#in which Shadow and Knuckles fight for second place constantly | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rivendellsstuff · 4 years ago

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𝐂𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.

𝐂𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 | ❝Slowly, she was collapsed and sheathed inside his heart — and that was the beginning and the end of everything for Levi Ackerman.❞

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2590;

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: Mentions of canon-typical violence. Inspired by Arwen Undómiel's speech in “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring'' and the song ''Can’t help falling in love'' by Elvis.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: Hi! English is not my native language, so if you spot a misspelled word or anything else, feel free to let me know. I plan to look for someone to help me with proofreading because I feel like I leave a lot behind. I hope I can find help to continue publishing these short stories!

────── ▎Levi Ackerman still remembers the feeling when he realized that he loved her.

He knew, he simply knew, that nothing would ever be the same again. This love came suddenly, without warning, and was born inside him in silence, destroying all the countless walls he had built over the years.

The rational and critical part of his brain is always trying to convince him to drown that feeling because nothing good can result from love in those days. So, for a long time, Levi tried to act as if it didn't hurt — how bad hiding what he felt hurt his mind. The fact was: he always lost the people he loved. The fear of losing another person, of seeing them turn into a memory, never terrified him as much as it did now. He didn't want to lose her too.

So, he wonders what the hell he should do. Over the past few months, Levi has always kept her back and that was the nature of their relationship. Levi's understanding of her had always been instinctive, based on a single fact: they were perfect opposites and, in a way, perfect counterweights. But then, he looked at her in a million different ways and loved her in each of them — as a soldier, as a partner, as a friend, as a lover.

Suddenly, humanity's strongest soldier, the one who had brought down countless titans and people who performed evil deeds beyond human comprehension, was unarmed and vulnerable. Slowly, she was collapsed and sheathed inside his heart — and that was the beginning and the end of everything for Levi Ackerman.

The first time Levi Ackerman realized how much he loved her occurred the night before the operation to retake Wall Maria. It was evening, and it was raining - a fine, murmuring autumnal drizzle. The weather was comfortable. Not so hot and not so cold, but just right. Even so, Levi Ackerman was not feeling well. His body was begging for rest and his mind for comfort, but he could not afford to lie down like everyone else. In the stillness, his thoughts were constantly interrupted by the image of the soldiers and friends he had lost over the years, thrown to the ground and covered in his own blood, and this made Levi feel dizzy and sick.

His shoulders were down, his head hung down, and his body was slightly bent over the documents on his desk. Beside him was a long-empty cup of tea. It was the shadow of the great Levi Ackerman. It was simpler than humanity's strongest soldier, but at the same time it was empty and incomplete. Ironic. He had always boasted of being cool, of not caring about trivialities, and of keeping himself intact as a captain, and now he was nothing but a decaying shadow of the infamous Levi Ackerman.

And so, the first few hours of that night passed. So much was happening all at once. He ran his hand through his hair, trying to clear his mind and stand firm, as he always should.

He sighed. Levi left the pile of documents meticulously organized on the table, picked up the empty cup, and stood up. His eyes grew accustomed easily to the darkness, the only sound was of an old clock at the end of the hall and his footsteps on the old linoleum floor.

「flashback」

Levi liked to think he lived long enough to understand that one can never escape his true nature. Such is Historia's destiny, and she is finally crowned as Queen before a large and enthusiastic crowd. The people remember seeing the Queen protect them from a Titan and admire her for standing up to her father.

A smart move, Levi thought.

Standing next to Erwin and Hange, he thinks of his mother. Of Isabel, who cannot be the heroine she was meant to be. He thinks of Furlan and his resilience. He thinks of all the people he has lost over the years, especially those who failed to become what they were meant to be.

''Hey'', Mikasa's voice was low, but it was enough to get the captain's attention.

Up to that point, Levi had not greeted any of his squadron members, although he knew that many were with unasked questions hanging on their tongues. Political issues occupied most of his time. The words were not spoken, but duly were there, at some point; all praise and words of gratitude for his team.

And Levi looked at her, grave tenderness in his eyes turned to Mikasa, and yet, even if she had not been raised among men of war, she was someone many could not overcome in battle. She approached the girl with hair as black as raven wings and whispered something in her ear, to which Mikasa thanked her with a small smile. In those days, it was rare to see anyone smile.

Her dress, which was a deep green with white flower embroidery and golden arabesques on the sleeves, shimmered in the faint wind that afternoon. Levi thinks that she looks so beautiful with the sunlight in her hair.

He interrupts his thought suddenly, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

And, as if sensing that she is being watched, she raises her eyes from Mikasa to the captain. He thinks that she is going to raise one of her eyebrows or simply keep the conversation with Mikasa. But then she did something that surprised him even more. She smiled. At him.

He feels his cheeks burn.

''You are staring, shorty'', said Hange, amused, following his gaze.

''Tch, shut up.''

It was just a smile, but Levi couldn't forget it for the rest of the ceremony.

He thought that the true beauty of the place belonged to her.

「 flashback's end」

Damn, he thinks. That smile.

The smell of tea berries and wet earth overwhelm him. Outside, the rain was falling hard as he brewed another cup of tea. He sipped the warm, clear liquid, allowing the noise made by his lips as he sucked the drink to ring out loud. He smiled, amazed that she didn't like the drink. This was the first more human demonstration he had had in a long, long time.

It was during a sleepless night like that, months ago, when they could finally be in each other's presence, just them. It was... easy to talk. Maybe it was because of the tea, the sound of her laughter, or none of those two things. Maybe just her and her way of looking beyond him as nothing but.... Levi. Just Levi.

Levi grew up poor and alone in a place where he was taught to hate every bit of it with a burning passion, he understands a thing or two about injustice and hate even before Kenny decides to teach him how to fight. He loved his mother with every fiber of his being. He loved his friends. When they died, Levi felt like he was dying with them; but that feeling? It was a different kind of love. He had never loved anything, or anyone like her.

Get out of my head, woman.

He took a deep breath and decided to put those thoughts aside once again. After finishing the tea, he put the cup away and headed back to his room.

He stopped himself momentarily when he noticed the door ajar on his right.

And there she was, dressed in a silver and blue dress, in a polished wooden chair by the window, whose light westerly wind blew through and made her hair flutter. To him, it seemed that starlight was in her eyes.

Levi was silent for a second and then sighed. There was nothing to be said now that they were there, preparing to reclaim the lost lands and waiting for answers.

But when she let out a deep sigh of pain, he slammed his knuckles against the door. She raised her eyes to him, feeling her throat go dry, and immediately leaned back, pulling her eyebrows together in confusion.

''Captain,'' she said, but signs of weariness and pain could not be hidden in her gently voice.

"Are you hurt?" asked the superior, taking her by surprise.

"Except for a few bruises, I'm fine'', She said, gesturing for him to come in. "Can't sleep?"

Levi studied her from top to bottom, paying attention to her body language and any sign of injury. There were two scars on her hands. She tried to cover them with the sleeve of her dress.

''I rarely get any sleep, so the person who should be asking this question is me,'' he said, and although he was glad to see her, worry ran through his chest.

She smiled.

"Fair enough''

Frustration tightened his voice a bit, but she thought it was incredibly appealing when he said: ''You never respond the way people expect you to.''

Levi approached and stopped beside the window. The beautiful weather and the calm seemed a mere mockery to the men before the most dreadful mission of their lives.

"I'm sorry," she says sincerely. ''Just a stupid accident during training...and I can't sleep,'' she admitted. ''Nightmares. They've been recurring since we faced the female titan. I think my brain is malfunctioning.''

''It's ok you have hard times.''

She took a deep breath and then inhaled slowly. It had been a long time since they had shared moments like that; and she had always loved his company infinitely, even though she had never shown it in words.

The thoughts began to surge like a burst of fireworks, making loud noises, disappearing and reappearing. Instinctively, she pressed one hand against the other, but the twinge of pain almost made her curse. He didn't miss that.

''You should bandage this to prevent an infection'' he says.

She let her hands slide to the sides of her body.

''Yeah, you're probably right.''

"Do you have any medical kits around here?''

Her expression wavers for a while, as if she is thinking about it. Then she turns and opens one of the bags left beside the bed. Levi has approached her as she begins to rummage through the material.

''Here, let me do that,'' he said.

「flashback」

The horses pranced and neighed, startled, when a group of titans was spotted. The maneuvering equipment tinkled as the wires were released. The sight of those creatures was terrifying, but the battlefield had already become a part of their lives, and Survey Corps was willing to fight.

Above, a sunless sky, muffled by heavy clouds. Levi could hear roars and screams all around, the sharp, distinctive thud of the clash of blades against the back of the titans' heads. There were bloodied bodies, some without limbs and with pieces strewn across the surrounding ground.

Then, time seemed to freeze.

The titan's giant hand withdrew and a terrible howl resound across the battlefield.

The titan screamed again, but the fury of the guttural howl was nothing compared to what the captain felt as he investigated the still face of (Y/N). For the hundredth of a second it took his mind to assimilate the events, Levi was struck by horror. He stood motionless; he simply found himself gripping the blades and looking at her. Suddenly, his muscles were contracted by the urgency, the will, the urge to hurt him. This wild need, echoing in his ears like a broken record, obscured his mind.

With an immense bang, several blows struck the titan.

As the creature felt motionless to the ground, Levi ran to it, whose face was as white as a lobelia and as cold as frost.

He didn't know how deeply he was entwined with her until they tried to take her away from him

「 flashback's end」

Levi listened attentively to everything she said, as she was also attentive to the gentle, careful way in which he touched her.

''I hope you won't use this to bribe me, Ackerman.''

He rolls his eyes.

''Maybe I'll take Sasha's food and say it was you.''

''That's the biggest threat I've ever heard in my entire life,'' she says eventually.

A strange flutter in his stomach threatened a smile on his face.

"Maybe it makes you let to be a brat"

She takes a long breath.

"I'll let her kill me and then you'll be sorry"

"Don't be so dramatic", he says. "By the way, I'll never let anyone hurt you as long I live."

She is speechless. Her heart starts to beat faster than she thought it could, and all her body was filled with a so good feel. She couldn't explain exactly what is, but there was anyway.

Levi doesn't look at her face again. And then, the silence was back once again.

It was a difficult operation for the Captain; he touches her skin, heard her voice so close and quietly to him.

"It's done", Levi says.

She follows his eyes and saw her own hands. He still was holding them.

"I appreciate that."

He looks at her.

You're so fucking beautiful.

Levi runs his thumb over her fingers tenderly.

A crow screams at the top of its lungs in the distance, and she almost cringes. Levi ignores him and, longing for her starry eyes again, brings her hand to his lips and places a soft kiss on his skin.

"Are you afraid?" she whispers. Levi could feel the goosebumps that her touch gave him. ''Sometimes, I feel as if we are going to discover something eviler than the titans themselves.''

The wind blows angrily, making her hair fly.

''There are few things that make me afraid. This is not one of them.''

Losing you is, he thinks.

Inside his chest, the sound of his racing heartbeat is loud enough for him to hear. His heart pulses melodiously, pumping blood and sending some to his cheeks.

"Besides, this must be the first time I've heard you say you're afraid," he says, braiding invisible lines on the back of his hands. "Maybe you're sick. Let's examine it before it devours your brain entirely.

"I can't tell if you're joking or not."

He laughs lightly, and she thinks how nice it is when he does that. Levi's face is always so stern, so cold when they are around others. It's like it's a secret that only she knows.

Suddenly, Levi thinks about what it would feel like to kiss her.

"You should try to rest now", he whispers, looking away.

He starts to walk to the door.

It was in this exact moment he wished to have been able to tell her all those things in his mind.

"Wait!"

He turns back to her.

"What is?"

While Levi said, she holds his cheeks with her palms.

"Stay", she whispers. "Just a little longer"

Levi feels his heart beating faster than he thought it could, and all of his body was filled with that desire again.

Their lips touch in a chaste and last kiss for barely a second.

Levi holds her hands close to his heart. His tongue traces her bottom lips, brushes against the edge of her teeth before mingling with hers. It was kind, as it could say all those things on his heart.

When their lips step back, he says: "For as long as you wish"

#aot x reader #attack on titan imagine #attack on titan fanfiction #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman fanfiction #levi ackerman imagine #levi ackerman fluff

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rhaeverie · 5 years ago

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Dollarstore Mistletoe ‣ ljn

‣ genre: fluff, friends-to-lovers, female reader

‣ wc: 2.7k

‣ summary: Jeno looked up at the mistletoe then at you, cheeks heating up from the situation. So that’s why Hyuck had mistletoe.

this was going to be a short blurb but sike... enjoy!

You sat at the corner of the room, eyes drawn nervously at Donghyuck who was holding a tied up bunch of mistletoe in his hand. Though he was tossing it to himself, you could already read his mind from across the room. He had a sly smirk on his face as he glanced between you and Jeno who chose to sit between Jisung and Chenle.

Donghyuck, I fucking swear. You texted him, eyes growing wide in a subtle warning once he looked back up at you.

He laughed out loud before texting you back, I’m not doing anything.

Not rn but ur going to.

He loved going over to your place just to tease you about your (apparent) undying love for Jeno, constantly pushing you to make a move because Jeno was a ‘giant wuss’ and ‘would not grow balls to do so himself’ while you ‘had potential’. And honestly, you weren’t sure what to believe when it came to Donghyuck. He was a trickster. Who knew if he was lying this time or not.

You could easily recall maybe a week back when you were hanging out with this pest of a boy. He had been spontaneously mustering up a plan to get you and Jeno to kiss underneath some fake mistletoe he could find at the dollar store, which could then lead to confessing.

“Please don’t. We’re not living in some rom-com, Hyuck,” you glared at him, hoping that his ridiculous plan would be thrown out the window, “It’s not going to happen.” There was not a single bone in your body confident enough to kiss the boy you’ve held the longest crush on. Donghyuck was wrong when he said you had potential, meaning he could be wrong when it came to this plan he barely put effort into arranging.

“I know,” he replied simply, “But shit like this is inevitable. Plus you’re forgetting that I have the brain of a mastermind.” You ignored the way he wiggled his eyebrows in an attempt to persuade you, obviously failing. He knew he had to do everything himself, whether you liked it or not. Besides, he knew things you didn’t. He knew these plans were going to work.

So now, here he sat at Jeno’s house, waiting for the perfect time to dangle the plant above you both. He already knows you had the capability to run if you saw him move even an inch towards you. You were probably as alert as those animals being preyed on on National Geographic, ears perked and everything. Your fight or flight response was already activated just because of him.

As for Jeno, he was probably the complete opposite of you. He was leaning back on the couch with a delicate looking smile sitting on his face. Donghyuck was glad that he didn’t have a single clue about what was going on. But also... did he ever know what was going on?

A Christmas movie was playing on the TV even though barely anyone was paying any attention to it. Jaemin and Renjun were in the kitchen baking gingerbread cookies, following a recipe they found tiktok, while Jisung and Chenle were playing the nth game of PubG on their phones. Mark and Jeno were probably the only ones paying attention to the film, occasionally letting out a snort or giggle at a cheesy joke being delivered. Then there was you and Donghyuck, the only two aware of the plan that you didn’t even want to take part in.

“Why are you holding weed?” Jisung finally lifts his head from his phone’s screen, brows furrowed at the mistletoe in Donghyuck’s hands. He pointed slightly towards them, arm falling to his side soon after.

The older boy gave Jisung an unreadable look, “It’s not weed. It’s mistletoe.” Again, he tossed it up, barely grazing the popcorn ceiling before catching it.

“Ohh~ like that Justin Bieber song!” Jisung pointed out. His attention was soon directed back to his phone, probably beginning another game alongside Chenle. Jeno glanced at the younger boy and just shook his head in adoration and slight genuine confusion. It seemed like he literally had no idea, no clue, why Donghyuck was holding mistletoe. This, again, was good news to Donghyuck.

“Cookies!” Jaemin barged into the living room dressed in a holiday apron and oven mitts. He had flour sprinkled along his chest and collar bone, probably thrown on there by Renjun, who followed closely behind him.

Like young kids, attention spans were cut off and brought towards the gingerbread cookies, its aroma soon flooding the room. Through the pride that Jaemin gave off while standing there, you already knew the cookies were good. Especially with the help of Renjun.

Ditching your tense position, you had completely forgotten of your silent duel with Donghyuck, hopping up from the couch and skipping over to Jaemin. The others followed you shortly, Jeno being the second there.

Donghyuck pushed himself off the couch last, still playing with the mistletoe between his fingertips. Once spotting you standing directly next to Jeno, he stopped himself from audibly gasping and darted towards you both, holding up his arm above the space between the two of you, “Ah! Mistletoe~”

Your heart dropped, hand physically letting go of the cookie. It plopped back onto the tray as you spun around to face Donghyuck and then to an equally thrown off Jeno. You wanted to beat yourself up for letting your guard down for cookies.

Jeno looked up at the mistletoe then at you, cheeks heating up from the situation. So that’s why Hyuck had mistletoe. The math was mathing.

Jeno took in what was happening. Even if it was so sudden, Jeno didn’t feel like resisting. Instead he stood there and tried to read the non-verbal cues you were showing, trying to figure out whether or not you would want to carry out this unexplained tradition. Your face seemed to express no emotion, though he figured you were deep in thought, trying to process what was happening. And that was exactly what you were doing.

“I told you not to,” you mumbled towards Donghyuck’s direction. The looks you were sending Donghyuck could be used as weapons in some other dimension, but in this one the most you could do was intimidate the boy. In a brief state of panic, assuming Jeno found this situation weird, you tried to leave the situation, avoiding Jeno’s gaze as you did.

“It’s tradition!” Donghyuck attempted to pull you back. He was trying to be Christmas Cupid, knowing that feelings were being exchanged without the other’s knowledge. He thought he’d be helping.

Jeno shook his head, “N-no, Hyuck, it’s fine… if Y/N doesn’t want to do it, we can’t force her.” He felt himself gulp, mostly from the subtle rejection he’d received, before quickly reaching for a cookie and fleeing the scene.

Donghyuck turns to you, arm dropping to his side and mouth wide open, “He was going to kiss you!”

For a second, you doubted Donghyuck, shaking your head. But then at the realization that Jeno had left the room in a rather disappointed state, you probably were wrong and for once, Donghyuck was right. But there was no way you were admitting that in his presence.

It would’ve been completely silent if it wasn’t for the movie playing in the background. Everyone was still trying to process what had just happened, while you were still staring Donghyuck down.

“Are you blaming me?” You gestured to yourself. Sure it could have actually been your fault but that really wasn’t good for your degrading self-esteem right now.

“Yes,” Donghyuck threw the fake mistletoe onto the three seater couch, “It looked like you didn’t want to kiss the boy. You basically stomped on his heart.” Sure Donghyuck was over exaggerating but knowing how much Jeno liked you, you probably did.

“No I didn’t,” you try to deny everything, not wanting your hopes to be crushed by false information and beliefs.

“You did,” Mark butted in, “He looked like a kicked puppy.” You shifted your gaze from Donghyuck to Mark, someone who you could trust a bit more, and felt your frown deepen. Feeling yourself stumble back in the slightest bit, you glance at the stairs where Jeno had gone, probably to his room. Should you talk to him?

“Just go talk to him,” Jaemin pushed on, as if he could read what you were thinking, “But take an extra cookie with you.” He held the tray of baked goods in front of you and you complied, slithering past Mark, Renjun, and Chenle before going up the stairs.

You had no idea what you were going to tell Jeno. That you wanted to kiss him? That would come off as weird.

The pair of cookies in your hands could be your conversation starter.

Upon reaching his door, you raise a fist to knock.

If it was possible, Jeno would slap himself so many times just so he could knock some sense into himself. He was sitting at the edge of his bed with his palm to his forehead, feeling like an entire circus. Why the hell didn’t he even act like he was weirded out by Donghyuck and that fucking mistletoe? Why did he act like he was waiting for a long time for that opportunity to kiss you?

Maybe because he was. But he should’ve at least pretended like he wasn’t.

Jeno threw himself back into his bed, blinking at the ceiling while he mentally attacked himself for being so foolish. How would he recover from this? He shouldn’t have ran out of the room like that. It made him so obvious. It gave away the feelings he hoped he had been hiding well the entire time.

Jeno you’re so fucking stupid, he thought, teeth gritting.

He clenched his fist and started to hit the middle of his forehead lightly with his knuckles, startled when he heard a loud knocking sound.

Was that my forehead or was that the door?

Sitting up, he pivoted his head so that he was facing the door, brows furrowed as he waited for another indication that the sound was (hopefully) the door and not his skull.

“Jeno, it’s me.” Your voice was muffled and your shadow could be seen through the bottom.

For a second, Jeno hesitated, unsure if he was ready to face you at that moment, but he soon decided against it, standing up and towards his bedroom door in order to let you in. Opening it just a crack, he peeked out, seeing your shorter figure staring up at him, eyes slightly unreadable, “I brought cookies.”

Jeno couldn’t help but feel his chest warm up at the sight of you. He held back a smile to keep himself grounded. Pulling the door to create a wider opening, he let you in.

“Are you okay?” You knew he wasn’t okay. Just by the look in Jeno’s eyes, you could tell he had a lot going on in his head. You didn’t want to start the conversation off with ‘I actually wanted to kiss you too’ because in all honesty, anyone faced with that statement would be scared in one way or another, regardless of their feelings for the other.

“I guess you can say that,” Jeno hummed and sat at the foot of his bed. You handed him one of the cookies and bit into the second one you brought. Jeno couldn’t even make eye contact with you. He was a smidge too embarrassed to do so.

You sat next to him, the heat of your bodies bouncing off of each other from how close you were, “What do you mean?” You were drawing the conversation out while you still tried to run through what you were gonna say as your version of a confession.

He shrugged, taking a small bite, almost a nibble, from the cookie, “I know you’re not stupid, Y/N… Donghyuck was painfully obvious and so was I.” Feeling his heart pick up its pace scared him. This only meant he could either lose total control of his words, or just not speak at all. He focused on keeping them tame, “I’m sorry you had to witness that. Just forget it happened, okay? Sometimes, Donghyuck doesn’t know he’s going overboard.”

Jeno spoke softly, head dipping down and bangs falling over his eyes. The glasses he wore slipped down his nose as he did, but he quickly caught them with the tip of his index finger.

“Donghyuck doesn’t normally pull shit like that unless he has to,” you say as a reply, “He somehow always knows things we don’t.” You hoped Jeno got the hint from what you were saying, but by the way he kept his attention at the cooling gingerbread cookie in his hand as he nodded, you knew that he was completely clueless. Were you being too subtle?

“Do you know why he decided to buy that plastic plant in the first place?” You took a bite from Jaemin’s cookie and swung your legs.

Jeno shrugged again, “Because he’s Donghyuck?”

You both let out brief chuckles but you regained your composure and sighed. From downstairs, you hear the others laughing at something, some background noise from the near silence in the room.

“Because he knows how I feel.”

Jeno’s ears perked up at this statement, still afraid to look at you. He shifted in place, “How you feel?”

You rolled your eyes at Jeno, hitting him playfully, “Lee Jeno!” Yeah, you did want to drag the conversation in the first place, but it was getting too long. You wanted to get to the point and Jeno wasn’t taking any of the hints you were throwing.

“What?” He whined, acting as if you hit him hard when everyone knows he’s got the muscle to resist that pain. This familiar feeling between the two of you, the wave of comfort he felt, caused him to turn towards you. Once he realized what he had done, he turned away quickly, feeling himself grow timid once again.

“I know you’re not that stupid either, Jeno. Can you please look at me?” To no surprise he doesn’t listen. He was getting all flustered. The shy, blushy type of flustered.

Lifting your hand up to his face, you grabbed it softly and turned it so that he was facing you. He complied, letting you turn his head, only, his eyes were shut tightly.

You huffed, “Jeno! Please open your eyes.” He shook his head while his face was still being held with your hand, “Please?”

Again, he refused, this giving you permission to attempt to pry his eyelids with your own fingers. Though you gave up quite quickly. You didn't want to force them open as any sort of mishap was bound to happen.

“Last chance to open your eyes,” you warned, only he didn’t know what you were warning him about. He still kept them closed, feeling comfortable in this position he was in now, “Fine, Jeno, if you don’t open your eyes, then I will…”

“You will what?” He smirked. Though you couldn’t see his eyes, you could see his emotion through his raised brow. Deep down he knew what you were about to do. But he wanted to sit back and wait for it to happen.

Without thinking, you leaned in and brought his lips down to yours. At first there wasn’t any response from Jeno, but once he had finally processed what was going on, his eyes shot open, and as if it was some sort of instinct, he kissed back.

You liked this feeling. Maybe you would’ve felt it sooner if you hadn’t refused to kiss him earlier. But also you liked it how it was right now, and Jeno felt the same. Private, without any of the others watching. And it wasn’t because you had to follow a tradition, it was because you both wanted to do it.

After a few more long seconds, you both pulled away, beaming shyly at each other. You finally let go of his face and sat yourself back.

“What was…?” Jeno was at a loss of words.

You laughed softly, almost coming out as a giggle, “That’s how I feel.”

Maybe Donghyuck was right when said you had that sort of potential.

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whatifxwereyou · 4 years ago

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The Oncoming Storm Second Interlude: Steam

Liu Kang x Reader

Listen, if I let this one go on any longer then they would have just had each other right there in the moment. Lord, have mercy on me Lol. Again, another idea that just doesn't fit in the actual narrative which is pretty planned out thus far! Still open to ideas and if they tickle me I will absolutely write them out! Enjoy.

Part 1 of The Oncoming Storm First Interlude (Kung Lao x Reader)

You couldn’t sleep. The day had been a long and stressful one and you were certain that the next day would be more of the same. Training for Mortal Kombat was no small thing and on top of that, you’d finally been woven into life amongst the other monks. That meant daily chores and responsibilities throughout Raiden’s Temple. In a way, it was nice to adjust to a communal life, to feel as though you weren’t a temporary fixture. It also meant that you were busy nearly all the time.

On top of that, you were exhausted. Even so, you resisted sleep. You understood now why Liu Kang enjoyed meditation and prayer as much as he did. Sometimes, amongst all the chaos, it was difficult to find peace. He made time for it and you hoped that would rub off on you.

After a bit longer spent not sleeping, you decided to go down to the springs. They were open at all hours of the day for any who wished to use them. You figured that with as late as it was, you would likely have the place to yourself. It wasn’t often that you had free time so since you didn’t think sleep would come easily, the springs were as good an idea as any.

Down you went, deep into the temple. you rinsed off and changed into the customary towel before walking into the expansive springs. They were beautiful and peaceful with the exception of the water falling from the occasional ledge. There were a handful of others relaxing amongst the stone and water but the most important of them was Liu Kang. You pretended not to notice him and sat on the edge of the pool. Should you stay? From the corner of your eye, you saw him meditating in silence. He was incredibly handsome. Something you had never told him even though you admired him greatly.

He was seated atop the stone next to the water across the spring from where you sat, dressed in nothing but the same type of towel you wore but it hung low upon his waist. As he breathed you could see the slow controlled movement of his muscles and it was hypnotic. He had such intense stability and control. You admired it. As he meditated, you caught a rare glimpse of the dragon marking on his right side.

Even as far as you were now, it was hard to be close to him. The air between you always grew so thick. The heat that radiated off of him was so intense that sometimes it burned you alive all without leaving a mark. The steam and humidity of the springs certainly didn’t make breathing any easier. There was a war in your head.

You wanted both to bask in the inescapable and inevitable tension of being near Liu Kang and also flee from it in fear of the unknown. Over time, you had begun to worry that you appeared weak to him but you realized very quickly that you were weak, specifically to him. He made you weak, not in a bad way, but in a way where you felt you could be vulnerable and sometimes that scared you.

You stood back up and decided to come back another time. As you made to leave, his voice very suddenly cut through the somehow already tense air. The room was so large that not a single other person seemed to hear him. His words were meant solely for you.

“You can join me if you like.” He had opened his eyes and was smiling at you, happy to see you. You blushed and didn’t bother hiding it. You were fools not to think the other knew what was happening between you.

“You seemed at peace and I didn’t want to disturb you. I didn’t think you noticed I was here.”

“You have an unmistakable presence, Y/N. I knew you were here the moment you arrived.” Ever since he’d first told you that he could sense your energy it had continued to make your heart pitter patter. You knew it could be attributed to the dragon marking but somehow it still felt special with Liu. “Come now. Join me.” He patted the rocks next to him and adjusted the towel around his waist. You did your best not to let your gaze linger on his hand as he did. Instead, you focused on making your way to where he’d perched himself. You stepped into the warm water and then made your way through it to the other side of the bath.

Liu offered you a hand and helped you atop the slippery rocks and you sat next to him. The steam was overwhelming there and it took you a short time to adjust but Liu Kang sat in peace the entire time. After you made it to sit next to him your bundle of nerves finally unraveled. The springs and Liu’s calming nature had brought you peace. After some time seated next to each other, arms just close enough to touch, he turned to face you.

“Would you like to see something remarkable?”

“If that’s a euphemism, Liu Kang, then so help me.” You had been spending way too much time with Kung Lao lately.

He laughed and slid into the water that was up to his waist and then offered you his hand. You took it and much to your surprise, once you’d dropped in the water next to him, he didn’t let go. Instead he led you through the water, across pools, and further into the springs. They extended further than you had expected. He led you until you reached the far wall and even then he climbed behind the waterfall there, letting go of your hand to do so.

Water cascaded down his back as he searched and when he returned to you, he pushed his wet hair back and offered you a charming smile. You peered around him to the waterfall to avoid the butterflies he almost constantly gave you to no avail. “Back here.” He took your hand again and led you through the waterfall that drenched you thoroughly. You had to grab onto your towel to make sure it didn’t get lost in the falls.

Then he led you beneath the waterfall into darkness and toward a tight crevice leading into the distance. It was claustrophobic and you hesitated but Liu Kang grasped your hand again and led you on. You trusted him more than you trusted yourself.

The path opened up in front of him. You could hear the pouring of water on the other side. Liu led you across a small stretch of dry land and on the other side of it was another pool, bubbling and steaming with the water of the springs. He let go of your hand and you climbed into the water and gasped. Water poured from a pool somewhere up above and to the left, far enough away that the sound wasn’t overwhelming. You were surrounded by the night sky. The spring overlooked the ravine and while it was further than you’d ever been into the ravine, the view was still breathtaking.

The stars above them twinkled and in that perfect moment, you forgot about everything else. You leaned against the edge of the pool; arms folded where the stone was risen to keep the water from spilling over the edge. Liu Kang came to rest beside you and you felt his eyes on you, admiring you while you admired the beauty of the world.

“I told you it was remarkable,” he whispered in your ear and you smiled. He took your hand and urged you away from the edge to float in the center of the pool. You ducked under the warm water and pushed your hair back. Most of it was white now. You’d trimmed it only days prior. Liu Kang took your hands again and pulled you back to him. Together you sat and stared at the stars, hands entwined with no need to say more.

You pulled your hands free to turn back toward the cliffside but his arms slipped around your middle, urging your back to rest against his chest. Who were you to fight it? He rested his chin against your shoulder and while his breath against your neck was distracting, it was also welcome. He was cautious around you, always, but in other ways he was bold and forward. Everything Liu Kang had ever done seemed like a graceful extension of his being. You closed your eyes and rested your head back on his shoulder.

Liu Kang hummed and when you turned to watch him, his eyes were closed and he had a content smile on his face. The song wasn’t one that you recognized but it was comforting and familiar enough. His voice was a quiet draw amongst the distant roar of the waterfall. When he stopped, you continued to admire him and when he opened his eyes, they were fixed on you- dark and mysterious. The light was far dimmer than it was inside the rest of the springs. There were lanterns hung on the wall behind the spring but they did little to stomp out the unshakeable dark of the night.

The shadows cast about him were both haunting and beautiful, drawing lines on his face that you had never noticed before and you found your fingers brushing over those lines on his cheeks without your permission. Liu Kang leaned into the touch and tilted his gaze to try and catch a glimpse of your fingertips. Realizing what you had done, you pulled your hand back and there was no hiding the red on your face.

Liu Kang took your hand, much to your surprise, and returned it to his cheek. Then he did the same to you, his thumb brushing over the corner of your lips and down your jaw, resting on the side of your neck. The intimacy of such a small gesture was overwhelming. If he noticed you blushing he said nothing but he seemed more at peace than you had ever seen him before. Liu Kang, in spite of his persistent meditation, always seemed to have worry on his mind. When you made to pull your fingers back again, to shift in the water, to start a conversation, anything to clear the choking air between you, he urged his hand from the side of your neck, over your wrist and up to your fingers.

You grasped his palm and he brought your fingers closer to his lips. His eyes traveled along your hand with adoration before he allowed his lips to brush just over your knuckles, then to your fingertips before he turned your palm in his hand and planted a soft kiss just upon the base of it.

“Liu…”

He searched your face as though coming from a stupor and not quite realizing what he had done. Even so, he quickly came to peace with his decision and then bowed his head politely and released your hand. You pulled your hand close but was careful to keep it out of the water. You’d never been given a kiss so tender and so sweet nonetheless on just your hand. It had shaken the very foundation that you’d built up over the past few weeks in defense of your heart.

He pulled back just enough to run his fingers through his hair and then turned his attention back to the stars. You sat there, dumbfounded by both his boldness and now the strange air of the moment. The tension hadn’t dissipated with your parting, in fact, it was worse than ever before. You’d shared only ghosts of kisses and tense moments that were interrupted in one way or another thus far.

You placed a hand on his shoulder and together you sat staring at the stars.

#liu kang x reader #liu kang #i think i accidentally formed a bias toward liu #still love them both tho #liu kang x you #imagine #liu kang/reader #liu kang/you #mk liu kang #mortal kombat movie #mortal kombat 2021

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thinkingisadangerouspastime · 4 years ago

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warmth

Then her shoulders fell, the inky shadows deepening across her face as Katara sighed and pulled her knees into her chest. “I just—I have to know you’re okay, Aang. That’s all. It’s not a big deal.”

Aang blinked, her words sinking into his heart like a stone into quicksand. “Know I’m okay,” he repeated, “or know I’m alive?”

When Aang falls, Katara is always there to catch him. But maybe that’s part of the problem.

(Written for Day 5 of Kataang Week 2021: Healing, hosted by @kataang-week. Read here on AO3 or continue reading below.)

Aang loved Katara. Plain and simple. Under only the watchful eye of the moon—hope all is well with you, Princess Yue, Sokka is doing just fine—Aang might even be willing to admit he was in love with her. It wasn’t a secret, per se, but to love was to be vulnerable and despite the infinite lives he contained as the Avatar, Aang was still only human.

All the same, Aang had no shame in acknowledging that he liked having Katara’s attention on him, and moreover that he liked reciprocating her attention with his own on her. He liked how they were touchy-feely with each other in a way they were with no one else, liked how they would stay up together to count the stars and talk about anything and nothing, liked how they could make each other smile at even their lowest points.

But ever since Ba Sing Se…

Something had changed.

For better or for worse, Aang wasn’t quite sure. Because now, now it seemed more of Katara’s attention was on him than before. And at first, Aang thought he’d understood why. He’d died, he’d been in a coma for weeks, he’d flirted with death while Katara had been the one keeping constant vigil at his bedside. Though his outward wounds had long since healed into scars, there were lingering aches and pains below the surface that still could make him stumble.

Katara was always there to catch him when he fell.

But that was the—that was the problem, for lack of a better word on Aang’s part. Katara was healing him all but constantly, never letting him out of her sight for more than a few minutes at a time. The only exceptions had been his time at the Fire Nation school and her secret trips to Jang Hui as the Painted Lady. She’d almost burst into tears when he’d gotten the smallest of scratches across his thumb the other day, and that? That was not normal.

Whatever was going on, Aang knew he couldn’t let her face it alone any longer.

One night during their usual stargazing, lying down with their backs against the grass on the flattest ledge in their camp, Aang seized the moment.

“Is there a reason you’ve been so… protective of me lately?” he asked, trying to keep his tone as even as possible. It was like trying to approach a baby deer-cat—he didn’t want to spook her by storming into the subject.

Katara stiffened, and though she didn’t flee, Aang idly wondered if he’d underestimated how painful this conversation might be. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way,” Aang tried to reassure her, turning in the grass onto his side so he could face her properly. “You’ve just seemed a little on edge the past few weeks. Talking about whatever’s on your mind might—might help.”

“Doubt that,” Katara muttered bitterly, keeping her eyes averted from Aang’s own as she picked at a blade of grass. The moonlight breaking through the tree branches to their right cast dark shadows across her face, like rivers of ink winding down her cheeks. “I prefer not thinking about it, much less talking.”

Well, at least she’d admitted something was bothering her. Aang counted that as a small victory. But her aggressive resistance did mean he would have to prod a little more to get her to open up.

“I know you’re worried about me,” Aang said after a pause. He sat up, bracing himself with his hands behind him. “I don’t know why, but I know you are.”

Katara sat up and opened her mouth, probably to argue, but Aang pushed forward, not giving her the chance to disagree. To lie, really.

“I can tell because you’ve… you’ve been healing every little scratch I get. Which is kind, but”—he pursed his lips, shaking his head—“I can’t be your priority, Katara. Not all the time. Not over healing Sokka or Toph or yourself, when someone else’s injuries are worse. Okay?”

Katara’s jaw was tight, a clear sign Aang had struck a nerve. Hopefully not one that stung too sharply, bit too deeply, because hurting Katara was the last thing he wanted to do. What he feared more than anything.

Then her shoulders fell, the inky shadows deepening across her face as she sighed and pulled her knees into her chest. “I just—I have to know you’re okay, Aang. That’s all. It’s not a big deal.”

Aang blinked, her words sinking into his heart like a stone into quicksand. “Know I’m okay,” he repeated, “or know I’m alive?”

Aang had only the faintest memories of Ba Sing Se, of waking up for but a few seconds in Katara’s arms as the most radiant, most relieved smile he’d ever seen had graced her lips. The relief hadn’t matched the exhaustion—the terror—in her eyes, though. After that, he’d… disappeared, vanished somewhere into the depths of his own mind for more days than he could count.

Katara chuckled, the sound tinged with a deep-seated weariness. “Maybe a bit of both?”

“Katara—”

She silenced him with an icy look. “Don’t. Don’t use that pitying tone with me, Aang. I know it’s an irrational fear, I don’t need you to tell me that.” Katara huffed, throwing her hands up and shaking her head. “See? This is why. This is why I don’t like thinking about it.”

Aang bit his lip. Tempted as he was to swear up and down that no, he hadn’t meant to strike such a tone, he hadn’t meant to invalidate her concerns, there was a far more important direction their conversation needed to be taken in.

“It’s clearly not irrational if you can’t shake it off,” Aang said after a pause. He hesitated, then placed a careful hand on top of hers, which had returned to resting on the grass. When she made no move to pull away, he continued. “But if you’re really worried… why don’t you explain it to me?”

That offer caught Katara’s attention, and she stared at him with a mixture of shock and confusion permeating her features. Furrowed brow, head tilted at a slight angle. “What?”

Aang shrugged. “Tell me what’s making you so anxious, and then I can confirm whether or not your fear is rational.” He suspected it would be somewhere on the perpetually sliding scale between rational and irrational, as most fears born of traumatic experiences were. He had a few of his own. No shame in admitting that.

Katara hesitated, her gaze flickering over his face from top to bottom, as if searching for any hint of doubt or suspicion or—spirits forbid—pity. But Aang knew she wouldn’t find any, and he was right.

“Okay,” she murmured, averting her eyes from his own to stare at the grass they still sat upon. “Maybe I do need to”—she shook her head—“maybe that would help. A little.”

Katara’s current discomfort was clear to Aang, and he hated seeing her like this. Shaken, weary, broken in more ways than one. But what he hated even more was to see Katara terrified, and terror was the only expression written in her eyes each time she watched him get hurt, no matter how minor the injury. So if she would talk, Aang would listen, and he would do whatever he could to reassure her.

“This war has been going on my entire life,” Katara said after a pause. “So I’m not—I’m not unfamiliar with death”—a low chuckle escaped her lips—“although not for a lack of trying on Sokka’s part.” She heaved a shuddering sigh, picking at a blade of grass with her hand that wasn’t beneath Aang’s. “But warriors died in battle. Babies didn’t always survive birth. I—I saw my own mother’s corpse when I was only eight years old, Aang, so burned up you could barely recognize her—”

Katara snapped her jaw shut as her voice neared a fatal crack, and she blinked back tears.

Before he could lose his nerve, Aang turned Katara’s hand over, the one still beneath his own, and carefully laced their fingers together. I’m here, he tried to say, not knowing how to say it. His touch seemed to do the trick, though, as Katara exhaled a shuddering breath and moved to rest against his side, their shoulders pressed firmly together.

“I was never… never close, though,” she murmured, her voice having regained stability. “Never touched the bodies. Not even my mom’s.”

The note of grief in Katara’s voice rang sharper than a wind chime, and Aang had to fight down the urge to pull her into his arms then and there. He couldn’t. Not yet. Not until she was finished, not until she was ready. So though Aang’s heart ached with an identical loss—You turned your back on the world!—he said nothing, and he let her continue.

“But I… I caught you, Aang.” Katara’s grip tightened around his hand, but Aang didn’t pull away, not even when her nails began digging into the skin just below his knuckles. “When you fell, in Ba Sing Se. After Azula. I caught you, I held you when you were—”

“Gone?” Aang supplied when her voice vanished, and Katara nodded, rubbing her eyes with the back of her free hand.

“Yeah.” She took another slow breath, clearing her throat. “And, you know, people always say that death is—that death is cold. It’s life, energy, stolen from the body. But Aang, you were”—Katara shook her head, eyes brimming with tears that glowed like droplets of liquid silver in the moonlight—“you were so warm, I could almost believe you were sleeping and would wake up in my arms any minute.”

Aang swallowed a lump rising in his own throat. “And I did wake up,” he said gently, once a beat had passed. “Because you saved me, Katara. You brought me back.”

Katara gave him a sorrowful smile. “Don’t you get it, Aang? That’s the problem.” Her free hand clenched into a fist, and she slammed it a single time against her chest—right over her heart. “I had the water from the Spirit Oasis. I had control, that was why I was able to heal you then, that was how I was able to make everything okay. But now?”

Katara’s hand uncurled, falling weakly to her side as she shook her head. Another silver tear traced the edge of a shadow that still haunted her cheek, the drop trickling downward. “Now, I don’t have miracles to rely on for help anymore. The only control I have is me, my own abilities, and Tui and La, Aang, I can’t—I can’t lose you again!”

Her voice broke, and Aang threw all forethought to the wind, releasing Katara’s hand to pull her into a hug fiercer than any they’d ever shared before. He didn’t care how her tears wet his shoulder, he didn’t care how desperately her arms locked around his body, no, all he needed was for Katara to know that he was there.

“I’m so sorry,” Aang finally whispered, pathetic and useless as the three words were.

Katara shook her head, face still buried into his shoulder. “Not your fault.”

For the first time since they’d met in the South Pole, Aang had no idea how to comfort her. It won’t happen again, I’ll always be there for you, you’ll always be there for me, we’ll both make it through this—they were empty promises, cheap vows he had no way to guarantee.

“We’re here now,” Aang murmured, pressing the lightest of kisses to the top of her hair. A new three words, a different but still simple action—something about the combination of gestures must have soothed Katara, as Aang could feel her exhale and her body relax against his own. “We’re here now.”

The present was all they could count on.

#kataang #kataangtag #kataang week #katara #aang #kataangst #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla fanfic #tw: discussion of death #amy writes

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poptod · 4 years ago

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The Marriage of Fear (Josh Washington x Reader)

Description: The circumstances of your meeting are preposterous and sound like absolute lies. The trail of deceit and murder that follows you after is even more so.

Notes: woah, me writing a story that could possibly becoming a series that’s not about ahkmenrah? fucking unheard of Word Count: 3.5k

Rain batters down on you, soaking through your jacket and to your skin. The scrapes and tears on your knuckles burn with the cold, bundled into a tight fist as you ran, looking over your shoulder every time you turn. With the puddles scattered across the pier wood, you fall into a slip that scrapes the skin off your knee. You hiss as you jump back to your feet, paying the biting sting no mind as you continue onwards, blinking away the rain that fall upon your eyes.

Your heart pounds as you catch sight of an unlocked stall. Shouts and the light of a flashlight still follow you––instinctively you bolt towards the red and white stall, vaulting over the counter and slipping right underneath it.

There's someone beside you.

Instantly the pocket knife hidden in your glove ends up in your hand, fingers expertly flicking it open till you hold the blade against a warm neck gasping in breath. He looks in the same state as you––tired, filthy, wet, and completely out of breath. The difference is the type of fear in your eyes. Yours is of a known fear; you've done this before, run from cops and hidden yourself away. His eyes display a new fear––a fear of death.

"Don't say anything," you hiss out, and he's shellshocked enough to follow your command.

Footsteps sound loud on the pier, the vibrations reaching you and tightening your fingers into your palm. You bite into your cheek, eyes never leaving the stranger's as the flashlight cast its' gaze elsewhere.

"(Y/N)," you whisper, holding out your other hand for him to shake, while still keeping one hand holding your knife against him. You won't move it––just need him to do what you say without question for a single, hot second.

"... Josh," he breathes out, taking your hand and shaking with a weak grip. "Did he try to kill you too?"

Your brain opts out for a second to try and decipher what it is he's saying. Cops are bastards but generally they don't immediately try to kill you.

"What?"

"The – the guy with the axe. You didn't..? The hell are you hiding from?"

"The cop, obviously," you say, but he just squints his eyes in confusion.

The both of you stare at each other for a moment––fortunately you both stay quiet, and if there are any footsteps around you, they're muted by the downpour.

"Okay, just to clarify, this isn't a cop with an ax?"

"No," you say.

"Okay," he says with a deep, shaky breath, breaking eye contact with you to stare at the ground. "I need – we both need to get the fuck out of here."

"Absolutely agree, questions later," you say immediately. He seems a decent enough person––a little scared, but you're happy to form a temporary alliance to get out of here. Besides, if what he says is true, you can't just leave him here.

It takes a second since both you and the floor are wet, but you manage to move onto your knees, allowing you to just barely peek your head over the counter. Your grip on your pocket knife loosens as you find nothing. Just the rain pounding and totally obstructing your field of view.

"Looks okay," you mumble to him, moving back beneath the counter.

"Do you know which way's the shore?"

"Yeah.. jus' came from there. This way," you say.

You motion him forward and he follows, adopting your posture of staying low to the ground. It's far easier to stay hidden in the rain––the fog alone eradicates your shadow, and the rain gives you silent footsteps if you sneak. As you move you look every which way, constantly scanning your surroundings for any sign of movement. Waves lap at the support beams of the pier, splashing sea water up to your feet, and instantly you're reminded this is a storm. Of course the waves are going to be massive. That's why the pier was locked off.

Tremors course through the wood beneath you, rocking your balance as Josh, still behind you, whimpers and slips. You take his hand and pull him to his feet.

"C'mon," you mutter, pushing him in front of you.

He leads the way now that you've pointed him in the right direction––that way you, the one with the knife, can make sure he's safe. Your breath comes out in pants as you try to keep up with his faster pace. Anxiousness fuels him, evident in his shaking fingers and wide, panicked eyes.

The black gates are visible now, and soon you're standing in front of them, pushing him up over the side before climbing it yourself. You land beside him with a huff, looking back for any sight of either of your aggressors.

"Let's get the hell out of here," he says to you, sure to keep his voice quiet. You nod before leading the way.

What comes first are lights––lights of the city, shining even in the fog so thick you can feel condensation on your tongue. Every one of your pants draws water into your mouth. Your shoes slosh with every step, but the sound of massive waves crashing beneath you drowns out everything. You've managed to keep these things to your advantage––a murderer would give you no such nicety.

Despite mostly being in the clear, both of you are rather safe than sorry in this situation. Both of you keep low to the ground, look over your shoulders every other second, and constantly check to make sure the other is still there. Your heart is pounding against your chest and his nerves are screaming.

The sound of a running chainsaw stops you dead in your tracks. Neither of you can see anyone, but your reaction is instant. He runs to you, cowers next to you with his hands wrapped around yours, but you can't really say anything––you're doing the exact same thing. No one is here but the grinding continues, louder and louder, and you're out in the open. This early on in the pier there's no buildings in which to hide––all that's left is to hope it's not coming from the direction of land.

It's coming from the land.

He steps out of the mist, movements laced with malice and cold eyes trained on you. The mask he wears is like someone duct-taped skin to his face––you're not sure this is even human. His steps are heavy, each one echoing even in the storm.

You look at the chainsaw. You look at Josh. You look at the ocean and a slab of thin wood from the construction site. All of these things––you look at them, and you make a calculated guess.

Grabbing his hand in yours you force him away, out of his petrification and towards the construction site.

"Take off your jacket!" You yell over the roaring growl of the chainsaw growing nearer. The man's footsteps pound behind you, marking every step closer to you.

Josh does as he's told and you copy him. Your beautiful, vintage leather jacket adorned in paint and patches, and you throw it into the building frame. As you run past the materials pile you grab a long plank of wood, diving headfirst over the edge of the pier.

"Are you fucking insane?!" You hear from above you. Before you can answer you crash against the waves, slave to their pull and the never-ceasing torment.

"CHAINSAW!!" You yell up, the only justification you can give.

Two seconds later a shadow is growing, ending in Josh splashing in right beside you. When he emerges from the deeper water he gasps for breath, wide eyes impossibly stressed, and teeth already chattering.

"Don't let go of this plank," you tell him, feeling the cold biting you through your ripped jeans and torn shirt.

Surfing isn't something you're particularly accustomed to nor fond of, but you know how it works, and you've done it before. Sometimes the waves are tall, and it looks impossible to get back to shore with the waves breaking so close to it. Fortunately, you learned how to surf at Waimea beach, home to some of the most relentless and merciless waves around.

You have to guide him, tell him when he needs to hold his breath, when you can go above a wave and when you have to dive under. Together you both kick the short way back to the shore, a distance you believed to be short enough to be most likely non-lethal. That was the only reason you'd done this, and soon you're proved right––the shore is right there, walls of water keeping you from it.

"We're gonna get tossed around a lot," you try to get out through the saltwater in your mouth, "and if you go under, protect your head and let the waves wash you ashore. Got it?"

"What?!"

"Perfect!"

You push forward and drag him with, forcing his head underwater every time a massive wave comes up behind you. The sight of it looming above you is terrifying––a force of nature you will never be able to contend with. The current does its' job well, sucking you under and keeping you there for what feels like minutes at a time. Pressure grows in your head till your ears bleed, tons worth of water force rushing your body through the crashing waves. When you both breach the surface, you're right beside the shore, and as exhaustion calls your muscles to stop the both of you are thrown onto the rocky earth.

This place used to be sandy. Now it's littered with large, round stones. All of them are pulled up from the deep ocean by these waves, battered onto a soft shore till it's nothing but rock for miles.

God, your body aches––fighting waves nonstop has exhausted you after a long run from that policeman, and being smashed up against hard rocks has done your body no favors. The cold alone has worn against your joints, making every movement sting and throb. Your fingers no longer belong to you.

Before waves can claim you again, you lug yourself and Josh up the shore, stopping only when sand surrounds you. Then you collapse, breaths leaving you in rapid, deep pants. It takes a bit of work for you to be able to lift your head, but when you do you turn to Josh. He's in a similar state––his lips are blue with the cold, drenched hair plastered to his face just as sand sticks to his wet cheek. What matters is that he's still breathing, up and down in great, heaving breaths.

"Not over yet," you say, half to yourself and half to him.

With great effort you bring yourself to your feet, offering Josh a hand. He takes it.

"How far's your place from here?" You ask softly, looking up to the seemingly quiet pier. If all's gone well, the cop has discovered the man with the chainsaw. Whether or not the cop is alive doesn't really matter––what matters is that he's bought you time to get the hell out of here.

"Up in the mountains," he says, gesturing to the mountains in the distance that tower over the city.

"Fuck. Mine's in the city but it's, like, five miles from here. No way we're making that." You're mumbling now, staring at the ground as you walk, trying to understand the way it swirls and spots from nothing to something.

"I've got.. two dollars for bus," he offers.

"I got jack."

"Who's jack?"

"... jack shit," you say under your breath. He belts out a loud, high pitched laugh that has you chuckling.

You simultaneously remember you should be staying quiet. Both of you fall silent, beginning to spare glances behind you to the pier stairs. So far you can't see anything. Your arm falls when Josh finally stands on his own, apparently over his sickness.

"Good?" You ask.

"Yeah."

The bus station isn't all that nearby, but when you arrive the bus is already there. Since you can't afford tickets, the only option left is to hitch a ride on the back, and pray neither of you fall off. This is something you've done often when in a pinch, but it's obvious Josh has never done this before. He's a bit shaky as he holds on, staring at the passing ground too intently for it to not be the first time. It doesn't help that the bus is wet with rainwater; it's not raining, or at least not as hard anymore, but both of you are still soaked to the bone.

Brakes screech to a halt in front of a red light. Here is your home––a house deep in the suburbs, with a garden crammed with statues of gnomes. Like most people you take home, he stops to stare at some of the larger statues, before quickly following you inside.

"Jesus fucking Christ," you breathe out when you finally lock the door behind you. All the tension in you breaks. It's not ensured safety, but it's a hell of a lot better than being out in the dark without anything to light the way.

"Holy shit, I am so fucking glad I found you," he says, clearly in the same state of elated relief. "Never would'a made it with two of those fuckers."

"There was two of them?"

"Oh yeah," he says with an ardent nod. "Chainsaw dude looked totally different from axe man."

"God... what time is it?" You mumble, mostly to yourself as you spin on your spot, searching for any clocks. Instinctively you stop your spinning once your eyes are on the microwave.

3.42 AM.

"Do you need to get home tonight?" You ask, turning back to Josh.

"Nah. Even if I did I... shit, I just don't wanna go back out there," he says, and you fully understand.

"Don't have to. You can stay the night, my mom's not home but, uh – she'll be cool with it," you say, pulling at your soaked shirt. It looks like you just stepped out of a pool fully clothed.

Part of the see-through fabric sticks to your skin, creating uncomfortable creases of moisture along your waist and arms. Shivering from the sensation you pull your shirt off, tossing it in the direction of your room down the hall, before promptly sending your pants in the same direction. Your underwear is just as wet, but you've still got some sense of preservation.

With wet feet you pad into the kitchen, an unpleasant slapping noise following your every step. It makes you laugh, just a little––giggling while naked in front of a man you barely even know.

"Do you, um... have some clothes I could borrow?" He asks, looking jealous of your no-wet-clothing body.

"Yeah, um – jus' choose anything from my room. First door on the left," you say, pointing him down the hallway. He leaves with a quick thank you, and you're left alone in your kitchen, wondering if there's anything to eat.

While you contemplate that, you grab two glasses of water, setting one on the counter and downing the other one in one, prolonged gulp. You gasp for breath as you slam the glass down, taking only a moment to breathe before going in for a refill. Josh comes out when you're about halfway through your third glass. Your cups are pretty small and you're still shooting them down.

His grey, long-sleeved shirt has been replaced with one of your bigger black hoodies––one with an Against Me! symbol printed on the back. Blue jeans have been exchanged for ripped sweatpants that once belonged to your mom, and honestly, it suits him quite a lot better than it does you.

Dark hair that was once plastered to his forehead is now spiky, his weak attempts at drying it doing a fine job of messing up the already-mussed curls. It's now, in the bright, flickering lights of your kitchen that you note the features of his face––the full brow and gentle lips, tanned skin dotted by tiny freckles that highlight the dark of his eyes. It's as though a shadow follows him, darkening his eyelids to make way for the cold grey of his actual eyes. He sniffs and you note his nose is a little red. Probably from the cold.

"Got you some water but now that I'm thinking about it, you might be wanting somethin' else," you say with a chuckle, pushing the glass towards him anyways. He laughs softly as he takes a seat at the counter, reaching for the cup and taking a small sip.

"What've you got?"

"Coffee, hot chocolate, tea... um, beer," you say, grinning when he looses a chuckle.

"Hot chocolate."

"Perfect."

While two cups of milk and water sit spinning in the microwave, you race back to your room to get dressed. Most of your clothes are strewn about the floor, but very separated from the wet pile of clothes in the corner that has to belong to Josh. There's about a minute on the microwave––gives you little time to consider fashion, so you pull on a nearby kilt and a massive Dead Kennedys shirt. You have a fancier kilt elsewhere, gifted to you by an uncle, but the red and black stripes is the nearest one.

He laughs when he spots you. Eyes bulge and gawk as he bursts out in giggles, apparently finding much amusement in your dress. You grin, happy to be humorous, and make a funny crab-like walk towards him.

"Do you like my fashion sense?" You ask, rushing over to the microwave when it beeps loudly.

"Fuckin' amazing," he chuckles lowly, shaking his head.

Once you're done mixing in the hot chocolate powder, you set one of the cups in front of him, taking a seat on the counter with your own mug in hand. Already the both of you have found intense comfort in each other––the bonding powers of shared fear are stronger than one would imagine.

"What were you doing out there?" You ask, tilting your head slightly when he looks up to meet your eye.

"What, you mean getting chased by a lunatic?"

"Yeah, that whole thing. We said we'd talk about this later and it's later, and I'm honestly very curious," you say. It's definitely not a lie––you've been thinking about this ever since you were too exhausted to speak, which was on the walk to the bus stop.

"I was, um, out with some friends, jus' getting drunk and all that," he says, looking down as he tries to recall the details. "Got separated from them at the bar when they left without me. Tried to find my phone, couldn't find it, and uh––you know that churro cart they have on the pier?"

"Oh, yeah. Really good."

"So good. I got hungry and tried to go there, but this guy started following me. When I got to the pier I looked and he had an axe, and I just... ran. He was literally at the entrance to the pier, so I couldn't go that way, and um – then I found you," he says.

"Sounds unpleasant," you say softly, to which he mutters a quiet agreement.

"What about you?" He asks, sipping through hot steam. "What was happening with that whole cop thing?"

"God. A minor offense. I was up on the church roof, the one in downtown. Must've been too loud or somethin' cause next thing I know, this dude is yelling at me from the sidewalk. I pull the fuck outta there cause I don't need another thing on my record, and uh, yeah. Ran to the pier and found you," you say, nudging his shoulder with your fist.

"Glad you found me," he mumbles, shaking his head in disbelief.

"So am I. I don't think that's the first time those two have done something like this. They seemed pretty experienced," you say.

"There haven't been any reported murders, though," he mentions, to which you nod.

"Yeah, but people go missing. It's not as hard as you think to hide a dead body."

"And you know this how? From experience?"

"No," you laugh, "television."

"Ohhh," he nods with a smile. "Makes sense."

You take the last sips of your hot chocolate with mild disappointment that it's gone so soon. Once finished you set the mug on the counter, hopping down and making your way back around the counter. Josh finishes shortly after and you take his mug, cleaning them up in the sink as he wanders, looking around your living room.

"Do you think we should tell the police?" He asks, turning back around to face you when the water shuts off. You reach for the towel, drying your hands as you meet his gaze.

"You can," you say, "but I am staying as far away as I can from those fuckers."

"I get that. Maybe I should do it anonymously," he says thoughtfully.

"You can do what you want. I'm going to get high and try to forget about everything that happened tonight," you say, making your way back to your room.

"May I join you?" He asks in a deep, rolling British accent that sounds too silly to be genuine.

"'Course, man," you say, and he runs on over to you, a bright smile on his face.

"Can't wait to forget absolutely everything."

#josh washington x reader #josh washington #until dawn #rami malek #rami malek character #josh washington x male reader #josh washington x female reader

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birdsareblooming · 5 years ago

Text

Infinite is connected to Solaris

This is gonna be a long one, strap in.

Infinite, Infinite, Infinite. The most recent in-game villain, and the most powerful in recent history as well. Despite being only around 3 years old, he’s become extremely popular. and half of that is because of the song.

Mephiles, Iblis, and Solaris. Villains over 10 years old that haven’t been used since their original game appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

Or... have they?

Now I want to say before all of this, this all could be coincidences, me being delusional, or something otherwise. It is ONLY a theory, but for something as crazy as I’m claiming I need to preface with this for my own sanity.

But i’m gonna cut the bullshit. You’re here to see how I am going to bs my way to saying that Infinite the Jackal is connected to a dead god from what is regarded as the worst Sonic game.

And, like most of these, I need to start with some house cleaning, some things you need to understand.

1. Time Eater is Mephiles

You might have seen me meme about this before...

...But yeah that’s exactly the situation.

I had theorized this before I knew Ian Flynn thought the same thing. Their identical color-schemes, almost identical aesthetic, and completely identical power-set.

Even the name Time-Eater, that was Mephiles, and Solaris’s goal. To eat time.

2. Ifrit is Iblis

Now i’m going to assume you have two questions

If Time Eater is Mephiles, than where’s his counterpart, Iblis?

Who the fuck is Ifrit

Long and Short,

But, more importantly,

Ifrit is what caused Silver’s Future post Sonic 06.

Ifirit was their retcon for keeping Silver’s future the way it is (even though they defeat it at the end of sonic rivals 2, causing the future to not be that way, hence why Silver was 3 conflicting backstories. Thanks guys.)

So, when it comes to fire demon that destroys the world and causes the future that Silver the hedgehog lives in, that’s a good amount of evidence already, especially with the preface that Mephiles is alive in the form of Time-Eater. If Mephiles was reborn, why wouldn’t also Iblis? and Ifirit is so uncannily similar theres no other candidate.

also, might I add:

(thanks @zorloser)

For you who don’t know, Ifrit’s story ended being re-trapped in it’s pocket dimension with Eggman Nega.

3. The Phantom Ruby

The Phantom Ruby... Oh, the Phantom Ruby.

A very new addition to Sonic, and yet very important. It was the leading mcguffin of two games, and is made out to be very powerful.

yes I know that’s a lot up there, but you need to understand the Phantom Ruby to fully understand this theory.

It’s also very important that Eggman didn’t create the Phantom Ruby as he claims. He created Infinite, not the stone attached to him. Despite there being prototypes, which does confuse me, but from what info we’re given from the wiki the Phantom Ruby seems to have come from Classic Sonic’s universe, even retreating there after the events of Forces. This is also confirmed in Episode Shadow:

Although, Eggman did name it, seemingly on a whim.

~Tangent Time~

Despite being CALLED a Ruby by Eggman, the Phantom Ruby doesn't LOOK like a ruby, despite being magenta.

Rubies CAN be dark even to the point of being Black, but never connected. They’re usually just one shade.

(And don’t you dare say “The chaos emeralds don’t look like emeralds bc they’re not green. They’re all TECHNICALLY emeralds, they’re part of the beryl family, and even if only green beryls are called emeralds, they are all the exact shades of beryl.)

But what the Phantom Ruby DOES look like, is obsidian.

note this for later.

4. Infinite

For those who don’t fully know Infinite’s backstory, it’s expanded upon on the wiki and Rise of Infinite

Now that we’re all on the same page, lets continue to him now.

Lovingly referred to as the “Masked Clown.” Infinite goes about the entirety of Sonic Forces revealing nothing of himself, the only things we know about him are from Episode Shadow and Rise of Infinite. We don’t even see his real face in-game.

Although we have enough to know that his personality changed post Phantom Ruby, it’s even mentioned on the Wiki. Although how much of that change was spurred on by being beat up by a 15 year old, we’ll probably never know.

Although his goal has always been the same. Starting the planet over as a desolate wasteland. What a fun dude to be around. Probably the life of the party.

5. Connections

(i’m using Mephiles and Time-Eater intermittently, same with Iblis and Ifrit.)

Alright, now we’re all on the same page. Let’s move on.

I’m going to play a game we’ve played before. I’m going to name something about Infinite or the Phantom Ruby, and add something that’s eerily simmilar to Solaris (Mephiles + Iblis)

All of this Info can be found on the Sonic Wiki

Phantom Ruby: -It is an interdimensional gemstone of incredible power- Ifrit: It is an interdimensional, demonic fire-creature of incredible power- (wow those are, the same description huh)

Infinite: -After Infinite's fusion with the finalized Phantom Ruby prototype, he acquired the ability to generate, destroy, and manipulate virtual realities, which he could turn into virtual reality projections to interact with reality.[32] Said virtual realities are illusions, which Infinite creates by exercising control of one's visual and depth perception by feeding the brain false information- Ifrit: -Described as capable of binding one's soul, the Ifrit can enslave others with powerful mind control powers.- -Ifrit, which manages to use some kind of mind control on Sonic and/or Tails (or Knuckles and/or Rouge, depending on which team the player is controlling), but is defeated by the other teams, and is destroyed.-

Infinite: -Infinite's newfound strength proved so great that he was able to effortlessly defeat figures like E-123 Omega and Silver the Hedgehog, and ultimately best even Sonic the Hedgehog twice. He was even able to single-handedly overwhelm the entire Resistance army during Operation Big Wave. His power was such that not even the Miles Electric was able to give an accurate reading of his capabilities.[31] Time Eater: -the Time Eater has demonstrated immense super strength; even in its incomplete form, it easily knocked Modern Sonic and Classic Sonic unconscious with a single hit. After being completed, the Time Eater was able to effortlessly repel both Classic and Modern Sonic's and knock them out using brute force alone-

Phantom Ruby: Its powers can also warp the fabric of space-time,[1] allowing it to create pocket dimensions such as Egg Reverie Zone and Null Space, as well as teleport entities from place to place. When used alongside the Chaos Emeralds' time-space powers, it transported Classic Sonic and itself to another dimension, and later sucked Dr. Eggman into a rift- Time Eater: Its signature skill however, is creating "Time Holes",[8] spacial rifts that lead to any point across time and space, including alternate timelines and across different dimensions.

Infinite: When everything you know has come and gone (You are at your lowest, I am rising higher) Only scars remain of who I was (What I find in the ashes, you lose in the fire) When there's no one left to carry on (This is an illusion, open up your eyes and...) This pain persists, I can't resist But that's what it takes to be infinite Solaris: -Much like his two halves, Iblis and Mephiles, Solaris is immortal and virtually indestructible.- -As a transcendent life form, Solaris possesses a unique state of existence that lets him exist in the past, present and future simultaneously, making him omnipresent throughout time and virtually impossible to defeat unless he is attacked simultaneously in all eras-

Possible reach:

Phantom Ruby:

Solaris:

(I’m refering to the odd red-stone in the middle, also that the wings somewhat resemble Infinite’s sword.)

~Tangent Time~

remember the first tangent? Where I meantioned that the Phantom “Ruby” looked more like obsidian than a ruby?

Well someone else looks like a certain type of obsidian, Snowflake Obsidian to be exact:

Alright Reaching time over.

Now you might have noticed that the Ifrit-Infinite connections seemed to fit just a bit more-Maybe it was just me- even down to the Phantom Ruby and Ifrit’s OPENING DESCRIPTION being almost copy/paste, which i’m still amazed at.

This get’s to the next part of my theory.

6. Where are they (Mephiles/Iblis) now?

Welcome to~ where are they now!

Mephiles, or Time-Eater, So far is undocumented. It’s said they were “Destoryed” at the end of Sonic Generations, but for all we know it was just the machine additions, and Mephiles was “destoryed” over 10 years ago and he started kicking again.

Iblis, or Ifrit, was locked in it’s own pocket dimention along with Nega, and hasn’t been seen since...or have they?

haha that’s a callback! Do you remember the beginning of this post or is it too mindbogglingly long for your brain to comprehend in one sitting?

7. The Phantom Ruby is Iblis/Ifrit

let’s talk about the power set of the Phantom Ruby. Interdimentional, very powerful, capable of some kind of mind fuckery.

Ifrit is, Interdimentional, very powerful, capable of some kind of mind fuckery, immortal and is constantly on fire,

You may be wondering about this “Fire” thing. “Solaris was a sun god and infinite has no connection-” WRONG!

sorry that was forceful.

Infinite used a very specific and strange method to destroy the planet. He made an illusion of the sun, and set it on the planet. Out of all the methods, and interesting choice to be sure. But not for a sun god.

also: “What I find in the ashes, you lose in the fire”

“What are you saying you dumb bitch?” You might be thinking. First of all, rude, second of all, I’m saying that the power inside the Phantom Ruby IS Iblis/Ifrit, hence their connection.

Before I get to timeline and other stuff, some minor things:

The decision to have Infinite take on specifically Silver, and showing Silver being able to withstand a fight against him for a good amount of time, as well as giving them a minor repertoire, which no other seemingly “unconnected” Resistance Fighters get.

the name “Infinite” fitting the naming scheme if “Iblis and Ifrit” and you know how this franchise is about naming schemes.

Now, where we last left Ifrit he was trapped in a pocket dimension with Nega.

Where we first find the Phantom Ruby is “In Sonic Mania, the Phantom Ruby appeared on Angel Island after a dimensional breach occurred in the atmosphere.” (via sonic wiki)

Now, it is kinda hard to connect those two lines, but the dimensional causation is there.

(I could add an ENTIRE subsection of me trying to connected Mephiles to the time-traveling nature of Little Planet, therefore connecting Solaris to Classic Sonic’s world ((and “fun is infinite)) but this theory doesn’t need to be any longer and I cannot physically do any more research.)

it’s possible Ifrit would be trapped, Mephiles was trapped in the Scepter of Darkness, so it’s more possible than impossible.

But, Imma be fully honest with you guys, Most of this is because of the song.

If you haven’t heard “Infinite”, What is wrong with you. Go listen to it. Oh my god.

But, some of the lyrics, don’t totally make sense knowing Infinite’s backstory. But it makes more sense seeing through the lens of the added Ifrit influence.

“And after all this time you're back for more“ (If talking about Shadow, it wasn’t a “long time” inbetween Infinite’s defeat and his rise. And Infinite has no stated relationship with Sonic. However, Solaris and subsequently, Iblis, do.) “When everything you know has come and gone“ “But that's what it takes to be infinite“

Even the name “Infinite.”

He chose that name after fusing to the Phantom Ruby and “ABAndoNiNg hIS pAsT SeLf”

But, the Phantom Ruby has no connotations of immortality. None specified. it’s possible it’s power could be used to trick the user into immortality, but it’s never specified. You’d think he’d be called “Phantom” or, even, “Zero” (his working-and possibly true-name) But no. Infinite.

Now, think back to the connections earlier, and the info I took from Solaris’s wiki.

“Omnipresent throughout time and space”

Sounds pretty “Infinite” to me.

Am I saying Infinite is the new Iblis Trigger? Yes.

Ok my fingers hurt from writing this sorry it’s so long

bye

#infinite the jackal #solaris #mephiles the dark #iblis #ifrit #theory #sonic theory

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imaginationintowords · 4 years ago

Text

Folklore [song series]

mirrorball

Modern Day AU! Steve Rogers x OC!Reader

Plot: Inspired by Taylor Swift’s new album folklore. The story follows the timeline of Bucky and Elizabeth’s life throughout the years.

Word count: 2110

[a/n: thanks for being patient with me! hope you guys enjoy this new chapter! if i forgot to tag you please inbox me]

previous part

Series Masterlist

Age: 20

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Year: Summer 2014

Steve flopped down onto his bed, tired after today's events. Elizabeth softly laid down next to him, Steve wrapped his arm around her bringing her closer to his chest.

"Today was a day," he tiredly says.

"You okay?" She asked him.

After Bucky had left there was a sadness aura that followed Steve for the rest of the party. He had no clue what he had expected Bucky's reaction to be, but definitely not the one he got. He had even prepared himself fo a fight, he was grateful that didn't happen. He just wasn't expecting for Bucky to shut down and leave. Not even accepting his offer of having a conversation later.

He knew that Bucky just needed his space, time to think it all over. But the look on Bucky's face had Steve questioning whether or not he would ever come around.

It threw Steve off when Bucky requested that he breakup with Elizabeth. He couldn't believe his best friend would want his own happiness to suffer.

His whole life he had done everything possible to keep Bucky happy. After what Bucky and his family had to go through with his father, Steve made it his mission to never let his friend feel that way again. Granted he was only 7 when he made that promise to himself, he still kept it.

Steve had never put himself first, at least not until he had made the decision to go to school in California. He had even thought about changing his plans after his breakup with Elizabeth but he knew his parents would've been disappointed with that decision.

He had put Bucky first his entire life, what he's doing isn't selfish. Yet he can't help but feel like the most selfish person ever.

What if he was keeping Elizabeth from truly being happy? What if she just didn't want to break his heart? What if she just didn't want to break his heart during a family event? What if come tomorrow she would tell him the truth, that she was really still in love with Bucky.

He's not sure he could handle that heartbreak.

"Want to tell me what's going on in that head of yours?" Elizabeth asked, breaking Steve from his self destructive thoughts.

"I won't be mad if you still love him," Steve says, "I'd understand."

Elizabeth quickly sat up to get a look of Steve's face to make sure he was being serious. It nearly broke her to see how defeated he looked. She's never seen him so down, not even after his breakup with Peggy.

"You don't have to pretend to save my feelings," he continues, "If it meant you were happy, that's all I care about. If being with Bucky makes you happy, then please don't let me stand in the way."

"Oh Steve," she gently caresses his face, staring down at him, "I wasn't lying earlier when I told Bucky that I didn't love him anymore. And i most definitely wasn't lying when I said that I love you, because I do love you, with my whole heart. You make me happy. The happiest I've ever been. Bucky was my past. You are my now, and hopefully my future.

"If you can't see how truly great you are, then I must not be doing my job as not only your girlfriend, but you're friend," she says, "Because you make me feel special every single day. And I just want you to feel the way you've made me feel."

"It's not your fault," Steve softly says, grasping her hand to place a kiss on her knuckles.

"Growing up I've always been second to Bucky," he explains, "Everyone seemed to prefer him over me. Whether it was girls or just our friends. It was always Bucky then Steve."

Elizabeth takes a moment to think back on their time growing up. She couldn't help but feel guilty when she realized that everything Steve is saying is true.

After she and Bucky got together, Steve sort of became an after thought, not because they purposefully excluded him, it never crossed their mind simply because Steve also had Peggy at the time. But after Peggy left, Elizabeth never really got to talk to Steve about how he felt, because she got caught up in her own drama.

"Steve, I'm so sorry," she apologizes, "I should've known then about how you felt. I was so caught up in my own shit, I never realized that you could've been going through your own stuff."

"Liz, it was never your fault," he says, "You were going through your own stuff. And I had learned to suppress it. Plus Bucky was your boyfriend at the time, of course i wasn't really on your mind. Plus it's kind of my fault for allowing it to happen. I never spoke up about it. I just always went along, figuring it was better than nothing."

"Once I got to Berkeley that's when everything changed," his mood shifts a bit to a much lighter feel, "I no longer felt like the shadow of a person. I felt like my own person for the first time ever. I was able to become someone I never thought possible. I am no longer 'scrawny Steve, Bucky's best friend'. I just became 'Steve' or 'Rogers'."

Elizabeth smiled at the way Steve's eyes lit up when talking.

"I had never imagined myself leaving New York, let alone making the permanent move to California," he confesses, "As much as I love it here, California is where I feel I belong. I know you feel it too."

Elizabeth nods her head agreeing with him. She felt the same way, as much as New York was her childhood home, California was where she felt her heart aching for. Where she felt like she belonged, where she could thrive. The more she spent time there, the more it felt like home, that's why moving there wasn't a tough decision for her.

"Coming back here," Steve says, causing Elizabeth to shift back her focus on him, "It just makes me feel like that scrawny kid all over again. I feel like no matter how hard I try to shed that image, Brooklyn will never see me for who I am now, but for who I was then. Like no matter what I do I will always be 'little' Steve Rogers."

"I know you feel it too," he says looking up at her.

She did. She did feel stuck in the past whenever she came back home. It seemed like life stood still here, while outside of Brooklyn everything is moving ahead. She knows it's only because she grew up there, and had nothing to do with Brooklyn itself. Once she was in California, she got a taste of life outside of Brooklyn, and she's not sure if she would want to go back. So moving there was an easier choice for her to make.

"I do," she agrees, "It's why moving to California was an easy decision for me to make."

"I wasn't even sure I was even going to make it to California," he says.

"Why is that?"

"Felt like I was disappointing my parents," he confesses, "We had always discussed me going to Columbia as a pre-med major. That had been the original plan. It wasn't like they were forcing it on me. More like I was forcing it onto myself.

"It was the 'safer' choice, granted the longer one, but in the end it all would've been worth it. For some reason as a child I believed that was the only way my parents would've been proud of me. Regardless of the fact that they were already proud and would tell me constantly. I just put that pressure on myself."

"It wasn't until junior year that Mr. Lawson, my high school art teacher said I should apply to some art schools," he continues, "Then after I had a long discussion with the guidance counselor she agreed as well, saying I would get in no problem with whatever art field I applied in.

"I never really gave my drawing much thought. It was just something I would do. Also a career in art is not exactly financially stable, or at all stable. But I figured it wouldn't hurt to apply to a couple of schools as an architecture major. Never really gave it a second thought."

Steve pauses, "I did get into Columbia."

"Steve, no fucking way," Elizabeth gasp sitting up straighter, "I never even heard."

"That's because I only told my parents," he says, "I got the acceptance email the same day I got NYU's and Berkeley's, where I hadn't applied as pre-med, which my parents didn't know of at the time."

"Wow," Elizabeth responds feeling herself become speechless. She had only known about NYU and Berkeley. She knew about NYU because that was the plan, they, including Bucky had discussed Freshman year. Back when she was still with Bucky, and Steve with Peggy and they all had planned to stay in New York. Before life got complicated.

"When I did get the Berkeley acceptance I had to come clean to my parents about what major I applied under. I was nervous, because a part of me never told them because I was worried I wouldn't get in. So seeing that acceptance it was the assurance I needed. One that really let me know that I could actually do it. And of course my parents were proud."

"Of course," Elizabeth smiles, "They would've been proud if you had decided to not even go to school and just worked in a restaurant."

"That's true," Steve lets out a small laugh, "And I think I more so didn't want to regret the decision. Leaving home to move across the country for a career that could be unstable. It's scary."

"Do you?" Elizabeth asks.

"Do I what?"

"Do you regret it?"

"Not one bit," he smiles, pulling her back down onto his chest.

They laid there in a comfortable silence. Steve ranking his fingers on Elizabeth's arm, feeling himself grow tired.

"I hope you know you're amazing," Elizabeth quietly says looking up at him with pure admiration in her eyes, "That I think you're amazing. I think you're one of the greatest people I have ever known. And if I have to spend my entire life showing you just how amazing I think you are, I will."

Age: 29

Year: 2023

Location: Santa Barbara, CA

Elizabeth giggled as Steve carried her over the threshold into their hotel room for the weekend. He kicked the door closed as he silenced her giggles with a kiss, before placing her on her feet.

"Why thank-you Mr. Rogers."

"You're very welcome Mrs. Rogers," he smiled brightly at his new wife.

Her makeup was slowly fading, hair no longer perfectly done after a night of dancing with their close loved ones. Steve just stares at her lovingly. He ahs never seen her more beautiful and the fact that he gets to be her husband for the rest of his life, he's never felt luckier.

Elizabeth feels his eyes just on her, "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, just admiring my beautiful wife," he compliments, causing Elizabeth to blush.

"How about one more dance?" she asks.

"There's no music."

"When I'm with you there's always music," she says holding her hand out for him.

Steve pulled her to him, one hand grasped in her's, while the other lay on her lower back. Elizabeth's head rested on his chest, with Steve's chin softly resting on the top of it.

"You know I think you're amazing," Elizabeth says as they sway softly in each other's arms.

"You might've told me once or twice," he responds.

"Get used to it because I'm going to be telling you that for the rest of our lives."

"Nothing I want more than that," he kisses the top of her head.

"If you'd asked me to runaway with you to join a circus, I would in a heartbeat," she says.

"Oh really? If I lose my job, and having nothing to show for, you'd still be there?"

"Right next to you baby, every step of the way," she says looking up at him, "Plus you won't have nothing to show. You'll have me. You'll have us. With me by your side I'll make sure you never not know how much you mean to me."

"You've made me believe in love again when I thought it wasn't possible. You've made me love myself in a way that I didn't think were possible. You make me a better human being by just being you. I love you Steve, more than anything.

"So if everything were to go to shit, as long as I have you that's all I need. I'll be there reminding you every single day just how special you are to me."

"I love you," Steve smiles as tears fall from his eyes.

#folklore #folklore song series #folklore mirrorball #mirrorball #mirrorball taylor swift #mirrorball song seires #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers x original character #Steve rogers x OC!female #steve rogers angst #steve rogers fluff #angst #fluff #original character series #Steve rogers modern au #steve rogers modern day

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shadowsfascination · 4 years ago

Text

Shadamy Swordland ch 6 |

Rouge brushed the dust from her clothes after scolding Shadow about his reckless move, whose attitude remained as indifferent as ever.

“Guys?-” Amy said, trying to get their attention.

“I knew what I was doing!”

“Sure didn’t look the part.”

“Guys, look!” The pink hedgehog shouted. “A floating city…?!”

Shadow and Rouge finally paid attention to her, turning their heads to look at her. Amy walked towards the end of a cliff and bent over to the edge to overlook the place they ended up on. Multiple sandstone paths winded across the skies along floating, vine-clad buildings with spiralling paths around them, leading to the top. Shadow joined her, hooking a finger behind her belt to keep her from a potential fall into the depths he couldn’t see the end of.

“It’s so beautiful… We should have a date here sometime.” Amy dreamily glanced at Shadow.

Rouge whistled, impressed by their discovery. She flew to the closest floating pathway across from the others and created a connecting road between them, closing the gap so they could cross. Amy ran forward to the path and yanked Shadow along with her, who had forgotten he was still hooked on her belt. The male tumbled onto her, his weight pressing on her, making her falter. He quickly unhooked his finger from her belt and curled his arm behind her back to catch her.

“Gotcha. You need to start watching your back more if you still want that date, Rose.”

_____________________________

Meanwhile elsewhere on a floating island above the sky-high ruin befallen floating city the three had set foot on, an echidna picked up the slightest of vibes of a familiar energy. He rested against the stone stairway that led to an altar, his eyes closed as he concentrated on the waves of energy that unexpectedly drifted among the upward winds. He rose and walked towards the bridge that connected the floating island to the city below.

‘Knuckles’, the guardian’s name, attempted to seize some shards of green energy that whirled up to the island, but couldn’t get a hold of it. They flew off in different directions, escaping the grasp of his hands. He doubted for a second.

“No, I’m sure of it. This has to be Chaos Energy!”

The quizzical expression however didn’t leave his face for the gemstones he was guarding were right here with him. They were the only thing he’d ever seen that could produce this type of energy waves. He was more than familiar with the stories of special Mobians possessing a strange power that could either use or produce Chaos Energy, but never saw one before.

“Guess it’s time for me to test out that sacred art skill.”

Every new-born member of the designated guardian family inherited a sacred art skill called ‘vision’ when they’d been given a name. After the naming ceremony, which would secure the bond between the Master Emerald and the future guardian, the skill would develop along with them as they grew up.

The ‘vision’ allowed them to sense Chaos Energy up to a 15 mile radius around them. It also gave them the ability to ‘jump’ into an image, zooming in on it like a telescope. The most important thing about it though was that the guardians could make the entire island temporarily invisible to hide it from outsiders.

Knuckles rapidly blinked three times in a row, activating the skill and zoomed in on the source of the Chaos energy. Taking in three Mobians he saw walking on the floating paths of the Sky Sanctuary he gasped with unease. The black one made him recall something like he recognized him.

“He looks like…-”

He ran back to the altar and quickly scanned the murals on it, his eyes widening at the shocking resemblance of the images and the Mobian strolling on the floating pathways below him. He looked at the black male again.

“It is him! But why? What’s he doing here? I’d better keep an eye on them.”

The guardian decided to track them from the island and casted a spell to turn the island invisible, not letting his curiosity getting the best of him.

___________________________

“So, what will you do when you’ve obtained the emerald, Rouge?” Shadow asked.

“I’ll take it to the man who’s willing to help me, like I told you.”

“What does he plan to do with it?”

‘He’s getting a little too interested in this. I’d better distract him.’ Rouge thought.

“Don’t you know it’s rude to ask so many questions?”

The bat acted overly insulted only to bump into Amy next when she wasn’t paying attention of what was ahead of her. The pink hedgehog had stopped walking without warning and the others immediately understood why. Unmistakably present was the amount of Chaos spores in the air ahead of them, leading upwards. Amy took a step forward.

“Amy!”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Rouge yelled.

“What?! I’m going up there! To that floating island.” Amy pointed upward.

“Floating island?” Shadow questioned.

“Sweetie, I don’t see anything up there. Maybe we should call it a day.”

“How- how can you NOT see it?! It’s right there! Look!”

Seeing the other’s puzzled expressions Amy finally believed they really didn’t see what she in fact saw: a bridge leading to a floating island. That’s where all the chaos energy’s concentrated. How could they not see it? Especially with their sacred arts levels higher than hers.

“It’s really there! I’m telling you it’s real. I’m not crazy, okay!”

Shadow and Rouge first glanced at each other with a kind of concern before shifting their gaze at Amy.

“I don’t rule out that there’s something up there, okay? But let’s call it a day and go back here another time. “ Rouge said.

“Agreed.” Shadow added.

“Fine. I’ll show you when we get back here.”

_______________________________________

After Amy and Shadow parted from Rouge they walked back to the academy in the dark. It had started snowing again and a bleak breeze flared up, dusting up the snow in tiny, cold whirlwinds of powdery snow. Before Shadow waved his student goodbye and paced on to his home, he told her to get a good night of sleep before the sword fight tournament tomorrow. He hoped she wouldn’t be too tired from today’s events. Bending over to the flower pot next to the front door to pick up his keys from underneath it, he suddenly felt someone’s hands on his shoulders.

“You and I need to talk!”

His fellow knight hissed at him while dragging him into the shadows of the alley next to the hedgehog’s house. Blaze yanked Shadow towards her, their metal breastplates clanking at their touch. The cat pulled him up by the little chest-fur that managed to pop out from under his armour, poking a finger in his muzzle. Her eyes fiercely glanced at his own crimson ones.

“Why are you still hanging out with her? On your day-off that is. Don’t you understand how this will add to the already existing rumours?”

He pushed her away and stepped back. “What’s your problem?! It’s dark and no one’s even here.”

“I am. I caught onto it. Someone else might as well.”

“We have been training in the woods today in preparation of the tournament tomorrow. I have nothing to hide apart from my trainee’s excellent swordfight skills, that is.”

“It doesn’t look like that, Shadow! You return in the dark after spending the day together. You’re constantly looking over your shoulder and scanning the place the entire way you’ve been walking with her as if to make sure no one catches onto you two.”

“We’re just trying to avoid causing more rumours. I’m not even the least bit interested in her like that. I don’t care about romance, Blaze.”

“Well, you’re clearly getting along with her. Even if what you say is true, it looks suspicious.”

“See what you wanna see. I don’t care.”

The lavender coloured cat grabbed his shoulders, genuine concern glistering in her eyes.

“Care about it a little more, will you?! As a member of the high order of knights you have a reputation to uphold! We all do. Your actions might affect all of us.”

“No need to remind me. Now stop sticking your nose in my business and worry about your own student. That hyper-annoying blue hedgehog is a real troublemaker.”

Blaze’s face showed a variety of changing expressions at Shadow’s statement. Sonic was an adventurous spirit with an impulsive nature and when he felt it was needed, he turned out to be a true rebel at heart. It often lead Blaze to the board’s office to apologize on behalf of him when Sonic refused to. Her cheeks coloured a bright pink, all much to Shadow’s amusement.

“That’s… beside the point right now! I propose the idea that you two will only train inside the training facilities and domes for a while, so you’d be in si-“.

“Rejected. It’ll disadvantage her in battle. Amy has as much right to develop her fighting style in secret as anyone else.”

“If you truly have nothing to hide, this shouldn’t be a problem.”

He shrugged himself free of her hold.

“This conversation’s over. Good night, Blaze.”

___________________________

“Hey Ames!”

Sonic excitedly waved at his pink friend when spotting her entering the Ruby Dome’s dressing room. He walked up to her, tossing her towel to her. Amy caught it with ease and wiped the sweat from her forehead while gulping down a glass of water.

“Ah, thanks! I needed that. Are you up next?”

“Sure am. How did your matches go?”

“I’ve won every single one of them.” Amy smiled like a victor.

The blue hedgehog gave her a thumb’s up while holding the door open for her to enter the main battlefield in the dome. Shadow and Blaze greeted their students and Amy proudly told her friend and trainer how she’d won all of her matches today. The cat expressed her gleeful surprise about Shadow and Amy’s secluded training session the other day, only to display the suspicion in her jade eyes.

“That’s me! Wish me luck, will you?”

“Good luck, Sonic!”

As Amy watched Sonic enter the battlefield, she saw Shadow enter after him. She’d completely forgotten Shadow competed against the seniors today. Amy knew very well that both Sonic and Shadow were crazily fast and both had outstanding sword and dodging skills. It was still likely for Shadow to win, but every spectator today knew this match ought to be very interesting.

Both hedgehogs had that peculiar look on their faces with a certain grin curling their lips and a certain seriousness in their eyes. Amy couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy. She took a seat next to Blaze whom she felt had a similar nervousness over her. Amy said a little prayer in her thoughts that Blaze wouldn’t start questioning her about Shadow. She felt guilty enough already as it was for lying to her.

“Good luck Sonic, you’ll need it” Shadow challenged him.

“Heh, we’ll see about that.”

Sonic’s grin widened and he scratched his nose. They nodded once at the referee, readying themselves at his countdown. The way the hedgehogs’ body language showed the energy inside them made it more than obvious both had long anticipated a match like this. At the sound of the ringing bell the two dashed forward, racing towards their opponent, leaving a cloud of dust behind.

Confidently preparing for the incoming impact of their swords clashing against one another, Shadow neared his opponent, effortlessly matching his speed. Searching for an open spot to strike, the two hedgehogs closed in on each other. Sonic’s eyes fixed on Shadow’s sword to block his upcoming strike.

Within the last two or three steps away from him, he felt his heart jolt inside his chest, his eyes drawn to their swords. The spectators screamed enthusiastically behind them. The small piece of emerald on the handgrip of Shadow’s sword flared with light as he dashed forward. The air filled with thousands of tiny turquoise fireflies, which Amy now knew were actually Chaos spores.

“Oh boy… “ Amy squeaked, holding her breath.

“You’ve seen this stuff before?” Blaze asked.

“Errr, yes! It’s some sort of energy.”

The metal swords clanked against each other with tremendous impact when Sonic blocked his opponent’s strike. His sword suddenly blazed like Shadow’s after their touch, creating a large bolt of nasty bright light. Like he had hit the break at once everything just stopped around them, totally frozen in time. He was only able to move his eyes and shifted his gaze from his sword to Shadow. The black hedgehog looked back at him, clearly experiencing the same thing.

In the blink of an eye a small emerald was laid in the handgrip of his sword, blazing as fiercely as Shadow’s. It sent a powerful rush through his body before the frozen world came back alive again. The bolt of light swung them high into the air, smashing them down on the opposite sides of the battlefield with a loud crash. Neither of them moved. Clouds of dust formed above the place the hedgehogs crashed into the ground while the crowd gasped in shock in the stands behind them.

________________________________

END NOTES

Pfff this took me long enough. I’m actually not at all satisfied with this chaper. I feel like it’s a little stiff. Bleh. I just don’t know how to write it differently. This always happens though. Somewhere along the process of writing a story I start to dislike what I write because it lacks decent quality imo... AAAAHH!

Anyway here it is! I still hope the ppl who do read it enjoy it. As always: annoying drammar mishaps/typos or tips and thoughts are welcome. Be friendly though :) Just message me.

I’m also working on a couple of oneshots and drawings. In between now and June I’ll be busy making a portrait of my grandpa who passed away in november (he had covid). I promised my grandma I’ll make her a painting of him for her birthday in june.

@shadamyheadcanons

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hauntlikeaghost0 · 5 years ago

Text

drowning | d.m

summary: you are draco’s lifline.

warnings: little bit angsty but in a fluffy way

a/n: wrote this on my phone so ignore weird spacing but i think i really like it?? idk hehe

༒༒༒

draco’s life was falling apart. slipping and tumbling, crashing down around him faster and faster as time went by; and there was nothing he could do but watch. watch as the rubble buried all his friendships, all his confidence and innocence, all his happiness. and all he could do was prey and beg and just hope that people will forgive him when it was all over. hope and beg and prey that despite seeing his face on the opposite side, despite seeing him next to the people that tore down their home, they won’t see him as the enemy. they won’t see him as evil. but just the battered and broken boy that didn’t have a choice. the battered and broken boy that couldn’t lose anymore.

as he looks out over hogwarts from his place in the astronomy tower, he mulls this over. no, not mulls, he grapples, he obsesses. mind racing repeatedly over how hopelessly fucked his life is about to become. he wonders desperately how he could have possibly let it get this far, he wonders what would have happened if he’d had just said no. surely his parents would be dead now, possibly himself, maybe even you.

now, himself and his father, he could deal with, he could accept. karma’s a bitch and boy did the malfoy men know how to anger her. but his mother, she was the only person to ever make him believe in love, in care, in hope. she would do anything for him, despite him knowing he could live a hundred lives and never deserve that. and you, oh god you. the only person to ever make draco feel as though he was lovable, not worthy of love, as he is convinced he never will be, but somehow, by some sort of miracle, you loved him. you were stubborn as hell and drove him insane but, praise merlin, did you care for that boy so fiercely and so passionately that he almost believed you when you told him he was a gift. he had some bumps and bruises, some scars that would take time to heal but he was precious and beautiful. irreplaceable.

the school grounds were bathed in darkness, stars littering the deep navy sky, reflecting off the black lake as though it were a mirror and dancing around before draco’s eyes. despite the late hours, a few lights still remained, glowing warmly from scattered windows around the castle, inviting the boy to dive into their saftey. an invitation he ignored. although his entire life was constantly casted in shadows, draco still finds a strange comfort in the darkness. the idea of going unseen but still being able to see it all, and, he supposes, it’s just all he’s ever known. he finds darkness at home, darkness at school, darkness in his mind, even some darkness in you, as no one can truly avoid it.

he drags his cold hands over his face, pressing them into his eyelids and watching as patterns appear and swirl beneath the pressure. the only thing that calls his attention away is the familiar sound of your pattering footsteps, climbing the old creaking stairs behind him.

“draco?” you call out as you reach the final step, catching a glimpse of the instantly recognisable platinum hair, only made harder to ignore in the silvery moonlight.

“over here.” he replies, not moving from his position of gripping the metal railing. you instantly recognise the tension in his shoulders and the stiffness of his neck. his mind is elsewhere, lost in what if’s and worst case scenarios.

you take a deep breath, heart already breaking for the boy infront of you, begging yourself to keep it together for him. to be the solid shoulder for him to lean on while everything feels so unstable. “i see you” you breathe out and make your way closer.

you arrive at his side but his eyes stay fixated right ahead, so many emotions swirling in his icy blues that you wonder whether there’s anyone there at all. his hands still grasp the bar infront of him so tightly his knuckles are white and all you can think to do in that moment is lay your, slightly smaller, hopefully warmer, hand atop his.

“you are the best thing that ever happened to me.” you speak out, mirroring his position and fixing your eyes upon the silhouettes of two birds dancing and twirling across the ever darkening skyline. “you know that right?”

you feel him turn his attention towards you, vision locking intently on the side of your face as though trying to discern something so impossibly complicated.

meeting his eyes, you raise your brows. not in a teasing way, but almost so as to open up more of your face to him, to put on display all of your emotions for him to read, desperate for him to find complete sincerity. he only shakes his head.

“i don’t deserve you.” is all he says, eyes glassy but the ghost of a smile appearing on his lips.

rolling your eyes, you reply: “do you think i give a fuck about what people deserve?” there’s a playful tint in your voice, only barely disguising the complete seriousness. draco lets out a short laugh at this, turning to lean his elbow against the railing, finally allowing some lightness to return to his features.

“draco fucking malfoy,” you jab a finger into his chest, “if i could, i would hand you the world with three tiny finger holes in the top and let you use it a fucking bowling ball, me being each one of the ten pins. i would let you repeatedly crush me with the world, which you hold in your hands, because i feel that’s what you deserve.”

“now, i feel that’s a bit rash.” he says, gaze softening even further and a more solid grin making its way upon his face. there’s humor in his voice and it adds a warmth to the night.

“it’s not up for debate.” you snap back, keeping up your serious facade for another two beats until draco rolls his eyes, chuckling to himself quietly.

the sound of his laughter and the beautifully curved grin on his lips brings a sort of joy to you that you can’t quite understand. a sense of pride, not at the fact you managed to make him smile, but at the fact he still can, after all he’s been through. when that beautiful, damaged boys face lights up in the way it just had, everything feels right in the world, nothing can go wrong, nothing can harm you, because draco is happy, draco is happy. it may only be for a moment, a brief second in a lifetime, but it gives you hope, it makes you warm. and you did mean it when you said that boy deserves the world, he truly, truly does.

a silence settles between the two of you and your attention shifts back to those same two birds, now sat comfortably atop one of hogwarts many spires, pressed up against eachother, keeping eachother warm.

“can i have a hug?” a timid voice speaks up from beside you. it’s such a weak and frail sound from someone who appears so casually strong that your heart clenches in your chest, turning your attention towards the delicate boy to your left. you smile up at him as warmly as you possibly can and slowly place a hand on his pale cheek, dusting your thumb lightly over the soft skin and relishing in how it heats slightly beneath you touch.

you only nod in response, dropping both your hands over his shoulders and drawing him into you, so closely and so tightly, he wonders if you’ll ever let him go. he decided he definitely hopes not. instantly, draco is wrapping his arms around your waist, holding you just as securely and somehow managing to bring your body impossibly closer to his, hips and chests flush together. you feel the butterflies fly wildly in your stomach, a sensation not uncommon when being around draco, as he nuzzles his head into your neck, inhaling deeply and making goosebumps shoot up across your body at the feeling of his soft breath against your skin.

“you deserve the world, draco malfoy.” you breathe out softly, sincerity laced thickly in your words, begging for the damaged boy to hear it and willing for him to finally believe it.

draco only grips you tighter, no words escaping his lips but an almost silent sniffle coming from his place snuggled into your shoulder. again you feel your heart in your throat and, in order to fight back your own set of tears that are balancing so dangerously close to falling, you begin to move from side to side, swaying oh so gently like branches in the wind. you cling onto draco and he to you, realising what you’re doing and moving just the same. you place a hand softly on the back of his head, sliding your fingers into his hair and drawing a hum out from the back of his throat that makes your knees buckle slightly.

you continue to sway for a few more moments, draco grasping you like the lifeline he saw you as and you holding him tenderly, savouring the feeling of his closeness as though it were the last drop of oxygen you’d ever receive. he begins to sway you in a circle, turning the pair of you around until your back was against the cold metal railing. you flinch slightly at the feel of the icy iron through your thin bed shirt, followed by the loss of draco’s weight against your neck, however the coldness is soon replaced by a flooding warmth when your eyes lock on his. the amount of emotion seeping from them brings a lump to your throat. there’s still the ghost of the hopelessness that always resides in his steely blues but right now, as he stares and you so intensely, all that can be seen is love. suffocating and overwhelming, soft and beautiful, completely overflowing, powerful love.

it takes everything in you not to scream, yell from the astronomy tower that you could never be more happy because he fucking loves you and you fucking love him and everything’s shit but you’re both in love. so intensely and passionately, in love.

and then he opens his mouth and the words spill like silk from his lips, curving around your heart and tying a beautiful bow atop it. a name tag hanging from the ribbon reads his name and you are sure it will never say any other for as long as the pair of you live, and even then after:

“i don’t want the world, dear, i only want you.”

then the tears spill and his lips meet yours. there’s fire and passion behind the kiss that has him pinning you to the balcony, hands tights against your waist. fire and passion that has you curving into him, hands lost in his hair. but the tears dancing between both your hot lips brings a sorrow to the kiss that makes your heart clench, a neediness that comes only from a broken boy, clinging to you with lust and simultaneously hopeless desperation. draco nips on your bottom lip lightly causing you to gasp softly which he takes as permission to begin the dance between your tongue and his own. each time you go in for more he treats it as receiving another breath of life, the love you’re presenting him with, filling his lungs and quenching his thirst better than anything else ever could.

finally, you pull back, gasping for air and running your tongue over your lips, weirdly addicted to the taste of draco mingled with both of your bitter, salty tears. he does the same, signature smirk adorning his features before he gently leans his forehead against yours, dropping a kiss to your nose that makes you’re heart swell.

“i love you, (Y/N), endlessly.” he breathes out, hand coming up to run his index finger delicately along your bottom lip.

“i love you too draco, endlessly.”

and in that moment, draco smiles. really, truly earnestly, smiles.

his world may be crumbling around him, he may be drowning in the darkness that spills from every person and every crevice of his mind; but, right now, on this balcony, with you in his arms and him in yours, it’s not the moon or the stars that’s keeping the astronomy tower alight. it’s you. it’s you and the love that you allow him to feel, the love that, when he’s with you, seeps from his very bones, pouring out of him and drowning the both of you.

and what a beautiful way to die.

𝐹𝑖𝑛

#harry potter x reader #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x y/n #draco malfoy #draco malfoy one shot #harry potter imagines #draco malfoy imagines #dramoine #draco malfoy angst #draco malfoy fluff

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another-sonic-blog · 5 years ago

Text

The Fanfictioner Ch.1

Pineapple Pizza

The Fanfictioner

Pineapple Pizza

10K (ShadAmy)

The moon was above them and although it was a cold night, they didn't care. Sonic got closer to Amy, emeralds eyes shone brightly with love and desire. He caressed her as he softly placed his hands around her face, pulling her closer to him. Amy licked her lips as they begged to be touched by the blue blur. They have fought to be together for a long time and now nothing was stopping them. Finally, they could express and show their love to the world with no restrictions, with complete freedom. Sonic got closer to his lover, their lips just a few centimeters away and then-

"Amy, what are you writing?"

The pink hedgehog slammed shut her laptop as she mentally cursed for not being more delicate. Today was filming day but she promised her followers that she was going to update a new chapter of 'Falling Petals' by tonight. Of course, like the good fanfic writer that she was, she always kept her promises.

Amy shifted her body from the chair to look at the standing blue hedgehog behind her. She tried to hide the panic on her face but it seemed like this picked Sonic's interest even more.

"Um... my shopping list?" That came out more like a question than a statement. Once again, she cursed under her breath because although Sonic wasn't the smartest hedgehog out there, he wasn't dumb either.

"Then why are you acting so ... strange?"

Sonic had the sincerest of interest. He cared for the pink one and her recent actions had just baffled him. Recently, Amy was acting quite strangely. Before Sonic was free to use her laptop whenever he wanted and now, she kept it to herself and hid it as her life depended on it. The blue bur knew that Amy likes to write from time to time but now? Sonic found her writing whenever he visited her at her house. She would be checking her phone constantly and even smiled as she typed on it. The thought had crossed his mind that maybe Amy was 'seeing' someone and the thought alone just made him pay more attention to her.

"Are you sure-"

"Everyone get on ready on set!"

Amy was saved by the show's director once again. She smiled awkwardly at her blue friend as she placed her laptop on her chair. She heard Sonic sigh in defeat and Amy felt a little bit bad that she made her friend and love interest worried. However, she just couldn't go to him and say 'Hey, I know I have been acting strange but it's because I am writing fanfiction of Sonic Boom and I don't want you to think I am weird.'

Amy greeted everyone as she stepped on set. The camera, lighting crew and just every who crossed her path. Of course, her friends were there as well looking as fresh as they could be. They were outdoors and currently they were filming Sonic Boom's most recent and most wanted episode 52 of season 1.

"Hey, guys! Amy greeted her friends, Sticks, Knuckles, and Tails as they waved their hands from right to left, Sonic followed from behind.

Amy's attention was focused on the red echidna who had sleepy eyes. This was very strange because Amy knew that Knuckles was one who appreciated his sleep especially because he always woke up early morning to go workout.

"Hey Knuckles, you alright?" Amy asked. "You look very sleepy.

Knuckles let out a yawn as he stretched his body. "I didn't sleep much I was binge reading this book I found online and-

"WHERE IN CHAOS IS SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG?" The director of the show screamed in desperation as everyone was ready to go but the star of today's episode.

" I still can't believe they hired Shadow the Hedgehog to do this roll." Tails said with a bit of amusement in his voice. "I mean he is the same guy who appeared in Chao in Space 2."

"And in Anti-Vengers the Final Game," Sticks added.

"And in Fast and the Glorious 8," said Knuckles.

"It makes me wonder if Sonic Boom produces that much money for them to pay someone like him," Amy looked from side to side, in hopes that the black hedgehog would appear. She hasn't met him yet and if she was completely honest, she looking forward to his approval.

"He is not that big of a deal," Sonic rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I mean, I was in Chao in Space 2 as well."

"Yeah, as a side character. Shadow was actually the protagonist." Tails was saying this because it was the truth and not to annoy his blue friend. However, it was quite funny to see Sonic jealous over at Shadow the Hedgehog's accomplishments. Tails were lowkey a fanboy of the black hedgehog, although he would never admit that out loud.

"What is all of this fuzz about? I am right here,"

Finally, the hedgehog that everyone was waiting for arrived. He had an energy drink on his right hand and in one gulp he drank all of it. He then turned around to give it to his assistant who quickly took the can away from him. He stepped on the set where the rest of 'Team Sonic' waited to start.

"Mr. Hedgehog, nice to meet you!" Tails said as he extended out his hand, shaking a little due to the excitement. "I am Tails Miles Prower and I-"

"Yeah, I know who you are," Shadow said with a monotone voice.

The yellow fox leaned into Amy's ear and he whispered, 'Did you hear that Amy? He knows me.'

"You are the only one who has ... descent acting skills," Shadow let out mocking laughter as he looked down on the rest of the 'actors.'

Everyone looked at him, offended at his comment. It seems like the rumors that the black hedgehog had a prepotent personality was true.

"Says the one who can only portray edgy characters."

Everyone turned to look at Amy in disbelief. Actually, she had thought of that in her head but in one way or another, it came out of her mouth. The set was filled with silence until Sonic let out a big laugh and wrapped his right arm around Amy's shoulder.

"That was a good one Ames!" Sonic said.

Shadow wasn't expecting that from the pink hedgehog in front of him. Who did she think she was? She was no one compared to the great acting career he has had. Of course, he wasn't going down without a fight.

"My apologies, I don't accept criticism from people who can't even act," Shadow replied.

"Well maybe if you did, you would get a different type of role from time to time," Amy replied.

By now Team Sonic was static. There was so much tension between the two and they had only met two seconds ago. Vermillion eyes met emerald ones and neither one of them wanted to quit the internal battle.

Shadow the Hedgehog had to admit, this was interesting.

"Shadow!" Sonic Boom's director interrupted the moment as he had finally eyed the black hedgehog. "You are late! What were you doing?"

Mia, a brown girl hedgehog, and Shadow's assistant was watching the scene unfold from afar. She watched the director seated on his high chair and to prevent Shadow from getting scolded, she answered on his behalf.

"He didn't get enough sleep yesterday sir-" Mia said loud enough but the director, who was an old and strict monkey, raised his hand and interrupted her.

"I want him to tell him,"

In all honesty, if it wasn't because he was the director, Shadow would have said something offensive. However, the black hedgehog always had a sense of responsibility and respect towards his job and especially to the director.

Shadow sighed and looked up to the director, "I was up all night on my phone ... reading."

"Hey, me too!" Knuckles said in surprise. "I was reading this really good story about our show and-"

"I am sure that whatever you were reading doesn't compare to what I was reading," Shadow interrupted him and rolled his eyes

The director faced palmed himself and loudly he said, "I don't care! Just make sure this doesn't happen again, Mr. Hedgehog."

Shadow couldn't say anything more. It was his first day on set and he almost wanted to leave ... almost.

"Yes, sir."

The day ended worse than Amy expected. Shadow wasn't only prepotent, he was mean, rude and jerk. He took in every opportunity he had to bully and tease the hell at out of Amy. The black hedgehog mocked her acting, made fun of her lines and bumped into her multiple times.

And today has only been the first day of filming for this month's episode. Good thing that filming only took around two weeks to complete due that the episodes were short. They started every first day of the month. Today was September 1, they will finish on September 14 and they will have the rest of the month free. Thirteen more days to go, thirteen more days that she had to endure Shadow's presence on set.

She was quite disappointed when she found out who the real Shadow was. Just like her friend, Tails, Amy was secretly a fan of the acting he has done in the past. Although his roles were kind of repetitive, his acting was always exceptional. Even today, his acting techniques were really good, she even liked the character he was portraying.

Amy stretched her back as had finally reached the insides of her home. During today's break, she was able to finish the last chapter of 'Falling Petals' and to make it extra special, she wrote a 20 thousand final chapter. This chapter was filled with a lot of drama, romance, and fights which will lead to the second book. She couldn't wait to just upload it to her page so her readers will enjoy and maybe cry a little with her writing.

After showering and changing to her pajamas, Amy comfortably laid on her bed with her computer on her legs. She logged into fanfiction.com where she had already hundredth of comments in her work, reading for her to read. She always made sure to reply to them whenever she had the chance. The pink hedgehog even had created a bond with a couple of people who always commented on her fanfics. She scrolled down the comment section as she replied to them and a familiar username came into her screen.

"I've following your work since I stumbled upon 'The Forest of Dreams: A Love Story' and in all honesty, you are the best fanfiction writer out there. You improved so much and now every story you publish is great and you develop the characters amazingly well. Yesterday, I was re-reading all 30 previous chapters of 'Falling Petals' and I got late to work but it was worth it. I can't wait to read the final chapter tonight."

By: The Fanfictioner

Amy smiled to herself, she was always happy to read comments and it was one of the few things that kept her going through the day. She took a few moments to think about what to write and finally she began to type.

"This means a lot to me. 'The Forest of Dreams: A Love Story' was the first story I wrote and I am really happy you still enjoy it. I appreciate you a lot, I see that you always like and comment on my work. I'll keep working hard for you and my other readers. I hope you like the last chapter of 'Falling Petals' ... Thank you!"

By: A Rose Without Thorns

After she finished typing and hitting 'Enter', our adorable pink hedgie was now ready to publish the last chapter of her latest work. She uploads her writing file from her laptop, publishes it and waits for her reader's reaction. Amy closes her laptop and places it next to her, closing her eyes, the pink hedgehog drifted into sleep.

"CAN YOU GUYS BELIEVE SONIC LEFT AMY TO GO SAVE THE WORLD?!" Knuckles, who has his bubbly self again was walking right and left on the set. "AFTER EVERYTHING THEY WENT THROUGH, HE LEAVES!"

"Knuckles, I am right here," Sonic said as he read a magazine. It was early morning and 'Team Sonic' was waiting for everyone to arrive. "Also, I am not going anywhere. I have to save enough folks on the island as it is."

"I am not talking about you! I am talking about the Sonic on the story I was reading!" Knuckles replied again. "The writer said that they will publish a second book, so I have hope that they will end up together."

Amy, who was sitting on the actor's small chair circle, was interested in what Knuckles was reading. Especially since it seemed like he read the last chapter of her most recent work.

"Out of curiosity," Amy began. "What were you reading?"

"I read 'Falling Petals' by A Rose Without Thorns in fanxfiction.com," Knuckles replied. "I just love the writer's stories, they are so good!"

Amy hid her evident blush by taking a sip of her coffee.

"What if Knuckles is TheFanfictioner? He did say that he stayed up all night reading and his comment right now sounds a bit similar to the one of last night."

"Wait, fanxfiction.com?" Tails who was quietly drinking tea finally spoke up. "You read fanfiction?"

"I do," Knuckles said, still not seating down on his chair. "We need to support fans that create free content for others and besides ... Some of these writers are way better than the ones we have here."

"That, I do believe," Sticks puts down 'Theories Magazine', the issue of this month was government space theories. She was reading a very interesting story about a project that was created on a space colony and it was shut down due that scientists created a powerful ultimate life form.

"Still, it's lame," Sonic said, still not looking at his friends directly. "I understand your curiosity Knuckles, but I still think it's a bit weird. Especially the writer ... It's so cringy."

"It's not! Look!" Knuckles pulls out his phone and shoved into Sonic's face, making him drop the magazine that he was reading. "Read the first chapter! It's really good!"

The blue bur leaned his head a little, as he tried to catch a glimpse of Knuckle's phone. He read the first lines of the story and a smirk crossed his face. He grabbed Knuckle's phone and stood up from his seat.

"Although I was always pushed away by him, Sonic the Hedgehog was the only one for me." Sonic made his voice sound in a higher pitch, pretending to be the female hedgehog of the story. "His green eyes, his strong form, and heroic personality were some of the things that made me fall in love with him."

Tails and Sticks began to laugh. Even Knuckles who wasn't laughing at the story itself, but at Sonic's overly bad acting, let out a giggle or two.

"See? This is so bad!" Sonic said as he pointed to Knuckles' phone.

The blue one noticed that Amy was awfully quiet, just there, seating on her chair. As to look for her approval, Sonic asked, "Don't you think this is lame Amy? I mean just the fact that you love me is ridiculous enough!"

"Yeah, haha," Amy looked down to the floor, as she tried to hide her evident embarrassment. "It is pathetic."

She had never felt such embarrassment before. The pink one started this because she enjoyed writing and loved to write about the Sonic Boom characters. However, looking at her peer's reaction made her wonder. They were the ones who interpreted the characters and they thought it was lame. Maybe, she wasn't as good of a writer as she thought she was. Doubt filled her mind and before she could say or do anything else, Knuckles jumped to say something.

"You all are just uncultured," Knuckled said as he took his phone away from Sonic's grasp "You guys will never know how deep and life-changing 'Falling Petals' is until you read it-"

"Will everyone just shut up?"

The prince of dark and gloom appeared and to say that he looked bad was an understatement. Shadow the Hedgehog had dark circles under his red eyes. He arched his back and his stance was way too weak. He even looked sick. Shadow walked towards his chair and sat down with a cup of black coffee on his hand.

"Well, did someone forget to read today's script or something?" Sonic said mockingly.

"I had a very emotionally draining experience last night, I don't need your jokes at this moment," The black hedgehog replied. He was wearing a black leather jacket and out of it's right pocket, he pulled out some shades and puts them on.

"It wasn't a joke," said Sonic. "There was a change in plans yesterday and we are supposed to record another scene today, did you read your script?"

At that moment, Shadow thanked Chaos that he was wearing shades because otherwise, everyone would have seen his confused face.

Just like he sat down on his chair, he stood up again.

"I need to talk to my manager."

It was already 11 in the morning and they still haven't started filming. At this rate, they were just going to lose the day. It was September and the sunlight was running out short. Sonic Team was already eager to start but there was no sign of the director. Even less Shadow.

"Everyone takes one-hour break, come back at 12 P.M." The show director appeared. He had a tired face, one that showed that he was done with his job.

The director came into the circle of actors and approached Amy directly.

"Ms. Rose, I need to speak to you ... Privately," he said as he made a motion to follow him.

"Of course, Mr. Johnson," the pink hedgehog stood from her chair and followed the old monkey. Once again, they were supposed to be filming outdoors. They had closed a small part of Hedgehog Village so they could film. Her friends were on the other side while Amy and Mr. Johnson had already placed themselves behind the camera crew to get some privacy.

"Ms. Rose, I need a favor," Mr. Johnson said. Amy nodded, not expecting that from the director. "I need you to stay here and help Mr. Shadow the Hedgehog finish memorizing his script. I know you are the best at that."

Great, this is just what she needed. To spend her break time with Shadow, the rudest hedgehog she has ever known. She knew that this wasn't really a favor but part of her job and she normally wouldn't have cared. Amy was glad to help her friends memorize their scripts but Shadow? He was far from being her friend.

"I'll do it but, can I ask something?" Amy asked.

"Go ahead."

"Why is he here? Don't get me wrong but Sonic Boom doesn't seem like the type of show that an actor of his caliber would want to do."

The old monkey sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. "To be honest I don't even know either ... He just came in saying that he wanted to play a role in the show. He is charging us half the price he normally charges and this will definitely increase the rating of the show ... I know Shadow doesn't have the best personality but for everyone's sake ... Just be nice to him."

Amy nodded. She knew that Shadow was hard to deal with, but just like the director said, having the black hedgehog on the show will help everyone. More ranting equals more money. Also, there was a small part of Shadow that intrigued Amy. Why would he want to be in this show if he could literally be in anything he wanted? Maybe if she could make him open up a little she can find out.

The pink hedgehog looked back at her friends who were laughing again at her fanfiction as she saw that Sonic was once again holding up Knuckle's phone. Spending time with Shadow didn't seem so bad now.

It took all the strength in the world to come to terms with herself. Our pink lady was backing out of the previously made decision as she waited outside Shadow's dressing room. She knocked once and she wished for Chaos that whatever Shadow was doing will stop him from opening the door. Amy looked around nervously, it wasn't like she was afraid of the black hedgehog, well maybe just a tiny bit. She was more scared of having to go through an awkward situation or saying something that might cost her head. Incoming steps were heard by the pink one and in a blink of an eye, Shadow was in front of her holding the door open for her to step in. She looked at him with an awkward smile on her face as she made her way in, in a sense, it was her way of greeting him. Yesterday, they didn't have the best of days but maybe Amy could make up for that by helping him. As she made her way in, she realized that his dressing room was way fancier than hers. All black, a bed, a small kitchen, and even a small dining room. For all, she knew this could a small house.

"So," Amy pushed her thoughts away as she sat down on the small dining table. "Today's scene we are going to be introducing your character ... do you know any of the script yet?"

"Not really, I wasn't notified about today's change and I didn't have time yesterday, " Shadow sat down on the chair facing Amy.

"No worries, change in plans happen a lot around here so it's best if you get used to it now," the pink hedgehog kept her eyes glued to the script. "Alright, your dialogue start on page seven so let's go from there. If we can't finish memorizing the script then we can improvise-"

"Why are you helping me?"

The question took Amy by surprise, finally, she looked at the black hedgehog in front of her who had a monotone look on his face. His right hand served as support for his face as it delicately rested on his right cheek. The sunlight coming from the window highlighted Shadow's features and especially his eyes. Vermillion eyes studied her deeply and Amy could see why he was so popular with the ladies.

"To be honest, because they asked me to and ..." Amy sighed as she shook away the thought. "Because a part of me wants to start again with you."

"We didn't have a good start, did we?" Shadow looked outside the window as if he was in deep thought. Three seconds pass in which Amy thought it had been minutes, a very unpleasant feeling ran down her spine. She wanted to end with the awkwardness but Shadow beat her to it.

"There's no way I am going to memorize all 50 pages in one hour," Shadow said as he looked back at the pink hedgehog.

"Then improvise!" Amy replied. "This is your character, create your own dialogue."

"I don't know who this character is! And I am sure not even the writers know," Shadow stood up from the chair and walked towards the small bed that was across the dining table.

Amy looked over at the black hedgehog who was resting comfortably on his bed.

"Then even better! Make it your own!" Amy raised her voice a little. "Look, for what I know your character, 'Shadow', is mysterious and rude but he actually cares for others. He just doesn't know how to properly show it."

Shadow looked over to Amy and with a plain expression he asked, "Meaning?"

Amy stood up from her chair and placed herself in front of the black and red striped hedgehog. She looked at him as she placed her hands on her waist. "Meaning that maybe he had a tragic past, something that explains his personality. It makes him an interesting character ... You can work something from that."

"I don't know, doesn't it sound too-"

Shadow would have never expected what happened next. At one moment, he was laying peacefully on his bed. The next moment, he was still laying peacefully on his bed but the difference was that Amy was on top of him. Her hands were placed on the sides of his head. Her legs were slightly touching his as she had positioned them to each side of his legs.

"You need to stop!" Amy said, her face very close to Shadow's. "You have beaten up my friends! Why are you after us?"

Shadow blinked multiples times. First, nothing made sense but his brain connected the dots. This was similar to the scene he read on the script. Where Sonic pinned him down to the ground after a fight. He was pressured and he only had a few seconds, what should he respond?

"I am not after you nor your friends! I am trying to complete my mission and you are just on the way!"

A few seconds passed in which Amy and Shadow only stared at each other's eyes. Amy was looking at him, surprised that he actually followed along with her plan. And Shadow? Where he was starting to get lost. Lost in the pink one's emerald eyes and for a small fraction of a second, he had forgotten where he was.

"That was good!" Amy said as she made Shadow wake up from his trance. "It's a bit vague but that leaves up to interpretation and further build-up for the story."

The pink hedgehog moved away and took a sit on the edge of Shadow's bed. She didn't think too much about it. However, Shadow couldn't let go of that thought that easily.

"You are a strange one," Shadow said as he sat down on the edge of the bed, next to the pink one. "Last time someone confronted me like that was Rouge and it was a different circumstance."

"Rouge as ..." Amy gulped. " Rouge the Bat? The famous actress?"

"Yeah, do you know her?"

"Of course, I do! She is the best actress of our generation! She is great!" Amy said excitedly. Shadow noticed that Amy's tail was wiggling from side to side, it was something that he would normally make fun of but he had to admit that it is cute on her.

At that moment, Amy remembered that a couple of days ago she was reading a celebrities' magazine. There was a rumor saying that Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat were in a secret relationship. She wanted to ask him about it but decided not to since that would be crossing the boundaries. Maybe she would ask ... Later on, if they ever get to be that open with each other.

"Anyways," Amy turned around to look at Shadow, who was once again looking at her with his vermillion eyes. "Should we practice a little more?"

Filming the scene did not only go great but Shadow got praised from everyone after the shooting. Even Sonic had to admit that he had done a good job and Mr. Johnson went personally to Shadow and thanked him for his commitment to his character. Every time this happened, Shadow looked back at Amy and gave her a small smile to acknowledge her help. He didn't exactly thank her, but Amy knew this was the best thing she could get from him.

More days like this came. In two weeks, Team Sonic had slowly made up their minds that Shadow was going to be sticking around for some time. There was still some conflict from time to time but it wasn't anything that they couldn't handle. The black hedgehog would even 'compliment' the other members once in a while. 'Not half bad', 'Could be better but it wasn't horrible', 'If you are going to say that, at least keep your head up. It will make you look more credible.'

Shadow had slowly made his way into the Sonic Boom family and nobody was complaining. He still had his prepotency and pride, which he would show more often than his soft side. But at least he was trying. Amy Rose didn't care now. He wasn't interfering with her job nor she was interfering with his. They didn't have much communication since she helped him improvise. Maybe just the casual, 'Is there any coffee?' and a 'Yes, it's over there.'

It was the last day of filming and as usual, Amy said goodbye to everyone on set. She won't be seeing them until next month so she made sure she got to say her goodbyes to every last one of them. Finally, her friends were last. She didn't care too much about saying goodbye to them because she knew she will seem them in the next couple of days. Probably when Eggman is attacking or something like that. Strange enough, Eggman never attacked them on filming days, it was as if he knew and didn't want to ruin their day on purpose.

"I say we should go to the beach soon," Knuckles said.

"I am down," Tails said and Sticks nodded in agreement.

"Same," Sonic was then quick to turn around and face Amy who seemed to look at something or rather someone else. In hopes that she will give him some attention, Sonic raised his voice a little. "What about you Ames? Do you want to go to the beach?"

"What about Shadow?"

Amy's response wasn't the answer Sonic was looking for and instead, he proceeded to walk towards the pink hedgehog and placed his arm around her shoulder in hopes to comfort her. "I don't think he is the type to go to the beach."

"Should we at least invite him?" Amy said, still looking away. She was a bit embarrassed that Sonic was doing this more and more often. "I mean just out of courtesy ...It doesn't matter if he says no."

"I guess if you want to you can do that but ..." The blue one faced the direction that Amy was looking at. His green eyes met the black figure and a small hint of jealousy treated to overtake the blue blur seeing that Amy was giving too much attention to Shadow. "You are still coming with us, right?"

The pink hedgehog had finally faced her blue hero and saw a small smile placed on his lips. She returned it and kindly she said, 'Of course!'

Shadow the Hedgehog was glad that the filming was done. A part of him was enjoying filming for this low-quality show but he still felt relieved that this was over ... for now. He walked outside the set where his beautiful black motorcycle waited for him. Today was going to be a relaxing night. Just him, a glass of wine and re-reading some of his favorite stories.

"Hey, Shadow!"

The black hedgehog recognized that voice, he turned around and met a running pink hedgie running towards him. Almost out of breath as if she had been looking for him everywhere. When she finally reached him, she took a few seconds to get air back into her lungs. Shadow watched every single moment of her and waited until she was ready to speak again.

"This month's episode is coming out next week. To celebrate the launching, my friends and I are going to the beach," Amy looked around, a bit nervous to look at him in the eyes. "I was wondering, I mean, we were wondering if you wanted to join us?"

Alright, this was something he had never experienced before. He was usually invited by other acting peers to go to parties and formal get-togethers where a large group of people were present. However, he had never been invited to such an 'intimate' activity before. Going to the beach? As like playing volleyball together? As building sandcastles? Doing a cookout and eating together after playing in the water?

Was Amy Rose that crazy?

"My apologies," Shadow said. "I am not interested in such things."

Amy mentally sighed in relieve, her job here was done. "It's alright! I won't see you for a while so if you need a friend, hit me up. I am one phone call away."

The rose hedgehog was already making her way out, she walked a few steps away until she felt something small hit her head.

She turned around again to face Shadow who was proudly playing with pebbles on his hand. "You said to hit you up if I need a friend."

Amy didn't know how to react to that. It was clever and even sweet of him. However, Amy didn't know until what extent he meant his words or if he was just saying it to tease her.

But she was about to find out.

"Well," Amy walked towards the black hedgehog, a small smirk decorated her face. She wasn't completely doing this, but she still decided to give it a try. She mounted Shadow's bike and placed her hands on the accelerator and the break. "I can be your friend right now."

It was very interesting, the strange dynamic that the two had. Shadow wasn't even complaining which even surprised him. He didn't let just anyone ride his bike, but if it was the pink hedgehog then maybe he could make an exception.

Her character and persona were just very intriguing to him. She was a simple hedgehog, very plain looking but still, there was something about her that attracted him to her.

"Very well then," Shadow said as he took a sit on his motorcycle. He placed his hands delicately on the pink hedgehog's hip, trying to touch as little as he could. They were close but Amy didn't seem to mind the contact at all. "Where to next?"

There was a soft aroma that Amy couldn't quite describe yet. It was probably all the natural scents radiating off the jungle. If she was being honest, she didn't quite understand what was going at the moment. It was certainly strange for her to be this close to the hedgehog, more strange because well ... They weren't even friends. Just to strangers taking a ride together. Now that she thinks about it, this scene with Shadow was very ... Unusual. She didn't know much about the black hedgehog besides everything that she read on celebrities' magazines. Of course, they weren't too reliable.

The stars sparkled above them, the air caressed their faces and moved their quills along the dancing wind. Amy's mind drifted towards the dark hedgehog behind her. His hands were softly placed around her waist, trying to touch her as little as possible. It was actions like this that made the pink lady realize that there was more to Shadow.

Where could Amy take such a guy? Shadow was the most popular hedgehog in town and if she was being honest, Amy was sure that he had seen more of the whole island than her. She really didn't think this through, come on Amy ... What was a place that was good enough to surprise Shadow the Hedgehog?

Oh, wait there was a place.

The rosette hedgehog let out a small smile decorate her face. This might turn into an interesting night after all.

A tulip flower field that crossed through miles and miles of grass. All of them planted beautifully according to their color. Although it was dark, the moon provided enough light to differentiate the colors. Amy tried to not look at the dark hedgehog, but something inside of her was looking for his approval. After all, the pink hedgehog really admired the success of Shadow even if he didn't have the best personality.

Shadow's ear moved from side to side as he looked around the field of tulips. His face had a small smile and he moved his body from side to side as he tried to get all the view possible. Amy had to admit that the dark hedgehog being excited was a pleasant view to witness.

"Like what you see?" Amy asked as she approached the actor.

"I have to admit that I have never seen anything like this."

Shadow and Amy began to walk next to each other, following a soil path and the beautiful tulips were next to them.

Dammit ... This is getting awkward again. Why did I think this was a good idea?

There was a heavy silence in which only the crickets and the sound of shoes impacting the soil could be heard. The wind also helped the atmosphere to be less silent as the strong air made the tulips and grass move from one side to the other and they softly touched each other.

"How did you know about this place?"

Just like that, all previous silence was broken, Amy turned her head to look at the black hedgehog and immediately regretted it. The moonlight softly landed on his face enhancing his strong features. His vermillion eyes shone brightly and there was a certain confidence on his face that Amy couldn't quite describe. Wow, was Shadow the Hedgehog an attractive one?

"Well, to be honest, I kinda stumbled upon it," Amy answered as she looked away to make the small blush on her face go away.

"So you are telling me you found this place ... by accident?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Just the thought alone made Amy embarrassed. If she was completely honest, she found the tulip field on one of her many times chasing Sonic. When they were younger, she was a total fangirl. Always chasing the blue blur, but Amy was always left behind by Sonic. In one of those days, she was chasing him and of course, he ran away from her. In an attempt to keep up with him she ended up lost. She walked a lot through the jungle and when it was getting dark desperation began to hit her. Then, she ran at different directions until she finally came across the beautiful tulip field.

But of course, she wasn't about to tell him all that.

"Well to put it simply... I was looking for someone, lost track of them, and ended up here."

"And did you find the one you were looking for?"

It was strange even for Shadow to be this intrigued about someone else's life. He mostly would not talk or just talk the minimum. Nonetheless he saw this as a way to return the favor. She helped him learn how to improvise and in exchange Shadow will listen to her. Although to be honest, he didn't know if that was an equal exchange.

"Mmm ... Not really, but it's alright now. I do seem him daily-"

The rosette hedgehog shut down her lips as soon as the words left her mouth. Before, she wouldn't mind expressing her long history of loving the blue one but now ... Well, it was better to keep that a secret.

"Something tells me, that this has to do with the blue one."

She really thought she was about to have a heart attack. Shadow has been part of the 'team' for a couple of weeks and he already felt something going on between Amy and the blue one.

"Am I that obvious?" She asked almost in a whisper. The awkwardness between them was completely gone now. It was just two hedgehogs walking under the moonlight on a flower field and enjoying each other's company.

"No ... I just guessed, and well, you just confirmed it."

Amy thanked Chaos that it was night time because otherwise, she was sure Shadow would be able to see her intense blush. She also cursed at the God under her breath for making her so gullible.

"Don't tell anyone, Sonic believes I am over him and the rest don't know."

The dark hedgehog let out a small sigh, he looked over at the pink lady next to him. He nodded and reassured her.

"Your secret is safe with me,"

A thought crossed Amy's mind. One of her secrets had just being exposed, she was feeling embarrassed and awkward. The pink one concentrated on the black hedgehog next to her, this time she could tell he was relaxed. He didn't look annoyed nor angry nor gloomy like he usually does. What she was about to do was risky, the whole night could go to waste but as her secret has been exposed, she might as well get something worth knowing out of this.

"Since you know a secret of mine ... don't you think its fair for me to know a secret of yours?" With her peripheral vision, she could see the hedgehog had kept his relaxed face, making her feel more comfortable. "Only if you want to of course."

" ... What do you want to know?"

"I don't know ... Do you like pineapple on pizza?"

Amy kept walking but to her surprise, Shadow had stopped doing so. She turned around and faced the black hedgehog who was a few feet away from her. While she had a stern look on her face, Shadow had placed a hand on top of his mouth. However, his other actions could not lie. His eyes were closed and his ears were trembling a little. His body was shaking as he placed a hand on his stomach. Soft attempts of trying to suppress the air from coming out of his mouth couldn't be contained and delicate sounds were created.

Amy couldn't believe it... Did she just make Shadow the Hedgehog laugh?

"Are you laughing?"

At her question, the dark hedgehog made a small turn and completely gave his back to Amy, trying to hide his evident humor.

"No," he responded but small giggles were still coming out of his mouth no matter how much he tried to suppress them.

"That was a serious question Shadow! Do you like pineapple on pizza?

Amy's serious voice was the breaking point Shadow needed to let go. This time he was full out laughing, his voice echoed through the field of tulips and it was moments like this that Amy appreciated.

A few seconds passed and Shadow was finally able to control himself. When he turned around to face the pink hedgehog, he noticed a cocky smile on her face. Shadow blames himself and Chaos for letting him act so 'out of character' for him.

"So, are you going to answer my question?" Amy asked once again as Shadow walked past her, gaining his proponent posture back.

"Out of all the questions you could have asked ... You decide to ask me if I like pineapple on pizza?" Shadow watched the pink hedgehog take small running steps to catch up with him.

"Well, do you want me to ask more personal things? What about the rumors that you and Rouge the Bat are dating?" When the question left Amy's mouth, Shadow's face turned to one of nervousness.

"Why would you want to know that?"

"Rouge the Bat is my favorite actress, she is so beautiful and smart ...I just want to know if it's true .. I don't see her dating someone like you." Amy made eye contact with Shadow and a part of him felt strange because the pink one hasn't been this straight forward with him before.

"Wait ... What is that supposed to mean?"

There was a certain tone to his voice that made him sound offended and the pink one immediately panicked. She just didn't want to ruin the good moment she was having with the actor.

"Nothing! I mean, you are very attractive and all but-" Amy felt her muzzle get hotter by the second, especially when Shadow had a smirk plastered on his face. "I mean it's just that you seem to be very ... um, quiet and Rouge is very flamboyant, to say the least."

A few seconds passed in which Amy waited for the red striped one to say something or make any type of movement. However, nothing happened and our pink lady decided to break the silence once again.

"But of course you don't have to answer that, I prefer if you tell me whether you like pineapple on your pizza or not," Amy said.

"Is that information important to you?" Shadow asked. He looked at the pink one waiting for anything that indicated that she had changed her mind on the question.

"Well, I need to see if you are trustworthy."

"And the toppings I put on my pizza decide whether or not I am worthy of your trust?"

"Of course."

Just like the situation was strange for Amy, it was for Shadow as well. He had personally known Amy for a few weeks in which they had only talked a few times for no longer than 10 minutes. Now they were talking, walking together and sharing 'secrets'. Shadow had now realized that it was true about it being easier to talk about yourself to strangers. What was even more bizarre for the black hedgehog was that even when it came to meet other actors or strangers, they seemed to talk to him out of courtesy ... but Amy? She was genuine about getting to know him.

Maybe that was why he tended to let his guard down around her.

"To be honest, I don't know," Shadow began, "I've never had pineapple in pizza, so I don't know if I like it or not."

"Oh, then next time I'll take you to the best pizza place in the village!" Amy excitedly said as the previous embarrassment was totally gone by now.

"Next time? Who says there would be a next time?" Taking his previous proponent attitude back, Shadow rolled his eyes in annoyance, clearly wanting to anger the pink one.

"Well, I am sorry Mr. Doom and Gloom! I thought you were enjoying my company. We can just go home now if you want." Amy made a turn, showing her determination to just go back home. It was intended to follow Shadow's attempt to tease her and not meant to be taken seriously. However, it seemed like the black hedgehog did think otherwise.

"Come on Amy, if I didn't like you I wouldn't be here."

The sentence made Amy's heart skip a beat. After all, anyone would feel embarrassed if a boy as attractive as Shadow said those kinds of things naturally. It wasn't like she liked him in that sense it was mostly because she made a small realization.

"That line could work great for the fanfiction I am working on ... Thank you, Shadow!"

"Well, that's nice to hear," Amy said, trying to get the most out of the conversation. This could lead to some very good dialogue scenes. "And don't worry, I was playing with you, I like you too Shadow!"

Amy was waiting for the dark hedgehog to say something but instead, a puzzled look stayed on his face. He didn't say anything but the only thing that happened was that vermillion eyes met with emeralds ones. The dark hedgehog was in a trance, in disbelief and so, Amy questioned him one more time.

"Are you alright?"

"Uh? Yes, my apologies."

Shadow quickly turned around and began to walk once again on the soil path. He looked at the flowers from side to side and then at the moon in the dark sky.

He turned around again and faced Amy on the distance. She had a worried look but soft and gentle at the same time. Her face shone brightly and her emerald eyes were more beautiful than any Chaos Emerald Shadow has ever seen. Indeed, Amy was beautiful even when Shadow did not see her with romantic eyes.

Or so he thought.

Without him knowing, Shadow let out a small smile decorate his face.

Amy had taken him to see other places. They were simple but Amy's small talk really made it memorable.

That night ended without any problems. Nothing else was said as they only enjoyed each other's company in silence during the motorcycle ride. Amy took Shadow across the island to see things he had never seen before. The moon provided enough light for them to fully appreciate the beauty of the forests, beaches, and even small villages. Amy let out a small smile whenever Shadow got excited about the smallest things. Did he see a pretty flower? His ears would move excitedly. Did he see a pretty view? Again his ears. Did he like the moon and stars? Ears. He was very expressive with them and Amy was found of such a cute act.

When their time as running out, Amy drove to her house. She thanked Shadow for the night and a sense of her told her that Shadow didn't want to say goodbye just yet.

She climbed out of the motorcycle and watched Shadow take her previous seat. The pink hedgehog was ready to enter her house but before, she had to properly say goodbye to those vermillion eyes.

"I'll see you next month Shadow," Amy said as she kept eye contact with the black one. "I hope you enjoy this month's chapter."

"Chapter?"

Holy shit.

"Episode! I meant to say, I hope you enjoy this month's episode!"

Amy cursed mentally at the fanfiction writer inside of her who was so used to saying 'I hope you enjoy this chapter.'

"I will ... I believe," Shadow replied.

"Well, you are a great actor," Amy said quickly. "Whatever you are on it, I am sure it will be great."

Her words weren't meant to come out of her mouth so easily. She said them so naturally that it caught her and Shadow in surprise. The pink hedgehog looked around nervously as she tried to hide the evident blush on her face. Amy wanted to disappear, to get inside her house, and just start writing the new fanfiction she had in mind.

A few seconds in which no one said a word until Shadow decided to break the silence.

"It will be great ..." Shadow said as he turned on his bike again, ready to leave. "Because you helped me along the way."

The next day, Amy was happy to have some time for herself. She concentrated on writing today. The pink one had different ideas she would like to explore for her new story. Although she didn't have a title just yet. She had been thinking about writing a Sonic Boom alternative universe story in which everyone was part of a Resistance and they had to fight the forces of evil aka Eggman.

The rosette hedgehog, who was still on her pajamas, was laying on the sofa. Laptop on top of her, and a bag of chips next to her and the television on. She was writing peacefully until a 'ring' sound came from her computer. It was a notification from fanxfiction.com.

She didn't think twice about checking out the notification.

It was a comment from one of her loyal followers, 'The Fanfictioner.'

" After I got home yesterday I couldn't sleep and decided to re-read 'Falling Petals' I can't believe just how good this is! The characters are well written and the romance is well developed. Although I don't like Sonic's character much especially how he treats Amy at the beginning ... but overall it's amazing!"

The comment caught Amy by surprise. She had never gotten a comment before saying that they didn't like Sonic's character. The pink one wanted to know more about the opinion of her reader. She began to type:

"Thank you for the lovely comment! However, I would like to know why don't you like Sonic's character?"

The pink one-clicked enter and she thought that it will take hours for The Fanfictioner to respond. However, as to prove her wrong, the anonymous reader responded within a minute.

"Sonic was kind of a jerk to Amy at the beginning and even after he confessed to her, he treated her badly just because he is shy. I think if Sonic was truly in love then he wouldn't hurt her so much as he did. At least if I had someone I liked, I would never hurt them by avoiding them and leaving."

Wow, Amy was impressed. She had never thought about it that way. Amy had to admit that although her work was praised, she knew that she lacked in the romance department. Especially because she had never experienced it. Well, she does love someone and knows the feeling of it very well ... but her feelings had never been corresponded.

An idea popped in her mind.

"I had never seen it that way ... Actually, would you tell me more about your opinion about the characters and story?"

Once again after replying to the comment, it didn't take long to hear a reply.

"Sure, I would be delighted to talk to a talented writer like yourself. Do you have a Xiscord?"

She smiled to herself as she read the comment. It was nice to have someone who appreciated her work and without a second thought she began to type:

"Yes, I do, ARoseWithoutTorns#0923. Please add me."

Amy thought she would get some feedback from 'The Fanfictioner' and that would be it. However, it turned out to be more than that. Yes, there was great feedback but they also talked about themselves. It was strange for Amy because although she had talked to her readers before, it had never been to this extent. They talked about their hobbies, their daily lives, and things of interest. They texted and texted each other and the pink one couldn't think of anything else but to be happy that she had made a new friend.

TheFanfictioner#0619: I am so bored at home, I wish I could take a ride on my bike, too bad it's raining.

Amy had been so engrossed in their conversation that she didn't realize that it was raining outside.

ARoseWithoutTorns#0923: What a coincidence, it's raining where I live too! To be honest with you the first time I rode a bike was yesterday.

TheFanfictioner#0619: Really? How did that go?

ARoseWithoutTorns#0923: Yes. I actually learned right there and then. I am pretty sure the guy I went with didn't realize that was my first time driving a bike.

Amy mentally laughed, yesterday was her first time driving a bike and she learned from the few times she saw Shadow driving it. She knew that Shadow would have never let her drive his bike if he knew that Amy didn't know how to drive. Therefore, she had to look confident enough so Shadow wouldn't doubt her skills. She was actually proud of her acting because Shadow seemed to not know that she was a first-time driver.

TheFanfictioner#0619: Well, your friend must be an idiot, its easy to know when it's a person's first time driving a bike.

ARoseWithoutTorns#0923: Well, he can be an idiot. He is rude but he can be nice ... Sometimes.

Amy's mind diverted to Shadow. He was indeed a very interesting hedgehog. And very unlike anyone she had known before. He was mysterious, quiet, and wasn't afraid to speak up his mind even when he seemed extremely rude. That's what she had gotten from him and the few times she had talked to the black hedgehog.

TheFanfictioner#0619: Maybe he is rude because he likes you. He doesn't want to be rude but he is unconsciously rude because he doesn't know how to deal with his feelings.

ARoseWithoutTorns#0923: Hahaha I doubt it! I think he likes someone else ... Besides, I have feelings for someone else as well.

The pink one made a disgusted face at the thought of Shadow having those kinds feelings towards her. Definitely, Shadow wasn't her type and she was sure that she wasn't Shadow's type either. The only thing that could happen between them besides a co-worker relationship was a friendship and that Amy didn't mind at all.

TheFanfictioner#0619: Well, that guy must be very lucky.

This month's episode of Sonic Boom wasn't great ... It was fantastic. People were just loving the introduction of Shadow the Hedgehog into the story. After a few hours of being aired, people were already talking about it their social media and other types of platforms. Amy even had to admit that if it wasn't because she was already in love with the blue bur, she might have been a Shadow fangirl. He acted amazingly and he made his character relatable which was very hard to compel.

Right now, the pink hedgehog was comfortably sitting on her sofa, as the TV was on and she was scrolling to her fanfiction web page. Tomorrow she was going to the beach with her friends and maybe she could take her laptop with her to finish some writing.

An idea crossed her mind and to celebrate the brand-new episode of Sonic Boom, she decided to open up prompt requests.

She began to type on her laptop.

"Sonic Boom's new episode was really good, wasn't it? To celebrate today's episode, I'll be opening up prompt requests! Send it right away and I'll answer you as soon as I can!"

By: A Rose Without Thorns

The pink hedgehog clicked 'Enter' and soon after she began to receive multiple notifications. She opened one from a username she clearly recognized. This person was a loyal follower of hers and it was now her personal goal to give them the best story they could ever ask for.

However, her heart skipped a beat when she read the prompt request.

"As I watched this recent Sonic Boom episode, I realized that Shadow and Amy's characters have great potential to develop a relationship. Can I request a story where Shadow and Amy fall in love? Thank you."

By: The Fanfictioner

A/N: Finally, 'The Fanfictioner' is here. I am super excited to continue writing this story, it's been a while since I have worked on a series like this. The chapters would take around a month or so to come out, not sure. But they will be long chapters ... So I hope you enjoy each and one of them! Thank you for reading! This story is going to have a little bit about everything. Romance, mystery, comedy and drama.

I want to thank @redsunlight for the amazing artwork, please everyone check out her tumblr! Once again, thank you so much! I also want to thank @mysuperlaserpiss, @nothing-fancy94 and @justasadcloudpassing because they are just lovely people!

Ps. My other story "By Accident" will be uploaded soon too with a new chapter :)

Prologue: https://another-sonic-blog.tumblr.com/post/621393124729683968/the-fanfictioner

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/PeachesAndReams

#shadow and amy #shadow the hedgehog #shadamy fanfiction #shadowxamy #amyrose #Amy Rose #sonic boom #sonic fanfiction #sonic the hedgehog #sonic fanfic #shadamy

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ghostmeep · 5 years ago

Text

Overall, I like Sonic’s reactions to what is happening in the IDW Zombot arc.

So i’m late to be commenting about issue 24, but like?? Looking back and seeing some peoples thoughts on it? I’m a bit confused? Mostly on all the animosity to the latest arc. I mean, some I agree with (like how Shadow and Eggman are being handled) And sure if all this angst isn’t your cup of tea that is valid.

But one thing I can’t agree on at all is when people say Sonic is showing lack of remorse for his actions?

I, for the most part, agree that Sonic screwed up and this Zombot infestation is pretty much due to his actions - But Sonic knows that too. And to me he also shows plenty moments of regret? And he does it in character, and full of imperfect moments that really makes him seem like a full character.

This is going to get long, just a warning. But also has lots of pictures

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Letting Eggman live without supervision and especially letting Metal Sonic go was all what led to this disaster. (he’s not the only one at fault imo, but talk for another post)

But Sonic absolutely thinks it’s his fault, and is constantly showing remorse.

He’s just doing what he can to not let the situation get to him, because what the world needs right now isn’t a remorseful Sonic, it’s a Sonic that is always on his feet and able to handle all the bad guys.

Everyone literally needs Sonic to be acting the way he is???

In the game Sonic Forces, it was outright said how Sonic was the people’s hope. And I believe that’s true for the comics as well. How demoralizing would it be for people if Sonic of all people got all down and drowned in self-pity? Sonic is an iconic figure in his world, and that means he needs to put up a front. He can’t just break down in front of people.

He can’t break down completely at all, because there is no guarantee that he’ll be able to pick himself back up in time.

He says it himself.

Sonic not getting down on himself is half the battle. He knows this. The mental fight is huge.

And I get that people just want to see a little more remorse from Sonic and for him own up to his actions - but to me he is????

The only reason he keeps saying how ‘I did the right thing by giving Eggman a second chance’ is so he won’t slow himself down. I don’t think he wholly believes that he made the right choice, and I don’t think he is trying to shoulder off the blame. He’s just trying to keep his spirits up as best as he can.

You can’t tell me this isn’t remorse

Yes, he shakes himself out of it and goes on to say how he made the right decision, but what else can he do???? He needs to snap himself out of it and get back to saving the world.

Because just look at this. This is exactly what happens when Sonic starts to doubt himself.

He stands there and debates and can’t take any real action.

And we know that he isn’t the type to normally doubt what to do. He would have 100% barged in and did what he could to save any potential survivors and work it out from there.

The only reason he stopped and debated there shows just how badly this whole thing is affecting him.

“Which is ‘right’?” -- This is what he asks himself because he is starting to think that the decision of leaving Eggman free was ‘wrong’ before. And he does’t want to make another ‘wrong’ decision.

And he does blatantly admit that he is screwing up left and right. And he does it during the only time he can -- when he is by himself.

I mean, look at that. Look at how much of him is shiny and metal and how he is surrounded by Zombots. The colouring itself is even so bleak to show his mood too.

He can’t say these thoughts in front of anyone. He can barely say these thoughts to himself.

Because what happens while he is saying this? He is literally sitting there as the virus takes over and Zombots surround him.

His eyes have even turned red like the Zombots by this point. - they were green in the panel just above. If he sat around a moment longer he probably would have been completely infected.

And he honestly looks super close to giving up here. Just look at him. He’s tired. He’s tried of running, of all things, and he’s tired of messing up.

But giving up isn’t what heroes do, isn’t what Sonic does, so he does what he can to snap himself out of it.

What more do people want??????????

I’m honestly curious here. This is pure Sonic regretting his actions and making up the resolve to do something about it. I don’t know how more remorseful he can be.

Let’s look at his encounter with Espio

Sonic’s first reaction is to attempt to comfort Espio. But then Espio - completely understandably since he lost his family - loses his cool and blows up at Sonic.

And look at the progression of Sonic’s expressions. He is worried, shocked, and then angry. His next words are said as a result of Sonic losing his own control. Because he literally only just got over his own moment of sorrow, and he just made up his mind to be strong and focus on what he can do in the here and now. And yet here is a friend throwing what Sonic already knows into his face only moments later.

So what does Sonic do? He just says what he has been chanting to himself all this time. That he wasn’t wrong to give second chances.

Because it’s pretty much the most he can to keep himself going.

Again, just look at his expression. This isn’t the face of someone who is acting all haughty. It’s the face of someone barely keeping it together. Yes, this is not a good reaction from Sonic. I don’t think it is meant to be. He is just reacting emotionally. Because it’s been a long long couple of days, and Sonic can only stand so much. Not to mention, Sonic has not been able to sleep or rest since he got infected.

And side note, but Sonic isn’t really wrong. Exactly how many friends and allies of Sonic started off as antagonists???? From Knuckles to Shadow. Second chances are sometimes for the better.

And letting Metal Sonic go was ---- a lot. But we saw Gemerl, another one of Eggman��s robots, change. So why can’t Metal Sonic? At that moment Sonic believed that Eggman wouldn’t be able to influence Metal Sonic and make him dangerous, so what was the harm from that viewpoint?

But anyways, back to Sonic and Espio.

We get this pause where the two just looks at each other before mutually deciding to end the argument and go back to saving people.

To me it’s clear that while the argument wasn’t exactly settled (we can see Espio still angry as he poofs away) but they both realize that yelling at each other isn’t going to solve anything.

This wasn’t a typical comic ‘I’m too cool for emotions’ moment where they disregard emotions in characters. The exact opposite really, because these two completely lost themselves for a moment due to all the stress they’ve had. They just realized that they needed to get their prioritizes in check right now and they can’t let their emotions run rampant because then nothing will get done.

It’s going to build tension and I can see this blowing up again, but they way they reacted is just so believable to me. They are both under a lot of stress, and they are lashing out. Who wouldn’t if they were in their shoes?

Then we get Sonic seeing his friends again. And instead of the boost he usually gets from them, it’s just more sadness as Sonic has to inform them that he failed them. Again.

Sonic can’t even bring himself to look at Tails directly. He’s so full of guilt. And look at Tail’s face. I highly doubt that Tails really believed that Sonic just had the recorder hidden. But it was his last bit of hope so he asked.

But Sonic has to let his best bud down once again.

Look at this moment where they are all just silent.

No one can say anything at the moment because they know just how bad the situation is.

And then oh boy, Tangle.

Sonic only moments ago said to himself how he keeps screwing up, Espio rubs salt into his wounds, he sees Cream of all people lifeless, and he let his buddy Tails down. And now this. One after another there is constant hefty reminders that Sonic screwed up.

And I want to point out - this isn’t how Sonic fights?? He doesn’t stop fighting to talk. Here he is letting a Zombot come up behind him and Tangle is the one to knock it out. But usually Sonic is moving while he is talking. Here, and with Espio, he isn’t. And I think that just adds more to how weighted down he is by all that is happening. Because again, he can’t take the actions he usually would because of all the guilt.

But Tangle is such a breath of fresh air for Sonic

Finally Sonic gets the reassurance he needs. Tails - the wonderful friend that he is - tries, but it isn’t really believable when he has tears streaming down his face.

Sonic needed someone telling him it wasn’t his fault. I don’t think Sonic completely believes it, he is still full of guilt, but it must have been so nice to have someone show such unwavering support for him at this time. Like I said, a breath of much needed fresh air.

For the readers too. Please tell me I wasn’t the only one who smiled when Sonic and Tangle team up. Look at them

And Tangle is able to comfort Sonic not only mentally - but physically too.

When was the last time Sonic touched someone that wasn’t a robot????

Sonic is all about freedom - but he is all about his friends too. We saw Sonic team up with his friends one after another before this arc started. And he welcomed it. He invited each one (Tails, Amy, Knuckles) to come with him as he went to destroy more badniks, despite that meaning he wouldn’t be able to just run as fast as he wanted when going from place to place. Because he really likes teaming up with people too.

And this whole mess is just preventing him from leaning on his friends for support like he usually could.

Thank you Tangle for giving this poor boy a hug.

But that breath of air Sonic got didn’t last long. Because now he has to report to the rest that he failed again.

And then this

Not only is he seeing another friend suffer because of his failure, but he can’t do anything to make it better. Amy is directly asking him for help - and he can’t.

He can’t do anything in this situation that won’t make things worse - and that has to hit hard for Sonic.

And finally we get this

This just really hits home that despite Tangle’s upbeat attitude and how she lifted Sonic’s spirit for a bit - it didn’t magically make everything better.

Because reality is still bleak, and Sonic still blames himself no matter what Tangle said before. We can’t see his expression, but it isn’t hard to imagine him regretting everything that happened.

He’s alone - again - with the one person that gave him that moment of refresh is a Zombot, and he can’t do anything but watch as they retreat. And it’s all his fault and he knows it.

It’s not like he ever said ‘Yeah, you’re right Tangle. None of this is my fault.’ All he said in that conversation was ‘You aren’t going to let this go’ and ‘Yes ma’am’ in response to the less moping and more moving. That to me isn’t anywhere near Sonic feeling he is absolved from guilt.

---

And yeah. I really can’t read through this and see Sonic as someone brushing off responsibility and not showing remorse. Sonic has been through a lot and we see him going up and down with his thoughts. And it’s getting harder and harder to keep his positive attitude.

I hope that this got someone to see why I feel like Sonic has shown enough remorse over what is happening. - And that is really all this post was about (though I admittedly got distracted at some parts) I wasn’t trying to say that this arc is perfect, but at the very least, Sonic absolutely feelings guilty.

I’m just going to end with one more screenshot. Just look at Sonic’s expressions

#idw sonic #idw sonic spoilers #sonic the hedgehog #sonic #my stuff

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