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meaningofaeons · 1 year

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-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈ emotionally unavailable p.2

⊹ character(s) - gepard landau, jing yuan, sampo koski ⊹ word count - 5.6k ⊹ notes - gn!reader (gepard, sampo), fem!reader (jing yuan, reader is referred to as 'lady'), emotionally constipated/stoic reader (but you're warming up a bit ;), confessions, fluff, love, mushy stuff! ⊹ part 1 here!

sorry this took so long !! (=´ᆺ｀=) really thought I'd have it out sooner, but I wanted to make sure it was planned and edited this time. hope you all like! and please do point out any mistakes, I know sometimes I mix up the gn pronouns with she/her so lemme know if there's any of that （ฅ＾・ﻌ・＾）ฅ

⊹ Gepard Landau

Ever since you and Gepard spoke that day, Serval had been seeing more of you around the workshop.

Rather than lounging as per your nick-namesake, however, you were frequently speaking with Gepard when he was around.

That, or you were at her desk asking when he'd be around.

It was a far cry from your former indifference for sure.

Sure, you weren't overly enthused or anything at the prospect of seeing him, but...

Serval could definitely see the gleam in your eye when you questioned about her brother.

You weren't alone in your affection, either.

The eldest Landau hadn't failed to notice the consistently at which Gepard asked about you, too.

Even though there were reports of Fragmentum corrosion being on the rise and more monsters to keep at bay, things that usually stressed the Captain out, he was in shockingly high spirits

It seems your presence was beneficial to his stress and mood.

Over time, you mellowed out a bit from your usual stoicism as well

You were more inclined to joke and be more open with Serval and Gepard both, though you still retained a bit of your standoffish nature.

This didn't mean you magically became an extrovert—Aeons knows you still treated other people just as coldly.

But to the Landaus at least, things were turning up.

You weren't running into their arms with warm salutations ready for an embrace, but at the very least, you spoke more.

Not to mention, you'd taken on a new hobby—teasing poor Gepard.

It wasn't really your fault, in your defense. He was just too easy, and his blushing cheeks were admittedly cute amusing to see.

Gepard, in spite of your embarrassing new pastime, would often count the hours, minutes, down to the seconds until he could head to the workshop and see if you were around

On the days you weren't (increasingly rare nowadays), it was quite obvious how he'd deflate. But he'd still wait around a little while longer for you

And when you were there? He'd light up immediately.

It's as if you could see the tail wagging behind him—he's like a giant golden retriever.

Eventually, it got to the point where he figured it was about time he confessed how he actually felt about you.

Serval, of course, encouraged and offered to wing-woman for him as she had done before, but he adamantly refused

As much as Gepard appreciated his sister, he wanted to do this himself.

He would find himself practicing singing, drawing, anything artistic he could do to show his affections for you.

It was an earnest, honest-to-good effort, but let's be honest—he's not the best at most artistic pursuits.

Eventually, he settled for a poem (the farthest he could get artistically without completely flubbing it) and a bouquet of the flowers that brought you two together in the first place—Ball Peonies.

He put it off for a few days out of nervousness.

Okay, no, a few weeks. Let's not kid ourselves, he had to buy a few bouquets since they kept withering (thankfully, that Silvermane Guard Captain salary is good!)

Finally, the day came.

Gepard shifted from one foot to the other, a habit of his when anxious. In battle, one always had to be on their toes. Though the matter ahead of him was far from a fight to the death on the front lines, it was a struggle nonetheless.

The brain's fight-or-flight response unfortunately didn't care to discriminate between a war with monsters and a nerve-wracking confession.

Maybe you weren't coming today.

No, no. Serval mentioned you had to swing by. You had an appliance giving you trouble, and she'd fixed it up and prepared it for delivery today.

His sister provided this opportunity for him. He couldn't back down!

However, as soon as sky blue eyes spotted your approaching figure, Gepard had to physically grab hold of his own arm to ground himself and prevent himself from running away.

He settled his anxiety as much as he could by hiding the flowers behind his back instead.

"Gepard?"

No going back now! You'd seen him!

His brain was in overdrive, and he found himself fending off trembles, face already going red. Aeons, he hadn't even gotten a single word out yet!

"That's me."

Okay, good, he'd gotten the first words out no problem.

"I thought you had patrol today. It's good to see you."

"G-Good to see you too!"

And there it was. A stutter, followed by a voice crack on the last word. The poor blonde man could've easily sank into a hole and withered away at that moment, but you only raised a brow, oblivious to his internal misery.

"Well, are you coming inside? I need to pick something up, and then I'm off. Sorry I can't stick around, especially since you're off duty for once."

"Y-Yeah, I'm coming. And it's okay!"

Gepard was far too caught up in his own gut-wrenching anxiety to notice the way you had rushed through your normally-casual sentences. Though your tone was the same, the slightest, most imperceptible tremble flitted after your every word.

When you entered, Serval was nowhere to be seen. You assumed she was in the back, and thus went to pop in and check, but as you did that, said woman snuck past and headed for the door, mouthing at her brother.

'Don't! Back! Down! Now!'

He swallowed thickly as she vanished, ducking outside to hide and await Gepard's long-overdue confession to you.

"Hm. Doesn't seem she's here. Maybe an errand..."

"Y/N!"

You raised a brow, leaning on the counter. "I'm right here, Gepard. No need to shout."

"Right! Right... Um! I just wanted to... I just... Err..."

"You alright? You're burning up, and I haven't even prodded at your singing or drawing today."

Those words only made the flare-up of his cheeks worse.

"I'm fine!" His voice had only increased in volume, and you winced. Your eyes flitted to the clock, and you sighed, taking a deep, shaky inhale.

Shift starts in a few minutes. I can always get the heater later, but... this is now or never.

Before Gepard could continue his train of thought, you interrupted, pulling out a small tin canister and slid it towards him on the counter. His ramblings cut short, he could do little more than stare down at it, calming down amidst his confusion.

"...This is?"

"Well..." you trailed off, glancing away and crossing your arms. Though Gepard was sure your expression was the same, pensive and uninterested, you adamantly hid it from him. "I didn't really know what else to get you."

...Huh?

"I could've gone for flowers, sure, but I guess they didn't seem very appropriate for you. You'd have no use for them."

Oh, but he would place them in the nicest vase money could buy, and stare at them for hours on end every day, thinking about the fact that it was you who brought them to him. No use? What nonsense.

"Then I thought chocolates, or maybe some other sweet, but I didn't know if you liked that sort of thing. I'm sorry I never asked."

What did you have to be sorry for? He'd eat anything you offered up, even if it were burnt or poisoned. And he'd accept it with the biggest smile, content in the fact that you had carefully worked on it for him.

"So, well, this seemed the most practical. Armor polish... for you. Keep up that 'Captain of the Silvermane Guards'-grade armor, and everything..."

Were he any less trained as a soldier for battle, Gepard could've shed a tear. Closed off, stoic, standoffish, yet you still remained the most considerate person he'd ever met.

He took the canister in one hand delicately, as if it were the most precious thing he'd ever touched, and then glanced up at you. A million words of gratitude and devotion were ready to spill from his lips all at once, but his brain fizzed out and he could manage but one.

"Why?"

You sighed deeply, the grip you had on your arm tightening.

"...ike you."

"...Huh?"

"I..." your voice increased in octave, but it fizzled out again at the end. "...eally... you."

"Y/N—"

"I really like you. There." With how loud you projected the words, anyone would assume you were confident and calm with their delivery, but your voice again contained the slightest timbre of anxiety beneath it. Still, with those firm eyes, you turned to look at him, confessing the thing he had taken weeks to even consider bringing up.

Perhaps, though, it had taken you weeks as well.

Gepard was silent, stunned into complete rigidity at your words. You knew he could be awkward, but the reaction he held only furthered your uncertainty, and you eventually turned to leave, somewhat dejected.

Before you could take even one step, though, a gloved hand took your arm as gently as possible, and Gepard was red and sweltering as if he'd just ran a marathon in full uniform to catch you.

"Wait! Wait!"

"Gepard, it's fine if you don't—"

"No, no! I like you, too!" Your confidence gave the Captain the boost he needed to finally blurt out the words, shoving the Ball Peony bouquet towards you. "I swear! That's, um... That's why Serval had me come by today."

It was your turn to be shocked—so shocked, in fact, that you didn't even bother to curse Serval out for setting you up like this.

Still, as Gepard slid his hand down to clasp your own, you couldn't bring yourself to feel too much enmity towards her.

"Um... If it's okay, do you want to go to dinner tomorrow night, then...?"

You tried to hide your delight as best you could.

"...Tomorrow night sounds nice."

Gepard, however, could not hide his.

⊹ Jing Yuan

It only took that one night of trickery, that one moment of Jing Yuan catching you hook, line, and sinker, for a routine to develop.

The General immediately took advantage of your acceptance and took you to the nicest restaurant the Xianzhou Luofu had to offer (and the most expensive, of course, much to your dismay).

As promised, he got his paperwork done on time.

But it wasn't more than a few days before he began slipping again.

Napping around his office, playing chess with Yanqing instead of working...

As soon as you got on his case again, you could see in the way his brow quirked that his mind was quick at work to justify himself.

Then, a wry smile had appeared—one you were both begrudgingly fond of and vehemently annoyed by.

"Well, Lady Y/N, go out to dinner with me again tonight and I promise to have my work done."

And so developed an unlikely routine—as long as you went to dinner after working hours, Jing Yuan would have his paperwork complete.

Of course, there were a few times when he slipped.

But whenever this happened, you vanished from the Seat of Divine Foresight before he could even awaken, and he found that the absence of your presence was punishment enough.

So now, him skimping his work was a rare occurrence. Even Yanqing was surprised.

"General, you've been a lot... busier, lately."

"Only as busy as I'm meant to be, my boy."

Golden eyes were immensely suspicious, and those same eyes watched the General in your presence carefully.

"...It's Lady Y/N, isn't it?"

Jing Yuan choked.

Even still, you'd be lying if you said you weren't enjoying the routine as well.

It was a win on both counts—you get a nice, expensive meal, and Jing Yuan also stops skipping important work!

Surely, it wasn't also a win to spend more time with the General. Surely...

He was still as cheeky as ever, though, especially now that you'd caved to his whims and spent more time with him.

Sometimes, he'd try to pass you alcohol and convince you to drink with him.

Of course, this was with the sly intention of getting you to open up and drop that stoic façade.

It never really worked.

Either you refused, citing work, didn't get drunk enough to become loose-lipped...

Or, in one instance, actually drank the General of the Luofu himself under the table.

Needless to say, you never did that again. Not only did you gain nothing but a raging hangover, the people of the Luofu who were present in the bar wouldn't shut up about it for weeks.

The rumors were even more ridiculous!

Though, you did gain something to tease Jing Yuan about, for once.

Dinner eventually turned into dinner along with a small walk together afterwards.

It took a lot of convincing and taking on extra work for Jing Yuan to get you to agree to the latter.

It was nice, though. Not only were you out in the fresh air, but you were free of the somewhat guilty burden of having the General paying for all your meals out of pocket.

Still, one day... he seemed different.

"General—"

"Lady Y/N—"

You both paused mid-sentence, cutting each other off. However, it was you who ultimately remained silent, gesturing for the man to continue.

Jing Yuan seemed... uncharacteristically nervous today. Was nervous even the right word for it? Perhaps it was, seeing as how his one visible eye darted back and forth.

Strange.

He cleared his throat loudly, reaching out a hand.

"I was only going to ask if you were ready to head to our usual dinner arrangement. I've made reservations."

Well, that was even more strange.

"General, you've never asked me before. You've just dragged me along. Are you feeling well?"

Despite your concern, you still accepted his hand just as naturally as always, allowing him to move your hand into position so that you were holding onto his arm. The first time he'd done this, you had recoiled, embarrassed at the proximity, but now, it was just as routine as your near-nightly dinner dates.

Dates? Were they dates? You pushed the thought as far away from your head as you could to avoid any red flush potentially springing to your cheeks.

"Of course I'm well." Jing Yuan only chuckled mildly, not meeting your gaze. "Shall we be off?"

You eyed him, but nodded slowly. On the way to the reserved seats, you began cautiously.

"...If you slacked off on your work and are trying to hide it from me..."

Honey-gold eyes met yours with a slight measure of surprise, and before you knew it, the General was laughing. A low, rumbling, and comforting sound that emanated from deep within his chest. It caused the dam you held to keep your cheeks from going red to burst.

"W-What did I say?!"

"Nothing, my dear... Absolutely nothing," he chuckled, wiping an imaginary tear. As much as the sight irked you, it also caused you to breathe a small sigh of relief.

He didn't seem as anxious any more.

"I was just a bit surprised."

"Well, I wouldn't be..." you grumbled. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Jing Yuan's smile turned crooked. "Come, now. I think I've been doing rather well at holding up my end of the deal. How long has it been since I last shirked my duties?"

"One week."

Your unimpressed response had his laugh turn nervous, but not in the same way as before. He glanced away at your dagger-like stare, murmuring some sort of excuse before giving up at the squeeze you gave his arm.

"I would say I've been doing well overall, though."

You acquiesced with a sigh. "That you have, General. Better than before, at least."

"Well, that is high praise. Coming from my poker-faced Lady Y/N, I'd have thought it'd take ten decades of work to satisfy your standards and achieve a compliment such as that."

You only grumbled in response, eliciting another laugh from your General.

So caught up in the conversation were you that it took you being seated in a private room to realize where you were.

"...This is where you first took me."

"Correct," Jing Yuan smiled, a hint of unease in his features as he fiddled with something beneath the table. "I thought it'd be appropriate."

"For...?" you trailed off, trying to recall if there was anything special happening today. "Did I forget a holiday?"

"No, no. I'll tell you later, Lady Y/N."

"Very well, General," you sighed, making your choice and setting your menu down. Surprisingly, a comforting silence filled the air until the attendant came to collect both of your orders, and even after that. Minutes passed, and the silence was now... less comforting.

Something was definitely off. By now, the General would be talking your ear off about something—whether informing you about his latest trickery with his and Yanqing's games of chess or teasing you for your uptightness in the latest meeting, he'd have something to say.

But Jing Yuan just sat there, smiling down at his hands, still fiddling. You eventually had enough, clearing your throat.

"...So, are you going to tell me why today is significant for this restaurant?"

The man jumped—did he jump? Did the famous General Jing Yuan just jump over a mere question from his advisor?—and paused, clearing his throat again. You had noticed he was doing that quite a lot this evening.

"Well, I should get it out of the way, shouldn't I? No use dwelling on it any longer, haha..." Finally, he extracted the item he had been messing with, sliding a small velvet box across to your folded hands. "Here you go, Lady Y/N."

"And just what is this?" you eyed it, then raised a brow. A small trinket from one of his expeditions, perhaps? But you weren't much of a collector or anything...

"Just open it."

"Very well." You paused momentarily, but slowly pulled the box towards yourself, pushing up the little hinged lid. In an instant, your hands clapped it back shut, your face turning thousands of shades of red.

Jing Yuan, while still anxious, found himself chuckling as he fiddled with the hem of his sleeve.

"General," you whispered harshly. "Is this some kind of joke?!"

"Well, I'd hope not, considering that little trinket cost me a fair chunk of my prior paycheck."

"General Jing Yuan, I'm being serious!" You were sweating bullets, trying to reign in your flustered state. "Explain yourself!"

The man cleared his throat again, and finally began to lay out his reasoning.

"You see, Yanqing was just getting so terribly tired of hearing me talk about you. In his words, 'You need to do something about it before I go insane, General.'" Jing Yuan was rambling. "So I went to a local jeweler and tried to find something nice, but none of them quite suit you the way I wanted. Then, I figured I should commission something, and—"

His rambling speech had given you time to process just slightly, just enough to cut him off and pose your own question.

"Are you proposing to me?"

Jing Yuan coughed.

"Well, I figured since we'd been to dinner together so many times—"

"—as General and his advisor!—"

"—but if you'd like to start with the label of dating, I'm perfectly fine with slowing it down to that. We do have nothing but time, after all."

You were about to shout some more, say anything, but the sight of Jing Yuan's somewhat flushed cheeks had you reeling, stunned into silence.

He was serious.

The General glanced up at you through his bangs.

"You don't have to give me your answer right now. But I'd be delighted to see you at least try the ring." And oh, when he beseeched you with those pleading eyes, how could you even think to say no?

You hesitantly opened the box, unable to fathom what was happening. In your state, you hadn't noticed Jing Yuan move to your side, taking your hand gently in one hand and the ring in his other.

"Allow me."

Tenderly, carefully, Jing Yuan slid the ring onto you. It fit like a glove, and you couldn't even think to wonder how he got your ring size down to a T. He gazed into your eyes with such adoration that you felt your brain going to mush.

"...It's lovely," you stammered. The General smiled.

"You're lovely."

Surely, the situation was about to escalate into something more.

An embrace? Possibly... a kiss? Just as you felt the very distinct possibility of your eyes fluttering shut in anticipation, the door to your private dining hall was slid open.

"I have the orders for one General Jing Yuan and one Lady Y/N—"

The waitress stopped short, eyes wide at the proximity between you and the General. Then, her eyes fell to your hands, the ring—

"Wait—"

"Ma'am, it's not—"

"Please forgive me! I'll leave you be!"

Without giving either of you even a moment to explain, the now beet-faced woman dashed away, shocked out of her poor mind. You exhaled shakily, and then whipped your head around as Jing Yuan laughed boisterously.

"General! The rumors!"

"Oh, they always spread some rumor or another. It's happened since we first started this little routine, and it won't cease now. But if you aren't interested, I will always happily have them dispelled."

You huffed another sigh, glancing away.

"...Who said anything about me not being interested?"

It was Jing Yuan's turn to be stunned, but he recovered annoyingly quick, immediately wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you into him.

"Really now? Well, I'll take that as your acceptance of my proposal. I will be stuck to your side from here on out."

"I'm accepting the dating proposal, not marriage, General!"

"For now."

"General!"

⊹ Sampo Koski

The man who formerly avoided Natasha's clinic like the plague out of intense fear for Wildfire's motherly leader now found himself frequenting the joint more than the Fight Club.

Who would've guessed?

Well, you might've.

Ever since your run-in with the infamous Sampo Koski only a few weeks prior, it seems he'd made it his personal mission to only appear when you were working.

Of course, you only really worked night shifts, and Sampo was quite the night owl himself, but who's counting?

He still annoyed you to Hell and back.

The only edge you really had over him was when Natasha was in, helping you with the patients.

Sampo would stare at you from outside the window like a puppy left out in the rain—you could practically hear the whines and see the sad droop of metaphorical ears.

Natasha always knew he was by, and she'd always tease you about it, so in a way, you were both now avoiding her.

"Y/N... Your ol' buddy Sampo Koski got himself a booboo! Won't you fix me up?"

"Get lost."

"But it really hurts!"

"That's a flesh wound. Here's some ointment. Scram."

"Ouch! You're as cold as ever... Your words sting more than this egregious injury..."

A small, tiny voice inside your head was always thankful that he was never really as injured as he exaggerated, but he still found ways to negate even that tiny bit of mercy you held for him with his antics.

Usually, he'd just swing by to hop around you and ask for attention.

Really, he didn't want anything more than a few words from you or a few minutes of your time, but you didn't have much of either to spare with your work.

To catch your eye, he'd try to ham up his pain, but it never really worked.

A bandage there, an ointment there.

Sampo never failed to notice how you would always entertain those requests at least, giving him what he needed to care for himself.

Though he did long for your tender loving care again. Even if it meant being on the receiving end of your unimpressed stares.

Then, there was the time he asked for you to kiss his wound better.

That earned him a harsh clobbering to the head.

While you hated the distraction Sampo brought while you were actively trying to cure real patients, he wasn't all bad if he came at a good time.

Not that you'd ever admit it, though.

You'd given him enough ground with your little "For me" comment last time, and he'd never let you forget it as long as you lived.

When you were packing up your supplies and getting ready to trade shifts with Natasha, it was kind of... nice to see him around.

He'd bring you small doohickeys and trinkets from his latest scams expeditions, or talk your ear off about his adventures.

Scratch the dog analogy.

Sampo was more like a crow, squawking your ear off and delivering small, seemingly-insignificant, shiny treasures.

Somehow, his unending positivity and boisterous attitude was a nice contrast to the dreary place you were stuck in.

You were begrudgingly—with harsh emphasis on that word—becoming fond of Sampo Koski.

You weren't sure if this was a good thing.

"Y/N!"

You heaved a sigh, stretching out your weary limbs as Sampo came barreling into the clinic, thankfully uninjured. You kind of wanted to hit yourself for thinking of that first, rather than how obnoxiously loud he was being, but you digressed.

It seemed as though ever since your little run-in with him while he was badly wounded, he had taken your demand to stay out of harm's way to heart. Now, he rarely got anything more than a small bleeding cut or a sizeable bruise.

"How many times do I have to remind you to be quiet in the presence of my other patients? They're sleeping, Koski."

"Some things never change! Just like your painfully frostbite-y words, Y/N~"

You only grunted at that, collecting your tools and cleaning off your table. You always did like to leave Natasha with a neat workspace when she arrived.

"Sooo, I was thinking..."

"Sampo Koski, thinking? The Overworld must be crashing down on our heads as we speak."

"Yeesh, uncalled for..." the man grumbled, his energy bouncing back fast, though. "Let me take you somewhere nice. Think of it as a reward for working so hard and helping me out so many times, yeah?"

You raised a brow at that, and the conman clasped his hands together, that familiar grin sneaking onto his lips.

"After all, Sampo Koski always repays his debts! Never leaves a friend hanging!"

"You know the clinic's services for mild cases are free, right?"

"That generous heart of yours just makes me swoon, Y/N! But I can't possibly let you do me all this kindness without doing something in return!"

You sighed raggedly. "If this is you roping me into one of your scams..."

Sampo slapped a hand over his heart and clasped his chest as though mortally wounded. "You wound my poor soul, my heart, Y/N! Would 'lil old Sampo really do that to you?"

Your utterly deadpan glance sent him into nervous chuckles as he amped up his attempts to get you to come along.

"Come now, Y/N! You can trust me! Just this once, and if I wrong ya, you can toss me to the automatons! Honest to goodness!"

You were already yanking on your coat to follow when he crossed his finger over his heart as if to swear his undying allegiance to getting you back in one piece, sweeping past him out the door and grumbling something about being in your right mind to toss him to the robots anyways. The Sampo Koski looked a bit stunned at that, staring at you from within the clinic with wide emerald eyes.

"Well? Are you going to lead me there or no?"

"Ah, yes! Of course!"

Shockingly, it didn't take long to get to where the conman wanted to go. You had to duck past a few bots and avoid a few Fragmentum monsters, but really, that was every day in a place like the Underworld.

Yet, the bright glow of the huge Geomarrow vein caught your eye at once, sending you into awed silence.

Sampo smiled at that, dragging you along by the arm to a better vantage point. You stared up, admiring the rare beauty in a place as dreary as the Underworld.

As a doctor, especially an assistant to the only other doctor in the whole of the Underworld, you didn't really get the opportunity to go out and explore much beyond Boulder Town. Sure, there'd be patients you had to go to that couldn't make the distance to the clinic, but they were rarely beyond the walls of town.

The sight before you was truly something magnificent. Something you had never seen before.

"Well, like it?" Sampo nudged your arm, snapping you out of your trance as he grinned at you. "Told you it was cool! Thought you could use some time out of that stuffy clinic."

"It's..." You didn't quite know what to say. Words escaped you as you glanced between Sampo and the marvel of mineral. "It's really something. You weren't lying."

Even though you were too awed to realize you had admitted to his truth, the man beside you still hooted with laughter at his 'victory'.

Only when his joyful whoops calmed down did you manage to fully tear your eyes away from the sight, looking over to see Sampo trying to fiddle with something in his pocket.

"Sampo?"

The man jumped, and if you were any more alert to his antics, you would've assumed he was plotting something. However, he only hid his hands behind his back, beaming.

"What's up?"

"...Thank you."

The words were quiet, begrudging, but you managed them anyways. You expected immediate feedback from your so-called friend, only to be met with thick silence. You once again called his name, and he once again jumped.

"What's the matter with you? You've not got something criminal planned, do you?"

"Nope, Sampo Koski is always loyal to his word!" His chuckles were nervous, contradicting his statement. Just as you raised a brow and were about to speak up, however, he handed you a small chain.

"Haha, almost forgot!" Lie. "I had this for ya, too."

The item was placed in your hand before you could even protest, and you nearly leapt in shock when you realized what it was, were it not for your ability to keep on your stoic disposition.

A beautifully crafted, decorative Geomarrow wrist cuff sat in your palm, a nice rustic design to it that would compliment your outfit, surely. It looked more expensive than everything you owned combined.

"...Sampo—"

"See, an old buddy of mine owed me a favor from way back when. He's a jeweler nowadays, not super useful here, but I got my hands on a chunk of Geomarrow and he worked his magic! Cool, huh?"

"Sampo—"

"And that chunk isn't stolen, no siree bob! Got it completely legitimate this time! Paid out of pocket!"

"Sampo, are y—"

"It wasn't easy, but—"

"Sampo!"

The man finally stopped rambling, pausing to glance down at you with wide eyes.

"Haha, erm, yes, my dear Y/N?"

You would've felt your face flush—in fact, you were still actively staving off the heat to your cheeks—but you had to get one question out of the way first, a hardened expression on your face.

"You stole this, didn't you?"

"No!" Sampo's insistence was so adamant that it sent you aback. "Didn't you hear what I said? Honest, I didn't steal! Not a single part of the process was made with thievery or swindling! 'Cause you don't like it, and I wasn't about to confess in a way you don't like—"

"Confess?"

The conman stopped short, scratching his cheek and whistling inconspicuously, glancing anywhere but you. You weren't having much better luck with maintaining eye contact.

You glanced down at the cuff again, reluctantly sliding it on, but unable to deny how much you were taken by it. It was also the only way to distract yourself from the shock you felt, from the warmth now prominently displayed in your cheeks.

"So... yeah. Um. I did this all. For you. To confess, 'I love you' style and all of that, if that's how ya want to put it..."

"That's how you put it."

"Can you have some mercy on my poor heart?! Sampo's trying his best here!"

At that, you snorted. Then, you giggled. Eventually, you devolved into shaky, small laughter, chuckles that couldn't be hidden even by your typically impassive countenance.

For the first time in his life, Sampo found himself utterly dumbstruck. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, in a trance as he listened to your laughter, as sweet as the chime of a bell.

To Hell with confessions and acceptance, the man was fairly certain he could die happy just hearing such a sound and seeing such a look on your face. Even if you were laughing at the notion of him being in love with you, Sampo was confident he couldn't care less.

And then, for the second time that evening, the conman was struck speechless.

"Well... fine. I suppose I can graciously accept your feelings and your heart, Sampo Koski."

His eyes lit up like the Overworld sun.

"But only if you stop getting hurt. Period."

It wasn't enough to extinguish the light in his eyes, but it was enough to get him to droop, slinking over and hanging off your shoulder pathetically with a pout.

"Aw, then how am I going to see you?! Sampo Koski needs his Y/N time, or he'll be lost! I'm lost without you!"

It took everything you had not to clobber him—but this time, you were sure that twinge of annoyance was strong-armed aside by pure fondness.

#honkai star rail #honkai #hsr #hsr x reader #honkai star rail x reader #honkai x reader #gepard landau #gepard x reader #gepard #gepard landau x reader #sampo #sampo koski #sampo x reader #sampo koski x reader #jing yuan #jingyuan #jing yuan x reader #jingyuan x reader

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doctorwormcore · 2 years

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I'm really liking Sandman, I always wanted to read it but when I got interested is when I got really bad at reading...and I was absolutely ecstatic when i heard gwendoline christie was gonna be in it bc I LOVE her and bc it means more bonding time with my dad, bc hes read all of it, and I like watching shows and enjoying media that's important to my family and friends

#kass.txt #its really nice to have this bondinh movement with my dad #mum and i watch reality tv and serial killer dtuff and bad horror movies and cheesy 80s films togethef #and i watch youtube stuff my little brother loves and like playing games with him (i havet in a while bc my health has been bad and im busy #and dad and i watch shaun micallef together every week and we just finished lincoln lawyer so its nice to stsrt somethjng else #when i get better at reading again i hope to read all of discworld #im at the last tiffany aching book but i refuse to read it until tje very end so i get the full gut punch #anyway.....its just nice to experience the media those you love love. it helps give insight and you can bond with them and that means a lot #also....jesus i probably need to talk to a doc or psych or something and ask why i cant retain information anympre? like when i was a teen #i read books nONSTOP and like cpuld tell you every character in warriors and their relationships and that shit #now???? cannot read a paragraph and retain it to save my life #like....i have a 200 word discussion entry for one of my uni cert classes due tomorrow and i spent an hour today trying to research it....#the researcj was there in thousands of results.....but i couldnt force my brain to comprehemd it #its annoying!!!! i thought getting glasses would help!!! and it has to an extent....i caj actually see!! im not squinting 24/7 #n e wY this derailed something FIERCE but my advice is:#experience the media thst those you love like...especially if it isnt something youd normally watch #like i REALLY like lincoln lawyer #im waiting for the next season #and i really liked mr inbetween (the bits i got to watch) and constantine and the tourist...they were fun #i just really love my family okay #and i love the calmness that jjst hanginh out with my dad brings #EDIT: I FORGOT MY OLDER BROTHER OH MY GOD #i love listening to music my older brother likes bc we have such a gap??? like my brother was outta the house by the time i was 10 so yknow #and music is SO important to him #so i like listening to music he likes. i had it takes a nation to hold us back on repeat for like three months after he played it for us #and i like run the jewels and iggooorrr or however its spelt. they remind me of my brother #and now they remind me of the hip hop time he does with his daughter and i just feel so much love

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kentoberry · 2 years

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SING IT TO ME — toji fushiguro.

pairings ⭒ dilf ! toji x babysitter ! reader.

about ⭒ toji didn't pick his son's babysitter purely on her résumé.

content ⭒ [ 18+ ; minors do not interact ] ⭒ f reader ⭒ age gap (toji in his 40s, reader in their 20s) ⭒ sp@nking ⭒ dd/lg themes ⭒ f!ngering ⭒ daddy k-nk ⭒ many pet names.

"ya like that, princess?" toji growled. "not so bad for an old man, eh?"

he spat on your cunt once again, smirking as his fingers resumed stretching out your pretty hole. your back was arching off of the mattress as your body had endured countless orgasms on toji's hand, throat feeling dry from the amount that you'd begged for him to give in and stuff his cock inside of you.

"daddy. . ." you drawled, crawling closer to exhaustion and coming down from yet another high.

"you okay there, doll? need ta stop?"

you immediately shook your head, toji chuckling at how desperate you were for him. slowly, he slid his fingers out of you, placing a tender kiss to your clit as he praised you for being a good girl for him. you couldn't help the wanton mewl that slid past your puffy lips, mentally cursing your oversensitive cunt.

"t-touch me," you mumbled lazily.

"what's that, sweetheart? i 'av been touchin' ya, silly thing," toji wasn't above teasing you despite your vulnerable state, knowing that you were aware that it was all in good fun.

"no, no," your babbles continued, "need you… need your cock in me," you trailed off.

toji tutted. "where are yer manners, princess? i thought ya were being good f'me; do i need to punish yer bratty ass?"

"no!" you yelped, even though his punishments were always quite enjoyable. "'m so- i'm sorry, daddy! p- please, wan' you s'bad…"

you were cute, toji would give you that. a sweet young thing, half his age, grovelling to him and begging for his fat cock. he definitely had chosen the perfect babysitter to take care of his little megumi. yeah, the kid liked you and you practically treated him as your own, but what the man truly adored was the way your ass looked in those skinny jeans, the way your tits looked in that swimsuit when you had accompanied both fushiguros to the beach. it was certainly unprofessional of him to hire you for such superficial reasons, but every time that you were pinned down under him, crying for him, he didn't have the slightest regret. and considering your sugary sweet tone as you called him "daddy", he didn't think you regretted anything either.

toji perched on the edge of his bed, patting his lap for you to come and lay across it. you always did your best to be the best doll he could ever dream of, but there were occasions where the innocent guise slipped and you accidentally disobeyed one of his rules. toji was never one for brats, and you were certain that if you gave him a reason to, he could break you.

"don't make it any worse f'r yourself, princess," he threatened, although his words retained a slight saccharine flavour.

you did precisely as he said, crawling across to his lap like a lost little puppy. although it was almost demeaning the way that you so willingly laid across his meaty thighs, you couldn't deny the sparks that it sent to your cunt.

"count." he commanded, tone sharp. you yelped as he brought his hand down on your bare ass, unable to halt your squirming as the pain overwhelmed you for a brief moment.

"what did i fuckin' say?" toji spat, ignoring the tears brimming on your waterline. "c'mon, say sorry 'nd i'll keep it nice."

you mustered up every last bit of composure that you could, and rambled out: "'m s-sorry, daddy… 'll be good… i promise!"

toji took pity on how pathetic you looked, yet was also somewhat enthralled that you allowed yourself to let your guard down with him. consequently, he mumbled a soft "good girl" and massaged your sore skin before spanking you with equally as much force once again.

"t-two!" you whimpered, trying to ensure that your quivering voice was loud enough that toji would hear it. this back and forth continued until you'd counted to eleven before uttering your safe word. at that point, tears were cascading down your puffy cheeks and your pussy was dripping.

"shhh," toji cooed, using his extraordinary strength to lift you up to straddle his lap. you instinctively curled into his chest and let him spout all the praises under the sun in an attempt to calm you down a little. "princess, yer so wet," he stated. "how's about ya take my cock as a reward, yeah? daddy's gonna fuck his precious girl and make ya feel better? make ya cream all over m'cock?"

you nodded.

"big girl words, love,"

"please… daddy, i need you s'bad… please, please, please," you chanted, donning your best puppy dog eyes to meet his piercing emerald ones.

"good girl, daddy's gonna treat you so well,"

#kentoberryposts #toji smut #toji x reader #toji fushiguro x you #toji fushiguro x reader #toji fushiguro smut #jjk x reader #jjk smut #jujutsu kaisen smut #jujutsu kaisen x you #jjk x you #jujutsu kaisen x reader

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nights-at-crystarium · 27 days

Text

Fragments - episodes 36-40 author notes

You can find similar breakdown posts on older episodes in my pinned!

I didn’t need to spend so much screentime on Titania fight, yet it was a fun personal challenge. I’d never written/drawn a cohesive fight scene before. The scripted ingame instances don’t leave much room for imagination, I wanted to stay away from the fourth wall, and make up a more immersive scene. How do you even make it look mildly interesting? You’d think, well, characters will just flail at each other until one of them dies, right?

So yeah the biggest challenge was creating the ebb and flow. What affects Vivi’s actions? Why wouldn’t he just murder Titania like any other opponent, and be done with it? I threw in a generous amount of inner pov (that I previously used very sparingly) and some silly tricks. The stakes are high, yes, it’s a Lightwarden vs WoD encounter, but Titania still retains their playful personality above all else. Vivi's here just to do his job, but he also knows that he's dealing with a fae.

The msq makes Titania stand out among other wardens, I capitalized on that and hc’d that they’re important to Feo Ul, and, by proxy, to Vivi. That instantly provided some emotional stakes, and an answer to why he doesn’t rush to kill them out of the door.

Vivi enters the castle in episode 35, and mostly runs in circles, analyzing his enemy, and even falls victim to illusions. This could’ve been it for him, but I daresay it worried none of us because we’re just at the beginning of a story about this guy, he’s THE guy in this universe not for no reason, he’ll manage.

No deep meaning behind "grasshopper", I just thought it's a bizarrely precise descriptor of both Vivi's long legs and dragoon jumps, and it fits the natural theme of the fight.

Vivi didn’t go in unprepared.

This line will be relevant again in like, 5-7 years from now :’>

More under the cut~

He always, always doubts everything, especially when it comes to his level of power. Self-nerfing. A light (heh) case of an impostor syndrome.

Everyone loved the bonk for meme reasons, Vivi simply bought himself some time to cast.

The Rainbow Sparkles of Believing in Yourself! And of something else, perhaps. I’m planting quite a bit of stuff for future, this one should take a mere year or so to pay off.

I hope this pose’s enough of a hint that you shouldn't be taking episode 37 too seriously.

Yes, he used his spear to ~cast~. And took a sailormoon pose. This's his, monoclass dragoon’s, interpretation of what the caster magic’s probably like.

Offscreen, Titania comes to their senses and shrills “so you wanna play rough?!”, Vivi ignores them, concerned with only one thing: did he succeed? How did the test of his custom spell go?

It only worked out because the both of them are idiots.

I like to emphasize that Fragments isn’t about retelling the msq, or big epic battles, but here, where I actually put my heart into it, I feel like I managed to pull off at least one epic beat you’d typically see in an action-focused comic. Super proud of this panel ;w;

This’s a standard panel divider I’ve used multiple times before, but it couldn’t be more visually appropriate here :3c

So, to recap. Vivi asks Titania if they miss the night sky. They do. Vivi brings the night sky to them, and lo, something actually happens. I illustrated this “something” as one of their eyes getting sort of cleansed here. This story suddenly takes a mahou shoujo (shounen, heh) turn, I appreciate that it may cause some eyebrows to raise, but I think it’s okay to take creative liberties like this in a story themed around identity, agency, and believing in yourself. If Titania’s so strong as to retain a tiny bit of their old self, to cohesively partake in a simple convo, then why can’t they return, even if for a brief moment, given the proper assistance.

An appropriate reaction to the wild bs that’s going on. Imagine inventing the tale of WoD in the First, only to witness THIS.

As about Vivi, he can save a soul when he genuinely cares for it. We haven’t seen him do this before. He does it for Feo Ul explicitly, implicitly as a self-reflection. He’s projecting so hard after realizing that Titania looks like him. He wishes for them what he'd wish for himself: to rest, to be treated with care and consideration. They don't only look like him, they're also unfree, tortured by something. Empathy or not, this’s the kindest fight Vivi’s ever fought.

I’m iffy about the canon talents that come with the Echo. You can understand any sentient creature, okay. What happens when you speak, does the other party feel the difference between that soulspeak and their native tongue? Does it feel off? Does it offend? I incorporated my own misgivings into Vivi’s thoughts about his Echo. He doesn't use soulspeak here out of respect and concern that Titania might not react well to it, throwing the entire plan out of the window. Thus he memorized quite a bit of fae words before the fight. This’s his way to mark himself as one of their people, or at least to show that he truly cares.

STAY TUNED FOR EPISODE 41

Vivien Doubter Rell. Also yay first nod!

Embracing his new duty, and possibly giving Titania the hug they deserve.

Look HE’S OKAY. For now. I just thought the hiccup would be a cute way to acknowledge the terrible power he’s just absorbed. The canon cutscene moves on unblinking, but here’s different.

Bracing himself for confrontation. Things might go awry. Or might not. Vivi doesn't know. Worst case scenario: this’s the end of his sweet lil friendship with Feo Ul. Do they like him, or a Titania-lookalike in him?

“Oh bugger...” big pets come with big responsibilities, my dear Feo Ul.

Just to reinforce his fae-ness.

Vivi had full control in this fight. Analyzed the enemy, successfully tested some crazy tricks, managed to have a heart-to-heart that resulted in getting a permission to kill Titania not with violence, but with mercy. So much could’ve gone wrong, but just didn’t. Vivi’s used to this, even if he constantly doubts everything, this’s how it always goes. He’s being flung at tasks with abysmal odds, somehow he emerges victorious.

I just like this panel so much okay.

This arc may feel slow, but it gives depth to Vivi and Feo Ul's relationship, and seeing them together in later episodes will spark even more joy.

Even after a warm moment they’d just shared, Vivi’s still wary. I broke out an analysis of what external influence, pressure to change means to him, please read this post if you missed it. YEAH TAGS AS WELL.

His expression here is an attempt to downplay the anxiety and swing the odds in his favor. What if Feo Ul insists and throws a tantrum? What if he has to become Titania right now, and there’s no way around this? Let’s make puppy eyes just incase, maybe that helps.

One more personal fav panel. There’s SO MUCH in this look. They’re on a threshold, about to become something else on Vivi’s behalf. Because they love him so much. They’ve instantly become friends because they don’t want anything from each other, just the company. Feo Ul’s such a breath of fresh air for Vivi, a new hope in a new world, where he’s (comparatively) a nobody, where people still have the potential to love him for who he is as a person. This’s why our crimson pixie gets so much screentime.

Vivi really said XD

The next few episodes wrap up the Il Mheg arc, and focus on good vibes and celebration. ShB follows a rollercoaster formula where it makes you smile at something nice and sweet only to whack you in the face right after, and I’m trying to do the same :3c

As always, thanks for reading~

#ffxiv #feo ul #vivien rell #ffxiv: fragments #fragment ii: new world old friend #fragments talk

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xxgoblin-dumplingxx · 4 months

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One freebie

"How's your Pa's tractor running?" you ask, pouring Clark a cup of coffee.

"Like a dream," he answered grinning. Bruce had been annoyed about it when he'd asked, but you'd come out. Done a whole tune-up. And tweaked a bunch of stuff. Overhauled some stuff. Welded... things Clark had never really gotten the hang of.

"Good," you hum nodding, satisfied. "I tried to make sure it would be a good bit before they'd have to take care of any of it- but I'd be happy to come out if they need it."

"I appreciate it," he said honestly. "I'm sure I couldn't pay whatever it was worth but-"

"I told you then, I don't need the money." You shrug and gesture around at the cabin. "Jackie left me pretty well set up even if his brain did have more holes in it than swiss cheese by the end. And Bruce, even if he is an anal retentive asshole about some things IS very fair and my contracts were always very generous. A lot of things I created for Wayne Enterprises I retained a TON of rights for. And what I created for Batman he paid me for outright."

Clark nodded, feeling himself flush. "Why did you leave?" Usually, you're not this... candid. Everything is couched in acidic sarcasm and dry humor. Distraction and redirection. You're charming. You're funny. You're gorgeous. You're talented. And if you dazzle everyone enough, no one can see just how... damaged you are.

"I think," you say ruefully, "that Bruce has just outgrown me." You take a sip of your coffee and shrug again. "He's not a scared little boy anymore. He doesn't need someone to stand up to the bigger boys for him."

Clark snorted, "Ma'am, I don't think so-"

"Then he needs to learn that for himself," you tell him. "I'm not going to be the person who stands in his way."

"Fair enough," Clark said. And for a moment, he watched you. And it hurt. He'd heard broken hearts. And this sounded like one. All around the country, people were speculating about the rift right now. About where you had gone. Never dreaming that you were hiding in the middle of nowhere licking your wounds.

And it hit like lightning.

The realization that since you were 9, your whole life was ice skating and Bruce Wayne. Outside of Jackie and Bruce- there was no one close to you. Not really.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked. Not sure what else to say. Or ask. Or do.

"Fine," you shrug, "There's always a new project. And I do like to Travel this time of year."

Clark smiled a little, "You live a charmed life."

#bruce wayne x reader #bruce wayne #ask answered #minors dni #reader insert #weird kid!bruce

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aroaceleovaldez · 3 months

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hey! hope this isn't weird but i wanted to know why you think artemis wasn't up to standards even in the original pjo series. you reblogged from me and so i had front row to your tags on the post about zeus jaja i've not seen people talk a lot about her and it got me interested as i'm a classics student!

- @zoebelladona 🌙

HELLO OH BOY okay so I have half a rant already about Artemis in terms of Rick and general aphobic tropes in the series. see: that open letter on twitter. i still need to transfer that to tumblr. fun fact: Rick replied to that post but deleted his reply at some point. probably because two replies after he replied to my post and word-of-god confirmed Reyna to be ace-coded he left social media for a bit.

Fun times! Anyways.

The thing I dislike about Artemis as she's depicted in the series, besides her constantly appearing as a teenager and the aphobic tropes with that [see: open letter linked above] - which on some level is slightly more excusable than other examples given she's a goddess of young women, but given how he writes Athena, Hestia, and the Hunt instead leaves a bad taste in my mouth - and other similar aphobic tropes with her, is her whole weird anti-men thing (which is also, in itself, also an aphobic trope in this particular circumstance). I understand TTC was written in 2007 so that flavor of radical feminism that Artemis and the Hunt is clearly supposed to be was only just coming into major public awareness and the flaws in the ideology (and the inherent bigotry, particularly transphobia and racism that often comes with it) weren't as well recognized at the time. But in hindsight it leaves a really bad taste in my mouth for obvious reasons and is one of the things from the first series that severely aged poorly in my opinion, and I greatly dislike that in every subsequent retcon of the Hunt for other reasons Rick more or less retains that aspect.

Secondly... it doesn't make sense from a mythological standpoint? Because there are multiple examples of men being Hunters in Artemis' retinue. Even ignoring Orion, no matter how you go about shaking that stick (which for the record I really dislike how Rick retconned him in the series/wrote him in HoO), Hippolytus is a very notable example. Literally his big whole original shtick was he joined the Hunt because he didn't like romance and Aphrodite got so pissed about him not needing her (romance) that she killed him. And even when Aphrodite was trying to ruin his life he held on to his virtues and vow to Artemis (refusing advances even when his life was on the line). He is otherwise totally chill and devoted to Artemis. Some versions of his myth has Artemis have him resurrected after he dies (by Asclepius, which is why Asclepius is punished for reviving the dead). This also obviously doesn't address the major glaring logical flaw in Artemis hating all men which is... Apollo. Especially within the series he seems to be an exception for no reason, despite Artemis also very overtly having a "brothers are not an exception to the no-men rule." And from a modern queer standpoint, it obviously begs the question of stuff like gender identity within the Hunt and if you bring back the radfem stuff it gets real bad vibes real fast. Which also sucks when you particularly look at historical/mythological descriptions of Apollo and Artemis and how they very poignantly encompass defying gender roles and expectations particularly within their cultural contexts.

And every time Rick tries to retcon the Hunt, he somehow manages to make it kind of worse, particularly with the oath. I have a whole personal thing for how I think to best rectify all that nonsense in a way that isn't horrible and is related to some of Artemis' aspects in a more sensible way (buried somewhere in this monster of a post. Honestly i'd just recommend ctrl + f search "Hunters" on that post and it should be somewhere near the first ping there). In there I also go into some of my other thoughts for the general meh way the Hunt is written in the series, mostly being aphobic tropes and random death fodder.

So yeah. Basically, tl;dr: I am personally not a huge fan of how Artemis in the series is halfway to being a terf and chock-full of aphobic tropes. And I need Rick to stop retconning things into the ground.

#pjo #riordanverse #hunters of artemis #artemis pjo #analysis #< yeah sure it warrants that tag #ask to tag #zoebelladona #ask #i really need to transfer that open letter rant to tumblr #still amused that rick replied to it within like an hour of me posting it but clearly didnt read it #long post //#also heads up this is only like half-proofread cause i'm ill right now #so i apologize if it's nonsensical at all

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blue-moonjelly · 6 months

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Listen closely and stay Silent

MINORS DNI

Satan x nonbinary MC (obedience, sub/dom, master/slave, kinda public stuffs)

Authors note: Yeah so I kinda made this on a whim, um, just let me know if you want a part two cause this was already getting long enough as is, but if yall want it enough I'll gladly make a part 2, okay that's it, ENJOY)

“MC” Satan’s voice hummed as he nuzzled his warm cheek against your head, his hands stirring atop your lap as you somehow seemed to curl further into the grasp of him, “you’re so warm” he continued to speak in a hazed tone as he continued to engulf you in his grasp.

You could only giggle and sigh at his words as you continued to snuggle up with him on the couch under the blanket that retained your shared body heat.

“Hey don’t distract MC” Levi was quick to argue as he focussed on the game you both were currently in the middle of, “you promised that you wouldn't distract them from completing this level with me if I let you stay, so I repeat, do NOT make us lose our progress Satan”.

And while normally Satan would be quick to react to Levi’s half-baked threat and show him what a true threat was, your presence had him under such a trance of serenity that he couldn’t bear to get up from his spot and disturb you both. So he simply muffled a response he had no intention of keeping and continued to settle his head in the crook of your neck, his lips brushing your skin ever so softly that it could have simply been interpreted as a happy accident.

Though you knew Satan better than to believe that excuse of innocence.

“Hey Levi,” you said while continuing to click your fingers along the buttons of the controller you held, “I think the controller is starting to bug out a little bit,” you feigned while purposefully clicking the wrong buttons, “it won’t let me follow you into the next chamber.”

“No, no, no” Levi quickly paused the game on his end and ran to his room, you assumed to retrieve some sort of solution to the ‘broken controller’.

“That’s odd,” Satan said while fidgetting with the controller, “It’s working just fine for me right now”

You softly placed two fingers under the demon's chin and turned his gaze to yours, his lips mere inches from your own and already trembling at what you would possibly be doing with them next, “Satan, be quiet, not a sound can come out of you until I say so” you ordered with a soft tone of voice, a clear contradiction to the words that spilled from your lips.

The order however seemed to be effective, though admittedly you couldn’t quite tell if it was because you were his master or if he was simply pathetic enough to not crave putting up a much of a fight. And while you wished to see right now just how obedient of a pup he could truly be, Levi’s steps and quickly sounded as he breathed heavily and entered the room with a new controller in his grasp, “I- I got the other one” he said between labored breaths as he hunched his body over and held out the controller.

“Oh, thanks Levi,” you said in a cheery tone, “but I actually was hoping I could get a little break, my eyes are hurting from staring at the screen for too long, do you think Satan could play in my place,” you asked, using a tone of voice and pleading eyes that you knew Levi just couldn’t say no to.

Levi was more than reluctant to the suggestion of adding his brother to the game, but he couldn’t help but melt into your smile and begrudgingly handed Satan the new remote, “you do still know how to play right” he asked while sitting back down on another couch.

Satan nodded to his brother, and though you could tell Levi questioned his lack of verbal response, you quickly interjected from any further questions being asked by starting the game back up.

A few minutes passed of calm gameplay, Levi was still leading the team perfectly, and Satan was actually doing quite well as an added fighter to the quest. While he wasn’t quite the gamer that Levi was, no one could deny that he was doing a pretty great job at keeping up with the pace.

“You’re doing so well Satan” you carefully whispered into his left ear as you hooked your fingers along the waistband of his sweatpants, the soft comfy ones you had just bought him last week and adored to see him in, “keep playing pup” you continued to coo into his hear as you ever so slightly scratched at his lower abdomen with your sharp fingernails, the fresh manicure he had just bought you already being put to perfect use.

Suddenly the controller that sat in his hands began to buzz violently and like clockwork, “SATAN NO” Levi suddenly screamed in agonizing pain, “you need to focus” he continued to yell while fixing his error in the gameplay before he went back to violently playing and rushing his focus to the screen.

Your lips only curled into a devious smile as you fully snuggled into the warmth of the blanket that you and Satan shared, your hands once again coming to grasp at his waistband and tug ever so gently onto it as you traced a single finger onto his growing erection. “Make sure you’re paying attention pup, Levi will know something’s up if you don’t play” you cooed in his ear while placing a soft kiss on his cheek, “assist him while I take care of you”

Satan could only silently oblige, simply nodding his answer as he gripped at his controller.

You couldn’t help but adore your demon in this state, the demon of wrath a mere puddle in your palm, a higher being whose powers crumbled before your words and actions. Something as simple as a lick to his neck was enough to cause shivers down his back, a little scratch from your manicure could cause his hips to involuntarily buck into your grasp, and just one pull of his waistband could allow his hard erection to spring free and already begin to drip onto your hands.

“You’re so obedient, albeit a little eager, but you’re listening so carefully” you continued to whisper, releasing a breath of hot air into his ear and using your free hand to tug at his hair, while the other continued to stroke him ever so slowly, enjoying the way he tried so hard to buck into your hands at a faster speed than you were willing to give.

The sweat on his forehead continued to build up, and the corners of his mouth twitched while he tried so hard to focus on the game and not tip off Levi on what could possibly be happening under this blanket just a mere few feet away from him. But the feelings you were curating just for him were insane, and it wasn’t just the stroking of his cock that drove him to near growls, it was the way you put careful attention to detail in each of his senses. You knew exactly how to put each of his five senses into overdrive, in ways that he hadn’t ever thought to be possible, and yet you somehow discovered and did it all so effortlessly.

“Satan”

Your whisper of a moan echoed so deeply into his mind that thoughts were no longer coherent, there was only one singular thought that shone brightly into his mind, and that was the image of the endless things you could do to him in privacy. The desire rang so deeply in his brain that without a second thought, he quickly pulled himself out of your grip, pulled his pants back up, tossed the controller to the side, pulled the blanket away from the both of you and carried you into his arms away from the room.

“SATAN WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU” Levi yelled from the top of his lungs while he tried to fight off the sudden swarm of enemies that were coming at him in the game, however as you were being carried away and looked at the screen from over Satan’s shoulder you could see it was to no avail as the words ‘loser’ painted the screen “NOOOOOOOO—”

Levi’s scream echoed through the house and was only muffled once Satan tossed you onto his bed and closed the door, quickly pulling off his shirt and tossing it to the side as he swooped down to your level and began to attack your neck in a flurry of kisses and bites.

And while tingles of pleasure ran across your body, you knew that your demon had disobeyed and for that, he needed to be punished. You lifted your hand and grabbed a full chunk of his hair into your grip and pulled it back hard, “Satan, what do you think you're doing,” he attempted to open his mouth to say something but quickly recalled through his efforts that you had banned him to use his words, “you’ve been a bad pup and bad pups need to be disciplined”.

His eyes were fogged with tears and overwhelming emotions, he swallowed hard as he got down and kneeled in front of you.

You thought it looked humorous, a demon kneeling before you as though you were the only God he could ever respect, especially when you both knew that you were, each word of yours rang like a hymn. His fingers twitched at his sides as the urge to touch your skin gnawed at him, but he stayed still, practically salivating at the mere thought of his endless desires.

“You’re such a beautiful demon, a statue of beauty” you spoke with authority, retaining your strong grip on his hair as you dipped down to his level and placed your free hand under his chin, caressing his jaw as the bottom of your foot gently stepped down on his erection, causing you to chuckle as he silently winced at the feeling of it, “It’s a shame I’ll have to break you down to ash”.

#obey me mc #obey me smut #obey me #smut #x reader #obey me satan #shall we date satan #satan #satan x mc #mc x canon #mc x satan #shall we date mc #obey me shall we date #om! shall we date

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undertheopensky · 6 months

Text

We Are But Children 3

Whumptober Day 21: Restraints

Characters: Time, Legend, lil bit of Hyrule and Warriors

Trigger warnings: Violence to a child, mild body horror, minor character death, don’t worry it’s no one you care about, I was going to say it’s not graphic but SOMEONE had other ideas

Read on Ao3!

Late to the party? Read Part 1 and Part 2!

-----

Blinking, the newly-babyfied Time glances around. “Well this is inconvenient.”

Everyone’s tense, almost too afraid to breathe. Four had panicked and cried; Legend had panicked and grabbed a weapon. No one wants to know what Time will do - or accidentally scare him into doing it.

It’s Wars who approaches him. Calm, and smiling, and visibly praying he’ll be recognised. “Hey, bud. Nothing fazes you, huh?”

“Why would it? I’m used to portals and weird wizzrobes at this point.” Baby!Time squints at his own hands. “I admit it’s been a while, though.”

“Okay,” says Warriors. “What’s the last thing you remember, Mask?”

Baby-fine hairs glimmer in the firelight as the child raises one eyebrow. “Been a long time since you’ve called me that, Wars.”

Warriors’ face screws up, losing the steady gentleness that was making Legend’s hair stand on end. “What?”

“I’m fine, Wars, I didn’t lose anything. Weird wizzrobe, not the first time, I’m going to be very short for the next three days.” Adult!Time’s amusement at their bafflement looks creepy as fuck on Baby!Time’s face.

“Wait,” Legend demands, “why the hell does he get to retain his memories while I spent three days embarrassing myself?”

“I am the Hero of Time, you know,” says Baby!Time, with unbearable smugness for such a tiny child.

Legend makes an outraged noise. “Excuse you, I have definitely fucked around enough with the Harp of Ages to –”

Exactly what he was going to say is drowned out by Warriors squawking “LANGUAGE!” and clapping his hands over Baby!Time’s ears.

“He is thirty –”

“Ah-t-t-t! I don’t care! He is like seven and you will watch your language!”

Legend fumes silently but has to drop the argument.

Baby!Time wrestles Warriors’ hands away from his head. “I dunno why you bother, I already learned all the good curses from the soldiers.”

“I’m trying not to make that problem any worse, thank you.” Still, Warriors lets him go. “Now - you sure you’re okay? You’re not sore, or dizzy? You still remember everyone?”

“It’s strange.” Time spreads his arms like a bird. “I still have all my adult memories, and sensations, but they’re less… relevant, somehow. Not as close to the surface.” He takes a few steps, without so much as a wobble. “I don’t feel off balance, or anything.”

“That’s interesting, actually,” says Hyrule, wide-eyed. “When people go through growth spurts they’re often really clumsy until they get used to their new height or reach – I would have thought it would happen in reverse, too.”

Baby!Time nods thoughtfully. “It’s not, though. Maybe all the adult stuff is being held down by the magic too?”

“You’re taking this pretty well,” Sky observes.

Baby!Time shrugs. “I did say I’m used to it.”

“I’m not,” says Warriors. He keeps rubbing at his eyes like they’re bothering him. “My brain is not coping with Baby!Time.”

“You could just go back to calling me Mask.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“I mean, if it makes you feel better,” Baby!Time says. “A nickname’s a nickname. You all call me ‘old man’ half the time, anyway.”

“Ohhhh, that’s so weird,” Twilight mutters, looking vaguely horrified.

Legend snorts. “All in favour of calling him ‘Mask’ for the next three days?”

“Aye,” comes the chorus.

“Well if that’s settled, can we maybe make a plan on what to do next?” asks Wild. “Because I definitely saw some of the moblins making a run for it while we were distracted with the wizzrobe.”

“Can’t leave those running around,” Wars agrees with a sigh. “Twi, see if you can fetch Wolfie, we’ll need him for tracking - wait, fuck. Mask. Twilight can you introduce Mask to Wolfie while you’re at it? I know he’s great but he’s a wild animal and I do not want any mistakes.”

“Sure thing,” says Twilight, with an impressive lack of inflection. “C’mon, kiddo.”

Baby!Time - Mask - shrugs, and runs after him.

They don’t catch up with the monsters that day, despite Wolfie’s best efforts, and make camp deep in the woods when they lose the light. Wolfie could have kept leading them - he’s not following visible sign, after all - but no one wants to wander blindly into an ambush.

In the morning, Legend rouses to the not-unfamiliar dulcet tones of Warriors cursing. “Why are you allowed to swear and I’m not?” he says.

Warriors makes a strangled noise of surprise. Legend grins, still without opening his eyes. “Because until three seconds ago I thought I was the only one awake!” he hisses. “Goddess above, Ledge!”

“Not my fault you have shitty situational awareness,” says Legend, and sits up. “What’re you swearing at?”

Warriors gestures angrily with the flopping leather in his hand. “My boots don’t fit!”

“They can’t possibly have shrunk overnight, and I doubt your feet have swelled that much, they’re not your head.” Still, Legend leans over to take a look. They… definitely look too small. And too short, actually. Wars has fully fitted calf-length boots with buckles for plates to be strapped on; these would barely cover his ankles even if they were the right size. What the hell?

While they puzzle over this the rest of the camp has started to wake up. Twilight - always up with the sun - is gently shaking Wild, while the champion mumbles a constant litany of ‘five more minutes’. Sky is yawning and stretching. Hyrule, last on watch, is packing away all his gear and making sure Sky doesn’t fall asleep again.

“What are you guys doing?”

They both look up. Wind’s standing over them, trying to look stern and managing something closer to ‘delightedly baffled’. “Where’d you get those shoes, Wars? Why? They’re never gonna fit you! Do you have a kid we don’t know about?”

“What?! No!” Warriors makes a garbled noise, caught between embarrassment and indignance. “Why would you even -? No, they’re not mine! I don’t even know where they came from!”

Wind huffs. “Then whose are they?”

“I suspect they’re mine,” says Four, stumping over in boots that are clearly about six sizes too large.

“How the fuck did that happen?” says Wars. They’d been sleeping on opposite sides of camp, for Nayru’s sake. There’s no way their boots could have gotten mixed up in the dark.

“I don’t know and I don’t care, just gimme my shoes.” Four kicks off Wars’s boots and grabs his own, sitting down to put them on properly and adding, “You better not have split any of the stitching with your massive clodhoppers.”

“I stopped trying when I couldn’t even get my toes in!”

The bickering would probably have gone on a lot longer if Hyrule hadn’t started making anxious noises about getting a move on. It’s not safe to stay in one place for too long in this area, he tells them. And he is the expert, so they get a move on. Wild hands out rice balls. It’s not the first time they’ve had breakfast on the go.

It sends a bit of a jolt down Legend’s spine, every time he glances up the line of heroes and doesn’t see Time’s broad frame near the front. It’s disconcerting.

Mask doesn’t have the same movement patterns, either. Besides the obvious, not being Time, he also doesn’t lead the pack. He follows at Warriors’ heels, or sticks close behind Twilight, or walks so near to Hyrule it’s a miracle he doesn’t get stepped on.

Then Sky turns around to ask Wind a question, spots Mask, and nearly trips over himself with a shriek.

The whole party stumbles to a halt.

“I’m sorry, I thought you knew I was there!” Mask says, while Sky frantically tries to apologise for almost stepping on him. “I’ll be more careful, I’m sorry.”

The thing is, it keeps happening.

Legend wonders about that. Mask had said his adult memories were less relevant, somehow. Does he feel more vulnerable, as a child? Like he needs to be closer to the adults to be safe?

Whatever the case, it’s fucking annoying. Four startles badly whenever Mask’s shadow falls on him – towered over by even the literal child. Warriors jumps about a foot in the air when the wind briefly tangles his scarf around Mask and he feels it tug. Wind offers to give him a piggyback ride, since that’s clearly what he wants if he’s standing so close, which lasts a hilarious but short five minutes before Wind admits defeat. Mask is small, but there’s a lot of muscle under his tunic.

Finally, after Wild does an awkward somersault to keep from landing on the boy, Twilight comes up and plops him on Epona instead. Mask seems happy enough with this arrangement. Legend just breathes a sigh of relief that he doesn’t have to worry about the kid stepping on his shoes anymore.

They make good enough time that by evening, they don’t need Wolfie dropping in and out to keep them on the right track; the trail left by the fleeing monsters is enough for any Hylian eye to follow. At this point, though, they’re even more suspicious of an ambush.

“Everyone okay with stopping for the night?” Warriors calls, as the sky fades to duller shades of orange.

“I’m hardly going to complain,” Sky says, slumping almost on the spot. He’s nearly grey under the flush of exertion. Their pace has been a little much for him, though he hasn’t said a word of complaint. Legend marks that, and hopes they catch up tomorrow.

Wind also collapses more or less where he stands, and starts pulling his boots off. “I hate walking,” he complains, not for the first time. Unlike Sky, he will gleefully inform the world at large of every small discomfort. “Give me a boat any day. Ugh! I have blisters!”

“Were you wearing socks?”

“No! They’re itchy!”

“For the love of Nayru, sailor…”

While Wars patches him up and scolds him over foot care, the rest of them set up camp. “No fire tonight,” Wild tells them, “smoke’s too much of a risk.”

Legend makes a face - cold dinner tonight - but no one argues. It’s at least not cold cold out here. Their bedrolls will be warm enough without the need for a fire to keep from freezing to death.

As Twilight hauls his bedroll down from Epona, he staggers a bit under its weight. And it’s bulky, for sure, but not heavy, not to someone who slings goats around for a living. He must be tired from running back and forth all day long. Legend keeps an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t collapse or something, but Twilight’s just frowning as he lays out the thick padding, struggling with it more than usual. Then, he flips open the top layer.

His bedroll is full of rocks.

Twilight stares. So does everyone else. “What the hell?”

It’s not easy to read Adult!Time - he nearly always looks placidly amused.

Mask’s poker face isn’t nearly as good. Despite having all Time’s control and experience, the softness of his face gives him away. His eyes crinkle at the corners and his lips go tight trying not to smile.

Twilight spots it immediately. His eyes narrow. As he turns to flee, Mask starts laughing, which both gives him away and makes escaping impossible. Twilight catches him with ease.

“You little gremlin!” Twilight shouts over Mask’s laughter. He shakes him, gently, where he’s dangling him upside down by his ankles.

Mask seems unconcerned by this. He’s still laughing, gleeful and unrepentant in the face of Twilight’s brotherly wrath. “Your face! That was the best, I’m so glad I didn’t do it to Wars he’s so boring about people messing with his bed -”

“What gets me to sleep faster, freaking out about it or fixing the problem?” says Warriors, without looking up.

“See?” Mask complains, giggling as Twilight shakes him again.

“You little gremlin,” Twilight repeats. “I can’t believe you. Come on, then, you’re helping me get all the rocks out.” He flips Mask the right way up and scrubs a rough but friendly hand through his hair.

“‘Kay,” says Mask cheerfully.

It’s not a difficult task - all they really need to do is upend the bedroll and shake it out. Mask hadn’t used any stones smaller than a thumbnail so there was no worry about things getting caught in the corners, and they were all too smooth to damage the fabric. The bedroll is clean and ready to go in less than five minutes. Twilight sighs in relief. “Alright, menace, I’ll let you off the hook - but don’t do it again, y’hear?”

Mask blows a raspberry at him. “It’s no fun doing the same thing twice!”

Then he runs off, jumping on an unsuspecting Wind with a war cry.

Ignoring the wrestling match that breaks out, Twilight asks, “Was he always such a hellion?”

“I think he was actually worse,” says Wars.

-----

This time Legend comes to with a massive fucking headache. Also, the floor is moving, which he does not appreciate at all. It’s making his stomach feel so much worse. He groans in protest, and hears an answering groan from nearby. Fuck, that means he needs to wake up more and be functional.

What had happened? The expected ambush hadn’t been challenging. The moblins were black-blooded, yes, and smart enough to set up shop in the least defensible spot in the region so the Chain had no cover when they attacked, and wound up split off into smaller groups. But between his ice rod and Hyrule’s Thunder spell they’d cleared out the moblins, and the out-of-time lizalfos that showed up to investigate, and he, Hyrule, and Mask had been headed for the last place they’d seen the others when -

Nothing.

So something probably happened in that nothing.

Goddess, his head hurts.

Thinking about it isn’t getting him anywhere, so Legend braces himself to crack open his eyes.

Fortunately, it’s dark, so his head doesn’t do more than thump briefly about the new stimulus before settling down to sulk. Hyrule is the first thing his eyes catch on.

Even in the dark it looks bad. He’s an awkward tangle of limbs in unconsciousness, blood all through his hair and tunic torn over an untreated wound, stirring vaguely when Legend calls his name. Through the gloom, Legend can tell his eyes aren’t quite in focus. Damn. “C’mon, Rulie,” he coaxes, “talk to me.”

Hyrule groans again. “M’head…”

Yeah, that’s fair. Legend looks again at the blood, reminds himself that Hyrule’s at least mostly conscious, and tries to shake off the nausea. Though maybe that’s from the rocking floor. Hopefully Mask at least had gotten away -

“What hit me?” Mask grumbles from behind him, and there goes that hope.

“Fuck this shit,” Legend says, or slurs, rather, and fuck, Rulie’s not the only one with a concussion. No wonder his head is killing him. He tries to roll over - and realises his hands are trapped behind his back, hard-cold-biting-edges pinning his wrists together. His blood goes to ice.

The darkness – the moving floor – the restraints –

It all adds up to captured.

Hyrule’s in the middle of the same realisation – foggy eyes going wide with panic. He thrashes, fighting whatever has his arms pinned, booted feet thumping against the wooden wall.

It’s instinct to lunge forward. Legend discovers too late that his manacles are actually hooked to something, brought up short by the yank in his shoulders. He curses instead, and tries to calm him with words alone. “Easy, easy Rulie, it’ll be okay, we’ll get out of this -”

Hyrule kicks the wall again.

“Please Rulie you’ll hurt yourself -”

The floor jolts to a stop.

Hyrule gasps. Legend’s stomach lurches – partly from the rolling motion ceasing, partly from anxiety at whatever was about to happen. The manacles dig in painfully as he leans back on his arms to roll into a sit. (And ignores the way his vision goes white, then black, then slow, spotty grey, as the pain crests and fades back.)

Footsteps, muffled; crunching on gravel, coming around to the door of the carriage. There’s a long moment of rattling metal. Keys in a lock. Then the door swings wide.

Legend doesn’t let the blinding, nauseating light stop him from barking, “What the fuck d’you think you’re doing?”

Shackled to a wall, concussed and listing, he doesn’t make for a very threatening picture. He only gets laughter in response.

“Whad’you even want with us?” he demands, all too aware of the two behind him. Just as trapped, just as helpless. He’s the oldest, here, the veteran hero; it’s up to him to find a way out.

The bandit grins at him, silhouetted in the doorway.

“Knew we’d get a good haul outta you, didn’t we? At first we was just gonna take your magic stuff. One good quality fire rod can go for thousands to the right buyer. Then we saw ya throwin’ lightnin’ around, an’ realised - just how much more would we get, for real live magical creatures? Ones pretendin’ t’be Hylian, walkin’ among civilised folks? We ain’t dealt in live cargo in a while, but we still got the stuff for it.”

Legend’s only half-listening. As he adjusts to the glare outside he’s scanning and assessing, and does not like what he sees.

A least eight people visible, all in the same sort of hard wearing, mismatched clothing. More surrounding the cart; he can hear muttering and laughter from out of view. Everyone’s hard-eyed and alert, and everyone’s armed. Not with the usual rusty shit bandits tend to scrounge up, either. There’s quality steel on some of those backs. Not good.

“You should let Mask go, then,” Legend argues. “He’s just a kid - he’s got no talent for magic.”

The bandit snorts. “Anyone who can keep up with things like you two’ll be worth somethin’. And those marks? If ‘e ain’t fae-touched, then I’m a chuchu.

“We’ve got a long ways to go yet, so just sit back an’ enjoy the ride. An’ quit kickin’ the walls – ain’t no one out here to hear you, an’ I don’t want you damagin’ the merchandise.”

With one last black grin, the door to the carriage slams closed.

“Well that sounds like bullshit.” Mask sits up, and Legend sees that he’d been bound in rope rather than iron. He hopes, vaguely, that that means these fuckers don’t usually capture children-sized people, and so had to improvise. Whatever the case, it meant a flexible, squirmy child was able to wriggle free, before the carriage even lurches back into motion. “Obviously we’re not gonna stick around here, so what’s the plan?”

“I want my shit back,” says Legend, doing his best not to slur the words. “An’ I’d rather not go through the black market for it.”

“We probably shouldn’t leave these guys to steal things and sell people, either.” Mask makes a face. “No offence, though, you two look like shit. You’re in no condition for a fight.”

Legend growls, but can’t really argue. His headache has not been improved by the rising stress of the situation. If he tried to stand up right now, he’d probably fall, and maybe pass out into the bargain. Hyrule has blood running down his face from the blow that knocked him out, and Legend suspects his successor feels even worse than he does right now. The kid’s barely even following the conversation. “So, what? Think you can jump out of here and find the others in time? Don’t even know where we are.”

“Nah, I’ve got a better idea.” Mask frowns, then, chewing his lip in a way that Warriors would definitely have scolded him for, before saying, “Don’t freak out, okay? Wars always does, but it’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“That is the most concerning thing you could possibly have said,” says Legend, but no one can reach to stop him as he shoves a hand down his own tunic to reveal –

A carved wooden mask.

That’s hardly surprising - Adult!Time has quite the collection, after all. Though why Baby!Time had opted to stash one in his tunic is anyone’s guess. It’s also not one Legend’s seen before. Shaggy white hair, the angles of a Hylian face marked with bright colour, and dark voids where the eyes should be.

A chill runs over him. “Mask - what is that thing?”

Mask hesitates. “Don’t freak out,” he repeats, lifting the wood to his face.

“Mask stop!”

Too late. Mask curls in on himself and keens, high and strangled. There’s a crunching sound like bones underfoot, the squelch of raw meat tearing.

Legend’s shouting. Hyrule’s struggling against the shackles to come and help. But they can’t reach him. Mask is alone, as the sickening noises stop, and his stifled cries go quiet.

“Mask?” Legend calls, suddenly and terribly afraid. “Time?”

Slowly, he turns, and Legend tries not to be visibly alarmed. He’s – too tall to be Mask, and too short to be Adult!Time; he looks Legend’s age, despite the shock white hair. But it’s not that, or the hair, or even the newly-mirrored markings on his face that make his stomach turn. It’s the eyes – pure white, and strangely reflective, like polished porcelain.

They’re empty.

The – being – Legend’s not confident calling them ‘Time’ anymore – glances around the carriage as if taking it in. Their head tilts. Considering. Then, they put one hand over their shoulder to grasp at the air like they’re grasping for a sword. And suddenly there is a sword, nearly as long as he is tall, with two blades intertwined in a strange spiral pattern.

Legend breaks out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, the being’s not even looking at him. All the intensity of their focus is on the door, contemplating it like a complex dungeon puzzle. Legend’s almost too afraid to breathe, lest it draw the looming mountain of their attention.

Their other hand goes up to the hilt, and they draw.

Legend can’t help it - he scrabbles back, feet slipping on the cool wood. The being doesn’t so much as glance his way. They lift the blade, studying its smooth curves, with no sign of the effort it should take to lift its bulk, and their head tilts again.

Then the sword flashes, and wood explodes outward.

Bandits scream in surprise. Legend can’t see; between the blinding light and the splintered remains of the door his view’s restricted to a sliver, but the being is no longer in the carriage with them and there’s all the sounds of a fight outside. He curses and struggles with his manacles again. Legend hates feeling useless, but here and now, all he can do is listen to the screech of metal on metal, the shouts and curses of the gang, and strange, wet-sounding thumps as heavy things hit the ground and don’t get back up.

Something strikes the cart with enough force to set it rocking. It’s followed by the distinctive sound of a blade thrust into flesh, a boot sucking free of deep mud. Hyrule jolts at the noise, and squints across the wagon at Legend to check him for injury. Legend would laugh if he wasn’t wound so tight.

Eventually, things go quiet, except for the nervous stomping of the carthorse. Legend’s heart is thundering in his ears. He feels like he was the one fighting, the way his breath comes in short, trembling huffs. And with the shouting gone there’s no way to tell what’s happening -

There’s a noise of irritation. Then there’s a crunch, and what’s left of the door wrenches free, letting sunlight stream in unimpeded. Legend squints, but doesn’t turn away. (Hyrule does, burying his face in the floor. Kid must have one hell of a headache.)

The being with Time’s face appears. They are, not unexpectedly, doused in blood. More unexpectedly, the flat expression has relaxed into something not quite like a smile.

It is not reassuring.

The being hauls themselves up into the wagon. Hyrule grunts at the vibration of their boots hitting the floor - now that Legend’s looking, they’re wearing half armour, plates over the chest and legs and heavy armoured boots, completely unlike the child’s tunic Mask had changed into.

“Time?” he tests, deliberately rocking up onto his knees.

As planned, the being’s eyes shift from Hyrule to his movement. “I am not the Hero of Time.” Their head tilts, identical to the way they’d looked at the door, seconds before it turned to matchsticks. Somehow, though, Legend’s not afraid. The sense of constrained energy that had set his teeth on edge just… isn’t there, anymore. “You are bound. I will release you.”

Using the massive sword as a cutting tool seems like overkill, but it gets the job done. There’s a shriek and a crack, and some of the pressure on Legend’s hands releases. When he pulls them around, the band of metal holding the manacles together is cut through.

“If you’re not Time, or - Mask, then - where is he? He better be okay.” The last part comes out forlorn instead of aggressive, which pisses him off.

“The Hero of Time is asleep, young one,” the being tells him. Hyrule’s restraints get the same treatment, letting the dazed hero sit up properly without the chains caught up around their mooring pole. “He will not wake until my task is done.”

“And what is your task, exactly?” Legend moves to check on Hyrule - he’s been way too quiet, even after riding out a panic attack.

“To fight until the fighting is done. That is always my task: to fight the battles the Hero of Time cannot win.”

“Wait, so if he’s had you in reserve this whole time, why hasn’t he ever used you before now?”

The thing wearing Time’s face smiles, slow and cruel.

“He knows better than to call on me for such paltry matters. The cost would be far too high.”

Legend’s heart freezes. “Cost?”

“I am a god of war. And war always takes its price. Where it gets it is of no concern.”

“What kind of cost? If you’ve hurt him -”

“The Hero of Time has always been very aware of the price some things demand. For that reason alone, he would have been one of my favoured.” The being sighs, still smiling that terrifying smile. “But… my work is done, and the penance is paid. Farewell for now, heroes.” They lift one hand to their familiar-alien face.

The change back is quicker, somehow. A rush of air and magic power draining away, and suddenly it’s Mask’s hands holding the carved wooden face, smiling up at Legend. He looks tired, but not wrecked, as Legend had feared when he’d heard the enchantment boiling to life through his bones. “So, was he nice to you? He better have been. I yelled at him the last time he scared Wars.”

“I don’t think ‘nice’ is the right word to use,” says Legend, still a little stunned.

Mask groans. “Did he at least solve our bandit problem?” He hops back out of the wagon to check. Legend, after taking a moment to collect the still-unsteady Hyrule, follows.

Outside is sheer carnage. It’s less ‘bodies’ than ‘pieces’, and Legend has to look away and swallow hard. He’s not used to this kind of aftermath - doesn’t usually fight people, just manifestations of hatred that can’t hold corporeal form once killed.

There’s so much blood.

Mask ignores it with an ease that Legend’s going to find upsetting later. He leads them around to the front of the cart, where the carnage is less; the bandits had all rushed to the main source of the fight, not hung around waiting for it to come to them. The bay mare hooked up to the wagon snorts at them, eyes and nostrils wide.

“He left the horse alive,” Legend says blankly. He’d heard it, even after the sounds of battle faded, but somehow hadn’t quite conceptualised it.

“Well sure. It’s not her fault she was owned by assholes.” Mask steadies the mare with a few gentle words and a firm hand on the bridle. “Besides - she can carry us a lot further and a lot faster than we can go on foot. Now c’mon, help me search this thing for our bags, ‘cause if they dumped them somewhere it’s gonna make our lives so much harder.”

Legend does in fact find their packs, in a poorly-hidden compartment under the driver’s bench. Which is great, because now he doesn’t have to go hunting his gear down. It’s even better because there’s still half a red potion in here somewhere with Hyrule’s name on it.

Hyrule’s eyes clear as the potion does its work, though there’s still a visible knot above his ear. “Legend, what - you okay?”

“He’s fine, I’m fine, we’re all fine except the bad guys,” Mask interrupts. “More importantly: how are we gonna get back to the others?”

“I say we head back the way we came and make a decision when there’s a split in the road,” says Legend. He really just wants to be done with this day. Sleep sounds fantastic right now, so it’s a pity he’s got long hours piecing together the bandits’ route ahead of him. He hates backtracking. Backtracking on other people’s bullshit is even worse.

The horse doesn’t care about backtracking; the horse is all too eager to leave the blood-soaked stretch of road behind them, once they get her turned around. In hindsight, Legend’s really glad she didn’t take off when people started dying loudly and messily nearby. He wouldn’t have blamed her, but he also doesn’t fancy being chained up in the back of a runaway cart.

Miracle of miracles, they’ve been on the road less than half an hour when they start seeing flashes of colour through the trees. Hyrule squints. “Is that Four?”

“Aaand Wolfie,” says Mask with a sigh, as frantic barking becomes audible.

“Thank Nayru, Din and Farore,” says Four, flinging himself off Wolfie when the canine skids to a halt. “We were so worried, are you all alright, are those manacles - fuck, Ledge, you’re bleeding -”

“What, still?” says Legend blankly, touching fingers to scalp.

Wolfie glances up from where he’d been sniffing noses with the carthorse and gives a disapproving ‘boof’.

“Shut up, there was more important shit to deal with,” Legend tells him.

Four makes short work of the manacles - someday Legend’s going to ask just how he manages to keep a mini-forge on his person at all times - and he’s just pulling off the last one when the rest of the group comes jogging up.

“Goddesses, Mask, what happened?!” Wild exclaims. “You’ve got -” he gestures to his face - “all over!”

“Oh yeah, I forgot he does that when I’m little.” Mask runs an absent-minded finger over one blood-marked cheek. “The markings are protective. In places where they’re known, bad guys won’t risk touching me. Even Ghirahim thought twice, and he was a grade-A creeper. Sorry, Sky.”

“Why are you apologising, you’re right,” Sky protests. “Also what’s this about you dealing with Ghirahim, oh my god-”

Honestly, Legend hadn’t even noticed that when the being faded away to leave Mask in their place, the facial markings had stayed, instead of the half-version he was used to seeing on Time. He touches his head again with a frown.

“Legend needs a potion!” Hyrule calls.

“Hyrule needs another one!” Legend shoots back.

Warriors rolls his eyes and hands them both a bottle. “Things must have been pretty dire if he had to use the Fierce Deity, and to be honest you both look like hell.”

“Fuck you too,” Legend grumbles. In truth, the potion is working wonders on the stabbing pain behind his eyes. He hadn’t even realised how sore his neck and back were until it all starts to fade, leaving him wrung-out and tired. It’s almost worth the horrible bitter taste, not at all hidden by the wildberries Wild had tried adding.

While they were getting medic-ed the conversation had gone on without them, which means Legend is treated to the hilarious and context-free picture of ten-year-old Mask being toted around on Sky’s hip like a four-year-old. Mask is clearly resigned to this, if not exactly pleased.

He’s even less pleased when Warriors starts questioning him. “So what’s this I hear about letting Fierce Deity out to play without a minder?”

“Oh come on, he’s fine!”

Legend thinks back to waiting chained up in near-darkness, wet gurgles and the choked cries of the dying outside with no way to know if they would be next, and has to hold back a shudder.

-----

Inspired by this amazing piece of art!

#whumptober 2023 #linked universe #lu time #lu mask #lu legend #lu hyrule #lu warriors #just a bit #skies writes #as usual not supposed to get this long #i stg NO ONE wanted to shut up #this took FOREVER.#i am not entirely happy with this but i also very much am sick of looking at it #day 22 my beloved here we come!

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pokemenlovingmen · 1 year

Note

Ok you know what I’m requesting this for the both of us SPECIFICALLY so you can write it (cough and so I can read it a bit also oops) but anyway. Can i rq adaman, arven, and maybe n (if you do more than one character per rq) with a gn or masc reader who just got their hair cut and it’s a lot shorter than it used to be? Tee hee. 🐉

Oh my god, thank you for your generosity in this request dragon anon, I am on my hands and knees for this SWEETNESS

Nothing like getting a gender reaffirming haircut. Not to be, like, project-y on main, but I definitely went masc here because…. yknow. I’m me. I also like how the dudes you picked all have long hair and are all guys I’m very much into—

Sorry if the length is a little weird!! I’m still trying to figure out consistency with this stuff but I hope you still like it. I know I want my multi character posts to be shorter, but at the same time I feel bad that it’s not the same amount of content!!

Well anyway, let’s push my rambling aside for the time being, I don’t think I’ll ever feel totally confident in what I’m doing, especially with how crazy busy life has been lately, so let’s forget those worries and just Respectfully Enjoy some men.

Adaman, Arven and N see their boyfriend with a new short haircut!

Adaman

💎 — Oh!! You’re so handsome!

💎 — Well, okay, you were always handsome but the hair suits you! He’s just bad with words at the moment.

💎 — It’s honestly doubly exciting for him because he not only gets to see you with short hair, but also the results of all of Arezu’s hard training, and seeing her success here makes this all the sweeter.

💎 — He gets very into ruffling your hair, regardless of if you’re taller than him or not. When it was long, that could easily tangle it, but now that’s not a problem and you’re therefore never safe from getting a noogie eight times a day.

💎 — Even if there’s not much upkeep involved with shorter hair, he’s still volunteering to help with all of it. Need a hand washing it? You got it! Time to brush it through? He’s there!

💎 — He cherishes you so much, of course he treats your hair like it’s sacred. Every part of you is sacred to him and he wants you to know it.

💎 — If your hair is on the thicker side and can retain shape pretty easily, you might find yourself subject to all kinds of little hairstyling experiments. Spit curls, short braids, weird sectioning, Adaman just kind of loses himself in messing around with your hair when you’re in his arms.

💎 — He’ll, of course, love your hair no matter what you do with it. But what makes him love this style the most is how happy it makes you! You seem so much more comfortable and confident like this, and anything that can do that for you is a good thing in his book.

Arven

🥪 — Woah, who’s this handsome guy and what did he do with his boyfriend? He probably gives you a joking wolf whistle the moment he sees you.

🥪 — Which he then classily follows up with “well… now our hair product costs just went down!”

🥪 — But okay, joking aside, he’s so genuinely enamored with you once he’s had his fun. He’s so used to you with long hair, and now that it’s short there’s all these little things about your hair and face he’s noticing for the first time. Wow, even more to love—he’s a lucky guy.

🥪 — What he loves the most, though, is how clearly happy this new haircut makes you. You’re so confident and he loves it! He wants to see you like this all the time.

🥪 — Twice as bad as Adaman with the hair ruffling. Won’t stop until your hair is a complete mess or you start doing it back.

🥪 — Pats your head a lot just to see your hair bounce back up, the shorter hair is so springy without all the length to hold it down!

🥪 — He definitely comments on how obviously happy you are, I don’t think he keeps it to himself how happy he is that you’re happy. Maybe you’ll jokingly offer to get his hair cut, too, which he quickly and firmly denies. Nah, he’s good, actually. That look is for you and you alone to rock.

🥪 — Likes pressing his face into your hair shortly after you get it cut; the freshly cut ends tickle his face and he knows it makes you laugh when he does it.

🥪 — Overall huge fan of the new look. God, he really is just so, so lucky to be with a catch like you.

💚 — Okay, N is a smart guy, but he really isn’t that well socialized, so odds are when he sees you for the first time, he might not… realize it’s you. He’s just so used to long-haired you, after all.

💚 — But once the initial shock at this big change settles in, he’s fascinated!

💚 — The texture of your freshly cut hair makes his brain itch a bit. He spends several fascinated hours just running his hands through your hair, marveling at how it’s the very same hair he’s touched many times before, but it somehow feels completely different.

💚 — Beyond his own fascination, he sees how happy you are with the new look and that’s all it takes for him to be happy for you!

💚 — N’s never been one for appearances. You could do whatever you want with your hair and, once he takes a moment to realize it’s you under that drastically changed hairstyle, he’d be happy with it as long as you are.

💚 — No matter what changes you make to your hair, he always finds something to compliment about it. Usually texture-related, those are just the sorts of things that maintain his attention.

💚 — The smell of whatever products you use will quickly become his favorite thing. It just reminds him so much of you and being close to you.

💚 — For this haircut and future ones, he always has a Pokemon to playfully compare you to. Oh, your hair is so bouncy now, like an Emolga’s ears. The way you have it gelled so heavily makes him think of a Snivy’s smooth, sleek head. It’s so soft, like a Tranquil’s down feathers! He could go on.

💚 — Whatever you decide to do with your hair, it’ll always be a big thumbs up from him!

#pokemon x reader #pokemon n x reader #n x reader #adaman x reader #arven x reader #adaman x male reader #arven x male reader #pokemon male reader #🐉

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theprincelyking · 4 months

Text

TADC Headcanons (Mostly about their memories)

I’ve been thinking of headcounts for the circus. Just tiny parts of their lives that shine through in one form or another. If you want me to expand more on the specifics, let me know.

I think subconsciously they do retain some vague glimmer of their memories, which contributes to their personalities. And that small things can trigger something primal and unknown within them, for example:

…

Pom: “Ugh, we really are gonna be stuck here forever.” Jax: “Glad you managed to figure that out toots! After all, you gotta get used to the next how many years we’re gonna be in here.” Pom: “I’m gonna be old enough to be someone’s grandma.”

She looked over to see Jax’s eyes welling with tears, that threatened to spill out

Pom: “Ahh! Are you okay? Did I upset you?” Jax: “Ugh, right. Fair warning. Random words can set us off. For some reason, my body starts bugging out everytime I hear the word, "grandma". Tried to get Caine to fix it, but no luck.” . . .

But it can also be wholesome I betcha …

Ragatha was sitting at the table bored. Seemingly unimpressed with her plate of digital food

Pom: “…Are…Are you going to eat that?”

She slides it over to Pomni and she gingerly eats it

Pom: “Uhh…This place sure has…well food.” Rag: “Yeah. Nothing too interesting.” Pom: “True. I wish they had something more diverse…Like something seasoned, or something like desert. Ohh, I could really go for some beans.”

She smiles warmly at that

Rag: “I don’t know why, but everytime I hear the word "beans’" I feel weirdly happy. It’s almost nostalgic.” Pom: “Do you like beans?” Rag: “I don’t know. But I like that word a lot.” . . .

And some can be just plain weird …

Zooble was walking back to their room while Pomni followed

Pom: “So…What’s it like having…A body like that?” Zoo: “Hard to keep track of when your roommate keeps using your hand as a back scratcher. Also walking was a NIGHTMARE when I first got here.” Pom: “I can only imagine. It looks like a lot.” Zoo: “Yeah. It’s so annoying.”

Pomni nodded

Pom: “Well, maybe we could do something to get away from the others.” Zoo: “Not interested.” Pom: “Oh, that’s okay. Uhh, I guess I just wanted to forget about the whole…In a video game thing.” Zoo: “sigh I know it’s hard. But I’m not really the person you wanna hang out with.” Pom: “I’m sure your not a drag or anything. Ehh…I guess if you need me, I’ll be outside the tent. I think I saw a bunch of weird stuff outside. Balls, Board games. I think I even saw a pair of skates-”

Zooble immediately bursted out with laughter, almost falling to the floor, beating their mismatched feet on the ground as they wheezed hard at the word

Zooble: [censored] [censored] [censored]- Oh [censored], don’t say that word around me. It drives me nuts.” Pom: “Huh? Skates?” Zoo: WHEEZE . . .

And some are just…Completely out of left field … Pom: “Marco!” Rag: “Polo!”

They were in the digital lake, going on another one of Caine’s adventures. Thankfully today was rather simple. A pool party in the digital lake. Nothing more.

Pom: “Marco!” Jax: “Polo.”

Jax was using a giant rubber ducky to swim away from her immediately after that

Rag: “Hey! That’s not fair!” Jax: “Oh please, she’ll be fine.” Pom: “Marco!” Gang: “…Help?”

Pomni unblindfolded herself and could see Gangle, sort of stuck to the surface of the water…It didn’t seem like she could move. Pomni picked her up and she wrapped herself around her head, sort of creating a cute little bow on her head

Gang: “Oh that’s better, so cold…” Rag: “I was wondering where she was.” Jax: “I wasn’t.”

Pomni akwardly patted her mask and put back on the blindfold. She drifted in the water a bit before yelling out again

Pomni: “Marco!” Kinger: “I’ll have the Neapolitan cappuccino, More Cappa than Chino. Make sure it's got no more than 4oz of milk, The beans won't have the right texture otherwise-“

He explained in disturbing detail a very lengthy coffee order, which completely stopped the game.

Pom: “…Okay, maybe we should take a break.” Zoo: “I agree, especially since Jax is using my FACE AS A F[censored]G FOOTREST!”

Looks like Zooble also came apart in the water. And was not happy about it.

Rag: “I got your arm!” King: “…Oh!”

He paddles over with their torso, using it as a board to propel himself across

King: “Here you go!” Zoo: “…Gee. Thanks.”

They sneered a bit

#headcanon #the amazing digital circus #TADC #gangle #zooble #kinger #ragatha #jax #pomni #the amazing digital circus pomni #fanfic #head cannon #light angst #fluff

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yumeinati · 5 months

Text

Seeing what my sister knows about the Mechanisms - Spoilers: Not enough

I love my sister, I do. She lets me rant to her about the Mechanisms 24/7. But the real question is whether or not she pays attention to what I say. I decided to quiz her and see how much she retains from our conversations <3

DTTM Spoilers/Talk

Starting off with everyone's favorite Captain First Mate!

Name: Jonny d'Ville | Mechanism: Blood | Role: Master at Arms

"He's cool I guess"

Not really surprised by her response to him, nor am I shocked she got his Mechanism wrong since when I first asked her to do this, she was like "I only know three of them. Jonny d'Ville, Nastya Rasputina, and Jonny Sims" and I had to remind her that two of those were the same person. Speaking of Nastya Rasputina!

Name: Nastya Rasputina | Mechanism: Lungs | Role: Pilot

"My favorite" Proceeded to give a thumbs up.

As I taught her, Nastya is best girl and deserves the whole world. I am rather shocked she got her Mechanism wrong as I once word vomited to her about mercury poisoning when I was plotting for a Nastya-centric fic, but its okay. Next up is Ashes!

Name: Ashes O'Reilly | Mechanism: Eyes | Role: Quartermaster

"They're cool, I like them"

Used the wrong pronouns but immediately realized and corrected herself before I had to so that's a win that she paid attention there. (We stan an ally <3) I talk about Ashes so much so I'm surprised that she got their Mechanism wrong but its okay, I still love her. Now to an Archivist who actually knows how to do her job (this is S1 Jon Sims slander, I am not sorry, he did not know what he was doing)

Name: Ivy Alexandria | Mechanism: Brain | Role: ????

"I don't really know...Ivy I guess is cool."

I don't talk about Ivy as much as I should, which I really should change because Ivy is amazing. When asked about why she was '????' she just went "I don't know...she has those vibes." which is 100% understandable. Time for the drumbot himself!

Name: Drumbot Brian | Mechanism: All but Heart | Role: Engineer

"Cool."

How does she not have more to say about him? He's been the focus of my rants since I got home from Uni on Sunday and all she has to say is 'cool'. Engineer is at least the closest she could get to Pilot, but I'm still a bit disappointed she didn't get all the answers right. On to her...absolute favorite, TS.

Name: Toy Soldier | Mechanism: All but Voice | Role: Archivist

"The Toy Soldier is the best character and there's no doubt about that."

Her answer came so quickly after I asked her how she felt about TS, I honestly can't say I'm surprised though. She thinks it's a silly little creature. Now to the man that I'm like 100% sure she has a love/hate relationship with, Tim.

Name: Gunpowder Tim | Mechanism: Heart | Role: First Mate

"Cool."

Once again, really confused about how she doesn't have more to say about him. He's literally carrying a huge gun so like, a tad confused on my she didn't think he was Master at Arms, but its alright. Funnily enough, she got the next two completely right, starting with Marius.

Name: Marius von Raum | Mechanism: Arm | Role: Doctor

"His arm is cool."

Applause for her getting everything correct. I force her to listen to The Wassailant in the car. There is no surprise she got his stuff right because I talk about Kofi, and by default Marius, so often. And finally, last but not least, Raphaella <3

Name: Raphaella la Cognizi | Mechanism: Wings | Role: Science Officer

"Just take off the wings and she'd be cooler. Just saying."

The disappointment when she said that was at its peak. I cannot believe that she would say that about the Raphaella la Cognizi and I will be making sure she changes her ways.

I'm not too surprised with Nastya and TS being her favorites, seeing as I talked about them most when I first got into Mechs, but the Raph slander was absolutely uncalled for </3

I also asked her some lore questions.

Q: What is the ship’s name? | A: Aurora

Q: Who is dating the starship, The Aurora? | A: Jonny

Q: Which Mechanism Mechanized themself? | A: Nastya

Q: Who was the first Mechanism? | A: Jonny

Q: Who were the last two Mechanisms to join the crew? | A: Marius and Ivy

Q: Who was the first Mechanism to die/leave the crew? | A: Tim

Q: Who was the last Mechanism to die, timeline-wise? | A: Jonny

Q: Which Mechanism died by death by Octokittens? | A: Brian

Q: Which Mechanism has a morality switch? | A: Brian

Q: Who had a ‘best friend’ named Bertie? | A: Jonny

Q: Which one is an arsonist? | A: Raphaella

Q: Which one blew up the moon? | A: Tim

Q: Which one is a cannibal? | A: Marius

All in all, somewhat disappointed in my ability to get this cemented into her brain </3 Glad she at least was able to match names to faces so I'm at least showing her enough photos of them, but I will definitely start talking to her about Mechs lore more because she needs to know and understand it all.

I will still say that a success is convincing her and my mom to do matching Life360 photos with the most iconic sibling duo and their mother <3

#the mechanisms #the mechs #jonny dville #nastya rasputina #ashes o'reilly #ivy alexandria #drumbot brian #the toy soldier #gunpowder tim #marius von raum #raphaella la cognizi

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laikabu · 2 months

Note

okay trans allegory aside the bit about Kabru's name being unknown is definitely referring to his last name. I def don't wanna rain on your parade for the trans coding stuff! That part's fine but every time this gets mentioned it makes people think that Kabru isn't his real name. But the part in the bible where it says unknown for Kabru is the same place other characters' "full" names go which include their surnames/noble houses. I think the wording of the book is just confusing to be fair. Kabru's is like that probably because his mother was disowned when he was born so he had no family name. Thistle's "real name" is actually unknown and the bible makes a difference between that and Kabru's. Again I think using it for trans headcanons is fun and fine but people are really getting confused over something that's not true. And since Kabru's name is one of the few overtly SE Asian-coded things about him I think it's important people know what's canon. Okay thank you sorry for rambling if this was your intention!

oh yeah i deleted it for posterity’s sake, but i just thought it was funny that things line up

i was just under the impression it was fake because he’s the only character named after a real life place. i’m sure it has a diegetic reason but his name is just so peculiar, none of the other characters are named like this. and it’s not unlike kui to give characters completely different names and never explain it. for example, kuro’s actual name is yodan, even though it had no place in the story, and it’s unknown whether mickbell gave him the new name or he chose it for himself at some point

izutsumi, doni and all of shuro’s retainers were never given a last name, but their names are still there in the ‘true name’ section

thistle was the only one with an explanation because his name is a common language name rather than an elvish one.

if kabru’s birth name is really kabru, they’d just put ‘kabru’ in the real name section. it has been proven before that you don’t need a surname, and i think it was left intentionally vague to fit his mysterious/closed off self. you could infer that he simply doesn’t want you to know.

i guess it’s my fault for not elaborating though. i’d like to know your thoughts after reading this. sorry it got too long

also it’s south asia not SE asia

edit: adding onto this, it doesn’t even have to be related to him being trans. it could be his mother gave him a new name for safety reasons when she ran away from their family, it’s just really convenient that it’s a very unisex name

#ask

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jsraven7 · 2 months

Text

Gods and Signs

I’ve seen a lot of people and posts lately talking about signs from the Gods, and saw a lot of it around when I first started up. Especially on things like witchtok. So let’s talk about it! Warning, this is my personal opinion and how I have been taught over the years.

Any God can give a sign to any person. But there are diverging paths with signs.

First, I wanted to talk about what retains the biggest focus on Godly signs that I’ve seen, and that’s witchcraft. In my practice and experience, working with a God and worshipping them are two different things (though not exclusive! I do both all of the time). I believe you need absolutely no signs or communication to worship a God. Definitely not. What would be the point in that? They accept worship from everyone!

But, it’s a little different when working with a God. Working with a God is something that comes with a lot of witchcraft practices, and is also prevalent in some people’s worship (not all, though). When you wish to work directly with a God, it is polite and rite of passage to reach out to the God, or send out an intention that you wish for Them to reach out to you. You will either receive signs or you won’t—it can be as small as getting overwhelming thoughts of working with Them, or as big as Them sending Their sacred animal to you.

You cannot make a God work with you, so if you do not get a sign or confirmation, most people will just continue on.

Now, that being said, in terms of worship you absolutely do not need a sign. Signs can absolutely be given! But you do not need one to worship a God. If that helps any beginners in their stress over receiving signs.

Witchtok has made a huge deal over receiving signs, and that has panicked/stressed a lot of beginners. In fact, witchtok makes a huge deal out of a lot of stuff to do with the Gods that freaks beginners out a bit. I would know, I was one of them. But you only need to worry about signs in regards to whether you should start something when you are attempting to establish a working relationship with the God or want to incorporate Them into a craft.

All that being said, this is just how I was taught and my belief, so some things I’ve said may be outdated or different than others’ beliefs. But I just wanted to provide a little breathing room for the new Hellenic Polytheists I’ve seen around getting nervous about signs. Everything is okay! Breathe! I know a lot of people can make things seem strict or scary, but I promise you as long as you’re respectful, it’s very hard to really mess up or anger anyone.

Rambling over, but I am always open to questions from beginners who are nervous. I was not given a space to ask questions at the beginning of my practice, and that caused a lot of stress, panic, and errors. I am a firm believer in researching for yourself, but sometimes we just need that human connection, and someone with experience to just tell us we aren’t fucking up. I want to be that space, since I did not have one. I will answer whatever I can.

Khairete 🖤

Edit, because I forgot to state this: I don’t really have a problem with witchtok. I’m still on there a lot of the time. There’s just a weird trend with some things on witchtok when it comes to Gods/Deity work. Not trying to cause any fights!

#hellenic polytheism #helpol #paganism #deity worship #hellenic worship #corvid thoughts #hellenic pagan

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therealdisneyfan2319 · 9 months

Text

The Spider and The Witch Chapter 3: The Athletic Supporter and the Frozen Peas

Summary: Y/N arrives at the Avengers compound where he begins his winter break internship. Along the way, he learns being a superhero is a lot more difficult than Peter made it out to be.

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Male Reader

Warnings: Mild language

Word Count: 2.7K

A/N: Hey y'all! Apologies for the inconsistent posting schedule. I've come to a bit of a roadblock writing Chapter 5 and I have no idea where I'm going with this. Any thoughts or suggestions please send them my way!

Series Masterlist | Masterlist

The last day of the semester brought mixed emotions. There was a wash of relief having finished all your finals papers, projects, and exams, but apprehension loomed overhead with your upcoming Stark Internship. That’s the story you told your parents when you explained you wouldn’t be able to come home for the holidays: it was a Stark Internship upstate at the Avengers Campus. There was no way you’d tell them any more than they absolutely needed to know, bless your mother’s heart if she ever found out you were slinging webs.

Peter worked tirelessly to catch you up to speed, filling you in on everything he thought you needed to know. Most of it was small stuff that wasn’t all too important in the grand scheme of things: don’t eat Bucky’s almond butter, never hand Tony anything, Pietro is always down for Mario Kart, and if you ever see Natasha curled on the couch with a plush orca whale, no you didn’t.

******

“Okay, do you have everything you need?” May asked as she loaded your suitcase in the car. “Toothbrush, retainer, deodorant, athletic suppo-?”

“Yes, May. I’ve got everything I need,” you interrupted loudly.

“Alright, let’s get a move on!” She slammed the trunk closed. “We’re on a tight schedule and we do not want you to be late on your first day.”

You buckled yourself into the passenger seat of May’s car. She was the only other adult besides Tony who knew what was really going on. Naturally she offered to take you upstate once the semester ended. It lessened the risk of your parents finding out the real purpose of your internship. Peter was on vacation in the UK with Ned otherwise he would’ve joined you on the trip upstate. You knew he missed the rest of the team and would love to see them again.

The trip upstate was pretty quiet once you got out of the city. May turned the radio on and you stared out the window most of the trip, your head resting on the seatbelt as the landscape slowly transitioned from urban to rural. The Hudson River on your left, a sense of calm washed over you as the world became quiet once more.

“So,” May started as she turned the radio down. “Peter told me you aren’t really sure if you want to do this.” You shrugged in response. “It’s a lot. He was in high school when he started messing around with this whole superhero thing. He tried to balance homework and friends and saving the neighborhood and for a while he couldn’t keep up with all of it.”

“Peter loved being an Avenger, but I don’t want to be a superhero, May. I just want to be a normal guy doing normal college guy things. Honestly I only took this to get him off my back.”

May sighed, readjusting her grip on the steering wheel. “You have to understand that the past few years haven’t been easy for Peter. He misses it a lot. Maybe watching you become Spider-Man is the next best thing for him. I don’t know. I do think he’s got a point in wanting you to have better control of your powers so you don’t accidentally stick yourself to my ceiling again.”

“Sorry about that,” you mumbled.

“Give it a chance, Y/N. You owe it to yourself to at least try. Worst comes to worst it doesn’t work out and you come back to college and move on with your life. But who knows. This could open up a whole new world for you.”

“Thanks, May.”

******

As you pulled into the Avengers Compound, you noticed Tony standing out by the circle. He stood nonchalant, sunglasses on and hands in his pockets as he watched your car pull around and park by the main entrance. He smirked as he sauntered towards you.

“May! Looking lovely like always,” Tony called as May got out of the car and headed to the trunk.

“Hi Tony! Good to see you again.” She hugged him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Peter sends his regards. He’s over in London vacationing with Ned.”

“He should’ve said something. I would’ve set the two of them up in my penthouse had I known. Good for him, though. He needs to live a little. Oh, allow me.” He lunged forward and grabbed your rather large suitcase out of the trunk. “Mr. L/N, glad to have you here.”

“Thanks, Mr. Stark,” you replied as he shook your hand rather aggressively. While you had already met him once, Tony Stark was still an intimidating figure.

“You’ll take Peter’s old room while you’re here. Don’t worry, I’ve already told Vision to mind the phasing.” He handed you back your suitcase as you slung your backpack over your shoulders. “Most everyone has gone home for the holidays, so it’ll be quiet around here until the new year. But don’t worry, we’ll still keep you busy.” You smiled weakly, thinking about the unknown future that lay ahead of you.

“Well, just call if you need anything,” May yelled as she rolled the passenger side window. “I’ll see you in a few weeks!”

“Thanks May!” you shouted as the car pulled around the drive. She honked twice in return.

******

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, you settled into a routine with those who remained over the holiday season. Monday through Friday you woke up at 6 to lift weights with Bucky. After weight training, Natasha took you over to the mats for sparring practice. In terms of strength you definitely had the upper hand. That didn’t phase Natasha, who was undoubtedly the better combatant. You’d never sparred a day in your life and she didn’t go easy on you. More often than not you ended up flat on your back.

“I don’t know how I’m ever supposed to be good at this,” you complained as she helped you up after a particularly nasty hit.

“Y/N, you’ve only been at this for two weeks. Give yourself a break.”

“Nat, I can’t even dodge a punch properly and I’ve got this weird Spidey sense thing.” She hemmed and hawed as she looked at you. It was true: you were totally uncoordinated when it came to fighting. You were clumsy enough in your everyday life that it probably seeped into other areas of your life, too.

“Focus and patience. That’s all this is. Focus, patience, and practice.” Natasha pushed a sweaty strand of hair off her face. The two of you had been at it for the better part of two hours and were equally exhausted. Your ineptitude wasn’t a reflection of her abilities as an instructor, but you could sense her disappointment in your lack of progress.

Weapons training wasn’t that much better. Your first foray into that world came from Rocket the Racoon. The Guardians dropped by shortly after Christmas for a meeting with Tony and upon learning of your arrival, Rocket took it upon himself to teach you everything he could about weapons in an hour and a half. To say it was overwhelming was an understatement. Rocket rattled off names, specs, calibers, warnings, makers, anything and anything he could think of involving weapons so fast your head spun. Nothing you heard made any sense. It wasn’t until Rhodey took over that he broke things down into manageable snippets of information. Still, you felt like a fish out of water.

******

The first time you walked into the gym, an oversized room situated with mock building tops, scaffolding, lampposts, and mats, AC/DC thundered over the PA system while Tony messed around with a couple of foam blocks. You nervously walked in, bottle of Gatorade in one hand and grippy socks in the other.

“Hey! Underoos Two!” Tony’s face lit up as he looked up from the screen. “How’s it going?”

“Good,” you answered, dropping your drink to the floor close to the exit.

“Don’t sound so enthusiastic there, kiddo,” Tony smirked. You plopped down, untying your shoes and pulling your socks off. “Woah, hang on. Got something for you.” You grunted as a ball of spandex hit you clear in the face. “Put that on!” As you removed it from your face, you looked at the red and blue bundle in your hands. Black strands that resembled webbing traced up and down the fabric, and a large nanotechnic spider adorned the middle of the suit. Little suckers peppered the hands and feet of the suit. A mask with wide white eyes fell out of the bundle and landed face up on the floor next to you. As the eyes stared back up at you, you couldn’t help but feel that it was Peter watching your every move.

“The design is the exact same as Peter used to wear. I’ve tweaked it a bit. There’s a gap in the wrist so you can shoot those, what, are those actual webs you shoot?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never actually analyzed its molecular structure,” you shrugged.

“Alright, so there’s a gap for you to shoot those web-like thingies from. That’s new. Plus, you know, some general upkeep, maintenance, and, of course, a complete OS update for the training wheels program complete with your very own Karen. She’ll be your guardian angel.”

“Hello Y/N, my name is Karen.” The robotic female voice greeted you as you pulled the mask over your head for the first time.

“Uhh, hi?”

“Mr. Stark has authorized you to begin the training wheels program in accordance with the commencement of your training as Spider-Man. Would you like me to go through a complete tutorial of your suit?”

“Maybe later, thanks.” You pulled the mask off, your Y/H/C flopping in your face as it poofed free of the constraint.

“So,” Tony quipped from the corner, programming the last of his drones with the anticipated training schematic. “Let’s get started.”

******

To say your first foray into Spider-Man-ing was a disaster was an understatement. It was the first time you’d ever tried swinging. The mechanics of it were awkward. Swinging was meant to be fluid, one smooth web shooting from your wrist at just the right moment as you propelled yourself forward with the one you just shot. Peter made it look easy. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth.

“You alright?” Tony asked as you face planted into the wall for the umpteenth time.

Groaning, you peeled your sticky body off of it and landed on the floor with a thump. A dull ache thrummed throughout your entire body. Peter hadn’t warned you about this part. The sudden jolts and abrupt stops sent shocks of pain zapping through every painful web swing. While the impact alone was enough to kill a normal human being, your mutated body could somehow withstand the worst of it. Still, it hurt like a son of a bitch. You sensed a cold shower and multiple bags of frozen peas were in your future plans.

“Why don’t we call it a night? Go get cleaned up, we’ll go again tomorrow if you’re up for it.” Tony switched off the lights, leaving you lying in the dark as he sauntered out of the gym, whistling all the while.

“I’m detecting multiple contusions,” observed Karen.

“Yeah, no shit.”

******

You winced as you opened the freezer, piling as many bags of frozen veggies as you could find into your bruised arms. You planned on throwing them on every aching inch of flesh you could find and resigning yourself to your bedroom for the rest of the evening. Dinner? That was out of the question. Maybe some Tylenol if you could find it. Otherwise, you just didn’t have the energy to do anything.

As you turned the corner, a bounding figure crashed into your already sore body. Frozen asparagus and corn flew all over the hallway as the bags flew out of your arms.

“Oh geez, I’m sorry,” a soft voice apologized. The figure knelt down in the dimly lit hallway, reaching for the scattered bags.

“No, sorry that was me,” you apologized in return. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.” You reached for a bag of peas, your hand lightly brushing over hers. It recoiled quickly at your sudden touch, leaving you with the phantom feeling of her soft skin under yours. “Oh, Wanda, hi.”

Bright green eyes stared back at you from the shadows. You hadn’t spent much time with the witch or her brother in your two weeks at the Compound. She was quiet, keeping mostly to herself outside of business unless she was with her twin, Pietro, or Natasha every so often. Peter hadn’t talked about her much. The most you ever got was an exaggerated tale about the Scarlet Witch controlling corpses to fight off a barrage of HYDRA agents. Staring back into those bright orbs made you wonder whether or not he was actually telling you the truth.

“Y/N, right?” She raised an eyebrow questioningly as you nodded in response. “Nat’s told me about you. Says you’re a terrible fighter,” Wanda chuckled.

“She’s not wrong,” you groaned as you pushed yourself off the floor.

“That’s the nice part about magic. You don’t have to worry about getting punched.”

“Next time I get my DNA re-written, I’ll be sure to ask for magic powers instead of webs,” you joked.

“How long are you staying?” she asked, offering you a bag of corn.

“Just for another few weeks. I’ll head back to the city before the start of the semester.”

“That’s how you know Peter, right? You both go to the same college.”

“Yeah, Empire State.”

“What are you studying?”

“Biochemistry. I’d like to go to med school after I’m done.”

“Oh wow,” Wanda’s eyes widened in awe. “I’m always jealous of people in college. I didn’t spend a lot of time in school when I was younger. I wanted to. I loved school when I was a kid. I just never had time for it after my…” Her voice was tinged with sadness as she trailed off. “You’re very lucky.” Suddenly you felt a rush of shame for complaining about your packed schedule next semester.

“Well, you know, it’s never too late to go. I just wonder what the Scarlet Witch would major in,” you teased. The throbbing in your knee was too painful to ignore by now, begging you to go back to your room and sit down. But there you stayed, talking to Wanda Maximoff in the dulled illumination of the hallway. This was the first conversation you’d ever had with her. She was incredibly entrancing, her deep emerald eyes luring you in the longer you stayed and talked to her.

Wanda shook her head, eyes drifting to the tiled floor as she pondered your question for a moment. “I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I’ve never really thought about it before.”

“I’m sure you’d be good at whatever you wanted to do,” you offered.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll stick to the magic for now,” Wanda smirked. She wiggled her fingers, a flicker of red illuminating them as magic danced around her hand. “I’m pretty good at this.”

“Fun as it is to watch you do that, I’m literally about to pass out.” The magic faded just as quickly as it appeared.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she countered, walking past you and into the kitchen.

“Hey!” She turned. “That story about the bodies and HYDRA…is that true?”

“Peter tell you that?”

“Yeah,” you admitted sheepishly.

Wanda opened her mouth as if to say something, closing it and tilting her head to look at you. Even in the dim light you swore her eyes glowed the faintest hint of red. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear, Y/N. But then again…” A devilish gleam spread over her otherwise angelic face.

“I’ll remember to put a line of salt outside the door before I go to bed then.”

“What?”

“You know, to keep the-you know what? Never mind, I’ll see you later.” You turned on your heels as fast as you could manage, which wasn’t very given the state of your battered body. With the thought of the Scarlet Witch puppeteering a corpse into your room fresh in your mind, you made sure to lock the door before collapsing into a deep sleep.

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