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lapis-lights · 1 year

Text

Car Lights [Part 2]

[Leon Kennedy x DSO Archivist!Reader]

Song Title: Car Lights by James Marriott

Content Warnings: Light NSFW in this part (18+ only), Female Reader, Slow Burn, Friends With Tension, Arguments, Angst, Pining, Gun Violence, Experiments, Near Death Experience, Alcohol Use, Smoking, Blood, Fluff, Happy Ending

Word Count: 13.2k out of 30.3k

Author's Notes: Part two! What did you guys think of the Capcom spotlight yesterday? I'm very excited!!!! Anyways, hope you guys like this part. I'm working on my next write so ye :D

Part 1 here

Summary: As Leon pinpoints your location and devises a plan to rescue you, you're enlightened to some grave news. Your humanity's time is a ticking clock, and there's no telling what may happen. The possibility that you may never get to tell Leon your feelings weighs precariously on your heart, though it seems that this is the end of the line for you.

As far as endings go, in your opinion, this one couldn't have gone worse.

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

"You can hold my hand in a crowded place, but just hold me close and hope that they don't see my face..."

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

Voices ring around you like a distant dream.

They fade in and out of your ears, floating delicately around your head as if determining whether or not they really wanted to be real. Your sight is dark, but you try reaching a hand out to follow the sound of people. You find it’s incredibly difficult to move at all–in fact, you can’t.

It’s alarming with the limited mobility, but it’s something you’ll have to try and work with.

You strain to zero in on the voices, trying to make out the words and get a clue as to what was exactly happening. However, it’s difficult seeing as every syllable is muffled to the point that you can’t decipher what they say, and it’s frustrating that so many of your senses are limited.

Was this a dream or were you strung in some sort of limbo in the real world? It’s hard to tell.

What happened? What led up to this moment?

You think hard about it, remembering that you’d woken up before the sun as usual, went to the office, and got a coffee before slipping quietly into the office with Ingrid. Ignoring her looks of sympathy, you’d immediately gotten to work trying not to think about a certain DSO agent who had your emotions in the palm of his hand. At the end of the day when the reports finally slowed down and you had pushed your body to its limit, you went home.

You wrote in your journal, tears drying on your cheeks as you admit your undying love for Leon for the thousandth time.

That thought makes you pause.

You really do love him, don’t you? Or was it something else?

Where did the line draw itself between love and obsession? Were you just happy that someone you admired for so long finally noticed you back or did you genuinely like what you saw in Leon?

Leon…

His harsh words had struck a chord in your heart, but for some reason, you still can’t help but be hopelessly drawn to him. You think that if the world was ending, you might still follow him to the ends of the earth. You’d stare into those azure eyes that provided a window to his soul and agree to go with him wherever he wanted to take you. That was what trust was, at least, but what did it entail?

Silently, in your mind, you apologize to Leon.

Silently, you say goodbye.

And you wake up.

The first thing you notice is the texture of the walls, carved out roughly like it was a rock wall and you notice that it's damp, wet stone beneath your palms and the air pumping with humidity. The space you had been lying in was cramped, barely giving you enough height to stand up and wide enough just to fit your form into it. Rusted iron bars keep you trapped with torches providing dim lighting.

Where were you?

A sense of dread hangs over your shoulders and an uneasy churning begins stirring in your stomach. The more important question to ask was if anybody in the world knew where you were at. The possibility of the answer being no only made you silently panic even more.

"Ah, so she finally awakes!"

The sudden voice causes you to scramble back as far as you can get, which isn't much to be honest. You focus in on the figure who steps into the light, gray skin and unnatural eye color coming into view. It looks like a human man enough, but something about it doesn't seem right, though the scene is all too familiar in the wrong ways.

"Who are you?" Your throat is incredibly dried out and attempting to speak only draws attention to your thirst. Your limbs feel weak, your body exhausted, but from what, you can't tell.

"You should know more than anybody, no?" The stranger smiles and it's all rotting teeth. "After all, you've read the reports. You know the stories. But I supposed you could call me…Lucifer. How about that?"

“Very creative,” you say, unimpressed. “I’m sure Satan is down in Hell shuddering right now. What about you should I know? As far as I know, we’ve never met.”

“Never directly, no,” Lucifer tilts his head. “Think about it.”

It takes a moment of staring before it clicks in your mind. The appearance of a human, but truly nothing more than an overly animated corpse. The rotting, the gray skin. Eyes that were unnaturally yellow in a way nobody's could be unless you were…

"You're a member of Los Illuminados."

"Very quick witted! I'm impressed," he says giddily. "Though, I should expect nothing short of the archivist for the DSO, should I?"

Something isn't right. It isn't adding up. "How do you know who I am?"

"We have some time, I suppose," he muses, checking a watch that isn't there. "You're not going anywhere anytime soon, after all."

You don't answer him on that, but you get up and cross your arms close to your chest. Still, doubt hangs on your mind, untrusting of this guy. Almost all the members of Los Illuminados were wiped out when Leon saved Ashley from them, but only a sparse set of them survived. You didn't expect that they were still in operation, and less so targeting anybody DSO.

"We had the right idea with Ashley Graham," he begins, pacing across the span of your prison so you can keep an eye on him from the other side of the bars. "But, of course, our plans were rather rudely disrupted by an unwelcome guest...You know him well, don't you?"

Your glare at him.

"Right," Lucifer chuckles as if this were all some joke. "We still intend to implant a mole in the DSO to pass us the information we need. Thankfully, you'll be happy to know that we developed a new branch of Las Plagas, and what better subject to test it on than the most informed member we could think of?"

You purse your lips tightly, finally understanding. "You intend to infect me. I'm supposed to be the mole."

A statement, not a question.

"Close, you're very close." He finally stops his steps, coming closer and wrapping his hands around the bars, leaning forward so that his face is pressed against the spaces in between the rusted metal. "Your humanity is slipping as we speak, for we already implanted the parasite."

Horror.

Terror wracks your body as his words ring in your ears and your body suddenly gives in so violently, you have to sit down and tuck yourself into the corner of your cell. For some reason, it just doesn't process. "So I'm just ticking down to becoming some mindless flesh bag for your use."

"Not at all," he seems delighted by your response. "I know you're a rather intelligent young woman. Beautiful too. I'm honored that you'll be under my control when the Plagas takes hold of your body, and I'll be sure to let you have your conscience when I'm all done playing with you."

You want to vomit at his feet just to prove a point. "Bold assumption."

"It's not an assumption, my dear," Lucifer smiles wickedly. "It's only a matter of time."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"You wound me with your words," he backs away from the bars, sending you a smile that makes your skin crawl. "But, I'd seriously consider your plans. You could be powerful, you know. This strain of Las Plagas has abilities that go beyond your wildest imaginations."

That's exactly what you're afraid of. "I'll pass."

"A shame," he simpers, shaking his head. "Humanity was a good look for you."

You close your eyes and lean against the wall as the member's footsteps retreat and a door slams somewhere, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

It seems that this is the end of the road.

In the middle of nowhere, you don't have any form of communication with the agency and definitely no way to contact anybody. It's just been revealed your time is limited since Los Illuminados already infected you with the Plagas, presumably the strain that DSO had centered the meeting around. If that's true, it's likely that you only had a day or so, depending on how long it took for the Plagas to hatch and attach itself to your nerves.

When Leon was in Spain, he was able to stay conscious enough to locate an extraction device, which judging by his report of the incident, targeted the Plagas inside of his body by some form of radiation that killed off the parasite. You sincerely doubt there's something like that around here, and moreover, you doubt you have the ability to sneak out and find it without a problem.

You know basic defense. You know simple hand-to-hand strategies and you know how to use a gun, but that wasn't enough.

It's hard not to cry, but you try to think rationally about what might happen. Your conscience might stay, but your will won't be your own. You'll become a weapon for these people, and you won't have a choice in the matter. You'll have to watch the bloodshed be on your hands as you kill without hesitation.

You squeeze your eyes shut as you finally admit it.

The next time you meet Leon, it's very very likely you won't even be yourself at all.

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

Nothing but the engine could be heard in Leon's ears, but his thoughts are just as equally, if not more, loud.

He'd been on edge ever since the search in your apartment, and only a few mere hours later, the agency had pinned down your potential location. The abandoned lab, which the squad had been due to anyway, was the prime suspect since that's where they were most likely keeping the new Plagas infection, and by extension, you.

There was hardly any time to pack. There was barely any need to.

The objective was clear as day–recover you and destroy the lab upon leaving.

While the government clearly only cared about your return because of the information you have on them regarding their activity, Leon cared about your safety and whether you would be alive or not. He needs to see you with his own eyes, hoping that you weren’t just another life added to the endless list of the dead.

A hand drifts up and his fingers lightly brush over his lips.

He needs to bring you home.

It only took two more hours before Leon was gearing up, loading all of his guns with ammo and making sure his knife was sharp enough to slice through any dangers he might encounter. The rest of the soldiers accompanying him were performing similar tasks, readying themselves for the fight ahead.

One of them glances at Leon and he can feel the weight of their gaze.

“Hey, man.” He sounds incredibly awkward. “We’ll save her, okay? Then we can go back and you guys can finally get together like everybody in the agency has been waiting for you to.”

Leon stops, staring at the soldier. “What?”

“Nobody’s blind.” The guy’s eyes crinkle with a small smile. “We can all tell that you’d give her the world if she asked for it, yeah?”

He would. He just didn’t expect it to be that obvious.

Wordlessly, Leon nodded and resumed his work, organizing his thoughts and taking deep breaths in and out. He can’t screw this up for a second. He may be DSO’s best agent, but he’s also just a man who’s susceptible to emotion just as much as anybody else when it comes to you in particular.

The comm comes on overhead notifying the agents that the plane was landing near the site. It was only a simple trek to the lab from there.

“Alright, listen up,” Leon says and all the men sit to attention. He looks at them one by one while speaking. “We all know our goal–DSO’s archivist has been kidnapped for information and our top priority is to find and secure her safely back to the rendezvous point. Our second goal is searching for any research regarding the Plagas virus, which means that there’s every possibility that the undead are gonna be roaming around here. Aim for the head. Shoot their legs if you need time. Remember the procedure if one of you gets infected, and do not hesitate. The third goal is to plant the explosives so we can blow this place apart when we're done. One of our own is in that lab right now waiting for us. Are we clear?”

A chorus of, “Yes sir!” goes around.

Leon nods and feels the plane dip lower and lower. He quiets his nerves as the ground comes into view and everybody prepares to move out. You’re so close now, he can almost feel your presence looming in the distance, watching and waiting.

The moment his shoes hit the dirt, his mind flies into business mode. All of the stress bleeds away and all that’s left is the familiar thoughts of analytic strategizing.

“Straits and Levy, lead into the left wing. Santos, Novak, go right. Hudson and Reed, center field. The rest of you divide up evenly. I’m going down into the basement. I’ll call for backup if I’m having complications, and you all do the same. Understood?”

Affirmations ring through Leon’s earpiece and he pushes forward.

The lab is overgrown. Covered in ivy and rusted to the point that the walls themselves looked like they were peeling. It didn’t take long to locate an entrance and break it open. Leon simply shot the lock and the door swung inward.

A Ganado flees from within as if just waiting to be freed. It hisses, spits saliva, and shouts profanities at the sight of the DSO agents. Some of the rookies shout in alarm before Leon shoots it down easily with a few handgun bullets. He motions the others to follow him inside, and some share quiet words as they step over the limp body and head inside.

Flashlights on their guns provide just enough light to illuminate the dark space. As the others split up into the groups Leon had instructed them into, he finds the hallway that leads down into the basement just as he had been looking for.

When he opens the door, undead that weren’t of the Ganado type, screech at the intrusion. Leon dodges the first one that lunges for him, ducking a second’s attempt to catch him off guard. They fall down in a tangle of limbs and two bullets to each of their heads take them out. He returns his gun to his holster, sidestepping another that comes up behind him. He latches onto one of its arms and twists it so that he could slit its neck with his knife. It falls down with an anguished moan as he presses forward without a second thought.

Leon finds a labyrinth of prison cells that are hardly more than large holes carved into the rock walls. Some had dried blood streaked on the rocks and others held shackles containing severed arms and limbs that were stripped down to bone. It's obvious that they were doing more than just researching at this lab, though it's not uncommon for Umbrella to be performing unethical human experimentation.

Actually, it's no surprise at all.

He pulls his gun out and shoots a zombie that rounds the corner of the corridor he walks in, and the bullets sound louder in the echoey cavern. It's humid down here and Leon can already feel the perspiration on his skin.

He strains to listen in the following silence and freezes when he hears something very human. It's gone just as quickly as it came and Leon begins to think that he had just imagined it until a violent cough rings out.

He takes off, following the direction of the noise as one cough had led to two and then broke into a whole fit. It sounds painful, like the person was hacking up an entire lung or something along the lines. Whoever it was, they were lucky to be alive considering all of the presumed deaths judging by the earlier cells. Speaking of which, there were countless more of those tiny jail cells, with broken iron bars and more dried blood. Just how many people were sacrificed down here?

Finally, Leon approached the source of the coughing, sliding to a stop in front of a cell that had its door locked tightly.

There, cramped inside of it was you.

Your skin was streaked with dirt, sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, the last thing you were wearing before you were kidnapped. Your hair was greasy and tangled to the point that it would take hours just to unravel it all. Your eyes were sunken in, dark bags hanging under them like you hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since you got here. To be fair, you probably didn't, and he can't fault you for that.

Worst of all is the blood pooling around your mouth, dribbling to your chin, and staining your shirt. Your veins are colored black, threading through your body and reaching up towards your eyes.

Your gaze finds him, and though he didn't expect an entire celebration, he's alarmed when you have little to no reaction at all. Instead, you tuck your head back into your knees from where your legs fold against your chest.

"Your hallucinogenic gas doesn't work on me anymore, asshole," you mumble brokenly, and Leon's heart manages to fracture more than it already had at your state. "I know he's not really here so fuck off already."

He steps forward, places a hand on the bars gently and frowns. "Oh, sweetheart," he murmurs, unable to stop the nickname from falling from his lips. "What the hell did they do to you?"

Your head shoots up immediately, that old fire returning to your eyes, even if a mere spark. "Leon?"

"Yeah. It's me," he assures, rattling the bars of your cage. "How do we get this open?"

Instead of immediately jumping to your feet to assist him like he hoped you would, your expression turns panicked, shaking your head furiously despite flinching at the pain it causes. "Wait, Leon, no, save yourself." You beg weakly, curling up tighter. "It's not safe. I'm not safe."

Unintentionally, he growls. "What did they do to you?" He demands, ignoring your pleas.

There's an aching in your bones, tension rippling beneath your skin just waiting to burst through. It's just a matter of time, and it was terrifying. Your internal clock is counting down the minutes, and there's no telling when you might turn.

"They injected me with a variant of Las Plagas," you rush out. "The one that the DSO met us about–it’s already hatched and clearly I don't have much time yet. You need to go!"

"Absolutely not," Leon snaps. "I'm taking you home."

"Listen to me," you plead. "I don't know when this thing is going to take hold of me, but when it does, there's no telling what I'll do. You need to find the Los Illuminados member responsible–he's somewhere in this building–says his name is Lucifer, which is fucking stupid if you ask me-"

"Heard on that, and I'll let the squad know to be on the lookout," he grits his teeth. "But to hell with him, I'm getting you out."

"Why won't you just go already?!" You shout, frustrated with his stubbornness at the moment. "I'm a liability, Leon, you can't-"

"Because I'm not leaving you again, goddamnit!" Leon's voice echoes harshly like a cannon's blast, devastating and deafening.

You can't immediately form a response to that. The silence hangs tensely in the air as Leon breathes in and out shakily, before looking up at you with pleading ocean eyes. His hands wrap around the bars desperately.

"I can't lose you again," he says quietly, softly. "I can't–not when you're right here in front of me."

You stared at him only a moment longer, thinking maybe it was time you stopped trying to self-sacrifice in the name of good, even if it was something you didn't agree with. Perhaps it would save you both from a lot of heartaches in the future.

You finally give in.

"Okay," you finally concede. "Let's get this door open."

Leon perks up at your allowance, immediately scanning to lock to try and find a weak spot in it. "I'd try shooting it, but your space is so small, I could hit you."

"Do you know how to lockpick?" You ask hopefully.

"I do, but not with anything I have on me right now," Leon admits.

You blink owlishly at him before suppressing a laugh, earning a confused look from him. "You could use your knife, silly."

He's missed you. God, Leon's missed you.

Even with bloody lips and a virus pumping through your blood as you spoke, he finds that little comfort in knowing you're still the same you even for this moment.

He pulls out his knife and holds it out to you as you get up and groan, hand on your chest as you gasp for air. Alarmed, Leon startles so harshly that the iron bars clash violently, but you merely give him a strained smile.

"I'll walk it off," you attempt at humor, accepting the knife and jamming it into the lock. As you feel your way through the mechanisms, you glance up at him. "Thank you for being here."

"Of course," he watches as the lock clicks and his breath hitches. "Even if I wasn't under orders, I'd have torn down this place looking for you."

The door swings open and you look up at him, holding the knife back out to him. The blade flashes and the RPD logo shines in the torchlight. When Leon takes and sheaths it, he hesitates, eyes flicking from the passageway he came to you. You almost want to ask him what's wrong, but before you can speak he cuts you off.

Arms wrap around you and pull you to his chest, but it's not alarming the way it had been when you were kidnapped. This is warm, like finally coming home after a long arduous journey. It was familiar and yet foreign–you almost forgot what being in his arms felt like. It didn't take any time for you to return the embrace, squeezing your arms around his torso just as hard as he held you.

His nose buries into your hair, not caring about its condition and just caring that you're here and alive. He ensures you are real under his embrace on your waist and back, feeling the heat of your skin beneath his calloused palms, and it soothes him knowing you weren't completely infected yet. He didn't have to gun you down–didn't have to harm you in any way like he had been fearing.

"I missed you," Leon mumbles, so softly you almost miss it.

The vulnerability in his words catch you off guard, but it makes your chest tingle in that familiar way that he always made you feel. There's something underlying his words that you can read between the lines for. He didn't just miss you now.

Leon's missed you since your argument.

The realization makes you soften immediately. Safe to say, the sentiment was mutual.

"I missed you too," you sigh, pulling away but threading your fingers with his. "We need to figure out a way to get rid of the Plagas in me before I lose my will, and I don't know if there's an extraction device anywhere around here."

"Right," Leon nods, pressing on his earpiece. "Come in. I've located and recovered Agent (L/n), but she's infected with the new variant of Las Plagas and it's spreading fast. We need to either find an extraction device or get her to one of our labs as soon as possible."

"Copy that," one of the agents replies. "I'm fairly certain that I saw something similar to one in the left wing of the lab, though it looks more complicated than the one you and Graham used."

"It's a more advanced strain, so I'm not surprised," he begins moving down the passageway, pulling you by hand and refusing to let go. "We're heading up now. I need as many men as possible to meet us at the stairs and provide cover."

"She doesn't have any way to defend herself?"

"There's nothing more I would like than to give her a gun, but there's no telling when the Plagas might kick in. It's too high of a stake."

"Heard on that. We're heading to you now."

You and Leon make your way out of the dungeon, and you almost cry out in relief at the feeling of fresh air free of the crushing humidity you'd been forced to endure. However, you don't get too long to dwell on it before Leon tugs you along to a different portion of the lab.

Some of his men join you, bump arms with you and send their relief that you're alright. You thank them with a smile, letting Leon lead you to your next destination. There are countless sections, and they're a lot more modern than the workings of the torture dungeon. Each one contains some kind of advanced equipment that you couldn't even begin to attempt to name.

Somewhere along the way between labs and quarantine rooms, a stabbing pain floods your chest. It catches you so off guard that you stumble, alerting Leon immediately when he feels your grip almost slip from his.

A wriggling feeling in your head starts up like something was trying to finger its way out. You panic, thinking of the parasite in your body and that it might be breaking out now, and you look to Leon for any guidance. The pain and soreness travel down your body, and you fall to your knees with a cry.

"What's wrong?!" Leon jumps to your aid, kneeling by your side and pressing his fingers to the pulse point on your neck. "(Y/n), you gotta tell me what's happening."

You wheeze, struggling to breathe. "We need to hurry," you manage to whisper. "It's happening-"

A cough tears its way from your throat and it feels like the tissue of your muscles is ripping you apart from the inside out. Tears prick at your eyes as if it feels like something is trying to rip its way from inside your body. Time was running out, the last few minutes hanging precariously in front of your eyes. Your body turns cold to the touch but it feels like you’re burning alive. Your life begins flashing before your eyes and you struggle to hold on.

Leon takes the initiative and scoops you up into his arms, supporting your knees and back. You curl graciously into his chest, but you can’t find the strength to voice it, more blood dribbles down your chin and your conscience begins slipping.

You can tell Leon’s trying to run as smoothly as he can, but the urgency in his footsteps makes it difficult. The effort is appreciated nonetheless. A door bursts open in your ears and Leon places you rather haphazardly onto a seat that’s vaguely reminiscent of the ones you dread during dentist visits.

As you close your eyes, Leon begins navigating the screen to extract the Plagas and the machine whirs to life, locking your arms down to the chair. He finds the x-ray to be horrific, seeing the parasite had attached itself to your lungs, which explains your difficulty breathing, and has grown to almost cover the whole organ.

Leon is about to press the option to remove it, ready for this whole damn thing to be over.

His hand hovers over the screen…

…And you grab his arm.

It’s an iron-tight grip with a strength that you’ve never had before, breaking through the iron restraints on the machine. Your eyes open to reveal red pupils, your expression simply blank as your head slowly turns to look at him. Leon opens his mouth to speak, but he doesn’t get the chance to when you get up from the chair with inhuman speed.

He doesn’t even get the chance to process what was happening before you were at his backside, kicking him down and backing away to stand at the other end of the room.

Leon groans, getting to his knees, looking for you desperately. Behind you, a figure approaches in Los Illuminados robes, and a sinister smile on his dead lips. This must be the guy that was behind it all, Leon realizes.

Lucifer. It really was a dumb fucking alias.

“You didn’t think I would really make it that easy, did you Mr. Kennedy?” he taunts, tilting his head and you copy the action. “Such an obedient little puppet I have here. Do you want to play with her?”

“You have thirty seconds to let her go,” Leon spits, holding up his hand for his men to be on standby. “You don’t want to know what’ll happen if you don’t.”

“Or what?” the man muses. “You’ll kill me? You’ll have to get through her before you get to do that.”

He falters, looking from you to him while slowly formulating a plan. Somehow, he needs to separate you from the cult member controlling you and get you into the chair so his men could handle your extraction while Leon took on taking the fucker’s last breath. He keeps his eyes on the man, pressing on his earpiece and relaying the message to his squad.

Leon removes the gun from his holster, reloading it so that it was at full capacity, and sends a stiff glare to the man. “Thirty seconds are up,” he says.

The man smiles, too wide and with nothing but yellowed teeth.

Leon lunges and you copy his movements. You shriek, gurgling like you were drowning in your own lungs as you go to grab him. He dodges your attempts, numbing himself to the feelings as he kicks you roughly in the gut and sends you reeling back with a cough.

Your red irises lock onto him and you scream incoherently, faking left and going right to tackle him to the ground. Leon grunts, losing the grip on his gun in favor of apprehending your wrists, twisting his head away from where you try to bite him. He struggles before managing to roll onto his side and kicking you away. He just knows there's going to be bruises forming when you get out of here.

Leon gets to his feet and grabs his gun, sprinting toward you and sliding down to crouch by your side. He roughly pins your arms behind your back and motions to his men.

"Now!" He shouts and they all replace his hands and hoist you up to carry you to the extraction device. Your figure flails wildly as you scream, though it sounds all wrong and too animalistic to really be you.

The guy’s expression is so priceless, Leon almost laughs at it, but even he didn’t deserve that privilege.

As his men start strapping you down into the chair, the cult member himself screeches angrily, lowering his hood and revealing almost paper-white skin. His own red eyes are filled with rage as he stumbles to the ground and screams.

Leon watches as Lucifer mutates with pained shouts, gruesome in a sort of Las Plagas way he hasn't encountered in a long while. The skin slides off of him in slimy puddles to reveal bone and a wriggling parasite underneath on his chest. It’s grotesque with his ribcage exposed and arms and legs bulging with pus-filled flesh as he grows in size almost to the size of the El Gigantes he’s faced before in Spain.

The ceiling arches up high enough to fit him, and Leon realizes this must have been the plan all along. Hollowed-out eyes direct themselves to him and the newly mutated cult member roars.

With one worried glance to check that his men were still working on operating the extraction machine, he faces this new version of Lucifer with a grimace.

To be fair Leon’s survived worse.

“Same as it ever was,” he mutters under his breath, pointing the barrel of his gun to the mutant.

Meanwhile, you were thrashing wildly in the chair as the team of men strapped you in and one of them operated around on the screen. There were multiple configuration settings, having to choose which parts of your body to attack and options on what type of parasite they were killing. Your veins grow darker and you screech, struggling violently against your bindings.

“There’s not much time until the bastard can cause her to mutate too,” one of the agents points out. “We need to hurry.”

Leon slides under the incoming blow from Lucifer, rolling to his feet and seeing the ground broken where he had just been. He shoots the exposed parasite that was pulsing in the chest. Yellow pus explodes from where the bullet had hit. A couple more shots have the mutant screaming in rage and frustration, barreling toward Leon with heavy steps that shook the whole room.

He shoots the parasite two more times before dodging the mutant grabbing at him. He dances around Lucifer, peppering him with bullets, and the sound of gunshots from other agents conjoined with his.

Leon watches as the mutant shrieks, blood running down its body and oozing pus as it grabs a cabinet and rips it off the wall.

In a display of timing, he manages to dodge it when Lucifer launches it at him. Wood splinters upon its impact on the wall. Leon backs away, covered in body fluids that weren’t his, and aims his gun at the parasite once more. He only had one more bullet before he had to reload, thinking it was time to use the rifle he was equipped with.

Lucifer lunges unexpectedly, and Leon goes to dodge. Large hands close around his torso and he’s lifted off the ground. He immediately struggles, coming face to face with the ugly fucker and working to remove his right arm. Though, it’s proving difficult when the grip around him is becoming tighter and stronger.

“Fool,” Lucifer grumbles out, his voice octaves deeper and reverberating off the walls. “I’ve had enough of you.”

“That’s a shame,” Leon wheezes out, wriggling his wrist rapidly. “The party was just getting started.”

He frees his hand and grabs his knife from its sheath on his shoulder. Leon plunges the blade into the mutant’s thumb, and it lets out a horrid screech before dropping him to the floor.

He grunts upon impact, lifting himself shakily and looking up at Lucifer with heaving breaths of air. He scrambles for the knife that drops with a clink to the floor next to him and returns it to his scabbard. A shrill scream draws both of their attention and Leon sees that the men seem to have figured out how to operate this version of the extraction machine. The machinery whirs to life and mechanisms descend downward towards you.

It seems that the mutant understood what was happening as well.

Lucifer howls, making a beeline for you and the other agents surrounding you.

“Shoot the parasite!” Leon commands hotly, getting to his feet and loading the rifle from his back as he ran. “The knees!”

He passes the mutant, sliding to a stop on the frontlines and pressing his eye to the scope of his gun. Leon breathes out, aims, and pulls the trigger.

The Las Plagas parasite explodes.

It falls to the ground with a moist thud and Leon watches as the mutation seems to recede and rebuild itself back into Lucifer’s former image, though the bullet holes have left much to be desired. He’s still somewhat of a man, and apparently still alive as he pulls himself to his feet with a pathetic moan.

Leon aims his gun and shoots Lucifer in the knees. As he stumbles back to the ground worthlessly, he reaches for you with a cry.

"My masterpiece," he wails and the blood only boils hotter in Leon. "You can't take her from me! She's my magnum opus! My life's work!"

Snarling, Leon rips his knife from its sheath and launches it so that it pierces into the cult member's arm and pins him to the ground. The man screams, but Leon has no remorse as he approaches him, ripping the weapon out and almost relishing in the way he started screaming in agony upon the blood that comes gushing from the wound.

Leon flips him over and glares darkly into his rotting eyes. "Let's get one thing straight, fucker," he spits, grabbing a fistful of the cult member's collar and raising him up off the floor. "She's not your anything–she's mine."

That's the only last words Leon allows him to process before pressing the barrel of his handgun to the cult member’s and pulling the trigger.

The silence that follows is nothing but the aftermath of a battle. Blood coats Leon’s skin thickly, though a majority of it isn’t his own. Throughout the whole fight, he only suffered minor injuries from scuffing the floor and being thrown around a little. In the bigger picture, he’s fought larger and worse bioweapons than some random guy who didn’t really know what he was getting into playing around with parasites and viruses.

Not forgetting his top priority, Leon gets to his feet and swivels around, striding in your direction. The agents part like the Red Sea for him as the extraction device works its magic. It’s clear you’re in pain by the way you jerk roughly and whine weakly, though Leon simply bites his cheek and watches your x-ray on the screen.

The parasite on your lungs wriggles desperately, trying to escape the assault. A few tense seconds of futile struggle pass before it gives up and disintegrates in on itself. As a result, you finally stop resisting and the blackened veins under your skin begin receding.

Leon breathes out silently in relief.

He looks at his team and nods.

They managed to have no casualties, and they'd completed all of their goals. All that was left to do was blow this place sky high and go home.

He turns back to your unconscious body, knowing that you’re probably exhausted by the strain the Plagas had put on you. Leon gently caresses your hair, hoping that his intent reached you even as you were sleeping.

And finally, he started to feel something similar to peace.

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

Unlike your dream in the black void of the dungeon, this time, you find yourself completely surrounded by white.

You can see yourself as you look down, find yourself able to move freely and willingly, though it feels floaty and not at all natural. It's not something you'll complain about, though. It's better you can move in a dream rather than not being able to at all.

You glance around, finding nothing but white space.

This couldn't be real. Did you die during the extraction process? Surely not, though you hate to admit that the parasite had made you incredibly weak. Coughing up blood the first time was bad enough, but after the proceeding fits, you may as well have been throwing the stuff up. Still, you could remember everything during the time you were possessed right up until you had blacked out from the machine.

You'd fought Leon briefly, yet he still insisted on helping you.

"You know," a familiar voice yanks you out of your deep thoughts. "You really are in denial."

You swirl around to find the source of the voice, only to furrow your eyebrows in confusion as Leon seems to materialize from an invisible fog. He's the same as he always was with the same handsome features you've spent admiring for an untold amount of hours, but something seems incredibly off. Your gut doesn't like it and neither do you.

"Is that so?" You frown. "I don't suppose you'll tell me who you are?"

"C'mon, (Y/n)," he grins, holding his arms out. "It's just me."

"You're not real, though," you counter. "For all I know you're just a figment of my imagination telling me what I want to hear."

"If that was true, I'd tell you I hate you," Leon shrugs, coming to stand next to you, placing a hand on your shoulder.

His palm lacks the warmth it should have.

"What?"

"You've really gotta stop trying to be the hero of this whole ordeal," he says, facing you. "You're trying to protect his reputation in the workplace and the last thing you'd want to do is get him in trouble, so realistically you want him to hate you. But he doesn't."

"Bummer," you sigh and sit down. He joins you.

It's odd, floating with an image of your best friend who is very much not real. For a dream, it's incredibly vivid, though.

"Why do you insist on refusing to be with him?" Leon asks. "Since you like him so much and obviously he likes you too."

"Does he really, though?"

"That's the whole reason he had that argument with you, yeah? What was it he said? Something about how you were acting like it only affected one of you guys?"

You cringe. "Yeah."

"Well, did you ever consider what he might've really meant by that?"

You look up at Leon confused, drawing your knees to your chest. "What do you mean?"

He leans back lazily. "I mean, instead of him seemingly accusing you that you were only thinking of yourself, perhaps he meant that you were only thinking of him and his reputation? What it might entail for him was always on your mind–you're considerate like that–but did you ever consider yourself?"

You blink dumbly and shake your head. "Y'know you're really bad at impersonating Leon. He'd never try giving me a free therapy session."

"Ouch. I'm trying my best here."

"I know you are."

"I'm just saying," Leon says, "maybe you should start thinking about yourself. It would probably hurt him knowing that you don't think yourself worthy of him."

"That's because I'm not," you sigh. One big circle, this argument was. "He's the best agent DSO has to offer and I'm some coworker who keeps her head in the computers. Tell me how it would ever work out."

"You can maintain an appropriate workplace appearance while dating. It's just a matter if the two parties are mature enough to pull it off. Besides, I'm sure he doesn't care about status–which, you're a part of the DSO as well, so I don't really see the problem there–as long as you make him happy."

That shuts you up.

"You know that he loves you, don't you?" Leon asks after a bout of silence.

Your breath hitches–as much as it can in a dream, anyway.

The question makes you ponder everything that has happened. Everything Leon did, you just wrote it off as something of his flirtatious demeanor who had nothing better to do than hit on any woman he came across. Hunnigan was most notable in this scenario, but really any female coworker was fair game. However, you don't think he necessarily went to their house to have dinner and watch movies and just sit on a cheap couch to talk for hours without getting bored.

You always knew it. You were just scared to admit it.

You were scared of Leon loving you as much as you loved him.

"Yeah," you answer quietly. "He really does, doesn't he?"

The Leon of your head smiles, familiar even as a facade. He wraps an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his chest just like the night you had shared cigarettes together and it's just like you remembered. It lacks the warmth that made the whole hug worth it, but for now, you can deal with cold comfort.

You close your eyes.

"Do you wanna go back?" Leon asks.

You shrug non-committedly. "Not yet. I kinda just wanna stay here with you for a second."

"Okay," he says.

"You're not real," you whisper, reminding yourself that this safe space is nothing more than temporary. "Leon's out there in the real world, isn't he?"

"Probably worrying his ass off if anything," Not-Leon muses. "Promise you'll make an effort once you get out of here? Not only for his happiness, but for yours as well."

It's a challenge, being told to care for more than just Leon and trying to do what you think is best for him. But…if you being happy made him happy by proxy, then there really was no argument to have, was there?

You love Leon S. Kennedy.

And he loves you too.

"I promise," you say, and you know it's true.

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

The night is nothing but rain and stormy weather. While everybody was out celebrating their successful mission, Leon found himself in the confines of his own apartment–the very one he hated.

Only a yellow light above his dinner table illuminates the space, and he has a glass of hard whiskey that attempts to quiet his nerves like an old companion. It doesn't work very well. After they had returned home, you were taken to a hospital immediately to record your body and search for any traces of the Plagas that might still reside in you. Leon wasn't able to go with you, but he supposes it's fair in a sense. He just hopes you're okay.

Hunnigan had contacted him soon after they had admitted you in, thanking Leon for bringing you home and doing everything he could. It was some semblance of comfort, though it wasn't very strong.

Thunder rolls in the background.

Leon sighs heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose roughly and massaging the spot in hopes of relieving the headache he had gained. Sleep has been far and few in between since stress loves to keep him up often, but can anybody really blame him for being so worried for you? As much as he hates to admit it, you're not capable of keeping yourself safe the way you should. Leon thinks that he should give you personal training sometime to prevent something like this happening again, though he doubts he'll want you to leave his sight for a while.

The thought makes him pause.

Since when has he grown so possessive over you?

Fuck, he really was in too deep, wasn't he? How you had managed to break through the rough exterior he put up was beyond him, looking past his status and persona to see the real Leon, bruised and bloodied and ruinous. You disregarded the murder on his hands, understood him in a way nobody did before, and became a sanctuary that he felt safe enough to thrive in.

Nobody else has done that before. Not even the likes of Claire or even Ada.

What would he even say when he saw you again? It was clear that you were on better terms than you had been previously, but the wound from your argument in the archives still hurt like it was fresh so the two of you definitely needed to sort it all out. He needs you to know that he fucked up, and it was something that wouldn't happen again.

He needs you to know that-

Three quiet knocks is all it took to pull him from his storm of thoughts.

Leon looks up, confused. He wasn't expecting any visitors tonight and all the likely candidates were already busy and never mentioned making a pit stop to him. Just to be safe, he grabs Matilda and loads it before getting up from the table and making his way to the front door. As he gets closer, he can hear the pounding of the pouring rain. It's heavy tonight.

When Leon opens the door, your figure stands on the other side completely drenched from the weather. Your eyes light up upon seeing him, but the bags beneath your eyes show how tired you really are. All that you have is a duffel bag and a backpack.

For a second, all you do is stare at each other, and the ambience of the pattering rain sounds like rhythmic drum beats.

"I had nobody else to go to," you finally say as a poor explanation. "But I can go somewhere else if you want."

Those words yank Leon out of his stupor and he shakes his head, opening the door wider and ushering you in with gentle sounds. He peeks out, making sure you weren't followed and shuts the door before double locking it and checking it. When he turns around, he finds you watching him anxiously and shifting from foot to foot like you didn't know what to do with yourself. To be fair, you haven't been in his apartment nearly as much as he'd been in yours.

His whole body laxes as if just the sight of you was enough to put all his worries at rest.

"C'mon," he invites, pressing a hand to the small of your back and guiding you down the hall. "Let's go run you a shower."

Once he sets you up and offers to take your clothes to wash, he leaves you to settle in, telling you that you can pick any of the spare guest rooms (there were many unnecessary ones) and to make yourself at home. In the meantime, he decides that whiskey probably isn't the best thing to be having when the object of his affections just showed up on his doorstep.

Instead, Leon settles for something more mild.

The coffee just finishes brewing when you walk in shyly, hair wet and an oversized t-shirt hanging loosely on your frame. You find that he's set out two steaming mugs alongside countless flavors of creamers and syrups. Your heart warms at the gesture as you slowly get closer to him.

"Help yourself," Leon prods gently, nonjudgmentally as he stirs in his own choice of combination. "I don't use everything as much as I should be, to be fair."

"Thank you," you say because you won't forget your manners as you select your flavorings. The underlying tension is deep enough that you can feel it in the air like some bubble waits to burst open, scattering everything into a flurry of a mess. You'd just have to make sure it doesn't get out of hand. "Listen, Leon-"

"Let's go get comfortable on the couch," he interrupts not unkindly. "It'll be less stressful if we're in a familiar setting."

Side by side on a sofa, the place where you two seemed to always find yourselves no matter what scenario. It's your thing, and the sentiment makes you happy, even if only for a little.

"Okay."

As promised, you find yourself sitting across from him, stirring your coffee together and struggling not to lose your nerve. Maybe it was a mistake coming here right after you'd been released from the hospital. Maybe you just ruined his whole night.

"I'm sorry I showed up out of nowhere," you begin, keeping your eyes on the way the liquid swirls in your cup with the spoon. "I know you like to expect people rather than them suddenly invading your space."

Leon shakes his head slightly. "You're not invading. I've told you before that this apartment is here for you just as much as it is for me, yeah?"

He has. Those words ring a distant bell in your head.

Another silence lapses as you try to gather the courage to just put out the words you've been meaning to say for weeks. There's theoretically nothing to be scared of, no monsters to run from, or any life or death scenario hanging in the balance. It was just Leon–it always has been. You just have to find the strength to show him the deepest parts of yourself and hope that you've molded your heart into something good enough to present to him.

You're not scared.

You're terrified.

There's nothing to run from.

Leon's reaction will make or break you.

You love him. He loves you.

But does he really?

"I-" your voice cracks already and that's enough to make heat flame to your cheeks in embarrassment.

"We don't have to do anything you don't want to," Leon assures, "but we do need to talk at some point."

"I know," you swallow, setting down your drink and twisting your hands nervously in your lap.

"How about we start with why you came here? I know you were being tested for any missed traces of Las Plagas that still might've been in your system."

Bless him–that was an easy enough question to start off with.

"They dispatched me after giving me the all-clear and giving me doses of pills to take. They're the finalized versions of the suppressants that you took while you were in Spain to prolong the maturing of the parasites," you explain, pressing your lips together and breathing in and out. "They wanted me to stay with somebody, though. My apartment is a dead zone now since Los Illuminados and whoever else knows where I live. I would've asked Hunnigan but…"

You pause, wondering if you were really going through with this. Leon waits patiently, understanding without saying anything.

"I wanted to go somewhere I knew I'd feel safe," you confess, finally ripping your gaze up to look at him. "I feel safe when I'm with you."

He doesn't answer that, expression blank. Usually, you can read his little telltales, things that people from the outside can't usually see, but right now, you can't make out what he might be thinking. For all you know, he could hate you right now.

Your throat turns tight and the saltwater burns behind your eyelids. The tears are already cascading and you curse yourself for being so weak in the face of confrontation. "I understand if you don't– don't want me here, and I c-can really leave if you want me to-"

"Hey, hey," Leon sets his own cup aside on the coffee table and scoots closer carefully. "You're stressing yourself out–calm down and breathe for a second. I want you here. I always do, okay?"

It's hard to, and it feels like your chest is caving in on itself like it did when the Plagas was attaching itself to your lungs and transforming you into a monster. You certainly felt like one the night you'd-

"I took advantage of you," you gasp, struggling for the air you so desperately need but determined to push on because goddamnit if you weren't going to have this conversation right now after avoiding it for so long. "That night at the bar and I...I didn't even ask. I'm sorry."

"Follow me," Leon takes a hold of your hand and presses it to his chest, exaggerating his breaths. "You're okay."

The words are tumbling out of your mouth, running like a babbling brooke. He caresses your cheek with your free hand and throughout the whole ordeal, the two of you never break eye contact once. His thumb swipes aimlessly at the assault of tears and you think of how ugly and puffy you probably look right now.

But all you can see are those sapphire eyes watching you.

"I didn't mean it," you cave into his touch, head tilting into the palm of his hand willingly. "I didn't mean it when I accused you of just wanting to get me into your bed. You're so much more than that–you're everything to me and I–I was scared."

Leon frowns, rubbing soothing circles into your skin. "Scared of what, sweetheart?"

The question is daunting, but you're already too far in to stop now.

"Of you. Of how much you might like me," you whisper, closing your eyes. Your head is spinning and it feels like the couch is tipping from underneath you. "I was scared of what people might say, how it would affect you. I didn't want you to hate me."

"Oh, baby."

The nickname rolls off his tongue like honey and you make a small whimper at how it makes you feel. Even after all this time, Leon knows just how to bring you to your knees with so little words. He sounds like he's in pain just listening to you, and the auditory distress causes you to peek your eyes open just a little, looking past the blur of saltwater to see him

"How could I ever hate you?" Leon murmurs, expression pinched tightly in the way he did when he was in pain. He moves even closer until you can practically feel his body heat radiating off of him. For so many nights you've dreamed of having him this close, right next to you and hands holding you in such a loving way that almost brings you to tears.

Leon's light breaths fan your face and you close your eyes again, feeling his presence all around you. His lips press warmly against your forehead, then your eyebrow, then your cheeks. Your own skin heats beneath his ministrations, and he chuckles lowly at your adorable reactions.

His nose bumps against yours.

"I'm no better," he says and you can smell the hints of whiskey on his breath mixing with the aroma of coffee. "I said you ruined everything–if anything, you should hate me."

You shake your head, opening your eyes and looking right up at him. He's so close, so intimate in this tense moment that you fall forward and rest your forehead on the dip of his collarbones. Leon wastes no time readjusting his hold on you until you're fully tucked into his embrace, his chin resting on the crown of your head.

"Maybe," he whispers on accident, then clears his throat before saying louder, "Maybe you'd like to spend the night in my room instead?"

Butterflies erupt in your stomach like you're a teenage girl with a crush. "I'd like that."

Well…maybe it's not a crush anymore, but you're definitely obsessed.

Leon gathers you up in his arms like he was carrying you across a threshold for a honeymoon, not even bothering to turn off the kitchen light or grab your coffees that were teetering towards lukewarm. To be fair, if he was on the same page as you, his priority wasn't the cleanliness of the apartment.

He sets you down on your feet once he gets into his room, closing the door and turning to find you looking around the space curiously. You stray towards the nightstand, leaning down to peek into the frame of one of the photos that's set there. It's a city landscape in the sunset, warm tones creating a fiery display across the sky in the background. You tilt your head at it, knowing Leon wasn't one to have an eyeball for photography or artistically deep metaphors.

It only takes a moment for you to recognize the shape of it and what it meant.

"Raccoon City," you murmur.

Silence as he makes his way next to you, looking at the picture and frowning. "Yeah. I don't know why I still keep that around."

You turn to him as he sits down on his bed. "No, it's understandable, Leon. What happened in Raccoon City was a tragedy–it's a miracle you survived."

"I guess," he looks aimlessly out the window that has its curtains pulled back the way he had left it.

There was no telling what tragedies he had faced inside of that police station during his first day as a rookie cop. You had seen pictures when his face was rounder and his innocent eyes had been a little brighter, though the signs of trauma began setting in even then. Leon's grown into his role now, more mature and right here in front of you.

You watch him for a beat more, admiring the way he seems to glow in the moonlight. Something tugs in your chest, something magnetic, that draws you to him. Without thinking, you say, "You're really pretty, you know."

Leon's head snaps in your direction so quickly, you're surprised he doesn't get whiplash. "What?"

"You're pretty," you say simply. "Or do you prefer a more masculine adjective?"

"No, it's not that," he swivels his body toward you reaching out to take your hand in his. "You said that to me that night–at the bar when you were drunk."

You cringe, lacing your fingers with his. "At least you know I was honest then? I'm sorry, I don't remember much about that night besides kissing you."

To your quiet surprise, he tugs on your hand and pulls you into his lap, hand trailing to your thigh, warm and gentle yet firm. Your stomach seems to twist giddily at the action while your brain struggles to comprehend the sudden situation.

"Leon?" You breathe out.

"You're going to kill me," he murmurs, leaning forward and pressing his nose into the dip between your collarbones. "You're killing me and I'm letting you."

"What do you mean? Please, Leon, I don't understand-"

"I can't lose you," he cuts you off, eyes flicking up to your face. "I can't–they took you and all I could think was, 'Not her. Anybody but her.' You–You fucking torment me."

You freeze in his arms, mouth dropping into an 'o' as he pressed his lips to your neck. The way he recites the exact words you wrote in that stupid journal was enough to make your head spin. It was like he was sitting here putting out all his rawest emotions for you to pick through.

Even after all this time of being such a ruined man in the presence of every horror he faced, he watered himself down into something just for you. After everything that had happened between you two in the past weeks, Leon managed to mold and shape his heart into something suitable enough to give you.

"You read it?"

"Of course I did. Every word where you were in pain because of me," Leon pauses, breathing in shakily. His grip turns almost bruising on your thighs. "You weren't taking advantage of me, baby. You were just in love with me like I am with you."

Baby, he keeps calling you. Funny how that simple little word was enough to send you into overdrive, right down to your core.

His words stole the air from your lungs as you were encapsulated with an intense want for him. You needed him like flowers needed the sun and the earth needed its axis to spin and the day needed the night.

"Leon."

"Hm?"

"Kiss me, please."

His mouth was on yours in a second without a thought, your fingers threading through his hair as he pulled on your waist to get you closer.

It brought you back to that night after the bar, but this was better. You were conscious enough this time to memorize the shape of him and the way he tasted. His tongue ran across your bottom lip and darted into your mouth as soon as you opened up for him. Leon's grip was bruising, caught between shattering you and trying not to hurt you.

Your lips mold perfectly together and when you part to gain air, nothing but pants and quiet sounds fill the air. Your chest feels like it's expanding with how much you love him and your mind goes dizzy by the way his hands travel upward and hike the shirt up on your torso, exploring the flesh of your stomach.

Leon pulls you back in, kissing you feverishly as you grind down on him instinctively, drawing out a delicious groan that sounds so beautiful. You want more noises, more of him, so you move your hips again until he stops you, hands halting your movements.

"If you keep doing that, I won't be able to control myself much longer, sweetheart," he chastises lightly against your lips, pecking the corner of your mouth to let you know that he wasn't angry.

You feel particularly bold tonight, letting all your passion for him run wild. It's a boost of confidence that you didn't expect to be having, but it's not unappreciated.

"You don't have to control yourself around me," you lean in until your forehead pressed against his. "I'm yours."

"Fuck, baby," Leon groans, eyes screwing shut as you roll on him again, letting you lick into his mouth. "Do you know what you do to me?"

"I have an idea," you hum against him, fingers getting into those silky locks of his. "But, why don't you tell me just to make sure?"

His hands travel up your body further until they brush right underneath your breasts as you hadn't bothered with a bra after your shower. He makes a noise of delight upon discovering this, fingertips brushing lightly against one of your nipples and you choke on a gasp from the sensation. As revenge, you swivel your hips so that you can feel him through the slutty gray sweatpants he'd adorned before you showed up.

If you noticed an insistent hardness poking at you–well you weren't one to complain.

Leon borderline moans and you have to resist begging him to fuck you right there just to hear him more. Instead, you lean into his touch as much as you can to absorb it all, head full of nothing but him. How many times have you thought about this? So many nights you thought about how it might feel to have his hands on your body and his tongue shoving into your mouth in the sinful way it was doing right now.

If this is what brought you to hell, then you'd look the demons in the eyes and tell them that Leon had shown you heaven without you ever having to step foot into it.

"You make me so unfocused," he begins, thumb pads running circles around your nipples as he hikes your shirt up even farther. "You distract me from my work and make me say and do things I never usually do."

"Then I suppose we're even," you quip sassily.

You cry out when his teeth suddenly latch sharply on your neck, sucking harshly and tongue swiping over the mark to ease the pain. One glance down shows mischievous blue eyes staring back at you, drinking in your reactions like a fine wine he needed to stay alive. Cheeky bastard.

"You're so beautiful," he murmurs in awe. "How did I ever get so lucky to be blessed by you?"

"Blessed is a strong word," you laugh lightly, pulling your hands away to pull off your shirt eagerly. "I'm no angel, Leon."

His tongue darts out to lick those pretty pink lips that have swelled from the pressure of your mouth on his. A feeling of pride wells in your chest, knowing that even just for tonight, he was yours.

"You're right," he runs a hand up and down your thigh, leaving a trail of warmth in the wake of his touch. "A goddess is a more fitting title. I'd worship you daily on hands and knees."

His sweet words make your head spin wildly and you need him more than anything. You hook your arms around his neck, pulling him down so that he hovers over you as your back hits the mattress. It's some sort of memory foam–probably the best kind one could afford judging by his salary.

"I know you hate your apartment," you whisper and he goes slightly rigid. Assuring him gently, you caress his face in your hand. "Let me make it a home for you. Let me give you a reason to like it."

You want the memory of you to be imprinted here everywhere you could, the same way that he left pieces of himself at your place like invasive little dust bunnies sitting in small corners waiting to be discovered. Everywhere he looks, you want him to see you.

"Make me yours," you beg, hands trailing downward and tracing the v-line through his shirt.

Eagerly, Leon's body covers yours, and you think that even if he kissed you with bloody lips, it would still be the sweetest taste you ever had.

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

The morning glow wakes him up slowly, kissing his eyelids and rousing him from sleep. Unlike every day he woke up in his apartment, the golden light doesn't seem as intrusive anymore.

Leon's brain lags momentarily, fingers skittering across the mattress next to him instinctively in a way he's never felt the need to before. He brushes against bare skin and latches on, pulling your naked body towards his own. You mumble incoherently but allow him to draw you in, making yourself comfortable against his chest as his arm circles your waist.

You fit together like pieces of a puzzle meant to be together.

For a moment, all that's left is your quiet breaths as you avoid getting up. Since you were instructed to stay home due to medical concerns and Leon had his grace period after such an intense mission, the two of you were in no hurry to leave the bed. After all, the memory of what occured the night before just made cherishing the present all the more important.

Moments of your night together flashes through Leon's head and he preens knowing that bruises in the shapes of his hands and love marks stretch along the length of your body. Surely, you'll scold him for placing them in such visible places for when you do inevitably return to work, but right now, he could just call it his masterpiece.

That possessive monster in his chest is sated for now.

You move in his arms, making a small noise of contentment before pressing a lazy kiss to his chest. Leon's heart soars.

"Good morning to you too, sweetheart," he laughs and the rich noise vibrates against you. You want to get high off the sound of his gravelly morning voice. "How'd you sleep?"

"Really good," you yawn, opening your eyes in a squint finally and looking up at him. "But, I am pretty sore. You really did a number on me last night, babe."

That shit-eating smirk he grows is enough to make you roll your eyes. You're sure that he considered your activity a light work out while you were exhausted by the end of round one. Nonetheless, you wouldn't have traded your time together for anything.

You trace shapes into his bicep, appreciating his muscle and wishing you could tell him all the things you've wanted to for the longest time. However, one of the biggest questions still lingers on the forefront of your mind that you can't help but ask.

"What does this mean for us?" You ask hesitantly. "We said a lot of things last night."

"We did," he agrees easily and tilts your chin up to face him. You notice that eye contact seems to be a big thing to Leon and you're not one to deny him that small comfort. "What do you want to be?"

“You really want me to say it out loud?” You frown.

“If you want to.”

The silence is almost deafening but it’s not uncomfortable as Leon awaits your answer patiently. There’s so many words left unsaid, so many things you want to pour out to him and beg him for. Instead, you pull a distant memory from your head and divert the heavy question you had asked yourself.

“Did you mean it?" You whisper, eyes fluttering closed when Leon cradles your face gently. His warmth is addicting. "I mean when you told that guy that I was yours."

He blinks in surprise. “You heard that?”

“Barely,” you admit sheepishly. “I was still conscious enough but I heard you.”

Leon doesn’t need to think about the response. "Yes," he replies without hesitation. "If you want to be mine, then I am yours."

"Okay," you smile, turning your face to kiss the palm of his hand lovingly. "We'll be each other's."

He swoons, melts in your presence and lets himself plummet like Icarus when he flew too close to the sun.

After a period of silence, you finally say it.

“I want us to be lovers.”

Time seems to freeze in place as those words fell from your lips. Leon waits with a baited breath, to see if you might backtrack or regret it. No such denial comes and he buries his nose into your hair.

“Alright,” he murmurs. “We’ll be lovers.”

“This sounds stupid. Like we’re kids playing house together or some shit.”

He laughs, kissing your forehead and letting himself revel in the feeling of love. This all-encompassing warmth that makes him feel so alive and in the moment–something he hasn’t felt in years–that you somehow reignited. You, a miracle in his life. You, who wanted to be lovers.

“Leon.”

“Hm?”

“I…”

You pull back, look him in the eyes and resist the tears that threaten to roll out of your eyes because this is everything you’ve dreamed of since you met him.

“I love you.”

Leon’s expression shifts, eyes widening like he couldn’t believe his ears before he’s on you in a second, kissing you everywhere he could reach. He steals the breath from your lungs as he tugs your mouth to his and grants you a bruising kiss, all of his emotions knocking over and translating through his actions stronger than any word could describe.

“I love you,” he whispers against your lips, “I love you, I love you, I love you. I’ll say it every day until we grow old, I swear.”

You have to giggle at his cheesiness, though you don’t complain at all as you kiss him again.

“I’m not leaving you again. Move in with me, I–” He chokes on his words, “–We can make this apartment ours instead of just mine. There’s a high-tech security system installed so you’d be safe, and you won’t want for anything. Whatever you want, you'll have it.”

You can’t help but poke fun at him, even in this tender moment where you’re more than ready to drop everything and move your whole life into his place. “Even if I want kids?”

“Especially if you want kids,” he cooes. “Having a family with you would be a dream, baby.”

“Then I’ll make them come true,” you promise. Then, because you can’t help yourself, “I love you.”

“I love you.”

You love him and he loves you, just as everything was destined to be.

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

You stumble out of the bar, a wide grin plastered on your face and cheeks alight with a strong blush. The world tips under your feet, though steady hands stabilize you and lead you through the fog of your thoughts.

Still never as much of a drinker as Leon is, you find yourself in a familiar setting as your fingers lace with your lover’s perfectly. This night is less innocent, less questioning as you blindly follow wherever you’re led. Tonight was a celebration, and you intend to cash in your joy entirely to the man who promises you only good things.

You land in a car seat, expensive leather under you as Leon shuts the door and crosses to the driver side.

For some reason, you can’t stop smiling though you can’t exactly figure out why. Maybe it’s because you’re in love. Maybe it’s because you’re grounded with the knowledge he loves you too.

Lifetimes ago, you would have given anything in the world to hold his hand or be close to him as long as the intrusive watching eyes weren’t around to see it. Back then, you hid and concealed your feelings to save a reputation that wasn’t even yours. It seems so foolish now that you were so desperate to keep him away from you, whereas now, you don’t think you can live without him.

Maybe if you were in the same mindset now, you would be panicking at the blurry car lights that pierce through the windshield and spotlight directly onto your figures.

Two headlights, two watching eyes.

Without thinking, you turn in your seat and pull Leon close, kissing him eagerly as he returns the gesture enthusiastically. Your lips mold perfectly to his and it’s just like your first kiss all over gain, but even better.

Millions of years ago, you would reel back in horror and think about what this entailed for you two. Right now, you don’t really give a damn.

Many things have changed since that fateful night, and equally, many things have evolved and developed within your relationship. No matter what happened, though, Leon was always there to assure you that he loved you. No matter what, he was there for you even when he was across the country on a mission.

The Las Plagas incident had left a scar on both of you, and afterward, Leon was terrified to leave you on your own every time he was assigned to a mission. However, you assured him that you can defend yourself well enough now. After all, you never have a handgun too far away from your grasp at all times.

He’s trained you well.

Your shared apartment is more than safe, and you’ve successfully removed the bad taste in Leon’s mouth regarding the place. The walls have pictures of you two together and your plants thrive under the sun they gain from the large windows. Your couches are strewn with unique little pillows and hand-knit blankets and are large enough for both of you to sprawl out on movie nights.

It's warm, no longer cold and empty and bare in the ways that made his disdain for his own existence grow.

The bookshelves are full of novels of all kinds, though the most precious book resides in your nightstand.

A little black journal whose pages weren’t even used up all the way.

Leon had taken the time to read it thoroughly afterward when the minutes weren't counting down to your demise. You had sat right next to him, chin hooked over his shoulder as the tears welled hotly in his eyes at the messy emotions you had leaked onto the pages with your pen. You’d kissed them all away, assured him that things have changed, and promised that it was all in the past.

No regrets, no doubts, no more monsters.

The rational part of your head reminds you that all those reports waiting for you at the office tomorrow would be a pain in the ass. It doesn’t matter, though. Right now, the present matters, and right now, Leon was with you.

He was here with you after a night of drinking sitting in a car with matching dopey grins and flushed cheeks, totally and completely in love.

“I love you,” Leon murmurs affectionately.

"I love you too,” you return, just as enamored.

People could stare through the car lights, watch you, and whisper, but their opinions didn’t matter–not when you had an eternity of a lifetime ahead of you with him.

The matching wedding bands on your and Leon’s ring fingers agree.

#leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy #resident evil x reader #leon s kennedy #leon s kennedy x reader #resident evil #resident evil fanfiction #leon scott kennedy #leon scott kennedy x reader #leon x reader #leon kennedy imagine #leon kennedy x you #leon kennedy x y/n #resident evil leon #resident evil fic #resident evil x you #leon kennedy fanfic

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lipglossanon · 3 months

Note

hi lipgloss!!

this is 🫧 anon from ao3! I know you’re on hiatus but I still thought I’d send in an ask<3

how are you? Hope everything’s well and that you’re good! Don’t forget to take everything one day at a time and to take care of yourself first and foremost! sorry if I’m kinda corny hahaha! just wanna let you know there’s people that care about you and your wellbeing<3

I really wanted to share an idea with you, because I’ve recently seen a post here on tumblr about an analysis of Leon’s canon injuries.

So besides the numerous concussions (poor baby) he definitely has *scars*, on his thigh (RE4), on his shoulder (RE2) and more.

I was thinking of a scenario where, while making love, reader kisses all of his scars because he’s beautiful like that and he deserves it so so much… telling him sweet praises and whispers because he’s gone through so much… and I’m imagining older Leon because he’s literally lived through all of it lol

maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic but I’m imagining this as very emotional, like this man has never gotten the gentle love he deserves:( makes me want to cry.

it also makes me kinda sad because I really want capcom to give him a break and his happy ending, but now there’s rumors of resident evil 9 and how people are really expecting Leon to make an appearance. Like I would LOVE to see more of Leon, I really would, but capcom makes him suffer soo much PLEASE give my man a break. So I don’t know how I feel about him possibly being in re9, and all we can do is wait until 2025 probably :’)

Oh well! Thanks for taking the time to read and have a nice day lipgloss, take care<3

~ 🫧 anon

Hi 🫧 anon!! 👋

Before answering I wanna say, thank you so much for your kind review on ao3! It was super sweet and really made my day 🥹 💜

Anywho, I am doing very well! The break from tumblr was super helpful. 😌 And thank you! A lot of the negative was clouding the fun I was having on this platform (and it’s so nice to come back to such positive asks and messages 😭).

And that’s so heartbreakingly warm! 🥺 he definitely would just fall apart if reader kissed all of his scars and just showed him how much he’s cared for 😢 it would be intimacy on a level I think he’d denied himself before but now he can just be in the moment 🥺🥺

And I really have no clue what RE9 will bring (as much as I love Leon, I want my OG crew back! Let me play as Jill in a new game, Capcom!!).

Thank you again!! I hope you have a wonderful day as well!! 💜

#ask box #🫧 anon #lipglossanon #lipglossanswers

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illmetkismet · 4 months

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hey darling! sorry if this is an odd question but do you ever see Leon and OR Chris ever settling down eventually sometime?

I personally wouldn't care either way especially with how Capcom is handling most of the protags. But eh, it's just a funny little thought that occured i guess?

Hi Anon! Thanks for the ask, it was an interesting question to wonder about for sure, and where I end up with this is that I think both of them would like to settle down, but like you said, Capcom probably won't let them.

Both of them are people with a lot of love and care to give. There was that stage play I watched where Chris refers to his team at the BSAA as family, and it seems like he takes over looking after Rose after Ethan dies and Mia disappears again. (When does she dip out of her daughter's life? I'm not sure... But Rose is a teen in 'Shadows of Rose' and she says she hasn't seen her mom in a while, so I'm assuming Chris is the one parenting her at this point.)

With Leon I'm going on vibes, mostly, since he doesn't seem to let himself get close to people, probably on account of the government using the few attachments he did form against him (threatening Sherry and Claire to keep him in line), and the way Ada betrayed his trust in RE2. But despite all that, he's a kind guy, and he keeps giving people the benefit of the doubt (Ada, over and over, and Luis even after he finds out he used to work for Umbrella, for example), so I think despite keeping himself apart from the world to keep himself and others from getting hurt, he probably still yearns for connection.

Both of them also express a desire to 'retire' from their work. Chris in RE6, where he says he was planning on literally retiring and was preparing Piers to replace him, and Leon... Well, I think it's pretty clear that Leon would love to not keep doing what he's doing, and that he's doing it against his will, pretty much.

How likely is that to happen for either of them? Honestly, I think Leon's got a better chance of getting out and 'settling down', as you put it. Chris is like 60-something years old in 'Shadows of Rose' and he's still at it. He's not tapping out until the world is no longer threatened by BOWs, and the way Capcom is setting things up, that doesn't seem likely to happen in his lifetime.

With Leon, however, I do hope that eventually he manages to get free of his indentured servitude to the government. Maybe one day Ada will get sick of her own involvement in this fight, and the two of them can fake their deaths and move to Montenegro and Leon can learn to bake bread and Ada will.... Actually, I don't know what Ada would do in 'retirement', but I think they'd figure out a way to be happy. A 'Luis lives' scenario would be nice too, where maybe the three of them figure something out together (I've started writing that fic lol).

If I had to guess, though, Capcom won't let either of them quit and settle down to a peaceful life. Feels like a big piece of the story they're trying to tell with the two of them is about turning personal trauma and loss into motivation for staying in the fight that fuels the franchise, and that's how they're gonna keep chugging along. These games aren't about people healing and living well, they're about shooting zombies, so I feel like they're gonna keep Chris and Leon doing that for as long as they can.

Personally, though, I find Leon being stuck playing the hero while his soul slowly dies inside him unbearable, and no matter what they do with him in the games, in my head he gets out before he completely resigns himself to his situation. I don't love what they did with him in 'Death Island', where he's this glib quip-machine brushing off the actual horror of his situation with that 'yeah, well, it's a living' line... I'm gonna wait and see how they wrap up his story, but I have a feeling I'm gonna have to roll up my sleeves and fic his way out of it lol....

Anyway, thanks again for the ask! TL;DR version is that I think Chris is probably married to the fight, but I'm carrying Leon out in my goddamn teeth if I have to!

#resident evil #leon kennedy #chris redfield

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adaru32 · 2 years

Text

The Red Devil’s Chronicles’ Dec. 2021 DMC Updates: Another Smokin’, Sexy, Stylish Year

Hey, how's it going? Hope everyone had a good and safe holiday season. Here are this month's Devil May Cry related news updates: 1. CAPCOM is unsure of what to do with Dante anymore. 2. Asmus Toys has come out with a 3rd version of DMC3 Dante. b) Here's a work in progress of the figure. 3. You can now obtain Dante's belt, but they're asking for a high price for it. 4. Devil May Cry V Special Edition won the Special Award in the Playstation Partner Awards. 5. The Steam version of Devil May Cry V got a copyright infringement update, which made most people think it was bad news for the modding community, but nothing really happened. Only problems occurred for certain mods, which ended up being fixed easily. 6. Devil May Cry briefly trended on Twitter. 7. Hideaki Itsuno hints at another project in the works. 8. The Devil May Cry Peak/Pinnacle of Combat mobile game may be coming to PC.

My Thoughts On These Updates:

1. I can agree that CAPCOM, let alone Hideaki Itsuno himself doesn't know what to do with Dante anymore. Sure people change as they get older or when they're younger, but some of the changes they've made to him over the series were too much to where people end up coming up with their own personality traits in fanfics and such that are completely out of character for him. Not just personality-wise, but facial features-wise, and story plot-wise as well (Eg. Dante's reason for fighting). I can see why Itsuno would rather concentrate on Nero more than the other characters. Sure Dante had a bit more spotlight in DMCV, but Itsuno has mentioned in interviews that even though he likes Dante, he's not technically his character and has gotten too old for him, which is why Nero was created 'cause he's a fresh new start to the series Itsuno can be comfortable working with. As most of you already know, Dante is my most favourite fictional character of all time, and it would pain me to see what would happen if CAPCOM were to give him his complete ending to the series. I'm still looking forward to what CAPCOM has in store for him but even so...I'm hoping that if they ever plan to rid him of the entire series at one point that it ends on a happy note with valid context, and not a cliffhangar with no context. 2. Asmus Toys has improved yet again on their DMC3 Dante figure. It started off as a weird Tom Cruise-looking guy with his belly button looking like it was made with a light poke from a toothpick. Then they improved where it looks more like him, but the details on the pores made him look like he had freckles, and he has no belly button. Now they added more detail on him where he looks more realistic and made him look his actual age. The only issue I have with it is his lips on the one where he gives the neutral expression (not the roaring one, that one looks all right). They made his lips feminised and a little too dark to where it looks like he's wearing lipstick. Then again, I notice this is a common mistake quite a bit of figure-making industries or companies make when it comes to making Dante's lips. 3. It's awesome how you can buy Dante's belt, but that price range....I shared this in a Facebook group I run and quite a bit of people were upset about it. To be honest, I am a bit as well, but I can see why they would make it that price. It has to do with the materials and how it's a collaborative project so it's not just CAPCOM making the profit off of it, it's also whoever made it and where they get their source materials from. Take that bath and skincare place Lush for example. The reason their products are so outrageously expensive is 'cause not only is it profit going towards the company, but it also goes towards the employees working there, and how everything's made by hand and not from a factory or something, where their source materials come from, and how their profit also goes towards charitable things. 4. That's awesome that Devil May Cry V still keeps winning awards to this day. Gives more hope for possible future titles at a quicker pace. 5. Even though I don't mod myself, and have never used mods before, I always appreciate and experience positive feelings and emotions with the modding community. Even I was afraid that the copyright infringement update was going to affect them terribly to where mods can't be implemented or made anymore. It wasn't just DMCV that had this update, but the Resident Evil games on Steam did as well. Glad this update didn't affect them too negatively 'cause if it did, there would've been a riot. I understand that making a profit off of mods isn't fair for the companies in some way since it's their property (yes, there are modders that ask for donations to make mods since certain programs they use require costly subscription fees), but game companies should look at the modding community as a form of resume if they're looking for more game developers. Like what happened with the fans that attempted to remake Resident Evil 2 using mods, until CAPCOM forcibly cancelled their project, then later asked for them to collaborate with them to make the RE2 Remake. 6. I got curious as to why Devil May Cry trended on Twitter for a bit. I didn't see anything except for people discussing things about the series, and showing off more fan art and such. 7. I really do wonder what Itsuno's next big project is. Dragon's Dogma 2? Devil May Cry 6? A completely new original title? That Pragmata game? Only one way to find out. 8. Having Pinnacle/Peak of Combat ported to PC would be a nice thing for fans to have that don't wanna play on mobile, and who want to experience playing it themselves. Well, another year of more Devil May Cry goodness. Looking forward to what more they bring us for the future. Hope you all have a happy, safe, smokin', sexy, and stylish new year.

#devil may cry #dmc #updates #the red devil's chronicles #trdc #news #capcom

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turnaboutyandere · 3 years

Note

Ace attorney characters when you pack a bento box (boxed lunch) for them:

(In japan that's a indirect expression of love and in this case a confession)

Phoenix gets it right away. He smiles and blushes. And as he kisses y/n for the first time realizes he might not need to chase rivals away. Out of all of them hes probably the softest receiving a bento box. He jumps straight to calling you his girlfriend. Phoenix thinks about it all day and when he opens it come lunchtime and finds a little love note above his rice he tears up.

(Also if you make two, one for him and one for trucy he will melt)

Miles DOESNT get it right away. He doesnt understand why, when he has so much money, y/n would feel the need to pack him a lunch. He doesnt understand why his confusion causes y/n such a blush for a good five minutes. By the time he remembers the cultural significance they already left. He texts them something between sweet and formal. At noon (though I think he does have a tendency to skip lunch to work) he opens it and finds a little love note. He feels a lot of things at once and just like him ends up very smug

Franziska is silent for a second. It's not that she understands the implications, it completely flies over her head. No shes quiet cause she believes she should be taking care of you and not vice versa. Then she tells y/n to set it on the table, and is very confused when they leave the room practically skipping. It isn't until shes having lunch and her brother and gumshoe walk into the room to give her paperwork does she understand. Her brother asks her were she got it (idk if she's a good cook or would bother learning Japanese cooking) and when she relays your confounding behavior miles has the nerve to laugh. Then gumshoe surprisingly explains it to her. She turns pink and carefully opens it. Sure enough theres a love note in a sealed bag to keep it clean. That evening she buys a locket.

You have to know Diego for a very long time before he let's you cook for him. And he will never again accept open drinks from anyone. So y/n ever the sweetie invites him over in the early morning and hopes it doesnt irritate him. ( it doesnt cause hes already normally there). When he shows up y/n invites him in and leads him to the kitchen and they cook together so he can see whats in everything. He doesnt admit it but it makes him feel like they're married. It's when she hands him not his lunch but a bottled coffee still sealed does he go from crushing to love. Though he didnt like the extra sugar and milk in Japanese bottled coffee, they validated his trauma and therefore is not getting rid of him now.

Dahlia is an odd case. She pretends to not understand. She laughs her laugh like silver bells and thanks them as sweet as she can but I dont think she actually eats it. She worries shes been found out. That your trying to poison her. I can see her being better safe than sorry. Still she opens it to take a picture to post on her social media and sees the love note. She reads it once then again. And smiles sly. Her plan was working

Iris on the other hand completely understands and let's you know she knows. She asks if their seriously ok with dating someone already under oaths and vows. If thier ok respecting such boundaries. When y/n nods she begins to cry. At lunch time when she opens it she begins to cry again for two reasons

1) it's made specifically with her eating restrictions in mind. Y/n did their research

And

2) the love note. Oh goodness the love note. Never before has such a small paper made a girl so happy.

Wocky feels guilty that you pulled the bento thing first. His parents are Japanese and run a cafe and he couldn't make you a bento. When he voices his concerns and they take it as him accepting the confession and kiss him he feels a little better. He normally eats what his parents make for lunch but today. Is different. When he finds the love note he cries. He feels safe with s/o for the first time. Alita never wrote love notes or cooked lunches.

Mia the sweet women she is, flushed but tries to stay somewhat level headed, somewhat her normal level of cool. She sets it on her desk and takes y/n into her arms. She doesn't ask if they mean it cause shes scared they dont. That...it would destroy her, so she doesnt give them a chance. She would return the favor the next day but imagine be honest. I dont think she can cook either. She keeps the love note with everything else that reminds her if y/n. In a jewelry box under a floorboard.

Klavier doesnt understand it.... Much like franziska, he has no clue. But In a way he does? He knows this is something y/n put time and effort and money into, all for him. So he accepts it, calling y/n beautiful in the process. He doesnt get the fact that it was a confession...at first. Then he Googles what it means and sure enough it was a confession. And hes relieved cause he had accepted it and complimented them. He had agreed to their confession.

(before anyone says it, yes, I know Kristoph isn’t actually German, but I don’t care. Capcom can rip my “the Gavins are German” headcanon from my cold, dead hands)

Aight, so, ya girl is back. I’m gonna keep the ask box closed for a bit until I clear out all the asks I have (and finish a request) so please be patient. Thank you!

Damon: Doesn’t get it right away, but thinks it’s sweet that you made him lunch. He may google it later assuming he knows how to use google or ask someone about it, which is how he finds out the meaning behind it. Rather than make you a bento box in return, he’ll get you a bouquet of roses and invite you to join him for dinner instead. Between the roses, though, you’ll find a cute little love note with a smiley face scribbled onto it.

Shelly: He’s been around the block a few times, so he likely knows what it means. He’ll thank you and give you a peck on the cheek, promising to make you lunch as well. Once he finishes eating, he’ll put the note somewhere safe so he can reread it whenever he wants.

Matt: Has a security guard try it before he does, for safety reasons. Once he sees how upset you are by that, he’ll apologize and ask you to explain the meaning behind it (he knows he fucked up lmao). After you explain it, he’ll apologize (while being so fucking smug internally) and thank you for the lunch. He can’t cook to save his life, so don’t expect him to return the favor, but he will leave you a little note where you can find it; something along the lines of “I love you, dude <3“.

Kristoph: Prides himself on knowing a little about everything, so for him not to know the meaning behind your gift is unlikely. He’ll happily accept it and give you a gentle kiss on the forehead, all while hiding how smug he feels. He’ll also give you bento box in return, but with German cooking instead of Japanese. Oh, and that little love note you put in there? Expect to find a three page-long love letter in your lunch.

Ray: Pretty knowledgeable about romantic traditions around the world, so the chances of him getting it are pretty high. He’ll thank you for it rather sheepishly, as this is one of the few times you’ll get to see him flustered. Once he reads the note, though, he’ll pull you into a big hug, tears brimming at the corners of his eyes. Afterwards, he’ll immediately set out to make you a bento box in return, or take you out to dinner if you prefer.

Sebastian: Bless his dense heart, he’s clueless. He’ll be very thankful though, and promise to make you something in return (despite his nonexistent cooking skills). He’ll likely eat it at work and brag about how you made it for him, which is when Miles steps in to explain the meaning behind it. That + the love note is enough to make him cry tears of joy, and he’ll tackle you in a hug the moment he gets the chance to.

Simon K: Doesn’t know how to feel at first because he’s never had someone make him lunch before. Once he sees the note inside, though, he realizes what it means and becomes even more emotionally confused than before. He’ll thank you, rather awkwardly, and promise to make something for you. He’s not much of a wordsmith but he’ll still add a note, expressing how grateful he is for the lunch.

Katherine: Will be on the verge of tears when you give her the bento box, and will flat-out start crying when she reads the love note. She’ll cling to you, thanking you profusely and promising to make you one as well. She keeps her word and makes you a wonderful bento box the very next day. Instead of a love note, however, you’ll receive a song she wrote about you (and she’ll even sing it to you while you eat).

Bobby: Another very dense yandere who is definitely going to get scolded by Blackquill for not understanding what your gift means. He’ll make up for it though, by going above and beyond to make you the best bento box you’ve ever eaten (it won’t be the prettiest and he’ll likely have burned something, but it’s the thought that counts, right?). He’ll also keep your love note on his bedside table so he can read it every night before bed and every morning when he wakes up.

Simon B: He’s a huge weeaboo Japanese cultural enthusiast, so he’ll get it right away. He’ll tease you about it and act cocky as usual, but in reality, he’s trying to hide the very obvious blush on his face. He’ll keep your note safely tucked away in his coat pocket for whenever he wants to reread it. He won’t return the favor right away, though. Instead, he’ll give it to you when you least expect it in order to fluster you.

______

- Mod Dollie

#letters to the mod

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cosmicfurby · 2 years

Text

Oh yeah it's WW1 AU time

*opens door just a crack* anyone there? okay-

*bangs door open* HI HELLO I AM HYPERFIXATING ON MY OWN FANFIC i do apologize but i am entirely too excited about this

little things that have been implemented since the last update:

edgeworth confirmed! one of miles's ancestors will be a supporting character in the fic. i am aware many people avoid OCs like the plague and you know what, fair, but this is an entirely self indulgent fic and i just want this character to be an edgeworth okay sue me

i may include other OCs, mostly because i was missing a fey/an ayasato in the tgaa games. I've been contemplating the possibility of introducing a fey who is actually a man because we've never met one during the games, to my knowledge, and i think it would be interesting to explore that whole "men ain't shit in kurain" thing, gives so much to work with

after much consideration gina's nickname for susato is going to be sue :) if you have any criticism, sue me :) (yes i will be using this pun. for evil)

i was so happy about all the gay pining i didn't realize i have put some of the characters in the literal line of fire, which means they will be struggling with Capcom-sized doses of trauma. sorry, gina.

particularly gina will be dealing with hypersensitivity to noise, given she was in the trenches; kazuma (the other character who is involved in actual combat) will have problems of his own

the routes and paths each character takes throughout the war are already done! it's been so cool and honestly so educational to refresh my admittedly not wide knowledge about the great war and see what to do with each character. most of the action takes place in europe, with some micronesia peppered in.

for example, naruhodo spends like half of the war in japanese-occupied german micronesia as an interpreter and is later transferred to malta for naval escort missions

then you've got gina who starts off in belgium but moves through that zone to france

you know the drill people are going to move and they're going to meet (because I know if i were the one reading it and people didn't find each other I would be PISSED)

van zieks is going to have a cameo, much to my chagrin, because he's still a centric character yadda yadda yadda. his general absence is nothing personal, really, he'd appear more if i didn't have this many characters to keep track of already and if i wasn't developing an entire fic just for him (stay tuned i *might* get obsessed over that eventually)

i can also hereby declare there is a happy ending everyone! again in another issue of Sunny Writes What She Wants To Read the ending has been determined to be a happy, if slightly bittersweet one. I'm sorry I can't cope with bad endings Merlin destroyed me body and soul

the "nowadays" subplot is coming together quite nicely as well! trucy is going to cry a little but you know what? she deserves to have a good cry. she deserves everything in the world and i am going to make sure it is given to her <3

so far we've got trucy struggling to accept kay's presence in her house (not because she doesn't like kay – she does, she doesn't like the fact she has to share parents), trying not to drown in senior year (which can be tough and, in my experience, may cause breakdowns galore) and coping with apollo's departure at the end of spirit of justice (in this au phoenix told them they were siblings when he was meant to btw, i have always found fairly stupid that he didn't do it more immediately). she's also struggling in general because trucy is a very tragic character and i think she does deserve to have a catharsis and must be allowed to be upset too

so yeah! i am very very happy with my progress and with the results I'm getting this far ^^ i am so EXCITED to write it y'all have no idea

so yeah! that's what we're at! I'm literally so happy I'm sticking omg

have a nice day if you've stuck around until here, I'm so thankful for all of you and I hope I can transmit my neverending joy to you <333

- Sunny x

#my fic #ace attorney

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leviathan-dee · 4 years

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DMC Week 2020: Day 1: Polar Opposites

(Yay, it’s finally here! I hope the community is working hard to create pieces for this amazing fandom. So let’s celebrate Devil May Cry, as well as Capcom, for bringing us these characters and stories we so easily fell in love with. Let the week commence!) (The prompts I’ve used for Day 1 were “Blood” and “Weapon”).

Watching the combating twins whack each other over minuscule things, Eva and Sparda ponder their children's demonic blood, and the men they would eventually become.

Word Count: 2,716

Characters: Sparda, Eva, Dante, Vergil

Read on AO3

An exasperated sigh left the honey blonde woman, her lashes fluttering shut at the sight of the impulsive twins combating in the greenery. She clasped her husband’s hand around her fingers, coiling their digits together in a comforting motion. The silver haired man simply eyed his beloved, his nonchalant gaze morphing into one of puzzlement and worry.

“Eva? Is something wrong, my love?” Bringing their entangled fingers to his lips, he placed tentative pecks upon his wife’s knuckles, earning him a pleased hum from the woman. Her expression, however, stayed drained.

“It’s just… They’re fighting again,” Eva exhaled once more, keeping her eyes on the bickering brothers in the distance, “tell me, Sparda. Will this ever end?”

The silver haired man, the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, chuckled. It appeared as though the sound was bereft of any amusement, seeming more forlorn, perhaps even bitter.

“Their nature demands it. The blood that pulses within their veins demands it.”

“I know- I just want them to get along.” She lamented the situation, continuously watching the two arctic silver haired boys whack each other with wooden swords. No matter how many times she reprimanded the two, they never listened.

“They will grow out of it, my love. If I know humans well enough, all boys of this age rebel against one another.” Sparda inched his frame closer to the woman, coiling his arm around her waist, drawing the couple closer together. They breathed each other’s scent, basking in the warmth. Placing her head upon the man’s shoulder, she continued to ponder the predicament.

“You do know us well enough. But... They’re twins, yet they act as if they are polar opposites.”

And it was true. Dante was a tempestuous child, leveling all stillness in his surroundings. He would grab any object that would be sufficient as a weapon, only to whack the ever-loving spirit out of anything that got in his way. The boy barely slept, perpetually energy filled, picking fights at any given moment. It was as if his addiction to adrenaline was insatiable. Although it was endearing, his constant joy and fervour for life colouring the air, it was definitely exhausting to his mother, Eva.

Whereas Vergil was a gentle creature. He was delicate, keeping to himself most of the time. The boy would cradle a novel with all the tenderness he could muster, scanning each word upon the page lovingly. He enjoyed the serenity of life, and preferred a confrontation-free day, as opposed to his brother’s persistent need for chaos.

Though they were twins, they contradicted that notion with every breath they would take. Fighting was the kind of joint activity Dante and Vergil were good at; The only kind of brotherhood they would participate in. Admittedly, it made Sparda proud. His sons had fighting spirits. Their demon blood flowed with a passion for battle, the same kind of passion that helped Sparda defeat Mundus two thousand years ago.

An abrupt memory stormed at the Dark Knight, flashbacks of his fights, and the tumultuous war between humanity and the netherworld. His human form began to sweat, a strange sensation of nausea rising within his belly. It wasn’t often he felt anxious, though the thought of his family perishing under the thumb of Hell would override any confidence he possessed.

He loved them too much.

“Eva… Listen. I have withheld this for far too long. I possess two artefacts. Two weapons, only meant for those who would protect the sanctity of our worldly barriers. To protect the human realm from dictatorship of the underworld.” Raising her heavy head from her husband’s shoulder, she eyed the man questioningly. She seemed to digest the information, noting what he meant wholeheartedly.

“Honey, you don’t mean to give them to the boys now, do you?”

“No. Only when they are ready. Although… Perhaps I may show them their future gifts now, my love?”

Brushing a golden unruly lock away from Eva’s cheek, he placed an amorous peck on the corner of her lips protectively, perhaps even a tad bit possessively. She embraced the warm feeling nevertheless.

“Of course. There is no need to ask permission of me. They’re your sons too, Sparda.” The woman nodded, her hair continuing to cascade down to her cheeks, earning her a boyish giggle from her husband.

Sparda sighed before unravelling himself from his beloved, already missing the tenderness of her frame. He stood to observe his battling sons. The two sparred in the shrubs, the sounds of rustling leaves and youthful grunts echoing in the garden. It was surprising at how well their demon blood healed their injuries. The only signs of the skirmish between the two ended up being the leftover sanguine that stained countless shirts. In fact, Eva began purchasing darker clothes for the boys, knowing full well that they would proceed to bleed each other whenever their tempers would allow it.

Seconds passed, Vergil ended the physical altercation with a swing to Dante’s legs, swooping him into the air. Dante less-than gracefully landed amongst the grass, giggling joyously at the change in direction, from vertical to horizontal. To the parents’ surprise, the twins had their fill of bickering for today. The elder twin approached his parents with a victorious smirk tugging at his lips, a trickle of crimson leaving his left nostril. Bouncing to his feet, Dante sprinted close behind.

Whilst Eva sighed dejectedly, Sparda naturally smiled.

“My sons! Come hither. Come, come.” As the father beckoned the twins, they coiled their arms around his legs, glueing themselves to his frame in a playful manner. Dante’s giggles alleviated all tension and exhaustion Eva felt, his jovial attitude giving her reason to be happy again. Vergil, albeit being the calmer, older brother, snickered mischievously alongside Dante.

“Ahh, my boys have turned to barnacles.” Sparda did not push the youths off, instead walking to his destination inside the manor, with the boys holding on for dear life on his limbs. The mossy colour in the woman’s eyes returned to its full lustrous blaze, watching her three goof-balls interact. It seemed as though her love for her family bloomed brighter than before. She let out a content sigh, before following the sprightly bunch of white hairs.

Moments later, they entered the manor, a warm smell of baked pastries blanketing their senses. Scents of cinnamon, and strawberry began to drift with the draft, the boy’s stomachs rumbling in retaliation. Dante tugged pleadingly at Eva’s scarlet shawl, alongside her heartstrings. Vergil simply stared up at the woman, his puppy-eyed stare finally breaking her defenses.

“Fine, fine. I’ll make some tea with the strawberry turnovers and cinnamon buns. Behave, don’t give your father any trouble.” Eva placed an ardent smooch on her husband’s jaw, barely able to reach his face from the sheer height he possessed. Sparda chuckled at the attempt, lowering himself to let her kiss him proper. The boys cringed at the display, letting out a collective drawl of ‘eeew’s, before their mother ruffled their silver hair beneath her palm.

As the gentle woman left to prepare the desserts, the three proceeded upstairs. Although the manor was an overwhelming size for four people, there was only one rarely frequented room. Standing before a mahogany door, Sparda pressed his palm against the lacquered handle, turning the metal as it laboriously whined at the sudden use. Swinging the door open, inches of undisturbed dust suddenly whafted into the air, a stale smell rising within the room. The family entered hesitantly, with Dante and Vergil still holding onto their father’s legs.

It was lowly lit, the windows obscured by thick, ochre curtains. A singular chest, spanning two metres in width, stood beside a tall mirror. It was ominous to say the least, with these objects being the only things to stand in the empty room. Curiosity seemed to override the twins, letting their father’s hostage legs go. They both approached the strange furniture.

Behind them, Sparda crouched to level his gaze with theirs, before beckoning them over to grasp their shoulders in unison.

“Dante, Vergil. My precious sons. There will come a time when you will grow into two strong men. Two powerful protectors. It is imperative that you understand this. That your existence is far more important than you realise.” Pausing his speech, the man brushed a ruffle of snowy locks away from Dante’s brow to see his flint eyes more clearly.

“You are the symbols of an unlikely union. You are proof that Hell and Earth can coexist in harmony.” Sparda continued, gently cradling Vergil’s chin to better see his son’s features.

“You understand this, yes?” The question was meant as less of a query, and more of a reassurance that Sparda was doing the right thing. He needed to know that the boys will grow up together. That they will sustain the peace that was so lovingly upheld by Sparda. The two nodded simultaneously, alleviating the rising tension their father felt.

“Good. Now. Where were we?”

Effortlessly, Sparda stood from his crouch, towering over the boys. He drifted towards the large chest that held his two prized artefacts. Surprisingly, the twins kept quiet. Usually, when their father wanted to show them something, they both bickered to draw his attention. It was cute, albeit slightly exhausting at times. Nevertheless, Sparda continued to the chest.

Placing a hesitant finger upon the lock, he traced the bronze embellishments, gliding his fingertips across the fleur de lis pattern. Moments of simply enjoying the handiwork, he drew a small, helix shaped key, sliding it into the lock with a buttery smooth movement. It opened with a pleasant click.

The twins inched towards their father, standing either side, clutching onto his shoulders so they could view the contents of the chest more closely. Almost with an aching slowness, the box opened its maw, gaping open to reveal two magnificent works of demonic smithing.

“These, my dear boys, are Devil Arms. They hold immense power I once possessed. I believe it is necessary to share my power with you, so you could too protect this realm.”

As Sparda explained the contents of the box, he grasped the two weapons, one in each hand, to pass them to the twins.

“This is the Rebellion, Dante. It is a blade of fine craftsmanship. The claymore holds powers of unification, and subjugation of demonic forces. I believe it would fit you quite well, my dear boy.” Dante’s eyes glistened with wonder, the oceans of silver going feral over the sight of such a grandiose masterpiece. The metal seemed to gleam in the dark, reflecting what little light the ochre curtains let escape through the fabric. Tentatively, the boy traced his fingers over the designs, poking curiously at the enraged skull that sat upon the hilt. It was apparent that Dante would struggle to hold the claymore, so Sparda propped the blade on the wall, letting his son examine the weapon further.

“And this, Vergil, is the Yamato. It is a powerful odachi, that possesses the ability to separate the demonic realms from humanity. Believe it or not, the Yamato helped me defeat the Prince of Darkness, Mundus. It will be yours, when the time comes.” Vergil’s eyes mirrored that of Dante’s, blazing with a fervent curiosity. The youth’s fingers gently laced around the scabbard, as well as the sheath, a pure smile spreading across his lips. The Yamato held elegant designs, dragon motifs embellished on the endpoint of the hilt, bronze colouring each pattern.

“They will be yours when the time comes. You will uphold the peace, and protect all that you hold dear. For now, however, it is imperative that you fight together. Not against one another. You are brothers, and shall be brothers-in-arms if need be.” Reaching out to the twins, Sparda placed his palms on their cheeks, noticing the congealed blood that sat upon their skin from the previous brawl. He squeezed the skin on their faces lovingly, earning him a gentle giggle from the sons. Sparda continued to examine their faces with pure adoration. The union of Eva’s and Sparda’s features danced bewitchingly on the boys’ faces, an alliance of humanity and demon-kind.

“Is that clear?” Sparda’s assertive tone caused the twins to stand to attention, Vergil answering first, and Dante second.

“Yes, papa.”

“Sure thing dad!”

Sparda stood to his feet, once again towering over the two minuscule boys, moving towards the body-length mirror. The twins moved with him, standing either side of the man, grasping onto the violet corduroy fabric of his trousers. Sparda veered his gaze towards his reflection. He viewed the display before him, the twins watching their father with wide-eyed awe.

How much his love for the polar opposites bloomed throughout his chest, he could barely describe. These innocent youths, watching their reflections with such pure, ardent love, reflected all that Sparda fought for. It was this love that morphed the Dark Knight’s opinion on humanity, and his awakening to justice.

Though they fought with passion, they were more alike than they wanted to admit. It was a similarity past appearances. Of course, their features, hair, the colour of their eyes, and their bodies looked identical. However, their reactions to outside stimulus, as well as conflict, were where the similarities turned even more damningly alike.

Sparda exhaled, ruffling the twins’ hair adoringly. Perhaps with time, they would accept their brotherhood as part of their blood.

A resounding, gentle clearing of the throat interrupted the three, causing all to turn their heads like meerkats. Eva stood in the doorway, the delicate smell of roses wafting in, alongside the scent of ready baked pastries and tea.

“Boys, tea is ready. The desserts are prepared too. Go, shoo, before the tea cools,” as her sons ran past, her fingers brushed against their hair, enjoying the feeling of silky locks, “so… How did it go? Did they fight over their gifts?” Eva watched as the twins ran in unison, surprised at their sudden tenderness to each others’ presence. Not pushing; Simply letting each other pass, running alongside the railing of the manor. They appeared to tolerate one another… for now.

“Not at all. They’re more mature than you give them credit for, my love.” A soft silence engulfed the chamber, the dust settling once again upon each surface. Sparda wrapped his arms around his wife’s waist as he continued with his report of reassurance.

“They may be polar opposites, but they are twins. Whatever the future brings, they will grow up to be fine men.” It was a short exhale that left Eva’s lungs. An exhale of contentment, rather than exasperation. She returned the embrace warmly, keeping her arms on his chest, feeling his proudly beating heart pound with adoration against her palm.

It was this moment she understood that her sons were in the hands of a capable man, albeit his demonic origins. His aristocratic behaviour, and ability to subdue the stormy nature of the twins always impressed her. If Sparda said that Dante and Vergil will grow into two, fine, protectors of the realm, that's what they will become. No matter how contradictory their nature was, and how feverishly they battled against one another, they would join to defeat a common foe.

As long as Sparda was beside them, all would be ok.

The young woman cradled her husband’s jaw, drawing him closer to her visage. Before gazing at him with her mossy eyes, she scrunched her nose to brush it against his own. The motion naturally caused Sparda to chuckle. As the two of them basked in each other’s presence, the cacophony of bickering twins bounced from the dining room.

“That bun is MINE!” Vergil’s venomous tone was to be reckoned with.

“URGH! You had five! Not fair!” The retaliating voice boomed from Dante, followed by a thunderous whack and a pained groan from his elder brother. It seemed as though the moment of brotherhood had gone and passed. Eva facepalmed.

“They will be fine.” With Sparda snorting at the sounds from downstairs, he placed his chin on Eva’s collarbone, nuzzling close. Instinctively, her delicate fingers ran through his hair, drawing him closer to her neck. She smiled, knowing full well that all was going to turn out alright.

“I hope you’re right, honey. I hope you’re right...”

#dmcweek #dmcweek2020 #dmc #devil may cry #dante #vergil #sparda #eva #fanfiction

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coeursetcolores · 3 years

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What I Would Add To/ Change About: Devil May Cry 5

Hello again! Today is March 8th! Two years ago, Devil May Cry 5 was released, over ten years after Devil May Cry 4. Such a long gap caused many to believe that Capcom abandoned the franchise, but to our surprise at the 2018 E3 conference, after years of silence and tentative hope brought by a picture of Reuben Langdon and Johnny Yong Bosch in mocap gear, the day we dreamed of happened: DMC was back!

Now here’s the million dollar question: Did Devil May Cry 5 live up to it’s fans’ expectations after all those years?

I’m pleased to say, YES!

To the whole collective fandom, this game was totally Smokin’ Sexy Stylish!

To me individually...

Well...

It wasn’t really what I’d thought it’d be.

This is all just my own personal opinion and if you disagree with me, that’s perfectly okay! If you’d like to talk about a point I made, please let me know, but please try to respect my opinion as I respect yours.

Fair warning, I won’t talk about online stuff. I’m not an online gamer, that’s just not me.

Well, with out further ado, let’s get started!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Like the last time, I’d like to start with the positives before getting to the things I wasn’t 100% on board with.

Combat. It’s DMC, and it’s styling way past any other game that dare challenge it.

The music: Frustration is getting bigger! BANG, BANG, BANG! Pull my Devil Trigger!

NICO. I jut love that crazy chick. And yay! Nero has a friend!

The death screen changes were SO helpful. Giving an option to come back in the middle of a fight saved me so much time! As long as it stuck to in-game currency...

The backgrounds are so detailed, Redgrave City looks amazing! And I was really happy when they brought back that gorgeous gothic architecture for Sparda’s mansion!

Bosses are tough, but not to unfair levels. It really makes you feel awesome when you finally knock that last bit of health out.

I’ll never miss an opportunity to fight Vergil. One for having an opponent that doesn’t tower over you, two for his fights just being great as usual. And after everything he’s done, yeah, it feels good to beat the ever loving crap out of him.

Dante dance. I cannot do it justice.

Lady’s new outfit is so cool!

Patty! Call her back Dante!

MOTORCYCLE! BUZZSAWS!

Dante has officially embraced being a silver fox. I salute him.

LORE!!!!!!

NERO! NERO! NERO! BEST BOY, SPICY SON I LOVE YOU SO MUCH YOU PRECIOUS BLOODTHIRSTY SWEETHEART!

You can see just how much detail went into the game. From the blood tubes staining you to V decomposing, it’s astounding.

Nero got a Devil Trigger! And it’s GORGEOUS! ...I do miss his persona, though...

Seeing all our favorite demon hunters again! I missed these guys!

Okay, but before we get to what I wish they added, I want to say something.

I have a lot of issues with this game, but while I can blame some of that on the writing and design teams, a lot of it is also on me having spent years basically imagining the story that would be perfect for me and probably me only. So a lot of my problems may boil down to the game not matching my imaginary scenario, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt.

Now here are some things that could have possibly made me like the game more.

ADD:

MORE LADY AND TRISH. These women were screwed when it came to the plot and they could have done more, what the heck?! Maybe some scenes where they try to process what happened to them, have them distraught at having been used by Urizen to help him destroy the city and blame themselves. Have Lady blow up at Dante for not warning them about what was really going on, for letting them go in unprepared, let her tell him that the blood of the city is on their hands because he kept his mouth shut. Lady is a huge influence in his life, and I feel like this would really open his eyes to how much he messed up.

As for Trish, she knows better than anyone else that you can really screw up and hurt someone that cares about you. Maybe after everything goes down, she could be the one to encourage everyone that, “Yeah, we messed up big time. But sitting around here hating ourselves isn’t getting anything done. So get up, we’ve got a city to fix.” I feel like this could really show how human she’s gotten from being with Dante and the others. I think it’d make her look more multi-dimensional.

And how come Vergil can get a DLC when he was in the game even less than they were?! The women in these games deserve equal representation, Capcom’s DMC developers!

And as for Vergil, maybe make his deal less ambiguous? I mean, the whole “Is Vergil really redeemed?” debate is really bringing out the worst in people. Like yeah, keep it ambiguous to the characters, it makes sense for Vergil to not show something “weak” like remorse to others, but show it in a way that the player can easily interpret.

Give Vergil some missions to himself where he takes in exactly what he’s done. Have him see Redgrave City, where he was born, devastated, people he may have once known reduced to ashes and know this is all because of him. That just because he wanted to be stronger, he’s destroyed lives, because even if he had no intentions of doing so, the split went against his wishes and left him weak to see a tyrant slaughter countless people without any goal. Have him realize that even if that was unintentional, he still nearly almost ended humanity once before with a sound mind (Temen-ni-gru) so he can’t pretend he’s in the right and that he’s actually probably a disgrace to Sparda’s legacy. Have him run into a sobbing little boy crying that his mother was killed and he lost his brother, maybe in the ruins of the family home. Have Vergil look into a mirror and see Mundus, have him realize that he’s no better than the demon that killed his mother and imprisoned him for years. Have him hallucinate Sparda disowning him for going against everything Sparda believed in. Have him see Eva sadly tell him that she wanted to save him, but seeing what he’s become lament that she lost her life trying to save a monster. And when Dante tells him Nero’s his son, he freezes. He abandoned and maimed his own child, left him for his brother to care for. Dante sees this and doesn’t know what to do? Is Vergil...sorry? Can he take a chance on him this time?

Or leave him an unrepentant jerk that’s just upset he still can’t win and expressly tells Nero he’s only going to cut down the Qliphoth down so he can fight Nero again and because he doesn’t want to give up Yamato.

And for that matter, make V’s goal clearer to the player. Have him expressly state, when he’s by himself with his familiars with no one that he can manipulate around that:

A. He wants to stop Urizen and prevent anymore devastation as atonement for his crimes as Vergil and part of the reason he wants to merge again is that while he does want to fight Dante again, he deserves to die as Vergil or defeat Dante and fix his mistakes by himself, realizing that Dante’s been cleaning up his messes for years.

B: He wants his power back, his mind got stuck in the human half and he can’t stand how weak it is. Everyone is just a stepping stone for him to be stronger.

Actually have the characters react to the Qliphoth. Seriously, everyone is crazy apathetic to all the death and destruction that they failed to stop. Aren’t they supposed to be the “heroes?” The only character this would make sense for, ironically, the one who actually seems to remember it exists at the end, Nero. Yeah. Remember how he didn’t care about anything but Kyrie in 4? Remember how the developers said he would just walk away after Dante shot the pope if Kyrie wasn’t there? I’m not say he needed to stay apathetic, I’m just saying it doesn’t make sense for him to be the righteous character.

Have Dante at some point just look out at Redgrave and see that if he had told the others what was going on, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. “...This didn’t have to happen.” Have this weigh on him. He’ll still act goofy, but he realizes that his selfishness can have real consequences.

Have him realize that he really hurt Nero with what he said and that he used Nero’s trauma and insecurity against him in the heat of the moment and it’s causing a rift between him. When he’s alone, make him privately promise to make it up to him later and actually apologize at some point near the end. Dante should know from his experiences with Vergil that insecurity can lead someone down the wrong path and that if he doesn’t do something he could lose one of the few positive relationships he has.

Have Nico have at least one freak out at everything around her and realize that she might not be as ready for this as she thought. She hasn’t experienced something like this before like the others. Nero comforts her and it makes their friendship grow stronger.

When Nero starts talking about family, he should acknowledge that while he is related to Vergil, they’re not really a family yet until they actually work for it, and that he knows what a real family is like, the ones who adopted him and were there for him (Kyrie’s parents, Credo, Kyrie, Nico, Dante, Lady, Trish, etc.).

Make it clearer that Vergil isn’t forgiven for his crimes, but that they’re willing to give him a chance. His last one.

Alright, now for the overall changes.

CHANGE:

The entire ending. Instead of Dante going down with Vergil, Vergil stops him and tells him that his life is here, with people that haven’t hurt him like he has. Dante tries to protest, says he can’t leave Vergil free to do whatever, but Vergil gives a bittersweet smile and tells him he can’t stop him, but it’s obvious Vergil’s not going to do anything again. When Dante gets desperate and tells Vergil he can’t leave him again, Vergil tells Dante he’ll be back, once he’s cleaned up his own mess for once; he’s the older brother after all. With that, Vergil goes to fix his mistake.

Dante’s left behind by his brother again. Instead of brushing things under the table, Nero is furious with Dante for never telling him the truth about his family. Especially after he was left uncertain about the future and looked to Dante for guidance, Nero feels betrayed. Dante understands and apologizes. Nero’s too upset to accept and tells Dante he needs time to think before he’s ready to talk to him again. Instead of begging Nero to stay and keep a connection he desperately needs, Dante lets him go, realizing that if he wants to fix things, he needs to start learning how to talk about how he actually feels instead of covering things up and unintentionally hurting those he loves.

Vergil destroys the Qliphoth, but doesn’t leave the Underworld. Realizing just how much he’s sinned, starting all the way back to Temen-ni-gru, he resolves to not go back to the human world until he’s made himself one worthy of being a Son of Sparda, finally understanding what that really means. Descending into the Underworld, he won’t leave until he’s eliminated those that would harm the world his brother, father and son protect so hard. This could be the start of his own spin-off series that would focus more on the demon lore in the games and take place entirely in the Underworld with Vergil struggling to be a better person and take responsibility for his own actions. Devil May Cry: Atonement, maybe.

Nero heads back home with Nico but doesn’t read V’s book. Hurt from his betrayal, he puts it in a box and seals it up for Vergil’s maybe return. When Nico starts talking about how Agnus is the reason she’s alive, she also acknowledges that she already has a real father and family that love her and subtly (and stutteringly) implies Nero’s a part of that, cementing that Nero has a family that loves him and is there for him. Nero thanks her and the two descend into silence for a bit before they start mocking each other and end up laughing before Nico realizes Nero’s crying. When she starts freaking out, he explains that he’s scared he’s still not strong enough to protect them, but before Nico can say anything, the phone rings. Answering it, a voice says, “You don’t have to be.” Looking out front the two see Kyrie and Patty, decked out in hunting gear, a phone in Kyrie’s hand. Smiling at them, she says into it, “We’ll protect each other.” Running out of the van, Nero scoops Kyrie up in a hug. When Patty starts complaining about them ignoring her, Nico pulls her away and tells her not to interrupt. After a bit, the group looks out at the horizon and vow to fight together, not letting themselves fall to the bitterness that led to this mess. Seeing some demons approach and watching his crew get ready, Nero smiles before smirking and gets ready to throw down. “Let’s rock!” Devil May Cry: Forsaken.

Dante looks out over Redgrave from his childhood home, silently miserable. After a while, Lady and Trish come over and try to talk, but he cuts them off with an apology. Fully realizing how his inability to let other people in nearly got them all killed, he encourages them to leave so they don’t end up like that again. Stunned from Dante apologizing, the two are silent. Then Lady angrily asks, “What the hell?! Just how dumb are you?!” She tells him that yeah he really screwed up this time, but they’re not going anywhere! He’s an idiot, but he’s THEIR idiot, and they’re not leaving him alone. They need him and he needs them. Trish tells him that if he has time to mope, he has time to clean up the city. The girls begin to walk back to the city and tell him to hurry up. A genuine smile on his face, Dante looks to his family’s home one more time, sheds some tears and walks away, from his past to his new family. Devil May Cry 6 will pick up on what happens next.

If Resident Evil can have like 50 spin-offs, why can’t DMC?

Alternatively, I’m also open to the suggestion of Vergil being stuck as V for the rest of his life. Karmic punishment at it’s finest.

In all honestly, Vergil was really unnecessary to bring back. Like, just make him DLCs, his whole story is done. It just feels like fanservice and the writers banking on a popular character to bring in sales. I also feel like the game bends itself over backwards to please him (back to life, cheat coded to power, no more nightmares, gets to fight Dante whenever he wants, gets a son who wants his acknowledgement he didn’t have to raise, crimes are basically swept under the rug) while everyone else gets kind of screwed over (Dante has to leave his friends behind, Nero’s abandoned again, Lady and Trish are captured and get no screen time, V’s familiars are gone, millions are dead).

I think Urizen and V should have been their own things: I liked the idea of Urizen being the general of Mundus that attacked Dante’s house (his ACTUAL reason for fighting) and V being Mundus’ son who was abused and bonded with his henchmen who decided to become a devil hunter in vengeance for his mistreatment. I dunno, I feel bad V (who legitimately creeped me out) was just made into a convenient little redemption arc.

Nero’s character arc really should have been something else. I think he should have learned throughout the story to stop caring what others thought about him (a trait that should have been visible in 4 if it was going to be such a big deal in 5) and learn to trust his own strength. He should’ve realized that he doesn’t need to prove anything to Dante, he’s never going to be the same and he should be happy with who he is. Also, wanting Vergil’s acknowledgement doesn’t make sense. He may be his biological father, but literally the only things Nero knows about him is that he ripped his arm off, started the apocalypse, got millions killed, manipulated him and wants to kill the guy who was actually like a dad to him. Biological ties can only count for so much.

Alternatively, his arc could have been about becoming a more compassionate person. Like I said earlier, it’d make sense if he didn’t care about anyone other than Kyrie being in trouble. And remember when he tried to kill an armor he thought had a human in it in 4? Along with the seemingly human Agnus? Have Dante worried Nero might go down the wrong path. Have him tell Nero about Vergil WAY earlier (months after 4) and have Nero worried if he’ll turn out like that. Nero actually had more potential to be dark than Dante, and I feel like that in trying to make him look like a perfect hero in 5, they had to make Dante look worse (keeping secrets, ignoring suffering, etc.).

And instead of “deadweight,” Nero’s berserk button should have been Dante not telling him things. You know, like the Order? The group he worked for that tried to start the apocalypse in secret and nearly got him and his girlfriend killed along with actually killing his older bother? Yeah.

I do not like the hyperrealism. This is purely on me preferring more animesque art styles, but I always felt that not looking like actual humans helped the series’ fantastic elements shine.

Dante’s new outfit is just so...muted. It’s just boring. Dante’s supposed to be flashy, dang it! Give me back the chaps!

Nero’s hair is awful. It just looks terrible on him, I wanted him to have long, pretty hair. They should have just kept his trigger hair all throughout the game.

Also, Dante’s the hunk, give Nero back his soft, pretty boy face!

DON’T GET RID OF DEVIL BRINGER! I hated using the Devil Breakers, who wants breakable weapons in Devil May Cry?! What’s next, reloading ammo?! And if you can come back from being stabbed, shot, electrocuted, impaled, would it kill you to let Nero grow his demon arm back to keep his playstyle easier?! And if you needed a challenge, congratulations! Nero lost his Devil Trigger! WORK WITH THAT!

Please don’t get rid of Dante. I love Nero, but he can’t do the main protagonist role. This is Dante’s series and he needs to finish it. Sure, give Nero a spin-off or two, but let Dante finish the story; the “Sons of Sparda” storyline was just 3. Not the whole series. Vergil is an important figure in Dante’s story, but he’s not where it ends. Dante. And. Vergil’s. Lives. Do. Not. Revolve. Around. Each. Other. They just liked to fight each other and developed opposing ideals, but their overall goals ultimately didn’t really factor in the other.

The whole Vergil abandonment thing shouldn’t have happened along with his beating Dante obsession, it seriously weakened Vergil’s character. He started out as someone who wanted the power to defend himself and became so deluded that he was ready to disregard any moral limitation to get it and simply fought Dante to amuse himself while never letting it get in the way of his goals. And him blaming Dante and Eva and insisting that Dante had an easier life, while I can understand it, just makes him come across as a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum.

Let V’s familiars kill demons without him. That was just really annoying.

And that’s it. My dreams for Devil May Cry 5 and the reality were two very different things and honestly...I’m afraid I’m growing out of this series.

I’ll still post some content I want to get out, but I’m not sure I’ll be picking up the next one.

#What I Would Add to/Change About...#Devil May Cry 5 #Criticism #Praise #My Silly Personal Opinion

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askaceattorney · 5 years

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Dear rogertheegg,

As mentioned before, any of the Mods are free to write whatever they want about whoever they want, so there’s isn’t really an established system there.

And I don’t believe the Twisted Samurai has an essay just yet, so if you would, please join me in a moment of

Simon Blackquill, your unfriendly neighborhood convict-samurai-prosecutor combo. I can only imagine what the writers at Capcom were thinking of when they came up with him, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it went something like this:

Head Writer: “So, we’ve already had a corrupted childhood friend, a ruthless perfectionist, his whip-happy daughter, and a smooth-talking coffee lover for a prosecutor. How can we top that?”

Writer 2: “What about a samurai?”

Head Writer: “A samurai prosecutor? That doesn’t sound very believable.”

Writer 3: “What if he’s also a psychology expert, and he knows how to manipulate others’ emotions?”

Head Writer: “That sounds even more far-fetched.”

Writer 4: “What if he’s a convicted criminal?”

Head Writer: “PERFECT!!”

After doing some research on his wiki page, I discovered that the contradiction of his being both a criminal and a prosecutor was part of his design from the very beginning. Whether this sort of thing could happen in real life, it makes for a very intriguing concept -- someone who is paying a (supposed) debt to society while at the same time attempting to collect that debt from others of his kind. Or in his words...

Like many of the prosecutors Phoenix and the gang have faced in the past -- scratch that, like all of them -- Simon Blackquill’s story is shrouded in mystery. For all we know, he could be guilty as charged of a heinous murder -- and a very violent one, as indicated in his opening cutscene.

Nonetheless, the Chief Prosecutor (whom we later learn to be a familiar face) has no qualms about letting him prosecute as long as he’s kept under surveillance. Despite being less than trustworthy, even taking pleasure in scaring those around him, he has an undeniable talent for forcing the truth out of criminals. As an expert in psychology, he’s mastered the ability to use emotions to his advantage.

Say...is it just me, or does that sound like someone else?

Before seeing him face-to-face, we’re informed by one Bobby Fulbright that his conviction was the main catalyst for the Dark Age of the Law. He sounds like the last person anyone would expect to serve as prosecutor, but on top of that, he and Athena have some form of connection between them. I don’t know about you, but that had me raising my eyebrows.

And then we get to see how he operates in court.

Like any other Ace Attorney prosecutor, he refuses to let court proceedings go any way except his way. Rather than using a forceful or intimidating attitude, however, his weapon of choice is the power of suggestion, which he clearly knows how to use well. In a matter of seconds, he’s able to convince the judge to do his opening statement for him, all while poking fun at his age and lack of hair (not that it’s very difficult to sway this particular judge).

One part I love about his introduction is how much more intense the air becomes when we find out his shackles aren’t made of titanium, as Apollo was hoping.

I honestly started fearing for Apollo’s life for a moment the first time I saw this. Luckily, the only harm Simon meant to do was psychological.

So far he’s pretty much par the course as far as prosecutors go, outside of being an inmate and a psych expert. The only thing he’s missing is some form of physical abuse.

Whoops. Spoke too soon.

And that’s just the beginning. On top of his “Simon Says” games and samurai speak, he uses his fellow and former inmates as examples for his arguments, making for some interesting (if disturbing) tales of the clink. Speaking of...

His feathered companion has a way of showing up out of nowhere, adding yet another layer to his intimidating nature. Besides providing another pair of glaring eyes from the prosecutor’s bench, Taka acts as Simon’s “henchman” of sorts -- distracting the defense, grabbing evidence for him, and even holding documents as he reads them. Once again, I have to give those writers credit for making him the most sinister ambiance possible. Even Jinxie thinks he’s a “Leader of the One Hundred Demons.”

On that note, the most satisfying part of a courtroom battle against this fiendish prosecutor is seeing his defeat.

It’s almost like beating a final boss in an action/adventure game. In fact, I’d say it’s exactly like that in some ways.

After defeating him three times in court, we still know very little about him, until our “good” detective friend lets us in on something he heard him say:

Being his shadowy, secretive self, Blackquill refuses to say anything on this subject when Phoenix brings it up. It isn’t until Athena becomes a murder suspect, his desperate sister takes a number of hostages, and he’s finally called to the witness stand and given an Athena-style therapy session that his tight lips begin to pry open:

To the surprise of many -- the judge, his sister, the courtroom, and -- most importantly -- the player, he spills his guts on what truly happened the day his mentor was murdered. In other words, it could be said that Phoenix gets someone to “confess” to their innocence for once. And it’s this very reluctance -- a reluctance to tell a truth that would literally set him free -- that sets him apart from every other antagonist (perhaps even every other character) in the series. What could drive someone to confess to a crime they didn’t commit, remain a prisoner for seven years, and be willing to face execution?

After the case surrounding him, Metis, Athena, and the Phantom is brought to an end, he finally gives an answer to that question:

What seemed like sheer stubbornness up until now turns about to be the loyalty of a samurai. While this doesn’t quite excuse his brash attitude, his violent tactics in court, and his morbid jokes, it does help you see him less like a villain and more like a hero in disguise (or an antihero, at the very least). Like his sister, his actions were questionable at best, but his heart was in the right place, just as Athena suspected all along.

One other thing I enjoyed about his character development was how it ended up being the mirror opposite of “Fool Bright’s” development. The buffoonish detective who seemed to have a Gumshoe-esque loyalty to Blackquill ended up being one of the cruelest and most uncaring villains in the whole series. It wasn’t until Phoenix unmasked him that he and Blackquill flip-flopped their roles as protagonist and antagonist. The irony in this series never fails to satisfy, does it?

We only get to see the Twisted Samurai for a single case in the next game, where he has the same harsh-but-caring personality that made him so memorable before. While his faith in Athena isn’t as strong as you would think (considering she helped save his life and all), it’s clear that he still sees a lot of undeveloped potential in her as an attorney, and even offers to help bring it out...in his own special way.

As that lovely image becomes ingrained in your mind, I’d like to conclude by saying that Simon is living proof that appearances can be deceiving. Much like the Phantom (and a certain green ogre), he has a number of layers to his personality; some are pleasant and some are unnerving, but like his mentor and her daughter, he’s all heart.

-The Co-Mod

#rogertheegg #Simon Blackquill #Mod Post #Co Mod #Character Essay

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italicwatches · 6 years

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GAMERS! Episode 06

Alright, now that the cat has finally settled down, I can actually make use of my hands for something other than delivering pettings. It’s GAMERS!, episode 06! Here we GO!

-DAY 06: Gamers and Wipeout “Game Over”

-We begin immediately, with Chiaki and Tasuku in that same cafe. It must be right by the school or somethin’. But he’s managed to drag her in and explain what she saw, which might in fact be, drumroll please…THE FIRST USE OF ACTUAL WORDS TO RESOLVE A PROBLEM IN THE STORY! Congratulations, Tasuku! For your managing to actually cut a problem off at the knees thanks to honest and earnest communication, you get a chance at the mystery doors! What will be behind the door you choose? Will it be a wholesome and fulfilling relationship with an Aguri who is more honest with herself of who she is? Will it be continued madness and romantic conspiracy-walls from all the other problems in your life? Or will it be a BRAND, NEW, CAR! Let’s find out.

-Anyways, Tasuku is also realizing, here he is hanging out with Chiaki instead of, you know, his girlfriend. The universe is cruel. And that’s when Chiaki sympathizes, grumbling about how a jerk like Keita got this super cute girlfriend. Yeah, he…Wait what? And the way he had to rub it in her face the other day! Are you sure it wasn’t just…You know what, change the subject. So about just Keita—

-“I hope he gets on a helicopter built by Capcom.”

-WOW.

-Just…

-Fuck.

-Okay, different subject entirely. What’s your read on Karen, miss gamer blonde herself? And also that’s when Keita and Aguri slink by with their faces covered by their schoolbags. Chiaki is confused by the entire question, because honestly, she barely knows the girl, but she can see that she’s on a totally different level from Chiaki herself…Jeez, it’s like dealing with a Keita from the mirror world. You three have serious shit to sort out. Oh and Aguri and Keita have slipped into the next booth over to listen and spy on this relationship.

-And then Chiaki ends up flipping the question around, trying to see what Tasuku thinks about Karen! Well…She’s pretty impressive. Flawless, even. (Until you get to know her and see how bad her crush on Keita has broken her. It’s like poking a faberge egg.) But Chiaki realizes, oh god, of course! You have a thing for her! God, she can never beat that…

-Whoa, hey, pick yourself up. You’re not human garbage, you’ve got plenty to offer the right guy…He even gives her a head pat, which she only manages to react to belatedly, with a total panic, as Tasuku apologizes. The girls he spends time around are the super clingy forward types who usually want that sort of thing…And Chiaki, too confused to do anything, has to fleeeeee! Tasuku has to pay so he can chase after her…

-While Keita is panicking inside and Aguri just…Oh, poor Aguri. She’s totally checked out and shut her brain down. So, uh, Tasuku didn’t pick the right mystery door. At all. He picked the bad one. And then bulldozed the set. So Keita is panicking because he heard more than enough to know that Tasuku is two-timing Aguri…And Aguri is…Um…She’s just rambling out the Konami Code over and over again, which I think means she needs to be rebooted. Quick, where’s her power button?

-Cut to a clear blue sky. Aguri has recovered enough, as the two try to figure out what to do going forward while they actually get drinks…With her suspicions seemingly confirmed, Aguri has to figure out how she even wants to progress. She still loves the idiot, even with her heart having just been broken…But she doesn’t even know if she wants to try and salvage that relationship, right now. So, okay! Deep breath! Focus on a problem they can actually fix! Namely, Keita and Karen. That’s something she can actually make progress on. What have you been doing to work towards asking her out, Keita?

-…Um…Well…You see…The answer to that is…

-Do you have any idea how hard she had to work to get Tasuku? This won’t be easy, you know! Keita quietly reminds himself that Tasuku sure as hell didn’t prove to be worth all that effort for her. SHE HEARD THAT YOU FUCK

-But, okay, her point is it’s not just about self improvement. It doesn’t matter how strong or fast or learned or stylish you are, you’ve got to be forward! This isn’t a game where you can just lean on your stats! This is real life, and relationships are more complex than that. One plus one doesn’t just add up to two. It adds up to LOVE! So in case you were wondering, yes, Aguri is exactly as much of a dumb teenage idiot as all the others, she is just a slightly different variety of dumb teenage idiot. Oh, you poor sweet children.

-From Keita’s read, though, he needs to be friends with Karen first…Hell, he needs to even be noticed by her as more than just recruitment material! (Oh if only you knew) Well you only get to either of those by being bold and forward! You want to get somewhere, you gotta make that first step! He knows, he just…It’s…Well how did you confess to Tasuku?

-And Aguri gets all blushy and gushy. You wanna know? You really wanna knowwww? Ohhh man! She’ll tell you everything! …She just straight up asked him. She did the whole new look thing first since she heard rumors he was into the bubbly ditzy thing, but in the end…You just gotta be direct! The truth of the heart is rarely so complicated. You can do it. She believes in you!

-And Keita starts to get a fire in his belly, as he decides he’s got nothing to lose! He’s going to do it! He’s going to talk to Karen tomorrow, and befriend her or die trying! HELL YEAH! Chase your happiness, dude! They clasp hands in triumph, as all of the other patrons of this cafe wish this pair would quit fucking coming here.

-Over to Karen having to let a whole series of guys down. All of whom are…Not having good times with it, as she’s getting more and more blunt with her answers, too.

-To the game club, where Eiichi’s noticed how brutal she’s getting with her answers. He can’t help but wonder if something’s shifting her focus. WHAT WHERE WOULD YOU GET THAT IDEA…But he also thinks that Karen tends to always kind of keep her guard up. Maybe she wouldn’t come off so harshly if she was a little more open and honest and let the armor down? Otherwise, as he mumbles to himself, he sees no way she’s ever gonna get Keita to notice her as a woman…What was that? Oh, nothing!

-Over to Keita’s place, where he’s playing Golden Memories…And his character fucking ditches the Karen type when some thugs grab her up. Wow. Wwwwww. You earned that Bad End, you sure did. You were so close, too! He wonders if it just proves he’s totally incompatible with the rich idol type…

-And that’s when he notices he’s got some texts! One from Aguri, wishing him well and reminding him to get some sleep! Tossing and turning all night will just mean he doesn’t have the energy or vibrancy to tackle this head-on. And don’t stay up all night gaming, either! Ouch.

-And the other messages? From Tasuku, who heard that he’s finally going after Karen, and wants to offer Keita some backup so it works out, and Keita will get some serious respect if it all works! Or, you know, derision and mockery if she still shuts him down, lulz. And Keita is about ready to tell him off, but, no, deep breath. Tasuku might be a dickhead, but he’s still trying to help him, right? Oh and then Mono-san sends him a game message to get fired up about the in-game event tomorrow…Keita can’t help but feel that Mono-san is a kindred spirit, someone he can understand, a shy and awkward soul…Who, in their own way, is rooting for him too.

-And he decides one last round at Golden Memories. As he begins to think…What if the answer isn’t to neglect the others and focus on Flora, the rich idol type who looks like Karen…What if the answer is that Flora only likes the kind of guy who treats them all right? That’s unusual…But as he barrels through the choices, focusing on everyone’s happiness…He gets the Good End, with Flora leaping into the hero’s arms, having fallen for his kind and gentle heart!

-That’s the real answer! You’ve got to treat everyone right…You’ve got to stand by your friends who’ve looked out for you! Even if this doesn’t work, he’s learned a true and profound lesson in life!

-Commercial break!

-And we’re back! It’s the next day in class, and Tasuku’s old stylish friends want to know what the FUCK he’s managed to do to that little nerd that he’s going to try and ask out the hottest girl in school! Leave him beeeeeeeee. Also he secretly spread that rumor around in the first place. You know, every time Tasuku gets that face, it means something is about to get worse. Even Keita is starting to hear the rumors, and getting nervous…

-As they end up having a bit of a confrontation when they both step out to the bathroom. Tasuku realizes Keita might be angry, and tries to save some face with an apology…But, listen, he’s trying to help you out, too. Think about it. You and Karen get together as friends. What are people going to think when they see you two together? That you’re a couple. You want people to know the score. And the kind of people who will spread it around so it becomes known knowledge! So, where is the best time to ensure people see the results?

-…Their classroom, right after the last bell, when tons of people are still hanging around, including Tasuku’s gossip friends! Now you get it. Shit, that all DOES make sense! Keita can use this!

-Cut over to Aguri’s class, where she’s trying to map out the insane relationship chart that her life now includes, and figure out how to thread the needle on this…And how to deal with Chiaki. She’s the real problem. If Chiaki wasn’t involved, it’d all be easy, because the only other girl in the picture would be Karen, who Keita likes, and so if they got together, it’d take her off the menu and let Aguri keep Tasuku all for herself. It’d all line up. But, there IS Chiaki. Who Keita insists he hates but is clearly closer to than he’s willing to admit. And who clearly likes Tasuku. And who Tasuku, from all the data Aguri has, likes in turn. Chiaki is the monkey wrench in the works. But since she can’t Plan C this girl, how the hell can she solve the problem?!

-Hell, she can’t even manage to write that Tasuku likes her without having a freakout…Made worse because Chiaki reminds her so much of her old self! Her dark days, before she could manage to ask Tasuku out! Aaaargh! Bye bye, relationship chart.

-Wait, wait…The whole thing Keita’s doing after school. Tasuku will be there…She can use that! She can get his feelings, and bring his eyes back to her!

-Cut to Chiaki, who has heard the rumors and is trying to figure out what this will all mean…She would swear before a court of law that Keita’s dating this Aguri girl…Except, she’s also heard that Tasuku is dating a girl with the same name. Sisters? Or the same girl? Would Keita really steal a girl out from his friend like that…No, no, she knows him. He’s an asshole, but he’s not that kind of asshole…

-But then…That could only leave one possibility…

-Aguri is playing him! She’s using him, fluffing up his feelings to turn him into a walking vending machine! He’s probably paying for every round at the arcade, for every canned drink, for this two-timing pink-haired harlot! This girl is playing his innocent geek heart, and he must be coming to Karen because he’s desperate and needs to ask for money from the rich girl! It all makes SENSE! She doesn’t like Keita, but she can’t watch a fellow geek be fucked with like this! She has to save him so he can find happiness (far far away from her and her entire life)!

-Oh, and Tasuku is really using Keita for his OWN games. This event isn’t just to help Keita out…It’s to draw Aguri! Then, Tasuku can hide in the crowd, watch Aguri, and see how she reacts…He’ll know for sure if she’s fallen for Keita! If his girlfriend is falling off to grab nerd-boy…He’ll, fucking, KNOW! It’ll all work! She’ll never suspect that she’s being watched…If this is just a friendship, she’ll be happy for her buddy Keita! If it’s more, oh, her reaction will be all he needs to confront her with her cheating ways! It’s a PERFECT PLAN!

-And everyone just kind of stares at Tasuku.

-Back to Aguri, who has taped her chart back together! If Tasuku is really after Karen, he’ll be disappointed if she becomes Keita’s friends. She’ll be hiding for him, watching and waiting…And if he’s after Chiaki, then he’ll be looking to her, worried that Keita will snatch her away! She’ll be able to get all the data she needs! It’s a PERFECT PLAN!

-To Chiaki, who’s decided that Keita is coming as a cry for help! It’s an SOS, a beg to get him away from this fiendish socialite who’s using his better nature against him, because he doesn’t have the heart to dump Aguri outright…She’ll have to be there, to see what’s going on! And to be ready to get Aguri to leave Keita alone! It’s a PERFECT PLAN!

-To Keita, who thinks fun things are fun.

-Swing back to Tasuku, who realizes that if Aguri and Keita are actually dating, then this whole thing is a farce! What will he do if he sees Aguri look to him with guilt and fear for her actions…That would be the worst possible thing! But, okay, that’ll never happen. It’ll be fine. (That’s what’s gonna happen)

-Whip cut to Aguri! Who, oh god, what if Tasuku looks to her for her reaction? It’ll prove he’s two-timing! Checking for his girlfriend at a gathering of miscreants and two-timers…That’s what a player would do. But no, her Tasuku would never be that awful. It’ll be fine. (It won’t be) She’s so smart and crafty! (Too clever by half)

-Slam the camera to Chiaki! What if Aguri and Tasuku look to each other, all guilty? They might be in on this together! Not a slut cheating on her normal boyfriend to extort a sad nerd boy, but a duo using him for both their ends…And if they both saw Keita’s SOS to Karen, oh god, that could only mean…! Okay, deep breath. It could never get that bad. (It’s gonna get that bad)

-Whatever happens…The after school event is the moment where it all changes! And everyone lets out creepy laughs.

-Over to Karen, who realizes Chiaki is giving her a LOOK. And oh god, she can’t put it together. Why would Keita want to see her after school?! He’s going to dump her as a friend, isn’t he?! He wants to just play his RPGs in peace, he’s going to abandon her because she was too forward! No, deep breath…She has to face it and act with dignity and honor. She’s Tendou Karen, heir to the Anything Goes school o—

-What was that?

-I’m being told I have the wrong Tendo.

-Carry on.

-Time passes, and finally, it is the end of class…And it’s time to attack! People rise up, as Karen marches down to the class, trying to rehearse her plan in her head…She’ll meet this head-on, and face it however it goes…Okay, deep breath…Is Keita here?

-Keita panics inside when he sees SHE ACTUALLY CAME oh shit oh shit this is real okay deep breath! O-Over here! Tasuku wishes him luck, as the crowd starts gathering…Including Aguri, and even Chiaki! His friends are here for him! He can do this! And as everyone stares and watches…He stammers, but, okay, deep breath…This is really hard…

-Oh that sorrow face…

-But…She seems so focused…Oh god she must be preparing to reject him! And Tasuku isn’t even looking at him! None of them are looking at him! They don’t want to see him in the moment of defeat, it’s the only thing that makes sense! But, that also proves something…He has friends. Tasuku, jerk that he is. Aguri, even with her head in the clouds. Chiaki doesn’t count. Mono-san, who’s been with him since day one of their shared game! Flora, whose happy ending he has a save file for he can return to at any time! Deep breath! Do this! However it goes, he doesn’t need Karen’s approval…He can be happy even if she turns him down!

-So…Tendou-san, please…

-So Tasuku is having a freakout because Aguri would only be looking at him so intently if she was bonking Keita behind his back! It’s the worst-case scenario!

-So…Tendou-san, please…

-So Aguri is losing her mind because her Tasuku is looking at her so intently, which he’d only do if he was secretly going after Karen himself! He’s been a skeevy player the whole time! He’ll cheat on Karen and Chiaki, too! He’s a MONSTER! She’s in love with a monster!

-So…Tendou-san, please…

-So Chiaki just breaks, because oh god those two are looking at each other so intently! They must realize the jig is up! Their twisted game, going steady while they both manipulate Keita to their own ends, is about to be discovered, depending on what Karen says! Her dear fellow nerd, hate him even as she does, is about to be destroyed! She can’t watch! But nor can she look away!

-So…Tendou-san, please…

-So Karen tries to hold herself strong. However this goes, she has to hear him out. She has to speak from the heart, even if that means pain. She owes it to herself, and to the boy she loves!

-So…Tendou-san, please…

-So countless memories flash through Keita’s mind. Their first proper meeting. That day in the club. Their walk. The arcade challenge. His friends backing him up, building him to this point, ready to cheer him on or console him. Karen might be a thousand miles out of his league…But it’s just like that one foreign song! You can only cross a thousand miles by first walking five hundred, and then five hundred more!

-So…Tendou-san, please…Go out with him! Yep sure thing. Everything goes silent, as he realizes he meant to say ‘be his friend’, whoops, can he have a d—

-The screaming starts as everyone realizes what he just said COME BACK FOR NEXT TIME

…Well.

We will always remember that time they got to the fireworks factory. Back before they blew up the fireworks factory.

#where I watch #recap #anime #gamers!

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jolienjoyswriting · 5 years

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Rockman - Exciting Times in L.A, Ch. II

Chapter 2 of "Exciting Times in L.A," a Mega Man fan fiction story.

Notice the big, near-week gap between the "written" date of the first chapter and this one? Yeeaaah… that happens when you write so much that you burn yourself out. And, that's precisely why this wasn't written – much less posted – on or around June 6th.

Word count: 3,710 – Character count: 21,523 Originally written: June 11th, 2019

After confirming their suspicions, Rock and Roll are greeted by the face of an old friend… with some new upgrades.

Rock/Megaman, Roll, Rush, King, Albert W. Wily, Mega Man/Rockman, and related characters and properties created by and © Capcom Co, Ltd.

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The walking tour of Los Angeles had come to a sudden end. Dr. Wily had shown his UFO and a visit from Bass only confirmed the suspicions that he was up to no good – at least, for the “Light Twins,” Rock and Roll. The former was getting in contact with the Light Labs compound via wireless communications while the latter made a call on a cellular phone.

“Auto’s locking in the teleport coordinates…” the robotic hero in blue told his counterpart. “Any luck with the doctor?” “No… He’s not picking up!” She gave him a worried look. “He’s either already giving his speech, or…” “Auto!” Rock turned away, putting his fingers to his helmet’s earpiece. “Hurry, please!” A couple of seconds later… a bright beam of rust-colored energy shot into the area, landing across the street from the two. Once the energy stabilized, it formed into the familiar shape of the Light family dog. “Thanks, Auto!” the boy called. He turned his attention to the robotic dog running through the crosswalk, then called, “Jet Mode, boy!” Rush gave a light bark before leaping into the air. The two watched as his hind legs curled up, his front legs came to rest near his lowered head, and his body flattened and squared, somewhat. Not long after, he flew a circle around the two before landing in front of them and giving another chipper “woof.”

“Stay here, Roll. I’ll–” But, before Rock could even think about finishing that thought… “To the convention center, Rush! Full-speed!” Roll had jumped onto the jet-dog and instructed him to fly… which, much to her brother’s dismay… “Awooo!” He did! At least… after he hopped on, as well.

“Roll! No!” he told the girl shortly after take-off. “It could be dangerous! What–” “I’m gonna kick that jerk with the dumb fins in the butt so hard!” she countered with a scowl. “That’ll teach him not to be a potty-mouth!” “But, Roll…” “Then, I’m gonna slap that evil Wily for messing up our plans! We were having so much fun… How dare he come here and show his ugly moustache where he’s not wanted!” He gave a blink. She clearly wasn’t listening… “Why can’t they just mind their own business, for once?! Why can’t they…?” He blinked, again. Roll – who had hugged him after he boarded their transport – was hugging him a little harder… but, he knew it wasn’t because Rush was flying at top speed.

“I– it’s okay, Roll!” Rock smiled back at her before saying, “We’ll beat Doctor Wily and save the day, just like always! Then, we can go back to seeing the sights of L.A! In fact…” When he nudged his head downward, the girl gave a look… only to gasp, a second later. She’d been so focused on ranting that she hadn’t noticed… “We’re… we’re so high up! And… L.A. looks so peaceful, from up here!”

“I hope we’re here during the night…” When Roll heard that, she tilted her head. “Why?” “You know those nighttime pictures of L.A?” Rock asked. “Where it’s all lit-up and stuff?” She paused before telling him, “Yeah?” “Well… imagine getting to see that for real!” The girl gave another gasp, her eyes going wide. “Oh, gosh…! I hadn’t even thought about that!” “We’ll have to ask the Doctor about it… after we go see if he’s okay!” Her bright smile and confident nod filled his heart with happiness. But, that happiness was a short-lived experience. “Step on it, Rush!” “Wurf!” He knew they had a job to do.

Before long, the trio had come upon the L.A. Convention Center. While the view from above was certainly lovely, it simply did not do the building justice. It wasn’t until they landed that they could truly take in just how large everything was.

Spanning roughly three city blocks, the entire convention center was comprised of a number of buildings – three main ones and a handful of smaller structures. To the south was a massive, quarter-circle-shaped building that must have been a few stories tall, but spanned infinitely more space across than that. Neither Rock nor Roll could even see the other end from where they’d landed and, as they stared… a question arose. “Where’s… the main door?”

Rock looked around… but, he couldn’t see anything that looked like a normal door. There was, however, something right in front of them that he did recognize. “I… think we landed on the wrong side of the building.” Roll curiously blinked before taking another look. “Hmm… All those big trucks were probably a giveaway, huh?” They sheepishly grinned at each other. Neither one of them had really planned for the encounter, and neither of them knew how big the area was. So… “Up, boy!” They hopped back on Rush and surveyed the area a little closer.

A second look around told them that they did, indeed, land near the loading-and-unloading facility of the main building. But, a slow sweep around eventually led them to the right side and, as they came down to the entrance… all-at-once, Rock went wide-eyed. “This is where they have E3, every year!!” The girl standing behind him leaned around. “What?” “I don’t know why I didn’t recognize it!” her companion half-grumbled. “I watch E3 every year! It’s so cool, seeing all the new games before they come out!” The boy looked on, dreamily smiling. The girl, though, was decidedly less impressed.

“Focus, Rock!” Roll scolded, redirecting his attention. “We need to get in there and–” “Actually… I think the expo is at the other building.” “What?” She blinked before asking, “Why?” “Because of the sign.” Standing in front of the doors of the South Exhibit Hall was, indeed, a big sign on a tripod which read, “Technology Exposition at West Exhibit Hall.” “O-oh…” The girl paused… then, she shook her head. “Up-and-over, Rush! Please, hurry!” With another bark, the trio flew up, over the building, then landed at the other one which was a surprising distance away.

The West Exhibit Hall – which was… ironically… to the northeast of their previous location, wasn’t nearly as impressive as the South Exhibit Hall. For the most part, it was just a big, boxy building with few decorations and a lot of solar panels on it. Though it wasn’t quite as big as the other… it was definitely big enough for just about any sort of event either of them could think of, including… “‘Technology Exposition!’” The advertised expo where Dr. Light was attending.

“‘See the Future of Technology, Today!’” Roll read aloud from a large banner hanging above the main entrance. “‘The future of technology…?’ What are we? Chopped liver?” “I guess there’s still a lot more cool stuff they can do…? I dunno! Thanks, boy!” The two stepped off of Rush and he shifted back into “dog mode” with a bark. “Roll, try calling the Doctor, again. I’m gonna head inside and–” “Oooh, no!” she said, interrupting him with a sharp tone. “I still wanna teach that foul-mouthed brat a lesson!” “Roll… don’t take this the wrong way, but…” He rubbed the back of his helmet and took a hard swallow before telling her, “You’re just a little girl.” “Little– ‘little girl?!’” He winced as she shouted at him. He’d been expecting it… but, it still startled him. “I am more than just a ‘little girl,’ Rock!” she huffed with an angry, pouting face. “I can kick just as much robot butt as you!” “W-w-what I mean is…” He hesitated. “You don’t even have any weapons? Y– yeah, weapons! You, um, can’t fight without weapons!” Roll just grinned, leaving him to wonder why. At least… “Rush!” She called to their robo-pup, again.

Rock blinked in surprise, watching the canine unit leap into the air and change into what looked like ordinary chest armor. Suddenly, he realized… “No, wait!” But, it was too late. Roll had taken a pose, raised her hand into the air, and with a bright flash of light… she was standing before him, not as a “little girl…” but, as something new, yet familiar, pounding her slightly-larger fists together and grinning. “I wish you hadn’t done that, Roll…” “Hey, you’re the one who wanted me to ‘get equipped!’”

Seated over Roll’s hoodie-dress was a chest-piece which was orange-red in color. It had a white square sticking out of its middle-top and gray area with four segment lines below that. The armor came equipped with massive shoulders which housed familiar, yellow energy ports and little, red bolts on the sides. It also came with a pair of wrist-braces which were red on top, segmented-gray on the underside, and ended in dog paws which hung down over the wearer’s knuckles. There was no doubt, in Rock’s mind, about what Roll was wearing…

She was wearing the Rush Power Adapter. And, she intended to use it.

“No, I didn’t want you to ‘get equipped!’” the robot in blue told her with a deep frown. “I wanted you to stay safe! Do you even know how to use that Adapter…?” “Rush and I have been practicing!” she proudly exclaimed. “Watch!” The boy-robot blinked, watching his counterpart throw a few jabs and a couple of heavy punches, bobbing and weaving like a professional boxer as she made a show of things. “That’s… that’s nice, Roll, but–” “Shoryuken!!” He stopped in his tracks, going wide-eyed as Roll suddenly leaped into the air with a powerful upward punch. There was an aura of energy surrounding her fist and it even seemed like the attack even amplified her jump height, somewhat. He was really surprised. In fact… “I… I didn’t know Rush could do that!!” He was a little starry-eyed with admiration.

Roll grinned as she landed, taking a familiar, cross-armed pose of her friend’s favorite Street Fighter character, her hair and ribbon billowing in a sudden gust of wind. “Wily’s gonna have to defeat Sheng Long, to stand a chance!” she told him with a grin. “I wanna try!! Rush, disengage and–” He winced, closing his eyes. Roll had thumped his head – though, only hard enough to get his attention. When he looked, again… he noticed that she was scowling at him. “Focus, Rock!” she repeated with a stern voice. “We’re on a mission, here!” “R… right– wait, no!” he corrected as he remembered, “Take Rush off! I want you safe!” “But, Rock…” The girl hugged herself, offering the sweetest sort of smile as she told him… “I’m already super-safe in my warm puppy-hug!” He blushed a little. The way she’d said that was so sweet and innocent… yet, seeing her standing there, wearing power armor, still made him worry. “Relax, Rock!” She smiled, standing at-ease before patting him hard enough to make his helmet slip down. “Power Roll is here to save the day!” “But…” he quietly murmured as he fixed his helmet, “who’s gonna save Power Roll…?” “You? Duh?” She giggled, then she cleared her throat. “Let’s head in, huh?” He didn’t like it, but… he didn’t see any way to talk her out of it. So… “R… right.” They headed to the entrance. Together.

“– tools, not ‘friends!’” was the first thing they heard as they opened one of the doors. They both recognized the voice, but Rock recognized the message: Dr. Wily was on the public announcement speaker system and broadcasting his usual anti-AI propaganda… “It’s a waste of time, energy, and most importantly… money!” he continued. “We shouldn’t be allocating resources to write and re-write meaningless programs that simulate humanity! We should be focusing on improving the functionality of the robots, themselves – making them faster, stronger, better! Fellow scientists, I give you… the Doctor Wily Double Gear System! Patent pending.”

“The ‘Double-What’ System?’” Roll asked as she and Rock snuck inside… though, as they quickly noticed, it didn’t really seem necessary. There were a-hundred-and-one empty booths and exhibits which should have been showing off the latest-and-greatest technology of the day… but, there wasn’t a single human or even any intelligent robots anywhere to be seen. The entire exhibit hall… was completely devoid of anything that could have told them what was going on.

“I don’t like this…” the boy-robot said as he stood up and looked around a little more, inadvertently ignoring his teammate’s question. “Where is everyone…?” “Maybe, they’re all in the stage area – wherever that is?” Roll guessed, speaking over the voice of Dr. Wily… who was carrying on about his new device, from the sound of it. “Do you think Doctor Wily rounded everyone up just to make them listen…?” “That seems like something he’d do… but, he wouldn’t leave himself unguarded.” “What do you mean, Rock?” “Well…” He gestured toward the exhibits. “There’s usually at least a few random robots guarding the area. A Roader team… a Sniper Joe unit… something! But, there isn’t even something like a little Met! So, either Doctor Wily’s getting sloppy, or…” “Or… this is a trap?” “Yeah…” He paused, then he blinked. “Roll, did your voice get deeper, for a second…?” “Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?!” she huffed, giving him a dirty look. “I didn’t even say anything!” “No, but I did!” “Huh?!”

Both robots turned their attention in the direction of the voice. When they did… “Gah!” All of the overhead lights turned off… only for a spotlight to appear over Rock. “Ladies and gentlemen,” they heard Dr. Wily call over the speakers, “let’s welcome our very special guest to the exposition! It’s ‘The Blue Bomber,’ himself… Megaman!” “Doctor Wily!” Rock shouted over a recording of applause. “Show yourself!!” “And, introducing for the first time… for the last time,” Wily continued after a moment, “the new-and-improved version of my most brilliant creation! Let’s give a big round of applause for the one… the only… King II!” “‘King?!’ ‘Two?!’” Another spotlight appeared in the distance, revealing a tall, imposing form that the hero-‘bot hadn’t seen in a long time…

Standing with his back to them was a figure which wore a headdress made of two ax heads on a golden helmet. His royal-blue cloak covered the rest of his body… until he threw it aside and turned around, that is. Dressed and decorated in golden plate mail armor, the figure stood under the spotlight, shining and sparkling like the radiant ruler he was intended to be, his blue cape waving under an artificial breeze and his piercing, blue eyes leveled right at Rock.

“King, it’s me!” he called as he stepped forward, “Megaman!” “I know who you are!” a powerful voice boomed across the room. “You are the enemy of my people… the enemy of my master!” He drew his cape away from his other arm and, with a flash of light, a long pole materialized in his waiting hand, a spike on both ends and a large, half-moon blade appearing at the top. Rock recognized it as King’s signature halberd-style pole-ax… the same weapon his lost brother, Protoman, had once been felled by. “Bow down before your king!” the significantly-taller figure ordered as he pointed a blue hand toward his enemies. “Bow… or perish.” “What’s wrong with him, Rock…?” Roll asked, snapping the hero out of his daze of disbelief. “You don’t think Doctor Wily brainwashed him, again… do you?” “I… I don’t know…” was all he could say, not knowing what to think…

“Well?” King impatiently asked. “What will it be? Serve your liege… or, be cut down by your superior?” “You’re supposed to be our friend!” Roll suddenly shouted back. “Megaman helped you see that violence never solves anything! Besides, why would the King of Robots wanna help a smelly, old human who just wants to take over the world?!” “Silence!” was the monarch’s answer. “You shall not speak ill of my master, girl!” “Wily’s just using you! Again!” she countered and an angry look. “Snap out of it!” “I was built by Lord Wily for the sole purpose of leading the robots to a bright, new future in which they do as they’re told and serve mankind! If you cannot see that, ignorant child, then you shall be the first to fall under the New Wily Order!” “Just try it, you gold-suited bully!!”

With a series of loud clicks, all the lights of the area turned back on. Not long after… high-energy music started pouring out from the speakers, causing the two child-like robots to look at each other in confusion. Shortly after, they both looked back at King. He was making another speech…

“Bow to your ruler or fall to your superior, it makes no difference. Either way…” The large robot twirled his halberd and struck a pose before saying… “You will submit to your King!”

Both Rock and Roll watched as King took one mighty leap across the expo center, then both scattered as he brought his weapon down, cleaving the floor with an explosive burst of energy! Not a second later, his attention turned to the latter as she scrambled to get to her feet. “Stupid… heavy…” she grumbled before freezing, wide-eyed. “Perish.” King had taken another leap! “Roll…!! Look out…!!” His pole-ax was heading right for her face! The girl-robot, cried out, closed her eyes, and in a blind panic, brought her hands up in front of her! Not long after… the ax hit her.

“What… what trickery is this?!”

When Roll opened her eyes, again… she noticed that she was staring down the blade of an ax-head which was crackling with green energy. She also noticed something else… “Oh… oh, my gosh…!” Without meaning to… she’d, evidently, caught the weapon between her hands and stopped it, cold! Or, maybe… Rush did? She wasn’t sure. Either way, she knew she’d prevented the attack. And, in doing so, she suddenly realized… as scary as he seemed… “Roll Upper!!” She could take the self-proclaimed “King of Robots,” herself!

After taking a pretty hefty blow to the face, King flew high into the air. Embarrassed and confused by his slip-up, he flipped over, his cape violently whipping around him, then he landed on his feet, some distance away. “Impertinent youth…” he vocally spat. “Have you no respect for the Order?!” “‘Order,’ eh?” She grinned at Rock, giving him a wink. “Who does he think he is?” “I am your King!!” the majestic robot shouted, clearly offended by her disrespect. Rock was trying not to laugh as he heard her say, “Well… I didn’t vote for you!” “Y–” The self-proclaimed monarch nearly fell over. “You don’t vote for kings!” Roll was having a hard time containing her own laughter as she grinned and asked, “Well… how do you become ‘king,’ then?” Infuriated by her query, King roared at the girl, “I was created to be king!!” while spinning his halberd with both hands and charging. He’d clearly had enough of her sass. “That’s not the next line, silly!”

Roll laughed as she hopped to one side, letting him smash into – well, through – several exhibits. The king roared as he cleared the debris from his crash site and charged, again. “You will taste the blade of the golden ax, Bash!” “Your ax is named ‘Bash?’” She laughed even harder as the temperamental monarch whiffed another swing at her. “Shouldn’t it be called ‘Chop,’ or ‘Cutter,’ or–” “I will fell you like so much timber, you insufferable little upstart!” “So, you’re Cutman, now?” she taunted as the crackling blade missed her not once, not twice, but three times! It wasn’t that she was fast… no, not in that armor. King was just getting that frustrated by her ongoing dialogue!

“Go, Roll!” Rock cheered as he watched his sister show up King. He’d felt uncomfortable, sitting on the sidelines… at first. After watching Roll handle herself so skillfully, though… he didn’t see anything to worry about! Plus, he believed in fair play, anyway! Unfortunately… the next person to speak didn’t seem to have that same mindset.

“King II!!” Dr. Wily’s voice suddenly called from the speakers. “What are you doing?! Use your new upgrades and destroy that little girl!” “In due time, Lord Wily!” King called back as he took another swipe at Roll. “I wish to lull her into a false sense of–” “You’re not fooling anyone, you incompetent robot! Oh, you’re almost as bad as the first King! Now, stop fooling around and activate your Double Gear System!” King growled under his breath… then, he leaped back from the fray. “Giving up?” Roll panted with another grin. “I can keep going all day!” Though she’d said that… she was actually bluffing.

Rock had been right to worry about her using the Power Rush Adapter – it wasn’t intended for her and, though she had no problems using it… the armor was starting to put a strain on her body; every movement she made was slowly draining her energy and, if she wasn’t careful… she’d end up passing out from the strain.

“Speed Gear…” “Sorry? What– yeek!!” “Roll…!!” Rock gasped, watching as King suddenly appeared behind his sister, knocking her legs out from under her! Before he could even blink, he heard her scream, fly across the room, and crash into a random pile of folding tables! From what he could tell… the lightning-fast monarch had kicked her. But… he hadn’t seen him move, much less attack! He couldn’t understand it!

“Ch– cheap shot!” Roll cried as she got to her feet. “I–” “Power Gear!” Her eyes shot open. King was glowing with power! Instinctively, she crossed her arms over her and steadied herself, ready for another attack. And, shortly after the larger robot took a violent, crackling swing at the floor… “Roll! Look out!!” “Aaaaahh…!!”

Once again, Roll was hit by a powerful attack from her opponent – a nasty shockwave of energy that propelled her through several other exhibits, only to come to a clattering halt in another area of the conference, entirely! “Why, that…! O-ouch…” She was a little damaged and felt kind of embarrassed and angry – with herself – for not dodging such a slow-moving, powerful attack. Berating herself would have to wait, however, as something infinitely-more-important drew her attention shortly after her broken landing…

“Behold, the genius of Doctor Wily!”

#fan fiction #Mega Man #Exciting Times in LA #commercial characters #Rock Light #Megaman #Roll Light #Rush #Albert W. Wily #King #action

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