#She’d probably be a snake or a hare

[palesweetscherryblossom]

So I’ve recently got back into SU, more specifically Spinel so now I raise an important question

Who wants naga Spinel headcanons

[unhingedlesbear]

TCOFS Pet headcanons

I like making these

Sam - I feel like he and Robert have a cat. Idk why. I feel like they didn’t intend to have a cat but it showed up one day when Robert was young and he insisted on keeping it. I feel like Sam was originally a dog person but now dogs just remind him of his experience w Frank Stone bc of Merlin. Also he's definitely a case of "dad that didn't want the pet but ended up loving it" with this cat.

Madi - Madi is a hard one bc I feel like she’d just have any and all animals. Ykw. She does. Madi has a LOT of pets. She strikes me as a small pet owner, so she probably has a hamster, maybe some rats, probably a fancy mouse maybe some Guinea pigs, maybe more than that tbh. Bonnie was probably chill with it even though they’re not her kind of pets. Speaking of Bonnie she’d 100% have a snake or a tarantula or something like that. The tarantula part is partially me projecting but also I feel like she’d love tarantulas. She might also have a dog tbh but like a bigger breed like a cane corso. Maybe that’s also me projecting. But still. 

Chris - I wanna say she has a rabbit just bc I associate her so heavily with rabbits and hares, but she DEFINITELY would have a dog. Maybe even multiple. She has heavy dog person vibes. She probably has a more medium sized dog, she doesn’t give me little dog owner vibes or big dog owner vibes. She’d have like… a samoyed or something. Or a shiba.

Jaime - I feel like Jaime has a bird. No idea why. I just feel like he has a cockatiel or something. 

Linda - 1000000% Linda has a cat. Or multiple. She has huge cat person vibes. She’d own cats for her whole life I think. Young Linda has a cat, old Linda has multiple. She is your stereotypical cat lady and this is a good thing. 

[non-vacant]

okay hold on first post is what they think their fursonas would be (plus what the actual ones would be) and then also their favorite pokemon

DIRK- he’s HONEST. he’s GONNA say hog (half correct! hybrid with a vampire bat!) - ELECTRODE SWEEP 💪💪💪

LUCERO- PLEASE LET HIM BE A PONIES PLEAAAASE LET HIM BE RAINBOW DASH (he’s a mole…) - ZEBSTRIKA…

FLORIS- He has thought about this extensively and he is confident his fursona would be a meerkat. (so close! Fly.) - MUSHARNA…

EXALT- NATURALLY. A DOVE. LIKE A LITTLE ANGEL. (actually an ostrich.) - BISHARP. NATURALLY.

OSAMU- He Would Hope He Got To Be A Fucking Ant Eater. (… … .,, well fuck i mean yes.) - …durant…

VERA- She would refuse to answer. But she is thinking fox so hard. (BLACK WIDOW.) - BELOVED PURUGLY

HESPER- Would like to be a sea angel.., have you seen those? She’s talking about those now. (Hare.) - ARCEUS ENJOYER AND NOT AFRAID TO SAY IT. SHE HEARTS GOD

BRISSA- She’s A Vulture. (She’s a duck.) - MIME JR. SWEEP 🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾

SALESTE- She’s going between like five different animals, but mostly she’d say a poodle or maybe a deer :) (Bunny…) - ALAS SHE WAS PROJECTING. FURFROU FAN SHE CANNOT DENY THE POODLE LOVE

TOMI- SHE wants to be a bear SO BAD. Mostly a sun bear?? SHE ISNT PICKY!!! (CORRECT! all because she believed in herself…) - PANGORO…

EDEN- Well, by personal experience, a moth, but, y’know. (She has a point!) - LARVESTA IS LIKE IF THERE WAS A BABY

VICEROY- He would want to say wolf so bad but then immediately get boo-ed out of the room. His second pick would be a crow. Predictably. (Admittedly he was close! I think it would be more like a black german shepherd.) - SERPERIOR FAN. HE KNOWS ITS LAME TO PICK STARTERS THESE DAYS, BUT… CMON.

AEGRUS- Haha! What a novel concept! He would be a snake. (He would be a boa constrictor.) - QUITE FOND OF THAT DARLING LITTLE PIKACHU FELLOW.

SANTIAGO- UHH he would be a snake probably. (Not very creative! He would be a rooster!) - IS IT STILL CREEPY TO LIKE LOPUNNY OR IS HE GOOD?

[the-lupine-sojourner]

The Story Traveller Saga [Book 1: Martin the Warrior] [Martin/Rose included]

Hi there!

I had this idea for Ayana as a 'Story Traveller' for a while and I'm finally starting the journey!

For those not familiar with Brian Jacques' Redwall series, it is a very wonderful (in my opinion) series of 22-ish books set in a really fun area called Mossflower. The titular Redwall is an abbey made of red sandstone and is populated by peaceful woodlanders such as mice, hedgehogs, otters, sometimes shrews, moles, etc. The villains in the stories are always foxes, weasels, stoats, ferrets, etc that threaten Redwall in some way.

Another location is Salamandastron, the mountain stronghold of warrior badgers and the Long Patrol hares.

In general, the plot is bad guys decide to attack Redwall, the abbey had to defend itself, someone is named Warrior of Redwall (picking up a famous sword wielded by Martin the Warrior, one of Redwall's founders), and the day is saved eventually. That's a really rough oversimplification, but hopefully you understand what I'm trying to say.

I will point out that this is Martin's origin story, with the story of how he helped found Redwall coming right after I finish this book! :)

Btw, if you like my writing, please consider buying me a ko-fi, or if you want, you can continuously support me writing stories by joining my Patreon!

Anyway, I will let you guys read the prologue for now, and I hope you guys like it! Any questions are welcome! (or if you wanna be on a taglist, please let me know!)

God Bless and Good Day!

~The Lupine Sojourner

My life was changed by four little words.

"Ayana…it's your grandmother." My heart dropped to my toes as my aunt sobbed over the phone, telling me my ailing grandmother was gone, passing quietly in her sleep.

It was the ideal way to go, but that doesn't dull the pain of her loss at all.

All too soon, I sit at her funeral, tears a steady stream down my face. Then, we all went from the memorial (held the day after the funeral) to the will reading.

It was fairly standard, really. My uncle and his wife got the house, and the grandchildren were to split my grandmother's clothes and other belongings among ourselves…except, apparently, her books.

"The personal library of Elizabeth MacBurrow is to be given to her granddaughter, Ayana MacBurrow, in its entirety, along with the enclosed envelope in its entirety."

Murmurs rang through the room. I myself was shocked. Nana and I had always been close but I hadn't expected this. No one had. 

She'd always say I was the only one of her grandkids that would really listen to her bedtime stories (wonderful stories about heroes and villains, told through woodland animals) or let her talk to me about those books she loved (her bedtime stories were probably inspired by those books), but I never thought this would happen.

Now I have more books than I know what to do with, and a weird envelope. What was inside, I have no idea.

But, I have to go up and get the envelope, trying to ignore the murmurs still ringing around the room.

Strangely, it felt like there was something in it. Some small object, most likely made of metal as well as whatever paper was clearly inside.

I walk back to my seat, where my siblings tried to look at the envelope, but I tuck it into my purse, refusing to open it til I was alone.

I shrink into my seat, wishing this will reading was over already.

=#=#=#=#=

My mom, bless her, knew I wanted to be alone, so she didn't let anyone stop me from going to my room.

There, I lock the door and flop on my bed so I could finally open the mysterious envelope I'd gotten from Nana.

In it, as I thought, was a letter, and…a ring?

It was a lovely silver ring, looking like something an ancient king would wear, patterned a bit like a snake with an emerald for the snake's eye.

I frown. Why would Nana give me this, and her books? This makes no sense…

I open the letter, hoping that would clarify things.

My dear Ayana,

I'm afraid I don't have very long left in this life. I've made my peace with that, as sad as I know you and your family will be.

I've always felt that you were the most like me out of all the grandchildren. You are the only one with stars in your eyes, eager for an adventure. So I left my library to you, along with this ring.

I stumbled on this ring at an estate auction I attended years ago with your grandfather before his passing.

It took a long time to discover its wonderful ability, as I'm sure you will discover for yourself.

It may be frightening at first, but if my instincts are correct, you will grow to love the adventures the ring will unlock for you.

Remember always, dear child, that I love you. I will always be thankful I got to nurture your love of reading and adventures. I hope that passion continues to flourish in you.

I love you always,

Nana

Tears blur my vision. What does all this mean? What does this ring do? What does Nana want me to do?!

Not sure what else to do, I try the ring on my fingers. Turns out, it fits best on my left pointer finger. I twist it on my finger absently. Nana's books would be given to me tomorrow, more than likely. We lived fairly close to Nana's house, and we were planning on going through Nana's stuff tomorrow anyway.

I flop on my bed, sighing heavily. Nana had always been a bit eccentric but I loved that about her. I could listen to her stories for hours! I always felt like she and I sort of understood each other…

Now…I'm not sure what she's asking me to do. Does she want me to read her whole library? Or just…whatever I want to read from it? And why give me the ring? This makes no sense! Couldn't you have written a clearer note, Nana!? Why'd you have to be so enigmatic about something like this?

Feeling helpless and unsure, I fiddle with the ring as more tears flow.

=#=#=#=#=

Dinner had been awkward, and I wasn't looking forward to the trip over to Nana's house, or the influx of questions I was sure to get.

I'd been grilled about the envelope at dinner so much that Mom and Dad had to step in and tell them to leave me alone. Dinner ended up with me finishing my meal alone in my room, the door locked. Eventually, I fell asleep, still feeling awful I couldn't decipher Nana's note.

True to my prediction, my cousins are eager to know about the letter, so I hid in one of Nana's spare bedrooms to try to calm down as my parents explain the situation.

They'd knocked on my door last night and I let them in, letting them read the letter. They were as confused as I am, and agreed to not talk too much about it.

Eventually, the conversation grows quiet so I come out to find a few boxes of books ready to go and my parents boxing up more of Nana's library.

There were a lot, and I go to help them.

My parents had sent my cousins away to start looking at Nana's glassware collection, which I wasn't interested in at all.

"You ok, honey?" Mom asks gently as we close up a box of books.

"I dunno. I still feel…numb, I guess." I confess. "And a little overwhelmed with all these books and this ring business."

"We're here for you, Ayana. You know that, right?"

I nod.

"I know. I really appreciate you keeping the vultures away." I quip, trying for a smile.

"Couldn't let them munch on my baby!" Mom also tries for a smile, but neither of us can quite manage it.

One of my cousins, Rosemary, walks up. "Hey, Annie." She greets. It was a nickname my family had started, and I never minded it.

"Hey, Mary." I retort, using her nickname.

"I'm sorry for bombarding you with questions earlier. I just got so excited by what might be in that letter and I didn't even think of how you felt about it." Rosemary murmurs, sitting beside me. Mom and Dad move away to oversee what was going on in the basement.

"I can understand that curiosity. I am still trying to figure it out myself, I guess as a distraction from how I got the ring and letter."

"I get that." Rosemary chuckles a little and rubs my back. "Hey, um, we females are going to go over Nana's other jewelry if you want to take a look."

"...Ok."

We go into Nana's bedroom, where her jewelry had been spread about the foot of the bed, a few pieces already on my cousins' hands, wrists, or necks.

"Hey, Annie." A few greet, no one wanting to awkwardly apologize for their behavior, but I could see the remorse and regret in their eyes, so I let it slide and start peeking at jewelry.

The rest of the day passes fairly uneventfully (my wardrobe a little fuller with some sweaters, cardigans, and coats of Nana's with a few trinkets wrapped up in clothes, a small box of pins, a few necklaces, and a few pairs of earrings) and soon we were unloading the many boxes of books into our living room where my parents were partway through making some bookshelves to house my new books.

I open a box of books Nana seemed to have read a lot, judging by the wear to the outside. I reach inside and grab a random book, heading to my room.

I barely get three pages in before I fall asleep, feeling like I was falling, but I wasn't scared as the darkness envelopes me.

[diioonysus]

from my last post, i wanted to make a list of what the gods or gods would take from their sacred animals as physical attributes (yeah I know it sounds like egyptian mythology but difference is my idea is that I stray away from animal heads like they’d still have humanly heads)

-hera:  peacock feathers webbed underneath her arms, where she’d open her arms in a hugging motion and they’d be on display

-zeus: from examples im looking at brown eagle so something similar to hera, but instead of arms it would be wings

-poseidon: for the horse maybe the legs like a satyr or the tail

-hades: would have horns like a ram (since one of his sacred animals is a black ram)

-persephone: she’d have the bat ears and maybe the wings

-hermes: for the tortoise probably the armored shell on his back

-apollo: for the fox, the tail and the ears (orange color of course)

-artemis: the doe ears for a deer

-hestia: for a donkey the tail, the ears, and a bit of the grey fur

-ares: for a vultures, he would have the wings and idk maybe the beak

-aphrodite: for hares, the ears and the tail

-hephaestus: since both hestia and him have the same sacred animal, for him it would be the dog so the tail, the ears, and the nose

-dionysus: for the panther, he would have the spots over his body plus the tail

-demeter: for a snake, she would have the scales all over her body

[flamehairedwritings]

The Fire In Your Eyes: Chapter Five

Characters: Arthur Morgan x Original Female Character

Rating: The whole series will be E, 18+ ONLY for violence, gore, character deaths, animal deaths, parent deaths, swearing, grief, sexual themes and sex.

Summary: Saved by Arthur Morgan when her town is attacked, a young woman’s past comes back to haunt her when she has no choice but to join the Van der Linde Gang.

The Fire In Your Eyes Masterlist

Please don’t copy, steal or re-post my work; credit does not count.

The Knock on the Cage

The next morning, restless from a sleepless night of turning over Micah’s words in her mind and her irritation at Arthur, Ada offered to take Karen’s morning watch, something that had delighted the other woman. 

Sadie had suggested she offer to take a watch a couple of days ago, to which Ada had politely dismissed under the pretence Miss Grimshaw needed her assistance, but now she was itching to do something else besides sewing and washing and cleaning. 

And what better way to prove her newfound loyalty to this camp than protecting it? Especially as she’d already proven what she could do.

Her ‘show’, as it was now being called, was still being discussed by the time dinner had come round, and she had batted away questions about how’d she’d been taught with humble answers of being raised to hunt.

It was a familiar story to them, some of the group having been raised the same way, so they didn’t press, just taking it as she was damn good. It was almost as if her ‘show’ had broken the last barrier between her and the group, like they had found the box they could put her in to and what purpose she served. It was almost as if she’d finally found her place, too. Most of the men, probably seeing her as more useful now that they knew she could do more than sew and clean, held easier conversations with her that night and Charles and Javier had even politely extended an open invitation to her to join them in a hunt one day. She’d accepted gladly.

Now, though, she was left alone to guard the camp on the north side, a rifle in her hands and a gentle breeze on her face.

It was peaceful, and she hadn’t minded that the hours had passed slowly. Stood under the tall trees, she listened and watched for any sign of movement, occasionally spotting a hare or squirrel rustling amongst the bushes. 

She tried not to think about how easily she had been riled yesterday. Usually she found it more infuriating to someone in an argument to be the calm one, to walk away, but something about Arthur just made her want to prove him wrong. Who the hell did he think he was, judging and—

“Good mornin’.”

She’d heard someone approach but hadn’t expected that voice to belong to them. Turning her head, she smiled politely.

She was the only camp member she hadn’t spoken to, having only glimpsed her sitting in Dutch’s tent or down on the other side of the bank, writing or combing her hair. The other women and even some of the men had remarked under their breath about how lazy and entitled Miss O’Shea was, and Ada had been able to see that for herself.

So quiet alarm bells had started to ring that Molly O’Shea, who kept herself to herself and hadn’t bothered to introduce herself previously, had come to seek her out.

“Good morning, how are you?”

“Ah, I’m grand, thank ye, you?” the Irish woman answered, a gentle smile on her lips as she wandered closer, a cigarette between her fingers.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Grand.” Molly exhaled a breath of smoke. “I just thought I’d come to let ye know Javier’s comin’ to take over from ye in a few minutes.”

Oh, did you now.

“Thank you, Molly.”

“No worries. I’ll walk back to camp with ye, if ye like. He shouldn’t be too long.”

Can’t really say no to that now, can I.

“Sure, that would be nice.”

Lowering her hands, Ada kept the rifle grasped in one as she fell into step with Molly, her curiosity over exactly what Miss O’Shea wanted causing her to fall silent.

She didn’t have to wait long.

"You’ve got lovely hair. Just like mine. Ye got any Irish in yer family?”

There we go.

“Yes, my father was. He’d come here as a child, though.”

“And yer mother?”

“American. From Virginia. They met at a local dance one night and fell in love. Much to the dismay of my grandparents, apparently.”

“Oh, really?” Molly smiled as she did, her eyes remaining intently on her.

“Yes, but they loved each other so it didn’t matter to them.”

“Ah, that’s lovely. Very romantic.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Forgive me for askin’ but I take it he passed away?” she asked, lowering her voice to a sympathetic tone.

“Yes, when I was a child.” Ada smiled faintly, making sure the recollection of tragic memories was clear on her face. “A few years after that my older brother died. We moved to Strawberry shortly after, my mother and sister and I, to live with my uncle, for a fresh start.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Annie. You’ve been through so much.”

Ada just maintained her small smile, looking at the ground. They slowed as they reached the camp and Ada lifted her head to nod at Javier as he passed, a light smile on his lips.

“Look,” Molly continued gently. “I’m sorry I haven’t introduced myself to ye sooner, Annie. I thought I’d give ye a bit of space after all the awful things ye went through.”

Of course you did.

“It’s fine, Molly, I appreciate your kindness.”

Molly’s sweet smile widened a touch before she gestured at Ada’s face with her fingers holding the cigarette. “Did that happen in the attack?”

Ada frowned genuinely for a moment before she realised what she was referring to, involuntarily touching her cheek and the small, healing bruising that spread across her cheekbone. Nobody else had mentioned it, perhaps out of respect.

“Oh, yes, my Repeater hit me as I fired a shot. It was much worse when I arrived.”

It was far too sympathetic a look the woman was giving her. She also seemed to be steering them in the direction of Dutch’s tent and, upon glancing at it, Ada spotted Micah sat outside it, cleaning his revolver.

Christ, what is this? They’re not going to interrogate me, are they?

“And your neck, there, that from them, too?”

Ada caught herself before she cursed, tensing just slightly.

Shit.

She’d meant to find a neckerchief before dressing but it had slipped her mind as it had been so full with cursing Micah Bell and Arthur Morgan.

“Oh, no, I got this when I was a child, from an accident.”

She resisted the urge to brush her finger tips against the thin, four inch scar that lay horizontally at the base of her throat. Up until now she’d kept her hair down and the blouse Miss Grimshaw had given her had a high neck which had hidden it. But now, with her hair swept up and wearing the new brown and white striped blouse that she had bought which had a lower neckline, it was on show for all to see, if one were to look close enough. Miss O’Shea was very observant.

“Goodness, how did it happen?”

What exactly was she searching for? All Ada could think about was that this was Dutch’s woman, but was she digging for her own benefit or for Dutch’s? Had her little gun show yesterday drawn more interest than she’d thought? Or was Molly just incredibly curious?

Ada was saved from resorting to one of her lies, however, by none other than Arthur Morgan.

“Hey, Molly, where’s Dutch?”

Her head lifting quickly, Ada found the man suddenly stood before Micah, ignoring whatever the other man was rambling on about, that eternally exasperated expression on his features.

Miss O’Shea’s mood soured quickly. 

“I don’t know, I’m not that man’s keeper, apparently.” Throwing her hands up dismissively, she strode away, muttering under her breath.

So much for my new friend.

Passing the rifle to her other hand, she suddenly didn’t quite know what to do with herself, standing there a little awkwardly. Follow after Molly and perhaps continue to be interrogated by her or very obviously turn away from these men and stride away like she’d found a pit of snakes? Well, that wouldn’t be far from the truth.

“... that line of thought serves you or me very well,” Arthur answered to whatever Micah had said. And then he looked at her.

“Miss Sawyer, have you seen Dutch?”

“No, I haven’t.”

He sighed and looked around again, which needled her.

There, he’s just silently dismissed you for being useless, now go.

“Well, that’s because, cowpoke,” Micah continued, “you are a man of profoundly limited intelligence. Isn’t that right, Miss Sawyer?”

She glanced at him, finding him giving her that smile she hated so much.

Irritating Arthur by siding with Micah she certainly hadn’t stooped to yet.

“At least he doesn’t pretend to be the fount of all knowledge.”

Arthur’s gaze darted to her as Micah laughed.

“Defending the idiot, huh? How noble of you, Miss Sawyer.” His attention returned to Arthur. “But while you and the old man and Dutch have been running around, digging us ever deeper into shit, old Mr Pearson might have gone and lightened the load a little. Pearson!”

Now her curiosity certainly wouldn’t allow her to walk away.

“Ain’t you curious?”

She almost answered him before she realised he was talking to Arthur.

“I guess.”

“Gentlemen.”

Ada took a slight step to the side at the sound of Dutch’s voice behind her, turning her head. He strode towards them, looking resplendent as always.

“Dutch,” Micah called out eagerly, excited to share whatever he had, gesturing at Pearson who had nearly run over to them, smoothing down his thinning hair, also excited. “You tell him, fat man.”

Ada arched an eyebrow and found herself glancing at Arthur, who was already looking at her, and they shared the briefest of bemused looks. She swiftly returned her attention to Pearson as he spoke.

“It’s peace, Dutch, the O’Driscolls. I mean, I think there’s a way.”

Ada stilled, bemusement falling from her features. Arthur frowned, stepping aside as Dutch stepped into his tent.

Dutch didn’t seem too impressed either. “What on earth are you talking about?”

“Get the words out properly, fat man,” Micah prompted with thinly veiled frustration, giving Pearson a slight shove into the tent.

Pearson cleared his throat and took a breath, lifting his gaze to Dutch’s back as the older man reloaded his revolver. “I met a couple of the O’Driscoll boys on the road into town. Things were about to get ugly, but you know how I am in a fight, huh? Like a cornered tiger!”

From the corner of her eye, Ada saw Micah look at Arthur, a smirk pulling at his lips, but she didn’t dare pull her attention away from Pearson.

“Anyway, somehow it didn’t, but...” Pearson cleared his throat again as Dutch lit a cigar, still not having gained his full attention and very much aware of it. “We got to talkin’ and they suggested a parley to end things. Like gentleman.”

“Gentlemen?” Now he had Dutch’s attention. “Colm O’Driscoll?” He advanced towards Pearson, who backed out of the tent, his mouth moving slightly. Dutch looked between Micah and Pearson. “... Have you lost your minds?”

“You’re always tellin’ us, Dutch,” Micah interjected before Pearson could, “do what has to be done, but don’t fight wars ain’t worth fightin’.”

“They want a parley?” Hosea’s voice suddenly sounded from behind them and they all turned, finding him sat at the table, a newspaper in his hands. “It’s a trap.”

Micah hissed out a slight breath, raising his hands. “Well, of course it’s probably a trap.” His voice softened a little as he returned to Dutch. “But what have we got to lose finding out?”

“Gettin’ shot,” Arthur drawled.

“We ain’t gettin’ shot because you’ll be protectin’ us,” Micah answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, patting him on the arm. “It’s a trap? You shoot the lot of them. If it ain’t a trap, that slim chance—”

“I don’t see the point in any of this,” Dutch cut in as he strode out of the tent towards Hosea, shaking his head, and they all followed after him, Ada included, at a slight distance.

“It’s a chance we gotta take,” Micah implored, walking a little faster than the others.

Dutch exhaled a short breath as he braced his hands against the table, leaning over it. No one spoke.

Suddenly pushing away from the table, Dutch straightened. “I killed Colm’s brother, a long time ago.”

Ada’s heart stopped as her lips parted. 

Oh my God...

Her blood ran cold.

“Then he killed... A woman I loved dear...”

This was why they hated each other so much. This was why so much blood had been shed. This was why... This... Because of... Because of this man stood before her...

Micah hummed sympathetically and leaned on the table. “As you say, it’s a long time ago, Dutch.”

Dutch fell silent once more, his jaw moving. He threw his cigar aside.

She couldn’t breathe.

She felt Arthur, stood beside her, looking at her.

Breathe, for the love of God, breathe...

Then, Dutch nodded.

“Let’s go.” The men all straightened as he pointed at Micah. “You and me, with Arthur protecting us, no one else.”

He started to walk away, and Ada heard herself saying, “I’ll go with you.”

They all paused, their eyes heavy on her.

Breathe.

Gentleman Dutch smiled politely as he turned to her. “Miss Sawyer, I can’t allow that.”

She swallowed hard, grasping the rifle a little more tightly. “Either you allow it, or I just happen to be heading the same way you do.”

Her boldness took them all by surprise, including herself.

“Miss Sawyer, it—”

“Because of that man my family is dead and my town destroyed. If he wants to talk peace and means it, I want to be there. For my family and the people of my town’s sake.”

“By that reasonin’ we should take Sadie, too,” Arthur interjected, frowning.

Her gaze cut to him. “I’d be delighted if she was to join us.”

Dutch’s smile lingered as his eyes swept over her and, after less than a moment, he nodded. “Fine, but you go with Arthur and watch from a distance until we know it’s safe.”

She nodded, knowing when to not push her luck.

As she strode passed him, Arthur stared at Dutch incredulously, opening his mouth to protest, but Dutch was already walking away, heading towards his horse.

Gritting his teeth, Arthur made his way to his own horse, watching Annie. She mounted quickly, holstering the rifle on her saddle, a grim determination on her features.

Lord, I hope she doesn’t shoot him the moment we see him... If he’s even there.

“Mount up, then, Morgan.”

Arthur glanced at Micah, a satisfied smile on his lips. Sighing heavily, he mounted his horse, his eyes returning to Annie as they headed out of camp.

Micah led the way, Dutch to his right and Arthur and Ada behind them.

“You know, I’ve been fightin’ Colm for so long now I can barely remember a time when it was different,” Dutch said bitterly.

Her gaze cut to him, her heart thumping against her chest. 

“And you’re still fightin’ him now, make no mistake of that,” Arthur answered from her left.

“Here he goes, Doubtin’ Thomas. Is there any plan you ain’t sour on?” Micah snorted.

Ada kept her gaze ahead, silent, her mind racing as they talked to each other. 

Think about something before you throw up.

But what else could she think about?

Peace? Why would O’Driscolls want peace? It, almost laughably, went against their very nature. It just seemed far, far too good to be true. Whatever was going to happen, though, whether it was a trap or not, O’Driscoll boys would be there, and she was going to kill them. And if Colm O’Driscoll was there, then—

“What about you, Miss Sawyer? Awful brave of you to want to come.” Micah’s voice brought her back to the present.

“I’m nervous, too,” she answered after a moment, echoing words she’d heard Arthur say.

“Look, you two ain’t even going to be the one’s in danger. We’ll get on over there, find a nice perch for you two to settle into, you both got rifles, ain’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Arthur muttered.

“Then me and Dutch walk right into the lion’s den with you to cover us. And you Miss Sawyer, we’ve all seen you’re a real good shot, I can imagine the damage you could do.”

What a shame if you were to get caught in any cross-fire, Micah.

“Okay, just keep calm. Unless I give you a reason not to,” Arthur answered before she could.

“Oh, we’ll be fine. We’ve got you two,” Dutch called back.

“We will do our best, won’t we, Miss Sawyer?” Arthur glanced at her as they rode over a dry river bed, the sun beating down.

She just hummed in response.

“Oh, my dear and trusted friend, with you watching over me, I would walk into hell itself,” Dutch said sincerely.

“As would I,” Micah added, so over-sincerely she would have laughed in any other situation.

They fell silent, until...

“Hey, up there, men on the ridge.” They followed the direction of Micah’s pointing finger, slowing 

“O’Driscolls, from the look of ‘em,” Duch murmured as they watched the four men ride up the ridge slowly, the man at the back, even from this distance she could see, looking down at them.

“I don’t like havin’ eyes on us.” 

She shared Arthur’s discomfort as they rode up the incline of the hill.

“We’re close, you’ll be the eyes soon enough,” Micah answered in what just about passed as a soothing tone. “Maybe he’s right, Dutch. Maybe I have pushed too hard. Got us into situations that... could have been safer. I just... I see all those mouths we got to feed, and I... I dream too big. Caring too much, that’s my problem.”

Ada wanted to laugh again.

“Carin’ too much? There’s no such thing.”

“This is horse shit, from both of you!” She was glad Arthur said it before she did.

“It might be! Micah might be full of shit. Colm O’Driscoll might be full of shit,” Dutch said, a quiet bite to his tone as the path flattened out and they reached the top of the hill. “The promise of this great nation, men created equal, justice and liberty for all, that might be nonsense, too. But it’s worth trying for. It’s worth believing in. Can’t you see that, friend?”

Arthur sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Try. All I ask is you try.”

“All right, cowpoke, and my lady,” Micah interrupted, “you’re gonna peel off up ahead. We’ll be meeting down on the plain. Find a spot just above us where you can keep an eye on things.”

“All right, all right. However this shakes out, let’s aim to meet back at the fork in the road afterwards.”

“We’ll be there, partner.”

They separated, Dutch and Micah heading down into the valley as Arthur and Ada cantered away up the rocky, grassy incline. Neither of them spoke until they reached the top.

“Slow up, just here,” Arthur murmured.

She slowed Faithful as Arthur slowed Ophelia, glancing at the nearby ridge. They dismounted, each shouldering their rifles, and she followed behind him, crouching a little as they moved towards the edge. They both kneeled and Arthur lifted the binoculars he’d retrieved from his saddlebag, peering through them at the scene below. Micah and Dutch had halted and dismounted, three horses cantering towards them. Where was the fourth? Probably doing exactly what they were. Ada looked through the scope of her rifle. They both watched as Dutch and Micah lay their hands on their weapons on their belts, and a grey-haired man in the middle dismounted his horse.

The wind faintly carried his voice as he spoke.

“Hello, Dutch. It’s been a while.”

She stiffened. Colm O’Driscoll.

“He’s old,” she couldn’t stop herself from saying.

“He ain’t that old.” Arthur muttered, lowering his binoculars and raising his gun. “Now be quiet.”

“Sure,” they heard Dutch say.

The other two men behind Colm dismounted and approached.

“So, uh, how’s your gang doing? They still believin’ in ya? Better world, pure world, hmm? How’s that comin’ along?” She could hear Colm’s smile.

“Just fine.”

“How’s that score you stole off us?”

“Which one?”

Arthur sighed.

For Christ’s sake...

Colm laughed suddenly. “Oh, I like that. It’s like I said,” he said to his men, “This a charismatic leader.” Turning back to Dutch, he neared, his head tilting. “Lot of heat on us this time. Both of us. Whole heap of trouble.” He smiled. “They offered me a price, Dutch, to bring you in.”

Dutch smiled. “Why didn’t you take it?”

“Well, still might.”

Dutch’s smile faltered slightly, and he seemed to exhaled a breath. “I am... sorry about your brother.”

Colm just continued smiling, shrugging. “Well, I never liked him much.”

Dutch stilled, and Arthur thought he could see the coldness in his eyes. “... I liked Annabelle.”

“You always loved the ladies, Dutch van der Linde, I like that about you,” Colm laughed, shaking a finger at him.

Dutch seemed to have had enough. “What are we doin’ here, Colm? Is this thing over?”

Ada hadn’t moved, desperate to hear every word, barely breathing. Arthur had been too busy focusing, too, to notice her distress, thankfully. The very earth seemed to fall into silence as they awaited Colm’s answer.

There was a sound behind her, suddenly. 

Before she could turn, white hot pain spread across the back of her head and everything went black.

Sounds waded in and out. Loud, so loud. His eyes opened and there were three moving shapes. Blinking, they focused into three men, strangers, who were staring down at him, laughing and calling out to him.

“Hello, sugar! You ain’t dead, is you? Not yet, anyway!”

The man who spoke slammed his boot down onto Arthur’s shin and he grunted, pain shooting up his leg. Then a fist slammed into his head, and a boot connected with his stomach. Something cracked against his head, and everything went black.

“.... handin’ him over to the law, it’s... I don’t know. Strange times...”

“They killed Seamus, fuck the whole lot of them...”

Arthur exhaled a quiet groan, trying to open his eyes. His vision was blurred and distorted voices came from somewhere but he couldn’t determine where or who. Closing his eyes, he tried to regulate his shallow breathing, his head pounding.

What the hell happened... Think, you idiot...

Mountain. He’d been up on the mountain, he’d been watching the O’Driscolls, then Annie had— Shit, Annie had been with him. She’d made a sound, then he’d turned and... Shit, an O’Driscoll had slammed a gun against his head.

It had been a God damn trap... Jesus Christ, where’s Annie?

Opening his eyes again, Arthur dragged his gaze up and there she was. He released a rasping breath as he tried to focus on her. She lay a foot or so away, her hair covering her face, motionless.

They can’t have killed her, they won’t have killed her or...

Of their own accord, his brain slow to catch up, his arms moved out and settled on the ground. Digging his fingers into the ground, he pulled himself towards her, gritting his teeth as he tried to be as slow and as quiet as possible. He still couldn’t place where the voices were, but they were starting to sound closer as he adjusted.

His fingers brushed against her hair, trying to push it aside to see where her face was. Then, she made a small sound and her head moved a fraction.

Relief eased the tightening of his chest.

“Annie...” he breathed, pushing more of her hair aside. “Hey, wake up, come on.”

She didn’t move or make another sound.

A horse’s whinny broke out across what he had now established was a clearing in a forest, and he’d recognise the sound anywhere.

Good girl.

He couldn’t whistle her closer for fear of alerting the O’Driscolls, but he couldn’t just do nothing.

Shit...

“... he can play him...”

Slowly turning his head, Arthur found the source of the voices. He could only see two of them, sat on the ground several feet away, their backs to him. He was too weak to fight them, he knew that, and if they hadn’t killed him yet they wanted him for something. They hadn’t killed Annie either or seemingly done anything else, so...

If I could get away, get to Ophelia and get help... Shit, I can’t leave her...

Perhaps he could get to his guns on her, though, she hadn’t sounded too far off.

Shit...

Turning away from Annie, he began to crawl, focusing on an incline up ahead. If he could stand, and then maybe run, maybe she was beyond it, maybe they wouldn’t notice him...

With what strength he had left, Arthur pushed himself up onto shaking legs as quietly as possible.

One foot in front of the other, come on, you big bastard...

"He’s escapin’! Shoot him!”

Oh, shit...

“Relax, relax! I got him, I got him...”

A gunshot sounded and he saw a bullet collide with the ground before him. He collapsed, his legs too weak, rolling onto his back.

“Did I kill you?”

The same three men from before appeared over him again as he groaned, fighting to keep his eyes open.

“Not... yet...”

They laughed, two of them still keeping their guns fixed on him.

“No, of course not. Not yet... But I will.”

A gunshot sounded again, and pain blossomed across his shoulder. His cry broke off as he passed out.

A roaring sound. Like when he was too near an explosion and his ears couldn’t adjust. His face was wet. Blood? Possibly. Yelling, too.

He groaned. God, pain everywhere.

Open your eyes.

It took all his strength to pry them open and he gazed down at... water. Running water. A river, a loud one. Something kept jolting him, too. On a horse, crossing a river. Every breath he took came out as a ragged exhale. Pained.

Still yelling.

Annie. He could faintly hear Annie yelling, but it was as if she was miles away. Cursing and hollering that was answered with laughter.

There was a cry, then, suddenly, silence.

He thought he heard an eagle’s call as he passed out once more.

She heard firewood crackling first. Low voices drifted over it. She felt warmth from something close by.

Then she felt the pain.

There was an unrelenting stiffness in her shoulders, arms and legs. It took her a few moments to realise she was kneeling on dry grass and her hands were tied above her head to a wooden pole that pressed against her spine, keeping her rigid. Her jaw and cheeks hurt, too. They throbbed, as did her right eyebrow. In fact her whole head ached.

She’d been hit, she remembered. Hit to pass out, hit to shut up, hit just for the hell of it. Hit by...

She mentally checked the rest of her body.

Fine, thank God... Well, besides the stiffness...

The voices rose a little higher for a moment, laughing, before stabilising again.

I don’t want to know where I am, I don’t want to know where I am, I don’t want to know where I am...

A groan escaped her, and the voices grew in volume, enough for her to hear.

“Shh, quiet... Is she awake?”

“About time.”

“Quick, make sure you’ve got a gag ready.”

They laughed and the sound of it irritated the throbbing in her head, making her groan again.

Someone suddenly gripped her chin and lifted her head. Opening her eyes a fraction, her cracked lips parted.

“You’ve taken a couple’a blows to the head, darlin’, you all righ’?”

She hummed out a sound, then made her eyes open a little wider. A man swam into focus, with brown eyes and black hair and moustache.

“Never been better,” she rasped.

The man laughed, making her wince.

“Fiery one, ain’t ye? I think I’ve got somethin’ to make ye quiet.”

“I wouldn’t. I’ve got strong teeth.”

He laughed again and released her, standing and patting the top of her head before turning away.

“She’s fine. Tell him.”

She watched him as he walked away to, she assumed, resume his place at a fire surrounded by three, four other men. Her sluggish mind tried to frantically make a plan as she attempted to rotate her wrists to test how loose the bonds were.

Not loose at all.

Slowly lifting her head higher, her neck so stiff, she leaned it back against the pole, her eyes drifting across the scene before her. The men sat to her right around the fire, and across to her left was a stone building of some sort, perhaps a cottage. She could hear the sounds of horses behind her, snorting and biting at the grass. Beyond the men was a ramshackle wooden shack, crates stacked around one side of it and...

No sign of Arthur.

Please, God, don’t let him be dead.

Closing her eyes, she willed herself, in her exhausted state, not to cry. They would just love that and she couldn’t lose hope because there was always, always a way out.

‘Somebody always makes a mistake somewhere, girlie’.

Think.

They couldn’t have killed Arthur. She’d heard the men talking about this being a trap to lure Dutch to them, so they won’t have killed him... Would they? Would it make much difference, if Dutch was going to come and they were all to be turned over to the law, anyway? Why was she still alive? She was no major gang member the law could use, oh, God, what did they want with her—

“Ah, our second guest.”

Her eyes snapped open at his voice. Carefully lifting her head off the pole, she watched him approach, a smile on his lips, a lantern in one hand and a stool in the other.

“Hello, sweetheart, how are you?” Colm O’Driscoll asked, setting the stool down and taking a seat opposite her.

He was dressed like a poor man’s version of Dutch. Waistcoat, shirt, trousers, all of them one step down from the kind of finery Gentleman Dutch wore. Where Dutch’s hair shone darkly, Colm’s was lank, grey, thin. His features were harsher, too, the lines in his face deeper. His blue eyes, however, were bright, and on her.

She swallowed hard and wet her lips, feeling each stinging split.

“Wonderful,” she whispered, not trusting the full strength of her voice.

He laughed softly. “They said you was a firecracker. You don’t sound so good, though, would you like some water?”

She couldn’t, and didn’t want to, stop herself from nodding.

“All right, then.” Placing the lantern down, he pulled a silver flask from his waistcoat pocket, unscrewed the cap and held it to her lips.

Tipping her head back as much as she could, he then poured the liquid into her mouth. She swallowed, and instantly started to cough. Turning her head to the side, she spluttered as the liquid burned her throat, her breaths ragged.

Whisky.

“Ah, shit, my mistake. Damn, you got some on me, sweetheart.” Colm tutted before taking a swig himself and screwing the cap back on, watching her as she started to cease her coughing.

Licking her lips again, wincing, she lifted her gaze to meet his. He smiled.

“I’ve just seen your boy Arthur,” he remarked, leaning a forearm on his thigh. “Oh he’s fine, don’t be so worried,” he continued as her eyes widened. “I told him you were... a little unwell. Still pretty, though, ain’t you? Yeah...”

He brushed the dirty strands of hair that fell over her face away before his fingers ran down her jaw, his smile widening a little more as his hand dropped.

She hadn’t jerked away but stayed silent, watching him, her heart pounding.

“He was goin’ to leave you, you know. He was makin’ a break for it.”

He couldn’t have missed the confusion that flashed across her features.

“Yeah, my boys saw him runnin’ away. Had to shoot him in the shoulder, they did. It’s lookin’ a little bad now, but I think it got the message through.” He waved his hand. “But, anyway, what’s a nice girl like you doin’ with a band of such cowardly outlaws, hm, Miss...? What’s your name, darlin’?”

She didn’t answer.

He leaned closer, his elbows on his knees. “Now we thought you was Dutch’s current lady at first, what’s her name, Molly? Yeah? But then we saw how young you was and... then I saw this ring...”

Her eyes darted down as he rummaged in his trouser pocket and pulled out a small, silver object. Holding it out to her in his palm, she clenched her teeth as she stared down at the ring.

“... now, I know this ring. Where’d you get it, darlin’?”

She returned her gaze to his.

“It was a gift.”

“Hm? Was it now? From who?”

“A boy in my town.”

“Oh...” He sat back, tilting his head. “... now I don’t believe that.”

Beads of sweat trailed down her back as she watched him turn it over with his fingers.

“See, this is a very special ring. A family heirloom, I think, one of a kind. I know someone who had one just like it.”

Her chin started to tremble as she exhaled a short, staggered breath. He met her gaze again.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Ann—Annie Sawyer,” she whispered.

He tilted his head again, his expression one of disappointment. “I don’t believe that, either.”

“My... My name...” Her voice shook, her eyes filling. “... is Annie Sawyer.”

“No, it isn’t...” He leaned closer once more, closing his fingers over the ring. “I think it’s Adaline O’Driscoll.”

Tears started to fall down her cheeks as all hope left her.

“Am I wrong, dear niece?”

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[strelles-universe]

“Ridiculous,” Kite growled.

Squirrelpaw watched the powerful molly inspect the rune embedded within the rockface. She exchanged a glance with Shrewpaw, seeing her confusion reflected in his eyes. It seemed like an ordinary ward to her - why was Kite so worked up about it? She’d seen one further north and had refused to let them keep walking,  instead heading straight down and finding another rune.

“They can’t be that many of them,” Kite muttered. “What happened to the cleaning crews?”

She shook her head, a frustrated growl escaping her mouth.

“Okay, looks like we’re passing through this containment sector,” Kite addressed them. “Stay close to me, do not go hunting and do not talk to anyone you see here.”

Not giving them a chance to respond, Kite stepping to the containment field and led them with strong confident steps. Squirrelpaw tried to stay with her. They hadn’t been venturing long but thus far, the land outside the Sanctuary wasn’t dangerous - just barren. Kite was a better farland hunter than all of them though so if Squirrelpaw wanted to eat, she figured it was best to stay near her aunt.

She glanced to her left and noted Crowpaw stalking sourly after them. He’d been surly since Kite had deemed them all idiots and informed them that she would telling their parents as soon as they got back. Squirrelpaw didn’t understand why Crowpaw was so upset about that - it only made sense that Kite would report them. They’d get in trouble - probably be grounded for a long while - but they would also have saved the Sanctuary. If she were honest, Squirrelpaw was just grateful that Kite hadn’t sent them back right away.

Squirrelpaw shook her head - Crowpaw’s sulking wasn’t her business and if he wanted to be a grumpy butthead for this entire journey, that was his business.

We are a team though, she thought grimly. And it had been Crowpaw’s idea to go and the Starshard. 

She dropped back, allowing Crowpaw to catch up to her and fell in step beside him.

“...are you okay?” she decided on.

Crowpaw shot her a withering glare, “No, we’re being kitsat like we’ve only just emerged from our dens.”

“Kite is only trying to protect us,” Squirrelpaw said.

“Protect us from what? Dry grass?” he scoffed. “We’ve been travelling for three days and the most dangerous thing we’ve encountered is boredom.”

Squirrelpaw didn’t say anything but she kind of agreed with him. They hadn’t encountered so much as a garter snake so she wasn’t sure why Kite was so on edge - that said, she wouldn’t be on edge if there wasn’t any problem.

“I’m going to hunt.”

Squirrelpaw looked at Crowpaw, shocked.

“I’m hungry and she can’t make us walk through the only grass that might have rabbits or mice in it for moons,” said Crowpaw. “I’ll bring you something if you keep your mouth shut.”

Squirrelpaw hesitated - she shouldn’t keep it to herself. She should tell Crowpaw not to go at all but well… Kite had woken them at the first songs of dawn and they hadn’t eaten the entire time and she was starving. Crowpaw was probably right about this being the only stretch of grass where any good would be running through.

“Okay,” she agreed quietly.

Crowpaw smirked and nudged her, “I’ll catch you a good hare.”

Squirrelpaw watched him slip off, a churning sensation in her belly.

---

“Where’s Crowpaw?”

Squirrelpaw keeps her head down and stays silent as Kite begins cursing at the innocent question from Shrewpaw.

“Are you telling me that fucking idiot wandered off even after I told you-” Kite growled and turned. She searched the area behind them and when she saw no one, started heading back in the direction they came.

Kite’s ears alternated between laying flat against her head and swiveling madly around, trying to catch every possible sound. Her tail lashed furiously, a growl rumbled into her throat and every once in a while, she searched the horizon for any sign of the wayward apprentice.

Finally, Squirrelpaw spotted Crowpaw before Kite did, standing before a rounded molly while protecting his catch - a rabbit.

“There’s Crowpaw!”

“Shit!” snarled Kite and she bounded over with a new urgency. “Hey!”

Crowpaw looked up then cringed when he noticed Kite’s furious expression.

“What did I say about wandering off?” Kite growled.

“I was hungry!” Crowpaw protested. “I only went to hunt!”

“And he’s a good catcher,” the molly commented. “Caught that rabbit in no time at all.”

Kite’s eyes narrowed at the molly and Squirrelpaw felt herself growing uncomfortable. She didn’t know why but this molly was setting off so many warning sounds in her head. She reassured herself while looking over the molly who was scrawny with a matted, messy coat.

“He still shouldn’t be wandering off,” Kite said slowly. She slips her paw around Crowpaw and pushes the rabbit towards the molly, ignoring Crowpaw’s protest. “I’ll catch him something else. You take this - you look like you need it.”

She does, Squirrelpaw agreed to herself. That cat looks like she hasn’t had a decent meal in two weeks.

“No, thank you,” said the molly with a peaceful smile. “Rabbits aren’t so appetizing.”

Kite ushered Crowpaw back towards the group, “Okay then. Goodbye.”

As soon as she said this, the molly’s face twisted into something ugly.

“But he and I were talking.”

“And now you’re not,” Kite said, narrowing her eyes.

The molly released an enraged caterwaul at the same time that Kite whirled around to them, “Run! Fucking run! Cross the containment boundaries!”

Squirrelpaw spun on heel and sprinted for her life as cats burst through the tall grass lunging for them. She sprinted in the direction Kite had been heading initially, panicking and her paws slamming against the ground. She scrambled around the slashing claws and snarled a warning at anyone who lunged towards her. Fear for her life certainly made this sprint take much less time than when they were creeping through.

She cross the containment field, panting and gasping for air as her eyes scanned the rest of their party. Feathertail and Stormfur had made it already and were panting with her while Shrewpaw ran for his life, scrambling across the boundary. The mad cats snarled and howled in rage, clawing at the barrier relentless.

“Hey!”

Squirrelpaw looked up to Kite sprinting with a limping Crowpaw beside her, she grabbed Crowpaw by the scruff and flung him towards the barrier as the mass swarmed her. One broke out far faster than the others and Kite grit her teeth, slamming into the enemy. Squirrelpaw watched in horror asshole tore the throat from the attacker and held it up.

The small horde of cats froze, staring at her. 

Kite flung the corpse at the nearest cat who grasped it and began devouring it hungrily. The hoard released a screech of rage and began ripping and tearing at each other, attempting to steal the body.

Kite sprinted the last leg of the distance with Crowpaw, panting and she shook her head.

“Next time, listen to me,” Kite growled and walked on.

Squirrelpaw looked at Crowpaw who was now subdued and wide eyed. He trembled as he limped after Kite as     quickly as he could, his shoulder was bleeding heavily but he refused to settle and hobbled as fast as he could move.

She glanced back to the cats who’d torn each other to shreds, only five of what she now could count were about twelve cats still alive and devouring the bodies of their former allies.

Squirrelpaw shuddered and ran after Kite.

[jadehqknb]

GOM+Bokuto and Kuroo who are Familiars confessed their love to their witch s/o and it is forbidden for a Familiar and a witch to be together. (angst+fluff)

So I know I told you that I couldn’t figure out a way to give all these boys the same scenario without it feeling like I was repeating myself but then I remembered the “progressive story” method and came up with this. I really hope you enjoy it and thanks again for being so patient and flexible!

Kuroko - Hare

Kuroko could, of course, remember the first day they’d met. It had been at a familiar auction, one he’d been to many, many times but because of his unassuming nature and quiet disposition, he was always found to be less than desirable to be purchased. That is, until she came along. She’d taken one look at him and knew he was perfect for her. So the blue haired rabbit familiar went home with her and if he really considered it, that was probably the same day he fell in love with her.

Midorima - Snake

But, he’d never admit it, whether from pride or the futility in feeling such affection for his witch. So Midorima did the next best thing; became the most perfect familiar he could possibly be. He curled under her bed to keep watch while she slept. He made sure all orders were in perfect order and verified any and all magic items sold to them. If something seemed too good to be true, he’d call out the proprietor trying to pawn it off on them with little regard to feelings; his witch would be protected not only in body, soul and mind but also in her reputation.

Akashi - Fox

It did, however, become increasingly difficult to watch would be suitors attempt their wooing of her. Wizards, warlocks, male witches and wannabes, it didn’t matter who stepped across the threshold of their shop to try to win her affection, Akashi would watch them with glaring eyes. Thanks to his astute judge of character, he’d often be able to see right through their intentions and any falsehood, providing her with accurate (if extremely biased) opinions. She would usually laugh off his protestations, assuring him she wasn’t interested in anyone and perfectly happy to remain as she was. But instead of providing comfort to him, it fed him just enough to keep annoying hope alive.

Kise - Raven

Sometimes he wondered if he imagined it, wishful thinking growing too great, but he couldn’t deny that every once in a while it seemed like she looked at him like he knew he looked at her. Kise wasn’t stupid, despite his blonde hair and bubbly personality. She knew all of him, every last crevice of his personality by now and still remained faithful to him. It was just another reason he loved her as much as he did. And it was times like this he wondered if he could tell her, regardless of the consequences. But a moment later, she was back to normal, asking his opinion on a few orders with nary an indication of anything deeper than what he knew they had. So taking a deep breath, he sat next to her, going through items together.

Bokuto - Owl

Bokuto’s eyes remained wide as she retreated through the door, mind working overtime trying to figure out what had just happened. One moment they’d been laughing and joking about selling Oikawa explosive eye of newt and the next she was practically running away from him. He frowned, getting up from his seat and heading to the door. He knew it was probably a bad idea but enough was enough. Long life or not, he only had one time around and he was tired of hiding how he felt.

Kuroo - Cat

He followed her into her room, the sound of the shutting door drawing her attention to him. “I’m tired of dancing around,” Kuroo said, his gaze holding her in place. He stalked forward, eyes starting to glow. “You can’t not know how I feel by now,” he insisted, hands landing on each side of her head. She looked up at him with wide eyes, lips parted to speak but no sound would come out. He leaned down, mouth centimeters from her own. “I’m in love with you, mistress,” he purred, the title she’d come so used to holding a completely different meaning in this tone. “And I think you love me too.” Her eyes, which she didn’t remember closing, flew open to meet his betraying the truth of his assessment.  

Murasakibara - Irish Wolfhound

“We can’t,” she sniffled. “If we’re found out, one or both of us could be killed!” Murasakibara drew her into his large, warm arms. “Don’t worry, _____-chin,” he murmured into her hair. Tilting her chin up, he kissed her, lips massaging hers open to caress her tongue with his own and swallowed her moan. Pulling away slightly he affirmed, “I’ll crush whoever tries to take you away from me.”

Aomine - Panther

Aomine kissed her again with all the ferocity of his nature, practically devouring her. She arched into his touch, mouth hung open gasping for air when his lips scorched a blazing trail down her throat to the top of her chest. “You’re gonna pay for always wearing these damn corsets,” he growled, descending his claws just enough to tear the fabric of her bodice. “Fucking teasing me all the time, shit.” He threw her to the bed, covering her body with his own. “I hope you’re ready for a long night,” he warned, ripping away her skirt before whipping his own clothes off. “Because I’m going to make up for all these years of torture, in the best way possible.”

[sweetmeatdale]

I’ve got a bit pieced together from the spoilers and some of this’ll draw from stuff other people said and a little I thought of on my own but I’m gonna try to cover a few things all at once. SPOILERS BTW(gonna tag it anyways but just in case)

This is gonna take a little while but I think the place to start would be with what the descriptions of these two specials can already tell us

Right off the bat I’m not the best at translating French but before I go ahead with butchering that translation let’s unpack what the visuals show us. 

For starters there’s several new Akumas and heroes and right off the bat we can recognize all the heroes and a few akuma but it also stands out that Queen Wasp is Queen B and “Malediktor” looks like her dad. So since it looks so similar to her suit as Queen B it seems reasonable to assume that the events of “Le Combat des Reines” take place after “Le Tour des Heros”. 

As for the new akumas, previews have confirmed who The Collector and Troublemaker will be and a few others seem obvious given character designs but a few will obviously be new characters and on the whole would be best explored on their own like how the snowmanlooking one may be why we saw the ice-skating preview; but it also stands out specifically that there are so many Akumas simultaneously thus necessitating the introduction of three new heroes who we know to have each been akumatized before so that alone will either mean that they’re gonna have to be deakumatized before they become heroes or their Miraculouses will protect them.

And that seems like best way to lead up to talking about how several sources who translated the commentaries from the video we got these images from all agree that it was said that Marinette will be the one handing out the new Miraculouses so Alya becoming Rena Rouge is an obvious choice seeing as she already tried to make her Ladybug in the origin episodes and by extension it makes sense for her to give one to Nino as Carapace ore “Shell” as some people have been translating it, but it gives cause for us to wonder why she’d ever trust Chloe to become a superhero. There’s some simple explanations right off the bat like about how it happens during an emergency and she was low on options or it happens after Chloe had already started showing progress towards becoming a better person, but one theory I saw that stood out was that Marinette would’ve originally tried to give it to Adrien but as we all know Adrien already has one so he gives it to one of his oldest friends and I sorta like this not only because it’d show Marinette trusting Adrien with a responsibility she doesn’t know he already has but from her perspective it could look like he gave it up like she almost did. And to further support this, Ladybug would probably b confused if the person showing up with the bee miraculous is obviously not the person she gave it to so I’m gonna bring up a spoiler we got tweeted to us a couple of months ago a short piece of their script:

Here we have Chloe just straight up telling whomever she’stalking to who she is which in the context of Ladybug being confused about why she’s obviously not Adrien makes some sense. Next things I’m gonna address will have to do with translations from what we see so bare with me and if I’m very wrong please let me know so I can correct myself. 

For starters I can at least read that “Les Tour des Heros” is a 2 part special but the best I could translate the title to was “The Hero’s Turn” which isn’t very helpful. As for the rest of it the picture tells the story about as well as I can try to translate it; there are new heroes and many villains.

‘Les Combat des Reines” translates to “The Combat of Queens” and is described as a trilogy so that paired with the previously statement that the Bourgeois family is being controlled by Style Queen leads me to a few conclusions.

First the plurality of combat of queens make me suspect that the big fight this will ultimately be about will pit Queen B against Style queen with her family at stake.

Next, I already mentioned that this seems like it takes place after the other one so gonna guess that paired with my theory from before that Chloe tells the rest of the team who she is this could lead to some mistrust as most of the rest of the team recognize her as a bully so I think that may be the beginnings of a team divide that ultimately lead here, making it necessary for Chloe to show and prove that as Queen B she can be a hero for reasons that aren’t just because she idolizes Ladybug so much. And beyond that some level of distrust withing the team as a whole is sort of expected because Thomas Astruc was asked to share a spoiler so he tweeted a poster of Captain America: Civil War prompting a panic that the heroes would fight each other about something.

All that aside there’s one final set of theories I thought I’d at least attempt to cover while I’m at this and that is to do with all the Chinese Zodiac Kwamis we saw 

And there’s not really that much concrete information to go off of here but it is known that there’s a planned episode with Ladybug in Shanghai.

Which again doesn’t tell us much, they’re both basically just concept images.

There is however a secondary theory that seemed to spring up out of a bunch of people separately comparing Kwamis they liked to the main cast and what this one boils down to is that the rest of their class somehow ends up with these Zodiac Kwamis; popular theories being that Kim gets the dragon or that Alix gets the snake both based in part on their personalities and the aesthetic of their character designs. For me this idea came to mind when the mouse and/or rat Kwami reminded me of rose because they were both small but someone pointed out that the listed Kwamis leaves out the Rabbit and/or Hare and that they thought she’d be more fitting of that based on how she acts.  There’s a lot here and I know there’s probably more to share so feel free to add in the comments (assuming I post this correctly). Also if I’ve made any major mistakes then please let me know about that.

[palesweetscherryblossom]

Random Spinel posting but I think that Spinel would find a kindred spirit with pigeons, who used to be adored and bred by humans only to be abandoned when they weren’t needed anymore.

I also feel like she wouldn’t be able to stand quietness since she did stand in the garden for 6000 years in utter silence.

She’d probably like ring pops, sweetarts and fun dip.

In my eyes, Spinel would either be a hare, snake or again, a pigeon if she was an animal.