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pfft-yikes · 3 years

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I can't find the anon button so i volunteer as tribute-- top shino vs. bottom shino? Shino trying kinks with s/o? thank you monarch, mighty delicious bones.

I’m back with a request that has been sitting in my drafts for quite sometime now! Sorry about that @boneeating--baastard ;;

Anyways, this will be pretty long: I hope the length helps makes up for my horrendous post gappage ^^;;

*tw!*

- if harder kinks/BDSM aren’t your thing or make you uncomfy, I would skip this particular prompt. Enjoy!

Top!Shino - NSFW

Shino is very quiet mostly because he gets interrupted or ignored all the fucking time, so it made you wonder if things would be like a silent in the streets freaky in the sheets sort of thing

It’s definitely that and then some ♪

When you first started dating, obviously he wasn't gonna flat out go "Sweetheart, I need you to understand that I'm kinky husband material and will make you beg for me to touch you"

In fact, saying such a sentence would be quite embarrassing

He didn't want to push that on you though, or scare you with kinks he likes or wanted to try

However, this changed one night

You were staying over at his place during his off day; you'd already slept together before so it wasn't a big deal or anything

One thing led to another and next thing you know, you're both going at it

Something seemed different though, with both of you. Maybe you never noticed it before, but

..was Shino holding back.?

I mean to be quite honest, you’d gladly do it whenever Shino wanted to, however he wanted to

Y-You just never openly said this

And another thing; you're way too turned on right now, more than usual

Oh n o

✨ Ovulation ✨

You've never done it when you were ovulating!! You really didn't want your inner sluttiness to come out, Jesus ChriST-

..B-But..I want more..

You tried your best to hold back, but all of a sudden you find yourself staring Shino in the eye, wriggling around

"S-Shino.."

"..D-Do me more..Fuck me so hard that my pussy memorizes your shape..p-please?"

??!

"..I won't hold back anymore, then."

All of a sudden he slams himself into you, sending jolts down your spine

You can't help but turn into a moaning mess in front of him, scrambling to grab whatever you could on the bed

He grabs your small wrists with one of his big hands and pins them above your head

He lifts one of your legs up and places it on his shoulder, pushing himself deeper inside you

"..Tell me what you want. I know you have ideas in that cute head of yours."

"P-Pull my hair..c-choke me.. I'll do anything you want..I want more.."

He stares at you and caresses your face, running his thumb over your cheek, then your lip

"Is that really what you want?"

You lick his thumb and look up at him;

"Yes, sir."

Shino.exe has stopped working

He moves his hand to your neck, careful to lightly squeeze your arteries and not your throat

He feels your pussy throb and squeeze him harder, making him groan

"You're so eager. Cute."

He flips you over and pins your arms behind your back with one hand while grabbing your hair with the other

"Arch your back for me, sweetheart. I want you to feel everything."

He pounds you deep, making your legs shake

You had to have came at least 4 times now

Shino starts groaning more, and you feel his dick twitch inside you

"P-Please cum inside me..I want it so bad.."

"You really want me to take the condom off and do that? What an interesting request."

"I'm on birth control.. Please..?"

"Please what?"

"P-Please, sir?"

"How naughty."

He kisses your back while he slips himself back into you, raw this time

"Mm, fuck.."

He feels amazing inside; his dick is so warm.. Why didn't you get on birth control sooner?

His thrusts get faster and harder, putting you over the edge once more

He cums inside you, filling your hole up until it spills out

You thought that was it, that it was satisfying enough to stop

But you both sensed it wasn’t.

All of a sudden Shino picks you up off the bed and slams his hands on top of yours against the wall

Without missing a beat, he slowly pushes himself into you while licking your ear

“Let’s see how well your birth control works, darling. Keep your hands on the wall.”

Shino firmly plants one hand on the small of your back and gently reached around and placed his other hand’s fingers in your mouth

He starts picking up the pace, going deeper and deeper

Your head feels so light; it feels so good it’s dizzying

Shino notices how shaky your legs are and mentally captures this moment, chuckling a bit to himself

He turns you around to face him, and lifts you up, tucking his arms under your knees

He kisses you so deeply that the kiss itself could make you cum at any moment

You wrap your arms around him as he slams you down onto his dick, both of you getting close

Shino groans in your ear, pushing you to the edge

He feels your walls convulsing, and releases more hot liquid deep inside you

He carries you to the bed: you lay there shaking, while he holds you and plants small kisses on your hands

"Shino?"

Oh god she hated it

"..Hm?"

"..C-Can we try bondage next time? I-I have other ideas too, i-if you want to try them.."

Heart eyes for yOoOoOuU-

"Of course. Let's help you to the shower for now."

Bottom!Shino - NSFW

You two have been getting more comfortable with each other, both in bed and in general ever since you guys stopped holding back

There’s been a lot of experimenting throughout the last few months, just as promised

In fact, Shino probably knows you better than yourself in some ways now

You learned a lot about him as well in the process too; however

It’s still a bit difficult to read him, he’s very good at keeping a poker face;;

There is..s-something you could try, if he’s okay with it of course..

E-Even if it’s embarrassing for you, it’s for a good cause!! Understanding how to read your significant other is important for a healthy relationship!

The weekend rolls around, and you mentally prepare yourself for what you’re about to do on your way to his place

Shino opens the door before you even knock

“Oh, hello Shino! Did I make you wait too long?”

“Of course not, I just knew you would be here soon because of my bugs. Come in.”*

*This is a half truth; in actuality he was simply really excited to see you after that bullshit mission with Naruto and Kiba and couldn’t sit still

You go inside, give Shino a hug and quick peck on the cheek, and say hello to his contained bugs

They were really happy to see you

You spent the afternoon chatting about what’s new, and listening to him vent about being stuck with the two idiots again during his last mission

After helping him in the kitchen with dinner, you decide that now is as good a time as any to prep for spending the night

“Shino, I’m going to go take a quick shower, okay?”

“Sure, I’ll be checking on my beetles.”

...She was acting fidgety when she was grabbing a change of clothes from the dresser.*

Yes, you have your own drawer of clothes at his house uwu*

He glances towards the drawer in question

But..I don’t want to mess with her things. Hm...

The water just stopped, so I’ll just wait until she comes back.

While Shino contemplated why you were acting sus as fuck in the bedroom, you were trying to calm down before you finished drying your hair

Feeling a bit nervous, you walk out of the bathroom sporting a simple oversized t-shirt and some baggy shorts

Shino looks at you, and gives you a kiss on the back of your hand when you sit down on the bed next to him

Oh thank God, he doesn’t suspect anything

“You seem anxious.”

So that was a fucking lie-

“I-I’m not really-..I-I mean, it’s just that-”

...

“I was wondering if..m-maybe we could- you know..d-do it.?”

“..? Of course we can. I wouldn’t refuse.”

Shino gently lifted your chin and gave you a simple kiss, slowly deepening it

You could feel yourself getting dizzy, but remembering what you had planned brought you back to your senses

You gently lean on top of him, pushing him back onto the bed

You look at him, and nervously say

“C-Can..can we try something different.? I kind of want it to be a surprise, so.. I-I guess what I mean to say is, d-do you trust me?”

Shino gives you a small smile and nods

“Of course.”

“O-Okay then; please, t-tell me if anything is uncomfortable, or if you want to stop, alright?”

“Mhm.”

With that, you grab his hands and start kissing him once more, slowly moving his hands above his head

You take his shirt off, and right after his arms get free from his clothes-

-you proceed to tie his hands together with a pre-knotted silk.

“...So..This is why you’ve been anxious.”

“W-Well, that’s..part of it..

What does she mean “part” of it?

You take your baggy clothes off, revealing black lingerie you hid in your bag, then straddle your tied up partner

“Oh. I..didn’t expect that.”

Drats, he’s still composed as hell! Time to start kicking things up a notch

Shino was not, in fact, composed at all

At least not internally; his heart couldn’t handle this sort of pleasant view

He didn’t think you would take this sort of initiative

You proceeded to leave hickeys all over his neck and chest; he’s always so covered up that it’s not like anyone besides you would see them anyways

You kissed your way down his stomach, and felt how hard he was

You pull down his pants and eagerly caress his dick, planting a small kiss on the head

Looking up at him, you drag your tongue up his shaft and swirl it around the head, slowly taking it in your mouth and sucking

She did not just do that-

While I’m tied up.

You noticed how he seemed to want to buck his hips the deeper you took him in your mouth

You looked up and noticed him turning a light shade of pink

You wondered if you could..

All of a sudden, Shino flinches

!? Did she just..s-start deepthroating me.?

He couldn’t help it; Shino brought his tied hands down and grabbed your head, thrusting his hips against your mouth

You heard his breathing get shaky, and all of a sudden you felt his hot load in the back of your throat

“! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

Shino looks down to see his girlfriend with tears streaming down her face, staring at him while she swallows what’s left of his cum

“Y-You..”

“Hey, Shino..”

You crawl on top of him, rubbing your pussy on his dick

“..Cum for me more..”

Oh my god, she’s completely turned on. It’s like she’s a totally different person..

You lean back and slip him inside you

You let out a moan, and you feel him throb inside you

Oh..he must like hearing me moan

You started to slowly pump yourself up and down

He started thrusting himself into you, wanting to pick up speed

..but you kind of felt like being a brat ✨

You stopped, then started grinding, swiveling your pelvis in circles

He seemed..irritated?

“So, you decided to tease me..”

All of a sudden you feel yourself fall backwards, and find Shino hunched over on top of you

Looking at the silk around his hands, he seems to have wanted to pry himself free a few times..it’s kind of..c-cute..

He kisses your neck, nipping you here and there out of frustration for not being able to grab you

You turn yourself around, pushing your ass against him in this huddled doggy position you both found yourself in

You can feel how warm he is, and notice how much his dick is twitching; you’re more than positive he wants to stick it back in

You slowly push yourself back onto his dick, mewling at the sensation

You can hear Shino release his breath above you, as if he was holding it

Noticing that his hands are right in front of your face, you grab the silk-

And pull his weight forward while you thrust your hips back

“Hn..! W-What..”

Did he just kinda moan??? ✨

You start quickening your pace, causing the man looming over your body to swell inside you

You slow down, and crawl out from under him, leaving his dick agitated

“Leaning over for so long probably isn’t very comfortable when you’re restrained like that, right?”

Shino sits up, a bit confused about what the fuck you’re talking about; He honestly wasn’t even thinking about it because of how good you felt

“I..suppose.”

You crawl over to him and wiggle yourself between his arms, straddling his lap

“This is better, don’t you think? Now I can kiss you all I want!”

“..marriage..”

“Hm? Did you say something Shino?”

“No. This is nice; I get to look at your cute facial expressions while you’re in my arms. I like it.”

..h-he still finds ways to embarrass me even in these situations;;

Shino chuckles to himself, seeing you turn a bit red

He leans forward and presses his lips to yours, progressively making it heavier and hotter

Without even realizing it, you find yourselves grinding on each other, you both getting slicker the longer it goes

You finally lift yourself up, and push yourself onto his throbbing dick

You both pant out of relief, and ease yourselves into a steady pace

You don’t even care about the fact that he’s thrusting himself into you, that you aren’t in as much control anymore

You both just really need to feel each other

“I can’t..resist anymore..Sorry, sweetheart.”

You feel Shino grab hold of your hips; you forgot that the silk hardly made an impact on your size differences

Then without warning, he slams himself deep into you, causing you to dig your nails into his back

You can’t help but cling onto him, grabbing a fist full of his hair

Shino groans into your neck, sucking and biting your skin

He feels you cum, your legs shaking

The sensation of your walls squeezing his dick is too much; his cum is so hot it feels like you’re melting on the inside

He came so much that it’s practically dripping out of you

You untie his hands, and he instantly holds you close to him.

“I’m surprised.”

“About?”

“You taking this sort of initiative. I didn’t expect it.”

“But you found out I was up to something before I even did anything, silly.”

“I didn’t know you’d do this though. But it was cute. I like seeing another side of you.”

With that, you both goof off and cuddle for a while; bath time can wait just a bit longer

I hope you guys enjoyed it! I might put up a poll to see which character out of my requests to do next, I don’t want to put out too many of the same character at once;;

Until next time! ✨

#headcanon #headcanons #x reader #shino aburame headcanons #shino aburame headcanon #shino headcanon #shino headcanons #shino x reader #shino aburame x reader #shino aburame #shino

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kitkat1003 · 3 years

Text

Who Are You Really?

Spirit Masterpost (Ao3 link there)

Chapter 2: Find A Way In

Summary: This town's got quite the cast of characters

Spirit spends the next couple of months on reconnaissance. They hop over rooftops and monitor the town where the supposed successor lives. They hadn’t had the time to ask for a description after getting their orders from the Demon Bull Family, and they’re afraid to go back to the trio with their query.

Something about that home is broken. Spirit has spent enough time in a broken home to know it’s not a nice place to be in for long. Best to stay away unless they’re needed.

The town that the successor lives in is pretty lively. They only assume this is where the successor lives, though, because the successor had arrived to fight Demon Bull King rather quickly and would likely need to be close by.

They watch the city from the rooftops. Bright colors, people, loud noises—they would hate to be down there, lost in the madness, but from a far enough distance it’s tolerable.

The people are so...loud. There’s so much stuff here. So many things, sights, sounds. It’s awful pretty, especially the glowing stuff. Spirit tries touching it, but it’s really hot. Whatever it is, it burns.

They’re sitting on top of a skyscraper, taking a break with some cheese tea they got because they were curious about it, when the sky shifts. The weather begins changing without reason. That gets them to jump down, because it sounds like a storm is brewing and the higher up you are the more likely you are to be hit by lightning. Getting hit by lightning does not sound appealing.

They duck down into an alleyway, shifting into human form just as Red comes onto the myriad screens all over the city.

Spirit has to give him credit, it’s certainly a foreboding speech. They don’t do well when giving speeches. Often when they’re sent to intimidate or kill they either write up a script on their way there or stay silent. Whichever is more effective, anyway.

They lean against the wall as mortals panic, pulling out their nifty little phone. It’s sturdy, which is good, since they can be a bit clumsy with their things.

‘Red’ They type out. They gave him their number when they got a phone, excited to have one. He’d texted them a lot of boxes. They don’t know what the boxes mean, but they hope they’re nice.

‘I heard your speech up on the screens! It was very articulate and polite, and threatening! I think your dad will be mighty impressed with you.

Do you need my assistance? Please let me know. I’m in the area, so I can come quickly!

From,

Spirit’

They rock back and forth on their feet, turning their head to the side and watching as the mortals all vanish into their buildings, the streets becoming empty in minutes. Spirit has to admire the speed of it. Maybe they got more vigilant after the attack by Demon Bull King. It’s only been a few months since the attack, long enough to set in some sense of safety but short enough that they would still be on edge. Spirit knows the timeline of overcoming traumatic experiences. They start to fade out of the forefront after about half a year if you’re lucky.

Their phone buzzes. It’s from Red!

They blink at the deluge of boxes, using the little arrow buttons on their phone to scroll down.

‘i don’t need anyone! Thnx for the compliment’

Spirit blinks a few times, and shrugs. Red never is very eloquent in text form, and they’ve heard that brevity is the soul of wit! Whatever that means. Spirit isn’t quite sure. Plus, they can understand the desire to do everything by yourself, especially when you’re doing something to prove yourself to someone.

Since the town is pretty much deserted, Spirit takes the time to walk around, get to know the place. They know it plenty from a bird’s eye view, but whenever you scope out a territory it’s best to know all the angles. They trace the different side streets with their eyes and memorize the street signs. They might make a diagram, to make sure the layout sticks in their head.

They’re pretty calm, until they feel the ever ethereal power that comes only from one source.

The Monkey King.

Something like primal terror freezes them in place for a split second, before they race away running as far away from the outpouring of heavenly power that comes with the Monkey King’s presence. They can’t even think about where they’re going, feet pressing hard against the messy street pavement. T, crunching on glass and debris without thought because they just need to get away. They know who Monkey King is. They know that they would mean nothing to such a monarch, to such a being. They have no favors to spare, nothing to keep themself safe, so why wouldn’t he jump on the chance to get rid of them?

Considering their reputation, considering the times they’ve colluded with Monkey King’s enemies, there’s no reason to believe he’d let them live, if he saw them. No reason to think that he wouldn’t leave them a bloody stain on the pavement the moment they appeared in his line of sight.

Or worse, he’ll \tear out an eye for your insolence. He clearly doesn’t have a problem pulling out organs, from what you’ve heard in the stories, and with what he did to Macaque? He’ll ruin you. Well, at least you’d finally have a normal amount of eyes, right?

Their breaths come in short bursts. They climb up to the roof of a short building, curled into a little ball, and shut their eyes.

They don’t manage a single normal breath until they feel the energy of the Monkey King fade out. He must have left, back to his mountain. Good. That means they won’t die today, which really is something! Every day they manage to live is kind of a surprise, really. They’re consistently shocked by their ability to keep going.

They carefully sit up and glance down at their feet. Bleeding, apparently. Not a surprise, given how they weren’t careful when sprinting through the street, but annoying nonetheless. They pull out the pieces of glass, clean off the wound with some antibiotic ointment they keep on them at all times (Mom used to make it herself with stuff they scavenged in the forest, and now you can buy an even better version in the store for cheap), and wrap their feet in gauze.

Once that’s done, they lay back, spread eagle on the roof, staring up at the cloudy sky as they try to regulate their breaths. They’re not exactly steady yet, but at least now they can breathe. Soon, though, the sky clears, and Spirit has to squint to keep the sun from burning their retinas. Their phone buzzes in their pocket, and they pull it out, holding it up so the shadow of it falls over their face, blocking the sun a little.

‘The garbage noodle boy will pay!’

They type out a reply.

‘Red.

I don’t know who the noodle boy is, but I’m sorry he made you upset. Did you have to leave the weather tower? Do you need anything?

Let me know!

Spirit.’

They get a bunch of boxes and a very hard to follow explanation, but eventually they parse it out. Noodle boy is the nickname Red has for Monkey King’s successor, and apparently he came in and kicked Red out of the weather tower.

Spirit asks if Red needs help with his next scheme, but Red declines. That’s fine.

Spirit knows when they aren’t wanted.

As the sky clears, people begin to peer out their windows, and a few brave souls actually leave their homes. Within an hour, the city is back to its bustling state, if a little slow as it tries to reset from the panic. Spirit watches this happens with a fascination one would have with watching ants build a colony. Well, not in the sense that mortals are just like ants, but they are simple in many ways and complicated in others. Peril is unknown to them in a way Spirit never could understand, and to see them grapple with the appearance of it and work it into their community and lives is ever fascinating. Mortals are very tight knit, after all. Everything affects the collective.

Demons are typically solitary creatures. They create small clans, sure, but they do not settle, create towns for themselves.

Spirit flits between the different factions and never settles themself. They have a few caves that could become homes, if they stayed, but they never do. Not when there are favors to hand out, places to explore. Besides, an empty home isn’t a fun one to return to.

They’re about to head out, disappear into the forest areas outside of the town for the night, but the roof door to the building opens.

“Hey,” comes a gruff voice.

Spirit freezes. They turn their head around, slowly, eyes wide.

The figure that stands before them is a stout pig demon, wearing what appears to be a chef’s coat. He’s got stubble, sharp blue eyes, and small tusks that peek out over his upper lip. He stares at them without animosity. Mostly interest and confusion.

Spirit, at a glance, suspects that they’d be able to take him, should he attack. A second glance, more a read of a soul, proves otherwise. Whoever this is, there’s a power they’re hiding. A lot of power.

“Don’t see a lot of monkeys around here,” The demon says.

“Sorry,” Spirit replies, immediately. “I-uh-I didn’t know this was your roof, I was just sitting up here for the view-I-I’m leaving, so—”

They don’t want to get in a fight. There’s no point in trying to throw on glamour, appearing human. And they don’t know how to really explain themselves, either.

The demon raises his hands in a peaceful gesture, trying to put Spirit at ease. It doesn’t exactly work, considering it reveals the demon’s claws. Dull as they are, Spirit is sure he knows how to use them. But they do recognize the sentiment.

“Hey, hey, no need to apologise, ‘s long as you’re not causing trouble,” he gives them a sort of half grin. “Just figured I’d see what you were up ta, if you were alright. Not often I find anyone hiding on a roof for a good reason.”

Spirit stares. They don’t exactly know how to react in this situation, so they just. Don’t. Their tail curls around one leg and they wish they could just. Run. But then he might chase them. That wouldn’t be good at all.

“Uh.” He scratches the back of his neck, seemingly uncomfortable with the silence. “I’m Pigsy.”

How...appropriate? Spirit fights a giggle, because of course his name is Pigsy, what else could it be? The smile worms its way onto their face anyway, and their ears twitch as they look anywhere but at Pigsy.

Pigsy smiles back and chuckles a little.

“Yeah, I know it’s kind of on the nose. Not my first choice of a name, but apparently it’s everyone else’s,” he snorts.

This time, Spirit does giggle, their nose crinkling with the motion as their smile reaches their eyes. They relax a little. If Pigsy is at ease enough to joke, it’ll probably be okay. They’ll probably be okay.

“You, uh, mind telling me your name?” Pigsy asks them, and they freeze again, suddenly shy.

They fidget, then sigh. It would be rude to not tell him, even though they wanted to keep a low profile, but Pigsy is asking nicely, and he doesn’t seem mean. What’s the harm?

“Spirit,” they reply.

With a wave, they leap across the space of the street between the two buildings, sliding down the back side of the building. It’s easy enough to slip into human form and disappear into the crowds towards the outskirts of the city.

They sleep leaning against a tree. It isn’t terribly comfortable, but Spirit is used to that.

The next month is spent really getting to know the town. It’s a huge place, and Spirit wants to be aware of every nook and cranny, just in case. They’re a bit on edge, too, because Monkey King was here, which means he’s unafraid to come back. If they’re around when he does, that wouldn’t be good.

But if they know all the secret passageways, just maybe, they’ll be able to outrun him. From what they hear, the Monkey King cares about mortals, so he’d probably try and mitigate collateral. If they disappear into a crowd, or get underground, they’d likely escape.

They have plans. They make them whenever they stop on a skyscraper and let the wind blow through their fur, when they look down at the steep drop and think about catching a hand over a thousand years ago, when they think about every step to the present. They have a plan for every street corner and alleyway, should they be caught. They have to. It’s the only way to survive.

Their plans come to a halt when they feel a soul split. Well, not split, because that’s not possible, but at the very, least spread out. All kept together by a thin, golden tether that ties them to their source.

It starts as just one tether. Then two. Three, seven, fifteen, thirty-eight, a hundred—Spirit goes dizzy trying to count them all, up on the tallest building in the town. The weather tower’s roof basically has seats built into its design, if you push a window open and sit on the glass tile, so it’s fun to climb on top of it.

Eventually, they have to see what is happening, because the city is dancing with golden lights scattered across it, and it’s making Spirit dizzy.

A group of tethers coalesces in a single building, an anti gravity arcade. Spirit hasn’t gone in, because they like when their feet stick to the ground, and the amount of noise and bright lights is enough to leave them dizzy for decades. They hop to the roof of it, peering over the ledge to see just who is inside.

“Monkey King?”

Spirit whirls around, and comes face to face with a mortal, wearing a bright orange jacket, red pants, a white shirt with a target on the chest (which, not that Spirit would say, is a bit odd, and is asking for a chest injury), and a red headband.

Then, an identical copy of that mortal appears. Then another.

Suddenly, Spirit is surrounded.

“Uh,” they start. “No?”

Regardless of their valiant effort to make it known that they are not the Monkey King, they’re dogpiled quickly, grabbed by tens of hands and carried into the sensory hell that is the anti-gravity arcade.

Considering they’re not being hurt, and considering they can’t move their arms, Spirit doesn’t struggle much. They just shut their eyes, coiling their tail around their leg and staying as limp as possible. Resistance seems a bit futile, and if they’re malleable instead of stiff they’re less likely to be damaged during their, uh, transport.

“I’m really not the Monkey King,” they try again, though their voice gets muffled by the many, many figures holding them.

The group stops. There’s a buzz of chatter before one voice cuts out above everything.

“Alright, alright, what’s the haps? What’s got y’all making me step away from the porty?” The voice has a very casual lilt to it, but it’s recognizable as the same voice of all the other mortals.

“We found the Monkey King!” One of the clones pipes up.

“You what?!”

“We got him, boss!”

“You—okay, okay, lemme see! Drop him!”

Spirit is dropped onto the ground unceremoniously, and the crowd parts so they can look up to this supposed leader.

He looks like the rest of the group, but his orange jacket is tied around his waist and his shirt doesn’t have the target on it the rest of them do. He’s got his pants bunched up at the base of his boots, blue headphones hanging off his neck, and when he glances down at them, Spirit sees a flash of a sharp tooth poking up over his bottom lip.

“Sorry,” they say. “I’m, uh, not the Monkey King.”

The ringleader groans, leaning his head back.

“Of course you’re not,” he says, though the tone doesn’t indicate that he’s angry at them, which is nice. He turns to the group standing behind Spirit, and glares. “C’mon, boys! I told ya if you saw the Monkey King, you report back to me. No goin’ after him, no makin’ a fuss. If this was the real deal, he’d’ve had you poofed quick! The Boss might not know how to make us go away yet, but the King definitely does.”

He gives a quick, cursory glance over the group.

“We lose anyone?” he asks.

The group shakes their heads.

“Good. Now, next time, listen to me!” he shouts.

Spirit flinches at the sound.

The group, thoroughly chastised, all mumble apologies. The leader sighs.

“Alright, alright. Half of you keep on look out, and the rest of you go and play. We got the arcade to ourselves, after all,” he waves them off, and they scatter.

Once they’re gone, he turns to Spirit. Spirit stiffens and very carefully picks themself up.

“Sorry ‘bout them,” The leader says. “They’re not the brightest bunch, and any monkey demon is gonna get them excited. I told them to look out for the Monkey King, not kidnap him, but you spread one brain cell thin enough and things are bound ta’ get lost in translation.

Spirit glances around. They look to be backstage somewhere. The hum of pounding bass is muffled, but they can still hear the music. There are no flashing lights, which is nice.

“Haven’t seen or heard of ya’, though.” The leader speaks up again, drawing back Spirit’s attention. “What’s your name?”

“Spirit,” Spirit replies. “And, um, it’s okay. They weren’t very rough handling me, so it was fine.

“Um,” They can tell the leader isn’t an original, they can see the tether, but they have to ask. “You’re, uh, like them, right?”

The leader shrugs.

“If by ‘like them’ you mean a clone? Sure,” he leans in close toward them. “But, uh, keep that on the DL, you know? Don’t want it gettin’ spread around.”

Spirit blinks a few times. So, clones. That isn’t surprising. Macaque can make clones from his shadows, and he told them that Monkey King can make clones out of hair. The successor must have inherited that power.

The thing that does confuse them, is

“DL?” they ask.

The leader raises a brow. “The down low?”

“Uh…” Spirit fidgets and glances at their feet.

The lingo makes no sense. Is it a new thing? They’re really bad at keeping up with trends and dialogues. Their ears burn with embarrassment. They must look really stupid.

“Just don’t go tellin’ nobody, alright?” The leader clarifies.

Spirit nods.

“Okay! But, uh, why are you hiding?” It doesn’t seem to make sense. If the successor made the clones, why do they feel the need to run from him?

“Cuz the Boss made us, made us do a bunch of his dirty work, and I don’t think he’s gonna like that we got tired of it.” The leader glares out toward where Spirit assumes the rest of the arcade is. “Free will ain’t something clones are supposed to have. I’m a little more, uh, on the wild side. The rest of the boys are pretty simple, so I keep ‘em close so they don’t get into trouble. And hey,” He smiles, all sharp teeth. “Can’t have a porty if you don’t got a roaring crowd.”

Well then. That certainly changes things. Spirit has never wondered about the sentience of clones, considering they’ve never interacted with them for long. Macaque’s shadow clones are more extensions of himself than they are sentient creatures, and they never talk. But, if clones really do become sentient, it’s a rather cruel thing to strip that sentience away, right? So long as they aren’t hurting anyone, anyway.

“That’s fair,” they shrug. “But, um, if you want to really stand out, maybe some new clothes will help?”

“That a fit check?” The leader smirks.

“A what?”

“Nevermind,” The leader waves a hand. “What you got in mind?”

Spirit tilts their head to the side in thought.

“I think, um...your aesthetic,” they start. “It doesn’t fit with, uh, the others, so I could get you some new clothes. Accessories. As a favor?” They shrug, a bit self conscious.

The leader is pretty confident, and Spirit is decidedly not. It’s awkward to think that they could be of service.

A blade has a use, but if you have claws that are just as sharp, why buy the tool?

The leader considers this, and then shrugs.

“Sounds good, 3 eyes,” he agrees.

Spirit blinks. “It’s Spirit,” they clarify.

“Sure.” The leader shrugs them off. “Exit’s down the hall to your right.”

Spirit nods and dashes off. Slipping into human form is easy as a new set of clothes, though they always have to be wary of their tail, wrapping it around their waist like a belt so as not to arise suspicion.

Sure, demons live in this town, but the ratio seems 10:1 and Spirit prefers to blend in. Besides, if they get mistaken for Monkey King again, they might just scream, if only to startle the crowd so they can get away.

They flit between stores, looking for something fitting for a character like that clone had been. Spirit isn’t good at fashion, Macaque picked out their outfit after all, but they do have several eyes for flashy things (two, the third isn’t as entranced by such things). They grab a pair of visor glasses, pink to accent the blue. They have these weird lines through them, probably to see through. Spirit thinks they’d be mighty useful to counteract all the bright lights.

Then they look for something orange to replace the jacket, since it seems to be a fixture on all the other clones. They find a kind of garish orange tiger print coat. It’s pretty wild, and, well, the leader said he was pretty wild. They toss it over their shoulder and head back toward the arcade.

They come in the same back way, because anything to spare themselves the sensory overload of the arcade is worth it, though they feel eyes from all around watching them as they approach the backstage.

Two large bouncers step in front of Spirit, as they approach the backstage, and Spirit nearly trips and falls in their haste to back away. They’ve never been a fan of looming figures, and even though they’d probably be the same height as the bouncers if they stood up straight, they’re far too used to hunching down to do anything else.

“U-um,” they manage a whisper, clearing their throat before they continue, trying to speak up above the din of the music blaring in the other room. “I-uh-I-the boss, uh, wanted me to get him some clothes, so…”

They hold up the items they found as proof, giving the two bouncers a shaky smile.

The two share a look, before one walks toward the stage, leaning down for a moment to talk to someone before straightening back up.

“3 eyes!”

Spirit fights the urge to wince at the nickname, because they don’t like that they only have three eyes, they don’t like the reminder. Instead, they sigh and smile awkwardly, waving as the leader saunters over.

“Hello,” they show off their pickings. “I thought these would fit. Since, uh, neon pink and blue go well together, and, um, I thought this jacket could, uh—”

“It’s way better than the old one!” The leader snatches both items out of Spirit’s hand.

The shades go on his face quick, and he tosses his old jacket so fast it’s a blur as it hits the wall. He slides the new one onto his shoulders and leans back, hands in his pockets.

“Do I look good?” he asks, then continues without waiting for an answer. “Nevermind, course I do! Look at me!”

“I am,” Spirit agrees with a half shrug.

“Nice work, 3 eyes! The fit fits!” He chuckles, and did his teeth get even sharper in the half an hour or so Spirit has been gone? They can’t tell.

He plays with the sleeves of the new coat, and glances down at his feet.

“Anyway, uh.” For a moment, he’s almost shy. “Picked out a name for myself. Figured keepin’ the old one made no sense and all.”

“Oh?” Spirit keeps their tone carefully neutral, tilting their head to the side.

“Yeah. Porty.” Porty gives them a wry grin. “If I say it weird, might as well be my brand, right?”

“Sure?” Brand? Spirit thought a brand was when you put hot iron on something. Macaque wanted them to do that to a cow he found, but they couldn’t. It was too mean.

“Anyway,” Porty’s voice cuts through their confusion. “I gotta get back to my DJ stand. Wanna stay for the porty?”

Spirit lets out a nervous laugh.

“Oh, uh, no thank you,” they say, and when Porty frowns, they scramble to explain. “Not that I don’t, uh, like parties-I—” Well, they’re no good at lying. “I just have uh, really sensitive eyes and ears. It would be too loud and bright for me,” Spirit lands on something truthful as they finish, giving Porty a hopeful smile.

Porty’s expression stays carefully neutral, before he bursts into a sharp toothed grin that stretches wide across his face.

“That’s fair, but don’t be a stranger, kay? Us wild ones gotta stick together!” He nudges their arm.

Spirit thinks Porty is awfully nice and cool, but he talks in ways that make their head spin.

“Got it,” they reply in lieu of asking for clarification, and they disappear out the back door as the music swells again.

They write Porty’s favor into their book just as they start to see the tethers vanish. One by one, like dying stars flickering out, they disappear. Spirit watches, wide eyed, as each of over a hundred vanishes.

There's a pit in their stomach, as they think of the giggly, desperate for approval, mostly kind clones suddenly ceasing to exist. Thinks of the many voices going silent.

Macaque would tell them that clones are a means to an end, a weapon to be discarded after use. But the successor didn’t discard them after use, he used them and left them, abandoned them. And now has the audacity to get rid of them when they’re becoming too sentient for his liking?

Spirit doesn’t know the circumstances. It’s rude to judge a person over things Spirit doesn’t know the full story of. But they didn’t hate the clones, and Porty, for all his faults, seemed to just want to make a good time for people. Not the type of good time Spirit would enjoy, but they know others might.

Curled up on the roof of a skyscraper, they watch the lights disappear. The arcade, a veritable lighthouse of stars, loses its many tethers in an instant. The mass of light vanishes as if blown away by a gust of wind, until there’s only one left.

The final one, Spirit knows.

It disappears like the rest.

They break into the arcade that night, and find the coat and glasses on the floor, abandoned. The arcade is dark and there is broken glass all over the floor, but Spirit steps around it, eyes only for the coat and glasses. The things they got for him. To prove that he was more.

Now all that’s left.

They pick the two items up gently and bury them out in the woods. Maybe Porty wasn’t a real person, maybe he was a means to an end that got out of hand, but Spirit can’t fault anyone who lets them do them a favor. And besides, sometimes all that’s left of people are memories, and Spirit wants to remember.

They remember Mom, and they know they’re the only one who does. They can carry that weight for the clones, too, if no one else will.

They get a call from the Long family a month or so after meeting the clone, and isn’t it funny how one of the most affluent, mystically inclined families lives just on the outskirts of the town that Demon Bull King was sealed in? Spirit wonders if they settled here for that reason, perhaps guarding the staff that the Monkey King left behind, since Monkey King had left it there without any thought.

Spirit doesn’t hate anyone (their father doesn’t count, because they made sure he wasn’t anyone ever, just a memory in Spirit’s mind, forgotten by time as his body burned on its pyre) but they severely dislike the lack of responsibility Monkey King takes. Not only did he seal away Demon Bull King (Spirit is aware that Demon Bull King was destroying villages and causing a stir, but Monkey King took Red away and what parent wouldn’t be angry?), but he didn’t even stick around to watch over his seal! He just left it, like the staff alone would be the end-all.

Spirit would be too anxious to ever leave something that could even possibly be broken. Maybe they’re paranoid, but they would have at least stuck around, or left a guard, or something!

Honestly, it isn’t surprising that Red managed to break it, eventually.

They arrive at the Long residence to a sight of a broken down door and demolished artifacts scattered across the entrance hallway. They blink, three eyes darting around to try and drink everything in.

“Ah, Spirit,” Comes a prim voice.

Spirit jumps, and turns to find a couple, dressed in green and gold, staring at them. They’re dolled up, makeup and everything. Spirit bows, polite.

“Hello,” They greet. “You’re in need of a favor?”

“Yes,” the woman answers. “Yesterday, there was an attack on our home by the Demon Bull Family. Many priceless artifacts were destroyed in the process. We would like you to salvage as much as you can from the wreck, and clean up the rest.”

So grunt work. That’s fine. Typically Spirit is called for that sort of thing, if there are secrets involved. And when you have priceless artifacts, you don’t want just any random person handling them. Spirit doesn’t think they’re terribly trustworthy, but if someone asks them to be, they can be. Keeping their mouth shut is easy because people don’t usually come to them for conversation.

Macaque told them once that they were awfully chatty, but that was when they were younger. They grew up. They usually only talk to themselves now.

“Okie doke.” They nod, turning back to the wreckage.

This should take them a few days, if they pull a few all nighters. They’re pretty bad at sleeping anyway, so at least this time it’ll be on purpose.

They pointedly don’t think about how they told the Demon Bull Family of the artifact that was here. They pointedly don’t think about how the Demon Bull Family likely attacked this home for said artifact. What people do with the information they give out is none of their business. It’s not their fault.

Well. It is. Spirit isn’t stupid. Actions have consequences. A domino falls and starts a chain reaction. Regardless of intent, the first domino is the issue.

And Spirit pushed the rest of the pieces down, so the aftermath is their fault.

They start with the biggest pieces of the wreckage, moving out broken stone and whatnot, so that salvaging the finer pieces will be easier. They’d ask where they’re supposed to move the large pieces of stone, but the two mortals didn’t seem to like them, so they just bring it to the side of the house. Out of sight for the moment.

They start collecting pieces of broken artifacts, sorting them into different piles for reconstruction later. They cut their fingers a few times and decide to wrap up their hands in gauze to spare the rest of their fingers from mutilation.

While they’re doing that, someone comes up behind them.

“Hi!”

Spirit jumps a full foot in the air and stumbles to regain their footing, nearly slipping on the dusty tile before steadying. The gauze not yet secured sticks haphazardly to their sleeves, and they fidget with it as they turn around fully to see who it is that interrupted them.

It looks to be a girl around their age—a little younger, they think. She’s got the same fine makeup as the two adults who Spirit wagers are her parents, though hers is made less refined in application, instead more youthful and in the form of self expression. Her green varsity jacket fits in line with her parent’s outfit, green and gold, but the rest of her outfit is a bright white only seen in the marble of the home’s interior.

And then there’s the dragon blade, strapped to her back. She seems comfortable with it there, which leads them to believe she’s the new wielder. Which certainly gives her presence weight.

Spirit lowers themselves to appear non threatening and demure, and they wave, awkwardly, before continuing to affix the gauze to their hands.

“Hello,” they reply.

“I’m Long Xiaojiao.” The girl bows politely in response. “But you can call me Mei.”

“Mei,” Spirit repeats, getting used to the word on their tongue, getting over the confusion of someone actually coming up to talk to them when they’re on a job. “I’m, uh, Spirit.”

“Nice to meet you!” She smiles sunnily up at them.

Spirit stands and fidgets, a little, trying to figure out how to respond. They don’t know how to interact with people much. Interacting with Red is easy, they’ve known him for centuries, but with new people, it’s hard. They’re terribly awkward, and they’re a monkey demon with three eyes. It isn’t as if they can have conversations with mortals without that becoming a factor.

In fact.

“You know, I haven’t seen a monkey demon before. Do you know the Monkey King?” she asks.

Spirit winces. “No,” They respond, quietly. “He-uh-from what I hear, he’s kind of a recluse, and I don’t interact with many monkey demons,” Spirit shrugs, trying for a smile.

Mei doesn’t seem perturbed by their lack of knowledge, shrugging nonchalantly right back, and Spirit relaxes a fraction. Like with Pigsy, Mei doesn’t seem to have many expectations on Spirit’s behavior, or requirements of knowledge and or ability. So far, anyway.

Then again, that could be because they know not to expect anything from Spirit. Spirit is well known in the demon world to be as worthless as they are useful, and Mei is from a powerful family that Spirit has done favors for before. The two of them probably knew of Spirit already. That’s why they’re good at knowing that Spirit knows pretty little.

“Yeah, that’s fair. My friend MK’s met him, since he’s his successor, but from what I hear from MK, Monkey King doesn’t talk to a lot of people.” She drops the information down in front of Spirit as if it isn’t a bombshell.

Spirit blinks a few times, trying to process the information. Huh. So, this girl knows the successor. Interesting.

“MK?” they ask, curious.

Information is important. If they perform a favor for Mei, that might get them an in with the successor, which means they’ll have something against the Monkey King and then they can be safe.

“Yup!” Mei whips out her phone, dragon phone case and everything, and shoves the screen up at Spirit, bright light pressing up towards their eyes.

Hand reaching toward their face, reaching digging scraping pain—

Spirit’s back hits the wall. They don’t remember backing up, just like they don’t remember their breaths picking up, nor do they remember starting to shake. Eyes wide, they glance around, until they lock eyes with Mei, whose phone is still held up in the air near where their face used to be.

“Oh,” Spirit murmurs, ears rising up from their previously downturned position. “Sorry.”

Mei drops her arm, brow furrowed in concern.

“I, uh,” Spirit scrambles to explain, because they don’t want her to tell her parents that they’re easily startled, that they’re not good enough, because that could ruin their reputation, that could stop the favor from being kept, it could ruin everything. “I don’t like. Things thrown at my face. Without warning.”

“Oh,” Mei says, softly, gently, glancing at Spirit with something softer and kinder than pity.

“Sorry,” Spirit mutters again, standing up straight.

They shuffle off, getting back to work at getting the many cracked artifacts off of the ground. They don’t usually have visceral reactions like that around other people. The last they can remember is when they were with Red. He’d waved a hand too close and they’d jumped back. He didn’t apologize, because Red hates admitting fault, but he did hover over them for a moment, as they regained their bearings.

Mei scuffs her boot on the tile, and then idles over.

“Nah, I get it,” she waves off the apology, though Spirit does question how she could possibly understand when they never told her why. “Hey, do you have a phone? I could send you the picture!”

Spirit turns to her, glancing down at the earnest smile on Mei’s face.

“I don’t know if my phone takes photos,” they reply, pulling out the brick of technology out of their pocket.

Mei’s face drops in shock at the sight of it, hands jumping up as if to snatch it from Spirit’s grip. They hand it to her instead, because Spirit can tell she wants to hold it, and Mei looks at it like one would the priceless artifacts shattered around the hall.

“This is...ancient,” she says, delicate, like she doesn’t want to insult them. “It doesn’t even show emojis!”

“What’s an emoji?” Spirit asks.

Mei drops her face into her hands and groans, before perking back up.

“Can I upgrade it?” she nearly begs, eyes sparkling with excitement.

Befuddled, Spirit doesn’t immediately agree. Should they? They already made Mei upset because they freaked out, it would be rude to deny her something that brings her joy, even if it could come at the expense of Spirit’s phone.

Even more confusing is that, rather than think them stupid for having an inferior product, Mei just wants to fix it up for them.

“Um,” they start, haltingly. “I like that my phone’s pretty indestructible, and I’ve had it for a while. Aren’t, um, newer phones more fragile?”

“Not when I make them,” comes Mei’s cheeky reply. “I’ll even use the materials from this one as a base! It’ll be the same, just better! And I’ll be able to send you photos!”

She puts on what Spirit can tell are puppy dog eyes, and Spirit caves instantly. Mei needn’t use those on them; Spirit knows they’re a pushover.

“Okay,” they acquiesce.

Mei cheers.

“Perfect! I think I have a charm that will look nice on your phone, too, so I can give you that!” She rocks back and forth on her feet, looking up at the ceiling in thought.

Spirit smiles to themself, setting a collection of pieces on one of the pedestals spared of the destruction. Tonight, they’ll have to get special glue somewhere to make the cracks nearly unnoticeable. There’s a demon marketplace a few miles outside of town, so there will probably be some there.

They walk over to the other side of the hall, glancing over at Mei, who follows them. She fiddles with her phone, and a cursory glance of her screen shows that she’s researching the model of Spirit’s phone for reference. Huh. Spirit didn’t know phones could do that.

Their eyes travel from Mei’s phone to the legendary blade on her back.

“You can wield the Jade Dragon Blade?” they ask, aiming for nonchalant and landing on incredulous. They’re not a good actor.

Instead of puffing out her chest and acting proud, something Spirit would find more characteristic of Mei based on the twenty minutes they’ve spent around her, Mei hunches down a little, looking shy.

“Yeah, I just found out. It’s, uh, pretty cool.” She shuffles her feet, seemingly reluctant to acknowledge her newfound importance. “I was never really, uh, what was expected of by my family, so it’s kind of a surprise that I can use it.”

There’s a lot to unpack there, Spirit knows. High expectations for children of powerful families are to be, well, expected, but it doesn’t mean it’s pleasant. Spirit doesn’t have to see the tired slump of Mei’s shoulders, with the weight of something wearier than just exhaustion, to know that. They’ve known it since they saw the fervor and desperation Red worked, the way he swallowed hurt at dismissal.

It’s a bit sad, they think, that they see it in Mei, too.

“I, uh, I know how to use a bunch of weapons,” They offer off handedly as they continue to work. “I could teach you some things. If you want?”

Macaque taught them to use a wide variety of weapons, before they settled on their combat sickles, so they know how to use general blades. They aren’t a sword master, but they’re sure they could teach Mei the basics.

Mei perks up again.

“Really? That’d be super helpful. I think my parents kind of expect me to already know how to use a sword, since I can wield this one, and if I told them I don’t know they’d get me some stuffy tutor or something,” she rolls her eyes at the idea.

“Once I’m done with this,” Spirit gestures the mess of the entrance hall. “We could meet up somewhere to start? Call it a favor.”

Spirit tries not to seem too excited, but opening up a new line of favors with someone is always a fun experience. A new layer of safety, a new token, even. If they’re lucky, Either way, to have Mei’s name in their book would be awful nice.

Mei opens her mouth to accept, but the hard slap of heeled slippers against the marble floors makes them both freeze.

“Xiaojiao,” comes the cold voice of Mei’s mother. “Spirit is here on a job. Don’t talk to them.”

“But—”

“Either find someplace else to be or stay in your room. Now,” Mei’s mother is unrelenting, eyes sharp.

Mei gives Spirit a commiserating smile, and then bounds down the hall, disappearing around the corner.

Once she’s gone, Mei’s mother turns on Spirit, a snarl on her face. Spirit knows the Long family is one of dragons, but maybe they might have forgotten just how protective dragons are of what is theirs.

“Never,” The voice is a hiss, and Spirit hunches down, curling in on themselves. “Never talk to my daughter. You keep away from her.”

Spirit trembles, and nods. They didn’t want any trouble, really! They just wanted to help. And Mei owing them a favor means they could interact with her without being as scared as they are, in general.

But, then again, they suppose having a reputation like theirs does work against you.

They work until nightfall, managing to get most of the hard work done. There’s still the matter of reconstructing artifacts, which means they need special glue. So they depart late at night to the demon market a few miles out of town.

It’s more a flea market, not exactly as concrete as some of the other shopping centers Spirit has perused. It’s actually kind of new, popping up because now that the Demon Bull Family is up and running, demons are crawling in droves to get a piece of the new economic boom.

They find a stand a half an hour into their walk that has the type of glue they need.

“Oh, well there’s a familiar face,” The shopkeep says when Spirit steps up to the stall.

Spirit tilts their head to the side, but doesn’t comment. “I would like that glue, please,” They practiced saying it a few-fifty-times in their head before stepping up, so they would get it right. They point to the jar they want with a small smile on their face, to be pleasant.

“Alright,” The shopkeep, a fox demon by the ears and swishing tail, takes the jar and wraps it gently.

Spirit reaches into their pocket and pulls out their coin purse, but when they do, the shopkeep laughs.

“No, no, your money is no good here,” The shopkeep says. “Let me return a favor, to you.”

Spirit blinks a few times, but it isn’t a surprise. People try and return favors all the time, as if they could ask for anything of Spirit and then return the favor on their terms. Spirit may do anything for a favor, but they don’t let anyone decide when that favor is returned for a reason.

White splattered red, a smile made dull with crimson spilling over lips. Returning the favor, returning the favor and dying and never coming back and it’s all your fault why didn’t you stop her—

They sigh, stand up straight, and put on the intimidating smile like Macaque taught them to. Wide eyes but with a glow that is more a promise than an effect, and a grin with just enough teeth to show that it’s sharp. It feels weird on their face, but it always works.

“No,” They respond, voice ever quiet. “I’m the one who deals in favors. I make the terms. And I want to pay.”

The marketplace has gone silent. The shopkeep is frozen in place. Spirit smiles.

“A-Alright,” the shopkeep finally says, rattling off the total.

Spirit blinks once, letting the glow in their eyes vanish. Their shoulders fall as they fumble with their coin purse until they pull out the total. The shopkeep hands them the bag, and Spirit waves cheerily, turning around and heading toward the exit of the market.

The demons in the market give them a wide berth, but Spirit prefers that. They like their space.

The whole project for the Long family takes a total of three days, two of which are without sleep. Spirit is used to not sleeping, whether it be from the usual nightmares or a lack of forethought to go to bed, and so they manage. Being without sleep leaves them jittery and off kilter, but Mei has seemingly taken her mother’s warning to heart, and Spirit is undisturbed as they work.

They like reconstructing the artifacts. The heads of the Long family tell them that the family can handle the actual reconstruction of the house, which is a relief considering Spirit knows very little about architecture. Putting artifacts back together is just like putting together a puzzle, and Spirit loves a good puzzle. Gets their brain working.

Macaque had puzzles, but his were always more...violent. Spirit prefers these ones, with the artifacts and without danger.

When they’re done, they’re regarded with distaste but not disappointment, which is nice. Spirit is pretty sure most people they do deals with don’t particularly like them, because no one likes owing people something. That’s not Spirit’s problem though! They always allow people to refuse, but people like convenience, and Spirit is malleable, quiet, unobtrusive, and generally willing to be used as any sort of tool. They’re more an object than a person, on the job, and that’s good! It means Spirit is good at whatever they need to be.

They almost forget that they’ve given Mei their phone, because they’re leaving the property when she shouts their name.

They jump a full foot in the air, turning around.

“Hey!” Mei comes sprinting across the courtyard, skidding to a stop in front of them. “You almost forgot your phone!”

She holds it out, and it looks very little like what Spirit expects. Gone is the black brick of an item, replaced with a wide, reinforced screen. The case is sturdy, black with purple accents. Spirit feels the familiar material in the black sections.

There’s a little purple lotus charm dangling from one corner.

Spirit holds the phone gingerly, almost afraid they might break it. They tap on the screen, and it glows! Spirit taps it a few times, but nothing else happens.

“I have no idea how to use this,” they say, looking over at Mei with wide eyes.

Mei laughs, kind and not at all cruel, which is confusing in and of itself. Spirit half expected her to think them stupid for not knowing. But Mei directs Spirit to a stone bench by a pond in the gardens, and carefully explains how the touch screen works, and how to get into the different apps, like contacts and messages.

“I put my number in there,” Mei says, pointing out her contact. “So that way we can text each other!”

“Oh,” Spirit stares, and then smiles, small and shy and pleased. “That sounds nice.”

How often is it that someone wants to talk to Spirit? How often is it that Spirit is told how to contact someone for fun? For something besides work? They can only recall Red bothering which is somewhat depressing, but it does nothing to stop the swell of elation that makes their hands shake with the desire to move, at the thought of a new friend.

But to flap their hands like that is childish behavior, so they grip their new phone tight instead.

That doesn’t stop their tail from wagging beneath the bench, though.

Once Mei is done teaching them the basics of modern phone technology, she stands, giving them a sheepish grin.

“I should get going. If mom finds me here with you, she’ll get real cranky, again,” She smiles. “Text you later?”

Spirit stands, and their shoulders don’t ache so much. Subconsciously, they feel the wherewithal to stand tall, for the moment, when Mei gives them such a blinding grin.

“Yeah!

They send their first emoji to Red, a little purple heart and the message ‘Red! I just learned what emojis are! I hope you like this one! From, Spirit.’

Red responds with a bunch of flame emojis, and a single red heart back, stuffed between the fires. It makes Spirit giggle. Has Red been sending little fires in every text? It’s certainly on brand, though they feel it might be a little redundant. Maybe it’s his theme?

They get a text from Mei.

‘Hey! I got a race a couple of months from now. Wanna come watch? Call it a favor ;D!’

Spirit rocks back and forth on their feet excitedly.

‘Mei,

Sounds fun! See you then :)

From,

Spirit.’

They add a little purple heart emoji to the end of the text, and receive a barrage of green ones in reply.

Spirit smiles.

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #Yin Spirit #kitkat1003 #monkie kid oc #monkie kid mei #monkie kid pigsy

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tobiosmilktea · 4 years

Text

she looked like a virtue — kozume kenma

1.9k words | genre/s: fluff | warning/s: — | pairing: kenma x f! reader

↪︎ in which kozume kenma pines for his neighbor from beyond his bedroom window

okay, so maybe it was a bit creepy to watch someone through their bedroom window, but kenma truly didn’t mean any harm. really, he didn’t. if anything it was just a mere spur in the moment of serendipities that you—the girl who hated closing her blinds because it blocked out the pretty sunlight—was his cure for boredom.

whenever his eyes would burn from staring at the computer too long, or if he was just too burnt out to play anymore video games or even watch tv, his eyes would settle upon your windowsill. often times you were dancing in your room alone to 80s pop music or painting the landscape outside all cause you wanted to. it was enough to ease him into relaxation yet entertaining enough that he never got bored of what you do.

kenma despised how this immediately landed a target on his back if he were to ever get caught. ‘peeping tom’ would forever be hovering over his head if you were to ever notice his stares of admiration from afar. granted, you never really did like closing your blinds despite it’s dangers, but you weren’t dumb either. sometimes kenma would like to think that if he were ever to get caught, you wouldn’t be so blatantly creeped out as you both went to nekoma. besides, you’re well aware that he was your neighbor as well. it was just a matter whether or not you would notice how conviniently placed his mattress is to be in front of his window.

if you were to ever-so-slightly pivot your head by the inch, your eyes would immediately find kenma’s probing irises. perhaps you would scream and close your blinds for the first time ever, or maybe you just wouldn’t care.

maybe you liked the idea of being watched by him.

besides, kenma had his PSP with him just in case your lingering gaze would finally fall upon him and he would at least have some way of looking nonchalant as possible.

he didn’t have any cruel intentions. no perverted antics, no keeping track of secrets, no way of gaining intel for blackmail—it was all just pure fascination for a girl he had always found pretty.

this was something he would never verbalized even if he was paid a million dollars worth of cash. in fact, the only other person who knew about this hobby of his (god, that sounds so creepy, kenma cringed to himself) was kuroo. being his best friend, who else would he be able to tell this habit he knew he couldn’t keep to himself without bursting? he felt a bit guilty if he couldn’t at least tell the person he trusts the most.

“i still think it’s a bit suspect of you to be doing this so often,” kuroo would say whenever he was in kenma’s bedroom, twirling a disk of the game they were supposed to play earlier, but kenma was too caught up in watching your gracefulness hues of choosing which novel to read next.

kenma could only sigh as he forced his gaze to be ripped away from you. “i know. it’s become a habit, i think.”

“what?” the onyx-haired boy mused, “stalking?”

scoffing, kenma strolled to kuroo and took the disk out of his hand before placing it in the gaming console. “i think you mean admiration.”

“you call that admiring?”

“you can admire someone from afar,” kenma defends as the opening noises of Street Fighter emit from the television screen.

he swiftly hands kuroo a controller as they both settle themselves side by side in from of the screen. silence filled the void between the two volleyball players as they spent a good five minutes on the character selection screen. it was mainly kenma who could decide between Vega and Cammy, to which he eventually forced himself to toss a coin to choose.

“i think you should just talk to her,” suggests kuroo out of the blue as the first found starts.

the sounds of smashing buttons and joysticks filled the room as the virtual fight ensued. kenma kept quiet as eventually his efforts to focus on the game slipped, giving victory to kuroo.

kenma placed his controller down as he walked to his bed. plopping himself right onto the mattress, the boy quickly sighs. “i don’t think i can do that.”

furrowing his brows, kuroo stands as he sits beside his best friend. “and why’s that?”

“i think she’d be weirded out by it, honestly.” answered kenma.

“i mean... you don’t have to tell her that you’ve been watching her.”

the setter shook his head, “it doesn’t matter. knowing the fact that we’ve barely interacted in school outside of projects, i think she’d find it strange that someone she barely talks to even likes her.”

a hum of understanding leaves kuroo’s lips as he sighs. “i still think what i said stands. you don’t have to tell her how you feel just yet.”

kenma stares up upon his blank white ceiling, eyes blinking to a nonspecific beat. the sun’s rays shining through his window, his eyes adjusted with the amount of light entering his irises as he peered over to your window. you were sitting at your desk reading. oh how angelic you looked, in all your glory of serene silence. you were the cause of his quickening heart beat, yet you were his calming disposition in a mere juxtaposition.

“y/n has always been really into 80s films,” kuroo starts again as kenma’s gaze never left you. “in a lot of those romcom films, the guy usually throws something at the girl’s window to get her attention. maybe you could start there.”

a beat had passed as kenma considered the plan.

“i don’t think i would have anything to say if i were to do that.” he muttered lazily, “i’d be too stunned.”

how whipped, kuroo thought to himself as he inaudibly chuckles. “just say whatever feels right in the moment.”

“like?”

“flirt with her!”

“that’s not going to end well, kuroo.”

kenma hated how his thoughts were as restless as him. it was nighttime, midnight... maybe, but all he knew was that it was late and he had residual energy he needed to extrude. it wasn’t a form of adrenaline like during volleyball games where nekoma was at the cusp of winning—no, it was something else. his body was well beyond fatigued, but his mind was surging in endless obscurity.

perhaps it started the moment your dim bedroom suddenly lit up by the slightest illumination of your desk lamp. you stay at you desk doing something that kenma couldn’t exactly see as he was laying flat upon his bed. it was as though kuroo’s plan of potentially winning your heart over by actions primarily used in the 80s was causing his heart palpitations.

surely it didn’t help his situation the moment you lifted yourself from your seat and approached your window. kenma felt his heart jump into throat when you fiddled with your window lock and pushed your windows open.

“kenma?” you whispered loudly.

his usual relaxed eyes widened in shock as you continued to call out his name.

“kenma?” you said again. it was like music to his ears knowing that you did in fact know his name (how could you not? he’s literally on the volleyball team). “are you awake?”

as if the setter was paralyzed, he still laid there in absolute surprise. in his mind, his thoughts spiraled into oblivion. coursing through his veins was the possibility of him getting up was a good idea or not, but of course it was a good idea. kenma’s worries about starting a conversation with you was started by you! so why wasn’t he getting up?

hesitance pumped throughout his body as he continued to stare at you. you were waiting for his response, but you weren’t exactly optimistic on him answering. it was way past midnight and no lunatic would even bother waking up just because someone was at their window.

a disappointed sigh escaped your lips as you pursed them. perhaps tonight wasn’t the best idea of asking the setter for a favor that was totally out of his league. yet to both of your surprises, the sound of an unlocking window captured your attention. beneath the moonlight, kenma appears from the dimness of his bedroom with a nervous look on his face.

“y/n,” he almost whispers, “um. what did you want to say?”

your breath hitched at the realization with thousands of monarch butterflies tickling their way through your gut as you roughly swallowed. “i wanted to ask if you wanted to climb on our roofs and talk. it’s a full moon tonight too.”

kenma’s mouth ran agape slightly as he struggled to find the correct words to leave his lips. “i-um—”

“you don’t have to if you don’t want to, kenma.” you swiftly cut in, “you can go to sleep if you wan—”

“no,” the setter answers just as fast, “i’ve always wanted to talk... with you.”

you found his nervous chuckles cute as you two climbed to the roof of your respective houses. tokyo at night seemed utterly serene with the chirping cicadas and the silent streets. granted, you were in the suburbs and a ways away from the actual city.

your gaze lingered upon the moonlight reflecting off the city's skyscrapers far off into the distance, resonating and refracting off the infrastructure's angles until they shined luminous fractals upon your face and dosed in a baby blue hue. tokyo never seemed to rest unlike the near-silent nights in this area. the sight was breathtaking, to say the least, but kenma was looking at you rather than the city.

kenma’s eyes tried wandering elsewhere than you before him, yet he was locked in admiration at the moment of stillness of just you and him.

the spiraling skies above you two almost looked synthetic with lavender-candied hues sprayed amongst the painted heavens. it appeared unreal to the eyes of two teenagers of the busy and crowded streets of tokyo, where every corner you turn would be colored with neon lights. the scattering constellations and stars that playfully hovered above them were something you and kenma never really seen before (properly at least now that they were finally outside).

“you know,” you started, breaking the silence into oblivion, and yet your voice was still soft in the humming midnight breeze. “you’re not as slick as you think you are.”

kenma’s mouth ran dry as he blinked innocently at you. “what do you mean?”

you chuckled slightly, the corners of your lips curling into a smile that instantly filled kenma’s heart with warmth. “it’s always the quiet ones who are the most observant.

the setter gulped. he knew and it was game over for him.

“it’s okay, i don’t mind you looking at me sometimes.” you suddenly confess as kenma’s gaze snaps towards you, “which sounds weird, but it’s whatever.”

“you’re not mad?” he asks gently to which you shake your head.

“honestly, i’m just confused on how you find me so interesting.” you paused, “why?”

“because you look like a virtue.”

#haikyuu #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu oneshot #haikyuu fluff #kozume kenma #kenma x reader #kenma imagines #kenma scenario #kenma fluff #hq kenma #kenma au

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hopeatermeetsgodzilla · 3 years

Text

Chapter 21

“Uh, Serizawa?” Florès started, taking the opening of Graham being called elsewhere to attempt his question.

The older man turned toward him, the mechanic wincing as he saw the dark undereye circles. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one working ridiculous hours. “What is it?”

“Uh... weird things have been happening to Russellita, and I think it might be linked to the Titans?” He started, Serizawa frowning in confusion. “Nothing worrying, just... dreams. And she can actually hear what they’re saying.”

Serizawa’s eyes widened. “What!?”

“Don’t get your hopes up.” Florès started dismissively. “She can only hear them if she’s here in person. She actually hears what everyone else hears in recordings, so I wasn’t really able to add a lot of soundbanks-”

“No, Florès, this isn’t about that-” Serizawa cut him off, carding his hands through his hairs. “マディソンは本当にアウグルになることができますか？...”

“... ¿Qué?”

“I- you should go ask Dr. Chen.” Serizawa started, turning back toward Florès, who tilted his head in confusion. “There is a myth of peculiar humans having a link with Titans, but she’s more knowledgeable about it than I am.”

“Alright. Where is she right now?”

“Her office, third floor, trying to figure out if there is something similar that happened to Mara in the past.”

“‘Kay, thanks.” Florès said before leaving the main room, waving the Serizawa as another scientist came to talk to him.

He entered the elevator, where Madison was waiting. “So?”

“We need to go talk to Dr Chen.” Florès started, pressing the button to the third floor. “She’s the one that made that PowerPoint on the Titans.”

“Oh!” The elevator started, rising rapidly. “Did you remember to tell Mr. Serizawa about Godzilla still being alive?”

“... He started panicking when I told him you could hear Titans, so I decided to save it for later.” Florès explained, deciding it had less of a chance of making Madison mock him then ‘No, I forgot’.

Luckily for him, the elevator door opened just after, and the two walked out, searching for the mythologist’s office. Finally, they found a door with a plaque that read ‘Ilene Chen’. Florès knocked on it. “Come in” a voice on the other side said, and the two entered.

The first thing that Madison noticed was how different Chen’s office was from Florès’. The walls were covered in bookcases, all filled to the brim, instead of the occasional article for living like a mini-fridge. There was also an actual desk she worked at, also covered in books, instead of a worktable with a computer and multiple tools laying around on it.

Chen raised her head. “Oh, Florès! And... Madison?” Madison nodded. “How can I help you two?”

“I... I think I might have powers.” Madison started, taking a few steps forward. “Powers linked to the Titans.”

Chen’s eyes widened, getting up from her seat. “What kind of powers?”

“I can hear them speak without any assistance, and I also have dreams about them.” She explained, Chen nodding as she started looking through folders stashed in a bookcase.

Florès raised an eyebrow. “Wait, there’s actually a myth about people being able to talk to Titans!?” Chne turned toward him momentarily to nod, before turning back toward the bookcase. “... Why do we need the ORCA, then?”

“1) Because it’s a myth.” Chen started, taking a folder and sitting back down. She opened it, showing the other two pictures of engraved walls and cave paintings. “We had no actual proof of it... until now, at least. 2) According to the myths, there can only be one Augur at a time.”

Florès and Madison frowned, looking at each other before turning their eyes toward Chen. “Uh... what’s an Augur in this context?”

“... Oh boy.” Chen sighed, flipping through the notes and photos in the file before closing it. She took a deep breath. “The Augur is, essentially, the link between humanity and Titans. They speak the will of the Titans to humans, and they explain humans’ actions to Titans. To do so, they are granted abilities, often when they are children. Amongst those abilities, being a spectator to Titan’s interacting through their dreams and understanding their language are usually the first ones that appear.”

“...Holy shit, Russellita, you actually do have magical powers!” Florès exclaimed, eyes wide.

Madison numbly nodded, staring at her hands. The link between humans and Titans... She frowned. “Why me? I’m nothing special, I’m just- I’m a regular girl, and being an Augur sounds like something great people should be doing.”

“You’re also part of the very rare category of people who neither worship, fear, or hate Titans. Your only wish is to understand them.” Chen explained. “Monarch and the T.L.F. falls in the first category-”

“Uh, didn’t expect you guys to be self-aware.”

“-albeit for different reasons,” Chen snapped, the mechanic raising his hands when she sent him a frustrated look. ”The military falls in the third category, and most civilians would fall in the second. The only other person I can think of that falls into your category is, well...” She tilted her head in Florès’ direction, who shrugged.

“Oh, I do fear them, don’t get me wrong.” He started. “Just not in the way one would fear God. More like one would fear an extremely unhinged neighbor who owns a flamethrower and keeps giving you the evil eye. And anyway, we only fear what we don’t understand, and I don’t like being scared. So understand them I’ll have to.” There was a pause. “Also, you guys are selling yourselves short. Isn’t the whole point of Monarch trying to understand the Titans?”

Chen snorted. “Would you look at that? You are capable of being nice!”

There was snickering, and then a pause. “Can we... wait until I’m ready to tell more people?” Madison asked. This was still a lot to process. “Or at least until we’re a 100 percent sure about the Augur thing? I mean, it could be just a fluke, or...”

“Of course. Take all the time you need.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“-and that’s pretty much all I can think of for basic sentences to use on your brothers.” Rodan finished, putting his hands on his knees as Ni nodded. “Now, repeat what I just did.”

Ni raised his hands, signing the sentences as he spoke. “This is for ‘thank you’ and that’s for ‘please’, this is for ‘stop doing that’, that’s for asking them to do something, that’s light-hearted ribbing, telling them to leave me alone, asking for affection, and finally, this for ‘I... I... lov... I lo...’ urgh. You know what it’s for.”

Rodan nodded. Apparently, Ni was unable to say ‘I love you’ out loud for some reason. When asked about it, he had snapped that neither could Ichi or San and that it wasn’t just him being bad with words. This was... worrying, especially since it was clear to anyone who had eyes that can see that the three of them cared about each other more than anything.

But his hands had recreated the sign to perfection, and that was enough for Rodan. He nodded, clapping his hands a bit in encouragement. “Yeah, that’s it!” Ni’s lips twitched up. “Do you want to stop here for today, or...?”

Ni nodded, getting back up and offering a hand to Rodan as he did so. The shorter one took it, not very keen on the idea of staying seated and letting Ghidorah look even taller to him. “I’m done for the day. Do you want to stay with us for a bit?”

Rodan nodded, following Ni to the beach. Ghidorah had pretty much claimed this part of the coast as their own, setting up a mock-nest there. Ichi and San were already there, Ichi listening calmly and occasionally offering something as San rambled on in a language he didn’t understand. The bird watched as Ni joined them, kneeling on the ground as his brothers turned toward him.

He also saw him lift his hands to sign something, unable to say what it was from the angle he stood at. But considering a strange warbling noise left San’s mouth before he jumped Ni, squealing happily, it was probably positive.

Rodan made his way to Ichi, carefully avoiding the Ghidorah pile were strange thrilling and chirping noises were rising from. Ichi was looking at said pile, a dumbstruck look on his face. Rodan hesitantly raised his hand. “Hi.”

Ichi snapped toward him, before avoiding his gaze toward what Rodan could only assume was a very interesting rock. “Fire bird. Do you know where Ni learned those... symbols?”

“Oh, it’s sign words.” Rodan explained, oblivious to Ichi’s discomfort. “Ni told me he wasn’t really good with words, so I’ve been teaching him.”

“And you thought it would be a good idea to to teach him how to say ‘I lo’-” Ichi suddenly gagged on nothing, catching the both of them off-guard. For a few seconds, the only sound filling the air was the continuous, soft growling noise coming from San a distance away.

“Uh. So you guys really can’t say ‘I love you’, uh?” Rodan noted, Ichi glaring at him.

“... Why would you teach him that?” He asked again, voice softer this time.

“Because I found it really sad and a bit worrying that you guys can’t say that you love each other out loud. Plus,” Rodan jerked his thumb toward Ni and San. They were now sitting up, San chirping happily and limbs wrapped around his brother as they cuddled. “your brothers seem pretty fine with it.”

Ichi groaned, burying his face in his hands. “Shut up...”

Rodan snorted at that, sitting down. “What, the ~Golden Demise~ can’t handle a bit of affection?” He taunted, Ichi sending him a look that could kill humans.

However, just as he opened his mouth, San jumped on him. Ichi yelped as the two fell to the ground, the strange growling chirps still leaving San as he rambled on in a manner that was just coherent enough for Rodan to realize it wasn’t just gibberish. The fact that Ichi was answering in the same non-sensical speech also helped.

Rodan barely noticed Ni as he came to sit down, his hands signing ‘thank you’ as he did so. “For showing me how to say it.” He then clarified.

Rodan nodded, shrugging. “It’s nothing, really. No need to make a big deal out of it.”

“I’m being honest.” Ni insisted. “And not just because I don’t like lying: being able to tell my brothers I... care... for them almost makes me want to dance in joy.”

“I wanna sing!” San suddenly exclaimed, getting off of Ichi who had apparently been content to lay on the ground as his brother attempted to cuddle him to death. He was onto Ni again, eyes shining with unbridled joy. “I wanna sing while you dance!!!”

Ni yelped, putting a hand on San’s shoulder and pushing him away. “Emphasis on almost, San!”

San pouted, sending a pleading at his brother, to no avail. Rodan looked off awkwardly to the side. “I... could dance?” He proposed, San snapping his head toward him with a big smile.

“Really!?”

“... yeah. I could.” Never mind that last time he danced, it was back when he was courting Quetzalcoatl. Was he so desperate for people that not only understood his anger, but supported him despite it that he was about to dance for the incarnations of Terra’s death? Was he really ready to sacrifice his integrity as a Guardian for Ghidorah’s possible support and affection-

Ichi must have sensed his hesitation, because he rose up, looking at Rodan with a neutral expression. “If you want, I could dance with you.”

This proposal made Rodan feel both better and worse for the exact same reason: the possibility that Ghidorah felt the same budding attraction. Nonetheless, he simply snorted, crossing his arms as he got up. “Wait, that’s how you invite someone to a dance? Thought you had more charm to you.”

Ichi laughed. Not the usual sinister giggle or mad cackle Ghidorah gave, but an actual, genuine laugh. “I’m sorry about that, let me try again.” He cleared his throat, before bending down, offering his hand to Rodan. “May I have this dance?~”

Oh, there’s no way this beautiful fucker isn’t doing it on purpose. He took a deep breath, taking of his sleeves in the process. “... You may.” Rodan accepted, putting his hand Ichi’s. He gasped as he was dragged closer, Ichi’s legs bent in such a way that Rodan was eye level with his collarbone.

He looked off to the side, feeling his cheeks warm up as a chuckle left Ichi. “Don’t get shy now, fire bird. I do prefer it when your bite matches your bark.”

Rodan raised an eyebrow at the challenge. “Oh, do you, Ichi?” He jerked his hand out of Ghidorah’s grasp, bringing both to Ichi’s waist before flipping their position. He used the new leverage to bend him down. He smirked at Ichi’s surprised expression. “You know, you should try getting on my level sometimes. Might get your head out of the clouds~”

Ichi’s expression changed to a grin at that, echoed by his brothers laughing a distance away. “Here’s that bite~” One of his hand came up, clawing at the back of Rodan’s head and using as leverage as he rose up a bit. “If you’re a good lead, I might just listen.” Their faces were dangerously close now, their lips almost brushing as he spoke- no, sang. “Show me what you’ve got, Rodan.”

Well, he didn’t have any reason to disobey that.

He lifted Ichi up, hands coming to hold his as he twisted him up, back against his front. Rodan moved his hands, coming to rest on Ichi’s crossed wrists instead. He barely registered the other shifting his hip, offering him a better view of what he was doing. An energetic but strange song started, courtesy of Ni and San.

He snapped his arms away, letting go of Ichi’s wrists in the process and making him spin. Rodan ran after him, fast and long strokes and light on his feet as he climbed up a rock. He grabbed Ichi by the shoulders as he reached the top, pulling him toward him. The music reached a crescendo as he used his grip to hoist himself up upside down onto Ichi’s shoulder, before letting himself fall.

As he reached the ground, he grabbed Ichi’s wrist. He pulled the taller one down as he did so, rising up and catching him in his arms as long-fingered hands came to wrap around the back of his neck. Rodan paused at that, looking down at him with a wolfish grin. “How’s that for a dance?”

Ichi’s light laugh filled the air again. “Not bad at all!” Ichi raised himself, his hands sliding down Rodan’s arms to hold his. “Alright, my turn to lead.”

The movements were much slower this time, Ichi almost gliding over the ground as he guided Rodan around in lazy circles. The tempo his brothers were providing them had slowed down accordingly, picking up each time Ichi put Rodan in a different position.

He picked him up, holding his companion to his side as he smiled. Rodan smiled back, letting Ichi puppet him around in a weirdly comforting manner. Terra, had he missed this kind of affection. He never wanted this dance to end, he wanted to stay here forever, he wanted... he...

He wanted to punch himself in the face.

No, I can’t let myself get attached. He had to remind himself as he and Ichi spun around, guided by San’s voice and Ni’s clapping as a calmer but still very strange song filled the air. They’re the reason Mara is dead.

They’re Ghidorah, and they came here to destroy our home.

Ichi took a hold of his waist, lifting him high in the air as easily as one would lift a twig.

They’re death bringers, all they’re good for is killing.

He was gently set back on the ground, his hand sliding down Ichi’s arm and intertwining their fingers.

Their storms wipe away everything under them. They...

Ichi started twisting his wrist as he held onto his hand, making Rodan spin around him in circles.

They...

A sudden jerking made him lose his balance, bringing him close to Ichi as he started falling. His hand let go.

They kill through storms.

Just as he was about to catch himself, Ichi bent down. Long fingers curled around his waist as the Ghidorah looked at him with an uncharacteristic soft expression, a few strands of long golden hair slipping over his shoulder.

The sky was clear when death came to my home.

As Rodan was raised back up, he swung his legs up, wrapping them around Ichi’s torso as his arms came to wrap around his shoulders. He distantly registered Ni and San stopping their improvised song.

Just this once, they’re innocent.

Ichi tilted his head in concern, gently prying Rodan off of him and setting him back on the ground.

Just what else are those three innocent of?

“Fire bird?” Rodan snapped his head up, eyes wide. Ichi was looking at him, a concerned frown on his face with both of his brothers peeking over his shoulders. “Is everything alright? You seem lost in thought.”

“I...” He separated himself from them, turning momentarily toward San when he moved toward him. “Yeah, I just... realized something-” He froze as San brought a hand to his face, brushing a few hair behind his hair.

The younger of the brothers had a calm look on his face, blinking slowly at him. “Don’t trouble yourself with anything unimportant, alright?”

The hand of another- Ni this time- came to hold his, dragging him toward the spot where the three usually slept. “Maybe stay with us tonight?” He then raised a hand, signing the word ‘please’.

Rodan numbly nodded, letting Ichi put a hand to his back to guide him. All four of them were unaware that it was at this precise moment that Ghidorah’s schemes both succeeded beyond measure, and fell apart in a million pieces.

#writing #My writing #Godzilla #godzilla gijinka #madison russel #oc #my oc #ilene chen #Rodan #ni ghidorah #ichi ghidorah #san ghidorah #ghidorah #King Ghidorah #kevin ghidorah #rodorah

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i-write-sometimes-blog · 4 years

Text

Are you an angel? (Padme Amidala x Skywalker!Reader)

Request: Padme x reader where reader is Anakin's sister and is competing with him over her by @boomboomjedi

Words: 2,764

A/N: Reader's older than Anakin, she's the same age as Padme so they kinda get a long slightly better. I hope you like this little thing, was fun to write! Thanks for requesting!

Flashbacks are in italics

When Obi-wan contacted you you were happy to hear a familiar voice after many years of barely know about him and your brother, you were sure Obi-wan was taking good care of Anakin. You were excited to meet them and catch up with your little brother.

Your orders were to wait in the hangars of Coruscant for your brother and the person you would be transporting but the Jedi Master never told you who was that special person you would be escorting and you wished he at least had warned you it was her.

“Y/N?” Padme said surprised to see you waiting outside the big starship. “Is it truly you, Y/N?” she asked with a big smile.

She looked radiant as ever, hadn’t change much since the last time you saw her a few years ago except for the fact that time had only made her even more beautiful. Her soft smile and tender yet penetrating gaze reminded you of the first time you met in a planet with twin suns.

“Boy, get in here! Now!” Watto yelled and a little Anakin ran in from the junkyard. "What took you so long?" He asked in the language of the Hutt.

"I was cleaning the bin" the young boy said in the same language.

"Never mind! Watch the store. I've got some selling to do here" the blue alien commanded. "And where the hell is your sister? Call her" He said and turned to meet his client, a man who needed some parts for his ship.

With a last warning to the gungan the man followed Watto outside the store to the junkyard, leaving the young woman and the gungan with Anakin who sat on the counter, pretending to clean a part but his gaze was glued to the young woman standing a big uncomfortable in the middle of the room.

"Y/N!" Anakin looked behind the counter.

"Give me a moment!" You yelled from the room in the back of the shop where you were fixing some small motors and parts Watto was unable to, he knew you were good with mechanics. You stood up and took a piece of cloth to clean your oil covered hands as you walked towards the front of the shop.

Meanwhile the young Anakin couldn't stop glancing at the girl and then he finally got the courage to speak to her.

“Are you an angel?” your brother asked surprising the lady.

“What?” she said with a bit of surprise.

You were entering to the room but stopped for a moment to hear your little brother speaking.

“An angel.” he continued “I’ve heard the deep space pilots talk about them. They live on the moons of iego, I think.” Anakin explained “They are the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They are good and kind, and so pretty they make even the most hardened spice pirate cry.”

You chuckled taking the last steps to the counter and you stayed behind it next to your brother to finally look at the young woman he was referring as an angel who was a bit silent, certainly not really knowing what to answer to a child like Ani admiring her beauty.

“Anakin!” you interrupted seeing the lady slightly blushed. Your gaze met hers then, she scanned your face, curious to know who you were. You saw kindness on her eyes and when smiled, Maker, you felt like you were melting. If Anakin wasn’t right about calling her an angel, she was the most beautiful creature you had ever seen. You almost freeze for a moment, stunned by her.

“I’ve never heard of angels” she said smiling at you before she returned her eyes back to Ani.

“You must be one.” Ani said “Maybe you just don’t know it.” he added.

“You’re a funny little boy” the girl chuckled.

“You must forgive my little brother” you told her with a gentle smile “He can be a bit mouthy sometimes” Anakin stared at you furious.

“I see that” she said with a bigger smile.

“He’s not really used to see pretty girls such as yourself” you told her and you saw her slightly chuckling, if your brother could make a move over this girl you were going to show him the proper way to flirt.

Padme blushed for a moment before she shook her head and gave you an intense, daring glance. “Now, who’s being mouthy?”

You went silent for a moment, not only was she beautiful but she had such a brave personality.

You hoped she would have stayed around a bit longer, but a man followed by a droid rushed into the store from the junkyard.

“We’re leaving” the man said and the gungar that was playing around with some small droid followed him. Padme doubted for a moment to follow the man.

“I’m glad I met you…” she said looking kindly at you.

“Y/N” you told her.

“Y/N. I’m Padme” she said with a smile and then she turned to your brother “I’m glad to met you too, little boy”

“My name's Anakin” your brother protested only to making Padme chuckle before she turned to leave the shop. “I’m glad I met you too”

You both watched silently how she left.

“I think she likes me”Anakin said breaking the silence and you couldn’t contain yourself from laughing a little too hard.

“And what you know about girls, Ani?” you mocked “You’re nine”

“Shut up! I know she likes me!” he told you. You laughed messing his hair a little, an action you knew he hated.

“Yeah, whatever. Now go finish your work so we can go home” you told him and he immediately jumped off the counter. Once he was gone you kept staring at the door hoping Padme would come back someday.

“I can't believe it’s actually you, Y/N” Padme said as she greeted you with a warm hug, you smelled her rich perfume and enjoyed her closeness.

“It’s so good to see you, Padme” you told her still keeping her close to you. Then you finally let go of her.

“For all the stars! Look at you, Y/N” she said smiling as her eyes traveled up and down your body. “You certainly inherited your mother’s beauty. I’ve really missed you, Y/N” She looked you in the eyes for a moment, you had forgot how much power this woman had over you, with only one gaze she could make the whole world around you disappear.

Anakin cleared his throat audibly, he wanted to remind you his presence there, just like when he was a little child.

“We better get going now” He said “For Padme’s safety” You finally took a look at your little brother, well he was absolutely not little anymore, he looked rather like a man, tall, strong but he still had the same mischief smirk.

“Good to see you too, Ani” you chuckled and he rolled his eyes.

“Where’s the pilot?” he asked.

“I am the pilot, Anakin” you told him “In fact, I own this ship” there was a bit of surprise on his eyes, admiration too but he decided not to show it too much

“Can that thing even fly?” he said looking with an arched brow at your starship.

"You can bet" you told him and turned to Padme gently offering a hand "Welcome aboard the Medusa, m’lady. Please let me show you around" you told her and she giggled as she took your hand it the same polite and classy way she would have done years before when she was monarch. You leaded her inside the ship leaving Anakin with the luggage and R2 beeping by his side.

*******

“You look more like mom every day” Anakin murmured leaning in the doorway of the cockpit, you watched him for a moment over your shoulder. “Have you seen her?”

“Not in a long time” you told him. “You?” he shook his head.

Pulling some levers the ship went into lightspeed, the you let the control panel to look at your brother. Time had really change him, he looked so professional on his Jedi robes. He analyzed the cockpit for a moment.

“So this is yours?” He said smiling “It’s nice”

“Thanks, I worked a lot to buy it” you told him as you got up pushing some buttons around the place. You stood in front of him before you smiled.

"What you're thinking about?" You asked, his gaze was focused on the distance but met yours to answer.

"Her" he murmured "I just can't stop thinking about her and she didn't even recognize me when she saw me"

"Well, you have changed quite a bit, little brother" you chuckled.

"But she remembered you immediately when she saw you" he said "and it's not fair. I have spent all this years thinking on her, dreaming about her… "

"Longing to see her again, to meet her intense stare and soft smile. To hear her firm voice when she speaks serious matters but warm when she's talking about her people" you murmured unconsciously, it was your heart speaking. "Time had only seem to make her more gorgeous" you said and only then you noticed that your brother was suddenly silent and when you turned to face him he had that mischievous grin.

"So you do like her, Y/N" he grinned. “I thought that for a time but I never thought it was truth”

"No!" You rushed to said feeling your face blushing. "We're just good friends" you lied.

"Good" he smiled "Then I guess it won’t bother you if I make a move" he teased.

"You're becoming a Jedi, Anakin. Love is forbidden isn't it?" He was going to answer you but you cut him off "Good thing I'm not a Jedi." You mocked "Now if you excuse me” you told him already walking out the cockpit “The Senator may be feeling lonely, I’m going to make her some company"

“No, I am going to keep her company” Anakin said “It’s my mission to protect her.”

“It’s my mission to escort her and also this is my ship” you told him. “And again, I’m a good friend of hers, we’re close, Ani” you said with a smirk.

"How close?"

"Close" you told him looking over your shoulder satisfied with the effect of your words on him, he seemed absolutely not happy with you. He followed in silence down the hall to the main room of the ship, he was plotting something you could tell, you knew your brother just too well so you were not surprised when he playfully pushed you, just like the old times in Tatooine when you two used to race.

“It’s that how it’s going to be, huh?” you chuckled and pushed back, rushing down the hall laughing. Anakin hurried to pass you, moving you out off his way when he reached you sending you to the closest wall “Seriously?” you said recovering fast from the small hit.

“Somethings never change, I’m still faster than you” he said slowing down for a moment.

“You’re still a cheater, that’s what you are, Anakin” you told him and rushed again but this time down a different hall, you knew the faster way to the main room, it was your ship after all. “I won!” you yelled just when he was arriving.

“No you didn’t!” he chuckled “I let you win, Y/N”

“No, I won”

“No, you didn’t”

“Yes, I did”

“What are you two doing?” a melodious voice asked surprising you, as a reflex both turned your head to find Padme standing in the other side of the room. She had changed clothes and was now in a delightful new dress.

“Nothing” Anakin and you said at unison making a sweet laugh fell from Padme’s lips.

“You’re such children” she told you.

“I can assure you, I’ve grown up” Anakin declared “I’m a gentleman now, Padme”

“A gentleman who slammed his sister to the wall to win a race” Padme said in serious like she used to do in the Senate “Yes, a gentleman indeed, Ani”

You smiled at Padme and she winked at you while Anakin seemed to be rather embarrassed.

“Captain Y/N, can I talk to you a for a moment” she said still in the serious tone and yet smiling playfully at you.

“I’m at your service, Senator” you gave her the same professional tone and a small bow with the head before you followed her leaving Anakin alone and pissed once again.

Padme was the one to start talking once she was sure your brother wasn’t following you.

“I’m really glad to see you, Y/N” she told you kindly “It’s been a long time since the last time I saw you, how many years had passed?” she told you with a smile as you walked through the ship and stopped in front of a big window.

“Eight years” you murmured.

“It’s a lot to catch up then” she chuckled.

“It certainly is” you chuckled too “After Naboo, life was an odyssey. It’s a bit strange to think we will be there in a few hours, had it changed? I mean, Naboo.”

You caught a nostalgic smile curving her lips.

“Not much, not since you left” she told you. “You could have stayed, you know?”

After the battle in Naboo you hoped to get training like your brother, unfortunately the Jedi council stated you were far too old to join them. You seemed lost for a moment not exactly knowing where to go or what to do now but Padme was kind enough to accept you in her court making you a lady in waiting. You learned manners and formalities at the same time Captain Panaka taught you more about piloting and fighting. It was a good life, calm but monotone, the only thing that was keeping you there was Padme. You got the chance to see her every day, to make her laugh while walking through the palace you would have stayed forever just for her but you left.

“I know, I thought about it but… I belong in the stars, you know me Padme” you told her giving her a wink.

“Always glancing at the stars” she gave you a warm smile “I have to confess” Padme said with a bit of sadness on her tone “I was heartbroken when you left, Y/N” she told you sincerely. She thought for a moment before finally speaking again. “Tell me something, please be honest”

“Anything” you told her.

“Would you have stayed if I had asked you?”

You took her hand and sftly guided it to your lips pressing a soft kiss on her knuckles, a simple way to show her your affection you used to do back when you were her lady in waiting.

“Of course” you murmured “You mean the galaxy to me, Padme. I should have told you a long time ago.” you confessed making a soft pink painted her cheeks as the most marvelous smile lighted her face.

Doubting she leaned close to you, her hazel eyes focused on your lips. Taking all the courage in you you closed the distance pressing a short but pleasant kiss on her delicate lips. She smiled briefly before pulling you into a new kiss forgetting for an instant about the world around you, it was a voice what made you two get back to reality.

"Y/N, where are you?" Anakin's voice rumbled through the ship. "You have to land this thing"

Breaking away Padme and you shared an annoyed glance.

"I'm going to kill him" you joked.

"Same boy from the desert" Padme murmured with a small laugh.

You gave her a loving stare as you keep holding her hand. You felt home again having her on your life after all this time.

"I'm going to land if you don't come here, Y/N" your brother yelled.

"Don't touch my ship, Anakin!" You yelled back making Padme laugh.

"And same lovely girl from the desert too" she told you caressing your cheekbone for a moment. "You should go, he's not my favorite pilot" she said.

"He's going to crash my ship" you agreed.

Reluctantly you left Padme's side to go to the cockpit. Looking over your shoulder you gave her a last smile and a complicit look. Once Anakin said that Padme was an angel, as a pilot you had seen those angels, he was wrong, there was no beauty in the galaxy to compare with hers.

#padmé naberrie #padmé amidala #padme naberrie #padme request #padme x you #padme x reader #padme amidala #padme x y/n #padme amidala x reader #padme star wars #star wars phantom menace #star wars attack of the clones #attack of the clones #phantom menace #young anakin #anakin #anakin skywalker #skywalker reader

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thiswaycomessomethingwicked · 4 years

Note

I have a silly Napoleon ask for you: if he suddenly woke up in the present day what do you think he would a)like most about it b) like least about it c)get unreasonably addicted to d)decide to do for a living

hahah I’ve answered a similar one before here and here.

Most Like About It: A lot, I think. Central heating. Guys, he’d fucking love central heating.

In general, he’d love most technological advances. Cars, planes, trains etc. like he’d be very into that. “Bertrand we’re going to ride the TGV all day every day. Look at how fast we are going! This is genius.”

“Bertrand WE ARE IN THE SKY. This is AMAZING. We are going from Paris to Rome in a matter of HOURS. HOURS BERTRAND. WE DON’T HAVE TO CROSS MOUNTAINS.” (sorry just assuming this is exile Napoleon who woke up in modern day.)

Public transit in general - the metro, buses - anything that makes life more efficient for people. Dishwasher, washers/dryers, modern electricity, laptops, printers, ball point pens etc.

I suspect he’d be a big supporter of public health care and all the advances made on vaccines and medicine in general. 100% would hate anti-vaxxers. Pro-modern glasses (he’d get himself a pair asap. Then they’d explain contacts to him and I think he’d be like “WAIT NO, I WANT THOSE.” He would not be into lasik, I suspect).

Modern hygiene! Razors, tooth brushes, floss, moisturizer - general daily body care he’d probably be keen on. (All that stuff we take for granted.) Though maybe not all of it, he was quite traditional in certain things (his penchant for older fashion, par exemple). Maybe he’d keep the old straight razor shaving approach. But modern dentistry would be a huge improvement and I can’t see him being against it. Especially as someone who had a tooth extracted in the early 19th century.

‘Oh they give you pain killers now? Fantastic.’

‘Sir, we just numb the area where we are doing the work.’

‘So it doesn’t impede my awareness? Amazing. Please, fix all my teeth right now.’

He’d also support the greater access to education that exists, especially compared to his day. Also, streaming services. He would binge so many things. ‘Bertrand we are watching every thing this very soothing sounding British naturalist made about planet earth. Holy shit look at that they’re under water! They’re at the bottom of the ocean! Bertrand look at this. if only Josephine were here. She’d be so excited.’

Pro-zoom/Microsoft teams/facetime etc. 100%. ‘If I had this instead of people relying on my bad handwriting ...’

Oh, he’d like the EU as a concept. Except he would be very disappointed that France wasn’t at the helm. I think France’s position globally would disappoint him, overall. But yeah, the broad principles espoused by the concept of the European Union would appeal to him.

Brexit though. Lol. I think he’d enjoy watching England shoot itself in the foot. But if you asked him for his opinion, as in “do you think the UK should do this” he would answer no. They should remain.

He would like globalization, trade agreements, things like NAFTA, CETA etc. Supporter of big government. Reduction of religion in public sphere. Though would he be pro-banning visual manifestations of faith? (i.e. Hijab etc.) I don’t know. I doubt it. Simply because he was very focused on religion in government, so if churches aren’t involved in decision making, what citizens get up to on their own is their business (so long as you don’t cause problems). But I don’t know, he might be pro-it, because he was also into assimilation and creating a broad sense of a French culture. I could see him really going either way on it. It’d probably come down to whatever he thought would garner the most public support as a political move (since a lot of his more liberal moves as a leader were tied to understanding that marginalized communities would gun hard for him if he helped them).

He would be pro-mask wearing for COVID because he wasn’t a fucking idiot and lived in a time when pandemics were still a real going concern.

He would also probably like how comfortable modern clothing is. I don’t think he’d like how cheap and made-to-wear-out that most brands are, but he’d like the over all philosophy. Like Napoleon would dig t-shirts. Lounge wear. The fact that jeans have some stretch in them. That sort of thing.

Least Like: I think he’d be very wary of the internet. For many reasons. For the lack of government control (Napoleon “What is a free press? never heard of her” Bonaparte). But also, because of the misinformation problems. The side effects many of us are now bearing witness to, and experiencing the ramifications of.

He would dislike the whole fake news nonsense. Oh this man was a master spin-doctor, very good at twisting a narrative around to suit him, but he still did have respect for and a firm belief in basic facts. Especially fake news that usurped the sound advise of scientists and doctors (i.e. COVID nonsense).

Free press, I think he would be wary of it. Mostly from a government control perspective. Like as a day-to-day citizen, since he wouldn’t be anyone in power in this hypothetical, I think he’d value it. He would do that disassocative thing he did when he talked about things in the abstract. That cold, calculating way he would position himself in a situation and be like “Ah yes, these are the things that need to be tamped down if you want control of a populace as a monarch”. Then he had his more liberal, call-back-to-that-misspent-jacobin-youth moments where his views shifted.

I suppose it would also depend what age this hypothetical Napoleon is. He softened a lot in retirement exile. Napoleon at the height of his power, thirty-odd years old, different man to fifty year old Napoleon.

Would not be into women in politics. He’d be like ‘Why is there a woman in charge of Germany? Also what happened to the Habsburgs? Where’s Prussia? Silesia? What the FuCk is happening in the Balkans? I’m very confused about Europe’s current geographic layout. ...Corsica...still doing you, I see.’

He’d dislike Trump and his cronies. As I wrote before: “ I think Napoleon would find Trump disgusting on a personal level. Uneducated, incapable of holding a real conversation, gauche, anti-intellectual, anti-fact-based discussion, anti-science, anti-art etc. He’d also feel that Trump is disgracing the position of President and that he is unworthy of leadership. Napoleon would also find Trump physically repulsive as he could be a wee bit shallow in some of his assessments (though, very early modern to 19th century to assume your physical appearance is a manifestation of your interiority).”

Steve Bannon’s fiddling with finances? Napoleon would find that repulsive. Mitch Mcconnell disgracing his office by fucking around with constitutional loop holes? Napoleon would think it a disgrace.

He had a lot of respect for America’s experiment with democracy. Like, quite a lot of respect. So I think he’d be vastly disappointed in not only the person occupying the white house, but also a lot of the apathy in voting that is going around. (Yes, this coming from a [mostly] absolutest monarch, too.) But Napoleon valued and respected the notion of civic duty. If you live in a democracy, you have a duty to participate. To opt out is to shirk that duty which he would find insulting and distasteful. Because, I would argue, he was very much a believer in people doing right by their fellow citizens.

Get unreasonably addicted to: MODERN BATHS. HE WOULD NEVER LEAVE THE BATHTUB. THEY CAN HAVE JETS AND EVERYTHING BERTRAND THIS IS GREAT.

Also central heating. Saunas. Jacuzzis. He was like a wee lizard seeking warmth at all times.

I think he’d be into driving. I don’t know if he would be good at it. Don’t let Napoleon take the wheel, guys. But if someone else was driving he’d be that person “go faster. you’re driving like my grandmother.” And gods, he’d do dumb shit like drive like a maniac around the arc de triumph six times in a row because he’s an adrenaline junkie and a risk-taker (it’s that bored ADD brain of his). The autobahn would be his dream.

I think he’d be super into epic fantasy series. Like the big sweeping ones like Lord of the Rings. I think less so GRRM because GRRM is unrealistic and Napoleon is pedantic. Especially about politics and war. Exhibit A: consider Napoleon’s very detailed nitpicking of Virgil on his inaccurate rendition of Troy from a military perspective. Therefore, I suspect GRRM’s lack of accuracy in how society works, how war works, how politics works, all the plot holes and illogical character decisions, would drive him up the wall. Napoleon liked Homer because he could tell Homer had been to war. And you can tell Tolkien has been to war. Also LOTR hits all those notes of high-hearted emotion and big sweeping scenes that Napoleon so liked in Ossian and the Illiad etc.

All this to say, overall, as a genre, I think those big, sweeping fantasies with lots of plot, politics, intrigue, soaring battles, great heights of emotion - he’d love that. It would hit all of his buttons for what he liked in fiction. Lots of emotion, lots of action, lots of big scenes, lots of crazy shenanigans. This can also be applied to Sci-fi. I think he’d be a big nerd on that too. But the science would have to make sense.

I think he’d be into Star Trek, particularly Picard, if only for the philosophical aspects of it. He liked those sorts of questions and hypotheticals. So I think he’d binge all of The Next Generation (among other seasons).

Do for a living: Teach? God knows. This is Napoleon from 18-something who just woke up? He could be paid for consultant work for historians and film crews and the like, I guess. Just to tell them how accurate stuff is. Of course, be wary, this is Napoleon I Am A Spin Doctor Bonaparte.

I think he could lean into writing histories - particularly the classics, early French and European history - that sort of thing, where he already has a strong background in it and it wouldn’t require him basically learning an entirely new trade. Like, will Napoleon ever fully be a natural with computers and cell phones? Probably not. Could he be like your old school Professor emeritus who still churns out papers and does 90% of it the old fashioned by-hand way? Yes. And Napoleon had a bunch of histories planned on St. Helena that he wanted to write, so I think he could do that.

As this is literally Napoleon Bonaparte he’d get a book deal in seconds. There’d be a bidding war over it.

Thank you for the ask! This was very amusing :D

#napoleon #napoleon was his own shitpost #napoleon bonaparte #napoleonic #napoleon in the modern day #ask #reply #anon

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cartoonsaint · 4 years

Text

Luka Gets a Tattoo

[Ao3]

thanks to the AFiT server for enabling me! zero thanks to those who were trying to get me to give him a tramp stamp -- you get nothing, good day sirs

Summary: the prince can have little a bodily autonomy. as a treat Characters: the Prince (pre-Snatcher) Rating: T for college parties, altered states, poor coping mechanisms, and reference to an unhealthy relationship.

Just one night, then you’ll have the whole weekend to study for the final exam, they said.

Please, Your Majesty? Indulge your classmates just this once? they said.

It’ll be fun, they said.

And goodness gracious, Luka thinks as his hooting classmates tilt the tapped barrel of red wine so the last drops of it spill onto his tongue, were they right.

He pumps his fists straight up in the air and the room, already packed with raucous, sweaty, excitable (and very, very drunk) young adults, goes wild. Two — rather, four — no, six? Oh goodness he’s had a lot to drink — an at-present uncountable number of hands reach down and haul him off the floor to toss him, unexpectedly, into the air. Luka can’t help the yelp that escapes out of his mouth as his sloshing stomach flips, nor the laughter that comes after it when many hands catch him and set him back on solid ground, patting his back companionably all the while.

“ALL HAIL THE PARTY KING,” someone shouts, and the crowd takes up the chant. Luka’s used to having a lot of eyes on him, has been literally trained since he was a toddler to be in the public spotlight, but the energy of the crowd and the alcohol in his own system has him pressing his hands to his burning face to muffle his embarrassed laughter.

A madly grinning and particularly beefy young woman parts her fellow students like a ship cutting through the sea. Luka’s gaze is drawn to the item she holds reverently in her enormous hands — and he bursts into laughter again, shaking his head and attempting to back away. The circle of cheering party-goers around him clumsily link arms to prevent his escape. “I didn’t even drink the whole thing!” Luka protests, flapping his hands. “It was practically empty before I started!”

But the huge woman easily spans his slim shoulders (with one hand — goodness gracious) and hauls Luka in. She clears her throat with impressive projection — Luka’s background in performing arts nods in approval — and the clamor of the room dulls to near-bearable levels.

“Esteemed guests and revelers,” she pronounces with minimal slurring and maximal gravity, “I present to you: this evening’s Party King.”

The room cheers as she places the cut-and-taped paper crown atop Luka’s head. His first, honest impulse is to pull it off and take a closer look as it seems to be made out of first-year sample contracts and, well, it’s been some time since he last reviewed those and who knows what will turn up on the final exam? But the exuberantly drunk woman seizes his hand and yanks it into the air like he’s just won a prize fight and someone thrusts a tiny glass of something that smells vile in his hand and he loses track of time for a bit.

When his head, the room, and the kaleidoscope of gleeful faces stop spinning, Luka finds himself squashed between the arm of a lumpy couch and the arm of the enormous muscled woman from earlier. She notices his gaze and offers him a shark-like grin that jogs his memory.

“You’re Natasha,” he blurts out, and then immediately claps a hand over his mouth because of course she is, you fool, she knows that and you ought to have known that, what kind of a person forgets the name of someone they’ve spent years sharing classes with —

But if anything, her grin widens. She turns to the duo sat across from them and says, “Ha! You see?”

“I’m so sorry,” Luka says, pressing a hand to his burning face. He doesn’t usually drink at all, and not just because it makes him extra stupid. He’d normally have spent the night studying or writing letters, but his classmates had been very convincing and tonight is his last chance to spend time with them before the final exam and graduation (and his tutor had threatened him if he didn’t go). “I promise I know who you are, I just didn’t recognize you at first without, ah,” he looks again at her rather… distracting arms, “sleeves.”

“Relax,” says one of her friends. She’s a dark-skinned woman with a ton of dark curls framing her face — Belle, Luka remembers — and she smiles kindly as she passes him a glass of water. He thanks her profusely and she rolls her eyes good-naturedly, leaning back and crossing her arms. She raises an eyebrow at her hulking blonde friend. “Tash does it on purpose — thinks it will make her more effective in the courtroom when she takes her jacket off. Besides, she forgot you were already royalty.”

Natasha grins unrepentantly. “Party King trumps any small-town monarch, Belle. Besides, you really expect me to remember details like that about someone I only ever see in class?”

Luka sinks into the couch, stammering apologies, but the woman laughs and claps a lung-clearing hand to his back — he wheezes, attempting to regain his breath. “Don’t worry about it, buddy. You can make it up to me by telling us what you’re like! We’ve been in the same course for years and we hardly know you. What mysterious responsibilities keep you so busy you can’t come out for a night, Mr. top-of-the-class?”

“W-well,” he says, immediately falling into his practiced lines, “of course, my studies here are very important to me as a future leader of—”

“We already know you’re a nerd,” the last figure of the group says matter-of-factly. Their name eludes him, but they’re button-nosed, with hair pulled back in a ponytail that looks much sleeker than Luka’s ever managed his own. “What else?”

“Haz,” Belle scolds, but when her friend raises a single, archly amused eyebrow at her she sends Luka an apologetic grin. “Sorry about them, they were raised by extremely rude wolves.”

Luka snorts, then covers his mouth in embarrassment, but no one seems to mind. “I… have a fiancée?” he shyly offers.

“What!!” Natasha swaps his water out for her scarily large flagon of beer. “Drink and dish!”

Luka sips obediently, aware his face is already red and only getting redder. “Her name is Vanessa.”

Natasha sighs dreamily, which makes Belle giggle. Luka grins, feeling a little dreamy himself — thinking about Vanessa always makes the rest of the world feel dull. She stands out to him like fine embroidery on plain linen. “I hate to be away from her — she misses me when I’m gone, and my life certainly isn’t as bright without her in it. I write her letters everyday,” he says, alcohol freeing him to talk about himself a little more than he could otherwise stand. “She gets upset if I don’t. I love her, of course, and there’s nothing more important to me than her happiness, but… well, between all the letter-writing, my studies, and princely duties, I suppose there’s not been much time for, ah. Much else.”

He trails off and takes a gulp of lukewarm beer. Belle and Natasha glance at each other, communicating something past Luka’s current ability to parse. Haz leans forward, their eyebrows drawn down.

“So you don’t get to do anything just because you like it? Just for yourself?”

“I like being a prince,” Luka protests immediately. “It’s my duty, and an honor to serve my people. And I love Vanessa.” Luka thinks, briefly, of how hurt she would be if she knew someone had suggested he didn’t, how her magic might react beyond her control. He shivers, even in the stuffiness of the crowded room. “Compared to those things, I’m just… well, not very important.”

The group exchanges looks that Luka hardly notices. Who would he even be, without his work and without her? “Not important” seems about right.

“Well, if you say it’s what you want, then I’m happy for you!” Natasha announces, sounding a little strained. Belle hums noncommittally and swaps his drink out again for another glass of water.

“So,” says Haz, and offers him a small, genuine smile that Luka finds himself quite touched by — must be the alcohol in his system making him even more emotional than usual. “Besides your duties and your fiancée… what else do you like?”

“Ah,” he says, and presses a hand again to his warm face. This evening, right now, is probably the first time in years that Luka’s had a chance to do anything for himself, and he had to be bullied into it. Surely there’s something he likes to do besides, er, read law reviews for fun? His mind is blank. He seizes, only a little frantically, on the view of the night sky out the window. “A-astronomy! You know, the stars?” He chuckles nervously and takes another huge sip of his drink. “You can, ah, actually see them much better at home than here in the city. I used to know all the constellations.”

“That’s great,” Belle says firmly and kindly. “I don’t know anything about the stars, but I always wanted to.”

“My ancestors used to navigate by them,” Natasha adds. “That’s very cool knowledge.”

“What else?” Haz prompts quietly.

“Um,” Luka says into his cup. “Well, ah. I suppose I always liked animals? Like, snakes, and things…”

“That’s great!” Natasha exclaims.

“Great,” Bella says again.

“Hm,” says Haz.

“JIM!!” someone hollers, breaking the tense air of the group. “And Jim’s friend!! SOMEONE GET THIS MAN A FLAGON!”

“Hoho, Jim and friend!!” Natasha exclaims, mood immediately forgotten. “I’ve been meaning to get some work done, bee-arr-bee.” She rises from the couch, claps Luka’s shoulder once again (though considerably more softly this time, thank goodness), and sails through the crowd, on towards the new arrivals.

“Wait, no—!” Belle shoves herself to her feet, then glances at Luka and hesitates. Then, brief and tight, she hugs him — he blinks, startled — but separates herself before he can process it and gives him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, gotta go stop her. Tash, wait!!” And off she goes after her tall friend.

Luka watches her go. Haz clears their throat. “Jim’s friend is magic. Does tattoos,” they say.

“Ah,” says Luka. He should probably head home — he’d planned to leave early in the morning so he could spend as much of the weekend with Vanessa as possible. She needs him, especially after the accident with her mother. He can spend the rest of his evening studying, like he should have done in the first place — it’s the responsible, prudent thing to do.

Haz nudges his knee with their own. He looks up to find them offering a mug of something that smells strongly of alcohol. “You’re allowed to do things just for yourself, you know,” they say, eyes soft.

In a spontaneous move that shocks even himself, Luka takes the mug and downs it in one go. The world gets a little blurrier, a little easier to deal with.

“You know, you’re absolutely right,” he says determinedly and pours himself another.

***

Luka wakes up just after sunrise with a pounding headache, a stinging thigh, and the deep dread of knowing he’s done something he shouldn’t have.

The first thing he does is stumble into the bathroom. His reflection has mussed hair, tired eyes, and is still wearing a crumpled paper crown on his head. He snatches it off, balling it up and tossing it on his desk before running the water and pressing his forehead to the cool mirror.

This isn’t exactly why he doesn’t drink, but it’s an excellent point against it. What he remembers of last night makes him wish he’d had enough to totally block out what he’d done to himself. Though he supposes that would be worse, to wake up and only then find out he’d drunkenly gotten a…

Luka dutifully goes through his morning routine. He doesn’t look at his stinging thigh, doesn’t even think about it until he’s toweled off and staring down at the clothes a cheerfully drunk version of himself had prepared the night before. That Luka had even packed him a travel bag so he could set off for Subcon and Vanessa more quickly.

That well-meaning fool had really thought he was doing a favor for sober Luka of the future. Ooo, hungover Luka of the present hates him.

He stands there for a moment longer, feeling frayed and stupid and sorry for himself. Finally, he sighs — there’s no use to just waiting here hoping — and drops the towel enough to check the damage.

On the side of his thigh, perfectly placed for his non-dominant hand to cover when hanging loosely by his side, is a tattoo of a snake so black the ink looks nearly purple. It wraps around a stylized crown decorated with a crescent moon and a few stars. It’s a kingsnake, he remembers — he’d been adamant about getting that one because they were constrictors, not venomous. “They just want to hug!” drunk Luka had explained, tearing up.

Luka now allows himself one long groan, burying his face in his hands. He’s blown it. He’s totally screwed himself. His parents and his people won’t care, but Vanessa is going to kill him.

He can just imagine her distress that he would do something like this without her knowledge or say-so. Maybe he could fix it if he proposed they get matching tattoos, but she has no fondness for snakes and he’s rather certain you’re supposed to get matching tattoos together. She’s going to find out, she’s going to be hurt, and it’s going to be all Luka’s fault.

Fool, he thinks miserably.

Fifteen minutes he spends experiencing every possible variation on denial, anger, and depression before he can no longer justify wasting time like this. Vanessa is waiting for him and if he wants the time to properly apologize to her then he had better leave sooner rather than later.

Luka gets dressed and scowlingly seizes up his travel bag. He makes his bed and shuts the door to his bathroom. He reorganizes the papers on his desk and is about to toss out the crumpled paper crown before he stops, shoulders tight.

He made a monumentally foolish mistake last night. But despite that… he thinks about the delighted support offered by Tash, Belle, and Haz when he had decided to stay longer at the party; about how freeing it’d been to not worry for a little while about how terribly Vanessa might be feeling without him; about how light and filled with possibility the world seemed without the weight of his kingdom on his mind.

It had been, truly, quite a nice night.

Luka sighs and flattens out the crumpled crown. He folds it neatly and files it away with the rest of his papers.

He’ll buy flowers for Vanessa on the way home. Maybe it will help.

#a hat in time #the prince (ahit)#ahit #saint writes #otm fic #feat. 3 chars who #probably aren't mu bow n hat #but were good practice for them!#tattoos

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ourardenoliver · 3 years

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Second Chances | | A + Julian

WHEN: late 2018

LOCATION: Octavia restaurant and other locations, California

NB: after having been at Monarch University for a few months, Arden agrees to a blind date that’s organised by one of her classmates. the date itself is a disaster and as she goes to leave for the night, she runs into her high school ex-boyfriend @juliantaylor. It’s the first time that she’s seen him since their breakup. note: this is an ongoing chatzy and will be updated as we go.

Arden was still fairly new at Monarch University and had allowed one of her classmates to set her up on a blind date. She had high hopes at the start of the evening, especially as her date had booked them a table at Octavia, however the night had just gone downhill from there. The man had drunk too much, had political opinions that Arden strongly disagreed with, and some of his attitudes towards women were slightly archaic. Arden had politely declined his offer of a ride home, not wanting to spend another minute with him, and was now waiting outside the restaurant for her Uber to arrive.

Julian hated to admit it, but he spent quite some time thinking about his ex-girlfriend, for years now. The girl continued to occupy his mind, even way after the fact of their breakup; she was the only one to have that effect on him. And although he was certain she didn't keep tabs on him, he kept tabs on her. There were still a few mutual classmates from high school that followed her on social media, classmates that he was still fairly acquainted with -- which is why it wasn't so hard for him to find the girl. He had been in California for training that week, but made it a point to ask his trainer to find a gym in San Diego, so he can be close by. It was only merely a coincidence that the two had been in Octavia at the same time. Him being there for a professional dinner with his trainers and agent, and her being there for what was obviously a date. And a bad one, at that. She didn't notice him, but he sure as hell noticed her...which is why he subtly excused himself from the table before following her out of the restaurant. "That dick didn't say anything to you, right?" He asked, not even bothering to greet her.

Arden would recognise that voice anywhere, no matter how much time had passed since she had last seen him. Julian was her first love and her first heartbreak -- and as much as she wished that it wasn't the case, he still had a hold on her. It was surprising that she hadn't noticed him in the restaurant but as she turned to face him, she realised that was probably a good thing. He looked amazing right now and if she had seen him inside the venue, she wouldn't have been able to keep her attention on her date. "No, he didn't. If you must know, we're just not a match. He couldn't handle his liquor, his political ideologies clash with mine, and he thinks that women belong in the kitchen, not the court room", Arden informed him. "You can head back to whatever you were doing, you don't have to defend my honour". It said a lot about their dynamic that she wasn't even surprised that he was there, used to Julian showing up at the most bizarre of times.

Seeing Arden in the flesh for the first time in god knowns how long...well, lets just say it felt surreal to the man. It hadn't been the first time the two saw each other after their breakup, and yet every single time he knew that there was still something between them. Whether she wanted to admit it, or not, he knew he still had /some/ effect on her. He buttoned up his dress jacket, chuckling softly as she went on to explain what exactly went wrong with her date. "I don't know, you never had a problem being in the kitchen when I was around." He said cheekily, recalling one of the many moments they had together in high school. "So you're not going to question how we both ended up here at the same time, after all these years?"

Arden groaned and rolled her eyes at the cheeky comment. "Well, I made a lot of mistakes with you", Arden retorted. "You seem to have this uncanny ability of showing up unexpectedly, Julian. It's like you have this sixth sense for whenever I might finally be moving on so you show up to try and reel me back in. I don't know if you've realised this but even when you don't want me, you hate the idea of other people wanting me", she pointed out. "Since my Uber isn't here yet, I'll bite. What are you doing here? How have we both ended up here at the same time, after all these years?"

Julian raised a brow at her argument, shaking his head in amusement. "Now, I wouldn't ever really categorize orgasms as being mistakes." He argued back. As much as she hated it, he /loved/ going back and forth with her like this. It was like it gave him a high that drugs couldn't. Her next statement hit close to home, because she was right. He /hated/ seeing her with other people, just the thought of it alone made him sick. But he didn't want her, not in /that/ way, not in the way she needed or wanted. So he simply just ignored the statement. If he didn't respond, did they really speak about it? His eyes trailed down her body once more, taking in her curves in that dress. "I'm here for you." He said softly, the words rolling off the tip of his tongue naturally. He took a few steps closer to her, his eyes remaining fixed on her at all times. "I was hoping we can talk. I miss you, babe."

"Continually going back to you, despite the fact that you were happily giving orgasms to anyone that you found attractive, was the mistake", Arden responded. She always told herself that she wouldn't waste time arguing with Julian as it never got them anywhere, yet he knew how to push her buttons better than anyone else. "Besides, you aren't the only person that's capable of getting me off", she added. It was technically a lie -- Julian remained the only person that she had slept with but he didn't need to know that. Her pulse started to race as he stepped closer to her, even as she told herself not to believe it; not to buy into what he was saying. "I'm assuming that you drove yourself here, right? You can drive me home and you can have the duration of said car ride to talk, not a minute more".

Julian let out a deep sigh in response to her words. "It wasn't like that..." He trailed off, giving himself some time to come up with a good enough response for her. This was always the argument they got into - probably the only thing they ever did argue about. "Maybe not. But I'd bet money that I'm the only one who can make you feel certain things others can't." He whispered, his eyes slowly flickering back and forth between her lips and her eyes. The man knew this was bold of him, and that this probably wasn't the time to be attempting to get at her - and yet, he didn't care. He took a moment to consider her offer. It wasn't what he wanted in that moment, but at this moment he would take anything he can get. He knew how to wisely pick his battles. Pushing his hand into his pocket, he pulled out a set of keys to the rental he had for that weekend. "Start the car. I just have to say goodbye to a few people." He said as he handed her the keys, all before turning on his heels and walking back into the restaurant.

“It doesn't matter anymore. It's in the past and we're not together so it's not like it's going to happen again", Arden said simply. Her breath hitched slightly and her cheeks flushed a light pink in response to his words, making it impossible to deny the truth in what he was saying. "I... I wouldn't know. I haven't actually gotten that far with anyone since you", she quietly admitted, glancing away in embarrassment. She was surprised when he gave her the car keys without any further argument before disappearing back into the restaurant to say goodbye to whoever he was with. Julian was usually the one that called the shots within their relationship so it was surprising that hadn't argued with her; still, she made her way over to the car and waited for him in the passenger seat.

"Mhm." Julian simply hummed in response to her words. He came to see her one last time, to see what she had been up to lately. But more importantly, although he would never admit it to both himself and to her, he was there to make sure that nobody had replaced him. That /he/ remained her one and only. Because at the end of the day, there was a part of him that loved being loved by her - and there was a part of him that missed being loved by her. He gently stroked his hand down her cheek, turning her head so that she would look up at him. His efforts were matched with some resistance as she glanced away from him. "Why?" He asked curiously. Arden was a beautiful girl, and even he knew that she had the ability to get anyone if she put herself out there. Julian walked back into the resturant to say his goodbyes to his trainers, granting them a quick two minute discussion about when, where, and what time they would be meeting the following morning, and throughout the duration of his stay in California. After saying his goodbyes, he made his way back to the car. He unbuttoned his dress jacket and took it off before climbing into the drivers seat of the black bmw, making himself comfortable as the gently tossed the piece of material towards the backseat. "Where am I taking you?" He asked simply as he put on his seat belt, putting the car in reverse and beginning to pull out of the big parking lot.

Arden knew that Julian didn't love her in the way that she needed, nor the way that she deserved. He loved her in the same way that her father loved her -- she was a possession, a prize. It wasn't authentic and she knew that, yet he still had this power over her and they both knew it. Whilst she wanted to avoid his gaze, she reluctantly allowed him to guide her face so that she was looking up at him. "Sex means something to me. I lost my virginity to you because I was in love with you. I haven't met anyone that I've really cared about since then, nor someone that I find so ridiculously attractive that I'm willing to try the one night stand thing with". It didn't take long for Julian to join her in the car. "I'm living in the Theta Phi Kappa house".

Julian release a soft sigh, simply nodding his head in response. "Sex with /you/ meant something to me, too." He said in the gentlest tone, showing some emotion without making himself appear too vulnerable. The man turned on the radio so that light music was playing in the background, providing each of them a small distraction so that they didn't sit in the agony silence. He simply just drove anywhere, but specifically to the one place he can somewhat recall direction to -- his hotel. "I have no idea where that is. I think you're forgetting that I'm not from around here." He said with a light chuckle, there being no heat behind his words. "Why don't we go back to the hotel? It'll be more private there, and it'll actually put my money to use." He softly laughed once more.

“Just not enough”, Arden said quietly, more to herself than anything else. She knew Julian well enough to know that he’d side-step the uncomfortable topic. She sang softly along with the radio before laughing when he pointed out that she had forgotten that he wasn’t from here. “Right, of course. I’ve done a terrible job at navigating”, she conceded, having given absolutely no directions. She paused for a moment, considering his suggestion before nodding her head. “Fine but I’m not staying and we’re definitely not sleeping together. I’ll catch an Uber home once we’ve finished talking”.

#chatzy #c: julian #ongoing chatzy

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hime-memes · 3 years

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( Requested ) This is selection of starters is from Season 3, Episode 84: The Boy King and the Prince. ( I will be making 1 more part to this to finish the episode ! ) Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

Trigger Warnings for: Sexual content, Violence, Suicide Mention and Swearing. Feel free to change anything within these starters that you see fit to make it work for your muse and the receiver’s muse ! ( Some sentences have been modified for length, understanding, or to give fuller context. )

“ Don’t bring up the sky. Do not bring up the sky ! “ “ Man, you’re kinda uptight. “ “ If you talk about the vacuum again - you’re gonna die, son. “ “ Okay, well - I think I have a lot of claim to this kingdom. “ “ Just because you’re on some coin, suckin’ on boob - doesn’t mean that you have any of the powers to govern. I, sir, know how to govern ! Through fear ! Through forcing people to fight ‘til the death ! Through demanding people bring you delicious treats, like ______________ ! “ “ Well, there’s parapets over there ... “ “ Is that too much to ask ? “ “ How about this: a ________ quiz ! “ “ Can the _____________ have its own sound effect ? Having the same one as your last segment makes me feel cheap. “ “ Okay, I love it. “ “ Yeah, I like that one ! “ “ I can take just as good as I can give. “ “ First question: What would you call a stick, with markings used to measure something ? “ “ Okay, I see what you’re doing here. “ “ You know what puns get ya ? They get you torn apart by the villagers because they don’t respect you ! “ “ I just remembered I have to sit down and lay down for a minute. “ “ _________, you’re in real danger. “ “ If you spend your entire day punin’ around, you will make the villagers ornery and they will drag you out of the castle, and they will draw and quarter you in the town square. “ “ Real ________ quiz ! “ “ _______, I don’t know what to do, I scrambled over and got them a __( insert delicious treat )__. Now, I’m afraid to give it to them ! “ “ Do you have my animal stuffed with another animal ? “ “ It’s an ear-dog ! My favorite ! “ “ Oh shit ! ______, stand in front of me ! “ “ _________, you’re gonna die this episode ! “ “ I’m with you so far ... this hypothetical is great ! “ “ You’re lounging on your cushion: being bathed in various milks ( and by maidens of various heights ) ... “ “ So far this question is relaxing ... “ “ You feel something creep in --- the boredom of having your every whim met ! ... What do you do ? “ “ What do you do, tough guy ? “ “ Let’s see, I run away from responsibility - join an acting troupe - then hide away with my friends - then, I become a woman named ‘ Lady Parts ‘, become the Baron’s girlfriend, agree to marry him, I run away and then go become a spy in the _____________ and then write a book ... and then make my way back home. “ “ ... Close, but super wrong ! “ “ You make your Uncle kill your Aunt ! “ “ Jesus Christ, that wasn’t even a hard one ! “ “ Why would I do that ?! “ “ ... Because it breaks up the day !!! “ “ It makes the boring day where you’re having your every whim met, just a little more interesting ! You use cruelty ! Ugh, geez - you want this guy to rule ?! “ “ Now, _____________, you must know that I respect you as a sovereign ... but you must understand what caused you to lose your first kingdom was that you made them all kill each other, or, themselves ! “ “ Oh, yup. “ “ So, have you learned any lesson ? When you rule over a kingdom perhaps you should not -- “ “ Okay, well I shouldn’t --- I mean, that first time was a fluke. “ “ What I’m going to do is try to seize control of this kingdom where there is no ruler, and still people, um, instill fear in them ... and then, um, yeah - Hope it works out this time ! “ “ Well, I’ve got some bad news for you - because hereditarily speaking: you’re not poised to seize power over this kingdom, because I’m on the coin sucking a boob. “ “ That could have easily been me ! “ “ No, look at the back of the head ! That’s me ! “ “ Take the coins to the smelters, add a little crown that’s slipping down over his eyes, ( ‘cause it’s a little too big ) --- and that could be me. “ “ No ! “ “ If you want to make it look like ___________, you could unbutton that one little button of his butt flap that’s always, like, hanging down so you can see his adorable little butt ! “ “ It’s really cute. “ “ Okay, okay - it is cute, but don’t point it out, alright ! “ “ Ugh ! This is worse than that time I went to the beach and that dog grabbed my little beach shorts ... “ “ I mean, obviously you are next in succession - you’re the rightful heir to the throne here - but, he’s a pretty adorable little boy king. Like, I could see that being enough for him to slide into becoming the king ... right ? “ “ The people are smarter than that ! “ “ They don’t just vote for something because it pleases them. People do their research ! “ “ Alright, I didn’t want to go here: but, my cuteness is my cross to bear. “ “ I had a spell put on me and i am forever a boy so my reign will be longer, blah blah blah blah blah ! “ “ Well, then don’t be here !” “ ... and yes, it does make it a little difficult to be taken serious, but if it will get me the throne ... I will eat a bowl of spaghetti really messy, and dump it on my head, and slurp up the last long noodle ... “ “ What did you say ?! “ “ Sorry, I meant: Pasghetti. “ “ Fucking, thank you ! “ “ Listen, look, I’m sorry - but I have to ask: will the last noodle kinda slap ya in the face ? “ “ If that’s what it takes, yes. “ “ If that’s what it takes to seize power and instill a reign of cruelty that will last a thousands of years, yes. I will let the last long noodle slap me in the face. “ “ ____________, this is a compelling argument. “ “ Yeah, especially if after he does that - he’s gonna turn to nobody, shrug and say: ‘ Hims did it again ! ‘ “ “ Don’t give him positive advice ! “ “ ... I’m still a little loopy from dentist chemicals. “ “ I will rule with a cute fist. A cute wittle fist ! “ “ I’m starting to get a little bit nervous. “ “ You’ve got a plan as to how you’ll become king/queen ... right ? “ “ It might be i could bite you and you could start crying ? “ “ ... Then, the entire kingdom comes ‘round to support me ? “ “ I can’t rely on a cuteness competition. “ “ You don’t know shit about cute, dude ! “ “ Oh, I don’t know shit about cute ?! “ “ You’ve got this weird look on your face. “ “ ... okay, so you go sexy. “ “ He goes cute, we go sexy. “ “ What you do is you stand on top of a carriage, and you’re washing the carriage ... and the suds start to froth up ... “ “ That’s your solution to everything ! “ “ Does anyone recognize a celebrity here ? Anyone !? “ “ Didn’t he die ? “ “ Okay, alright - I don’t want to hear about my mum ! “ “ You are fucked my friend. You are fucked ! “ “ You’re fucked like a sky hole. “ “ ‘Cause I got cute for fuckin’ days. “ “ Drop out of the monarch election ! “ “ ... and in that three minutes, I saw it all. “ “ I saw my life as a 40 year old and enjoying the music of Eric Clapton ... “ “ If I were a 40 year old man - I would have loved that joke, but I fuckin’ hate it now. “

#sentence starter meme #sentence starters #roleplay meme #rp meme

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rebelwithacausesolveig · 3 years

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Time Warp! (Matty)

Let’s do the time warp again! Send me “time warp” to meet a younger or older version of my muse!

@matthias-meijer [I couldn’t decide between past or future, so you get a 2 for 1! yay~ lol. Also, special honorable mentions; @katrienmeijer , @margaritaxromanova , plus a couple un-named] Obligatory disclaimer, I own none of these characters and this isn’t cannon unless unanimously decidedly so.

The Past

Solveig’s hands trembled slightly as she looked at herself in the full length mirror. She’d been training her entire life to asses and take down threats but somehow talking to her best friend had her nerves frayed beyond repair.

The king will be there.

Of course he would, she remind herself. He couldn’t risk the girl saying anything to his son that he didn’t want him to hear. Turning to the side Solveig lifted her shirt enough to show her abdomen. Still flat, lean, and muscular; she wondered how long it would take before she started showing. Another month would put her at the beginning of her second trimester, is that when? How long until she could find out if it was a little boy or girl? She could have easily found these things out online, but somehow Googling it made it too real to handle. No, she’d just wait until she got to Norway to ask her aunt about it.

Putting on her most convincing smile she walked through the halls, doing her best to act like it was just another day. Maybe she wouldn’t even find Matthias in the palace and she could just leave without a word. That sounded easier, and it wasn’t forever, right? Just one year.

A familiar voice pulled her from her worries and she had to pause to gather herself before turning to face him with a grin. “Little prince... I was wondering if I was going to be able to find you before I had to leave.” He didn’t look thrilled, but admittedly not as upset as Solveig expected. Then again, he didn’t really know the full story, just that she was spending a year abroad.

It took everything Solveig had to keep her face passive as the king stepped out of the office behind his son. With Matthias’ back to him his eyes bored holes straight through the teenage girl. She hated the man with every fiber of her being. For threatening her family. For forcing her to lie to his son. For making it so that her own child would barely know her and never meet their father. As much as she hated him though, her fear of him was so much greater. Men like him were the reason she’d joined the rebellion when her father had told her about it months before on her sixteenth birthday. One day he’d be taken down a notch, and she hoped she got to personally see to it.

“It will only be a year, and we can still text and face-time or whatever,” she added with a grin, pulling her attention back to Matthias. Standing on her tip toes she wrapped her arms around him. ‘Little Prince’ had been an ironic moniker for years now. “I promise to bring you back some cool souvenirs.” With that she pulled away before quickly pinching his cheek with a chuckle. “Maybe by the time I get back you will have gotten rid of some of this baby fat.” She was teasing of course, but whether he knew why or not, she needed something to lighten the mood.

Giving a small wave and a lingering glance she left him there in the hall. Even as she re-treated she could feel the king’s eyes on her and it took everything she had not to run from him as quickly as possible. This was only one of the first battles in what would turn into a lifelong war of glares and veiled threats, but she wouldn’t let him win it.

“Ms. Trulson.” Solveig stopped dead in her tracks and took a deep breath before wordlessly looking back at the monarch that had addressed her. “Have a safe trip.”

Solveig had to swallow hard, glad they were far enough away to not see the lump in her throat. He’d managed to make the phrase sound like more of a curse than a payer. Nodding in reply, she didn’t dare speak knowing her voice would be shaky.

---------

The Future

Solveig had to bite her tongue as the small girl tugged on her dress.

“Mama! Maaaaamma~ Asy needs help. Maaaammaaaaa~ You have to come now! Asy needs help! C’mon, Mama! Mammaaaaa!”

Solveig loved the six year old with all her heart, but damn she knew how to be obnoxious. A trait, the blonde was adamant, that she got from her father. Not to mention today was already a whirlwind of stress and emotion to begin with and her youngest child’s constant talking wasn’t helping.

“Okay.” Solveig finally caved, kneeling down to her daughter. “Shh, less volume please, Klara, and take deep breaths.” She waited a moment for the small child to calm down and catch her breath. “Okay, now tell me calmly, what does Astrid need help with.”

“Um, there’s lots of buttons. And, um, she said something about pictures with you helping with her dress and, um, finding Matty....ummmm.” The small child’s eyes seemed to wander as she tried to remember. Solveig knew her daughter well enough to know she wasn’t getting anymore information out of her. Klara’s attention was gone for good. “Mama, I’m hungry.” Yup, there is was, she’d moved on to food. As was usual.

“Your papa is through that door,” she said, spinning the girl to face the double doors to the sanctuary. “He has snacks in his pocket, go find him.” With a pat on the butt she watched the girl run off with a grin. There was still an hour until the ceremony, no need for Klara to sit around in the dressing room bored.

Heading back to where her eldest child was she turned a corner and if she hadn’t been so light on her feet, would have run straight into Matthias. “Oh good, I was just going to come look for you. I am told you are needed, though perhaps my six-year-old is not the best source of reliable information,” she added with a grin.

Taking a moment she looked him over. It was hard to believe they were both in their forties now, their accidental daughter only an hour away from getting married. The last eleven years since he’d found out about Astrid had been somewhat strained, their relationship had never fully recovered, but it had gotten better. She’d seen him a number of times after leaving Russia, especially after the then teenager had decided she wanted to split her living time between her mother and newly found father. He looked older now though, or perhaps just wiser. It seemed the stress of taking over the kingdom the pervious year had aged him some. His hair now speckled with gray and the lines in his shallow though prominent. He still had the same kind eyes though and she couldn’t help but return it as he smiled at her.

He had children with Maggie now, and even Katrien had her own family. Though Solveig was still certain the girl had more adopted pets than children. It seemed like a lifetime ago that they’d all lived under one roof. Pushing the door to the room her daughter was holed up in open she nodded at Matthias. “After you, little...king? That will still take some getting used to,” she mused, following him in.

Seeing her daughter made Solveig gasp. Of course she’d seen her in the dress at the fittings, but here with her hair and makeup done, she looked truly regal. Astrid was kindly directing her bridesmaids around the room though stopped as soon as her parents walked in; her eyes lighting up.

“Mamma! Pappa! I wasn’t sure if Klara would actually relay the message.” The woman wrapped her arms around the two of them together. Solveig couldn’t help but notice it was the closest she’d been to Matthias in a while. “Okay, Mamma, we’re doing pictures with you buttoning my dress. Pappa, I want to get some with you too. Can someone please go find my little sisters, we need getting ready pictures. Then Pappa, I need you to take the photographer to where the boys are getting ready and make sure your son is with you. We need one with the groom and ring bearer.” Just like that Astrid was off on a whirlwind again before pausing as a thought occurred to her. “Is Maggie not with you two? I want one of Maggie doing my buttons too.” She turned to a bridesmaid. “Anita, can you go find the Dutch queen please? And bring my little sisters back while you’re at it, all of them. Thank you.” Without another glance at the woman that was already moving Astrid started for the other side of the room.

Solveig looked to Matthias, his brows raised as he took it in. Men weren’t usually privy to this part, though Solveig had to admit, Astrid was being much nicer right now than she’d been on her wedding day. “Come on,” she said with a grin, tugging him through the fray of moving women to an adjacent room that had been staged for pictures. --- Solveig bent down, smoothing out Klara’s skirts. Not that they were in disarray, she just needed something to keep her busy. She heard the music start to play though and quickly took her place once more at the front of the processional. The groom was to escort the mother of the bride. So with Solveig back on one arm and Maggie on the other he took off. Glancing back quickly she tried to give Matthias a reassuring smile; he looked nervous.

It had been last minute, but Astrid had decided to switch to Matthias escorting her instead of Solveig. A decision she’d backed entirely. He’d spent too long not knowing his daughter existed. Something Solveig still felt terrible about. The man waved back though just before she turned away and she felt tears sting the back of her eyes. No, things weren’t the way they had been growing up, but they were getting better.

#Anonymous #meme answered #Matthias #AEJT #alterego #You Always Find the Best Part of Me || Matthias #Margarita #Where Are You? And I'm So Sorry || Maggie #katrien #I Love Your Precious Heart || Kat

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pixel-cat-1 · 4 years

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I just finished The Outer Worlds

I don’t really ever use this blog for more than reblogging stuff, so this is probably coming out of left field for anyone who follows me, but as you see in the title, I beat The Outer Worlds not a couple of minutes ago. I have some thoughts I’d like to talk about while their fresh, and this is as good a place as any to do that lol

So, what did I think of it? Overall, I think The Outer Worlds is okay game that ultimately fails to meet up in many regards to not only Obsidian’s golden child, Fallout New Vegas, but in some departments even regular ass Bethesda games from years ago. And that’s honestly such a shame, because TOW had so much goddamn potential and yet I finished it and felt practically nothing for the entire last level and final ending sequence.

The main issue I think is that ultimately speaking, TOW doesn’t necessarily do anything different from any other RPG I can think of, and it doesn’t do anything like that super well.

For example, the combat’s good on a technical level. The controls and mechanics are fun to use (especially the dodge system), but the enemies tend to either range from “complete curb stomp bitch babies” to “bullet sponge that’ll kill me so fast I won’t even know what happened.” Most fights weren’t particularly engaging, and I was basically handicapping myself but not using the companion abilities for about 75% of the game (I don’t know why I never tried pressing the d-pad buttons, but yet again, when I can just shoot shit and huff an inhaler, I didn’t need to think too hard). The disparity of how difficult the game can be is often confusing, and I was more often limited because of my ammo count more so than my ability to play the game.

The RP aspects can be good at times. There are plenty of skill checks that reward you for being a smart little egg, and a part of RPG’s I like is being able to avoid combat and make people happy, and generally make myself useful, so that was fairly fun. Overall the dialogue options and the performances by most VA’s left me not feeling like I was being hindered in acting and responding to situations how I’d like, so at the very least, that didn’t let me down.

The music was overall enjoyable, although very forgettable, and sometimes a bit all over the place: there’s Western-y guitar ambient tracks, also some more techno-y ones? Elevator music that sounds like they got it from a royalty free website. This kinda wish-washyness ties into multiple issues I had with the game I’ll get into further on.

The graphics are good, which isn’t necessarily shocking anymore because every game looks good. There are some aesthetic choices I liked, that being things like the Art Deco style architecture and advertisements from the loading screens. Terra 2 is gorgeous as all hell, with the skybox being particularly amazing (I’ve often fantasized about Earth having rings, so this partially fulfills that fantasy). Monarch is overall also very well done, with making it look and feel like a hostile shithole with ravenous wildlife. The looming gas giant overheard also does a good job of making me feel dread, which is about as much of that feeling I ever got. However, the game never really maintains a distinct “style”, rather it collages a bunch of them at once. Because for all the aesthetic of the Art Deco style that they do for cities like Byzantium. there’s like 10 levels/areas that are just generic as all hell “sci-fi space shit” that you’ve seen before. And then there’s Scylla, which is so fucking boring in design I don’t know why it’s even in the game.

This creates an issue where it’s like they wanted to make the game look Bioshock, but some people wanted something out of Mass Effect. But some people played Borderlands, and wanted to go for the wacky space bandit and hostile environment feel. But they also wanted to stick it to Bethesda, so they made is vaguely look like a Fallout game as well. It’s hard to describe in text, so I’m just gonna post these and show it best I can

^ It looks like space Bioshock here

^ And here it reminds me more of Borderlands than anything else (it’s a lot easier to see if you look at it from the ground, rip)

Scylla is literally just a rock. As far as I can tell, you could probably fucking avoid the damn thing if you avoid side quests. There’s fucking nothing there. Just enemies, a few side quest things, an empty town and a giant terraformer thingy that’s interesting to look at for like 4 seconds. And despite what you’d think, no, there is no low gravity. That would’ve at least made this place have some interesting gimmick or mechanic, but no. It’s just a fucking dumping ground for side quests. God. Fucking. Damnit.

All science-y buildings just look like this for the most part across all levels. It’s not bad, just very generic and same-y.

The Groundbreaker’s fairly interesting, until you realize that all it is is essentially a giant corridor front to back. Actually, scratch that, it’s two corridors! One of which is this Back Bays area overrun with criminals. How do you get to this clearly dangerous and isolated part of the ship? Well a fucking elevator smack dab in the middle of the pavilion of course! So anyone can just go up or down into this apparent no man’s land part of the ship by literally going into it via an elevator. Dear god.

^Monarch definitely has one of the best looking environments in the game, tied with Terra 2 down below

But what absolutely fucks the game overall is despite how much effort they put into making everything look nice (regardless if you actually like it or not), the overall level design in terms of function and whatnot? Mind numbingly boring.

All levels are really small maps with (at most) a handful of major buildings or towns depending on the scale, and the rest is just a bunch of abandoned buildings with some enemies, or a crashed ship or something. There's just...nothing going on with half of these dungeons.

Also the vast majority of buildings have a “Quarantine” sign out front or is locked in some capacity, which means you could have 4-5 buildings in a random batch of them along a road, but only 2 you can explore. And since all the fucking interiors across multiple planets look the exact same, it leads to an incredible feeling of sameiness in a game that has you running around an entire solar system. How the fuck even??? I’d argue fucking Fallout 3 handled this better. At least there was more to do! More overall dungeons and levels! Did I miss something? Am I just fucking stupid and I missed the all the good shit?

Combine this with the wish-washy aesthetics and music, it leads to an incredible feeling of not really knowing what to make of things. You’ll just be sprinting around, shooting all the red things on the compass just to get it over with by Monarch. And when you realize that LMG’s are just...the best weapons in the game as far as I could tell, and there’s no real downsize to them, you’ll just fucking run around gunning everything down while some forgettable track plays in the background until some enemy with a weirdly large health bar forces you to think for a bit before you get back to running around and shooting shit again.

Despite this though? I still overall enjoyed the combat. I liked running around and becoming the 4th Horseman. Plus with the mechanics overall being fun to use, it wasn’t really that bad. But I can’t say on an objective level I think it’s good for a game to feel like that. Because despite how heavy handed I’m being right now (and will be throughout the rest of this impromptu review), I don’t hate this game.

Sound design is overall very good. Guns make satisfying shooty shooty bang bang noises, and as I said before, the VA’s are overall very good all around. Parvati stands out as the most interesting character to listen to in general. She has a lot of informal speech patterns that makes her distinct, and is generally a treat to listen talk. At worst, you get a character like Nyoka, who doesn’t sound bad by any real means, but for a lot of her dialogue, I felt they should’ve slowed it down and focused on getting her emotions down. But it certainly wasn’t bad.

Storywise? This game wasn’t particularly interesting. I’m gonna put the keep reading thing here because I want to avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn’t played yet and cares about them. Long story short, I think the game was good, but very disappointing given what it could have been. I enjoyed myself for the most part, but often found the lack of anything super special to really hold it back from achieving something I think the gaming industry needed in an era of, ironically enough, hyper greedy corporations with no morals to speak of.

So, what did I think of the story? And I guess by extension, the side quests. Overall, I think the main story was...not very good. There was a lot of good stuff inbetween though, and a lot of side quests and little things definitely were enjoyable. But the plot is just not nearly as engaging as it should be. Given how short it was though, that might’ve been a mercy.

The story, as roughly as I can summarize is, is that you’re a colonist frozen on the colony ship “Hope.” It’s been adrift for 70 years, but you’re woken up by a guy named Phineas Welles (he’s basically Doc Brown, but nicer). The Board (which consists of the 10 companies who own and run the colony/solar system) try to stop him, but they fail, and you’re escape podded onto Terra 2, near a dying town called Edgewater. The pod accidentally kills the contact you were to meet, so now you’re gonna steal his ship and use it to do shit basically.

Along the way, you pick up a ragtag band of miscreants and general shitheads and kill a lot of people and wildlife in a quest to stop the corrupt Board from running the colony harder into the dirt than they already have. It’s very by the numbers, more or less. I guess.

The immediate issue is that, despite being able to join the Board and betray Phineas if you want, there’s absolutely no fucking reason to do that. Not a single goddamn reason, other than for the evulz. This creates an issue where I feel no reason to deviate from the Phineas side of the story. And I know what someone might be thinking “But Pixel! The Board is supposed to be evil!” And I am absolutely aware of that. But the thing is, so was Caesar’s Legion in Fallout New Vegas. And yet, that faction is often considered just as interesting and compelling a faction for the game as the NCR or Mr. House. People will, to this day, still argue over who had the best idea for solving the Wasteland’s issues. Because despite how evil the Legion is, they still had very valid points about the NCR and how horribly corrupt and bloated it was. And there was absolutely an argument to be made about how safe they made their lands for those under their ownership. Stuff like that that makes you actually consider and think about whether or not you're actually making the right choices for the whole of the New Vegas wasteland, and by extension the rest of the Western part of America.

Here? There’s no contest. There is no necessary evils. There is no good reason the Board does anything. No logic, no reason. All they can do is fuck shit up even more, and that makes them such a boring, vague antagonist that there was never a moment in my mind I actually considered working for them. Any potential moments they had to sway me or dashed aside by them constantly proving how they could never actually fix the problems they made. And if that was the intention? Then Obsidian fucked up.

People remember the villains that raise a point a hell of a lot more than they do villains that are just evil for the sake of it (there are obviously exceptions, for an RPG? you need a compelling villain). And that’s why no one will remember this game in a decade. It pales so hard in comparison to New Vegas, it’s not even funny. It’s on par with Fallout 3, at best. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing if the whole point of this game was to make a statement against an increasingly morally bankrupt Bethesda.

Let’s look at, per se, Skyrim. Paarthurnax was a supporting character with an interesting backstory: he’s Alduin’s brother, who is the main antagonist. He is a dragon that secludes himself on the top of the tallest mountain in Skyrim, who meditates and focuses on suppressing his inherit evil dragon nature. Despite this nature, he chooses to be good. And he asks a very compelling question.

"What is better? To be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?”

In a single sentence, Skyrim asked a more though provoking question than the entirely of The Outer Worlds. And if you played F:NV, then it’s probably weird to hear that, because F:NV was full of moral and philosophical quandaries. So where did it all go?

The thing is, people forget that the Obsidian that made F:NV is dead and gone. The actual people who made that game have all moved on from that company. This is the child trying to replicate the success of it’s parents, without entirely understanding exactly what the parent did to achieve what it achieved.

The biggest difference between F:NV and TOW is that F:NV really forces you to think. TOW just doesn’t require that, at all.

Phineas good, Board bad. No thinking required.

I think the real warning sign is at the beginning of the game as well. Edgewater, the first town in the game, is dying. People are leaving and the town's also dealing with a disease epidemic. The town’s leader’s answer? Cut off power to the deserters, and force them to work harder despite the fact the town’s basically dying because of the overworking and disease. Despite the fact there’s not even enough medicine to heal everyone, and they have to play favorites with who lives and who dies.

What the fuck logic is this? Why would I ever choose that?

The only other choice, unless I missed a compromise solution (which I would’ve wanted) is to route power to the deserters and finish off the town more or less. The deserters wouldn’t take in everyone though, so a lot of people would die anyways. But even then, she’s still clearly the more competent leader. There’s not a goddamn contest.

It just continues like that the whole game. I rarely had to think about who I’d side with. because the solution is obvious. The literal only reason I’d side with the corporations is if I was being evil, nothing else.

The best the story gets is when you need to make a compromise on Monarch between MSI (a corporation who got the boot from the Board) and the Iconoclasts (Religious people who are anti corporation). If you work with the second in command of the Iconoclasts, you can depose their extremist, dipshit leader and work out a truce. Which is good! It rewards the player for this too, when these factions come to help in the final level of the game (and when you see specific characters you could save helping out, that also make it feel like your decisions had an impact). You see the two factions...standing next to eachother, which isn’t much, but it’s about as much change you see in the game.

Which is also another thing that TOW fails to accomplish: a sense of longevity with my decisions leads to me feeling that, despite making the right choices, nothing really changes.

Going back to Edgewater, you’d think after a while, I’d come back and the town would be entirely gone or something, right?

Nope.

Some NPC’s stood outside the factory forever, as did some guards. There weren’t any lights on. That’s about it.

Well, certainly the Deserters must give me more quests to help out, which can lead to me establishing them and helping them help the Edgewaterers, right?

No. Very quickly you realize there’s very little do or talk about with NPC’s after you do monumental decisions. The only functional difference is an opinion slider, which is another imitation from F:NV that means fuck all. The only in game things it affects is: a) The prices of venders of that factions

b) Whether or not that faction will shoot you on site.

That’s it as far as I noticed. The best idea they had, that being that factions can love you, but also fear you just doesn’t do anything. As far as I could tell, at least.

I’d love to be wrong, because I was so excited to see what would happen to entire settlements and after I helped them. After I made important decisions that’d change the face of the colony. And I felt so disappointing when it became apparent little actually mattered.

The companion sidequests aren’t too much better. The pacing is so weird, sometimes, depending on how available certain planets are. Parvati’s was especially jarring, despite it being the best written by far.

It basically is you helping her get with an engineer chick from the Groundbreaker. It’s pretty adorable overall, and without a doubt has some of the better writing character wise, but the pacing was so fucking weird. It initially starts with you getting Parvati to talk to her about engineering stuff. They say they’ll email and stuff about engineering stuff. which is neat. So I run around, finish up all the side quests on the ship as I can, then head back to my own ship. I did not go back to my ship at all during this.

When I come back, Parvati immediately tells me that she and the engineer, Junlei, have been messaging and getting flirty and now she has a crush and it’s just like “Dude, were you texting her while we murdered all those bugs in the engine?”

It’s doubly funny as well, because Obsidian wanted to avoid the player having romanceable characters. Which makes about as much sense as you think. Once source said the reason was that they wanted you to focus on roleplay, and not trying to bang anyone you found hot (okay?). Another just said they weren’t ready for it. And I believe it. As much as I think romance would’ve been another good thing to add depth to this game, I bet you they’d have fucked it up. It’s just funny. Even Fallout 4 had pretty acceptable romances.

Granted the system was fucking basically “Kill shit together until you wanna bang” but fuck, it was something! It also doesn’t help there’s a bunch of cuties all over this game: Huxley stands out as an adorable muffin who becomes a generic NPC at the end of the MSI/Iconoclast questline, despite the fact you can even repair her journal terminal with zero indication at you can do it, which is good! Let me just do things to be nice! But she literally just sits there after you rescue her with a few dialogue options which goes away after the peace deal, and it's so fucking frustrating that I want to enjoy the characters more, but none of them seem to have more than a paragraph's worth of depth to them and it's so sad.

Even the companions are like this. At the beginning I’d try and talk with Parvati about anything, but the only dialogue options would be about getting her out of the party, and that’s it. I can’t ask her what she thinks of things, or of the current quest/situation. There’s such a weird lack of depth in a weird amount of areas, that it felt almost worse than playing a Bethesda game.

I think the penultimate disappointment of the game is, fittingly, the final level, Tartarus. Which is fitting, because it feels very hellish. Not the planet mind you, or the prison which it takes place in, but just the complete lack of anything super special. It’s just the same kind of environments you’ve already run through, but bigger and with more bullet sponge bad guys. Which is funny, because jumping around and killing an army on a purple hell planet that has perpetual lightning storms would’ve been sick as fuck, but nah, gotta run around on Scylla instead of anywhere else compelling.

In my playthrough, MSI, the Groundbreaker, and the Iconoclasts came to help me deal with all the fucking goons, which was mostly cool because I didn’t have to deal with the tediousness of killing every last one of corporate goon myself.

This is about as big of an impact your decisions come to as far as I’ve noticed. Which isn’t saying much.

You meet the Chairman of the Board here, by the way. I just shot him and kept moving. shrugs

There’s also a last minute villain in this Sophia person, who is also apparently on the Board? It’d help if there was a list of the Board people, which could’ve been on a terminal somewhere. Maybe I’m dumb and never found it, which is plausible.

The final boss fight, (I hesitate to call it that) is just somewhat large robot. It’s a bullet sponge with respawning combat drones flying everywhere and they’re very annoying. I died once after around 10 minutes of fighting, then using Parvati and Felix’s (he’s another companion, he’s also okay I guess) combat abilities I knocked it down and layed into the robot’s weak spot. He died very quickly.

So depending on how you do it, the final fucking boss is either stupidly hard or mind numbingly easy. I don’t know which is worse.

So you go past the dead robot, gun down Sophia in one shot, and save Phineas. You basically become the leader of Halcyon, there’s a F:NV-esque slideshow and commentary about your actions that somehow is worse that New Vegas’s, credits roll, and you sit there thinking “That’s it? That’s really it?”

Yeah, that’s it.

It’s such a let down, especially because this was supposed to be Fallout New Vegas’s spiritual successor. But all it does it make me want to play that game instead of this one.Which is probably what you should do regardless if you pick this game up or not.

There’s a bunch of other mechanics and stuff I never brought up. There’s technically a character customization screen, but you literally only see your character in the select menu, and there’s no third person. There’s a barber in Edgewater who’s also a doctor, and yet you can’t even get a haircut from him (again, failing to match up to even Fallout 3).

There’s these Mods you can put on armor and guns, and you find them by the bucket full so you’ll always have those. Just get an aim stabilizing one for an LMG and you’ll be fine. You can also tinker your armor and weapons, making them stronger if you spend credits on it (why not the armor and weapon parts, I’ll never fucking know). You can repair your stuff at a workbench, which is advisable. Just take all the weapons and armor you pick up, take it apart for parts, and never worry about it again. You’ll get money from quests, so buying those parts is meaningless and a waste of money

There’s also hacking and stealth and stuff. Stealth is such a non...thing in the game. There’s no silencers, but since all enemies decided to put cotton into their ears, there’ll be plenty of times I shoot someone, and a guy ten feet away heard fucking nothing. Plus there’s this disguise mechanic where you pick up ID guards and get a hologram disguise that wears out as you walk (passing speech check from suspicious guards restores it), so it’s not like sneaking around was ever a priority. Just put your points into the speech. Stealth is a dump stat more or less.

Oh yeah, Parvati’s an ace lesbian. Which is nice that they handled that way in a non-dipshit way (you can also identify as ace in certain dialogue with her in her companion questline, which is funny considering they never let you fuck anyways, so it’s weird that you even have the choice). My only complaint is that they should’ve put this representation in a better game.

What’s funny is that, despite everything, I don’t even hate this game. I feel a remarkable numbness, followed by a desire for something better. I spent about a week burning through it? If I had more free time, I could’ve finished it sooner probably. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. It was pretty fun for what it was, but knowing that this is somehow supposed to match up to what F:NV was is sad, and a sign of how bad the gaming industry had fallen.

The only difference here is that unlike the Outer Worlds, I can’t purge the rot of the gaming industry with a haelstrom of plasma bullets.

Would I recommend this game? I guess. There’s still some fun to be had, but don’t expect anything too major or interesting. Get it on sale, it;s not worth $60 right now. There’s apparently DLC coming out for it eventually? I might play it, and I might post an update to this review, or make a seperate post for that eventually. Depends on how well this one does? Or if the DLC makes me feel enough emotion to type something out like this in 2 straight hours.

#the outer worlds #fallout #obsidian #bethesda #skyrim #review #parvati holcomb #felix millstone #phineas welles #huxley #i might make a post about other miscellaenous grievances #but don't count on it

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ingloriousbi · 4 years

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Long, drawn-out 80-hour experiences aren’t always a good thing. They can be incredibly frustrating.

Side quests become tedious, with no real rewards. They become fetch quests or grind quests or inconsequential rp quests. 100% requires all these little collectibles – like the ac feathers or solas’ orbs or what have you. Travel between locations can be difficult or stunted, and gameplay can become tedious – the fighting takes too long, or the cutscenes take too long, or the dialogue is unending. I usually find myself skipping through long dialogue when I can read the text, I don’t usually read everything on terminals, and I usually only ever 100% things out of compulsion.

For reference: my first dark souls 3 playthrough was 50 hours, but my second was less than 20. Even going by just the second play through I would consider dark souls 3 worth 60 bucks.

Because it isn’t *just* about hours. An 80 hour, long-ass drawn out low quality shit show isn’t better than a high-quality, well polished 20 hour game. But those 20 hours need to be *polished* and they need to serve the game. In a game like dark souls 3, that meant the atmosphere, combat, boss fights and environment needed to be polished and interesting. And they were! The atmosphere was amazing, there was good enemy variety, the boss fights were awesome, the lore was interesting enough to keep me on my toes, and the combat system had good depth to it.

But RPGs need roleplaying elements. Shooters need engaging gameplay. For 60 bucks, the outer worlds should have offered more time with its existing system or greatly enhance it.

The armor and weapons easily capped their max armor/damage, and with the tinkering ability and unending trash a-la fallout, I had a better weapon than any drop or quest item ever gave me. Instead, the constant armor and weapon drops exclusively became a means to money, and this translates into insane inventory management, because of course it does. I can’t speak too much to weapon/attack variety, because once I’ve got a gun I like I usually do a full playthrough with it (although the distinct lack of snipers annoyed me, especially for places like roseway and tartarus), but armor variety was shit. Armor offered little balance, bad mods, shitty stats, and all looked ugly as hell. I never used any medical items except for the standard heal, and never felt the need to (I was playing on regular difficulty). The difficulty curve was really weird; I struggled the first hour or so and soon after I was completely overpowered; but manti-queens were still always a tedious, semi-difficult bore, even when I one-shotted everything else.

The roleplaying elements started off really strong. Back in Edgewater, way at the start, someone even commented on my wearing marauder armor – which just happened to be the first thing I looted from some enemy. There was a lot of humor to balance how genuinely overwhelmed I felt with this new world (in a good way) that slowly gave way to more serious narrative, while never taking away your options for fun. As I found my bearings in the world, the narrative offered good themes and such (obviously; fuck capitalism!) but also had a good balance of “large save the colony!” vs “Im just a dude in space” and you can roleplay for either or in the middle of those two. There was never really a moment I felt it was weird that I was putting the main quest on “hold” to do side quests (with the exception of the fucking tailoring quest line which was really jarring lmao).

Questlines typically offered a healthy balance of options; it really allowed for different outcomes, different character motivations, etc. I didn’t feel shoe-horned into certain dialogue options in order to complete quests the way I wanted to complete them. There was nuance to your choices/dialogue options with characters and in questlines. Persuade, lie, or intimidate weren’t always a different button to the same outcome; oftentimes they actually led to different things happening in the quest. There were also different ways to complete your goals in-game, with different kinds of stealth, to murder or not to murder, talk your way through, guns-blazing, etc. Usually quests gave options I wasn’t really expecting and had a pretty good amount of interactivity between them (think the strike quest on Monarch, or the Sublight quests on Monarch). The only time I felt really shoe-horned was at the end of Lily Hagen’s questline and during the ending quest. Lily Hagen’s last quest is also the only time I felt like I got a significant choice where the consequences didn’t actually matter, which was really frustrating considering the ending of the fucking game.

The way skill points allowed for both in and out of dialogue improvements was really cool (e.g. persuasion isn’t just new dialogue options but affects enemy’s statuses, etc) and the combination of skills required during roleplay elements (i.e. you need persuasion AND science points to convince a scientist of X) felt really strong and did really well for my immersion. In the last mission this all went to shit though.

I liked a lot of the individual characters (I fucking love Phineas and ADA, Zora and Sanjar and even the Van Noys were really fun, a lot of characters were really sympathetic like Reed and Graham) and most of the companions have interesting enough personalities, but there’s a definite problem with the crew members and their implementation.

There was a huge difference in character quality between them; Felix has significantly less character depth to him than any of the other companions, even though his questline felt like it should have had a significantly larger impact on a person. Ellie and Nyoka are super interesting characters, but neither really allow for significant character growth after their respective missions or during companion dialogue.

Parvati and Max have significantly more depth than anyone else on the ship, and these are characters with the most growth and arguably most impactful side quests (measured by impact on the characters). They also have way more, and more in depth, companion dialogue. And still I’d argue the growth is too little. You run out of dialogue with your companions super quickly and they rarely have anything to say about your choices or whatever. Only Ellie really spoke up about some stuff I did/had questions for me about Phineas and even then it didn’t actually matter. Ellie’s lack of character growth was probably the most jarring, because she actively starts conversations that would/should lead to it but she remains unchanged until the epilogue informs you You Did Change Her Mind After All. Felix’s lack of anything was really disappointing especially since I didn’t really care for him, but he was really sympathetic to the captain and to the unification of the crew, especially near the end (his joining the crew was also the most random). I loved Nyoka but her alcoholism is a little much and casually overplayed for no reason, and it actively inhibits what could/should have been character development after her mission. I actually kind of feel like non-companion NPCS like Catherine Malin or Zora had more character development and relationship development with the captain than some of my companions. Parvati got the most personal and had the most growth, but it was *all* in relation to her dating life lmao.

This lack of depth or use for the companions is really bad when you think about the way they are positioned in relation to the factions and again, this is made worse during the last mission. I was kind of happy there were no romances when that was announced, because I thought it would allow for more independent character growth instead of development based on whether or not you’re fucking the player character, but what it really lead to was static characters and static interaction with them. The interactions between them are fun at the start but there aren’t many of them and they quickly end up repeating themselves. I wasn’t expecting fucking Mass effect or Dragon age companions, but I was expecting better than the fallout 4 fare.

The gameplay, skill division and choices/quest options really allow for interesting replayability for both different options/character motivations within an ending but even more so when you consider the fully pro-board playthrough (idk if I could stomach it though). But even with another playthrough I’d be looking at just 40 hours of gameplay (if I 100% it again, and I could probably do it in less than 20 now that I know where/what/how and how useless most loot is) and the companions would remain disappointing.

And the ending just throws it all in my face, especially the skill/stat division is just… terrible. I was level 30 and all side quests were done; I couldn’t milk more levels/exp if I WANTED to, and it was still bad. But I did get to walk back to my ship, re-spec my stats, and then walk all the way back to the end of the mission I’d already played which was super fucking funny.

It was a good game, and most of the game was genuinely good, but the things that let me down were the things that I really wanted, or are really impactful (IT’S A SHOOTER RPG, WHY DOES YOUR COMBAT SUCK). And it was so short. It was a eally well polished, quality experience, and I wouldn’t have liked to see it stretched out to 50 hours because it would have ultimately done it a disservice (and the story WAS genuinely really good and well-done, the world was well-crafted, and I would have hated to see it drone on and one when it’s better than that) , but I WOULD have liked to see an hour or two extra per companion and a price reduction to 40 bucks at launch.

Theme: 10/10 Narrative: 10/10 Atmosphere: 10/10 Environments: 9/10 Shooter-gameplay: 5/10 Character creation: 7/10 (shitty physical creator 3/10, very good stat creator 8/10) RPG Dialogue/Quest Gameplay: 8/10 Companions: 4/10 Inventory management: 1/10

#personal #look im not a reviewer #this isnt meant to be a review for other people abt outer worlds #but i was frustrated with the ending #but also frustrated with myself because i did LOVE this game for the first 19 hours #so i wanted to write it all down for myself #to make sense of my thoughts #and get on paper my frustrations #but also remind myself about all the good shit i enjoyed for the 19 out of the 20 hours I played this game #no overt spoilers

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