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cheri-translates · 3 years

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[CN] Gavin’s Spreading Wings Date

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date, 展翼之约, which has not been released in EN! 🍒

It is very important to read his birthday R&S before this!

[ This was released on 24 July 2021 ]

[ PROLOGUE ]

While heading home after work, I receive a call from Eli.

I’m guessing there’s information regarding the matter I asked of him from before.

MC: Hello? Captain Eli? Since you suddenly called, does this mean there’s a solution to what I asked about the other time?

Eli: That’s right. I personally made a trip to the municipal administration last week and retrieved the item for you. I’ve already asked City Express to send it over to you.

MC: That’s great! Thanks, Captain Eli!

Eli: It’s no problem. Although it took a little effort, it was retrieved eventually.

MC: I really have to thank Captain Eli. This item is pretty important to me, so you’ve helped me out big time.

Eli: Ah, it’s nothing. Oh yes, the STF is leaving tonight. Gavin just left the bureau and should be heading towards your place now. I shan’t disturb the both of you. I’ll hang up now. Watch out for the delivery.

MC: Mm, I’ve got it. I’ve troubled Captain Eli this time. When our TV station has a matchmaking show in the future, I’ll definitely recommend you!

I hang up. Sure enough, I receive a parcel from the STF not long after reaching home.

Tearing open the packaging, I see a dark coloured square box with the municipal administration’s logo engraved on it.

After removing the cover, a badge sits quietly among the flannel.

A cold light glints on the surface of the coiled design. The flag and peace dove clearly declare the rules of justice and protection.

It silently conveys a certain dignity that can make one hold their breath.

During an awards ceremony organised by the municipal government a few months ago, Gavin wasn’t able to attend in person. As a result, they didn’t manage to give him an honorary badge.

Although the municipal administration made several calls, the STF has been busy with missions, and Gavin hasn’t had the time to collect it.

This matter is something which I’ve always kept in my heart.

I feel that this honour, which represents an “acknowledgement”, shouldn’t be treated so flippantly and hastily.

Hence, while preparing for Gavin’s birthday, I asked Eli way in advance to retrieve this from the municipal administration using the name of STF.

This is an “acknowledgement” which belongs to him, and I wish to hand it to him personally.

All of a sudden, there are knocks at the door. Knowing that the person outside is Gavin, I quickly hide the badge and the box into a cupboard before opening the door.

Then, the person outside wraps me in a full embrace. His scent overtakes my senses.

MC: Are you leaving tonight?

Gavin responds with a “mm”. After nuzzling his head gently in the crook of my neck, he releases his hold on me.

In the short span of half a minute, he seems to have already derived all the strength he needs, and the light in his eyes is very bright.

MC: There’s no need to worry about me, but you have to take care of your safety.

Gavin: I’ll do my best to rush back. Don't worry.

The both of us speak at the same time. Gavin can’t help but laugh. Taking my hand, he pulls me outside.

Gavin: Let’s go and have dinner. We’ll eat outside today.

MC: Okay!

Walking along the street, I look at Gavin’s calm and resolute figure. Recalling the badge which is sitting quietly at home, I secretly purse my lips into a smile.

This year, my birthday plan is a secret which Gavin doesn’t know about. I’m looking forward to the day the secret is revealed, along with his reactions.

[ DATE ]

The faraway snow-capped mountains are reminiscent of a fog coloured outline. They stand at the end of the horizon, faraway and reticent.

On a road not too far from the border, I disembark from the car, standing underneath a street sign while staring ahead.

Approximately half a month ago, Gavin was sent to this city for a mission. Today is the day he wraps up the mission.

It’s also his birthday.

At this moment, my phone rings. I answer it quickly.

Eli: MC, have you reached the location I gave you?

MC: Mm, I’ve reached. Captain Eli, when will you guys be dismissed?

Eli: We’ve already been dismissed and are heading your way. Just stay where you are, and you’ll definitely cross paths with Gavin. Don’t worry.

MC: That’s great. I’ll thank Captain Eli in advance then~

After hanging up, I tap open my memo and verify its contents once more.

MC: The aviation park, guesthouse, cake, and presents. Mm, no problem at all!

I turn my phone off, thinking about how aside from celebrating Gavin’s birthday, I’m also shouldering a very “heavy responsibility”.

Since Gavin wasn’t personally present for the awards ceremony conducted by the municipal government, there’s a medal which has yet to be given to him.

After learning about this piece of news not too long ago, I’ve remembered it in my heart, and specially asked Eli to retrieve this medal from the municipal government in the name of STF.

With a really huge and hidden personal motive, I wish to personally hand this important honour to Gavin on this most special day.

The sudden chirping of birds pulls my train of thought back to reality.

I look at the time. It’s still very early, and the first glimmer of light has just appeared in the sky.

After waiting for a while longer, I spot a group of uniformed men appearing at the end of the road. My heart, which had been dangling in the air, immediately settles.

The person leading the group is wearing a combat uniform. Strands of brown hair curl up in the breeze, and he currently has his head turned towards a squad mate behind him as he says something.

Although they appear to have experienced a fierce battle, the atmosphere is very light-hearted.

Looks like this mission successfully reached its end.

Likely sensing my gaze, he suddenly turns his head, staring afar off towards my direction.

After he getting a clear view of my figure, those amber eyes suddenly freeze. The strands atop his head curl up in a silly manner, as though he doesn’t know how to react.

The early morning mist has not yet dissipated. The world is enveloped in a tender and pale greenish blue, and the chirping of birds occasionally grows faint and near.

The whirring of a helicopter drifts from overhead as it circles in the sky. It’s the aircraft which is here to send them back.

Seeing that Gavin is slightly at a loss, I can’t help but chuckle, waving at him.

Gavin immediately walks over to me, his pace much faster than before. The squad mates follow behind him in a leisurely manner, not planning to disrupt this early morning meeting.

Gavin stands in front of me. He sweeps a glance over my white denim jacket, his gaze a little astonished.

MC: How is it? Does it look good?

Gavin nods, responding in a straightforward manner.

Gavin: Looks good.

MC: I specially prepared a matching set~

While speaking, I pass him the bag in my hands. Gavin receives it and takes a look. With a chuckle, he puts on the exact same jacket deftly.

Although it’s just a simple white demin jacket, it makes him look refreshed and cool.

The early morning mist dyes his eyes, giving them a tender coolness. When his eyes meet mine, they instantly melt into a warm gaze.

At this point, Eli and other squad mates walk over as well. A rope ladder descends from the helicopter, and Eli arches a brow at us.

Eli: This rascal was so anxious to see you that he almost flew back to Loveland City directly. This is good. He doesn't have to fly now.

He pats Gavin on the shoulder.

Eli: Captain Gavin, enjoy your birthday vacation. We brothers will head off first.

One by one, they climb up the rope ladder and board the helicopter. Tang Chao whistles, and he’s grabbed through the hatch by Eli.

Gavin doesn’t bother about them. He removes his half finger gloves, revealing his dry yet soft finger pads. He entwines all ten fingers with mine.

He lifts his eyes to look at me, and they are filled with an insuppressible brightness. He asks a question that he clearly knows the answer to.

Gavin: Why did you come here?

The helicopter circles into the distance, accompanied by a deafening roar. I grin while bringing my left hand to my mouth, curving it into the shape of a trumpet.

MC: It’s clearly to... wish you a happy birthday!

The public bus brings us to the entrance of a park in the outskirts of the city. I pull Gavin off the bus, and we stand at the entrance of the park together.

Turning my head, I scrape Gavin’s palm.

MC: May I know if Mr Birthday Boy is ready to spend a day of surprises with me?

The hand that’s intertwined with Gavin’s moves forward decisively. The smile in his voice is unambiguously clear.

Gavin: Of course.

When I was planning the birthday route a few days ago, I unintentionally chanced upon information pertaining to this park.

As compared to other parks, there doesn’t seem to be anything special about this aviation park.

It’s just another slow-paced venue to relax in within the city. It has a pond which can’t be considered large, and a few willow trees grow along it.

Magazines are displayed on the counter of a small stall, and a child is standing on his tiptoes, selecting a popsicle from the freezer beside it.

If I had to mention the biggest difference, it would be that this park was transformed from an airbase.

In order to remember that it was once an airbase, there’s a white statute of an aircraft in the middle of the park.

Similarly, in order to be in line with the theme of “aviation”, all the shops in the park display miniature aircraft models.

Akin to colourful birds, they carry a yearning for the unconstrained sky.

Perhaps due to it being the summer vacation, a teacher has brought children to visit this ex-airbase.

The children wear yellow hats while chattering away. They surround the aircraft models, debating on which one looks the best.

Gavin and I walk along the shade of trees unhurriedly. When passing by the aircraft statue, he suddenly asks me a question.

Gavin: Did you bring me here because this used to be an airbase?

His gaze flits past the aircraft statue, then pauses on my face.

I nod in acknowledgement.

MC: I heard that this used to be one of the first airbases. In the past, many aircrafts were studied here. It’s a place with lots of commemorative value, and bears the weight of the years when people headed into the sky. Since I’m celebrating your birthday in this city, I felt that I should pick a location which is slightly more special. Otherwise, it wouldn’t leave much of an impression when we recollect it in the future.

Gavin chuckles, then reaches out to pinch my face.

Gavin: Seeing you appear early in the morning while dismissing the squad was already enough to leave a deep impression on me.

I laugh in embarrassment, then continue the earlier topic.

MC: But the airbase is only half of the reason.

I pause, my sentence ending on an upward lilt.

MC: There’s another half.

Gavin arches his brows, as though wondering what other surprises I could have hidden in this small park.

Tugging on his hand, we turn into a small path on the left, a confident smile on my face.

MC: Come with me.

The small path extends forward, and the sound of our footsteps mingles with the rustling of leaves.

After making a turn, everything becomes clear.

Before us, there’s a spacious and empty patch of land. Green grass grows wildly, covering the runway which was once used for aircrafts.

The wreckage of a plane remains on the ground, the rust on its body akin to a brown coloured decorative pattern.

Everything reveals the creases of time, but certain lingering aspirations can still be felt from it.

Gavin: Is this the other half of the reason?

He looks at me, his brows arched slightly.

MC: This was the original location of the airbase. I heard that this abandoned plane used to have the most excellent workmanship. I felt that if you knew about such a place, you’d want to take a look. Also, this is quite a nice place for a hidden scenery~

Gavin suddenly reaches out to brush dust off the body of the aircraft, revealing a series of numbers.

Gavin: Y2251. This used to be an air freighter.

Gavin pauses for a moment. As though he grasped at a fragment from his memories, his eyelashes stir gently in slight disbelief.

Gavin: A very long time ago, I made an aircraft model. This was the aircraft I referenced and modelled it after.

MC: ?!

I’m stunned for half a second. When I see myself in Gavin’s calm and composed eyes, I can’t help but chuckle.

MC: I suddenly feel as though this world might actually operate in a circle. We might move and turn around, but there will come a day when we become part of the circle.

Gavin responds with a “mm”. He gazes fixedly at the set of numbers, as though patching up fragments of memories bit by bit.

Gavin: I used it to participate in a competition and won a prize. Back then, the officer who gave out the award came from this base.

MC: What kind of a competition was it?

Gavin: An aeromodelling competition. The prize was a small aviator badge.

We walk past the propeller of the aircraft wreckage with very light footsteps.

In my mind, a face even younger than the one right now surfaces before my eyes, along with a pair of clear amber eyes.

MC: Wow, that sounds really incredible!

I suddenly see the introductory plate next to the plane, which has a picture of how it formally looked like.

Smooth contours, blue wings, floating cloud patterns on its tail... just like a beautiful flying bird.

MC: How pretty. When you referenced this plane, did you make an exact replica?

Gavin nods. He looks at the plate, his gaze very serious.

Gavin: It was more or less the same as this.

He hesitates slightly, then adds on.

Gavin: Erm... it didn’t look as good. But it was very practical and could fly.

He gestures with his hands, pointing towards a faraway ginkgo tree.

Gavin: Around here to over there - the distance of half a field.

We walk over to that ginkgo tree. Its leaves are luxuriant as it stands next to the side gate of the park.

Since it’s summer, the leaves are lush and green.

A swing is swaying gently and quietly under the tree, and a few ginkgo leaves have fallen onto the wooden seat.

Tugging Gavin over to the swing, we continue our earlier conversation.

MC: We probably walked around 500 metres to get here. An aircraft model which is able to fly 500 metres is so incredible! You must have really liked it in the past in order to do such an amazing job.

Gavin holds the rope of the swing. He nods after hearing this, and his voice is certain.

Gavin: I did like it very much.

Seeing from my expression that I’m about to burst from curiosity, he can’t help but chuckle before going along with me and speaking.

Gavin: Back then, I bought many atlases related to planes. While studying them slowly, I conducted test flights too. I spent almost half of my summer vacation on this. Although the process was very fulfilling, there were times when I faced setbacks. Once, I got into a huff and tossed all the spare parts into my drawer and went to bed.

MC: What happened next?

A nostalgic smile flashes in Gavin’s eyes.

Gavin: I couldn’t fall asleep, so I got up and took all of them out of the drawer. I fumbled around and managed to construct the extending and retracting mechanism of the wings. The next day, I slept till late in the afternoon... My mom didn’t wake me up.

MC: Pfft.

I can almost envision a youth who is sound asleep under the covers, a prototype plane laying quietly on the table.

A breeze enters through the curtains. It’s tender and light-hearted.

MC: Looks like it really isn’t easy to construct an aircraft model successfully.

I’m a little awed.

MC: I remember when we were doing handicrafts in school, the teacher would always say that the final step is to engrave our names as a marker. If I were you, I’d definitely paint my own name at the most conspicuous spot, and tell everyone how incredible I am.

Gavin gives this some thought before he shakes his head.

Gavin: I didn’t engrave my name back then. It was on the small aviator badge, but it got lost after I sent it to my father’s squad.

The way he says this so naturally causes my slightly flinched expression to reveal complicated emotions.

Gavin: Now that I think about it, it wasn’t anything special.

He chuckles, his tone as light as a breeze.

Gavin: They’re all in the past.

He narrates this calmly, as though these memories have long since been shut behind a dusty door.

I think of a 14 year old Gavin. I think of that aircraft model he made personally. I think of the past he had to experience...

A sense of discontent rises from my heart, and I wish to smoothen these regrets.

I stand up, and Gavin lifts his head towards me in slight puzzlement.

Gavin: What’s wrong?

MC: How could we not eat popsicles in a park during summer? I saw a stall selling popsicles earlier. I’ll buy two sticks.

Gavin nods. Just as he’s about to stand up and follow me, I press him back onto the swing.

MC: I’ll buy it. You can just wait for me here.

Gavin arches his brows slightly as he looks at me. As though seeing through my thoughts, he nods.

MC: What flavour do you want?

Gavin: I’ll go with whatever you like.

I nod. Just as I prepare to leave, someone grips my fingers.

I turn around to see that Gavin is looking at me.

Gavin: Be safe.

After a pause, he continues.

Gavin: I’ll be waiting for you here.

MC: Mm, I’ve got it.

I nod, giving him a smile.

I’m standing at a shop near the entrance of the park. Numerous aircraft models of various styles are displayed on the counter.

However, I instantly spot one particular style exhibited in the middle. With its white body and blue wings, it looks exactly like the plane in the original picture from earlier.

When the boss sees me staring at it, he enthusiastically introduces it to me from the side.

Boss: This is a bestseller from our shop. It’s a replica of the plane in the park, built in a 1:400 ratio. This is the only piece left today.

Without hesitation, I purchase it.

Even before waiting for the boss to package it in a box, I pick up the miniature plane and store it into my bag. Then, I quickly jog into the park.

When I hurriedly weave through the crowd and make a turn at the small path, I suddenly halt in my footsteps when I spot Gavin.

He’s sitting on the swing in the park, sunlight from the summer afternoon filtering through the crevices of leaves and descending on him in specks.

A few ginkgo leaves have fallen, scattering at his feet. A few bellflowers are suddenly blown by the wind, releasing a clear and rippling sound.

Gavin watches the bellflowers quietly, and all his sharpness has been retracted.

In an instant, along with the descending ginkgo leaves, I think I see the youth who is encased and hidden by layers of solid armour.

It’s as though he has found a wound which has yet to heal completely but was forgotten with time. When he faces that scar, he waits in quiet solitude.

Akin to an instinctive reaction, I sprint towards him and take his hand.

The moment Gavin lifts his head and looks at me, I see brilliant rays lighting up his eyes.

It seems that he has grown accustomed to waiting. But this time, the person he’s waiting for has arrived as planned.

MC: Sorry, I had to queue for a long time to get the popsicles.

Gavin shakes his head, his brows arched into a smile.

Gavin: It wasn’t very long.

I stretch out my hand, waving the two popsicle sticks in my hand.

MC: Here. The other flavours were sold out, so there’s only lychee left. Give it a try.

Gavin takes one stick. I sit beside him and take a bite of the popsicle, the clear and sweet taste spreading from the tip of my tongue.

I turn my head and ask Gavin a question.

MC: Why aren’t you asking me about what gifts I prepared for you this year?

Gavin: If I said that your appearance here is already the best gift, you definitely wouldn’t be satisfied with this response.

He pauses, his tone bringing with it an unhurried upward lilt.

Gavin: So... what did you prepare for me this year?

Heading out of the park via the side gate, we make a turn at a sloping path. In front, there’s a pretty large lake.

The source of water from this lake comes from the faraway snow-capped mountains. Since there aren’t many tourists, the water in the lake is clean and pure blue.

This patch of blue is reminiscent of a gigantic jewel. It’s deep and tender, adding radiance and beauty to the snow-capped mountain, as though extending to the horizon.

There’s a tranquil guesthouse next to the lake. Gavin and I push open the gate of the courtyard together.

There’s a gigantic tree in the courtyard. July happens to be its flowering season, and the tree is layered with cloud-like petals.

I guide Gavin to the second storey. After lifting the portiere made of colourful cloth, a meticulously decorated room appears before our eyes.

Sprigs of a blossoming plant have been inserted into a vase, and a simple and unsophisticated wind chime hangs by the window.

A birthday cake stored in a transparent box is displayed on the table, and there’s a blue ribbon on it which has been tied into a bow.

Ever since we entered, I've been secretly observing Gavin’s reaction, wanting to know if he fancies such a surprise.

He doesn’t say anything. He simply looks at everything quietly, as though he doesn’t want to miss out on anything.

Then, he walks over to the window, fiddling with the wind chime gently. He sits at the edge of the window casually, and stretches out his hand towards me.

Understanding this immediately, I walk over, placing my hand in his unfurled palm. Sunlight from outside the window envelops this square inch world, and it is tender and tranquil.

Gavin: A very long time ago, somebody told me that I can’t be unhappy on my birthday.

Gavin: Because this day doesn’t just belong to me. It also belongs to everyone who loves me, and the people who have prepared and looked forward to this day for a very long time.

Gavin: Celebrating my birthday with you for the fourth time, I think I truly understand the meaning in those words.

He lifts his eyes, looking at me quietly.

Gavin: I’m very happy. Not because it’s my birthday, but because there’s someone who wishes for me to be happy.

The wind chime that I hung up at the window jingles, akin to a song with an unknown melody.

I had prepared many, many things that I wanted to tell him at this moment. But right now, I swallow these words back.

MC: The person who told you that must have been looking forward to this day very much, just like me. Looking forward to giving you well wishes, and looking forward to you being happy because of the surprises I prepared.

I wink.

MC: Since the atmosphere is just right, it’s time to unwrap your gift.

Very carefully, I retrieve the miniature plane that I purchased earlier from my bag, handing it to Gavin under his watchful gaze.

MC: This aircraft model is a belated gift from MC to 14 year old Gavin. I hope he remembers to engrave his name on it when he receives the gift.

Gavin brushes the body of the plane with a finger pad. He suddenly releases a muffled chuckle, then reaches out to draw me into his arms.

His voice enters my ear, mingling with the rustling of leaves outside the window. It’s very soft, and very close by.

Gavin: If 14 year old Gavin received this gift, he’d have definitely remembered to say thank you on that day.

I wrap my arms around his waist, feeling our overlapping breaths in this moment. After a long time passes, I speak up.

MC: Each time I celebrated my birthday when I was small, I always loved to make many wishes.

MC: Thinking back, many of those wishes were really childish and even greedy.

MC: After growing up, I experienced many regrets, and faced many situations where I had to compromise and give up.

MC: Gradually, my birthday wishes became smaller and simpler. It’s as if I no longer had the same courage as before.

MC: But you’re different. No matter what I want, you’ve always been willing to fulfil them all.

MC: You made me realise that if I’m properly loved by someone, my wishes can be fulfilled no matter how childish they are.

MC: So no matter what Little Gav’s wishes are, I want to fulfil them for him.

Gavin embraces me, and he doesn’t say anything for a long time.

I pat him on the back gently, chuckling as I continue speaking.

MC: Okay, since Little Gav’s present has already been received, it’s time for yours.

I leave from Gavin’s arms, reaching out to cover his eyes. His eyelashes flutter in my palm, and it’s ticklish.

MC: You’re not allowed to open your eyes in secret.

With the greatest of care, I retrieve the honorary badge belonging to the Commander of STF from my breast pocket, putting it in front of his chest personally.

Gavin doesn’t open his eyes. Rays of sunlight outline his face and figure, immersing his entire self in brightness.

Sunlight lands on the badge, and the golden rays reflected off it give a brief summary of the storms and severe winters in this person’s past.

MC: You didn’t participate in the awards ceremony the previous time, so this medal couldn’t be passed to you. Now, I can finally hand it to its owner.

I observe how it looks on Gavin’s chest, and my voice is very soft.

MC: This is also the most important gift of today.

Gavin: The most important gift?

The entire room is filled with a tender glow. Lifting my head, I meet Gavin’s quiet gaze as he stares at me.

MC: Because I’m a witness to every single reason that resulted in you obtaining it.

I’ve personally witnessed how he has used his own body to block off all sorts of dangers, and can clearly remember how many injuries he has sustained.

But he also experiences pain. When he doesn’t sleep for several days and nights, he also gets fatigued.

It’s only today that I vaguely surmise that the reason why he never mentions anything is because since a very long time ago, he learnt that he shouldn’t anticipate any reciprocation from others.

That aviation badge which was forgotten in a corner had once sustained the weight of a youth’s pure gaze.

Afterwards, it was covered by a thick layer of dust. Nobody held it with a heart filled with anticipation ever again. Just like that, it vanished into the depths of time.

Later on, the youth grew up and decided on a correct flight path. He stepped on dark shadows, walking on the path of justice.

He saved so many people, but the only thing he didn’t know how to do was to allow himself to receive a little reciprocation.

Fortunately, I can now stand before him and take his hand. I can tell him that he has done very well, and that he’s the Gavin I like the most.

I wish to give him the most resolute response.

MC: Gavin, you’re worthy of all the honour. You’re worthy of all the recognition. I... am extremely convinced about this.

After hearing this, Gavin blinks slowly. He lifts his hand and touches the badge on his chest.

I lean forward slightly to take his hand. Looking directly into his eyes, I recite the words that I’ve drafted multiple times in my mind.

MC: There’s someone I’ve known for a really long time.

MC: I’ve seen his valiant and heroic side, and have also seen his fierce and decisive side.

MC: He always doesn’t care about how many injuries he sustains, but gets anxious and blames himself whenever I get hurt.

MC: He has brought me to see many magnificent sights, and enabled me to appreciate many stories that I wouldn’t have been able to experience on my own.

MC: He has handed his gentlest side to me without holding anything back. But he doesn’t ask for me to reciprocate in any way.

MC: I wish to keep looking at him like this.

And I also wish to... have him forever and ever.

A breeze from outside the window brings with it a floral fragrance. I watch as Gavin stares at me without blinking, his gaze blooming with tenderness.

Gavin: MC, I remember everything that we’ve experienced together. These experiences are so wonderful, and they’ve filled this space.

He points at his heart.

Gavin: Because this space is full, I can continue to walk on the path that I want to with resoluteness, and do the things that I want.

He pauses, his tone wilful.

Gavin: I’ve decided on today’s wish.

He draws closer to me, and I'm able to catch a whiff of his breath.

Gavin: MC, you are the one who gave 14 year old me a gift. You are also the one who grabbed the hands of both Gavin from the past and the Gavin of right now.

Gavin: You’re the person I was waiting for.

Gavin: So your wishes are also my wishes.

Gavin: From now onwards, keep looking at me.

A floral fragrance fills the room. I stare into his bright eyes, as feel as though I’m embracing the warmth of an entire midsummer.

✈️ Epilogue: here

✈️ Video call: here

✈️ Phone call: here

✈️ Moments and Text: here

✈️ Support the cafe by dropping by the tip jar!

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc gavin

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the-broken-truth · 3 years

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Can you do a oneshot of Miranda x Male Reader? something about the male reader being Eva's father and that he disappeared in the first world war centuries ago and left miranda heartbroken and sad, but he did not really die and since he discovered that he was immortal and then he only remained hidden for centuries working for Russian organizations with a secret identity. and that after finding out that her lover was still alive and in a Romanian village, he went to see her. 👨 - 🐾 (EAGLE) - ✈

Wings Of A Feather - Mother Miranda x Male Eagle Shifter Reader

- Quick Key -

[Y/N] - YOUR FIRST NAME

[FL/N] - YOUR FAKE LAST NAME

[L/N] - YOUR LAST/SURNAME/FAMILY NAME

[H/C] - HAIR COLOR

[H/L] - HAIR LENGTH

[E/C] - EYE COLOR

[S/C] - SKIN COLOR

«Сержант [Y/N], ты слушаешь?» (Sergeant [Y/N], are you listening?) The voice of the Master Sergeant called out to the man rubbing his forehead on the other end of the meeting table who looked up with his [E/C] eyes upon hearing his rank and name.

«Да, сэр. Пожалуйста, простите меня, сейчас я довольно устал»." (Yes sir. Please do forgive me, I'm rather tired at the moment.") The man replied with a tired exhale.

«Это понятно, вы только что вернулись с месячной миссии с отдыхом. Вы уволены с этой встречи, вернитесь в свои апартаменты и расслабьтесь на весь день. Нам нужно проверить наш Орлиный Глаз». ("That's understandable, you've just returned from a month-long mission with rest. You are dismissed from this meeting, return to your quarters and relax for the day. We need our Eagle Eye in check.") The Master Sergeant said to the man. The Sergeant rose to his feet and saluted his Master Sergeant, who saluted back and he was on his way out of the room.

Sergeant [Y/N] [FL/N] walked down the hall of the Russian Special Ops base with his jacket draped over his shoulders - waving behind him with each step he took; he passed by two Corporals on his way who moved aside and saluted him. He gave a simple "Отставить." (As you were) as he marked down the path before reaching his private quarters.

The Russian Sergeant removed his hat and placed it on the coat rack by his door followed by his coat before he walked over to his desk and took a seat - pouring himself a glass of vodka as he looked out the window at the setting sun.

Oh, the sun - so many times has he seen it in all of the centuries he's lived.

Yes - Centuries.

The [H/C] haired man looked at his glass as he thought about how long he's been doing this - going around with names other than his own, joining militaries, after all, it was the only thing he's known...since the First World War.

[Y/N] thought back to when this all started - back to when he was something else; then he thought of them.

Miranda and Eva.

The Wife and The Daughter he left behind when he went to fight in the war.

There was never a day he didn't think about them: wondering how they were doing, if they were alright, or if they were even alive. So many questions about them filled his mind, he wanted nothing more than to return to them but he didn't know where they could possibly be.

When the first war was coming to a close - he was blown in the chest by a snipe rifle, it killed him...or at least, it should have. He woke up in the morgue which surprised the diener - a person who works in the morgue - that was working on preparing his body for an honorable burial. According to the man - that bullet ripped his heart to ribbons but now he was alive; they even sent a letter to his wife to inform her of his death.

Once he was given the okay to leave, he went back home to Miranda - only to find to the house he built for them was completely burned down and they were not there; fear filled his heart. Were his wife and daughter dead? Did Miranda take her and Eva's lives when she got that letter or...did someone else do this? Unsure of what to do - [Y/N] returned to the military and continued to serve before faking his death and starting over

He looked at a photo of him and Miranda when she was a few months pregnant with Eva that sat on his desk by his laptop - it was the only thing he had of them now. He gathered the picture in his hands and tried to fight back the tears that were coming.

'Miranda... Eva... Where are you?' He wondered but his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. He stood up, walked over to the door, and opened it - revealing a Corporal with a folder in his hand.

"Капрал, я могу вам чем-то помочь?" (Corporal, can I help you with something?) He asked.

«Простите, что беспокою вас в свободное время, сэр». (Sorry for bothering you in your spare time, sir.) The Corporal saluted him, «Но есть кое-что, на что вам следует взглянуть». (But there is something you should look at.) He said as he held out the folder for the Sergeant to take. [Y/N] looked at the emblem on the folder and his eyes narrowed at the familiar logo on the front of the folder.

'Umbrella? What could they possibly what?' He thought to himself before looking at the Corporal before him.

«Что это? Они сказали, что хотели?» (What is this? Did they say what they wanted?) [Y/N] asked.

«Нет, сэр.» (No, sir) The young man shook his head. «Мужчина просто передал мне папку и сказал, чтобы я отнес ее вам. Он также сказал мне, что есть номер телефона, по которому вы можете позвонить». (The man just handed me the folder and told me to take it to you. He also told me that there is a phone number you can call.)

«Хорошо, я разберусь. Вы можете уходить, капрал.» (“Okay, I'll figure it out. You can leave, corporal.) [Y/N] said before closing his door.

He walked back over to his desk and opened the folder - something about the 4 Lords of Romania and Their Leader - Mother... His eyes widened.

"Miranda?" He gasped.

There were photos too - there were of the supposed 4 lords: A rather large lady, a veiled woman with a doll, a hunched back figure, and a man with a large hammer, and...

"That's her." he said.

Before him was a photo of a woman in a golden raven mask in black robes with black wings and some crest behind her. He looked at the number that left behind

XXX-XXX-XXX - Chris Redfield.

[Y/N] narrowed his eyes before calling the number and placed the phone to his ear - it picked up on the first ring.

"I see you chose to call me, Mr. [L/N]." A deep male voice said on the other side of the phone.

"How do you know that name?" [Y/N] asked.

"Umbrella knows a lot about you, Mr. [L/N]; we've been watching you since your face has shown up in our database since the first world war. We know you're not human, Eagle Eyes; but your eyes aren't the real reason people call you that, are they?" Chris asked over the phone.

"Just what do you want? Why have you sent this?" [Y/N] asked.

"We wanna make you a deal, Mr. [L/N]. I know you've been looking for your wife and daughter since your first death during the first world war but they haven't been located - I know where to find your wife." Chris said.

"And my daughter? What about Eva?" [Y/N] asked, gripping the phone tightly in his hand.

"That's the main reason I'm calling you - you see, your daughter is dead; she's been dead for centuries but your wife thinks she can bring Eva back by finding a proper vessel to rebirth her from. Here's what that has to do with me - the latest vessel she's taken is Rosemary Winters, the daughter of some very close friends of mine; she wants to use Rose to bring Eva back but I know it won't work. Her father and Umbrella are intending to get Rose back but that would mean killing your wife and everything she holds dear; we think you can stop that from happening." Chris explained - there was pure silence on the other end of the phone. "Mr. [L/N], are you still there?"

"Tell me exactly what you want me to do?"

[Timeskip - One Week Later / In an Airborne Helicopter above the Romanian Village.]

The side door of the helicopter opened and [Y/N] stood there - his hair blowing around in the high winds as he glared down at the earth below.

"Remember, Mr. [L/N] - Find Miranda and convince her to release Rose. Once that happens, we shall leave you and her to be as you wish." Chris said from his space sitting behind [Y/N].

"Just make sure you're ready, Redfield." And with that, [Y/N] jumped out of the helicopter.

His eyes narrowed as he fell from the bird of metal before he closed them - a warm feeling coursed through him as he felt the mortal flesh of his form shrink and take a new shape. Once he felt the wind against his wings - he opened his eyes again as he flew through the sky as the might eagle. He flapped to catch himself against the current before he got to a gliding height - he could see the village below. He got close to the ground and flapped again to slow himself before he changed forms again - back to his mortal face, his boots landing on the ground.

'Now, all I have to do is find one of the lords and they will take me to Miranda.' [Y/N] thought but his thoughts were cut short when he heard growling - turning, he saw the Lycans from Chris' File.

"Heisenberg's Servants." He pulled out two knives. "Just my luck." He darted forward and made quick work of the lycans before his knives went flying out of his hands - he turned again and there he stood: The 4th Lord.

"Karl Heisenberg." [Y/N] said as he glared at the hammer-wielder.

"Oh, you know me?" Karl asked.

"I know of you. I need you to take me to see Miranda right now." [Y/N] said.

"And just who the hell do you think you are, demanding to see Mother Miranda like that?" He asked.

"I'm her husband - [Y/N [L/N]." With those words, Karl's eyes widened.

"I heard of you; she talked about you some times." Karl looked the man up and down. "Alright, I'll take you to her but you need to cuffed; I don't know you that well,"

"Do what you will." [Y/N] held out his wrists, "Just take me to my wife."

"Fair enough."

[Timeskip - Miranda's Chapel]

"Heisenberg, just why have you called us here?" The tall lady asked before looking at [Y/N], "And who is this man-thing?"

"That's none of your business, Lady Super-Sized Bitch. This dude is for Mother Miranda." That made Alcina and Miranda raise their eyebrows.

"And who is this male that wants to see me?" Miranda asked.

Before anyone spoke - the bound man walked forward.

"It's been a while, Corbul meu întunecat." (My Dark Raven) That name made Miranda's eyes widen...and she removed her mask to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"[Y/N]? Vulturul meu?" (My Eagle) Miranda asked as she walked closer.

"Yes." The man said with a smile.

The leader ran into his chest and clenched his shirt tightly - crying instantly.

"I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" She cried.

"I'll tell you - we have a lot to talk about."

After hours of talking - everything came to the light: [Y/N] explained what happened all those centuries ago, Miranda explained her plan, [Y/N] managed to take her out of her & Rosemary - along with Mia Winters - was given to Chris Redfield. Ethan Winters was captured in Castle Dimitrescu by her daughters but was ordered to be let go. The Winters Family left with Umbrella and [Y/N] & Miranda sent all that week making up for all the centuries of lost time...and possibly making an Eva #2.

#ask #mother miranda x male reader #resident evil 8

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falling-pages · 3 years

Text

Coffee Break: Hawks x Reader

Hi lovelies, I’m back with considerably better mental health. I’m still taking writing a bit at a time, slowly, taking my time editing and researching to improve, but I’m finally able to produce content I love again. I’m finally recovering all the joy of writing and now I’m focusing on writing what makes me happy. Thank you for all the sweet messages and support, it means the world to me :)

Quirkless Reader x Hero Hawks

Fluff

Warnings: None

“Americano with almond milk for you, chai latte for me.”

You had been so focused on your report that you didn’t even notice the window opening and your winged boyfriend climbing through until he slid your favorite drink in front of you. The smell was heavenly, steaming through the paper cup bearing your local shop’s logo. Your fingers still against the keyboard as you reach for it, stretching out your cramped digits. After typing for hours, any sort of movement sent discomfort rattling up your hands.

“Thanks, Kei,” you say as he hovers behind you, leaning down to kiss your cheek.

He bent to wrap his arms and wings around you, clutching you close in your chair as you cradled your coffee to your chest. The little cocoon he had suddenly made enveloped you in warmth, cutting off your view of the computer with his beautiful red plumage. All you could see, sense, and smell was him.

He ran his lips up to your temple, the shell of your ear, the spot beneath your earlobe, giving little pecks of affection while he had you under his wings. What good were those wings, anyways, if he couldn’t use them to comfort you?

“Are you nearly done, dove?” he asked, snuggling his face into your hair. “You’ve been at this for hours. Honestly I didn’t know if you were human or one of those robots the captcha quizzes ask about.”

You chuckle, leaning back against his chest. The coffee is still extremely hot, and though your tired brain begs for it, you hold off until it cools down. Keigo gets fussy when you slurp your coffee too quickly and burn yourself. “I still have miles to go before I sleep.”

“Isn’t that some poem?” he asks. “Some American poet?”

“Robert Frost.” You twist your neck to look at him. “You remembered? You’re no poet.”

“But you are. And you quote a lot of them depending on the day.”

“Because they are applicable to my situation.” You turn back and move his feathers away from your computer, making a landing space for your still piping hot drink beside it. The bright white screen welcomes you back harshly, black lines of text still existing. When his red curtain shields you from it, you have a habit of forgetting it exists. Maybe that’s the point--making you forget your worries with kisses and gifts.

You try to lean forward to type again, but his arms hold you back. “Kei, thank you for the coffee, but I have to keep reading this report.”

“You’ve read it three times already tonight!” he whines. “The thing is 50 pages. I don’t know how your eyes haven’t fallen out of your head.”

He sends a feather to lightly touch the coozie around your coffee. Both he and the feather flinch at the contact. “At least wait until your coffee cools down,” he says. “Please? For me?”

Though the man is part bird, he can pull a very convincing puppy face. It’s true, you have gotten to the point where the lines have blurred into one massive pile of digital ink. And his plush wings and warm breath on your neck are oh so inviting.

“How did you know I’ve read it three times?” you ask softly, feeling your eyes begin to close.

“Hawks are very observant creatures,” he says. “They know when their lovebirds are tired.”

You sigh, allowing yourself to give up the ghost and slump against his collarbone. As much as you wanted to keep making revisions to the report, you knew you would force yourself into another all-nighter if you didn’t stop now. You had pulled three already this week, and Keigo had grown frustrated of going to bed alone. If you stayed up again, he would likely take matters into his own hands.

Breaks increase productivity, right?

“Okay,” you relent. “But only until my coffee cools.”

He chirps happily, sending a feather to close your laptop while he scoops you into his arms. The chirps were something you had to get used to, but once he cooed in your ear in his sleep, you couldn’t help but fall in love. He had tried so hard to hide his avain traits in the beginning of your relationship, still wary of all that the Commission had instilled in him, but with you he was free to be the man-bird hybrid his spirit longed to be--chirps, feathers, and nesting included.

You snatch your cup right before he picks you up. He brings you to the couch, where he lies down on his back and settles you against his chest, making you leave your drink on the coffee table. As you lie against him, head against his heart while his lips graze the top of your crown, his wings flutter over you and wrap in to swaddle the two of you together. Abdomen warmed by his body heat, legs tangled up in his, the throaty coos in your ear, his heartbeat slowly lulling you into peace...you knew what he was trying to do.

“I can’t sleep yet, Birdie,” you whisper, drawing a pattern with your finger on his other pec. “As much as I’d like to, this is just a little break. I can come to bed tonight if I get all my reading done.”

“You work so much,” he sighed. His Adam’s apple bobbed against the top of your head. “I think you need to relax a bit.”

“Cuddling you is relaxing,” you say, and though your voice hitched as if to continue, you left the sentence there. He already knew how hard you, being quirkless, had to work to make anything of yourself. It was hard enough to get a minimum wage job without some sort of quirk, much less get into law school, where rich prep kids with genetically-perfect powers took all the top ranks. You might have graduated top of your commoner class, but even your best strategies and most cut-throat arguments couldn’t hold a candle to those born with sharp tongues and persuasive tones. The only thing that kept you going was the fact that you could represent other quirkless clients--and, in that, maybe fight the discrimination you had grown up with.

“Lovebird.”

You turn to him, yanked out of your insecurities when you hear his soft voice utter a pet name only for you. Others might be dominating your class, but none of them were dating a certain winged hero.

“I don’t know how to make you see yourself the way I see you,” he said simply, reaching a hand through your hair. “I wish you could. God, I wish you could see how perfect you are, why I adore you so much. Why it hurts to see you pushing yourself beyond your healthy limit.”

A chord struck you. You knew your hectic lifestyle wasn’t the healthiest, but it never occurred to you that it hurt him. But, looking back, you should have known all the neglected attention and lonely nights, despite being just a room away, would affect him deeply.

He had deep abandonment issues, and he was likely reliving all of that now.

Keigo took a deep breath, running his fingers down your arm. “I don’t want to be a distraction to you. I know I can be clingy, and I’ve been trying to get better, but your schooling comes first. I don’t want to take that away from you just because I’m needy.”

“Kei,” you sigh, shifting under his wings. You turned onto your stomach, forearms on either side of his face, chest pressed against chest. He lazily wrapped his arms around your waist, lifting his wings slightly so you could move. His eyes slowly scanned your face. “You don’t have to apologize. You never bother me.”

He smiled, tucking your closer beneath his wings. “Really?”

Despite his usual sass and arrogant tone in hero work, his voice is sincere, his eyes shining. The predator in him relaxes into a more docile state.

“Really.” You smooth back his hair. “Thank you for taking care of me. Now, I believe my coffee has cooled.”

You push back the curtain of plumage and reach for your drink, rolling off of him to sit by his side. As soon as you raise the cup to your lips and take that blessed first sip, you know something is wrong.

“You got me decaf.”

Your voice is hard, scaling wildly back from the soft words you had uttered against his chest. He giggles, covering his mouth with his hands, but it doesn’t hide the red mirth coloring his skin.

“How could you!” You whine, bouncing up and away from him.

“You need to sleep!” he says. “You have been up all night the last few days, and I need you to sleep.”

You sniffle, blinking quickly to produce fake tears. “You traitor.”

Keigo rises to hug you, nuzzling his nose against your hair. “I’m sorry, (Y/N),” he whispers. As repulsed as you are, his hugs are too nice to refuse. “I’m only trying to take care of you.”

“I know. But next time--”

“Hmm?”

“You’re buying me regular.”

If you enjoy what I write, please consider buying me a coffee :)

#hawks x reader #keigo x reader #keigo takami #bnha #mha #bnha hawks #bnha x reader #mha x reader #hawks x y/n #bnha x y/n #mha x y/n #hawks fluff #hawks x reader fluff

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 3 years

Text

Love is a Bundle of Contradictions.

This artwork was a piece I commissioned from @shimmeryspark!

... There is no explanation for this other than my friends encouraged me to write Valentine’s Day Raven and Jade fluff, since the main saga is a bit lot of angst right now. (Special thanks to @twstpasta since they let me borrow their twstsona for plot reasons :9)

Imagine this...

“You WHAT?!”

“Ehehe~ Sorry...!! I guess I went and made a bad decision, heehoo~” Mac stuck out their tongue and lightly bonked their own head with a fist. “Silly me~”

“Making a deal with Azul is the very definition of a bad decision,” Raven groaned, slapping a hand to her face. “I... I cannot believe you. Dare I ask what the conditions were?”

“I gave him my taste buds! He said he’ll give them back if you help out with stocking up on supplies for the Mostro Lounge.”

“That’s... suspiciously simple. And you really just handed over your taste buds just like that? You can’t taste your beloved cheese anymore.”

“I know!” Mac pouted. “It’s so sad, so you’ll help this rataroni out, right?”

“I find it odd that Azul is demanding my assistance, seeing as how I am not the one that made the deal with him to begin with. However... I cannot turn my back on a friend in need. I will lend you a helping wing—er, hand.”

“Sweet, sweet!!” Mac clasped Raven’s hands happily. “Just remember to show up this Sunday afternoon. Meet up’s in the town square. Oh, and be sure to wear something cute!”

“Something cute? Why would...”

“It’s part of the deal—so you just gotta, okay? That’s what Azul said!” Mac paused, before adding, “Oh, oh! And bring some homemade choco in a heart-shaped box!! That’s another contract condition!”

“Oh... O-Okay...?”

Raven leaned back against a lamp post, anxiously winding a finger around the string of small pearls at her collarbone. In her other hand was a bag, and in that bag, a heart-shaped box of homemade chocolates—just as Mac had told her.

A silver heart-shaped charm dangled from the necklace, lying still against her real hammering heart. Rarely did she venture out into the local town—and, standing there by her lonesome, the raven felt out of place and awkward.

An addendum to a story that had already been penned.

She watched as her silver charm caught a wink of sun and guided the light down its curve. Reflected back in the charm’s surface was the raven herself.

Today, her inky hair was cast up in a high pigtail and secured with a cobalt ribbon. She had traded her usual outfit for a pale blouse with billowy puff sleeves, white stockings, and a high waist skirt in a plaid pattern—cobalt, like her ribbons.

I hope this satisfies the conditions of the deal.

Raven checked the time on her phone; any minute now, Azul would be showing up, and they’d get this over with. Then she could return to her attic to roost, and Mac could return to feasting on cheese and inhaling poison—

“Oya. Do my eyes deceive me, or is that you, Miss Raven?” a silken cadence called out to her, rising above the hustle and bustle of the town.

“... You,” she responded flatly, narrowing her eyes at a certain eel as he parted from a crowd.

Ah.

Jade, too, had abandoned his typical uniform in favor of casual comfort. He wore a pair of dress pants and a grey turtleneck—and over it was a brown trench coat, unbuttoned to show off how snugly that sweater fit against his lean, muscular body.

Raven squinted. His earring was slightly different today as well. Rather than three diamond shaped sturgeon scales dangling from his ear, there were heart shaped ones. Blue and glassy, like the calm sea after a storm.

His hands were polite folded behind his back... hiding something. Whatever that something was, petals of pink, red, and yellow-orange were poking out.

If she didn’t know any better, she would have said he looked handsome—and innocent—enough. But she did know better.

“What are you doing here?” Raven demanded, no longer playing with her necklace. Her hands went to her sides, curling into balls.

“Fufufu. The town is a public space. I am free to come and go as I please, the very same as you.” Jade tilted his head to one side. “Although today, I am here on an errand. The Mostro Lounge is short on centerpiece supplies, you see. I have been sent to restock.”

“What a coincidence. I’m also here to help the Mostro Lounge restock,” Raven said, a bit of bitterness slipping into her voice, “as per a contract.”

Jade attempted to appear sympathetic—but he allowed a cruel chuckle to escape him. “I see now. I was not aware that you were the one indebted to Octavinelle, Miss Raven. Had I known sooner, I would not have hesitated to summon you to fill in for Kon-san’s morning shift.”

“I’m not a waitress for you to order around.” Raven jutted out her chin defiantly. “I’m here strictly on business, so if you would kindly leave me be...!!”

“I believe you said you had to assist the Mostro Lounge. Would it not be prudent, then, to go about tending to that duty rather than standing about and looking like a lost lamb?”

“Sh-Shut up! It’s not my fault that Azul is running late...!!”

“You were waiting for Azul?” Jade said, his brows pinching together briefly. “You are terribly mistaken. It is not Azul who is assisting you with the restock, but myself.”

“... Beg pardon?”

Wear something cute, bring homemade chocolates, Mac had said. And it has to be you, Raven, not me! But why? Slowly, slowly... The pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

A thought dawned on Raven:

I’ve definitely been tricked.

“Well!! That’s all fine and dandy, but I think I shall be on my way home now. I really must be having a chat with a friend of mine,” she babbled, turning on her heel. They’re going to be buried in tomato sauce when I get to them.

“How cruel of you to abandon those in need, Miss Raven. And to think that Mac-san shall be without their taste buds... and I, burdened with the task of restocking by my lonesome. What a tragic way to spend Valentine’s Day,” Jade exhaled deeply and wiped at an imaginary tear. “Shikushikushiku...”

Raven’s left eye twitched. “Don’t you paint me as the bad guy here...!!”

“Aren’t you?” Jade challenged, a smile still plastered on his face despite his mocking tone.

“Grrr...!!” She whipped around, thrusting an index finger at him. “Listen here... Leech!! The only reason I am even here was to help someone out of a contract your shady boss roped them into!”

“If you are as selfless and loving as you claim to be, then you should have no issues with shopping with me,” Jade countered smoothly. “After all, they say that actions speak louder than words.”

The little bird vibrated with irritation, her cheeks puffed out in a pout. Her stomach coiled tight, uneasiness brewing. As much as she hated to admit to it, he was right.

Raven clenched her teeth and sent a glare his way. “Fine...!! But I will be keeping an eye on you to ensure that there is no funny business!”

“Then by all means, ‘keep an eye on me’, and do not let your gaze stray for even a single moment,” Jade chuckled, somehow sneering through his smile. “I welcome it.”

The eel held out a hand to Raven. “We’d best not be separated while on our errand.”

She stared hesitantly. Her eyes flickered between his eyes and the hand he offered. Subtle changes in her expression occurred in rapid succession—the raising of her lids, the tremble to her lower lip, the tinge to her cheeks.

“... Yeah. We’d best not,” Raven finally agreed, her grip on her bag—the bag containing her chocolates—tightened. “Which is precisely why I will follow you at a safe distance.”

“Ah, but that would ruin the surprise.”

“What, the bouquet? You’re not exactly doing a masterful job of hiding it.”

“Nor are you doing well to hide your little surprise, Miss Raven.”

“I was deceived. This chocolate is not meant for you.”

“I didn’t say that it was, now did I?”

“... I’m going to eat them myself, then. That’ll show you!”

“Do with it what you wish, for selfish purposes or not,” Jade laughed, revealing his bouquet—all the colors of the setting sun. “These flowers, on the other hand, are meant to be gifted...”

He pushed the bouquet toward Raven. Up close, the flowers seemed even more vibrant and beautiful. Their warm hues enveloping the raven, enchanting her senses. Mesmerized, she reached out to accept the flowers—when Jade suddenly clicked his tongue and pulled them away.

“But alas—not to you,” he teased, pressing a finger to his lips. “Do try to keep up with me now, Miss Raven.”

Jade turned and dove into a sea of townspeople, leaving a trail of sunset-colored petals in his wake. And, like the fool that she was, a fuming raven stormed after him—chocolates still in hand. Heart quivering.

Terrariums—the flowers were meant for terrariums all along.

Jade had taken his sweet time leading her down a winding path and to an art supply store tucked away in a corner, and even longer to observe the shape and feel of each terrarium container. Spherical, cuboidal, prismatic... Holding up the bouquet every so often to compare how the flowers would look in each.

In the end, he had gone wild with his purchases, electing to buy a selection of shapes, along with other supplies—just to keep himself amused. Jade had paid with a platinum card embossed with Octavinelle’s logo. Mostro Lounge Master Cash Card, it read. Azul’s property; do not steal! Sign the loaning form if you must borrow.

It was all for the terrariums, for business as usual.

I should have realized sooner. Stupid, stupid, Raven scolded herself.

She grunted, struggling to carry the bagful of terrarium supplies that Jade had saddled her with, while he carried one of his own without any trouble. The eel cast her a mocking glance over his shoulder.

“Are you in need of a break, Miss Raven?”

Bite me, she wanted to snap back—but a bark of pain shot up her arms, silencing her defiance. “... M-Maybe.”

He sighed in an exaggerated fashion. “Very well. I see a café up ahead. We can rest there for a few moments, though it may require the purchase of a food item if we wish for a table.”

“Sounds peachy.”

Together, they swept through the café doors. The duo was immediately greeted by the smell of sugar and the hum of the other patrons, many of them couples.

Raven stiffened at the sight, turning a deep shade of red. Suddenly, she was very, very aware of how she—and Jade—looked.

“I think I changed my mi—“ Raven was cut off when he grasped her hand and held fast. She jolted back, her skin turning clammy. “Eeep! Wh-What are you...”

“Table for two,” Jade requested of an employee. “We do not intend to stay for a large meal, so just an ice-cream parfait will do.”

“Certainly, sir. Right this way.” The server quickly seated them, and with a bow, departed to retrieve their order.

“... You can let go of my hand now,” Raven hissed, attempting to free herself. To no avail, initially. She tugged again, and finally broke free, aggressively rubbing at her hand to ward off the residual eel cooties.

Jade chuckled, tucking his strand of black hair behind his ear. His earring glimmered in the afternoon sunlight pouring in through wide windows. “Play along. You are aware that today is Valentine’s Day, yes?”

“Yes, but I do not understand what that has to do with... physical contact, especially seeing as how we are not engaged in that kind of a relationship.”

“It is simple.” He laced his fingers together, resting his chin on them. With the most serene of smiles, Jade purred, “We should take advantage of the couple discounts being offered at eateries such as this. An excellent way to save on spending, especially after that particularly large purchase made on the Mostro Lounge’s coin.”

“You’re a shrewd one.”

“Why, thank you.”

Raven’s hands curled in her lap. Her lips pursed, she found her gaze trained on the white lace of the tablecloth, rather than on her dining companion.

Time and time again, she has been tricked today, told white lies. Teased and deceived. It was simply how he was—and though it did irk her in some ways, it also never made a moment dull.

Hot and cold. Push and pull. Bitter and sweet. That was Jade Leech.

“Your parfait is here!!” The server from before popped up in her periphery, startling the raven from her thoughts. They set it down and stepped back. “Here you are—enjoy your date!”

“Thank you. We certainly will,” Jade reacted before Raven could and dismissed the server with a wave. “... Well, let’s dig in.”

“You didn’t correct them.”

“We won’t get the discount if they don’t believe this farce,” he replied calmly, nudging the parfait and a spoon toward her. “Now then, less talking and more eating. You need your strength if you plan on helping me haul all the supplies back to campus.”

She let out a huff, but dug her spoon into a frozen mound. The parfait was massive, composed of several scoops of pink, blue, and green ice-cream, flanked by chocolate wafer bars. With a smattering of sprinkles, a crown of whipped cream, and a maraschino cherry on top, the dessert looked absolutely picture perfect.

Raven steadily brought a spoonful of pink goop into her mouth, allowing a sweet bubblegum flavor to spread across her tongue. Her eyes cut to Jade, who had not bothered to sample any for himself. He smiled back, gaze half-lidded as if recalling a fond memory.

“Have some, too. I feel weird eating it alone—and you must be hungry too. I know how big your appetite is.” Raven pushed the parfait glass toward him.

“If you insist.”

The head of his spoon sunk into a green scoop with shards of chocolate chip weaved throughout. It pulled away cleanly with a large mound, which was soon consumed. Then another bite, and a third, a fourth... Before Raven knew it, a good third of the parfait was missing.

Jade patted his mouth with a napkin, eyeing her expectantly.

“Are you still hungry?” Raven asked, eyebrows raising. She retrieved a scoop of blue this time—vaguely flavored like a medley of fruits.

“Perhaps... though I do not plan on taking more of the parfait for myself. Were I to, there would be none left for you.”

The fruit seemed to sour in her mouth. It was true that she was hungry, yes—but at the same time, she did not wish for Jade to be left dissatisfied.

She frowned, setting her spoon down and reaching into her bag. Seconds later, she produced a heart-shaped package and shoved it at him.

“Here, chocolates. They’re yours now, since I have no other use for them,” Raven mumbled insistently. “You can eat them now, or save them for later. Just hurry up and take them before I change my mind.”

“Oya, it is rather bold to profess your undying love to me in such a public space.” Jade teased, chuckling lightly into his hand.

“B-Be quiet...!! We... We can’t get that couple’s discount if one of us passes out from hunger.”

“Fufufu. I doubt that either of us would.” His mismatched eyes twinkled with mirth. “... Thank you for the sweets, Miss Raven. I will be certain to savor every last bite.”

The town became even busier in the late afternoon, filing with the sound of street performers and spectators. A monkey in a vest and a small hat barreled by Raven’s feet as she and Jade exited the café, nearly causing her to double over. A chorus of children’s laughter chased after the monkey—and she, the raven, stumbled on her recovery.

“Perhaps now would be a good time to reconsider my offer,” Jade suggested, a hand on the small of her back to support her. That same hand trailed around and tickled the back of hers. “It would be a shame if we lost one another in this crowd.”

Raven regarded him with a pointed look, but slipped her hand into his without further resistance. “... Only because I have to.”

“Of course, of course.”

Together, they braved the bustling streets.

A new world unfolded before Raven’s very eyes. Costumed performers of all kinds paraded about, garnering attention from passerbys. Some tossed confetti and candies, others brandished instruments. Brass, strings, percussion—all their notes floated up into the festive atmosphere.

There went a dancer, leaping like a lithe deer, limbs outstretched and the flowy fabric of their uniform like a curtain of smoke. And here was an artist perched on a stool, sketching the outline of a woman posed on a wooden crate. A young man jingled a tambourine, trying to catch coins in his cap.

A number of food carts patrolled the roads, calling out their wares. Crepes, sandwiches, sodas... Families, friends, and couples lining benches, exchanging bites.

Love was truly in the air and oozing out of every pore of the community.

Raven couldn’t keep her head still. She turned this way and that, trying to soak up every last sight and sound. Her golden eyes sparkled with wonder.

Jade, of course, took note. “Excited, are you?”

“It’s very different than Night Raven College,” she replied shyly. “Almost like a magic kingdom.”

“Magic kingdom? You can be rather melodramatic at times.”

“Yeah? So can you and Azul and Floyd, with all your fake tears...” Her wandering eyes caught something bright red as she spoke. “Oh...!! Look.”

Raven tugged on Jade’s hand, urging him to a halt. Her gaze was transfixed on a lamp post with a multitude of red strings. At the other ends of those ribbons were heart-shaped balloons, as red as blood.

His eyebrows pinched together in mocking sympathy. “You truly are fascinated by the simplest things. Is it true what they say? That ravens are attracted to shiny objects?”

Her mouth flew open to protest, but she was interrupted by a woman by the balloon-bearing lamp post “You there!! Sir with the earring and ma’am with the blue ribbon! Care for some balloons?”

“Er... What are they for?” Raven asked.

“For love, of course,” the woman laughed. “Today’s all about appreciating one another, right? This is my way of spreading love.”

She separated three balloons from her bundle and offered them with a flourish. Raven eagerly accepted them, staring up in wonder at their floating bodies.

“Oh, and one more thing!!” The woman produced a red ribbon from her jacket pocket and nodded at the duo. “Your pinkie fingers, please!”

Raven held out her hand as directed, letting the woman secure the ribbon in a neat little knot. The balloon bearer extended the length of the ribbon, glancing to Jade. Raven, too, looked at him expectantly. Jade expelled a quiet sigh and allowed the red ribbon to be tied to his pinkie.

“There you go!” the woman declared triumphantly. “You’re all set now! Enjoy the rest of your Valentine’s Day, folks!”

“Thank you!” Raven shouted over her shoulder—even as Jade started to lead her away. The woman waved and waved until she was out of sight.

“... It has been a while since I have seen you this enthusiastic,” Jade remarked with a glance to the balloons. “I do suppose it is a departure from the monotony of daily life, but to think that such little things bring this amount of joy...”

“It reminds me of a story a little birdie once told me,” Raven chirped with a small giggle. “The story of the Red Thread of Fate.”

“Oh?” Jade raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

“The Red Thread of Fate is said to connect ‘destined people’. It can tangle, twist, or stretch, but it can never break. From the moment you are born, you have an unseen thread flowing from your pinkie finger, tying your fate to that of the person on the other end,” Raven recited, her tone turning solemn—her storytelling voice.

“Someday,” she said, “you will cross paths with the one that shares your thread, and your lives will be forever changed by the encounter. It could be a meaningful battle between rivals, the loss of a loved one, the promise of marriage... but the course of their stories will never again be the same.”

“How sentimental. And what, pray tell, does this red thread of ours mean, Miss Raven?” Jade questioned, lifting his end of the ribbon—the crimson shining in the sunlight.

“How would I know? I’m not a god,” she huffed. “It’s just fun to imagine the possibilities.”

“It is, indeed. Even so, surely there must be one favored conclusion to the story of the Red Thread of Fate in that pretty little head of yours.” He brought a hand to his mouth, yanking Raven toward him.

She glanced up with a glare. “I’d have to have a bird brain to tell you that.”

“Is that not the duty of a storyteller? To stand on stage and tell the tale until the curtain closes. Your adoring audience awaits.”

“You’re being booted from the metaphorical theater before you get to hear or see the ending.”

“I would like to see you try.”

Jade slowed to a stop, Raven following suit. They were back in the town square, by the lamp post where they had met up. Ending where it had all begun.

He pulled out his phone and consulted the time. Jade unlocked his device, quickly wrote up a message, and tucked it away again. “I can take it from here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. Besides,” Jade cast a pitiful look at Raven’s trembling arms, “I doubt you would be able to haul those supplies the remainder of the way, and certainly not in an efficient manner.”

“... Then what was the point of stating in the contract that you needed a helping hand?”

“I am afraid that even I am not entirely privy as to Azul’s intentions,” he chuckled, gently prying a bag from her hands. “I will be certain to let Azul know that Mac-san’s end of the contract has been fulfilled.”

“Eh...? But—“

“You have our thanks for lending the Mostro Lounge your time. You are free to go now, Miss Raven. I’ve already summoned Floyd in your stead to assist me.”

“Th-The ribbon, you fool! I can’t leave if I’m still bound to you!”

“Oh? You don’t say.” His singsong held no concern whatsoever, only amusement.

“S-Stop playing dumb! You know very well what you are doing!!”

“You said it yourself, Miss Raven. Our lives have been forever changed since our encounter. There is no going back now.”

“Stop manipulating the narrative to suit your needs.”

“I haven’t the faintest clue what you mean. Jade smiled, feigning innocence. “You’ve resigned yourself to spending the rest of the day with me—at least until Floyd arrives to relieve you of your burden. Ah, but given his moodiness, who knows when that will be.”

“Just because your surname is Leech doesn’t mean you need to suck the life out of me like one,” Raven snapped. She reached for the red ribbon, intending to undo it—

—only to be met with a bouquet a second time. Flowers the color of the sunset, smelling like the drip of sunshine and a cut of meadow.

“For you—no strings attached this time.”

“Those are for the terrarium centerpieces.”

“I can easily replace them,” Jade insisted, “and I must repay you for your kind chocolate gift. Consider this... ‘favors for favors’, so that neither one of us is left indebted to the other.”

“... Alright. I’ll take them, but only because they might be useful for brewing some new inks.”

“I’m glad to see that you are being agreeable.” Jade slipped the flowers to her. “Take good care of them.”

Raven leaned against a lamp post, cradling the large bouquet in one arm. Her heart fluttered, and her limbs felt as light as air. Warm and floaty, like the balloons in her hand.

Favors for favors—but it still counted as a gift from Jade, and that very thought sent her mind spiraling. She took a shaky breath, and focused on the confetti and laughter in the distance, the song and dance of the street performers.

Waiting and waiting for Floyd.

“Miss Raven.”

“What now? Haven’t you bullied me enough for today? Are you still not satisfied, you sadist?”

She dared to lift her eyes to meet Jade’s—and her heart stood still, for he looked back. His sharp eyes soft and shrouded by long lashes, his lips pulled into a tender smile.

“Contract or no, I always enjoy my time with you—I enjoyed today,” Jade murmured. “I hope that we are able to do this again sometime.”

“... Shut up. J-Just shut up already, i-it’s embarrassing listening to you speak...!!” She buried her head in the flowers, concealing her pink face. Still feeling floaty, like a balloon, high on happiness.

“Fufufu. Happy Valentine’s Day, Miss Raven.”

#twst oc #twisted wonderland oc #Jade Leech #Raven Crowley #Jade Leech thirst #something no one asked for

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greenygreenland · 3 years

Text

The Floor Is Lava: (Platonic) 501st x Jedi Reader

-saw something about the floor is lava and imagined this in my head at like 3am

-note, you are a jedi padawan of shaak ti’s with your own squad (who are actually my ocs lol). They are called the Nebula Squad (the squad is actually from Wannabe, another one of my Star Wars fanfics)

-basically, you are someone who acts alone (without your master) and goes on special ops missions. you team up with anakin a lot

-CAN BE READ WITHOUT HAVING TO READ WANNABE

Summary: The floor is lava.

Spring came early. Too early. Maybe it was the fact that this planet had short winters, or the fact that you just weren't used to the warm breezes and scorching heat. After being stationed on Hoth for a good two weeks, you adjusted to the climate. With that came the curse of low heat tolerance.

"I'm going to die." you grumbled.

Your mission was in the more civilised (that was how one of your boys put it) regions of the planet. For some strange reason only the Force knew, your ship broke down in the worst place: a deserted village. Why was this the worst place? Because there was no way you could repair a broken ship without spare parts.

And where were spare parts located? In the city you were supposed to land in. Great, just great.

“(Y/n), can’t we contact General Skywalker for assistance?” inquired Nova. “We are supposed to RV with them anyway.”

Nova was your friend and assigned clone Commander. He, like you, had a knack for getting into sticky situations. Usually he was the one with the plan B, not you. “I can ask Grav and Nimbus if they can get a signal out over there.” He pointed to the mountain on your right. It was tall with a jagged top, where thick forests of luscious greenery sprouted out all over.

Yeah, good luck getting through that.

“You mean to tell me there’s no signal here?” you inquired. “Just how remote is this place?” Even with that bucket over Nova’s face, you knew he was frowning and holding back a long sigh. “Intel said--”

“Intel’s always wrong.” cut in a voice. You peered over Nova’s broad shoulders and met gazes with another member of your squad, Icee. He was just as tall as Nova, sporting the Squad’s signature purple stripes and it’s logo--a nebula. Over his shoulder, he held tight to a sniper rifle. The thing was a beauty, as well as his baby.

“The three things you can never trust are the weather forecast, the canteen menu, and intel. Plain and simple, vode.” Icee added. You shook your head, swatting a few mosquitoes away with a wave of your hand. “If that big ‘ol mountain is the only place we can get a signal from, then I say we go. All of us.”

Nova nodded in agreement. He shouldered his pack, adjusted a few straps on his kama and weapons, and motioned for the rest of the squad to move out. “Is there anything we should know about the wildlife here?” he inquired. “My HUD’s picking up the usual birds and rascals. I’d rather not risk it though. Remember Felucia?”

A shiver ran down your spine at the mention of that jungle-hell. Everywhere you walked lay a deadly plant in need of its next meal. They snuck up on you too, striking out of nowhere like the silence of night. Your number one rule there was not to touch anything.

“There are a few carnivorous plants south of here,” answered Nimbus. “Besides that, all we have to worry about are the birds.” You admired the way he was able to brief everyone so quickly. The only other clone you’ve met with such a well of info was Tech, a member of Clone Force 99.

“What do the birds look like?” you inquired. Nimbus scrunched up his face under that bucket of his. “I don’t think you wanna know.” Grav squinted at the screen and pushed his brother’s head with the back of his hand. It wasn’t enough to hurt him, but you sensed a lingering annoyance in the air after.

“What, you scared of some little bird Nimbus?“ he teased. Nimbus wordlessly flipped over his datapad for everyone to see. The screen displayed a large bird-like creature with long fangs covered in drool. Its eyes were beady and bloodthirsty, as if it wanted you to be its next meal.

Nimbus scanned over the heading. “This is a...uh...Kah-rah...Kahl-ram-dah-lahm-dahl...?”

“Kara’dalamb’da.” corrected Storm. He pulled off his helmet, the low ponytail of his fanning out in the warm breezes. “I’ve read about them once. They’re not the type of creatures I’d want to run into. They drag you to their caves, pull you apart limb, and then chew you alive. The worst part is that they don’t eat you.”

Nimbus knitted his brows together. “So we’re like chewing gum to them?”

“Exactly.” Storm affirmed. “They come out at night time, then stay around till dawn before hiding in their caves.” Icee blanched and you couldn’t blame him. You were all heading towards the mountains, where plenty of caves and labyrinths lay. There were probably tons of those Kara-whatevers waiting for their dinner.

You folded your hands together with a tight frown. “Is there another way of getting a signal to Anakin?” George shook his head sadly. You sensed an overwhelming amount of resignation rolling off his shoulders. “No. Even if I tried use long-range comms, it wouldn’t work. There’s too much interfering with the signal.”

There was a chance you could telepathically contact Anakin. He’d answer in an instant and personally come to find you. But that would drain your energy. Your boys needed you more than you needed to contact Ani. If you became dead-weight then it would compromise the mission.

“Alright,” you decided. “We have twelve hours to scale that mountain and hurry our shebs to the ship. If we don’t make it back in time, consider ourselves toast.”

You wished you’d consider yourself toast from the start. If that were the case, then you wouldn’t be running for your life. The mission up was a success. You managed to reach the highest point on the mountain in less than eight hours by ways of a local trail (Nimbus noted that this was a popular tourist spot in autumn). Then you contacted Rex, who promised to RV at the foot of the mountain.

The way down was a different story.

It was dusk when you made your descend. The moon rose into the sky while the sun shied away, and if it weren’t for the boys and their helmet lamps, you wouldn’t have been able to see a thing. At first, the walk back was completely fine. The boys were in good spirits and you weren’t hungry for (favourite food).

But then it didn’t go well.

It wasn’t your fault that you didn’t see the giant jaws of death looming over you, or Nimbus, who started arguing with Grav. Again. It also wasn’t you fault that George so happened to trip over a rock and slam into Sapnap, who tried breaking his fall by grabbing onto Halo’s arm. The three went down together, and with the heavy clanking of katarn-class armour, you were sure the whole animal kingdom heard the show.

And that was how the Nebula Squad found themselves in this mess, fleeing from the horrifying Kara’dalamb’da.

“This is your fault Grav!” cried Nimbus. They bumped heads and it took all your willpower not to join the screaming match. “Shut up,” replied Grav. “You were the one who started it!” Nimbus gritted his teeth. “You who else started this?” he seethed. “Them!” He pointed over his shoulder at Halo, George, and Sapnap. They were the ones who had fallen, after all. Why else did the beast wake up?

“It wasn’t my fault!” cried George. Sapnap scoffed and it was lost to the screech of the oversized bird above. “No one said it was your fault anyway! You just have a guilty conscious!”

You eyed the bird with a sharp scowl. It flew higher, into the haunting light of the moon and across the stars. It gave a great screech again. You covered your ears as a shiver ran down your spine. “Is there any place we can hide from that thing? I’m pretty sure it can smell us from klicks away!”

“That’s correct Commander!” Nimbus congratulated. By the light aura around his shoulders, you guessed him and Grav already made up. They always had petty arguments anyway. “The Kara’dalamb’da has an incredible sense of smell and a wingspan of about ten meters! That’s pretty cool.”

Storm stared at his brother in bewilderment. “How is that cool?” he demanded. “You want to be chop suey for that thing? Be my guest.” Halo laughed a little. You knew he was doing it to shake off his nerves. “Why’d you have to go on and say that? Now I’m going to start singing.”

You scanned the forest. For miles, it seemed to be only forest, wildlife, and bare nature. A flicker of...something cut through your senses. Calculating, at the ready, and deadly. You paused in your step, Storm mimicking you. He met your gaze. “You sense it too?”

“Maybe it’s them.”

You heard them before you saw them.

“Blast that bird out of the sky!”

A squad of 501st troops rustled through the trees. They were silent as the night, save for one trooper who decided to whisper-shout a ‘hi’ to your squad. Their formation, lame as it was, worked in their favour. They raised their blaster, lighting up the sky with bright bolts of blue.

“Can we get a rocket launcher over here?”

“Yes, sir!”

The bird dropped out of the sky with a cry, razor-sharp teeth bared and claws at the ready. It was coming closer, diving faster. You pulled out your lightsaber and thumbed it on.

I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.

You heaved in a deep breath and leapt into the moonlight. Your robes fluttered in the wind, and your hair whipped in arc of (hair colour). It was like you had wings. Time slowed and you raised your lightsaber. It came down in a neat slash across the beast’s neck.

You tumbled through the air and met the ground in a roll. The beast fell behind with a loud THUMP!. You turned off your glowing blade and stashed it away on your belt. The adrenaline keeping your nerves hidden away was slowing, and the realisation that you just murdered a beast settled into your mind.

Part of you wished things could have been different. But what choice did you have?

“Commander!” called Nova, stopping by your side. “Are you okay?” You smiled and he heaved out a sigh of relief. “That was some jump, but now look.” He pointed to your dirt-covered robes. It wasn’t a big deal, but to someone like Nova, it was an issue.

“Here.” Nova helped you dust off the robe with a few pats. “That’s better.”

“Oh, it didn’t look bad.” you stated. He folded his arms across his chest. “That’s what you always say (Y/n).” You grinned and bumped shoulders with him. He replied by playfully shaking his head with a sigh.

A familiar boy made his way towards you. Even through the moonlight struggling through the thick canopies, you saw the chipped blue paint. “Rex,” you greeted. “Thanks for the assistance. Although, I wish you toned it down a bit. You made my squad look like a bunch of young fools.” A loud ‘hey’ sounded from your boys, but you elected to ignore it with a grin.

“Your squad did a phenomenal job in staying alive that long.” Rex said with a chuckle. “And besides, you stole the show in the end. The boys had fun watching your display.” You three shared a warm laugh that reminded you of the sun.

Speaking of sun, was it just you or did it get brighter outside? You looked up to gaze at the moon. It still stood high in the sky, just as before. The stars were out too, bright and clear as ever. So why had the temperature risen so quickly? It was at least another eight hours till dawn. That was more than enough time for the moon to stay out.

A scattered cluster of birds flew from out of the trees. Was it just you or was the forest getting really silent? Owls refused to hoot, those kara-whatevers weren’t screeching from their caves, and crickets stopped chirping their calming songs.

“WOAH, WOAH, WOAH!”

“I TOLD YOU IT WAS HERE!”

“I THOUGHT IT WAS IN THE SOUTH!”

You spun around so fast that you could have gotten whiplash. Sapnap, George, and Halo sprinted from out of the thick trees with their helmet lights on the highest setting. You squinted behind them. Something had to be chasing them, otherwise they wouldn’t be sprinting like track stars.

But you didn’t see any deadly animals, nor did you sense them. All that was left was an...

...an eerie silence.

You thought back to the briefing. Back to the meeting you nearly fell asleep in. If it weren’t for Icee kicking your feet every now and then, then you would have passed out completely.

“On this outer rim planet, I suggest you be careful,” Obi-wan had said. “The locals reported the activity of volcanoes erupting unexpectedly. They believe it has to do with an angry spirit plaguing their land, but we’ve found out the Separatists have a hand behind this.”

“Do you know where these volcanoes are, General Kenobi?” inquired Grav. He shook his head. “No, but I’m sure you won’t have to know. The city under siege is our main objective. You will rendezvous with Anakin there.”

Sapnap, George, and Halo motioned for everyone to move. There was a flicker of movement behind them. Fives emerged from the bushes in a frantic sort of panic. “LAVA!” he cried. “THE FLOOR IS LITERALLY LAVA!”

That was all it took for everyone to run. As uncoordinated as the retreat was, having lava behind you wasn’t exactly something anyone could stay calm about. The glowing magma was faster than it was supposed to be, and you had a feeling it was because it had a nice flow coming out of the planet’s core.

“Talk about an intense game of ‘the floor is lava’!” Hardcase shouted with a laugh. Jesse ‘pffted’. “I thought being chased by lava would be worse! This isn’t nearly as bad as last mission!”

Last mission? Oh, what was Ani doing to these poor souls? Your shoulders slumped in defeat. They were so nonchalant. How? Burning to death in lava was said to be the most painful death, and you’d rather not be Gollum in his last moments on Mount Doom.

“Why don’t you turn that frown upside down?” inquired Fives. You hadn’t even realised he’d caught up with you. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s just a bit of lava!”

You threw a hand over your shoulder and pointed to the glowing, hot mass. It burned through everything it touched. A fire was beginning to catch too, and all the smoke and ash from it wasn’t doing you any good. “Just a bit of lava? Well how would you feel running into that?”

“I don’t know!” he retorted. “Never tried it!”

“If you did, then you’d be dead!” Kix shouted. You face-palmed. “That’s a bit of a no-brainer!” Fives pulled off his helmet. The grin smacked upon his lips didn’t leave. “Who’s up for a round of ‘the floor is lava’?”

“Me!” said Jesse.

“And me!” added Hardcase.

“You guys need to cool it.” Kix said. “But don’t leave me out, I want to play too.”

You let out a long sigh. The 501st may have saved your skin today, but tomorrow? They’d probably get you killed.

TIP JAR <--- (if you’re feeling nice)

#star wars #star wars the clone wars #star wars x reader #star wars the clone wars x reader #501st legion #Clone Troopers #clone trooper rex #clone trooper fives #clone trooper kix #clone ocs

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staarshines · 4 years

Text

the mandalorian season two trailer — frame by frame breakdown

i warned you guys this was going to happen. strap in, this is a wild ride. (blame tumblr for the shitty quality i’m pissed too)

this is the shot we open with. the razor crest’s engines are definitely giving out, and there seem to be two planets in sight. the one closest to our pov seems like a desert planet, maybe even a planet that has a little bit of life here and there but it’s definitely not as lush as d’qar or nevarro. the blue-ish planet farthest is what catches my attention, though: this one looks like it could be both the snow planet we see the child and mando on and the planet that has the sea that we see mando and the child on in the boat.

we’re not quite sure what planet this is, although it could definitely be the green one we see in the first frame. it would make sense because the razor crest’s engines are giving out right above that planet. it looks deserted for the most part, although you can see lights in the background (a city at night?). i’m more interested as to what those tall structures are.

definitely late at night; the majority of the lights we see at night are streetlights. “what is he doing with the child this late at night not in the razor crest?”. right now, the most likely explanation seems to be the razor crest gave out right over this planet and they need to find lodging and a mechanic.

we’re not quite sure which planet this is, but it definitely looks like kuiil’s homeworld. maybe there was something kuiil had that din needs to return for (seeing as the razor crest is the spaceship flying above in this shot)? the scavenger is riding a bantha, which could give us clues as to which planet this is.

here, you can see the razor crest flying dangerously close to an ice gorge. again, we’re not sure which planet this is, but it definitely reminds me of hoth.

din leaning down to admire his child. that’s it. that’s the screencap. i’m kidding, but seriously, that is adorable. it doesn’t really seem to be the razor crest in the background, maybe a different ship or an x-wing?

here’s the port that we can assume is where mando picks up that ship with the child. again, which planet is this??

okay, first off, it seems like they’re either at the port for the ship or the ice planet. lots of people are saying this is ahsoka, which i can kind of see. what’s very interesting, though: the dialogue that’s laid on these series of shots.

“the song’s of eon’s past tell us battles between mandalore the great and an order of sorcerers called jedi.” -the armorer

“you expect me to search the galaxy and deliver this creature to a race of enemy sorcerers?” -din (something very interesting: as he says this, there’s a shot of him turning his head as if he’s looking for something or someone.)

right after mando says this, she disappears.

what is very intriguing: the baby looks to mando as if he’s scared/notices she’s disappeared. his abilities through the force seem to be growing stronger, since we’re 99% sure that cloaked woman is a jedi. he also seems to be bigger than he was in the last season, which means time is passing and he’s growing.

now, we receive a shot that was previously leaked the night before this trailer dropped of mando and the child on a boat. it seems obvious that the razor crest has broken down, because why the hell would they be on a boat if mando has a ship of his own?

the razor crest is being escorted by x-wings, but where? who’s flying those x-wings? why is he getting an escort?

now, the x-wings seem to be chasing him, not escorting him. it’s hard to tell whether this is before the slow escort or after.

mando is on a speeder on a desert planet that looks scarily like tatooine or kuiil’s home planet. i might be imagining it, but if you zoom in, you can see the satchel holding the baby that we saw in the entertainment weekly pictures.

a shot of cara and karga. greef has gotten older for sure, which means time has passed. greef has changed his robes as well. cara seems to have stayed at the guild; did she take up a profession as a bounty hunter or just stay there in peace as she was doing on nevarro? cara seems to have the same outfit? it may seem like they’re going to go greet din, but we can’t be so sure.

imperial tie fighters. they also seem to be leaving, as they’re taking off from a planet rather than a spaceship right outside atmo. this does not give me a good feeling.

i cannot tell for the life of me which kind of stormtroopers these are, but i’m pretty sure not enough time has passed for us to have first order stormtroopers. what really baffles me, though: who are they running to? where are they running to? is mando inside the ship, or are they running to their transports? so many damn questions.

mando. what are you doing in a sewer? where is the child? please don’t drown.

mando and his jetpack. mando and his jetpack. mando and his jetpack. but in all seriousness, where’s the child. where is din?

this seems to be the same planet as what we saw in the second and third shots. it’s hard to see whether mando is trying to kill the person or free them by shooting the lamplight. it also seems to be a more ghetto area of the town or just a ghetto town in general, judging my the graffiti on the walls.

mando is carrying the child through what might be the ravine they were flying over earlier. the edges of his helmet are frozen with ice, so i wonder how the baby is holding up. does mando’s armor even protect from cold weather?

is this the razor crest?? why did they show us a burning piece of metal falling through the atmosphere?? which ship is this?? whose ship is this??

oh shit. people are still after the child. mando needs to find a caretaker, but even then, if we assume the razor crest is no more while this is going down? where are they going to stay? what is mando doing at this fight in the first place? what is mando doing talking to this guy?

the child has gotten a lot older. mando pulls out his whistling birds that the armorer forged for him, and the baby takes one look and closes his carriage immediately. he might have just done it on his own but i doubt that; i bet mando taught the baby what do to in different circumstances somehow.

we have a black screen with a bunch of metal clinking, grunts, and just general fighting noises. then, it opens up to this shot: the arena is completely empty except for the people who attacked mando (and failed). din takes out the last guy via a knife to the chest, and he falls to the ground.

the last “shot” we get is the logo for the second season (which was released to the public weeks ago).

you can find the trailer here as of right now.

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian season 2 #din djarin #the child #greef karga #cara dune #the mandalorian trailer #the mandalorian season 2 trailer #star wars #star wars rumors #nat's star wars shit #frame by frame #the mandalorian spoilers

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ashintheairlikesnow · 4 years

Note

“Ummmm... happy 11 or full-on-freakout 11?” Yes. The answer is yes. All of that. Both

You want happy Chris? Here’s happy Chris!

CW: Some brief references to Chris’s time with Sir, implied alcohol use at the end. Look, this is real actual fluff and you can’t tell me it’s anything else.

Tagging Chris’s crew: @burtlederp , @finder-of-rings , @endless-whump , @whumpfigure , @stxckfxck , @slaintetowhump, @astrobly, @newandfiguringitout, @doveotions

The letter comes in the mail addressed to Christopher Stanton, but he’s too scared to open it. Instead he just puts it on the kitchen table and then stares at it, off and on, through the whole fucking day while Jake is gone at meetings and doing all the stuff that Nat used to do, only this is Jake’s house now so he does it all for himself.

Antoni went with him, and officially they don’t take in other rescues yet until everything is ready, so it’s just Chris bouncing around Jake’s house, restless and unsettled, unable to sit still or stop or think about any one thing, he can’t stop thinking about everything.

He’s not sure if it being a big letter is a good sign or a bad one, and he’s too scared to look. He moves from room to room trying to pretend he’s not sneaking glances at the letter every time he has to go back into the kitchen to grab cereal to pour himself a bowl, or makes a sandwich with some chips for lunch.

Or just gets extra glasses of water so that he has to look at it again.

Jake texts to say he’ll be home at four and Chris groans, forcing himself to go outside. Four o’clock is so long, so far away, and he can’t bear to open the letter before then. If he opens the letter and it says bad things, he’ll die. He knows it, he will just curl up on the floor and die.

Outside is a little better. Chris is a flash of blue hair and a swinging silicone feather pendant as he climbs the big tree in the backyard - it’s his favorite thing about the house and when they’d gone looking for houses, Chris had carefully written CLIMBING TREE - reading and writing came back, but reading came back first and is easier than forcing his hand to move in all the ways it used to know without thinking - on the list of pros about this one after they visited.

Each time his hands curl around a branch and his arms stretch, digging the rounded toe of his sneakers into the tiny spots that only he knows about and feeling the muscles of his thighs tense and push, he feels some of his restless energy dissipate, like the tree is soaking it up.

Somewhere in the tree’s rings, maybe, there will be a little bit of Chris’s energy written a hundred years from now. He has no idea how long trees live, he just likes the idea. He hums to himself once he’s up on the little wooden platform he built with Antoni and Jake to put up here, sitting with his legs crossed, tapping idly with hollow thumps on the wooden slats, listening to birds and squirrels and the breeze.

Somewhere nearby, a dog barks. Sirens, faint, and Chris closes his eyes. Cop car, ambulance, firetruck. Sometimes he can tell which siren is which. This one sounds like cop cars.

It’s been years and still Chris whispers, “They’re not coming here. They’re, they’re not coming here. They’re not for us.”

His name is Christopher Stanton now, and all his documents are faked but they look real enough, and they’re real to him. The inside of his left wrist is wiped clean, a bit of scarring all that’s left of the way they took his first name but they won’t take his name again.

Not this one, the one he picked for himself. They won’t take that name away.

He gets to keep this one.

He earned it.

He lets outside soothe his jangling nerves, his dancing mind. He doesn’t try to make himself still, but sways a little, back and forth, one hand tapping, the other gripping onto the feather to run fingertips in a constant motion over the ridges carved carefully into the silicone plastic.

He doesn’t try to think one thought but lets all of them crowd in, trains running on tracks that feel more natural than a single thought ever had. He can think about the way the veins of leaves look in the sunshine, lit from below when he holds them up, a tracery that Antoni draws again and again, murmuring something about what lives under the skin. He can think about that and still hear the squirrels and there’s a white one that lives in the other big tree, and a California scrub jay calls and calls and calls, soft sweet cheeping sounds, or maybe it’s two of them talking to each other.

He thinks of these things and he thinks of the envelope on the kitchen table and even if it’s bad, if they say no, he’ll be okay. He’ll stay here with Jake and Antoni and maybe he can be a shelter worker, too. He can learn to do those things, even if the letter says no.

He’s calmer, outside, with the blue sky above him and the green grass below, suspended on the platform in the tree, like he’s something that doesn’t belong in either place, but instead belongs in both.

If he had wings, Chris thinks, eyes closed to imagine, he’d want to have red-tailed hawk wings. Pretty and reddish - oh, but maybe no, maybe blue jay wings to match his hair. Except he read somewhere about how big wings would have to be to make a human body fly but wouldn’t people have to have hollow bones so they’d weigh less so the wings wouldn’t have to be so big.

There’s a story he reads online about a fairy with wings, curled against his back most of the time, sneaking through human places with a human person he loves. Chris grins at the memory, swaying lightly back and forth in the breeze, letting the cool of it touch his face.

He likes the story about the fairy and his human person. Both of them touched and broken until they didn’t want to be touched anymore.

Chris likes to be touched, but he understands the feeling.

Somehow the hours move away from him - time in his tree melds with time doing yoga on the grass, feeling it tickle his head during handstands, his hair a pool of blue against the green, the feather on his necklace nearly sliding off his head. He twists and bends and pulls his body into any shape it wants, reminding himself that there are ways to move your body that don’t require someone else to tell you what to do.

It’s been almost two years, he thinks, but that’s what they tell him in therapy, it takes years and years to stop hearing the training, feeling its gentle urging to fit himself back into the narrow mold of Sir’s perfect statue boy in the bed.

He won’t be that, anymore. Ever again.

He wears himself out with the moving, with a body in constant motion, until he’s coated in a thin film of sweat and his shirt sticks to his back and sweat trickles in drips down the back of his neck, catching in the blue hair and sticking it against skin, too.

This is the way to sweat, he thinks. Not the other way. This is the way he wants to move, and it’s his body to move however he wants to, forever and ever, from here on out.

By the time he’s showered and changed into a black T-shirt and ripped-up black jeans kind of like the ones Kauri wears sometimes when he comes by to visit, Chris feels calmer, and he keeps his eyes off the envelope as he drinks more water and goes to lie down on the couch and wait for four o’clock.

Four o’clock takes so so long to get here, but when he hears Jake’s car in the driveway, Chris pops up and all his nervous is back in full force. He’s pulling the feather on the cord back and forth, back and forth, back and forth as he meets Jake and Antoni at the door.

“It’s 4:13,” Chris says instead of hello. “You came home late.”

Jake laughs, unbothered, and pulls Chris into a tight hug. “Yeah, well. Blame an accident on Belladonna. Some fender bender took up both lanes and they had us going past on the shoulder.”

“It was very annoying,” Antoni said, moving into the kitchen, humming to himself at first, then coming to a stop.

Chris’s heart beats out of time, as he watches Antoni slowly pick the envelope up to look at it.

“Chrisha, what is this?” Antoni asks, confused. “Colinas Blancas University...” His voice trails off, and then he turns around, and Jake’s arms tighten around Chris as the two men realize at the same moment “But this is early! It is not supposed to come yet!”

“Do, do, do do do you think that’s, um, that’s bad?” Chris asks, voice small, uncertain. He taps on Jake’s side, a reminder, and Jake gives him a quick, breezy kiss to the hair before he pulls Chris into the kitchen with him.

“Nah, it doesn’t mean anything but that they got the letters out earlier than they thought,” Jake says, but his voice is strained. He’s nervous, too, and his arm around Chris’s shoulders is holding him tightly. “Did you open it yet?”

“No,” Antoni answers for Chris, turning it back and forth. “He has not. It is... has lots of paper in it. Is that good or bad?”

Jake doesn’t answer right away, just licks his lips and holds out his hand for Antoni to hand it over. He looks at the university’s logo and return address in the top corner, and then takes a deep breath. “Here, Chris. It’s your letter. You open it.”

The envelope paper is smooth and very white, bleached-bright, except for the deep maroon of the school’s logo. His own name is written in thin black text on the front. Christopher Stanton.

He bounces on his toes with the nerves that need expressing and have nowhere to go, tearing at the corner of the envelope where the adhesive isn’t strong and then ripping the top of the envelope open, ragged-edge tears. Somewhere in his mind, he hears a woman’s voice, light with humor. Too excited to take your time, baby? Well, nobody gets birthday presents for the wrapping paper, I guess.

There’s a flicker of pain, but he ignores it, doesn’t let it crowd him in. Things he doesn’t remember anymore aren’t going to take this moment from him.

He drops the envelope carelessly to the floor and for once neither of the older men says anything, they just watch Chris, heart in his throat, slowly open the letter up, unfolding pure white paper from inside.

“’Dear Christopher’,” Chris reads, his voice shaking, and he hears a sound from the side of him and thinks Jake is sniffing. “’D-Dear’... J-Jake-”

“Keep going,” Jake says, softly. Antoni leans in and Jake takes his hand with his free one, and the two of them look like the parents Chris might have had, once upon a time, but can’t remember.

“‘Dear Christopher,” He starts again, eyes skipping down to the next line. “‘It is... it is with great pleasure that I offer you admission to the Colinas Blancas University cl-class of two-... two-thousand and...’“ He takes in a breath, and looks up, vision blurring over with the tears. “I got in.”

A smile widens across Jake’s face, and Antoni’s eyes are glittering, too.

“I got in.” Chris jerks in breaths, his heart rabbit-fast, and he starts bouncing on his toes, the excitement curling up from his feet and making its way into his pelvis and his stomach and his heart and his brain. “I got in, in, in in I got in, I got in it’s a yes I’m going to college!”

He pulls away from Jake, clutching onto the paper, scanning the rest of the letter but he doesn’t care, all that matters is the first sentence, the first words, the CONGRATULATIONS that blinks black from the bottom at him before the signature from the Director of Admissions.

Chris drops the letter, he can’t hold it anymore, and his hands start to move with the happy that he can’t keep in, he spins in a circle and taps on the wall and on himself, bouncing up and down on his toes, swinging his body forward and back because he has to get the happiness out and his body wants to move.

“I got in I got in I got in I got in I got in-”

Jake is breathing hard, like he just ran a race, wiping a hand over his face and turning to Antoni, sniffing back his own tears and Chris thinks that Jake is proud, he’s proud of him, he’s happy too, he and Antoni are so happy, too.

“He got in,” Jake says out loud to Antoni, who only grins back at him a rare wide smile that flashes slightly crooked teeth. “Fuck, he-... Christ, Antoni, he’s in!”

“Yes, I noticed, I heard you both,” Antoni teases, picking the letter up to scan it over himself, as if his face isn’t reddened, too, as if they aren’t all three of them nearly dancing with happiness at a thing that Chris had been so scared to even dream about.

“‘We are thrilled to welcome you to the Colinas Blancas community...’“ Antoni reads, but Chris barely hears him, spinning in a circle again, his leg bouncing even when he tries to stand still, finger-twist-tap-tap-tap against his own sides, the wall, Jake’s arm, anything within reach before his hands start shaking again.

Too much, too much happiness, he has to move to get it out, has to move.

“Congratulations, man,” Jake says, his voice thick in his throat. “I’m so fucking proud of you, you worked so hard for this.”

Chris looks up at him, blinking rapidly to try and wash the blur of tears, to focus Jake’s face, and when he blinks they find their way out and run down his face. Jake hugs him, strong arms tight around him, and he hugs back, but he can’t stop tapping even so, has to tap Jake’s skin, because he’s so happy and he tried so hard and it was terrifying and he got in.

“I’m going to, to, to to college, Jake,” Chris whispers, and feels Jake’s arms tighten around him. “I’m going to college. Like everybody else.”

Like a person.

“I knew they’d let you in,” Jake whispers against his ear. “Who could ever meet you and not want you around forever?”

Chris rests himself against Jake, like he has since he was brought thinner and terrified and wrapped in a blanket years ago, but he taps and he taps and the world is bright and the birds are singing outside the window and he’s worked so so so hard for the life they’re going to let him live.

“I got in.”

“Good.” Antoni pulls a bottle out of the freezer with a crooked half-smile, wiping at his eyes. “I think this deserves a toast.”

“He’s twenty,” Jake says, warningly. “We think.”

“And he got into college, Jascha,” Antoni replies with breezy good cheer. “Let the boy have a toast for celebration.”

Jake raises an eyebrow.

Antoni smiles serenely back.

Jake finally sighs and lets Chris go. “Fine. But just one.”

“Of course,” Antoni says, and winks at Chris. “Just one.”

Chris sits in the chair with his legs crossed in front of him, watching Antoni pour clear liquid into a glass, and he’s never felt any happiness like this before.

“You did it,” Jake says, sitting heavily down himself. “God. Fuck. You did it. I love you, man, I’m so proud of you.”

I love you.

Chris melts into three small words.

I love you.

“I love you, too,” He whispers, as Antoni pushes the glass at him across the table. “Both of you. Forever.”

Antoni pours two more glasses with a small bit of his best vodka, and then pushes one at Jake and holds one himself. “To our Chrisha,” He says, softly. “And going to college.”

“To Chris,” Jake says, firmly, lifting his glass in the air.

Chris echoes the motion, his heart is beating so fast and it’s such a good day and the world is wonderful to him.

“To, to, to college,” Chris says, and the three of them move their glasses towards each other.

Clink.

A cardinal calls outside the window.

#trauma recovery #recovering whumpee #chris the strawberry blond romantic #jake the shelter guy #antoni Sings Lullabies #pure unadulterated fluffiness here #all comfort no hurt #happy stuff #original fiction #stimming #happy stim #my sweet boy getting good things #trauma recovery whump #found family #box boy #box boy universe #box boy multiverse #because sometimes things just work out #okay

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gumnut-logic · 4 years

Text

Test flight (Part One)

Okay, this is only Part One. This fic is being mean to me and is not revealling its plotline. There has been much research and glaring at the computer. there may be changes made down the track.

Many thanks to all the peeps I have been wailing at including @scribbles97 @tsarinatorment @sofasurf I’m a pain when the muse will not behave. ::hugs you all::

This is the beginning of @tinglingsquidsense ‘s prompt of Scott and Butterflies for Nutty’s Fandomversary...likely not quite what you were thinking at the time, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Timeline: Season 2

Also, Virg is trying to take over again. Sorry about that.

-o-o-o-

“I don’t know about this, Brains.”

“The theory is s-sound.”

“But you said this was a first.”

“The theory is s-sound, Scott. V-Virgil is standing b-by.”

He certainly was. Thunderbird Two was a massive presence hovering not far off. His brother had gone through the schematics with him thoroughly. This was Virgil’s call and the engineer was being overly pedantic.

It was a flying pod, designed to take on the atmosphere of Mars.

Since the colony on the red planet had become viable, it had become abundantly clear that IR was the only agency that could respond fast enough should there be difficulties. This, in turn, became a need to be prepared.

They had the capability to get to Mars, but travelling around in the thin atmosphere was somewhat of a challenge. Three could get the majority of the travelling done and land-based pods would work there just as they did on Earth, but flying on Mars was more of a problem.

So, Brains had developed an entomopter – a craft based on the flight of insects. Well, not entirely, there were a few other principles in there, but mostly butterflies and dragonflies and, well, flies in general.

The problem Scott was having was that insect flight was foreign to most of the mechanics of flight he was familiar with. This vehicle had wings that flapped. He felt like he was in a birdman rally.

But he was an experienced test pilot. He had this. He trusted both Brains and Virgil knew what they were doing. Hell, the scale model flew beautifully and could turn on a dime. This was the frontier of flight.

He could do this.

“FAB.” It was a rush of breath. “Butterfly pod is go.”

At the flick of a switch, the craft’s massive wings deployed. Nano thin and built from the same cahelium thread that supported John’s space elevator, the sail-like structures unfurled from their compartments. Far from the pretty stereotype of the average butterfly, these wings were the red of Thunderbird Three and sported the IR logo in all its determined glory.

The moment the wing struts were in place, he felt them catch the wind. Their great surface area made them a touch vulnerable in Earth’s dense atmosphere and at some point, they would need to actually fly to Mars and test it out in the atmosphere it was designed for.

Assuming it survived this test.

A tiny gust rippled across the pod and only the claws gripping Tracy Island beneath it, kept it in place.

“You okay, Scott?” Virgil’s concerned rumble rolled over comms.

“Perfectly fine.” It was said through gritted teeth as another gust shook him. It could be a concern, the gusts were hardly ripples in the air, this vehicle was sensitive. “Launching now.”

The pod leapt from the cliff.

-o-o-o-

Virgil was chewing his bottom lip.

Everything checked out. The pod was designed with strong principles. It would be touchy in this atmosphere, but he had installed compensators. Scott was an excellent pilot. Hell, One was touchier than the pod should be and his brother had yet to fly his ‘bird into a mountain.

Test flights always made him edgy. This one more so because it was his call. This was the first major pod design since their father had disappeared.

They hadn’t needed anything new for so long. The original pod set up had been solid and dependable. Sure, some had been lost and replaced, but the array of designs had suited everything they had encountered. It was only now with the new colony on Mars and Brains’ recommendation for a general review that had created this situation.

Virgil trusted Brains with his everything. He always had. The man was a genius and Virgil could only aspire to his skill. But this was Virgil’s call. Brains was the engineer, but Virgil was the engineer in the field.

It was his responsibility.

His bottom lip tasted like iron.

Nerves.

That’s what it was.

“Are you sure I’m needed, Virg?”

“Buddy and Ellie can wait, Gordon.” Far below he could just see the yellow shadow of Four coasting in circles just under the surface.

“Aww, but I haven’t seen the latest one. They are releasing it today.”

“Focus, Gordon. This is Scott’s life we’re protecting.” Two hummed around him.

“Are you kidding? Both you and Brains went over that gadget. There is no way that is falling out of the sky.”

“There is always a level of uncertainty in every prototype. That’s why we have a test flight with safety in place, now focus!”

“Okay, okay, calm down, Virg. It’s going to be fine.”

Virgil didn’t answer. The butterflies in his guts wouldn’t let him.

He was still trying to settle the horde when Scott declared the butterfly pod was go.

Virgil gripped the yoke of Two until his knuckles turned white. A corner of his mind was questioning his reaction. Nothing had happened yet.

Yet.

He should call a halt to this, something was wrong. He didn’t know what, but alarm bells were screaming in his head.

Below, the butterfly pod shifted as its wings fully unfurled. He nudged his comms. “You okay, Scott?”

His brother answered in the affirmative, but his tone was off. It stepped up Virgil’s concern even more, but before he could say anything else, the pod was launching.

Those great wings rose and grabbed at the air. A giant red butterfly took off from the Island and into the sky.

Virgil had to admit it was amazing to watch.

Perhaps he was nervous because the design was so out of the ordinary. It was efficient and theoretically the pod should have some amazing manoeuvrability. That red wingspan was two thirds that of Two when fully extended. It was needed to capture that thin atmosphere on Mars. It could also collapse and spread on command, dip, dive and swoop just like a butterfly.

“Testing straight flight.”

The pod fluttered off in a northerly direction and Virgil moved to follow.

Those red wings were somewhat mesmerising.

“Testing ascent.” The pod climbed.

“Testing descent.” The pod swooped.

“Ease up on the speed, Scott.” Virgil found himself frowning at his dash.

“It’s fine, Virgil. I’m getting a good feel for it now. Testing for manoeuvrability.”

“Scott-“ But his brother was in whatever world he inhabited when flying for pleasure because it became immediately obvious that Scott was enjoying himself.

The butterfly did a series of swoops, turns, tilts and banks. At one point, Scott somehow managed to flip it upside down, something that was definitely not in the spec sheet and stopped Virgil’s heart for the duration. “Scott, for goodness sake!”

“Have to test its handling at the limits, Virg. Just being thorough.”

I’ll give you thorough. Virgil grit his teeth and moved Two in just a bit closer.

“Scott’s having a great time up there. Told you he would be fine.”

Virgil ignored Gordon in favour of contacting Brains. “Pod status?”

“P-performing extremely w-well, V-Virgil. I’m v-very happy with the r-results so far.”

He had to force himself to stop grinding his teeth. “You’re sure?”

“Yes, Virgil. Why? D-do you see a p-problem?”

No. He didn’t, but there was one. He was sure of it.

“Scott, I’m calling it. Return to base.”

“Why? She’s performing beautifully.”

As if his brother’s words were a curse, the wings of the red butterfly suddenly fell limp.

And the pod fell from the sky.

-o-o-o-

TBC

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Scott Tracy #Virgil Tracy #nuttys fandomversary

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onlybloodandwhiskey · 4 years

Text

KOOKABURRA (PART ONE)

WARNINGS: Implied nudity (brief), mentions of a past branding, scars.

“Hi, I’m Dawn. Do you speak English?”

The kid stared back at Dawn with blank eyes, lacking even a slight sign that they understood her. Zorra had turned up with the kid a half-hour ago, and explained that she’d found them in an alleyway, alone in the rain. They were filthy, dirt and blood matted into their white-blonde hair, and too skinny for their own good.

That, combined with the huge black and blue wings on their back, meant that there had to be some form of story here. It also meant that they couldn’t go to CPS for this one; they were notoriously shitty to powered kids, especially the visibly powered, as Slingshot would testify if asked. That meant that the kid was a Renegade problem now, whatever that entailed.

With a sigh, Dawn turned to Q, who was still scrolling through data on his tablet. “Still no sign of them?”

“Nope.” Q replied, pushing dark curls out of his eyes. “No hospitals in the city have patient records matching them. I’m trying further afield but I’m not optimistic.” He added, and Dawn ran a hand through her short hair.

“Someone has to be looking for them.” She said, and Q shrugged helplessly.

“They’re not going through official channels if they are. I’m keeping an eye on missing persons reports as well, and still nothing.” He said, flipping to a different set of data.

Dawn glanced back at the kid as Q read through the data, and found herself meeting wide, scared eyes. The kid had their knees pulled up to their chest, their wings wrapped around themself, and they were watching Dawn and Q with pale, almost terrified eyes.

“Poor kid.” Dawn said, and Q made a humming sound that sounded almost like an agreement. “So, what do we do now?” Dawn asked, and Q frowned deeply at her, screwing up his nose and almost dislodging his glasses.

It was a look that said ‘Well, you’re the one in charge here, you tell me.’

Dawn very pointedly ignored it.

“Well, Zorra’s got that telepath friend, right?” He said after a long moment, and Dawn nodded.

“Daydream, yeah.” She agreed.

“I was thinking that she could push English for them, help them understand us.” He said, and Dawn frowned deeply.

“That’s a little…” Dawn trailed off with a frown, and Q gave her a shrug in return.

“Yeah, it’s a little morally ambiguous.” He said, “But we can’t help them if they don’t understand us.“

“Get Zorra to call in Daydream.” Dawn said after a few moments. “We’ll take care of the kid until then.”

“On it.” Q said, turning out of the room, presumably to tell Zorra. While a valid move, it now meant that Dawn was in charge of the kid.

“First job.” She mused, looking over the kid fully, from the blood-matted hair to the soles of their feet, stained almost black with dirt. “Bath.“

Getting the kid to actually follow her to the bathroom was a slight ordeal, but eventually the kid followed her silently, their eyes soft and scared.

Dawn wished she knew what was going on inside their head.

When they finally made it to the bathroom, Dawn ran the kid a quick bath, filling the tub while the kid watched, their wings nervously twitching. They looked like they were half-expecting Dawn to hurt them, a wary resignation to their posture as they backed themself into the very corner of the room.

“C'mon kid.” Dawn said as she turned off the taps, keeping her tone warm and bright. “Bath time.”

The kid looked at Dawn with the same blank expression, cocked their head, and made an odd chirping sound.

Well, that was certainly new. They sounded confused, with the head cocked to the side like that, a quizzing tone to their voice.

Dawn took their wrist, gently, and lead them over to the tub. The kid made another chirping sound, a soft trill as they looked at the water.

“It’s a bath.” Dawn said, knowing it wouldn’t matter. “For getting clean.”

To demonstrate, she rolled up the sleeves of her costume, and scrubbed down her forearm with soap and water.

The kid did not take this very well, and flinched back into the wall, pressing themself as far away from the bath as they could reasonably get.

Dawn sighed, accepted that she’d need to dry her costume afterward, and climbed into the tub. Leading by example, and all that.

The kid watched her for a good few minutes, as Dawn went through the motions of washing. Then, they crept closer, and without warning, climbed in with her, water creeping dangerously close to dripping out of the tub.

Dawn waited to see what they’d do, and were met by the pale eyes watching her, soft-scared and nervy, their feathers all stood on end.

They looked like they were regretting their decision to get in the bath, but couldn’t quite muster the courage to bolt, now that they were wet.

Dawn took the sponge, already lathered with soap, and started scrubbing the kid down. The kid went rock-still, seemingly waiting for Dawn to do whatever they were expecting to happen.

Eventually, they relaxed a little, their feathers settling back down, trilling softly in their odd little language. It sounded avian, although what any of it could mean was beyond Dawn.

She chatted mindlessly to the kid as she got them clean, washing the dirt from their skin, and carefully washing their hair, untangling the matted blood and dirt with the help of warm water and her fingers.

The kid sat through it all with a surprisingly good nature, considering that Dawn could see their hands were shaking.

Still shit-scared enough of her, but wanting to get clean, perhaps?

More like they were too scared of Dawn to protest, Dawn thought. She had spent enough time kicking around supervillains to know when somebody was scared of her.

When she tried to touch their wings, the kid started so badly that it sent water crashing to the ground, as the kid let out a shrill cry of distress, their wings flattening into their back as wet feathers tried to puff out defensively.

“Okay, okay.” Dawn said, holding her hands where the kid could see them. “I won’t touch your wings, little bird.”

The water around them was near-black with dirt once Dawn deemed the kid clean enough to get out. She coaxed the kid out, although it didn’t take much to get them out the water, and frowned at their sodden hospital gown.

“You need something else to wear.” She mused. “But I suppose a towel will do for now.” She added.

The kid slid out of the gown easier that she might have liked to have seen, sliding down onto their knees as Dawn pulled what was really no more than a wet rag over their head.

“Where have you come from, little bird?” Dawn asked, crouching in front of them. There was something on their shoulder, an old scar of some kind. Dawn squinted to get a closer look, and her stomach flipped, nausea rising in her throat as she realised it was a brand.

Someone had burnt this kid, deliberately mutilated what was clearly no more than a teenager. The brand was old, deep but long-since scarred over, positioned right over their shoulder blade. It was an ornate and curling C, easily as wide as Dawn’s fist.

“Who’s done this to you?” She asked the kid, to caught up in her anger for a moment to mind her tone, and instead got the kid to flinch back, wings flaring around them defensively as they cried out softly, ducking their head. “No, no, I’m not angry with you, little bird. Angry for you, that’s all.”

Dawn didn’t get a response, barring the little chirp as the kid burrowed down into the towel Dawn had wrapped around their shoulders.

A soft rap at the door sounded, startling the kid again. Dawn glared at the door.

Surprisingly, it was Slingshot on the other side of the door, his slate-dark eyes dim and a bundle of cloth in his hands.

“I brought clothes for the kid.” He said, pressing the soft bundle into Dawn’s hands. “I cut holes for their wings.”

“Thank you.” Dawn said, with a smile. Slingshot made a vague huffing around and stalked back off.

“Okay, little bird.” Dawn said. “Let’s get you dressed.”

Dressing the kid was an ordeal, and the kid seemed half-mistified, half-distressed for the whole thing, wiggling and trilling softly every time Dawn tried to get them into an item of clothing.

Clearly the clothes Slingshot had provided were his own, as they were huge on the skinny little kid. They were dressed in a soft pair of sweatpants that Dawn had had to roll up, and a t-shirt that was huge on them, some band logo splattered on the front in neon blue and black.

It matched their wings. It was oddly sentimental for Slingshot, who Dawn had never seen successfully demonstrate an emotion.

The kid squirmed in the clothes, their wings pinned to their back by the shirt until they figured out how to pop their wings through the holes Slingshot had cut.

“Alright kid,” Dawn said, “Let me change into a dry costume, and we’ll go find you a room.”

TAGLIST: @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @panic-and-chaos @silverwhisperer1

#whump #winged whumpee #superhero whump #superhero caretaker #branding #kookaburra series #kookaburra #kook #dawnbringer #Q #Singshot #slingshot talks so i get to tag him lol #and introducing our primary caretaker dawn!!#i love dawn shes such a good girl #I might whump her at some point tho #just for funsies #tbh i want to whump most of the renegades lmao

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thatanimenerd101 · 4 years

Text

The Bird I Love

Paring: Keigo Takami (Hawks) x G/N reader

Warning: Lots of fluff and cuteness.

Word count: 1,528 aka 1.5k

Time taken (editing included): 5 hours time posted around 3am EST

This is for a very good friend of mine @keigos-dove they are such a wonderful person and I wish I could give them a hug. There fluff writings have helped me get through some dark times. I always melt because of I can be sad and then after reading some fluff I’m happy and my heart melts. So this is for you Eli, also I’m working on something else, that’ll be just for you. I’ll send it to you privately and you can chose of what you want to do with it. Also I wanted to ask you a few questions, I want to make the writing I am working on very personally for you. I decided to do this writing and the one I’m working on as a thank you. Well a huge thank you. I really want to get to know you better, I think we could become really awesome friends! Now be prepared for your heart to melt, I hope. Now if this isn’t fluffy enough for you, let me know! I will re-write this if needed. My mission is to make your heart melt.

Tag list: @keigos-dove @queensynderella @izuku-mydoria17 @zyrielwolf

@tooloudarts (If you would liked to be added to the tag list just let me know)

Come on, let’s roll already! Okay, jezz, I spent forever writing this Tumblr so stop eating my posts, you already ate two of them and I cried and my ice cream shows it. (I like ice cream okay?) Also yes I know I would take a break well that's over because uhh, I needed to write something.

Now, unfortunately I could not find the artist for this. But this is not mine, all credit goes to the artist.

It was finally Friday, your favorite day of the week it was the day you got payed. It also felt yourself catching a cold. It had been going around at your workplace for a while. It was nothing too bad, just a little cold. Your boyfriend, Hawks, Keigo Takami was out on a mission for the past two weeks. He would text you when he was out of danger. The last conversation you had with him was short.

Hey, doive. How are you?

Sent at 01:09am

I’m alright, I feel like I’m getting sick.

There’s a cold going around my workplace.

Other than that, I really miss you birdie.

Sent at 01:11am

I miss you too. I’ll come home as soon as I can.

I know this is hard for you. It’s hard for

me too.

Sent at 1:25 am

I have to go; I love you so much

Sent 1:27 am

You remember that conversation you had with him three days ago. You were gathering your things and preparing to head home. Normally he would be on missions for weeks or months at a time. Sometimes you would not hear from him until he would come home, covered in cuts and dried up blood. You never asked why, because even if he wanted too tell you, he couldn’t. He told you about his parents and how he was forced into becoming a hero. You remembered that night, he cried a lot and you held him close. You remember running your hands threw his hair once he fell asleep on top of you. He was heavy but at that moment you did not care. Walking down the streets of Japan, you saw couples holding hands. You smiled, but then a feeling of sadness washed over you. You missed him a lot. Keigo wasn’t the center of your world, you had friends and family. But none of them could understand you the way he did, he could sense that something was wrong just by looking at your face. When you reached the pen-house, you entered in the code to get in and let your coat fall to the ground. You tossed your shoes, leaving them by the door. Your plan was to take some medicine for your pounding headache and watch something on TV. That was until you heard soft music coming from the kitchen. Then you looked down the floor, there were rose petals leading their way to the kitchen. You followed them with a smile on your face. You saw Keigo cooking, well trying to cook. His feathers picked up your presence. He turned around to face you.

“Surprise!” He smiled at you, the smile only you got to see.

“What’s all this Keigo?” You smiled as you watched him plate the food. It was Chicken Alfredo

“Well, I wanted to do something nice for you because I’m away a lot. Plus, you said you were not feeling well so it is my job as your boyfriend to take care of you. Also, what hero wouldn’t take care of their partner?” His feathers carried the plates to the table. The table was set up with two glasses of wine.

“Awe, Keigo, you didn’t have to do all of this for me.” You sat down at the table and he gave you a small cup of water, along with some medicine.

“Don’t worry you can have a glass of wine with that, I checked. And yes, I want to show of how much I love and care for you y/n.”

You smiled at him, you decided not to question anything.

“Thank you.” You took the pill and Keigo sat down.

The two of you ate dinner and made some small talk. He told you that there was more in store.

“Keigo, are you sure? You look tired.” You put your hand on his cheek.

“Of course. Besides I know work for you has been really stressful so you need this. Your always taking care of me, let me take care of you dove.” He stood up from his chair and carried you to the bathroom. There were candles lit and soft music playing. But the music was a playlist of all of your favorite songs. Keigo turned the water on and butter your favorite bath bomb in the water.

“Kei- “You started to speak but he cut you off when the bathtub was full, he shut the water off.

“Enjoy your bath, I’ll come back in to bring you some night clothes. Don’t worry it’ll just be some sweat pants and one of my shirts.” He smiled at you and left the room for you to disrobe. The medication you had taken made you feel a lot better. Once you let the hot water relax your muscles you hadn’t felt this relaxed in a while. Your boss was up your ass the past week. You didn’t even hear Keigo knocking on the door, you were so lost in your head. You opened you eyes and saw him entering the bathroom with a hand over his eyes and the other hand holding your clothes and a very fluffy towel.

“Don’t worry, I can’t see anything, all I see is the nothing, which kinda scares me because I can’t see my cute little dove.” He set the towels and clothes on the counter, well he tried too. The bird man used his feathers to guide him since he was covering his eyes. You giggled while sitting up in the tub.

You’ve seen each other naked before but he decided not to push any of your buttons today. He lived to tease you a lot and sure it was both cute and annoying at the same time. But you’d had been so stressed out lately that he just wanted you to relax.

“Keigo, why don’t you join me? The water is so relaxing.” You splashed the water around a bit.

He moved his hand so he could see you. “Are you sure?”

“Of course.” You smiled brightly. “It just taking a bath, and then after we can cuddle like you said we would.” Your cheeks turned a light pink, you loved to cuddle with him and no matter what any time cuddles, snuggles were brought into a conversation your face would heat up, cheeks dusted pink.

“If you say so little dove. Stay there.”

After taking a bath Keigo carried you into your shared bedroom. You were starting to get tired.

“Is it snuggle time yet?” You yawned as he set you down on the bed, the shirt you were wearing was big on you and hung off your shoulders.

“Yes babe, it’ll be snuggling time soon. Just let me turn the TV on.” You pouted like a little kid. “Aww, don’t be like that little dove, just give me a second.”

All you wanted from him was cuddles, I mean he did give the best. His arms would hold you close and make you feel safe. His wings would wrap around you like a blanket, but better than a blanket. You’d grown used to not sleeping with blankets, why would you. When his wings would do the job better. Keigo was taking his time when fiddling with the remote. He smirked at you as the Netflix logo was on the screen. A few of his feathers detached from his wings and went off to what you guessed was the kitchen.

“You want anything, well besides me.” His smirk was still plastered on his face and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Just a bottle of water is good Pretty Bird.” His feathers came bag with some snacks and what you asked for.

Keigo laid down next to you and you nuzzled his cheek. The both of you were laying at the foot of the bed so you could both cuddle and watch Netflix together. You had decided on an old movie. During the movie he would sneak kisses on your forehead, cheeks, temples and everywhere he pleased. He would giggle and that was music to his ears. You would try on kiss him back but before you could he’d peck you on the lips. Theses would make you blush, which would make him want to tease you more.

“Does my little feather like it when I give them surprise kisses?” He had that smirk on his face again. The room was dark but he could feel the heat coming from your cheeks. You kissed him on the cheek.

“I love you Keigo.”

“I love you to y/n.”

After the movie ended, all the snacks were gone. You moved to the head of the bed and laid down on your pillow, Keigo laid down on top of you. You ran your fingers threw his hair and massaging his Scalp. He would coo and smile at you. Once he was about to fall asleep you stopped.

“Goodnight Pretty Bird.” You kissed him on the forehead.

“Goodnight my little dove.” He used his arms to push himself up and he kissed you goodnight.

If this man knew how to do something is was cuddles and chasing a cold away.

(A/N let me know if you'd like me to do more story times also I’m sorry about the text conversations I did it on my laptop so sorry mobile peeps! I love you all!)

#mha x reader #mha hawks #mha keigo takami #keigo's dove #my hero academia keigo takami #mha keigo x reader #mha hawks x reader

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sneezysmonsterlovin · 5 years

Text

Alien Boyfriend: Yunko Part 1

Not edited because yawn

Warnings?: Uh brief mention of death? Blood, but like really minor. I think that’s it.

Summary: You and your crew were shot down after returning from a rescue mission, and crash on an unknown planet. You find yourself waking from homeostasis, and are taken in by a pair of strange scavengers.

Word Count: 2,519

The faint smell of something burning wakes you. Slowly opening your eyes, you feel something tight strapped your face. Something shatters not far from where you lay, muffled by the leathery belts wrapped around your head. You startle, sitting up quickly. Or, you would if your bones hadn’t felt like complete jelly. Your arms barely twitch, and you don’t think you can feel your legs.

Squinting in the dark room, you searched for the source of the noise. It was difficult, laid across an unknown slimy substance in a dimly lit room. The room was small, and you could see four giant glass containers, a dark black smoke slowly curling out the side of the one to your right. The air felt thick, and the more you breathed in the dizzier you felt. Struggling to turn your head, you felt a sharp pain in the back of your neck and you winced, freezing. A sharp piece of, what you assumed to be, glass dug into the back of your skull, the wet ooze below you seeping into the cut. “Oh no!” The high pitched shrill was somewhere behind you, accompanied by the click clacking of nails against the floor. A pair of hands clutched your shoulders, nails- no they were much to large, they were more like talons- dug into the cotton fabric clinging to your body. A second pair cradled your head, lifting it off the sludge and glass, and you gasped at the sight in front of you.

One of the glass containers, the one in front of you, had burst open. The one beside it had similar cracks in the surface, save for a single blackened hand hanging out of the largest breach, dripping in blood. The similar ooze that had stuck your legs and arms like glue as you were lifted was filling the other two containers that had not yet busted.

“Are you alive? Wait, that’s a dumb question, I meant are you okay?” The voice was closer now, beside your ear. You watched in silent horror, not able to move anymore than you were before, as a hand left your shoulder and reached towards your face. It was white, with two long curved talons and a smaller talon centered perfectly in the center of the hand. A black wristband strapped around it’s arm, covered slightly by a blue fluff that bellowed out into giant black feathers, shaping a gorgeous wing. The talons wrapped delicately around your mask and tugged, the leather straps loosening easily and dropping from your face. An oxygen mask, you noted briefly, before the hand tossed it away like trash and turned you gently.

You held your breath, stomach lurching as you were turned to face the alien creature whom cradled you in it’s arms like a fragile doll. It was smaller than you, not by much but it was noticeable. It’s head was round, lips hardened and black in what resembled a beak. Skin just as white as it’s hands, the blue fluff had trailed its way up the creatures arms and covered its body, it’s face clear reminding you vaguely of a monkey, with a few flecks of what you realized to be scales outlining it’s cheeks. The side of it’s head was shaved, a single black line-Tattoo?- sliding around the side of it’s head, curving around it’s cheek and stopping at the chin. In place of ears were small, bean shaped holes, and as your head drooped to the side you noticed it’s loose white collared tank, a second pair of arms sprouting closer to it’s stomach. The pair that had once cradled your head, you realized as the aforementioned hands trailed down your shoulders to wrap around your torso and thighs, the larger pair of arms supporting your neck and knees. “Right, I’ll get you to the med room. I can’t believe you survived so long, this ship must’ve been abandoned for a while if the rust is any indication.” You picked up a faint masculine tone to it’s voice, with a more apparent tone of muscles that pressed against your side as it lifted you easily. You were left with no other choice but to watch your surroundings as the creature carried you out of the room.

The ship was familiar, and as the alien practically skipped through the halls, you faintly recalled boarding it. You and your crew had just returned from transferring a group of refugees to a safe-zone when something had shot you down. In a rush to try and preserve yourselves, your crew had went into homeostasis. Tears pricked at your eyes following another rush of nausea as you realized who that hand from before had belonged to, and you tried your best to blink them away with a shaky breath. The woman had been like a second mother to you, having taken several bullets for you and you had trusted her completely. Your heart clenched, the blood rushing your cheeks as you choked a single, quiet sob. It had sounded horrid, voice croaky and broken, and the vibrations against your throat felt foreign. The creature- it seemed rude to just refer to it like that but you really had no clue what species it was, humans had only encountered two other intelligent alien species and neither had resembled this one. His feathers bristled at the noise you had made, and its tight grasp faltered. You noticed it staring at you out of the corner of your eye, but as the airlock opened and revealed the planet you had crashed on, you really could care less. Well, that’s not true, it was slightly unnerving to have those bright golden eyes, three of them, fixated entirely on your being. But as you stared out at the cold desert that seemed to stretch on forever, the horizon only breaking upon reaching a smaller ship then the one you had just been on,one that was sleek and black, with green lights and a curious logo stamped on the side of three eyes and tiny square just below it.

The wind seemed to be colder than the air itself though, and the warm fluff that was so tightly tugging you against it distracted you. The creatures pace picked up, and you reached the space ship in no time, door opening automatically at your-well, the aliens-presence. You noticed it smelt strongly of something familiar, but you couldn’t quite place it. And as the alien stepped farther up the stares, you noticed the creature smelled just the same, albeit a bit stronger.

The creature continued into the ship, the door slowly shutting itself behind it, and a voice echoed throughout the metal structure. It was clearly robotic, and spoke in a tongue that was just as strange as this whole incident. The alien cooed at you, seeming to find your expression shift into one of confusion amusing, and kept up his fast-paced skip walk. The ships insides were very open, a table centered in room with several stools nailed to the ground around it, twice as many doors lining the wall. A brief glance to the left of the table revealed the ships control room, but you only got a small glimpse of the many flashing buttons and lights before the alien had brought you through on of the doors on the far side of the room, one that was filled with several black beds, iron bars lifted just so slightly to keep patients from rolling off. There were plenty of cabinets and jars of different liquids with a language that you assumed was the one that the ships voice had used stamped onto the white tags taped to their sides.

“My name is Yunko, I’m a scavenger. You’re pretty lucky, you know.” The alien gently rested you on the bed nearest to the far wall, propping you up on a pillow that held the same texture and consistency as a bean bag, molding to your back like jello but stiff enough to hold you up. Yunko turned, resting one of his lower hands on the wall that faded from its plain silver metal into a sort of window, the gray sand and soft brown sky catching your eyes once again. “Your life pods were about to blow. Actually, they did, the liquid that was in yours just seemed to manage to protect you from most of the blow. Pretty cool. You’re pretty cool too, I’ve never seen something like you.” Yunko turned, and you watched in surprise as the scales that lined his eyes, cheeks, and nose turned a beautiful shade of orange. “I mean, someone. I think. My translator is active, so I’m assuming you’re capable of speech.” The orange lightened. and shifted back to the previous snowy color, and you almost wished he’d stayed the breathtaking color forever. You assumed it was a he, at least. It seemed rather masculine, although it is an alien so who was to tell.

“You should get some rest, I’ll be in the other ship, doing my job.” Yunko shrieked, and you concluded that it was in amusement. “As soon as you can move, you just come find me and we’ll run some tests to see if I have anything for you to eat.” With that, Yunk swiftly turned, skipping out of the room happily. Your gaze flickered down and realized that he wore a tight pair of silky pants that tightly hugged his bird-like legs, and peaking out of the bottom of his shirt was a pair of long black tail feathers. Gaze trailing even lower, you caught a glimpse of his strange feet, and realized that his skip-walk was due to a slight limp he had in his right leg, caused most likely due to a lack of talon on the inside of his clawed feet, throwing off his balance. You mused briefly that he looked kind of cute in the baby animal kind of way, before closing your eyes to ponder all that has happened.

You didn’t see Yunko again until what felt like hours later, spending your time mourning your lost friends and past life, very much aware of the fact that you might never see any of it again now that you’ve been stranded for who knows how long, and picked up by some random alien scavenger, that admittedly wasn’t as bad as you first feared. You were still a little worried he might turn out to just want to eat you- it wouldn’t be the first time you met an alien that saw humans as another food source rather than a fellow intelligence, but he was really your only hope. Your ship, if the gaping holes and smell of death were anything to go by, was in no condition to fly, and Yunko seemed nice enough. The thought that he might eat you was quieted when you realized if he wanted to do such a thing, he needn’t get you back to full health to do so, unless it was a weird alien ritual.

You weren’t tired, and felt restless to get out of bed, so as soon as you got feeling back in your legs you pulled yourself over the cold iron, only to regret it afterwards as you tumbled to the ground, your muscles not used to being used in such a long time. The sound of something clattering to the ground in the other room surprised you, and you looked up just in time to watch as the doors flew open and a new creature stormed in. This one was much larger than Yunko, and by extension, you. It had only one arm though, the spot the other would be covered in plenty of scars. He was completely scaly. except for a metal jaw and long red hair pulled back into a bun. He wore a tight sleeveless black suit, a gold belt hung loosely from his thin hips. He didn’t wear shoes either, his feet ending in a pair of hooves. His ears were pointed and droopy, a lighter shade of lavender than the rest of his body.

For a brief while, you simply stared wide eyed at the alien as he seemed to speak to you in the language from before, and he only paused when he seemed to realize you couldn’t understand him. His shoulders slumped and he raised a hand to his jaw, and you watched as he spoke once again. “She’s awake? Oh! Just stay right there! I’m just about finished, and then we can take off!” You realized the alien had called Yunko, as the bird man prattled on through the speaker, loud clashes of metal softly made its way through the speaker-er, the aliens jaw.

Said creature seemed to look exhausted as it made it’s way towards you, towering over you with such an intimidating presence you didn’t bother fighting as he plucked you up by your waist and made his way out of the room. The alien surprised you as he gently turned you over in his grasp, gently placing you onto one of the stools instead of dropping you like you had expected. He then turned without a second glance at you and made his way towards the control room.

You sat in silence, kicking your legs and every so often pressing your weight onto them, waiting for Yunko to arrive and break the uncomfortable silence that hovered like a storm cloud throughout the room. You could still see the other aliens muscly arm as it moved about the controls, and wondered quietly if every scavenger was as strong as these two.

Yunko didn’t take much longer to return, speeding through the archway that led to the common room with several bags tossed over his shoulders. Upon seeing you, he placed them down by the door, and rushed over like an excited child.

“You’re up! How are you feeling?” He trilled, talons clicking together when he leaned over the table to peer at your face.

“Okay...” You croaked, scrunching your nose once more at the uncomfortable feeling talking had caused. Yunko didn’t seem to notice, and simply tilted his head in interest at your expression. You briefly realized neither he nor the other alien made any real facial reactions, Yunko’s face stoic other than the occasional squinting, and the scarred alien having a literal jaw of steel, leaving not much room for any expressions in the first place.

“You sound horrid.” Yunko stated simply. “But I guess I can’t imagine every alien to sound as darling as I.” He straightened, before looking over at the alien in the control room. “That’s Ciks. He looks plenty scarier than he actually is, don’t worry.” Yunko turned to look at you once again, eyes squinting as another birdlike shriek tore through his throat. The noise surprised you, as it did the first, and you couldn’t help but giggle quietly at the sudden noise. Yunko stared at you wide eyed, mouth slack before he straightened and nodded, motioning for you to follow him.

“This way, dear! Let’s go see what we can do.”

#Alien Boyfriend #Alien x Reader #Female Reader #Aliens #Stranded in space idk #exophilia #monster boyfriend #my writing #unedited #trash

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thepurplebutterflythings · 5 years

Text

Kitty Cat & Tweety Bird (Part 10) - Jason Todd

Gif: Dxnninja on Tenor

Word Count: 3.0K

Paring: Jason Todd (Titans) x (f)Reader

Summary: Bruce and Selina set down rules for Jason and Y/N regarding their relationship and then talk about their own relationship. Harley, Ivy and Selina make Y/N an offer.

Warnings: N/A

A/N: This is a little series I am doing about Jason Todd in Titans. I don’t know Comic!Jason very well so I’m taking all of this from the show, and at the moment he hasn’t been in very often, so please forgive any mischaracterizations.

Tagging: @bella-0104-123 @ninergirl1d @httpfandxms @rosybrock @attackonnat @reclusive-chicken-nugget @demoiselle-en-detresse00 @young-psychos @thesleepykaijuu @thescottpack @nightlygiggles @rougestorms @sinon36 @loxbbg

Kitty Cat & Tweety Bird Part 9 | Masterlist |

________________________________________________________________

Y/N and Jason dragged the unconscious body of the Joker towards Arkham as the adults walked a few paces behind them.

“God, he’s heavy,” Y/N muttered to Jason, “how is possible? There’s practically nothing on him.”

“Well, he’s wearing like ten layers,” Jason said, “doubt it lightens the load.”

As they approached the building, a doctor in a coat started running out towards them. When The Doctor reached them, she put her hands on her knees and gasped before looking at them.

“You got him, oh thank you,” she said, “thank you, Batman.”

“Actually,” Bruce smiled, “Lynx is the one who appended him.” He gestured to Y/N, who dropped the leg of the Joker that she was holding and stepped forward. The Doctor grabbed Y/N’s hands and began thanking her profusely.

“Thank you, thank you so much,” The Doctor said, “Lynx, there must be something I can do. Perhaps we can name a wing after you?”

“Just make sure he doesn’t escape again,” Y/N said with a smile.

“Of course, we’ll double security,” She said, “thank God you caught him before he did anything.”

The Doctor called for guards to come and take The Joker away, picking him up from the floor and dragging him inside. The Doctor followed close behind.

“Aren’t you worried?” Ivy asked Bruce, “He knows your identity.”

“Who’d believe the mad man that Bruce Wayne is Batman?” Bruce chuckled.

“Gotta give it to him,” Harley drawled with a nod, “if he’d have told me Brucie is The Dark Night, I wouldn’t have believed him.”

“And if Harley isn’t having that, then it’s really insane,” Jason smiled and put an arm around Y/N. “Come on, let’s go back to the manor, shall we?”

“Yeah, I really wanna shower,” Y/N sighed, leaning into Jason’s body. “The smell of chemicals is in my hair.”

“At least it’s not on your skin.”

________________________________________________________________

“Here,” Jason said handing Y/N a pair of his tracksuit trousers and a t-shirt with the Ramones logo on the front. She had gotten out of the shower in Jason’s bedroom and had a towel wrapped around her.

“Thanks,” she smiled taking them. Jason sat on the bed and smiled. “What?”

“Well, I didn’t get to watch you undress earlier…”

“So you wanna watch now?”

“If there is an offer, then yes?” He gave a cheeky grin at Y/N, who smirked and walked over to the door, locking it and then walking back to Jason.

“What do I get if I let you watch me?” She teased, holding the towel tightly.

“Mmmm,” Jason stood up and made it seem as though he was pondering what to do. He reached Y/N and wrapped his arms around her middle, holding her close to him, “what about a kiss?”

“Mmmm,” Y/N smiled, “sounds nice.”

“Good,” Jason smiled softly before leaning down and kissing Y/N. She slowly started to let the towel go, but before she could let it drop to the ground there was a knock on Jason’s bedroom door.

“Y/N,” Selina called through, “you ready yet?”

“Almost,” she called back.

“Good, cause I’d like to talk,” Bruce said. “And send Jason out.” Jason’s eyes bulged as he realized that Bruce knew was in the room alone with his daughter. “I know he’s in there and that you’re supposed to be getting dressed.”

“Sorry…” Y/N mumbled through the door as she opened it in her secured towel and letting Jason walkout, embarrassed. Bruce looked between them and rolled his eyes.

“I don’t have a problem with you two dating, but we are going to have to set some rules for this,” Bruce said, folding his arms.

“I understand that,” Y/N said, “but can I have clothes on before we discuss that.”

“Oh, right,” Bruce nodded with a cough, “get dressed and then come downstairs.”

“See you in a bit,” Y/N said to Jason before closing the door and turning to get dressed.

________________________________________________________________

“So, rules…” Bruce coughed and clapped his hands together while looking at Jason and Y/N who was sitting on the sofa, uncomfortably. Selina stood at Bruce’s side with her arms folded while looking between the father of her daughter and said daughter with her boyfriend. Ivy and Harley were at the side of the room with Alfred, all three watching the scene before them with a faint level of amusement. It was practically the nightmare of every parent and every child.

“Seriously, you don’t need to do this,” Y/N pled.

“Well, considering you are both my assistant and daughter and that I sponsor Jason,” Bruce said, “I would like to just set a few basic rules.”

“You had no problem with this when you didn’t know I was your daughter.”

“Y/N,” Selina said, “they aren’t crazy rules, they are just to make sure everything is civil.”

“Fine, we’ll listen,” both Jason and Y/N said with a nod.

“I have no problem with you being together,” Bruce said.

“And neither do I,” said Selina, “Bruce and I both worked on these rules. If you don’t find them well, then we’ll figure out a way where all of us are happy, okay?”

“Okay.”

“First, I know you’re young, and that you will probably be, if not already, sexually active.”

“Please God kill me now,” Y/N groaned, “I’ve just come back from being kidnapped by The Joker, I thought the torture would stop.”

“But,” Bruce continued, ignoring Y/N, “you have to know that it is uncomfortable for parents to be in the house when their child is… doing stuff, especially if the person they’re with is like family to you,” his eyes shifted to Jason.

“We aren’t going to stop you, you’re grown adults and we trust you enough to take the precautions,” Selina assured them.

“All we ask is that if you are going to do things like that, please not when we’re in the house.”

“That’s fair enough…” Jason nodded, holding Y/N’s hand, “right?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Y/N said.

“Okay, so, rule 2,” Selina said, “We trust you, so please don’t take advantage of that.”

“Number 3, this cannot affect how you perform both as vigilantes and at Wayne Enterprises,” Bruce said, “I know it hasn’t in the past, and highly doubt it would in the future, but sometimes you just need to say these things.”

“Number 4, and this is the most important,” Selina said, “don’t feel like you can’t talk to us about your relationship. Please, trust us. We know we’re ‘grown-ups’ and that sometimes we can be a little out of touch, but that doesn’t mean we can’t listen and help at times.”

“That ain’t too bad really,” Harley said from the side. “Me dad would never ‘ave been that lax with me and a boyfriend or girlfriend.”

“I respect Y/N, and Selina, and Jason,” Bruce said. “I trust them all, and I know that I couldn’t stop them even if I wanted to.”

“Well, now that the eventful night has ended,” Alfred said, “why don’t I make us all some supper and then we can sleep?”

“Yes please, Alfred.”

“We’ll leave you all be,” Ivy said, “get out of your hair.”

“You don’t have to, Ivy, neither do you Harleen,” Bruce said to the couple, “it’s late, and I had Alfred check on Bud and Lou for you, they’re fine, stay here the night, it’s a long journey home.”

“We don’t wanna intrude on ya,” Harley shook her head.

“You aren’t intruding,” Bruce assured them, “stay, it’ll be nice.”

“Only if you’re sure, Brucie.”

“Definitely.”

________________________________________________________________

Y/N and Jason laid side by side, facing each other, Jason trailing his finger up and down Y/N’s side while Y/N brushed his fringe from his eyes. They weren’t talking, just looking at each other with love in their eyes. Each thought ‘God, aren’t I lucky?’ when looking at the other.

“You know, I’m surprised your dad allowed this,” Jason murmured quietly, “us in the same bed.”

“Well, he knows we ain’t gonna be having sex with him in the house,” Y/N said softly, “so why keep us apart?”

“He’s pretty laid back,” Jason shifted a little, “considering he just found out you’re his daughter.”

“Maybe he’s just trying to make us think he’s a cool, laid back dad,” Y/N chuckled.

“Your father is Batman, I mean, he can’t exactly be too controlling can he?”

________________________________________________________________

“You’re good with her,” Selina said leaning against the door of Bruce’s office. Bruce was behind the desk looking at some paperwork and Selina had let herself in, much like when they were young. She looked at him with a smile dancing on her lip, arms folded. Bruce looked up at Selina and smiled back, her words filling him with pride.

“Do you mean Y/N or Harley?” He teased playfully.

“Both,” Selina shot back as she strolled over to the desk and sat opposite Bruce. “I have to give you extra for Harley. Y/N is a piece of cake in comparison. Are you mad at me?”

“I could never be mad at you,” Bruce assured her.

“You know I would never have kept it a secret to spite you.”

“I know, you’re a lot of things, Selina - thief, mother, determined – but you aren’t malicious.”

“Thank you, Bruce.”

“Selina?”

“Yes, Bruce?”

“Can I be part of Y/N’s life, properly?” Bruce asked quietly, “I know I’m late to the game, but I want to be a father to her, walk her down the aisle, be there when she graduates, be in her life.”

Selina stood up and walked to Bruce’s side, sitting on the edge of the desk and taking his hands in hers and holding them close to her. They looked at each other and smiled.

“I would love you to be in her life,” Selina told him, “and I’m so sorry that you haven’t had the chance to be in it before.”

“Hey,” Bruce stood up and cupped Selina’s face, “I understand now, I do.” He told her, “And you did an amazing job with Y/N. You didn’t need my help, you’re undoubtedly an amazing mother. She’s so smart and talented and kind and loving. Y/N is an incredible young woman, all thanks to you.”

“That doesn’t take away from the fact I stopped you from being in her life,” Selina said, almost crying. “I’m a terrible, terrible person.”

“No, you are not, Selina Kyle, you are a brilliant person,” Bruce said stroking her cheeks, “it’s all in the past now, let’s start here.”

“Does that mean even our past is forgotten?” Selina whispered.

“Do you want that?”

“No,” she shook her hand, holding his wrists as his hands still cupped her face. “I don’t. There was something I was going to tell you before you left Gotham, something I never got to tell you, even when you came back.”

“What’d that, Selina?” Bruce asked. Both knew though, both had wanted to say it in the past but never go to.

“I love you, Bruce Wayne.”

“I love you, Selina Kyle.”

________________________________________________________________

Y/N and Bruce met in the hallway the following morning, both waking up to the low thumping noise coming from the kitchen. Bleary-eyed they stared at each other and sighed.

“You hear it too?” Bruce asked in a tired morning grumble.

“Yep,” Y/N nodded, “I take it you’re a light sleeper too?”

“All my life.”

“Nice to know where I get it from,” she sighed as they walked down to the kitchen.

It was obscenely early in the morning but there singing and dancing along to the radio as they made pancakes were Harley, Ivy and even Alfred. They had formed a conveyer belt; Alfred made the batter, Harley cooked them and then Ivy stacked them on a plate which was kept warm in the oven.

“When you call my name it's like a little prayer, I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there, in the midnight hour I can feel your power, just like a prayer you know I'll take you there,” The trio sang and danced. Alfred spun Harley around and dipped her gracefully before twirling Harley into Ivy’s arms, who kissed her partner quickly before they returned to wiggling their hips and singing along while cooking.

“Did the Joker drug me last night?” Y/N said at the sight before her. The stiff-upper-lip Butler of the Wayne’s dancing with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy while making pancakes at 6:30 in the morning. “I’m not the only one seeing this, am I?”

“No, I’m seeing this too, and I can assure you I wasn’t drugged.”

“Good…”

“Oh,” Ivy grinned on seeing the father and daughter awake and before them, “we’re making breakfast.”

“Yeah, Alfie here said he’s got a fucking marvellous pancake recipe and Ives and I were just dying to try it.”

“We were going to wake you all in a bit, Master Wayne, Miss Wayne,” Alfred said to them, “apologies that the music awoke you.”

“No, no, it’s fine, Alfred,” Bruce assured him.

“Miss Wayne?” Alfred said.

“Yeah, it’s all good, Alfred,” she nodded, surprised at being called Miss Wayne. “And Y/N is just fine, really. Miss Wayne is way too formal.” Y/N coughed and clapped her hands, “so, do we get to try these pancakes or are they just for looking at?”

“Come, come, take a seat,” Alfred ushered Y/N to a seat and placed a plate with some panics on in front of the young woman, Bruce sitting next to her. They looked at each other and smiled. “What do you want on top of your pancakes?”

“Lemon juice and sugar,” Y/N said shifting into a more comfortable position. Alfred looked at Bruce and chuckled with a shake of the head, “what?”

“I eat mine the same way,” Bruce smiled, “I like the combination of sweet and sour.”

“Same! Mum cannot understand why I don’t like syrup,” Y/N laughed, “It’s just -”

“Too sweet,” both Y/N and Bruce said at the same time with a gleeful grin on both their faces.

“How the fuck didn’t we see it before?” Harley huffed and rolled her eyes, “Ya really are father and daughter.”

Alfred chuckled as he handed over the lemon juice and the sugar in front of them. He himself then took a seat at the breakfast island and the five started to eat. Harley drowned hers in syrup and shovelled the pancakes into her mouth while Ivy ate daintily. Alfred ate as though dining with the Queen, which Y/N thought he must’ve at one point. Bruce and Y/N rolled their thin pancakes up after putting the desired amounts of sugar and lemon juice on them and chopped them up, putting the portions in their mouths.

“These are fucking delicious!” Harley declared through a mouthful, syrup on her chin. Ivy chuckled and picked a napkin up from the counter, dabbing her darling loves chin.

“You’ve made yourself a sticky mess, darling,” Ivy said gently.

“Can’t help it, these are amazing!” Harley gestured at her syrupy mess, “compliments to the chef, Alfie!”

“Thank you, Dr Quinzell.”

“I ain’t been called that for a time,” Harley chuckled nostalgically.

“Where’s your lover boy, Sprout?” Ivy asked Y/N.

“Sleeping,” Y/N said, “Jason sleeps like the dead, as does my mother.”

“And yet Selina always claims herself to be a light sleeper.”

“Like hell, she is,” Y/N scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Shouldn’t we wake them?” Ivy asked.

“And deprive ourselves of Alfred’s delightful pancakes?” Bruce chuckled.

“Heard that,” Selina said as she and Jason walked around the corner.

“Hello, Cat,” Bruce gave an innocent grin, “you look lovely this morning.”

“Fuck off,” Selina playfully pushed Bruce, “you were gonna keep all these to yourselves. And you know how much I love Alfred’s pancakes, Bruce.”

“Selina briefly stayed at Wayne Manor when she and Master Bruce were children,” Alfred explained to Y/N and Jason, seeing their confused expressions.

“And Bruce was always crushing on me, brought me a gift once too!”

“You were the snow globe girl?” Y/N said, “That broken snow globe in the office?”

“You kept it?” Selina looked at Bruce with large eyes.

“Of course I did, Selina,” Bruce said, “it’s you.”

Selina smiled and reached over to take Bruce’s hand, looking into his eyes and him looking back.

“Is something going on here?” Ivy asked, pointing her fork between Selina and Bruce.

“Erm, well,” Selina said as they sighed and pulled apart, “we were going to wait till later to tell you this, but Bruce and I were thinking of giving an actual relationship ago.”

“Good on ya,” Harley nodded.

“Really?” Y/N said softly.

“Is that alright?” Bruce asked.

“Of course,” Y/N broke into a giant grin.

“What about the Sirens?” Jason asked, looking at Harley, Ivy and Selina, who were all looking at each other and smiling.

“See, we spoke about it last night,” Ivy said, “and last night did put things into perspective. Stopping Joker was a good thing, it felt right. We do not want to be associated with people like Joker and Riddler and Penguin anymore, so, from this moment forward The Gotham City Sirens is a dedicated vigilante group that works alongside Batman and Robin, as Bruce agreed to it last night as well.”

“And so, Y/N,” Selina said, “do you want to be a Siren?”

“Yes,” Y/N nodded. All this good and happy news had nearly caused her to cry with complete and utter joy.

“Oh, Kitty-Cat,” Jason wrapped Y/N in his arms and kissed her cheek, “what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she wiped her eyes, “I’m just happy.”

“Kitten,” Selina said.

“Dearie,” Bruce placed a hand on Y/N’s shoulder.

“I love you, Dad,” Y/N said as she hugged her father, leaving Jason’s arms and moving into her dad’s.

“I love you too, dearie,” Bruce said, pressing his lips to her forehead.

“So,” Jason said, “What’s next? The Sirens are heroes, Bruce and Selina are giving it ago, Y/N and I are a couple. What now?”

“Well, now,” Bruce said, “we throw a Gala.”

61 notes · View notes

ayakashiramblings · 4 years

Text

WTFried Episode 3: KFC Otome Game

Bold: Gaku’s commentary Italics: Futaba’s commentary Normal: Official documentary narration (usually in a bad British accent) Bold and Italicized: Answers/Questions to the… game.

In 1910, the Capital, one man had a dream that he made another man work for. That dream would result in the exclusive Milk Hall. A chic cafe that would serve all manner of dairy-based treats… and making only one exception today. A day where we will reach deep into this bucket of…

Oh, Aoi! This logo is such a cute design!

How did you know it was by him?

Did… did you seriously think it was anybody else?

Point taken... Ms Futaba-rt…

Hush, Gaku. I’m just going to leave the drawing to the actual student.

Since everyone is craving for some turkey this winter, the employee has made the employer fetch some slices of this fine poultry. Everyone at Raccord is getting ready for the tender meat AND the festive season as we ring in the new year of 1911! Featuring buckets with the restaurant’s symbol… an old man!

And speaking of the devil, here he comes without… the turkey but some other manner of bird? Thus, Aoi has prepared to strike, dumping the bucket on the counter with a resounding thud.

“Erm… so remember how I said it was ok if I arrived at the turkey place slightly later than usual…?” A sheepish Oji's question can only be met by Aoi's deadpan conclusive remark,

“They ran out, didn’t they?”

Apparently, that was super insensitive because Oji-san has scrunched up his nose and eyes (the more normal ones) and…

Wait, how did you speak in parentheses?

"Nevermind that, somehow the narration was more offensive than Aoi's accusation." Oji’s fake-sniffling is thankfully interrupted by Aoi shaking the contents of the… replacement.

"I don't think it was harsh enough considering your blunder."

“No… it's just that the turkey place somehow became a chicken place! So the party pack is full of chicken!”

And just like that, the bells at the entrance have stopped ringing just as fast as the front door has been shut. And two hearts are now shattered into a million pieces. Why wouldn’t there be shattered souls after witnessing all hopes of savouring a Western classic slipping down the grease tracks of the fried chicken? The sound of the fat fizzing and splattering was supposed to be a welcomed one, not this… this… tinier bird. In particular, Ginnojo knows that he knows too much. See the look of imagining death and actually experiencing it? And Kuro! He’s pouting in slow motion, head down, shoulders slumped, and with an expression that clearly indicates he’s responding but barely able to because of the sheer despair consuming him… AKA, exactly like a puppy.

...Gaku, don’t zoom in on their faces. I’m already describing it, no need to rub it in.

Fine.

“Man, I’m sorry you two. I know you guys were looking forward to the turkey.”

“Old Man Oji, it’s ok! I’m just glad everyone is here to feast at least!”

Of course, the most ferocious growl has to refute that statement and it certainly has to come from an even more ferocious beast… Ginnojo’s disappointed stomach. Does he manage to hide the betrayal well with his stoic face though as the two neighbours/besties/??? eye the substitute meats?

Ok, really, there is no way you can tell me you spoke in question marks.

“I apologize too. Honestly, I should have checked beforehand.” Aoi concedes and offers a temporary white flag in the form of a kitchen towel to see the numerous chunks of fried chicken.

Could it be? The magic of fried chicken is soothing wounds of the past? Can the crispy chicken skin really fully resolve the dwindling festive spirit? Will it be just as great as its twin…

… Sorry Yura and Gaku.

“Be at rest, my Lady. I am sure a dollop of sugar or two is enough to fully restore the chicken to a turkey’s high status.”

I’m glad to see that the sugar dispenser I made is being put to such use, brother.

As Yura makes the sugar cookies even more… sugary, Aoi shakes his head,

“What now? We work with fried chicken? I’ve never really experimented with it before.”

“We… do need to finish this supply eventually. Might as well start now.” was all Oji can offer in this dire situation. Just as everyone is heaving a sigh, two majestic heroes arrive with…

A tengu as a sacrifice for the turkey my brother can never savour now. Crows are closer than chicken to turkey.

“Mhmm?”

“Nevermind, ignore him Kuya. Hiya Koga! Sorry you two, but we’ve only got fried chicken...”

And with that, Futaba witnesses the magnificent wingspan of the tengu… as he flies away at the mention of devouring a fellow bird. At least, he tried to but an oni ogre foils his meticulous plan by… grabbing his ear.

“Sorry about him. And even more sorry for Ginnojo and Kuro. I know you two were looking forward to the turkey.”

Nice job, Gaku! :D

What even is... you know what, nevermind. Thanks, I guess, and the mic’s back to you now.

“Really, don’t worry you guys. It’s more like Gin-Gin and I like the story surrounding the turkey in the festivals. The fried chicken just doesn’t have such an interesting story.”

The gramophone acts up at this precise moment Kuro tries to break the tension. As a wonderful person holds this strangely bulky camera while Gaku rushes to fix the audio camera, he finds that the cause is none other than his own customer… Oji-san with a record-breaking moment. Literally.

“Ok, wait, I’ve lived long enough to tell you that isn’t true. Why, I used to tell this story to Aoi when he was a little lad…”

And Oji-san whips out… a shopping list dated 5 years ago. Additionally, the crayon doodles are really adorable alongside the cursive handwriting.

“Yup, you told me a shopping list that I wrote down and YOU forgot.”

… Edit out my earlier statement.

… I’ll try.

“You know what? We have all this fried chicken for me and Aoi to do something AND tell you more about the tale of the fried chicken this time of year.”

And this folks, is what happened before we come up with the most amazing play…

Before we continue this documentary, we would like to thank our sponsors. Koga Kitamikado. This Oni Ogre is tough as nails and nothing ever gets him down! You can always turn to him when you're in a bind. A… tender bind.

… Why is Koga sponsoring this?

Guess he saw something�� like how we are going to see two ayakashi experiencing the world’s greatest interactive play!

Tonight, Ginnojo and Kuro react to ‘I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger-Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator!’. An interactive play scripted by Oji, you, yes you the audience, gets to play as a budding chef…

“Ooh, Gin-Gin is a good one… when you know, he doesn’t go bonkers on the ingredients.” Kuro’s chirp is nearly drowned out by the action at the back where we will be observing how our thespians are preparing.

Aoi and Oji have outdone themselves for this. We don’t have every single thing that you can purchase by queuing up but the menu prepared within 4 seconds is well-represented on this table. Sometimes, it is in a 3-piece meal, a few are in the buckets, and you get the overall picture! No double-dipping needed here, the act is too sacrilegious for such a holy beginning. A beginning… that will melt the frost around here.

Warm yourself from the inside. You’re about to embark on a journey that will end with you sleeping with this warm milk and pot pie….

Thus, these two can’t drink milk. Only eating the pot pie. We… we need them to actually play this.

“This is confusing, our journey begins with the ending?” Kuro asks a question that no one knows the answer to except for Ginnojo,

“Aye, a lot of the greatest heroes stumble upon their best stories after the ending of another. I suppose this is what we are trying to get here with… the pot pie?”

Scepticism is evident even on the usually trusting Kuro’s face. Nevertheless, they put their faith in Aoi’s culinary skills as they see the smoke still wafting from behind the stage curtains that are really just Kuya’s blankets.

AKA: Koga’s blankets.

Sure, the decor is a bit too… reminiscent of a chicken barn. And yet, observe the first bite taken by the Mizuki and the… other… ayakashi. Creaminess flooding each of their mouths as veggies and fried chicken come together in this glorious, crusted symphony. And at the very end of it all,

“Delicious.”

“Oh my gosh! It’s so good! The chicken, yum! More, please!”

As they chew contentedly amongst dozens of floating… chicken and biscuits… Yura approaches them with the most adorable signboard… and the weirdest customizable one at that. That’s right, we are featuring the talents of Yura and Aoi… for the second time in the latter's case.

“Welcometh, chef! Bef're we start, bid us thy nameth!”

Translation: Give us the coolest names you have Ginnojo and Kuro! Note: no explicit language or demeaning words are allowed.

“Oooh, let’s do a ship name, Gin-Gin!”

“I dislike ships. Especially the black ones. Why can’t humans just learn to be one with the waves?”

Thus, comes the most epic name ever.

Mammon!

“Like, Mama + Mon! Because, I dunno, it feels like a mum made this!”

“The Mon is an abbreviation of Monday, the day we are watching… I mean, playing this theatrical game.”

...

Should… should we tell them?

No.

With the dimming of lights and pot pie nearly finished, Kuro and Ginnojo move on to the chicken wings and munching sounds accompanied the sight of the protagonist… in bed. Since the protagonist is me. So…

I’m taking over the narration from this point onwards. Be grateful. And note… this is the game. So if it’s weird… do not blame me for it.

Oh hush, and get to your job.

Futaba is buried like one zinger in a tortilla wrap. Until the latest alarm clock that I have built with a custom ringtone goes off with the best sound in the world - that of a happy chicken. Sleep in or wake up? What should they choose?

“I’m concerned about the rooster.”

“Yes… but whelp, up and at’em is what I’d say!” was the only warning the poor alarm clock received before Kuro smacked the robot rooster with the goddamned whip of his, ruining hours and hours and hours of…

Don't be so offended, Gaku, it's just a game.

...

“Wow, I better get ready for my first day at the prestigious University of Cooking School: Academy for Learning!” Futaba says in a way-too-enthusiastic voice that is almost on Kuro’s level when he’s drunk.

“Ok, so I’m only familiar with Futaba and Aoi’s schools but I’m pretty sure no one would want that for a name. Oh! Let’s call it Cuddling Chicken School!”

Case in point because as I speak, Kuro and Ginnojo are now enjoying another treat with coke… that may or may not have been spiked. The main focus though is the box filled with delicious chicken and named after popcorn.

“This one’s the most processed. I don’t think I can take another bite. Oh, Kuro? You’ve finished yours?”

“... More like you finished yours and mine within a bite.”

For once, Ginnojo looked more innocent than Kuro was somewhat forlornly staring at his very, very empty container. At least now both could be more invested in the… plot of this play as our main character starts to get changed into a chef’s uniform, complete with an apron and a hat. All that is left to do is for her to actually move but she just has to ask,

“Hmm, I kinda want to daydream and laze about in bed.”

Of course, that’s challenging everything a former Shinsengumi member loves and knows so Ginnojo is quick to call my brother over to reject the option… except that Kuro is a bit more nonchalant about the whole affair.

“D’aww, let her, it’s so rare to see her relaxed.”

“I won’t deny that a girl her age shouldn’t be concerned with hard matters but Futaba wants to go to school. And I shall support her in her endeavours.”

“Except, this isn’t Futaba. She’s being Mammon remember?”

“Very well.”

And just like that, Ordinary Chef Student protagonist Futaba is late and doesn’t have time to sit and eat a full meal. She grabs a piece of biscuit, fluffy… unlike her missing deodorant.

“I knew she had a price to pay.” Ginnojo’s heavy sigh provoked a gasp of realization from his neighbour,

“Are we going to be fried?”

Alas, she was not…

HEY!

By the time she has thrown the biscuit at me, the setting has been changed to the ivory walls of UCS: AL… or the Cuddling Chicken School. And there, awaiting her is the ever-so-perky… BROTHER?!

He volunteered for the role!

Wow, I’m so proud of him! Wait, should I have auditioned… no, I’m just going to record every moment of this now.

Here comes the bestest friend in the world, Yura!

“Many thanks, brother, but I shall now don the name ‘Miriam’ and ask Mammon here if she is highly anticipating our term of 3 days!”

Ginnojo does have to voice out one concern that I am sure most viewers will have as well,

"Hold on, they can graduate in 3 days? Youth these days really are picking up new knowledge."

"I want a degree in English in 3 days. If I take the English food course in 3 days, will that count?"

Before Kuro can learn more about this miraculous development in education, Futaba has to continue with her dialogue and actually focus like my brother,

“Good morning Miriam! I'm sure…”

“Because I most certainly am! Alack, the breakfast I hadst did prepare this morn did not have enough love… whatever shall I do?”

As another branch of the game appears, the choice is rather evident…

COMFORT HIM YOU IDIOTS!

Finally, sense strikes the two, Kuro furiously slamming the option and poor Nachi as a result. Still, the nekomata behind the Option Board manages to signal to the other actors and Futaba barely adeptly gives my brother a pep talk,

“Ever since we were little babies together and you rescued me from that quicksand box, it’s been clear to me that you’re the most loving, caring person I’ve known! Your tiny… sweets are definitely going to be a hit!”

Part of the reason why this speech is not adequate enough is because Futaba is RUDELY interrupted when someone smacks her books and custom-engraved measuring spoons out of her hands and onto the ground.

“... Aeshleigh.” Futaba finally spat out, or whether it’s from deliberating drawing out the heavy silence to emphasize the sheer tension… or because she is wonder if Kuya cannot spell Ashley.

“This is the fancy name. For the fancy Ashley. Aeshleigh who is better than everyone else.” Ginnojo’s attempt at finding the reason for Aoi’s character name is ultimately thwarted by Aoi starting to get into character EXTREMELY reluctantly,

“Oh, I didn’t see you there, chicken shins.”

"Her boobs are not parallel at all." came Kuro's deadpan remark… and Ginnojo choking whilst looking like a boiled lobster. That, or because he is eating the Crispy Version of the Chicken breast.

“Kuro! Do not look there!”

“Why is she even insulting us for having chicken shins? She has chicken breasts on her thigh socks! Futaba, you should have actually worn chicken shin guards.”

…

Don't be so offended, Futaba, it's just a game.

Across the quad, one can see the rival’s best friend, who has stopped to look at his own reflection in the mirror. Pants so tight, anyone can see him casually working out his glutes while he styles his hair. No lie, they’re rocking glutes belonging only to one Koga.

“Ahem, Van Van?”

“You rang-rang?”

“Damn, Koga, you cougar go!”

“I’m curious about his hair, it’s actually in the shape of a starfish.”

“Don’t you just mean a star?”

“That can work too, I suppose.”

Sure, the pairing seems weird to the current audience but Aoi… I mean, Aeshleigh continues to sneer at Mammon who is slowly getting up with Miriam’s help but quicker with throwing the retort,

“I can’t believe that the University of Cooking School: Academy for Learning would ever allow people like you to attend as students.”

Except that it completely flies over both bullies’ heads as Aoi delicately laughs with icy cold teal eyes,

“Ara ara, so you do know. We should have gotten our diplomas already with these great skills of ours.”

“Or maybe hire us on as professors. You amateurs could learn a lot from us.”

With the first day of school about to start, there’s just not enough time to properly tell these two off so everyone else resists the urge. As Mammon and Miriam approach the door, they see a goofy-looking kid pushing hard against the window directly next to it.

“He would have been completely dislikable if it weren’t for the fact the cutest cub is playing him right now.”

On a more serious note, could someone like this also be a student at the school? He must be a great chef, with a name tag that clearly says ‘Bob’ but there he is, introducing himself as,

“Hi! I’m Kogare… Pop! And I think I was supposed to say that I broke this door.”

… And now I know why Fox-Face wants a copy of this film while he is attending Part 1 of the New Year Kitsune Festival…

When Mammon easily opens the door, Kogare… or Bob… or… Pop? Just has to tackle her for a big hug and squeal out,

“I LOVE YOU!”

“D’aww!” should have been everyone’s response but only Kuro’s was heard over Ginnojo screeching and of course, an epic debate about expressions of affection,

“GAGH! K-k-kogare! Do not touch a lady like that yet! Or profess something that serious until you are of age!”

“What? No! Hug her like you are squeezing the life out of her!”

Fortunately, the actors continue the scene. Unfortunately, it is with this line from Kogare Pop’s mouth that makes you wonder who allowed this writing. Money is on Kuya.

“Did you know my other name ‘Pop’ comes from my great-grandfather Pop pop?”

The critics are not amused, Ginnojo tutting and Kuro making a face like he had just tasted chocolate for the 32nd time,

“Days like these makes me glad I don’t know my lineage.”

“Yeah…”

“Is it just me or is that young gentleman cute?” Miriam tries to note but everyone... and I mean everyone... just has to say,

“It’s just you.”

Miriam and Mammon shrug their shoulders before following Kogare Pop into the building. They stand at the edge of the room, unsure where to sit. Other students wander in and keep themselves busy chit-chatting.

“Where… is the Colonel we were promised to romance for fried chicken? Even now we are stuck with cheese fries… nothing can make up for these soggy… Oh my gosh, so CUTE!!!”

Kuro only stops when he sees a scruffy-looking cat taking his place at a podium at the front of the class, the smallest chef hat on his head. Head Instructor and CEO of UCS: AL is here everyone! Nachi taps his paw against the wooden surface to gather attention… although Kuro is already cooing over the little hat on the nekomata’s head and even Ginnojo smiles a bit in approval.

Out of nowhere, the wind begins to rush around everyone as a swirl of cherry blossom petals fill the air inside the classroom despite it being in the middle of winter in Japan. To be more accurate, the petals are… Kuya’s feathers dyed pink much to Kuro’s delight,

“Nice effects! I kinda wanna play with them now! Guess I better wait for Kuya to fly and leave some behind next time...”

“Wait, the cherry blossoms are blooming for them? Where and when are they?”

A hushed murmur rolls through the classroom as HE walks down the aisle of desks. Suddenly, the room is sweltering. And there… we have Oji as the one, the only…

Colonel Sanders!

...

“I’m confused… are we supposed to find him handsome?”

“Did Oji just reveal his true aged appearance or did he just dye his hair white?”

“His eyeliner is as thick as his actual eyes and even thicker than his actual eyebrows and spectacle frames.”

All those statements were slowly cracking the fried chicken skin, with Ginnojo’s final casual observation really roasting Oji’s self-esteem. Nevertheless, the show must go on with the main chef and… love interest... helping the two audience members crack open the ranch. We shall now divulge in a bit of ASMR… ASMRanch as we massage Colonel Sander’s arm that is as thick as his neck. See how he flexes...

“OH GOD MAKE IT STOP!” Kuro squirms.

“FUTABA!!! I mean, Mammon, right, Mammon… MAMMON DON’T MIX WITH SUCH FILTH!”

… We are changing scenes already? Oh, ok, suit yourself.

Here, he wields the spork, his eyeliner game suddenly aligned…

“NO…!!!”

“It… is… rectangular. A rectangular spork.”

“Foon.”

Did that earn a… Kentucky-fried chuckle?

What’s Kentucky? Also, you broke character.

Think this play is broken. Oh, next scene...

The Colonel makes a delicious array of food items in the cafeteria...

“What kind of cafeteria has flowers and a fancy atmosphere?”

“Not Milk Hall Raccord except for the flowers.”

The Mac and Cheese falls flat on the ground, along with Oji’s chef hat,

“THAT’S IT! THE COLONEL QUITS!”

…

Ok, I’m going to resume while Ginnojo eats the rest of the food Oji has left...

Yeah.

And so, the wisest Satori Seer, on behalf of his boss, buries the abominable script and the actually-kinda-nice-art-if-it-wasn't-about-fried-chicken romance.

Hey, should we bury this camera?

WHAT?! AFTER ALL THAT WE’VE BEEN THROUGH???

Ok, ok, we won’t. Besides, there’s still Valentine's day if this show hits more than 1 view.

… Why the 1 view benchmark?

Cus… apparently, there was a dish here that wasn’t revealed here that would work great for a Valentine's Day episode.

… At least my brother can eat it.

Epilogue

For some reason, we have noticed a foreigner digging up the manuscript. He even paid Oji for it. Said it might be the next biggest thing in America for an even weirder reason?

Ginnojo is still eating the whole menu. Kuro has shared the magic of fried chicken with the rest of the troupe and occassionally, the circus-theatre guest. Unfortunately, it is during one of these stunts that a fried chicken cracked the lens. Even more unfortunate, the grease from the fried chicken seeped through the components and short-circuited everything.

So the only thing hotter than Colonel... is everything. Let’s hope we never see anything like this even in the 21st century.

Epilogue to the Epilogue

My grandparents sure were naive.

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