brahmenbones · 1 year ago
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T redesign? On my tumblr blog? It’s more likely than you think!!
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ax-killjoy · 2 years ago
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☆ you think i’m pretty ??
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synopsis ! 𖦹 : things that make them flustered <33
notes ! 𖦹 : school, art block, and writer’s block has been kicking my ASS.
Lo’ak, Kiri, Neteyam x Gn!reader
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Lo’ak
It was something simple, something that not even Lo’ak knew he could get flustered by. Yet something just hit him right in the soul, making his heart melt, he felt warm, a blush over this cheeks, up to the tips of his ears.
You had been teaching how to ride an Ilu, yet he was so fustrated. Why couldn’t he get this down ? If this creature was nicer than a Ikran, why couldn’t he ride it ? Irritation coursed through his body, his mind running almost a thousand miles an hour. As he falls yet again into water. The ilu almost laughing at him as it swims away.
He growls in frustration, angrily splashing the water as he wipes his face. “this is bullshit.” Lo’ak mutters, watching as you call for the Ilu again. You chuckle, resting your hand on his shoulder, caressing it slightly with your thumb.
“Don’t worry about it too much. You’ve got all the time in the world to learn this, Prettyboy.” You say ever so casually, petting the ilu and feeding it more fish.
Yet Lo’ak stood frozen, his tail up and his ears perked. “Pretty boy ?”
゚*✩‧₊˚ !!
Kiri
Kiri has NEVER been one to have crushes. She remembers when Jake would talk about growing up with little puppy crushes, and Neytiri would explain about her younger years swooning over the male Na’vi.
But Kiri never really felt that kind of attraction, never felt the need to. She was too busy ! Her reckless brothers always did something stupid, leading her to heal them with her grandmother. Who she bickers with until no end, and she runs around the forest feeling Eywa beneath her feet and in the air, grabbing herbs for future salves. And if she wasn’t doing any of that, she was running around the forest with Tuk.
But now that she moved to Awa’altu, she had all the time in the world it seemed. She sat under water for what seemed like an eternity, staring at the colorful fish and feeding her ilu, staring into sand that hid small crustaceans. Now that she wasn’t busy, she had time to indulge in her feelings, indulge in her feelings for you.
The two of you had been wandering the island all day, it one of those days that neither of you had tasks. Planning this day in advance, making sure to do all the chores just so the two of you could run wild for the rest of the day. And now, it was almost eclipse. The two of you sat in the warm sand, watching as the night and day mixed, making a sweet gradient above. “You know, I could do this with you forever.” You say, and she looks at you. “Do what ?” she asks.
“This. Just being with you, being part of the land. I could do this with you forever.” You say, before looking back at the eclipse. And for the first time, Kiri feels a blush spread across her cheeks. Not a blush out of embarrassment, but a blush of giddiness, puppy love, and hope for the future.
・:* ೫̥♡*
Neteyam
Similar to Kiri, Neteyam was a busy bee. He ran everywhere, constantly doing different tasks and doing anything the people asked for. He was one of the best hunters for his age, constantly going on hunting trips with his father and other adult Na’vi, and coming back just to do more tasks. He sailed the skies and scouted for sky people during Operations, he listened in onto strategies for the War party.
And if there was ever a second that he didn’t have any tasks, he was playing with Tuk. Helping his mom with something, running around with his siblings letting them do whatever stupid things they planned. Only for them to get scolded by their father once they came home. A never ending cycle, a consistent and eventful cycle to say the least.
This was no different, you were another skilled hunter for your age. Jake had tasked both you and Neteyam to hunt together, to see who paired good with who, and to see what two amazing hunters could bring back. What Jake didn’t know is that the two of you made this into a game of tag. Whoever catches who first doesn’t have to carry all of the meat to the village.
Neteyam hid well into the trees, his breath covered by the sounds of strong winds and bustling trees. He had killed 2 animals already, thanked their bodies, and was ready to leave. Now he just had to see where you were to catch you.
Suddenly he hears a branch snap. Before he can turn his head, he feels something flipping him over, and his back hitting the soft soil. He lets out of low groan, he opens his eyes. The sun hitting his eyes, suddenly he saw your face above him. He feels the weight of you straddling him to keep him in place. You giggle and smile mischievously.
“Now you’re mine, tsamsiyu” you say softly, the vibrations of your voice make Neteyam’s ears perk up. Before Neteyam could even open this mouth you jump up laughing, “I won !! now go grab all the meat we got !!!” You cheered before running away.
He gets up, a raging blush runs across his cheeks to each of his ears, his tail swaying sharply. Oh Ewya, what did you do to him ?
゚*✩‧₊˚ !!
Tsamsiyu - Warrior
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fukanouna · 1 year ago
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Close your eyes (it's okay now)
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Summary: Wanda finds herself alone in the afterlife. Then she reunites with a familiar redhead.
Set after the events of DS2: MoM.
Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Natasha Romanoff
Word Count: 934
A/N: Hello :)
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Wanda felt like she was floating.
She didn't know where she was and could not open her eyes. Everything felt so heavy, yet somehow, she felt so free. The malevolent whispers of the Darkhold were gone from her mind. Wanda wasn't sure when was the last time she was able to think with such a level of clarity.
Then, Wanda felt her feet land on something kind of solid. She sank into the ground slightly and heard the gentle sound of ocean waves crashing. Her eyes snapped open, and she found herself on some kind of beach. A seemingly endless forest stood behind her, while a setting sun that peaked above the horizon was in front of her, painting the skies a fiery red and orange. For some reason, Wanda found herself in a sleeveless cotton white dress and bare feet lightly buried under the sand. The look didn't suit her.
Not after what she's done.
Wanda strolled along the shore, taking in the warm breeze and the salty scent of the ocean. She walked for what felt like hours, yet she never grew tired. No matter how far she walked, there was no sign of any life. Birds, fish, crustaceans, people - there was nothing. Just Wanda, the land, the sea, and the sky.
Then she came across a large log on the sand facing the ocean.
But what caught her attention was not the log itself, but who was sitting on it.
Natasha turned her head and smiled.
"Hey, Wanda."
Wanda almost started crying.
"Natasha?" She was wearing a black tactical suit that wasn't familiar to Wanda, and her hair woven in a side braid.
Natasha patted the space next to her. "Come sit with me." When Wanda stayed frozen in place, she tilted her head to one side. "What's wrong?"
"The last thing I remember was telling Strange I was destroying every copy of the Darkhold and bringing down the castle atop of Mount Wundagore," Wanda said quietly, looking far off across the ocean, before settling her gaze back on the other woman. "I'm dead."
Natasha's gaze softened. "You are."
"Does that mean you aren't real?"
"I'm not part of your imagination, if that's what you're asking," the Widow chuckled. "I just suddenly found myself here, waiting. Somehow, I just knew it was you I was waiting for. Maybe it's because now I also have ties to an Infinity Stone."
Wanda felt the incoming tears in the back of her throat. There was so much kindness in the way Natasha looked at her, the way she spoke to her with such gentleness, it was too much when Wanda didn't deserve any of that. She felt the Chaos Magic flowing through every fiber of her being, and in one large motion of her arms, the pure cotton dress was consumed by blood red energy streams and revealed her as the Scarlet Witch. She thought Natasha would recoil from her new form, but the other woman remained expressionless.
"After what I've done, after killing and hurting so many innocent people, I don't deserve your kindness," Wanda said with strained voice. She started down at her blackened fingertips that were still tainted from the Darkhold. "I don't deserve to see you," she added more quietly. "I'm no longer the Wanda you knew."
Several seconds passed before Natasha stood up and placed herself right in front of Wanda. The smile returned to the Widow's face as she took Wanda's hands into her own. "You'll always be my Wanda."
Tears poured from Wanda's eyes. "You don't understand—"
"I do understand," Natasha interrupted her. "You saw my memories. What I used to do, what I used to be. Yet that never stopped you from wanting us to grow closer." Her thumbs slowly swiped over and over across the back of Wanda's hands in a comforting manner. "I don't know what you did and I don't need to know. Because none of that matters anymore. In the end, you tried to make amends. To no longer let the hurt control you and do good again. That's why I know you're still my Wanda."
Wanda closed her eyes and sobbed hard as Natasha spoke to her and made no effort in resisting when she felt Natasha's arms wrapped around her. She couldn't remember the last time someone held her like this and forgot what it was like to be loved. Not wanting to separate, she reciprocated the embrace and held Natasha as tightly as she physically could.
"You did well, Wanda. You can rest now," Natasha whispered softly into her ear.
It took awhile before Wanda calmed down and finally joined Natasha on the log, shoulder to shoulder.
"What now?" Wanda asked.
Natasha shrugged. "Whatever you want. We have all the time in the universe. What's the first thing you want to do?"
Wanda hummed thoughtfully. Her eyes stared at the warm ball of light that stood across the ocean from them. "Watch the sunset with you," she answered with a smile.
"How romantic of you," Natasha remarked with a slight smirk. "Trying to make me swoon, Maximoff?"
"Perhaps," the witch smirked back. "Is it working?"
"Actually, yes."
Wanda and Natasha laughed together.
While the sun slowly dipped below the horizon to reveal the stars in the sky, the two of them sat in silence as the ocean breeze blew past them. There wasn't much time left until Wanda had to decide what to do next in the afterlife, but as she glanced over at Natasha, she was immediately comforted knowing she wasn't alone.
And that was more than enough.
---
A/N: Thanks for reading :)
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herotome · 6 months ago
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Devlog # 138
Hi-ho, Wudge here.
I'll be real, lately I've been struggling hardcore when it comes to design. Mia's hero outfit is giving me an honest to goodness run for my money; I try and try and yet each edition of her outfit doesn't feel quire right. It's not just the feeling that they're 'not good enough,' they also don't quite feel like her. And each time I try to take a new stab at it makes me feel all the more crazy for the effort -- something something expecting different results.
I keep trying to convince myself that it was much easier back when I started Herotome -- particularly Warden's hero costume, his big blue gimp suit just sprang into existence like shablamn!
But... I have to remind myself that it did take a while to put together Jade's and Dart's hero outfits. Hell, I wasn't entirely satisfied with Jade's even when I called it done. And another thing - as my mom pointed out when I complained to her about this lol - having created previous designs does make it more challenging to create new-and-different designs.
...With all this being said, here's where she's at:
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These designs build off my established concepts of - she has to armor up due to how the nature of her powers will get her into scrapes, but she also wants to look cute. This led me to... essentially putting her in a maid cafe outfit and medieval plate mail. Mia is not a fantasy/JRPG girlie at all though, so ultimately this design isn't going to work.
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And here, blurred out bc I'm still working on it, is my next take. I looked at how characters like Wonder Woman and Iron Man wore armor that had a very modern look, and I also... uh, looked at some crabs. Like, crustaceans. The ones in the ocean. They are truly beautiful creatures and I tried to take some color schemes from them. This led to a very, very red design with... what looks like a glowing petticoat? ;;; I worry that this would elicit a look of fire, and while Mia has a fiery personality she doesn't exactly have fire superpowers... so I'll keep at it. I at least like it more than the medieval jrpg maid though.
Other than that...
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I started working on expressions for Griffin's sprite!!!
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This one has a weird uncanny resemblance to the chick from hotel transylvania.
... Honestly uh, I've also been struggling with Griffin's sprite art here. I've done a lot more work for her (that I have not shared in this post) that just doesn't feel quite right. But I'll keep doing my best.
I think that's it for now.
Stay safe and keep warm,
Wudge.
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incorrectshantaequotes · 1 month ago
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Shantae Mini-Headcanons - Names
Have you ever noticed Shantae has a lot of unnamed characters? Now, this makes sense, because a lot of those unnamed characters are either minor NPCs or just bosses that you don't really interact with much character-wise (only boss you DO interact with a bunch is Squid Baron), but it is a bit of a shame, isn't it? So! Just for fun, I'm going to give some of these unnamed characters names!
Some of these characters I've already given names before on this blog (like the Sirens), some of these characters I've actually had name headcanons for for a while and just never really had a good chance to actually talk about them, and some of these characters got new names specifically for this post! In short, this will be a comprehensive list of my various name headcanons. So, with that out of the way, let's get started!
SCUTTLE TOWN:
Sky's Mother - Rook Starling - Felt like a bird-related name would be appropriate, considering Sky and all, so...yeah, this speaks for itself, I think!
Sky's Father - Dirge Starling - I kept trying to come up with a way to somehow make the last name work for some bird-related wordplay for Sky's mom, since she's clearly the one Sky takes after more, and some death-related wordplay for Sky's dad, because the guy keeps bringing back cursed artifacts into his house and also, frankly speaking, looks more like a depressed horse than a man. Kinda felt appropriate? Wasn't able to come up with anything but that's why he's named Dirge.
Squidsmith - Forge - This is actually from my earliest headcanon post on this blog! Dates allllllll the way back to 2020, no joke. She got mentioned back then since I headcanon that she's Bolo's mom, so...yeah.
Chef Girl - Chef Brulee - I mean. Do I need to explain this one. This really speaks for itself honestly. Out of all the names on here this one I think could slot right into canon no trouble because if there's one very clear thing about Shantae it's that - aside from the main girl herself - all the characters' names are deeply unserious, and that is a trend I am making sure not to break.
Dance Parlor Lady/Shantae's Boss - Rina - Honestly I have not given much thought to this particular NPC at all but I figured she deserved a mention, so...here she is!
Shantae's Mom - Mera - ...okay so I couldn't think of a better place to put this, buuuuuuuut. Yeah this is my headcanon for what Shantae's mom's name is. The idea is that it's a bit of wordplay working off of chimera. Anyway!
SEVEN SIRENS:
Lobster Siren - Rosea - Honestly Lobster Siren might be the Shantae character who has had the most headcanon changes in regard to her name for me. First it was Tacea (as in crusTacean), which I ended up pushing aside because it felt like I was trying to be too clever and failing, then more recently there was Bisque, which was better but maybe a bit too on the nose, and now I have Rosea, which I think fits in juuuuuust right. May not be immediately obvious but yes, it is still lobster-related; the name comes from the Nephrosis rosea, more commonly known as the rosy lobsterette!
Water Lily Siren - Lily - Don't need to explain this one
Coral Siren - Coral - Don't need to explain this one
Tubeworm Siren - Scylla - I'll admit this breaks away a bit from the "Shantae names are deeply unserious" thing I established earlier but A.) this actually fits and B.) I honestly can't think of anything else
Anglerfish Siren - Lure - Don't need to explain this one
Octo Siren - Doll - This name is entirely a result of the Spectacular Superstar update and how Octo Siren's dialogue in there literally opens with "Hey, baby!" The exact moment I found out about that particular dialogue change still lives rent-free in my head. So, yeah, figured Doll would fit given the hinted-at flirtatious nature there - because let's be real there really isn't another way to interpret that fucking opening. Especially considering Shantae's response of "Don't you 'hey baby' me!" What did Wayforward mean by this.
Empress Siren - Majesty - I've said before that I believe Empress Siren would only accept Empress Siren as a name and nothing else, and I still stand by that, but if she had to pick something sounding like a human name, I think this would be it.
BOSSES:
Every Single Baron - Wellllllll... - I mean. (Gestures to their equivalents in the Reversal AU) I honestly don't think I'm going to top those names so.
Giga Mermaid - Queen Oceania Aria Magnate the Third, or just Oceania for short - Yeah this one is also fairly self-explanatory
Pirate Master - Plunder Maraude - This is another one I've had for a long time alongside the Chef Brulee one, and, well. Chef Brulee beats this one out in terms of plausibility but I honestly think Plunder Maraude is a close second. Plunder Maraude is very much a name cut from the same cloth as Risky Boots, and that's not even considering the added bonus of "has the same initials as Pirate Master." Like what more could you ask for that's really the most ideal name for him.
Aaaaaaand that's it! Put this down as a mini-headcanon post for a reason, you know. Let me know what you guys think!
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pr0cyon-lotor · 6 months ago
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Learning with Fuh'fin: Drums?
Fuh'fin scurried over to the main lounging area after a crash. Where he expected to see a fallen crew member groaning in pain after falling from a worrying height (again), instead he found everyone perfectly fine and playing with... drums?
 
Not like any he had seen before. He'd seen other space dwellers have different forms of drums. Some were made out of hide or skin. One type was made using the membrane of a blob creature from an aquatic planet. However, those became illegal after the species almost died out due to production.
 
Fuh'fin approached, and Vi-Vi finally seemed to notice him. She smiled and waved him over. He picked up his pace and trotted over. He looked up at the navigator.
 
"Do you know about drums?" She asked politely. "Yes, I've seen many from other races, and even the Yimex have their own variant," he answered with a chirp-like sound.
 
Vi-Vi chuckled. "We should order one so you can teach us how to play," she offered, and Fuh'fin's tail wagged in excitement. He always loved it when the crew was willing to learn about his species. He loved telling everyone about his home life.
 
Another bang, and Fuh'fin looked at the strange drums. "What drums are those?" He asked as he watched a crew member strike them with a small stick. Most of the time, Fuh'fin hadn't seen other races use a tool for drums. The Yimex use their tails to strike the surface, so it was interesting.
 
"Marching drums. Ella wanted to show everyone how fast she used to play in high school, and everyone is trying to replicate her," Vi-Vi said while putting a hand on her hip. "I never played percussion. I used to play the clarinet," she laughed mostly to herself.
 
Fuh'fin looked at Vi-Vi, trying to understand everything through context clues before giving up. "Highschool?" was his first question.
 
"Education. Typically higher in the types we have on earth," Vi-Vi explained patiently. Fuh'fin took the information and tried to make sense of it.
 
Education was a newer concept for the Yimex. They never needed it before. They used to be war bound, so there was no use for school, like most races needed it. They had relied on instinct.
 
That has changed recently, but only after Fuh'fin left his mother planet. He never experienced it. The closest thing he had to education was job training.
 
But he quite preferred to learn as he went. He learned how to read multiple languages without a translator, just fine. So the concept of school was still hard for Fuh'fin to wrap his head around, but he understood it in theory.
 
So the word "highschool" was explained. Now, for the other word that confused him, "Marching drums? Like battle drums?" He asked.
 
Vi-Vi hummed in thought, her hand moving to scratch her head, the red of her hair much more faded than it once was. Fuh'fin was told it wasn't an indication of illness but a cosmetic choice. Like berries staining his fur, as he was told. Just a more permanent berry stain.
 
"Sort of," Vi-Vi ended up saying. "Not for war per se. Not anymore, at least. Just a relic of times past," she explained.
 
Fuh'fin thought about it and came up with a comparison. "Oh, like how the Yimex still wear imitation crustacean armor even though we stopped being at war with the crustacean species on our planet?" He said proudly.
 
Vi-Vi hummed. "Sometimes you say some metal stuff, Fuh'fin," she said. Fuh'fin had no idea what that meant, but from her tone and body language, it was a compliment. Also, metal is a strong material, so she was probably calling him strong. And that's always good.
 
"Thank you," he responded with a few subconscious dooks. "You're sweet," Vi-Vi said, and Fuh'fin did know what that meant. He dooked a little louder.
 
"Oh yeah, I meant to ask. What's a clarinet?" He asked after he calmed down. 
 
Vi-Vi chuckled. "An instrument I could never play well. It always squeaked," she said as if admitting to something. It didn't mean much to Fuh'fin since he still had no idea what a clarinet was. He knew that squeaking was bad. He hated the sound of anything that squeaked; it hurt his ears.
 
"Still? What is it?" He asked again with clear confusion. "Hm, maybe I'll show you when we have time," Vi-Vi offered.
 
Fuh'fin was about to agree when the steady beat on the drum changed to an unsteady crash. He turned over and saw that Ella had given her drum to someone else. It was clear the other didn't know how to play as steadily as she did.
 
Fuh'fin scratched his ear; it felt like it was rubbing his head wrong. "I should return to patrolling," he muttered, hoping no one thought he was being rude for running away.
 
Vi-Vi laughed. "I'll tell Hugo to play jazz in the lounge later. I think you'd like it," she said as Fuh'fin trotted away from the awful beat. He wanted to respond, but the urge to leave won out. 
 
Once he escaped, he stopped and realized he had one more question.
 
"What is jazz?" 
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amisalami03 · 1 year ago
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cave mommy headcanons :D [this is my first time doing this help]
i'm gonna flip the script a little with this one, I think shes way more chill BUT will troll at any time >:)
she walked past pickle and sprayed him for no reason which resulted in a mini brawl , it was swiftly ended when cave shawty picks pickle up and suplexes him, so in celebration she beats her chest then goes to sleep in a nearby tree
she's definitely omnivorous in my book but she will eat meat and acts like a leopard by hiding her game in trees and pissing on those who walk to close to her territory this isn't a piss-kink thing I swear she's literally feral and piss is her prehistoric version of pocket sand
ironically enough though she and pickle are mated but he can not stand her ass sometimes, but she literally doesn't gaf and will lay on top of him (because she can.) and pickle does not seem to mind his woman using him as a mattress he will growl lowly but eventually puts himself to sleep since her warmth, scent and breathing patterns make it impossible to keep him awake lol (also its a sense of familiarity and comfort of her being the only thing he left of the past, so he willingly tolerates it)
because of her retsu's hair has been let down to its full glory and she even gave him a beautiful restyle :3 (lots of stick and shiny rock so cool |:) <- cave mommymoji) pickle didnt like it and wanted to fight retsu but a swift kick upside his head thwarted that act of petty conflict
she has no clue whats going on but is happy to see such small little guys doing complex things
she fucking LOVES pinwheels and windchimes hell yes little trinkets for her pretty please, even pickle is entertained when she shoves a pinwheel in his hair and shows him her stolen hardware store collection of chimes and shiny glass lawn ornaments used to water flowers -> |:) [her proud face]
she scratches her head like a dog and prefers to stay quadraped, which threw the boys off when she finally decided to stand on her two legs
katsumi told retsu he saw her walking on two legs before everyone else did and retsu called him a liar stating that she simply hadn't "evolved" to do that yet, as soon as he was done saying that she walked right passed them with various lawn ornaments in her arms, farted and continued walking without breaking a stride. retsu was stunned and katsumi just put his hand on his shoulder to console him.
I like to think she has a fighting style similar to dogwatch man from one punch man, which makes her a very hard opponent to defeat since her speed and agility far surpass her bipedal descendants
baki used her as a shield until she force-fed him a handful of grubs and ever since then shes been wondering where he's been |:( his ass ran away from her for about a week
she found him eventually and frantically fussed over him while holding him in a tight embrace, she thought she lost her baby again
Please keep her away from vending machines and claw games, to her they are like giant see through crustaceans she can crack open and benefit from, her and pickle will leave a wake of litter and shards of glass to get whats inside
Loves fountains, they are like vertical waterfalls to her and she’s mesmerized by how the magic water goes up 24/7
She draws cave paintings and is very proud of her work
Absolutely blown away by crayons, completely opened pandoras box for her wait until she learns about paint and markers
Keep scented/colorful soaps and chemicals away from her…she will try to drink them and get sick…no she probably wont die, but she will shit and vomit alot, pickle didnt wanna take the risk to drink fabuloso after that
She has an underbite snaggle tooth that sticks out
This is all I can come up with
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This is all I can give you…for now
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razorblade180-heated · 1 year ago
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A wonderful performance
[Hey, it’s a smut]
[Disclaimer, I wrote a fair share of this before 4.3 so it’s been reconstructed quite a bit. Spare me.]
“The grass is always greener on the other side” is a well known phrase put to test in many plays, movies, and of course, life. Furina had witnessed this truth many times over the centuries but she never thought it would rear its head as she was granted her new lease on life. At last she had been granted a chance at peace, simplicity, freedom, and way off stage. These were all things that brought a sense of ease to a wary mind that she did not take for granted. However, not even she expected to breathe a sigh of relief upon being granted a Vision. Maybe it was because she felt a lack of power her entire life? Whatever the reason, excitement stirred in her chest under the pale moonlight as she stood on the shore line using her gift to have a certain sway over the low tide. Divinity was something Furina didn’t care for and she was sure gaining mastery over her abilities would open more peculiar doors rather than a path of peace; yet that didn’t terrify her. Rather, Furina felt relief in knowing if she chose to stand on stage and greet the audience with another spectacle, it just might be possible. The humor heart is indeed a fickle thing.
“I’ve truly lost my mind.” She chuckled under her breath, forming a seashell out of hydro.
“That’s pretty.” Called out a familiar voice.
Furina’s broken concentration brought her creation splashed onto the sand. She looked to her right to see none other than Aether walking over, soaked head to toe. “Night swimming are we? Will wonders never cease?”
“Sorta? I was helping someone looking for something as well as collecting a few resources.”
“For your sake I hope it wasn’t crustaceans. Only a few are allowed to the public in this area during this time of season. I doubt you have the list memorized.”
“Pfft, is that so?” He laughed, until he saw Furina stare with unblinking eyes. “Wait, that’s an actual law!?”
“I am going to pretend you found some old mechanical tools and played with the otters.”
“I mean…that also did in fact happen.” He got closer to the girl before sitting on the white sandy beach. “Anyway, what brings you out here in the dead of night? Looks like you’re training.”
“Training? Ha!” Furina snapped her fingers and her honored guests appeared, running around to play while Furina crossed her legs and sat on a bubble she made. “I’m reveling in my new found strength.” She boasted happily, summoning a wheel that held different desserts.
Aether still couldn’t believe how effortless Furina made that look. “Wow, you already found multiple ways to use hydro.”
“The power of water is the ability to take any shape after all. I can even walk across it. Wouldn’t want to go around drenched all the time now would we?” She teased.
“It’s not that bad. Though I probably should’ve brought a towel to-” before he could even finish, Furina took all of the moisture out of his clothes while eating a piece of cake. “Huh…you sure you’re not somehow still an Oceanid or something?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Although, his question did make her look at her hands as well as examine the beautiful deep blue gem that made this all possible. “…It’s always said Visions are a blessing, a favor from the gods. I wouldn’t really know but… maybe it only makes sense I’m naturally adept at this. It’s a strange feeling. Mirror-me didn’t really teach me a lot and at the same time it feels like it would’ve been redundant.”
“Do you somehow feel closer to her now?”
“In a sense, I suppose so. I can’t really say how that feels. It simply is what it is. Fate is odd like that. Either way, I intend to express all of me. Even if I don’t exactly understand yet what that means for me.” Furina looked at the ocean. “To think after everything I can still find peace at this sight.”
“I’m sure many others feel the exact same conflicting feeling.”
“Fontainian’s and their homeland. We’re certainly a colorful group of people.” She smiled. “Although it would be wonderful if we could be a little less observant. It took entirely too much effort to sneak over here. I even ran into Clorinde during a shift change apparently. Fortunately we remain pleasant towards one another. I do hope she takes the night off like I suggested.”
“Hold on. Sneaking? Why were you sneaking around? There’s no curfew. Though I do imagine most normal people are in bed by now.”
“I don’t think that last sentence was necessary.” She scoffed. “Need I remind you that you’re here as well?”
“Don’t try and get around the question.”
“Ugh, it’s nothing, honest. I just…would rather not bump into many people. After all…Poisson isn’t the only place resentment lingers.” Furina’s bubble popped, causing her to land on the sand as she deflated. “Not that I can blame them.”
“Things like these take time. A lot has happened. It’ll take a while to process.”
“I might know that better than most. I doubt I've truly come to terms with even half of what I feel inside. Regardless, I’m not looking or expecting forgiveness. Their animosity is completely warranted. I could only treat symptoms to what was a long and threatening illness, I. The grand scheme of things that is.”
Aether scrunched his face. He couldn’t exactly call himself the biggest optimist in general or when it came to the prophecy. Even so… “I think you’re not giving yourself enough credit. In fact, neither did I. Be it your powers or lack thereof, you’re very quick to learn and adapt. Not to mention resilient. I’m sorry if it ever came across that I underestimated you.”
Furina felt her cheeks gain a little warmth. Here she was saying she didn’t need apologies or forgiveness, yet hearing it from Aether did nicely for her guilty heart. Not to mention the genuine praise of her capabilities. “Thank you, but really, there’s no need. If I was underestimated then that only means I did my job well, right? I never wanted anyone to see me worry or anything of the sort. It would’ve only brought them closer behind the curtain meant to be shut. I won’t say it wasn’t frustrating; no, I could never say that. Also, if you ask me, not being able to do more because I lacked the power to is a poor excuse. I wish I could have saved more people if anything.”
Aether could see the deep regret in her tired expression, born not from lack of trying, but from the fact her best was all she had. Aether wished he could properly disagree, but he knows the sting of wishing to be better well.
“Furina…”
“Heh, sorry.” She shook away the negative thoughts. “I didn’t mean to make this conversation heavy. I should try following Navia’s example more. Moving on is nearly impossible if all you do is bring up the past. Fontaine is in safer hands now.”
“They’ve always been.” He said with a stern voice that caught Furina’s attention. “We might not be able to do everything we wish we could, but that doesn’t mean you were lacking or inadequate. Earlier today I heard someone thank their blessings by giving gratitude to the Hydro Archon; another person said your name fondly in regards to this nation’s safety. Some even went as far as to call you Focalor.”
“Wh-What!? The news by now has had to have circulated even to the other lands about…you know…”
“My point exactly. You’re tired and down on yourself. I get that. Still, I hope you know for many people, real or not, you were their Hydro Archon for 500 years and held your responsibilities right to the very end. When that title is invoked many will think of you, and if you were to ask them me, I’d tell you that’s earned. I hope you can find comfort in that somehow.”
Furina didn’t understand why this shocked as much as it did. If anything, she was always highly aware of the feelings her, or rather, Fontaine’s people held. If she weren’t honest with herself, though the role she played brought unimaginable grief, she held zero regret in her choice or could say there was absolutely no joy over the centuries. Even the saddest of tragedies had their glimmer of light. If they didn’t, how would the character, performer, or audience truly understand what was tragic about it all?
“You know something? I think you might actually make for a good attorney. Not only do you bring sound reasoning consistently, but somehow you always seem to sway what’s in a person’s heart.”
Aether couldn’t help but laugh off the thought awkwardly. “Thanks for the compliment, but I'm honestly a nervous wreck every time I was in those stands. Don’t think I have the stomach for it all that much. Speaking of which…” he trailed off.
“Ah… is this the part where you want to apologize for nearly getting me killed?” Furina said quickly and with the utmost bluntness.
“That…was no one’s plan. I’m the slightest I might add.”
“Mmhmm, buuuut it certainly happened. There’s a suspended death sentence in my name inside some filing cabinet. That exists now.” She teased further, poking his arm with faux aggression. “As I said earlier, there’s no need to apologize for those things. I can see that I didn’t make things easy and how everyone, including myself, did all we could with what we understood. It wouldn’t make sense to hold that against any of you. However…I won’t lie and say I didn’t feel…blindsided.”
She said it nicely, but Aether remembered the hurt that riddled her eyes in the moment she realized she was lured into a trap.
“You’re right.” He said, turning away from her gaze to look at anything across the water. “I still wanted to say I’m sorry. It’s just that…”
He grew silent. Furina could understand but was still rather annoyed how now he was the one making things heavy and looking back! “Just what? Out with it already.” She crossed her arms.
“…I never wanted to make you cry.”
The rolling waves filled the space between them as they both let his words hang in the air. Furina could see the tips of his ears become stricken with red while she felt a flutter in her chest. Of all things that happened that day, she would’ve never guessed that’s what he was going to say.
“I…” she sighed. Damnit! You would think at this point she could handle curveball situations like this as quickly and easily as breathing. Furina took a deep exhale before breathing in composure, displaying a smile he couldn’t see and summoning bravado. “What an interesting thing to say. Let’s be honest with ourselves. It’s not as if you made me cry. Saying so would be taking credit from hundreds of other reasons I often want to cry about. It just so happened that day the scales tipped! Also…” her became more earnest, “Fate said I was going to weep. So please, don’t feel bad. Okay?”
Aether turned back around to see Furina showing off a smile that said “it’s fine.” Aether smiled back. “Someone is certainly more expressive.”
“I am an actress! It’s my duty to convey my feelings with my glance and every movement!” She said proudly.
“It’s a little confusing though when you look fed up yet clearly give longing looks, Madame Focalor.” He said with a cheeky grin.
Her face flared red. Furina would’ve thought her ears had grown weary of that name; yet hearing his lips say it was….“I-I have done no such thing! You’re simply awful at reading people! And don’t call me that so casually! More importantly, are you saying your gaze is so fixed on me to the point of pondering my feelings about trivial things?”
“So those glances are trivial?” He teases. “You wound me.”
“So you do want them to be longing? Ah ha!” She pointed, watching him play off the accusation with an eye roll. “Roll your eyes all you like. It’s not like I can blame fleeting flights of fancy. I still am Fontaine’s biggest celebrity!” She stands up proudly.
Aether begins clapping in a way that could only be described as petty. Furina couldn’t believe even after all of this, admitting he might have a certain fondness for her was beyond him. Meanwhile, the young man was glad to see her look more energetic. It would seem like the chip on her shoulder wasn’t all an act. It was definitely amusing and nice, if not a little tiring at times. Furina de Fontaine in a nutshell.
The air between them began to feel more playful and rather mischievous as Furina gave a smirk, taking this man by the hands and pulling him up to his feet.
“What’s all this about?”
“I figured you’ve done nothing but grill my authenticity while you play coy. Admittedly your acting is fine but I hardly say that role suits you. All this time I’ve barely seen anything that constitutes your praise as an adventure.”
“What!? I helped save Fontaine! It’s not my fault you weren’t around for the one huge battle!”
“Excuses. That’s all I hear from you. You’re definitely cunning and quick witted, but I’m strangely unconvinced; so if you’re going to keep your eyes on me, might as well put them to the test along with a few other skills.” Furina puts her hat on Aether and tilts it down just over his eyes. “Hold it just like that and count to 70. No cheating now.”
Aether holds the hat like she says. “And when I’m done?”
“You’re a renowned traveler who’s been here for a while haven’t you? Let’s see just how well you know your way around this kingdom. Start counting.”
He could hear her sprint off swiftly. In a matter of seconds, all he could hear was the waves. Furina sure could move when she wanted to. Aether laughed as he continued to count mentally. As he hit 70, he removed the hat from his face and immediately noticed the water stole her footprints aside from the ones immediately next to him.
“Well played Furina. Well played…”
xxxxx
Skipping, giggling and sneaking about, Furina happily moved around her beloved territory. Skilled or not, Aether was in her domain. The likelihood of him even knowing the patrol of the Gardes was incredibly low.
“I do hope he makes this interesting for me.” She hummed, heading west from the main plaza.
“Psssst!” Hissed a few streets away.
Furina whipped her head around and gasped, spotting the blonde sitting at a table with a smug smile. How did he get here so quickly!? It had to be luck, right? Her answer came as he casually pointed to his shoes. Furina looked down at her own and noticed not all of the sand had abandoned the soles.
“Ah…..” Furina looked back up, gave a sheepish shrug, then immediately took off sprinting around the corner.
“Guess we’re doing tag rules then.”
Aether got up with her hat in hand before giving chase. She really was quick on her feet. He barely saw a flash of blue fabric float by as he turned the corner himself. Deeper and deeper he went into Fontaine’s alleyways; going under aquabus bridges and slipping through a side path he’s never noticed. Unlike the other places he’s visited, Fontaine’s major city somehow managed to feel dense one moment then open space the next. The chase was harder than he expected. Furina seemed to slip past every stacked box and promotional sign like a street cat. Clearly this was a path well traversed by her. It was probably how someone with her level of fame managed to slip away from unfavorable situations.
Furina casually ducked between a gap in a fence and around the back of a bakery to find herself one of the most out of the way and peaceful spots in Fontaine. It was a pretty little alleyway; hardly was there any foot traffic during the busiest days. Almost makes her wonder if her people notice it. This precious little space might as well not exist. Furina was convinced some criminal at least had to know about it, but no. This was easily her favorite little hiding hole away from prying eyes.
She put her back against the brick wall and caught her breath. Next time she’ll remember to check her shoes. She had planned to get here a little more eloquently. Oh well. She looked back the way she came, as well as down the path that would lead back to the main streets. No sign of her pursuer.
Did he double back? That was a possibility, but Furina definitely heard his steps hot on her heels for some time. “No way I actually gave him the slip.” She whispered to herself.
“Perish the thought.” He responded.
Furina’s hat fell right onto her head. Her gaze looked towards the sky to see him look down from the roof. With a single hop, he descended and landed right in front of her before she could think about slipping away. Aether put his hands on either side of her and smirked.
“That’s the game. Convinced of my skills now?”
“Quite a lot of effort you put into this. All I’m convinced of is how you can’t stand not having your eyes on me.” Furina playfully wrapped her right hand around his white scarf. It was softer than it looked. “I typically find this level of dedication from my friends a nuisance. I hope you understand that?”
“So I’m a fan now?”
“Aren’t you?”
“I might be. You are definitely talented. I’d see another show.”
“Heh, I rest my case then.” She may have been exaggerating before but now that he was this close… “I can’t be mad about eyes that are this pretty watching me.”
“Like you could be mad at all. Are we still acting like you didn’t lead me here?”
“Is that so~ An interesting accusation.”
“Well I can’t be a fan of Furina de Fontaine if I couldn’t claim to understand her even just a little bit. She’s smarter than she leads on; always thinking about her next move to get what she wants because how could she not? It’s who she is. So, Furina, go ahead. Take what you want~”
She tried remaining resolute in their face off. At this point however, Furina grew intolerant of theatrics; especially when his were so thinly veiled. Even so, she had to admit his commitment to it was something she couldn’t help but stubbornly adore. “I swear…you are so…” Furina didn’t even bother finishing her words.
She wrapped her hand further, pulling Aether down into a feverish kiss neither could resist any longer. Furina invited the boy's eager tongue to slip in between her lips while his right hand grabbed her by the waist and pressed her body up against him. Her left arm draped over his shoulder then folded in to keep his lips right where she wanted. Not that he had thoughts of leaving. Aether leaned deeply into the kiss, fully exploring her so-called, “prideful mouth.” Although right now, the only thing escaping from it were the moans he stole from her.
They savored every second of their growing passion in the secluded alleyway until Furina released him at least. Their chests heaved, desperately taking air as the two of them stared at each other’s reddened faces. She could feel his growing excitement press against her stomach and couldn’t help but smirk.
Her bewitching eyes glowed a faint blue that Aether couldn’t help but drown in. Furina’s hands began moving again, slowly trailing down his chest, then his stomach, and finally stopping at his hips as her fingers tugged on his waistband.
“Isn’t public indecency a crime?”
“I won’t tell if you won’t.” Her voice hummed with a playful hunger that reached her smile. Though it seemed Aether wasn’t letting her have free reign entirely. His right hand took both of her wrists and she let out a small gasp as he put them overhead against the wall. “Scared of getting caught?” She teased, trying to sound unbothered.
“Not exactly, but am I not worthy of your chambers?”
“Ha! And you claim I’m not the honest one? How can a I grant a plea if you’re not clear~” Furina kept her eyes on his. She used her right leg to press against the outside of his left, rubbing up against it teasingly so. His face said everything, but Furina wanted his words. “Go on, speak your mind.”
Aether gladly spoke his mind, but not before keeping Furina in check. He had no problem expressing his desires, but he wasn’t about to let her ego grow so easily. Furina remained unblinking as he removed his left glove with his teeth before dropping it. Aether found his way to her soft and cool torso, dipping lower into her shorts. The actress’s blush only grew along with her sultry smile when he reached wet, warm lips that his fingers slowly massaged.
Furina let out a quiet sigh as the adventurer slipped into her and started curling two fingers to the point her hips jutted out and her teeth sunk into her bottom lip.
“Mmm~”
“We’ve danced around too long to get to this point.” Aether leaned into Furina’s ear. “I want to savor you, so let’s take this behind closed doors; my dear Madam Focalor.”
Such a lovely little act. “That can be arranged.” She let his face back up just a little before stealing his lips. Again, his tongue was greeted by hers; only this time her hips were way more involved in their passion. Furina didn’t even try to free her wrists from his grasp. He was getting so forceful with her body. So…possessive. It was becoming a bit of a struggle to do anything besides listen, and despite her pride, Furina was finding bliss. Aether didn’t stop stirring her insides as he started to ravish her neck. Furina would’ve been done for if it wasn’t for Aether suddenly stopping the moment her knees began buckling. His fingers left her body but she quickly grabbed the lustful hand, catching Aether by surprise. She wouldn’t be put on the back foot completely.
“Shall we get going?” Furina said, guiding his hand to her face. She looked right at him with intense eyes as wrapped her lips around the two soaked digits, licking them clean. Furina left no space between them. Even if he tried to downplay the emotions on his face, the hot throbbing that poked her lower body told all of the blonde’s secrets. “I wouldn’t blame you however, if you needed just a moment of clarity before we made the trip.” Just how long could the boy endure? Furina was eager to find out. She snaked his hand around her throat to make him even more flustered, but was caught off guard to feel his grip tighten just enough for her to realize. Another gasp left her; and Aether leaned in real close.
“Lower your shorts.”
A victory for Furina, although just like always, she had put herself in a position where backing down wasn’t an option. She pulled down her shorts to her knees, allowing the chill air to greet her body while her hands were already pulling down Aether’s pants until she felt his erection spring out and tap her inner thigh. Thank goodness it was dark. It was the only thing hiding just how comically red her cheeks have gotten. Her digits ran along its length, memorizing its shape as she made it slick with a mixture of their arousal and a bit of hydro. His free hand found her butt and made her smirk even more apparent as she felt him squeeze.
“Guess you couldn’t wait after all?”
“Hush.” He groaned.
Air filled Furina’s lungs as she felt Aether push into her. Her playful gaze left as her eyes became wide from the intrusion that commanded her body to hold it tightly. “Oooh my~” Furina grabbed his face and pulled him into another tongue war as Aether rolled his hips into hers. “Mmph!!” Every thrust stole a moan. His hold on her neck remained steady while her waist was kept firmly in place for him to gouge out her insides.
Aether’s grunts matched her feverish panting she snuck in between breaths. How’d he allow her to rile him up so easily? It was as if he was spellbound, burdened with a thirst only she could quench and a desire to shut Furina up. Neither wanted to lose this little game of theirs, but Aether could barely think straight, feeling just how tight her walls are. Not to mention how wet and warm the girl was. If it wasn’t for the smacking of their make out session, the leading noise in this alleyway would be the sound of her pussy swallowing him up. The harder he thrusts, the more Furina sucked on his tongue. She moved her hands around the back of his head in fear of the pleasure causing her to squeeze his face too hard. What was meant to be a bit of foreplay had turned into full blown fucking.
“Anghn, like that~” her voice trembled. “Just like that.” Her body yielded to his movements as his cock dug into a sweet spot repeatedly. In this moment Aether could make her throw her pride aside as long as she got to cum. Every pump felt so heavy and wanting of her body. No person could deny such ecstasy. Not even a god. Furina pried her lips away from Aether’s for her own sanity. “H-Hey…you can cum.. whenever y’know?” Praying he’d leave her with the ability to walk at least.
The strength in her voice waned but Aether found it endearing. He let go of her throat and let her head rest over his shoulder; partly for his own benefit. They both may have started off too strongly. Aether gave several more thrusts before forcing himself to pull out. It was so sudden that Furina’s legs nearly gave out.
“C-Careful!” She trembled. Furina looked down at the unruly appendage that stirred her, watching it spill its seed. “Now, now, evidence is the last thing we need to leave.” She pointed at the mess and washed it away with a stream of hydro before going a little limp on top of the boy.
Aether let out a chuckle. “That’s certainly handy. You okay?”
“Better shape than you. Though a small break is much deserved for your efforts.” She said, sinking into the wall as if it was some luxury mattress.
“Heh, why thank you.”
Both of them found their antics a little ridiculous yet oh so fun at this point. Furina had half a mind to pull the blonde in for another kiss when suddenly, a rumbling trash can startled them stiff. Aether quickly clothed himself and covered Furina from any prying eyes. Their quick maneuvering was in vain however. The trash fell over and out from behind it was a simple cat running off.
Thankful for the outcome but now on edge, Furina realized perhaps Aether had a point. She had no idea how she would’ve explained this to a Garde. “Let’s move this performance to my chambers.” She whispered.
xxxxxx
“ Anyone could say what they want about Furina, but they can’t say she isn’t entertaining.” Those words were always echoed by the people of Fontaine. Aether had to admit every day understood those words more and more. Beyond entertaining however, Furina was surprisingly cunning in unpredictable ways. It made sense for a ruler, former or otherwise, to know their kingdom, but for her to lead Aether all the way to her abode unseen through the quietest Fontainian streets was rather impressive indeed.
“You know you’re quite mischievous when you want to be.”
“It’s my personal spice of life. Everything deserves a little twist.” She took him by the scarf again and walked backwards into her room. By the time the door clicked, Furina was already feeling him up once more as they kissed against it. Frankly it was amazing they kept their hands off each other long enough to get here. It would appear Aether had recovered from their brief but wonderful moment of bliss. Good. Furina wasn’t done with him yet.
Aether felt her hands mess with her shirt and helped her out by raising his arms to quickly discard it. Furina continued to guide him by the lips further into the room then playfully pushed him onto her extravagant bed laced with the finest blue silk sheets which had to be one of coziest mattresses he’s ever felt.
“Wow. Can we just skip to the part where we sound asleep?” He looked down to see the woman already fishing his erection out from his pants. “Guess that’s a n- ngh~”
Music to Furina’s ears. She figured giving the boy a taste would silence his cute banter. Right now she was far more interested in the blush on his face spreading. As capable of a warrior Aether was, Furina was surprised to learn just how passive he could be. Once again she found her gaze fixated on his flickering eyes as she took him down to the back of her throat; she even went as far to moan, sending vibrations through his body that made his hips rise.
“Furina!” He panted, overwhelmed by her hyperactive tongue coiling around him. Aether found it difficult to look at her directly which in turn, only made her more enthusiastic. He began to feel the pleasure rise gradually, his cock twitching violently before Furina dragged her lips off of him.
“Oh no you don’t.” Furina said, wiping her mouth with a single finger. “Do try to last a little longer. We haven’t gotten to the best part.” She gave him a seductive smile as she finally removed her shorts entirely, along with pale blue panties. In truth, she found her impatience a little unbecoming, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care at the moment. Furina gladly straddled Aether, raising her hips right over his raging manhood before slowly piercing herself with it.
“Mmmngh~” she couldn’t deny how full she felt; how he seemed to touch…everything. Furina took a moment to try and calm her breathing as well as her body before proceeding any further. At that time, Aether sat up to meet her and began reaching for her top, but Furina grabbed his hand in reflex.
Aether was surprised by the reaction, and to see Furina’s eyes quickly dart away from his own. “I suppose divine stars can have such relatable insecurities like these.” He spoke softly.
“I may be a star, as you say, but that makes me no less of a woman.” She said, a bit more defensively than she would’ve liked.
“That’s fair. Still, for you to be insecure about this? You, who has the noblest of forms…” he reached for her again. “Bewitching and divine beyond reason and comprehension~”
Furina felt her heart skip a beat. He removed her hat then began quietly working on her top while she remained rigidly still. Those words he spoke could’ve easily been sugar coated, yet Furina let them have their sway; she raised her arms and let Aether see…everything. “It’s not much.”
“Doesn’t matter; It’s what I’m looking for.” He said just as quickly, leaning in as he wrapped his arms around her porcelain skin. “You’re perfect.”
Furina was undone by his teeth sinking into her neck, nipping away towards her collarbone and then assaulting her chest with warm lips and an even warmer tongue.
“Mmm. Truly you are…hopeless.” She swooned, her hips rocking in his laps reflexively. “Fine then, have your fill!” Furina’s arms kept him close.
Aether gladly began to devour her figure, leaving no part unmarked by his affection. Furina didn’t know what was worse. His persistence, or the feeling of his cock growing inside deeper than ever before. Furina felt her face grow hot. His words were no lie at all. The very thought made her body squeeze him in place while her hips kept moving on their own. She pressed her soft, shapely ass onto his lap, grinding his length right up against her womb while she felt Aether’s teeth ensnare a nipple and tease it relentlessly. Furina couldn’t stop her nails from running in between his shoulder blades as she lost composure. There was no hiding it from him; she wanted all she could take from him.
Aether stopped his oral assault for only a moment but it was enough time for Furina to push him back down against the mattress, her hands roaming down his chest as she let out breathless pants. He couldn’t utter even one word as watched in awe as Furina’s movements flowed like a stream; the way her hips would raise only to slam back down and how she shut her eyes to focus on the pleasure drove Aether crazy. Everything felt so wonderful and stuck to his length like warm honey. It took so much strength to not scream when she completely sat down on his lap and rolled her hips forward while her nails grazed his ribs and traced his toned chest.
Furia looked down at him, hearing the sharp, strained breaths come in and out between as kept his eyes shut tightly. The blush on his face was a beautiful red, like a vintage wine ready to devour. Furina laid her body completely on top of his body, continuing to raise, lower, and roll her hips as she began nipping his ear or kissing his neck. As she thought. It was tastier than any wine. Furina was ready to stay like this and drink him up forever until a sudden burst of heat rushed into her body, causing her to gasp. The girl sat up immediately and looked down. Her eyes widened and cheeks glowed scarlet seeing Aether’s cock twitch violently as thick, white cum began leaking out of her. Furina looked back up at Aether to see him covering his face with one hand.
He looked through spread fingers and sure enough, the woman on top of him was grinning like a mischievous cat. “I was close from your blowjob.” He defended.
“Now why don’t I believe that in its entirety?” She cooed, loving his flustered expression. “Not that I can blame you. As you said, I’m bewitching.” She took his hand and ran it up her body, earning another twitch. “Was I too much?”
Aether had no defense for that. He sat up and put his face against her chest to hide better. “You’re annoying is what you are.” He groaned, knowing his ears had to red. He could feel Furina’s fingers playing with his braid. “I got a bit overwhelmed.”
“No need to explain yourself.” She hummed, proud of her performance. He clearly didn’t notice all the little orgasms and jolts of pleasure she was experiencing. “Feel free to recover. After all, it would be natural for someone such as I to be overstimulating to a mortal. I felt lovely. I won’t hold this against-” She cut her victory lap short, feeling Aether began to grow inside of her again. “H-Huh?”
Aether pushed his waist forward, causing Furina to let out a yelp as she was put on her back with Aether perfectly looking down at her between her legs. A jolt went through her as he grabbed both her thighs and moved her legs onto his shoulders where they dangled. The fierce determination in his gaze made Furina realize she might have spoken too soon about his submissive tendencies. Perhaps she had gloated a little too much?
“We can uh…take a break if you’re tir-aah~” She felt his waist dip until it met her body. Aether leaned over her and whispered.
“I said I was going to savor you.” He pulled out to the tip, then plunged right back in.
Furina felt the air leave her lungs and brain stutter for a moment as Aether began pounding her relentlessly. Her limbs didn’t know to grip the sheets or onto him, but they settled for clawing the sheets of the rocking bed. “W-Wait! Anngh! It’s…too deep~” her moans were blatant, mouth agape as she pleaded. The reply she received was his tongue conquering hers, and yet she made no argument against it. “Mmmmm~”
There was nothing to do but take his passion. Furina was certain he was harder than before and making her hips float with every soaked plunge into her. It was a good thing they were kissing, or else someone would’ve definitely heard her wail as he turned up the intensity. It was too much for her. His weight made sure he hit the bottom of her deepest part every time to the point Furina could only…
“MMMPH!?” Her body jerked violently, the inside of her walls gripping like a vase and unleashing a turret of her arousal that dampened the sheets as Aether pulled out and let her legs fall. Furina’s head was so clouded and her breathing was uncomfortable while the pleasure gradually subsided. So much of her strength had been eaten away, but she wasn’t even mad at it. Furina was too busy trying to calm down to care about anything else, even the fact a perfectly good set of sheets were ruined.
“Y-You…brute.” She groaned in pouty satisfaction, still feeling his efforts. Furina would not know true rest however. Aether slowly flipped her over to her stomach. She felt his strong hands grab her hips and raise them until she felt his tip press against her folds. “But I just came~” she whined, despite shaking her hips to feel him rub against her.
“Don’t tell me this mere mortal has overstimulated you?” He said with a hunger in his voice.
Furina let out a long groan as he pulled her onto his cock. “Mmngh, I’m sorry…!” she moaned, reaching for one of many pillows and burying her face in it as Aether’s hips plowed into her again, mercilessly thrusting like a piston. “Aaaaannh~”
Why did she adore this so much? She had him in the palm of her hand earlier and now she was sweating as he took her like an animal. It wasn’t that he was only thrusting, but commanding her hips to push into him, creating such a terribly indecent sound that echoed like steps in a puddle. She knew she wanted everything from him, but it was so embarrassing yet hot to give him everything he craved.
Aether listened to the symphony of squeals and moans as he watched the ripples her ass crested whenever he pushed forward into her body. Her skin was wonderfully flushed like his and the pleasure didn’t seem to end. “You’re so beautiful.”
How dare he say that to her now? When all she could do is push back even harder and submit to his hunger. She knew he could feel her grip tighten. There was no hiding from his words or what was in her heart.
Furina probably thought his ego spurred his actions. While that was admittedly part of the truth, it was insignificant to the infatuation he had seeing her so wanting and pleased by him. Furina was finally being honest.
He made her go prone and put his weight on her again and he took her gripped knuckles. “Look at me.” He rasped.
Furina looked over her right shoulder to see his face an inch away. She instantly closed her eyes and went in for a kiss they both so eagerly wanted. His fingers interlocked hers while his hips made sure she felt his unruly length get buried into her body as he fucked her into the bed. Aether ended their kiss and got his revenge from earlier, licking and nipping at her ear lobe. “Nooo~” her body trembled. “I’ll…”
“Give it to me. Don’t try to fight it. I want to see you cum, Madam Focalor~” He bit her neck.
His teeth found her neck as she was left with those sultry words that would be her undoing. “F..uck.” She put her face in the pillow and screamed, her walls taking hold of Aether’s trembling cock and squeezing it until it had no choice but to erupt again while her own arousal ran down her twitching legs.
Both of them felt the exhaustion hit, laying motionless as they groaned from the pleasure and fatigue. Aether rolled off of Furina and laid on his stomach right next to her. He turned his head to see the girl staring at him with pouty puffed out cheeks. Maybe he went a little overboard.
“Hehe…umm, my ba-”
“I want a normal kiss.” She huffed.
Aether blinked silently before giving a small smile. “As you wish.” He scooted closer and gently placed his lips on her, feeling her body ease into his.
Furina placed her head under his chin and silently, yet loudly, commanded comfort by resting against him. He was very quick on the uptake, placing his arm around her torso. “You performed wonderfully.” She hummed. “Now stay just like this for now. I won’t tolerate waking up alone.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? I was all for skipping to this part.”
“Ha, as if I’d let you. Although…I can see the appeal.” She shut her eyes.
xxxxxx
When the god finally arose, the day had already begun. Furina opened her eyes to muffled light through the curtains but more importantly, her head rested on Aether’s bare chest. It appeared they moved a bit in their sleep. It was only when she sat up she realized they didn’t just move, but properly under clean sheets and on the appropriate side of the bed.
“….” She poked Aether’s cheek repeatedly until he groaned. “Hey, did you move us?”
“Mmhmm.” He mumbled. “You’re a heavy sleeper and I got a little cold, so I took us to bed properly.”
“But where did you get the clean sheets?”
He pointed towards the door. Furina looked to see a giant note on it with beautiful handwriting she immediately recognized. It said, “Do be mindful of regular patrol and shift changes, my lady. Do not fear however. No traces were discovered, and as always, my silence is yours. Sleep well, Clorinde.”
Furina felt utterly mortified, covering her bright red face. “Why is she so diligent!? She doesn’t even work for me! I told her to relax!”
“My guess is she had a vague idea of possible trouble you could find yourself in and thought it would be better for her to find out instead of someone else by mistake. She may have even known about the alley.” Aether sat up briefly with his undone hair flowing freely. He hugged the paralyzed Furina and brought her back down to bed. “Worry later, or rather, thank Clorinde later. It’s still sleepy time.”
She had no clue how he could be so calm about this!? Yet she also wasn’t about to disturb him. Though that note rid her of sleep, Furina stayed in his arms for comfort. She would think about everything else later. Her eyes drank in his sleeping face, the way his slightly flushed lips curled made her own lips curl up. Under dim light through blinds. Furina couldn’t stop replaying last night’s performance. Those lips of his were so active, so…wanting. They took and gave everything faster than she could process. For the first time in a long time, being overwhelmed felt glorious. She had to admit that right now…if she had the chance to-
Aether opened his eyes, feeling the lady’s gaze on him. He sat up and she followed suit. “If you want something then feel free to say it.” Aether said, casually grinning.
Furina’s cheeks were struck with red. Was he a mind reader now!? “D-Don’t put this on me! You’d think I’d fall for such an obvious plea for-” her defense was immediately cut at the source via Aether grabbing her lower jaw and pulling her in slowly as he stared at her with calm amber eyes. Her heart nearly stopped.
“It might be noon, but don’t you think it’s too early for theatrics? If you can swallow your pride right now, I’ll make it worth everything and more. Just like last night.” He said, morning voice and all.
Furina was left speechless and now bright red. Such a bold proposition! How dare he commanded such authority, and yet…it wasn’t exactly terrible. At least that’s how she tried to convince herself about her feelings towards it. In truth, it was embarrassingly marvelous.
Furina averted his gaze again and removed his hand. Without a word, she bent down, putting her head in his lap while pushing away the covers. She guided his length back into her mouth and began coiling her tongue to invigorate Aether once again. She can’t believe she was doing this, during broad daylight no less! He really was so annoying. It didn’t help she felt a hand start to rub the top of her head while another grabbed her exposed rear, its fingers sliding along it to meet her folds and give them attention.
“Mmm~” Furina raised her hips, allowing two fingers to properly slip inside of her as she continued her efforts in earnest. She felt Aether grow to the point her jaw hung open, his thick and leaking tip greeting her throat.
Aether could barely feel his hips from the way Furina relentlessly lapped his length. “Nngh, good girl.” He teased, committing to his role. He didn’t expect her body to give him a gripping reaction around his fingers. Looks like Furina was still full of surprises for them to discover together. “Okay, I’m a man of my word. Get on my lap.”
Furina took a deep breath as she came up. His fingers left her wanting as they left, but that was fine when what’s to come would feel much better. She couldn’t even find it in herself to boast about Aether’s reactions. Instead she quickly put one leg on each side of him and angled herself above his cock like last night. Slowly, she lowered herself, shutting her eyes tightly as her body remembered last night.
“Aaaa~” she moaned, sinking down further until she was sitting completely on him. Furina felt her hips go numb and her body twitch from the rush of a hot tongue tracing her modest chest. Furina didn’t even get the chance to open her eyes again before feeling her body fall backwards onto the bed; added weight held her body in place as that same tongue slipped past her lips and took it away to his own. The fullness inside was dragged back out to the entrance before slamming back down. A guttural groan rumbled in her chest as it happened again, and again, and again….
Damn that Aether. Nobody moves like this without having their own desires. She could hear every sharp inhale he took and felt the hunger in his hips feed them both ravenous pleasure. He might’ve made her swallow her pride, but only to hide the fact his mind was in the exact same place hers was. Furina couldn’t be bothered to be upset at the ruze at this point. She put her arms around his neck, drowning in their embrace as the heat between their bodies grew hotter. It wasn’t long before either worked a little sweat. That didn’t stop Aether at all though. Furina couldn’t stop her toes from curling after each and every deep thrust that pried her open. It was impossible to tell who was trembling at this point, the both of them soaring high until a final plunge into her released hot seed that her body ringed out with pleasure. Their kisses ended with heavy breathing and strained breath that tickled each other’s ears.
When Aether said, “Just like last night” Furina didn’t expect him to skip towards the intensity he displayed near the end! Her eyes fluttered open, feasting themselves on a slim, yet defined and toned figure between her legs, and eyes that took in her glistening porcelain figure as if it were a crowned jewel. Not that it wasn't, but to see him marvel at her without having to prompt him was… embarrassing to say the least.
Aether watched her eyes grow wider as he put his hands on her knees to part her legs wider before taking her hips into his control, raising her waist up to thrust directly into her.
Furina gasped as if she didn’t just watch him reposition her! His hips didn’t go as hard as before but made up for it with speed and control. “Ngh- you have…too much energy!” Furina moaned. Forget the previous round; her body was still sensitive from last night! “Must you be so rough!?”
“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Aether said breathlessly.
“I…”Furina’s eyes couldn’t help but watch the thick and unrelenting cock disappear inside her, only reappear briefly; the shaft was coated in a mixture of their passion that kept it slick and entering repeatedly. The girl sunk her teeth into her bottom lip, seeing how his length only came back out messier after each thrust. She laid her back, her left arm hiding her eyes.
Aether groaned. “Mmm, you’re getting tighter.”
“Silence!” She whined, knowing it was true. “I…I…”
“Swallow your pride~”
“…..Don’t.., don’t stop, please.” She confessed, her voice wavering. Furina dug her fingers into the sheets while her toes curled again. “I don’t wanna get out of this bed! I just want to feel you!” Her face was bright red. Somehow she found the courage to remove her arm, only to not find fierce eyes dominating her, but shut ones on an equally flushed face as Aether’s hips worked overtime. A surprising sight to witness, yet it made Furina all the more needy for his touch. Her eyes shut again and the both of them bathed in the lustful, euphoric sounds of their bodies.
Aether fought so hard not to yell from the way the soaked, warm walls pleaded for him. His thighs were doused in Furina’s arousal as she slammed into them, giving her everything.
Her pussy gladly took the punishment, growing red from the persistent pounding that made her womb ache. Every inch was taken and remembered. Furina feared if this kept up, Aether might reshape her body entirely. That would be unacceptable. To perfectly accommodate her foolish consort’s body would be…
“Aangh~” she sighed. “Make me yours; for all time…” such a maddening idea.
Furina could no longer find words for her pleasure as she felt Aether’s tip rub against womb and deliver a rush of hot seed directly inside it, his hands like a vice on her hips and rigid length buried to the hilt inside her body. The ravishing feeling had a death grip on her body she wouldn’t soon forget. The word maddening didn’t do it justice. Furina let her mind wander off as the sound that finally let her throat could only be described as one thing. Operatic.
xxxxxx
Loud one moment and quiet the next. Furina’s life had been a whirlpool of emotions in what felt like a wild dream. Yet here she was now, humming in a bubble bath as diligent hands scrubbed her scalp before rinsing the soap out with soothing warm water.
“Mmm. I can’t say 500 years was worth this specific moment, but I think it’s pretty close.” She could hear Aether chuckle.
“Unbelievable. I’m glad you’re happy putting me to work.”
“I’ll wash your hair next if you want?”
“It was a little joke Furina.”
“And my offer still stands~” She leaned back against the young man, watching his arms hold her. Furina ran her fingers in between his quietly as the water settled.
“Hey?” She said sheepishly, gathering her thoughts. “Just to set the record straight, I may have lived a long life but I wouldn’t say it’s been the most fulfilling. These past several hours are acts I’ve never done, so…” why did she suddenly feel so anxious saying this to him. “All I’m saying is I didn’t do this on a whim. If that makes sense. I-”
“Furina.” He said softly, turning her head his way to put her nerves to rest with a gentle, comforting kiss. “I know.”
Perhaps she was the one who underestimated him? He could read her just fine. Furina smiled softly, resting her head on his chest. “I couldn’t ask for a person to share the stage with.”
xxxxx
“Two bags. Just as promised. I thought you would’ve picked these up earlier.” Said a vendor, handing off the groceries to Furina.
“Thank you. And I’ll try to next time. I got a little held up.” She laughed off as she began walking. As she made her way home, her feet froze in place as Clorinde and Navia nearly bumped into her as they turned the corner.
“Wow! Sorry about that.” Navia chuckled. Although it went unheard as Furina and Clorinde shared a glance.
“Did you make it home safely last night? No problems?”
“N-None.” Furina wanted to sink to the bottom of the water right now. “Thank you.”
“It was nothing. Next time though, I’d recommend taking care of all personal business in a more…private capacity.”
“I will keep that in mind. Anyways, I should get these home.Toodaloo!” Furina briskly walked off.
Navia couldn’t help but notice the girl’s awkward stride as she left. “Is Furina okay? She seemed a little…”
“Training.” Clorinde said, calmer than ever. “She was by the water training and pushed herself a little too hard. I made sure to keep an eye out is all. She’s probably still tired.”
“Ah. That’s sweet of you. For a moment I thought she still felt terribly awkward around us. Especially me. I do hope that feeling doesn’t last too long. I wouldn’t mind inviting her to tea.”
“You might have a better chance at that when I’m not around.”
“Really?” Navia squints, noticing the lack of eye contact she was receiving. “Don’t tell me you also feel awkward about it; given how you used to work for her and all?”
“…Something like that.”
“Ah ha! All the more reason to put in effort! I’ll try to get in touch sometime in the near future.”
“You really d-” it was too late. Clorinde could see the determination in Navia’s eyes. “I’ll…keep my schedule open.” The woman let out a quiet sigh of defeat. She’d be sure to grab some cake for Furina when the day comes.
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ae-neon · 10 months ago
Text
the Viper Queen and the Meat Market
I wanna mention all the problems I picked up (so far) mind you these are just mental connections I have made from my own knowledge, I am not an expert nor have I gotten the chance to do any serious research
This is not in depth mostly because it would be a hassle getting all sources, texts and pictures together with my current setup (so please look up it up for yourself if you want to understand/know more)
This is not that long I just put a cut for scrolling convenience
First and foremost is the racist Dragon Lady stereotype. Sjm has already used this stereotype for three of her east Asian characters: Amren, Manon and now this Viper Queen
Second is the idea of the Meat Market itself, being this cramped, lawless place. This plays into stereotypes about spaces of certain ethnicities as lawless zones outside of the order and normalcy of the rest of the surrounding area. In particular this reminds me of Chinatowns - places that were intentionally set up and segregated by white people so that they would not have to live and work beside Asian populations. Sjm makes the mention that "even Micah and the angels had no jurisdiction there" 🙄 like please 😒 the racism is actually detrimental to her world building cause now I know all the human rebels have to do to scare the angels is be "foreign"
Second is the introduction to the Meat Market. It's first mentioned early on as a sort of red light district. Harkoning back to real life sex tourism popular among western men and targeted at poc, but especially Asian women. Things like this have its roots in colonialism and the vulnerability of women and children in wartime.
The first glimpse we have of the Meat Market Bryce stops to observe food being delivered and remarks on strange food and feeling sympathy for the seemingly sad crustaceans who are to be eaten. Rich coming from someone who owns a sentient pet she cannot communicate with despite knowing it does speak. This again plays into some orientalism and the discrimination some western people have towards traditional food from other cultures. Eg the stigma against eating things like dogs because they find it cruel but are okay with intelligent animals like pigs and octopi getting eaten. I'm not saying eat dogs but did you stop to learn that the practice started after colonial forces starved the native population? Would it really matter even if it didn't? Why should food be understood by the west to be deemed acceptable?
The general state of the Meat Market being a place of vice also leans into the history of opium dens. Long story short the British wanted to take advantage of the Chinese so they got them addicted to drugs and it was horrible. Please look more into this. No doubt it was a bit of the inspiration for how white America introduced crack into African American communities to tear them apart from the inside.
This is all for now as I basically stopped in the beginning of chapter 18.
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daydreamgoddess14 · 1 year ago
Text
Aspirations pt. 4
Sydcarmy Masterlist
Full Masterlist
Menu planning, avoidant behaviour, protective Richie and jealous Carmy, anyone? Yes, I busted this chapter out very quickly because I couldn't wait to write it 😂 I'm happy with this one, I think. Hope you are too! Our chapter count has gone up - why tf did I think I could do this in 3?! 😅 - I'm pretty sure it's going to be 6 in total.
~~~~~~
“What’s next?” Nat asked later that day from the dining table while Syd moved the previous plate away.
“Oysters.”
“Nooo! Please no.”
“You said we could give it a shot?” Carmy looked hurt,
“I think we’re going to lose too much prep time shucking them and making them presentable.” Syd countered.
“We’ll time it. Nat, stopwatch?”
“On it. I’m kinda leaning with Syd though. Does anyone actually like them?”
“I do.” They both replied, “trust me, I know you’ll like these ones.” Syd continued.
“Show me why you can’t shuck them?” Carmy asked Syd, handing her a knife and an oyster. She looked wary but made sure the crustacean was secure in her hand and positioned the knife, “Ok, you’re going in at the wrong angle, may I?” He came close to her, head bent towards hers. She went to hand him both items but he shoo’d her hands away, “no, you’re gonna do it, Chef.” His hand covered hers, holding the oyster with her and his other hand joined hers on the knife. He changed the position of the blade and guided her to push the point of the knife into the hinge of the oyster. His hands cupped hers as they heard a small pop and the oyster opened up. “See, you did it.”
“I think you did it,” she replied softly, neither of them moving apart. Behind Syd, Nat cleared her throat. 
“Aren’t these supposed to be an aphrodisiac?” She asked. Carmy sprang away from Syd.
“Uhh yeah, it’s cos they look like… well. Y’know. Anyway, you’re gonna try this and I promise you’ll like it.” Syd smiled seasoning the opened oyster with a dressing of cilantro, lime and ginger she’d already prepared and finished it off with a drizzle of sriracha. Next to her, Carmy had lined up a couple of others he'd opened up and she seasoned those as well. “Ok… so just like, swallow it whole.” She handed the small plate to Nat who held it up for a better look.
“Swallow it whole? Ok, now you’re just fucking with me cos I mentioned the whole aphrodisiac thing?” Syd shook her head,
“Nope. I swear, you gotta just go for it.” Nat and Carmy both tried theirs at the same time. 
“Are you fucking real, Sydney?” He muttered, “that was insane.”
“You’ve converted me.”
“Cool. They’re still not going on the menu.” Syd laughed,
“They have to!” Nat protested.
“How about if we did it with scallops instead?” Carmy suggested, “We can’t not use this dressing, Syd.” She tried the last oyster for herself. 
“Yeah… that dressing is the shit. Scallops could work. I’ll get some from the fish guy tomorrow and try it?”
“Heard, Chef.” He replied with a small smile.
“Do I still need to time you?”
“No,” Syd went to speak up as Carmy said,
“Yes, please do.” He turned to Syd, “We have some left, it’s good practice.”
“Yeah, good practice for something I’m never doing again.” She teased.
“We’ll see about that. Race?” Syd’s eyes lit up. She loved it when he was like this, and it was becoming more and more of a regular occurrence since The Bear had opened. He had the same intensity and unwavering gaze, but he was playful and mischievous. She’d finally seen him the way Nat and Richie had known him before. Quick witted - often with an under the radar dirty joke that had her, Richie and Tina sniggering into their prep work while Marcus and Gary looked bemused. 
“Fucking fine. I’m going to own you, bitch.” He divided up the remaining oysters between them and handed her the knife back. He found another from the drawer,
“Doubt it, Chef. Nat, you judging? Don’t let her fuckin’ cheat.”
“You’ll pay for that Berzatto, I do not cheat.”
“Alright you two, let’s go before Pete gets back with Mikey,” Nat came to stand on the other side of the counter so she could see them both standing side by side, elbows brushing. “What’s the winner get?”
“Oysters on the fuckin’ menu.” Carmy decided.
“Nuhuh, that’s fine if you win… If I win though, I want you to make the dish I had in New York.” Confusion followed by shock crossed his face,
“Fuckin’ coming back to that after I’ve kicked your ass.”
“Please,” she scoffed, “let’s get this over with so you can cook for me again.” She rolled her eyes.
“You both ready?” Nat interrupted. “Three, two, one - go!” Syd snatched up her first oyster and, using the technique Carmy had just shown her, opened it without delay. She put each one she opened onto the plate between them, watching Carmy from the corner of her eye she guessed that he was maybe half a second ahead of her.
“Best meal I’ve ever had, y’know.” She said, watching his knife falter just briefly before he got it back under control.
“Good to know. Stop tryin’ to distract me.”
“I would never do that,” she grinned down at her oysters, taking advantage of his time slip.
“You’re always a distraction.” This time her hand stuttered. She caught herself just before the knife made contact with the palm of her hand but it was too late, she’d lost time. Carmy threw his last oyster onto the plate and dropped his knife. “Done.” Syd finished the moment he spoke.
“Ding ding! Carmen Berzatto, congratulations.” Natalie faux bowed to him. She picked up her pen, “so, oysters on the menu then?”
“Nah, we’ll do scallops instead.” He turned to Syd, “It’ll still work. We’ll do it like a -”
“Ceviche,” they said in unison.
“Thank you.” Syd acknowledged.
“Fucking weird.” Nat muttered, rolling her eyes. As she spoke, Pete came through the front door with Mikey’s stroller, “Ok, that’s my cue for a nap. See you guys in an hour. Don’t kill each other in my kitchen. Or anything else.” They dressed the oysters and cleared up before sitting down to eat. 
“Mmm. Holy shit,” Syd moaned, “I’m putting this dressing on everything from now on.” “It’s fire, Chef.”
“Thank you.” They fell into a comfortable silence until, “check your plum sauce.” She reminded him.
“Fuck, yes. Thanks.” He toyed with the heat and sat back down next to her, looking over the menu. “It looks good.” He noted, nudging her slightly.
“Yeah I think so. Just the right amount of festivity.” 
“Exactly. Seasonal.” She could feel his eyes on her as she made some notes for the soon-to-be scallop dish. “When were you in New York?” He asked at last.
“A long time ago. I saved up and blew everything on a few days there. Ate everywhere I wanted to.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I know you didn’t. I wasn’t lying the day I met you when I said I knew of you. That meal changed my fucking life.”
“Mine too, I guess,” he took her wrist gently and pulled her up, “here, try this?” He took her to the stove top and gathered a spoon of the plum sauce. Unable to hand it to her without it spilling, he brought it to her mouth instead. She held his gaze as he placed the spoon in her mouth. There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite decipher but she could feel the heat spread from her cheeks down to her toes, could feel her thighs clench together in desperation. She was eternally grateful that she could easily hide a blush, but she was certain he could sense how her breathing changed. His fingers brushed against hers as she took the spoon from him, the taste of plum and winter spices exploding on her tongue.
“Fuck me.” She mumbled in surprise, eyes still on him. He arched an eyebrow, “the sauce. The sauce is really fucking good.” She confirmed quickly, realizing how closely they were standing. 
“Doesn’t need anything?” Her eyes flicked down to his lips as she subconsciously bit her own lightly. Her heart threatened to burst out of her chest. She could feel herself leaning in unintentionally, her body automatically seeking him out. From his pocket, his phone rang and she turned on her heel instead and took the spoon to the sink with a shake of her head,
“Doesn’t need anything.” She maintained as he let the phone ring, still watching her. “You gonna get that?”
“It’s Claire.” He said, a little sadly. She nodded,
“You should take it. I’m gonna get some air.” She picked up the nearest outer layer, his sweater from earlier in the morning, and slipped out of the front door as she heard him answer,
“Hey babe,” She closed the door with a quiet click behind her and sat on the front door step with her head in her hands. What the fuck was she doing? What the fucking fuck was she fucking doing? She took deep breaths but all it did was remind her of earlier in the morning, wrapped in his arms with his hand on her back and hers on his heart. The heart he’d all but given to someone else. She needed to get a grip before she did something really fucking stupid. Co-workers did not share beds and spoons and eye fuck each other over a plum fucking sauce. She twisted her braids into a bun and secured it, welcoming the cool air on the back of her neck. She shouldn’t have picked up his damn sweater again, he was invading her senses in every single way and it was all becoming too much. She wasn’t sure how much distance she could keep anymore, he just kept drawing her in. She heard the door click again and he sat next to her. “You good?” He asked. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Surely he’d felt it too? Was he just as affected, or was she imagining it? She cleared her throat,
“This needs to stop.” She said firmly, not bothering to confirm what this was. 
“Yeah,” he agreed.
“Yeah.” She got up, went back inside and tried to keep herself from falling back into his orbit for the rest of the day.
*
It had been weeks. Syd maintained an appropriate distance at all times. She tried to keep someone between them, took a full step back from her station whenever he came over to taste her dishes, tried to look anywhere except at him. It was fucking hard. Her eyes were drawn to him in every room, every time. She sought him out even when she didn’t mean to. And fuck she missed him. She occasionally wondered if he was finding it just as difficult, but pushed it to the back of her mind. They weren’t doing anything differently, she reasoned. They were still friends, still co-workers, still partners. She took a plate of pasta into Natalie in the office, Nat looked up at her in concern,
“Hey, you ok honey?”
“All good, Chef.” 
“You just seem a little… distant recently?”
“Just getting on with work.” At that, Richie burst into the office,
“Syd, if he asks, you gotta say no.” She looked bemused.
“Say no to who?”
“The fish guy. The pot wash at the taco place said he wants to ask you out.”
“The fuck? Why are you getting your information from the pot wash at the taco place?”
“We smoke together, trade intel.”
“About me?”
“About everything, Syd. Jeez, focus! The fish guy wants to ask you out, but you gotta say no - ok?”
“Not ok, Richie - why should she say no?” Nat stepped in,
“Cos he’s a fuckin’ dickbag that’s why!” 
“Who’s a dickbag?” Carmy asked, coming in and dropping into a chair.
“The fish guy.”
“Oh fuck yeah, he’s a fuckin’ dickbag. Why do we give a shit though?” He asked, dragging a hand through his hair.
“Cousin, he wants to ask Syd out, I gotta warn her off him.”
“He wants to do what?”
“I know, right? Fuck that. He’ll lose his fuckin’ teeth if he tries.” Said Richie, still affronted that he wasn’t being taken seriously. Nat and Syd exchanged glances.
“Look, if Syd wants to say yes then she can say yes -” 
“But -”
“But nothing. You will both just get your heads out of your asses and leave this the fuck alone, do you hear me?” She warned them.
“Syd, he’s a fuckin’ dickbag.” Carmy said, his voice low, something unrecognizable in his tone.
“Surely that’s for me to decide?”
“Woah, what’s happening here?” Claire squeezed into the room which was now at full capacity.
“Ugh,” Nat groaned, “these two are being ridiculous. The fish guy wants to ask Syd out -”
“Well, that’s good?” Claire asked,
“No it’s fucking not.” Richie and Carmy replied in unison.
“He’s a dickbag.” Carmy muttered.
“A total fucking bag of fucking dicks.”
“Can we stop with the phrase dickbag, please?” Nat pleaded.
“Look, I appreciate the concern guys, but I am capable of deciding for myself whether to date someone. I don’t… I don’t get why we have five fucking people in this office getting into my personal life?” Syd held her hands up.
“He’s not after a date,” Richie grumbled. “He’s after a quick fuck. Does it all the time at all the restaurants in town.”
“S’true.” Carmy confirmed, looking at his hands.
“He ‘dates’ these women for a while and then just fuckin’ ditches them. Waitresses, chefs, fuckin’ anyone who’ll say yes.”
“Have you considered that that might suit Syd?” Nat asked. Syd caught her eye and frowned with a small shake of her head, Nat shrugged.
“Syd’s better than that,” Carmy said, “you’re better than that.” He finally looked up at her, still standing by the desk.
“Again, that’s for me to decide.” She pointed out.
“I think you guys are, like, really invested in Sydney’s sex life. Don’t you think that’s a bit weird?” Claire asked.
“No.” Richie and Carmy replied together, again.
“Yes it is, actually.” Syd agreed with Claire. “Neither of you should care who I’m dating or fucking or whatever the fuck I’m doing in my spare time.”
“We’re looking out for you, cuz!” Richie’s voice rose again. She didn’t have time to pause when she noticed Richie call her cousin,
“This is a really weird way of looking out for me, Richie.” She suggests, “all I have to go on is that he’s a dickbag who dates around a lot?” She saw Carmy shoot Richie a look,
“Well, yeah - isn’t that fucking enough?”
“Richie, you sound jealous! Do you want to date Syd?” Claire teased.
“Fuck, no!” Carmy and Richie both shouted. “No offense,” Richie followed up.
“Ok, this is getting really fucking stupid. The guy hasn’t asked me out, I haven’t even seen him for weeks, and I have no idea what I’d say if he did ask me, ok? You,” she pointed at them both, “do not get to tell me who I can date or who I can fuck, understood?” Syd glared.
“Yes, Chef.” Richie mumbled. She looked at Carmy, his face unreadable.
“Carmy?” Claire asked on Syd’s behalf,
“Yeah, of course. Nothing to do with me, right?” He asked with a shrug, anger creeping into his voice.
“Cool, so now that we’ve established that Syd’s free to date whoever she wants, we getting out of here for a couple of hours?” Claire asked Carmy, rolling her eyes with a smile to Syd and Nat.
“Sure, I’ll just get my stuff. Meet you out front?”
“Yeah. Uhh… great catch up, guys. Syd, good luck!”
“Yeah, thanks. See ya, Claire.” They all waited for the sound of the swing door before speaking again.
“This is really fucked up.” Nat muttered, digging into her pasta. “Not this, this is gorgeous. This pair of fuckos.��� She pointed with her fork at Carmy and Richie.
“I’m outta here for a bit,” Carmy made his way to the lockers and Syd followed.
“The fuck was that?” She hissed, aware of Richie and Nat in the office.
“Nothin’. Like you said, s’not my place to tell you who you can date.” He shoved his arms into his jacket, “or fuck. Right?” He added, his voice laced with anger.
“Correct. Because you have a girlfriend, remember? A friend who is a girl? So you shouldn’t care what I do.”
“Or who?” She glared at him. She tried to disguise her hurt with anger, but she couldn’t stop the stray tear on her cheek,
“Fuck you, Carmy.” She jabbed his chest. “Fuck. You.” She spat out, full of venom. He stilled, leaned into her hand.
“Yeah. Sure, Syd. Fuck me.” He reached up to brush the tear away with his thumb and slipped past her to Claire. She hesitated before going back to the office, trying to get her emotions under control so she didn’t cry in front of Richie or Nat.
“I’m sorry sweetheart,” Richie started as she walked back in. “Fuck, sorry. Can I call you sweetheart?” She nodded a little.
“S’ok. I know you meant to fucking protect me or some shit, I get it.” He met her forehead with his own,
“Yeah. But I was an asshole and I’m sorry.”
“Thank you, Richie.”
“Please say no if he asks you. I’m too fuckin’ old to be fightin’ toddlers in the fuckin’ street, huh?” She offered a brief smile.
“I’ll bear it in mind.”
“Ok. I gotta fuckin’ burn one. That shit was awkward as hell when Claire came in and Carmy was making fucking goo-goo eyes at you.”
“Fuck off Rich.” He laughed, patted her shoulder sympathetically and made for the back doors. Syd sat heavily in the chair Carmy had sat in, and slumped down while Nat quietly finished her pasta.
“You ok?” She asked.
“Not really.” She rubbed her hands over her face with a big sigh. 
“So you guys are just going to… what? Either be ignoring or fighting each other for the foreseeable future?”
“I guess so.” Syd shrugged, anger building again. “He has no right to tell me who I can date.”
“I know.”
“It’s nothing to do with him. Nothing at all to do with him.”
“I agree.”
“Whatever the problem is, it’s his problem to fix. Not mine.”
“I hear you.”
“What do I do, Nat?”
“You live your life, babe. You do whatever the hell you want and he can go to fuck.”
“Yeah. Yes. You’re right. It’s nothing to do with him.” Syd nodded.
~~~~~
27 notes · View notes
wormbloggign · 9 months ago
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“I think you’re off target,” I said. “You’re talking about Foil, I get it, and Parian, and now the Chicago Wards and Glenn. But all of the decisions they made were when I wasn’t anywhere near them. Unless you’re implying I have some sort of mind control.”
yeah taylor, about that,, your category of control is attributed to insects but it also includes crustaceans, cephalopods, arachnids, not to mention the microscopic parasites and WORMS. it seems your category of control is a lot more open than you think, possibly even able to expand.
all im saying is mind control isnt that far off.
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i dont think taylors ever snap decided someone to be bad just because of how they interpret and summarise her actions, i wonder whats different here
We won, I thought.  We beat him, and you’re quibbling over details.
ah, she doesnt consider her actions here wrong.
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that's how canary gets out? i had ideas but none of them were endbringer fodder
We won, you bastards.  I clenched my fists beneath the table.
this is really getting to her, fuck.
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how arent they noticing this? bugs dont go this ignored, especially if someone in the room is a bug master, am i going crazy?
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she's been caught from the start, damn.
…He won’t have our assistance, I thought. I heard the words, and my bugs spoke them.  Every bug, within the building, repeated him, verbatim.  The good, the bad, the details that damned me.  It wasn’t a question of finding the right person, or saying the right thing.  It was everyone, saying everything.
!!!
whent things go bad, taylor spot checks, when things get worse SHE SPOT CHECKS HARDER
“It’s exactly what Chevalier wanted,” I said. My eyes dropped to the table. I didn’t meet his gaze, didn’t try to engage the visitors. “Open, honest. Exposing the rot at the center.”
YYEEEAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH
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what does the chief director mean by that... taylors right, they were opposed from the get go.
if chief west was on her side, that would mean very disturbing things for the PRT (cauldron compliant)
“You want me to make a move. Powerful enough to shake them, break the status quo, not powerful or blatant enough to break my probation or give them an excuse to drop the book on me.”
given that she was always going to do the first half, (this is taylor after all) glenns basically just asking her to hold back and be careful
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ugly crying.
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uglier crying.
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UGLIEST CRYING.
.
okay im back
“This space was for vehicles, but Stardust graduated three years ago, died a year after joining the Protectorate. We’ve been using it for storing paperwork, and your moving in was a good excuse to get some things sorted out. Your workshop.”
yesssss textile manufacturingg :):):)
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maybe?? taylor MAYBE????
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STOOPPP
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oh it was hazing, i was really worried about the direction of the story for a bit there
“Don’t sue me for sexual harassment,” Annex told me. I smiled a little.  “I’m not going to sue.  I’ve been around people who did worse.”
taylors the kind of person who people apologise to after she talks about stuff shes gone through
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i want to like these guys, i really do.
lets hope they get more development and become more distinct
(i've already forgotten who has what powers)
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numbugwritingblog · 9 months ago
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Welcome to the New Realm! (Chapter 4)
Previous Chapter
Index
---
04/05/2018
Ah, the potion of waking.
While it cannot stave off sleep indefinitely, it’s more than a suitable option when you only need to stall sleep for one extra day.
Jett knew it was the last potion he was provided for a reason, so that Grace could at least afford him the chance to relax from the radio. Indeed he drank it all down at once, giving Grace a distinctly casual kiss on the cheek before teleporting off.
Indeed, Jett knew that Grace would not be offended by that like most people would, that was as usual of a goodbye as they ever gave.
Trailing a finger along his bag, checking that he had all of his potions at the ready Speed, Strength, Echolocation, Tracking, Reverse Injuries, Invisibility, Teleport Sense, Reverse Injuries…
Yep, check.
Oh?
There’s a potion of Crustacean Strength, too. He was not going to get up close against Scythe, but he supposed it’s there if he needs it.
Finally, he checked his spare ammo and emergency vials of arcane energy - he still did not understand how any mage can do that yet alone Grace, he’s tried to store arcane energy like that and kept accidentally casting spells.
All good.
So Jett began walking forwards towards where he can tell Scythe’s presence is. The short but uneventful walk was quickly stopped as his echolocation picked up two people, with something in their hands - presumably guns by the way they were carrying it and their posture. “Halt! Identify yourself!”
Jett stopped as instructed, waiting patiently. “General, another intruder is present.”
Even behind his sunglasses, his raised eyebrow was barely visible to them. “Are the other intruders one who speaks like an animal and another who’s been described as pale? I’m here to stop them.”
“Stay right there!” Soldiers alerted.
Well cooperation’s out of the question now. Bullets could be a threat to him, but with his potions readied up hitting him in a vital area is an unrealistic problem. Still though, best to avoid conflict.
“Sure, I’ll wait right here. You don’t mind if I take a drink, right?”
“I guess that’s fine…”
Good. Jett trailed the potions carefully, selecting the potion of invisibility and drinking it right down. He could feel his body - skin, internals, even his eyes - shifting and morphing to match the changes made by the potion.
Light no longer reflected off of him (nor his clothes, after the New Realm experimented with the spell for about 300 years - he would’ve hated the idea of stripping entirely just to use this), instantly rendering him invisible.
“Open fire!”
Jett leapt right past them before they could even pull the trigger, leaving the two of them shooting at nothing.
Being invisible also meant being blinded, but that didn’t mean anything to someone who was already blind.
But it did mean that Jett had to be far more stealthy from here on, largely relying on foreign sounds for his echolocation to avoid giving himself away.
Not that he was particularly worried, he’s trained in invisible stealth precisely as one of the few mages who could utilise it without drawback, and that’s with the New Realm knowing that it’s realistically possible. No, his only concern was how his targets would deal with him.
Afterall, he knew Valentine’s speciality…
---
This treasure hunt was nearing its end.
Valentine made no attempt at stealth - she didn’t need to with her bodyguards and her magic combined - instead casually walking forth with Scythe in the front. Trailing right behind was an absolutely massive lizard, carrying a large, two-handed axe in one hand.
Her excitement at being so close contrasted with his dull expression, despite doing everything he could to guard the rear end.
Not that there was much need. Scythe’s magic was a perfect counter to firearms, most soldiers only getting a single shot before she reflects it into a vital organ and striking them dead immediately.
Indeed, these ten guards in the hallway in front of them were technically the greatest threat they’ve faced so far.
Yet eleven bullets was all it took to incapacitate them, and Scythe took the moment to slice into each and every one, the rapid necrosis doing the job of killing them.
“It would be more efficient to let them live,” the lizard at the back spoke up, his helpful words in direct contrast to the venom in his voice.
“Thoroughness is of the utmost importance until we find the Final Spell. A living soldier could serve as a distraction or even speak on their strange devices to destroy it.” Besides the cruelty behind killing everyone they came across, Valentine had no reaction to any of it, besides one. “Besides, none of them are of any value to us alive. This is their punishment for daring to oppose us while they’re as weak as they are.”
The lizard let out a low growl, glaring directly at Valentine, gripping his weapon.
Valentine stopped, prompting Scythe to stall in kind. She turned to the lizard, grinning wide. “Well, Winter Tundra, you wish to oppose me?”
The lizard, codenamed Winter Tundra, let out a low growl in response, gripping his weapon - the posture making it clear he was quite capable of wielding this two-handed weapon with one hand. Then he ceased, anger fading away as he lowered his stance.
“Good boy.”
Anger flared back up, Tundra swung his weapon without a moment’s hesitation towards Valentine! Nobody demeans him like that!
The weapon passed through Valentine like she wasn’t there, before she approached him and flung a pin-point “needle” - one that was pure black as it pulled in nearby light - which pierced through Tundra and knocked him down onto his hands and knees.
Effortlessly defeating him, she put a foot on top of his head. As she looked down to him she grinned wide. “What are you?”
Tundra growled in a low tone.
“Say it.”
He hated this with every single fibre of his body, and yet he could not disobey. “... I’m a good boy.” Just the words sickened him.
“No, you’re a naughty boy, thinking you stood a chance against me. Remember that for next time.”
Tundra growled once more, and yet stayed still. Even as Valentine put her foot off of his head he remained still.
Valentine let out a small chuckle. A chuckle that instantly stopped. “Did you really think I wouldn’t be able to hear you, Jett?”
Silence - and yet all three of them could tell, getting into position. The fact that Scythe and the lizard man were both staring at him told Jett that they had trained in fighting while blinded, exactly as he had assumed. There was no point in hiding from them.
“I don’t know who you are, but there’s very few people who know my real name, I’ve made sure of it. Scythe, reduce it by one.”
Forgot who he was? Jett reached for his gun, and the auto-aim flicked his arm right out to aim right at Valentine. “You really don’t remember me? Because I’ve never forgotten you…” It took him a moment to focus, his aim flickering over to Scythe instead.
Scythe walked past Valentine and Tundra, and yet she did not leap in yet. This witch hunter has fought her twice, and lived both of them. It’s likely that he was already expecting her to act hyper-aggressive, and so she wouldn’t be able to overwhelm him.
Jett fired out a single shot and dodged the incoming reflection easily. He did not approach nor retreat, however. When both of them could teleport, such movements only mattered from moment to moment.
It was then Scythe teleported, Jett’s automatic aim flicking right behind him - forcing the lurcher to awkwardly twist his body just to avoid injuring himself - a moment that allowed her to strike into him with her scythe, immediately kicking him away towards Valentine.
A free victory on a silver platter, and yet Valentine did nothing.
As such Jett could heal himself up quickly with one of his healing potions. Then he got back up to his feet, swinging at Valentine.
As he swung through, she briefly vanished from his echolocation before promptly reforming. With that alone he could tell that she was either teleporting or becoming non-solid.
Scythe charged in at the attack on Valentine, hissing loudly.
Jett leapt away from the attack, landing on the ground before unloading his entire clip at once. Every shot at him he had to avoid, but he jumped ahead in the way of Valentine and her silent enforcer.
They went through Valentine, like Jett had predicted. But they struck the lizard well and truly, but then he heard the shells land on the ground.
Winter Tundra was not harmed by the barrage of bullets.
That could be bad.
Growling, he lifted up a weapon to attack, only to be stopped by Valentine raising her hand. “Stand aside, Winter Tundra.”
Jett ducked underneath Valentine’s swing, swinging his gun into her with enough force to send her colliding with the roof. He leapt up to finish the blow, only for Scythe to teleport away once more.
Jett collided against the roof before launching off just as easily, landing on his feet. He launched towards one wall in this hallway, and then the other, and then back to the first one, each leap sending him closer to Scythe.
She swung her scythe to defend herself, Jett leaping onto the side of it, pushing himself off the inner end of the blade to punch her in the face.
But even with the impact Scythe was not mindless, lifting the scythe just enough to cut to his arm. “Dammit,” Jett muttered, shuffling into his bag for another potion.
She knew it was another healing potion, and so without wasting a beat she thrust straight into the glass container.
She only realised her mistake once the glass bottle shattered. Jett dropped the already empty potion before it even collided, as instead his hand swung down to catch the wooden stafflike part of the scythe and pulled it in with all of his force.
His kick to the face was enough to forcibly drop her grip on it, and he quickly dropped his gun to have a free hand in order to bring out an actual healing potion, uncorking it with his teeth as he drank it down.
Before Scythe could get close Jett swung it 180 so that the blade end faced her. This wasn’t good, but she has had her blade stolen from her before. She can-
“That’s enough.”
Scythe immediately backed away, glaring at Jett - and at her own weapon.
“I’m impressed, Deadeye.” Immediately, Jett knew what that meant. “Your recruitment shall begin now.”
He had only one option.
He threw the scythe directly at Tundra, prompting the giant lizard man to defend himself while Scythe simultaneously dashed in to grab her weapon.
Jett then teleported straight to one of the dead soldiers, rapidly feeling for the speaker and gripping it tightly. “Destroy the final spell! It should be an old parchment with unknown-!”
He was knocked off of his feet from an attack by Valentine, flung across the hallway until he collided with the opposite wall. “If you’re lucky they won’t destroy it before I’m done with you!” Valentine hissed out as she formed more “needles” in the small gaps between her fingers, each one held aloft purely by her magic. Even she didn’t want to touch them.
Jett coughed, grinning wide despite the attack that sent him tumbling. “Clock’s ticking, then.”
Valentine wordlessly glared at the still-invisible Jett. Walking towards him. She was furious, and her silence alone told Jett just how much.
And yet…
“Winter Tundra, you handle recruitment. Scythe, search for any leads to the Final Spell. With any luck I’ll have everything I need by the day’s end.”
Jett slowly got to his feet, grinning wide in the knowledge that his plan worked, quickly teleporting behind Valentine and Scythe to ensure neither of them would strike him as they passed by.
Then his grin faded.
Everything she needed? No, that meant…!
Jett jumped back to avoid a heavy swing of the axe, feeling a cold chill spread out as he dashed away.
Tundra lifted one hand from his axe, swinging it out to flick out a bitter spray of ice cold water at Jett.
Contact instantly made him start shivering, hypothermia was suddenly a concern when it wasn’t moments ago. “Grr…”
Krios then lifted an arm up, the cold water around Jett instantly freezing into ice and leaving him trapped in place. “You’re lucky that she wanted you recruited, otherwise I’d have frozen you on the spot. Actually…”
He paused, thinking through what he was saying.
“... No. No, you’re not lucky at all. Death is better than this.”
Jett needed to get out of here!
He needed to save Grace and-!
If he just teleported to them, Tundra is going to follow and then him and this mystery foe will just team up…
Jett needed to go somewhere else.
He lifted his arm to cast a teleport spell.
Only for his arm to freeze. He let a sharp inhale at the sudden sting of the chilled ice, unable to break free.
Tundra let out a huff as he finished the spell, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, but I cannot let you escape this… ‘recruitment’.” His gruff tone softened up the last word, and - even though Jett wouldn’t be able to see it - he looked at Jett with soft eyes, the harshness he had for Valentine replaced with sympathy.
Jett grunted again, gripping his gun with his free hand. Immediately he pulled the trigger, letting the auto-aim take complete control as it harshly flicked his arm towards himself, a single bullet flying out to hit the icy shell trapping his arm.
The arm holding the gun was frozen in response. But it was what Jett needed.
With his hand free of the frozen ice, it meant his hand was completely dry.
He reached down to his belt of potions, pulling out one before Tundra could freeze the rest and downing it immediately, so frantic that some spilled over his lips and he even coughed up a bit that threatened to go into his lungs.
Tundra pulled his axe out of the ground, charging at Jett to swing down on him again.
Deliberately avoiding lethal strikes, he swung into Jett’s gun arm, making the lurcher yell out in pain.
And he continued yelling, his good arm starting to shake.
“It’s futile,” Tundra said softly, kneeling. “The only choice I can give you is to go whole or to go with broken bones.”
Jett continued to yell out in pain, something growing across his arm. Hard, inflexible, brown. It shattered the ice covering his arm, layer by layer, as it slowly took shape. His arm had grown far larger, resembling that of a crustacean like a crab or scorpion.
Jett let out a small chuckle, his teeth still bared to keep himself through the pain. “Alright then. Let’s break some bones.”
His only hope was that he’d be able to get to Grace and Sal in time.
---
Scythe wasn’t even checking which doors were locked and which weren’t. Just one quick slice at the hinges was all it took to send each of the doors to drop down and fall over - no matter whether they were reinforced or not.
Those who so much as raised a weapon at Scythe met a grisly, painful death. But those who weren’t a threat weren’t treated as such.
To an outsider observer it might appear that Scythe was wildly trashing each room she was visiting, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. She was searching. Searching for what will have text from a New Realm language on it.
Room after room.
Kill after kill.
Document after document.
She came up empty.
This next room didn’t even have anyone armed. These scientists backed up and hid in a corner, one brandishing a pipe as a makeshift weapon. They were all in a corner, they weren’t a threat.
As usual Scythe pulled into the drawers, tossing out paper after paper - giving them only a quick glance to confirm what type of language they were using.
Nothing.
She was about to leave when she saw that there was a potted plant on the bench, from a casual glance it looked healthy, but Scythe knew it was in need of something. She should continue on her mission.
But…
Valentine never said she couldn’t water this plant, if she was quick about it.
She approached the potted plant without a noise, raising a hand. She gently placed a finger on it, purposefully weak magic surging through it.
Then she knew what was missing. She raised her hand and cast a small spell to pull in the vapour from the air, which condensed enough to fall into the potted plant all at once.
Satisfied with watering the plant, she continued on.
---
Valentine was far more focused.
She wanted the final spell, and she wanted it bad. She knew that she would find it eventually, the vision she was told meant that the odds were in her favour, but that same vision said she would die by the very witch hunter that was in this base.
It didn’t make sense. She was going to add him to her allyship, he shouldn’t have been a threat to her. Maybe she should have committed to recruitment…
No. No, securing the final spell is more important than getting him out of the way. She just needs to find another way of dealing with this threat.
Right now, her only threat was these military idiots destroying the paper before she could reach it. They’d be throwing away unimaginable potential if they did that. They might even stand a chance against her if these Old Realmers learnt the spell’s secrets.
Destroying it only benefits people who will not help them.
A locked door. Valentine focused on the aura of light absorption she had around herself, expanding it until it covered the other end of the door - and making the area within colder as a direct side-effect.
She dropped her internal thoughts entirely, quantum spells require the utmost concentration…
And she casted it, so now she stood on the other side. “Surrender or die.”
Gunshots, so typical. Valentine stood still, her focus on the quantum disentanglement, letting the bullets harmlessly pass through her atoms.
“So you choose death.”
She condensed matter down, so much so that the light bent around it was barely visible as a pitch black needle, which she “flung” out to the idiot that tried shooting at her.
Unlike her recruits, who were useful alive, this one died instantly as the needle pierced through their vitals, the wound so small that even a mage like her could not see it without magnification.
But she didn’t stop at the one. One of them attacked her, so they must all die.
Needle after needle after needle.
None of them stood a chance.
Once every living person was a dead corpse, Valentine waltzed on into the room. Out of her own shadow, she could see that this was for organising files. If the search didn’t have its own dedicated room, this is a likely candidate.
She opened up the first box, sorting through the papers within.
Results of examination on subject Cirillo- pass.
Results of examination on subject Sánchez- not interested.
Test subject acquired, begin preliminary tests on super soldier project- like these Old Realmers could make anything worthy of being called “super” without magic.
As Valentine searched deeper and deeper, her mind was free to think about the future once more.
She doesn’t know who Jett is, but that name is too familiar to her. It can’t be deja vu, she must have met him before… Especially since he seems to already know her name. Someone who met her and lived to tell the tale…
It doesn’t make sense. He’s a Witch Hunter, so he can’t be some Old Realmer she’s all too happy to ignore. But he clearly knows to search for missing witches in the Old Realm, and she has yet to hear of a Witch Hunter who seriously entertained the thought.
Is he a former witch she crossed paths with? Maybe he turned himself in to avoid the death penalty?
She was about to dismiss the thought, only for something far more important to come to her attention.
New Realm text.
Her eyes were glued to the old parchment as she effortlessly read what this military could not translate.
[translation available at the bottom of the page]
To whomever hath discovered mine final letter.
I has't discovered a spell that is truly horrifying. Its benefits seemeth innocuous at first, but from mine analysis of the spell effects, overuse within a population wilt guarantee the end of all life on the New Realm within 1 year. coequal if 't be true I convinced mine peers of this fact, they’ll just resort to casting this spell in the Fusty Realm and doom those folk to the same fate.
The Fusty Realm might beest filled with fools who want the true glory of us mages, but I still cannot sitteth content with either realm coming to an end. I must destroy all traces of the spell.
I must, and yet can I calleth myself a true wizard if 't be true I doth not preserve the knowledge that I findeth? I cannot betray mine true calling. The only compromise I can bethink of is to hide hence mine knowledge. I has't hath found somewhere secluded to hide hence the instructions on casting the Final Spell, and - just like whither this letter wilt end up - t is within the Fusty Realm.
If 't be true thee art a mage like I, I has't but only one request. Please doth not alloweth the knowledge of this spell falleth into the hands of anyone else.
Teiwaz, the most powerful wizard of New Realm Year 307.
This is a real letter. It fit with everything she knew, even matched Teiwaz’s handwriting. This letter was telling her exactly where the Final Spell was hidden, and it’s the real deal.
And yet.
Yet this stupid egg hunt had just been extended by another step! Why every single time it looked like she was finished there’s just another arbitrary obstacle in the way! It made her want to just-!
No, no, remember the vision. This is good news. Jett’s most likely to kill her once she actually finds the Final Spell. This means that she has longer to prepare for the inevitable. This is… good news.
Frustrating news. But good news.
Now let’s hope her new recruits are ready.
---
Translation of Teiwaz’s letter:
To whomever has discovered my final letter.
I have discovered a spell that is truly horrifying. Its benefits seem innocuous at first, but from my analysis of the spell effects, overuse within a population will guarantee the end of all life on the New Realm within 10 years. Even if I convinced my peers of this fact, they’ll just resort to casting this spell in the Old Realm and doom them to the same fate.
The Old Realm might be filled with fools who lack the true glory of us mages, but I still cannot sit content with either realm coming to an end. I must destroy all traces of the spell.
I must, and yet can I call myself a true wizard if I do not preserve the knowledge that I find? I cannot betray my true calling. The only compromise I can think of is to hide away my knowledge. I have found somewhere secluded to hide away the instructions on casting the Final Spell, and - just like where this letter will end up - it is within the Old Realm.
If you are a mage like I, I have but only one request. Please do not let the knowledge of this spell fall into the hands of anyone else.
Teiwaz, the most powerful wizard of New Realm Year 307.
---
Vote for the next chapter here!
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dukemeropide · 9 months ago
Note
[ PROSPERITY TOSS ] ━━ a common tradition to signify the end of the year and the birth of a new one is to create a bowl of fruits, vegetables, fish, and other fresh foods, and to feast. many restaurants host these during the lantern rite to bring us together !
if this little sun had to be honest, she’d argue that the hype over crabs was lame! why, you ask? well, you couldn’t eat them without breaking them open. they could cut you with their spikes. they had spikes. they could cut you if you broke it open. they had to be broken open. and a whole lot of other complaints that she made sure to add in her rambling, which she directed at the tall, dark-haired man sitting beside her:
“...and klee never knows how to clean them beforehand! did you know you were ‘pose to clean a crab before eating it? like all of the guts and stuff? i mean… i did, but… bleh, anyway, i━━oh. are you done?”
he had to be, since there had been little cracks and pops the entire time she ranted. and, to fill her cup of curiosity, klee put her hands on the table and leaned forward, peering into the smaller bowl in front of him━━taken from where it was beside her bigger, ceramic bowl of fruits and fish ( not that many vegetables. she’d rather not ).
scarlet eyes widened, her mouth agape in surprise. “no way, you broke it so fast! wowww, can you do the others? i…” a pause; guilt blossomed across her face in the slightest blush. thus, klee looked down at her hands, laughing nervously as she continued, “well, uhm, yeah, i have others. like, klee has a lot of others. but she wasn't taking them to waste them! really! she just couldn’t say no to all of the nice guys giving them away…”
however, she smiled brightly, and away went the awkward instinct! “but you’re really really strong, sir, so you’d be fine cracking the rest, right?”
For every one of Klee's frustrated huffs, Wriothesley commiserated with a well-timed groan, and "Is that so?"s weaved in between complaints drew out explanations that reminded him that children, if allowed, lived in a world of fantasy - of monstrous crabs with terrible spikes, and the wars undertaken to catch and cook them. So he merely hummed at the inconsistencies between her stories and reality, smiling to himself as he worked on the task she had presented to him with so much seriousness. She couldn't have possibly guessed that he had cracked crabs when he was her age (her apparent age, that is), or that he had only ever seen them as spiny obstacles to cut his hands on for the Mora to survive another day.
Tough callouses and tougher leather wraps protected his hands now, and Klee's warm, lively chatter made those stormy memories feel as distant as a dream. The table they occupied was tucked off to the side of the balcony on the restaurant's second floor, from which drifted kitchen noise, the muffled hum of lighthearted conversation, and the tantalizing scent of frying spices that hung ever-present over the harbor. Every now and then, Klee's animated storytelling would bump against his shoulder, or rock the table beneath them, and Wriothesley found that his smile was more than just patient appeasement.
With the last joint broken, and its meat torn out and deposited with the growing collection in the bowl in front of him, he leaned back in his chair to let Klee assess his work.
"More, huh?" A glance behind her found the bowls of bright red crustaceans still in one piece gathered near the table. Wriothesley let out a soft snort of laughter, but pushed back from the table to retrieve one of them.
"You got it, Boss."
Choosing the fullest of the collection, he returned to his chair to get to work.
"Surely you're not here by yourself." He plucked one hefty crab from the top and started snapping the legs off, glancing sidelong at Klee. "Are you planning to share this with anyone?"
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tarnishedinquirer · 7 months ago
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Case: Limgrave Tunnels
During my visit to Roundtable Hold, I asked Master Hewg about upgrading my weapons. I was short on smithing stones, but what I did have was a map of Limgrave. I figured they wouldn't mark caves, since they're natural features. They wouldn't mark catacombs, since they're meant to be secret. But if there's any mining tunnels, they'd probably be the only "dungeons" marked on the map.
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And there it was, just south of the Gatefront Ruins, on the big lake.
On the way there I was accosted by crustaceans, but I also found some strange flowers growing in the water and shade. Not sure who this "St. Trina" is or if she even exists, but she definitely has the good stuff. If I find a recipe, I could use these to put my enemies to sleep.
Might profile her if I find any actual evidence she exists.
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Now a key skill in this line of work is situational awareness, which is how I noticed this ledge down below the elevator. Being immortal can make you a little reckless, so I figured I'd just jump down there and see what I can find.
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All I found was a dead long-neck with some runes on him. Useful, but not especially impressive. At the same time, it got me questioning how he got here. I checked, and there were a series of ledges below that should take me down safely. He wasn't stuck here, could've come down at any time. That is, unless there's a reason not to go any lower in the cave.
Better off on judgement until I go lower.
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Found some miners still working, but they were none too happy to see me. They look like the long-necks I've seen (mostly dead), but as I learned when I tried to use my estoc on them, their skin is hard as rock. Lacking anything that could smash through armor like that, I was forced to rely entirely on spells. Fortunate for me then that my Glintblade summons had no such difficulty. In fact, they seem more vulnerable to magic than most, which is something to keep in mind.
While I was exploring, I got accosted by giant rats. Following them back to the source, all I found was another dead long-neck clutching a smithing stone. The rats were feasting on the corpse before I interrupted, so I have to assume it was relatively fresh, and probably a fair bit easier on the teeth than the stony miners. Who had killed it?
Heading deeper in, I found another elevator, and realized that just like the previous one, there was a series of ledges leading around the side. Probably how they dug down here to begin with, or a safety feature in case the elevator gets stuck.
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On the lowest level, I found a wooden store shelter, with one last dead long-neck, being eaten by a starving dog. This one held a glintstone scrap. The same stuff that tips my staff, but clearly of much lower quality. Could probably throw it and do some damage, but that's it. Could he have been trying to defend himself, maybe from the miners?
I'd explored the whole cave, but things felt unfinished. Typically, a place like this has some big guy in charge, and I hadn't found the boss yet. Time to get searching.
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So much for situational awareness. I'd completely missed it during my previous climb down, a whole 'nother tunnel, midway between elevator stops. Took me a few tries to get to it, but here I found the largest collection of miners, and also the largest miners. These guys were a cut above the rest and used some pretty dangerous weapons too. No match for my spells, but the difference was noteworthy.
Now, before I went any further, I took a moment to go over what I'd uncovered. The way the miners would just ignore me sometimes, like they were in their own little world. The strange alteration of their skin, like they'd been fused with the rock. The long-necks tucked away in tiny, out of the way rooms, trying to defend themselves or flee.
It all reminded me of something. Maybe a story I read, or a place I'd visited, or maybe even a past life. A tunnel full of miners, where demons took advantage of their avarice to turn them into mindless servants, abandoning their very humanity to take on the traits of a dragon. This wasn't the same thing, but it was similar enough.
Maybe the final chamber would hold answers.
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One more elevator down, and I found an answer.
One of those giants—or trolls, I guess—crouched down, staring at a massive, glittering rock. He seemed less enthralled than some, as he immediately stood up and began to attack.
I'd gotten a tip from Kalé about "Stonedigger Trolls" and how they have an old wound on their heads. Might've been a useful tip, if I was a warrior or an archer. Instead, I just turned to my trusty spell, the only spell I know, and made short work of the monster. It dropped a medallion to enhance roar attacks, that said giants like this were originally enemies of the Erdtree.
Before I left I took a moment to really look at the glittering rock. It seemed metallic and run through with flecks of gold that glittered like stars. I felt a gravitational shift staring at it, and was forced to look away. I think I can figure out what happened from here.
Conclusion: This rock is what mutated the miners and troll. The fact it didn't affect dogs and rats tells me the mutation is as much of the mind as it is the body. Those who come into its thrall are changed, made into stone servants enslaved to dig out more and more of the rock. Only a troll took up residence here, and didn't take to kindly to the other thralls.
A bunch of long-necks came in here and it didn't go well for them. Revising a previous comment, I don't think they were fighting the miners. They were sitting too placidly, and only the ones sitting down carried rocks. They were meditating, but didn't survive the transformation. Only one of them escaped, but whatever was out in the lake was too scary, so he just sat between a rock and a hard place before he too perished.
So, that's a wrap. Time for lingering questions:
What about the lake is so scary?
What about the glittering stone is so enthralling?
At any rate, I got enough upgrade materials for a while. Maybe it's time to do something about my limited spell repertoire.
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thelazyhermits · 2 years ago
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Random Twst-related content underneath the cut. Not all of the topics are connected, so this is just one of those posts where I write down whatever pops into my head lol
A while back, I had been asked what dorm my Yuu would be sorted in if she didn’t end up in Ramshackle/had magic, and at the time, I had said Octavinelle because those students are well-known for their intelligence and Yuu is quite clever.
For that same reason, I said that Scarabia is another option since mindfulness and forethought is important to those students, and Yuu often exhibits those traits since she relies on her mind the most to get her out of tough situations and she always tries to plan accordingly, although there are times when she can be rash/reckless. 
However, after giving it some more thought, I think Savanaclaw could also be a possibility since that dorm is all about persistence/tenacity, and Yuu’s stubbornness is a big part of her character. 
It’s because she’s so stubborn that she never lost a cage match since she kept getting back up again and again, never willing to accept defeat since she knew her future would be bleak if she ever lost.
Out of the three, I’m now leaning more toward Savanaclaw being the best pick for Yuu, but honestly, she could easily have ended up in either of those three dorms.
Naturally, if anyone were to ask the guys from those three dorms, they’d all be quick to say that their respective dorms suit Yuu the best, although the other dorms would probably say the same haha
Another thought that crossed my mind was what kind of sea creature nickname Floyd would give my Yuu if he hadn’t gone the “Shrimpy” route with her like he did with the MC in the game.
I find it funny that Floyd calls my Yuu Shrimpy since she’s only short to him because he’s a giant, although I had him give her that nickname for the reason he gives that nickname to the MC in the game, ergo during their first meeting, Yuu had scuttled away from him after recognizing him as a dangerous opponent, which reminded him of a shrimp.
However, after doing some sea creature research, I realized that Shrimpy actually suits my Yuu because I discovered the existence of the Mantis Shrimp which, while not an actual shrimp, is a crustacean that’s honestly really badass.
Here’s what I got from my google search: “Mantis Shrimp pack the strongest punch of any creature in the animal kingdom. Their club-like appendages accelerate faster than a bullet out of a gun and just one strike can knock the arm off a crab or break through a snail shell.”
I even read that they can punch through the glass of an aquarium, so they’re really hardcore 😂
Anyway, I just love the idea of Floyd actually having that “shrimp” in mind when he nicknamed Yuu because he could tell just from looking at her and thanks to his instincts that she was a fighter.
While she might not be the strongest fighter around, she’s very scrappy, and he knew that she would put up a hell of a fight if he tried to attack her, which was obviously something he took an immediate liking to.
I just think it’d be cool if Floyd’s nickname for Yuu is actually a compliment in disguise like how he does for some of the other guys in the game.
Whenever this gets revealed, Yuu would honestly be touched since Floyd is acknowledging her strength with that nickname. She never thought she’d get emotional over being called a shrimp, but that’s what happens lol 
After learning the truth, Yuu would really love her nickname and be proud of being a badass shrimp haha
On the subject of nicknames, I wanted to mention that I’ve decided that I want Rook to call Yuu “Madame Voyante” because of her Quirk and also the nickname he uses in the game, “Trickster”, since I think that also suits her.
Rook would save Madame Voyante when the two of them are alone or in the company of people who know about her Quirk. In a public setting, he’d stick to the Trickster nickname.
One of the classes that Yuu has the most difficulty with is Magic History, but it’s not because Trein’s lessons put her to sleep like what happens with the other students. Nor is it because she’s from a completely different world so she knows the least about TW history as compared to everyone else.
It’s because she has a hard time not getting distracted by Lucius lol 😂
Yuu loves cats, and Lucius is super cute in her opinion so she always finds her eyes wandering in his direction. She has to practice an incredible amount of self-restraint to keep herself from getting too distracted. 
It doesn’t help that Lucius knows how much she likes him and likes to mess with her by doing cute poses to distract her. It’s his favorite classroom activity haha
Trein knows exactly what’s going on but never intervenes because it’s Yuu’s responsibility to pay attention. However, he will sometimes stop Lucius if the cat’s acting up while Trein is talking about something he feels is particularly important that he really wants Yuu to pay attention to lol
While Lucius loves messing with Yuu, he does actually like her. Out of everyone in her class, she’s his favorite because she’s an animal magnet and because she always greets him whenever she sees him and gives him the kind of respect that he feels he deserves haha
In regards to her other school subjects, Yuu has a natural knack for making potions due to being good at cooking, which have a similar process, so Alchemy is the subject that gives her the least amount of trouble.
She can also handle the non-magic related classes like science and mathematics without any issue since they’re like what she learned in her world.
Yuu has an advantage when it comes to those normal classes because she was taught by a certified genius, aka Tokumei, so rather than because she’s super smart herself, Yuu just had a really good teacher and she had no choice but to get good in order to keep up with his strict curriculum lol
However, she does have trouble with subjective classes like arts, just like Sebek. She does not consider herself very artistic at all. She can color in between the lines and do little doodles but that’s about it haha
Tokumei never had an interest in the arts, so that influenced his teaching. While he was willing to teach art history since he could see the appeal in learning of a country’s culture through that avenue, he never did anything related to drawing, etc in his art lessons.
The most he did for arts & crafts was give Yuu origami paper and a guide for how to make origami since he had read an article about how beneficial practicing origami could be for children’s learning.
As a result, Yuu is pretty good at origami, having practiced it for many years. It was a good creative outlet for her and one way she could de-stress.
I feel like origami isn’t really a thing in TW; either that or it’s not well-known. So Sam’s shop probably wouldn’t have actual origami paper, but he likely would have something along those lines that she would purchase when she could get a good deal.
Whenever Yuu makes a lot of origami animals, flowers, etc., she’ll gift them to her friends. Since she knows it’s just paper, she’s not expecting the guys to keep the gifts for long, so she would be very surprised to discover that a lot of the guys keep her gifts in their dorm rooms. Of course, only a few of them would actually admit to doing that haha 
For the rest of her classes, Yuu has to put in a lot of effort to study in order to understand the material and avoid falling behind her peers who have the natural advantage.
Anytime she has trouble understanding the material in her classes, Yuu will seek out assistance from an upperclassmen, usually Riddle since he’s always willing to help diligent students, but she also always takes advantage of any opportunity to get help from Leona, which requires him being in the mood for it, since he’s also a really good tutor.
It’s thanks to her hard work and good connections that Yuu is able to do so well in her classes. While she’s not at the top of her class, she does well enough to keep herself and Grim from failing and honestly does a lot better than people would expect from a magicless student. 
When Yuu first found out that Floyd and Jade are twins, which was when she was first brought to the Mostro Lounge by Floyd, she started internally freaking out and wondered if she had some kind of “twin curse” since she can’t seem to escape having to deal with dangerous twins lol
Thanks to her experience with Mumei and Tokumei, Yuu immediately recognized Jade as the most dangerous twin cause she knows that the polite ones who seem harmless are always the ones to worry about.
While Mumei was the twin who scared her the most because of his abuse, Yuu still recognized Tokumei as the twin to watch out for because of his Quirk and his genius IQ. Mumei was bad, but she knew that having Tokumei as an enemy would be way worse, which is why she always did her best to avoid getting on his bad side.
While she does see them as people to watch out for, Yuu still likes the Tweels and greatly prefers them over the twins who raised her since no one could ever terrify her more than Mumei. Plus, she knows that they could never be as bad as him.
Yuu finds the Tweels interesting because they clearly like each other and get along well, which is the exact opposite of Tokumei and Mumei. Tokumei is completely apathetic toward his brother and everyone else in general while Mumei is always antagonistic toward Tokumei.
It was a great relief to Yuu when she got to know the Tweels better and realized they really weren’t anything like her former guardians since it would’ve been tough for her to be around people who reminded her of Mumei and Tokumei. 
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aardvark-123 · 1 year ago
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~How the Order of the Minute Reclaimed their Ancient Hold~
Many years in the future, the sundered realm of Massachusetts was beset by bandits, wolves, dangerous automata, bloodthirsty crabs and large, cantankerous Naked Mole Rats. Great warriors like the dragon-riding Brotherhood of Steel and powerful sorcerers such as the Scholomanstitute had vied for control over the region, but the common folk looked not to those mighty factions for aid. Nay, at times of need, they looked to ancient Order of the Minute.
The Order were knights, volunteer knights drawn from the brave and the good, who wore no armour save their coats and carried no weapons save their honour, their conviction, and their many, many weapons. Long had they ridden the ancient Commonwealth, yet in recent years hardship had befallen the Order of the Minute. Brought apart by internal strife and beset by countless foes, the Order looked set to fall.
At the Order's darkest hour, it was the courage and quick thinking of a stranger, Lady Minh of House Longfellow and the Vu Dynasty, that brought them back from the precipice. Though they were few in number, the Minute Knights began to rebuild, finding in Minh the Dauntless a bold new leader. Taverns and villages sang of their exploits, dozens of new hands grasped their blue banner- yet there was one quest, one painful memory, yet to be undertaken...
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"Preston. Dude. My man. Lemme get this straight," Minh said heavily, not that she was. Er, straight. She may well have been heavy. "You actually want us to go and clear out a castle? This is not more fantasy roleplay &¥@£#$‽€, we're ACTUALLY getting a castle?!"
"Aye, Lady Minh. I know not the meaning behind this strange mood in which thou findst thyself, but I believe the time has come," Sir Preston said with his characteristic smile. "Long has Northstar Hold lain abandoned, likely in the hands of foul creatures, but the strength of our order is much restored. Let us retake our castle of old, and let our banner fly from the keep once again!"
Minh did not need to be told twice. She began making preparations while Preston rallied some knights, and at dawn the next day they rode for Northstar Hold, leaving Sanctuary Hills under the guardianship of their bravest warrior.
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For five days the Minute Knights rode east, past the old Lexington and Cambridge, through the maze of ruins that had once crowned the Commonwealth as the shining city Boston, a column of horses and spears that grew with each settlement they passed. On the fifth morn they left the shadow of the now-vacant Saugus Ironworks behind, and lo! Upon the horizon rose the mighty grey walls of Northstar Hold.
"Hold!" Preston called. "There is a strange smell is upon the air. What do you make of it, Lady Minh?"
"I had a bath last month," Minh grumbled as the cavalry clattered and whinneyed to a halt. Nevertheless she sniffed the air, and her nose wrinkled with unhappy recognition. "%£&?@! There's Mirelurks in there!"
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"Alas!" whispered Preston, once the warriors had taken shelter in the old village outside the castle. "Alas, but even sundered do her walls look proud and fair. How then can we retake her from these foul crustaceans?"
Through the cracks in the walls, there was no mistaking the round grey carapaces, lumpen yet smooth, of a dozen sleeping mudcrabs. Minh pondered the situation, her brow creased in thought.
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"Mirelurks love a- What the %&£?! is a 'mudcrab'? Nope, doesn't matter," said Minh. "Mirelurks love a chase, right? So let's make them run the gauntlet! Put down some mines, hunker down in these old houses with guns and-"
She noted the blank looks on the other Minutemen and sighed heavily. "Lemme rephrase that. Lay down some 'magic runes', put some 'archers' and 'battlemages' on the walls, then we'll lure the 'mudcrabs' out a few at a time to get 'killed', then we all go back to the 'mead hall' for 'dinner'!" ranted Minh, making judicious use of air quotation marks."'Tis a good plan," Sir Sturges agreed.
"Aye, a decent plan," agreed Sir Trashcan Carla.
"Then for what dost thou wait, Lady Minh? Get luring!" Preston thoughtlessly volunteered Minh.
"W-wait, me? I didn't... I didn't volunteer to..." Minh groaned. "Urghhh, fine! Hold onto your loincloths!"
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Brandishing again the Double-Barrelled Shotgun of legend, Minh charged the terrible mudcrabs. "Hey! Tall, grey and salty! Get your ugly carapaces over here!" she shouted, loosing bolts of arcane fire upon the slumbering monsters.
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The mudcrabs surged forwards, their legs skittering heavily across the stone and mud, their deadly pincers raised for war. Minh backed away from the castle, and to her sides ran the Minute Knights.
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"Forwards, men! Leave none alive!" Preston shouted as he beat his spear on a mudcrab's carapace.
"Strike not at their shells, my friends! Aim for the weaker flesh beneath!" Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Screenshot advised the others.
"Again with the men?! Some of us aren't!" snapped Minh, giving Preston a dirty look.
"'Tis but a figure of speech, my lady, I assure thee! Thou art as fair and womanly as a lioness, or perhaps a Challenger Two tank with painted eyelashes," Preston said apologetically. "Even blind drunk, I never could take you for a man."
The day seemed to be won. The mudcrabs who had not yet fallen were retreating into the sea, carrying their young upon their great rounded backs, while the knights rode freely into the courtyard. Yet before they could celebrate, a terrible roar sounded from behind the crumbling wall, and behind it stalked a creature most terrible.
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Sir Trashcan Carla was stricken with terror. "Ai! Ai! A Mirelurk Queen of Ug-Qualtoth is come!" she shrieked. "The day is lost, my sisters. We must flee, lest her claws take us all!"
"Nay, we cannot abandon-" Sir Sturges gave her a dirty look. "Who are you calling a sister? I am not... I mean, I never thought to be anything but... A-anyway, we cannot abandon the Hold, not with hard-fought victory so close at hand! To me, Knights of the Minute, to me!"
"Don't worry, Sturges! I was saving this for a special occasion." With a wide grin to decorate her impish face, Minh pulled from its sheath a great handheld cannon, forged in a long-forgotten kingdom of days gone by. "Heads up, Mirelurk Queen! Suck my triple-barrelled missile launcher!"
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Minh most assuredly did not fire the triple-barrelled missile launcher too close to a wall and blow herself to smithereens.
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"Hardly smithereens... I was basically just ONE smithereen, except for the arm," Minh grumbled.
Howling like the wind before a terrible thunderstorm, the Mirelurk Queen rumbled forwards. The knights loosed their arrows and jabbed their spears into her vast belly, striking among her many arms, yet heedlessly she ploughed through them.
"Er, heads up, Mirelurk Queen!" Having established that she was standing far away from any inconvenient solid objects, Minh took aim, her arms shivering as the ancient magic coursed through her veins. "Suck my triple missile- I-I mean, suck my triple-barrelled triple launcher- No! My triple-barrelled, er, um, oh for %£@&'s sake just-!"
A bolt of searing light erupted from the head of the staff, and streaking through the air it pierced the monster's heart. For a moment she stood there, trembling and letting out a long, keening whistle which may have come from pain. And then, in a shower of foul-smelling chitin and a roaring column of flames, she exploded.
For a few seconds there was no sound save the clatter of tiny pieces of Mirelurk Queen. And then, first with laughter, then with cries of joy, the Order of the Minute shouted their triumph.
"By the gods, Lady Minh, to bring such a weapon to bear against her! Thou art a miracle most truly!" laughed Preston, slapping Minh on the back. "Ahh, this day shall surely live on the tongues of the bards for an age to come."
"Well, sure it will, buddy." Minh sighed. "Our own freakin' castle... I can't believe it! I want a portcullis. We've GOT to get a portcullis, some cannons, a tower, a video arcade..."
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With the taking of Northstar Hold, a new chapter had begun in the lives of the Minute Knights and Lady Minh the Dauntless. What the future would bring them now, few could say..."
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