#“no heroics no honor” AU | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

divine-donna · 11 months

Text

knight in shining armor

pairing: cullen rutherford x gender neutral! reader

premise: a royal au, featuring cullen as a member of your royal guard.

♡ cullen rutherford, your knight in shining armor since you were young. a righteous boy who grew up into a righteous man, protecting you from dangers beyond the walls of your castle and imperial spies.

♡ cullen rutherford, who was brash and outspoken, who would talk back to his superiors for interacting with royalty when he himself was nothing more than a peasant.

♡ cullen rutherford, a boy punished for rumors untrue.

♡ cullen rutherford, who became a knight and popular amongst your kingdom subjects.

♡ cullen rutherford, who became a hero in the war against an imposing empire that threatened to swallow your country whole. you were a hero strategist and he the heroic knight-commander.

♡ cullen rutherford, who gained a promotion from your father. “any position.” he said. it almost seemed too good to be true.

♡ cullen rutherford, who asked to be part of the royal guard. “nothing would bring me more honor than to protect you and your family, your greatness.”

♡ cullen rutherford, who also got a mabari with his promotion. he was more than ecstatic considering that he’s wanted once since he was a kid.

♡ cullen rutherford, who learns it was you who got him the mabari hound he’s wanted. your act of generosity would not go unnoticed.

♡ cullen rutherford, who participated in many tourneys representing himself. his experience gave him the upperhand against the nobles who had never even stepped foot on a battlefield.

♡ cullen rutherford, who asks for your favor. you smile cheekily and toss him the wreath of flowers. “may the maker smile upon you today.” he notices the wreath has daisies woven within it.

♡ cullen rutherford, who is assigned by your father to watch over you personally especially during the treaty signings. maker forbid something happened to you, the heir to the kingdom.

♡ cullen rutherford, who finds his love for you deepening, a love that has been building since he was a child and saw you all those years ago. he can’t help the smile that continues to form on his face. leliana and josephine are always pointing out his lovesick grin when you’re around.

♡ cullen rutherford, who continues to polish his chess skills. it drives you a little stir crazy that he has only beaten you. 10 to 0 is the current score. you’re determined to win at least one game.

♡ cullen rutherford, who finds you reading up on chess strategies and asking other people that have played him for advice on how to win. it amuses him and he decides to leave you alone.

♡ cullen rutherford, a man who feels pride when you finally beat him. you outmaneuvered him in almost every way. it was a little scary actually how you beat him.

♡ cullen rutherford, who meets you in the gardens at night. it’s just the two of you. alone. no one around. he could hear nothing but your breathing and his own and the gentle hum of insects.

♡ cullen rutherford, a boy who grew into a handsome man. the scar adorning his face added a charm to him. and his eyes were warm, gentle, inviting.

♡ cullen rutherford, whose touch put you at ease and made your skin flush. your heart would pound against your rib cage and it threatened to burst from your chest.

♡ cullen rutherford, who felt like forbidden fruit. you should be dallying someone of your status, someone born into nobility and with titles and lands. he was a man with neither (outside of his current titles, of course).

♡ cullen rutherford, who cupped your face gently. the two of you were so close. so very close. if you moved further just a little...

♡ cullen rutherford, a man surprised when he felt your lips against his. he suddenly couldn’t move, body frozen. he had become putty in your hands, maleable by your will.

♡ cullen rutherford, who kissed you back with such fervor that it felt like you were about to explode. with happiness of course.

♡ cullen rutherford, your lover. a secret affair you had to have. and sure, were you breaking your promise to your father to marry someone adequate? yes. but you knew what you felt and it would never be with any of the nobles that send proposals every day.

♡ cullen rutherford, who is content to be your lover in the shadows of the night. you were his liege. he wanted nothing to happen to you. he understood the responsibility on your shoulder.

♡ cullen rutherford, who always deflects from the rumors and questions surrounding him and his liege. people are talking. it wouldn’t be long before such whispers reached the greater nobility.

♡ cullen rutherford, who is surprised at your forwardness and openness during your name day ball. you ask him for a dance. openly. in front of all the suitors that had lined themselves up for you.

♡ cullen rutherford, who takes your hand and ignores the looks being sent his way, ignores the hushed whispers behind elegant masks and large hand fans.

♡ cullen rutherford, who utterly melts when you whisper to him, “i love you.”

♡ cullen rutherford, a man interrogated by your father because of the rumors of his liaison you. he gives vague answers that only further frustrate your father.

♡ cullen rutherford, a man saved when you enter the room and give your father clear answers. you are firm on your stance and on your love for cullen. he feels flutters in his heart watching you argue with your father. it appears you had become his knight in shining armor.

♡ cullen rutherford, a heroic knight-commander promoted to a member of the royal guard and now, your husband. he says his vows with enthusiasm and love. his whole body shakes with enthusiasm as he says, “i do.”

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #da: inquisition #cullen rutherford #cullen rutherford headcanons #royal au #cullen rutherford x reader #x reader #female reader #male reader #gender neutral reader #romantic headcanons

231 notes · View notes

evenmorefatallyobsessed · 1 year

Text

Prof. Schnee AU Concept

To be clear this isn't the only Au/ comic I'll put the model in but it is the one that comes to mind for me most often.

All of team RWBY are born into the previous generation. Weiss along with her brother Whitley secured and manage the SDC. Though in truth Whitley takes care of most of the actual work. Though she was far from dull she did have to admit that Whitley was solely groomed to manage the company while her time was decided between it and her combat training.

Weiss herself still had power and plenty of a say but her Huntress duties took priority... And obligations as a teacher as well, yes. She was a instructor at Beacon. Helping to groom the next generation into respectable Hunters.

Mostly she was pleaded into it by her partner Ruby but still she took her job seriously.

Which was more then she could say for the rest of her team! All three of them off gallivanting across Remnant taking missions. Honestly sometimes they could be such a headache. But she supposed Ozpin had sent them all on those missions...

Regardless she was determined to perform no less admirably this year then any other. And considering that Pyrrha Nikos would be entering this year she believed it would be a very worthwhile year given her skill.

But there was always room for surprises like miss Valkyrie, who was frankly a Yang level ridiculous powerhouse.

Yes, this year would've been a valuable one even if those were the only two of note... But they weren't. No, the third would be...

"Please Go Out With Me!"

Would be Jaune Arc, a paradoxically lacking student and yet one worth her admiration. He was a special case like Blake had been according to Ozpin. A boy who secured counterfeit transcripts to earn a chance to try out Initiation. Though whereas her teams resident Faunus had been a member of the White Fang mister Arc had been a civilian out in one of Remnant's frontier villages. A simple boy with some dreams of heroics and knighthood.

He was actually like her partner Ruby in several ways but with a father who denied his dreams instead of supporting them like Ruby had... That, that was something she could relate to, could sympathize with and it was not all.

He wanted to live up to his family's name, to bring honor to it, to be anything to stop being the one to be protected but to protect others Instead. He was many things, foolish, naïve and certainly stubborn… But he was brave. What else could you call a boy who entered the Emerald Forest prepared to face monsters but courageous.

Jaune Arc had a long way to go, had a tough road ahead of him, if she’d thought catching Ruby up on their studies back in the day was hard this would be a true trial. But, but she wanted him to succeed, she wasn’t the same girl she’d been back in the day, who viewed people so callously, so superficially. She saw how much Jaune wanted this, how willing he was to put his life on the line for complete strangers as he fought the Death Stalker.

Apparently he wasn’t the most studious student but she never had issues, he may have lacked proper knowledge of Dust in her class but he was always quick to learn and put in the effort. Offering to help however he could.

Then he was being bullied, and then he stopped it, she knew how, she saw the recordings, saw Winchester Threaten him with blackmail. Saw her student being used like a lackey and distant from his team… And then she saw him refuse to follow Cardin’s order when it affected someone else. And then witnessed him save said tormentor when his teammates had ran.

Jaune Arc just like her partner embodied what it meant to be a Huntsman, he just needed some help on the way… And then he asked her out.

Flustered, nervous, clearly embarrassed, it was a sight she wasn’t used to, every man and woman who courted her had done so with annoying confidence in their status or family ties, had saw her as a particularly beneficial tool to use or trophy to own or worst of all… A knot on the metaphorical belt.

But Jaune, despite the way he entered Beacon was a rather earnest man, which was why she would do this in the kindest but also most direct way possible. Because she remembered being rejected as well. And wanted him to suffer as little as possible.

"Jaune, I'm your teacher..." He looked sad but accepting.

"R-right... I'm sorry I know it was wrong t-"

"That's why I don't want you going around and telling anyone." She blinked that the words she said it seeming to finally catch up with her brain her... Wait? That wasn't what she was supposed to say! Jaune seemed to be under the same impression as her thoughts as he spoke with a dumbfounded look on his precious youthful face.

"Really!" Yes Really!? What was she doing accepting his confession, but once more before her conscious could interrupt she parted her lips again.

"Though it isn't against the rules that Beacon upholds it is heavily frowned upon Jaune." Damn her for studying said rules! No! Stop Looking At His Absolutely Beamimg Smile This Instant! Just Because He's A Cute Boy Doesn't Mean We Could Throw Caution To The Wind.

Honestly she couldn't believe she said yes... Moreso that she felt so, so damn giddy about it! Like she was a girl back in her Beacon Days in her first relationship... Okay so technically she was a girl/ woman at Beacon and this was her first relationship but that was beside the point...

She was his teacher and this was... Well, no it wasn't illegal given that Jaune upon passing Initiation was by all legal means a adult under Remnant's Huntsman regulations... But it was still unprofessional! She'd never do anything others could bring into question... Anymore.

Like going out and taking on International criminals, known terrorists cells and preforming vigilante activities while a student.

But all that was besides the point and in the past! She wouldn't play with this boy's heart! She'd do the proper thing and brea-

"Jaune, I hope you understand that I'm not some trollope to be played with I expect you to take this seriously." NO!!! She Did Not Mean That! Shut Up Subconscious!

And oh dear now he was shooting her a very determined, gaze that made her heart skip a beat.

"Of course not! I'm serious about you miss Schnee!" Oh dear he was closing the distance, and being so assertive... Was, was he always so tall...

#jaune arc #weiss schnee #prof. schnee au #au concept

256 notes · View notes

joe-england · 1 year

Photo

I thought I was done, but it pulled me back. See what you’ve done to me, Matt Braly?? Alright, one more visit to this timeline, and the rest of the story is up to your imagination.

- Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 -

Footnotes: Can’t believe I put this much extra work into this. Accursed inspiration!

There are Easter eggs all over. Did you catch the reference about Marcy solving world hunger? How about Sasha’s Arnold pose? This was hard, but I did have fun.

Speaking of inspiration…. I’d like to mention my slightly serious motivation for making this AU. Amphibia's finale broke my heart in different ways. In particular, it still haunts me that, by all indications, Anne died. Which, by itself, I can accept. I appreciate heroic tragedy. But beyond that... what breaks me is the idea that she went unmourned. That someone else took over her story, and none of her friends and family even care that the girl they knew and loved passed on. They think Anne just came back. Her sacrifice went unnoticed, and we’re given a new Anne to love.

Like Domino, she was irreplaceable. But they got a replacement.

I mean, I have OCD. I don’t let stuff like this go. It's exactly the sort of thing that keeps coming back to me! I mean it when I say I'm haunted! It's Anne's ghost on my shoulder!

That's part of what inspired me to make Dominos. I wanted a story in which Anne lived. Her sacrifice was still a sacrifice, it really cost her something, but it's still her. The same Anne who went through all her adventures and made all those friends.

Make no mistake, I’d never claim that this is a “better” ending than what Matt gave us. That’s silly. It’s his story, and his muse, and I honor and thank him for it. And maybe it was his intention that Anne really just migrated into a second life! But there’s a lot of doubt.

So this was my therapy. My way of saying Anne really did unambiguously survive somewhere, at least in my little AU. Just making it clear, I mean no disrespect to Matt, or Amphibia, or to anyone who worked on it! This is made in tribute, not protest. For love of the Calamity Trio!

That said, I’m so glad this became popular, at least a little. If you enjoy my work, I encourage you to check out my Patreon campaign! It becomes much easier to create when I have support. In any case, thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great 2023!

http://www.patreon.com/JoeEngland

Nonprofits Helping Immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border

#amphibia #amphibia au #amphibiaau #marcy wu #sasha waybright #anne boonchuy #calamity trio #my art 2022 #fan fiction #dominos #the hardest thing #matt braly

357 notes · View notes

scalproie · 3 months

Text

whatever. tekken hadesgame AU

or as I like to call it: "what if Kaz raised Jin: God Edition lmao"

so. to lay the groundwork:

They're all gods/powerful immortal beings of an unspecified pantheon (but still loosely inspired by a pretty famous one I'm sure you'll recognize)

Big Bad Thundergod King Heihachi (whom I am now realizing shares quite a lot of similarities with good ol' Zeus), after getting bored and worried he's raising a weakling unfit to be his heir, still threw his little son down a cliff, except this one was from the highest heavens to the deepest hells, to make sure that if the little godling died, well, the death would actually stick. Which it did.

UNTIL another deity who's the personification of the devil gene (and who kinda look like Kazumi-but-it's-unsure-wether-or-not-it's-actually-Kazumi) took pity on him and revived him by giving him part of itself/hell aka the devil gene. So now Kazuya is "alive" and immortal again, but he's now bound to hell, aka he can't live away from it for very long. And yknow what they say, if you're stuck somewhere, might as well become it's ruler. Especially if you've gained the favors of the entity that embodies the place and that you've found a new life goal in making daddy dearest's life unbearable.

Anyway eons passed and Kaz's brothers (his adopted one Lee whom ascended to godhood on one of Heihachi's whims as a way to counter his annoying firstborn's meddling, and his heroic half-brother Lars) reached out to him one day to propose an alliance to take their tyrannical father down. Kaz only agreed on the condition that he get to expand his domain once Heihachi is out: if he cant leave hell, no worries, he'll just make hell bigger. Anyway Heihachi's children rebelled against him and with their might combined they managed to take him down, with Kaz even having the honor and pleasure to deliver the killing blow.

For the aftermath tho, when it was time for Kaz to begin his conquest, his brothers came back on their word to let him, bc Lars Actually Gives A Damn About Mortals and he knew full well that Kazuya wouldve had exactly the same rule as Heihachi if they let him, so they didnt (and Lee is more neutral on his views toward mortals but he gets along with Lars FAR better than he ever got along with Kaz so the choice on who to back up was easy). And even though Kaz 100% wouldve been as bad as Heihachi is he was allowed to rule over mortals as Lars thought he would be, and Kaz KNOWS it, that doesnt mean hes not gonna be mad that his brothers didnt keep their words to let him be evil in peace.

Well if he cant have what he wants the fair way, might as well try to take it by force. And thus Kaz resumes his battles against his brothers with his attempts at invasion of the mortal realm.

This goes on for awhile with things going great for Kaz as he is the stronger sibling out of all of them, until his aggression puts him on the path of one Jun, who counters him in a most efficient, masterful and complete manner. Basically he was doing too well at bringing evil onto the world and she had come to balance him out.

In a most unforeseen turn of events, as they get acquainted over the course of their different confrontations, they discover that they respect and admire each other's strength and actually get along pretty well, even enjoy each other's company.

Anyway being around Jun makes Kaz chill out MASSIVELY and soon enough you'll notice the amount of invasions from hell have greatly diminished.

Eventually they get in an actual relationship, with Kazuya even wanting her to become the queen of his domain. And Jun is not opposed to this proposal, quite the opposite in fact. But complications start to arise when Jun began moving in hell: she is everything it's not and vice-versa, and the environment itself even seems harmful for her the longer she stays. Even the devil-Kazumi-entity, for all that it's/she's fond of Jun as a person, cannot meet her physically for she would eradicate it/her should they come into contact.

Jun bears it as long as she can bc Kazuya Literally Cannot Leave Hell and she wants to be with him as much as he wants to be with her, and Kaz promises her that he's working on finding a solution (and by "working on it" I mean Kaz is threatening the dead soul of a demi-god known as Gepetto Bosconovitch, reknown for giving life to things that didnt have any, into fixing this).

Eventually Jun reaches her breaking point when their son dies a stillborn because he bears her blood and he is much weaker than she is, bc he's a baby. This is the last rejection of this place that Jun can take before it potentially kills her, esp since that last event took such a toll on her, and even tho she loves Kaz as much as he loves her, she has to leave and WANTS to leave. Kaz, in a rare moment of compassion, let her go and spares telling her the news that, ironically, Bosconovitch JUST finished his work and managed to make a garden, indentical to the ones she would have on the surface, grow in the deepest level of hell where she could thrive.

So Jun is gone and Kaz is miserable, so much so that he doesnt even have the mind nor heart for conquest anymore. The only thing left of her being the corpse of his child that he decides to bury in the unused garden.

But just as the tiny body touches the soil, he begin to scream as he takes his first breath and the initial shock then WAVE OF RELIEF Kazuya feels as his son is alive surprises even himself bc he didnt even want the damn baby in the first place. This is probably the most outwardly loving Kaz will be with his son as he's holding his tiny body while being hit with a fucking storm of emotions but hey we take those.

"This is great! Their son is alive and the garden works! Now Kazuya only need to reach Jun and they can-" Except Kaz Will Not bc he does NOT want to reach Jun. Not bc he doesnt love her anymore but 1) bc he now knows the pain of losing her and bringing her back into his life means getting the risk of getting hurt again and he neither wants to feel that pain ever again nor even knowing he has that "weakness" in the first place so he'd rather cut her off from his life, he'd rather deal with loneliness than heartache, and 2) even he realized that what his domain is, what he is, brought Jun pain, and some part of him does NOT like to see Jun in pain.

"Well if he doesnt want Jun back into his life, why doesnt he send her their son?" This is objectively the best course of action. But Kaz is Not A Good Person. He's selfish. And again. Their son is the last thing he has left of her, and goddammit if he doesnt have her eyes, her nose, her face.

So Kaz is now stuck with this lame baby and only partially vibe with it. Problem is, that baby cannot live in this tiny garden for the entirety of his immortal life. Thankfully the devil-Kazumi-entity offers Kaz a solution: the baby not only carries Jun's blood but also Kazuya's, and that makes him able to be a receptacle for the devil gene, binding him to hell as well, yes, but keeping him alive in there.

So now Kazuya is raising his son whom he named Jin based on one (1) short conversation he once had with Jun but didnt forget. He is also personally training him in the art of combat, bc sadly Kaz does take a bit after his father, and he would not have the prince of hell be a weakling.

OKAY BACKSTORY ESTABLISHED FINALLY now onto the main course:

So Jin grew up and similarly as in the game, he eventually learn that his family is not just him and his dad but he also have a mom somewhere, and he wants to find her. Bc one day he steps into the famous garden that Kaz had closed off after That Day and Jin figured that his asshole dad would NOT have such a pretty garden made without reasons so after a few researchs behind Kaz's back he eventually found out the truth.

Long story short, Jin wants to leave hell, Kaz doesnt want him to, and they antagonize each other constantly.

Jin eventually comes into contact with both his extanded family and multiple allies who wants to help him leave (without anyone knowing yet that just like Kaz, Jin cannot live outside of hell for long. tho Jin can survive longer than Kaz thanks for his mom's blood)

The people from outside helping him are:

Lars: his heroic half-uncle, OF COURSE Lars was going to help him.

Lee: his adopted uncle, he does like Jin but mostly he helps him out so Jin can run a few crash tests for him on Kaz's minions, AND he gets to piss off Kaz in the same move? Excellent.

Alisa: an ascended goddess who relate to Jin due to their origin, she as well was "dead at birth" until her father found a way to bring her back (in a way) tho he was cast to hell for it.

Leroy: the grandfather-figure Jin wishes he always had.

Asuka: she insists to him they're related and that once he makes it outta hell, she'll teach him about their side of the family.

there'll be more down the line but I need to workshop this...

Anyway Jin has two goal: 1) escape dad's hell, and 2) find mom. whom he will discover has straight up disappeared from everyone ever since she left hell herself.

So Jin starts from the bottom of hell and has to climb to the top where the entrance lies, in the mouth of a volcano. Wink wink fucking nudge nudge

When he falls he ends up back in his father's home where he can meet a bunch of friendly dead souls:

Lucky Chloe: usually the first person he sees after falling down, she's kind of the court jester, she was spared damnation bc Kaz thinks her annoying people is really funny as long as its not him, thats where the "Lucky" come from.

Azucena: she provides delicacies from the surface to hell (for a price), Jin can find her as he's running up to the surface and she'll happily sell him things to help.

Jane: she provides Jin with some sort of "bestiary" and she actually does not mind that he keeps beating Kaz's minions (the JACKs among others, tho they are her favorites) bc she get to improve them thanks to the data gathered afterward.

Bruce: Kaz's chief of security. When Jin didnt trained with Kaz, he often sparred with Bruce. Bruce will let Jin try his different styles against him before climbing back up hell again. He's fond of the kid :)

"Kazumi": Jin can never get quite a good read on her/it, but she's/it's always kind to him.

and others that I will also figure out...

But that's not all the people Jin meets, as he's ascending, he also encounters a bunch of people, tho not all are friendly.

Nina and Anna: contracted by Kazuya to stop Jin. Tho they spend more time fighting each other...

A reptilian monstrocity by the name of Alex.

Some strange crystals take him to a bizarre location where he can meet Azazel, who present himself as the progenitor of the devil-Kazumi-entity, making him technically Jin's great-grandpa. Via him, Jin can fight Devil Jin and gain more access to his style (more on that later)

Xiaoyu: a phoenix Jin befriended, the only reason she's in hell is only bc she can cheat death. She is not bound to hell, so she technically can come back to life if she manages to escape, until she dies again on the surface. They often run into each other and have a friendly competition to see who can defeat the most of Kaz's minions, if she loses, Xiaoyu will leave Jin with one of her feathers, that increases his health. Jin can also meet her sometimes back at the house. It's rumored that she spend more time in hell recently to hang out with the hellish prince🧡

Hwoarang: another dead soul of a great warrior contracted to stop Jin, but he couldnt care less about what Kaz wants. He wants to defeat Jin, so he will hunt him down everytime he hears that Jin is trying to escape again. Over time he and Jin have come to enjoy their rivalry. Jin can also meet him sometimes at the house🧡

And more yknow the drill...

And of course, once Jin finally manages to come to hell's entrance, who waits for him there but Kazuya. The two have a nice little father and son fight to the death between immortals where they can work out their problems in an healthy manner: with extreme violence, and the winner get to throw the other down the volcano cliff aaall the way to the bottom (bc sometimes the best way to work out trauma is thru exposure therapy. wink)

Jin starts by only knowing his father's style, but after finally finding his mother, and after the initial story-related reunion (and the tragic realization that just like his dad, Jin cannot stay out of hell for long), they bond with Jun teaching him her style. And Jin can work his way to the top again using her style to learn more about it. When dueling Kaz with it, he's preeetty conflicted like: My traitorous son is using another style than ours👿 -> omg that's Jun's moves... 🥺 -> HE'S NOT EVEN USING THEM RIGHT👿👿👿

And basically, Jin has multiple styles: his dad's, his own, eventually his mom's, and devil style. He gets to pick the one he's going to stick with at the start of every ascend.

Anyway this is the story of a child of divorce trying to reunite his parents who are both extremely stubborn and extremely still in love with each other, bc if Jin has to live another day with just his father he's going to LOSE IT.

#listen Im bored at work #yeah this is a fairly indulgent amount of OOC dont even worry about it #ALSO THANKS TO MY BELOVED WADE CAUSE I BRAINSTORMED SOME OF THIS WITH THEM A WHILE AGO💖#tagging later

38 notes · View notes

yanderes-galore · 1 year

Text

Yeah, sure! Sorry this took so long, TMNT requests have been hard to put out right now. Aged up as usual. Using my prompts.

This ended up being some sort of Serial Killer AU! Leonardo? I wanted to write something more twisted, so.... My scenarios were lacking a bit of murder.

Yandere! Leonardo (2012) Prompts 4, 12, 14

Pairing: Romantic

"My heart belongs to you, I'll adore anything you do to it."

"You were never meant to see that! Oh, what have I done...."

"It's too dangerous in the world. You need me, you should know that!"

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Murder, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Obsession, Overprotective behavior, Delusional behavior, Forced kiss, Forced relationship

Leonardo only ever wanted to protect those he loves. He's the most mature of his brothers, always has been. He's a leader... he's meant to be perfect in everything he does.

In reality, he isn't perfect. He knows this... and it's something he works to fix. Leo feels he has to do whatever he can to protect the people.

Which is why when it comes to you, he learns something else.

Morality is subjective... as long as he keeps you safe then he's happy.

He knows his brothers and Splinter would call him dishonorable for even thinking such a thing. Stalking your every move from the shadows is creepy. Even suggesting murder to take down those he feels are threats around you is no better than his enemy, Shredder.

Leonardo used to be so obsessive over honor and doing the right thing. Really, what is the right thing? It depends on the person.

Leo used to be so ashamed when he first... killed someone. He had seen them plotting against you, he knew they were going to hurt you. In an attempt to protect you... he had tracked them down. It wasn't meant to end in their death... both he and them both panicked!

Although... the fact he got away with it?

It convinced him that this was an okay way to keep you safe.

Leo then kept his pattern going. He'd stalk you late at night when you weren't around him. Then, when he felt he had to, he was comfortable with using his swords to cause fatal damage.

Murder no longer felt taboo to him. Now it felt like a necessary step to take to keep the one he loves most safe. The others may not agree...

But he isn't like them anymore.

He's a monster of his own breed now.

Blood coating his skin washed off in water. Their corpses were easy to pin the blame on another party or hide. Leonardo wasn't a heroic mutant anymore...

He was a serial killer.

When you caught him, only then did he think of his actions. Even then, it was brief. He's accepted what he is....

"You were never meant to see that! Oh, what have I done...."

At first he exhibited genuine concern. His pattern is disrupted and now you know what he does. However, you don't know why he does it....

So, he explains it.

He explains that the reason he's covered in blood, standing over a corpse, is all because of you.

You make him go insane.

Your fear was expected. He also knew all he's done for the past few months would be meaningless if he didn't do something with you now. Which is what made Leo take you with him.

Bringing you home would cause suspicion. You were still kept in the sewer but he made a hideout where only you and him may reside. Leonardo wasn't even your friend anymore.

Whenever you looked at him... you saw a few things;

A murderer...

A monster...

Your kidnapper....

Leonardo was a very dedicated killer, however.

"It's too dangerous in the world. You need me, you should know that!"

His mind still fixates in your safety. He's so delusional that he preaches about keeping you under his care. He acts like his company provides your warmth and love.

It doesn't.

It never will after what he's done.

"I... I only killed all those people to keep you safe!"

"They were my friends!"

"You don't know that!"

"You didn't know that they were enemies, either!"

Leonardo cleans off his swords, tossing them aside.

"Maybe not..." He admits before looking at you. "But I am the only one you can trust in such a... dirtied world."

"Really? If this world really is as bad as you make it sound... you're the most rotten one within it."

Leonardo narrows his eyes before laughing. His laugh is empty of joy... like you broke him. Then he turns fully to you and walks towards you.

"My heart belongs to you, I'll adore anything you do to it."

He cups your face despite your struggling. His grin is filled with delusional joy. He's just happy to have you in his arms no matter the circumstances.

"Even if you want to insult my heart and say I'm wrong... I don't mind. I want to hear you talk, I want your attention on me. I may be a killer... my swords coated in the blood of many..."

He leans closer, squishing your face.

"But my heart beats for you and you alone. Nothing will take you away from me...."

He kisses you softly before pulling away. You recoil in disgust but Leo holds your head still. He looks so out of it and mumbles something under his breath, yet you catch it barely.

"Nothing in this world can harm you if I'm the biggest threat...."

#yandere tmnt #yandere teenage mutant ninja turtles #yandere tmnt leonardo #yandere tmnt 2012 #yandere leonardo

263 notes · View notes

3xen · 11 months

Note

xen, i saw that your requests are open so i don’t want to miss the chance! can i ask for an ace x reader? and if you need some background info, here: maybe this could be a sort of au where reader and the others manage to save ace (but they still nearly died) and now in the present they both are on the moby dick, maybe talking about how much they love each other and some angst about reader fearing to lose him again.

sorry if it’s too long, i just love him too much and to see him in your writings>>>> it’s up to you if you want to do it, thank you! have a great day. <3

lovers’ pledge; p. a the entirety of his heroic actions were honorable—but you refused to let him go so easily.

n. bro ale, i had such a similar concept in mind as to this one. u literally manifested this shit omg. anyway, hope you enjoyed this mess! <3

c. angst, established relationship, mention of shanks, ooc(?) angst w/o comfort(?)

the destruction inflicted on marineford undoubtedly required a crude amount of expenses. it was a hectic battle that consisted of diabolical and unmerciful acts.

each party suffered their own damages, inside and out. fortunately, the red-haired pirate; shanks, had stopped the warfare from any further destruction. you were convinced those hours of bloodshed would result in days of nonstop combat if continued.

suffice to say, such savage acts nearly risked ace’s life. he was at death’s door, confined against his will. two blades being the major points to put this scheme into play.

you were beyond troubled at those thoughts. the mere presence of ace was going to be cut off from all of life, as one.

you couldn’t even imagine having to bare the death of your boyfriend. you didn’t want to. tormenting yourself into living a world without ace, would be considered an immoral act.

as of now, you two relax near the deck of moby dick in a hospitable silence. the horizon touching delicately at the ground below. the mix of each color complimenting the sky wonderfully.

“im, so glad that i met you.” you perk up, interrupting the restful silence. your tone, oh so desperate. it felt like your final confession—that you truly wanted to get this through his insensible perspective.

his eyes averted from the horizon and directly into your eyes.“_____, please. im here, i can see you.” his voice asserts, presumably making an effort to relieve the unease in your heart.

you ignored his pleas and continued to mindlessly ramble. “and, i just.. don’t wanna be alone.” though your voice hadn’t embodied a physical form, it teared through his chest and at his heart. he acknowledged that you sorrowfully sought out reassurance from him.

“i see you.” a tremor of anguish surged through your body. “focus on me.” your eyes blink on cue, gaining a better image of him.

a deep sigh escapes your lips. “i was afraid.” a doleful frown settles on your face. his eyebrows rose and his bandaged hand cupped your cheek. all he could seem to see from your eyes was a longing fear; something that wouldn’t leave so easy.

“i know.” his gaze lowered to his feet. “im sorry.” he lifts his head, his expression reading of true resentment.

“i know you’re hurt.” his pupils frantically try to find a sense of discomfort in your eyes. he knows some things should be left unspoken—he won’t pry, but he knows that whatever happened, was traumatic in your eyes.

“you can’t leave me ace.” you plead. “i love you.” and as if it hasn't been said plenty of times before—his heart shatters. he blinks back tears, no doubt—feeling as lousy as you did.

“i love you too.” he answers back almost instantly. he definitely accepts the guilt and regret that comes with this proposal—it was the least he could do.

“i wanna be yours forever.” it was a dangerous proposition. but it didn’t matter to the both of you—it only pledged loyalty. something that would certainly never perish.

#𓂃ᰔ xen writes #one piece #op #one piece x reader #op x reader #portgas ace x reader #portgas d ace x reader #ace x reader #portgas d ace

73 notes · View notes

the-whispers-of-death · 1 month

Note

cyberpunk/cybernetics au? something something stone having cybernetics installed into him from like, idk various injuries on the field.

reader being a mechanic who specializes in said body modifications/prosthetics and is basically the on-base robot doctor/

maybe he gets a malfunction on the fieldor something destroys a part of the circuitry in the arm and that just renders, lets say his robot arm, utterly useless and now the local doc's forced to go to his own doctor who's always covered in grease and muck and practically lives on base cuz of how many incidents keep happening.

lets be fr the workshop they gave reader to work in is probably the gnarliest and messiest place on the whole base, but hey, reader's the only guy they've got whos willing to put up with snappy and injured "patients" so. welp

or.. something something because reader's a *mechanic* and not like an actual human doc, unlike stone. reader pushing himself to the limits because "for fucks sake, i dont need sleep when half your wires were burned off-!". something something after everything's fixed up and stone can move his fingers now, its time for a mini role reversal thats just them bickering (they are so in love but cannot admit shit due to their jobs)

"you NEED to go to bed-! my sensors are picking up you havent slept in what, 39 hours!? damnit, you!" "not like i can fuckin' sleep much with you always being so busted after missions that it takes 7 hours straight to fix this shit! i told you, the metal is NOT heat resistant at all! i swear, if you keep doing this imma think you actually WANT to be in the workshop!" "and if you keep staying up so long the only place you'll end up is *my* bed-! wait no-"

need to give stone a badass robot arm

~ rusty

Stone totally has a badass robot arm and no I will not not hear any criticisms.

Anyways, yeah, you two bicker like old lovers already. Stone wants you to stop going without sleep for so long and you want him to stop literally diving in front of bullets and doing crazy heroic shit. No one has seen two doctors who are so careless with their own lives before, but here you two are.

He regularly (and lovingly) threatens to throw you onto a bed and tie you up so you can sleep. You respond by threatening to do a poor job of repairing his robotic arm so he gets honorably discharged from the military and stops doing reckless shit.

Some people on base don't believe you two like each other. Others believe you two are secretly married already.

13 notes · View notes

indigos-stardust · 1 month

Text

Four Keys (four swords DND inspired au, name up to change)

Intro post lol

In this au, it follows the DND trope of different fantasy races and classes coming together (willingly or not) for a quest.

(these are not the characters, just a representation of the race's appearances)

It's going to contain some heavy themes that I will warn in advance about for each post, these themes include: forced labor, imperialism, PTSD, dehumanization, loss, child abuse, abusive relationships, manipulation, classism, racism, ableism, and other themes that I may have forgotten to add.

Most of these aren't graphic or too intense by my standards, but they are treated seriously. I will warn before any of these themes are brought up.

Please note that I am still working on the world building and lore, so there are some vague things atm:

Each of the main characters come from a different species/fantasy race. These include Selkie Folk, Draconicen, Avians, Fire Moths, Elfs and... uhhhh whatever THAT is? probably just some uh... story tale, yeah, that's it...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this au our hero's come together under the quest's goal to find all the four swords which serve as keys to a secret realm hiding the a wish granting artifact holding the triforce! They've been chosen by a mysterious force (some weird lady that's probably addicted to fairydust and might've killed someone- but hey are YOU gonna refuse the lady who spawns sentient-meat-eating-plants??? yeah I don't THINK SO)

Their reasons of joining is very heroic as well! Let's see uh, hm-

"I have to prove myself!"

" Maybe I Will have the Sadness Inside Gone"

"I'm kinda just sticking with the other guy so I don't die, but I'm not gonna get my hopes up for anything honestly..."

"I wanted money."

"Wow me too!! I'm in this for the cash and babes B)"

They need to use the triforce in order to stop The Curse from killing off all the life in the world, apparently it's one of the only forces that can stop The Curse... Apparently more than half of them being runaways is a good reason to trust them over entire governmental systems with armies, but hey the weird cryptic (creepy) cloaked lady did say she had wisdom about these things. Probably some fae or something-

I really hope no one relieves their trauma or gains any new trauma on this journey! And I really hope there isn't ANY secrets that are revealed and have disastrous consequences!

I'm sure these BRAVE, HONORABLE, totally not THIEVES or INSANE or DESPERATE heroes will be able to retrieve all the keys without almost dying several times!

#four keys #four swords #fs #four swords au #fs au

12 notes · View notes

smolghostbot · 2 months

Text

Battle Against A Real Threat (Part 1/2)

Part 2 Here

A Non-canon AU where Contralto’s neighbor wasn’t Clay, but the worst possible person it could be. A vent piece/character study of sorts. Part 2 will be posted later today, heads-up that this ends on a low note.

Word Count: 3.8k Content warnings: Whump, tiny whump, kidnapping, injuries, threats, alcoholic whumper, snapping Contralto’s psyche like a glowstick.

======

Chapter 1: Showtime

Finally, Contralto had made her way to the apartment downstairs. The one that would be the start of her heroic journey, to slay all humans so that sprites could rightfully live without fear! She just… needed to get outside the wall. Wait, perfect! An exit! Based on her apartment, this should lead to the kitchen. Not an ideal place for a heroic speech, but she could try to get somewhere higher up once she’s inside.

Messy is the first word that came to mind as Contralto entered the apartment. Several full-to-bursting trash bags were in the corner of the little kitchen, and boxes were all over the counter with a variety of logos that the sprite couldn't read. The floor wasn’t dirty, but clearly hadn’t been swept in a while, and the area under the cabinets that Contralto had found herself in was especially dusty. As Contralto looked around, she shuddered a bit at the sight of a mousetrap, which is thankfully still primed and ready. Humans… more proof that they’re monsters, the sprite thought to herself as she made her way through the apartment. It was dark, as planned, but her night vision made it a trivial trek to the living room, which was equally as disorganized as the kitchen was. Whoever lives here seemed like… not the most proactive person. This could work in her favor, as if all goes to plan they’ll be an easy target.

Finally, with some effort, she climbed up to the top of a bookcase in the corner, using a power cable to assist her. Of course, the top was covered in dust, but she quickly tried to clean up enough of an area to rest and eventually give her big speech without being covered in dust.

This apartment was… very different from her home. No posters of brave heroes, or statues in their honor… just blank walls, some simple furniture, and mess. There was a game system plugged into the TV at least. As Contralto waited, she idly wondered if they played the same games as her human… not that it mattered much, considering they’ll be slain soon.

After a quick nap and a few hours, the apartment started to become lit by morning light. Contralto jumped up, awaiting the human… who didn’t leave their bedroom. She had heard noise in the night coming from there, clearly somebody was home.

Finally, after a few impatient hours, she decided to climb down from the bookcase and make her way into the bedroom itself. Normally, this was taboo for sprites, but what does privacy matter if they were going to die soon anyways?

However, it wasn’t long after she hit the floor that a creaking noise was heard as the door to the bedroom door opened. With nowhere to go, Contralto climbed up the nearest furniture, being the coffee table in the center of the room. Not the height advantage she hoped for, but it would do. She closed her eyes quickly and took a few deep breaths as she rehearsed her speech. Finally, the human walked into the room, and their bleary, deep blue eyes met with the lime eyes of the little hero. It was showtime.

“Human-”, the little sprite started to say, before being instantly interrupted by a very blunt “What the fuck?” as the wide-eyed human stared at her.

“Ahem,” Contralto said, clearing her throat, “I was saying… Human, prepare yourself for a fight! For centuries, sprites have lived in the darkness, fearing your kind. Well no more! Today is when that changes! That's why it is my goal to eliminate all humans, starting with you! Now, draw your weapon, human! And prepare as I, Contralto, Hero of the Sprites, Defender of the Helpless, the Hero Who Never Gives Up, will defeat you and free my people! Prepare to be struck down by the combined hopes and dreams of all of spritekind!”

As Contralto shouted her speech, which she had rehearsed for days, she noticed the human was slowly moving, first to the kitchen and then getting closer to her. She paid it no mind at first, but after she finished, she noticed the human was particularly close to the table, leaning down over it, their hands behind their back. Were they… planning something? She’d have to be on guard for them to draw a weapon.

“Contralto… a sprite, you called yourself?” The human finally said, their voice slightly alluring to the little hero.

“That’s what I said! You stand before Contralto, Hero of the Sprites, Defender of the Helpless, The Hero Who Never Gives Up!”

“Fascinating… so, tell me, little hero, have you come here alone?” The human replied, tilting their head inquisitively. This question seemed to confuse Contralto, who took a second before responding.

“Um… Yes, it is the way of the hero to travel alone… most of the time. If I find a mage or a good enough thief I’ll reconsider…” she started to say, before snapping back into her bold persona. “But that’s of no consequence to you, human!”

“Of course, of course, excuse me for prying, I just… wanted to know what I was up against… a little hero, who thinks she’s going to defeat the big bad humans… breaking into my apartment, alone…” Their sapphire-blue eyes seemed to glimmer for a second, as if they had an idea.

“I don’t just think so, I am! Now, are you ready to fight?” shouted Contralto as she struck a heroic pose.

“Hm…” the human said, before flashing a grin that instantly made Contralto nervous. “No, I don’t think so.”

And with that, the human quickly slammed down the plastic container they were holding behind their hands, trapping Contralto underneath it.

“Wh-hey! This is cheating! Let me go!” cried the muffled voice of the hero, as the human slid the container to the edge of the table, flipping the container over and trapping Contralto inside by putting the lid on three of the sides, leaving just enough of an opening for air.

“H-hey! Stop it! This isn’t how this is supposed to go!” The sprite cried out. “I’m a hero! You’re supposed to fight me!”

“Oh, why would I want to fight something like you? No, I think we’ll have a lot more fun instead, little Connie.”

“That’s not my name! It’s Contralto! Hero of the Sprites! Defender of the Helpless! The Hero Who Never G-” she started to exclaim, before the container was roughly shaken from side to side, throwing Contralto against the walls.

“Sorry, I think I missed that. Care to repeat it?”, said the human with a smile as they stared into the container.

“I… I said I’m Contralto, Hero of the Sprites, Defender of-”, Contralto started, before the container was jostled again, this time with a bit more force.

“Ooh, I think you got cut off there, try one more time?” The human said, still with a smile on their face.

There was a moment of silence and stillness before Contralto began to shout. “You dare mock me?! I’m Contralto, Hero of-”, she started, but this time the container was moved vertically, slamming Contralto against the lid before she was thrown back to the bottom of the container. The human simply smiled at her, blinking blankly as if they had done no wrong, as Contralto felt her nose starting to bleed from one of the impacts.

“I’m Contralto… Hero of-”

Thump.

“I’m… Contralto, Hero of th-”

Thump.

“I… I… y-you heard it before! You know who I am!” cried the sprite, not wanting to repeat this little “game”.

“Of course, Connie. Now, if you’re done trying to fight me, I think we have some things to do. After all, I’m assuming you don’t want to stay in this container.” said the human, with an almost cooing tone to their voice.

Chapter 2: New Home

It had been a few hours since Contralto’s capture. After their little ‘game’, the human had left the container on the counter as they left their apartment. Contralto had struggled to escape for a while, attempting to use her needles to remove the lid to no avail, and then throwing herself into the sides of the container in an attempt to push it off the counter, but after a while she had grown sore, and was now laying on the bottom of the container, tired and defeated. Was this how it ended? No, this was the part of the story where the hero was at their lowest… right?

Eventually, the human returned, holding a suspiciously large box. Contralto eyed it curiously as the human greeted her. “I’m back, Connie. Did you miss me?”

“I promise you my blades won’t miss once I’m let out of here!” spat the indignant borrower.

“Oh, Connie, there’s no need for that. You’ll learn that I’m a friend soon enough,” they said as they opened the boxes to reveal a hamster cage, to Contralto’s growing horror. She knew the rumors… the risks… this was why she became a hero, after all.

“I… you’ll never get away with this, villain!” cried Contralto, as the human put a hand over their heart in mock pain.

“Oh, you know, it hurts to be called a villain, after I bought you this nice new house and everything. Here I am, just wanting to take care of a lost little hero like you…”

“You… you dare try to put me in a cage? I’m a hero, I’m going to defeat you and save the world!” cried Contralto.

“Of course you are, Connie. Now, it’s time for you to get moved into your new home. Are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?”

Contralto drew her blades, staring daggers at the human, who only chuckled before replying. “Ah, I see you’re still doing things the hard way. I guess we’ll have to work on that.”

The human approached the container, picking it up and removing the lid, before giving it a little shake to disarm Contralto as she fell to the ground again. The sprite quickly went to reach for her weapons, before the container was tilted over, sending her tumbling into the hamster cage before the door was quickly shut. As the human began to carry the cage into their bedroom, they spoke to their enraged captive, who was trying her best to climb the bars and stab at their hands.

“There we go, see, that wasn’t so hard, was it Connie?” cooed the human, to Contralto’s growing rage.

“I… I swear, when I’m out of here, you’ll pay for this, human!”

“You know, I’m not so sure I’m a fan of being called ‘human’ all the time… but I suppose I’ll have plenty of time to think of a new title for you to call me, hm?”

Contralto’s cage was placed on the human’s dresser as the sprite took in the room. If the rest of the human’s house was messy, this room was downright sloppy. Clothes lay scattered everywhere, and the bed sat unmade with even more clothes on the end of it. Contralto’s eyes turned behind her to the nearby window, which the cage was in front of. She made a note that the window could be a good escape option, although they were pretty high up in this apartment, even to a human. Her thoughts were interrupted by the human, who seemed unusually lost in thought.

“Now then, let me ask you something. What do sprites eat? Since you’re my guest and all. After all, we have to keep a little hero in tip-top shape, right?”

Contralto weighed her options here. On one hand, she doesn’t want to sound like she’s submitting to the human. On the other hand… she will need food eventually. Finally, she spoke, still trying her best to keep up her hero persona.

“I… I’ll have you know that we sprites don’t eat meat, unlike you heartless humans. Not that I’ll accept any food from you, you monster!”

“Hm… that won’t be too difficult… I guess the hamster cage was more fitting than I thought… Okay, Connie, I'll be sure to get a little hero like you plenty of greens so you can grow up big and strong! Well… a bit bigger, I suppose,” the human mused, to Contralto’s growing frustration.

“You… you…” Contralto started to say in rage, her fists clenched and trembling as she stared at the human.

“Yes, me, me. Now, is there anything else I should know about taking care of a little helpless sprite?” The human said, once again using that soft, infantilizing voice that Contralto had grown to loathe.

“You should know that I’m going to destroy you when I get out of here, human!” shouted the sprite.

“My, you really do have quite the temper. We’ll have to work on that, Connie,” they said with another smirk. “But for now, I still have to go to work this afternoon, so let me get you some water before I leave.”

The human walked out, returning with some much-needed water in a bottle cap. “Now then, are you going to be good and let me put this inside your new home? Because otherwise you’ll just have to go without water.”

It was an offer Contralto couldn’t refuse… it had been a day or so since she last had anything to drink. The sprite snarled at the human as she responded, hand on one of her sheathed blades. “Fine. But if you so much as touch me…”

“Why, I wouldn’t dream of it, Connie. After all, we’re still getting to know each other. Now then,” the human said, as they opened the door and placed the bottle cap inside. True to her word, Contralto stood still until the door closed, but she wouldn’t be caught dead drinking out of it while the human was looking over her.

“Why, you’re such a good sprite, not trying to make a run for it!” cooed the human, clearly trying and succeeding in mocking Contralto. “Well, I’ll see you in a few hours. Take care, Connie!” The human cheerfully exclaimed as they walked out of the room, barely catching Contralto’s murmured death wishes.

Chapter 3: Rage Against the Machine

It had been a few days since her capture, and things were beginning to fall into a routine. The human would wake up and banter with Contralto for a bit, always with that same condescending tone. If Contralto behaved, she was given food and water, usually in the form of shredded lettuce, seeds, and other foods that Contralto recognized as feed for something like a pet. Another form of mocking her, she supposed.

Today, though, she had a plan. As the human opened the cage door to put her bottle cap of water in, Contralto lunged forward, stabbing at the human’s finger with her blades. As the human shouted in shock, Contralto made a run for the door, only to get quickly grabbed by the human’s other hand. “You-!” was all the human could shout as they stared at the sprite in their hands.

“Oh… you’re feeling feisty today, aren’t you?”, the human stated, as Contralto began to panic.

“Let go of me! Let go! Put me down! I’ll kill you!”

“You little… you’re lucky that I don’t crush you right now, you little pest! This is how you repay me for giving you food and shelter?!”

“Food and shelter? You trapped me in a cage, you monster!” cried Contralto, still squirming in the human’s grasp. The human adjusted their grip of the sprite, such that her arms were at her sides, barely gripping onto her blades. With their other hand, they grabbed the blades out of her hands, before roughly throwing her back in the cage.

“I should have taken these from you sooner,” said the human, voice free of even the mock kindness they had used previously. “A broken sewing needle… of course you were running around with trash before meeting me.” Contralto, meanwhile, was staring at the blades in the human’s hand in shock.

“No! No, you can’t! Give those back! Th-those are special! You can’t just throw them out! I… please! Please!”

The human’s eyebrows raised as they stared at Contralto, clearly mulling something over. Finally, their face returned to a neutral expression, and they spoke again with a bit more composure.

“Oh, it’s important to you, huh? Well then… maybe I’ll hold onto them after all. You can have them back… once you prove that you won’t redo this little stunt.” said the human as they put the blades into their nightstand drawer, despite Contralto’s pleas.

“Now then, I’m leaving for work. And since you chose to be naughty today, you can just wait until tomorrow for some more food and water, how about that?” the human said, not waiting for a reply as they began to turn and leave with a simple “See you later, Connie.”

Contralto was at a new low. Her blades were gone, she was trapped in a cage, she was hungry, thirsty, and weak, and she had been forced to beg her captor.

She almost thought that her situation couldn’t possibly get any worse, until she heard the sounds of the human returning from work. For some reason, they were louder and more aggressive than they had been in the prior days. Finally, the human came into the bedroom, holding a can of something. They seemed to ignore Contralto entirely, until they looked over at her, blue eyes showing pure anger.

“Well, if it isn’t my little sprite. How are we doing with no food and water?”, they said, their calm voice clearly contrasting their expression.

“I’m doing… just fine! No thanks to you, human!” spat Contralto. The human’s face seemed to twist into a snarl for a split second before returning to its prior expression.

“I’d watch your tone, little hero, today isn’t the day for your antics. Unlike you, some of us have actual problems.”

Contralto just rolled her eyes at that, before shouting in response, “Oh, I’m sure that a monster like you has so many problems in their life. The other humans can probably tell that you’re especially evil!”

“All right, that’s it!” shouted the human as they walked over to the cage, placing the can on the dresser nearby. As they jostled the cage, sending Contralto off-balance, they opened the door and quickly grabbed the defiant sprite. “I think it’s high time that little Connie learned a little respect.”

Contralto immediately started to panic again, very much fearing this human’s grasp. “H-hey! Put me down!”

“Oh, I’ll put you down… once you learn to respect me,” the human said, anger in their voice, and as Contralto could now note, a particularly strong smell of what she recognized as alcohol in their breath. She hardly had time to process, however, before the human began to fidget with her in their grip, positioning her such that they were holding one of her arms uncomfortably far backwards with two of their fingers..

“Now… I want to hear a thank you,” they said simply.

“Thank you? For capturing me? I’ll never thank you, you-” Contralto started, before shouting in pain as her arm was moved just a bit too far backwards.

“That wasn’t a thank you.”

“Hah… you think you can get me to give in? I’m… the Hero Who Never Gives Up!” Contralto defiantly shouted, before her arm was once again pushed just a bit too far backwards, causing her to shout in pain.

“That was a lot of words, but still not a thank you. Are you really going to make me be the bad guy here?”

“You are the bad guy, you mons-” Contralto started, before screaming in pain as her arm was moved even farther back.

“That still wasn’t a thank you, little Connie,”

“That’s… not my name! It’s Contralto, Hero of the Sprites, Defender of the-” Contralto started, before the human jerked her arm backwards forcefully, causing her to scream in pain again.

“Oh, little Connie… we’ve been over this. I don’t want your little speeches, what I want is a thank you, for taking care of you. Why do you have to make this so difficult?”

Contralto was struggling to breathe from the pain. She could feel a burning in her shoulder, it was probably close to dislocated, but she was the Hero Who Never Gives Up, after all. “I’ll… never thank you…” she muttered, bracing herself for another surge of pain, which was received as the human pulled her arm forward this time.

“Oh, but I think you will. I’ve got tomorrow off, after all. We have all the time in the world.”

True to their word, the human kept up their little training session for another hour before it finally came to an end.

“Are you finally ready to just say thank you?” they asked, holding the battered and bruised sprite in their hand. Her shoulder was swollen, and something was clearly wrong as even small movements caused the sprite to shriek in pain.

“N-never…”, Contralto said, having lost the will to speak in full sentences a while back. However, despite her pain, and her face streaked with tears, she truly refused to give up.

“A shame. You know, I feel like we’re not getting anywhere here…” they said, before pulling Contralto’s arm far behind her, such that her elbow started to move in an unnatural direction with a painful-sounding noise. Contralto’s vision instantly filled with stars and auras, and the human could tell that she had become unfocused.

“Come on, just say it and this will be all over, Connie. It’s only two words… thank you. Is that so hard?”

Once Contralto was able to return to the consciousness she was barely clinging to, she decided to collect herself to try to speak. “I’ll… say it… if you stop…”

“Of course, Connie. Do you think I’m a liar?”

Contralto didn’t answer, until the human gripped her arm again. “Do you think I’m a liar?”, they repeated. Contralto tried to shake her head, but her neck muscles hurt so badly that she could only speak it instead.

“No…”

“Well then, you know the deal. Just say thank you for all I’ve done for you, and I’ll let you go.”

There was a tense silence between the two of them, before Contralto finally broke.

“... Thank you…”

“Oh, why, you’re so welcome!” The human replied in a chipper tone, as they immediately went to place the defeated sprite back in her cage. “You know, I loved to hear that. I think you should get in the habit of saying it more often.”

Contralto couldn’t respond, as she simply fell down onto the opposite side of her now-broken shoulder and began to sob.

#if it wasn't explicit... this is in fact supposed to be The Previous Human from Patchwork Melody #probably the first/only time i'll actually go into detail about them but hey had to do it once right #whump #tiny whump #g/t whump #g/t angst #g/t writing #g/t fearplay #tw alcohol #oc tag: contralto #oc inspo: them #my writing

13 notes · View notes

streets-in-paradise · 10 months

Text

Anonymous Hero - Hector of Troy x (Fem)Warrior!Reader (requested)

Troy (2004) Oneshot

Requested by @g-m-kaye

“ (...) If you’re still taking fic requests for TROY (?) I’d be super duper excited if you’d write an AU fic for Hector x reader character where Hector, instead of being married to Andromache, falls for a slender Trojan warrior who has his back in the first melee… but unexpectedly turns out to be a woman when Hector demands the warrior remove his helmet & reveal “his” identity 👀 (I’ve always loved the “girl masquerading as boy” trope - ever since Shakespeare!) … and pls do make it as steamy as you like!! Lol (...)”

Hope you will like this, darling! I loved writing it.

Word Count 2.5 K

Warnings: Hector going through a Li Shang bi panic, Single Hector AU ( sorry, Andromache. You are great, but we love your man). Very few proofreading ( it’s almost 3 AM and i’m tired, but wanted to get it posted)

Summary: In the heat of battle during the arrival of the greeks Hector ends up greatly impressed by the courageous response of a singular soldier, but this stranger refuses to claim ríghts on the feat. Feeling even more intrigued about him afterwards, the prince is determined to find him in full unawareness of how the peculiar fighter has quite a few more surprises to give.

Tags: @mysticaldeanvoidhorse @helie-brain @rfkfan

The sound of the bell brought the expected news nobody wanted to hear. Greek veils in the horizon, a thousand ships about to reach trojan shore, giving the impression that Agamemnon had emptied the continent to avenge the insulted honor of his brother. As the city observed the spectacle with horror, heralds were calling all the available men to fight in what would be the first defense in a crushing war. The disastrous numerical difference forced desperate measures and the army commanded by Prince Hector needed to engross its lines somehow. For so, many soldiers who weren’t in optimal conditions were needed: young lads stepping into combat too soon and old men following the example of Glaucus.

Fillment additions, men that were there for numbers but weren’t warriors in the heroic sense of the term. They had very little possibilities of success against the myrmidons, fearless and bloodthirst beasts that were presenting a hard challenge to the Apollonian Guard even before the landing of Ajax. If some of the best in Troy were suffering because of them, arming that sacrificial reserve sounded like pointless cruelty. Those men were doomed to be nothing more than fresh meat to engross the downs of Achilles and Ajax, easily removable obstacles slowing down their encounter with more qualified enemies. No one would have expected much of them, at least until one proved the assumptions of the strategists to be completely wrong.

After Achilles performed miracles throwing a spear that killed Tecton from an impossible distance, doing so with a cocky bragger naturality, the elite warriors were completely discouraged. Even Hector experienced true horror for the first time in many years, sensibly affected by the death of the friend who had always got his back in the battlefield. Despite the myrmidons being implicitly warned to leave him for their leader, many tried to take that contextual advantage doing their shots in trying to take down the prince. Clearly, not everyone was willing to listen after being exhorted to fight through a hubris induced speech about reaching immortal glory.

In that spirit-wrecking point of the battle, with a temple destroyed and priests slaughtered by an enemy that knew no limits, the disorganized crowd of elite warriors fleeing left a chance for the relegated men of Troy to shine. A small, slender soldier that could have made Ajax laugh if he would have faced him courageously assumed the role of Tecton protecting the prince in the chaos. Hector was equally moved and amazed by the man fighting beside him. He looked weaker than his brother, probably a young lad from that desperate aid reserve, yet he was fighting with the push of a man twice his size. He followed all the way through the carnage inside the temple and would have gone to the end of the line accompanying him to the encounter of Achilles, if Hector himself wouldn’t have commanded otherwise. The sacrificial devotion of that soldier felt personal beyond any measures, it left a mark on his memory that eclipsed the shocking first impression Achilles wanted to feel being causing him.

Although relegated due to his fragile appearance, that nameless young man fought with the kind of honor the famous greek warlord lacked and Hector was finding a strange sense of hope in that. He also couldn’t help admiring some of his gracious movements at times, wondering if he could perhaps have been a disguise of the god defending his altar. That would have at least explained the most incredible aspect of the situation: his unexplainable attraction towards him.

No details of the episode were referenced in the war council that night. Archeptolemus, his political rival in religious circles, would have used it against him and the prince was already very much irritated by his misuse of religion to discredit him. If the soft looking soldier was Apollo fighting beside him or just a regular mortal he had just fallen for, he would have to figure it out by himself. The hopeful reminder of him helped the prince tolerate the newest terrible choice of his brother. Although Paris promised an easy resolution meant to take place the next morning, he was walking to his death and he wasn’t ready to let him die. Unlike his mysterious new favorite, the youngest prince didn’t possess any dormant courage to be released in a critical situation.

Paris needed to meet that man, either to exhort miraculous bravery in him or to make him desist from that purpose. It was the excuse that Hector invented to himself in his mildly desperate search for him.

“ Troy is worth fighting for because even the simplest of our men can make a difference. “ He was saying to his men in formation during the motivational speech that morning.” Agamemnon brought to us a parade of famous heroes without any inside cohesion. He expects us to tremble upon him because his battalions are all commanded by one of those, but yesterday we learned a valuable lesson. Their army is weak where ours is stronger. They are glory seekers harangued by leaders who think like arrogant children, we are men fighting for our country. We don’t rely on the fame of our heroes, but in the strength of our hearts!”

Ovations cutted him off for an instant, but he waited enough to continue and evaluated the reaction.

“ Yesterday we lost a hero, a man I loved like a brother, but that loss didn’t paralyzed us.Someone else made his way reclaiming his spot beside me. Not a fighter in a chariot, not an apollonian, but a simple man. He performed heroic acts worthy of being sung, but disappeared without claiming any authorship for his feat. While greeks are too preoccupied with making history to care about each other, even the smallest trojan is already a hero.”

Hector roamed the extension of the front lines on his horse,visually searching for the reaction revealing the man in question.

“ We have humble anonymous heroes that double theirs in courage and worth, and I now command this man to show himself and reclaim the honors he deserves.”

A tense silence followed the end of his speech, soldiers looking at their sides full with confusion searching for the one refusing such a high reward.

“ It is an order.” Hector finally reminded them. “ In the name of the loyalty he displayed, I demand him to give one step ahead.”

Suddenly, a slender figure emerged from the crowd and the prince got off his horse as he approached. His evident satisfaction made Paris hold a chuckle, especially because he noticed how his brother observed him.

“ I want the army to be a witness of my gratitude. “ Hector explained to him once he was finally standing in front of him. Only a shorter distance separated them. “ In a battle won by men desperate for recognition, you saved my life asking nothing in return. You have won my admiration and sincere affection; Troy must remember your name.”

The multitude started cheering until the honored fighter removed his helmet, surrendering himself to the pressure about knowing his identity. A sepulchral silence followed his movements, confusion spreading even further than before and the youngest prince was the only smiling face easy to spot.

Hector discovered a beautiful woman staring back at him and never before he had found anyone so desirable.His lips slightly parted despite him trying to pretend he wasn’t observing her in complete awe.

“ Do with me what you judge properly, my lord.” She fearlessly exclaimed. “ I surrender myself to you for disciplinary action.”

He recognized her, a young maiden from a remarkable family of trojan aristocrats. Firstborn daughter and her only brother was fifteen years old. The boy was named Ilus, at least he remembered that, but he couldn’t remember much of her and it frustrated him.

" I must assume you are here as a replacement for Ilus Peiroide. " He asked her in an affirmation. " A young boy, too young. His frame provided an easy hideout for you. "

" He is my brother. " The lady replicated. " Is the king of Mycenae the only one who can fight for his brother? I would rather bring dishonor to my family than burying Ilus. "

Her words resonated deeply with him. Not only his fondness of her kept increasing, Hector simply couldn't blame her. However, he had to act as a leader.

" At least allow her to plead her case, i like her." Paris commented, doing his brother the favor of saying what he couldn't. " This is my war, one that is being fought over a woman I brought here. Wouldn't it be a blatant hypocrisy if we don't let this girl speak?"

She smiled at him, only deviating her attention from Hector for a brief instant, to what Paris replied with a friendly wink.

" You don't have much time, the greeks will arrive soon..." Hector pointed out. " Your brave acts are not being questioned, but you must make yourself accountable for your transgression. Not to me, but to our countrymen."

The intense eye contact going on between them was loaded with a tension that didn't resemble a grudge of any kind.

" Look at them and tell them why you did this. "

" I listened to your speeches and felt the call deep inside, in my heart. " She provocatively replied, admitting reasons beyond the initial sympathetic motive palatable to their societal perceptions. " My prince, you harangue the men speaking about freedom, but the rules of war don't threaten theirs as heavily as they menace ours. Are we all going to pretend we don't know what happened to Princess Briseis just because the King can't stand the shame? A woman doesn't simply disappear or dies in war, she is taken by the winner. Women don't get the privilege of dying, we are the ones who will be reduced to slavery if the city falls. If Helen came here searching for her freedom to love... Why can't I defend my own freedom, and all my countrywomen? "

Even the ones who had reason to present objections couldn't argue with that, the presence of Helen was a disruptive element for trojan society. Her existence there had proven to challenge the traditional conceptions for quite a few established institutions, marriage being the main in the list but not the only one.

" If this ends in battle, you have one more chance to prove your value to the city. Only one, and i am granting it to you in honor of the great service you performed for me yesterday." Hector warned her. " Consider my debt paid with this indulgence. "

She smiled and that time it was for him. Hector had to pretend coldness, but he would have done anything to see that again.

" I will not disappoint you, my prince. If you pick me, I will follow you to the gates of Tartarus. "

His pulse accelerated hearing that, making him feel the improper effect that the woman had on him.

The promise turned out to be true, since another opportunity for fighting presented itself and she did something impressive. Trojans weren't as surprised as the greeks were when Hector slaughtered Menelaus to save Paris from that hopeless combat, unleashing a new battle through the breaking of the pact. To them it was clear that the story of the shieldmaiden who defied the concept of honor replacing her younger brother to save him must had inspired the heir prince. Curiously but not casually, a great victory was obtained and both performed the highlights of it. Barely after Hector triumphed in his solitary combat against Ajax, the lady forced the definitive retreat of the greeks for the day by attacking the mycenaeans.

Her spear throw killed the charioteer of Agamemnon. Not satisfied with that, she wounded him with the sword as he was attempting to control the horses. Nothing severe, the blade barely caressed his arm, but it reminded the power delirious king that he was a mortal and in that opportunity she did reclaimed the feat knowing it would increase his humiliation.

The very same men who were judging her in silence that morning celebrated her alongside Hector in the afternoon. She was invited to the palace, where King Priam allowed her to be acknowledged through his son's choice of allowing her involvement. She promised him to help in the case of her niece, if she could be allowed after the immense offense she gave to the supreme greek king. Helen herself praised her bravery, granting hers and Paris' support altogether.

It was like a dream, a very vivid dream where she was getting noticed being who she wanted to be. Even Hector, the man she had hopelessly loved in silence for many years, was looking at her in a different way.

Among the ladies of trojan high society she never felt particularly special and nothing made her feel that way. Despite being daughter of one of the local nobles in his own city, Hector barely noticed her. She used to be one of the many silly girls looking at him with pointless adoration at some special social event while his eyes followed only the frame of Princess Andromache of Thebe. A woman who represented everything she wasn't, a perfectly adjusted lady any man would want for a wife.

The order of the world was turned upside down, Hector couldn't take his eyes of her. Even without the disguise he still seemed to admire her and she felt it hitting way deeper than what the moral undertones of his speech implied.

" If I have been an inspiration for you, let me say I can finally repay you." He shamelessly admitted her as soon as they were left alone. " You inspired me today, sometimes you need strength to leave your honor behind for love."

" Is that an invitation?" She teased him. " Don't keep me waiting, I'm not a child anymore."

Hector sipped some wine without breaking eye contact through the action, then left the cup to subtly lay a hand on her cheek.

" Then you must be aware of how you are making me feel."

She lifted her head just a bit, showing how delighted with his touch she was.

" How can I doubt it when you are looking at me like this?" She purred with want. " I fully meant what I told you this morning. Pick me, I could be yours if you want me. "

Infatuated as he was, he could have proposed ríght there after that suggestive comeback, but he límited himself to kissing her hoping that could help him slow down.

#troy 2004 #hector of troy #eric bana #hector x reader #hector of troy x reader #eric bana x reader #troy fanfiction #troy

53 notes · View notes

hitlikehammers · 2 months

Text

Fail Pirate!Eddie, Meet Your Competency Kink (Steddie Pirate AU)

🌊Under the Water (Our Hearts Will Dream Again)🌊

Chapter Three: A Three-Part Harmony

CHAPTER ONE // CHAPTER TWO // Chapter Four on 30 March 🌊

also on ao3

“I’m kind of wretched at this.”

Eddie sighs and honestly only keeps from tossing his fishing pole because Steve is nearby, and to risk harming Steve feels like a blasphemy he’d be committing against gods he’s never even heard of.

Because Steve is on a slightly-larger boat—not significantly, no one has any sudden burst of faith in Eddie’s abilities here, but it does hold two grown men and that’s an upgrade for certain—but Steve is with him, not quite a member of the crew proper but a member of something not-quite-nameable but oddly-universally-accepted (even the cat who pops up unexpectedly on board that no one can agree on whether it’s a demon or a ghost) as a member of the crew. His purpose is unspecified. His tenure undetermined. But his presence is taken as a given, now, and a quick turnaround with the decision for it, too. Eddie’d like to take the credit with his wordsmithery—Steve had escaped a painfully-forced marriage born of well-intended interference to stop a trampling, without knowing he was saving the governor’s daughter and securing her arranged betrothal in the heroics, and the only thing Eddie regrets about the tale is he truly maligned a nonexistent woman to make her unbearable, but it’s barely a regret at all, given how Steve had laughed like starlight when Eddie’d thrown theatrics into the planning, the man still half-dressed in a bed, and Eddie had never felt his heart thump quite like that sounds had managed before, but oh, it had only been a taste of what was to become commonplace—regardless. Steve had secreted the sympathies of the crew for the misfortunes endured for the wiles of women, and his presence was unquestioned, now.

To Eddie’s combined delight, with the constant risk to his sanity, not to mention—again—the safe and healthy cadence of his pulse in the man’s presence: the former holding most tenuous, while the latter being a wholly lost cause.

The delight, though, is worth both and more, at least tenfold.

He doesn’t even mind Steve’s smile, teasing but the sort as if they’re in on the honor together, and perhaps only together, something unique and secreted away for just they two: but regardless of Eddie’s whimsies, he doesn’t mind a bit when Steve grins at Eddie’s wholly accurate confession of being useless at fishing—obviously, though with Steve himself being the glorious and most wondrous kind of exception—and replies deadpan as anything:

“I’m aware.”

Which, oddly: one of Eddie’s favorite things about Steve is that he doesn’t try to placate Eddie with false comfort, but he also never mocks his ineptitude, in fact he frowns full-stop when the crew gets on a tear for it.

Eddie sighs in resignation, and moves to raise the line to try again, but Steve is quick, grabs it from midair and swings it in the blink of an eye to hold close in his palm.

Not-oddly, but very inconveniently, it turns bone dry in Eddie’s mouth merely for the show of skill.

“Your bait is poor,” Steve proclaims, thumbing around the worm that…looked fresh enough to Eddie’s wholly-untrained eyes; “and your hook,” Steve tuts, taking the metal between his fingers and bending it, squinting at his handiwork before humming and handing it back.

Eddie thinks perhaps he needs a break. A breather. A…moment to collect himself.

He hadn’t realized just how arousing competency was for him, before this moment. Certainly an indictment of the caliber of man he’s shared a ship with thus far.

But when he takes his seat, he nearly yelps when he doesn’t look, doesn’t think as to where he looks to take his rest, or better: what sits uponthe surface already.

Because Eddie, he…

He never steps aboard a vessel of any sort, without a shell to hand.

He huffs a little laugh, rubbing at the bit of flesh at the flank of him it bit into, and raising the conch he’d ferried aboard in the morning smile at, only catching Steve’s questioning gaze when Eddie lifts it by rote, pure muscle memory, to his ear.

“My mother,” Eddie breathes into the golden-hour, watches the waters sway like they just want to move, to live in the warm glow; “she told me that this was how the Sea shared its secrets,” then he drops the shell only to catch it near his hips with a flip, a little trick he’s mastered; a little desperation he’s never shaken: never let a shell fall.

Never once, since—

“My drunken father set me straight to tell me it’s just the echo of your blood pumping in your ears,” he taps his chest, then the lobe of his ear, sucks his cheeks inward as he tips his head knowingly; like it’s silly, but also like it hurts. Like it still hurts.

Eddie lets himself breathe in the golden air a little more, like a steadying hand in the more reflective calm along the surface of it: the waves themselves that shift around them, that seem to take cues and give hints back and forth with that air in a sparkling champagne dance: they’re not steady, save in their constancy.

But how are they anything but grounding, when their motion meets the motion beneath the surface of every man, the waves of his own beating blood: how is it anything but homecoming and soft stillness?

It is that and more for Eddie, always, and so he breathes, and he breathes, and he can speak again:

“I know he meant to ruin it for me,” Eddie nods to the horizon line, but it’s strange, or else just new: Eddie’s awareness of his surroundings is decent, had to be with his upbringing, but the way he’s aware of Steve’s presence isn’t even something he has to try for. It’s just…it’s just there, and was from the start.

So he knows when Steve steps closer.

He lets himself take the steadiness from the air, and the water held inside it; lets himself have one more deep breath, then.

“But from the day he said it, it felt even more magical, more perfect,” Eddie confesses, he thinks for the first time out loud and there’s no why he can pinpoint, just an urge natural, like the Ocean’s dance, to share this thing that sits in his chest and weighs his every move, left or right, forward of aft; “because why did it have to be one or the other? Why didn’t the fact that I heard my own heart mean the Ocean was moving in my veins, too,” and his eyes have slipped closed in that way that lets you trace lightning-lines behind the lid-backs, and he smiles as his palm rests against the center of his chest while he breathes, breathes:

“Secrets and life-sparks alike with every beat,” Eddie takes to drumming against his own ribs from the outside like a duet, save no, no it’s a three-part harmony, the sweetest in the cosmos: hand, heart, and the mighty whisper of all the Sea’s confidences.

“The waves,” Eddie exhales, just to breath in the sweet brine of the expansive waters, a balm to every part of him; “I always,” he shakes his head and massages his chest a little, hard enough to feel out the bones: “it’s not even that it just soothes me, or makes me feel,” he sighs, and opens his eyes, looks upon the majesty before him, and, and—

He thinks he feels a majesty not so different, not lesser and maybe not wholly separate in Eddie’s own chest, having taken yet another step closer while he’d left his eyes shut.

“It feels right,” Eddie looks behind him, over his shoulder; Steve is close, and the sun is catching his eyes fit truly to glow from within and Eddie will swear for all time that it’s the almost otherworldly shine that pulls the words further from his lips:

“I always imagined falling in love would feel,” Eddie starts, nearly whispers, drags his stare from Steve’s eyes but that just leaves his gaze to fall square on those lips, slick for no reason and so plump and dark that they do no less than the man’s eyes to steal Eddie’s breath, make the last of his words more motion than sound:

“That love would be the way I feel when I hear the waves.”

Eddie turns back to stare at the endless Sea for a time, then, and breathes, breathes, breathes—depends upon the familiar scent, and taste, and weight on the air to right him.

It works, a little. Because in the same moments: Steve doesn’t move. Remains; steady on his own.

“If the Ocean had a heartbeat,” Eddie finds himself murmuring almost without thinking, almost solely from his own heart, propelled by its own beats; “I imagine this,” and he breathes in deep for it, because it is whole truth, and no exaggeration, when he speaks of it the same as love: “enrapturing, this,” he gestures at the expanse of the water, the way peaks of foam, momentum rises a little higher, now, but somehow do not shake their boat one bit.

“Power beyond power,” Eddie shakes his head, in wonder now; “encompassing,” and he takes in the scene of it, never once less than the first time, always also newly profound, and then he pauses, feels Steve closer beside him, if only just, and chuckles. Does not blame the sun for the way his cheeks flush as he huffs:

“I sound fairly heartsick, don’t I?”

Because he does. Maybe he is. Steve, in his goodness, does not mock him. Is steady, and yet, his presence seems to give around Eddie’s somehow. Like some imperceptible dance.

“Though I do think, should I be lucky enough to stumble across another love?” Eddie adds, and knows full well it makes him sound no less pathetic with it all; “I hope their heartbeat makes me feel like the Ocean’s,” and he does hope that, he hopes that with all that he has, but then alongside:

“And also that they’d forgive, even if they couldn’t understand,” Eddie breathes a little quieter, now; “how I gave my heart to the water years ago.”

Because any lover would always need to understand: he was meant to be with the Sea.

He doesn’t actually know how long he stares at the waters before he laughs at himself and turns fully back to his companion.

“Apologies,” he bows his head, but Steve merely stills, his confusion painted on his features.

“Whatever for?”

“I have to sound mad,” Eddie points out, no question in it whatsoever; “and that leaves you stuck on a boat with a madman,” he laughs again, but Steve?

Steve doesn’t.

“I’ll tell you once more, as I told you the first time,” Steve considers him carefully, oh-so-serious; “I would never say that I am stuck with you.”

And if that doesn’t light something stunning and warm in Eddie’s breast, he’s not sure whatever could hope to. He feels himself flush, blames the feeling and the dying sun—their time waning—as he moves to busy himself with the pole to try one last time to secure a single fucking fishto take back to the ship.

“Is that how you cast a line?” Steve comments playfully as Eddie reels back to toss, but stops with theatrical offense before handing the pole to Steve pointedly.

“You do better, then.”

“Alas,” Steve shakes his head, palms out to decline as he wanders to the edge of the boat; “I don’t fish.”

“But you know,” Eddie doesn’t ask, because Steve’s critiques have not been idle. The man has knowledge—

Then Eddie’s crying out, because Steve’s bending dangerously unbalanced over the boat toward the water both hands beneath the surface, feet barely set aboard and Eddie does not wish to lose him to the waves again, it was frightening enough when he had no sense of the man; he cannot imagine losing him now—

And then the wet plop of a dozen…fish. They’re fish, wriggling but not like they would at the end of a line, just…there, out of their element, and then:

“Like that,” Steve breathlessly nods, dropping four more fish from his hands as he springs back full-footed into the boat and nods at Eddie’s abandoned fishing pole; “I don’t fish like that.”

Eddie thinks he’s allowed the moments he spends simply staring; gaping.

“How—“

“Just a skill,“ Steve merely shrugs; “we learn it where I’m from.”

Eddie would love to know where in the whole of the entire world summoning fish into one’s bare hands is a common skillset.

“They are not of sickly stock,” Steve insists, as if he needs to, as if there’s some modicum of distrust where none has existed from the very start; “not touched by what ailed me upon arriving here, I swear it.”

And Eddie wants to ask, wants to know what harmed this man, what brought such perfection in his low—still perfect, still blinding but pained, harmed, to the point where even when Eddie knew nothing of him he was pained in kind but know, Eddie aches to think of Steve come to any harm.

And yet he is curious.

“They seem almost,” Eddie takes a fish in hand—the perfect size and weight, impossible; “almost docile.”

Then Steve is close at his shoulder, and when he speaks Eddie feels it on his skin; Eddie’s heart leaps and takes to racing:

“Fish don’t have intelligence such as you and me,” Steve explains simply, voice a low heady rumble so near; “but they’re not stupid, and they’re not ignorant of the way the cycle of life turns, and their part within it.”

And in every way it sounds fanciful, child’s-play: but from Steve’s lips, with the conviction of plain truth in each word, Eddie believes beyond sense at all.

“They’ll taste sweeter this way,” Steve bends to help gather the catch together; “so long as they’re cooked well,” Steve adds the caveat with a playful raise of his brow; “a burnt fish is a burnt fish, no matter how gently they’re caught.”

And skill, charm, taste: Eddie is almost too busy falling just that little bit harder for the man as he nets the fish for transport.

Almost.

But then Steve’s back at his shoulder, and his voice is still low but the rumble is pressed where his chest grazes the line of Eddie’s spine:

“Do you know, that the human body is mostly water?”

Eddie didn’t. Doesn’t. Can’t barely breathe; only half-gasps shakily with all the air that remains to him.

“Is it?”

“Mmm,” Steve hums, and Eddie doesn’t move, cannot move, but he thinks if he did Steve’s lips would brush his neck just for the nearness of the sound.

“So you were always in the right, then,” Steve whispers to him, but it feels like it echoes through his entire frame nonetheless:

“Your heartbeat does have some of the Ocean inside of it.”

And Steve pulls back, finishes gathering up their catch, but Eddie.

Eddie’s heartbeat’s pounding hard enough that it’s a damn good thing his heart’s not in the Ocean, in kind, because he’d fucking capsize them both in a second, and he worse: he doesn’t have the breath in him like this to even hope to survive the depths.

✨permanent tag list: OPEN (lmk if you want to be added/removed): @pearynice @hbyrde36 @slashify @finntheehumaneater @wxrmland @dreamwatch @perseus-notjackson @estrellami-1 @bookworm0690 @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme

divider credits here & here & here

🌊ao3 link here

12 notes · View notes