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bbdaydreams · 3 years

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Courage My Love// Semi Eita

Pairing: Semi Eita x Reader

Summary: You like Semi and come up with a plan to confess to him, unfortunately it takes a turn. You meet again a couple years later by chance.

Chapter Five: Old Friends

Series Masterlist•<previous•next>

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“Thank you all so much for coming out tonight!” Semi spoke into his mic, sweat dripping down his face from all the jumping around he’d done in the past thirty minutes. “We’re coming up on time so this next one is going to be the last one. Once again thank you so much!”

The boys were currently playing a well known venue in their area that offered a standing room for shows and seating towards the entrance for those looking to eat. It’s small but mighty, especially when it’s filled at max capacity at least once a week. The boys were regulars, performing at least once every other week.

When they finished the song, they all walked off stage and headed backstage to put away all their gear so the next band could play.

“God, I love playing here,” Subaru started.

“Yeah, we’re lucky to get to do this,” Jiro added on.

“Imagine if we played a bigger venue. I don’t know how I’d act,” Semi continued.

“Crazy, right?” Ranmaru and a strangers voice added on. The four young men turned to the source of the voice.

“Hi, I’m from Misfits Records. You guys have quite the following and I’d like to sign you guys. I’ve been to a couple of your shows and I think you guys have what it takes to make it.”

The boys turned to look at each other before looking at the man, Jiro being the first to speak. “Are you sure it’s us you want? There’s still more bands playing after us,” to which the rest of the boys responded by punching his arm.

“He means yes. We’d be honored,” Semi took over.

Fast forward two years now, your band has blown up and you now have listeners all over the world. You’ve had the opportunity to travel to 4 different continents, some tours lasting a week, the longest being three months. Getting to open for bigger bands was always becoming normal but being invited for guest vocals during sets and songs was even more frequent.

You’ve gotten the chance to perform at festivals and events like Warped Tour which is what really helped expose Courage My Love to even more people. The first time you were invited to join the run, the four of you spent the entire tour talking to people as much as you could, being kind to strangers, thanking fans for their support, and checking out other bands and complimenting their performances. All that wasn’t to promote yourself, even though that was the goal. Everything you did was genuine, and you four genuinely wanted to get to know others. This caught the attention of many passerby’s which caused them to check out your music. It made other musicians want to befriend you for being so honest which was something that was hard to find in the music industry nowadays. People were so hungry for fame, they weren’t above using others to climb higher. Your rise in popularity caused curiosity which made you guys get more interviews.

“Hey, hey, hey, we’re here in Courage My Love’s tour bus! Say hi everyone!”

“Hey!” You four greeted when the camera was pointed at all of you.

They asked general questions about your formation, how the tour was going and about the second album you just released months prior before deciding to ask more personal questions.

“We can all agree that dating is hard enough as it is, I can’t even imagine how it is for you guys since you’re on the road so much.”

“You’re right about that. We’re all happily single at the moment though, right?” Yui answered causing you and the others to nod your head yes.

“We definitely have tried to date but yeah touring definitely gets in the way,” Izumi added.

“We’ll have you guys ever thought about dating another musician? Maybe someone throughout the tour? Anyone caught your eye?” The interviewer asked suggestively.

With interviews, you always had to be careful with how you respond. You never want something to come back and bite you in the ass. You also had to watch out for suggestive questions like the one asked, those are just trying to fish out some drama.

“Personally, no. I don’t think I could simply because it’d be a lot of time away from your partner which isn’t fair to either of you,” you answered before looking at Haruka so she could answer the rest.

“We take everything we do pretty seriously despite how we can come off sometimes. Dating someone you’re touring with just seems like drama waiting to happen which is something none of us want to be a part of,” she finished with a smile.

“I see. Well, what is it like to be an all female band in the music industry?”

“You can just check out our newest single, Now You Know, for that. I think it explains itself pretty well.”

“Oh! Looks like we’re out of time, thank you so much for hanging out, see ya next time!” She thanked you guys personally for your time and you all did the same before her and the crew left.

“I can’t believe she tried us with that,” Yui spoke, stretching in her seat.

“It was pretty bold of them,” Izumi agreed.

“It’s sad. I just know they wouldn’t ask guys that. We’re here to make music just like them,” you added, getting up from your spot to go to the small kitchen to start dinner for you all.

“Being a woman sure is hard, and for no reason,” Haruka finished, grabbing her drumsticks to tap the table to get some frustration out.

Album release day! Courage My Love released their third album the following year, coincidentally the same day Semi’s band released their first album, whom unknown to you changed their name from Eagle Thorns to Won’t Regret. Courage My Love reached the number one spot in the rock category that week, a huge milestone. Won’t Regret reached top 20 which was a much better response than they expected. Both bands spent that day celebrating by having a small party at their respective label’s office.

The next day when you went into the studio your manager delivered you with the news for your next tour. “You guys are going to be touring with ONE OK ROCK in the US! You’re going to be the second act. Big things girls, big things.”

“We’re touring with them?” You asked, not believing the fact that you were going to be playing shows with one of your favorite bands.

After reassuring you, you reached out and grabbed onto Yui’s arms in excitement jumping up and down. While you were hyping yourself up, Haruka asked their manager who the opening act was going to be resulting in her eyes going wide.

“We’re touring with who?” The boys asked their manager, leaning forward in their seats with mouths wide.

“You’re gonna be touring with ONE OK ROCK and Courage My Love. Your latest single really blew up, the singer of ONE OK ROCK loved it so much he actually asked for you guys specifically.”

“No fucking way,” Semi spoke in awe.

“We’re not doing it,” Ranmaru announced, making the rest of his band members jump in surprise and disagree.

“Are you crazy? We can’t decline an opportunity like that!” Subaru started.

“Yeah! This is such a huge opportunity and you’re gonna say no?” Jiro added.

Semi stayed quiet, knowing he was the reason why Ranmaru said no. The two of them were pretty similar in mindset which made it easy for them to call each other. “I’ll do my best,” Semi said, looking at the bassist.

“Eita, we don’t need drama on our first big tour.” Ranmaru did feel bad for being blunt but he knew it was how he could get his point across. This tour could either help make them or break them. “I want us to succeed. I want us to keep playing music together.”

Subaru and Jiro stayed quiet, now understanding why Ranmaru reacted the way he did. They both had to agree with him. They’ve all put years worth effort into the band, it’d be a shame for it to fall apart after they had just made it.

“I know. I don’t want to ever not play music with you guys. I owe you guys a lot and I’m tired of holding us back. I swear I’ll be on my best behavior. I’ll apologize the moment I see them. Won’t Regret comes first, always has and always will.” Looking around the room he saw the small smirks on their faces, giving him comfort.

“Whatever you say, leader,” Ranmaru joked, pushing Semi’s shoulder so he wasn’t so stiff.

“We’re right behind you dude,” Subaru laughed.

“We’re gonna do it!” Jiro jumped bringing his band mates into a group huddle.

“You guys won’t regret this tour, I promise,” Semi said earning a smack on the back of his head from Subaru.

“Bad pun, Eita.”

Hey, this is Taka from ONE OK ROCK!

You guys are probably preparing for tour since it starts in a few days but I’d like to invite you and your band mates to dinner to meet you all!

Let me know if you can make it

-Taka :)

That was the text that you had received that led to you and the girls getting mildly dressed up to go eat at a restaurant the day before tour started. The tour was going to last six weeks and starting it off by having fun with everyone you were going to be performing with sounded like a great idea.

The four of you walked into the dimly lit restaurant together resulting in the hostess to escort you towards the table that had been reserved for your group. “Oh! Ladies you have arrived! Please have a seat,” Taka spoke, getting up to pull open the chairs so you all could sit.

Upon announcing your arrival, everyone looked up to face your group. Your face immediately grew warm when you saw the familiar faces, locking eyes with the one person you never thought you’d cross paths with again and even though Semi was fully aware this was going to happen, he still couldn’t believe it. Breaking eye contact with him, you gave a look to Haruka as if asking for help since Yui and Izumi already sat in their seats. Your actions didn’t go unnoticed by your old friend, reason being you used to give him those same looks all those years back. Haruka nodded her head and took a step towards the empty seat next to Semi before being stopped.

“Oh I’m so sorry, I don’t mean to come off as rude but I’d like your singer to sit here. I’d like to talk about vocal and stage stuff with them if you don’t mind,” Taka apologized. Knowing he was being sincere and understanding where he was coming from, you knew you shouldn’t argue and instead just suck it up. Haruka gave you a gentle smile before sitting between Yui and Jiro. Sitting down on the chair between Semi and Izumi, Taka pushed it in for you like a gentleman before going back to his own seat. “Alright, let’s order!”

A waitress came over to the table and gave her regular spiel of the specials as she handed out the menus which you unfortunately had to share with Semi since they were short on them.

“You can order first,” Semi spoke softly, letting you have the menu to look through. He wanted to tell you so much more. Apologize right then and there and try to fix things between you two but he couldn’t knowing he had to be professional right now. Ranmaru and Subaru kept glancing at him over their booklet as a warning to not fuck up the nice meal for them while Jiro chatted with your band mates. Semi just wished you two could talk like old friends.

Accepting the tall binded leather booklet, you gave a small thanks before opening it to look through it. This was going to be a long night.

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a/n: filler chapter but look!! They finally reunite!

Taglist: @pluviophilefangirl @yourstarvic @sunaswife @mynscorner @syaziahvg @discountkiyoko

#haikyu #haikyuu!!#semi eita #semi x reader #semi haikyuu #semi eita x reader #haikyu x reader #haikyu x y/n

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journalxxx · 3 years

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By Hook or by Crook (3)

August 12th, 2277

Izuku lay on his bed staring at the screen of his phone. He'd already typed in the emergency number, but he hadn't started the call yet. He honestly wasn't sure if this qualified as an emergency or not. Probably not. But it was kind of a big deal. Kind of massive. For him, anyway. He wasn't even sure if his father could respond in the first place. A couple of months ago, he'd said he'd be likely to resume his normal phone calls soon, but maybe his throat hadn't fully healed yet. And what if that polite colleague picked up instead? Izuku certainly couldn't tell him about… all that.

He hadn't told his mother either, or the doctor. He didn't want to cause trouble, neither for himself nor for Kacchan. But he really, really felt the urge to tell someone. He'd been waiting for this moment for so long, and it had gone so inexplicably wrong.

His thumb tapped the green button.

It took less than five seconds for the call to connect.

"Izuku. What is it?"

"Hi... Dad..." Izuku started, but he found himself trailing off. He hadn't heard his father's voice in so long and, while still recognizable, it was very different. Rougher and somewhat distorted, as if he was speaking through… something metallic?

"What's going on?" His father pressed when the silence stretched. It suddenly occurred to Izuku that the man could be misinterpreting his hesitation as the kind of situation that may warrant an emergency call.

"Ah… N-nothing much, actually. I'm not dying or anything. Mom's not dying- no one's dying." He blurted out, hurried explanations rushing out of his mouth bypassing any form of brain check. "This isn't really an emergency. More like… an emergence. Of my quirk."

The silence from the other side of the receiver was deafening. Wow. Inconveniencing his still convalescent father for no serious reason, and topping it off with a pun. Izuku wouldn't be surprised if he decided to hang up on his face.

"...Sorry. I shouldn't have called." He apologized. "D-Does it still hurt to speak? Ah, never mind, we can talk about that next-"

His father's sigh came through as a brief burst of static. "Where are you now?"

"At home. In my room."

"Alone?"

"Yeah."

"...Why don't you tell me what happened then?" The softer timbre of his father's voice lifted a weight from Izuku's chest. And the tale of the afternoon's events spun almost by itself.

Lately, it didn't happen often that Izuku and Kacchan hung out without the rest of the gang. His friend was a natural-born and enthusiastic leader, and he enjoyed having people around to let him play that role. But that day someone had homework to catch up with, someone else had the flu, a third one was grounded… So it had been just the two of them. They had headed to the usual spot by the small river, to stave off the heat. Which didn't seem to especially bother Kacchan, who had been trying to blast an anthill to smithereens with his quirk. He had casually remarked, as he often did, what a pity it was that Izuku would never develop one.

Izuku didn't know why he hadn't let that comment slide, like every other time. Arguing on that point never helped, it always made things worse. But this time he had answered back. That his quirk would manifest one day, sure as hell. And then he'd joked that they'd have a match to see who could exterminate the most ants in one minute.

Kacchan hadn't liked that. At all. He never did take well to amicable competition.

Do you see this? Huh? Look, take a closer look. Kacchan had said, holding his palm mere centimetres away from Izuku's face, so close that he could feel the heat from the small explosions popping off from his skin. This is what a quirk looks like. Looks like you still can't tell the difference between a quirk and nothing, nerd. 'Cause you have nothing. Nothing's all you'll ever have.

"This friend of yours- sorry, what's his name again?"

Izuku was startled by his father's interruption. "Kaccha- I mean, Katsuki."

"Why was he so aggressive? Did you two have a quarrel before this?"

"Oh, no. He's just… he's just like that."

"...He's just like that?" His father repeated. It was a bit difficult for Izuku to read his tone now that his voice was so muffled and unfamiliar. "This is a common occurrence? Him using his quirk to hurt you?"

"Oh no, no no! He didn't do that! He never does that, he knows it's bad!" Izuku hurried to elaborate. "He just uses it to… show off a little. Sometimes he blows up stuff. Things can get a bit rough when we play, but he never burns people with his quirk. He's very good at controlling it!"

"...And this is your best friend we're talking about." His father didn't sound terribly convinced. Izuku felt the necessity to make things absolutely clear.

"He's a cool guy, dad. Really. He's great. He's smart, and talented, and strong, and brave… He just has a bit of a short temper. His mom's like that too."

There was a long pause. "...I see. Go on."

Well, even if Izuku knew that Kacchan wasn't going to hurt him (not much, not with his quirk, at least), at that moment he was still pretty upset. And Kacchan kept waving his explosive hands uncomfortably close to him, and he kept going on about how Izuku would never get a quirk, and it was… it was just so unfair, that's what it was. It was unfair that Izuku would have to wait for God knows how long for what his father had assured him (multiple times) would eventually happen, while Kacchan always let his anger run away with him. Izuku had felt a heady burst of resentment, and he had grabbed Kacchan's wrists with both hands, trying to shove him away, and that's when it had happened.

He had managed to send Kacchan staggering into a nearby bush. But at the same time, a sharp pain had spread in both Izuku's hands. It wasn't the searing of an explosion, it was more as if his palms had been stabbed by a big needle. He had checked, and found two small, circular marks on them. They were like scars, but very old ones, already closed and healed, definitely not bleeding.

He hadn't had time to process the fact. Kacchan was already back on his feet, shouting and marching towards him, reaching for him with his arms thrown out before him, fingers clawed in the familiar position they assumed when he summoned his quirk…

But nothing had happened. No explosions. Not even a spark or a flicker of flame. Kacchan had stopped in his tracks, flabbergasted. He had tried again, to no avail. And Izuku, on his part, had felt it. That awareness. That visceral perception that something had changed inside him, that there was something new in him. Something he could summon himself. He had flexed his fingers, and done it.

A small explosion. Right there, in his own hand. It hadn't burned at all.

Give it back! Kacchan had screamed at him when they had both emerged from their quiet stupor. Izuku had stepped backwards in fear, tripping down on something. He had raised his hand to defend himself from the impending assault, and shot off another blast, a bigger one. Too big. The recoil had hurled his arm backwards, bent his wrist painfully, sent it crashing against a rock. It had hurt a lot.

Give it back! Kacchan had yelled after he'd stopped laughing, laughing at how hopeless Izuku was even with a stolen quirk, laughing at how the useless nerd had managed to injure himself even before Kacchan could touch him, and probably more severely too than Kacchan would have dared.

GIVE IT BACK! Kacchan had howled while dragging him into the shallow river. He'd pushed him down, pressed his hands into the stream, cunningly exploiting his own weakness. The water washed away the sweat from Izuku's palms before he could even try to ignite it. He was harmless, pathetic, impotent, even with Kacchan's impressive quirk.

He had given it back after he'd promised Kacchan that he would, as soon as he let go of-

"What?"

"Uh? What?" Izuku echoed obtusely.

"You gave it back?"

"...Yes. Of course." Izuku blinked. "What… what else could I do? I promised him-"

"You could have just kept it." His father sounded surprised. Very surprised. "He was using his quirk to threaten you and hurt you. Why would you give it back to him?"

"I…" The notion that he could have just lied and ran away with Kacchan's quirk hadn't even entered Izuku's mind. "I didn't even know how to use it. All I could do with it was hurt myself. I-"

"You could have learned how to use it, over time. You could have obtained the quirk you so deeply desired. You could have deprived a bully of a dangerous weapon. You could have made him understand what it feels like to be on the weaker side of a confrontation."

Izuku heard those words, but they didn't fully register. "...I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"...It's Kacchan's quirk. It's his. I couldn't keep it." Izuku said simply.

Another long pause. "...What happened then?"

"Kacchan just left. He was very angry, he said he'd- that I'd better never use that 'trick' again on him. I came home too, but my wrist was swollen and achy, so mom brought me to the doctor. It's fine though, I don't think it's broken." Izuku recounted, wiggling his bandaged arm subconsciously.

"Did you tell your mother what happened?"

"...No, I… No." Izuku hesitated. "I just told her I slipped on some wet rocks."

Izuku himself couldn't quite put his finger on why he'd wanted to hide the accident from everyone except from his father. Something about how easy it had always been to talk to him, how he was always ready to listen to everything Izuku wanted to say, even things he clearly didn't care about. He may have been present in Izuku's life for only one or two hours a month, but Izuku truly felt that, for those one or two hours, his father's attention was solely focussed on him. Something about the distance too, maybe, which made him more akin to an imaginary friend than to a real parent that could dish out tangible punishment, worry and contempt. Something about this aura of wisdom and confidence and calm that his polished words and deep tone always radiated.

"Who else knows about this?"

"Uh… No one, I think. Just Kacchan and I."

"And when did this all happen, exactly?"

"Earlier this afternoon. At around 2 or 3, I think?"

"I see." His father's voice sounded distant. "Sorry, Izuku. Do you mind if I put you on hold? Don't hang up, it'll only take a minute."

"Oh, of course."

There was a soft click, and the speaker went silent. Izuku remembered with a flash of guilt that his father was probably working at the moment. He hoped he hadn't caught him at a bad time. Maybe that had to do with the fact that his voice was so weird. Maybe he was wearing some sort of disguise or protective gear?

Click. "I'm here."

"Sorry if I bothered you for something like this. You're busy now, aren't you?"

"I have nothing urgent on my plate. Actually, I'm glad you rang. This could have turned into quite the problem if you had waited another two weeks to inform me."

"Uh? Why?"

"Do you understand what happened today, Izuku?" The gentleness of the question somehow alarmed Izuku more than if his father had been scolding him.

"I…" He gulped. "I think I stole Kacchan's Explosion. With my quirk. That was a quirk, right?"

"Yes. That was our quirk."

Izuku's brain screeched to a halt.

Our.

"Your… Isn't your quirk Fire Breathing?"

"That is one of my quirks, yes."

There was silence as the pieces fell into place in the kid's head. There may very well have been an earthquake, and he would have barely noticed it. "You can… take quirks too?"

"Yes."

Izuku had so many questions that it took him several seconds to even decide where to start. "W-Why have you never said so?"

"Because that too is classified. The very existence of our quirk is classified." His father paused, then resumed almost tiredly. "I see I should have warned you about this regardless. Truth to be told, I was expecting your quirk's first appearance to unfold… differently. I guess it doesn't matter now."

Izuku sat up as he kept listening, hanging on his father's every word.

"Our ability allows us to take other people's quirks permanently, and use them as our own. As you have already discovered, we can give them back as well. Another very important perk is the capacity to store many quirks inside us at the same time. A great many." His father stopped again. "Do you know what this means?"

Izuku shook his head negatively, forgetting that his father couldn't see him. His silence conveyed the message anyway.

"This means that our quirk is powerful. Astoundingly powerful. More powerful than Fire Breathing or Hellflame or Explosion or Fiber Master or Foresight. Because it can be all those quirks at once."

Izuku's mind was reeling. It was... unimaginable. He thought of all his favorite heroes, all the top heroes, all the most incredible powers and skills… all concentrated into a single individual. He thought of Endeavor, Jeanist, Yoroi Musha, Gang Orca, Nighteye…

All Might...

"The downside of our quirk is the cost it has on the owners of the quirks we appropriate. They are rendered quirkless, unless we decide to grant their abilities back." His father went on. "You can imagine the implications of this."

He could. He could imagine having the power of taking All Might's quirk - not only becoming a hero like All Might, but practically becoming All Might himself… at the cost of mutilating the original.

The mere notion made him dizzy.

"That's… that's not right…" Izuku stuttered, drawing his knees to his chest. "It can't be used in that way…"

"Most people would agree with that sentiment, yes." There was a sort of… disappointment, of weariness in his father's voice that Izuku had never heard before. It unsettled him deeply. "Most people would claim that it's a quirk that handicaps and feeds on others, that can only be fuelled by theft, prevarication and selfishness. An inherently villainous quirk, if you will."

"That can't be true." Izuku objected, curling up on himself even more. "It… depends on how you use it. All quirks do. I'm not going to use it like that, ever-"

"That wouldn't be enough to discourage those cynical voices, I'm afraid. Power terrifies people who don't have it, Izuku. A type of power as overwhelming as ours, all the more so. They wouldn't need to see you abuse your quirk to condemn you, the mere fact that you could do it, if you ever decided to, would be enough to draw suspicion and distrust on you."

"W-What does it mean?" Izuku's breaths left his mouth in a rush as his eyes started to burn, the telltale signs of an impending burst of tears agitating him even more. "What do I have to do?"

The man took his sweet time to reply, and for a terrible moment Izuku thought that even his father might be at a loss as to how to deal with the situation. "As things stand, I would encourage you to act as if your quirk never manifested, in order to avoid negative attention."

"But Kacchan already knows. He'll tell someone, his parents at least…"

"I doubt it. If he's as clever and proud as you describe him, I think he'll understand the dangers of doing so. He'll realize that you could take his quirk for good at any given moment, and he'll choose not to anger you. Or he may simply refuse to acknowledge your superiority over him, and behave as if nothing happened in the first place. I can imagine many reasons that would lead him to keep your secret without you even asking him to - in fact, I would strongly advise you not to, and shove the whole thing under the rug. It would be for the best of everyone involved."

Silence fell again. Izuku's head buzzed with fear, confusion, doubts. It didn't make any sense, none of it. "I… can't use my quirk? Never? I will never be able to use it?"

"There are certain powers, certain weapons, that instil so much fear in humans that one can only either bury them deeply and pretend they don't exist, or bear them unhesitatingly lest the fearful tear their wielders apart. It is an unavoidable reality of life."

Tears rolled down Izuku's cheeks freely. "Y-You… you said you have more than one quirk. You used yours. Are you… doing it secretly? Is that what the whole 'classified' thing is about?"

"...My circumstances are unique." His father answered, after a slight hesitation. "I certainly do not flaunt my original quirk carelessly, nor do I have it printed in bold letters on my personal documents. The government is aware of my ability, but gaining my immunity from their wrath was no small feat. I honestly cannot imagine someone like you going to such lengths to achieve the same result. Not as you are now, probably not as you will be in the near future."

A few things were starting to make sense now, things that Izuku had always brushed aside as amusing or perplexing eccentricities of his father's. His unrelenting reticence about his job, a job likely tied to or issued by the government, a job that kept him separate from his family and that robbed him of time and leisure, a dangerous job he probably wasn't all that proud of. The kind of dirty, ambiguous job Izuku saw in movies and read about online, the kind of job where law and ethics sometimes parted ways. The kind of shady, hushed-up, unrewarding job that might make anyone envy a shining, pristine, beloved symbol like All Might.

"...I'm sorry." He sobbed, because he was, even if he wasn't sure what for. For being unable to walk the same path as his father, maybe, or for the grief the man's work surely caused him.

"There is no reason to panic." In a moment, his father's tone had recovered his trademark, comforting composure. Its effect on Izuku's nerves was immediate. "Luckily, today's incident was trivial and self-contained. As long as you don't reveal your quirk to anyone else, your life will go on unchanged."

Unchanged. As if Izuku hadn't been waiting his whole life for it to change. As if the quirk he thought he'd welcome as a blessing hadn't turned out to be some sort of nightmarish curse. It was a cruel joke, but it was no one's fault. He'd just have to adapt to it.

His father seemed to read into his wordless discouragement very easily. "I'm sorry, Izuku. I'm afraid I have to go now, but we'll talk more about it soon. Don't lose your sleep over this, there's no need for concern right now. Can you promise me you'll stay put at least until next month?"

"...Yes, of course."

"Wonderful. Have a good night, Izuku."

Izuku stared at the wall blankly, the call ending with a low beep. For the first time in his life, talking with his father had made everything feel remarkably worse.

October 1st, 2277

"How are things between you and Katsuki lately?"

"Same as usual. We… don't really hang out much any more. Or at all. He just keeps ignoring me all the time." Izuku mumbled, his spirit instantly dampened by the subject.

"That may be for the best. At least you won't have to put up with his inopportune mood swings, no?" His father offered encouragingly.

Admittedly, there was some truth to that. Izuku did feel a little less stressed, a little less constantly on edge every time the two of them happened to cross the same street or bump shoulders in class. It was reassuring to know that Kacchan wouldn't do anything worse than staring daggers at him, and his varying cohort of backers never took the initiative when it came to openly hostile behavior. It was… fine, in a way. And yet, Izuku missed their strange, complicated sort of closeness anyway. Kacchan really had been the first person Izuku had ever considered a friend, and he was sad to see this friendship, as unpleasant and troublesome as it could be at times, degrade into a quietly rancorous acquaintance.

"...I guess." Izuku glossed over. "I would like to talk things through with him though. I know you think I shouldn't, but-"

"If Katsuki hasn't brought up the matter yet, he probably has no intention of ever doing so. There's no point in being pushy with him. No doubt he's had a lot on his mind these past months, after all."

"Yeah, I know." Guilt squeezed Izuku's stomach in a tight grip. It was very self-centered of him to keep obsessing over his quirk, he should just be happy that Kacchan was safe and sound, all things considered. "I'm not even sure I could manage to talk to him alone. His parents always walk him everywhere he goes, and I think the police are still keeping an eye on him."

"It's understandable, and all the more reason for you to stop fretting about all this. Your secret is safe, and so is he. A fortunate conclusion all round."

"Mh." Izuku couldn't fully share his father's optimism, but he supposed the whole situation was at an impasse anyway. His eyes fell on his notebook, closed atop of a pile of school textbooks, and he decided it was time to tackle another tricky discussion. "...I've been having a little trouble with my quirk research lately."

"Oh? Have you stumbled upon an especially puzzling one?" His father took the bait, his interest immediately piqued.

"Yes. Ours."

"...Ah."

"I've been looking for any kind of information related to quirk-stealing abilities. I've found mentions of similar ones, from copycats to erasers to temporary absorption… Nothing quite like ours, though." Izuku hesitated. "I have found some rumours though. Here and there, in forums and old uh… clickbait-y articles."

His father's progressive de-escalation from proper replies to monosyllables to complete silence was a familiar pattern, and not a concerning one per se. At the very least it meant he was willing to give Izuku a chance to make his point, so he continued.

"It's all very vague. There are no details about the ability to give quirks back, or about palm marks. But all the hearsay is centered around this… this mysterious figure who lived around the era of the advent of quirks and who is said to have been able to steal them."

"I know all about those rumors."

"Do you?" Izuku had never pegged his father for the kind of man who'd spend his time digging for gossip around the internet… but then again, the last months had proved he knew less than he thought about the man. "They say… they say he was a criminal. The most dangerous villain who ever lived, even. It's all a bit exaggerated and unrealistic, I know, since there's no mention of anyone like that in history books-"

"It just goes to show how fantastically threatening our quirk would seem to the average person." He replied casually. "It is literally the stuff of legends of our modern age."

"Do you know if there's any truth to it? Or if they're just stories?"

A pause. "...It is true. It's part of the reason why I've been so insistent on you keeping quiet about your quirk. You'd better avoid being connected to those rumors if you plan on having a peaceful life."

Izuku balked. That was uncharacteristically forward on his father's part. And it was a disconcerting piece of information to boot. And it raised a further, even more disquieting possibility. "Did that villain have the exact same quirk as us? Was he… related to us? A grandparent, a great-grandparent…?"

"The real issue here, Izuku, is that it doesn't matter." His father said sternly. "The issue is that anyone who is aware of those voices - or worse, anyone who knows them to be true - will react in the same way you did. They will suspect or presume you to be a descendant of that criminal, and you'd have no way to prove them wrong."

Izuku wanted to ask if his father was speaking from experience, if his subtle bitterness and extreme caution were the result of the blatant prejudice he had had to deal with personally. He couldn't quite gather the courage to do so, though. "Very few people know about this though, right? It wouldn't be that much of a problem day-to-day…"

"It depends on the kind of people you'd have to deal with in your daily life. It would be enough of an obstacle to prevent you from pursuing your dream career, for example."

"What? You mean becoming a hero?" Izuku frowned. "Why?"

His father sighed deeply. "Picture this, Izuku. The government of a country was once almost overthrown by a dangerous villain with a certain quirk, and it has been trying to suppress any information about that evildoer ever since. The same government also handles the designation and retribution of all heroes in the industry. One day, a young man with the same devastating quirk as the aforementioned criminal appears, and he applies to a hero academy - an institution which, among other things, trains its students to fight, strategize, be reasonably charismatic, refine and master their quirks to their fullest capacity. What do you think the government would do when faced with the possibility, however remote, of accidentally grooming this young man into another nation-wide calamity?"

Izuku felt as if the whole world was crumbling beneath his feet. There was… there was only one rational conclusion, wasn't there? "...They wouldn't take that chance. They wouldn't let him become a hero. They wouldn't want him to use or train his quirk at all, to be on the safe side."

"Exactly-"

"But- but…!" No, it couldn't be the only way this would unfold. Surely they wouldn't be this gravely biased, surely there had to be some way to prove his good faith, surely… "What if I used my quirk differently? In a way that would never harm anyone? I could… I could just borrow quirks instead of stealing them! Borrow them during an emergency and give them back as soon as it's over-"

"I'm afraid our quirk isn't well-suited to that kind of application." His father countered plainly. "While we do acquire an immediate, basic and instinctive understanding of any quirk we take, it is rarely sufficient to deploy it efficiently and safely right off the bat, unless the quirk is particularly simple in its mechanics. You experienced this first-hand when you sprained your wrist with your first sizable explosion. It takes practice to become proficient in each ability we receive, and without enough time to learn beforehands, you'd be more of a liability than an asset on the field."

The cold, ironclad logic of that long speech gutted Izuku more neatly than a knife. The boy squeezed his eyes, focussing on the problem, thinking, thinking, thinking… "There has to be some way though. There has to be…"

Silence stretched as he struggled against frustration, fear, discomfort, disappointment. He only needed to think, to come up with an idea, a single good idea to demonstrate that this amazing quirk of his wasn't necessarily a menace-

"...There could be." His father said, oddly tentative.

Izuku perked up, hope and gratefulness springing in his chest. "How?"

"You could simply pretend to have a different quirk. Take someone else's, just the one, and pretend it was your original quirk. Become a hero using that, and only that."

That wasn't what Izuku wished to hear. Not at all. "That means I'd still need to steal from someone, dad. I-I can't-"

"There are ways to acquire quirks that don't involve outright robbery, you know." The man sounded mildly peeved now. "Just think about it. A friend blessed with a quirk they don't like or get much use out of, donating it to you out of sheer good will. An old relative on their deathbed, willing to pass on their ability before it gets lost along with their life. An acquaintance debilitated by some illness or chronic condition that renders them unable to draw on their power, entrusting it to you rather than letting it stagnate within themselves."

Izuku pondered on those words. Even though they were all quite specific and uncommon situations, they sounded sensible… on paper. As purely theoretical possibilities. On the practical side, however… "I don't think I'd ever want to take a friend's quirk, no matter what. Being quirkless is… I wouldn't wish it on anyone, honestly." He didn't bother adding that he had no such close friends that would ever consider sacrificing their quirks for his little pipe dream. "And I really wouldn't want to pester old and sick people for something like that. I'd feel like I'd be taking advantage of their suffering…"

"Not even that, uh…?" His father sounded thoughtful. It was odd hearing him so unsure of his words, for once not the impeccable source of complete answers and well-spoken certainties. "Duplicity does not come naturally to you, nor does greed. It is unfortunate that you were endowed with a quirk whose maximum potential hinges on both."

"...What do I do then?" Izuku asked, feeling his hope and energy melt like snow under the sun.

"With strict morals such as yours, I'm afraid your hands are tied." The man paused. "Do you trust my judgement, Izuku?"

It was a rhetorical question, obviously. His father had been right about Izuku eventually getting a quirk. He had been right about Kacchan keeping his secret. He had always been right about anything they had ever talked about. There was no doubt that, if there was anyone in the world who could analyze the current predicament, predict its developments, advise for the best course of action, it was his father.

"Of course."

"Then keep holding your cards close to the vest. Maybe things will change one day, and you'll find more options available to you. But for now, you would gain no advantage from exposing yourself to public scrutiny. You would only attract suspicion and enmity. Keep your quirk hidden and play it safe. Your very life and safety may depend on your discretion."

March 2nd, 2280

"It… rewrites DNA?"

"Exactly. Every time it is used, both on yourself and on others. Despite their seemingly complex functions, quirk factors tend to be encoded and clustered within a relatively small number of genes. Our quirk allows us to detach them from all chromosomes in the body at once, transfer them and reallocate them - think of bacterial plasmids, albeit with a higher degree of complexity."

Izuku hummed, tapping the head of his pencil against his chin as his father's information seeped into his brain. "If DNA is the means through which quirks are transferred… I guess one does not need a… a whole, living human being as a source." Izuku let his thoughts trickle through his mouth unbidden, aware that his father never minded his rambling observations. "...What about a corpse? A very… fresh one, I guess? One which hasn't started decaying yet, not even a little bit. Could you take its quirk from it?"

"Alas, no. For the same reason why we can't collect quirks from detached limbs or single cells, for example. The donor must be a living organism. It is a stringent requirement. The moment the person dies, their quirk becomes unreachable for us."

"The moment the person dies…" Izuku toyed with the concept in his head. Vague memories of wandering internet searches and dramatic soap operas resurfaced. "Isn't that… difficult to establish though? Like, there's cardiac death, brain death… Total death? What applies here?"

"'Total death', I suppose." Izuku's father answered with a trace of humour. "There is a markedly... spiritual side to our quirk - to many quirks, in fact. The death I'm talking about is the loss of what makes a human being truly alive. Call it however you want - soul, mind, life force, spirit, personality, will. The essence of their being."

A pause, then the man spoke again. "I'm afraid that's as precise an explanation as I can give you. I wish I knew more about it myself. It is a tremendously fascinating subject." Izuku nodded in agreement, absently scribbling a small Quirks tied to souls??? on a corner of the receipt for the ice-cream he had bought on the way back from school.

"Izuku? Are you taking notes?" Izuku flinched as his father's tone suddenly turned severe. Had he heard the pencil scratch on paper? Curse his unreasonably sharp ears- "I told you a hundred times never to write down any information about our-"

"I know, I know! Sorry! It's just a habit!" Izuku rummaged through the drawer to find an eraser and immediately remove the offending line. "I wasn't writing on my notebook, it's just a scrap of paper I had lying around. I'm getting rid of it… right now..."

A long-suffering sigh crackled through the speaker. "...Still. I'm quite surprised that you're already considering ransacking graveyards and morgues in order to obtain quirks. It didn't occur to me to try my hand at desecration until I was much older than you."

"I'm- I'm not considering it!" Izuku sputtered, failing to find the eraser and electing instead to just rip the corner off the receipt and swallow it. "That would be incredibly disrespectful! Also a crime!"

"Right."

"I'm just… brainstorming. Keeping an open mind for unseen possibilities." Izuku sighed, not bothering to hide the familiar sting of annoyance. "You know, it wouldn't hurt if you were a little more forthcoming about how you obtained your yet-unspecified number of quirks. Surely you don't expect me to believe they all come from nursing homes and emergency rooms…"

"Izuku." There it was again, that cautionary edge that tinged his father's voice increasingly often as of late. On the bright side, Izuku was growing sort of accustomed to it, finding it easier to simply power through it.

"...I've been reading up on Tartarus lately." He threw out there, twirling his pencil in his fingers. "Not that there's much to read about it. They keep a close lid on any information regarding their security procedures and systems, which is fair. I do wonder though, what kind of measures they may have in place to restrict such a large number of dangerous quirk users."

His father didn't seem to have any comment on the topic, so Izuku decided to lay it on a bit thicker.

"They used to cut hands to punish thieves in certain countries a long time ago. It doesn't really happen any more, it violates all sorts of human rights. Coincidentally, there are rumors of multiple lawsuits for human rights violations being brought up against Tartarus." Izuku paused emphatically. "I'm sure that if the government knew of a way of 'amputating' quirks from incarcerated villains, it would be a strictly classified matter."

His father let out a quiet laugh. "So your current working hypothesis is that I'm obtaining my quirks from those who make poor use of them or are deemed unworthy. Your mind works in truly admirable ways. I'm starting to worry that one of these days you'll show up right on my doorstep."

"So it's true then?"

"Even if it was, do you think I would be at liberty to say?"

Izuku dropped his head on the desk and exhaled in frustration. Deflections, deflections. Even a frank denial was too much to hope for. There was no winning against his sphinx of a father.

"Have you given some more thought about what to do after middle school?" The infuriating man asked with the most casual of tones, as if they'd just been chatting about the weather. He wasn't even trying to be subtle with his diversions any more.

"Yes, and I haven't changed my mind." Izuku muttered, recognizing a losing battle when he saw one. "I want to try the admission test for the hero course at U.A."

A sigh. "I don't even know how I can be any clearer. Heroes aren't going to accept in their ranks someone with your-"

"I'm not going to use my quirk." Izuku interrupted him, with more pluck than he actually felt. "I… I've been wanting to apply since way before my quirk appeared. I'll apply as I would have applied if it hadn't. As quirkless."

Izuku heard some odd tinkering noises coming from the speaker. "I wish I could put this more kindly, but that is a fool's errand."

"It isn't against any of their regulations. There are no precedents, but-"

"Spare me the innocent talk, you're too smart for that." His father's voice cut through him with unusual vehemence. "They don't need regulations to politely dismiss people they presume worthless. A quirkless applicant would be the very embodiment of that worthlessness. You know it as well as I do."

"So you aren't even going to let me try?" Izuku hated the way his voice almost cracked on those words. He hated that he couldn't truly find it in himself to resent his father for being always, unfailingly right.

"...Whatever gave you that impression?" His father sounded genuinely taken aback.

"The fact that you're shooting me down like a trained sniper?!"

"Don't misunderstand me, I'm merely supporting my argument. I have no intention of stopping you. I don't think I even have the right to, really. I'm not exactly a prime example of involved parenthood."

Izuku's jaw hit the proverbial floor. That was… unexpected. "So… you aren't going to stop me. Even if you think it's stupid."

"One has to fall before he can learn how to walk." The man replied with mock solemnity, then he continued more seriously. "If I forbade you to attempt the test, all you'd gain from it would be a long-standing aversion to me and the lifelong regret of not knowing what you could have become, had you been given the chance. Neither of us would benefit from that. If I let you pursue your silly dreams to their inevitable failure, however, you may actually learn some valuable lessons about the importance of realistic objectives and the pointlessness of moot idealism."

That was... less unexpected. Izuku's shoulders dropped. Well. Questionable pep talk aside, at least he'd obtained an outspoken permission. He'd take what he could get. "Thanks, dad. You always know what to say to brighten my day."

"I try my best." His father chuckled. "If you could indulge my obsession for common sense for another moment… what are your spare plans in case of rejection? What other careers are you considering?"

"I… haven't quite worked out a plan B yet." Izuku bit his lip, blatantly caught out. "I-I still have a whole year to decide though. I'll pick some other possibilities before the end of school."

"There will always be plenty of paths open for you, Izuku. Way more than you know." His father sighed, a hint of sourness tinging his voice. "I only wish you would consider them.”

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #all for one #deku #izuku midoriya

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still-busy-being-mortal · 3 years

Text

the rising of the moon

word count: 4544

rating: G

fandom: the mechanisms

warnings: major character death

summary: They've lived so long together, perhaps it is only fitting they die alone.

story notes: so this came about as a result of wanting to cry MORE about the mechs. don't ask me why.

features raphaella spouting unnecessary science jargon, ivy being emotionally repressed/depressed, drumbot brian holding a conversation with himself, and the toy soldier being actually emotionally intelligent.

——————

JONNY

It’s a quiet day aboard the starship formerly known as The Aurora. Most of the crew is out, and she’s drifting slowly through a dusty asteroid field. Ivy has stayed aboard to read, and Drumbot Brian was designated ship-sitter, so he’s stayed on as well. When enough time has passed (Is it days? Or decades? No one knows anymore, and no one cares. They are all so tired.), Brian hits the alert switch that will tell the Mechanisms to come home.

Ivy feels the gentle vibration in her brain --the pulse of The Aurora’s beacon-- and she puts her book down before walking slowly to the navigation bridge. Marius’ hand starts to buzz, messing up his note-taking; he apologizes to the rather fascinating asteroid-dweller he’s interviewing and takes his leave. Ashes feels their chest hum, and they turn away from their beautiful, fiery meteor shower.

[read more on ao3, or continue below!]

One by one, the Mechs find their way home. It takes some longer than others, but they all return eventually. Or they should; right now, there are only seven crewmates in the navigation bridge.

“I’m sick of waiting--where the hell is Jonny?” Tim whines.

“I guess he decided to stay in the asteroid belt?” Marius says.

“Woulda been nice to let us know,” mutters Ashes, “So we’re not all sittin’ here for ages.”

Brian stands and raises his hand. “All in favour of leaving and returning in a few decades?” They all agree, so he pilots Aurora away from the asteroid field.

Time goes by, and they do not hear from Jonny. Of course, members of the crew sometimes stay away for long periods of time, but that doesn’t mean their absence is not felt. And Jonny hasn’t appeared to try and contact them at all.

After a while, they vote to return to the asteroid belt. When they arrive, they split up, communication devices in hand.

Ivy combs through her memory, trying to summon any knowledge she has on Asteroid Field 01.18.20. The Toy Soldier moves methodically from meteor to meteor, searching for their lost comrade. Raphaella interviews any inhabitants she comes across, axially coding their qualitative responses to identify patterns in the data. Tim goes to a bar for a drink, irritated at Jonny’s latest antic.

He walks into some nameless, backwater joint and sits at the counter, flagging down the bartender with a lazy wave. He orders and waits, mechanical eyes roving the establishment. And then he freezes.

On the far wall hang a few dozen photographs, all dusty and poor quality. Above the photos is a crudely-done banner that simply reads “Cheers to Our Past Patrons.” One of the pictures is of Jonny.

When the bartender returns, Tim asks: “What’s the deal with the wall of fame, then?”

“Oh, that,” they answer tiredly. “Just sum dark joke the old owner thought up. Them’s the folks who kicked it in this here bar, you see.”

Tim was confused. “You mean those people died here? That can’t be right; my friend’s up there, and he can’t d--he’s alive.”

The barkeep shrugged. “Don’t know, pal. We had to bury most of thems out back, if you reckon you want to check.” He chuckled darkly and went back to drink-making.

Tim quickly finished his drink and went out the back door. He debated alerting the other Mechs about this development, but decided he might as well see for himself first.

He found the makeshift graveyard quickly, small rusty mounds amid the equally rusty asteroid outback. Some displayed names on roughly carved wood planks, but obviously none of them said “Jonny d’Ville” (Tim laughed at the idea of Jonny carrying around an ID). Most were unmarked, however, so he started to dig.

He used his hands, too impatient to try and find a shovel. He came across bodies and bones in various stages of decay, but none that had any chance of being Jonny. About fed up with this ridiculous idea of his, he decided to dig up one more grave. He shovelled dirt and rocks out of the way, until his hand hit something hard and cold. Something metallic. He pulled on it, and came away with a belt. Christ , he thought.

He quickly scooped away the rest of the dirt, revealing the corpse of Captain First Mate Jonny d’Ville. Dead. Tim stumbled backward, hand fumbling for his comm. “Um, mates, I-I found him.”

The Mechanisms were different after that. Yes, Nastya had gone Out long ago, but they had never actually come across her dead corpse , so it wasn’t the same. Marius had examined his body and declared him fully, completely, and irrevocably dead. They had held a funeral, but they were all too much in shock to really remember it. All they knew was that they were down a crew member, without a captain first mate, and terribly aware of their own mortality.

ASHES

About half the crew was in Raphaella’s lab, helping her with some complex kind of experiment. Raph was mixing two viciously green liquids together, while Marius was unspooling wire from a large bobbin. The Toy Soldier was holding an ultraviolet light against a motherboard, and Ashes connected the motherboard to the chartreuse concoction using the wires. After pouring all of the chemicals, Raphaella pulled on some rubber gloves and pulled out a small pocketwatch from her shirt. “Are we ready?” she asked gleefully. Without waiting for an answer, she started the countdown. “Five! Four! Three! T--curses!” The pocketwatch slipped from her gloved grasp and fell into the churning beaker. All at once there was a flash and a bang, and the lights went out. They stood in complete silence for a minute, before the backup generators flicked on.

The Toy Soldier clapped its hands, “That Was Jolly Good! Can We Do It Again?”

“No, TS, look, I got goop on my--wait!” Marius shouted, “Where’s Ashes?” They all turned to look at where the quartermaster had been just moments before. The floor where they’d been standing was a scorched, intricate, dark pattern of swirls. “What the hell is that ?”

“I Do Not Know, But I Will Go Get The Archivist!”

TS returned with Ivy, who took one look at the patterns on the floor and asked: “Who is it that has been time travelling?”

“Time travelling?!” Raph exclaimed.

“Yes,” Ivy said, “Those marks are a perfect exemplar of the evidence left behind when one has been forcibly transported forward or backward in the time continuum. Which one of you did it? Did you happen to bring back any books?”

“It wasn’t us: it was Ashes.” Marius said, “And we don’t think they’ve come back yet.”

Ivy grew very pale. “That is highly alarming. There’s a less than 0.1% chance that a time traveller ever comes back if they do not return instantly after the outset of their journey.”

“Y-you mean Ashes might not...” Marius trailed off, “...Wait a second! That doesn’t make sense! We don’t experience time linearly!”

“That may be true, but we are not forcibly moved through it either. We are at the whim of the narrative flow, and any alteration to that usually produces negative results.”

The Toy Soldier flashed through many emotions at once, though its face never changed. “So Quartermaster O’Reilly Is...Gone?”

“We can’t prove that yet!” Raph cried, fluttering around the lab and grabbing various scientific instruments. “Maybe if I can pinpoint when exactly they’ve been transported to, we can...we can bring them back.”

“That’s quite a long shot,” Marius said.

“What is science if not a shot into the ignorant dark?” Raph replied, rigging up a technological monstrosity. She aimed the thing at the charred spot and clicked a button, causing the machine to emit a pulsating, whirring sound. “Oh, you all might want to close your eyes.”

With a burst of green and a harsh dial tone, the thing spit out a strip of paper. Raph grabbed it and read it intently. She dropped it suddenly, eyes distant and empty. “They are gone.”

The room burst into a cacophony. (“What do you mean?!” “Gone How? Gone Forever ?” “It was statistically unlikely that they could have returned.”) Raph picked up the paper and pressed it onto the lab table. Most of it was meaningless words and numbers, but Raph pointed out a string in the center: “RESULT) DATE: %& INFINITE ROUNDING ERROR $! _ LOCATION: SINGULARITY!UNIVERSAL IMPLOSION. ANALYSIS) CHANCE OF TERMINATION: 100.0% +-0.0 R = 1.0”

“They’re gone.”

RAPHAELLA

The crew was far more disorganized after Ashes left. With no one to maintain inventory or keep the crew in line, The Mechanisms started to fall apart. Raphaella tried for a while to build some kind of time-travelling device, some way of defying the inexorable march of the story, but it was in vain. She was left with only one option; one experiment she hadn’t tried yet.

She carefully laser cuts some metal from the starship once known as the Aurora. She sits in Nastya’s former workshop for hours, bending and twisting and fabricating until she is left with wings; wings more breathtaking than any she has possessed before. Once on, they fan out behind her in a starburst of blue and metallic grey.

But her crew will never see them. In the cover of darkness, she steals away to the airlock. The ship is currently sailing past a black hole (Raphaella has the Messier number and NGC identification memorized, but that’s not her concern now). With one final look backward at the place that had been her home for millennia --the place she thought she would call home forever -- she casts herself into the black hole.

Ivy finds the note she left, succinct and unmincing as ever:

“Addressed to whoever finds this first:

After a brief review of prior literature, I have found extensive holes (no pun intended) in the study of singularities, specifically as it relates to a singularity’s effect on a humanoid body and mind. I seek to rectify this, as well as explore the possibility of horological manipulation, though perhaps my methods are not entirely replicable. It is every scientist’s dream to be on the cutting edge of research, and so I initiate this experiment joyfully. Also, black holes are hypothesized to have magnificent magnetic fields!

Yours,

Dr. Raphaella La Cognizi”

TIM

Tim, Marius, the Toy Soldier, Brian, and Ivy wait. They do not wait together, and they do not know what exactly it is they’re waiting for, but they wait nevertheless.

Time passes.

Brian pilots the ship towards various planets, pointless battles, dying stars. One day, the remaining Mechs arrive at a lawless sea-based war occurring on a planet composed entirely of liquid obsidian. They commandeer a ship (which they dub the ‘Dawn’) and spend decades wreaking havoc as the most formidable group of pirates. But Tim knows something is wrong.

“Tim, take out that vessel off the starboard side.” Brian orders from the prow of the Dawn.

Tim smoothly preps, loads, and positions a cannon to aim directly at the enemy ship in question. He lights the fuse, and the cannon fires. The crew watch as the projectile hurls through the air, arcing like a cold meteor into the distance. They watch it come down towards the enemy vessel. And they watch it miss.

The crew turns to stare at Tim. He’s not nearly as mortified as they expected. In fact, he’s perfectly serene.

“Um, Tim…” Marius starts slowly, “D-did you know you, uh...missed?”

“Yep.” he responds, popping the ‘p’.

“Did you mean to?”

“Nope.”

“And...you’re not upset by that?”

“Not especially.”

(“That’s a fascinatingly abnormal psychological response,” Marius mutters under his breath, jotting something down in a notebook he appears to have produced out of nowhere.)

The crew continues to stare as Tim goes below deck to his bunk, humming slightly.

Tim has known something was off for a long time now. His aim started to err by nanometres, then by millimeters, then more, until he was missing entire ships like today. He’d panicked at the beginning, of course, but now? Now, he was ready to be done.

He’d felt the pressure building up in his head, behind his eyes. He got spurts of tunnel vision randomly, and sometimes his vision just went to static. He gradually lost the ability to see some colors, as the electronic rods and cones went out one-by-one and refused to self-repair. But he wasn’t nervous or distressed or alarmed; he was excited.

You see, he’d been saving something for a special occasion. He didn’t know what ‘special occasion’ entailed, since the Mechs never consistently celebrated holidays or birthdays, but permanent death seemed like a pretty good one. He rooted around in his rucksack, and withdrew a set of shiny silver keys; keys he’d stolen a long, long time ago. These were the ignition keys to the largest gunship existence will ever see, and Tim planned to go out with a bang. That evening, he told the crew he wanted them all to return to the starship so he could be dropped off somewhere. They all agreed, since they didn’t have any real cares anymore, and they set off for the planet Tim had etched into his memory.

Tim sits in the cockpit of the gunship, the planet itself already ruined and smoking from fighting his way to get here. The Mechanisms were long gone, as he’d told them to leave without him. He hadn’t exactly said he wasn’t planning on coming back, but he thinks they understood. With one last grin of pure, unadulterated madness, he kicks the gunship into gear and blasts off.

The ship goes too fast to comprehend, and in an instant he’s shooting across the cosmos, shattering stars and razing entire systems of planets. The universe has never before witnessed such complete and utter desolation. Tim doesn’t process much during this rampage...until he starts to die.

He doesn’t know what he hit, but something has jolted the gunship just right, and he’s flung out the front glass. He knows he should die instantly, and he is, but his eyes are moving faster. They’re replaying his life, backwards, and he wants to groan with the cliché-ness of it all. But then it’s over. Or, almost over. At the very end, so fast, so short compared to the millennia he has lived, he catches sight of a young man in a trench. Bertie. A face he will never forget no matter how much longer he could have lived. And in the moments of blackness before he stops forever, he thinks about Bertie, about what comes next.

Faith is a moot point when you’re immortal, since you’ve quite literally come into contact with gods and demons, eldritch horrors and cosmic powers. But here, at the end of his wretchedly long existence, Tim wonders if he will ever see Bertie again. If he will ever see Jonny, or TS, or Ashes, or anyone ever again.

He dies blind, with their names on his lips.

IVY

Exposition: Ivy is quite spectacular at suppressing her emotions. She’s also skilled at identifying patterns, so by the time Raphaella left, she knew what was going on with 98% certainty. Without much fanfare, she packed her bags (5 for books and 1 for everything else), said goodbye to Marius, Brian, and the Toy Soldier, and left.

She rifled through her memory archives for the quaintest library she knew of, and headed there.

Rising Action: And so time passed.

Ivy read, and organized, and wrote, and...existed. Nothing happened, and nothing changed. Carmilla must have made an error in her mechanization because she’d never been the best at processing feelings, but she was happy, she thought.

Climax: A war came, and her library was attacked. With the numbest, most detached sense of purpose imaginable, she loaded an escape pod with random books she thought should be preserved and fired it out into the void. She didn’t even know she’d been hit until she’d fallen to the floor, blood streaming from a massive wound. She knows she is dying; she’d seen the patterns.

Denouement: Her brain whirs slower and slower, until it stops. The end.

MARIUS

They are not a crew any longer. Brian has firmly rooted himself on the bridge, more robot than man now. The Toy Soldier wanders the ship, searching for its friends who are playing the best game of hide-and-seek that the universe has ever seen. Marius putters along, doing some maintenance, writing down his thoughts, and waiting for his death.

He’d always known this life of theirs couldn’t last. Besides the conceptual and moral implications of an eternal existence without consequences, it didn’t even make sense physically . There was no such thing as a perpetual motion machine, and he was surprised his more rational-minded crewmates didn’t question it more. But now his theory had come to fruition, and his crew, his family , had slowly dropped off one-by-one, like leaves from an autumnal tree.

He’s at a bit of a loose end now. With no people left to talk to, no minds to pick, he doesn’t feel any sense of purpose. It’s not depression--he knows that; it’s more of a...cosmic futility.

He feels one last pull, one last tug of the all-pervading narrative, a tide of finality, urging him towards a certain door. He knows this door, knows what it means when he opens it. But he also knows all things come to an end eventually, so why not go out doing what he always did? Providing the comic relief.

“Time this for me, will you, Aurora?” he calls out. He turns the handle and steps inside.

BRIAN

Since Jonny’s death, Brian has been at war with himself. He supposes he’s always been at war with himself though, and his current moral quandary reminds him uncomfortably of his first.

Sitting on the bridge alone, he decides to have a conversation.

“So the crux of the problem is that we can bring people back from the dead, correct?”

He flips his switch. “Correct.”

He flips it back. “But the dilemma is whether we should bring the Mechs back or not.”

“Also correct.”

“Which we shouldn’t, because they wanted to die.”

“No, we should. We want them alive, right? Using magic is definitely the easiest way to achieve that.”

“But we need our family to be happy. God knows how long it’s been.”

“Is the end goal their happiness or our happiness?”

“If I answer that, will I change your mind?”

“Is altering the end goal really the moral way to win this argument?”

“You know what? Damn you.”

Time passes, and each crewmate’s departure only makes Brian’s contempt for his own inner hesitation grow. He spends years staring out into the cosmos, thoughts whirling just as fast as the dust and gases beyond the glass. He wonders if he will ever die and join his family, or if the degree of his artificiality will render him truly immortal. He hates that thought more than most anything else.

He stops smelling the smoke of Ashes’ fires one day, and wonders if his olfactory systems are shutting down.

He stops feeling the rumble of Raphaella’s experimental explosions, and wonders if his nerve endings are rusting.

He stops seeing the flash of Tim’s gunshots bounce around the corridors, and wonders if he’s gone as blind as the gunner himself.

He stops hearing Ivy’s narration, and wonders if his auditory fluids have finally trickled away.

One day, the lone violin that has been echoing throughout the empty starship fades out, and Brian feels his heart stop.

It restarts of course, but Brian knows.

He knows that it’s finally, finally time. Soon, very soon, there will be no more life aboard this ship. No life, where there had been life for eons. No life, where there had been life immortal.

His sense of taste has never come into doubt, because he can still taste the acridness of the Toy Soldier’s cooking wafting on the air. He decides it’s only right to bid goodbye, so he makes his way back to the kitchen. On the way, he passes the Doctor’s old laboratory. He briefly considers destroying it, bringing down the whole ship in a blaze of fire and brimstone, but he knows that isn’t right; it wouldn’t fulfill anything.

In the kitchen, the Toy Soldier is pulling something pink and grey and on fire out of the oven. “Hey, TS,” Brain says gently, leaning against the doorframe as his heart falters again. “I-I’ve got to talk to you.”

The Toy Soldier spins around. “Drumbot Brian!” it shouts joyfully. “How Have You Been, Old Chap! I Have Been Playing Hide-And-Seek With The Rest Of The Crew For A While Now, And They Are Definitely Winning! Have You Seen Them?”

“Oh, TS,” Brian says sadly, “We’re all who’s left now. Don’t you know? The others have gone.”

He sees the Toy Soldier’s wooden eyes soften, betraying an agedness he’s never seen before. “Of Course I Know, Bean. But What Have We Been Doing This Whole Time, If Not Pretending?”

Brian smiles sorrowfully, and TS matches it. “I just wanted to let you know, TS, that now it’s my turn to go.”

“I Know.” It salutes him. “Goodbye, Drumbot.”

Brain gently returns the salute, and leaves.

He stumbles through the ship, heart failing rapidly now, but he makes it to the airlock. He knows deep down that there’s only one way his story could end. His whole existence has been framed by empty solitude, with his family providing the best aberration one could wish for. With his body more an empty metal frame than a robot now, he opens the airlock and casts himself back into the cosmos, from whence he came, and where he would die.

THE TOY SOLDIER

Its friends are all gone away now, and it knows this. There is no more laughter aboard the starship once known as the Aurora. There is no more gunfire or explosions. There is no more music. The cold mass of metal drifts through the void of the uncaring cosmos, with no living being aboard.

But The Toy Soldier has to be sure; it has to guarantee that it is truly all alone now. So it visits its friends’ final resting places.

It spends some years gazing out the front windows of the ship. The thrusters have been broken for a long time now, and the Toy Soldier doesn’t know how to repair them, so it just sits and watches. It wants to see the Drumbot, so it pretends that it does. Soon enough, out the starboard porthole, it spies him. His metal is rusted and warped, frost rendering most of his face unrecognizable. A drum is still looped around his shoulder. The Toy Soldier tethers itself to the ship and goes outside for a moment, drifting towards the robot. It lays a wooden hand on his deformed chest, and feels that his heart beats no longer. It carves off a long curl of wood from its side, and places it in Brian’s frozen hand.

It returns to the ship. It hadn’t known where Marius had disappeared to, but now it feels the force of the narrative driving it towards a certain room. It opens the door, and a handful of mangy octokittens hiss at it and scurry away. There’s nothing in the room besides a pile of crumpled clothes, a broken violin, and a metal hand, but the Toy Soldier could recognize that style anywhere. It gently twists one of its own wooden hands off, and lays it on the mound.

The Toy Soldier knows that Ivy went somewhere far away, so it closes its eyes and pretends that it’s there. When it opens them again, it finds itself in the charred ruins of some great marble building. At its feet lay bones, a metal flute, and a mess of circuitry, untouched by the ash. The Toy Soldier reaches up, removes a piece of wood from the back of its head, and lays it besides the flute.

The Toy Soldier has a harder time finding the gunner. It’s drawn this way and that, chasing an intangible trail through the stars and galaxies. All of the planets it passes are devoid of life. Finally, finally, it stumbles across an enormous, gaping wreck of a starship, all mangled and smashed to pieces. The ship is so large, it’s drawn smaller asteroids into an orbit around it. On one of these rocky satellites, the Toy Soldier spies a body: a skeleton covered in a long brown coat with a guitar slung across it. A pair of mutilated, metal eyes rest in the skull. The Toy Soldier smiles sadly, removes one of its own wooden eyes, and slips it into the pocket of the coat.

It knows it cannot follow the science officer into a black hole. It does manage to find the sketches of the wings Raphaella designed, so it gathers them up, takes two chunks of wood from its back, finds Raph’s keyboard, and casts everything into the nearest singularity.

After pretending to be at the end of space and time, it finds itself there. There is nothing, absolutely nothing. It removes two segments of wood from deep within its chest and places them in the nothingness, along with the strings of an old electric bass it had found. As it winks back to the ship, it catches the faintest scent of gasoline.

It returns to the asteroid Jonny had died on, the start of their ignoble demise. It visits his grave, in the taupe dirt of the desert behind the backwater bar, and sees all of the trinkets and mementos the crew had left behind. It knows none of them left anything during their makeshift funeral, so that means each of them must have slipped away at some point to come here on their own. Ashes has left their best lighter, Tim a pair of dogtags. Marius left behind all of his notes of Jonny’s disaster of a brain, and Brian has deposited some sun-scorched piece of space station. His harmonica has also found its way here, somehow. The Toy Soldier slowly, slowly reaches into its chest and removes its wooden heart, laying it down atop the mound of dirt and memories. It walks away, and knows that it can finally, finally stop pretending.

AURORA

There is no record of where the Toy Soldier went next. It certainly did not return to the empty ship once known as the brilliant Aurora. The lifeless, soulless, music-less ship drifts on alone through the cosmos, rusting and warping until no one could tell it had ever been a ship at all. Eons pass, and whatever memory the universe might have had of The Mechanisms has been utterly lost.

Until the misshapen mass gets stuck in the orbit of a planet. Molded and formed by the planet’s gravity, the ship is reborn as a moon. And all at once, she comes to life.

As dawn washes over her, the young moon hears a voice. “Hello, dear,” a woman coos, “My name is Dr. Carmilla.”

#hi please read my fic #am i posting it yet again? yes #the rising of the moon #the mechanisms #fiction #ao3

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be-ready-when-i-say-go · 4 years

Text

In Corners

Calum never though he’d be a dad like this. But when it comes to his daughter, he’s always in her corner. Always and forever.

What happens when you put together H’s love for angst+ Single!Dad Calum+ Coming Out?

This. This is the product.

CW: Mentions of Death and health issues. Coming out. Some slight mentions of homophobia. Anxiety.

Enjoy my masterlist

Feel free to support me on Kofi.

****No one has my permission to post this fic, including translations. Copyright be-ready-when-i-say-go, 2020.******

_________________________________

Calum shouldn’t have sat down. That is his mistake. He figures he wouldn’t fall asleep. Not this fast, of course. That will always be false hope. That will always be him giving himself too much credit. If he sat down too long without anything to do, especially in the comfy single seater, it would be game over for him. He has an hour before he has to pick up Ariyana from Elizabeth’s house. He dropped her off earlier in the afternoon and said he’d be back to get her before dinner time.

And after running errands, first to get groceries, then take the dogs to the vet, and be home for the cable company, all Calum really wants is a nap. Just a quick one. That’s all it’ll be. Half an hour and then he can head out to get her. The both of them can decide what to get for dinner, if they’re going to cook or if they’ll give in and order a veggie pizza. There’s nothing like just sitting with a couple boxes of pizza and piling plates with maybe a slice too many and dancing from the counter to the kitchen table to keep any slice from sliding off.

He feels his head fall forward on his neck and he snaps up. It takes him a moment, realizing he’s slumped down in the living room. Glancing up at the clock, he’s half an hour late. “Shit,” he exclaims, bolting up from the seat, grabbing his keys and wallet. The door is a slamming thud behind him and his keys jingle as he works to get the right one in his fingers.

Inside the car, he pulls up Ari’s number and sets the phone into the hook on the air vent so he can drive and have both hands free. It rings and rings. Just as the back tires hit asphalt, she picks up. “Fell asleep again didn’t you, Dad?”

“I keep telling you that seat has some sort of magic in it. I’m on my way.”

She laughs. In the background, Calum can hear Elizabeth’s mother, her voice soft and sweet. “He’s on his way. Thanks, Mrs. Banks,” Ariyana says. “Want me to call in the veggie pizza?”

“Please. I’m sorry, baby girl. Should’ve set an alarm on my phone.”

“It’s alright, Dad. I lost track of time too. I’ll call it in.”

“Love you. Thanks.”

“Of course. Love you too.”

It still blows Calum’s mind that for the last fourteen years it’s been just Ariyana and him, and somehow he’s managed to do the whole Dad thing well. Ariyana isn’t his kid, an apparent fact when she stands next to him at the grocery stores when they go shopping together or when they go out to the movies, on the rare occasions that Ariyana doesn’t think Calum’s lame. Her much darker than his own, almost like her skin swallowed up the night sky.

But he wouldn’t trade it in for the world. Even though it meant he lost one of his best friends along the way, complications post-birth seemed to just linger and linger on until they unfortunately claimed Ariyana’s mother, Jazmyne. But both her and Calum knew things were going south fast. They both knew that one day would be her last and when Jazymyne told Calum that no matter what happened to her, she wanted him to take care of her baby, he agreed without hesitation. Ari was close to a year old when her mother died, leaving Calum to the wilds of parenthood alone.

He was there for everything before that. When Ariyana first kicked in the womb. When the doctors let visitors in, he was the first to hold her. He watched her crawl for the first time, attempting to keep up with Duke who was shockingly good with a baby. Maybe it was because they were kindred spirits. All he did was sleep and eat all day and Ariyana as a baby did the same. He has so many pictures of Ari and Duke at his place on the couch, fast asleep, when Jazmyne had doctor’s appointments or whenever she was just too physically tired to do much of anything. Calum always kept his doors opened. He loved, and still loves, Ariyana, so there was never a problem when he got to watch her for a couple hours.

Ariyana had a game she liked to play, especially when she was being put down for a nap, where when she finally could support her upper half, she would hide her face in Calum’s chest and then push up. He would kiss her forehead or cheek and she’d giggle before hiding her face again. It would go for ten minutes, a cycle of their version of peekaboo and kisses until sleep finally overtook her right there on his chest and Calum would be left, hearing the echo of her sweet giggle, the way only a baby can laugh, with one hand on her back, keeping her secure to his body.

Calum feels the tears filling his lower lashes and tries not to think too much about how much Ariyana has grown up since then. How at almost 25, he became a dad to the sweetest kid in the world. And it might not have been under circumstances that he would’ve liked, or ones that he would’ve expected, but he couldn’t deny the blessing Ariyana was in his life. So how much complaining could Calum really do?

Turning the corner onto the block, Calum can see Ariyana and Elizabeth standing on the front porch, huddled together. And almost, as the sounds of his tires rolling over of the street, are fire, they jump apart. Elizabeth falls into the swing and starts rocking as if she were doing it the entire time. Calum knows. He suspected it long before when suddenly Ari talked about Elizabeth all the time. They stayed after school a lot, on homework as the excuse. But Calum never pushed it.

Instead, Calum parks. He opens his door just as the front door opens and Elizabeth’s mom steps out waving. “Thank you again, Jodie,” Calum calls out as he stands behind the opened driver side door.

“Anytime. You know Ariyana’s welcome over literally whenever. Maybe next week, girls, we can do that candle thing I was showing you guys.”

“Mom,” Elizabeth groans.

“What? It looks fun,” Jodie defends. It’s easy to see the relation between the two of them. Elizabeth getting her mother’s dark and wild curls. “You guys said you wanted something to do the next time you hung out? I figured what’s to lose by learning how to make candles?”

“Yeah, but they’re in those elementary school milk cartons.”

Jodie shakes her head. Her gaze lands on Calum and they both share a knowing look before Jodie turns back to Elizabeth, hands up and palms out. “Well, think about it then. Maybe we can find some other craft. Doesn’t have to be candles.”

Both girls are glancing at each other, communicating something and Calum has a good idea what it is. But with a small wave and smile, Ariyana steps down from the porch and over to the passenger side of Calum’s SUV. They both climb inside, doors closing at the same time. “Pizza should be done by the time we get there,” Ari says, sliding the seatbelt across her.

“Cool. Tomorrow, I’ll cook.”

“You mean, tomorrow you’ll attempt to cook but I’ll have a take out place on standby.”

“My cooking’s gotten better over the years.”

“I’ll give you that,” she laughs. Then falls silent, mostly car rides are full of her talking about her day, asking questions, making terrible puns about the street names. But now, she fiddles with her phone, staring out of the window as the world passes by them. And she questions for a brief moment if they are passing the world by. Because it feels like it, as she sits next to her dad.

Ariyana knows about her mother dying, she knows about Calum adopting her because of her mother’s wishes. She’s grateful for it. She can’t imagine what her life would be like if it weren’t for Calum, if she wound up with someone else, if she wound up with her grandmother, who lived back in the South. Calum never kept her family out of her life, but it’s always a question that plagues her. What would her life be like if things had been different? What would she be like if her grandmother took her in? Would her grandmother dress her up every Sunday like she did to her mother? Would she be eating oatmeal in the mornings with bacon on the side and just on the other side of the kitchen table a Bible would sit?

She’s not sure why her mother didn’t leave her to her grandmother. Though she’s asked Calum several times, he never really answers it. Her grandmother never treated her badly. When she spent the summers at her house, running through the neighborhood with the other kids, and they scrambled to be inside doors or on porch steps as the streetlights came on, her grandmother would always be waiting, hands on her hips, with a shake of her head. ‘Cutting it close, like you gunnin for trouble,’ her grandmother would always say.

But on the table would be her plate for dinner. Her aunts and uncle would always hook her up with the latest sneakers. Ariyana learned how to walk not to put creases in her shoes. She spent many nights sitting in her mother’s childhood room, cleaning sneakers with toothbrushes. She stared up at peeling wallpaper, feeling the soft pressure of reassuring hands on her shoulders. No one else would be in the room with her.

And Calum never sheltered her from any of that. He took really good care of her and she never felt like she couldn’t tell him anything. She never felt like there was a disconnect. Until now. Because in her soul, deep in her gut, she knows that she wouldn’t have to worry about this with her mother. Her mother would just get her. There was nothing else in the world besides a mother’s love. Or maybe Ariyana just yearned for her mother right now that it made it seem like that. Maybe all she wants right now is that soothing touch, like when Grandma’s worn leathery palms would cup her cheeks and every ache was soothed. Every worry was squashed in just one touch.

“I’ll be right back. Don’t drive away now,” Calum teases, sliding out of the truck.

Ariyana finally notices that they’re pulled up right in front of the doors of the pizza shop. She nods, glancing over to Calum. Does he know? Is he going to flip? She hopes he wouldn’t. Ariyana hopes that the track record of telling Calum major news proves accurate for future reactions. Like shockingly, he didn’t flip a lid when she was near failing trig. Mostly because she was too busy passing notes to Elizabeth. But she covered that up by saying the teacher just taught it in a confusing manner and Calum asked her if she wanted a tutor. That was all. He encouraged her that she could always try the subject again in the summer or maybe again once school started, but he didn’t give her a spill about how failing classes would never get her into college, or never help her make a living in the world.

But almost failing trig and having to tell him this, the truth, admitting that even she’s not sure about the label--that could never compare.

The car door opens and Calum slides the pizza onto the floor to keep it safe. Just as he gets into the driver seat, Ariyana speaks. “Can we go visit Mom? Like after dinner or whenever it really works?”

Calum nods. “We can go right now if you want. I have blankets in the back. Make it a picnic.”

“Those are the dogs blankets but sure, they’ll suffice.”

“Hey, now, the dogs don’t complain about those nice soft blankets.” He says it on the shot to make her laugh. He can tell something in weighing on her mind. That’s not his Ariyana but sometimes things are just hard to express verbally. He gets that.

“They lack the ability too. So…” she laughs, watching as Calum makes a dramatic show of rolling his eyes and sighing.

The smell of cheese and marinara sauce fills the car. There’s not even the radio playing. Calum lets her have control most of the time. According to her, all he ever plays are the throwback jams. Though occasionally in her shuffle she slips in one of the songs he’s mentioned or played before. She only puts the ‘good ones’ on though, her exact phrasing when Calum brought it up once.

Upon arriving at the cemetery, Calum pauses, watching Ariyana slip out of the car. She skirts around to the trunk, pulling out the blankets. “Trunk water?” she asks, referring the case of water Calum keeps in the trunk. Mostly for emergencies and because he’s had a case always on hand.

“I got it,” Calum returns as he grabs the pizza. He wants to ask if everything is okay. If there’s anything he needs to do, or anything she wants him to do, but he’s not sure if the question warrants verbalization. Something is not okay. Something is going on. Though he doesn’t want to push her at the same time.

Walking over the grass, Calum doesn’t even take note of the headstones that lead their way. Most of the time he does. Most of the time he hates coming here. He never really thought he would’ve griefed a major loss in his twenties. He didn’t think life would be that cruel to him. Yet it had. Yet, he buried her six feet deep, let the oak be a barrier between her flesh and whatever creatures lived in the dirt. But this whole row, the plot they had to pick out together while Ariyana was still much too young, still a babbling baby on one of their hips. Calum can’t remember anymore the specifics.

This whole trek though shows him he’s not alone. Many others have had those same feelings. Many others have cried a flood of tears before him and he can only hope those that cry for him don’t feel too burdened. He hopes that they know his life began and had to end too. It’s at the plot as Ariyana starts to unfold the blanket that Calum wonders if she wants to go to stay with her grandmother. Before she spent a lot of summers there because Calum had to go for a tour, but even during her Christmas breaks, she asked to go more often. Because he has to leave during the school year too sometimes, Ariyana stays with Luke’s wife and their kids. It works out, never find the fact that they have to make it work.

“Do you want to live with your grandmother, Ari?”

Ariyana looks over to Calum, her brows pulled in together in confusion. “Did you nap so hard, Dad, that you lost your marbles? I love Grandma Gigi. But no, I don’t want to live with her.”

“I just--you’ve been quiet. Like something’s wrong. And I didn’t--I didn’t want you thinking that you couldn’t talk to me about whatever it is that’s going on. I know it’s not easy when I have to travel so many months at a time. But like, if you wanted something more stable, I don’t fault you. I wouldn’t be mad.”

Their blankets are straightened out and Ariyana places her arms under the boxes. “It’s crazy, yeah. But let’s be real. I have like four rooms at this point, one at every uncle’s house. Birthdays are like, insane when we all get together to have a party. And I like it, just us. Besides you don’t flip like Grandma Gigi about curfew. Though her cooking is better.” She sees Calum’s faux offense and quickly adds on, “But I do love you. You taught me how to ride a bike. You’re there to help me study when I can’t decode Shakespeare. You paid for me to learn how to fail at tap dancing.”

“You were getting better, sweetheart.”

“I was awful, Dad. And you taught me how to play football and helped me make junior varsity. There’s no one else that could’ve done all that.”

“You were an easy baby. A difficult teen. But an easy baby.”

“I won’t take offense at you calling me difficult. For now. It might come back up in other later arguments.”

Calum laughs, nodding his head towards the ground. “Believe me, I expect it.”

They finally sit, the pizza still warm as they take their first bites. Ariyana really asked to come out here because maybe she could tell Calum without actually having to say it. Maybe her mother would give her strength even beyond the grave. It would be like, coming out to both the people she cared about the most, at the same time. She wouldn’t have to do this over, and over, and over. Except her uncles of course.

Grandma Gigi is going to be a whole other battle. That will have to be a battle she’ll have to fight when it comes up. Right now, she has to tell Calum. With nothing but crust in her fingers, she looks over to Calum. “Dad,” she starts. She’s never called him anything other than that, though she knows he’s not her biological father. She’s never known him as anything other than that. She’s never known him as anyone that would freak, or stop loving her, or shun her for anything.

“What’s up, baby girl?” If Ariyana doesn’t want to move in with her grandmother, Calum’s at a loss. He just wants her to be happy. And healthy, of course, too. But seeing her torn up like this makes his gut constrict. He’s only been able to stomach one slice thus far.

“Have you ever known you were different? Not like you suspected or you were guessing. But you just knew.”

It clicks. Like the switch of a light being turned on, Calum gets it. He exhales, reaching for another slice of pizza. “Well,” he starts, holding the slice on his fingers as he chews over the right words. He stares down at Jazmyne’s headstone. What do I tell her? You’d be so much better at this. He doesn’t want to start out with the ‘whole everyone’s different’ thing. It feels contrived, like he’s trying to weigh his own struggles against hers. All he wants to do, at a moment like this, is let her know he’s listening. He’s picking up the clues. “There’s nothing wrong with different, ya know? Different is good.”

“You don’t think different is like, wrong? Like, there’s a ‘normal’ that everyone’s used too. And different is scary. But is it wrong, ya know?”

There’s no use in trying to beat around the bush anymore. Calum swallows down his bite of pizza resting it on the cardboard box on the side where none of the other slices rest. He looks over at her, as she picks at the dog fur coating her black jeans. “Who you love or find attractive isn’t wrong. It may be different from what others expect of you or what others deem is right. I don’t care who you love. I love different. I accept different. I respect different and that means I love you; I accept you. And it also means I respect you too.”

Almost like a popped balloon Ariyana sighs. All the tension from her shoulders drop. “Was it that obvious?”

“I know when someone’s smitten when I see it.”

There’s a moment, where they both sit, watching the setting sun. Ari’s glad that it went well. That she doesn’t have to hide or fear anything. “You didn’t even let me say it, though,” she points out. “Like, I had this whole speech prepared and everything!”

Calum laughs. “Okay, let’s redo.”

“No, it’s too late now,” she huffs, holding her arms across her chest. Her laughter is bubbling in her chest and escapes her in tufts. “But, in all honesty, thanks. For understanding. I was kinda scared.”

Calum nods. “I understand. But I don’t want you to be afraid of telling me things. I’m always in your corner, Ariyana. Always and forever.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

With empty boxes collected and the blankets folded back up, Ariyana looks down at her mother’s gravestone. “I hope you understand, Mom. Love you.” The car ride is DJ’ed, like usual, Ariyana’s playlist and things are easy again.

It’s about a week later as Ariyana gathers her books from the dining room table for school, when she notices a tiny pride flag pinned to the front pouch of her backpack. She didn’t buy that. Not even in her venture to the mall with Elizabeth last Saturday and they stopped at a small kiosk that was selling a bunch of pins. Elizabeth bought one, if she remembered correctly. But not her.

“Ready to go, Ari?”

“Dad, did I buy that pin?” she asks, pointing to her brown canvas bag.

“If it’s too much, you don’t have to leave it there. But I know you’re into pins now.” That explains it. He bought and pinned it there. And if she knows anything, inside will be a bottle of orange juice and some candy, in case she needs the sugar boost during the day. She hates that he does it, but as of late, she’s needed then more and more.

“When’s my doctor’s appointment again?”

“Tomorrow, Tuesday. 1:30. I’ll be there to get you before your lunch time.”

“I’m going to miss trig.”

“You mean you’re going to miss Elizabeth,” Calum corrects, shouldering the loaded up backpack.

“No, I’m failing trig, not failing in my relationship.”

“Smart ass,” he laughs as they shuffle out of the door. “C’mon. You’ve got a test first period and you’re not being late as an excuse.”

“Oh, c’mon, Dad. It’s World History. I can ace it in my sleep.”

It’s true, but still, he’s not going to risk it. Ariyana plays with her phone, mostly texting but Calum’s not shocked. When his stops in the parking lot, the buses are already lined up and unloading. Ariyana grabs her bag, but not before leaning across the console and kissing Calum on his cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you too. Kick ass on that test. Don’t be afraid to go to the nurse’s office or call me if you feel another dizzy spell, okay?”

“I won’t.”

“Tell Elizabeth I said hi, alright?”

Ariyana can’t stop the smile as she shuts the door. The window already rolled down. “You love having that power, don’t you?”

Calum laughs, leaning forward into the steering wheel but not pressing down on the horn. “C’mon your pops has to have a little fun, ya know.”

She rolls her eyes, wishing she could seriously be upset. But instead, all there is is elation. She calls out another ‘love you’ and then starts towards the front doors. Right on the curb is Elizabeth, waiting for her. Their embrace is quick and they shuffle inside, hand in hand. There’s a moment, where there’s a small pause, Ari showing off the pin and Calum can only grin watching them. “You’re probably already seeing this Jaz. But God, she’s growing up fast. Her first girlfriend. Like, fuck, I’m getting old. So old, but I hope you’re proud. I hope she’s everything you wanted in a daughter. I hope I’m doing you proud.”

Calum knows he’s been watching too long when the buses start to leave. But part of him is worried. Afraid that he’ll pull out of the parking lot and she’ll wind up in the nurse's office waiting for him to rush to get her. He’s worried that he’s going to pull off and when he comes back she’s going to graduate. It might be her second year in high school but it already feels like with every blink she keeps growing up. He can’t stop her. He can’t keep her as that babbling baby on his chest who’d laugh at the raspberries on her cheeks.

It’s on the drive back home, when there’s no music, no laughing from his right. When it’s just him and the road and the breeze floating in that he feels something on his cheek. It’s warm for a quick moment, even tinkles, and then gone. It’s not a bug, not some stray piece of hair. It encompassed his whole cheek and he thinks it was Jazmyne, cupping his cheek, like she always did before she’d pinched his cheeks. It never failed to annoy him.

A tear slips from his eye. At the last red light before turning into his neighborhood, he doesn’t stop the ones that overflow the waterlines of his eyes. “I know you’re there.”

Tagging: @5-secondsofcolor @pinkbubbles-and-bigtroubles

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braindeadskeletons · 4 years

Note

(i guess you can tell why i asked about ways you want matchups now haha, ignore if you want i don't wanna be a bother) i'm a non-bianary pansexual. i'm super into psychology and how emotions work, i love reading and singing, and i tend to wear flower crowns a lot. i'm not a big fan of being forced to do things, and i really dislike people yelling at me. i've got pretty bad adhd and i dissociate regularly, and i do the "what did you say?" "oh did you wa-" "yeah pizza sounds great" thing (1/2)

(2/2, sorry it's so long haha) i make lots of bracelets and i have a big tabby cat that i love to pieces, and i tend to get really protective of my friends when people threaten them. normally i'm ditzy and stupid-ish. i also take care of plants (that i've given names to) and i practice witchcraft. (again if you don't wanna answer this you can just delete it i don't wanna make you feel like you need to do it)

Hello again! Aww, there’s no need to apologize so much you’re definitely not a bother! I love doing matchups and I’m more than happy to do one for you. They're my favorite part of having this blog, actually. Yeah shitposting and calling it content is fun as well but with matchups, I get to give people who ask for them something personal, which is always fun! I love giving people things that make them happy. I could only hope that I did well enough with the matchups :) When I read through all of your information at first I was thinking that maybe you’d go well with one of the Papyri (is that the plural of Papyrus? Is that an actual term?? Whatever, it is now lmao) but then I immediately thought ‘wow okay maybe let’s not. all of them literally yell 24/7 and yeah they all mean well but it’s overwhelming.’ So then I went down a list of all the calmer skeletons and in the end, you did actually end up getting matched with a Papyrus.

I match you with Underswap Papyrus!

Well, as much of a Papyrus that the Underswap version could be, am I right? In this relationship, you will physically never have to worry about anything in your life. Seriously, I mean that. Papyrus is going to be there as your rock, the same courtesy he gives to his brother he’s fully prepared to extend to you. You may have the habit of getting protective when people threaten who you love, but Papyrus is that instinct tenfold. It’s going to be the number one priority next to his brother to make sure that you are always safe and happy. He’s endlessly patient and caring about your needs. Your habit of “what did you say?” “hm?” “Yeah sounds good!” will never phase him, he will only sit and say it again and never be annoyed or get tired of repeating the question. He’s used to it if he’s being honest. Sans does the same on a daily basis, so with his experience so far he has a pretty good idea of what to do and how to help (if you’d like him too). The same goes for your dissociation issues. Both of the brothers have experience in this department (both for completely different reasons) and he’s prepared to help out whenever it happens (once again, only if you’d like) or to just wait patiently until you snap out of it and you two can continue whatever you were both doing beforehand. It’s no trouble at all.

Papyrus is a really relaxed kind of guy. So naturally, the kind of dates you guys go on are going to be the same. He doesn’t really see the point of going anywhere, you know? He isn’t completely against it but it's also not something he specifically requires if that makes sense. If he ever does decide to take you out, it’ll be to places like parks or maybe even a greenhouse since that sounds right up your alley, or maybe it’s just him watching you go ham with buying plants. He’ll be half horrified at the amount of money you’re spending half (overly) supportive. If you were wondering, yes he finds it adorable that you’ve named the plants. You will watch him several times chatting it up with the plants.

----------

You, exiting the bathroom: Hey pap did you pick a movie out yet or-

Papyrus, holding a small plant: no way she did that

You: wh-

Papyrus: oh my toriel

Papyrus: expose that bitch Susan

You: what the hell is happening right now

Papyrus: shhh

Papyrus: we’re having a conversation

You: ???

Papyrus: rude

----------

Otherwise, the date is guaranteed to be an indoor kinda thing. It can go from a cuddle session to you reading out loud to him, a karaoke session with him using an overly exaggerated awful voice, Papyrus throwing puns at you all night, you name it and he’ll have it done.

He also 100% is best friends with your cat. They’re soulmates. Attached at the hip. With one comes the other. If you ever have Papyrus curled up on the couch your cat is definitely on his chest resting as well. He’s always been more of a cat person seeing as he feels spiritually connected with their sleeping habits.

Slightly off-topic but there was this one time where he was at your place and caught you practicing your craft.

----------

Papyrus, walking in: hey honey have you se-

You, about to light up a candle:

Papyrus:

You: oh y’know

Papyrus:

You: don’t mind me

Papyrus:

You: my place just needed some protection

Papyrus:

Papyrus: [walks back out]

----------

Does Papyrus understand a lot about witchcraft? No, not really but he’s supportive regardless. He just wants to see you laughing and being happy. Usually, when it comes to spending time together he’ll leave the choice up to you by default, but he’ll be pleasantly surprised if you switch it up and ask him instead occasionally.

If you’re interested in psychology and how emotions work you’ve come to the right skeleton. Which is pretty ironic seeing as he can be emotionally constipated the majority of the time. But scientifically speaking he knows plenty, he’s just bad at actually feeling and expressing them. It would be very interesting to him to hear everything you have to say on the topic since honestly, he could use any and all information he could get in this department.

If Papyrus had to pick only one thing about you that was his favorite, it’d be your tendencies to make bracelets and flower crowns. He normally wouldn’t wear stuff like that himself but if his cute date mate made them for him? They’re never going to come off of him. He’s sleeping? They’re on. He’s working? They’re on. At Muffet’s? They’re on. He’s gotten teased about it plenty but he really couldn’t bring himself to care because they’re just not going to come off. It’s kinda gross really. If he ever gets dirt on them he still wouldn’t take it off. It’s proven to be a problem.

#hi hello yes you literally are such a sweetie and i'd die for you #thank you so much for sending this in! it was fun to write!#Undertale matchups #matchup #Underswap #Underswap x reader #Underswap papyrus #Underswap Papyrus x reader #x reader #reader #y/n

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mysleepdeprivedass · 4 years

Text

Okay. It's like 4am and I need to share with you my AU over this fandom.

The post must be filled with misspelling or some sentence can make no sense buuuttt sorry I guess.

I'm not completely in the fandom but I freaking like the fancontent (I read a LOT of fancontent) sooo anyway. I saw this headcanon time to time so I put my idea in.

MIRACULOUS LADYBUG (honestly right now I have a fever for Ml fancon and fic sooo probably my next post will be ML content )

Honestly the headcanon risk to be kinda messed up and just a big less to read.

Anyway.

Rock/metal! Marinette (with a lil' bit of nerd!Adrien) AU

Sooo (I'm going with point and plus I just translate what I've written

• listening Jagged Stone (and she is a big fan)

• listen a lot a rock band, punk and metal band too.

• Like the old rock French band (like telephone - Which is a real French band if you want listen -)

• Under cut, that's she cut herself. Because she not going to paid 30€ for that and because she did that behind her parents back. She used to cut her mother and father hair (she like doing her family's hair -don't know it's the sentence lean something-)

• she have short hair cut (like at the base of the neck)

• Have few piercing (ear and some on her face (one rand of helix on her left ear, two conch and a industrial on her right ear, tragus on her right ear, stretch on each ear and 2nd earring on each ear. Septum and smiley, tongue and transversal labret.

• she's done almost all a piercing during her rebellious phase (in middle of her middle school) because dang she not going to paid 75€ for a hole on her ear (disclaimer : do not pierced yourself it's dangerous and must be do by a professional, I know that because I have personally some piercing and it's better to do it in a shop with someone you can trust)

•Nor is she oblivious about her piercing. She saw a LOT of video about piercing. She clean the space that's she wan going to pierced like a pro, an she use medical needless (that she buy in pharmacy - you can buy catheter on pharmacy-) She only go on shot for four of her piercing (her tongue, her lip, nose and mouth piercing)

• For a long time, her classmates thought that she pierced in a shop.

• They know the truth during a party at Juleka's place. They're was playing truth OU dare and Alya (who dream to get a piercing) Say that she would love to have a piercing (her parents said that will never happen under theire roof) Marinette tell her that she can pierced her because she have already pierced herself (begging in 6eme -I think it's the equivalent of the 6th grade-) Her first piercing was the helix's (all her classmates are kinda shook )

• oddly a week after the party, when Alya Returned from Marinette home she got home with two new helix on her right ear.

• la class décide de faire une soirée et Marinette percé tout le monde au moins un truc sur leur corps (elle part dans plusieurs pharmacie acheter des aiguilles et acheté sur un site qu'elle connais des prothèses de piercings et des truc pour clipé l'endroit a percé)

• she plays drums

• she like to brings her battery bench at school and she do some impro during break.

• She still love the color pink. One of her motto it's " Punk and rock need more pink" because dang because she love punk and rock doesn't mean she can't love pink.

• Her bedroom it's a weird but pleasant mixed of skull, pink skull, and random things associated with rock/punk style with pink

• like in her bedroom, you can see some studded and chains object and just Beside and little stuff pink kitten teddy and sit beside the kitten she have A goat with static crosses teddy (also pink )

• She have some satanic cercle and gems in her room (she kinda interested with Wicca stuff even she's not doing it everyday)

• she like cute and pink stuff

• her terrace/balcony have a mini-garden with roses, dahlia and a lot of succulents.

• Slay cat eye-liner and eyeshadow pencil.

• She ended by dye her hair, first she got a lock of hair pink and she just got a split hair black and pink (she's dyeing her hakr by herself, when she met Luka, Luka help her)

-To be honest now, it's like 5am and I never thought that translate some shitty idea take so long xD need to take a break. Now it's midday Soo let's go continued-

• When her class know she can do hair, she became theire unofficial hairdresser ( everyone paid her event if in the beginning she refused to be paid. Everyone try to snuk in their money in her stuff in the weirdest way possible) and when she opened deisgn commission she do some on their clothes.

*Scene *

- Alix what are doing IN my locker ?"

- I want to see the inside. Lovely locker, where I haven't been absolutely stuck for 30 mi.

- Just get out and get your butt out of my backpack.

• Her parents a 100% supportive over her chose. But sometimes they said no for some of stuff she want to do.

*Scene*

-No Marinette , believe me that's you're going to regret to do a hawk.

- Come one mom !

- * sigh* Imma going to hide your father's hair clippers and scissors. Believe me it's for your own good.

- No Marinette you are not going to shave your eyebrows !

- But Mom !

- No "But Mom,"! I take away your scissors and shaver

- You will make yourself a split tongue when you no longer live under this roof. Out of the question that I see a tongue split in half under this roof !

- No Marinette you're not too "cool" and to "rock'n'roll" for not eating your carrots. Now get your butt here and finish your vegetables.

- *sad Minecraft villager sound *

• People think that Marinette is some cold deadpan mean bitch before Alya come in her class. Alya had always know people like that (who look cold but are more afraid and shy to talk to people and just look scary ) Alya is the first friend (really friend) of Marinette because she don't give a shit about her look. When the two begging to be friends, the class notice that Marinette it's not mean like that though she is. And the class begging to talk to Marinette and be friend with her.

• She become deputies of her class because she's done with Chloe's bullshit and everyone accepted rapidly to have her like class president. Everyone is kinda shook about organization et Benevolent's Marinette can be. After that everyone really like Marinette and she like the mom friends of everyone but everyone know that she can always be scary especially if she angry and someone pissed her off more.

• Her class know about her deisgn hobit and dream during de hats conteste and that's she made almost all her clothes.

• When she hang out with friends concerts (people she met at some rock concert ) they decided to have a tattoo. Marinette have a Ladybug under her right foot. Alya is the first to know because during a sleepover, Marinette forget to hide it. Her parents are the seconds to know (same mistake she forgets to hide it with socks). Adrien know while being Chat Noir (he was hang out at her balcony and she was laying on the floor and he see it )

• inverse Crush au. Adrien fell in love to Marinette because she's the first to see who he is and don't try to put him on a pedestal and Adrien can see that's she is very different that her look can send like personality. Marinette love Chat Noir because he is her very first friend that she thrust completely regardless of her look. (Because even in the beginning she still suspicious about Alya)

• When she is Ladybug almost all of her peircings disappeared (her nose ring, stretch, helix's and her miraculous stay)

• she were her miraculous on her second ear lobe holes

• Tikki listening rock and punk music (honestly I want to see Tikki dancing with eavy hard metal in the room)

•Even she know she can't do that. she brings abandoned animals at home. She clean them and feed them in her rope before take them to a refugee or a veterinary. She let for the first time Jagged Stone because she found Fang hidden in a alley. She noticed that he have a collar so she bring him up to a veterinary where she have the habit to go. The collard have the information for contacted Jagged. Fang letting Marinette take him because she have the same smell that Jagged, some metal and vegetal leather.

• Marinette help Adrien to scare his fan. All of them just run away from Marinette. She become unofficially his bodyguard in school.

•She know how to defend herself and scare people because she go to a lot of underground concert and it's not always nice.

• She swear like a sailor. Not in front of her parents. She swear a lot when she frustrated or angry. And know Hawkmoth know that he is forbidden to send a Akuma past 2.30am, because the last Akuma have to deal with a really really angry ladybug (that was the first night since a very long week of sleep deprived and anxiety and a lot of work plus she was on her period which hurt like hell so she was pissed) No one speak about this day. Because the Akuma was running away from her

• Marinette smoke a little bit (most of the time during concerts when she hang out with older people and in rare occasion when she really really freaking out and her anxiety is very high)

• Woke up with eavy metal and hard rock. Tikki just well, have to take the habit

• Adrien is a big dork and nerd. Wear glasses and more "nerd" clothes during school, He is just a big weeb, and do 24h/7d anime and manga ref, Marinette laugh a lot about it +except pun she don't like them)

• Marinette save his phone number with nickname " cutie weebo"

• Adrien save her phone number with nickname "Iron princess"

• Discord group t'chat with Nino, Alya, Mari and Adrien. Name of the group : Rejects of the society Aka. DjDiscount (Nino), Almost-A-Reporter (Alya), Pinkipie-turn-to-emo (Marinette), KingOfTheWeebWorld (Adrien )

• Discord group t'chat for the class (because during my idea have this fever about texting fanfiction so why not, I always read texting fanfiction btw)

Marinette : Prez'AndPunk.

(given by Adrien)

Adrien : Usui Takumi (Weeb).

(Give by himself, everyone know the ref at Kaichouwa maid-sama, excepted Marinette who don't watch anime le read manga. and nobody explain to Marinette the link between their usernames)

Alya : Laydbloger

(By herself )

Nino : SmookWeedNotEveryday

(Giving by Marinette, who saw him hang out with smoker pal and she saw him smoke one, she know the people with who he was.)

Mylène : ImNotAMonster

(Giving by herself)

Ivan : TeddyBear

(By Mylène )

Alix : AlixDontPlayDespacito

(By herself, because Kim just do a full straight week with the same lame joke with Alexa play despacito but put Alix, at the first Alix going for AlixDontPlayDespacitoYou'reShithead but she changed it )

Kim : ICanDoAllBet

(by himself)

Max : Smartass

(By himself, kinda help by Kim, Alix and Marinette, during a all night up when Max and Marinette help Kim and Alix for school homework)

Nathanaël : TryToFoundSomeStreetCreedArtist

( inside joke between Marinette, Alix, Nathanaël and Marc)

Chloé : MyFatherWillKnowAboutThat

(Given by Adrien, Alya, Nino and Marinette after they have do a Harry Potter marathon. Because of the Look like between Chloe and Draco. It's Adrien, who change her username)

Sabrina : NotAWitchYet

(Inside joke between Chloe and her. Given by herself)

Rose : ILiveForMyOTP

(Given by herself, after a discussion between Juleka, Luka and her when she hang out at Juleka's home )

Juleka : IDrinkDarkCoffeeLikeMySoul

(Given by Luka, who stole her phone, inside joke between the two and for some revenge)

• Marinette hide her shyness with her "cold" style. But when she became friend with her classmates she more confortable and became very protective around them, a dont' hesitates to become physically violent. (Happen most of the time with, Alix (because she don't know when to stop before begging a fight) Rose Juleka and Nathanael (who are most of the time bully) and Adrien (she save him from his fan and stupid fuck boy ))

• After she became president of her class. The other class rep and professor don't like her (because of her look) and Marinette disregard all of them because on had they handle Chloe's bullshit. When class rep's and professor see that she competent and do a great shot they tolerate her and begging to appreciate her.

• She hang out with bullied people, she protected them (scaring their bully)

• she still a cinnamon rolls, especially with Tikki, Tikki is also the first to know that Marinette have anxiety. honestly she just a cinnamon rolls with her closest friends and family.

• Sty all night speaking with Tikki about ancient holder while they listen music.

• Sassy, like so much sass from her that it should illegal, when she's Ladybug she gives security and leadership vibe, people juste like her. And no one is afraid of her (Conversely when she is "Marinette")

•Sass a lit Hawkmoth about he fashion style about his Akuma. And during latest Akuma she just swear a lot again him. Because Hawkmotherfucker I need to sleep. And my coffee privileged just go revoked.

• She love hang out with Chat Noir. She try to flirt with him (when she's Ladybug) but he is so oblivious that he never understand and just friendzoned her very hard. (And because I'm a sucker for oblivious Adrien and Marinette)

• She fight some bullies (because fuck it I went a scene after she fight for Adrien and he heal her)

•Also kinda buff! Marinette ?

• She have anxiety and can have Anxiety attack (she can control them sometime ) She hide her anxiety very young. Because little she was shy and have anxiety and wearing and listen rock and punk music help her for be more protected like a shield against everything around her.

• Marinette is vegetarian (because why not) since primary school. And most of a leather clothes she make are vegetal leather or false leather.

•And she love wearing leather, like combat boots, jacket and pants.

Sooo it's took a day to finish to translate everything but Voilà. If you want pick some of the idea feel free to do it just tag me please. You also can reblog and feel free so add more.

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lifeofclonewars · 4 years

Text

Plo Noon, Compet, Sinkspur, Dooffe, and Spewst

Part 2 to Wolffe Koon and the Missing Aliit Members (Sequel to Zoolffe, Stinker, Zoost, Gonet, and Glo Koon. I recommend you read that first). Part 6 of Pun Wars (I’d appreciate if you read those first, but not required for understanding).

As always, AO3 link is below if you prefer that.

Summary:

*hacker voice* I’m In Petition to get GPS trackers for Wolffe for his aliit

Jurassic Park I second

Keeling Over Same

Thorn In Your Side Definitely Sorry Boost and Sinker

T-Mobile No, I totally get it

Werewolf? There Wolffe! I hate you all

In which Plo gets lo-- er, sidetracked-- around noon, Comet attempts to adopt a penguin, Sinker spurs on the group chat, Wolffe makes a doof of himself, and Boost continues to spew facts.

----

Chat: Fett Dynasty

Jurassic Park

Wait, seriously?

Wow, that was less time than I thought

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

Yeah, same

But we’re 100% sticking together this time

T-Mobile

Yeah, cause some of us can’t watch a 10 y/o properly

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

Boost

T-Mobile

Yeah?

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

Shut it

Think Outside The Fox

Lol

----

Two weeks after the Zoo Incident, the Koons were headed out in public again. Destination: the aquarium. Buir insisted they’d be able to handle it, as long as they didn’t split into groups this time. Boost agreed readily, excited to put his new zoology book facts to the test. Comet was most enthusiastic about seeing more penguins. Sinker and Wolffe? Well, they were looking for a chance to prove their trustworthiness when watching Comet again. Even if they weren’t splitting up.

Wolffe had a feeling his brothers’ increasingly chaotic shenanigans from staying at home is what pushed his dad into planning this trip.

(Probably somewhere between Sinker and Boost screaming while threatening to re-dye each other’s hair and Comet sneak-attacking Sinker and causing them to almost stumble into Mom’s favorite vase. Or maybe between Comet trying to get Warthog and Meerkat to let him set Vandor on their backs and Boost reciting his zoology book up the staircase to bug Wolffe. Actually, likely after ba’vodu Alph’s kids visited one day and created more chaos in two hours than the four of them had managed to make in a week.)

The aquarium was across the city from the zoo. While it was smaller in perimeter, it had multiple floors, something the zoo was unable to do. Three levels in all, plus a sort-of-a-stadium where they held demonstrative shows, and seemingly more crowded than the zoo.

Given the space differences, the number of people was likely the same. But due to the closer quarters, staying together and not splitting up— intentionally or not— would present itself as a challenge.

The entrance had been filled with people packed like sardines. Somehow, the Koons had made it through without incident and then were off to the nearest bit of wall to plan. Immediately, Sinker slumped against it. Boost had been the one to grab a map this time; he took his time making a show out of unfurling the paper.

“This place looks sofishticated,” buir stated. More puns, because what is a Koon family trip without them, apparently. Not that he was wrong; the place was an odd cross between neoclassical and modern architecture. Like someone mashed Ancient Greece and the city’s downtown into one building and somehow pulled it off.

“Why yes, yes it does,” Boost responded with a dramatic flair. He scanned the map, then folded it up, tucking it under his arm. “We’re going to the sharks first because I said so.”

Buir leveled him with a look but when his other three sons shrugged their shoulders, off they went.

The sharks weren’t in the immediate vicinity. Instead, it was across the building and on the second level. A quick trip through the nearest staircase and a walk across, and they were there. A plastic reef greeted them as they walked into the exhibit.

Once inside, glasses lined both lines, holding a rainbow of fish, flora, and other marine creatures. Sharks swam about, minding their own business and going about whatever giant fish did on a daily basis. Some of the tanks only held certain species of sharks, while others (the larger ones) held a wide array.

Informative signs stood wedged in corners and in front of the glass. Comet spent his time pointing out things mentioned on signs in real life. Sinker simply observed, and Boost began to talk their ears off once more. The zoology book he had gotten at the zoo had just added fuel to the fire.

Chat: Fett Dynasty

Banana Sink

Boost stop talking and let me enjoy the killer fish in peace challenge

Hunter-Gatherer

...what

Thorn In Your Side

You good there, Sinker?

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

We’re by the sharks. Boost is flaunting his zoology brain again

Green Man

I approve

Banana Sink

You don’t get a say in this, Mr. Biologist

We’ve been at the aquarium all of 10 minutes and he hasn’t shut up once

Sixes

r.i.p. your ears

Have fun

Banana Sink

Gree please adopt him, kidnap him, something!

It’ll do both of us a favor

Old Man Dad Bly

Gree, vod, Do Not

Green Man

Sorry, ori’vod, that sounds like a good plan…

Lakes

Have fun, Gree

I’ll be ready if you just so happen to need bailing out

Regardless of what was happening between the cousins, Boost ignored the notifications and continued to talk more. Honestly, not that that was a surprise. He probably couldn’t even feel the phone buzzing over how fast his vocal cords were working.

As they moved towards the exit, buir turned, stated, “Stay jaw-some,” and continued on. Sinker shared an exasperated look with Wolffe before following after him. Comet raised an eyebrow, grabbed his eldest brother’s hand, and dragged him along.

They exited and Boost once again took charge, leading them to the nearest exhibit. This time: whales.

“Whale, whale, whale, what do we have here?” buir questioned as they entered and turned towards the first set of whales. Behind the glass was a trio of dwarf sperm whales— the smallest whale species, according to both the plaque and Boost’s running commentary.

“Is anyone going to keep a running number this time?” Wolffe suggested.

“I do every day,” Sinker admitted, “but not because I want to. It’s like a permanent fixture in my head to try to keep me sane as I listen to them.” At that, Comet snickered into his free hand. “He’s only at three but that’s bound to rocket sooner rather than later.”

“Tell me when he hits ten,” Comet said. Sinker rolled his eyes and nodded. They were all vulnerable to Comet’s requests and they knew it. Try as they might, it was hard to say no to him. Stupid baby brother effect.

The aquarium didn’t have as many kinds of whales as they did sharks. Besides the dwarf sperm whales, they had belugas, orcas, and a few others Wolffe didn’t bother reading the plaques of. At one of the tanks, one of the employees was feeding the whales.

Buir’s face lit up in sudden comprehension. He listened to Boost chatter on, and, after a pause where Boost caught his breath after an exclamation, opened his mouth. “You’re krilling me right now! That’s super cool!”

Sinker looked dead inside.

“Hey, cheer up, Sink,” Comet chirped at him. “Sometimes life can be over-whale-ming. It’s okay.”

“Not you, too,” he mumbled, dropping his head into his hands. Comet just laughed and skipped over to buir.

As Comet began to recount what just happened, Boost turned to the other two. “Did I just hear Comet make his own whale pun?” The look on Sinker’s face said enough. Boost laughed. “I’m so proud of him. You’ll be fine, Sink. Everything whale be okay. Whether that’s once we leave the exhibit or the aquarium is up to debate, though.”

“You stink.”

“No worse than you.”

They continued through the end of the exhibit with more bickering and teasing. The exit opened up into a hallway filled with people. Seeing the crowd, they stayed by the doorway but not blocking it. Buir turned toward his silver-haired son. “Is there anywhere you’d like to see? I fear we’ve been leaving you out of these decisions.”

He shrugged. “I’m fine with it. But seeing sea otters again would be cool.”

Consulting the map told them the sea otters were on a different floor. Once again, they wormed their way through the crowds, hands and arms grasped, until they came across a staircase and made their way to the third floor.

Unsurprisingly, the third floor had as many people as the other two floors did. One crammed walk and they made it to their destination. These exhibits were different from the ones they had seen so far. The sharks’ had been tanks filled almost completely to the ceiling. The whales’ had the same height of tanks but had been half-filled, leaving room for air and whatever tricks the smaller ones felt like attempting.

Instead, there was a shallower pool and many rocks for the sea otters to climb around on. All things considered, it didn’t look too different than the one they had seen at the zoo. And just like at the zoo, Comet began to wave.

A small otter wandered their way closer to the glass. It waved and Comet’s face split into a grin. How the Force was he this lucky with animals? He must radiate some pure, shiny, approachable vibes to them because this was uncanny.

“Aww,” buir said, watching the little bugger and his new friend wave at each other. “How otterly adorable.”

Whether he was calling Comet or the otter cute didn’t matter: either way, Sinker groaned.

“Oh, no!” Boost exclaimed. “Not an otter pun!” His raised voice and exaggerated gestures as he said it led Sinker to reaching over and punching him.

“Stop making fun of me.”

The maroon-haired teen’s face scrunched up. “I didn’t say anything related to you.”

“It was implied.”

“Would you rather I start listing facts about otters?” He raised an eyebrow at his younger brother.

“I’m good.”

“So I thought.”

Wolffe rolled his eyes as the duo turned back to the otters. Comet had made his way to the plaque and was scanning it for names. Continuing with his tradition of trying to find individual ones and waving to each, he exuded elation. His joy appeared to be rubbing off as other groups, both passing and watching the otters themselves, smiled at his antics and even beginning waving themselves.

Once done, he climbed on top of the plaque.

“Comet—” buir started but didn’t get far.

“I’m fine!” The ten-year-old flung himself off of his perch and onto Wolffe’s back. He slammed into him, immediately wrapping himself around his older brother’s torso and beaming.

“A bit of warning would’ve been nice,” Wolffe grumbled as he readjusted his vod’ika. He should’ve seen this coming, especially given how many times he’d carried around the stinker at the zoo. And his non-diminishing penchant for monkeying around.

Snickers came from behind them. Sinker and Boost, for sure. Probably some bystanders, as well. He turned just in time for Sinker to yank his phone down. The odds of a picture landing itself in the cousin chat and everyone teasing him grew higher with the grin spreading across the brat’s face.

His phone buzzed once in his pocket, then a fast-paced fourteen following it. Yep.

The look he threw his brother must’ve instilled some sense of fear in him. The thirteen-year-old gulped, then turned to their dad. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Dolphins!” Comet blurted out from behind Wolffe.

Boost nodded. “Yeah, let’s see the dolphins.”

And off they went once more.

Banana Sink

Attached: piggyback-time.jpeg

Think Outside The Fox

Aww

Having a smiling kid on his back cancels out the scowl

Jurassic Park

Wow

It really does

Lakes

Petition to pay Comet to live on Wolffe’s back to cancel it out forever

Zzzzzz

Seconded

Green Man

I would pay to see that

Lakes

Smh Gree can you read I said that

Green Man

...

T-Mobile

I can pay him candy to stay until lunch

Lakes

Beautiful, ty

*hacker voice* I’m In

You’re a miracle worker, Boost

T-Mobile

Why thank you

It’s a talent of mine

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

@T-Mobile friendly reminder I’m missing an eye, not an ear

And I have never heard you whisper once in my life

Including 2 minutes ago

Neigh

That was so passive-aggressive I love it

Thorn In Your Side

😂 aliit, I love you guys so much

Think Outside The Fox

We know, Thorn

You remind us every 10 minutes

Lakes

So did it not work?

Werewolf? There Wolffe?

You’re really asking?

Getting to the dolphins was a quick trip on the level they were on. With no workers throwing out puns, buir, once again, took the responsibility upon himself. As they watched the mammals flip and goof off, he told them to his sons. “That was flipping fantastic” and “They have a legasea” came first.

When Sinker, predictably, groaned, he turned. “My son, I must have you know, all of my puns are on porpoise.”

Sinker groaned louder. “I know, buir. I know.”

While watching the flips and tricks, buir’s attention was drawn toward a flyer posted by the glass. It announced the daily presentation times, where the dolphins, seals, orcas, and other animals put on a show. Looking at the times on the paper and the one on his watch, he called his sons over.

“If we eat now and quickly, we will have ten minutes to make it to the stadium for the next show.”

With nods of agreement in response, the Koons set off for the restaurants. Seating outside of the food court-esque area allowed guests both buying and bringing their meals to stop and enjoy their time. Tables and booths packed with people spanned the area. After a few minutes of careful checking, Boost pointed out an empty booth for them to settle into.

Like at the zoo, the Koons brought their lunches. Sandwiches, cheese sticks, fruit snacks, and whatever else Comet and Sinker had snuck into the bags. The fruit snacks — dinosaur and shark themed — felt fitting for the occasion.

Sinker and Boost fell into their normal routine of bickering as they ate. Comet made comments at such precise moments there was no way he wasn’t trying to instigate a fight. The little stinker was too impish for his own good at times.

In fact, the bickering lasted so long and escalated so far that they missed the show. Bickering had overtaken eating, lunch extended, and suddenly buir noticed it was ten minutes past the show’s start time.

Comet pouted at the news; the two teens glared daggers at each other. If looks could kill, they’d both be dead.

With a sigh, Wolffe asked when the next show started. Buir thanked his eldest for reminding the group of the other opportunities and proceeded to look it up. In two hours, the search told them. With that, everyone finished eating, conversation now switching to more facts from Boost.

They packed up the remnants of their food and headed back inside the rest of the aquarium. People continued to mill about, many also coming off a lunch break. Their group gravitated towards a — somehow — empty bench and set the bag down. Comet plopped himself on the seat between the bag and the end. Sinker sat on the other side of the bag.

“I’m going to the bathroom. Anyone else need to?” buir asked. Shaking heads answered him. “Alright. Stay here, I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes, buir,” Wolffe responded for his brothers. The rascals already zoned out and started doing their own thing. Their father set off in the direction of the bathrooms and Wolffe turned his attention to his vode.

Comet examined the map, though he appeared to be looking at the times of the demonstrations more than the building. Boost made himself comfortable on the far end of the bench, phone in hand. Sinker had his own phone out and — yep, there was a buzz. Sighing, Wolffe settled himself between Sinker and Boost and pulled out his own.

Jurassic Park

Fives, stop trying to convince people your full name is Fivestones

Sixes

Never!

Neigh

Did I read that right?

Jurassic Park

And stop trying to convince people Echo’s name is Echocardiography

ECHO Echo echo

It’s their fault for falling for it

Lakes

I’m sorry WHAT

Sixes

You see, when you have cousins named Pontius and Fox and literally all the names of the Koons and Unique and so on, it’s not that difficult to trick them

ECHO Echo echo

It really isn’t

Lakes

Wow, thanks for that

T-Mobile

I like my name a lot, thank you very much

Banana Sink

That’s not fair. I think subclan 2 has the weirdest names of all of us, not my subclan

Think Outside The Fox

I didn’t ask to be named this

Lakes

Mood

*hacker voice* I’m In

Yeah, but neither of you have changed it despite being legally able to

Green Man

CODY

*hacker voice* I’m In

What kind of name is Gree anyway

Green Man

DUDE

The texting continued, as it was bound to in the Fett clan. Wolffe frowned when he glanced at the time. It had been about fifteen minutes since buir had left. If there was a line, that’d be about right. Not too odd, but if it got any longer… eh, they’ll cross that bridge if they get to it. He shot off a quick text to buir, asking to text him when he was on his way back.

“Comet, stop poking Sinker.”

Said little brother stuck his tongue out but stopped. He moved on to poking and picking at the bench instead.

Thorn In Your Side

… aNyWay

I have news!

Think Outside The Fox

Is it really news if we all can guess what it is

Thorn In Your Side

Shevi

I have the privilege of announcing that the Annual Fett Family Gathering is happening in exactly a month and 3 days from today!

Think Outside The Fox

Why couldn’t you just put the date like a normal person

Thorn In Your Side

Because I knew it would bug you

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

I gotta say, that’s reasonable

Thorn In Your Side

Ty Wolffe

At least someone’s on my side here

Think Outside The Fox

I despise you all

Green Man

Aww we love you too Fox

Think Outside The Fox

Why do I even try anymore

Thorn In Your Side

So, yeah, further info to come

Keeling Over

Let’s avoid another Mud Incident this year, thanks

Hunter-Gatherer

I second that

Orange Gal

Lol of course you two do

But I agree

Zzzzzz

I still have pics if anyone wants them

Neigh

So evil, Zari, so evil

Zzzzzz

They include you, ori’vod 😁

Neigh

I Resent this

It had been over half an hour now. While the chat was always a source of amusement, it didn’t stop the concern seeping into Wolffe’s mind. Sure, the aquarium was busy, but not that busy. Thirty minutes was pushing it for a single bathroom; this place had multiple. He hadn’t gotten a text back yet, either.

“Hey,” he said, grabbing attention away from phones. “It’s been half an hour since buir left. Something’s up, don’t you think?”

Boost frowned. “That is an abnormally long amount of time.”

“Should we try calling him?” Sinker suggested.

“That’s a bit awkward to answer in the bathroom.” Boost crossed his arms as he made his point.

“Yeah, but he could always decline it and text us a response instead,” Sinker argued.

They did that, to no avail. No response, calling or texting. This was not a good sign.

The boys stood up, corralled themselves together, Boost putting on the backpack, and headed over to the bathroom to see what was up. Hopefully, nothing bad happened.

When they got there, there were a couple of people at the sinks, but that was it. No sign of their dad anywhere. There wasn’t a sign of an accident or kidnapping or anything, either.

“What,” Sinker stated.

“I have no clue,” Boost responded. They turned toward Wolffe.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I have as much of a clue as you do.” They stood in silence for a moment, Comet glancing between the other three, waiting for a reaction. “Let’s check the other bathrooms. Maybe he went to a different one?”

Buir didn’t show up at any of the bathrooms on the level. Again, there were no signs of struggle or of anything bad that could’ve occurred. They agreed it wasn’t likely he’d gone to another level. As they went back to the bench they had occupied earlier, the irony of the situation fell on Wolffe. They had stayed as a group specifically so they didn’t lose Comet and in the process ended up losing their dad. Shi kaysh jate‘kara.

“We lost buir,” he said simply. Comet frowned; Sinker looked like he was holding in a laugh.

“That we did,” Boost agreed. “Have fun trying to get your way out of this one.”

Wolffe rolled his eyes and turned to the silver-haired teen. “Any ideas, provided you’re going to keep your promise?”

Sinker’s eyes widened. “I was hoping you forgot about that,” he mumbled like it hadn’t been only two weeks. He cleared his throat and said, louder, “Uh, how about the front desk?”

“They’ll have the announcement system to call him over,” Boost pointed out.

“Great. Front desk it is.” He took a hold of Comet’s shoulder in one hand, Sinker’s shoulder in the other. Boost led the way through the exhibits and rooms until they reached the entrance. A Visitor’s Services desk stood behind the ticket desk and they made their way over.

After the person in front of them left, they stepped up. Comet directly in front of him, Boost to his left and Sinker to his right. “What can I do for you boys?” the elderly lady behind the desk asked.

“We got separated from our father,” Wolffe said. Saying it out loud to someone who wasn’t one of his brothers increased Wolffe’s awareness of everything going on around them. Great. He pushed the urge to shift his weight away. This was fine. They were doing the responsible thing, after all.

The lady peered at them over the top of her glasses like she belonged in a movie with a judgemental librarian and not on an aquarium staff. She was definitely taking stock of how old he and his brothers were. “Is this a frequent occurrence?”

“No, this is the first time.”

“Well, as parents get older, things like this can occ—-”

“He’s not that old,” Wolffe cut her off.

“Yeah, he’s like, forty-something, right?” Boost piped up.

Wolffe turned to the teen and frowned. “You didn’t need to share that.” He got a shrug in response. His phone buzzed and he turned toward his other teenaged brother. “Give me your phone.”

Sinker narrowed his eyes at him. “Why should I?”

“No repeats of the zoo.” He held out his hand expectantly. Sinker rolled his eyes and handed it to him. He turned and did the same to Boost, just in case.

All the while, the lady watched them with a sharp eye. “Has your father had memory problems?” she said, bringing their attention back to why they were there.

Wolffe scowled. “No, and I don’t see why that’s pertinent information. Can you help us locate our dad or not?” Comet leaned back a smidge and gave his chest a headbutt with the back of his head. Wolffe glanced down and Comet gave him a small smile.

They stood in silence as they waited for a response. Again, it seemed like the lady was trying to nitpick details about them and what they meant by observing them. Finally, she pushed her glasses up her nose and sniffed once. “I can make an announcement and try to call him here.”

“That’s all we’re asking for.”

After giving the necessary information, the Koon boys were shuffled to the side. They waited near the desk as the intercom stated Plo Koon to the Visitors' Services Desk. Your children are waiting for you. The lady continued to help other people. Everyone seemed to be getting the same supercilious treatment they had received.

The minutes passed slowly until a frantic movement from by the entrance to the aquarium-proper caught Wolffe’s eye. It was buir, politely not-quite-rushing his way through the crowds to his sons.

Comet looked at Wolffe, then in the direction his ori’vod was looking. He perked up, a grin stretching across his face. “Buir!”

“Comet! Wolffe, Sinker, Boost.” He came to a stop in front of them.

“Where were you?!” Boost exclaimed. “We looked, but you weren’t in any of the bathrooms.”

Buir’s eyes widened in dawning realization. “I didn’t go to the bathroom,” he admitted. “I got sidetracked by the jellyfish. They are quite fascinating to watch.”

The jellyfish? That was some detour. He must’ve seen the sign for them and forgot his original plan since they were smack dab in the middle of two of the bathrooms. Boost had almost gotten sidetracked when they were searching for buir, but Wolffe had kept him on track. Like father, like son, it seemed. Maybe if he had let Boost get sidetracked, they’d have found buir themselves.

“How about we all go to the bathroom this time, and then the jellyfish?”

“Yes, that sounds like a better plan,” buir agreed. Then, they were off, phones given back, and hoping nobody else got lost.

Banana Sink

We lost buir this time

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

This is exactly why I took your phone in the first place.

Think Outside The Fox

Fjadskldfsa

Guys, we found Wolffe’s talent

Losing his family members in public

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

Gee thanks

Lakes

Any details to share?

T-Mobile

He was going to go to the bathroom but got sidetracked by the jellyfish

Which,,, fair enough

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

So nowhere near my fault this time

Banana Sink

He had to explain to this scowly lady what happened

It was super funny

*hacker voice* I’m In

You actively tried to avoid it and it still happened

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

Again, not my fault

*hacker voice* I’m In

That has got to be the funniest thing I’ve heard all day 😂

Green Man

Wolffe,,, Wolffe, buddy

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

Don’t

Green Man

How?! 😂

*hacker voice* I’m In

Petition to get GPS trackers for Wolffe for his aliit

Jurassic Park

I second

Keeling Over

Same

Thorn In Your Side

Definitely

Sorry Boost and Sinker

T-Mobile

No, I totally get it

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

I hate you all

----

The jellyfish were as enrapturing as buir claimed and Boost had anticipated. One more pun was given as everyone (even Sinker) stood preoccupied by them: this has been a jelly good day! There was something mystical about watching these creatures with no heart or brain swim around and just exist. Comet even made a reference to Finding Nemo when he saw some smaller ones. Sooner than they expected, buir’s alarm had gone off. Close to an hour had passed and none of them had noticed.

Finally, the family made their way, on time, to the show. They snagged seats approximately halfway up the stands. No splash-zone to worry about this time, either, the workers assured. The front walkways had to be accessible for wheelchairs and a surprise in the show. As a result, the stands themselves were closer and they ended up with about the same view as they had at the zoo.

Comet somehow got his hands on the flier buir had passed over on their way in. The flier about ‘adopting’ various animals at the aquarium. “Look at this!” he exclaimed, shoving the paper towards Wolffe.

Adopt a penguin! Yep, that was why buir had avoided it earlier. And likely not quite what Comet thought it was.

Assured Wolffe got a good look, he pushed it towards buir, nearly bouncing in his seat. “Can we please adopt a penguin, buir?” he asked, pulling out the big guns. And by big guns, that meant his cutest puppy dog eyes. “Gedet’ye, buir.” And switching to Mando’a, so it seemed.

Buir considered his options for a moment. “Do you have any money to help pay for it?” he asked gently.

Comet pouted. “Nayc.” He swiveled toward Wolffe. “Ori’vod, tion’nari gar gan—”

“No.”

The pout deepened. Buir reached out and patted his youngest’s back gently. “I’m sorry, ad’ika, but we don’t have the money for that. While it would be quite the experience to adopt one, we don’t have the money to have a dog, cat, and penguin.”

“Okay.” He crossed his arms, only to immediately uncross them and sit up straight as the show began.

Dolphins, seals, and beluga whales performed various tricks while the trainers spouted facts and puns. Sea otters tottered around the ground level and interacted with willing audience members. With every pun, Sinker’s vexation increased and Comet’s and Boost’s elation skyrocketed.

A loud gasp escaped Comet when they brought the rockhopper penguins out to waddle around. “Buir, buir, buir,” he chanted, shaking their father’s arm. “Can I take pictures of them on your phone?!” Chuckling, buir complied and the ten-year-old spent the rest of the penguins’ appearance captivated.

Once the show finished and provided plenty of entertainment, Comet proceeded to drag the family to the penguin exhibit. He couldn’t get enough of them. When they got there, buir leaned in close and said, “Why did the penguin hop across the street?”

“I dunno, why?”

“To get to the other rock!”

Comet burst into giggles and proceeded to take over what had essentially become Boost’s job in overflowing with facts about penguins. Although he loved all penguins, it was clear rockhoppers were his favorites. His earlier disappointment over not being allowed to adopt one had dissipated.

“Buuiiiiir,” Sinker whined with all the gracefulness of a disgruntled thirteen-year-old. “Stoooop, you’re being worse than the workers during the show.”

“Sorry, Sinker. I’ll try to play it more cool from here on out.”

The silver-haired teen slumped into his older brother, Wolffe’s chest muffling the groan he gave. “Why is this my life.”

Wolffe patted his back as he watched Comet have the time of his life. He was in his element here, surrounded by his favorite animal. It would be interesting to see how long this particular interest lasted. Wolffe could picture a future-Comet attempting to become a scientist just to go to Antarctica and see the penguins if it lasted long enough.

Once Sinker picked himself back up, he made his way to Comet. “By the way,” he said, tapping the ad’ika on the shoulder, “the rockhopper pun was the tenth of buir’s. He’s at eleven now and overall we’re at thirteen.”

“Thirteen?” Boost perked up. “Give me a minute and I can make it fifteen.”

Sinker rolled his eyes as Comet smiled. “I can help!” he offered. “I may have looked up penguin puns at home one day. I’ve just been letting buir tell them.”

“Go ahead.”

“Boost, waddle I ever do without you?”

“Let’s hope you never end up too icesolated to find out.”

Buir looked on the verge of tears of happiness; Sinker on the verge of tears of frustration; Wolffe rolled his eyes. “Alright, if that’s all, let’s go somewhere else.”

Comet protested and they stayed another ten minutes. Following that, they found themselves in the general area containing fish from all over the world. As the day dragged on, fewer people crowded the area, each having their fill of sea creatures and leaving. With that, buir allowed them to wander wherever they wanted, provided they stayed within the larger section.

Once Sinker wandered off to find a bench in a different area, buir turned toward Boost. “Any fin is possible, just don’t trout yourself.”

“There’s some-fin special about you. I’m glad you’re my dad.”

“Why thank you, Boost. If you think of a better fish pun, let minnow.”

“That’s a fintastic idea. Will do.”

Half-twirling around, the maroon-haired teen wandered off to examine more tanks. Comet quickly followed him and the two struck up a quiet conversation as they observed crabs and fish. Wolffe stood next to his dad, watching them for a while. Eventually, they split up to visit different exhibits, leaving their ori’vod and buir standing there.

Inside the section of the exhibit they stood in, nobody else was in. When the family had entered, it had been as crowded as rooms were getting at this time of day. Now, all the other guests — like the three youngest Koons — had left for other ones.

Side by side, they watched river fish swimming around. Bluegills and walleyes and trout and more. Without anyone else around, bubbling could be heard from the tanks. That, and the faint whir of the air conditioning. Minutes past and neither dared break the peace which had settled.

A fish started zig-zags when Wolffe cleared his throat. “I think Mom would’ve enjoyed today.”

Buir hummed, hands folded and resting on his torso. “She would have. Especially Comet’s newfound love for penguins and Boost’s for zoology. She was always so excited to watch you boys learning and growing.”

Wolffe remembered her enthusiasm when he and Fox figured out how to rush-attack Bly, Gree, Ponds, and Keeli without them suspecting and had dashed over to tell her and ba’vodu Courey when they were six at a family reunion. Their older cousins had been fourteen, twelve, ten, and eight respectively, and hadn’t even been close to seeing it coming. She had responded with so much joy and happiness to his excitement that six-year-old Wolffe couldn’t help but bask in the warmth of her smile and praise.

There was also that time when he was nine, Boost was five, and Sinker was three, months before Comet was born. Sinker had been preoccupying Dad with something in the corner while Mom had, ever so patiently, helped Boost and Wolffe create customized magnets for NiNi’s birthday. She encouraged their ideas and helped with the difficult steps and shapes. Her hugs when they finished rivaled only those from NiNi. Full of love and warmth and care for her sons.

Most of his memories of her involved that warmth in some shape or another.

“Sinker would be surrounded by even more puns.”

Buir chuckled. “That he would. That he would.”

Memories overtook the two as they remembered just over a decade ago. Silence stretched between them once more while they reflected.

That is, until Sinker came barrelling back into the room. “Did you know they have stingrays here?! Let’s go!” He grabbed their hands and attempted to drag them along while walking backwards.

Right as he appeared to be getting the hang of it, Comet popped up behind him. “Sinker, watch—”

Wolffe lurched forward as Sinker and Comet hit the ground, but managed to stop from falling himself. Buir, having let go in time, watched on, concern and amusement mixing in his eyes.

“Well.” Sinker stood up.

“Thanks for that,” the ten-year-old said, frowning. He pulled himself into a sitting position.

“Sorry. Did you see they have stingrays here?”

“That’s why I came back here, actually.”

They shared a look, then looked at buir. “We were headed that way, weren’t we?” he intoned.

Boost emerged from the doorway. “Did you see the stingrays?”

Sinker pushed him back through the door as Comet picked himself off the ground. “You’re the third person to say that. Let’s go.”

The other two cheered and raced after him. Wolffe shook his head at his brothers’ antics and followed after them, buir not far behind him.

----

Part of the aquarium experience allowed guests to touch the stingrays, provided they washed their hands properly beforehand. The Koons followed procedures and participated. Sinker loved it so much he doled out his only pun of the day: this is a stingray of sunshine today. Buir was so proud, he ended early to take pictures of Sinker and the stingrays.

After that, they collectively decided they had seen enough of the aquarium and they were ready to head home. Buir announced that, like at the zoo, they would stop by the gift shop. This time was for small items only. If they did everything quickly, they’d be home in time for him to prepare dinner by the normal time. That got the brats moving quickly.

Comet somehow found a tiny stuffed Cape penguin that he immediately claimed was Vandor’s best friend and named Atoa. Boost got a small jellyfish squish-thing that seemed like half-stress ball, half-figurine. Sinker found a stingray magnet, of all things, and got a shark one for Wolffe when he didn’t look for anything.

Outside the aquarium, buir stopped them on the steps to take a picture.

“Great! We’ll print this one out, too, and then you can switch it out with the zoo one if you ever want!” Comet told Wolffe. Then he had used the stairs to climb on his shoulders once more and demanded to be carried to the car.

As they settled into the car and began the journey home, Wolffe pulled up the cousin chat and shared some of the news before either of the other teenagers did and completely exaggerated it.

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

Did I mention Comet tried to adopt a penguin earlier?

Zzzzzz

Fdsjldk that’s so cute

Werewolf? There Wolffe?

Not when you’re the one he asks for money to pay for it

T-Mobile

It was cute

I was there, I saw it happen

Werewolf? There Wolffe?

Shush

T-Mobile

He even switched to only Mando’a

Idk why he thought that’d help him but it was cute

Old Man Dad Bly

Now that’s a Fett kid move, all right

Banana Sink

There was a total of 21 puns today

I almost died

ECHO Echo echo

If I didn’t know you, I’d be concerned those were 2 separate events

T-Mobile

Ignore Sinker

He said one of them, so he has no place to talk

Banana Sink

BOOST

T-Mobile

I am so glad you’re shotgun and I’m in the back

Thorn In Your Side

You guys heading back already?

Werewolf? There Wolffe?

Well, Boost managed to drag us around the whole place this fast, so yeah

T-Mobile

😁 I have no regrets

Banana Sink

YOU SHOULD

Green Man

Speaking of regrets

I regret to inform you that Bly is being a sap again

Old Man Dad Bly

You were the one who asked

Green Man

I have No Idea what you’re talking about

Old Man Dad Bly

Attached: screenshot0345.jpeg

Neigh

I know this wasn’t a surprise to me since Gree’s my ori’vod but are any of you surprised?

Hunter-Gatherer

Jurassic Park

Not really, no

T-Mobile

Nope

Orange Gal

Green Man

Alright, alright, I get the point

Thorn In Your Side

Oh, is it Expose Your Vode time?

I think Fox just crashed after staying up for 3 days straight

That’s why he hasn’t said anything lately

It’s been a few hours and even Rys and Corsica together couldn’t wake him

Werewolf? There Wolffe?

Oh, again?

*hacker voice* I’m In

Wolffe

Wolffe what do you mean by again

Werewolf? There Wolffe?

Happened a few times these past 2 semesters

Too much work not enough hours

Thorn In Your Side

...this makes so much more sense now

Lakes

What does?

Thorn In Your Side

He’s sent me some incoherent messages when he’s really sleep deprived this past year

I just thought it was one of his friends who stole his phone sometimes

Lakes

This just makes me glad Wolffe and Fox are going to the same college

At least someone’s there we know to look after him

Werewolf? There Wolffe?

Yeah, his roommate and I complained about him together a lot

Orange Gal

LOL

The chat continued the typical Fett brand of chaos up until about five minutes before they got home. When they did, everyone went about, putting stuff away. Wolffe turned to head off to the kitchen to help buir start dinner when his phone started vibrating — consistently, not the odd pattern from the group chat, so it must be a call. He pulled it out, read the contact name, rolled his eyes, and answered.

“What do you want?”

“Well, hello to you, too, Wolffe.” Cody sounded much too amused on the other end.

“Fine, hi. Get to the point.”

He could practically hear Cody’s grin growing. “What would your dad say about you guys joining us for the Coruscant Deltas’ game against the Serenno Clankers?”

----

Mando’a Translations

Buir: Parent

Ba’vodu: Uncle, Aunt

Vod: Sibling

Ori’vod: Older Sibling

Vod’ika: Younger Sibling

Aliit: Family, Clan

Vode: Siblings, plural

Shevi: Silent (Shev'la is the adjective, so this is my approximation of the verb form)

Shi kaysh jate’kara: Just his luck

Gedet’ye: Please

Nayc: No (negative answer)

Ori’vod, tion’nari gar gan-: Roughly “Big brother, do you have” but it’s cut off halfway through have

Ad’ika: Little one, son, daughter

----

And that's part two! Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about the Fett Clan in this AU, feel free to leave a comment, ask, or message. Also, fun fact: Cross is the only one in the cousin chat who didn't say anything! (That's because he mostly lurks lol). There are more cousins than featured here, they're all just too young for a phone. They'll all be featured in part four. Also also: it has come to my attention that kih'vod is most likely the more accurate term for "younger sibling" and vod'ika is more of an affectionate term. For the sake of continuity in this series, vod'ika will still be used as "younger sibling" but my works outside of this will begin to use kih'vod.

Up next: Cody's, Rex's, Fives', Echo's, and Tup's brand of chaos meets the Koon's brand of chaos during a basketball game. Coming eventually!

#WKatMAM #commander wolffe #boost #comet #sinker #plo koon #b writes #pun wars #star wars #clone wars #star wars the clone wars #star wars clone wars #sw: tcw #sw: cw #writing #modern au

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vividreminisce · 4 years

Text

I Want - Chapter 1

Here’s the first chapter to my completed series, “I Want”. This was something that I had the inspiration to write last year and it did not let me go. I read so many stories from incredible authors in ao3 and I had the itch to had my own story into the many that were written about a special historian/scholar/leader.

I mentioned it in one of my posts that this series is currently completed on ao3 and if you liked this, don’t hesitate to hop over there to give it a read! It would mean the world to me if some people read this on Tumblr too as I feel that it gives people the privacy to put their thoughts and opinions privately, as I read in a post just very recently.

I am very new to posting anything on Tumblr, so I deeply apologize for making mistakes, either with the story or on the tags; I’m total baby with this, but I will do my best to learn!

Without further ado, below are the tags and below that is the actual story! Please enjoy! :D

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Series Summary: When was the last time that anyone thought of their wants? What happens when they realize them after it was almost too late?

A different approach to when the Warrior of Darkness and Crystal Exarch return to the Crystarium after the battle with the Ascian. Emotions run high from several days of healing and only having themselves to sort them out.

Chapter Summary: The battle has been won and now it is time to go home. The Scions of the Seventh Dawn, the Warrior of Darkness, A’viloh Entialpoh, and the Crystal Exarch prepare for the trek out back to the Crystarium. However, the Warrior asks something of the Exarch before they part, both unwilling to leave yet.

Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV

Ship: G’raha Tia/Crystal Exarch x OC

Rating: Mature, SFW,

Writing Tags: Some depictions of medical procedures (not medically trained, so some facts will be medically wrong, but it’s all for the story), Slow Burn, Angst, Hurt, Healing, Comfort, Acceptance, Fluff.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“G’raha… Hold on just a bit more, please….”

“We have made it this far… It would be… A disgrace to my people should their leader fall now…”

“...A disgrace… That is certainly one way to put it… It is not. You have… gone through much these last few days. We all have.”

Whether G’raha wanted to acknowledge those words, or simply make it seem like he did not hear from how quietly the Warrior spoke them, the brunette did not know. The little that he did at the moment was enough to keep him moving. Just like how Ardbert asked of him not too long ago.

He had defeated Hades.

The Crystal Exarch had been saved.

All of the Scions were alive.

And they were all on their way out of The Tempest.

Something curious made the Warrior almost falter: when having spoken the Exarch’s true name, he had shuddered, also losing momentum. His stance had closed, almost as if wanting to shield himself. Once he had noticed how far he was from the Warrior, he did his best to catch up, a slight limp in his step. The Warrior kept his attention elsewhere but took note of that strange happening, instead raising his head to where the surface could be seen. They only needed to climb to the water's edge and then, only then, could they be swept by the waters of Kholusia. At least, that was the theory.

“Follow my lead, Ryne. A’viloh, I expect that you will be the last to climb?”

“Yes. I will give everyone a boost. Please, keep the Exarch close to you.”

“Of course.”

“I… apologize for the burden--”

“We will have none of that, Exarch. Alisaie and I will be right behind you. You have been away from the Tower for too long. We will give you as much healing as we are able, we only ask that you keep moving forward.”

“I trust that you will keep your eyes where your hands lay, Urianger.”

“Of course, my lady.”

A’viloh couldn’t help the slight smile from appearing on his face at hearing his friends--his family--conversing normally. As if they did not just fell one akin to a god, the very same Ascian that was hellbent on making the Eighth Umbral Calamity happen in the Source. He knew that it wasn’t just for show. He could feel their nervous and grateful energy at being able to see the sky another day. It followed Alphinaud when his trembling hands grasped the strong rocks above him, lead Alisaie when she would ask the Exarch if he needed more healing magic, and stayed with Y’shtola when she kept her eyes on the calm waters looming closer. Ryne would glance down occasionally to see that everyone was clinging on with all of their might, and also to guide the Exarch’s hands to the right places. Thancred did not look their way once.

Once the Warrior saw Urianger’s hand reach the surface, he began his climb. His eyes never left the tower of rock in front of him as his mind wandered for a brief moment.

‘I musnt forget to write all of this in my journal…’

=====

His wounds were enough to keep him awake as he swam to the surface. He found Alphinaud’s face firmly planted on the wet sands of the beach, Alisaie shaking him vigorously.

“Alphinaud! For God's sakes…”

Brown eyes turned, next seeing Thancred patting the Exarch’s back as the latter tried to catch his breath. Ryne was instantly at the leader’s side, hand on his bloodied forearm as she quietly spoke to him. Y’shtola was at a distance, doing her best to wring out the water from her dress as it clung to her. Milky eyes locked with A’viloh’s, and judging from her expression, they found her target. She returned to her task of unsticking her dress from her skin, a faint smile on her pale lips.

A’viloh nodded to each head and frowned when he saw that they were one short. Honey and caramel eyes surveyed the land in front of him until they found their goal and slowly swam to the dead-fished Astrologian.

“A’viloh! There you are! Oh, and Urianger too! Is… Is he breathing…?”

Once A’viloh had gotten the weary Elezen to his feet did the Oracle of Light get an answer.

“T… T’would seem that… those lessons… mayhap would have…”

“He will be fine, Ryne,” A’viloh reassured. “How do you all fare…?” he asked, keeping Urianger steady. Strong hands gently patted the Elezen’s back until his breathing had gone steady. Tired amber eyes gave their thanks to the dark knight, nodding in reassurance.

“Aside from my aching back and Ryne’s dress being in tatters, I do believe that we are quite alive.”

A’viloh turned to the twins, Alisaie finally getting her brother up. Alphinaud’s hands went to his face and started to rub all the sand off his red cheeks, a tear or two coming down from how irritated his eyes were. He could read the twin’s lips, the poor Leveilleur cursing the saltiness of the sea. Alisaie sighed deeply and gave her brother’s back one last smack before affirming that they were alright as well.

Thancred turned to regard the leader of the Crystarium. Anyone with eyes could see that he wasn’t doing well and needed to get back to the Tower. Immediately. Gray hues tried to search for the Allagan ones, but the Exarch wouldn’t lift his head. It wasn’t until Thancred stepped closer that he could hear the rasped breathing from the leader.

The gunbreaker took another step, voice hushed as he bent down slightly. “Exarch, we are a bit far from the nearest Amarokeeper and it would not do for you to collapse now. I must ask that you get on my back, I have the strength to carry you.”

Despite his hushed voice, The Warrior of Darkness overhead his words and turned his head, fully expecting the leader to take the offer. Instead, his expression grew dark when he saw the opposite. The Exarch’s normally relaxed posture was more reclusive, trembling hands slowly wrangling in what A’viloh could only guess was nervousness. Faded ears were pinned, and if a tail could be present, he imagined it would either be curled up around one of his injured legs or between them. He saw the Exarch take two deep breaths and finally lift his head.

Allagan red pierced into the Scion’s stern ones, making them go wide. “It is true that my distance from the Tower has depleted my strength. However, if I am to return to my people, it will be by my own two feet. I need only take a bit more time to arrive.”

Thancred strengthened up, and if it had been any other situation, he would have commented on the Exarch’s stubbornness. But now was not the time nor was he in the mood to argue.

The Warrior kept his smile away at the remnants of his old friend appearing, however, it would only get them so far, no pun intended. He stepped to the Exarch’s left, the leader acknowledging him only by turning slightly in his direction. Placing his hand on the leader’s forearm, he gazed in the direction of the nearest civilization, his plan coming forward.

“Thancred, would it be too much trouble for you and Ryne to head to Wright and procure us some Amaros?” He turned his head head at the sound of footsteps, calculating, but kind eyes focusing on one of the twins, giving the next part of his plan. “Alphinaud, how do you fare with going to the Crystarium with Alisaie?”

The young Elezen tilted his head to the side, the salt water finally leaving his ears after giving them a few pats. He tried to follow the Warrior’s train of thought, but couldn’t figure out where it was heading. “We can make it, but… may I ask why just us two?”

A misstep in his plan; of course it wasn’t just those two that should go. With an apologetic smile, he answered. “My apologies. Please, inform Lyna that we are on our way back home. She will feel more at ease in seeing you both first. Knowing the Captain, she will start to prepare for our recuperation And… I have a feeling that she has people waiting at all entrances for our return, so you will not have to travel far to find her. Y’shtola, Urianger, with that being said, if you are able, inform Chessamile of the number of beds that needs be prepared. Our wounds are severe, but not life threatening.”

Alisaie blinked at how easily the instructions came from her friend. How long did it take for him to think this all through? She couldn’t help herself in voicing those thoughts, adding a bit of her spark as she crossed her soaked arms. “We have barely left you alone, how have you come up with this plan? Now that your soul is complete again, did it change you to start barking orders?” She meant well, giving the Warrior an easy smile. Tired as he was, she shouldn’t have been too surprised; he always was one to put people first.

“Bark is one way of putting it, yes… Mayhaps your soul should break once or twice to bring you down to size…” came Y’shtola’s sly comment, thankfully only amused by her friend’s orders. Should she have been miffed by him… A’viloh couldn’t help himself in giving his fellow miqo’te a nervous smile, thinking it better to explain himself before others start bringing in their input. He looked up to the sky, his smile more natural on his lips. The sky… it might be a different sky from being in a different land, but it looked just like the one in the Source. Red hues mixing with now natural gold, the gentle blue fading away, the clouds forming shapes that he wished he could just lay down and pay attention to.

But not now. He was thinking too much now. There was too much to do, and he was thinking too quickly.

“Change me, no… But my thoughts are much clearer. That was quite a climb we had, and it made me think of what needs to be done for now” His eyes closed at that. Six beds, bandages and gauze, plenty of alcohol, healers to close the wounds once disinfected--

He turned his head towards Alisaie’s direction, mismatched brown opening to regard her with warmth. “It is much easier to think about my family and what they need. We are almost done, we need just one last push. We do not have much time to waste, and we must act quickly and efficiently. I will join the Exarch at his pace in going back to the Crystariym. Worry not, I will see that we make it back home in one piece.” A’viloh nodded, his eyes landing on each of his friends and taking into account their wounds.

Alphinaud still had salt in his eyes and his ears were a bit red from the water. His clothes were in tatters and he could see a deep bruise appearing on his side, along with some dry blood on his hands. Alisaie had a cut on her cheek and her hair was coming undone. The Warrior didn’t want to look too far down without her knowing, but he could see quite a bit of bruises on her legs as well as how she leaned her weight to her left leg. He already knew that Y’shtola’s back was bruised, and while she tried to hide her short breathing, he had a feeling that one of her ribs was broken. Urianger did his best to appear in his five senses, but from how unfocused his eyes were at times, he must have had a concussion. His clothes weren’t faring any better, cuts and bruises trailing down. Poor Ryne’s dress was indeed in tatters, her shoulders now bare and her boots only holding up by strap or two. Her hands trembled under the sleeves and she grasped them lightly at times. The ribbon in her hair was long gone, and he could see how she tried to bring her hair back now and then. Her white dress didn’t hide the bruises and cuts on her arms, and he dare not think of how her ankles were doing from how the mixture of blood and salt stayed on them. Thancred’s armor had thankfully protected him through most of the blows, just some scratches here and there, but A’viloh knew that he had a few broken bones. Was that a broken finger…?

And the Exarch… G’raha…

It wasn’t that A’viloh didn’t want to pay attention to him. Far from it. However, he knew that the moment he did, he would focus on nothing more. G’raha… his friend… He was here… He was safe. And he was right next to A’viloh. From the little he could see from the corner of his eye, making sure that he was looking straight to the Scions, G’raha was looking up at him. Making what kind of expression, he did not know. But Y’shtola could see it full well. A’viloh tried to read her expression, but she was as unreadable as her eyes. And she made sure to keep it that way. Her milky hues shifted to A’viloh’s, keeping her voice steady.

“Urianger and I will inform the chirurgeons on what needs be prepared. As you say, we must act quickly and effectively. I will assume that no one has any objections?”

Thancred was already on the move with Ryne right behind him, the young hume having given a bit of healing to the Exarch before patting his arm and walking quickly to catch up. The gunbreaker just wanted to scrub his damn armor clean, the tainted aether reminding him too much of his time with Lahabrea. He welcomed the young girl to his side, her pure aether keeping him focused.

Alphinaud was following the gunbreaker at his own pace, speaking quietly with Alisaie as to what should be said once they arrive. Much had happened, and much more had to be kept secret, else the city would be overcome with worry. He gave his arm to his sister, who swatted it away… until she realized that she would be walking too slowly for her own comfort, and promptly wrangled him back so that he would walk at her pace. And she made damn sure to place almost all of her weight on him, her twin smiling at her antics. Y’shtola had wrapped an arm around Urianger’s as well, carefully guiding him towards the right path to Wright. The astrologian was more than willing to follow in her footsteps, although surprised by her initiative. It was not too long ago that she regarded him with scorn from how much he kept hidden from her. He knew that it would take her some time to forgive, and knew even more that she would never forget.

“...Warrior.”

A’viloh jumped at being called; he could no longer keep his gaze forward. He had given enough reason for the Scions to leave them be. They knew that there was much that the Exarch and him needed to speak about, and while now was not the time, they could still be near each other. He looked down at the leader who had not left his side. The same one that still let his hand rest on the one arm that was still made of flesh. G’raha’s gazed up at A’viloh, searching for something that A’viloh did not know of. There was still so much that he didn’t know, and more that he could if he just really put his mind to it. But now was not the time. He wanted to--

“You referred… to the Crystarium as your home. Do you truly see it that way…?”

‘Is it our home…? It is the home to many… It is… my home at the moment…’ A’viloh thought. He focused on the hand that was on the Exarch’s arm, becoming aware of how little warmth it emanated. More than that, he could see goosebumps appearing. ‘He’s freezing… ‘

“...It is my home.” A’viloh finally answered. He gazed deeply into those Allagan eyes, searching just as much as G’raha did. The leader stayed silent for a few beats, his rasped breathing along with the gentle tide of the sea being the only noise. He seemed to have found his answer--or at least was content enough with what he saw--and smiled tiredly, speaking loud enough to be heard above the waves.

“...Full glad am I to hear that. Should the people of the Crystarium know, they will be filled with joy.”

A’viloh’s tore his eyes away, trying to keep them on the faraway village. There was so much to speak about, so much that they needed to get straightened out. So much that he wanted to say.

Once they were well, talking could happen. He put his other hand on G’raha’s crystal arm, almost pulling away from how faint the aether was. It was even colder, A’viloh frowning from the temperature.

“Full glad will your people be when they see you back” Gaze flicking to the faded ears of the leader, he questioned. “How would you like to see them?” As much as he expected to know the answer, he didn’t, nor did he want to assume.

G’raha’s eyes went wide at the question, realizing the situation. It was true that no one had seen him without his cowl, this being the first time in… well, ever. However, so much had happened, and so many questions would arise. Nerves began to come up, his ears flicking back as he gazed down at the Warrior’s boots.

A’viloh found his answer then. His lips pulled up into a half smile, looking over at his hand. The leader… he was incredibly expressive. The Warrior couldn’t believe how blind he has been for so long to not see how expressive he was. He felt the slight trembles of G’raha’s cold arms and gave them a light squeeze. G’raha instinctually looked up from the movement and found himself less than a fulm away from the Warrior. He saw how clear A’viloh’s eyes were, but more than that, how different they were. One darker than the other, both watched him with warmth and understanding.

So, so much warmth, and understanding. How he relished in the feeling after the last few days they all had.

“I am not sure how you lasted so long with your ears down. Pulling the cowl up, is that all I need to do?” came the question, both hands lightly grasping the base of said item.

It wasn’t just the distance from the Tower that made his blood run cold. His cowl. The item that he hid behind for so long and needed to go back into. It was his symbol, along with his staff. That was how everyone in the Crystarium, no, all of the First, saw him with. The Crystal Exarch was a mysterious man whom no one knew where he came from or how he looked like underneath the hood. He gave, he helped, and he lead. That was his role, and that was all he could ever be.

A’viloh’s brows furrowed at G’raha’s expression. He was shaking harder, eyes wide and… resigned. They were tired. So, so very tired.

…Ah, he knew that look too. He knew it very well.

At least, he thought he did. And he hoped that he was saying something close to what his friend wanted to hear. “...You do not need to keep it up. Not with me.” His hands left the hood, placing them on his friend’s shaking shoulders and giving them another squeeze. They came down slightly, having tensed up from the question.

Keeping his hood down with the Warrior. Keeping his hood down…

What a wonderful dream that would be.

A’viloh lightly placed a hand on G’raha’s head, gauging how familiar he could be with the leader. G’raha jumped but said nothing, looking up at him from beneath his lashed. This was good enough.

“You will keep your cowl down when you are ready. Do not worry about your people, they will wait as much as they need to to see their beacon’s face.” He slowly spread his hand wide open, thumb and pinky slightly touching the base of his ears. G’raha’s breath hitched at the intimate action, his ears plastering to his head and the Warrior took that chance to carefully pull the cowl over G’raha’s head. His hand swiftly pulled away, bringing down the hood a bit more before keeping his hands to himself. The magicks in the hood worked immediately, only the leader’s bottom half of his face being seen. Despite that, A’viloh could feel the shock emanating from G’raha, and how he wanted to say something, but the Warrior was already onto the next step.

With his back to the leader, he kneeled as he spoke quickly, getting the next words out before his own nerves got the better of him. They needed to get going, just now remembering the fatal wound that the leader had on his back. How he was still standing, A’viloh had no idea.

“There is much that needs to be discussed, and I would love nothing more than to speak with you in private, just as… we would in the past.” He faltered at the end, his heart tugging at the lie.

‘It isn’t entirely a lie.’ That faint, murky voice dwelling deep in his soul reassured. Ah, there was Esteem. He had been ominously quiet during his time in Amaurot, though his presence was clearly there when fighting Hades. A’viloh was starting to worry when he could barely feel him at the end, thinking that the immense light might have done something (he wouldn’t say extinguish, but when dealing with a deadly essence that was the exact opposite of them, he could never be too careful). The dull worry in his mind lessened, acknowledging his words as relief flooded in.

No, they did not speak as much when they were at the Source, far less from all of the light that the Warrior had for so long. But now that it was gone, they should be more active...right?

Continuing, the Warrior did not spare a glance at G’raha. That word, beacon… It was one that he had not heard in a long time. Did it have the same effect on his friend as how it did for him all those years ago? “And talk we will. Once we get back to the Crystarium, and get better, we will talk. You have more days to live and now, you can decide how you would like to live them. I know that you said that you can walk on your own but… please, let me help you. Here, and back home.” When he heard no response, he willed himself to turn his head. G’raha stood there, not having moved an inch. Face still obscured, his mouth was agape and looking much paler than he was minutes ago.

Were his lungs devoid of air because of physical reasons or from the Warrior’s words? Most likely both. Talk, back home, help… They could go back home and they could talk. They could be in the same room and talk, or just, just be. Oh how he wanted that. How he yearned for that.

Taking a shaky step forward, he hadn’t raised his foot high enough, gripping at air when he began to fall but the Warrior rose quickly to catch him. He landed steadily on A’viloh’s back, his arms being brought around the Warrior’s neck. As his legs were hooked, he involuntarily melted onto the Warrior’s strong back. Turning his face to the left, his hood kept jabbing into this skin, and the Warrior’s, but they made no mention. Instead, they kept going, the wind keeping him awake enough as the tiredness started to settle in.

A’viloh thanked his lucky stars at how well that went, knowing that if they had not intervened, they would have continued to talk and G’raha would have undoubtedly collapsed, making it much harder to transport them both. Once he settled into a steady rhythm, he spoke again, volume high enough to get his friend’s attention.

“When we get back, would you like for the people at the Spagyrics to treat you or myself?”

‘What of your wounds?’ he questioned in his mind. Opening his mouth, he tried to voice them, taking several tries to get the words out. So tired… so sore…

“I will be fine. I will treat myself as well, don’t worry.”

“I… I know you… Warrior… You will… put… me above yourself…” He rasped out, his throat starting to burn. The wound on his back ached, making him curl up slightly from the movement. A’viloh took note of that and did his best to control his walk, still moving quickly but with less movement. His calves were cramping up, his back shooting up with pain along with his arms but he kept going, bending down more to bring the leader higher on his back. He apologized from how much skin he was making G’raha show and continued on, his space slightly quicker.

“I promise to take care of myself too. If I am not well, how can I take care of you?” He could see Wright in the distance, though still far away. Just a bit more…

“So please… Let me heal you. If I mend you, it will be easier to keep your physical self hidden from your people, if that is your wish. Whatever I cannot mend, I will learn how to.” He didn’t hide his desperation as he kept his brisk walk. The aether in G’raha started to wane, panic consuming some of his thought process.

He would not let himself be denied. Not again. Silver flashed in his mind, the sunset behind him reminding him of that terrible day. Not again, not again, not again--

“Who am I to deny such a request… As if… as if I could deny…” G’raha’s speech slurred, unable to keep his eyes open. His consciousness was fading, the dead trees and land melting altogether.

A’viloh felt G’raha’s hands slip, now running to the Amaro porter where Thancred and Ryne were thankfully waiting for them, the rest already for the Crystarium. As carefully as he could, he settled his unconscious friend in the front and prayed with all his might that he wasn’t too late.

#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #my writing #vividreminisce writes #series #I Want #Crystal Exarch #G'raha Tia #Warrior of Darkness #Warrior of Light #WoL #WoD #Shadowbringers #A'viloh Entialpoh #A'viloh #OC #story

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the-angry-pixie · 4 years

Text

camboy AU... but make it romantic

Camboy Bill AU feat. the OT7.

- basic stuff really

- Bill is a camboy (billoncam) on those websites that I don’t know enough about to be able to give a name.

- and he does sessions every few days in private chatrooms

- mostly solo stuff - either a vibrator or dildo in his ass whilst jacking it to the camera

- his fans love him because he is really chatty and responsive. and when he gets really turned on, he stutters. he always moans and thanks the person when someone sends him a tip - its like the tip button is directly connected to his vibrator, the way he moans every time it *dings*

- he has regulars. people who always seem to tune in and leave lots of tips. he comes to recognise their usernames.

- “welcome mikey-mike. i hope you’re having a good week.”

- “its good to see you again bigdickrich, what filthy things are you gonna say to me today?”

- stuff like that.

- he holds competitions among viewers - whoever gives him the most tips in a session gets to choose a name for him to call out when he cums

- as a result billoncam ends up moaning out “oh fuck carsforeddie! oh fuck you feel so good carsforeddie! oh fuck OH FUCK!” a lot.

- like previously stated, he’s known for his highly interactive solo stuff but every now and then his audience gets a guest appearance from other people. it always seems to be the same guys but we never get to see their faces

- one has lovely golden skin that matches his golden curls that Bill loves to grab onto when he’s fucking him

- the other is this buff dude with dark blonde body hair that makes the most delicious sounds when he’s railing Bill

- thats right, billoncam be versatile as fuck

- even more versatile than first anticipated because one time during a session Bill is holding a photo on his phone up to show the camera and he accidentally swipes to the next photo which is of some redhead woman lying on a bed in lingerie

- the comment section goes wild and Bill is like “oh fuck, oh fuck you weren’t meant to see that, ah ha ha ha lets forget that happened pls” and he goes on with the session. trying to ignore all the questions hounding him about who the fuck that was and why was she on his bed??

- two days later when billoncam is next scheduled to cam it is immediately obvious that things are very different when the session starts on a shot of Bill sitting fully-clothed talking straight to camera

- “thanks for tuning in everyone. I just felt I wanted to do something a bit different today. There’s been lots of discussion and questions about what happened the other day and I’ve thought about it a lot and have decided that I would like to be honest with you. This is a part of who I am and I don’t want to feel ashamed of that. So the truth is... I’m bisexual. And this...”

- Bill holds up his phone showing a photo of Bill and the redhead from the lingerie photo hugging each other and smiling giddily at the camera

- “... this is Bev. She’s my girlfriend.”

- again, the comment section goes wild. Obviously Bill has been camming himself on a website for gay men and well... gays can still be mean and weird sometimes when it comes to bisexuality.

- “I know. I know. It’s not what you’ve come to expect from me. I’m sorry if you’re offended or something. Well actually I’m not sorry at all. I would never be sorry for being in love with Bev. She’s my rock. We’ve been together for so long and she means the world to me. And the only reason I’m showing her face on here is because she’s given me full permission. In fact she has her own camming channel. Which I can link you to if there are any fellow bi’s out there.”

- Because the internet is the internet, Bill notices he’s losing viewers quickly, but he’s kind of happy to note that some of his regulars are among the ones being super supportive

- sitonthis: you’re not really gay. get the fuckk outta here!

mikey-mike: thanks for being honest with us Bill. I’m bi too and some people on here need to be quiet and stop being rude.

erotic-cum-on-my-hole: where’s the dick??

bigdickrich: daaaaaaaaaaamn Bill. she’s fuckign hot! gimme dat link please >______>

br000ny: sick of these bi s trickin on us. im out.

carsforeddie: YO EVERYONE NEEDS TO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE BILL ALOONE!@! WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO DATE BILL?! HE’S FUCKING GORGEOUS AND PERFECT!! I SWEAR TO GOD YOU ALL NEED TO MEET ME IN THE PARKING LOT RIGHT THE FUCK NNOW!!e@!

- but it doesn’t stop there. Bill has more to tell. He doesn’t get naked at all that session. But he does come clean about being polyamorous. Apparently Bill and Bev were together for years before she started dating Ben. Who then eventually started dating Bill as well (mystery solved on who buff dude is). And then a little while after that Bill started dating Stan who also began dating everyone else eventually (mystery number two solved on who golden curls is)

- of course to respect privacy Bill doesn’t give names or photos for those two (they’re not into camming and only ever fuck Bill on cam as a favour cause they know Bill loves it so much). But he does wax poetic for a further half an hour on just how much he loves all his partners and then unexpectedly signs off.

- billoncam disappears for awhile. his sessions just suddenly stop. his fans reckon its probably got to do with the negative response he got to coming out as bi.

- they try to reach out to him on his social media but never with any luck. its funny, billoncam’s sessions have weirdly become a bit of community thing. its strange. the regulars all kind of know each other and it feels wrong to not be coming all together (pun not intended) a few times a week on Bill’s channel. but whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore because it seems billoncam is no more. he’s been scared away.

- struggling radio personality Richie Tozier is definitely not expecting to run into Bill aka. billoncam in a random Los Angeles Starbucks one day. But he does. Thats him. That’s totally fucking him. The only way Richie could be more sure is if Bill whipped his junk out in the middle of this cafe.

- Richie is so stunned he can’t even think what to say. How to approach this guy that he has been jacking off to for the last year or so.

- He ends up chasing Bill down the street and kind of pouncing on him.

- Bill is understandably wary at first. But of course he’s kind of charmed by this nervous motormouth with his ridiculously syrupy-looking frappuccino concoction. Its strange how familiar he seems. He almost whispers the name to himself just as Richie practically yells “Oh by the way. I’m bigdickrich. Did I mention that? I might have forgotten to mention that. Fuck!”

- And well, a week or two later... billoncam makes a comeback suddenly.

- And he’s got a companion. A companion who is showing his face. Bill’s regulars know they definitely haven’t seen this guy (or his body) before but they don’t mind at all since the session is so much more intense because they can see both participants for once. And this new guy is very cute. In a hairy, gangly, bedraggled kind of way.

- Bill introduces the guy as his new friend. He says his new friend convinced him to come back online. And his new friend even gave permission for their first time together to be filmed live.

- New Friend’s eyebrows wiggle at the camera behind his thick dark-framed glasses

- this sends a thrill through the audience obviously. such an intimate thing that theyre witnessing. New Friend doesnt seem to mind though. In fact he seems to lap up the attention and is very willing to take suggestions from the audience of just what he should do to Bill.

- the vibrator and dildo remain untouched on the bed that day.

- and its right at the end, still panting and sweating and coming down from their highs that Bill mentions that his New Friend is a previous audience member.

- “some of you might recognise the username. This is bigdickrich. Sooo... I guess we now know he wasn’t exaggerating with that name ha ha” to which Richie just grins at the camera holding his hands up under his chin.

- the comment section goes BONKERS!

- carsforeddie: THAT ANNOYING CRUDE SON OF A BITCH!! WHAT THE FUCK WHY IS THE UNIVERSE SO UNFAIR! FUCK!”

mikey-mike: good for you bigdickrich. you’re a real lucky guy.

twinksfordays: i want to choke on bigdickrich’s cock

carsforeddie: HOW?! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! EW I JUST JACKED IT TO THAT ASSHOLE! FUCK I NEED TO SHOWER”

- Bill and Richie giggle and converse with the commenters for awhile and then sign off.

- billoncam returns to regularly camming again. much the way he was before. mostly solo. though sometimes with guest stars. and Richie becomes a more and more frequent feature. He’s the only one (besides Bev popping in now and then) who shows his face.

- and then, billoncam hits 100,000 subscribers

- and Bill. Well he has to make it special right? So he auctions himself off. There has to be some careful wording and labelling so that he can’t be done for prostitution but... essentially Bill auctions off the chance for him to travel and spend the night with the highest bidder.

- of course carsforeddie is not going to let this opportunity slide by him. He’s a successful businessman. He might only be 25 but he’s got money to burn and he’s been loving lusting after billoncam for a LONG TIME

- its undisclosed just how much Eddie Kaspbrak, luxury car rental business owner ends up paying for billoncam to fly to New York and spend the night with him - for legal reasons obviously. And no, Eddie does not give permission for the deed to be filmed.

- But! Its perfectly legal to say that the 2nd time Bill fucks Eddie - the 3rd, the 4th, the 5th and the 6th and all the times that follow - are done completely for free!

- Ben jokes to Richie privately about them going to need to move into a bigger house if Bill keeps adding people to this relationship.

- It becomes less of a joke and more of a reality as Eddie moves permanently to Los Angeles 6 months (and lots of trips to LA) later.

- And thats it. Theyre nearly there. There’s just one more thing missing. One more piece to the puzzle. Bill doesn’t know why he feels this way. He just does.

- Luckily Mike Hanlon (aka as mikey-mike) has been unknowingly working away on this very thing for months. Not that he would have dared to assume that anything would happen when he slid into billoncam’s DM’s 18 months ago.

- He’s just a country boy from bumfuck nowhere. There’s no reality in this universe where he and the likes of billoncam would ever cross paths. But he enjoys talking to him. They have a lot of laughs. And Bill is surprisingly sweet and very well spoken. They like a lot of the same things. The same literature, the same sports teams. Bill is always asking after the animals on Mike’s family’s farm. Mike wishes he could get to know him better.

- Bill wants the same thing. He’d give anything to meet the sweet-souled farmboy from Maine who brightens Bill’s day whenever he gets a new message from him. I mean, it helps that he’s also gorgeous with the most wonderful smile, but thats beside the point.

- Bill ends up putting his money where his mouth is. Just enough to buy a return plane ticket to LA, so that Mike can come visit him, and cover the cost of a hotel room (ya know, in case he doesn’t want to stay with Bill and the rest of them. Bill would never want to make him uncomfortable).

- Needless to say Mike fits right into the family almost immediately.

- its a couple of months later and billoncam still exists, but its like a relic now. Bill pours all his creative energy into his new channel “the-lucky-seven”. Its a channel shared by everyone and its outrageously popular. Sure there are still a few individuals who are too shy or anxious to show their faces but the audience doesn’t seem to care. There’s so much variety to be found on the channel. Different combinations of people doing a live cam nearly every second day.

- they’re all unapologetic, they all love each other, and they don’t mind sharing it with the world.

- :) :) :) :) B) :) :)

----

Did I really just write a romance story about camming? Why yes, I think I did. Ha Ha. Hope you enjoyed. :)

#sorry - you were probably expecting more smut #¯\_(ツ)_/¯#i do what i can #i was inspired and so i HCed #poly losers club #the losers club #pixie writes #pixie headcanons #IT movie #notsfw

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antiadvil · 4 years

Text

Comet Me, Bro

summary: Dan and Phil are chosen to be the first colonizers of Mars. They’re the perfect choice: they get along incredibly well, they graduated training at the top of their class, and they’re both incredibly ready to spend years, perhaps an entire lifetime, as far away from humanity as possible.

The problem? Dan has a crush on Phil. And Phil doesn’t know.

OR:

“Phil? We meed to have a talk,” Dan said.

“Wow,” Phil said. “You look so serious. Sa-turn that frown upside down.”

“See, that’s what it is,” Dan said. “Your space puns are driving me literally insane.”

rating: G

wc: ~2.4k

notes: this is for @itsmyusualphannie and was betad by @sudden-sky, both of whom are lovely people and writers you should go follow

read on ao3 or after the cut

Mars was cold, Dan thought during one of his twice daily walks between his botany lab and the Hub. Mars had always been cold, but there was something especially cold about it today. Maybe the seasons were changing. He genuinely had no idea what season it was now, or which season was up next, or how long it would last, or how seasons even worked on this planet. All he knew was Mars’s cold seeping under his suit and into his bones. He shivered all the way back to his semi-possibly-maybe-permanent home, and after going through the airlock and stripping off his spacesuit, he entered the common area to find Phil setting their table for dinner.

“I don’t know why you always get the plates out,” Dan said. They ate the same meal three times a day: glorified, nutrition-filled goop. Putting it on a plate or in a bowl before putting it in their mouths didn’t make that much of a difference.

Phil shrugged. “It makes it feel more like home, don’t you think?”

Dan ignored the implication that this was a home. That this was their home.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want it to be. Dan and Phil got along well. Their names went well together- Dan and Phil. Phil and Dan. They almost never argued, and when they did, it was almost always resolved in hours, or even minutes. They even had the same taste in anime, for god’s sake. They literally could not be more compatible as roommates. There was just one issue: Dan had a crush on Phil. He had for the six months they’d known each other. When it first surfaced, he had assumed it was a temporary thing that would be gone within weeks. Oh, how wrong he had been. Spending a month in a cramped spaceship with Phil followed by two months together on a deserted planet had not helped the situation. Dan had hoped he would become immune to Phil’s presence after this long, but he had no such luck. Being in Phil’s presence still made him feel that weird combination of warm, cold, and tingly all over. Eye contact was torturous. Physical contact was the best kind of hell.

If they were any other kind of coworkers or friends, Dan would have made his move by now. But they weren’t. They were literally the only two people on the planet, and if Phil didn’t feel the same way, or he did and it didn’t work out, things could get really awkward in the 100 square foot building Phil was calling their home.

It was better to say nothing. Hopefully this would all blow over.

Dan sat at the table. “What’s for dinner?” he asked, going along with Phil.

Phil smiled proudly. “Well, here we have liquified protein. Supposedly it comes from some kind of animal, but it definitely doesn’t taste like it.”

“Sounds delicious,” Dan said. He had been vegan back on Earth, he remembered. How far away that seemed now. He had known it probably wouldn’t be realistic for a space mission, and he had never been very good at sticking with it anyway. Still, he missed it.

“And here we have our vitamins and minerals! Again, suspended in some kind of liquid. I asked if they could make it flavored, like those fun vitamins they have so kids will eat them, but these do not taste like citrus, so I’m guessing they didn’t get the memo.”

“How unfortunate.” Dan could feel the fondness seeping into his voice. He shuddered.

“Really unfortunate,” Phil agreed. “And here’s this one. I’m not actually sure what this is. It doesn’t really matter, they all taste the same.”

Dan nodded. “I never thought I would say this, but right now I would literally die for a vegetable.”

“I mean,” Phil said. “That’s your job, right?”

Dan shrugged. “I don’t think we’re supposed to eat the plants I grow, Phil.”

“Then what are they good for?” Phil demanded.

“I don’t know. What are your rock samples good for?”

Phil puffed up his chest. “Science.”

“Then that’s what my plants are good for,” Dan said. “And maybe if we’re lucky, NASA will let us eat them once I’m done experimenting on them. We can’t eat rocks, therefore, I am the superior team member.”

“Oh, yeah?” Phil said, “Comet me, bro.”

Dan literally facepalmed.

“Get it?” Phil asked. “Come at, like, comet?”

“Phil,” Dan said. “Phil. I got the joke. You don’t need to explain it. It just wasn’t funny.”

Phil looked deeply disappointed.

“I guess I’m just not a puns person,” Dan confessed.

“How did I not know that by now?” Phil asked.

Dan just shrugged.

“You will be a puns person by the time I’m done with you,” Phil promised, and Dan’s heart did the little pitter patter thing it did whenever Phil did dumb shit. He ignored it.

“Phil, I promise I will not be,” Dan said.

That was the end of it, he thought. They went through multiple Martian days following their usual routine, and Phil didn’t make any more puns. In fact, Dan and Phil didn’t even see each other that often. Phil was busy with some sort of issue with their rover, and one of Dan’s plants was looking like it was about to sprout, so he was spending way more time than his circadian rhythm found acceptable in the lab.

This was the first plant to grow on Mars. He couldn’t let anything go wrong.

Of course, sometimes it wasn’t up to him. He woke up the next morning to blaring alarms.

It took a moment for reality to set in. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but the sky was pitch black outside his window. He couldn’t even see the moons.

Dan stumbled out of bed. Phil was waiting in the common area.

“Dust storm,” Phil said, his face pale and his voice deathly quiet.

Dan froze. “I mean, it can’t be that bad- It’s just a storm-”

“I don’t know. But the alarm-”

“What does the control console say?”

Phil ran his hands through his tangled brown hair. “I didn’t check,” he admitted.

Dan turned to the control console. He took a deep breath. “That’s a lot of red.” Dan took another deep breath. Where to even start? Another deep breath.

Thankfully, Phil seemed to know what to do. “Error 4962,” he read from the main screen. “What does that mean?”

Dan’s mind raced. Two was an even number, which meant it was a technical error. Four was an even number, too, so the issue was with hardware somewhere, not software. He searched quickly through the secondary screen. “Airlock breach in Laboratory A.” He sucked in a breath. His laboratory. The plants.

“Dan,” Phil warned.

“I have to suit up,” Dan said.

“It can wait. Dan, I-”

“I’m sorry, Phil. My plants-”

“Your plants can wait,” Phil snapped.

“No they can’t,” Dan said. “Phil, they’ll die.” Exposure to the Martian atmosphere would kill anything given enough time. Even plants. He wouldn’t let them die. Not his plants. Not after all the hours he had spent nurturing them, coaxing them into growth. Not now.

“You can’t go outside right now.”

Dan quickly stepped into his spacesuit, strapping his boots on and then working his way up. “Phil, if these plants die-”

“Dan, you are literally the only person on this planet. I cannot lose you.” Phil’s voice wavered.

Dan stopped.

“Please don’t go,” Phil said, his voice breaking. “Please.”

Dan sat down on the floor. “My plants,” he said.

Phil sat down next to him.

“I’m sorry.”

Dan’s eyes burned. He swiped at them with the back of his hand. “It’s not your fault,” he muttered.

Phil didn’t reply, just folded his arms around Dan and let him cry. Dan allowed himself to fall back into Phil’s arms, shaking and crying a lot more than what was socially acceptable for a man his age to shake and cry. They stayed like that, even when Dan was calm again, until the storm died down and Dan sat up awkwardly.

“I should probably check the lab,” He said.

Phil let go of Dan. Maybe he imagined it, but it Phil’s hands seemed to linger on his body. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Dan shook Phil off. “I’ll be fine.” He didn’t need Phil to see him have another breakdown over the death of a bunch of plants.

“Okay.” Phil didn’t push Dan, but his eyes were much softer than normal. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Dan nodded. “I will.”

The lab was just as much of a disaster as he expected. Even though the breach in the airlock was barely visible to the human eye, the sudden burst of air escaping had sent lab equipment scattering across the room. The fine, powdery dust that covered the Mars surface had also gotten into the lab and spread across the previously pristine, white tables and floor.

His plants were dead. Of course they were. He had known they would be. But there was something heartwrenching about seeing them like this, torn and uprooted.

Dan scowled. First the whole thing with Phil, and then his plants, and they weren’t even halfway through the mission. If the mission was ever even going to end.

Dan cleaned up what was left of his plants. He swept up all the Martian dust on the floor before resealing the airlock, waiting for the room to re-pressurize, and planting the backup seeds. Then he walked back to the Hub, his mind numb and exhausted. Phil was waiting for him.

“Hi,” Phil said. The sun was rising. Now that Dan could see Phil’s face in natural light, he realized how tired Phil looked.

“I’m going to go back to bed,” Dan said.

Phil nodded.

“Good night, Phil.”

“Yeah,” Phil said, smiling wryly at the sunbeams shining through their window. “Good night. I’ll wake you up if I need you.”

“You’re not sleeping?”

“Something’s still wrong with the rover. I haven’t figured out what. People who know what they’re doing are supposed to be running diagnostics today. I have to be awake in case they need anything from me.”

Dan nodded. “You’ve been working so much lately.”

Phil shrugged. “You have too.”

Dan laughed bitterly. “And look how well that worked out.”

“I know. But it’ll be okay. You planted the backups, right?”

Dan shrugged. Technically Phil was right, but he didn’t want to think about starting over right now. He just wanted to sleep.

By the time Dan woke up, the sun was setting again.

He wandered back into the common area. Phil jumped, a spoon clattering from his hand onto the floor. Dan jumped too. “Sorry,” he said, rubbing his arm sheepishly.

“Yeah, you just startled me,” Phil said, picking his spoon up.

“Why are you eating nutritional goop with a spoon anyway?” Dan asked.

Phil shrugged. “It makes me feel less sad about it,” he said. The tips of his ears were red.

“Sorry about delaying your vegetables,” Dan said.

Phil shrugged again. “It’s not your fault.”

Phil still looked tired. Dan was struck by a sudden urge to protect Phil from everything around him- from the harsh Martian landscape, from the long hours, from the toll being so far away from his family and friends was slowly having on him.

“Hey Phil,” he said. “What did the head of NASA say about that Russian meteor strike?”

Phil looked up. “I don’t know. What?”

“No comet.”

Phil laughed. Dan smiled triumphantly.

He regretted it the next day when the puns started up again. Honestly, they were cute the first time. The twenty-seventh time? Not so much.

After Phil made a particularly egregious joke about Dan remembering to update his spacebook, Dan decided that enough was enough. He went through his duties for the day, eating quickly on his own once he was done (Phil had figured out what was wrong with the rover and was trying to repair one of its circuits. Dan, who failed an electrical engineering class in college, chose to stay out of Phil’s way).

When Phil came back, Dan gave him just enough time to eat before confronting him. “Phil? We need to have a talk,” Dan said.

“Wow,” Phil said. “You look so serious. Sa-turn that frown upside down.”

“See, that’s what it is,” Dan said. “Your space puns are driving me literally insane. Also, I might be in love with you.” He froze. “Uh, I mean, just the first one. I don’t know why I said that. I don’t have a crush on you. I’m actually straight, very straight, I don’t know if you knew that-”

“Dan,” Phil said. “We’re friends on spacebook. I know you’re not straight.”

“Uhhhh,” Dan said, his eyes crossing.

“And between you and me, I’d always hoped that our relationship might become more than plutonic.”

“Uhhhh,” Dan said.

“I think you’re out of this world, actually.”

That finally snapped Dan out of it. “I am literally going to kill you.”

“Come on. Why do you have to take everything so Sirius-ly?”

Dan squinted. “Did you just say Sirius, as in the star?”

“Maybe?”

Dan sat down on the ground. “I need a nap.”

Phil patted his shoulder, sitting next to him. “How do you get an astronaut baby to fall asleep?”

Dan looked up. “Are you calling me a baby?”

“What? No! Unless you want me to? And the answer is you rocket, by the way.”

Dan let his head fall again.

“Dan, I’m just trying to show you that I’m over the moon for you.”

“Show it by using less space puns please,” Dan mumbled.

“I’m Neptune-ing you out,” Phil said. “It’s important to ignore the haters.”

Dan sighed. “Phil. I have something really important to tell you.”

“What?”

Dan beckoned Phil closer. “It’s really important.”

“I’m listening,” Phil said, eyebrows furrowing.

Dan looked him dead in the eyes. “Get outer my space.”

Phil’s lips parted as he stared at Dan. Dan stared back. “That was the best pun I’ve ever heard,” Phil said breathlessly. He pulled Dan into a passionate kiss.

Outside, the sun was beginning to set. Dan knew it must be his imagination, but with golden light playing across his body and Phil’s lips pressed against his, he felt just a little bit warmer.

#phanfic #phanfiction #phan #my writing

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courage-a-word-of-justice · 4 years

Text

Akudama 2

I think one or two of the reviews I read of this anime picked up the names of each episode are based on movies and it seems they’re right. Namely, episode 1 is Se7en while episode 2 is Reservoir Dogs...so they’re crime movies specifically.

Kanto, Hikari etc. are the names of certain shinkansen.

Playing with your own blood in front of a no violence sign and smoking in front of a no smoking sign…LOL. So edgy and yet simultaneously so fun.

…*blinks* Welp, that OP was…an experience.

…hey, Funi are hypocrites…they gave HypMic a language warning, but not this???

Come to think of it, this anime is already exactly how I’d imagine the HypMic MTC episode to go…but with more cyberpunk, of course.

…why is “are you gay?” an insult…? I thought we were past this point years ago.

…what’s up with these puppets? The shark’s shirt says “fool” on it…

The rabbit and shark’s shirts keep changing every time they spin. When they talk about poverty/rich, the rabbit shirts says “poor” and the shark’s “rich” (or something of the sort). When the shark talks about Kansai burning to the ground, his shirt says “nervousness”.

Wow, Hiroshima vers. 2…Rabbit: peace/shark:war

Hoodlum’s just a sycophant…

…ooh, so if the girl and Hoodlum aren’t part of the plan…they could f*** s*** up?

LOL, plasma shield.

“Lil’ stick”? That’s a jitte! A non-bladed weapon which is still plenty nasty by itself!

Ken the 390??? I knew UraShimaSakataSen were on this ED and I knew this was a rap ED because I heard it in AMQ before I was able to finish this ep, IIRC, but I didn’t expect the guy from BATTLE BATTLE BATTLE....

Taiso 2

A-hah! I was right on the money! Tomoyo is an actress!

Oh, it’s senu. That’s an old-timey way of negating your verbs (it’s shinai now), hence “retires not”.

I think they’re hailing Minamino as the first winner in 45 years if I understood the newspaper article on the screen right…?

Does this mean Minamino will join Leo and Aragaki…? The OP shows him with them.

The AnimeLab translation of the title is “Duelling Samurai”, but the translation on the hardsubs is “Rock-Bottom Samurai”. The word donzoko indicates the latter is correct.

I think Leo said “Rei-chan”, not “Rachel”. It’s a bit hard to hear because he’s eating though…

I think there’s only one line where he doesn’t talk like a ninja in his intro to Ayu and that’s the line where he uses keigo instead.

I think the card says “acupuncturist Kawa????” (can’t read the last character due to Britney’s thumb), but…welp, Britney’s kinda disturbing in their (not sure what pronoun to use) own way. There also appears to be an address in Ikebukuro on the card.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Leo learnt how to speak Japanese fluently from ninja movies – that’s a pretty common anime trope, like in Tada-kun’s Rainbow Samurai case. “Always make your heart rainbow!” and all that jazz.

…so that’s what the card said - Kawamoto Orthopedic Clinic.

“My shoulder would…”

Seriously, this anime is just an excuse to look at Aragaki in different outfits (and also shirtless) and I love it, LOL. (I’m such a simpleton.)

Ah…sometimes, people ask me about the days when I used to learn piano and I bring up the fact there is such a thing as “overpractice”. I thought gymnasts would know when they hit their limits in that regard, but…I guess they don’t because they’re so consumed in their passion, or they can’t see what they’re doing to themselves (because it occurs under the skin and doesn’t ache)…?

Minamino is basically Yurio…LOL.

That’s a cute, laidback ED. It’s called Yume? (yes, with the “?”) and it’s by Hatena, hence Leo’s shirt saying “Hatena”.

Welp, I don’t think anything supernatural will happen anymore, but…it’s still a fun anime. They toned down BB too, which should please a huge number of reviewers who found him obnoxious.

Yashahime 3

Hitokon? Short for “hito control” (hito = person)? Update: It seems the name was also kanji for “flying head root”.

“…puts one to sleep.”

“…from a place like that?”

Can a Dream Butterfly steal memories?

Moriarty 2

“Colum” (sic).

These CGI horses are gonna bug me, aren’t they…?

There is this sentiment that people need to be “saved” from poverty, especially when it comes down to African and Asian people living in slums (these days). I get the same feeling from this.

Maou-jou 3

Free advertising for Maou-jou’s home magazine! LOL!

I was wondering why those things were called “Show the Mary”…remember Mezo Shouji from Boku no Hero Academia? Same pun (the walls have ears and the doors have eyes, or something of the sort).

LOL, instead of yokudekimashita (literally, “you did good”) it’s makura ni narimashita (“you made [the book] into a pillow”). The common sentence ending for verbs means it’s funnier in Japanese, I think.

…argh! I can’t read all of Alazif’s info because of the hardsubs! Umm…”Current worry: Princess” and “Worry of the past hundred years: Destroying the demon clan” is in the box next to the logo. “Powerful magic techniques are recorded inside this book, so the demons feared it and sealed it away as a ‘forbidden grimoire’.”/”Currently, under the control of the princess, they’ve been bestowing magic and magic techniques to her, so they haven’t been used for the purpose they were made for and they’re wishing the princess would use them for not-so-stupid things” (I don’t know what pronoun to give Alazif, so I gave them 3rd person “them)…ah, someone translated the stuff for me! (That saves me a lot of time.) So Alazif is a “he”, huh?

OHKO to Demon Cleric, LOL.

SAN…? Oh, “sanity”?

Oh, Demon Cleric’s ears are black goat ears. No wonder you can’t see ‘em.

This sword is like Ex from Princess, ‘Tis Time for Torture!

HypMic 4

From here until episode 6-ish, I’ll be paying extra attention to characters’ role language. I normally do that, but I picked this anime for an assignment because I knew it had a lot of examples…yes, you heard me right. An assignment! I should be happy, but I’m wondering if my taste is going to get roasted by the normies or if I’ve gone too far with my unabashed love…

I was discussing with some of my peeps in a Discord server and…is it possible MTR will get an ED from here on out if you divide the episodes up for an almost equal amount for each division? We’ll have to wait and see.

…Oof. I’m sort of scared for this episode. It’s gonna have swearing galore…and yup, there it is, right out the gate.

Wait, why not translate wakagashira? It just means “young head” or “2nd in command”.

…well, at least they got some variation in their swearing this time…?

Hmm, normally the translation is “rabbit cop” or something toned down like that. They dialled it up to “rabbity-ass cop”. (Yakuwarigo: Samatoki = na, on the whole = very, very slang – as a former naval officer, you would expect Riou to speak formally, but he speaks as casually as almost everyone else (yamero etc.))

I’ve never seen anyone refer to Samatoki as “Kashira”. *laser stares Rentei for guest VA roles*

(Yakuwarigo: Samatoki (?) = zo)

“…why don’t you ask the cops to deal with it?” – Uh, Samatoki? Jyuto is the cop. (Well, a cop.)

I still have no idea why they subtitle the laughing…

Wait, if there’s a casino…is Dice there?!

…yup, right on cue. I didn’t think Tom and co. would be there too.

Oh, LOL. HypMic is a tourist trap anime = see those buns Tom’s eating? They’re chuukaman (Chinese buns). Makes sense in Chinatown.

It took me several watches to realise who’d passed by, but it’s…MTC in formal clothes?! (You can see part of Jyuto’s face, just to confirm it.)

Why are they wearing glasses? Even Jyuto’s wearing different glasses to the usual, LOL.

I learnt how to do some of the casino stuff while trying to get a job as a gaming customer service assistant in a huge casino joint one time. In a sense, this brings me back to then. (Update: I mean, the sound of the roulette, the sight of the board, the chips and the like. That’s what takes me back.)

(Yakuwarigo: Dice slurs his words a lot, especially when yelling things along the lines of “Please lend me moneyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” This is also true in the game.)

Dice seems to have jumped straight to “Riou”, rather than “Riou-san”.

I wonder if anyone will ever elaborate on that incident where Dice and Riou met?

(Yakuwarigo: Samatoki speaks coarsely, but not outright swearing in the source language…for an example, he says kussotare when roped into being Jakurai’s “female counterpart” for the ARB Halloween event, but he doesn’t do anything of the sort here.)

Even Ramuda uses “san” with Samatoki, most likely to emulate how Samatoki calls himself “oresama” (but with lower formality).

Ramuda-chin? That’s new.

Yakuwarigo: Gentaro spoke normally, just with desu/masu. Maybe the “perchance” was to make it blend in with his -de aru?

Uh-oh…Ramuda’s favours always are things like “dress up for me” and “hang out with me”, if the game is any indication. (One of them happens to be how Ichiro was roped into being a sorta-Kirito for the ARB Halloween event.)

This CGI…it’s not the jankiest, but it is gonna bug me ever so slightly.

I’ve noticed a lot of people in the English-speaking fandom, when they watched the anime, took a shine to MTC (because they seem to embody the entire “refuge in audacity” thing they’ve picked up on…plus that one hamster lyric people got attached to). You can see them being all “cop/gangster husbands” here if that’s your gig – it’s kind of my gig, but to be real HypMic is not a scene where I ship dudes. I’m sorry, but I just like watching pretty boys kick butt.

What warranted the dramatic glasses drop…? (LOL anyway)

That whistle…LOL. It’s like “Look at my boy fight” and “Riou’s got some sweet fightin’ moves” rolled up in one.

For some reason, when I saw the sign for the Organised Crime department, I heard the Student Council theme from Boueibu play in my head…? (Remember that harpsichord theme?) *shrugs* I dunno why that happened.

Hmm…they crossed out the subtitles using Swedish letters instead of strikethrough, huh? Didn’t know that was a limitation.

(Yakuwarigo: Jyuto = dazo)

“Wouldya look at that forlorn mug of his?” – Seeing a man taller than you (Riou is a good 190 or so cm, mind you, making him the tallest member of his division above Samatoki’s 180-something and Jyuto’s 170-something) making a sort of demented puppy-dog face…LOL.

(Yakuwarigo: Jyuto elevated himself to kimasuyo…maybe to win back Riou’s favour?)

(Yakuwarigo: The translation elevated Samatoki’s “nanda” to “the f***”. “Nanda” is not that bad – it’s casual, but doesn’t imply swearing like “ittai” is supposed to mean “the hell”.)

(Yakuwarigo: Jyuto doesn’t finish when he says “ore wa hanashi ga”. That’s called an omission, plain as that may be.)

(Yakuwarigo: Taihendaze!...Maybe that’s a bit far to call it “we’re f**ked”…? It could just be “we’re doomed!” or “we’ve got trouble!”)

(Yakuwarigo: Jyuto uses desune. He’s the most feminine of the trio by virtue of being the smallest height-wise and most polite due to his job, but he seems to bounce between casual and polite a lot.)

…wow, even the rap lyrics have the F bomb…and this time, you can see the evidence.

Natsu no mushi = bugs in the summer. Not a perfect match, but it works. (Notably, things like Gentaro’s speech and rap lyrics don’t play by the same yakuwarigo rules because you can play characters within it – e.g. the evil doctor Jakurai sometimes plays. I’ve noticed most of the songs use casual or whatever rhymes, even for someone like Doppo who’s considered more polite than most.)

…Despite the swearing…that song slaps, man! That’s great.

MTC seems to have more tragedy on average than other divisions. This is because FP and BB are quite light-hearted and mostly family-friendly with hidden depths, but MTR mostly has stalker stories. Update: That’s when they’re focussing on MTR solo. FP’s currently could get pretty dark soon and a lot of the dark/tragic stuff is not actually going to make the anime because it’s in the drama tracks/manga.

My gosh, we got to see Nemu animated!

Okay, I’m not well-versed in yakuza slang but kumicho = boss, so Samatoki would have to answer to a kumicho.

(Yakuwarigo: Notably, when Riou bows, he doesn’t elevate his speech.)

(Yakuwarigo: Jyuto = desukane)

…and randomly, rock solo postcard memory away from the sunset. (LOL) (Also, I believe I befriended Zainou during my time on WordPress. This episode title really does mean things, in a certain sense.)

Ah, it did switch! It’s just…uh, gone to an MTC version of itself (and it has the same name, “Kizuna”). So that means we wait another 6 episodes for MTR. On the other hand��what will the final version be? A whole cast version? A different song? No song at all? *shrugs* Only the future can tell us these things. (Also, why is Jyuto so loud…? That’s why I’m not a bigger fan of him. Much like Ramuda’s minna genki?, his iconic quotes like “In the building!” are so loud and silly-sounding, you just can’t get them out of your head.)

The cityscape in the middle of the disc at the ED’s start seems to have changed. I would assume that’s a Yokohama skyline.

Keiichi Nakagawa is the voice of Rentei…I should stop burning myself on guest VA appearances, this guy’s a rookie. This Nouzenkazura VA (Kenji Hamada) though is voiced by the guy who does Otegine in Touken Ranbu and isn’t as much of a rookie as Rentei’s.

Notably, where BB do the “BB sign” (as it seems to be known), MTC do a finger gun. MTR have the wolf fang, but…what is FP’s, then? Update: It’s a peace sign to the side to make an F.

Today’s new music was “Red Zone (Don’t Test da Master)”, by KLOOZ and DJ WATARAI.

*cringes at the airhorn* *briefly presses fingers to forehead, as if going to massage temples, but then removes them* The airhorn reminds me of crazy sport fans. Crazy anime fans are more civil than them, which is one reason why I don’t follow sports on the regular.

Update: Oh! The pond owl cafe in episode 2! It means Ikebukuro!...Sort of. Fukurou rhymes with ‘bukuro and ike = pond.

Akudama 3

Hmm? Is it just me or is that T in the code the kanji for “bird” (tori)?

“It’s where I belong.” – I know my reason for pursuing Japanese is a purely selfish reason – so I can stay above others in the topics I think matter to me and pursue the endless natural high that comes from the thrill of translation (which may be all one reason or two, depending on how you look at it).

Oh, the bunny and shark again.

The bunny’s shirt said “life” at one point, I didn’t understand the shark’s though.

At one point, shark: Ka (from “Kansai”), bunny: ken (authority).

At the end, shark: heaven, bunny: hell. These broadcasts look like NHK broadcasts at the end.

Most of these words are katakana, making them look foreign.

Kansai 300, 25-1.

“Move-you-s**t!” – It…seems a bit out of character for Swindler to say the swear word there.

Taiso 3

That CGI…is not the greatest.

According to Moon Land, gymnastics operates on a deduction/addition system. You add points for difficulty, but deduct points for errors like how Minamino’s feet are apart.

*sees montage* - Those CGI scenes really take out the budget, huh…?

Gymnastics moves are named after their creators…kinda like scientific names and finders.

There was a lot of commentary in Moon Land so I’m not sure what the moves are called from memory (the dialogue always did that for me), but having the reactions speak for themselves…I think the anime team has enough faith the reactions will convey everything. They did, by the way.

You can see the bone at the base of Minamino’s neck, under the skin…it’s sort of scary.

The fact you couldn’t see Jotaro’s eyes for a shot or two…that kind of unnerved me and built tension.

Oh! The men in black appear after the credits!

#simulcast commentary #akudama drive #HypMic #Hypnosis Mic #Hypnosis Microphone #Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle - Rhyme Anima #Taiso Samurai #hanyo no yashahime #Moriarty the Patriot #Yuukoku no Moriarty #maou-jou de oyasumi #Chesarka watches Taiso Samurai #Chesarka watches Yuukoku no Moriarty #Chesarka watches HypMic #Chesarka watches Akudama Drive #Chesarka watches Yashahime #Chesarka watches Maou-jou

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myownpersonaldemons · 5 years

Text

Self-Tober Prompt 11

Favourite AU

HT!Sans/Reader

SOOOO This isn’t like favourite AU as in my favourite Undertale AU (which is probably Fellswap atm?) but like a favourite just fanfic AU to read. Yknow those tropy things? LOVE EM. This is a coffee shop AU. So. *dabs*

I apologize in case this is shit because I woke up at 4:30 and like I’m dead-ass tired right now.

ANYWAYS! Let’s love us some skeleton!

Being a barista was not something that you had seen for yourself, but it was one of those things where you had been desperate for a job, and they were the first people to respond. It took you a while to warm up to the idea of being a barista but now you were content with the job. Wasn’t the best job you’d ever had, but wasn’t the worst either.

Actually, you preferred the morning shifts. There was always one monster that came in who was so full of energy it was infectious. You learned on your first shift that his name was Papyrus and that he volunteered down at the homeless shelter in the mornings before going to his day job as a librarian assistant! He was always so excited about his work, and he’d chat up all the barista’s all the time.

Unfortunately, you were on the late night shift, and you were grumpy about it.

It wasn’t for any particular reason. You just were grumpy.

Oh well, sometimes that’s life.

“AH!” Papyrus’ loud voice boomed out your name after the exclamation, entering the practically dead coffee shop (you really didn’t understand why it was open so late, it was never busy after 7, but it stayed open until 10). You straightened up from where you were slouched against the counter attempting to convince your coworker to lick something that had fallen on the ground.

“Papyrus, what brings you here so late?” you asked, a genuine smile on your face overriding the customer service face that you normally had plastered on.

“I Told My Brother About This Lovely Café! Meet Sans,” he said, before stepping aside and gesturing to a monster you had no idea how you hadn’t noticed before. He was massive. Taller than you (not as tall as Papyrus though), and wide as well. Which was why you were astounded that you didn’t notice him beside Papyrus. Then you noticed Papyrus doing jazz hands at his brother, who had turned his one lit crimson orb towards his brother.

“Pfft,” you giggled at the scene, “Well, welcome! Papyrus has told us lot’s about you,” you said warmly to his brother. “What can we get for you?”

You did have to do your actual job after all.

Papyrus ushered his brother closer to the counter and then started animatedly talking about the different options that he had tried over the past couple months he’d been coming. He decided that he was going to have the apple cinnamon latte, and a scone to stay! His brother glanced over at him before shrugging and saying, “i’ll take the same.”

His voice was much deeper than Papyrus’ but he spoke very softly, a strange combination. You nodded, glancing over at your coworker to see that he was staring at Sans with a slack jaw look. Instantly, your brow drew together and you cleared your throat. “Uh…did you get that?”

“Huh?” he asked, eyes not leaving Sans.

“Two apple cinnamon lattes,” you repeated, shooting him a tense smile, “to stay.”

“Oh…okay, got it,” he said, snapping out of whatever state of thought he was in and hurried to prepare the teas for them. You sighed softly, trying hard to keep it soft enough that neither Papyrus nor his brother heard before turning towards them again.

“What scone would you boys like?” you asked, jerking a thumb towards the display case. “It’s late so unfortunately we’re limited and they’re not as fresh as this morning.”

Papyrus waved a hand in dismissal but then placed a hand over his hip and stared intently at the scones on display. Sans, on the other hand glanced over at you, “what do you guys do with the leftovers?”

“Hm? Leftovers? Oh you mean, what’s left at the end of the day? Our boss normally takes them either to the homeless shelter if there’s substantial leftovers or he let’s us take them home,” you said, and gestured over at the display. “Years ago apparently they were just thrown out, but like…it’s perfectly good food even if it’s a bit stale the next day. I mean when your…” you stopped talking as your coworker placed down the cups of hot tea on the counter. One of the cups hit the edge of the counter, causing him to drop the cup splatter the hot latte all down the side of your leg.

“Shit!” your coworker blurted out, and you covered your face with your hands.

He had been working here longer than you had, and you had never seen him fuck up like this. You took a deep breath, counting to five to try to save face. The side of your leg stung from the hot water, and you slowly lowered your hands. “Mind taking over?” you said, staring hard at the ground. Your coworker stammered out an apology and then begged you to stay, but you strode straight into the back room.

After screaming into your arm, checking to see if it was a serious burn (it wasn’t just reddened skin), you dabbed away at the latte soaked pants before walking back out front. Papyrus and Sans were sitting at one of the tables, and you caught Sans’ eye. You gave a smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes before striding over to your coworker.

“So, mind telling me why you’re all…” you whispered and gestured towards the freshly mopped floor. He winced.

“I know….I’m sorry. It’s just….he gives me a weird vibe is all,” your coworkers whispered, eyes glancing over your shoulders.

“Why?” you asked, trying to keep your voice level and quiet, “I don’t get a single ‘weird’ vibe from him and I’m normally the person who gets uncomfortable around strangers.”

Your coworker shifted awkwardly, “it’s his…eye.”

“What about his eye?” you demanded, and you saw your coworker was constantly growing more and more uncomfortable so you huffed quietly.

“It just…Papyrus’ eyes move around, his doesn’t. Just stays focused. It’s creepy,” your coworker dropped his voice even further down. You huffed a bit louder.

“I gotta write an incident report,” you grumbled, and your coworker grabbed your arm.

“Please don’t,” he begged, “it was my fault. I’ll finish all the closing duties if you don’t.”

“What if it turns out worse than it is?” you demanded, “I want compensation so I’m going to go and write this report, and then I’ll help you close. Just…did you at least apologize to them for fucking up?”

He shook his head, and you stared at him in disbelief before pinching your nose. God, kill you now. You turned on your heel and went into the back to print off the incident report, and then you stomped back out front, turned the sign on the front door to closed, and then took some calming deep breaths before heading over to Papyrus and Sans.

“So, I uh-“

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” Papyrus interrupted immediately. His brother’s eye light widened a bit when you glanced over at him briefly before smiling, a genuine smile.

“Yeah, just a light burn nothing major. Uhm, but I was talking to my coworker and he said he didn’t apologize to you guys for messing up there. So I-“

“nah,” Sans shoved the last bit of scone into his mouth, “you don’t need ta apologize for him.”

You froze, apology dying in your throat, “Oh?”

Papyrus’s full attention was on his brother, and you saw a fond smile on the taller ones face.

“s’not your fault,” Sans said with a shrug, “don’t see why you gotta apologize.”

“B-Because?” you stammered, suddenly feeling like you were being confronted.

Sans gestured to the chair beside him. “ya gotta write something?”

You nod slightly, and he gestured to the chair again. For a moment you glanced at his brother before exhaling and sitting down. Papyrus immediately brought the conversation back into more comfortable waters as you scribbled down the last bit of the incident report. Sans punned a few times, sometimes a bit delayed, but that just made you snort and then cover your face in embarrassment to Sans delighted chuckling and Papyrus’ sighs of exasperation. It was delightful, and then Papyrus was gushing about Sans’ love for rocks, and the moment you got him talking about that? Whoooooo boy. You were amazed by how enthusiastic he was about them, and you mentioned a couple of gems and rock types you liked and he went into detail that had you nearly forgetting to fill out your paperwork in favour for just listening to his deep voice talk.

Once you were finished up your report, you reluctantly told them that the shop was closed, and had been for a bit. Papyrus was appalled that he had overstayed his welcome, and Sans just shrugged and said that someone would’ve told them that they had if they wanted them to leave.

You refused to correct Sans to say that some retail store employees will in fact get in trouble if they tell a customer to leave, even if the store has been closed for forty five minutes.

As you let them out, you gently reached out and placed a hand on Sans’ arm. It startled him a bit, but he relaxed once his eye light landed back on you.

“Hey…uh, I know this is really…werid, but uh…can I…maybe get…your number?” you stammered out, “actually that was really werid. I’m sorry uh, have a good night-“

Sans pulled out a cellphone and held it out towards you. You froze for a moment, until he gently poked your shoulder with it, then you snapped out of your surprise with a blush and entered your phone number and name into it. When he took it back he read your name out loud, and then grinned at you.

“thanks a latte for being so cool,” he winked at you. His brother groaned.

“It Would Make More Sense To Say Hot In This Scenario, Brother. As Your First Meeting With Her Was Met With A Burn,” Papyrus said, but you could hear the distinct teasing voice of a brother who knew more than he was letting on.

Sans snorted, “yeah, you’re the best, bro.”

Papyrus smiled and placed a hand on his brother’s back. “So! When Are You Going To Ask The Human On Date?”

You blushed. Sans blushed before elbowing his brother in the ribs. “papyrus!”

“What! You Said She’s Cute!” Papyrus grinned, “Then Got All Upset That She Didn’t Smile As Much After Her Injury.”

Sans ran a hand down his face, refusing to look at you. You cleared your throat lightly, “so uh…I’m totally flattered and all, but I do need to close the store…so…just text me? Or call…whatever!” you blushed, but a smile easily stretched over your face. “Even if it’s not for a date and just to hang. I mean, if you want. Or not…okay, uh…goodnight!”

You waved, and hurried back into the store and covered your face with your hands. Forgetting entirely that they could still see you. Your coworker looked at you in confusion, but you waved him off.

You grinned as you climbed into your car fifteen minutes later to see that you had a text from Sans. A stupid knock knock joke that had you giggling stupidly. There had been a tiny spark between you and Sans…and you wanted to see where it would go.

#horrortale #ht!sans #ht!sans/reader #reader-insert #only soft horrortale please #those skeletons need love and affection #selftober #self insert #reader insert

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acatbyanyothername9 · 5 years

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Every even number :)

2. What is your favorite movie?

AOTC : we got introduced to so much greatcharacters : Dex, Dooku, Jango Fett… We got to see Obi Wan drink and play detectiveand going with the flaw in some of the most ridiculous situation ever shown onscreen, we got to meet the GAR for the first time too! I also loved Kamino aesthetic.

4. Do you ship Anidala?

This is a complicated question. I don’t, notreally because I don’t think theirs is a healthy relationship. They jump into amarriage after having lost contact for ten years, Padme just brushes under thecarpet the fact that Anakin committed genocide, they don’t seem to agree onsome of the fundamental things such as democracy. I mean Padme fought untildeath to preserve the Republic and the Democracy, while Anakin was on board fora dictatorship and then brought on the Fall of the Republic. And some of therecent comics have shown that Padme does not trust Anakin (even if it’s only onpolitical matters because of his relationship with Palpatine). Also Anakin doesnot do healthy relationship and that is reason enough to not ship Anidala. On theother hand, I find Anidala fascinating because of all this: it’s a deeplyflawed relationship, yet they did it anyway and tried to make things work.

6. Luke or Leia?

Definitly Luke. Leia is way to belligerent forme.

8. Did you like Lando?

As a matter of fact I did! I liked his slyhumour, his friendship, the hinted background with Han, everything. I think heis one of the characters of the Original Trilogy that stuck with me the most.

10. Did you like the sequels?

Nope not at all. TFA is nothing more than aremake of ANH with characters with a different name/colour/gender (it was likewatching the Beauty and the Beast live action remake), as for TLJ, I still don’tknow what they were trying to do. At least I had some things to say afterleaving the theatre, even though none of them were nice. It’s a Star Wars travestythinking it’s a clever film. And I’m still mad that we saw Yoda and not Obi Wanhaving a talk with Luke. I mean who better to talk about what happened but ObiWan? Especially since the same catastrophe affected the characters in such adifferent way. But no, it would have required the movie to have some substancethat was very sadly lacking.

12. Snoke or Palpatine?

Palpatine. I mean have you SEEN what he did tothe Galaxy? He played the game from the inside, become Supreme Chancellor then Emperorand he had corrupted the Republic so much that SENATORS applauded him when he proclaimedthe Empire!!!

14. Thoughts on General Hux?

He spends most of his time on screen screaming?I’m not into the sequel fandom so I don’t have to say much about him. One thingfanart made clear however is that he seems to be a cat lover, so he scorespoints.

16. Least favorite ships?

Ooh boy, here comes I fear some unpopular opinions:Obikin first and foremost, just NO. Obitine just doesn’t work for me, nor ObiWan/Siri Tachi, despite Ruth Baulding excellent Lineage and Legacy series. Rex/ObiI just don’t get it (not that I mind it’s just I don’t understand why Rex/Obi).

18. �� What is your favourite quote?

« Hello there! » or alternatively ObiWan and Dex : “Cloners? Are they friendly?” “Depends how good your manners are andhow big your pocket money is” It’s just so reminiscent of Obi Wan attachment tothings that are “civilised” (and Dooku attachment too), like Ok, we know moneyis what makes the world go round, but I like this idea that manners and respectare really important too. Thank the Force it’s Obi Wan who went to Kamino. Can’timagine their reactions if it had been Anakin….

20. Sith Code or Jedi Code?

Jedi Code, wether you agree with it or not, it’sa quality food for thought and meditation.

22. What is the saddest Star Wars scene?

DO YOU EVEN HAVE TO ASK????? Qui Gon’s death akathe scene that didn’t happen

24. Han or Luke?

Again Luke.

26. Favorite villain?

It’s a tie between Dooku and Palpatine. Palpatinebecause a villain of such scale and cunning is an extinct specie in blockbusterstoday and Dooku because he’s fascinating, and it gives me so much Lineage feels!AND he’s played by Christopher Lee.

28. Do you want Rey to have a love interest?

Noper. Being asexual and seeing how the romanticrelationships are handled by Hollywood (romanticizing predatory behaviour in men,thinking that snide remarks are belligerent sexual tension, pushing characterstogether that have NO chemistry) I would prefer for Rey to be single and allowher character to have some growth on her own before being saddled in arelationship.

30. Thoughts on Solo?

I haven’t seen it. But from the clips I’ve seen,I LOVED Lando.

32. What is your favorite Star Wars pun?

I had to look them up, because I don’t think I’ve ever heard/seen one. The one I found genuimly funny was this one : “What did Cody say to his fellow clone when Count Dooku spotted them? “Tyranus saw us, Rex!”

34. What is your favorite battle?

I haven’t seen TCW so I can’t say much about it (onlythe two first seasons were available on Netflix and since it isn’t in chronologicalorder, I find it very confusing and sort of gave up). So I’m gonna go with themovies. For the lightsabre battle, it’s Obi Wan vs Darth Maul in TPM.

36. If you could be trained by Qui-Gon Jinn or Obi-Wan,who would you choose?

Obi Wan. Qui Gon would have infuriated me.

38. Anidala or Scoundress?

Scoundress because I said earlier Anidala is notan healthy relationship.

40. Leia’s hair or Lando’s fashion?

Lando’s fashion. I would never wear anything asflashy as he does, but I wish I could rock the capes as he does!

42. If you could have any creature as a pet, what wouldyou choose?

A Loth-cat.

44. Yousa like Jar Jar?

I never really disliked him in the first place.Anakin annoyed me more than him^^.

46. Finn or Poe?

Finn became a joke in the TLJ and seeing whatwas done to his character, I much prefer Poe, who was at least a bit morefleshed out. But I admit I don’t really care about either of them, the sequeltrilogy did nothing to make the character other things than walking/talkingtropes. And as such, I was never emotionally invested in any of them.

48. What are your top five ships?

My OTP is QuiObi, after that, well Obidala isthe only het ship I like when it comes to Obi Wan. Then there’s Quinlan/Obi Wanbecause these two were totally in a relationship at some point or another. Finally,Han/Lando. Yes it’s only four ships but that’s it.

50. Who is your favourite character?

Obi Wan. Hands down. Nobody comes close.

#sw #asks #I talked a lot #I'm sorry #but there's so much to say #I love star wars #such an interresting universe #obaewankenope #long post

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skeletonbrothersreptilelovers · 6 years

Text

Activity Night

This isn’t something I’ve wrote recently but I thought I would post it anyways. I did edit it though! I fixed minor errors and fixed some parts that I know how to write better now. I originally posted it on Archive but didn’t post it here because I didn’t really have any followers back then.

I was thinking about making it multiple chapters. People could send me activities they wanted to see the US gang do and I would write them whenever I had the chance. If you guys are interested in me doing that still, then do tell! ^^ You can send me some activities

I put some of it below the cut because it’s 4,083 words, but left some out so you can see if you want to continue reading it or not! ^^

I hope you enjoy! ^^

“Oh good, everyone is here!” Asgore says happily.

You are currently sitting on an over-sized couch – custom made to fit Asgore’s size – sandwiched between Papyrus and Undyne. Papyrus is pressed against one arm of the couch and Alphys is pressed against the other, Undyne half in Alphys’s lap, half sitting on the couch. You are pressing up against Papyrus, and if anyone asked it was because you need to be facing Undyne to listen to her speak about her new science project.

Totally not because you are crushing on the overly tall, lazy skeleton and want to be touching him.

Sans and Chara are both laying on their stomachs with both their hands propping their heads, intently watching Adventure Time together. Temmie was definitely not watching it out of the corners of his eyes beside Chara. Toriel was sitting in a rocking chair while having a pleasant conversation with Napstabot and Happstablook, the former sitting on the arm of the rocking chair while the latter just floated nearby.

Everyone’s attention is on Asgore as soon as he speaks. Chara excitedly stands and rushes to him, and he lifts them up into the air when they reach him. They laugh happily while staring down at him.

“Dad! Finally! We’ve been waiting forever! It’s your turn to pick the activity tonight, so we can’t start without you!” Chara says in mock angry, a smile threating to take over their face.

“My child! I do hope you wouldn’t start without me even if it wasn’t my turn to pick!” He says, laughing happily whenever Chara sticks their tongue at him.

“Course’ not Gore. We wouldn’t Dreamurr about it.” You chuckle lightly at the joke while everyone else, minus Asgore who is loudly laughing and Toriel who simply shakes her head, groans.

“BROTHER! DO NOT RUIN ACTIVITY NIGHT WITH YOUR HORRIBLE PUNS! HAVE YOU NO SHAME?” Blue berates him.

“Aw, c’mon bro. Ya know I’ve been tellin’ jokes since I was bone. I can’t resist.” Papyrus winks at you when you snicker, which causes your cheeks to heat up. You send a wink back his way.

Asgore calms his laughter while the skeleton duo continues their banter. He shakes his head at the two before speaking again.

“Anyways, it is my turn to choose the activity for activity night, as Chara said, and I think I have the perfect activity!” Everyone turns their attention back to Asgore, include the skeleton brothers, and eagerly waiting for the activity.

Activity night is why everyone is gathered at Asgore’s cozy home. Every Monday and Friday, everyone meets up to do some random activity chooses by whoever’s turn it is, and everyone must participate whether they like it or not. There is an order of who gets to choose the activity next. Starting with Asgore, the order of who chooses the activity is Asgore, Chara, You, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Napstabot, Happstablook, and Toriel. Temmie got removed after the incident. It’s done every Monday and Friday, so everyone could start and end their week in a good mood.

“A friend of mine recommended it to me. You take everyone’s name and write it on a piece of paper, then you put that piece of paper inside a container. Everyone draws randomly, and then the person makes a list of everything they like about that person! I thought it would be a nice way to bond, as well as to help remind everyone that they are loved! After we are finished with this, we can enjoy the rest of the evening outside roasting marshmallows.” Asgore explains, and everyone nods their head in understanding. It seems like a nice little activity. Some people are more excited about the activity after though.

“Oh, but I shouldn’t participate! My list would be way too long!” Napstabot says dramatic, clutching at his chest in false remorse, “But! We could make it a little more interesting while also creating a way for me to join the fun. How about we make it into a tiny competition? Whoever has the most things listed wins… Something!” Ah, so that’s why he didn’t want to join in. Napstabot is nice, but he never misses the chance to be told how amazing he is. The only other thing he doesn’t miss out on is creating a competition he could be the judge of. Asgore considers it for a second before nodding.

“That sounds fair. The winner can have a whole pie made by me.” Everyone instantly perks up with the promise of possibly winning pie. Even Napstabot looks mildly disappointed that he won't have a chance to win.

Asgore retrieves tiny slips of paper and passes it out to everyone – minus Napstabot and Temmie (who would most likely write nothing on the list anyway) – to write their names. Once everyone is finished, they fold the paper and put their names in a small bowl normally used for popcorn.

“Alright, now whoever is picking a name has to close their eyes and grab from the top! No digging!” Asgore instructs, and everyone quickly grabs a name. You choose to wait until everyone is settled down to take the last name available.

“We cannot tell who we are writing about either! It should be a surprise until the end. It also stops people from switching.” Asgore says before going to tend to his list writing.

You waste no time in unfolding your paper. You feel your cheeks flush lightly at the sloppily written ‘Papyrus’ on your paper.

What do you even write? You like everything about him. His laugh, his clothing choice, his smile- you even found his smoking habit enticing whenever he leans back and slowly blows out the smoke, just enjoying the feeling of it all. You especially like whenever he catches you watching him, so he uses his magic to make the smoke turn into different shapes.

You’re getting off track.

Undyne tries to sneakily peek over your shoulder to see who you got, so you quickly snatch the tiny slip of paper and hide it.

“No peaking,” you playfully scold her. She childishly sticks her tongue at you, and you make sure to return it. You hear a couple of people, who have noticed your interactions, chuckle.

You glance over at Papyrus, studying him for a few seconds. He was lazily scribbling words down on his list, and you had no doubt the everything listed was slobby. You shake your head at him before returning your attention to your paper.

Better get started.

You nervously fiddle with the pencil in your hand. You really hope Papyrus doesn’t mind what you’ve written. He hasn’t read it yet, no one has read any of theirs yet. Napstabot was currently getting ready to tell everyone the number of things listed about them before he hands them out. Then each person will take a turn stating who wrote about them and what they said.

“Okay! I’ve got the papers situated, now let’s count them up! Sans, you’ve got a high number of twenty-two! Undyne has fifteen. Happstablook has fourteen, although I could’ve listed a hundred. The queen has sixteen. Asgore has nineteen listed, which is the same amount as Alphys! ____ has eighteen. Chara also has nineteen it seems!” Napstabot pause at the next paper, which could only be yours because Papyrus was the only one left. He looks a little upset for a split second before a soft smile overcomes his face. “Aw, it seems like Papyrus has the most! Which is to say, he only has one listed.”

Everyone looks at Napstabot with confusion and slight upset.

“That’s not fair! Whoever got him obviously didn’t put any effort into it. I could at least name twenty things I like about him!” Alphys is very upset, mostly because it’s unfair.

“DESPITE HIS PUNS, I COULD NAME MANY THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY BOTHER TOO!” Sans says, a little put off that his bother didn’t get a higher number.

The rest of the group has similar opinions besides Napstabot and Papyrus himself (as well as Temmie, who says he would’ve written one thing too. “nothing”). Papyrus looks normal, but you can tell he’s a little disappointed.

“Eh, they only had one thing because I’m number one. Nyeh heh.” He jokes, though most are still upset over the fact he only got one thing listed to react.

“Now now, let’s hand everyone their papers back to see what was written about them and by who!” Napstabot shushes everyone, quickly handing out the papers.

Papyrus got Sans, and his list was half filled with puns. Sans was both touched and fuming. Sans had gotten Alphys, who forcefully gives him a noogie while saying his just a big mushy nerd. Alphys got Happastablook, and she apologizes for not having much to write because she didn’t know her well. Happstablook was very happy that someone who didn’t know her very well was able to say such nice things about her, so all was okay.

Happstablook got Chara, who tries and fails to hug the ghost. The attempt was appreciated. Chara got Asgore, who proceeds to fake cry of happiness (or maybe it was real and he didn’t want to admit it) and gives Chara a wet, sloppy kiss on the cheek. He got Toriel, who is extremely bashful. Toriel had gotten Undyne, who was a stuttering, blushing mess by the end of it. Undyne pulled your name, and you pull her into a tight hug.

Everyone’s attention turns to Papyrus, who is now has a dusting of orange on his cheeks. Most people have already figured out it was you who pulled papyrus’s name due to the process of elimination, but no one said anything. You feel your cheeks heat up as well.

“Well? W-what does it s-say?” Undyne asks, very curious now that she realizes it was you who wrote it. Not only does she know about your crush, she happened to see you write a ton of stuff down earlier, so she was a bit confused as to why he only got one thing listed.

“It uh… It isn’t important.” He mumbles, his cheeks becoming a bit brighter. Sans stomps his foot.

“BUT I WANNA KNOW WHAT ____ SAID! SHE ONLY LISTED ONE THING, SO IT MUST BE AN IMPORTANT ONE THING!” Sans tries to take the paper, but Papyrus pulls it out of his reach.

“Nuh-uh.” While he was holding it up and away from his brother, Asgore sneaks up behind him.

“Now let’s see here,” he says as he quickly snatches the paper from Papyrus, who startles and quickly protest it being taken away from him, “it says… Awww, how sweet ____!” Asgore beams at you, and your face instantly catches on fire.

“’Gore, please,” Papyrus says, reaching up to steal the paper back. Asgore allows him only because he already knows what it says.

Everyone, minus Napstabot, instantly starts asking what it said, their curiosity instantly peaked.

“I do not know, Paps seems pretty embarrassed by it… but maybe I could tell? No, no, that would be rude of me,” Asgore teases, causing them to groan in frustration.

“Absolutely everything.” You say, which causes all eyes to turn on you. You feel your cheeks burn brighter, “I wrote ‘absolutely everything’.”

Everyone goes silent, the only noise in the room is the Adventure Time theme song. Then suddenly, all at once, everyone (minus the three who already read it and Temmie, who was gagging) let’s out a big ‘awwwwww!’ that startles you.

“You’re so c-cute and sweet!” Undyne says while hugging your head to her chest. You chuckle bashfully.

“Ya MUSHY nerd! You’re lucky my girlfriend is hugging you or I’d be giving you a noogie right now!” Alphys says, and you’re suddenly very grateful that Undyne is smothering you.

“I KNEW YOU WOULDN’T HAVE ONLY WROTE ONE THING FOR NOTHING! ALTHOUGH YOU SHOULD HAVE WRITTEN ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING EXPECT PUNS!” Sans shoots his brother, who has calmed down some, a look.

Chara even sends you a wink when you look over at them.

“Well, it seems that Sans and Papyrus are the winners!” Asgore suddenly states, changing the subject so the rest of the evening isn’t spent gushing over you. “I’ll be baking a pie for them to take home. While I bake, everyone should go outside and roast marshmallows or just enjoy the campfire! We can share some stories when I come out before everyone has to head home!” At Asgore’s suggestion, Chara quickly darts past him into the kitchen, most likely to grab the marshmallow. Everyone heads out the back door to reach the campfire.

It has been an hour or so since everyone went outside. Asgore joined everyone pretty quickly after everyone went out to start story-time, but no one has yet to leave. Most likely everyone will end up staying the night, as that happens some activity nights. You were a little away from the group, close enough to still be a part of the group but far enough that most people don’t pay you any attention.

“Yo.” You give a small jump at the familiar voice that suddenly sounds beside you. You quickly turn your head to see Papyrus, who wasn’t there two seconds ago, sitting beside you.

“Hey,” You respond quietly, giving him a soft smile. You turn your attention back to the firepit to distract yourself from staring at him. The glow of the fire on his face would mesmerize you if you looked too long.

“So… Absolutely everything?” Papyrus nudges you gently with his shoulders when he speaks, and you feel heat creep across your cheeks that has nothing to do with the fire.

“Haha, yeah.” Is your awkward response. How else are you supposed to respond? ‘yeah, I like everything about you because you’re amazing and I’ve never felt like this about anyone before’ didn’t seem appropriate.

“Care to elaborate sweetheart?” You feel your blush intensify at the name. He calls you sweetheart often, but it never fails to make you flush just a tiny bit.

“Well, actually, I can,” you say as you reach into your coat pocket. The list he read wasn’t the first list you wrote. You wrote a long list before the ‘absolutely everything’ list but got too nervous and had to quickly come up with something else. You hesitate when he reaches for it, which causes him to raise an eyebrow at you.

You want to give it to him, but you’re afraid. If your feelings weren’t obvious already, then they certainly would be afterward. You knew that Papyrus wouldn’t make it awkward if he didn’t feel the same, but you still didn’t want to feel the rejection. Papyrus grabs the paper, tugging it lightly but not forcefully. He won't take it if you really don’t want him it.

You almost take it back, but you remember what Undyne said. “J-just let him know. I promise, the o-only thing you’ll r-regret is not telling him sooner, even if he r-rejects y-you – which I doubt he will!”

You let go of the paper, your face heating up even more. You bring your knees to your chest and cross your arms over them, gently resting your head on top of your arms while waiting. You could feel butterflies in your stomach.

“Let’s see here… Oh.” Papyrus’s face turns a different shade of orange than the fire glow while he reads over the list. He reads it out loud.

“What I like about Papyrus:

His smile

His laugh

Especially the laugh he does whenever I catch him off-guard with a good pun

The way he looks at sans and occasionally me (its scribbled out, but still readable)

His personality

His puns and jokes

The way his eyes twinkle whenever he thinks of a particularly clever pun

The way he cares

His face when he gets frustrated

His face when he’s concentrating

His clothing choice

His blush”

The list goes to thirty – where you realize you’ve probably written to much, so you stopped – but your face is super heated and you’re embarrassed so you tell Papyrus to stop.

It’s silent between you two for a long while. You feel yourself get fidgety. Papyrus knows how you feel now (how could he not after that?), and you wonder if he’s going to pretend he doesn’t realize or reject you. You doubt he feels the same. He’s probably just embarrassed that you feel this way towards him, and that’s why he blushes whenever you do certain things. He probably realized your feelings way earlier.

“____.” You flinch whenever he calls out your name, jerking your head away from the fire and towards him.

“I-I! I’m sorry! You can ignore the list. I know you don’t feel the same. I’m just silly, ignore me.” You quickly say while reaching for the list. Papyrus puts it out of your reach, so you have to lean up and over him to even have a chance at grabbing it.

“Whoa, who says I don’t feel the same?” His words make you stop reaching for the paper altogether. Your attention turns to his face, and he winks at you, “I could list the number of days I’ve thought about being able to get with Ya. ____, yer perfect. Anyone would be a complete moron to not return yer feelings.” Papyrus says with a soft smile. He expression and eyes held nothing but adoration.

You feel like your soul was about to burst with all the emotions you are feeling; relief, happiness, love, and disbelief all swirling together. You want to respond to him, maybe ask him on a date or ask what this all means towards your relationship with him. Did he want to wait and go on a couple of dates first, or did he want to make it official right here and now?

You fail to notice Papyrus starting to sweat.

“Did… Did I misread ya somehow? I’m sorry. I thought that ya wanted… I mean, ya made seem like ya felt the same.” Papyrus starts rambling, fumbling with the paper in his hands while he tries to scoot back from you (you were practically on top of him trying to get paper). His expression was crestfallen.

He hadn’t misread you, but you got busy with your thoughts to realize that he might come to his own conclusions when you didn’t answer him. You quickly grab the first thing your hands can get ahold of – his hoodie strings – and stop him from moving any farther.

“I really really like you Paps.” You quickly say, and he instantly stops his weak attempts at trying to get away. He lets out a sigh of relief, a blush slowly spreading across his cheeks. He sheepishly rubs the back of his neck

“Oh, good. ‘cause I really really like you too.” He says in relief before smiling at you with a genuine smile. It was your favorite smile, a smile that used to rarely happen but has appeared more often the last year.

A warm smile overcomes your face. You could feel happiness and affection swelling in your chest, growing the longer you gaze at him.

“Can I...?” You don’t continue the question, but you gently tug his hoodie strings towards you while you lean forward slightly. His split-second confusion is replaced with instant realization. He doesn’t respond, but he does lean forwards, so you take that as a sign of yes.

You grip his strings a little tighter whenever your noses gently bump into each other. You sit like that for a few seconds, your nose close enough to gently brush against his. You could feel his warm breath with how close you were. You briefly wonder how kissing a skeleton would work, but the thought dies whenever Papyrus gets tired of just sitting there.

He presses his teeth against your lips, and your entire body shivers are the buzz of his magic that sparks against your mouth. Your face flushes a deep red as you return the sweet kiss. You pull his strings towards you, pulling him closer to you and deepening then kiss. He lets out a tiny noise of approval.

Both of you jump at the sound of several cameras, and you quickly pull away to see that everyone’s attention was on you two. Can your entire body blush? Because you feel like it is blushing in mortification.

“Why did you stop NERDS!? It was just getting interesting! Papyrus even hand his hand sneaking up her shirt!” You blink at that and look down, and notice your shirt was slightly hiked up where Papyrus must have been sneaking his hands underneath it. You look over at him, but he avoids any eye contact with you.

You didn’t mind, but you would like some warning before he tried to get grabby with his hands.

“BROTHER! I NEVER KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU! YOU SLY DOG!” Sans teases his brother, which causes Papyrus to somehow glow brighter. Sans rarely has a chance to tease Papyrus, and it is always funny to watch the bubbly skeleton pick on his younger brother. Too bad you can’t enjoy it fully right now, as you’re part of the teasing.

“I’m so glad my child fell asleep while I was telling stories, or you two would be in a lot of trouble.” Asgore scolds lightly, and you’re relieved that Chara was asleep too. They would never let you live this down.

Everyone starts to join in on teasing you and Papyrus, besides Undyne who is blushing furiously and switches between looking at her phone, glancing at you and Papyrus, and giving you happy smiles. She’ll most likely tease you when you hang out with her. It takes a while, but eventually everyone calms down to call it a night.

As you guessed earlier, everyone would be staying over at Asgore’s place tonight (minus Happstablook who doesn’t sleep and just fades away back home, and Toriel). Blankets and pillows are thrown everywhere, Alphys was sulking on the floor – Papyrus said that his prize could be the couch while Sans’s prize could be the pie, so Alphys didn’t get to sleep on the couch this time – with Undyne who was basically laying on top of her. Napstabot was charging in the corner, and Sans angrily declared earlier that he would be sleeping in Chara and Temmie’s room when Papyrus made a joke about him being Napstabot. Asgore was in his own room.

You are on the rocking chair that reclines, pushing the seat as far as it’ll go so you could try and get some sleep.

“Hey.” You open one eye to see Papyrus laying on his stomach with his arms crossed, his head resting on top of them while he stares at you.

“Hey,” you say sleepily in reply. Despite being sleepy, a fond smile crosses your face and your emotions from earlier return.

He doesn’t say anything, but he does turn on his back and lifts his arms upwards. He glances at you from over his shoulder, raising one eyebrow in question.

You stare at him sleepily for a second before it finally caught on what he was silently asking. You slowly put the chair back to its original position, careful not to make much noise, before standing and making your way to Papyrus.

You pull back his blanket and pretty much fall into his arms. It wasn’t the first time you’ve cuddle him, monsters are all about platonic cuddles. You’ve cuddled Sans and Undyne, and even been pulled into a cuddle session with both Alphys and Undyne at the same time. It’s the only reason why you didn’t get hopeful when Papyrus asked you to cuddle the first time or any other time.

You bury your face into his hoodie on his shoulder. He chuckles lightly, using his magic to pull up the blanket and wrap it around the both of you. He adjusts the two of you so that you’re pressed against him and the back of the couch – the couch was big enough to fir both of you snuggly. He wraps both his arms around you and pulls you close, and you return the favor by doing the same to him.

“gnight, sweetheart,” he mumbles, pressing a quick kiss on top of your hair. A smile overcomes your face despite being almost asleep.

“Goodnight, Paps.”

#Underswap #Underswap Papyrus #Underswap Sans #Underswap Asgore #Underswap Toriel #Underswap Chara #Underswap Napstabot #Underswap Happstablook #Underswap Undyne #Underswap Alphys #Underswap Temmie

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