#no sunbeam because it's hard to come up with a design for her

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Ranking Libraries in Animated Movies

We're all bookworms here--yes, even you, person who has stumbled across this post at 4am, questioning everything about your life--and so we have library envy, and a lot of that started YOUNG. So let's take a walk down memory lane and review and rank (in no particular order because frankly I don't care enough to be precise about this) them!

The Provincial Town Library

This darling little space is clearly a labor of love in a town where way too many people feel about books like Gaston do. I want to pat this little library on the head. It's trying so hard, and it's wonderful that it exists. I would curl up here and read for an afternoon. This library is your secondhand, Thriftbooks version of a library. Well loved, a bit worn, and meant to be read.

The Library in Beast's Castle

Bright, airy, absolutely stunning design, but maybe a smidge impersonal and meant to intimidate. There aren't any cozy reading nooks, and there is a ton of echoey space. I was floored by this library as a kid, and I wanted it, but this is the library equivalent of a Folio Society special edition. You look respectfully and perhaps carefully page through it because it's more of an object d'arte than a reading copy of a book.

Prince Derek's Library

This library lacks the natural light of the libraries in Beauty and the Beast, but LOOK at this beauty. It's big, it's warm-toned, and it's clearly a USE library. There are floor stacks, side stacking, leaners, and an open book hanging out! I'd want some more cozy spots to read in here, but even without them, you'd never drag me out of this library. It's basically your fancy, Eaton Centre version of Chapters (don't look at me like that, I don't have to acknowledge that Indigo turned a bookstore into a lifestyle brand if I don't want to). It has prestige, but it's meant to be all about the books.

The Pagemaster's Library

Yes, it's included. Yes, it's a technicality. Who's blog is this anyway??? This is a library that you go to when you literally have no other choice and the fate of the world is on the line. It is NOT inviting, not friendly, and there is something deeply impersonal about it. It doesn't TRY to imtimidate you, it doesn't care about you. It's basically an eldritch horror and you're trying not to poke it too hard. The shelves are LITERALLY closing in on you as they extend into forever.

Merlin's Library

Ok, I know he's a wizard and wizards are basically chaos incarnate, but seriously, Merlin. I'm calling the book version of CPS. There are almost certainly rats inder those stacks and piles. It looks damp. It's dark. It's cramped. The humidity is probably out of control. There are probably books dying slowly by being molded over. I want to stage a rescue mission for those poor tomes.

Rapunzel's Personal Library

Oh sweetie. Come with me.

The Corona Library

A little cozy, a friend to read with, space to stretch out...Yes. This is good. Much better! I would absolutely read like 20 books all at once here, and bonus points for the window and sunbeam spot to be a book cat in!

The Evil Queen's Library

Given that this is basically a combination of a tenured academic's and a witch's library...A+ no notes on this whole vibe. I'm bailing HARD because spiders, but this woman knows what her library aesthetic is and she nailed it. This shelf is Instagram-ready.

#libraries #books & libraries #library #disney library #home library #library aesthetic

[kiwibirdlafayette]

Aitheaca: About Flash’s clothes, are they reflective? Is it made to look like gold (with gold embellishments) or is his jacket like actually gold (assuming it’s something similar to gold leaf but for fabric and lightweight)?

If his clothes are reflective, I think combat with him could be really fun, because he just causes blindness on the battlefield on sunny days. It’d also be fun with someone on the crew didn’t realize who they were talking to upon first meeting him because looking directly at him is hard. So, they don’t know the danger they’re in until it’s too late.

Also! What’s crew dynamic looking like? I saw you mentioned Spark was on the crew a while back, but just to confirm, who’s officially on the crew?

Out of all the Aitheaca designs, who’s your favorite?

Thank you so much for the questions!! I appreciate it a ton, it means an absolute lot that you're interested in my sillies :D

With Flash's jacket, hell yeah! I wasn't specifically going for a reflective surface, but I did want his jacket to appear as if it was weaved out of fibered gold (that Im assumin would be like gold leaf in texture), that is yes lightweight man's gotta be able to move fast... like a flash of light haHA-

When light reflects off it in certain ways it could absolutely be used like a flashbang to blind enemies during battle, I'm imagining AND YESSS the crew would have zero idea, like in the plot I have in my head so far, Tom, Sonja and Spark are the first ones to encounter Flash, they just see a shape of a man in the sunbeam ahead, too bright to tell who exactly it was. Initially they think it could be Jordan, but its actually Flash, who was tipped off to their location based on Tom's Mecha-Dianite quintessence (that still puts off a pretty strong signature despite the cloaking sigils Wag had given him). Like you mentioned, he's really hard to look at, because while he's standing in the sun he's not creating a shadow, he's reflecting it. And its in this time they don't notice him pull out his weapons and BANG

Mer and co. end up having to come in to come in to help them out-because they don't exactly have experience fighting someone who is wearing basically a mirror for a jacket in direct sunlight- wearing wearing some kine specialized obsidian sunglasses because yknow this is isn't their first rodeo with this yellow dipshit (Merina's not as affected as Will and Cass but she's gonna wear em anyway for the bit)

I think of the designs, probably either Merina, Cass and Ianite are my favorite! Ia because I just had a lot of fun designing her armor and coming up with a darker color palette costume design that wasn't just dark purple, and working with different armor styles to get the specific celestial warlord look I wanted her to have :D Cass was just a fun design to do overall because his aesthetics have been something I dont get to work with much, a very patchwork vintage kind of thing, which is supposed to be a callback to Inter Amorem et Timorem , a short screenplay I wrote for school where- aside from it being a Tom reference- he was named Cassell because his emotions were spoken through cassette tapes C: But Merina's design might just be my favorite, I am a sucker for nautical designs and trying to figure out what a coraldragon hybrid might look like compared to a typical merling was a ton of fun :D Also trying to work in the color palettes of the Watchers was how I landed on the blueish purple scheme, because initially she was going to be teal and orange to call back a little to Sonja across the multiverse

(I promise I also love William equally but too much of his design was me making jokes about Joel/Pix/Bdubs)

And the crew! Currently as I have it, the peeps that end up in Aitheaca are Jordan, Tom, Capsize, Sonja, Martha, Spark (Tucker I was thinking about including, but I'm not sure how to work him back in, but basically they would find him in a different SMP prior to this; where the reconciliation between him and Sonja starts) Its very interesting to have 3 different Sparklez variants in the same timeline, surely nothing could go wrong /hj, but the dynamic can best be defined as "a group of people who desperately just need to figure their shit out because damn they have not really had a proper chance to rest and feel safe doing so"

While Tom and Jordan had their reconciliation arc during Isles (source: just trust me m8), Capsize, while having gotten a hang on being undead is carrying a lot of resentment and unresolved issues she's not sure about because she can't clearly remember the entirety of (specifically towards Jordan) and Sonja kind of holding a little resentment towards Tom, but more importantly her decision to choose to stay Mianite's champion despite her post-S2 not being sure and owning that choice. no longer even after Tucker he drifts away (and then how that comes into play when Tucker rejoins them, basically the stuff I allude to in the mini animatic) its essentially Embersduo and Zombiecaptains but they have trouble getting along, not because they're sick of each other, but more like damn We all Went Through a Ton of Shit and we're not good at talking about it or working through it together,but goddammit we're still gonna try to get along. That being said I do think they have moments where they can be their silly shenanigan selves :D

Martha's her own ballgame, in the sense that she's very endgoal oriented in trying to problem solve, and her reaction to Aitheaca!Ianite is very drastic as well, it just must be really weird to see a basically evil version of your mother. She and Sonj aren't great friends, but her and Capsize have caught on pretty well, and she doesn't mind Jordan (Tom's iffy, but at least they can connect over being new gods in a way) Spark's just along for the ride, he was supposed to get back home to help out Dia, Mot and the Wizards but the portal fucked up lowkey :] He's not exactly overjoyed to be parading about the multiverse but he's fine with Martha, Sonj and Capsize so he mostly hangs around them. It'll be interesting that's for sure, but this is the main chunk of the post-series stuff I want to do so yeeeee

#I'm still kinda toying with the crew dynamics but this is what i got so far :D #mianite: the tales of aitheaca #mianite au #gkm ocs #worldbuilding #mianite #merina coraldragon #william oricho #cassell lomorem #lafakiwi talks #lafakiwi writes #that being said. writing a fic is currently out of the question for me i do not really have the motivation #if anything i'll probably dot out the plot like i did for SKoD onto a google doc in bullet points #and draw bits n pieces here and there when I get inspired #but theres also like. pre- the Crew's arrival that exists thats like AAAAAAAA #yeah ive thought too much about this then is normal #asks #licantropa #lafakiwi draws #(for the doodle)

[fmp2emilycywinski]

Drawing Crimson Cover

I have already mentioned that I wanted to make a front cover and a Webtoon comic as my final project. Since I have completed all of my blog work for now and my character designs, I wanted to start on my front cover since I have only 2 weeks left to do my Webtoon comic.

First I wanted to sketch the cover however I used a different paper this time because I found an A3 sketchbook with actual sketchbook paper that dost destroy itself when you use a rubber.

Anyway, I sketch out what I wanted on the front cover, I knew I wanted to draw the two main characters as the main focus of the cover so I first saw Rose looking back behind her. I wanted her cloak to be dramatic and flow behind her with her weapon also doing the same thing but with blood droplets.

After that, I wanted Valko to do a similar pose I drew on his character design sheet where he is looking behind him as well as Rose but also holding his shadow ball.

But one thing I am super proud of is Rose’s hair, I wanted it to flow dramatically as well and I'm just really happy with how it looks. It's so flowy and very pretty.

But once I was happy with how the sketch looked, I then took a picture of my sketch and put it into Procreate for me to draw over with line art. Not much to say about that because it's just like art, but then once I finished that, it was time to colour!

I grabbed the colour pallets from my character design sheet and pasted them onto this cover. I then coloured everything aproporatly and then started the shade everything. I didn't shade Valko because I just wanted to focus on one person at a time and because Rose is pretty much the centre of the cover, I needed her to look good.

I started by shading her skin and then her hair, her hair was quite difficult because I wanted to shed a little differently then I usually do, I wanted to add way more colours and shading than I usually do. I usually do 2 shading colours but because this was the cover, I wanted to up the quality quite a lot so I gave her quite a few shading colours.

I also went ham on the ADD setting on her hair highlight layers to make it shiny and very pretty. The rest of the shading was kinda simple and I'm very happy with how she turned out. I then started to shade Valko which was very quick and easy since Rose covers 50% of him.

After I completed the shading, I put it in the background. I just used one of my forest landscape images I made for no particular reason but now I'm glad that it has a purpose.

One thing I did that I don't usually do is even more shading but this time it's a little different than usual. Usually, I just shade with certain colours but because the forest might have a sun coming down and hitting out characters, that means that there must be some harsh shadows.

So I created a layer on top over every other layer and colour-filled the whole canvas with a forest green to match the forest background. I then lowered the opacity and rubbed out anything that light would hit on my two characters. I created some sunbeams using the shadow but to make the sunlight look glowy, I grabbed a light-free colour and created another layer, set it to ADD and used an airbrush in the corner of the poster to make the sunshine look very pretty.

Anyway, I'm very happy with how this turned out! I showed my friends and it sounds like they were very pleased with it. But I am so proud, and I worked so hard on this to the point I'm quite tired and can't wait for this project to be over...Haha....

[scapegrace74-blog]

New Ways of Turning Into Stone, Chapter 7

A/N  For anyone waiting patiently for this chapter, I apologize.  Somewhere in the midst of writing this story, I fell out of love with it, making it very hard to find the inspiration to finish. I’m too stubborn to abandon it, though, so here is the final chapter.  The good news is the angst fest is over, for the most part.  Slight reference to child trafficking in the past.  Thanks to everyone who read and interacted with this story!  This final chapter is entitled A Dragonfly in Amber.

The whole story can be found on my A03 page.

Eighteen Months Later

The breeze off the firth was picking up, and Claire wished she’d grabbed a  jumper before leaving her flat.  She spent a lot of time these days looking back at the million decisions that made up a life, aware of their path as though they were footprints visible to the eye.  Where once missteps would have inspired judgement or shame, she could now chart their passage with a certain measure of peace.

A rare free Thursday brought her to a seasonal market in what was otherwise a car park overlooking Edinburgh Castle.  With no specific objective in mind, she wandered the stalls of fresh produce and locally made crafts, meandering but purposeful.  A jar of raw honey and a half-dozen blueberry scones made their way into her tote bag before she stopped at a store selling beautifully woven woolen goods, thinking that she could perhaps invest in a shawl.

Lifting the various offerings from where they were displayed, something caught her eye.  Beneath the many-patterned pile of wool stood a beautiful wooden chest, its heft and patina speaking of its craftsmanship.   It had been painted in a rusted umber, the shape of a dragonfly elegantly carved into its solid lid.

“Tis lovely, is it no’?” a soft lilt startled her from her trance.

“Yes, very.  Is it for sale?”  She had no idea why she’d asked.  Her flat was crowded enough as it was and frivolous purchases no longer within her budget.

“Alas, no.  Twas an anniversary gift from my man.”  Perhaps seeing the disappointment register on her face, the woman added, “I can give ye the card o’ the man who made it, at least.  Ye’re no’ the first tae have admired his work.”

Claire’s hands shook slightly as the shopkeeper sought out the card, an eerie sense of premonition settling over her.  Sure enough, the familiar names leapt into relief as she accepted the woman’s offering:

Lallybroch Furniture Design

James Fraser, Proprietor

***

The afternoon and evening passed in a blur of obligations and routine.  It was only as she settled into the peace of her own bedroom that Claire allowed her thoughts to return to the business card tucked safely into her wallet.  

She’d known Jamie was still in the city.  While she’d resisted the urge to seek him out a thousand times, she couldn’t stop herself from searching his name on the Internet.  A harmless indulgence, she rationalized, and one that assured her that he was well, his business going from strength to strength. Despite the capitol’s tight-knit community, however, their paths had never crossed.  Until now.

Was it a sign?  Long Ago Claire paid no heed to such foolishness, but that was before a chance encounter spun her life one hundred and eighty degrees, sending her down a brand new path.  Now she accepted these memos from the universe with humility.  Tomorrow, she would go looking for Jamie Fraser.

***

Jamie heard the jingle of the bells above the door, even over the mechanical whirr of his sander.  Unbending and blowing a sweaty curl off his forehead, he admired the intricate scrollwork of the custom hutch that was his latest commission.  It still amazed him to watch his visions take shape before his eyes.  If life hadn’t slapped him hard across the face, knocking him far off course, he might have spent the rest of his days unaware of the gift that resided between his hands.

“Took ye long enough, Geordie,” he called out to the footsteps approaching from the door.  “Where’d ye go fer the varnish, Glasgow?”

There was a pause, and an eerie sense of premonition settled over him.  Today was going to be the day.

“It’s not Geordie, it’s me.  Claire.”  He’d thought of her voice each day for the past eighteen months, and yet he hadn’t been able to summon its exact timbre: sonorous, precise, with a smoky finish like well-aged whisky.

“Claire,” he replied to the universe, summoning her by name before he even turned around.

Sawdust motes danced in a sunbeam descending from a clerestory window, illuminating the mahogany in her curls.  She was everything he remembered, and so much more.  The nacre of her skin, now dusted with cinnamon freckles.  The topaz of her eyes less fierce, more open, and overwhelmingly anxious.  The tight line of her jaw was less defined, her once whippet-thin figure filled out into plush curves.  Overall the impression was one of softness, of willing vulnerability.

“The door was open,” she explained needlessly, her eyes drinking him in hungrily.  He wondered what changes she read on his surface.

“It’s... uhhh...” his voice wobbled painfully, “it’s good tae see ye, Sassenach.  How have ye been?”

He hadn’t trusted himself to seek her out since Maggie’s death, understanding that they both needed time to heal.  It didn’t stop him from zeroing in on every glimpse of brown curls, nor from reading wedding announcements with an invisible fist gripping his throat.  If it was meant to be, he counselled himself, they would find one another when the time was right.  And now she was here, standing in his workshop and more lovely than his zealous imaginings.

“Good,” she replied, eyes meeting and then sheering away from his gaze.  “Really good.  Busy.”  She was gripping the strap of her handbag like a parachute cord, and he couldn’t help glancing at her left hand, selfishly relieved to note it was still bare.

“I, ummm, I saw one of your pieces.  At the market yesterday.  Not for sale, of course.  The woman offered me your card, so I thought, you know, that I might...  You’re really very talented, Jamie,” she prattled nervously.

He blushed, delighted by her praise.  “I thank ye, Claire.”  To taste her name in his mouth, so long forbidden, was intoxicating.  He would never tire of saying it.

“And yer work?  Tis Friday.  Are ye taking a well-deserved day off?”

“Oh, no.  I’m not practicing anymore, Jamie.”

He froze, horrified.  Of all the scenarios he’d played out in his mind, he’d never imagined her anything but a doctor. It was too much a part of who she was.  A familiar sense of oppressive responsibility crept over him.  If he’d somehow caused this to happen...

“Sassenach, no...” he whispered.

To his utter confusion, she laughed, merry and bright as the bells that had announced her return to his life.

“It’s alright, truly.  I, well, a lot has changed since last year,” she explained, a glimmer of something coy transforming her face.  His wame sunk into his feet.

“Ye’ve met someone.”   A statement of fact.  Punishment for wishing for something that wasn’t meant to be.

Her spritely laugh rang out again, increasing his pain.  He felt the old, habitual hardening around his heart, and fought to keep his breath steady.  No matter how much it hurt, he owed it to Claire to listen to her joy.

“In a manner of speaking.  His name is Fergus, and he’s eight years old.”

Startled, he stared into her upturned face, trying to read the truth in her features.  A hand, delicate but strong, took his own.  He held onto it like a lifeline as she told her unlikely tale.

Shortly after their last meeting, Claire had been walking through Grassmarket when she’d been jostled by a running figure.  It was only upon righting herself that she realized she was without her phone.   Giving chase, she eventually cornered the thief down a blind alley, only to realize that it was a young boy, unkempt and malnourished.

Rather than turn the pickpocket in, Claire had negotiated an exchange: her phone for a four-course meal and the story of how a boy of his age, with a heavy French accent no less, had come to live on the streets of Edinburgh.

“He was trafficked, Jamie.  A group in Paris were keeping him and other orphans in a brothel.  When they came to transport them, Fergus escaped.  He hid in a lorry, and this is where it brought him.  He had no coat, no money, hardly any English, but he’d been surviving on his wits for six weeks before I found him.  I can’t bear to think what might have happened to him had we not crossed paths that winter’s day.”

“Christ,” he swore, thinking of his own nephew, and what he wouldn’t give to protect the lad’s innocence.

Claire went on to describe the painstaking process of reporting Fergus, whose real name was Claudel, to the authorities without allowing him to be deported back to France and into the waiting hands of the very people he had escaped.

“There was no formal steps to follow, no real resources I could rely on.  I ended up filing for adoption, because it was the only way to keep him safe.  In the beginning, he needed all my attention.  He had no formal schooling and had to learn English in a hurry.  He suffered from terrible nightmares.  I transferred all my patients, shut down the office, but I assumed it was only temporary, until he felt more secure and could go to school with other kids his age.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Fergus isn’t the only trafficked child in Scotland.  I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do whatever I could to protect every one of them.  So I quit.  I’d made some contacts at ECPAT in London, trying to sort out the mess with Fergus’ immigration paperwork.   I called them up and offered my services on a part-time basis.  A former pediatrician with experience in grief counselling.  They couldn’t accept fast enough.  So now, when I’m not busy being Fergus’ mom, I’m the executive director of ECPAT here in Scotland.”

“Christ,” he repeated.  “Sassenach, I’m...  God, ye’re an amazing woman.”

It was her turn to blush, glancing down to notice that their hands were still clasped, fingers woven together like thirsty roots.  They were standing toe to toe, breathing in harmony.  Jamie smelled of pine, a sharp sweetness that seemed to cling to his body.  She dared a look upwards and found his gaze locked on her mouth.  Oceans stormed in the depths of his eyes.

“You’ve got a little...” she reached for his jaw, “...a little something, right here...”  Before she could dislodge the fleck of sawdust trapped in his auburn stubble, Jamie’s whole body surged forward, their noses practically bumping.

“Sassenach...” he beseeched.

“Yes?”  Wispy, fluttering wings of hope surrounded her.

“I’ve bided as long as I can.  May I please, for the love of all tha’s holy, finally kiss ye?”

A tiny nod, a murmured assent, then their lips took up the conversation that had begun so many months before.  There, in a dusty workshop at eleven o’clock on a Friday morning, the last obstacle that stood between them came crashing to the ground.  In its place came warmth and certainty, a candleflame of cherished possibility. 

#my writing #outlander

[jayfrost-designs]

Now for the last of my currently-completed ref sheets (but not the last of the images overall). I know I only made Sunbeam's ref sheet a few months ago, but something about the anatomy of it just bothers me, maybe the way her head is tilted is part of it, it's like I have trouble reading her build and her pattern because of the way she's posed. So, in honor of River's release, I decided to spruce up my girl's ref sheet. ^^ So here's a lovely Sunbeam to celebrate River's release!

You can find the reverse side of her design here. Some of the description is going to be copied and pasted from the last ref sheet, since I didn't actually make any changes to her design, I just changed the pose to make the anatomy look better.

She has no physical description other than color and pattern, but on the cover of River she looks like a sturdy sort of girl with a thick pelt, so that's what I went with here. ^^ She's a decently sized girl, a sturdy build, and nice thick, medium/long fur and tufted ears. I used this image as a reference. I gave her very few scars, since she's old enough to have been in the Sisters and Impostor battles, although neither has been confirmed, so it's hard to say whether she should have scars at all or not. It's funny - her older sister is a skinny sort of toothpick of a cat, but Sunbeam looks nothing like her - I am a sucker for a larger she-cat, though, so I'm fine with that. ^^

For her pattern, Sunbeam is described as a brown tabby-and-white she-cat with amber eyes. I went with a nice medium brown for her coat, and I had a lot of fun coming up with her pattern.  I'm really happy with how she turned out, I think she looks very pretty. I gave her that big circular marking on her sides to sort of look like a sun - bit of a stretch, but I wanted some reference to her name that still looked natural.

Overall, I'm really, really, really happy with how she turned out, I think she looks gorgeous, as she well deserves to.  

#Warriors #Warrior Cats #WC #Erin Hunter #Sunbeam #Sunpaw #Sunkit #Rogue #Kit #Apprentice #Warrior #A Vision of Shadows #Tigerheart's Shadow #Super Editions #The Broken Code #A Starless Clan

[magalidragon]

fire on ice | a crackish Jonerys drabble

Soooo... @moggett reblogged this post and well I felt compelled to write a drabble for one of those prompts so I give you this crack fic-- a funeral home meet cute!

I give you....FIRE ON ICE!  And this is also partially @youwerenevermine‘s fault, lol, because we literally had same idea for one of the prompts.

“Thank you so much Mr. Snow.”

Jon nodded politely, solemnly, his gray eyes the perfect amount of sympathetic, sad, and he hoped the right amount of ‘normal’— lest people think him a total fucking creep—while he shook the hand of the Greatjon Umber, whose son Smalljon Umber had unfortunately encountered the wrong side of a chainsaw while out trimming trees.  

Greatjon began to go into a tale about his son—who by all accounts had been a horrible person—speaking like he was the second coming of Aegon the Conqueror for all his ‘talents’ and ‘successes.’  “Hmm,” he murmured, walking him slowly to the door.  “He sounds like quite a man your son, thank you Mr. Umber, we will speak later regarding tomorrow.”

“Of course, thank you again Mr. Snow.”

The door shut loudly behind him, Jon slumping against it, relieved.  He glanced at his cousin, who had emerged from the basement, shaking her chopped bob out of its messy little knot atop her head.  “He gone?” she demanded.

“Aye.”

“I had half a mind to sew his arm on backwards.”

Jon closed the doors to the viewing room where Smalljon rested in repose until tomorrow when he’d be taken to the Karstark’s castle for the final funeral and ultimate burial in the crypts, as was custom for the Northerners.  He clicked his tongue.  “Arya, be nice.”

“Remember when his wife died, and he squeezed my arse?”

“Aye, I remember.”

“Thought so.”  Arya checked her phone.  “Your beloved texted me.  We have another on the way.  This one fell from the Wall.  Ygritte said he’s a fucking mess.”

He made a face; he hated that she referred to his ex-girlfriend as his ‘beloved.’  “Will you stop calling her that?”

“She works for the morgue Jon, what were you thinking?”

“It’s hard to find women in this line of work.”  He heard the bell ringing on the other side of the old stone house that served as their place of business and home—the five-floor monstrosity he knew people in town referred to as ‘Castle Black.’  He did wear a lot of black.  Came with the territory.  He waved off Arya.  “Just make sure you finish up with Mr. Lannister before the end of the evening.”

“The rich dude who died on the shitter?  Yeah, no thanks, that’s all yours.”

“Do you want to take this one?  Where the fuck is Robb anyway?”  Robb was the master of this shit, not him.  He was better with the dead.

Arya walked away before he even could try to play ‘Dragon, Wolf, Lion’ with her or answer as to where her eldest brother happened to have gone off.  Guess it was all him.  He caught his reflection in one of the mirrors in the hallway, adjusting his black tie at his neck and raking fingers through his curls.  It did nothing to tamp them down. He schooled his expression, solemn, and pushed through the dark wooden doors from the funeral home side of the floor to the entry way.  He let them swing back and folded his hands in front of him.  

“Welcome to Three Wolves Funeral Home, may I help you?” he asked, voice gentle; you never knew who might be waiting to speak with you on this side of the building.  He’d been accused too often in Robb’s post-services discussions of being too cold.

The woman standing in a dark red dress with long black overcoat was not someone who appeared to be in mourning, but then you never really knew, some people were good at masking emotions.  Her silver hair was in an elegant, braided knot at the back of her head and she had large black sunglasses folded in her hands, gazing at the table with various brochures for caskets.  

She turned, blinking wide violet eyes at him, her lips crimson, face pale.  “Good afternoon,” she greeted him, eyebrow arching.  “I’m inquiring as to your crematory services.”

“For yourself?” he blurted, before he realized how it sounded.

She smirked, while he flushed, thrown off by her stunning beauty.  He tried to school his expression again; she could very well have been there for her husband, boyfriend, or other, he did not need to stumbling through this.  He wished Robb was there.  “That would be interesting, wouldn’t it?  Well, I can assure you I’m not here to burn myself alive, but you know…” She inspected her hand, a couple rings on them glittering gold.  She grinned up at him.  “I have heard stories my ancestors were immune to flame.”

His throat constricted.  “Apologies.  Can I help you?”

“Your crematory services?” she wondered again, walking by him and into the showroom, running a finger over an ebony casket.  

“Ah…I am afraid Three Wolves does not offer such services.  We can, however, assist with selecting one, urns, and preparing a memorial service.”  He wondered what she was doing; she was now leaning down to look underneath a massive white casket.  No one really cared what the underside looked like.  He gestured towards the office.  “We can speak in private, if you wish?”  

The woman shook her head.  “No I’m fine, thank you.  Just doing a little bit of research.”

“For a relative?”  

“Something like that.”  She wore very high heels, which clicked loudly on the hardwood.  She glanced sideways; eyes shrewd.  “Are you one of the Three Wolves on your sign out front?”

“Yes, Jon Snow, I’m the mortician.”  It sounded so creepy like that, but it was the truth.  Robb handled the hand shaking, the business side.  Arya was their resident makeup artist—she could do wonders with faces practically taking them on and off—but he was the one who handled everything else.  

“Hmm, yes I heard of you.”  The woman offered her hand.  “Dany.”

“Jon,” he repeated, like an idiot.  He was put off by her beauty, rather disarming.  He swallowed hard again.  “Nice to meet you.  Is there…”

“This was enlightening Mr. Snow.  I’ll be back.”  Dany wiggled her fingers, waving, striding out decisively.  “See you later.”

What the seven hells was that about? He spun on his heel, about to ask her what else he could help her with, when the front door slammed shut, bell ringing on her exit.  He heard the door from the services wing open, Robb walking in.  He scowled.  “Where were you?”

“Talking with the Umbers, heard it went well, did we have a customer?” Robb adjusted his tie, eagerly seeing dollar signs.  “Where are they?”

“They left.”  

“Damnit Jon!”

He rolled his eyes, storming by.  “I’ll be downstairs.”

“With Tywin Lannister?  Better make him look good, the Lannisters are paying through the nose for this.”

“Aye,” he said idly, heading downstairs and to his ‘lair’ as Robb referred to it.  He shook his head, preparing in the locker room, putting on scrubs and his protective gear.  When he tugged on gloves, walking over to the block of freezer drawers, he rolled his eyes again, making another face.  He was better with dead people anyway.

-----

A couple of weeks later, Jon saw the beautiful silver-haired woman again, this time from the front step of the funeral home, while Arya sat on the railing, Robb in shocked horror as the sign went up across the street.  

Dracarys Funeral Home and Crematory Services

“How did this happen?  We had the run of things here!” Robb exclaimed.

Arya cracked her gum.  “Want me to get info?”

The silver haired Dany waved from the front step of her home.  “Hello Starks!”

Jon shook his head, appalled.  “I thought she was just asking because someone died…like they all do.”

“You didn’t think that she was scoping the competition?” Robb shouted.

“I told you I’m better with the dead than I am the living!”

“Oh leave him alone,” Arya chided.  She rubbed Ghost’s ears—his great white wolf—gazing across the street again, shrugging.  “Maybe we can make this work.  Jon, you were the one who met her, maybe you can get some more info.  They do crematory, we don’t.  Maybe we can make a deal or something.”

Robb nodded, poking his shoulder.  “Go over there, find out more.”

Jon sighed.  He really didn’t want to do this. “I have that Wall guy to deal with.”

“Jarl will keep, go find out more.”

He slid away from the column, clicking his tongue for Ghost to follow him, the two of them crossing the street and up to Dracarys.  He entered into the front room, seeing that everything was a shade of black and red.  He glanced at Ghost, who was scanning the space with his bright ruby eyes, white fluffy tail wagging slowly.  “What do you think?” he mumbled.

The walnut wood stairs creaked in the back, drawing him towards the door leading away from the showroom and sitting area.  He peeked into another part of the old house, just like how their business was set up, with a viewing room and seating area.  He moved to another door, which was open, leading down a set of stairs.  

A massive black cat yowled from a sunbeam near the door, hissing at Ghost and running off.  Ghost didn’t bark but took off after the cat.  He sighed, calling out.  “Please don’t kill her cat!”  

He went down the stairs and pushed open a set of swinging double doors, pausing at the sight.  It was state-of-the art and he scowled at some of the fancy equipment he’d been trying to convince Robb to upgrade to for the last year.  He ran his tongue over his teeth, arching a dark brow at the woman who had been wearing head-to-toe designer when he’d met her and now was in black scrubs and protective gear, leaning over a dead man, a kit of makeup and brushes next to her.  

“Jon Snow,” she called.

“Daenerys Targaryen.”  He used her full name.  The proprietress of the competition, he would not refer to her as Dany.  “You could have told me you were moving in across the street.”

“And you would have shown me around?  I think not.”  

He stepped closer, curious at what she was working on.  His eyebrows flew to his forehead.  “Greyscale, huh?”

“Hmm,” Dany murmured.  “Yes.”  She looked up, grinning.  “I saw you coming over, decided not to stop you from finding me.  You’re not squeamish.”

“No I’m not.”

“They call you the King of the Dead.”

It wasn’t the worst thing he’d been called.  “And you are?” he retorted.

“The Dragon Queen, I suppose you could call me.  Or at least, that’s what they called me at mortician school.”  She selected another brush, grinning.  “I’m offering a service that your busines does not Jon Snow, that’s all.”

“The North doesn’t burn their dead.”

“I know, but many in the South do.  There’s plenty of them moving up here.”  Dany stood and pushed the gurney with the greyscale man into the freezer, closing the door.  She removed her gloves and gear, walking by him, and began to wash up.  She tossed a serene smile over her shoulder.  “I think we can make this work Jon Snow.  Don’t worry about it.”

“Robb isn’t used to competition.”

“And you?”

He shrugged.  “I work better with the dead.”

“So do I.”  When she finished, she studied him for a few seconds, which unnerved him.  He tore his eyes from her, wondering what she was doing.  She approached him, hands on her hips.  “Would you like to get a cup of coffee?”

He frowned, nose wrinkling, surprised.  “Coffee?”

“A hot beverage, sometimes served with milk and sugar?  Other times with various accoutrements like cinnamon or chocolate?” Dany’s smile softened.  He saw then how gentle she actually was, how soft.  It was comforting and he wasn’t even grieving.  She must be very good at her job, he thought.  He was numb, unsure how best to reply.  She patted his arm, stepping by him.  “Come on, I’ve got a lovely blend from Braavos.”

In the kitchen on the third floor of her house, where he assumed, she lived, she prepared the coffee.  He wondered where Ghost had gone.  “This how you get all the competition?” he managed to get out.  “Ply them with coffee?”

“Just you.”  Dany sat down across from him at a small bistro table in a large bay window, with a beautiful view of the mountains in the distance.  She passed him the mug of coffee and used a small ceramic pitcher to pour milk into her coffee.  Lifting it to her lips, she smiled again, warm and eyes dancing.  “You intrigue me.”

He sipped his coffee—it was very good—a small smile on his lips.  “You are an interesting one, Dany…if that is your real name.”

“Only my friends can call me Dany,” she mouthed.  

“And we’re friends?”

“Well I hope we’re not enemies.”

Jon figured he’d have to wait it out and see for certain, but he didn’t think enemies was the best word for it.  He was not good at this sort of thing, so he chose to continue drinking his coffee.  He set the mug down on the table, sighing and cocking his head, a slight furrow to his brow.  “I’m not good at this.”

“I know,” Dany shrugged.  “But I am.”

Well that was that then, he figured, smiling at her.  

-----

“So where did you two meet?”

Jon wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, as one of Sansa’s friends from King’s Landing had cornered him, trying to get info on Robb.  “Where did I meet…?” he echoed, playing dumb.

Margaery Tyrell frowned.  “Where did you meet Daenerys?  Sansa didn’t tell me.  In fact, she’s being really weird about things.  Won’t even tell me what Robb does for a living.”  Her eyes lit up.  “I like a challenge.”

“Um, well…”

His wife of the last two hours emerged at his side, looping her arm through his.  “We met at a funeral home,” she said, smiling at Margaery’s wide-eyed, horrified expression.  Dany gazed up at him, love shining from her beatific face.  “In fact, we contemplated holding the reception there, but figured everyone might think that a little weird.”  She smiled even wider.  “Also in the future, please keep the Fire on Ice Funereal Services in your thoughts for any funereal needs!”

Jon stifled a snort, glad to be rid of the odd questions.  He smiled down at his beloved.  “We didn’t actually consider the reception there or…did you?”

“No of course not, I don’t want to mix business and pleasure.”

“Isn’t that exactly what we did?”

“Nah, I came to scope out the competition and this really cute guy who couldn’t look me in the eye without blushing wandered in.”  Dany rose on her toes, pecking his cheek.  She patted her hand against his chest.  She beamed again.  “Best decision I ever made.  I could have sent Viserys.”

At the mention of her annoying older brother, Jon shivered.  He squeezed her close.  “Very well then.  Let’s at least try to figure out a better story, you’re scaring people.”

“Well it is the truth.”  

Jon shook his head, but smiled anyway, his arm around her and hers around him, both of them walking off into the crowd of guests.  He even thought that he overheard someone say the King of the Dead had found his queen.  He kissed her temple, sighing.  He certainly did.

THE END

#jonerys #Jonerys au #Jonerys drabble #worst prompts challenge ACCEPTED #I blame Erika for this one #crack fic totally

[radiant-flutterbun]

Mason’s Brightside Part 2

   Part 1

“No Mason, weird dreams are not a symptom of the herb I gave you last night,” Alaria sighed “If you had listened to me you would know the opposite is true.”

    “No dreams is a symptom?”

    “Yes and so are dehydration headaches so make sure you drink lots of water.”

Alaria shooed Mason outside of the healing den and he nearly crashed into Corkscrew, a spiral.

    “Watch where you’re going!” Corkscrew snarled.

    Mason ignored him and went to get something to drink, his mind however was still thinking about that dream. He’d never been a vivid dreamer. Something about it was so unnatural.

    Evan came up to him later in the day and he described the dream to him.

    “Weird right?”

    “Yeah but sometimes a dream is just a dream. Don’t read too much into it.”

    “But it felt so real!”

    “You sure it’s not… Ya know your mind playing tricks on you?”

    Mason glared at Evan “It wasn’t that.”

    “Sorry, sorry I didn’t mean to imply…” Evan coughed “Maybe you’re just not used to a good night’s sleep is all.”

    Mason thought about that for a moment “That… Ok yeah that I can believe.”

    The next night he was given the same herb from Alaria and he found himself right back at the Emperor’s Wake.

    “Good to see you again Mason,” It was the tundra. They were sitting beside him, so close that Mason could feel their fur on him “Are you on your way?”

    “I-” Mason began and then he snarled “What are you doing in my head?”

    The tundra looked back at him calmly, “You can thank our local dreamwalker for that.”

    “Dreamwalker…?”

    “You’ll be waking soon. I don’t have time to explain. Please come here to the Emperor’s Wake. I’ll explain everything. It’ll be much easier in person, I promise.”

    Mason was about to speak when he found himself awake, sunlight danced across his room. 

    He began to pack his things. It didn’t take long. Being formerly dead, he didn’t have any personal belongings from his world. All he had were just a few art supplies Flare had been kind enough to give him, a simple dagger, a water canister, a few snacks and a blanket. Everything fit neatly in a bag he wrapped over his shoulder.

    He trotted down the stairs from his room and into the clan lobby. He made his way to the main exit when Evan found him.

    “Where are you going?” He asked, seeing the bag.

    Mason sighed “The Emperor’s Wake.”

    “What? Isn’t that where that monster is?”

    “Yep.”

    “And you want to go there?!”

    “Correct.”

    “Why?”

    “Because that’s where the dragons in my dreams told me to go.”

    “So you’re just going to listen to random dream dragons now?”

    “See this is why I was trying to avoid you.”

    Evan looked hurt “You were planning on leaving without telling me?”

    “Because I knew this would happen! I knew you wouldn’t understand! Listen, I've been here before. I know that whoever these dragons are, they're not going to get out of my head until I do what they want me to do.”

    “Hey no offense Mason but the last time you listened to some... thing in your mind you ended up hurting a kid.”

    Mason snarled “He wasn’t just a kid. Don’t oversimplify what Muerto is.”

    “I’m just saying, if you knew that was Match speaking to you, would you still have done the things you did?”

    “Yes. Match is just another self centered god, but at least me listening to him, capturing Muerto, weakening him. Getting him to spill his dirty little secrets. At least that did something! You would have rotted away to nothing and we would have all been trapped in that horrible place until we died. I got the gods’ attention. I changed things!”

    Evan took a deep breath “Ok. Yeah you’re right. But I also don’t have to like what we had to do to get where we are now. Maybe this time we can take some time to think about what we’re getting into before we have to hurt anyone?”

    “We? You want to come with me?”

    “I don’t like the idea of being near that monster, but I hate the idea of letting you go alone even more.”

***

    Mason waited for Evan to pack his things. Like him, it wasn’t much so they were off on their journey soon enough. Evan felt bad leaving without a word so he took the time to leave a note for Nike.

    The two took off and soared over the Sunbeam Ruins in the direction of the area now known as the Emperor’s Wake. Mason had a map with him to help him keep track of their journey. As he flapped his wings he noted how natural flight felt to him. It was strange to him how quickly he picked up the skill. His original body was not one designed for flight and never in a million years would he have guessed he’d eventually become a dragon. Sepulchral had taught him to fly after he had entered the Dragon Planet. Sepulchral was a good teacher, and unlike all of the other Selcouth creatures that were brought to Sornieth, Sepulchral actually had wings back in their world, making him uniquely experienced with flight. But even with such an excellent teacher, Mason felt like he shouldn’t have picked up the skill quite so quickly. It only made it more frustrating that relearning to draw was not as natural to him.

    “Sorry about planning to take off without you,” Mason said after a few miles of silence.

    “Hey, it's cool. No big deal,” Evan responded.

    “What were you going to tell me the other day, by the way? I didn’t mean to brush you off like that. Sorry again.”

    “Oh that?” Evan laughed nervously “That was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

    Mason glanced at his friend “Alright…” He thought about pushing the subject, but decided to let it go.

    The two flew in silence until it got dark. They camped out in a secluded pine forest for the night and took off again when it was morning. 

    Their flight was uneventful until they flew over a patch of land that was scarred in an unusual way. Most of the Sunbeam Ruins were filled with rolling fields of grass and green pine trees dotted with ruins from a forgotten era. But this patch of land was blackened and dead. It was not burned like a fire found it, rather it looked like a perfect circle of the land just shriveled up and died. Below structures that were not ancient ruins were crushed and destroyed like a tornado ran through the community.

    “What do you suppose happened down there?” Evan asked.

    Mason shook his head “Nothing good probably. Let's keep moving.”

    It wasn’t long before the land began to look more like what Mason saw in his dreams. There were tell-tale signs of destruction, but not quite like the shriveled dead land they had just passed. Mason searched the ground below him and nearly stopped mid flight. There on top of a hill covered in ruins was the same rugged tundra that had spoken to him.

    Mason landed beside them with a thud and Evan landed more gracefully beside him.

    “You!” Mason snarled.

    The tundra smiled and waved “Mason! So good to see you in person. And oh look! You brought a friend.”

    “Why were you in my head? How do you know who I am? What do you want with me?”

    “Holy shit,” Evan was ignoring the tundra and instead his eyes were fixed on the horizon “It’s real.”

    Mason heard a roar and looked up. There in the distance was the rampaging beast, the Emperor Luminax. It was even more horrible than it was in his dreams.

    “Terrifying isn’t it?” The tundra asked, following Mason’s gaze.

    “It’s just… Hard to believe it’s real.”

    “I know. Seeing your first Emperor… It makes you wonder what’s real and what’s fake. But that thing is real alright. It’s destroying lives and the gods are doing nothing about it.”

    Mason snorted “Yeah that sounds about right.”

    “Ah, don’t like gods do you?” The tiny bug dragon from Mason’s dream landed on top of the tundra’s head “I knew this one would fit in well!”

    Mason peeled his eyes away from the undead creature in the distance “Ok, no more talking until you two explain why you were in my head.”

    “Ah that would be Karyu’s doing,” The tundra addressed the bug sitting on their head.

    “How dare you!” Mason lunged forward to swat the bug, but they quickly flew away. Mason ended up hitting the large tundra’s antlers instead. Mason’s hand stung and the tundra glared at him.

    “Maybe instead of threatening my friend, you could sit down and listen.” The tundra shoved Mason to the ground. Mason tried to get back up, but stopped when the tundra gave him another glare.

    Karyu flew back onto the tundra’s head and pointed at Mason “That one tortured a kid god, so I guess I shouldn’t really be too surprised. Still, he has use here.”

    Mason’s eyes widened “How did you-”

    “My name is Perryn,” The tundra cut Mason off and smiled “I’m an Emperor hunter, and my friend Karyu here is a dream walker.”

    “And demigod!” Once again Karyu took off from their perch on Perryn’s head. They circled in the air and as they landed they began to transform. Before Mason’s eyes the little bug dragon grew in size. They spun so fast it forced Mason to blink and with that one blink a new creature was standing where the bug disappeared. Its body was unmistakably human to Mason, but it still had some of the bug features of its dragon form. Antennae sprung up from Karyu’s head and insectoid wings from their back. They wore a long robe and their long purple hair touched the ground. They were still small, Perryn towered over them and so would have Mason if he had been standing, but they were no longer squishable. 

    “My mother is the goddess of dreams for this world, and lucky me, I’ve inherited some of her powers,” Karyu walked up to Mason and poked his snout. He snapped at their fingers “You have the most fascinating dreams out of everyones’ I’ve walked through. So many memories are mixed with yours. Some juicy ones too!”

    “No. You didn’t.”

    “It’s just a shame that lately you haven't been dreaming much. I’m guessing insomnia? Well that’s no good for me or my pals here at The Guild of Osiris! I was afraid if your sleeping patterns continued I would have lost contact with you! And that would have been a real bummer.”

    “Which is why Karyu had to bring me into the picture,” Perryn said “We needed you to come here before they lost contact with you and they thought you would listen to me and not them.”

    “And I was fucking right!” Karyu grinned and then leaned close to Mason and whispered “I just thought Perryn would be more your type. I’m gorgeous, I know, but I’m taken.”

    Mason just stared at Karyu. He opened his mouth and then closed it like a fish out of water.

    “Yes. Karyu was right!” Peryn shouted and then coughed “And now you’re here like we were hoping. Karyu has seen a lot of things about you from their dream walking ,which I know may be awkward and invasive-”

    “You don’t think?” Mason found his voice for a moment.

    “But Karyu has a knack for finding those who are perfect for helping our cause. Mason, is life uncertain to you? Maybe you’ll make a good Emperor Hunter.”

#tgoo #clan ton theon #tcotg

[slashhinginghasher]

Icy - Jesse Cromeans x OFC

Marena accompanies Jesse on a business trip to New York. Jesse bitches about the weather and smut ensues.

Note: Marena is my OC. This is not a reader insert fic

She was fucking with him.

She had to be fucking with him, because the thermometer on the wall read 20°F and she was hanging out on the balcony, seemingly oblivious to the fact that there were icicles hanging from the eaves. Jesse had the heat in the luxury hotel room cranked up to 75°, was wearing a cashmere sweater and two pairs of socks, and Marena was outside in short sleeves casually sipping a drink like she was on a tropical beach. Actually, Jesse had never seen her look as content on a tropical beach as she did standing there in the frigid winter evening.

As much as Jesse loved New York - or at least the idea of New York - the winters there were goddamn unpleasant. He was a southern boy through and through; any temperature below 50° was unnatural. Next time, his clients could come to him, and to hell with “convenience” or “professional courtesy”. It was difficult to maintain a proper air of menace when one was shivering and wrapped in approximately ten different layers. Simply put, the cold pissed him off, and watching Marena lounge in it like a cat in a sunbeam pissed him off more. For the sake of his ego, he had to believe she was actually freezing her tiny tits off and just pretending to enjoy herself to piss him off.

Speaking of the blue-eyed devil...

Marena threw open the balcony door, letting a gust of freezing air into Jesse’s barely-tolerable haven. She paused in the doorway, blinked hard and coughed once as the warmth swept over her, then tossed the door shut carelessly behind her as she made her way to the kitchen. The door stopped just short of fully closed, winter chill creeping in through the one-inch gap. Jesse was irritated, he really was, but Marena rarely showed much skin, even in the middle of a Floridian summer, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to appreciate what he was presented with.

The sleeve of her shirt slipped off one shoulder as she refilled her glass, the upper edges of the scars on her back and torso peeking out from the low neckline. Her shorts hugged her tight little ass in a way that made Jesse’s hands jealous. As he watched her swallow a mouthful of dark red liquid, Jesse felt his own mouth going dry.

“What.”

Marena was watching him watch her, the flat tone of her voice bringing the word closer to a statement then a question. Jesse lifted his eyes from his perusal of her bare legs, letting all the heat and aggravation show plainly on his face.

“Not that I’m not enjoying the view, but are you fucking kidding me?” he signed.

Marena tilted her head and furrowed her brow slightly.

"What the fuck are you wearing?"

She glanced down at her outfit.

“Clothes. Probably.”

“It’s subarctic out there, who the hell do you think you’re trying to impress?”

“Subarctic, my ass,” Marena scoffed quietly, returning to the lounge area and planting said ass on the coffee table in front of Jesse. This close, he could smell the fruitiness of her drink and the crisp, cold air that clung to her hair and skin.

"There is frost on the windows," Jesse pointed out. "The railing is fucking iced over. Arctic."

“I grew up subarctic,” Marena retorted. “This is not arctic.” She took another healthy swig of her drink. Cherry juice, Jesse thought, based on the color.

“Details, details. Point is, it’s freezing, and you’re dressed like a PIGGY.”

Marena’s gaze snapped sharply to Jesse’s, the slight clenching of her jaw the only sign of a shift in her mood. Jesse and Marena often argued over the parameters that designated a person as “deserving to die”, each having very different ideas on the subject. They’d had a fairly heated debate about it over the body of a socialite just before leaving for New York. Like most of their “discussions” on the topic, it had ended with blood shed on both sides, Jesse inside her, and absolutely nothing resolved. 

Secretly, Jesse adored their fights. So few people ever stood up to him (Preston didn’t count - he was annoying in a bad way and nowhere near as sexy) and the fact that Marena was half his size and could still hold her own made things even more entertaining. He was uncertain if Marena enjoyed butting heads half as much as he did. Granted, it was usually impossible to tell if Marena enjoyed anything; her default mode was “seconds away from violence” and her poker face rivaled Asa’s.

“All I’m saying,” Jesse continued with a smirk, “is this is HIGHLY out of character. One might think you were trying to SEDUCE me.” He traced a finger down from the hollow of her throat, barely clearing her collarbone before she swatted his hand away. He moved to touch her again, but was interrupted by a gust of freezing wind blowing a small flurry of snow through the gap in the door. Jesse shot to his feet with a glare that had, in other circumstances, reduced grown men to tears. He slammed the door shut hard enough to make the glass shudder, then threw himself back down on the sofa with a huff. Marena studied the bottom of her now-empty glass, unimpressed with Jesse’s flare of temper.

“Are all Americans such pussies about weather, or is it just you?”

Jesse snarled. Both hands shot out, grabbing the girl by the shirt and yanking her into his lap. He crushed his lips to hers, sweeping his tongue into her mouth before she could even think of biting him. She tasted like cherries, and the fact that she was kissing him back so readily made him think there may have been more than fruit juice in her drink. Marena didn’t fuck sober, at least not without a fight.

Breaking the kiss, he threw her down on the sofa cushions, pushed her shirt up over her breasts, and immediately got to work biting and licking a trail down the scar over her heart. Marena’s hands were moving somewhere around his belt, but he was so consumed in the taste of her skin that he paid them no mind.

At least until she wrapped her ice cold fingers around his cock.

Jesse jerked back like he’d been electrocuted, and Marena laughed. 

Her laugh was as sharp as the rest of her, and so rarely given that Jesse could probably count the number of times he’d heard it on one hand. Now, like each of the other times, the sound awakened a fluttering storm in his stomach. And it wasn’t just arousal, either; they were full-on teenage-girl-writing-in-her-diary butterflies. Marena had a knack for getting under his skin like no one else he’d met, both figuratively and literally. He still had the scars from their first meeting to prove it. And judging by the subtle gleam in her eyes, she knew damn well what kind of effect she had on him.

He was glaring at her now, and she was still laughing, her nose scrunched up and her hair spread around her like a black halo, and the only way he could think to shut her up was to kiss her again and shove his hand down her shorts.

She stiffened and bit down on his lip when he pressed a finger to her clit. He drew a slow, rough circle around the little nub, then dipped lower and traced her entrance with a calloused fingertip. Marena drew in a short, shuddering breath and shifted her hips almost imperceptibly closer to his hand. That was all the invitation he needed to keep going. He rubbed a little harder, moved a little faster, adding a second finger to his ministrations when he felt her slickness growing. He pressed his mouth to hers until their teeth clicked together, swallowing her silent gasp as he slid his fingers into her heat.

He pumped his hand shallowly a few times before pulling out completely, curling his fingers as he withdrew. Marena fixed him with a look bordering on open hatred as he slid those two fingers into his mouth and slooooowly sucked them clean. It was as close to begging as he could get her without a lot of work - work he had no patience for at this particular moment - and he’d take what he could get.

Jesse ripped her shorts off and tossed them behind him, then pushed his own slacks just far enough down his hips for his hardened cock to spring free. He lined himself up with her entrance, and, too eager to tease, thrust his entire length inside with a single fluid movement. Marena’s back arched, head thrown back and fingers digging into the armrest hard enough for her nails to leave marks in the fabric. Jesse held still for a moment, savoring the feeling of her tight heat around him, before grabbing her hips and beginning to thrust in earnest.

The room was nearly silent except for the sounds of skin against skin and harsh, shuddering breathing. It was fast and rough, fucking stripped down to its bare essentials. Marena’s gaze was fixed somewhere on the ceiling behind Jesse’s head, and she clapped a hand over her mouth as her inner walls tightened, teeth sinking into the meat of her palm until it bled. Pace faltering, Jesse pulled Marena’s hand away from her mouth and raised it to his own lips, latching onto the wound and sucking hard. The familiar coppery taste burst across his tongue, triggering his own orgasm as he fucked her through her climax.

Jesse slumped forward in a boneless haze, pressing a trail of kisses up Marena’s throat and over her jaw, leaving a final nip just below her ear. Marena ran a shaking hand through her hair and tried to wiggle her way out from under him. Not happening. Jesse tucked himself away with one hand, the other holding Marena’s wrist to keep her from escaping. He sprawled across the couch and pulled her to him, her back against his chest, wrapping his arm around her waist. Marena made an annoyed little growl deep in her throat, but offered no other resistance to his post-sex cuddliness.

Jesse smiled against her hair. For the first time since arriving in New York, he felt warm.

#gets home from work and immediately spends 8 hours banging out this bad boy #first time writing spicy content please be nice #i just had a thought that if jesse could talk he'd probably have a southern accent and hoooooooooo BOI #jesse has it baaaaaaaddddd lmao #jesse cromeans #chromeskull #laid to rest #marena polunochnaya #my writing #my character

[seoschangbin]

Hi hi, it’s ya gal Rachel! To start off, this isn't really a follow forever but more of a mushy love fest. I was going to do this back in October when my blog hit 2 years but then with everything that happened... 😞✌ figured it wasn’t the best time! But since it’s the new year, I just wanted to spread some love to start off the decade, especially towards all the lovely people who have made my 2019 a little bit happier ♡ Thank you to everyone for making this such a fun & amazing year; thank you for supporting my gifs & graphics and interacting with me; overall, thank you for making Tumblr fun again! So to all my moots and followers, I’m wishing you all a very happy and wonderful 2020! 

I wanted to take some time as well to write some messages to all my mutuals - seeing you guys on my dash + all your work (if you’re a cc) is such a joy and I admire all of you very very much! Thank you for putting in the time to making gifs/graphics/fic/etc. and I hope you won’t mind if I gush about you a little, even if we’ve never spoken hehe! Under the cut in alphabetic order.. she’s a long one sorry!

@00hj | karen!! angel!! first of all, everything u make is just the cleanest cutest thing ever, i truly want your brain!.. u are such an incredibly talented gfx creator and i get heart palpitations every time i see ur work!! i adore u so much n ur tags are also so full of sweetness n purity and 😞💕 i just want to give u a hug!! + the way u always say hi to ccs in ur tags when u rb their stuff. cute!! pure!! 

@01degree | joanna!! first of all... thank u for filling my dash with so many groups, some of which i almost never get to see 😌💕 ur brain being multi af like me.. chefs kiss! also! you make such clean and nice gifs please don’t ever doubt that laskjd!! 2020 joanna stops saying her gifs suck! idk how u make them so clean but legends only! bls remember to be kind to yourself this year! 💕

@1095 | nicolle!! i haven’t seen you around recently but i hope everything is okay and you’re doing well! i have to say that your graphics are absolutely INSANE i don’t know how you do it!! the colours.. how it all comes together.. amazing! ur career as a graphic designer will be a good one 😌👍 secondly your urls are always so cute nd nice!! and thirdly back to number 1.. i just love everything you make so so much bls come back to us 😖

@3noracha |  falak.. ur the fandom’s gem.. the sharpening on ur gifs takes my breath away everytime + the colouring.. omg chef’s kiss!! i didn’t know you before you came back earlier this year but i’m so so glad you did come back bc u are so full of love 😳💗 you make the cutest graphics as well and are just radiate so much positivity 💞

@bamgchan | henri! still my confident car selfie king!! so glad i found you through sagey.. i love all your content (ur graphics.. always so well put together!) and the way you interact with people is so full of energy and positivity and i adore that! i hope 2020 treats you well 🥰

@banghans | ollie!! all of ur content.. ur gifs! amazing.. wonderful.. iconic thank you for providing so much hq content for the rest of us peasants 😌💕 your love for chan and jisung is also so pure n cute when u rave abt it 💞 bls stop being so hard on yourself and i love reading about how you’re always striving to be better to yourself! i hope 2020 is a good year for you 💖

@binnieseason | emily.. a loss for binnie stans that you’re gone 😔 anyways i hope to see you back sometime because you make such nice gifs + the colouring on them.. so pretty and clean.. how to be you! i hope things are okay with you and that you’ve been well!

@cb-97s | miss li! y/a novel protagonist herself!! li you’re a burst of sunshine in my day and i love chatting w u! your love for chan.. too pure 😭 every time i talk to you i’m like.. dang.. she’s real.. ppl get to see her for real! might force u to meet me irl 🤷‍♀️ also queen of gfx.. always so clean.. 😍 i know it’s been a stressful year for you but i hope 2020 brings you happiness and love 💞 love u! 

@changbeanie | hi ruby! ur graphics are always so intricate n pretty + the colouring on ur gifs.. so pretty 😭💖 thank you for providing like 90% of the changbin content nd keeping me well-fed 🥰 ur always so sweet to ur anons as well and are just a lil ray of sunshine ☀️

@changbinie​ | jo.. what even is there to say abt u.. still can’t believe i got u into skz.. CAN’T!!! thanks for suffering w me and dealin w me wakin u to talk abt middies.. + changbin arms.. i love u a little i think (?) 

@channie | hi fishy! ur one of the very first skz blogs i ever followed back in 2017.. we ancient 😌🤙 i know you’re not too active anymore but all of your gifs have like. the prettiest colouring ever idk how you do it! i hope you’ll come back to us 

@elfminho | min! i love the way u tag skz in your tags.. so cute 😭 star boy!!! cute 😭 ur gifs are also lovely as well 🥰 i think ur one of the first skz blogs i followed when i starting using this blog again n i’m glad i found ur blog bc i adore u 💞

@glowsvt | grace.. my little baby! i wish i could just !! get into ur brain how lovely nd wonderful of a human you are.. have more confidence in yourself! 😣 you make wonderful graphics.. ur style! cute! and you have such a sweet and good heart!! i love when you ramble about things and always appreciate how you take the time to reach out to me despite how busy you are 💕 thank you for being a real-life angel, i hope 2020 is good and kind to you 🙇‍♀️💞

@hanjisungz | britt!!! nerd squad let’s go!! you’re such an angel, the way you treat everyone who talks to you with so much kindness and positivity makes me want to cry!! ur truly just the cutest sunbeam and just such lovely lovely human!! thank u for puttin up with my late replies and how boring i am 😭 i also adore your gifs and icons.. which you know.. but always.. chefs kiss to them!

@huiracha | marie... first of all skz AND ptg? great, amazing, fantastic combination... galaxy brain 💞 secondly, u make such SUCH nice gifs 😭 ur prob one of my fav skz ccs and all ur pretty chan comp sets.. always look forward to them! thank u for also bringing me ptg content i never see enough of them 💕

@hwang-hyunjin | agnes!! ur topaz settings r always insane and they make your gifs look amazing!! + the colouring u do is always so beautiful!! the combo rly makes ur gifs so distinctive nd pretty💞 ur edits too!! just lovely 🥰 also the fact that we’re also moots on our mx blogs.. amazing.. i love a staybebe!! 

@hyunjins​ | godleigh???? still one of my fav gifmakers ever!! perfect colouring.. sharpening.. best brain! 💞 rmbr ur skz x prince series... still think abt it sometimes.. wish i could be half as brilliant as u!  i’m so glad we started talking bc u are incredibly funny and fun to talk to and i love witnessing ur breakdowns even though they’re probably way funnier to me than they should be 😭 love that u vibe w me and we can be mean together 😭 thank u for giving me this url 😭 thank u for being my friend, u truly are like. half the reason i enjoy being on this blog 😭 you’re wonderful and i love u a lot! sorry for clowning u sometimes! i hope everything sorts itself out soon bc u deserve some peace nd happiness 😩 and i wish u nothing but the best for this year and hope that the next year will be filled with good things 💖

@ifbin | mikaela.... u know i could talk abt you forever right???? ur graphics.. bro 😭 literally my fav gfx ever on this site.. u have such a vibrant + clean style it’s so sexy 😭 literally am in love with everything u make.. every time i see it i’m like 😳💖 also you’re such a sweetheart in your tags i can’t with you... spare friendship miss 💍

@jeonginz | bri! honestly.. i think you’re my oldest mutual from when we first started our blogs during survival era #ogs? 😳 when i found out you were nctmark... mind blown... anyways all your content is AMAZING even though u dont make as much for skz anymore msdg but ur dedication to all ur sideblogs.. galaxy brain 😌

@jinlix | kelly...!! still gazing at u across the river i love love love u!! how to purchase friendship? ur just the purest snowflake and a wonderful person with the cutest tags... ur love for hyunjin.. CUTE 💞 all your graphics are so pretty and clean as well.. dragonlix gfx never forgotten.. 😳 and you’re rly just a little angel!! 💞

@kim-woojins​ | emma, i know that you’re gone and closed pretty much but if you come back to this! just wanted to let you know that you were my fav woojin cc and i hope you’ll consider coming back someday 💖 your gifs.. always amazing! plus, you’re such a kind person and i hope everything is okay with you and things have settled a bit! sending you lots of love 💕

@kittylixie | moon.. honestly one day i just started seeing ur content everywhere.. ur gifs are so clean and pretty and just! mwah! you’re always so quick to gif as well i don’t know how you to do it! all the stuff you choose to gif as well.. best moments 💖

@kmwoojins | sagey.... still don’t really know how i came to be following you! 😩 but i’m so happy i am because you are so pure and sweet and i adore adore adore you!! 💞 love how welcoming and lovely you are as a human and still laugh every time i think about how shocked you are about jo and i... 😌 anyways i adore your graphics and you, thank you for just being such a lovely human, you were a wonderful part of my year 💖

@leeminho-s | hi lia! i know we only became moots recently but all your gifs.. so pretty 😳 and we never have enough minho content.. thank you for providing 😫 i’m sorry i don’t know much about you yet but i just wanted to say i admire your gifs so much and hope you have a wonderful start to the new year!

@minknows | hi thien! first of all.. your name.. so lovely 😳 secondly.. the colouring on your gifs is always so pretty and good 😭❤ the sharpening too.. 😔 just!! chefs kiss to it all, would take a class on how to gif from you 🙇‍♀️

@nochous | dez!! we haven’t interacted much on this sb of mine but hehe i loved our convo on my sf9 blog.. still always thinkin abt you calling kun daddy 😭 you’re such a fun person to talk to and i hope everything is okay with you since you’ve gone on a semi-hiatus! i hope we’ll have another chance to talk soon, sending you some good energy for 2020 💗

@prodskz | hi neha! i feel like you took a hiatus sometime this year (??) where i didn’t see you on much but i’m happy to see you a little more active on here now!! u provide such nice content + for some reason i rly rly love your icon 😭💗

@realstraykids | miss em.. secret santa FATED us 😔💕 anyways i adore you, we are the core of fantastay culture and this will forever unite us 😌 i’m vibrating at the thought of their comeback 😖 ANYWAYS you are such a friendly and lovely person and i enjoyed getting to talk with u so much over the past couple of weeks 💖 you’re one of my fav gifmakers honestly your mv aesthetics swap.. as i said.. 😭 amazing iconic showstopping! + the colouring on all your gifs.. so pretty 😭

@seungminhos |  to quote you. you are far too funny to be a gifmaker 😣 but then who would provide all the good seungmin content.. 😞 you’re such a force of nature on my dash and i love reading all your thoughts bc you are Funny.. and your love for seungmin + how you always want the best for him is pure!! our sporadic interactions too.. always enjoy them 💕 even though i know you’re stressed about being on here sometimes, i want you to know that you’re wonderful and i appreciate all you do to bring more seungmin on our dashes 💗 pls stop threatening to delete your blog, i would be devastated 😫

@seungminsmile | aurora!! the one time i was about to have a seungmin breakdown and went to you... hehe you’re such a cutie and very grounded person (imo!!) and you make the cutest little graphics.. the little doodles.. how do you do that!! 😳 and now that you’re making gifs.. Queen! i hope your first semester went well! 💕

@seunie | hello nia!! i know we are still new moots but you are such a pure soul.. just ur blog title.. angel! you radiate so much love and sweetness 💞 your gifs are always so vibrant + colourful as well and bring a bit of colour onto my dash just like you! hopefully we can speak in the coming year, i wish you the very best! 🥰

@skzbffie | rayana... all ur gifs... bro.... how to start a rayana religion... amazing 😍 ur gifs are always so clean + i can recognize them by the subtitle font you use.. u always choose the best moments to gif honestly how to be u! honestly ur tags are fun to read too don’t judge me i am just an admirer and fan of u 😭

@skznta | miss sierra! idk how to put it into words but you... goddess of goodness? you truly radiate so much positivity and happiness and it makes me so.. uwu (for lack of better words).. you’re so so cute over all your love for science and i’m glad we got to bond over that! the way you’re always striving to learn more + improve yourself.. u inspire me 😳 you are also an incredible cc and thank you for bringing so much joy into the fandom and my life!! i feel very grateful to have gotten to know you a little this year 💞

@thechanboys | jem.. u are a GEM... 😭 the way i got u for secret santa i’ll never get over it!! you are just such sunshine and so fun to talk to and 😳💞 if u ever wanna abandon bin for me.. 😌 my fav number one chan/bin stan..! i’m so happy you got into skz this year and i’m gonna try my hardest to get you into some other groups hehe 🤧 anyways, you are incredible, lovely, wonderful, amazing i love u jem!! 💖

@tinyjisung | bea! honestly.. we are moots on like 3(?) blogs our multi selves.. galaxy brain...  i know ur more active on ur ateez blog but i wanted to write abt you here anyways because I CAN! 😌 but i love all that good san content you provide + you just seem like a very calm n fun person 💕

@virgolix | nina. you’re such a cute person filled with love and you just spread so much positivity and good energy! you treat everyone with so much kindness and it’s so nice to see 💖 and if i can rave about your gifs for a minute... they are unreal 😫 the sharpening.. colouring.. always so amazingly clean + pretty + vibrant! 

@wonstal | hi hi! okay.. i adore all your content, you have the cutest colouring ever!! + topaz settings.. so pretty 😖💞 even though we started off as moots on my mx blog, i’m so glad you got into skz and ateez + will be on your sweet merry way to sf9 soon 🤞 i’m glad we’ve just started chatting a bit because you seem super fun and i’m excited to get to know you better! i hope 2020 treats you well darling 💖

@yongbells | iana.. hope everything is okay with you always and sending you lots of love! i miss seeing you on here but i hope you’re taking good care of yourself 💗 also.. gfx queen... 😖 you’re SUCH a ray of sunshine.. the way you always tell people how much you love their creations is so kind and all of your own gfx are some of the most beautiful things ever 💖 we are so blessed to have you in this fandom 😩 

#rachel.txt #oh man.. this took me a while to write but i hope u guys are oke w my messages 😭 #i adore u all v v much and sending u all warm wishes for the new year + new decade!! #thank u all for making this my fav sideblog #+ to my followers i love u all and wish u the best year yet as well 💖 #if i missed anyone.. bls feel free to shoot me in the head #if we're moots + ur not here i missed u bc i am an idiot. bls dm me immediately so i can tell u how much i love u

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

The Four Loves

LoganLight, AO3

Summary:

Everyone knew that when you fell in love your soulmark appeared. The more you loved someone the more intricate it’s design. That’s how people knew that their love was true.

But it was hardly ever as simple as in stories. Most had many soulmarks before finding the one they’d choose to spend the rest of their life with. Some were so inclined that their soulmarks appeared only for true friends.

And then there were those like Adrien. Whose smallest spark of affection bloomed across his skin.

Notes:

It’s really more of a soulmark AU than a soulmate AU. ‘Cause I’ve decided I like the concept of soulmarks themselves more than anything else in these types of universes.

Written for Week 2 of Adrien AUG-reste. Specifically, Day 12: Tattoo. (Yes, I know I’m late.)

Alix only has a minor role but I’m tagging her anyway.

———————————————————————————————————–

Adrien knew he wasn’t like his classmates.

Most of them didn’t get their first soulmark until this year. Those that did get them early were like Alix. Unlike most people her soulmarks weren’t Romantic in nature.

Well, to be fair most of his weren’t either.

But Alix only had three. And that was enough to make everyone gawk at her Platonic Life Partner marks. Usually, someone like Alix would have just the one like everyone else. Making it hard to distinguish it as a Platonic mark.

Kim, Max and Nathaniel were all marked on Alix’s skin. Their patterns mostly unrecognizable to everyone besides Alix and themselves. Soulmarks were a private affair, after all. The class was lucky they (mostly) didn’t mind. Usually, you only saw the soulmarks of close family members.

Soulmarks started with the outline of a simple shape or pattern. The better you knew someone the more it spread. And the more it changed.

Take Nathaniel for instance. His mark wrapped around Alix’s lower left leg. She’d worn shorts specifically to show it off. At first it’d been a simple circle with geometric patterns. The next time she showed it off the circle was bigger with three smaller ones inside in the shape of a triangle. The same symbol Nathaniel had on his chest as the Illustrator.

(Nathaniel was always blushing when she did that. It was the social equivalent of Alix shouting at everyone: See this? That means he’s MY friend!)

Kim boasted that his mark was the largest and most intricate Alix had. Which, in any other circumstance, would’ve been the same as bragging about a girlfriend. Good thing everyone knew that wasn’t the case.

No, the only soulmark Kim had was for Ondine. Once he understood her feelings a raindrop appeared on his chest. The last hexagons that represented his crush on Chloe finally fading. And Ondine’s mark spread in waves. Literally, that’s what the pattern looked like.

Because that’s how it was supposed to work. The person or people you loved most branded on your skin. The one who’d stand with you through everything. That’s why most only had one soulmark. It was hard enough finding one person who complimented you perfectly. Or as perfectly as possible.

Adrien wasn’t like that.

He didn’t remember when he’d gotten his first soulmark. Or, was it soulmarks? In his earliest memory the yinyang symbol was already on the left side of his chest, a bit above his heart. Both dots of the yinyang were stylized. One as a butterfly, the other as a peacock’s tail.

The joint soulmark represented Adrien’s love for his Maman and Papa. As he grew older peacock feathers unfurled from the yinyang symbol on his chest. The feathers radiated like sunbeams, barely grazing his abdomen and shoulder. Every “eye of the stars” holding a different image symbolizing something about his parents.

Adrien read about how aro ace people sometimes had more than one soulmark and thought he was like that. Not realizing that Platonic marks didn’t appear for one’s parents.

He knew he wasn’t like Alix once he fell in love with Ladybug. He knew he loved Ladybug because his right forearm was covered in flowering vines.

When Adrien first met her his soulmark was a simple circle below his right wrist. After defeating Stoneheart the circle had become Ladybug’s symbol with five spots. The more he learned about her the more his soulmark grew. Vines with different flowers flowed up his arm until reaching his elbow.

Every flower held a different meaning. Even without color Adrien could tell what each one symbolized. There were the obvious ones like the rose, tulip, and lilac which symbolized love. Then the lavender which was his devotion to Ladybug and her devotion to Paris. The chrysanthemum, his desire for honesty, his desire to know who she was.

And they didn’t stay. It was a well known fact that you couldn’t see your soulmark change. That didn’t stop them though. While the rose was usually there in one form or another the others might not be. And new ones might sprout up unexpectedly. Like the hyssop which was sacrifice, both his and hers. And the Black-Eyed Susan which was Ladybug’s strong sense of justice.

That’s why Adrien checked his soulmarks first thing in the morning. Looking for clues and things his subconscious was trying to tell him. About Ladybug, about his father, about Plagg.

Speaking of, Ladybug was only one of two soulmarks he’d gotten that day. Plagg’s mark started as the cat’s paw symbol on his Miraculous. Breaking every known law of soulmarks the mark for his kwami disappeared when he willed it to. The lightning spreading from his central back vanishing with a thought.

Adrien knew it was a defence mechanism against discovery but it left him feeling odd. Like one day he’d wake up and Plagg’s mark wouldn’t come back. He didn’t like it.

So, he didn’t think about it. Instead focusing on the soulmarks of his left arm.

The first of these was Chloe. Her hexagon on his outer wrist a reminder that he wasn’t alone in those days after Maman disappeared. Connected to it by what Adrien affectionately called “Tron lines” was Nathalie’s fan and the Gorilla’s hammer. Forming a bracelet around his left wrist.

He remembered the day Chloe had become Queen Bee. The hexagon had gained a bee of it’s own. And that wasn’t the only time one of his marks changed so drastically. Nathalie’s fan used to be something else entirely. He couldn’t quite remember what, though.

That brought him to the rest of the soulmarks on his left arm. Which he’d termed the “friendship arm”.

On his first day of school Adrien gained Nino’s simple circle that would grow bigger than Chloe’s hexagon. Music notes wrapping his arm in a band just below the first three around his wrist.

Music notes he could read. That was the thing about Nino. Out of all of Adrien’s soulmarks his was the easiest to understand. Even Ladybug’s much larger mark wasn’t as revealing as Nino’s. Every day a new score. The morning one of Nino’s mixes appeared on his arm stood out as one of Adrien’s happiest memories.

It didn’t stop there. When he’d play video games with Max the binary around his elbow shifted. Rose and Juleka’s marks intertwined like light and shadow. Kim’s was all over the place; with wings and waves and other things coming out of each other. Ivan’s stone supporting Mylene’s tree. Alix’s clock just below his shoulder. Nathaniel, Alya, even Sabrina, each one of his classmates wound their own pattern around his left arm.

And when his arm had filled up new ones appeared on his left leg. Wahem, Aurore, Mireille, Luka. His skin was getting crowded!

But his left leg still had space when the Tsurugi emblem appeared on his right. That’d been confusing, having Kagami by herself. Then the storm clouds started spreading from her mark and things got even more confusing.

Adrien had two Romantic marks. Two! He knew he wasn’t like everyone else but he was at least hoping this was! Even if you loved two people at once Romantic marks usually faded as the new one grew. That’s what happened with all of his friends!

Once their crush on Marinette faded her circle soon followed. That’s how it worked.

Right?

Plagg was no help. He didn’t seem to grasp that Adrien didn’t want two girls. Just one would do.

Adrien was beside himself at the disloyalty towards his Lady etched onto his skin. But he couldn’t get rid of it. Kagami meant too much to him for that to be anything but an impossible task. He tried to wrestle his feelings into a Platonic mold but every new thing he learned about her made the soulmark grow.

Kagami’s storm wasn’t as big or detailed as Ladybug’s garden. Though it was bound to catch up. And since it was on his leg the mark had more room to grow.

Eventually, he accepted what his skin told him. Adrien Agreste was in love with two girls. Even if he’d prefer not to be.

Yet even that didn’t consume his thoughts like the one who was missing. She’d been missing since he’d met her. Marinette never showed up on his skin. Even though he expected her next to Nino it’d never happened.

That’s partly why he was so nice to her. Okay, he was nice to everyone, but! The point was he didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t anything to do with her. If Marinette’d been like him Adrien was sure she’d have his mark. No, something was wrong with him if his skin didn’t show her.

It was a source of great distress for Adrien. Not being able to just look at himself to understand his relationship with someone.

(He didn’t know how everyone did it. Even Alix had to deal with her still-not-as-strict-as-Gabriel father and her brother’s Asperger’s without help from her soulmarks. Adrien admired her for that.)

It wasn’t until Rena Rouge’s symbol appeared in Alya’s mark that he understood. Adrien didn’t recognize her but his soulmarks did. They recognized that something about her had changed.

Then Carapace’s symbol appeared in Nino’s mark and his pattern finally interwove with Alya’s. That was certainly a nice surprise.

And it confirmed what Adrien suspected. He’d tried not to think about it since Ladybug was the most vocal about following the kwamis’ rules on identities. Even if it was only a matter of time.

Adrien didn’t let himself act any differently towards Marinette. Even when Max, Luka, Kagami and the others’ soulmarks shifted to include the symbols of their Miraculous.

Until the symbol of the Mouse Miraculous appeared within Ladybug’s mark. Which Adrien could’ve ignored like everything else if he didn’t know that Multimouse was actually Marinette.

… Ladybug was Marinette.

Ladybug was Marinette.

Adrien finally let himself think it… Plagg must’ve been laughing his tail off.

He had to tell her he knew. It wasn’t safe for her not to know. But he wasn’t sure if she’d appreciate him revealing himself. No matter how much he wanted to. It had to be as Chat Noir.

They never talked about their soulmarks. Chat Noir flirted constantly but he never brought up that. His upbringing had neglected much social and societal etiquette but not soulmarks. One did not ask about such a thing. One was offered such a thing.

Maybe Adrien would’ve offered to tell her sooner if he didn’t keep his soulmarks a secret. His overshiirt always had the sleeves all the way down and the collar up. Besides Father and Nathalie only Plagg knew.

And now Ladybug would too.

He asked her to meet him on the rooftops at one of their usual spots. Ladybug could tell he was serious since she agreed readily. That just left the hard part.

Chat Noir wanted to start off with a lighthearted joke like he always did. But once Ladybug landed on the rooftop it died in his throat. His soulmarks weren’t a joking matter. He wasn’t like Alix who could show off her handful of marks. Adrien had a more… conservative point of view.

So, he started with that. Chat Noir told her how his father demanded he keep his soulmarks hidden. He explained that it would reflect badly on his family in certain circles. That some people still didn’t accept the fact that there were soulmarks besides the Romantic kind.

Ladybug’s eyes widened with growing understanding. She listened without interrupting even as her breathing accelerated. (One did not refuse the sharing of a soulmark.)

Chat Noir told her about hiding his marks. And just how many of them he had. He told her about the joint mark for his parents. He told her about the friends that covered his left side from ankle to shoulder… He told her about the soulmark on his right arm. The one that belonged to her. How it’d grown beyond his expectations; especially considering how much he didn’t know about her.

Except he did know her. He knew her favorite color was pink. He knew she stuck her tongue out when she was concentrating on a design. He knew how close she was with her parents. He knew how brave and kind and intelligent she-

Ladybug was panicking. Chat Noir dodged her flailing and grabbed her hands. He called Marinette’s name and she stilled.

He told her about someone whose mark never appeared on his skin. How it drove him crazy not understanding why. Not understanding that the reason Marinette didn’t appear was because she was already there.

That’s why her garden was so lush. Everything he didn’t know about Ladybug he knew about Marinette. And the soulmark didn’t care about identities. Even Plagg’s mark didn’t hide when he brought it out.

Adrien started when she called him by name. He’d been so focused on making her understand that he’d given himself away.

Now it was Chat Noir’s turn to panic. But she calmed him as he’d calmed her. She squeezed his hands tight.

Ladybug told him of the day they’d met. How his simple circle became the cat’s paw of his Miraculous. How she’d assumed it was because he was a fan of Chat Noir.

She spoke of the shadows that swirled like stars around her left shoulder. How they gave her clues and insights about the boy she loved. How the symbols confused her.

Marinette only understood half of what she saw. Or rather, only saw in Adrien half of what she understood of his mark. It spoke to her of deep flaws beneath the surface she hadn’t seen. Yet, that only gave her better understanding of the virtues he possessed and the ones he didn’t.

Adrien smiled sadly at this. Remembering the thorns that hid among the flowers of Marinette’s mark. But she loved him in spite of his flaws. And he loved her too.

They’d mistaken one person for two but now they saw the whole. Seeming disharmony resolved. Adrien burned at the thought of his mistakes being so easily translated now that Marinette knew. And from her luminous blush Ladybug thought much the same.

It wouldn’t be an easy task. To find a new balance. To look back with fresh eyes at their shared history. (He wasn’t looking forward to explaining Kagami.) But they could do it.

Adrien knew love was hard work. His marks told him that. The ones least managed faded even if they didn’t disappear completely. He wouldn’t allow that. It was hard enough to see the soulmark over his heart wilt without either of his parents.

He would tend the garden of his right arm. Learn to love Marinette properly, without secrets in the way. They would show the mark their love left on each other’s skin. He would point out things about herself she didn’t know and she would return the favor.

Despite the dangers of knowing the person behind the mask Adrien was optimistic. It was one of his best qualities. He saw a future full of possibilities. No matter what trials they faced, he knew they could overcome them.

Adrien grinned. He couldn’t wait.

———————————————————————————————————–

Notes:

Yeah, so this universe’s Adrien always has long sleeves to hide his soulmarks.

Stylistically, think Moana for how the soulmarks appear. Well, Moana with more negative space because I don’t really like tattoos that look crowded… He says after giving Adrien as many soulmarks as possible.

#ml #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanart #ml fanart #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #chat noir #ladybug #ladynoir #ladrien #soulmarks #ml au #soulmate au #soulmate alternate universe #identity reveal #secret identity #secret identities #no dialogue #asexual #asexual character #alix kubdel #ao3 fanfic #ao3 fic #ao3 #adrien x marinette #adrinette #adrienette #adrien augreste #adrienaugust #adrien august

[thewritewolf]

Eating Habits Chapter 6: Date Night

I think ‘date night’ might very well be my most used chapter title of them all, but chapter titles have never been my strong suit... Anyway, have an aged-up Adrienette date. Plus some other things.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 (Final)

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3. 

Adrien had gotten home late after another long but enlightening shift at the bakery. Well… relatively late. The hours that a baker worked meant that his bosses were in bed long before most people, but that didn’t matter much when they took advantage of his youth and strength to do the heavy lifting for them. He hadn’t even considered checking his mailbox last night with the bone deep exhaustion he’d felt. The first rays of dawn were only just barely able to wake him.

He threw his legs over the side of his bed and took the time to watch the sunrise through his bedroom window. Another beautiful day in Paris. Even if it was a little chilly in the early October air, the cold had never bothered him as much as they had his lady. A ghost of a smile flitted across his face as he remembered her and slipped his feet into the silly kitty slippers she’d made for him ages ago.

His muscles ached as he stretched, but between his excursions to the gym, the years of superheroing, and the schedule from his youth that had run him ragged, the pain was more than bearable. A warm shower to help relax helped take the edge off the soreness. Now all he needed was some breakfast, and something to distract himself. With those goals in mind, he got dressed and headed into the kitchen, sparing a glance at Plagg. He was still laying on his back, bathed in a sunbeam as one of his legs twitched. Adrien smiled as gently closed the door behind him.

Despite all the classes and his time at the bakery, breakfast was still Adrien’s strong suit. He started to cook up a cheese omelette stuffed with fresh vegetables, paired with some leftover bread he’d taken home from the Dupain-Chengs yesterday. Barely a few minutes had passed before the silence became maddening. Another lingering pain from his childhood, but one that he could easily remedy. A playlist Nino had made for him filled the air and Adrien’s mind cleared.

Halfway through breakfast, he remembered he’d never checked the mail yesterday. Not wanting his food to get cold, he dashed down to the mailroom of the complex and quickly opened his slot. As expected, there was a bundle of letters that he snatched before closing it and running back into his apartment.

He slowly shuffled through them while he ate. Most were worthless spam or worse. One from a modeling agency he’d worked for a month or two ago. Probably either thanking him for the work or pre-emptively asking for him to come back on for the winter lines. Considering his finances were doing alright, he’d likely pass on that and carefully set the letter aside. Reaching the bottom of the pile, he froze.

A familiar type of envelope in the same familiar handwriting of his father.

Everything in him told him it was a bad idea to read it. He never came out of it any better than when he went in. His heart was pounding in his chest and he began sweating. His breathing was ragged as his eyes flew over the page.

They were all the same. Every single one of them. Different words, same meaning.

‘I did what I had to.’

‘This was for YOU.’

‘Our family needed this.’

‘Put yourself in my shoes.’

‘Would you have done any different?’

The words flew past in a blur as his eyes glazed over. Before he could properly read it, a sharp voice drew him out of the downward spiral.

“I’m hungry!” Plagg whined as he flew in front of Adrien’s vision. “I’m wasting away here, kid. I need delicious, gooey camembert NOW.”

A smile tugged at his lips but didn’t reach his eyes as Adrien jolted to his feet to find his kwami’s breakfast.

----

While Adrien was distracted, Plagg narrowed his eyes and faced the letter. He was sorely tempted to just cataclysm it right here and now, to make sure his chosen would never be hurt by it again. But control of their powers had never been the forte of any of the kwami, least of all the kwami of destruction. Deciding that it was only barely not worth ruining the apartment, Plagg batted the letter into the trash. If only he’d had the opportunity to do the same to Gabriel himself.

Adrien returned with a quarter wheel of cheese, which Plagg took to eating with gusto. Adrien frowned as he looked on the counter.

“Hey, Plagg?” The kwami slowly looked up from his breakfast. “Do you know where that letter I was reading went?”

“Somewhere it belonged, I’m sure,” Plagg replied irritatedly. Adrien was about to speak again, so Plagg interrupted him. “So, date night, right? That’ll be something to look forward to.”

Just as expected, a dopey grin crossed Adrien’s face. Plagg could play the boy like a lute. “Yeah, it’ll be great to go out again. We don’t get to go on dates as much as I’d like.”

“That’s ‘cuz you’d want to go on dates every night,” Plagg pointed out.

“True,” Adrien conceded. “But I don’t hear you complaining.” He rested his head on his hands, almost flush with the table, putting him at eye height to Plagg. “Maybe because you have a love bug too that you get to cuddle with, hm?”

Plagg made a gagging sound. “Sugar cube and I don’t cuddle. We are ancient beings from the dawn of time.”

“Really? Curled up into each other like that, you could’ve fooled me. And what, exactly, is it that kwamis call it?”

“...Shut up.”

“And you have pet names for each other! Just like me and Mari. Sounds a lot like you two are dating, you know.”

Plagg slowly turned to Adrien and narrowed his eyes. “Shut. Up.”

“Aw, I’m sorry Plagg. Truce?” Adrien scritched between his ears in just the right way.

Unable to fight his instincts, Plagg purred in spite of himself. Refusing to continue the conversation, he doubled down on eating his cheese. Adrien chuckled and returned to his breakfast.

Despite his denials, Plagg was looking forward to the date night, but for more than just seeing his Tikki. Plagg snuck glances at his charge, but Adrien seemed to be back to his usual peppy self again. He breathed a sigh of relief. Another crisis averted, barely.

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

With how much she’d been pushing herself, it was bound to happen eventually. Late night studying. Early morning classes. Every hour crammed full of work. Between the darkness of the theater, the calm and pleasant movie, and the comfortable shoulder of her boyfriend, Marinette was destined to fail. None of that made it any less mortifying.

Marinette was gently shaken awake by Adrien as the credits rolled. It took a moment for his face to come into focus, but when it did the amusement was plain.

“Rough night, huh?”

She snorted. “More like rough semester.” She wrapped herself around his arm as they walked out, leaning on him as her eyelids grew heavy. Despite her best attempts, she yawned.

She felt him kiss the crown of her head. “My poor, sleepy bug. How about we bail on the restaurant part of our date and just head over to my place?”

Even in her exhausted state she managed a grin. “Why Adrien, you tom cat. And without even buying me dinner first.”

He rolled his eyes playfully. “You’ll get your food. I just don’t want you face planting in your plate in public.”

“Oh, so it’s alright when I dive face first into my food, just so long as it's at your apartment?”

“Yes,” he said with a stoic expression. “Then when you drown in soup I will be slightly less embarrassed.”

“Oh, I see,” she deadpanned. “Well, as long as my impending doom isn’t an inconvenience to you.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

Their eyes met briefly, but that was enough to break their charade. Both of them broke out into giggles and the conversation passed into a comfortable silence as they made their way to Adrien’s apartment. At which point, she let out another big yawn.

He looked at her with a frown. “You going to make it, lovebug?”

“Nope,” she said, popping the ‘p’. “You’re going to have to carry me.” She stuck out her tongue at him and took a step towards the elevator.

Naturally, she didn’t make it much further than the one step since Adrien swept her up into his arms.

She laughed. “I was joking you ridiculous man.”

“Princesses get carried to their towers,” he replied loftily. “I don’t make the rules.”

The strong, independent woman in her wanted to struggle and get down, but the very tired design student who was presently in control simply cuddled closer as she laid her head on his chest. She felt warm and secure and relaxed for the first time in days. She closed her eyes to listen to his heartbeat more clearly.

She must have drifted off since when she opened her eyes, she was laying on his couch. There was a delicious smell in the air that was enough to make her stand up, clutching the blanket Adrien must have draped over her.

He smiled as she approached his kitchen. “Hey bed bug. Done with your cat nap?”

“For now, at least.” She rested her head against his back as he stirred. “What’re you cooking?”

“Potato soup. Straight from your father’s cookbook.”

She hummed happily. “I can’t wait.”

“Take a seat, I’ll pour you a bowl when its done.”

She moved to do so and happened to walk past the garbage can. Her eyes were drawn towards an uncrumpled letter facing up. It wasn’t hard to recognize the writing - years of idolizing the man behind the brand had trained her well. Even if it had been even more years since that particular pedestal had been broken, never to be rebuilt. She cautiously lifted it from the trash and scanned the page. Ladybug levels of singular purpose parted the tired fog of her mind as her anger was stoked.

“Adrien…” Something in her voice caused him to turn around with a frown. When he saw what she was holding, his eyes widened. “...Have you read this?”

“S-some of them.” There was a tenseness to his shoulders that hadn’t been there a moment before. A stiffness to the way he held himself. “Only skimmed that one before… before I lost it.”

Lost it? Sounds like Plagg’s doing. Marinette made a mental note to sneak the little guy even more treats. Then her eyes widened in realization as his words caught up to her brain.

“Wait. ‘Some’ of them? There are others?”

Adrien swallowed and visibly paled.

In a heartbeat, Marinette was beside him, the blanket forgotten as it pooled on the floor behind her. She reached a hand up to cup his cheek and he leaned into her touch gratefully. With her other hand, she grabbed his forearm and squeezed.

“Oh, kitty…”

After a few more deep breaths, he got himself under control. He took the letter and folded it up neatly before stashing it high on his refrigerator.

“So, uh…” He said in a voice that only barely warbled. “Soups ready.”

She knew him well enough to let it lie… for now. Adrien didn’t like being pressed or forced to talk about things, but she trusted him enough to talk in his own time. For now, all she could do was take his mind off of it.

And if that meant chatting over a dinner of soup and then cuddling on the couch for a few hours… she wasn’t about to complain.

-----

It was morning when Marinette woke up. Apparently she’d been picked up yet again since now she found herself in Adrien’s bed, with the man himself nuzzled up underneath her chin.

As much as she wanted to sleep in, a glance at the clock proved that wasn’t likely. She groaned and tried to wriggle out of Adrien’s grasp.

“Nooo…” Adrien moaned into her collarbone. “Stay…”

“You know I’ve got classes, sunshine…”

He raised his head and pleaded at her with those big, green eyes. His bottom lip quivered with overplayed sadness. It was almost enough to break her right there, but sheer stubbornness carried her through this time.

“Nice try, and very cute, but it’s still a no.”

He sighed. “It was worth a shot. What if I drive you into class?”

“I…” She glanced at the clock again. “I’d actually appreciate that, thanks.”

“And if I happened to not have anything else to do today and brought you lunch later… I don’t suppose you’d appreciate that too?”

She tried to pout at him for babying her, but the warm smile he was giving her was proving contagious. Instead, she sighed and rolled out of his arms before walking into his shower room.

His laughter could be heard even through the door. “I didn’t hear a ‘no’, princess!”

#Miraculous Ladybug #Adrien Agreste #Plagg #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrienette #aged up #ml fanfiction #my writing #Eating Habits #The Lucky One series

[kpopisthereasonihavenolife]

From Dusk Until Dawn

Monsta X

Hyungwon/Reader [F]

Genre: God/Goddess AU, Drabble-ish, Romance

Words: 2.2k

a/n: Holy hell it’s been FOREVER since I wrote anything not BTS related LOL.  Honestly, this is entirely Hyungwon's face’s fault that made this fic happen, so blame him.  How dare he be attractive with a backlight in the Follow MV.  The. Nerve. Anyways! Please enjoy my once in a blue moon Monsta X fic and lemme know what you thought of it!!! 

“Under no circumstances should the sun meet the moon. They are too different.” 

That’s what Hyungwon- the current Sun God- had been told his entire life.  It was a long-standing rule that was drilled into his head since youth.  However, if there is one thing Hyungwon did well, it’s not doing as he’s told. 

Gods and Goddesses of all gather once a year to pay new respect to one another under one roof.  Good relations with each other were exceedingly important- the wrong dispute could be disastrous to the mundane world the divine watched over. 

Every year the Moon and Sun never met- as per the law.  However, a new Goddess had been appointed within the last year when the former God became stardust.  Hyungwon dressed in his soft, golden best with determination stronger than gravity. He’d be the first Sun God to disobey the ancient laws. The change was always inevitable, it just took the right God to push it into being.  He didn’t understand why he couldn’t meet her- the new Goddess- anyways.  It is not like the Earth would stop rotating or the cosmos would tear open.  Surely nothing devastating would occur.  

Far back, even before the ancient’s rules, he had read in exceedingly old archived diaries that the Sun and Moon once ruled in unison before.  Standing at each other’s back.  Nothing ever told when or why the ancients separated the two, but Hyungwon didn’t particularly care.  He’d break the rules and that would be it. 

The worst that could possibly happen is he would be turned into a sunbeam, marking the end of another God of the Sun. Each God or Goddess before him who had died had also become a sunbeam, their spirit devoted to the very sun they rose and lowered day by day.  Just like how the Moon will always become stardust, scattered into the galaxy. 

The gathering of Gods was going to be held at the new cathedral of the God of Mischief and Pride.  An arrogant, snooty God of relatively new origin that Hyungwon tolerated at best.  He even went so far as to rename himself. Apparently the God of Mischief and Pride, Hollus just wasn’t as cool as the God named Changkyun. He was an interesting God- for lack of better terms. 

The older Gods trusted he would mature with time, but Hyungwon seriously doubted it.  The only mature thing about him was his voice. 

“Hyungwon,” called a fellow god behind him.  He could see their reflection in the mirror Hyungwon fixed his hair in, flicking at his bangs as they hung in dark tresses over his brow.  A Cloud God who worked closely beside Hyungwon. Constantly surrounded by a fog-like haze at his legs.  His real name wasn’t known, or rather, none knew of his true Godly name.  He hid it behind his too-innocent smile.  Minhyuk is what the preferred to be called.  “If we don’t leave now, we won’t make it in time for formal greetings.” 

Minhyuk was a God of calm nature, but playful and powerful when angry.  Pure silver hair that had a tendency to tinge gray when his mood dropped and skin far more smooth and fair that seemed possible.  Standing with poise and always decorated in some sort of blue hue.  Currently, he was dressed in a tailcoat of blue as royal as his divine title. Of course, his trait of lacking being he never wore shoes- he found them too stifling. 

“I’m coming.  Do not rush me.” 

“If I don’t, we will be late.” 

“Then go on ahead without me if you’re only going to whine.” 

Minhyuk crossed his arms.  “No. Then you’ll just skip like last year.” 

“I will not,” Hyungwon rolled his eyes.  “I have a reason to go this year, as opposed to last.” 

“Oh? What’s that then?” 

“It doesn’t include you, so stop snooping in my business.” 

Minhyuk gasped in mock offense. Far too use to Hyungwon’s, ironically, cold shoulder.  Hyungwon adjusted and straightened out the shoulders of his white poet’s blouse, fixing the ruffling at his chest before fiddling with his cuffs. He kicked and tapped the toes of his ankle-high gold boots that were tucked into the legs of his black pants. He was antsy as he turned to leave the mirror, the cloud of mist following Minhyuk’s body as he trailed at the Sun’s back. 

“Eugh,” Minhyuk gagged.  “Mischief and Pride sure has some tacky sense of design and style.”  Looking around, the cathedral pillars were looped in snake-like coils.  If pride and mischief had to pick an animal to embody himself it would be a snake, wouldn’t it?

“It matches his personality at least,” Hyungwon remarked with an amused huff.  The two waltzed into the cathedral’s main sanctuary filled with Gods and Goddesses roaming to and fro.  Formal greetings between them all was a pain as the Sun frowned at the future confrontation. MInhyuk saw the distaste on the Sun’s face and smiled- as the Cloud was quite the people person. 

Hyungwon scanned around, not exactly disappointed in not seeing anyone that may resemble the moon.  He’d never seen them before, so why would he now?  Something told him that if he saw the new Goddess, he would know it.  Minhyuk watched his fellow God scan around. 

“What’re you looking for, Gas Ball?” A voice behind the two of them spoke.  Minhyuk let out a small scream as Hyungwon whipped around and held at his chest.  Seeing none other than Pride and Mischief himself. Standing with his ankles crossed in black pants and a tucked-in orange velvet blouse, the golden chain across his neck and teasing his chest with his partially unbuttoned shirt, he bit into an apple. The fang pierced through his earlobe was absolutely due to his theme of reptiles. 

“Who are you calling Gas Ball, you Egg?” 

“Egg? Is that suppose to be an unborn reptile joke because I like snakes? Because if so- it was a weak game.” He spoke with a piece of apple shoved into his cheek and an accusing finger pointed at him with a brow turned in disappointment.  “I expected a bigger talk game from such a large ball of figurative energy. Foggy over here is more of a conversationalist.” 

“Don’t patronize me,” Minhyuk warned with a threat-dripping smile.  One Changkyun spitefully returned.  

“Now, gentleman,” Changkyun soothed as he slung his arms around both God’s shoulders. “Clearly, we’re getting off-topic.  Gas Ball was clearly looking for someone. So let’s go back to that, shall we?” 

“I’m not looking for anyone.  Get off me,” he shrugged the younger God off of him as he started walking off.  Minhyuk being left to entertain the annoyance that is the Snake- his hair already tinted grey in a dipped mood.  

It was hardly anytime at all before Hyungwon was forced into small hello’s and hi’s before he finally perched himself against a wall.  Crossing his arms, he huffed up towards his bangs, flicking them with his breath.  Sighing, he leaned his head back against the wall with a small thud and his eyes shot up towards the cathedral second story. Up there, he saw someone.  

It was hard to see them beyond the light as they stood in the dark, but they seemed to look down on the other’s enjoying their evening.  Leaning over the balcony before someone got their attention.  Hyungwong could tell it was Changkyun who started speaking to the mysterious entity, but it confused him.  It wasn’t just the light and shadow that distorted his eyes, but the air around them seemed hazy in his eyes fro this distance.  Changkyun pointed down towards the first floor before he was soon gone from whatever conversation he was previously having.  

Before he knew it, he was being snuck up on again by the same God he had just seen far off away from him not 5 seconds ago. The snake tapped on his shoulder before he smiled, something Hyugnwon knew was laced in nothing but pure, unadulterated mischief. 

“Say I made you an offer to something like a... social experiment.”

“Why would I ever agree to anything you pitch towards me?” 

“Well, it might involve your impossible counterpart,” he pitched as he looked at his nails unbothered before he smirked up at the Sun.  Hyungwon wasn’t ignorant and he knew what the younger was talking about.  He was talking about the Moon. 

“You know that any meeting between the Sun and Moon is prohibited,” Hyungwon nearly rolled his eyes at himself for spitting out the same law he’s been relentlessly fed for years. 

“So what? I know you were looking for her earlier.” 

“You could tell?” 

“No, I was just seeing if you’d admit it.”  Hyungwon shoved Changkyun off him.  “Listen, the new Goddess hates that she isn’t allowed to meet her Sun.  She’s impulsively curious and if you don’t go to her, she might just come to you.” Hyungwon bit at his thumbnail.  “She’s hanging out on the second floor;  not exactly a conversationalist like your Cloud and me.” He shrugged as Hyungwon- for this one time only- actually took the Snake up on his offer.  “I’ll cover for you, Gas Ball!” 

Weaving his way skillfully up towards the second story stairwell, he was soon skipping steps in two as the stairs spiraled upwards. The second floor was far darker and far calmer than the main sanctuary that buzzed with constant chatter and mingling. 

The moonbeams that lit up the dark second halls Hyugnwon strolled down calmed him.  It wasn’t dark because of the moon that lit the path forward beneath his feet.  He sucked in a breath as he stumbled back out of the window of light and pressed himself against the corner he was originally about to round.  Sat in a stained glass window ledge that was large enough for two people to sit on, was a divine being Hyungwon hadn’t seen before.  

A gown of white and pastel blue fell in small wisps of sheer fabric at the Goddess’s legs. A halter top that was supported by their breast and a necklace of a silver spiral around her neck.  They sat barefoot, their silver heels off and on the floor- feet free from the painful extra height boosters. Her hair was pinned up with a silver hair stick, a crescent moon decorated the top of it, peering above her head like a small crown. 

Hyungwon stared awestruck as he absolutely knew that was the Moon. 

His feet acted before his brain and before he knew it, he was standing in full view with the moonlight igniting his figure.  Far too late to flee, you saw him.  You sucked in a breath, much like he had, as you slid off the bay window ledge and your bare feet echoed onto tiled floors. 

“You’re the Sun,” you whispered, but you were heard loud and clear in the silent halls with only Hyungwon with you. 

“Yeah,” he informally replied before he cleared his throat.  “I mean, yes. I am.  And you’re the Moon.” 

“Yeah,” you mimicked.  “I’m the new Moon Goddess, appointed this year.” 

“I know,” he chuckled.  

“Did- did Changkyun send you up here? As far as I knew, he was the only one who knew I was in attendance tonight?” 

“He did,” Hyungwon nodded. “I’ve been wanting to meet you.” He cleared his throat. “I’m LisYang, the God of the Sun.  That’s my official God name.” 

“I’m Lucia, Goddess of the Moon.” 

Hyungwon walked closer to you, you stepping back just slightly in reflex to the teachings of ‘do not meet the Sun’ you’ve known for so long.  He sat in the bay window of the stained glass before he gestured for you to sit back down with him.  You did so, your toes grazing the tile as you rested on the window ledge.  Hyungwon sat easy, his long legs allowing him to sit with his feet still flatfooted on the tile.  

“Let’s throw out the formalities and speak on a chosen name basis.  I’m Hyungwon.” 

You nodded as you smiled a small bit. “Y/n.” 

Hyugnwon questioned his position as the Sun because what he saw in you was something far brighter than he could hope to be. You both sat in the window, just talking about yourselves for the evening until Changkyun slithered his way down the hall to dismiss the two of your back to your own divine living spaces.  Kicking you cleaning out of his.

You both thought it best to keep your meeting a secret, and you had to bribe Changkyun into secrecy.  You both continued meeting without the knowledge of other Gods or Goddesses for far longer than one could guess.  It went on for years until you both had created a bond that was stronger than the attachments you both had to your own celestial bodies.  

When you both came forward with your relationship as a pair of God and Goddess in Unity, you both bit back laughter at the pure shock of the rest of your divine peers.  You both dreaded the future lectures and demands to separate from each other and follow ancient law, but as Hyungwon held your hand in his own he knew you’d both be fine. You would both make it out of this just as you went into it, in Unity and as One. 

What other entity could possibly hold the Sun in their hands without burning beside the Moon? 

#monsta x #mx #chae hyungwon #hyungwon #monsta x hyungwon #hyungwon fanfiction #hyungwon fanfic #hyungwon fic #hyungwon au #hyungwon romance #hyungwong drabble #god au #goddess au #god hyungwon #sun god hyungwon #moon goddess reader #reader #hyungwon x reader #reader insert #female reader #hyungwon x reader au #romance #drabble #fluff #hyungwon fluff #monsta x au #monsta x fanfic #monsta x fanfiction #monsta x fic #mx fic

[cutegirlmayra]

Soler’s Story (Sonic OC Commission) - All Current ROUGH DRAFTS example

This is all writings for @solerwolf21 compiled into a huge post. If you’d like to commission me for your own story, please check out my rules and prices first (We can discuss how much you want to pay depending on how many pages you want the story to be :)b)

This is super long, so please remember that ^^ (This contains several chapters and separate commission purchases.) - and Yes, you can pay again for a continuation of the last story I wrote you. :)b

The Sun’s Redemption

After some minor missions with the Freedom Fighters, Soler was documenting his findings on a recent Eggman attack, recounting the parts and dimensions of the new robot designs him and the other fighters found for Tails and Rotor to look into later. He liked being useful like this, and Tails and Rotor seemed genuinely thankful for keeping a record like this.

Soler, while fiddling with the documents, pushed his quills back and pulled the lower ones down to their natural curl upwards. It was a fluid movement, the white of his fur with the peach oval and white tuff that barely looped his shoulders shimmered slightly in the low lighting of the base…

His deep blue streaks over his quills glistened lightly as he passed the hallway lights into the office rooms of the secret base, deep in the brush of nature, and away from Eggman’s ever-searching eye.

The paper flipped over his white gloves with black crossing lines in the center of them, counting the pages to make sure he had everything from the rest of his team that were with him during the mission. His emerald green eyes scanned the documents until satisfied with what was written upon them.

The tapping of his crimson shoes with the same x-marked pattern overlapping each other rang with low toned echoes against the hard floor.

While he was about to finish setting the piles of notes and observations onto a nearby desk, he heard a loud and disapproving whine that turned his ears towards the commotion.

‘Huh?’ he thought to himself as he looked to see Amy pestering Sonic again.

“You never have any time for me!” she complained, shoving her arms straight down and closing her eyes as she trailed behind him. “Can’t we… I don’t know, have a picnic or something?” she shrugged, a pleading look in her eyes. “I just miss you… you’ve been working a lot lately and-” Soler noticed Sonic was preoccupied with other things, keeping her mostly taking to his back. She reached for a back quill of his, a longing look in her sorrowful eyes before he turned around.

“Not now Amy,” he stated, but it wasn’t harsh or dismissive in the least bit. Mostly, he was just busy, looking over at his communication watch and fanning some other people away from trying to speak with him further as well. “Maybe we can all hang out other time.” he didn’t even look up to acknowledge her, so whatever he was doing, it must have been pretty important.

Amy took a few steps after him, her hand still reaching before stopping and holding her hands close to her chest.

“...Maybe…” was she questioning him or agreeing to his statement? Soler couldn’t tell.

Seeing her face though… he felt something in his heart go out to the girl.

It made him a little mad, to say the least.

He wandered over, trying to not draw too much attention to himself and looked off after Sonic, standing next to Amy. “...He’s probably just protecting you.” He stated, “Doesn’t want…” he stopped himself, looking down and seeming forlorned now. “To cause you any pain.” Soler’s body froze up, little protruding icicles pierced slowly against his skin. It was aggravating, to say the least. Here’s someone who cares so much about Sonic, and yet, he doesn’t know what he has. No… it’s opposite. Amy doesn’t realize how much danger she places herself in… just because he exists.

‘Existence… So many lives could be spared if just certain people didn’t exist.’ He frowned inwardly for a moment before turning his attention back to Amy, giving her a plucky smile. “He’ll be okay. It’s you he’s probably worried about.”

“Huh?” Amy tilted her head, looking confused on his thought process. “Soler?” she shifted her body and came him a cute pout, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward in authority. “I’m your senior fighter, sir! What makes you think I can’t take care of myself?”

“Come on, Soler! I’m a big girl now! Can’t you let me run up the hill on my own for a change?”

“Gah..!”

Soler shook his head, blinking his eyes as he stepped back.

‘Was that… it can’t be.’

“Soler?” Amy leaned away, seeming worried her joke may have frightened him. “I-... I didn’t mean to make you jumpy. You alright?”

She leaned her hand up to his head, “You seem a little pale… well, paler than usual, haha!” she kid again, but there was a fear in his eyes as he skittishly moved away from her hand.

“I… I have to go. Sorry.” he quickly looked away, rushing out as Amy hollered after him.

“Soler! Wait!” she took off after him. “What’s going on? What’s his problem anyway?” she pouted, worried she may have hurt his feelings.

Up on a hill near a shady tree while the winds beat against the leaves and the sun still peeked over the grassy plain, hanging on to the horizon’s ledge outside the Freedom Fighter’s base was Soler, sitting under the tree and sighing with a sniff in his nose.

He wasn’t crying, just cold.

His body shivered slightly and warmed himself up with a few rubs on his arms and legs. He didn’t mean to shove his business into Amy’s life… she was her own person, and he usually found her adoration for Sonic sweet. But today he just felt like it could have been…

“Luna!” Soler was much younger now, rushing up the hill as he stumbled a little but held his footing. “Your father’s worried sick about you!”

A beautiful silver-quilled hedgehog with quills that blew gracefully in the wind stood in front of the setting sun, smiling towards it before turning just ever so slightly towards Soler. The smile made him pause in his stride to her, admiring the breathtaking silhouette of the girl. It had taken him a while to own up to his feelings, but now that he had, it was a bit overwhelming to say the least. Her purple dress trailed to the side of her as she moved her blue bangs away from eye.

“And what about you, Soler..?” she giggled, “Are you worried about me too?”

He held the necklace she used to wear, silver with a sphere of black that would light up according to the moon’s glowing phase. It would be out soon… then he could see what the moon looked like. Clouds blocked his vision the last few nights, so the necklace was like holding a miniature moon in his hands. It was her namesake… and because of her, it was his treasure.

She didn’t seem so far when the moon came out. Maybe Amy felt like that too. As long as she could still be around Sonic, it wasn’t so bad…

‘Amy… I’m sorry.’ he gripped his white chest fur… bending down slightly at the pain of guilt that fed into his heart and locked itself away with no windows to let some air in and relieve him of the agony.

Was he just doomed to cause pain and trouble?

“Soler!”

His head flicked up, shocked to hear his name shouted so close to the edge of the Base’s secret camp. “A-Amy?” he turned back, but couldn’t see anything within the heavy forested jungle…

His eyes scanned with a squint that helped him see a little crisper—the fine details of the landscape—but still, no pink dots were popping up.

He was about to get up and search for her, worried she may be in trouble, or most likely get into it. But as he stepped his foot out to get under himself and stand, Amy charged from behind and tackled him. He reflexed and used his training to stiffen his arms out on the ground, keeping him from tumbling over as she laughed and released him, sitting beside him next to the tree.

“Got you! Haha! What are you doing way out here? Admiring the fading sunbeams?” she grinned eagerly, wanting to speak with him as she looked over the sunset… “It’s beautiful.” she commented, “Because it won’t set forever.”

He seemed confused, turning around and tried to hold back any frustration he felt at being spooked. It was… kinda funny, but it really surprised him!

“W-what are you doing here? I could have accidentally fought you off if you hadn’t said anything!” he dusted himself off and sat back down, looking a bit like he wanted to scold her but held it back. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re not hurt.” he sighed, relaxing back and letting the tension leave his body.

“I really surprised you, huh?” she laughed before looking over at the colors in the darkening sky again. “Sonic says the same thing…”

Soler looked away, feeling bad again. “About today... “ he began, scratching the back of his head as he sat more upright, not wanting to slouch. “Pink… I’m sorry about what I said.” he held his hands together out in front of him, loosely, only having the fingers intertwined.

“I wish I wasn’t there. Then I wouldn’t have said anything.”

“What?” Amy turned back to him, not sure what he was getting at. “What are you talking about? I’m happy you’re here.” she gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. “I’m not sure what prompted the sudden warning, but I’m sure it was out of kindness.”

He turned away. “Yeah… well… I’m still sorry for disturbing you. You and Sonic… that’s completely different than mine…”

“Your..? Your what?” Amy removed the hand from his shoulder, tilting her head further in her confusion. “Soler… is there something you want to talk about?”

He flinched, “N-not really…” he looked back at the sun, hoping to change the subject. “You said something about the sun’s beauty being so because it fades? What do you mean by that?” He thought fast, a bit interested, but mostly to get her on another topic.

She did just that, starting to ramble. “Hehe! The colors, silly! The sight doesn’t last forever… that’s what makes it so beautiful. You have to be there, in the moment, the fleeting colors spread across the sky and capture your heart and imagination… What’s beautiful is that you treasure it longer because it’s not there all the time.”

He clung to his lunar necklace…

“The sun has to leave so the moon can rise and give a whole new experience to the earth…”

He turned his head away, closing his eyes tightly shut as the pain of his heart’s pricking icicles suddenly turned deadly and twisted into the sides of his heart.

“I know.” His voice wavered a moment, his true feelings coming out. “I know what that means.”

“...Soler?” Amy tenderly turned back, “Ah! Are you hurt!?” she moved in front of him, reaching out to see what he was clutching too.

His eyes opened wide, a new memory resurfacing…

“You’re hurt!”

Luna charged after him, seeing him trying to hide his wound.

“It’s fine.” He tried to gently usher her away, not wanting her to feel bad about his own injury. “It was…” he looked up a moment, seeing her eyes sparkle in their loving care. “...Worth it.” he was taken aback a moment. Never in his lonely life had he seen someone take so much time out of their own life to care about him this much.

“Nonsense! Here, let me dress that for you.” She stubbornly coaxed him down to the ground, getting out some natural medicine made from the surrounding plant life around her home village and began to treat him. He winced back at the pain, biting his jaw into place as he tried to not show it in front of her. He wanted to grin and bear it, but it wasn’t about trying to act cool in front of her. He just didn’t want her to suffer… watching him bleeding.

“You didn’t have to do that…” she commented, fixing him up before tightening the bandages as he held in another painful cry, puffing his cheeks up with air. ‘Mercy…’ he thought to himself. She smiled at his cute attempt to swallow the air back down but knew what it all meant. “But I’m very grateful you did.” she held him in a stare for a moment, but it felt like a long while to him. Looking into her eyes… was like watching a constellation go by…

She turned with a blush, “So is my father-!” she chimed in, clearing her throat at her obvious nerves that spiked as he didn’t look away from her. “A-and my village! We’re all in debt to your sacrifice and-and…”

He shook his head, a softer side coming out of him as his face turned to one of hope.

“As long as you’re alright, that’s all that matters.”

She turned back to him,... a little boldly, she cupped his face and smiled, hiding her face a bit as she dipped her head shyly and let hair slightly cover her weakened features from his kind words. “Thank you…”

She left it at that and scurried away, but his eyes never left hers, shaking at the touch that filled his cheek with a heat he hadn’t experienced before.

At the time, he didn’t mean anything much by it, only that he was happy to be a hero for a day. But after some time… he realized how much those words really meant,... in a moment… like that…

“Soler? You’re shaking!” Amy worriedly moved away. The daydream state he was in broke and he adjusted himself.

“S-sorry!” he kicked back to get himself sitting uprightly again, “I-I’ve been thinking back a lot on someone lately… it’s… it’s not something you need to concern yourself with though… it’s a sad story.” he thought that may sway her away from asking further, but instead, she sat comfortably down and put her head in her two hands, her elbows resting on the sides of her legs which were in the Indian-style position.

“...You’re not backing down… are you?” Soler smiled, he liked to see her this energetic and invested in people’s lives.

Maybe it would be okay… to tell her a thing or two about himself…

“...Her name was…” he choked up a minute, having to swallow. “Luna…”

As his tale went on, Amy began to tear up, hearing about the village and the girl he loved murdered right before his eyes. “It was all because of me. Neo Metal Sonic framed Shadow, murdered Luna to bring out my power through extreme stress and trauma…” he gripped his hands tightly, shaking them in renewed rage. “Now that I can fight, I want to protect those who can’t protect themselves! I want to make sure no one suffers as much as I did… as much as she did… as they all did…” he looked away. “It’s just better if I wasn’t around, you know? They could have lived their lives in gentle bliss. Up against the windy hills… the soft dirt and the clearest skies I’ve ever seen…” he looked up, seeing the daylight fade into the night.

“Oh!” he quickly fumbled to get his necklace, looking at the shape begin to take form and glow in it.

“Look!” he excitedly turned to show Amy, as she covered her mouth at how excited he looked to witness Luna’s pendant light up as the sun disappeared. “It’s just like you said… she would be here if…” he looked up into the sky. “If…” the glow from the pendant radiated the sight of the moon that rose quickly to the sky in front of him.

It was… amazing.

“It’s a Waning Gibbous or shrinking moon.” He explained, gazing at the stars as they began to come to life before his eyes. He was at peace for a moment, but his heart was still breaking from the ice that fell against the cold cave of his heart. “This is the first phase after the Full Moon occurs. It lasts about 7 days, with the Moon's illumination getting smaller each day until becoming a Last Quarter Moon... then it’ll shine at around half it’s normal glow. It rises after sunsets…” he looked at his necklace, his eyes arching back. “I hate that people can’t be happy unless I’m gone…”

“Nooo!!!” Amy leaped up, her eyes pouring out a storm of tears. “Don’t say that! Don’t ever say that!”

“W-woah!” He scooted back a bit, hitting himself against the tree. “What’s wrong?! Why are you crying!?” he freaked out, worried it was his fault somehow.

“Because she loved you so much!” she began to bawl, moving her hands to her eyes in a little bundle of a fist, crying into them. “Whahhha!!! You loved each other so much! I’m so sorry, Soler! But she wouldn’t want you to go away! She was happy with you!” she wiped her tears away quickly, sniffling and trying to compose herself.

“She was… happy…” Soler dipped his head down, “That’s the problem. She could have continued being happy if I never-”

“NOOOO!!!!” she cried harder, making him flinch back and stay silent this time.

‘W-what’s gotten into her?!’ he was a little freaked out, as Amy continued on.

“You gave her something that no one else could! I believe in destiny, and I believe—that no matter what you think—you two were made to find and save each other. Without her, would you have ever really ventured out to learn about your powers? Find Shadow? Us?”

He remained silent, but a slight bit of sunlight melted some of the cold that had formed in his heart.

“You’re like the sun, Soler! That’s what she loved about you!” Amy leaped forward, grabbing his hands.

“Ah!” he was a bit shocked by her boldness, but this was nothing new.

“You warmed their lives! You may not have been able to control your powers very well, but you did whatever you could to provide for them. Life can’t grow without the sun’s energy, Soler! You gave them something that they loved more than anything! You’re the reason they held such happy smiles on their faces! She loved cause you were you and you were there!” With a heavy heart, he starts to think back on the village. Were they happier before he came..?

No… they were terrified.

But after he came?

They were at peace… children could play safely in the streets and Luna’s Father ruled without worrying about dangers rising up to strike them. They were kept in the dark of their homes in constant panic… but when he showed up… when he came…

He felt a tear roll down his eye, and lifted an amazed finger to it, touching it as it moved.

“But they were taken from me… right before my eyes.” he closed his eyes, letting himself cry in front of her now, unable to hold it back as the ice in his heart that was melting away came out of his eyes. “They ended up suffering worse because of me! I was a little resistant to love them back at first… now I know why… I mean… if I had never gone to that village… I wouldn’t have… she… they all would have lived, wouldn’t they?” he looked at his soaked gloves. “These powers… I don’t know why I have them. All I know is that without Shadow’s help, I couldn’t have learned how to master them. Now I can save those people I couldn’t have before.”

“Soler… they loved you.” Amy moved back, “Why is that so hard to grasp? Even at the end, they were happy… they never could have had that joy if you weren’t there protecting them. Even with your powers untrained… you did everything you could to give them the life they had always wanted. I know if they were here—no… if Luna was here! She’d want you to shine for all the world! Giving light and hope, warmth and safety, to all those who have never known a loving, passionate, burning light like that before!” Amy withdrew her arms only to spring them out wide as the moon shone above her.

“Luna loved you! She loved you cause you were exactly what she needed! She could be the soft glow that lit up the darkness from your lonely, dreary life. She guided you to a purpose… and you gave her everything she had never known before! Soler! You gotta see yourself through her eyes!”

“...Through… her eyes..?”

“Soler…”

Luna turned to him, looking peaceful and relaxed as they sat before the sunset.

“Promise me… when you become the man you want to be… that you’ll never forget moments like this?”

“...What do you mean?” He turned to her, smiling as well as they held hands.

“Hehe!” she giggled, blushing but holding his hand a little tighter back.

“That no matter who needs it. You’ll always shine a ray of hope on whoever needs you. Promise me that?”

“Of course. That’s my only goal in life.”

“It’s a dream, Soler… a dream you can live in the broad daylight.” she looked up at the sun. “...I love that part of you, Soler. The part that won’t let himself be taken by the darkness…”

“Luna…” Soler remembered his dark side… and quickly wanted to warn her about it. “Luna, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Whatever it is, I know you’ll get through it.” she gave him a close-eyed smile, before hopping up and twirling around. “Ohh!!! The moon will be out soon! Quick! Tell me and then we can guess which phase it will be tonight!”

“B-but that’s not fair!” he laughed, “You always know what the moon’s going to be. It’s in your necklace!” she laughed and hid her secret.

“Whhhattt..? You calling me a cheater?” she teased, rushing off.

“Hey! Luna!” he took off after her, as she beckoned him on.

He ended up not telling her, always wanting her to believe he was better than what he thought he really was…

“Then that’s what I’ll do.” He gripped his pendant, standing up. “I’ll make sure to be the Sunrise… for someone trapped in the powers of that intimidating darkness… just like her and her village.” he gave a look of determination to the moon. “I promised her.”

Amy wiped the rest of her tears away, drying them up as she nodded at his new resolve. “Good. I’m with you on that one!” she gave him a thumbs up, and he looked kindly down to her.

“Sonic deserves you, Pinky. I’m sorry I thought it was wrong for you to try and be so close to him.” he offered her his hand.

“Ha! Love conquers all!” she took his hand and got up, heading back to base and waving to him. “You coming?”

“Just a minute!” he called back, looking out into the night…

An engine flared in the distance…

“What? It can’t be!” he could have sworn he knew that noise…

His teeth were borne and he looked behind him. “Run, Amy! Get the others!”

��Huh?” she turned around. “Soler..? What’s going-”

“It’s Neo Metal Sonic!” Soler took off into the night’s cool glow...\

Solar Vengeance

Commission for Solerwolf21

By: Cutegirlmayra

Soler ran without looking back, his jaw set as he aligned his path towards a cascade of varying explosions blasting in large or small repetitions. Soler was skillful, used to the battlefield by now, and dodged hurtling land masses, uprooted and burning trees, even narrowly ducking his head back to have his nose almost skim the edges of a large flaming blast directed at him.

He finally made his way down the now burning valley into the thick black smoke, coughing into his gloves. There was no question of his life, nor of the effects of the oxygen burning up around him that could push soot into his lungs. He was there for one purpose and one alone. Hopping from small pebbles that crumbled under his feet to larger stepping stones, Soler finally found a pocket in the valley that had already risen the black smoke above it, leaving some breathing room for the suffering life below. The smoke was being blocked from truly escaping from the mountain passes, but rushing water caught the airborne soot from the air and dragged it down, polluting its waters as it raced down the mountain side.

Soler looked at the spiraling death cloud, clenching his fist with further anger, trying to limit his breaths. ‘This is what happens when evil men don’t get what they deserve!’ he thought these words like a curse, but they propelled him on, searching for more explosions and echoing sounds that could lead him to Neo Metal Sonic.

He coughed in his hand again, spitting on the ground as he could taste the burnt atmosphere and noticed what was being attacked.

He held a hand to a leaning tree, covering his mouth as his eyes widened from the image before him. It was the rebellion, the freedom fighters, everyone was down…

In horror, he rushed below, “No!” he cried out, rushing over to a few of them and checking to make sure they were alive.

With his memory triggered, he held his head. Tears threatened his eyes as they grew glossy, but everyone was still alive…

For now.

“I’ll get you all out of here. Amy’s getting backup.” He tried to speak comforting words, but something hung in his throat, breaking his voice to where it barely held a soothing tone within it. Instead, his anger and sorrow cooled and warmed him, like a cyclone of currents that blended into one. He tried to move a man up to see if he was conscious… and that’s when…

Clanking of metal footsteps caught his attention.

His ears flicked at the sound, directly behind him… He glared around his shoulder, a slow movement, calculating every move and instinct that would follow from here on out.

“...Blinded by your hate?” The dark and metallic voice rung out, shaking the very confines of his memory. It had been years since he had last seen that shimmering coat of metallic blue, the steel blades on the ends of his hands that he dared call fingers, and the connecting silhouette that had once made him believe that Shadow was a murderer.

“Blinded?” His core rocked with the will to fight, to bring swift justice to a people now scattered in faded images… and yet… so real, they could still be dwelling—alive—inside him.

He rose to his feet, chaos power surging within him as he hung his fists out to the sides. “You don’t know the meaning of the word Blind!” He felt all his training suddenly fly out of him like a ghost, the good man in him fleeing to escape the swirling madness of revenge in his heart. That clear and kind demeanour he once held… that gentle soul trying to find his accepted place in the world, the fun and cheerfully content friend his companions lovingly knew and regarded as their comrade… all seemed to dissipate the second Neo Metal Sonic’s red eyes locked with his own lush green glare. Blinded… blinded by hate.

“Bound to blindness… you can neither see the end from the beginning.” Neo Metal Sonic rang out a coarse and deafening denial. It was though he knew. He knew that Soler’s body had gone back to that moment, that catastrophic event that changed the course of his life. He rose a clawed hand, elegantly showing off his form now that he didn’t have to hide it from him any longer. “What I offer your power is more than you can possibly wield…” he crushed his hand into a tight and sharp fist. “In a world full of hope… one must snuff out the light. Just like your precious—organic muse. Only… she couldn’t release the light from within you… no… she couldn’t summon what I wanted. A pointless sacrifice. A death that you made vain. Even I couldn’t have calculated how poorly that performance would fail. All because it couldn’t wrack you to your very soul… Could have saved her? If you unleashed the sleeping power that I so desperately desired from you? No... She was the lesser light… Especially compared to what I’ll do this time…” Neo Metal Sonic began to arch his walk as it took everything within Soler to not launch himself out at him. ‘Lesser light!? Blinded?! What was he going on about!?’ he continued to store up and build power, still unaware of Neo Metal Sonic baiting him. He almost reached the point of Chaos Break but not quite entering into that state just yet… he was waiting…

Something inside him burned like the forest around him, but he couldn’t strike quite yet. He wanted to wait for the ideal moment… when Neo Metal Sonic wouldn’t be able to dodge or read what he was planning…

An opening...

Neo Metal Sonic’s eyes scanned as he rounded him and spoke, keeping a distance, but noticing the concentrated Chaos Energy piling up in him. “You’ve managed to unlock your ability? Perhaps that pawn did do its duty then.” He stopped himself, “To the supreme overlord of this land,... that pathetic organism’s life actually proved of some use after all. In what little it accomplished, at least it has motivated some fulfilling change in you.” He spread his arms out, “Show me,... Wielder of Chaos—No! Host to my soon-to-be new power of channeled, raw chaos…” he lifted one of his hands up, a red heat steaming from his claws. “It’s time… I shall break the chaos from your body… I shall rip it out of you! And then harness it to finally defeat Sonic! And all his worthless, squirming friends! They shall cling to the very essence of life and hope as I shred it from existence!” He blasted a powerful wind from spinning his hand and body quickly in a whirling twist for a moment, causing his cape to flare back behind him and the black smoke to spin away as some of the night finally revealed itself in the tainted sky.

The moon… directly above Neo Metal Sonic, hung itself right where he spun the cloud away, like an all-seeing eye…

“Engage me!”

“With pleasure!!!”

Soler leaped forward, a fierce entanglement of heated metal against sheer, raw chaos forming around Soler’s hands and rising up his arms. The two fought ceaselessly, a close hand-to-hand combat as they spiraled around each other, looking for an opening… ‘Grr..! It’s taking too long!’ Soler remembered Shadow mentioning to be aware of his surroundings. Soler perceived quickly that his battle with Neo Metal Sonic could hurt the downed soldiers around him.

‘Alright… I need to bring Neo Metal Sonic away from them. So that he can fight just me!’ He put his hands together, “Chaos Canon!” blasting up and out of the smoke, he felt he could have some cover while leading Neo Metal Sonic up near the Mountain pass. Forgetting for a moment that Neo Metal Sonic could use heat-sensing, he saw a rapidly moving line of red darting to his position.

“Shoot!” he was now stuck in the air! Thinking fast, he swiped his hand, about to summon Chaos Hailstorm before realizing he could hit someone down below on accident. “Urk..!” he flinched, his eyes wavering in their conviction as he realized there were too many injured for a fair fight. ‘Alright, then. I’ll take this to-!” but before he could make a counter-move, Neo Metal Sonic spun a swift kick into his stomach, shifting him through the air and slamming him into the mountain’s rugged cliffs.

“Ugh… uhh…” Moving himself out of the cliff side, he looked up to see Neo Metal Sonic propel a fist into his face, shoving him further into the mountain as pieces of rock blasted out from the impact.

As the dust cleared, Soler’s face was smashed against its side, but he was fighting for control over the battle again. Neo Metal Sonic was ruthless… he had forgotten how strong he was, how seemingly invincible this robot could appear…

“You are not worthy to hold such power…” Neo Metal Sonic began, moving his heated hand towards him. “Allow me to rectify this conundrum…” as the heated hand flared a red glowing power, Soler turned his chin away and felt sweat trinkle down the side of his face.

‘No… He’s trying to get me to unleash my power… if I do, from this close of a range… He’ll absorb it and become even more powerful..!’ he strained against the hand that was keeping him in place. ‘I can’t give up… Luna..!’ he squinted his eyes, mentally crying out her name for strength.

That’s when he knew.

“You could never wield my power!”

He cried out loud.

“Because I am that power!!!”

“What!?”

“Chhhhaaaoooossss-”

Powering up the last of his pent-up rage, he let loose a new form. Straining against the life-sucking influence of the Chaos factor that converted his very being into power, he shifted fully into his ultimate form. “BREAK!” he blasted an amazed Neo Metal Sonic back, getting him successfully off of him as he homing-attacked through the air, pushing off the mountain side and causing it concave inwards on itself from the magnitude of his pressured ‘push’.

Ramming his spiky chaos ball into Neo Metal Sonic’s discombobulated body, it was clear to tell Neo Metal Sonic was having a hard time getting a reading on him.

“NOOO!!!” He cried out, seeing he was being swarmed with opposition that was too much for his systems to calculate. He ended up shutting off the programmed aid and went straight to blocking, but Soler uncurled from his ball and blasted him down towards the ground, pummeling him further.

“This is for LUNA!” he sent a powerful beam of Chaos through Metal Sonic’s left shoulder, the two falling at alarming rates towards the far front of the forest, away from the struggling freedom fighters. “This is for VILLAGERS YOU MASSACRED!” he launched his fists down to have Chaos power shoot out and knock him with each hit farther and farther out of the sky, further and further away from… “And this… this is for MY FRIEEEENDDDDSSS!!!” One last form… one last moment to end all the suffering and pain Neo Metal Sonic ever manufactured in the world.

“CHAOS SYNERGY!!!” Soler’s leaned forward…. He blasted away the limits of his body and life force, his very soul blazed around him in a shining white of raw energy.

“No… you fool!” Neo Metal Sonic was waiting for this, but it wasn’t what he was expecting at all. “You’ll only end your life and the power will be lost forever!” he activated a reflective surface that opened from the engine in his chest like a jacket, trying to absorb the chaos power from him. Soler breathed heavily, seeing Neo Metal Sonic regain his flight abilities and start channeling his own power from him. “No… I won’t let you get away with this!” Soler blasted out another powerful explosion from his body, pushing Neo Metal Sonic back.

“Un… Unperceivable.” Neo Metal Sonic’s eyes shook as he skidded to a landing on the ground, looking up as his systems began to spark around him. “His berserk form should allow me to absorb all the necessary chaos energy from his body… how… why isn’t it working?!”

There was a moment of peace about Soler… as he began to float in the air… the once cool air now heated by the flames around him. He could feel the world suffering… and when he closed his eyes… he placed his hand to his heart… feeling the same way he did back when Luna’s village was crying out in terror.

‘This power… It doesn’t matter if I die now.’ He felt some form of weight lift off his shoulders, and looked back to Neo Metal Sonic… it was almost amusing to see his bewilderment at having miscalculated his true potential, but that didn’t matter right now.

He could literally see the essence of his life blazing around him, and knew that it wouldn’t be long now… till it was all out and done.

‘But before that time… I’ll make sure Neo Metal Sonic never hurts another living thing again.’ he looked down, like a blazing angel of the night towards Neo Metal Sonic. Even the glow of the flames couldn’t stand against the holy light of his personage.

“I… am Soler The Hedgehog.”

He declared, his eyes glaring like thin slits against the dark of the night.

“You’ve committed a crime against all life upon this world… and I…”

He took one final glance at the moon, then held the necklace tightly in his hand.

It was a solemn, unspoken, and final goodbye.

“Will take you from this world.”

In horror unimaginable, Neo Metal Sonic stepped back. His fear wasn’t of death, but of what power he would enact those words by.

Soler drifted to the ground, and held out his hand. “This is your undoing… Metallic Blue Boy.” he smirked at his inside-joke with Sonic, and prepared a powerful beam. “Solar…” it began to form a tight ball that sounded as though the rays of the sun were building at the palm of his hand. “Chaos…” it grew bigger, beams of light breaking from it’s core.

...He closed his eyes…

‘I hope this is enough to make up for my existence… Luna. I hope this settles my debt… and pays back all the lives that have suffered because of me… because of him.’

His eyes shot open as he pulled his hand back, readying his final attack that would most likely end his life.

Neo Metal Sonic braced himself, opening his body even wider as he transformed himself into a giant absorbing field of mirrored steel that was meant to take in whatever power Soler had within him.

‘Heh...cute.’ Soler thought, smiling and knowing that Neo Metal Sonic couldn’t fathom the terrors of death… but at least this would come close to it.

“FLAREEEEE!!!”

A long, dragon like whip of power twisted itself in the air and flew directly to Neo Metal Sonic.

The power was stilled in his metallic frame, and Neo Metal Sonic began a slow laugh...

Before seeming to robotically choke as his voice blitzed out and his head twitched.

“Heh…” Soler powered down, hunching over in his exhaustion. “Boom.”

BOOOOOOOAWWWWWWWWWMMMMMM!!!!!

Neo Metal Sonic’s pieces flew there… and over there… and some clanked against the rock and tumbled away some place else.

Then Soler collapsed to the ground.

“Was this… enough… L-Luna?”

Then something unexpected happened.

A figure rose from the blackened corpse of Neo Metal Sonic, his literal frame-ware of his body without its Sonic-like metal coating. A literal skeleton… creeping its way towards Soler.

His eyes shook, “N-no…!” he couldn’t believe it. “He survived!?”

He pushed his body past its limit once more, rising from the ground to his knees and powering up what little life he had left. Closing one eye, he raised his hand back up, keeping it up with his other as its support. “I guess there really is no living through it… I’ve gotta use it all.”

As the skeleton reached out, walking like a zombie with sparks everywhere, a purely naked figure of its robotic plating, a hammer suddenly flew out of nowhere and knocked it into a burning bush.

“Soler! Don’t-!” Amy rushed out to his side, dropping to him as he stared amazed.

“A...Amy?”

“That last blast almost wiped out our rescue party!” she explained, hugging him close as his eyes remained in shock.

His head just naturally fell to her shoulder, his hand not going down. “I… I have to destroy him… I can’t let him live.”

The steel skeleton rose out of the bush, oil leaking around it to blast explosions from itself. It looked truly sickening, but Amy continued.

“But that form… I heard you shout it out. That was Chaos Synergy.” she looked to see the white forming from his feet up his knees… he was retaking the form.

She pulled back, shaking his shoulders, “Soler, stop! Please! That forms kills you right? It drains you..? Soler, listen to me! Soler!!!”

Blinded still by his anger and hate, his hand slowly began to power up another blast. Now his vision was blurry, his mindset on destruction…

“Move… Pink.” he stated beneath his breath. “Move…”

“NO!” she shook her head, spreading her arms out wide, “Soler, listen to me! This isn’t what Luna wanted! She would have wanted you to live happily! If you do this… you’ll destroy the valley! You’ll destroy the very lives you’ve worked so hard to fight for! You trained so hard… so diligently… in hopes of protecting people… is this the future you want to make for yourself?! Scattered in more merciless killing!?”

Soler’s eyes twitched, his old self returning to him…

The hunger of seeing Neo Metal Sonic suffer greater than his own pain suddenly weighed back down on him. “But… he deserves this… he deserves to die.”

“He’s a robot, Soler! Eggman will just make another one!” Amy grabbed his head, hoping to focus the last of his fading vision onto her.

“Please… think of the real people around you… think of the hero you want to be… the one Luna saw in you… that day you saved her life.”

His eyes flexed and his pupils dilated. He recounted taking that bullet for her.

His hand twitched, the light in it slowly fading away…

“Life is worth saving, Soler… Don’t throw your life away for one victory… that needlessly leads to further suffering and pain. We’d all miss you, Soler… we all love and need you so much…” she lowered her head, crying into his chest as the warm tears cooled his boiling rage…

He finally… slowly… let the hand slip and his arm fall back down to his side.

Neo Metal Sonic’s skeleton continued to work through the bushes and explosion with a limped leg, before falling to the flames eating at its faked life and consuming what little energy he held left.

Then… Soler passed out in Amy’s arms, hearing her scream his name.

Neo Metal Sonic had tried to steal his powers… but what he did steal… was his clear conscience. However, with the last of the fight, Amy returned his sanity back, and Neo Metal Sonic couldn’t take his pure heart from him, the innocent intent of saving all that were within Soler’s reach.

It wouldn’t have been a good way to die, anyway. At least, that’s what Soler kept telling himself. As he dreamed, he saw Luna standing on the moon, looking away from him before turning with her long hair whisping around her.

She was crying… but smiling.

A Chaos Emerald was used to revive what little life was left in Soler, and he woke up in a hospital bunker, looking around as the Freedom Fighters cheered around at their friends all waking up from the horrible ordeal.

Shadow pulled back the Chaos Emerald, glaring to him as though not wanting to scold him in front of everyone. However, Soler got the message, bending his ears back and looking sheepishly guilty, trying to smile apologetically back. Shadow and even Blue Boy had constantly warned him about his synergy spikes… still, it was nice to see he cared.

Sonic walked by, trying to be casual about it, but whacked Soler upside the head while Sally gave a speech. He rubbed his head and kept quiet, knowing the two didn’t want to cause a scene but also seeing Sonic look back over his shoulder, giving him a wink. So, at least Sonic was glad he made the right choice in the end, but Shadow folded his arms. He clearly wasn’t having it. Soler was going to have to sit through Shadow’s wrath for a bit… but he would take it knowing it came from a good place. Tails began after Sally, stating they had put out the fires around the surrounding area. A medal was given to some, but then Sally personally came over to Soler, without the prying eyes of the crowd. A silent exchange was given from the medal to Sonic and Shadow, but they both just looked like polar opposites. Sonic nodded, as though to silently say ‘Keep your chin up, buddy!’ to be more encouraging, since he rarely dwelt in the past. Shadow, on the other hand, wouldn’t be satisfied until Soler was worthy of the medal.

The medal she handed him was made of white material he couldn’t perfectly identify, and winked to him as she rested her hand on his shoulder, “Amy told us.” she whispered, “We were able to treat your injuries, but Shadow used the Chaos Emerald to treat what he called ‘your soul’. I hope you’re alright, Soler. I’m glad to still have you with us.” she moved on, but there was a genuine look of gratitude in her eyes.

The medal came with a note, thanking Soler for his bravery in diverting Neo Metal Sonic’s attacks away from the injured, but Soler knew what it was really saying…

Throughout the course of the day, many fighters came over and checked on him, it overwhelmed it. It was all too much. He realized that only the main gang had known what sacrifice he was willing to do, but the others just thanked him for his support. They worried about him… they really cared about him… Those he had saved thanked him. He didn’t feel very worthy of it. Yes, he had thought of them, but he almost endangered them by his furious outbursts as well…

He took a deep breath, ‘No matter what, I was meant to learn the things I did in my life.” he knew Amy was right and clutched his slightly singed necklace tighter to his heart, leaning back in his recovery bed and being careful not to disturb the bandages wrapped all over him in different sections of his body. “I was meant to have loved Luna, as she was meant to love me. I understand my feelings more,... and even though the past still haunts me, I was able to look forward with hope for a better future… one where I’ll live for those who can’t survive without someone else watching their back. I’ll be the power they never had.’ he lulled himself to sleep with this promise on his mind, closing his eyes… ‘I’ll be a true hero… so no one has to suffer what I’ve suffered… yeah, I think that’ll do. I think that’ll be… my repentance…’

He began to fall asleep…

‘My redemption.’

 Lunar Ellipse

Commission of 60-70 pages for the amazing Solerwolf21

By: Cutegirlmayra

It’s been a long time since the Metal Sonic incident…

I’ve been carrying the weight of that day for a while now… I know it’s no good, so I’m trying to get my mind off of things and start something new.

At least, something new to think about…

That’s when I thought about Sally.

Soler held his medal close to himself, looking down forlorned as he continued his afternoon walk. It was getting late, as it usually does, but he missed his morning sulk so this was his best effort to stay on schedule.

“Heh,” He lightly laughed out loud at the thought. ‘Morning Sulk’ was a good name for it, but he liked the fresh air too. It was nice to get away from everyone’s busy work and all the fighting.

Time and time again… one fight after the other. But it was exhausting, you know? Then Eggman suddenly blipped off the radar. Everyone got anxious and confused, scared even. I went out on my own to do some recon and came back with to a nasty surprise. Apparently, I didn’t ask permission to go off on recon and the whole of the Freedom Fighters was about to send out a search party with Sally at the command.

After that, Sonic had told me to take it easy… but what does that mean?

Did everyone just suppose I was unstable? Maybe I wasn’t… maybe I really was.

I’ve thought a lot of things lately…

He stared at the ground as his shoes kicked the dirt off the path as he continued. The scent of pinewood and the weeds scrapping against his feet created a pleasant scenery. Not too many flowers, but just enough to catch the eye.

Mostly, I’ve thought a lot about Sally. But then…

He sighed, looking up as he let go of the medal and clasped the necklace instead.

“Luna… The moon’s about to come out soon.” He stopped a moment as he tried to remember which moon this would be.

When he realized he didn’t know, a sudden harsh sadness came on him. “Did I forget?” He seemed almost spooked. Feeling guilty, he quickly ran to try and see the moon over the hill he usually star-gazed on. He climbed a moment on all floors to regain some balance at his new quickened pace. It was a tad slippery from some rainfall, but Soler didn’t mind it. He was used to laying on this hill as fresh dew scattered across it. It was refreshing after the walk, and the sun warmed him while the earth cooled his sweaty back.

Things weren’t necessarily quiet back at camp… the Freedom Fighters had their fair share of Eggman busting to do. After he went dark, they were on high alert, finding rogue robots from his army and taking those down one by one. Sonic and Shadow both agreed I needed space and time to think, but qgain, what exactly does that mean? Were they really not gonna let me help? Just because of the Neo Metal Sonic incident… or because I went off on my own without telling anyone? It was confusing, to say the least… I felt bad about it, but I also hoped everyone had already put it passed them.

I guess I did give everyone quite a scare…

After racing to the top of the hill, he paused to look up, breathing hard in his worry. His emerald green eyes scanned the falling horizon, “… It’s not up yet.” He looked behind him and suddenly clutched his fists. “Dang it. I really can’t let go!” he slammed it into the hillside’s top, a full-blown swing as he slightly jumped and let it collide with the earth, bending and landing on his knees to reach the mark. This caused a small pound but none of his chaos energy was put into it, so his hand just hurt a little from the harsh hit.

“Huh?” He once again wondered what was going on. “My… my abilities?” he tried to see if he could do a Chaos Spear.

As practiced a thousand, no—millions of times with Shadow, he released a perfect set of spears that flew with a whistle out into the air and pierced sharply into the ground upon descending in an arrow’s arch. After a moment, they disappeared in a swiped flash and were no more.

“Phew… Why am I so paranoid?” he gripped his wrist, just massaging it a bit and wondering why he didn’t feel himself today.

Recently… I’ve been thinking too much.

He sat down, plopping on the tippy top of the hill as though not caring if he hurt himself in the process. Staring up, he vaguely saw the sun finally setting and dipping away.

It was his favorite thing. Waiting for the moon to come up. The Moonset, as he called it. However, he couldn’t bring himself to view the moon today, though he willed himself too. A pain slowly sank from his chest down into his heart and stomach. His mind raced again from the longings of his heart… his words following, unable to contain what lie inside his every thought.

“Luna…” He looked down at the necklace, waiting to see what the moon would be like today. “Luna… if I decided to love someone else… would you always know I still loved you?”

There was an unshakable silence.

---

“Soler! You’re falling behind!” The voice was so real, so tangible. It was soft and high, like a cloud against the moon. It was shrouded in utter fascination and mystery to Soler, so hard to describe, but so easily to recognize and pull again to mind.

“Ha…Ha… I’m trying, alright!?” Counter wise, his voice was husky from all the running, heavy breaths interrupted any sweet, playfulness it usually carried.

“Well, try harder!” she urged.

“You’re just as pushy as your dad!” He raised his head up, trying to keep up the pace.

“Haha! I take that as a compliment!” It was a typical day with the beautiful chief’s daughter, nothing in the world could ruin this memory for him.

Luna raced up the track that headed back to her village, looking behind her constantly to wave and encourage Soler on. “Come on! If you make it, I might just give you a hero’s kiss~” she taunted, winking and blowing him a tease.

Soler’s head shot up, “Huh?” It hadn’t been long since they confessed the buddings of romance to each other, but the thought of a kiss still brought a faint blush to his cheeks.

“What? Was that not motivation enough? Hehe!” she laughed as she bolted forward again.

How mischievous… But I don’t dislike that about her. In fact, it’s kinda fun and refreshing to see her tease me like this.

He smiled, his breathing seeming to find a rhythm in their jog now. She was quite a ways ahead, but he didn’t mind giving her the head start. He loved running. It was something he always did when exploring new places.

But… today was meant to be the day he was going to tell her he wanted to head out again. His nomadic ways hadn’t stopped so suddenly. It was a habit to find new places and people to serve, it was just his nature to acquaint himself with anyone who needed his help.

He wanted to leave for a while, but also wanted to promise her he’d come back and live there with her… he was still so young, they both were.

His eyes arched as he thought about it…

If I kiss her… will that make me change my mind?

He shook his head.

I’ll just let her win. Besides, she usually does, anyway.

“Slowpoke!”

“That does it.” He narrowed his eyes, smiling. “Here I come!” he had stored his energy long enough He burst forward with a high-speed velocity, but nothing compared to the rumored Fastest Thing Alive. His lungs pumped air in and out like a steam-train without any breaks, his legs like well-oiled wheels being pushed by a long gear to never quit or strain under the pressure. He felt an open smile as he breathed through his mouth and was charging up to the side of her at a rapid pace.

His heart had a goal in mind, but his mind didn’t have the heart to disappoint her.

He began to catch up swiftly, causing her to stop laughing and gasp in fright. Immediately, she began to run with all her effort—for real this time. Though, her curiosity and fright at his sudden bolt made her keep looking over her shoulder, slowing her speed down every time she looked back to see him continually picking up speed.

“Eeee..!” her mouth stretched far back, clearly nervous about the rewards at stake…

“Heh.” Here’s for trying to tempt me! He slid up next to her and grabbed her hand, “Need a boost?”

“Ah!” she blushed, while he looped her hand under his arm and passed the village gates—side by side.

Serves her right for upping the ante.

It was terribly romantic, too. A duo tie. However, if Soler knew anything about Luna, she would downplay his charms and pretend like she wasn’t smitten at all by it.

“Y-you’re pretty fast.” She didn’t move away from him as he slowed down to a stop, looking down at her ducking face.

He could still see the pink all over her muzzle though, so it was enough to make him smile.

There was heat on his cheeks too, but the fresh air and smell of food being cooked in the village cooled and stilled him off. He would probably eat something light with her to make up for all the lost energy.

He decided not to ask about the ‘reward’ but instead, poke at her nose. “I know you’re pretty fast yourself. Almost lost there if I didn’t think fast too.”

She giggled at his touched and looked up at him, shyly trying to disguise her fondness for him. That smile though… couldn’t even hide a secret…

“Did you have fun?” He found himself saying, finding his breathing had returned to a normal rhythm again. He was glad she didn’t pull away, it reassured him that this tie was a grand idea in the end. At least, she always seemed to enjoy his company, and this wasn’t exactly the first time he was trying to win her affections through a clever tactic. He was used to be bolder with her now, since they confessed. But it did leave him wondering if he should really leave or not…

“Y-yes.” She put her other hand to her chest and tried to still her racing heart again. “But I think my heart still thinks we’re in the race.”

“Well… who said we’re not?”

“H-huh?”

He leaned down and lightly pecked the side of her cheek, making sure to pull her lightly over to him with his arm that still held her hand in place.

“Ah! Stop it! Not in public!” she cutely moved away and shoved him off, causing him to wobble a bit before grinning happily and stepping away from her.

“Whatever you say, Luna.”

She covered her face, but then opened her hands enough to stick her tongue out at him.

“You offered first…” he mumbled as he folded his arms and looked away. He decided not to push it anymore, concluding that she probably was still a bit hesitant about it all.

“Actually,… Luna… I meant to ask you something.”

Luna stiffened a bit.

“I… I think I’d like to-“ He was about to address the subject when a familiar voice, like brass toned to a mature ring, echoed towards the two abruptly.

“Luna! Darling!” Suddenly, out of the blue, her father stepped in and worriedly embraced his daughter. “What have I told you about wandering too far from the village?! Ah, Soler!” he saw Soler and outstretched his palm to him. “Now I see! You were being protected! I’m glad then. But still, dear girl, don’t go running off like that!”

“But dad, I’m-“

“A big girl who still asks me to cook breakfast for her?” He raised a comical eyebrow as Soler covered his mouth to chuckle.

She blushed and looked to Soler, then her father. “Dad!”

At this point, Luna’s father had completely taken Soler in. It didn’t change the fact that he didn’t exactly know Soler and Luna’s relationship, but at the same time, Soler felt he wouldn’t mind much either.

But they were still… so young.

He looked back out of the gates of the village, feeling some left over thrill at running out and exploring what else could be out there again.

His powers…

He looked down at his hands with striped ‘X’s over his gloves. I also want to go somewhere safe to train… My combat skills are better than ever, so far. And I’m sure there are other villages out there that could use my help too.

He turned back to watch the antics of father and daughter play out a familiar scene. The Chief was a bit protective over her, but it made sense since she was slightly childish at times. Seeing Luna scold her father while he kept lovingly reminding her of her youth made Soler wish once again to have known more about where he came from, what family dynamics he might have had. It was too much of a blurry memory, hazy from years of being unable to recall it. Still… he considered this village a type of family, and wondered what they’d think of him taking off for a while…

“-And that one time you asked me to buy you that adorable hedgehog doll made out of hay. You painted it white, you know.”

“DAD, SERIOUSLY, STOP!” she kept jumping up to try and reach his mouth, hoping to slam a hand over it and shut him up. However, The Chief kept raising his head to avoid her, laughing at her attempts to reach his rather large height.

“Hahah! Even put cute, little pink blush-dots on the cheeks.”

“I’m so embarrassed!” Luna finally gave up and covered her face again, ducking as she raced off deeper into the village. “You’re the worst, Dad!”

“Haha. About time she gave up.” As though planning this, The Chief turned to Soler. Soler realized then that he was trying to embarrass her and have her run off. Soler gulped, wondering what The Chief was up too… “Now then, why don’t you and I have a talk, young man.”

Soler suddenly felt a whole planet had been dropped on him. A… A talk? Did he know!?

“Y-…Yes, sir.” He didn’t know why he was so nervous all of a sudden. He deeply respected The Chief, he was a good man, but the way he said that…

The two walked around the village, full of young and old life doing chores like hanging clothes out on lines or cooking for the village feast. They didn’t usually eat in families on weekends but had big parties to celebrate their happy village community.

Soler loved it here, but the atmosphere was something he wasn’t accustomed too. They had welcomed him with open arms, a little hesitant about his presence at first before saving them from a wild creature of sorts. Soler was sure it was something dark and possibly enraged by battling one of Eggman’s robots, evident by oil all over its hide. But whatever it was, it wasn’t natural. Soler had gotten injured and some of that darkness infected his injury, but Luna tended to him and his strange power had taken care of the rest. He was a bit uncomfortable with how sincerely grateful they were to him, always making him special in any social gathering, but he took it with a polite smile and awkward head nod.

Today, it seemed The Chief wanted to talk about manhood. He began to recite something that sounded recited, if that makes any sense. So although Soler listened intently to the chief’s speech on what a true, righteous man is… he was instantly bored of the topic and observing the life of the bustling village about him. He was constantly in awe at it, watching the children play outside their little straw houses or huts. So modest an abode, but then again, no one seemed to notice wealth or poverty. It was like they all shared and communicated freely, nothing was bought or sold, but exchanged and handed out without contracts or agreements. Just… in the spirit of being friendly and neighborly.

He knew it was very different from the outside world though, but when The Chief began to change his tone, Soler immediately started to pay more attention to his long monologue.

“Now, a lot of people ask what a young man like you would want to be when he grows up. A warrior? Simple farmer? But any of man can be a truly good, exemplary, benevolent man regardless of upbringing or birth.”

The entire time, Soler felt uneasy. He wasn’t much into justice or goodness. He just did what he felt was for the benefit of other’s safety. A man has his own soul to look after, but that doesn’t mean he can’t risk it save another’s. He wanted to ignore again and scan the silkworks for a sign of Luna, maybe find her gathering hay in a field and carrying it to the storehouse. Either way, anything would be better than being stuck with a rambling old man about traditional man values…

Why can’t I just be my own kind of man?

“-And so a true man has a heart that will never yield to injustice, but always fight for what is right. Regardless of this, he also obeys the laws the citizens have placed by their own will and hearts. So, what I’m saying is, the fifth quality of a true, righteous man is to respect the hearts of others, as well as the laws they give to govern themselves- ah… Soler?” The chief hit his staff a few times to the ground, causing Soler to snap out of his walking-sleep and shake his head a second.

He immediately realized he had been caught daydreaming, and apologetically scratched the back of his head.

“E…heh.” Opps.

“…Ehem.” The Chief cleared his throat, showing he was aware that Soler was dozing off while walking with him. Which… his eyes were wondering a lot, and after a moment,… maybe he did rest them without realizing noticing he was dozing off…

The Chief sighed, “One day, you will become a man. What, prey tell, kind of man do you want to be?”

Without hesitation, Soler opened his mouth-

And yawned.

“You aren’t very keen on thinking of the future, are you, boy?” The chief relaxed his tensed-up shoulders a moment, showing his caring eyes again that told Soler he was off the hook.

At least, for now.

“Honestly, Chief… I wanted to tell you and Luna what I’ve been thinking and feeling lately.”

“Oh?” The chief seemed interested, switching his staff to the other hand and waiting patiently for Soler to continue. “Go on.”

“I… There’s just a… big, whole world out there!” Soler spread his arms out. “I mean… don’t get me wrong, you must know how I feel about your village, but…”

“Emhmm…” the chief smiled, leaning down and giving Soler a look like he knew how he felt about a certain daughter of his too…

But Soler shook off the feeling and smiled sheepishly, continuing with his original thought. “B-but I can’t help and feel like I want to go out there and see what other things I can learn and do. I want to come back! Honest! I just…” he felt his animated arms suddenly slow and drop to his sides. “…I’m sorry. I have to see who else I can help. If I even have control enough to help them.” He felt his uncertainty bite down on his words, but he felt he could tell The Chief anything. Even his own heart…

“There, there, boy. You are a typical young man.” The Chief put his arm around Soler’s shoulders, since he was quite a large man. But clearly, The Chief was beyond his own youthful years now and couldn’t really defend the village himself. Hearing Solar speak these things… Soler wondered if he’d really be okay with his words. “You don’t want to be stuck in a fishbowl, spinning in circles inside the plot of space allotted to you. And although I wish I could just say, ‘off you go!’ I’m afraid my fear for my village is a little more prominent on this matter than I hoped.”… or not.

He gave a fatherly shake on Soler’s shoulders before letting go and walking on, shaking his head. “What will we do without you, Soler? Is your mind made up or are you still willing to consider staying here?” it was a kind plea, one that made it hard to respond too.

Soler felt his heart ache a moment. “You’re a good leader, Chief. Honest, you are! I just… I have to go.” Soler admitted, though it pained him to see the Chief look so downhearted.

The Chief took a moment, not speaking as he clearly was sad to hear this.

But after a moment, he nodded and sighed, walking off. “I have no say in your life, Soler… I just wish I could convince you somehow.”

Soler bowed in respect, “Thank you… Chief.” He stopped to show he wasn’t going to follow and speak with The Chief further. The Chief looked sorrowfully over his shoulder to Soler, his eyebrows showing the concern for not only Soler’s life, but the safety of his village. He was a good man, though. He was going to let Soler do as he wished.

Now all Soler had to do… was break the news to Luna.

He looked behind him, wondering how on earth he was going to tell her.

…Easier said than done…

---

The moon was high now, the stars not out yet, but the owls cooed on their sideline choirs. Soler opened his eyes, relaxing and having dozed off in a dream of his past for a moment.

He rubbed his eyes, placing his hands on his stomach. He yawned and pulled out the necklace.

“Hmm. So that’s the phase today.” He concluded, and let his head fall back to the soft grace he was resting on before.

He had matured so much since then… But his yawn still matched that boy from the dream… his past self. He had no idea what was in store to come.

Soler lowered his eyes,… remembering the horrors that would then ensnare Soler’s every step forward. The pity and the pain, the sorrow and the savagery.

“…Luna.” He began. He found that something new had slipped into the crevices of his broken heart.

“I want to ask Sally if she’d like to go on a walk with me.”

It wasn’t what he usually said to the moon, but it was just what popped out. He had conversations like this, out loud with the moon as the only witness, holding Luna’s necklace by his heart. The moon never responded, and neither did Luna.

But there was no silence this time. Crickets hopped with their strings creaking out into the night. The owls’ choir was still in full rehearsal for the dead of night, and the moon stayed motionless to observe the orchestra in the dark.

“Would you… feel betrayed if I did?” he felt the cold nip at his nose, causing him to shiver slightly. “You’re my long-lasting love, Luna… I appreciate you more than anything else in the world. You did so much for me… Will you let me get close to someone else? Move on? I’m just…” he turned on his side, “I’m just lonely again… feeling like I’m wanting a fishbowl… but denying it again and again.”

There was a swift wind that ruffled his quills on his back.

“Brr…” he felt the chill and got up, rubbing his arms and blowing some hot air into his hands. “It’s gonna be winter soon… I can’t come see the moon all the time like this. This isn’t a goodbye or anything… it’s kinda like…” he looked back up at the moon, shining as there wasn’t a cloud in the sky to dull its glow. “Permission.”

---

A pot crashed to the floor as the other girls in the storage room all stopped their cluttering chores and watched as Soler backed away from Luna.

She quickly turned around with glossy eyes, “Leaving..? Why? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing’s wrong!” Soler shook his hands out, and then looked around at the people around him.

Shoot. She should have come with me to our tree… but she just had to decide that she’d finally listen to her father for once and not leave the village!

Luna opened her mouth to say something but stopped as she closed it tight.

She forced her eyes not to blink, and quickly grabbed Soler’s arm, dragging him out of the room so no one could see the very real threat of tears coming to her eyes. One blink, and she would be a mess in front of those who looked up to her family for guidance and leadership.

Soler felt bad about whispering the news into her ear, but she refused to come with him, what else could he have done?

They hiked in silence as Soler tried to explain himself but Luna shushed him every chance he got a word out.

Finally, they were at their tree, where he originally asked her to go. “Luna, say something!” He begged when she let him go and spun around.

“Soler… I don’t want you to go.” She admitted, her voice shaking a moment in her emotions.

“I know… I know that, okay?” He gently approached her, placing his hands on her arms. “Don’t cry, Luna… I’ll come back! I promise! I’ll bring you lots of things too. You’ll see, it’ll be like I never left.”

“…You don’t have to go, do you?” she looked up, and it broke his heart to see her so upset.

“…No.” he whispered, letting the word slip out of his mouth. “I want to go, though.”

“But why?” She moved away a second, “Am I not good enough?” she then raced back into his arms, hugging him tightly. “I thought you were going to protect this village!”

“I-…” he was losing it.

Why should I go?

He looked away.

Any guy would want to stay. Luna was amazing. Her father adored him. The village was just giddy to accept him into their family… so why?

He remembered.

“Luna, I have a power that is extremely dangerous, hidden inside of me.” He took her hands in his own, holding them together. “I do care about you, a whole awful lot, but…” he turned his head away from her, thinking carefully on his next words. “I also want to make sure that when I come back, I’m strong enough to protect more than just your village.” His eyes bore a witness of his love for her, but he worried she couldn’t understand. He had turned back to her, but she was still emotionally distraught, letting tears fall more willingly now that it was just the two of them.

That was Luna for you, always dropping her front for Soler. She only cared that he loved her, and the rest was meaningless.

But she clearly feared his words, and didn’t seem to understand why he was doing this.

Luna sniffed, looking at his nose and lightly moving her hand to drift a finger onto it, letting it slide down and reach his muzzle before continuing the stroke down to his mouth. “Just… stop talking, okay?”

He felt something flare up inside him, but he wasn’t sure what it was. The strange touch was hypnotic, it altered his thoughts a moment before her finger stopped at his mouth, and her words brought him back to reality. He hadn’t felt anything that powerful before, but he also chose to ignore it.

“Luna…” He looked down at her finger, feeling his lips move under its touch… He felt his whole body surrendering and he didn’t understand why. His will to continue to comfort and encourage her was the only thing keeping him talking. Reassuring her that he was coming home was the only thing that matter now. He had to make sure she understood him. That he would, honestly, come back!

“I said to stop… please…” she ducked her head into his chest fur, ruffling her face deeper inside it to rid herself of the tears and feel something warm and inviting again.

“I don’t care how powerful you are.” She spoke boldly now. “I don’t care! I love you!” she pulled out of his chest and lightly kissed him.

Now he was confused.

A moment ago, he was ready to pack up with a goal in mind. Hone his skills and help others, come back for Luna with gifts in hand, and live the rest of his life as a guardian over the little village.

But now..?

All he wanted to do was warp his arms around her thin waist, skim the skin of their lips over the other’s, and not think at all. Just feel.

He held her so close that there was nothing between them and brought her deeper into her misaimed kiss. It was rash and bold, and her inexperience led her to just dive and go for it. Thankfully, this didn’t deter his affections for her. He found where her lips were and started to kiss back, feeling her sudden strength falter and finally, she too surrendered her weight into him.

When air was required, the two parted and just hung in the moment, unable to separate feelings from reason.

“…How could I leave you?” his breathless confession gave her courage. “I’m madly in love with you, too…”

She went for another kiss, leaving him even more conflicted.

Nothing wanted to resist her, but everything in him knew he needed too.

She lured his resistance back down inside of him, pulling out a vulnerability he had never felt before. She lightly slid her hands down to his embracing arms, enticing him to follow her towards the side of their tree.

I have to stop this… if I don’t, she’ll never let me go.

His brain knew that, but his heart kept letting her lead.

Darn it! How is she so good at this!?

Though innocent to the ways of love, Luna seemed to have a knack for it. Whether she had been planning this for a while or just imagined it happening and played it out didn’t matter. Whatever it was, Luna was keeping him there, and that thought…

Scared him.

Luna leaned against the tree, pulling him close again as her fingers returned to the side of his face and brought his kiss deeper and deeper into her. When she moved away, he felt like the planet had shifted, opening his eyes and wondering what on earth was happening. It was great, but it was so sudden. What were we even talking about again?

“Then don’t go. Stay with me. Soler, don’t you want to stay?” it was so sweet, so inviting… he remembered once again what it was he had to do, what awful power lie inside of himself, and immediately took his hands away and placed them on the tree. They were on either side of her while he breathed a moment, shifting his eyes as he didn’t know now what to do. Give into his mind or his heart? What was the better option here?

“Please… don’t make this harder on me than it already is.” He was begging her to free him. Whatever entrapment she was casting on him, it was working all too well. “I don’t want to constantly have the fear that my power will burst out of me, hurt you or someone in your village.”

“Our village…” she cooed, moving towards his lips again.

Was this manipulation!? Should I care if it is or isn’t?! Luna… all I can think about is you now! Why is this so hard to bear…

In the middle of another passionate, but inexperienced kiss, he found his arms twitching to return to her sides… but he pulled away and placed them back on the tree’s trunk, resisting.

“No.” He had to side with his mind. Otherwise… otherwise… what horrors could happen to them if my powers whacked out and killed them all!?

“No, Luna…” He stated it again so faintly this time, she thought he had just been breathing.

She kissed his cheek and he pulled away once more, shaking his head but keeping his eyes shut. One look at her and he would be at her mercy again. He had to keep it together, somehow…

“Luna… Luna, I love you, but we’re so young.” It took every bit of him to fully move away, to think of her safety over the feelings she was tugging out of him. Like a tug-o-war, he kept fighting her gentle pulls and pulled back with his own. I have to win. For her safety. Why doesn’t she understand that!?

He shook his hand, rubbing the other hand through his quills as he moved away from their tree. I gotta calm down. If I don’t think clearly, I’ll disappoint The Chief… Or maybe… this is what The Chief meant by convincing me? No, no! They wouldn’t play me that way!

“Soler… I’m not a child anymore.” She asserted herself, stepping in front of him and cutting off his doubting thoughts. “It’s okay to kiss me. I don’t mind-“

“No, that’s not it! That kiss was amazing! Are you kidding me?!” His goofy side was coming out with his nerves, and she giggled at his response.

“Really..? It was my first…” she held her hands in front of herself, soaking in the praise and blushing with accomplishment. “But besides that… was it enough to make you stay?”

He froze, his hands still mid-motion running along the spikes on his head.

“…I just don’t think you’re listening to me.” He admitted, being honest. “I think all you hear is that I’m going away, but what you’re not hearing is that I’m coming back. For you, Luna. I’m going away and coming back for you.”

“You’re… leaving for me?” she decided not to argue about the ‘listening’ part, and instead, try and seek understanding.

“Yes!” he excitedly threw his hands up to his sides. “Yes! I want you safe! I want to make sure everyone is safe with me around! Do you understand, Luna? I want to stay, but I first have to make sure I’m safe.”

He put his hands to his heart, desperately hoping she’d understand now.

“You’ve seen my power before, haven’t you, Luna? Have you forgotten so quickly what I can do?”

“…You can… do incredible things.” She seemed to be understanding a bit more now, opening up to the idea more. This gave him strength in his resolve, but every fiber of his being wanted to reach for her cheek and pull her into another mutual kiss. He had to resist that urge though. He knew now he had to leave… tonight.

“But those things aren’t always incredibly good. They can also turn incredibly dangerous in seconds. I don’t have any control over it, Luna. What if one day—And I mean one day as in some day—I seriously hurt you beyond my current capabilities? What if, while I’m still growing up, my powers grow with me and I can’t take back what they do?”

Her face sunk into a look of hopelessness. “Do you really think it controls you?” she looked into his eyes.

“I have no idea what it is, or what it can do.” He admitted, moving up and finally letting his fingers curl around her cheek bones and place his forehead to hers. He closed his eyes, squinting them so hard he thought he’d burst into tears if he didn’t. “But I won’t let it happen. I’ll sharpen my powers. I’ll be someone who can save others. Not just on a fluke, but for real. I took a hit for you, remember? I really need you to take this one for me…”

He felt wrong pulling that out of the bag in such a way as he did. But it was his last resort. “Let me go, Luna?” he asked, so sincerely. “Let me go and be a good man.”

She gently… lifted her hand to his own and nodded, crying softly without words.

They stayed in the others embrace for a moment, holding one another as their emotions came back to a somewhat reasonable stability. After a moment of silence, Luna consoled herself and reserved her feelings. She looked back up at him, feeling him gently wipe her tears away with a soft smile on his face.

She finally spoke, “Okay.” She said lightly.

She held a long blink a moment, as if forcing herself to say it again. She opened her eyes and looked up into his again, “Okay…”

That night, Luna stood outside his small, roughly constructed hut the villagers had made for him as he gathered his things. He didn’t have much, but he needed supplies for a long journey. He didn’t give her a set time, not wanting to make any promises he couldn’t keep, but he did give her one last kiss. However, she pulled quickly out of it, not saying a word.

It lingered, that heartache from her silence and reserved attitude as he waved one last time down the track that lead to her home, the lively and pleasant village.

She didn’t wave back, she just winked with a forced smile.

“I’ll be back before you know it, Luna… Every time you see the sunrise-“ he pointed to the moon, “And every time I see the moon, I’ll be thinking of you.”

“…I’ll pray that the sun rises every day then.” She held her necklace tightly in her hand, holding in the words she really wanted to say. “Don’t go… don’t go…”

“I love you… I love you…” every time he wanted to look back, he took another step forward, uttering the words after her own silent pleadings.

She mouthed more of the same desperate longings for him to rush back into her arms, returning to her and forgetting everything he had said previously. But as he left earshot, heading off into the night, she could see each firm foot-fall at every step he dared to take. She knew then that he wouldn’t be tempted to turn back to her, and formed a strong face in the mist of her turmoil inside her heart.

She would be there when he returned, he just knew it.

He had to trust his gut.

But his gut was saying…

Don’t go.

---

Soler woke up with Sally hurriedly placing blankets on his head.

“H-huh?”

“Quick! Get me some hot water, anything to fight off the cold.”

“C-cold?”

“You idiot!” she saw he had awoken and placed her hands on her hips, stubbornly. “You fell asleep just before the winter night! Are you asking to get ill or something?”

He lifted a cold hand to his head, burning with a fever.

“Guess I was…” he joked, but Sally just rolled her eyes and then smiled at him.

“Well, how inconsiderate of you. Now we have to use precious medicine meant for emergencies on your slight fever.”

“Is it that bad?”

“I didn’t emphasize ‘slight’, did I?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Then you’re not doing so hot.”

“Duly noted. Temperature?”

“What do you care? Your fever is your own doing. I’ll get a cold washcloth for your head, just don’t move from that spot, alright?” She was harsh, but there was always a loving touch behind each sarcastic jab.

I was almost thankful I got sick. Sally personally stayed by my side and nursed me. It was day two and she was making soup for me, waving off another freedom fighter from worrying about me. She said, “I’ll handle this one. You just make sure Nicole doesn’t overheat with all the decoding Tails and Rotor are making her do. Is Amy still with Sonic? Tell her he’s fine and he’s just being a baby. How about Shadow? You should tell him Soler’s fallen ill by his own accord. I don’t know, don’t ask me. We found him lying on a hill shivering in the absolute worst state last night. We would have never found him without Team Chaotix picking his signal up while searching for badniks.”

Soler smiled slightly, his eyes blinking a few times as he listened in on her voice while waking up to its worried tone, honing all his senses onto it.

Then she came in, making him nervous as he found he pulled the covers of the blankets up a bit before Sally saw he was awake.

With a kind smile, she put some food down and helped him sit up, “How are you feeling now? You gave us all quite a scare.” She slightly repeated herself, but this time, with a bit more care.

He didn’t really know how to tell her. It was on accident that he had fallen ill, but he was purposefully there to watch the moon…

“How’s the resistance?”

“The Freedom Fighters won’t give up, you know that. Much like how Sonic won’t quit complaining either.” She rolled her eyes before winking and leaning slightly closer to Soler, “At least you were knocked out before you could start whining, right?”

He snickered, “No one likes a cry-baby.”

“Ah, but everyone loves babies.” Sally joked again, “At least you’re being good. Anything hurt?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine.”

She surprised him by placing her hand on his forehead, checking his temperature and then comparing it with her own. She moved closer and lifted the hand away, placing it down for support as she placed her forehead up against his own. He wasn’t sure if it was the fever that made his cheeks feel warm or not, but she pulled her lips back into a fine line and ‘hmm’d at the results of her investigation into his temperature. “It’s going down, which is good.”

He stared at her for a moment, the closeness between them bringing a small pulse of joy to his soul. He had to be utterly still, worried if he moved, she would also move away.

“Sally…” he begins, but the second he says her name…

“Am I not good enough?”

“Ahgh…”

Soler was the one to pull away first, feeling himself falter as Luna’s voice pierced his mind from that profound memory he had dreamed again. He hated that he was the reason the closeness between him and Sally was unbreached, but couldn’t be disgruntled about it now.

“Soler?” Sally worriedly leaned back before reaching for him.

He raised a hand, gripping the other to his head. “I’m fine. I’m fine… Sorry.” He didn’t want to explain it, but it wasn’t the physical illness that was plaguing him.

All he wanted to do was ask her. Why did guilt grip at him so much?

He didn’t want to shame his memory of Luna, his first ever love. He didn’t know whether true love was a thing or not, but he didn’t want to believe he could never find it again either.

“…You don’t have to go, do you?” she looked up, and it broke his heart to see her so upset.

“…No.” he whispered, letting the word slip out of his mouth. “I want to go, though.”

I really want to go, Luna. Please…

“Soler… do you need some more medicine? Here, at least eat something.” She got the food and placed it in front of his ducked head. He nodded, slowly reaching for it as Sally went to get some pills, dipping them in some water as they sprang out into dust. She spun the cup around, letting the particles dissolve and seem to disappear in the water.

“It’s not gonna taste great.”

Anything to drown out the pain.

He took the cup and began to gulp it down, then ate at the warm soup and licked his lips at the lingering flavor.

He didn’t want to hurt Luna again… even if it was just the memory of her.

I’m sorry, Sally. He mentally scolded himself for listening to a memory. But he couldn’t… he couldn’t refuse her again.

“Let me go, Luna? Let me go and be a good man.”

“Hoo… if you ask me, we’ve all been overworked lately.” Sally sighed before sitting on a chair on the other side of the room, kicking a leg over her other and rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Everyone has been demanding so much of us… Eggman is relentless and Shadow and Sonic still haven’t made amends about their last ‘dispute’.” She looked a little strained… this would be the perfect moment.

“You need a vacation.” Soler politely stated with a hint of humor in his gruff voice, due to his condition.

“A beautiful girl like yourself shouldn’t be working day in and day out without some sort of afternoon walk.”

She looked up at him for a moment. After processing what he stated, she smiled and rested her chin on her hand, leaning on the armrest. “Yeah, and get a cold just like you? Becoming useless to everyone for two days..?” she teased with a friendly smile.

Were we… flirting?

“I couldn’t do a vacation, maybe a break though.”

This really was the perfect moment, but before he could try and push the memory of Luna aside, trying to delicately remind himself that she wasn’t even here… but was gone, he faded off into his fever. “Would be… kinda nice… to walk with… someone…again.” his eyes drooped and he finally receded back into his deep sleep.

“Soler? Soler, are you okay?” She stood up, “Soler!” She raced to his bedside, but he could feel the sleep coming on and knew the dream would only continue where it left off.

---

Fire.

Screams had already deafened out into silence.

Soler watched as Luna was killed right before his eyes, then a vile threat from the shadowed figure, unable to be identified through the haze of the smog from the village flames and the burning that blurred Soler’s eyes.

Why did I have to go?

After the terrible events, he held Luna’s body, desperate to sense life in it.

She was gone. Not a single word of goodbye or even a reunion from being gone so long.

His emotions couldn’t handle it. He just clutched her lifeless and bleeding body in his hands. The blood was hot on his hands, but he felt numb to it. The red only blurred in the sight of the massive fog moving like a carpet that smelled of burning flesh and wood.

His eyes were half open, squinting through the tears and stinging air. He could hardly breathe. His heart was smashed under the stress, not even wanting to beat anymore, but the adrenaline kept him alive.

Red… the sky soaked the world in an endless red.

Dawn.

When everything in him finally came back to reality, he carried Luna’s body through the ash-filled village; at least, what remained of it. He continued to walk as though a ghost passing through a memory. For a moment, the village was alive again. Young men and women walked at a leisurely pace to do their chores, and the elders of the village worked their wheels or cooked their meals safely tucked away in their little homes. Life was blissful and uneventful. Was that why I had to leave?

He was entranced in his vision before his eyes twitched when his foot bumped up against something.

Looking down, he noticed he had knocked a small doll to the side, but it slowly rolled back to look directly up at Soler. Its expression was singed with black soot. What have I done?

Of course it wasn’t Soler’s fault, but he fell to his knees, gripping Luna’s body and letting her blood dry on his white fur.

He crumbled in the center of the village, leaning forward all the way till his head rested just above her side, crying out a loud, grieving mourn.

His wailing chased the birds that came to eat the corpses away, cawing at his abruptness in the now stilled morning.

How long have I been like this? How much time has passed?

Crying out in such agonized pain, he felt his voice grow sore and losing itself.

More. I have to cry more. It’s not enough!

Some lasting flames still licked at the remaining and burnable woods, straws, and yarns that were all but dust by the time Soler had arrived.

Luna… Chief… the villagers…

Gone.

---

Soler flinched awake, gasping as he felt his breath fill with clean air again. Fresh, pine-smells from the forest outside blew from the window above his low-riding bed. The dews of the last rainfall lingered in the cool breeze as he tried to get his bearings again.

The heat of that morning… it was so vivid and tangible just a moment ago. It was immediately replaced by this… this peaceful and serene morning.

His sweat made him shiver, gripping the blankets and trying to rub them against his shoulders and arms.

He felt better physically, but there was still a fever deep in his memory… a fever of Neo Metal Sonic… a recalling of past events that were now, eternally, seared into his mind.

He hadn’t had that real of a nightmare for a while. He thought—maybe, his PTSD had finally passed. He wondered for a long time while taking his walks, reading his books, training in the forest, and on the mountain sides that perhaps he could live a normal life again.

That apparently wasn’t the case.

“Aughh…” he rubbed his head, wiping his nose on his glove and looking himself over. “I need a bath.” He stuck his tongue out, disgusted at the idea of him being asleep for so many days in the same, now sweat-soaked bed.

He flipped the sheets over and began to walk towards the bathroom. Gripping the hose from atop the makeshift shower, he washed himself down and cleaned his clothes the old-fashion way. All he had were his shoes and gloves anyway, he wasn’t as lazy and inconsiderate of other people’s time as some would have supposed.

After that… he just got up and went to look for something to do. If his mind was occupied, maybe his heart would be too.

Tails and Rotor… Sally had mentioned they were getting Nicole to work on some things. He wasn’t really tech savvy, but he could hold his own in a conversation if needs be.

He decided to head over there first, and wasn’t surprised to see Sonic and Shadow peering with different expressions at the results flying through the computer screen.

Yikes… Shadow looks concerned.

He was probably the only person alive who would read Shadow’s multiple frowns. Where one may say he’s angry, Soler would say he’s just thinking. Someone could accuse Shadow of being condescending, and Soler would politely suggest he’s just showing some tough love.

Amy once thought Shadow was being rude, but Soler calmly explained he was attempting humor.

Sonic would battle with Shadow through wit and brawns, but Soler just knew that’s how they got along.

So when he saw Shadow’s face, he knew he wasn’t ticked off by Sonic’s grin, but simply worried about the results he was reading.

“You’re being too rash, Sonic.” Shadow almost growled the words out, but there was a refined elegance to his stance. He pivoted a foot toward him, removing his folded arms to gesture one out to him. This action forced Sonic to look at the movement and pay attention to his words, which made Soler smile, because Shadow seemed to also have an understanding of how Sonic worked. “If we try an all-out, frontal attack with these numbers… Some of our people may not be coming back.” He tightened his fist, showing his resolve in not losing anymore comrades.

Soler tightened the line of his mouth, not sure what he thought of that statement. If Shadow’s concerned, then this next raid must be a big deal…

“What’s to worry about?” Sonic shrugged, still happy-go-lucky as ever. “We’ve got Nicole to figure out all the possibilities and she’s already confirmed what we need is in there. We just have to use some sneak and distraction to get it out.” He wiggled his fingers down and moved them swiftly to the side, as though stating the ‘distraction’ part would be a walk in the park.

Soler decided to lean on the door post, listen for further clues before possibly saying anything.

“…Nicole.”

The voice freaked him out a moment, leaning up again from his relaxed stance and turning to see Sally stride forward, placing herself between Shadow and Sonic. She really did look regal, positioning herself right between the two different opinions of these powerful men.

“Is that machine you found really worth all this trouble?”

Sonic put a hand to his hip, tilting his head to Sally as though hoping she would side with him, but looked up to see Nicole’s answer instead.

“… I’m so sorry, Sally. But if Eggman really does complete the framework and design that Tails and Rotor showed me… it would be devastating for the entire Freedom Fighting cause. Not only would he be trying to mass-robotize whole continents with this device, but the level of fire-power in these system outlines also concludes a possible, massive war-weapon.”

“Is he that desperate to know our location?” Shadow countered, but Sonic snickered a reply as quick as blue lightning.

“Nah, he’s through trying to find our many stashed bases all over Mobius. He’s ready to just blow it all sky-high and rebuild later!” Sonic’s attitude rubbed Soler the wrong way, and he finally stepped forward.

“You should be taking this a bit more seriously, Sonic.” Defending Shadow’s end, Soler watched as Sonic and the others turned to address him.

“Well, well. If it isn’t the moon-watcher.” Sonic smiled, raising an eyebrow. “You done with your ‘light cold’ yet?”

Soler knew he was teasing him, but he still felt a little insulted. His eyelids dropped halfway to show his unamused expression as Sonic twitched at his serious response.

“Geez, you usually love my quips.” He pfft’d. “Someone’s been hanging out with Mr. Grumpy Quills too much.” He looked to Shadow. “Your boy’s up.”

“He’s not a boy, nor mine.” Shadow glared to Sonic but stepped up to Soler. “Your timing couldn’t be more perfect. We’ve got an ideal mission for your abilities. We need someone to endure Eggman’s offenses while we storm his fortress. We’re after that.” He pointed back to the screen as Nicole showed the massive fighter ship, still under construction in some areas.

Nicole then materialized in front of Sonic and Sally, stepping boldly to Shadow and Soler. “Is this really a clear plan?” She questioned, looking sheepishly scared at Shadow’s suggestion. “He’s an able fighter, but…”

“What Nicole is trying to say,” Sally about-faced, moving over to Shadow and Nicole. “Is that Soler is inexperienced and can get a little emotional when coming to his full power.”

Soler looked down, a little embarrassed she was speaking this way about him.

“Then I haven’t trained him enough.” Shadow quickly looked back at him, a true teacher’s anger as Soler felt fear spike up his spine.

Shadow gripped the top of Soler’s head, “If your last little outburst didn’t teach you patience and reason, then I have no choice but to put you through the ringer…” he started to drag Soler out the door, and knowing how awful Shadow’s routines could be, Soler knew his struggles wouldn’t be enough to satisfy Shadow’s perfectionist views this time.

“Wait-!” Sally outstretched her hand.

Oh, thank Chaos!

Sally looked kindly to Soler, “…He just recovered. I’ll talk to him. I’m the leader of the Freedom Fighters after all. I’ll judge whether he’s really ready or not.”

Shadow gave her a stern look as he slowly released Soler’s head from his firm, killer death grip.

“Very well… but if he doesn’t amount to your expectations…” He folded his arms, glaring down at Soler, as if to say- Don’t disappoint me a second time.

Soler gulped. Even after all these years, Shadow still saw him as a hopeless child.

Sonic clutched his stomach and laughed, walking over and swinging an arm around Soler. “Man! You should have seen the look on your face!”

Soler pouted, “It’s not like you haven’t had a time where Sally’s saved your butt either, Blue.”

“Hahahahaha-Watch it.” Almost as if a tick on a clock’s hand, Sonic’s charming ways shifted to a serious look of humiliation.

“Heh. Men will be boys.” Sally shook her head and then waved for Soler to follow her. “Come on, Soler. I’m ready for that ‘walk’ now.”

Soler could feel a gentle but heated blush on his face, but Sonic leaned toward his cheek with a suspicious side glance, leering on the colorful pink of his face…

“Now, what’s this..?”

 “Ah! G-got to go! Can’t keep a princess waiting!” Soler quickly leaned away and dashed. Not wanting to be found out, he charged to Sally’s side.

Sonic seemed confused, but only thought about it for a moment before growing bored and shrugging it off.

Shadow walked the opposite direction away from the two, and Sally sighed after seeing him out of ear-shot. “That was close.” Sally breathed out.

“Huh?” Soler looked back at her, seeing her face light up with a short giggle.

“What do you mean, ‘huh’?” she lightly nudged his shoulder, “I mean I just saved you from Shadow, the drill sergeant.” She laughed a little more boldly now that the two of them were heading into the thick of the forest.

She touched her head and arched her arm in, really letting herself enjoy the feeling. “Man, I haven’t laughed that good in a while!”

He smiled, seeing her happy made him feel good, even if that laughter was directed at an odd circumstance…

“Hehe… What’s gotten into you, anyway? I thought you wanted to take a walk and not get involved in war affairs for a while.” She looked onward, but Soler just kept staring at her.

“That’s…” he finally looked away, uncomfortable about mentioning Sonic’s words.

“What? You really think I don’t know you well enough?” She raised a playful eyebrow, and for a moment, he realized she thought he was going to say something else.

“N-no, no. That’s not-“ Before he could say anything more, she suddenly quieted down and smiled. She closed her eyes and put her hands behind her back.

“…Hmm… Maybe I only imagine the parts of you I don’t know.” She looked up at the sky, lingering there as Soler was completely captured in how she looked. Her brown fur in the morning light made a blonde line around her body. Her red hair glistened and waved like grass along the hillside.

She finally positioned her gaze forward towards the continuing dirt path, a sorrowful expression taking root in her eyes. “I often think you’re this poor, misunderstood softie who just has a pretty hard-knock past… who doesn’t? But then I see you lose control like that… and I begin to see why Shadow takes you so seriously.”

He felt his mouth grow dry, nerves at what she was saying sinking in.

“I’m…” He looked away from her. “Dangerous, I know.”

“No, not that.” She quickly spoke out, but then corrected herself, “I mean, by all accounts, each member of the Freedom Fighters is possibly dangerous. Maybe you are destructive, but… So are the rest of us. In one way or another.” Her comforting, yet completely brash words made him slowly turn back to her.

“You’re not afraid?”

“I’m only afraid of what Eggman knows, and what I don’t know about what he knows.” She tightened her stare to a deeper resolve, and he knew he touched a nerve then.

“S-sorry.” He looked forward, realizing he should drop that subject…

She grew serious then, ducking her head down, walking with more precision and a stronger stride. “I have to be everything this resistance needs me to be… I can’t afford to be afraid. Only cautious and wise.”

Soler nodded, “I think I understand that.” He then saw the awfulness of war in her face, the sweet girl that had to pull everything back to be a vicious warrior who couldn’t pay the price of defeat.

He felt his hand reach for her, but withdrew it back to his side, rubbing his arm.

A pair of lips mouthed ‘Don’t go’ in his mind’s eye.

His eyes quaked and he froze a moment, shaking his head and gripping it to try and rid himself of the jarring memory.

“Soler?” Sally stopped walking and turned back to him, looking concerned. “Is something wrong? Was it something I said?”

He looked to her kind and compassionate expression.

…How could I leave you?

“Augh!”

Soler turned away from her, gripping his head with more force now. “Stop it!”

Sally looked confused, but carefully walked towards him with her arms out. “Soler… what’s going on? Are you hurt?”

I’m madly in love with you, too…

“Soler?”

“I’m… It’s a memory!”

“A memory?” Sally stopped, letting her foot delicately land in front of her for a second as she processed what he was saying. “Is this..?”

…Was it enough to make you stay?

“Augh…” he fell to his knees. “Luna… let me go. Let me be a good man… let me… move on.” He found himself curling up, his quills sticking out and shaking.

Sally waited a moment, but couldn’t stand watching him suffer like this.

“Soler.” She firmly stated, tightening a fist, “This isn’t real.”

His tearing eyes burst open, looking up at Sally who morphed with Luna’s image, coming towards him.

“It’s just a memory, right? It can’t hurt you, Soler… You’re not alone.” She gently sat beside him and then…

He could feel her touch.

He breathed hard, hunched over as he was, while she gently glided her fingers with a stroke against his back, lovingly calming and comforting him. “This must be a side I don’t know about you, yet.” She concluded, letting her fingers weave through his standing quills and gently encourage them to lower back down.

“I’ve seen Sonic in a cold-sweat, waking in a frenzy and heard him say it was all just PTSD from losing his uncle… But he got his uncle back… and those nightmares ended. I had almost forgotten that not all people are as fortunate.”

He looked up, and gasped when he saw a tear streaming down her face.

It was like a goddess weeping, her look of serenity. “I had to let my father and mother go, too… I often forget that feeling. It was like freedom and remorse all crammed into one, big heart.” She smiled gently as she blinked her eyes open, showing more tears falling from her strong, sweet presence.

He couldn’t help but stare, like a welcomed angel to help him through his grief.

He felt so embarrassed, having such a huge episode in front of her. He squished his face against the earth and rubbed himself into it deeper and deeper, wishing he could just barrow away and be left to his miserable self.

“I don’t deserve this.” Soler admitted, “… I deserved to die instead of-“ He found himself choking to say her name in front of Sally.

Sally seemed to understand that he didn’t want to discuss it, and removed her hand from his back, nodding with empathy. “Let’s not talk further about it then.”

She helped him up, letting him get his balance again before smiling up at him, “We can still have a nice walk after this, right?”

He was grateful for her humor, and nodded. “Please,… don’t end the journey on my account.”

She thought that funny too. “Journey? I suppose in many ways, it is.” She began to walk beside him again, just letting him catch his breath.

“…Soler, I want you to know…” she gently took his arm, seeing him stagger a moment. “I’m here if you need anything.” She looked up at him again. “Anything at all.”

For a moment, he could see a whole different world in her eyes. A world where there wasn’t death and mourning; a world where a beautiful woman and distraught man could walk through the woods and feel at peace by one another’s sides.

Then, there was a loud explosion.

The two turned immediately back to base, hearing shouting as they looked up.

Sally cried out, “Eggman! He’s already found us!”

A squadron of Eggbots and more elite soldiers suddenly dropped from the sky like metallic rain. They crashed into huts and homes, buildings and gardens, sparing nothing as they continued their onslaught.

“The plans must have been old. He’s already created his war ship!”

Soler’s eyes scanned the blasts from the robot army’s arm-canons and lasers sparking fires everywhere. The screams…

Everyone running around in horror…

He went to grip his head but stopped himself, shaking as his muscles twitched with rage and rising vengeance.

His eyes slowly narrowed down. He bolted forward, summoning his power within him and charging back to the hideout.

“Soler!” Sally wasn’t trying to stop him, only alerting him to her presence close behind him.

“Eeeevvvillll day, citizens!” A voice spoke through a speaker, ringing through the sky and to the ground. The EggCarrier was a fierce looking blimp with Eggman’s nose as its point, and his mustache as its sharp and spiked wings.

“Whohooho! Weren’t expecting company now, were you?!” Eggman’s booming voice fueled the emotions inside of Soler. He definitely didn’t care if his power was stable inside him at the moment. All Soler cared about was getting to that ship fast enough!

Suddenly, as if summoned by his desire to fight, Tails and Sonic were seen soaring at an angle in the X-Tornado. Seizing his opportunity, Soler pushed off and grabbed the tip of its wing.

“Woah!” Sonic looked to the side of him, seeing Soler.

A moment of unspoken resolve was sent across the space between them, and Sonic paused a moment to register the sheer determination in Soler’s eyes.

There was unfinished business. He needed to vent and he needed this fight. Now.

Sonic smiled, understanding the look in his eyes and lowering a hand down to him. “Well, come on then.” He spoke out calmly as Soler nodded, lifting an arm up to grip the wing better and grab Sonic’s hand.

He climbed aboard the wing next to Sonic and hung on with one hand tightly clasped down on the front edge of the wing.

He looked down to Sally, slowing her run as she gapped at his feat.

“…I’m sorry.” He lightly spoke out, but he saw her nod as though she understood the look in his eyes as well, and raced to help the village of Freedom Fighters.

“You tagging along, too?” Tails looked up and to the side, raising an eyebrow at the sudden appearance of Soler.

Sonic chuckled, looking back at Soler as he smirked.

He gave Tails a thumbs-up, “More like a stowaway. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Not at all!” Tails looked just as fired up, but maybe in a different way. He had been cooped up with Rotor and Nicole for so long… he probably needed to let out steam and give his head a break.

“Although, this is rather a tedious mission… You sure you can keep your powers under control?” Tails inquired, but Sonic quickly interjected for Soler.

“Shadow’s his teacher, right? I’m sure he’ll be fine. I’ve fought by Soler’s side plenty of times. He’s a bro!” Sonic winked and then looked to Soler, showing some confidence in the youth. “Let me ask you something.” He said this with a humorous tone in his voice, but also with one of sincerity. “That machine we were talking about before… the massive Robotizer… Think you can use that chaos of yours to good use?”

Soler thought about it a moment. He wanted to say, ‘Absolutely!’ but he was somewhat unsure.

After all this time, he was still scared of his abilities. But now, he wanted to take courage. He wanted to be more than his nightmares.

He glared towards the EggCarrier. “Leave it to me.”

“We need something strong and sure. You ready for this?”

“…I will be.” Soler felt every fiber of his being fill with chaos power. It was almost as if the power inside of him knew how desperately he needed to prove himself. He wasn’t a ghost of his past, he was still alive. He could still fight.

Tails began to warn them, turning the plane at a sharp right to have the plane perfectly adjacent to a loading dock where some of the robots were falling from.

“Jump off here! I’ll take some out before they hit the ground!” Tails hollered out.

“Good thinking, Tails!” Sonic looked to Soler. “Ladies first.”

Soler rolled his eyes and jumped. While Sonic chuckled and jump below him, Soler smirked and grabbed Sonic’s top quill. “Then,” he spun in the air to throw Sonic into a horde of marching robots that were about to fall below. “After you!” His tactical swing was so strong that Soler forced Sonic to instinctively spin into a ball, taking out the lines of robots like a bowling ball on the loading dock.

Sonic created a path as Soler began to punch and round-house kick stragglers who managed to dodge Sonic’s attack.

Sonic kept spin-dashing, coming back to homing attack any robots aiming for Soler as Soler let out a few Chaos Spears and then showered the area inside with a Chaos Hailstorm. “HAAAAAA!!!”

The robots were stabbed through and misfired, hitting the loading dock as its side became detached.

“W-woah!” Sonic unspun and put a hand to the unstable metal, seeing the dock slide off one hinge and begin to dangle a moment from the EggCarrier.

“Soler!” he cried out, grabbing his hand and swinging him up inside the blimp.

Soler slid inside, seeing a few robots fire at him and dodged as best he could while still on the ground and holding Sonic’s hand.

“Take… this!” with his torso straining, he flung Sonic up from the edge before the boarding dock detached and began falling towards the village. Luckily, the X-Tornado took out the falling debris to be less dangerous, and Sonic spun into more of the large army.

Soler felt a laser glaze his shoulder and another fire into his side.

“Awk!” He fell to a knee, not sure which area to grab first. “S…Sonic, get out of the way!” he felt his power charging. His fingers twitched. He was going for the machine…

The machine had just started to descend, a large panel on the blimp’s floor opened in a spiral as the robots were flung out of the blimp from the powerful winds.

“Hmmm!? And what are you planning to do!?” Eggman’s voice blasted in his ears.

“I’m going to…” Soler stopped speaking a moment, looking below as the wind began to scoot his feet towards the opened hole. “Grrk…” he gritted his teeth, trying to stay upright and not get sucked into the wind tunnel.

Sonic grabbed a bar near him and looked to Soler, straining to stay upright as well. “How much time you need?”

“I…” Soler felt himself faltering. The chaos power began to rage inside of him. What was he fighting for? He just wanted to get rid of all these feelings. It was too much on him.

What am I fighting for? Luna’s memory? A future for the Freedom Fighters? Why can’t I make up my mind?

Almost at once, he saw the machine turn on, wheeling two giant gears as the beam charged.

“Soler!” Sonic cried out, “NOW!”

He heard… but he couldn’t move.

His eyes shook.

Luna…

Chief…

Shadow…

Sonic…

Sally…

He closed his fist, then his eyes, and ducked his head. The power around him was growing in unusual strength.

“You didn’t have to do that…” she commented, fixing him up before tightening the bandages as he held in another painful cry, puffing his cheeks up with air. ‘Mercy…’ he thought to himself. She smiled at his cute attempt to swallow the air back down but knew what it all meant. “But I’m very grateful you did.” she held him in a stare for a moment, but it felt like a long while to him. Looking into her eyes… was like watching a constellation go by…

She turned with a blush, “So is my father-!” she chimed in, clearing her throat at her obvious nerves that spiked as he didn’t look away from her. “A-and my village! We’re all in debt to your sacrifice and-and…”

He shook his head, a softer side coming out of him as his face turned to one of hope.

“As long as you’re alright, that’s all that matters.”

“…Thank you.”

He could see the memory, but the voice was his own. He knew now. He knew what he was fighting for.

“Please… think of the real people around you… think of the hero you want to be… the one Luna saw in you… that day you saved her life.” Amy said.

His eyes flexed and his pupils dilated. He recounted taking that bullet for her.

His hand twitched, the light in it slowly fading away…

“Life is worth saving, Soler… Don’t throw your life away for one victory… that needlessly leads to further suffering and pain. We’d all miss you, Soler… we all love and need you so much…” she lowered her head, crying into his chest as the warm tears cooled his boiling rage…

“This isn’t a redemption anymore.” Soler smiled, looking up with a relief he hadn’t found in years. “I have people to protect again. I have a me I want to be. I’m not meant to mope around or sob over lost stories…”

“What?” Sonic looked a little weirded out at his spoken narrative. “Look, I’m all for redemption arcs, b-but… is now really the time!?”

“I had my repentance… I had my redemption… it’s time… to save everyone like Luna and her village! Those who don’t have anyone! I’m not as useless as I used to be! I’m strong now! I’m strong enough to save everyone!” He jumped, feeling the wind take him into the line of fire.

“S-…Soler!?!?” Sonic’s eyes widened, “What the… Soler!” thinking the worst, Sonic let go and dived for him.

He didn’t make it in time.

“It’s time for my origin to end… and my new beginning… to start.” Soler smiled, thinking back on the happy times, the good moments from his past and his present. The future… never looked more beautiful.

He saw Sally in his mind’s eye, he saw Luna next to her, happily cheering him on and then looking to Sally, smiling to her and then back to Soler.

“Thank you… Luna.” He let the power soar through him, “I’ll never stop loving you… but thank you for letting me love more than I ever thought possible.”

The laser blasted out its robotic chemical beam, but as the metal began to engulf his being, losing his will…

His chaos reversed, blasting out a Chaos Canon as he shoved his half-metallic arms up at the machine, crying out just before losing all feeling in his body. “CHAOS CANNNOOONN!!!”

A huge surge of a synergy burst spread throughout the blimp, the beam was cut off from reaching the ground.

Immediately, the machine began to be coated in an extra layer of metal, as though the chaos power reverted the effects onto itself, and the machine began to malfunction and finally…

KA-KA-KABBBOOOMMMM……!!!!!!!

The sound wave sent Sonic flying back to the side of the ship. “Offph!” he slammed against the wall, but refused to give up. Thinking his friend was in need of him, he got himself off the wall and pushed off, fighting the wind-force that was continually funneling him away instead of inside the gapping hole in the middle of the EggCarrier, the exact opposite of before.

Soler felt the metal slowly chip off his skin, being revived to his normal colors from the roboticization process. He had reversed the effects… this could be huge, but he didn’t have enough strength to dwell on it further.

He could feel something launch into himself and pull him out of the blast of the crippled machine, falling in pieces, being blown off and toppling through the sky, shot into dust by the X-Tornado.

His ears were ringing with deafness. His eyes glazed as the steel-like sight returned to normal and Sonic landed on the X-Tornado.

Everyone below… are they okay? I hear… cheering… Sonic… Did you save me?

As he came too, he thought he could see a Silver-quilled hedgehog. He reached for her, seeing only Luna.

“….You did well, Soler. I’m so proud of you. Thank you… for saving everyone.”

“L…Luna…”

“Hehe! You silly, hedgehog! I’m glad you’re not hurt. Do me a favor, okay? Don’t forget what you said… I won’t.”

“I… I will protect them… Luna. For you… and for all those… I care about.”

“Good. Don’t let me down, mister!” ”Soler!”

Sally’s voice broke the trance as he saw the image fade and Sally’s blurry image race through it, falling down to his side.

Was I already on the ground? We landed safely?

“Sonic! What did you let him do!?”

“Me?! Why is it always me?! I saved his life! He was about to die in the line of fire!” animatedly, Sonic looked a bit offended but let Soler down to the ground as carefully as he could. “Hmph, it’s not like you ever worry this much about me.”

“You don’t have cosmic power that could kill you!” she gave him a side glare.

Sonic sweat-dropped a moment and awkwardly shrugged, “But I got a willful soul to worry about…”

“Impulsive, impractical-!”

“S…Sally.” Feeling bad for Sonic, Soler redirected those beautiful blue eyes back to him again.

“Soler… Are you okay? What were you thinking? You could have been robotized or worse!”

“Heh,… Good to … see you too.”

She threw her arms around him, thankful as she tried to hold her emotions within herself. “I was so worried… that you would have become… another painful memory…”

This time, there wasn’t any flashback that would pull him away from her now.

He struggled to lean up, but he willed his body to do so, tucking an arm around her and holding her closer to himself. He rested his head next to hers, hearing her light gasp as she felt his presence more strongly now.

“I promise you, too, Sally… I will be a living memory of how merciful the world can be.”

Sally’s eyes couldn’t hold back the tears.

“Sorry to worry you.”

Sonic stepped back a moment, seeing the two’s interaction, he began to look a little worried himself…

“Is it just me… or did you two get a little… close all of a sudden?” He seemed a bit apprehensive.

Sally glared up at him, “At least he can openly talk deep with me. Unlike some boys I’ve dated.”

“Hey!”

It wasn’t long after that, when Soler finally found a safebox that he hand-painted himself, and put Luna’s necklace in it. He dug a pretty good hole near the hill he star-gazed and admired the moon on, placing the box in it and marking it as a much needed grave for her.

With her body so burnt up, there wasn’t much too bury last time… this was much more peaceful and freeing for him.

So many bodies… at least this was a proper farewell.

This is the least I can do for you… Luna.

He gently bent down and kissed the ground he had just thrown over the box. Leaning up, he looked at the sky, seeing no moon tonight…

“Sleep well… Luna.” He wiped a tear from his eye and walked back to town, hoping to help out in repairing the damages.

Getting back, he hoisted a log with others over his shoulder and began to carry it to its designated site… Then Sally caught his attention.

She seemed to be giving directions and orders, holding a clipboard and checking it often before giving anymore feedback.

He smiled, it gave him strength.

On the way back to get some more lumber, he noticed her wipe her forehead and sit down by a stump, looking exhausted.

It’s time.

He took a deep breath, shaking off the thought of how sweaty and gross he was from lifting and moving large logs all day. He approached her and offered her his hand.

She noticed the crossed black stripes that made an ‘X’ in his glove and looked up.

“I think it’s time for that vacation now.” He charmingly stated.

She smiled, accepting his hand and getting up. “You know… it’s been hard since I left Sonic, but… You’re different, Soler. I feel different with you. In a lot of good ways, n-nothing bad! Ohh…” she hid behind a hand, and the cute retreat from the comment made him blush with an even bigger grin.

“You just… You let emotion sit with you and carry you to new discoveries, Soler. It’s one of the most powerful things about you, your quality of just… surviving through the strength you receive from your past. I know it must be painful, but I admire your strength so much…”

She saw that as strength!?

He was in complete awe at her words.

“I’ve noticed… how much you try and help. How dedicated you are to not losing another friend or fight. You always get up. You never just sink down so far that you can’t find yourself again… sometimes… I feel that’s exactly what I do.” She removed her hand and balled it up, looking away.

Soler then realized that maybe Sally was hurting in a different way from himself. His was a lot more physically affecting his life. Maybe… Sally’s was deeper inside, something that she would never let close to the surface.

His empathy for her skyrocketed, he couldn’t help but pull her a bit closer, move her hand from her face and have her turn to him.

She was amazed at his bold move, but it didn’t seem to miss its point…

“Sally… I don’t want you to suffer. Especially alone… Just like you told me, you can talk to me, too. You can rely on me. I’ve learned the hard way how to hold something in for so long, letting it fester and grow into something ugly and tragic… and I want to help you break out of that habit. It’s so easy to slip into despair… but the people we love don’t want us to feel despair. They want us to be liberated from the pains we hold onto. They want us to remember their best selves…” his voice was full of honest experience, of good intent, and of wisdom beyond his years.

Sally let out a soft sigh, lowering her eyes and letting a small, pleading smile escape her composure. “I like this about you, too… The side of you that lets people feel and experience pain… but also offering yourself to be apart of that pain so they can release it. I’ve seen you help others, but never help yourself. I wanted to help you, I just… didn’t know how.”

He looked to her hand, his around her wrist, and slowly… begins to bring his fingers up to hers and gently, sweetly… enticing them to let go of their tension and uncurl, letting him in.

“Sally… May I ask you on a date?”

She giggled, but looked to their hands intertwining.

“Yes. I’m excited to see what I say.” She teased, and Soler couldn’t help but let out a nervous chuckle. He was falling in love again, and it was different, just like Sally said.

But it was also very reassuring… and very… relieving.

“I’m excited to see where this new path takes me.” He holds her hand tenderly, and the two of them start to walk off together.

I’m so thankful… That I can now share my emotions with others. Because I have had this pain, I can understand them more than ever before. I can love more deeply, care more sincerely, and cherish those things that I’m allowed to keep. I can hold them close, closer to my heart than I was ever willing to do before. I won’t leave the places where I belong, or desert the hearts I have sworn to protect.

The two seemed very happy with their new relationship, watching it take form over the time they’ve shared together. Soler looked up at the spot where the moon would be again.

Luna, I will thank you till I have no breath left to utter, no thought left to think. You’ve shown me a better path and how to truly care about people. I’m sorry for what happened, but I will never be sorry for meeting you, the Chief, and your village. You helped me open up to the world, meet amazing people, like those that could teach me and those who could support me. They’re all such great people, you would have love them.

This time, He gripped Sally’s hand more, pulling his head towards her as she returned the kind gesture by letting her nose lightly bump against his own. A faint blush formed on both their muzzles. I’ll protect the things and people I love… under your watchful, relaxed, night sky’s eye…

The next day, the moon returned. It’s dark grey shapes shifted to look as though a smiling face…

( Here’s the song I’ll be referencing for this little wrap up >//w//< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgmXPCX4VzU Photograph by Ed Sheeran)

Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes

Luna is walking behind Sally and Soler, her hands happily behind her back, laced together as she giddily follows them and then stops. She lifts a leg a little bit, swaying as she lets them walk off,… alone. But it's the only thing that I know… When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes It is the only thing makes us feel alive

Flashback to Soler having his nightmares, but he gets up and walks out to the hallways and knocks on Sally’s door. She opens it and immediately touches his head. It’s pounding and she lovingly kisses it, closing her door and holding his hand, walking out with him and cheerfully trying to take his mind off things to avoid further PTSD.

We keep this love in a photograph We made these memories for ourselves

Luna’s necklace still glows in the buried box, showing many shapes of the moon, time going by. Where our eyes are never closing Hearts are never broken And time's forever frozen still

A memory is shown with Soler, much younger, sitting on a hill next to Luna. Their two heads turn into each other, as if the village never burned and no one ever died.

So you can keep me Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet You won't ever be alone,…

wait for me to come home

There’s a flash of light and Soler is heading off down the road, he holds onto her necklace, he turns and sees Luna trying to keep face. He waves, and puts her necklace in his gloves. As he does, the world shifts to a blazing fire behind him, his eyes red from tears, his gloves dirtied from the many graves he had to dig…

Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul And it's the only thing that I know, know

It’s modern day again, Sally and Soler are laughing and enjoying a meal together. She holds up something for him to eat and he goes to get it with his mouth, but she pulls the fork away, playfully laughing as he pouts. I swear it will get easier Remember that with every piece of you Hmm, and it's the only thing we take with us when we die

He offers her the gesture, when she goes for it, he withdraws the food and kisses her. She embarrassingly flings back and then starts to playfully whack and throw food at him. He laughs and the food fight continues. Then there’s a shift to another time, the two sitting beside one another as their loved ones start to resurface as faded images behind them.

Hmm, we keep this love in this photograph We made these memories for ourselves Where our eyes are never closing Hearts were never broken And time's forever frozen still

The images show Sally as a child, with her loving parents and other friends she’s made and lost along the cruel way towards freedom. Soler has the Chief and Luna, along with many other faces of cheery people he met on his travels. A time where they never knew loss or heartache… but the memories are all pleasant, not a single one is sad or upsetting.

So you can keep me Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet You won't ever be alone

Soler helps Sally put her jacket on, she thanks him and takes up Nicole’s portable device. She turns to him and leans up on her tippity-toes. He does the same and she sighs, frustrated before they briefly kiss and she goes on a mission. He gets antsy, bouncing a bit before charging after her, swooping her up and rushing off on the mission with her.

And if you hurt me That's okay baby, only words bleed Inside these pages you just hold me And I won’t ever let you go

There’s a flash where Soler is holding Luna’s lifeless body, then suddenly he’s reaching for a wounded Sally… She reaches back to him, struggling to breathe as he shifts his chaos energy and blasts the area. Sally is unharmed as he picks her up. She smiles and touches her hand to his cheek, a single stream of tears starts down one of his cheeks, glad to see she’ll be okay. Wait for me to come home Wait for me to come home

Luna is playing hide and seek, peeking over a tree’s trunk as Soler chases after her. Wait for me to come home Wait for me to come home

Instead of Luna, Sally emerges to lean up against the tree, being caught by Soler as he slows the pace down and moves up to her, watching as she presses her back to the tree. He studies her eyes and then her mouth… leaning forward and closing his eyes…

Oh, you can fit me Inside the necklace you got when you were sixteen Next to your heartbeat where I should be Keep it deep within your soul

Luna’s necklace is around Soler’s neck, he’s holding Luna’s hand, she takes her necklace back and kisses him, putting it on herself and holding it close to herself. It means the world to her. He nods, letting her keep it.

And if you hurt me Well, that's okay baby, only words bleed Inside these pages you just hold me And I won’t ever let you go

Soler wakes up from a nap on the same hill, star-gazing when he sees the bright full moon. He then looks over, worriedly for a moment, when he relaxes at seeing Sally sleeping silently beside him, just resting by him as well.

When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me

His memory takes him to Luna, but it rapidly flashes to Sally, sticking there. Under the lamppost back on Sixth street

The two close the gap between each other, holding hands. Hearing you whisper through the phone

Sally chickens out and shakes her head, laughing and holding her hands to her cheeks. Soler tries to get in for one last kiss goodnight but she shakes a finger at him and starts to run off. He snaps his fingers, rushing after her back to the hideout. "Wait for me to come home"

His ear flicks, as if hearing something and turns to see the moon appearing to sit on the hill. Its shadow looks like a figure of a girl, Luna..?

Sally calls for him and he turns back around, sorrowfully deciding not to look back, but knowing time will heal the wounds left in his heart. He smiles and lovingly takes Sally’s hand as they walk back to the hideout. He kisses her hand and she lightly hits his shoulder, bumping her hip into his as though shy. He looks forward, unafraid and undaunted by the moon behind him.

He knew it was only saying goodnight to him.

FIN

#cutegirlmayra #solerthewolf21 #commission examples #soler the hedgehog #sonic oc commission #me commissions

[dozenuts]

Character rundown and current opinions of his fellow Felt. (Cause everyone is doing it and I want to re-write mine for more details)

Doze is a man who has very few fucks to give about anything and everything. On one hand that makes him a very easygoing and mellow individual who has a hard time really holding a serious grudge.  But the inverse of that coin-flip is its hard for him to really have any deep attachments and not much in the way of sympathy or empathy.    It doesn’t help that his memory is terrible and he deliberately ignores or forgets things that are too much a hassle to remember.  While he can dredge memories out of the abyss of his mind...he usually doesn’t bother because it’s tiring and never worth the result. He runs a tattoo parlor which is his personal project turned hobby, though he is a master of forgery and really good at torturing someone and keeping them alive for far longer than they ever wanted to be.  Besides being one of the grunts in the Felt, he oversees the black market meat markets because some folks have some “exotic” tastes in this city.  He himself is a cannibal. Crude and vulgar, he says whatever it is that comes to his mind in a stream of consciousness because he doesn’t take the energy to filter.  He doesn’t have any regrets and any he may have had he is quick to forget about them.  Likes to use his slowing powers to steady his hands but also to ignore long conversations he finds boring.  He’s a bit of a shit stirrer and button pusher...but less out of any grand machinations so much a “oh hey a shiny button to push”.  A bit of a nihilist, he has accepted his status in the lowest ranks of the Felt but also figures if LE and the Felt don’t win then he’s going to be dead anyways so win-win either way for him. Opinions about the other Felt as of this time:  0: Takes steps and measures to tighten up his act and tone down his language around Scratch. In his opinion you can either be noticed by Scratch or not...and there is nothing good that comes from being noticed by Scratch. So he keeps to his jobs without question and tries to not make waves. 01: Enjoys Itchy’s company and tomdickery.  Nothing beats wrecking something and then getting souvlaki afterwards as you throw shit into the river.  Has noted Itchy’s tendency to well...be Itchy. But that’s not his problem so fuckit. 02: Fuck this scrub. 03: (I need to RP a bit more with them but so far...) Doze enjoys Trace’s mix of class with crass and appreciates a man who appreciates himself.  Was the one who tattoo’d Trace and enjoys his company. 04: A complicated affection.  In most cases Doze has fond memories of his various gang members but most of it blurs into just a general haze of positives and negatives. With Clover, he puts in effort to remember the actual small details and memories.  While he’s the type to shrug and accept if anything happened to the rest of the gang, if anything was to happen to Clover it would likely be one of the few things to motivate him to actual anger. 05: (I need to RP a bit more with them but so far...)  Doze loves shit-talking and cracking jokes with Fin.  Considers Fin one of the more attractive members of the gang so it almost breaks his heart how little Fin thinks of himself.  Does what he can to prevent Fin from moterboating him because bich thats gay but actually doesn’t care when Fin does succeed. 06: He has a fair amount of respect for Die, and appreciates the taxidermy collection.  The respect though doesn’t stop Doze from being a crude ass thus getting pin jabbed for his impudence.  But he’s long accepted that is who Die is and this is who he is and he’d beat the shit out of anyone who actually disrespects Die 07: -needs more input- 08: A fair amount of respect. Doze doesn’t really see Snowman as a person so much an eldritch abomination. Both terrifyingly alien but otherworldly beautiful.  Both a muse and a nightmare. Like with Scratch he does what he can to tone down his lingo around her.  09: A good doctor, and Doze can’t help but give Stitch kudos for having the steel cajones to say any discontent regarding Scratch’s orders.  He enjoys having laid back conversations with Stitch, but finds the man a bit too quick to act uppity and offended. 10: -whoomst- 11: -WHOOMST- 12: -WHOOOMST??- 13: God bless this cinnamon roll and his oven that makes cinnamon rolls.  Doze is impressed at Biscuits chipper demeanor and innocence. And he likes eating all of Biscuits food.  A+ no complaints 14: -new phone who dis?- 15:  (I have not rp’d much with this Cans to really know) Nepeta:  Doze thinks she’s swell and enjoys eating sushi and laying on floors catching sunbeams with her.  Thinks she’s a badass bitch and is going to go places. Especially since her connections means she still has a small wiggle of freedom unlike the rest of them. Handy: (Have not interracted much with Handy but Doze likely thinks she’s swell) Damara: Pays her royalties for using her likeness in regards to the naked demon troll girl tattoos he designs.  Enjoys her crass demeanor. If she was to crush his dick into stardust with her heel, he would thank her kindly and ask for another. LE: -shrugs- Maybe daddy will one day come back from the cornerstore.  Who the fuck knows. He doesn’t think about it in the meantime. Caliborn:  He only just met Caliborn but so far he digs the angry little peanuts style.

#ooc #hecking long post #hopefully I did the keep reading proper

[space-age-bachelor]

‘Till Sunbeams Find You

Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr./Mike Dodds

In two years, nobody had noticed Sonny's tattoo. He wished it had stayed that way.

[AO3]

For @biweatherman

It wasn’t a secret. Sonny considered himself to be pretty much an open book, especially when it came to his squad. Just he never had his shirt off around them, and he hadn’t worn short sleeves to work since he was a uni. But one day when Ken brought Jaden in to say hello to his grandfather, the kid spit up on Sonny’s shirt.

He’d never been one for modesty and didn’t even think twice before peeling off his dress shirt and asking for the baby back. He’d been wearing a tank top instead of his normal crew neck undershirt, leaving the simple design on full display. It was a stylized compass on his outer bicep, with an arrow pointing straight up towards his shoulders, but it wasn’t at true north. If it had been it would have just been a compass and the numbers woven into the lines wouldn’t have meant anything.

“Whoa,” Rollins circled him to get a better look at it. “I never knew you had a tattoo.”

He chuckled, trying to keep the conversation good natured, “I got it a year or two after I started here. Wasn’t really a big deal at the time.”

“Oh come on, what’s it mean?” Fin hit the nail right on the head, asking the one question Sonny hadn’t wanted to answer. Ken even took his son back, so he didn’t have anything to distract him from the topic.

“It’s north if you’re holding a compass towards New York from my favorite spot in Palisades Interstate Park. I used to go hiking there.” His smile was tight. He hadn’t been back to that spot since he took the picture of his compass for the artist. It was hard going back there alone, and going with Bella or anyone else just didn’t feel right anymore. The park was haunted now with the ghosts of fond memories.

Rollins nodded, studying the ink, “5.25.16. What are the numbers for? Coordinates?”

It would have been so easy to lie, but Fin had been a ranger and someone was bound to realize sooner or later that the number wasn’t long enough to be a place. “It’s a date. The compass, it’s in memory of a friend.”

Everyone nodded, but no one really understood. They didn’t know off the tops of their heads. It wasn’t there fault. It had been two years and they’d been through a lot since then, but it still hit Sonny like a punch to the gut that they didn’t recognize May 25th as an important date. They’d all been there. Well, not Ken, he had an excuse.

“What friend?” Amanda asked gently, but her tone did nothing to soothe him. Not when he felt she should have been grieving too.

“Mike.”

Both of his coworkers went pale. It didn’t give him the satisfaction he thought it would. It just made him get a shirt even faster than he would have if Rollins hadn’t drawn attention to the design.

The park was closing soon, but Sonny didn’t want to stand. He was comfortable, laying in the grass and watching the sky change from shades of blue to shades of red and orange. It had been a perfect day, a small respite from the tragedy they faced everyday at work. It also had been the first time they’d gotten a day off together in over a month.

“So you’re really leaving us?” he asked the air, not bothering to turn his head to his companion.

“Just a couple more years. Long enough to get a teaching degree. You know I can’t do this forever.”

Sonny squeezed his hand, “Then why do it at all. We can both get out of this. Barba’s setting up an interview with the Brooklyn DA for me. If that goes well, I can leave SVU, do something safer, where people don’t get shot.”

“We’d be settled.” A deep laugh came from his left, “A teacher and a lawyer in a little house in the suburbs. Hell, we could move to Long Island.”

His heart caught in his throat. “I didn’t know you were thinking that far ahead. I mean, it just sounds so domestic. So permanent.”

Mike turned so he was facing Sonny. His eyes were emeralds in the setting sun, the greenest things he had ever seen. He bought their joined hands closer and gave them a quick kiss, “I want permanent with you and if that’s too much, I’ll be happy with whatever you can give.”

When Sonny got back to his little apartment, alone since they still maintained that they lived separately (at least until Mike’s lease was up), he marked his calendar, the day he knew he was going to marry this man. He’d give it another year, maybe two, but on May 20th he was going to propose. Unless Mike beat him to it, of course.

Sonny woke with a start, taking deep breaths to try and calm his racing heart. He hated that this sweet memory had become a nightmare. He feared going back to it in his sleep because he knew it would end with him waking up alone and broken. The latter was nothing new though.

He’d tried to move on. It had been two years since Mike and he still couldn’t have a relationship last longer than three weeks. He felt like he was cheating on him, or that dating someone else would lead to forgetting Mike, but then that was the rationale that led to him getting the tattoo in the first place.

Originally, it was going to be a Celtic cross with Mike’s name and some sweet message surrounding it.  “R.I.P. Michael Patrick Dodds” would forever emblazoned on his arm or back, but Bella suggested something a little more meaningful. A simple symbol that represented the climax of their short relationship, the moment when Sonny knew he would never get over Mike, no matter how much time passed. But as nice as the compass was, on nights like this Sonny would have preferred to have a ring.

#law and order svu #SVU fanfiction #sonny carisi #mike dodds #dorisi #cardds #My fic

[ardett]

Static Starboy

Summary: Shiro is dreading going to summer camp while he still has a hard time controlling his powers, but things may start looking up.

Check it out on Ao3!

Written for @tinyadventureszine

Author’s Note: This story is kind of... eh. But it does have some lovely companion art by the wonderful @wizardstove

When his mother and father told him that summer camp was a good idea, Shiro almost believed them. Now he’s absolutely sure they’re wrong.

He should have known from the very first day. His dad had been trying to sooth Shiro as he sniffled, a trembling pout on his lips. His dad had wiped off his cheeks, laid a kiss on his forehead, and ruffled his tuft of white hair.

“You’ll be okay, buddy. You might even have fun.”

Shiro hadn’t smiled back. “Why do I have to go?”

“This is going to help you learn how to use your magic. You want to use magic like mom and dad, right? And you’ll meet other kids here with magic too.”

“But I don’t have magic like you or mom.” He had looked down at the grass staining his new sneakers, face scrunching up. “I don’t have magic like anybody.”

Before his dad could answer, his mother called, “Ready to go?” His dad nodded and after his mom gave him a kiss, they drove away.

Shiro stayed there, staring at the road, until one of the counselors gently led him to the arrival tent.

“You’re Shiro, right?” she asked. “Your mom was telling me about your arm. Just let me know if it hurts or if you need anything else, okay?”

Shiro had agreed - he was familiar enough with this routine - but he knew that none of the other kids were taken aside. None of the other kids’ moms had to talk to a counselor about their defective child. He was different. He always was.

Shiro sits on the bench, his knees up to his chest and his hand stuffed in his hoodie pocket, and watches as some of the other kids play tag. They seem like they’re having fun and Shiro thinks about joining for a split second before he remembers why he asked his dad if he could wear an oversized hoodie in the summer weather.

He hunches further into himself, hiding the emptiness of his right sleeve against his chest.

He’s still watching the other kids yell and squeal when one of the counselors crouches down in front of him.

“Shiro! One of our newest campers! Let me introduce myself. I’m Coran! Are you excited to be at Camp Altea, Shiro?” Shiro doesn’t realize Coran has stopped talking until a few moments afterwards. He’s too distracted watching Coran’s orange mustache bob up and down with every word. Eventually, he manages a shrug. “I suppose you don’t know yet because you just got here,” Coran hums. Shiro just shrugs again. “You’re welcome to play tag with everyone else, Shiro. Sitting on this bench does seem a little boring, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I don’t wanna play,” Shiro mutters.

“Well, why- Hey!” Coran jumps to his feet, running over to the group of other kids. “No magic!”

Shiro stays wrapped up in his hoodie until their first activity of the day.

Shiro can’t imagine anything worse than morning games. Everyone has to participate in at least one round. Shiro considers lying about his arm hurting but guilt immediately floods him. His mom told him never to lie about something so serious and his dad always said that he needs to give people a chance to accept him as he is.

The sun is really starting to warm the earth now. Even as his shoes soak up the morning dew, Shiro can feel heat gathering under his hoodie.

They start with sharks and minnows, a game where three kids are chosen to try and tag everyone else as they run across the field. Shiro runs besides the others, feet racing over the flattened grass. Almost all of them reach the line of safety. As they ready to make another dash over the field, a few of the counselors gesture with their hands.

The ground undulates before them, creating flowing hills. The grass thickens and reaches up for the sky. The whole field sparkles with the fingerprint of magic.

Shiro smiles for the first time that day, in awe of the earth and plant magic working before him. His own parents both connect with the element of air. He’s used to the faint glimmer in his own house, like dust motes caught in a sunbeam. He’s familiar with a gentle breeze tickling him on the couch and a warm wind on his face in lieu of kisses. Seeing other kinds of magic makes Shiro believe, just for a moment, that there might be a place for him here after all.

“Alrighty, everyone!” Coran claps his hands together as everyone comes back from putting away their lunches. “Are you ready to make some magic?”

Shiro shrinks away from all the other kids’ cheers. He doesn’t say anything as they move to an open space.

He stands in the back of the group that gathers around the magic instructor, a woman named Allura. “Remember, magic isn’t about control,” she says. “It’s about connection. One of the elements is calling to you. Are you listening?”

“Yes!” calls one of the boys. Shiro recognizes him as Lance from the introductions they did in the morning.

Allura smiles. “If anyone needs any help, let me or Coran know. We’ll be doing this all week, so don’t feel discouraged if you can’t connect with your magic at first.”

Everyone else starts to break off into groups and Shiro freezes. He feels the first nervous prickles of his magic starting in his fingertips, responding to the heightened energy around him.

He sits down on a log, about as far away as he can be from the other kids, and tucks his hand under his leg. He shifts and his clothes sparkle with static cling. There’s a tickling on the back of his neck as his hair rises. He practices the deep breathing exercises his parents taught him and tries to focus on what the other kids are doing instead of the crackle inside of him.

Lance, the boy from earlier, has a couple of water bottles strewn by his feet, all empty as he draws the water from them into the air. The bubble of water trembles in the wind but Lance already has a smug look on his face. “Told you I could do it!” he tells Keith, another camper. “I’ve been practicing with ocean water and that’s way harder. Watch this!” The water morphs into the vague outline of a school of fish. None of them are perfect, messy around the fins or dropping at the edges, but Keith already looks wonderstruck.

“That’s really cool,” Keith murmurs from where he watches on the ground. Lance gapes, probably in shock at the praise, and in the split second his concentration falters one of the fish falls from the air and splashes onto Keith’s head. Keith blinks and Lance gives a nervous laugh right before Keith’s hands burst into flames. “I take it back,” Keith growls. “I hate everything about water magic.”

Lance doesn’t seem at all deterred. “Hey, you got your flame up!” he exclaims as Keith’s hair begins to steam. “Coran, come look at Keith’s fire!”

“Mmm, in a minute, Lance.” Coran is concentrated on another camper whose fingers are buried in the dirt. “You’re doing great, Pidge. Keep going.”

“You’re so close. I can feel it.” One of the other boys, Hunk, sits next to her, anxiously leaning closer over his crossed legs.

Pidge nudges up her glasses with her shoulder, not taking her eyes away from the ground. “Got it,” she grins. She raises up her hands, palms still parallel to the ground, and between them a stalk of green follows, rising, reaching, growing. It’s about a foot high when Pidge moves her hands to the sides of the plant. She pulls her hands apart as if she’s about to clap and the leaves glimmer before unfurling to mimic the stretch of her fingertips.

“Wow…” Hunk murmurs. The earth around him swirls with his excitement. The sparkle of magic in the air reflects in his eyes and Shiro watches on with the same look of awe on his face.

“Shiro?” Shiro jumps as Allura plops down besides him. “Whatever are you doing all the way over here? I know this is your first summer with us but there’s no need to be nervous. Don’t you want to try out your magic?”

“Oh… no.” Shiro curls in on himself.

“Whyever not? Magic is a wonderful gift. You know, I connect with air like your parents.” Allura waves a hand and a gust caresses his cheek. Shiro withdraws his hand to fix his ruffled hair and his fingertips shock his forehead with static. “But I’ve heard that you connect with another energy entirely.”

Shiro looks over to the counselor, wide eyed. “I… How did you know?”

“I will admit that your parents mentioned it to me this morning, but more importantly,” Allura gives him a gentle smile. “The air around you has a slight… charge. There’s no reason to be scared, Shiro. You may not realize it but this space is specially designed for safe magic use.”

“But I can’t control it,” Shiro finally admits, so quiet that only Allura can hear. “Because… Because of my… my arm.”

Allura’s gaze softens. “Remember, Shiro: connection, not control.” Shiro’s forehead wrinkles and Allura clarifies, “Don’t try to force the energy to obey you. Instead, ask it to. Why don’t you give it a try now?” Shiro hesitates. Allura gives him an encouraging nod. He takes a deep inhale.

Please, he breathes. He holds out a shaking hand.

He hears the crackle first. Then, darting through the air like a fairy, a purple spark. And the spark becomes a flash, and the flash becomes a bolt, and the bolt becomes strikes of lightning and electricity dazzling before him. Shiro blinks against the blinding light, his shock caught in his throat. Energy flits between his fingertips, tickling along his palm.

His display grabs the attention of the other campers. Lance murmurs, “Wow…” like Shiro’s magic is something amazing and for the first time, Shiro thinks that maybe it is. As the thought crosses his mind, his electricity leaps higher into the air, sending off brilliant sparks in a firework display. Glittering rain showers down on the clearing, glowing in the pupils of all the upturned eyes. It fades away as Shiro lowers his hand.

The clearing is quiet until Pidge begins to clap, slowly at first but getting louder every time. The other campers join her and Shiro stays there stunned until Allura gestures for him to take a bow. He finally does and pride swells up in him, a warmth kindling in his chest. Maybe summer camp won’t be so bad after all.

#magical realism #elemental magic #voltron #vld #shiro voltron #thewar #fluff #lance voltron #vld keith #Allura #hunk voltron #pidge #coran