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tcwmatchmakingau · 9 months

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One Call Away - Pt. 1

Summary: Thorn wants Fox to find love, and he’s counting on Daria to make it happen. An unstoppable force is about to meet an immovable object.

Pairing: Commander Fox x Daria Trace (OC)

Rating: G (later chapters will get spicy 👀)

Warnings: swearing

Word Count: 2886

Written to: The Archer by Taylor Swift

Massive shoutout to @deejadabbles not only for taking the first/last look but also encouraging me so much. Wouldn’t have made it without her 🥰

Matchmaking for the clones was nothing like matchmaking for the smarmy elites of Coruscant. The most noticeable difference was the way they showed their gratitude after a successful match. Daria had received expensive bottles of whiskey, opera tickets and even furs from clients. The gifts were accompanied by generic messages clearly written by their aides, and while Daria wouldn’t say no to good whiskey or a fun night at the theatre, the gifts were perfunctory in nature.

The clones, however, showed their appreciation with their hearts. Daria had received flowers clearly stolen from someone’s greenhouse that perfectly matched her lavender hair, gift cards for iced coffee, all manner of fidgets to keep her occupied, and her favorite, new photos of them with their new partners.

Commander Thorn in particular was immensely grateful for his new girlfriend, but when he’d come by bearing a gift he’d also had a request.

“I’m always happy to see you Thorn, but I’m curious as to why you have a knife in my office,” Daria said, eyeing the blade Thorn was twirling around.

“You like to keep your hands busy, right? So you can learn to spin this, and eventually how to throw it,” he replied with a mischievous grin. “Your hands will never be bored again.”

“A bold claim,” she said, following the knife’s movements. There was something alluring about such a dangerous plaything in motion, and she found her fingers twitching in anticipation. “Ok, I’ll try it.”

“That’s my girl!” He brought the knife to an abrupt stop offering it to her handle first.

Daria took the knife and began slowly moving it through her fingers. Thorn watched her work out the best way, as her hand was much smaller than his, and bare. After one minute, the knife was flipping through her fingers quickly and smoothly.

“Kriff, this is really fun,” she confessed quietly. She couldn’t play with it around other people, unless she was hoping to intimidate them, but when she was alone it would definitely be in heavy rotation amongst her other toys. “Thank you, Thorn.”

“You’re welcome, and now for the part where I beg for assistance.”

Daria stopped the knife, placing it on her desk with a decisive click.

“She does not wish to receive heart-shaped jewelry, so go back to the drawing board on that one,” Daria said after a moment of scrutiny.

“Wha-, how did you-?” Thorn stammered. Daria’s uncanny ability to snatch up threads of thought still left him speechless every time. But he was a man on a mission, and recovered quickly. “Consider the jewelry scrapped. I need to bring someone to you. He needs your help.”

Daria’s dark brown eyes lit up instantly. A smile played around her full lips, as she grabbed her datapad.

“You’ve got my attention,” she said with a raised brow.

“Excellent. It’s my ori’vod, Fox,” Thorn said, his face growing serious.

“Marshal Commander ‘Fall in line or fuck off’ Fox?” Daria asked.

Thorn nodded, “That’s the one. He practically lives in his office still, and he needs someone to get him out. Someone that makes him want to take his days off. Someone who he can’t intimidate. Who won’t take his shit.”

“You want me to find someone who’s not intimidated by the most intimidating authority figure on the planet? Possibly in the quadrant?”

“You’re Daria Trace. You found someone that made Wolffe smile. Not a ‘last thing you see before you die’ smile, but an ‘I’m so in love’ smile,” Thorn said, his bright eyes soft and hopeful.

“While everything you just said is true,” Daria conceded. “Commander Wolffe wanted my help. I feel like Commander Fox will toss me in a holding cell, if I so much as suggest he needs my assistance finding a date.”

“But he does,” Thorn insisted. “Just meet him. If he’s hopeless, he’s hopeless. If he’s not, promise me you’ll find someone for him.”

Daria adored the clones, but the way they wielded those big brown eyes was brutal. It was nearly impossible to deny them anything in one’s power.

“Bring him in,” she said finally, caving to Thorn’s masterful tooka eyes.

“Wizard! I knew you’d be up for it,” He cheered. “This means the world to me, Daria. He deserves to live his life.”

“You all do,” she assured him. “I promise I’ll do all I can. Now put on your helmet and get out of my office.”

Thorn shot her a winning smile, and left with a pep in his step. The door had barely closed behind him before Daria was researching Fox on the holonet while she twirled her new vibroblade.

***

Fox never thought he would miss the rules that led all of his vode to keep their relationships under wraps, but then Right to Love set up shop. He now had a battalion of love struck shock troopers, who couldn’t stop going on and on about their new partners, and their matchmakers.

Everywhere he went it was:

“Tarsi changed my life.”

“I owe Yen everything.”

“Daria is a miracle worker.”

Daria Fucking Trace. She was Thorn’s favorite, and he’d been bugging Fox to come and meet her ever since his first date with his now girlfriend. Every three to five business days, he’d be back at it again. Fox loved seeing his brothers happy, and thriving. Especially Thorn, even though he was testing Fox’s patience.

Fox had made the mistake of saying Thorn’s lunch looked tasty, and he’d eagerly explained his girlfriend made it for him, and Fox could have homemade lunches with love notes too, if he would just meet Daria.

“Look, Fox, I know you’re very attached to your nocturnal, work is my life persona, but we’re free men now,” Thorn said before biting into his lunch, humming with joy at the taste. “We deserve to be happy. Especially you, vod.”

“Free or not, we still have a job to do. One of us has to stay focused, so the rest can go off with pretty nat borns,” Fox countered, sipping on an iced caf.

“You should be out with pretty nat borns too. Why are you punishing yourself?”

“I’m not punishing myself. I’m just too busy for a relationship. Someone has to keep this place in order. As Marshal Commander,” Fox began.

“As Marshal Commander,” Thorn mocked with an exaggerated voice. “Just go with me to meet her. If it doesn’t work, I’ll kriff off. But if she can find you a nice young woman or man to get the stick out of your ass…”

“Will you leave me the kriff alone if I say yes?” Fox demanded.

“Yes! For a time.”

“And I won’t have to hear about Daria Trace for the next 30 rotations minimum?”

“Sure thing…but you’ll go?” Thorn looked so excited, even Fox felt himself melting a little. His soft spot for Thorn would never harden it seemed.

“Fine. Set it up.”

“YES!” Thorn cheered before taking a victorious bite of his lunch, grinning as he chewed.

***

Daria waltzed to the lobby promptly at 1259 hours, and found Blizzard obsessively straightening his desk.

“What are you doing, Blizz?” She asked with barely concealed amusement.

“The Commander Fox is coming here. I just want everything to be perfect.” He leaned closer and offered in a conspiratorial whisper, “He’s so kriffing cool. Total badass. I’m equally terrified and in awe.”

“Is that so?” Daria asked with a grin.

Blizzard nodded, and opened his mouth to say more, but at 1300 hours on the dot the door was opening to admit Commander Thorn with Commander Fox in tow.

Thorn always brought wonderful energy into any space, and Daria found his presence comforting if a bit wild.

Fox’s energy was an entirely different story. Contained, but utterly commanding with the fiercest protective intent. She couldn’t focus on anything else no matter how she tried, but the part that surprised her was the blissful feeling of being utterly secure. Safe. Relaxed.

Her constant desire to fidget was quelled. Her fingers rested in her pockets. Her weight held in place rather than shifting. Her heart was steady, calm.

Is this what other people feel like all of the time? Daria thought, offering a dazzling smile to the pair of commanders.

Thorn, never being one for ceremony, scooped Daria up into a bear hug, squishing her against his armored chest until she wheezed in protest.

“I’m happy to see you too,” she coughed out, as he placed her back on her feet.

“I forget how tiny and soft you are,” Thorn said as though he was amused.

“Scientists and therapists under 5’7” aren’t known for breeding kids of the blaster-toting, knife-gifting variety,” Daria said, lifting one expertly arched brow.

“It’s ok, Daria, we can’t all be perfect,” Thorn said, pulling his helmet off, and shaking his curls free. “This is Commander Fox. Fox, this is Daria Trace. The miracle matchmaker.”

“Is that what you’ve been telling people about me?” Daria asked, her face warming up instantly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Commander. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I’m sure my exploits were greatly exaggerated. Especially coming from my dear little brother,” Fox said, his tone bored, and drier than Tatooine.

Oh this will be fun. Daria thought.

“Well, I’ll let you do your thing, and find Fox a wife or a husband. He’s not picky,” Thorn said with a smirk. “He can’t be with that face.”

The modulator did nothing to hide the sigh of sheer exhaustion from Fox.

“You have the same…clone humor. I should have expected nothing less from you,” Daria said with a soft laugh.

“Don’t indulge him,” Fox said tilting his head at her disapprovingly.

“Sorry. Follow me,” Daria said, with a laugh.

Fox followed the matchmaker down the hall. Everything about her said she’d never followed a rule in her life. From her mismatched earrings to the way she walked like there was music playing only she could hear. The mischievous sparkle in her eyes, the way her rich voice wrapped around the word Commander like the concept of authority amused her. It was completely unsurprising that Thorn was fond of her.

Reaching her office, Fox scanned the room quickly. A wall devoted to her successful matches no doubt, as he saw several of his brothers’ faces, including Thorn and Wolffe. There were a number of small toys scattered across Daria’s desk. Fox counted 10. Some brightly colored, some durasteel, and before she could stash it in a drawer…

“Is that a vibroblade?” he asked, folding his arms, as he took a seat at her desk.

“Gift from Thorn,” she said, closing the drawer where she kept the weapon turned fidget toy.

“Don’t cut yourself with it,” Fox said. “It’ll be a mountain of paperwork when you have to explain to a doctor how a matchmaker got stabbed with a vibroblade.”

“Don’t lose sleep over it, Commander,” Daria said, whipping the knife out of the drawer and spinning it quickly through her fingers while keeping her eyes on his visor.

“How long have you been practicing that?”

“Every free moment for 3 rotations,” she confessed.

Fox shook his head. That tracked.

“You didn’t come all the way here to discuss my knife skills. You need a date.”

“I’m only doing this to get Thorn off of my ass,” Fox said, folding his arms, and sitting back in the chair across from Daria.

“Ah so you’d like to hang out in my office, kill an hour, and then go back and pretend I’m a fake?” Daria asked, with a raised brow.

“Something like that.”

Daria laughed, and Fox noted the sound was pleasant, infectious. “Nope. My professional reputation is as sparkling as your service record, Commander.”

“Please. This is guess work at best,” He argued.

“Oh yeah? Try me.”

“How?” He asked.

“Talk to me.”

“That’s what I’m doing now.”

Daria released a sigh, and fixed him with a look. “I mean about something real like why Thorn is so invested in your love life.”

“Because he’s a nosy little brother. As an only child, you wouldn’t know about that,” He said, relaxing his arms, as he made himself comfortable. He was disappointed when his revelation was met with a satisfied little grin instead of surprise.

“I hope you found something more interesting than that in my background check,” She said, placing her elbows on the desk, and resting her chin on her crossed fingers.

“Perhaps. I’d never show all of my cards right away, Trace,” He said with a light shrug. “And neither would you.”

You wanna play hardball, let’s play. She thought.

“Ok, you think I'm a fraud; I think you’re afraid.”

The lightest shift in energy in the room told Daria she’d struck a nerve.

“What makes you think that?” He asked, keeping his voice professional and even.

“A very long list of things that I couldn’t get through with 2 full rotations devoted to you, so let’s split my lunch, Thorn’ll think we did the whole thing, and you can go back to pretending you’re happy.” Reaching into her bottom desk drawer, Daria pulled out her lunch, and set about portioning out half for Fox.

“Here,” She said, passing him half of her pasta, and half of a large pastry.

He’d been on the verge of declining and walking out, but he was absolutely starving, and it looked so delicious. Especially the pastry. His sweet tooth wouldn’t let him say no. He accepted the food, and watched as Daria got comfortable in her chair, one leg tucked beneath her, as she started eating.

There was a light hiss, as Fox unsealed and removed his helmet. He was acutely aware of the matchmaker’s gaze, as she took in his features. He could hear her mentally noting the differences between him and his brothers. The scar on his nose, his curls held back by a red headband, the dark circles under his eyes.

He shoved a forkful of pasta into his mouth, and resisted humming in pleasure. Of course it’s delicious. Perfect. He thought, annoyed.

“Good?” She asked, swallowing her current bite, and looking hopeful.

“Yeah,” He confessed. “I don’t really make time to cook.”

“I’d be more surprised if you did.”

They continued to eat in a surprisingly companionable silence until Fox bit into the pastry. Fuck, ok. He thought.

“I’m not pretending I’m happy,” he blurted out before taking another bite of the fluffy treat.

“I didn’t peg you for a liar, Commander.”

“I’m not lying,” He shot back, brow furrowed.

“You were bred for war, told you’d see the stars, and got stuck in this corrupt skughole,” Daria said, twirling noodles onto her fork. “Your life is your own now, but you insist on clinging to what you know because it’s safe, simple, comforting.”

“You don’t have a sense of duty, clearly,” Fox said with a roll of his eyes.

“No, I do. I just also believe that my life is mine, and feeling fulfilled is important. That can look different for different people,” she replied. “Do you feel fulfilled?”

He stared down at his food for a moment. “You’re irritating, did you know that?”

“I’ve heard it a few times.”

After another long moment, Fox confessed, “Maybe coming home to someone wouldn’t be terrible, but they’d have to understand the job comes first. My hours aren’t normal, and I don’t dance.”

“Now, we’re getting somewhere,” Daria said, scooping up her datapad and making some notes while she munched on half of the pastry. “Do you like animals?”

“No.”

“This is going to take forever, if you keep lying to me,” she said without missing a beat as she marked yes.

“How do you do that? It’s exhausting,” Fox snapped, shoving the last bite of pastry into his mouth.

“It’s always been like that,” Daria looked up then, and fixed him in her gaze. “You have a sweet tooth. It’s bad.”

“So find me a baker.”

“It’s not that easy.”

After another hour of getting raked over the coals by the matchmaker, Daria escorted Fox back to the lobby.

“I’ll call you,” she said with a mysterious little smile. “Bye, Thorn.”

“Bye, Daria. Thank you,” Thorn called as she made her way back down the hallway.

Fox watched her go before slipping out of the front door and taking a deep breath once it had closed behind him.

“She’s amazing, right?” Thorn asked, joining him.

Fox pulled on his helmet. “She’s as obnoxious as you without the shared DNA to make it tolerable.”

“Whatever, you love me,” Thorn said, as he donned his own helmet. “Let’s go get food. I’m starving.”

“I already ate. Go take your girlfriend to a food stand, and I’ll see you in a little while,” Fox ordered.

“Sir, yes, sir,” Thorn replied, taking off towards the train.

Alone with his thoughts, Fox wandered back towards the barracks.

Daria Fucking Trace was an absolute menace. There was no doubt about it.

***

No less than 15 minutes after Fox’s departure, Daria was twirling her blade, and flipping through profiles. No one currently in the system would suit the salty Commander, but she was determined to find someone who could make that man smile. He might have been hard on the outside, but those soft insides deserved someone who would cherish him.

#tcw matchmaking au #clone matchmaking au #Coruscant Guard #Original Clone Characters #commander fox x oc #tcw commander fox #tcw commander thorn #oc: daria trace #oc: blizzard #star wars oc #seven writes

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cabezadeperro · 4 months

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cabezadeperro's year in review (fic version)

Hi, hello! It's the last day of the year, and what a year 2023 has been. I moved to a different continent in Fall 2022, but I somehow found the time to keep writing and posting Star Wars fanfiction for the fourth year in a row.

These are some of my favourite fics I posted this year. I didn't write as much or as often as I'd like, but I am pretty proud of some of my work, so. Here it is!

Also, I'm very bad at replying to comments but thanks so much to all of you who take the time and leave one. I know my stuff is very often niche and kind of weird, so if you clicked and read and enjoyed one of my fics this year: I appreciate it a lot. Thank you so much.

dead men walking | E | Commander Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi | 63k

It was supposed to be an easy job: prisoner transports are always quick money. Three years after waking up from cryo, Cody—formerly known as ICC-2224—finds himself working as a bounty hunter for one of the guilds. He has a body that doesn’t feel his, a memory full of holes, and little else. When the man he’s guarding escapes, Cody finds himself following one Obi-Wan Kenobi across a war-torn galaxy and into the most dangerous job of all: stealing a mysterious artifact from the heart of the New Republic.

This was my fic for the 2022 Codywan Big Bang. It was Very hard to write and the reason I decided to stop participating in events for the rest of 2023. I kind of hate it, but I'm also pretty proud of it (because I finished despite it all, and also I think it's pretty good).

You'll like it if: you enjoy good artwork (cowboy's illustration of Cody in bed is probably one of my favourite pieces of Cody fanart, and I love punk's cover an absurd amount), weird AUs, cyberpunk, and being depressed.

fortunate son | M | Commander Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Commander Cody/Commander Fox, Commander Cody & Captain Rex | 12k

On change.

This was one of those fics I started in 2022 and finished in 2023. It's my take of the No Order 66 trope that attempts to deal with ideas of change and growing and adapting to new places, new people, and new sides of people you've known for a while. (Gee, I wonder why I wrote this fic the year I moved across the world.)

I'm also really proud of the codyfox prequel I published the other day, secant, but I think this one is more--ambitious?

You'll like it if: you like studying Cody like the bug and complicated relationships, and would like to read a slightly different take on the Fix-It/No Order 66 trope.

sulphur and tea | M | Obi-Wan Kenobi/Jango Fett | 1.8K

They say Jango Fett fell in battle, that the thing that walks and fights and wears his beskar is something else. Obi-Wan knows better.

There are a few games I get very obsessed with every now and then, and one of them is Ghost of Tsushima. This fic is a very vague adaptation of the concept behind the main character of those games, applied to Jango. I had A Lot of fun writing it though it fought me quite a bit, and it allowed me to play with one of the most popular kenfetti tropes from a different perspective. It's one of those fics that I'd like to write a sequel/prequel/spin-off to sometime.

You'll like it if: you like whump (especifically Jango whump) and What Ifs about the Mandalorian Civil War and the first years of Anakin's padawanship.

choosing to be chosen | E | ARC Trooper Echo/ARC Trooper Fives | 6.6k

ARC troopers always work in pairs.

I wrote this as a gift for a friend who wrote what's probably my favourite Echo/Fives fic ever (which I just remembered was also a gift for me lmao). I don't write this ship as much or as often as I'd like, but I'm very happy about how this one turned out--I think I nailed why I find this relationship so compelling (the inevitable tragedy, the fact that they keep choosing each other, the fact that they cannot help but choose each other). I also had a lot of fun writing Fives! He's such a messed up, interesting little dude.

You'll like it if: you enjoy intense relationships, sexual and romantic tension, baby's first attempt at milwank, Fives being clever and in love and just that tiny bit manipulative.

the price of blood | T | Commander Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi | 13.8k

A year and a half after the beginning of Cody and Rex's rebellion, Palpatine reaches out to Kenobi: he wants to talk to him, and he doesn't want Cody to be there. It goes as well as expected.

This is one of those fics that get out of hand. I wrote it because someone left an ask saying they loved the first part of what is now a series (it's not actually a series on AO3; I was planning to make it one but I forgor. as I do.) I really love fantasy and all its subgenres and I don't write it as much as I'd like, so it was the perfect chance to go ham and do a bit of of worldbuilding for fun. I'm not super happy with the ending, but I really like everything else, so.

You'll like it if: you like low fantasy, the environmental storytelling approach to fantasy worldbuilding, complicated relationships and characters keeping secrets. Oh, and Cody whump.

five times cody and rex shared a bed and one time they wished they could | T | Commander Cody/Captain Rex | 4.7k

Cody and Rex throughout the war.

This fic is very much what it says on the tin: Cody and Rex from when they first meet each other, through the war and their slow loss of trust in each other, until they meet again after the war ends. This format of fic is very popular for a reason, what can I say. I really enjoyed writing it, and I think I did a pretty good job portraying their potential relationship as I see it through a bunch of scenes.

You'll like it if: you like bittersweet endings, canon-adjacent fic, and Cody and Rex being insane about each other.

And that's it! Thanks for reading (again), and I hope you have a great NYE and a great 2024--I think we all fucking deserve it.

#codywan #echo5 #jangobi #codex #kenfetti #maría writes #i almost added some of the prompt fics but this list is long enough already lol

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knickynoo · 2 years

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hello, and happy back to the future day! :D

if you'd like to talk about it, i'd be curious to know what bttf means to you/why you love it (if you haven't had a similar ask before, of course)!

Happy BTTF day! (I somehow managed to forget that was today until I saw the posts going around).

I don't think I've ever gotten an ask like this before. It's a good one!

Back to the Future is my all time favorite movie. (Duh.) I was introduced to it by my mother when I was around 10, and it had. A GRIP on me. So much so, that I sometimes have wondered if my mom ever regretted exposing me to it. But I'd just never seen a movie like that before. It was one of my first "grown-up" movies, and I remember thinking I was so cool for knowing about it. I'm sure a lot of the themes and details of it flew over my head, but there was also a lot that I really loved about it. The adventure, the suspense, the music, etc. I had a massive crush on Michael J. Fox, which might have also been a big reason why those movies were on repeat so often when I was a kid. I still have my childhood diaries where I wrote about him in the way only a 10 year old girl with a big crush could. My mom lovingly tolerated this phase, going so far as to get me a special autographed photo of him that hung on the wall of our family room for many years. (It's now in my room with my other collectibles)

I think I've mentioned this before, but one of my best friends at the time was ALSO going through his BTTF phase, so we ultimately only served to fuel each other's interest in it. We used to sit together on my front steps and listen to the soundtrack and talk about the movies. It was great. Just two kids, being geeks.

Eventually, I kind of moved on from the movies, and there was actually a long stretch of time where I didn't watch them for years. I got back into them during those initial few months after Covid hit and there were the strict lockdowns. Being home so much, I was watching a lot of TV, caught the first movie, and went oh. OH. Now I remember why I loved these movies. It wasn't long before I decided to make a tumblr to get all of my thoughts out of my head.

A lot of my reasons for liking the films now are the same as when I was little, but I can really appreciate the heart of them now. And I think that's what I like most about the trilogy. The heart, the love, the message that you can do good and help others and love the people in your life to the point of being willing to sacrifice yourself for them.

And the movies have an extra special connection for me because my best friend and I literally have the Doc/Marty dynamic. She's several decades older than me, has mentored me for years, considers me part of her family, is delightfully eccentric, and has a pet named after a scientist. This is--surprisingly--something I hadn't consciously thought about/realized until a few months back when pondering why I felt so strongly about Doc and Marty's friendship. But it's part of why I talk about them a lot I think, and why I consider intergenerational friendships to be a beneficial thing. I know what it's like to have a Doc in my life. I've got that wise, older friend I can go to for advice and just walk through the front door of her house because I've got the key. As far as I know, she isn't currently working on any time travel experiments, but if she called me up and told me to meet her at the mall parking lot, I'd be like, "Sure, I'm down." So like. I get it.

Anyway, this has been a long enough reply. But I think it explains how I ended up here, running a BTTF blog. Thanks for the ask!

#asks #back to the future #y'all know i skateboard too which only makes my role as the Marty in our friendship stronger

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multicolour-ink · 2 years

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Gifts (Oneshot)

- - -

Another oneshot. This time featuring Wade. Plus we learn a bit more about how Mobians perceive their animal side.

- - -

"Can I ask you something Tails?", asked Wade

Tails was hanging out in the police station, having been asked to try and fix the computer after it had gone on the blink for the umpteenth time that week. Tails had happily obliged, and hadn't taken long in his task (while also adding his own extra features he hoped would be appreciated). Now the two were sitting in Wade's office, a plate of biscuits, sweets, and tea in front of them. Tom was due to return soon with Knuckles from the library, and Sonic was shopping with Maddie.

"Uhh...Yeah go ahead", said Tails, picking out a mint sweet.

"You know how you guys are well...animals?", Wade continued. He gestured to Tails, indicating that by 'you guys' he meant the fox as well as his brothers.

"Yeah?", Tails raised an eyebrow.

"Well", Wade sat back in his chair. "What do you do about your...instincts. I know you guys have them. Aren't they like an inconvenience?"

Tails' eyes widened, more taken aback by the question than offended.

"Sorry", Wade stuttered, falling back into his chair, his face red. "Forget I said anything"

"No no, it's ok!", said Tails. "I just want to know what you mean by what kind of instincts. You're going to have to be more specific"

"Well you know...”, Wade gestured again. “Like how you guys do certain things that our animals do. Sonic curls into a ball when he gets startled. Knuckles feels the need to dig in the back garden. And you also have those claws”

Wade then made a very enthusiastic clawing motion against his face, mimicking a wild animal tearing into it.

“How do you cope with that?”

Tails could only stare. He wasn’t sure what to say. On the one hand, Wade was making a point. But on the other, he was clearly demonstrating how little he understood. And Tails was happy to make him.

“I think you’re looking too much into it”, Tails laughed. “Our instincts are no different than you humans”

“Don’t think so”, said Wade. "I don't dig up my garden on random intervals, or crash into my door if I hear a noise"

Tails gulped. Yesterday he had been startled by the postman dropping mail through the letterbox, although he didn't know it was that at first. Instincts kicking in prompted him to go racing down the stairs on all fours, tripping on the last step, and smacking right into the front door. Sonic had nearly passed out from laughing, and Tails had silently vowed revenge.

"Well there can be setbacks", said Tails, shaking himself out of the memory. "But you humans have instincts, even if you don't always know it"

Tails took a sip of tea, as Wade sat back and watched curiously.

"Human instincts trigger under emotions. Like when you get mad, sad, or even like when you know what to do when someone is in trouble"

The fox continued.

"Sonic curls into a ball because his instincts tell him that his quills will protect him. Knuckles digs because he has the urge to find treasures to gift, aannnd he says that it creates good fertilisation for the soil! Our instincts protect us and each other. Whether human or animal. It's a part of us. The same applies with our claws"

Tails pulled one of his gloves off and lifted his hand to inspect it. His tone now musing, thoughtful.

"Without these, we wouldn't have another way to defend ourselves, or even be able to play, or groom our fur. Our instincts are never an inconvenience. They are gifts from our ancestors"

He looked up at Wade and smiled. Wade just sat in silence, mulling over the kit's words.

"Well", he eventually said. "That's one way of looking at it"

Suddenly a voice cut through the subdued moment, and Tom appeared in the door with Knuckles in tow.

"Hey ya!", Tom waved cheerfully. "How you doing, buddy? Did you have fun with Wade today?"

"Sure did!", Tails cheerfully replied.

He flew off the chair to join Tom and Knuckles.

"Wade, you ok to hold the fort for a bit longer?", asked Tom. "I'll be back in a moment. Just gotta drop these two home. Maddie just texted. She and Sonic will be back soon"

"Leave it to me!", Wade saluted. "That little fox has interesting words of wisdom"

"I also need to show you the sacred tomes I got from the lie-bary, Fox", said Knuckles, as he excitedly held up a pile of books.

The three of them said goodbye to Wade, but just as they exited the room, Tails popped his head back in.

"Oh Wade! I hope you don't mind, but I also added an extra upgrade to the coffee machine. Hope you like it!"

Wade's face fell as Tails disappeared again.

Luckily the three of them were already outside, so they didn't hear the loud bang, followed by the geyser of water.

- - -

That bit about Knuckles fertilising the soil is actually true for echidnas! (source)

#hope you all like :)#there are some things i have issues with #but i do love this one #sonic the hedgehog #sonic fanfiction #fanfic #miles tails prower #wade whipple #caz writes #oneshot #sonic movie #sonic cinematic universe #scu #sonic movie verse #sonic movie 2

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icharchivist · 9 months

Note

I appreciate your rant about the specifics and nuance of French language and culture and as a person who doesn't speak French, I also think "shut the fuck up" is more appropriate in this context, because that is simply how you're supposed to deal with transphobes :)

aww i'm glad it served a nice insight!

Like, i do think translations are also an interpretative job and everything but. yeah, there's definitely times where the background helps, and in most cases personally i'd say to not hesitate to really translate the swear words as is. French people /also/ consider them vulgar, it's just that vulgarity isn't as big of a deal as in English if that makes sense? So trying to make it less vulgar so it hits correctly feels a like missing the point and would also be a case by case situation if you really want to showcase that "in this context it's not as vulgar so for an english person i should make it less vulgar"

but in this case it's a clear "shut the fuck up". He even specifically says "ohhh, ta gueule", and the "ooh" onomatopoeia here is really used to show your annoyance. It's like almost spitting the way you sigh to show you're genuinely pissed. Like you're charging your insult like a fighting game attack before sending your punch.

Honestly "Ta gueule" is really in this spot where you already don't say it kindly to people, if you do it's meant to be playfully vulgar, like you'd gently punch a friend on the shoulder, but at worst it's still meant to be a punch.

Add this "oooh" and it really shows you really pissed off the person telling you to shut it, and that they're genuinely cutting you out so you don't try to keep your point.

and imo this is what makes this "Ta Gueule" so good because YEAH. this is how you reply to a transphobe. You don't even let them go on with their argument, you genuinely just tell them to shut the fuck up while showing that you're annoyed by their very existence and that they're a waste of breath.

I haven't watched the Groland since i was a kid (i was never a fan so i'd only catch it if my parents were watching it), so when i saw this clip i was genuinely happy that they were using their platform which *would* attract mostly edgy people, and ended up being really serious and sweet on the "and you're happy" part (his voice is extremely gentle there for instance, from what i recall of his way to present the show otherwise), while also making it clear that if you're going to oppose to that happiness you have no place in any type of debate.

The whole point of the skit is "don't debate with bigots" and also, don't be kind to them. they deserve the slap in the face to know that they're wasting everyone's time and are the most annoying person in the room.

France isn't progressive when it comes to trans rights, it's been a uphill battle for the past years (there's also something about how the bigotted debates we get that aren't directly linked to actuality are usually like "American bullshit argument but 5 years later"). A lot of other chanels like Cnews (not to confuse with Canal+) are absolutely vile about it (the equivalent would be Fox News in the US).

So it /is/ nice that this program is actually tackling it like this, and the violence of the "shut the fuck up" is the point. Everything about it is meant to be a slap in the face, it's meant to be kind of humiliating to the person receiving it.

which is what transphobes deserve so, justice to our way to tell people to shut the fuck up!!

#maybe i'm overly passionate about the culture we have around our swear words #like if there's ONE redeeming point about french is how we use swearing #swearing in english feels like i'm having my arm tied on my back it's never quite as impactful smh #ichareply #anonymous

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onlysomethingamazing · 21 days

Text

Kelechi quotes

All of these quotes , you said. I have not fabricated or spun any of these up. I obviously couldn't get all of the cute things you said to me , because then i would be here forever , but here are the few i caught.

Enjoy

" It doesn’t matter what you wear, there’s more to love about you than your hair" 12/02/13

" c: i’m not perfect, but I’m fine if I can make you happy" 10/26/13

" she has a fox face , i don’t like fox faced girls" 11/13/13

"FFBP" 11/14/13

"i love you " 10-23-13

lol

you are wanted

i want you next to me

so rather than htis heater

I can cuddle with you

and we can warm each other

and talk

and fall asleep in each others arms

12-11-2013

me :when did you fall for me ?

Him : “lbh, i dont know the exact moment

but i realized when i pick up my phone waiting for your text

when i told you about my dad and you listened

when you said you pray for me

when ilegit got worried when i didnt hear your reply lmao

was

scared

#embarassing

paranoia

sometimes its good

sometimes it isnt

i dont know exactly when

but its a series of events

when i find myself wanting to tell everyone about you

or interject you into my conversations

and bring you up

"just casually, my girlfriend…"

then i have to stop cuz paranoia’s a bitch

and no loose ends

and if this is gonna work, its gonna stay under wraps

and i thought to myself

fuck, i hate this

having to be quiet

not being able to shout out yea she’s mine

and then i knew i fell for you c:” 12-19-13

"so i’m happy if you’re happy" 12-24-13

me: describe the year 2013 in 5 words

him: “the year I met osa “

12-26-2013

"no matter wherever in the world you are, as long as i have this * points at me * , it’s adequate

12-27-2013

*after jamming to Hakuna Matata*

"I looooooove seeing how happy this makes you feel" 12-30-13

Me : ” What if we didn’t talk for a whole week, Could we do it?”

Him: ” if you wanna start it and do it. go ahead. we could, if necessary we will. But it’d be very hard for me to leave you alone and i imagine likewise. therefore, i dont want to. I love talking to you. I enjoy your company. I, for lack of better words, need you. So could I? Yes, if the continuance of our relationship depended on such, I would. If not, I feel no need to torture myself. I am a masochist but not that much” - 1-4-14

"in the eyes of the world, there is undoubtedly another woman who is more… "womanly", "dateable" etc than you. In my eyes however, you are quite special for many reasons and you are the best c:" 1-4-14

sumn Hey, lemme tell you sumn Don’t live in fear of what’s to come Cuz, then you don’t truly appreciate what you have now. I love you, alot. And you’re what I find myself thinking about. I usually don’t think about this topic very often if any at all Cuz I wanna enjoy our every moment together.” 1-5-14

"and no matter what, I’m always gonna be here to let you know that we can share the burden ,we’re in this together. and i can help you carry your cross" 1/10/14

" you're a peice of art but i dont think God when he made you based you on anything else c:" 1-20-14

Me: give me 5 reasons i should stay

Him:

I love you

You love me

We listen to each other

We support each other

I need you

-2/1/2014

you

"twas great tonight babe

i had sooo much fun wiht you

and i miss you already

i just got home

wow.....

tonight was surreal

you were there

we were safe

no lookin over shoulders

no nothing

you were mine

and i was yours

and we kissed alot

though i missed some of your hints at first lol

too usy watching the game

but the time with you

invaluable

priceless

cute

arousing

fun

sexy

in a word, surreal

it was hard not msiling in the car

but now in my room

i'm beaming

and reliving every second of tonight with you

te quiero mi amor y espero que podamos hacer eso mas"

2-07-14

"Tu me fais tellement heureux

too many reason

your smile

yo face

yo eyes

that blush giggle you do

your morning texts

asking me how i'm doing

supporting me

being there to listen

being a friend

but also my closest companion

being the ray of light after the nsun in my world is dead

and then brightening my day

loving me

accepting my love

understanding me for the wreck i am

and dealing with me despite that

for taking my jokes

and responding with even feistier oines

for helping me realize that i'm a great person

and not ugly

and not shit

and that i deserve good

for entrusting me

with

the closest thing to you

the thing that is you

your heartand allowing me to give you mine also

for gifting me

with your inner secrets and trust

for giving me the honor of reassuring you that you are beautiful

sexy

intelligent

honest

caring

wonderful woman

not done

also

for being intimate with me

for gifting me with many ofyour firsts

and also for accepting mine

for being honest

trustworthy

considerate

in a nutshell

for loving me, and being you

thats how you make me happy

*loving me/lettingme love you"

02-08-14

" You wore it a long time ago, but then again you're always on my mind"

02-11-14

" Flawless , you can call me Queen K"

02-24-14

" It's big but it small, it;s small but it;s big , if you keep it close it will never fall"

I can't remember the rest but it was really mysterious loll

4/17/2014

"omg

you're awake!

i'm so happy

i thought youd slep

it was finna be a lonely night

i miss you

ok that was gushy and nasty

heehehehehheh"

6/1/2014

"You don’t shake for a passing breeze. Be a pillar and stand still because you know it won’t affect you/bother you."

06/23/14

Me: Stop staring , it's weird

You: Staring is ok , if it;s at a work of art

06-22-14

It’s over ten years in the future and these still make me smile. The puppy love was strong. But what is beautiful is how the love has matured for the better.

I love you Kelechi Basil.

Always have, always will.

-Bubby

0 notes

swiindlerfox · 1 year

Text

— Please note that I only write Rang from season one because Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 (season two) isn't a show I enjoyed. Outside of interactions with his brother, which were the best parts of the season, I feel the writers missed the mark with Rang's characterization.

Hey, my name is Starry! Thanks for checking out my rules. I only RP with mutuals, but will check out your blog when you follow. This is to keep my dash organized and know who is interested in actually writing with me. I encourage plotting, so please let me know if you would like to share ideas! Minors please do not interact.

I prefer to write multi-paragraph, but I’ll sometimes have a few smaller threads. You don’t have to match my length — just give me enough to work with. This blog uses the beta editor and trim reblogs extension.

I am happy to place my muse in different settings. There may be some that require plotting, but if we can make it work, then that’s fine. I feel anything can be worked out with proper discussion beforehand to make the verses match.

Any fight scenes that happen should be somewhat plotted out so that we have a general idea of what direction to take it in. This also stops accidental godmodding and forcing the other muse into a situation where they become ooc.

Rang is open to shipping but chemistry and build-up is required as he doesn’t trust easily and has abandonment issues. He is demisexual (and quite tsundere) and, considering he’s a nine-tailed fox in human form, is also open to ships with magical creatures (as long as it’s in human form.) Rang is a mischievous character and likes to mess with people and this can come across as flirtatious — this doesn’t automatically mean that he’s interested. He also doesn't do hook-ups, so please keep that in mind. Also please do not use his status as a nine-tailed fox who grants wishes in order to ship with him e.g: "my wish is for you to kiss me, sleep with me, etc." - consent still matters and forcing him to do that through wishes is NOT consensual.

Any NSFW that happens will be appropriately tagged and under a cut. Anything like that will only be written with muses and muns who are over the age of twenty-one (unless the ship takes place in Rang's past verse where he is also around the same age e.g both muses are late teens.)

I don’t send in passwords. Please know that if I follow you, I have read your rules. I will read over them again once we start a thread.

I will send you memes when I see any that fit our muses. I love receiving them in return and encourage you to send as many as you like! I will reply to them as soon as I can. If you would like to continue an interaction from an ask, you can either reblog the ask (since the beta editor lets you trim asks now) or make a new post and tag me in it.

I will check out your blog and browse your muse pages if you are a multi to see if any of your muses will work with Rang. I only request that you actively take part in plotting with me so that we can come up with a good plot that will keep our thread going. It doesn’t have to be plotted out in great detail, but a general idea of what we want to do will be appreciated. It’s also a great way to keep writing fresh and ensure that the thread doesn’t get stale before it’s even gotten started.

I use small text and gif icons.

I will not tolerate abusive behavior or hate speech of any kind.

I won't write non-con, dub-con, a/b/o, or incest.

I live in Scotland, which is the GMT or BST timezone.

#&; ( RULES )

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sir-fluffbutts · 3 years

Note

Why do you dislike the funny minecraft server 🧍‍♂️

oh boy

lil note that yall can like whatever you like!!! i appreciate that people like stuff that makes them happy, just don't rub it on other peoples faces.

--------------------------

usually, when i don't like a specific ganre, theres mainly few reasons

when the creator/ganre themselves have a "bad vibe" (to me at least)

when the fandom is....eh.....too much

when people CONSTENTLY compare my oc's with the said ganre character

so far, most of my problems stayed at reason 1 and reason 3. but hear me out

this is my first ever OC kitty, created back around 2011 when i was still in my creepypasta phaze

around a year ago, i uploaded a video featureing her and my other oc vincent, and ever since DSMP suddenly got that boom, i've been getting CONSTENT comments about

at that time, i didn't really know what DSMP is cuz i only watch markiplier and graystillplays (game youtuber wise), but you can get a good look at my first introduction to the fandom

-------

i think the first "drama" i seen of the DSMP fandom is where the person with a fox character in a jotaro hat joked about twin towers and such

since i aready had a bad rap about the ganre for the reason up there , i also find it pretty sick to even joke about something like that (considering i faced multiple people joking about tragic happenings and it always dispised me)

and the sheer fact that people in the fandom absolutly protected and stood up for the person rather then accepting what was wrong just blows my mind

i don't follow anybody thats into DSMP so i don't know a lot, but whenever theres a drama happening, people were absolutly OBSESSED with throwing themselves to protect these streamers

and the fact that dream is absolutly ok with people who activly hunt the people who gives them critisizm (not like "OUUGH UGH I HARE DREEEEM😡😡" but like...actual critisizm) just....mm....yeah.....

the reply from him have gotten like...+1000 comments all from his fans and followers making fun of the original tweet (which got deleted from ovious reasons) and

so judging the ganre filled out all three of my "why i dispise a ganre" options, and

remember when i said "just don't rub it on other peoples faces" ?

....yeeeeeah......

so sorry if i'm not invited to your cool kids table

and thanks for comming to my ted talk 😔

#ask

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silhouetteofacedar · 3 years

Text

Fox Mulder, Closet Romantic Ch.7: Pink in the Night

Previous Chapter - AO3 - MSR, rated E

It’s dark, and Mulder doesn’t know where he is. He’s weightless, surrounded by softness, a comforting scent filling his nose.

He has a passing thought; have I returned to the womb?

He feels cozy and peaceful, and he senses hands swaddling him in a blanket, briefly passing over his hair.

He blinks his eyes open and sees a smudge that looks like Scully, wrapped up like a present in pink silk pajamas.

“Scull...” he mumbles. His tongue is so heavy.

“Shh,” the Scully-Shape hushes him. “You’re okay, I’m just tucking you in.”

“Wha time’s it,” he mumbles, dropping a foot to the floor.

“It’s almost midnight. No, don’t get up, you’re not going anywhere. Go back to sleep,” she says, the round welcoming cup of her voice filled to the brim with warmth and tenderness. “I left a nightlight on in the bathroom. Let me know if you need anything.”

She’s chamomile and pepper, his Scully. He should drink her up.

“Promise not to spill you,” he informs her, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders.

“Well, uh, thank you for that,” she says.

Mulder’s mind is churning sluggishly through sticky layers of memory. He remembers wine, their conversation, more wine...

“Scully,” he says as seriously as he can as the world tilts sideways.

“Yes, Mulder?”

“If he won’t, I will,” he declares, then lets his eyes fall closed.

She smoothes her hand over his forehead. “Sure you will,” she says, sounding tired.

He thinks he feels soft lips press against his temple, then everything dissolves back into nothingness.

Someone’s driving a stake through his skull.

Mulder opens his eyes slowly, a millimeter at a time, the morning sun pounding his headache deeper into his cranium. He’s on Scully’s couch, tangled with one of her blankets, a pillow smushed under his shoulder.

He rolls onto his side and sees that Scully left him a glass of water on the coffee table, along with two aspirin and a sleeve of saltines.

He hears the coffeemaker burbling, can smell the heady aroma. It’s too much for his senses to process; he wants to take out his brain and put it in a jar.

“Fuck,” he mumbles, mouth dry.

“Oh, you’re awake,” he hears Scully say. She leans over the back of the couch to look at him, wet tendrils of hair hanging down. “How’re you feeling?”

“I hate wine. And sunlight. And my mouth.”

Scully nods. “You’re extremely dehydrated,” she says. “Drink all your water, and then I’ll give you some coffee, alright?”

Mulder sits up carefully and groans. “How are you not horizontal right now?” he rasps, taking a tentative sip of water.

“Believe me, I don’t feel good either, but I’m more accustomed to wine than you are. That’s my saving grace,” she explains, sitting heavily at the table with a steaming mug. “Sunday is cancelled.”

“No mass today?” Mulder asks, gulping water. His stomach doesn’t appreciate it, but the rest of his body is grateful.

“It’s after eleven,” Scully informs him.

She’s wearing nothing but her fluffy bath robe…

“We need protein and carbohydrates,” Scully continues. “Once you find your sea-legs we should get breakfast. Have a few crackers before you take that aspirin,” she directs him. “Give your stomach a fighting chance.”

“Sure, Doc,” he says, gingerly tearing open the package. He carefully nibbles a cracker, crumbs cascading onto his lap.

“Do you want a shower? A lukewarm shower might help you feel better,” she suggests.

He’d prefer to just lie down and not move for a hundred years, but then he realizes that he gets to use her soap. “Sure,” he mumbles, munching another saltine.

“I’ll get you a towel,” she says, rising and heading down the hallway. “Also I have an unopened toothbrush you can use,” she calls out.

He’d be enjoying this attention from her a hell of a lot more if he weren’t massively hungover. You better appreciate this later, he tells himself.

This is technically not the first time he’s been naked in Scully’s apartment, but it is the first time he’s been naked in her domicile as the result of a social visit. The circumstances aren’t ideal, but he’ll call it progress anyway.

The water is both too warm and not warm enough, but the water pressure feels pretty damn good. He lathers up with her bar soap, some minty vanilla concoction that is both invigorating and sweet. He doesn’t know what exactly he’s smelling, and it’s almost too strong for his nose right now; but it’s a definite ingredient in the aroma blend that is Scully, so he finds the scent calming. Maybe he’ll ask her what kind of soap it is later.

He redresses in yesterday’s clothes, drags her comb through his wet hair, rubs a hand over his stubbled chin. He looks marginally better than he feels, at least.

He didn’t expect the night to go that way, ending with him falling asleep in a drunken stupor on her couch only to awake at midnight to her gentle ministrations as she made sure he was comfortable.

He feels like shit, but he also feels loved.

They go to a nearby cafe Scully likes, one that serves a lot of hippie food like egg white omelets and bran muffins.

She orders the same for both of them; scrambled eggs, plain wheat toast, turkey sausage, and fruit cups with lots of melon. She looks sleepy, her damp hair pulled back sloppily with a hair clip, errant locks tumbling out. She’s wearing her glasses and a big denim shirt he hasn’t seen on her in years. Seeing her like this is almost, almost worth the nausea and jackhammering headache.

“When was the last time you got drunk?” Mulder asks, nursing a cup of black coffee.

Scully has her chin in her palm. “I’ve learned to pace myself, so it’s been years; why?”

“You’re so good at it. The after part,” he clarifies.

“I’m a medical doctor, Mulder,” she reminds him. “Helping people recover is part of the training.” She takes a sip of ice water. “And I was pretty reckless in college.”

“Now that’s interesting,” Mulder says. “Go on.”

She shakes her head. “You’re in a weakened state, Mulder. You can’t handle that right now,” she replies, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

His stomach flips for a decidedly non-alcoholic reason.

“I remember last night, but some smaller details are fuzzy,” he says, rubbing his forehead. “Did I say anything particularly embarrassing?”

“Nothing more than the things you say sober,” she murmurs, picking up her coffee and smiling behind the mug.

There’s something about her today, and he can’t quite place what. She’s all business, guiding him through this nasty wine hangover, and yet there’s a playfulness about her. She’s hung over too and has bags under her eyes, but she seems… lighter. Happy?

She’s also staring at him.

“What?” Mulder asks.

“Why are you staring?” she asks.

“Because you’re staring at me,” he replies.

“I’m not-” Scully pauses as the waitress comes by and delivers their breakfasts. “I’m not staring,” she finishes, almost defensively. “I’m tired, and my eyes keep landing on you.”

“This is the stupidest discussion we’ve ever had,” Mulder points out, taking a cautious bite of egg. He sneaks another look at her, just because he can. She looks drowsy and disheveled and her bare face is sprinkled with freckles and oh shit he’s falling harder right now in this trendy little diner in Georgetown and-

He hears someone clear their throat behind him, and Scully’s eyes go wide.

“Dana?”

#OH SHIT OH SHIT #my fic #xfiles #txf fic #msr #fox mulder closet romantic #fmcr

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ikeromantic · 3 years

Text

My Home Is Your Home

A Mitsuhide Akechi fanfic occuring after the events in the Romantic Route epilogue. Approx 1100 words.

First: Mitsuhide and the Maiden

Previous: My Favorite Place

Sakamoto Castle* rose high above the town, its towers reflecting in the waters of Lake Awaumi. The estate was set apart from the bustling town by a moat and low rock walls that shaped concentric rings around the castle.

“It’s beautiful,” the chatelaine clapped her hands in surprise. “Almost as big as Azuchi too . . .”

Mitsuhide grinned. Surprising his little mouse was its own reward. “What did you expect? A castle on the hill? I have one of those too, if you’d prefer.”

Her eyes grew round and wide. “You have another castle?”

“Several. But they are really just held in my name for the Oda. This one - “ he gestured to Sakamoto, “I built.” He did not see a point in mentioning that this was also tactical. To maintain a presence for the Oda built on the remains of enemy lands.

Servants greeted Mitsuhide at the castle gate. Their enthusiasm always put him a little on edge, but he did his best to smile and appreciate the attention.

“My lord, welcome home!”

“Welcome back, my lord!”

“My lord! It has been so long!”

The chatelaine leaned close to whisper. “They sure seem to like you here.”

Mitsuhide shrugged uncomfortably. He’d used his position to strengthen trade in the region, and raised wages for his servants. Happy vassals were harder to bribe, afterall. “This is my fiancee,” he announced, avoiding a reply completely. “Treat her as you would me while we are here.”

And that successfully redirected attention to his little one. She was quickly surrounded by cheerful servants, full of good wishes and a thousand questions.

“Never thought I’d see you get married,” a rough, familiar voice said into Mitsuhide’s little pocket of quiet.

The kitsune warlord turned. “Miyake**.” His eyes lit up at seeing a familiar, trusted face. The young man was almost as tall as Mitsuhide, tanned from long days in the hot sun, his hair a wind-blown mess. Miyake was one of Mitsuhide’s most valued warriors, brave and entirely too honorable to be in the service of the left hand of the Oda. But here he was, and it was good to see him.

“She must be something.”

Mitsuhide nodded. “She is, Miyake.” His expression turned serious. “Is there a reason you’ve returned to Sakamoto? I thought you would be in Chugoku stamping out the last of the shogun’s loyalists.”

The warrior nodded. “We took out the obvious nests. The rest of Ashikaga’s men have scattered, so we’ve scattered too. Tracking them down in small bands. I was following one group with a few of my men.”

“And you tracked them here?” Mitsuhide’s eyebrows rose. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

Miyake began to reply, but his mouth snapped shut as the chatelaine approached.

“Hi,” she smiled at the warrior. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

Mitsuhide introduced them. “He is one of my most trusted warriors, but he’s rarely home. I didn’t think you would get to meet him so soon.”

“In that case, I feel very lucky.” She gave a little bow to Miyake, who followed suit a heartbeat later.

“Yes, my lady. I never thought the old fox would find a woman who could put up with him.” Miyake grinned.

The chatelaine laughed, her cheeks heating prettily. “He’s not so hard to put up with.”

The young warrior’s eyebrows rose. “No? Are you sure it’s Akechi Mitushide you mean?” He glanced at his liege-lord. “It’s because he’s standing here, isn’t it. Look, I’ll take you out for some drinks and you can tell me the real story behind you two.”

Mitsuhide’s smile went sharp and before he’d realized he was moving, his arm went around her waist, pulling his little one snug to his side. “I’m afraid she won’t have time for drinks, Miyake. We’ll only be here a short while.”

Miyake knew Mitsuhide pretty well. Well enough to say he’d never seen the warlord jealous. But that was surely what this was. He stifled a laugh. “Then perhaps another time.” He bowed again. “I will write up a full report my lord. My lady, it was good to meet you.”

After the goodbyes were said, and more hellos, Mitsuhide finally guided his little one inside. The castle interior was dim, but airy. The wood polished to a satin shine, the furniture sparse but finely made. All of it was chosen by the castle staff and made by local craftsmen, the better to shape their loyalty.

“Our quarters are on the fourth floor,” he told her, as he helped his little one up the steps.

Her little squeal of pleasure alone was worth the trip as they reached his rooms. There were wide windows here, and a small balcony overlooking the lake. “This view! Mitsuhide, this is better than the tenshu!”

He chuckled. “Do you think so, little mouse?” He did his best to sound coy, but a little pride came through in his voice.

“Look! I can almost see Azuchi across the lake!” She leaned out on the balcony, pointing.

Mitsuhide came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. It felt so good to hold her like this. His soon-to-be wife in his home. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I am glad you like it.”

“I love it,” she sighed, and leaned back against him.

“Then I will make sure we have plenty of opportunities to come back here.”

She turned her head a little to look at him. “Will we be here for long?”

Mitsuhide shrugged. “Three days? Maybe four. It depends on how long it takes Sasuke to travel here.”

The chatelaine straightened quickly, her arms windmilling a moment before she grabbed ahold of the rail. “Sasuke is coming? Here? Why?”

“I thought you’d be pleased.” The comment had the intended effect of derailing her entirely.

“Well . . . I am! I just - isn’t he an enemy ninja? I didn’t expect he would be able to visit me just like that!” The chatelaine smiled. “It will be nice to see him though.”

Mitsuhide almost regretted his decision to meet up with the Kasugayama ninja. But he had a plan and Sasuke’s help was integral. Besides, he shouldn’t mind his lover being happy to see an old friend.

He pulled her close again and pressed a kiss to her lips. Her sound of pleasure in response made his heart race as if it was a first kiss, all over again. “You know,” he whispered between kisses, “we haven’t made love here yet.”

A cough from the doorway punctured the moment before she could reply.

Mitsuhide turned, keeping an arm around his little one.

“My lord.” One of the castle staff bowed. “You have a guest.”

Next: Old Friends, New Adventures

*Mitsuhide built Sakamoto Castle after the events at Enryaku-ji

**Miyake was the name of one of Mitsuhide’s retainers known for his loyalty. He took the name Hidemitsu when he married Mitsuhide’s daughter.

#ikemen sengoku #ikesen mitsuhide #mitsuhide akechi #otome guys #otome #fanfiction #fanfic #fluff

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hufflautia · 3 years

Text

Tutoring

Shout-out to @dontmindmeimjustabox!! She created the concept of this fic and also helped me write some of it, so huge thanks to my favorite goblin<3!

Summary: Ravenclaw is looking for something in the library when she overhears Hufflepuff and Slytherin arguing.

Ravenclaw wanders through the library, trying to find a book. She overhears a nearby conversation and frowns. It’s the early morning. She didn’t think anyone but her would be in the library at this time. Puzzled, she turns the corner and comes across an interesting sight.

Her two friends, Hufflepuff and Slytherin, are sitting next to each other at a table with a younger student seated across from them. Ravenclaw recalls Slytherin mentioning that she was recently assigned as the tutor of a first-year. Hufflepuff probably decided to tag along, seeing as how he had experience in tutoring students.

Ravenclaw tilts her head as she observes Hufflepuff and Slytherin. They don’t look like they’re doing much tutoring.

“We’re doing it my way.”

“No,” Hufflepuff shakes his head, “you’re pushing Alex to learn too much theory. They should do more practical work.”

Slytherin scoffs and crosses her arms.

“Like you know what’s best for them,” she grumbles. “I’m their tutor, not you.”

They fight like an old married couple, Ravenclaw thinks to herself. She takes a quick peek at Alex, who’s caught in their crossfire. Looking absolutely petrified, they shrink in their seat a little as they continue to argue.

“—known Alex longer than you have,” Hufflepuff says. “I also tutored three students last year.”

“Good for you! Do you want a trophy or something?”

He purses his lips. “What I’m trying to say is that I have experience—”

“I don’t care. I don’t care if you’re Alex’s prefect, I don’t care if Flitwick asked you to help me, I don’t need you.”

Something passes over Hufflepuff’s face, and he goes silent. Everyone within earshot knows that Slytherin went too far, including Slytherin herself.

Hufflepuff stands before she could apologize and walks away without a word.

Ravenclaw glances at Slytherin, who worries her lip before jumping out of her chair to run after Hufflepuff. He’s just about to exit the library when she stops him.

They talk, and Ravenclaw sees a small smile form on Hufflepuff’s lips. He replies with something that makes Slytherin roll her eyes and punch him lightly in the arm, but there’s a sort of playfulness to it.

Ravenclaw grins as she watches them.

Yeah, she thinks. Definitely a married couple.

FIN.

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tallstars-rewrite · 3 years

Text

Chapter 36

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“So what is it you call them again?” Talltail’s eyes narrowed skeptically.

“They’re called cars, so I’ve been told.” Jake replied.

They were crouched a fox-length away from a bright red shiny monster sitting quietly in front of a twoleg den.

“Is it dead?” Talltail asked, instinctively keeping his voice quiet as if he half expected the thing to roar to life any moment.

“I don’t even think they’re alive. At least, it certainly doesn’t smell alive. All I know is when housefolk gets inside one, they start moving”

“Hm.” Talltail kicked a small pebble at it. Nothing. Jake was right about that, they certainly didn’t smell like any living thing. “And what about the lights in their eyes? It’s not fire, but there are lights like that all over the twoleg places.”

“I dunno, housefolk are just good at making light that isn’t hot I guess. Between us, I think their eyesight in the dark is awful.”

“So you don’t even know how twolegs make the things they do?”

“Not really,” Jake shrugged. “But do you understand exactly how plants grow or how birds can fly?”

“Well...no, they just do. I suppose...you sort of have a point.” Talltail admitted. “But I still don’t trust these things. They sound like monsters to me. Let’s keep going, I don’t like looking at it’s eyes, even if they aren’t alive.”

They walked through gardens, keeping to the grass and sparse trees alongside the hard stone Thunderpaths and trails. As the dusky sky turned to a pale gray dawn, they saw twolegs every so often, and many of them paused to look at the two cats walking side by side. Talltail didn’t like going past them, but after narrowly escaping another aggressive group of strays, and a lost dog, Jake eventually convinced Talltail that twolegs were the lesser of the two evils. So, daylight travel it was.

“Just don’t make eye contact,” Jake said. “They’re slow, so even if they want to pet us, we can just run and they’ll give up.”

“They just try petting every animal that walks by!?” Talltail hissed.

“Well some of them, if they can.”

Talltail snorted. The absolute arrogance of assuming that because a couple cats liked them, that meant every cat wanted to be their friend. I don’t try to groom every cat I walk by because that would be weird, Talltail thought with an irritated twitch of his tail. But he was quickly finding most twolegs weren’t necessarily the ruthless predators he’d imagined them to be in his youth. They were, however, incredibly annoying.

But on the brighter side, he’d found that he really had started to get used to the sounds of the town, even though it was still overwhelming. They had to duck behind a house every now and again when a particularly loud string of monsters passed.

“We’re almost there,” Jake assured him. “I’m...mostly sure of it. When we were on the roof, I got a better idea of where we were. The alley cats chased us in the wrong direction, but we should be able to get there without crossing anyone's territory.”

After only a couple more turns down the stone path, Jake raised his tail. “Ah! There it is!” he exclaimed. “See those tall trees up ahead? I’m sure that’s where the park is.”

“Is this ‘park’ actually...safe?” Talltail asked as they grew closer. In the distance, he knew the pines that bordered ShadowClan’s territory were close. There was a ring of twoleg dens blocking it, but such a forested area would surely house prey to some cat.

“Well, twolegs walk through it with their dogs, but they have them on leashes. Don’t worry, I know not all dogs are like Dusty. I won’t make you get slobbered by any more of them,” Jake added quickly when he saw Talltail’s alarm.

“I appreciate that,” Talltail said with a shudder.

The park was a large area with sparse patches of woods and bushes surrounded by large grassy fields. Not the fields Talltail was used to, but very short soft grass that would be impossible to hide in, and most of it stank of stale dog scent. Talltail thought he would be able to relax once they’d reached a more natural familiar area, but even this place felt very...off compared to the woodland and fields he knew. Like the plants and trees were all too...neat.

“Well, it’s still better than the town,” Talltail sighed. “But where to start looking…”

“What exactly are you planning on doing when you find them?” Jake asked with a sideways glance.

“Uh...” Talltail paused. He hadn’t been thinking of it in detail, he’d just been repeatedly telling himself that he’d figure it out when he got there. “I’ll... figure it out when I get there?” he said.

“You don’t want to fight all of them do you?” Jake’s eyes were round with concern.

“No, of course not.” Talltail for the first time felt a stab of guilt for the visitors when he thought of Mole, Reena, and her parents. They had been so kind. Reena had even been his friend for a while. They wouldn’t think so kindly of him after this, but their feelings couldn’t be at the front of his mind. They were protecting a bad cat. Sparrow didn’t even care about the others as much as Hen, he’d practically said so himself. If Talltail could just get Sparrow away from the others somehow, they wouldn’t have to get involved at all.

While he was thinking, Jake had gotten distracted and was looking up at a massive oak tree with long hanging branches splaying out. He had an eager light in his eyes, like a kit hunting a drifting feather.

“We could…get higher? Maybe if we got high up we could see if there are any cats around, or even the pond we’re looking for. I bet you could see the whole area from up there, and the branches are low enough to jump to.”

Talltail looked doubtfully up at the tree. WindClan had keener eyes than most cats, but his nose was still better for searching. Maybe Jake had other motives.

But It’s not as if we’re running out of time. If they’ve hung around for this long, they’ll hang around longer… Talltail thought. He shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

Jake looked back at him, “You don’t think it’s too dangerous?”

“Well...maybe it’s risky, but less dangerous than what we’ve already done. It’s not as if I’ll let you fall.”

Jake’s plumy red tail flicked high, his vibrant eyes glowing with a mischievous excitement. “Bet I can get up it faster."

With that, he crouched and leapt, hooking his claws into the lowest branch and hoisting himself all the way up with an agility Talltail hadn’t expected from such a stocky cat. Talltail bunched his muscles and jumped up after him, and his paws touched the branch without requiring him to scramble the rest of the way. Keeping his momentum, he jumped again to the next nearest branch up.

He got so caught up in the challenge, Talltail was almost on the fourth branch before he remembered he’d never actually climbed a tall tree in his entire life. He made the mistake of looking down, and the ground below felt dizzyingly far, even though it didn’t feel like he’d gone very high.

“What’s wrong? I’ll be napping at the top before you get there!” Jake called. Great StarClan, how had he gotten three branches above him?

Talltail looked up. “You know uh...there’s not really many trees like this on the moor.”

“Then this’ll be good practice! Every cat should know how to climb trees!”

“What am I, ThunderClan?” Talltail grumbled. Staring up while newly aware of the drop below him, he felt significantly less confident with his leaps. “Er, Jake?”

“Yeah?”

“How did you get up there exactly?”

“Climbed.”

“Alright, yes, but be more specific.”

“You’re half way up! How did you get to where you are?” the ginger tom flashed him a cheeky grin.

“Dumb luck? I don’t trust my paws! Can’t you tell me where you put yours?”

“Well, I trust your paws, and you should too! Just keep your eyes on where you want to be.”

Swallowing his doubt, Talltail balanced himself with his tail and found it a reliable weight as ever as he leapt. Jake stopped past the halfway point up the massive tree. The branches were separated enough that they could see the whole area around them, but too thin to climb further. For a moment Talltail could almost pretend he wasn’t surrounded on all sides by twolegs with their bizarre dens and contraptions. The call of alarmed birds disturbed from their perching was a welcome sound blocking out the distant rumble of crossing Thunderpaths. He had learned his lesson about looking down and carefully lay himself on the branch to catch his breath.

Jake lay across from him, and looked thoughtfully at Talltail’s paws. “Huh,” he said, “I didn’t expect you to have duller claws than me.” He flexed his small needle sharp claws and scraped them on the branch.

“They’re not as sharp, but they're a lot sturdier.” Talltail flexed a paw. “And those wounds are harder to close,” he added with a wink.

But it was true his claws didn’t hook into the bark as deep as he would like. He usually only needed them to grip soft earth while running, or digging.

“How high up do you think a cat can jump from without getting hurt?” Jake asked abruptly, gazing below at the dizzying drop with an amused twitch of his whiskers. He looked like he was enjoying himself somehow.

Talltail glared at him. “Do not ask me that right now.”

Jake snorted with laughter which petered into a quiet purr of contentment as the sun dripped through the branches and danced over his fur. He really did have the brightest orange pelt Talltail had ever seen. The sun caught the ginger and it glowed like the warm fire Jake’s twoleg kept in their home, the vivid stripes swirling along his tufted flanks broken up where the fur was longest. Talltail had never spent so much time trying to memorize all the details of a cat's face. It was odd, the little leap of happiness he felt fluttering around in his heart. Sometimes he caught his breath and it skipped in a way he couldn’t recall ever feeling before when looking at a cat. That’s...weird. Am I getting sick?

He scarcely realized he was staring when he noticed Jake was also looking intently at his face as well.

Talltail blinked at him. “What is it?”

Jake stretched out and touched his nose to Talltail’s cheek. “Thanks for humoring me. I’m glad you’ve let me come with you this long,” he purred.

“I wouldn’t say I’m humoring you, I wouldn’t even have gotten here without you,” Talltail replied. His ears twitched as he tried to hide the fur prickling on the nape of his neck and the warm blush rushing under his pelt from the unexpected touch. What in StarClan is wrong with me? I think the height is making me light headed.

“I mean with this climb,” Jake laughed. “My friends would have said it was fluff-brained or dangerous and told me to stop messing around. Not that I blame them, we are really high up.”

“Don’t remind me,” Talltail gulped. “I just want to enjoy the view and pretend the ground is nearby. Don’t you have friends who do this with you?”

“They’ll come on long walks with me. I like Quince and Nutmeg, but they don’t always understand me. Sometimes I just feel...this pull to do something different, like in my gut, and I have to do it. Like I see a faraway place from my roof and I think ‘what does everything look like from there?’ And I so desperately want to go there and see.”

Talltail nodded, his whiskers twitching in amusement. It was similar to that excitable longing to dash to the horizon he felt when he was young. It had been a long time since he’d dwelled on it.

Jake continued, “I can’t live my whole life every day eating, sleeping, grooming, even though I like it. I feel like...there’s something else out there, and I’ll be restless until I find out what it is. That’s why I was so glad to meet you again... I love my friends and neighbors, well-- most of them, Tyr can get stuffed. But sometimes I worry I’m annoying them with my fancies.”

Talltail blinked at Jake in surprise. “I can’t imagine any cat finding you annoying.”

Jake snorted. “Oh Talltail, you haven’t been around me long enough! Driving cats up the walls is a talent of mine.”

“Well you’ve certainly driven me up a tree, so there’s that. No other cat would be able to do that.” Talltail rested his chin on his paws. The sun felt so nice warming the dark fur on his back, he’d forgotten all about scanning the area for other cats.

Jake stretched and inched his forepaws on either side of Talltail. “I’m glad I know you,” he purred.

Talltail was a little caught off guard. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Well…. I’m...glad I know you too?”

They sat there in the branches passively grooming each other's ears, and Talltail listened to the breeze whisk through his fur. It wasn’t the familiar winds he grew up with, but he swore he could almost smell the moor carried on them from far away. Before the homesickness could creep up on him again, Jake yawned and stretched.

“Ok, we’ve stalled long enough, we should probably get down now.”

“Right, erm, down.” Talltail still wasn’t brave enough to look.

“Don’t worry, it’s not as if I’ll let you fall. Promise.” Jake winked.

“Are you going to catch me?” Talltail snorted. “I probably weigh as much as you do.”

“I could carry you if I had to! It’s not all fluff under here.”

Talltail was still doubtful of that, but Jake’s confidence in the whole situation was at least easing his nerves a little.

“I climb trees like this all the time, it’s much easier than it looks. Surely you won’t have too much trouble balancing with that tail of yours.”

Talltail swayed on his paws as he, unfortunately, finally glanced down at the dizzying drop through the branches. Oh stars… He kept his eyes firmly on Jake’s tail and paws, one branch at a time, flinching with each tentative jump, but after some coaxing and at least one instance of Jake grabbing his scruff to steady them, Talltail at last landed down onto safe grass again. He still trembled a bit even as he flexed his claws into the soft earth

“See, that wasn’t so bad!” Jake chirped.

“Says you, I can't believe you put yourself through that all the time.”

“The height is kind of a rush though, isn’t it?”

“If by rush, you mean vividly imagining the air rushing by me as I plummet to my death? Then yes, absolutely.”

“Aw I bet you could climb all sorts of things if you set your mind to it!” Jake grinned at him.

“I prefer to use my tail for steering my turns,” Talltail retorted. “WindClan are not the climbers of the forest. An old clanmate of mine, Aspenfall, took to climbing better than the rest of us, but he was still pretty bad at it.”

“You really do all have such funny names don’t you?” Jake replied. “Who else is there?”

“What, in my whole clan? well...my mentor was called Dawnstripe. I’m sure I’ve told you about Briarpaw, he’s the one training to be a medicine cat. I had a friend called Ryewhisker as well, and Fawnleap and Lilywhisker...” He listed off several more names as Jake stared. Talltail of course still knew everyone by heart.

“That’s so many cats, how do you keep track of them all?”

“That’s not even half of them! They’re your family, of course you come to know them over time.” He remembered how overwhelmed he had been as a kit, trying to learn the names of all his clanmates. They had been so patient with him.

“So how do you get your names anyhow?” Jake asked. “I heard a rumor your get a cool name when you killed your first enemy”

Talltail purred in laughter. “No, not quite. Our names are much more than that. They’re special to us, you get it when you’ve completed your training and officially become a warrior. No murder required. The first name given to you by your parents represents your roots. Your parents give you your colors and physical traits, so them choosing your first name is to honor them and the life you’ve been given. It’s usually a name referencing something from the world around us, to represent our connection to the area we are born in. Our territory is part of us after all, as important as our clanmates. It’s where you’ll spend your whole life.” Well...it’s where you’re supposed to spend your whole life, he thought with a twinge of guilt.

Jake nodded, “That's simple enough. What about the last part?”

“That’s the important part. It represents a small part of the warrior you become, what you're best known for. Some are more abstract than others. Your mentor, the leader, and the medicine cat discuss with each other about your progress over the course of your training to decide what name you're called to have.”

“That’s so cool! My name doesn’t mean anything, I wish I could earn a cool badge like that. But...What about you? Your first name is Tall, that’s not really a thing like the other names you told me.”

Talltail nodded. “My name is old. In the early times of the clans, you had no name at all until you proved you could survive to adulthood. Back then, if you got a name, it always referenced the most noticeable physical trait about you rather than anything else, so cats could tell you apart on sight. Except for the legendary warriors of course, who were named for their renowned feats, but most cats couldn’t hope to be that special. There was only one meaning to their names, rather than two separate meanings. So my name was planned ahead, a traditional one to honor the cats that survived in those hard times. That’s why my father chose it for me. I guess my tail was freakishly long back then too.”

“You didn’t get to earn a last name yourself? That doesn’t seem as fun.” Jake said.

“It’s not all about fun! Besides, no name can perfectly represent everything about you. Getting a warrior name is always an honor regardless of what it is. Besides, it is pretty notable isn’t it?” he purred, wapping Jake with his tail for good measure.

Jake sneezed as the fur tickled his nose. “Yeah, I could see you from a mile away with that thing.”

After a bit more aimless wandering, they finally paused for a moment to rest. Jake rolled in the grass, getting burs and twigs and grass shreds stuck in his tufty orange pelt. He looked a bit like a hedgehog.

“You're going to end up dragging the whole park along with you if you keep that up,” Talltail chuckled.

“Maybe I want to take some back with me. Also I like smelling like grass! It’s nice. You always smell like moor grass.”

Talltail didn’t know how that could be. It had been so long since he’d been home, the moor couldn’t possibly still be sticking to him. But maybe it was harder to get rid of than he thought.

Jake interrupted his thoughts again. “What would my name be if I was in a clan?”

Talltail snorted. “Your name? I have no idea, it’s not something you can just slap on a cat!”

“Well how do cats who join the clan get named? Does that ever happen?”

“We’ve never had an outsider join in my time but...I think the leader chooses? Even then, I can’t possibly imagine what skills you would prove over the course of training.”

“Well let��s say you’re leader, what would you call me? Just if you had to guess?”

Talltail hummed in thought, looking Jake over as he beamed back at him patiently. He had the goofiest gleeful look on his face, Talltail stifled a purr “Oh I don’t know...Perhaps Flameface.”

Jake laughed at that. “Flameface? That’s a name? That sounds so silly!”

“It’s not silly at all! It’s a perfectly fine name. No sillier than Jake, your name is nonsense! It sounds like the noise you make when you hack up a furball. It only sounds silly to you because you don’t know what it means.”

“Ok, ok that’s fair. What’s it mean?”

“Flame is pretty self explanatory. You are the brightest orange cat I’ve ever seen. And I guess I associate it with you now because your twoleg’s den was the first place I ever saw real fire.”

“I like ‘Flame.’ That part’s cool. But...what, does my face look like it’s on fire?”

“No, no it’s not always that literal. Well, maybe it is a little. Some names are for cats who are good at many different things, but master of nothing in particular.”

“What? I could be a master at something!”

“It’s not a bad thing at all!” Talltail purred. “In fact, those are some of the most reliable cats. ‘Face’ is just a variation on referencing your appearance. I think it’s often given to cats who are thought to be particularly attractive in some way or another. I can’t remember what the idea was exactly. Like their face draws attention or...lights up the area? Metaphorically of course. It’s a little sappy.”

“Ohhh...” Jake was silent for a moment in thought. “You think I’m attractive?”

“What?”

“Wow, no cats ever called me that before!”

Talltail’s pelt felt hot as he sat up. “Y-you’re thinking too hard about it, I’m trying to be objective. I only thought of it because--I just mean you’re distracting. But...In a good way.”

“I’m distracting?”

“Well, I don’t mean--I meant like, eye-catching, because of--have you looked at yourself when the sunlight hits your fur? It--No, oh for StarClan’s sake, hold on, I’m explaining this poorly. Stop looking at me like that, the point is that’s the closest guess I can manage. It might not be accurate.”

Jake grinned up at him, “I like that name.”

“...Good. It’s past sunhigh now, so we should start looking,” Talltail mewed quickly, already to his feet, hoping his fur wasn’t noticeably bristling in embarrassment.

Jake trotted after him, his tail held up high. “So, what would your name be if you earned a normal one, do you think?” he asked, a new note of amusement in his voice that Talltail was trying very hard to ignore.

“I don’t know, Jake.”

“‘Cause I think you could be a ‘face’ cat too, you’re the most distracting thing I've ever seen in my life”

“We are burning daylight here, Jake.”

“Ok, but think about it.”

Talltail would probably think about it for the rest of the day, thanks.

chapter list / previous / next

#FRU36 #chapter 36 #asdfghds this last scene was one of the first ones i wrote back in like 2018 #it still makes me giggle lmao #but also enjoy the light chapters while you can #because i will be pulling out the angst stick again soon

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cybernaght · 3 years

Text

Guardian rewatch: Episode 1

I am not over how fantastic the Guardian was after finishing it a couple days ago. I will probably re-post some of my thoughts on the show overall here eventually, but for now, I thought I’d compile series of random observations as I go through the series second time around.

This is vastly inspired by canary3d’s wonderful Untamed recaps, but I’m neither as insightful, nor as witty as her, and have zero giffing skills.

Disclaimer as follows: I’m mildly dyslexic, and appreciate polite corrections. I know very very basic Chinese after studying it many many years ago, but I remember little, and rely on subs when watching anything. Generally, new to fandom, not great with tech; please be nice.

There will be spoilers for the series as whole.

So, here goes: Guardian Rewatch, Episode 1

Watching the opening credits first time since the finale made me cry. That said, I have also watched the series from Viki, but am screen capping them from Youtube - and the opening credits here actually have… well, credits, so a mixed bag of emotions here.

Pretty sure they blew 40% of their overall budget on the animated opening sequence; and on rewatch it’s actually making more sense. The is fairly good, as well, and I am fairly certain its narrated by Xiao Guo, establishing him as the POV character of sorts.

Oh those introductions of Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are hot as hell, both of them confident in their own elements. It’s a great way to quickly summarise not just them individually, but the contrast between them, to the audience.

The lollipops make their first appearance, before becoming narratively significant in about five different ways. We are also seeing Zhao Yunlan being a sly fox for the first time. He will remain sly fox for the duration of this show.

We are treated to the first appearance of the ensemble cast, and I’m pretty sure they blew half of their CGI budget on the lovely scene of Xiao Guo being freaked out by the assortment of special abilities of his new team: Da Qing’s seamless cat transformation, Zhu Hong having a tail, Wang Zheng being all ghostly... they never look as great again. Not ever. In hindsight, this feels like a mean tease: a promise of what this show could have looked like if the production company still had the money.

I am also pretty sure Bai Yu has a motorbike double, which explains why the motorbike stops featuring after they can no longer afford a motorbike double. Or maybe motorcycle goes away because Zhao Yunlan needs a car to drive Shen Wei around. We’ll never know.

Shen Wei seeing Kunlun for the first time (and seeing Da Qing for the first time) in a millennia. There is a hint of Baby Shen Wei-ness about him. There is longing and hope and youth. I’m sure he was not allowing himself to have that facial expression since he came out of the magical coma how many decades ago. God damn this is a good performance.

“Shen Wei? Good name!” And Shen Wei actually flinches a little. And he forgets to let go of the hand after he shakes it. And he looks so unabashedly hopeful, clutching the business hard. On first watch it read as “huh? What’s up with this guy?” On second watch, it’s like a perfect piece of the puzzle, slotting in place. GOD DAMN this is a good performance.

Here he is again: Baby Shen Wei in all his owlishness. They are talking in the office, and Kunlun has a new name, may or may not remember him, is definitely suspicious of him, but he also listens with the same intensity, and he is alive, and he is here, and Shen Wei is young again, looking so very happy.

Oh yay Lao Chu’s puppet brother is here! Actually fighting side by side. This will never happen again. Because they will never again have the money.

We are treated to a short mashup of Shen Wei’s memories as he is thinking “I hope you still remember our pact”. I wonder if there is a specific moment in the future when Shen Wei puts two and two (in this case: a man with a gun and processed sugar on a stick and super powerful artefacts that can do a lot of random magical stuff) together to make a time travel conclusion. Because it doesn’t happen straightaway.

“I waited for you for ten thousand years”.

The next day, Li Qian is asking “Is it worth doing anything to protect someone”? And Shen Wei replies that it is. Li Qian is reaching to touch the Hallow around her neck, a heirloom so important to her, chord looking so similar to the one hidden around Shen Wei’s own neck. Shen Wei looks over to Zhao Yunlan who is watching them converse. The... just the symbolism of this, is beautifully crafted as something you cannot possibly notice first time around.

“Who knows”, says Shen Wei, when he speaks to Zhao Yunlan shortly after, “maybe we have met before.” He watches very very carefully to see if the words resonate. He watches so closely as Zhao Yunlan laughs and then steps away to answer a call. You know the exact moment it dawns on Shen Wei that Kunlun does not, in fact, remember anything, that it’s not a flirty game of cat and mouse. He honestly looks like he is about to cry.

The first time we ever see Hei Pao Shi, he is not wearing a robe and a mask. First time we see Hei Pao Shi, he is facing off the Shadow Man while wearing a suit, looking stern and resolute (before being swiftly thrown off the roof)

Does he get flung off the roof deliberately so he can make his appearance in all his timeless glory as the world’s most powerful flex? Yes, yes he does.

I thought this show was good first time around. It’s SUBLIME on rewatch.

Episode 2 will feature a lot of “Shen Wei, you bloody hypocrite”

#guardian #shen wei #zhao yunlan #rewatch #I have no idea how to tag

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gryffindor-jedi · 3 years

Text

The Night Fox - Prologue

Based on @royalhandmaidens Vigilante Commander Fox theory. The story will eventually lead into Foxiyo and a happy au. Also, first time writing and would really appreciate feedback.

Summary: Set after The Clone Wars: Heroes on Both Sides episode, Commander Fox is blamed for the Separatist droids taking out the Coruscant power grid, and is accused of treason. Bitter with the unpleasant turn of events, Fox ends up finding a new identity.

Word count: 992 words

Just a clone, just a clone. Don't blame it too much, after all it's just a clone. Chancellor Palpatine's words echoed in Fox's mind. How could he have known that the cleaning droids were actually Separatist infiltrator demolition droids meant to sabotage Coruscant's power system? Droids had gotten lost all the time, and Fox often pointed droids in the right direction, and even tracked down missing droids or droids that had wandered into the wrong places. The power outage had shattered the politicians' sense of safety and security, and they wanted someone to punish. Since Fox had pointed out the right direction to the Separatist droids, he was being suspected of treason. Gazing at the Coruscant cityscape in the Chancellor's office, Fox remembered his initial pride at being assigned the commander of the Coruscant Guard. Serving the heart of the Republic seemed like such an important position. The other commanders faced death and destruction on a regular basis, but they also had caring generals, and directly saved lives, while Fox had to essentially babysit a bunch of arrogant politicians. Even though not all of them were conceited and some were rather kind, Fox knew that he had a thankless job. If he succeeded, no one cared; if he failed, everyone wanted him shot. “These charges are outrageous. You will not be charged with treason, I will make sure of it.” a familiar voice stated angrily. Fox turned around. Senators Padmé Amidala and, his heart began beating rapidly, Riyo Chuchi were also in the office with him. “You are extremely loyal to the Republic, and I am going to bring up charges on the morons who suspect you of treason!” shouted Senator Chuchi. “Don't worry Commander, we will get you out of this. The droids were not your fault, and any reasonable individual would never accuse you of treason.” said Senator Amidala in a comforting tone. “Thank you Senators. I am sure that you will do your best.” said Fox, keeping his tone neutral. “If you'll excuse me, I have to empty my office.” Fox turned to leave, but was stopped by Senator Chuchi's hand on his chest. “I will prove your innocence. I promise.” said Senator Chuchi, a steely glint in her eyes. Fox nodded and left.

——————————————————————————

By the time he had gotten to his office, Fox realized that he didn't even have any possessions to clear out, but decided to just look at his office, since it may even be for the last time. “Ridiculous, just ridiculous! I don't understand how anyone could suspect Fox of treason! The only thing he could get arrested for is being too supportive of the Republic!” Thire was exclaiming, oblivious to Fox's presence. “Quit looking at the dark side Thire.” reprimanded Thorn. Thorn walked towards Fox, and elbowed him playfully. “Fox, you are so lucky! You don't have to do any work until you're proven innocent! Enjoy your freedom!” “Thanks Thorn.” replied Fox bitterly, regretting coming to his office. “Now, if you don't mind, I am going out to celebrate.” “Fine by me, just don't stay out too late.” warned Thorn. “And don't worry.”

——————————————————————————

Don't worry. Don't worry. Did no one realize how much trouble he was in? How could he not worry when his entire future was at stake? Pessimistic thoughts clouded Fox's mind, and he soon didn't notice where he was going. “Stay away from me, please!” a young voice pleaded. The pitiful screams jerked Fox back to reality. A few meters below him, he saw a young Twi'lek girl, who could be no more than 8 years of age, shudder and step back, as two hooded figures approached her. The girl tried to run, but one of the hooded figures easily caught her. “Help! Please anyone!” the girl screamed desperately. “No one at this level will even hear you, let alone save you.” chuckled the figure holding the Twi'lek. Fox decided to take action. He jumped down, and easily pulled the figure's companion to the ground. Grabbing the kidnapper's blaster, Fox pointed it at the individual holding the girl. “Drop the girl, and I might let you live.” Fox said threateningly. “Yeah right.” the figure laughed. “You might accidentally hit the girl. You willing to take the chance?” Fox fired at the person's leg, who yelped and dropped the girl. The Twi'lek ran towards Fox, and embraced his leg. “Those men were trying to hurt me, and you saved me! Thank you!” wept the young girl. “Let's get you to safety.” Fox whispered, confused by the girl's affection. “Where are your parents?” Mere moments later, a Twi'lek woman ran towards them. “Where have you been? I was so worried!” cried the woman. “Mama, this man saved me! There were two people trying to kidnap me!” explained the girl, tugging on Fox's arm. “Tell Mama!” “Ma'am, what your daughter is saying is true. The lower levels are no place to be at night. You'd best get your girl back home fast to prevent another incident.” Fox said in his usual commanding tone. “Thank you so much. She means everything to me.” The woman hugged her daughter. “Our home is just a few blocks from here, could you accompany us?” Fox became puzzled. The woman was asking; he was free to say no. “Of course ma'am.” Fox replied after a momentary pause. A short walk later, and the trio reached the house. “Thank you again. By the way, what's your name?” asked the mother. “Fox” said Fox. “As in Commander Fox?” the woman tilted her head, trying to get a good glimpse of him in the dark. “No, as in the Night Fox.” Fox stated confidently, although he had no idea where the name had come from. “Well thank you very much, Night Fox. Won't you come in?” the woman asked. “No, I have to go.” said Fox, and rushed back to the barracks. The Night Fox. It had a nice ring to it.

#sw #star wars #commander fox #vigilante!fox #the night fox #foxiyo #sw fanfic #swtcw fanfic #sw fic #tcw #swtcw #the clone wars #riyo chuchi #fox x riyo #my writing

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thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Note

Can you do 60 for indruck, NSFW? Thank you so much! Love your work!

Here it is! I set it in the same world as this sternclay fill. Credit to @bellafarallones for playing in this space on discord. Apollo is from my Super hero AU

“All I’m sayin is it seems mighty unfair to me that one fella gets a handler-assistant type deal and the rest of us don’t.” Duck crosses his arms as Ned fiddles with the pen on his desk.

“You’re not wrong, dear boy, but Apollo was in high demand from the higher ups-”

“Because he’s a shallow dipshit with a mean streak who’ll be good for ratings?”

“Precisely. He demanded in his contract that we allow his twin to continue his work as his photographer and assistant. He has over a million followers on Instagram, so those photos will be a boost to the show. Just try to get along for the camera’s?”

“His brother ain’t even on camera.” Duck mutters.

“I meant with Apollo.”

Duck shrugs, defeated, “sure thing, Ned.”

As he walks back to the main house, he mulls over the fact that the twin (Indrid, he thinks that’s the guys name) bugs him more than Apollo does. Apollo is vain, mean, and selfish, but at least that gets him things, even makes sense for the kind of show they’re on. Indrid gains nothing by helping him out here. Except protection from the bully, which Duck finds to be the worst kind of cowardice. Hopefully Vincent, this season’s bachelor, will see through the “influencer” and send him packing ASAP.

-------------------------------------

Four weeks in, and this is exactly what Duck was worried about. Not only is Indrid hovering around his brother like a nervous moth (excet when cameras are near, at which point he ducks out of frame), he’s doing fucking nothing to reign him in.

A few frontrunners are starting to emerge, and with that claws are coming out. Barclay, a chef and all around nice guy, is the target of choice. Nico and Josh both took bites out of him this morning. But Apollo sunk his teeth in like a dog on a fox, calling him, among other things, a pathetic, six-foot puppy dog who no man would ever want. The cook left noticeably teary eyed. Duck was about to block the cameras from following when Joseph beat him to it. Which is weird, because he thought Joe couldn’t stand Barclay. Apollo flounces off, but Duck corners Indrid where he’s been stoically watching his brother be a raging asshole.

“What the fuck man?”

‘Wrong twin.” Indrid says flatly, indicating his silver hair, tied back in a half-bun. His dark roots are showing and his eyebrows are black, unlike Apollo’s immaculate blonde dye job and bleached brows.

“Nope, right one. You’re his handler, cant’ you fuckin intervene when he’s doin’ shit like that? Or are you just here to let him hurt whoever he feels like?”

Indrid fixes him with a bitter smile, “If there were a way to make my brother be kind or, indeed, see others as people, don’t you think I’d have found it and used it everyday since?”

“I-”

“You people have no idea how much I’m already doing. I kept him from going after you yesterday by reminding him he looks ugly when he yells on camera. And if nothing else console yourself with the fact you all have only to deal with him for a few months. Some of us have endured twenty-eight years of it.”

With that, he turns and stalks from the room. As he leaves, Duck can’t shake the thought that his black denim jacket and worn jeans fit him better than Apollo’s designer ones ever could.

-----------------------------------

Indrid understands why there’s so much alcohol on set, but he can’t partake (too bitter) and it makes Apollo even harder to handle than usual. Which is why Indrid is out on the grounds at ten p.m, intending to hide from his brother until dawn.

At six weeks in, fan favorites are getting more established and Indrid, needing to predict Apollo’s mood in order to do his job, is keeping a close eye on them. His twin is well-liked for being snarky and hot, though he suspects the large number of contestants means there have been limited chances for his unpleasant side to be showcased. Joseph is another, because of course he is, movie-star handsome with an interesting past. Barclay is beloved for the very things that the other contestants torment him for. And Duck? Duck is quickly becoming the one people think Vincent will choose.

Indrid thinks they’re right. He’s charming in an understated way, funny, and while Apollo needles him for his “dad bod,” Indrid and Vincent have both noticed the muscles in his arms. Who gives a damn about flat abs? Indrid would much rather have something soft to rest his head on while those green eyes look lovingly down at him. His crush on Duck is useless, persistent, and must be hidden from Apollo at all costs.

His foot catches something solid and he tumbles over the obstacle to land ass-first on the lawn.

“Ow.” He glares at the object. The object turns out to be Duck Newton, who's obviously drunk as he sits up.

“Sorry man, thought no one’d come out here. Oh it’s you, it's, uh, fuck, fuck c'mon” he snaps his fingers as he searches his thoughts, “It's cute Apollo!”

“Indrid.” Surely Duck didn’t mean to use that adjective. Right?

“No, I’m Duck?”

He snickers, “No, I meant I’m Indrid.”

“Ohhh, right. You're Indrid. I'm Duck. That's the big dipper” He points at the sky. Indrid follows the line and grins, delighted.”

“It is!”

“Uhhuh. C'mere, can show you more.” Duck pats the spot beside him and lays back. Indrid scoots closer and reclines as well, making appreciative sounds each time Duck shows him a constellation.

As they’re studying the sky, the other man whispers, “Can I tell you a secret? I, I think Joe’n Barclay are into each other now."

“The way they look at each other is not exactly subtle.”

‘“Heh, yeah.” he links his hands across his belly, “I think they're in love. You ever been in love?”

“No.” He sighs, not wanting to dwell on that pile of baggage, “You?”

“Nope. And, uh, don’t, don’t tell anyone but I don't think I am with Vincent. Maybe I could be? Does that make me a bad person? He's nice, think he likes me a lot but, I, I dunno.”

“Not being in love with someone doesn’t make you a bad person. No more than loving someone does.”

Indrid is hard to surprise; years of getting out ahead of his brother and father taught him how to see things coming. But nothing could prepare him for Duck rolling to hide his face against Indrid’s chest. Not knowing what else to do, he pats his back, notices a woodsy scent tingling his nose.

“You smell good.” He winces; that was too creepy, now Duck will pull the comforting bulk of his body away.

“Thanks. I bought a bunch of cologne when I realized I was actually going to be a contestant. News clothes too. Thought it would give me an edge but...I dunno, can't compete with a guy like your brother.”

“Join the club.” Indrid reaches up to toy with a lock of Duck’s black hair, expecting Duck to bat him away. Instead, he sighs and turns his head to give Indrid better access.

“You could compete with ‘im. You're cuter. Nicer too.”

“Oh. Ah. Thank you.”

Duck’s fidgets with the mothman pin on Indrid’s jacket, “You wanna cuddle?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“No one cuddles with me. And we ain’t allowed to cuddle Vincent yet.” He looks up, lips pouting just enough to be charming.

Indrid let’s a purr enter his voice, “That’s a shame. I’m happy to cuddle.”

Duck rolls more of his body onto Indrid, resolutely nestling his head under his chin and tangling their legs together. His hands stay on Indrid’s chest and shoulders, though he’s now drunkenly petting Indrid’s collarbone, making him shiver. He expends four months worth of daring in a second, wrapping his arms around the curves of Duck’s torso. When Duck’s fingers brush skin instead of shirt, Indrid whimpers, then bites his lip and prays it went unnoticed.

“You don’t get cuddled much either, do you?” Duck murmurs thoughtfully.

“No.”

“Damn shame, you’re real good at it. Can cuddle me any time.”

Indrid “mmhmms” knowing the promise is like the stars; bright and comforting in the darkness, but ultimately beyond his reach.

Three day later, he drops his guard; Apollo’s been on his good behavior since Vincent’s been spending more time with him. You’d think Indrid would learn by now that all his venom has to go somewhere.

He’s huddled down in the rec room trying not to cry; it’s pathetic enough that he let such childish insults get to him, but to cry over them would confirm everything his brother said.

“Indrid? You, uh, you okay?” Duck’s reflection in the darkened T.V approaches his own.

“I'm fine.” It’s the same inflection he’s used hundreds of times, but Duck sits down on the couch all the same.

“Do you, uh, need a hug?’

“No.” He replies a hair too quickly.

“Do you want one?”

“......Badly.”

Duck opens his arms and Indrid shifts on the cushions, doing his best to curl his long limbs so they’ll fit in his embrace. The shorter man notices, concern flashing on his face.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Not particularly.”

“Okay. You, uh, wanna hear the most exciting news of the day?” He waits for Indrid to nod, “there was a cougar sightin’ in the foothills near here!”

“That is both very exciting and alarming.”

“Doubt it’d go after folks, they try to steer clear of people. We don’t have ‘em back home, but you learn what to do when you’re also learnin how to deal with bears.”

“How does one deal with a bear? Other than buying them a drink.”

Duck snorts, relaxes further into the couch, “Depends on how soon you see ‘em…”

They emerge two hours later, and Indrid is so engrossed in their conversation about hiking incidents that he runs smack into a camera man. While he’s apologizing profusely, Duck guffaws, steadies him, and leads him off in search of somewhere to watch the sunset.

-----------------------------------------

“Oooh, ooh, look, sea lions!” Indrid points to the distant wharf.

“Good eye. Man, those fuckers are big. Glad none of ‘em were in the water when we did that fuckin cliff dive.”

“I for one would pay good money to see my brother chased by a sea lion.”

Duck chuckles, pops the tab on his WhiteClaw. They’re having dinner on the beach, a gourmet spread meant to encourage them to show off their pallets. Indrid took Barclay’s recommendation and ordered the whole, grilled snapper, which he assumed he’d be eating alone; Vincent’s attention has been on Duck ever since he went swimming this morning. Duck seems to be enjoying it, but come dinner time he demurred (“gotta let some of the other fellas have a chance”) and brought his basket of fried oysters over to join Indrid on the sand.

“Speakin of your brother, kinda surprised he didn't make any digs at this whole, uh, situation.” Duck gestures to the torso Indrid is currently aching to lick droplets of saltwater from. To subdue the craving, he licks salt from his fingers before replying.

“I, ah, the last time he tried to, I reminded him of all the pictures I have of him eating. He hates to be seen eating. Most of the time.” He tilts his head towards his twin, who’s chowing down next to Vincent without a care for the cameras. Indrid sets his hand on the warm sand, “I’ve been trying to, well, reign him in as you suggested. Or at least make him think twice about his choices.”

(Indrid omits the part where he’s most likely to risk it if Duck is the one with the target on his back).

Duck sets his hand down beside Indrid’s, brushes sand from the side of it with a calloused thumb, “Mighty good of you. But, uh, think I mighta read things wrong that day. You gotta handle him how you think best. Just, uh, just promise me you won’t sacrifice your own well-bein’ for my sake, or anyone else’s. We’re all grown-ass men; we can handle it.”

“I promise.” He lies.

The other man leans back on his hands, green eyes drifting across the waves. Indrid would gladly sit in silence the rest of the night, it’s so easy to be comfortable in the lull when it’s Duck filling the space beside him.

Eventually, the ranger murmurs, “It’s so fuckin breathtaking. The ocean, I mean. Maybe if you live on a coast you get used to it but man, it is somethin;.”

“More so than the forest?”

Duck smiles, “It’s like apples and oranges. Monongahela got its own charms; you’d have a blast takin pictures and drawin there, believe me. If, uh, if Apollo and I both make it to the final four, uh, maybe we could take a few hours durin’ my hometown visit and I could show you my favorite spot.

Indrid imagines the two of them beneath the trees, walking hand in hand.

“I’d like that.”

---------------------------------------------

“You know you’re just a distraction, right?”

Indrid doesn’t look at his brother, just flips the page in his book, “I doubt that. You’ve said, often, that I’m too off-putting to be interesting.”

“Not when there’s competition for someone superior; Duck knows he might not win. You’re his back-up if he doesn’t, and a way to kill time until the end. Once Vincent sends him home, which he most definitely will, he’ll keep you around until something better comes along.”

“Don’t act like you know him.” Indrid hisses, looking up just in time to see something scurrying behind the triumph on Apollo’s face: fear.

So, his brother has a new weakness. He’ll tuck that away for later; this is shaping up to be an unpleasant conversation, but not one requiring quite that degree of weapon.

“You should thank me. If I weren’t so captivating, Vincent would spend all his time with Duck. Then you’d be without any attention at all. Even Duck’s taste isn’t that abysmal.” He grins his several thousand dollar smile, “he and Vincent are probably laughing about it right now.”

Indrid stands, crosses the tiny room, “Shut up, Apollo.”

Then he slams the door. There’s a yelp, followed by “you hit my nose, you pathetic excuse for a man, ow, open this door this instant I’m not done with you!”

He flicks the lock and sits back on the bed. There’s a tin of sensory putty on his nightstand and he opens it, playing with it between his fingers. Duck brought it for him after a museum date with Vincent. The image of him not only thinking of Indrid when he saw something, but then buying it for him just to see him smile makes him want to grin and hide his face in a pillow like a teenager who just got asked to prom.

But maybe this date is going differently.

Indrid squeezes the putty, repeats the mantra he’s had since he was a child, “Apollo always lies. Apollo always lies.”

Eventually, he’s calm enough to work on some tattoo commissions, is coloring away when there’s a knock on the door. A secret knock Duck invented as a goof. Throwing open the door reveals the shorter man wearing a suit jacket and an exhausted expression. Indrid gestures to the bed, shuts and locks the door as Duck slumps on the mattress and sets his head in his hands.

“Whelp, that was a shit-show.”

“What happened?” Indrid sits cross-legged beside him.

“Vincent went in for a kiss and I, uh, I turned him down. I mean, he took it well because he’s a sweet guy but I, I feel like shit.”

“There’s no shame in not wanting to kiss just yet.”

“That ain’t the problem. I, I wanna kiss someone on this set, but it ain’t him. Indrid” he looks up, green eyes watery, “Indrid, I think I’m fallin in love with you.”

“Oh. I, are you sure-”

“The whole night, and I mean the whole fuckin night, I was thinkin about you. Thought how nice the trip to the botanical gardens would be with you there to point out color combos and get excited about butterflies. Wanted to hold your hand over dinner. Fuck, when they brought out the dessert menu all I could think was how fun it’d be to order one of each thing to surprise you so you’d do that thing you do with your hands when you’re real excited.” Duck turns, sets his hands on Indrid’s shoulders, “‘Drid, if you don’t want this, I’ll back off but-”

Indrid cuts him off with a kiss, let’s strong arms pull him down to the bed and presses as close to Duck as he can, as if any space between them might be a way for the universe to push them apart.

“Than fuck” Duck pants, cupping his face, “wait, fuck, what do we do now? I can’t string poor Vincent on.”

“We’ll get them to let you out of your contract. It can’t be that hard, right?”

--------------------------------------------

“Absolutely not” Ned shakes his head, “dropping out of the show is out of the question.”

“But that ain’t fair to any of us. Can we at least tell Vincent the truth?”

“No, it needs to look as if he naturally decided not to choose you. If not, we could be accused of manipulating results; the last time that happened, the ratings tanked for that season and the next. And my predecessor was fired.”

Duck looks at Indrid, “Guess I’ll just...pull back? That way Vincent won’t have a reason to choose me and’ll let me go soon.”

----------------------------------------------

“Droppin out is outta the question, huh?” Duck mutters to Indrid as they watch Barclay and Joseph walk off holding hands, the host eagerly asking them questions as they go.

“I suppose he didn’t drop so much as sprint.” Indrid glances at the rose in Duck’s hand, “congratulations on making the final...well, final three now.”

“Thanks? Guess Apollo’s pretty happy about it too.”

“Yes, but his ego needs no stroking.” Indrid smiles, “maybe this means you’ll get to show me the woods?”

“I hope so. Huh. What are they gonna do with the rest of us when it’s not our turn for the hometown visit?”

The answer turns out to be: drag everyone to each hometown. Because they no longer have Joe’s trip to do, Ned decided they needed more scenes of the contestants exploring where their competitors came from.

Kepler is first, and tonight is the night Duck’s been dreading. His romantic, home-town date that everyone expects to end with at least some kissing. He manages to make it through dinner, even enjoys showing Vincent the down-town he spent years roaming. But as they start down the river walk for a romantic stroll, his heart is trying to smash its way out of his ribs.

“It’s alright, you know.” Vincent stops, guiding Duck to face him, “the fact you want to be with Indrid.”

“I, uh, fuck, I, I don’t not know, uh, fuck-” he closes his eyes, “how’d you know?”

“I’m more observant than I get credit for.” Vincent brushes his cheek, “I’ve had a hunch for weeks now, but I kept you around because I liked having you here, even if I suspected it wasn’t going to end with us together. I’m very fond of you, Duck. You deserve someone who makes you happy. I promise I’ll send you home this next rose ceremony”

“Christ” Duck chuckles, “you’re a hell of a guy too, Vince. I hope whoever you pick treats you right. I, uh, can I, should we…?”

Vincent plants a chaste kiss on his cheek, then smiles, “go get him.”

----------------------------------------

“Any twos?”

“No. Go fish.”

Apollo grumbles as he takes another card. Given Duck and Vincent are on their date, neither he nor Indrid is having a good night. Before Indrid can make his ask, his twin says, “How do you get people to like you?”

“Why do you care? You’ve made it this far, so obviously Vincent likes you a great deal”

“I don’t just mean him. I, I mean, I want him to like me. To want me. But I suspect he’d like me better if other people did.”

Indrid idly taps his cards, “I suggest you stop acting like our father.”

“I’m nothing like him!” Apollo squawks.

“Oh, but you are. Everything he taught us you still hold as true; you’re just the newest version of men like him. Self-absorbed. Cruel. Shallow. I’m amazed you’ve gotten this far with Vincent, given that the age difference means you’d be caring for him in his old age.”

“I, I can care for him. I will!”

“Apollo, I wouldn’t trust you to care for a potted plant.” He sets his cards down.

“At least I’m not a-”

“Ambitionless deviant who has to ride his brother’s coattails to survive?”

“Wha--how-”

“Like I said; you’re just like him. Down to your insults.” Indrid stands, “I’m going to bed. I suggest you do the same.”

His brother remains speechless--a rare state for him--as he closes the door and heads for his room. He doubts Duck will do anything on the date (hell, the two of them have only been able to steal some kisses now and then), but the whole charade has him feeling low.

There are far more cameras in the rented house than there were a few hours ago. Which means the rest of the crew is back. Does that also mean…

“Hey, sugar. I was just lookin for you.”

--------------------------------------------------

Duck’s glad his door is open, because otherwise Indrid would have smashed it to pieces dragging them both through it. He’d only gotten out the barest explanation before the taller man was kissing his face and tugging at his clothes, purring “mine” over and over again.

“Yep, all yours.” He shuts the door as Indrid mouths at his neck, “which also means you’re all mine.” He yanks Indrid’s black sweater up and over his head, sends the matching t-shirt after it a moment later. Indrid whines, fumbling with Duck’s dress shirt, and he gets an idea.

“Uh uh, only good boys who show me why they deserve it get to feel me up.”

Indrid groans into his shoulder, fisting the fabric of his jacket “What constitutes good behavior in this instance?”

“One sec, don’t go nowhere.” He starts to step past him, pauses to grips his chin and pull him into another kiss, “and no peekin.”

As he digs through his bag for the strap on he brought just in case, he keeps an eye on Indrid to be sure he’s following the directions. The taller man’s fingers twitch, but his head stays still. God, Duck is going to memorize the shape of each of the tattoos decorating his skin with his mouth.

“You did real good.” He slips around Indrid once more, resting his back on the wall. Indrid notices the new bulge in his pants and thuds to his knees.

“May I?”

“You better.”

Indrid undoes the button of his fly. Then he looks at Duck over the rim of his glasses as he takes the zipper between his teeth and pulls it down. When the black silicone of the strap breaks free, Indrid cocks his head as if unsure of his options. Duck doesn’t really have a plan--he just wants to be with him, to make him feel good and show him just what weeks of pent-up desire have done to him--but he’s starting to regret that choice.

Indrid flicks hair from his face and wraps his lips around the head of the cock experimentally. He hums, sucking on it a moment, then pulls back blushing, “This is going to sound strange but, ah, I, I really like that. It’s such a lovely texture on my tongue, it’s, it’s almost soothing to suck.”

“Guess you better keep suckin it then, huh?” Duck runs the fingers of his right hand through Indrid’s hair.

“Is that really alright? It can’t feel like much on your end.”

“Don’t mean it ain’t fun to watch. But, uh” he touches the edge of Indrid’s red glasses, “it okay if I take these off?”

Indrid nods and Duck slides them free, tucks them into his breast pocket for safekeeping as Indrid draws the cock into his mouth again. He focuses on the head at first, humming and moaning as it bumps his cheek. Then Duck sees him swallow and relax the muscles of his jaw as he presses closer. Little puffs of breath tickle Duck’s skin as Indrid gets most of the cock in his mouth, cheeks hollowing and head bobbing as he sucks. Hungry noises burlbe up his throat, and the more he lets himself go the messier he becomes, spit coating his lips and eyes fluttering closed in bliss.

“Okay, I lied.”

Brown eyes shoot him a disbelieving look.

“This ain’t fun. This is one of the hottest fuckin things I’ve ever seen.”

Indrid wiggles happily on his knees, left hand dropping to rubs his own cock through his jeans.

“Needy little thing, gotta have somethin down your throat and around your dick at the same time.”

“MMMhhmmm” Indrid purrs, the picture of filthy perfection.

“If, if you swallow the whole thing, I’ll let you finger-fuck me.”

Both hands fly to his thighs with an excited moan. Indrid’s brow crinkles with determination as he slowly, carefully brings his lips to the base of the toy. Duck groans out “good boy” and shoves his pants down, Indrid helping to drag them to his ankles. Indrid keeps his left hand on Duck’s hip while the right hovers below his folds. Duck takes it, the toy making the angle a bit awkward, and guides it against him.

“Start with one.”

Indrid nods, moans reverently as he obeys. Duck curses, looks down to find Indrid watching him attentively. Duck is going to wreck him. Then he’s going to cuddle him to sleep and wonder at the fact he got this lucky.

“You’re doin’ great, sugar. Promise I’ll tell you if you need to adjustOH, ohyeah” he lets his head rest against the chipped white of the door, “that’s the spot. Fuck it, add one more, Ahfuck, yeah, those artists fingers are fuckin perfect for this.”

Another purr and then a sharp, choked noise. Duck looks down, realizing he rolled his hips without meaning to. Before he can apologize, Indrid grips his thigh and shakes his head.

“You like that?”

“Mmhhmmm” Indrid traces a heart on his belly.

“You’ll pull off you need to?”

“Mhmmmm.” Indrid curls his fingers as his stretched lips manage to grin.

“Fuck!” Duck giggles, “okay, if my darlin wants his face fucked, that’s what he’ll get.” He keeps a hand on Indrid’s shoulder as he lets loose, grunts and curses mingling with the increasingly wet moans of his cock claiming Indrid’s throat. Soon he’s out of words, too busy with the sight of himself forcing Indrid’s lips apart as he tightens around his fingers. Handjobs are a toss-up for him most days; sometimes they work, other times he can’t cum from them at all. It turns out what makes it very easy to do so is-

“‘Drid, fuck, fuck, sugar, yeah, right there, rightthererightthere ohfuckyeah.” He cums, jerking his hips hard enough to punch a new, high sound from Indrid’s throat. The other man pulls off, rests his cheek on Duck’s belly with shuddery, satisfied sighs.

“Y’know” Duck unbuttons his shirt from the bottom up so Indrid can more easily nuzzle the skin there, “I had this whole plan where I was gonna fuck you with this and then ride your face to cum.”

“I’m not opposed.” Indrid grins, bouncing a bit.

“Yeah, but I’ve only got one in me tonight. So” He tosses the shirt away, pulls off the harness as Indrid nibbles his hips, “if you wanna cum, you’re gonna have to do all the work.”

An edge enters his smile, “I can manage that.”

Duck hits the floor with a whump, Indrid trapping him on his back and climbing atop him, all the while kissing him with abandon.

“May I fuck you?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Condom?”

“Dop kit, bathroom, aw come back.”

“Patience, sweetheart” Indrid blows him a kiss, returns a few moments later doing an inelegant dance to kick his jeans and boxers away, “got one!”

“Good, now get back down here before I-AHfuck!” Indrid is on him and in him so fast it knocks his breath away.

“Before what? You’re not going anywhere, you’re mine, alllllll mine.” He drags kisses across Duck’s cheek, then bites his chapped lip as he looks down at him, “right?”

“You know it, nnng, fuck, that’s it sugar, be a good boy and cum for me. Fuck, darlin, wanted this so bad.” He locks his fingers into silver hair to keep Indrid in kissing distance as the other man whimpers, thrusts shallow and rabbity.

“Want you too, so much, I’ll be worth it, I swear, I’ll be good, I’ll, I’ll make you so happy.”

Duck rests their foreheads together, “You already do.”

There’s a high, gasping moan, almost like a chirp, and Indrid rides out his orgasm in drawn-out rolls of his hips. Then he collapses, laughing, on Duck’s chest.

“I, I’m sorry, I just never thought I’d get this. Someone wanting me. Choosing me.”

“I mean, I went on a T.V show to find love, so I know a little somethin about that fear. But I also know findin you is better than anythin I ever imagined.”

“Likewise.” Indrid nestles closer, one hand reaching out to hold Duck’s where it’s flopped on the rug.

“...You realize this means there’s a fifty-fifty chance your brother will win.”

Indrid shrugs, lifts his head to smile at Duck, “I leave that to Vincent. I already got my prize.”

#indruck #indrid cold/duck newton #bachelor au #meet ugly

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