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marisol-000 · 7 months ago

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The Sandbox Scientists ch. 3

Sooooo I may have been off about how long this would take, in my defense this is only my second multi-chapter fic! My solution to this is to stop guessing when things will be done so you get ch. 4 when you get it <3

Something I realized when double checking the opening scene is that I accidentally made it very unclear which Henry is narrating XD, I’ve decided to leave it that way

Big chapter this time! I thought about splitting it up but that's lame so you get what you get <3 Happy Thanksgiving!

(a03)

Henry was over the moon.

The adults liked science!!!

The adults like science the way they liked science!!!!!

They weren't mad or grossed out at all! Like the other grown ups and kids were when he talked about it.

The “Lodgers” as they called themselves had shown him and the other him all sorts of cool stuff! Like a GIANT octopus, and a metal man with glowing eyes, the biggest telescope he’d ever seen in his life, and even mice that were invisible!

There were so many labs here that were used for all sorts of things he didn’t understand yet!

Mr. Sinnet even let them hold his flamethrower!!

Not even his mother liked when he showed her his ‘science projects’. But these guys! They let him put his hands in the dirt and pick up a plant that moved!

Other Henry touched some slime that didn’t stick if he was fast enough!

And one of the lodgers gave them candy!

Whatever this place was was the best place EVER! He hoped Momma would let them come back sometime.

Archer, their new friend, leaned next to them while they tried the big lollipops someone named Doodle gave them.

“So, what kinda science is you two’s favorite? Neuroscience? Engineering? Cryptobiology?”

No one ever asked Henry what kind of science he liked! He also didn’t know what those words meant but he couldn’t wait to find out!

“Potions! I like to make potions with stuff I find outside! Oh and monsters! When I grow up I’m gonna be a monster doctor so I can help monsters when they get sick!”

Other him jumped in at this. “Yeah! I’m gonna make potions that bring people back to life, like Frankenstein!”

Someone nearby gasped. A hushed mutter ran through the crowd at this. Lodgers who had started to drift away and chat with their neighbors were suddenly pulled back into the boys’ conversation.

Archer straightened, and had an odd spark in his eyes.

“Sooooo, you like Frankenstein then?”

They nodded, “Mm hm! He’s the coolest scientist ever! I wanna be just like him!”

The whispers grew louder, with people giggling and nudging each other.

“You don’t say? Then I bet it’d be really cool if I were to tell you about a certain someone who’s in town.” Archer mused.

Henry paused in trying to bite his lollipop, “Who?”

Surely they couldn’t mean…

“Oh no one special,” he said, someone snickered behind them, “It’s just that we just so happen to have a certain… mad scientist in our attic right now.”

The boys froze where they were. For a moment Archer got a little worried.

“FRANKENSTEIN?!?!?!??!?!??!”

Frankenstein was having a quiet day.

She’d had her fair share of that in life, living in the wilderness, distancing herself from society. Hell, even before everything she had isolated herself from the world, driven everyone away lest the small minds find out about her incredible experiments.

Which was fine, she didn't need anyone else. So what if the lodgers had barely stopped by to talk to her all day? It didn’t bother her at all! It wasn’t like she took the slightest indication that she was being ignored with anything less than the utmost grace and dignity.

She huffed into her book and pretended not to be eyeing the door instead of it’s pages. Glaring as though hating it personally. As if her lovelies were just on the other side waiting to see her and this stubborn door was the problem.

Creature, the stone wall, was as content as ever with the silence. Enjoying a book of his own in the corner, likely philosophy or something.

Although constant companions and wholly comfortable talking to each other, the two had worn out their conversation topics years ago. Either agreeing on certain things or tired of arguing in circles on others.

There were days when they'd debate for hours about something she was clearly right about and days where they pretended the other didn’t exist.

Lately he often mocked her about her ‘adoring fans’.

Judged her for how greedily she drank up the attention like a surgical sponge. Languishing in the first shreds of approval she’d had in decades.

Well, he hadn't actually said any of that, but he was thinking it! She knew he was!

She could just feel his disapproval in how easily she was letting herself get attached as if it were her own…

Bah! What does he know?

She hears them before she sees them, WAY before she sees them. The gaggle of lodgers charging up the steps with almost as much enthusiasm as they did on her first day awake.

The woman straightened immediately, practically tossing her book aside and giving her full attention to the door.

Finally, Frankenstein’s day was resuscitated as a crowd of almost every lodger in the building burst into her room. All chattering and shifting and even waving at her like her prison of a bed was a grand stage or operating theatre.

They kept a respectable distance considering how small the room was with so many people in it. And she preened under their attention, ignoring creatures sigh at his reading being interrupted.

“Frankenstein! Frankenstein!” everyone called out excitedly. Eagerly talking over each other.

Everyone was smiling and leaning around each other to get a better view of her. All their words blending together.

A hearty laugh bubbled out of Frankenstein’s chest. They were so energetic and curious, smart and idealistic. They were perfect scientist material!

She wanted to put them all in her pocket and take them with her on her travels, tell them stories, show them the world.

Oh, how she resented that idiotic Doctor Jekyll for keeping them in a box. The way he had them eating out of his perfectly manicured hand, thanking him for their gilded cage.

Well it was about time they bit that hand!

Couldn't they see how the world was not in their books and manuscripts, it was out there!

Frankenstein held her gloved hands up to quiet the noise, taking a big breath for what was sure to be a rallying speech that would finally convince the so-called lodgers to fight for their freedom.

“Frankenstein! We have some special guests who want to meet you!”

She was cut off by a few of the lodgers. Fighting their way through the crowd, they were ushering someone to the front, entirely hidden behind the energetic scientists.

Frankenstein blinked in surprise as there, pushed out of the huddle as though in offering, were two…children.

She froze.

A cold wind rushed through her, instantly snuffing out the spark she’d held seconds ago. Cutting through her coat to her core.

The two boys in front of her were distinctive in appearance, it nagged at her, distantly. But all she could see was William.

“These are our newest recruits! Henderson and what was it? Benry? Yeah Benry.”

There was no way anyone named these unfortunate children that, unless London had gotten weird while she was gone, but the two seemed too entranced with her creature to correct them.

The boys weren't even looking at her like everyone else was, eyes instead on the homunculi like he was some celebrity they got backstage tickets to see.

“We found them snooping ‘round our labs!” “Cripes they were hard to catch.” “These two are gonna be fine scientists someday!”

The creature that had killed her youngest brother.

She understood why he did it.

She understood it was her fault.

It was her fault. For making a monster with such strength, just to see if she could. It was her fault for abandoning it, leading to the resentment and hatred for all like her. All Frankensteins.

It was her fault he was dead.

No! It was the price one paid for Science, she was wrong to have attachments then and she would not let herself get attached to these kids now. Not when it meant people got hurt. Not when - aannnnnnd Creature was letting them climb on him like monkey bars.

To her shock Creature was holding perfectly still, staring in utter befuddlement at the small things crawling on him like bugs.

As hesitant as he looked, he wasn’t stopping them. Merely watching.

It was… odd.

This had never happened to him before. Fully grown adults who were hardened from life and trained to deal with criminals turned tail at the mere sight of him, yet here were two children, gazing up at him with round eyes like he was Santa Claus.

“WOW, you’re Frankenstein's monster?!”

“Did you kill Frankenstein?”

“Are you gonna kill someone else?”

“How did Frankenstein make you?”

“Can we be friends?”

“Do you wanna play doctor with us? Mr.Tanis gave me a scalpel!”

One of the lodgers yelped, “What!? I most certainly did not!”

The way they were looking at him…

The lodgers looked at him the same way. At first he had taken it with suspicion, as he did all things. Assuming that their looks were of scientific curiosity, and that they were imagining all the ways they could dissect him. Take him apart and find out how he ticked, just like Moraue longed to.

But now, it was obvious, they were looking at him with childlike wonder.

Creature stared mutely as the lodgers wrestled the knife from the boy with brown hair, not quite understanding it yet.

The blond’s hair tickled as it brushed against his shoulder, though he did not react to it. The two children were being surprisingly careful where they placed their hands, taking care to not pull on any of his seams.

Creature watched as the little one slipped off, landing back first on his lap with an “oof”. The fall wasn't tall enough to knock the breath out of him though, so he seemed fine.

Creature lifted him up, holding the boy in one palm. He giggled in response.

One of the lodgers whose name he didn’t know called out to the boys.

“Hey! Didn’t you want ‘ta meet Frankenstein?”

The man was standing by the bed, gesturing to his creator with a smile.

The two boys gasped and scrambled to her.

The woman seemed almost startled to have her name called, snapping out of her trance.

Frankenstein shook the clashing thoughts out of her head. The two children at her bedside were staring at her, opening and closing their mouths like they couldn’t grasp what question to ask first.

She looked at the one with brown hair. She had snorted instinctively when he pulled an actual scalpel out of nowhere. A fine scientist indeed.

The blonde one had eyes like she’d never seen before. Perhaps he was some sort of creature? Or a descendant of one at least. No humans eyes produced light like that for no reason.

They looked at her like she hung the stars, like she held the secret to life itself. Which she did of course.

No wonder these boys had snuck into the society just to see her! Why, who wouldn’t want to see the infamous Dr. Frankenstein!

And what's more, these precious children were untainted by Dr. Henry’s lies! The false ideas of what a mad scientist should be, reliant on his wealth and equipment.

Victoria had always seen herself as Job, a man who had everything taken from him, everything he loved and everyone who loved him, only to be rewarded for his faith.

She’d always seen the advancement of science as her reward for carrying out her experiments, a higher plane of understanding, the closest a human could come to godhood. But… hadn’t Job’s been everything he’d lost twofold?

Maybe, when she and Creature left London, they wouldn’t have to leave alone.

[I was struck by LIGHTNING when writing this sentence. All of the sudden a whole new plotline was open to me. One where Henry stays with the society and Edward is offered the chance to leave with Frankenstein to the _ forests.

It reminds me of gravity falls when the twins argue over Dipper taking Ford’s internship.]

Frankenstein puffed up her chest and launched into a story.

When Lanyon returned he waltzed through the kitchen door, swinging it open dramatically.

“Rachel, I'm back! I told the tailor Edward lost their bags on the trip here, so they need a new wardrobe.” he crowed, only to see an empty kitchen.

Hm, not in here. He wandered out again, peeking down random hallways.

He hadn't really told them that. As soon as he’d handed off the note and the words “childrens clothes” were out of his mouth Lady Beatrice and Lady Kimberleigh had practically mobbed him. Gushing and asking if he and Everly had finally had luck with a baby. He nearly had to beat the women off with a clothing hanger!

He shuddered at the thought of what rumors would come of this.

Regardless, the outfits were ordered and they could pick up a set in the morning.

“Rachel! Henry! Where in the blazes are you?”

“Robert!!”

He paused in the middle of the hall. That was Rachel. But he’d never heard her shout like that. She sounded almost scared, Rachel never sounded scared! Not even when Hyde disappeared after the fire.

He turned around and was surprised to see her running up to him with wide eyes, her hair a mess like she'd been running her hands through it. Her eyes red and puffy.

“Robert I’ve been looking everywhere and I can’t find them I can’t I've looked everywhere please tell me you know where they are.” she gasped, skidding to a stop.

His eyes widened, heartbeat picking up, “Know where- what?! Rachel you were the one who claimed I couldn't handle them, don’t tell me you’ve lost them already!”

The day manager tried to catch her breath, swiping a lock out of her eye.

“I was-! I took my eyes off them for just a minute! I left them to get changed while I made some sandwiches and I told- I told them to come to the kitchen after but they didn't and I went back for them but they- Robert they weren't there and I’ve looked everywhere oh what if they’ve left the building? Robert I can’t lose him again! I can’t!” she cried.

Lanyon had never seen her like this, she was always so sure and confident, it honestly made him nervous.

She reached out to him for a hug and he flinched back like her arms were livewires.

“Er, Well!! They can’t have gone too far! I’m sure they're just hiding or something. Kids do that, I think. Surely there's some nook or cranny you haven't checked yet!” He was stone stiff oh god where was Jekyll when you needed him, he can't comfort this poor girl!

Rachel just shook her head, curls flying, “No no I checked my room, Henry’s office, I checked all the labs and rooms and bathrooms I can’t think of anywhere else to look!”

“Well, they’ve gotta be here, can't the lodgers whip up some sort of, I don’t know, finding device?” He peered down the hall, hoping to flag down the nearest one and get them to deal with this. Unfortunately it seemed like he was on his own for this one.

“I don’t think that's how it works Lanyon, besides it’d take far too long, what if they're hurt?”

“Well they should at least try.” He huffed, “It wouldn't hurt to have more people looking either. Where are the lodgers anyway?” Now that he thought of it he hadn’t seen anyone besides Rachel since walking in.

Rachel sniffed, rubbing her face and breathing more evenly.

“Oh yeah, they were all running around earlier, some sort of emergency.

I think Griffin finally turned invisible and they lost him or something.”

She looked around, just noticing how empty the halls were.

“Uh, that was a while ago actually. They should have found him by now.”

Lanyon shifted uncomfortably. First Henry and Edward, now the whole society? Whatever was going on couldn’t be good.

In fact, it was almost suspicious how everyone had gone missing at the same time while he was gone…

“Wait. Oh god, What if the lodgers have them? The lodgers hate Henry! What if they took him away? What if they’re experimenting on him right now to find out why he’s small?!” Lanyon yelped.

Rachel frowned at him, “The lodgers do not hate Henry.”

“Oh yeah? What about the exhibition they’re all refusing to take part in? You’ve heard what they're saying about him, that he’s somehow corrupt and ‘rotten’ just because he hasn't gone off the deep end and killed anyone using science or something!”

“They're just going through a bit of a rebellious phase right now.” she defended, “And besides, even if they did, they love Hyde, they drink and play games all the time! They wouldn't hurt him.”

“That's worse!” Lanyon cried. He resisted the urge to run his hands through his styled hair, “Hyde’s planning on killing Jekyll for his will! What if the lodgers are in on it? What if they know he inherits the society? Now would be the perfect time to do it, they probably took him off to Queen Frankenstein while he’s small and defenseless!”

“Edward is not plotting to kill Jekyll!” Rachel shouted, “Would you give that a rest already! As for Franken..stein…”

The two looked at each other with wide eyes and bolted for the stairs.

“And that's when the beast pounced! I dropped my torch and rolled out of the way, I heard it crash into the brush behind me and took the chance to make a break for it. I ran all night, struggling to see my way in the dark and knowing it had no such human limitations.

Miles away from civilization I knew my only chance was to somehow find Creature in the snowy woods before the beast found me.”

The lodgers gasped quietly and whispered to each other, sitting criss-crossed on the floor.

Both children were sat on Frankenstein’s lap, enraptured by her tale. They looked up at her with wide eyes, hanging on her every word.

“At one point I stumbled my way into a clearing, the…vollmond shining down on me. It was close behind, I could hear the thing snapping branches like twigs. I knew the only way was forward and started running. I could barely breathe, my legs felt like lead, with every step I took it only got closer, bounding after me on all six legs. It’s wide maw-”

The door slammed open with a bang. Everyone jumped, some people screaming in surprise.

Everyone whirled around.

At the door were two figures, hidden by the shaded doorframe.

Frankenstein huffed, more annoyed than anything.

“Really doctor, this is the second time you've interrupted my tales for your insipid formula…Oh, the other one.”

The doctor coming toward her was not Jekyll, as she assumed, but Lanyon. The purple man was trudging through the crowd on the floor, stepping on hands and nearly tripping over people in his haste.

She crossed her arms, huffing, “Really, you and your-”

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

As soon as he was in range Robert snatched Henry off her lap. Earning a startled yelp from the boy.

Frankenstein jolted, confused. She hadn't seen this man much and while he was never the most agreeable person, she'd never seen him so furious.

She sputtered as he held the boy to his chest the way mothers did when she and Creature walked by. If she were in a better mood she’d get a kick out of the gentleman fearing her more than her creation.

“What in the world do you think you're doing? Grabbing this boy like you own him when I was clearly-!”

“What are you doing to him? Huh? Putting ideas in his head, trying to make him mad like you!” he accused, holding the boy tight while he squirmed uncomfortably.

“I bet you people are trying to brainwash him! Get him involved in unnatural things and mad scientist nonsense!”

Rachel, who was much shorter than the doctor and was caught behind the now-standing crowd of lodgers, tried to call out to him. “Er, Robert! I don’t think-”

“Hey! What's your problem?” “We’re having storytime here!” “You're in the way!” “Leave him alone!” “Frankenstein ain’t done nothing wrong!”

Lanyon turned on the crowd with a snarl.

“Nothing wrong? Are you people crazy? She hit him!!”

Everyone gasped at the wild accusation. Of course they were on her side! Nevermind that Henry was just trying to help her when she hit him! Nevermind that she didn’t even have the grace to apologize!

One of the lodgers he did recognize, Helsby, immediately jumped to the quacks' defense.

“How dare you say that about Frankenstein! You rich pricks are all the same! Slandering good people's names when it suits you!”

“Frankenstein would never do that!”

“Yeah! We’ve been here the whole time and she never hurt him at all!”

Frankenstein herself looked unbelievably offended, her face a likely unhealthy shade of red for someone her age. “Dr. Robert I’m aware you disapprove of my presence here but I have NO intentions of hurting any child.” she spat coldly.

“Oh yeah? Even if that child is Jekyll?” He challenged.

“I- what on earth are you talking about you simpleton, that's not doctor Jekyll thats…”

Frankenstein looked at the boy squirming in his arms, really looked at him.

The smaller boy was still on the bed with her, pulling on the brunette in Robert’s arms. The brunette reached back, holding onto the other, looking at him with red eyes… he had a rather hooked nose…

The lodgers took up her rebuttal with vigor.

“What? Lanyon, did you hit your head man?”

“Yeah obviously that's Benry!”

Robert stared incredulously at the room full of scientists and doctors. Jaw hanging wide.

“Are you telling me not a single one of you realized they're Jekyll and Hyde?!”

Every person in the room stopped still.

“WHAT???”

“What did Jekyll do to get on Ito’s bad side?”

“Wait, you guys didn’t know that?”

“You did??? Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“I thought we all knew and just weren't talking about it!”

“WHY WOULD WE DO THAT?!”

“Oh, I thought they were Jekyll and Hyde's secret love children.”

“What?!”

“What, you think one of them's a girl? And besides, Hyde's only worked here the past two years, these guys are older than that!”

“So? Are you saying Hyde didn't exist before then or what? You think Hyde spontaneously came into existence two years ago? Huh?”

“Are YOU saying only girls can give birth? Some gals are guys!”

“Sure but Hyde??”

“He is rather short for a man his age.”

“Actually I was thinking Jekyll, he seems kinda feminine doesn't he?”

“Maybe Hyde knocked Jekyll up and recently found out about them! And he stayed to be a good father!”

“Pfft! Hyde? A good father? Now you're talking crazy.”

“I bet that's why Jekyll’s kept him around so long! He's the father of their children!”

Lanyon felt anger and disbelief rush through his whole body. He worked his mouth trying to say whatever was on his mind that wasn’t straight cussing.

“I - I - NEITHER OF THEM ARE WOMEN AND THESE AREN'T THEIR SECRET LOVE CHILDREN WOULD YOU LOT SHUT IT ALREADY”

Robert held a hand to his temples, his face screwed into a scowl.

“We suspect they were testing some sort of potion and something went wrong, turning them both into children.”

“Both of them drank it?” “What kind of potion?” “Wait but why don’t they remember us?” “Are they stuck like this?”

“Stuck like what?”

He stiffened. For a moment he’d entirely forgotten he was still holding Henry in his arms.

The boy was looking up at him, wide red eyes searching his face for something.

“Are-are we, we didn’t…?”

Suddenly Lanyon realized they had been hiding it. He and Rachel hadn’t mentioned who they were, why they knew them, or the real reason they couldn't go home. Hell they had even left the kitchen earlier to talk out of earshot.

They hadn’t meant to keep it from them. Honestly hiding it hadn't crossed their minds, but, neither did telling them.

It felt wrong somehow. Like they weren't planning on having them around long enough to have the need to explain it to them.

The boys hadn't asked why they knew them, too young to really distrust them. They just assumed all adults knew everything.

Before he had to answer and make everything worse, Rachel cut in. Now free of the jostling crowd and finally making it to Frankenstein’s bedside.

“Er, so, you remember when we found you, and we knew your names?” she asked.

The boys nod slowly, quietly looking at her.

“Well, nobody told us your names, we know them because, well I guess you told us.

We’re friends. We have been for a while, but, you two are supposed to be adults. Like us. Your names are Edward Hyde and Dr. Henry Jekyll. And you work here at the society, like we do.”

Henry tightened his hands on Robert's sleeve, face unreadable.

Edward gaped at the woman, still standing on the bed.

“But- but we’re not, we didn't drink any potions. We were at home!”

“I know, I know this doesn’t make any sense, I’m sorry for that. But, this isn’t so bad is it? We can take care of you! We’re gonna find a way to fix this. Right?”

She glanced at Robert, who was tight-lipped and looking at his friend with a distracted look in his eyes.

“Uh, right.”

“That-That’s ridiculous!!”

Right. Frankenstein was still there.

Robert slowly composed himself, the smugness he felt in realizing the woman had been speechless that whole time fueling his salty soul.

As mad as she had looked earlier, it was a cold sort of anger. This? This sputtering rage was fuming.

“This boy cannot be Dr. Henry! He is a scientist! That blasted doctor is nothing but a-a-a shameful fake and a stain on the name of science itself! Henry Jekyll is a disgrace of an alchemist and false idol of respectability and hollowness!

I detest that horrible man!” She gestured to the boy in Robert's arms, “How dare you make the wild claim that he is…that…”

Her eyes widened as she saw the expression on said boy's face.

Everyone in the room stared in horror as both kids BURST into tears.

“What is wrong with you??”

Rachel grabbed Henry from Robert. Who was holding the sobbing boy as far away from himself as he possibly could. Then snatched Edward up under her other arm. Storming from the room in a hurry.

She could hear Lanyon and Frankenstein start shouting behind her, quickly joined by everyone else.

Rachel kicked the door shut behind them and sprinted all the way to Jekyll’s office.

When they got there she had to put the boys down to open the door.

They had stopped crying by now but were eerily silent. Both looking down at their feet.

“Don’t listen to Frankenstein, both of you. That old hag's hated Dr. Jay since she got here for no reason at all! She isn’t even a real doctor!” she huffed.

Her voice hammered through the silence in a way that almost made her regret speaking at all. But the boys didn’t so much as flinch.

Creasing her eyebrows in worry, Rachel led them to the side room she knew Jekyll usually slept in instead of his own house. She's not sure exactly how old they are right now but they were definitely young enough to need a nap after all that.

As the boys walked past her she snatched Edward up into a hug and squeezed.

He startled, kicking his legs around. “Hey! Stop doing that!”

“Goodness sakes you two! Do you have any idea how worried I was when you ran off? I have half a mind to lecture you for leaving like that! But…” now wasn’t a good time to scold them, “ I’ll let it slide if you chickadees lay down without a fuss.” she promised, nodding to the bedroom.

Henry looked around the room, there wasn’t much to see. More red curtains blocking out the light, a single bed pushed up against the wall, and a rather large wardrobe. Like the office, there were a lot of books, either on shelves or just the floor. There were many frames on the walls but it was too dark to make out many details.

They didn’t have shoes to remove so Rachel set Edward down on the bed, Henry hopping up next to him.

Sniffing, the two nuzzled into the pillows quietly as Rachel tucked the blankets in around them.

Rachel is leaning against the doorway between Jekyll’s office and room when she hears the doorknob rattle.

She startles a bit, instinctively reaching for the kitchen knife in her pocket. I swear to god if that wretch hobbled all the way here just to-

The office door swings open to reveal Lanyon.

He blinks when he sees her, but doesn’t look too surprised. Mostly he just looks tired.

Behind him was Ito, who followed him into the room silently. She nodded at Rachel in acknowledgement, who nodded back.

Rachel peeked into the room, still asleep.

She pushed off the doorframe and with a final glance back, gently closed the door.

Lanyon sighed, stopping at Jekyll’s desk.“I talked to the lodgers, they're not to tell anyone outside of the society about this. Ms. Ito has volunteered to take a look at whatever potion they drank.”

Ito, who had been drawn by the shouting, had been given a rundown by the other lodgers. And, unamused at the grown adults all talking over each other, waited politely til Lanyon was done to offer her services.

“Dr.Jekyll taught me everything I know, if anyone can figure out what went wrong it would be me.” she stated.

“Alright, we think this is the potion they took.” Robert grabbed the glass container lying on the desk to hand to Ito, “It was the only one out of place when we came in, though neither of us actually saw them drink it.”

She nodded, taking the glass and holding it to the light.

There was very little liquid left. It looked to be a dull brown at first but when she tilted in one way and the other there was an oily red and green residue around the edges.

She sniffed at the potion, the smell alone almost made her gag. An unholy mix of so much salt she could smell it and residual fumes that made her head spin. Frankly she's surprised the two men managed to swallow this at all. Though with the things she’s seen Hyde eat maybe she shouldn’t be.

Ito sighed, “This just doesn’t make any sense, Dr. Jekyll would have measured out exact amounts, and certainly taken it one at a time if they were testing something new. Unless it had a delayed reaction.”

“What if it wasn’t something new?” Rachel suggested, “What if they did this a lot and were more casual with it?”

“Maybe, but what would they be so casual with? Do they take the same medication?”

“Mm, not that I know of. Maybe not medicine then? I know Edward drinks random potions sometimes for the hell of it.” she laughed quietly, “One time he vomited some sort of green goo in my sink and ran all the way to Jekyll's office.”

“Not to mention we practically have to force Henry to take medicine when he is sick.” Robert offered. The only thing he knew of Jekyll self-medicating with was wine, and it didn't typically de-age people by almost thirty years.

Ito poked around the desk in silence. She knew Dr. Jekyll was usually a dedicated note-taker, but again, if this was something he did often there would be no reason to.

Frustratingly, the habit of putting ingredients away after herself that the doctor tried so hard to drill into her was working against them now.

Usually it meant that volatile materials weren't lying around waiting to be knocked over and cause messes, or even small explosions. But in this case it meant she had no idea what ingredients were used in this experiment.

Dammit. She sighed and turned to Rachel and Lanyon.

“Alright, so basically I have no clue what this was originally supposed to do, much less how it went wrong, much less how to reverse it.

I can take a closer look at this with some equipment but this isn’t a lot to work with.”

The two looked at her in shock, like she’d grown another head.

Robert bit his lip, tiredness quickly replaced with nervous energy.

“Can’t you just, give them a potion that makes them older?” he asked.

Ito made a face. “I…don’t think that would be a good idea. If we forced them to grow up they still wouldn't have any of their old memories, they'd just be adult-shaped children. And that's if something like that would work and not mix negatively with whatever they've taken. For all we know this could be a temporary side effect, and changing anything would mess everything up.”

“So they just, won’t remember us? Everything we’ve done together, everything we’ve talked about, all the time we spent together is just gone?” Rachel cried, “There's nothing we can do to get them back?”

Robert clenched his fists on the desk.

Ito sighed, “I know this isn’t what you want to hear but I think the best thing to do is just try to wait this out.”

She refused to say something so terrible out loud, but there might not be a solution to this.

Lanyon’s expression is blank with shock, then twists into anger.

“Well are we just supposed to wait forever?! Wait for them to grow up naturally? What about our friends? Our- our-!”

Ito clenched her jaw, “They’re my friends too.” she snapped.

“Look, there’s not much I can do with the information we have, Dr. Lanyon.

Even if I knew what went wrong and how to reverse this we'd need a ton of body parts. One of the most basic rules of alchemy is that mass can't be made or destroyed and I’m not even sure where it went when they shrank!” she said, throwing her hands up.

The neo alchemist took what remained of the potion and walked out of the room, leaving the two leaning over the desk in despair.

“I'll keep working on it but please, don’t get your hopes up.”

She closed the office door behind her to give them some privacy.

#The Sandbox Scientists #the glass scientists #tgs #tgs jekyll #tgs hyde #tgs rachel #tgs lanyon #tgs lodgers #tgs ito #frankenstein #frankensteins monster #tgs frankenstein #tgs creature #tgs au #my fic

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mdhwrites · 2 years ago

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For all that Sasha's character is about having control and feeling like she's on top, I can't help but feel like Sasha's time in Amphibia showed that she can be oddly...passive as well.

She only stayed with Grime in S1 when she recognised he could be of help to find the other two, despite having to know that he had to hold some sort of power over others and the plan to overthrow the king wasn't even hers, but Grime's.

Why is this so? Could one argue that, without a goal and someone else to motivate her worst traits, Sasha doesn't actually care that much about having power?

Yes. Boy it feels nice to just say yes to one of these asks. Okay, to go into greater detail though, it's actually that Sasha is a very realistic teenager in this way. She has little personal ambition in part because she has never seemed to feel the need to. Things come easy for her so she assumes that her first plan is often the correct one. She also understands people well enough and has normally had the right leverage over people for that to be true. She wants for nothing but her own enjoyment so her version of painting Amphibia red isn't mass slaughter or conquering, she'll leave that to Grime, but just base creature comforts like showers and fine food that these other people don't have. They still signify she's better than you but she doesn't give a shit about being a ruler. It actually leads to the easy thought that at the start of the show, the first well to do guy who caught Sasha's eye probably would have become her sugar daddy because she'd rather get to be a trophy wife enjoying her interests at home rather than actually fulfilling a grand, personal ambition. She'd have control but she doesn't want to ever work for it.

It eventually explains her attitude in Wartwood. She has taken up Grime's ambitions as they fall in line with reasserting her dominance over Anne and gives her SOMETHING to do. However, when she can tell victory is close at hand, she doesn't want to have to pretend. She doesn't want to make nice. She wants things to be as simple and easy as they always were for her back home. It's probably part of why she clearly has NO plans for actually ruling Amphibia. She likes the title as the ultimate fuck you to her friends and to say she's still the best, to deny the voices in her head that Anne introduced, but she doesn't have any desires for Amphibia. She doesn't care about grand wealth, power or legions of slaves. She just wants to go back to playing DDR with her friends and watching television probably.

It's not until Turning Point that she finally gets a life's mission: Make things genuinely better for those around her. To make her hero complex honest. No more grand gestures, no more false promises, she is ready to actually help people. And then when confronted with the real world, she finds a way to do that by becoming a therapist.

And I honestly really like how small scale Sasha is about all of this. She is content helping one person at a time in the end. She is happy defending a town and taking their desire to save the world as a way to push her forwards but her focus is on their survival FIRST. It's a great way to not have her do atrocities in the name of power while being a very accurate representation of someone we don't see very often: A control freak who is capable of being content. Of just having a comfortable existence instead of needing to control the ENTIRE WORLD!

youtube

Because Sasha isn't a supervillain. She's just a teenage girl.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#sasha waybright #amphibia

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musicarenagh · 6 months ago

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Wolves, Waves, and Wild Folk: Nobody’s Wolf Child on Their Enchanting New EP Picture a windswept coastline in South East England, where folk music meets cinematic imagination. This is where Nobody's Wolf Child calls home, crafting stories that blur the line between reality and maritime legend. Their latest EP, “Erbsa's Songs of the Sea”, feels like stumbling upon an ancient sailor's diary – except instead of ink and paper, these tales are told through haunting melodies and atmospheric soundscapes. Five tracks, each one a window into the world of Erbsa, a she-wolf whose heart beats in rhythm with the ocean tides. There's something almost otherworldly about how Nobody's Wolf Child captures the essence of the sea – from the gentle whisper of waves to the raw power of a storm. It's the kind of music that makes you smell salt in the air and feel spray on your face, even if you're miles from the coast. I had the chance to have a chat with the creative force behind these maritime chronicles to understand how *Erbsa's Songs of the Sea* came to be. What followed was a fascinating conversation about trust, artistic vision, and finding inspiration in the endless dance between land and sea. Let's dive into the story behind this remarkable EP. Listen to Erbsa's Songs of the Sea https://open.spotify.com/album/1Sqeeosb01oiJ74V7BMwuv?si=bgGdey5sRhKKft6EYrFgjg Follow Nobody's Wolf Child on Facebook Twitter Spotify Soundcloud Bandcamp Youtube Instagram The title "Erbsa's Songs of the Sea" is quite evocative. Can you share the narrative or inspiration behind this unique composition? Erbsa the wolf was called to the sea, the EP is a small collection of songs she heard and tales she told on her return. Your artist name "Nobody's Wolf Child" suggests a sense of independence and wildness. How does this identity connect with the themes explored in this EP? Well the sea is as wild and untamed as it comes and we do particularly love the wild Atlantic way over here at wolf headquarters. It just has something about it, that rugged coastline relentlessly battered by this cold unforgiving body of stormy waters. The topography, the creatures, the people of those coastlines mirror that wildness. What specific maritime or emotional landscape were you exploring when you created "Erbsa's Songs of the Sea”? That mystical reverence the sea evokes. So much folklore so many stories, so many ghosts. The sea has it’s own orchestra so for a writer, it’s a case of listening more than anything. [caption id="attachment_58371" align="alignnone" width="2000"] The sea has it’s own orchestra so for a writer, it’s a case of listening more than anything.[/caption] Can you walk us through the creative process of developing the tracks? Were there any particular experiences or memories that influenced the creation? There is always experience if I don’t feel or haven’t felt something I cant pretend to feel something, there is no acting. None of the songs are written for the sake of it, they are all creatures that demand their release. The title implies a storytelling element. Is "Erbsa" a specific character or metaphorical representation? What's the story behind the name? As touched on in question 1 Erbsa is a wolf like spirit. She’s one of a pack of 9. You can see her beautifully depicted in the ‘Selkie’ music video which is the single from the EP. It’s an amazing video featuring the incredible work of Anya Boz, who created exactly what I had in my head. It was a very successful meeting of minds. How does this single reflect your broader musical journey and artistic evolution? I think it reflects my roots, in the folk scene and how my love and appreciation for that genre has evolved, along with my understanding of it and myself. What genre or musical styles are you experimenting with in this EP? In terms of genre, a song is always just what it tells you it’s going to be. I can sit down with the aim of writing a rock song and something entirely different will pop out.

When it comes to production then yes you can experiment with moulding the colour and the cinema scape but you mustn’t be too heavy handed and turn it into something it’s not because then you will kill it. https://open.spotify.com/artist/43aGURK9shzB0Cpltcw3G1 Did you collaborate with any other musicians or producers in bringing the EP to life? Although I have big dreams on that front, I’m not a natural collaborator… I’m like a territorial dragon with her special gems and it’s very very hard to trust someone with one’s ‘shinies’ but in the lap of Matt Parisi my producer I have placed all of the trust. The sound of NWC is Matt and I working as artist and producer with a collaborative approach. Matt is now also one of my shiny things kept under the mountain and no one else can have it. For listeners who might be new to your music, how would you describe the essence of "Erbsa's Songs of the Sea”? Cinematic folk, on a lonely enchanted sea rock …. Something like that What do you hope listeners will feel or imagine when they hear this EP? When you fall in love with the sea it stays with you, even when you are far away and I hope to bring those kept far from the sea, a little closer for a while. Are there any specific musical or literary influences that shaped this particular piece? Nothing more than the tales of the sea folk which are vast and rich like the wild Atlantic waters

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pseudoartistpostsstuff · 2 years ago

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Can I request a Yandere!Impulse x Reader fic? preferably male reader but idm if not. In terms of plot, can you write something where he stalks the reader + takes pictures of them, and the reader ends up finding his 'collection' of photos. If not then just general yan hcs or smth is fine! Ty - 🌠 (Stargazer Anon)

First of all, thank you for being my first request, stargaze anon :]

Notes: I'm gonna pretend I'm confident in writing this. It's probably gonna be ooc and for that I am very sorry 😭

Already letting you guys know I am new to Tumblr and also sorry if there are any errors.

Yes, "chat" are viewers, this is C! and not CC! I don't do yandere content creators. Minecraft is real in this, please understand my logic here.

I meant for it to be male reader, I swear, but since I was sleepy at the time I wrote, it ended up being in a headcannon type of way, which means almost no dialogue so the gender is not mentioned. I also write in second person a lot so there's also that.

TWs: Yandere, probably ooc Impulse, stalking, kidnapping and someone taking pics of you.

C! Yandere ImpulseSV x Reader

What fear of rejection can cause

The first time Impulse caught a glimpse of you was during 3rd life.

His first feeling towards you was confusion. You were collecting wood at a random forest just by the time he was passing by it, some people would call it fate.

You were talking to your chat, small creatures that resembled allays, each of them with different personalities and distinguishing features. It took him a few seconds to remember who you were, he had never seen you before, having found out about you through Grian when he told everyone he had invited an old friend of his to the 3rd life server. Looking briefly over your features which matched with the ones his avian friend mentioned was all it took for him to shrug it off, not yet deeming you an enemy.

As expected from him, he went to chat with you, introduce himself and link a face to a name. Your chat seemed pleasantly surprised with his sudden appearance, excitedly chirping while spinning around your head and his, their little sounds unintelligible to his ears even though you could hear them yell his name very clearly. Impulse caught on to what they were doing quickly, having already gone through the same situation many times with other people. He smiled at the small beings and waved.

The first conversation of you guys was okay, awkward, if you were to describe it as anything else. After that the both of you just decided to keep to yourselves, having mutual allies and friends who kept you two together, sometimes saying "hi" when you crossed paths. Nothing else was going on between you other than that.

Impulse was curious, something about you just wouldn't let him be in peace.

Sure, you guys didn't quite click when you first met, but there had to be something about you, right? Grian was friends with you for years, the others, your newfound friends, seemed to nearly mirror Grian's bond with you despite having just met you, despite not knowing you as long as he did.

Impulse should have been guilty, it couldn't have been right to follow you around like that, in secret even. But to be fair, he was guilty at the start. He even gave up following you the first time he decided to do so, but the second time… The second time he figured he had a reasonable excuse. He wanted to know more about you so that the awkwardness wouldn't happen the next time he tried to befriend you! So that you guys would click like you did with the others, you eventually would.

Hesitation kept him from even approaching you, he got used to just seeing you interact with the world and the others around you from an outsider's point of view and imagining himself going through such situations with you according to that. He didn't want to ruin the fantasy or his chance at befriending you, he knew you were a kind person, but one could only ruin so many chances, so for now, he would stick to learning more about you.

At first, this was all there was to it, curiosity, then, you started seeming like such a good friend! Perhaps your kindness was what charmed him even more, treating his friends kindly brought you some extra points in his book, the one you knew nothing about.

Kindness could only get you so far, you had come across Etho as he was messing with redstone, the redstone Impulse recognized as the bunch he had brought to him. You seemed very interested in the ore, asking a lot of questions, questions Impulse himself could have answered to you had you just directed them to him, him and not Etho. Still, a victory was a victory. The still hidden man quietly cheered behind some random bush as you two spoke, too engrossed in the matter to notice a grown man almost jumping around in giddiness as he found out a new thing you two had in common. Something that could possibly bring you two together!

All good things must come to an end. It was hard seeing you reach your red life and die before him and not even be able to help you, the only thing he was able to do was avenging you, bringing your killers down. Still, it was all fun and games between friends, that was, before he noticed that was it. You weren't a hermit, you were on this series because of Grian but Xisuma was the admin of the Hermitcraft server, the things there were different and Grian could only do so much considering Xisuma didn't have the least of clues about who you were.

When that dawned on him, all hell broke loose, you guys weren't close enough to keep contact and neither was it normal for him to just ask his friends what server you were at currently or for your communicator ID. As much as he could do so, he also just couldn't, or at least that's what his brain told him. Was this what fear of rejection felt like?

He brainstormed a plan right off the bat. He had to convince Xisuma to white list you. And the most natural way for doing so was to bring your mutual friends to convince him. All members from 3rd life, that was enough to bring you back to his reach, where he could learn about you, much to his delight. Keeping you at arm's length was just way safer than letting you wander around servers he didn't trust or know.

At this point, he couldn't quite deny anymore that something was wrong. Despite trying over and over to think about it from all perspectives, the way things were going was alarming, at this point even you could feel something was wrong. Feeling eyes on you even while you were inside your base, in a peaceful server like Hermitcraft, it couldn't have been normal.

The pile of excuses became bigger as Impulse's pupils dilated in pure affection, snapping the picture of a perfect moment, the very first one of many to come, a soft smile blossomed at his face along with redness following from his cheeks to the tip of his ears as you brought your first pet home, smiling from ear to your beloved animal's form despite whatever it was. He wished he could have had that memory with you, that was the excuse, not only was it a one time thing but it was also important to him, the photo would work as a memory of you together. Despite him not actually being there, he decided to delude himself to believe it was like he was there anyway, taking a selfie with you as if you were aware of his presence.

Only, it wasn't a one time thing.

He had a whole collection.

It was only right, right? It's not like you can only have one single memory and call it done. Memories are supposed to be kept in group, it's a prettier word when said in plural! That's actually something you said once, he wrote it down in his little notebook of you.

That's what he would have told you to defend himself when you first saw his special 'collection of memories'.

You stared at the many pictures of you in the chest. It was a double chest full. of. pictures. of. you.

You rested your face against the palm of your hands, releasing the wooden lid which closed with a soft thud. You didn't mean to find this chest, you didn't even remember what you had come here for in the first place. The first question that went through your mind was how on earth did he have the time to take all of those pictures, like, what. Then, the other questions flooded in, your mind felt like it was imploding, how were you even supposed to approach this matter with him? You weren't even close, acquaintances at best!

You looked up again for a moment, the lid of the chest had a faint engraving, one you didn't even notice when you came looking around for- Whatever you came here looking for, was it redstone? You were partially sure Mumbo had told you earlier Impulse would have loads of it and not have any problem with trading it with you for something else. That's what you wandered here for, you just wanted to grab the redstone and leave a note and some diamonds, this turned dark pretty quick.

"My favorites <3" Read the engraving, a little heart crudely drawn at the end of the sentence. That explained why every single one of the photos seemed to have little hearts drawn all over them. You confirmed your theories as you opened the lid again with shaking hands, hearts of varying shapes, sizes and colors on each picture. With a scowl, you scrunched up your nose as you noticed something.

"Bro didn't even get my best angle"

The sound of a wooden door opening made you panic, silently but quickly closing the chest you were looking at and opening the one right by the side of it, almost sighing in relief as you saw it was full of ores and redstone, exactly what you had come here looking for.

The person seemed to pause at the door for a solid second before speaking. "[Name]? Hey- What are you doing here?" Hearing the familiar voice and looking behind you confirmed your suspicions of the person in question being Impulse himself, you catched him glancing at the chest right by your side as you turned around, his nervous smile dropping as he frowned, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before speaking slowly. "How much did you see?"

You ran your hand through your hair, messing it up. "This chest," You pointed to the one you had just pretended you never opened while confessing you did. You didn't even know why you were the one confessing when you were supposed the one to be asking the questions here, then again this was the type of situation you never expected to be a part of, imagine being the victim! "Why- When did this even start?-" You barked questions at him as you moved to stand up. "This is creppy man! This is not okay."

"I'll explain everything, it's not like there's a lot to explain anyway… Just sit there, somewhere, make yourself comfortable."

With a bad feeling in your gut you moved to look for a place to sit, just now noticing how big of a place this was. It's impossible for Impulse to be able to function and have the time to not only stalk you but also build such things, this base seemed like one of his biggest he had ever done, even if more hidden than normally.

You turned around for a moment, the shock distracting you mind for just enough time to feel a sudden pain at the back of your head and black out, almost hitting the floor before Impulse caught you and sat you down at a couch, the softest one in there and his personal favorite.

He sighed in relief, calmly walking a few steps back and dropping his axe back in his inventory, as if he had not just hit you with it's handle. He stoped close to the door, pressing a button that made his redstone circuit work, successfully locking the only entrance to his house, and the only exit, too.

Good thing he thought ahead and hid his actual favorite photos well, well enough so you didn't see them yet, he would show them to you later, sure, but right now it wouldn't be a good start to your new relationship. He hoped you would be quick to accept this new "arrangement". It's not like he's letting you go soon, anyway.

No, no. Not really. Now he has all the time in the world to get closer to you, he made sure to fill this new house of the both of you with all sort of things he knew you liked. Now he has all the chances in the world to befriend you without awkwardness, eventually it's gonna be impossible to feel awkward with him when he's the only one you have to talk to, right?

Maybe meeting him at the forest really was fate, probably a warning, one you disregarded.

#impulse x reader #impulsesv #yandere x reader #hermitcraft x reader #yandere impulse #c: impulse #hermitcraft x y/n #hermitcraft x you #tw: yandere

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buttercupjosh · 3 years ago

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know your heart (brock boeser x reader)

(Gif credit to @gabelandeskog)

Word Count: 3,511

Warnings: none

Genre: chaos fluff with a small speck of angst

A/N: I published this story back in February 2021 and it was originally meant for the reader to decide who they wanted the player to be but I decided to re-upload it with a player of my choice (someone who’s different from who I originally had in mind when I first wrote it since I already have another story in the works for that original player). If you’re interested in deciding who you want to imagine who the player is, check the original version out here or feel free to read it with Brock. Another change that I made from the original story is that I uploaded it all as 1 part instead of 3 separate parts. Just like the original story, it’s lowercase intended. It’s also written with a female reader in mind because I’m a cis female of color and it’s a bit vague on description so that if you want to, you could make it apply to anyone. It’s intended to be a self-insert to where the reader can imagine themselves or a character of their choice in the position. For the sake of the story, let’s just pretend this is how Brock adopted his dog. (After doing some research, yes, he did actually adopt one of his dogs from an animal shelter in Tampa during the 2018 All-Star Game). The title of the story comes from the song, Know Your Heart by Wanderer (which I recommend listening to because it’s a good song but you don’t have to listen to it to understand the story). I’m open to any and all feedback, comments or questions; just put them in my inbox or dm me. Thank you in advance for reading, I appreciate it😌 (p.s. if you have the time, I would also really appreciate if you checked out my other writings with different players, know your heart (the original version), a summer in syracuse, Your Favorite Secret and The Upside of Unrequited. Thanks☺️).

“They say that everything that goes up must come down and I don’t wanna come down. I don’t mind at all. No, I’m used to falling. I’m comfortable when the sky is gray. But when everything is perfect, I start hiding. Cause I know that rain is coming my way.” - Happy and Sad by Kacey Musgraves

(optional listening: listen to my spotify playlist while reading)

you met brock while working on an assignment for your job at the BC SPCA Vancouver Community Animal Centre. the vancouver canucks decided that they wanted to do a calendar with players, puppies and kittens for a charity fundraiser. you wanted a change in your routine so you went along with your co-worker to rogers arena. everything was already set up in place for the photoshoot and all you had to do was bring out the adorable animals and watch from the side to make sure that none of them were being harmed and that they were being handled correctly. it was actually hilarious to watch these large men hold such precious and small creatures in their clutches. brock saw you, watching from the side, chatting with your co-worker and he was drawn to the bright smile you had when your co-worker made you laugh and how you spoke with your hands. you did not really notice that one specific cute guy who admired your smile. you thought some of brock’s teammates were attractive but you were not there to find a suitor and you respected the possibility that some of these guys were in relationships and some of them were not looking for one either.

at the end of the shoot, your co-worker rounded up all of the puppies and kittens and you were approached by team captain bo horvat, who asked you about possibly wanting to adopt a puppy for his child’s upcoming birthday. you had unfortunately forgotten to bring the adoption paperwork with you and told him to stop by the shelter so that he could formally adopt buster, the golden retriever puppy. you gave bo the business card with the information for the shelter and told him to share that information with his teammates, just in case they were interested in adopting as well. after the exchange, you and your co-worker left and went on your merry way.

after going back to the shelter, finishing up taking care of some of the animals there and helping to clean up the main foyer so that the janitor did not have as much to do, you drove yourself to whole foods to go pick up some groceries. while you were in the cereal aisle, you saw him. brock, who secretly admired you from afar earlier that day, trying to analyze the ingredients on a box to make sure it fit the standards that the team nutritionist set into place for his diet. you just looked at brock so focused and you had decided to not bother him so you walked right past him while he was trying to understand which preservatives meant added sugar. brock did see you when you walked past him but he decided not to bother you.

about 2 weeks pass by, bo did come by to adopt buster the puppy for his child and several other members of the team came by and also adopted pets. it was good for the shelter because anytime members of the canucks came and adopted a pet, they posted a photo of their new furry companion and it helped the shelter gain a little exposure through the players’ large following.

one afternoon, brock came in alone to the shelter, which was slightly strange to you because most of the players came in either with their teammates, significant others, or with their families. he ended up wanting to adopt a dog because elias, his closest teammate, persuaded him to get one so that he did not have to come home alone anymore. you were working in the adoption office that day and brock formed a connection with an australian cattle dog mix puppy that he named coolie. you complimented him on his choice and that led to a conversation.

as the conversation went on, brock realized that he enjoyed talking to you; his heart spoke to him and told him to ask you for your number. you were taken aback and extremely caught off guard by his request. you weren’t sure if you should give it out because you weren’t sure what his intentions were. did brock want something romantic out of you or just a friendship? you had also enjoyed talking to him so you gave your number to him.

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after securing your number, brock took coolie home and he texted you later on that night to thank you again for your assistance and to also ask you some more questions about yourself. he was intrigued by you; you were different from most of the girls brock interacted with. you did not throw yourself at him with the hopes of becoming a trophy wife and when you spoke to him, you were so down to earth and you made him feel like a regular person, not just some famous athlete. sure, you didn’t have men drooling over you in the streets and you were not pageant material. you knew that you were beautiful on the outside and the inside but there was something about you that also made you ugly. brock saw the beauty within your heart and not just what you looked like on the outside.

what brock didn’t know was that as the questions came, the walls started to come up. you never really liked to talk about your home life. you were ashamed of the fact that your parents were divorced. growing up in a broken home, hearing late night arguments and eventually having to see the only healthy relationship in your life fall apart right in front of your eyes was not ideal.

that experience taught you how to love differently. you loved with extreme caution and skepticism. you were afraid that you were not enough for the person who claimed to love you because you saw how one parent was not enough for the other that claimed to love them. you were also afraid that the person who claimed to love you was going to leave you for someone better. you knew that you deserved to be loved greatly but you were terrified to let them in. you weren’t fussy about who you were and what you wanted. it was easy to maintain a relationship with you but the baggage was not light. you had decided that the best thing for you to do was to keep this away from brock; to not give him a reason to leave early on. you mentioned your family as if everything was okay and you did not drop any hints or clues about your parents’ failed marriage.

in spite of your insecurity, you loved talking to each other. even if he was busy, brock would take the time to text you everyday, just to check in on you and see how you’re doing. those texts eventually turned into friendly snaps, facetimes, and meme exchanges. you learned so much about each other, you both had characteristics that the other person liked.

it just wasn’t a physical attraction but an emotional one as well. you made each other smile and it brightened up both of your days when you heard from each other. brock had flowers delivered to your job on your birthday and sometimes made surprise deliveries of your favorite foods as well, just out of the kindness of his heart. he even told his teammates about you, got you a canucks jersey and other team merchandise items, invited you out to parties and events as his guest and offered several times to get you tickets to his games but you refused. you also limited the amount of time you spent with brock in person as well. you did not want to create the impression that you were brock’s significant other or his side piece to anyone. you were just his friend and you wanted to keep it that way. it was easier and less painful to be let down and create new friends than it was to be by a romantic partner. your insecurities made you suspicious of brock’s gestures and his intentions. brock did not give you a reason to think otherwise, but trusting someone with your whole heart was not easy.

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those positive virtual interactions lead to a messy in-person situation. during a game, brock got a minor concussion and was temporarily placed on concussion protocol. he recovered while the team was on a short road trip to california so he invited you over for a movie night to keep him company. you were nervous to go over; “what if he’s just trying to get me in his bed because he’s bored and lonely?” you thought to yourself. you both jokingly flirted with and complemented each other as friends but never took it any further. you knew that brock could have any girl he wanted at the drop of a message but he only wanted you. you wanted brock too but you did not want to romantically invest yourself too much in him because you did not want to add your baggage and insecurity onto his existing personal baggage and you were also scared that he was going to leave you because you weren’t good enough, compared to the other girls he could have. you ended up deciding to go over because your roommate was out of town and you did not want to watch your weekly friday night crime mystery shows alone. brock told you that you did not have to bring anything but you still brought popcorn and a bottle of lemonade anyways.

on the elevator ride up to his apartment, you calmed yourself down. you trusted that brock would not harm or take advantage of you. you walked up to his door with the goods in tow, took a deep breath and knocked on his door. brock’s face lit up when he saw you and he helped you with the things you brought.

the inside of brock’s luxurious apartment was stunning and the best part was the breathtaking view of the vancouver skyline. you had a moment to take it all in, your inner hopeless romantic daydreamed living here with brock. you went into the kitchen and began making the microwave popcorn you brought. while it was popping, you imagined slow dancing together in the kitchen light and just being domestic together here. you knew that you were worthy of good and healthy love but your insecurities told you otherwise. you snapped back into reality after the microwave stopped. brock did not see you lost in thought because he went to put coolie away; he would jump all over you and want to play and brock just wanted to be in the moment with you. you didn’t mind his pupper’s company but brock wanted to make his best impression on you.

you made your way into the living room with a bowl of freshly popped popcorn and brock was sitting on the couch, trying to search for the crime show you wanted to watch. you told brock that you could watch something else but he was fine with watching the show you wanted to watch. you sat on the opposite side of the couch and he moved closer towards you. brock draped a blanket over the both of you and wrapped you into his arms. the move caught you by surprise but you accepted it because it felt so good to be cuddled up against him. in that moment, the voice in your heart whispered to you but you shut it out. brock’s heart whispered to him that he was falling in love with the amazing person in his arms but that was all going to change because your insecurity jumped out at the wrong time.

brock got up during the show to use the restroom and to also check on coolie. while he was out of the room, his phone began to go off. brock got 10 text messages in a row from someone named alex. “who is alex?”, you thought to yourself and you immediately jumped to the conclusion that brock already had someone else. maybe alex was the person he preferred to have over than you, maybe that was his hometown significant other, maybe that was his ex. you had both assumed that you were both single because neither of you mentioned an existing romantic partner. you knew that dating an athlete was no easy feat; brock easily could be wooing multiple people at once, he could be a floater who just cycles through different partners or worse, he could be a cheater. of course, there’s someone else, you weren’t naive. you felt so foolish because you gave brock most of your heart and you invested so much time into him. you already planted the thought that you weren’t good enough for brock and this just proved it. you got up angrily and began to gather your things.

brock came back into the living room and saw you frantically getting ready to leave. brock was concerned that he did something wrong and he confronted you. you impulsively lashed out against him and exposed your insecurity to him. you had made yourself look delusional, controlling, jealous and paranoid. you tried to be perfect for brock and keep your baggage hidden from him. your actions just gave brock a reason to cut you off and you burst out in tears. he attempted to comfort you and explain that alex was his younger cousin, who was messaging him off of her new phone. you were so wrapped up in your own brokenness and insecurity that you didn’t even want to hear it or be around brock. you stormed out of there and he didn’t follow you; brock gave you space.

____________________________________

you didn’t speak to brock for a month. after that encounter, he checked on you but you stopped answering his messages. it was difficult and painful to give brock silence because you had spoken to each other constantly for months and it was like you both were tied together with an invisible string but you were so embarrassed and ashamed of your actions that you avoided him. you still cared for brock but you thought you had already ruined the friendship and bond created between the two of you. you pushed your heartbreak aside and threw yourself into work and hanging out with your roommate and your family. brock also got busy with games and he eventually stopped reaching out. you assumed that brock probably moved on but he could not stop thinking about you. he tried to create that same connection with other people and distract himself, but it wasn’t the same. brock felt bad that he broke your heart over a misunderstanding and it consumed him. the people closest to brock could see how this was affecting him and told him to follow his heart.

one afternoon after morning skate, brock went to the animal shelter and waited until your shift ended. he knew that you worked the morning shift and were off by the afternoon on tuesday and thursday. one of your co-workers told you in passing that brock was waiting for you in the lobby. you did not want him here, in your safe space of work, and you asked brock to leave. he told you that he wanted to talk over lunch and the voice in your heart whispered again but you silenced it. you were still ashamed of what you did but you were working on healing from it. you did feel bad for shutting out brock and you missed him but you didn’t know how to fix things without it being awkward and uncomfortable. you did not have any plans after work so you agreed to go eat with him.

brock walked with you to kafka’s, a cafe located down the street from the animal shelter. after getting your food and finding a table, brock finally apologized for the misunderstanding. you accepted his apology and you apologized to him for your actions. the voice in your heart whispered to you again; you took a deep breath and decided to come clean about why you lashed out against him. the words just flowed out of like a river, you told brock everything, including about your parents divorce and how that affected you. tears began to well in your eyes and brock got up to hug you but you stopped him. you did not want to cause a scene so you dried your eyes with your napkin at the table and went to the restroom to regain your composure. you had been vulnerable with each other about other things before but this was heavy for you to release. the weight from your words started to slowly lift away and the voice in your heart whispered loudly this time.

____________________________________

with tears still in your eyes, you realized that you were falling in love with brock. he cared for you so much and you loved how well treated you; brock was an great person. brock didn’t care about how broken, fragile and insecure you were and he was willing to put in the effort to show you how worthy you were of love. brock only wanted you; other people could come and go and catch his eyes but in the end, you were the only one he wanted to be with. brock didn’t want you temporarily but he wanted you for as long as he could have you. he wanted to raise coolie with you, get more dogs and maybe one day, have a little family with you. brock wanted to show you off to the world; he wanted to take you to places you’ve never been before and experience new things with you. brock wanted to take you out and treat you right because you deserved that. he still loved you, even though you hurt his feelings and gave him a reason to push you away. brock still loved you, even though you cried in front of him. he still loved you, even though you didn’t think you were worthy and capable of loving him in the same way. brock was willing to untangle the strings around your heart and cut through the web of lies that trapped you. he was willing to put in the effort to scale the walls you built up and to break them down. brock could taste the tension between the two of you and he wanted to know more of who you were underneath. he wanted to truly know your heart, all of it, even the parts you didn’t like.

you both used to feel lonely when the sun went down but since you came into each other's lives, that changed. you gave each other butterflies. you captured each other’s hearts. you both loved the way each other's names sounded and felt in your mouths. you both didn’t regret the time that you had together. you both loved being in each other’s presence. you wanted each other’s rituals, routines and traditions; you wanted each other’s sunrises and sunsets. you wanted to be in each other’s glow. you set each other’s world on fire and you made each other feel safe. you both didn’t care about what the world would say if you ended up together. you both had no idea what the future held or what it looked like but you both knew that you wanted to be in it together.

you cared so much for brock and you were willing to take on the risks and complications of being in a relationship with an athlete. you loved how brock remembered little details about you. you loved his compassion and kindness towards you. you loved how you made you laugh and how brock warmed your spirit. you loved how brock showed how committed he was to you. you were used to running when everything was perfect because you were expecting rain to come your way soon and wash all of the goodness away. brock was worth standing in the storm for though. you realized that even though he could have had anyone else, he chose you.

yes, the shadow of your parents divorce lingered over you and it would take some time for you to feel stable in a relationship without fear but that adverse experience would no longer hold you down and it did not define you. you decided to finally seek professional help for your pain. yes, there would be moments that insecurities would jump out, there would be moments of conflict, there would be things that you did that brock wouldn’t like and vice versa, things would get tough. brock didn’t want to fix you; neither of you expected the other person to be perfect, you accepted each other’s flaws and all. it was going to be a long road but he was willing to hold your hand and be by your side through those struggles and difficulties. brock loves you for you and you love him for who he is. you made the decision that the leap was worth the fall and you went back to the table.

#brock boeser #vancouver canucks #Brock boeser x reader #Brock boeser fic #hockey fic #hockey imagine #hockey writing #my writing #brock boeser imagine #please read my story

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bardofhype · 4 years ago

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been a while since i've been on my papers, please hyperfixation so i propose to you all:

Papers, Please AU where nothing really changes except the main cast all live on the same floor of the apartment complex as the Inspector. If he moves to a different floor, everyone else somehow finds ways to end up having to move to the same floor he does. It's only a little suspicious. Calensk - was a neighbor the Inspector never talked to or even noticed was there until Day 9 - probably the type to smoke by the window - finds himself starting chats with the Inspector on their way to the floor they live on. he has to sit down for a minute once he realizes - i like to imagine he and the Inspector visit each other for morning coffee sometimes (usually when either can afford it)

Sergiu - had been living in the building before the Inspector arrived but was shy when he did arrive and didn't say anything to him until he was assigned a station at the border checkpoint - heard quite a bit about the Inspector from other neighbors, though, and the fact that he came from Nirsk intrigued him a little - after being kept from death by the Inspector, he's compelled to talk to him more and more, eventually starting to walk with him on the way to work - when Elisa is admitted and moves in with Sergiu, he could not be more thankful. the Inspector now keeps having frequent visits from the happy couple after the fact Dimitri - imagine living while knowing your boss lives right down the hall - knew the Inspector was arriving to the building ahead of time (he kind of has to, he's his boss) but didn't say anything to him until Day 10 - doesn't make small talk often, but whenever he does, it's usually just about work - I'd like to think he's actually quite impressed with the Inspector's feats. he just is terrible at showing any of it and probably deliberately doesn't show it, too- trying not to seem too soft and all Vonel - imagine living in the same building as your boss and the Ministry of Information investigator overseeing your 20-year audit - very rarely makes small talk with the Inspector. after all, what's the point when he probably already knows most things about the man? - that said, he would not be one to shy away from having a quiet smoke break with the Inspector. a silent understanding between the two that "yeah, life kinda sucks" - would be the kind of neighbor to knock on the door of someone who's partying at 2 in the morning, if only to give them the death glare EZIC - how did this even happen. how did they even afford rent - probably an EZIC agent disguising as a normal civilian and that's how the one person can make the Ministry of Income stop looking into the Inspector's finances and all if he goes that route but also??? - i think it would just be funnier if a Certified Creature somehow made its way into having a room in the building and everyone just pretended it didn't exist - it pays its rent in bribes and shows up at the border checkpoint just to throw the man in for a loop bc oh wait the thing actually exists and is part of an organization trying to usurp Arstotzka's government??

#papers please #papers please spoilers #m vonel #the inspector #sergiu #calensk #dimitri #if you couldn't tell this is just a little silly

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thegryffindorprincess · 5 years ago

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Too Hasty//Draco Malfoy x Reader

A/N: OKAY I’M SO SORRY I JUST LEFT THE WHOLE PLATFORM FOR LIKE A MONTH! Basically, I caught covid-19 (lmao) and have been dying for a few weeks, but today was my first day out of my uni halls and first day back in lessons so I’m back for now. Here’s a cute ass little story for you all, I will be back x

Word Count: 1,818

Set: Post War

Warnings: Literally none, just cute

Harry Potter stood in the door way of the dining room at the back of Grimmauld Place fondly, looking at the people sitting around the table. Hermione and Ron were sat together reading, him noticing her grinning slightly when Ron needed to read a passage of text out loud to understand what it was he was reading. His eyes shifted to George, Luna and Neville who were attempting to balance as many goblets on top of each other as possible, erupting into a fit of giggles when it fell, Luna casually flicking her wand before they made a large bang on the table. He also watched his fiance, Ginny coo at Teddy Tonks who was babbling away in his high chair, using the few words he knew to communicate that he was demanding more pumpkin juice. And finally, Harry smiled as Draco Malfoy attempted to spoon feed Teddy some very odd looking green paste that he’d read encourages toddlers motor skills. When their eyes met they shared a very understanding glance. Teddy giggled as the goop touched his nose, spraying some of it onto Draco, causing the blonde man to grimace slightly but smile at the small boy instead. Harry moved towards the table and began to stack the plates onto one another, moving them into the kitchen.

“Hey Harry, let me help you.” Draco said, wiping Teddy’s dribbling mouth, going to stand, starting to pick up a few of the plates. Harry smiled at him thankfully and the two of them began to wash up the dishes in the kitchen. Harry Potter liked this Draco Malfoy and was amazed at the man he had grown up to be. Since the war- and since Harry had saved him from a stint in Azkaban, Draco had devoted himself to things that brought the world good. He’d trained long and hard to become a Healer, helping to care for vunerable people who were affected by the war, he’d taken on Teddy as his own son, moving in with the Order of the Pheonix to not only care for his second cousin every day but to help his new found friends with their fight against dark magic. Everything about his new life appeared to be perfect, except one thing. As Draco and Harry finished off drying Teddy’s “Chudley Cannon’s” bowl, brought for him by Ron, the shrill sound of the door bell sounded throughout the hall. Harry jumped a little, excusing himself from the others and walked towards the door, right hand resting on his wand that was stuck out of his pocket. He flung the door open. The cool air from the evening night hit his face and a figure that had been waiting patiently away from the door turned to face him.

“Harry!” She exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in. Y/N Y/L/N was stood in the weak evening sunlight, her skin glowing. Her features were so gentle that they seemed painted, her hair was done up, wand stuck through it. She was grinning from ear to ear, skin tanned.

“Y/N! Come in, come in. You must tell us where you’ve been!” Harry helped her in, taking her suitcases and resting them by the staircase. Y/N entered Grimmauld Place, taking in how much it had brightened up and changed since the last time she’d visited. She wondered into the dining room, exchanging hugs and greetings with her friends, all of them exclaiming how amazing she looked and how much they’d missed her. She smiled back at them all, thanking them for their kindness.

“Oh it’s been amazing! Paris was just beautiful I am so glad I went. I feel like I’ve finally got over-” Y/N stopped suddenly, looking over to the figure who’d just emerged from the kitchen. Draco had been hiding in the darkness of the kitchen, but now was stood awkwardly in the dining room’s light. “Draco.” She breathed, finishing her sentence. He waved a little, throwing her a tiny smile. She didn’t respond. Pretending she hadn’t seen it, she continued with her anecdote, animatedly telling the group about her world traveling, her visit to most of the wizarding Ministries of Magic and her new career editing the Daily Prophet. The group listened intensely, hanging on her every word, Hermione keeping her eye on Draco as he stared nervously at his feet, remaining at the door. Y/N also told Teddy about the creatures she’d met from other countries, taking pride in the way he glowed. The conversation came to an end.

“Will you be staying Y/N?” Ginny asked grinning, “please say you’re staying!” Y/N laughed at her best friend.

“If it’s not any trouble, I can always go to the Leaky Caul-”

“No way.” Hermione said firmly, “you must stay here.” With that, Hermione took Y/N’s hand and led her up the stairs, Ginny and Luna following behind. Hermione took them into one of the spare bedrooms, where Luna’s bed was already set up and waved her wand, creating a new blow-up style bed on the floor. Y/N thanked her gently, throwing her heavy bags down by the dresser. The girls stayed for a while, making themselves comfortable in the room. They sat in silence.

“I didn’t know Draco was living with you now.” Y/N said quietly, making sure her face remained neutral.

“Yeah,” Hermione said, fidgiting with her sleeves, “he’s lived with us ever since his charges were dropped.” Y/N nodded quickly, going back to unpacking her bags.

“I’m sure Y/N doesn’t want to be bored by chat of her ex fiance.” Ginny slightly snapped, pulling Hermione with her, nearing the door. “We’ll let you sleep now, goodnight girls.”

Once they left, Y/N and Luna got ready for bed, exchanging slight chat as they did so, Luna very interested in Y/N’s travels.

“You know,” said Luna quietly as they both snuggled up into the covers, “Draco really is quite different now.” Before turning over and closing her eyes dreamily. Y/N huffed a little, turning over herself.

“Let’s not be too hasty.” Y/N mumbled, huffing again before going to sleep.

XXXX

The morning came quickly for Y/N who’d spent most of the night awake. At five in the morning, she slipped out of bed, putting on her dressing gown and gently plopping down the stairs. She wandered into the kitchen quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping house. As she went towards the kettle, a figure moved out into the light, causing her to jump slightly.

“Draco!” She whispered, clutching her chest. He smiled at her softly, a small baby bottle in his hand, which he was shaking.

“How are you?” Draco asked, running a pale hand through his platinum hair, letting it hang messily in front of his eyes. “I feel like yesterday was a bit of a um shock for us both.” Y/N looked awkwardly, filling the kettle up with water, tapping it with her wand.

“Yeah it was a little odd, I mean last time I saw you you were a death eater and now you’re some kind of fucking saint.” As the words left her mouth, she watched his face fall. Her hands shot up to her mouth. “I’m sorry....I-”

“I can hear Teddy crying for his bottle,” Draco whispered horsely, pushing past her as he left the kitchen, “I’ll see you later.” Y/N watched him leave, unsure of what to say. She continued to make her tea, eyes threatening to spill tears as she sat at the table. Her owl flew in through the window, dropping the Daily Prophet onto the table top. She thanked it, before settling down to read in the morning sunlight.

XXXX

When the rest of the house arose, they were rushing around getting ready for work. Knowing Draco would be staying home all day with Teddy, some of the gangs attempted to haul her to work with them, George explaining how much he’d love to have her at the shop, Ginny saying that Y/N would be more than welcome to help referee, but she politely rejected all of them. They left one after another, all looking very important and busy. As Ron shut the door behind him, the last one to leave, the house fell into a sudden silence. Y/N watched from the dining room as Draco played with Teddy, teaching him letters from a small leather bound book. His face was painted in a gentle happiness as he watched the small boy fondly, running his hands through his dark locks. She watched closely as Teddy’s eyes began to flutter close, Draco hauling him up onto the sofa and covering him in a blanket from the chest on the floor. As Draco placed a small kiss on his forehead, Y/N entered, settling on the living room floor and tidying some of Teddy’s toys away.

“Leave that,” Draco said, swatting her away, “I’ve got it.” Y/N shuffled awkwardly from him, letting him squish past to grab the toys.

“I wanted to say sorry.” Y/N began, looking Draco in the eyes for the first time since last night, “You didn’t deserve that. I shouldn’t have spoken to you in that way.” Draco nodded, continuing to tidy up the floor.

“I’ve not stopped thinking about you.” He slightly whispered. Y/N felt like she’d stopped breathing for a moment. “Not dated, not kissed, not,” he lowered his voice, looking over to Teddy to ensure he was asleep, “fucked anybody else.”

“Really?” She asked. “Neither have I for the record I couldn’t.” Draco swallowed, looking down at her, where she sat on the floor.

“I kept my promise to you.” Y/N cocked her head a little confused. He rolled up his sleeve, showing her the nearly faded dark mark that still lay in his skin. “I will counter act my evil until my mark disappears for you.” Her mouth fell open as she watched how he flinched at the sight of his arm. She leant up, Draco allowing her gentle fingers to stroke the mark.

“For me?” She repeated.

“You.” Draco watched her carefully as she stood from where she was standing, moving closer to him. He automatically pulled her into him, just like he always had.

“Kiss me idiot.” She said grinning, allowing him to grab her jaw softly, pulling her into a glowing kiss. She felt her skin heat up as her pressed closer to her bringing her closer and closer.

“Uncle Dray?” A tiny voice squeaked from the sofa. The two shot round just in time to watch Teddy looking confused at them.

“Yes Ted?” Draco quickly said, regaining his composure.

“Is that your new wife?” Teddy asked innocently, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Y/N began to giggle a little, covering her mouth with her hand. Draco began to laugh to, walking over to Teddy and pulling him into a cuddle.

“Let’s not be too hasty hey Ted.”

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hikohhmi · 3 years ago

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Picrew link :

[Please pretend this is a human/dragon being even tho the link says otherwise]

Name : Angetsushin Hikomiro

Years old : 1607

Species : Half dragon, half human

Weapon : Claymore/sword

Vision : Anemo

Family : Shinigami, Haruki

Height : 4'11

Gender : Female

Current location : Liyue

Other Physical Appearance : Horns and a tail

Lore :

[ A human being chosen as a dragon is one of the most rarest phenomena in the whole teyvat. Majority of them were hunted by others. The one that gave the people these types of dragon's form are unknown.

Dragons may be immortal, but being a half dragon can get them hurt just like how fragile humans is.

Their identity was kept safely and is trying to live a life on pretending to be an adepti.

They are described as a gentle and soft creature towards others, it's because only the special people that were able to be chosen as a dragon. ]

○

Hikomi's Story:

[ Hiko is the daughter of the god of death. She keeps her identity secret and pretend to be an 'unknown species' in Liyue since she refuse to be the next god of her nation. Others aren't able to tell what is she as she kept using the same excuse 'I forgot'.

Ever since her father, the god of death himself was cursed by the old god of life before she was punished, her brother have been busier than ever, since he's the replacement for their father for a while. Their father last wish is to see her oldest daughter to become a leader to his nation, and that's one of the things that Hiko is trying to be.

She wants to learn about life before she becames a leader of the nation and decided to live a life as a 'strange creature'. The others doesn't know that the god of death has a daughter, so it will be safer for her to live.

The nation is unknown and is very hard to find. It's known as the longest nation in the teyvat. After for somehow being able to gain her new form as a dragon, which make her life more dangerous if them, the fatuis finds out about her. She have been under geo's archon protection as a thank you to their father, for helping him in a few wars back then.

She work as baker. As she went into the woods to find some plants for ingredients, she often find people with injuries. That's the reason she always have a medkit in her bag, to help the people with serious or small injuries that were found in the forest.

Sometimes when she was travelling, she was able to help other random people across the teyvat. She often came to dragonspine, thinking it'll help her understanding the dragons more.

Even though telling others about herself is dangerous, she believes she can depends on < traveller/reader's name > to keep her identity properly! ]

○

Voice lines :

○

Hello : Introduction ;

" Greetings! My name is Angetsushin Hikomiro. You can call me Hiko as short. I am also known as the neighborhood baker, in case you didn't know. I guess, some of the people around the teyvat already told you about me. Zhongli send you to me? I see. I suppose, I can't ignore you now. "

○

Chat I : Collecting ;

" Look at that flowers! It look so pretty, I should take it to my green house! Give me a moment, please! "

Chat II : Tiredness ;

" *Soft yawn* I feel a bit sleepy today.. but it's okay! I'll try my best to stay awake. So, where we're going right now? "

Chat III : Distracted ;

" Ah! Sorry, I zone out again.. I'll try my best to focus more. So, can you please repeat again for me? You don't have to if you don't want to. "

○

Good morning :

" *Yawn* Time to get ready for the day! "

Good afternoon :

" Today is exhausting. But I'm happy how it turns out! "

Good evening :

" Oh, it's getting late. I usually went inside my house in this hour, but I don't mind stay out more longer. "

Good night :

" *Yawn* Can't wait to sleep after this! I can still help you out though. "

○

Rainy day :

" *Hums a little lullaby* I love to sing while it's raining. No one can hear me even myself. It's very peaceful and calming! *Giggles* "

Windy :

" *Sneeze* Ugh..I get cold so easily...I know I'm an Anemo user, it still affects me. "

Thunder struck :

" AH! *sigh* Didn't expect to be this shock to a thunder..it's kind of stronger than the other thunders. "

Sun's shows up :

" Aww, the night had already end...At least I was able to have my moments before. Every good things must comes to end after all. "

Winter :

" I love winter! The snows are really pretty and unique! But the cold is bothering me a bit. *Sneeze* talks about winter remind me of a friend named 'winter'. "

○

Something to share :

" I love the nature, unusual stuff and other amazing creatures! They're really unique and is very beautiful in many different ways! And then one day, suddenly, I'm one of them! That's one of the reasons why I am happy to be a dragon and a vision user. "

Interesting things :

I : " I can fly hundreds kilometers away with my feather wings. It's something hard to do, but I train a lot and get a good result! All thanks to my hard work! *Laugh* "

II : " My hearing is very sensitive, so whenever someone is in pain, I am able to know where they might be or how far they are from me. Although, it does get me Overwhelmed since I'm not a big fan of sounds before being a half dragon. "

○

About : Family ;

" Well, my father and one of my little brother are still alive. They're somewhere far from here. Me and my little brother always exchange letters for us to read and keep updating news to each other. "

About : Flowers ;

" Do you know, that there's at least a meaning in each flowers? For example, Lily of The Valley and Pink Roses are symbolize as an apology. While blue and red spider lily represents death and tragic! Isn't it unique? "

About : Baking ;

" I love baking! It's my favourite thing to do! All you have to know is you need to remember the ingredients and use it as much as you think that is enough. Bake them and voila! A dessert is ready to be serve! "

About : Being Half Dragons ;

" Honestly I'm not too sure about my own species. As you see, my human personality is not so human too. Howver, I think can tell that there's a lot different when it's physical. We tend to got stronger eventually after we granted to be a dragon.

I also notice that my powers recharge by viewing the nature and touching the moonlight. So, if there's no plants nor moonlight we will end up exhausting when we use our energy too much to the point we faint....Have this happened before? You don't need to worry! "

About : Us ;

" Your brother/sister? I'm afraid I'm not quite sure, unfortunately. But I did saw a person that looked like you. I promise if I saw them again, I'll tell you about it. "

About : Vision ;

" Oh, so that it's names? I got to say, it really became handy in dangerous type of situation. You see, I can't let people know I'm a dragon. So using the 'vision' is a great option for me to use! "

About : Zhongli ;

" He is a very gentle 'uncle'! Although he got busy most of the time, he was able to spend time with me!...Hmm?...What's wrong?....Yeah, I don't call him 'uncle' in public because it'll cause a suspicion to us, but you already know me. So it's all good. "

About : Ganyu ;

" I don't know about her that much, but he seems like a graceful being! Her personality are very elegant. I think she did get a bit suspicious of me since I kept telling others I 'forgot' what my species is. *Chuckles* They also think I'm the type that doesn't give a care of the world. However, I know some people thinks of me otherwise! "

About : Amanita ;

" Well, Most humans love to watch me too but no one has ever writes notes of me like he does. I think he is a smart guy that just want some knowledge. He's very fast, to the point, I don't think that he's a human. Anyway, I like his weapon and his passions towards mushrooms! "

About : Minty ;

" The women? She's the 1st women that were were married to Amanita. I'm the second one, but I don't mind. I have a huge respect towards their relationship. "

About : Qiqi ;

" The soft little girl with soothing voice? She's so sweet! I love her personality! It may be cold, but her voices makes it all soft and fuzzy! Her face look peaceful too!~ I talk to her sometimes, she's really nice and adorable! When I'm on my free time, she'll allow me to help her with trying to get some plants for medicine. "

About : Ei ;

" Oh! The women with the cool sword? I love her! She's a very wise and is a calm person! Someone once told her about me and she was interested to meet me in person. That's how we met! Now she's one of my friend! We tend to meet up once in a week. "

About : Xiao ;

" You mean that one fast guy? He's really calm and is a quiet person. I don't know much about him actually. He always watch me whenever I went deeper in the forest to search for flowers and plants. He started to act like this after I secretly help him out by hiding him in one of my bakery in the woods. It was an old bakery, but you can use it as a place to stay! Here's the key. "

About : Capitano ;

" I can't talk about him too much, he won't like it. "

○

Elemental Skill I :

Elemental Skill II :

Elemental Skill III :

Elemental Burst I :

Elemental Burst II :

Elemental Burst III :

○

Low HP I :

Low HP II :

Low HP III :

○

Fallen I :

Fallen II :

Fallen III :

○

Light hit :

Heavy hit :

○

Opening Chest I :

" *Overwhelmed* Huh!..So many stuff! You sure it's safe? "

Opening Chest II :

" What are these things doing in the most random spot? "

Opening Chest III :

" If there's anything bad happened after this, you can call for my help. "

○

Join a Party I :

" I'm ready to go! "

Join a Party II :

" *Clap hands 1x* Hooray! "

Join a Party III :

" Let's go! "

UGH, I DIDN'T EVEN FINISH THIS YET, I ACCIDENTALLY POST IT JWSBKSNSKSKWNKWNW

ALSO, PLEASE FORGAVE ME IF THIS CRINGE YOU, I WAS GOING TO ASK MY FRIEND'S OPINION BUT THEN I ACCIDENTALLY PRESS THE BUTTON AND- AND--

#genshin impact #oc stuff #oc tag #my oc tag #Miss's kobayashi's dragon maid inspired #oc rpg #Rpg #i know it's cringe #Don't come after me plz #Hikomiro's oc #Hikomiro's writings

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today-only-happens-once · 4 years ago

Note

Hello hello hello??? I need to know more about how hiccup fits into the au? This is. I love this.

OKAY OKAY OKAY so I just finished the first movie for the first time (don’t @ me) but here’s what I’ve got having not seen the other two (though I’ve seen part of the second):

Hiccup is majoring in zoology with a minor in mechanical engineering and meets Percy in a marine bio course the second semester of their freshmen year

They become lab partners and their sense of humor is so similar that they hit it off and Hiccup kind of becomes their adopted-fourth-roommate anyway towards the end of their freshmen year

They all notice his prosthetic foot but Percy saw enough in his battles and kids at camp that it doesn’t really phase him. Peter is similar, what with Rhodey and Bucky’s prosthetics. And Danny’s just super chill in general.

When they first meet, they do the usual “oh where are you from?” and Hiccup just answers “Berk. It’s this small island off the coast of Denmark.”

He decided to do college in the States as part of an exchange program originally, but liked it so much he just decided to transfer instead.

One time at a party someone asked him what happened to his foot and Hiccup just goes “oh. I lost it in a dragon fight” and everyone took it as a joke.

(Also if you thought this was going to be a “toothless is his cat AU” you are mistaken. Toothless is still VERY MUCH A REAL DRAGON)

So we get to this point where Peter, Danny, and Percy all know about the secret double life the others lead, but now in their sophomore year they have to keep it a secret from their Totally Normal Definitely Not Leading a Double Life Roommate, Hiccup.

And Hiccup assumes his other roommates are normal and therefore must keep his I Have a Pet Dragon life a secret because he knows that dragons are widely regarded as completely fictional and that it would be very bad for all involved if that was a secret that got out past the safe confines of his hometown island.

Toothless stays in the forest/caves nearby their college, and Hiccup visits basically every day under the guise of “I have a field assignment for a zoology class”.

U N T I L

the boys get attacked by a good old friend of Danny’s, Johnny 13, who all the boys have tussled with before (except Hiccup) while they’re hanging out in a nearby park with Sam, Annabeth, and MJ.

Which turns into a little bit hilarious because Peter has to pretend to take off running and hide so he can switch to his spider-man gear behind like, a tree when he thinks Hiccup isn’t paying attention. (Thankfully he’s got it set up so it’s seconds for his suit to appear around him) and Danny does basically the same thing to Go Ghost.

Percy’s just like “I guess the cat’s out of the bag” and uncaps Riptide without even bothering to hide it because he has to defend Hiccup, right?

Hiccup ends up taking a hit, and when he yelps in pain... well. It brings Toothless running.

Johnny 13 is pretty easy to defeat because he’s drastically outnumbered and Sam doesn’t go anywhere without a Fenton Thermos anyway.

But once Hiccup gets Toothless to realize the threat isn’t around anymore, and that none of his roommates or their girlfriends are threats either, he starts to panic.

Cue Toothless meeting the whole gang.

Peter looks like he’s about to pass out because supervillains? He’s used to it. He even got used to Greek monsters from the ones that have gone after Percy in the last year. But DRAGONS?? (Annabeth has a similar reaction but is MUCH better at hiding her surprise)

Percy is surprised, but not as surprised as Peter. He’s seen some creatures he once thought were mythical before, and he mentions Mrs. O’Leary when chatting with Hiccup about befriending unexpected “”monsters””

Danny thinks of Cujo is probably the least surprised by it, tbh. He’s seen dragons in the ghost zone. (Sam has the same thought, to be honest.)

MJ is just like “I knew you couldn’t be normal and hang with us.”

Hiccup still panics because even if his friends are surprisingly chill about it, a DRAGON was just seen IN PUBLIC but then Annabeth tells him not to worry. He’s close enough to Annabeth and Percy, who were both part of the fight, that the Mist probably obscures people’s understanding of what they’re seeing anyway. (Hiccup doesn’t really get what that means, but he sees that none of the passer-bys seem to be paying him much mind and he’s like “....huh.”)

#college au #how to train your dragon #marvel #mcu #danny phantom #percy jackson #im officially dubbing this au as #chaos college crew au #and it owns my soul now

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prettypinklass · 4 years ago

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What happens when the Barbara Fan Club is bothering Barbara: Featuring the Knights of Favonius and my team

Jean

If she catches Albert bothering Barbara it will be the most passive aggressive you will ever seen the acting grand Master.

"Excuse me, but Sister Barbara and I are on official business. Please do not interrupt us."

Barbara will squeak and then nod in agreement.

If it's one of the creepier fans who try to get a little handsy, things get a little more violen.

She will straight up knock out a person if they try to get handsy with her or Barbara, and sometimes Barbara will have to stop her from doing more.

Essentially, it's common knowledge that if Barbara and Jean are together, don't bother them.

Kaeya

"Excuse me, but Sister Barbara and I are busy. Whatever it is that you require, I'm sure that the church will be more then capable of assisting you."

Not as passive aggressive as Jean, but the air tends to become just a little bit cooler if he thinks someone is bothering her.

If the personnel question tries to get handsy, they may find themselves with cold feet. Literally.

And yes, Kaeya will leave them there until someone comes to help them, or until the ice melts on its own.

Lisa

It's almost as bad as having an overdue book.

She's very sweet and condescending when telling people to leave Barbara alone. She's also very quick to remind them that Barbara is VERY busy as the deaconess, and that if they really care about her, it would be best to leave her alone.

"Tsk tsk, Sister Barbara is so very busy as the deaconess. If you need healing, then I suggest you just head to the church. I'm certain if you really care about her, then you'll be more then happy to let us finish our official business, right?"

Anyone who gets handsy falls victim to her "shock first, question later" policy.

Lisa has gotten into trouble more then once with Jean for her shocking, but for reasons unknown, if the reason for her shocking was related to Barbara, she tends to get off without more then a slap on the wrist.

The knights are sworn to secrecy on this, but Jean 100% approves of shocking people who get handsy with Barbara. Some think it's a bit harsh, but Lisa is more then happy to oblige.

Barbara doesn't like it though, and though she would be more then happy to heal them, Lisa always sends them to the church before she can.

Amber

If Amber is out with Barbara, its unlikely they'll run into obsessive fans. Most of their work is done outside of the city, clearing out hilichurl camps or collecting herbs together.

If somehow, they DO run into an obsessive fan, Amber may or may not "accidentally" mistake them for a hilichurl. Or perhaps miss her shot and hit them in the rump instead.

Never with a flaming arrow, she isn't THAT mean, but there's no harm in scaring them off right?

If they don't leave after that, she'll get Barbara to hide and go talk to them.

"Citizen of Mondstadt! What are you doing out here in the wilderness? It's dangerous!"

"Outrider Amber? Do you know where-"

"If you're friend is missing, then rest assured that I will find them! But I have to ask you to please return to the city, and not to stray off the path. It's too dangerous out here."

That's the end of their conversation, always. If they don't leave, Amber will make them.

Klee

Klee LOVES hanging out with Auntie Barbara. But Uncle Kaeya and Master Jean warned her about people who may try to get too close.

If an obsessive fan is bothering them, Klee will tell them that they're on official business, and they don't have time to chat!

"Sorry sir! Auntie Barbara and I are on official duty for the Knights of Favonius, so we don't have time to play! But if you still want too later, we can play together when we're done!"

Klee doesn't understand what Lisa means by "getting handsy" and has made mistakes before, but through trial and error (and some reflection time in solitary confinement), knows how to tell if Barbara is uncomfortable with the way someone is touching her.

If such a thing ever happens, Klee will grab her hand and pull her away, throwing a small little present at the fan who never learned the meaning of consent.

Said present is usually a bomb, followed by Klee and Barbara high tailing it out of there before the knights arrive so Klee doesn't get in trouble.

Jean knows it's Klee's fault, but Barbara always tells her what happened. She'll always pretend she doesn't know what happen. This has sparked a rumor that there's a crazy bomber in Mondstadt.

It's just Klee. She's the crazy bomber.

Rosaria

Barbara is never truly alone anywhere near town. If she looks to be alone, beware of sister Rosaria, who may or may not be in the shadows.

Rosaria and Barbara don't get along all the time, but Rosaria would never let anyone harass a fellow sister of the church.

She'll stay out of it if it's just harmless chatter. Most of the time, it's just fans trying to get an autograph.

On the occasion that someone wants more though, they won't get a chance

If someone tries to touch her, gets too close, or even looks at Barbara in the wrong way, Sister Rosaria will be standing behind them within an instant.

"Watch where you put your hands/gaze. Harassing a sister of the church is punishable by death."

Thats a lie, but it usually does the trick.

For my team...

Xinyan

Barbara loves hanging out with Xinyan. It's refreshing to see a different style of music, and they've even talked about doing shows together.

The traveler briefed Xinyan on Barbara's situation in Mondstadt though, and if you asked her, it's the farthest thing from rock'n roll.

Xinyan isn't a fan of her scary face. Her upturned eyebrows and naturally narrowed eyes, paired with her punk rock aesthetic make her menacing, and she hates it.

But she isn't afraid to make use of it if anyone is bothering her and Barbara, especially when they're talking music.

A glance is usually enough to scare them off, but anyone who gets too close may get a little more then they bargained for.

"Hey, pal," Xinyan will grab their wrist before they can do anything, "Don'tcha know it's rude to interrupt a conversation? Sister Barbara and I are busy. If you need something from the church, why don't you go to the cathedral?"

Xinyan isn't familiar with a lot of Mondstadt's customs, but she's damn well sure that touching without warning or consent isn't one of them.

Most fans won't approach if she's around though. Her scary face isn't a feature she's happy with, but at least it keeps the creeps away.

Venti

The wind always gets stronger if you're bothering Barbara and the tone deaf bard is around.

It's a strange phenomenon, but nobody really pays much attention to it.

If Venti catches you bothering his dear devoted sister of the church, he will intervene.

"Ah, Sister Barbara! There you are! I composed a new melody, and was hoping I could have the honor of you singing with me!"

Barbara knows this isn't true, but she knows he's trying to help and frankly, she doesn't want to deal with obsessive fans. So she goes along with it.

"Oh, Venti! Of course, I'd be happy to help."

Of course, if you're near the fountain, the wind may just blow you into the water instead.

And anyone who tries to get handsy gets blown into it no matter where they are.

Needless to say, Lord Barbatos doesn't approve of people harassing the deaconess of his church.

Ganyu

Ganyu isn't familiar with Mondstadt's customs or traditions, and nor are Mondstadt's people familiar with the creatures known as Adepti, much less a half Adeptus.

Though Ganyu makes it a habit to avoid entering the church, in favor of her faith to Rex Lapis and her contract, she's more then happy to assist the knights with whatever they need.

She was asked to accompany Barbara out of town once by Jean.

"You mean... Sister Barbara of the church?"

"Yes. If you aren't comfortable with it, you don't have to, but..."

"It would be no trouble at all Master Jean, but... may I ask why the deaconess needs someone to accompany her?"

Jean's expression became disgruntled, but she explained the situation. Needless to say Ganyu wasn't happy with it.

Though she has a habit of bringing her clipboard and papers when she's out with Barbara, she's quite good at getting people to leave them alone.

"Barbara-sama-"

"Sister Barbara, could you look at this for a moment? I understand the church and the knights share the authority in Mondstadt, so I was hoping you could help me plan some trade routes between the Dawn Winery and Liyue..." she'll get in the way of any fans who try to bother them, and get work done at the same time. Really, it's almost impressive.

If they persist, she'll click her tongue and turn to frown at them

"Excuse me, but I'm afraid Sister Barbara and I are quite busy. Relationships between Liyue and Mondstadt have grown rocky as of late due to the recent passing of our archon. It is of the utmost importance that we stabilize our relationship as countries and ensure that Mondstadtians and Liyese continue to be capable of freely passing our border without fear of the other."

That usually gets them to leave. Anyone who tries anything more will face Ganyu's ability of abruptly stopping a conversation and leaving, this time with Barbara in tow.

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adamwatchesmovies · 3 years ago

Text

Twilight (2008)

Twilight is not the 0-star picture so many people claim (or want) it to be. If you like it, I can understand why. That said, those who call it a great film are doing so because of their affection for the source material, which itself isn't particularly robust. This is getting overly complicated. Let’s just get to the review.

Seventeen-year-old Isabella “Bella” Swan (Kristen Stewart) moves to the small town of Forks to live with her father, Charlie (Billy Burke). At her new school, she gets along with everyone… except for the enigmatic Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). The boy seems almost repulsed by her but Bella is drawn to him. As it turns out, he - and his feelings for Bella - aren't what they seem.

There are some undeniable faults in this picture. The performances, for instance. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have proven themselves strong performances but director Catherine Hardwicke stifles any emotions that might've been present. Not helping is the screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, which directly quotes the novel by Stephenie Meyer often. You'll find plenty of clunky, overly wordy exchanges, the kind that comes from an author spinning their wheels, trying to buy time before a big reveal three chapters later by busting out their thesaurus and endlessly re-writing the same dialogue until it becomes a garbled mess.

Twilight is also a bit too ambitious for its budget. The special effects aren't convincing. It made me think back to the Smallville pilot, which would've been a good thing was this a TV series or non-theatrical movie, but someone should’ve looked at the fast-motion effects and recognized how silly they looked.

If you’re reading this segment of the review, you know that Edward is a vampire. Not the scary Nosferatu type, but a hundred-year-old glittering, sullen-faced, creature of the night that falls head-over-heels in love with Bella Swan. People will call this ridiculous but this is where I'll defend Twilight. Yes, the glittering thing is dumb, but it’s a detail. Considering every vampire in this film has a different superpower (which is an elegant way of blending the various myths about vampires), you can just pretend that’s Edward’s. I will also stand up for the relationship between the lovers. Bella and Edward have something about them that genuinely WOULD make them a good couple. When Bella comes to school, she’s basically loved by all. The boys want to date her, the girls want to be her best friend. All, except for one guy. Why? because Edward can read minds. No one in the world is a mystery to him. Holding a conversation, even with his fellow vampires is redundant but he can’t hear Bella’s thoughts. She's the only person in the entire world he could sit down and have a chat with.

There’s a germ of a good idea here. It’s the execution that's at fault. Perhaps the source material too. You might have to squint a bit but you can find scenes in the film that are good. The best example is a moment when the Cullens play baseball. It shows them as real “human beings”. People will call the scene where Edward admits that he likes to watch Bella sleep “creepy”, but that’s because he can't express himself well. As a vampire, he doesn’t sleep. He's been forced to live only with his kind and always drifts further away from normal human behavior. He hasn’t seen someone sleep in ages. He’s not “keeping an eye on her” at all times, he’s fascinated by every aspect of this young woman. Many of the interactions Bella has with her friends are charming and Billy Burke does good work with his role.

Twilight is harmless. It will appeal to those who've enjoyed the book and is sure to ensorcell young teenage girls. Unfortunately, the source material's weaknesses shine through, and neither director Catherine Hardwicke nor writer Melissa Rosenberg do much to improve upon it (trust me on that). This makes it nothing special for the rest of us but hardly a plague upon cinema so many people have declared it to be. I don’t see why it’s gotten such strong reactions either way. Perhaps the sequel, New Moon, will make it clearer. (Theatrical cut on DVD, December 9, 2016)

#Twilight #Movies #films #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #MelissaRosenberg #StephenieMeyer #KristenStewart #RobertPattinson #BillyBurtke #PeterFacinelli #2008movie #2008films

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piratesfromspace · 4 years ago

Text

Two saviors and some hope

Pairing: The Mandalorian x Cobb Vanth x Reader

Summary: You've been captured to be sold as a slave. But two men clad in beskar armors cross your path. Maybe this means there's some hope. Set after ep 1 of season 2, canon-divergent.

Word Count: 4.2k

Warnings: canon-typical violence, blood, alcohol, slavery (but reader is free pretty early in the fic), light smut (threesome). Rated explicit.

A/N: Neutral pronouns for reader. English is not my native language, please be kind. I’m really happy to share this short fic with a rare pairing, hope you’ll like it! Fic also available on ao3.

“Move! Faster, I might miss a client” the abhorrent creature tugging at your chains croaks. You are trying to keep up behind him as best as you can. But with the chains linking your ankles and your wrists, it isn’t an easy task. Especially since you are barefoot in the burning sand of this barren planet. The scorching heat of its two suns is just aggravating your ordeal. The blue-skinned Chiss that is your captor and you soon arrive at the destination he was so eager to reach. A small town and its market. If the previous remark had left you with very little doubt about his intentions for you, it was now even more clear that he indeed has planned on selling you.

“Here, that’s perfect. On the ground, sit, slave.” His order comes with a hard tug on the chains between your wrists, and your knees fall on the compacted sand of the marketplace. You raise your head in a poor sign of defiance, looking at the slave trader. He puts his backpack down at his feet and rubs one of his shoulders. Despite his human-like figure, he is way stronger than expected. Clad in some sort of beige toga, he could easily be mistaken for a simple merchant, but you have learned the hard way he is a hunter as well. The anxiety slowly gnawing at the edge of your mind is becoming more and more hard to ignore with every second. You close your eyes, breathing through your nose and trying to calm yourself. A freaking slave. He has called you a freaking slave, and is about to sell you as one. In those forsaken parts of the galaxy, slavery is apparently still a thing and no one would come looking for you. Even if everything happened in a blur, you know the small village where you were finally living a simple life after a troubled childhood has been destroyed by the Chiss and his friends? Colleagues? Regardless of who they all were, your situation is the same. He has taken you and decided to make a quick buck by bringing you to the first market on the closest planet he could find.

But you can’t resign yourself. Maybe if you run fast enough you could hide yourself somewhere? Find a way to destroy those chains and escape from your grim future. It’s now or never. You take a deep breath and you push as hard as you can on your legs, soaring, ready to run. But as soon as you're up, you barely have taken your first step, that the Chiss grabs your upper arm and yanks you towards him. His grip is cruel and his fingers dig deep in your skin, likely to leave nasty bruises there. You let out a scream, but the air is pushed out of your lungs when he kicks you in the back of your knee, your legs buckling beneath you. You fall again on the ground and you try to soften your landing with your hands, but the chains prevent you from really succeeding.

“Pathetic.” you hear him mutter, slightly shaking his head. You want to disappear. You’re huddled in the sand, your knees and arms hurting, your heart pounding in your ears. You don’t want to raise your eyes and meet his again. Around you, the market is bustling with life, people happily chatting and loudly bargaining cheap items. Though it looks like your little scene has attracted a few surprised glances and hushed conversations. You close your eyes again, wincing from the waves of pain creeping from most of your body. You’re taken out of your suffering-induced trance when you hear heavy footsteps coming close to you and the Chiss greeting someone with his sketchy smooth voice. “Hello gentlemen, do you need a servant? I’m sure this one will be perfect for your…” He hasn’t the time to finish his sentence, because the tallest of the two armored men standing in front of you aims his blaster on the chest of the Chiss without any warning. “What are you doing here, slaver scum?” “I.. what do you…” the Chiss stutters.

“There are only free people in this town, and this is gonna stay that way as long as I’m the Marshal here. So you’re going to release this person and get away from this place as quick as you can. And I’m not gonna ask you twice.”

Your mind is slowly processing what’s happening, and you watch more closely at your two saviors. They’re both clad in beskar armor, one shiny, one painted in red and green, the traditional helmets of the Mandalorians safely hiding their faces. You’ve heard of them of course, the intriguing tribe is well known where you used to live. And it is also well known it is a bad idea to mess with them.

There is a moment of tension. The Chiss seems to be gauging if he can win a fight against the two Mandalorians, or if there is any way he can turn the situation to his advantage. The smaller warrior, the one with the shiny armor, moves a hand on his blaster and slightly shifts in his position, making clear he’s not afraid to shoot if necessary. Anger crosses the face of the blue-skinned man and he pinches his lips in a disgusted pout before speaking. “Alright, no need to be so menacing. I’ll leave, but I can’t let my property here, they’ll come with me.” He collects his bag and pretends to be leaving, tugging on your chains for you to get up. “I think you don’t understand”, the smaller Mandalorian finally speaks for the first time, “they’re not your property, and they will stay here.”. He’s very calm but determined and the modulator filtering his voice gives an even more terrifying tone to the veiled threat. His blaster is now in his hand, casually aiming to the Chiss.

With two blasters now facing him, your captor has very little choice. He lets out a nervous sight and reaches inside his pocket to find the magnetic key to your chains. He reluctantly presses it against your ankles and then your wrists, freeing you from the vicious bite of the metal around your limbs. The discarded shackles tumble in the sand with a soft clatter. Free. You’re free.

“You don’t know who you’re insulting Mandalorians…” you heard him muttering under his breath before quickly leaving the marketplace, under the scrutinizing looks of the nearby crowd. You’re still in shock of what just happened. The world is becoming a blur around you, the ambient noise turning into a high pitch sound in your ears, you feel like you’re gonna lose your footing.

“Hey… can you hear me? you ok?” a gentle touch on your shoulder and two brown eyes with a kind look prevent you from totally fainting, bringing you back to reality. The taller Mandalorian has removed his helmet and is watching you. A concerned smile crossing his face. The information makes your brain glitch. Mandalorians are not supposed to remove their helmet, ever.. But you don’t have the time to dwell on this puzzling news, because the second warrior reminds you of a more pressing issue: “Did he plant a chip? In your neck? Or your back maybe? Do you remember?” “Yes…yes, in the middle of my back I think.” “Shit.”

--------

The table in the center of the modest living room is swiped free of the few bowls and trinkets placed there. The Mandalorian is carefully lying you on it, instructing you to turn on your belly. He loses no time, tearing the thin fabric of your tunic to expose your back. The Marshal comes back from another room, hurrying, with a medkit in his hands. “Din! I think there’s a scalpel vibroblade in here, but I couldn’t find any anesthetic.” The helmeted warrior, Din, doesn’t lose his calm and pulls out the scalpel from the kit.

“I’m sorry, but we must remove it now, before this son-of-a-Kath-hound dares to make it explode.” he says, his helmet turned toward you.

You hear the Marshal searching in the kitchen for something, frantically opening cabinet doors. “Here, you can bite on this.” a clean cloth is finally shoved into your hands and you bring it to your mouth, sinking your teeth in the fabric and steeling yourself for what’s to come. The gloved hand of the Mandalorian is feeling each bone of your spine, looking for the exact location of the chip. He’s fast, methodical, like he’s done this before. His hand suddenly stops a couple inches below your neck. “Found it. It’s gonna hurt. You can scream if it helps.” He turns to the other man “It’s best if you hold them still. Safer this way.” One powerful hand grabs your neck, gentle but firm, while another one presses on the small of your back, making sure you won’t move too much and hurt yourself. The Marshal has removed his gloves, and the feeling of its warm callused hands against your exposed skin is somehow weirdly comforting. Your fingers clench hard on the table’s edge when the blade sinks into your flesh, you squeeze your eyes shut, letting out a growl through your gritted teeth around the cloth. The pain is radiating in all your back, you want to move, to escape the awful sensation although you know it’s for your own good. You can feel the droplets of blood trickling down your sides, ending on the table, forming little puddles soon staining the front of your tunic. The feeling of the blade moving so close to your spine makes your head spin and when you open your eyes, blacks spots are filling your vision. You let go of the edge of the table, your fingers going numb. “I think they’re gonna faint.” the Marshal warns Din. “I’m almost done...” A metallic clatter can be heard as the Mandalorian lets the chip fall inside a cup. “Just need to close the wound now. You’re good.” You’re doing your best to stay awake, removing the cloth from your mouth with a feeble hand to try and take some deep breaths. The process of closing the deep cut in your back is nowhere near pleasant, but at least the menace of the chip blowing up your spine is gone. “It’s done. I just need to apply some bacta.” “No” your voice is wrecked, the tone slightly desperate. “No bacta. I want the scar to stay.” “It’s your call.” Din simply states.

The hands against your back are lifted and the Marshal reappears in your visual field. He fetches a bottle and a cup, and when the Mandalorian finally gives you the permission to sit up, he offers you a glass of an unknown blue liquid. “For the pain.” he says with a smile. It smells funny but you gulp the thing down, and while it burns your throat a little, its heat is welcome. You feel your muscles relax a bit thanks to the alcohol. “Thank you.” His brows furrow while he looks at you. You must look like a mess. Your tunic ripped open in the back, stained with your own blood, your skin coated in sand and sweat, your short hair messier than ever. “I’ll try to find you new clothes.” Behind you, the Mandalorian is trying to clean the blade and the mess you all made. You feel very self-conscious all of a sudden, realizing you’re half naked, alone on a planet you don't know, with two strangers, no money and no weapon, not even a proper garment on your back. You wrap your arms around you, making sure the torn fabric doesn’t expose you more than it does. But the move makes you wince when you unwittingly touch the bruises left by the Chiss on your upper arms. The Marshal frowns even more. “Is there a refresher I can use?” you ask tentatively. “Yeah sure” he seems a bit surprised by your request “Over here, the sonic works and there might even be some water left.” he answers nonetheless, while gesturing toward the small corridor at the other side of the room.

You don’t wait for any more explanation, jump from the table, and almost run to the refresher, locking the door behind you. A thousand thoughts are spiralling inside your head. You let the water run and step inside the shower, trying to wash away the dirt, the pain and the anguish.

------

Days have passed since your encounter with Din and Cobb (as you learned their names were). One true Mandalorian, the other not so much. But both are men of honor - or at least they seem to be. Truth be said, you don’t care that much about honor, as long as they’re nice to you. Cobb is letting you live in his home, and you have a small room all to yourself. You don’t see him a lot since he’s always somewhere else taking care of some sort of problem or quarrel. He’s not a bad roommate and he doesn't ask a lot from you. And Din is living in his ship he brought back from Mos Eisley. Well you’ve learned pretty quickly that sometimes Din is also some kind of roommate for Cobb, in the sense that they literally share the same bedroom. They’re not very open about their relationship but they don’t try to hide it at all costs either, and you’re grateful for the trust they put into you.

It’s quite fascinating to see them together. Cobb, tall and bold, a mischievous smile always plastered on his face, his silver hair and beard highlighting a strong jaw, high cheekbones and kind dark eyes. Din is more of the introvert type, smaller, definitely more muscular, his helmet always on, although you can easily tell when there is a smile or a worry in his voice. You’ve seen them fight together against some outlaws once or twice, and you had been mesmerized by their dynamic and synchronicity. You don’t know much about them, and they don’t ask much about you, and it’s fine this way for each of you three. The only thing still bugging your mind is the reason why they chose to help you, but the small green alien baby the Mandalorian is fostering indicates an overprotective instinct you’re glad to be benefiting from. And Cobb is visibly on the same track, even more so, demonstrating a contained anger each time you mention past abuse, regularly scolding himself for having let the Chiss leave alive.

Actually you’re glad to stay at their sides and to receive their attention. They’ve been careful around you, especially the first couple days, not wanting to make you uncomfortable or to scare you. As time passed, they both showed more openly their attachment to you and you welcomed their friendliness. But lately, you’ve caught yourself wanting more, waiting impatiently for Cobb’s return or for Din’s visit, a weird feeling coiling into your chest and your belly when you caught a glimpse of Din’s skin between his helmet and his scarf, a sudden blush on your cheeks when you run into Cobb getting out of the fresher, wearing just pants, hair still damp and shimmering in the soft light of the morning. Despite your best efforts to lie to yourself, it’s pretty clear now that you’re falling for them, both of them.

It’s twisted, you’re well aware, and sometimes you’re wondering which part of your fucked up past is to blame for this. But torturing yourself searching for answers doesn’t make the crave for their attention and touch go away, on the contrary.

While you’re getting more and more settled into your new life, the scars of the previous ones are still present. Nightmares. The ghosts of past wounds. You try your best to hide it from Din and Cobb, you don’t want to bother them with your traumas, when they already have their very own ones to deal with.

One night, the ghost pain of the removal of the chip comes back. You suspect in saving your life, Din had unfortunately touched a few nerves. It hurts all along your spine, up into your skull, keeps you wide awake despite your tiredness. You roll into your bed, unable to sleep, tears of exhaustion forming in the corner of your eyes. You finally get up, looking for the new pain-killer you know Cobb keeps in the unit next to his bed. After your little improvised surgery on his kitchen table, he had felt the need to purchase some, just in case. He’s not home yet, despite the late hour, but you’re not worried. Not unusual for him to have a weird schedule. You find what you’re looking for, small greenish beads safely stored in a glass jar. You swallow two of them, fighting against the waves of pain each of your movement is sending into your body. With just a few seconds, the medication kicks in, a warm feeling settling inside of your muscles, easing your agony away. You feel your mind drifting pleasantly, your eyelids heavy. You barely have the time to take a few steps back and fall on Cobb’s bed before you blank out.

You wake up in a gasp, sitting up immediately, all your senses on the alert. There is someone in the room. “I’m sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” you can guess Cobb’s silhouette in the door frame. He’s just wearing the light pants and tunic he usually sleeps in. “I’m gonna go sleep in the living room.” he adds with a soft voice. It’s still dark outside, you weren’t out for very long, but visibly long enough for him to come back and find you in his bed.

“Sorry.” You don’t know how to explain why you ended here, you’re just relieved to see he’s not upset with you. “You don’t need... I… Can I…” you stutters, having trouble to find what you really want to ask. “You can finish your night here, no big deal.” he sounds tired but caring. “Stay with me. I mean, if you want to”. You answer without thinking about the consequences, not knowing if it’s the uninhibiting effect of the drug or something else.

You see his shoulders rise just a little, he’s surprised although he doesn’t say anything, and just climbs onto the bed as you shift to make room for him. You’re glad he stays silent, the situation being awkward enough as it is. The mattress is wide enough for two persons, but after a few moments, you press yourself against his body in your half-sleep, subconsciously searching for his warmth. When his arm gently wraps over you, he asks in a whisper if it's ok, and when you clutch his hand tighter against your chest, he takes that as a yes. You fall in a deep restful sleep, the best you had in a long time.

It becomes a little habit, everytime you feel the pain in your back or when nightmares wake you up in the middle of the night. Din knows about it obviously. He’s not angry at you, or Cobb. He understands, and you even recon he’s becoming more and more protective around you. Days turn into weeks, and while it’s nice to sleep in Cobb’s arms and to get renewed attention from Din, it doesn’t really help with your complicated feelings.

One afternoon, you’re heading back home early, and as you enter the living room, noises coming from Cobb’s bedroom make your heart miss a beat. Soft moans, deep voices whispering dirty words and the sound of flesh on flesh. You’re clearly not supposed to be here at this time of day, not supposed to witness whatever is going on. A hand on your mouth, you retreat to your room as quietly as possible, close the door shut and try to calm your erratic breathing. You spend the rest of the day locked up, too embarrassed to dare going out and to risk bumping into them. You don’t really know why, it’s not like it’s a dangerous secret that they’re fucking each other. You guess it has more to do with your own guilty desires than with them.

The very next day, you’re all enjoying a drinking party at the local cantina. The spotchka is burning your inside delightfully, Cobb is telling funny stories from his past and the small crowd gathered around your booth is laughing, unbridled. It’s hard to tell if Din is enjoying himself since he can’t drink in public but you suspect he has taken his share of the blue alcohol before coming here. His gloved hand is casually resting on Cobb’s thigh under the table top, an unusual demonstration of affection. The night is well advanced when the three of you leave the cantina. You’re expecting them to go straight to Din’s ship but they follow you into Cobb’s home, exchanging teasing jokes and clever quips. As you make your way toward your own room, Cobb catches your wrist. “Stay with us. I mean, if you want to.” he offers, using your own words from the other night, smiling without malice. Your eyes dart to Din, silently asking for his consent and he nods slowly.

You all land on Cobb’s bed, and before you dare ask about the helmet situation, Din makes sure the blinds on the windows are perfectly shut, and switches off the light. The soft clatter of beskar against the floor makes it clear he has removed his helmet, his face impossible to see in the complete darkness of the room. You’re in awe of the trust he puts into you. You could easily mess with him and try some tricks to see how he looks, even though you have no intention to do so. You’re too tired to really think further about it, and you decide to just embrace the gentleness of the moment, cuddling up against Cobb like you’re used to. Except this time you can feel Din’s arm wrapped around the Marshal’s body and it makes your heart flutter with a joy you wouldn’t have dared to dream of.

You’re awakened by Cobb shifting against you in his sleep. You feel well rested and despite the lack of light thanks to the thick blinds, you conclude it’s probably late in the morning. The body against your back moves again, and you feel Cobb’s breath against your shaved nape. “Good morning sunshine” he says before planting a kiss there. Your breath hitches in your throat. “You ok?” he whispers, concerned. “Yeah, just… Can you... do that again?” He chuckles and his lips find your neck again. Taking his time, leaving small kisses up to your cheek. You feel a familiar heat building really quickly between your legs. His hands are on your waist, feeling good and warm on the exposed skin between your shirt and your shorts. You’re closing your eyes, savoring the sensation when Cobb unexpectedly lets out a laugh. “Well, hello Din…” “What? I thought I could join.” Din mutters between two kisses on Cobb’s neck. Before you can say anything, you find yourself between them, night clothes soon discarded after you answer positively when they ask you if this is fine, muscular bodies pressed against you from both sides. They kiss every inch of your skin and and at some point, Din grabs your hand and places it gently on his face, giving you permission to trace his features in the dark. You feel a chiseled jawline and a two-day stubble, soft lips and a strong nose, small wrinkles at the corner of his eyes forming there when he smiles. You keep on touching his forehead, up until you find the soft curls of his hair. You guess he must be a few years older than you, surely a bit younger than Cobb. But it doesn’t really matter, and the question disappears when you feel his lips on yours.

You relinquish yourself to the mind-blowing feeling. Even your wildest fantasies weren’t this good. You lose track of how many times you come undone under Din’s skilled fingers and Cobb’s hungry mouth. And when Din finally sinks into you and Cobb sinks into him, your heart misses a few more beats, your bodies moving in perfect sync, making you go over the edge one more time.

It must be late in the day, because you start to be really thirsty. “I’ll go fetch some water” Cobb offers, and when he’s back from the kitchen with the cups, you and him respectfully turn your back to Din to let him drink before he has the chance to put his helmet back on.

When it’s your turn to head for the refresher, you let the water run and step inside the shower, just like you did for the first time a few weeks ago. There is a difference though. Today, there sure is some dirt to wash away, but the pain and the anguish, they are already gone.

#starwars #the mandalorian #pedro pascal #reader insert #din djarin #the mandalorian x reader #cobb vanth #the mandalorian x cobb vanth #the mandalorian x cobb vanth x reader #cobb vanth x reader #star wars fanfiction #gen reader #gender neutral pronouns #the mandalorian smut #din djarin/reader #cobb vanth/din djarin #cobb vanth/reader

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gffa · 5 years ago

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark, coming August 25, promises to be a beautiful tribute to the just-completed animated series. The anthology will collect 11 stories by 11 authors — Lou Anders, Preeti Chhibber, Zoraida Córdova, Jason Fry, Rebecca Roanhorse, Greg Van Eekhout, Tom Angleberger, E. Anne Convery, Sarah Beth Durst, Yoon Ha Lee, and Anne Ursu — including 10 retellings of memorable episodes and arcs and one original Nightsisters-based story. So if you loved the tales of Ahsoka, Maul, and clanker-busting clones, Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark will give you the chance to experience them again in a whole new way. Like Captain Rex on a recon mission, StarWars.com reached out to each author to learn why they love The Clone Wars, and which stories they’re telling. Lou Anders (“Dooku Captured” and “The Gungan General,” based on the episodes of the same name): I love The Clone Wars for expanding the story of Anakin’s fall from grace. Skywalker really shines in the series, and we see what he truly was, and what he could have been, and by giving him so many opportunities to excel in the early season, his ultimate fate is that much more tragic. I also love the series for gifting us my all-time favorite Star Wars character, and one of my favorite characters from any universe — Hondo Ohnaka! My chapter is a retelling of the first season story arc that plays out across the episodes “Dooku Captured” and “The Gungan General.” I wanted to explore this storyline because I find Count Dooku a fascinating character. Sometimes pure, mustache-twirling, mwa-ha-ha evil can actually be boring to write, but a villain who feels they are justified, either because of perceived slights or intellectual superiority or the failure of their rivals or birthright are much more interesting, and Dooku is a bit of all of this. For research, I obviously watched tons of Clone Wars. But I also read up on everything about Dooku I could find, and I listened to Christopher Lee and Corey Burton’s interpretation of the character over and over, trying to internalize their speech patterns. Dooku is so gorgeously supercilious. It was just a blast to get in his head and see the world from his perspective. (And the fact that the storyline gave me another chance to write for my beloved Hondo Ohnaka was an added bonus!) Tom Angleberger (“Bane’s Story,” based on the episodes “Deception,” “Friends and Enemies,” “The Box,” and “Crisis on Naboo”): There’s a lot to love in The Clone Wars, but I think it’s Ahsoka’s arc that really stands out the most. Ventress’s arc does, too, and the way that these arcs cross at the just the right moment is really great Star Wars! My chapter is based on the “Crisis on Naboo” story arc. It’s basically a Space Western. The baddest bounty hunter of them all, Cad Bane, is hired to kidnap the Chancellor. What he doesn’t know is that almost everyone is lying to him, especially a fellow bounty hunter who is really Obi-Wan in disguise. In the TV version, we see it all from Obi-Wan’s point of view, so we know that Bane is getting played. In this retelling, we see it all from Bane’s point of view and, boy, is he going to be mad! To prepare I watched both The Clone Wars AND old spaghetti Westerns starring Bane’s inspiration: Lee Van Cleef. Preeti Chhibber (“Hostage Crisis,” based on the episode of the same name): I love the story that the prequels tell, but because of the nature of what they were trying to do — tell a decade and a half worth of story in three films — we’re missing major moments in what the war really means to the galaxy at large, and in the Skywalker saga itself. The Clone Wars tells us that part of the narrative, it gives us the shape of what entire populations of people had to go through because of this war manufactured by the ultimate evil. And within that scope gives us the hope and love and beautiful tragedy we associate with Star Wars on a larger scale. (Also, Ahsoka Tano — The Clone Wars gave us Ahsoka Tano and for that I will be ever grateful.) I’m writing Anakin’s story during “Hostage Crisis” — an episode in the first season of The Clone Wars. I decided to write the story entirely from Anakin’s perspective, which meant being inside his head before the fall, but where we are starting to see more of the warning signs. And then there’s also the romance of this episode! Anakin’s love for Padmé is real and all-consuming and, as we eventually find out, unhealthy. So, this is a romantic episode, but one that shows us Anakin is ruled by his heart. And that that’s a dangerous thing for a Jedi. In order to best wrap my own head around what was going on, I watched the episode itself several times, and read the script, and then I watched the chronological episodes of Anakin’s run-ins with Cad Bane, so I could get a real feel for where he was with his understanding of Bane’s character. E. Anne Convery (“Bug,” based on the episode “Massacre”): I love it because I think it’s a story that manages, while still being a satisfying adventure, to not glorify war. It does this mainly by following through on the arcs of wonderful, terrifying, funny, fallible, and diverse characters. From the personal to the political, The Clone Warsredefines the ways, big and small, that we can be heroes. My chapter is the “original” tale, though it still touches on The Clone Wars Season Four episode “Massacre,” with brief appearances by Mother Talzin and Old Daka. If I had to boil it down, I’d say that it’s a story about mothers and daughters. Honestly, it felt a little like cheating, because writing new characters meant I got to be creative in the Star Wars universe somewhat unencumbered by what’s come before. I did, however, have several long text chats with Sam Witwer because I was interested in Talzin’s motivations. We talked about stuff like her capacity (or lack thereof) for love. I think I came away thinking she was more a creature driven by issues of power, control, and the desire for revenge, whereas Sam was a little kinder to her. I mean, he is her “son,” so you can’t really blame him for wanting to think better of her! I always love a story within a story, and I was interested in the space where the high mythology of Star Wars and the home-spun mythology of fairy tales could intersect. I drew on my own background in mythology, psychology, and the language of fairy tales, plus I did my Star Wars research. Re-watching the Nightsisters episodes was just plain fun. Zoraida Córdova (“The Lost Nightsister,” based on the episode “Bounty”): The Clone Wars deepens the characters we already love. It gives us the opportunity to explore the galaxy over a longer period of time and see the fight between the light and the dark side. Star Wars is about family, love, and hope. It’s also incredibly funny and that’s something that The Clone Wars does spectacularly. We also get to spend more time with characters we only see for a little bit in the movies like Boba Fett, Bossk, Darth Maul! My chapter follows Ventress after she’s experienced a brutal defeat. Spoiler alert: she’s witnessed the death of her sisters. Now she’s on Tatooine and in a rut. She gets mixed up with a bounty hunter crew led by Boba Fett. Ventress’s story is about how she goes from being lost to remembering how badass she is. I watched several episodes with her in it, but I watched “Bounty” about 50 times. Sarah Beth Durst (“Almost a Jedi,” based on the episode “A Necessary Bond”): I spent a large chunk of my childhood pretending I was training to become a Jedi Knight, even though I’d never seen a girl with a lightsaber before. And then The Clone Wars came along and gave me Ahsoka with not one but TWO lightsabers, as well as a role in the story that broadened and deepened the tale of Anakin’s fall and the fall of the Jedi. So I jumped at the chance to write about her for this anthology. In my story, I wrote about Ahsoka Tano from the point of view of Katooni, one of the Jedi younglings who Ahsoka escorts on a quest to assemble their first lightsabers, and it was one of the most fun writing experiences I’ve ever had! I watched the episode, “A Necessary Bond,” over and over, frame by frame, studying the characters and trying to imagine the world, the events, and Ahsoka herself through Katooni’s eyes. The episode shows you the story; I wanted to show you what it feels like to be inside the story. Greg van Eekhout (“Kenobi’s Shadow,” based on the episode “The Lawless”): What I most love about Clone Wars is how we really get to know the characters deeply and see them grow and change. I enjoyed writing a couple of short scenes between Obi-Wan and Anakin that weren’t in the episode. I wanted to highlight their closeness as friends and show that Anakin’s not the only Jedi who struggles with the dark side. There’s a crucial moment in my story when Obi-Wan is close to giving into his anger and has to make a choice: Strike out in violence or rise above it. It’s always fun to push characters to extremes and see how they react. Jason Fry (“Sharing the Same Face,” based on the episode “Ambush”): I love The Clone Wars because it made already beloved characters even richer and deepened the fascinating lore around the Jedi and the Force. I chose Yoda and the clones because the moment where Yoda rejects the idea that they’re all identical was one of the first moments in the show where I sat upright and said to myself, “Something amazing is happening here.” You get the entire tragedy of the Clone Wars right in that one quick exchange — the unwise bargain the Jedi have struck, Yoda’s compassion for the soldiers and insistence that they have worth, the clones’ gratitude for that, and how that gratitude is undercut by their powerlessness to avoid the fate that’s been literally hard-wired into them. Plus, though I’ve written a lot of Star Wars tales, I’d never had the chance to get inside Yoda’s head. That had been on my bucket list! Yoon Ha Lee (“The Shadow of Umbara,” based on the episodes “Darkness on Umbara,” “The General,” “Plan of Dissent,” and “Carnage of Krell”): I remember the first time I watched the “Umbara arc” — I was shocked that a war story this emotionally devastating was aired on a kids’ show. But then, kids deserve heartfelt, emotionally devastating stories, too. It was a pleasure to revisit the episodes and figure out how to retell them from Rex’s viewpoint in a compact way. I have so much respect for the original episodes’ writer, Matt Michnovetz — I felt like a butcher myself taking apart the work like this! Rebecca Roanhorse (“Dark Vengeance,” based on the episode “Brothers”): I always love a backstory and Clone Wars was the backstory that then became a rich and exciting story all its own. The writing and character development is outstanding and really sucks you into the world. I chose to write the two chapters that reintroduce Darth Maul to the world. We find him broken and mentally unstable, not knowing his own name but obsessed with revenge against Obi-Wan and we get to see him rebuild himself into a cruel, calculating, and brilliant villain. It was so much fun to write and I hope readers enjoy it. Anne Ursu (“Pursuit of Peace,” based on the episode “Heroes on Both Sides”): The Clone Wars creates a space for terrific character development. The attention paid to the relationships between Anakin and Obi-Wan, and Anakin and Ahsoka make for really wonderful and resonant stories, and give so much depth to the whole universe. I was at first a little scared to write Padmé, as her character felt pretty two dimensional to me. But the more I watched her episodes in Clone Wars, the more dimension she took on. She’s such an interesting character — she’s both idealistic and realistic, so when corruption runs rampant in the Senate she doesn’t get disillusioned, she just fights harder. She has an ability to deal with nuance in a way that is rare in the Republic — and it means she’s not afraid to bend a few laws to make things right. In this chapter, the Senate is about to deregulate the banks in order to fund more troops, and Padmé decides to take matters into her own hand and sneak into Separatist territory in order to start peace negotiations. Of course, neither Dooku nor the corrupt clans of the Republic are going to allow for this to happen, so the threats to the peace process, the Republic, and Padmé’s life only grow. This arc is the perfect distillation of Padmé’s character, and it made getting into her head for it fairly simple. But I did watch all the Padmé Clone Wars episodes and read E.K. Johnston’s book about her, as well as Thrawn: Alliances, in which she has a major storyline. I really loved writing her. Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark arrives August 25 and is available for pre-order now.

#obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #padme amidala #asajj ventress #ahsoka tano #katooni #yoda #captain rex #darth maul #novels #news #long post

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ricaffeine · 5 years ago

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𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 | 𝐎𝐧𝐞

an: i'm sad because of hyunji drought and this is helping me cope :( but fr if tvn decides to make hotel blue moon then yeaji needs to be in it!!

also very annoying, i can't reply to comments bc this is a side blog (bruh wtf tumblr, i'm so sad should i make a new one?) reblog if you feel like it and my asks are open if you wanna chat 🖤✨

CHAPTER TWO

Weekdays at Seoul's National art gallery were usually the same. Buzzing curators dealing with hot-tempered clients. One thing or another was typically going not right and art directors cried about their wrong coffee order.

Although today was not the usual as to the crowds of bubbly news reporters and dazzled art critiques swarming up the wide place. As to Munyeong on the other hand, she was not pleased to the slightest.

"Just smile at the cameras, don't forget about the paycheck you're getting today." Sangin repeated himself for the fifth time. "Don't cause a scene, just think about the money."

Ah right. The paycheck.

As to The Nightmare Garden was bid off for over ten-million dollars, all of today's fanciness was dedicated to her, nation's celebrated female illustrator. However in all honesty, Munyeong barely liked her so-called masterpiece, but considering the amount of cash it will make her, she could be appreciative for the sake of it.

Behind her oversized sunglasses, Munyeong glared at her pesky manager– if looks could kill, he'd already be eleven feet under his grave. Sangin shut his mouth.

"Let's just get this over with," she simply responded, hooking off her eyewear then strutted into the hall with her long legs. Eyes whipped at her and cameras started to flash intensely, almost blinding her and Munyeong wondered how much those little pests could afford her if they got her blind.

And so the event played on. More pictures were taken– as if they hadn't blind her enough cheerful compliments flowed along with the spring breeze. The insincere joker smile she mastered whilst she met her million-dollar client– according to Sangin a hotel owner, though the woman did not have the looks for it– and the glass of filthy wine she almost had a chance to taste if Sangin's sixth sense was not so creepily fast.

Another dreadful two hours later as the dusk had set, hitting the edges with its golden flare, everyone had left. They got their articles and Munyeong will certainly be getting her pools of cash.

To her displease Sangin had informed her to wait as he had to take care of some paperworks she doubted he went to bribe the press into censoring her quoted inappropriate words.

Nevertheless it was not her bother. She gave his plead a second before storming off to the complimentary section of the building.

Luck on her side, for nobody was there and she was able to grab one of the wine bottles with her– as for a fact it definitely was not stealing.

"Don't be shy, I know you want it."

Munyeong stopped within her steps as soon as an obnoxiously familiar voice echoed from the gallery she previously was in. Curiosity taking the lead, she peaked through the corner and had to muffle her own snort. Stood there, nation's art historian with the sharpest tongue– Choi Seojin.

She finds it hard to believe that his articles are highly known around, or even relevant, when his mouth is full of complete shit. However not disregarding the nastiest tea yet– a frightened girl seized under him. Her hands were locked, frightened eyes grew larger as the man spewed out nasty things.

Instantly, she took out her phone to film the disgraceful scene. Munyeong grinned to herself, reminiscing the rage she felt last time when he mentioned about her mother, and how her irritating manager had interrupted her before she could've sent him down the stairs to Satan.

The man reared into the poor girl's cheek when she attempted to fight him off, and Munyeong's smile dropped.

That piece of shit.

Munyeong entered the room, arms crossed, head high. Her wedge heels clicked against the hardwood as she let out an unamused wow.

Mad dog– what she personally thinks he should be called– 's head whipped at her with wide eyes. Like a child getting caught of lying.

"Oh my. Your hobbies are quite interesting Mr. Choi. Talking shit and sexual harassment?" Munyeong spat. "The girl looks like she'd rather kill herself, why are you even trying?"

As if he thought he could get away with what he just did, mad dog released his foul grip on the girl. Munyeong clicked her tongue and tauntingly held out her phone.

"Oh no, don't bother pretending. Judging by the looks, that won't even favor you at this point." She spared a glance at the quivering girl. "Why are you waiting? Go."

Shakingly and with thankful eyes she nodded and left, her footsteps filling void of silence before it coated the air again.

Mad dog snickered, as if there was something to laugh about. "Don't mess with me Ms. Ko. You know me, I won't die alone."

"Certainly I'll drag you and Mr. Lee down with me. Why do you think they call me the suicide bomb?"

Munyeong walked towards him and spreaded a smile, though even dogs could tell you shouldn't push her further. "You mean the bastard you can't fall down without dragging everyone else with him? Why?"

"I can destroy your career with the tip of my pen, I'm sure you know." He gave her a look, panning out his hand. "Now if you hand me your phone, I think we can compromise something."

Munyeong unraveled her arms, eyes hardening at his next sentence. "You think so?"

"Nation's beloved artist turned out to have antisocial personality disorder. What do you think will happen when people find out?" Mad dog sneered. "Her mother who mysteriously commited suicide–"

"Shut up." She warned. His words lit up the flame from their last encounter, adding fuel to her burning fire. Her head pounded, hard. For a moment she had hoped that if he proceeded as she said, then things would not have to get ugly.

"And her father? Spending his last days in the psychiatric hospital."

But men never listen, do they?

Munyeong tightened the hand around her bottle and striked it at him with full force. The bottom part crashed the wall behind him– just above the hung painting- glass shattered as rich burgundy stained its way down, smearing all over. Its taste fused with the air and Munyeong glowered at the creature who dodged her flawless aim.

"You crazy bitch!" He yelled, scrambled on the floor. But Mad dog was quick to lunge at her, they both hit the ground, stumbling as her open purse had been knocked away– and Munyeong's eyes landed on something very specific.

She was quicker, getting on her feet and spared the bastard a strong kick in the groin, leaving him groaning as she reached for her pen.

Her favorite calligraphy pen– its lining was stunning, coated in shiny teal with hints of gold, but most importantly, the dangerously sharp tip. The way it writes like reaping out blood from your hand– hence why it is a favorite.

She hawled back over and he screamed at her, though she didn't hear him. Her head was light as she felt blood rushed through her veins. Munyeong raised her arm and struck it back down.

Die.

Both of them froze. No, not her and mad dog, but him.

Deafening silence had lied between the walls and there they stood, eyes pierced into another's souls. Hers burned like fire, but his were dignified like the deep ocean.

Droplets of blood trickled down his forearm and splattered the floor, staining the rolled up sleeves of his crisp white shirt. What a waste.

"Let go. You can't kill him." The man– still with a bloody pen graved in his palm said.

Munyeong couldn't help but scoff, especially after that fucking bastard had just strangled her. "Don't be dramatic. I was just going to give him a few scratches."

Well maybe that's not entirely true.

Rough scrambling erupted underneath them, but when Munyeong turned to look, the mad dog had just ran off, like a lost puppy. Angrily she bit her lip, close to drawing blood until she felt the man draw his own hand back.

She watched as he did. The way he carefully slid her pen into his jacket and brought out a black silk handkerchief. Very rarely, she'd be astonished by something, and now it's him. Though she found it quite difficult to understand him– since when do you interrupt another's stabbing session by screwing up your own hand instead, and also the audacity to tell her she could not stab somebody?

So lost in her thoughts it took her a few seconds to realize her pulse was not pounding anymore.

"Did anyone not tell you that it is basic etiquette to not pry into someone else's business?" Munyeong said– seized the napkin from him, and began to tie a knot. She shot him a glance.

No reply. The man simply stared at her.

"Hmm?" She raised a brow, amused at his slight flinch when she tugged a little harder.

"Don't stress it too much, my manager will take care of our little incident." Munyeong chuckled as he proceeded to ignore her. "Do you know what? There are a lot of people in this world who deserve to die. And some very thoughtful freaks secretly take care of that, so clueless humans can sleep peacefully at night, completely unaware. Which one do you think I am?"

She dropped his hand, anticipating for his answer. Flares of light shined through the blinds, sharpening at his strong features and she noted his small– yet devilish smile.

"A clueless freak."

He finally responded, leaning towards her. His eyes traced her face, gazing down at her lips for a second too long, before their eyes were locked once again. "And of course you will have to pay, but at what price?"

taglist -> i could not tag some of ya'll :( @anotherdush @callmeashipper @ourcoffeeaddictme @nothingcreativeyet @pancat @hotstuff-benswolo @lookingatthesunset @evielovesfood @waywarm @gloster @hello-79 @ailander

#it's okay to not be okay #psycho but it's okay #iotnbo #pbio fic #kdrama #kim soo hyun #seo yea ji #ko mun yeong #ko moon young #moon kang tae #hotel blue moon #hotel moon light

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