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saizoswifey · 6 years

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AKA our favorite thing in the world !!!!!!! jsjsjsjdfkjsfj I love you so much thank you for this ask @catchthespade !! I’m not replying to this directly because I wanted to add images and going right from the ask makes the layout stupid lmao. (and I fucking hate tumblr because you can’t add text between nicely bunched images and it downgrades the quality to fucking hell but here we are)…

This gets semi-N//SFW

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Okay SO. Saizo is one of the most intensely jealous characters in the game. He even gets jealous of Yukimura:

I’ll put the rest under a cut for length purposes….this is LONG [seriously] and also mild spoilers for event stories to (hopefully) come…

AND LET’S NOT FORGET

Obviously, he is pissed but not going to hurt Yukimura in any way. I think in a lot of ways he turns his jealous feelings into teasing/poking fun at the person he is jealous of. It’s his defense mechanism and he likes to push their buttons or make them look like a complete idiot in order to ease his anxieties and make himself feel better.

We know his jealousy goes far enough that in canon he keeps MC from screaming during sex so Yukimura does not hear it, and he also has been known to keep Yukimura and Chibi Sasuke busy in order to not be interrupted with MC.

Saizo literally gives ZERO FUCKS about what is going on around them when it comes to MC and his jealousy. He’ll ruin anything, he’ll stop anything, he’ll make the biggest fucking scene. We saw it in his route when he swiped her up from the faux wedding. There’s another event upcoming, in which MC is chosen for a lead part in a performance (in which she must kiss the male lead). At first, the male lead chosen is Yukimura, and Saizo seems to not care one bit, he doesn’t seem threatened. And I mean, Yukimura is his bestie and he trusts him so that makes sense, it’s a play kiss with no meaning. However, Yukimura gets sick and the part lands on Sasuke (BIG ninja Sasuke, not chibi). Saizo. Is. Pissed. He literally jumps on the stage and ruins the whole fucking things by stealing MC and running away before they can kiss because he won’t allow it.

Now, these are all “friendly” encounters with jealousy. However. I think Saizo has a very dark side to how possessive he can be when it comes to MC.

We’ve seen in canon him mentioning several times that he will kill men if they try to see her intimately. In an upcoming ES we see just how pissy Saizo can get when he gets jealous of someone who ISN’T a friendly threat but a random stranger. MC volunteers to help at a nearby school but the teacher ends up being a real creepo. Saizo knows it right away but MC doesn’t listen or understand and continues to go there despite the fact that she is starting to receive letters from an unknown stalker. Saizo goes into freak-out mode and keeps watch of her from a distance 24/7. He shows up at the school purposefully to send a message to the guy, and the moment he DOES end up making a move, Saizo reveals himself AND HIS SWORD.

Saizo may be the kind-hearted softie when it comes to MC and Yukkins, but the cold and calculating, unflinching Saizo is still very much a part of him. He has no qualms with murder and death, and since he holds all of like 3 people dear to him, he will do whatever it takes to keep them safe.

SO, what sets his jealousy/possessiveness off the most?

When someone has known MC longer than he has/someone who appears to be very close with MC. Saizo may have met MC long ago but he wasn’t able to be by her side and he’s pretty self-conscious about that fact. He doesn’t like it when someone tries to show they know her more intimately than he does.

MC talking about other men, ESPECIALLY when they’re in bed together or have alone time. It’s few and far between they get quiet moments together so the last thing he wants to hear is about another guy no matter the context.

MC not listening when he tries to warn her about someone or tell her not to do something. He’s got a sixth sense for trash people and he’s usually pretty easy going, so when he tells you to stay away from someone its for a good reason. Not to mention the fact that it’s hurtful to have your S/O ignore your advice in order to spend time with someone else.

Anxiety after almost dying or losing MC.

Of course, there are lots of other reasons, but I think these are the most prevalent, the ones that will actually get a huge rise out of Saizo. As far as other random jealousy/possessive HC’s, Dare I say……yandere???:

Absolutely keeps tabs on you like at all times. If it’s not him himself(which it usually is) he sends Kiyohiro to watch and report back. If he even so much as WHIFFS someone is being creepy towards you he is ending that shit right away.

How he takes care of them depends on the level of creep. And maybe how he’s feeling that day. If they can be scared off easily he could simply drop into their room in the dead of night, wake them up with a blade to the throat, “shhh, quiet now or I may just slip.” Perhaps he slips something into their evening tea and carries their unconscious body to the nearest cliff or into the woods. Maybe he writes a “love letter” in MC’s hand and lures them to a remote area, sword ready and Utsusemi ready to gobble some plucked eyes. Either way, MC will be none the wiser.

“Hm? The grocer disappeared? That is strange…so what’s for dinner, little lady?”

Has no qualms being vocal about his jealousy (most of the time). If it strikes his nerve just right he’ll come out and say he doesn’t like XYZ and wants you to stop. Other times, you have to pay attention to when he is being bitchy and distant.

If he could, he’d keep you locked away all to himself. He has real issues with love/ownership/things because of his childhood. He’s never known how to have things, especially not precious things. So how does he control himself? He knows it’s not right to keep you locked away, so instead, he controls what he can keep to himself. Your ears showing, your skin showing, your dango, your blush/pleasured expressions, your moans. He doesn’t want anyone else experiencing this stuff of yours.

That being said, he WOULD 100% lock you the fuck up if you were down for it. He’d get you a pretty little ribbon to tie around your neck and a comfortable room with things to keep you occupied, he’d bring you your meals and feed you, he’d bathe you, he’d tie you up sometimes when he was feeling extra anxious.

On the off-chance someone actually did hurt you, its game over. It doesn’t matter if they had their hands on you, they left a small wound/mark, or something worse–they’re dead. Saizo will go into autopilot and obliterate the person. Bloodbath.

In his efforts to keep you safe, he sometimes loses his sense of what is right and wrong with control. At his worst, he WILL refuse to allow you to leave his sight. By any means necessary.

Blocking exits. Tieing you up (he knows the best and most efficient ways to immobilize you in seconds). Drugging you (such as putting you to sleep).

When he’s feeling extra insecure he’ll claim you for himself. Tear your clothes off and tease you until you admit he’s the only one you love. He’ll make you say his name over and over again, and hearing it will ease his worries. He may even be inclined to break his own rules and let someone hear him fucking you so they know you belong to him.

If you’re out in public and he starts to get jealous, he’ll pull you roughly into a dark secluded corner or onto a rooftop and tease you, pull at your collar and grip your face so you can’t look away from his intense expression

“Keep this up little lady, and I’m going to have to punish you.” He nips at your exposed clavicle. “Or…was that what you were hoping for all along?”

Out of spite and pure jealousy he would 10/10 fuck you in a space such as a person’s bedroom or work, or with an item of that person’s. A way to get back at them and know he’s claimed you there or while you were wearing that (like fucking you on top of someone’s haori or with a hairpin they gave you in your hair before he gave it back to them) and they will never know.

Has NO PROBLEMS talking about having sex with you. As long as they don’t see you its chill. He will let it out that he just had your legs spread 10 minutes ago and smile. He’ll go into detail. Especially when someone is trying to intimidate him over you.

“Sorry, she won’t be able to meet you tomorrow like she promised. She’ll be quite sore…if you get what I mean. She looks quite sweet and docile but don’t let that fool you, she’s a different person when the lights are off. It’s no myth some women are wild in bed when you least expect it. Some night she asks for it so many times I have to wake up and check for bruises ^^ well, anyway, look at me going on when I’m sure with a face like that all of this is completely foreign to you. Don’t be discouraged, someone always has to be the late bloomer on the branch, hm?”

Definitely has a mental list of all of the people he’s threatened or killed over you

Sometimes Kiyohiro has to step in and warn people to GTFO and leave before Saizo ends up murdering them

Has had the urge to kill Inuchiyo more than once LOL

Sometimes uses his Kotodama when he’s jealous.

Maybe it’s during an interrogation of the person trying to steal you from him or harm you. If they deny, he’ll use his power to get them to confess the truth before torturing them. Maybe they lose an appendage for every time they lied or stalked MC.

He’ll use it to keep you near him, keep you still, after your life was threatened. He needs time to look over your body, check for injuries, make sure you’re okay and tell you how much each finger and tear mean the world to him.

HATES WHEN OTHER MEN TOUCH YOU. It disgusts him if they had ill intentions and he hates to think that you had to endure that. He’ll order you to strip and ask you where they touched you. He’ll wash the areas himself and caress you with his hands. He’ll whisper in your ear how you belong to him, and kiss over the areas until his anxieties disappear and he feels like he can no longer smell them or feel their energy. He’ll dispose of what you were wearing in an effort to rid you both of the memory completely.

#slbp #samurai love ballad party #saizo kirigakure #slbp saizo #slbp headcanons #my writing #this has some n~sfw #yandere #murder #jealousy #little lady speaks #catchthespade

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overthinkingkdrama · 5 years

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hi! love in sadness anon again. if you can rec some good melos i would be thankful.

[Oh my gosh, anon. I suck. Seriously. I’ve been trying to sit down and get this done from the moment I got your ask and I just haven’t been able to do it. Anyway, hopefully you see this. Thank you for your patience.]

Little do you know how long I have been waiting for this moment. This is my time to shine! Jk, but I would be happy to give recs. It’s a delight. I started going through my MDL and realized just how many dramas in this genre I have actually seen and realized I would probably have to trim my recommendations somewhat not to seem like a crazy person. Also I have subcategories! Yay!

(I’ve included the *** next to titles that I have watched multiple times or that stand out from the rest of the pack.)

First of all, Movie Melos.

Sometimes you don’t have time for 16-30 hours of drama. Sometimes you want to get all your feels out in a single sitting and move on with your life. That’s where movies are so helpful. My favorite bite-sized melos are:

Always*** – An ex-con trying to get his life together falls in love with a blind woman, but his efforts to help her recover her sight might drag him right back into the violence he’s tried to escape.

Shoot My Heart – A young heir is forced into a mental hospital by his rich family where he meets a disturbed young man. They become friends, try to protect each other, and eventually escape. This one has a bit more of a comedic element to it than the other movies I’m recommending, but there’s plenty of the melo tone as the movie goes on.

Will You Be There? – After finding out that he’s dying of cancer, a man travels through time to beg his younger self to save the life of his first love.

Butterfly Sleep – This is a Japanese movie, but it also stars Korean actor Kim Jae Wook, who recently got a boost in popularity from Her Private Life. The movie revolves around a poor young man from Korea who ends up living with an older woman, a novelist who has just discovered she is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, and the passionate relationship that develops between the two as he helps her finish what will be her final book. #tragedy_tag

High Quality, Human Melodramas

So, this category is for if you want something with all the emotional gut punch of a really wild family drama, but you also want your melos to have actual artistic merit so when you tell your non-drama watching friends and family members about them they don’t end up losing respect for your taste.

Just Between Lovers – This is the story of two young people involved in and scarred by the same horrific accident, but survived and end up finding solace in one another as they deal with their combined traumas. If you’ve seen this drama around the kdramasphere on tumblr you might have seen a lot of gifs of the soft romance. Don’t be fooled though. The romance is indeed wonderful, but the themes are heavy and it can be rough sit.

My Mister*** – I really am just looking for every possible opportunity to recommend this drama. It has supplanted my former favorites and become my top drama of all time. It’s about two people, a troubled young woman in her 20′s and a structural engineer in his 40′s who have become beaten down and broken by life. Their two lives end up intersecting and they develop a really complex friendship that changes both of their lives. Acting, writing, directing…I have nothing bad to say about My Mister. This drama is actually perfect.

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes – Do you like your melos a bit murdery? I know I sure do. Give me a sociopath any day of the week and I’ll say, “Thank you. I’ll take two.” This drama is about a young man who might be a monster. He becomes a detectives prime suspect in a murder investigation. At the same time he meets the detectives younger sister and they begin to fall in love. #tragedy_tag If this sounds like your thing, but you don’t like super sad endings check out Hello Monster, also starring Seo In Guk.

Secret Love Affair – I think it’s probably safe to say this drama is considered a modern kdrama classic, and for good reason. A story revolving around a woman who gave up her dreams for security, trapped in a loveless marriage, who meets a piano savant from an extremely underprivileged background and he sets off a spark for passion, music and love that she hasn’t felt in a long time. This is a quiet, pensive drama with a lot of wonderful music and atmosphere. YMMV depending on your tolerance for cheating and a slow-burn pace.

Alright, Cut the Crap Jona, Show Me the Extra Soapy Guilty Pleasure Dramas We All Know You Like…

Maybe you don’t go in for this type of self-conscious, “serious” drama watching. You’re going to watch these things in the sanctity of your own room and never tell a soul about them. Or perhaps you’ve evolved past needing other people’s approval to enjoy the things you like. Good for you, I say! As it should be. In that case, I have some top shelf makjang crack to deal you. This is the part of the list where the sliding scale of quality gets a little wobbly. Most of these shows contain a little, if not a lot, of crazysauce. All of them are over-the-top melo fun.

Baker King Kim Tak Gu – A drama about the illegitimate son of a conglomerate CEO who has inherited his preternatural baking abilities looking for his place in a family that will never acknowledge him. Yeah, the premise is pretty “what”? When I first watched this drama I thought it was supposed to be a satire of the makjang genre. To this day I’m not sure how seriously this drama actually takes itself. What I will say is it’s hella entertaining, even as it piles on more than it’s share of craziness (machinations, murder, affairs, chaebol fuckery, love polygons, gangsters, birth secrets, and on and on.) I was surprisingly invested and remarkably satisfied by the ending.

Ms. Perfect – This drama is something of a gothic romance/makjang melo mash up. It involves a woman whose marriage shatters just as she loses her home and finds herself desperate to take care of her family. She’s enticed by a mysterious woman to live with her in her huge house, but this stranger has eerie motivations of her own. Really fun, weird show. But brace yourself to be blue-balled by the romance. It’s one steamy make out session from being noona-romance catnip.

Money Flower*** – I unironically love this drama. It’s very close to the platonic ideal of the Revenge Melo. It involves a Dantes-esque male lead, Kang Pil Joo, who is willing to destroy himself to enact his multi-decade revenge on a wealthy family that took everything from him. He is the shadow of a spoiled young heir who he plans to use to take down the whole evil empire of Chungha group, but in order to do that he has to orchestrate the heir’s marriage with the innocent daughter of a powerful politician, the woman who Pil Joo himself is in love with.

That Winter, The Wind Blows – This one is a lurid conman tail about a gambler who, in his attempts to pay back a dangerous gangster out for his life, pretends to be the prodigal brother of a blind heiress. He tries to get the money and skip town, but ends up falling in love with the mark which comes with a host of other complications, not the least of which is she thinks he’s her brother. This one is high on the guilty-pleasure-o-meter for me.

Come and Hug Me – Some people might disagree with my putting this one on here, but for me the premise is too wildly melodramatic to omit. The leads start out as childhood sweethearts, but the problem is his father is a deranged serial killer and her parents end up two of his victims. As adults he becomes a detective trying to make up for his father’s legacy of cruelty and she becomes a famous actress like her mother. Traumas resurface when she becomes the target of an apparent copycat and their past connection becomes the fixation of a ruthless tabloid journalist.

Thank You – After his fiancee dies of cancer, a Doctor travels to a remote island to fulfill her last wish–to help the family of a little girl the late fiancee was responsible for inadvertently infecting with HIV. Unexpectedly he finds himself attracted to the girl’s single mother. However, he will have to contend with the prejudices of the island people about AIDS and the reappearance with the girl’s father. This one is as heavy as it sounds, and the oldest drama on this list, from 2007, with all the idiosyncrasies that go along with older dramas. But it’s remarkably well done. From the same writer of a bunch of classic melodramas (I’m Sorry, I Love You; A Love To Kill; Innocent Man; Uncontrollably Fond, etc) but this is my personal favorite of hers.

The Last Empress – Okay, I couldn’t omit this one. I tried. Average musical actress Oh Sunny winds up married to the Emperor in an alternate history version of Korea and becomes embroiled in the machinations of the corrupt royal family. With a nice side helping of revenge plot. It’s demonstrably not a good show. It’s one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen. But it had me hooked early on and then I couldn’t get myself free. What a magnificent train wreck this drama was. If you’re looking for problematic nonsense melos that were MASSIVE hits in Korea and you’re torn between this and Baker King, go with the silly bread show and keep this one in your back pocket.

Fated to Love You – This one is probably the most off-brand on the list, because it leans heavily on the comedic tone, especially for the first half. There’s a definite turn at the midpoint of the drama where it becomes MUCH more melodramatic (with all the tropes you expect to go along with that), but I think it pulls of the transition impressively well. Besides, it’s a fun watch with a fluffy feelgood ending with a bow on top. It’s a dash of sugar for your melodrama sojourn, a genre that admittedly can be a bit of a bummer.

There it is. I tried to do an extra good job with my list because it took me so long to get it out. I’m sorry again. Happy watching!

Jona

#kdrama recs #answered #melodramas

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hvnbrnmoved-blog · 6 years

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CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT MEME

FULL NAME: daesung kim .

GENDER & SEXUALITY: male , bisexual but definitely way more interested in guys , unlikely to pursue a relationship with a woman .

ETHNICITY & SPECIES: human; korean-american .

BIRTHPLACE & BIRTHDATE: march 21st , california ( verse dep ) .

GUILTY PLEASURES: he isn’t that guilty about anything he enjoys , but if you describe early 2000s pop as being a guilty pleasure . . . then sure . PHOBIAS: he’s scared of a specific kind of abandonment , not so much emotionally but the idea of being stuck somewhere alone ( think ; prison , locked in a place , handcuffed to a bed ( he would not find being handcuffed to a bed and then his partner leaving him alone as part of The Foreplay fun at all . he would completely break ) ) really freaks him out . not really a phobia either , but he has a lot of issues with certain foods -- please do not come near him with meat , or try to kiss him after eating meat , or suggest he eat anything with the texture of mush ! oatmeal is gross !

WHAT THEY WOULD BE INFAMOUS FOR: he is a good boy but i feel like he could easily get involved in a scandal due to his social media presence .

WHAT HAVE THEY/WOULD THEY HAVE GOTTEN ARRESTED FOR: daesung , growing up , was the poster child for rebelling teenager . he’d vandalise cop cars , trespass and steal -- but having money meant he ( well , his father ) could pay off the cops which resulted in having no record of his petty crimes . once he’s older , it’s unlikely that he’d get arrested for much of anything -- besides maybe trespassing for that Quality Instagram Background .

CHARACTER YOU SHIP THEM WITH: his main ship will always be with @hvnsgrief‘s junsu , seeing as we’ve developed them for well over a year outside of tumblr . however , i’m really enjoying writing with @goldhhearts‘s sungmin , and they have such a cute dynamic it makes me a a a a a a a aa a a a aa a a . i also adore the relationship / friendship / what-the-fuckery he has with @ifemerel‘s tida . plus , it’s less shippy ( for now . . . i suppose ;w; ) but i adore @heartmemos‘s calum and the relationship the two are developing .

CHARACTER MOST LIKELY TO MURDER THEM: @hvnsgrief‘s mimi , or my own character wooju .

FAVOURITE BOOK GENRE: reading is for nerds . fashion magazines ?

LEAST FAVOURITE BOOK CLICHÉ: . . . see above .

TALENTS OR POWERS: he has no powers as he is just a Simple Human ( unless you count angel verse , which i would be happy to talk more about sometime ) but his talents include ; dance , being a brat , being able to lead groups of people , plus he’s not a bad singer .

WHY SOMEONE MIGHT LOVE THEM: he’s a fun guy to spend time with , he’s kind , funny and when he loves he loves entirely and with every inch of his being ( think of a big dumb puppy ) . plus , he’s pretty damn hot .

WHY SOMEONE MIGHT HATE THEM: my god he is the worlds most annoying person , in the entire world . he will not shut up . he will push and push and push until he gets attention , and he doesnt care if its positive or negative . he enjoys spending money , and being materialistic , and he struggles to adapt his mindset to people who may not have grown up with the same luxuries as him . though , this is never intentional and hes incredibly generous . hed never make somebody else pay . he thinks that people might hate him because of his mental illness , though this is rarely the case as everyone has been kind to him about it .

HOW THEY CHANGE: i thought this meant outfits and i was going to say often and without shame , boy would get naked in front of a room of strangers . he is unapologetically himself in every situation .

WHY YOU LOVE THEM: that is my BABY !

Tagged by: @ifemerel did this and i stole it . so . thank u . it made me realise how similar dae and tida are , jeez . Tagging: if you’re reading this you are tagged , please tag me when you’ve done i’d love to read it !

#↳ ( a golden cage is still a cage ) study .

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especially-heinous-ada · 6 years

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Mankiller, Pt. 1

Hello, Tumblr world! It is with great pleasure that I finally unveil the first chapter of my brand spanking new Hannibal Au! Focused on Dr. Chilton and a mysterious female OC. I’m so excited to share my idea with you all, and I hope you enjoy it. In this chapter, the story begins...

As with all my other posts, please feel free to holler at me in the comments. I read them all, and always appreciate them! If you’re shy (I totally get it!) but still want to holler at me, hit up my asks as an anon. I love hearing your thoughts. Thank you to everyone for supporting my writing! Let me know if you enjoyed the first chapter and would like to read more.

Click, clack. Click, clack.

The hallway was as dark and quiet as it was empty. It had an almost eerie quality to it.

Drama queens. Always have to create ‘ambience.’ She scoffed as she drew ever-nearer to her destination.

Click, clack. Click, Clack. Her steps echoed through the halls as her stilettos struck the cold, stone tile. Her flowing dress billowed behind her as she moved swiftly, like a woman on a mission.

She reached the end of the hallway, where she pushed open a set of black double doors. They groaned loudly, announcing her arrival to the room’s occupants. At a massive, wooden table sat three men in suits.

“Hmph.” She pulled out a chair and slunk into it gracefully, alone at the far end of the table.

“Wouldn’t you rather come closer?” Called one of the men from across the table. “You look awfully lonely down there, Mankiller.” She rolled her eyes.

“I actually prefer being alone, thanks.”

“Suit yourself. Frigid bitch.” He called back. The man seated in the center waved him down. His face was familiar. He was the one always present whenever she received an assignment. They called him Jay.

“We’ve done this song and dance plenty of times before, so I won’t bother with the pandering formalities. The government has utilized your…services…many times over the years. I understand, now, that you are looking to get out of the business? Slip into the darkness and not be bothered?”

She sighed loudly, sitting back in her chair and crossing her legs.

“That is what I told your boss, yes. So why exactly am I here?”

“Same reason as always. There’s a threat, and we need it eliminated.”

“Boring. And you can’t just order your lackeys to do it, becaaaause….?”

“He’s murdered everyone who’s tried. Anyone who comes close to discovering his identity mysteriously disappears, only to reappear with pieces missing. So they’re bringing in the big guns for one last mission.”

She sat up straight in her chair, uncrossing her legs. He’d piqued her interest—it was obvious by her reaction. Now that he had her attention, he continued.

“These pieces… they’re internal organs, mostly. Not just a foot, or an arm—and not just a simple disemboweling where he takes everything out. No. He’s taking the time and effort to cut them open and remove certain, particular pieces.”

“You’re thinking he’s a cannibal.”

“Precisely. He’s operating out of a very specific region. He never goes too far, so he must be rooted in the community somewhere. There’s an FBI investigator on the case, but they can’t seem to crack it.”

“Oh, no. How shocking!” She snarked. Jay ignored her, used to the attitude by now.

“They’ve got a special detective working with them—some weirdo named Will Graham. He’s given some good insight, but we don’t have any solid leads, so they’re just ideas floating around in space.” He slid a file across the table.

“Every lead turns out to be a dead end, so they have no idea of his true identity. That’s where the legendary Mankiller comes in.”

“You want me to figure out who he is, then eliminate him.”

“Precisely.” She raised an eyebrow, then glanced down at the file, not bothering to open it.

“This freak got a name?”

“They’re calling him the Chesapeake Ripper.”

“A bit melodramatic.”

“You haven’t seen the crime scene photos. He’s causing mass hysteria.”

She scoffed.

“What do you say, Mankiller? One last mission?”

“If I do this, will you finally leave me alone? I’m sick of playing cleanup crew after the government’s sloppy work.” She said caustically, folding her arms as she met his gaze.

“If you do this, you can have anything you want. Just name it.”

Some goddamn peace and quiet would be nice. She thought before standing.

“Fine. I’ll do it. You owe me big for this one. I expect a big, fat retirement bonus at the end of this.” She said, grabbing the file off the table before turning and sweeping out of the room.

Click, clack. Click, clack. She set off down the cold hallway once again, opening up the file to peruse its contents, looking for a starting point.

Where to begin? She thought, quickly thumbing through pages of documents. She stopped when she saw a picture stapled to the top of what appeared to be a psychiatric report.

“The Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. That’s a mouthful.” She let out a single chuckle. The document purported to be an analyzation of the Chesapeake Ripper’s psychological condition. Uninterested in the pretentious psychobabble splayed across the pages, she continued to flip through to find the author.

“Dr. Frederick Chilton. Never heard of him…Why don’t I start by paying the good doctor a visit?” She suspected he knew more than he was letting on in his rather brief report. Snapping the file shut, she strode down the hall. As annoying as it was to deal with the government’s favorite meatheads, she had to admit: the Mankiller always felt best when on an assignment. The more dangerous, the better. She smiled, feeling the rush of the hunt return once more. It’d been almost a year since she’d taken an assignment and she’d nearly forgotten the thrill of it all.

“Look out, Ripper. Here I come.”

************************

-The Next Day- The Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane

As she stepped into the hospital, the Mankiller felt uneasy. She was never a fan of hospitals, or psychiatric wards. She suspected that if they could, Jay’s higher-ups might try to throw her in a place like this. Not that they could, of course. They needed her too much. Not to mention the fact that when they first started begging her to take assignments, she’d cleverly insisted they grant her immunity for all crimes—future, present and past. She smiled.

Sometimes, I even impress myself.

As she strode up to the front desk, she found two men conversing behind it. One wore a plan white dress shirt, no tie. He had plain, black hair buzzed short, and wore an unremarkable pair of plastic, black-rimmed glasses. A subordinate.

The other man was much more ostentatious, both in dress and manner. He wore an impressively stylish double-breasted suit, which she surmised must have cost a rather pretty penny. His hair was also dark, but longer, and gelled into a fashionable style. He wore a full beard, but it was meticulously groomed. It was obvious he cared very much about appearances.

Of the two, she deduced it would be most beneficial to approach the more flamboyant man. It was clear to her that he must be some sort of supervisor. That, combined with his overt attempts to appear attractive and successful made him a much easier target to manipulate, when compared to his subordinate, who’d be much too concerned about following rules or losing his minimum wage job.

“Hello.” She greeted pleasantly. The two kept talking, and she sighed. It looked like she was going to have to bring out the big guns. She leaned over the top of the desk, making her cleavage prominently visible, then cleared her throat.

“Excuse me, would one of you handsome men be able to help me?” She smiled. At that, the men turned to face her, finally breaking from their conversation. They seemed irritated at first, but quickly changed their tune after they had a moment to observe her.

“Certainly, I can help you with whatever you need; I am General Administrator of this facility.” The well-dressed man boasted, as predicted. “What can I do for you?”

“That’s very kind of you, Mr. Administrator.” The Mankiller smiled. “You see, I’m looking for someone here.”

“A doctor, or a patient?” The man asked curiously.

“Doctor.”

“Which doctor? Do you have an appointment?” The assistant butted in. The Administrator waved him down with an annoyed look.

“I’m looking for a Dr. Chilton?” The Administrator smiled spryly.

“Well, you’ve found him.” He replied, motioning to himself. “What did you need?”

“Actually, I’d really just like to speak to you, if that’s alright? Um, privately?” She was really laying it on thick now; giving the sexy voice, shooting him the steamy bedroom eyes, looking him up and down, the works. She was only partially acting; he was actually quite attractive, especially for a man in this line of work. She’d been expecting a grey-haired old fogey.

His eyes widened slightly and one eyebrow rocketed upward to his forehead. He stuttered for a moment before managing a coherent response.

“Well, I don’t have any appointments scheduled until this afternoon… I suppose that would be alright. Follow me.”

Worked like a charm. Sure, seducing men with some cleavage and eye batting was cliché, but it was that way for a reason—it worked. Every. Damn. Time. Dr. Chilton should be thankful that he’s not my target, or he’d have just signed his own death warrant...with his penis.

She found the thought amusing and stifled a chuckle as Dr. Chilton stopped in front of a black wooden door with gold accents. He reached in his pocket to pull out his key and unlocked it, swinging it open and motioning for her to go inside. She thanked him and stepped in in front of him. He followed, carefully closing the door behind them.

“Feel free to have a seat wherever you’d—oh.” He’d turned to find her sitting, with her legs crossed, on top of his desk.

“Sorry, is this inappropriate?” She smiled salaciously.

“Perhaps. But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, if you won’t.” He winked.

I’ve got him now. She scooted back on his desk, dangling her legs off the side, and threw her head back, letting him look her over without being watched.

“What exactly are you here for?” Dr. Chilton asked, approaching the mysterious woman. She looked so sensual sitting there on top of his desk; her mere act of existing was turning him on. Why was she here? How did she know him? Was she a fan? Did he even have fans? If he did, he hoped they all looked like this.

Her long, tanned legs dangled off the edge of his desk, crossed delicately. On her feet were a pair of black stilettos whose heels looked positively deadly. Her dress was rather short and exposed the majority of her perfect legs. If it rode up any further, not much would be left to the imagination. The flowy fabric clung to all the right places, accentuating her ample curves. It took all the strength he had within him simply to prevent himself from displaying his arousal as she turned her gaze upon him.

“I’m here because I need you.” She responded, sounding purposely suggestive.

“Need me for what?” Chilton pressed, swallowing hard.

“I think you can figure that out.” She winked.

“…But you didn’t even know what I looked like when you showed up.” He said, frowning. Damn, he’s got me there.

“I…need some information.”

“About?”

“The Chesapeake Ripper.” She admitted, deciding to be direct. He scoffed.

“After the last person came knocking about the Ripper, I elect to pretend he doesn’t exist with new callers.” Maybe he wasn’t as much of a pushover as she’d originally thought. This might require her to fight dirty.

“Fair enough. If you don’t want to talk, well…I came here to pick your brain, but once I got a look at the rest of you…I knew I wanted to play with more than just your mind.” She stood, drawing closer to him. As she grew nearer, Chilton found himself holding his breath. It was like seeing a majestic, mythical creature up close.

She grabbed him by his suit jacket and backed up, returning to the desk and bringing him with her. She sat down on the edge of the desk once more, legs spread, pulling his full body against her. One hand left his jacket and pulled him in by his tie. She pressed her lips against his.

Oh, my god. Am I dreaming? Chilton wondered to himself. Indeed, he’d had dreams like this before, but this was much too real. He could smell the sweetness of her perfume, like cotton candy. He could feel the softness of her mouth, the warmth of her body pressed against him. He kissed back fervently. If this was a dream, he hoped he’d never wake up.

Oh, my god. She thought as Chilton began to kiss her back. He’s actually a really good kisser. She hadn’t counted on that. She felt him raise his hand, intertwining his fingers with her hair.

Holy shit. This is actually really hot…but I’m on a mission, she reasoned.

She felt herself moan into his mouth as he deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into her mouth.

Well, I suppose there’s no harm in having a little fun?

She threw her arms around his neck, pressing her chest against him, arousing a small groan from him. He leaned forward into her, pushing her back onto the desk. She threw caution to the wind and let her hands roam over his body, exploring him, when suddenly his intercom buzzed.

She came back to her senses, pulling away from his kisses. She glanced up from his lips to his eyes. They were a beautiful green-tinted hazel, and she found herself wishing she hadn’t noticed as she averted her gaze.

“As fun as this has been, I have to go. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.” She said, sliding off the desk from underneath him, thoroughly embarrassed at her lapse in focus. She made toward the door, wanting to escape as quickly as possible.

“Wait!” Chilton called after her, wincing to himself after he did. Was he making this decision with the head on his shoulders, or the one she had just so thoroughly excited? She froze just before reaching the door, turning to face him. She wore a blank expression, hiding her feelings—not wanting to let her guard down again.

“If you go to dinner with me, I’ll tell you everything I know about the Ripper.” A tiny little smile tugged at the corner of her mouth before disappearing so quickly he wondered if he’d imagined it.

“Deal.” She responded. “I’ll call you to make arrangements.”

“You don’t know my number.”

“I’ll call here.”

“How will I know it’s you, and I should answer? I don’t even know your name.” He reasoned.

“Uh, Sylvia.” She answered, feeling flustered. “I really do have to go now.” She lied, pushing the door open and power-walking down the hall.

What the hell was that?!?! She screamed internally.

In all her years as an assassin, never once had she felt even an inkling of emotion for a man she’d seduced on the job. Now here was this smug doctor, making her heart pitter patter like she was a virginal schoolgirl. He’d even gotten her flustered enough to blurt out her real name. She hadn’t answered to anything other than Mankiller in years, and that was how she liked it; she’d erased any trace of her real identity long ago.

Perhaps this last assignment would be more difficult than anticipated, she feared as she began to wonder how she should handle her next encounter with Dr. Chilton. Perhaps this time, she’d bitten off more than even she could chew.

Back in his office, Dr. Chilton sighed heavily before answering the intercom’s sixth buzz.

“What is it, Johnathan? This better be good.”

“Sir, Jack Crawford is here to see you, and he brought Will Graham.” With a groan, he pressed the intercom button once more to respond.

“Send them in.”

As Sylvia hurried toward he hospital exit, she happened to notice a familiar face.

Oh, no. What’s he doing here? She tried to hide her face, but there was no denying he’d seen her. Why the hell was Jack Crawford here? At this precise moment?

“Well, well. What brings you here?” He said suspiciously. Jack was one of only a handful of men alive today who knew the Mankiller’s true identity.

“I assure you, Jack, it is absolutely none of your business.” Sylvia smiled pleasantly, though she allowed her irritation to seep into her words as a warning. He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted.

“Dr. Chilton will see you now.” The assistant from earlier announced. Jack closed his mouth in a frown before walking away, electing not to say anything at all. Sylvia smirked as she made her exit, though she knew she hadn’t seen the last of Jack Crawford.

I’ve only been here one day, and yet, what a web I’ve spun for myself. This is shaping up to be my most entertaining assignment yet.

#hannibal #au #chilton #mankiller #part 1 #my oc

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laprimevere · 7 years

Text

Get to Know Me Uncomfortably Well

 I got tagged by @inkxlenses . :) I’m going to leave out the questions I have no answers to.

Name: Rebecca

Birthday: May 5th

Age: 36

Birthplace: Cologne, Germany

Star Sign: Taurus

Ancestry/Ethnicity: German

Height: 167 cm

Favorite Colors: Blue, Purple, Teal

Place you wish you were at: I’m usually where I want to be. ;)

Most beautiful place you’ve been to: Florence

Dream Trip: I’d really like to re-visit Prague and London some time, perhaps get a chance to see France. It would be interesting to visit Castle Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, but it’s so overrun with tourists...

Average Hours of Sleep: This is a weird question... anything between three and ten - I don’t really have a regular sleep-rhythm.

Number of Siblings: none

Tell me about the last foreign movie you watched in the cinema: I’m not a fan of going to the cinema (the noise, the German dubbing, the endless advertisments, always someone taller sitting in front of me...), so it’s been a while: Disney’s The Lion King back in the ‘90s. It was nice but not a movie I’d care to re-watch because the story was not my cup of tea. Actually, I was never that fond of the celebrated so-called Disney renaissance of the 1990s. If we’re talking Disney I’m either more for the classics like Lady & the Tramp or recent efforts like Maleficent, Tangled or The Jungle Book.

As to movies in general, if I hear about something interesting I usually wait for the DVD-release so that I can watch it in the original language and at peace at home.

Tell me about the last book you’ve read: Murder on the Sugarland Express which is, as the title might let you suspect, a humourous take on the Agatha Christie classic. In non-fiction, I’m currently reading a biography of Catherine the Great. The last non-fiction book I finished was The Emperor’s Private Paradise. Treasures from the Forbidden City about Chinese garden architecture in the 18th century.

Tell me about the last song you listened to: Chasing the Sun by Sara Bareilles. I love her take on harmonies and the flexibility of her voice.

Tell me about the last fanfic you’ve read: That’s a guilty pleasure I’ll keep to myself. ;)

Favorite type of music: I like a variety of styles: rock, pop, folk, classical, ballet-scores, musicals / showtunes, soundtracks - it depends on my mood and the individual artist. It can be 19th century music, 1940s swing, ‘60s pop or last month’s release, I try anything - therefore I’m going to skip the questions for favourite artists and bands because otherwise we’ll be here all day.

Do you play an instrument? No.

Languages you can fluently speak, read and write (not a language you study): German, English

What song do you want to be played at your funeral? Isn’t that a bit morbid? Seriously, I have no idea - I didn’t even know this was a thing...

Favorite Sports: I used to take ballet lessons as a girl.

Favorite Books: This could take a while...so many books, so little time. I will just try to choose some favourites: Watership Down (Richard Adams), The Crystal Cave / The Hollow Hills / The Last Enchantment (Mary Stewart), Murder Must Advertise (Dorothy Sayers), The Count of Monte Christo (Alexandre Dumas), The Once and Future King (T.H. White), Whom the Gods Love (Kate Ross), The Woman in White (Wilkie Collins), Children of the Night (Mercedes Lackey), The Daughter of Time (Josephine Tey), The Jungle Books (Rudyard Kipling), The Ryiria Revelations (Michael J. Sullivan), Kim (Rudyard Kipling), Theatre (William Somerset Maugham), Jubilee Trail (Gwen Bristow), The Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller).

Favorite childhood books: Mary Poppins (Pamela Travers), The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett), Pünktchen und Anton (Erich Kästner), The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Graham), Little Women (Louisa M. Alcott), Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery).

Favorite Movies: I have to choose again!? :) Oh well... Some Like it Hot, His Girl Friday, The Court Jester, Arsenic and Old Lace, Easter Parade, Fried Green Tomatoes, Watership Down, Pirates of the Caribbean, La Belle et la Bête, Winchester 73, To Catch a Thief, Victor/Victoria, My Man Godfrey, Me and the Colonel - as with music and books, I’m interested in lots of different genres and themes, so choosing favourites is not easy.

Favorite TV Shows: Robin of Sherwood, Boston Legal, The Blacklist, Castle (seasons 1-5), White Collar, The Musketeers (BBC). There are probaly more but this is what comes to mind first.

Favorite Anime: Gundam Wing

Favorite Manga: God Child

Favorite Food: a lot of things but you can’t go wrong with pasta.

Do you have any fitness routine/ diet plans? No

What You’re Wearing Right Now: lots of layers - it’s freezing outside.

Current Number of Followers: 4552. I’m sure there are several dead / abandoned accounts etc. among them but all in all I am amazed at the fact that my crazy collection of pretty pictures interests anyone out there. Thank you!

Number of Blogs you follow: 24. I try not to spend all my time online. ;)

What made you decide to have a tumblr blog: I like the format and it seemed a good way to collect and share beautiful pictures of art, fashion and everything else I’m interested in.

Do you have any other blogs? No. I’m on goodreads, but that’s it.

Describe your personal style: Old-fashioned classic but has to be comfortable. Lots of skirts and flowing materials, high heels. Think 1950′s but thankfully we now have stretch-materials. Jeans and sweaters / shirts when I’m working with kids.

Pets: 5 cats.

Tea or Coffee: neither

Dog-person or Cat-person: Cat-person, obviously. ;)

Introvert or Extrovert: Uhm... a litlle bit of both?

Favorite swear word: Aha, it’s getting personal. ;) Shit. Fits every situation.

When was the last time you went to the hospital, and what for? In 1981. It was my birth. :)

What qualities are you looking for an ideal partner: Someone I can talk to with interests similar to mine. Trust me, that’s not as easy as it sounds.

Famous last words: “Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?” Fanny Brice

I tag: Whoever would like to do this. :)

#getting to know me #questions #personal #books #music #movies #hobbies

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delightfully-difficult-pirate · 7 years

Text

Assassin’s Creed: Misthaven (7/18)

Summary: For hundreds of years, the Brotherhood of Assassins and the Templar Order have waged war. For Princess Emma of Misthaven, that war has become personal. After a mission gone wrong, the Templar Grandmaster, placed a curse on Emma’s son that is slowly killing him. Emma will stop at nothing to save Henry, even if it means going rogue from the Brotherhood and consorting with pirates.

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Violence, Sex, Adult Language.

AN: A special thank you to @preciouscucumber for being an ever patient and diligent beta. To @cocohook38 and @utopiozphere for the awesome artwork they have created. And to @icecubelotr44 for her encouragement every step of the way.

AO3

Tumblr 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Art for Chapter 7 by @cocohook38

Killian, Swan, and his crew arrived in Camelot in the late afternoon and immediately Killian set about arranging lodging. He settled on The Frog and Frigate, and though the inn had definitely seen better days, it had enough room to house the seventeen of them without draining Swan’s purse. That same night, Killian set out to find a contact he hoped would be able to provide him with the information Swan would need for her mission.

Killian wasn’t in contact with many people from his days in the Templar Order, since many would be obligated to kill him on sight. However, there was one man he had made an effort to keep track of: William Scarlet, the self-proclaimed Knave of Hearts.

Will had run with Robin’s gang of Merry Men once upon a time, though he had never been an official member of the Order. He’d only become an associate after his lady love, Anastasia, had run off and married the Order’s second-in-command, Lord Ferdinand Stanford, who was also known as the Red King. Even so, Killian had worked with him on a few missions and had developed a fondness for the lout.

Years later, when Killian had set his sights on killing Lord Stanford, he’d gone to Will for assistance. The Knave had been more than willing to help. With the Red King dead, Will had had another chance to woo back Anastasia. The last Killian had heard the two of them were living quite happily in Camelot.

Scarlett was not a hard man to find. After asking a couple of questions, and passing over a few pieces of silver, Killian learned that Will could usually be found at a tavern called The White Rabbit.

“Got something to sell?” The barkeep asked when Killian inquired after Scarlett at The White Rabbit.

“I might,” Killian replied, tucking his hand and hook into his belt.

“Have a pint. Scarlett will be around in a bit,” he was informed.

Killian rolled his eyes, but bought a pint of beer and took a seat at an empty table. The beer was hoppy and not at all to Killian’s taste. The tavern, however, was just the type of place Killian frequented. It was full of disreputable men and woman and as he waited, Killian watched as numerous illicit deals were struck.

“So, Leonard tells me you might… By the gods, Jones! Is that you?” Scarlett exclaimed as he took a seat across from Killian. Killian could only laugh at the dumbfounded expression on Will’s face.

“Most people call me by my more colorful moniker now,” Killian held up his hook.

Will’s eyes glanced at the shining metal implement that had replaced his missing hand, but he quickly returned to staring open mouthed at Killian.

“You haven’t aged a day,” the shocked thief finally whispered.

Ahhh.

“Technically I’ve aged a few years since the last time I saw you,” Killian corrected him.

“Aged a few years…Jones, it’s been thirteen!”

Killian shrugged. “I spent about a decade in a realm called Neverland, where physical aging is frozen.”

Will frowned. “Isn’t that where your brother died?”

“One and the same,” Killian confirmed.

“What the devil drove you back to there?” Will looked at Killian expectantly, obviously expecting an exciting story.

Not in the mood to revisit one of the darkest times in his life, Killian gave Will a simplified version of his motivations. “I went to Neverland to retrieve Dreamshade, which has the ability to kill even the most powerful sorcerer.”

However, Will’s next statement told him that the thief was well aware of Killian’s turbulent past. “You wanted it so you can kill Robert Gold.”

The name of Milah’s murderer sent white-hot rage coursing through Killian. For a moment, he was back on The Jolly Roger, watching helplessly as Robert Gold plunged his hand into Milah’s chest and removed her heart. He’d crushed it with a squeeze of his fist and dropped the ashes in front of where Killian had been tied to the mast, slowly bleeding out from the loss of his hand.

Killian chugged the remainder of his beer, desperately trying to push back the painful memories

“Is that what has brought you to Camelot?”

“Sadly not. I’m here on business and was hoping you could help get the lay of the land.”

Will raised his tankard in a mock salute. “What do you need to know?”

---

Though she wasn’t keen to announce her presence in Camelot to the Brotherhood, Emma needed to know whether or not word of new status of traitor had managed to travel this far south. The local base in Camelot was operated by her old friend August. She was rather confident that even if he was aware of her treachery, he wouldn’t immediately alert the Brotherhood before at least hearing her out. He adored Henry.

August had gone to Camelot a few years ago to help establish an Assassin presence in the country. Though the mission had been marginally successful, the Brotherhood had established a local base of operations in the capital city to cement their small foothold. August had been placed in charge of the base in reward for his efforts and he now helped coordinate all Assassin activity in the region. He did so out of his teashop, Geppetto’s Tisanes, and that would need to be Emma’s first stop if she wished to make contact with him.

So, the morning after arriving in Camelot, Emma ventured into the city with only a vague memory of where August had opened his shop. Thankfully, people were eager to give her directions; the teashop was well known to the locals for having quality tea and tisane blends at fair prices. Emma was sure that the Brotherhood’s connections with trading companies played a role in that.

To Emma’s surprise and pleasure, Geppetto’s Tisanes not only sold teas and tisanes, but also served them. Patrons occupied all of the dozen tables that lined the shop’s walls. Men and woman from all social rankings, she noticed, taking in one man’s silk doublet and another’s rough canvas trousers.

Emma approached the counter and waited until the shop’s lone attendant, a young man, was able to attend her.

“Afternoon Ma’am. What can I get you today?” he asked as he wiped a stray tealeaf off the counter with a towel.

“I’m here to see Mr. Pinocchio,” she told him.

“And who may I say is calling?” The attendant asked, his eyes assessing her.

“Swan.”

He raised a brow. “Just Swan?”

“Yes. Just Swan,” she replied curtly.

The attendant nodded and headed through a door that Emma assumed led to the back of the shop. She studied the selection of teas behind the counter and contemplated purchasing some of the chamomile tisane.

When the attendant returned, he lifted a portion of the counter and indicated she should cross through the gap it left. Steeling herself for whatever happened next, she followed him through the same door he had left through earlier. She was right that it led to the back of the shop. She couldn’t see the walls for all the crates that were piled high along them.

August was sat at a table in the center of the room, placing tealeaves on one side of a set of bronze scales. It had been a few years since she’d seen her friend. There were a few more strands of grey in his brown hair and in his beard, which was longer than she had ever seen it.

“Swan, to what do I owe the pleasure?” August asked as he stood, coming around the table to offer her his hand. She caught a quick glimpse of his hidden blades before she took his hand and shook it, feeling odd. The August she knew would always wrap her in a hug whether she wanted one or not.

Did he know she was a traitor? That she had killed one of their brethren?

“Business, as I’m sure you can guess,” she told him, her voice as casual as she could make it.

August nodded, and then looked at the attendant who was still loitering behind Emma. “That will be all, Becket,” he ordered. Emma couldn’t help but notice the disappointed look on the young man’s face as he returned to the front of the shop.

“Follow me,” August whispered, pulling on her hand. He head led her around a pile of crates and down a very thin gap between them and the wall. It ended when it reached the corner of the room and Emma watched as August crouched and unlocked a trap door set into the floor. Though she was still a bit worried, Emma followed August through the trap door. Once he had lit a few lamps, she saw that she was in a subterranean room lined with all manners of weapons and gear any Assassin would could possibly need when on a mission.

“Emma, it is so good to see you,” August said as he wrapped her in the hug she had been missing earlier.

“It’s good to see you too,” Emma said, relaxing into his embrace.

After Emma had turned down his proposal of marriage when she had discovered she was with child, things had been difficult for the two of them. August had been bitter at her refusal and nothing Emma could do could sooth his injured pride. It had taken a few years, but eventually the two of them had returned to being friends despite that part of their history.

“I didn’t receive any notice that you were coming to Camelot,” August said, his brows furrowing.

“I’m afraid I’m not exactly here on official business,” Emma began. She was unsure of how to proceed with her explanation. August was one of her closest friends, but he was also a profoundly loyal Assassin. Even if he wasn’t aware that she was now a traitor, could she trust him to help, or at least not interfere, with her mission?

“There is a rumor that Robert Gold is here in Camelot,” she said, going with the same story she told Nemo.

Her friend frowned. “Are you sure? I haven’t heard anything like that; I would have sent word if I had.”

Emma shrugged. “I can’t be sure, not until I search.”

“Everything I have here is at your disposal,” August said as he got up and began searching through a desk drawer. He pulled out a copper disk about the size of Emma’s palm and handed it to her. “This will lead you to the safe houses we have set up in the city, should you need one.”

“Thank you, August,” she said, meaning it.

---

Emma returned to The Frog and Frigate after her visit with August armed with a detailed map of the city and updated knowledge of the local politics.

Rumpelstiltskin had arrived in Camelot three years ago, just months after young King Arthur the seventh had ascended to the throne. He had ingratiated himself quickly with the untried and nervous King, goading him into renewing his families quest to return the Holy Grail to Camelot. When the old King’s advisors had disagreed with the notion that some magical cup would solve all of Camelot’s problems, they had been booted removed from their positions. Rumpelstiltskin then became the King’s most trusted, and sole, confidant.

Understandably, angered a number of aristocrats and for the past two years, there had been a bit of a rift between the King and his court. Only recently had it begun to heal, with the King agreeing to marry Lady Gwendolyn, the daughter of Camelot’s formerly most powerful Count. Rumpelstiltskin was an outspoken critic of the marriage. Officially, he didn’t believe the woman suitable in temperament to be Queen, but everyone knew it was because he feared losing his influence over the King.

Emma was holed up in the inn’s private dining room contemplating whether or not she could risk speaking with the disgruntled members of the court in hopes of finding an ally when Hook found her.

“Swan! Care for a spot of lunch?” he asked, poking his head into the room.

At the thought of food, Emma’s stomach answered for her. Hook laughed and returned a few minutes later with two plates of food, one in his hand and the other balanced on the flat of his hook. Emma pushed her map out of the way to make room. Lunch was roast potatoes and a cut of meat Emma couldn’t immediately identify.

“Have you had any luck in finding the acquaintance you mentioned yesterday?” Emma asked, around a mouthful of well-seasoned potatoes.

“I did, in fact. Scarlet’s always been good at keeping his ear to the ground and I’m sure he’ll be helpful when we need information.” Killian poked at the meat with his hook as he talked and Emma was glad she wasn’t the only one who was a little suspicious of it.

“How did your visit with the local Assassin Leader go?” Killian asked, giving her a smug look.

Emma wasn’t surprised that Hook had known where she had gone even though she hadn’t told him of her destination.

“It could have gone worse. Word of my betrayal hasn’t managed to travel this far south,” she replied as she took a cautious bite of the meat. It tasted like goat, but she wasn’t entirely sure.

“I made sure not to tell Scarlet too much about what we had planned. Even so, he did let me know that five nights from now, the royal family is hosting a ball to celebrate the King’s recent engagement. It may be the perfect opportunity for us to abduct this Rumpelstiltskin.”

Emma stared at Hook, trying to comprehend his logic behind his plan. “A ball… You’re suggesting we infiltrate the royal castle of Camelot and abduct the court sorcerer while they are hosting a ball?”

“Come now, Swan. History tells me this is a tried and true Assassin tradition. Didn’t Ezio Auditore once assassinate a prince at his own banquet?” Hook countered.

Emma blinked. “He was protecting the Prince, actually.” she answered, amazed that Hook knew such an obscure piece of Assassin history.

He waved his hook dismissively. “Regardless, at a soiree of this size, the guards will be tired, over worked, and likely a bit drunk. It’ll be the perfect time to go unnoticed.”

Slouching in her chair, Emma rubbed her forehead, frowning. However much she disliked the proposed plan, she had to admit that Hook’s reasoning wasn’t far off the mark. With so many people attending a royal function, there would be plenty of unknown faces to blend in with if needed.

“I can only see this plan working if Rumpelstiltskin isn’t attending the ball itself. We can’t kidnap him from a room full of people,” she said, beginning to consider the plan against her better judgment.

Hook grinned, excited, and Emma’s heart skipped a beat.

“I’ll talk to Will again and see what he can tell me about the sorcerer’s habits. Providing, of course, you don’t mind giving him an idea of who you are after.”

Emma thought about that as she finished her lunch. She wasn’t thrilled about the idea of revealing so much about her plan to another person. As friendly as she had become with the men of Hook’s crew, only the Captain and Starkey knew the target of her mission.

“Do you trust this Will Scarlet?” She finally asked.

Hook took his time to think about her question before answering. “It’s been over a decade since I’ve worked with the man, but he’s never been the type to sell out another for his own benefit. The only way he would betray us would be if Anastasia is in danger.”

Emma had to grudgingly admire Hook’s honesty, but she wasn’t ready to let down that wall yet. “Why don’t you take me to meet Scarlet and I’ll judge for myself whether he is trustworthy.”

---

Killian was initially hesitant to take Swan to The White Rabbit. Even though he knew that Swan was more than capable of taking care of herself, he felt the need to protect her from any situation where she might need to do so.

So during the walk to the tavern, Killian found himself walking closer to Swan than was strictly necessary, under the guise of telling her about his history with Will Scarlet. She asked a lot of pointed questions, probing his memories of the thief.

When they reached The White Rabbit, Killian casually rested his hand on the small of Swan’s back as he guided her towards the bar. She gave him a questioning look, but didn’t object.

“Will you tell Scarlet that Jones is here to see him?” Killian asked Leonard, the same barkeep from the night before.

“Got something to sell this time?” the man asked, glaring.

“No. But he should be expecting me.” Killian had had Logan deliver a message to Scarlet earlier in the day that he would be stopping by.

Leonard grunted. “Scarlet’s busy. Have a pint while you wait.”

Killian noticed Swan rolling her eyes at Leopold’s recalcitrance as he purchased two pints of beer. He was happy to see that they appeared to have run out of the hoppy beer from the night before and had switched to an ale.

He and Swan took a seat at a table near the back of the tavern. Since they both wanted to keep their backs to the wall, he and Swan both ended up on the same side of the table. Together, they sipped their ale and watched the taverns other patrons. Well, Swan was studying their surroundings, but Killian found himself watching his companion instead.

“Has your friend become a fence?” Swan asked, her eyes glancing around the room. He figured she was cataloguing all of the available exits.

“I suppose,” he answered. It fit. Scarlet had always had a good eye for valuables.

Killian was almost finished with the halfway decent ale when Scarlet dropped into the seat across from Swan and himself. Scarlet gave Swan a quick once over before he grinned at Killian.

“Jones, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

“Scarlet, this is Swan. It is her business that has brought me to Camelot. Swan, William Scarlet.” Killian introduced them and watched as the two of them sized the other up as they shook hands.

From the way she was frowning, Swan was clearly unimpressed with Scarlet. Killian couldn’t blame her; Scarlet had always had an aura of a man who couldn’t be fully trusted. His smile, unless it was for Anastasia, was always a little sly, his hands too quick.

Regardless, Swan forged ahead. “I need to know about the court sorcerer, Rumpelstiltskin.”

Scarlet clucked his tongue. “He’s a mystery, that one. Showed up out of the blue a few years back and weaseled his way into Arthur’s good graces. Word is he practices dark magic.”

Swan frowned, evidently unhappy to be receiving information she had heard before.

Scarlet continued, “Came to see me, last year, asking about some dagger. Gives me the creeps, that one.” Scarlet gave a visible shiver to emphasize his point. “Is he who you’re after?”

“In a way,” Swan said tersely.

Scarlet shrugged his shoulders. “Well the Kingdom won’t be sad to see him gone. What kind of information do you need?”

“I need to know his habits. Does he keep to himself? Spend most of his time in Merlin’s Tower? Go anywhere in the city on a regular basis?” Emma demanded.

Taking a sip of his pint, Hook watched as Scarlet leaned back in his chair, obviously deep in thought.

“Rumor has it he spends most of his time in the Tower,” Scarlet said eventually, with some reluctance. “Only really appears when the King requests his presence for meetings or royal functions. Even then, he leaves as early as protocol allows. Rarely comes into town.”

Killian grinned. If Rumpelstiltskin normally left royal functions early, he would likely be alone in his tower the night of the royal ball.

“Any chance you have a map of the castle?” Killian found himself asking, excited that his plan may have true merit.

Scarlet rolled his eyes at him before he replied, “Might.”

“It would be quite helpful if we could borrow it,” Swan said as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

Scarlet looked unconvinced about lending out such a valuable bit of information. Or at least he was until Killian fished into his pocket and laid a couple of silver coins on the table. Scarlet quickly scooped them up.

“It’s at home. I’ll bring it by your inn in the morning.”

---

Emma was pleased to find that Scarlet was good on his word and did, in fact, show up the next day at The Frog and Frigate just as she was finishing her breakfast. Map acquired, she and Hook commandeered the same private dining room she had used yesterday to pore over it.

The map was remarkably detailed. It not only included the locations of main rooms and halls, but smaller ones such as closets and lavatories. There were even notations about the usual routes guards took in different parts of the castle when on patrols. She had no doubt that Camelot’s King had lost some precious items to the intrepid William Scarlet.

“If this is accurate, there is a small gate on the south side of the castle that leads to the gardens. It looks like there is a service road that cuts through the forest that leads up to it. We could enter the grounds there and as so long as we avoid the kitchens, we should be able to make our way towards the Tower without being noticed,” Emma muttered, mostly to herself.

“Yes, we could do that, or…” the sound of a chair scrapping against stone caused Emma to raise her head. Hook made his way over to where she sat and held out his hand in invitation. Confused, Emma none the less placed her hand in his and allowed herself to drawn towards him.

“Or, we could attend the celebrations as invited guests, have ourselves a jolly good time, and then wander off.” Hook’s left arm wrapped around her waist, drawing her close, and he began to lead her in the first few steps of a waltz. “The guards won’t outright challenge a couple of lost guests, or those seeking somewhere private for some.... personal delights.” Hook had brought his lips close to her neck as he’d spoken, practically breathing the last words in her ear.

Emma shivered. “We’re planning to abduct one of the most powerful sorcerers in the realms and all you can think about is personal delights?”

“I am a man of many talents, Swan,” Hook whispered.

Emma allowed herself to enjoy the feel of Hook’s arms around her for a moment longer than she should have before pulling away. He let her go without a fuss.

“First things first. We have plans to make. Pleasure will have to wait for later.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Emma figured she was in for some witty and flirtatious comeback from Hook. Instead, he simply smiled and bowed. “I look forward to it,” before joining her in once more studying Scarlet’s map.

“We can make out way to Merlin’s tower through the gardens,” Hook added, tracing the route he was describing with a finger. “Once we have the sorcerer, we can go out through the gate you mentioned. Starkey can meet us with a carriage or cart.”

Together, they managed to come up with the beginnings of a plan that seemed like it would actually succeeded. However, there were a few factors that needed to be sorted before they could fully commit to arranging the finer details.

One, they would need invitation to attend the royal ball.

Two, a well maintained but unremarkable carriage would be needed to transport them to the castle and again away once they had Rumpelstiltskin in custody. It would also need to be sturdy enough to make the overland trip back to Hedge’s Run and The Jolly Roger. Hook had deemed it too dangerous to involve any of the local barge captains and risk the journey by boat.

And, most importantly, three, Emma would need to determine how she could hide any necessary weapons and gear she would need within whatever frippery was in fashion this season for Camelot’s ruling class.

The invitation, of course, would be the hardest to obtain. When asked whether or not he though Scarlet would be able to procure one, Hook shook his head.

“I’m sure he can get us a carriage no one will miss and some respectable clothes, but I doubt he is that well connected. We will need a legitimate invitation. A stolen one would only get us arrest.”

Disappointing as his assessment was, Emma agreed.

Sadly, that would leave them with only one other option: The Brotherhood.

---

Around midday, Emma set out once again toward Geppetto’s Tisanes. August, she hoped, would have the contacts to procure an invitation and not ask too many questions about why.

The teashop was busy when she arrived, with both August and Becket alternating between being behind the counter selling tea and serving those customers drinking at the tables. Emma managed to secure a table of her own when a couple of elderly gentlemen left and settled in to wait.

After a few minutes, August brought her a pot with tea a deep red in color and a single cup and saucer. No sugar, no cream. He knew she wouldn’t use either.

The tea was her favorite, called Yunnan Black, and it came from Mulan’s home empire in the east. It was rich and malty, with a note of sweetness at the end.

It reminded her of home, of long days learning the intricate art of diplomacy from her mother and even longer nights mastering the Assassin’s deadly arts. Mulan had first introduced her to the tea when the two of them had been Initiates together, trying to memorize the many ways to kill with a single stroke of a blade.

Allowing herself to enjoy the memories, time passed, and eventually the shop’s business slowed enough to August to join her at her table. He brought with him his own pot of tea, a pungent smelling brew that made her wrinkle her nose.

“It is a pleasure to see you again so soon, Emma,” her friend said with a smile as he sat across from her.

“Likewise. However, I’m afraid I am here to talk more business,” Emma replied, glancing around to assess the safety of speaking in the shop. It was mostly empty, with Becket behind the counter and a few patrons lingering at a table on the far side of the room.

August gathered their pots of tea and cups onto a tray and transported them into the back of the shop, jerking his head to indicate she should follow.

“This should be fine,” Emma said. Trying to make August navigate the steep ladder down to the secure room below while balancing pots of hot tea seemed dicey.

August nodded and together they cleared a spot on his worktable.

“I need an invitation to the royal ball being held in a few days,” Emma said frankly.

August barely reacted to her blunt request. The only sign of his surprise was barely visible tightening of his lips. He, like Emma, had been well-taught not to show shock even at the most outrageous of statements.

“Emma, why?” he asked calmly.

Emma sipped her tea, fortifying herself. “Robert Gold enjoys the finer things in life and isn’t likely hiding among the common folk of Camelot. If I am to find him, he’ll be among the elite of the kingdom.”

August studied her for a few moments. Every Assassin was trained to spot a lie, but they were also schooled in how to tell one without giving any of the telltale signs.

“I have a few contacts who may be able to get one. I’ll see what I can do,” he said at last, sighing heavily. “Just promise me you don’t do anything rash, if you do find him. I can’t help you if you create a diplomatic incident. Not without the Brotherhood’s say-so.”

“I promise,” Emma said. The lie tasted like ash in her mouth.

Chapter 8

A/N: Trying something new by putting the art in the story, please let me know if you like it!

#CSBB #CSBB 2017 #CS FF #CS AU #Captain Swan #Assassin's Creed: Misthaven #My writing #AC:M

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missingmywing · 7 years

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This is based on something I saw on Tumblr. The thought was “What if Cloud actually died at Nibelheim, but his consciousness possessed a nearby wolf, and when Zack leaves the lab Cloud follows behind him like a lost puppy?” or something like that (can’t find the actual post now). And… well… I really like that idea. So I ran with it.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy. I only own my obsession with it. And my obsession with the upcoming HD remake. I. Cannot. Wait. The feels will murder me, and the humor will bring me back to life. And I know I’m not the only one looking forward to seeing Cloud in a dress. Dear god I want this game.

Chapter 1

. . . . .

Cloud choked out a cough, gripping his chest and gasping for air. He stumbled as pain coursed through him, the edges of his vision going black.

Zack…

He could see his friend and superior lying on face-down on the stairs. A fist clenched around his heart, and he hoped to all hope that the SOLDIER was not dead.

He stumbled, vision flashing for a moment. When he blinked, he found himself lying on the stairs next to Zack. His vision was fading, but he needed to let Zack know that things had been taken care of. That he had done it.

“Zack…” He coughed. “I-I did it. I… I beat Sephiroth.” Everything was going dark and everything hurt so much, but he forced his hand out, reaching over to put his hand on the brunette’s head. “Everything… will be… will be okay now… right?” His eyes started sliding closed. “I think… this is it… for me.” He swallowed roughly. “I… I don’t… want to die.” I’m not ready yet… I… I wanted to make it into SOLDIER. Can’t I… Can’t I stay here? Even if I don’t make it into SOLDIER… Cloud’s eyes closed, final thoughts echoing, resonating.

… I want to live… and help him…

. . .

He was surrounded by dancing streams of green energy, floating around him in the dark. Voices whispered, weaving around him and drowning each other out.

So young…

Not his time…

Too soon…

… fix…

… needed still…

Cloud listened with bewilderment and unease. There… There was still something he needed to do. He couldn’t… remember. He knew that he needed to, but the memories kept slipping out of his grasp. It was so important though… It was about his friend… right?

Friend?

Zack.

Sephiroth.

He had to get back! He couldn’t leave Zack, he couldn’t die already-

“All souls exist in a cycle. Even those who die will one day come back.”

“Will Dad come back?”

“Eventually. You may not recognize him immediately, but he will return.”

“Will you recognize him, Mom?”

“Hmm… I like to think that I would.”

No, no, no! He couldn’t! Going through the cycle would take too long! He had to go back now!

He flared out with his mana, the little bit that he had left. He reached desperately for anything that would take him back, anything that could possibly allow him to go back to his friend.

Impossible…

… poor thing…

… new path…

… new life?

… shortcut…

… memories intact?

… challenge… yes.

… accept… soul?

… we try.

You… lead…?

Yes.

Cloud frowned at the whispers as he caught bits of phrases. What was-?

His thought was cut off as he felt a force wrap around him, pushing against him while pulling him away at the same time. It didn’t hurt, exactly, but it was a highly uncomfortable and disorienting sensation. He felt like he was being changed, molded into a different and unfamiliar shape. He couldn’t move, couldn’t struggle, as they tugged him into the shape they wanted, then shoved him forward.

Pure white flashed across his vision, and then his world turned dark once again.

. . .

Several miles into the mountains away from the destroyed Nibelheim and the reactor, a Nibel Wolf licked her newborn pups clean. There were four of them, three large brown ones and a smaller and more golden one. That one got most of her current attention.

Smaller pups were always weaker, and it wasn't uncommon for them to die young. But this one… he was special. She could sense his connection to the Lifestream, could feel his hidden strength.

He was small, but he would be strong. Of that, she was certain.

. . .

Cloud stumbled over his feet as he moved towards the warmth. He wasn't entirely sure as to what was going on, as he couldn't open his eyes, had four legs and an extra limb, and could sense three small bodies and one large one around him.

He was confused, but the large one made him feel safe. For now, that would have to be enough.

. . .

Everything fell into place after two weeks, when he opened his eyes for the first time.

All he could see was a large mass of brown, and it took him a few moments to realize what it was.

Fur.

He blinked and shifted around, pausing as he caught sight of his body for the first time. He tilted his head and moved his back foot- paw, back paw- and confirmed what he'd suspected. Yes, that was his body. Yes, he had fur and-

Dear Gaia he actually had a tail.

He shifted it carefully, then stared in disbelief as it actually moved.

What the hell was going on?

He finished turning around and surveyed his surroundings. He was in a large cave, glowing with thin veins of… materia? Was that even possible? He dismissed the sight as temporarily unimportant, and continued examining. His ears flicked around to catch surrounding noises, pricking as he registered the nearby sound of wind, and the distant sound of flowing liquid. Water? No, it had a lighter quality to it, with the faintest sound of whispering. Flowing mako, then. Hardly uncommon around the Nibel mountains, thanks to the reactor. Mako caves were fairly common, though people avoided them due to the possibility of being affected by any residual Mako.

Right next to him, however, he could clearly hear the now familiar sound of steady pounding of four hearts. He flicked his ear back and turned to see what was attached to that heart, freezing as he turned and looked directly into the glowing eyes of a Nibel Wolf.

His entire body tensed as the wolf leaned towards him, then involuntarily relaxed as she licked his head and rumbled in amusement.

His mind flashed back to his fur and tail, and to the feeling of being bent into another shape by the voices. Everything fell into place and he swallowed at the realization.

He'd been reborn as a Nibel Wolf.

Gaia help him.

. . .

It wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be, Cloud admitted grudgingly.

Once he’d gotten used to walking on four legs (and having a Gaia-forsaken tail) moving around had become easier… as long as he avoided the other pups. They didn’t seem to mind when they bowled him over, and every time they did he got closer to biting them. It wasn’t his fault that he was smaller than them! Still, at least there wasn’t any malicious intent when they did it. They just seemed to be incredibly unaware of their surroundings.

They were just pups, after all. It was hardly surprising.

Their mother was watchful of them, but she wasn’t controlling. She would step in if their tussling got out of hand, but she generally just kept watch

Cloud spent most of his time around the edge of the cave, curiously examining the walls. He had no interest in playing with the other three, and he was curious enough to not constantly stay next to his… mother.

Every time he thought that, he felt a pang of loss for his former mother. The woman who stood next to him and supported him for fourteen years, and continued to support him even when he left for Midgar. The woman who’d died in front of him in a burst of raging flames.

He shook his head viciously to dispel the memories. He didn’t want to dwell on them; the nightmares were bad enough.

The other pups yelped cheerfully as they played, and Cloud let out a breath of exasperation. He turned back to the walls, examining the materia. There were several different types, in several different colors. He’d also been surprised to find that he could instinctively recognize a materia type and eventually figured that the mako taint in Nibel Wolves played a part.

The vein (he was still confused as to how that was actually possible) he was examining now was a vein of Thunder materia. It sent a rush of tingles through him, the hum of electricity a sensation dancing along his fur, making it stand on end. He wrinkled his nose and sneezed.

His… mother, gave an amused rumble as she watched. He glanced back at her, feeling put out. An image leapt to mind of a look Zack had been fond of pulling when he didn’t get his way. On a whim, he decided to copy it, see how effective it was.

He flattened his ears back and ducked his head down slightly, widening his eyes as he sent her a wounded look.

In response, she let out a huff that could only be called a sigh of exasperation. She shook her head slightly and padded over to him, nudging him with her snout in a motion of amusement. His breath whooshed out of him as her nudge rolled him off his feet.

He let out a yip of surprise, followed by a growl of annoyance. Her amusement didn’t disappear.

With an annoyed huff, he stalked away from her.

. . .

Cloud ducked down behind a rock, peering out to examine the dragon. It’d been about two years since he was reborn, and he’d gotten used to his new life and new family. He’d learned how to track and learned how to live.

And now he was learning to hunt.

Or rather he’d learned how to hunt along with his siblings, and now they were putting it into practice alone for the first time. He was the diversion to draw the dragon’s attention, since he was small enough to seem like easy prey, and fast enough to avoid being caught.

His size had been a bit of a sore point in his last life and had carried over into this one at first, but had faded with time. Largely because the wolves were very much pack/family oriented units, and everyone did their parts fairly. As such, he wasn’t pushed around and bullied as he had been as a human. His siblings didn’t have any problems teasing him about his size, and they all took pleasure in holding him down while play fighting, but it was all fun and games. They weren’t purposely cruel about it.

It was a nice difference.

With a deep breath, he bunched his muscles and darted out from behind the rock. He ran full-tilt towards the dragon, snapping his fangs at its lowered wings to gain its absolute attention, and dashing back around it. He bit the tail as he moved past it, bone crunching under his strong jaws. Good, that would throw off its balance. With a roar, the dragon spun around to follow him.

It made the mistake of turning its back on the rocks he’d come from, and two of his other littermates leapt out from behind them and, with mighty leaps, jumped up and caught its wings in their mouths. They caught them near the base, where it was just muscle, sinew, and bone. Snapping their jaws closed crushed the base of the wings, eliminating the dragon’s ability to fly. The dragon let out another roar of pain and rose up on its back legs. The two wolves on its back leapt off and dashed off behind the rocks again.

Cloud darted in and snapped down harshly on one of the dragon’s back leg tendons. He continued running past, slipping another painful bite to the dragon’s tail as he ran underneath it. As planned, he kept its attention on him as he darted around, dodging the occasional blast of fire.

He kept making painful and debilitating wounds to both blind it by pain and rage, and to slow it down. Whenever the dragon left an opening, one of the two would dash forward and make a major wound on it. The fourth member of their litter was hanging back, watching the events unfold. His job was to watch and wait for an opportunity to deliver the killing blow.

As Cloud dodged another fireball he took the opportunity to leap up on its back, running up along its spikes until he reached the soft, sensitive spot between its wings. Then he bit down in the exact center of the gap. Hard. In the same instant, the other two darted in and bit down on the tendons in its front and back leg respectively.

The dragon roared and staggered from pain. It’s head lowered slightly, and the fourth dashed forward and, with a powerful leap, bit down with his full strength on the dragon’s neck. Its windpipe was crushed, and a main artery was split open. The dragon shook its head back and forth, a last desperate attempt of survival, but the wolf hung on determinedly.

With a last wheezing attempt at a roar, the dragon collapsed. Cloud and his oldest brother both leapt clear. They landed next to each other and turned to watch the dragon take its last breaths. As it stilled completely and the life faded from its eyes, they exchanged a proud glance.

His older brother and sister made their way over to the two, nudging them in victory. With the wolf equivalent to a grin, their oldest brother threw back his head and let out a triumphant howl. After a moment, the other three did the same.

For the first time in either of his lives, Cloud felt truly included and appreciated.

It was a nice change.

. . .

The dragon kill gave the four of them adult status and the pack enough food for a week. After that, rot set in and the body dissolved back into the Lifestream as decomposition set in. As adults, they were expected to help the pack more. The day after the dragon dissolved, Cloud and his oldest brother were sent out to scout the nearby areas for both food and shelter.

Both were still riding the high from the last successful hunt, and as such were feeling energetic and confident.

“Do you think we will find anything good?”

“We’d better,” Cloud retorted. “Mother will eat us alive if we don’t.”

“Good point.” His older brother leapt onto a rock pile to survey the surrounding area.

“Anything interesting?”

The older wolf flattened his ears slightly. “The human shelter-territory, so we will need to be careful about going around it.”

Cloud bared his teeth at the mention of the new town. The fake, Shinra-made town that had taken the old town’s place. He’d developed a hatred for the company since he’d found out about the new town, as he realized that the company wasn’t even going to acknowledge what had happened.

They were going to hide it.

Pretend that it didn’t even happen.

And that was inexcusable.

“Yeah, we will. Are we going to go high, or lower on the mountain?”

The other considered for a moment, then leapt down. “I think we should go higher up. There’s more caves up there.”

“But less prey.”

“We can send hunting parties down the mountain if we need to. But the lower we are, the higher the risk that we’ll be attacked by humans and the harder it is to find caves large enough to fit everyone.”

Cloud conceded his point. “So we go up.”

“So we go up.”

. . .

Three years since he had been reborn, and Cloud was fully settled into his role in the pack. He was often leading point in search parties, and played the distraction role in large-prey hunting parties. He was also a solo hunter, taking down small prey with ease.

It was during one of his solo hunts that he found the tunnels.

He chased a large rodent down into one of the openings in the mountain, and found himself in obviously man-made tunnels. He immediately turned wary, crouching lower to the ground as he made his way along the wall. The rodent had disappeared, unfortunately. He would have to hunt down another one once he left the tunnels.

He followed the tunnel downwards, ignoring the offshoots until he reached what looked like a dead end. Except- no. There was a small opening in the cleft of the rock, large enough for a fully grown human to fit through. A semi-grown wolf like Cloud had no problems.

The cleft opened to a hallway. A familiar hallway. A shudder ran through his body, ears flattening against his head, as he gazed around the entrance to the secret labs. Considering his last memories of this place had been of Sephiroth going mad right before burning Nibelheim, he was entirely unenthusiastic about the idea of hanging around. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, however, the screaming started.

He jerked in surprise, ears pricking up at the sounds of agony. It sounded almost familiar, like he’d heard something similar like-

Zack.

It was like a bastardized, anguished twist of one of Zack’s shouts. A few steps up from his wounded yelps and grunts whenever a monster had managed to land a hit.

His hackles began to raise, teeth baring into a snarl, when he heard the rapid approach of footsteps. His head whipped around as a man stepped around the corner and paused. A navy blue suit, Wutain features, a Turk. The same Turk that had been on the Modeoheim mission. Tseng.

“Why aren’t you helping him?! I thought you were his friend?!” Cloud snarled at him, even knowing that his words wouldn’t be understood.

The Turk eyed him warily, hand resting on his gun. The screaming stopped abruptly, and Tseng’s eyes flicked towards the door next to Cloud, concern flashing briefly across his eyes before it was quickly masked.

The concern was not enough for Cloud to forgive him for allowing this, but it made him slightly less motivated to rip his throat out.

But it was a very close call.

The sound of shocked shouts and shattering glass caught both of their attentions, their stand-off wavering. A scientist shouted for security backup, and footsteps thundered down the wooden stairs as two Infantry units burst into the hallway. He hesitated for a moment, debating whether to try to hold them off long enough for Zack to break out. The choice was taken out of his hands when one of the scientists inside the labs shouted for the Infantrymen to get in there and hold the SOLDIER back long enough for the tranqs to finish kicking in.

Cloud let out another snarl of frustration. ShinRa tranqs were no joke, there was no chance in hell of Zack breaking out if he’d been hit by them. Those could literally take down a Behemoth. As the Infantry shifted their guns, Cloud spun around and dashed out of the hallway, back the way he had come.

He left with a growl of anger and a silent promise. He would get Zack out of there, no matter what he had to do.

Failure wasn’t an option.

. . .

Cloud spent the next year scouting the areas around the mountains, finding the best places for escape and for hiding. What they would do once they got out of the mountains, Cloud wasn’t sure. He supposed that he’d leave it up to Zack. Where Zack went, he went. And he wouldn’t let Zack refuse.

He was both surprised and grateful at his pack’s support. He knew that he had stronger ties to the Lifestream than most creatures, even most monsters, but he hadn’t realized how keenly the other members of his pack had felt it. When they found out what he was planning they had asked for an explanation, and then accepted that explanation with only a few clarificatory questions. They’d accepted and supported him, and he’d never felt felt so overwhelmed by joy and gratification than he was then, especially when they began helping him in his scouting missions and materia/armor collecting.

Of course, they also knew that something was changing. They all felt the shifts within the Lifestream, and noticed how many of the lesser monsters, such as Dorky Faces, began turning more and more aggressive and less and less intelligent. Even the dragons above were becoming more territorial and temperamental. Normally, the wolves and the dragons got along peacefully, casually ignoring each other as they went about their business for survival. The occasional Mako crazed dragon was both target practice and food for the range packs, while crazed wolves were the same for dragons. But the dragons had started getting snappy and suspicious of all of the packs, as though they were expecting to be attacked constantly. Their paranoia was the strongest clue that something was becoming a serious problem in the Lifestream.

“If this continues, then the dragons will become as much mindless beasts as the mouth monsters.”

“Bahba Velamyus or Battery Caps?” Cloud shuddered either way. A giant mouth with legs, or a carnivorous mushroom with three mouths. They both gave him nightmares.

“Human speak,” his oldest brother dismissed, “both of the mouth monsters are equally mindless.”

Cloud couldn’t argue with that. “But who’s next after them?”

His brother sighed, resting his head on his paws. “Us, of course. It is only a matter of time. With both the dragons and the Valrons succumbing to insanity, and all of our food and water sources imbued with the tainted Lifestream, we are… how did you put it? Marching to our doom? We have very little time left, I fear.” He opened his eyes and gazed intently at Cloud. “You must act soon. Even if we are to become mindless beasts, you must not.”

Cloud flattened his ears, confusion and fear flashing through him at his words. “Why me?” Why would he have to leave alone? Why did the others have to succumb to the spreading madness?

“Because the Lifestream chose you. You would not be here otherwise. You may leave, you may survive and perhaps even thrive elsewhere, because you remember a time before you were a wolf. These mountains and this way of life is all we have ever known, to leave would be to die. We are all aware of the fact, and we have accepted it. However, whatever is causing the madness to spread, the Lifestream believes that you can stop it.”

Cloud’s ears pricked back up in confusion. “I can stop it? But… why does it think that?”

His brother tilted his head. “Did you not before?”

Cloud’s heart stopped, breath catching in his throat. “But… no, that can’t be right. He’s dead, Sephiroth is dead!” He’d killed him, he’d thrown him in the reactor. Into pure Mako. Mako… that regularly leaked from the reactor. Tainted Lifestream…

He whimpered, eyes widening and ears flattening again as the implications sank in. “Oh Odin… I threw him in the reactor. Even if he died, if he somehow resisted the Lifestream the way I did, more strongly than I did…” He turned horrified, shocked, guilty eyes to his brother.

Said brother flicked his ear in contemplation for a moment, then gave the wolf equivalent to a shrug. “If you threw him into the Lifestream leak then it is possible. That knowledge will help you create a hunt to eliminate the threat on the Lifestream’s territory. It is good that you thought of it.” Sometimes Cloud forgot how different humans and wolves viewed things. And then something like this happened, and he was abruptly reminded all over again. Humans would have either blamed him, or found some way of passing the blame off to something else, reassuring him that it wasn’t his fault. Wolves, on the other hand, examined the information given, accepted the facts, and reacted accordingly.

They didn’t believe in holding blame, it did nothing but tear the pack apart. They made sure that the one who made the mistake was aware of the fact, and they ensured that the mistake maker received the due consequences, but they didn’t shun or accuse them. They simply expected them to help fix the mistake.

He shuddered and nodded slightly. “I need more information. I can’t make a plan of attack without knowing what it is I’m attacking.”

“It is unlikely that you will find it here.” His eldest brother glanced around. “No prey remains in the area of its predator after escaping.” He nudged Cloud lightly. “It is time for you to make your move. You must leave before the madness spreads further.”

Cloud flattened his ears, squeezing his eyes closed for a moment. “I’m scared.”

“Fear is expected. It is also necessary. It is not debilitating. You know what you must do. You will do it. Fear breeds caution. Do not allow it to breed panic.”

With a deep breath, Cloud opened his eyes and stood up. “Alright.” He paused at the sound of wingbeats, glancing around to find the source of the noise. His ears flicked up as a human figure flew overhead, then passed out of view. Cloud felt his heart in his throat as he stared up. Was that Angeal? No, it can’t be, he died!

His brother tilted his head. “He was heading towards the mansion.”

“Yeah,” Cloud narrowed his eyes, “and he was flying low.”

“Trying to avoid detection.”

“Looks like it.”

“Perhaps we should investigate.”

“Right,” Cloud glanced at him. “Are you coming?”

“Of course. You may need help, after all.”

“Thanks.”

. . .

The two wolves slunk down the tunnels warily. The tunnel monsters, the ones left at least, avoided them. It had become common for the wolves to wander the tunnels, exploring the different escape routes and finding Materia and a few pieces of armor, and the monsters there had learned not to attack them.

They reached the break in the wall in time the hear the sound of shattering glass. A few moments later, the winged figure appeared in the doorway. Cloud’s heart stuttered in his chest. It was Angeal. Except… not. The man he remembered, the strong and kind Commander who led missions, with a fanclub that had open arms for any Cadet, SOLDIER, or trooper that needed help, even the man who had, at Modeoheim, knocked him out… he had been torn but confident at his abilities.

He had also looked fairly healthy, if a bit exhausted and malnourished.

This man was holding himself wrong, as though he was uncomfortable in his body. His tense stance, as though preparing to defend himself, was off. Cloud could have done better when he first joined the Cadet program. And that was just sad. He also had the same flaky, sick appearance that Genesis had had in Modeoheim and worse in Nibelheim. Plus he was wearing a suit of all things.

It obviously wasn’t Angeal.

“A copy,” he sighed, thinking back to the many, many missions getting rid of Genesis copies with SOLDIERs. “Should have known. Though why he’s helping Zack…” He must have known the Second Class before… everything happened.

He two steps forward and one to the side, his brother following his lead. The copy faltered for a moment then, likely taking in the intelligence in their eyes, relaxed and inclined his head in the unspoken offer to let him leave.

Right before he ducked down and disappeared, he turned back to look at Cloud. “You know him, don’t you? And you’ll help him?”

Cloud tilted his head for a moment, scrutinizing the man, then nodded.

The man nodded back. “My thanks. Considering who I am a copy of, now, as well as who I was before… I fear I may not be welcome.” He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again and glanced back at Cloud. “Lazard, if the name means anything to you.” Then he turned away, and he was gone.

Cloud stared after him in bewilderment. The Director of SOLDIER? Why is he a copy? And… what did he do before to make Zack mistrust him? With a shake of his head, Cloud dispelled the thoughts. There would be time later. For now, he needed to get Zack away from the mansion.

“I will scout ahead. Is it likely that he will wish to retrieve something from elsewhere in the den?”

“Most likely,” Cloud responded with a glance toward the stairs, “I doubt that they would keep his sword and armor near him.”

His brother inclined his head and moved to the stairs. Cloud watched him go, then turned and darted into the room. He slipped around a desk to see a man in a white coat moving towards Zack, who was lying on the floor in front of a destroyed Mako tank.

He let out a loud snarl to catch the man’s attention, and get him away from Zack. The man whipped around, startled, and Cloud moved forward threateningly. Zack must have heard the noise, because he stirred and glanced blearily around. He tensed when he saw the scientist, and leapt to his feet. The scientist turned just in time to get a fist to his face. He flew back with a cracking sound that definitely didn’t sound healthy, and landed on the floor a few feet away. He didn’t get up.

Zack stumbled forward a couple of steps before falling to his knees. Cloud immediately moved forward to stand beside him, nudging his shoulder gently. Zack was shaking, and when he looked up, there were tears in his eyes.

Cloud let out a soft whine of concern, shifting his weight slightly closer to his friend. The man shuddered for a moment, leaning his head against Cloud’s neck as he breathed.

“… Cloud?” he whispered quietly, desperately, voice hoarse from disuse for anything but screams. He sound like he was about to fall apart.

Cloud tensed the slightest bit at the sound of his name. It had been years since he’d been referred to as that, and by Zack no less… He closed his eyes and pressed closer to Zack, resting his head on the ex-SOLDIER’s hunched back and nodding slightly.

Zack let out a choked noise and wrapped his arms around Cloud’s neck. He shook, and Cloud felt his tears through his fur. He let out a soft noise, somewhere between a whine and a hum. He wanted to reassure Zack, but he wasn’t sure how.

“I’m so sorry.”

His voice was so quiet that it took a Cloud a moment to realize what he had said, and when he did he let out a soft whine and shook his head. There’s nothing to apologize for, Zack. Nothing that happened was your fault.

They stayed like that for a several minutes before the sound of shouts and gunfire reached them. Cloud snapped his head around at the distant sound of a familiar snarl. Zack must have heard it too and felt Cloud stiffen, because he pulled away and wiped his face before standing up.

“We have to go,” Cloud growled.

Zack glanced at him, unable to understand but having a good guess at the message, “I can’t leave without the Buster Sword.”

Cloud nodded, unsurprised, and darted to the door. Zack kept up with him as they raced up the stairs and into the mansion itself. As they left the room and entered the mansion center, they were met with the sight of a large gray Nibel Wolf running circles around a couple of units of Infantrymen. They were doing more damage to each other than to Cloud’s brother. Even as the watched, the wolf timed his jump just right so that four of the Infantrymen shot each other down.

Cloud leapt down to join in, and together they finished the men off. Zack whistled in appreciation.

“Now that’s teamwork.” He swung himself over the railing and landed heavily next to Cloud, wincing slightly as he landed in a kneel.

Cloud perked up at the compliment, then forced his tail to still as it began to wag slightly. He wasn’t an insecure puppy, he and his siblings had worked together to take down multiple enemies a thousand times. This was no different. Except that it had impressed Zack.

His brother sent him an amused look. “Well, well, well. It would appear that there is someone who makes you a pup.”

It was a turn of phrase that wolves used in amusement. It was basically the same as the teasing human phrase “looks like someone’s got a crush”. Generally implied due to the fact that puppies often found and attached themselves to an older wolf and followed them around doing everything they could to get approving attention.

Cloud rolled his eyes at him. “He was pretty much the first person in my last life to treat me as something other than a Life-mad runner. Of course I want to keep a good impression to him.”

A Life-mad runner was the wolf term for Mako crazed, in reference to the way they ran around doing nothing useful and everything destructive after absorbing to much of the processed Lifestream.

His brother huffed in amusement, nudging his side. “The fact remains, he turns you into a puppy. It is good for you, you need someone to finally make you happy enough to act foolishly.”

Cloud huffed and turned away to scan the mansion. Where would they be keeping Zack’s sword?

“It is this way.” Amusement still filled his voice, but there was a solemn note as well. Cloud and Zack, who had been watching the exchange in confused amusement, followed him up the stairs and into a side room. The Buster Sword was leaning up against the wall next to a large wardrobe. In the wardrobe were several clean SOLDIER First uniforms, one of which Zack changed into quickly before settling his sword on his back.

“Right, I’m ready to go. Unless… hmm… should I try to get some Materia and armor…?”

Cloud rumbled to get his attention, and shook his head, motioning to the door. Zack eyed him skeptically for a moment, then twitched at the sound of a transport truck outside the gate. With a soft swear, he nodded to Cloud to lead the way. Cloud didn’t hesitate, and dashed across the stairs and back to the room with the secret staircase with Zack and his brother following behind.

They made their way back to the break in the wall, where Cloud’s sister was waiting with a green Materia. After the four had gone a few feet down the tunnel, she activated the Quake Materia and the opening of the tunnel collapsed, leaving a pile of rubble. Hopefully, it would cover their tracks. At least long enough for them to escape. Cloud let out a huff of amusement at Zack’s bewildered look, and nudged the man. He glanced down at the golden wolf and grinned wryly.

“Somehow, I get the feeling that this is your fault.” His voice was warm and amused, surprise fading to resignation at the sheer strangeness of the situation. Cloud preened, sending him a smug look. Zack laughed and ruffled to top of his head, the way he used to when Cloud was still a trooper, following behind the cool and nice First Class that liked him for some reason. Where once he would have brushed the hand away with squawk of indignation, and been called a Chocobo for his troubles, now he leaned into it with a rumble of content.

By the gods he’d missed Zack.

His brother broke the moment with a soft bark. “We need to go. If fate favors us the collapse will throw them off, but it may not work forever. Especially not if they bring the blue-clad men to the hunt.”

“Right,” Cloud sighed, pulling away from Zack reluctantly. Turks were bad. “Let’s go.”

Zack seemed to get the message, and he started moving. He and Cloud stayed next to each other, walking close enough that they occasionally brushed, Cloud content to allow his siblings to lead the way. They were far enough ahead to talk without him casually overhearing, though judging by the amused glances they kept sending him he could guess what it was that they were saying.

Eventually, they reached their destination.

They stepped into the cave with the Mako Spring, where the rest of the pack was waiting. This was one of the few places around the mountain where the Mako was pure, and where the Lifestream could reach easily.

The puppies were playing, and the older members were relaxing and talking, They all looked up as the four entered, and several of the adults stood up. The pack leader and his mate made their way over with Cloud’s mother and older brother. Cloud and his siblings met them halfway, Zack a few steps behind with a hesitant expression.

The murmur of the Lifestream grew louder for a few moments, and Cloud felt the edges of his awareness blur as the Planet whispered through the cave. Zack glanced around with confusion and awe, though there was wariness in his gaze as well.

“It is time.”

Cloud swallowed, glancing around at his pack. They were watching him, sadness and acknowledgement in their expressions in equal measure.

“I know.”

His mother stepped forward, resting her head on top of his. “You are strong, as I always knew you would be. You have speed, you have strength, you have knowledge, and you have instinct. You have all of the traits needed to be strong and you know how to apply them. The Lifestream chose you and it chose well. You are my son, now and forever, and you are of the pack. You have our strength and knowledge and you will have our gaze when we rejoin the Lifestream. Stay strong, stay firm. You will not waver in the opposition, it is not your way.” She licked the top of his head gently, taking a step back. “Do not let doubt misguide you when you know the correct path.”

The leader raised his head, and Cloud lowered his own in respect. “You know of the Lifestream’s plight. You know of its origin and suspect its cause. You must find a way to purge it from the Lifestream before it destroys it. You leave with our acknowledgement and our acceptance. The pack wishes you well on your journey.”

It was the formal address to someone leaving the pack, with a twist as he wasn’t leaving to start his own pack, rather he was leaving on an extended journey.

An extended journey that it was unlikely he would come back from. Or that they would still be here if he did.

He bowed his head more, closing his eyes and flattening his ears, the straightening once more. “I accept your acknowledgement, and am grateful for your acceptance. I wish you good hunting and fair weather as long as the pack survives.”

It was time. He couldn’t delay any more. It was time to leave the pack, leave home, and stop the corruption of the Lifestream. He took a deep, shuddering breath, and took several steps back until he was standing by Zack. With one last sweep of his gaze across his family, he nudged Zack and turned back to the tunnels.

The man followed him silently, and he could see the confusion and concern on his face. He glanced up at him and flicked his ears as reassuringly as he could. He wished that he could actually talk to Zack, but… well, they’d make do.

He led him through the tunnels, fighting off monsters where necessary, until they reached the armor and Materia stash in a cave leading to the mountain outside. When Zack saw it, his jaw dropped and he glanced at Cloud in shock. Cloud just sat down, sending him a smug look. Zack spluttered for a moment, then kneeled down and slung an arm around Cloud.

“Man Spike, you’ve thought of everything!” He smiled at the golden wolf. “I’d be toast without you, huh?”

Cloud sniffed, headbutting him affectionately. “Yeah, you would.”

“No need to sound so smug about it, sheesh.” He grinned to take the edge off, and Cloud rolled his eyes in response. He sent a pointed look at the stash, and Zack all to gleefully bounced over to it and began sorting through it.

By the time he was done, he had two Edincoats (with seven slots each), three Fourth Bracelets (with two paired slots and one single slot each), and a Gold Armlet (with two paired slots), all stolen from various dragons’ hoards. Cloud was very proud of himself for finding them and recognizing them. He didn’t bother trying to figure out what materia Zack equipped where, but he knew there was a Restore and a Heal and he assumed that the elementals were paired with All.

Zack put the rest of the stash in his bag to sell later, and looked at Cloud expectantly. Cloud padded to the front of the cave and glanced around, eying the sun setting behind the mountain thoughtfully, then retreating back and lying down next to Zack. The man raised a brow, then shrugged and settled down next to him, setting the Buster Sword across his lap and starting some highly needed maintenance. Cloud closed his eyes and relaxed to the sound of Zack’s work and annoyed grumbles.

When he next opened his eyes, the moon was just rising over the trees and Zack was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. He pushed himself up, stretching his stiff muscles with a low whine of relief. When he glanced over, Zack was watching him with an amused grin. He huffed at his friend and moved to the cave opening and scanned the area, looking for any sign of ShinRa. From what he could see, it looked clear.

He glanced back over his shoulder to see Zack standing on his tiptoes, stretching his arms into the air as he let out a low groan. He came back down on his heels and grinned unrepentantly at Cloud’s amused look. He slung his sword on his back and made his way over to Cloud.

“Alright, lead the way oh wise wolf.”

Cloud smacked him with his tail, and began picking his way down the mountain. Zack followed him closely with quiet snickers.

As they neared the bottom of the mountain, with the moon directly overhead, a single howl rose into the air. Cloud paused and glanced back, listening silently. Zack stopped next to him, still and silent as well. As more howls rose up in the air, he closed his eyes. It was a sad song, speaking of farewell and loss, but also of hope. As the song came to a close, he threw back his head and howled a single long note, filled with all of his emotions. As the note died away, and the mountain returned to the former sounds, he allowed his head to fall for a moment. He allowed himself a moment to mourn everything that could have been, and then he returned to what was and what would be. He had Zack, and he had a goal. It was his life, and his journey, and he would see it through.

Failure wasn’t an option.

. . . . .

Wow, this was… long. It took longer than I thought it would. But I like it. I really, really like it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of a good enough excuse to allow them to be able to talk to each other yet. Though, now that i think about it, I could technically use the Jenova cells… but that’s kinda flimsy. ‘Cause I mean, neither of them have that kind of control of her. Cloud has plenty of her cells because he’s a Nibel Wolf now and her cells leaked all over that mountain. Zack has them because, well, SOLDIER. But they can’t control them so… no go.

It’ll be fixed once they get to Banora and Zack beats Genesis, thus summoning Minerva and all that. Because there’s no way in hell I’m writing the entire story from Cloud’s point of view if he’s gonna be pretty much useless information wise.

I should probably also mention that when they say that Cloud was “Chosen”, they don’t mean it like a prophesy. It just means that the Lifestream chose to send him back with all his memories, and there’s probably a damn good reason for it. Like, you know, having the necessary information to fix the problem at hand.

I am gonna have to figure out how Cloud actually died. Because unless Sephiroth stabbed him right under/through his heart, he shouldn’t have died nearly as quickly as he did. Blood loss takes longer than that, pretty sure you can survive with one lung… Hmm… I’ll figure it out. I also need to decide if Zack’s gonna bother “naming” Cloud something when they run into Tifa… I was gonna do Fenrir before Zack realized who Cloud was and the little goldie confirmed it. ‘Cause I didn’t write that. It wrote itself and I’m keeping it. Zack wasn’t supposed to find out until… stuff happened.

And then Zack was hurting and almost delusional when he got out of the Mako Tank and the first thing he thought of when he saw blue eyes and gold fur was Cloud. Cloud who he couldn’t protect who he sent to his death and he was guilty and was he here again and… yeah. Cloud wasn’t about to lie. So… Zack knows. And I have to rewrite this in my head. This changes so much of my imaginary script that I convince myself I have.

(I’m making this up as I go along okay. I don’t plan. I had a plan. And then that plan wasn’t character compliant. So the characters rewrote their script. So I’m burning the script and we’re winging this.)

So yeah. Stuff. This isn’t the end of Zack’s guilty conscience for sending Cloud to his death. They will have a lengthy conversation about it after Cloud can actually talk to Zack. Because I wanna write a feels fest. Angst is fun. And I wanna see how many people I can make cry.

I’m going to be crying as I write it, I already know that.

Anyway, let me know what you think!

Wings, out~!

27 notes · View notes

i-smile-so-i-must-be-fine · 5 years

Text

1: My name? jess

2: Do I have any nicknames? lilo, babe, baby

3: Zodiac sign? virgo

4: Video game I play to chill, not to win? none

5: Book/series I reread? none

6: Aliens or ghosts? ghosts

7: Writer I trust enough to read whatever they write?

8: Favourite radio station? capital fm or smooth

9: Favourite flavour of anything? hmm strawberry

10: The word that I use all the time to describe something great? amazing

11: Favourite song? stitches - shawn mendes

12: The question you ask new friends to get to know them better? lol don’t really make new friends often

13: Favourite word? depends on my mood what i use the most

14: The last person who hurt me, did I forgive them? no

15: Last song I listened to? turn me on - riton

16: TV show I always recommend? never really recommend anything

17: Pirates or ninjas? pirates

18: Movie I watch when I’m feeling down? perks of been a wallflower or fault in our stars

19: Song that I always start my shuffle with/wake-up song/always-on-a-loop song? again depends on my mood

20: Favourite video games? none

21: What am I most afraid of? my girl dying or been left

22: A good quality of mine? i care soooo much about others

23: A bad quality of mine? paranoia/jealousy

24: Cats or dogs? cats

25: Actor/actress you trust enough to watch whatever they’re in? don’t really know

26: Favourite season? autumn

27: Am I in a relationship? yep

28: Something I miss? been able to just go to my girls house or have her come to me

29: My best friend? does my fiancee count.. other than that don’t have one

30: Eye colour? green/brown they change colour

31: Hair colour? brown

32: Someone I love? my girl and our son

33: Someone I trust? my girl

34: Someone I always think about? my girl and our son

35: Am I excited about anything? seeing my girl on wednesday

36: My current obsession? don’t currently have one

37: Favourite TV shows as a child? lizzy mcguire

38: Do I have someone of the opposite sex that I can tell everything to? no

39: Am I superstitious? not really

40: What do I think about most? ...

41: Do I have any strange phobias? no

42: Do I prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? behind

43: Favourite hobbies? listening to music/ watching netflix

44: Last book I read? can’t remember what its called but i need to finish reading it

45: Last film I watched? a star is born

46: Do I play any instruments? no

47: Favourite animal? tiger

48: Top 5 blog on Tumblr that I follow?

49: Superpower I wish I could have? wish i could have three.. invisibility, fly, read minds

50: How do I destress? i don’t

51: Do I like confrontation? no

52: When do I feel most at peace? with my girl

53: What makes me smile? my girl and our son

54: Do I sleep with the lights on or off? off

55: Play any sports? used to

56: What is my song of the week? don’t have one

57: Favourite drink? red bull

58: When did I last send a handwritten letter to somebody? its been a while

59: Afraid of heights? no

60: Pet peeve? people biting their nails

61: What was the last concert I went to see? shawn mendes

62: Am I vegetarian/vegan/pescatarian? no

63: What occupation did I want to do when I was younger? pe teacher

64: Have I ever had a friend turn enemy? kinda

65: What fictional universe would I like to be a part of? dunno

66: Something I worry about? everything

67: Scared of the dark? only when im out on my own

68: Who are my best friends? answered

69: What do I admire most about others? it varys in each person

70: Can I sing? LOL no

71: Something I wish I could do? read minds

72: If I won the lottery, what would I do? help family out, by my little family a house, learn to drive and buy a car, holidays,

73: Have I ever skipped school? yea

74: Favourite place on the planet? hmm anywhere with my little family is perfect

75: Where do I want to live? as a kid i always wanted to move to ameria, and now i’d love to live in greece

76: Do I have any pets? yea

77: What is my current desktop picture? the quote “love is louder than the pressure to be perfect”

78: Early bird or night owl? night

79: Sunsets or sunrise? set

80: Can I drive? i wish

81: Story behind my last kiss? saying goodbye :(

82: Earphones or headphones? both

83: Have I ever had braces? no

84: Story behind one of my scars? sh

85: Favourite genre of music? listen to most genres

86: Who is my hero? hmm

87: Favourite comic book character? harley quinn

88: What makes me really angry? anything can trigger it

89: Kindle or real book? neither

90: Favourite sporty activity? dunno

91: What is one thing that isn’t tight in schools that should be?

92: What was my favourite subject at school? pe

93: Siblings? 1

94: What was the last thing I bought? a can of monster

95: How tall am I? 5″3

96: Can I cook? kinda

97: Can I bake? a little

98: 3 things I love? my girl, my son, my phone

99: 3 things I hate? been late, my ex, my girls ex

100: Do I have more girl friends or boy friends? girls

101: Who do I get on with better, girls or boys? girls

102: Where was I born? england

103: Sexual orientation? lesbian

104: Where do I currently live? england

105: Last person I texted? my girl

106: Last time I cried? this morning

107: Guilty pleasure? dunno

108: Favourite Youtuber? rose and rosie

109: A photo of myself. no

110: Do I like selfies? only if someone else is in them with me

111: Favourite game app? home scapes

112: My relationship with my parents? its okay

113: Favourite accents? canadian

114: A place I have not been but wish to visit? i want to travel the world so yea

115: Favourite number? 7

116: Can I juggle? no

117: Am I religious? no

118: Do I like space? kinda

119: Do I like the deep ocean? yea

120: Am I much of a daredevil? probably

121: Am I allergic to anything? no

122: Can I curl my tongue? no

123: Can I wiggle my ears? no

124: Do I like clowns? they’re alright

125: The Beatles or Elvis? neither

126: My current project? don’t have one

127: Am I a bad loser? no

128: Do I admit when I wrong? sometimes

129: Forest or beach? beach

130: Favourite piece of advice? dunno

131: Am I a good liar? kinda

132: Hogwarts house / Divergent faction / Hunger Games district? erm well i got bored of harry potter through the first one.. dunno anything about the second one and hunger games confused me

133: Do I talk to myself? i talk to the voices in my head if that counts

134: Am I very social? lol no

135: Do I like gossip? sometimes

136: Do I keep a journal/diary? no

137: Have I ever hopelessly failed a test? yea plenty of times

138: Do I believe in second chances? pretty much

139: If I found a wallet full of cash on the ground, what would I do? keep the cash and hand in the wallet

140: Do I believe people are capable of change? sometimes

141: Have I ever been underweight? no

142: Am I ticklish? very

143: Have I ever been in a submarine? no but sounds fun

144: Have I ever been on a plane? a few times

145: In a film about my life, who would I cast as myself, friends and family? dunno

146: Have I ever been overweight? story of my life

147: Do I have any piercings? not anymore

148: Which fictional character do I wish was real? harley quinn

149: Do I have any tattoos? 9

150: What is the best decision I have made in life so far? agreeing to meet the person who became my fiancee 3 months later

151: Do I believe in Karma? i thought i did but apparently it doesn’t happen

152: Do I wear glasses or contacts? i’m supposed to wear glasses to read

153: What was my first car? i can’t drive

154: Do I want children? i have 1

155: Who is the most intelligent person I know?

156: My most embarrassing memory? to many to name

157: What makes me nostalgic?

158: Have I ever pulled an all-nighter? i have insomnia sooo

159: Which do I value more in others, brains or beauty? brains

160: What colour mostly dominates my wardrobe? black

161: Have I ever had a paranormal experience? a few times

162: What do I hate most about myself? everything

163: What do I love most about myself? tattoos

164: Do I like adventure? yea

165: Do I believe in fate? kinda

166: Favourite animal? tiger

167: Have I ever been on radio? yea

168: Have I ever been on TV? does the news count?

169: How old am I? 26

170: One of my favourite quotes? love is louder than the pressure to be perfect

171: Do I hold grudges? yea

172: Do I trust easily? no

173: Have I learnt from my mistakes? think so

174: Best gift I’ve ever received? hmm

175: Do I dream? i day dream a lot but for the past dunno how long i’ve had nightmares when i’ve been able to sleep

176: Have I ever had a night terror? all the time

177: Do I remember my dreams, and what is one that comes to mind? there all nightmares

178: An experience that has made me stronger? erm

179: If I were immortal, what would I do? god please i hope that never happens

180: Do I like shopping? if im feeling impulsive

181: If I could get away with a crime, what would I choose to do? i’d murder a few people

182: What does “family” mean to me? dunno can’t explain it

183: What is my spirit animal? sloth

184: How do I want to be remembered?

185: If I could master one skill, what would I choose? maths

186: What is my greatest failure? my last relationship but thank fuck it didn’t work out

187: What is my greatest achievement? my son although it happened out of a very bad situation

188: Love or money? love

189: Love or career? love

190: If I could time travel, where and when would I want to go? its difficult coz i’d want to go to the future to see if things actually improve.. but i’d also want to go into the past to change things

191: What makes me the happiest? my little family

192: What is “home” to me? been in my girls arms

193: What motivates me? my son

194: If I could choose my last words, what would they be?

195: Would I ever want to encounter aliens? sure

196: A movie that scared me as a child? incredible hulk

197: Something I hated as a child that I like now? dunno

198: Zombies or vampires? vampires

199: Live in the city or suburbs? not fussed

200: Dragons or wizards? dragons

201: A nightmare that has stayed with me?

202: How do I define love? love is when you care deeply for someone and so much more

203: Do I judge a book by its cover? i try not to

204: Have I ever had my heart broken? yea

205: Do I like my handwriting? no

206: Sweet or savoury? sweet

207: Worst job I’ve had? when i was an intern at this little cafe i just hated the whole experience

208: Do I collect anything? no

209: Item of clothing or jewellery you’ll never see me without? my engagnment ring and the first ring my girl bought me

210: What is on my bucket list? to travel

211: How do I handle anger? depends

212: Was I named after anyone? dunno

213: Do I use sarcasm a lot? always

214: What TV character am I most like? dunno

215: What is the weirdest talent I have? i have flexible fingers

216: Favourite fictional character? harley quinn

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