#anyways this AU 4 is such a creature genuinely. he is so | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

top-tier-tickles · 2 years

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Dark Deception Tickle Au

Holy shit, chapter 4 is finally done. I'm so sorry it took so long, I'm a lazy bitch. I genuinely have no excuses. Anyway enjoy!

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Chapter 4: Part 2

Doug held his breath as he reentered the nightmare. He tried to be as quiet as possible, opening doors in advance so he wouldn't get cornered, and utilizing telepathy whenever he could, despite the irritation to his eyes and the migraines.

As the shard count ticked down, Doug came across a platform with a numbered keypad protruding upwards. He approached it, and tapped one number.

-CLUNK-

The floor underneath him jolted, slowly descending to another cramped path.

He trudged through, noticing another note from E on the wall.

They wrote about escaping from a dollhouse, and ending up in the sewers. Their attempts to find an escape had all been futile. The details about the ducks, how they come from the souls of liars. Makes sense, as they use their appearance to deceive their victims. It also mentioned how silent the sewers were, and that something massive knew they were there.

As Doug read that last sentence, he was suddenly hit with the feeling of eyes on him. Glaring into his very being, watching his every move.

He pocketed the note with the rest, and continued down the short hall.

He entered a small room, the walls made of cages that each held two Dread Duckies in them. All four all them were doing a weird little dance, crouching twice before rotating their body. As there, was nothing left in here, Doug returned to the main area.

Finally, after what felt like ages of walking in filthy shit water, Doug collected all of the shards in the area. But, there was still 191 shards on the count. Following the map, he opened another metal door to the next zone.

The door opened to reveal a huge room with four pillars, a podium with metal wheels on it, and the whole place was littered with the hollow shells of Dread Duckies.

And there was the ring piece on the left side of the room, the barrier still active.

Suddenly, a loud shriek echoed throughout the sewers. Not unlike the one from the monstrous howl from that beast earlier. The area shook as if an earthquake occurred.

"I'm sure that rumbling is nothing to be concerned about." Bierce said sarcastically.

He walked further into the room, following the map to the door that lead to zone 2. Avoiding the spike trap in front of it, Doug entered the next area.

The first thing he noticed was how much darker this zone was. The concrete walls only illuminated by a single white light, leaving the rest nearly pitch black.

It was quiet, like a corpse floating in an ocean with no breeze. The only noise to be heard was the splashing of his footsteps. And the occasional quack that echoed in the distance. The cold air made him shiver and contemplate rolling his sleeves down fron their position on the middle of his arms. He decided not to, though.

"They're hiding in the shadows." Bierce whispered, her voice almost having a fearful tone to it.

She was right. Many duckies were floating in the water where no light touched them, some barely visible at all. The near-silence of the place led Doug's eyes to wander as he slowly jogged through the sewers. He scowled at the walls, caked in layers upon layers of grime and God knows what else. Luckily, he'd knocked the counter down to 97 shards. He'd be out of here yet.

Suddenly, another set of splashing footsteps came into earshot, and a ducky appeared behind him.

Swiftly, Doug turned and swung his arm at the creature, hoping to bat it away. But, he didn't land a punch that would put another crack in the duck's face, instead, his hand was shoved into the crook of where the thing's neck would be.

Despite the outside look of the feathers being crusted and dingy, the feathers underneath were quite soft. So soft that Doug mindlessly ran his fingers through it, jolting when the duck shook hastily and puffed up their feathers. Curious, Doug repeated the action, and the Dread Ducky quacked and shivered once again.

No way.

There was no way this demon was ticklish. Doug ruffled the feathers once more, same response, only stronger. Holy shit.

Suddenly, the mortal dug his hands into the neck feathers and ruffled them as fast as he could, leading the Ducky to hop around and quack repeatedly as a sort of laugh.

It was actually kind of cute.

Soon, the creature had enough and just retracted its legs back into it's body, going back to floating in the water.

Doug smiled, and ran off before the duck woke up. Luckily, the shard count showed only 78 shards left.

He traveled through the sewers, going into large rooms with columns up to the ceiling and crawling with Dread Duckies.

And then he saw it.

In one of the little barred off alcoves, two giant red eyes glowed from the pitch black darkness. Those same eyes of the large monster that grabbed him.

Quickly, he picked up the last shard, and began a mad dash for the altar, Malak close behind.

With a swift grab, the ring piece was his, Doug's lungs burning as his adrenaline went down.

"That's far enough, mortal." A deep voice said from behind him.

There Malak was, standing in front of a pedestal with valve wheels on it, his white and purple suit still perfectly clean and untouched by the sewage around them.

"You know, you're actually the first of Bierce's little pets to actually cause me some trouble. I ought to commend you for your tenacity." The red demon continued, "But, commendable as you may be, I'm afraid your little streak ends here."

A wicked smile grew onto the demon's jagged mouth, pointed ears flicking ever so slightly with amusement.

"Fortunately, watching you run around obediently has reminded me that I have a loyal pet as well." Malak's smile only grew bigger as he went on. "Here, allow me to introduce you, so you get both get more properly acquainted."

With a nonchalant gesture to the large door behind him, it began to open, revealing the monster from the beginning of this sewer adventure.

Malak adjusted his fluffy bow tie, politely clearing his throat.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must take my leave. Business calls elsewhere. Oh, and Bierce...I know you're there, peering through your little puppet. I'll be settling matters with you very soon..."

With a malicious laugh and a puff of smoke, Malak had disappeared, leaving Doug to the beast.

The creature, (Doom Ducky, if you will), quacked out a sort of evil laughter as it hurled a hollow duck body at the mortal, who barely dodged it.

"Now that's a huge duckie!" Bierce commented unhelpfully.

Doom Ducky repeated this twice more, before retracting their hands and reeling their head back, ready to strike.

"Use the pillars to slow it down!" Bierce yelled.

Before Doug could rush to the nearest pillar, one of the monster's many hands snatched him up, yanking him over to the giant mechanical bird.

Two hands grabbed his arms and lifted them above his head, leaving his legs to dangle below, rendering him vulnerable.

Another pair of hands descended down and dug their index fingers right into Doug's armpits, causing Doug to lose it.

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHO! PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE!" He shouted, his legs bucking to release the ticklish energy.

Another pair joined at squeezing his hips, Doug's laughter going up an octave.

"PAHAHAHA-PLEHEHEHEHEASE! IT'S TOO MUHUHUHUCH! EHEHEHEHAHAHA!"

Suddenly, more hands grabbed his ankles, holding the flailing limbs still, while some more began to gently scratch his thighs.

Doug shrieked.

"EEEEEEEYAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NONONONOHOHOHOHOHO! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Doug desperately thrashed about in pure ticklish agony, trying to escape from this torture.

Doom Ducky simply quacked, speeding up their fingers to heighten the tickles.

Poor Doug threw his head back as tears poured down his cheeks, a wide smile stretched across his face.

Finally, Doug slipped away into the death screen.

When he returned, he had built a strategy for beating this thing. Whenever the demon began to reel its head back, Doug got behind a pillar, which would stun the duck when it bit it. Then, he would turn the valve wheels to close the door.

Soon enough, the door slammed down and his escape was within reach.

An alarm began to sound, and the mortal began to speed boost to the portal.

"Getting back to the portal will not be so easy this time. Don't screw this up!" Bierce ordered.

As if on cue, a long arm from Doom Ducky burst from one hole in the wall. Doug barely evading it.

As he ran, more and more hands shot out to drag him to his death, nevertheless, Doug continued his mad dash through this nasty maze.

Finally, he could see it! The portal! Suddenly, Doom Ducky's head shot out of the hole right next to the portal, thier teeth gnashing rabidly.

With a quick sidestep, Doug returned through the portal and back into the ballroom, happy to be out of that place.

As Doug placed the ring at the altar, he felt Malak's eye burning into him, the eyeball on the door did not seem happy...

"It vexes me greatly that you're still here, mortal." He began, exasperated, "Now she had ANOTHER piece of that infernal ring."

"Every piece Bierce gets makes her more powerful. Don't you get that, meatsack? What do you think is going to happen when she doesn't need you anymore?" He inquired.

Suddenly, Bierce interjected.

"He's right. I am getting more powerful. Powerful enough to fulfill your every wish. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

"Oh, Bierce, why not tell him what fate befell the last person that trusted you, hmm?"

Bierce remained silent, a rarity, her amused smirk had fallen into a solemn expression, turning away from the two.

'Last person? Does he mean E?' Doug, thought, but decided not to ask.

"Anyway. There's five more pieces to go, love. Ready to try your luck again? Or would you rather just stay here with me?" She crossed her arms.

6 portals to go...

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END OF CHAPTER 4: PART 2

Chp. 1-1, Chp. 1-2, Chp. 2-1, Chp. 2-2, Chp. 2-3, Chp. 2-4, Chp. 3-1, Chp. 3-2, Chp. 3-3, Chp. 4-1, Chp. 4-2, Chp. 5-1, Chp. 5-2, Chp. 5-3, Chp. 6-1, Chp. 6-2, Chp. 6-3,

#Dark Deception Tickle Au #dark deception #dark deception tickle #tickle fic #sfw tickling #tickling

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pandawithawand · 3 years

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Grian, The Single Dragon Dad Au

Inspired by this art

It was 4:23 am when Grian was woken up by loud wailing. He tumbled out of bed, very confused; since when where was there a baby in Boatem?

He squinted into the darkness of the Midnight Alley, straining for the source of the sound. Was it coming from outside? Yes, it was coming from outside.

Grian got up unsteadily, and made his way to the opening of his base. Once he’d reached entrance, he stepped on something. It crunched very suddenly under his boots, causing him to jump. he bent down to see what it was, and picked up a shard of black eggshell. It was thicker then a birds egg and had strange purple flecks in it. It has the same texture as sandpaper and was slightly warm.

It was part of the dragon egg.

Grian paled. The egg had hatched. That had to be the only reason part of it was outside his base. That meant a baby dragon was somewhere loose in Boatem. And since Grian had been the one to kill it’s mother, Grian was the one responsible for it.

~*~

After following the trail of eggshell to the corner between his and Pearl’s base, Grian found the hatchling, cowering and wailing like a kicked puppy. However, the moment it saw Grian, it stopped. And just stared at him.

Large purple eyes staring into brown eyes.

Dragon slayer and dragon suspended in time for just a second.

And then the dragon giggled. A small babyish giggle. It blinked, giggled and bounded over to Grian, bumping into his knees, unbalancing him. He fell onto his bottom and the dragon crawled into his lap. It smiled up at Grian and that’s when he knew...

He’d just become a single dad.

~*~

At 8:30 on the same day, Scar landed in the Midnight Alley and loudly proclaimed his arrival to the world,

“Ooh~ Grian! It is I! Your favourite builder,” He strode deeper into the base and started looking around, “I’m here to build your base for you. Hello? Grian? Where are yo- WOAH!!”

Something ran into Scar’s legs, knocking him to the floor. He looked on in shock as a small, black dragon ran towards the marble bank at the end of the alley.

“What on earth...” Scar slowly got back his feet, picking up his crutch, which had been flung from his hands. He shuffled a bit closer, causing the dragon to look up, “Hello little one! What are you doing here?”

The hatchling toddled over to Scar, sniffed his outstretched hand and chirped.

“Oh my goodness, you are the cutest thing I've seen. Why are you in Grian’s base?” Scar scratched under the creatures chin, “Are you lost?”

“Tegg? Tegg, where’ve you gone?” A voice cut through the air, causing the dragon to look up. It bounded away from Scar and towards the entrance where a tired, slightly dishevelled Grian had just landed.

“Oh, there you are Tegg!” The short man bent down and scooped the dragon up, “You shouldn’t run of like that! You’ll get lost.”

“Um, Grian?”

“ARGH!” Grian screamed, fell over, got jumped by the dragon and lay down to except his fate as a dragon bed, “Scar you scared me. You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that.”

“Yeah, sorry about that Grian, why is there a dragon in Boatem?”

“Ah yeah, about that,” The avian shoved the hatchling of his chest and sat up, “The Tegg hatched.”

“The Tegg hatched...” Scar echoed,

“Yes, the Tegg hatched.”

“How.”

“I have no idea.”

A silence filled the Midnight Alley. Grian spoke first, “You know, that sounded a lot better in my head. It wasn’t very helpful, was it.” The salesman laughed at that, and agreed with an exaggerated nod.

“So... What do you do now?” Scar looked down at his friend, genuine curiosity in his voice.

“Well, care for it I suppose.”

“Oh, this will be fun to watch!”

~*~

Oh boy, this took me so long to write. I was halfway through, and my motivation just went poof. So this has just been sitting in an open tab for like, 6 weeks. Anyway, I love this Au, it’s so cute, and I hope you enjoy!

~*~

#hermitcraft #grian #tegg #fanfic #grian the single dragon dad #fluff #goodtimeswithscar #scar #season 8 #hermitcraft s8 #pandawithapen

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nanaminokanojo · 3 years

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Play the Game | Nanami Kento X You | Part 8/8 [COMPLETED]

collection masterlist

one - two - three - four - five - six - seven - eight (final)

"Play the Game" Masterlist

You stood by the door, watching the chaos in your brother’s bedroom as he prepared for his wedding at sunset, waiting for everyone to leave so you can finally speak to him in private. He was, after all, the only one in the family you cared for enough to inform him of your decisions.

People always say you and Gojo were similar. However, those very things that made you alike also set you apart. Besides the platinum white hair and remarkable blue eyes you shared – unique even within the clan – being the absolute obvious, the similarities stopped there.

You siblings were supposed to be akin to one another, but the same things they loved about your brother were the same things people abhorred about you. You and your brother were both prodigies. He was richer than the whole clan, all assets combined being the successful businessman he was ever since he was in his teens. It was as freakish as it was awe-inspiring. You were an artist of great renown with your multi-million dollar pieces and the youngest to have been dubbed as a national artist when you were the same age as him.

But where he basked in fame and acclaim, your prominence was fueled by infamy. Gojo built an empire that served as one of the pillars of the local economy. You produced artistic pieces that inspired execration and controversy. Undeniably brilliant, yes, but absolutely contentious.

Your brother was kind. In fact, he was the best older brother one could ever ask for, and that was not lip service nor was it because of your biases towards him. You can never discount how caring he is to you, how hard he tries to make you happy and how he would go through lengths as to be the idiot just to satisfy your whims. He was just genuinely good-natured although he appeared somewhat insouciant. He had his evil streak, too, which is established in the clan, but his goodness radiated like a light that followed him wherever he went.

However, you have long accepted that your side which reflected Gojo in every way when you were younger had long died. Altruism wasn’t one of your strongest suits and you were only ever affectionate to people you had deep, deep fondness for. And that wasn’t even something common. Even your parents had always been the receiving end of your lackadaisical attitude.

He attracted people, you repelled them. Being surrounded by the good people he called friends was a testament to that no matter how vexing his personality was, and more people want to be near him. Apart from your three friends, you didn't make any more and your school life sucked because majority of your classmates hated you. For what, you didn't know. You don’t think you will ever understand.

It was your seven-year gap that made all the difference, you liked to think. It was much easier to swallow than the concept of the whole cosmos conspiring to create two creatures to be equals but of the opposite nature. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be that way, but you will always be the one looking up to him regardless if you did not choose the same path as his; regardless of whether there were no comparisons with what either of you endeavored to do.

And above everything else, you loved Satoru very much.

“Got a minute?” You began, standing before him in front of the mirror. It was rather annoying watching him struggle with the cufflinks, and you didn’t think he would manage to fix the bowtie still hanging loosely on his neck. Thus, you thought of taking charge. “Give it here.”

Gojo was surprised, but he was nonetheless happy. He wore his heart on his sleeve after all, and you could only guess it was that vulnerability he risked showing that attracted people to him. You have only learned the intricacies of such a matter recently, something you had to agree with since it all made perfect sense.

“Thank you,” he said, tilting his head to the side, watching you work on his cuffs.

“You’re really getting married, huh?” you began, feeling yourself start to falter, but you have decided. You may not have gotten him the best wedding gift materially speaking, but you swore to let him in on what was going on with you, to be honest with him like you hadn’t been for the longest time. “Who would have known?”

“Am I finally getting that emotional pre-wedding sibling talk?” he asked, walking towards the seats by the window and looking out into the garden.

“You’re getting married, not being sent away to prison. I don’t even understand why this happens during weddings,” you quipped, sighing. “But I guess you could call it that.”

He smiled at you, patting the space beside him. You did as you were told, assuming the spot, but also looking out the window, watching as the organizers made finishing touches to the garden below. No expense was spared to make the occasion as perfect as it could get. You couldn’t argue with it. Gojo deserved the best, and to him, Utahime did, too.

“I’m waiting,” he said, breaking the silence that had befallen the room. “You’ve been pacing before the door for god knows how long when you should have been getting ready.”

“I got ready much faster than you did.”

“And you look beautiful.” He tilted his head to the side, eyeing you appreciatively. “Sometimes, I can’t believe you’re all grown up. And what a beautiful woman you’ve become.”

You smirked. “You’re looking at your mirror image after all.”

“Well, there’s that, of course.” He laughed slightly. “But I’m not just saying that because we’re basically the same person. You really are beautiful, baby sis.” He tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ear, opting for it instead of his usual choice of mussing your hair since it has already been styled for the wedding.

You just shook your head. “Thank you, Satoru.”

“So, what did you want to talk about exactly?”

“The other day…” Your voice trailed off, thinking about what to say. It wasn’t that way before between you and your brother. He was always the easiest person to talk to, always open minded and optimistic about matters. But now that you were going to discuss something that he had vocally opposed, you were a bit scared of saying anything. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t do Nanami justice if you decided to hold back now, considering that he was more than ready to speak to your brother.

You’ve both initially decided to sit Gojo down and tell him about your decisions together, but you informed Nanami earlier in the day that you needed to have a proper conversation with him first. It wasn’t just your choice to be with Nanami that was the matter, and you wanted to get things straightened out with Gojo before he gets married.

“Yes?” he prompted.

“You said I don’t talk enough to you; that I don’t tell you things anymore.”

Gojo slowly nodded.

You breathed out. “Things changed. We can’t deny that. I grew up and you…well, you’ve decided you want to spend your life with Iori and build your own family.” Your lips curled up awkwardly as you tried to keep your emotions at bay. It was new territory having such talks with him when you’re used to your easy-going dynamic with him. “I’m scared, too. I mean, I can’t just bother you anytime anymore cause you’ll have your wife and eventually children to pay attention to and prioritize.”

He was taken aback by what you said, immediately drawing closer. “What are you saying, Y/N? You’re my sister. Nothing will change –”

“Our bond will not change, dude, but you have to admit that what I’m saying is true.” You took his hand in yours, squeezing it gently. You beamed at the fact that your fingers were structured in the same tapered manner as his. Even the shape of your fingernails were the same, just that his hands were bigger than your delicate ones. “What I’m saying is that even if you need to do that, I will be fine.”

“Of course, you will be. You’re my sister, and above that, you are your own person, and you’re stronger than you think. You’ve been handling things on your own for as long as I can remember.” He pouted, trying to act cute with you. “It’s disappointing, to be honest, because you’ve never really given me the chance to play my role in your life because you’re always the mature one.”

You were confused now. “What are you on about? You’re my only brother, but I can’t imagine anyone else holding that position in my life. You’re the best I could have asked for. I’ve always looked up to you. You’re my role model.”

“I am?”

“Yeah. The fuck are you so surprised for?” You snickered. “That aside, if you felt like I’ve been leaving you out, that’s not the intention at all. I always want you to be the first one to know what’s going on with my life…”

He clucked his tongue. “I understand you’re not doing it on purpose, kid. I’m just worried that you didn’t think I’m worth telling anything because, well, I’m not exactly a proper adult, am I?”

“You’re realizing that now that you’re about to get married?” you taunted him, jabbing your thumb towards the direction of the garden. “Should I tell Iori to call this whole thing off?”

He waved you aside. “Hey, don’t say that!”

You chuckled, shaking your head. “Anyway, there’s something I wanted to tell you for a while now.”

“How long is a while, exactly?”

“Years and years.” You flashed him a rueful smile. “I just couldn’t figure out how to tell you because I am not exactly sure how you feel about it although you’ve told me many times you were opposed to it. What I’m saying it that, I know that fact, but it’s the motivation behind it that is beyond my knowledge.”

Gojo’s eyes rounded, realizing what you were saying. “Are you…”

You nodded. “Yes, I am talking about Kento.”

He just blinked and stood up, pacing around in front of you for a while that you had to stop him from doing it. He had such a bad habit of doing that when he is in deep thought, and always in front of you, too. He was making you dizzy.

You seized him by the wrist. “Please say something.”

“I…”

“Why are you opposed to it?”

He stopped pacing and faced you, taking you by the shoulders, his eyes starting to water. “Y/N…”

“Oh no, are you gonna cry?”

He furiously blinked his tears back, the action almost comical if it weren’t for the serious look on his face. “Because you are my little sister. You think it will be easy for me to just hand you over to anyone? My friends aren’t exceptions to that although I trust them with everything that I have. I will always, always worry about you when it comes to that matter because I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want you to be taken advantage of, and I don’t want to have to break either Suguru or Kento’s bones when the time comes.”

“I can manage the latter on my own.” You sighed, finding your resolve strengthening. “But like you said, I’m this old now. I want you to understand that I know what I am doing and I am confident about my decisions. Honestly, I didn’t want to talk about this as if I am asking for your permission. This is what I meant when I said I will be fine. I am not saying you don’t have a say in my life, but I am telling you this time because I want you to know before anyone else does.”

“Suguru doesn’t know?” he asked, eyes sparkling.

“Don’t be petty. I tell him things I can’t tell you just like you tell him things you can’t tell me,” but you nodded anyway. “He doesn’t know yet…I think.”

“So…you and Kento…”

You nodded again. “I’m in love with him, Satoru. And he feels the same way.”

“You are?” His expressions softened, hugging you to him. “You’ve grown. Really grown.”

You returned the gesture, holding onto him tight. “Please don’t ever think that I am leaving you out of my life because I always want to tell you everything.”

Just then, he pulled back, his brows furrowing while his eyes narrowed at you. “So, why isn’t he the one telling me this? Where is that bastard?”

You shrugged. “He wants to be here. Trust me. I just asked him if I could talk to you first because I have issues to resolve with you apart from my relationship with him.”

Gojo exhaled, nodding in understanding. “I understand, Y/N. But are you certain?”

“Yes. I’m scared of hurting him, but I’ll do my best, I guess.”

“Hmm, yeah. Maybe you should tone down on your mischief, too. I don’t want him dying of stress because of you. He’s still precious to me.”

At that, you laughed. “I know.”

He poked you on the cheek. “Alright then. If that’s what makes you happy, I won’t stand in your way. You have my blessing.” His teeth clenched then. “But I’m still going to have to talk to him man to man in case he thinks he’s off the hook.”

“Worry about your wedding first,” you jibed.

“I almost forgot about that.”

“I’m telling Iori.”

He shook his head, feigning panic. “Don’t.”

You both ended up laughing, joking about the guests who were arriving at the garden, poking fun at the relatives you both detested but had no choice but to invite. Just like that, you were back to how it used to be, easily conversing and sharing the same sentiments about things and same penchant for devilry.

Soon, the organizer came to his room, informing him that he needed to go to the garden to prepare. You reached up and fixed his tie and jacket for him, holding him at arm’s length to appreciate your handiwork. “You’re all set.”

“Thank you.” He smiled wide but you saw the nervousness in his eyes. “I’m getting married!”

“You are.”

“I’m more anxious about seeing Kento after what you told me,” he stated dramatically.

You eyed him witheringly. “Shut up and pull yourself together.”

He snickered then. “Kidding. Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

The two of you walk to the garden, your arm around his. He stood at the spot just by the last row of seats with you, grinning at you when he saw you looking at Nanami who was already dutifully standing on his spot, speaking to Geto.

“Concentrate on your vows, yeah?” you told your brother.

“I’m off.”

“In case we don’t get to talk before you leave for your honeymoon,” you began, “Just know that I am waiting for the speedy arrival of my nieces and nephews.”

Gojo laughed at that, but nodded anyway and said, “I’ll do a good job, I promise.”

“And Satoru?”

“Yeah?”

“Love you.”

“I know, kid. I know.” He turned on his heels and walked towards his place at the front pews while you watched, his steps leading you towards the very man you would want to see standing there when the time comes, his halo of golden locks bright under the setting sun but you knew your future with him would be even more brilliant.

The familiar bars of Johann Pachelbel’s “Canon” began to play in a modified, slowed-down wedding version made especially for Gojo and Utahime’s wedding, played on the harp, piano and violin, cueing the beginning to the entrance of the bridal entourage. It began with the entrance of the flower girls who scattered petals of different flowers on the white carpet that lined the long aisle.

Arches and bouquets of flowers festooned the garden, with gossamer cloth hanging about, interlaced with live wisteria that hung down from the canopy along with fairy lights that progressively turned on as the sky grew darker. White and pink dominated the color palette as Utahime had wished and the same goes for the reception area. It was probably one of the most beautiful wedding setups Nanami has ever seen.

But his eyes weren’t on the ornaments. They were trained on the end of the walled garden, waiting for your ascent on the marble steps where the white carpet extended, the march made more dramatic by the organizers by opting for a meandering aisle instead of the traditional, straight walkway for the bride. And it did achieve the desired effect when you finally emerged from the steps and into view.

He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips upon finally seeing you clad in that familiar faded rose gown he had first seen being fitted on you to perfection. He kissed you while you wore that very article of clothing not long ago at the couturier’s shop, and though he thought back then that he has never seen anything more beautiful, he was amazed at the fact that you looked even more gorgeous in it as you glided towards the front.

He loved you so much it hurts, and although you’ve both professed your deep affections for one another and decided to take things head on together, he still felt like he was in the middle of a dream he didn’t want to wake up from. You came closer, and once more, he was back at the semi-outdoor ballroom the first day he came that week, beholding the goddess that was you but seemingly in a different light – brighter this time, overwhelming him to the point that he had to remind himself how to breathe when you finally looked his way and beamed unabashedly, your affections towards him unmasked, real and not under the guise of a game.

“Kento,” he heard Gojo say softly just then, the man’s blue eyes furtively glancing at him.

“Yes?” he answered in hushed tones.

“Hurt my baby sister and I’ll have your severed head hung by the gates of the estate,” he said. “Are we clear about that?”

Geto snickered, concealing it by facing the other way.

“Understood,” Nanami said seriously. “I’m counting on it.”

When you were near enough, you smiled at your brother and Geto before turning your attention to Nanami. You winked at him as you passed by before turning towards your spot opposite them across the aisle, your attention trained towards the point where you came from.

He couldn’t stop looking at you, not even when he felt Gojo hold onto his arm, squeezing tight as Utahime came into view. He didn’t mean to be insulting to his friends. She was beautiful in her wedding gown and he couldn’t help but be moved by the loving look that your brother had on his face as he watched his wife-to-be come closer, guided by her father who will give her away as the sun set. It was poetic. A new beginning after a beautiful end. He probably looked the same whenever his eyes would find you.

The ceremony carried on as everyone sat down, waiting for the couple to exchange their ‘I do’s.’ their vows, rings and the much-awaited kiss. It was making him emotional, thinking of the time when he himself would draw your veil and get to claim you as his for life in front of everyone you both loved and cared about. He couldn’t wait for it, and he may be getting ahead of himself, but he wanted what Gojo and Utahime had with you.

As the minister announced the pair man and wife, everyone applauded and cheered for them. He did so, too, chuckling when Geto whistled loudly, being his cheeky self. Just then, he nudged Nanami on the side, grinning impudently.

“Is it safe to assume you’re next?” he queried in the same manner.

Nanami rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Who knows? Someone might actually steal your heart in the next months and we’ll be seeing you crying as you watch your bride walk towards you by next year.”

Geto snickered at that. “Yeah, right. You looked like you wanted to jump Y/N and replace Satoru and Iori at the altar all this time.”

“Who wants to replace my brother and sister-in-law at the altar?” they heard you say, appearing out of nowhere, your head tilted to the side as you shifted your blue orbs between the two males, but before either of them could answer, you linked your arm with Nanami who smiled down at you blissfully. You returned the gesture, your cheeks blushing prettily under the twinkling lights overhead.

“I see you’ve figured things out.” Geto smirked, patting Nanami on the back just as Shoko came into view, taking the former by the arm, claiming she needed a smoke. She pulled him away, leaving you and Nanami to yourselves, winking as they walked away.

“So, you told him?” you asked, cocking your head towards the wide lawn where the pergolas were, built on three sides of the square and closed by an elevated area for the band, all surrounding a dance floor under a huge, white tent above, also adorned with thousands of lights. It was your design, solely for the wedding reception and a form of gift to the newlyweds.

“Satoru did indirectly when he said he’ll have my head hung at the gates of Gojo Manor if I hurt you.” He shook his head, laughing slightly. “Bastard had the gall to laugh at me, too.”

“He nearly cried when I told him earlier,” you said, regaling him with how your conversation with Gojo went. “He trusts you and is actually afraid I’ll hurt you, too.”

He shook his head. “It’s all part of the process, isn’t it?”

“Mhmm.”

“We’ll take it head on.” He held your hand, twining your fingers together.

You nodded, squeezing his larger hand. “We will.”

Just then, your friends emerged from the reception area with Noabara taking the lead, mischief drawn all over her face as she approached you. “I took care of the sitting arrangement,” she said to you then turned to Nanami. “Take care of Y/N. Make her cry and –”

“You’ll have my head?” Nanami supplemented but Nobara shook her head. “I’ll tan your hide. Satoru gets your head apparently.”

At that, Nanami laughed, nodding nonetheless. But to your surprise, she also turned her attention to you, holding you by the shoulders. “Are you still playing?”

“Nope.” You pressed your lips together, shaking your head slowly.

She smiled then. “Good.” She glanced at Nanami. “You’ve got you a good one here.”

“I know.”

They left you alone after that much to his relief, but then you said, “Wanna play a game?”

His eyes rounded and he felt tension again once he heard you say those familiar words, always the preamble to every single mischievous stunt you’ve ever pulled on everyone including him. He paused and looked at you. “I thought no more games?”

You smirked at him. “One more won’t hurt.”

He sighed, giving in. “You’re going to be the death of me, I swear to god.”

“So, are you in?”

“When did I ever say no to you?”

You giggled. “Great.”

“What is it about this time?” he asked, indulging you.

“Whoever gets a rise out of Satoru first wins.”

“The stakes?”

You just winked suggestively at him.

You forfeited. For the first time, you lost in your own game. It counted – albeit momentary – because you initiated the game…said the very words that began everything that paved the way to the result you’ve always wanted. But you did not really consider it a loss when for the long run, you’ve gained the very person you’d always gladly lose to at any given time.

After you father offered a toast for the newlyweds, the speeches began, starting with Utahime’s parents then yours, eventually moving on to you, then the bride and groom’s shared close friends. Geto had been rather irreverent as usual, pointing out the things that both Gojo and Utahime supposedly disliked from one another yet brought them closer, making everyone laugh when Shoko came up the stage and began her speech, saying, “Opposites do attract.”

You sat on your table with Nanami, both of you waiting for your turns. He was next in line after Shoko, smirking at you as he stood up and walked towards the platform and began his piece by congratulating Gojo, “for landing a very gracious woman who has the most enduring patience I have ever known in all mankind, given the grief that Ieiri, Suguru and I had to endure before Iori came to his life.”

He continued on with his witty address, pretty much reflecting what Suguru said and entertaining the crowd enough when he started to express his gratitude. “While I know that this changes nothing between us as the best of friends – including your nature that tested one’s forbearance – I would like to say thank you for many things. Thank you because you are, well, you…” He did a dramatic eye roll.

The guests laughed.

“Thank you because you are a real person who offered friendship to quiet, boring old me,” he said, droning on about the things he appreciated about the couple before saying the things he was thankful to Gojo about. “And thank you, because without you, without our friendship, I wouldn’t have met the very person I also want to walk this earth with for the rest of my life.”

You would have fallen off your seat when Megumi playfully nudged you if it weren’t for Yuuji who also held onto your shoulders from behind your seat, shaking you excitedly.

“If it weren’t for one Gojo Satoru, I wouldn’t have met Y/N.”

You felt all eyes turn towards you, including your parents and your brother, heat suffusing your cheeks as you tried hard to keep yourself from smiling like an idiot for everyone to see. Nanami has outdone you this time, and you knew you didn’t have a chance to go against that when he had so publicly expressed how he felt about you.

“I love her with everything that I am,” he continued, “and I will continue to do so even without your threat to behead me.” He raised his glass. “To Iori and Satoru. May you have the happiest, most prosperous married life from today and for always.”

Geto whistled loudly while the guests applauded. You also stood up, clapping your hands slowly as you shook your head. You’ve lost big time, backed by the fact that your brother stood up raising his glass as he said, “I couldn’t have wished for a better future brother-in-law.” He then looked at you, smiling fondly.

Nanami got Gojo to state his approval for everyone to hear. You can’t win against that even if you nearly made the latter cry.

And now, you were just happy to be in Nanami’s arms as he swayed you both to the tune the jazz band was playing, your arms hanging around his shoulders and your fingers playing with the hair at the base of his head while he held you against him by the waist.

“So?” Nanami began. “How’s that for a final game?”

“Not bad,” you acceded, smirking at him. “I’ll admit defeat.”

“Damn right, you are.” He smiled down at you, his dark eyes reflecting the muted, xanthic lights that surrounded you. “I have a couple of things I’d want you to do for me, by the way.”

You nodded slowly, keeping a straight face at the mention of his prize. “Rules are rules.”

His brows furrowed slightly. “Then again, you haven’t told me what you wanted when you won a week ago.”

You grinned, burying your face on his chest, listening to the faint sound of his heart. “But I did get what I want.”

“And that is?”

You met his gaze from under your lashes. “You,” you stated in full confidence.

Nanami nodded, suppressing a smile. “If you say so.”

“I wouldn’t wish for anything else.” You pulled him towards you so you could peck him on the mouth. “Thank you.”

“I don’t know what for, but as always, anything for you.”

You chuckled at that. Knowing him, he’ll make good on his words for sure, so much so that you didn’t feel the least bit of worry where your future with him was concerned. “You have to learn how to say no to me.”

“I guess, but since I won, have I finally made it to the list of people you don’t mess with?” he asked.

“As promised, yes.”

“No more games?”

“No more games,” you repeated. “Although I have to say it keeps things interesting between us. Don’t you think so?”

You both dissolved in laughter, the merry mingling of your voices coming to a standstill when he bent down and cupped your cheeks, running his thumb over your cheek before staking his claim on your lips while you returned the gesture in kind, locked in each other’s arms, glad you both played the game. And won.

-THE END-

I would like to say thank you to everyone who read this and kept up with my erratic updating. It's been a good 6 weeks. Thanks!

*I used “you” here, but since my character is Gojo’s little sister who is established to be his female clone for reasons essential to the plot, she possesses the same blue eyes and white hair. I did not exactly want to create an OC (although technically, I did by describing Y/N), but I opted for the best of both worlds in this fic, leaning more towards the literary aspect of it as opposed to it just being reader/you-oriented. I hope this isn’t iffy to anyone, and yeah, i’m not being exclusive or whatever.

Thank you so much for reading. Likes, comments and reblogs are deeply appreciated! Hope you enjoyed it.

PHOTO/IMAGE/GIF/FANART CREDITS TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

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hamphobicbasil · 3 years

Note

Could u elaborate about the dsmp story being bad? Not a rabid/brain dead fan, just genuinely curious and I enjoy reading people's rants lolol

oh you dont know the floodgates you just opened

a few things:

1. despite not liking the creators of the dsmp anymore, I don't actually hate most of them. [the ones that are particularly unsavory fall outside of this of course] so all that I'm saying i truly mean in a critical sense towards the story, its also just all purely my opinion as someone who enjoys fictional and fantasy stories and who like criticizing works to see what it does well and what it doesn't do well

2. for clarification I'm going to use the c![name] to indicate when I'm talking about the characters. Don't get me wrong, I think its annoying too but its the only way I'm gonna be able to write this thing without getting something across the wrong way yknow?

3. I stopped watching the streams after November 16th, [save for one Techno one but I closed out after a particularly bad story beat lol] and so all information coming afterward is all second hand from either me seeing people on twt talk abt it or people dming me. All i really know is up to dream's imprisonment and some stuff past that.

4. This is mostly aimed towards the "main" story, so stuff abt the badlands, eggpire, and whatnot are briefly mentioned.

anyways uh, i'll try to be brief but also include enough information to get why i feel the way i do on some stuff across

A. Performances Alright obviously these people are all streamers, so obviously they might not be the best actors, and hell no one is even asking that of them. However, when you're telling a story that's based on the audio with the visuals kinda coming to a second, it's gotta be pretty strong. I will say, some of the best actors in my opinion are Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo. I would include Ranboo but I never watched any of his story bits or story streams so I can't say much. Wilbur and Tommy are excellent in selling their character's emotions and feelings, when I watch the stream I don't feel like I'm watching an rp but an actual thought-out story yknow? And one of my favorite Tubbo examples was in the Hog Hunt video whenever Techno attacked him, he sounded genuinely afraid and I believed everything his character was feeling.

However, unfortunately, not everyone is gonna be that good. And I'm gonna say it; Dream and Techno have to be the worst out of the entire cast. I understand Techno's whole character is this monotoned badass, however, when really emotional moments hit I feel like he never lets that fall, and a lot of intense moments just ring hollow. And I'm sorry but Dream's attempts at being intimidating leave me laughing whenever I watch them. It feels like he watched that one scene from The Marriage with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johannson and said "Oh this is what good acting looks like! Just yelling." His whole "I don't give a FUCK about Spirit!" speech isn't as great as people keep making it out to be. And whenever he tries to act coy when being a villain it feels like a guy reading the script for the first time, a bit like he's trying too hard. I have more problems with his character but his portrayal certainly doesn't help.

Everyone else is fine, and I don't feel strongly either way about a lot of them.

B. The "Lore" Okay first off, I can't be the only one who thinks it's silly that people are calling the dsmp's story "lore" when it's not, it's the fucking story. Lore indicates backstory to either the world or the characters, which a lot of the streams don't really pertain to. This is a really petty section but god it's a weird pet peeve of mine.

Other than the misusage of "lore" vs "story", the actual lore and world-building of the world are so lackluster that new elements can be introduced whenever and it often feels cluttered or not well thought out at all. And here's the thing, I feel like if the writers sat down just for a few minutes to establish world rules and general history, a lot of this could be solved! but so much is made up on the spot that it starts to feel like they're grabbing at straws to keep people invested, trying to reach that next high and intense story beat without actually earning it.

C. The Egg / Eggpire This is a pretty minor note since I was only invested in the Egg storyline for a little bit, but god it's so underused that it's almost embarrassing. Bad has provided this super interesting antagonistic force that's infecting the SMP, can control people, and who one of our main character is immune to, and it's just never used or even talked about again? Now I understand if he wanted to keep it to a side storyline only, however, to introduce this borderline eldritch creature and force within the world and then never have it dealt with is so weird.

D. The Writing Oh boy this is. kinda a big one. Now I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty obvious I have a bias for the Wilbur writing over the current team [that consisting of Dream, Quackity, and Tommy mostly]. I don't this his writing is perfect by any means, the characters constantly bringing up traitors got obnoxious after a while, and writing Hamilton but in Minecraft really isn't the modern Shakespeare or anything. However, I think his exploration of characters and plot progression was a lot more thought out and well planned, like he actually had two brain cells behind the story yknow? The current team I think fails to be as emotional or even impactful, things happened too fast and my god was everything drowned in angst for so long.

Don't get me wrong, you gotta have your characters face hardships to make them reach their goal believable, but some of the shit they put the characters through just felt like too much. From c!Tubbo's constant comparison to c!Schlatt [who btw, fucking ordered his death and kept him from his friends in a nation he felt trapped in] and on a side note, i kinda really fucking dislike the "c!Schlatt dad!!" au's or the au's where c!Tubbo inherits some of Schlatt's features, it would be like c!Tommy getting a c!Dream mask after his exile, it's feels so weird yet people eat that shit up for some reason.

But god, did c!Tommy get the brunt of it all and in retrospect after his final death, it kinda feels really fucking gross. Now obviously, I'm not trusting any of these people to write decent mental health representation, but c!Tommy's PTSD and how it was explored was just degrading. [Specifically the scene in that one Techno stream where he saw the final control room from the first war, and had a flashback / panic attack where he started calling out for c!Dream. I understand this is an actual thing people with PTSD will experience, but it felt so fucking stereotypical it got on my nerves. I actually had to close out of the stream because it made me feel sick, fiction shouldn't leave you feeling that way.] And don't get me started on how they basically reused the formula from the previous arc. [Problem introduced -> Tensions rise as things start to fall apart -> Big confrontation -> Exile -> Return from Exile -> Blowing up L'Manberg, again.]

And speaking of characters-

E. Character Arcs, or the lack of them In my genuine opinion, some of these characters' arcs are so disappointing. Especially c!Tommy's. I'm not one to believe that he was a "selfish" character or anything, however, his goals were simply set on his discs and maybe c!Tubbo, he didn't have much outside that. However, L'Manberg gave him something to care about, he gave up his discs for it and he fought for it tooth and nail, I think it taught him to open up to others and trust more. It was a great character arc for him to have, seeing him still fight even after his first exile alongside c!Wilbur, to return safely to the nation that he and his found family had built.

But then his second exile happened, and I feel like all of that was undone.

c!Tommy's exile genuinely pisses me off for so many reasons. It's not that characters can't have their low points after reaching a major change or feeling like they've "completed" their arcs or anything, but it's more of the fact that it seems like he's never going to heal that feels like a spit in the face, especially to people who might have had setbacks like that before. Progress isn't linear, sometimes things happen and you get knocked back down, it can take a while to get back up, but I don't think c!Tommy's character is ever going to be allowed to get back up. From c!Dream, who pretty much was a constant abuser in his life, killing him then reviving him, and his still fractured relationship with c!Tubbo, which by the way I have a had time believing they would still be friends after all that happened, it feels like he can never get a win and it's generally kinda a shit way to treat your characters who have been abused. Of course, not all abused characters are going to get happy endings, I'm not trying to dictate that they all should, but c!Tommy deserves one and the fact that it's so obscure feels shitty.

Side note: we still don't have a canon reason to give a shit abt the discs. Like I'm sorry but without some sorta connection to the MacGuffin why should we give a shit about him getting them other than "he wants them lol". Like hell, I would even accept the classic "they were the last gifts from his parents" or something, but we still don't have a reason.

c!Tubbo also lacks a fulfilling arc as well, from someone who started out as a yes man, he has progressed a bit into having his own interests first, but besides that sometimes his character makes me so. depressed. He's easily one of the most pushed around and hated characters within the story, all for being a kid who didn't know what to do and he's in the same vein as c!Tommy; these kids can't get a break. Also, his anti-violence beliefs morphing into the "lets kill c!Techno lol!" bit was so out of place and without proper build-up it was like. what. And now he's building nukes?? god c!Tubbo makes me so sad because he's kicked around constantly and never given a chance to grow.

Another small note, I also don't really enjoy c!Techno at all. Besides the previously stated reasons of lack of emotions when they're really needed, I find his character to be weirdly pretentious. He talks as if he's constantly been betrayed and hurt but I personally, don't see it? Like, I think one of the main examples was the Pogtopia vs. Manberg war, yknow he wanted to end the government but they just reinstated it after they won = c!Techno upset. But this doesn't make sense to me because why did he think otherwise? The entire time c!Tommy had talked about taking back their nation and starting again, so the fact that c!Techno suddenly thought there would be a sudden change is, to put it bluntly, kinda fucking stupid. I don't want to say that he "plays the victim" or anything because that feels a bit harsh, but his character feels so far up his own ass that I can't enjoy him.

I have a major grip with c!Dream as well, but that's getting it's own fucking section.

F. L'Manberg This is a quick note before we get into the, forgive me for this, endgame, of this entire rant, since the next two sections are tied together. But god, L'Manberg makes me upset because it feels like they gave up on it.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that it is supposed to be c!Wilbur's "unfinished symphony", the thing that destroyed a once charismatic and widely loved man, his attempt at power that utterly ruined him. But the fact that it just got blown up in the end after everything and left to rot felt like such a waste of time. From the first war, to Pogtopia, to even c!Tommy's exile, it all felt fucking worthless in the end, and the story is actively closer to how it was when it started now more than ever. I wished it was actually allowed to exist and continue to be a peaceful place in what is a chaotic world, but no it was just snuffed out because why dedicate to this concept of finding others you can band together with and feel safe. fuck that noise apparently?

G. The Villains Now villain-wise, I'm only talking about c!Dream [during the first war], c!Schlatt, and c!Wilbur. And believe it or not, this is actually mostly positive.

Now I'm not gonna lie, c!Dream as a staring antagonist wasn't bad actually, he posed a genuine and threatening opposition to L'Manberg, even if we didn't know his real intentions or motivations as to why he was against it. He's lucky in this sense because he didn't have to be good, he had to be passable. If anything, he felt more like an anti-hero than a tyrant or traditional villain, and my god do I wish he kept this theme going forward.

Now quick disclaimer, I don't like JSchlatt as much as the next guy, he's an adult man who should know better than to joke about some sensitive topics and act the way that he does. But the one thing I'll ever give him is that damn, was he a good actor for his character.

Now here's the thing, c!Schlatt wasn't particularly deep at all. He had no real motivations behind his exile of c!Wilbur and c!Tommy other than getting competition out of the way, had no reason to act the way that he did and yknow? that's fine. The reason why he worked was from his performance alone, he was actually intimidating. When he came onto the stream and was doing his typical bad guy stuff, it was actually intense to see what he would do. Whenever he would almost catch c!Tommy back in Manberg, whenever he would begin to pressure c!Tubbo, it put you on the edge of your seat and it felt like everything would change at the drop of a pen. He's a villain to be a villain, and this works out because he's just charismatic and well put together enough to make it interesting, even without the backstory or motives.

c!Wilbur however, is much more tragic, and the best villain of the story. He essentially was the "mentor turned evil" trope and it felt terrible watching him descend into madness, unable to trust barely anyone except for c!Techno and c!Tommy. Hell, in the end I think he still cared about them both, despite losing everything. Sure, he blew up L'Manberg, but there was still a smidge of the old c!Wilbur in there made everything he did feel melancholic. His death at the hands of his father after achieving his final wish was chilling, and something I still think about.

Until yknow, Ghostbur came back way too soon to let people feel his loss as a character within that world. And then he got revived, pretty much-undoing everything that moment meant for his character lol.

And then there's the worst one:

H. Dream. I'm going to be completely honest, c!Dream is one of the main reasons why I dislike the current dsmp stuff so much. Outside of his actions as a person, the way Dream decided to write his character as this overpowered madman of the dsmp really just. destroyed any intrigue that he could've had. Perhaps this is from my growing dislike towards him, manifesting into a bias towards his character, but god I cannot fathom why people try to insist he's interesting when he has as much depth as a fucking puddle.

And here's the thing, I'm not even entirely against c!Dream being a villain, hell I think he would've been great as an anti-hero if anything. Make him sympathetic but not through c!George to get your precious "DNF" points or anything, but show him actually caring about the people within the dsmp, including c!Tommy and c!Tubbo. This would make his rival status with them just a bit more complicated, sure they're enemies, however, he doesn't want to hurt or kill them, and there's still a level of friendship there that keeps them bonded when things get super bad. This could've been super interesting to see, the first villain of the story receiving a sorta redemption arc then descending into madness as he started to fixate on being a god. This is all how I feel personally, but god do I feel like it would've been better than his current character, and hell would've worked with how he was during the Pogtopia arc, before the war that is. I'm not trying to tell Dream how to write his own character, but there are so many other ways he could've done the madman seeking to become god rather then. whatever the hell we got.

Because instead, we got this power-mad asshole who does things... because he can? And that's one of my major issues: he tries to surround his character in mystery to make him "intriguing" but it's kinda like c!Techno, it comes off as pretentious. Not only that, but you cannot keep waving around this mystery of a backstory without ever actually revealing it. I know the story isn't over, but c!Dream is effectively at his lowest point, now would be the time to reveal his backstory. But no just keep it in the dark and keep everyone guessing, that's totally fun and not at all tiring and annoying. (sarcasm, if anyone needs it)

And back to his performance, he doesn't sell this aloof, cynical and strategic warrior that has perfected the blade or some shit, he comes off as some angry guy yelling on reddit. which i don't need to tell you, isn't intimidating. It feels like he's trying to have c!Schlatt's intimidation combined with c!Wilbur's depth, but instead he's like a little brother who's trying to hard to mimic his older brother and is kinda embarrassing himself.

but other then that i dont feel too strongly abt the dsmp lol

but seriously, these are the main complaints I have abt the story tbh, I could probably talk about more but I wont because man. this is probably gonna get me in trouble if any of the hyper-dsmp fans actually read it.

#wow this is long #txt #anti dsmp #anti dream #dsmp crit #dsmp critical #yeah im tagging it i dont give a shit #dream crit #dream critical #the story is shit yo!

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themonotonysyndrome · 4 years

Text

Guilt Eater

Part 4 of the ‘Successors of the Future’ is here! And yes, I will do my absolute best to squeeze in as much Blazblue reference in this series until I can’t! (I mean, that’s how I got the plot bunny for this series anyway~)

We’re moving the spotlights today to Malleus and Ace and a special guest! I thought it’ll be an interesting shift of perspective and change. Don’t worry, we’ll get right back to the kids in the next oneshot.

As always, big thank you to @tri3tri for letting us expand her Second Wive AU. Hope you guys enjoy this oneshot.

Time tend to leave its mark differently on each species.

For creatures who only grew stronger with time while their bodies remain near immortal, the passing of time means nothing to the Fair Folks. Time is likened to the ocean; ancient yet full of wonders.

For Malleus, however, time has not been kind to him. Not since his dear heart and children vanishes.

Ever since then, there is an unspoken rule among the residents of the Castle of Thorns: the Queen’s family wing is forbidden to everyone but the King.

Even Lilia nod his head to the rule; even he has been walking on eggshells around their King.

And the years had transformed the Queen’s domain into a catacomb. The rumpled beds, the toys littered in Princess Sherrie’s bedroom, the Queen’s favourite book on her study table - everything is left untouched with layered of dust and cobwebs covering every inch of the surfaces.

Every evening, the King would stalk the empty halls and bedrooms like a ghost; constantly yearning to feel the memories that embedded on the walls. Once he did his duties as the King and beget the male heir that the court had been pushing, Malleus has been living in regret ever since.

He should have known that his beautiful wife would attempt to escape during the night of his second wedding. He should have tightened the security not on his concubine, but to the Queen and their Princesses. He should have assured Renata and Sherrie that only their mother holds his heart and that Bellatrix is just a means to an end.

He should have told them that he loves them.

Regret and guilt are terrible poisons. It festered under your skin and twist your heart painfully. They plague your mind with ‘what if’s’ and ‘should have’s’ and Malleus have been carrying them ever since that night.

Tonight, he lost hours inside Renata’s bedroom, just staring at her favourite doll that he bought for her. He still remembers how her eyes lit up and how sweet her smile was when he presented the doll to her; how she was so happy that she clings on him and the doll that day. Deeply amused, he humoured her and carried her in her arms the whole day. Malleus even brought her to his court session, regardless how it broke propriety.

His every waking moments now drift to MC and their daughters. Where are they? Why couldn’t he find them no matter how many soldiers he dispatched across Twisted Wonderland, no matter how far his magic blanket the lands? Are his daughters healthy, happy? What are they currently doing now? Are they safe? Have they forgotten about him -

The mirror on the vanity table shattered. Malleus releases the doll in his grip and struggle to calm himself down; his body curl inwards and his breaths erratic. The thought of his wife and children far away and happy from him nearly drove him crazy if it weren’t for Lilia’s quick and careful words of consolation.

“They can’t hide forever, Malleus. Don’t ever give up, you hear me? And once we’ll find them, we’ll make sure her little escape routines are put to a stop. Permanently.”

Lilia’s words are enough to ground him. For now.

Malleus failed to assured his wife and daughters his love towards them, failed to show just how deep his convictions towards them are. The moment he finds any threads of their whereabouts, he’ll make sure to rectify that.

And as the night made way for morning, Malleus forces himself to leave his daughter’s abandoned bedroom to prepare for another long, monotonous day. The only reason why he hasn’t delegate his duties to Lilia was because of his grandmother. His grandmother had come to visit on the eve of his second wedding and stayed when a frantic Silver announced MC and their children’s disappearance. If it weren’t for her, Malleus would’ve burned away his suit and transform into a dragon to search for them. While Lilia organise a search team with Silver and Sebek, his grandmother made sure he understood his duties as King once more.

That was the first and last time he slept with Bellatrix before his thoughts and desire are consumed with the need to find his family. At that point, neither Lilia nor his grandmother could’ve stop him.

The castle staffs and guards know to scattered when they see him step out of the Queen’s wing. The moment they heard the door creaked open, the room is empty.

All but for one individual.

“Good morning, Father!”

Malleus stop his track. He tilts his head towards his heir, expressionless. Victor refused to be deterred by his Father’s gloomy aura yet he’s smart enough to carefully approach him.

The king is stoic on the best days, frightening on his worst.

“Will you be joining us for breakfast later? I heard from Grandfather Lilia that the kitchen staffs are planning to cook your favourites.”

“I’ll be taking my meals in my office as usual.” Malleus reply and starts to walk away.

Victor’s smile drop a little but he pressed on, jogging behind his father. In a rare burst of courage, the Prince grab Malleus’ hand. Surprisingly, Malleus stops walking. He stares at his hand before narrowing his eyes at Victor.

“W-Would Father like a report of my recent academic progress? My tutors said that I’ve been doing well in my magic classes! O-Oh! I’ve also been diligently keeping up with my etiquette lessons.” Victor stutters out after he immediately let go of his Father’s hand. Feeling like he just committed a grave crime.

“No need. Your tutors have been sending letters of your progress, daily.”

“Oh... then would Father be willing to... to train me - ”

“I’m busy. Ask Lilia or any of your tutors.” And with that, Malleus refused to linger any longer, leaving Victor in the empty room.

Crestfallen, Victor watch his Father go. Knowing that if he bothers him even more, it will just upset him and another storm would loom over the castle for the next few days. His expression immediately morph into a combination of anger and sadness as he stomps away before the staffs could return, not wanting them to see him vulnerable.

As usual, Victor desperately hopes that one day his Father would finally acknowledge him as a son, not as his Prince.

Time tend to leave its mark differently on each species.

For creatures with a set of years as flimsy as a lit candle’s flame, humans are creatures who bear the passing of time with a passionate vigor. Time is likened to fireworks; beautiful, bright but only for a short moment.

For Ace, however, time is a constant remainder that he had failed his best friend. Being vulnerable in Night Raven College is a sure way to be taken advantage off and Ace is never known as anything but his brutal honestly, mischievous streaks and habits of getting himself (and others) into trouble.

But when the headmaster announced that he couldn’t find MC anywhere the day after their senior’s graduation, was the moment that he, Deuce and Grim completely lose their composure. Deuce was too shocked to say anything while Ace couldn’t stop screaming alongside Grim.

She couldn’t have just vanish! People don’t work like that!

And even if she finally somehow found a way back to her world, she wouldn’t just leave without saying goodbye!

Ace hated himself as that moment. If only he texted them the night before. Why didn’t he? They usually send stupid texts to one another! If only he kept a closer eye on them. If only she kept Grim close to her.

For once, the headmaster drop all pretence. For once, his guilt laden answer and heavy sags of his shoulders are genuine.

MC is gone and he has no idea how or why. But the three of them refused to gave up just like that. Ever since that day, they would do their best to figure out or research about MC’s fate. Jack and Epel, after finding out what happened, did their best to help out too. But days passed without any leads and with heavy hearts, they accepted that their friend is lost to them.

That was not a good day.

After Ace and Epel managed to pull Deuce and Jack away from one another (Deuce had completely lost it when the wolf boy reluctantly admit that maybe it was best to stop their research), strangely enough, it was Sebek who finally interjects.

They need to accept that MC is gone. Even if they could never gain the closure that they desperately want, it’ll be no good to carry this sort of horrible guilt with them forever. With a long sigh, Sebek told them to find peace with it, even if it’s hard.

Easier said than done. Even now that he’s already an adult and have a son, Ace still couldn’t help but wonder what happened to his friend. He hopes that wherever she is, MC is safe and happy. Anything other than that Ace couldn’t bear to think.

Ace takes out his phone and checks the calendar app. The anniversary of MC’s disappearance is coming. Usually, Ace would cook MC’s favourite food in honour of her memory and over the years, he has gotten pretty good at it. Good enough that it also becomes his son’s favourite dish.

Just as Ace was about to put down his phone and get ready to go out for lunch with his older brother, it suddenly rings.

The name on his phone surprises him. His son rarely calls him ever since he got accepted to Night Raven College. Something about wanting some independence from his old man that Ace retaliates by ruffling his hair because of his boy’s cheekiness.

Ace press the accept button with a grin, knowing that this is going to be good. “What’s up, kiddo? Finally admit that you miss your old man?”

He expects a scoff, maybe a reluctant admittance, hell even his son’s rare bout of innocent honesty. What Ace didn’t expect however, is hearing his son’s frightened shriek.

“Dad! You knew a MC/S before right!? Please tell me you know what to do when she went batshit insane!”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down! What are you talking about? I can barely hear you!”

Ace impatiently wait while pressing the phone close to his ear as he hear his son rapidly talking to someone, shouting apologies and heavy breaths as if he’s currently running.

“Oh Sweet Seven, ok, I think we managed to hide from her.” His son panted. “Yeah, so, I might have, uh accidentally threw my food tray all over this girl and she immediately went supernova. We barely managed to dodge her fireballs!”

Suddenly, Ace felt his heart drop. “Girl? What girl? Night Raven College is an all-boys’ school.” He heard himself reply. Absentmindedly, his mind brought up the memories of his Entrance Ceremony, years ago. Of a girl that looked so lost in her robes as she stood in front of the Mirror of Darkness.

“Renata MC/S. She’s the only girl that ended up a student here. I remembered that you had a friend with that surname so I thought she might be related.”

At that moment, Ace choose to believe it. It’s way too coincidental for it not be. A girl that shares his lost best friend’s surname who also just happend to be the only girl to be accepted in Night Raven College?

But what Ace doesn’t understand is his son’s comment about the girl throwing fireballs. MC doesn’t have magic. So what’s going on?

“Hmm, I usually gave her some space before I apologised to her. And a little bribery never failed too.” Ace advised, recalling how MC reluctantly accepts the candy that he offered after he upsets her.

“That’s not a bad idea, Dad! Will report back the result if I’m not scorched to death.” Ace’s son dryly answer. Some rustling noises and hush whispers can be heard through the phone before his kid ended the call.

Ace is already calling Deuce’s number. He needs to know about this.

I hope I managed to did Malleus and Ace justice in writing them! I’ll get better with writing the rest of the boys once their children are introduce. Because Renata needed friends/allies against Malleus after all~

Speaking of Victor, I was really nervous when I was writing him. Here, he’s not all haughty because deep down, all he want is some praises and love from a Father who only see him as something to appease his court. Not a son. Hope I managed to portray that properly!

(Also, the name of Ace’s son and two others will be reveal in the next oneshot)

#twisted wonderland #fanfic #malleus draconia #ace trappola #malleus draconia x mc #yandere malleus draconia #Draconia Family series #Second Wive AU #tri3tri

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silkhy-john · 3 years

Text

HEADCANON:

Nico saying "I smell like death and animals fear me for it" is incorrect. Here's reasons why:

1. It's really no secret at this point that Nico is the most powerful demigod alive in-canon. He's so powerful that he has enough reserve strength and vitality (after recovering as much as he possibly could from Tartarus, starvation, and using the seeds in the state he was in. You don't ever fully recover from things like those) to constantly have his fear aura and cryokinesis emanating low-key, kind of like his wavelength.

But, it's at its lowest when he's with Will/Jason/Hazel/Reyna/Gleeson/whoever you ship him with, but never fully off. The fact that he emanates an aura puts him one step closer to god than mortal by the way.

ANYWAY, the constant emanation of the fear aura definitely makes animals skittish, but as he doesn't really let it off when he's alone with animals, they crowd him and glomp him whenever he's alone with them.

2. A lot of the animals he interacts with are probably animals tied to gods who don't have the best of relationships with Hades.

This one should be pretty self-explanatory. When you make an enemy of a god, you make an enemy of practically everything they represent (imagine permanently pissing off Hygeia or Asclepius... yeah, let's not).

Think of Annabeth and cows. Her Bovine Majesty, Hera, that goat skin gal, Queen of the gods, doesn't like Annabeth, and cows, by extension, do not (why are there so many commas???). The difference here is that Hera actively does things to screw around with Annabeth, and the only thing stopping her from screwing up Annabeth's relationships and (eventual) marriage is Athena giving her the look. Enough about my Annabeth|Hera head-canons though.

So whenever Nico interacts with a horse and equine creatures, or an eagle, or a cow, they get skittish and violent because of the gods they're tied to not liking Hades, and by proxy, him (exception here is Zeus, who genuinely dislikes Nico and would kill him if that didn't mean dying at Hades' hands, quite literally btw).

3. Animals don't really fear death (itself), which Nico represents.

Here's an important distinction for you and a head-canon from me (one I might write a piece on): Hades' children are representations of death itself, while Thanatos' children, as children of the god of death, represent it's causes.

I don't want you to think of to confuse it with him repping death by old age (that would be children of Geras).

Anyway, all creatures seem to take comfort in death, and thus Nico. And when an animal is comfortable with you, it tends to either leave you to your business, or seek your attention.

This one is cracky and feels like something I'd write a piece for at 3AM when I can't sleep.

4. This one is about Artemis|Nico.

Basically, as a sort of apology to Nico cause she knew what it meant to take away the only person he had at the time (and for a long time, really), I head-canon that Artemis has marked Nico with one of her blessings (a boon for my Hades players out there).

This specific mark is the one that numbs wild animals'/animals with violent dispositions' instinct to attack creatures they perceive as "dangerous".

Animals aren't daft. They can tell a dangerous individual, and some attack on sight to get the upper hand. Of course, Nico is too powerful for a non-mythical beast to so much as scratch him (he wouldn't kill them, just scare them off).

Anyway, with the mark, wild animals basically act as their domestic counterparts would around Nico.

I head-canon that when he first started shadow-travelling and would wind up passed out on totally different continents or in different places, he woke up one day in Tsavo East National Park with man-eating lions (look it up, fairly interesting) curled up around him and purring.

Anyway, now that we've dived into my mind and swam steadily downwards, we've finally reached the bottom where one thing is left: SHITPOSTING. Let's do it.

Animals when nico's fear aura is on: I do not know this man. I could see him walking down the streets and I would not recognise him. Sorry to this m–

Animals when nico's fear aura is low: cuddle time. Time to cuddle. Yup. Did someone say snuggling? Come here, boyo *glomps said boyo*

Nico:

Nico: so do you like me or not???

Zeus [on mount olympus]: I think it's about time I sent an eagle to pluck his ey–

(ground rumbles)

Zeus [nervously]: *clears throat* –to pluck the twigs out of the boy's hair, why is he so bad with maintaining his hair?

(Will is doing some stuff for a Veterinarian son of kymopoleia. Nico accompanies him to the vet's like the supportive boyfriend he is)

Will: why are you covered in cats???

Nico [covered in cats and enjoying every second of it]: cause you're giving the dogs a check-up, doctor

(Will got turned on when nico said doctor, guys, don't blame me)

(Hades and Hera get into a cat fight. It's for a very petty reason; their pet peeves with each other's children)

Hades: time-out! Can't we just try to get along now that our boys are dating each other?

Hera [pensive; the expression looks fake]: *adjusts goat skin on shoulders*

Hera: . . . no

(Cat fighting continues)

(Snow-white!Nico AU with Reyna and Hazel as main supporting cast, Percy as prince, and Hera as misunderstood evil queen with her own character arc? Closer than you'd think)

Reyna: stop singing nico

Nico: why?

Hazel: You're covered in birds nico. BIRDS, PLURAL!

Nico: makes me even more fly :)

Percy: omg literally so hot *swoons*

Hera: *strokes cow behind ears* can we skip to the part where he eats the apple and gets trampled by my trusty cow?

(The story falls apart. Not even the Apollo kids can save it. Lesson is not to let the aphrodite cabin do storytime at the campfire).

Hazel: oh, I didn't know you had pets, Nico

Nico: I don't

Hazel: why all the random animals, then

Nico:

Nico: you're not trying to kick out my other visitors, are you

That's it, guys. Deuces. Yes, some of the head-canons here might feature in my next nico-centric (ooohhhhh, *interest sounds*).

I'd like to do more posts like these, but they're a bit time-consuming to write up. It's still so worth it though.

Should I do more like these? (The "head-canon/opinion dump-into-shitpost" format). You tell me. I mean, I'll still make them, just more frequently if yes is the answer.

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ripley95 · 4 years

Note

In the spirit of #WIP Wednesday, I wondered if you were working on anything at the moment, and whether you'd consider sharing a snippet? If not, are you reading any good shenko to recommend to a fellow fanatic?

Thank you so much for such a wonderful ask!! This was so nice to find in my inbox.

I’m going to answer both parts of this ask, but I’ll do the recs first and put my WIP stuff under the read more so this won’t get too long for people’s dashboards.

The main f!Shenko story I’m reading right now is @ljandersen‘s Sideways. I’ve seen that you’re reading that too, so maybe this rec doesn’t help your reading list all that much, but I’m going to recommend it anyway. All of LJAndersen’s stories are related and I adore the journey that her Shepard and Kaidan have taken throughout all of it. For f!Shenko, she has 4 stories that are canon-era, spanning ME1-ME3, and 3 post-canon stories and I’ve loved it all! Her stories have everything, including fluff, bittersweet moments, amazing banter, witty humour, action, original plots and just overall fantastically structured stories. If you’ve happened to miss any of her work, I would absolutely recommend all of it.

@alphahelices is another amazing author and you can find a list of her f!Shenko work HERE. Her works always leave me in such awe. She creates such amazing and lasting visuals that I could only dream to achieve someday. As a reader, her wording flows so easily. Her stories always have a big impact on me. I think In From the Cold is my favourite of her stories, but it’s honestly very hard to choose because I love them all and they’re all amazing.

For Small Creatures Such as We is one of my all-time favourite f!Shenko stories. It was told in reverse chronology, so it starts at the end, and the author did an incredibly good job of doing so. It spans the complete journey of Shepard and Kaidan's life. It was such a fulfilling story of their life together, so I definitely recommend it.

My last recommendation is going to be a modern-day AU, called Two and a Half Steps. AU’s may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I really loved this one. The characterization was great, and we got to see the characters we know and love in a completely new situation.

Now I’ll go into my WIPs under the cut:

I had to go and look in my WIP folder, and I was kind of shocked by how many stories were in it. I used to think I don’t like working on too many things at once, but now I think I’m probably the opposite. Unfortunately, personal life has been quite busy for me lately, so I haven’t had much time for actual writing. I have 2 oneshots for f!Shenko that will likely end up being the next things I release since they’re easier to work on, but I still don’t really have a timeframe for them. For my more serious projects, you may be interested to know that I plan to make Echoes of Old Embers into a series called “A Genuine Counterfeit.” I don’t have a title for the next part, but the premise will be a fake/accidental engagement, following a similar sentiment of the fake/accidental dating from the first part. I have a VERY LONG snippet from the first chapter, but it’s very unedited and there’s a good chance things will probably change by the final version, but here it is:

“Sheidra T’Peris, asari, suspected of using their jewelry store as a front for illegal arms dealing. C-Sec has been tipped off of a disproportionate amount of deliveries coming in from all over the galaxy, with ‘Nebula Jewelers’ as the recipient. The store offers jewelry options for a wide variety of species, providing the perfect cover since they’d logically have imports from all over the galaxy anyway. C-Sec customs has recently found a number of discrepancies in size and weights of packaging, and has records of such extending back all the way up until the Citadel’s reopening.”

Shepard let out an ‘mmhmm’ of confirmation as she was setting up some monitors by the window, and kept going through the boxes of supplies to set things up on her end.

“Initial scannings have suggested common materials used in weapons manufacturing to be present within the packages. With a large number of exports being sent off to various places in the Terminus systems, they’ve asked for involvement with the Spectres. There's a suspected possibility of links to terrorist groups. Does that sound about accurate to you?” Kaidan said, watching Shepard finish setting up the equipment that she would need on her end.

“Uh huh,” she answered, sounding rather distracted.

“Are you even listening?”

“Of course. Asari jeweler, doing big bad no-nos. I’ve got it.”

Kaidan looked at her incredulously, as she stood up with another smirk on her face. “I’m sorry, Kaidan. For the record, I really was listening. I just that I think we’ve been through this enough times to know what’s going on. You’re going to go over there, acting like a customer when you’re really going to be there learning whatever you can about any possible links to arms dealing. I got it. You’re going to do great,” she said with her hands on her hips, offering him a kind smile to try to let him know that she appreciated how thorough he was being.

“Trying to give me a pep talk to help me feel better now?” he said with a smirk.

“Oh, I don’t know. One could usually determine that over preparedness and stalling like this could be a result of nerves. Just wanted to make sure you left feeling confident.”

“Mmhmm. So if over preparedness makes me nervous, what does that make your under preparedness?”

“Overconfident,” she said with a smirk.

That became a very long answer! Sorry for that. But thank you so much for the ask!

#asks and answers #my personal fic recs #WIP Wednesday #my snippet #thank you so much for the ask!!!#hollyem

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ryttu3k · 4 years

Text

Hello naughty children it's Gehenna time.

...which means I'm going to read the book properly this time and write notes on each scenario, partially for my own reference, partially in answer to an ask from @rayshell22livejournalcom from about a zillion years ago. Sorry about that!

Mood soundtrack: Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F# A# ∞; Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven; Yanqui U.X.O.

Prelude: Netchurch is an interesting character. Very skeptical, despite, well, the entire setting, although that's definitely, uh, broken by the end. Feel very sad for Afifa, who was a pawn in all this. Creepy babies galore!

Introduction: "While Vampire favors that futile, tragic, and - we'll say it - angst-heavy conclusion" - lmao you don't say. Although I do like how they have the consistent golden rule that if you don't like it, just ditch it! (Of course, the Gehenna scenarios as a whole have been completely retconned anyway by v20 and v5, so this entire book is a good example of taking what you want from it and ignoring the rest.)

"Some people are on opposite sides of this thing. They're elders who don't want to knuckle under to the Antediluvians (most elders will accept their proper place in the heirarchy again with the rising of their progenitors) and poor, misled souls who bought into the lie and are pissed about it (paging Mr. Pieterzoon). Bottom line: the Camarilla collapses like Enron/WorldCom as the worthlessness of its foundation becomes public knowledge. Chaos ensues among the vampire community, princes find themselves besieged by their own locals, and it's all a big clusterfuck."

Have I ever mentioned I love how VtM phrases stuff? Also F to Jan.

I like how they have a masterlist of what's actually going on with the Antediluvians. Spoilers ;D "For example, note that [Tzimisce] is simply referred to as [Tzimisce]. Even here at the game studio, our limited mortal minds weren't able to comphrenend the creature's real name." Lovecraft only WISHES he had eldritch abominations this spooky! Ennoia is 'Active and scary' and apparently spooks the devs just thinking about it. Makes sense. "Giovanni (Augustus Giovanni): Augustus is a pig, and he should probably die as one of the early events of Gehenna. He's the youngest of the Antediluvians and probably possessed the greatest ego (in mortal terms), so it'll be cosmic justice when he eats it." I love how no one likes Giovanni, even his creators. Malkav may or may not BE the Madness Network, in which case they cease to be an Antediluvian and just become... a part of the Malkavians, I guess? Absimiliard may or may not be chilling at the bottom of the ocean, because mood. Tremere / Saulot is definitely a fun one to play with, yeah. Although, oof, if Saulot ever gets control of their shared body, he's going to be fucked up if [Tzimisce] activates, so. Probably better to create a nice fresh body, like what BJD suggests with the child Saulot.

Chapter 1 - the lead-up: Basically a rundown of the signs and how they're interpreted. "An angel dies: How does an angel die? Who has the gall to rise up and slay one of God's firstborn? Or perhaps this is another metaphor. An angel could be a pure and gentle creature, or then again, it need not be one of God's angels (not that God's angels are necessarily pure and gentle). A feared and particularly vicious Necronomist Tzimisce, Sascha Vykos is sometimes referred to as the Angel of Caine. Many would rejoice the night that Vykos died." Hey rude :( I vote they kill Michael instead. He wants to be an Archangel? Fine, he can fulfill a prophesy XD

Honestly I really do dig that Ennoia Earthmelded with the entire planet. You can go so many directions with that, good or bad! Ennoia as The Beast Below, or Ennoia as Gaia? (Wow, that'd really fuck with the Garou XD) I love how the general consensus on Haqim is like, no one knows if he exists or not but lbr Ur-Shulgi is bad enough. Kinda dig the idea of the Toreador ante, Ishtar/Arikel, being genderfluid? I mean yeah essentially demigods have no need for gender anyway, but the constant debates over whether the Toreador ante is the female Ishtar or the male Arikel (or, uh, was it vice versa?) does lead to some interesting concepts. Ooh, similar to [Tzimisce] being linked to its entire clan (and the Tremere, anyone who's ever taken part in the Vaulderie, and anyone who knows Vicissitude), [Lasombra] may be connected to anyone who knows Obtenebration? [Ravnos]... yeah, probably dead. F to the clan. And yeah I think [Tzimisce] is flat-out the scariest one of all, and probably the one most likely to actually start the apocalypse, lbr.

Ugh this is one of the books that calls Sascha 'it' :-\ Do not like. ...Also do not like the suggestion that they're an unknowing agent of the Eldest, given, uh, the last chapter of the DA Tzimisce novel. Shoo! Shoo! You've ruined their unlife enough as it is!

Epistolary material! I do dig those. Most interesting: a letter to Sascha mentioning apocalyptic visions of New York but with the Carpathians in the background, and an anonymous letter to Hardestadt warning him of one of his line tearing down a castle that the writer feels believes the Camarilla. GO JAN FUCK IT UP.

And on to the scenarios themselves!

Chapter 2 - Wormwood: This is an interesting one. Literally a Biblical vengeance - God takes a good look at the Children of Caine and goes, "Well, this is fucked up", acknowledges that Caine never really sought true forgiveness and repentance, and sets forth Wormwood, the Red Star. The truly repentant are saved, the rest just. Die.

Herald here is a dhampir girl named Alia - thinblood father, human mother. When she's twelve, she becomes God's chosen, basically. Traveling with three thinblood guardians, one night, she's approached a Gargoyle named Ferox with True Faith, who sees himself as a fallen angel. And Alia offers him a way of redemption - find the chosen true believers, wait out Wormwood, receive judgement. Anyone can seek sanctuary, only the true believers and the ones genuinely willing to repent will survive the judgement itself. Alia and Ferox set out to find the other chosen ones.

Whew. Very full-on - the players remain in one place with a whole bunch of other vampires for forty nights. I mean, that's a test in and of itself XD All welcome! (Except infernalists and the antediluvians and Caine himself. They're fucked no matter what.)

Like. All welcome XD "Some Storytellers might feel that this character roundup could get too silly, suddenly having all these celebrity Kindred get together for a big slumber party, and they would be correct." Fuck that give me a slumber party AU XD

Am very glad about the note that the vampires inside only lose one blood point per 10 days, rather than every day. Otherwise, uh, it'd get gory.

Yeah, this is a really interesting scenario. Very character-focused, very introspective. All about the characters trying to work out what it means to be good people - not the strongest vampires, not the most powerful, but good people. Are they worthy of salvation? That's the crux of the story. Of course, it's very, uh, Biblical, heh, but it's first and foremost about morality and redemption. I dig it.

Also, giant vampire slumber party.

Chapter 3 - Fair is Foul: Ooh, this is a Lilith vs Caine scenario.

This one has the Withering hit in weird ways, including clan-specific ones - like the Banu Haqim only able to feed on vitae, then only able to gain sustenance from diablerie. Gangrel turn even more animalistic. Lasombra take to the seas, Obtenebration ripping holes straight to the Abyss. Malks, uh, leak madness. Nosferatu get even uglier, Toreador devolve into debauchery. Tremere develop third eyes, and yes, I did laugh out loud when I read that. Tzimisce... hmm... get a bit, uh, uncontrolled. And Ventrue find they can now only feed on... other Ventrue. Fun times!

"At your discretion, Lilith might be particularly vulnerable to Jewish True Faith, as the Jewish tales about her are the source of nearly every negative sentiment ever directed against her in writing. As a result, most orthodox Jews bear Lilith great contempt for defying her husband and her God." Yeah ngl I think she's pretty dang cool and I can just see, like, most of my ancestors facepalming at the idea XD;; Fuck obediance you do your own thing.

"Trying to work out traits for Lilith, Lucifer, Caine, or any of the Antediluvians would just be a waste of our word count and your time." I like the time they published a guide for fighting Caine. It was two words. "You lose."

Ah. Okay, Saulot in Tremere's body being taken over by the Eldest = scary, because have you ever been attacked by an Antediluvian wielding Thaumaturgy, Valeran, and Vicissitude at the SAME :) TIME? :) Yeah :)

Really dig the idea of Abel showing up as the first Wraith. The forgiveness element.

Overall, this isn't my favourite scenario, I think? It feels very chaotic, and while it's probably the most traditional to play, I'm not sure how much it literally challenges the characters, unlike the sheer soul-searching...ness of Wormwood?

Chapter 4 - Nightshade: Chapter starts with, "We all wear masks" and my first thought was "boy you have no idea" XD

Awww yes this is the masquerade break scenario! See here for my thoughts on that and how the Nephtali could be adapted to v5, heh.

Yeah okay earthquakes, volcanoes, and riots are normal enough. A horrible blood virus where it appears some flesh-like thing is living in people's veins and feeding off their blood sounds like something that starts with T and rhymes with Shzimitze. ...Probably. No one knows how the fuck it's pronounced anyway. Oops, those riots are apparently over the existence of vampires. Yeah that'd be... unfortunate. And more earthquakes, this time due to Kupala vs the Eldest. Whew. Red star, yep, standard. MORE earthquakes, this time due to the Second City rising. Sounds legit. Bad times all around!

The details on breaking the Masquerade are interesting. Basic emotions: denial, rationalisation, fear, anger, acceptance. The acceptance one is interesting, because I can definitely see some jumping to it straight away.

So, on to the scenario itself! Jan recruits the players to fight the... uh, mass under NYC. This is the corpse of the Eldest, which is more or less a giant fungal infection held together with Vicissitude, which frankly is just icky. This actually is canon-compliant with BJD, since it apparently has only just... dissipated? or whatever there, or if it still remains, it's no longer conscious. In this one, its soul flicks back to Tremere's/Saulot's body and wakes up, and basically every Tzimisce, Tremere, and anyone who has ever drank Tzimisce blood (which would be the entire Sabbat via Vaulderie) spontaneously frenzies. Godspeed. Cyscek, a Tzimisce methuselah, helps defeat the, uh, blob at the expense of his life, and warns with his last words, "The Dragon rises. You must stop it. Find Vykos. [They] know." (Okay yeah the text says 'it knows' but also fuck that.) Ooh, plot point!

Aaaand then they retreat from the battle, exhausted, only to find the whole damn thing broadcast on every TV screen, vampiric Disciplines and Cyscek dusting and all. W h o o p s.

Lots and lots of details of a major masquerade breach here. Hardestadt shows up and tells Jan he's proooobably gonna get Final Death for, you know, trying to save the world. Gonna share this bit because it's Very Satisfying.

Please refer to my tag #hardestadt has no rights ;D

Anyway! The characters now recruited, Jan leads them back to London for the Convention of Fire. He's working with Calebros and... like a bunch of others, probably anyone can end up here, so long as they want to actually help and not just fall apart like the remnants of the Camarilla (trying to diablerise their way into keeping power) and the Sabbat (...ditto tbh). Those definitely in attendance are Ambrogino Giovanni, Hesha Ruhadze, and Fatima! And lbr the Nod Squad are probably there too. As if Beckett would pass up the chance to NOT witness what's happening with Gehenna. And Anatole is literally a prophet of Gehenna! They found the Nephtali, led by a council of twelve, with Jan at the head. Name means 'the highest point' or 'no further' - as in, Gehenna goes no further than this.

Oh lmao here we go, the scene I mentioned earlier - Jan vs talk shows.

F to Jan.

Tremere's body (inhabited by Saulot) disappears from beneath the Vienna chantry. Tremere's body, with [Tzimisce] now well in control (having overtaken Saulot; Tremere, meanwhile, has taken over Goratrix's body, with Goratrix's mind stuck in a mirror... it's complicated), wipes out the Vienna chantry. RIP to the Vienna chantry, which doesn't survive in either timeline tbh. Hey, I wonder if that means that Saulot (in Tremere's body) is dead in v5? Etrius manages to escape and reports that the Eldest is now on the way to Ceoris, where it'll call all the remaining Tzimisce to it to become, uh, a part. Pleasant.

Everything between Krakow and Bucharest is straight fukk’d. Ceoris is the centre of all this - IIRC it's somewhere in the southern Carpathians, nearish Brasov. Either way, hell of a fight results with what can only be described as an eldritch abomination, finally both managing to destroy Kupala (the Eldest's goal) and reducing The Thing down to a human-looking body. This bit is interesting! Tremere (in Goratrix' body) and Etrius take one look at each other. "Master..." "I... I know. But where the hell is Saulot?!" Good question, because he sure ain't in Tremere's, uh, former body any more, which was in fact what was fighting them the whole time. Either way, Tremere-in-Goratrix'-body leaps at [Tzimisce]-in-Tremere's-body and diablerises his, um, former body, which must be weird as hell, then tries to turn on the characters and his powers fuckiNG FAIL. EAT SHIT TREMERE. And then the players kill him too and realise that over the course of one night they've destroyed the demon Kupala and two Antediluvians, Tremere and the Eldest. Not bad. This is the battle that causes that second lot of earthquakes I mentioned earlier.

Back to London! They find the mirror containing Goratrix amongst Tremere's belongings. Poor fucker sorry not sorry.

And now the players receive a summons to escort someone from Montreal to the Nephtali headquarters in London! Namely, a Tzimisce named Myca Vykos~ They've recently defected from the Sabbat and want to help take the Antediluvians tf down. (Note: the book here has reverted to using he/him pronouns since they're back in their original form, I'm going to keep using they/them because biological sex does not determine gender identity or pronouns goddammit. ...Anyway. I AM going to use the name Myca since that's the name they're using themself, mostly because, uh, 'Myca' is a bit less noticeable than 'Sascha Vykos', haha.)

So Gehenna has started. Myca's woken up in their original form and being like, "Hey you know what I am preTTY SURE I don't want to serve the Eldest" and promptly joins the Nephtali.

From New York to London to Romania to London to Montreal to London (...London is a hub world apparently), now off to Turkey, to Kaymakli! Which is actually a real place, my brother's been on a tour there. Anyway, this is the part of Kaymakli that they don't show the tourist and that's been sealed shut with lots of angry Cappadocians instead, so that was fun. Presumably Kapaneus hasn't been chilling out there in this one.

Also Colombia has completely been overtaken by the Sabbat so that sucks.

Into Kaymakli! Which usually doesn't let Cainites back out so it may be one-way. Don't worry, there's a ritual for that. At the bottom, they find Augustus Giovanni! Who is pissed off he never actually got to eat Cappadocius' soul and so wants to eat God instead.

As you do.

The book very strongly encourages the players to kill him. Just 'cause. Which is a mood, tbh. Killing him also reveals a beaten, bound Nosferatu, having been Giovanni's most recent food source. An F for Okulos. He's been there for four years, having managed to get a lost fragment of the Book of Nod for Beckett, who promised to come back for him and. Didn't. Which is just rude tbh and I can kind of understand why Okulos ends up betraying Beckett in the Gehenna novel but anyway. (Not canon as of v20, he's perfectly present and chill in BJD.)

End results - the fragment that Okulos went to retrieve shows how to restore the Second City, which holds a complete Book of Nod and may hold the key to stopping Gehenna. It's in Enochian so your player characters probably won't be able to read it (book suggests asking Sascha or Ambrogino). Next stop, Egypt, and a meeting with Hesha Ruhadze! Man this scenario has a lot of signature characters. It also suggests getting third parties in here too, so Beckett would actually be a really good choice. Either way, they find the probable site, and suddenly, a Second City.

Archeologists make grabby hands. Beckett, somewhere, is probably crying in joy. They find a vial with some very old blood in it that they definitely shouldn't drink because otherwise they'll explode (the book uses Sascha as the example here XD;; ). Along with some mystical enscriptions, they return to London and get to work on the prophecy - namely, it suggests that 'the gentle one' (likely Saulot) will die at the hands of another, but arise in a new form, and will stop Gehenna that way. Etrius, one of the only Tremere left and having joined the Nephtali, goes 'fuck it what do I have to lose?' and goes to find whatever new form Saulot is in (potentially can also involve Goratrix here).

Hm. Well. Saulot is apparently in a research centre outside Sydney. Apparently we're mostly chill with vampires, aside from Christians XD Go figure!

Apparently it's a cloning facility. One of the rooms had, past tense, a child, successfully cloned six-year-old, who was in perfect physical form but vegetative from birth. Religious characters will pick up that it's because the kid's body didn't have a soul. Now, it does - Saulot's. Having been thrown out of Tremere's body when the Eldest took over, his soul fled until it could find the most suitable vessel - a soulless cloned body. No actual soul to have to subdue. Saulot ends up reborn, albeit in the form of a six-year-old and without any memories. Turns out, the child was taken by a cult of Thinbloods, believing him to be the messiah.

Sydney's messy situation gets described here! Short version, Sydney's Prince is/was Sarrasine, who was a Toreador. Except he wasn't a Toreador, it was a fairly open secret he was only POSING as a Toreador - he was actually a Caitiff. (Except he's not actually a Caitiff. He's a sixth-gen Setite. Sydney is Like That, yes.) Given Sydney's independence from the sects and its apparent Caitiff Prince, it's become a major site of Caitiff and Thinbloods, which Sarrasine is just thrilled about but can't do anything about because he doesn't want to actually go 'lol I'm a Setite'. Anyway, either way, everyone is unaware of Saulot's return, so the players seek out the little boy, who's pretty spooked and confused. Asks the characters, "Who are you? What is this place? What do all these people want?" and his third eye opens. Tada! Salubri Antediluvian, and like the prophecy mentioned, he's 'unholy' and 'a mockery in the face of God' - a clone.

Back to London with kid!Saulot. The Nephtali have been trying to work out what tf is going on. A researcher tried drinking from the vial. It was messy. The characters might get some downtime. Sarrasine's followers may attack to try and get the kiddo back. Either way, everyone goes to bed, and wakes up to find a Darkness having overtaken the sun, which is generally not good for anyone, and Lasombra characters are just, feels bad man. The Veil of Darkness means vampires can be up 24/7, along with other things that don't like sunlight, and I imagine things like... plants not being thrilled. Also probably very confused animals. I'm not sure if it's like a dark atmosphere, or a physical body between the sun and Earth that just eclipses it whatever vantage point you look from, or what? Disciplines like Auspex, Obfuscate, and Obtenebration go a bit fucky. Then, a few days later, everyone feels a... Summons. For low-generation vampires with still-living Antediluvians, it's strongest. Higher gens with destroyed Antes, not so bad. So I'm sure you can guess what's summoning them.

Yep. Antediluvians. Banu Haqim are getting summoned to Alamut instead so Ur-Shulgi can turn them into an army against the Antediluvians, so godspeed resisting that, Elijah.

Off to the city of Gehenna (it's nearish Jerusalem). Elders of all stripes have been heading there to kill their childer in hope of being rewarded by their Antediluvians to get their powers restored, which is terribly rude. Indeed, the Antediluvians basically go, hey, can you not, and also can you start Embracing more childer for our armies, because they're not very nice either. Pretty much all the characters have been summoned for their crimes against the Antediluvians, and now they're gathered before them - Set, [Lasombra], Ennoia, Absimiliard, Malkav (as like... a cluster of identical little girls with glowing eyes because of course Malkav would use the Creepy Child trope), and [Toreador], who's so beautiful no one can tell if they're male or female. When the players and child!Saulot get there, they question him, but he's literally a six-year-old boy and is spooked. He also has the vial, somehow. Set takes it, and Kiddo says, "Don't drink it. You'll burn up." So Set makes Kiddo drink it instead, because he's a nice guy like that.

Kiddo's third eye opens. A giant black throne appears. The dozen small girls that are Malkav say, "Father's home." Kiddo!Saulot says, "No, Father's dead." Girls start screaming so loud people start bleeding thick black blood from their ears and doesn't stop until Set kills all twelve. A random stranger, now with their glowing eyes, steps forward and basically goes 'wow rude'.

Powerful beam of light appears. The Antes (aside from Kiddo!Saulot) writhe in pain. Angel appears, asks Saulot if he's willing to atone for all vampires. He agrees. Throne explodes, Antes fuckin' die, and everyone promptly frenzies and tries to eat each other, because vampires. In the aftermath of that, vampirism basically... ends. The player characters may be rewarded by becoming human again, as do a lot of Thinbloods, but most everyone older just, uh, dies. Vampirism ends, but the Earth has been saved.

That is... hmm, bittersweet, I think. It's a pretty compelling chronicle, very dramatic, but it's much less character-based and is more, 'the characters get dragged along to Do Shit'. I kind of like the idea of it being a story involving the characters we know, but for original characters, I think Wormwood is a much more compelling scenario so far.

Chapter 5 - The Crucible of God: Okay I'm tired now and this is the 'rocks fall everyone dies' scenario so gonna skim-read this one.

This is the chapter that introduces the level 10 power for all disciplines - Plot Device. The Antediluvians can do shit because they feel like it. Whew. Also, if an Ante spots anyone of their blood line, they can just make them... explode and their blood gushes into their mouth. Monch monch. Spot another clan mate? Roll to avoid frenzy. Just woke up? Roll to avoid frenzy. Good times!

And then the Tzimisce Antediluvian awoke as a mass of Vicissitude flesh fungal infestation with tentacles and lampray mouths and stuff and ate anything in reach until it ate, uh, every living thing in Manhattan. In one night. Bad day tbh. Eventually it burns when the sun rises, but what's left underground is still there and shit's still messed up. Like picking a leaf off a dandelion and it starts bleeding. Trees with faces, swarms of insects forming into eyes and watching. Nice and creepy. In the aftermath, it's basically infecting every life form on Earth with Vicissitude, which is distinctly uncool.

Absimliard has an animal army and currently looks like a giant humanoid jellyfish.

Oh boy here's the Banu Haqim part XD;; Interestingly, it's a lot better for them! Haqim doesn't eat his childer, they feel themselves strongly bonded to him but still maintain their own minds and wills. Downside, anyone who doesn't follow Haqim alone gets hunted down so he can eat them, so Ur-Shulgi's probably having a field day at being vindicated and poor Pyre/Elijah is hiding tf under the bed. Plus side, it only lasts a few months before something kills Haqim, so hey! And there's genuinely a way to become human again, especially for high-humanity, high-gen vampires, so that actually would be a genuinely good outcome for Pyre/Elijah.

Malkavians end up as a giant hive mind. Like, more than usual. [Lasombra] covers the world in darkness, then it stops. Ennoia merges with the entire planet and starts eating people. And vampires. And Methuselah. And other Antediluvians. She's kinda hangry at this point.

Tremere attempts to rule the entire world using the Human Genome Project as the true name of the entirety of humanity. It lasts about two minutes before [Tzimisce] turns him into a meat crime, along with, uh, the entire rest of the world, aside from the players, who were part of Tremere's ritual and thus immune from it.

Also Saulot, who they just met in the form of a little old man.

Turns out, he planned it all along. Lured Tremere to him, knowing that his body was tainted by using Tzimisce blood to become a vampire. Knew that when the Eldest returned, he'd be succeptable, and Saulot would be able to bounce out when the Eldest took over. Now, he can lead the characters in the only way to stop Planet Tzimisce, which is, uh, prayer and letting themselves get eaten. Could actually work! And you end up human again in the bargain!

End result - all vampires gone. Some of the more human ones do end up human again. Either way, world's still fucked. Open Antediluvian rule for several months has destroyed most of humanity. There are still remnants - former Malkavians who are still a bit weird, former Tzimisce who are a bit... Vicissitudey. Ennoia's still around! She's mostly chill except when she occasionally feels like rearranging landscapes. Otherwise, it's time to recover.

Alternate endings - that last one wasn't depressing enough, so here's a scenario where All Is Tzimisce, here's one where there's global extinction of literally everything except the player characters who gradually drop into torpor and never recover (or just flat out burn if they're outside), or there's one where the players are the only vampires left and start a new cycle with them as the new Antediluvians or something, oh and Caine's still kicking and is Very Displeased that God won't let him die already. Gooood times!

Rest is how to basically play it, and character sheets. Which go back to calling Sascha ‘it’ again *sigh* (And using the whole alien look despite explicitly mentioning that they look human again. Of course.)

So, final thoughts! Gehenna is... an interesting scenario. Lots of possibility for introspection. It’s very... apocalyptic, and that may bother a lot of people, since, well, for the most part, it’s going to be the end of playing your character as a vampire. Which I figure most people are playing Vampire the Masquerade for. So it’s basically either a hell of a finale, or you just don’t make use of it.

Favourite scenario did end up being Wormwood. I just really like the introspection and opportunity for hope. Did also enjoy Nightshade, but in a different way, I think? Like for Nightshade, I’d rather read it as existing characters working together, maybe as a novel, whereas for Wormwood I’d want to play it since it’s such an intensely personal kind of thing.

(I also still want a slumber party AU ngl.)

#vampire the masquerade #vtm #gehenna

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sparkie96 · 4 years

Note

How about a RE 4+5 au where leon goes to Africa with Chris and his Plaga isn't entirely dead? But since its not the orobos type and he has no 'queen', leon feels more territorily challenged than anything. Its just small weird incidents until Wesker comes in getting a little too handsy with Chris and leon just sees red and bullwhips wesker with his brand new verdugo tail

He knew something had been wrong since they left the village and stumbled upon Leon in the Swamp/Marshlands. How the agent had gotten here, neither Chris or Sheva knew. Not that Sheva would know, because she only had a vague idea about who Leon was exactly. And Leon wasn’t in a very talkative mood either.

Which made Chris internally groan because he had enough things on his plate and he didn’t need a moody US Government Agent adding to his problems. He was supposed to come here, investigate rumors about Jill, find Irving and whatever the hell Uroburos was, stop whatever the hell was going on here, and then get the fuck out of dodge.

Plus, Chris wasn’t too crazy about hanging-out with the man who had just broken his heart and left him.

Speaking of said man, he sat toward the front of the Airboat, hacking up a lung it seemed. Sheva kept giving Leon wary looks, occasionally looking back at Chris with uncertainty. She questioned whether or not they should check him out, but Chris shook his head, quietly telling her that Leon wouldn’t cooperate anyway.

“He’s probably fine.” Chris reassured, “Probably swallowed too much swamp water or something.”

“I can fucking hear you, you know.” Leon called back to them, glancing over his shoulder, “I’m not deaf. I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine.” Sheva protested, “You sound like you’re ill. Are you sure you didn’t have a run-in with the natives?”

“Positive.” Leon replied, “Just...under the weather is all.”

“Which is all the more reason you shouldn’t be here.” Chris pointed out, “We don’t need to worry about you getting hurt or…”

“Or what?” Leon snapped, “Worry about me slowing you down? Burdening you?”

“I wasn’t going to say that!” Chris protested.

“Bullshit!” Leon snarled, pointing an accusatory finger at the man, his mood shifting dramatically, “This is why I-!” Leon stopped, lurching forward before coughing into his hand.

The agent coughed up blood, blue orbs flashing red for a moment before reverting back to their normal color. Sheva looked to Chris once more, who gave a slight nod in return, having seen what she just saw too.

“Leon...I think it’s best if you hang back.” Chris suggested, Sheva reaching for her sidearm.

“...Fine.” Was the meek reply, Leon sitting back down with his back to them.

Chris didn’t need to see his face to know that the younger man was pouting.

Throughout the mission, Leon stayed back and stayed out of the way, helping mostly when they were nearly outnumbered or needed an extra hand. They had reunited with Josh, who was also a bit wary of Leon. But, with some reassurances from Chris, Josh didn’t question the agent, but instead kept an eye on him. Though, Josh did bicker with Leon when it came to driving the boat during the fight with Irving, Chris and Sheva coming back and seeing Leon handcuffed.

“I think there’s something wrong with your friend.” Josh informed Chris in a quiet voice, “I saw him coughing up blood and his eyes turned red...almost like the Majini in the village.”

Chris shook his head, “He may have something going on...but I don’t think…”

“Chris, the man is wearing a heavy fur-lined coat in this heat.” Josh pointed out, “I have to wear this uniform, but him? Chris...I think he’s hiding something.”

“No!” Chris protested, but then quieted down so Leon couldn’t quite hear, “No...he’s too careful for that…”

Josh and Sheva exchanged looks of uncertainty but decided to drop the subject for now, not wanting to distress Chris anymore...or cause any trouble with the American Agent. They continued onward toward some cave, Josh freeing Leon from the handcuffs, but not letting him accompany Chris and Sheva.

“We’ll be here if you need us.” Josh informed Chris and Sheva, despite Leon’s pout, “Think of us as Plan B.”

Chris gave Josh a grateful smile, but felt guilty when he avoided Leon’s gaze. He just...he couldn’t look at Leon right now. Doing so made him feel upset and worried and made him doubt continuing onward, and Sheva needed him to be there. She couldn’t do this without him, her and Josh and the BSAA were counting on him. Bidding Josh and Leon a “Be Careful” he and Sheva pressed through the cave to find out what Irving was talking about.

So, after going through hell and then nearly getting crushed by rubble, Chris and Sheva had discovered some Flower, but also Excella’s work, discovered that both Wesker AND Jill were still alive, and then both proceeded to hand Chris and Sheva their asses. Not to mention, both Excella and Wesker had escaped and Chris nearly lost Jill again. Luckily, they had managed to get the device controlling her off of her, but she begged them to go after Wesker instead of staying with her.

But...now Leon had apparently separated from Josh, pursuing Wesker and Excella ahead of Chris and Sheva.

“He’s such a stubborn ass.” Chris muttered under his breath, “He never fucking listens and he always acts without thinking…”

“Then...why were you with him?” Sheva asked, genuinely curious, “Weren’t you two together?”

“Yeah, but…” Chris sighed, “He broke it off.”

“Why?”

Chris paused, as though finding the words but unable to, “He...I couldn’t commit...to us…”

Sheva furrowed her brows as they continued down the steps, Chris recounting his and Leon’s argument months earlier. Chris admitted that he hadn’t been ready to step away from the BSAA and focus on their relationship. Said relationship had been on the rocks already, but Chris constantly working and pretty much marrying himself to his work hammered the nails into the coffin, so to speak. Jill’s death hadn’t helped either, Chris burrowing himself further into his work and accidentally ignoring Leon altogether.

“But...he understood why, right?” Sheva asked, “He can’t just ask you to drop everything and...piss off. Unfortunately, BOWs and Terrorists aren’t just going to magically go away because you two, say, got married. And Jill seems like she means the world to you, he couldn’t just ask you to throw everything away…”

“He didn’t ask me to…” Chris admitted, “But he did understand in the end and removed himself from the equation. He didn’t want to keep me from the BSAA...so he left.”

“Oh,” Sheva said with realization, her gaze moving to look down at her feet, “Sorry, I...I didn’t mean to assume…”

Chris shook his head, telling her that there was no need to apologize. It was in the past and they had more important things to worry about. They made their way through corridors and

Walkways, and eventually made it to the tanker itself.

“Sheva, Chris.” Josh said through the communications link, “Jill said that there is a way to beat Wesker. It’s…”

The soldier’s message had been interrupted by a guttural and monstrous sounding roar, drawing Chris’s and Sheva’s attentions toward the top of the tanker, seeing Wesker fighting...something. The figure up top looked like a person...but only their upper half. The lower half had what looked like hindlegs as well as a whip like tail that ended with...a bone like structure. Almost like those creatures mentioned and described in the Kennedy Report.

Whatever it was, it was giving Wesker a helluva fight, and where the hell was Leon?

“What the hell is that?” Sheva asked, eyes wide in shock as she looked between the fight and Chris.

“I don’t know,” Chris admitted, “But whatever it is...let’s hope it’s on our side.

_________________

My AO3 Page / Buy Me a Ko-Fi! / Twitter / DM for a Commission

#Chreon #Kind Of #Resident Evil 5 #Chris Redfield #Sheva Alomar #Leon S. Kennedy #Josh Stone #Albert Wesker #Infected AU

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tobswrites · 4 years

Text

Okay I got another one, since I just watched Godzilla.

Okay so basically, this takes place like in the Fantasy Au.

So Bakugou is a young kid, chief's son of the Barbarian clan. Near his clan is a small village where he knew Mids.

At a certain young age, Bakugou starts having dreams of this black haired kid, who has red eyes like him. He doesnt tell anyone about the dreams, thinking they mean nothing.

Soon, he has a dream where he actually interacts with the other kid, and young Bakugou confines him the most, complaining but Mids, and his other friends while the kid listens.

He realizes his dreams before were actually visions of the kids life. And sometimes he would talk about them with the kid in his dreams.

Then at some point of his life Bakugou stopped seeing the kid the calls him self Eijirou. But rarely still has those visions.

Of little Eijirou standing at an altar, dressed and worshipped. He sees images of Ei doing rituals, and hes a kid who looks scared and tired.

As he continues to get older, Bakugou wonders why he doesnt dream of Eijirou anymore.

At 16, he has another, longer vision of Ei, and after that night he leaves the clan without telling anyone anything.

4 years later, his clan is in a time of war along with their alliances against the evil. *insert cool villain group name here*

Midoriya is tasked to finding him, and with him, hes given a few of the alliances representivites, like from the Todoroki kingdom, they have the youngest prince and his guard Momo.

Then they have Iida, second prince of the Iida kingdom, and along the way, they meet Uraraka, a lone witch trying to make them cash.

Anyways, they get clues and tips and word that Bakugou has been here, Bakugou has been there. and they gotta find him soon, because Bakugou forsure is young, but hes suprr strong , incredibly smart, and they need him to win this war and with him there, it reassures other alliances to be part of this war.

Soon they get a tip that Bakugou was asking for directions to the no mans tundra, an artic region where nothing can survive there.

Confused and curious, Midoriyas group head over there without haste because they're running out of time.

So they head out, and theres signs of like people camping there. Which Mids finds odd, because these camps show signs it's more than one person. So he wonders if theres anyone else heading this direction. But why.

Soon they catch up to Bakugou and what?? He turns out to have friends??? Its the Bakusquad!!

Anyways they look frantic, and a little scared minus Bakugou who kinda looks crazy.

Also I would like to say this is a personal headcanon that Mina is that one gecko from that one popularity poll. But for now she isnt because it would just be too cold for her.

Midoriya is asking what Bakugou is doing out here. And good nature bakugou tells him to fuck off. But midoriya is here for a reason, and with the power of friendship he isnt leaving without Bakugou.

Anyways, they make it to this underground cave, Bakugou doesnt brother with Mids because hes running out of time. And the bakugang sorta just following along even though they think Bakugous plan is iffy. But Mids ask what the plan is, but they dont tell him, and so he asks why are they listening or following Bakugou and they all, genuinely believe in him, and also trust him whole heartedly.

They go deeper into the tunnel, and then eventually they find less rock, and more an abandoned civilization. Theres tiers, structures, buildings, river tunnels, like a whole advance civilization and Mids is like totally freaking out because hes a nerd who tots loves this sorta of shit.

So hes all for what Bakugou is doing. But for like a good second because then they see it. Climbing up these stairs to a platform, there captured in thick frozen ice is a red creature. And its enormous. (Oh my gosh I really wanna write this now) mids is confused. Everyone is in awe, with a hint of fear. And Bakugou, Bakugou is elastic.

Mids hears Kami breathe out "so he was telling the truth" and Mids is like I had enough of this secrecy. What's going on?

And Sero decides to tell Mids as they never take their eyes away from the frozen creature.

Bakugou is running up the steps which seem to reach to the hundreds. And Sero tells him of an ancient "god" that used to roam the earth and it was extremely powerful and people feared it for thousands of years, as much as they worshipped it and treated them as a god.

Okay this seems so long and I cant put the stupid thing on mobile so this part one!!!

#part 1 #of #Tobs Fantasy Au #inspired by Godzilla #kiribaku #bakushima #bakugou x kirishima #dragon kirishima eijirou #fanfic #fan fic idea

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animerunner · 4 years

Text

What Happened Is Not Right And That’s Okay (Chapter 2)

Ao3

Link to Chapter 1 Fandom: The Owl House Rating: T Warnings For this Chapter: Dehumanization, ableism, possible borderline gaslighting, and parental ignorance/neglect possibly bordering on child abuse. Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne, Eda Clawthorne & Eda Clawthorne’s Mother, Eda Clawthorne & Principal Bump (additional relationships to be added as the story progresses. Summary:Living with a curse was never a simple task. And really from day one Eda knew it was going to be complicated. But she can't help but wonder at times. Just why hers has to be this complicated.

In short: An Exploration of what life might have been like for Eda growing up with the curse. AN: Hey there so what story is basically what it says on the tin. With some creative liberty of course.

Something to keep in mind is that this story progresses: 1. Explore Eda's character and others in response to the curse 2. Help myself explore and come to terms with my own Chronic Illness 3. Help educate others who aren't as familiar with disabilities on the realities of the situation. This one is important to me since the fandom can have an ableism issue. And I would like for readers to maybe take away why the use of certain tropes is a lot worse than they might realize. 4. This story is not meant to be either tragedy or inspiration porn. 5. I've only really begun interacting with the disability community in the last few years. So if I do a misstep its unintentional ignorance. Which I realize is not great either. I just want to make clear my intent is not malicious. If someone else who is in the community in some form be it Neurotypical, disabled, chronically ill, etc. sees something questionable within the story that comes off as unintentionally ableist please tell me. I would be happy to clarify if the plot beat was unintentional (and fix it) or somehow deals with the story itself. Which will happen sometimes. 6. Some of this is based on my own experience. Some of it is not. The parents issue this chapter is a good example of it not being based on my own experience.

This story will touch on some topics that might be sensitive to some readers. I will include warnings . If your sensitive to the topic please keep that in mind before starting it. Also please bear in mind that not all chapters will have the same element. So while one chapter might have one issue, the other might not. A good example of this is an arc I will be exploring later in the story involving ableism in sports.

For anyone who wasn’t around for the first chapter. This was originally inspired by @beckyarteest‘s fic before it went off and became its own quasi multi chapter AU (I am bad at sticking to canon compliance): I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.

Anyways Actual story is under the read more. Ao3 link is at the top. Please let me know what you think!

One day turned into two and two turned quickly into a week. And after that with no real sign of the ‘curse’ resurfacing, Eda had actually started to think that maybe everyone else was right.

Maybe whatever had happened that day was just a one off thing.

Unfortunately, reality had made that hope come crashing down just over two weeks after “the duel that wasn’t” with Lilith.

=============

Eda wouldn’t remember the moment that would properly change everything about her life.

Though, she guessed that wasn’t entirely accurate. Considering the biggest moment had happened a week prior was when she had been supposed to be vying for an Emperor’s Coven spot against Lily. The day of her first transformation.

However the incident in potions class, the moment they now knew this was almost certainly not just a one off incident like they had been hoping? That was the moment it became all too real for Eda.

Even if it would be a while longer before it became real for the rest of the family. That was the day reality started to sink in for Eda. As it was the day that she knew at least to an extent that her life wasn’t going to ever be the same.

It would also be her first gateway into the many, many issues that came with the curse. Whether it be other people’s treatment of her cursed form, right or wrong, or just still having people take her seriously in the beginning.

Something that would be a recurring struggle she would have to deal with in the coming years.

Much like the duel, she would only be told what had happened afterward. The entire time she was transformed she wasn’t even aware of what was going on.

It was something that would over time become associated with fear and worry. At the time though, for an Eda who was still in denial, it was more of a source of annoyance.

Eda didn’t like that she had to rely on other people to necessarily do ‘the right thing’. Especially since in both instances so far it nearly hadn’t ended in her favor.

Thankfully of all people it was apparently Principle Bump who came to her rescue. Seeing reason when one of the other teachers had tried to suggest handing her off to the head of the Beast Keeping classes for the time being...

Bump scowled at that not particularly liking the way this conversation was going, “She is still a student. A transformed one but one nonetheless. Unless she starts attacking someone there is no reason to be summoning Arden.”

Sure, he may not be particularly fond of Eda’s antics at times. Sometimes he wished that the entire Clawthorne dynamic wasn’t like how it was. It was a source of many of his headaches.

But that did not mean he supported putting Eda in a cage.

Even if she wasn’t in her right mind currently, she was still a student. And she wasn’t being aggressive. Honestly, this other form so far hasn't been aggressive at all. Though who was to say that wouldn’t change?

He was more than a bit concerned with how little they knew. However, there was one thing he was certain on: that forcing her into a cage would make things worse, not better.

Not that he particularly liked the idea even before you factored in the fact that they’d be caging a student.

“So what do you suggest we do with her then, sir? Leaving her out could cause property damage.”

Which, arguably, was more Eda than anything else.

“Put her in my office and call a healer. Hopefully someone will know what to do to get her to transform back.”

“Sir, I must protest. Putting her with you could put you-”

Bump cut the other teacher off before he could continue. “I didn’t become the principal of this institution by sitting on my thumbs Marcus. I am more than capable of handling an unruly student. Even if she has been transformed into another creature.”

Not that he genuinely thought handling would be an issue.

=============

“So what your saying is neither of you can help.”

Bump had ended up summoning both a healer and grabbing DeFrost anyway. Hoping maybe one of them would know how to solve their issue.

“I apologize, sir. But I’m used to dealing with minor curses. Things of inconvenience mostly. Under normal circumstances, I would refer this student to a specialist. This is way beyond my own capabilities to treat.”

And of course, they couldn’t do that without involving the Clawthorne parents. Who he had tried to alert when Edalyn had transformed again. But they had both been busy and he had yet to hear anything from them yet.

“And I’ve never seen a creature quite like this. Cursed or otherwise. I could possibly see if I have anything discussing something similar to Ms. Clawthorne. However...”

“Most likely Edalyn will have transformed back by then.” Bump concluded.

So apparently they were dealing with not just a curse. But a rare curse. Great.

Why was it that nothing involving the Clawthornes was just plain and simple?

“At the very least can you tell me if she’s any sort of danger?”

That way he could have his staff stop bothering him.

DeFrost adjusted their glasses. “Well it's hard to say without knowing the curse or how it impacts her mind. But based on normal cursed creature behavior most likely she won’t be a danger to anyone unless she’s provoked. However there’s still a lot of questions there...”

“Like what could provoke her.”

“Exactly.” DeFrost nodded. “Sir, I know you said you could handle if anything happened but-”

“I can handle myself just fine Arden. I appreciate your concern but if I need your help again I will ask for it.”

“Understood sir.” DeFrost agreed reluctantly. Before taking their leave.

“Am I dismissed as well sir?”

“No. Actually I wanted to ask. I know you can’t help her return to normal. But I imagine the transformation back won’t be easy on her. Is there anything we can do to ease that at least?”

“Well yes. But that would normally involve the family…”

“I’ll handle anything that might come if they protest. This is already a difficult time for Edalyn. Let's not make it worse.”

=============

Thankfully time really was all they needed for Eda to transform back.

Though rather than answering his questions and possible suspicions. Eda’s return to awareness just raised even more of them in their steed.

“Welcome back Edalyn. How are you feeling?”

“Like an icicle is trying to drive a hole into my skull,” Eda said, wincing again rubbing the right side of her head. “What happened?”

“I believe that you will probably want this, then.” Bump rather than answer the question slid the potion that the healer had left for Eda when she finally returned to normal. “The healers figured you might have one after you transformed back.” Bump explained as Eda downed the bottle.

Eda frowned as she put the bottle down again. Now that the pain was receding she could think a bit more clearly. And realize that she couldn’t think of a reason for why she would be in the office in the first place. “Back? Wait was I-”

“Transformed into that creature from the duel? Yes.”

“I didn’t even realize it,” Eda noted with a frown. Much like the last time everything was just a giant blank from right before she transformed. Which worried her on another level. Why was she unable to remember anything from when the spell, curse, whatever it was took effect?. “I didn’t hurt anyone did I?”

“No everyone got out of your minor escapade without a scratch.” Bump assured her. Deciding to leave off the near incident with DeFrost and the cages for the moment. It wasn’t like he hadn’t specifically told them not to get the Beast Keeping professor involved.

Eda sighed in relief. “That’s good at least.”

“So you really aren’t aware of what happened after you transformed? I take it?”

“No, the last thing I remember is being in the potions classroom. And then waking up here. Everything between the two is a blank.” Eda’s face scrunched up in a frown. There was a bit of a tangible residue of some sort of memory. But she still didn’t know the relevance of it. “Mother’s going to kill me for missing class.”

“I would have thought you might be somewhat pleased by the new attention.”

After all that had been a reason behind some of Eda’s pranks over the years. Though sometimes Bump wondered just how much Eda realized this herself.

“Not like this.”

“Either way I’ll write a note. In the meantime you really should have a specialist check you.”

Eda winced. “That’s probably going to be easier said than done.”

“If it comes to it, the same offer I made to your sister when she was being given difficulty by them I’ll extend to you. If you need someone to help you get seen about this curse then I can try to help you find someone that your parents won’t cause problems with.”

Eda winced remembering the fiasco that had been trying to get her sister her glasses. There was an unfortunate high probability history could repeat itself. She really hoped her parents had maybe learned. “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you Principal Bump.”

“Your welcome.”

Eda’s unusual politeness wasn’t lost on him. Go figure the most polite conversation he had ever had with Edalyn was because of a curse.

Maybe he should have tried a different tactic with the youngest Clawthorne?

Too late to fix that now he supposed. =============

Any small hope for Eda that maybe her parents would take it seriously when she got home. And not try to toss it again under ‘something else’ didn’t last longer than five minutes after her mother got home.

“Clawthornes don’t get cursed.”

“But-” Eda began to try and protest. Absentmindedly scratching her wrists. While most of the pain had subsided with the potion Bump had given her, there were still some residual aches and pains from the transformation.

Just like last time in fact.

“End of discussion. I will not entertain this absolutely absurd discussion. Let alone the idea of taking you to a specialist.”

Eda scowled, not ready to back down without a fight. “If it's just a spell then why did it happen a second time?”

“I don’t know Edalyn, maybe someone thought they should continue the lesson.”

Eda opened her mouth to try and continue the argument. Only to have her mother disappear through the door, slamming it shut behind her.

“But I haven’t even done anything this past week.” Eda muttered to herself.

After the first idea of it being a curse had gotten into her head. She had decided to try and be better. The transformation had hurt! She hadn’t wanted to go through it again.

So as difficult as it had been she had hung up her pranking supplies. For now at least until whoever was angry with her cooled down.

If this really was because of a prank. Then someone was really vindictive was all she could say.

Either way whatever caused it wasn’t really the problem anymore. It was figuring out what to do next before the curse resurfaced a third time.

Normally she would have turned to Lily for guidance. But her sister was away at training. Meaning it was her against her parents. And she had no clue how to handle it from there.

It had always been them against the world. Even when that world sometimes included their own parents.

With the one person who may have understood their complex family dynamic gone. With her having no idea when she would see Lily again. She had no one to turn to.

Sure, Bump had once said that if she needed help to come to him. But this felt like a bit of a reach.

Maybe it was for the best to leave it alone for now. Maybe if it happened again her parents would take it seriously.

She knew that the likelihood of that happening was probably small, but what else could she even do at this point?

Her parents' reaction, while infuriating, was not entirely unexpected. And it was even less likely to change if her childhood was anything to go by. Since, if it was something that made the Clawthorne’s imperfect, then it was not to be acknowledged. Even if it impacted their own children.

And if there was anything that indicated an ‘imperfection’ it was having a curse on a child.

Titan knew how it had been a fight to get Lily her glasses. Eda couldn’t even begin to imagine how complicated things might be if this was something far more sinister than getting your sight corrected.

She guessed if she needed too she could try looking for care on her own. She was old enough now that she didn’t need her parents there at a healer’s appointment. But then again the fall out from going to a doctor when she didn’t have her own source of income.

Well it would be a mess.

Why did this have to be so complicated?

#the owl house #toh #the owl house fanfiction #eda clawthorne #disability representation

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the-last-cuddlebender · 4 years

Text

It Was Everything

If Katara downed a shot every time the windwielder with the giant flying fluffy thing crossed her path, she would be too drunk to wield water ever again.

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A/N: A thousand thanks to @penguinsledder for referring the idea of a fluffy-Kataang-WildWest!AU to me! It was just what I needed for NaNoWriMo days 3 and 4 (feat. littleshit!Aang:D)

Words: 2,388

Rating: T

ArchiveOfOurOwn

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

“There you are.” Katara said. She breathed properly for the first time in an hour and dissipated her waterlasso; a wave of her hands wielded her liquid ammo back into the waterskins holstered at her hips. “Sweet Tui and La, what the hell do you think you’re doing so far from camp?”

The windwielder—Aang, the young man said his name was the last time they ‘met’—sat on the canyon clay in front of the giant thing he called a pet. Katara was more than glad she sold her mare for rations in the previous town over. Even she had trouble standing near the beast Aang coddled like a turtleduck.

Katara’s charge turned so fast that she thought he would tear the bandages wrapped around his abdomen and chest. “Hiya, Kya!” He flailed his free arm in a passionate wave, but he immediately regretted it when the movement jostled him. He whimpered like a kicked dog and cradled the sling supporting his once dislocated shoulder.

His voice echoed around the canyon. Katara was behind him in the next second. “Shhh!” She smacked her hand over his mouth before he alerted their location to every bounty hunter from there to the desert just beyond the lip of their refuge. “Are you crazy?!” Katara hissed.

Aang’s eyes put puppies to shame. “S’morry…,” he mumbled behind her hand.

Katara took a healthy stride away from the idiot and the idiot’s giant furry flying thing. Appa hadn’t moved from his position laying on his side. Earlier, Katara had barely been able to get him to move one of his paws so she could access the burns along his stomach. The creature was panting with burn fever, that much was certain, but he would recover.

The windwielder smiled at her. Katara flicked his stupid arrow.

“Ow…”

“Don’t you ever run off like that again.”

“Aw, were you worried about me? I’m touched. I knew you cared.”

She flicked him again, and she considered flicking him a third time when he cradled his ‘wound’ like it had put him on his deathbed. “You’ll be smacked if you don’t cut the attitude. Don’t run off like that again. I can’t have you getting killed doing something stupid. I only get paid if you’re breathing.”

Aang laughed, and the shine of his bratty smile was bright enough to lighten the night and the shadows around them. “I didn’t run off. I was just seeing how Appa was holding up. You’re an awesome healer, Kya.”

Katara had never blushed, let alone stuttered, from a compliment before. “H-Hardly. I just know enough to get by.”

“It’s true, though! You're a really talented waterwielder—the best I’ve ever seen.”

“I’m the only waterwielder you’ve ever seen.”

“Well, yeah, but you’re still really good.”

“Thanks. I guess.”

The silence was long and awkward. Aang glanced between her and Appa several times. His face scrunched up a bit. He was thinking. Katara hated when he did that.

“You can pet him, y’know. Appa doesn’t bite.”

Katara regarded the ten-ton behemoth. “Pretty damn big teeth for something that doesn’t bite,” she said. Aang ignored this. Of course, he did. The idiot with a handsome smile scooted over and patted the spot of clay next to him. Katara rolled her eyes. “And how, exactly, can I be sure he isn’t going to attack me?”

“He has no reason to.”

“He has every reason to.”

“He has every reason not to. You saved his life.”

“All I did was heal him of a few burns. I hardly call that saving his life.”

Aang’s smile faltered. He scratched the bandage wrapped around his torso and adjusted the armsling Katara had mended for him out of his sash. “You helped him when nobody else would,” he mumbled. His smile was back in the next second, and he patted the ground again. “Here. If it makes you feel any better, I promise I’ll protect you if Appa tries anything. Windwielder’s honor.”

Katara crossed her arms and didn’t answer. Aang, again, patted the spot next to him.

...Why me?

Groaning, Katara ignored the urge to bang her head against a rock and sat. Slowly. Aang felt strangely warm beside her, but, then again, windwielders were known for warming themselves with nothing more than their breathing. Katara hesitated before cautiously combing the barest points of her fingers into the thick fur pooling down the beast’s head.

“Here,” Aang said. His grip on her hand was gentle and the way he guided her hand was even gentler. Their sides brushed. The personal air current he cloaked himself in wound around Katara, too, “he likes cheek scratches.” It was awfully close to Appa’s mouth, but Katara followed Aang’s instruction. Appa’s eyes closed, and the sound he made shook Katara’s insides while Aang smiled all the wider. “See? He trusts you.”

“Trusts me?” Katana huffed dismissively and almost shook her head. “He’s naive as all hell if he trusts me.”

“Why? You helped him. Of course, he trusts you.”

“He doesn’t know who I am. I could be a serial killer for all he knows. He doesn’t know the first thing about me.”

“Well, yeah, but…” Aang’s voice trailed off, and his pets on Appa’s nose paused before restarting slower than before. “You don’t know him, either, and you helped him anyway.”

“Trust is a luxury he can’t afford with the Burn Brothers after the two of you. The devil princess herself takes people out only after she gains their confidence. She enjoys it.” Katara glanced at him in her periphery. “Or have you forgotten already?”

Aang was quiet for a long second. “...He knows you won’t hurt him.”

“Does he?” Katara glanced at Aang again. Her attention lingered on his sling and the healing burn on his cheek before going back to the feverish beast. “He’s not exactly in a position to defend himself as far as I’m concerned.”

“You’ve never hurt him.”

“So what?”

“Everyone else hurts him. Or, at the very least, they try to.”

Katara hesitated. “That means nothing.”

Aang shrugged. “Could mean something. He’s the last of his kind as far as he knows. He hasn’t seen another since he was little. He can’t even remember them. That’s probably a good thing, though. The others were hunted down a long time ago.” His eyes were soft and grey like a wolf’s pelt, and Katara couldn’t look away from them. “You’re the first person he’s met who hasn’t tried to kill or capture him.”

“That doesn’t mean I won’t.”

“He knows you won’t.”

“Oh? And how does he know that?”

“He has a feeling. No one’s ever helped him. Especially when he was hurt.”

Katara tore her attention back to Appa’s cheek-scratches and whispered what she had meant to only think. “I don’t turn my back on people who need me.”

She heard Aang’s smile. “He knows.”

“I didn’t realize he knew my life’s story.”

“He doesn’t need to. He knows you’re good.”

Katara arched her brow and shot him a skeptical look. Aang caught it with a grin. “Because he has a feeling?”

“Something like that.”

“Then he’s naive and a fool. One good deed doesn’t change anything.”

Aang laughed. It was a really nice sound. It plunged Katara into something that felt like jelly and warmed her like a strong drink.

Appa licked her hand.

“Oh, gross!”

“Sorry about that.” Aang’s smile said he wasn’t sorry in the least, but Katara couldn’t bring herself to care. His laugh kept her spellbound even as she wielded the slobber off and away from her with a flick of her wrist and a touch of waterwielding. “It’s his way of saying thanks. Kisses are how he shows affection. I told you he likes—”

Aang bent over with a sharp gasp of pain. Katara cursed. She was on her knees behind him in an instant, assessing the gaping scar breaking the line of his tattoos.

The scar was old, but the torn highways of chi and life-energy just beneath the surface were raw and pulsing. Katara handed Aang a stick and told him to sit still. She wielded water to her palms and concentrated on the glow of power as she moved her hands along the center of his muscled back. She silently commended him for keeping his silence even when the stick between his teeth snapped. She tightened the stitches in his chi that she had sutured months ago, and she bundled and sheathed the frayed ends of energy torn apart by the desperation of a wielder forced to fight when they barely had any life left in them.

The months since she last saw him had not treated him kindly.

“That should hold you over for now,” Katara said. She corked her waterskins just as she reclaimed her seat at his side. His stick was gone, but his eyes were closed in a pain that Katara couldn’t imagine. “You shouldn’t have another healing session until morning. Your body can only take so much manipulation at one time.”

Aang was sweaty but smiling when he cracked his eyes open. “Thanks,” he mumbled. He was slow to sit straight again. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“I can’t exactly stop you.”

“What’s your real name?”

Katara paused. Her heart dropped in the way it always did when a highwayman squinted at her resemblance to a wanted poster, but something in Aang’s tone made it bounce back to where it was supposed to be in her chest. “My name is Kya.”

Aang grinned. The sincerity in his eyes was as genuine as the reassurance hidden behind his words. “No, it’s not. You say Kya like the name is a part of you, but it's not your own.”

Katara looked at him, and, for some reason, it felt like she was seeing him for the first time. “...Katara. My name is Katara.”

“Katara.” Aang’s smile reached his eyes, and he offered the hand of his non-slinged arm. “Well, it’s nice to officially meet you, Katara. My name’s Aang, but you knew that already.”

Katara gave his hand a wary glance before shaking it. “Likewise.”

They shook hands for a second longer than what was normal, and Aang’s face was red bordering on crimson when he finally let her go. His eyes suddenly found the clay very interesting, and he fiddled with a loose string on his pants.

Katara couldn’t believe it. The chatterbox was at a loss for words.

“Oh, um…I ugh...I have something for you.” Aang dug into his pocket. “It’s nothing, really. Just a little trinket of sorts.”

Katara snatched it as soon as she saw it. “My mother’s necklace!” It was there. It was really, really there, in her hands again—where it belonged. “How did—How did you get this?”

Aang’s smile was shy, and he fiddled even more with the string on his pants. “I had a long talk with that buddy of yours from the coast. The pawnbroker had a change of heart. He asked me to make sure I got it to you.”

Katara’s cheeks grew hot. She looked away from him before her face started burning. She hastily put on her mother’s necklace before busying her hands with smoothing imaginary wrinkles in her vest. “Well...that was silly of him. And stupid.” It took her a few tries, but she managed to look at Aang again. “...But also very sweet. Kindness is hard to come by these days.”

“That’s what friends are for, right?”

Katara’s heart fell upwards this time, and it didn’t feel like it was going to come down anytime soon. “O-One sweet gesture doesn’t mean he and I are friends. He doesn’t know me any more than Appa does.”

“Oh, I—I mean, he knows, I’m sure.” Aang pawed the ground. When did he turn to face her? He was so close that Katara could hear his heart racing. Or was that hers? “But...But he might be hoping that it could mean something...maybe.”

Katara thought about it. “It might.”

Aang perked up so fast that even the wind stirred around them. “Oh?”

“It might,” Katara reiterated. She turned the inch or so needed to face him properly, too. She had to look up at him even when they were sitting, but it wasn’t by as large of a margin as when they were standing. Her voice refused to speak above a whisper. “A sweet gesture is just a sweet gesture until he makes it mean something.”

“Maybe he meant it as a thank you.”

“That’s not how he says thank you.”

“How do you know?”

“I have a feeling.”

Aang stared at her, and Katara tried her hardest not to laugh as she watched his mind digest the meaning of her words. His next smile outshone even the full moon.

Aang shifted his weight and opened and closed his one free hand like he was excited and itching to do something. “I never did thank you before. Did I?”

Before—? Oh, right.

“You don’t need to.”

“I want to,” Aang quietly said. He was closer, now. His face consumed all Katara could see, and she swore she felt the breath from his words. “I didn’t just get hurt before. I know I didn’t. I was gone...but you brought me back.”

Katara found herself closer, too. “...I don’t know what I did.”

The wind, excited, blew a stray whirlwind like a giggle escaping someone trying not to laugh. Aang tucked a lock of loose hair behind her ear. His palm was as warm as the rest of him, and it took its time sliding down her cheek and the curve of her jaw until it cradled her face. “You saved me,” he said.

Katara turned—just enough—to brush her nose to his. “It was nothing.”

She felt his smile against the corner of her mouth, and she felt his laugh, warm and rich, melting into the deepest parts of her. Katara’s heart was in the stratosphere and beating like the thundering of a thousand horses galloping.

He kissed her cheek. “It was everything.”

Katara turned and caught the thank you he was teasing her with. The cheeky smile that greeted her was more than everything, and the kiss he led her into redefined the word.

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Tried to have a play on words for ‘gunslinger’ lol

This fic is light on the worldbuilding I built into the AU because it’s mostly character driven. Wanted some dialogue practice and an attempt to streamline

#kataang #aang #katara #avatar the last airbender #atla #WildWest!AU #Appa #sweeties gonna sweet #Written as a practice in dialogue #so not NEARLY as descriptive as normal (sorry🙏) but I'm just playing with things so I don't accidentally write a novel #Aang is a ~little shit~#humor/fluff/hurt/comfort #It Was Everything #NaNoWriMo 2020 #days 3 and 4 #myfanfictiontag #post

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ohwereusingourmadeupnames · 4 years

Note

roommates AU!! Maybe one where young Tony has had a string of awful roommates (ie. they bully him for his age, etc.). The housing office transfers him one last time and tells him to give it a week. If this one still doesn't work out, then they'll let him room alone. At first, Tony just wants the week to be over, but of course his new roommate is the sweet Peter Parker. Cue pining!Tony, oblivious!Peter and a fluffy resolution... Just my rambles, but always excited to see what you come up with!

do the thing - send in all the prompts.

Nonnie, this was a lovely prompt - thank you so much for the idea! I aged Tony up a little bit to make sure there wasn’t anything underage, but I hope I hit all the things you were looking for!

Tony always figured flying through school would be a breeze. And for the most part – it was. The class material turned out to be easier than even he anticipated; he could’ve easily gotten through high school with his eyes closed. At 16, the concept of winning was the only thing that registered to him – what he was winning, he didn’t really know; but beating out his peers around him always made him feel just a bit better about how ridiculously brainy he really was.

Of course, the social aspect of school wasn’t nearly as easy. Most people didn’t understand what it was like to be the son of Howard Stark – Tony knew the inside of a lab before the age of 4 and attended dinners with some of the world’s figure heads on a consistent basis. As one of the youngest people in the entire room always, Tony struggled to fit in. Being smart wasn’t the piece of school that people admired, especially when the age gap was already so substantial. To say he was picked on was putting it mildly.

He assumed getting to college would end all of the bullying that came pre-packaged in the high school experience. Why would people in the pursuit of a degree in higher education care how old anyone was? The shocking reality of how wrong he was came when his very first roommate locked him out of the dorm for a full 48-hours. Tony didn’t like to throw around the weight of his name, but he hadn’t showered and needed textbooks to get to some of his classes. Needless to say, his roommate did not remain in the room for much longer.

Tony’s next roommate at least lasted for the rest of the year – he was an asshole at all points in time, but he didn’t lock him out of the room or touch his shit. There wasn’t enough of a connection to ask him back as a roommate – so Tony put his name back on the list for a roommate and went about his summer vacation.

Coming back from Italy, Tony was refreshed and more than ready to get through the next year as quickly as possible. He’d turned 17 over the summer and was one step closer to being on the cusp of independence. Then, people couldn’t judge him for his age. Tony walked into the year with a positive attitude – that was quickly bat down by the homophobic bigot they stuck him with. Tony still didn’t like the way faggot sat on the surface of his skin.

The struggle to keep a roommate brought him in front of housing for what felt like the hundredth time – all he wanted was some peace to get through school and maybe enjoy some of it. The notoriety of the university kept the supply of single rooms scarce, but he figured if push really came to shove, he could find a way to get one for himself. Cindy, who’d been dealing with him since his first gem of a roommate screwed the pooch, looked at him with a mixture of pity and concern. “I need you to give it a go one more time, for at least a week. There aren’t any singles available and I’m certain that this person will be suitable for you. In the meantime, I’ll see what I can do if all else fails.”

A barely concealed scoff left his mouth, but he nodded, anyway. After the stream of lectures he got from his father when the initial trouble started, Tony was determined to settle the situation by his own means, even if that meant trying to stomach one more person for 7 days. All of his other roommates proved how terrible they were right from the get-go, so he figured he could make it – the other side held the key to his single and a little bit of peace from the boring monotony of societal norms.

A couple of days later, a knock on the door drew Tony from the book in front of him – he’d been balls deep in the chapter on electrical energy conversion. Standing up from his seated position, Tony realized how long he’d been sitting when his feet felt a little numb. The break was obviously needed.

Pulling the door open, Tony let a soft gasp leave his lips – the person standing there was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. Long legs led to a torso that was covered with a white and purple striped shirt and flight jacket. The length of this person’s neck held a head covered in dark brown, curly hair. Tony took a couple of steps back on instinct, his brain going haywire.

“Are you Tony?”

In an attempt to speak, Tony opened his mouth – no words followed, however. Blushing, he chose to nod instead. He opened the door a little bit wider, his hand swinging in a ‘come in gesture’. His lips were quirked into an involuntary smile, everything about his body he could usually control now running on instinct and the overwhelming hormones that coursed through him.

A soft chuckle left the other’s mouth, the sound like music to his ears. Why did it take this long to deliver someone like this to his door? More than anything, Tony hoped that handsome person walking into the dorm that must be his new roommate wasn’t a total piece of shit – he wanted to be able to hold out a little hope.

“I’m Peter – Peter Parker. I just transferred here,” the man, Peter, said – his eyes wandering around the modest fixtures that Tony kept around the shared space. “Is that really a big-screen TV?” Peter’s plumps lips formed a roguish grin, coffee-colored eyes flashing with genuine excitement. “I never thought I’d see one of those in a college dorm room.”

Tony watched him trace a hand across the top, his fingers fiddling with the wiring at the back of it. “And it has HDMI capability. We can get both of my systems set up on this thing.” Peter’s excitement took him by surprise, everyone else who walked through the door didn’t care about the cool shit he brought with him – just the differences between them; his age, the sexuality he refused to hide – his academic abilities, even.

Not Peter, though – he went on to explain that he was getting a degree in Electrical Engineering and didn’t get to have some of the newer appliances growing up. It was weird, to see someone so excited about the nerdy stuff Tony liked, too. They heartily discussed the best way to get both the Xbox and PlayStation set up through the tv without bogging down the cable setup already existing in the room.

By the time they were both happy with how Peter’s things mixed into the fixtures of the room, Tony figured he was already head over heels for the guy – for the first time in his life, someone took him at face value and didn’t hate what they saw.

----

The rest of the year with Peter went by seamlessly. During the spring semester, they planned to have a class together, both of them still needing to take some of the basic engineering classes. There wouldn’t be a lot of cross over later in their degrees, so they took advantage. It was different, having someone he could rely on sitting in class next to him, and then being there at home later on, too. Tony never got to experience the sort of camaraderie that Peter so freely gave to him.

Mornings were filled with the two of them trying to make breakfast on the little hot plate Peter brought from home. It was always an adventure, trying to get everything cooked all the way through and evenly – at least, Tony enjoyed watching Peter puzzle it all together. Their day started together and as the time passed, it ended together, too. Peter liked to spend time in their shared space, so Tony found excuses to be out there, too.

Tony found himself seeking out Peter’s company all the time, if he were being honest. Peter was the most interesting person – he didn’t care about the normal things; he wanted to learn and explore, he wanted to see what the world had to offer. Best of all, he seemed to want to include Tony in the things he wanted to know more about.

A couple of months into their second semester living together, Tony looked up to find Peter staring at him. “What’s your middle name?” Peter asked, a smirk slipping across his lips. “Are you an Anthony, or just Tony?”

Putting his pen down in the book he’d been reading to keep his place, Tony shifted a bit and gave Peter his full attention. “My full name is Anthony Edward Stark. No one but my mom calls me Anthony, though.” Tony tried to keep the blush he couldn’t help under cover, but his ears were warm – there was no escaping it. “What about you? Are you a junior, or something?”

The exchange went on a for a while, Peter talking a bit about his family in Queens and the Brainiac’s team he left behind when he graduated and came to Cambridge. Tony soaked up the information and attempted to be open about pieces of himself, too – he talked about his dad and the weird relationship they had and about Dum-E and the never-ending tweaks and adjustments he made to better him.

It was a little easier after that conversation, both of them felt a little more comfortable and for Tony, he felt closer to Peter than any other person in his life. He hoped it wasn’t obvious, how much Peter meant to him. There were stars in his eyes constantly – so he kind of doubted it.

Even his mom noticed how things shifted for him – he wasn’t his normally surly self when he went home over spring break. Maria looked at him with a weird smile – Tony didn’t think he’d ever seen the look on her face before. “School okay, Tony?” she questioned, her hands brushing through the hair by his ear. He figured she missed the little kid he used to be – he would sit for hours and let her pet him like that back then.

Grinning, Tony nodded – his teenage hormones making it hard to keep himself calm, cool, and collected. “Yes, it’s okay. I’m doing well and really enjoying Differential Equations this semester.” He kept his answer brief, his inability to talk to her still in place despite the weightless feeling that accompanied him. “I’m thinking about picking up a class in the summer and sticking around.”

He didn’t tell her that Peter was involved in a work study program and would need to be on campus all summer working. It seemed silly to give up his bedroom in the place that was now his home simply because summer came around.

Tony didn’t want to miss a single second of time he could be around Peter – no matter how weirdly pathetic that probably was. Later, when he left the kitchen and headed towards his room, Tony missed the smile his mom beamed his way.

Their end of the semester project was due a couple of weeks after they got back from spring break, so Tony and Peter spent a lot of time together when they got back from visiting their respective families. It was a little like the time away from each other strengthened the need for the bond between them. Peter spent more time in the dorm and when he couldn’t be there, Tony pestered him at work, the help desk more than familiar with him after all the time he spent there.

The closer they got; the more Tony wondered if Peter felt the same way that he did. Tony knew he was still young, his 18th birthday creeping slowly toward him. There were tons of great looking people on campus, people that were closer to Peter’s age – but he hoped, he crossed his fingers and looked up in search of a person he didn’t believe in just to send up a little wish into the atmosphere.

Tony tried to gage things between them a couple of weeks before the end of the semester – he wanted the summer to go off without a hitch and knew his useless pinning would be more of a burden than anything if he didn’t at least try and find out if he stood any chances. He wasn’t completely sure of how he’d try to fish out the truth, but he needed to – the probable thought of exploding crossing his mind frequently.

A perfect opportunity presented itself when Peter came home a little tipsy from a party that Friday night, his face split into a loose smile, eyes shining with the blaze of alcohol and something simmering just below the surface. Tony paused the round of Tekken he’d been playing, his hand patting the cushion next to him. “Have a good night?” Tony asked curiously, his lips slipping into a smile when Peter threw himself carelessly down onto the couch. Their shoulders brushed, that little bit of contact sending a torrent of happiness through him.

“I definitely drank enough to make it feel like it was a good night,” Peter replied, the alcohol letting the words fall easily from loose lips. “MJ brought 151 in a little flask – it doesn’t taste like shoe cleaner, so it was easy to drink a little bit too much.” He smiled and leaned further into Tony’s side. “Glad to be back, though.”

A nose brushed the side of his neck, Tony holding his breath to stop the gasp that tried to escape from the confines of his chest. He put the controller down on the arm of the couch and sat more fully on the couch – his arm going around the back of it. “I’m glad that you’re back, too,” Tony admitted, his hand moving inch by inch until his fingertips were just barely fumbling with the sleeve of Peter’s black t-shirt.

“What are you doing, Tony?” Peter asked from his place against Tony’s shoulder, his breath tickling his skin, the sensation distracting. He drew his bottom lip between his teeth and absorbed he warmth while he could – Peter nestled in the space Tony wanted him the most might never happen again.

“I – don’t know. I – “ Tony started to speak, but the common problem of getting a little tongue-tied around Peter coming back with a vengeance. “I think I was trying to put my arm around you.” He felt his face flush even further – his cheeks and ears the same colors as Peter’s without the influence of alcohol and its properties.

While he didn’t actually move away, Tony felt Peter stiffen. Sucking in a hurt breath, Tony froze, too – he must’ve read the room wrong. “Oh,” he heard Peter say, the word muffled by Tony’s skin still. He gulped, then extracted himself from the tangle of longer arms and warm skin – his eyes already starting to burn with tears he wouldn’t be able to control for much long.

“Sorry – I didn’t, I mean. I – sorry, Pete.” Tony babbled, the inability to speak in full sentences hitting him double time now that embarrassment coated the nervousness that threatened to overcome him. How stupid could he be? Turning before he could embarrass himself further, Tony made a quick beeline to his room and shut the door. He slumped back against it, sliding down to the floor.

----

Tony avoided Peter as much as he could leading up to the end of the semester, and subsequently, Tony’s birthday. He’d already made the commitment to stay over the summer, and he steeled himself for the awkwardness that would more than likely settle between them. The soft ‘oh’ Peter mumbled that night still played in his mind – his voice just as confused as the rigid posture of his body.

Either way, he needed to find a way to get over it – Peter was the best roommate he ever had, and he still had at least one more year of school to get through. It felt good to finish a semester and he did his best to focus on that instead of the weird ache in his chest. No wonder so many people were so wrecked by the love thing – when it didn’t work out, it hurt like an absolute bitch.

The two weeks before finals and Tony’s birthday followed much of the same pattern – Tony stayed in his room until he couldn’t stop the rumble in his stomach; he did his best to time his ventures into the shared space of the dorm when he thought Peter wouldn’t be there. It was easier to just ignore the situation and hope it past.

His birthday rolled around without much fanfare – he was glad to be 18 and didn’t need the huge party his parents wanted to throw him. They were never about him, anyway. Tony figured he’d spend the day watching the TV in his room and making his way through the couple different cartons of ice cream he put in the freezer the day before.

A knock on the door around 10AM had him muting the TV to answer it, his eyebrows furrowing when he saw Peter on the other side of the door. “Hey. Happy Birthday, Tony,” Peter started, the card in his hand being thrust forward into Tony’s chest without much finesse. The hand he could feel against him shook; Peter obviously nervous for some reason.

“Actually – that’s not why I’m here. I thought maybe you’d be more willing to open the door when there was something to celebrate.” Peter shrugged, his legs crossing in front of him. “Tony, that night – I wasn’t… upset, or anything. About what you said. I was surprised. I didn’t have any idea that you felt like that. It was a shock – I’d been crushing on you for months at that point and there you were, adorably trying to put your arm around me. You were gone before the ability to think started to work again.”

He reached out and traced Tony’s cheekbone with a soft finger, the caress barely there. “I like you, Tony – I want you to like me, too.” The fingers trailed along Tony’s soft skin and into his hair, the entirety of his hand palming the back of his neck when it got there. “And I think you do.”

“I do, Pete. I do. I really, really do.” Tony let both of his hands drift to the bare skin of Peter’s forearm, his fingers gripping the grounding warmth there. “Will you kiss me?” Tony asked the question so sweetly, the blazing in his eyes a sharp contrast

Peter used his lips to answer, the hand on the back of his head pulling Tony close enough to press their lips together. A gasp left Tony’s lips, the touch like an electric shock. In an attempt to keep his feet on the ground, Tony fisted Peter’s shirt in his hands, the move bringing them closer still.

The need for air had them pulling apart, Tony’s eyes opening wide to take in the look on Peter’s face – he figured the loopy smile there mirrored the happiness etched into his own cheeks.

“Want to go out with me, Tony?” Peter mumbled, his face breaking into a beaming smile.

Laughing, Tony used the grip on Peter’s shirt to pull him back in for a chaste kiss, his entire being thrumming with life.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

#starker #ironspider #au prompts #bobbie writes #nonnie #anonymous #college/university au

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