using her arm to turn more accurately. She used the momentum to keep going.

She followed the creature out of the market and to a dilapidated house on the outskirts of the city. It flew in, and Artemis followed, slowing down do not scare it.

The house was made of the same stone as the other houses were, but the crystals that adorned them were missing. Artemis stepped over a chunk of rock that had fallen from the ceiling and into the room. Dust and rocks covered the ground. Artemis saw the creature in a corner. It yowled at her, wings and fur puffed up to make it look larger.

"Hey, it's okay, I don't want to hurt you," she said. She crouched down and sat on the floor, making herself smaller, less intimidating as much as she could. "You're hungry, aren't you? That's why you were trying to take that meat from that guy."

The creature growled at her, still untrusting. Slowly and clearly, so that the creature could see what she was doing, she pulled out the meat from the bag the vendor had given her. She held up a chunk of the slightly green meat - the colour reminded her of the description of dragon meat or whatever it was Hagrid has used as an ice pack in The Order of the Phoenix.

"Here, I got this especially for you," she said. She chucked it to the creature, as far as she could. The creature crept forward and sniffed the meat. It took it and went back to its corner, chewing on the meat. Artemis took out her phone and snapped a picture, sending it to the others and the Paladins and Shiro.

Artemis: I've found the creature. Artemis: It eats meat. Artemis: Click to see image.

Shiro: Good job. We'll pass on the picture and the information.

Pidge: It's even prettier than the security pictures show.

Alex: Save the location of where it's staying so that you can find it later. Alex: It'll be better for you to be the one to capture it in the end.

Artemis: Already on it.

She saved the location on her phone and looked up. She saw that the creature was looking at her, having eaten the meat she gave to it.

"Here, have some more. You need to eat all you can so that you don't starve. I'd rather be able to take you back to your home than have you die," she said. She grabbed more meat and chucked it over to the creature. It grabbed that meat, too. Artemis chucked over the rest of the meat and stayed there. She stayed there until an hour and a half before dinner.

The creature watched her with wary eyes.

"I'll be back with more food tomorrow, and a bowl. I'll be able to give you water without having to force you to get too close if you don't want to." She turned to leave. Before she was our from under the door, she turned back to smile at the creature. "Bye." She walked away from the house.

____________

True to her word, she set out to the house that the creature lived in the next day. She packed her electronics into her backpack along with some lunch and some meat and water, then set out. She went and bought a couple wooden bowls, and made her way back to the house.

The creature was still there. It growled softly, a warning to not come any closer.

"Hello, pretty. How are you today?" The creature growled again. Artemis nodded. "Fair enough. I've brought some bowls with me, so I can put your food in there as well as some water. You don't have to worry about coming too close to me anymore." As she told the creature about the bowls, she pulled them out, and poured some water in one. She set it on the ground, not too far from the creature, not too close. She then took the meat and put it into the other bowl. She set that down next to the water bowl.

She walked to the opposite side of the the room compared to the creature, the bowls halfway between them. She got herself comfortable and put on some music, using her headphones. She started to draw on her tablet.

She sketched out the creature, capturing it's beauty on a canvas. It moved forward to sniff the bowls. It realised that she wasn't trying to kill it and watched her. Artemis watched it herself, and smiled as the creature ate the meat and drank some of the water before hopping up onto it's perch.

She grabbed her phone and opened the voice recordings.

"Day two of taming the... creature. We don't know what it is still, but it's beautiful. I'd say that it's the same as a kitten that's nearing the same size as a fully grown cat from Earth. I've given it some meat, and some water. They're both in a bowl so that it doesn't have to come too close to me if it doesn't want to. I'll continue to do this until I can get close to it without it panicking and trying to murder me."

She went back to her drawing when she finished the log.

Pidge: We've found out what the creature is. Pidge: It's called a Refr, and it's from Hvalba, which is an extremely new planet, only having sentient life within the last 357 years.

Artemis: Seems like a cool place tho.

Pidge: It is.

____________

"Day twenty of taming the Refr, who I have discovered in a girl. She's friendly now, and she has let the others get close to her. That's as long as I'm here, though. No one can get close to her without her trying to maim them if I'm not around. She trusts me enough to keep her safe from danger if it ever arises. That's... that's the same level of trust Dad and Kosmo have. I don't know if we're going to be able to actually release her onto Hvalba, but it's worth a shot." She finished the log and looked at the Refr.

"Mrow?" The Refr asked. Artemis smiled.

"I'm going to go now, girl. I have to get back to my friends before it's too dark," she said. She stood up and packed her things into her bag and then set off for Lady Ravra's estate.

She was barely walking for five minutes before she heard the telltale signs of something following her. She looked back to see the Refr landing on a building.

Artemis grabbed her phone and took a picture of it.

Artemis: I don't think we need to trap it. Artemis: And I think I have a pet now.

Keith: That's fine.

Lance: At least it's safe. Lance: Don't worry, I give you my full permission to keep the Refr if you want to.

Allura: We can still create rules and regulations surrounding the Refrs to keep something like this from happening again.

Artemis: Alright. Artemis: She'll only let people near her if I'm around tho.

Alex: That's some Dad and Kosmo level trust.

Lance: It is.

Artemis put her phone away and turned the Refr, who was still there.

"Come on, girl. I'll take you to Red, she's a safe space for you to stay," she told it. The Refr tilted her head.

Artemis started her walk again, path engraved in her mind. She could hear the Refr following her, all the way to Red, who bent down to let Artemis in. The Refr followed.

"You'll be safe here," Artemis said. She offered her hand to the Refr, who pushed its face into it. "You need a name." She thought through all of the names. "How about... Amber?" The Refr purred at the name. "Amber it is."

Artemis had to leave Amber in Red, which was simple enough. She went back to her room, where Sava was waiting.

"So you have a pet now, huh?"

"Yup. I've named her Amber," Artemis replied. She grabbed her pajamas and went into the bathroom and changed.

"Amber's a nice name," Sava commented when she walked back out.

"Yup. And we've finished the mission, so we can leave soon."

"Thank quiznack. I miss Hunk's cooking," Sava said.

"I miss Dad and Papa," Artemis said. She climbed onto the bed and under the covers.

The next day, the five of them climbed into their lions and departed Shaatull. Amber sat on one of the consoles, staring out at space. Artemis flew Red through the wormhole that appeared and into the Lion hangar, landing her expertly.

"Let's go, girl," she said to Amber. The Refr meowed again and followed her out of red. Artemis went and hugged her parents when she saw them, leaving Amber to watch with curious eyes.

"This is the Refr," Lance said when he pulled away. He knelt down and offered Amber a hand.

"Yeah. Her name's Amber," Artemis replied. She watched as Amber readily accepted pets from Lance.

"You guys have to debrief. Bring Amber with you," Keith said.

"I will," Artemis agreed.

Ten minutes later, and she was in the briefing room for the mission debrief. Amber laid on the table, watching everyone. Artemis' hand on Amber's head kept her calm.

"Why do we have to do a debrief?" Alex asked.

"Protocol," Adam answered.

"Adam's right. This is protocol, and the Garrison will have my head if I don't do this," Shiro said with a sigh. "Trust me, I hate debriefs too. I don't even know why I'm still the captain of the Atlas."

"Let's not question life choices now, otosan," Leo said.

"Alright. Let's get through this."

It was... surprisingly quick. Amber willingly got up and went to meet everyone in the room that she didn't know, including Kosmo, who touched his nose to Amber's nose in greeting. After sniffing each other, they curled up on the ground together.

"That's cute," Alex commented.

"Yeah, it is," Artemis agreed.

"I didn't expect for you to end up with a pet after all of this," Leo said.

"Shut up," Artemis shot back. Leo stuck his tongue out at her. Artemis returned it.

"It's good to have you guys back," Shiro said.

"You're a sap," Adam said. Everyone laughed at that, causing Amber to look up from where she was lying on top of Kosmo.

#voltron #vld #keith kogane #lance mcclain #princess allura #takashi shirogane #coran #alternate universe #hunk garrett #pidge holt #klance #voltron legendary defender #adashi #mention of some ships #original characters #future au

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