#i'm not sure i expressed myself clearly enough but eh

[mzannthropy]

Because I've been Thinking About Things, I remembered when Nikolaj Coster Waldau was asked whether he liked the ending of Game of Thrones (yeah, this is going back more than four years), he answered that yes he did, and how people didn't believe him. They thought he was lying bc I don't know... they forced him to say it or whatever. People just could not accept that he simply felt differently from them.

But why is it that people want an actor to feel the same way as them so desperately? Is it for validation?

Nikolaj, unlike the majority of the fandom, does not hate Cersei. Not hating Cersei means you already feel more positive about the ending (try it sometime, just for 5 minutes). I saw him say in some interview or commentary that he got really emotional filming that last scene with Lena--both of them were teary-eyed. Why wouldn't they, it was emotional. People just can't see it bc they're haters. But--that's okay. You are allowed to hate, just as you're allowed to love whatever you feel like. Just accept that that an actor, who played the role for years, might not share your view.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 38: Operation ARMS (Part 1)

''I've never felt so lost, don't know a soul I'd trust. Wait for the winds to bring some change in. Out here alone, I'm shaken. Time stands still (stands still, stands still), I can't help but feel (can't help but feel). Throw me away, stop the wasted chasin', it's all to much to face and (have you ever felt) lost? Tried to find a way out, I couldn't let myself down, there's no goin' back now. (Lost) Thought I found my way out, I never felt this way before, my mind is lost, I'm torn. Everything feels different to me, I can't be myself. Stranger, won't you be my friend and show me thе way out? (The way out) Hope you'll see that I need help (show mе how)! Show me how to make it out!''

– Lost by Shawn Christmas (Sonic Frontiers)

xXxXxXx

''Take that!'' Sonic went for a kick, with Shadow blocking his attack with his arm.

Smirking, he grabbed Sonic's leg and swung him around before throwing him away, only for Sonic to do a backflip and safely land on his feet, his gloves scraping the ground as he braced himself. Shadow rushed towards him, but he was ready, using what appeared to be a breakdancing move to kick Shadow off his feet, then quickly pinned him down by his arms to make sure he wasn't getting up. Both hedgehogs were breathing heavily, still feeling the adrenaline surging from their fight, but also knowing that the fatigue would be kicking in soon. Sonic smirked as he looked down at Shadow, gazing into his red eyes.

''Looks like I win this time,'' he said smugly, with Shadow furrowing a brow as he stared back, clearly not pleased by his loss. Sonic chuckled lightly, getting up and extending his hand to Shadow. The dark hedgehog accepted it, getting up. ''You know, I think I'm getting much better at this 'being cornered in an area where I cannot use my speed' type of combat. Don't you think the same, Shads?''

Shadow, knowing very well that Sonic was just fishing from a compliment, folded his arms across his chest. ''The student is only as good as their teacher.''

Sonic's happy gaze turned into a half-lidded stare with a sweatdrop forming. ''Eh, is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?''

''Interpret it however you want,'' Shadow replied, walking up to the tree below which they had placed their bento boxes. Sonic just stared at him, before grinning.

''It's a compliment then!'' he said proudly. Both sat down under the tree, opening the bento boxes, with Sonic staring hungrily at his. He had to admit that hard training made him really hungry, even though he was a bit disappointed it wasn't his favorite food. Although, he had heard enough of Lucas nagging him to eat other stuff rather than just chili dogs, and he figured that a cheap bento box would be enough. He glanced at Shadow, who already opened his and was eating it in silence. ''Hope you like the lunch!''

''It is fine,'' Shadow replied without a beat, placing another batch of rice in his mouth. Sonic didn't appear to be too bothered by that response and just decided to dig in. Things were pretty silent for most of the time, with Shadow reaching out for the red and black bottle next to him. He was about to drink it when he felt weight on his shoulder, his eyes darting o the side as a frown formed on his expression.

Sonic smushed his face against Shadow's shoulder, looking at the bottle curiously. ''What are you drinking?''

Shadow, a bit irked by the sudden invasion of his private space, replied, ''It's just normal water.''

''Oh, I see.'' Sonic suddenly backed away, realizing that he got a bit too close, but didn't completely back away. ''I thought you would be drinking coffee.''

Shadow's expression remained unchanging, even though he had to admit that he was a bit amused by Sonic's assumption, ''I mainly drink coffee in the morning, and it would be a bad idea to drink it after a training session. Not to mention, I don't trust you to take it, even if accidentally, because the last thing you need is caffeine.''

Sonic paused, then chuckled. ''Yeah, you're right. I'm already full of energy, so I don't need that.''

Shadow just sighed in response, noting that, while Sonic is more than capable with keeping up with him, be it in combat or speed, he had to wonder whether he could match Sonic's infinite energy. Unlike Sonic, who was a social butterfly, ready to strike up a conversations with strangers and turn them into his friends, while Shadow grew tired and weary of just standing in a crowd, not wanting to talk more than necessary, even if it were his own teammates. He did come to acknowledge them as his friends, but that didn't mean that he was going to spend time with them in a way not related to whatever task he was asked to perform.

So, how did he end up spending so much time with Sonic, even engaging in small talk?

Shadow closed his eyes, folding his arms across his chest as he remembered how all of this had started. Sonic came several days ago to the Kageura residence, reminding Shadow of how he wanted to learn how to fight in a situation where he couldn't use his superspeed, and Shadow agreed easily. After all, it was just training to improve Sonic's combat skills, who was a quick learner and developed his own way of fighting. Once the training was done, Shadow would try to leave, but was stopped by Sonic, who would either keep him talking by asking him about specific techniques or even invite him for lunch. Shadow would get caught up in those conversations as Sonic seemed to have an infinite amount of questions and he was patient enough to answer all of them, only to realize that their conversation would slowly steer towards something more mundane, like the weather. As for the invitation for lunch, Shadow considered it a payment for the training sessions, something Sonic didn't disagree with. Since Shadow wasn't too fond off the idea of constantly eating chilli dogs, Sonic offered to buy them bento boxes at the local grocery store instead.

As a matter of fact, Shadow had noticed that Sonic wanted to spend more and more time with him, clearly happy to just be in his company, even if they were sitting in complete silence. Actually, Shadow was quite surprised that Sonic was able to keep silent for so long, but he wasn't going to complain. He would usually just lean back and just take everything in, completely relaxing. Shadow, on the other hand, had a hard time relaxing, his mind always filled by some kind of worry.

A life filled with peace is impossible for me. Shadow sighed, only to hear Sonic sigh as well.

''I should've bought another bento box,'' Sonic muttered, looking at the empty container, clearly still hungry. He rose an eyebrow when a half-eaten container was shoved under his nose, realizing that Shadow was giving it to him. ''But, aren't you hungry?''

''I'll be fine,'' Shadow replied. However, instead of just taking it, Sonic just scooted closer and placed the container over their legs.

''Well, we can share,'' he said, happily eating his part of the lunch and leaving enough for Shadow. The dark hedgehog was a bit surprised by this solution, as well as how physically close Sonic got to him, he just accepted it as a thing Sonic would do. ''You know, Knux told me that he and Lily decided to hire the Chaotix to keep an eye out for Rouge.''

''They did?'' Shadow knew about Rouge's disappearance, but this was news to him.

''Yeah. Knux did tell me that, while he is worried that Rouge might be up to something, he pointed out how she would've antagonized him already in some way,'' Sonic replied.

''Even if the Chaotix are the greatest detectives on Earth, I doubt they'll find Rouge if she doesn't want to be found,'' Shadow replied. ''But, I suppose it is a bit suspicious that she had been gone for days.''

''I just hope that nothing bad had happened to her,'' Sonic said, with Shadow giving him a curious look, only to be surprised by Sonic's following question, ''Hey, what would you do if I just disappeared one day without a trace?''

Shadow took a moment to think about it, as this was a very sudden and unexpected question. ''Considering how you're my teammate and friend, I believe that the obvious answer would be to immediately search for you…'' Shadow trailed off when he saw Sonic smirking at him. He narrowed his eyes, staring back in annoyance. ''Why are you looking at me like that?''

''Heh, you just called me your friend,'' Sonic replied, only to lean closer. ''So, do you see me like your best friend or rival-turned-friend or second best friend, considering how there is also Touka, or…''

''It is rival, teammate, friend… In that order,'' Shadow replied in a somewhat matter-of-fact tone, folding his arms across his chest. He didn't know why he was feeling so weird. He didn't really feel uncomfortable or anything, nor did he feel annoyed enough to punch Sonic for breaching his space, but he certainly felt weird. ''Why are you even asking me that?''

''I'm just happy to see you open up like this, even if you still act grumpy about it,'' Sonic replied, a wide smile on his lips. ''It's been a long time since what happened at Codex. Or, at least it feels like it has been a long time.'' Shadow lowered his head in thought, having to agree with Sonic. Even if his mind at times wandered back to the events at Codex, it always felt as if that event occurred years ago, not weeks. ''You know, I would definitely search the entire Earth and space, and even other dimensions, if you ever disappeared.''

''I'm pretty sure that you'd do the same for any of your other friends,'' Shadow replied, his eye-lids lowering as he looked back at Sonic, who just scratched his cheek.

''Yeah, true, but now you also have a confirmation of what I'd do in such situation,'' Sonic replied. He then placed the almost empty container on the grass as he leaned back against the tree, placing his hands behind his head, taking a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Shadow couldn't help but smile a little at how predictable Sonic was. In one moment, he could have a very deep and meaningful conversation, and in the next, he acted like nothing happened and took a nap.

That's so typical of you, Sonic.

xXx

It was late in the night at the Kageura household, with both Touka and Kisaki being deeply asleep. Shadow was lying on the bed next to Touka, staring at the ceiling of their attic room. He had been awake for a while now, his mind once again filled with thoughts that didn't let him sleep. Admittedly, he could handle a sleepless night, having been trained to work under extreme pressure, but looking back at things, he wondered just how necessary it was. He was leading a relatively peaceful life, with his only worries being The Eggman Empire, something that was a problem the entirety of Team Neos was dealing with, and Mephiles and Toshiro, who haven't showed up in a while. He knew that most of Team Neos was back to their daily life, not really worrying about what Dr. Eggman might be up to, as they were certain that they could handle anything he throws at them.

At this point, I'm the only one who is concered about this stuff. Maybe I should follow their example and not put too much thought into it… No… I don't think that will ever be possible. He turned to his side, his eye-lids lowering as a familiar face appeared in his mind, followed by that weird feeling. To live life freely… I'm not like you Sonic.

Shadow took a deep breath, trying to relax and finally drift off to sleep. But then, he heard it. A creak.

Follow your instincts.

Shadow knew that the creak could mean nothing. Maybe it was just the house making noises or they had pests, but when he heard more creaks, he got up and walked over to the hatch. He pressed his ear against it, listening intently, only for his eyes to widen when those creaks turned into actual steps.

Someone is inside. Shadow had to fight his instinct of getting down and confronting the intruder, or rather, intruders, by himself. He could hear some muffled whispering, sounding like someone was searching for something… or someone. He reached for the hatch, opening it only slightly, hoping that whoever was below him didn't notice it. Being able to see well in the dark, he could spot multiple figures in dark uniforms, all of them holding weapons as they searched through the house. Two of them barged into Kisaki's room, and Shadow could hear her cry out in fear as she woke up, only to be told to not move or she will be arrested. Gritting his teeth, he quickly closed the hatch, grabbing his air shoes and Touka's sneakers, and walked up to the bed, placing his hand on Touka's shoulder.

''Touka, Touka!'' Shadow whispered in an urgent tone, his voice a mere hiss as he shook her awake. He felt his heart beat rapidly, as he knew that they needed to get out of the house. ''Wake up!''

''Sh-Shadow?'' Touka opened her eyes, staring at Shadow drowsily. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. ''Wh-What's wrong?''

''Put your sneakers on. We need to get out of here,'' Shadow told her, tossing her sneakers to her, while he quickly put his air shoes on. Touka still stared at him in complete confusion, her brain trying to process what was going on, only for both of them to get startled when they heard a cry and someone shouting from downstairs.

''Where are they?!''

Touka and Shadow stared at each other for a moment, completely frozen, only for both of them to quickly put on their shoes and grabbing their respective AR Visor without a word. Shadow then grabbed Touka's hand, and both of them vanished in a flash of light.

They appeared in what Touka recognized as the neighbor's backyard, both of them hiding behind the house. They looked towards their own house, spotting several black vans in the oddly dim-lighted street, with a group of people, all in dark militaristic uniforms and masks and carrying weapons, observing their house, with the other group searching through it.

''What do we do?'' Touka whispered, shivering a little due to her PJs consisting of a black T-shirt and shorts, the night being quite chilly. ''Kisaki is still inside.''

''They have already caught her,'' Shadow replied in a matter-of-fact tone. He knew well that he should've gone back to fight off whoever these people were and get Kisaki, but he hesitated, aware that it was too late and that his priority was to keep Touka safe. However, he also wanted to get closer in hopes to get some information in regards to why they wanted him and Touka.

''Let's get closer.'' Shadow glanced to Touka, who lowered herself to his height, whispering into his ear and pointing towards the nearby bushes that were closer to their house. He nodded, but noted how they needed a moment of distraction, because they could still be noticed. Their moment of distraction arrived only a few seconds later, when the group that was inside the house dragged a cuffed Kisaki towards one of their vans.

''Let me go!'' Kisaki shouted at them, clearly fighting back. ''You have absolutely no reason to be here!''

''Shut up!'' the leader of the group yelled at her, clearly angry that she was shouting in the middle of the night and fearing that the neighbors would hear them. ''You know well why you're being arrested. Hiding government property is no small offense.''

''I haven't been hiding anything. We had an agreemed and I've been keeping my end of it to the best of my ability,'' Kisaki hissed, glaring daggers at the man. ''I have no idea where they are, but I hope they're somewhere safe. Any place would be better than with your people. They're just kids, for God's sake!''

''They aren't 'kids','' the man stated angrily. ''They are dangerous military weapons and we are going to bring them back where they belong – both the girl and the Irregular.''

Shadow could feel his hands shaking in fury as he understood who those people who broke into his house were. He was now certain that they were associated with the scientists at the Codex Research Facility, here to force Touka and him back to their former lives. He thought had he had finally escaped his past, having put it behind him after their encounter with Mephiles and Toshiro, but now it came back, breaking down the door and trying to drag them back. Now, all he wanted was to blast whoever those people were into oblivion.

''Shadow…'' Shadow turned to Touka, who stared furiously at the scene before them. She too was shaking, understanding the situation they were in.

''Touka, what do you want to do?'' Shadow asked her. He was ready for some kind of battle plan, only for Touka's response to surprise him.

''We can't leave and we can't fight,'' she said, as if reading Shadow's mind. She saw his stunned expression, adding, ''If we leave, I'm certain that they will probably go after the rest of Team Neos in order to find us. If we fight, we'll put Kisaki into danger.''

''So, you want to surrender?'' Shadow asked, raising an eyebrow.

''No, but knowing these people, they will stop at nothing to get both of us,'' Touka replied, lowering her head. ''I'm sorry.''

''For what?'' Shadow asked, but before Touka could answer, he added, ''Whatever you want to do, I will be by your side, every step.''

''Thank you, Shadow.'' Touka smiled, quickly hugging her younger brother, much to his surprise. They then turned towards the group, quickly rushing out of their hiding spot, as they spotted Kisaki being dragged into a van. ''Stop!''

The military squad suddenly turned towards them, pointing their guns at the two, with Touka and Shadow skidding to a halt, just staring back, not daring to move at all.

''Touka, Shadow! Don't!'' Kisaki cried out, only for the woman who was guarding her punching her in the stomach to keep her quiet.

''Kisaki!'' Touka cried out as Kisaki doubled over due to the pain, and then turned to the leader. ''Let her go! I know you want me and Shadow!''

''Huh, so you know why we're here? This should make things easier,'' the leader replied, frowning at the two. ''Admittedly, we were supposed to bring only you two back, but Kisaki Kageura hadn't followed her agreement either…''

''If you don't leave her alone, we assure you that we will fight back,'' Shadow replied. ''Do you want to risk the lives of your men?''

The leader glared at the dark hedgehog apprehensively. He understood his own mission. He was just supposed to bring Touka and Shadow back to HQ with minimum fuss, while Kisaki was supposed to get a warning to make sure she keeps silent about the whole ordeal. He was also told that Shadow was an incredibly powerful and dangerous Irregular, so forcing him to come with them wouldn't be easy. He decided to take the diplomatic approach.

''If you two come with us, we will leave Kisaki Kageura alone, so long as she keeps silent about this situation and your existence,'' the leader said, with Shadow glaring daggers at him, gritting his teeth. Kisaki was horrified to hear that, her eyes widening even more when she heard Touka's response.

''Fine, we'll go,'' she said, her expression matching Shadow's scowl. The leader smirked, gesturing to his men to free Kisaki, and then pointed towards a van, indicating that Shadow and Touka should enter it.

The Codex siblings exchanged glances, noting how the rest of the squad had their guns pointed at them, and they walked into the back of the van, followed by a woman who extended her hand to Touka.

''Your AR Visor,'' she said in a stern tone, with Touka reluctantly reach for the AR Visor around her neck before giving it to her. She wondered if she would ever get it back, as this was her only way of communicating with her friends, only to realize that this is probably what they wanted to prevent her from doing. Then, she and Shadow sat on the bench in the back of the van, followed by two more squad members, looking like criminals who were being led to jail.

Kisaki just stared at the black van as the doors closed and it drove away, feeling her heart shattering completely. She didn't even notice when the hand cuffs were taken off her hands, nor did she care when they all left. She fell on her knees in devastation, her eyes watering as she stared at the empty street, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

She wanted to scream, but could produce no sound.

xXx

Sonic tapped with his foot impatiently at the usual meeting spot. He tapped on his AR Visor, which showed him a holographic screen of the time. It was only a couple of minutes past his agreed time to meet up with Shadow for their training session, but Shadow was late. Except, Shadow was never late. Sonic knew that, if there was an agreed time, Shadow would be already there, waiting for him.

''So much for The Fastest Thing Alive arriving on time for a meeting.''

''Hey, only because I'm fast doesn't mean that I can't be late for a couple of seconds. Look, I brought us lunch!''

Sonic waited for another minute, trying to calm down and ignore the sense of panic he felt. Maybe Shadow was late because he got caught up in something. That was a possibility. Sonic decided to call him, but he couldn't reach him. He figured that Shadow was just being Shadow, either busy or just didn't want to answer the call for some reason. So, he called Touka, knowing that she was the one who'd usually answer. However, to his shock, the number was blocked.

''Wait, this is not supposed to happen,'' Sonic said, raising an eyebrow. ''Usually, Touka would answer the call.'' He shook his head, lowering it and placing his hand on his chin. ''Something doesn't make sense here. Maybe I should go to their house.''

Sonic then sped off towards the Kageura household, hoping that nothing bad had happened. When he arrived there, he quickly knocked on the door, waiting for someone to open it. ''Hello? Anybody there?''

To his joy, someone opened the door. It was Kisaki, and Sonic was about to ask her about Shadow and Touka's whereabouts, only to notice the bags under her red and puffy eyes. She looked like she was crying the whole night. ''Uh, Kisaki… Are you okay? Where are Shadow and Touka?''

''Who are you?'' Kisaki asked in a curt and very unfriendly tone, surprising Sonic.

''It's me… Sonic the Hedgehog? You know, Shadow's friend?'' Sonic said, now confused by the reaction.

''There is no one living here by that name. Please don't come here bothering me anymore,'' Kisaki replied, slamming the door in his face.

Sonic was startled by the sudden slam, but was more intrigued by what Kisaki said, or rather, the fact that she lied straight in his face. He knew that something was wrong, judging by her demeanor and he decided to slowly back away from the house and back on the street.

Something is wrong. Sonic walked down the street, noticing a peculiar black van parked across Kisaki's house with it's windows tinted. He had been in this street before, this was his neighborhood after all, but he never saw a car like this parked here. Not to mention, it looked similar to the van that was parked down the street from his and Lucas' house. Suspicious.

Sonic then quickly sped off down the street, only to make a huge U-turn through the neighborhood's backyards, climbing over walls and fences until he made his way to the back of the Kageura house, where he knew that no one could see him from the street. He stopped below a window, and threw a pebble at it, followed by another, followed by another… Fortunately for him, Kisaki actually opened the window to see what was going on before Sonic could accidentally break it, allowing Sonic to swiftly climb inside, leaving the former stunned.

''Listen, I know that you're lying for some reason. I made sure that no one would see me coming here. Where are Shadow and Touka?'' Sonic asked, now more serious. Kisaki was actually surprised by how bold he was, but given how they were in the privacy of her home, she yielded.

''They're… They're gone,'' she said in a defeated tone. ''They were taken away by people who knew about their past and connection to the Codex Research Facility. I- I thought w-we had a deal and t-they just…''

''Hey, maybe you should sit down. Should I get you a glass of water?'' Sonic asked in a gentle tone, pointing at the couch. Kisaki nodded, with Sonic quickly rushing into the kitchen and then rushing out with a glass of water for her.

''I should be the one offering you this,'' Kisaki said, with Sonic sitting down next to her.

''It's no problem, but I need to know, who exactly took them away,'' he told her, understanding the severity of the situation. Kisaki drank the water greedily, then took a deep breath, her head lowered.

''It is a military organization known as ARMS. I honestly didn't know about their existence until last night, they broke into the house and told me who they are and why they wanted Touka and Shadow,'' Kisaki replied. ''You see, in my contract as a former worker at the Codex Research Facility, I was told to never speak of anything that happened and keep Touka in the dark. But after she regained her memories and Shadow returned, I had to tell both of them what had happened. From what I remember, nobody at Codex, or ARMS. for that matter, knew where Prof. Sakamoto had hidden Shadow. Now that he is back, they believed I kept him hidden, and from what I understood, it seems that they want to revive Project Shadow, by finally getting the chance to use the two as weapons.''

''That's bad,'' Sonic said, giving Kisaki a determined look. ''We need to do something about it!''

''No, you can't. This is not the same as you and the rest of Team Neos fighting Dr. Eggman. ARMS is a military organization whose actions are sanctioned by the government. You can't just fight against them,'' Kisaki protested.

''But, we can't just let Shadow and Touka be taken away by this ARMS organization,'' Sonic protested. ''They hated being at the Codex Research Facility.''

''I don't know what to tell you, but if you go against them, you're poking a hornet's nest, Sonic,'' Kisaki replied. ''I too wish that this hadn't happened, but I'm completely powerless here. Even the papers naming me Touka's guardian won't work in this case. They'll just erase everything.''

''Maybe you can't do anything about this, but I'm sure that I can,'' Sonic replied. ''I won't let Shadow nor Touka down. You can leave this to me and the rest of Team Neos.''

''Be careful, though. I'm sure that that ARMS will be keeping an eye on you and your friends, just like they're doing with me,'' Kisaki said, glancing towards the window.

''Yeah, I noticed the same van in my street. I also tried to call Shadow and Touka, but they wouldn't respond, and Touka's number is unreachable,'' Sonic replied. He then grinned. ''Don't worry, we'll get them back.''

Kisaki nodded, watching Sonic leave the same way he came in. The blue hedgehog then sped off towards his house, spotting the same black van driving up and down their street, as if they were lost. Frowning, he rushed into the house, where he startled Lucas, who was watching TV.

''Huh, Sonic? What are you doing at home so early? I thought you said you had another sparring match with Shadow,'' Lucas said.

''We have a problem. I was just talking to Kisaki and it turns out that Shadow and Touka were taken by a military organization called ARMS because they want to use these two as their personal weapons,'' Sonic explained.

''Woah, wait, what?!'' Lucas was shocked by this sudden revelation, trying to process what Sonic had just told him. Sonic then pointed at the window.

''Not only that, but ARMS is watching us. There was a black van at Kisaki's place and there is another driving down our street,'' he said, with Lucas glancing at the window. Just as Sonic said, there was a black van with tinted windows passing their house. Lucas frowned.

''I have seen it, but I thought they were just lost,'' he replied.

''So, what do we do? I want to get Shadow and Touka back, but I won't lie, Kisaki was right that this situation is different than beating up Eggman,'' Sonic said, folding his arms. ''I also don't want to sit around doing nothing.''

''I don't think we have to worry too much about Touka and Shadow. We both know that they can handle themselves in a dangerous situation,'' Lucas said, with Sonic nodding in agreement. ''However, I think we should tell the rest of Team Neos what happened.''

''Gotcha! I'll call Tails-'' Sonic tapped on his AR Visor, but Lucas stopped him.

''Wait a second, I don't think you should do that,'' Lucas replied.

''Why not?'' Sonic gave him a confused look.

''I may have watched too many spy movies, but it is possible that, if they're keeping an eye on us, they might also be tracing our calls,'' Lucas said. ''We'll get in trouble if they find out that we're talking about Touka and Shadow.''

''Now that you mention it, when I wanted to talk to Kisaki, she lied to me and told me that she doesn't know me nor that Shadow and Touka ever lived with her. It is as if ARMS wants to erase their existence,'' Sonic said. Lucas nodded in acknowledgement.

''That's why we'll have to be smart about this, and I think I know just the thing,'' he said, tapping on his AR Visor and opening a holographic screen with of their group chat, with a holographic keyboard appearing below it. He then started typing.

'''Hey, guys, I've been playing a modded SA2 and for some reason, Maria and Terios vanished from the game. I thought at first that they were taken by G.U.N., but I think it may have just been a glitch. Warren, do you think you could help me fix that?''' Sonic read the message, then glanced at Lucas with a confused look on his expression. ''Who is Terios?''

''So, here's a bit of lore on the history of this game. Back when Sonic Adventure 2 was still in development and Shadow's design wasn't finalized, he was a hedgehog named Terios. I had figured that, if this message is traced, Shadow's actual name might act like a trigger word. However, this way, people who are not familiar with it will think I'm just talking about some random character. After all, Sonic Adventure 2 came out more than two decades ago, and if the scientist at Codex couldn't figure out that Shadow was based on his namesake video game counterpart, then I doubt they'll figure out this message,'' Lucas replied.

''Got it!'' Sonic replied, only to see more messages popping up on screen.

Warren: 'Uh, sure I can help you with that. I'll be over in a bit.'

Minami: 'Woah, what mod are you guys talking about? I've never heard about this! I'm coming over to check it out!'

Makoto: 'Well, if Minami's coming, could we come too? I'm also curious.'

Lily: 'Does it have multiplayer? Maybe I could help you add one!'

''Heh, seems like everyone is coming over,'' Sonic said, while Lucas facepalmed, much to the hedgehog's surprise. ''What's wrong?''

''Goddamnit, I didn't plan for everyone to come over. What if ARMS gets suspicious of the gathering?'' Lucas replied.

''What should they get suspicious of? It's just a bunch of friends coming together and playing a video game. Would they really arrest us for that?'' Sonic asked, with Lucas looking not too convinced. ''Relax! At least this way we can tell everyone what's going on.''

''I just hope that this won't go wrong,'' Lucas said, sighing.

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[ducknotinarow]

2k3 Raph 2k12 Casey - #

send me “#” for cell phone headcanons about our muses including:  

"Man thought this was all over with tired of ya being up in my business here. Whatever jus' the other Casey anyway. Definitely gave my Casey a run for his money when it comes to bein' a whackjob of course. He might have even less brain cells than my Casey dose and 'hats scary. I don't envy mini Raph one bit on havin' ta basically handle 'em."

 - what your muse’s name is in mine’s phone             'Nut Case'        

"Like I said 'his kid majorly got some screws lose in that head of his. Must taken way more hits to the head. Mini Raoh told me he got a metal plate in his head once when the guy complained about his head hurting, yeah I buy it. So seemed a fitting name sides it would gotten well awkward if I didn' make sure his name was different from Casey's in my phone. They end up next to each other...and I aint always that aware most times when I'm texting Casey. Bad enough the nut case hit me up with a look...and we don't gotta add fuel to the fire there. I know my self so I know mini Raph wouldn't take that well at all."

- what your muse’s picture is in mine’s phone

[Image description]  clearly out up on the roof tops, from the look of city lights in the background. You can just about make out the sight of Casey and mini Raph in the background of the photo. The picture cropped so it centered on to the other Casey instead. Dawning his 'gear' the face paint and all. As they seem too be just gazing out there's something about the express he's wear as his hand is positioned to pull down the hockey mask he doubled up on the skull motif he seems to be working with here. Or so to cover his face before Casey or his own Raph notice the expression on his face.          

"Wanna know what blows my mind more 'han the fact there are all these other worlds an' such? 'hat in a whole other world, where Case an' I seem ta meet in a whole different way have a whole different relationship nearly even. 'hat Casey is still Casey." Raph states Looking at the photo himself. "When I met my Casey, think he got to a good point of keepin' stuff to himself. Nut Case? I don' think he's learned to do 'hat yet..hope he never dose. I dunno think it's funny this kid to me is far from being anythin' 'ike my Casey yet I can tell from this look alone how much he misses home. I can tell he's acttin' cool under the situation but that look? he worried. Dunno if it's cause i'm Raph I jus' know that junk or if cause he Casey though."              

- what your muse’s ringtone is in mine’s phone      

A bad Idea by Michelle Creber                  

You can think that I’m insane But I'm not backing down again Find myself, fulfill my fate Hello, hello

Standing on the edge I'll claim The world will not forget my name Cause I don’t wanna hear you when you say Hello? It's a bad i- Hello? It's a bad idea

   "Yeah I really think 'his kids insane but when has a Casey I know ever been sane and have a good idea even?" Theres still a faint smile to his beak when he makes this remark despite his own words though. "Eh Kid might be a nut, and out there even compared to my own Casey, but eh what can I say crazy hot heads who don't back down easy if at all? Eh I got soft spot I guess for 'hat kind person. Sides 'his kid is real good with 'hat hockey stick of his when he ain't fuckin' around maybe he will make a name of his one day. In whatever way 'hat ends up bein' we'll see."

 - my muse’s last text to your muse

[text] Tell that jack as of a boy friend of mine if he don' fuckin' answer my call in the next five mintues it aint dragons that are getting thier ass beat tonight!

------

(sent from 12 raphs phone)

[text] he mini Raph distracted helping out my bro Don

[text] might be a while till he can answer ya u-u

[text] the fuck are these face things? 0-0

-----

[text] ya know you an can still got dragon hunting if ya up for it

[text] i'll be there either way so if ya wanna just meet me at the usual spot Case and I showed ya two

-----

[text] see ya kid, mini me really got his hands full with ya

[text] nah i think ya good for him actually, course I can tell

[text] if ya ever need help speaking Raph? well ya got my number

[heartofspells]

Holli. Holli holli holli. Queen of misery, laugher at my daily misfortunes (doves)

When All Falls to Ruins has awoken the need inside of me to read more about Regulus if Sirius died before him. (God I love hurting myself huh?)

So. Give me your worst. (If Sirius grieving Regulus is easier I'll take that too)

Ah, doves. What a treasure they are.

This is admittedly not my worst, I'll be honest. I'm not even sure it's what you wanted. It's not what I'd initially intended, but I had laptop issues, so I didn't get into his head like I wanted. But here it is. Enjoy??

(some unknown universe where Sirius dies a couple of years after Hogwarts and Regulus doesn't. i dunno)

"Say that again."

The person – he can't even remember the man's name and doesn't wish to hear it again now – shifts his eyes from side to side warily, hands fidgeting in front of him, fingers tugging at fingers, clearly nervous. Regulus sneers at him.

"Sirius Black, your brother," the nearly sniveling man begins, "he's dead."

Regulus is quiet for a while, so long that the man ducks his head, trying to catch his eyes. His hand reaches out like he's going to attempt to poke, but Regulus pins him with an icy stare that causes him to instantly retract.

"You've been misinformed," he declares coldly. "Sirius, while foolish, isn't stupid enough to get himself killed."

"It's true!" protests the man. "Saw it happen myself. He's dead." He says it almost proudly, a smug gleam in his eyes. "Another Order member we don't have to worry about, eh?"

The look that passes over Regulus' face melts the expression away, sending the other back a step. His eyes drop to his feet as Regulus continues to stare at him, mouth twisting, an odd feeling swelling inside him.

"Who?"

"W-who?" stutters out the cowering man in front of him.

"Who killed him," bites out Regulus, anger flaring over his face.

"M-Macnair. He's the one. Got him in the back."

Regulus turns on his heel and leaves.

Two hours and one dead Death Eater later finds him standing in front of an unfamiliar door, his fist pounding against the wood twice. He's instantly confronted with a wand when it cracks open, puffy hazel eyes peering out at him suspiciously.

"What do you want?" comes Potter's voice, low and vibrating a little around the words.

"Nothing that wand is going to help with," responds Regulus levelly. "I came to talk about my brother."

Potter continues to eye him for a moment before the door swings open wider. The wand remains aimed in his direction, but Regulus ignores it as the other man's gaze sweeps their surroundings. Regulus glances into the cottage, a red head – Evans, he thinks he remembers – coming up behind him cautiously. He can see two other figures in their sitting room, half hidden behind a wall, one sitting on the sofa, back rigid, brown eyes swollen but intently focused on Regulus.

"You don't have a brother," snaps Potter, clearly on edge. Rage boils under the surface of Regulus' skin, invading his bones, liquifying them.

"You're right, I don't," he hisses, "because he's dead. And where were you? Wasn't that your job, to protect him? Isn't that why you so easily replaced me? He trusted you, said you'd always have his back, so where were you?"

Potter's wand falters, and he stumbles back a half-step. The woman reaches out for him, her gaze filled with harsh fire as she stares Regulus down. Potter's mouth works for a long time before he manages to speak.

"I – I wasn't there," stutters out Potter, his hand finally dropping. "I wasn't there. He was alone."

The last word slices Regulus' heart in half. Alone. He was alone. He takes a step forward, all emotion fading from his outward appearance as his insides roil.

"Then this rests on your head, Potter," he says in a near growl of sound. "You should have been there for him. All of you. This is your fault!"

A loud, drawn-out cry sounds from above them, and Potter seems to startle out of whatever daze he's fallen into. "Regulus – "

But he doesn't listen, can't hear it. His brother is dead, and he doesn't know what to do with that knowledge, because his brother hadn't been his brother in years. Regulus can't figure out where the agony is coming from if that's true.

He turns before Potter can continue, cutting off his words midsentence as he strides down the walk on shaking legs. His brother is gone, and the entire world is responsible, himself included.

[amberluv28]

Hey Ladies, I’ve been so so busy with life but I’m ready to start posting again! I love Tumblr because it allows me to express myself and why i absolutely adore being a woman and share that among other amazing woman all over tumblr. So with that being said thank you. I hope my post may empower woman in a certain way or even inspire them to embrace there own life as a woman and all the amazing things it comes with!! So with that being said here are 18 reasons why I love being a woman! 🥰🙍‍♀️💄💅

The 18 best things about being a woman

1. We live longer. Got to love that higher life expectancy, eh?

2. We use handbags. Sure, sometimes guys will treat themselves to a backpack, but I honestly don't know what I'd do without my ridiculous Mary Poppins style holdall.

3. We have so many more clothing options than men. You only have to watch any red carpet event ever to feel sorry for them.

4. The is no greater thing in this world than girl talk. It is everything and is 100% (fine, maybe 95%) worth the 40+ years of periods.

5. Drunken conversations with random girls in club toilets are extreme self-esteem boosters. You may wonder the next day why you took life advice from a stranger with loo roll stuck to her heel, but still.

6. Speaking of toilets, ours are always way fancier than boys'. I'm pretty sure I could live in a Wetherspoons bog if I really needed to.

7. Makeup is our jam. Obviously, makeup isn't gender specific (James Charles, the first male CoverGirl, can attest to that) but still, there's nothing some of us love more than a good eyebrow transformation.

8. We are crazy organised and shit hot at multi-tasking. Sometimes I even surprise myself when I'm talking on the phone, painting my nails and reading my horoscope at the same time.

9. We're so much better at giving gifts. No shade, but one time my dad bought my mum a blender for Christmas and he thought it was the most romantic thing ever.

10. We have a seriously high tolerance for pain. HELLO CHILDBIRTH.

11. We're more fluid in our sexuality. A Boise University study found that 60% of heterosexual women have been sexually attracted to other women - and who can blame us?

12. We are emotional AF, and we aren't sorry about it. It's so unfair that some men feel they can't be open about their feels, but we on the other hand give zero effs angry crying to our BFF about how the barista in Starbucks was rude to us this morning.

13. We always know the best camera angles for our friends. I'll be damned if I let my girl upload a subpar profile pic to Facebook.

14. We're insanely loyal. If you're ever in trouble, you can guarantee we'll have all the receipts to back you up.

15. We are the queens of pettiness. Sure, some people see this as a negative, but those people clearly don't have a 10-person deep WhatsApp group and a camera roll full of screenshots.

16. If you're lucky enough for your squad's cycles to sync up, you're basically all physic for a week. "Chocolate?" "Chocolate".

17. Multiple orgasms. That is all.

18. WE RUN THE WORLD. When you've got women like Michelle Obama and Beyoncé on your team, it's pretty hard not to feel like a boss.

[one-boring-person]

Can You Do Me A Favour?

Barney Ross (The Expendables) x reader

Warnings: injury, drinking, sexual content implied, mentions of violence, swearing

Context: the reader is a member of the Expendables and has a crush on Barney. After a job, the two have some time together.

A/N: as promised, here is some Expendables stuff! I hope anyone who reads this will enjoy it! (Just a heads up: I have more Rambo and Escape Plan stuff coming, and most likely some more TLB content, too.)

Masterlist

(I'm also going to tag @yuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh in this, because they expressed interest in Expendables stuff earlier😊💛)

The cold water is pleasant on my heated skin as I cup my hands under the steady stream flowing from the tap, splashing it into my face when a suitable pool has formed in the space. A gasp escapes me from the stark contrast in temperatures, using my fingers to rub slightly at my skin, trying to work out the headache that has set in, only to hiss when I accidentally press into one of the new scars on the side of my face. Pulling back, I repeat my action, doing my best to distract myself from the plaguing thoughts in my head, still disgusted at myself for having them.

But even now, as I massage the contours of my face, I can't get the images of my boss out of my head. Not the sight of him taking out a ring of attackers using his revolver and sharpshooting skills, not the way his exposed arm muscles flexed with each movement, not the determined look on his rugged face and certainly not the fierce eye contact he made with me when he turned around again. At the mere memory of this, a flush of heat goes through me, eyes squeezing shut to force myself to blank them out, not quite realising that his stare is branded into my subconscious. Biting my lip, I shake my head, forcing down the picture of his muscular body and large hands on my body as he dragged me from the collapsing building, not five hours ago.

Growling, I reach over and grab hold of the beer bottle nearby, glancing at my haggard features in the mirror before taking a deep drink, wincing at the stale flavour, having had the drink for far too long. I can see the tension in my body, each muscle tight and uncomfortable, my posture ramrod straight and clearly wrong, my eyes clouded with exhaustion and what I can only assume is loneliness. 

As soon as I'd gotten in from the last job, I'd headed straight into the bathroom, grabbing a beer from the fridge as I went, needing to clear my head. Nothing I did could help, my head always circling back to that one person. Frustrated, I slam the bottle on the counter top, wincing when it shatters from the force, a particularly sharp shard slicing into my palm.

Damn him. Damn Barney Ross for getting into my head.

I clean up my hand, just bandaging it up when my phone buzzes, the screen lighting up. Frowning, I look over at it, confused. Nobody calls me. Nobody, except my boss.

Picking up the phone, I groan to myself as I realise it is, in fact, Barney. For a second, I debate letting it go to voicemail, before I finally give in, accepting the call and placing the phone to my ear.

"Sir?" I greet him politely, wondering what he needs.

"How many times have I told you not to call me "sir"?" Barney's gravelly voice sounds through the phone, a low chuckle evident in his tone. I have to ignore the effect his voice has on me, the sound giving me butterflies in my stomach.

"Sorry, sir- ah, shit." I sigh at my own habit, "You alright?"

"Yeah, guess so. Just lonely. Figured you might be, too." He admits, tone going soft as he speaks.

"Bold of you to assume that." I tease, but continue, "Though you are, as always, right."

"Should tell Christmas that, might listen to you." The veteran laughs again, the joke drawing a similar reaction from me.

"We all know he listens to no one but himself." I quip back, still waiting for him to tell me why exactly he called.

"True, true." Barney's grin is almost audible, my mind instantly bringing up an image of that particular expression into my head, much to my chagrin, "You got any plans for tonight?"

Surprised, I take a second to reply, unsure of where this is going.

"No, it's too late. Ain't really got many friends outside work, anyway." I inform him, going out of the bathroom and into the lounge.

"Fancy coming over? I've got a couple of beers that need drinking, and the hangar is pretty lonely this time of night." 

His offer stumps me for a moment, though I am quick to recover, my mouth working before my mind can catch up.

"Yeah sure. I'll be over in twenty." 

"Great. See you then." He hangs up, leaving me wondering why the hell I accepted that, knowing how much I spend too much time thinking about him (in totally inappropriate ways considering he's my boss) anyway.

Annoyed at myself, I steel myself before going and grabbing a coat, pulling on that and my boots as I leave the flat, taking my motorcycle keys with me. I lock my door behind me, leaving the apartment block quickly, glad to have the fresh air on my face as I make my way over to my motorbike. Looking on it fondly, I climb on and kick out the stand, easily getting it revved up, the vibrating engine beneath me a pleasant feeling. 

Thankfully, the roads are mostly clear this time of night, cutting the twenty minute drive short by five minutes as I go at speed through the nearly deserted outer city. The hangar is usually a pain in the ass to get to, the traffic in the roads leading up to it almost always horrific, so I am only too happy to be able to go much faster now that there's not many other drivers around. With the wind rushing around me, I find that my head clears a little, my attention on navigating the roads rather than the thoughts of my boss doing things to me I'm sure he'd find grotesque in nature. 

I arrive quickly, pulling into the hangar slowly, knowing Barney is most likely in the plane, as he usually is. Stopping the bike, I put it in park before climbing off, hanging my helmet on the handlebars as I do so, taking the keys with me as I walk over to the old plane. Nearing the aircraft, I frown a little at the sight of the new bullet holes riddling the side of it, unaware that we'd taken so much damage earlier in the day. Sighing, I go inside, ducking in through the small door, only now hearing the music playing from the stereo in the cockpit.

"It's gonna need a new lick of paint." I call out to Barney, who I can see sat in his seat, the muscular man turning to look at me as he hears me.

"It's been a long time coming, so I'm not complaining." He replies, grinning at me as I walk into the cockpit, dropping into Christmas' usual seat, trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach from his stare on me again. As I enter, he rakes his eyes over my body, subtly taking my every curve in from where he is.

"Fair enough." I shrug, leaning back slightly, having missed his look, "Got a beer?"

"Yeah, here." Barney hands me a bottle, opening it for me as he does so.

"Cheers." I thank him, taking a deep drink from it as he chuckles lowly, voice sending a bolt of heat through me.

"You're starting to sound like Lee." He remarks, sipping his own bottle with a smirk.

"Should I take that as a compliment? Or an insult?" 

"Up to you." He looks over at me.

"Eh, I'll take compliment. You two get along like an old married couple, after all. Must mean something if you're comparing me to him." I decide, teasing him.

Barney laughs at my comment, lifting his bottle.

"I can agree with that." He hums, staring out of the front window.

For a couple of moments, we sit in companionable silence, drinking our beers, Barney eventually lighting a cigar. Taking a deep inhale, he offers it to me, which I decline, choosing to finish my drink instead.

"What do you usually do after a job?" Barney suddenly asks, glancing back at me.

Surprised, I think over the question for a second.

"Nothing, really. I get myself cleaned up, have a drink, then get some sleep. I don't do much else with my life." I tell him, knowing how pathetic I sound.

"What, you haven't got anyone you can hang out with?" He questions, seemingly confused.

"No. As I said before, I don't really have any friends outside work."

"Really? No boyfriend? Girlfriend?"

I shake my head, grimacing at the turn in conversation, just missing the slight darkening in his eyes as he looks me over once more.

"Huh. That surprises me." 

Lifting an eyebrow, I look across at him.

"Why?"

He shrugs, making eye contact with me.

"Well, you seem like the person who wouldn't struggle to make friends. You're kind, funny, pretty. You know how to behave in the right situations, you're a good friend to have." He clarifies, seemingly unaware of the impact his words have on me, my heart throbbing as I listen to him, longing building up in me again.

"You think so?" I ask, not quite believing him.

"Yeah, I do." He frowns, looking over at me, "Why, don't you?"

I don't reply, knowing my answer well. He doesn't push it, observing me carefully, his gaze making me blush furiously.

"What'd you do to your hand?" The veteran suddenly asks, gesturing to my bandaged appendage.

"Hm? Oh, I just cut it on some glass back home." I inform him, flexing my hand a little, only to wince at the sharp spike of pain. 

Wordlessly, Barney reaches across and takes my hand in his, his touch setting off sparks through me despite the gentle nature of it. Pulling my arm closer to him, he runs his fingers lightly over my skin, the rough calluses rubbing over the palm of my hand, each stroke making it harder for me to fight off the rising need within me. Being this close to him, able to smell him in nearly every surface around me, feeling his hand on mine has sparked the feelings I've been suppressing as long as I've worked with him. 

Awkwardly, I pull away, swallowing tightly, trying to suppress the urges I'm suddenly feeling, needing to get myself together again. He doesn't stop me, his dark eyes regarding me quietly, observant as always as he seemingly considers something, his gaze sliding over me once more. After a moment, he puts out his cigar, leaning back in his seat.

"Mind doing me a favour?" The muscular man cocks his head at me, a small smirk playing at his lips.

"Er, sure? What do you need?" I agree hesitantly, knowing that expression means only one thing: he's got something up his sleeve.

"Check that control panel up there, would you? It's been giving me trouble for weeks." Barney's eyes are glittering now in the dim light, clearly up to something.

"What, now?" I frown, confused by the instruction.

"If you wouldn't mind." 

Lifting an eyebrow, I place my beer down and get to my feet, awkwardly reaching up to check the panel, which just so happens to be right above his head. I try to keep my body from leaning across him too much, but this is made difficult when I realise that the particular problem lies in the switches even further over. As I go to flick them, a pair of hands takes hold of my waist, suddenly yanking me down towards the chair.

Yelping in surprise, I feel my eyes widen as Barney pulls me down onto his lap, hands tight on my hips, pressing my back flush against his chest. His nose instantly finds my neck, the older man nudging at my skin until I tilt my head to give him access, goosebumps spreading across my skin as I try to process what the hell is happening, my brain short-circuiting with every one of his breaths. They fan out over the sensitive area, my own hitching in my throat as his scruff scratches over my skin, his lips not quite touching me yet, though I can feel their every movement. 

I try to get back up, unwillingly, only for him to loop one of his arms around my front and slip his hand under my shirt, flattening his palm on my stomach to hold me against him.

"I'm not blind, you know, (Y/n). I've seen the way you look at me, the way you behave differently when you're with me. You're not as subtle as you hope." Barney practically purrs into my skin, his smirk obvious against my neck, sending shivers down my spine as I try not to groan.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about, sir." I manage out, not quite catching the sound of anticipation that escapes me when he suddenly presses his lips against my ear, whispering into it.

"Really? I think you know very well what I'm talking about." He grins to himself, the hand on my stomach running down to ghost over the waistband of my jeans, my body tensing in his grip, "Want me to demonstrate for you?

[corysmiles]

IT IS TIME FOR ANOTHER ENTRY IN THE POTION AU!!

This is full of nothing and fluff, so prepare lmao

After a while, they began organizing group dinners, where they would all meet up in the evening and eat together. It took a bit of convincing Tommy's parents, but they accepted more easily when they realized it was just between close friends. Wilbur was already living on his own so it was no problem and Phil always was a free spirit. 

And so, at least once a week, they met up at Techno's abode to spend the night together.

Tommy was elated to see all of the furniture now 10 times his size, and all the objects and decoration. "We're gonna have to try and play Hide and Seek, big man. Because this looks like the best fucking playground!" Wilbur, meanwhile, was looking in awe at the whole thing. It felt weird to be so not rightly scaled, but he got used to it soon enough.

Phil was the most surprising of all, due to the fact that he wasn't surprised at all. Even unbothered, in fact. Techno wondered if he was faking it to make him feel better, but everything seemed honest. For someone who claims to never have interacted with giants, he acted as if this was his everyday life. One day he wanted to ask him about that, but he figured those were not the time.

And so they would gather around, bringing each a part of the meal so they could enjoy together. 

Sometimes, techno would drink the potion and join them, other times, he would stay at his regular size and simply enjoy the conversation. It was fine like that, Techno liked it. And his friends didn't seem to mind so it was perfect. (Well, Phil kind of minded, but he was always like that whenever he as much as looked at the potion so that wasn't really anything to go by.)

But it was nice, Wilbur would even bring his guitar from time to time, noticing Techno had a violin. He hasn't touched the instrument in a while but seeing Wilbur play the guitar, it was very tempting. 

"You should try and play again, Techno! We could even make a duet! That would be fun"

"Maybe one day, yeah… but I would need to practice, it's been years."

"Well I don't know violin" Phil perked up "but I'm around Tommy almost everyday, so I'm used to bad sounds" he chuckled

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN??"Tommy argued, baffled, which made the other three laugh. 

"But yeah, I think I'm gonna try to play again, it could be fun."

"How did you even get a violin this size? Are there giant shop owners ?"

Techno crackled at that "Na. I made it myself. Took a while, but I'm proud of the result."

Wilbur made an "ooohh" before returning to his meal with a smile. 

It was pretty quiet for a while, everyone enjoying the silence before Wilbur perked up again. 

"I'm wondering, are there giant animals? Like cows or chicken? How do you eat?" 

Phil's fork almost dropped on the plate and looked at Wil with wide eyes, while Tommy added "hey yeah! You never eat with us when you're all big, how come?"

Techno smirked a bit at the question, and his hand reached for a counter. "Actually" he said, grabbing and showing an object they knew all too well "This is why I brought the potion in the first place." 

Wilbur looked confused, but kept smiling, while Tommy exclaimed "wait, really?!?" 

He chuckled "yeah. If creatures like that exist, I never found any. So I started hunting and eating stuff at human size, so when the potion effects wears off, it's like I ate a meal my size. That's how it started, pretty funny when you think about it."

Wilbur laughed a bit "yeah, who would've thought it would lead to this."

"Not me, that's for sure" techno confirmed.

The rest of the meal was spent in comfortable silence. Yet he could feel another question lingered in the brunette's tongue. Carefully, he bopped his hair with one of his fingers, and ruffled his hair gently, which made Wilbur laugh. It wasn't holding yet, but he was getting better at the whole contact thing. "What's stuck in that head of yours, Wilbur?" 

The other continued to laugh a bit even after techno stopped, and he sheepishly smiled. "Well, I have a question, but it might come off as very rude, so I don't know if I should ask."

Phil turned to Wilbur, with an almost scolding glare "wilbur, don-" 

"It's alright, Phil." He lifted a hand before turning his gaze towards Wilbur "ask away."

"Well… About the, hm… myths. Is that… is any of it true?" He finally said, clearly trying to word it inoffensively. 

It was vague enough that Tommy didn't know what he was talking about, and Phil stayed silent, though his brows furrowed. 

Techno bore a small, earnest smile. There was something that could be mistaken for sadness, but it wasn’t quite. 

"Maybe a long time ago, but not that I know of. Giants heard of it too, but from tales and legends taking place so long ago the line between fiction and reality is a huge blur." he couldn't blame Wilbur for his curiosity, and he was surprised the question didn't even make him nervous. He was glad. Very glad. 

"And I didn't meet a lot of giants in my lifetime, but none of them did it, so yeah. Maybe it was true at one point, but I think if it still was, humans would clearly be aware of it."

Wilbur hummed, satisfied with the answer. He took another bite of his meal "yeah, I mean to us, it's only a myth, so it makes sense. Thanks." 

"No problem?" Techno had an amused smile on his face. Wilbur was a weird one sometimes, asking the weirdest or scariest things with only a childish smile on his face. 

Tommy turned to look at wilbur, then technoblade, then wilbur again, before speaking “What the fuck are you two talking abou-”

“Nothing” They hummed in unison. 

--

Eventually, the night fell completely and it was time for the humans to go home. They waved goodbye and walked toward the exit, but before they walked through the door, Wilbur turned around sharply and prompted "Can I sleep at your house tonight?" 

Techno, phil and tommy were all taken aback. "You can go home if you want" he reassured the two blonds "I just really like Techno's house." 

"Uhh" techno hesitated. It's not like Wilbur was in any danger, he was careful not to fall from heights… and he would be dead sooner than letting his friends get hurt. 

"You don't have to, if you would rather sleep alone" the brunette was quick to add once he saw the small tension in Techno's stance.

"I think it'd be fine. I spent nights at your house after all, it's only fair. Yeah, you can stay." Techno settled on, earning another bright smile from the human. 

After a couple of minutes, it was just the two of them. It was a bit awkward, seeing as it was the first time Techno was at real size on a one on one. But Wilbur didn't seem to see it that way, enjoying the view. 

"Want me to join you down there?" He asked. 

"Nope! You don't have to worry about a thing!" Wilbur simply replied, grabbing on a drawer handle and slowly making his way up. Techno was quick to put his hand below in case he fell.

"You could have warned me!" Techno complained, to which the other simply laughed a quick "sorry". Not stopping at all. 

After almost falling only twice (and techno almost getting a heart attack two times), Wilbur made it onto a safe platform. The two sighed,one from exhaustion, the other from relief. And he laughed again.

"Tommy wasn't lying. This house really is an amazing playground." He stated, earning a snort from Techno.

"Did you want to stay at my house so you could play with the room without any remark?" He asked, amused. 

"Maybe" Wilbur admitted. “But I also like to spend some time with you. You’re always a comforting presence.” 

"Pff, yeah, right." Techno tried to ignore the warmth coming for his cheeks and ears. “You’re just saying that so I help you with something.” 

“No, no, I mean it, techno. You’re a good friend.” And when he turned to meet the human’s face, it was a simple, honest smile. They stared at each other for a moment, unspoken words being said. Unspoken promises being made. 

Techno stared at his friend’s eyes and saw: not fear. Not méfiance, not worry. His eyes were full of acceptance. Filled with joy and curiosity and wonder. It was the first time he had ever seen such an expression, and yet this look was dedicated to him. Wilbur had waited for them to be in absolute intimacy to offer him this moment.

A good friend.

Techno laughed. Quietly at first, but it grew and grew until the sounds filled the whole room. Wilbur could probably feel the vibration through his whole body but he couldn’t stop. The brunette soon joined in and happiness filled the entire room for god knows how long. Maybe it was two minutes, maybe it was an hour. 

The laughters quieted down eventually, and Techno noticed the fond way Wilbur looked at him. The warmth quickly reached his whole face as he failed to keep a neutral expression. He coughed to wash away his awkwardness. “What- what with that face?” 

"Nothing. It's just nice to see you less restrained." Wilbur smiled "you're always so careful when we're all together." 

"Well, I have to be careful around humans." He hummed, pointing a finger at his friend "you're so small."

"Eh. You couldn't bruise us even if you tried" wilbur shrugged off. "But it's nice! We should do this more often if that means I get to hear your laugh like that more."

Techno cursed himself for the smile that wouldn't wear off. 

"Yeah… maybe we should."

-Written by @melissa-s23 please send them love!!! I love the fluff so much

[eijie-cavies]

Wen Kexing, Scorpion King and Gu-Xiang raised together in ghost valley.

This lovely user had produced a VERY interesting Au that I couldn't help myself but make a lil drabble/one shot on it. @naniya27 I hope you like it! I had fun playing around with Xi'er hahahah. (one shot under the cut)

Zhou Zishu didn't know if he should gape in surprise or tilt his head in confusion at the sight of Wen Kexing and a VERY familiar man clad in black conversing by their table. He had only stood up to order himself some more wine and all of the sudden there was an assassin sitting beside Wen Kexing, more so, this assassin wasn't even trying to kill him.

"Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you-" The man whined.

"I told you I will be "around" little brat, didn't A-Xiang inform you of my whereabouts?" Wen Kexing retorted, his carefree smile widened as he tilted his head back to drink his beverage as if this assassin was not in the least bit dangerous.  "Da-ge, you know I would be busy, did you purposely send me away to have your little adventures?" The man pouted, POUTED, as though he was a little brother feigning hurt just to gain favor from his older brother.

'Have I missed something here?' Zhou Zishu internally blanched, approaching their table slowly.

When the man's eyes landed on to him all the traces of playfulness disappeared and a hard mask was set in place. The man straightened in his seat like a proper gentleman with his eyes cold and observant. Zhou Zishu internally shivered, The man looked every bit like he was once did back when he was still serving the prince.

"Ah! A-Xu, come come, you took too long" Wen Kexing whined pettily which gained a slightly shocked but nonetheless passive expression from his companion. "I was gone for 5 minutes Lao Wen-"

"Five minutes too long, a-xu don't deprived me of your beauty" His soulmate winked.

The scandalized look on the scorpion's face ALMOST made Zhou Zishu want to play along with his fan man's antics, but his mind was still too muddled to comprehend just WHY this man was even here.

"Lao Wen, i don't think you need me here if you got a companion?" Zhou Zishu challenged, the man's eyebrows twitched. Either from annoyance or anger he didn't know. "Ah, my bad, A-Xu this is Xie Wang, Xi-er say hello to my beautiful A-Xu" Again, Wen Kexing had that silly sparkling look in his eyes that quiet frankly Zishu decided he would never tire from. "Wen Gongzi, I was not aware you harbored stowaways in your journey" Zishu wanted to snort at that. as if he had not seen the way this "Xi-er" acted while he was not there.

"I know who he is Lao Wen, did not know the Ghost valley is familiar with the Scorpion" Zhou Zishu tilted his head, sitting down across from Wen Kexing. Xi-er looked ready to retort a smartass reply, probably something Wen Kexing had taught himself when the older man beat him to it.

"Ayiah, the ghost valley and Scorpions had always been allies A-Xu, is it not a common knowledge?" he asked.

Zishu only shrugged his shoulder. being an ex-assassin he could always read people based on their body language, and though the man in front of him was of similar occupation, Zishu could not help but chuckle at the way Xi-er's knee slowly moved to touch Wen Kexing's in a protective manner ,or how his jaw flexed slightly indicating that he was grinding his teeth behind his mouth, the piercing eyes never left him for a moment as if anticipating Zishu's attack at anytime. truth be told he looked about ready to drive Zishu away himself.

"Ah that reminds me, I seemed to have forgotten to buy some herbs too take back to the manor, eh A-xu i'll be back in a bit" He smiled warmly before standing up to leave. Zishu knows it's bullshit, Lao Wen would never run off to "buy" something not unless he asked for money first, so Zishu figured that this was his chance to get to know this person, whatever Lao Wen had in mind anyway.

"So...Leader Zhou, we meet again" Xi-'er smiled politely, though the ex assassin knew that that was FAR from a friendly one, more like a challenge. "Yes, after you abducted Chengling" he fired back, smile as taxing. Xie'er ,in a moment of weakness, groaned "Please, don't remind me, i already got an earful from Da'ge about that, I don't want to hear the same from you"

Zishu raised his eyebrow in surprise and confusion, okay so he was not hallucinating then. this scorpion DID call Lao Wen "Da ge"

"Pardon?" said Zishu.

"How was I supposed to know that Zhang boy was your ward and you were with Da ge anyway? he hadn't contacted me ever since he got out of the valley" he pouted...again. "Besides, I already said sorry to him" he reasoned again. Zishu smirked at that "So you said sorry to him and not me or Chengling?"

"Hell no, I don't even know you. and why are you even sticking to Da'ge anyway? this wasn't even in his plan" Xie'er rolled his eyes so far back he was sure it would pop out. The ex- assassin only laughed at that. No, Lao Wen did NOT anticipate their meeting nor did Zishu himself, but he'd be damned if he was the one sticking to Wen Kexing. that fan wielding man was the one who clung to him in the first place.

Just before he could retort Chengling arrived just in time to See Xi-er slightly leaned forward at the table as if he was about to attack Zishu. "Chengling" the swordsman started, but Chengling was fast to run to his side and position himself just behind Zhou Zishu. Xie'er was not pleased. "Little idiot, I thought you went off to buy more supplies for-"

"I was! but Shishu told me to come back here and that he would handle it himself"

'Lao Wen I swear to-'

"Shishu? hah, who are you calling shishu? my Da'ge would never let anyone call him that" Zi'er

"Your Da'ge, definetly did" Zishu almost could not contain his laugh at the scorpion King's scandalized and shocked expression. "This is ridiculous" the scorpion King stood up with al the gracehe could muster in anger "I'm going to find him and set this right" he harrumped, swishing his robes as he disappeared out the tavern.

Chengling, who was still slightly cowering behind him stuttered. "Sh-Shifu, wasn't tha-"

"Yes, don't worry i'll talk to your Shishu about this, come on. Let's go and finish getting those herbs before we go home"

____________________________________________________

"Lao Wen"

"Hmmn?" Wen Kexing hummed, stirring a pot of hot steamed vegetables with chicken soup simmering by the side. "Xie'er was...something" at the mention of his brother Kexing stopped for a second before continuing his minstrations. as if reading Zishu's mind on wanting a clearer explanation, Wen Kexing caved "I found him when I was still in ghost valley. he was one of the children who had been abducted and brought to us" the taller man swallowed hard, clearly struggling, though his face showed little emotion.

"He almost died, luckily I got to him in time and managed to save him, hiding him away was the hardest part. it took a while before he trusted me but once he did I found that I could not turn him away"

Zhou Zishu sighed, with a burst of bravery he walked over to his Zhiji and wrapped his hands around his waist, his head came to rest on Lao Wen's shoulder. "He lived with me for several years,and then Gu-xiang appeared. We barely managed to save her but when Xie'er promised ties with the Scorpion to the former Ghost valley chief he let her go, when I became chief I finally let him go back to his home where he can see his parents again" Wen Kexing stopped, longer this time. His hand shook as he removed the pots from the fire to prevent them from burning, he turned to Zhou Zishu, eyes full of guilt and sorrow.

"But...it was too late, his parents had been killed and with no one to take the title Xi'er had to assume the role and had to band together the scorpions that we know today. He was only 17 that time A-Xu, it took years before he could properly  get a hold of the others and most of the time I wasn't even there to help him. I still had Gu-Xiang to raise and it wasn't time for me to emerge from the valley. He had to come to me multiple times-"

Wen Kexing faltered. Zishu figure that was enough, he didn't think Lao Wen would actually tell him that much. The shorter man steadily turned his soulmate to face him, his eyes soft and understanding as he slowly leaned in, just enough to let Lao Wen back out if he so wanted. but the other man stayed in place. He finally rest his forehead against Lao Wen's. in an instant, his partner loosened up, hand began to encircle around his waist as Zishu moved closer, feeling their noses touch.

"Lao Wen, you did great"

At that high praise and implication, Wen Kexing could not help but to shed tears of relief and gratefulness. Zishu understood, Zishu accepted. and most of all Zhou Zishu stayed.

Bonus: Timeline.

Wen Kexing was around 7 or 8 when he was brought in to Ghost valley. so let's say he was 7.

Xie'er came to ghost valley when he was 8 years old making Wen Kexing 15.

Gu-xiang came to valley when she was 7 making Wen Kexing 18 and Xi'er 11.

Wen Kexing was 20 when he took over, Xie'er now 17 years old and given free reign over the scorpions and Gu xiang 9.

Finally current drama:

Wen Kexing - 28

Xie Wang- 21

Gu-Xiang - 17

(These aren't the real ages btw XD just estmation. i had big brain moment trying to sort out the timeline hahaha)

[mybrothershands]

MBH/Dumpling 2

second installment, same art because otherwise you'll be waiting on it all day tomorrow. Characters by myself and @diddlesanddoodles and editing by @thundering-susurrus

The giant pinched up his face as if he smelled something bad. He then prodded the lump in his chest-pocket. "Get up, you lazy fool."

Several emotions crossed Yale face all at once, from anger to confusion to relief. Now that he knew where to look, Yale could see a distinctive lump in the man’s front pocket and heard the smaller voice emanating from within. Well, if he had a human companion of his own, that was a welcome relief. But he still kept his hand on Nenani. Grinning, he jerked his head to indicate the lump on Ka's shirt. “Ah, well I suppose that answers that. He yer assistant then?”

"Parasite, more like," he said, fishing around in his pocket until he caught the man by the shirt and pulled his shoulders over the lip of the pocket.

"Why you little two-ton son of a hog-bellied cob, I ought to--" The human smacked the hand away.

A nervous laugh escaped the giant, and he clasped his hand over the smaller man's mouth. "Er, this is my brother. He took care of me when I was small," said Ka.

Yale had been watching Ka fish around in his pocket and smirked at the human’s grouchy reply. The human’s snark immediately reminded him of Farris, but upon hearing Ka call him his brother, Yale gave pause. His curiosity was piqued.

“Wha –? Really? Can’t say I’ve ever heard ‘a that. That must be one hell of a story,” he said and jerked his head towards Ka. “Ye must’ve had a time of it keepin’ ‘im fed and clothed proper.”

The giant paused, then seemed to draw back within himself and looked away. Cairo, however, had no such loss for words. "Got that right. Ungrateful, too. You should see the spot in my side where he--" The massive hand clamped over his mouth again.

"I, erm," Ka cleared his throat, worry painted on his face. "I was old enough to work when he took me in. I cleared land for a human farmer in exchange for food. Cairo paid for my clothes and gave me a place to stay."

Polly then decided to use his leg as a scratching post and began rubbing her face up and down the side of his pants, leaning into him. "Woah, hey!" Ka said as he was knocked off balance. Once he found his feet, he pulled her bridle back over her ear and straightened her forelock. "But yes, I'm," he waved his hand in a circle, "I can work with humans just fine. They just need to let me know they're there and keep away from my feet."

“Ah, well no worries there,” Yale said with a light laugh as he pulled his apron aside to reveal Nenani at his hip. “You know better than to be underfoot, ain’t that right Dumplin’?”

Nenani nodded while she observed the new giant and silently marveled at his height. Despite the way in which he towered over them, he had a kind face, and she was not afraid.

“Farris doesn’t like it if I’m on the floor,” she explained. “He doesn’t trust the footmen to keep a look out.”

Ka's expression softened. She was a little thing, even for her kind, with auburn hair that shone in the sunlight. Somehow she met his gaze without fear, and it gave him pause. "H-hello there," he said quietly. "I am Ka. It's nice to meet you, miss."

It took the giant a moment to realize that the young man must have been hiding her, and why he had questioned him so. Come to think of it, he had not seen a single small person, nor chest pocket since he had entered this town. Pieces began to fall into place, and he decided he should not stay here for long. Not with Cairo. Absently, his hand found its way to his pocket.

“Hi. I’m Nenani,” she replied back, trying to look friendly. He looked so nervous, she thought. Yale easily scooped her up and sat her on his leg. After getting comfortable, she gestured up at the cook and said, “And he didn’t say so, but this is Yale.”

Looking confused, Yale looked down at her. “I didn’t introduce myself at all did I?”

“Nope,” she replied. “That was very rude. Lolly would swat you.”

“Ah, well,” he said, giving Ka and Cairo an apologetic shrug. “She wouldn’t be too pleased with me bringin’ the lil’un on this errand either. So there’s that.”

Cairo grumbled as Ka fawned over this little girl. She seemed unafraid and even kind towards his brother, which he respected. Still, he regarded Yale with a critical eye. Hooking his elbow over the frayed lip of the pocket, the human raised his voice. "What kind of kitchen is this anyway, boy? It's a bit late in the day to be fetchin stuff. What are you doing out here now?"

“Best kitchen in Vhasshal,” Yale fired back with a smug grin. He pointed over his shoulder towards the castle behind them. “That being the royal kitchen.”

“But Gjerk didn’t clean the chimney and it ruined the luncheon roasts,” Nenani supplied with a frankness that made light of the true disaster. “Almost caught the whole kitchen on fire.”

Yale frowned and, blushing just a bit, agreed with a muted nod. “Aye. Well, even the best kitchen in Vhasshal can fall victim to inattentive tenderfoots. So we’re needin’ to shuffle things ‘round a bit. Headin’ to a merchant who raises and sells field rocs.”

Ka's face became a smiling mask with a blank stare. Royal kitchen? Was this boy not worried that some stranger picked off the street could poison someone Important? Even the king himself? What if something went wrong and he was blamed for it and put in prison? Even he himself was not sure he deserved such trust, and yet kept his mouth shut in hopes that there was something he did not know.

Cairo, meanwhile, looked the man up and down, and then the girl in turn. They seemed easygoing and honest, if not a bit frank. At last he nodded. "We will accept your offer."

The giant balked. "Cairo, I'm not sure--"

"Shut up," he said, waving a hand. "Your belly's been a'growling all day, and I'll have no more of it. This is an easy job, and you're gonna take it," Cairo barked.

Ka paused, a hint of frustration on his face. Still, this was Cairo. The giant seemed to let go of his worries and nodded. "Just tell me what to do," he said, fixing Yale in his gaze, "and I'll help as much as I can."

He seemed eager enough, Yale thought. And even if his kitchen skills were minimal, so long as he could hold a knife, he could find something for him to do. Ka’s human companion was clearly the more dominant of the two, which Yale found to be quite amusing. And even a bit refreshing. He was so used to humans reacting to him with fear or at the very least nervous suspicion. Not that they did not have a valid reason of course.

He decided he liked Cairo.

“Well, first we gotta go collect them rocs and scurry on back,” Yale said with a grin. “So if we just wanna follow along we’ll go get that done and we can get ye to work.” He paused as he considered Ka. “And get ye somethin’ t’eat. Farris might gripe at me fer it, but believe me. He’s gonna be thankful fer yer help. Even he don’t show it. Or say it. Or yells at ye.”

Yale flicked the reins to usher Polly forward, bringing a hand up to hold onto Nenani when she almost fell off his lap.

“Ah!”

“Oh, sorry there, Dumplin’.”

"Oh," said Ka as he backed away and let the animal slip past until he could walk beside the cab. This Farris fellow seemed a bit crotchety. "Thank you," he said above the creaking wheels. The mention of food set his mouth to watering. They had had so many good things down at the market, maybe now he could get his hands on something. "I can pay you, but I'm afraid my coin may just be trinkets to you."

From his pocket, Cairo squinted one eye, adjusting his position to better watch the small giant. "Why you call her 'dumpling,' anyhow?"

“It was a joke,” Nenani explained with a flat look. “Wasn’t a very funny one.”

“I dunno, I thought it was a pretty good one,” Yale replied with a knowing grin. He poked her belly and the girl squealed and laughed, batting at his fingers. She lost her balance and almost fell back off his lap, but Yale was quick enough to catch her and place her safely down on the bench beside him. He ruffled her hair into a bushy mess. “Anyway, I caught this one here after she’d nicked some fruit. And right in the middle of the King’s weddin’ feast too. Don’t think I’ve ever been that stressed in my life.”

“He threatened to eat me...” Nenani said with the same flat expression.

As lovely as he found the girl's laugh, Ka's smile quickly faded as the girl voiced the joke. He made a sound half way between a choke and a quack. "Hmm?"

Cairo looked more surprised at the noise his brother made than Nenani's admittance. "Oh he did, did he?" He sat up, eyeing Yale. "He looks like a pansy to me."

Yale could not help the smirk of satisfaction at seeing the way Ka reacted. But his focus drew to the man’s pocket and the human within. Leaning towards them and planting his hand on the other side of where Nenani sat, he grinned at the human man.

“Big words fer a fella who travels by pocket,” he challenged. “Why not come on outta there and I’ll show ye how much of a pansy I am.”

Nenani glared up at Yale and grabbed onto his sleeve and gave it a firm tug. “No fighting.”

Cairo merely laughed at the girl's reaction. "I ain't stupid. Think I'll stay in the pocket, eh?" He slapped Ka's chest.

The giant rolled his eyes. He kept pace with the cart fairly easily, even as the Svaldifari trotted. He cleared his throat. "Keep acting like that and I may just let him have you."

"What!" he exclaimed, clutching a hand over his heart. "He might skin me, don't you think? You brute, you should protect your poor old brother."

Ka sighed, plodding along. "You can take care of yourself just fine."

“Smart man, your brother,” Yale said to Ka. “With him taggin’ along, ye might just survive a day in Farris’s kitchen.”

There was something very comforting about watching Cairo and Ka banter. It was all too easy for Yale to be drawn back to the horrible memories of the war and the way it seemed to him at the time that the bloodletting would never cease. Yet before him was a man who openly and easily called a human his brother.

“As fer skinnin’: nah. Too much of a hassle. Much easier to just toss ye into the stew and pop the lid on.”

Beside him, Nenani rolled her eyes. She had become nearly desensitized to all staff’s banter about eating and cooking people. Cairo didn’t seem like the sort to take Yale seriously. But Ka, she observed, seemed to not care for the jokes at all.

Ka lolled his head back, exasperated, then clamped his hand back over Cairo's mouth. "Ne- Nena-nani, er..." he chewed on his tongue for a moment, still trying to decide how many syllables the girl's name had. "Nenani," he said decisively. "He... Yale. He said he found you stealing?" said the giant, desperate to change the subject.

There were a few shoves and knocks on his hand before there at last came a double-tap and Cairo's mouth was freed. However, he kept his mouth shut for once and watched the road ahead. The mare seemed to need a bit of guiding, unused to going this way, but Yale was not quite paying attention. He peered ahead. Was this the way they had come before? Where was the market?

“Oh. Yeah,” she replied as she fiddled with the hem of her skirt in slight embarrassment. “But it’s not like what Farris and they all thought at first. I’m not from the Hill Tribe, I’m from the Southlands. They were loading a bunch of carts near the docks and I tried to sneak in and grab a persimmon before anyone noticed, but the basket was really big and I just...kind of fell in. And got stuck.”

Yale stifled a snicker as he corrected Polly’s path. She whinnied at him in annoyance. “I remember all them peels, lil’un. It was certainly more than one.”

“I was in there for three days,” she said and stuck her tongue out at Yale. “What else was I gonna eat? The basket?” When Yale only shrugged at her, she continued. “I grew up being told stories about Vhasshal and I was really scared. So as soon as the caravan stopped, I tried to run.”

“Caught her tryin’ to make a run fer it,” Yale added lightly pinching her arm. “Didn’t get all that far. Like...a half a dozen yards maybe before I got ‘er.”

Ka frowned. He did not like the way that last bit sounded. He steered away as they passed another cart on the road. He wanted to ask the stories about Vhasshal, and why she had been so frightened, but the girl had not seemed a bit embarrassed about that point in her past. Come to think of it, maybe he did not want to know. "Persimmons... have peels?"

The edge of the village was approaching, and Yale could hear the sound of the rocs long before their pens came into view. Their destination was a handsome little cottage just at the end of the tight clusters of row homes. Though was an older building and had but a thatched roof, it was well maintained and clean. Behind it were the roc pens. There were a dozen or so of the birds loose in the larger space, and Yale felt relieved. He was only going to need ten for the luncheon service, and he’d be able to get a few extra just in case anything else went horribly wrong today.

“Well, I think they’re actually husks,” she was saying. “They’re from overseas somewhere. But you’re not supposed to eat the outsides because it’ll make you sick.”

“Ye did get sick though. Just not from eatin’ fruit,” Yale pointed out. His eyes trailed after the other cart as they passed, having seen the way they had been gawking at Ka. Poor guy must get that a lot.

“Yeah, I had the red reap,” Nenani said. “It was terrible. But Farris took care of me and gave me medicine and watched me all night while I had the fever.”

Ka blinked, trying to make sense of this new information. He had no idea what red reap was, but then again, he was not familiar with most diseases. "It sounds terrible," he said, worry on his brow. The way she had explained it, it sounded deadly. He could not imagine having to care for someone through the night, not knowing if the little thing would make it.

Though he had not yet met the man, Ka found himself reconsidering this Farris guy. If he was the type to yell at someone new, it seemed a bit backwards that he would worry over a thief. He shook the thought away. He had not met him yet. Maybe he would understand later.

It was then he heard some bird-like squabbling, and looked up to find a pen with some frighteningly large feathery beasts. "What... are those?" He felt a bit stupid for asking, but then again, nothing was familiar to him here. Nothing at all.

"What, you never seen a chicken before?" Cairo butted in.

“Oh them ain’t no chickens,” Yale answered, giving Cairo an amused sideways glance. “Those are common field rocs. Those beauties eat chickens fer breakfast. Literally. They’re birds of prey. And they’re what we’re here fer.”

Yale maneuvered the cart towards the pens and when they were close enough, he pulled the reins lightly and Polly came to a gentle halt. She turned to her head back at Yale, expectation in her eyes. With a chuckle, he reached into his apron pocket and pulled out a pressed oat cake. Turning to Ka, he held out the treat. “Wanna give Polly her reward while I go spend the king's money?”

A grin spread across Ka’s face, and he chuckled. "Seems she's in good hands," he said, gently taking the biscuit from him.

~~~

Twelve common field rocs were in the back of the cart, their wings tied down to their sides and hemp sacks placed over their heads to keep them docile. Nenani hung off the back of the driver’s bench, looking down at the immobilized birds. They were as large as cows, and it was a little daunting to think that there were birds that big in the world.

The trip back was fairly uneventful, except that news of Ka seemed to have made its way around the village, They seemed to be getting more stares than before, but Yale made a point of staring down whatever gawkers he noticed. But he did not have the same presence as Farris did, and mostly, the people just kept on staring.

Nenani found it to be pretty rude, and to several she stuck out her tongue.

As they approached the back gate that led to the kitchen courtyard, the guards stationed there did double takes as Ka came into view, but Yale was quick to head off any questions. “He’s here to help out for the day. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Farris.”

There was enough of a threat in those words that they were allowed to pass without any form of harassment.

“Don’t let those guards make ye nervous none, lad,” Yale said to Ka. “Most of ‘em are real decent fellas.”

Yale was still looking towards Ka as he directed Polly along the road, around the last bend, and into the courtyard. He pulled the reins and was about to say something else when felt a tug on his sleeve and he looked down at Nenani. “Hm? What’s it?”

Nenani merely pointed further ahead of them and Yale’s gaze followed along. A large fire pit had been lit in the middle of the yard, and the largest of their cooking pans was placed over the top, with a sizable pile of pumpkins next to it. Saen and Avery were in the middle of carving a few up but had made little headway.

But what had caught their eye was none of them, but the solitary figure just a short distance away. Standing with his arms akimbo and looking very displeased was Farris. His green eyes narrowed at Yale.

“Yer fuckin’ late.”

Ever since the border guards, Ka had gotten increasingly fidgety. As soon as Yale quieted down, he slowed up and walked behind the cart. The castle ahead was bigger than any he had seen, especially this close up. He ran his hand up and down his sleeve, trying to create some warmth as his breath crystallized before him. Upon hearing the voice, the giant's first impression was how gravelly and frayed it sounded, possibly from overuse. The second was that it did not sound happy.

"What's it to you?" Cairo muttered under his breath. It was more of a knee-jerk reaction, than anything, but it was enough to remind Ka to keep an eye on him. The human's left arm and legs lolled out of the pocket. He picked at his teeth as the giant walked. "Move over, Ka, I want to get a look at this meathead."

Ka merely shook his head, hand straying up to cover the man. "Be careful here. We don't know for sure if it's safe yet." There came a grumbling and a shove at the fingers, but for the most part he kept his mouth shut.

Before Yale could even begin to explain himself, Farris caught sight of Ka, and the kitchen master’s eyes widened as his gaze traveled up and up and up until he met the taller giant’s eye. “And just who in the Seven Hells are ye?”

Ever since the border guards, Ka had gotten increasingly fidgety. As soon as Yale quieted down, he slowed up and walked behind the cart. The castle ahead was bigger than any he had seen, especially this close up. He ran his hand up and down his sleeve, trying to create some warmth as his breath crystallized before him. Upon hearing the voice, the giant's first impression was how gravelly and frayed it sounded, possibly from overuse. The second was that it did not sound happy.

"What's it to you?" Cairo muttered under his breath. It was more of a knee-jerk reaction, than anything, but it was enough to remind Ka to keep an eye on him. The human's left arm and legs lolled out of the pocket. He picked at his teeth as the giant walked. "Move over, Ka, I want to get a look at this meathead."

Ka merely shook his head, hand straying up to cover the man. "Be careful here. We don't know for sure if it's safe yet." There came a grumbling and a shove at the fingers, but for the most part he kept his mouth shut.

Before Yale could even begin to explain himself, Farris caught sight of Ka, and the kitchen master’s eyes widened as his gaze traveled up and up and up until he met the taller giant’s eye. “And just who in the Seven Hells are ye?”

Before Ka could answer, though, Yale jumped in. “Came across him on the way to get the rocs. He was lookin’ fer some work, and I offered to let him help us today.”

All through Yale’s explanations, Farris sized Ka up with a critical eye, pausing at the distinct bulge in the tall man’s pocket. His eyes narrowed suspiciously before turning their vitriol onto his assistant. 

“Oh ye did, did ye?” he demanded. “Are ye fuckin’ daft boy?”

Yale hopped down off the cart. “We need the extra help, and as mad as ye are, ye can’t deny the big fella could be of some help. Hell, he’d make short work breakin’ down the pumpkins.” Yale leaned around Farris to yell past him towards his fellow cooks. “A whole lot faster than them two knobheads!”

Saen and Avery looked up from their work to glare back at Yale. Avery waved his knife in the air, calling back, “Go fuck yerself, Yale.” 

Yale was still grinning when Farris drew his attention back with a growl. “And ye think I’d let just anyone off the street come in and cook in my kitchen, do ye?”

Yale glanced over his shoulder at Ka and then back to Farris. With a shrug, he said, “Honestly boss, I don’t think he’d fit. Be a bit tight.”

Farris’s ever-present glare faltered as an amused smirk crossed his lips. With a grunt he looked back at Ka. “Ye have any experience in a kitchen there, son?”

The giant clutched his fists against his chest, shoulders hunched and brow scrunched with worry. Though the man was half his height, he scared Ka. He looked like someone who knew how to fight and just might if aggravated.

"Y-yessir, just a bit, sir." Ka stuttered, coming out from behind the wagon. "Look, I promise I mean no harm, sir. I just, well I- I- I was looking for some work is all. He was nice enough to give me a chance. I promise I'll do my best if you'll only let me help."

Farris was silent for several moments, eyeing Ka once more. “Where ye from?”

The giant straightened up a bit, a slight hope welling in his chest. "Benhyke, sir. I'm... trying to find my way back there, actually."

“Never heard of it. So ye mean to tell me yer as tall as a fuckin’ house with no proper sense of direction?” The kitchen master didn’t give Ka a chance to answer before walking over to the cart where Nenani sat. He laid his arm across the drivers bench and looked at the girl. “What say ye Dumplin’? Think he’s some sort of secret assassin tryin’ to worm his way into the castle?”

Nenani blinked and shook her head. “No.” 

“Well, if yer so sure,” he said with a small smile and scooped her up. Tucking her into the crook of his arm, he turned back to Ka.  The warmth he had spoken to Nenani with was gone and the harsher tone returned. “Ye got a name?”

He scratched his head, still harboring the initial insult in his mind, and had not quite heard him speak to the girl. "What? O-oh I am Ka. And this is--" he paused. At first caution took over, but once he saw the way he cared for Nenani, the fear melted. "--Cairo," he finished.

Upon hearing his name, a single hand came out of the pocket and gave a dramatic wave. "Evening to you, you motherless goat," he called, then the hand disappeared again.

Farris’s expression darkened and, behind him, Yale was making a frantic motion with his hands at Ka that translated roughly to “Bad idea. Stop.”

“I’ll give ye fair warning now, boy,” Farris warned as he walked towards Ka. Pressing further into his space, he stared up at the taller giant and pointed towards his pocket. “Keep that one’s mouth under control or I’ll be doin’ it fer ‘im. I’ve had plenty of humans toss out insults at me and, one way or another, they learn not to. If ye wanna work, I’ve got work fer ye. And you’ll be paid fair wages fer it. But if that one skulking in yer pocket don’t watch it, he’s gonna become intimately acquainted with the inside of a roasting pan.”

Ka's face paled and he backed away, clutching one hand to his pocket. "No! No, please, he's my brother. Y-you can't--I won't..." He seemed to get ahold of himself then, squared his shoulders. "Take that back," he said, regaining his ground. If it were not for the girl in his arms, Ka was not sure what he might have done.

Farris did not back away, and his only movement was to use his free hand to cover Nenani as though to shield her. He met Ka’s eyes with a firm unwavering stare. “I don’t take it back. This is my kitchen and my word is law.” Farris let a small smirk come to his lips. “Just keep in mind though, I didn’t say nothing about actually cookin’ ‘im.”

The giant blinked, relaxing a bit. "What?"

At this point, Cairo heaved a dramatic sigh and pulled himself up. He looked the man up and down and came to a conclusion. "Ugly lump."

Nenani poked her head out from behind Farris’s hand. “No fighting.” 

At Nenani's word, Ka took a step back. There was still anger in his blood, and he elected to stay on his toes, but any hostility was snuffed out by the girl's voice.

Farris only adjusted his hand to ruffle her hair.  “Well ye ain’t no Blue Thorn Beauty yerself,” Farris shot back at Cairo, then raised an eyebrow at him. “Ain’t ye a bit old fer being carried ‘round like a babe?”

Cairo raised a brow, then patted the chest behind him. "This one here's the baby when it comes down to it, little man. Now--" He cut himself off as if he had heard something. "Alright already," he grumbled at apparently nothing. "What do I have to do to get your sorry bag of bones to do something decent, eh? This boy's half starved."

"Cairo..." Ka hissed through his teeth. "I haven't done the work yet."

Farris huffed and rolled his eyes. “Yale,” he called without taking his eyes from the pair. “Go grab this one one ‘a the leftover meat pies.” He paused, reconsidering the man and his height. “Make that two.”

“Will do, boss,” Yale replied, flashing Ka a wide grin before running off towards the stairway that led into the kitchen proper. 

“I don’t run a charity here,” Farris told him sternly. “But if yer gonna be any use to me at all today, it wont be with an empty belly. Ye’ll eat and then ye’ll work. Understand?”

"No," Cairo said blatantly before Ka had a chance.

[zevlors-tail]

Hewwo!💕 jk jk. May I request a scnario (or headcanon what is easier for you) of shoto x izuku's older sister!reader. (Since tgis is an xreader blog maybe she is adopted? Ur choice) Maybe she meet him after the sports festival, and the only person that knew about her besides izuku was bakugo, and she is just so sweet and full of the fluffs that make his heart go boom. Sorry if I'm too specific 😅 love you💕

Um, hi! First of all, I am SO very sorry for the amount of time it took me to write this. Like seriously, I try to get things done in order, but for some reason requests have been a bitch to write. Second, I also love you! <3 And third, I love this idea! I hope you don’t mind, but I wrote it so that Izuku’s big sis was biologically related. Also, it’s mostly from Shouto’s point of view. I hope this is okay!

N/N = Nickname

It’s yours! Your quirk, not his!

Midoriya’s words repeated themselves over and over again in Shouto’s head as he trekked down the hall, trying to find the other boy before he left the stadium for the night. Crowds were already filtering into the upper halls to exit after the winners had been officially announced, and he didn’t feel like dealing with the hassle of being asked questions and giving statements about his second place win. Honestly, he could care less about that right now; he had a lot to think about, and most of it revolved around his scum bag father and his new...acquaintance? Rival? Friend? What was Midoriya to him, anyway? They’d almost been complete strangers before the sports festival, but now he felt a sort of connection to the other boy he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was all so...confusing.

“Excuse me-!” Someone bumped into his left shoulder as they whirled past him, clearly in a hurry to get to their destination. “I’m sorry, oh-! Um...” A girl that Shouto didn’t recognize slowed only a little as she turned to apologize, a panicked expression on her face as she walked backwards without watching where she was going. “I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed one last time before turning around and bolting off, almost knocking over a startled Tokoyami in the process. 

Shouto stared after her dumbfounded, not sure what to make of the situation. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts again after the distraction, but he collected himself and turned to Tokoyami as the other male strode past him.

“Do you know where Midoriya ran off to? I need to speak with him.” 

“Midoriya, hm?” Fumikage paused as he thought about it for a moment. “I believe he was headed in the same direction as that girl, actually.” 

Without so much as a thank you, Shouto started down the hallway again, faster this time now that he knew where he was going. It didn’t take him long at all to catch up to the girl he saw earlier, and he could hear her stumbling her way to her own destination just around the corner, muttering apologies and greetings as she tried to stay out of the way of others. But just as he turned, she seemingly vanished, and he frantically looked around before spotting a rapidly closing door a few feet away. 

There. 

As he inched closer, he heard voices coming from inside; one of which belonged to Midoriya, he was sure, and the other... He tore open the door at the last minute before it could slam shut, barging in on the middle of a conversation between Midoriya and the mystery girl.

“-reckless, baka! Honestly, Izu...” 

“I’m fine, N/N! Recovery Girl fixed me already, and they said I did really well in sur...gery, so-” Midoriya’s voice wavered on the last half of his sentence; clearly he was afraid of the reaction he would get by telling this girl about his injuries. “Anyways, I can hold my own! You don’t always have to worry about me, you know. I can take care of myself now...”

“Surgery!? Oh, Izuku... I know you can, but as your sister, it’s kind of my job to worry about you, whether it makes you embarrassed or not!”

Sister...?

Said sister smacked the top of her brother’s head lightly, earning a light blush and a pitiful “Ow, Y/N!” from her younger sibling. “Careful! My head already has enough bumps and bruises from the festival...”

“Eh, what’s one more from a good scolding? You’ll live, kiddo.” Todoroki would hardly call that a scolding. Even with her playful words, she gently smoothed a hand over his hair, ruffling it in a tender way while gazing at him with concern. “I am proud of you. You’ve come a long way, otoutosan. Just please try to take better care of yourself. I think you nearly killed mom.”

Todoroki took a moment to really look at the two of them. Since when did Midoriya have a sister? It wasn’t like the two of them were close, so he wouldn’t have known anyway, but it came as sort of a shock that not only did Midoriya have a sibling, but they were older than him as well. His prior objective momentarily forgotten, he watched as they interacted with each other, noting how similar their features seemed yet so different at the same time. The two of you shared the same fluffy hair (though Todoroki thought the colors differed), the same nose shape, and of course what he considered to be the trademark of the Midoriya clan: those kind, round, determined eyes that he just couldn’t help but stare into-

“T-Todoroki-kun?” Midoriya broke him out of his thoughts, the greenette staring at him with a puzzled expression from across the room. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you heading home?”

Shouto was no longer sure that he wanted to talk to the other boy. He felt like he had intruded on a private conversation, like he wasn’t wanted here. And if he was being honest, it wasn’t fair of him to dump all of his problems on Midoriya. And now that he was really putting effort and thought into it, he wasn’t sure he was ready to even talk about his struggles at all. Besides...he knew deep down he needed to confront the issue at hand directly, and not just through venting to someone else. But before he could think of an excuse to leave, Midoriya’s sister cut in, clearly reading the tension between the two boys and wanting to ease some of it.

“Hey, I know you. You’re that Todoroki kid, right? I was watching your match with Izuku from the stands; you were amazing out there! You both were. You sure gave Izu a run for his money, huh? That’s saying something, considering my little brother is practically a stubborn bull when he sets his mind to anything. He doesn’t give up until he’s won, so I would say you’ve got quite the talent and willpower!” you said cheerily with a grin. “If you heard anyone screaming during your match, it was probably me. I like to show my support for my fam!” As if to emphasize your point, you slung an arm around your little brother’s shoulders.

Todoroki briefly recalled hearing someone shout Izuku’s name in the distance during their match, but he had been so focused on beating his opponent and being angry at his father that he hadn’t really noticed it at the time. “Mm. So that was you,” he stated plainly.

“Yep! Sure was! Anyways...” You suddenly made direct eye contact with Todoroki, and he swore you were looking right through him as you spoke, “It was nice to meet one of Izu’s friends, finally. I was starting to worry that maybe you guys didn’t exist.” You laughed as Izuku playfully pushed you away in fake annoyance at the halfhearted insult. “Oh, I’m Y/N, by the way! I’m a third year at UA, so you’ll probably see me around this year. I’d love to get to know you more! I think your quirk is super cool, I’ve never seen anything like it!” you gushed.

A friend...so that’s what I am.

Shouto didn’t miss the light pink color dusting your cheeks. Just a moment ago, when the two of you had locked gazes...he had felt something electric. Did you feel it too? His heart beat a little faster at your proposition, his imagination running wild with silly little scenarios; sitting with you at lunch, training with you to improve his fighting style, asking you out on a date, buying you flowers. He was no longer thinking about his struggles or what he was going to face tomorrow; those things didn’t matter anymore. For now, when you met his eyes, it felt like it was only the two of you and Midoriya and nothing and no one else. Even if he had just met you, he was already head over heals for your bubbly spirits, the way you loved your sibling, and the laughs and smiles you seemed to give away so easily. He wasn’t sure how to describe the feeling he got when he looked at you. You had this air about you; you made the people you were around feel cared for, important, and happy. You were just like your brother in that sense, he supposed.

“Thanks,” he breathed, though he wasn’t sure if you could even hear his response. Regardless, you turned back to Izuku and continued on.

“Hey, Izu, we should get going. I’m sure mom is anxious to have you home.”

“Mhm.” Izuku nodded in agreement and went to collect a his things.

“Well, see you around!” You bid Todoroki goodbye and walked past him confidently, a warm smile on your face as you waved.

“Y-Yeah...” Shouto was at a loss for words as he watched you go. 

“I’ll be outside, Izu,” you called over your shoulder, and then you were gone, only rays of sunshine left in your wake. 

“Todoroki.”

“Hm?”

“You’re staring...” Midoriya awkwardly told him.

Shouto didn’t seem phased by his words at all, instead choosing to turn to the green haired male beside him now. 

“We’re friends...right?” he asked, an unfamiliar nervousness saturating his voice.

“If you want to be, then sure. I’d like that.” Midoriya gave him an inviting smile, finally following you out the door and leaving Todoroki to his thoughts.

Yeah, he had a lot to deal with now, but at least he wasn’t alone anymore. He could do this. He would do this. For you, and Izuku, and for himself. He was going to confront life head on and deal with whatever came his way no matter what. 

After all...it was his life. His life, and no one else’s.

I hope this was okay! I realize not much happened between Todoroki and the reader, sorry...this is just where my mind took me. ;w; But since not much happened, I’m considering keeping this on the backburner of my mind for a possible part 2 drabble thing? We shall see.

[amenomiko]

Thank you for the request @kuroangel00

MC That Wants to Make the Lord Jealous On Purpose (Part 2)

Kenshin

Sure, he won't look at any other women, nor do have any single interest in them. Well.. A reassured woman like MC, too, is like those who's interest poked by teasing devil.

Knowing how he would injure (more like stab) someone as much as he like without warning, she decided to just make a simple gesture with..

"Uhm.. I went to feed Ume, Take, and Matsu, as well as the others within the forest areas, and somehow my hair got tangled among the small branches. Could you help me to look if there's any small leaves around the back of my hair?"

And, as expected.

"Let me do it."

Surprised gasps and scattering feet could be heard. She then turned around with a smile (trying her best not to grin at that) to him. "It's alright, they mean no harm. I was the one who asked for help."

"Even if it was you or them, I won't let anyone else besides me to touch you." He firmly said before brushing her hair locks with his fingers that were only be a gentle touch for her and only her.

Shingen

Why, isn't this obvious? Shingen, no matter how single, nor in a relationship he is, he will always be surrounded by girls.

She is his number one, yes, yes. But does this charming lord can get jealous as well?

Pretending he wasn't there among the crowd of girls, she walked pass him and greeted the passing soldiers that happens to be at the market area, particularly in front of Shingen's favorite sweet shop.

"My..! You like to eat matcha daifuku too? If me, I'd prefer chocolate daifuku..!" She beamed, mentioning his most favorite sweets to them. They ask her out of curiosity on how does it taste like and so forth, enough to earn his attention towards her.

"How about this? I will go to the castle now and make some for you..!" She laughed, somehow finding the crowd near her to separate and lessen. Then one of the soldiers has an alarmed expression on his face, "Ah- uh- M-My Lord..!"

A strong arm wrapped around her waist, bringing her closer to someone's broad chest from behind her. "Hahah too bad, those chocolate only meant for me, boys.""Aww My Lord, do share to some of us..!"

They chuckled, continue with their chat with one another, until MC could feel a hand rubbing against her rear, accompanied by a seductive whisper in her ear,

"...Bad Goddess."

Yukimura

This lover of hers.. Not only he is contrary, but he can be oblivious, no, he IS oblivious and he live with it.

MC knows that he can be jealous. But not that he will admit it openly. And so she can't help but to be slightly selfish when it comes to this matter. This may be harsh, but.. This is the only way.

"Ehehe pardon me, but you are very manly and matured. Your wife is the luckiest whenever you noticed the changes in her mood, as.. not every men is that sensitive to his surroundings, just like mine." She says it clearly, successfully gaining Yukimura's irritated look towards both of her and the soldier.

"But Princess, you are lucky to have Yukimura-sama as your lover."

"Really? I don't know." She pursed her lips, feigning an innocent look while she ponders, making as if she is a victim to someone's obliviousness. "Ehh-- but I'm sure he's--"

"That's enough, don't you think?"

Bingo.

"Don't compare my love and his personality like that..! You know how much helpless I can be but what I know myself is that I love you with every being of me..!"

He pulled her away from the soldier with a very red (both angry and embarassed) face, not knowing she sticks out a tongue and mouthed "sorry" to the soldier.

Sasuke

Well..

This one is expressionless. So if he is jealous, or not, is quite hard to decipher. But it won't hurt to try, ...right?

..He is looking at her way right now, watching the interaction between her and the soldier. She giggled, beamed, and laughed, but there is no reaction coming from him.

Ah.. This is tiring. Maybe trying to make him jealous is out of the question after all. She's about to end the conversation when the soldier suddenly let out a groan, "Tsk. It's getting hot nowadays-- pardon me for sweating like this, it's very unsightly."

"Now, now, it's the same with me. Don't apologize. Here--" She pulled out her embroidered handkerchief when there's a familiar hand appeared in between them to stop her hand from wiping the latter's sweat.

"E-eh- Sasuke..?"

"Come, MC. You might get a heat stroke if you stand outside for too long." Lacing his fingers with hers, he pulled her to their chamber, not saying anything throughout the walk.

Then suddenly he breaks the silence, "..That embroidered handkerchief.. Maybe you should sew another one. I mean.. That handkerchief-- we own the same pair, right? So don't use it on--" He mumbled the last part, assuming she didn't hear it.

Oh gosh.

That is so cute...!

[marshieee]

💮Indigo Eyes, Sweet Smile💮

Shigino Kisumi x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Summary: You met kisumi for the first time and were mesmerized by his indigo eyes not knowing the cotton candy boy had a little crush on you when he first laid his eyes on you.

Author's Note: I just noticed why there aren't any oneshot for this pretty boy so i wanted to make one even tho it's bit trashy (ಥ ͜ʖಥ)

It was lunch time and you were hanging out with the iwatobi swimming club at the roof top like the usual days.

"Hey makoto i heard that your helping sasabe-san?"

Makoto looked at you smiling while haru just had that blank expression in his face while eating his grilled mackerel lunch.

"Yep i thought he could use some help while he's still finding a coach"

"Woaaah our mako-chan is very nice and hard working!!"

"That's very beautiful makoto senpai!"

"Hahaha thank you nagisa, rei"

As you were eating you can't help but noticed the absence of a cute red hair girl.

"Hey where's gou-chan?"

"Ah gou-chan said she can't join us today cause she promised her friend that she would eat lunch with her"

Nagisa replied to you while munching his bread filled with strawberry jam.

"Nagisa-kun that's not the ideal lunch you know? You need nutritious food like my well balanced lunch"

Rei said as he pushed he's red glasses while showing nagisa his lunch box, nagisa just frowned at the boy.

"Rei-chan you're no fun"

"Eh?!"

"Yeah rei let nagisa be"

Rei whipped his head to you shocked that you took nagisa's side instead of him.

"EH?!"

"Now now you guys calm down"

You looked at makoto and an idea popped into your head you looked at haru, he noticed your stare and looked at you lifting an eye brow, you just smiled at him and said.

"Hey haru gonna pick up makoto later at the swimming club?"

"Yeah"

"I wanna come!"

"Sure"

"Ehhhhhhh i wanna come tooo!!"

"You can't nagisa-kun we have to work at our homework together remember?"

"But rei-chan~"

"Nope"

It has been awhile since you last visited the local swimming club.

No scratch that it's been years actually, you became friends with haru,makoto, nagisa and rin because you guys were in the same swimming club when you were a kid. Luckily you guys have the same schedule so you really enjoyed playing with them not until middle school because you moved away due to your mom's new job, you were actually shocked being reunited with haru and makoto on your first year of high school after coming back and a year after nagisa joined in.

Rin is the only one missing and then there you met gou, rin's little sister same age as nagisa. Rin's changes really shocked you how he treats you guys after being reunited after many years. You were glad that all of them made up by simply breaking the rules, rin swimming in the relay with the three actually amused you for a second you thought he doesn't like his school and betrayed them to be honest. But all well ends well that's good enough for you.

"Then it's settled then I'll see you later makoto"

You stand up the four of them looked at you confused.

"Leaving already y/n-senpai?"

"Yeah i gotta finish something, haru let's meet at the park before we pick up makoto ok?"

"Ok"

Haru said while nodding. You looked at nagisa who is smiling brightly at you almost making you blind.

Damn that's bright.

You ruffled his hair.

"I'll get going now"

"Ok see you later y/n"

You smiled at makoto and nodded.

"Yeah see you."

You just finished your club activities pretty late so were running because God knows how haru might still be waiting for you, he's a man of his words.As you reach the park you can see haru standing there.

"HARU!!"

He turned around and saw you running towards him. As you finally reached him you were a mess, panting you had your head down and holding into your knees.

"Sorry...I'm late...club...finished...late"

You manage to say while catching your breath, you looked up and see the usual no expression of haru.

"It's ok"

As you gained your composure and finally breathing normally, you fixed yourself

"Let's go haru"

"Ok"

While you two were getting near the swimming club you noticed makoto was outside, you were about to call him but noticed that he's not alone he was talking to somebody.

"Hey who's that?"

You asked Haru but instead of answering your questions he walked up ahead and called out makoto.

"Makoto"

"Ah haru"

"Haru? Haruka Nanase?!"

You looked at them clearly not noticing you, you have a fair distance between them cause you don't want to interrupt their...reunion? They looked like they know each other as the pink haired boy swung his shoulders around haru. Are they childhood friends too? Like rin and nagisa? They look pretty close by the looks of it.

"Y/N"

You snapped out of your thoughts and looked at makoto who just noticed you. You smiled at him waving your hands as you slowly walked up to him.

"Hi makoto we came here to pick you up"

"Hahaha thank you"

You tilted your head as you scan makoto from head to toe noticing that he's still in his working uniform.

"Hmmm? You're already finished working right? Or did we get it wrong that you'll finished at this time?"

"No I'm already done working"

"I see"

You didn't noticed that a certain cotton candy boy was staring no actually admiring you while you were talking to Makoto. As you turned your head you accidentally making an eye contact with the cotton candy boy.

You were mesmerized by his indigo eyes as you looked at them, it was pretty in your opinion. Little did you know a small blush made its way to the cheeks of the boy.

You were surprised when haru suddenly appeared in front of you more like hiding you from his back as he frowned at the cotton candy boy.

"Haru?"

You said out of confusion, Makoto started to panic.

"Ahhh haru what are you doing?!"

"Um..."

"Ah right you two haven't met right?"

Makoto asked as he looked at you finally calming down. Suddenly the pink haired boy talked.

"I'm kisumi, Shigino Kisumi"

You peeked at behind haru as you looked at the smiling boy.

"Kiss me?"

"Hahaha no ki.su.mi not kiss me"

"Oh"

Slightly embarrassed as you suddenly blurted out your thoughts. You stand beside haru and introduced yourself

"I'm y/n l/n nice to meet you kisumi"

You smiled making the heart of kisumi a little jump, he thought that you're cute and pretty.

"You have a pretty smile y/n"

Shocked by his compliment you found yourself looking at his indigo eyes as they...sparkle? For some reason you swear you saw he's eyes sparkle.

"Thank you"

"Big brother!!"

The four of you looked where that voice came from and saw a cute little boy standing at the entrance.

"Ah i should get going"

"Your brother?"

He nodded at you, what a cute little brother.

"Anyways i better get going..."

Taking a few steps back he again looked at you and smiled.

"It's was nice meeting you y/n..."

Running backwards he waved before turning around.

"We should hangout sometimes you too makoto, haru! See ya!"

You waved at them as the siblings were already out of sight.

"Hmph"

"Haru?"

You looked at him confused by his sudden change of mood.

"Ah ahaha let's go"

Haru walked up ahead, you looked at Makoto raising an eyebrow at him

"What's up with him?"

"Ah just something"

Little did you know a certain raven boy also had a little crush on you.

Bonus

"Big brother why are you red?"

"Eh am i?!"

"Are you sick?"

"No of course not"

More like love sick actually.

"Say hayato what do you think if i get myself a girlfriend?"

"EH?!"

[vagabond-sol]

Innocent or Guilty: Cazhim

Asked someone to marry you?

"Hah? A romantic are you? Well, No. I can't say that I have. My partner knows how I feel with or without a ring. Though If we ever retire...perhaps." Cazhim appears tickled by your question though his expression grows more thoughtful towards the end. 

Kissed one of your friends?

"Yea. Several years back during the early years of my adventuring I had a different partner. A Miqo'te girl. After a while she said she wanted to sort some things out and being young and confused myself, I agreed. We got as far as a kiss but agreed that more wasn’t for us. We still talk but I'm pretty sure she's takin more of a liking to Viera women." Cazhim smiles and shakes his head. Clearly the two have quite a history.

Danced on a table in a bar or tavern?

"I prefer to watch the entertainment rather than be it. Besides those tables are for food not feet." Cazhim folds his arms as he gives his answer. Perhaps his meal has been the victim of a misplaced dance step or two? Might be best not to ask.

 Ever told a lie?

"Of course. Though I find it easier to omit the truth rather than come up with a lie. Keep em’ guessing. That's fun for all involved." He said, leaning forward in his chair as a rather mischievous grin crept across his face.

Had feelings for someone you can't have?

Cazhim tilted his head in minor confusion "No. Though I don't get all that romantic easily anyway."

Ever kissed someone of the same sex?

"Oh! I suppose I was not clear earlier. Xavier is my partner in combat but we are dating as well. We have been together for some time now so I can safely say we are both guilty of that. Cazhim readily replies. His smile a touch warmer than before. He seems pleased to speak more about his partner.

Kissed a picture?

"I have. Sometimes our tasks or...circumstances can keep Xavier and I apart. It helps." Cazhim answers, looking down at his hands for a moment. Clearly these circumstances he mentioned were less than pleasant. Maybe another question to lighten the mood?

Slept until 5pm?

"Hah. Never. Need to make the most of the daylight while we can right? Besides, I need to be awake to put together a proper meal for a certain scholar when he overworks himself again." He responds with his usual simper and calm tone. His mood seems to have improved a touch.

Worked at a restaurant?

"Yea...once." He chuckled, internally deciding how much to explain. "Lets just say that Momodi is a very kind woman and was nice enough to let me pay a debt with work rather than gil."

Stolen Something?

As Cazhim takes a sip of the tea he prepared he simply points at the spherical Allagan droid floating by from time to time. "Does that count? I mean they weren't using it." 

Been fired from a job?

"Nope. Though I'm sure I've gotten close once or twice at the Leatherworking Guild." He replies, looking off in to space as if remembering no small amount of close calls he may or may not have had.

Done something you regret?

"Just once and I intend to keep it that way." His gaze meets yours and lingers. You know better than to push for more details.

Laughed until something you were drinking came out of your nose?

Cazhim almost chokes on the tea he was drinking at the time as he hears the question. "N-no. Don't worry about it."

Caught a snowflake on your tongue?

"I have but I don't think I get the appeal. Its much more fun to just eat a handful, right?" He replied, obviously looking for validation.

Sat on a roof top?

"Often! Though the climb is the more interesting part...most of the time. There's almost always a fantastic view at the top as well! I think I have a few sketched here..." Cazhim begins pulling out a journal filled with notes and half-decent sketches of various places he's been. He seems eager to share.

Kissed someone you shouldn't have?

"...I believe we've covered this territory, my friend." He gives a slight nod with his answer but nothing more.

Sang in the shower?

"More of the humming type myself." he says with a smirk on his face.

Been pushed into a body of water?

"Many have tried....Many have failed." He answers as he relaxes back into his chair. His grin grows wider as he remembers past conquests.

Shaved your head?

"Gods no! I don't even want to think about it." Cazhim quickly responds, briefly running a hand through his short but well kept hair.

Made a boyfriend / girlfriend cry?

"I hope not, but I imagine if I ever shave my head I just might. Bleh!" It is clear both this question and the last are incredibly displeasing to him. Perhaps a new topic?

Shot a gun?

"Oh ho yes! Let me show you something." Cazhim stands up and excitedly leads you to a side room filled with boxes of tools, raw materials and a desk cluttered with a variety of design documents. "I dabble in the Machinist trade. I much prefer spit balling designs with the Boss back at Skysteel but every experiment needs a test phase! You should stop by the factory. The Boss always likes seeing new faces."

Still loved someone you shouldn't?

"No, but I can't say I've loved that many people. Especially not romantically." He seems more caught up in reorganizing his workshop then this particular question.

Have a tattoo?

"Not my thing. Clashes with my scales. I've seen some pretty cool ones on the other monks around though. Maybe I could engrave my revolver with one..." His focus is barely there. Perhaps it would be best to relocate.

Liked someone, but will never tell?

"Eh, life's too short for that. Might as well take your shot while you can. Worry too much and you're likely to make yourself sick with regret" He replies over his shoulder as he leads you back to the living room.

Been too honest?

"Honesty has never been an issue. As I said omission is a powerful tool." His mischievous smile returns along with his focus on your questions.

Ruined a surprise?

"Can't say that I have, luckily."

Been told you were beautiful by someone who totally meant it?

"A few times. It's nice to hear...even if its almost always out of the blue nowadays. Xavier tends to do that." He says with a warm smile on his face.

Stalked someone?

"Eh yea actually. A friend of mine had a hunch about one of our clients. Thought they weren't giving us all of the details. She was most certainly right. Luckily we sorted everything out."

Thought about murder?

"I assume you're referring to something more scandalous than what goes on in battle. If so: No. I've kept very few loose ends that need that kind of...attention." His tone makes it clear he is not pleased by this sort of question.

How about mass murder?

Cazhim stares at you for a moment before replying "I see no circumstance where I would need to."

Cheated on someone.

"No" he says almost before you finish speaking. He quickly downs his tea before standing to make more.

Gotten so angry that you cried?

"Yes, my friends are talented, dedicated and not afraid to risk life and limb at the drop of a hat. However; that doesn't always mean things will go their way. Sometimes it gets the in trouble. The sort of trouble I can't pull them back from..." He says while prepping a kettle. He does not turn to face you but you can tell a bad memory is on his mind.

Tried to stay away from someone for their own good?

"No. Only for my own good. Briefly." He says before placing another cup before you. He does not seem inclined to elaborate.

Thoughts about suicide?

Cazhim simply begins sipping from his own cup. A moment passes before waving a dismissive hand in your direction. Your question goes unanswered.

Had a girlfriend or boyfriend?

Cazhim scoffs but not with ill intent. "How about I say this instead. Yes, Xavier is the only person I've ever dated. Everything before has been more...temporary."

Gotten totally drunk during a holiday?

"I'm not much of a drinker. A spiked lemonade or a sip of spiced wine at most but that's mostly just for others who may get the wrong impression if I don't eat or drink at all."

 Whoa! Okay well that was loooong but fun! Helps me flesh out Caz's personality. I hope who ever decides to read this has fun and if you really like it then why not try it yourself? Thanks for tagging me: @windup-scholar Stop by their blog to see even better OC stuff. From Art to asks like this one. See ya.