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vemuabhi · 3 years

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Disney Romance - Cinderella’s Bird - 200 followers special

@littlesniggy said : Hey you! Now it's my turn to request something! Kida sad you don't write for Akainu but I can understand 😂 He's an asshole! If it hasn't been requested yet, would you do Mulan/Cinderella with Kid x female reader? I'm super excited which one you choose/ if you choose it at all! Thank you!

A/N : Omg thankyou so much for sending an ask @littlesniggy san!!! I am so excited to answer this for you! I loved writing for the grumpy boy. This was really a beautiful experience writing this for Eustass KIdd. Please don’t have high expectations for this.

Warning : A big fic written by me. But has a happy ending.

Word count : 2.7K

I hope you like it!

XOXOXOXO

“Why the hell should I get married now?”, you complained to your Robin who always was beside you, she was a maid but you always admired her and always treated her like a friend not like a maid.

Robin sighed and patted your head as she took the place beside you on the bed. “I should have the choice when I want to get married. Not some jerk who is randomly selected by my parents”, you scoffed and plopped back on the soft burgundy-coloured bedsheets. Robin gave you a sad smile and said, “That’s true. I too believe that marriage should be for Love”

Being a princess isn’t easy. Every girl dream to be a princess but its not as beautiful like the fairy tales are. You are a live example for that. Not once you could decide for yourself. Even the big puffy yellow gown you were wearing was not of your choice. The corset was killing you inside. You wanted to rip it off and throw it out of your window. With language classes, you always had dance classes, tea sessions, music classes. Everything that was chosen by your parents, was practically forced upon you.

‘What kind of lunatic needs to learn how to drink tea?’, you cursed the tea sessions when ever you were being called to it. All you did was brew tea and drink during the whole time. The music classes were always a hectic. You wanted to learn an instrument but when you were given another. Your wishes were denied because who cares about your dreams? In the beginning even dance classes were troublesome, But you tried to put up with all those demands of your parents. In return they are now trying to get you married as soon as possible.

“I’m done with this Robin”, you spoke and got up. “I’ll do whatever I want”, your voice was stern and Robin was curious on what you were about to do.

“Cancel todays classes, I’ll be going to visit the town to relieve my stress”, you announced briskly walking towards the closet.

“Are you sure your highness? But how can you go alone? You must have someone wit-”

“Robin! Its fine. I can take care of myself”, you didn’t let her finish her sentence. Throwing your corset on the floor and dressing up like a maid didn’t take long enough. You made your way towards the secret passage in the palace and exited the palace. Even though Robin was worried, she had to stay back in the castle to make sure no one notices your leaving.

The town and the market were as lively as ever and you walked around the place. As you kept walking, you saw a couple who looked very much in love. You felt a bit envious of them. At least the commoners had the freedom to do what they like. As you were walking aimlessly in the market, you bumped into a tall buff guy.

“Oh I’m sorry”, after apologising you thought of leaving but it didn’t go well.

“Hey! How can you go away like that?” the man started to fight with you. As you felt the very heavy scent of alcohol hit your nostrils, you knew that this man was heavily drunk.

“What? I apologised so what’s your problem now?” you questioned as your dominant hand slowly reached for the sword hidden in your skirt.

“You bitch how dare you speak back to me?” he raised his hand to land a hit on you but just when you were about to take out the sword, his had was stopped mid-air. You then saw a man who had red hair. As soon as the jerk saw that man, it seemed like his senses came back to him again.

“Asshole! Didn’t I tell you this is my shop and never make a scene in front of it”, the man shouted at the rogue twisting his arm. He winced in pain as he apologised and ran away.

The red haired man went into a shop, what seemed like a shop of vegetables and fruits. ‘Was he a farmer?’, you thought and followed him. Looking inside, there were so many fresh vegetables and also fruits in the shop.

“What do you want?”, a sharp voice questioned making you turn towards the owner of the voice. It was the same red head from before.

“Uh, I… I’m here to buy”, you said and looked around again trying to seem convincing. He huffed and sat on a chair fiddling with something which seemed like a machine. Your interest perked up and you asked him, “What are you making?”, moving closer to take a peek at the machine.

“Why should I tell you?”, he spat but as he looked at your face, he noticed that your eyes were sparkling with curiosity and interest.

“Tsk”, he clicked his tongue and explained about the way he wanted to make a machine bird as you listened to him carefully. He kept telling you how helpful machines would be if used in the correct way.

“But, don’t you think, this material you are using to make this bird is kinda… cheap and looks like its gonna break soon?”, you questioned for which he frowned and replied, “Don’t you think I already know that? I… I just don’t have the money”, mumbling the last part.

“Oh! I got an idea. Listen to me, uhh..”

“Eustass Kidd”

“So, Kidd As this bird is still in the beginning process, I’ll bring you the material tomorrow. Till then don’t touch this. Okay now I need to leave. I’ll be taking this basket here”, you said and took a basket of strawberries and tossed a coin to him.

“HEY WAIT!! YOU DIDN’T EVE- and she’s gone”, still with that grumpy look Kidd took his screw driver to continue working on the bird. But he remembered you telling him to wait till tomorrow. So he sat back in his chair and exhaled.

“Its not because she told me to wait. I… I want to continue this tomorrow”, he huffed and folded his hands. Then he remembered about the coin you threw.

He opened his palm and his eyes widened as he looked at the coin. It was a gold coin. A freaking gold coin for a basket of strawberries.

“No way. What the heck is she thinking?”, he carefully placed it back in the locker and thought to give it back to you tomorrow.

At the castle you came back and continued with your remaining day. You should leave tomorrow. So you need to make plans.

“Robin I need you to do something for me”, you explained how you needed high quality metal and also the timings of classes to be shifted. So, it did happen and you had continuous morning classes without breaks but, you were a free after them and it made you to take material Kidd wanted to make the bird. Changing out from your attire of a princess you went to the same shop as yesterday. There you found the man coming towards you as if he was waiting for you all along.

“I got the material you need”, you said as you placed it beside his table where the bird was supposed to be made.

“Were you waiting for me? Sorry I was late”, you said and he instantly replied, “Wha- Who was waiting for you?”

“Ah ok”, you muttered as you saw him instantly looking and taking the material with a faint pink shade on his cheeks. He looked just like a child exited to play with his toys.

“Where the hell did you even get these? These are clearly expensive?”, his sudden questions made your thoughts to break.

“Ah… I got it from the Kings dumpster”, you made the blankest expression trying to hide your lie.

“Kings Dumpster?! The King threw away this metal when it’s like this?”, he asked as his brows raised when you just nodded.

“Tsk… and here I am, trying to get re-rid of rust from metal. Using them for the 100th time”, he huffed.

You both sat opposite to each other and he worked on the bird as you learned about the work he was doing. Helping him with giving the appropriate tool at times, you had more fun than you ever had in your life. He tried to return the gold coin but you didn’t take it and made a deal to take vegetables or fruits in return, for which he agreed. You both fist bumped as an agreement of the deal.

From that day, you made your way out of the castle to meet Kidd. Surprisingly, he always waited for you to come to work on the bird. Meanwhile he somewhere started to call you little lady and you actually liked it. It became a routine for you to take a basket of veggies or fruits every time you left the shop. Sometimes he’d you’d tag along with him to his small farm. He was totally proud of his farm. His eyes showed it. Where you knew you never felt that feeling that he was feeling. Never once in your life you felt you were proud of something you did. He was living a complete different life than yours. You found your heart skip a beat every time Kidd smiled. You liked him.

Kidd was unique. He was terrible in showing his emotions but he was a good person. Every time you left the castle for him, seemed right. You actually felt happy seeing him and working with him. But of course, this happiness didn’t last long. Your parents wanted you to get married soon and told you to pick a groom for yourself in the ball that is going to be hosted next week. Bloody next week.

Because of the ball, you had to take even more classes for walking like a princess and also more fashionistas coming to find the perfect gown for you. Due to those, you couldn’t meet Kidd for 4 days.

Meanwhile, Kidd waited for you staring at the front door of his shop. Whenever the door opened, he met with disappointment because it wasn’t you. He couldn’t even continue on his bird. He had doubts on his feelings for you but now, it was clear for him that he liked you. Your thoughts haunted him. His heart earned for you. Only for you to return.

After a long hard day of work, you sneaked out of the castle in the evening and went to Kidd’s shop. You opened the door and your eyes met with Kidds. You both stared at eachother for a few seconds before he spoke.

“Come in”, you obliged and walked into the shop towards the desk where you both made bird. It was just like it was 3 days ago. “You didn’t continue to make the bird?”, you inquired as he just turned away and shook his head as he scratched the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact.

“Kidd, its late and I have to leave soon so listen to me”, his vision shifted to you as he gulped.

“But you just came, why do you have to leave?” he asked as he approached you and placed his hands on your shoulder.

“Aww did you miss me?” you tried to tease him but this time, he neither denied nor looked away from you blushing. He stayed silent for a while before he said, “I did”

You didn’t even expect that from Kidd. His hands travelled down from your shoulders to your hands. “I did miss you. So much that I couldn’t even touch that bird”, He looked serious. He placed one hand on your chin and looked into your eyes.

“I didn’t… I didn’t think your thoughts would haunt me that much when you didn’t come. I… I didn’t know when, why or how. But I know that, I have feelings for you little lady”, his voice trembled as he spoke the last bit.

“Kidd are you serious?” you asked placing a hand on his cheek. He leaned into your touch and nodded. His eyes looked desperate for your answer. Pulling him towards you, you connected your lips with his. The kiss was gentle and with so much of emotion.

Both pulled away to look into each other’s eyes. “I have feelings for you too Kidd”, you smiled and Kidd’s face lit up making you smile in return. He leaned and touched your forehead with yours and exhaled with relief. “Can I request you something Kidd?”, you asked and he nodded.

“Can you come to the castle this coming Wednesday?”

“To the castle? Why?”

“There is a ball going to be held and I want you to come”, you said and stepped back, away from his touch. “Now it’s my turn to wait for you, I should tell you something. So please come”, the last part sounded more like a pleading and with that you left the shop.

Kidd didn’t knew why you had to leave so early. His heart was beating so fast. Confused whether whatever happened now was real or not. He sat on his chair unable to remove your pleading face from earlier. Kidd looked at the bird which was unfinished and took the screw driver to continue working on it. Its been a while since he alone worked on something. It wasn’t a new feeling for him but still, he preferred to talk and have you around while he made it.

The day of the ball arrived. You wore your outfit and looked out the window at the crowd of people came to the castle. Men and women from so many places arrived there. With the help of Robin you made sure that when Kidd comes, he wouldn’t be stopped by any of the guards. The time was almost running out. The first dance was supposed to be started soon but you couldn’t find Kidd anywhere.

Your parents were urging you to find a partner and start the first dance. ‘So Kidd isn’t coming’, you thought and tilted your head up to prevent the tears falling out from your eyes. You pinched your skin trying to distract the pain away. Stepping on the ball room in your burgundy coloured dress, you walked with a straight face. Then suddenly your eyes fell on a person, who was trying to not be visible in the crowd but, his hair was definitely saying otherwise. You swiftly made your way towards that person.

People cleared way for you and it didn’t take long for you to meet the person with the red hair. He was wearing golden coloured suit and his hair was combed back neatly. He looked different but it was him. His cheeks turned the same colour of his hair. You chuckled and took his hand, pulling him towards the middle of the ball room. You placed your hands on his shoulder and pulled him closer to you. His hand trembled before he placed it on your waist. With that the music played and you both danced, with other people also dancing.

“Why didn’t you come to me?”

“How could I? You are a princess and why didn’t you tell me you were a princess?”

“Would you even talk to me like you did if you knew I were a princess?”

“That’s… true but… now here I am, with the princess Y/N in my arms”, he said pulling you closer. You giggled and pushed back the strand of hair which was on his forehead. You both smiled at each other and continued dancing. After the first dance, he pulled you away from the ball room and you followed. He walked towards the garden where no one was and took out something from under the bench.

“What did you bring?”, you asked. He turned and showed it to you. Your eyes went wide looking at the bird that he brought.

“You made her at last!” you exclaimed as he looked down shyly. “Yeah kind of made it. I wanted to show it to you today”

“I love it so much”, you said as you took it in your hands. It was your memory. The time you spent making it with Kidd. It was precious to you two.

“Keep it. It’s yours now”, he said as he smiled.

“Really?! I will take care of it so well”, you replied and jumped on him making him catch you quickly. You looked at him and leaned in for kissing him again. Now, it was passionate. No one to intrude as you were alone. Smiling you pulled back and leaned your forehead with his.

You now found a grumpy man, who would understand you and would really be the reason for you to smile.

Made with picrew

XOXOXOXO

I hope you liked it. Thankyou for reading.

A comment, Like/Vote, Reblog/Share would be appreciated!!

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mikadokyun · 2 years

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All the scenes with Izaya and Mikado: BOOK 1

I have always wanted to make series like this, so i did. I decided to make one for every book that has scenes with Izaya and Mikado in them. I will refer to the official English translation. The scenes which i will include involve interactions, but also scenes where Izaya thinks about Mikado and vice versa, and the scenes where other characters think about their interactions.

This post might seem like a shippy one, but i’m trying to keep it as neutral as possible, so people who do not ship the two, can also read it for reference or what not. I will just list the scenes without my own opinions or bias mixed in.

- Kida mentions Mikado about Izaya Orihara being a dangerous entity and Mikado comments on how Izaya’s name is weird and Kida comments back on if Mikado should be the one saying that.

- Right after Mikado thinks that Kida is someone he respects, it is described how “all of that was destroyed as a fresh new maelstrom of anxiety and excitement burst into life” and Izaya appears right after this.

- Mikado meets Izaya.

It was a very pleasant voice, crisp and clear and vibrant, as though being hailed by the pure blue sky itself. Mikado turned the same way and saw a young man with an equally pleasant face. He looked soft and gentle, but with a bold, intrepid edge—a perfect materialization of some ideal of handsomeness. His eyes were warm and all-accepting but glinted with a hard scorn of anything that wasn’t himself. His outfit, while possessing its own personality, did not show off any obvious features or characteristics. All in all, he was very difficult to grasp or classify. Even his age was indistinct based on appearance alone. He had to be more than twenty at least, but there was no way to tell anything beyond that.

The man looked at Mikado, and for an instant, their eyes met. Normally, Mikado would look away shyly, but this time he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He felt as though if he broke that contact, his entire existence would be denied, negated. Mikado didn’t know why he felt this way—the man’s gaze simply held him in place with its breathtaking sharpness.

(As Izaya introduces himself) Everything clicked into place for Mikado. The man not to get involved with. The man not to make an enemy out of. But the fellow standing before him didn’t seem all that dangerous. Aside from his sharp gaze and handsome features, he seemed like any other young man. Even his plain, glossy black hair stood out amid all the bleached and dyed hair around him. He looked like the kind of sharp young man that would be teaching at a cram school out in the country somewhere.

He’s more normal than I expected, Mikado thought, and decided to introduce himself.

- Izaya comments on how Mikado’s name reminds him of an air conditioner.

- Izaya after the karaoke scene:

“I can’t wait. I can’t wait. I can’t wait. Despite being an information agent, there’s still so much of this town that I know nothing about being born and then disappearing. This is why I can’t help but live here where all the people are! I love people! I just love human beings! I love ’em! Which is why people should love me back.”

Izaya pulled his PDA out of his breast pocket. He turned it on, opened up the address book, and scrolled until he found the entry he wanted. The name of the person was grandiose and ostentatious.

“Mikado Ryuugamine, ” the boy he had just met earlier that day.

- Izaya pushing Mikado in the middle of the bullies, and then after the phone-stomping scene, saying this until being interrupted:

Unperturbed by any of this, Izaya addressed the boy slowly and deliberately. “Mikado Ryuugamine, our meeting was no coincidence. I was searching for you.” “Huh?”

- Celty with Shizuo wondering on why Izaya is in Ikebukuro, for two days in a row, and then remembers that they had seen him with Mikado before.

- Izaya arriving at the school gate of Raira waiting for Mikado:

“Heya, it’s too bad we were interrupted yesterday. I don’t think we have to worry about our friend Shizu butting in here. I thought it would be rude to look up your address and barge in, so I decided to lie in wait at the school entrance instead, ” he said, smiling all the while.

Mikado didn’t know why Izaya was smiling or what reason he would have to seek him out. But that actually wasn’t true—he knew of one possible reason.

Mikado couldn’t openly acknowledge it, though. He clenched a fist.

- When Izaya and Celty are following Mikado, this short moment:

And with that awkward farewell, Mikado quickly left the scene. As he suspected, the shadow and villain followed him. Once a safe distance away from the school, he timidly turned back and decided that Izaya was more likely to understand him.

“Umm… I don’t know what’s going on here… But if you’d like, we can go back to my…”

- Izaya watching Mikado in his apartment with Celty as Mikado reveals his true nature:

Celty watched him curiously. In contrast, Izaya was like a hunter watching over rare prey, his sharp eyes gleaming wickedly.

“You know, I had my doubts, ” the information broker started.

- Celty investigating Izaya and Mikado on the scene

Izaya patted Celty on the shoulder and boasted as though he’d just found a new toy. “Jackpot.”

Celty looked back and forth between the two, unsure of what Izaya meant. She didn’t know what had just happened, but she could tell that Izaya was more excited now than she’d ever seen before. And even more excited was Mikado Ryuugamine.

- Izaya talking to Mikado after the scene with Namie about how Mikado needs to evolve, and then later saying how he has observed Mikado over the internet as Kanra.

“If you truly want to escape the ordinary, you’ll simply need to keep evolving—whether what you seek is above or below.”

To finish off, he patted Mikado’s shoulder and said, “Enjoy your normality. Out of respect, I’ll let you have Namie Yagiri’s phone number absolutely free. And I’ll even refrain from selling the intel that you’re the founder of the Dollars. It’s your organization. Use it when you want to use it.”

- Mikado thinking about Izaya’s words towards the end of the book before confessing to Anri.

“You ’ll simply need to keep evolving,” echoed Izaya’s words in his head.

Fine, then, I will evolve. I’ll find out just how much I can evolve within the ordinary world I’ ve been given—and then I’ll show it to him.

- The mention in the end about the chatroom:

Figures, Mikado snorted to himself, then took a look in the chat room he visited just about every day—the chat room that Izaya had invited him to, using the nickname Kanra.

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regalia-solvieg · 2 years

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A Mother / Daughter Talk

While Tatsu was down in the infirmary talking to Noel, Chiyo had decided to come upstairs to Kida’s room to talk to her. She also wanted to know what happened... but had decided to let the Princess rest for awhile before doing so.

Instead she had taken the time to make sure Noel was tucked in and in the care of the Healers and had everything he needed, and then sent word to Tatsu that Noel and Kida had been caught out all night in the rain and that Noel got sick from it. She had felt terrible about it, but she knew that Tatsu would want to know.

It was late evening when she finally heard word that Kida was up, and went upstairs to talk to her. Sure enough, she found Kida in her quarters, seated on an overstuffed chair in a warm chemise gown, and reading an old book. The Princess looked up as Chiyo entered, and then gently put down her book.

~~~

“Sorry to bother you sweetheart,“ The Empress greeted at she walked across the room towards Kida.

Kida watched her come without a word. She had technically been awake for hours now, but she did not want anyone to know yet. When she was ready to see people though - her Mother was the first one on her list.

She watched as the Empress sat down across from her, and looked at her with an almost sad look.

“How are you feeling?“ The Empress asked, “I am well.“ Kida replied.

There was a moment of awkward silence that fell over the room for a moment, before the Empress added, “It appears Noel caught a cold. I am not surprised with how you two were out all night.” She paused again, and then sighed deeply, “You worried me - worried all of us.” “My apologies, I went out to investigate an old well and we got caught in a squall.” “I understand that, but how did you end up alone?” Chiyo chastised, “How did you get separated?”

Kida thought she was prepared for this question, but when it came to talking about it, she sighed, “I am not sure.... well, I mean...” She paused, “Mother... he proposed to me. Or more so, asked what I would do if he proposed.” “And?” The Empress asked.

Kida looked up at her with a rather surprised look, “And?” The surprised look faded and she looked away, “And I was not expecting that, so I left.” “He proposed to you?” There was mixed emotion in the Empress’s voice. Kida wasn’t sure how to respond to that, and looked away, “...Yes.” “And that was a bad thing?” The Empress asked, “Bad enough for you to run out alone into a storm?”

Kida looked back at her Mother with a look of utter disbelief, “Yes!” “Why is that?“ The Empress pressed, “He obviously cares about you if he asked you a question like that. And didn’t he confess to you a year ago? Why, just one month ago you told me you didn’t care who you married as long as it benefited the Empire and wanted me to choose someone for you?“

Kida stared at her Mother and felt a knot form in her stomach. She felt like she had a bluff that was being challenged and did not like the feeling at all. She crossed her arms, “Well... yes. I did. But I fail to see how Noel will benefit the Empire.” “Noel has access to technology and resources from another World. Certainly things that he can bring to the aid of the Empire should the need arise.“ The Empress pointed out, “And on another hand, I do not see a need for me to find a future suitor by my eighteenth birthday.“ Kida continued as if she hadn’t heard her Mother speak. There was a sharpness in her tone that she hadn’t expected and it startled her slightly, but she was too angry to stop now, “I understand that with Father gone that you are worried about the succession, but I do not think you need to worry about that so much-“ “I am not worried about the succession!“ The Empress cut in.

Tears were already filling the Empress’s eyes and she leaned forward to put a hand on Kida’s knee, “Please don’t think that way. Kida... I love you so much. You don’t understand how much this pains me, but its for your own good.” “My own good?“ Kida balked, “You do not have to lie to me. I am a Princess, and I know my role in society. I know what is expected of me.“ “Its not about the succession!“ The Empress repeated with a cry. “Then tell me what it is about then.“ Kida snapped. Her voice had raised loud enough that she nearly shouted it, “If its not, then tell me why you are so worried about my marriage!“

The Empress looked stunned for a moment, and then looked away, “I-I can’t...” “Tell me!“ Kida snarled.

Something seemed to break in the Empress’ eyes, and tears finally escaped her eyes and drained down her cheeks, “Alright... you do deserve to know... but Kida... my darling daughter... what I have to tell you could change everything - everything about how you view yourself, your future... even down to your core. I need to know you are actually ready to know...”

A chill washed down Kida’s spine, and her anger immediately dissipated. She leaned back in her chair, and let out a deep sigh. Gently, she placed her hands on her knees, and looked out across to her Mother, “Tell me.”

So the Empress did. She too leaned back in her chair, and told her everything...

“And that is why... in one months time - you will either marry Noel if he will still have you, or an alternate suitor I have chosen... unless you choose someone for yourself between now and then.“ The Empress finished with a sob after her long explanation

This time, Kida didn’t argue. She just closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath.

The Empress was right. After knowing the truth... nothing would ever be the same again.

#not going to go into the explanation here so I can do a full length 'flashback' leading into it in a seperate post after I've had some sleep #muahahaha!#long post #really long post #related to a thread with #hygefrymm

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diavolodigitale · 3 years

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L’appel Du Vide: 00 Despicable Him

It took me a whole goddamn year to finally win the fight I fought against myself and start posting this story. I have 7 complete chapters written already but now cannot seem to find the strength to continue, so I was hoping releasing it into the world would give me a nice boost. Anyway, my friends enjoyed the story so if in reality it turns out to be bad, it’s obviously their fault, not mine ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Rhys is the CEO of Atlas and Jack's AI is back, surprise, surprise! Now Rhys is dismayed, Jack doesn't care much, and the events of Borderlands 3 are just beginning to unravel. Is there any way to fix the plot of this game? Would it be any better if Rhys had to cooperate with Jack this whole time? Well, this is your chance to find out!

Spoiler: yes, dammit, it would. Everything's better with a bit of Handsome Jack in it.

Genres: Fix-It, Developing Relationship, Alternate Canon, POV Third Person, Humor, Drama, Plot-driven (kind of? well, it has plot)

Pairing: Handsome Jack’s AI/Rhys (this is only the 1st chapter so don’t expect much yet)

Characters: Handsome Jack’s AI, Rhys

Rating: M for Mature but not in this chapter lol

Size: around 2500 words (chapter 1/11)

Rhys’s office was great. He liked to sit in his big executive’s chair and dreamily look outside instead of doing the paper work. The view was also great. Well, kind of.

What did not seem so great, however, was the war he had been recently dragged into by the Maliwan corporation. He didn’t like being involuntarily involved into global affairs, especially those that had something to do with fusions or takeovers. The situation his company was in was bothering him at the moment, so he took a deep thoughtful breath and continued staring into the window.

“Hey, kiddo,” said the voice of somebody who definitely could not be in Rhys’s office neither at this given moment nor at any other time. Rhys was almost sure in his sanity so he proceeded to ignore the not-uttered words, although he, for some unknown reason, became visibly shaken.

“He-e-ey,” said the voice with those familiar little notes of annoyance that would let the hearer know that the person speaking clearly didn’t like being ignored.

A half-transparent blue hand waved in front of Rhys’s face, and he totally lost it.

Still somehow managing to remain seated in his chair, Rhys jerked back and rolled right through the blue figure formerly standing behind him.

“Wha…” muttered Rhys, barely able to speak at all, “Jack? What are you… I mean, how… I mean, is that really you?”

“Calm down, Rhysie,” said Jack with the same smug expression on his face – perhaps, the only thing that was unchangeable apart from his self-confidence, principles, self-esteem, disrespect for the others, sly nature, and, well, many, many other things really. “I get it, you’re happy to see me, but gosh, have some self-respect!”

Rhys was still confused, so after a few seconds of silence Jack felt the need to add, “Of course, it’s me”.

“But I thought you’re…”

“Dead? Gone? Dead and gone?” Jack clicked his tongue three times. “I thought, you knew me better, Rhysie. I thought, you’d welcome me with your arms wide open. Are you not happy to see me?”

“I am,” Rhys started nodding zealously and clenched his fists tight, hoping that Jack wouldn’t notice he was shaken. “But I don’t understand. What happened…”

“What happened was a mistake. I was gone for a while, but now I’m here to stay.” Jack leaned towards Rhys’s face and smiled. It was in no way an amiable smile. His glowing eyes reminded those of a vulture watching his prey. He already started to smell fear in the air.

“And where exactly is here?” asked Rhys with the last glimmer of hope fading from his voice. More than anything now he wished for the story not to repeat itself, but it was not like he had a choice or something.

Jack only tapped on Rhys’s temple with his index finger and leaned back. Rhys didn’t feel the touch but the gesture itself made him uncomfortable. He knew what it meant, unfortunately.

Jack jumped onto the table of the CEO of Atlas and crossed his legs and arms, waiting.

Rhys swallowed loudly. This was not great at all. He was sure his head was clear from this phantom and there was nothing to worry about. He was sure he would never again be convinced to go against his nature and pursue the world domination. Or any kind of domination. He was sure, but whenever it came to Jack, he was a defeatist.

“This can’t be true. I don’t believe you came back. I must’ve hit my head or I’m just seeing things…” Rhys’s voice quavered in disbelief when he spoke.

“Now-now, honey, no need to worry so much. You know I don’t like it when you wince, it makes you look older. Seeing me here must make you feel sorry for what you’ve done, but you should know that I don’t hold any grudge. Actually, I’m kida proud of you, you know. It only proves I was right all along,” said Jack roguishly. His manner of speech made his words sound benign, as if he was forgiving sins during the confession. Rhys was still not buying it.

“I did what I had to, what you made me do! If anything, it was YOUR fault, YOU betrayed me, so don’t you try making ME responsible for everything! I don’t know what kind of mind game this is, but I know you can’t be here.”

As Jack opened his mouth to yet again say something pricky, Rhys, still sitting in his chair and tightly gripping its arms, yelled at top of his lungs, “Begone! Begone, foul apparition!”.

The apparition sat on the table, sandbagged and with a dropped jaw, for a few moments and then uttered “Wow. Just wow. I’ve always known you’re weird, but this is just… wow. Are you on drugs or something? I’m not judging, you just seem really… deranged? I wanna say deranged, but I’m not sure it’s the right word.”

Rhys snuffled resentfully and looked at Jack with a brooding expression on his face. “You won’t go?” he asked, not really hoping anymore.

“Nope, kiddo. Everything’s gonna be just like the good old times – me as a hero and you as a… as a… I dunno, a less attractive sidekick?” Rhys quietly sighed, holding his head in his hands. “We’re gonna hang out, kill bandits, save the world, and I will always, always be at your side. I’ll make sure of that.”

“I killed you, Jack. I destroyed you. I ripped you out of my body, tore you apart and threw you away from my memory. Nothing’s gonna be the same anymore, you know that.”

“No, Rhys, I was killed by some OTHER goddamn crappy bags of… ugh, I’m not even gonna bother with that. You and me just had a misunderstanding. Often happens between two forceful promising personalities, like between me and the previous Hyperion CEO. Oh, wait, no,”–Jack scratched his head and furrowed his eyebrows–“no, I killed him, that’s a bad example. Anyway, you know what I mean.”

“I smashed my fucking arm to get rid of you! You,”–Rhys pointed his cybernetic finger at Jack–“are the only one who is insane here if you think that’s nothing. We both know what we did, Jack. Whatever you want, I’m not helping you. The last time I tried, you took control of me and tried to end my life.”

Jack’s expression turned from stolid to menacing as fast as gray clouds cover the sun and it starts raining in summer. He wanted to be good, he really believed that he did.

“Why do you always have to be so stubborn?” he hissed at Rhys. “I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want me to. No matter how much I don’t want to admit it, I’m dependent on you, you little whiny coward, so do me a favor – be a good boy and listen to what daddy has to say. You kept your eye implant, didn’t you? Don’t even try arguing with me, I know you did. It was your decision to leave it be, so it’s you who brought me here. I’m grateful for that and I promise not to be nasty. No taking over bodies and no homicidal tendencies. Well, at least when it comes to you, pumpkin.”

“…Okay,” fumbled Rhys. Even though he didn’t believe this was really the case, he knew disputing with Jack never solved anything anyway. “Although… I didn’t really use the chip afterwards. I don’t know how you’ve found out I had kept it, but I surely wasn’t that stupid so as to put it back into my head after what you had done. I really want to know how you’ve managed to–”

“We all have our secrets, Rhysie. But enough about me, let’s talk about you.” Jack gave Rhys a wink. “How’ve ya been? Must admit, I fell out of the loop and now need an update,” he said petulantly. Now he was idly looking around as if he had lost all interest in what was happening.

Rhys decided to let go of his worries for now. If he couldn’t make Jack talk, his only option was to gain his trust once again and find out how he survived. Or if he did at all. Just be composed, not the worst scenario you’ve ever been in, he said to himself.

“Um, actually, I’m great. This is my office and… We’re doing fantastically if you disregard the fact that we’re at war with Maliwan and currently I am occupied with this new–”

“Yeah-yeah, okay, what was there about a war? I don’t remember Maliwan scum being at least somehow dangerous. How did you even manage to mess this up?”

Rhys stood up from his huge chair, arms akimbo, eyes disdainfully narrowed, and went on with his story, affronted and even a little peevish.

“As I was saying, I’m working on a new plan right now. At this point I’m pretty fed up with Katagawa, this new CEO of Maliwan,”–definitely peevish right now–“Oh, in fact, I just hate him so much!”–now even irate–“The day he murdered all his siblings, he just mobilized his fleet and went straight to my planet! Who in the right mind does that? Could’ve sent a message at least. Anyway,”–Rhys hid his hands into his pockets and sunk back into his chair, having lost all his righteous anger–“he wants our corporations to merge, to fuse, as he says, to become one.” The irritation on Jack’s face was becoming more distinct with every word Rhys said. “He wants me to sign the deal and share my developments with him, can you believe it? That greedy bastard!”

“Proposals like that don’t just come out of nowhere. Seems like he’s been watching you. This Katagawa guy, what does he offer you in return? Money, contacts, tech?”

“Himself, I guess,” said Rhys without any second thought.

“What?” asked Jack contemptuously. He was already close to seeing red. Rhys forgot how it worked with him.

“He said we would become partners, but I think it’s all lies to make it seem pretty. I suspect he will simply take control of Atlas and our new shiny guns, and all my work will be wasted.”

“I see, no one can trick our Rhysie,” said Jack, grinning. “Thank god, at least some good news.”

“That’s right!” said Rhys, perhaps, more enthusiastically than he should have. “No one,” he added more quietly. Except for you, you snake, muttered the inner voice inside his head.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something this whole time. Funny how I really haven’t been here for long, but you know. May I?”

Jack’s incisive manner of speech was absent, so Rhys took his guard down for a moment, getting the feeling that this conversation was like one of those they used to have before – unbraced and at times even innocuous.

“I know what’s on your mind, Jack,” he said, heartfelt and certain.

“You do?” Jack undoubtfully seemed surprised at his interlocutor’s insight.

“Yes. I’ve noticed how you look at me and I know exactly what you want to ask.” Rhys made himself more comfortable in the chair, crossed his legs and sat straight, in a more business-like manner. “This,”–he made a vague hand gesture around the area of his mouth–“is a siege mustache. Shh, let me finish, you can’t say anything I haven’t heard about it before. My troops love it, and as a good commander, I do what I can to boost morale on the battlefield. Of course, I don’t go out there, but they are happy enough when they see my hologram. A-a-and, now you can talk. I guess. If you want to. By the way, I don’t care if you hate it, it’s my face so–”

“You know what? I love it. Love it. Never thought I would say that, but I am saying it right now, so here you are. The second rule of a successful boss – do what the fuck you wanna do with your face. The first one is murder the previous boss, of course.”

“Really?” gingerly asked Rhys, who, in reality, had never heard anything good about his poor moustache.

“Really. But I must upset you, Rhysie. This is not what was bothering me. You see, there’s this other little thing, pretty close in its significance to your moustache.”

“Oh,” uttered Rhys nonchalantly, “what is it?”

“Hyperion. What’s with it? What’s with MY Hyperion, Rhysie?”

At the sound of that very word Rhys hunched in his chair and felt as if he was reducing in size under Jack’s cold gaze.

“After what had happened… the Helios was destroyed and everything collapsed and…”

Rhys sat silent, not able to go on, and this was the last thing he should’ve done. Jack was not in the mood for such a behavior.

“Look me square in my fucking translucent eyes, Rhys, and tell me – what is with my Hyperion?” yelled Jack.

He still sat on the table quite far from Rhys, but it seemed like the room suddenly shrunk and he was right in front of him. Jack was a ghost, a phantom, not able to do anything, not able to inflict any damage or even touch him, but Rhys sensed the danger. No matter in what form, Handsome Jack was still Handsome Jack.

“I don’t know. I guess, somebody took control of it after I left. The weapons are still being manufactured, but I didn’t bother to find out who was the next in line after Helios was… after I destroyed Helios.”

Rhys exhaled loudly and averted his eyes from Jack. Oh, yes, making Jack angry is much easier than making him proud, how could I forget, he thought.

“I see. I didn’t doubt for a second you would do that to infuriate me. Believe it or not, this is the first time I’d rather be disappointed. But you know what? It doesn’t matter now. Now we’re bonding,” Jack sucked the air through his teeth, “now we’re rebuilding what was destroyed like a family we are. Isn’t that great? Look at us, two best buddies exchanging the latest news.”

“And you promised not to be nasty this time...?” Rhys made a feeble attempt to save himself and remind Jack about the terms under which he was allowed to accompany him.

“Yes, Rhysie, and you know damn well I keep my promises.”

And he did. But only when he promised to kill somebody.

#Borderlands #Borderlands 3 #Tales from the Borderlands #Handsome Jack #Handsome Jack's AI #Rhys #rhys strongfork #Handsome Jack x Rhys #fiction #fanfiction #fix-it #alternate canon #drama #humor #romance #L’appel Du Vide story

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marshmallowprotection · 3 years

Note

Hello, maybe you coukd give me some tips. I send you that ask already but it means ght be deleted by tumblr and it was all messy and ugly.

So I have one childhood friend, we used to do everything together till highschool. Often she was my only friend, like now. We slowly started to distance from each other sonce she has a boyfriend. For all those years I did my best to accept him and all, told myself that duh she is not obliged to spent time only with me even in situation when she spent less and less time with me. Sometime I had a bit trouble to fully accept bf because sometime when they argued she was venting to me and I felt like his is hurting her but she refused to break up with him. Boy eas very insecure, no friends and so on and one day around graduating junior hight school she wanted to break up with him but he said something like he is gonna hurt himself if she will, or just drop out the school. So she wanted to wait at least until he graduate, but she waited longer. Then just after we graduated hightschool she broke up with him like she had enought. It was prolly a mistake but after she vent I said one or two things about him concerning past events and I said 'wow finally'. After a while they made up and she said she just missend him. I promissed mtself I will never comment whatever she tell me about them, unless in a good way.

Well... the point is that I am probably jellous, that she doesnt want to spent time with me anymore. Alway if I ask her out I give her to eventually pick the date, if nit today then maybe tomorrow etc y know introvert way :D And im trying to save this friendship? She is not the person busy 24/7, unless maybe when she is in uni or we count playing games as being busy. I play games too sometime.

Sometime it seems like she tries to avoid me and dont want to tell me anything. One day I was talking to her in cafee and she was just fidgeting with her phone. She didnt even like heck the socialmedia, just switching between random (system?) folders on the phone. When I asked abt it why she doesnt listen, she said she wanted to do sth but forgot what. Another time I havent seen her for months and she alway soent holidays 1 month her bf comes to her (he lives abroad already I guess) and I dont want to disturb them of feel like third wheel and the other month she come to him. So like week before she pnanned to go I asked her to go out next day. She said she cant. So asked another day, she answered : but I go to my bf. So I surprised that its that soon and sad I missed the oportunity: oh really? When? She: on Friday me: but its Monday(?)(no answer) so...? She: ught I know ;;; but lately I dont really feel like going anywhere :(

Well... maybe I'm childish but I felt sad.

I'm also jellous that they even celebrate each others bdays altought she never do that bc of religious reasons and I've always respected that.

Once I asked her what is with us, we barely talk for last few years and I feel like she is avoiding me. She had no Idea what I was talking about, she felt like everything was the same.

I was told to not have much hope or expectations toward her bu maybe try to text her or maybe arrange a meeting once in a while and try not to become bitter.

The other one sait that that how adulthood looks like, we become busier with private issues and so on and I may act childish and selfish, but as far as I know except for time she go to uni or to her bf she is not that busy, definitely not that busy not to have time to meet with me more than once in a whole year (or none) when we live ~20min apart by foot. I dont want to be burden to anyone or feel like third wheel so I dunno what to do. I have problem with finding friends, she was my only one friend (?) for years. I dont trust ppl easly

I wanted to do more things together outside since we both used to or still do soent too much time on the computer but well... you know, together is easier.

Since I have to do it on my own maybe you have some ideas? Thats stupid wuestion I guess since you dont know my environment. Jogging and biking wont work I guess since I dont have proper bike. I wanted to plant some flowers but I was afraid I screw everything up since im kida kid who grow up in the bubble and Im not sure how to do basics and nobody wanted to help me and its too late already... Walk is fine but I prefer places far from road and since I'm not supposed to go to the forest that I love I dont have many spots to go.

I am sorry for long post. Any even tiny help would be appreaciated. I hope thats not much of the problem, have a nice day or night :)

-PineconeAnon

I do think that it's time for you to let go of the friendship. I know that's hard to do but people grow apart and that's okay. It's okay. You'll be able to make better relationships and move forward but you have to learn to let go and keep walking forward. It sounds like you're holding onto this friendship because you want to keep going on like it's the past but...

It doesn't work like that. Change happens. It hurts sometimes but it's not a bad thing. You can reflect on this with time and learn how to be able to accept it. You need someone that wants to hang out with you and relax with you. It's not childish to be upset but it's important to see when people just... don't have time for you anymore and feelings change.

It just seems like you both have a fundamental misunderstanding and if you can't talk that through, then it's not working. You can try to talk about it but it seems like it'd be better to just let go. She doesn't think there's something wrong but you do. If you feel stress around her instead of friendship, it's not great.

But, that's up to you, you know? You decide your relationships what you want them to be.

I don't really have great advice for making friends as an adult. I'm not exactly going out and interacting with people. I can suggest finding a new set of friends online by joining Discords and interacting with the fandoms you're in because that's how I've made friends. It's easier to do that if you're anxious about making friends outside.

Try new hobbies. Take a deep breath. If you want to garden, try it out. You're not going to be perfect the first time. It's a learning process at anything and you have to just try. You don't get to live it if you don't try. You have to consider your limits and reflect on what is going to be the easiest thing to try.

It's never too late.

Try to start small and work your way up.

#pinecone anon #ask #mod kait

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fanfictiondreamscape · 4 years

Text

Watching Hedgehogs Forming an Army

Title: Watching Hedgehogs Forming an Army

Genre: C O M E D Y. (seriously, that is what it mostly is. I could write something romantic in this, but the title is just-)

Pairing: Izaya/Shizuo/Masaomi/Mikado x reader (all separate)

Notes: Okay, so before you start reading, do note that this whole idea is coming from a random thing I sent out to my friends on Snapchat. (Remind me to proceed with caution if I ever decide to do this again.)

Otherwise, I had been wanting to write something for DRRR for a while, and this gave me the most in depth idea for the specific characters and just- ugH, IDEA GOLD.

Below the cut!

Izaya Orihara

the fact that you and him got together was a mystery to the whole of Shinjuku and Ikebukuro.

seriously, this man is notorious for playing with people’s emotions and desires

so how the hell did he snag someone as nice as you?

no clue, but what they didn’t know is that you played with him

turn the game on its head, y’know?

that said, you two rarely ever went out on dates that weren’t at more upscale places.

one date? five star restaurant, VIP room. managed to snag free drinks for the both of you while he was at it.

another one? laying low at one of your homes, though there was a plethora of gourmet foods that he had shipped from out of country

(by some damn magic - you didn’t know, and didn’t care to ask)

otherwise, when things as simple as this happened, things came easy to the both of you

some ice cream for you, a black coffee for him, and the two of you skipping through the park happily.

this particular day, though, you saw something very sus

there was an outrageous amount of hedgehogs gathered.

no reason, no purpose whatsoever, just gathering in a corner of the park.

izaya didn’t notice the meetup until he noticed that you weren’t beside him.

with his eyebrows raised, shocked

he then saw you, slack-jawed, watching a hoard of hedgehogs

the general image just drove him to laugh, but you heard him

and you jumped to stop him.

“shut up, don’t say a single word.”

“i wasn’t planning on it, but now that you mention it-”

cue you shoving a hand over his mouth to stop him from doing anything

you both just watched the group

nothing more, nothing less.

there was the odd sip of coffee or spoonful of ice cream, but otherwise?

just staring.

“do you think they’re getting ready to fight someone?”

“i don’t know, s/o, are they?”

“no seriously! are they teaming up to go to a fight, or are they doing this to defend their nest or something?”

“again, i don’t know, s/o. but that is a good question.”

...silence...

“maybe they’re trying to climb on top of each other and form a mega-bot or something.”

“i highly doubt that.”

yeah, there wasn’t much else to look at.

your theories were brushed over in favor of watching the group gather closer.

people stopped to stare at you two

they even tossed the idea that you two were oddly placed statues

but they recognized izaya

they knew that no, these are not, in fact, statues, but people standing scarily still

watching something intently.

they just walked off, eventually, but the thought never left.

and yes, you two were still staring when shizuo spotted the sight while looking for someone to pay off their debts.

and, of course, at the sight of izaya, he flipped his shit and screamed.

that was the cue to leave before you both got crushed.

luckily, after being with izaya for some time, you got used to the chase and were able to evade the tall blonde

you both made it to your apartment, and had jumped to conclusions

“they were trying to fight someone by forming a gigantic robot-like figure!”

“no, they were forming an army to fight back!”

“or maybe they were doing that to defend their den!”

“or they were gathering together to have an or-”

“don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

the ideas kept getting thrown back and forth

though what you two didn’t know was that they were gathering for a ritual

calling upon their hedgehog gods and completing their personal little summoning

(it went well, for anyone wondering).

Shizuo Heiwajima

you and him?

you’ve gotta be shitting me.

you, an outgoing and happy smol bean (who was actually lacking any instinct to care about someone)

and him, the big angry tol bean that could care less about anyone (though that was a lie)?

yeah, can’t happen

unless...

so, this was a date.

normally, they stayed in the realm of indoors.

eating dinner together? at his kitchen table.

movie night? on your couch, in your apartment.

seriously, you both rarely had dates outside of the comfort of your homes.

so this date was a blessing in disguise.

it was nearing noon,

shizuo had come by your apartment around 11:30 that morning

a cup of coffee in his hand for you, a blush on his face

from there on, you two had spent the day relaxing together (though it was a fairly short time)

you two were walking past a park around this time

and you were watching the sunlight peek through the trees with wonder

of course, a few people waved to you and you waved back,

but when you spotted something odd, everything just seemed to freeze.

hedgehogs, gathered beside a bush, almost climbing on top of the other

almost as if to fight for something among each other.

your gasp is what drew shizuo out of the euphoric state he was in just by watching your eyes light up.

straight outta the gate, he would probably be visibly confused.

and pissed.

but he’d let it slide.

maybe.

it wasn’t until you exclaimed that there were more that he had an outburst.

“the hell’d you say?”

“there are more going to the bush, shizuo.”

silence, upon silence, upon silence.

until one of the children in the park shout at you to say hi.

you responded of course, but it still annoyed you

but it annoyed the blonde beside you even more.

“hey, leave her be!”

“dammit, shizuo - ignore him, have a nice day, you two!”

the child’s mother laughed and brushed it off.

you pulled shizuo back and went back to watching the hedgehogs.

though he was initially bothered, the sight was interesting to watch.

you two had been theorizing why they were gathering

“maybe they’re watching over one of their children.”

“or, maybe they are trying to build their den there.”

“well, yeah. but they’re climbing on top of each other.”

“good point, babe.”

(yay pet names! coming from him, that meant a lot!)

this continued for around fifteen minutes before they up and left.

you two went about the rest of your days nicely, dropping the topic

but it did come up when you were talking to your friend over lunch the next day

and also when shizuo was at work - tom was trying to figure out the reason as well.

otherwise, it was ignored.

the whole story, though:

the hedgehogs were gathering for something private

something that the humans would call a ‘meme’.

a fight club.

and the first rule of fight club?

you don’t talk about fight club.

Masaomi Kida

you and him?

that was expected.

for this long?

that was not expected.

people thought that you two would just call it a fling, and you’d be done

not the case, and you two were ready to wreak havoc all over school grounds if the time called for it.

but otherwise, you two were pretty tame with each other

also very flirty

but that was a different story.

otherwise, dates with him were very much everywhere

if you wanted to get some food, you two would go to russian sushi and then more

a movie? great, let’s hit up the bowling alley afterwards!

dates like this one were both odd and normal

it was expected that you’d do something following the first part (breakfast and gaming videos with him)

but doing something as simple as walking through a park was almost unheard of unless there was a big event going on

but you weren’t complaining

sometimes you just need some calm, and that is exactly what was going on

until, in a fit of giggles, masaomi had spotted a large group of hedgehogs in a secluded corner of the park

“whoa, look at that, s/o!”

“huh, what do you-”

you saw them.

you also noticed that they were almost expressing something.

whether that was anger, simple frustration, or whateverthehell, you didn’t know

but you noticed it and brought it up.

“kida, they’re moving. what do you think they’re doing?”

“a game plan? something to get food?”

“maybe they’re building something?”

“nope, they’re not holding anything.”

the whole situation, contrary to anything else that would have happened, came and went

after you two stared at the slowly growing crowd for almost fifteen minutes.

you sat down to do it, though!

(yay to less foot pain!)

either way, you two had started to toss back outlandish theories.

“trying to form a fight club?”

(haha funny-)

“or maybe a hedgehog ritual?”

(haha funny number 2-)

“possibly they could be having an or-”

(i wanna commit die for the amount of times i’ve pulled this shit istg-)

“kida.”

yeah, things got quiet after that.

you two were still watching the hedgehogs do whatever they and their expressions were doing,

but when you both hit a head and couldn’t conjure up anymore crazy ideas

you just shrugged it off and left the park.

it didn’t come up again, not even when kida dragged you from your shift at a nearby bookstore after it ended to do something in the city.

anything, really.

the night ended calmly, though.

the hedgehogs, though?

yeah, their night didn’t end that way.

that crowd of them that you two had seen was a hedgehog acting troupe, and thei performance schedule was outrageous.

the horror play’s lead was covered in a mess of honey, the comedy lead’s day was prolonged due to the original lead being sick, and the romantic lead had tried to avoid snapping the neck of her male co-lead.

yeah, clean-up for them didn’t go well.

Mikado Ryuugamine

you and mikado had been friends for a while

considering that you are kida’s (older) twin, you two got along fairly well

you and him were able to bond over dealing with your brother’s antics.

so the connection you two had grown to develop was easy to be expected.

and, seeing as you were the mature one of the twins, you attracted mikado very quickly.

otherwise, you both found over-the-top dates to be unnecessary.

so you both basked in the time that the both of you spent privately.

study dates were normal. get your work done, get some quick food, all was good.

sometimes you two would lay back and watch your current television obsession together.

so with things as simple and somewhat cliche as that, park dates were normal.

and since you both wanted some fresh air (and a break from your brother), you jumped at the chance to take a walk.

it was late afternoon, you had stopped by russian sushi and were finishing some dollar-drinks you picked up from a convenient store.

you two held hands, deciding to run the rest of the day through somewhat peacefully.

kida was out, though, so you were both on guard.

which also meant that when you two spotted him, you hid

you found a bench that was covered by trees and shadows, and decided to sit down

mikado was panting, you were still peeping and hoping that the dyed-blonde sibling of yours was gone

and he was, so you relaxed.

while you were watching, you noticed some movement from the corner of your eye.

it was slightly dull against green, so you found it a little hard to miss.

“hey, mikado, what’s going on in that corner?”

“huh? uh, i don’t- i don’t know.”

you got a closer look, and saw that they were hedgehogs.

there was two crowds of them, facing each other

your eyes may have been deceiving you, but you could have sworn that one of them was glaring at the frontman of the opposing group

and that their lackey was gracing an expression of calm

but hedgehogs don’t express emotions like that so you tossed that thought out the metaphorical window.

mikado, though, was trying not to let any of his wild ideas slip.

he had a filter, though, so he didn’t say anything.

you could notice when this happened, though.

“say it, mikado; you’re not good at hiding what you’re thinking around me, y’know.”

“well, what do you think they’re doing?”

silence

(yet again.)

“i...don’t know, actually.”

the silence hung high, but neither of you were willing to spill any odd theories you had.

some of the time that you were watching was spent theorizing, though.

just internally.

(seriously, if internal dialogue was going to be mentioned in depth, this portion of the post would be outrageous)

eventually, you just settled for watching them.

any conversation that you two had was about something other than what you were staring at, but that didn’t stop you.

soon enough, it started to get dark and you got a message from kida.

he was struggling with dinner, and since you didn’t want to burn down your living, the you had to hurry.

you had made it clear that you had to leave, took mikado’s empty drink and pitched it on your way back.

mikado left not long after you, eyeing the hedgehogs in confusion

but leaving nonetheless.

you brought the event up to kida (without mentioning that it was to hide from him, of course), and he made a huge deal out of it.

mikado brought the topic up to him over the phone as well.

but it was generally just left up in the air.

rarely ever came up between you and anyone else, but it still hung over your heads.

otherwise, the events between the hedgehogs was very new.

in fact, one side of the hedgehogs were squirrels in disguise.

they were having a conversation about how to invade and seize the squirrels’ home, and one of the disguised squirrels had said something to provoke the leader of the hedgehogs.

they were planning an attack on the other, and there would be blood not matter what.

it was a damn turf war, of course they would want their enemy’s heads on a platter.

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winterune · 5 years

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Was supposed to post this on Mamo’s birthday, but ended up saving it on draft, and now 5 months have passed... ^^;; Well anyway, here’s my Top 5 Favorite Mamoru Miyano Roles.

#1: Rintarou Okabe - Steins;Gate

LOLOLOL ok, Okabe’s a dork, and I love him. Mamo as Okabe was one of the most memorable roles I ever had the chance to see, especially his persona, Hououin Kyouma. Okabe in that first few episodes before the story finally kicks in was so embarrassing that when me and my brother started watching this, we wondered if we should just drop it. So glad we didn’t, though, haha. This boy is perfect in his imperfect way. His character is so well-written. Steins;Gate was so well-written. I love him!

#2: Masaomi Kida - Durarara!!

Durarara was just packed with all sorts of cool characters. I don’t think I have one character I really dislike. Kida is one of the earlier Mamo roles I encountered and it was very memorable. I don’t think I ever see any anime with a story like Durarara. A vastly diverse cast of characters with a seemingly unconnected plot points that at one point converge beautifully and left me feeling awed. Ah~ so this is what they were trying to tell. Also, you can’t get enough of all the easter eggs in these anime’s. Sad that the three-part second season wasn’t as awesome as the first season. I wish they’d animate more of Baccano, though (as I heard there are still material to be animated yet), and also Narita Ryogo’s other works.

#3: Ignis Scientia - Final Fantasy XV

I’m still salty over XV. I was so hyped but the end product didn’t live up to my expectations. The gameplay was fun, but...it still had so many potential. Mind you, i have not played any of the dlcs, but even if i did, i don’t think it could really erase my saltiness that easy. Sometimes, I still wish there are more of the Versus XIII elements that made the end cut, because from the rumors I’d heard, Versus’s premise sounded much more solid than what we get. But, I know this particular title has gone through quite a development hell during its time, so I’ll stop there. Anyway, among the XV cast, Ignis is my best boy. Maybe I’m biased because Mamo voices him, but really, Ignis is the best character in the game! Not only is he cool, but he cooks (lol yeah I guess I’m mentioning that) and he’s a somewhat strategist?, Noctis’s adviser, and I don’t know why but I just believe that he’s the one person that will always stand by Noct. His cool-headedness always helps Noct whenever Noct can’t think straight. Also, there’s that line from the Episode Ignis trailer, where in the Japanese dub he says: saisho kara kimeteita. Nani ga orouto, Noct wa saigo made mamorinaku, which roughly translates as I’ve decided from the very beginning. Whatever happens, I will protect Noct until the end (or something along that line, forgive me if it’s not entirely correct. i’m still learning the language hehe) right before he wears the Ring of Lucii. And hearing Mamo say that still gives me goosebumps. He is very devoted! I love him!

#4: Osamu Dazai - Bungou Stray Dogs

I still have mixed feelings toward BSD, but I still find myself watching every season it releases haha. I was interested in Dazai (because of Mamo), then found myself disappointed. Then fell in love with him in the Dark Era arc or whatitsname (Dazai’s past arc), and fell out love again once we’re back to our daily BSD life. But, he’s still a cool character...sometimes, and Mamo as Dazai is both cool and fun.

#5: Ryuji Sakamoto - Persona 5

Yeaahhh! Ryuji!!! He’s cute and fun and I love him and he’s the best friend Ren needs! There’s nothing more to say than that :D

Now, for some honorable mentions

HM1: Riku - Kingdom Hearts

Yeah! Riku, my boy! How can I not make this list without mentioning him? Though I have never played KH in Japanese, but from the clips I have seen, I just have to say that Mamo as Riku is AWESOME! His voice sounds sooo cool!!! #eargasm I didn’t like him at first, but he’s that type of character that slowly grows on me. He’s not like your shounen-hero-stereotype Sora. He was taken by darkness, and he used his own power to overcome it. It was a long journey, but he’s learned to keep the darkness at bay, to find the confidence in himself that he’d be okay. The darkness is still there, but he’s embraced it. He’s a cool character!

HM2: Koutarou Tatsumi - Zombieland Saga

God! This anime is stupid. And Tatsumi is stupid. He’s even more embarrassing than Kyouma xD But Mamo is awesome and tbh, Tatsumi kind of reminds me of Mamo himself lmao

HM3: Tamaki Suou - Ouran Koukou Host Club

This pure and precious boy xD Tbh I haven’t finished Ouran (OK, I’ll be watching Ouran after this lmao, and read the manga after that xD) but Tamaki was so memorable. He’s an ikemen. You’d think with how he exudes all that princely aura and how the girls are just fawning over him, he’s not the type to be embarrassed and blush that easily. But he is! Just like Mikorin HAHAHA. He can be stupid sometimes and he doesn’t catch on quickly to most signs. He’s so pure and precious and endearing! (But i kind of shipped Haruhi with Hikaru in the anime haha).

HM4: Shuu Tsukiyama - Tokyo Ghoul

Yeah...mentioning him because Mamo was awesome as Tsukiyama. Another one of that gaudy voices you know and love (but feel embarrassed at the same time and can’t take him seriously no matter what).

HM5: Taichi Mashima - Chihayafuru

Another one of my best boys. He’s just the type of guy and character I love! Earnest and kind in his own way and he’d do anything for the girl he loves. Mamo’s voice was so soft voicing him. I really want them to end up together and I think (based on the two anime seasons) that Taichi suits Chihaya better than Arata. Gaaah this love triangle is killing me!

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kisskida · 3 months

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Bleeding

-Megumi x reader/oc

tw: extreme angst, rape and non-con mentions, assault and murder

-Blood doesn't have to be weeping red liquids. We are all bleeding on each other in one way or another as we roam the earth, spending our entire lives searching for a purpose. We cry to know we are alive, and we bleed to know we are living. The tears we shed are our souls bleeding as we destroy ourselves and the blood we shed is our bodies telling us we have fought for our destruction

The darkness cannot possibly consume us all, or perhaps I used to think that way; I used to believe that. My eyes stung as lumps of dirt clung to my face, my skin rubbing raw against the isolated path. "Please, please let me just..." my muscles screamed at me as I scrambled to my knees, pleading to the heavy work boot in front of me, a leering snarl above it, belonging to an icy, sharp face twisted in rage, with a mop of dusty brown hair and cruel, narrow eyes. "Please, please no, no" I dragged my body backwards, skin shrieking as I groped around for something, anything to protect myself. Spots danced in my vision as a boot slammed into my sternum, shattering any cohesion I had left as my voice echoed hoarse screams, mocking shouts echoing back at me.

"And this happened when?" The officer in front of me looked entirely unimpressed as I sat bloodied and bruised, face filthy with dirt, tear marks leaving clean lines down my face, I cradled my wrist with the other hand, sitting on the edge of the offered chair, every part of my body cried out at the slightest touch.

The heaving in my chest made the thumping of my heart painfully aware to my aching skull and weeping joints "today, just earlier! in the back alleys! Please, please you have to believe me! please-" I reached to grab his hand, desperation evident in my tone and panic crossing my face as his thick pencil moustache twitched, beady eyes looking everywhere but me as he yanked his meaty hand back. Paperwork rustling as I clutched thin air. "Why...why would I make this up...please" I begged him, begging and begging, self-worth torn to shreds and thrown to the dogs.

"I think you need some supervision...these marks are clearly self-inflicted. That bruise around your throat has upward pressure, everyone knows strangling leaves downward pressure" Wasps buzzed in my head, droning noises drowning the rest of my thoughts as I frantically tried to explain it.

"He pinned me to the floor and was pushing up to-"

"Enough miss, officers call a nurse and-"

"He was lifting me by my throat!"

"Silence miss, officers have the nurse alert the psych ward we have-"

"Officer! Believe me! Please! I would never-"

""Shut up little girl! Sit back down and be a good girl, the hospital will come and take you to a place you can't pull any more of these stunts" He shouted at me, spittle flying everywhere as blood rushed to his face, likening him to a tomato, a bastardly one at that. The situation sunk in and the blood rushed from my face, I must have resembled a ghost as my bloodshot eyes began to weep again and my skin coloured the same as porcelain. The world was silent as the droning consumed all, blurring scenes flashing before me as hands grabbed me, pulling me up stairs, down stairs, between streets. My body swayed and my heart was thumping in my chest; one pump, two pump, three pump, four. One step, two step, three step, four.

It was cold outside. It was grey outside. It was silent outside. The sun was gone, hidden away from me and in hiding it had taken all comfort from my heart. The ache in my bones for the warmth and peace of basking in the sunshine was a ball and chain holding me to the ground, rooting me in place as the hands yanked on me again; I was not moving until the sun came out.

Inside the van was…odd. There were little scrapes where nails had scrabbled, scrambling to escape. Ropes on the sides, attached to hefty rings that you couldn’t pull down. It wasn’t as dark as I expected it to be either, for a van, it was despicably bright and hauntingly empty of anything but the driver's seat and a lone cushion. White walls and a white floor, bars between the driver and myself, I tried to rationalise the situation, to understand this from another perspective. If I was a nurse and this body the patient, how would I make her tell the story?

Okay, I started by asking her what had happened, how she had come to have such injuries. The story was harsh, the story was brutal and I fought to remain impartial as tears flooded her cheeks and she began to shake. Did she call for help, I asked her what she tried to do once she was cornered, did she even try, did she perhaps not do enough. But she did, screaming and crying her story to me until I could no longer stay outside it and I collapsed into myself. Curling in a fetal position as my lungs contracted, squeezing all the air out; I was wheezing and my nails scraped lines into my skin as I tore at the fabric on my chest, air was escaping me and my throat constricted, unwilling to cooperate, unwilling to save this fruitless life of mine.

I now found out the purpose of those ropes as my arms were strung across the van, holding my body upright and forcing them away from me. No crown of thorns lay on my head as the sins of my brutalizer became the suffering of my own. “Please” I croaked, the words scraping out hoarse, forced and shaky “Please let me die” No energy left to thrash and no energy left to scream, so clearly no energy left to persuade, to barter for the right to my own life, and the loss of it.

The sun was still away, gloomy and reclusive as I was walked into the building. Eerily empty again, stark white coating every surface and all furniture bolted to the floor, no shade darker than silver and no noise louder than a whisper. The glass was almost as thick as my arm, no chance to break it and no chance to escape it.

“Why are you dragging her like that? Can she not walk?” The voice was gentle, cold but refreshingly so in this silence.

“She's been…difficult”

“Uncooperative”

“We were told she has a difficult nature and needs strict watch”

A frown appeared on this stranger's face, his delicate face contorted with confusion “She’s so injured and you’re still rough handling her? I see no resistance from her even as you’re standing still”

“Look, son. We follow instructions from the police captain and he’s told us to be strict with her.” The guarding officer stepped in my line of sight.

“Please” I whispered, life returning to my limbs as I tried to pull myself free, to stand on my own “Let me go, I didn’t do this, please” I pulled one arm free from a nurse and tried to shake the other loose as I strained to have the stranger in my vision again. He was a beautiful contrast to the white void, dark hair, dark clothes and abyssal, dark eyes.

“Let her go, I’ll take her to an empty room. I was visiting Geto to check on him since the incident but he’s lost it and kicked me out.” Before anyone else could react he was between my quivering form and the guard.

His hands were indescribably soft as he led me through dark halls, no windows, only flickering greenish lights lending the halls an even eerier glow than the lonely hall. The bed in my room was somewhat soft, comfortably so but the stark white contrast from the glimpse of the real world outside the window to the little box room was depressing.

“You know…I didn’t do anything to end up here.”

“You don’t look like you would”

“They didn’t believe me because he was smart”

“Smart men get away with more than they ever should”

The micro-conversation was soothing as I sat and stared at the clouds, bubbly shapes rumbling around behind the loose wispy scraps drifting emptily through space. Shards of sunlight peeked out from the lumpy mountain like clouds but the sun itself never showed. Not even as the clouds darkened, the baby blue deepening through cerulean and turquoise before it tainted red and purple, the clouds mimicking their golden sun before they were shrouded in the darkness that was night. Engulfed in the loneliness as the cold moon cast her gaze down to me.

“I hate the moon”

“Why?”

“Because it gets dark and cold and-”

“Don’t look down or away, finish your sentence”

His voice was unreasonably calming and gentle as he lifted my chin to look at him “That’s when those smart men get away with it all” I knew I was right, because that’s what always happened. In the dark of night, in side-alleys or sometimes even in main streets their boots would strike me. Their hands would grab at me and I just prayed the sun would rise again.

“I hate the sun”

It was my turn to look at him in surprise, what reason could you possibly have to hate the sun? It was full of warmth and provided life to everything around it, smart men didn’t dare act up when the sun was out.

“Why?”

“People just pretend, they put on a fake self to present to society”

“And when the moon rises they’re real?”

“Exactly”

It was a foreign concept to me and I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying about the moon. It was a cold and lifeless piece of rock, the sun burnt bright and beautiful to provide for us. I sat there, staring at the moon through the thick glass, trying to see how he did, to walk in his shoes and understand his perspective. It was a cold rock with a little halo because it couldn’t shine on its own, it relied on the sun to give it light. The sun burnt so bright that even in the depths of night it still reached us through the moon, though it burned so aggressively it was burning itself out, still it continued to provide.

“I’m leaving now”

I flinched away as he reached out to me, shying away from contact “Sorry” I moved back to where I had been, letting him gently pet the top of my head

“You apologise too much, I’ll come back tomorrow. Go to sleep”

It felt lonely without him, the moon had almost been inviting, almost comfortable but as the door clicked shut, a tremor ran down my spine and goosebumps prickled on my skin. No amount of tossing and turning lent me warmth, the threadbare blankets I had piled on barely had any weight. I felt naked and disturbed under the watchful gaze of the moon, a chilling eye unrelenting and unforgiving no matter how I tossed or turned I could not escape.

The whine of the rusty hinges startled me upright, bracing myself in a defensive tuck, clutching blankets around me. The moon was gone now and the sun beginning to warm me but it was too early for visitors, I knew that much. “Who…who’s there” I couldn’t look, I couldn’t do that to myself as I called out to the figure, dark and hulking; not my boy from last night.

Since when was he my boy? When did I use possessive nouns? I didn’t know his name either.

“Stay quiet missy and it’ll be fine”

“No!” I screamed, but the walls were sound proof; so silent I became. Just enduring, I didn’t open my eyes, not once as tears as silent as I was, fell down my cheeks. It was silent in the room but in a very loud way as every creak of the bed and every rustle of the sheets tried to drag me out of my mind, pull me from my isolation. As his skin ran over mine, everywhere we touched I was burning up, a fearsome heat that made my tears flood faster. The sunlight burned my skin as it reached out, whether it wanted to help me or hurt me, I couldn’t tell but it was too bright and it burned. The same droning wasps were invading my skull and the noise would not go away, the noise was my comfort as he touched me in places untouched and ways I wanted to scream at. I longed for the cold and cruel darkness who didn’t pretend to hug me and didn’t soothe my nightmares.

He found me sitting behind the bed, out of reach from the sun, with blankets wrapped around my body and covering every inch of exposed skin.

“The sun is out”

I was silent.

“Did you sleep?”

Silence.

“Alright”

I recoiled as I felt him tug my blankets away from my face, sitting next to me. “I can wait as long as you need” the hushed tick, tick, ticking of the clock gave comfort in routine as I drummed my fingers against the floor with every ticking second; every minute spent silent was a minute more I had held myself together. I was proud of my resilience but the walls I built were becoming the prison that held me as comfort sat not even a metre away but I was unable to reach out, throat tightening every time I so much as aimed a glance at him.

“Your name”

“You don’t know it?”

“You never told me”

I hadn’t, it was true but I assumed like everyone else he would simply call me girl, miss or whatever name the police had put on my report.

“What should my name be then?”

I faced him for the first time today, ignoring the shooting pain up my spine and the turmoil thrashing about in my stomach that made me want to heave and retch until my body was empty of anything and everything.

“Luna, you should be Luna”

I hadn’t expected a response.

“Your name?”

“Fushiguro, Megumi”

“Megumi”

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say it”

His hand gently caressed mine as we sat, side by side, silent as the other but not silent in a loud way and not silent in a scary way. Silent in the way the forest is silent even as the day changes, silent in the way the ocean is silent even when the tides change, silent in the way that everything would be alright. The threadbare fabric of the blankets piled upon me felt hot, far hotter than they had last night against the cold moon and far more intrusive than they had last night as I cried. Sickened with disgust I flung the blankets off me and wrapped my arms across the scrapes on my body, trenches dug with my own nails as I silenced my screams.

“Who did this to you?” His face flashed dark, the calm and cold personality that had comforted me was now frigid and filled with venom “I’ll kill them”. His hands were still so gentle holding mine, even as he gently caressed my face.

“I didn’t look. I couldn’t make myself look”

“When”

“I’m sorry” my voice scratched at my throat, a lump forming as I tried to tell him more “the sun was up. I was wrong, I’m sorry” I threw myself into his arms, his cool skin soothing the flush that rose to my skin and made me feel like I had walked into the flames of hell. My sobs wracked my body as I was held, trembling, shaking and crying in his arms. The only other noise was the soft rustle as he combed his hand through my hair and rubbed my back, just between my shoulders. His hands never fell below my shoulders, like he was aware of the damage done and how fragile I was.

Da-dum, da-dum. Da-dum, da-dum. I rested my head on his chest, letting the rhythmic beating overwhelm the droning in my head, the wasps had woken up and begun to move but like a lullaby it soothed them, back to their slumber

“You did nothing wrong, okay? You are a victim” his voice was soft, so soft I wouldn’t have caught his words if the wasps hadn’t been silenced only moments before. “I never want anyone else to go through this. My dads have been in such a situation and now I’m down to one, permanently locked in his room. Not again, not on my watch” So he could relate my experience to someone else close to him, all anxieties soothed as I understood his motive, the reasons he held me so close and the reason he held so tight.

“I’m hungry”

“You haven’t been given food?” He let go of me, standing and scanning the room for something. “Lets go, I’ll take you to the kitchen and have them make whatever you’re craving”

I accepted his outstretched hand and trailed him like a duckling would its mother, all the way down to the main hall and then some more until we reached a place illuminated only by electric lights. No windows here. Keeping my body sheltered behind his he strode forward to the head chef, recognisable by the toque standing tall on his head as his peers moved around with just hair nets.

“She hasn’t been given food in almost two days, what are you doing if not your job?” Though his tone wasn’t abrasive, it was clear megumi was angry and his anger was clearly directed. “Luna, what do you want to eat?” he gently cupped my face, his tone doing a 180° as not to scare me.

“Rice…sushi and rice” I nuzzled into his hand, meekly asking for my favourite foods.

“You heard her”

“Indeed we did, get to work boys! Get this girl the best sushi of her life or I’ll have you reassigned to clean the toilets!” The chef was boisterous, nothing like his stern expression had suggested earlier, he was rather friendly, chattering with Megumi as the other chefs worked. Megumi squeezed my hand as he moved out of my direct line of sight, letting me see the bustle in the kitchen.

“Was it any of these men?” he whispered softly to me, leaning down slightly so as not to arouse suspicion among the co-workers who placed their trust in each other on a daily basis.

I shook my head, no the man had smelled. The kitchen was not a place for a foul smelling, sweaty hulking man to work. “No…the smell is distinctive”

“The smell? So you can identify by smell?” He ruffled my hair affectionately, accepting the large bowl of sashimi, rice and little sushi rolls from a chef and leading me away. “That’s good, we have a lead, a clue. Good girl” the praise would have made me uncomfortable if another man had said it, instead little butterflies rustled in my stomach and a smile twitched on my lips.

The rest of the day was spent roaming the building. For a psychiatric hospital it was extremely quiet and empty, the air conditioning ran full blast in the hallways, making it resemble the Antarctic, an icy desolate desert. I wrapped my arms around myself, hugging myself to try and preserve at least a little bit of warmth, the scrappy gown they had dressed me in was okay to sleep in as it was light and it was okay in the sun because it was warm but roaming these halls I could feel every hair on my body standing on end as goosebumps raised on my shivering skin.

“Don’t suffer in silence” A warm hoodie was dragged down over my head, smelling heavily like the boy next to me “If you’re cold, just say something” His grey hoodie hung loosely on my frame, squaring my shoulders so it fit better against me.

“Other than being long, it fits pretty well on you. You’ve got more muscle than me at least” he smiled down at me, petting my hair affectionately and adjusting the hoodie on my body so it sat snug rather than scrunched and awkward. I nuzzled into the hood, taking comfort in the warmth and smell.

“Won’t you be cold now” I looked up at him, fiddling with the sleeves.

“I have a long sleeve shirt on, and my clothes are better quality than those dodgy gowns” He took my hand and tugged me along further down the hall.

“Megumi”

“Yes Luna?”

“I just wanted to say it”

He laughed, for the first time since meeting, and it was a beautiful sound. A beautiful sound that captivated me and drew me closer to him. “You do this adorable thing when you’re talking to me. You tilt your head like a puppy might when it smells a treat.” once again he ruffled my hair “I can’t help just wanting to touch you, to hold you and pet you like I might a dog or cat”

“I can’t help it” a small pout formed on my lips as he tugged me around the corner and into a stairwell leading upwards.

“I’ll show you my secret but you have to promise not to come here without me” His face was stern now, and I nodded

“Pinky promise, sworn to secrecy” I held out my pinky finger, letting him interlock his with mine.

“Alright then” he popped the lock on the heavy wooden doors, forcing them open with his full body weight.

The evening was beautiful. The sun had begun to set and the sky was a kaleidoscope of colours and the clouds an array of shapes. The pale blue of midday was weeping into several hues of violet, indigo and lavender whilst the clouds had taken it upon themselves to defy the colour spectrum with vermillion shades threading between crimson and gold, speckling stars resembled diamonds upon a watercolour canvas with sprays of blood littering the delicate painting.

“Its beautiful”

“Wait until it gets dark”

And so we sat there as the reds, purples and gold sunk beyond the horizon and the omnipresent gaze of the moon became unmissable and the diamonds multiplied by the thousands, the millions of billions even. They shattered the darkness and gave the world a gentle glow, not even the moon and her shimmering halo could compare to the billions of stars spread as far as the eye could see, and even farther.

“Oh”

“Oh indeed” his arm snaked around my shoulders, just holding me gently against him. I nestled against his warmth and hummed a contented approval as he combed his fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp with nimble and cool fingers.

“Not even two days and I already just…feel like I can trust you” I snuggled into him, craving the feel of his skin and the sound of his heartbeat

“It’s like we’re bleeding on each other, the trauma we’ve been through and we’re trying our best to stitch each other up” He pulled me tight to his chest, murmuring against the top of my head “I feel like I’ve known you for a thousand lifetimes and it’s been us in every one”

“Do you think we’re this tragic in every lifetime?” a thousand stars shimmered in his eyes, forming galaxies of their own and I wished I could burn this memory into my brain, sear it onto the back of my eyes.

“I think we might be” His eyes never left mine, even as the reddish, rusted light flicked on and cast us into a crimson light. Glazing my eyes the same vermillion as the sky hours earlier. “It almost looks like there are roses in your eyes, the stars and light have combined in such a way”

“Your eyes have formed galaxies of ebony and indigo” I reached up for his face, cupping his cheek “You’re warm” I held onto him in that moment like a sailor might hold onto driftwood in a shipwreck, like a small child clinging to the hopes and dreams that their heroes inspire.

“The moon bids us to sleep Luna” He kissed the top of my head and guided me back to my room. “The moon will watch over you for me, until tomorrow” and just like that he had melted into the darkness and beyond my reach.

The night wore long as I clutched my blankets to me, hyper-aware and on high alert as the memories of yesterday morning burned fresh in my mind. I couldn’t sleep with that constant fear breathing down my spine; the pungent smell of his body on mine and his gravelly, domineering voice as he rough handled me. My tongue darted out, catching the little salty teardrops from my weeping eyes, my chest heaving as air got harder to suck in, my breaths shorter and sharper.

The sun was an unwelcome sight as it heated my flushed skin and invaded the darkness I had come to love. The blinding rays forced me out of bed to try and hang a blanket over the window, which failed. I almost felt feverish as I stumbled back to my bed, headache pounding in my skull and a dry thirst aching in my throat with every breath I took. The maternal comfort I found in the daytime had vanished with yesterday, left was an eternal yearning for darkness, the love under the moonlit sky. I heaped all the blankets I could find onto the floor, alongside my pillows to create a little nest where the sunlight didn't directly reach

The whine of the rusty hinges startled me upright, recoiling back from my comfortable nest on the floor until my back hit the wall. I grabbed the closest blanket to me and hugged it to my body as my muscles seized, tension from the fear overriding my logical thoughts.

“Whoa, easy Luna…its me”

I knew that voice, my lower lip trembled as I tossed the blanket aside and scrambled towards him, throwing myself into his arms. Breathing in his scent, revelling in the cool comfort only he could provide.

“Megumi…” my voice was muffled as I buried my head in the hood of his jacket, up around his neck. The blessed darkness it provided soothed me from the sun burning against my back, the hot and cold flashes felt insignificant when I was in his arms as all my worries melted away.

“Luna! You’re sick, what are you doing up!” He scooped his arms under my legs, hoisting me into his arms and carrying me bridal style out to the hallway “I’m taking you to a room where there are curtains, you need a cool dark environment to get a good rest”

It felt good to be looked after and I couldn’t help relaxing in his arms, my subconscious trusted him far more than I must have believed as I wrapped my arms around his neck and nuzzled him affectionately. “I hate the sun, it's too bright…and hot, it's so hot” I murmured as he gently laid me on another, empty, bed.

“Hush, you need rest.” He caressed my face, gently brushing my hair from my face and placing a soft kiss on my forehead. As he went to stand up I grabbed his hand

“No…stay”

“Alright, alright then. Tell me, you suddenly hate the sun when you loved it just two days ago?”

“I thought the sun could protect me from the dark side of humanity but it doesn't do much” I let out a content sigh as his hand gently stroked my hair. “The sun is cruel, it burns up everything with no remorse. The moon is gentle and kind” I reached a hand for his face.

“The sun is gentle, it gives us light and warmth. All we need to grow and survive is provided by the sun” he grabbed my hand, holding it to his cheek and humming with contentment just as I had done . “The moon is gentle but it doesn’t give us much”

“We swapped. You like the sun over the moon now and I like the moon over the sun” I laughed, rolling onto my side and sitting up, witnessing his gentle smile from the best angle, right in front of him.

The day flew by with laughter and smiles as we talked about all the insignificant things in the world, sharing stories that you might believe crazy if we didn’t have the scars to prove them. I was still weak and feverish even as he tended to me, gentle as a gardener with his brand new flower bed, however weak I was he still looked at me the way a wolf looks at the moon, a tender affection ever present in his navy eyes.

“Did I ever tell you how much your eyes look like an abyss?” I voiced my musings out loud as I lay in admiration of him.

“You might have once or twice” my admiration was returned in his kind expression.

“Good. They’re like an eternal abyss but still so much deeper, like the universe itself, filled with galaxies and stars but ultimately an intangible cosmos of mystery and excitement”

“You can have them if you really like them so much” he poked my cheek “I really can’t stand how dark and dull they are. Unlike your eyes, glowing gold like the rising sun”

“Perhaps I’ll take you up on that offer” I threw a pillow at his face and yanked him down while his vision was obscured.

“If you wanted cuddles, you just needed to say” he snuggled up to me, swinging his legs up and tangling them with mine, resting my head on his chest and holding me tight. The steady rhythm of his breathing was a lullaby to the discord in my head and I settled into a state of serenity, a tranquillity I haven't felt since before the attack. My heartbeat settled into a duet with his, each beat syncing together as the waves synchronised themselves to the quiet after the storm.

“Maybe we aren’t as tragic in this life. Maybe all our lives could be this gentle”

“If all our lives were this serene, I would ask for nothing else”

The rhythmic motions of him finger combing my hair combined with his steady heartbeat and gentle, deep breaths resonated his soul with mine. Every living being resonates on a unique harmony but for now, we shared a note; soundwaves connected on the same frequency.

“Then let's pray to whatever gods exist, that we get our happy ending” I snuggled as close to him as I could, I wanted to exist as one entity with him, one being, one body and one soul.

I felt his smile against the top of my head “then please gods, let us have each other”

“I hate that word”

“Who said the word please that made you hate it so much?”

“I did”

The silence ensuing wasn’t one of discomfort though nor was it comfortable. I felt a small tear fall onto my face. “You deserve the world Luna, a world without any of this violence. Through the stars has your kindness bled through to me and through the moon, I hope mine can reach you”

“We don’t always get what we deserve Megumi” I kissed his jaw and rolled away from him, knowing if I saw him cry, I would start crying too. His hands softly kneaded my shoulders, massaging the tension.

“I have to go early today Luna. I came in early to make sure your morning didn’t repeat yesterday but I can’t stay till nightfall with you” he placed a soft kiss on the back of my neck “I’ll inform staff that I’ve moved you. My dad is two rooms down from you now as well, if you wanted to make a friend. Though he’s not in any state to socialise.”

“What’s his name?” I rolled back over to face him.

“Geto, Suguru Geto.” He placed another gentle kiss, this one on my cheek, before standing up. “I’ll get you some food before I go”

He came back after a few minutes with a large sandwich, accompanied by some vegetables, a fork and knife for cutlery. “Thanks Megumi” I placed the tray on the nightstand and sat up to hug him.

“Be a good girl until I see you again tomorrow, I’ll leave this here in your care” he slid his hoodie off and tossed it into my lap.

And then he was gone, the darkness of the room was still comforting but it just felt colder and lonelier without Megumi, the reason I loved the darkness so much. My eyelids were heavy as I lay staring at the ceiling, hot and cold flashes taking me through paranoid delusions and trippy dreams where everything was twisted and sickly. I clung to the hoodie like a drowning sailor to a piece of driftwood, it was a liferaft in the stormy seas that tossed me around and brutalised my mind.

I heard movements in the hallway and struggled to pull myself to a sitting position, a curious face with dark, narrow eyes and silky black hair, let loose down his back, watched me from my doorway. “Geto?” My throat rasped as I spoke, dehydration clearly getting the better of me.

“You’re Megumi’s girlfriend right?” He began to step through the doorway when a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. Another man appeared beside him, a mop of unruly white hair and unnaturally bright blue eyes decorated his features.

“Sorry for disturbing you, just came to check on my husband” He pulled Geto away and I was left all alone with my thoughts again. That would be his other dad, they looked alike at least, though polar opposites in personality and colour palette. They had been a nice break from the darkness. As much as I enjoyed the dark, I couldn't help missing the warmth and light the sun brought; it was a struggle to get up and open the curtains and I almost quit twice but the moment the light hit my face, it was worth it.

I cuddled close to the hoodie, cutting a piece of the sandwich from earlier to quench my hunger and stabilise myself as my body swayed with fatigue. Megumi’s smell filled my senses, it reminded me of a forest in a storm, the fresh and energetic scent while the atmosphere weighed heavily with the weight of the electrifying rage it was bringing from the heavens to earth. At the same time it brought memories of the heartwarming moments shared between those I had been close with, laughter and smiles in an untouchable moment of kinship.

I didn’t bother to glance up as the hinges on the door squealed again, assuming it was just Geto being curious. “What’s up?” I had my back to the door as I basked in the sunlight, watching a butterfly flit past, bright and blue. I furrowed my brow as silence met my question, a low chuckle sounded and my body stilled. A pungent smell invaded my nose and I spun, grabbing the wall to steady myself, my head spun and memories violently tore through my mind, reeling from the horror associated.

“You seem much better” his voice was rough, aggressive and almost mocking.

“Get away…get away!” I flung a half drunk glass of water at him as he approached me, steady and smooth stride, confident in himself. “Stop! Please…don’t…please no, get away” I fell to the floor sobbing, collapsed in on myself as I struggled to suck in breath, the oxygen escaping me.

“Be quiet little missy or we’ll get-” a boot slammed into my shoulder, tossing me across the room “-caught” I let out a terrified scream, slamming my fists against him as he grabbed me and threw me onto the bed. His sweaty palm covered my mouth and I thrashed desperately, my limbs were heavy and I could barely land a solid blow; even when I did, he was unfazed.

Tears rolled down my face and into my hair as I squirmed, energy draining at a rapid speed. Sobs wracked my body and my muffled wails filled the air as he straddled me, his other hand undressing me with practised ease. I tried to get a closer look at his face, for Megumi, if I could help Megumi identify the man, I could get away, but tears kept flooding my eyes and everything was blurred. I dug my nails helplessly into the man’s arms and wrists, scraping and scratching, begging and pleading for him to stop. His leering grin watched over my vulnerable body as I frantically tried to save myself. “I’ll wait little miss. It's more fun when you’re still and if you misbehave, I’ll ruin your pretty little face so bad nobody will ever recognise you again”.

My voice grew hoarse and I could no longer wail and scream for help, I still whimpered and whined but my efforts were pitiful as the fever took its toll on my body and I lay unmoving, shaking in my skin perhaps but no more could I struggle “please…stop” my voice was brittle and shaky as I let out one more desperate plead for mercy, I put my hands to my face, biting down onto my arm to stop myself from crying out. His hands burned against my skin as they ran rampant all across my body. I couldn’t stop myself from screaming and thrashing as he slid between my legs, malicious intentions clearly communicated by his iron grip on my hips.

I flung my arm out, barely noticing as my knuckles slammed into the side table, fumbling for something, anything to end my misery. I felt the wooden handle of the knife on my plate, gripping it tightly “Let go of me!” I was screaming again and thrashing, though I could barely make out my own hysterical words. The sun had vanished from the sky and I saw the moon, regal and comforting in her beauty, offering her hand to take me away. His heavy hand grabbed at my wrist but my energy was renewed as I tucked my arm back close to me, slashing the blade across his face. I laughed maniacally as he reeled backwards, clutching his face but my relief was short lived as those sweaty, heavy hands redirected their iron grip to my arms. He caught my wrist mid slash and aimed the blade for my chest.

“I’ll fucking get you for that bitch” he spat globules of blood at me as he struggled to form words properly with his sliced up face. I couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling in my chest as he pushed the blade closer and closer to my heart. It was like ice on my skin as the tip pressed into me, blood welling up as my hand shook with the force he was applying. “Now die” my arm gave out and the blade sheathed itself in me, all the way down to the handle.

My laughter had turned to screams again and I cried for help “Please no!” I could feel my heart tearing itself to ribbons on the jagged piece of metal “Megumi! Megumi! Help me! Someone please!” blood bubbled up in my throat as my frantic heart only shredded itself. The crimson liquid seeping down my bare skin and staining the fresh sheets beneath me. My vision faded to black and my last thoughts were of Megumi’s sweet face. I hoped he wouldn’t cry at my death but I knew better, in our next life perhaps we could be destined for a gentler fate and a sweeter love.

A sharp pain twisted Megumi’s chest as he lay reading on the couch at home. His dad had come home not long ago, saying he saw Luna and Geto wanted to meet her. “Gojo-” he called out for his dad, worried he might be having a heart attack.

“You look pale Megumi, is everything alright” his voice sounded from the next room over

“My chest hurts can we-” the phone rang, interrupting him

“Megumi, it’s about Luna” Gojo’s face was solemn as he handed him the phone.

The silence was heavy as he took it, dreading what might be said next. “What’s wrong with Luna” he demanded into the phone, courtesy be damned, they wouldn’t ring him if nothing was wrong.

“Megumi, there's been an incident. It seems she attacked a staff member and then took her own life with the blade you gave her. We’d like you to come to the hospital to give us your statement on this.”

“Bullshit! Luna would never!” he hurled the phone against the floor, shattering it on the ground and watching the screen go blank. His mind was thrown into turmoil as he felt his cheeks dampen, tears flooding them. His body trembled and his chest heaved as he grabbed the nearest thing and flung it against the wall, watching it shatter like the phone had. “Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck” he kicked the coffee table onto its side, breaking several mugs. Shards of glass covered the living room as he sank to his knees, desperately wiping his eyes as he struggled to breathe. He didn’t even register the sharp pain in his knees as the debris sliced into his skin. “no…”

“Megumi! What happened!”

“I’m going to the hospital” He shook off his dad’s worried look, slapping the concerned hand away as he ran between rooms, grabbing his keys and racing off. The laws didn’t matter to him as his wheels screeched on the road, foot pressing the accelerator to the floor. His speed climbed 50, 100, 150, 200, until he reached the hospital. Time nor space seemed to exist as he sprinted through the building, crashing into several walls in his haste around corners.

“Let me in” he screamed at the staff as they tried to bar him from her room. He took a deep breath, stilling his frantic body “Let me in while I’m asking nicely” his tone was murderous as he glared at them, abyssal eyes promising their demise if they refused him.

The murderous calm fled his body as he saw a knife buried in her chest, her clothes discarded beneath her, bare body on display for the world. There were shards of glass and ceramic from the plate and cup shattered on the floor and the side table had been knocked out of place. Her expression was gentle in death, she looked more peaceful than he’d ever seen her while alive. “This was clearly a murder. Look at the struggle, the way her body is and the downward angle on the blade” he tried to keep a tremor out of his voice as he observed the way her body was. “Where is the man who did this”

“He’s a victim in protective custody sir, you can’t-”

“My father is the police commissioner, I damn well can!” He almost felt bad for the poor girl he shouted at but he would bar nothing in his drive for justice. If he could not get her justice while living, he sure as hell would get her justice after death.

“Well if it isn’t the little police boy” the man smirked at him, a slimy grin accompanied by stitches across his face from a jagged knife wound. Blood matted his dusty brown hair and his narrow, cruel eyes leered menacingly at Megumi.

“You bastard. Handcuff this man” He turned to face the investigating officers, stony resolute now set in, the hysteria gone and in its place, a bloodthirsty need for revenge. He was obeyed instantly for fear of his father now that he’d made it clear who he was, the whole hospital staff snapped into action alongside the officers.

“Megumi?” The gentle voice of Geto broke him from his murderous glare and he barely had time to turn before he was wrapped in a tight hug “Don’t speak, cry” cool hands hugged his head tight to the mans chest and rubbed soothing circles on his back as the reality set in and sobs began to wrack his body. “Easy son, I’m here for you” he collapsed into his fathers arms, clutching the fabric of his shirt tightly in his fists, struggling to ground himself in reality as the world around him blurred, time flew by as he stood sobbing into Geto’s arms. People came and went, their words sounding foreign to his grief obstructed senses. Many hands patted his back, some ruffled his hair but he was only aware of the thumping of his own heartbeat and the gentle breathing of Geto, still holding him close.

“She…she-” his voice broke as his chest heaved and he struggled to even find words, his head thumped with a migraine and everything felt slightly surreal as Geto stepped back to let Gojo comfort his son.

“He’ll never leave prison, you got justice for her megumi, its okay.” he rested his hand in the mop of dark hair, bright blue eyes gentle with reassurance. Megumi trained his eyes to the floor as they left the building, Geto gave him a soft hug goodbye but he barely registered it as the flashing lights obscured the serenity of the moon, red and blue filling his vision. The drive home was silent, the normally pearly moon hung crimson between the stars, clearly mourning as he did. “A blood moon, happens once in a lifetime”

“Like roses blooming on her surface” he clutched his heart as the dull ache throbbed, a hole where her soul had fit, right alongside his. Two puzzle pieces meant to join now forever alone, on opposite shores of the river styx.

#megumi fushiguro #jjk megumi #angst #rape/non con elements #murder #assault #tw sex assault #jjk fluff #megumi comfort #stars x moon #psych ward #im not paying for therapy #Spotify #through the stars did your kindness bleed #its me kida what did you expect

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ryder-s-block · 4 years

Text

Jaig Eyes (Ch 54)

Jaig Eyes (54/?)

Summary:

Kida, a former slave who now thrives as a bounty hunter, finds herself sucked into the war she advised Jango Fett against. Now that she’s involved, she has to finally mourn the loss of Jango, seeing his face in the clones that man the GAR. What happens when she allows herself to get attached to one, not for his resemblance to her former mentor, but for his heart?

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Chapter Fifty-Four: Master Piell

“Ah,” Bendu’s voice boomed as I emerged from the tunnels with a triumphant grin. “I sensed your success. Come, let us see it.” He gestured with his giant hand, the Force responding to him easily. My saber hilt lifted easily from my outstretched palm to float before him, igniting in a brilliant white color. Bendu hummed in response to my kyber’s gentle singing. “Your crystal is whole once again.”

“It is.” I stood calmly as he lowered my saber back to my hand.

“And the krykna?” he asked, referring to the spiders.

“I’d thought they were there...but when I looked, they never were.” I shrugged. “I guess they had no reason to fear me this time.”

Bendu’s massive face crinkled slightly in a smile. “You have learned much since separating yourself from the war. What will you do with this knowledge?”

I breathed slowly through my nose. “I’m going home. I’ll get back to work...and maybe...one day when I’m ready...I’ll rejoin the war--if it’s my path.”

Bendu’s eyebrow rose in question. “Rejoin the war?” He sighed lowly. “I hoped you were above all that.”

“Above it? How can I be above it when the people I love are directly affected by it?”

The giant creature shook his head. “When you exist in the Bendu...the war of these petty beings are nothing to you. There is only the Force.”

“No,” I whispered, looking down at the saber in my hand. “If the Sith exist for power and the Jedi for peace...what do we exist for?”

“The will of the Force.”

I glanced sideways with a small shake of my head. “I don’t believe that. I listen to the will of the Force, yes. But I was gifted with the ability to guide that will. And if we value balance, should we not work to protect it?”

Bendu straightened his back slightly in distaste at what my words implied, making him tower over me. But I’d gotten used to talking to creatures that were far bigger than me over the years--I wasn’t about to back down now.

“You have watched empires rise and fall,” I commented gently, the reality of his inactivity hitting me at once. “Anyone who was ever close to you, if they ever existed at all, is long gone. Tell me, Bendu,” I prodded. “What would that cave have shown you, were you working to find your balance?”

Bendu’s deep gaze settled on me darkly, the Force shifting around him. Creatures such as Bendu, I’d come to find out, were a tedious bunch to deal with. Like the Father at the Citadel, He existed within a higher knowledge of the Force--able to wield it in a way I would never understand in my short life. Well...short compared to him, at least.

Thunderclouds rolled in the distance, making my hair stand on edge, my gaze flickering to it nervously. That was Bendu’s doing.

“War is prodded by the desire for power. Yours is no different.” He ignored my question, but I let it slide. I preferred not to be murdered by the storm Bendu was rolling in than know his past.

“Maybe not. But if we have the power to help people, shouldn’t we?”

Bendu chuckled darkly. “We? The Force will do as it wills. Who am I to interfere?” I scowled. We were going in circles. “Even those that strive to do good, as you do, young follower of the Bendu, may be led down the path of darkness.”

“I’ve beaten that before.”

“And will you again?”

I ground my teeth. “Of course.” Bendu hummed at me, but said no more. I sighed slowly, looking sideways at the cave I had emerged from. Did I have a place in this war? I wanted to protect those I loved...but was that interfering with the balance? “What should I do?”

“Ah, that is not a question for me, is it?” I quirked my eyebrow at the creature. “That is an answer for you to find. Within the Force.”

I nodded, kneeling slowly, placing my saber before me. Settling across from Bendu, I closed my eyes, meditating with him. “I feel...conflict.”

“Yes. The war rages on outside of my quiet domain.”

“Anger. Loss. Suffering. Fear.” I turned my head, eyes still closed, as I heard a familiar voice.

“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” It was Master Yoda. I turned my thoughts away from the Jedi, trying to focus on what I should do. Where my place is.

“I smell...alcohol. And perfume. It’s my club.”

“Ah, and the Force shows where you must go.”

I opened my eyes, raising my brows. “It...just wants me to go back to being a bounty hunter?”

“I didn’t say that, though that may be the will of the Force. But for now, you know where your path will lead you.”

“What do I do when I get there?”

“What do you usually do?”

I shrugged on the ground. “Run my club I guess? Party? Find odd jobs as a hunter.”

Bendu hummed, leaning back on his haunches. “Go. Live. The Force will guide you. Just remember to listen to it, young descendant of the Sith.”

I stood slowly, glancing over his form. “You look tired.”

“I have not been woken from my slumber this often in some time,” he teased gently, offering a low chuckle that echoed across the quiet planet.

I glanced down at my lightsaber, taking it up and clipping it to my belt. After a moment of thought, I met Bendu’s gray gaze. “I think...you can rest now.”

He gave me a gentle smile. “I believe I can, as well. But you, Kida Fett, Descendant of the Sith, Daughter of Jango, Bounty Hunter, and follower of the Bendu...will you rest?”

I returned the smile. “Maybe one day, my friend.” I meant it. I considered him a friend...I had to, after all he had done for me. “And that’s far too many titles for one person,” I joked.

Bendu hummed as he turned away, glancing over his shoulder. “Very well. Goodbye Kida Fett, Slave to No One.” He looked away before curling back into his rest, blending in with the rest of the coral-like scenery perfectly. I smiled at his choice of title for me.

I knew he meant more that just freeing myself from slavery. He meant breaking free of Bane. Breaking free of expectations of the Jedi. Even breaking free of my own expectations. And in the end...I was even willing to try and guide the will of the Force, rather than bow to it. And Bendu knew that, even if he didn’t ever point it out directly. I really was a slave no longer.

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In the end, going back to my club was exactly what I needed to do. I hadn’t been back on Coruscant long before Windu had shown up on my doorstep.

My eyes slid across the stone that glowed in the light of the lava below. The howling of the anoobas was almost painful now. They were close. I tapped Ahsoka’s elbow, nodding in the direction our pursuers would come from.

We all crouched in waiting, watching as a pack of five anoobas raced by, following the scents of Anakin and Obi-wan. Above us, five commandos on STAPs zoomed by as well. We waited a few moments longer before Piell stepped out of hiding, scanning the area. He gestured silently for us to follow before taking off in a run after the pack of anoobas.

We weren’t far down the path before a spider droid lunged up over the ledge, taking down two of the rescued clones. They were at the back, making us all turn in horror. Piell acted first, racing forward to slice through two of the droid’s legs, tearing it to the ground. More began to emerge as Piell sliced through its mainframe, my lightsaber igniting before me.

It was weird. I hadn’t been wielding it long...but it felt almost natural to resort to it. My kyber hummed happily as I pulled it from my belt and held it beside me, energy hot near my skin.

“Keep going!” Piell yelled back at me. “Ahsoka and I will take care of the droids. Fett, follow Obi-wan!”

I nodded, the group glancing at me before I turned and led them faster down the path. I heard Ahsoka’s lightsabers ignite, joining Piell in the battle against the spider droids. The rolling plains of snow that we raced across were covered in a thick fog, smothering my lungs. I puffed them out tiredly, following the sound of gunfire.

We lunged suddenly to the sides as a commando on a STAP raced over us. The clones opened fire immediately as I raced forward after the Jedi, lightsaber igniting beside me. My kyber sang powerfully in my grip as I raced after a STAP. Another came at us on our flank, its fire blasting the stones around us.

“Go!” I yelled to Rex, the captain rushing past me after the droid now attacking Anakin ahead. I skidded to a stop, deflecting the shots of the oncoming STAP away from the clones. Ahead, Rex shot down the STAP attacking his commander, Anakin crouching with a determined expression as it crashed behind him.

I turned, sensing Fives aiming at the droid attacking me. The ARC trooper was always reliable, hitting his mark and sending the commando careening on his speeder. I lunged sideways, wall running up the rock formations and leaping sideways in the air. My blade sliced through the middle of the commando and speeder, sending both scattering in pieces.

I landed deftly, feeling my Force abilities weaving together with the skills Jango taught me. They were becoming more in sync the more I used them.

And the more I used them, the more I realized that physically moving things with the Force was far harder for me than using it to improve my own abilities. Move a bit faster. Jump a bit higher.

I was also noticing that my senses were becoming more attuned. Not only to keep me focused in battle, but to emotions around me...as well as some hints towards things that haven’t yet happened.

Such as Fives taking down the STAP.

“Anakin!” I yelled, the Force prodding me to look past the crouching Jedi. He turned before the anooba barreled into him, throwing him to the ground. I rushed forward as his lightsaber tumbled away, the anooba’s incredibly jaws trying to clamp down on the Jedi’s throat.

I stabbed forward with my lightsaber, shoving my armored shoulder into the creature’s side to push it off of Anakin. It let out a terrible screech of pain that made me feel a bit bad--only because of Embo’s loving pet, of course.

“Thanks,” Anakin panted as I offered him a hand up. He grabbed his lightsaber as he stood, dusting off his tunic. He glanced up quickly before shoving me to the side, thrusting out his metal hand. Skywalker’s connection to the Force was almost smothering when I was in his presence. It flowed through him in a similar way I sensed it flow through my kyber crystal. He launched an anooba that was lunging for my neck backwards and into the lava.

“Consider the debt repaid,” I chuckled back. The Jedi leapt away to attack another droid, my own lightsaber rising again to slice through the belly of a lunging anooba. I was about to move to join Rex when a chill fell over me, my muscles freezing me in place. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I could feel that something terrible had happened.

It seemed this mission was full of terrible happenings.

I turned easily, deflecting a final bolt at an oncoming STAP, Tarkin shooting it down as it passed. I walked past the Captain, glancing over to watch Cody and his troops destroy the last of the droids.

“So much for the hunting party,” the commander said, glancing back at us. Rex moved up beside me as my lightsaber disengaged in my grip.

“There are more squads on their way,” Tarkin announced, following me. “We should get moving.”

The Force rippled with the chill of death. “Wait,” I whispered, turning my head to look through the thick mist. “Ahsoka,” I breathed, prodding the clones to follow my gaze to the silhouette of the Togruta, fallen Jedi Master over her shoulder.

The Jedi raced to join us as she approached, Anakin stepping forward to help her place Piell on the ground. His shoulder and neck were spattered with dark blood--an anooba bite, by the looks of it.

“He died honorably,” Ahsoka stated sadly from where she kneeled beside him. It seemed there was no end to the losses we were facing on this mission. There weren’t many of us left now.

“What about the information?” Anakin asked his downtrodden padawan.

“I have it,” she muttered. “He told me just before he died.”

I stepped back as the Jedi moved in, working to remove the Jedi’s outer robe in order to wrap him in it. As they worked, I took the time to sit among the lava stones, dirty hands doing their best to wipe away the blood and grime on my face.

The clones that remained, which were only two of the rescued clones outside of Rex, Cody, Charger, and Fives, found rest near their commanders and worked to inventory their weaponry. I watched in silence as the Jedi performed their ceremony for their dead, a small frown slowly growing on my face.

“I always felt like that was messed up,” Fives said from beside me, nearly making me jump out of my skin. So much for the Force. I was too caught up in my thoughts.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “What?” He nodded meaningfully towards the Jedi who were finishing wrapping their fallen brother. “You mean that they take the time to do rights for a Jedi, but not a clone?”

It was Fives’ turn to be uncomfortable, shifting in his armor. He removed his helmet for the first time since Echo died, revealing a tired face and a glazed gaze. “We never get to...mourn our brothers on the field. Not to mention incinerate their bodies.”

I shook my head, a small smile coming to my face. “You’ve got it wrong. The Mandalorians burned their dead, sure, but not in an incinerator. They put them on massive pyres while those that loved you in life celebrate having you for the time that they did. They drink and tell stories and dance and chant. It’s the send-off warriors deserve.” I glanced sideways at him as the other clones moves to join their commanders as they readied to move Piell’s body. “Maybe one day we can all celebrate Echo together. Even if we can’t have the pyre.”

Fives swallowed thickly before nodding. “I’d like that,” he said curtly, putting his helmet back on to join his brothers at the Jedi funeral. “Thank you.”

I stayed back under the guise that I was keeping a lookout. But in reality, while it was tragic that Piell died, I also mourned the loss of all the other men that had died that day. We didn’t stop for them due to the dire situation. But why could we waste time for a Jedi?

I watched from afar as Obi-wan and Anakin used the Force to lower Piell’s body into the river of lava to burn away. Looking away to continue on as Piell’s body was carried over the falls, my mind drifted to the pyre that burned on Mandalore....all those years ago.

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There were still distant echoes of the battle happening outside the arena. Most droids had been redirected to defend the stations, the clones of my father-figure following them with their new Jedi leaders.

I pushed my way through the last remaining Geonosians that were fleeing, shoving their bug-like faces away from me with the butt of my blaster. I’d seen my mentor die in that arena and knowing Boba...my little brother had seen it too.

“Boba,” I breathed, seeing him across the arena floor. He was crouched, still dressed in the blue clothes the Kaminoans provided for him. He was lifting his father’s helmet to meet his forehead, grief rippling off of him in waves.

I finally made it to the terrified boy. He was filled with anger. Loss. Confusion. My fingers touched his shoulder, making him tense and whirl, drawing his father’s blaster to aim at my nose. He froze when he saw my face, goggles and mask drawn away to reveal my devastated expression.

His brown gaze melted from hatred to grief, tears flowing freely as he pushed his face into my chest plate. I held him, holstering my own weapon to let my arms wrap around him. “We have to go,” I whispered wetly into his tousled hair. He shook his head against me, but let me pull him up.

“I won’t leave him,” he cried.

“I would never ask that,” I responded gently, touching my knuckles to his cheek. “Do you know where Slave I is?” He nodded again, wiping at his eyes. “I need you to get it. Bring it here. I’ll bring him aboard.”

“I can’t-”

“Boba,” I said firmly, doing my best to keep my own face stoic. “If we stay, we die. We will grieve for him properly when we are safe. Do you understand? Can you do that?” He nodded, forcing his own tears down. “Good. Go.”

The young boy ran off to get his father’s ship, while I worked on collecting Jango’s things. I put his blasters back in his holster, collecting each piece the Jedi had severed. By the time Boba arrived with the ship...the arena was all but deserted.

Boba wouldn’t speak again until we’d made it to the desolate surface of Mandalore--a planet destroyed by years of war. Despite saying he hailed from Concord Dawn, I was never really sure about Jango’s past. That was something he was proud of, really.

But I knew he lived the Mandalorian way.

So he deserved the Mandalorian end.

Boba sat silently with his father’s helmet on the gangway of Slave I while I built a pyre with anything I could find. Finally, when it was time, the grieving boy helped me place his father’s wrapped body on the pyre, his weapons and armor all stored away on the ship for when Boba was older--it’s what Jango would have wanted.

I touched under Boba’s chin, lifting his head as the sun began to slide over the flat horizon. With a steadying breath, I struck the flare against my leg, igniting the end in a blossom of red sparks. It ignited the pyre smoothly, smoke billowing up and drifting across the desolate planet.

Closing my eyes, I felt Boba’s anger. His grief. His hopelessness.

With a long breath through my nose, I started to sing. “Motir ca’tra nau tracinya.” I glanced sideways at the young Mandalorian boy, watching the tears stream silently down his cheeks. “Gra’tua cuun heet su dralshy’a.” His jaw clenched, staring into the rising flames as they devoured his father. “Cuun hett su….”

We stood in silence as the pyre burned. I knew we would have to leave shortly, considering the Pacifist government of Mandalore now didn’t much care for our kind. I let us stay for as long as we could, the tears slowly drying from Boba’s face.

I put my hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. “We have to go.”

He hesitated for only a moment, his still-young mind craving some type of support. He pushed into my hand just slightly, as if searching for more, before he suddenly pulled away. I watched silently as he boarded Slave I, his father’s helmet tucked under his arm. He never looked back at the pyre.

----------------

It was at our next stop on the way to Kamino that Boba bolted, taking Slave I with him. I was left behind with the supplies from the goods run I’d made in my arms--ingredients I’d collected for my attempt Uj’alayi. Jango had always been the best at making it. It was Boba’s favorite food.

I had never tried making it again after that.

The back of an armored hand grazed me forearm, but it didn’t shock me. Letting my memories flow as we walked was like a meditation, connecting me to the Force. It let me….see things clearly. The presence that came with the touch was gentle and comforting. Warm, even.

“You alright?” Rex asked under his breath, his voice modulated through the helmet. “You’ve been pretty quiet since Piell died.”

“I’m not apologizing for going against your orders, if that’s what you’re expecting.” Even I was shocked by the bluntness of my words.

Rex barely missed a step, though, even letting out a low chuckle through his nose. “I wasn’t. It’s never been one of your stronger suits, anyways.” Despite his snark, he earned a light-spirited eye roll from me. “But are you okay?”

I sighed slowly. “I was thinking about Jango and his pyre.” That earned the attention of those present. The clones openly looked at me, but the others merely tilted their heads to listen better without being obvious.

“You made him a pyre?”

I nodded. “Like Mandalorians are supposed to have. We did it on the surface of Mandalore. It was all wrong, of course. There’s supposed to be a big celebration and instead it was just two sad kids.”

“I…” Rex paused for a second before lowering his voice to a whisper. “I understand.”

My gaze flickered to him briefly, a sad, but grateful smile lifting my lips. “I know you do.” We were in the back of the group, with only Fives behind us, so I dared to quickly grab his gloved hand, giving it a squeeze.

He didn’t reciprocate, nervous over our current company, but I knew no one but Fives had seen us. And I could feel the small amount of anxiety my touch had eased away from Rex. I suppose as a soldier in a time of war, you learn to appreciate the little things. Then again, I wasn’t much different in that way.

I glanced up as our group slowed, nearing a river of lava. “There’s the extraction point,” Kenobi announced, pointing ahead at a small island in the middle of the river. Cody and Anakin immediately moved forward, both securing lines across the lava.

Rex ran forward first, touching my arm a final time before beginning to crawl across the cable, Tarkin on the other. Fives and one of the rescued clones went next. I nodded to Ahsoka as she stepped up to crawl across, just as Rex was helping Tarkin up on the island.

“Incoming!” he yelled across the river, pointing behind me. We all turned to see squads of commandos on STAPs, led by none other than Sobeck. Maybe I should have risked capture just to kill the bastard before….

The droids rained fire down on us, my lightsaber igniting in my grasp to deflect whatever I could from the cable tethers. Anakin and Obi-wan took to the skies, finding their way onto STAPs of their own and commencing in a dogfight.

“Ahsoka!” I cried, seeing Sobeck targeting her and Cody as the crossed the cables. I took a deep, steadying breath, trusting my body and the Force, and threw myself forward. My feet landed deftly on the cable Ahsoka was crawling on, my knees bending fluidly to match to wavering of the cord.

I turned in my balance, deflecting the incoming shots from Sobeck’s speeder. As he drew closer, I started to worry that I’d just gotten myself killed by putting myself over lava. But I was saved by R2, who came sweeping in with a gust of exhaust he spewed from his ports, blinding Sobeck.

I ducked below his whirling STAP, watching as Fives shot out the engine and sent the Phindian crashing to the ground. Ahsoka made her way up onto the island, followed closely by myself. Panting heavily from the incredible amount of exertion over this mission, I bent over, hands on my knees.

The Force rippled, turning my head at the low growl from Sobeck. Tarkin fired a shot at the warden, confident rolling off him in waves. But Phindians were tougher than that. Sobeck took the shot with an angry growl before throwing himself into Tarkin. He lifted the captain in his claws digits, before slamming him back into the ground again.

“Captain!” Ahsoka yelled, the first one to come out of her shocked daze. She raced across the island as Sobeck lifted Tarkin above his head, meaning to throw him into the lava.

“If I can’t have the information,” the warden screamed, “It will die with you!”

Ahsoka reached them as the others reached me, jabbing her lightsaber through Sobeck’s heart. He screamed, but fell, letting Tarkin walk away safely.

“My thanks, Padawan Tano,” Tarkin gasped as he did his best to straighten his clothes. He sighed indignantly as he stepped past Anakin, Obi-wan, and I. “I see you’ve trained her well,” he said to the former.

We all blinked for a moment before Obi-wan looked sideways at Anakin and I. “The rescue ship should be here by now,” he declared.

Anakin chuckled sarcastically. “So should the rest of the Seperatist army.” As they said it, Ahsoka stepping away from Sobeck’s body, engines whirred through the mist. A Republic gunship emerged, blowing hot air over all of us. It was welcome.

As was the face of Jedi Master Plo Koon. “I believe you’ve worn out your welcome,” he suggested, gesturing for us to board. Spider droids began to climb over the edges of our little island, weapons firing.

I drew my saber immediately, briefly feeling the surprise from the new additions to our group. Rushing the first droid, I ducked beneath its blasters and sliced up through its center, before turning to deflect fire back on another. The clones rushed to board as we were pushed backwards, Ahsoka and Obi-wan retreating onto the ship as well.

Anakin glanced at me over his shoulder, and I understood. I disengaged my saber and leapt aboard the gunship just before it began to rise in the air. I felt no fear from Anakin as he faced the droids alone before calmly leaping high into the air and flipping into the gunship.

“Let’s go!” Ahsoka yelled into the cockpit, the doors sealing around us. I always hated this part most of travelling--being sealed inside with no way out and the vacuum of space on the other side. That’s why I preferred navigating myself. Or at least having some damn windows.

“Admiral Coburn,” Plo said into his wrist comm, “We have the survivors. Recall all fighters.”

“Yes, General,” came the reply. “Prepare to jump to lightspeed.” I closed my eyes, hand resting gently over the over-head grips. I let myself find my balance again. I mourned for Echo. Maybe even for Piell. He was one of the first Jedi to not treat me as dangerous when meeting me. He even encouraged me to embrace my abilities more.

I guess I mourned a friendship that could have been.

The ship rocked gently beneath my feet, indicating we had landed in the hangar. “We’re all ready, General,” Koon spoke into the communicator. There was the brief feeling of weightlessness, like that queeziness you get in your stomach when you are free falling--we were in hyperspace now.

The gunship doors hissed open, our weary band practically falling into the hangar. We were met with medics and water--a jug of which I happily took. I was offered quarters of my own and supplies to wash my gear with. A part of me wanted to stay and spend time with Fives and Rex. But as I watched Rex put his arm around Fives’ shoulder and lead him towards the mess hall, I decided against it.

Right now, they needed their brothers.

So with a last sad glance as the many faces around me that looked just like Echo….but nothing like him at all….I walked alone to my quarters to wait out the trip.

-------------------

MANDO’A

Motir ca’tra nau tracinya. Gra’tua cuun heet su dralshy’a. Cuun hett su….

Those who stand before us light the night sky in flame. Our vengeance burns brighter still. Burns brighter still….

(SONG FOUND HERE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7f-HvIKYzs)

Uj’alayi - Mandalorian dessert (dense, sweet cake with nuts and fruit)

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lunasantcs · 4 years

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hi hi! it me, leonie ( mariangels mun ), with my second muse luna! unlike mari who’s a total lawful good, luna is more of a mixture of chaotic good and chaotic neutral who’s very much just starting out in life because her mom’s a cray cray rich lady. more on that below, pals. feel free to leave a LIKE and i’ll come to you for plots! OR! feel free to message me on discord at ( emeravdes#9932 ) since i’m not in the gc bc i get overwhelmed very easily. thanks for coming to my ted talk & feel free to read this ridiculously long essay i’ve come up with. <3 @frostfordstart

TW: MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE

full name: luna raquel santos

nicknames: lu, lulu or raquel (but only her grandparents call her that bc they hate the fact that her parents named her luna lol)

birthday: april 30th

current age: twenty six

sexuality: bisexual, panromantic

personality (+): benevolent, adventurous, free spirited, appreciative, energetic, fun loving

personality (-): sheltered, reckless, outspoken, stubborn, envious, attention seeking

luna was born and raised in frostford to yuliana and marcos santos - both of which are of brazilian roots but their families have been living in the us for decades. her family is rich rich and it stems back for a few decades. don’t ask me how they made their fortune because i actually have no clue as of right now. we working on it.

she was the youngest child and only daughter to yuliana and marcos which meant that she was instantly their pride and joy. their princess. their doll.

she has two older brothers - jax (32) and santiago (35) - who love their little sister to pieces and have never really been a big fan of the way their mother treats luna,

INCOMING MOMMY ISSUES

yuliana was the kind of girl that wanted to be in pageants growing up but her family never allowed her the chance because they valued education over anything that had to do with glamour despite having the money to blow on the fancy aspects. so! the moment yuliana found out that she was having a daughter, she was ECSTATIC. she could finally get to live the life of pageants that her parents robbed her of and she was thriving.

so comes my baby luna

from the moment she was born, her mother had her in fancy dresses and from the moment that she could walk, yuliana made sure that her daughter could perfect the pageant walk before she could perfect walking like a normal human being. if she did something right, she’d drown luna in affection. if she did something wrong, she’d scowl and tell her to do it again. often times this resulted in her crying - especially when she was still a toddler.

over the course of her childhood, she continued with the pageant life and slowly it became something that she lived and breath. she felt like it was the best way to connect with her mother and a part of her really did have a love for the whole ordeal. for a while. by the time she was eight, her mother essentially had the picture perfect pageant girl and she’d completely forgotten that this girl also needed love and a mother to help her through life.

but her dad? a sweetheart, a gem, the most affectionate dad that she could have ever asked for and she loves him to pieces. calls him every single day. or texts. santos fam group chat is her, marcos, jax, santiago, and her maternal grandparents. ANYWAYS! WE CONTINUE!

despite yuliana’s instance that her kids go to private school, her parents convinced her to just send her kids to public school because it would offer the kids a chance to actually get to know people around town that weren’t in their parents circle of rich idiots. this was luna’s saving grace. in school, she made genuine friendships and she finally found a sense of comfort.

not that that lasted long because yuliana was instantly up her ass telling her that those kids from school weren’t real friends and that she had to focus on her priorities aka pageants. only pageants. always PAGEANTS. so... that’s exactly what luna did.

can you tell that her mom is a demon yet? ‘cause we got more!

moving on to high school! things were essentially always the same. luna would go to school, live her life, make some friends but eventually she’d lose said friends because of her mom or because luna put up a wall since she knew that she’d lose them anyways.

she was in a car accident with her older brother jax when she was sixteen which resulted in her missing a pageant which made yuliana BIG MAD.

it was in her senior year of high school that yuliana set luna up with one of her friends sons and essentially forced her to be in a relationship with someone she had no connection w/at all.

she dated this person for a while (again, to make her MOM happy, not herself) up until her mother started talking about getting married which was when luna was like LOL ABORT MISSION and broke up w/the dude. did she like him? sure. but she wasn’t going to get married after high school. no thanks.

yuliana, naturally, was furious. got mad. was mad for a while. oscar the grouch mad 24/7.

THEN CAME COLLEGE! LUNA WAS FINALLY FREE! well... not really because her mother picked her school for her as well as her major; columbia university with a major in business. why? because she knew people who worked at the school that would be able to keep an eye out on her daughter.

SOMEHOW? luna still managed to find a sense of freedom the moment she stepped foot onto campus and was away from her mother. she was studying something she hated but she finally could live a life where she didn’t feel like she had to constantly please her mother or worry about falling out of line. it felt amazing.

this was where she discovered hook ups and friends w/benefits and BOI OH BOI was she thriving!

it was in her senior year of college that she had a long talk with her grandparents about what she wanted for herself and where she saw herself going. they wanted what was best for her and that meant getting her out from their own childs clutches who only saw luna as someone to parade around. it took her a while but the words from the talk stayed with luna until she was twenty two and she finally stood up for herself and told her mother NO MAS.

yuliana was like BITCH WHAT but luna was like YOU HEARD ME even though it was a bit less... blunt that i just made it seem.

at twenty two, she stopped competing in pageants and went off on an adventure to europe with her grandparents. her grandparents were really only with her for a month as they settled them into a nice place in italy but after that, she was finally happy.

she lived in italy and traveled around europe until she was twenty five which was when she moved back to frostford because she missed her grandparents, dad and older brothers. when she moved back, her grandparents helped her find a cute little home and she even got herself a red husky named kida - since she’d never been allowed to have a pet before in her life.

her dad still gives luna anything and everything she could ever want bc we stan a man who watches out for his child but luna also wants to make a life for herself outside of her parents money so she went and got a job. it was harder than she expected but she finally was willing to get one thanks to june diaz so now she’s a waitress at the whole enchilada and has been since she got back a solid year ago.

did i mention she’s been back one year? i feel like i should have mentioned it somewhere above but oh whale.

her new found freedom (its new even after four years OKAY) has also left her with a bit of a reckless streak. she is, in fact, a lot to handle at times and there’s other times where she falls back into that docile behavior her mom basically morphed into her. so... yeah!

FUN FACTS!

she wanted to be a cheerleader in high school but her mother was like NOT ON MY WATCH YOUNG LADY

her very first shift working at the whole enchilada resulted in her accidentally dropping a customers food on the floor and getting yelled at which resulted in her hiding in the bathroom to cry

she’s fluent in english, portugese, italian and french

she’s a flirty drunk which means she will probs try to get w/you if she’s drunk. unless you’re taken bc she knows her boundaries and she says NO to taken men.

anything she does regarding men is mainly to spite her mother bc she doesn’t really think she’s capable of falling in love. thanks to her mom basically making her feel worthless all her life :)

she’s a harry potter nerd and spiritually identifies as hufflepuff with slytherin tendencies even though pottermore told her 12 times that she is, in fact, a gryffindor. but she refuses to accept that. nope. not happening.

her hair is currently dyed a lavender purple. it’s almost always lavender purple. just assume it’s that color 24/7 lol.

CONNECTIONS!

i put together a wanted connections page for luna but it’s probs gonna get reworked like... two more times because i’m a perfectionist and am obsessed with providing too much detail. too much for my own good imma be hoe-nest. but feel free to hit me with anything! KTHNXBYELOVEYOULOTS<3

#about.#intro.#abuse tw

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daily-rayless · 4 years

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20 Years of Art

2000

(OC / Celes from Final Fantasy 6 / OC / OC)

The influence of Final Fantasy 6, off of the Anthology collection, and Yoshitaka Amano caused a significant shift in my art, leading my human figures to be very slender, graceful, and frequently pale. Most of it was of women, some of it was of horses, and by then I was very self-consciously starting to draw men. I mostly worked in pencils and colored pencils. Faces were oval with high hairlines and long, sharp, narrow noses. Also note my evident fear of mouth-seams and lower eyelids. I was pretty terrible at coloring, often feeling that coloring one of my sketches ruined all the nice linework.

2001

(Quistis from Final Fantasy 8 / Rosa from Final Fantasy 4? / Schala from Chrono Trigger / Dark Knight OC from Final Fantasy 4)

This is where more anime influences came in, and I consciously took on a semi-anime, semi-realistic (in my own mind) style. My ideal of beauty was overbig eyes, overlong nose, and oversmall mouth, and I stuck to it pretty relentlessly. Trying to figure out shadows and face structure. Still bad at coloring. I was incredibly proud of that charcoal picture. Was also going through my mandatory Dark 'n Edgy phase, with a big helping of Phantom of the Opera, Sarah Brightman, and my attempts at designing supercool clothes, many of which I wouldn't have actually worn, even given the opportunity.

2002

(Me trying to recreate “Flaming June” / OC, who incidentally looks almost exactly like Sarah Brightman and whose diadem was bodily lifted from a Jodi Lee painting / angsty symbolic wet chain lady / OC)

Deep in the Dark 'n Edgy. Faces are still very heavily made-up, with big lashes, defined upper eyelids, and dark lips. Trying very hard to be a good artist though, have high expectations for the future. I was so proud of that final pose and worked so hard on it. Lined paper? So not a problem. Besides, how else am I supposed to draw during class? A sketchbook would've been even more obvious than the incredibly obvious I already was. I'm able to listen while drawing pretty reliably, and I did manage to take detailed notes while doodling, so at least I had that going for me.

2003

(Celes / OC / OC / Hermes-inspired wing lady)

I was focusing (at least some of the time) on backgrounds and trying to make my work detailed and polished. Coloring is still hopeless. Often when I colored, I would go super light, even when I was using dark or intense colors. It would give my pictures a sort of faint, half-assed hazy look. I remember an art teacher urging me to use more color, but I probably resisted because I knew that way lay total destruction. I'm sorry, well-meaning art teacher. You are unversed in the ways of my pencils. I have killed too many sketches to take those kinds of risks.

2004

(Rosa? / Meliara from Crown Duel / willow-dress lady / Geddoe and Queen from Suikoden 3)

See the Meliara picture? That's supposed to be a night scene in a forest. Front-lit by blazing firelight. I was too afraid to make the colors darker. This is dark enough, okay? Anyway, this year, along with being utterly obsessed with Suikoden 3 and Crown Duel, I was letting my art head in a more realistic direction...

2005

(OC / Queen / Queen / part of Zetta and Salome from Makai Kingdom; I remember deliberately copying those swoopy Ss from one of my friends’ handwriting. Wishes ended up being the first longform fanfic I posted online.)

...that really flourished this year. It's not actually realism, but I made a point to give my characters, especially the women, more realistic bodies. Faces are very round in this period, often with soft features. Noses are prominent. I'm also, finally, using more vibrant colors. I probably got my first Prismacolor pencils around this time. I also got some really cheap markers, but had no idea how to use them so mostly stuck to pencils.

2006

(All OCs)

I look back on this as a good year. I was learning better coloring techniques. (Bold colors! Press that pencil down! Okay, I still had much to learn.) I got an Elfwood gallery while the site was doing its slow mosey into oblivion. But that was an important step, not just looking at other people's art online, but putting my own up as well. There were downsides though. I began to feel more insecure – or maybe more realistic? – about my art, on this site with so many highly talented artists. Still, 2006 is a good year. It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot.

2007

(vampire and hunter / Fleur from Harry Potter / OC / Avril from Wild Arms 5)

The year of Fleur Delacour. This is when I was writing Kindred. I think it was because I was trying to depict Fleur as distinctly non-human that my art shifted away from that more realistic style. Fleur, and my other figures, became very tall and slender. The anime DNA is still there though. For a long time, I felt the lying-down picture of Fleur was my best work.

2008

(Revya and Gig from Soul Nomad / my attempts at being “abstract” / OC / OC)

This was the year of Soul Nomad and, towards the end, Tales of the Abyss. Unsurprisingly, the anime influences start moving back to the fore. The eyes are becoming larger again, the features a bit more angular and stylized, mouths are shrinking. I'm still desperately trying to figure out markers and wondering why it's so darn hard (I don't try to educate myself, I just flail), but I was proud of that blue OC picture. It made me feel like I was getting somewhere. 2008 is when I started my deviantART gallery, right when everyone else was moving on to Tumblr.

2009

(teacup lady / Persona 4 noir-style comic / Revya / OC)

Then Persona 4 hit. Shigenori Soejima was a huge influence in this period, especially in eyes and faces. Pupils, chins, and jawlines shrink, eyelashes are sparse and stylized, noses are simplified. 2008 and 2009 are about as pure anime as I've ever gotten. Meanwhile, I'm really exited about my dA gallery and trying lots of different combinations of media. I'm super active on dA and FFN at this point, writing Elysion and then a slew of shorter Persona fics.

2010

(Minako from Persona 3: Portable / concept-art-version Minako / lady with dragon ferret thing / other lady with dragon ferret thing)

I'm still drawing with a lot of Soejima influences. Additionally, bodies are becoming even longer, taller, thinner, and bendier. Some of them look absurd to me now. On the other hand, a lot of pictures from this period have a nice elegance to them. I was still using colored pencils a fair bit, but more clumsy markers are showing up. Persona 3: Portable came out, and this is when I was writing Death and Ker.

2011

(mask lady / hat lady / Archaya, Duphaston, and Iryth from Eternal Poison / symbolic autumn lady and her winter baby)

Midway through this year, I hit a breakthrough when I got my first set of Copics – and skin tones, no less. Even though I was still flailing, I was so thrilled with my results. That Eternal Poison picture left me enormously proud, as did the mother and child one. My style hasn't changed all that much, but it's starting to feel less extreme. The focus on big eyes and tiny little mouths remains.

2012

(Elza from Suikoden 2 / Daryl and Setzer from Final Fantasy 6 / Killey and Lorelai from Suikoden 2 / Lyssa, Greek goddess of madness)

This is the year of Elza. Lots of delicate sketches of this lovely scarred lady, and lots of colored pictures too. I've definitely shifted away from pencils towards markers. The Daryl and Setzer one was an attempt to use both, and I was very happy with it. These pictures show their age, but there's still a lot here I like. Mouths are larger too. However, my online activity was starting to lag.

2013

(Rydia from Final Fantasy 4 / Nia from Infinite Space / the prophet and Schala / Argos and Io from Greek mythology)

The mid-2010s weren't entirely great for me, marked with a lot of frustration and discontent. And that definitely carried over to my art, making me feel very disappointed with myself. There was lots of marker work this year. Probably the standout picture is Argos and Io. This is also when I played through all three routes of Fate/Extra, and my art was suddenly full of Hakuno and Emiya.

2014

(Minako / butterfly lady / Marta and Tenebrae from Tales of Symphonia 2 / Elza)

Looking at it now, this was a good year. Lots of nice marker art. The butterfly one was a big step up for me in terms of coloring. The Marta and Tenebrae has a really cool stylized look to it. But I was becoming less enthusiastic about sharing my art with others. I started to post less and less.

2015

(evil Hakuno and Emiya from the Fate series / Mitsuru from Persona 3 / half moon cookie lady / Hakuno)

I barely posted anything this year, though I was still drawing a ton. As far as making strides, this is one of my better years. Coloring will never be my strong suit, but it's a lot more fun, and it looks a lot better. It's almost entirely marker-work at this point. Despite my, er, angst, a lot of people are smiling this year.

2016

(OC / doodle lady / Luna from Roman mythology / hair bow lady)

At this point, it's feeling too recent for me to really see what's changed. I did a fair bit of eraserless work. One problem I still have – and, yes, it involves coloring my pictures – is losing some of the image's personality after I've inked it and erased the initial pencil work. The picture's still there, but not as nuanced as it originally was. The results often feel stiff to me. Doing the first linework in ink, or not inking at all, allows me to keep that sensitive, spontaneous quality. Luna and the bow and doodle ladies were done without erasers. Another thing I did a lot this year was fill backgrounds with busy shapes and colors, which is a trend I’m still following today.

2017

(flapper and dog / Alcyone and Ceyx from Greek mythology / flower hair lady / Kida from Atlantis)

Not a good year. Not that the art is bad, there just isn't a lot of it, and what there is often isn't very finished. I was still mostly dark online, wondering if I should take down my dA gallery. Drawing and knowing I wasn't going to post something took off some of the pressure of my own expectations, but I was still unhappy.

2018

(Altera from the Fate series / Elizabeth Bathory from the Fate series / OC / Aranea from Final Fantasy 15)

This was a really important year for me. I wrote a novel I'm really proud of, and it's done a lot to give me confidence and a sense of creative direction. I also decided that after New Years, I was going to start a Tumblr gallery...just as everyone who was still on the site was jumping off of it. Much of my 2018 work is still sketchy and unfinished, but I also think it's loosening up some. It feels less stiff than the stuff from the middle of the decade.

2019

(Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn / medievaly lady / Red from Transistor / Red)

The year of Supergiant Games, which led me to focus more on bright saturated colors. It's really hard for me to analyze these objectively. Coloring is better? I worked more on details? I used my metallic gel pens a ton and did shape-cluttered backgrounds? These aren't new things, but I think they paid off okay. I'm more at peace with my level of ability, I've finished more complicated works, and I crawled out of my den and started posting regularly online again. So that's all good. Curious to see what the art looks like in twenty more years.

#art progression #20 years of art #2000-2019 #i'm not tagging all the characters #this is a terribly long post #and shouldn't clutter up too many search results #thank you if you read the whole thing #i apologize for typos #art meme #art summary

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cynnymonsnaps · 5 years

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Let the Tides of Change Come

Part 1

Pairing(s): Carlos de Vil/Jane/Oc, Ben/Mal, Evie/Doug, Gil/Jay

Word Count: 2,062

Summary: Sometimes the power to rewrite things comes in the form of jumping right into the Descendants universe and giving everyone a piece of your mind.

Doug’s stereotypical nerdy band kid shtick? Out the window it goes. The adults not knowing how to do anything right? Not on my watch. Kids being stuck on a prison of an Island? You’re all coming with me now.

For Micha, they’ve taken on the grueling task of heading to the surface to help teach the kids of Auradon and the Isle that it’s okay to talk things out and to not give into the rules and expectations of the older generation.Will someone at least give these teens a moment to breath in between saving the kingdom please? Jesus.

A/N: A few notes before we get into things: "Michael" is pronounced "MI-kha-ehl" "Micha" is pronounced "MI-kha" and "Marius" is pronounced "MA-ree-oos"

Having been a long way from any civilization, it took a while for Micha and the stranger (whose name they found out was Marius) to maneuver through all the vegetation and ruins. It seemed that because the Atlanteans were so focused on surviving they never truly stepped out of their city limits and stayed within its walls. Which, Marius remarked, was the reason why the two of them had ventured out so far initially; to search for any other clues behind their people’s past and possibly find more resources.

While the two moved along (albeit very slowly as Micha were getting slightly distracted by everything around them.) Micha had come to some conclusions:

The first thing was that they would take on the name of “Michael”. Or as Marius had called them, “Micha” for short. It’d be easier to take on a new name instead of trying to convince others that they were someone else. And seeing how they were stuck in this body for however long, they’d need to get used to the name change.

The second thing they found was that though they’ve never actually worked out in their previous life, the muscle memory for their current body was strong. Whenever it came to dangerous ledges or crumbling stones, they were able to instinctively get over any obstacle in their way. Climbing rock walls was easy without having to breaking a sweat. And if they wanted to, they could have gone up a couple flights of stairs with the energy they had left. Just from feeling the firmness of muscle on their body showed how often the previous Micha probably exercised. It was kind of scary, not gonna lie.

It was like they were thrown straight into a storybook. One where the main character got transported into a new body in a whole different universe. Which was kind of cool but also made them question a few things like: Where did the original soul go? Did they switch bodies when they were underwater nearly drowning? Did Micha straight up die in their sleep like all the other protagonists? Was this just an Atlantis plotline or some sort of weird Disney multiverse universe? How did all this work anyway?!

All these questions ran through their mind like race cars on a track crashing and swerving into each other. Just trying to pick them out from each other gave Micha a huge headache. So, they decided it was best to not think about it anymore and just kept their eyes on the trail. For now, it was best to decide what they were going to do from here on out. Lightly scratching their chin, they began to think of what others did in similar scenarios. Ah yes. What would that one anime protag do?

“Would you stop acting like a dazed fool? We’re here.” Marius called out to them. Snapping out of their stupor they hadn’t realized they had even passed into the city. They really needed to start paying attention to their surroundings.

Looking up, they saw Marius standing in front of a pair of doors. On the door there was a large engraved spiral going outwards from the center with door handles that were stone carved heads. Though it looked to be worn down with age, you remembered it that same exact door leading to the throne room in the movie. There were even guards standing next to the door who weren’t telling the two of them to go away. Not understanding why they were there, Micha gave Marius a weird look. Was he some sort of hot shot or something to be able to go to the throne room? But he said they were going “to Mother and Father.” Wait. Did that mean he was a part of the royal family? Were they a part of the royal family? Are they even siblings?

With no further explanations Marius nodded to the guards to open the door. He righted himself and stood with his arms behind his back like some sort of official. Not knowing what to do exactly Micha stood beside him awkwardly. “Stand up straight. It’s not good to slouch in front of the King and Queen.” He chided them, not even looking their way as he did so. They could only roll their eyes and did as he said, trying to push away the slight anxious feeling down in their gut.

With the doors fully opened, Marius sauntered in. Micha on the other hand, couldn’t help but lag behind to take in the wonder of the throne room. “Mother. Father. We’re back.” He went to formally bow but was stopped by a man with an American accent.

"You know you don't need to be so stiff with us, right?" The American called in a teasing tone, coming closer to the two of them. Before them was Milo Thatch who didn’t look a day over 30. He was still lanky like before, but they could see he had grown some amount of muscle required to live here in Atlantis. "My own son, bowing down before me. Come on! Give your old man a hug." He stood Infront of Marius with his arms spread wide, a warm smile on his face. Marius looked like he wanted to resist, but Milo’s smile was too bright, he could only hesitate before slowly sinking into his father’s arms with a face full of embarrassment. Micha almost let out a laugh at the sight, but the daggers sent their way made them look away like they hadn’t seen anything.

Without anything really to look at, their eyes naturally landed on the older yet still charming Kida Nedakh. She hadn’t seemed to age as much either and retain much of her beauty. It felt like there was more of a mature aura around her now, and her hair had grown past her waist. She hadn’t lost the gleam of adventure in her eyes, but her posture told them that she had many years of knowledge under her belt. It must have been the magic of the crystal. Since it helped the Atlanteans be near immortal it must have cause them to physically age at a much slower rate as the years went by.

Kida was so beautiful that when she went to chuckle at the two men, Micha actually felt themselves blush. Feeling flustered they immediately looked down at the ground to avoid eye contact. For people they once thought were fictional, the couple were pretty breath taking to look at. It felt kind of wrong to look at them both for too long. How were you supposed to talk to breath taking people? Heck! How were you supposed to talk to breath taking heroes who were once cartoons? Oh god this was starting to get to real. Reality was starting to crash into them. They took in a shaky breath and held their head to try to regain some sort of ground.

"Michael?" Kida’s smooth voice called above them, bringing them back. Before they had realized it, Kida had made her way in front of them, a look of concern on her face. Usually when the two children would come into the throne room, Micha would always jump in at the prospect of Marius’ embarrassment and join in on the fun. It was odd that they were just standing there looking like they were out of sorts. It worried Kida a bit. “Is there something wrong my dear?”

Realizing their probably out of character behavior, they straightened themselves out and quickly shook their head. They didn’t want to speak out loud incase they’d say something else out of character. Though that probably wasn’t hard because who knew what the previous Micha was like before.

At Micha’s sudden muteness, Milo unwrapped his arms from Marius and went to kneel in front of them. “Are you feelin’ alright pumpkin? Usually you can’t wait to jump on your brother.” He reached to touch their shoulder, but the quick moment had Micha stepping back a bit. Not knowing what he did, Milo looked to be a little hurt by their action. They cursed at themself. Milo was a good guy, but Micha was just thrown into a whole new world with strangers that they didn’t know, and they weren’t really feeling touchy feely right now.

"I…" Micha began. They tried to find some way to explain themselves. Something to possibly relieve the tension, but things were coming up blank.

Seeing their troubles, Marius spoke up, “Michael almost drowned themselves today at the cove.” When the couple gasped in shock he further explained, “There was nothing wrong with them physically. However, they have been acting strange ever since.” Of course, he had to make the situation worse. What did they expect? Since they’ve first met, he’s only been a jerk to them and now, he had to open his big dumb mouth. They gave him a dirty look, hoping it could somehow beat him over the head or something.

Before Micha could look back to see the older couple’s reaction, they were suddenly embraced and cradled like a baby. Kida pulled back enough to try and find any injuries while Milo took to crying in their ear about the thought of his child almost drowning. “Oh, my baby! That must have been horrible! Daddy’s so sorry you had to go through that!” He whaled as his embrace tightened.

“Please… let go.” They squeezed out.

Not hearing them, Milo proceeded to only hug them tighter. So much so that their face started turning blue. Thank god Kida smacked him over the head to let them go or else they would have popped like a balloon. “Can’t you see that they’re suffocating? Let go already.” Realizing his mistake, he gave an awkward laugh and let go.

He stood up besides the two and scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry. Force of habit.” Kida gave him a nod and brought Micha closer to her, rubbing small circles in their back as they gathered their breath.

“No Father. Do go on. I don’t think Micha’s been squished enough.”

“Well if you say it like that, I’d have to say someone else needs more hugs than Micha right now.”

“I prefer to disagree.”

“Aw come on. Not even for your pops?”

“Especially for you, your highness.”

“So cold.”

“Enough you two.”

With all the chaos going around them, Micha didn’t know where to focus exactly. The Nedakh family were so comfortable with each other that they could bounce off each other like pin balls. It made it hard for them to try to interject. They had questions that needed to be answered, and though this little family back and forth was funny, they needed the information now. With renewed confidence they shot out a question on top of their head.

“Are… Are you guys my family?"

…

Oh my god! Micha smacked themselves in the head. Really? The one question to start out with and that was the one they just had to pick? Fuuuck! I’m so screwed.

While Micha was screaming at themselves silently, they hadn’t noticed the room fall silent. It wasn’t until Milo threw his hands up in hysteria that they noticed.

“Oh my god! They don’t remember us! What are we going to do?!?” The room filled with his panic like the world was coming to an end. He grabbed onto Marius and began shaking him wildly back and forth as he dissolved into crazy ramblings. Being the unfortunate victim of his father’s chaos, Marius tried to calm him down but was thrown here and there by Milo’s mysterious strength.

Ignoring the commotion behind the two of them, Kida knelt down on her knees and gently touched Micha’s shoulders. She searched their eyes for something. When she couldn’t seem to find it, her face melted into something of concern and something else that was unreadable.

"Do you really not remember who we are?"

There was something in Kida’s clear blue eyes that made them want to tell the truth, but at the same time they couldn’t. There was no way of telling how all of them would react. What if they thought Micha was some sort of crazy person? Would they be locked up forever because of it? Of course, they knew that Kida and Milo were at least going to hear them out, but would they actually believe a small child?

Micha’s expression scrunched more and more with all the heavy thoughts weighing down their mind. They were so lost in what to do. And they had only just came to this world not even an hour ago.

Seeing the intensity in their face, Kida squeezed their shoulders to get their attention again. She brushed a stray hair behind their ear and without missing a beat she looked them in the eyes and gave the gentlest smile. “Whatever is on your mind. I will listen. Anything you have to say, I will not judge you for it.” The words filled Micha with warmth. Kida was trying to reassure them, and it was somewhat working. Her touch seemed to ground them, calming their nerves and helped them drown out everything else.

Kida and Milo believed in each other to find the truth. And when they found it, they protected it with everything they had. The two of them wouldn’t judge a person just because they said some improbable things and would absolutely listen to them all the way through. Not to mention if Micha wanted to get through this whole situation, these two were probably the best help they could get.

Micha only hesitated for a second longer before gathering up all the courage they had. With tightly clenched hands, they began. “Have you ever heard of reincarnation?”

There was a confusion in Kida’s eyes. It didn’t occur to them that with the crystals help, their people had rarely died out and tended to live for long periods of time. So of course, she had never heard about reincarnation before. In their effort to try to explain it somehow to the older woman they hadn’t realized that things had gotten quiet around them.

"You mean like a rebirth of a soul into a new body?" Milo interjected, suddenly kneeling down besides Kida to join in on the conversation. There was an unseen sparkle in his eye.

Give it to the man who’s a linguist, cartographer, and plumber to also know philosophical concepts. Micha nodded their head, glad to know at least someone knew about what they were talking about.

"Father I don't understand." Marius called behind the two.

"Well, it's a philosophical and religious concept that non-physical essence of a living being starts a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death." Milo began, turning to Marius like he was an audience member. "It's a central tenet of Indian religions, namely Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Hinduism, although there are Hindu groups that don’t believe in reincarnation but believe in an afterlife." God it was like he was a Wikipedia article listing off all the information like a machine. Before he could completely lose himself in his history lesson, Kida cleared her throat to bring him back on track. He coughed awkwardly and faced Micha again, giving them a somewhat serious look. Behind his glasses they could see the scholarly look he had and there was something else behind it too. "Usually reincarnation happens after death, but there have been cases of near-death experiences triggering some sort of past life memories."

It took Kida a bit to catch on, but as she pieced things together her eyes slowly drew back to Micha. A look of astonishment crossed her features. "So, Michael almost drowning-"

"Could have been the trigger for such a thing to an occur, yes." Milo finished.

Marius frowned. "That would explain the amnesia and personality difference."

Giving then all a moment to figure it all out, Micha couldn't help but be surprised on how well they all were taking it. Granted Milo was an exception because he was a history nerd and he liked going deeper into unsolved theories. But they couldn't shake the feeling of guilt. The whole thing about transmigration was that the original host had to die for them to use the previous owner’s body. Meaning they had basically lost their own flesh and blood and was now met with a stranger wearing their skin. Just the thought of it all made them feel sick to their stomach.

"Micha, my sweet child." Kida called to them, pulling them into her arms with a warm embrace. The sudden hug gave them a start and on reflex their whole body stiffened. As you've probably guessed, they were never one for close contact. Whether or not that was the social awkwardness from their previous life or just the fact that they were guilt stricken, they just didn't know. Though the longer they were in her arms, the more they seemed to relax. It didn't even take two minutes before they just accepted it and leaned into Kida's touch. "No matter who you are, whoever memories you possess, or whoever you feel like being, I will always love you to the absolute core." She held them with a delicate firmness, careful to let them break free whenever they wanted to but still showing that she wanted to be as close as possible. She was so close in fact, that they could smell the remnants of the sea in her hair mixed in with a dull scent of bitter incense. She had been nothing but kind to them since they've shown up and it really moved them. They could hear the sincerity in her words as they hit their heart. All in all, it almost made Micha want to hug her back. And they did. They slowly yet surely snaked their arms around her waist and returned her hug, earning them a soft chuckle from the older woman.

"Yeah! It won't change the fact that you're our little troublemaker. And heck we'll just have to spend more time with each other to get to know one other better." Milo cheered as he ruffled their hair. At the amazed look they gave him, he laughed and gave them a quick side squeeze before wrapping his arm around Kida's waist.

Milo and Kida shared a look before they turned their attention to Marius, who was staying in the back with his arms crossed. It wasn’t surprising he was distant. He was the closest in age to the original “Micha” and probably spent the most time with them before the incident. To his stand-offish attitude, Milo and Kida began a physic chat with him through only their eyes. It wasn't until he gave a heavy sigh that they knew he had lost. He came over and knelt in front of Micha, putting his finger right on their forehead. "You may not have been "Micha" before, but you are "Micha" now. We're family now and will be for a long time." He pushed his finger hard enough on their forehead to make a mark and chuckled when Micha grumbled in pain. He looked away triumphantly when his mother gave a scolding look. Even though the poke had hurt a lot, Micha couldn’t help the smile that spread across their face. They didn't want to admit it but right from the beginning he had already acted like their big brother through and through. Just the thought made them burst out in laughter.

Their laugh was infectious and soon everyone was laughing along, filling the atmosphere with a relaxing warmth. Micha took the opportunity to look at each of their family members, taking them in. It felt right to let them into their walls. The journey was quite a hard one, and maybe just maybe they could get through it okay with their family by their side.

When the laughter died down Milo gave an excited grin, holding out his hand for Micha to take. “Now that we’ve got things straighten out, how about we go sit down and talk more? We could even show you around to get used to the scenery and everything!”

Micha gave one look at his hand and grinned. Grabbing on with a firm grip, they looked up at him smiling ear to ear. “Let’s go Dad.”

One couldn’t hear it, but Milo’s heart seemed to explode from the cuteness that was Micha. He couldn’t help but cover his chest and take a breath before slowly leading them off. The others following close behind.

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