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allnewalldifferentwildspider · 3 years

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Zuko & Katara's Relationship Dynamic

This is like the third or fourth time I've tried to write up this post so please bare with me.

Oh wow. That video. Hopefully everyone has seen it now. Not only did it articulate arguments I've been making for years, but it also brought up ideas I had never thought of or noticed before. Watching that and watching the second half of Book 3 again (because it's my favorite) made me want to redo my zutara dynamic post.

I'm going to be using the tiny bits and pieces the show gave us to see how Zuko and Katara's relationship looks and how it would look if they gave us more because...Bryke really fucking hated zutara. I mean, I guess they did.

Katara is compassionate; Zuko is empathetic

A lot of anti-zutara arguments have said that Zuko and Katara could never be together because they would constantly fight and hate each other and it end sooner than later. Not only does this actually describe maiko, but that argument would need to ignore the characters' actual character.

One of Katara's biggest character traits is how compassionate she is. She has a drive to help others and ease their pain. Whether it's getting Aang out of the iceberg or healing a Fire Nation fishing village, Katara will go out of her way to help someone in need.

Katara: No. I will never ever turn my back on people who need me.

Zuko is very emotional and passionate person. As much as he tried to hide it to appease his father, Zuko does want to open up and connect with people. Unfortunately, aside from his uncle, most of the other people he knows are like Zhao and Azula. Not the most understanding of crowds. But because of this he can pick up what people are really thinking and feeling. Think of it as a defense mechanism he developed growing up around people like Azula.

Get these two kinds of people together and you get the crystal catacombs scene. Katara lashes out at Zuko until she breaks down. When she does Zuko opens up with empathy since they have something in common. This creates the beginning of an understanding between the two. Zuko uses that to finally open up to someone who isn't his uncle and Katara listens and reaches out to help. Contrast to the first episode of Book 3 when Zuko tries to voice his thoughts and concerns to Mai and she...doesn't really care.

Something similar happens during The Southern Raiders. Zuko figures out that Katara is taking out her anger of being separated from her father by The Fire Nation onto him and even connecting her mother's death to him.

It's not the first time Zuko has done this either. He easily figured out that Sokka was planning on going to The Boiling Rock. He does it again during Sozin's Comet when he tells Katara that Aang needs to figure out what to do about Ozai by himself.

There's a noticeable pattern of behavior by the time Sozin's Comet arrives. Zuko voices his concerns about meeting his uncle again and Katara is right there to help him through it.

Zuko's empathy combined with Katara's compassion creates almost a cycle of understanding and emotional vulnerability that the two can't really get with anyone else. One notices the other having concerns or problems and goes to give comfort by words or by actions.

Zuko still has a temper but so does Katara

Even after Zuko's fever dream character change thing, even after The Day of Black Sun, he still has it in him to yell at anyone who commits even the slightest transgressions against him:

Aang: That one felt kinda hot. Zuko: Don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like. Aang: Sorry, sifu hotman. Zuko: And stop calling me that!

Sokka: So all we have to do is make Zuko angry. Easy enough. *pokes him with his sword* *annoying laugh* Zuko: All right! Cut it out!

Maybe it's the firebender in him or maybe he really is just like that. Basically if you annoy him, he'll let you know. What people sometimes overlook is that while it takes Katara a bit longer, she also gets worked up when people upset her.

Toph: What's the matter? Can't handle some dirt, Madame Fussy Britches? Katara: Oh, sorry, did I splash you, mud slug?

And remember, it was Katara getting angry at Sokka that even broke the iceberg that revealed Aang.

Katara: Ugh, I'm embarrassed to be related to you! Ever since Mom died I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier! Sokka: Uh... Katara? Katara: I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT! Sokka: Katara! Settle down! Katara: No, that's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!

The point is that it is both Zuko and Katara that are very passionate and emotional people. One of them isn't emotionally dominating the other because they both wear their emotions on their sleeves.

This also comes in to play when they set goals for themselves. When Zuko sets a goal, he puts everything into it. Katara is the same way. The difference is that Zuko's drive sometimes gives him a one-track mind while Katara is more flexible. Like for example Zuko being so focused on finding Aang before Sozin's Comet that he ignores Toph's story about her childhood versus Katara wanting to go to the North Pole but taking time to stop and help whoever they come across.

This passion also fuels their values and how strongly they stand by their beliefs. I already put The Painted Lady quote up above but Zuko's morality is what is making him so angry at himself during The Beach. He knows what he did was wrong, but he couldn't face it yet.

Sometimes their emotions get the better of them, but it's only because they are passionate about what they're doing.

Their natural teamwork is amazing

I can't provide a lot of clues in this bit because it's more of a visual thing. Just consider how flawlessly their plans worked during their attack on The Southern Raiders. Especially when you consider that it was a stealth mission so they barely even said anything to each other during and it still went incredibly well.

You could see it again during their mock battle with The Melon Lord. Sokka must have noticed because he paired them together to deliver some "liquidy-hot offence." And they pulled it off, again, without having to say anything.

They've only been a team for a few weeks(?), days(?) but they act as if they've been doing it for years.

They trust each other's judgment

Piggybacking of the previous point, Zuko and Katara have only been a team for a while but there seems to be a level of understanding in terms of judgement. They both know that whatever the other chooses is going to be a well-thought out decision. Maybe it's because they see each other as the mature members of the group even though Sokka is the same age as Zuko? I don't know.

Aang disappears right before they embark on their fight against the Fire Lord, and out of nowhere, Katara puts Zuko in charge.

Zuko: Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka. We have a real problem here. Aang is nowhere to be found and the comet is only two days away. Katara: What should we do Zuko? Zuko: I don't know. Why are you all looking at me? Katara: Well, you are kind of the expert on tracking Aang.

and that wasn't the first time in that episode that she went along with one of Zuko's decisions

Katara: Aang, don't walk away from this. *She begins to walk towards him as a hand touches her shoulder to stop her from doing so.* Zuko: Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself.

As a lot of people have pointed out during the entirety of The Southern Raiders, Zuko never gives a suggestion on what he thinks Katara should do. Aside from making it a stealth mission, he follows her lead the entire way.

Katara teases Zuko (and he lets her)

The fun one. This one has two parts: pre and post The Southern Raiders.

Before The Southern Raiders, Katara was tolerating Zuko. She was still angry with him about the betrayal at Ba Sing Se. Getting little jabs at him was the only thing that was really helping her from loosing her cool around him.

Katara: I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know... how it would have been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago? Zuko: Well it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason. Katara: Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are. Toph: Ouch.

He just finished yelling at Aang and Sokka but all he does is glare at Katara. She does it again, but to be fair, he kind of set himself up for it.

Zuko: It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old! Katara: Oh yeah? What's your little form called? Zuko: ...The Dancing Dragon.

Then comes post The Southern Raiders and...yeah, she's still picking on him and he still lets her. Granted it's a lot more playful this time around.

Zuko: They make me totally stiff and humorless. Katara: Actually, I think that actor's pretty spot on. Zuko: How could you say that? Actor Uncle: Let's forget about the Avatar and get massages. Actor Zuko: How could you say that?! (Cut back to Katara wearing a satisfied grin on her face and she looks to an expressionless Zuko as he slouches in his seat.)

I love pointing it out every time. She teases him and he does nothing about it.

Katara: Er, no. I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this. Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute? Oh lighten up, I was just teasing.

And she admits it!

So what can we take away from this? From what little time they were given together (thanks, Bryke) it seems that Zuko and Katara really understand each other on an intimate emotional level. They can sense when the other is distressed and offer comfort. They're both passionate in and out of combat, for better or for worse. They're comfortable with each other as if they've known each other for years even though it's such a short time. Katara also likes to add a little bit of playfulness in there with Zuko letting her have her fun, again, showing how comfortable they are with each other.

I do think their relationship could have gone to romantic sooner than later if you would have given it a bit more time. Like first half of a hypothetical Book 4.

To me, at least.

#zutara #zuko #katara #anti kataang #anti bryke

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drwcn · 3 years

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#9 【Carbon in the Steel】

cql au: everyone is an orphan except wwx; dark!twin jades

The Brothers Lan

There was once a little house, on the outskirts of a farming village beyond the tiered rice fields south of Meishan, far, far away from Cloud Recesses. Both Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji remembered that house. It was the house Father had built for Mother, and it was there that they were born.

It sat at the base of a hill where many tall bamboo trees grew, and in the garden, there had been gentians, indigo and violet, that bloomed beautifully every summer.

Lan Xichen would dream sometimes of that house and of the wonderful days in those early years.

Father, look!

Excellent form, A-Huan. Very good. Much improved. Now, remember to keep your balance on your front…

These days he could no longer recall Father’s face. His voice though, Lan Xichen still remembered as clear as a bell. On the other hand, his brother Wangji did not remember much of Father at all; instead, it was Mother’s smile that he could never forget.

Mother, can A-Zhan and I stay with you and Father tonight?

P’ease, Mo’her.

Lan Xichen remembered hugging his baby brother like a doll and strategically weakening his parents’ resolve using his baby pout and big puppy eyes. A-Zhan was always a trooper, so cooperative, so excellent at looking like a perfect toddler. Stoic though. So stoic for a baby. What a weird kid.

We had a bad dream.

Bad dweam.

Those were obviously lies. They never had bad dreams then; those would come much later, when their reality became worse than any nightmare they could ever imagine.

Jiujiu never needed to tell them that Mother and Father were dead, or what death was. They’d seen plenty of creatures die: the village’s cattle they butchered for the new year, the spinster's kittens that didn’t survive the winter, and the pheasants they caught and roasted for A-Zhan’s birthday.

Father had been a lifelong vegetarian, so eating meat didn’t agree with his stomach, but he never enforced such rules on his sons. In fact Father didn’t enforce any rules on his sons, except to show kindness where they could and to be true to their hearts.

Father probably didn’t anticipate just how difficult it was to be kind when the world had been so wholly unkind. Nor did he anticipate that he would die in such a violent and sudden manner without even so much as a goodbye.

I don’t remember what were the last words Father said to me. Wangji would confess to Xichen one day. I don’t even remember what Father looked like.

They were by the marsh catching lobsters with jiujiu when it happened. Mother suddenly appeared and spoke words that were foreign and frightening - Gusu Lan, cultivators, siege, pursuit, escape. Go. Now. She didn’t hug them or kiss them. Lan Xichen remembered Wangji reaching up towards her to be picked up and the confusion and heartbreak in his eyes when she pushed him back into jiujiu’s waiting arms.

A-niang...

At a certain point, jiujiu must’ve done something to them, because neither Wangji nor himself remember any part of their journey out of that village. When they woke up, they were somewhere high up and deep in the mountains. His little brother had looked at him and he had stared back and they both knew then that their parents were dead. Curled in their jiujiu’s arms, they cried themselves into another fitful sleep, and all the while, jiujiu didn’t wake up once, too exhausted by the endless days of travel.

To them, jiujiu - like all adults - was old, but it was not until they grew up that they realized that Zhao Zhuliu at the time of their parents’ demise had been no more than twenty years old, barely more than a boy himself.

Life with jiujiu was quiet, but after some time, they were able to find a sliver of happiness.

Zhao Zhuliu was a quiet man, always had been, and that didn’t change just because he now had two young children on his hands. But he loved them, his sister’s only blood left on this earth; by god, he loved them beyond reason.

Jiujiu was not a talker, but he was never distant, and though he was strict in his training of their cultivation and their swordsmanship, he was never harsh. So yes, life was quiet, but at least for a while there was a roof over their heads and food in their belly, and they never had to wonder where they would be tomorrow…

When jiujiu failed to return from his night-hunt, Lan Xichen knew that something had gone terribly wrong.

Lan Xichen was the older one; he was thirteen. Practically an adult, he told himself. If jiujiu never came back, then he was just going to have to take care of Wangji.

Whatever it takes.

His brother was not a needy child, but when he turned eleven, he seemed to have found his appetite and ate everything Xichen could get his hands on. Fishing was the easiest and hunting a big game lasted them a while if he could preserve it just right, but even if he collected berries in the mountains and wild herbs in the forest, he still needed grains, still needed new clothes for the winter, and still needed oil to light a lamp at night so Wangji could continue to practice his calligraphy.

He did try; you must know. Lan Xichen did try to do things the right way, but there was only so much money he could earn by book-keeping at a shop, or running errands for merchants, or even waiting tables at an inn. He was a child, and desperate, and nobody would pay him a dime if they could get away with a nickel.

It didn’t take long for Xichen to learn that the fastest way of earning money was often the most unsavoury and that he wasn’t above reaching for those means. There were no lengths Lan Xichen wouldn’t go to keep his brother safe and happy, no asset within his arsenal of skills and attributes that he wouldn’t hone and weaponize to make himself stronger. He got good at stealing, got great at cheating, and grew accustomed to killing. Every so often...if there were other offers available, well...Wangji would never need to know.

Morals do not matter if Wangji went hungry. I can’t let Wangji go hungry.

And, once a year, Lan Xichen would buy a box of osmanthus pastry, like the kind Mother used to make for them - flakey and fragrant, rich but not overwhelming - and he and Wangji would sit together under the stars and finish the box all in one go.

“Happy birthday, didi.”

Chewing slowly on the osmanthus pastry, Wangji would smile, and it would all be worth it.

“Thank you, xiongzhang.”

Then, three years after jiujiu was taken, a startling news broke out over the lands.

After years of internal strife, the dirty politics of Lanling Jin finally fractured the once glorious reigning sect. Jin Guangshan’s many children and their scheming “little mothers” formed factions and allied themselves with subsidiary sects all vying for control over Lanling’s seat of power. (小娘 xiao’niang = little mother, what one calls one’s mother if one’s mother is not the legal wife. The “real” mother of any children would always be the legal wife, while their birth mothers are ‘little mothers’.)

The details of Jin Guangshan’s demise was not entirely clear, but eventually it was his third son Jin Zitao who became the new Sect Master Jin. Being only eleven years old, it was clear to anyone who had eyes that he was a puppet, completely controlled by the whims of his regent mother, Jin Guangshan’s once favourite concubine, and the ancient respected Qin family who had promised their daughter Qin Su to be his bride once they both come of age.

People had praised Qin Su’s stepmother, Sect Master Qin’s second wife, for securing such an advantageous marriage for a daughter not even of her own blood, stating that with the Dowager Madame Jin’s clever mind and Sect Master Qin’s seniority and experience, surely the murky pond of Lanling would become peaceful once again.

The bigger question now was with three of the five major sects being led by minors - Qishan’s 14 year-old Wen Yuefan, Yunmeng’s 13 year-old Jiang Wanyin, and Lanling’s 11 year-old Jin Zitao - who then would become the next Chief Cultivator. Qinghe Nie seemed the most obvious choice at first glance, for they were the fiercest warriors, but given Sect Master Nie Heqiu’s most recent close encounter with yet another qi deviation, it seemed perhaps the real day-to-day leadership role was fulfilled by his first son Nie Mingjue. At seventeen years of age, he was certainly older than his contemporaries, but still a far cry from what was required to be His Excellency. (温越凡 Wen Yuefan = Wen Qing’s courtesy name)

Naturally, all eyes were drawn then towards Cloud Recesses, whose previous chance at obtaining the seat of Chief Cultivator had been dashed when its sect master at that time, Qingheng-jun, mysteriously vanished more than a decade ago. Now it seemed that Gusu Lan’s fortune was about to change yet again, when what once should have gone to Lan Cenrong now fell to his younger brother Lan Qiren.

News of his rise to power had spread far and wide, until every man, woman, and child knew his name. Until Lan Xichen heard from a gossiping bar-keep at a tavern. Until Lan Wangji heard from the children playing on the street.

One morning Lan Xichen returned to their temporary home to see Wangji sitting in front of the breakfast he’d prepared (when did he learn to cook???) and a purse on the table filled with silver coins and small gold nuggets.

“Wangji...where did you -”

“I don’t want you to go out at night again, xiongzhang,” said Lan Wangji bluntly.

Taken aback by Wangji’s tone and his implications, Xichen quickly gathered his wits and tried to maintain control of the conversation. “That doesn’t answer my question; where did you get the money?”

“I also went out last night, after you assumed I fell asleep and left.”

Xichen’s blood went cold. “You...went out? Out? In the middle of the night?! To do what?!”

Lan Wangji’s stoicism did not waver. “What one usually does to get paid at night. What you’ve been doing for years.”

In three long strides, Lan Xichen strode up to his little brother - his baby brother - and yanked him up by the collar. Grabbing his arms with both hands, he forced Wangji to look him in the eye as he exclaimed in a mad panic, “You didn’t! Tell me you didn’t!!”

God, Wangji, what have you done, what have you done - how could I let this happen - I should’ve done better -

Wangji did not blink, but after a long terrible silence, he said, “No. I didn’t. I just followed you. I saw.”

“You saw…”

There had been a man who eyed him with interest. Lan Xichen wasn’t looking for business - hadn’t been looking for months - but winter was coming and Wangji was growing so much he would need several new sets of robes. Xichen hadn’t been working as many hours as he’d been previously. He needed to train, to cultivate - they both did - so that one day they could do what needed to be done. The core melting technique was not to be trifled with lightly, jiujiu had warned them. They needed time to practice, to perfect it, time that couldn’t be used to earn income.

While yes he could steal and yes he could kill, Lan Xichen realized early on that those two options often caught the attention of local authorities or worse the local cultivation sect, especially if his activities were too frequent or too conspicuous. Sometimes it was just easier…

“The money, then?”

“Don’t you recognize the purse?”

Xichen turned around. He did. He did recognize that silk embroidered draw-string purse. It belonged to the man from last night. He had taken money out of it this morning to pay Xichen for his time.

And when they parted ways, Xichen had gone to a public bath house to get rid of any incriminating evidence on his body before going home to his brother. That was his routine... had been his routine for years…

“I shoved his body down a well. That should buy us enough time to get out of this town. You weren’t planning for us to stay that long anyway right?”

“Wangji…Wangji -” Lan Xichen turned away. He couldn’t face his brother, who now knew what he knew.

“Xiongzhang, don’t do this for me anymore.” Lan Wangji’s hand found his own, squeezing it tightly.

“It’s - it’s really not a big deal.” Lan Xichen tried to laugh it off. “I don’t do it that often. Really - I am your older brother, it is my duty to -”

“No. No more. From now on, if you go out, I go out. I’m old enough -”

“You’re thirteen, a child!”

“So were you.”

Lan Xichen closed his eyes.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know I’m done waiting.”

Lan Wangji was talking, of course, about their vengeance. It was what they spoke of on most nights when they couldn’t sleep. For mother and father and jiujiu, they swore they would not rest until they razed Cloud Recesses to the ground and burned the core out of every last one of their disciples before slitting their throats.

Wangji came around to face him again and stared him down with his brows furrowed tightly above bright determined eyes. “It’s not fair. The Chief Cultivator was supposed to be Father! The heir of Gusu Lan is supposed to be you! Instead - instead...”

Tears welled up in his little brother’s eyes. “They hurt you, ge, I saw. I saw.”

Choking with shame, anger and a pain he couldn’t describe, Lan Xichen pulled Lan Wangji into a crushing hug. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry Wangji. I’m sorry I couldn’t do better. I’m...” Words failed. As Lan Wangji cried into his chest, Lan Xichen looked up to their leaky roof and their bare, striped walls, and wondered what the ethereal Cloud Recesses would look like. All that should have been theirs, should’ve been his, belonged to someone else.

Lan Qiren is Chief Cultivator now. He’s still holding jiujiu captive. He needs to die. The people who killed Father and Mother; they all need to die.

“You’re right, Wangji, you’re right. No more.”

“So you won’t leave at night anymore?”

“I won’t. The world has taken everything from us, I think it’s time we take what we are owed. Once we are strong, we will save jiujiu and avenge A-die and A-niang.”

“And if people try to stop us?”

“Then we will destroy them and anyone else that gets in our way.”

#cql #the untamed #twin jades #lan wangji #lan xichen #cql ficlet #corie fics #carbon in the steel

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xsugarysweetsx · 4 years

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ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 1

Synposis- You were given as a peace offering to the cold hearted cruel king, Iwazumi Hajime. He ruled with an iron fist and the people of the kingdom were tired of it. They offer you, the most beautiful girl in the village as a way to bringing peace to their lives once and for all. Will a simple girl be able to break his stone exterior or will the kingdom crumble?

Masterlist

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Rating: 18+ (because of future contex)

A/N: Characters are above the age of 18! Iwaizumi is set as 21 and, reader is 19 turning 20!!

Warnings; Angst, mean/rude Iwaizumi, betrayal, brief mention of a parent passing (not detailed) reader is taken against her will, (and that’s about it),

Previous Next

°°°° °°°° °°°° °°°° °°°° °°°°

The small hut was quiet as you cleaned up the kitchen. A gentle but cool breeze came in through the window, indicating it my rain. Going to the opening, the skies we in fact grey and full of rain.

Hopefully your father make it back in time before it falls. He had been summoned by the king and your nerves were on end.

Your kingdom didn’t exactly have the..kindest of rulers. Iwaizumi was an infamous king known for his cold rule over the kingdom. None of his enemies dare to make an attack in fear of death.

True he was a master at war strategies, and held his kingdom high, yet he ruled the land with an iron fist. Taking over the kingdom at only 19 after his father passed was unexpected, yet the way he ruled was more so.

You lived your everyday life with your father as best as you could. You helped him with the farm and selling goods. You tidied around the small hut you called home. Since your mother had passed, you took responsibility of chores she had done.

Your father often encourages you to get out and enjoy your life to your hearts content. But you wanted to help him, he raised you to the finest of his abilities, this was the least you could do.

He worked endlessly everyday to provide, but he was getting old and frail. He knew he wouldn’t be around forever and he wanted you be left in good hands. Many young men have had their eyes on you, just as many hearts were broken.

For as beautiful as you were, you were just as stubborn. Wanting to do everything on your own, and fend for yourself, just like your mother.

Sitting down near the window you stare off into the green fields. Your mind sailing away to some foreign land where you could live peacefully. Maybe, a meadow full of flowers with a comfortable little cottage. Like the ones written in stories.

You were pulled from your daydream by the door being opened abruptly. You shoot up from your seat, you hand over your thumping heart. Two men come into the door way, one was a villager you recognized and the other was a royal guard. Your father behind the men shoving his way to you.

“Please she’s just a young girl, surly there must be someone else-“

“There isn’t. The deal has already been done” he comes to your side and holds your shoulders in his hands

“F-father what’s going on? What deal?” You question

“Oh Y/N....they’ve....they...” he looked a you with eyes that plead for forgiveness.

“You are to marry the King, in two days time.” spoke the guard

“..I’m..WHAT?!“ you must be dreaming! This can NOT be real. “no..no,no,no..I can’t marry him, I-“

“You were part of deal made by your people. A bride for the king as a peace offering.“ He then walks over to you and reaches for your arm but you walk backwards. Your back meets with the wall, you had no where to turn

“But why me?!“ you were beyond upset and confused “I...I don’t want this! I never consent to it!”

“Sadly the choice has been made. Come or your father along with the village shall parish”

Throwing an ultimatum into the situation doesn’t make this any better. You keep your breath steady and hold your head high.

“Can i say my goodbyes and grab some things?” You ask

“You have five minutes” the guard sneered as he left to wait outside the hut. You grab small trinkets the you held close to your heart. A necklace that belong to your mother, two books, and a hairpin. Your father was trying to bribe you out of it as you collected the last of your things

“You don’t have to go! We can escape while they’re outside and warn the others-“

“Did you agree to this? You were at the castle today..” you acuse him hoping it wasn’t true.

“No! I would never agree to this! They had already made a deal with him before I was informed. I...I begged for him not to take you...I tried everything I could..” he takes a hold of your hands “....you’re all I have left..I would never image trading you for the finest treasures in world”

At that point you knew it wasn’t his fault. They were already threatening the entire village for one person. You hug your father tightly and he kisses your cheek.

“Please forgive me.” He said sniffling. Walking to the door, you grab an old cloak and wrap it around your frame.

“Done already?” You say nothing to the remake made by the guard.

Two horses were waiting outside as the guard helps you to mount it. Climbing onto his own horse he holds the reins and starts the walk. As you pass by the many faces you once thought of as friends and even family, you now feel the aching your heart grow.

Although the boys who courted you were not happy at all, at least there were few you could count on. You let you gaze stay on your hands as the horse trots along.

You ignore the words of people as you pass

“Thank for understanding”

“You’re saving us all”

“You’ll be fine”

Lies. That’s all their words were, lies. The trip would be a good hour before you got to the castle. You village was at the edge of the kingdom. Away from nobles and rich men. The farmers, crafters and even some healers were from your village. The question was still running in your mind

Why me? Why not a princess or a lonely queen...why a simple peasant girl?

You couldn’t help but let your head fall and rest of the neck of the horse. The steady rhythm of its hooves against the ground bringing you into a trance. Maybe if you fell asleep, you would wake up and things would be back to normal.

Normal...your life was anything but normal now

(short time skip)

The horse comes to stop making you look around. You were now inside the gates that surround the castle. The castle looked much more grim in person, perhaps it was because you know what your fate is.

Getting off the horse you feel a sense of dread take over you completely. You could practically hear your heart in your ears as you walk towards the grand doors.

Maybe every girl dreamed of marrying a prince and becoming a queen...but not like this. The guard knocks on the door with force, you hear the clicks of shoes approach the door.

You had expected something scary awaiting instead you were met with a cheerful, tall, brunette.

“Yes- Oh! She’s here and much more beautiful than she was described! Come in, Come in~” surprised was an understatement, but now you recognized who it was.

Tooru Oikawa, the kings royal adviser, if anything girls swooned over him more than the king himself. You follow him inside the double doors and into the grand hallway.

“Iwa is currently in a meeting but he will be out soon, I’ll show you to your room. There you can bath and I’ll get a you a change of clothes” so far, Oikawa was the only one who was nice, or at least acting that way. He looks behind his shoulder and smiles at you. You give a forced smile his way and continue to the thrown room.

You’ve only heard about it in stories but now being here in person, you can see how grand it was. A single seat sat atop a few short stairs, above it a large tapestry hung. A majestic white owl with prey in it’s talons was presented for all to see.

“It seems big and intimidating but you’ll get used to it. You and he king will use this door to enter and leave the thrown room“ there was a door almost in the far corner of the room.

The simple door leads into another hall with multiple doors holding more rooms. After what felt like traveling through a maze, you finally make it to the top floor, the very hall you stood in looked expensive.

At one end of the hall were another pair of double doors, the handles and bolts made of gold. The other had a much simpler single door in which you stood in front of.

“This is the guest room where you will be staying for the first two nights“ he said holding the door for you “After that you move in with Iwa“

“What? The wedding is in two days?!“ it was just one surprise after the other wasn’t it?

“I’m afraid so,“ he takes the cloak off your shoulders and bows to you

“I will also be here to guide and educate you on royal status. Fresh clothes are on the bed and the bath is over there. His majesty should be out in about an hour to come and see you“ he said finally and left.

Everything was moving way too fast, you had to sit down. The bed was comfortable, better than anything you ever slept on. That’s what royalty gets for you, you thought.

You take a moment and look at your surroundings, the room was small yet elegant. There was a vanity with a beautiful mirror, an armoire, a large rug at the side of the bed, and a window with a balcony.

With a heavy sigh your hands reach to undo the back of your dress, and let it fall to your feet. You warm skin expose to the cool air. You search for a towel in the armoire, grabbing the first one and wrapping it around your frame.

Your feet take you into the separate room, and gaze upon delicate white tiles. Walking to the porcelain white tub you see two buckets full of warm water & cold water. The steam still coming up from the buckets. One by one you fill the tub do your desired temperature and amount.

After testing the water, you step in one foot at a time. The warm water engulfing your cold body, it was comforting. Sinking in further until the water is above your nose. You could almost fall asleep in the tub. You make sure to bathe your body before sitting and letting the water run cold.

Eventually you step out and dry yourself completely. Wrapping your hair in a towel, you dress yourself in the new clothes you were given. Take a look at yourself in the mirror and you were blown away.

Never in all your years have you ever had a piece of clothing so beautiful. It hugged you perfectly in all the right places, it was a beautiful sky blue and white. You may have been enjoying yourself a bit too much, you didn’t hear the door open. He simply heard someone clear their throat and say

“Have you never worn a dress before?” You gasp and whip your head to the door. Only to find the king himself, Hajime Iwaizumi.

His sharp gaze made your heart pound and your breathing stop. He starts to walk towards you his face unchanged. He stops only a foot in front of you, he was so differnt to see in person. His short brown hair, lightly tanned skin and green eyes were all capturing. He scans your body up and down and says

“So you’re my bride, this may be interesting.”

°°°° °°°° °°°° °°°° °°°° °°°°

Taglist; @vanilla-beanzz @hp-hogwartsexpress @sugarysweets-appreciation-blog @sophie-duck @mysteriousmagicx @toutorii @mystic-starlove @leviiiiiiiii @heavenly-warlord @birdiewolf @bakarinnie @torithetori @shoyosun @postsfromthe6 @yatoatyourservice @lola2001

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melanielocke · 3 years

Text

Lost in the Shadows - chapter 11

AO3

Chapter list is getting a bit long, link to all chapters is on my pinned post.

Taglist: @nott-the-best @foxglove-airmid @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @justanormaldemon @styxdrawings @ipromiseiwillwrite

Cordelia dreamt of a castle in the middle of the forest. She wasn’t sure what was happening, all she knew was she needed to get away, this wasn’t right. There was a woman with empty eyes and long dark hair, something similar to what Thomas had described when he’d seen the washer woman? She was carrying a basket with bloodied clothes and bent over into a stream to wash them. This had to be her, the same woman Thomas had seen.

‘Bearer of cortana,’ she hissed, her voice an awful shriek. ‘Beware the thief of souls.’

Cordelia woke up and when she checked her phone she realized it was noon. Everyone had to be up already, she rarely slept this late. She had gone to bed at eleven yesterday and fallen asleep rather soon, which meant she had slept for thirteen hours. Cordelia wondered why, she rarely slept this long. Yesterday had been a long and exhausting day for sure, but this exhausting? She picked out a simple dress and changed. Dresses were easy in that regard, since it only required her to pick out one item of clothing and she was done, instead of having to match several pieces.

Lucie was eating at the table, and Cordelia wondered if that was her breakfast or lunch. Considering the time, probably lunch.

‘Did you sleep well?’ she asked. ‘I was beginning to wonder if you were going to wake up at all, or if you needed a prince to come kiss you awake. Or princess. Royal figure of indetermined gender.’

‘I did have a weird dream,’ Cordelia said, rubbing her eyes. ‘I only just woke up. Which is weird, because I don’t usually sleep for thirteen hours.’

‘You must be very well rested then,’ Lucie said, getting up from her seat to make Cordelia some toast.

Cordelia yawned. ‘Not really. Any news?’

‘You’re the only one who slept late,’ Lucie said. ‘Thomas and Alastair went to take another walk, they’re not back yet. I’ve been theorizing on what Tatiana is doing, or what Grace is and where she came from, but so far I’m not getting any further than her trying to bring back Jesse.’

‘Alastair is an early riser, always has been,’ Cordelia said. ‘Thomas too, apparently.’

Alastair often had nightmares and with his irregular sleeping pattern, Cordelia sometimes wasn’t sure if he slept at all. And he wondered why he was always tired.

‘Uncle Gideon still thinks he might be able to reach his sister, and went into the village again,’ Lucie added. ‘Dad is with him, he doesn’t trust Tatiana but is willing to give it one more chance. So far, they didn’t find her.’

Cordelia didn’t know Tatiana and didn’t want to judge, but if her intention was to bring back her son, she wasn’t sure Gideon would be able to change her mind.

‘Have you ever heard of the thief of souls?’ Cordelia asked.

Lucie frowned. ‘Maybe… It does sound like something out of a book, maybe. Although that could have been thief of hearts too. No, doesn’t ring any bells.’

‘In my dream someone said “Beware the thief of souls”,’ Cordelia said. ‘It could be just an ordinary dream, but I can’t be sure. It might be important.’

Cordelia tried to connect the term with what Lucie had learnt about Jesse Blackthorn. He’d died, and he’d disappeared somewhere, reappearing recently around the same time a washer woman warned Thomas of unpaid debts.

‘What if Jesse didn’t just die?’ Cordelia suggested. ‘What if this thief of souls is called by that title because it takes people’s souls in exchange for whatever someone asks for, and that’s what happened to Jesse.’

‘And then Tatiana made another deal to get him back, and right now he is a ghost,’ Lucie said. ‘Which might explain why the debt is no longer considered paid even if Jesse is still dead.’

‘But if that’s true, then how can we save Thomas?’ Cordelia asked. ‘We’d have to give back Jesse.’

‘Or we defeat the thief of souls,’ Lucie suggested. ‘That way we can save both Jesse and Thomas. No one deserves to be held as a price by such a being.’

‘Can something called the thief of souls even be killed though,’ Cordelia mused. ‘It sounds like a very powerful, perhaps even immortal being.’

‘They say cortana can kill anything, right?’ Lucie said.

‘You’re right, they say it can even kill immortal beings. But I’m not sure even with cortana I would stand a chance against such a thing, there’s also the matter of fighting it. I’m not giving up on either of them and if it comes down to a fight, I will fight. But perhaps we’re overlooking something and there’s another way to save them both.’

Still, if there was a way to kill such a thing, it was cortana. Cordelia would give it her best. She’d always wanted to be a hero, now she would have to prove she had what it took.

‘I don’t like giving up on Jesse’s soul,’ Lucie said. ‘And we definitely can’t let Thomas die.’

‘Either way, I’m going to practice,’ Cordelia said.

She and Alastair had practiced fighting together in childhood, both carrying wooden swords that had been made to match cortana in weight distribution. Since the real sword was so sharp, practicing with it together was too dangerous, but the wooden swords had worked. Alastair had lost interest in his early teens after cortana had chosen Cordelia, only joining her in practice when she begged him to.

She was used to the sword now, to its weight, the way it felt in her hand, and she knew how to fight with it. She’d never actually fought anything though, and according to her father that was the best way to learn. He’d trained her when she was very young. Their training together had become less and less frequent though, and for a long time Cordelia thought it was because he’d gotten sick.

She practiced her movement with the sword, repeating combinations of both attacks and defenses in one fluid motion. Cordelia had never doubted that someday she would fight evil with cortana. It was her destiny after all, and someone had to carry the sword. She’d always wanted to be a hero, like her father once was.

But now everything was coming much closer than she liked. Now Thomas’ life was in danger and Cordelia had no idea how to save him. Now she realized cortana alone might not be enough. Not when she had no idea what to fight, no idea what was coming to claim Thomas’ life. She wasn’t so sure anymore if this life was going to be what she dreamed it would be. She was scared she would end up like her father. Alastair refused to admit it, but Cordelia suspected he shared that fear, even if he had decided he didn’t want to devote his life to the supernatural.

‘That looks good,’ Lucie said. ‘Could you teach me, how to use a weapon?’

Cordelia frowned. ‘I only have cortana, I don’t have any other swords. Alastair does have daggers though. When he comes back, you could ask him to borrow one. Even if you don’t know how to fight with it, you would have a chance to defend yourself.’

Cordelia continued with some more complicated moves, practicing swift dodges followed by attacks. She had to be ready for anything. Lucie returned inside, and emerged a while later with a glass of water.

‘You need anything to drink?’

Cordelia gratefully took the glass of water and drunk it all as fast as she could, spilling a few drops. When training, Cordelia tended to get lost in herself and forget to drink. Lucie had the same problem when she was writing, but had several daily phone alarms telling her to drink.

‘I looked up that boy in the lake to see if they made any progress in the investigation,’ Lucie said. ‘So far it seems like he drowned, but the parents requested an autopsy because they think it’s unlikely since their son is such a good swimmer.’

Cordelia had expected as much. ‘At least now the parents have some closure. Poor child.’

‘I can’t imagine,’ Lucie said. ‘And the story of being trapped, it’s so similar to what Jesse said. Although the boy didn’t mention seeing any monsters or being stalked by something.’

‘There are vague stories of people getting trapped in places in the wild, but I’ve never seen anything that proves it’s real,’ Cordelia said. ‘Nothing like you described, at least not in the stories I remember from my father.’

‘I imagine most people don’t live to tell the tale,’ Lucie said.

‘I know, but… My father might have survived such a thing, and I don’t think I ever heard about it from him.’

Cordelia suspected that with the many years her father had travelled the world to slay evil creatures, he had told her and Alastair the most exciting stories and there were a few she might not have heard. Though she imagined something trapping people would be considered exciting. Perhaps her father did know more, but Cordelia was terrified to contact him, and she didn’t want to ask anyone else to either.

She still felt betrayed by him. She could sympathize with an addiction, it was an illness and she couldn’t blame him for seeking something that eased his pain. She knew her father had seen things most only saw in horror movies, she understood why he might want to forget. But he’d lied to her about it. She knew why Alastair had wanted to protect her, she didn’t blame him for not telling her the truth. Her father though? He’d gladly gone along with Alastair’s attempts to keep her in the dark, pretending to be overcome with sickness when he was drunk. Pretending the scent of alcohol was really medication for his illness. He’d often asked for her when he was sick, and she’d gone to read him stories, to keep him company while he rested. She hadn’t understood at the time, why Alastair didn’t like her taking care of him, why he’d insisted Father was sick and needed sleep even when her father kept asking for her.

As a dutiful daughter, she’d always gone when her father asked for her. She’d read him stories, kept him company, believing he was sick and not drunk. She had given up other obligations for him. She’d missed school parties she’d been excited about, because she couldn’t bear to leave her sick father after he’d asked her to stay.

Only now did she realize that as a father, he should have encouraged her to go anyway and have fun. That taking care of her father was not her responsibility and he should not have expected her to give up so much for him. Alastair had always tried to convince her that it was fine, that he could take care of Father too and he didn’t need her there. A couple of times he had managed to convince her, Alastair insisting she would regret it for a long time if she missed Lucie’s birthday party. She was still grateful that Alastair had practically dragged her away that day. No one else had shown up for Lucie, all the other children she’d invited thought she was weird and at that age Lucie had been desperate to be liked by her peers. Cordelia had almost abandoned Lucie too.

Now she understood why father had always asked for her, and not Alastair or her mother. She’d always believed it was because she was more like her father, because she was more affectionate whereas Alastair and her mother were rather closed off. Now she understood her father had preferred her because she was the only one who didn’t know he was drunk, because she would be kind and feel sorry for his sickness whereas Alastair resented him for being too drunk to be take care of his children. No, even if he knew the most about the supernatural from all his travels, Cordelia was not ready to call him to ask and she would never ask Alastair to do such a thing. No matter how betrayed she felt, what he’d been through was worse and he should never have to speak to their father again.

‘You alright, Daisy?’ Lucie asked.

‘Just thinking,’ she said. ‘Maybe my father does know more, but I can’t… I really can’t ask him.’

Lucie nodded. ‘I understand. If you really think he knows more, perhaps dad can call him instead to ask. And perhaps uncle Gabriel and aunt Cecily know more as well.’

Cordelia figured she could ask, but she feared her father would make it difficult for them. She’d learnt just how manipulative he could be, and she could easily imagine him refusing to talk to Will unless he’d let him talk to her.

Cordelia decided to practice a little longer, it had been a while with everything that had happened lately, and there wasn’t much space or opportunity at her aunt Risa’s apartment. She couldn’t be unprepared.

Lucie sat down to watch, book in hand, but Cordelia didn’t think she was making any progress reading. Instead, Cordelia caught her staring at her movement. Perhaps Lucie was studying her movements, in an attempt to learn more about fighting herself. Ultimately, it all came down to practice though. You didn’t learn how to fight by watching other people do it.

‘Aren’t Alastair and Thomas taking a little long?’ Lucie wondered. ‘They left early in the morning.’

‘I figured they’d be at the cottage with Sophie,’ Cordelia said. ‘They’re not?’

‘Mom is there with aunt Sophie,’ Lucie said. ‘She just texted me, we could come over for some tea as well. She mentions all four of us, apparently aunt Sophie would like it if Thomas came back for tea as well. So mom must have assumed they returned here after she left.’

Cordelia frowned. ‘What time is it?’

‘Four in the afternoon,’ Lucie said. ‘Dad also texted that he and uncle Gideon couldn’t find Tatiana and are coming back. But I haven’t heard anything from Alastair and Thomas. I’m not sure about Alastair, but it’s not like Thomas to disappear for so long and not let anyone know.’

Alastair could lose track of time on his long walks, but this was extreme even for his standards, and he would have at least texted her by now if he’d changed plans.

‘That is one long walk’ Cordelia said. ‘I’ll call Alastair.’

She turned cortana back into her necklace and took her phone out of her pocket, calling her brother. He didn’t answer, which was unlike him. She tried again. Nothing. She texted him instead, asking him if he was alright and when to expect him back. Alastair didn’t receive the message, maybe his phone had died. He rarely forgot to charge it though.

‘He’s not answering,’ Cordelia said. ‘I’ll try Thomas.’

Thomas didn’t pick up either, after several tries, and when Cordelia texted him he didn’t receive anything either.

‘Nothing either.’

‘Perhaps they don’t have cell service,’ Lucie said. ‘If you go far enough into the woods, that would happen.’

Cordelia guessed Lucie had a point, but that didn’t explain why they were spending almost a whole day into the woods. They weren’t experienced hikers, they must get tired at some point, right? And they would have at least let someone know if they would be gone for so long, this was worrying even for Alastair.

‘Maybe we should go looking for them.’

‘They could be making out though, maybe they don’t want to be interrupted,’ Lucie suggested.

Cordelia frowned. ‘In the middle of the woods?’

Lucie shrugged. ‘Who am I to judge?’

‘They’ve been gone for long enough that I think we should go looking,’ Cordelia said. ‘They could be in trouble.’

She put on some different shoes that were better suited for the forest and texted Will they were going to look for Alastair and Thomas, warning them to come find them if they took too long.

‘Do you really think they could be in trouble?’ Lucie asked when they walked into the forest, nervous.

Cordelia understood Lucie was scared, but if she was then how had she run after Tatiana into the woods just yesterday evening? If anything, her friend was chaotic.

The forest was a bit darker than she was used to in the bright sun, which was odd. The fog was a little thicker than usual, and Cordelia made sure to stay close to Lucie.

‘I don’t know,’ Cordelia said. ‘But only one way to be sure.’

A howl pierced the air. Cordelia could only tell the general direction it was coming from. It didn’t quite sound like a wolf, but it was similar enough.

‘Stay behind me,’ Cordelia said, removing her necklace and taking cortana into her hand. ‘I don’t know what that is, but I’m not going to let it harm my brother.’

#Cordelia Carstairs #Lucie Herondale #Thomas Lightwood #Alastair Carstairs #Lucelia #Thomastair #Fanfiction #fic #the last hours #tlh

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madaras-housewife · 4 years

Text

Hashirama Senju SFW alphabet

Happy birthday to my sunshine, Hashirama. <3 I wrote this as some kind of birthday gift and i hope i did justice to him. It’s also quite long so umm there’s that.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Hashirama is a man who harbors a lot of love in his soul. He is very open about his feelings from the get-go and will have warmed up to the relationship before you have, most likely. Starting with small gestures, such as squeezing your hand gently, Hashirama won’t hesitate to show you how much he appreciates you for being his. For being patient with him, for understanding him. The Hokage is a busy man, and at first, he didn’t really entertain the possibility of a romance, but you swept him off his feet. He loves big gestures as much as he loves small ones, so he will almost overwhelm you with all the affection he has to offer.

Out of his respect for your personal space, he will try not to be overly attached at first, because, let’s be real, Hashirama wants to let you know, even at the most inopportune moments. However, he sometimes forgets about the boundaries that usually exist at the beginning of a relationship and he will take you into his arms with an unexpected passion. Realising that he crossed the line, he will obviously apologise with a nervous smile and a glowing blush, but he will do it again. He can’t help it, you’re just too hard not to love. Once the relationship progresses and you feel more comfortable with him, he will constantly be near you and somehow, he will always find a way to maintain physical contact, even in public. Whether you’re holding hands or your shoulders are brushing against each other, there won’t be many moments where Hashirama isn’t close to you.

He doesn’t mind PDA at all. In fact, he’s very comfortable with being affectionate in front of others. Hashirama loves holding hands when you’re taking a walk around the village. It would only serve to show others how he is yours and you are his. Something else that you have to do at least once is to braid his hair. Do it at home or when you’re taking a simple walk through the woods. It would be so relaxing. So relaxing, in fact, that he will slump against you and fall asleep in your arms. He is whipped and will proudly wear those braids all day. In return, he is going to massage your shoulders and make you a warm cup of tea.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Becoming friends with Hashirama is not hard, as he considers the people of the village part of his family. It could start with something as trivial as watering flowers or sharpening your kunai. Somehow, he always finds a way to start the conversation and to keep it going. He will introduce himself and even bow to you first, as a sign of good faith and respect and he will ask you about whatever it is that you’re doing. Oddly enough, he has quite a vast amount of knowledge about any topic, be it something like the weather, music, board games etc. Nonetheless, he easily finds a way to work the conversation into something related to the welfare of the village. He is very open about his hopes and dreams for the future and is eager to share them with anyone and everyone. But make no mistake, even if he is consumed by his idealism, he will not forget about you. He will always listen to you and, once you become closer friends, he will try his best to always be there for you, given his busy schedule.

Being friends with Hashirama comes naturally, it feels as if you’ve known him all your life. He is reliable, kind-hearted and talkative and, as such, it’s going to hit you like a train when you realise that things between you and him are getting serious. He himself won’t realise until you do, though.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Hashirama loves cuddling so much, he won’t even know that he’s doing it. It starts with him sneaking close to you in bed and, in less than a second, he will be all over you, arms and legs entangled with yours. He feels the need to cuddle in bed and will secretly be sad if you reject him, despite his best attempts at hiding it(which aren’t very effective).

He could cuddle in any position, but his favorite is when he and his partner are facing one another and holding each other close. His arm will be on your back, gently rubbing it, or on the back of your head, coaxing your forehead against his own. There are those moments where you are cuddled up and you’re just staring at each other. The look on his face is one of pure adoration and passion, its intensity giving you goosebumps. Cuddling with him is almost a ritual, one where neither of you speak and you just know that you have each other and that everything is going to be okay. Whether it’s after a regular work day, a free day at home(which there won’t be many of) or a somber one, he will always cuddle you the same way. You’ll be able to read the feelings in his eyes and, seldomly, he will cry into your shoulder when he feels overwhelmed and his determination wavers. But you have his back, always, and he knows it.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Domesticity is Hashirama’s second name. If there’s anything he absolutely wants to do in life, besides changing the world, it would be settling down with you. He wants a shared home, which would act as a sanctuary for both of you. It wouldn’t be that large, he just wants enough space to accommodate the both of you and to place dozens of those goddamn bonsai trees. He can’t live without them. He just loves trees. Eventually, he will find a way to sneak a vase into every room of the house, even the bathroom.

Hashirama is a pretty messy man. He leaves his clothes and ridiculously large scrolls around the house for anyone to find, but once you are there and you set him straight, he will (almost) never forget to organise his clothes and other belongings. Of course, you give him the slip, because he tried, and you help him clean everything up, which he appreciates very much. As for the cooking, oh boy. Claiming that the god of shinobi is clumsy is nothing short of an understatement when it comes to anything that isn’t fighting or sculpting trees. How the hell is he so good at sculpting trees anyway? He will somehow always find a way to fuck up in the kitchen, but will try his best. Either by spilling egg yolks on the floor or by overheating the oil in the pan, there will be a huge mess by the time he is done. He feels bad about it, so he tries to get better by taking cooking lessons(if there weren’t any in the verse, I’m sure he invented them), but he can’t focus, at all. He keeps forgetting to use an ingredient and he gets distracted by anything. You won’t forget that one time he tried to surprise you with a home-cooked meal after a mission. It looked so good on the outside, but the taste was abhorrent. It gave you stomach pains that night. He does get an A for effort, though.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

It would take a lot for Hashirama to break up with you. Once you’re with him, he knows that it’s a life-long commitment, so something terrible must have happened in order for Hashirama to leave you. If you ever cheat on him, he will be absolutely heartbroken. Nonetheless, he won’t ignore you and he will try to be as cordial as possible even though you don’t deserve it, but the conspicuous pain in his eyes says more than words ever could. He would keep his distance as much as possible, but he won’t be able to move on until you tell him why. Was it him? Did he not make you happy? Was he not enough for you? It leaves a gaping wound in his heart that, in time, will heal, but never fully. Not even after getting the closure he needs, he won’t be able to fully move on. There will always be a shadow of reticence following him whenever someone else gets too close to him.

As for any other possible reasons, it would only come to pass if you were in great danger and he deemed it unsafe for you to be close to him. And by unsafe I mean life-threatening. The Hokage has no shortage of enemies who would seek to destroy him and his village, so they won’t hesitate to use his loved ones against him. Even though he is very strong and wishes he could always protect you, he doesn’t want to risk losing you the same way he lost Kawarama and Itama. Hashirama is an optimistic man, probably even the most cheerful shinobi of his era, which means the situation would have to be dire in order for him to break up with you. Even so, he would always keep an eye on you from a distance. It would hurt him, but he would ultimately be satisfied and determined to work even harder to make the world a safer place. He secretly hopes to get close to you again if things quiet down, too.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Once you get together with him, he knows it’s for life. He wants to be there on the long run and it will be as if you were already married despite still being in the earlier stages of your relationship. He never gave much thought to the concept of marriage, as he considers it something that naturally occurs. To him, it’s that warm feeling in his stomach that instantly tells him that he wants to marry you. Even if you had arguments from time to time, he wouldn’t let that deter him. The man just wants to walk you down the aisle and live the rest of his life with you, it’s that simple.

If you are together during the warring states period, he will be slightly hesitant about getting married. Hashirama wants to make sure that the world you settle down in is a peaceful one, where you could live out your lives in peace and harmony. Or, at least, that’s what he would want. Otherwise, he will just pop the question when it comes to his mind. Not many people know this about him, but Hashirama can be quite romantic, so on the day he makes up his mind to propose, he is going to take you to a special spot, like on the top of the stone statue or the small forest that’s adjacent to the village, where he used to play as a child. He was nervous, but impatient to say it. Naturally, he would like an unprompted answer, but he won’t be mad at you if you need to take your time. Although, if you took too long, he would start getting worried.

He would have no problems committing. After all, he loves you and only you and would do anything to make you happy.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Despite his past, Hashirama is not a bitter person. If there’s anything to know about this man, it’s that he’s gentle, too gentle for his own good, which is why he needs someone resolute by his side, like Tobirama(bless his heart). If he could, he wouldn’t hurt a fly. It’s not his way of life, but it’s incompatible with his era, so he was forced to change. He would rather keep that side of himself hidden and he doesn’t want you to see it either. He considers it a “necessary evil”, so to speak, a humiliating front that he wished he could reject. After everything that has happened, Hashirama sometimes wonders whether that’s who he truly is behind the mask of benevolence and that thought greatly burdens him. He will share his worries with you, but only when you’re both together, all alone. He trusts you and wants you to listen to him and he would do so in return, whenever you needed him. Despite his Hokage duties, he will try his hardest to be there for you and to be the man you need him to be. If he ever disappoints you, he will do his best to make it up and do better next time. He is upfront about his mistakes and won’t hesitate to sincerely apologize.

Hashirama is a very soft lover. The way he touches your skin, holds your hand, talks to you, it all comes down to his fondness of you. Even with his passionate nature, he is incredibly gentle. Sometimes, you even feel like a porcelain doll in his arms. Every touch of his is delicate and warm, even the frequent intimate adventures that take place after he comes back from work. His thumb gently caresses your face, your bodies pushed together and his forehead resting against your own. That way, he makes sure you can feel his love. Before he kisses you, he will always silently ask for your permission, which makes him all the more endearing and your kiss all the more passionate.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

The First Hokage is a serious hugger. Naturally, he will take every opportunity to embrace you, regardless of the circumstances. His hugs are tight, warm and dragged out to the point of awkwardness and they will only grow more loving as time goes on. The way he holds you is almost protective, with his arms holding you close to him by your back. You can feel his hot breath on your skin and the earthy scent of his hair filling your nostrils in a subtle manner, his chakra gently prickling your skin such that you get goosebumps. He loves it when you run your hands through his hair, it makes him feel loved and appreciated, especially if you gently tug on it. It will make him groan and push his face in the crook of your neck. It just feels like home.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Hashirama is not a complicated person, so it won't take much for him to say it.. He lives in the moment and he is in tune with his feelings. Most likely, his confession will be blurted out and he won’t take it back either. He just feels the need to say it out loud and will tell you how much he loves you every single day, with that boyish charm of his, which always makes you warm and fuzzy on the inside.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Being the oblivious little bean he is, he wouldn’t get jealous, ever. Not only that, but if he were aware then he would simply not care, because he trusts you with his life and knows that you can handle yourself in any situations, even ones such as these. However, if someone is visibly flirting with you and trying a physical advance on you, he is not going to stand by and watch. Hashirama will swoop in and swiftly pull you away, since he’s not the type of man to get into an argument over something like this, unless you are visibly disturbed. In that case, he will try to be around more often to comfort you. Either way, jealousy is not a part of Hashirama’s DNA. In fact, he will even be happy for you for making more friends.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

His favorites are neck kisses, both given and received. He will gently grab you by your shoulders and place a warm kiss on the crook of your neck, but he won’t stop there. The trail of kisses that range from your shoulder all the way to the base of your jawline will leave you breathless. Hashirama is an overall amazing kisser and he will always make your head spin with his gentle, yet eager touches. There will also be the frequent make-out sessions after a long work day to show you how much he has missed you. He will give you regular soft pecks on the lips when you visit him at the Hokage’s office, too, as it feels appropriate and necessary. When no one is looking, he won’t hesitate to warm you up with a sudden squeeze of your hip, which leaves you slightly gasping in surprise. Right in that moment he will take the opportunity to lean down and kiss you with a passion that leaves you clinging on to him and wanting for more. If you tug on his hair, he will get too carried away, so you’re going to have to be the one to break the kiss.

If he’s the one receiving kisses, however, please push his hair to the side and kiss him the back of his neck, it will give him instantaneous goosebumps. Hashirama loves it when you take your time to warm every inch of his skin with those soft lips of yours. If you move to his neck and touch him here he will melt in your hands. It’s the best thing you can do for him after a tense day, it helps him relax and unwind. He also has a very sensitive face. Nose kisses, forehead kisses, cheek kisses, he likes them a lot, and will ask you on occasion to place small pecks all over his face and jawline.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Considering his jovial nature, Hashirama gets along with children and they absolutely love him. He is upbeat and lenient, so the children of Konoha will treat him like the uncle who gives them money to buy candy. Their happiness and welfare are some of Hashirama’s biggest concerns. There is nothing that warms his heart more than watching kids growing up in harmony. It makes him feel like all the fighting was worth it and it makes him even more motivated to keep the peace.

Eventually, Hashirama will want children of his own. He is ecstatic at the thought of having his own little ones running around the village and bearing your name, calling him “father”. Given how his own father treated him and his siblings, he wants nothing more than to be a good parental figure who will guide his offspring on the right path. He hopes to watch them grow up with you and make sure that they inherit a better world than the one Butsuma left him. Hashirama will listen to them whenever they need him, love them and make sure they receive proper education, too. If his Hokage responsibility keeps him busy, he will encourage his family to drop by the office. Them being there inspires him to work harder every day. And while he’s a very good dad, he is extremely indulgent to the point where his children become his spoiled little princes and princesses, which means he relies on you to be the authoritative figure in the family. He can’t bring himself to deny his children. As a result, he will come to buy them everything they want and even sneak snacks in their bedroom late at night. And, even worse, they come to pick up his unhealthy habits; one of the most problematic ones, to be exact, which is gambling. He feels guilty and won’t know what to do in order to prevent his children from turning into gambling addicts, but by the time he tries to do something, it will be too late. As usual, it will be up to you to moderate your children.

Now, let’s talk numbers. He doesn’t have a preference as to how many kids he wants, but unless you specifically tell him you don’t want any more, Hashirama won’t stop popping them out. He would love all of his 10 children the same way and spoil them equally. As for genders, I think he secretly wants at least one little princess. Can you imagine Hashirama bonding with his daughter? He would give her the world. Which brings me to mentioning the fact that Hashirama doesn’t necessarily want his children to become shinobi, either. He wants them to make up their minds and will support them no matter what they choose to do. After all, it was the one choice he was never given in his early life and consequently, he wants his descendants to have everything he didn’t have as a child. If they choose to be shinobi he will undoubtedly train them to the best of his ability and turn them into the strongest generation of Senju warriors.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Most of the time will be spent on trying to wake him up. Seriously, this man sleeps like a rock. It’s hard to wake him up. But when he’s finally alert, all he wants to do is to slack off in bed with you, even though he has to go to the Hokage’s office. He just treats every morning like a day off and it annoys you, but the way he coaxes you close to him makes you forget about his laziness, albeit temporarily. He is very groggy and will greet you with a deep, sleepy voice and will eventually convince you to lie down next to him and let him gently rub your back as he is waking up. This is the perfect moment to use those intoxicating pecks on his neck and face that will definitely awaken him. If he wasn’t already aroused, he will be when he feels your hot breath fanning on his skin, which will most likely lead to umm amorous activities.

Once Hashirama is awake, he will help you make breakfast as you’re talking him through his schedule, reminding him of whatever it is that he has to do, since he most likely won’t be able to remember everything. Of course, he tells you how thankful he is for everything you do for him and confesses that he wouldn’t be able to handle his responsibilities without you and his brother. Also, he would love it if you brushed his hair for him. Not only because he’s too lazy to do it, but he likes it when you play with his hair.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Sometimes he is sleepless, allowing his more negative thoughts to flood his mind. It’s easy for his insecurities to pry at night, although he doesn’t understand why that is. All that he needs is for you to be there. And some other times, he has unfinished paperwork, which irritates you, but you won’t mind lending him a hand. You understand Hashirama’s burden and indulge him with a bowl of mushroom mixed soup(yes, at night) and a back massage to ease his mind.

Nights with Hashirama are usually spent in bed, cuddled up as he talks to you about his day. He is usually very talkative, but as the night settles in, he will grow tired and keep it brief. Allowing himself to be vulnerable, he will talk to you about his past and how it still weighs on his mind, as well as his concerns about the village. He doesn’t mind depending on you for your help, since he considers you his life partner and hopes that you rely on him as well. Obviously, sex is great, as well. It repels the bad thoughts and makes him feel tranquil.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Generally speaking, Hashirama is very open about everything. He doesn’t have much to hide and he warms up fairly quickly to you. However, there are a few exceptions. Opening up about his past is difficult, because it still weighs on him. He could never forget the untimely deaths of his younger siblings. Once he’s fully comfortable with you, you will hear him talking about his siblings only at night, when he feels the most fragile. Starting with early memories of them, he recalls about his childhood and his parents, culminating with a confession about the guilt he feels for killing his childhood friend, despite it being the right thing to do for the village. Even though he’s crying by the time he’s done telling you about his bad memories, he feels like the burden in his heart has been eased up a bit. Please hold him and pet his hair to comfort him, he will be forever grateful.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Considering his boisterous personality, you’d think that Hashirama is a very impatient man, but it takes a lot for him to get angry. Really though, he can be so patient sometimes that it’s annoying. Especially if you’re trying to provoke him, he will casually ignore it with his regular merry demeanor, which pisses you off to no end. However, he will mouth a cheeky comment when you give up on trying to egg him on and it will make it all the more entertaining. So it won’t really work out, since he likes teasing you, but it’s all in good fun.

The only time Hashirama actually gets angry is during very serious circumstances and he is well aware when it’s required of him to be sensible and act like a leader. As everyone knows, he is very invested in creating a peaceful world and he won’t tolerate anyone who threatens to disturb the harmony that so many people have lost their lives for. Once he has set his mind on something he is unwavering and will even come off as intimidating to those who try to defy his word. It’s a quality that he was forced to obtain through lots of experience in battle. After all, he is the god of shinobi and there is no one who could realistically stop him. These moments are rare, nevertheless, and Hashirama hopes you of all people won’t ever have to see that side of him, but he is conscious of the fact that one day it will happen.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

To be fair, it depends. The first time he meets you he will probably forget your name, even if you did make an impression on him. Hashirama has a photographic memory, so he has a more difficult time remembering names. Don’t judge him for it. As things progress, he will naturally remember more and more about you, but don’t expect him to recall every minute detail. Even as a husband, Hashirama won’t be able to retain most of the instructions you give him on chores or on your children’s care. He will improvise, instead, and indulge his children with everything they want. Perhaps that’s why they are so over the moon when they are home alone with their father.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Besides the most important moments, such as your wedding day and the birth of your children, Hashirama is very fond of the times you let him teach you how to sculpt a tree. He is very passionate about his hobby and he had been waiting to get you to try it for a very long time, but it was difficult, given your busy schedules. In any case, when you finally agreed and made plans for it, he radiated happiness. How could you deny him? He carefully picked a bonsai sapling which had already been cut to a shorter length(which are hard to get in Konoha, mind you, given the climate there) and helped you get started. At first he clipped some of the small branches off as he was giving you instructions about the utensils necessary for sculpting. Then he used a bark stripper and showed you how to shave off the bark and to be fair, it looked easier than it actually was, so you needed his hand to guide yours. It was a very touching moment for the both of you, as that was when Hashirama was just himself and nothing more. You loved that. The discussions streamed freely as you two were trying to sculpt that damn tree and, despite it not turning out amazing, due to your poor skills, you both loved it. It was something that you had created together and Hashirama was proud of you. You both agreed to do it again, until it became a tradition for your family.

The first tree that you two have ever sculpted together can be found in his office, where he often finds himself staring longingly and thinking about you.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Unless you are a civilian, Hashirama knows that you’ll be able to handle yourself just fine in any situation. Of course, he will test your strength to find out. Being the Hokage’s lover could be quite dangerous during tumultuous times, despite his unmatched strength on the battlefield. Speaking of which, if you ever fought together, he would not leave your side, unless you were persistent enough and Hashirama was sure that you would be okay. When you leave on missions, he always visits you beforehand and makes sure that you have all of your tools and that you have no injuries. Sometimes he even insists on using his medical ninjutsu just to make sure you are in good shape. He is there when you leave the village and will be there when you come back.

If you are a civilian, however, he will be very protective of you, by making sure that the security is always tight in the village. Just knowing that you are in a safe space eases him up, but considering his past experiences, he might even try to teach you a few jutsu for self-protection, just in case. Hashirama would regularly use medical ninjutsu to check your health, especially when you are pregnant. Every day would start and end with your husband using his chakra to assure the both of you that your baby is healthy.

As for him being protected, he is well aware of how much you care about his wellbeing and health when you visit him at the office and bring him a bento with some healthy food or when you take his side in an argument for the sole reason of him being your partner. To Hashirama, that is a form of protection. Or the moments where you pet the back of his head and hold him close when you notice how overworked he is. It takes everything for him not to fall asleep, but you giving him some affection makes him feel as if you’re lending him your energy. In short, your love keeps him strong and those are the times when Hashirama feels like he could move mountains(maybe that’s a bad figure of speech, given the fact that he can literally do it; oops).

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?

Well, it differs. When Hashirama is with you, he will always try to be the best man he can be, which means he is going to try his best to show his commitment through gifts, date nights and the all-important anniversaries. Even if you told him that you didn't want gifts, he would still spoil you with frequent presents which mostly consist of either ridiculously large bouquets of flowers, rare trinkets that he has acquired by traveling the world or good luck charms. On anniversaries, however, Hashirama will always give you something unique and memorable, like a pendant that contains his chakra or, if you’re into something more practical, it will most likely be his favorite weapon. He probably shouldn’t give it away, but it holds sentimental value and would want you to have something that reminds you of him.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Oh well, there are a few things to mention here… Hashirama loves sake. He could drink it like water and, as such, he tends to spike his drink with some alcohol and pretend that it’s just a plain beverage, even if the smell suggested otherwise. He won’t overdo it though, but it’s still frustrating, especially to Tobirama. He is a witty man so he will be extra careful around his brother and make sure he doesn’t know, but he wouldn’t hide it from you. He couldn’t, even if he had wanted to, regardless.

Secondly, Hashirama is a gambling addict. At this point, he can’t even recall how he got into gambling in the first place, but he can’t stop. He feels exhilarated to bet his money again, and again, and again… and again. You get the idea. He’s ashamed of himself for it, this sole vice being the one one he’s fully aware of, so he’s gonna try to stop, especially if you’re pregnant or already have children. He will do his best to give up on this terrible habit, but he just won’t be able to help himself sometimes. His impulse is just that strong.

Thirdly, the one, most blatant flaw that this man has is his exuberance. His buoyant, extroverted nature can sometimes become too much to handle, too exhausting. Whereas it can be a positive trait sometimes, because he’s the life of the party, chances are that it becomes pretty off-putting in more formal settings. He’s the loudest person in the room and tends to interrupt people while they are talking, which may come off as rude to someone who doesn’t know Hashirama. Bearing in mind who he is, however, there aren’t many people who aren’t aware of the First Hokage’s high-spirited personality. Don’t blame him though, all he wants is to lighten up the mood, but at times it becomes “too bright”.

Last but not least, Hashirama has a tendency to slack off. It’s probably his worst flaw, considering his position. He is too lazy to get out of bed in the morning, so you’re going to have to be the one who pushes him from behind, quite literally, in that situation. Being born and raised in a warrior clan, Hashirama finds it difficult to sit still for hours, so his laziness peaks whenever he’s doing paperwork, which is almost all the time. But obviously, he would rather do paperwork for the rest of his life rather than wasting his time fighting pointless wars. Most of the time, Tobirama is the one keeping him on a leash when it comes to papers. Anyone would find it humiliating to have your younger sibling coddling you, but Hashirama doesn’t mind it. In fact, he has learnt to love his brother’s harsh demeanor and thinks it normal.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Hashirama’s handsomeness is no secret to anyone. Having flawless, youthful features in the shinobi world is something uncommon, and being praised as the supreme shinobi, at the same time, definitely makes him popular with the ladies, men and everything in between. But he doesn’t care for that attention, he only cares about you and what you think of him. Generally speaking, he is not very concerned with his looks, but the things he greatly values are simplicity and natural beauty, so that’s going to be the quality that he works on preserving. He wants people, including himself, to be genuine and to just be themselves. Still, he will try his best to look good for you when you go on a date, even if it won’t take much for him to do so.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

The second you two get together, Hashirama will get very attached to you and that feeling will only grow as your relationship does too. You are there every morning and every night and will expect you not to leave. Your existence becomes a routine for him, essentially. He refuses to think about how life would be without you, but if that ever came to pass, for whatever reason, he would become a full-on alcoholic. Even Tobirama won’t be able to pull him out of that dark hole. Somehow, Hashirama would still find strength to complete his duties, as he knows that life goes on no matter what happens. He knows very well that the world doesn’t stop spinning when someone leaves him. He would function, but not properly. The heartache will definitely persist for years to come, even if he stopped showing it, at one point. In all fairness, he would probably never be fully over it, depending on the reason why you left. When Hashirama loves, he loves with all his heart and losing a partner will make him feel incomplete, no matter how many other people he has lost in his life before you. Not even his optimistic nature would be able to cure him.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Hashirama hates coffee and everything about it. Firstly, he finds the taste disgusting, no matter what you put in it. You’ll find him wrinkling his nose and squinting his eyes shut whenever he sips from your cup. Of course, he does it in an exaggerated manner, which is quite adorable. Secondly, he is repulsed by the color. He does NOT like the fact that coffee is brown, he finds it unnatural for a drink to have that color. Alcohol is an exception, though, but if you ever bring it up with him he will pout Tobirama-style and act like he doesn’t know what you’re talking about. Hashirama also hates the smell, it just hurts his brain. Overall, he finds coffee to be nasty.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

He is very turned off by old-school ideologies regarding the nature of a shinobi’s life. Hashirama knows that it’s difficult for people to change their minds after having spent most of their lives on the battlefield, but if someone is unwilling to discuss these preconceptions and to compromise, he will secretly start disliking them. Even if, outwardly, he would still try his best to make things work, he distances himself from that person. He just can’t conceptualize how someone wouldn’t want a peaceful life and would rather keep sacrificing innocent lives for meaningless conflict. That type of approach strongly reminds him of his father, whose memory always leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

When it comes to the sleep habits of Hashirama, his sprawling is the most infuriating one. During his sleep, he casually lounges all over the bed which, in turn, makes you wake up. Considering the fact that he’s a heavy sleeper, you can freely move around, but he will still end up pushing you to the edge of the bed. Although you won’t admit it, you’ve considered either sleeping in a different bed or making him place a mokuton binding on himself before sleeping.

#naruto shippuden #naruto #naruto headcanons #hashirama senju #hashirama x reader #hashirama senju x reader #tobirama senju #madara uchiha #sfw alphabet #happy birthday #ily hashirama #please marry me

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apenapaperandadoofus · 3 years

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Jumin x MC fairytale AU? 👀🙏

AHH sure thing! I love this, and sorry for taking long I couldn't come up with anything until 12am lmao

Jumin Fairytale AU:

The queen had gone missing. It had been years, but no one had found any trace of her. Everyone, even the king had given up.

One day, you suddenly found a strange note on your door. It was a letter, with a weird eye shape on it. You were very confused, but curious nonetheless, so you decided to open it.

"If you want to find your queen, come to the address below." It said. Well that was ominous, and very suspicious. Yet...you couldn't help but feel a weird sort of force pulling you towards it, towards the adventure.

You were the only child of an old, retired knight, and you lived in a cabin in the woods. Your father had gotten sick and died a few years ago, and you could barely buy any food with what little money he left you.

You had to find a few jobs, maybe as a knight, just like your father, but they wouldn't accept you. It sucked, and you had to make do with the jobs they gave you.

But it was your dream to become a knight. And what better way to show your skills, than to find the queen herself? You knew that the reward money was something that could really help you, and hey, why not kill two birds with one stone? Become a knight and earn a bunch of money, that didn't sound half bad.

So that exact night you left and made your way towards the address written on the letter. It was definitely a long way, but you were confident that you would make it.

The first few days nothing much happened, you ate tiny pieces of food and water to make it last the whole journey, but it still wasn't enough, and soon enough you had been left with only a tiny bit of water and a small piece of bread.

To make matters worse, the next village was still a few days away in horse.

Welp guess you're gonna die. You had a good run.

You tried to accept your fate to be worm food, but before you could continue imagining your death you suddenly heard a few shouts and the sound of swords clashing.

You decided to go and see what was going on, maybe try to get in on the fight. After all, you felt it was 100 times better to die in an epic sword fight than starving in a creepy forest.

When you made your way to the sound....well you definitely didn't expect to see a really good looking, nicely dressed guy with the sword, standing in front of a....cat. Yes, a cat. From....gangsters? Thieves?

You were about to leave the place, after doing a double take on the handsome man of course, when one of the thieves seemed to notice you and immediately tried to stab you with a dagger.

Rude.

Of course, you immediately beat the guy into a pulp, soon enough beating down the other three, who had wanted to avenge their knocked out friend. The thing was, at one point, you and the handsome guy started fighting the thieves together. You didn't really understand why, but the two of you were actually really fucking good as a team.

Finally the thieves realized that they were going to loose no matter what so they decided to leave you and the handsome man alone. The two of you stood panting, but didn't really say anything else, until the guy turned to look at you.

"I believe I must thank you for helping me. No matter how good I am with a sword, I don't think I would've been able to handle all of them alone."

"Yeah you tell me. Why did you get into a fight with those guys anyway? Were they trying to rob you?"

The guy looked at the ground and then sighed, a bit of colour appearing in his cheek. "I was....protecting someone."

Immediately after he said that, the most adorable cat came out from behind the man and he blushed even harder, making you laugh.

"So you almost died because....you wanted to protect a cat?"

"I don't understand why you think it's funny, it's a completely reasonable response to want to protect an animal, especially a cat if you see a group of people harassing it." He said, with a completely serious expression on his face that only made you smile more.

"Well...I guess I can respect that....still don't understand why you'd want to get killed for it tough...anyway, I'm Y/N. What are you doing on this part of the forest? Is it a normal thing for you rich people to go out at night and protect cats from the dangers of the forest or something?"

The man blinked in surprise, clearly taken aback for a few seconds before shaking his head. "No. I'm here on a quest to...to find an old friend. I just happened to be passing by when I saw those guys threatening the cat. My name is Jumin. Jumin Han, pri-"

"Wait you're THE Jumin Han?? The prince!? What- what the hell are you doing here, WAIT why are you even telling me your name and status like that, for all you know I could, I don't know, kill you and steal your clothes or something!"

"Is it not usual for commoners to present themselves like that?"

You furiously shook your head. "No! How long have you been out here? I'm surprised you haven't been robbed yet."

"I have." He said nonchalantly.

"You....WHAT?!"

"A few days ago I met a few thieves on the way, they didn't steal everything though since I managed to make a deal with them."

"...HOW?"

"I've been learning how to negotiate my whole life, although some people also say that the biggest reason they agree to make deals with me is because of my charisma and good looks."

"How are you even still alive...?"

He shrugged. "If I may change the subject. I want to thank you for saving me and...my friend back there. Is there anyway I could pay you back?"

You raised your eyebrow but started thinking of anything this guy could give you that could be useful. I mean you were starving so maybe some food would be nice?

Jumin nodded after you told him what you wanted, a bit surprised you hadn't asked for more, and made his way to his horse, which was a few feet away from the two of you. You still couldn't help the smile on your face as you saw Jumin take the cat and put her in one of his big bags, only her white fluffy head poking out from it. As you watched Jumin take out what was left of his stuff, you noticed a paper fall out from his front pocket, and you decided to pick it up. You let out a gasp. That paper....it was just like the one you had gotten in your home. It said something different of course, but before you could read it Jumin took it away from your hands and shoved it in his pocket.

"I'd prefer it if you wouldn't read personal things without getting any permission first. I can give you a bit of food to last until you make it to the village up north...do you have any money?"

You shook your head and Jumin took a small knife out of his pockets and proceeded to slash open some pants he had kept in some of his bags. He quickly handed them to you and asked, "is this enough? That could last you to buy food for at least a month. Now that I have paid you back, I believe I must go. Thank you once again for helping me."

He got on his horse, but before he could leave you stepped in front of it with your arms spread. "Wait!!!" You yelled.

The horse almost had a heart attack and Jumin almost fell down, making him glare at you. "Stepping in front of a moving horse is dangerous. What were you thinking? Besides, I've already thanked you for your help, so we're even. I don't understand why you would need to suddenly stop me like that."

"The paper." You said, making Jumin raise an eyebrow.

"What about it?"

"It's....it's got a weird eye logo on it right? And it talked about....about finding someone....the queen?"

Jumin's eyes widened and he got down from his horse, making his way towards you. He narrowed his eyes, his voice and expression cold. "How and why do you know about the contents of this letter? Don't tell me...are you working for them?" He was about to grab his sword and take it out but you gave a little help and quickly tried to get the piece of paper from your pocket, making JUMIN stop dead in his tracks.

"I got one too! It said it was about finding the queen....Lady Rika right? I...I don't exactly know who gave it to me, or why, but one day I found it in my doorstep and well...I didn't really have anything to do."

"Can I....can I see it?" He asked, and you slowly nodded, handing him the paper. Jumin's expression turned to one of surprise and shock, gripping the paper tightly. He looked as if he wanted to cry, but before you could say anything he cleared his throat and regained his composure.

"I see. I am very sorry for almost fighting you, I didn't know if you were related to this group or not. Your letter...it had directions. Mine doesn't. It's clear the person wanted you to meet them there, maybe even see the queen, but why they would send you I don't understand. I don't remember you having any relationship with her."

*Well yeah you could say that. Umm, maybe the letter was meant for my dad, he used to be a knight in the palace but he changed jobs as soon as I was born. He passed away a few years ago. Maybe the weird person wanted him to come instead? They probably didn't realize he was dead."

"I am...very sorry about your loss. But you're right, if your father was a knight, and one that worked with the queen specifically, I could see why they would send him the letter. They probably wanted him to be the one meeting them there."

You nodded and then quickly took the letter back from JUMIN, making him look up at you in surprise.

"My...uh...prince. It's clear that we both have the same objective, that is, finding the queen. I have directions for this specific place...it's obvious they didn't intend for us to suddenly meet. So how about we make a deal?"

He raised his eye brow. "A deal...hmm....go on."

You smiled and clapped your hands together. "Well you see my dear prince, I could do the honor of bringing you to the plac! I could be, in a way, your guide. You'll definitely find some clues about the queen there, or who knows! Maybe that's where they've been keeping her! What do you say?"

Jumin placed a hand on his chin and looked at you quizzically. "And what would you like in return. If you were only aiming for the reward money you could've easily gotten the queen by yourself, no need to get me involved. So what exactly do you want?"

"Excellent question your highness! What I want is to be a knight. An actual knight. And once this mission is done, if you come and promote me or whatever, I could end up being one! Just like my father."

"You want me to make you a knight...that doesn't sound too hard, I do know a few people who could squeeze you in the group...alright deal. You guide me to the queen, ans I give you a position as a knight."

"Awesome!!! Now we just need to get going! And a few rules, before we go. You have to promise me that you'll make me a knight. Promise me." You said. Jimin looked at you, directly in the eye, and then nodded. "I promise that after all of this I will do everything in my power to make you a knight."

"Pinky promise?" You smirked. Bt JUMIN only looked at you puzzled. "Uhm....do you know what a pinky promise is exactly?"

He shook his head and you had to try so hard not to laugh. His confused expression when he saw you offering your pinky was the most adorable thing ever. You but your lip and tried to explain as best as you could, what q pinky promise was and how it worked.

"I see...so if I break it I'll have to chop my finger off?" He asked.

"Oh, uh well we don't have to go to that extreme. But you cannot break the promise!"

"Alright. Since you are talking about rules then I'll add a few more." You nodded. "First of all....you can call me just Jumin. We don't need the formalities and it'd be refreshing to have someone call me my by name for once. Second, you have to swear your life to Elizabeth the third."

....

"Excuse me?" You asked.

"Elizabeth the third."

"Yeah but uh, who is that??"

Jimin quickly turned around and pointed at his bag, and as if on cue, the cat that was in there poked its head out and meowed.

"You...you called your cat Elizabeth...the third?"

"Is there anything wrong with that name? It was the same as my great grandmother's and a personal favorite of mine "

"The name is pretty but...don't you think it's too fancy for a cat?"

Jumin immediately looked as if he was about to take out his sword once again and hit you with it, but he also looked as if he was about to break down and give you a lecture of 4 hours as to why the cat should have a fancy name, and you did NOT have the time to listen to that.

"Oh actually, uhm, J...Jimin?"

"Jumin."

"Uh yes gesundheit. I actually understand completely, Elizabeth is a beautiful name for a...uh...cat. So why don't we get moving? The queen isn't, you know going to appear by us sitting here discussing pet names. Let me just quickly go and get my horse!" And so you slithered away before Jumin could say anything else.

The two of you got everything ready, and you quickly took off to the north, where the queen was supposed to be located.

Then, as you rode through the forest, Jumin looked at you as if he wanted to say something, but then he kept closing his mouth. And then he opened it again and closed it. It kept going until you grew tired of it and asked what was up.

"I just....I feel like we haven't talked about how you don't like Elizabeth's name. Cats are very elegant creatures, who definitely deserve more praise."

Did Jumin spend the next two hours talking about cats? Yes, yes he did.

But the whole time you couldn't help smiling. This was definitely going to be one interestinf trip.

OH boi

Anyway tell if if y'all would like a part 2 pfttt I swear I could write a whole novel on this!

It was actually really fun and I L O V E D writing Jumin, although I've got no idea if I captured him perfectly!

Prompt idea from:

Give me a character name and an AU

#mystic messenger #jumin han #mysme #jihyun mysme #choi bois #jumin au

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tribus-mantodea · 3 years

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[ Lingering attachments. ]

Right! I’m sure there’s an AU about this somewhere already that I haven’t found but you know what, I’ll have my take on it regardless.

This post is just some considerations on the AU where the Traitor Lord lives once more through lifeblood shenanigans. (Awkwardly dubbed as “Lastlifeborn AU” because... it’s the Lastborn’s last life. Yeah, I know.)

I also have no idea how to interpret lifeblood so I’ll put that matter aside.

It would be a bit fun to entertain the idea of the dream-ghosts of Cloth and Traitor “speaking” after their due battle just before she finished savoring the moment. While he does hold some implacable resentment (embrace the infection to become stronger and yet for what? being unable to better protect his kin like he had intended? what was it that put these silly-meaningless thoughts in his head, his heart?), he does hold respect for Cloth and the Ghost first and foremost for beating him in an impromptu duel.

“I’m glad to have fought a mighty warrior like you.” “...” (But he wasn’t one. Unlike the other Lords, he had cheated and lost his way.) “For one outside of my tribe, you battled well.” There’s a lot of awkward pauses and general recollection, the Traitor trying to sort out what had just occurred and what had happened before all this.

Maybe the Ghost comes back in time to not both of them, but at least the Traitor staring at both his victor’s and his own’s bodies. It would seem to remember something—pulling out the Mark of Pride charm and showing it to him. See conflict cross his features, how he nodded as if he then understood something it didn’t.

And the Ghost is quite the mender of a bug itself. It’s compelled to try and resolve something that seems rather unresolvable; it breaks cocoons and cradles all these wiggling lifeseeds in arms and forcibly attempts to get the Traitor’s husk moving again. Said dream-ghost Traitor at first regarding the situation dismissively before growing into a strained panic and worry of “Cease your actions! What compels you to desecrate my corpse—?...” “Just how many did you manage to bring with your small stature...?” (It would’ve been more deserved if his body were to be broken into segments much like the others. His mind feels hazier as if overcome with fatigued the longer it tries, and...)

What. Why is this little bug back in his view and why does he feel so. Tired. Oh. The Traitor... does not deserve this, no, unless this was his punishment to burden the weight of his own sins, but it’s ultimately uncomfortable—he died twice already in removing his title and in true battle. (His body felt wrong before for different reasons, but it felt even worse now that he’s reminded of the air and his other senses.)

And the Ghost does its best to try and point him in a direction it wants him to go. Incessantly tries. But he shook his head, clicked, said aloud that he’d resolved to return to the village and accept the sentence that should have been given when he was deposed. (Imprisonment. Death.) It’s only then does the Ghost no longer tries to point him in a direction (and how strange; was this the same way it pointed its nail?) and accompanies him the... the entire way...

It’s not that long of a trek, no, though his mind is clouded with all sorts of thoughts and regrets. He’d seen his Daughter’s grave for the last time. (The little warrior seemed to insist on giving him a flower, but even when he did finally accept if only to appease it, he’d merely set it back by the grave.) He’d seen his reflection in the pools of acid, the glow of an unnatural cerulean he does not remember seeing unlike the festerous cloud of orange. And... the occasional husks of what had been the split of his tribe.

The village is far quieter than his memories. It is a complicated feeling to see the mantids that watch with both confusion and hissing resentment, those that knew of him formerly and those that did not. Perhaps it must look like a show? To observe how the honored outsider escorts the depose Lord, a beast thought mindless returning in its newly sickening form with not the sweet-sickly orange, but a dim blue glow of what they vaguely remember other bugs considering as taboo (how funny of them to worship and pray to begin with). His thoughts grew louder; he wondered if he could ever make amends. He figures it all in vain. That’s fine, really.

...One thing led to another. The summary is that he does not die, and is “punished” to live with his decisions after it is thoroughly seen he is remorseful (to an extent). It does take a long while for this family to sort out their issues properly though.

Bonus side-note is that the Ghost can be treated as part of said family (but not really, but also hey look its horns are notched twice just like the Traitor’s and—)

Bonus reactions to said return:

The First just wants to know why it happened, so she can reflect and see where the both of them (mostly herself) had went wrong. Her own regrets she’d shouldered still smolder long after all the initial anger and confusion. Considering there’s only so many of them left, she just wants to hear him out (and oh, how strange-wrong it is to hear the difference in his voice now, to see him taller but with the lack of pride from before). In the end, she’s... relieved, almost, to see him the way he is now considering how she longed to revisit old things. Not that they could still return to them. But, well, new interactions to unfold, lots of baggage to pack.

The Second’s the one who’s most expressively upset. Frustrated that she cannot take her pains out on him as when she’d forced his claws to a duel, it was more than clear that his heart wasn’t in it (how disrespectful; how dare he seem so inclined to let the end of her nail-lance sink deep and through). She’d always known him to be a great fighter, so the reasoning behind him embracing the infection was more than just insulting as a betrayal. She despises the more passive behavior (this wasn’t the brother she remembered, what had happened to the hint of deserving arrogance he once bore?) and most of all, resents herself for not having done something more given the more responsibility their eldest took on.

The Third is uncharacteristically quiet, unsure and sorting out her emotions just like before (but managing to unintentionally, somehow, be the coldest towards him). She’s always been aware that while he did seek counsel, most often asking the eldest, he also disliked relying on anyone else and she never minded that, no. She felt as if she knew why he’d left. But in knowing what happened to her niece and the other, closer followers that had looked up to him, it was difficult for her to figure out how to respond to him in knowing the losses sustained. It’s... she eventually decides, though, to accept with resignation. He’s dealt with their other sisters and the disdain of the village and would continue to do so (probably). She’s just happy to have him back even despite the changes. She can at least... try, to not make the transition jarring by having even herself different in behavior. Sort of.

Redacted consideration was that he’d lose most if not all of the memories during his time of being infected because while it’d be fun for him to think that nothing more than him waking up in a random location happened and then seeing the husks of his tribe(?) along with “Whose grave is this?” and returning to the village almost as if nothing happened, the sisters would have a Horrendous Time alongside the Traitor if he by chance was then told of what happened.

anyways my AUs are to be self-indulgent, not to combust spontaneously :D I probably amplified the inferiority issue a bit too much here but Welp

alright bonus-bonusnonsense below:

little ghost does crimes. shoves lifeseeds into husk (in which some lifeseeds happily run away into said husk to get away from the chance of dying by tiny bug)

bug tries to slap mark of pride charm onto the former traitor lord

aand this:

It watches as he idles a moment longer, bowing his head towards the marked grave of his late Child. Quietly it comes closer, hesitantly, and reaches out—rests its hand onto his side and gently curls its fingers into his cloak. He does not move. So the vessel tilts its head, sits. Decides to wait for him—and rest. (aka it’d be quite nice, you know, to imagine the trek back where the Ghost doesn’t forcibly try to understand the dude, but is a sort of comfort... or maybe... just... a reaper, escorting him to his death. but then jokes on you big man it’s a friend!!)

#;;atone unto the final breath #;;lastborn #;;a heart forged into nail #\\

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hanmajoerin · 4 years

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Fun fact about my newest WIP, Lost Time: I wrote most of the first chapter while I was drunk and got way too excited about finishing a chapter of anything that I posted it before editing it sober 🙈. I just finished writing the second chapter of the story and will have it edited and posted by the end of the weekend or early next week. That being noted, I wanted to repost the edited version here for your viewing pleasure. I’ll be making a separate post with a preview for chapter two shortly!

It’s been updated on AO3 and Fanfiction.Net as well!

Kagome found her gaze fixated on her high school uniform which sat neatly in the back of a blue locker. Soft shadows hugged the navy and beige fabric as a soft sound—almost like white noise or static—seemed to embrace her thoughts. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Kagome reached out and grabbed her clothes. Exhaling slowly, she turned away from the locker so that when she opened her eyes nothing would have changed.

It was hard to believe that a year had passed since the Bone Eater’s Well stopped working. Like a catalyst, the broken connection between her time and InuYasha’s changed so much about Kagome without having to change itself. Her attendance soared, her old lifestyle came slamming into her weekdays, her acquired fear of the darkness felt like a slow burn even though it wasn’t, and now she had invented ways to carry the consequences.

Even though her friends in the Feudal Era were alive and well, they weren’t here. Kagome supposed she was grieving but she felt as if she should be... happier. Miroku’s wind tunnel must have vanished so he and Sango were probably married with a child on the way. Shippo was probably having a lot of fun staying in the village and playing with kids his own age while InuYasha... everyone always said that he was restless in the village, but Kagome liked to think he was somewhat happy. Not that happy and InuYasha often mixed, but Naraku and the Sacred Jewel were defeated, he should at least be able to relax.

The young high schooler sighed, imagining InuYasha asleep on her bed. He always appeared angelic especially when a soft pink comforter acted as an unintentional backdrop. But once he was awake, he and Shippo could easily tie for the title of “Most Mischievous.” Remembering the stories Gramps told her about how he ran circles around the table left Kagome hoping that, at the very least, her half-demon companion wasn’t driving the villagers insane.

“Higurashi!” Yua Watanabe, the archery club’s captain, called out with a slight wave.

Kagome dropped her hands from the ties of her hakama, offering her senior a soft, “Hi, Watanabe.”

As Watanabe approached, Kagome gulped, attempting to swallow the idea of InuYasha. “Thanks for all of your hard work this year. I’m really glad you joined the club!” Yua exclaimed with a carefree ease that Kagome envied.

“Thank you; being able to do archery is important to me.”

Yua nodded a few times in agreement, not at all able to comprehend the meaning behind Kagome’s remark. She continued talking, also unaware of how Kagome’s thoughts about the past crawled back past her throat to nestle in her mind. She never asked to leave her double life behind, was never given a chance to choose.

“Oh, and we’re really looking forward to having you start training to compete next year. I know you’ll do well!”

Kagome flashed Yua another modest smile but before she could thank her for a second time, she yawned. “Excuse me,” Kagome apologized. Another large yawn stretched at her consciousness. “I’m just going to go to bed now...”

The world returned to Kagome slowly. She blinked her eyes against an overwhelming amount of deep browns and warm oranges. The ceiling above almost looked like the wood roofing of a hut and the unmistakable popping fire and chirping crickets sounded like a lullaby. It’s almost like I’m back in the Feudal Era, she thought to herself as she yawned. Just as she was about to turn and settle back into sleep, she heard him.

“You’re awake.”

InuYasha’s voice sent Kagome lurching forward, all thoughts of sleep vanishing instantly. “InuYasha!” she exclaimed, her heart beating as quickly as her head spun. The high schooler clutched at her chest with uncertainty, brown eyes daring to take in the telltale colors of silver and amber. She spent so many days longing for them to come into view.

“Hey,” InuYasha began, resting his hands on her shoulders. When—how did I come back? Kagome asked herself as she reached up to grasp one of the half-demon’s hands. She never realized that his calloused skin could feel like a balm, working without delay to relieve this past year’s emotional build up. InuYasha was seated properly before her, his face highlighted by firelight and grounded by a somber expression.“You shouldn’t be pushing yourself right now. Kaede said you should rest.”

Kagome’s eyes had to be shining as he—InuYasha!— gingerly lowered her down to the floor. She could feel moisture building bridges across her waterline, too. Of course there were so many questions she needed to blurt out, but watching InuYasha pull a thin blanket up past her shoulders stilled her. Kagome was just happy he was here. He felt so real; his touch, the timbre of his voice—everything about this InuYasha. If she was dreaming, she didn’t want to wake up. “I can’t believe you came for me,” Kagome croaked out because she always knew that he would.

“Of course I did, stupid,” InuYasha chided, crossing his arms. A small giggle filtered past Kagome’s lips as he turned up his nose. When the schoolgirl fantasized about her reunion with InuYasha, he never acted this casual. They spent a little more than a year apart from each other for the first time since they met and it was entirely too long. Had she not been so wrapped up in her own emotions, Kagome may have chastised him back. “Would have been easier for me to do that if you stayed hidden instead of charging out of the brush like that. You could’ve gotten seriously hurt, Kagome.”

Kagome furrowed her brow slightly at the comment. “What?” She asked, wiping away a tear with her index finger.

InuYasha thrust his nose even further in the air. “Keh, don’t play innocent; damn ogre’s club wasn’t that hard, I was fine.”

Kagome frowned as his words sunk in. “I...” She brought a hand to her temple, rubbing it lightly as she tried to process what the half-demon told her.

All traces of agitation scurried from InuYasha’s features at her motion. “Kagome, is your head bothering you? Kaede gave me some medicine to help with that, let me get it for you.”

Before he could walk away, Kagome grabbed at his pants, instantly stilling him. “Kagome...?”

“Where’s Kaede?”

“‘Dunno,” InuYasha shrugged. “She probably went home or somethin’.” Lightly shaking her hand away, he walked to the fire to settle the kettle over its steady flames.

So InuYasha has his own hut and he wants me to stay, Kagome thought to herself. A molten smile spread, matching the warm blush she was sure dusted her cheeks.

Kagome rolled to her side to watch InuYasha as he babysat his kettle. Everything from the painted scowl to the delicate way he mixed tea was deliberate and when he was beside her once more, she pulled herself into a sitting position effortlessly. As he passed her the cup, his hands lingered against hers. It was glaringly clear that InuYasha wanted to pick up where they had left off a few weeks before they defeated Naraku. Still, Kagome couldn’t help but laugh slightly, not used to an InuYasha who was anything but abrasive. “You’ve sure grown up some,” she pointed out, tilting her head to the side.

“Uh...” InuYasha replied, breaking their contact to shove his hands into the voluminous red sleeves of the fire rat. “You uh, really hit your head there, didn’t ya?” Kagome frowned again—hit her head? Didn’t listen to him? She was missing something but before she could even ask, InuYasha was grasping her free hand and squeezing it tightly. “Listen, when I told you to stay hidden, it was only because I knew I could handle that dumb-ass ogre on my own. I should have been paying more attention to you, though. You’re still learning and I—I should have protected you. I’m sorry.”

Kagome shook her head as InuYasha bowed his own. He wanted forgiveness when absolutely nothing he admitted happened to them. Kagome wriggled her hand from InuYasha’s and winced, rubbing her forehead again. “Are you real?” She nearly whispered, tears forming once more. Kagome was used to the dreams—it would be so easy for him to deny it or stumble over his words or maybe just admit that all of this was another fantasy. But when she saw the anxiety accumulating across every aspect of her half-demon’s body, Kagome had a feeling that she really was awake. “It’s just that I—“ she cut herself off. She needed to stand and maybe get fresh air or something. The world quickly spun beneath her feet but InuYasha was there, catching her and he was really there—they were really together. “Oh InuYasha,” she stated, closing her eyes and letting the tears glide past her cheeks.

InuYasha froze the moment she buried her head against his chest, but it didn’t take long for him to wrap his arms around her. “I’m supposed to be the one who’s upset,” he reminded her, hands softly stroking her hair. “You’re really starting to worry me, Kagome.”

Kagome shook her head, lifting her dewy eyes up with a sense of relief she thought would never materialize.

InuYasha was different than she remembered and yet exactly the same. Just being around him set her at ease and she could feel some of her anxieties fade away. Kagome was safe now, but even as she calmed to sniffles, InuYasha continued running his hand up and down her back, he radiated a peace she hadn’t expected after being apart for an entire year. “How can you be so calm?”

InuYasha’s brow twitched slightly and he raised a fist, it was almost as if Kagome unintentionally spiked his ire. All she could do was tilt her head to the side. “Because Kaede said that being upset wouldn’t help you relax. She didn’t tell me it would make you worry more,” he ground out. If InuYasha could trade a gentle reaction for an angry one within seconds, Kagome knew absolutely that she was in the Feudal Era again.

“It’s been such a hard year without you, InuYasha, why on Earth wouldn’t I want you to feel something? Did you even miss me?”

“The hell are you talking about, Kagome?”

Well, it was good to know that InuYasha could still unintentionally spark her ire, too. “My life has been absolutely miserable without you!” She blurted out, pressing an accusatory finger against his chest. “Do you have any idea how difficult things have been for me? And now you’re just standing here like... like you haven’t even thought about me on—“ Kagome groaned, her head glaringly protesting her argument.

InuYasha reached out, cupping her cheeks in his hands. “Kagome, take it easy,” he advised, and she could hear the note of concern in his voice despite how stern it was. She glared up at him. He offered her a crooked smile that quickly faded. “Wait, did you say it’s been a year since the well stopped working?”

“I mean, I think so...” Her temper fled, leaving her feeling sheepish. Maybe her memories were a little off.

InuYasha placed a finger under her chin, tilting her up to look into a storm of amber. “You were gone for three years.”

InuYasha sounded as if the news might break her and it didn’t but Kagome couldn’t hold back a slight gasp. She stepped back from him. “Three...” three whole years—she had to wait two more years to be reunited with InuYasha and her friends here? It didn’t seem plausible.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” InuYasha asked, picking Kagome up then laying her back down onto the ground. Although he was trying his best to remain calm, she could tell he was upset.

Kagome swallowed the lump in her throat, reaching her hand out to lay against his thigh. “I just finished my first year of high school,” she confessed. “What happened to me?”

InuYasha rested his hand on her arm. “We were fighting an ogre on the outskirts of the village ‘n it threw you against the ground.”

II Chapter 2 II

#hanmajo writes #about InuYasha!#and his wife!#InuYasha #Kagome #InuKag #InuYasha fanfiction

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tinyshe · 3 years

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Pope: Private property is ‘not Christian’, WEF agrees

At the turn of the month November-December, the pope made a move that was described as shocking by many. He argued that Christianity did not support the right to own a home. This led to surprised and outraged reactions, whereby several pointed out that those who are forced to rent or beg for shelter can never be free. Free West Media can here reveal that the Pope's statement is in line with the plans that the globalist elite has long discussed and also more or less clearly communicated to the public, something that most people have overlooked. Among other things, we present the World Economic Forum's 8-point vision for 2030. These world-changing plans are beginning to materialize in various ways now, including in China.

Published: January 19, 2021, 3:46 pm

Pope Francis attracted a lot of attention in Catholic circles on November 30 when he said several controversial things in a video message to judges from the Committee on Social Rights in Africa and America. However, the general public is not aware of his sensational statement, as the system media did not report on it.

The pope said, among other things, that a new “social justice” is needed and that private ownership is not something obvious in Christianity and therefore not for the Catholic Church either.

“Let us build the new social justice and admit that the Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute and immovable,” said Francis.

Outraged reactions

Many were shocked by the statement and pointed out that the right to own private property is one of the most important human rights.

PROFESSOR KLAUS SCHWAB, 82, is a German engineer, economist and professor of business policy who is best known as the founder and chairman of the powerful globalist foundation World Economic Forum (WEF). In his book Covid-19: The Great Reset, Schwab claims that the world “will never” return to normal, despite acknowledging that the alleged coronavirus pandemic “does not pose a new existential threat.” – The pandemic represents a rare but narrow time window with opportunities to reflect (re: flect), rethink (re: imagine) and restore (re: set) our world, Schwab said at the launch of The Great Reset this summer. Photo: KTU

They pointed out that without that right you are like slaves of old, who must rely on their owners giving them a roof over their heads and food. Being always forced to earn in order to pay for the most basic need – protection against the forces of the weather – makes you both unfree and in practice completely powerless, some said on social media.

The pope’s statement was also widely discussed in Christian circles and no comments were positive. The exception was possibly the Twitter account Lichten & Bright who wrote:“Thank you for letting us know the Pope’s position on private ownership of property and means of production. We had no idea that he was an advocate of nationalizations [the state seizes] all land and business companies and against democratic elections. Thoughtful things”.

The Twitter account Catholic Victory wrote briefly that “Francis is a heretic and not a pope”.

Several people pointed out that it was reminiscent of the startling tones heard for several years from the World Economic Forum (WEF) foundation, which is best known for the annual conference in Davos, Switzerland. It brings together some of the world’s most powerful policy makers and globalists in politics and business. It was precisely the WEF that this summer, via its “ambassador” Prince Charles, launched The Great Reset, which more and more world leaders are now talking openly about being implemented.

The author of The Great Reset is Klaus Schwab, chairman of the powerful WEF, who wrote a 280-page book entitled COVID-19: The Great Reset. The book puts forward the argument that the pandemic has proven absolutely necessary to immediately introduce a completely new world order.

No private ownership 2030

To get an idea of the background to the pope’s strange statement and what The Great Reset might mean, we can watch a video from the WEF entitled “8 predictions for the world 2030”.

COVID-19: THE GREAT RESET is 280 pages long and was already published on July 9, almost four months into the pandemic. Many have pointed out the improbability of writing such a comprehensive and complex book in such a short time. It tells us that the pandemic has shown the need to immediately introduce a new world order, which does not quite unexpectedly advocate a comprehensive “world government” and a merger of governments and multinational corporations to meet people’s needs. The incentive for for-profit large companies to pay out, for example, social benefits is, to say the least, vague. Instead of prioritizing profits, companies must now put “people at the center”. The book also proclaims that capitalism is obsolete and should instead be replaced by a new merger of capitalism and socialism, which is called “Stakeholder capitalism”. Critics call it communism in the form of a totalitarian global technocracy ruled by a small globalist elite using Big Tech (technology giants) and artificial intelligence (AI).

The first point there is as simple as it is remarkable. It states that “You will own nothing and you will be happy”. The point also explains that “Whatever you need, you will rent”. So no more ownership, but everything should be rented, including the clothes you wear on the body.

Can they really mean it? We visit WEF’s website for more information. There you can in a text, which paints the future they want to see in 2030, read the following:

Welcome to the year 2030. Welcome to my city – or should I say “our city”. I own nothing. I do not own a car. I do not own a house. I do not own any appliances or clothes.

The text on the WEF’s website also states that it is not only private ownership that will be abolished in the new utopia, or dystopia depending on who you ask, but there will also be no privacy. We can read there that:

Sometimes I can get annoyed by the fact that I have no real integrity. Nowhere can I go without being registered. I know that somewhere everything I do, think and dream about is recorded. I can only hope that no one will use it against me.

Many who hear it for the first time believe that it must be a conspiracy theorist’s crazy fantasies, but it is instead the richest and most powerful globalists on the planet who meet annually in Davos who present it in text and video form. System media has not reported on this and then the general public does not know these visions and agendas of these globalists.

Canadian Whistleblower has been right so far

Someone who claimed to be a Canadian MP and member of the Liberal Party of Canada (Canada’s Liberal Party led by Justin Trudeau, the country’s current Prime Minister) wrote an open letter on October 10 to warn the Canadian people that the pandemic is a smokescreen with the aim of introducing a far-reaching agenda where, among other things, people will be forced to renounce their right to private ownership. The Whistleblower did not reveal his name, but wrote that “I sit on several committee groups, but the information I provide comes from the Strategic Planning Committee, which is governed by the PMO [abbreviation for Prime Minister’s Office]”.

The anonymous MP then set out a secret roadmap established by Trudeau, which would be implemented regardless of their views or objections. He initially states that a second shutdown will be introduced in November, which will then be even tougher over Christmas and New Year. This is exactly what has happened in both North America and Europe. The whistleblower then indicates a frightening development in 2021, where, among other things, a third wave from a mutation called “COVID-21” – this time with real death rates – will be followed by an even harsher third shutdown in the first and second quarters of 2021.

Regarding the current economy and ownership, he indicates an impending “collapse of the supply chain, stock shortages, major economic instability” in the second quarter of 2021. Desperate people will then be offered the general basic income program, Universal Basic Income [UBI] in English. It can be mentioned here that Australia has already made it clear that only vaccinated citizens will be given welfare funds under a new law with the slogan “No jab, no pay”, “no syringe, nothing paid”.

In China, thousands of people in rural areas who voluntarily abandon their privately owned property and move to newly built apartments have been rewarded in various ways, while those who struggle are arrested and punished. Their houses are being demolished regardless of compliance.

POPULATION FROM THE RURAL AREA has begun in China. Here you can see Xiguozhuang, the first village in China’s eastern Shandong province, where residents saw their houses demolished at short notice. Fewer than a dozen homes remain along the village’s main road when the photo was taken in August. The Communist Party (CCP) forcibly expels farmers from their homes and farms. Liu, an affected farmer, recounts how he came home one day and discovered that local officials were preparing to demolish his house. When he called the police, they arrested him instead. Liu told the news channel NPR how about a hundred government officials surrounded his home before breaking down and arresting him, because he “resisted”. Liu’s privately owned property has now been demolished and apartment buildings await him and his neighbors. Photo: Amy Cheng / NPR

NEWLY BUILT MICRO APARTMENTS IN CHINA. Here you can see high-rise buildings with micro-apartments in Heze, in China’s eastern Shandong province, where Liu and his neighbors will be forcibly relocated when they are ready. The farmers are upset about the high rent they are being forced to have and will find it very difficult to afford. They are given the right to continue using the land, but they say that it will be impossible due to the long distance between the rental apartments they have been forced to and their land and that they do not have buildings left there that are necessary for the work. For several years, China has built many new cities, some of the largest in the world, which in most cases are still completely empty. This has been a mystery to many. Now that the CCP is starting to forcibly relocate people to the countryside and demolish their homes and farms, some are beginning to suspect that these “ghost towns” were built for Agenda 2030 and the massive expulsions from the countryside the globalists advocate (see NyT v50 / 2020).

Then the whistleblower describes in detail how the Canadians will be forced to renounce their ownership starting already this year. The anonymous Member writes:

Based on the roadmap provided, the Strategic Planning Committee was asked to design an effective way to change Canadians to meet unprecedented economic hardship. One that will change Canada and change the lives of Canadians forever. What we were told was that the federal government would offer Canadians a total debt write-off to compensate for what is essentially an economic collapse at the international level, where the federal government will offer Canadians to write off all their debts. Here’s how it works:

The federal government will offer to write off all personal debts (mortgages, loans, credit cards, etc.) where financing will be provided by the Canada [International Monetary Fund] IMF during what will be known as the World Debt Reset.

In exchange for accepting this total debt forgiveness, the individual will give up ownership of all property and assets forever. The individual will also need to agree to participate in the vaccination program for COVID-19 and COVID-21, which would allow the individual to travel and live indefinitely even during a complete shutdown (using a photo ID called Canada’s HealthPass).

With the pope’s statement, the Vatican and the Catholic Church have now officially taken the position that such possible plans do not run counter to the “Christian tradition”. Pope Francis was the one who, at the UN headquarters on September 25, 2015, the first visit ever by a pope, saw to it that all world leaders signed Agenda 2030.

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dreamer213 · 4 years

Text

There’s a couple of things about trainer customization that disappointed me when I played Sword and Shield. The first is that though we did get an improvement on makeup from Sun and Moon I don’t understand why we didn’t get eyeshadow, blush, or even moles or freckles like in the Trainer PR videos in X and Y I mean if in Galar it’s okay for a trainer to run around wear lipstick and mascara then why not have eyeshadow, blush, and a beauty mark to complete the look. Second is the lack of hair and hat accessories, In Sun and Moon the hair accessories could be worn in place of a hat and where the only headwear the female trainer could wear with haircuts that wasn’t hat compatible. Sword and Shield also had non hat compatible haircuts but as far as I know there is not a single hair accessory to wear with them which to me is very unfortunate. And then there’s the issue of hat accessories which were very popular in their game of origin X and Y, the ability to give your hat a bit of flare with some pins, feathers, or even sunglasses was like the icing on the cake of the new feature of trainer customization. In contrast the hats in Sword and Shield ,while cute in their own right, lack the same appeal of their predecessors by virtue of not being as colorful or distint and by lacking any sort of decoration to enhance their appeal. And lastly the one thing I was hoping so much for after finding out that Galar was based on The UK but did not receive. The ability to special order clothes from Kalos. Given that there real world equivalencies are not so far in distance, it is even referred in game, and the fact both are the only regions with a “fairy village” it seemed like a no brainer that you would be about to at least get some clothing from the only neighboring region with a uniquely similar place which was know for whimsical atmosphere and fashion. But sadly ‘‘twas not meant be” though I do hope this could be changed in the next game or better yet add in with Crown Trundra. It must likely wouldn’t but the future is not set in stone and until then I can still dream.

Edit: I just remember something I forgot to add. This has been bugging me since the release but why do several of characters, one of whom is one of your rivals, get to have manicured nails when the female players don’t. Same thing goes for earrings but it’s even worse because some npcs both female and male have them. It just seems like such a wasted opportunity to me but what do I know.

#pokemon sword and shield #pokemon swsh #pokemon sun and moon #pokemon sumo #pokemon x and y #pokemon xy #trainer gloria #pokemon #trainer customization

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chubbyheroesworthyheroes · 4 years

Note

Can we ask for two characters? Because if we can, can I ask for Robin and Gaius + 🐷?

Yes, you can ask for two characters! But, that’ll probably be my limit, as any more than that can get dicey and hard to keep the characterization from diluting too much. Hope this was what you were looking for! Ended up giving this one a sort of Hansel & Gretel vibe, since I’m sure Gaius’ dream would be to find a candy house lmao.

Robin didn’t mind getting his hands dirty when it came to doing things with the Shepherds; though strategy was most certainly his wheelhouse, even he could get bored when stuck in a room for too long. Fresh air and physical activity could also do wonders for the mind, especially if he was feeling stuck on any particular plan or issue. Besides, Robin wanted to pull his weight just like the others, and getting out in the field was part of that.

He just hadn’t thought he’d be paired up with Gaius for this.

Robin didn’t really mind Gaius; they had a bit of an awkward and slightly irritating start, but the tactician had long since come to equal and friendly footing with the thief. Still, it could be a bit of a struggle to communicate with Gaius – the other man tended to jump to assumptions where Robin was concerned, and it took way too long for him to get through to the ginger what he really meant. When out on a mission, especially when it was just the two of them, this communication issue could end up causing some really big problems if it wasn’t figured out early on.

At least this time, they were only supposed to be checking out an area and asking the locals some questions. Apparently, near this small village in the woods, there had been a number of disappearances. It had only been a handful of months, if Robin understood right, but quite a few people had simply gone into the woods and never returned. It was their job to scope out the area, and try to figure out what the situation was before the Shepherds committed to any sort of action.

Of course, it wasn’t going to be as simple as it sounded. There was something strange about these woods, and the village itself…

“Well, Bubbles, I don’t think we’re going to get anything good out of these people,” Gaius groaned, stretching his arms up and over his head as the two of them left another little house in the small village.

They’d spoken to most everyone that was left, but they weren’t incredibly helpful in answering questions. Most of them seemed…weirdly standoffish, and others were uncomfortably welcoming. It was an odd mixture, and it set Robin on edge. There was concern for the villagers who had gone missing, but it wasn’t to such a degree that anyone had actually gone further into the woods to look for any clues or to even try finding the missing people.

Robin couldn’t really argue with Gaius here. They’d gotten nothing helpful beyond the unanimous suggestion from the villagers to go into the woods.

It wasn’t something Robin was comfortable with, but they were here to try and figure this mystery out. If they couldn’t get any information from the village itself, their only logical next step would be to scope out the forest and try to locate any sign of the missing villagers.

Sighing, Robin rubbed at the back of his neck, turning to face the all encompassing darkness that seemed to lurk heavily where the dirt road led into the trees. “You’re right…We don’t have much choice, we’ll have to head in and see what we can find on our own.”

Armed with torches and their weapons of choice, the two wasted no more time heading into the mysterious woods. It was bizarre how quickly it felt they went deep into the woods, the village disappearing from sight in what felt like only a few minutes of walking. The trees were thick and old looking, their branches heavy with leaves that looked a gray-green at the edges of torchlight as they walked. It was eerily quiet in this forest, the sound of their footsteps crunching through dead leaves on the pathway the only noise between them as they continued on. The lack of any animal sounds made it feel like they were being watched or followed, but it was impossible to tell when they had such limited light and vision.

Time seemed to seep by as slowly as molasses. Every tree looked the same, every turn and twist in the path serving to further disorient. No wonder people had gone missing after wandering through these woods, it was horrendous to try and navigate through it.

After what must have been several hours of following the dirt path, Gaius came to a sudden stop, nearly causing Robin to bump into him.

“No way…Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” the thief murmured in a sort of awed voice, moving forward once more and giving Robin a better look at what he was talking about as the now low light of the torch illuminated what was ahead of them.

It looked like a house – colorfully decorated to look like it was made out of candy. There were graceful swoops of frosting along the roof and window sills, almost like it was imitating mounds of snow that might settle on the house. The house itself looked like it as supposed to be gingerbread, supported by strategically placed columns of striped candy canes. There were swirls of chocolate and caramel along the walls, large gumdrops glittering with sugar interspersed all over the quaint building.

It looked utterly ridiculous to Robin, but it made complete sense that something made to look like candy would grab Gaius’ attention like this.

“We should keep looking…,” the tactician tried to remind his partner of their job, but Gaius was already too absorbed in getting an up close look at the house.

“Yeah, yeah – we can take a little break, right? I mean, we’ve been walking out here for a while now, and I could do with a snack to get my energy back,” Gaius weaseled, pacing around the house from the front to the side, inspecting the colorful decorations adorning it.

Robin made a face, but trailed along nonetheless. He didn’t like lingering around these woods and not staying close together. “I hope you mean that you brought something to eat by that, and not that you want to break your teeth on someone’s house,” he commented, raising an eyebrow when Gaius turned to him with a look that said that had been his exact plan. “No. No! It’s a house, Gaius, you can’t and, frankly, shouldn’t eat it!”

“Bubbles, this isn’t an ordinary cabin in the woods here! Can’t you smell it? This stuff’s the real deal!” the ginger exclaimed, proving his point by popping off one of the large gumdrops and taking a bite out of it. The candy was large enough to heft in both hands, and it left crumbles of sugar along his mouth when Gaius bit into it. It tasted like cherries, wonderfully sweet and impossible to not have another taste of.

Robin narrowed his eyes at this, taking a careful sniff at the air as he got closer to the house. To his utter bafflement, it did smell of sweets – like a bakery, or a confectionery. That couldn’t be right, though. You couldn’t build a house out of sweets, and if you did, it would be destroyed by the weather and wild animals. Yet, here it stood, completely spitting in the face of his logic. Walking around the house of sweets, he tried to figure it out, absently running gloved fingers over its surface to test its integrity as he did so. Chocolate smeared across his hand, and with a slight noise of annoyance, Robin licked the sticky substance off the fingers and palm of his glove instead of wiping it off on his pants or coat.

The second it touched his tongue, Robin recognized his mistake. It was absolutely perfect in its taste and texture, and something in his brain told him that all of this had to be on account of some sort of magic, but his body wasn’t listening to his mind as his hand reached back out to scoop more of the chocolate off the wall.

“G…Gaius, I think we need to go–” Robin attempted to say, to get the other’s attention, but his hand moved of its own accord, shoving an overflowing handful of fudgy delight into his mouth, forcing him to swallow unless he wanted to choke. The chocolate seemed to settle heavily in his stomach, making his head feel fuzzy the more he ate. He needed to stop, he needed to…get to Gaius at least. Maybe they could stop this better together rather than on their own.

It was a struggle to get his legs to listen to him, but Robin started off woozily back to where Gaius was near the front of the house, his hands continuing to take off sweet mouthfuls for him to eat as he shuffled on.

He heard Gaius before he saw him, the sound of loud, messy eating reaching his ears as he returned back the way he’d come. Brown eyes widened when he finally got a good look at his friend, his appearance having drastically changed in the short amount of time Robin had left him – or, well, it had only felt like a short amount of time, but things didn’t seem to flow quite right in these woods…

Where Gaius had once been rather trim, his frame had started to balloon out as he greedily shoveled sweets and chunks of the house into his waiting mouth. Tight clothes had ripped at the seams at the sudden growth, doughy flesh oozing out of the rips and further enlarging them the more Gaius grew; belts had popped open and ties had given up, clothes barely doing their job of covering him. Chubby hips gave way to a perky bubble butt that had busted the ass of Gaius’ pants with very little trouble, blubbery thighs ripping through the most strained seams along the legs of his pants as well. His formerly form fitting shirt most definitely hadn’t stood a chance against the swell of fat that his once trim midsection now was; there was a massive tear down the middle of his shirt, fat belly billowing out and hanging down over his similarly busted belt, the only thing keeping it from tearing open completely being a small section still struggling to hold together against the plush swell of Gaius’ moobs. Fat arms were squeezed like sausages in the cut off sleeves encasing his arms, little diamonds of fat bulging out where the laces intersected in the material.

“Wha…That’s…That’s not possible!” Robin stammered, his fuzzy brain struggling to process everything that was happening. Of course, as he stood, transfixed, his hands and mouth kept up their steady work of eating whatever he could grab off the house. Despite its structural soundness, anything he took off the house seemed to come away freely, and yet didn’t seem to damage the place at all. Everything felt so slowed down, his eyes dragging away from Gaius’ gorging to look down at himself, dazed to see his own body blowing up with fat just the same as his comrade. He could feel the belt at his waist stretch and then strain as his stomach pushed against it, bulges forming around the leather before the mass behind it became too much to handle. Plush flesh quickly filled out Robin’s rather baggy clothes, his expanding gut easily untucking his shirt from where it had been secured by his now destroyed belt and trousers – which, not to be left out, were just as quickly becoming unbearably tight.

Groaning in discomfort at the way his clothes now poorly fit him, Robin found that he still couldn’t pull himself away from the candy house. Though he wasn’t going at it as ravenously as Gaius was, the tactician soon found himself on his knees in front of the gingerbread house, shoving handfuls of cookie, candy and other sweet things into his mouth almost faster than he could chew. His clothes soon reached their limits as well, and a chorus of rips sounded from his pants and shirt, even his cloak wasn’t able to contain him as their feasting ramped up.

Time spiraled away into near nonexistence, and when Robin blinked himself to some clearer form of awareness again, it seemed quite a lot had changed once again. His breathing was heavy, tightly packed gut weighing him down in such an unfamiliar way that he grunted as he tried to move away from the foreignness of it. He didn’t get very far at all, sluggishly realizing that his belly had grown so fat that it had practically pinned him where he was on the ground – a heavy blush rising in his cheeks when he realized that he felt the tickle of grass against the underside of his swollen gut. His limbs were similarly bloated, his legs tingling with numbness from remaining kneeling for so long, the majority of his weight resting solely on his flabby stomach now. He couldn’t possibly get up now, even if he wanted to – his center of gravity was too different, and his legs would be too unsteady to even try.

So, he stayed right where he was, shoving more sweet goodies into his sticky mouth. Everything was still blessedly within reach, crumbs and smears of chocolate littering down the width of his pale gut. Burying his face into some of the creamy frosting by the windows, Robin barely noticed the way his face elongated, coming to a wide, blunt ended snout that eagerly snuffled into the sweet fluff in front of it.

Not too far away from Robin, Gaius was much further along in his own transformation, having started eating earlier and certainly managing to get more of the enchanted candy into his belly than the other man. There was barely a scrap of cloth on the thief anymore, his clothes completely torn asunder as he grew rounder and larger. Eventually, his weight had become too much to take, and he’d simply flopped down on the ground, shoving his face into whatever sweet bite he could get his mouth around, chubby hands tearing off more from the house to eat at a feverish pace. Lounging on his side, chins smooshed down into pendulous breasts as he gorged, his fattening belly’s weight sagged heavily to one side as he leaned over to grab his next handful of treats. It bloated out over the ground like a glacially moving avalanche, rolls upon rolls forming at his sides.

Gaius grunted and snorted as a curly pig’s tail sprouted just above the swell of his globular ass, ears turning a pale pink and folding out into partially folded pig ears not too long after.

The two continued to eat themselves into a stupor, never depleting the sweets of the house no matter that they ate more and more as the hours trickled by. They only grew fatter and softer, their features acquiring more hog-like attributes as the door to the candy cottage eventually opened, and a voice laughed lightly as its owner turned the corner to see the two men-turned-pigs glutting themselves on their home.

“Well, well, well…It seems the villagers have sent me two new prize piggies! Don’t worry, boys, I know how to treat swine like yourselves. The others will be so happy to have some new faces in the pig pen.”

#Anonymous #male weight gain #male wg #pig transformation #pig tf #chubby!robin #chubby!gaius

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thiswasinevitableid · 5 years

Text

Monsters

Prompt for the 28th was: “Are you afraid yet?”

Note: This AU contains allusions to societal homophobia.

“Are you afraid yet?” The councilman, white rose pin shining bright on his chest, looks down at Duck as a guard finishes chaining him to the post.

“Nope. And I ain’t gonna be, so fuck off.”

“Is that how you speak to your elders?” Another councilmen chimes in.

“When they’re feedin me to a fuckin monster? YES!”

Both men sniff, tartly, and retire to their viewing spot. The guard rings a chime three times. All attention turns to the cave entrance a mere few yards from where Duck is tied.

The monster doesn’t appear right away. This makes it worse, gives him time to think of what’s coming.

To remember how he got here.

It began at the spring festival, two weeks ago. The young man with the silver hair, who smiled at Duck so sweetly and so strangely when he’d bought food from their stand. Who’d leaned against the side of it, talking animatedly to Duck once Duck indicated that he wouldn’t mind the company.

At the end of that day, he’d told him his name was Indrid.

He was back the next day, and asked if Duck would go with him to the evening portion, because he was only passing through town and was unsure of the customs for the dance. Which is how they ended up dancing together.

(Not for every dance, no matter how much Duck longed to do so, as dancing only with another man would have drawn unwanted attention).

On the third day, as the sun set, Duck kissed him beneath an apple tree. Or, perhaps, he kissed Duck. It was so mutual an action it was hard to say who began it. Indrid tasted like honey, and the eyes he kept hidden behind red glasses were a deep, reddish brown when Duck slid the spectacles up his forehead.

The fifth day, it all went wrong. He’d been so careful, chosen a seldom used barn and hurried Indrid up into the loft, away from prying eyes. But they’d barely begun, he’d barely gotten to touch the cool skin beneath Indrid’s shirt when there were voices outside.

They weren’t fast enough. There was no way the trio of villagers who stood, gazing up at them with grim satisfaction, could mistake their half-clothed states for having any purpose other than what it did.

“Go.” He’d stepped between Indrid and the men coming up the ladder.

“But you shouldn’t have to face this alone.”

“I ain’t lettin them hurt you too. Now for fucks sake, run.”

Indrid disappeared out the window. Duck made damn sure he wasn’t followed.

In retrospect, it may have been that last action that was the nail in his coffin. When sacrifices are identified, they aren’t always given up right away. Indeed, certain children of the towns richer members have been identified but never offered up.

Breaking the nose of one White Rose member and biting another on the arm ensured Duck jumped to the head of the line. The verdict was swift: he’d been caught in an act of deviance, therefore he would be food for the monster, insuring the purer, more moral citizens of Kepler would not have to be offered in his place.

Running was no option. If he escaped, it was understood a family member would take his place. Besides, where would he go? His friend Juno was still in Kepler, but would be punished if she helped him. One of his few friends in another village was sacrificed a month ago (for each town in this region must reckon with the monsters in the mountains). Another, from Kepler, ran away two months prior with her girlfriend, a woman with golden hair and eyes, before they could be caught in a compromising position.

A strange, trilling noise echos out of the cave, snapping him back into the present. Soon, two red, glowing eyes appear. Then the creature steps into the sunlight.

His resolve to show no fear wavers.

It must be seven feet tall, with dark, speckled wings and feathers coating its body. Antennae sprout from its head, and each of it’s four arms end in clawed hands.

It makes its way to him, odd high noises still skittering out of it. He forces his face to stay neutral, forces his eyes to stay open even when the creature kneels before him. It cocks its head, opens a mouth with far too many teeth and draws its tongue in the air by Ducks cheek. Then it growls, tears the chains as if they were nothing, and picks him up, holding him to its chest. Slowly it stands, and as it does its wings envelope him, blocking out the rest of the world.

At a leisurely pace, it walks back towards the cave. Behind them, he hears one elder say to another, “I wonder if we shall hear it happen? The last sacrifice in Victorville, there was screaming before the spectators finished loading their carriages.”

Duck sucks in a shaky breath; the man they’re talking about was his friend. Was it so painful for him? Will it be that bad for Duck?

He allows himself a some tears, then. For his friend, for himself.

At the sound of his sniffles the creature pauses. A screech fills the air, though it seems directed at the viewers, not at him and he smiles bitterly as he hears them all scrambling away in fear.

The creatures quickens it’s movements and the air becomes damp, cool. Once they’re in the cave, the growl changes to a softer sound, and if Duck didn’t know better he’d swear the two hands stroking his back and hair were trying to comfort him.

After far to short a time, there’s a deep scraping of stone and the creature takes a few more steps before lowering him to the ground. The scraping returns and the wings leave his view just in time for him to see a stone door sliding shut, plunging the room into darkness.

The creature moves about, tapping two crystals which proceed to glow as brightly as any fire. Duck looks around, finds himself in a huge nest of pillows and soft, warm fabrics. There’s no sign of blood or bones or other remnants of the humans who came before him.

The creature kneels in front of him again, leaning forward. It doesn’t look bloodthirsty or angry. It mostly looks sorry for him.

“Wait.”

The creature waits.

“I, uh, you don’t need to eat me. Or, uh, maybe you do cause you don’t got other food but, uh, but I’m sure we could work somethin out.”

It smiles, cocks it head.

“Please.” He whispers, “I ain’t done anythin wrong. Except punchin that White Rose.”

“Given that he’s had a hand in goodness knows how many people's unhappiness, I do wish I’d been able to see that.” The monster speaks and the surprise of it sends him crawling backwards.

“Oh, oh dear, I’m sorry. I’m afraid in my excitement at having you here I didn’t keep an eye on your possible reactions.”

“Excitement? You’re fuckin excited to kill me?”

“That isn’t what I said.” The creature stands, pads over to large desk, “is it?” He picks up an object, holding it out so Duck can see.

Red glasses.

“N-no, how did you get him? I though he got away.” Ducks voice cracks and tears threaten the corners of his eyes.

“Never fear, I did not get him” it puts the glasses on and reality bends, “I am him.”

Duck stares at the man before him. Then he stares some more.

“How in the everlovin fuck?”

Indrid grins, “I will explain everything shortly, but first, may I approach you?”

Duck nods and Indrid crawls into the nest with him. As soon as he’s within reach, Duck is in his arms. Indrid chirps, pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and guides it gently along Ducks cheeks.

“I’m so sorry that I frightened you. Unfortunately, I had to play up being a monster to maintain the ruse. If we seem too gentle, they get suspicious. Though, half those sounds I made were actually happy ones, not that they would know that.”

“Where did you bring me?”

“My home, in several senses of the word. This room and the adjoining chambers are my literal house. They are part of the kingdom of Sylvain, which thrives here in these mountains, and which is my home.”

“But, other villages, their monsters-”

“Look different? That us because we children of Sylvain come in many forms, some of which are more alarming to humans than others. But no matter how frightening we look, we don’t mean you any harm.”

“Now” Indrid holds his hands, nuzzles his forehead, “I have some things to retrieve for you, as I foresee you getting hungry very soon. I can see the future, since you’re about to ask how I knew that. You’re welcome to come with me, but you can also stay here if you wish to-ah, never mind, all the futures where you wanted to stay here just vanished”

“Sorry, thought about it and I don’t wanna be alone right now.” He doesn’t want Indrid out of his sight, doesn’t want it to turn out to be some trick of the cave, some fevered dream.

Indrid stands, pulling Duck up with him, “As you wish. Now, since you’re about to ask again: no, never in the history of Sylvain has one of the humans sacrificed to us actually been eaten.”

“Then how come we keep givin them?” He takes Indrid’s hand as they step back into the tunnels. Stones in the wall light up as they walk, and various halls are lit with torches for added brightness.

“Long ago, the first humans who settled the land outside our mountains got along fairly well with us. Or at the very least understood that we were neighbors, not a threat, and we moved between each others towns easily. But then, those humans were forced out by the humans who founded towns like Kepler. When a Sylph ambassador went to the nearest village, there was a great uproar and no small amount of miscommunication. The ambassador was inviting the humans to a meal, in a gesture of good faith. The humans thought-”

“You wanted to eat ‘em.”

“Precisely. You can imagine, then, the confusion of the Sylph who stepped out of their door to find a panicked, tearful human waiting for them. Now, tell me, what would you do if you opened your door and found someone who was in distress there?”

“Bring ‘em into the house and see if I could help ‘em.”

“And that’s just what that Sylph did. After a great deal of tears on the humans part, she was able to communicate that she had been chosen as sacrifice because she was with child outside the bonds of marriage. Unsurprisingly, when her host asked if she wanted to go home and explain the error, she said ‘not even if you did want to eat me would I go back to that fuckin place.’”

“Were you there?”

“No, but the records are quite clear on her phrasing. The Sylphs met the next day to discuss what to do, but before their meeting adjourned, three more people had been ‘sacrificed.’ It didn’t take us long to notice a pattern: towns sent those who they deemed deviant, those they deemed inconvenient. And so we kept gathering those poor offerings up, bringing them into Sylvain so they might find a new home. Over time, we started scouting, looking for those who were likely targets, as we’d learned from previous humans that their lives were often unpleasant well before the sacrifice if they were deemed outsiders. When I came of age, I used my foresight to help identify them. And, well, in the last few years, as Sylphs were scouting, more and more came to fall in love with the humans they knew would be sacrificed. And so, many took the chance to woo those humans before hand, or strike up friendships. That way, they’d have a familiar face when they arrived. In some cases, the courtship accidentally lead to those humans being sacrificed sooner.”

Up ahead, Duck can see daylight.

“What if they didn’t want to stay here?”

“Then we helped them find a new place to live, in other towns farther away, ones where they wouldn’t have to fear because of who they loved or how they were. Plenty chose that, plenty chose to remain here.”

As they step out of the mouth of the cave, Duck blinks in the warm sunshine. They’re in a massive meadow, dotted with a spring, several ponds, and a handful of stores.

“Sylvain is only mountains on her outer edges.” Indrid smiles at the awe on Ducks face, then turns them towards one stall, painted in a checkered pattern. As they get closer, Duck can see it’s a restaurant, with wooden picnic tables out front.

A figure steps out the door carrying trays, sets them down before a mixture of Sylphs and humans. He waves.

“Hey Indrid, runnin a little behind since we’ve been busy, but don’t worry, I’ll have things ready soon.” In spite of being two feet taller than Duck and looking like a cross between a man and some other form of ape, gentleness radiates from him. He extends a large, furry hand Ducks way, “I’m Barclay. Nice to meet you, Indrid hasn’t shut up about you for the last week.”

“That so?” Duck smirks at the other man, who turns bright pink.

The door to the shop creaks open once more as Barclay continues, “how are you holding up? Know that sacrifice shit is real scary on your end. I felt so bad about how upset my human was, I set a new record for how many times I apologized during the trip from the sacrificial spot to my home. Isn’t that right, Joe?”

“I maintain you could have warned me ahead of time. But I forgive you all the same.” Says a calm, friendly voice.

Duck knows that voice. He peers around Barclay, finds a familiar face smiling at him as Joe Stern wipes his hands on his apron.

“Hello, Duck.”

Duck clears the few feet between them easily, gathers his friend into a hug.

“You got any idea how fuckin happy I am to see you?”

“Likewise.” Stern lets go of him ,looks him up and down, “I heard you broke a White Roses nose. Good for you.”

“Thanks. Uh, there’s just one thing that’s confusin me. Well, there’s a lotta things confusin me right now but this is the one that applies to you. I heard the elders talkin about how when you got carried off, they heard screamin even before the folks watchin headed home.”

Now it’s Sterns turn to go red, “Yes, ah, well, you see, Barclay didn’t make it very far before telling me what was going on. And, as you can imagine, the relief of knowing I wasn’t going to die coupled with the joy of seeing him again lead me to ask for a certain form of celebration. Right then and there.”

Duck blinks for a moment, then bursts out laughing, “figures a fuckin White Rose couldn’t tell the difference between someone bein killed and someone gettin their brains fucked out.”

Stern is laughing now too, “It wasn’t even my screaming.”

A high, chirping laugh joins them and Duck turns to see Indrid with his hands over his face, laughing at a mortified Barclay.

“What, he knows how to get me going?”

Stern giggles one last time, then nods over Ducks shoulder as a new group enters the tables, “I need to help with the dinner rush, but I promise we can catch up tomorrow.”

“Can’t wait.” He waves as his friend disappears inside.

“Duck you may wish you brace yourself.”

“For wha-ahhhck!”

He’s knocked to the ground by a figure yelling, “you’re heeeeere!”

“Aubrey?”

The young woman smiles down at him, freckled nose crinkling from the force of her grin.

“Yep” She lets him sit up before crushing him in another hug.

“Hi, Duck.” Dani leans against a nearby table, waving. Her golden hair is up, and she looks comfortably grass-stained.

“I almost told Indrid he had to tell you what was coming, because I was so worried that you’d be scared.” Aubrey says, still not letting go, “but he pointed out that you can’t lie to save your life, and that you might give him and us away.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

“Dani told me about the whole set-up way ahead of time. And I was like, ‘fuck that, I’m not gonna let those jerks get any kind of satisfaction out of sacrificing me, even if it is just sending me back to my super hot girlfriend. So I was like, ‘let’s elope’ and she said yes.”

Dani shrugs, “She’s very persuasive.”

“And! Something about being in Sylvain makes Dr Harris Bonkers able to walk on two legs and talk to me. Kind of.”

“That’s...good? I mean, you seem real happy about it.”

“IT’S SO COOL!”

He listens happily as Aubrey tells him all about their home, their gardens, moving from the ground to one of the tables as they chat. Eventually, she has to leave to prepare for some magic lessons, but not before making Duck promise to come by tomorrow so she can show him more of the kingdom.

He watches her and Dani walk off towards one set of tunnels, turns back to find Indrid now sitting across from him.

“I ordered dinner, since Barclay won’t be finished with the basket just yet, and it’s turning into a lovely evening.” He gazes up at the stars with a sigh.

“Sorry, I been talkin to my friends this whole time and-”

“Duck, are you trying to apologize for spending time with loved ones you thought you’d never see again?”

“...Well, when you put it like that it sounds silly. Sorry, don’t know why I’m apologizin so much.”

“It’s alright.” Indrid rests his hand lightly on Ducks own, “You’ve just been through what was, as far as your mind and body are concerned, a near death situation. It’s not strange to be rattled. “

“Thanks. Uh, Indrid, can I ask you somethin?”

The Sylph nods.

“Barclay called Stern ‘his’ human. If, if a Sylph rescues a human does that mean they-”

“Belong to them? Oh goodness, no. It’s a language issue. In Sylph, the phrasing conveys that they were that humans’ first contact with Sylvain. But it comes out odd in English. Oh, thank you.” He smiles as Stern sets two plates down; soup for Duck, and a pile of fruit for Indrid.

“Do you mind if I take off my glasses to eat?”

Duck, mouth already full, shakes his head. They eat in contented silence for a bit before Duck asks, “have any humans ever tried to come rescue their friends?”

“Two instances, both recent.” Indrid pops a strawberry into his mouth, chews thoughtfully, “I suppose more don’t because so often those offered at outcasts. And, many people are rather cowardly. The first one to try it was Mama.” He points off to his left, to a human woman who is leaning against a tree, carving something Duck can’t quite make out from wood.

“Her friend Thacker was offered. He was brought in and she came shortly after, well armed and quite willing to fight whatever she had to in order to help him. She had to meet several other humans before she was convinced it wasn’t a trick. Then she decided to stay herself, and handle security in case of other humans with less-kind motives.”

“And the other exception?’

“Hollis.” He points to a young person in a yellow and black shirt, “They were taken by Jake, but he only got halfway to here before he was followed by their entire band of riders, the Hornets.. I’m not sure who was more confused; Jake by the sudden swarm of angry Hornets, or Hollis at the fact that their monster was...less than monstrous.” He points to a pool where Hollis is dangling their feet. A seal flops up beside them, then turns into a young man with a seal-pelt around his neck. Duck has several questions about how that particular sacrifice looked, but saves them for later.

“The hornets, Hollis included, now come and go, helping with security. They also help us if I identify a town that plans on...mistreating a sacrifice prior to the ceremony. They go and insure no such thing occurs.”

Duck finishes his meal as Indrid licks his plate. When the Sylph reaches for his glasses, Duck stops him.

“You, uh, you don’t gotta put those on if you don’t want.”

Indrid cocks his head, a gesture Duck is rapidly growing fond of, “You’re sure?”

Duck clears his throat, “kinda enjoyin getting to look at you like this too. Not that your human face ain’t charmin.”

Indrid chirrs shyly.

“All set.” Barclay places a large basket down in front of them. They say their goodnights, and head back to the entrance from whence they came.

“Oh, wait.” Indrid pauses, “Let me show you how to navigate, since the cavern networks can be confusing to new arrivals. All you do is touch the wall and name where you’d like to go. Here, you try.” He guides Ducks hand up in his lower right one, resting it on the stone.

“Indrids room.”

The outline of his hand glows deep green, and as he steps back it slides up, forming a circle. As they step into the cave, the light stays just ahead of them, guiding them through the twists and turns. When they arrive at a specific door, it vanishes.

Indrid touches the wall, and it slides open to reveal his room.

“What’d Barclay give you?”

“I’ll show you in a moment. Make yourself comfortable, I just need to grab a few things from my bedroom.”

Duck nestles back into the same mound of pillows, examines the contents of a shelf. Various terrariums hold plants, glowing green in faint shimmers and bursts.

“Here we are.” Indrid settles across from him, presenting him with the basket.

Opening it, surprise wells up inside him. There are several packages of sweets he knows only come from Kepler, along with his favorite pastries, still warm from Barclays oven. There are books as well, the ones he’s read time and again and could read a hundred times more. Surrounding all the smaller items are a few pieces of clothing, and just by looking at them he knows they’ll fit.

When he looks, wide-eyed, at Indrid. The Sylph has both sets of hands clasped together in excitement.

“Indrid this, this is amazin.”

“Is it? Oh I’m so glad you liked it.” Indrid chirps, claps his hands, “It’s a tradition. When I foresee a new human being sacrificed, the scouts and I piece together what things that person might want in their first days here. As I said, thinking one is going to die, even if one survives, can create a great deal of stress and emotion. We found humans had a better time if we had familiar things here to comfort them.”

“Hold up, this is my jacket. As in, the jacket they took from me when they threw me in jail.”

Indrids antennae relax a little, and he clicks his top set of claws together, “ah, yes. You liked it so much, and you looked so handsome in it that I had one of the hornets procure it for you.”

Duck beams at him, continues sorting through the box, munching on a cheese roll as he does. Indrid gives him space, putters about his cave, occasionally pausing to draw at his desk.

The exhaustion comes in one great wave, pushing Duck down. He yawns, shakes his head to clear the drowsiness from it.

“The bedroom is through there, if you need to sleep.”

Duck stands, with no small amount of effort, and waits for Indrid to do the same.

“Is everything alright?”

“I was, uh, assumin you’d be joinin me. Since you rescued me and all.”

Indrid stands, crosses to him. One set of hands cups his face, the other takes his own, “Duck, my actions today, the opening of my house to you, the gifts, those were all done because they are the right thing to do. They do not bind you to me in any way. You owe me nothing.”

“But you were pretty clearly courtin me before.”

“I was. And I would like to continue doing so. But if you wish to only be friends, we shall do that. If you wish to find somewhere else to stay, I will gladly help.”

“You’d let me go just like that?” Duck raises an eyebrow.

Indrid hesitates, then says softly, “I cannot say it would be easy for me. I am very fond of you, I love talking with you, and you are a very good kisser. But I only want you to stay, and to let me woo you, if that’s what you truly, freely desire as well.”

He wants to say yes, but a part of him nags that it’s too soon to know. That he ought to give it more thought.

“Lemme sleep on it?”

“Of course. The main bed is yours, I shall be quite comfortable out here.”

The main bed is a slightly neater looking version of the nest out front. He readies himself for bed, finds Indrid also got him pajamas, deep green and very warm.

He tries to sleep, but it’s fitful. He gets flashes of nightmares, spikes of panic in his chest. He tries to think only of pleasant things: Indrid, laughing the day they met. The feel of his lips. How he listened to Duck as though he was the most fascinating man in the world. The way he chirps when he’s excited. The feel of his feathers.

Oh, who is he kidding,

“Indrid?”

The Sylph is at the door in an instant.

“Something you need?”

Duck opens his arms, “Made my decision.”

Indrid trills happily, clambers into the nest with him.

“May I hold you?”

“Much as you want, darlin.” Strong, spindly arms envelope him, shifting him so one wing rests beneath him.

“I dreamed of this so often, and it’s a thousand times better than I ever thought it could be.”

Duck cuddles up against him, one hand stroking his side, “Damn, you’re real comfy.”

“You may use me as a pillow whenever your heart desires.”

“Gonna hold you to-” he yawns so wide his jaw hurts, “that, darlin.”

They talk quietly for awhile, and by the time his eyes shut Duck has a dozen questions, a hundred places he wants Indrid to show him, a thousand things he wants to do,

All that can wait for tomorrow. Right now, he is here, safe and warm in Indrids embrace, and that is enough.

#indruck #indrid cold/duck newton #promptober #au

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tsar3na · 4 years

Photo

Sunrise and Dusk

Fandom: Festival di Sanremo RPF (Amadello) Words: 1682 Notes: This was a fanfic I’ve been working on for a while and debating whether or not to post about it on Tumblr. But I guess I’ve done this sort of thing before so I bit the bullet and did it anyway. It was supposed to be a one-shot but my planning decided to go to more than ten chapters so there’s that. For now, I’ll post the first chapter here then the rest on Archive of Our Own so please support me there, thank you. Ao3 link: [here]

i - Mattina

Days have been a blur for years. Things had a harmonious monotony to them. Fiorello will wake up at 6am, always on time, by an old flip-phone. Take time to say his morning prayers. Clean his body and think of the day ahead. When he doesn’t have a service in the morning, a hot coffee and bread roll can rejuvenate him until lunch. After cleaning his plates, he chooses from a selection of plain polo shirts or turtlenecks paired with smart trousers and shoes.

A small brown and white cat would leap onto his balcony at the dot and of course, Fiorello will take a can of tuna and give it all to her. Once done, he cycles to the church, passing by the numerous buildings, towards the open market closeby. He’s usually the first to arrive so he’s responsible for opening the church and doing light cleaning inside and out. He is not quite a priest - all he does is officework from paperwork to phone calls asking for visits. Yet he’s an integral part of the church, going around the community and volunteering just for a simple “Grazie”.

Around the afternoon, he goes gets ingredients for dinner and catches up to fellow friends along the way. Then he heads home, looking back at the sun crack its warm tones around the sky as it starts to settle. His food is also simple, perhaps saving some for the next day. For entertainment, he opens an old TV and catches up on current affairs. At exactly half past 10 is he ready for bed, ready to wake up the next day and do this all over again.

Rarely does this ever change.

He never suspects a surprise package, or a phone call from a stranger announcing a journey he has been requested to join. His family hasn’t spoken to him for years, not even knowing of the new leaf he has turned. In his youth, he has fallen in love but he’d never reciprocate the feelings in return, so unlikely that he’ll suddenly fall in love again. Was it boring? He didn’t think so. But sometimes, when he looks out, he sees life in people’s windows. Of family, of joy, of tears, of life. Yet he can’t complain, he thinks, as others have had it worse. He has had it worse. Compared to what had used to happen, this was just but a dream. Now in his growing ages, perhaps a man was ready to settle down. Still, he can’t always escape the past he had buried and lied about, a past in which no one knew his name. If only something had happened, something breathtaking that was fresh, unexpected, beyond something that will challenge his whole philosophy.

Nevertheless the alarm rings at 6am.

Thursday morning was looking to be cloudy but break skies before noon. His radio played classic tunes from his childhood as the cat purred on his patio table. Fiorello wanted to change something hence buying a new brand of tuna for her. The cat didn’t have any markings relating to an owner, so he baptised her with the name Ciuri. Sometimes he would joke to himself that she is more akin to a partner or a child, masking some sort of looming insecurity. His phone rang. That was odd - there was barely anyone that he had given his number to. Must be serious.

“Hello? This is Rosario speaking.” he answered.

“Ah, I’m glad I got the right one this time.” the voice on the other line cheered, “Listen it’s Roberto. I’m calling you because there seemed to be a leak in the church. Small leak. Very small. It’s flooding the floor. Okay, big leak. Very large.”

“Oh my goodness, really? Are you okay? Is everything safe?”

“Yes, yes, we saved the important bits. And don’t worry, your area isn’t affected. But the altar and nave are badly flooded so I had to close the church for a while.”

“Oh dear…”

“Emergency closing, I do not know when it will be open again.”

He paced up and down his small kitchen, his anxiety growing, “When will it be fixed? Do we have the funds? Last time I checked, we might but I don’t know if this one we can handle.”

“Don’t worry about all this, I’ve talked to the local offices and they should help us. Listen all you need to do is relax for a few days, get some sun. You’ll know when everything will be back to normal.”

The anxiety immediately turned into panic; “Wait, hold on, what do you mean? I don’t know what to do!”

Beep.

Suddenly his plans have been ruined. Fiorello was about to cycle to work but I guess he has no work to even go to now. This sort of disruption never once came into his mind. Since taking on the job, he refuses to take days off. Even when ill, he would try to march in at least before being sent back to rest. He had never prepared what he might do for a day of just himself. “Okay relax, we can do this.” he thought and very much not relaxing. Ciuri meowed for food. At least this he knew what to do.

He moved from Catania around 25, 26 years ago yet only a handful of times has he really travelled around the village. He had to stay in Sicily, there was no chance he would return and work in the cities further on. The place had a charm to it, powered by the people around. Its history of medieval architecture made it a hotbed for tourists, but during the colder months they were little to none. When he first settled in, he had made a crude list of places he would have liked to go to but never did. Today, he grabs that paper from the cupboard he refuses to touch and was thankful his list was fairly short:

Meet and befriend a stranger

Do something new

That’s it

Even looking at two simple tasks, he was already discouraged. Obviously he has done it before with colleagues and neighbours, but it’s been years since he has made a connection with someone brand new. The rest seemed like dreamy bullshit he thought of as a teen when he decided he wanted to get married to his 3rd highschool sweetheart.

No time is best to break his normal life than now. He waved Ciuri goodbye and headed off with his trusted bike.

To start this new thought of life, he veered from his typical path and into the idyllic green landscape. The views were always spectacular from his window but it was a whole other feeling viewing it from below. Waves of flora stretched as far as the eye can see, scattered with farm animals and a fence or two. The air was getting warmer as the morning began to settle in. He felt the breeze through his body, whispering to him thoughts of change. Maybe tomorrow he will cycle through that path, or he can slow down there and see what was inside the tree. It never felt so good making these small and insignificant choices. Or even trying to make sure his bicycle does not suddenly collide with the parked car just metres ahead of him. If his eyes were closed at the moment, he would be doing one impressive front flip and crashing down onto the dirt. Thankfully screaming seemed to have alerted Fiorello and prevented any sort of trip to the hospital from happening. The man near the car seemed worried, no surprise, and kept asking if he was okay.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” Fiorello kept yelling out. “I just, I usually don’t expect cars here, and I was not paying proper attention so I nearly dented your car.”

“Ahh well nothing you can do about it. This old thing has been through so much not even a hammer can stop it from moving.” the stranger boasted.

This man was someone he had never seen before. His clothing screamed tryhard to look younger than he is and the hat casted a nice shadow over it. Without being rude, all Fiorello can tell was his large nose and fox-like eyes. Seemed to be around his age too, albeit maybe showing more signs of wear and tear. As he kept waffling on about his car, all he could look at was how he had a certain smile on his face. It was mesmerising to say the least.

“Anyway so I got lost and tried to find some signal but couldn’t and then you nearly got killed. And now we’re talking.” Wait was he dazing off. He didn’t notice how he kept going on. “Mind giving me some help then? Hotel or something similar. You can hop in if you point to me around.”

“Of course, I don’t mind. What about my bicycle?” he asked, getting back into reality.

“You can just throw that in the back, I don’t care.” They both got in the car as the man started to ignite the engine and Fiorello tried his best to shove the wheels in as best as he could.

“By the way, I haven’t caught your name. Are you a local?”

“I’m Rosario Fiorello. And you?”

He shook his hand briefly. “Amedeo Sebastiani. Most people just call me Amadeus. Intercontinental reporter.” and started to drive.

“A reporter? Nothing that interesting ever happens around here. Nothing that you could notice from the outside anyway. So, what is your intention?”

“I’m mainly here on holiday. I run a travel blog and I’m just wanting to tell my readers some quaint spots around Sicily. It’s kind of embarrassing, I’m a traveller that gets lost a lot so you can see why I say I’m a reporter first. Anyways...”

“That’s interesting.” he glanced then looked out the window. Amadeus did not stop talking for the whole ride. Only now came in his mind why he let himself in a stranger's car. But he guessed, considering the man’s excitement, he’ll be staying around for a while.

#fanfiction #amadello #amarello #sanremo 2020 #rpf #already working on both chapter 2 AND 3 so there's at least that #im so sorry i am terrible in terms of cultural and location stuff #im still learning so please excuse a few mistakes i might make!!#and yes thats why this is in english #people that know me in real life do not interact

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7-obsessions · 5 years

Text

Alive

When I was younger and going to Hogwarts, I always imagined I’d graduate and get a job at the Ministry or maybe even become a professor at Hogwarts, but when I was suddenly pulled out of school in the sixth year, I let all of those dreams die. My father was sick and my mom had to keep working to pay for his medical bills; she needed me home to take care of him. I know my mom hated making me put my life on hold, but I never resented her. I would do anything for my parents.

For a while I straddled the magical and muggle world hoping that I could find a magical way to cure my father, but after a couple years of talking to every Healer who would give me the time of day and even more doctors, I finally realized that there was nothing I could do to save my father. He had an aggressive form of Alzheimer's and magical brains develop differently and are never at risk for such diseases and muggles have never found a cure.

Once I finally realized that nothing from either world could help my father, I grew angry and cut myself off from everything and everyone, except for my parents. It wasn’t hard, I never had very many friends. I used to be decent friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, but last I heard, they went on some world saving adventure with Fleur Delacour. I had grown apart from them even before I left Hogwarts; I was worried about my studies and I think they already knew about this mission they had to undertake and were too busy planning to care about me anymore. It was better that way. No attachments.

The only person who still tries to reach out to me is Minerva McGonagall. Her last sixteen letters lay unopened on my desk, the most recent just a couple weeks old. I do miss her, she was the best mentor I could have ever had, but it’s too hard to read about what I’m missing.

Everything is too hard right now.

Father passed a couple days ago. It feels like a dream. Mom keeps telling me to move on with my life. She says I need to think about getting a job or going back to school. I know she cares and just wants me to have the life I used to dream of, but I can’t face going back.

I’m living life in a daze right now, the passage of time doesn’t make sense to me. Each day I lay in my bed nearly the whole day. Mother yells, she’s starting to drink, we don’t recognize each other anymore. I don’t know how long it’s been since Father died; it feels like it happened yesterday, but there’s snow on the ground. I think it was warm when he died, but I don’t really remember.

I came home from going to the store for my mother and found most of my stuff boxed up. She told me I had a few options, I can go back to school in either world or I could get a job in either world. I couldn’t stay in bed doing nothing anymore. I didn’t feel anything when she told me this. I haven’t felt anything in a while.

I finally caved and opened up the letters from McGonagall. I didn’t know what else to do, but after staring at them for a few hours, I remembered the objective, thorough person I used to be. If I have to make a decision, I was going to consider every possibility. All the letters were essentially the same. She wants me to come back to the magical world. Did I want to go back?

After a few more days of deliberation and looking at jobs and colleges in the muggle world, I finally realized that I would never be happy here again. I didn’t know that I would be happy in the magical world either, but the small chance that I could be happy again had me writing a letter to McGonagall.

I discovered that it’s February, if I decided to go back to Hogwarts, I couldn’t do so until September. Mother told me that she loved me, but I couldn’t waste away until September and that I needed to get back into my world and find a job for the next few months. She gave me enough money to find an apartment while I’m job hunting, at least. I know she’s getting me out of the house because she loves me, but sometimes it’s hard to remember that. I just wanted to keep living the way I had been, I wasn’t ready to move on.

McGonagall came and picked me up because I never took my apparition test. She side-along apparated me to Diagon Alley. It was unnerving to be back in the magical world, it seemed so much louder and brighter than I remembered. Most of the day was a blur of overstimulation, but McGonagall caught me up on what I had missed in the land of wizards and witches, a lot apparently. She showed me a few places that might be good for a short term job and set me up in the Leaky Cauldron for a couple nights while I find an apartment. I was grateful that she didn’t press too much on my life, she was tactful enough to do most of the talking while I reacclimate. She left with the promise, to check in with me soon.

I found an apartment, it’s tiny, but I don’t need much. Finding a job has been a lot harder. I do my best to job hunt for a few hours every day, but nowhere was hiring. I had visited most stores and establishments in Diagon Alley, checked with the Ministry about any entry level positions, but most of those required NEWTS, I even searched in some Wizarding Villages, like Godric’s Hollow and Ottery St. Catchpole. I was becoming desperate, I was about to run out of money for rent and food that my mom had given me. I still wanted to hold onto my morals, but finally decided just looking down Knockturn Alley couldn’t hurt.

I passed all the seedier joints with my head down. I knew I looked out of place, dressed in slacks and a blazer, but if I did find a place that's hiring I wanted to look nice. I hadn’t put much thought into my appearance while I was home with my parents, but the past few days of caring about how I looked had me shocked. Gone were the days of a buck tooth, bushy haired, know-it-all; I actually looked nice when I put myself together and found a small sense of self-confidence I had lost long ago. Granted, the second I stepped into Knockturn Alley all self-confidence was gone. I gripped my wand tighter, not drawing as much comfort from it, as I used to; it’s been too long since I’d practiced defensive magic.

I saw a glowing sign up ahead that said ‘hiring’ and headed towards the establishment, not even looking to see what the place of business was. I was just a few feet from the door, when lithe arms surrounded by middle and yanked me back into an ally. I started to panic and was swinging my arms and about to scream, but whoever had grabbed me was quick and got my arms pinned to my side and a hand covering my mouth.

“Be quiet, girl. Do not attract attention. If the men in there see you, you won’t ever get to leave again.”

My panic was rising with every word the woman was saying to me, but I didn’t know if I was any safer with whoever she was. My back was to her front, so I couldn’t even see who had grabbed me. She was leading me back towards Diagon Alley, but stop just short and took me into a tiny building I hadn’t even noticed when I walked by earlier. The woman kicked the door shut behind her and finally let me go.

I spun around to yell at her, but was stopped short.

“Listen, I just saved your life and I don’t do that often. But you were about to walk into a strip club that caters to werewolves. You probably wouldn’t have survived or at the least, wouldn’t have left that place without a monthly reminder of your stupid decision.”

Whoever this woman was took me completely by surprise. She had an aura of danger to her, but she also just saved my life. And to top it off, she was breathtaking. I felt things that I’m not sure I’d ever felt before. I felt alive in her presence after merely living for so long. I was vaguely aware of her insulting my intelligence, but it didn’t even bother me when I felt so entirely indebted to her.

It took too long for my brain to process what she had said and for my mouth to catch up and mutter out an apology, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention and I saw the hiring sign and I’m in desperate need of a job. Thank you for saving me, how can I repay you?”

“I’m sure there’s not a single thing you possess that would matter to me,” the woman flicked her curly, dark mane of hair over her shoulder in the haughtiest way I’d even seen someone do. “Just stay away from Knockturn Alley. A girl like you…” she took a moment to look me up in down that felt both condescending and delicious, “doesn’t belong here.”

“I don’t belong anywhere, but please, Ms…”

“Black. Bellatrix Black,” that name sounded oh so slightly familiar, but I couldn’t place why.

“Right. Ms. Black. I’m Hermione Granger. Please there must be something I can do to thank you for saving me, from an admittedly rash decision.”

The woman in front of me looked utterly bored at first, and then something changed and she wore a delightfully manic look in her eyes and she finally drawled out, “weeeell, Ms. Granger, I may have thought of a way to solve issues we both are facing. You have the job.”

“The job?” I squeaked out, “what job?”

“You will be assisting me in opening up my new store, a lot of people still do not trust me and considering you are a Muggleborn, you will be the perfect face of this store,” she gestured to the small room behind her that I hadn’t even glanced at yet, it was filled with boxes and empty shelves.

“I never said I was Muggleborn? Why don’t people trust you? Why should I trust you? What kind of store?”

“You didn’t have to say you were Muggleborn, it’s dreadfully obvious. You’re wearing Muggle clothes, I’ve never heard your last name before. You didn’t immediately recognize who I was or my name, so obviously you haven’t been in the wizarding world for a while. Darling, you scream Muggleborn. As for your other questions, I think you’ll find out soon enough why people don’t trust me, but all I will say is I was pardoned, nobody knows the full story and I’m not at all what people think. You can either trust me or not, but I already saved your life, why would I do that if you couldn’t trust me? And it’s in your best interest to trust me if you want the job at this soon to be bookstore and apothecary.”

Normally I would take time deciding if it was really smart to take this position, but sometimes the brash Gryffindor comes out, which may or may not have been influenced by how drawn I was to this woman, “okay. I’ll take the job. When do I start and what’s the pay? Also, I’m going back to school to sit my last year in the fall, is that going to be a problem?”

“We start now. The pay will leave you more than comfortable, I’m sure. And no, if everything goes to plan, I’ll have no more need of you come fall.”

My spirits dampened a little at the last statement, for reasons unbeknownst to me I was upset that she could be rid of me without a care, but we didn’t even really know each other so I kept my disappointment off of my face.

The next few days were spent unboxing and organizing everything in the store. The hours were long, but I didn’t care whatsoever after she handed me a bag nearly overflowing with Galleons. I was amazed by the sheer quantities of books that were in this seemingly small space. I was even more amazed by the camaraderie Ms. Black and I had developed. She made a lot of comments that hinted at her Pureblooded stances, but she never intentioned them to be mean, it became clear that this is just how she was raised. Beyond that, we had a lot in common, namely our love for books and knowledge. We fell into an easy pattern of arguing about anything and everything, she was always ready to debate something. I had an inkling that she just enjoyed playing Devil’s Advocate and simply enjoyed heated discussions with someone who wasn’t afraid to hold their own.

Even though we never really talked about our personal lives, I felt like we knew each other well. I started coming in even earlier and staying later, spending every moment I wasn’t at home sleeping, at the store. We made a lot of progress and one day she invited me to accompany her to pick up some supplies at various stores in Diagon Alley. I’d never been outside of the store with Ms. Black, but I instantly felt all eyes on us and noticed people crossing to the other side of the street to avoid us. Still, Ms. Black walked straight ahead with her chin raised high, paying no attention to others on the sidewalks.

“Rot in Azkaban, you psychotic bitch!”

I whirled around at the shout and came face to face with Molly Weasley, someone I hadn’t seen in years and realized she was directing her foul language at Bellatrix. I automatically stepped in between Molly and Bellatrix and pulled out my wand.

“Hermione is that you? Ron said you left Hogwarts nobody has seen you in years and now you’re shacking up with Death Eater scum. She would have murdered you a few years ago, what are you doing? Do you need help?” I was stunned silent at these words, until I felt Bellatrix Black, supposed Death Eater scum, lightly grab my elbow and say, “come Hermione, let’s leave the rabble in the streets where it belongs.” We had never called each other by our first names before, but the instant Ms. Black was threatened I thought of her as Bellatrix and she just called me Hermione and dear Merlin, did I want to hear her say that again and again.

“Good to see you, Mrs. Weasley. Im fine, good day,” I spun around to follow Bellatrix once again, but was stopped by Molly yanking on my arm pulling me to her.

“Molly, let go of me.” “No, I’m getting you away from her, it’s for your own safety.”

“I am perfectly safe with Ms. Black.”

“You could never be safe with her, she is brainwashing you,” Molly was sounding more and more erratic.

At that moment, Molly drew her wand on Bellatrix and began shooting off curses and hexes. Bellatrix easily threw up a shield and nothing could get past it. I began to struggle against Molly and right as I dropped free, I knocked into Molly’s wand and the curse aimed at Bellatrix, hit me. Everything grew cold and I distantly heard the sound of my knees hitting the pavement. My vision was getting fuzzy around the edges and the colors were dulling. I heard a lot of yelling and curses happening above me and the last thought in my mind was Bellatrix’s safety.

“Hermione, Hermione! Can you hear me?”

I grunted in response. My sense were slowly coming back to me, but the first thing I was aware of was being in a lot of pain, but also feeling someone’s delicate arms wrapped around me. I blinked my eyes open and squinted against the bright light, and when my vision cleared up I saw Bellatrix’s face above mine, looking concerned. I had never seen her concerned before and it warmed my heart and my face to realize she was concerned about me.

“What happened,” I rasped out.

“Molly sent a slicing hex at me, but you fell in front of it. I had only been shielding her attacks before hand because I was afraid of hitting you in the process if I took the offensive, but clearly the Weasel took care of that. As soon as you hit the ground I incapacitated her and brought us back to the store. I did my best to heal you, but you lost some blood. So you need to drink a Blood Replenishing potion.”

“Thanks for saving my life again, Bellatrix...sorry, Ms. Black.”

“I think we’re past formalities, Hermione. Drink this.” I took what she offered and drank it readily. A lot of the pain diminished after that and all my senses sharpened. Which is when I realized my head was in Bellatrix’s lap, I quickly sat up, blushing furiously.

Bellatrix stood up and reached down to offer me a hand up. When she pulled me up, we stood face to face, and as I looked into her eyes I realized they were dark brown, not the black I always thought they were. We both stood there, unmoving, not saying a word to each other. Bellatrix let go of my hand and pushed a lock of hair behind my ear and ran her hand down my arm to squeeze my hand once more.

“Why don’t you go home and rest. You’re going to need to sleep for that potion to take its full effect. I’ll see you tomorrow, Hermione.”

“Okay. Goodbye Bellatrix, see you tomorrow,” I headed towards the door and turned around once I reached it, “thank you...again.” I apparated home and went to get in bed, the whole time in a haze. My hand still tingled where she had held it. I’ve never felt this way before. I couldn’t get the the dark witch out of my thoughts. I was lovestruck. I was alive. I was happy.

#bellamione #bellamione fic #bellamione discord #prompt: lovestruck #cultcult

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loudlydeliciouschill · 5 years

Text

Those bluest skies above me (part 2)

Long before the internecine war broke out and the world of dino-folks and fiery creatures were not separated by walls and strife, these two worlds coexisted in a balance that the elders helped to support, descending to these creatures from the hidden Star Valley where never was the foot of darkness and evil. They were ancient as the dragons themselves creatures of the universe - the phoenixes.

This race was not famous for sociability or friendliness, but they never refused to help those who needed and deserv it. They believed that peace of spirit and purity of thoughts is the main aspect of harmonious existence.

With rare exception, every major city was inhabited by at least one phoenix, serving as a voice of justice and mercy, helping in times of need and protecting civils from dark magic. But over the years, the creatures they volunteered to protect and help became embittered. Cruelty and immorality began to cover the minds and hearts of the inhabitants of these worlds, they were increasingly moving away from the magical world, losing magic itself. Because of this they gradually ceased to hear the voice of the phoenix, began afraid or avoid them, sometimes hurt and kill them. Therefore, these magical creatures began to return home, fearing for their lives and magical powers, which rapidly began to leave them after the last wizards disappeared among the dino-people.

However, there were those who believed that these unfortunates should not be left to the mercy of fate and remained, losing the support of their fellows and slowly fading away in a cruell world. One of these was Funn Hua - a wise and kind woman who was famous among her relatives for her gift. She was "contemplating time" - it means she could see the fate of anyone and help them change the fate in the right moment. But many years after the magic left the world ang souls of dino-folks, her gift lost its clarity, becoming more like vague visions of the future, interspersed with speculation and dreams. But Funn Hua didn't retreat and tried as hard as she could to keep faith in the light and good in a small village that was in the farthest province of the world of dino's. With varying success, she make it, but local residents still avoided Hua and because of that she was forced to live away from the village only occasionally visiting the local market and old-timers, who still treated her with respect.

But in this world came another misfortune. In the midst of autumn, the cold and frost unprecedented for these world fell on the lands of fire creatures and dinos. Snow fell almost around the clock, covering the houses untill you could see only the roof. The wind mercilessly made his way under the clothes and closed windows. The sun disappeared under a dark curtain of cumulus clouds. Wells, rivers, roads, cultivated fields, some animals - all of this froze. Winter was killing not only livestock and crops, but also the population. The worlds fell into despair. Lacked everything: food, firewood, clothing, shelter. Discontent and rebellion flared up everywhere for any heat and its source. Funna, using the remnants of her magic, made small heaters for the inhabitants - a tiny light sharpened in a glass bottle and eating everything that was placed in it. Temporarily this was enough, but things were even worse with food. People were starving, there was nowhere to wait for help.

And the terrible happened - in almost every town or village, it was possible to find abandoned eggs frozen in snow and ice. Children who were not even given a chance to appear from the desire not to starve them and others. The cruel mercy that Funn Hua didn't support. If she could she would punish everyone who trowed their future child on the cold.

Thus in the evenings she went around the village with concealed fear, looking for "abandoned" in the snow. For all the time of the beginning of a long winter, she found about five of these, but it was impossible to save them, no matter how hard she tried.

And when one evening five months after the onset of a sudden winter and daily urgent conversations with the young villagers about responsibility and mercy, she was returning home after a detour and she found still warm egg in the snow. Funa hurried to get it at home. She wouldn't have noticed it in the gathering twilight and raging blizzard if she hadn't stumbled over it, almost crushing them. The egg was delivered to a warm house at the time the blizzard started to grow stronger, washed and arranged near an enchanted fireplace, wrapped in several blankets. That was a regular monochrome burgundy egg like raptors with wavy gold splashes, like the Tyrexes. Having lived among dino-people for a long time, Hua perfectly distinguished their types and physiology, from which the egg surprised her even more. Nearby didn't live a single predatory species of dinosaurs, the village was entirely of uranos (uranosaurus) and bront's (brontosaurus). And because of the frosts, no one traveled to these regions, on the contrary, every dino-folk strove to the capital of the world, where, according to rumors, they coped with misfortune better than in the provinces. Small carts with provisions, clothing and firewood were brought from there. Could they, along with food supplies, also deliver an egg? No, it would have frozen even long before coming here, and it was warm when Hua found it. So there is someone has lost it because of the blizzard and probably they doesn't find a place for theemself because of the fright. Phoenix only could suggest there was a pregnant woman who had probably given birth on the road and could have arrived with supplies carts. This guessing confirmed the size and bright color of the egg.

The next day, Funa tried to find that awkward mother, but not a single woman was suitable in appearance and age, just as no one had come to the village for a long time and no one was passing through. On the request to accept the egg, everyone refused. Their children have nothing to eat, and they must feed someone else child? No way! In confusion, the phoenix returned home, with a chuckle calling the egg "the star that fell on my head."

Thus, the foundling remained with Funn Hua, who was filled with sympathy for the future orphan. What to do with the baby when he or she hatched she did not know, a little afraid to think about it. But Hua couldn’t throw him/her out into the cold. Something prompted her that it was a fateful meeting. The egg didn't cause troubles, basking peacefully in an improvised nest of pillows and blankets next to the fireplace. So that he/she does not feel lonely and abandoned, Funn Hua talked with them, gently touched the rough shell with the tips of her fluffy fingers and took the egg to bed on particularly scary nights. Without noticing it, she became attached to her/him every day more and more. For too long, Hua was by herself, at a distance from everyone, from her kind, forgotten and alone. And for her this “gift” became a temporary salvation. At least she thought it was temporary. Until the spring is coming. Until help is coming.

So when after three more months a crackling sound came from a pile of blankets and pillows, Hua panicked. The egg jumped on the spot from which it rolled closer to the fireplace, where the little fighter continued the unequal battle with a hard shell. Funna was fascinated and silently watched the process of birth. She knelt next to the egg that was spinning in place, not daring to intervene in the process. And when the crackling suddenly stopped and the egg became silent too, she was frightened.

- Come on, baby, just a little bit left. Try again, - she whispered, with shaken wings putting the egg on a blanket so that it would not roll away again.

After a few minutes of weary silence, scuffling resumed. Hua sighed with relief. Finally, the shell cracked and a tiny foot appeared in the light, which immediately disappeared inside to punch shell again in another place.

Once, second and third time.

Then a large piece flies to the side and a tiny creature rolls out onto a blanket. The first thing Hua noticed is that the child was not naturally small for such a big egg. However, they clearly did not feel any discomfort or embarrassment, sprawling on their back, joyfully waving their tiny paws and mumbling on their own language, obviously happy to see her.

Taking child in her arms, she began to examine them carefully. That was a boy. With tiny legs and arms with small claws; with light orange skin; he hasn't have yet a protective plates on the body; no shell and scales; with a short but joyfully wagging tail; he has sly yellow eyes with vertical pupils, like any other reptile or dino-folk have, which was curiously looking all around; and with still soft, but completely obvious horn on the head.

The kid looked like a cross between fire raptors and how strange it is for the dragons Peace Keepers. Perhaps he was a half-breed, which more fully explained his slightly different appearance from ordinary dino-creatures. But his size ... The baby was half the size of any dragon and three times smaller than any raptor child. Funna suggested that because of the mixing of blood, the baby didn't go through a full cycle of formation. The raptors were born within three-four months after the egg was taken down. With dragons was different; babies could sit in an egg for more than a few years before hatching.

From her thoughts she was pulled out by a quiet adorable sneeze from a slightly frozen child, who by surprise coughed and clumsily waved his paws near his nose. Hua looked at him sadly. Not a dragon, not a raptor, not a lizard. Different. Alien.

- You are someone completely new and unknown to this world, - she said softly, bringing baby to her face.

He grunted happily, clinging his fingers to her clothes and looking into her eyes. For her he look adorable, but for others...

Poor child. The world of dino-creatures will not accept him. No one in this decaying world will accept him like ... equal. Normal.

Unknown parents doomed him to die by the mere fact of his birth. From this thoughts, Funna's heart sank and tears flowed from her eyes. Hands themselves pressed the child to her chest, next to a pounding heart. With her own hands, she wanted to hide him from the cold claws of "reality." From pain that other creatures would cause him.

That was not fair. It was dishonest and cruel to a innosent creature that was just born. He didn't deserve such a fate.

Abandoned. Helpless. Infinitely lonely kid.

- And what should I do with you, sweet pea? - asked Hua to the empty house and the child, who was silently looking at her chewing her closes.

In response, she could only hear the measured crackling of burning logs and ticking of the clock on the wall. Hua sudenlly raised her head.

The storm outside... subsided? That couldn't be! Looking out the window, she can't believe her eyes. The snow stopped pouring, the clouds gradually dissipated and the sun ... It reappeared in the sky, which quickly acquired blue tones.

Funna mysteriously smiled at the lightening sky, gently running her fingers over the top of child's head, who cozily curled into a ball in her hands, clinging to chest next to her heart.

- It seems the sky has really sent you to brighten up our loneliness, - she began quietly. - I am so sorry that the beginning of your life turned out to be so sad, but I promise you that I will try to light your way in this gloomy and cruel world. I will be there until the last remnants of my magic die out in me. I will love you as my own baby, whom I have never had. I will guard you against all misfortunes and sorrows, - Hua tenderly and gently pressed his little head to her lips, whispering these more important words in her life. - As long as I live, you are my son, and I am your mother. My sweet baby. My Ripto.

~~~

- Look, dear, what a sky above us.

- Blue! Big! Bright!

- That's right, sweet pea. And one day everyone will know that's you who made this miracle happend. Those bluest skies above you.

#ripto #riptothesorcerer #spyro ripto's rage #i regret nothing #my english very bad but i'm trying #fanfic #au story #my au

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