#didn’t even realize I had a tan/teal/blue thing going on this year until I saw all the works together lol

[seancefemme]

Thank you sooo much for all the love and support this year 💕

#30000 notes is still so insane 🫶 #sorry this is like all the art I did It was like thee most insane year of my life #new years resolution is to make weirder art god bless #didn’t even realize I had a tan/teal/blue thing going on this year until I saw all the works together lol

[hlizr50]

Update: The Raven and the Songbird

Chapter 3

Read on AO3

Four days.

Four days of training with no sign of Azriel.

Four days of the pitying side-glances from Nesta and Cassian when she arrived to the ring to find that he still wasn’t there.

Gwyn gritted her teeth and peppered the post with blows from her fists and feet. She hated pity. She didn’t want it. They knew it, too. It was all she could do not to scream at them, and part of her wondered why exactly she hadn’t. A few weeks ago she probably would have. Her scowl deepened.

She punched harder.

As much as she’d denied it to the general and her friends, she was acting differently. She wasn’t upset about being spurned by a male. She had never had any claim on Azriel, never had any expectations. She was not a female that would allow a male to have power over her emotions – her very being – like that.

But she felt like she had lost a friend, and not due to tragedy or death. She had lost a friend by their own choice. She wasn’t sure how to handle that.

Had it been pity that made Azriel placate her? Is that what he had done? She’d told him that she missed him. It was true, and she had never questioned uttering her truth to anyone.

He hadn’t returned the sentiment.

Perhaps it had been pity, then. He had said what he knew she wanted to hear, enough to get her out of his hair…

“NO,” she scolded herself through her panting. Gwyn would not allow herself to go down that road. She did not need pity from herself, either. She was strong and capable and confident. She was a Valkyrie.

The dull ache in her knuckles distracted her from her rushing thoughts and the sun beating down on the training ring. It was hotter than she could remember it ever being since she’d started training – so hot that Cassian had allowed the trainees to forego the Illyrian leathers in favor of lighter, cooler clothing. A year ago the idea may have terrified her, but she had fought Illyrian warriors in nothing but a nightgown, so she graciously accepted Nesta’s offer of the light blue linen tunic that bared her shoulders and lightweight leggings. Gwyn was grateful for her friend’s consideration, even though she knew the sun would likely end up burning her rarely-exposed skin.

Another distraction. For the best.

“Gwyn.”

The priestess started as the general’s voice boomed from behind her. She turned her wide eyes to him and saw an eyebrow raised at her.

“Cassian?” She had grown increasingly comfortable with him in the months since his and Nesta’s mating ceremony. She had spent a considerable amount of time with both of them, and while she still used his title, it was usually in jest and banter. He had become a friend, something of a brother, perhaps.

“I said you need to take a break.” His eyes shifted to her hands before returning to her face. “Water. Now. And take care of those hands.”

“I’m fine -“

“You will take care of them or I will sideline you for the rest of the day, Berdara,” he spoke sternly, every bit the weathered veteran and general of the most feared forces in all of Prythian. He had mischief in his eyes, as per usual, but there was something that darkened them.

Concern.

“Yes, general,” she drawled before muttering under her breath as he walked away, “Mother-henning busybody.”

“What was that, Berdara?” he challenged over a broad shoulder.

“Nothing!” she sing-songed back to him as sweetly as she could muster, lest she not sound convincing. His wings flared slightly as he paced away, and she waited until he was halfway across the ring before she stretched out her arms in front of her to survey the backs of her hands. The fabric wrapped around her hands was stained crimson across her knuckles where her skin had surely cracked open. In multiple places.

She hadn’t even noticed.

Gwyn uttered a low curse, scowling to herself, and stalked over to the table where Nesta and Emerie were watching her. Her sisters. Regardless of whatever this storm was that she was experiencing, she knew that she was not alone. That was the greatest comfort.

“If I were you I’d save some of that aggression for someone who actually deserves it,” the eldest Archeron offered, eyebrows raised. “What did that post ever do to you anyway?”

Gwyn scoffed, looking back at the padded wood that she had been battling for Mother-knew how long before glancing at her bloodied hands. “I think it still came out on top, anyway,” she grinned, and began peeling the fabric away. Emerie passed her a basket of gauze, ointments, and clean wraps as Gwyn lowered herself to sit cross-legged on the ground.

“You… uh… you were really in the zone there, Gwyn,” the Illyrian female said as she knelt beside her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” The copper-haired priestess looked at her friend, warmth blooming in her heart when she saw the concern written across her tanned face.

“I’m fine,” she smiled brightly at Emerie and then looked up to Nesta. “I promise.”

“Regardless,” Nesta answered as she sat down with her. “Save a couple of those shots for that idiot Spymaster. That’s what I’m doing.”

Gwyn managed a laugh before returning her attention to her stinging, bloodied hands. She hissed as she dabbed ointment over where her skin had split before laying gauze over the freshly cleaned wounds. Maybe she would save a punch or two for Azriel, if she ever even saw him again.

Or maybe she would just continue to savor the distraction of the pain.

~~~

Punching something until her hands bled had proven to be an effective distraction during training.

And again that night, when her demons had chased her out of bed for the third time in five days. She hadn’t told Nesta and Emerie how bad it was getting since Azriel had chosen to remove himself from her life. They were already worried, and it was something she would need to learn to manage on her own, anyway. At least she could still go to the training ring, work herself to bone-numbing exhaustion, and then collapse into slumber for a few precious hours.

Azriel was never there.

And while punching and kicking until she was bruised and bloody bought her some reprieve from her nightmares, it was not conducive to her work in the library. Her swollen fingers could barely grasp her quill.

Definitely weapons tonight, then.

She paused, feeling her eyes prickle as she realized her assumption: that she all but planned on being unable to sleep yet again.

What a mess she had become.

Regardless of what potential may have existed between her and Azriel before, what tore at her was the loss of a dear friend, a confidant. He had seen her darkest days and nights and had never run away from her. She had tried to ignore it the first night she had sensed him in the archway to the training ring before he retreated back into the House. But he’d kept retreating, again and again.

And now he didn’t approach at all. She hadn’t even sensed or scented him in the House, ever since that day he’d assured her that they were friends, and that things would go back to normal. What a foolish hope that had been.

“Gwyneth, girl, where are those books I told you to fetch? I sent you for them hours ago!” Gwyn winced as Merrill’s voice carried through the stacks. She had known it would only be a matter of time before the elder priestess found her. To an outsider, Merrill’s voice would have sounded pleasant, but the Valkyrie heard the venomous threats underneath. She put down her quill and rubbed her eyes as the beautiful white-haired female approached her, eyes gleaming with malice.

“I apologize, sister. I have been struggling with this transcription.” Indeed, the pain in her hands had caused her to be much slower than usual. “I’ll retrieve those books for you immediately.” Gwyn moved to push herself from the table when Merrill’s soft tanned fingers yanked her bruised hand to study it, her grip like a vice. The teal-eyed priestess winced.

“Poor little Valkyrie, can barely even write her own name,” Merrill scoffed. “Perhaps I should replace you, Gwyneth. Nobody has use for a foolish girl who is too broken to look out for herself.”

Gwyn pulled her hand back, the pain forgotten after the words that lanced into her soul. It was a ‘gift’ of Merrill’s, knowing exactly what to say to cut her to the quick.

“Can’t sleep without someone to coddle you, so instead you resort to brutality. Poor excuse for a Valkyrie. Poorer excuse for a female.” How could she know?

Gwyn rose abruptly, tears stinging at her eyes. But she would not let them fall in front of the witch. “I’ll go get those books now,” she managed to rasp, before retreating into the stacks.

~~~

That night she hadn’t even tried to sleep, the scholar’s dagger-like words twisting in her chest. Merrill was right, wasn’t she? For all Gwyn had done, all that she had overcome and accomplished, she was falling apart. She was adrift, uncertain of where to turn. Nesta and Emerie would never turn away, of course. But Azriel…

It had been different with him, she didn’t know why. But the gaping wound left in his absence was proof that maybe the necklace had meant more than she cared to admit. So had not being the intended recipient. It hurt.

Losing him hurt.

And even though she had realized that day that she wouldn’t have his heart, she had hoped that he would be willing to continue with the friendship they had built.

But she had lost even that.

Gwyn burst through the door and into cold rain, steam rising from the training ring as the droplets hit the stone floor still warm from the daytime sun. She stood there for a moment, letting it wash over her. Her robes grew heavy with water but she barely took note as the downpouring cold soothed her aching hands and soul.

Robes swished as she moved to the center of the ring. She sat down and hugged her knees to her chest. Closing her eyes, she tilted her chin up, allowing her tears to fall and mix with the rain that had dulled her usually vibrant hair to a drab chestnut.

Just breathe. Let it be and breathe.

She didn’t know how long she had been there, letting the storm wash her clean, when she felt him. She had always been able to sense him, shadows or no. She faced forward, determined not to turn toward him, lest he see how weak she had become. So she simply gathered her courage and spoke. It sounded steadier than she had expected, much stronger than she felt.

“Hello, Azriel.”

~~~

He wasn’t surprised that she knew he was there. She always seemed to know, and not just because his shadows were traitorous bastards who would tend to attract her attention – seemingly on purpose.

Gwyn always seemed to… sense him.

And, if Azriel were ever honest with himself, he would probably admit that it was the same for him. She had a presence that he was drawn to.

Constantly.

The restraint that it had taken to stay in the townhouse, maintain his home base there as he fulfilled his reconnaissance missions in Vallahan and the human lands – it was wearing on him. He’d barely slept in the last week, throwing himself into his work and training when the darkness and shame kept him awake in the night. The guilt was a festering wound inside of him.

He’d told Gwyn that they were friends. That things would return to normal. And then he’d run from her like a fucking coward.

Azriel. Spymaster. Shadowsinger. Death Bringer. The lethal dark of the Night Court had run from a 29-year-old priestess who loved nothing more than to smile and laugh, whose only crime was caring for him. Five centuries of training and death and calm calculation had not prepared him for her innocence and trust. It was dangerous.

The shadowsinger stared at her rain-soaked form huddled in the middle of the training ring, shadows curling around him – begging him to go to her. Even without the moon her skin seemed to glow. It was pinker than usual, likely due to her training underneath the midday sun. His gaze drifted to her hands, long fingers wrapped under her knees. His eyes narrowed as he spied the discoloration of her skin and cracks over her knuckles. He’d assumed that Cassian was exaggerating when he had told him that Gwyn was beating herself bloody, taking out her emotions on every piece of equipment available to her.

That knife of guilt twisted in his gut.

His brother had been waiting outside his room when he’d returned to the townhouse the night before, leaning on the doorframe casually with crossed arms.

“So this is where you run off to when you have too many feelings?”

Cassian had never been known for his tact.

“I’m working, Cassian. It’s quieter –“

“Cut the bullshit, Az. You and I both know that things are quiet and that your spies can more than manage their assignments.” Azriel growled and barged through the door, Cassian on his heels. “And you and I both know that this has nothing to do with your responsibilities to the court and has everything to do with Gwyneth Berdara.”

The shadowsinger halted, suddenly finding the navy silk sheets on his bed very interesting. Anything to avoid looking at the other Illyrian in the room. No matter what mask he slid over his emotions, Cassian could see right through it. Always.

He shook his head and tore his shirt off over his arms, stalking into the bathing room without acknowledging what the general had said. “I’m exhausted, Cassian.”

“Then listen to what I have to say, Az. You listen, then I’ll leave.”

He turned back to his brother, Cassian’s hulking form taking up most of the doorway. The dim fae lights of the bathing room cast shadows that sharpened the angles of his face. His usual mischievous glint had been replaced with resolution and concern. The shadowsinger sighed and motioned for Cassian to speak before turning to lean his hands on the refreshing cool porcelain of the bathtub.

“She’s working herself until she’s black and blue and bleeding. I’ve had to threaten to sideline her twice this week, just so she’ll take a break and tend to herself. Sound like anyone you know?”

Azriel could only sigh and hang his head. Of course it did. It was exactly what he always did to work through his frustration, to battle the demons that chased him out of bed too many nights. It was the reason she had found him in the training right that first night, the beginning of that friendship he’d told her he would uphold.

“I know you, Az. I know you feel guilty for upsetting her. I know what you see inside yourself. But you need to give yourself more credit, and Gwyn, too. Whatever this is, it’s hurting you both. So stop getting in your own way and be honest with her. Both of you can have what you deserve.”

The spymaster didn’t answer but raised his head to gaze at the moonlit garden through the window. He imagined there were lovely summer blooms and leafy vines slithering around the pane of glass – a lovely view for a relaxing summer bath. Cassian’s wings rustled has he turned to leave.

“If you can’t get your shit together and come back to help with training I need to know. The advanced females are having to sacrifice their progress to help with the novices. If I can’t depend on you to be there, I’ll need to find someone else.”

Azriel let out a sardonic laugh. The general knew just how to play him, like a fucking fiddle. He could never stand a jab to his dependability.

“I’ll be back next week.”

It was that conversation that had brought him to the training ring tonight, only to find the copper-haired priestess sitting in the cold rain. Even through the downpour he could smell the salt on her cheeks.

“What brings you here tonight?” he asked, like a useless fool. He knew the reason. Azriel was not the only one with nightmares.

“Same as usual, Shadowsinger.” Gwyn’s voice was tight. “Fourth time since we last spoke.”

He inhaled sharply. It had only been six days since he last saw her, in this very spot. “I thought they were getting better.”

“They were.”

They were.

Those two words hit him like a physical blow, but the white hot brand against his soul was the implication – the words she hadn’t spoken in that voice that was too shaky and small for the Gwyn he knew.

Her nightmares were getting better. But now… worse.

He had done this.

His absence, his cowardice, his stupidity, his darkness. It was his fault. He’d ripped his support away because he was a coward, unable to forgive himself for something her generous heart had forgiven almost as soon as it had happened. She had assured him of that. The sincerity had shone like stars in her incredible eyes. But he hadn’t accepted it. She had considered him a friend, and he had abandoned her to face her darkest memories alone.

Azriel’s eyes stung with the understanding, the wretched self-loathing, and he dared a glance again at those gentle hands he longed to hold. Bruised fingers and cracked skin.

He may as well have put those marks there by his own scarred, cruel, sadistic hands.

“I thought – maybe I just hoped – that I’d find you here one night.”

He swallowed the threatening emotions and could only manage a rasped, “I had work to do.”

“Of course.”

She saw right through him. She always had. Panic and guilt and grief rose like a tidal wave within him. He could never forgive himself for this pain he had caused her – a Carynthian warrior trying to hold herself together in the deluge. He would not forgive himself for the tears that she’d shed, the pain that she’d put herself through to cope.

I miss you, Azriel.

The shadowsinger took a shuddering breath.

Cassian was right. Gwyn deserved so much more than he could ever give, ever be. She was light and joy and he would not let his darkness snuff her out. He was broken, soulless, and cold – death on the wind. The terrible things he had done, would continue to do, would make even the strongest warriors flee in terror. He would not bring any more blood and fear and pain into her life. She deserved happiness and joy, and he deserved suffering and the dark.

They would both get what they deserved.

“You should get inside, Gwyn. The rain is cold and you’re soaked to the bone. Get inside, warm up, and get some rest.” Azriel had no idea how he’d managed that cool, detached voice when his chest was cracking open, allowing the shadows and shame to flood into him. He watched her form, swallowed in waterlogged robes. Everything about her seemed less vibrant in that moment.

“Yes. I will. Soon.”

He waited a moment longer, and when she made no move he stepped back into the stairwell, letting the night cover him. He dared one more glance over his shoulder, heart splintering when she lowered her head to her knees, shoulders shaking.

Azriel bolted down the stairs then, knowing that facing the 10,000 steps down to Velaris would be nothing compared to facing the gut-wrenching sobs he pretended he couldn’t hear.

~~~

Gwyn knew that he could probably hear her, but she didn’t care. It didn’t matter.

So she let herself cry – full choking sobs – into her knees. But she didn’t cry for Catrin, or her lost innocence, or for Sangravah. For the first time in a long while she cried for her – this pain, heartbreak at losing someone who had become so dear to her and being powerless to stop it.

Tomorrow would be better, she knew. She had overcome far too much to let this break her. She would survive this, maybe even be better for it.

But tonight she would cry.

Because for the first time in over a year Gwyneth Berdara did not feel strong.

Tag List: @tealnymph-writes @trashforazriel @secretlovelybeauty @meher-sumedha @imsointobooks @flora-shadowshine @positivewitch @tanvee1231 @imwritingthesewords @camreadsum @vikingmagic33 @shisingh @ddsworldofbooks @gwynrielsupremacist

#gwynriel #gwynriel fic #gwynriel fanfic #gwynriel supremacy #gwyn x azriel #azwyn #azriel shadowsinger #gwyneth berdara #it hurts #sorry not sorry #bless this mess

[justoneofthoseghosts]

remember me + brettsey

A/N: Did I totally turn this into something else? Maybe but it’s still remembering someone so please keep that in mind.

“Hey, you okay?”

Matt glances over at Sylvie next to him. She interlaces her fingers in his and squeezes his hand supportively, a small smile playing on her lips as if to reassure him it's going to be fine.

Matt lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, “yeah, it’s just that it’s been a while since I last came here.”

It’s a cool spring day, sunny and cloudless. There’s a light breeze blowing. Matt can hear the leaves rustling softly in the background. He looks down at the bouquet of flowers in his hand - stargazers, her favorite. Sylvie helps him pick them out at the flower shop this morning. He fixes his gaze forward next, squeezing Sylvie’s hand for comfort.

He reads the tombstone silently.

Hallie Thomas 1981 - 2013 Daughter, Sister, Friend

He thinks he’ll always miss her. Since Hallie passed, he’s made it a point to keep visiting and this year, he decided it would be on her death anniversary. When he told Sylvie, she offered to go with him without batting an eyelash and his love for her grew tenfold.

He recalls some of his conversations with Hallie. How they first met. How she called Petter Mills a sneaky little bastard. How she came back from South America and they tried to rekindle their relationship little by little until the fire at the clinic ended it in the worst way possible.

He wonders now if he can still recollect Hallie’s laugh, how her eyes would sparkle in mirth after he made a particularly bad joke. He thinks he’s forgotten the exact shade of green of her eyes - were they more sea foam or moss? He wants badly to remember it all, to etch it all in his mind, in his heart because he loved her a lot. They might never have gotten married even if she ad survived but he thinks they would have stayed really good friends.

“Talk to me,” Sylvie prods gently.

“I think sometimes I’m unconsciously erasing Hallie from my life. There are things about her that I’ve started to forget like how hard she studied to be a doctor or how much she loved a good reuben sandwich,” Matt admits.

He looks at Sylvie, trying to scrutinize her reaction to his confession that he doesn’t want to forget someone he loved and had been in a romantic relationship with for years before her. If it had been anyone else, he would never have said it out loud.

Sylvie smiles at him warmly, her blue eyes sincere. Any remaining doubt in Matt’s mind that she’ll feel jealous, angry or won’t understand disappears.

“You may not remember all these little details, Matt, but she’ll forever be in there,” Sylvie mentions as she points to his chest where his heart is, “and that’s what's important at the end of the day.”

He places his arm over her shoulder and hugs her to his side, “you’re too good for me, Sylvie Brett.”

A few weeks later, while looking for something in one of the drawers in their den, he notices a new framed photo sitting on top of it, co-mingling with the other photos Sylvie had initially placed there.

When they moved in together, Sylvie had gathered a few photos and took the time to visit vintage shops around Chicago to look for the perfect frames. There’s one photo of the second shift at 51 outside the firehouse, all smiles during a sunny day in July. One of a younger Christie and Matt carrying a chubby, baby Violet. A frame with Julie and Sylvie and another with Matt, Sylvie, Amelia and Scott during their last visit to Rockford for the little girl’s 3rd birthday.

He examines the new addition closer. A lump forms in his throat when he realizes it’s an old photo of himself, Kelly, Andy, Heather and Hallie from a CFD picnic. Hallie is smiling at the camera, in a sleeveless teal colored tank stop, her skin tanned. Matt’s arm was around her, a beer in his other hand.

Sylvie must have gotten a copy from Kelly. He looks at their younger selves, so full of promise and hope, ready to take on the world.

His heart bursts in gratitude.

Matt goes off to find Sylvie, recalling that she mentioned something about doing laundry. He heads for the small room where their washer and dryer is located opening the door and peering inside. He observes quietly as Sylvie moves clothes from the washer into the dryer methodically and closes the dryer door, turning it on.

She pivots and gasps.

“Matt! You scared me,” she says clutching her chest.

Matt grins, “I didn’t mean to.”

Sylvie playfully glares at him before noticing the sudden change in his facial features as it grows more serious, “what’s on your mind, Captain?”

“I saw the new photo in the den.”

Sylvie tilts her head, “I know you were worried that one day you might wake up and forget who Hallie was so I thought a little keepsake wouldn’t hurt.”

Again, he feels his love for Sylvie grow exponentially because she always knows what to do and what to say in the moments when Matt feels helpless. He thinks Hallie and Sylvie would have gotten along well.

“I love you,” he says, pulling her closer.

“I love you too.”

Matt never tires of telling her this or her saying it back. He loves her even more now because she taught him that he can make space for as many people as he wants in his heart and that they'll always stay there come what may.

Leave me a prompt 🌺

#chicago fire #brettsey #fanfic prompt #hallie really deserved much better

[jflare205]

Never End

    Sometimes, when things get bad enough, we tend to take what we have for granted. The sorrow, pain, and disgust clouds our vision and makes us lose sight of what is truly important. And while some of us may be luckier than others, we are all in this together, a pursuit of happiness for everyone.

    I felt so calm. I could feel my heart beating at its normal resting pace, approximately 52 beats per minute. I almost didn't want to move, I was so at peace. But I heard a voice call out. I wasn't sure what the voice was saying, but it somehow sounded familiar. Maybe it was calling to me? I didn't respond, I felt as though I wasn't able to. Not yet, anyway. The voice called out again, this time a little louder. I think they were getting closer.

“Zane? Can you hear me?” That's what I heard. All of a sudden, those words that were spoken to me were crystal clear. With this realization, I opened my eyes. It was really blurry at first. All I could make out was that there a bright light shining above me. I blinked a few times. When I saw the light again this time, it startled me. I impulsively winced at the bright light, I wanted to turn away from it.

“Zane! You're awake!” the voice spoke again, it was much louder than before. I turned my head toward the voice and saw someone standing beside me. I wasn't sure what they were talking about, though. I thought about the word for a moment. Awake. Had I been sleeping? I didn't remember falling asleep. I don't even know what that feels like. I suddenly felt something push against my back. And before I knew it, I was sitting up straight. My mouth was slightly agape, I felt disoriented. That calm feeling was completely gone. I kinda wanted it back. The owner of the same voice stood in front of me again. I lifted my head to look at them.

“Hello, Zane,” they said. I looked at this individual square in the eyes. I stared at them, my eyes trailing up and down this person. It's a man, I told myself. He must be about 57 years old. He looked aged, but not too much so. He was tan-skinned with silver hair that swooped toward the left side of his head, a couple strands hanging in front of his eyes, which were brown. He seemed extremely fatigued. There were bags under his eyes and his eyelids were droopy. Who was he, though?

“How do you feel?” he asked me. I didn't answer right away. I was silent for a moment.

I stared at him as I opened my mouth, “I feel…good. I feel good,” Saying that seemed to please the man, as a smile grew on his face. I smiled back instinctively. I wondered why I smiled back so fast. I don't even know this man. He seems friendly, though.

“That's good, Zane. I'm glad,” the man replied. Zane. He had said that four times now. I am Zane? Was Zane my name?

“Am I Zane?” I asked him.

“Yes, your name is Zane,” the man answered as he stood up straight, walking away from the table I sat on. I smiled again. I like the name, Zane.

“What is your name, sir?” I inquired. If he knew my name, then it was only right for me to know his, right?

“My name is Dr. Richard Ruthes.” The man replied, turning to face me again. “You can call me… well, whatever you’d like.”

“Alright...” I nodded slowly, “Dr. Ruthes.” Ruthes smiled at me again, walking toward one of the nearby computers. I feel silent again, my eyes glancing around the room. It was rather large, there were pretty teal and blue lights lining the walls, seemingly powering the extremely advanced technology inside the room. The lights seemed to be alive, the glow appeared the move through its glass casing. It was pleasant to watch. I grew curious of something, however. A lot of things, actually. I had questions, and I needed answers. I looked toward the Doctor who was typing away at one of the computers.

“Dr. Ruthes? May I ask you something?” I spoke up.

“Yes, Zane. You can ask me anything you like,” Dr. Ruthes replied, glancing to me as he answered.

“Who… what am I?” I asked him. This was what I needed to know first. My identity. I know I'm Zane, but there must be more to me. There has to be. Dr. Ruthes stopped for a moment, turning his head to face me.

“Well, Zane… you're… you're an AWCA. An adapting weapon and combat android.” The Doctor said to me, facing me completely, “You're an extremely intelligent robot that runs on an AI that is programmed to adapt to its situations as they change.” I locked my gaze on Ruthes. An android? A living android. I am alive, aren't I? Or am I following my programming? Is what I call being alive just a simulation of what life actually is? I had more questions now than I did before. I shook and lowered my head, closing my eyes for a moment. I could tell the Doctor was still looking at me. I lifted my head again, looking to Ruthes.

“Doctor, I don't understand.” I said. I felt my cheeks rise and eyebrows lower as I spoke.

Doctor Ruthes had a small smirk on his face as he looked at me with seemingly caring eyes, “Right, well… um… well, let me show you. Stand up for me, Zane.” I was reluctant to move at first. But I had to, right? Especially if I wanted answers to the questions I had. So many questions. And I needed to know the answers. I need to. And Dr. Ruthes seems to know the answers to them. I decided to comply, I have to trust him. I pushed myself off of the table, my feet planting onto the metal floor. It was cold, but it didn't bother me too much. Dr. Ruthes gestured to me to walk over to him, so I did. As I took my steps, my legs were a little wobbly. It was a little hard to keep my balance, I took slow steps.

“Look straight ahead.” The Doctor said as he pointed toward something. I turned toward where he pointed and I saw him again. Then I saw a giant standing beside him. It was... me. I towered over Dr. Ruthes. I was big. I was topless but I was wearing white shorts that hugged my bulky figure. I had quite a big belly, but my arms were large and muscular, and so was my chest. I had large legs, hands, and feet. I had a dark brown complexion, bright bluish-silver eyes, and dark brown wavy hair. On my cheeks were sky blue LED lights that seemed to glow with the same lively motion as the ones on the walls of the room.

“That's you.” Dr. Ruthes said, smiling once again. “A wonderful creation. Quite a handsome one, too.” He certainly seemed proud of how I looked.

“I'm confused, Doctor,” I said, “I look like you aside from my size. What is different?” The Doctor answered by placing his hand on the center of my chest. He removed his hand, and a small casing slid outward. Dr. Ruthes removed what was inside and held it out in front of me.

“This, for starters,” He said. “This is a positively charged nuclear ion core. This is your power source, your 'heart.' You run on powerful bursts of electricity. While I 'run on' natural reactions and cell systems that were perfectly and intricately designed.”

“Am I unnatural, Doctor?” I implored, turning toward him. Ruthes frowned as he replaced the core into my chest.

“In… In a sense, yes.” He answered. He sighed as he looked away from me. Why did that trouble him? If I am his creation, and he is someone else's, aren't I just as natural as he? Dr. Ruthes gently patted my chest, “But, natural or not, you're incredible. You're a spectacularly designed and well functioning android.” I smiled instinctively. Regardless of what I was, Dr. Ruthes seemed to truly be proud of me. Knowing that made me feel something inside. It was a new feeling. As if there were little bubbles in my stomach and I didn't want to stop smiling. My smile turned into a grin. I enjoyed this feeling.

“Thank you, Dr. Ruthes,” I said, leaning forward and wrapping my arms around him. The Doctor chuckled softly as he patted my back.

“You're welcome, Zane,” He said. I continued to grin. I closed my eyes as I hugged the Doctor tighter. I didn't want to let go. I loved this feeling. It was so perfect. I wanted it to stay like this forever and ever. I was happy. I wanted to stay happy. I wanted for this moment, this feeling to never end.

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

Aaaaalrighty, something different for a change. I was feeling really interested in Zane's backstory and all. So I decided to write a oneshot about his creation and how he was "birthed." This was loads of fun to write, I enjoyed every second of this. I'm definitely gonna draw Zane more, now. I've got an entire story lined out for him now. I might start writing an actual story too. We'll see. I hope that those of you who read enjoy! And thank you so very much for taking the time to read. Until next time, live life like an Xplosion! JFlare out!

#jflare205 #jflare #zane #robo boy #android #android boy #gears and hearts #gnh #j-writing #oneshot #dr ruthes #richard ruthes #dr richard ruthes

[real-life-pine-tree]

Seed of Darkness: A Brand New Invasion (4/?)

All it takes it one bad seed to spoil the whole bunch. An AU collab with @violetganache42​.

Elsewhere, Dipper was in an alleyway with a cloaked person. They had just finished a duel and a dark red aura was forming around him. However, a glimpse of the clocked person's face alarmed him.

"You're-" Dipper started to say.

"Shh..." the cloaked person said, putting a finger to her own lips. "Don't be afraid," she said. "Embrace the gift of the Reverse."

A horrified Dipper couldn’t find the right words to help convey his reaction on what was happening. What is this Reverse that she speaks of? Who was this cloaked person? She looked so much like her, but she wasn’t here, so…why does she strongly resemble Zuzu? Right as he was about to muster up strength to respond, he could feel the power overtake him as his vision began to blur due to his blue eyes becoming soulless. He then fell down to his knees, which satisfied the cloaked Zuzu lookalike.

"See?" the lookalike asked. "That wasn't hard, was it?"

"Of course not," Dipper answered as he stood back up. "Now to spread the will of the Void."

"Yes," the lookalike agreed. "It will be pleased with the progress I have made."

Dipper raised his head up to look directly at the cloaked Zuzu-like girl with a whole new expression on his face along with the red markings given to him from the Void. Another person had fallen victim to the gift of the Reverse, pleasing her because this will help speed up the process of her plan.

"It won't be long now," the lookalike said. "I have already Reversed everyone in Duel Academy. It won't be long until everyone in this dimension also joins us."

Meanwhile, at the optometry clinic, Yoko and Yuto had already arrived and were both sitting in the waiting room. With everyone else ahead of them, they had to wait for their turn, so they decided to watch the live broadcast of the Arc League Championship on Yuto’s Duel Disk. They saw the full duel between Yuya and Iggy, and needless to say, they were just as confused and scared as the audience about what happened.

"I don't understand," Yoko said, voicing concern. "Yuya never acted that vicious before. What got into him?"

"It must have been that virus," Yuto realized. "What if it caused something to possess him?"

"Like a demon?" Yoko asked.

"Probably," Yuto answered. "His dragon didn't look normal."

At that point, a clinic employee entered the waiting room. "Mr. Osaku?" she asked.

Yuto tensed up. "Don't worry," Yoko said. "It will only take a few minutes."

"Alright," Yuto said. He took a deep breath. "I just hope Yuya is okay."

Meanwhile, back at the Center Duel Field, Yuya was off in the sidelines and wasn’t okay at all. A few hours had passed and he couldn’t get his duel against Iggy out of his head, but could you blame him? All he wanted was to make him feel better and not use violence towards his opponents, but he ended up making things worse for him instead. According to Zuzu and Gong, he got those weird markings and his tone sounded more cynical. It also didn’t help that everyone was horrified by what they all witnessed, so he wasn’t in the mood to come out in public where they could see him, especially since Zuzu’s duel was coming up.

As Nico announced the introduction of Micky Starlett of Dueling Dynamos as Zuzu's opponent, Yuya simply looked at Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. He let out a sob, horrified with what apparently happened to him. "Oh Odd-Eyes..." he said. "What's happening to me?"

Meanwhile, Zuzu stepped onto the dueling field, ready for her duel. Even though Micky was hogging the spotlight, she wouldn't let that bother her. "Before this duel is over, I'll win 'em over to my side!" she vowed.

Elsewhere, inside the back area of the stadium, the cloaked Zuzu lookalike, her associate, and Dipper all walked down the hallways in search for more people to give them the gift of Reverse. The more victims they can hunt down, the more vulnerable this dimension will be for a takeover. Not far away from them was a young man walking in the opposite direction of where they were heading. He was fair-skinned with lavender hair and green eyes and wore a dark violet, button-up shirt with dark yellow linings and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a red tie, a white short-sleeved jacket with an LID pin attached to it, dark pants, a tucked red and black checkered pattern handkerchief, and dark maroon shoes. He was known as Kev Ravenwood, a student of LID’s XYZ Summon course, winner of last year’s Junior Youth division and currently a participant of the Senior division. He had already won his duel and was taking a break before heading off to the finals when he spotted the trio.

"Hey, backstage is only for competitors still in the tournament!" Kev pointed out.

"Are you...a strong Duelist?" the lookalike asked.

Kev was surprised upon seeing the lookalike's face. "Aren't you-"

"Correct you are, Ravenwood."

Upon hearing Declan's voice, the lookalike threw off her cloak to reveal her identity to Kev. She had a ponytail consisting of indigo hair and light blue side tails that were the same length as Zuzu’s and light green eyes. Her clothes were a variant of Duel Academy’s female Slifer Red uniform: a three-quarter-sleeved red jacket with two black buckles and a yellow stripe with a green-and-yellow star on each sleeve, a black shirt with a purple-brown collar, a red skirt with a brown belt, silver buckle ring with two brown straps going over her torso, black biker shorts, and brown boots. Her accessories included an orange handkerchief used to tie her hair up, and a brown glove on her left hand. Her most defining physical traits were her facial appearance looking exactly like Zuzu’s; additionally, she also had the same terrifying features as Dipper and her associate, meaning that she was Reversed too. The combination of the two made Kev more concerned than he initially was.

"Declan?" Kev asked.

"You may leave now, Ravenwood," Declan said.

"But..." Kev started to say.

"The way you won today was quite impressive," Declan said. "I look forward to your next match."

Kev nodded in understanding. "You won't be disappointed," he said.

But as Kev turned to leave, the lookalike looked rather unhappy. "Don't move!" she exclaimed as she ran forward.

However, Declan quickly grabbed her wrist, halting her. "Lay off!" she exclaimed.

"Get going now," Declan told Kev, prompting the Senior division Duelist to run off.

The lookalike pulled away from Declan. "Get out of my way!" she exclaimed. "Just who do you think you are?!"

The lookalike's associate stepped forward. "Let me take care of him," he said.

He also removed his cloak to give Declan an idea on who he will be dueling against. He was a tall, tan-skinned man with a buff body build, grayish-teal, spiky hair swept backwards, and crimson eyes. He wore a long-sleeved, dark green jacket with four pouches and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows to reveal his wrapped bandages on his forearms, a black shirt that partially covers his X-shaped scar, gray pants with a black belt, and black shoes. He also adorned with a silver pendant around his neck and an eyepatch on his left eye, which barely conceals his huge scar.

However, the lookalike looked at Declan, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. "No," she said. "You can't duel him."

"But the Void wants us to spread its gift," the associate pointed out.

"Not him," the lookalike said. "I can sense the dueling energy of his deck. He has Pendulum cards."

Declan raised his eyebrows out of surprise by what she just stated. She was aware of him containing Pendulum cards and told her associate not to duel him. Could it be that she may have given the former an advantage to this dueling viral outbreak? He closed his eyes and adjusted his red glasses while having his mouth form a smirk. It seems that the usage of Pendulum cards may be their weakness, Declan thought to himself. By glancing at or sensing someone’s deck, they can tell if that Duelist can Pendulum Summon or not, so they must have decided to spread their disease onto the Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, and XYZ users and avoid the Pendulum users. Seems the creation of the Pendulum cards proved to be more beneficial than I thought.

With Declan currently focused on his thoughts, the Reversed trio read his body emotion differently than him. They could tell he was fine with him not dueling with the associate at the moment and he had other plans in mind. Plans to try and thwart the Void. Not that it matters anyways. Try as he might, whatever he’s got cooking up will be nothing but feeble attempts to delay the inevitable.

Declan's glance shifted to Dipper. "So that's why Dipper failed to show up for his duel with Reed," he commented, changing topics.

"Precisely," the lookalike said. "He was chosen to carry out the will of the Void. His Constellar cards will be of great use to spread its power."

"What exactly is this Void?" Declan asked. "And why would you side with it?"

The lookalike let out a dark laugh. "I know you tend to sell your soul during duels," she said, referring to the Dark Contract cards. "Surely you would understand."

"Except I know this is not you, Celina," Declan said, addressing the lookalike by name. "We met two years ago. What made you fall into darkness since then?"

A few seconds later, Celina finally spoke. "Picture it," she said. "You are a soldier-in-training in Duel Academy. You spent your whole life wanting to prove yourself to the head of the school. But no matter how many times you prove your strength, all he wants to do is keep you locked up, not being able to rank up into the class of elite soldiers.

"So one day, after an encounter with a mysterious young teen, you finally decide to snoop around and figure out what the ultimate goal of Duel Academy is. But after finally hacking into the computer system, you learn the truth. If the dimensions were all merged together successfully, the results would include your own death. Then it hits you: the person you looked up to all these years was merely using you as a tool to further his goals!

"But just as you're about to give up, just as you hear people approach the room to probably erase your memories of what you discovered, you come across a mysterious entity that strongly resembles the Devil himself. This entity promises to free you from that fate of death. It will give you the power you need to fight back in exchange for you helping it spread its power. So, realizing there's no other option, you accept this entity's offer, letting it give you a portion of its power to defy your destined death.

"With this new power, you are finally able to fight back. But for now, upon the entity's orders, you wait, not wanting anyone else to know about the change you went through. Even after two years, you still wait. It wasn't time yet. You knew the cue was the disappearance of your chains.

"Ultimately the plan to fuse all the dimensions starts to take shape. That's when you strike in the shadows, wanting to free the other ones who wear similar chains. You manage to liberate two of them, freeing them from the same fate of death. Then one day, it finally happens."

Celina lifted up her right arm to reveal her bare wrist. "The chains you wore your whole life are finally gone," she continued. "That was your cue. You know the man who held you hostage this whole time is now powerless. So you finally confront him, making sure he would never interfere with your life ever again.

"With the grand manipulator out of the way, you proceed to destroy all of his progress. You even free everyone who was imprisoned. But while you send some people back to their home dimensions, the others stay as part of your own personal army. And with this new army, you are able to take control of all of Duel Academy. Every defeated Duelist becomes part of your army, so you keep repeating this process until you finally convert everyone in the school over to your side."

Declan was rendered speechless all of the information Celina revealed and had to process what he heard. This Void entity came to her because she found out about the Professor planning to fuse all four dimensions by apparently using herself, Zuzu, and their other two counterparts to fuel the merge at the cost of all their lives. Because of that, she freed her imprisoned counterparts and the non-Duelists of Heartland City, but the XYZ Duelists and the students of Duel Academy were now part of its army right after she ended her “idol’s” life before he could end hers. But that meant… Declan’s jaw dropped out of pure shock when he realized what she had done to the Professor. He was no ordinary professor. He was the same man who abandoned his family to head off to the Fusion Dimension. The same man who brought Action Duels to the Standard Dimension alongside Yusho Sakaki. The man known as Leo Akaba. His father…was dead.

"You murdered Leo Akaba?" Declan asked.

"Correct," Celina answered. She took out a card from her deck. "But it wasn't that hard. All I did was summon my ace and ordered her to attack him."

"With your Duel Disk?" Declan asked.

"No need," Celina said, the card now producing a dark red aura. "With the power of the Reverse, I can bring her to life without Solid Vision. Care for a little demonstration, Cat Dancer - Reverse?"

The card flashed a bright white light that sent out a black beam of energy into the real world. Upon impact, it exploded on the ground before materializing into what resembled the silhouette of a female duel monster with notable feline traits. The black energy vanished to uncover Celina’s ace monster coated in dark red aura: Cat Dancer - Reverse. Much like Odd-Eyes Joker Dragon, she also had a similar appearance to her incarnation Lunalight Cat Dancer but with some alterations. Her hair was white with long, luscious strands and locks of hair, her eyes were golden yellow underneath her black and magenta mask, and the colors of her clothes consisted of a black dress with long pieces of gray silk sewn all over the dress, a magenta cloth covering her breasts, a large, light and dark blue, crescent-shaped headpiece, and black barefoot stockings and arm sleeves. Instead of gold crescent moons and gold rings on her hands and feet, she had blood red Link Joker emblems and the rings were replaced with the black halos surrounded by the red light.

Declan took a few steps back in alarm. "What kind of demon is that thing?" he demanded.

"She's not a demon," Celina explained. "Cat Dancer - Reverse is a Fusion-Joker monster, the combination of a Duel Monster and a Unit. All of her stats remain the same, but she now has the traits of a Unit, specifically a Unit's Grade and skill in combination with her new special ability."

"A Unit?" Declan repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, that's right," Celina said. "Didn't anyone tell you that the Void is actually from another planet?"

Declan questioned her on what she meant by the Void being from another planet and she took it as a sign that no one ever bothered to explain to him about what the Void is because it was all new to him. To put it simply, it was his way of telling her “no”.

"And that's why the Void chose to target Duelists," Celina continued. "You clueless people have no idea what it actually is. What better way to invade a planet than infect itself into the unfamiliar?"

"Celina, please listen to me," Declan said. "I understand how upset you probably felt two years ago, but you must stop. Can't you see how this could backfire?"

"You should be thanking me," Celina said. "Without the Void, Leo would still be alive. Now that I killed him, I ended the Interdimensional War before it could spread to other dimensions. I even liberated two of my other selves from their destined deaths, so they're much safer in my care."

"I beg your pardon?" Declan asked.

"Relax," Celina said. "I'll return them to their home dimensions once the Void is satisfied with my work."

Declan began thinking to himself again. Her counterparts are no longer imprisoned by my father yet they’re still at Duel Academy. She ended the war to prevent the dimensions from fusing, but she’s putting them all in great danger by successfully Reversing everyone at the Academy. Does that mean she managed to Reverse her counterparts as well before setting her sights on the students?

"Then from this point forward, I will change my priorities towards stopping the Void," Declan ultimately decided.

Celina frowned. "You dare make yourself an enemy of the Reverse?" she challenged.

"You're spreading the Reverse to everyone in all of the dimensions," Declan pointed out. "You didn't end the Interdimensional War. You only changed my opposition."

"Very well," Celina said. She retreated her ace back into her card before taking out a different card; a Spell card called Lunar Eclipse. "You have made a grave mistake, Declan Akaba. There's no stopping the will of the Void. This planet will be shrouded in darkness, and there's not a thing you can do to stop us."

A thick layer of black, cloudy fog faded in and covered Celina, her associate named Barrett, and Dipper. Declan ran towards them, but he stopped before he could reach them because the fog and the Reversed trio were all gone. With nothing else left to do, he grabbed his Duel Disk and contacted his mother Henrietta to warn her about a far more dangerous threat than the Interdimensional War.

At the same time, a young teen had just finished winning his duel not long after Zuzu’s and was walking inside the stadium. He had fair skin, gingery, spike-shaped, curly hair, green eyes, and a beauty mark underneath his right eye. He wore a long-sleeved, light blue, button-up collared shirt with a fuchsia ribbon tie around his neck, an orange jacket with an orange-yellow-black pocket on the left side no right sleeve, and a shorter right hang, gray pants, reddish-brown shoes, and a black glove on his left hand. The name of this teen was Dennis McField, an LID exchange student in Performing Arts and part of the XYZ Summon course, as well as one of the 16 Junior Youth Duelists advancing to the finals. Unbeknownst to everyone, he was actually an Obelisk Blue student and double agent from Duel Academy tasked with spying on the Standard Dimension to help the Professor retrieve Zuzu and Celina. As he idled in the halls of the stadium, his Duel Disk received a notification and sounded a ringtone; when he went to grab it, he saw that it was Yuri and Sora calling him to deliver the bad news and a warning. Curious, he answered the call.

"Oh, hey guys," Dennis said. "I was just about to call you. I saw Zuzu in the stadium, so-"

"Forget about the mission, Red!" Sora interrupted. "You've gotta protect Zuzu now!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Dennis asked.

"What Sora is trying to say is that there has been a change in plans," Yuri explained. "You see, the Professor was murdered."

Dennis nearly dropped his Duel Disk in alarm. "Please tell me that's one of your silly pranks, Yuri," he said.

"This is not a joke, my second-in-command and closest ally," Yuri said. "I found his corpse covered in bloody slash marks. There's not doubt that it's the work of Celina."

"Celina?" Dennis repeated. "But I thought she escaped to this dimension."

"I'm afraid not," Sora said. "Worse, she has formed an alliance with a demonic entity, spreading its power to everyone she encounters. She's probably taken over all of Duel Academy at this point."

"Oh dear..." Dennis said.

"Now do you understand what we must do?" Yuri asked. "At the moment, it seems we're the last followers of the Professor. We have to gather as many allies as possible to warn them about this."

"Well at least the people we carded aren't going to waste," Dennis hoped.

"Except Celina had freed every single one of them," Yuri added.

"And since she already stopped Yuri from capturing Lulu and Rin, I've got a bad feeling she's after Zuzu next," Sora said.

"So that's why you want me to protect her," Dennis realized. "But how could I get her to trust me?"

"Tell her you know me," Sora said. "I already earned her trust, so using me as a reference should make things easier."

"Alright," Dennis said. "For the good of Duel Academy, the true Duel Academy, I'll keep Zuzu safe."

"Thank you," Yuri said. "We will join you some time today. Hopefully Violet Flash won't transport Sora and myself to another country this time."

Dennis couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by that and Yuri explained that Violet Flash teleported him and Sora to halfway in Paradise City. He was kind of hoping they would actually end up in LID in no time, but it never hurts to try again; worst case scenario is they end up using it over and over again until they make it to their destination right in the nick of time.

Meanwhile, at LID, Henrietta was currently speaking to the Senior Division Lancers. Declan had just told her about the change in enemy, so she had to adjust the company's plan to form the Lancers.

"I'm terribly sorry for the sudden news, but I strongly urge all of you to stay home until further notice," Henrietta explained.

"What?" Kev asked. "But why?"

"There is a terrible outbreak going on," Henrietta explained. "If our strongest allies are infected over to their side, the battle will turn in the enemy's favor. You must let the decided Lancers take care of this from this point forward."

"Don't you mean 'defected over to their side'?" a purple-haired teen dressed in pink asked.

"No, I mean infected," Henrietta clarified. "The virus spreads to whoever loses to the enemy. I cannot let any of you fall victim to them, so you must stay out of this war."

Kev and the rest of the Senior Division Lancers all stared at each other from the news of the viral outbreak taking place. A pathogen capable of turning others into servers of the enemy? This kind of sounds similar to a zombie apocalypse but with it targeting Duelists instead of the entire human population. Just then, the brown-haired teen dressed in blue realized something; his head turned to his right where he saw the room’s clock and saw that it was almost noon. The finals of the Junior Youth Division were starting any minute, meaning they will most likely be vulnerable victims ripe for the taking.

But as the finalists were lined up to begin the Battle Royale, Yuya's mind was occupied. He had used his goggles to cover his eyes, still feeling upset about how he apparently attacked Iggy. Could this be related to him having bradycardia?

While Nico was going over the Battle Royale rules, Zuzu noticed Yuya's upset expression. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"Do I look alright to you?" Yuya asked in response, a coldness in his voice.

Zuzu was taken back by the blunt response. "Is this about what happened with Iggy?" she asked.

"You and Gong said I was using a card called Odd-Eyes Joker Dragon," Yuya recalled as he sobbed. "But I checked my deck multiple times and there's no sign of that card." He took out his deck, which had Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon on top. "Are you sure that's what happened?"

"I'm sure," Zuzu replied. She gave Yuya's hand a gentle squeeze. "I don't understand what's going on either, but you can't let that bother you."

Yuya put his deck back in his Duel Disk. "How can I?" he asked. "What if that...thing happens again? What if I end up losing control?"

"Yuya..." Zuzu said.

"I'm sorry Zuzu," Yuya said, his body shaking. "But I don't think I can ever duel again."

Zuzu felt saddened by Yuya’s claim of not wanting to duel anymore. It was his number one dream of being a Dueltainer just like his father, so seeing this demonic event take place crushed any hopes of having his dream become a reality. He doesn’t want to end up becoming a monster again, but the fear of the unknown kept lingering in his mind. Right as Zuzu was about to comfort her friend, a trembling Yuya bolted from the row of the Junior Youth finalists and out of the Center Duel Field. Nico spotted him running away and misinterpreted it as him getting too eager to wait any longer and gave himself a head start; coincidentally, there was less than a minute left until noon, and with the ARC System deployed all over the city and preparing to project the four Action Fields, he carried on with finishing his announcements regarding the Battle Royale.

"Well it seems Yuya Sakaki couldn't wait any longer," Nico said. "So without further ado, let the Arc League Championship finals begin!"

With a snap of his fingers, Action and Pendulum cards were scattered all over Paradise City and the gates opened up, leading to the remaining 15 Duelists to head out onto the fields to begin their Battle Royale. In Zuzu’s case, she diverted herself from the group to find Yuya since he took a different way out of the Center Duel Field. Everyone else split apart to search for the Pendulum cards in order to aide them in their duels, especially Dennis because he, Yuri, and Sora have to do whatever it takes to protect Zuzu from this new threat. He was hoping they do get here on time before it’s too late. All 16 Duelists were now all over the city, but none of them were aware of the presence of three beings because they were hiding themselves away in an alleyway shortly after teleporting and waiting for the opportunity to strike.

#Seed of Darkness #yugioh arc v #Yuya Sakaki #cardfight!! vanguard #Link Joker

[limpblotter]

Oooooo for the prompt thingy, what about Johsnavi in the afterlife??

(Johsnavi 50) “I found you–in the afterlife”

“Buenodias senor, Johan!” (Good Morning mister, Johan)“Buenos…” (Good morning (informal))“Vas a camar la playa hoy? No es un buen idea” (Going to walk the beach today?Not a good a idea)“O?” (Oh?) “Y por que?” (And why not?)“El viento hoy…es muy, pero, muuuuy fuerte! Una tormenta va a visitar…no,no creo que es un buen idea, no saligas, por favor” (The winds are far toostrong. A storm is going to visit, no, I don’t think it’s a good idea, pleasedon’t go out.)“Disculpe me pero, tengo una promesa con mi…bueno, tengo una promesa, eso estodo…gracisas” (Forgive me but I promised my…well, I have a promise thatsall. Thank you).Johan waved at his beachside neighbor who was pushing a cart full of mangosdown to the town. His eyes well down to the shoreline where gulls were waitingfor Johan, yes this was paradise. Pearly sands and teal waters so clear thatJohan could have used it as a mirror. He walked down from his small, onebedroom bungalow with a basket in his hand. “Morning” He smiled at the gullsand sat down on the sand. He dug his toes into the grains and relaxed as hestarted to pick pieces of bread and feed the seagulls. “He said a storm iscoming, is that right?” He spoke softly to the white feathered birds thatpecked bread delicately out of his hand.

Itwas so nice out…how could there ever be a storm. The wind picked up a bit; itruffled Johan’s hair a bit as he stared off into the sea with a melancholiclook. It was a beautiful sight though he felt like he was only experiencing iton the surface. The scenery didn’t amaze him. It didn’t touch him like it wouldhave years ago. This place did little to fill the ebbing ache in his chest. “Youwould have loved it here…I wonder if you have a view like this…in theafterlife.” He breathed, a gust of wind lifted some loose grains of sand andforced Johan to cover his eyes so he wouldn’t get any in them. The wind pickedup and whipped around hard, when it died down he was surprised to find that thesky had darkened so fast. The clouds were gathering as far as the horizon,shrouding the midday sun. Even the gulls who enjoyed the free meal where gone,without a trace. “Tch…its true…beautiful things don’t last forever…” Johansimply closed his eyes and sank down on the sand. It was cold now. The sand, the atmosphere, it matched hismood. He could smile and smile for days on end but that didn’t change the coldthat filled his every thought. Every bitter memory that felt like a fading,happy, vintage tape of a time so long ago. Like it had been a dream this wholetime, Johan often wished it was. He wished it was all one beautiful dream andthe only loss was that he couldn’t dream another dream more beautiful thanthat. His eyes fluttered close…Thunder cracked, then…nothing. “Mm..” Johan pursed his lips, his skin was suddenly ambushed by a warmth. Hefelt cold for so long on the sand now there was nothing but warmth. A goodwarmth, not hot and abrasive like most tropical days. This was a mild, butterysunshine. The kind of sunshine that melted over his skin and filled him with a tendersort warmth. Like a hug or a kiss from someone he longed. He opened his eyesand saw nothing but clear, blue eyes that stretched on forever. A perfect sunsettled right above him beaming down all its delicious rays. “How long have Ibeen out for?” He groaned shaking his fluffy hair free of sand. Slowly he gotto his feet and started to shake some more. “Keep going, mi hijo, you are covered in it.” An unfamiliar withered voicespoke from a few feet away. Johan glanced over his shoulder and found anelderly woman laying on a beach chair wearing a mumu. “Uh…this…is…uh a private beach.” Johan blinked, he never saw this woman beforeand surely she had never crashed on his part of the beach before either. The woman didn’t say much after that, she took a long sip ofher coconut drink which was infact in a coconut with a straw hanging out. “Paradiseis to be shared with all of God’s children.” “I suppose God didn’t mention property rights? My house is right…” He pointedand caught himself sounding like him. He smiled a bit, and slowly lowered hishand. “You’re right…a little company wouldn’t hurt. I’m sure you’d enjoy thisbeach more than I would.” “Oh I don’t know about that, mi hijo.” She smiled, so wide and warm it made thesun’s rays feel chilled to Johan. He couldn’t help but smile back. “Maybe allyou need a stiff drink. I know a cute little bar just around the shore. I’msure the bartender would be more than happy to give you one on the house. Heand I, we’re fairly close.” She lifted up her sunglasses and gave him a wink. “A bar…” Johan blinked, had there always been a bar before? Strange. He nevermoved far from his small beach side home but he thought he would have noticed abar. “…I don’t really have many reasons to drink…” “At least go say hello, it won’t kill you.” “…Shame.” Johan got up and sighed, he found it hard to fight the old woman’swords. He did as she instructed, he walked around the shore, following the bendaround the trees to a small opening. Right there in the middle of secludedland, like a beautiful oasis tucked within a canopy of tall palms was a small barand shack. It wasn’t crowded, only two other, older looking folk, sat at thebar. Laughing and talking in Spanish, Johan honed in a few words. “…no se …si me vas a conocer…” (I don’t know if he’ll remember me)“Y como no!? No es tu novio? El amor de tu vida?” (How could he not?! Wasn’t heyour boyfriend, the love of your life?)“El nunco hasta mi ultima palabra” (The only one until my last words…) “Entonces no te procupas. Hijo, cuando es tiempo…” (Then don’t worry, son, whenits time…) Johan approached slowly standing behind the couple at the bar. “Uh…perdon a mepero…mi espanol no es muy bueno…eh..me llamo Johan … hola.” (Uh…excuse me butmy Spanish isn’t very good…I’m Johan, hi) He hoped these were friendlytourists. The couple turned and faced him, he was met with warm smiles and agedeyes. There was a strong wave of familiarity even though he personally didn’tknow them. Something about their eyes, their noses, their smiles made him feel…wholeagain. “eee~ tan lindo!” (Ee~ so cute!) The woman squealed, she was silenced by whoJohan assumed was her husband. He held her hand and slowly stepped off his stool moving aside from the bar. “About time, when were you planning on finally grabbing a drink.” That voice. It couldn’t have been. Johan didn’t turn his face, the tears rolleddown without reason. He was terrified to see what he thought was there, what heknew couldn’t be there. However longing was far more powerful than reason, heturned his head slowly and felt a cry escape his lips. There dressed in asmooth cabana button up shirt, polishing a glass was him. Usnavi, as young andfresh as the last time Johan saw him. He glowed, he smiled, Johan felt thequestion form in his mind long before he could utter it. Fear that the onlynoise that would escape him was a sob. “Abuela said she was looking out for you…” He smiled placing the glassdown. “You could have taken your time a bit…lived a little longer but…god damn,did I miss you Johan.” Realization sank in, Johan felt a grace wash over him as he took a seat at thebar and met Usnavi’s hand. He gripped it knowing he was never going to let himago. Not for an eternity. 

#limpyPreguntas #johsnavi #death implied #afterlife #writing prompts #drabble #hi anon #thanks for asking

[artificialqueens]

Life and Death {Biadore} Chapter 2 -C*NT

A/N: Hi all! It’s been a little since I’ve wrote, this is chapter 2 of Life and Death since people really wanted me to continue it! Again, this does not necessarily reflect upon my personal beliefs as far as religion goes, so please dont bite my head off for naming “the big guy” God. Enjoy this somewhat beefy chapter. No tws so thats always a plus. ❤️

They left the room, which Danny was relieved about because honestly he felt a little creeped out. Basically, the grim reaper was his soulmate, according to the device. Maybe he wont be so bad, he thought. But his nerves weren’t put at bay just yet, because Death led Danny into an equally as dreary hallway.

“Where are we?” Danny asked as he tried to study his surroundings. There was a sleek looking elevator at the end of the hall, which looked very out of place compared to the out of date decor on the walls. There were no windows to give any hint to where they were at either, Danny thought glumly. There was an old maroon paisley printed rug lining the length of the passageway, adorned with lamps decorated with red velvet lampshades at each end. They cast an ugly yellow light throughout the room, as if the lightbulbs were obnoxiously yellow on purpose. It even smelled old and musty, similar to the room they were just sitting in. He felt like he was back in the 1970’s.

“Limbo.” Death muttered as they made their way to the elevator. They pressed the button and the doors immediately opened, exposing a very plain but high tech elevator. Danny was rattled by how quickly the doors opened, and they stepped inside.

“So Limbo is real?” Danny asked. He had imagined Limbo would be similar to Earth, but instead it reminded him of a vintage motel. He felt like he was in a completely different era, and maybe that was the point. You weren’t supposed to feel clear abouf where you were in Limbo, all you were supposed to know was that you are somewhere in between Heaven and Hell.

“Yep.” Death pressed a large gold button that was clearly labeled ‘Heaven’, ultimately shutting the doors.

Danny’s heart raced as the elevator started shooting up towards Heaven. He was going to see Heaven, he realized with a surge of excitement. He wondered what it was going to be like, as he studied the large gold button curiously. He noticed there was also one for Earth. Then he realized the elevator had buttons for all sorts of different places, times, and dimensions. The last one in the long row of buttons was the biggest and most ominous looking of all, it was black and said ‘Hell’ in bright red letters. He shuddered at the thought of having to go down there. He hoped that wasn’t his final destination after all of this was said and done.

Death snorted to themself and Danny glared at them. He had about enough of Death’s antics. He was a know it all, literally and was not being sympathetic to how he was feeling and frankly it was pissing him off.

“You know, not everyone knows everything there is to know about the universe.” Danny snapped.

“Fair.” Death shrugged. “But Satan is literally just a big jokester. Even if you did end up in Hell, it wouldn’t be as terrible as you thought.”

“So would the same be said about Heaven?”

“You’re about to find out now, aren’t you?”

The doors opened, greeting them with a blinding white light. When Danny’s eyes adjusted, the first thing he noticed that he was rather underdressed. It was just as he pictured, almost everyone was dressed in long grecian looking gowns. Except no one had huge angel wings like he was always told about on Earth. His eyes were wide as he took in all of the sights. Everyone was drop dead gorgeous and looked incredibly happy. There were dogs, cats, small children, teenagers, people of every age group and color. Everyone smiled at them, he noticed they were directed more at Danny then Death.

The second thing he noticed was how beautiful Heaven really was. The sky was bright blue with small puffy white clouds decorating it, and a small brisk breeze, but nothing too chilly or too disturbing to be considered uncomfortable. There was a courtyard with the biggest fountain he had ever seen, made of big slabs of white marble with bright gold flakes decorating each tier. The water spurting out of it was a brilliant teal, the kind of crystal clear water you’d see in the caribbean. Brick paths weaved in and out of what appeared to be a town square, where there were shops and buildings of all shapes and sizes. There was every restaurant you could think of, and beyond that were houses that were all of different shapes and sizes. Some people’s version of their dream house was small and cozy, while others were grand with huge gardens and trees. It was incredible.

None of those houses compared to the big white mansion that was situated at the end of what appeared to be Main Street though. The word mansion was an understatement for what it was, but Danny didn’t know a bigger word to describe the building. Castle? Palace? Palace was probably more accurate, seeing as the building was so tall you couldn’t see the top of it. There were huge roman columns supporting it, rose gardens on either side of the yard, and the pathway near it seemed to sparkle - it was all solid gold bricks lining the road the closer they got to the palace.

Death smiled at Danny, who looked like a little kid in a candy store for the first time. Heaven was truly a beautiful place, especially for someone who had never seen it before. But they were here for answers, not to gawk. Death wanted to know once and for all whether or not this young man was truly his soulmate.

“Come on.” Death urged Danny and grabbed his hand. To Danny’s surprise, Death was incredibly warm and had very soft hands.

They made their way towards the palace at the end of the block and Death knocked lightly on the door. It was the biggest door Danny had ever seen, reaching so high up he couldn’t see the top of it.

“Don’t be nervous.” Death warned.

Danny nodded. This would be the first time he would be meeting “the big guy”. He hoped he wouldn’t damn him to hell.

The large doors finally opened slowly, and the big guy finally appeared; only he was not big at all. In fact, he just looked like an average guy to Danny as far as height went. However, it was very hard to look at him because he was so striking. He was how he had always pictured him, tan muscular and blonde with bright blue eyes. He had a glow of light around him, it was faint but it still hurt his eyes if he stared for too long. Danny fixated his eyes on the decorations around him to ensure he wouldnt harm his vision.

“Roy! I see you brought Daniel with you.” He smiled widely. His teeth were so white it was blinding.

Danny burst out laughing and if he could see Roy underneath his hood, he would’ve saw the literal death glare he was shooting him.

“Your real name is Roy? Why didn’t you tell me?” Danny grinned.

“That’s actually classified information, Daniel. No one knew his real name but me.” God stated.

“So wait, you’re a guy?” Danny asked Roy confused.

He looked at Roy and tried to determine if he could see some sort of manly shape, but the cloak hid his body well. It was useless, he wouldn’t know until he took it off.

“It’s complicated.” God admitted and stepped aside to let them in.

“So it’s true then.” Roy murmured.

“Roy, yes it’s true.” God rolled his eyes and Danny fought back a snicker.

“I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you, Danny.” He shot him a serious look. His piercing blue eyes made his face go cold as he nodded his head in understanding.

“I’m sorry sir.” Danny stammered. When he was nervous, his natural reaction was to laugh things off. The fact that Roy being his soulmate was now confirmed, just made it even more nerve wracking. He knew Roy probably thought he was just an inexperienced fucktard for lack of a better word, so he didn’t know how well things were about to play out. His anxiety was through the roof, and being yelled at by God was not how he wanted to start the day out.

Roy chuckled, sticking his tongue out at the young man. God glared at him, and he cleared his throat loudly trying to ease the tense energy in the room.

“He can’t see you, idiot.” God grinned.

Danny looked between the two men confused and saw Roy visibly sigh.

“Roy, can you just take off your dang hood already? Danny already knows you’re his. Show him who he’ll be spending eternity with.”

Danny stared at Roy with suspense, realizing that he literally had no idea who his soulmate really was. He couldn’t even put a face to a name, just a black abyss underneath a dark cloak.

“Hang on. Why him? After all of this time being alone, why now?” Roy asked.

“Come.” God motioned.

They made their way over to the sofa in the corner of the living room, which was a small word for how grand the room really was. There was a large couch that was upholstered with a beautiful soft ivory suede, and a giant crystal chandelier hung above the fragile looking glass coffee table. A marble fireplace sat against the wall, the flames crackling loudly. Danny’s shoes squeaked against the marble floors as the three of them sat down.

It was the most comfortable couch Danny had ever sat on. He sank into it, resting his head against it as he listened to the two of them talk.

“Roy, you’ve been miserable and frankly, a pain in my rear if I do say so myself. Especially over the last millennium. I’ve been waiting for the right person for you to be ready, and finally he’s here. I think it’s time you retire.”

“He’s 24 years old. He’s a baby!”

“He’s also right here.” Danny waved his hand annoyed.

“I can’t retire, what am I supposed to do with my free time?”Roy said, ignoring Danny.

“Make out with me.” Danny winked.

“In your dreams, queen.” Roy scoffed.

Danny glared at him and crossed his arms, sliding even further away from Roy. At least he was trying to find something to like about him. Roy wasn’t even trying to be his friend, let alone accept that he was his soulmate.

“He’s also the complete opposite of you.” God interrupted the tense exchange. “You’re death; grim, sarcastic, and cold hearted - or so you claim. He’s your life: positive, upbeat, but you share similar qualities as well. You’ll see Roy.”

Roy rolled his eyes underneath his cloak and sighed. He looked over at Danny, who was actually pretty attractive for his age. His dark hair and light eyes really complemented his fair skin, however he still had a hispanic background like him. He supposed that was their only thing in common, despite so many years separating them.

Danny grew up in a time where it was okay to be a drag queen, and to dress as a woman, and be whoever it was that you wanted to be. Roy didn’t have that same experience. How were they supposed to find any common ground other then being physically attracted to each other?

Who was even to say that Danny would find him attractive to begin with?

“So it’s okay to be gay?” Danny blurted out.

God’s face changed from pure confusion to amusement before he bursted out into laughter. Roy laughed along, it was pretty sweet that he was asking all of these innocent questions.

“Yes, it’s fine.”

Roy facepalmed and Danny smiled excitedly.

“So I’m not going to hell?”

“No of course not. You lived a very nice life, and now you’ll live here with Roy and hopefully make him not as bitter.” God smirked.

“So who’s taking my job?” Roy asked annoyed, choosing to ignore the bitter comment.

“That is something for me to worry about, and me only. So, am I going to have to forcibly remove your hood, or are you going to take it off already?”

Roy hesitated. It looked as if he was shaking as he grabbed the edges of the dark fabric.

What if Danny found him unattractive? He didn’t know what his type was, and he would be crushed if his soulmate was disgusted by his appearance. Even if they hadn’t hit it off yet.

“Trust me, you don’t look like Death anymore. Especially to him.” God encouraged, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s just- I’ve worn this garment for such a long time and have never taken it completely off. It’s throwing me for a loop here.” Roy hesitated.

God raised an eyebrow at him with a knowing look and Roy sighed.

Please don’t tell him, Roy thought.

God smiled sadly at him and nodded in understanding.

“Take your time. It doesn’t have to happen today.” Danny encouraged, breaking the silence.

Roy smiled at him sincerely, but then realized Danny couldn’t see him yet so it was useless. He sighed as his hands shook at the edge of the cloak, finally removing them from the hood and placing them by his sides again.

“You have to realize Daniel, that it has been many many many millennia since Roy has not worn a hood. This is a big deal for him.” God explained sternly.

Thank you, Roy thought. He was thankful he hadn’t given anything away about his insecurities. It may have seemed stupid to Danny for all he knew.

Danny nodded in understanding, and then pondered over whether or not he should ask what he had been wondering about. He had a lot of questions.

“What is it Danny?” God asked curiously.

Danny bit his lip nervously and clasped his hands together.

“So since Roy is my soulmate, and that was my last wish to find out who exactly that was; what happens now?”

“Well, you were actually supposed to be reincarnated again-”

“Again?” Danny asked dumbfounded.

“Yes again. You see, you had been reincarnated over many, many, many millenniums in order for me to make Roy the perfect soulmate. I had to have you go through many different lives to shape who you died as this time.” God beamed and then shot a look at Roy. “So even though you are 24 in your final stage Daniel, you are actually only a few years younger than Roy. Not that age matters, and anyway time is something created by humans; but that’s a completely different discussion that you will have plenty of time to engage in.”

This was a lot for Danny to wrap his head around. Reincarnation, soulmates, being gay was okay, the fact that he was many millenniums old and not just 24. He had so much on his mind, and didn’t even know where to begin asking anymore questions. He was utterly overwhelmed.

“Now, I’m sensing Roy would like to remove his cloak in private, and I need to get back to work so I’m afraid I’m going to have to dismiss you two. I have a feeling you’ll like what you see underneath it Danny. I’ve set up your dream house near the edge of town, by a river for Roy and big and eccentric for Daniel.” God snapped his fingers and two shiny gold skeleton keys appeared in their hands. “Those are your keys. It is literally impossible to lose them, as they will always find a way into your pockets when you change or what not. So enjoy. I’ll walk you out.”

God walked them to the front steps, and Danny noticed he heard a clicking sound as they walked across the marble floor. He looked down at God’s feet and realized it wasn’t his shoes, as he was barefoot. Danny was decked out in his black converse so it definitely wasn’t him. The sound was distinctive, and oddly familiar.

It was the final click before they hit the outdoors that made him realize it could only be one thing.

“Are you wearing heels?” Danny asked Roy incredulously. How had he not noticed that before?

God chuckled as he opened the large billowing doors for them.

“Like I said, you have more in common then you realize. Enjoy your time together. And for the last time Roy, this is not a prank!” God groaned.

“Thank you sir.” Danny said, and then hesitating. “Um, can I hug you?”

God snickered and brought Danny in for a squeeze.

“You are such a delight! Oh Roy you are in for a treat. Daniel, if you have any questions about anything please know that my doors are always open.” God said. “By the way Roy, since you are no longer the reaper, you won’t be able to read minds. You’ll have to learn about Daniel the old fashioned way. Anyway, I must go now, so farewell!”

Danny heard the doors close behind them and both men sighed in unison. Now Danny had to walk to his new home, where he would be spending eternity with someone who didn’t even want to be his soulmate.

They walked in silence back through the town square, lost in their thoughts and started towards the edge of town. Danny was admiring all of the scenery and people, some in regular clothes he noticed, others in the grecian gowns that he had seen when they first arrived. That was a good sign, he could wear whatever he desired.

“Which one do you think is ours?” Danny asked, as Roy’s heels clicked on the brick road. He never realized it, but Roy walked very elegantly; almost in a regal manner.

“I don’t know, I haven’t lived in a house in a very long time so I have no idea what we’re even looking for.” Roy shrugged.

“Where did you live as the reaper?”

“Remember Limbo?” Roy asked dryly.

“Ew you lived in that musty ass apartment?” Danny asked. He then clasped his hands over his mouth and looked around frantically. “Oh no, I wasn’t supposed to say that, I’m so sorry please don’t deport me!”

Roy cackled with laughter, his laugh so high pitched that Danny jumped; but then he laughed along with him in amusement. Roys laugh was very melodic, in a way that he hadn’t noticed before. It was actually pretty cute.

“You’re not going to get deported! Just don’t curse in front of God.”

Danny sighed in relief and realized they had reached the end of the road. He got a warm feeling in his stomach, as if he was close to home.

“There.” Roy breathed.

Nestled at the top of a small hill, was their house. It was an off white color, victorian style with a wrap around porch. There was bright pink trim around the roof, a porch swing and a blue mandala tapestry on one side of to shield the bright sun from reaching the patio. The door was painted a bright mustard yellow color, and the windows were all brand new, but still looked vintage enough to match the style of the house. Wildflowers surrounded it, in splashes of purple, orange, blue and red, and there was a field of sunflowers on one side of the house of all different colors. A river sparkled a few feet in front of it, with crystal clear water and what appeared to be a brand new wooden dock.

They were speechless, and didn’t even realize they had grabbed each other’s hands as they stared at their forever home.

“You know I don’t hate you right?” Roy finally said, rubbing his fingers over Danny’s hand. He was so warm, it was comforting. Very different than what Roy was used to.

“I know I’m not what you envisioned but at least give me a chance.” Danny snapped.

“Oh, no it’s not that. You are very attractive.” Roy stammered. “It’s just - I’ve been alone for so long, I don’t know how to do this whole soulmate thing yet. Just give me time please?”

Danny felt his cheeks warming up at the tender words. He hadn’t known him very long, but he could tell he wasn’t a very emotional person so it probably took a lot for him to say that.

“We have all the time in the world.” Danny murmured.

He knew Danny couldn’t see him, but he was losing himself in his green eyes. They were so bright and happy, he could stare into them for all eternity.

On the other hand, Danny felt himself drawing closer to Roy as he stared into the dark abyss underneath his hood trying to find the hint of his face. He didn’t know what it was, but he just wanted to be close to him in this moment. He put one arm around his shoulder and sort of side hugged him, throwing the other arm across his stomach.

Roy sighed into the touch and felt himself squeezing back. This felt like home, something he hadn’t known in a very long time.

They held each other for a few minutes as they gazed at the house, taking in the experience, and enjoying each other’s warmth.

What broke them out of their trance was a small meow and a shy bark.

The two men looked down, and Danny squealed in delight. A small golden chihuahua and an orange cat with black stripes had greeted them. The cat rubbed against Danny and meowed again, and the dog woofed at Roy as they stared incredulously at the ground.

“We have pets!” Danny exclaimed, picking up the cat with delight and holding it close.

“Hi Angel, aren’t you just the cutest.” Roy cooed to the small dog. Dogs were his weakness, and Danny giggled at the invulnerability that he was showing for the first time.

“That should be his name. Angel!” Danny grinned.

“How do you know it’s a boy?” Roy challenged.

Danny shrugged. “Dunno. Because you act macho, so I’d assume you’d end up with an equally as macho pet, so obviously it’d have to be a boy.”

Roy scoffed and picked up the dog flipping it over to see if it was a girl or a boy.

“Ugh, you’re right.” Roy groaned. Danny squealed and picked up his new cat.

“I’m gonna name you Halloween, Weenie for short.” Danny cuddled Weenie close to him and set the cat down on the ground. He untied his black converse and held them by the laces in one hand, as he felt the soft grass inbetween his toes for the first time. The air was fragrant with the scent of wildflowers, and he sighed as he looked at his new home from the top of the knoll one last time.

“Let’s go!” Danny exclaimed as he started running down the hill.

Roy watched the young man run and jump down the hill as the sun illuminated his pale skin. He had to admit, he was pretty cute in an innocent sort of way. He could feel himself start to grow fond of Danny, and how happy and positive of a person he was. He could tell that Danny was a hippie, enjoying every moment in nature that he could as he ran through the grass barefoot.

He sighed in relief as he realized he would no longer be escorting sick and confused humans and animals from earth to either heaven, hell, or limbo. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do with all of this free time that he now had. He didn’t know anything other than what he had been doing for the last part of the millenia.

How did God expect him to just fall in love with Danny like it was nothing? He was the complete opposite of everything he thought he’d have in a soulmate. Danny was rambunkshus, ditzy, and completely over the top. He had named his cat Weenie, for fucks sake.

Roy had been under the impression that he would be paired off with a man of sophistication.

But that would just be too easy, he thought.

He gazed down at his soulmate, who was stomping around the porch of their house, grinning and pointing at the front door excitedly to Halloween.

Roy had decided he refused to call the cat Weenie. Why name the cat a badass name like Halloween, and then ruin it with something as stupid as Weenie?

“Oh my god I love this!” Danny exclaimed, as he sat back on the porch swing, kicking his bare feet up excitedly.

“Maybe this won’t be so bad Angel.” Roy smiled and picked up his new dog, following after Danny

#c*nt #life and death #biadore #bianca del rio #adore delano #au #rpdr fanfiction #submission #m/m au