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nanomooselet · 4 months

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Little but Fierce III

I love Meryl so much. Imma talk about all the ways she's terrible.

First watching the show, I had her clocked pretty much from the moment she opened her mouth and the moment she first appeared on the screen.

Oh Lord. This child is insufferable.

She's twenty-three, just out of college, from a sheltered background, and determined to solve all the world's problems, but she'd have a much easier time of it if she weren't such a scold. She's prissy. She's judgemental. Because nothing in the world lives up to her standards, she's going to shout at it until it does. It's endearing now because she's so little and cute, but she will encounter someone unwilling to put up with it sooner or later, and she had better hope she survives that encounter to learn from it.

Reminder that her first appearance in the manga is striding onto the panel like a queen and then whipping out a megaphone to announce she's from the insurance society, like any of the people she's talking to have any reason to care. She's, uh. She's a real woman of conviction.

What makes this Meryl seem so young is that she still has a lot of faith in the rules, and that the way things should be is indeed the way they are. Why wouldn't she? Her family is wealthy, she just got out of school and this is her dream job. Her whole life so far has kept her cushioned from pain and consequences, as well what exists on the edge of society - violence, poverty, corruption - as well as the edges of her own reality - the truth about the Plants, the existential terror of a being like Knives, who so virulently hates her species and has the power to crush them at will, for any reason, at any time. And of a being like Vash, whose power is even greater, but whose appearance is so purposefully soft.

That dude she's yelling in the face of could vaporise the planet they're standing on, if he felt like it. He would never, but that doesn't change having that capacity, or that there are individuals who will do anything to obtain control of his power.

What makes Meryl such a fantastic character despite these flaws is that upon encountering proof of her ignorance, she doesn't double down. She's surprised, and often scared, but primarily she's saddened, or even outraged. Why is the world this way? What can she do about it? What action can she take?

That's the perfect trait for a journalist, and I also think the reason that Vash likes her - and Roberto, too. It's why both of them are determined to protect her, and Roberto comes to adopt (or perhaps reclaim) a little righteousness by her example.

She doesn't belong on No Man's Land, but then none of them do. No one wanted to be here. Nevertheless they are here.

What can they do together to make it a kinder world?

Also, one more thing.

There's an argument for how hard it is write female characters that the audience won't instantly loathe. It's called the Galbrush Problem, after a theoretical genderbend of Guybrush Threepwood from the Monkey Island series. They're point-and-click adventure games, and they're very silly - Guybrush's entire backstory, as far as we learn, is that he washed up on a beach in the Caribbean as a teenager with the burning ambition to be a pirate and no practical skills in the field whatsoever.

Sample dialogue:

Elaine: Ugh, let's face it, LeChuck! You're an evil, foul-smelling, vile, codependent villain, and that's just not what I'm looking for in a romantic relationship right now! LeChuck: Darn yer riddles, ye saucy female! What do ye mean?!

They're engaged in a high stakes sea battle at the time. Elaine is defending the port she governs from LeChuck's skeleton pirate crew. (Hauntingly realistic reaction to a woman's unambiguous rejection from LeChuck, though.)

Anyway the Galbrush Problem suggests that a Galbrush version of these games would come across as offensive, because Guybrush is a comedic protagonist. He's subjected to slapstick, mocked, rendered the butt of jokes. He says and does absolutely ridiculous things. Who'd enjoy a woman being a victim of such humiliation?

I hate the Galbrush Problem as an argument.

Because Guybrush might be hard to take seriously, but he's still loveable - he's quick-witted, charming, and his many failures combined with his unwillingness to let them ever get him down for long actually make him a little inspiring. And we don't just watch him, we embody him - we relate to him. His absurd challenges are ours to overcome and his cracking wise in the face of craziness is something we sort of wish we could do. We'll all look a bit ridiculous at least some of the time. That's not something gender specific.

It's not a problem to write a woman being goofy. Not unless you present that as her only trait, or her as the only woman, or failure as the only outcome of her actions. Meryl completely explodes the Galbrush problem by being hilarious - she and Vash get to play comedic partners pretty frequently early on and it's always great, and her stupid sibling fights with Wolfwood are splendid. It doesn't make her offensive. She's fun! We need levity! That tomas is hauling around a bunch of fricking coffins!

The wonder of Trigun as a story is that everyone in it is so gloriously, painfully human, even the ones who pretend not to be. Is there really something offensive about affording women that courtesy too? Really?

Maybe I get too pissy about it, I don't know, but I've been a fandom cryptid for some twenty years, and was once determined to enter a profession where there was straight up a conspiracy to prevent women being protagonists, or when they are protagonists, having partners or lovers, because it meant they were less appealing and available.

Lookit this silly marshmallow. What about her is unappealing? What about her is offensive? I mean, apart from the fact that at this rate she's going to give that poor man a heart attack.

Part I

Part II

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

Part IX

#trigun stampede #trigun meta #tristampparty #meta: little but fierce #meryl stryfe #so that turned into a rant #*ahem*#madam do cease bothering the nice nuclear bomb #or don't actually i think he's into it

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isagrimorie · 5 months

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One of the interesting things rewatching 12 Monkeys is how you get to clock what the writers were thinking about in the early seasons before they nailed down the origin of the virus.

In Night Room, season 1, they seemed to be setting up that Cole was the Kalavirus Skeleton:

But what and who the writers end up using is actually more interesting but still, Cole reacting to the Kalavirus Skeleton works because of his proximity to both his beginning and his end.

And how they both have the same origins.

One thing they did seem to work out from the very beginning is Jones' motivations for starting this whole maddening time travel from the beginning.

In the same episode Ramse discovered that Cole wasn't the first Traveler, Cole was just the first Traveler where time travel worked.

Ramse is horrified about this discovery:

In context, Ramse is asking Jones if there is nothing she won't do for her time-traveling Splinter project.

And there's a pause before Jones answered because she sent, willingly, so many men to their deaths but not for the reason Ramse thought-- it was and always would be about:

Hannah, the daughter she lost.

Ramse has done a lot of terrible things in his life, willingly taking so many but at some point, he bought Jones' fairy tale about saving the world. He believed it and made Cole believe it. But now he's terrified Cole would suffer what the men before him suffered:

I love Jones -- she has the hubris and god complex of a Time Lord -- in a way Jones is a Time Lord herself.

She has both noble and selfish goals but she thinks her goals matter more because she can.

And in season 2 -- when she realized that Ramse might have been right and the monster that started all of this, this whole trouble was her -- she determines that she must die. She sends Cassie to her past to stop her from creating a Time Machine.

Because the world revolved around her.

Except, in this case, the world did revolve around Jones. Time needed Jones to successfully make Time Travel happen.

I love this show -- every thing is circular, every end is its beginning, every beginning is its own end.

#katarina jones #jose ramse #james cole #jennifer goines #tv: 12 monkeys #12 monkeys s1 #thinky thoughts #rewatching 12 monkeys

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lazodiac · 1 month

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Once more we return to Outlaws of Thunder Junction. We've got some more critters to identify so lets get to doin' that! Last time we dealt with Black, with the other parts being here and here. For now though, it is time to tackle...

RED

As with the Black cards, Hellspurs like this have mutated themselves beyond all belief so they're now functionally native to Thunder Junction. Love those magmatic skeleton horses though.

Speaking of magmatic skeleton horses; look at this baby! Calamity is an incredible creature and is a (supremely fucked up) legendary of the plane.

Get caught up in it! This is once more the Hellspurs running rampant with their chaos mutations. Look at'em go!

I saw a weird amount of hate for this card, but I have no understanding as to why. Anyway, this little doggy is endemic to Thunder Junction.

I have no real justification for this but the vibe this lady gives me is Tarkir. Maybe it is the weaving through the lightning bolts?

Rakdos having a hell of a time here on the party plane. This is from Ravnica, and a good reminder of why one of the laws on that plane is "The Rakdos Cult can do what they want to keep their boss from getting uppity".

One of the funnest cards in terms of like, flavorfully showcasing the way Thunder Junction works as a plane. I kinda wish we had more of these to be honest.

I'm marking this one down as Amonkhet because that's the first thing she brought up, and it makes the most sense to me that a native of the plane would be best suited to selling that stuff. I likely shouldn't go shopping in a bazaar.

While this isn't a direct story spotlight (the bomb Breeches made explicitly DID NOT touch the train, as was the intent) I think it is safe to say this is still another one of his more deadly explosive endeavors, so this is from Ixalan.

Who trusts a monkey with explosives anyway?

I forget where I heard this, but this is the thunder of the plane mutating the creatures to become even stronger- this used to be a gopher! Now it's a getter instead. Endemic to Thunder Junction.

A courser is the term used for stronger, swifter horses typically used as war-horses. Sturdy bastards. This is a lizard that is a 4/2 so it really shouldn't be a courser I think? Either way, native to Thunder Junction.

Train heists can happen on like two other planes from Thunder Junction, but this particular style of train heist belongs to it and it alone. Also I love the tomahawk thunder-pistol in this art, that's some good shit right there.

Another Hellspur, another card that sources itself from Thunder Junction itself. I fucking love this art though, look at it!

The greatest tragedy of Thunder Junction being the plane it is is that we didn't get to se Angrath and his daughters. While you could prooobably place this minotaur to Dominaria, it's a Hellspur so it's a Hellspur. You know the drill.

Do you think it hurts replacing your eyes with a heated vent-grill?

I don't think I saw this card in my initial run-through of the set. I love that he has a gold fang tooth replacement, that's fun. One of the least mutated Hellspurs so probably from New Capenna, but my rules are my rules. Thunder Junction!

Technically not highway robbery as there is no highways on this plane. Native to Thunder Junction.

TWAS I WHAT SET THE BLAZE! Endemic life of Thunder Junction, and quite a lovely little critter at that.

This one took a bit of thinkinng, but after looking at the giants of various planes, I think this is from Dominaria. He's just got the vibe.

This his friend above, this minotaur is a trickier one to place... but I think he's from Ravnica. Ex Boros turned gunslinger, you know how it is.

Magda! This lovely lady is from Kaldheim! Ironically her previous card was "Brazen Outlaw" but in neither instance is she ACTUALLY an outlaw mechanically. Her tokens are the non-endemic Scorpion Dragons of Gastal, but I won't be counting tokens till the end so leave me be.

This toasty little critter is endemic to the plane- and probably used to have a diet of thunder before any wizards came about with some much easier prey to snatch up.

I like to believe the little jet of flame is its tongue.

This pair of soon to be very dead friends are Hellspurs- and I just wanna say, they look like they're having the times of their lives. Here for a good one, not a long one and all that.

More Hellspurs doing Hellspur stuff. God these mutations are freaky- I'm shocked none of the people who are horny for being a Phyrexian jumped at these.

Our first actual carded appearance of the Cacti Folk of the plane! A white card had one being picked up by a faerie but this is their first actual like, real card! They're endemic to Thunder Junction, and by rights are the actual honest to god native population of the plane.

The corn-cob guns are an inspired choice, tbh.

I personally call bullshit that the Thunder was created by the Omenpaths. Even if it was, none of the people coming here would fucking know that.

Really love the "animation" in this card. I'm gonna say she's from Innistrad because this weapon looks like it'd fit there.

This massive porcupine is, as you'd expect, native to Thunder Junction. So many of those in Red...

This master of Santoryu is categorically just explicitly a monkey-goblin from Ixalan. What a perfect little creature, look at him go.

The second half of that kaiyote up above. Put'em together and you get a fun little image. This is of course native to Thunder Junction.

Have enough people chased roadrunners for this saying to catch on in the yearish they've had to live here? That's one hell of a meme infection...

This art was a little hard to parse, but it's something huckin' a molten knife through some kind of storm of Thunder. I like it, but it's impossible to tell where it is from.

It's not got as much bondage as you'd expect for them, but I think these two are from the Rakdos Cult and are doing their best to branch out. Ravnica, then!

The dinosaur tokens and the dinosaurs in his art are all Ixalani, so this wonderful old man is from there as well. Like I said we'll counter the tokens later.

And that's it for now, tune in soon for Part 2 of the Red cards of OTJ!

#Magic the Gathering #MTG #Outlaws of Thunder Junction #OTJ #Red mana #nerd stuff

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at1nys-blog · 5 months

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Hungry and exhausted kids

Pairing: Demigods x diner’s staff

Summary: when the “Regulars” come to eat all injured and bruised is time for something special, and a lot of first AID kits

A/N: this is based on a post I reblogged some time ago(I don’t know when I’m going to post this nor if I can actually. If not just tell me to take it down no hate thanks) also you might read something similar written by @/drberfarious but do not worry people of tumblr I am a good writer so they contacted me and we talked about it so is safe for me to post it.

The 3Heads a diner run by the Pecks was one of the very few diners in the city open 24/7 no matter the weather conditions. The diner was open even under the holidays.

Sylvia, the youngest grand daughter of the owner, was happy about all of that, especially since she was allowed to decorate the space however she liked: on Halloween she gave her best if not more, this one being her favourite and the costumers loved the hanging spiders' webs and the skeletons having a bite with them and the owners loved the masked costumers-the second year since they were out for business they decided to inaugurate a contest for best Halloween costume and everyone loved it so much- the staff came to work dressed up as well; on Thanksgiving the atmosphere was more chill, with less decorations that excpected but the one not used for that holiday were soon going to be put out for Christmas.

Zackary, the older grand son of the owner, and Sylvia's brother, he noticed how many people were alone during Christmas, it was sad to witness young people spending such a jolly holiday, he wished for every single one of them to find a new family to spend that time of the year together. Some did, coming the next year with a partner, or their family; others didn't.

Than it was time for San Valentine, the sweetest holiday of them all, well on an equal footing with Halloween, but still. The diner turned from all green and red to pink. Hearts, flowers and ballons filled the diner and every now and then the owners were able to assist, and record, a couple of proposals.

It was before Easter, a couple of weeks prior to the festivity. A Saturday late night, maybe around 1 am or 2 when Sylvia welcomed inside a boy. The girl noticed he was exhausted, she had a thought that the boy had walked for a long time, how much to be exact she didn't know but again, the phylosophy of the diner was to not ask or assume.

She welcomed him in, a big smile on her face despise the late hour, he looked at her, for a second before turning around and scanning the space as in search of somewhere to hide.

"We have a couple of booths away from the entrance" she explained.

"No windows?" he simply asked.

"No windows" she repeated after him. The boy nodded and she asked him to follow her with a simple movement of her arm. When she had left him take a seat, the boys asked if they had something blue. Sylvia had to ask for some explanation here because what did he meant by something blue?

"I am craving blue food" he answered, which didn't help much but the girl knew how to deal with such reqeusts.

"I see what I can do." this was the magic formula to avoid conflict and with that she left the menu on the table and went straigh into the kitchen. "weird question but, do we have blue food coloring?" her older brother looked at her weird, as if she just asked him to take out from his pocket a monkey or something of that sort. "Ehy don't look at me like that. The kid asked for blue food." she defended herself. Her brother rolled his eyes and went to search for it.

"By the way do you know what he wants?" Sylvia was silent, she didn't ask. I mean the poor girl just got asked if they had blue food, the only think on her mind was if they could provide that for him and gain a new costumer or not a loose a potential costumer. "go ask him."

And so she did, and when she was back to the table he left the guy, she noticed he was sleeping, or on the verge of doing so. She pocked him, carefully, sure he was there to eat but if he fell asleep in the worst position ever that meant he was really worn out (?)

She pocked him again, a little harder this time and the poor kid jumped out of his skin taking out of his pocket a stabilo pen, using the object as a weapon as a fit to cause her arm.

"Sorry, I forgot to ask what would you like to eat."

"I don't really know, I just would like if it was blue."

"Okay, I'll tell that to our chef and see if we can meet your request. Anything to drink while you wait?"

Percy Jackson, Sylvia learned his name, became a regular at The 3Heads and after the second month-he passed by at least every single day to grab his usual to go, and once a week he took his sweet time by sitting and enoying his meal- he came in, the Pecks decided to add a special section of their menu and what best way to show it to him?

Percy walked in, followed by his two friends, Grover and Annabeth, with a quick hello went straight to his usual seat and then relaxed resting his head on the table. Annabeth was fast scolding him, it wasn't very polite to sleep in a diner but before Percy could explain, Sylvia was ready to give Percy that good news.

"Hello." she greeted the two new costumers. "Ohy sleepy head I have some news." she looked at the blonde girl and asked if it was okay for her to seat for a moment, when she nodded Sylvia sat down. "Perseus Jackson listen to me" his head was up in a second, the mention of his real name didn't scare him for once but only put him in listening mode. "I have, I mean the entire family has a surprise for you." Percy looked behind the girl and saw her brother, dad and grand father looking at him with anticipation. "read the menu" and so he did.

The first pages weren't any different, just a couple of new dishes nothing major really but then his eyes widened when he read the title of the section thet added 'Blue Food&Drinks'

"We have to find a new title for the section and we wanted..." she got cut off by the boy.

"Who's idea was that?" she smiled.

"Zachary joked about the fact we had to add it since you are basically living off of our food, dad thought it wasn't such a bad idea. Grandpa was the thoughtes to..." and once again Sylvia couldn't end her speech due to Percy hugging her out of nowhere with a soft thank you.

He then went to hug the rest of the Pecks and thanking them, he couldn't believe it. He never thought that complete strangers were going to do something this nice and sweet for him.

"Okay, why is Percy acting like a kid on Christams?"asked the boy. Sylvia just smiled and told him to check the menu. He started reading under his breath not understanding much about what was happening untill... "wow he comes here this often?"

"What? What is it?" said the blonde girl next to Sylvia and the menu was given to her, she smiled. "He comes here that often for sure. Thank you, you gained a loyal costumer and he is never going to stop talking about it. I am pretty sure the other campers will come here too." The Pecks knew about the summer camp not that away from the city, Percy had talked to them about it some weeks after he discovered the diner.

After that, Percy came in with always new people and the first think he showed them was the section about the blue food, picking for them his favorites and sharing new ideas with the cooks of the diner even because the blue food was becoming to be a trend. Kids asked their parents to take pictures of it; teens loved it and also felt the need to have it to fit into a new society that was head over heals for it; elder people just wanted to have some fun and try something out of the ordinary because who could have thought they could have a smoothie with blue cookies? Not them.

Time passed and The 3Heads had campers from "Camp Half-blood" almost on a daily, they became like a very extended family and good friends. They celebrated their birthdays there, went on dates there or just went and between one bite and the other played Mythomagic, similar to a game of Yu-Gi-Oh! but with mythological creatures. Sylvia did played a couple of rounds while on a break.

Time had passed since that first night when Percy Jackson walked into the diner and since then Sylvia and Zachary made good friends with the campers, everyone had their favorite kid but Percy? He was the number one for them. He was funny, sarcastic, intelligent on his own, witty and so much more. He sure was stubborn but one of the nicest kid the older Pecks have ever met in their life.

It was the day of Percy Jackson's birthday, in 2009, that the Percks closed the doors of The 3Heads for the first time in their life because how can you keep a diner open when a bunch of teens come to you bruised and injured, whith a face that read 'we lost someone' all over their faces?

Sylvia, Zackary, Colto and Taddeus Peck didn't asks question because this was their phylosophy of work, and whoever walked into that doors had a chance to choose either tell their story or not, and that night campers that have seen death, fought her and won decided it wasn't the time to tell the story of what did happen.

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maidenofthecloud · 7 months

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Hi! I hope you're doing fantastic. Your poetry about the clouds and sun is so ... POIGNANT. Are you excited about LMK S5? How do you think it's gonna start out? Would you prefer for it to be high stakes right away or low stakes but slowly building up to it? Do you think we'd see any other JTTW characters in it, or maybe in later seasons? What kind of character do you want to see in the next season, in terms of personality and role?

Also, I absolutely hate doing this but could you please ask @loupsbane why they've blocked me again I am absolutely baffled on why this keeps happening to me.

Have a great month, eat your meals regularly, don't skip your breakfast or medicine!

first of all thank you

Are you excited about LMK S5?

yes I am very excited for season 5

How do you think it's gonna start out? Would you prefer for it to be high stakes right away or low stakes but slowly building up to it?

If I had to choose to start season 5 I would say low stakes but slowly building up to it

Do you think we'd see any other JTTW characters in it, or maybe in later seasons?

I think that surely more jttw characters will appear as new characters or in flashbacks, personally I would bet that Erlang Shen could appear

What kind of character do you want to see in the next season, in terms of personality and role?

Ugh I have a very long list of characters I want to appear and now that you've asked I'm going to ramble on about it, bad luck for you

starting with the most probable:

The mayor

I want to know more about the character, what he was like before meeting LBD and being the mayor, getting to know his relationship with her in depth. Is he just a henchman or does he have his own motivations? what was he doing during Lady Bone Demon's confinement.

Erlang shen

I'm really dying to see what kind of character Lego Erlang Shen is, what kind of complex character he can be, will he be a villain, an antagonist or maybe an ally? Will being a demigod be important for his character? what will his relationship with Sun Wukong be like? They will be like sworn brothers or enemies

guanyin goddess of mercy

I really want to know what the lmk writers will do with Guanyin, how important his role would be in the series, taking into account his importance in Journey to the West, I think it would be great if it turned out that all this time Guanyin was secretly watching over MK and his friends helping them without them knowing. I mean, she always helped the pilgrims on their journey and could do the same for mk and his friends. I also wonder if his relationship with Red Son exists in lmk.

Ao bing

I really want Ao bing to appear, I don't care how or why. basically because I think it would be cool for the fandom to see that Monkey King isn't the only one with skeletons in the closet. It would also be interesting to see Nezha face someone from his past that he thought was buried and that he would never see again

Do you think we'd see any other JTTW characters in it

characters I want to see

Taibai Jinxing (Gold star of venus) I would really like him to appear to help the protagonists

Nezha's family I would like to see Nezha's family even if it's just in flashbacks, especially muzha and LI Jing

lady earth Flow I'm really curious to know what his design would be like in the series.

Jade faced fox although if she appeared I highly doubt that her relationship with the demon Bull King would be the same as in the novel

Jade rabbit

The ones that are least likely to appear but I want them to appear so bad:

Spindrax

I know the writers wrote it off for Strong Spider, but it would be great to see the spiders again. Maybe as an idea here the character of Spindrax wants to revive the spider queen or maybe avenge the spider queen, the writers could use to spindrax to show us spider queen's past and also give mei a badass biker rival (cough girlfriend cough)

Rumble & Savage

I know that many think that the macaque is practically redeemed, if they think that that is perfectly fine. but in my opinion I do not agree with that, because the basic thing in a redemption is that the character realizes his mistakes and repents of his bad actions, Yes, Macaque helped defeat the bad guys and everything. but he has no regrets for the damage he did to mk and his friends I thought it would be great for Macaque's future redemption arc to have him face his own past mistakes and what better way to do that is face the little versions of himself who want revenge of you and they won't hesitate to hurt your loved ones in the process just to see you suffer (cough karma cough)

Bone spirits

I really wanted to see Lady Bone Demon's army in the specials, They are literally the only villainous army not to make an appearance in the show and which I think is a big waste imagine that the mayor was not the only follower of lbd, if there were other followers and allies of her, plus it would be interesting to see more spirits or demons like LBD, besides I love his designs I mean who doesn't like skeletons with hoods.

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blackjackkent · 3 months

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OK, Mystic Carrion, start talking.

"I know you helped Oskar. I found your letter."

"The painter. Yes. I remember. He wanted to contact a tormented spirit. I gave him exactly what he desired - and for a pittance, given the complexity of his request. His inability to follow simple instructions is hardly my fault. If he wanted his safety guaranteed, that would have cost him extra."

Oh, dear. Oskar, my dude, what monkeys-paw shit have you been getting up to?

"Who was he trying to contact?"

"My clients are guaranteed absolute privacy in their consultations with myself and my spirits," the creature says, somehow managing an oily smile without any muscles in his face. "I assume you came to me seeking an exorcism? I can provide you with the means to perform such a ceremony, but you understand... this is my livelihood. First you must do something for me."

Hector squints wearily at him. "Can't I just pay you instead?"

"So ready to part with your gold to save yourself the bother of helping someone..." the skeleton purrs disdainfully. "Perhaps you are more like my usual customers than I thought."

That stings, and Hector flinches a little from it in spite of himself. I have *never* turned from helping someone in need, he thinks indignantly. But I don't trust you to ask me for something like that.

"Very well," Mystic Carrion goes on. "You may purchase Oskar's salvation... if you can afford it..."

Three thousand gold is what the creature wants. It's a lot, but not outside of Hector's capabilities. But in spite of himself he asks, anyway, "On second thought, tell me what you need." He asks it a little between his teeth, and fully expecting to pay the money instead...

...but the damnable thing did manage to drive a knife into him with that crack about paying rather than helping.

"Do not worry," Mystic Carrion says. "It is of an earthly nature. It regards a conduit of mine, Thrumbo, who has recently deserted his duties. He has not gone far, but given the sensitivity of his nature, i would prefer that he is not free to roam the city. Return Thrumbo's body to me. Then I will give you what you need to cleanse Oskar of his spectral interloper."

"His body?" Hector says warily. "It sounds like you want him killed."

The skeleton's stretched skin curls in an unpleasant smile. "My child, that would be asking the impossible," he murmurs. "He is already dead. He is... what do they call them here... ah, a zombie. A waif I rescued from the jaws of death and gave a second chance at earthly purpose. If he does not value the gift I gave in reanimating that wretched flesh of his, then I will take it back. It is my property, not his."

Hector feels a strange shiver go down his back, and it takes him a moment to place why. A waif I rescued from the jaws of death... the whole story reminds him unpleasantly of Astarion's tale of his capture and conversion at Cazador's hands. No, he will not be party to recapturing a wayward slave, undead or no.

"I'll just pay the gold," he says coolly.

"Your purse is deeper than I thought. But wait..." He turns, peering into a chest behind him. "Strange. My spirits witnessed thieving hands snatching up the very item I wished to give - the Torch of Revocation."

He turns and peers at Hector with sudden, baleful dislike. "As you have paid for your indiscretion, we shall leave the matter at that. Now... Get. Out."

-----

LOL. I stole that torch out of that chest when I was here last because Mystic Carrion made Hector uncomfortable. XD I guess we could have just resolved this the whole time.

Back to Jannath's house!

#bjk plays baldur's gate 3 #hector carlisle

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dark333rose · 3 months

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an updated reference to one of my OCs.

because I noticed that his design has changed a bit since I first made him. so I made a new ref to represent the new design, his anatomy is now more skeleton-like and top-heavy.

Also, I finally completed his toyhouse page (basically my own Wikipedia for my characters) if anyone wants to read about him in huge detail.

> Link

Monkey Wrench and the logo (C) Zeurel

#art #2d art #digital art #oc #monkey wrench fan oc #monkey wrench oc #fan oc #monkey wrench zeurel #monkey wrench #killer machine #machine #MW oc #fan character #character design #character sheet

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problemduetest4life · 6 months

Text

Forget me not playlist

(playlist for @unohanabbygirl 's fic Forget me not on ao3)

Bitch - Allie X

Bang Bang Bang Bang - Sohodolls

Paper Planes - M.I.A.

Black Treacle - Arctic Monkeys

Criminal - Fiona Apple

Seventeen - MARINA

Goth - Sidewalks and Skeletons

Oblivion - Grimes

Blue Monday - New Order

Bad Things - Cults

No Surprises - Radio Head

The Gold - Manchester Orchestra, Phoebe Bridgers

Mama's Boy - Dominic Fike

Roommates - Malcolm Todd

Daddy Issues - The Neighbourhood

I Wanna Be Yours - Arctic Monkeys

About You - The 1975

The Bomb - Florence + The Machine

Cinnamon Girl - Lana del Rey

Fuck and Run - Liz Phair

***

Vampire - Dominic Fike

False Alarm - The Weeknd

Delicious (demo) - Ayesha Erotica

Erotic Electronic - Slayyyter

After Hours - The Weeknd

****

Agnes - Glass Animals

Self Control - Frank Ocean

Disappear - Beyonce

*****

Remember My Name - Mitski

Ptolemaea - Ethel Cain

Swim Good - Frank Ocean

Liability- Lorde

Crack Baby - Mitski

******

Spotify Link

explanation under the cut ;)

I made this playlist because I noticed I was listening to similar songs whenever reading FMN, so I started to make it all into one playlist. I also wanted to get better at fitting themes to songs etc... for other playlists and this was good practice.

I was mostly inspired by music mentioned in the fic, stuff I already listen to that was angsty teen esc, or kind of dark and funky tunes.

It does follow the story chronologically (for the most part) and I divided it into sections to explain my thinking. The first section is the start of the story, just stuff that fits Luke's vibe and character in foster care and prison.

Section two is short and just his starting relationship his "family" and all the confusing feelings that come from that.

Section three is pretty much him and Aemond's relationship. It starts with yearning, gets kind of sweet and fluffy before it takes a darker turn. Luke's past trauma starts peeking through more in this section.

Section four I defintly think I'm going to add more too. It's basically just the "club chapters." Ayesha Erotica was mentioned so I obviously had to include her and all of Slayyyter's music also fits that style so I added that. Their music needs to be blasted with bass so loud it shakes your rib cage. I wanted to find music that had a more sinister sound for this section as well, but I'm still on the hunt. You can imagine this section ends with the hookup during After Hours.

SECTION FIVE! Aemond's POV. Angsty, concerned, confused, frustrated, guilty, all of the above.

Section six is the aftermath of everything. It's desperate and sad, but perhaps with sprinkles of hope underneath??

Anyways, I will keep updating when I find more music that fits because 30 songs isn't a whole lot. I just wanted to post this now because I'm on a break and I have time to extra stuff like this :))

#house of the dragon #lucerys velaryon #aemond targaryen #lucemond #forget me not

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s-creations · 2 years

Text

Never Mess With a Warrior’s Emotions

Macaque gets a little more than he bargained for when he agreed to face a possessed Wukong head on.

( I put it in the tags, but just a warning here as well. There are moments of unwanted touching at the beginning of this story. It's not that severe, but I don't know how to tag it other than that. )

Fandom: LEGO Monkie Kid Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Relationships: Shadowpeach, SunWukong/Macaque, Warnings/Additional Tags: Other characters are mentioned, be warned, there is unwanted touching at the beginning of this, don’t know how else to word it, possession, hurt/comfort, happy ending, if i need additional tags let me know

The plan was pretty straight forward. Or as straight forward as it can get dealing with a skeleton demon. All Macaque was worried about was his part. Keeping Wukong distracted enough for MK to get the staff. Simple. But the Shadow Warrior knew it was easier said than done. Wukong was holding himself back for the kid’s sake when they’d first fought all those months ago. In talking with MK, he and Nezha also came to the realization how strong Wukong truly was. Almost winning against the Lady Bone Demon, before…

Macaque shook his head. Now was not the time to worry about that, he couldn’t change the past. He had to focus on getting MK to the top of that mech as fast as possible. Clearing his head to prepare himself for the soon-to-begin fight between him and the newly possessed Wukong.

“Come on kid!” The Shadow Warrior called out from the opened van door. MK gave one last look to his companions before joining Macaque. Both transforming to birds and taking to the sky.

Just as they thought, getting the staff back from Lady Bone Demon’s hold was not going to be that easy. MK was just barely able to dodge Wukong’s first attack, Macaque able to catch the kid before he was quite literally blown off the mech. Hiding behind sarcasm and smooth words, Macaque’s heart raced seeing Wukong take a fighting stance. He gave the call and MK responded, dashing forward, appearing to be making an attempt for the staff again. Macaque held off for as long as he could before blocking the attack meant for MK.

Even just standing there, holding the other monkey back, was a struggle. Macaque knowing he had a task ahead of him. “Alright MK…I hope that staff is worth it!”

He flung both himself and Wukong back. Holding back a wince as his back connected hard with the cold metal. Pushing away the (self-inflicted) pain to kick Wukong off and knocking the golden monkey further from MK. Every hit seemed to actually send shockwaves through Macaque’s body. The black furred monkey knew that Wukong wasn’t using his full strength at this point. Which just made the feeling even more worrisome.

“Why isn’t he fighting with his full strength? Is he just…toying with me?” Macaque growled as he went to deliver his first hit. Shocked when he actually connected, sending Wukong into the mountain side. “Maybe…she’s spread further than I originally thought? If she’s unable to get Wukong to actually fight me, then-”

That thought quickly ended when a chill traveled up Macaque’s back. Just registering that Wukong was right there before he was slammed into the ground. The possessed being following closely to pin the Shadow Warrior to the ground.

Macaque struggled, which only caused Wukong to press down harder. “L-Let…me go!”

No reply, the golden monkey didn’t even move. Continuing to stare down at his trapped prey. The Shadow Warrior growled, snapping at the Great Sage. “What, did you break? Do something! Hey lady, did your toy break! Why aren’t you-”

“Macaque?”

The black-furred monkey almost swallowed his tongue he’d stopped talking so fast. Wide eyes stared up at Wukong. Noting the other’s face had softened considerably, the harsh glare no longer in place. His eyes still held a lingering bit of blue, but Macaque could see flickers of gold showing on occation. Even with these changes, Wukong made no move, still keeping the Shadow Warrior pinned. Macaque had his guard up.

“Wukong…haven’t heard your voice in awhile. How are you feeling?”

“...Amazing.”

“I- Really? That’s a little hard to believe.”

“Our Lady has taken away all my pain.”

Macaque faltered at that. “Is…that so. What pain would that be?”

“My mistakes, the faults that rested on my shoulder, they’re no longer mine. My mind’s been freed from those burdens, I no longer think of them.”

“...How thoughtful…and what of MK? Pretty sure that kid’s dealing with what you left behind. You really want that resting on your shoulders.”

“MK…” Wukong laughed, but it wasn’t the sound Macaque remembered. It wasn’t warm and inviting. It was quiet and cold. “MK will join us soon enough! Our Lady is a kind individual, she’ll allow us to live on as her soldiers-”

“Wukong, this isn’t you! Stop talking like this, you know what the Lady Bone Demon is capable of, she’s not going to let any of us live.”

“Our Lady-”

“Stop saying that,” Macaque growled, “I don’t work for her.”

“But you do, your debt has not been repaid. You still have much work to do, My Shadow.”

Macaque felt the air get sucked from his lungs. Eyes widening, from shock or fear he couldn’t tell, as he stared up at Wukong. He hadn’t heard that name in so long. Heart hammering with joy upon hearing it once more, but he crushed that feeling quickly. “Don’t…call me that.”

“I thought you liked it when I did?”

“This isn’t you.”

“Come with me, My Precious Shadow.”

“Stop talking.”

“Our Lady can take away your pain.”

“Please stop…”

“We can be together again, after so many centuries.”

Macaque had his eyes shut, breathing deeply trying to keep himself together. The words were so soft, so welcoming, but he knew they were empty. The Lady Bone Demon must have dug into Wukong’s memories, found out about their…past lives. Using that as some sort of sick leverage against him. But he wasn’t going to fall for it. He wasn’t. Wukong wouldn’t even look his way, let alone say those things. Not now, not after everything they’ve been through.

He flinched, feeling a hand cup his face. Macaque realized that one of his own hands was free. Taking advantage, he let out a growl as he threw a punch. But it never made contact. Wukong caught it easily and pinned it down once more. Moving to have both pinned by one of the golden’s own.

Macaque attempted to turn away from the gentle touches. Shivering weakly, knowing he didn’t want this, but it had been so long…

“I’ve missed you, My Shadow.”

Macaque responded by trying to bite at the hand. Missing and being given a harsh slap. Head ringing from the sudden impact, he couldn’t fight back as a hand gripped the back of his head. Macaque hissing as he attempted to move, legs digging into the dirt. He let out a noise of complaint as lips harshly clashed into his. Shivering, in disgust and pleasure, as Wukong’s tongue was forced into Macaque’s mouth. Thinking quickly, the black-furred monkey bit down hard.

Wukong pulled back quickly. Glaring down at Macaque as he spat blood onto the dirt. “My patience is running thin.”

“You try that again and I’ll bite it off. I don’t care if you’re possessed.”

“But I’m giving you what you’ve wanted for so long. Haven’t you missed me? I have…I’ve missed you so much.”

“Stop talking, this isn’t you Wukong!”

“You were always fearful of opening up, weren’t you? Afraid I would hurt you…that I would leave.”

“You did, you did leave me! You left me for dead, you never came back for me!” Macaque held his tongue, wanting to shout this, but knowing it would affect nothing. He twitched, shutting his eyes tightly as he felt lips pressed against his cheeks. Wukong slowly moved down to nip and kiss at the Shadow Warrior’s neck, who couldn’t help but shiver. “Stop this…”

“I’ve missed you so much. Everything about you-”

“S-Stop…”

“Holding you close, our quiet conversations at night, talking about our future together.”

“Please stop.”

“You always made the most adorable chirps when I was able to take you by surprise. You were clingy, I wasn’t able to go anywhere without you following…but I loved that. Because it made me feel like you’d always stay with me.”

“Wukong…”

“Don’t you want that back? I do, I want you here with me, by my side once more. Please Macaque…let me love you again.”

The words were sweet, but dripped into his ear like poison. Macaque wasn’t sure if it was left over magic that the Lady Bone Demon had over him. Or if his wanting heart was being won over by the sweet, empty promises. But it didn’t matter how hard Macaque tried to pull back, he felt himself losing.

Macaque didn’t fight back this time when he was pulled into another kiss. Didn’t shy away from the gentle touches that graced his cheek and neck. When his hands were released, instead of pushing the other away, he instead pulled Wukong close. Their tails wrapped together as they pressed closer.

Macaque was falling hard once again. That harsh voice of telling him to stop, stop this, this is wrong! was continually pushed further back. Seeming to ignore the chilled air that had begun to enter his lungs the more this continued. His racing thoughts started to quiet down.

All he needed to focus on were the gentle whispers from another.

Focus on the comfort from the other, the warmth (chill) coming from Wukong.

Allow himself to sink further into the calm quiet…

Macaque’s ear twitched hearing a cry sound a distance away. It…sounded familiar. Where had he heard it before? The ground shook, pulling the Shadow Warrior further out of his stupor. He was doing something important…something to do with…

Another cry sounded and this time, Macaque knew where he’d heard that from. “MK.”

“It’ll be alright, My Shadow, he’ll join us soon.” Wukong’s voice sounded wrong, a tinge of her voice coming through.

“No…No, this is wrong- Get off me! Stop this, Wukong, stop letting her use you like this!” Macaque reached up to swipe, landing an attack over the Great Sage’s left eye. Wukong let out a cry of pain as he stumbled back. Cradling the injured eye that was freely bleeding. Macaque was back on his feet just as fast, breathing heavily as he attempted to regain his focus. Mind still holding a little bit of fog.

Wukong let out a low, warning growl as he pulled his hands away. Three clean claw marks running over his eye, but thankfully not enough for it to be lost. The golden monkey let out a soft laugh. One that made Macaque’s fur stand on end. “Oh…My Precious Shadow… An eye for an eye, is that where we are now? How poetic…”

“I’m not falling for this again. MK needs my help and-” Macaque let out a gasp as a hand was instantly wrapped around his neck. Clawing desperately at it as he tried to suck air into his lungs.

“You lost your chance at a given path. One where your end would have been far less painful.” Wukong had fallen quiet, stoic once more. Instead, Lady Bone Demon’s voice was the only thing heard. Echoing in Macaque’s head. “I gave you what you’ve longed for the most. I simpler time where it was just the two of you-”

“You can’t erase centuries of…of turmoil with just a few simple words,” Macaque hissed back, “I know better than that.”

“...Then you shall suffer, just as the rest of them.”

____________________

The day was won.

The city was in ruin, there was a pile of scrap metal lying around the mountain range, and there’s a lot of physical/mental/emotional damage to deal with. But right now, all were content to just enjoy their food in peace. MK was clearly exhausted, dark shadows under his eyes, but was smiling widely. Content with the people surrounding him. Mei and Redson were practically glued to each other’s side, the demon teen going so far as to rest his head on the dragon teen’s shoulders. Nezha, the being covered in the most wrappings while sitting around the fire, was content to just watch and listen while everyone celebrated. The child, once possessed by Lady Bone Demon, had color returning to her cheeks, a wide smile resting on her face.

All were gathered around the warmth of the campfire. All…except for two.

Macaque couldn’t speak on behalf of Wukong, but the Shadow Warrior wasn’t feeling much for being social. His mind and heart were still heavy, not wanting to share his experiences during the final fight. As far as anyone was concerned, he’d held his own against the possessed Monkey King long enough to weaken the hold over him to allow Wukong to break free. They didn’t need to know of his…slip up.

So he’d taken to a nearby tree, hidden by the leaves as he ate. Content with just watching the group below him. His own bowl had been finished only a few minutes after being given. Resting at the base of the tree he now sat in. He’d return it later, but he just wanted to remain in his hideaway for a few moments longer.

In the back of his mind, a nagging voice told him that he should be out looking for Wukong. The golden monkey had disappeared the moment everyone was accounted for and settled in. Macaque wasn’t even sure if the other had grabbed food before fleeing. But the Shadow Warrior wasn’t comfortable with finding Wukong. His stomach still churned and his head hurt thinking about the other monkey.

However, he wasn’t going to get his way that evening. No more than a few minutes after having this thought did MK appear. Knocking on the tree while he stood at the base of it. Macaque let out a sigh before dropping down, offering a tight smirk. “What’s up kid?”

“Um, so, you have good hearing, right?”

That was…a strange question. But Macaque played it off. “Sure do. Missing something?”

“I was going to ask if you could find Monkey King.” MK was looking away towards the surrounding forest, missing the way Macaque winced. The black furred monkey’s tail swishing anxiously. “I haven’t seen him and…and I’m really worried.”

“You gonna talk to him? I can search him out pretty-”

“I was actually hoping you could talk to him? Please?”

Macaque faltered at that. “Me? I…don’t think that’d be a good idea kid. You know the Great Sage and I…”

“You worked together, just now! You helped me get him back,” Macaque felt his skin crawl at that, “You…You know him better than I do. And…”

“And? Come on kid, you’re not really making that good of an argument here.”

“...I’m afraid to be around him right now.” Macaque was thankful for his sharp hearing because MK barely spoke, barely opened his mouth. The teen appeared like his age now. Arms crossed over himself, looking away fully from the monkey now. Looking…small.

Of course…of course the kid would still be feeling the effects of everything they’d been forced to face. It would probably be a long time before MK could look at his mentor and not think back to all the moments he was almost handed his end by the person he looked up to. To the person he cared about and who cared about him in return. To have that trust and comfort shattered…

Well, let’s just say Macaque knew what MK was feeling. Even if the monkey’s fall out was far more damaging.

“Okay, fine, I’ll go find the missing Sage. Make sure he hasn’t run off again.”

Wrong thing to say, regretting it the moment he saw MK wince. But it was wiped away and replaced with a wide smile. “Thanks Macaque.”

“Yeah, yeah, just get back with the rest of your little family. And get some more to eat, you’re looking skinny.”

MK replied back by sticking out his tongue, dodging a playful swipe from the other, and grabbing the discarded bowl before running back to the group.

With that matter settled, Macaque made his way into the forest. Once he knew he was hidden well in the foliage, he let the glamour fall away. Six ears, each a color of magenta, blue, and green respectfully, twisted and turned. Fluttering as they sought out a familiar sound. One he’d heard plenty of times before.

Macaque perked up, ears facing towards the steady beat of a heart. Eyes opened as he followed the strong sound. Passing through the planets easily as he made his way closer. He eventually found himself nearing a river bank. The soothing sound of the running water unable to drown out the steady beating. Resting at the edge, back facing Macaque, was Wukong. The heavy armor off, sleeves from the undergarments had been torn off and were now crumpled next to the golden monkey.

Even from a distance, there was a heaviness to Wukong’s stance. Shoulders slumped, unaware of his surroundings. Macaque didn’t even see an ear twitch when he drew closer. In the rippling water was the reflection of the Great Sage. Looking tired, golden eyes not holding their normal luster for life, Wukong seemed to be glaring at that version of himself. Not looking up as Macaque sat next to him. The silence stretched on between them.

“...Do you remember the first time we met?” Macaque voiced quietly, eyes landing on Wukong’s reflection. “You were…being an idiot. Even before your abilities, you were a bleeding heart. Keeping younger ones safe from some predator… I had to step in because you took on way more than you could deal with… I think that’s what I was drawn to. You doing what you thought was right, no matter the consequences… Heh, probably why we got into so many fights with other people.”

“Is this supposed to be a pep talk.” Wukong growled out, now glaring at the water.

“Eh, kind of. More of I didn’t like the quiet. Kind of weird to not have you talking my ears off.”

“What do you want Macaque?”

“Nothing, really. Truth be told I’m only out here looking for you because the kid wanted me to.”

That caused a reaction. Wukong’s gaze broke away from his reflection to look at Macaque’s, worry and fear weighing heavily in his eyes. “Is MK alright?”

“He’s been better, we all have. But if you’re so concerned, you could go talk to him.”

“...I can’t…not right now anyway.”

“Okay, fair. Nice fashion statement by the way.”

“I felt constricted.”

“Fair part two.” Macaque’s ears twitched as they fell quiet. Really hating how much Wukong wasn’t acting like…well, like Wukong. The Monkey King was loud and boisterous. This quiet was alarmingly unnerving, Macaque feeling jitter from it. “So, crazy past few days right? Who could have guessed it, right? Better be happy you found a successor that could handle a lot. Fast thinker and quiet the man of words, when the situation calls for it. Did you know that-”

Macaque faltered when Wukong gave a harsh sob. Arms wrapping around himself and he bowed, forehead almost touching the muddied ground. The Shadow Warrior panicking, hands hovering nervously over the distraught form. “Wukong? Hey, this- are you okay? Did I say something? Was honestly just trying to lighten the mood. Figured you’d be happy to hear how MK did-”

“I saw everything.” Wukong choked out, clawing at his arms.

“...Wukong.”

“I saw everything and I couldn’t stop myself. It was like I was chained up in my own mind and my actions were displayed to me like some movie. I came so close, so many times, to killing MK. It had taken everything to not land those blows. Every time I held back, she whispered how soft I’d become, how weak. Telling me that if I really cared, I would be able to break free.”

“You did.”

“Yeah, eventually! But I’d done so much damage already! I betrayed Mei, I hurt Redson in hopes of keeping MK safe. As if damaging one would make sure I could spare the kid. And MK…jeez, MK. Whatever trust that had been left before I left was gone. He wouldn’t even look at me during the final fight. Not that I could blame him… Why would you even want to give a passing glance to someone who tried to kill him so many times?”

“...That wasn’t you Wukong, you know that.”

“It doesn’t make it hurt any less… I keep thinking that, maybe if I had reached out before, asked for help when I could, it wouldn’t have turned out like this. That MK wouldn’t be hurt. That everyone could trust me. …That my secrets could still lie with me.”

Macaque perked up at that. “Secrets?”

Wukong laughed weakly. “Don’t act coy… She made me spill my heart to you.”

The Shadow Warrior swallowed hard, facing away slightly. “...I thought…she was just… I thought it was just a ploy to lower my defenses. To try and bring me back to her side.”

“I think that was the original idea. Then she found my deeper thoughts and just…she made me say everything I’d hope to say to you one day. You know, when we weren’t at each other’s throats.” Wukong trailed off, still hunched over.

Macaque clenched his fists, suddenly torn by what’s been said. “...You’re saying this as if I’ve forgiven you.”

“I don’t expect you to forgive me, that wasn’t the point. I know I played everything off. What happened between us. What I’d…done. But I wanted you to know that I felt grief, every day, since I lost you. Losing you hurt more than anything I had felt before and I knew there was no coming back from it. The first time my actions…made me feel sick.”

“I was trying to save you.”

“I didn’t…want to be rescued.”

Macaque’s head snapped over quickly. “What the hell? You were being tortured-”

“I was being disciplined.”

“Wukong-”

“You said it yourself, I did things without thought no matter the consequences. Not everything I did was for the right reasons and I think I knew that. After the mountain…I wanted to change. I knew I had to change or else I would become something I hated. When you…tried to pull me back, when you tricked my companions, I was angry.”

“And I got the brunt of all that anger.”

“...Yes.”

Macaque huffed, looking back to the river. He allowed a moment's pause before continuing. “Being alone for so long, it gave me time to think. When I approached you, it was for selfish reasons. I had the front of freeing you and it was true. But…I also missed you. And when I heard you were off on this adventure, that you were free, and you didn’t think to even find me… I was crushed. It felt like I had been just tossed aside. So, I guess I also lashed out because of anger too.”

“Heh…guess we really were meant for each other.”

“The sun and the moon.”

Wukong laughed softly. “I remember that story… It was one of my favorites.”

“Because it starred you.”

“And you too! Don’t just put this on me.” Wukong leaned over to gently push Macaque with a weak smile. To which the Shadow Warrior replied with a smirk. “...Do you think we could ever get back to where we once were?”

“No…but that doesn’t mean we can reach for something new.”

“...Don’t get my hopes up Macaque.”

“Then don’t act like you’re the only one who wants this.” Macaque felt his cheeks warm up, pointedly turning away, feeling Wukong’s eyes on him. “Don’t make it weird-”

“You loooove me.”

“Don’t you dare-”

“You caaaaare about me.”

“Wukong, I will take it back-”

“You woooorry about m-” Wukong let out a small ‘mmph!’ when lips pressed against him. Shock wearing off and he desperately kissed back. Uncaring as he was moved away from the bank. Being laid down, Macaque now positioned over him, never breaking away. When the other pulled back, Wukong opened his eyes again. Letting out a small laugh. “Your ears…I haven’t seen them in so long.”

“Well, had to find you somehow.” Was the simple reply. But he didn’t argue when hands reached up to scratch behind both sets, unable to hold back a purr.

“So cute!”

“Stop being weird…”

Wukong only let out a laugh, nuzzling under Macaque’s chin before initiating another kiss.

The sun had started to disappear when the two returned to the camp. Trying to appear casual as they left the foliage. Wukong was immediately filled with an excited teen, MK beaming as he wrapped his arm around his mentor. Who faltered, but eventually returned the gesture. “...Hey bud.”

“Hi Monkey King, you okay?”

“Yeah…just a little lost in my head. Nothing that you need to worry about. Although I’m sure you’re going to, no matter what I do.”

“You know me well.” MK pulled away, beaming up at the other. Laughing as his hair was ruffled. Batting away Wukong’s hands playfully. He stepped back, eyes landing on something on the ground with a brow raised. “So…did you two talk?”

“Yeah…there are a few things that I need to work out. But I’m feeling better.”

“Ooooh, we can tell!” Mei called out, giggling furiously behind her hand.

Wukong looked confused, turning back to MK. Who merely pointed to something between the two monkeys. The teen holding back laughter by biting his lower lip. When looking down, Wukong felt his face flush up, fur puffing out. At some point, his and Macaque’s tails had wrapped around each other. Swaying between the two easily.

“Um…so, we can explain-”

“Oh Wukong!” The Monkey King stumbled as Macaque practically collapsed against him, The Shadow Warrior seeming to have swooned. “I didn’t know you felt that way about me!”

“Macaque, I swear to everything-”

“A confession in the forest would have been a lot more romantic.”

“Get off me!”

“You were always so bad at timing- Mmph!”

“Ewww! Get a room you two, bleh!”

“Kid, you’ve seen Tang and I kiss plenty of times. Calm down.”

“Pigsy, don’t just say that out loud!”

“Do you peasants not know the meaning of privacy?”

“Oooh, this is so much more scandalous!”

#lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk sun wukong #lmk macaque #tw: unwanted touching #possession #fanfiction #s-creations #also on ao3 #shadowpeach

352 notes · View notes

angel-jada · 2 years

Text

1NC0M1NG CH4T FR0M . . . . . RORONOA ZORO

✩ F0RUM N4M3 . . . . . KUNOICHI

✩ F0RUM C0NT3NT . . . . . the slightest hint of sip zoro, the story of how you met the strawhat crew ( and your swordsman ), f! reader, you’re a badass, Luffy saves you, nothing too crazy

✩ 4UD10 R3CS . . . . . I WANNA BE YOURS / arctic monkeys

I can’t believe I didn’t account for this. I am such an idiot.

You knew the creak of a disembarking ship all too well, which only told you that the Strawhats were back way before the estimated time.

This is the last time I trust Kovu with gathering intel.

Sighing, you placed the rolled up prints of poneglyph in their respective tubes, then tied them to your back, silently ducking into the shadows when hearing footsteps outside the door.

You were currently aboard the Thousand Sunny, the flagship of the Strawhats, trying to steal their poneglyph prints for your boss.

It was a simple job, too. They were docked at some random island for supplies, the reindeer that was left behind to watch the ship had fallen asleep, and it was broad daylight.

No one would suspect a thing.

You should’ve been back on land by now, handing over the prints and finally breaking free from his abusive reign.

This job was your ticket to freedom.

Yet Kovu just had to fuck shit up.

I can’t stayed holed up in this room forever. They’ll get too far from land.

With a huff, you slowly opened the door, happy to sense that no one was around.

I need to find a way to get to the back of the ship. I can jump from there, and probably swim back.

You ran lightly towards the stairs, happy you went barefoot for this mission instead of using your getas.

There was no possible way to get back there without being seen, so the least you could do was be fast about it.

You were up the stairs in a blink and now running straight for the gigantic cannon-looking thing attached to the back of the boat.

Almost home free.

For the first time in who remembers when, you smiled, freedom just in reach.

Until it wasn’t.

“YOHOHOHOHO! Um, guys! There’s a lovely lady that is trying to sneak off the ship! AHHHHH! SHE HAS THE PONEGLYPHS!” A skeleton man shrieked, landing in front of and blocking your easy exit, drawing a sword from his cane.

Dammit! Time to try the front!

You back flipped, twisting yourself in the air so you landed the opposite way, allowing you to book it in the other direction.

“You can’t be serious!” an redheaded woman exclaimed, running up the steps and to the back deck with a small orange and white staff in hand.

Cat Burglar Nami.

She ran at you, the staff extending into something much larger.

She swung, aiming for your head but you dropped into a side lunge, using your extended leg to sweep her feet and knock her on her ass.

You grabbed her staff as he was distracted, squeezing it by accident. Out of nowhere, it extended impossibly long, shooting you into the air.

Luck may be on my side today.

You smirked as you flew up the side of the mast, getting about halfway up before planting your feet on it, running up the rest of the way.

You managed to get to the yard, perching yourself so you could look for another form of escape, when you sensed something.

Nico Robin.

You jumped off the yard, grabbing onto it like a monkey bar just as four pale arms sprouted from the wood, attempting to grab you.

“Whoa! That’s so cool!” a giddy voice exclaimed from below.

Your gaze slowly shifted to the deck below, only to see that trademark hat, and the notorious man that it rested on.

Strawhat!

You could sense another attack coming your way so you swung yourself as if you were on uneven bars and let go, flying into the air.

“Is she nuts?! She’s gonna kill herself from that height!” a large man with weirdly shaped blue hair exclaimed from below.

Cyborg Franky.

The swing was too short. You wouldn’t go overboard.

Curse these heavy cuffs!

One silver cuff was attached to each of your ankles, their being there out of your control.

Noticing you were getting dangerously close to the ground, you imbued your legs with some haki and landed safely, creating a small crater on the grassy deck.

As the dust settled, you realized you were surrounded by Strawhat, Zoro, and Blackfoot.

Shit.

“GAHHHH! SHE’S SO GORGEOUS! LOOK AT HER SHORT KIMONO!” Sanji shrieked as his eyes turned into hearts and blood shot from his nose.

Despite the blonde man’s...awkward display, you sensed another pair of eyes on you, so much so that it practically burned.

The Pirate Hunter?

The second you turned to him, your heart caught in your throat.

You had seen his face on his wanted poster a few times before, and you’d be stupid to deny that he wasn’t a handsome man, but looking at him in the flesh... the pictures didn’t even begin to do him justice.

And before you even realized, the two of you locked eyes, and in an instant, it felt as if your legs turned to jelly.

A warm, fluttery feeling spread throughout your stomach, and it felt as if everything else in the world had stopped.

What is this? Was I poisoned?

Just going off his glare, you could already tell that most cowered under his gaze. So why were you reacting this way?

You mentally slapped yourself.

You have to focus.

“You. What are you doing on my ship? And why are you stealing Robin’s poneglyphs?” Strawhat asked seriously, his face quite the contrast from his giddy expression before.

You sighed.

There was no way you could lie out of this mess.

“I am a kunoichi of Iguro clan. And I have been ordered to steal your poneglyph prints,” you stated, your tone firm.

“Any idea why?” Nami asked, her and the rest of the crew walking over.

“None. I am left completely in the dark,” you shook your head.

Your expression quickly turned determined.

“But I do know that this final job is my one way ticket out of hell, so peacefully or not, I’m leaving.”

You lowered yourself into a fighting stance, glaring at Strawhat as his lips grew a smirk.

He cracked his knuckles. “Alright then.”

“Luffy you better not hurt her!” Sanji fumed from the side.

Using your haki, you peered into the near future to see him punch you with an extended arm.

Can’t have that.

“Gum Gum Pistol!”

You tilted to the side, avoiding his hit with ease.

The entire crew gaped, save for Zoro.

Strawhat’s grin grew even larger, if that was possible, and wound up both arms.

A barrage of fists.

“Gum Gum Gatling!”

The barrage came quickly, but you dodged just like the first, flipping, lunging, and performing splits to dodge.

Imbuing your arms with haki, you grabbed one of his arms, harshly pulling him towards you. And like a bungee cord, he came, and you slammed a flattened hand into the pressure point on his neck, knocking him out.

“Luffy!” the crew exclaimed.

Zoro quickly drew two of his swords and ran for you, so you immediately dropped his captain and drew your own katana, meeting his two with a loud clash.

He smirked, which made that fluttery feeling return to your stomach. “I see you use Ittoryu.”

You smirked right back. “I’m knowledgeable in the style, yes.”

The both of you pushed off, returning to your stances before running at each other again.

Swords flew through the air as the both of you met the others attack perfectly.

You lunged into an attack, but he blocked it yet again, so you hook the outstretched foot to his ankle, deepening your lunge to pull him down.

He grunted, doing everything he could to keep his stance planted and balanced, so you imbued your foot with haki, and he did the same for his.

He seemed almost amused at the fact that you were still pushing your sword against his, openly showing that you were incredibly close to him in strength.

Not even Tashigi could do that.

And not only was he amused by the woman in front of him, but in silent awe.

Sure, your beauty was what caught his attention first. You had every feature that a woman would kill for.

Smooth, chestnut skin, plump lips, beautiful hip dips and curves, and beautiful (e/c) pearls, that looked as if they held galaxies in your glance.

But now that he saw your fighting prowess and raw strength along with it, well you could say you had him hook, line, and sinker.

You still kept strong, keeping your sword firm in it’s place as the Pirate Hunter continued to push down.

That is, until the pain equivalent of a thousand lightning bolts stemmed from your ankles, and you let on a cry of pain.

No! Not now!

Zoro realized this and quickly pulled away his swords before the electricity could be conducted to him.

You dropped your katana, falling over as you held yourself in agony, muffling your shouts of pain on your forearm.

“What’s wrong? What did you do to her, marimo?!” Sanji asked, yelling at the green-haired swordsman.

“I didn’t do anything to her!” Zoro fired back, glaring at the cook.

He didn’t know why, but seeing you in so much pain made him hurt. It was a sharp pulling feeling, as if his heart was on a string connected to you.

“The shocks seem to be coming from her ankles,” Robin pointed out, everyone’s attention turning to the cuffs that adorned your feet.

“How do we get it off her? ‘Cause that looks super painful,” Franky asked, grimacing at the sight of you writhing in pain.

It was then that Strawhat got back up from the ground, looking at you with a blank face.

“Oi, (y/n), can you hear me?” your boss asked, his voice coming from the cuffs.

“Shit,” you cursed, weakly trying to get up.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” you could practically hear his smirk of the other side.

“Lemme cut to the chase. You failed your mission, plain and simple. So you know the consequences.”

Your eyes went wide and tears threatened to spill as you realized what he meant.

“No!” you emptily gasped, trying to speak through the pain. “I’ve...I’ve worked with you for 10 years! My debt is paid! We had an agreement!”

“You stupid girl!” he shouted. “I was never going to honor our agreement! You’re too good of an assets to pass up! You will work under me for the rest of your pathetic, little life!”

The ship went dead silent, the Strawhat crew looking at you sorrily as tears poured down your cheeks.

10 years of your life, gone. All because you believed the word of a pirate.

He was right. You really were a stupid.

Painfully, you turned to Strawhat, who looked over the situation intently.

That’s when you got an idea. And settled on it in a blink.

Down on your hands and knees, you bowed your head to the captain, the rest of the crew letting out quiet gasps.

“Strawhat, I...hnnggh...I apologize for knocking you out earlier and...un-understand that I am in no place to ask you for such a favor but,”

You lowered your head to the ground, accepting that you would have to die in a state of embarrassment and weakness.

“Please kill me.”

If you thought the crew was shocked before, they were flabbergasted now.

Even Zoro.

“I’ve wasted the last 10 years of my life with that monster. And now that there is no end in sight, I do not wish to live.”

Strawhat kept the same neutral face as he slowly approached.

You took a deep breath, smiling as you realized your suffering would soon be over, and the bliss of nothingness would welcome you.

But it never came.

Strawhat instead walked past you, silently, and you understood.

I should’ve known.

Such a favor couldn’t be done for someone who just stole from him.

Suddenly, you felt the weight release from your ankles, and the shocks stop.

Your eyes shot wide as you lifted your head, snapping your head around to see that Strawhat had broken off the cuffs for you.

“Hey, guy! I don’t know if you can hear me anymore, but know that (y/n) is under my protection! And she won’t be paying back your stupid debt anymore!” he shouted into the broken pieces.

The small stream of tears that were rolling down your cheeks were now complete waterfalls.

In one motion, a man that you had just met, a man that you tried to steal from, had set you free. After 10 years of hellish torture, you were finally free.

But you still tried to compose yourself, sniffling as he turned back around to face you.

“Why didn’t you kill me?” you quietly asked, looking away from the man.

His smile grew into full on grin. “All you needed was a little help, there was no reason to kill you.”

Your eyes went wide.

There was no way. This had to be a trick.

“Next time just ask.”

Your ears perked at that part.

“Next time?” you asked.

“Oh, yeah! I meant to ask. Do ya wanna join my crew? It’d be so cool if we had a kunoichi!” He cheesed.

You were shocked to say the least, looking over the rest of the crew’s faces to see that they were smiling as well.

Never before had you been met with such kindness. He wasn’t even getting anything in return.

You sniffled, clearing your throat. “I would like that,” you smiled, looking down at the ground.

And as he cheered, and ordered Black Leg to cook a banquet in celebration, you wiped a stray tear from your cheek, looking up to the clear, blue sky.

Strawhat Luffy would never know the bounds of your thanks.

You could never repay him.

#one piece #one piece fluff #one piece angst #roanoa zoro #zoro x reader #roronoa zoro #roronoa x reader #zoro x y/n #roronoa zoro x reader #roronoa zoro x y/n

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triplesilverstar · 6 months

Text

Sometimes you just need a monkey wrench

Rating: 18+

Pairing: Vash X F!Reader

CW: Body dysmorphia, Pre-Canon, Illnesses, Major Illness, Major Character Injury, Medical Inaccuracies, Medical Experimentation, Medical Examination, Dreams and Nightmares, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Feels, Heavy Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Trauma, Fever, Running Away, Communication Failure, Soft Vash the Stampede, Mild Smut, Not Beta Read, Heartbreaking, Imprisonment, Dark Past, Murder, Cartoon Physics, Vashs' Coat as a blanket, Needles, Nightmares

Word count: Roughly 3K

A/N: Chapter two of Even sand can't hide all the skeletons in your closet. This one shows a bit of the past for Snipes.

Hours later Vash is still sitting on the floor with you still held in his arms, rubbing what he hopes is soothing circles into your flushed skin. It’s not ideal but he didn’t think it would be a good idea if you woke up again and tried to fight to get away from the bed and injure yourself further.

Brad had walked in after the little scuffle and rolled his eyes at the sight of Vash on the floor with the woman in his arms, soft words exchanged with Ludia before he was looking at the pair sprawled across the cold tiles with a look of distrust. Well. Just one of the pair.

“Just hope you don’t have another freak out after you wake up and see the IV in your arm” Vash is whispering into your hair, hands pausing their path along your arms. “I need you to get better, Mayfly, I don’t like seeing you in so much pain.”

The only answer he receives is just another whimper, but color is slowly returning to your face. A parting of your lips tongue pale. “I’m bad at physics” tumbling out, mumbled and slurred making him chuckle sadly patting your disheveled hair.

“Vash?” Looking up to see Luida looking at the two of you. Once his gaze is fixed on one of his oldest friends, she starts. “Some of the tests are done. It is a type of common flu.”

“Shouldn’t she be over it by now if that’s the case?” Eyebrows furrowing. There’s no way you’ve been this sick because of the flu, there was a reason it was called common. “Normally yes. Some of the tests provided the answer.” Lowering herself to her knees so she’s at eye level with Vash. “Vash. Her immune system is severely compromised, she has almost no white blood cells.” At his blank stare she sighed “Vash, it means her body has a hard time fighting against any kind of infection. I hate to say it, but without more information about what was done to her I’m not sure we can help her. We might do more damage.”

Vash frowned, resuming the movement of one of his hands letting his fingers run through your sweat soaked locks. Contemplating his options and biting his lip, because how much of a breach of your trust would it be to get that tube from your bag that held the paper you’d let him read? He hadn’t understood a lot of it, but it might provide the information Luida needs to help you recover. Another shiver of your body and Vash nods his head, decision made. “I need to get to her bag.”

Adjusting your body, so you’re no longer pressed against his and a soft whimper of his name has him pausing. Surprising Luida as Vash removes his coat to wrap around your frame, carefully bundling you in as much of it as he can and still leaving access to your arm. A sweep of his hand along your cheek and he’s standing. Heading for the door “I’ll be back as quick as I can.”

Long legs quickly lead him back to where he’d left the tomas, both of your bags still attached to the saddle. Grabbing both and pausing “please don’t hold this against me Mayfly.” Squeezing his eyes shut before hurrying back to the infirmary, the first thing he does upon entering the door is look to where he left you, ensuring you were still where he had left you. With your hands balled tight, making your grip seem even paler against the vivid crimson caused a sad smile to break out on his face. Sick, and your response in your delirious state is to reach for him, reminding him of the two days in that town that he held your hand. A phantom grip he wished he could feel right at that moment.

“Vash?” Luida calling his name breaks him from his trance, nodding to her and placing both of your bags on the ground before opening yours and starting to dig through it. Finding the cylinder at the bottom, inside a hidden pocket. It feels like a knife plunging into his heart at this invasion of something you go through such lengths to hide.

“She has some papers, a report, at least I think, in here that mentions what was done to her. I read it before, but I didn’t understand a lot of it.” Looking over the locked device trying to figure out how to open it, turning as Brad appeared in the doorway. Watching Vash struggle with the cylinder for a moment, before snatching it from him.

“It needs a six digit code. Got any guesses?” Vash just shakes his head, unaware of any kind of number that would hold any significance to his lady. A stark realization he doesn’t even know when your birthday is. “I could crack it open, but I don’t think she’d be a fan of that.” At that moment your body spasms, shaking the lines of the IV and you let out a shuddering grasp, the heart rate monitor spiking. Biting at his lip once more causing the tissue to swell, Vash turns to Brad and nods.

“At this point, we don’t have much choice. I’ll take the blame when she’s better.” Because Vash won’t voice it, but he can’t even think of the alternative he needs you to recover. In such a short time you’ve become so much more than just his traveling companion and lover, and he’s doubting if he’s told you any of it. How you hold more pieces of him then he thought he had left to give. A shrug of his shoulders, and Brad is taking out his monkey wrench, locking it along one of the seams and making it crack under the pressure.

“Can’t use it again, so it better have what we need brat.” Tossing the cracked top to the side and handing the tube back to Vash.

It feels he’s holding the world in his hands as he gingerly accepts it back, the notion of what that means settling heavy on his already scarred heart. “It should” tilting the cylinder waiting for the paper to slide out, only for a small micro chip to tumble out first and land on one of the panels connected to the computer network. A pause, and suddenly the voice of the onboard system advising of a download in progress.

Leaving them with no chance to respond, files started popping up along the screen, data files.

All about you.

A flurry of files flashing on screen, news articles, photos, text document, and fly by as a preview loading the documents as they transfer. Stopping as the final file loads, an image that leaves Vash reeling, his heart breaking, tears burning into his eyes while his chest heaves. A photo of you, clearly held in chains inside a prison with the caption above the image, a news article so similar and so different from the printed ones of Noman’s land.

“Scourge of Icarus system caught after council assassination in broad daylight.” Vash knew from your nightmares you had things you regretted, some of the things you’d told him you’d done.

But that image.

You were looking right in the camera when the shot had been taken. There was zero remorse in your eyes, you had no regrets for what you had done, no flicker of anything he had come to cherish. No spark, no sense of wonder he was used to when you looked at the stars. No. You looked for all the world, like you had nothing left to live for, ready to die.

The image is gone as Luida starts tapping away at the keyboard, breaking Vash from his brief sense of foreboding, loading a file and opening it up full of medical jargon and what looks like chemical formulas. “This should provide me with all the information I need to see if I can come up with an answer.” As Vash turns away from the screen to face Luida, he can see the look on her face, a look of one choosing to tuck the information they had all read away. More focused on trying to help get you on the mend then judge you for past actions.

Brad however. “Shouldn’t we be tying her up instead of letting her sleep on the floor?” Voice flat as he stares at you, watching as you shiver in the fabric of Vashs’ coat, making your frame seem somehow even smaller than before. That single action made Brad sigh, running a hand through his graying locks. “You gonna vouch for her brat?”

It takes a second for it to click in Vash’s brain, even Brad is willing to put what he saw aside. “Yea. She’s…” licking his lips before setting his gaze on your shaking form once more, the shock still flooding his system. “She’s not like that anymore.” Another nod and Brad is turning, getting ready to leave before he pauses.

“Since the two of you are probably gonna be here for a while, got any clothes you want to get cleaned?” An offer of an out, to try and handle what turmoil he’s currently in, a reminder that Brad and Luide know him better then he knows himself. That you would have given him a similar option. Vash realizes with a heavy heart he needs it, needs time to process some of what he’s read.

“Yea. Yea we both do.” Leaving the cylinder on the counter and grabbing both bags to follow after Brad towards the ship's laundry. A final look over his shoulder, in the opening of the doorway feeling his heart and mind war with one another over the face that right now he'd rather do laundry then stay with you while you shook on the floor body wracked by your sickness.

It doesn’t take long for Luida to sort through the data, finding what she needs and feeling her heart churn for an entirely different reason in comparison to Vash. A round of nutrients added to the IV dripping into your body, and as Luida bends down running one of her hands through your greasy hair she feels herself flinching slightly when you whimper. “You poor thing. You’ve been through a lot in your long life.” Carefully lifting your head and pushing a pillow under you, listening to your breathing shift ever so slightly before returning to the monitor.

The solution to your problem, even if she herself didn’t fully understand everything going on inside your body or what had been done, was a rather simple one. Listed in the medical file itself as the solution for the unintended side effect of some of the experiments, now Luida just needed to wait for the culture to finish growing so she could insert a lab grown vial full of white blood cells grown from your own DNA into your system.

Luida however being the type of person she was had moved onto problem solving a future solution for you because there was no way you wouldn’t come across another infection of some kind in the future. She just needed a delivery system that would last more than a few hours once you left the ship.

All the while another thought crossed her mind since it had been a few hours since Vash had disappeared, loading some of the files onto a tablet for the young plant to read.

While she wasn’t an expert and had no children of her own, Luida hadn’t missed the way Vash interacted with you. His actions were full of care and tenderness as he spoke about you while they had been waiting for some of the test results before getting desperate. The way he held you, and tried to keep you calm, everything in his mannerisms screamed how much was between the two of you. His absence clearly a result of having seen the files that had opened up and the final one that had been glaring at the three of them.

While she had been waiting Luida dug more into the documents herself, curious about what kind of woman could have captured the young plants attention and clearly his heart. The information learned paint a heartbreaking story to the older woman, but what she had read had made sense to her as to why Vash would have fallen for the younger woman. A kindred spirit wanting to try and make up for the wrongs she’d felt she’d done. A broken soul that had found her own form of salvation, all because one person offered to let her make a difference.

That video had been interesting to watch. One of the few files that wasn’t just text or images, but it had cleared up a few things. Hearing the doors open Luida turned, shoulders slumping as Brad walked in raising an eyebrow at her. “Expecting someone else?”

“Vash.” Her voice somber and earnest. “I thought he’d be back by now.” Brad froze mid step, whipping around to face Luida.

A look of confusion on his face before frowning. “I figured I’d find the brat back in here.” Rubbing at the stubble growing on his face while he watched you, one side of his face downturned in thought “any luck for the girl?”

“Yes. I’ve got the solution to her problem growing in one of the lab incubators.” Waving at the systems working away, before a flicker of an idea made her face light up in a while that made his stomach lurch. “Actually Brad, you might be able to help me with something.” Pulling up the info on screen and showing Brad what she had learned and the solution she came up with for next time. “The problem is keeping them stable until she would need to use them. I just don’t see how to keep the cells from dying in a short time span after she leaves.”

Rubbing his chin once more while thinking, a low hum while he looked at. “I’ve got an idea. Can you put them into cartridges that could be kept frozen? I could make something to keep the cartridges frozen until she needs them. Maybe something with a built-in delivery system?”

“I think I can come up with something.” Agreeing and pressing a few more keys as the door to the lab opened once more. Vash reappearing at last, watching the two people he’d known for the longest looking at a screen. A small smile before striding more into the room, moving towards where you’re still shivering on the ground, somehow even more wrapped up inside his coat.

A whimper from you breaking the silence. “Just wanna go home.”

Luida has been listening to your mumbling for a few hours now, random words that made no sense but it’s clear you’re trapped in a nightmare of some form brought on by the sickness. A grimace on your face as you shudder, Vash bends his knees bringing himself closer to your pale form.

A soft smile on his face as he cupped your cheek thumb gliding over the swell of skin, watching the furrow in your brow fade before standing once more and turning back to the other two. Both of them watching him and his brief interactions with you with rapt attention. Vash might be a master at hiding his pain and feelings behind a mask, but these two know all of his tells.

“Ugh. What are you two up too?” Moving towards them, dressed in his cleanest turtleneck and cargo pants. Peace bringer left in his room, looking at the monitor between both of them.

“Trying to come up with a lasting solution for your girlfriend and her compromised immune system.” Brad deadpans, tapping a few keys and sending copies of the files he needed to his own workstation monitor.

“She’s not m-” both humans sending him a look, clearly full of disbelief. “Fine. My girlfriend.” Sighing as Vash took a seat on the stool looking to Luida “sorry about earlier. I… Needed some time to sort out what I saw.”

Brad huffed at the weak excuse, slapping Vash on the back of the head as he left sparing no other words for the troublesome plant. Luida on the other hand, gave Vash a reassuring smile and held out a tablet for him. “Maybe you should have a read of this.” Taking the tablet and flashing it up, eyebrows raising as he first started reading before his brow furrowed. “We’ve got another few hours while the culture grows, hopefully she’ll be on the mend in no time.”

Tablet in hand, Vash found his gaze moving back towards you once more running a hand through his short hair. He knows you. Knows you on a level far deeper than the glimpse into your past shown on the screen. He’s seen you let others sink bullets in you to defend someone else, taken and given tongue lashings in regards to so many subjects. Heard about your views on life and just how precious it is for reasons so different from his own. He’s heard you talk about the world in such a way that it both makes his heart race and causes a feeling of contentment to wash over him.

You’ve changed from the woman that was shown in that image, he knows that, knows it as clearly as he knows lines of his own palm. So how could he have been ready to bolt, even if just for a moment from you because of that? ‘Everyone has a blank ticket’ ringing in his head, the chance to change. You had done that.

Swallowing as the few steps he takes feels more like iles, lowering down to the ground beside your form and pulling you into his lap so your head is rested against his thigh instead of the small pillow. One hand starting to glide through your hair in what he hopes is a soothing motion once more, pressing a button to illuminate the tablet and starting to read the files loaded onto it for him by Luida.

Back to Masterlist for the series

#vash the stampede x reader #vash the stampede #trigun stampede #trigun #twink writes #Bullets Bandits Ghosts & Typhoons #tristamp

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