#she might has attempted to eat cid

[cloned-eyes]

how that episode should have ended

[iliektehhaxs]

whilst cid is a confirmed girl dad what type of dad do we think the other lads are, i have some ideas and i’m curious to how others think:

-clive: born to also be a girl dad but he has one son then 2 daughters with said son somehow inheriting even more protective big brother genes. his daughters probably think he’s super cool as a shield and try to become some of rosaria’s first female shields. the son probably ends up being more the scholar type by chance, the “i told you so” older brother.

-joshua: truly versatile but i think the universe would end up giving him a single boy that has all of his Bratty Younger Brother genes but More. it’s payback tenfold for the years jote and clive had to endure of him refusing to stay in bed whilst sick and having to attempt to father an even more stubborn version of himself. i also think he should have a kid that LOVES carrots like they eat it by the shovel-full

-dion: boy dad through and through. raises like 3 completely chivalrous fairy tail prince sons and has one 4th son who is such a rogue and trouble maker than he balances out his 3 brother’s personalities by himself. they’re also his biggest supporters, think he’s the coolest dragon to ever exist. probably would end up with one of them succeeding harpocrates and another being very artistic.

-barnabas: either no kids or a single child but he doesn’t act different based on the kids sex/gender. possibly adopted? most likely to adopt, i think he values an innate sense of discipline for the kid’s self benefit. but he seems like the type of king that raises a queen so well that waloed is also historically called a queendom during her reign. as long as he can teach them swordsmanship he’s chill

-hugo: bald and childless <3 he would only have kids with benne but she’s not fucking doing that, she knows medieval childbirth statistics.

gav: like 9 kids. like so many. he probably also adopts half the hideaway’s kids. they all develop his accent even if they’re adopted and it’s like hearing a warbling nest of birds. probably the most chill dad ever like they all say their secrets with such security he’s like in on all the gossip of their generation. he just comes back to the hideaway with a new kid calling him dad

Oh my god anon you’re so right for most of these, you basically did my job so lemme just add a couple ideas to compliment yours

Clive- absolutely a girl dad, and his one son becomes extremely protective of them just like he was to Joshua. He’s also the voice of reason between the three because his girls also inherited his sense of bravery, and they tend to get into antics a lot. Very active and energetic while big bro is more calm and collected (except when his sisters are in trouble, and it’s there we see that famous rosfield anger)

Joshua- a singular boy that makes his father’s life much more difficult than it needs to be (I wonder where he inherited that from.) He’s also very energetic, and is more than likely the mastermind of whatever scheme he and his two cousins get into. Too curious for his own good, just like his father, and absorbs knowledge like a sponge even if the methods used to obtain that knowledge are a bit orthodox. Keep an eye on him at all times, and if you hear silence from him, he’s definitely doing something.

Dion- literal Disney princes, the pinnacle of chivalry and honor, it’s as if you plucked them from a fairytale. He saw the man his father grew up to be and wanted them to be better, and have a better childhood than he did. Even when his fourth turns out to be a bit of a rebel you can still see that Lesage honor shining through and through, albeit in his own special way. While his first three sons might stop a bully by talking him down the fourth would sooner shut him up by breaking his jaw, for example. (He was harassing a poor student, he couldn’t just stand by!)

Surprisingly enough his fourth son is incredibly smart, top marks in all his classes effortlessly, if only he could get a rein on that temper.

Barnabas- he’s most likely to adopt, but he would love that child no less than his own flesh and blood. Firm but fair, he’d raise them to be strong, and to never take anything from anyone, ever. At the same time he enjoys that his child does not have that same bloodlust in their eyes that he did when he was their age. He doesn’t say his emotions outwardly, but rather expresses them with quality time, such as training or bringing them to royal meetings.

Hugo- childless lmao, even if he wasn’t obsessed with benedikta his ego wouldn’t allow him to take just one woman as his bride, and I highly doubt he’d be a good father. If he did have a child they’d be more likely to run away once they’re a teenager

Gav- oh sweet Gav, his nickname is the daycare with how many children he raises on a daily basis. Half of them aren’t even his, and does it really matter? He loves having a big family, it’s more entertaining that way.

[starrysnowdrop]

Castaway Warriors #3

A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

G’raha Tia was not having a good day. Not in the slightest. Not only did the boat that he and his wife Yume were on got attacked by something, but now she and all of his friends were missing, and the only other person that he has for company is someone that hates him more than anyone else; the one being on this star that loathes him to his core. If G’raha were to hazard a guess, Cid would more likely want to kick him in the balls than to be speaking to him, let alone cooperate and try to survive this ordeal with him.

Cid stopped in his tracks when he came across a particularly tall tree with coconuts at near the top. G’raha looked up and was likely wondering the same as his reluctant companion.

“Do you suppose those coconuts are ripe enough to eat?” Cid asked as he gazed back at G’raha with his arms folded.

G’raha shook his head. “I am no expert, but from here, they seem to be like any other coconut. Hmm… they aren’t green, so they are matured at least. Won’t know for sure unless you tap it.”

“Tap it?”

“Yes, it should make a hollow sound when it’s ripe.”

Cid narrowed his eyes at the redheaded miqo’te man with clear annoyance. “Now how in the seven hells do you know that?”

G’raha sighed as he grabbed his staff off of his back. “I have learned a thing or two after being alive for over three centuries.”

Cid’s shrugged and his face fell into confusion as he stared at G’raha’s crystalline staff.

“What are you doing now? Shouldn’t we try climbing the tree first?”

“Why over exert ourselves when we have a much easier way to go about it?” G’raha said as he lifted his staff and casted his spell.

Cid was standing there waiting for something to happen, but it looked to his eyes that the spell did nothing.

“And you were doing what exactly?”

G’raha growled back at Cid. “Will you please let me concentrate?! The spell failed is all. I’m going to try again.”

Once again, G’raha lifted his staff and a burst of aether was emitted from the crystal on his staff, but again, nothing happened.

“As you were saying…” Cid gloated as G’raha stood in the sand, staring up at the tree in disbelief.

“I know I casted the spell. It worked in the Tower of Zot on dozens of people… so why is it not working now?”

The miqo’te tried three more times, and then on the final attempt, he finally did it. G’raha began to float in the air, all the way up to the top of the tree. He looked down at Cid with a smirk.

“See? I might be out of practice, but this was still easier than trying to climb the tree.”

“Good for you… now grab the coconuts and come back down!”

G’raha shook his head as he reached for two of the coconuts and then holding them in his arms before grabbing the other two.

As soon as he grabbed the last two coconuts, G’raha felt as if he was losing his footing. He was feeling unsteady and felt the spell was weakening. Suddenly, his crimson eyes flew open in shock as he felt the spell completely dissipate, as it only took less then a second for him to register what was about to happen.

“Ahh—!” G’raha shouted as he came crashing back down to the ground, landing face first in the sand with the four coconuts surrounding him.

Cid just looked at the sand covered miqo’te man and shrugged his shoulders. “Good job…” The Garlean said as his words dripped with sarcasm.

“Shut… up…” G’raha mumbled into the sand.

[silverwings22]

Song of the Sea: Chapter 26: Take Me High and I'll Sing

Chapter warning: injury, miscommunication is 9/10 of conflict

Series Warning: explicit smut, alien anatomy (it's a monsterfucker fic, guys), major character injury, grief, canon typical violence, autistic meltdowns, and my terrible attempts at Mando'a

Previous chapter:

Next chapter:

The waves outside made a peaceful whirring sound against the shore, as Shiani lay on her back across the floor of the Marauder. Tech was quizzing Omega, the three of them left alone while the rest of the Batch ran a mission for Cid. They’d fallen into a pleasant pattern of missions and learning, with Tech adding new information every day. Today, Omega was trying to memorize every ship in the Imperial fleet while Shiani was reading a book about Republic Law. There might not have been a Republic anymore, but the Empire was playing by some of their old rules, with the same key players. 

“Shiani, tell him we should take a break.” Omega peeked up from her datapad. The siren was holding her own over her face with her tentacles, arms folded behind her head comfortably. 

“Leave me out of it.” She laughed. “If Tech wants to let you take a break, he’ll tell you.” 

“But Shiaaaaaaaaniiiiii.” Omega pouted. “He doesn’t listen to me. He listens to you.” 

“I am inclined to listen to her because she and I are in a relationship.” Tech tried not to laugh at Omega’s face. “And that she has already memorized the Imperial fleet models.” 

Shiani rolled over to her stomach. “Because you had me memorize them when they were Republic models, so I could tell you what kind of ships were docking when you weren’t home. And so I could spot the Marauder from the water.” 

“Omega, there is no time for a break currently. Now begin again-” His words cut off by his comm going off. 

“Tech, we need a pickup. Quickly.” Hunter’s clipped voice came through, along with the sounds of blaster shots and sharp breathing. 

“We are on the way.” Tech got up. “Now, you can take a break.” He told Omega, who gave Shiani a mischievous grin. 

He went to the cockpit, and Shiani and Omega stuck their heads out of the open hatch. “Oooh. Aggrocrabs.” The siren cooed. “Can I eat those, Tech?” 

“We do not have time for a snack break, Shiani.” He called back. 

“I’m never allowed to eat the monsters.” She pouted, but she and Omega got in position on the side by the pulley system. Omega had grabbed her bow, and Shiani had her pistol on her hip. She still preferred to fight up close, but she was getting much better with the blaster. 

Omega grinned at her. “I wanna go down there.” 

Shiani handed her the carabiner for the pulley. “Clip yourself in.” 

Omega nodded and hooked it to her belt. “Thanks Shiani!” She jumped off the side with a squeak of delight. 

Tech leaned back from the pilot seat. “What was that?”

“Your sister jumped off the ship. She’s fine.” She laughed, pulling out her pistol and flipping upside down off the edge of the landing gear to shoot at the crabs, secured by suction cups. 

“Do you enjoy being reckless, cyar’ika?” Tech sighed in her earpiece, which was secured by a magnetic earring to her intact ear fin since she lacked the shell shaped outer ear the humans had. 

“I just like spending time with you. You’re my favorite.” She grinned. “Oh, Baby Mega’s turning into a real warrior with that bow. Look at her go, Tech.” She giggled. 

“I cannot look, I am flying.” Shiani would have thought he was unimpressed with her teasing favoritism, but she heard him clear his throat in the way he always did when he she did some kind of acrobatics that showcased how flexible she was. And she loved turning backbends around him It was fun to make him turn red from the tips of his ears down to his collarbones. 

She giggled. “Well drop lower and pull left by fifteen degrees. I’ll grab Baby Mega.”

“Be careful.” He cautioned. “And it is closer to eighteen degrees.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She reeled in the pulley cable and hooked it to herself before releasing her suckers and dropping to hang just a few feet over the beach sand. “Arms up!”

Omega threw her arms into the air and got wrapped up in tentacles, flying up off the ground and getting reeled about halfway up. They both waved at Hunter as he and the others came running around a bend on the beach fleeing a huge number of big crabs. 

“Why is Omega hanging off the ship?!” Hunter demanded. 

“It was an unscheduled study break.” Tech responded, and Shiani and Omega broke down in fits of laughter, landing right next to the guys and securing the crate Wrecker had been carrying. Tech started to haul them up, but a crab grabbed ahold of the cargo and she saw her glorious opportunity. She seized the crab claw in both hands and yanked the joint in a circle, pulling the pincher off and freeing them. They were hauled up with no further ado, and everyone got back safely inside the ship's hatch. 

Hunter gave her a look. “Why did you bring the claw?”

“I’m gonna eat it!” She grinned happily, holding it up for Tech to see once he turned around. “I promise to cook it.”

Hunter tried not to snicker and looked at Omega. “Good job on the backup… but try to stay inside the ship next time.”

“I’ll try. But it was pretty fun. Right Shiani?” The girl grinned. 

Shiani nodded, dragging her giant snack towards the galley. “Wrecker? Help me get the big pot?”

“I still have concerns about you eating anything from unverified sources.” Tech grumbled.

Shiani just grinned as Wrecker handed her a gigantic pot from the top cabinet in their tiny galley. Finally, a monster she could eat!

Shiani was still eating crab meat out of a duraplast container when the group arrived on Ord Mantell to deliver the cargo, following happily while Wrecker carried the crate into Cid’s office. To their surprise, there was a pretty woman already waiting for them, with dark skin and her boots propped up on Cid’s desk. “This is that top squad of yours? The rogue clones and uncontacted species?”

Hunter gave Cid a tense look, not thrilled to have the secret she was supposedly so good with being thrown in his face. The trandoshan waved a hand. “Easy Dark and Broody. Phee here is a friend. You can trust her with secrets.”

Phee hopped up to look everyone over, curious. “I thought clones were supposed to be identical. This one’s too big, that one’s too little, and he’s got a face tattoo!” She gestured at Wrecker, Omega, and Hunter. Her gaze fell on Shiani and smiled. “You’re interesting, though. And you… come here often, Brown Eyes?” She stepped back to look at Tech, who looked thoroughly confused. 

“It is my current employment, and the phenotypical iris color for clones is brown. Our mutations did not effect-” 

“Yeah yeah, bring it this way big guy. Fascinating as this is, I got a times schedule.” Phee waved to Wrecker to follow her with the crate, and Tech trailed after curiously. 

Hunter looked over at Shiani, who’s eyes had narrowed into slits over her pudged-out cheeks full of crab meat. She looked pissed. Not really surprising, since the woman was flirting with Tech… not that Tech had a clue. 

Phee paused in the doorway. “Cid, just remember intel isn’t free. If you get anything out of that haul, I want a cut.” 

Hunter left the angry siren as a problem to solve later and preferably by Tech instead of him, looking at Cid. “Haul?”

“Your next mission. It could be worth more than every mission you’ve done for me so far.”

Echo’s interest was piqued, and he leaned over as Cid pulled up a holo. “Where?”

“Serenno.”

Shiani swallowed her mouth full of crab. “Serenno was a Separatist planet.” 

Cid nodded. “And it’s a Separatist treasure you’d be going after. Count Dooku’s war chest. The Empire is moving in, but there’s still plenty there for you guys to make a score.” 

Omega frowned. “War chest?”

“Collected treasure from all over the galaxy. Even just a fraction of what he had could set you guys up for life.” Cid was really trying to sell Hunter on it, getting Omega’s sense of adventure involved. 

“We’ve stayed off the Empire’s radar since Kamino. I’d like to keep it that way.” Hunter shook his head. It wasn’t safe, and his job was to keep them all from harm. That was what a leader did, though he still sometimes heard Crosshair’s voice telling him he was a failure at it. Sometimes the fear of letting the team down, of letting them get hurt, kept him up at night.

“Think of what that kind of score could do for you, Dark and Broody. You could buy your freedom and have a future..” 

“We’re already free.” Hunter said firmly. 

"If that's what you think, you're not paying attention to what's happening out there. It won't be long before the Empire comes here, and my operation goes under. Then there's nothing left for you. This could set you up. No more living hand to mouth." Cid waved her claws at Shiani, who was now picking at her bowl of snack nervously. “What do you think, Suckers?”

Shiani twiddled her claws. “It’s a lot of credits, Hunter.” 

“It’s too risky. Come on.” He waved them to follow him out, and Shiani glanced back over her shoulder before trailing after the sergeant at the door. When she got out into the main part of the bar, Echo had waved Tech and Wrecker over into a little huddle. Shiani ducked past Hunter to get to them as Hunter tried to go back to Omega's ship recognition lesson. 

Tech lifted an arm for Shiani to slip under. “We are discussing the matter of the war chest.” He explained quickly, hand dropping to her shoulder.  

“Hunter doesn't wanna go.” She frowned. “He's the sergeant, doesn't he get to decide?”

“If we present a strong enough counterpoint, I believe we can convince him.” Tech raised that index finger of his for the billionth time. 

Shiani raised a non-existent eyebrow. “And your arguments?”

“We need the money.” Wrecker rumbled. “We're gonna be stuck in debt with Cid forever if we don't hit something big.”

Tech nodded.  “It is also likely that the Empire will eventually locate Cid’s operation. We will be adrift with no resources if we do not make plans.”

“And if the Empire is on Serenno, it'll give us a chance to see what they're up to.” Echo countered. “A big enough income could even help a rebellion like Rex’s.”

Shiani waved a claw in his face. “Maybe don't tell the very careful sergeant you want to fight the Empire right now. Hunter’s driven by his fear something will happen to you guys.” 

Echo sighed. “We should be doing more.”

She patted his arm. “We have to think of Baby Mega. But if you all want to go, I might know a way to convince him.”

“Convince me of what?” Hunter popped up behind her and Tech, making her squeak. 

“We took a team vote. We wanna go after the war chest.” Wrecker explained. 

“All of you?” He looked at the nodding Echo and Tech, then to Shiani. 

“We can't be mercenaries forever, Hunter.” She said softly. “The ship, the military grade supplies, the toll it takes on your bodies… it can't go on forever. We can't leave Baby Mega a legacy of broken parts and broken bones.”

Hunter sighed and looked at Omega, who was listening to every word with wide eyes. She was growing, less naive than she'd been a few months ago, but still a child in need of protection. Shiani had a point. 

“Fine. But I don't like it.” He sighed. 

Cid, who'd been listening with a predatory grin, clapped him on the back. “Good choice, Dark and Broody.”

He rolled his eyes, but gestured for the Batch to exit as he took the datastick with mission specs from her. As they walked out, they passed Phee coming back in. “Good luck, boys. See you around, Brown Eyes.”

Shiani scowled again, resisting the urge to hiss. She tried very hard not to show her teeth much… still, you could take the siren out of the wild but never take the wild out of the siren. 

Shiani settled in the cockpit with Tech, looking over the mission specs curiously. “Dooku has a lot of stuff.”

“Had. He is deceased.” Tech corrected, shifting so she could see better. “This is a sensitive undertaking, even for the Empire. I wonder how Phee Genoa came upon this information.”

Shiani let out a tiny hiss, unable to stop herself. “Dumb luck.”

“You seem to have a very deep dislike for her… that is unusual. You are typically very friendly.”

“I don’t have to like someone flirting with my husband.”

“Your- wait.” Tech looked up, bewildered. “Husband? You are not married.”

“Of course I am.” She blinked, head cocking to the side.

“To whom?!”

“You?” She wrapped her knuckles on her chest plate. “You gave me this after Ryloth, I gave you the necklace before Daro?”

“What does that have to do with being married?!” Tech rarely raised his voice, and it made Shiani's hearts hit her boots. He didn’t sound happy about it, and his eyes were huge behind his goggles. 

“A chest covering you make yourself… isn't that how proposals work on the surface?” She whispered. “Baby Mega asked me about it and everything…” Her fingers trembled anxiously. 

“Omega, please come to the cockpit.” Tech hit the PA faster than she'd ever seen him move, and her little blonde friend popped up only a minute later. “Did you tell Shiani that we were married?”

“No? I asked her if she would marry you like I saw on a holoshow, and she said yes if you made her the present. And then I told her you made her armor. Isn't that how all grownups get married?” Omega blinked. 

Tech pushed his goggles up to rub the bridge of his nose. “I see what has happened. A cultural misunderstanding and Omega's lack of experience outside Kamino has combined into a … As Crosshair would say, a cluster fuck.”

Shiani made a pained sound. “So you don't want to be married?” Her voice trembled a little as the galaxy felt like it crumbled around her.

“Marriage is a very significant commitment, not to be taken lightly.” He expected her to understand and accept the logic, but her eyes just got bigger and more upset looking. 

“How much more of a commitment do you need, Tech? I left my whole life, my people… I even fought my own brother for you.” She whispered. 

Tech’s hands came up defensively. He didn’t like her getting upset, but he wasn’t quite sure where he’d gone wrong. “That is not what I meant. It is simply that our relationship is less than a year-”

“So there's a waiting period for humans?” She frowned, coloration going dull along her limbs. 

“No. But any number of things could cause this to fail, and marriage is an extremely complex life choice. There are numerous factors to consider.” He held his hands up when the first angry tears started up in her eyes and her skin pulsed with blue rings and flashes of bioluminescence. 

“I don't understand, Tech. All sirens need to know is that they love each other with all three hearts. What else is there to consider?” Her tentacles were spiraling around her legs anxiously, and Tech had no idea how to do damage control. As a matter of fact, the more he spoke the more upset she got. 

“Marriage tends to bring up issues such as religious beliefs and procreation… we are not even sure if our species’ are biologically compatible in that respect.” 

“So you don't want to be married because I still believe in siren gods? Or because you don't know if I can have your babies?” Her voice cracked, and he considered praying to her gods that she didn't start yelling at him. He didn't know what it took to activate the siren scream, but he didn't want to splatter all over the cockpit. He’d never been concerned she might accidentally harm him, no matter what anyone said in regard to her teeth or venom… but he’d never seen her look so upset.

“Shiani, cyar'ika, why don't we discuss this rationally…” He started to get up, trying to figure out what he was saying wrong. Marriage was a big step he had not intended to be blindsided by. Why was she taking it so personally?

“Don't.” She scrubbed her teary face with her hand. “Don't call me anything in Mando’a right now. Just tell me if it's that you don't want to be married at all, or just not married to me?”

“I am unsure. I have not had time to consider any part of this. I did not know we were married!” Tech yelped. “Is there a process of annulment?”

From across the ship, they both heard Hunter fumble like he'd been caught off guard. “You're married?!”

“Apparently not!” Shiani turned around and walked out of the cockpit with her arm over her blotchy face. Omega just looked confused, as Hunter and Echo appeared in the doorway of the cockpit and Wrecker’s head poked out of the galley. 

“Uh… Tech? Shiani went back in the overhead compartment…” The big clone murmured. “She hasn't been up there since before we met Cid.”

Tech slumped back in his seat, looking perplexed. “I… do not understand.”

Omega gave Hunter and Echo a sad look that Hunter was sure meant she'd overheard  their conversation right before Tech had called her, then went to her room without a word.

Hunter groaned. “Can we collectively agree to stop pissing off the girls in our lives?”

“I do not know why she is upset.” Tech protested. “I did not intend or agree to get married. I believe such a thing should be considered carefully.”

“Agree with you, vod, but look at her perspective. She went from thinking she was happily married to hearing you say you aren't on board in about 2 minutes flat, and then you asked to undo it. Sounds a lot like a rejection to her. Not saying either one of you is wrong, just… out of alignment.” Echo shook his head. 

“Alignment errors cause ship crashes.” Tech muttered haphazardly, picking through the conversation he’d just had to figure out where he’d gone wrong. He’d meant everything he said, but never to hurt Shiani. 

“Yup. And your little wife-not-wife is on board the crashing ship. Let's get through this mission and you two need to talk it out.” Hunter sighed, walking back to the hold and poking the overhead compartment door with a broom handle. “Shiani?”

She opened it a fraction. “Yes, sergeant?” She never called him by rank, and he winced slightly.

“Take a minute to pull it together;  we're going to need you for this mission. Can you still work with Tech?”

Her eyes peered out, eyeshine eerie in the shadows of the compartment, and she wiped her face again. “What do I have to do?”

“Just steal things and endure the sight of his face.” He tried to make it sound joking, hoping to get a little bit of a smile. He needed her to be on her toes, since there was a high probability they were going to run into the Empire on this. A mistake could be lethal with the Empire. 

She sighed. “I’m… a little mad at his face.” She said quietly. “I don’t like being mad at his face.” 

“When this is over, you can talk it out.” He said gently, offering a hand up to help her down. “Just hold it together for Omega, okay?” 

She nodded and climbed down, though she still looked discolored and unhappy. “For Baby Mega…” 

Hunter patted her shoulder. “She’s in her room if you wanna go sit with her.” 

Shiani nodded and slunk off, heading straight for the gunner’s nest bedroom.Omega was snuggled in her pillows, hugging Lula tightly. When she saw Shiani’s head pop up the ladder, she opened her arms and all but pleaded silently for the siren to come cuddle her. Shiani immediately crawled up to her and wrapped her in several coils of purple suckers along with her arms. “What’s wrong, Baby Mega?” She frowned, nuzzling against the girl’s cheek gently. 

“I overheard Echo talking to Hunter.” She whispered. “He said the reason we were living on the run is because of me… I think he wishes they didn’t bring me off Kamino.”

“No, Baby Mega.” Shiani shook her head, rocking Omega back and forth gently. “Echo wants to fight, that’s all. Can’t take his baby sister to war. He’s not mad at you.”

Omega didn’t look convinced, but cuddled into the siren’s arms. “Are you mad at me?”

“Why would I ever be mad at you?” The siren blinked.

“I got you all confused about the thing with you and Tech. I’m sorry, I really didn’t know.” Omega looked tearful. 

Shiani shook her head again and put her chin on the girl’s shoulder. “I’m not mad. You didn’t know, I didn’t know…. Just a mistake. Honest mistake.”

“But now you and Tech aren’t married anymore?” Omega frowned. 

“I think we never were, Baby Mega.” Shiani said quietly. “If he never meant to ask… if the armor is just armor, then the pendant is just a pendant. Intention matters.” 

“Are you mad at Tech?” 

“No… yes… don’t know. It just hurt that he asked to make it go away… Maybe he didn’t know, but I still hoped he’d be happy about it…” 

Omega patted her drooping tentacles, and they cuddled together and tried to soothe away the hurts of the day. Serenno promised to be complicated, but they could support each other.  “Are you and Tech going to be okay?” Omega finally asked. 

“I’ll find out when we finish on Serenno.” She mumbled. “Get through this first. But I think so, even if it hurts. I love Tech, and even if we aren’t married I still would want to be with him forever. Just… maybe a hard conversation. That doesn’t change that I love him.” 

“It’s gonna be a long mission.” Omega sighed. 

When they touched down on Serenno, Hunter did his best to pretend everything was fine. The city behind him, bombed out and destroyed, spoke volumes to the contrary. 

Omega frowned. “What happened here?”

“An orbital bombardment, most likely.” Tech sighed, reaching for his binocs. 

“Like Kamino.” Shiani nodded, putting an arm around Omega. “The Empire doesn’t care about Republic or Separatist. Only conquering everything they can get their hands on.” It reminded her of the old stories of the long necks and Kamino before it flooded, when the longnecks were first taking prisoners that would lead to generations of slaves to follow. 

She looked over at Tech as he looked through his binocs, waiting for his assessment. Upset with him or not, he was always observant and usually spot on with details. “There are four cargo transports visible. Three have already been loaded, so we have a very narrow window to get anything.”

Hunter nodded. “I’ll provide ground cover, in case you need a diversion. Get as much as you can and load it onto the Marauder.” 

The others nodded, and took off using terrain cover, creeping over to the open cargo container. Hunter headed for the side of the shipyard, carefully planting explosives under a couple Imperial ships in case that diversion was needed. 

When the rest of the team got to the cargo, Shiani gave Omega a boost up and suction cupped her own way, then offered a hand down to pull Echo and Tech up while Wrecker kept lookout. “What are we looking for?” Omega asked eagerly. 

“Anything of value.” Tech started opening crates to search. 

“Anything shiny.” Shiani grumbled, mostly to herself. “Value means different things. Wouldn’t want another cultural confusion, would we?”

Echo had to turn around to avoid choking on a laugh. Tech just winced. Omega and Wrecker exchanged a helpless look, both of them worried about the current situation between Tech and Shiani. Their precious little romance had been a source of normalcy for the rest of the squad, especially Omega and sensitive Wrecker. 

“.... financially valuable. Is that specific enough?” Tech looked at Omega, ignoring the siren climbing crates to look at them. 

“Understood.” The girl nodded, opening a crate and finding it full of credits. Before she could present it to Echo, she heard the quiet sound of a stun round being fired. 

Tech stuck his head out as Wrecker pushed an unconscious stormtrooper into the cargo freighter with them. “Our window is narrowing. When this one does not check in, more will come looking.” 

Shiani sighed. “Baby Mega, give those credits to Wrecker. Gotta hurry.” She slithered down a stack of crates with a smaller box, which she handed to him too. When Omega looked curious, she smiled. “Sculpture. Art sells for many credits, according to Cid.”

“Where’d he even get all this stuff?” Omega muttered as Wrecker started carrying it out and Tech intercepted the Imperial comm to keep check on when the enemy noticed the unconscious clone’s absence. 

“Count Dooku exploited and controlled numerous planets. The contents of his war chest were all stolen or extorted from there.” Tech sighed. 

“That’s just how corrupt people are. For all his talk about the Republic being corrupt, Dooku was no better.” Echo muttered. “All this is stolen.”

“Aren’t we stealing it, though?” Omega frowned. “How does that make us any better?”

Echo patted her arm lightly. “The difference is what you do with it.” 

“This is charming, but the clone Wrecker stunned is being hailed on the comm.” Tech frowned. “We are about to be detected.”

“We could use that diversion now.” Wrecker told Hunter over the comms, before he took the chests he’d been handed and jumped out of the cargo hold. When he turned to offer a hand to Shiani, who he thought was right behind him, the door slammed shut and trapped the other four inside.

“Uh oh…” She muttered, claws scraping the durasteel anxiously.

“Let me see.” Tech hooked his datapad to the door controls inside, trying to get it open. When it failed, Echo tried scomping in and then shook his head. 

Shiani hit her comm. “Hunter. We’re locked inside the cargo transport.” Her face paled when it rattled around her and the floor moved. “And we’re taking off.” 

“Shit.” Hunter hissed. “All four of you are trapped? Wrecker just got to me.”

“Yes.” She scaled the walls, checking for weaknesses in the construction. “No way out from the inside.”

“We’re coming back for you. Hang tight.” 

“Not like we have a choice.” Echo sighed, bracing himself against the wall. Shiani stayed on the ceiling, hanging upside down and listening intently. 

They all listened to banging, the sound of armor hitting the walls before disappearing. “Hunter and Wrecker, are you okay?” Shiani commed in after a few minutes. 

“We’re going to have to find another way.” Hunter sounded slightly out of breath. “We couldn’t hold onto the outside.”

Tech looked up. “We could theoretically commandeer a life pod and escape that way. It is the most logical course of action.”

Echo nodded, grabbing one side of the crate of treasure they’d found. Tech grabbed the other, and Shiani dropped down next to Omega. They moved to the side, weapons up, as Echo scomped them through the door between the cargo area and transport ship. It didn’t take long for them to run into troopers, quickly stunning them. Unfortunately, the blaster fire raised alarms and the entire ship went red with pulsing alert lights. They were forced into a corner, covering Tech as he tried to find the life pods in the ship schematics. “The pods have been jettisoned.” He muttered, fighting the urge to shoot the console in front of him. He wasn’t usually quite so easily infuriated… but it had been a rough day so far. 

Omega ducked a shot that inched past her head, brain buzzing. “Tech, you said these were class four shipping transports, right?”

Tech nodded. “That is correct.”

“The cargo crates of class four models are equipped with re-entry thrusters.” She squished around Shiani to shoot back at an Imperial. 

“That is… brilliant. You are correct. I am impressed.” He nodded, glancing at Echo and Shiani. “We could theoretically ride back to the surface and contact Hunter and Wrecker for pickup.”

“No control of landing with re-entry thrusters.” Shiani turned and took another shot, hitting a trooper in the face. “No way to predict location either.”

“We can contact them with our coordinates after.” He assured her, biting back the automatic praise of her analysis on the situation. She usually beamed at his commentary, but right now might not be the time. “We will have to hurry, though. Re-entry thrusters are only effective while we are still in the atmosphere.”

“Better than getting shot.” She muttered, yanking Omega back out of the line of fire. “Echo, leave treasure. We’re take the whole cargo crate.”

“Fine.” He sighed, covering their double back towards the cargo. “How are we going to initiate the cargo release from inside?” 

“On it.” Tech answered, typing on his datapad while running. Shiani had no idea how he didn’t run into something. The ray shield opened and Shiani grabbed each clone with a tentacle, taking a dive after one and keeping them all together. Tech got the door to the crate open and they all climbed in, tumbling towards the earth at terminal velocity. 

Echo looked at Tech, clinging to the straps securing cargo as they were thrown around. “How long does it take for those re-entry thrusters to kick in?”

“Any minute now… I hope.” His brother said nervously. 

Shiani grabbed Omega and pushed her against the wall, protecting her with her limbs. “Gonna be fine. Absolutely fine.” She repeated softly, comforting the girl as the meters between them and the ground diminished. 

Just as she was starting to think they were going to die and was debating her last words to Tech, the thrusters kicked in. Everyone went flying, bouncing into each other and curling up to protect themselves as much as possible. The flight down was relatively bumpy, but they stopped moving after a while. 

Shiani sat up, still wrapped around Omega. “You okay?”

Omega nodded, blinking. “Did we make it?”

Echo got to his feet slowly. “Looks like it…” He was still behind the security straps, though Tech had gotten up and was heading to the door to get them out. 

Shiani went over to Echo with Omega, intending to untangle him, when the crate suddenly lurched and tipped. Tech went flying backwards, a heavy crate following as they went flying ass over teakettle. The siren spun around, securing herself to the wall with Omega, and paled when the crate eclipsed her view of Tech falling, then landed on top of him. His cry of pain hit her through the hearts like a blaster bolt 

“TECH!” She set Omega down and dropped, landing right beside him. His leg was trapped between the crate and floor, and his face was almost green with a combination of pain and nausea, from what she could see though the spaces in his helmet. 

“Is he okay?!” Omega yelped behind her. 

Shiani got her claws under the crate and shoved it off him, dropping back to her knees. “Hold still. Let Shiani see.” She murmured, carefully checking his leg. 

He winced when her claws touched his thigh. “My left femur is broken…” 

She hissed softly, slipping an arm under his shoulders. “Sit up slow. Lean on me.” She’d been told that a femur fracture was the most painful bone to break, and she tried to be as careful of him as possible. It didn’t matter how frustrated she’d been six seconds ago; now that Tech needed help she was on it. Like she’d told Omega, she still loved him, and that was the most important thing.

Tech winced again, but let her help him. “We must be on unstable ground.”

Shiani nodded. “Echo, use a dart line and take Omega first. I’ll bring Tech.”

Echo nodded, waving for Omega to grab ahold of him. Shiani watched anxiously, holding onto Tech, until they were out of the top of the crate. Tech watched as she carefully wrapped a tentacle around his middle and another supported the broken leg while her arms tucked under his good knee and behind his back. He had no choice but to wrap his arms around her neck like a bride as he used the other two tentacles to climb the sides, handing him up to Echo as soon as she was able and clambering out herself.

Sure enough, the crate was half over the edge of a cliff that likely would have been the death of them if they’d remained inside it when it fell. Echo set Tech on the ground to catch their breath, staring at the near-death experience. 

“We should pull it up and get what we can right?” Omega looked at him.

“Getting out of here alive is more important.” He looked over at Shiani, who was crouched beside Tech protectively and also staring at the great height they’d nearly fallen from.

“But what about the war chest?” Omega looked at Shiani. “Didn’t you say it was important?”

Shiani shook her head, getting herself under Tech’s right arm and slowly helping him to his feet. “Not more important than surviving. We need to find shelter, so I can splint Tech’s leg.” 

Tech nodded. “Shelter is… paramount. The Empire will likely send arial teams…” His words were punctuated by little noises of pain, though he tried to keep a clear head. The grasping fingers on Shiani’s waist and arm were evidence enough for her that he was in agony.

“Easy.” She breathed, gently bonking her head against the side of his helmet in what might have either been a Keldabe kiss or a reality check. “I’ve got you.”

“Echo, Tech. Plan Double Zero.” Hunter’s voice came across the comm. 

Omega and Shiani had both been quizzed on all the plans until they were exhausted by it. They knew what that one meant. Radio silence. “The Empire must be monitoring comm frequencies.” Echo sighed. 

“That means we can’t give them coordinates to pick us up.” Tech attempted to take a step without leaning on Shiani and regretted it immediately, nearly falling until she caught him. 

“Stop being stubborn. I thought you were concerned with logic over emotion today, but your pride is showing.” She sassed, then her head turned suddenly. He recognized the way her ear fins pinned back, on high alert.

“I hear him too. We’re being followed.” Omega murmured. 

“Not Imperial.” Shiani frowned, carefully turning Tech to face the direction the watcher was in before raising her voice. “We aren't the Empire. Please come out.” She called. An older human man slowly crept out, hands up and looking very afraid. 

“I don’t want any trouble.” He said softly.

“Neither do we.” Echo muttered, but kept his hand on his holster, just in case. “We’re just looking for shelter.”

“There isn’t much of anything left after the bombardment.” The man said quietly. “I wish you the best of luck.”

Tech looked over his shoulder. “I am picking up a thermal reading about 200 meters back. I assume this is your domicile?” He said quietly. 

The man looked guilty and uncomfortable, but before Echo could press him for help Shiani interceded more gently. “Please. We won’t be any trouble.” She said softly, one hand pressed against the side of her face closest to him to hide the seam of her trembling jaw. “I know they’re soldiers, and you’re scared. But there’s a child with us, and Tech is hurt. Please, can we just get our bearings?” 

The man softened at her big eyes and sighed. “Come this way… my name is Romar Adell.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Adell.” Shiani said softly, letting Echo and Omega go ahead of her and Tech’s slow pace. “I’ll splint your leg when we get to shelter. Promise.” She murmured. 

“Your mouth is coming open.” He mumbled. “Indicating you are under significant stress.”

“You’re hurt. Of course I am.” She huffed faintly, correcting herself as best she could. 

“I would think my discomfort would be cathartic for you, since you are currently upset with me.”

“So much for a genius.” She sighed, finally ducking into a house half hidden in rubble. She set Tech down carefully in a chair and sighed, kneeling by his leg to examine it more thoroughly.

Romar looked distrustfully at Echo and Tech. “And you’re sure you’re not the Empire?”

“We used to be soldiers of the Republic. We deserted.” Echo muttered. 

“You won’t find much sympathy here for the Republic.” Romar muttered. “Or Separatist. Dooku’s greed leveled our city. Look what's left of it.”

“We came for the war chest.” Omega volunteered. “We could share what's in it, to help you rebuild. We saw what happened to the city… is that why you live so far out here?”

Romar looked displeased. “I don't want a thing to do with that war chest, and neither do you. Dooku didn't just steal from other planets, he stole from his own people too. Just catch your breath and go. I only let you in because the little lady there asked nicely.” He opened a trap door and headed down, grumbling all the while about clones.

Echo looked at Omega. “Keep an eye on him.”

Omega looked less than thrilled, but went down the trapdoor after him. Shiani just shook her head and sat on the floor in front of Tech, pulling his leg into her lap to start wrapping it with gauze from her gear pack. “We can't go back after the war chest now, Echo. Stop looking at the door.”

“There's a million credits out there we could use, Shiani. You can't really want to give that up. You believed in this mission too.”

“Tech can't walk.” She said firmly. “So your backup is either a child, or I go with you and leave Tech and Baby Mega unprotected. On a hostile planet where the Empire knows we're here.”

“Omega is capable. I'd think you'd want some space after that fight on the Marauder.” Echo crossed his arms. 

“Why does everyone think I enjoy Tech being hurt or alone?” She huffed, finishing the bandaging around his thigh. 

“Because you are angry with me?” Tech adjusted his goggles, leg still under her hands as she searched pulled out a durasteel antenna from her gear pack to use as a splint until she could make a proper one. 

She gave him a genuinely confused look. “Being angry doesn't mean I stop loving you. And neither does being married. I loved you before, and I love you after.”

Tech’s cheeks went a little pink and Echo put his helmet back on. “I still think we can make off with something. But I'm going to check the perimeter.” 

He slipped out the door and Shiani carefully set Tech's leg down and dampened a little leftover gauze at Romar’s makeshift sink. When she came back, she wiped the clammy sweat off his face. “Still in a lot of pain?” 

“It is better, now that I am stationary.” He let her lift his goggles up to inspect his face for bruising. “Thank you.”

She sighed. “Thought that box was going to crush you.” Her fingers brushed his face a little longer than necessary. “Sorry… for being snappy earlier. That wasn't nice.”

“That is alright. I was… less than tactful, during the trip here.” He caught her hand in his gloved ones.  “It was surprising news. I do not like surprises.”

Shiani looked at his hand as he squeezed her fingers. One two three squishes. “Didn't mean to surprise you… I really thought it worked the same way on the surface.”

“There are similarities.” He looked up as Omega came back upstairs holding something. “What do you have there?”

“A kaleidoscope. It's not treasure, but Romar says it's priceless if it makes you happy.”

Shiani smiled. “Can I see?”

Omega handed it to her and she looked through, grinning at the bright colors. It reminded her of the colored broken glass she sometimes found and laid in the infrequent sun on Kamino to watch the colors dance. 

“Looks like the little lady can appreciate it.” Romar came back up the stairs, a datacore in hand, and gave Shiani a curious look. “You're different than the clones. The little one here didn't seem to know what a toy was.”

“Clones have hard lives, sir.” Shiani handed the kaleidoscope back to Omega. “But they're good people.”

He set the datacore on the table and looked at Tech. “Mind if I borrow your spanner?”

Tech shook his head and handed it over. “Not at all. Is this Separatist data you are attempting to retrieve?”

“Separatist? Pfft, no. This is Serrennian history. Our people's music, art, culture, and memories. This is long before the Separatists, and worth more than anything in that war chest.”

“Culture…” Tech listened closely, curious. “I had no idea such things were so valuable.”

Romar glanced at Shiani, thinking of her words about hard lives and the little girl who didn't know what a toy was.  “I guess, being made the way you were, you wouldn't. I bet your friend here does.”

Shiani nodded. “Siren culture is all about music. Our gods, our holidays, our language… all celebrated with songs.”

Tech looked at her bright smile as she talked, realizing he'd spent so much time considering the biology and history of sirens that he deemed relevant… that he'd forgotten how much more there must have been. There was more to a people than the science behind their existence, and Shiani was still a part of them no matter how far he took her away from the shores of Kamino. 

No wonder he'd misunderstood the proposal tradition. Once again, he simply hadn't asked. 

“May I help you repair this?” He looked at Romar. “What you are describing sounds fascinating.”

Shiani beamed as Romar let Tech take a look, coming over to stand beside her. “What's a girl like you doing with a group of rogue clones?”

Her eyes never left Tech. “He's the love of my life.”

When Echo returned, the atmosphere in the little house was much more friendly. Tech was finishing up repairs on the datacore while Shiani told him and Romar about the underwater castles and painted temples of Acopit and the other Belowcities. Tech would have been finished much sooner if he didn't stop to look at every few minutes, noting how excited she was and how captivating her descriptions were. 

Echo looked around and blinked as Tech handed his project back to Romar. “Hey, where's Omega?”

Shiani paused mid sentence. “Baby Mega was sitting right…” She looked at the section of floor her little friend had been occupying. In her place was the kaleidoscope. 

“My rappelling kit is gone too. I left it right here.” Romar gestured. 

Tech and Echo exchanged alarmed looks. “She must have gone after the war chest on her own.” Echo whispered.

Shiani's eyes went impossibly bigger. “Oh no. Baby Mega already thinks you resent her, Echo. She'll try to get that treasure to make it up to you.”

Echo looked like she'd punched him, holding the abandoned toy like a lifeline. “She what?”

“She heard you tell Hunter we live on the run because of her.” Shiani helped Tech up. “Gotta find her before she falls off that cliff.”

“Or the Imperials find her.” Tech nodded, limping along as fast as he could. 

Romar looked worried. “What about your leg?”

“I can manage, but I appreciate your concern.” Tech said as confidently as he could muster. “My riduur will look after me.”

Echo gave Tech a look, but decided he'd be better off rushing ahead to find Omega while Shiani helped Tech along. 

“Baby Mega is grounded until she's older than me.” The siren grumbled, but she was much more worried than angry. 

By the time Shiani and Tech got to the crash site, the Empire was there. Echo and Omega had retreated into the cargo crate, which could fall at any moment. There was no option but to fight.

Tech pointed to a trooper silently, the man manning a mounted gun. She nodded, letting him go and sneaking up with the kind of eerie silence that reminded Tech she was actually an apex predator in her native environment. Without a sound, she snared the Imperial clone in her tentacles and cut off his air to scream, dragging him into the bushes and giving Tech access to his gun. He got to it and opened fire, struggling to dodge return fire on one leg. Fortunately, Shiani was quick to launch herself out of the bushes at another clone trooper, taking him to the ground to pull her pistol and stun him.  

While she dove to the next clone, another got close enough Tech's gun was useless and they were fighting hand to hand. When she looked up, the blue light of a stun round not even fully faded, Tech was on the receiving side of a headlock. 

Between the pain of the broken leg and being choked, Tech felt the fuzzy gray of an impending blackout inching into the corners of his vision. He tried to fight it, and was suddenly granted air when the Imperial behind him was violently snatched and slammed headfirst into a tree. Exhausted and overexerted, Tech collapsed face first into the dirt. 

Shiani planted herself over him, snarling at the approaching V-wing she spotted coming at them. “Tech, get up.” She grabbed his arm and tugged, hissing getting more desperate while he tried to clear his exhaustion. “Please. Up, please.”

“H-help me to the tripod, cyar'ika.” He finally mumbled, and she got him to his feet. While she set him at the gun, Romar turned up helpfully and started trying to pull Echo and Omega from over the cliffside using a tow rope on a speeder bike. 

“We're back at the Marauder. Send me your coordinates.” Hunter's voice cut through the sound of blaster fire, and Shiani wordlessly transmitted them from Tech's vambrace while her arms were around his waist.

Everything about Shiani's life since leaving the water had been the weirdest thing ever, in a never-ending stream of progressive strangeness. But holding up a half-conscious (and still a better shot than her) man she might or might not be married to, at a mounted gun while a total stranger tried to haul a cyborg veteran and little girl out of a box of stolen treasures that they'd been trying to re-steal from the estate of a dead, violent war criminal…

It sounded insane because it was insane. Even with all the context she was privy to. 

When the Havoc Marauder came into view and forced the last Imperial V-wing into the side of a cliff, she almost laughed. “Harmony and Melody are looking out for us today.” She squeezed Tech around the waist tightly, cheek pressed against the back of his armor. 

Tech leaned back against her, which complicated everything since he was quite a bit taller than her. “... those are your gods, correct? I was listening.”

“You are almost delirious.” She shifted him so he could lean on her again. “Come on. To the Marauder.”

They limped their way up the ramp, letting Omega and Echo have a minute to thank Romar. Shiani gave him a wave, grateful to him but much more concerned for Tech. His wave in return seemed to understand.

“Almost done.” Shiani murmured quietly. Tech was sitting at the work table, leg sprawled out as she worked on a metal brace and splint for him to support the limb while it healed. She had welded it together, and it would keep the leg fully extended for the next few weeks. The dressings underneath could at least be changed during that time, and as long as he put no weight on the leg it would be the most comfortable option. “The pain medicine kicking in yet?”

Tech nodded, leaning back as she got up from her side of the table and oh-so-carefully put the brace on to immobilize his leg from ankle to hip. Once she tightened the screws into place at his knee, she glanced up at him. 

“How’s that feel? Not too tight?”

“No, it is comfortable. At least as comfortable as can be expected of a fractured femur.” He nodded, his own distraction project of a small ring of metal in his hands. “You were not injured, were you?”” 

She shook her head. “No, I’m fine.” 

He patted the seat beside him for her to sit. “Here, cyar’ika. Come talk to me a moment.”

Shiani sat down immediately, never very good at telling him no even when she was mad. And she wasn’t very mad anymore, just a little sad that it looked like her idea of a happily ever after had more speedbumps than she’d expected. He was still calling her sweetheart, after all… even if they weren’t married, he wasn’t breaking up with her. That was all that really mattered to her, if she was honest.

Once she was seated, he picked up her hand and inspected her fingers carefully. “I believe I owe you an apology, Shiani. I did not mean to imply that I was opposed to the idea of marriage. It is just something I believe should be discussed thoroughly, between the two of us. So why don’t we discuss it now?”

“Do you feel well enough to talk about this?” She cocked her head to the side. “You got squished today, Tech.”

“Squish implies something soft. The crate that broke my femur was anything but soft.” He reached over and cupped her round little cheek in his hand, lightly squishing her cheek three times. “You, on the other hand, are exceptionally soft. Fangs and all. It is part of the reason I find you so adorable.” 

Shiani flushed blue in the face and fiddled with the ragged edge of her left ear quietly. “Okay. We can talk about it.” 

“Good. It was my lack of attention to your cultural practices that led to the confusion, so let me ask now. For a siren, what is expected in a marriage?” Tech picked back up the piece of metal he was working on, a smooth circle of what appeared to be the same metal the ship was made of. She wondered what it was for, but his question was more pressing than her own. 

“A partner forever.” Shiani said softly. “Sirens mate for life… if one dies, it’s rare for someone to remarry. It happens… my father remarried, my mother was his second mate. But he was king, and it was expected because kings need heirs and spares. He got lucky to find love twice. Not everyone does.” 

“So children are expected.” Tech mused.

“Sirens value families. There are other ways to be a family, like Mandalorians and foundlings. Sometimes parents die, and children need someone to love them. Sometimes you find a bunch of brothers and their little sister, and make them your family.” She laughed softly. “Sometimes you can’t or don’t want children. That’s okay too.” 

“Do you not want them?” Tech raised an eyebrow. 

“I don’t know. I never really thought about it before. I never loved anyone but you.” She smiled faintly and shrugged. “I don’t hate the idea. But if it never happened and I still got to spend my life with you… that’s good enough for me.” She tapped her claw against the table. “More than good enough.”

Tech smiled. “And why the clothing to propose?”

Shiani giggled weakly. “Chest covering, specifically. It protects the hearts. Most of the time, when sirens propose back him, they use clothes they weave themselves. When sirens were slaves, they weren’t allowed clothes… clothes mean you’re a person, not an object and if someone loves you enough to make them for you… they’re very special.” 

He chuckled. “I believe I understand. There are some similarities between your culture and the one I am best versed in. It is traditional to give rings, which symbolize an unbroken and unending affection.”

Shiani’s eyes dipped to the ring he was working on, head cocking to the side. “Tech?” 

“Let me see your hand again, cyar’ika.” 

She extended her hand to him, eyes moving to his face. “You called me something else on Serenno, I didn’t recognize the word. Ree-”

“Riduur. Yes, I did.” He placed the durasteel ring on her left third finger, checking the fit before letting her examine it. It was a simple band, flat and smooth, with a carefully notched engraving of the 99 skull and number. “It means spouse, in Mando’a.”

Shiani blinked at him. “Spouse… I thought you wanted to discuss it?”

“We just did.” Tech said simply. “It occurred to me during our mission to Serenno that, despite how frustrated you were with the situation… you did not change your opinion of me. You were still right by my side, helping me when I was injured and in trouble. When you said you did not stop loving me because you were angry, I realized that I would never want that to change. If we both agree to that level of commitment, the next logical step is marriage. And if we already were, there is no reason to repeat ourselves.” 

Shiani made a happy squeaking sound and threw her arms around his neck, careful not to knock him out of his seat with the force of her hug. He snuggled her to his chest, cheek on top of her wiggly head tentacles, and smiled. “I have made myself a ring to match. Is that acceptable?”

She nodded with delight, leaning up for a kiss. “More than acceptable.” 

He gave her a gentle peck on the lips before resting his forehead against hers. “I have always found this appealing. Mirshmure'cya, or a Keldabe kiss.”

“Brain kiss.” She smiled, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the closeness. 

“Yes. The brain is the seat of personality. The most uniquely individual part of you. Therefore… the part of you I most appreciate.”

Shiani chuckled. “You find the most elaborate ways to say I love you.”

“As long as you understand what I mean, that is all that matters.” He closed his eyes as well, comfortable with his arms around her. “I apologize for not asking more about your people. For as different as you are from the other sirens I have seen, you are still one of them. If I recall correctly, you could have been their queen.”

“I would rather be your queen.” She cooed, tipping her head up to rub her flat nose against the tip of his. 

“That, I believe, is acceptable.”

Bonus meme because I make and send these to my husband when I'm writing.

[thebmatt]

FFXIV Write Day 1

Foster – “encourage or promote the development of (something, typically something regarded as good)”

“I still cannot believe you built a bloody airship! I mean, I’ve done maintenance work on them under Cid or Stephanivien’s tutelage, but you BUILT one, from practically nothing!”

Tataru looked up from the pile of paperwork she was dealing with and grinned at Franks. “What, you didn’t think little old me could do it all by myself? No, wait, that’s not it, is it?? You’re JEALOUS!”

Franks threw down the cloth he’d been using to clean his gun and tools only moments before. “Of COURSE, I’m jealous! You know how many times I’ve tried to make time with either one of them to learn more about magitek engineering? I’ve lost count, because every time, without fail, either I have to cancel because the star’s in peril again or one of them has some company emergency or other to deal with! And now here you are, buildin’ an entire AIRSHIP! Hells yes I’m jealous!”

Tataru spasmed as she tried to hold back her mirth, covering her mouth, but there was no hiding the look in her eyes. First a few giggles escaped her, growing more numerous and loud, until she released peals of laughter, falling over in her chair. Franks eventually joined in, the pair enjoying a simple moment together.

Eventually Tataru managed to get herself under control. “Well, hopefully one day, this will all be in our pasts and you can spend the rest of your days building and maintaining magitek, if you wish. Think you’ll open up Cid’s first competition? Or maybe work for him? Wait, can you stand to be around Nero that much?”

Franks chuckled as he resumed cleaning a wrench.”Honestly, once you recognize and accept that his boundless arrogance is an attempt to mask both his profound fear at having to essentially restart his life in a formerly-hostile land AND trying to sort out exactly how he feels about Cid, he’s really not that bad. But while working at the Ironworks would certainly be enjoyable, I think my place is in Ishgard, in the Machinists guild. I want to be at the forefront of that discipline, both training new recruits and helpin’ Stephanivien come up with new tools for them to use. I foresee workin’ closely with the Ironworks to make that happen, though, so it’s really the best o’ both worlds.”

Tataru nodded. “I don’t know what the Scions will do once this is all over. I don’t even know if there’s really a place for us once the world is saved, if such a thing is even possible. But I might quite like working for Cid, I think. There’s a lot of upsides. Good pay, constantly getting to learn, don’t have to leave Mor Dhona…”

“Not to mention being in constant proximity to a certain Lalafell engineer…” Franks added, smirking as he looked over in her direction.

Tataru flushed and quickly looked away from his knowing gaze. “Y-yes, I suppose being near my good friend Wedge would be a nice perk!”

“Uh huh” Franks replied, not at all sounding like he was buying that description for one second. He finished wiping down the last piece of his aetherotransformer, and with practiced ease, began reassembling the components. With a final click, the device came together and lit up from within. Giving it a final examination, he returned it to its place at his hip and began reassembling his gun. “So…this next question might seem cruel, and if it’s hurtful please tell me so I can apologize, but I’m curious. You’re clearly a good engineer, which means math isn’t a problem for you. So why have you had such a problem with arcanima?”

Tataru had returned her attention to her paperwork, but the question stopped her mid-sentence. She looked back at Franks, her expression one of sad acceptance. “Thank you for saying it like…. that”

“Tataru, I’m so…”

“No no, it’s not bad. It’s nothing I haven’t asked myself and wrestled with, but I came to an answer a while ago.” She picked up a small clock that adorned her desk. “When I’m building, anything from constructing an airship to something simple like sawing wood…the math is there, a physical object in front of me. When I can see, can feel, the results right then, it all makes sense in my head. But with Arcanima….it was all in my head for me to unravel before it would manifest the magic. That’s harder for me. Not impossible, I don’t think I could have manifested a carbuncle or a Ruin spell otherwise, but I was a lot less confident, doubly so when I had to fight with it. I think that confidence, or lack thereof, is why my carbuncle didn’t do what I want.”

Franks nodded. “That absolutely is understandable. Everyone learns differently after all.”

Tataru’s smile brightened. “And really, I’m somewhat glad it didn’t work out! I wouldn’t have been able to find my talents as a crafter and intelligence gatherer for the Scions if I hadn’t accepted defeat with a grimoire!”

Franks laughed. “Absolutely true. I’ve no idea what would have become of the Scions if you hadn’t! We probably would still be wondering how we’d pay for the fare to Kugane! Definitely wouldn’t be eating as well, that’s for sure!”

She had to laugh at that. “Oh, I get it, I’m just your bank lender and chef, is that it?”

“In all seriousness, do you still wish you could join us in the field? Fight alongside everyone?”

She paused, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “I won’t deny the idea doesn’t STILL have some appeal, but I know I’m way more valuable to the Scions in my current role. I do wish I had a more reliable way of defending myself, especially should the Garlands attempt another Waking Sands massacre, though. I suppose I’ll just have to hope the people of Revenant’s Toll are more capable of defending us than the citizens of Vesper Bay were.”

Franks looked back down to his gun, nodding. “Mmm, makes sense. Even if you aren’t in enemy territory, as it were, traveling around isn’t always safe. We might just have to….” he stopped, nearly dropping the assembled firearm.

“Have to what, Franks?”

“I can’t believe I never thought of this. How did it not occur to me?”. Franks stood up, slinging his weapon across his band into the holster that held it in place. He looked to Tataru with an almost manic gleam in his eye. “Go get something warm to wear, Tataru! We got someplace to be!”

Tataru looked confused “W-where??”

Franks grinned. “Ishgard!”

A bell later, the air around the Ishgardian aetheryte gave a slight pop as it was suddenly displaced by the appearing forms of Franks and Fearless. Both shivered, if only briefly, before their bodies re-acclimated to the colder temperatures that they had grown used to those many moons they’d spent in the city.

Both were quickly recognized by practically everyone they passed by, and while Franks had little hope of recognizing most of the people who spoke to them, Tataru seemed to know everyone, able to call them by name and ask personal questions that she’d had to have learned about on those random evenings in the Forgotten Knight. More than once, she was able to recognize fully helmed Temple Knights by voice alone. Franks, for his part, hurried them both along, seemingly eager to reach their destination.

“So where ARE we going, exactly?” Tataru asked in between a conversation with one of Hilda’s people in the City Watch and a noblewoman of a minor house. Franks didn’t reply aside from a grin on his face until a few minutes later when he stopped in front of a building and pointed. “There!”

Tataru bid one more person farewell and stopped to take in where the pair had arrived at. Sounds of rhythmic thumping filled the air, which smelled of flame and metal and soot. She looked up at the building. “Skysteel Manufactory? What are we doing here?”

“You’ll see!” Franks called back, already having made his way to the corner where one needed to turn to enter the Manufactory’s font door. Tataru squeaked and started after him as quick as her smaller legs could carry her. By the time she rounded the corner, Franks had already thrown open the wooden doors of the entrance and strode in.

“Franks, my old friend!” a voice cried out from within. Tataru quickly ran to catch up, and as she entered the door, the eyes of an Elezen man quickly jumped to her. “And mistress Tataru! What a surprise!”

“Good to see you too, Lord Stephanivien!” she replied, smiling.

“Whatever brings Ishgard’s savior, and most importantly my best machinist, and the Scion’s….erm…what IS your official role within the Scions of the Seventh Dawn these days, milady? If half of what Franks tells me is true, “secretary” would seem a woefully inadequate title! Perhaps ‘the very hull on which the entire ship is built’? No? Too long?”

Tataru giggled. “Oh no, milord, ‘secretary’ is just fine. I like it, makes people underestimate me! And that’s how I get em!”

“Who’s come calling, milord?” came a voice from the upper levels of the Manufactory. A woman’s head peaked over the railing, her blond ponytails dangling from the sides of her head. “I thought I heard….TATARU!” With that, she bolted for the stairs that led to the entryway, sliding down the rails. Tataru ran for the woman and lept right into her arms, hugging.

“What’re ye doin here, girl? I thought you were busy keepin’ them Scions from fallin apart!”

“I don’t know, rightly! Franks dragged me….” Tataru trailed off as she noticed that Joye’s braids had somehow completely undone themselves, and her hair was a wild mess. “Are you ever going to tell me how you do that??”

“Dunno what yer on about! FRANKS!” she turned and yelled at the man who’d been quietly conversing with Stephanivien. “Why you dragged this poor lass all the way out into the cold arse o’ this time o’ night without tellin’ her what’s goin on?”

Franks smiled, leaning away from Stephanivien, and crossed his arms. “Well, Joye, I’d like to introduce you to someone that, well, you don’t really need introduction to! That lady you’re hugging is Tataru Taru, Scion of the Seventh Dawn, the glue and rivets that keep the very organization held together, and-“

“We know who she is, ye daft sod!” Joy interrupted, setting Tataru back on the ground. “Ya literally just watched us have a mini-reunion!”

“-AND, assuming she’s amenable, the newest member of the Machinist’s guild!” Franks continued, as though he hadn’t been interrupted.

THAT got everyone’s attention. Both Joye’s and Tataru’s jaws dropped. Stephanivien simply smiled.

“Wait…this is your solution to me wanting to increase my martial skillset?” Tataru asked.

Franks threw his arms out, gesturing around to the manufactory around them. “It’s a perfect idea! Think about it! You’re already proficient with magitek, you’ve certainly proven that by now! You already know what I’m guessing is about 80% of the members already! You don’t need any extensive training in magic or heavy melee arms, all you really need to learn is how to shoot! I don’t doubt you can get the hang of that, especially with Joye teaching you!”

Joye looked down at Tataru. “Aye….aye I can! Tataru, this’ll be great!”

Tataru still appeared in shock. “But…I don’t…I don’t have a gun! And I bet they don’t keep ones sized for Lalafell around!”

Stephanivien knelt down to face her. “As it turns out, my dear, we actually made a custom one for a colleague of ours from Garlond Ironworks. He frequently comes to collaborate with our fair guild and commissioned a carbine with which to recreationally shoot. He keeps it here, as well. I believe you are acquainted with one Wedge? His weapon should suffice for you to practice with until we can build a custom one for you. I daresay he will not object either, would you not agree?” He winked almost conspiratorially.

“I know where it is! Come on Tataru, let’s go blast some training dummies!” Joye practically dragged Tataru behind her as she ran outside. Tataru didn’t require TOO much prompting, however, as pretty soon, she was running full steam out the door behind Joye under her own power.

Stephanivien turned to Franks. “Seems you have a knack for fostering talent in people, my friend. I heard of the fortune that befell the Baroness de Jervaint, and now you’ve added a new member to our guild’s ranks as well! I know you must wear any number of metaphorical hats, but I am quite glad the Machinist’s goggles are among them!”

Franks smiled. Whatever the future held, he was glad to keep building towards making it better.

[razorblade180]

Nothing to worry about

After many, many attempts to decode the data to find Sora, Riku was spent. A thought came to him that maybe if he messed with data with the difficulties all the way up, then something might change. It had to be his third day screwing up on the same attacks over and over again. He didn’t remember fighting the organization to be this hard! Riku was a prideful guy that managed to beat most of them but enough was enough! He had been stuck on one obstacle for far too long and his hands hurt from hitting the wall the one time he rage quit. It was time to bring in backup, and he knew just the people…

Xion:You want me to want?

Riku:Beat data Xion for me. You’re too strong.

Roxas:It’s a computer…

Axel:Dude, you don’t get to say that when you smash computers instead of pressing keys.

Saix:You What?

Riku:Focus!!! I called you specifically because you’ve fought Xion, fought Sora, and some of you have done both while technically being connected to Sora; so you know how to play him well.

Axel:I feel like you’re missing people.

Riku:People are busy. You are the only ones that are still around a lot.

Xion:Am I really that tough?

Riku:Painfully.

Xion:Hmmm. I’m not sure how I feel about fighting myself. Something about it feels...depressing.

Axel:I’ll do it. I’m great at games! Plus we’ve fought a bunch of times! I know your moves.

Xion:But you lost…

Axel:Still learned them! *sits down* Watch the master!

That was the statement he made. It’s been three hours since Axel had that confidence. Now he was face down on the bed in the committee room along with Riku. If he heard “why do you fight” one more time, he’d lose his mind.

Axel:Since when do you bounce around like a ball of light!?

Roxas:Why are you surprised? I do it all the time.

Axel:I don’t even understand how you do it!!!

Saix:I can’t believe you didn’t even get half health.

Axel:Think you can do better!?

Saix:Nope, but I won’t act like I can to look cool. Xion, I’ve never seen you do half of the things that program does. Is it an exaggeration or…?

Xion:No, it’s possible. Doing all of that just makes me tired.

Saix:...(I never stood a chance in that graveyard. Then again I try not to go full berserk for the same reason.)

Roxas:My turn! I’m not exactly thrilled about fighting any version of you but helping Sora is the goal here. I just hope Cid didn’t program all of your armors. Not a big fan of the second one or you being the size of the central station tower.

Xion:*red* Hehehe...yeah that was pretty wild.

RAS:You can do what…?”

The change of players was getting better results. Roxas was in his third attempt when he started getting a good rhythm. Watching Axel helped, but there was something else. A weird six sense. Riku was right about him controlling Sora, it felt natural. Battling data Xion was the same. The way he predicted her movements were scarily good.

Axel:Wow, look at you go.

Roxas:Sssshhh, I need focus. I wanna do this as fast as possible. It might be data but hurting Xion feels wrong.

Xion:*red* Roxas…

The man makes it to the desperation move. It’s the second time he’s made it here and he wished data Xion had the armors instead! He didn’t last long before another game over screen. Everyone groaned while Roxas rested his head on the wooden desk.

Roxas:Gah! I can’t even begin to understand those patterns. Your columns of light move way too wildly!

Riku:I hate the fact that if you recover from a strike raid then the next one is delayed to change your rhythm! Why are you so smart Xion?

Xion:Sora does that too. It’s how to survive relentless attacks sometimes. I’ve told you all the timing so-

Roxas:Xion, I really don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, but you might as well grab the controller. The only person who knows you, is you.

Xion:And Ven, and Namine, you, Sora, Kai- fine I’ll give it a try!

Riku:Thank you.

Xion died immediately going into the fight. All eyes looked at her in disbelief as her face got red.

Xion:I wasn’t ready! Let me get a few warm up rounds in! I have never done anything like this. Roxas, can you go back to Twilight Town and get a small white bag in the usual spot?

Roxas:Okay.

A few warm up rounds turned into a dozen. Riku even saw her scroll through the settings once or twice. Then she wouldn’t do the fight right away. Instead she’d press bottoms to see how Sora reacted and fast. He didn’t want to be antsy but a piece of him wanted to try again. Riku went over to ask when Roxas came through the door to hand her the bag. Xion ran the program again. She reached in the bag as it loaded and pulled out something Riku didn’t know she still had. Her organization gloves.

Riku:You kept those?

Xion:Gripping a keyblade barehanded feels weird. So does messing with computers…

Data Xion:Why do you f-

Xion:Yeah we know the line…

Riku never considered himself good at things like video games or computers, but he didn’t think he was bad either. That was until he watched Xion start moving her fingers faster than he could keep track off. The whole room was silent except for the sound of clicking. Data Sora was moving at speeds and performing tricks Riku and the others didn’t even know about. He wasn’t getting hit at all!!! Axel could quietly hear Xion mumble numbers. A set amount when she attacked, and then a different set when the data version did. The sets kept resting and ending differently depending on what weapon she used or magic. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Axel:H-How?

Xion:How what?

Roxas:How are you doing this!?

Xion:Like you and Riku said. I know me, as well as Sora. I’m only gonna get hit so many times before I find a chance to counter. Also, there’s only so many moves you can program. It’s still just code!

She made it sound so easy, yet Riku. Can only think about how many times late last night he couldn’t figure out a single time to appropriately heal or attack. Yet here Xion is, perfect blocking and interrupting the desperation move. She even found time to take a picture before delivering the final blow!

Xion:Boom! Easy!

Riku:FINALLY!

Saix:You really should’ve gone first.

Xion:But it was thanks to you guys that I was able to watch and learn without stressing out. It was a group effort. I guess we’re done here. Thanks Riku, that was kinda fun. *stands up*

Riku:Ummm haven’t beaten master Xehanort either. Do you think maybe….

Xion:*Sits down* You owe one for this.

Riku:I know a good spot to find the best seashells.

Xion:Deal!

The crew let her get to work on the baldy while they occupied their time. Half an hour passed before they sat around a table eating. Riku looked over to see Xion learning how to deal with every move possible. It looked impossible. Most of the organization did. Another game over screen appeared and Riku sighed.

Axel:You alright champ?

Riku:It might be data, but seeing Sora lose is depressing. I hope he’s alright.

Roxas:Why wouldn’t he be?

Riku:He’s not the luckiest guy. Danger might as well be a spell when it comes to Sora. All of these data fights made me realize just how dangerous the organization really was. The thought of him running into something or someone as dangerous as that alone doesn’t sit well with me.

Everyone:......

Roxas:You know Riku, you can be pretty dumb sometimes.

Riku:Huh!?

Xion:Roxas!

Roxas:What!? All I’m saying is you would think after seeing a program based off of him successfully beat crazy strong people like Xion that you’d have the most faith in his skills. I mean who else do you know has enough different moves to handle so many kinds of fighters?

Riku:....Heh, thanks Roxas.

Roxas:*red* Yeah whatever. Just stating the obvious.

Axel:Yeah! Sora’s alright. I mean he was able to beat me after all.

Saix: If that’s the bar then maybe we should worry.

Axel:Hey!

Xion:I mean we did tie when I was tired.

Roxas:I beat you with amnesia.

Riku:Sora did too.

Axel:Who’s side are you on! This is the thanks I get for trying to cheer you up? Cut me some slack.

The friends shared a good laugh teasing Axel. Even he couldn’t help but join in on it. Riku should know better than anybody just how capable Sora is.

(Wherever you are, I’m sure you’re just fine.)

xxxx

Fine was the appropriate word to describe it. If a Riku or the others used anything more positive then they surely would’ve bit their tongue. If only they could see their friend right now, dodging and struggling on a rooftop under a starry sky dome. A swarm of gigas closed in on our young hero to overwhelm him, but to avail. Sora whipped out a storm flag and slammed it on the ground to summon the watery beast of the seven seas. It’s tentacles whacked away and crushed the gigas flat. Now wasn’t a time to rest though. Yozora, his opponent, wasn’t done yet. Sora saw rapid flashes of red lock in on him and switched to the counter shield.

He hyped himself “Come on!” Spurs shouted. The first attack came from the left, then right. Four more were dead on before another six ferocious slashes came from the left. Collision after collision conjured sparks that lit up the impacts of each attack. Yozora finally thought he had an opening to stab from behind but was sorely mistaken when Sora had already pivoted already and unleashed a barrage of fists that knocked Yazora in the air. Sora leaped up to follow up with a change into the second form. “Get back here!” He pulled his opponent back in with a magnet burst then went right into an ars arcanum. Blades clashed faster than anyone could keep up with before Sora’s ferocity gave him an edge that turned into full blown hits that ended with him spiking Yozora to the ground. As he fell, Sora was shot in the back by a laser that sent him to the metal floor behind. He had no time to dodge the cross slash that connected against his chest. He watched Yozora vanish and switched right into ultimate form to do the same.

This disappearing and reappearing act made their sparks seem more like fireworks. Crackles and pops

Danced up and down the battlefield as each person kept attempting to warp for both offense and defense until Yozora got the better of Sora by trapping in an exploding prism that launched Sora sky high. Yozora finally had room to breath and could plant fis feet long enough to charge his blade. He watched his target recover mid air and unless a salvo of fireballs with double arrow guns. A good idea if it wasn’t so far away that is. “Sorry but-huh!?” A blue light washed over Sora and propelled him directly at Yozora with his attack. Yozora was quick enough to slash Sora away but decided to pull back by backflipping the fireballs; a big mistake. He had underestimated Sora’s speed. Before he could even reach the ground, Sora was already in front of him again. This time with a massive rocket propelled hammer that hit him in the direction of the fireballs. The magic projectiles curved midair to hope in on his location and blasted him right in the chin. This was bad, really bad. To think he’d have this much trouble with someone who looked so clueless moments ago. He had to switch things up and vanished again.

Sora switched to nano arms and stood perfectly still. “Three….four….” he pulled a barrier right as a glimmer of red formed into Yazora that blasted some strange wide shots from his crossbow before vanishing again. Sora turned the machines into yo-yos next and swung straight. “There!” Yozora appeared right as expected and hit dead on. Sora pulled himself to wards and shifted to his frozen blades for additional slashes.

“You’re Just full of surprises aren’t you!?” Yozora grimaced.

“Don’t Give me that look! I didn’t want to fight!” Sora went for a kick but was too slow. Yozora managed to warp behind Sora and summoned a massive red orb that started pulling everything into it.

“Let’s see how you dodge this one.” Yozora turned up the pressure and started warping as fast as possible at Sora again and again, cutting and slashing him cleanly to knock him off balance until Yozora delivered one more powerful slash across his body that sent Sora flying into the orb. He quickly up to it and glided his blade along it to trigger a massive explosion that made Sora scream. Smoke and fire filled the air for a moment. That was a move not even Yozora himself was too good at avoiding. Nobody was gonna get it right from the jump.

Finally, the battle was over. It was longer than expected but the end result was the same. “Sorry, but I don’t lose-” Another shockwave from the explosion accorded suddenly and dispersed the smoke. That’s never happened before. Yozora shielded his eyes and scanned the ground, no Sora. Just black puddles. He dared not walk closer to them when they started to increase in size until a bigger one formed near his feet and Sora hopped out with glowing eyes and drenched in darkness. “This guy…” Yozora mistakenly readied a block for the keyblade as was then punched by Sora’s free hand, throwing him off and into a world of rageful attacks he had no choice but to receive. Sora was fast, too fast. The patterns seemed random. It was impossible to know what to look out for with the addition of kicks thrown in as Sora instinctively warp in numerous spots to bat Yazora around. Any attempt to escape the loop was met with a primal roar that kept the loop going until one final monstrous attack came. Sora went right through Yozora and into the ground. Strange black orbs rose up from bigger pools of black from earlier and detonated repeatedly, leaving Yozora no room to escape.

What was once a dark night turned into blinding light as Sora once again appeared above Yozora’s falling body in a new form; and with two blades. It was hard for him to understand what happened next. All he could see was light and feel the pain it inflicted everywhere as pillars of them struck down around Sora, who remained airborne and glowing. A look of pure grit on his face as he shouted.

“I guess...my power isn’t needed after all.”

xxxx

Xion:I beat him! But...I don’t think there’s anything here that might help. Sorry Riku. I know you wanna find him as soon as possible.

Riku:Hmmm, that’s alright. *smiles* Wherever he is...I’m sure he’s doing just fine.

[dragons-bones]

6 for the end of year meme?

6. What’s your favourite piece of dialogue you wrote this year?

Dialogue is my ABSOLUTE MOST FAVORITE THING EVER TO WRITE, so here’s a fucking LIST. :3

Pearls of Wisdom:

Rereha threw open the doors to Aymeric’s office, shite-eating grin firmly plastered on her face as she skipped inside, and sang out, “Congratulations! It’s twins!”

-

“Twin carbuncles!” Synnove cheered. “I had to infuse them at the same time, so they each contain levin and water aether, but the black pearl absorbs levin more readily, and the white pearl more water.”

“So,” Aymeric said hesitantly, a hint of relief in his voice, “you aren’t pregnant, then?”

“What?” said Synnove, rearing back with a frown. “No! Why would—” She went from confused to unamused in a heartbeat and turned her head to level a poisonous glare on a certain lalafell. “REREHA.”

(And here’s a read more because this is gonna get L O N G)

-------

Retrouvailles:

Eventually, she regained enough energy to prop her chin on his sternum. Aymeric lifted his head to meet her gaze as he kept petting her, a questioning noise in his throat that became alarm when he saw the wide grin on her face that usually meant trouble.

“I have,” she said, enunciating clearly, “three more new dresses.”

Aymeric let his head fall back against the desk with a thunk. “Are you trying to kill me, woman?” he groaned, halfway to laughter despite himself. “Take me to dinner before you continue debauching me!”

“That was a perfectly mutual debauchment,” she said primly, “but I’ll grant you that sustenance will be necessary. The Bismarck, or would you prefer to try that new Thavnairian café that I was waxing rhapsodic about over the linkpearl last sennight?”

“The Bismarck,” he said, wrapping one arm around her waist and carefully leveraging them both upright with the other. “I want a steak. Medium rare.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have the oysters?” Synnove said with a smug leer, wrapping her arms around his torso to snuggle closer, and giggled when he swatted her hip in reprimand.

“Brat,” Aymeric said, impossibly fond.

“Your brat,” she said in turn, tilting her head to kiss him.

-------

Quantum Shenanigans:

“This is an abomination,” Nero snarled, flipping from what little Synnove and Krile had managed to put together of the Arch Ultima on a tablet to the ones of the ravaged Ruby Weapon on a tablet. He was sitting at a heavy iron table in one of the Ironworks’s myriad workshops, fidgeting back and forth in one of the wheeled chairs Biggs had welded together on a whim one day, the chair swaying half an ilm side to side. “Absolutely repulsive. Of course, the VIIth is involved somehow, that legion has always been full of lunatics.”

He was already ducking out of the way of Synnove’s hand, making to smack him upside the head for the pun, but it left him open to Cid’s hard flick against his temple. Nero yelped at the sting and pointed accusatorily at the other Garlean, yelling, “Hypocrite!”

-

“Either way, the results are revolting,” Nero said with palpable disgust. “Forcibly downloading and uploading souls at a whim, who would condone such a thing?”

“You would!” Cid and Synnove snapped in unison.

“The Praetorium,” Synnove said, jabbing Nero in the kidney with her finger. He yelped and jammed his elbow into her stomach, or tried to, as Synnove was already dancing out of range as she continued: “I distinctly recall you waxing poetic about adding mine and my sisters’ power to the Ultima Weapon!”

...

Nero paused and set down the tablet, then pressed his forefinger against his lips as he searched his memory. “…So I did,” he said at last, grudgingly. “Not my finest moment, descending into full on megalomaniacal mad scientist stereotype.”

“That implies you ever rose from the state in the first place,” Cid muttered. And then wheezed out a curse while doubling over and clutching at his stomach; Nero had taken advantage of Cid’s momentary distraction to ram his bony elbow into the other Garlean’s abdomen.

-

Nero shifted uneasily, flicking his gaze from Cid, to Synnove, to Heron, and back to Cid to repeat the cycle. Finally. “…What?”

“I’m impressed, Nero,” Cid said. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth and he leaned back against the workbench to look at Nero with shrewd blue eyes. “You’ve actually matured. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Bathe in ceruleum, Garlond.”

“Choke on a lug wrench, Scaeva.”

-

Cid’s face went blank in the manner that usually preceded him asking a question he would wish he had not in fact asked at all once he had the answer: “…Void storage metafold?”

“Yes,” Synnove said primly, bouncing the twins in her arms. They giggled. “It’s based on the one Khebi built for Carby, though the structure’s internal area is only about three square fulms instead of…whatever nightmare area Carby’s is. All you have to do to make one is calculate the Cartesian coordinates in four dimensions rather than three, then fold the aether along the proper axes and—”

Cid’s eyes were becoming suspiciously glassy.

“—Nero, kick him.”

Nero, using his non-injured foot, immediately did so in Cid’s shin while wearing a gleefully malicious grin. Cid shouted.

-

“Carby’s a good boy,” Synnove said automatically, the tone of someone who had made the argument before and likely would again. “He’s strange, but he’s a good boy.”

Cid looked at her incredulously. “Just last week you were screaming about having to rummage in his void storage again for your aether chalk and how he was gnawing on your shoulder in retaliation!”

“Carby is not a good boy, Carby is halfway between a constructor-kit outer entity and an unshackled artificial intelligence.”

“He’s not that bad.”

“Yes he is!” Cid and Nero snapped in unison.

-

“What the hells was that even for?” Cid said, leaning back up against the work table to pick up his leg and rub his injured shin.

“Your eyes glazed over as I went on a brief aetherology tangent!” Synnove bellowed. (The twins made oooooooo Uncle Cid’s in trouble~ noises.) “I will not have it! You might be an engineering protoyping savant, but your aetherology theory is shite! You have lived in Eorzea for fifteen bloody years, learn some!”

“Your grand idea for overcoming the first line of aetheric defenses of the Crystal Tower was to throw a bloody rock at it.”

“It has been four years, are you ever going to stop harping about that?”

“No!” Nero and Synnove snapped in unison.

-

Very slowly, Synnove turned her head to look at Nero, practically frothing at the mouth and his hands curled into claws as he grasped at air, and Cid, now aggressively cuddling a wrench he had gotten from one of his pockets like it was a comfort object. Deliberately, with precise enunciation, the arcanist said, “Please tell me I am not the only one who is hearing that harmonic as an approximation and not whatever it is my child is actually saying.”

“I know what those words mean individually,” Cid said. His grip on his wrench was white-knuckled. “I may even know what those words mean together. I am not ready to accept that. And I am most assuredly not ready to know whatever it is they are actually attempting to convey.”

“Blargle,” Nero agreed.

-

“Congratulations,” Nero said icily. “You have mothered two more constructor-kit outer entities. If the fabric of reality unravels any time soon, I am blaming you.”

-------

A Drop of Birch:

Aymeric shook his head, fascinated and astonished and awed all at once. “Sewing her own scarf and hat, and making her own syrup, as perfect as anything produced by the finest chefs in Ishgard,” he said. “She’s truly a remarkable individual, and that persistence will serve her well in bridging the divide between man and dragon.”

There was a very peculiar, familiar gleam in Synnove’s eyes as she sat up, vibrating with excitement. She opened her mouth—

Aymeric pointed his spoon at her and said, in the strict tones of the Lord Commander, “We are still not adopting her.”

“Aymeric!” His ladylove’s voice was pure affronted whining.

“No.”

“But—”

-------

“Signs”:

Tataru pointed at her fellow pinkette now. “I want to know what that hand sign you’re always using is,” she said, only the faintest slur present in her voice.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific than that, honey,” said Rere, lifting her mug to take a deep glugging pull. “There are so many I use to trash talk or gossip with, after all.”

Tataru forced herself upright, bracing herself on her elbows, and held her hands in front of her face, wiggling her fingers. Thancred propped his chin on his hand, raising his eyebrow. “Oh, I think I know the one,” he drawled. “That has to be one of the lewd ones.”

-

Rereha paused and tapped her chin. “Sometimes,” she said, finally. “Mostly, however, he’s a gremlin.”

At this, she held up her closed fist, then extended her forefinger and pinky as far to the sides as she could, the rough approximation of the round body and wide, pointed ears of the chattering voidsent.

Alakhai walked by at that moment, heading for Dawn’s Respite, while she carried a dozing Alphinaud piggyback. “Talking about yourself, Rere?” she said, eyebrows raised as she caught sight of the lalafell’s hand.

“Queen of the gremlins, that’s me!” Rereha cheered, throwing her hands up, and sending Thancred and Tataru into fresh peals of laughter.

--------

“The Lady of the Manor”:

(“You can misbehave after you’re married,” Da would have said at the end of such a lecture, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, while Mama threw up her hands in defeat.)

-

“You have dined me,” Synnove said, setting her glass down on the low table, emerald eyes locked on his. “You have wined me. You have treated me to fascinating conversations about the history of Ishgard and your own family—and I mean that genuinely, dearheart. I’ve enjoyed every moment of tonight.”

He grinned at her and did not bother to hide the pride that puffed his chest.

“But there is one thing I would like to do tonight, especially since Alakhai is babysitting the carbuncles and we’re not likely to be…interrupted.” She propped her chin on her fist. “A tradition perhaps not conducive with those of Ishgard—or, well, Ishgard’s high society.”

“And what would that be, my love?”

“I want to make out with you like we’re a pair of teenagers.”

-------

“A Cruel Arcanist’s Thesis”:

“Cidolfus Garlond,” Synnove said, still looking up at the G-Warrior, her voice full of malice, “did you refurbish an Allagan warmachina and not invite me over to the Ironworks to help?”

Cid froze mid-sentence, eyes widening as the full scope of what he had done—or, better to say, had failed to do—finally registered. Silence descended on the group as they all turned to look at first Synnove, practically radiating affronted rage, and then Cid, gone paler than his shirt; the Warriors of Light watched in anticipation, the Ascian hunters in mild confusion. Rereha took out a bag of candied nuts from her pocket, opening it and shoving a handful into her mouth, chewing as she watched.

“Um,” said the engineer, gaze darting around frantically. “Happy nameday?”

“You sit on a throne of lies, my nameday is next moon and you know it,” Synnove said, pivoting on her heel to look at him. Galette yawned, finally waking up from her nap, looking around in confusion. She paused when she saw her mama’s expression, ears going back, and immediately hopped down, bounding over to Alakhai and pawing at her knees. The Xaela bent over and scooped the carbuncle up into her arms, letting the construct flop around her shoulders with a dramatic huff.

“Cid,” Heron said gently, reaching towards Synnove, “I will give you five seconds.”

Cid bolted. Synnove lunged forward, but was halted by Heron clamping down on Synnove’s shoulders. Heron’s arms noticeably noticed tensed as she held her sister in place, while the arcanist screeched in rage as she struggled against the Hellsguard’s sturdy grip.

And then, after five seconds, Heron let Synnove go.

Synnove tore after Cid, hollering at the top of her lungs, “DID YOU LET NERO IN ON THIS? I SWEAR TO THAL IF SCAEVA GOT HIS HANDS IN ITS GUTS BEFORE I COULD—”

“I DID NOT LET NERO ANYWHERE NEAR THE ALLAGAN WARMACHINA!”

 “WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU, YOU LYING LIAR WHO LIES?”

 “IT’S NOT RED!”

-

“Fuck no,” said an aghast Rereha, “I’m gonna die at the age of forty-five of combined liver failure and heart attack with my face buried between the thighs of a high-class courtesan after drinking twice my volume in Bacchus wine and coming sixteen times the night before.”

A beat of silence.

Two.

Three.

The former Black Wolf closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose before he slowly let the breath out again in a heavy, sighing gust. “I had to say something,” he muttered, tired and resigned. “I knew better and I had to say something regardless.”

-

“Surely,” Gaius said, mild exasperation in his tone, “there are better ways of assuring oneself of the physical health of one’s scientist friends than this?”

The Hellsguard turned and arched an unimpressed eyebrow as she stared down at the former legatus. “You say that,” she said, “as if you yourself haven’t staged false emergencies to get your own flock of nerds to exercise and acquire fresh air.”

Gaius growled something in Garlean under his breath that sounded an awful lot like, Nero talks too much.

-------

“They Grow Up So Fast”:

“Do you mean Ehll Tou?” he said. He barely held back the relieved laugh.

“YES!” she wailed again, still face down against his shoulder. “Hautdilong came by and said it had been days since Ehll Tou had gone to the Churning Mists to share her sandwiches with her friends and she should have been back and he was worried and I was worried and so I went to Zenith to find her and deliver the hammer Arvide made for her and one of her friends said she wasn’t ready to be seen and what did that even mean—”

Aymeric ran a firm hand up and down her spine and murmured, “Sweetheart, breathe.”

Synnove sucked in a deep breath and let it out again, shakily. “—and I gave the hammer to Ehll Tou’s friend to deliver but I wasn’t going to leave until I saw Ehll Tou myself and then Arvide and Haudtilong arrived because Hautdilong had gotten so worried and then Ehll Tou finally came and she was BI-I-I-I-I-I-G.” The last word came out as one of those heaving, hiccupping sobs, drawing it out to multiple syllables.

He fished a handkerchief from his pocket and pulled away just enough to offer it to his lady. “Blow,” he said, fond.

-------

“Breaking Point”:

“I AM YOUR DAUGHTER, NOT AN INVESTMENT!”

-------

“Strings and Things”:

Lucia tapped the Watch commander’s shin reprovingly with her foot beneath the table. Hilda tapped back. Lucia nudged her more firmly. Hilda responded in kind.

“Ladies,” Heron said drily, glancing over her cards, “before you get involved in a game of footsie, please recall my legs take up most of the room here and I am not keen to be caught up in one of your public displays of affection. Again.”

Hilda sniffed in disdain, though Lucia at least had the decency to look abashed as the two resettled back to their card game.

-

“Buggering shite,” Hilda growled, reaching for the deck. “Ruthless, vicious, definitely cheating—”

“It’s why you love me,” Lucia quipped.

-------

“Arcane Diagnostics”:

“Synnove, have you seen my WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS.”

Synnove didn’t look up from peering through her magnifying glass. “No, Cid, I have not seen your what in the Seven Hells.”

“Fuck you,” Cid said with only a touch of heat. “What the hells have you done to my garage?”

“All right, first, it’s not your garage—”

“It’s Jessie’s, yes, I know, get new material.”

“—and second I have done nothing to it except commandeer it for my use.”

“Then explain the use.”

-

“I would like to remind you,” Cid said, in the sickeningly saccharine tone of someone about to savor some serious schadenfreude, “that A’khebica designed Carby to be self-programming.”

--------

“Points of Light”:

“I’m sorry, but that’s definitely a dick.”

“For fuck’s sake, Rereha.”

“Listen, if you want me to be more descriptive, I can tell you whose dick I think it is.”

Heron moaned in pain, covering her face with her hands. Alakhai started cackling, quiet and whispery. Synnove reached over Alakhai to whack Rereha with her pillow, but the lalafell quickly ducked into her bedroll with her own strident cackle to avoid being hit.

“You’re my little sister!” Heron said from behind her hands. “Stop putting those images in my head!”

-

“Aye,” said Heron, voice only a little slurred. “And who needs a perfect world, anyhow? That’s boring. Just have a couple of sisters at your side—or brothers if that’s how that turn about the sun goes—and things will turn out just fine.”

-------

“A Languorous Start”:

“We weren’t exactly quiet last night, my lady,” he drawled against her temple, “either here or in my office.”

“If anyone was loitering that close to your office or your rooms,” she said imperiously, “then they were being voyeuristic busybodies and should have minded their own business, or gotten laid elsewhere.”

-------

“Fedarloh Fulltouch Chalk”:

Somehow, Synnove’s expression became even stonier. “You have ten seconds to give me my chalk.”

“Or what?”

“Or I tell Aunt Angharad.”

Neither Synnove, Halulu, nor Nero blinked, but between one moment and the next, Rereha was holding out a small wooden box, right beneath Synnove’s nose. The Highlander stared down at it, eyes crossing to bring it into focus.

-

“How does she not break bones more often?” Nero said as he chewed the last of the popcorn.

“We’re fairly certain Hydaelyn likes her best,” Synnove said, absently petting the box containing her chalk and actually crooning wordlessly to it for a moment. Then she frowned, brow furrowing, and glanced up to stare at Nero with narrowed green eyes. “Where did you come from?”

“I arrived about when you were chasing Rereha around your office like a particularly demented game of cat and mouse,” Nero said, brushing his hands clean.

“…That didn’t actually answer the question I asked, but I’ll allow it.”

-

Synnove opened the box and removed a single piece of chalk, still unused, took three strides to stand in front of him, and shoved the chalk beneath his nose. “Smell it,” she said imperiously.

He looked askance at her, but knew better, and took a derisive sniff. He did not sneeze, and at that realization, his eyebrows ticked upwards.

“Touch it,” Halulu said.

Nero touched the stick of chalk with a single finger, and Synnove used the opportunity to hand it over to him. His eyebrows raised further when she did so.

“Kiss it,” Synnove said.

“I beg your pardon—”

“Kiss it,” both arcanists hissed, auras of palpable malevolence flaring to life around them. A knife suddenly glinted in Halulu’s hand.

Wide-eyed, and definitely knowing better, he obeyed.

“That,” said Halulu, in her usual cheerful tone of voice, knife vanished to whatever metafold pocket it was normally stored within, as he drew away with a moue of distaste, “is the motherlode.”

“It is,” Synnove said dreamily, “the best chalk produced anywhere on this star. Ever.”

“It’s rarely breaks.”

“It leaves almost no dust behind.”

“It writes so smoothly, like with ink on paper.”

“It’s impossible to write a false theorem with it!” Synnove gushed, then paused. “…All right, that one’s bullshite. But. It is absolutely much more fun to write out the latest drivel produced by Radz-at-Han when it’s time to poke holes in all their research.”

-

“Who’s your dealer?” he said waspishly.

“That is privileged information,” she said primly, crossing her arms, chalk box still in hand.

He glared venomously at her, teeth audibly grinding, before suddenly grinning, vicious and pleased and knowing. “Shall I tell Rammbroes you said hello when I pay him a visit? The Sons are currently the only organization operating outside the Sharlayan homeland that isn’t on the Forum’s shite-list.”

-------

“Decisive Battle”:

“You rebuilt and refurbished an Allagan warmachina AND DIDN’T INVITE US!” Synnove bellowed.

“The nerve!” Nero said, waving a wrench for emphasis.

“The audacity!”

“The betrayal!”

“Oh my gods, I will throw you both over a cliff,” Cid said, rubbing his temples.

-

“And, truly, Garlond,” said Nero, “I cannot believe you passed on the opportunity to enact poetic justice and use the VIIth’s own tricks against them by means of deploying a primal-infused weapon against their forces.”

“No, no, that is a trap,” Cid growled, jabbing a finger into Nero’s chest. “Not when the basis of their work is partially your research. I am not falling for your false flattery.”

Nero sniffed and smacked the other Garlean’s hand away. “Please, their synthetic auracite system is an abomination, even you could do better with the original Ultima Weapon’s blueprints on hand.”

Cid’s face turned a fascinating shade of red as he gaped at Nero, hands flexing in the manner of someone who desperately wanted to strangle the person before them. Synnove muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, Point to Nero.

-

“…Your carbuncles are terrifying instruments of wanton violence and destruction,” Nero said, staring at Ivar, “which speaks volumes about your actual levels of relative sanity and inherit bloodthirstiness.”

Synnove put her hand over her heart. “That is the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” she said, genuinely touched.

“I hope the next explosion you set off burns away your eyebrows and at least ten ilms of hair.”

“I hope the next time you get Thavnairian, the kitchen serves you the spice demon bowl and not the spice wuss one.”

-------

“Worst Case Scenario”:

Finally, Lucia came to Synnove’s room. Unsurprisingly, Aymeric had gone there straightaway, and when she arrived, the man was sitting as close as possible to Synnove’s bedside, holding her hand so that he could press his lips against her knuckles as Synnove slept, his other hand gently stroking her hair. Ivar was curled up on Synnove’s feet, but he raised his head as Lucia came into the room and, like his sister, chirped hello.

Lucia gave his ears a scratch before going to stand beside Aymeric, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. He sighed deeply and murmured, “We put so much on them and expect even more, and then to see them laid low…”

“They well knew the risks of the adventurers’ path,” she said softly, “and it speaks of their courage and conviction that they have never faltered, even when the path forward is difficult. They will get through this, with the help of each other, and us, and all the rest of their friends.”

-------

“Mothers and Daughters”:

The arcanist shook her head to clear it of cobwebs, and warmly smiled at the woman. “Oh, no harm done, I always get lost in my head when I’m deeply involved in mathematics,” she said, to which Dulia-Chai sighed in relief while her ears relaxed. Synnove tilted her head and grinned a little wider. “Would you like to join me?”

Dulia-Chai smiled in return. “I would like that very much, thank you. I have my own work to be doing today while Chai-Nuzz is at the old Stoneworks offices, and I find it easier to stay focused when I am with like-minded individuals.”

Synnove laughed and leaned over to shove aside her grimoires so that they only covered a little less than half the table, rather than three-fourths. “Far less likely to be bothered here than at the Parlor, too, I imagine,” she drawled.

The miqo’te rolled her eyes as she slid onto the bench, setting down her things, opening a ledger and her folio, and beginning to spread out papers before her. “Heavens forfend that a woman enjoys some tea and biscuits in the sunshine while she balances the books!”

-------

“Stormsong”:

When the lalafell came to a stop before him, he grudgingly said, “Lieutenant Reha.”

“Ooooh, that’s Captain Reha now, Sergeant,” Rereha said, just shy of cackling.

Valdeaulin nearly dropped his pen. “Dear good gods, why do they keep promoting you?” he said in disbelief.

“Mostly to make me someone else’s problem,” she chirped, easily hopping up onto a stack of crates next to him. The dragonet in her arms croaked reproachfully as it was jostled, but she merely patted it on the head and continued, “I think the plan is to get me high enough that it forces Grand Marshal Brookstone to retire already. I am also, apparently, quite good at getting the job done even if it means someone goes prematurely grey from shock, mortification, or both.”

“That sounds like a quote,” he said.

Rereha held a finger up to her lips in a ‘shush’ gesture, smirking, and waggled her eyebrows.

-------

The Color of Home:

Synnove turned around once more and frowned herself as she took in his expression. “What’s wrong, love?”

There was no use lying. “Is something different with you?”

The frown turned into a playful smirk, amusement sparking in her eyes. “Darling, do I need to be a hypocrite?” she said, leaning back against the counter and crossing her arms, one eyebrow ticking upward.

“Considering how often I’m one regarding your own sleep and work habits, ‘tis only fair.”

Synnove laughed, his favorite sound in all the world, and said, “You work too long and too hard sometimes, my Aymeric. But, yes, I’ll grant you this: there is something different. Can you tell me what it is?” Her tone was light and lilting and dripping with mischief.

----

End of the Year Writer Meme! (Number 2 still left!)

[miss-tc-nova]

A SOLDIER’s Memories - Cloud Strife x Fem!Reader Pt 8

Ah, I love it!

ALSO CONTAINS MAJOR SERIES SPOILERS...Then again, if you don’t know already, what the heck?

Part 8: Frailty

                Cloud’s been acting a little odd since our duel at the Gold Saucer. Granted, we’ve been through quite a bit of hell since then so I suppose I should clarify that Cloud has been acting odd around me. I don’t like it. I catch him often staring at me while in the midst of conversations with others. He’s increased his attempts to interact with me or at least put up with my antics. Of course, even in my ridiculousness, I ensure that there are clear boundaries drawn in the sand—there will be no personal bonding time; we’re “work buddies” now, not the love struck teens we used to be. And I will not let my brain convince me he’s the same when he’s not; I don’t need that.

                I strut out of town towards the airship, kind of excited to show off my prize to the group. I hop up the steps and walk through the airship, singing, “Lookey lookey what the SOLDIER Queen brought back! Oi, Cid! Bring us some glasses!”

                I set the crate on a desk as people gather around.

                “What’re you yellin’ about?” grumbles Cid.

                Reaching into the box, I hold up a bottle. “Your queen doth provide.”

                Tifa peers into the box, a grin on her face like I knew there would be. “Is this what you’ve been getting into all morning?” she scolds playfully.

                I shrug. “More or less. There was a monster problem and now there isn’t. They couldn’t afford to pay me though and insisted I take this.” Opening the drink in my hand, I take a swig. “I normally would’ve said no, but I’ve heard talk that you’re one hell of a bartender.”

                I spot Cloud coming into the room but before I can focus on him, Barret reaches into the box. “Damn, I knew I liked you SOLDIER.”

                “You threatened to off me on multiple occasions,” I quip.

                He points at me. “That’s ‘cause you a threat.”

                “Damn right. Now let’s drink!” I push the youngest of us away. “Not you, Yuffie. You’re a minor.”

                “Aww!”

                Tifa starts pouring out glasses and everyone gets to drinking, except Yuffie and Cait Sith; even Red has a one. This is the lightest any of us have been in a long time, just as I hoped.  

                It’s dark out. Most of the alcohol is gone and several members of our squad are out cold or have retired to bed. It’s only us girls and Cloud but he’s sitting quietly in the corner while we chat away.

                “Hey, what’s this?” Yuffie asks, digging through the box and retrieving a piece of paper. She turns it over, revealing several numbers and a name scrawled across it. “Ooo. It’s a phone number. You’re naughty,” she teases.

                “Is that how you really got us these drinks?” Tifa joins in.

                This is an awkward subject and I kind of want to go back to talking about Barret and Marlene. Still, I go along with it. “No way. Though he was hinting really hard that he’s free tomorrow night,” I laugh, taking another swig of my drink.

                “Maybe we can talk the others into staying another day. I think you should really consider going to see him.” I know Tifa’s just trying to look out for me, but I’m absolutely not interested in romance right now.

                This is where I make my mistake. My automatic response comes out of my mouth before I can think about it. “Nah. I already got a boyfriend.”

                Cloud’s spit take from the corner mirrors exactly how my brain is now panicking.

                Why did I say that?! I’m such an idiot!

                After the Nibelheim Incident, the reply had truly been an automatic response, but as time went on, I came up with this unrealistic hope that if I continued to say it, it would be true. That sure backfired on me. Anyway, I lost all desire to invest in any new personal relationships so I never curbed the habit; men that dared approach me were quickly put down with that statement. If they weren’t, they needed extra special explanations and I don’t want to go into that. I’d done so well in keeping these people, no matter how much I like them, at a distance, but now I’ve finally slipped up and it might be the worst mistake I could’ve made in front of them.

                “Cloud, are you okay?!” Tifa shouts. The choking man holds up a thumb. I curse his resilience just a little when the two females turn back on me.

                Yuffie puts her hands on my knee, bouncing in her seat. “You have a boyfriend?! What’s his name?! What’s he like?!” She’s a gossip depraved teenager.

                I can’t contain the heat of embarrassment and fear rising in my face. “Sorry, no! I-I misspoke.”

                She puffs out her cheeks. “What do you mean you misspoke?”

                I stare eat the amber liquid in my glass, thumbs running along the rim while my brain attempts to regain composure. I guess I couldn’t hide everything from them forever. Full of nerves, I answer truthfully, well almost. “Well I…had a boyfriend. But he’s gone now.”

                “Wait! When did you date? Where is he now? What happened?”

                Dammit Yuffie! I just need her to shut up before I strangle her. “He died.”

                Instantly, the atmosphere in the room goes south and the girl is no longer all that eager, just as I hoped. “Oh. I’m sorry…”

                After attempting to lighten everyone’s mood, I have successfully ruined it for those of us in this room.

                “What happened?” asks Tifa softly. I wish she hadn’t.

                I heave a sigh. “It was years ago, before I met you guys and I was still in SOLDIER. He was an infantryman working for Shinra too so we ended up working together a lot. Then one day…we went on a mission that didn’t go so well.” My fingers slip around the pendant hiding my dearest memories, the thoughts burning against my fingers. “I know I should’ve let go by now, but I just can’t bring myself to find someone else.”

                Tifa rests a hand against my back. “Hey, different people grieve in different ways. He must’ve meant a lot to you, so it’s okay that you still miss him.”

                Yuffie’s got far less tact. “So what was he like?”

                I didn’t want to share any of my life with these people; I haven’t shared it with anyone in five years. But somehow, in this moment, I can’t help talking about him. A smile sneaks onto my lips. “Heh, he definitely kept me grounded. He could bring me down from any fury within minutes. Got me out of plenty of sticky situations and we argued all the time, but it was never serious. Just for fun, ya know.” Gods, my heart aches, but these were the happiest moments of my life. “But he was always so sweet and would do anything for me. His hair was so soft and I could’ve spent hours looking into his eyes. The way he smelled was always so comforting. I just…” Against my will, my eyes flicker to the blonde. “I miss him.”

                There’s silence and I can feel the seams I’d welded together so tightly beginning to crack. I went further down the rabbit hole than I meant to. Before I break, I need to get out of here. I give my head a shake and set my unfinished glass aside.

                Putting on my usual guise, I stand and say, “Okay, I think that’s enough for me.” I hate that look they’re giving me. Still, I smile. “You guys have fun, but don’t stay up too late. I’m gonna go crash.” Nobody says a word; all just staring at me with a mix of awe and sympathy. “What?”

                Tifa answers with concern. “You’re crying.”

                I blink in surprise, realizing that my vision isn’t as clear as I would’ve declared. Now I’m definitely in trouble. I clear my eyes, bringing back my mask. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

                The bartender stands. “Maybe you should hang out with us a little longer. We can keep you company.”

                “No. Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.” I’m not, but I’m not going to show her that. My muscles strain to maintain my composure and steady breathing and these damn tears keep trying to escape. I need to go. “I’m just gonna get to bed. I worked hard for that alcohol, you know.”

                “Are you sure?”

                “Yeah.” With a brief way, I head for the rooms. “See you guys in the morning.”

                Just outside of the room, I pause, stuffing the screams back down. I can hear them.

                Yuffie mutters, “I’ve never seen her cry.”

                Tifa agrees, “No, even when Aerith died. She was sad, but she didn’t cry…”

                More tears fall. Dammit!

                I head quickly for my room, desperate to lock the door and hide away, hide my shame and misery. Just as I reach for the handle to my door, a hand grabs my wrist and pulls me back around. There’s no time; the tears just keep falling and I don’t have time to hide them from the very cause of it all.

                “Cloud?” He can probably hear the grief in my voice, but I try to stay calm. Pulling from his grasp, I wipe at my face. “What’s wrong?”

                The man just stands there, staring down at me with a look of pure pity that I loathe. I don’t want to see it, let alone from him.

                My words come a bit more sharply this time. “What? What is it?” When I still don’t get a response, I turn back to my room, but again he stops me. This agitates my anger and weakens my control on my tears. “I don’t need your fucking pity! So if you don’t have something to say, you can fuck off!”

                Those words get promptly thrown right back in my face. Cloud reaches out, his cool, calloused hand brushing some of the water from my face.

                “I’m sorry.”

                For a moment, it’s him and it shatters everything. My willpower breaks and I bury my face in his chest, hands desperately grasping at his shirt. All control goes out the window as I sob. At least I might retain some dignity; Cloud moves us from the hallway and into my room. I’m sure he’s uncomfortable, but he still sits on the bed with me, letting me fall to pieces. His presence, his embrace, his heartbeat, all of it makes this whole thing so much worse, but I’m far weaker than the persona I’d built to hide it all. I can’t bring myself to let him go or push him away. I’ve held onto this despair for so long it’s overwhelming; so I’ll take advantage of his presence at least for now.

[aliceslantern]

Retribution, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, chapter 15

Newly a person again, Ienzo is weighed down by guilt and his humanity. He's prepared to do whatever it takes to atone... only to find unexpected solace in a familiar face. With more insight into the bonds between people than ever before, Ienzo reaches for a dangerous element from the past to help Kairi and Riku in their search for Sora. What is his life if it means saving another, brighter light?

Chapter summary:  Ienzo has to decide how to move forward.

Read it on FF.net/on AO3

---

When Ienzo woke up he could breathe.

The intubation had been removed, but his throat ached. He was in the med bay again. It hurt to move.

He sat up slowly. Demyx was fast asleep in a chair nearby, his body awkwardly folded onto it, a blue blanket spread over him.

“Ienzo?”

He looked over and saw Aerith. She approached him and took his pulse. “I’m sorry about this,” he said hoarsely.

“How do you feel?”

“Alright--I suppose.”

At the noise, Demyx stirred. “Hey, you’re awake.”

Aerith sat at the foot of the bed. “The good news is that I was able to heal the damage to your heart and lungs. But… on the other hand, Ienzo, all of that healing is going to unravel the moment you use that power again. You’ll go back to being unable to breathe without support. And likely other organs of yours will begin to fail.”

“...I see.” He still felt a bit breathless. “Thank you for your help.” He was oddly numb.

“It’s lucky Demyx was with you,” she said. “Otherwise…”

“It would have been fatal,” he said in that numb voice. “Quite.”

Demyx seemed numb too; his face was blank, his eyes haunted.

She smiled sadly. “As long as you don’t use that power, you should begin to bounce back and recover. You’re young, and healthy, otherwise.”

“I see.”

She squeezed both his hands. “I’ll call and check up on you in a few hours,” she said. “Get some rest.”

She left. For a moment it was silent. “How’s your… breathing?” Demyx asked in an odd voice.

“Back to normal, more or less,” Ienzo replied, equally as stunted. “I must apologize for that. Not very flattering.”

“Not very--” Something broke the numbness. “You almost died, Ienzo. You almost suffocated. Do you know what that felt like to see?”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Truly, I am.”

“So much for this not killing you,” he said sourly.

“I’m going to stop,” Ienzo said, more to the blanket tucked around his legs than anything. “I promise. I’m going to stop.”

“I want to believe you,” Demyx said.

Ienzo looked at him. He could feel tears in his eyes. “It is very clear that this is doing nothing other than being dramatic and destructive. I’m not helping anyone. The power’s not strong enough to do any good--it only will kill me. I used to be fine with that. I used to want that. But now…”

Demyx took a few steps towards him and drew Ienzo into his arms. “There are other ways you can help,” Demyx said.

“I certainly hope so.”

The door opened and in came Even. His face was washed out, and his eyes were bloodshot, but his expression was resigned. “Might I have a word with Ienzo? Alone?” he asked Demyx.

“...Sure.” He squeezed Ienzo’s hand one last time and then left. Ienzo looked at his empty hand, wanting nothing more than for him to be back, knowing that Even was very likely about to tell him off.

Even perched on the edge of the bed. He’d shed his lab coat, and the turtleneck underneath was a little shabby. “How are you, child?” he asked in a soft voice, the same that had comforted him as he cried.

“Dazed. Disoriented. Humiliated,” Ienzo said softly. “I…”

“I could not help but overhear your conversation. You truly desired death?”

“You accused me as such.”

“Yet--to hear it aloud is all the more jarring.” He touched his temple. “I’m afraid emotions make me… feel quite stupid.”

Ienzo dropped his eyes. “Every day the guilt was eating me alive. It still is. I felt like a wretch. Like--of all the people to have died, why did I survive? Without the distraction of my work, I, as a person… was not worthy of the life given to me.” He exhaled. “Clearly all I was capable of in the past was mayhem and terror. I figured if I could die doing something worthwhile, then…” He trailed off. “I didn’t even fully know myself that was my goal for a while. But if it’s any consolation--I’m giving up.”

Even’s eyes were glassy. “Are you?”

“Yes. You needn’t manipulate Demyx into coercing me.”

Even winced. “I still don’t understand this match, at all,” he said softly. “But clearly he is giving you something no one else can. Something that you need. I would be a fool to ignore that.”

“He’s changing. He’s growing. I hope I am too.” Ienzo felt his eyes watering, again. The implications of it all were starting to break over him. He’d very nearly died. He knew it was a human response to be shocked and afraid about it; he was hardly going to react to a near-death experience with Zexion’s cold indifference.

“You are,” Even said softly. “I must insist after all this that you take some time to yourself. No work… nothing strenuous. I’m sure you’re feeling quite a lot.”

“You’re not mad?” Ienzo asked.

“Moreso… terrified of losing you. But now I know how you feel. And we can talk about that. You have so much to offer, Ienzo. Just because you cannot do this one thing doesn’t mean you are lacking worth.”

The tears ran over. “What am I to do?”

Even wiped away the tear. “Go back to this new project of humanity,” he said.

“I have to atone somehow.”

“And you will,” Even said firmly. “Of that I have no doubt. But if it helps… Ienzo, you were a victim of all this too. One of the best ways of atoning is healing.”

“What of you?”

“What about me?”

“Are you healing?”

Even looked startled. “A loaded question. I’m afraid… I have quite a lot more sins I’ve committed. But I will do everything in my power not to waste this life. I’ve spent enough time faffing about. Getting rid of Xehanort is one thing… cleaning up the fallout, another. But it is work that must be done. Work that I… want to do.”

“And things with Ansem and the others?”

“Will mend if they are meant to,” he said, wrinkling his nose. “It is difficult.”

Ienzo sighed.

Even patted his hand. “Get some sleep,” he said. “This will all work out for the best. We have to trust in the ways of fate--it’s gotten us here so far.”

“What of the science?”

Even laughed. “Well. We all know what our science has done, yes?”

Ienzo reached forward to embrace him. He couldn’t pretend it didn’t feel awkward to do so, but he was just feeling so exposed, and in an odd way heartbroken. He needed to be soothed.

Even rubbed his back in circles. “We’re going to figure this out.”

---

For several days Ienzo just felt tired. Tired, weak, and sad, too. As he tried to sleep the memories poked him behind the eyes like hot needles--all the things he’d done, all the things that had been done to him. He woke up sobbing more than once and had to be comforted. In a way, he felt like a child, his emotions washing through him thickly without the barrier of his work.

But a child’s heart could grow, and bit by bit, he did.

He spent time with Demyx. Running packages, going out to lunch. Walking. Talking, a lot. Ienzo wasn’t sure if it was the near-death experience, or the difficulty of letting go of his research, or perhaps because of how vulnerable they’d been with one another, but the words were spilling from him without his permission. He found himself telling Demyx about his past, his biological parents, the experimentation. About how it felt to die and then, what seemed a second later, wake in a whole new self. How, on one hand, he had twelve years of Zexion's memories, but on the other he'd essentially gone from eight to twenty in a single breath. In all this, Demyx just listened patiently, holding his hand tightly.

He went to the restoration committee, offering himself for whatever might need to be done. Ienzo found himself looking through engineering plans, doing heavy admin work and helping proof Cid’s codes. The man was, in his own way, also trying to help Sora, building a model of him to function in simulations. Helping in this tertiary capacity soothed Ienzo’s conscience.

Once he was physically stronger, he and Demyx spent a lot of time in bed, getting to know one another’s bodies. In this all, something real seemed to be emerging. They talked about the future; where they might go and how they might get there.

“You’re going to do great things and I’m going to help you get there,” Demyx said. “Relax, Zo. We’ve got time.” Sometimes Ienzo would sit with him as he composed music, his fingers deftly weaving stories from sound.

Ienzo tried to write his own story.

The first few attempts actually just made him rawer and more emotional still. He snapped easily and cried at stupid things. But letting go of these emotions only served to ease the weight of dread in his breast.

Everything was, so slowly, looking up.

He should’ve known it wouldn’t last long.

[crystalliccs]

                   CHANGES OF MANNERISM.          His feelings about sealing himself away &          the years between his awakening and the travel to the First -          essentially leading to how he now behaves.                        _______________________

G’raha Tia was widely known as an eccentric scholar of the Students of Baldesion ere he sealed himself away inside the Crystal Tower, a few years before the Scions and their Champion were summoned to the First. He was somewhat carefree, playful and mischievous, fitting of one of merely twentyfour years albeit he indeed possessed great knowledge of the lost civilization of Allag. Fond of ancient tales since his early childhood – more likely due to his inheritance of the Royal Eye of Allag – he often brooded over a book, sang old tribal songs or honed his very skills in archery which he deemed necessary to strive to be similar to these heroes of eld. As mere boy he often struggled; having low-esteem due to possessing the cursed eye and his small silhouette; but soon enough, after leaving his tribe, this greatly changed in some aspects. He indeed became quite confident – perchance even somewhat arrogant even – in his own individual abilities which has shaped over the years, whether it was about the general knowledge of the Allag or his proficiency with the bow, alas this suddenly changed upon meeting with the Warrior of Light for the first time. Realizing that such strength was far beyond his reach, he reconsidered his former approach.

The awakening of the true strength of the Royal Blood inside his veins through the allagan clones Unei and Doga and their sacrifices inside the World of Darkness changed his view on the world forever. Whilst he was still baffled and honored to come to know someone like the Warrior of Light – a true hero in flesh and blood – he had long realized how foolish he had been acting over the years. Seeking his true purpose, his very destiny ever since childhood to explain why he had been condemned to possess the sanguine hue, he had taken the wrong steps; so he realized. Nevertheless they ultimately led him to this very place where he could fulfill it. Learning the very truth that some heroes might be lost to history forever, that even the smallest sacrifices could change the entire course of a star, he settled upon a new path. Lest his friends attempt to stop him he immediately begun to chase everyone outside the Crystal Tower as soon as he returned from the World of Darkness.

Back then, merely twentyfour years of age, he decided to cut ties with the outer world for the sake of the greater good, knowing of the Crystal Tower’s true purpose of becoming the beacon of hope for mankind. The countless whispers and voices, visions of a long forgotten past, started to haunt his memories - giving him the guidance he had sought. Nonetheless it was difficult to simply let go of his entire existence; to know that once he would open his eyes again everything would have changed – if he ever did at all. And still, after pondering all his life why he had to bear the very sanguine eye which had often give him naught but distress, he knew this to be the only way. It certainly would be a bold lie to say that the crippling feeling of fear would have not crawled inside his limbs in the final moment when he closed the Gate – the many unspoken regrets he had and now simply ignored. G’raha did not allow himself to falter for even a moment – and when he finally closed his eyes for the final time, he reminded himself that this needed to be done, that he had to be as brave as the heroes of eld. That he had to be as brave as his friend, the Warrior of Light, was.

When he finally emerged from his slumber, all he once knew were long dead. He learned much later, from people who were descendants of those who took over Cid’s lifework, that they needed the Crystal Tower’s stored energies to be able to utilize those plans and theoretical models Cid had created during his lifetime. Suffice to say, the information given about the Eighth Umbral Calamity and its consequences – the death of the known heroes and in particular his friend – were hard to swallow for one who could remember their names and the faces of the Warrior of Light as if he had merely slumbered a day. To him it did not feel like several decades; more like a blink of an eye. There was much too learn; much to consider and to let go – and too little time. The condition of the Source was already on the brink of absolute destruction and chaos, just like the Ascians had planned.

These times were challenging for the young man, seeing the world’s end with his very own eyes; the deaths of many – but he also saw the spark of hope in their eyes, listened to the stories who had endured the centuries just to ease their suffering only for a little. Taking a particular interest in the accomplishments of his old friend, the Warrior of Light, he studied their heroism while providing assistance to the researchers of their time. The stories kept him sane over the course of several weeks; it reminded him of his resolve to see this through till the very end. Also for them - those who had believed in him; who could no longer fight for themselves. Those weeks had hardened and shaped his personality in a way not even the journey alongside the Warrior of Light had; ultimately leading to G’raha finally letting go of any feelings and regrets he had while slumbering inside the Tower. There was no place for them, quite frankly.

It took him a few weeks to come to such conclusion; a few weeks in which he mourned for those who had died – for his friend who had fallen -  and also in which he allowed his heart to be filled with doubt. Pondering if he could have made a change if he had not done what he had, only to realize not soon after that there would have been no difference at all. That with the destruction of the First, as researchers enlightened him, the outcoming would all be the same. In this short time he matured further, bearing the heavy burden of an entire world’s hope on his shoulders. The Crystal Tower was essential to their plan to travel across time and space; and he was the only one who could help them to achieve this project – as the last with allagan royal blood. Fearing for his life among the other survivors who relentlessly worked to change their fate, he attempted to keep his memories of his former life dear; merely allowing himself to dwell in these happier times to remind himself what he was fighting for.

And despite his best effort to not feel anything – to not feel any regret – he could never truly shake off the feeling of utmost sadness thinking about the Warrior of Light. Their image constantly appeared in front of his inner eye, also whilst listening to starving children midst rubble and chaos, desperately clinging onto these stories his friends had experienced. This was the sole secret he took with him as he travelled to the First; the only remaining feeling he allowed himself to possess bearing the knowledge that his life would end as soon as his duty was fulfilled. No one needed to know what made him as strong; and he did not need to be remembered.

As he arrived in the First for the very first time – an entire century amiss the complete destruction of the shard – he has scarcely seen more than twentyfive years of season’s change, albeit his conscience was long old and filled with the burden he had carried over. He carried over the plan he came for; concealing his identity as it was easier for his conscience – for himself – to not let them participate in his life; particularly since he had melded with the Crystal Tower’s being to outlive time itself and prepare for what needed to be done. The moment when he laid his hand upon the cold crystal in the very heart of the Syrcus Tower he had known there was no going back – that he was giving up his entire humanity for the greater good. And how gladly he gave it; even with a smile whilst memories flooded his heart once again.

Becoming one with the ancient structure made him close to immortal – at least for the time being – enabling to live without food, even without sleep. No longer possessing his humanity, having sacrificed it, he immediately founded the Crystarium, leading its inhabitants on their path for almost an entire century.

G’raha – or how the people of the First call him: the Crystal Exarch – had lived more than a lifetime once the Warrior of Light is finally summoned and has watched over people like a guardian. And whilst he certainly had made small mistakes in the very beginning, being too young and still laying down his naivety, he used every fragment of time, every given second, to accumulate as much knowledge as he could. As odd as it was not to feel any desires of the flesh – having no need to rest his eyes or to occasionally eat – he spent many years reading in the remaining books who had survived the Flood of Light; seeing, reading and hearing more than anyone else of his true age would.

Emotionally almost completely numb, shredded by those horrifying things he had seen in the Source ere he travelled to the First and the burden of the world of the First on his shoulders, he very rarely indulges into former hobbies of his anymore. And, despite having utmost respect for anyone inside the Crystarium, he never held anyone dear anymore; not as much as he loved to see mankind survive at least – with the exception of Lyna, who he fostered ever since she was very young. But despite their relationship – close of a grandfather and granddaughter at that time – he did not even let her partake in his life and secrecies. Mayhap this was the only true time he indeed felt fear - to let anyone get too close to his heart when he was already more dead than alive. 

He never spoke of his homeland; never of those who had sacrificed himself, of those who had died. He never spoke of those he had loved and lost. This behavior, which he had kept ever since he had arrived to the First, made him appear secretive and even stoic – differently from his behavior before he sealed the Tower away or once he awoke. All of these feelings, the memories were safely hidden away deep inside lest they may be discovered at some point and made him falter. Ultimately, and he was well aware of this, he would sacrifice his life for the Warrior of Light and to save the world – without revealing his identity, without speaking to them again like the very time when he was young and naïve. Truly, he had always been reckless enough now - selfless. And now till the end of his days he could not allow himself to ever follow his own heart or indulge in his own desires. This was who he had decided to become in order to save their world and also his own home. And if his life was to be given to achieve as much, he so willingly would give it - even if it meant to suffer till his final slumber.

[per-ineptia-ad-astra]

starhearth: episode seven

Third Month of Spring, Days 3-4

The early morning calm of the next day is rather abruptly shattered by the arrival of, of all things, an angry feral bear.

[ID: A screenshot of a notification box reading “Feral Bear Approaching!”]

OH SHIT FERAL BEAR GET IN THE CAR

I don’t know why this particular godless killing machine has formed a grievance against us, but apparently it has, so the warrior squad charges forward to defend the settlement.

[ID: A large brown bear standing next to the crop fields as Chekov, Kirk, and Leslie charge toward it, each carrying a wooden shield and sword. The information box reads, “Brown Bear—It seems quite angry...and big! Attacking Pavel Chekov.”]

Surprisingly, despite the rather poor odds one would usually give three guys with wooden swords and one guy with a book versus one large, angry bear, the squad manages to take out the bear pretty handily. There’s some health lost all around, but not so much that McCoy can’t take care of it. For their trouble we get a couple cuts of prime bear meat, plus Kirk levels up.

[ID: Kirk, Leslie, and Chekov walking away from several animal pelts, bones and pieces of meat left where the bear died, while McCoy stands in the middle surrounded with gold sparkles as he casts healing spells. Each of them has a heart representing their health floating above them, with a quarter or third of the heart missing. A notification box in the upper right reads, “James Kirk, Log-Splinter has achieved Footman Level 2!”]

oh yeah I forgot he still had that title

With that excitement out of the way, the crew goes to eat breakfast, while McCoy chases them down with a hyprospray healing spells.

There are still a couple more promotions to hand out. For one, it’s time for Spock to assume his true calling: fashion.

[ID: Spock, now wearing blue tunic and square blue hat, walking away past the berry bushes while Kirk and Leslie patrol behind him. The message box on the side of the screen reads, “Spock has been Promoted!--Spock is now a Level 1 Weaver!--Standard Catalog: The Weaver can now make basic hangings and décor.”]

Spock’s looking glum this morning, and his new job doesn’t seem to have raised his spirits any. It’s probably Sarek’s fault somehow.

Speaking of Sarek, he’s going to get a new job too: Mason. Masons are a crafting class that make items out of stone; they can make a lot of the same sorts of things as carpenters, so we haven’t badly needed one so far, but we need one now to make the promotion item that will allow Rand to become a chef. Why give the job to Sarek? Because he’s...um...he’s...look, I don’t really have a reason at this point. We just needed a Mason so he’s gonna do it. Maybe it’ll be a good experience for him. Build character, and all that.

Spock and Sarek both work on making their crafting stations. Meanwhile, a bitter disappointment occurs: someone eats the basket of cherries before Chapel can level up enough to use them. The worst thing is, who eats the cherries? Chapel herself. CHRIS. CHRIS HOW COULD YOU.

Well, so much for the cherry bushes.

Once they’re finished, I put Spock and Sarek’s crafting stations on either side of the room, so they don’t have to work next to each other. Spock starts spinning some thread, while Sarek makes some stone lanterns to light up the place a little; it’s kind of gloomy in the tavern at the moment.

Two more goblins attempt a raid on the camp. As usual, one of them makes a run for the stockpile while the other one is keeping the squad busy, but they both go down in the end. You know, if the goblins just asked, I’d be perfectly happy to negotiate a mutually beneficial trade agreement with them, but no. There’s no option to do so, so all we can do is keep whacking ‘em.

After harvesting another load of carrots and turnips, Rand makes it to level two. She’s now able to promote to a Chef—we just need Sarek to get another level so he’ll be able to make the promotion item.

Now that the tavern is completed, it’s time to start work on making some actual houses for people to live in, since while the current sleeping arrangements are better than what they were, no one’s all that thrilled with them. First, though, we’ll need some wood. The orchard out back hasn’t quite grown up enough yet, so Chapel goes up to cut down some trees from the nearby cliffs, with the squad accompanying her in case any wild animals decide to attack. This does result in a bit of a delay, as Chapel decides to stand around and chat with Kirk for a while before getting to the job.

[ID: Chapel, standing among some blocks of wood in front of a few trees, talking to Kirk. Chapel has a dialogue bubble with an ellipsis in it floating above her, while Kirk has a thought bubble containing a crossed knife and fork.]

While that’s going on, we get a surprise visitor. It’s Mer Burlyhands, our liaison back at the capital who’s been sending us letters by bird. He’s come by in person to see how things are getting on, and seems impressed...for some reason.

[ID: A message box titled Not a Bird This Time, with an image of a hearthling with pale skin and brown hair and beard above the upper right corner of the box. The inside of the box reads, “Kind greetings! At last, I can see your Settlement in person. You’ve developed even faster than I anticipated, you should all be proud!” Below this are the options “Thank you!” and “[skip] We know what Hearth we want.”]

It seems that Mer has come with a decision for us to make:

“I came out personally to help you on your last step towards being a true Settlement of the Ascendency! You’ve grown large enough now that it’s time to choose what Hearth shall represent your town, as is tradition.”

Tradition? “Indeed, Hearths have served as shining beacons for Towns all the way back to the Phoenix Empire. Their glow attracts settlers and prosperity, and the particular qualities of a chosen Hearth reflect where a town finds its value.”

Value? “For instance, a Hearth of Cheer is for those who believe that a town’s value is found in being a happy home for its citizens.”

Sounds quaint. “A Hearth of Makers, on the other hand, is for those who believe that a town’s value is in its work, and that its work is best measured in gold.”

Sounds productive. “Finally, a Hearth of Glory is for those who believe their destiny is to stand strong in a hostile world, as the Knight Cid did at the founding of the Ascendency.”

Sounds heroic. “Cheer, Glory, or Makers—the choice is entirely yours. Envision what your Town will one day be, and follow that beacon into the future!”

So, basically, whatever Hearth we choose will give us a permanent beneficial effect of some sort. I’m going with the Hearth of Cheer, since our other choices are bloodlust and capitalism. The Hearth of Cheer boosts our daily net worth depending on how happy the villagers are, and gives a random buff to all the villagers ever day. We don’t get it automatically after choosing it, though. First you have to fulfill some requirements; for the Hearth of Cheer, this means that all the villagers have to have a mood of at least Content, at least five of them have to have a mood of Merry, and we have to have twenty items of prepared food. Once we actually get a Chef making the food will be no problem, but meeting a requirement of having everyone be in a good mood might take quite a long time with McCoy around.

So for now, getting the Hearth of Cheer will just have to sit in the quest log for a while. In the meantime, there’s work to be done. Sulu has also leveled up, which gives him the ability to plant silkweed, a plant that can be harvested for fibers. We’ll need that if Spock is going to be able to actually make anything, so Sulu and Rand start planting that in the turnip field. (We’ve got enough turnips for the moment.)

With enough trees felled to supply the stockpile with the wood we’ll need for the first house, the ladder up the cliffs is taken down and the squad returns to their regular patrol. Not a moment too soon, either—there’s yet another goblin attack. On the plus side, this gives Leslie enough experience to reach level two.

As the day ends, work begins on laying the foundation for the first house.

[ID: The partially completed floor of a house laid up against a corner of the cliffs, with part of the floor transparent to show that it hasn’t been placed yet. Sarek is walking across the finished section, holding a block of wood.]

[dewbond-blog]

Shallow Dive: Fate Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel II. Lost Butterfly

This shallow dive is going to be a bit different because to discuss this movie the way I want to, I have to get into major spoilers of the film itself and overall plot points of the main Fate timeline. So before the cut, I’m going to list off the main points that people will probably want to know about the flick, then get into more spoiler stuff afterward.

This movie is absolutely amazing and Ufotable has done it again. Well worth the wait and is the payoff we needed.

Yes, this movie has a “sex scene” in it and it is done in a tasteful way that strikes a perfect compromise between adaptation and tribute to the original visual novel. I expect a bit more skin in the blue-ray release. I applaud the director for having the courage to acknowledge the O.G Fate visual novel.

Illya’s role in the route has been scaled back significantly so far. Obviously, the director wanted to have the entire focus be on Sakura and Shirou. I (and I’m a huge Illya fan) agree that this was probably the best way to go. I’ll have more to say on this once I’ve read the Heaven’s Feel route.

There is only one real action scene and while it is animated BEAUTIFULLY, it is a bit hard to follow sometimes.

This movie, along with Presage Flower is absolutely not for first time Fate Fans. I said that in the last review, but it goes double here. You need to have at least watched Fate/Zero and Unlimited Blade Works to fully enjoy this film

Alright, after the cut let’s take a dive into the second movie of the Heaven’s Feel trilogy: Fate Stay Night Heaven’s Feel II. Lost Butterfly.

I once said that I believed that it was Illyasviel von Einzbern who was the “great tragic character” of the Fate Franchise. After watching this movie, however, I feel I might have to eat some crow on that. While Illya’s own history is rife with and loss tragedy, it is not the raw naked nerve that is the history and life of Sakura Matou.

Sakura may be the third heroine of the Fate route, but she has been a character that has been criminally underused in the greater Fate Universe. Simply put, before this movie she didn’t have much to make her stand apart from the other two heroines. Saber is pretty much the mascot of Fate with her iconic design and fighting abilities, while Rin Tohsaka has slipped into the shoes of Final Fantasy’s Cid and is the most recurring character, as well as being one of the best female heroines in anime. Sakura, however, doesn’t have much going for her aside from being the “quiet kouhai with big boobs”

Until this movie.

If you’ve watched Fate/Zero you have a gist of Sakura’s history: the little sister of Rin who was given to the Matou family to be raised as a magus, because the mage laws forbid any family from raising more than one magical heir. While her parents in Fate/Zero attempt to justify this by saying that it was to protect her, Lost Butterfly reveals that their giving of Sakura to the Matou family pretty much doomed their youngest daughter to eleven years of absolute hell.

Lost Butterfly may tell the story of the holy grail war spinning out of control because of the mysterious shadow, it is really about revealing the absolute horrors that have been put on Sakura. In the span of this two-hour movie, we learn that Sakura has been subjected to numerous magical tortures, physically and verbally abused by her grandfather and brother, and worst of all, subjected to the repeated raping and sexual assault by Shinji, who loathes Sakura for usurping his place as the Matou family heir.

All of this has, in turn, made Sakura become withdrawn and emotionally dependant on Shirou the first person who has ever treated her with kindness. What’s worse is that the arrival of the Holy grail war and the rampage of the mysterious shadow is beginning to unravel the final defenses of Sakura’s sanity. Combined with the holy grail war causing Rin, who is apparently indifferent to Sakura, and Shirou to work together and grow closer, this risks taking away the one thing that Sakura has left. By the time the credits roll and the final levee has broken, we see that Sakura has fully embraced her darkness and will be ready unleash a tide almighty rage upon anyone in her way. This entire movie can be seen as escalation after escalation into madness until finally there is nothing left but an unfiltered rage of a woman who has learned to treat the world the way it’s treated her: Pure Hatred.

Frankly, there is so much I want to talk about with this movie, because despite being excellently paced (aside from maybe being a bit too rushed at the start) there is just so much that happens, and all of it so different from the previous route Unlimited Blade Works. One of the best things about Fate Stay Night is that the three routes help fill in corners that would have otherwise been neglected in a single story. Feeding in the subtext and character development from other routes helps fill out the characters that play only supporting roles here. Most notable for this is Archer whose path in Heaven’s Feel differs wildly from his start turn in Blade Works.

Then there is Shirou who is probably at his strongest as both a character and a man in this film. While Blade Works served as a rebuttal to the very idea of Shirou’s Dream, Lost Butterfly shows what happens when the weight of real life comes into conflict with it. Seeing Shirou make the choice to put Sakura over his dream, to abandon his desire to be a hero of justice to protect her, and support her is deeply moving and made, even more, better when you feed in everything from Blade Works into his personality. While I still think Rin and Shirou make the strongest couple, his relationship with Sakura is done extremely well and hits all the right notes perfectly.

And there is so much more. The dream sequence (oh the fucking dream sequence), Gilgamesh, The fight with Assassin, Saber, Rider’s role, everything to do with Shinji. All of it could be posts on their own, and none of it feels forced or tacked on. Ufotable and the directors have pulled off an amazing feat here, juggling multiple balls and being able to handle it with the skill of a master. If there is any minor flaw, it is that Illya’s role is again, significantly reduced, but if that was the price to pay for everything else to work, then I pay it gladly, and I am HUGE Illya fanboy.

I could go on guys, but Fate Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel II. Lost Butterfly is not only one of the best anime films in the last five years, it’s one of the best FILMs I’ve seen in that time. It is a success story in every which way, and while not perfect (nothing is) it is solid final proof that Fate Stay Night is more than just a cash cow franchise that lives off waifu figurines. I absolutely cannot WAIT to watch it again and to see everything come to together in the final installment Spring Song, next year. If you are a Fate Fan, don’t miss this movie.

[teamcalamity]

Okay, newbie. Let's move!

A new competitive season has started, Opus VIII is about to launch and Team Calamity has a blog... BOOYA!!

If you want to see more variety than a dialogue with Squall, topics that hit harder than Sephiroth into the back of a flower girl and tips more useful than Vaan's point in the story, then this is the blog for you.

In this first article we thought it might be best to introduce you to some of the team who will be regular staples on here. Hopefully this brief insight will help put some of their upcoming content into perspective.

First up is our resident judge - Mitch.

How did you first get into FFTCG?

It was a dark time in my life; I had just finished one of my favourite TV series for the 15th time and worst of all I had a piece of apple skin stuck between my teeth. There was no light at the end of the tunnel.

I received a call from the UK Champion (but not world) Peter Sherratt, he spoke to me like a true champion with grace and honour “you alright dickhead?” he told me that he had just gone to a new comic book shop, the infamous Calamity Comics. Peter knew I always had a creepy girlfriend affection for Final Fantasy and our recent card game was now just an OTK shit show. So we thought let’s give it a go.

Pulled Bahamut legend, fire seems strong; I bet this card will be good for a long time, 10000 damage AND removed. Peter got Foil Light Cloud. This card is also future proof, if there’s one thing I know about card games, is that removal is key and this has it in spades…

From that day I was hooked, scratching at my arms for the next fix of spoilers, tapping the vein, breathing FFTCG and dealing with my new addiction.

What style of play do you favour?

I like to win, but more importantly I like to be a smug prick and to do this, I love my combat tricks. Nothing lifts the table up on my side more than doing something your opponent cannot see coming. I also love removal and drawing cards so if someone could explain to me how to play earth that would be great. Thank you.

Biggest hype of Opus 8?

While all the cards aren’t out yet, I am especially excited for Lunafreya, the stuff that she can enable; it means your opponent will not want to kill off some of your best forwards. That said this will all change depending on the new Garnet, if there is one.

Peter - the 2018 UK Champion (not world)

How did you first get into FFTCG?

I played yu gi oh at the time and I saw FF being sold at Calamity Comics in Hatfield.

Eric the store owner said they were doing a tournament on Friday night's (an attempt to remove the magic the gathering crowd) .

I had played FF7 and I've never liked mtg so sounded like a win win for me. All that was left was to convince mitchell to go with me to hold my hand through it all.

Didn't take long to convince him and off we went to go purchase some cardboard crack. First pack I opened....foil Cloud L!! Wooo

First deck I played was fire ice. We didn't have a clue what we were doing but got it after a couple of goes.

Mitch went home that night to learn the rulings. It became an obsession of his for a while. He would wake up in the middle of the night about illegal plays the night before.

What was even better was we convinced our mates Joseph and Azlan to join also. Fucking great game. Needs more cleavage though.

What style of play do you favour?

I really like all 3 of the main tropes. They all have a special place in my heart because of the decks ive played with.

Mono wind has generally been a control deck. Midrange ice is tempo. Discard ice is quite aggressive.

I'm gunna vote for tempo. After a short amount of set up I do love using dull freeze or discard mechanics for those cheap easy wins. It's like eating 20 mcnuggets. You know it's bad but it feels so good.

Biggest hype for Opus 8?

Sherlotta, Fina, Alexander, Lasswell & Time Mage.

The one I will talk about is Time Mage though because I honestly think it's perfect for what ice needs right now.

Wind earth is an awful matchup where we can't choose Zidane, get fucked by big daddy etc etc. So we're investing 5cp for a huge tempo swing. Huge. I'm a big big fan. It's a multicard too so extra copies may be played.

Mono ice will return with a vengeance!!!

Rich - Team Calamity's synergy specialist.

How did you first get into FFTCG?

I have zero history of playing card games, so my interest in FFTCG was purely as someone who had played nearly every game released under the title, who just fancied trying it out. I bought the starter decks on release date to gauge if it was something that I was going to stick with, and pretty soon I was part of the Opus I stock disaster, hunting the shelves of every Toys'r'Us in driving distance trying to find packs (I'm not proud to admit that). Two and a half years, and many £'s later, here I am writing my first blog post after years of being a lurker on the fan page.

What style of play do you favour?

I have always run decks that I find genuinely fun to build, play and tweak. Sometimes that means I run stuff closer to the meta, and sometimes I run more obscure decks. The vast majority of decks that I run revolve around combo cards such as Yuri/Chelinka/Alhanalem or Seifer/Raijin/Fujin. Nothing turns me on more than the text "If you control card name "X"".

Biggest hype for Opus 8?

Just give me 3 Lasswell in foil. I love that the card has been made with a specific purpose in mind (Fire/Ice deck), and all 3 abilities feed into what those elements want to achieve. I'm not quite sure how best to make Lasswell work, but I'm sure someone much smarter than I am will find a way to make him a beast!

Tom - Blog editor, specialist subject the 'Tombo Combo'

How did you first get into FFTCG?

I got into the game by chance around Opus 4. I'd never played a TCG before but out browsing for a cheap PS4 game in the January sales I spotted Cloud and Squall booster packs in the bargain bin at a local game shop. A Final Fantasy card game, what even is that?! Went home, googled it, rushed back the next day, bought the lot and ordered all the starter sets. I still remember opening my first packs and getting so excited by how many shinys I was getting, like one in each pack, I must be so lucky! Next step a venture to Calamity as the only local place to play. I didn't win a game for about 2 months but was having the best time!

What style of play do you favour?

I like to do things differently so for me I'm all about the meme life and unashamedly so. I like to shy away from the meta (to my own detriment) as I get much more enjoyment from doing things myself and if someone tells me something is shit, it just makes me want to play it more. That said I still believe you can meme and be successful and hope to go someway to proving that this competitive season (here's to 0-X at every major tournament this year)

Biggest hype for Opus 8?

Not seen the full list yet but I'm buzzing for the new FF7 starter deck. I'll probably look to take the Earth parts into an Earth/Fire setup maybe utilising the new 15 characters if space. For me a big part of enjoying the game is using characters I actually know of and love so this should fit nicely. I've also got some ideas for a Fire/Water rush style deck and a new Opus launch wouldn't be complete without me trying to make FF8 work (where are you Cid Kramer!).

I hope this is the set where things really open up and we don't see the same few decklists dominating the circuit.

Team Calamity's OP runs every Friday from 7pm at Calamity Comics in Hatfield (North of London). You can also follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook (teamcalamityfftcg) or contact us on email (teamcalamityfftcg@gmail.com). Alternatively just write anything on the FFTCG Fans Facebook page, Team Calamity's James Stevenson will no doubt comment on it.

[zenruption]

Traits Mindful Men Seek When Dating

Add to Flipboard Magazine.

By Jerry Mooney

Is she tall and angular? Curvy? Stately? Perhaps a professional? Rich? A good cook? Any number of adjectives can describe various ways in which a woman can be attractive to a man. Is attraction merely superficial? Does character matter? Do opposites really attract? Here I will examine some of the less obvious traits mindful men look for in women?

Much of the time these criteria boil down to a person’s emotional IQ or their spiritual IQ. These terms are typically thrown around in work contexts, but are good reference points for interpersonal behavior.

Before describing some of the traits we look for, I will examine a few of the telltale traits we avoid. These are typically mirror traits, like we avoid mean people and we look for nice people. But sometimes there isn’t a clear opposite.

Bullies:

I don’t mean a date who would slam you into a locker at your local junior high. We can all agree that would be a person we wouldn’t want to date. But some of the more subtle traits of bullying are major red flags for mindful men. For example, I went on a first date with a woman who seemed like a real candidate. I appreciated her health consciousness and we had vegetarianism in common. In an attempt to impress me, I suspect, she insulted a fellow restaurant patron for ordering a steak. To me, the insult was more offensive  than the steak. Being mindful is very personal, and even though being mindful also means wanting to influence change, our inward journey shows us that you cannot affect positive change with negative behavior like bullying, force or insults. Needless to say, this date went sour fast.

Tardiness:

Now this doesn’t have to be an iron clad, telltale red flag, but there are some people who are chronically late. This signifies that they are inconsiderate, either of other people’s time or how much time they need to be punctual. When it is a pattern then there is underlying disrespect. It can also signify an inability to transition, i.e., go from one place to another. That can be endemic to a static personality, someone who resists change. Cell Phone Gawkers: If you must have your cell phone omnipresent, explain that something important, like a potential emergency brewing. Otherwise it comes off as disinterested and self absorbed.

Traits Mindful Men Look for:

Politeness:

If you are eating with a date and she’s rude to the waitress, ABORT! How you treat a stranger is a window into your character. If you perceive a waitress as subordinate or inferior, you don’t display your superiority, but instead a lack of grace.

Grace:

Grace is hard  to define, but it is obvious when it is present. It’s also obvious when it’s not. Complaining, condescending (that means talk down to), or being confrontational are all displays of a lack of grace.

Grateful:

Thanking your date for taking the time to get to know you might seem like an obvious thing, but if you feel entitled to have someone go out, perhaps buy you dinner etc. this comes across badly. Even if there is no interest in a second date, why not make  the best of the one you’re on? (this is does not mean feeling obligated, merely thankful for the opportunity.)

Confidence:

Confidence is still. Dates can be stressful and cause us to be nervous. That’s understandable, but how is your general demeanor? It’s easy to say that confidence is attractive, but what does confidence look like? Confidence is not boastful or demanding of attention. It is still and stillness attracts.

The sincerity of their spiritual walk: We are all at different stages of development with regards to enlightenment and synching up exactly is less important than the sense that you are both equally committed to the path. Sometimes the pace changes and accommodating that change is especially easy if you know you are going in the same direction with the same intention.

Pace:

One of the most underrated elements of dating is pace. People don’t like to be rushed or strung along and it’s difficult to find someone who is interested in taking the same pace as you. That’s a clue as to where you are with relation to the other person. Perhaps it’s a right person wrong time, type situation. But we are all in various stages of enthusiasm and healing. So expecting someone to go beyond their comfort zone merely creates stress instead of advancing a potential relationship. Someone might be ready to jump into a monogamous relationship with both feet, while another might be enjoying the variety of meeting lots of new people for the first time. Neither is wrong and both have potential matches out there. In any case, being mindful is also being patient. Enjoy the here and now. Trying to create the then and there, is not only a turnoff, but a sign that you might need some time alone.

Order what you want:

Wait, shouldn’t I restrict myself to the less expensive stuff on the menu if he’s paying? It’s understandable that you might want to order something inexpensive on a first date. This can be perceived as considerate, but when you order what you want regardless of expense you send the signal that you get what you want. It’s confident and it aligns with the  perception that you deserve good things. Now, if you order a very expensive bottle of wine just to test the situation, that could be stretching this too far. But order what you want. It also gives true insight into who you are, which is honest. This also is a signal that you believe in abundance, rather than scarcity. This can be an important insight into how you look at life.

Some of these traits may seem abnormal, but the mindful man is carving a new path and reinventing the male stereotype.

Feature photo courtesy of Flickr, under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license

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Jerry Mooney is co-founder and managing editor of Zenruption and the author of History Yoghurt and the Moon. He studied at the University of Munich and Lewis and Clark College where he received his BA in International Affairs and West European Studies. He has recently taught Language and Communications at a small, private college and owned various businesses, including an investment company that made him a millionaire before the age of 40. Jerry is committed to zenrupting the forces that block social, political and economic justice. He can also be found on Twitter@JerryMooney 

[silverwings22]

Song of the Sea: Chapter 17: Stolen Kisses, Pretty Lies

Chapter warning: attempted sexual assault, explicit smut, alien sex, profanity, death threats Series warning: explicit smut, alien anatomy (it's a monsterfucker fic, guys), major character injury, grief, canon typical violence, autistic meltdowns, and my terrible attempts at Mando'a.

Previous Chapter:

Next chapter:

After her night of performing for Cid’s patrons, Shiani had become a little bit of a star around the Parlor. Locals recognized her, and she was quite well liked. Too much, Tech thought after a third night in a row of her being offered drinks by the crowd of barflies. She always turned them down or offered them to the guys, and Cid had started just taking the guys money and giving her half for sitting at the bar drawing them in. Shiani had an assigned stool now, right by Cid listening to the trandoshan tell her stories about her old hustles, and was quite pleasant for being constantly annoyed by the customers flirting and her general distrust of Cid.

"You're staring a hole in her." Hunter flicked a straw wrapper at Tech as the rest of the Batch sat in their back booth, keeping a lookout for her and having nowhere else to really be anyway. It was getting late, and the sergeant was considering packing it in for the night. Omega was starting to doze off.

"I am only keeping watch for her safety." Tech muttered. "I have no reason to trust anyone in this bar with her well-being."

A particularly stubborn zebrak that had been flirting with Shiani was back, offering her a drink once again. Tech saw her shake her head politely and try to get back into conversation with Cid. 

"He's stubborn, I'll give him that." Hunter smirked, Omega tucking herself under his arm as she started to get tired. "What do you think, kid? Think he's gonna ask Shiani out?"

"He did yesterday." She mumbled. "She said no."

"That persistence is concerning." Tech frowned. 

"Not everyone takes rejection as well as Shiani." Echo shrugged.

Tech groaned. "Is this going to be a constant topic of discussion? My reasoning was sound. I cannot fail what I do not attempt.”

Omega yawned into Hunter's ribs and looked up innocently. "But Tech, you already tell her you love her sometimes. So what’s the deal?"

“I do?” He blinked at his sister curiously.

Omega nodded, holding her hands up and making three squishing gestures. “Three squishes. It’s code for I love you. I saw you do it before.”

Tech blinked. "... is that something she told you?" Shiani had been giving him “squishes” since the war started. Had she loved him that long?! If so, they were well past the theoretical time in which resentment should have built by now. If anything, he was doing better than he had been on Kamino. At least now he could see her daily…

"Kinda." The little girl smiled. "Back when we were getting Ruby."

Echo smirked slightly. “Oh, so about the time I heard you calling her cyar’ika. I told her what that means, by the way.”

Tech looked around at his brothers, who were all smirking. “This has been going on longer than I realized. I… may not have considered all the variables." He finally said faintly.  "I need to talk to her."

Hunter nodded, getting out of the booth and picking Omega up. "And you need to go to bed. After you brush your teeth. I don't know what you and Wrecker were eating this afternoon, but I still smell sugar all over you."

She giggled as he took her back to the ship. Echo smiled after them. "He's turning into a dad."

"It's funny." Wrecker agreed. "But, uh… Shiani just walked out. So you might want to get on that quickly. She’s popular now, what if she goes out with someone else?" He and Echo vanished, leaving the genius with his many thoughts. He got up and headed to her usual, now empty seat. Cid was washing glasses behind the bar, so he tapped the counter to get her attention. "Where is Shiani?"

"Said she was going to the fresher. She was in a hurry, so I figured I'd watch her stuff." Cid shrugged. “She brings in a lot of customers, and a lot of credits.” 

Tech scanned the area, realizing that the bothersome zebrak was also missing. "I see." His stomach was churning. Had she given in and agreed to give this guy a try, or was he following her?

The freshers were around back, so he pocketed her datapad and headed that way. Just as he reached the back hall, he heard the siren's voice. "Please just leave me alone. I told you, I’m not interested."

"C'mon, baby. I'll show you a good time."

"I’m not your baby. Please go away." She sounded upset, and Tech peeked around the corner. 

Shiani was hemmed up against the wall, squirming away from the whisky-breath of the much taller male. He was catching her face between his fingers, too rough with her, as she tried to wiggle away. Tech knew she could have physically gotten loose, but he also knew Shiani. She didn't know if it was appropriate to defend herself, out of her depth in the surface world. She worried about overstepping, or embarrassing herself in this strange new world and froze whenever she was unsure or uncomfortable. When he got a good look, her eyes were huge and darting left and right. 

She was scared. 

"Let me go now please." She squeaked, trying to pull her face loose from his grip. “My friends won’t like you bothering me.”

“They didn’t notice you walked out. Must not be good friends.” He smirked. “I’ll bring you back to them in the morning.”

“Let me go!” She pushed her hands up, trying to shove him back with her hands. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them against the wall behind her. She opened her mouth to scream, but he yanked her head up and slammed his mouth onto hers. 

He tasted of ash from stale cigarras and the bitter tang of alcohol. She instantly hated it, knocking her head against the wall to get away. This was not the kind of kiss she'd read about or wanted. It didn't feel special or make her happy like Echo and Wrecker said it would. It just made her feel sick, because he wasn't the right person. He wasn't Tech. It was supposed to be Tech or nobody. 

Her tentacles slammed into his stomach when she finally fought back with her strength, hard enough he hit the opposite wall, and she scrubbed at her mouth with her hand. "Not supposed to be you!" She yelled, blue rings popping up and her fangs bared. "You’re not-"

"Shiani!"

"-Tech…" Her fury died in her throat and she turned a flushed blue when she heard the clone’s voice.

He had his blaster out, an absolutely lethal look on his face and one hand held towards her. "Shiani, come here. You, do not move." Tech didn’t even remember when he drew the blaster, but he wasn’t about to forget the horrified look on Shiani’s face when the creep put his hands on her. Or the sick, jealous feeling in the pit of his stomach when he’d seen the zebrak’s lips touch hers. The siren darted to his side immediately, and he moved her behind him. "I’m sorry, Tech. I didn’t-"

"You did nothing wrong." He cut her off before addressing the definitely drunk zebrak. "While I have no doubt that she could have killed you and been within her rights to do so, she did not. So let me make myself abundantly clear. You will leave. You will not return to a Cid's Parlor. And if you see Shiani ever again, you will not address her or touch her. If you do so, I will shoot you on sight. And I am a very precise shot. Are we clear?" 

The man nodded, hands up. “You can fucking have her. She’s cuter with her mouth shut, though.”

 Tech took a step back, pulling Shiani even with him. "Go, before I change my mind about shooting you."

The zebrak raced past them and out. Once he was gone, Tech holstered his weapon and looked at Shiani. His expression softened, and the hand that had been firmly on her shoulder moved to her cheek. "Are you hurt?"

"No… I’m okay." She whispered. "S-sorry. Shouldn't have left the bar… just trying to get away without making him mad…" Her eyes started to water and her hands came up over her mouth.

Tech wiped her tears with his thumb. "Shh. You are safe." He assured her in an impossibly gentle voice. "Do you want to go back to the bar, or to the ship?"

"Ship, please…" She whispered. She could hide her humiliation in her room at the tailgun. 

He nodded, keeping a hand on the small of her back as he guided her to the Marauder. The bunkroom door was shut, and Omega was not in her room. Hunter must have let her crash with him, anticipating a need for a private conversation between Tech and the siren. 

She sat down on her cushions and scrubbed at her eyes unhappily. Tech sat beside her, trying to figure out if what he wanted to say was going to make her more upset. 

"Sorry." She finally mumbled again. "I know you don’t like it when I cry…"

"It is an emotional outlet. You do not need to worry about my comfort." He sighed. 

"Can't help it. I always worry about what you think. And you saw… that." She hung her head. “I feel disgusting… I didn’t want him to touch me, but I didn’t want to get in a fight…”

"I should have noticed you were gone from the bar more quickly. This was not your fault."

"But it's gone Tech!" A fresh wave of tears started and she couldn't get them to stop. 

He blinked. "... What is gone?"

"First kiss. All the stories say it’s special. It’s supposed to matter, and you remember it forever. I just want to forget, though." She hung her head. "He tasted like smoke and liquor…"

Tech paused. "Is that what you were saying, when I intervened?"

"Yes." She wrapped her tentacles in loops around herself, not looking at him. "It wasn’t supposed to be him. Supposed to be… no, nevermind.."

"I would like to hear it." Tech urged. He knew what she was going to say. He should have known it years ago, but he’d been to preoccupied with trying to maintain what they had that he’d forgotten things could be improved. 

"It was supposed to be you." She whispered. "Or nobody at all."

Tech sat with that for a moment. "May I propose a solution?"

"How can you fix this?" She gestured vaguely, finally turning her head to him. 

"While I cannot undo what has already occurred, I was initially looking for you to discuss our previous conversation on the topic. I… may have acted without all available data." He pushed his goggles up his nose. “It was brought to my attention that you have been using a secret code to indicate your feelings for far longer than I realized. Which means if you were going to come to resent me, you would have done so by now.”

She sat stock-still, hanging on his every word once again, like when they'd been alone on Kamino. "Omega told you?"

"She did. Apparently I have been answering without realizing it for a while now." He smiled a little, slipping his hand down her arm to catch her hand and give it the three squeezes he was accustomed to. It was the first time he’d responded knowing what it meant to her, but he meant it. "While I cannot give you back a first kiss, I would be delighted to make up for it in numbers."

She swallowed hard and nodded. "Please?"

"Come here." He shifted so he was facing her and patted his thigh, encouraging her to slide into his lap. 

“This is a different kind of touching.” She said cautiously. “You don’t like things changing.”

"In this scenario, and with you… I do not mind. In fact, I am looking forward to it."

She hesitantly let herself slip into his lap, her thighs over his and knees folded on either side of his hips. The plastoid of his armor was cool and hard, but she didn't mind when his arms settled around her waist and pulled them chest to chest. He lightly tipped her chin up, careful with her where the last touch had been harsh. "You have pretty eyes." She said softly, honest and smiling shyly. "I’ve always thought so."

"My actual eyes, or my glasses?" He chuckled, letting his gloved fingers stroke her cheek. 

"Yes."

He leaned in, pressing gentle lips against hers. It was sweet, almost feather light, and when he pulled back she found herself chasing his lips with her own. Tech laughed again. "I take it that you like this?"

"Yes." Shiani breathed. "Kiss me again?"

"Of course." This time when their lips met, he cupped the back of her neck and pressed a bit harder. She squeaked into it and his tongue slipped into her mouth, careful of her fangs, and coaxed her to reciprocate. It only took a little encouragement to turn heated, both of them having tried to ignore the desire for far too long.

When Tech broke for air, his goggles had fogged up. "Shiani… If you wish to continue this, I have a confession."

She smiled dreamily, licking her lips like she was trying to coax him back to her. "Mm?"

"There is very little data on your species… I am not entirely certain of biological compatibility or if you even… what I mean is, I am not sure how this is supposed to work or…ah, if sirens…"

She giggled. “Have sex?"

"Yes." He flushed. "While there is clearly some way your people procreate, I was unable to find anything to indicate how or if it was done for other purposes…"

Shiani nodded. “We make love just for love, not just babies.” Her head moved to his shoulder, tucking her face into the crook of his neck and nuzzling against the collar of his blacks. “In this form, it’s not too different from humans.”

Tech raised an eyebrow. “I was unaware you were familiar with human intimacy.”

She giggled again. “Your brothers told me what kisses were, so I looked them up. They lead to other things sometimes.” 

He almost laughed along with her, and the sheer ridiculousness of realizing she’d probably be looking at porn like an anthropologist trying to understand humans. “Are those ‘other things’ something you’d be interested in?”

Shiani nodded, peeking up at the curve of his jaw from her spot on his shoulder. “You weren’t the only one who wanted it. I just didn’t have anyone to tell.”

Tech tipped her chin back up and kissed her once more, shifting to lay her down in the middle of the bedding. “Do not hesitate to tell me if you are at any point uncomfortable.” He murmured against her mouth before sitting up to remove his armor with his usual military precision. She watched him, not quite sure where to put her hands and suction cups, until he’d stripped to his blacks and was climbing back next to her. He leaned back against the gunner's seat and once again patted his thigh. 

This time she was eagerly climbing into his arms, letting him arrange her so she was straddling him. His hands lighted on her hips, moving her exactly where he wanted her. When he found the right angle, he guided her pelvis to grind against him. 

Shiani held tight to his shoulders and buried her face in his neck as she gasped, heat pooling in her core with every pass. The friction of their clothes, his strong arms holding her, and the faint groan right next to her ear was sinful. She'd wanted him for so long… her Tech was finally holding her like she'd dreamed about. 

Tech was delighted with her demanding, needy sounds. He knew where on a human body he could stimulate, but with Shiani it was all an experiment. And he loved experimentation… he turned his head to carefully trace his tongue down the delicate fin that formed her ear, then blew a stream of cool air over the moisture. 

She shuddered, hands squeezing his shoulders hard. "T-tech…"

"Your ears are quite sensitive." He purred, voice low and borderline smoldering. "I wonder where else I could touch that would get those pretty sounds out of you. The legends were correct, sirens have such enchanting voices."

Shiani fumbled a tentacle down his arm, bringing his hand to her chest and pressing it into her skin. "H-here…" She whispered. 

Tech nodded, slipping his hand underneath her shirt to palm her breasts. He was surprised how full they were, for her size and need to be streamlined in the water. But they fit nicely in his hand, and when he squeezed she gave him a breathy whine of his name. "May I remove this?" He released her hip to tug at her shirt. She nodded breathlessly. "Arms up, my lovely girl."

She raised her arms and Tech pulled the shirt over her head, tossing it to the floor before he skimmed his hands up her sides. Her belly and chest were a lighter purple color, and the delicate buds were nearly ultraviolet. Tech's lips latched onto her immediately, catching her before she could topple backwards when she arched into his mouth. 

He lavished his attention on her chest, teasing the stiffened peaks. Her skin was so soft, delicate under his tongue. "To think, I could have had you long ago. You would have been mine right there in your little cave on Kamino, wouldn't you?"

"All you ever had to do was ask…" She gasped when his leg flexed under her, grinding into her core again and adding another level of need to the blooming lava under her skin. Siren females usually took the lead in situations like this, but she liked the way Tech handled her. Then again, sirens didn’t use their mouths like this either. Her people might have been more deprived than she’d realized. 

She sang such a pretty tune for him that he couldn't resist drawing out more. Pulling her down again, his free hand slipped into her leggings and began exploring her. He found she'd been correct that she wasn’t too different anatomically from a human, at least based on what he could feel. Her insides were another story, but this was something Tech knew how to work with, and he deftly teased the bundle of nerves between her legs. She was slick and desperate, now grinding of her own accord on his hand. "Good girl." Tech crooned, tongue following the dip of her collarbone. "Keep moving, just like that." 

When Shiani shifted again, he twisted his wrist and slipped two fingers into her. She clenched tight around him, voice pitching upwards and teeth clamping together. Her pretty cries turned into a humming, as he began meeting her rocking hips with his own movements. She was a spectacular instrument in his hands, soaking through her pants and his own where she was in his lap. 

"Go on, mesh'la. Let go and come for me." He urged, curling his fingertips against something wicked inside her. "It's vital that you are relaxed before I give you anything more." His thumb moved in quick circles on her apex, drawing her to the edge of her resistance almost lazily. "Very good, my dear. Oh, you look so pretty like this. Go on and come."

Shiani caught hold of either side of his face, pressing her forehead against his and letting out a haunting note as she broke open on his fingers. The sound plunged into his chest with the force of an ion cannon, carrying a million sensations. Warmth flooded his extremities, his heart did a triple-time uptick, and his churning mind went silent to only one thought that remained.

Utter devotion. In your presence, to the point of distraction. In your absence, to the point of pain. 

She went limp in his arms, head falling off of his to rest on his chest. She was breathing hard, gills fluttering on her sides. When Tech eased a free hand down her spine, she shuddered at the feather light touch. 

"Are you alright, Shiani?" He whispered, dazed himself. 

"Y-yes…" She panted, nuzzling against his throat.

"What was that? That… note, when you put your face to mine?" He blinked the cobwebs from his mind. 

"Siren kiss." She giggled. "Closest thing we have, anyway. It shares everything we feel… you understand now."

"Indeed I do." He kissed her temple. "Catch your breath."

She nodded, already perking back up at the kiss. “I like the way humans do this. Hands and mouths.”

Tech chuckled, sitting up as she pulled his shirt over his head. “I take it that is not a part of siren coupling?”

“No. Just singing and straight to sex. It’s still supposed to feel good, but I like this. I like feeling like I can worship.” She cooed, her hands moving immediately down his chest. He was flecked with scars, but lean and strong under her palms. The sharp nails he'd seen rip into enemies moved so delicately now across his skin, tracing his abdominal muscles and drumming playfully over the cradle of his hipbones. She seemed to consider something as she openly admired him, before pressing her lips to the center of his chest. "You’re beautiful." She whispered, slithering backwards from his grasp to move her reverent kisses downward. 

He adjusted his goggles again as she met the waistband of his pants. He was rock hard by now, straining against the fabric his pretty siren helpfully relieved him of. He started to raise his hips to assist, but a pair of tentacles around his waist just picked him up a few inches so she could pull them off. "So are you." He blinked as she set him down, reaching out to run his fingers over the coiling limbs that had occupied a significant portion of his brain since he’d hit puberty. 

"What was it that you wanted me to do with these?" She giggled again, looping one over his wrist to bring his hand to her face.

Tech went red and swallowed hard. “I… uh…”

“I’ll let you think about it for a minute.” She cooed, dropping her eyes to his erection begging for her attention. “Do you want me to touch you like you touched me?"

He nodded, enraptured by her eyes. Maybe the legends about sirens were right and her song was hypnotic, because he was hooked. Her lips parted, and before his lust-addled mind could do the math on it she was dropping them over his length and swallowing him down. 

He'd be proud of his fortitude to let a venomous woman put his cock in her mouth later. In the moment, he couldn't put two words together. His usual grace and intelligence vanished with the warmth and suction of her mouth, and Tech turned into a desperate babbling mess. "A-ah, Shiani… pre-pretty girl… oh fuck Shiani, I- osik, ner cyar'ika- stars, I ah-ah…"

Shiani peeked up at him as she swallowed, careful of her teeth and watching him squirm. He bucked and arched at her attention, so she pinned all four limbs flat with her tentacles and held his hips down with her hands in the sweetest of torture. She might as well have been built for this, able to keep swallowing as she breathed through shuddering gills until her flat nose was pressed against his stomach and he was fully seated in her throat.

Tech lost his mind, eyes closed as she worked him over. He was pinned, out of control in a way he’d never been willing to tolerate with a partner… but he could, did trust Shiani absolutely. She’d never take advantage. He could let go, stop thinking, and just exist in the euphoric buzz of this…

"I- I am going t-to… oh fuck!"

Profanity sounded funny from his mouth, but Shiani didn't have time to giggle over it before her mouth was flooded with salt and Tech was writhing in her embrace. She let him pop from her mouth, and sat up after pressing a kiss to his pelvis. He was breathing like he'd run a marathon, watching her as she cocked her head at him and swallowed. "O-open your mouth." He finally mumbled. 

She obligingly parted her lips.

“All the way.” Tech swallowed hard, and she blinked before splitting her mouth to let him see that she had indeed swallowed every last bit of his release. 

"Perfect…" He breathed. "Come here."

She let him loose of her coils and climbed into his arms, settling on his chest comfortably. He hugged her to him, burying his face in her head. "You okay?" She peeped, eyes bright and a sly grin on her face. 

"I am… excellent." He mumbled. "Give me a moment, my dear. Standard refractory period is… oh, I forgot. A few minutes."

She giggled into his chest and busied herself with kissing his neck, keeping herself entertained. “Good. You can tell me exactly what you want me to do with my tentacles now.”

"There will be plenty of time to explore different methods of pleasure, cyar'ika." He ran his knuckles down her cheek lightly. “I don’t intend for this to be the last time, do you?.” 

“Absolutely not.” She breathed, stretching up across him to kiss his lips. Her fingers carded carefully through his hair, holding him in place as she set an almost languid pace of kisses.

Sure enough, his enhanced genetics kicked in after a few minutes, and he was pressing insistently against her hip. "I know that I insisted you wear pants on the day to day, but they are currently in the way. I need you undressed immediately." His patience was dwindling rapidly for anything but burying himself into her. 

Shiani sat up and kicked the offensive garment to the floor, Tech scooping her back to him and pressing her onto her back with surprising ferocity. “I am aware you are more flexible than a human, and we can explore that later.” He shifted his weight to his knees and dragged her pelvis into his lap. "But right now, I want to see your lovely little face."

She nodded eagerly, arms akimbo above her head. Tech squeezed the flesh of her thighs lightly before pushing them back, leaning over her as he folded her in half and slowly drove his length into her. 

Shiani's gasp was broken and wanton, fingers grasping into the bedding as the clone sank belly deep. He generously gave her a minute to adjust, his eyes half closed. "Y-you are exquisite." He finally rasped. Beyond exquisite, she was warm and inviting, splayed out under him like a forgotten sailor's dream. No wonder men of legend had chased sirens to their own deaths. How could anyone know a thing like Shiani existed and not be willing to sacrifice it all just to hold her? 

And he was the fortunate one, the one who was saved from drowning instead of being dragged into the depths. She loved him, all this time. It was up to Tech to love her back half as well as she deserved. 

So he gave it everything he had, setting a pace that let him drag the winding coil back to dizzying heights in her stomach. His goggles were half off, crooked and sliding down his face with sweat but he didn't dare fix them. There was no way he was taking his hands off her right now. 

"My pretty, perfect siren." He groaned faintly, her muscles clenching nearly enough to undo him. He leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers this time.

She knew what he was begging for and cupped his cheeks, pouring out her melody for him. The heart stopping song dragged them both under, hitting the peak in sync and a debilitating flash of climax. They spilled limply into each other, muscle and bone turned to butter. Tech pressed a kiss to her forehead, and Shiani ran her claws tenderly through his hair. They lay there staring at each other, breathing hard and still tangled together. 

"I love you." Shiani managed to whisper after a blissful eternity, finally able to say it to him. She’d been sitting on that feeling for too long. She wasn’t meant to keep feelings inside, she was built to sing them. It had been smothering her, and now she felt weightless. "With all three hearts."

"I… love you too." He closed his eyes, soaking up the sensation of her adoration and trying to express his own with only his shaky arms around her. 

Shiani cuddled a little closer, listening to his pounding heart by her ear. It was so strong for only one…

Tech suddenly paused, opening one eye. "Shiani?"

"Yes?"

"... did you say you had three hearts?"

Shiani was asleep when Tech woke up. They’d been up all night, talking between bouts of sex. He hadn’t realized how many gaps there were in his knowledge of her people, but she was pleased to answer his questions. They had three hearts, they were selectively bioluminescent and used it as another part of their body language, and the faintly blue patterns on her skin brightened whenever he touched her in the dark. As she slept, they pulsed softly in time with her dreams. 

She was sprawled over his chest and stomach, the clone wrapped comfortably in her limbs and stroking her head gently. It was nearly noon, and they probably needed to get up and moving for the day… “Shiani? Wake up, mesh’la.” 

She stirred sleepily, pushing her face into his sternum like a petted tooka kit. “Mando’a…” In no hurry to open her eyes, she let her head tentacles wrap around his wrist and hold his hand to her face. 

“Yes, it is Mando’a.” He smiled. “You studied the language, didn’t you? Do you remember what it means?”

She propped her chin up on his pectoral with a smile, tilting her head enough to kiss at his wrist. “You think I’m beautiful?"

"I do." He nodded. 

Her delight was palpable, and she snuggled into him more. "Good."

"We should get up. There may be a mission waiting for us." He reached for his goggles, discarded on the floor. "They will probably tease us. Do not let it bother you."

"Brothers tease." She yawned, and he curiously watched her mouth. 

“Would you ever consider letting me study your venom?” He caught her chin delicately.

“If you want to. But why?” She blinked.

“It would be beneficial to know how it works, and potentially develop an antivenom or resistance. If you recall, there was a very sensitive part of my anatomy in your mouth a few hours ago. An accidental bite would be unpleasant, and end a night prematurely.”

She smiled, letting him trace the seam along her cheek. “Good point. But don’t let Hunter see. He thinks I look weird.”

“He has half his face tattooed. He is not allowed an opinion on your face. Which is, by the way, adorable.”

“He’s a good brother, though. Sometimes, watching him with Omega makes me miss my brother.”

Tech kissed her forehead gently. "I know it will not make up for such a loss… but my brothers and sister love you now. It is just imperative that you realize I love you most."

Shiani giggled. "Three hearts, one for every type of love. Friend, family, and romance. I love your family with two, and you with three."

"Clever girl." Tech smiled, handing her her pants. "Come along."

She got dressed quicker than he did, watching him once her boots were on. He was covered in little purple splotches from her mouth, mostly on his neck and chest. In neat rows across the rest of him were lighter ones, perfectly round from her suction cups. She was a little proud of them, the unmistakable proof that Tech finally loved her back. 

Once he'd gotten his armor on, he offered her his arm. "Shall we?"

She nodded eagerly and took his hand, letting him lead her out of the ship and into the Parlor. His siblings were in their usual spot, Omega still finishing her breakfast. 

"Hey Goggles! Where do you get off scaring people out of my bar?" Cid demanded. "That guy took off like an irling out of hell!"

"He put his hands inappropriately on Shiani. It seemed logical you would not want someone like that around your establishment." Tech shrugged. 

Cid blinked. "Guess that changes things. You okay, Suckers?"

Shiani nodded. "Tech rescued me. Do you need anything fixed, and I’ll pay for their breakfast?"

"Nah. I got a mission for you guys. We'll call breakfast even if some creep was giving you a hard time." Cid handed her two plates, and she passed one to Tech as they sat down. 

"We eat fast and go work then." Shiani nodded, accepting a cuddle from Omega. 

"You sure you're alright?" Hunter frowned. "Maybe we shouldn't have gone to bed so early."

"Shiani okay. Tech help." She explained. 

Tech nodded. "I only had to draw my blaster, not fire it."

Hunter's expression shifted as they ate, keen nose catching something lingering on the both of them. "Oh. I see."

Echo smirked at his sergeant's tone. "Guess it turned out to be a good night?"

"We are not having this discussion." Tech grumbled. "The only thing that concerns you is that, yes, Shiani and I are in a relationship as of last night."

Wrecker grinned. "Finally."

Omega smiled. "That's why you look so happy!"

Shiani nodded. "I”m very happy, Baby Mega."

Tech jumped when Hunter hooked a thumb in his blacks collar and took a look at his neck, then whistled. Wrecker and Echo laughed. 

"What's so funny?" Omega blinked at Shiani. Tech turned red, hoping she wasn't going to embarrass them both in her lack of awareness about human social expectations. Honestly, she was worse than he was most of the time…

She patted Omega's head gently "I just kissed Tech too much. They’re teasing, don’t worry."

Tech sighed with relief and waved his brothers off. "That is an accurate description."

"We'll, lovebirds. We got a job, so let's get going." Hunter smiled. Shiani shoved her breakfast in her mouth and nodded. Tech just tried not to smile at how cute she could be. "Tried" being the operative word, but he was definitely falling.

[theivlounge]

New The IV Lounge Blog Post Gives 5 Ways That An Amino Acid IV Drip In Toronto May Benefit A Person

The IV Lounge has just posted a new blog article on their website. It’s a blog post that points out different ways that an Amino Acid IV Therapy Drip has the potential to benefit someone. The newly posted article is titled ‘Getting an Amino Acid IV Drip in Toronto: 5 Reasons Why It Could Help’. Co-service provider at The IV Lounge, Dr. Amauri Caversan, ND, states that this is a type of therapy that has become popular recently at their facility.

Dr. Caversan, ND, says, “As a Naturopathic Doctor, I am charged with constantly implementing new research based treatments that help people heal and assist them in reaching their wellness goals in an integrative naturopathic and functional medicine way. One of the treatments that I like to use is amino acids IV drip therapy. Our various amino acids IV therapy drips are an important part of what we do here at The IV Lounge, that is why I decided to post a blog that describes what it is and the potential benefits it has for those that we may be able to help with ailments and as a means to improve someone’s overall wellness.”

The new blog started by mentioning the important role that amino acids, the ‘building blocks’ of proteins, play in the body. This includes everything from helping to break down the food that a person eats to repairing damaged tissues. It went on to mention that one of the first possible benefits of amino acid IV therapy is that it may provide some quick responses in the body. This has to do with the fact that a person’s body often absorbs nutritional intravenous fluid rapidly and then makes it available for almost immediate use.

Amino acid IV therapy is also thought to have the ability to add fuel to the body in a timely manner. This may be something that can help a person as far as their training performance is concerned.

Another way that was mentioned in the blog is that intravenously dripped amino acids have the potential to help us by aiding the body in overcoming nutritional deficiencies. That enables the body to get over such amino acid deficiency-associated symptoms such as fatigue, muscle loss, low mood, and even memory loss. Improper amino acid balance in the body is also thought to be a reason why a person’s body recovers at a slower than the normal rate from illnesses.

The 4th way mentioned in the blog that it’s thought that amino acid IV therapy may benefit a person is by helping with intestinal inflammation; a problem that is often associated with such conditions as an autoimmune disease, chronic stress, and regular excessive alcohol intake.

The last potential benefits of amino acid IV therapy the newly posted article mentioned were improving mental health and lessening pain. In the blog’s wrap-up, it discussed how certain tests can determine if a person is experiencing amino acid deficiency and by using these test results, they at The IV Lounge will custom build an amino acid IV therapy treatment for each person.

Dr. Amauri Caversan, ND, went on to say that he does not provide the IV services that The IV Lounge offers all by himself. It’s done in conjunction with his co-service provider, Arv Buttar, NP. She has been a Registered Nurse since 2006 and 10 years later entered into the functional medicine and integrative health world. He added that their integrative and functional medicine approach to health gives them an ideal chance of attempting to help their clients achieve the results they are seeking from their therapies.

Other treatments that The IV Lounge offers include customized IV drips, high dose vitamin c treatments, anti-aging IV drips, detoxifying IV drips and drips that attempt to treat migraines & might help with relaxation. Those that would like more information on the IV therapy treatments that this Toronto facility offers may call them at (647) 549-3484, send them an email at info@theivlounge.ca, or by filling out the form that’s found on their website’s ‘contact us’ page. You may also check this article for additional details.

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