#calico cooper | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

comm-caribou · 1 year

Text

Chapter Twenty-Six: Awakening the Monster:

Word Count: 4.2k

Warnings: War (let me know if I missed any!)

————

Cooper looked over the reports again, tilting his datapad so Juliette could look too.

According to the agenda, they’d mostly be backing up the 212th. The 501st had plenty, and with General Skywalker and Commander Tano leading them, they had all the firepower they needed.

It was still odd that General Kenobi requested Juliette’s aid. In fact, the request for their aid was for Juliette by name and her best men.

He looked over the ship, knowing full well this was more Hardwire’s opinion of the best than her’s.

I wonder who would of made the cut if she picked for herself.

Juliette brushed his arm, then moved back to Hardwire’s side and taking his hand.

Cooper smirked under his helmet, such an odd group we are.

****

They arrived in the hangers, and unloaded their supplies quickly with the help of some of the 212th and 501st men.

Once the gear was off loaded, the gunships hurried off before the Separatist could realize they slipped through.

Shadow stayed with Juliette and Fury, assisting them with one of the crates. He could write a whole book about all the things he liked about her as a leader and friend, starting with the fact she always helped with the heavy lifting.

“Well, well,” an ARC helped lift her side, “you must be the infamous, General Trix.”

“The one and only,” she quipped, “to who do I owe the pleasure?“

“Fives,” he suavely answered, “they call me Fives.”

“Fives,” another ARC came over, “what are you doing?”

“Making proper introductions, of course,” Fives turned back to her, “that’s Echo.”

“Ma’am,” Echo nodded politely.

“Hello,” she nodded back.

They dropped the crate as Mirage and Boomerang came over, checking out the two 501st ARCs. Although he forgave them, Shadow still moved to the other side of Fury to distance himself from Mirage. His ‘shadow someone else’ comment still stung fresh in Shadow’s mind despite the many days that passed since the altercation.

In better news, Juliette and him grew closer and they began a workout routine together.

“Nice armor,” Mirage commented. “Still looking brand new.”

“Just finished training a week ago,” Echo said, “first wave of ARCs since the Battle of Kamino.”

“Do they do recap courses?” Boomerang asked.

Mirage elbowed him lightly, “funny, Doc.”

Fury began walking off, heading to where Juliette went rushing off to see Commander Cody and General Kenobi.

Shadow paused, looking at the ARCs chatting and then walked off after Fury too. Besides that, he knew wherever Juliette was going was far more entertaining.

Another reason to like her.

****

“Ah, General Trix,” General Kenobi smiled when she approached. “I’m glad to be working with you this time. I heard great things from Cody through his reports.”

“Well, your Commander is great as well,” Juliette commented, “and I’ve been hearing many more stories about him.”

Cody turned his head, quietly expressing shock.

“All good thing,” she assured.

Fury stood by her side, “she’s referring to the scuffle you had with General Grievous, sir. During the rescue of General Koth.”

“I too am a fan of close combat,” she stated.

Cody chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

“And that makes you perfect,” General Kenobi smiled, “I will be aiding Anakin and his troops on a stealth mission, and you all will be our diversion.”

“Happy to assist,” Juliette turned to Fury, “could you locate my Commander.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Fury walked off.

General Kenobi bowed to her, “may the Force be with you.”

“To you too,” Juliette said, cringing at her response.

As soon as he walked off, Cody said to her, “did you hear one of my men punched Grievous in the face?”

Juliette smiled, “I’m so proud of him.”

“Come on,” he instructed. “Let’s get the boys ready.”

Juliette looked back, seeing Shadow was still with her and held out her hand, “come on. You’re sticking with me.”

He took her hand, quickening his pace.

“If anything goes wrong, I want you with me,” she said, “after all, I taught you how to do a proper spin kick and pile drive.”

“Very useful skills to know,” Cody nodded. “I approve of both tactics when handling droids.”

Hardwire approached, a small smile playing on his face with his helmet tucked under his arm, “why am I not surprised?”

“Oh shush!” Juliette swatted his chest, “I admire your brother.”

“She praised you to the senators last night,” Hardwire told him.

Juliette crossed her arms, “I stand by my opinion that am happy to work with Cody more than everyone else on this mission. Don’t tell Rex.”

Cody laughed, “thank you, General Trix.”

****

Cooper could feel Coyote staying close to him, exchanging conversations with a few of the 212th men they were with. He always had a knack for befriending brothers from other places, whereas Cooper barely had any acknowledge him unless they were told they had to, and for some reason they were always nervous.

“Look, I’m not bashing General.”

“Boil, don’t say-“

“I’m not going to say anything offensive, Waxer. But she doesn’t have a lightsaber.”

Coyote chuckled, “I’d be more scared if she did. Knowing her, she’d probably just have us sit back while she takes down the whole Separatist Army. Sith and all.”

Cooper snickered, she really would.

“She sounds a little nuts,” Boil grunted.

“She is!” Coyote replied proudly.

On the comm chatter, Cooper could hear Cody and Hardwire giving instructions to tanks to get into positions and for Digger to take his men to get an overhead view for them.

Part of him wished that one of the Jedi stayed. Not because he wanted their help, but because he wanted them to see her. He felt like a kid with a favorite toy he wanted to show off, and all the clones from every end of the galaxy knew she was great. The Jedi didn’t know how lucky they were she said yes.

Here we go.

****

“Damn,” Calico chuckled, “I think they’re having a brawl off.”

“Hmm?” Digger hummed, eyes focused on the droids.

“Commander Cody and General Angel,” Zombie said, “if his armor was as tough as her’s, Cody might be going just as showy as her.”

“Oh!” Hound laughed, “a nice roundhouse kick from Shadow!”

“That’s ARC material right there,” Mutt stated.

Digger sighed, “boys. The mission.”

“Yes sir,” they grumbled.

Still, Digger did a quick scan of the battlefield to find her. Just to see what they were talking about, nothing more.

Mutt nudged his macrobinoculars, guiding him a few more clicks to the right and he saw her. She fired a few rounds with a pistol, then used the butt of the gun to bludgeon a droids head off before going back to blasting.

Heh, looks like she’s having fun down there.

Digger lowered his macrobinoculars, seeing four ARF helmets facing him.

“Get back to work,” he ordered.

They turned back to the battle, snickering.

“You like her,” Calico said, “we know it, you know it, even Cosmos knows it.”

“I don’t like her like that,” Digger protested.

“Uh huh,” Mutt mumbled.

“I don’t,” Digger pressed, “she’s just intriguing.”

“Uh huh,” Mutt repeated.

“Come on, think about it,” Digger rolled his eyes, “she’s the only General who isn’t a Jedi. Her weapons are her own. She’s a trained warrior. She’s fascinating.”

Mutt turned to him, “uh huh.”

Digger frowned, realizing what he was doing.

“Shut up,” Digger grumbled, “I don’t like her.”

“Uh huh,” they all mocked him.

“Very funny,” he muttered. It’s not like I’ll ever get her to look at me anyway, other than promiscuous.

****

“Come on, Shadow!” Juliette called, “keep up!”

Shadow laughed inside his helmet. He’d been on a lot of fun missions before, but none as fun as this.

He shot down a few droids, following after her and Fury to get better aim as the droids fell back.

Even though they’ve been at it for hours, he wanted to keep fighting. He wanted to feel useful and needed again.

Juliette stretched her arms, “how am I not use to this yet?”

“You weren’t forged for this,” Fury teased. “Not like me.”

Juliette flicked his helmet, “you’re lucky you’re my favorite ARC.”

Shadow chuckled, but his gaze shifted past them to Mirage. He had been approaching, hand extended out to tap Juliette’s shoulder when those words came out of her lips.

Shadow knew it was playful teasing, that she didn’t favor Fury that way. However, he knew the words would sting Mirage like how his words stung him.

Mirage lowered his hand and shuffled away back to Boomerang and the other wounded.

Don’t do it, Shadow. Don’t feel sorry for him.

Mirage got down and began helping Boomerang calm the injured.

I could just go help Boomerang. If I happen to talk to Mirage, then so be it.

“I’ll be back,” Shadow dismissed himself from Juliette and Fury’s playful banter.

He hurried across the field, over to Boomerang’s little makeshift camp and knelt down.

“Need help?” Shadow asked the medic.

Boomerang lifted his helmet, “hey, good to see you. Could you help Mirage get Trusty and Doubler to the arriving gunship?”

So be it.

“Sure.”

He turned to Mirage, helping Trusty get his arm over his shoulder while trying to balance poor Doubler who was wincing in pain every time he lost balance and lowered his foot.

“Let me,” Shadow took Trusty. “I got him.”

“Thanks,” Mirage muttered.

Shadow followed him, walking through the heavy silence.

“Hey, Raj?” Shadow cut into their private channel.

“Yeah?” He lifted his head.

“Did you mean what you said?” Shadow asked, “about shadowing someone else?”

“No,” Mirage turned to him, “I never meant it. I was just so upset with Boomerang and I was lashing out.”

Shadow nodded, “interesting. You said something you didn’t mean and it hurt my feelings.”

“I can hear your sarcasm,” Mirage groaned.

Shadow helped Trusty on the ship, “let that favorite ARC comment be a lesson to you then.”

Mirage grumbled then followed after him as they headed back, “hey! I didn’t mean what I said, but she could’ve meant it.”

“True,” Shadow said, “but at least you might actually have learned how words hurt.”

Mirage sighed, “look, I’m sorry I said it. Can we just be vods again?”

“I don’t really have a choice,” Shadow said, “you’re my brother always.”

“You know what I mean,” Mirage nudged him, “please stop being mad at me?”

“I was only upset the first two days, then I was annoyed you never apologized,” Shadow said, “why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t know what to say,” Mirage sighed.

“Just sorry would’ve been enough,” Shadow said, “it’s all I wanted.”

“I’m sorry,” Mirage said.

“I know,” Shadow turned to him, “that’s why I forgive you.”

Mirage didn’t say anything else as they returned to Boomerang. The medic had his helmet off, rubbing the side of his head where his hair was slowly growing back.

Shadow nudged him, “so, why’d you do it?”

“Gut feeling told me I had to,” Boomerang pointed to his bruised eye, “does this still look as bad as it feels?”

“Probably,” Shadow looked at his cheek, “at least you can open your eye again.”

“Still wish I got in a few more shots,” Boomerang grumbled.

“I saw you kick a droid,” Mirage commented, “where’d you learn that, Shadow?”

“Wave two incoming,” their comms went off.

Shadow checked his blaster, “the General taught me. Maybe she’ll give you some lessons too.”

****

There was an explosion and the ground shook under Cooper’s boots. Loosing his footing, he started to fall forward when Coyote caught the back of his armor’s collar and straightened him up.

He followed him to cover, and gave him a pat on the back, “thanks.”

“No problem,” Coyote said, as an other explosive dropped where they just were.

If Coyote hadn’t grabbed him, Cooper would’ve been scattered pieces.

“Jeez,” Cooper shook his head, “now I really owe you.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Coyote shrugged.

Another explosion shook the ground, and he swore he saw Coyote shutter.

Cooper nudged him, “I’m right here, you’re okay.”

“I know,” he said unconvincingly.

Another explosion, and Coyote moved back under cover, taking deep breaths.

“Coyote, what’s wrong?” Cooper set his blaster down, “are you okay?”

“It’s the explosions,” Coyote exhaled. “I’m fine, I just need to get my thoughts together.”

“Collect them fast,” Cooper held his shoulder, “I need you here.”

Coyote nodded, then shook off those nerves, and got up again ready to go.

****

“Great shot!” Hound said in his comm, “alright, next target is at these coordinates. Ready?”

Digger was zoning out, watching the battle unfold along with bopping his head to the same song he had become obsessed with in the past week.

He shifted his gaze, to the base catching glimpses of plasma bolts flash inside.

He wondered if this mission would be a step towards finding that man who wants to torture them. He figured not. Considering since the war began, he heard a lot of things have been slipping under the radar.

“I’m bored,” Zombie sighed, “please tell me we’re going drinking after this.”

“We might be here for a few days,” Calico groaned.

“Ew,” Zombie groaned, “I hate that.”

“Yeah, well that’s life,” Calico shrugged, “we fight and fight and fight some more.”

“No, no,” Zombie corrected, “that’s clone life.”

Mutt chuckled in amusement.

“See,” Zombie said, “Mutt gets it.”

“Hmm?” He turned to them, “I didn’t hear you.”

The both sighed, and went back to surveying too.

Digger turned his gaze down to the battle, “did any of you tell them the tactical droid is in the back right tank?”

“Huh?” Hound turned his gaze, “there’s that clanker. Thinks he can hide from us, eh?”

Digger smirked, watching Hound switch back to their tankers channel and giving the coordinates and egging them to just lay all their fire on that one area, so they’d get a big explosion.

Digger stood up, heading back to his walker, “pack it up boys, this base is ours.”

“Woo hoo,” Zombie said unenthusiastically, “a tiny break before the Jedi decide if they want to keep us around.”

“Zombie, do you need a nap?” Calico teased.

Zombie grumbled, “I will backhand you.”

Digger said quietly, “that would be a yes.”

“We have taken the base,” Hardwire announced through the comm, “bring your boys down, Sergeant.”

“Copy that, Commander,” Digger replied.

****

“I think I took down way more droids than you,” Juliette declared.

“My bruised shins will say otherwise,” Cody quipped, “but nice try.”

Fury nudged her, saying lowly, “I counted a hundred kills, twenty of which were physical.”

“Really?” Juliette grinned, “cool!”

Cody’s comm went off and he excused himself to answer it. Juliette turned her attention fully to Fury, noting how he shifted his weight like he was uncomfortable.

“How’s my reliable ARC?” Juliette teased. “Didn’t get hurt out there, right?”

“Not at all,” he answered. “I’ve been tailing you, so those droves… droins…”

Juliette stepped closer, “droids?”

He nodded, “didn’t stand a ch-chance, General. S-sorry for stedd… stuttering.”

“But I like your stutter,” she blurted out, “it’s cute.”

His body tensed up, “r-really?”

She nodded, and began walking with him tailing behind her.

****

Cooper walked with Coyote beside him, quiet and tired as they entered the base.

He turned to Coyote, “you okay?”

“I’m okay now,” he said. “It just took me back.”

Cooper sighed, “I think about my old squad too. Losing all of Pack squad-“

“I wasn’t thinking about that explosion,” Coyote cut him off, “I was thinking of Keks.”

Cooper stopped, letting the realization dawn on him that he never learned how his last squad mate died.

“You didn’t know?” Coyote asked.

“I never asked,” Cooper took off his helmet, “an explosion?”

Coyote took his arm, leading him away.

“I don’t like where this going,” Cooper followed him to an uncrowded spot by the walkers.

“I don’t actually know how he died,” Coyote began, “all I know is he said goodbye, there was an explosion, and he was gone.”

Cooper sunk down, “that crazy trooper. He actually did it.”

Coyote sat down, slowly removing his helmet.

“He use to say, if droids ever tried to take him hostage,” Cooper recalled, “he’d blow himself up. Never thought he’d go through with it.”

“I think he did,” Coyote hugged his knees.

“I know he did,” Cooper chuckled.

“I looked up to him,” Coyote said quietly.

Cooper turned to him, “I did too.”

Coyote turned to him, blue eyes glistening with the threat of more sadness.

Cooper stared off into the distance instead, “being the survivor isn’t easy, little vod. It never will be, but we have to keep going or we end up as heartless as the droids we fight.”

He could see Coyote scoot closer. In ways, the younger clones reminded Cooper of the little kids they saw on relief missions. He admired that even with the war pushing them to grow up, he could see some of his brothers resistance to be just cannon fodders.

Coyote placed his head on Cooper’s shoulder, staring off into the distance as well.

Cooper never was a fan of physical touch, but he allowed it.

Quietly, he said, “if you ever need to talk, kid, you come to me. If you need a shoulder, I will be that too.”

Coyote muttered something he didn’t catch.

****

Shadow walked with Mirage and Boomerang, listening to them trade conspiracies in hush whispers about what they pulled from their brains.

“We could take out mine,” Shadow quietly suggested, “then we’d all have matching scars.”

“Did we ever scan you?” Boomerang asked, “I know we scanned the other two.”

“You didn’t,” Mirage smirked.

“Kriff,” Boomerang groaned, “I’ll do that when we get back.”

“Hey!” Fives came running up to them, “glad you’re okay, brother.”

“I have a medic attached to me,” Mirage quipped, “it’d be concerning if I wasn’t.”

Boomerang took off his helmet, smirking, “kiss up.”

Fives whistled lowly, “what happened to you?”

“Clippers got away from me,” Boomerang sighed, “then the other medic and I had a little disagreement that got out of hand.”

“He’s not much of a brawler,” Shadow added.

“It’s true, I’m not,” Boomerang agreed.

Echo came running up, “would you stop running off on me?”

“Is ARC training hard?” Shadow asked.

“Yes,” Echo stated.

“But worth it!” Fives declared, “we’ve been working hard since cadets to be ARCs, and it was worth every boring mission we had prior. All the action, the responsibility, the armor.”

Echo looked down at his armor smiling, “it is nice.”

Mirage nodded, “also helps with picking up the ladies. Gentlemen too.”

Fives wrapped an arm around Echo, “next leave, you and me are making 79’s our hunting grounds.”

Echo shook his head warily.

Boomerang cut in, “who exactly decides who can be an ARC?”

Mirage turned to him, “why? You want to be an ARC, Doc?”

Boomerang gave him a look.

“Well, usually a ranking officer makes the suggestion,” Mirage shrugged, “and then it’s taken into consideration, and then the C.O. gives the promotion, and off they go to training for a month or two depending on their preexisting skill. Why are you asking? You know how it works because Fang was nearly promoted.”

Shadow’s eyes practically popped out of his head. The idea that Fang was nearly promoted was mind boggling. He was reliant on Coyote and Juliette to keep him together, and he wasn’t nearly mentally stable enough to not have a panic attack on Kamino. However, if he did get promoted, it was possible he’d still be alive.

“Fang could’ve been an ARC?” Shadow gasped, “and still alive?”

“Probably,” Boomerang rubbed his chin, “now that I think about it, we were discussing his promotion about a week before he died, so he’d be in training still right now.”

Mirage said something to occupy Echo and Fives’s attention, stirring them out of asking who Fang was.

There was still one question Shadow wanted answers to first, “Boomerang, why did he not get promoted?”

Boomerang leaned in close, lowly whispering so no one else could hear, “Coyote said not to, on the account of it would destroy his relationship with Juliette.”

Shadow frowned, “I guess you’re right.”

Shadow’s gaze shifted, catching Juliette walking over to Hardwire. As per usual, she had Fury following her.

“I think she would’ve been fine,” Shadow said quietly. “Fang would’ve had his heart broken, but she’d bounce back.”

“She’s currently bouncing back,” Boomerang smiled, “she just is looking for someone to catch her.”

“I predict she already found her safety net,” Shadow said with a smile.

“Really?” Boomerang smirked, “who?”

“No one in particular yet,” Shadow lied, watching them walk together.

Fury took her helmet without even being asked, and stood quietly as Juliette spoke with the Commander.

It’s going to be him. I bet my credits it’ll be him.

****

“So, we’re done?”

“We’re done.”

Juliette smiled at her Commander, “great. Got plans for Coruscant?”

“Actually, yes,” Hardwire grinned, “Fox and I are going to be doing paperwork and then doing patrol together.”

“Oh,” she tried to sound lighthearted, “sounds kind of boring.”

“Yeah,” Hardwire shrugged, “but I won’t be doing it alone. Makes it more entertaining and the time will go by faster.”

“I suppose that’s true,” she said smiling.

“If you want, you may join us,” he offered.

“Nah,” she stepped back, “I got hundreds of troops, I’m sure one will want to hang out.”

Fury stepped towards her, “if I may, I-“

As he was speaking, General Kenobi approached with a sympathetic look in his eye.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said, “I need to steal you for a moment, General.”

“Of course,” she turned back to Fury, “hold that thought, Lieutenant. I’ll be back.”

He nodded professionally, handing her back her helmet. She wasn’t sure what his expression was, but he struck her as disappointed that they were interrupted.

Juliette followed General Kenobi up to a control room, a little uncomfortable with the fact he wasn’t talking. Nor was the usually charismatic General smiling, he just looked troubled.

She walked into the control room where the atmosphere was so thick she could cut through it with a knife.

“General?” She finally spoke, “what’s wrong?”

He just led her to a monitor, but instead of a lit screen, she was greeted by a clone helmet crudely painted with her Battalion’s colors. It was not done by a soldier, as it was all over the visor like it was splattered on.

“The helmet,” Anakin spoke first, “we know was bought at a market where bounty hunters typically trade goods.”

“Why are you showing me this?” Juliette looked at them all.

“We found it like this,” a Togruta stepped forward, “but we also found this message.”

The youngling tapped a key, and the monitor lit up with: “go home, baby Trix.”

A chill rolled down her spine, but she kept a neutral face.

“Do you know who this might-“

“Ferris Joster.”

A new questioning look formed on General Kenobi’s face, “who is Ferris Joster?”

“He is a bounty hunter I knew from childhood,” she said calmly. “He claims he is an inventor, but only of means of gruesome torture, he murdered my father, and he is warning me. If I continue fighting in this war, he will come for me next.”

“How much trouble are we in?” the youngling asked.

“Not as much as I’m about to be in,” Juliette turned on her heel, “thank you for showing me this.”

“General Trix, where are you going?” General Skywalker called.

“Next assignment,” she stated, “that coward doesn’t scare me. But if you see him, I recommend taking off his head. He’s less of a threat that way.”

She boarded the lift, relieved no one followed her on.

She wondered if they could sense the darkness looming around her, or just knew that she will kill him on sight for taking away her buir.

The elevator doors opened, and she stepped off bumping into a trooper.

“Sorry,” she muttered, brushing past Calico.

“It’s fine, are you okay?” He excused himself from his conversation with the other three ARFs.

“Far from it,” she grumbled.

Hound, Mutt, and Zombie ran after them.

“You want to talk about it?” Zombie asked.

“Or not,” Mutt said quietly, “we don’t push.”

“I just need a distraction,” she sighed, “I just want to go back to the ship, get to Coruscant, and relax.”

“I hear ya’,” Calico smirked. “We’re going drinking. Digger is helping a friend, so it’ll be just us.”

“Want to join us?” Hound asked.

“I don’t drink,” she shook her head.

“I won’t be drinking either,” Mutt said.

Hound nodded, “we take turns being the designated sober brother.”

“Please join us?” Zombie pressed, “we’ll show you all the best places.”

She cracked a smile.

“Is that a smile?” Hound wrapped an arm around her, “does that mean you will?”

“Sure,” she smiled bigger, “okay. I’ll go out with you boys.”

“Yes!” Zombie fist pumped the air.

“You’re going to regret agreeing,” Calico teased.

#caribou stories #caribou ocs #952nd #star wars #star wars the clone wars #juliette trix #commander hardwire #sergeant cooper #arc trooper mirage #boomerang #coyote #tunnel squad #sergeant digger #hound #mutt #zombie #calico

2 notes · View notes

ghostbite0 · 21 days

Note

Anymore thoughts on the baby gyomei au? Such a cute baby :(( Specifically how Kagaya acts with him? Or how he acts with any of the baby Aus. He just loves his children :(

anon im so sorry this took forever i was trying to put everyrhing to words… yes i have so many thoughts about gyomei!!

gyomei in the tiny 21 trio au [ #tiny 21 trio au ]

- father slash genuine

- he’s distant at first but the longer they’re little and the more they struggle he pitches in. his anxiety with being around children slowly disappears and suddenly hes got an extreme case of baby fever

- if the babies are all upset they are taken to gyomei and gyomei Always cheers them right up

- it gets to a point where the babies regularly ask for gyomei, though they refer to him as papa. insert them wailing and babbling begging to see their papa because its been a couple days and they miss him

- if the others cannot give the babies their papa, they get their big brothers instead (genya/tanjiro/muichiro or rengoku)

- gyomei is constantly in tears whenever they’re in baby mode around him

- because obanai squeaks and mewls like a kitten, gyomei refers to him as his “baby cat” … obanai clings onto him and can usually be seen snuggled up to his collarbone

- sanemi is a little terror until it comes to gyomei. he respects gyomei too much

- gyomei sleeps next to the crib. always. he hears the smallest sound and hes shooting up to make sure they’re okay

baby gyomei au [ #baby gyomei au ]

- his memories are all in tact and hes familiar with whats going on

- hes very cooperative and easy. he knows he’s in good hands so he abides by everything and tries to make taking care of him as simple as possible while sort of treating this as a “vacation”

- kagaya is alarmed and worried at first, because oh god the strongest hashira is now a little younger than a year… but he falls victim to the charm of baby gyomei

- gyomei is super sensitive and gentle. he goes “uhhmm…” a lot when he’s thinking, and likes to pet at his own head to try and get his bangs out of his eyes, since he’s not used to the longer hair

- very sensitive to loud sounds. half the time he starts bawling is because he was startled by something/someone

- muichiro and genya regularly fight over who gets to babysit

- muichiro almost always wins

- gyomei will just sit there listening to their banter and remind himself hes on vacation and only get involved if it actually gets serious (it never does)

- he’s a little embarrassed abt the whole situation but everyones really nice about it. nobody teases him (because its Gyomei) and everyone’s super respectful and always makes sure he’s doing okay

- muichiro gets upset whenever gyomei is taken from him

- gyomeo gets upset whenever he is taken from muichiro

- gyomeis favorite toy is a plush calico kitty that muichiro gifted him. he calls it “mew mew” (he calls muichiro ‘mew mew’ too)

- tengen is very excited about being the eldest and coos and coddles the little guy. gyomei is a little exasperated but he’s just happy tengen’s happy

- he has nightmares a lot, so he never sleeps alone

attaching my favorite baby gyomei doodle ever i like it a lot… look at him. fun fact his bangs are similar to muichiro’s. i like their family relationship a lot

#askbites #artbites #demon slayer #kny #gyomei himejima #gyomei himejima fanart #baby gyomei #baby gyomei au #tiny 21 trio au #deaging #deaging au #de aging

98 notes · View notes

demonslayedher · 7 months

Text

Just thinking about how Chachamaru is a male calico, at least according the Taisho Secret right before chapter 195 that calls him manly. It really doesn't surprise me that he's male, because so many references to calicos I've seen in manga, mascots, and temple architecture specify that the featured calico is male.

This is because they are rare, and therefore considered lucky.

The figure that gets thrown around the internet is that supposedly only 1 in every 3000 calicos is male. (I'll bet the people who did the often quoted study at U. of Minn. College of Vet Med would love to tell you how it's more complicated than that.) This has long made male calicos popular not only in Japan, but in other countries as well. The thing is, though, the male calico might not always be so lucky.

To be very brief about why calicos (and some other multicolored cats) are almost always female, this is because, put very simply, one X chromosome gives us the black splotches, and one X chromosome gives us the orange splotches. That might leave you wondering where the white patches come from, and this is the part where I say that genetics is never simple and you should have fun reading about it. The important takeaway here is that in order to show this color pattern, a cat needs two X chromosomes, one from its mother and one from its father.

Typically, a male cat has an X chromosome (from its female mother, who only has two X chromosomes) and a Y chromosome (from its father, who had both an X and a Y), but because the calico coating can only occur with two X chromosomes, this male cat somehow got an X, a Y, and... hmm, another X somewhere.

So not a typical XY male, not a typical XX calico... this sterile XXY male calico has an extra chromosome, and mutations often are not ideal for the health of the animal with the extra chromosome. This particular condition is Klinefelter’s Syndrome, which can lead to a male calico having cognitive and behavior issues, weaker bones, increased risk of diabetes due to higher body fat, and perhaps a shorter lifespan.

Now, none of the fictitious lucky cats I've seen have ever been portrayed as anything less than smart and pleasant, though a lot of the maneki-neko are pretty round. For everything Chachamaru is tasked with, I have to assume he's above-average when it comes to intelligence, reasonably healthy enough to handle long-distance travel, and for a cat, he's extremely, extremely cooperative. For the record, the same Taisho Secret (as well as Yushiro's statement in Chapter 194) makes it clear that for most of canon Chachamaru was a regular cat, for he was not made into a demon until right before the final showdown with Muzan. Even with her hands full making the medicine for Muzan, she still put a lot of effort into changing Chachamaru so that Yushiro wouldn't be lonely. It's ironic that Chachamaru winds up immortal, rather than doomed to a potentially shorter lifespan due to his mark...ings. In the first place, was Tamayo perhaps moved with pity for a sickly kitten and nursed him to the health he's in now?

Or did she always keep her eye out for a male calico, wanting to put some faith in them being good luck?

Also, what sticks out to me in this Taisho Secret is that Chachamaru, not having a language in which he could communicate with Tamayo, had no choice in becoming a demon. Tamayo felt sorry about that. The word bubble over manly little Chachamaru says, with bravado, "Fine by me, if that's what the woman I'm smitten with wishes." If Chachamaru truly is that smitten with her, that perhaps accounts for what an unusually cooperative cat he is. But it also reminds me of a fan theory that I saw once (and found worthy of weight) which said that perhaps Tamayo's blood technique has an effect like makes others smitten with her, and Yushiro might had been under its influence, however strongly or subtly. If such a thing were the case, it might or might not had been something Tamayo was conscious of. If she was conscious of having some effect like that, she probably felt awful about it but found it a necessary precaution to keep any demon she made under control. If she wasn't conscious of such a thing, that means she might had subconsciously developed it out of loneliness, and had been trying to keep company at her side.

#kny fandom theories and meta #kny nerdery #chachamaru #tamayo

210 notes · View notes

threadbaresweater · 1 month

Text

Summertime (and the livin' is easy)

Collaborative Master List

Still accepting submissions!

For the original event announcement, please click here

*links will be added as fics are completed

@forest-hashira Butterflies. Fandom: JJK. Suguru Geto x reader. Prompt: botanical gardens. sfw

@forest-hashira Cool Touch. Fandom: JJK. Satoru Gojo x reader. Prompt: sunburns. sfw

@strawbrrystarlight Under Cotton and calicoes. Fandom: BNHA. Eijiro Kirishima x reader. nsfw

@gardenofnoah Untitled. Fandom: JJK. Nanami Kento x reader. nsfw

@eussstasss Don't distract me. Fandom: One Piece. Eustass Kid x reader. sfw

@dottedsilktie Dolce far niente. Fandom: JJK. Nanami Kento x reader. nsfw

@mintmatcha Savor. Fandom: JJK. Higuruma Hiromi x reader. sfw(?)

@scary-grace The New Postmodern Age. Fandom: BNHA. Tomura Shigaraki x Reader. nsfw

@thus-spoke-lo Until the First Leaf Falls. Fandom: One Piece. Shanks x reader. sfw

@kyoiai Dates and Ducks. Fandom: One Piece. Sanji x reader. sfw

@kyoiai No Wasting Food! Fandom: Black Butler. Sebastian Michaelis x reader. sfw

@kyoiai With You. Fandom: Love and Deepspace. Zayne x reader. sfw

@desceros Untitled. Fandom: Rise TMNT. Leonardo x reader. nsfw

@boundinparchment Untitled. Fandom: Genshin Impact. Dottore x reader. rating tbd

@thejudiciousneurotic Untitled. Fandom: TMNT. 2012 Leo x f!reader. nsfw

@snail-eggs Two Headed Lamb. Fandom: Fallout. Cooper Howard x ofc. nsfw

@snail-eggs Dancing Barefoot. Fandom: Fallout. Lucy Maclean x ofc. sfw

@snail-eggs Over by the River, Downstream. Fandom: Red Dead Redemption 2. Arthur Morgan x ofc. rating tbd

@pileofmush Untitled. Fandom: One Piece. Fluffy x reader. sfw

@zorosdimples Untitled. Fandom: One Piece. Roronoa Zoro x reader. rating tbd

@forest-hashira Lost and Found. Fandom: JJK. Shoko x reader. sfw

@difficultdomains Untitled. Fandom: JJK. Gojo x reader. rating tbd

@bas-writes Untitled. Fandom: JJK. Nanami x reader. rating tbd

@bas-writes Untitled. Fandom: JJK. Higuruma x reader. rating tbd

#lin's follower milestone

51 notes · View notes

orangesodaliker · 7 months

Text

easily my favorite theory/headcannon is that the entire pirating community is in love with/owes a debt to izzy. like between calico jack’s cooperation with the whole British Navy Plan and Bill and Steak Knife bending to his will in the most recent episode. Piracy’s most sought after dom

#this is basically canon #ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #izzy hands ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd izzy #ofmd season 2

135 notes · View notes

writingraven · 2 years

Note

Hello, would you be able to post tips on how to start a pirate au? This is my first time making one.

【 Hi! My tip for any au (or any story, really) is simply research. It’s important to understand the dynamics and realism. So I put together some pirate knowledge for you! I’ll probably make more posts on this soon. I’m thinking pirate terms, ship terms, common weapons, things like that. If you’d be interested, let me know. Hope this helps, and good luck on your story (: 】

The Pirate Life

warnings: violence

✶

↳ Drinks

⇝ portable drinking water was hard to come by so many ships carried an abundance of wine, beer, and rum

⇝ a famous mariner drink is grog (sugar-water, lime juice, and rum) which was known to prevent scurvy

⇝ another is bombo/bumboo (sugar-water, nutmeg, and rum) or rumfustian (water, raw eggs, sherry, gin, beer)

↳ Eye Patches

⇝ not only worn because someone lost an eye

⇝ worn to keep one eye adjusted to darkness

⇝ when fighting/raiding below deck they could switch the eye patch instead of waiting for vision to adjust

↳ Flags

⇝ not all pirate flags were black with a skull and crossbones

⇝ most pirate flags were plainly black or red (completely red flags were known as the most aggressive)

⇝ if there were designs, many adorned hourglasses to represent the inevitability of death

↳ Freetime

⇝ when not working, pirates often played cards or dice (although, gambling was against the rules on some ships), sang, danced, partied, etc.

⇝ stopping at ports was a fairly regular occurrence so they could take a break from the harsh sea to sell goods, repair the ship, and of course find women

↳ Life of Crime

⇝ sure, some people became pirates for the life of crime, but the overwhelming majority were simply sailors who abandoned their jobs due to horrendous working conditions

⇝ pirates were treated far better by their captains than navy men

⇝ there were even periods of time where pirating wasn’t illegal — governments would enlist pirates during wartime to plunder enemy ships. these pirates were labeled ‘privateers’ and legally allowed to operate under ‘letters of marque’ which basically made them military contractors

↳ Longevity

⇝ pirate careers were a few years long tops (even the famous blackbeard only lasted two years)

⇝ many were killed or injured especially because medical facilities were practically nonexistent

↳ Positions

⇝ well-run ships had a clear division of labor

⇝ positions included captain, quartermaster, boatswain, carpenter, cooper, gunner, navigator, etc.

⇝ the captain had absolute command during battle and chose where/when to go somewhere

⇝ the quartermaster oversaw ship operations and divided the loot

⇝ pirates were not as chaotic as media portrays — they were actually quite democratic

⇝ but the illusion of being brutal would be beneficial for plundering as the possibility of surrender was increased

⇝ most pirates were illiterate, but there were quite a few who actually came from higher social classes

↳ Raids

⇝ looting gold/silver was much less common than looting supplies (food, drink, candles, navigational tools, repairing equipment, medicine, etc.)

⇝ most pirates didn’t want to kill people — they would steal the goods and leave the crew (or let the crew join them) especially because the bounties weren’t usually worth it

↳ Rules

⇝ most pirate ships took their rules very seriously, with punishments being severe

⇝ common rules were against lying, stealing amongst themselves, fighting on board, gambling, etc.

⇝ walking the plank was not a common punishment (it actually rarely ever happened) — punishments were usually flogging, dunking, tying to the mast, hanging, marooning, or keelhauling

✶

Famous Pirates to Check Out for Motivation: Stede Bonnet, Anne Bonny, Francis Drake, Calico Jack, William Kidd, Henry Morgan, Mary Read, Bartholomew Roberts, Edward Teach (Blackbeard)

#writing #writing tips #story ideas #reference #knowledge #writing reference #pirate prompts #pirates #pirate au #writeblr #writer things

724 notes · View notes

nidmightcookies · 3 days

Text

Know what I'm sick of? I'm sick of a few fans posting every other fucking day about how some other fans are fandoming wrong, because those fans don't like the same character/in the same way that they do. And somehow it becomes an issue of racism, because fuck if they'll allow stanning of a white guy (funny enough, the only time I've seen race mentioned), not on their fucking watch, nosirree.

And somehow it's the wrong-fandoming-fans' fault that you fine, upstanding citizen fans have to post about this shit AGAIN because it happened AGAIN and you know, I can't remember the last time I saw the outright racist posts in the tags, so I must be curating Tumblr extremely well in that regard (wait... is it ON Tumblr, or is it somewhere else on the internet, but you brought it HERE?), at least. But I still see the regularly scheduled "Fandom was mean again" posts, so. Maybe not that good.

I'm fucking sick of it, and I don't care if this upsets them/you too, so allow me to be specific. I've read too many hypocritical essays on how Izzy fans/Canyon are doing it wrong/never shut up/missing the point/bad people who should feel bad/promoting oppression of insert-group-here (FYI, I belong to some of those groups, so - fucking don't even start it with me) ... yet those essays always have dozens of notes of agreement on them. We all know -ism is bad, we all fucking know that, but I swear some of you act like you're getting points for how many times you point it out.

Judging by the dozens of notes, maybe you are.

I know mine is not going to be the popular opinion, I know I'll get shit, I know you'll dismiss me as a troll, I don't care. I'm not having fun in Tumblr OFMD fandom anymore. You've helped to make it not fun. This constant infighting has got to fucking stop.

As you(generic policing fans) like to point out: it's a SHOW. With characters written/acted to entertain us. Some of them are going to be your favorite, and some of them are not ( I fucking hate Calico Jack, some people love him, that's okay) .

Canyon? Same to you.

Is there another group, non-Ed-non-Izzy, that needs to hear this message? Listen the fuck up:

LIKE WHAT YOU LIKE.

LET PEOPLE LIKE THE SHIT THEY LIKE.

Believe it or not, these two things can be done simultaneously. Stop reading shit into what other people are doing/saying, fucking ignore/block them if they bother you so goddamn much, and get the fuck on with enjoying the fandom the way you want to enjoy it. Let's all just fucking love us some gay pirates. It's what we're all here for.

...and if the way you want to enjoy it, is to ruin other people's enjoyment, then you can just fuck right the hell off. Thank you for your cooperation.

#our flag means death #ofmd #i'm fucking pissed #mostly because this won't make any difference #because we're too deep in us vs. them now

15 notes · View notes

soupsysoup · 25 days

Text

Kwazii Head canons!! Not the best drawing, but the one I was gonna use originally looked like a fucking cheeto and did not look like Kwazii, sooo-, yeah.

Headcanons!!

-Trans Aro/Ace

-He/him

-Has ADHD and Dyslexia. I mean, look at him, I doubt I need to say more

-The hole in his ear is a ripped piercing

-Him and Inkling like to place random bets during their ping pong matches. Like trading out chores or taking over the other's chore as well as their own.

-Gup B is his comfort gup and misses it quite a bit when he's out and about with his Grand-dad

-Like Cali, his eye has a light sensitivity. It's genetic. It's not bc of the eye patch. Other than that, his eye works fine, however, his vision is getting worse in that eye, so-

-Sings sea shanties with Captain Barnacles. Him and Barnacles listen to Fish in a Birdcage. One album in particular that I haven't rlly bothered to find the name of, lol

-Has tried to learn an instrument, but fails every time, and gives up too easily

-Him and Barnacles actually bumped heads a few times when he was training to be an Octonaut (Yes, there's training to be one, and he just barely passed, it's a fucking miracle)

-In his Pirate days, the only he was widely known for was that he was Calico's grandson, so that put a huge target on his back.

-His parents died, but he was raised by Calico Jack when he was just a kitten, but after Cali left, the crew raised him.

-the crew that raised him told him so many stories abt Calico's daring feats and what not. As well as "monster" stories

-Very active imagination. Gives him anxiety

-Amazing artist. Him and Shellington draw together and Barnacles joins sometimes. It's just a quiet thing that they all do together. Tweak also joins in on occasion. They're just sitting in silence, drawing, maybe listening to music. It's one of the only times you'll ever see Kwazii focus so hard for so long

-If he's ever focused on something and you disrupt him, he isn't rlly happy abt it bc him focusing on something is abt as rare as a blue moon

-Bounces his leg and swishes his tail when fidgeting

-Is never truly still, even when he's asleep, he's always moving around.

-Boops the crew on occasion for no real reason (Especially Peso, Barnacles, and Shellington. Emphasis on Peso and Barnacles. Extra emphasis on Peso)

-Protective over Peso

-Yeow is 100% a vocal stim that he's been using since he was just a kitten. He got it from his grand dad

-Prior to adventuring to the Amazon, he was 99% sure his granddad was dead, but he somehow felt, deep in his bones, that Cali was still alive somewhere.

-Cried while holding a picture of Calico Jack after the Amazon episode. He actually started writing to him as much as he could.

-Got his sword skills (and possibly drawing skills) from his grand dad

-Used to follow Cali around, mimicking everything he did/said. Annoyed him at first, but grew to actually love him for it bc he realized that he was this kid's role model and I think that's sweet as hell

-After he decided to get his own ship, he realized how lonely he was. He discovered that Cali's old crew disbanded after he left, and would love to find them, but there's no traces of them left...maybe they're dead...or alive...we may never know...

-Gold tooth, like his grand dad. He probably got into a fight with someone and got the tooth punched right out of his mouth.

-Didn't get a proper gold tooth, till Peso gave him one, when he first joined.

-Last one to join the Octonauts

-Like his grand dad, he likes to curl up into a ball when sleeping

-Cuddle bug for life

-Has an older brother bond to Peso and uses the stories to scare him

-Him and Peso occasionally fight like actual siblings, but get along most of the time

-Was not the most cooperative person when he first joined. In fact, he was a little on edge and hostile to the group, but now, they're literally his family

-He cusses like crazy, but stopped bc Peso doesn't like cussing and Barnacles says it's kind of important to stay at least somewhat professional at all times

-Cannot handle any type of cold, what so ever. His room is a fucking Sauna, it's crazy

-Calico Jack was his ultimate transition goal when he was first transitioning.

-He's actually quite strong and it is totally bc of all the swimming he does on the job

-Part Carribean and Part Asian, but he grew up all over the place

#illustration #art #octonauts headcanon #kwazii #Kwazii head canons #design #random headcanons #Canon as i could be

16 notes · View notes

canonizzyhours · 2 months

Note

It makes me feel a little crazy seeing people so voraciously accept the take that Izzy is a father figure to Ed. I know that DJenks said it, but frankly I don’t care who said it when there just isn’t any textual support for it.

Ed just doesn’t treat Izzy like a father figure at all. Compare the way he acts toward Hornigold; the whole tone of it is super different. He makes these bids for connection where he’s clearly looking for approval or trying to impress Hornigold, and he tends to get defensive when Hornigold won’t cooperate or his mean to him, suggesting that he’s maybe hurt by it.

With Izzy he never seeks that approval or tries to impress him, and when he makes bids for connection, like in the beginning of 1x4 or that time he he offered him drugs, they are much friendlier in nature. He also gets annoyed by Izzy’s behavior, but he rarely seems hurt by it until Izzy digs into a topic that Ed is particularly vulnerable about (Stede mostly).

Yes, Izzy is an abusive white man, just like Ed’s dad and just like Hornigold, who Ed does seem to have some of those feelings toward. But so was Calico Jack and I don’t see anyone suggesting Ed regards him as a father figure.

#345.

#ofmd #izzy hands #edward teach #canonizzyhours

11 notes · View notes

sl-newsie · 3 months

Text

Behind Masks (Dr. Jonathon Crane x OC) Ch. 4: Test Subject

“I’ve come to collect you for individual counseling.” Crane goes to grab my arm and I flinch away to stand in a fighting stance. “Very well, no armed escort is necessary as long as you play nice. You’re capable of walking cooperatively, right?”

I ignore his jeering tone and wave goodbye to Ivy and Nigma before walking down through another hallway. This one’s lit up better than the others and is much less noisy.

“You know where you’re going, Prentiss,” Crane observes from behind. “Care to explain why? You’ve never been inside Arkham before.”

“I may or may not have memorized the blueprints.”

Silence takes over. If I’m correct the interrogation- oh, old habits. The safe space room should be another three doors down and 5 to the left. It certainly is because the door I stop in front of is the one Crane unlocks when he catches up. The mirror attached to the wall outside leads me to believe it's used for police interrogations. The room I’m nudged into is smaller than all the others. Only a matching mirror, a simple desk, and two chairs take up space.

I don’t like it. Being on the other end of therapy. Back in Metropolis the facilities there are much more open and modernized. This place looks as if it’s going to swallow me whole and never let me see the light of day. And I’m supposed to be stuck in here with Crane for a whole hour?

“Take a seat please,” Crane instructs as he himself sits at the table and writes down more notes. “The date is October 2nd, the time is 11am Eastern Time. Therapy is now in session, Calico Prentiss.”

“Still waiting on that lawyer.”

“I see you still show reluctance to your situation,” Crane says simply. “How are you getting along with the other inmates?”

I bite my lip and stay strong to keep my gaze from dropping. “I’ll admit the company here is far better than what I had in Metropolis.”

“Interesting.” Crane’s icy blue eyes flash with hidden excitement. “And how has my, ah, treatment been acting?”

He’s going to be so disappointed. I’ll admit I’m still a bit skeptical of the toxin’s effects; however I can’t carry out the rest of my life limiting myself because I’m afraid to fail.

“I’ve kept my head, Dr. Crane. There have been no new hallucinations or symptoms.”

My response takes a moment so set in. “I see.”

Crane’s face shows no readable emotion; yet there’s no denying the aggravation itching under his skin. He goes to write more notes and I notice he’s holding the pen much tighter.

“You’re upset. Good.”

I cross my arms and lean back in my chair, victorious. There you have it, Dr. Crane. You can try to quiet me as much as you like but I won’t be the perfect patient you want me to be.

“My toxin hasn’t failed yet.” Now with a laid-back demeanor, Crane opens his briefcase and my mind races to the conclusion of what’s about to happen. “Maybe it’s time for a stronger dose-”

Bang bang!

A loud knock on the door startles both of us. It creaks open and a security guard pokes her head in.

“Dr. Crane, Rachel Dawes from the District Attorney’s Office is here to see you.”

The doctor takes a deep breath and regathers his thoughts. “Very well. We shall continue our session later, Prentiss.” He orders the guard to escort me back to my cell and leans in to whisper: “I suggest you keep quiet unless you want me to change your condition to a death sentence.”

Death. Something that used to bring back painful and guilty memories. Who knew that the loss of my parents would turn death into something so fascinating? The methods of death, the causes, the superstitions. Crane’s invitation of death might be the best thing that’s happened to me all day.

In a fleeting moment I see a glimpse of a brown-haired woman in a black business suit turn around the corner. The D.A. lady!

“Help! Please! I’m not supposed to be here!” I grip the door and the guard tries to tug me away. My hope soars when I see the D.A. woman return with a confused look. “My name is Dr. Calico Prentiss from the Metropolis Hell’s Gate Psychiatric Institution! I am of sound mind and demand to speak to a lawyer- or at least just one person who’s not as corrupted as the rest of this insane city-!”

A cloth is shoved in my mouth and I feel something collide with my skull. I crumple to the ground and the guard gives a hard kick to my stomach for good measure. I stay like that for about 15 minutes and then hear familiar footsteps approaching.

Crane kneels down and forces me against the wall, eyeing me with controlled anger.

“I don’t get mad often. But you seem to want to change that. For this I am going to subject you to special treatment.”

I’m pulled up to stand and Crane starts dragging me down the hall. Personal mortality is a personal understanding of one’s own mortality and acceptance of the fact that they are going to die. I now see that I will have to accept my death today. There’s no way I’m surviving after that stunt.

“Special treatment? Like what? Electroshock therapy? Waterboarding? You know my worst fear is failure and that my parents are dead. What do I have to lose that death won’t deliver?”

The doctor tsks and waves a finger at me. “Oh, no. I’m not going to kill you. You could have had the same routine as the other inmates. But you couldn’t play the game, could you? Had to play the hero and try to tell the nice lawyer about the bad guy in the scary mask?" He acquires a vicious look in his eye. “No, I don’t think so.”

Crane forces me down several flights of stairs and I’m starting to lose track of where we are. I don’t remember this in the blueprints. Suddenly we stop and Crane uses a key to open a gate into another section of the building.

“Where are we?”

“In an abandoned wing of Arkham, where no one can hear you scream.”

In the dark I see the gate close and hear the keys jiggling, locking me in. Before I can reach for something to defend myself, Crane flips on a dim, flickering light and locks in on me with a hungry gaze.

“You are my new lab rat, Calico Prentiss.”

So that’s it? I spend the rest of whatever time Crane gives me as a spare body for experiments. I should feel scared… But I’m not.

“Knowing that your days are numbered gives your life a more powerful sense of meaning,” I say softly. “It sets a time limit to what we want to accomplish in life. If we didn’t have a limit on life we would never be motivated to do anything because life would go on forever.” The doctor’s perplexed expression shows I’ve caught his attention. “But my accomplishments have already been fulfilled, Dr. Jonathan Crane. I became a psychiatrist. I helped people. But in this sad, twisted world helping people only makes you a target.”

Grasping my nerves I step forward and accept my fate. “If my eventual death is to be for the use of science then so be it. But as Einstein said, time is relative. What might seem like a week to you seems like 10 years to me and visa versa. I’m more than capable of conjuring enough mental motivation to put up with whatever experiments you’ve got. Do your worst, Dr. Crane.”

My speech leaves the doctor wide-eyed as he keeps scanning me with curiosity. The first time he looked at me like that it felt unsettling, but now… Why do I feel encouraged to edge him on? It works because Crane’s advance has turned subtly gentle.

“You are without a doubt one of the most unique patients I’ve discovered, even if you never were supposed to be one.” He holds out a hand as if he’s approaching a wild animal. “This doesn’t have to be as bad as you think. You need only cooperate and keep quiet. If you keep to that then I promise I won’t hurt you beyond my range of standards.”

Is he serious? He talks about being locked up and tested on as if it’s a simple business deal!

“What exactly is your range of standards, Dr. Crane?”

He shrugs. “Being exposed to some toxins isn’t exactly the same as smelling a rose, dear. I can’t guarantee each dose will be merciful. But I will take precautions to prevent it, I assure you.”

This is seeming more and more like a discussion a surgeon has with their patient before undergoing surgery. If I didn’t know better I’d say he’s actually being… sympathetic.

“And if I don’t cooperate then someone pays for the guards to look the other way and have someone bump me off?” Crane nods. I sigh heavily and consider my options. Compared to being beaten to a pulp in the street this doesn’t seem as brutal. And it’s in the name of science, which has never failed me before. “Very well. I will consent to your experiments, only if you let me back into group therapy. After each session I will return here.”

The doctor frowns. “Why return to group therapy? What guarantee do I have that you won’t tattle the second I let you back upstairs?”

“Because I am an ambivert, Dr. Crane. If you keep me locked down here with no other human contact then my mind will disorient and create inaccurate data for your tests. That, and I actually liked talking to Nigma and Ivy even if they’re not normal.”

“None of us here are normal, Dr. Prentiss,” Crane replies in a distant cold voice.

I'm in way over my head. I never should have come to Gotham no matter how good the pay is.

“However since you do make a fair point I will allow you 1 hour of group therapy each day.”

He budged. Is it just me or is Crane actually being nice? No, he just wants to dangle a carrot and make me play by the rules. Still, it’s a small win.

“Thank you, Dr. Crane.”

“Try anything and I’ll arrange for you to live in constant terror for the rest of your life,” he responds in a laid-back tone and pats my shoulder before walking over and locking the gate behind him.

It’s no deal with the devil, yet why do I feel as if I’ve just signed my own death certificate?

#jonathon crane #jonathon crane x reader #dr jonathan crane #scarecrow x reader #scarecrow #poison ivy #the riddler #harley quinn #the joker #two face #the penguin #batman #batman begins #the dark knight #the dark knigth rises #gotham #gotham tv #cillian murphy

10 notes · View notes

nilrilie · 1 year

Text

A Spirit That Never Fades | pt. 2

The plot: is missing but all you need to know is that you were once a skyperson named Anilri that was somehow reborn as a Metkayina. Eywa loves you too much.

You can find this story on ao3

Warning: Mentions of drowning, that's all. This one is mostly warmhearted scenes.

Masterlist

From the creatures that walk on land and water to the plants that surround the forest and seas, everything around you is connected with energy and the memories of the past. And as you glide around the ocean floor by yourself with nothing but a soft tune humming in your head, you are thankful to Eywa that she has given you the ability to still feel these connections in this new life.

From time to time, you stop to graze the sand on the ocean floor in hopes to find a shell that was different from the others you regularly see scattered around the village. And when you eventually found one half hidden under a rock, you couldn't help but smile in approval.

It was the bluest calico shell you've ever seen, covered in stripes that looked like waves from a stormy sea.

You've never seen any seashells with this pattern before and that's saying something since you've been here at the reef for about a year.

Picking it up, your mind wandered to the Omaticaya clan. To the forest Na'vi's whose skin color was the same shade as the shell in your hands.

Thinking of them never fails to warm your heart. They were your people, a family you never asked for but was given anyways.

Of course, at first, the forest Na'vis treated you with harsh words and looks but as months passed — also adding Grace's name to your back, they warmed up to you much like how Neytiri was to Jake.

As these fond memories came to you, you couldn't shake the troubled feeling in your heart that followed.

You know full well that a war was brewing between the Omaticaya clan and the humans before you died. It wasn't a hushed conversation in Hell’s Gate, the RDA was planning something big and they didn't care if others out of their field found out.

You wanted to stop them, to do something inside the facility that might help Jake in defending the Na’vis and their home, but you had no power or position to intervene with the RDA's plan. Not to mention you also had zero knowledge on how to handle a weapon — unless it's a SCAR-L gun or a hunting knife, and you know full well those will be useless against an AMP suit with their big ass guns and hard metal exoskeletons.

You want to go back to the forest, to fight and be useful. To see Jake, Norm, Grace, and Trudy alive and safe. But they didn't have anything here that could be used to communicate outside the reef. You could always ask Tonowari or Ronal as they’d probably know but every time you open your mouth to ask, you would always change it to a different subject.

It was cowardly, you know this, but you were afraid. Afraid that the war had happened and had taken the lives of the people you spent your time with — getting to know and befriended. That the forest you fell in love with was no more because of the humans who did the same thing to their mother.

But there was a part of you that was still hopeful.

For all you know, the Na'vis and the sky people might have solved their differences and made an agreement where the two species can cooperate in peace together.

…right?

Deciding you've lingered enough at the bottom of the sea, you took one last look around the area before swimming up. The blue shell safely in your hands in a tight grip.

Breaking the water's surface, you didn't expect to be so far away from land. The waves were far harsher than it was before you entered making it known that you’ve strayed too far from the safety of the village.

You were hesitant to leave even as the irregular waves hit your body you still wanted to explore outside the seawall, but you knew you needed to find Tsireya. She might be going crazy with worry since you both dived together, before losing each other to your own curiosity.

Looking at the distance, you decided to call for your ilu and in under a minute Emma was beside you. Rubbing her head on yours as she chirped happily in greeting.

“Hey girl," you giggled, hand in her head as you gently pushed her away from drowning you with affection, "I know you love me but we need to go. Tsireya might just kill my ass if I stay longer here," you said, jumping on her back and connecting your queue. Emma chirped in understanding and effortlessly guided you both back into the water, moving as fast as she could to get you both back home safely.

On the shallow end of the water, you see Tsireya watching the surface with a worried look that melted to relief when she saw you on your ilu.

As you got closer, you knew you were in trouble when you saw the scowl on her face. “Anilri! Where have you been?!" The girl in front of you now fumed.

“Sorry,” you smiled slyly, getting off your ilu without a sound as the water went up to your waist.

You patted Emma’s head as a gesture to thank her and to tell her she can go, which she did before bumping her head none too gently with yours.

“Ow! Emma, you—! Ugh…I’m sorry, Tsireya. I got distracted. I didn't notice the time.”

Signing, Tsireya looked at you closely, taking a hold of your shoulders and spinning you around to check if you had any injuries from your time in the water. When she didn't find any, she smiled at you before taking your arm and dragging you toward the sand.

“Be glad Aonung or Kiloä were not here. They would have dived long ago, blind by worry from your long absence. It is worrying since you know how Aonung is,

his inflated head would only drag him up causing him to be useless in the water.” she said, eyeing you with a teasing grin.

Tsireya stopped her walking before you lightly smacked her arm in scolding. Seeing you glare at her only made the girl giggle.

"That's mean, Reya."

“Mean? You were the one who said those exact same words when Aonung tried to compete in hunting with you.”

Shaking your head in amusement and rolling your eyes at the girl who was now laughing, it was clear as day that the memory of you bullying the bully was loved by Tsireya.

With the movement of your eyes that led you to look at the sand below your feet, you smile at what you see.

There on the sand were shells of different kinds, all ranging in different colors and shapes in one neat circle.

You squatted down to take a better look at them, Tsireya following you with a soft smile.

At first, she had wondered why you didn't seem to know any skills that were needed to live on the reef, and even Aonung went to her to ask these questions with distress as he was the one who was supposed to look after the mysterious Metkayina girl.

“How am I not supposed to worry, Tsireya? The girl can not even breathe properly underwater! She was behind me as we rode an ilu, then in an instant, lost her grip on me! When I looked back to see if she was alright, she was clutching her throat since she drank seawater from staying too long under. How was I supposed to know she needed air, she should have hit me or something to make me notice — !”

“Aonung, Aunong stop it. Breath, brother.”

“She is Metkayina yet she does not know the basic things to survive in the water.

She could have drowned, sister.”

With his hands on his head and a pained expression on his face, Tsireya could only give him one piece of advice that she knows will work as she had experience in teaching the younger children of their clan.

“Be patient with her, brother. She has lost her memories and that is probably why she has also forgotten the things we were all first taught as children.”

Aonung looked somber but nodded his head in agreement. “You know I am not Patient.”

“Yes, but if you do not want a repeat of what happened, you must be. You must also talk to her and get to know her. Be her teacher and treat her as if she is a child, taking her first step in the water.”

And as weeks passed, it was obvious you only needed a reminder. You were fast to learn, breaking records of warriors who could hold their breath underwater. You even rode an ilu with only one instruction to connect and hold on tight.

You were someone that was connected with the water like no other. Tsireya couldn't stop the thought of telling her mother that the girl could be a future Tsahìk if only her mother would stop being suspicious of the girl.

With your closeness to Aonung, Rotxo was there to see your growth. Furthermore, helping in teaching you anything you needed to know about hunting and making nets. And along with Rotxo, Tsireya was there to further assist you with breathing and riding the ilus.

The three teens could see your love for their home. And even till now, the love you showed towards the reef reminded them of its beauty. Something that they have almost forgotten as they were surrounded by it all their life.

With the face you make, of awe and wonder, every time you see even the tiniest seashell on the sand, Tsireya was reminded to be thankful. And there was one thing she was extremely thankful for, and that was the day Eywa had given you to them.

"Did you find all this?" you asked the younger girl, brushing your fingers on the shells to feel their textures.

"I did,” she replied, doing the same with the others that were near her. “When we got separated, I decided to look around and found them. I thought they would look good as decorations for clothing."

"They would also look good as accessories for the hair. Would you like me to re-braid your hair and use some of it? These small ones are the perfect size."

"Yes, please! I would rather have you do it than my mother, she could sometimes be rough in handling hair."

With a restrained laugh from what Tsireya told you, you looked back at the shells to distract yourself from laughing out loud.

Sometimes, you still can't believe that everything that’s happening around you is true.

Swimming and playing around in a body of water used to be a distant dream you had back on earth since the oceans and seas there were so polluted to the extent that none can be used to even water the nonexisting plants you had at home.

Now here at Awa'atlu, you were living near the sea and breathing in the fresh air.

A very different place from where you started.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | ...

@ultimatebluff

#avatar the way of water #neteyam #aonung #jake sully #neteyam x original female character #original female character #metkayina #omaticaya #aonung x original female character #neteyam x original female character x aonung #ASTNF

49 notes · View notes