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thepenultimateword · 1 month

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Love Thy Enemy Part 6

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

For all Callista's talk of winning Vorrin over, it was surprising that she returned to ignoring his existence. Pins and Switch even informed him that his designated visit to her chambers had been canceled for the week. Usually, Vorrin would've been thrilled, but considering the circumstances... How was he supposed to gain the empress's trust if they didn't see each other?

"Is she busy again?" Vorrin asked as he took a bite of strawberry scone. He kept his tone bland and stared with what he hoped looked like disinterest at the wall.

"I hear she's taking a trip to the border cities," Pins mumbled, sewing needle held between his lips as he turned the half-finished embroidery in his hands. "Probably takes a lot of prep work."

Vorrin had felt rather guilty about his outburst the other day, and remembering Switch's comment about waste, he'd asked the manservants if it was possible to repair the torn shirt. The short answer was no. Nothing could get the shirt exactly back to its original state. The longer answer, with more cloth and designs to hide the stitches, the outfit could be salvaged. So here the pair were, with more work thrust upon them, though Vorrin couldn't say he wasn't grateful for the company.

Vorrin set down the scone, turning full attention to the manservant. "The border cities? Why?"

"I only caught pieces from the soldiers while fetching your dinner the other night, but I think an emissary from Avarose is meeting her there."

"An emissary?"

"She has been out of the country for almost a year now. Maybe she needs an update from Prince Suthand on the state of the kingdom?"

"An update can be sent in a letter."

"You know more about politics than us," Switch said, stacking up some of the empty breakfast plates. "Why do you think she's going?"

Vorrin pondered it a moment. Callista was calculated, and she knew her hold on Totholan was tentative. She wouldn't leave the capital unless she thought it was absolutely necessary.

Perhaps she wanted to check on the strength of the border troops. But she could outsource that to a general couldn't she?" And then there was the emissary. That would be political. But why would she need a representative from her own kingdom? And why didn't they meet her here instead of the other way around?

"I don't understand anything she does," Vorrin said finally, picking back up his scone. He only managed to nibble it a little further before asking, "When will she return?"

Switch raised a brow. "You're certainly eager to see the empress again."

"I wouldn't say eager. Simply...interested."

"Well, she hasn't left yet," Pins said. "She might still come to say goodbye."

As if Vorrin was worried about not receiving a proper farewell. He was her consort, not her lover. He forced a smile anyway. "Maybe."

Pins smiled brightly back and turned the finished tunic around for him to see. "How's this?"

A spattering of golden stars and a large sun now hid the repaired tear. They glimmered against the white fabric like the celestial bodies they were imitating.

"It’s beautiful,” Vorrin said, “it’s a wonder you were hired as a manservant rather than a tailor’s apprentice.”

Pins flushed appreciatively and lowered his eyes to the ground. “I used to do the repairs to the servants' uniforms, back before I was officially hired. My mum said I had a gift. But…apprenticeships don’t pay in money, just room and board, and my family couldn’t really live on one income so…” His face fell a bit, but as he lifted his head again, it abruptly brightened. “When I was offered this position, it paid twice the amount as a regular manservant, and I still get to do sewing, so better off for me, I say.”

Vorrin fought the frown dragging down the corners of his mouth. He knew what it was like to come from humble beginnings. Living day to day on whatever scraps he could get. Going hungry. Survival topping every other thought or desire. The main reason he'd joined the King's army as a boy was for the pay. Squires received a gold piece every month, and the stipend only grew the longer he stayed alive. Not to mention the free board in the barracks. As he’d risen in the ranks, he’d created a comfortable place for himself. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, he hadn't had any family to rely on him, so he’d only had to worry about himself. He could only imagine the pressure of supporting a family at such a young age.

“Is your mother in Totholan?”

“No, she stayed back home. But I send her half my earnings whenever any of the soldiers travel back to Avarose with the Empress's letters.”

“Which they skim,” Switch muttered.

“It’s fine,” Pins said, forcing one of his bright smiles, “I just think of it as a delivery fee.”

This time Vorrin did frown. “That is not fine. They recieve their own wages, they don’t need any of yours.” He doubted it was something Empress Callista would allow either. “I’ll speak to the Empress about it.”

Switch audibly choked.

Pins shot to his feet. “Oh, no! You don’t have to— It’s much too small a matter to bring so high as the Empress.”

Yes, Vorrin understood it was unconventional. King Duras would have imprisoned a servant for wasting his time with such a request, that is if he even allowed it to reach the level of audience, and with the state of the kingdom, Empress Callista probably would brush it off too, but…

“If she cares about me, she’ll care about you,” Vorrin said firmly.

“I don’t want her to think I’m complaining or gossiping about the soldiers. Especially not to you."

"Because you don't want to be blamed for my poisonous attitude toward all things Avarosian?"

Pins pressed his lips together, his lack of denial an admittance all its own.

“If it bothers you, I won’t tell her it’s you.”

"I...well..." Pins slowly folded the tunic over his arm and moved gingerly across the room to tuck it away in the wardrobe. "I guess its ok. If it comes up that is. And as long as it doesn't inconvenience her. If she seems put out, tell her to forget it. And don't make it seem too urgent." He cleared his throat and plucked out a new outfit, lithely changing the topic. "How about this?"

It was another set of robes, this one a couple layers, the bottom a silky vibrant gold and the top a poofed, gauzy white that muted the underlying fabric, almost like looking through fogged glass. Glimmering gold strings hung loosed off the sleeves, ready to hold each one in perfectly puffed sections."

Vorrin grimaced. Where did the empress even get all these clothes from? Had she sent for them as soon as she’d taken him hostage or had she planned for this ending in advance? From what he'd seen Pins and Switch wear, robes were not uncommon for Avarosian men, but the fancy ones in his wardrobe were on another level. Either high-class styles were different, or the empress had some tastes. Maybe a bit of both.

"Well, I was hoping to attend the training grounds today," Vorrin said. "That is if there is a soldier to escort me today."

One of the things he and the empress had agreed upon in their last conversation was that Vorrin should have more freedoms. The training grounds to practice his sparring and more visits into the city were at the top of his requests. Surprisingly, both had been granted, on the condition that he was watched at all times.

"Oh!" Pins put the garment set back and sifted around the wardrobe for something else. "Then this?"

The new outfit was two pieces, a bottom and a top, so that was at least closer to Vorrin's regular style.

The top was a black compressed shirt with the sleeves cut off mid-shoulder and silver-threaded embroidery stretching from the shirt's high throat to the middle of the chest, giving the appearance of a layered necklace. The bottoms...were a skirt. Blue. Long. Plain except for the embroidered hem in matching silver.

"Er...I can't exercise in that," Vorrin said. It was the more diplomatic reply.

"This is a sparring outfit," Pins said. "An expensive one, but still equipped for actual sparring."

"I don't see how I'm supposed to fight in that." Vorrin stepped closer and flicked the hem of the skirt. "It's too long. And constricting. I'm not going to be able to move without tripping, ripping it, or showing everyone everything."

"It's not a skirt if that's what you're worried about," Switch said, setting the stacked dishes on the breakfast tray. The young man was as sharp as ever. He marched up the proffered outfit and grabbed the hem by one side, pulling it up to show the wide trouser legs beneath. "The overskirt is for show. It's split so it doesn't get in the way. Think of it as robes for fighting. Most of the military has switched to more obvious trousers, but most generals still wear this style. I don't know if you've noticed."

Vorrin couldn't say that he had. He didn't really pay attention to what his opponents were wearing in battle, and since becoming Empress Callista's consort, he'd been mostly confined. He assumed he'd seen mostly low-level soldiers since then, but it was also possible he'd missed it, either being in too much of an angry fog to notice or assuming they were robes like any other.

"The outfit's fine," Vorrin said crisply.

"Good!" Pins said. "Then let's get you ready!"

"I'll send for a soldier to escort you," Switch said. A shadow of a grimace crossed his face, but just as quickly it was gone. Replaced by his usual straight expression. "It might take a little while, so I should go now."

"We can go together," Pins offered.

"No, no." Switch drew himself up proudly. "I'm fully capable of finding someone. And it will be more efficient this way."

With a short bow toward Vorrin, he was out the door.

Pins had Vorrin dressed within a half hour. The bottoms were much more comfortable than he'd expected. His hair had taken on a simple style today, tied up into a tail. However, Pins still managed to make the simplicity elegant by using a silver hair ring instead of a regular hair tie.

The bedroom door burst open. Switch stormed in red-faced and hair-mussed, slender hands barely catching the door before its handle could hit the wall.

"I found someone," he said, easing the door shut before sitting hard in one of the dining sets.

"What happened?" Vorrin and Pins said together.

"Nothing. Like I said. It just takes a while to find soldiers who aren't busy."

"Switch, you're shaking," Vorrin said, his voice falling into the firm tone of his old station.

Switch looked down at his trembling hands with a surprised expression.

Switch clenched them. "I'm not scared or anything. I'm just mad."

"What happened?" Vorrin pressed again, this time summoning the authority Switch responded to.

"It's just soldiers being soldiers," the manservant spat. "Being crass and difficult and idiotic as usual. I swear, this is why I dropped out of the military. They're all so stupid. But of course, they can't let it go. I'm a traitor because I didn't fight in the war and even more so because I serve a Totholi consort." Switch's tone grew sharp and sarcastic. "Apparently, it's very unpatriotic of me to be at the beck and call of a Totholi general. Oh, and I think I'm better than them because of my cushy safe job and better pay and face-to-face meetings with the Empress."

At that last part, Switch let out a little gasp and pinned his lips tightly shut.

Another time, Vorrin would have seized that slip-up. He knew that Empress Callista was getting information on his behavior from someone. His manservants had been the most likely suspects, and this confirmed it. However, this was not the time.

"I didn't know you were military," Vorrin said instead.

"Was." Switch looked steadily at the ground a couple feet ahead, clenching his fists harder so the knuckles turned white. Vorrin knew that look. He kept dry anger at the forefront of his emotions, but he was probably fighting off tears. "I only squired for a year. I hate soldiers."

"Is that why you sometimes have a hard time with me?"

Switch flushed a little and a long pause stretched over the room. "Maybe. I don't know. I guess sometimes I see the resemblance. But you're not like them. I know that. Even if you are aggravating." He cleared his throat abruptly. "Sorry."

"Did the oh-so-proper and strict Switch make a joke?" Vorrin said with a mock gasp.

Switch rolled his eyes, but a small smile crept up his face. "Don't tell anyone."

"They're just being jerks because they're jealous," Pins piped in.

Vorrin nodded. "As a once stupid soldier, I have to agree. For men like them, there is a pecking order, and they're worried you're on top. And they hate that, so they're trying to convince you that you're not."

"But I don't want to be a part of their stupid pecking order at all," Switch said.

“Then you need to find the biggest instigator and give them a good punch in the nose.”

“You are a soldier.”

Vorrin shrugged. “It’ll at least show them you’re not going to take their rubbish.”

“But it’s so unrefined…”

“And they are? They’re a bunch of insecure bottom feeders with too much space in their skulls. I’m telling you, the only thing people like that respect is brute force.”

“I’m really beginning to doubt your strategic ability as Totholan’s best general.”

Vorrin chuckled. “Well, I can always punch one for you. I doubt they’re allowed to hit me back.”

Switch let out a long sigh, though it wasn’t entirely exasperated. He scrubbed his tearless face. "I’ll think about it. Pretty sure letting the royal consort get into fights isn’t a much better look. Anyway, the escort is waiting outside when you're ready."

Vorrin stood, stretching his arms over his head. “Time for me to go then. Guess I better show this little guppy who’s really in charge. ”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t worry, Switch. I know how to handle grunts.”

“Seriously don’t.”

Vorrin only grinned, flexing one of his bare arms before sweeping out the door.

As he stepped out into the hall, the soldier leaning against the outside wall stood up straight. He was about what Vorrin had expected: young, a little below average height, and built just enough to have real muscle but still feel uncomfortable in his own skin. Vorrin could see the inexperience in his shifting posture.

“Good morning, Royal Consort,” the soldier said offering a short bow. Obviously, his feelings on a Totholi consort were much different when face-to-face with him. “My name is Raoden. I’ll be escorting you.”

“Yeah, I’m not remembering that,” Vorrin said, stepping past the man without a second glance and starting toward the training ground. “How about I call you Button?”

“Well, er…”

“Perfect. Come on."

The soldier scrambled after him, needing to use his full stride to keep pace at Vorrin's side. As they reached the end of the hall, he angled toward the right, the direction to the main entrance of the arena.

Vorrin turned left.

"Um, I think the training grounds are--"

"I know how to get there," Vorrin said.

He strode the full length of the hall, turning left and then left again. He barely glanced at the other soldiers and servants they passed along the way, only stopping when he reached a worn, narrow door the same grey as the stone around it.

"Royal Consort--"

Vorrin was already pushing inside.

"Hello, boys!"

The whole room scrambled to their feet. A couple of men fell off their beds. One hit his head on the bunk above him as he rushed to stand.

“So this is where you all go to slack off.”

One of the soldiers without his shirt or shoes squirmed. “We’re off duty, your…Royal Consort…sir.”

“Of course. Don't mind me.” He mosied down the aisle, looking idly around with each step, gaze skimming past the soldiers enough that they dropped their heads to avoid eye contact. “I just wanted a look at my old quarters before Button here escorts me to the armory. Well, close enough. These were the squire quarters. You're all full-fledged soldiers, aren't you?"

"Er...most of us," Button interceded from behind. When Vorrin glanced back at him, the man stood by the entrance, looking desperate to lead Vorrin back out. "Military rankings work differently in Avarose. Um...should we perhaps..."

"Really? That's interesting." Vorrin sat himself down on one of the now-empty bunks. He crossed his ankle over his knee and leaned back on one hand. "How is it done in Avarose?"

Button looked around the room, but no one else spoke up. "Royal Consort Vorrin, I really think..."

Vorrin raised his brows. "Yes?"

"Uh...well, in Totholan there are three titled ranks, right? Page, squire, and knight? Though of course some knights can reach the higher rank of Knight General or the highest rank, like yourself, Grand Master."

Vorrin shook his head. "King Duras was the Grand Master. I'm just a general."

Button blinked and glanced toward his comrades and back. "Respectfully, sir...that wasn't what we were told in our briefing. That's why the Empress specifically--" He abruptly cut off and cleared his throat. "My point was Totholi military is more simplistic."

One of the soldiers snickered but stopped before Vorrin could identify who it was.

"Whereas Avarosian military is sort of...complicated."

Vorrin leaned his chin into his hand. "Oh?"

"There are ranks within ranks. Sort of like your knights, but with much more variety." He lifted one end of the wide scarlet sash wrapped around his middle. Looking at the colors may help. The lowest rank is yellow. Children in training wear the palest shade and it deepens as they move up. Green is the next rank, usually utilized as messengers or apprentices to higher-ranked soldiers. Blue is reserved for military medics. Red is for ordained soldiers, again the palest shades are always reserved for those with the least experience. Generals wear black. The sovereign wears white. But only on the battlefield.

Vorrin closed his eyes a moment, tentatively summoning a memory. He could still picture that day perfectly. Empress Callista standing over him, half of her hair escaped from its braid, the long tails of her "white" sash whipping in the wind. In reality, it had only been white in small patches; the majority of it was dyed red with blood. The point of her blade pressed carefully into his throat. He'd swallowed. She'd grinned.

Vorrin's eyes shot back open. He pushed himself back to his feet, shoving the memory's emotions deep down and instead surveying the soldiers once again.

"It seems every one of you carries a red sash. I'm surprised."

"Sir?"

"It took thirty minutes for my manservant to acquire one of you. You do realize that a request from my servants is a request from me?"

Button bowed his head. "Yes, Royal Consort."

"Tell me, how long did you spend arguing, drawing straws, and over me instead of doing your duty."

Button sank so far between his shoulders he resembled a turtle. "Too long, Royal Consort."

A part of Vorrin wanted to punish them further for Switch's sake. But Button had admitted his fault without excuse. Vorrin had to give the man credit for that. Many of the men looked equally chastened. No need to press further when a reprimand was being received.

"I suggest being a little quicker next time," he finished.

"Yes, Royal--"

"You're not in charge of us, Tolothi," another soldier interrupted. The man was all wiry muscle and unruly hair. Vorrin noted that his sash was vermillion whereas many of the other's were crimson.

Vorrin stalked up to the man, gazing down at him from under half-lowered lids. "Am I not?"

"You're a pet."

"Argin," one of the crimson soldiers hissed warningly.

"A dog may be pampered and protected," Argin continued, meeting Vorrin's eyes. " but that doesn't make it less a dog. And a dog holds no authority no matter who it belongs to."

Vorrin only smiled. "You sleep in a bunk bed. I sleep beside the Empress. Maybe I am a dog, but between the two of us, I wonder who has more authority. I suppose if you're really concerned I could ask the Empress what she thinks."

Argin paled a fraction and clenched his teeth hard enough to crack. He ducked away from Vorrin's gaze. "Aren't you supposed to be practicing sparring or something?"

"You're right. Thank you, Kitty."

The man flushed equal parts embarrassment and anger.

"Come along, Raoden."

Button looked a little shocked at the usage of his real name, but he quickly fell in step, following Vorrin through the door at the back of the room into another room of bunks, this one empty. The Knights' old quarters. They passed rows and rows of beds before exiting another door into the armory.

Unlike the barracks, this room had been completely reorganized. Probably so it could hold all the weapons that the Avarosian army had brought with them.

Vorrin ran his hand down the row of spears lined along the wall. "Any limits on which weapons I'm allowed to use?"

"I don't think Empress Callista established a rule." Button looked around the room nervously. "Maybe nothing too sharp?"

Vorrin tsked. "Do you have so little faith in yourself that I need a handicap?"

"When it comes to you, sir, yes."

"Really? You don't think you could stop me if I was armed? A little concerned for the person who is supposed to keep me from escaping.

Button swallowed. "I don't know, sir. But I know it took the Empress to defeat you, and I couldn't win against the Empress." He gathered himself taller. "However, Royal Consort, I don't think you plan on running. Even if I fell, there are at least a hundred guards between here and the end of the palace grounds. They would catch you immediately."

Button's tone begged Vorrin not to try anything. He almost seemed to be trying to convince himself as much as Vorrin. He was right though. Vorrin suspected that having a watch was more about preventing him from stealing weapons than stopping an escape attempt.

"I'll stick with the quarterstaff then," Vorrin said, plucking the long wooden pole off the wall. "I only want to practice some movements today anyway."

Button nodded, relieved, and they exited the armory into the training grounds. A light breeze wafted the smell of the dusty earth, and the musty hay of the training dummies to his nose. Vorrin closed his eyes, breathing in the familiar scents. It had been a long time.

The quarterstaff felt a little strange in his hands. Though his hands instinctively gripped the right places, the weapon no longer fit the same against his too-smooth palms.

Vorrin spun the staff a couple times before trying a stab. He stumbled a little and gritted his teeth. He'd overextended.

His immediate reaction was a surge of rage, but he exhaled the emotion slowly. This is fine. Just go back to the basics.

He fell into a defensive stance. Block, parry, stab. Block, parry, stab. He moved slowly, perfecting each movement as he went. After about four times, he picked up speed, throwing in a few dodging movements and thrusting out the pole in low and high attacks.

Button yawned from the sidelines.

Vorrin half-wanted to ask the guard to spar with him, but he doubted that was allowed. Maybe he should asked for two guards next time, one to spar with and another to watch him. Better yet, maybe he could begin bargaining for the release of his soldiers. Not at all at once, but one or two at a time. He missed their familiar company. Not to mention, he’d need them if this uprising was going to work.

Having enough of the repetitive movements, Vorrin imagined an invisible enemy before him. He’d done this all the time as a boy when the other pages refused to be his sparring partner. Having Captain Kenric for a mentor had remedied that, but he’d still found solace in solo sparring once in a while.

He lowered into a defensive stance, holding the quarterstaff diagonal from his body. He circled slowly, searching for weak spots, knowing his enemy was doing the same. Abruptly, he thrust the staff forward. The enemy dodged, swinging back at him violently. He barely stepped back in time, throwing the staff sideways to block the blow. He gritted his teeth and widened his stance further against the imaginary weight. He shoved forward hard, knocking the figment backward. He stalked forward, raising his elbows in preparation for the finishing jab. He thrust the weapon forward, and...

A very visible, very real sword collided with the end of his staff.

Vorrin inhaled sharply, retreating back a couple steps and instinctively throwing out his quarterstaff in front of him. It took a couple moments for him to make sense of the red-and-gold-clad figure in front of him.

Empress Callista glanced at the weapon then casually back to his face with a widening grin. She slid her sword back into its sheath. “Hello, dear."

Vorrin exhaled slowly, doing his best to hide the tension ebbing from his muscles. He'd felt like a hair-trigger ready to fire. "What are you doing here?"

"What, I can't visit my consort? you weren't in your quarters; I was told I could find you here." Her eyes roved back to the weapon. "It's been a while since I've seen you in action. Serious as ever I see."

Vorrin furrowed his brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Some people spar for fun, you know. But you have that same look you have in battle. Fighting isn't a game to you, is it?"

Where did she get off acting like she knew anything about him?

"I spar for fun," he said a little sharper than intended. "But there's nothing fun about swinging a stick around by yourself. Besides, if I'm going to regain all my skills, I can't afford to be lax."

Empress Callista let out a little amused breath. "Well then, we'll need to spar together sometime."

Vorrin's face warmed. "I wasn't implying that I wanted--"

"I like the outfit," she interrupted. "Very classic."

“Well, it was in my wardrobe.”

Empress Callista gasped in mock offense. “Are you suggesting that I gave you those clothes just because I wanted to see them on you?”

“Is that not true?”

“Well, maybe.” She winked, her smile landing somewhere firmly between flirtatious and wicked. However, the sly curve quickly straightened into a more serious expression. “I didn’t know what you looked like until the first time we faced each other in battle. I had no idea what would suit you, so we brought lots.”

“You didn’t think we had clothes here?” Vorrin said.

“Dressing you in our styles was intentional."

"And now?"

"It still is. But your comfort is also important, so we'll find a compromise."

Vorrin let the butt of the quarterstaff rest against the ground. He leaned into it like a walking stick. "Dressing me like an Avarosian isn't going to win over the people. They're just going to be mad that I'm betraying our culture."

"Maybe. But it does show them who you belong to." Her gaze darkened. "And it's not just for your people. Mine need reminders too."

Vorrin's insides went cold. Empress Callista was so confident, so domineering in every action and word, he'd never considered that her people might have as many disagreements with this plan as he did. He was safe...wasn't he?"

"Anyway, darling," she said, shattering the frozen feeling encasing him, "as much as I love our little tiffs, I came to wish you farewell. I'm heading to the border this afternoon."

Vorrin remembered what Pins had said about the Empress saying goodbye. He sincerely hoped that neither manservant had shared his interest in her departure. "You don't need to do that. My servants would have told me."

"Ah. Of course." She cleared her throat and gathered herself up a little straighter. "It's a two-week trip--5 days to the border and another 5 back. I would have felt strange saying nothing at all."

Vorrin didn't quite know how to respond, so he stayed silent.

The empress cleared her throat again. Wait a minute. Did she actually feel awkward right now?

“Is there anything you need before I go?” she said

"I need your soldiers to stop terrorizing my manservants."

The empress's forehead furrowed. Not confusion, or doubt. More...disciplinary. The look of a parent when they're told their child has been caught teaching curse words.

"Explain."

"Pins gets his wages partially stolen whenever he sends money back home to his mother. And Switch gets harassed when he makes requests on my behalf. It has to do with serving a Totholi, which, I would like to remind them, is literally his job."

Empress Callista raised her brows. "Switch and Pins?"

"That's what I call them."

She didn't push it further.

Vorrin continued on. "They're in positions of power and servants to the Empire. They're abusing those positions for personal gain. If it were my men they'd be cleaning everyone's armor for the next week. Or be working directly with me until they wised up."

Vorrin caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Perhaps his voice had risen too loud because Button shifted uncomfortably from his post at the arena's edge. His eyes flicked their way, briefly connecting with Vorrin's. The young man's shoulders leaped a little, and he hastily averted his gaze to the empty space ahead of him.

The young man had been properly chastened earlier, but Vorrin wanted him to bring this information back to the others.

"They can't be allowed to act this way, can they?" he said, letting his anger raise his voice even louder.

"No," the empress said firmly. "Their behavior is unacceptable. Unfortunately, I don't have control of every action the people in my employ make. However, I will be alerting my generals and captains of the issue. They should provide some correction. Let me know if it continues."

Vorrin nodded. Despite the many things that bothered him about the empress, the one thing he could count on was that she was fair. King Duras had allowed, even encouraged, a toxic dynamic in his army. One where power and physical strength reigned as dictators. It had taken a long while for Vorrin to clean up once he became Knight General, so he couldn't help but appreciate the empress's standards.

She tipped her head to catch his gaze. "I assure you, Vorrin. The trust I have in my army is critical to me. I allow error, and I allow redemption, but those I deem untrustworthy have no place with me.

"I know. Thank you." The words came out before Vorrin knew what he was saying. To his surprise, he actually meant them.

"Anyway," he said, diverting the attention from his last words. "Why are you going to the border?"

Empress Callista smiled thinly. "There's confidential information I don't want to be written in a letter. At least not one that passes many hands. Not only that, but I'm going to be surveying the area for construction."

"Construction?"

"For the new capital. With the kingdoms merging, I can't stay here. Avarose would be outraged. But I can't return as if nothing happened either, or I risk losing my foothold. We need a neutralized city equally distant between both locations."

"Idosa won't be the capital anymore?" Vorrin didn't know why he hadn't thought about that sooner. Technically, Idosa had ceased being the capital the moment Empress Callista won the war. Yet, everything remained so much the same, the castle, the stationing of the guard, the mannerisms of the city... He'd never imagined this type of reform.

"Don't act so sullen. This will be a massive change for all of us. Streles has been the Avarosian capital for centuries. I'm anticipating a heated argument with every noble and advisor I have over the next few months."

"And me?"

It wasn't a very articulate question, but the empress seemed to understand.

"You'll come with me, of course. Not only to the new capital but to Avarose as well. The new city will take time to build, so we may travel back and forth for some time."

"I could stay here." That was something consorts did, right? Have their own homes? At least, King Duras had gifted his mistresses residences within and without the city. Then again, many of them were not official consorts. Still, it wasn't as if Callista needed him outside Idosa. If she gave him this place, he could fix it. It wouldn't be exactly as it was, but it could be close.

Even as he tried to convince himself of nobler intentions, the truth gnawed at him. He was scared. Outside of battle and expeditions for the King, he'd never lived anywhere else. He'd grown up here. He'd become something here.

Empress Callista shook her head, a little sympathy peeking through her steady expression. "You're my token. A representation of our countries' union. You'll always be with me."

Always?

Vorrin's lungs suddenly felt tight. Like he'd been shoved into a space--a cage--too tight for his body.

The empress's hands found his face, stroking his cheekbones with her thumbs. "It's alright, love. I will take care of you."

As if that was what worried him. Like he was a child who needed consoling about moving away from his friends. As if this was just about him and not everyone in Idosa--no Tothalan! And him a helpless bird with clipped wings.

No. No, don't think about that.

He released a shuddering breath.

He could stop this. None of this had to happen if he completed his mission. Calm. Calm. He just had to endure a while.

Vorrin stepped back out of her reach and looked down at her gold-button travel boots.

"Good luck, on your journey."

Empress Callista's hands dropped to her side, but she stepped forward, regaining the ground between them. "If you need anything, if you have any trouble, send for me. I'll return."

"Ah, so you expect trouble," Vorrin joked, not quite able to summon the humor into his smile.

She gently took his chin, raising his face to her eyes before withdrawing again. Her eyes appeared almost molten in the sunlight.

"I will be back before you know it."

Vorrin wasn't sure if that was meant as a comfort or a warning, maybe both. It made him feel strange.

He took two long steps back this time, properly distancing himself.

"Well, goodbye then. Bring me back something nice." With that, he turned his back on her, striding back to Button. "I'd like to go back to my room now."

Vorrin allowed the soldier to lead him through the proper exit this time. As they left, he felt the empress's eyes following him.

He did not look back.

Taglist:

@whatiswhump, @aprilraine, @ilovescarletwitch, @conniedensazation, @feedthebirds, @bloodinkandashes

#love thy enemy #creative writing #empress x general #empress x soldier #royalty #royal x soldier #writing series #fiction #writblr #writeblr #enemies to lovers #slowburn #writing #thepenultimateword #chapter #orginal characters #orginal story

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goosewriting · 1 year

Text

Wherever you go, I go

summary: after reader and Cal are rescued from Bracca, reader questions whether they know him at all.

relationship: Cal Kestisx GN reader

warnings: none!, a tiny bit of angst sprinkled in there but mainly fluff

word count: 4.4k

A/N: i have the Cal Kestis Brain WormsTM and they will not leave me alone sdfsdfd this follows the first part of the game on Bogano pretty closely but not to 100%

Navigation: Part 1 (you're here) | Part 2 | Part 3

(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)

— — —

You breathe in Bogano’s humid air deeply into your lungs as you stretch your back, stepping out of the ship onto the soft grass. The last 24 hours have been wild.

Around two years ago, you had ended up on Bracca, where you met Cal. You were both around the same age and Prauf had taken a liking to you both, so he had ended up introducing you to the redhead when you were new. They showed you the ropes of the place, how to properly use the machinery and tools, and pretty much everything you needed to know to be a scrapper.

You had been dealt a bad hand early in life; it wasn’t without reason that you ended up on a planet like Bracca after all. You were on your own, needed a job, and the bounty on your head didn’t make it easy to hide, so you had to disappear.

And yet, after everything that happened, you can’t help but think that it wasn’t all so bad, in hindsight at least. Because after leaving behind everything you knew, adopting a new name and taking the first ship to ��as far as way as possible” from your homeplanet, it was like the universe dropped you right into Cal’s arms. Or at least that’s how you liked to think about it.

Ever since then, Cal and you became pretty much inseparable. In each other you found the friend and peer you needed right then. You were both pretty secretive about your lives thus far, but you knew that if there was anyone you’d trust on that heap of scraps, it was Cal for sure.

As time went on, you grew ever closer. You ended up telling him about how you had been on the run and needed to lay low for some time. Even if he didn’t tell you much about where he was from, you knew that if he wanted to tell you, he would, on his own time. And you were okay with that. You tried not to make up your own stories about him in your head, yet sometimes you couldn’t help but wonder. Whatever backstory your mind came up with though, never in a thousand years would you have believed the truth if he had told you, which you learned later and saw with your own eyes.

You think back to how that day had started and gone by normally, everyone working on their own thing. It was only on the train ride home that you noticed how weird Prauf was acting, and he and Cal were having a talk in hushed whispers, looking around nervously. You had made a mental note then to ask the readhead what happened later on, but you’d never get to that.

From the moment the train stopped and Stormtroopers escorted you all out to line up, everything happened so fast; the Inquisitors talking about a Jedi traitor in your rows, Cal suddenly taking out a lightsaber, Prauf being killed, the whole train chase… Your memories are foggy, and you’re not sure if it’s because you’re having a hard time wrapping your mind around everything that’s happened, or if it’s because you understand exactly what trespassed, but are unwilling to accept it. For now, at least.

Cal had somehow managed to get you out of there, falling onto moving wagons, and ushering you to go on. He fought off the scary Inquisitor lady while you cowered away. Then a mysterious ship came to your aid, bringing Cal and you to safety.

And now it turns out this Cere person needs Cal to go to a… vault of sorts? Because he is actually a Jedi, and needs to pass a test to help her on a mission.

Truly, what a wild 24 hours it has been.

Now on the swampy planet, you somehow convinced Cal to let you tag along. You really don’t want to leave him on his own right now, and to be honest, you also don’t want to be left alone with Cere and the Latero. You aren’t even sure yet if you can trust them. This whole situation is just… too much right now.

So off you go with Cal, making your way towards the first cliff in silence, breathing in the clean air and taking in the sight. Little creatures with big eyes hop around and out of your way, looking at you curiously. As you reach a drop, Cal jumps first, helping you down.

When your feet meet the ground, you don’t let go of his gloved hand just yet. He gives you a questioning look.

“It’s the first time in a while that I’ve been off-planet,” you remark with a smile. “It’s so silent out here. I had almost forgotten what that’s like.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while for me too,” Cal says. “It’s nice out here.”

You two just look at each other for a moment, suddenly aware that it’s the first time in a long time that you’re alone, hidden from prying eyes. And there’s also the bantha in the room of Cal being a Jedi.

“Thank you, by the way,” you speak genuinely. “For… taking me with you, and not leaving me behind.”

“I already lost a friend,” Cal says, and you see the hurt cross his face for a moment. “I wasn’t gonna let them take you too.”

‘Friend,’ you think, and bitterly smile to yourself as Cal turns and keeps walking, without letting go of your hand though. You look at where he holds you, heat starting to spread on your cheeks. You’re painfully aware that your feelings for him have developed into more. You’re not quite sure when it started, but they were solid. And as strange as it was, Cal being a Jedi suddenly seems like the last piece to a puzzle. Everything falls into place, finally making sense. It actually suits him, somehow. And you understand why he didn’t tell you. The memory comes back of how he fought with his lightsaber, and how good he looked while doing that. You shake your head, trying to rid yourself of those thoughts. You were actually planning on confessing at some point, but that just got pushed way further into the future. There’s more pressing matters right now.

You don’t want to force Cal to talk about his past or his abilities, but you do have to talk about what your plan is. Not entirely sure how to approach the subject, you start formulating some questions in your mind, trying to find the best way to word them. You don’t get to ask him though because Cal stops at the base of another cliff, removing his hand from yours, which you miss immediately.

“This seems like a good place to meditate,” he remarks, more to himself than to him.

“Meditate?” you ask.

“Ah, yeah,” Cal says and kneels down onto the ground. “To, you know, connect with the Force. It’ll take just a minute.”

And with that, he closes his eyes and starts evening out his breathing. You look at him for a moment, then decide to sit on a rock a couple steps to the side. It doesn't take long and Cal’s face starts twitching lightly, his brows furrowing. Wherever he is, you hope he’s alright.

You watch him a little longer, then avert your gaze as you realise you’re just shamelessly staring at this point. Taking in your surroundings a little better, you take note of the rocks and their curious colouration, with several shades of reds and browns between the white layers.

Suddenly you hear little, mechanical steps approaching, so you stand up and turn around, your body getting tense in a fight or flight moment. But you immediately relax as you see a curious little droid approaching the two of you. It looks at you, then at Cal, and stands in front of him, seemingly waiting for the redhead to come out of his meditation.

Cal’s breathing starts growing shallow, with the slightest of whimpers, and you want to reach out to him, asking if he’s okay, but you’re not sure if it’s safe to interrupt his meditation. So you just sit next to the droid, who gives you a look and a beep you can’t quite understand; you’ve never been fluent in binary.

With one last pant Cal finally opens his eyes and is met with your worried gaze and the droid.

“You good?” you ask him.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he answers, and gestures to the droid with his chin. “Who’s that?”

“Oh, he joined in earlier. Looks like he was waiting for you to react,” you explain and the beeps sound like agreement to you.

“He says his name is BD-1,” Cal translates, then introduces you both to the little droid. BD gives another series of beep-boops.

“We’re looking for someone,” Cal answers, and BD beeps excitedly. “No, not you,” Cal says with a chuckle. “We’re searching for a Jedi. I think.”

BD jumps with a series of quick beeps, and hurries off.

“Hold on, you know the Jedi?” Cal asks and stands up. “Hold on!” he calls after the droid who is running ahead, and tells you to follow him.

You two navigate through the landscape of floating rocks and cliffs, following BD. He brings you to what seems to be a long abandoned hiding place. As you have to walk over a big pipe to get there, BD arrives first, and gets attacked by a rather ugly, maggot looking creature that was burrowing underground, and you see some sparks fly. Cal rushes to his help, getting rid of the creature and its friends with his lightsaber.

“BD! Are you okay?” you ask the droid, picking him up to inspect his leg, which is pretty busted. He beeps sadly.

Cal joins you, taking a look at the droid to check out the damage, and you can’t help your heart skipping a beat at how he’s standing behind you, looking over your shoulder, and you feel the warmth radiating off of him. BD tilts his head at you for a second but you choose to ignore it, trying to convince yourself that droids can’t pick up on that kinda thing.

“That was pretty brave,” Cal says to BD as he takes the droid from your arms. “And hey, I can help you with that…”

He brings BD over to a workbench, quickly fixing up the mechanical leg. BD seems to run some damage analysis as he stares straight ahead, then beeps at Cal.

“The vault?” he asks. “Yeah, that’s where we’re headed, too. Let’s go.”

“Uhm, what’s happening?” you ask, following behind the other two.

“BD says we have to go to the vault. He said he knows a Jedi, so, I’m guessing that’s where we’ll find them.”

“So… BD is a friend, yes?” you question further, lowering your voice so the droid doesn’t hear you.

“Yeah,” Cal answers, looking after BD that is rushing ahead to show the way. “I hope so…”

Trying to find a way out of the place, you two squeeze through a barely open door. There’s a hallway that could be your exit, but it’s blocked by some thick cables. You’re too late to notice Cal swinging his lightsaber at them; they’re clearly sparking. Before you’re able to stop him, he gets zapped and thrown back. You rush to his side.

“By the Maker, Cal, are you okay?” you ask, checking him for injuries.

“I- I’m okay,” he groans, as he sits up.

You’re about to give him an earful about being reckless when BD rushes to Cal’s side, offering a healing stim canister from a little slot on his cubic head.

“A stim?” Cal asks as he inspects the vial. Looking up at you, he offers you the object with a lopsided smile; you’ve always been the one to patch him up.

You playfully roll your eyes at him, taking the stim and stabbing it into his upper arm.

“That’s better,” Cal sighs, and you help him get back to his feet.

“Thanks, little droid,” you say to BD, and he beeps happily.

“Let’s try that again,” Cal mutters, and you give his shoulder a squeeze.

“Without getting hurt this time, please,” you instruct, to which he chuckles, and you let him go. But BD is now holding onto his leg, beeping. Cal lifts him up and swings him over his shoulder, where the droid settles, and you see the happy little shimmy, which internally makes you go “aaw”. It really is an adorable sight.

The three of you continue your journey to the vault mainly in silence. Cal makes a little conversation with the droid from time to time. You can’t understand everything but it seems that BD doesn’t remember how he got here.

At one point you get to what seems to be the last stretch towards the vault. You wonder how you will get across that narrow space, which essentially is just vertical, rough walls, in mid-air. You turn to Cal, about to voice your concerns, when you see that he touches the wall, and his eyes glaze over, staring beyond the walls into nothingness.

Is he… meditating again?

You wait a couple of seconds, but he remains unmoving. Reaching up, you give his arm a gentle squeeze.

“With persistence…” he mumbles, shaking his head slightly, seemingly coming back from wherever he was.

“Hey, you okay?” you ask him, stepping in front of him to have him meet your eyes.

“Yeah, all good. Just remembering old tricks…” he replies.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just saw my… my old Master,” Cal explains with a slight shudder. “I was remembering my training, as a Padawan.”

Padawans. Jedi Masters. The Force. Those are all names you’ve heard growing up, but you never got to see one for yourself. You were too young to understand what was going on when the Clone Wars ended, but you did hear the stories. Some fantastical, others straight out of a horror holomovie.

“Listen,” Cal speaks softly, taking both your hands in his, and your heart flutters as you look up at him. “I know this must be all so weird to you, and I promise I will explain everything. Just… I have to do this.”

“Do you though?” you counter. “What happened was awful but it was our ticket off of Bracca.” ‘We can start over again. Together’ is what you want to say, but it doesn’t seem like the appropriate time. “Why are you listening to a stranger?”

Cal hesitates for a second.

“It’s hard to explain,” he starts. “There’s just something coming from that vault, it’s like it’s calling out to me. I know you probably don’t understand, but please, trust me on this,” he almost pleads. “If anything is off, we’re leaving, I promise. But if there’s another Jedi… I need to know.”

You don’t trust Cere, or Greez. Maybe even BD, not yet at least. But you trust Cal. So you nod.

“Just promise me one thing,” you insist. “Warn me when you’re about to meditate or think about your old Master. It’s a bit scary when you’re just… gone like that.”

“I will,” he promises with a smile, giving your hands one last squeeze before letting go.

“So,” you say after a while, looking at the vault which is so close, yet so far. “How are we getting there?”

Cal gives BD a sly glance, then looks back at you with that stupid grin you’ve grown to love so much.

“Heads-up: you won’t like this,” he says and suddenly leans in, and you freeze. His arms snake around your back and under your legs, lifting you off the ground like you weigh nothing. “Hold on!” he quips.

And with that he runs towards the cliff end, and you do hold on, for dear life. Cal skillfully runs along the walls, jumping from one side to the other, until he reaches the far end and hops onto safe ground once more.

He chuckles as he sets you back onto the grass, but you have to hold onto his shoulders a little longer until you feel safe on your legs again.

“Please never do that again,” you mutter under your breath, and Cal laughs.

“C’mon, we’re almost there,” he remarks, gesturing towards the large structure with his chin. BD beeps happily.

You walk next to Cal as you climb the rather steep mud path towards the vault. Up close, it is much taller than what it looked like from a distance. Still, you’re not sure what you expected it to be, but there really isn’t much… It’s just a giant tower surrounding a smaller column. That’s it.

“Huh, such a fuss over this?” you ask no one in particular.

“Hold on, I think I can get it open,” Cal says, and reaches up to touch the front panel. Closing his eyes, he focuses, and you can feel a shift around you as well as under you, as the ground shakes slightly, and the panel opens, revealing a dark and narrow passage.

You inspect the passage, but you can’t see anything through it; it’s just a black void, and it’s rather unsettling.

“I think you should wait here,” Cal states, giving you a reassuring smile. “I’ll be right back.”

“But–”

Cal walks into the void, BD still on his shoulders, and you circle around the column to catch him coming back on the other side to make fun of him thinking that would lead anywhere, but he doesn’t come out.

“Cal?” you call, but there isn’t even an echo of your own voice to answer you.

With a sigh, you walk back to the side where the redhead left in, and you lean onto the opposite wall, waiting for him to come back. The wait grows longer and your patience thinner, and for a second, you think that you just got ditched on this swamp planet, and you hug yourself. No, you tell yourself, Cal wouldn't do that.

…Right?

After what feels like an eternity, but probably was just a couple of minutes, Cal and BD finally emerge from the void again. You all but throw yourself onto him, hugging his torso.

“What took you so long!” you say into his chest.

“Sorry, I…” he hesitantly hugs you back, and you can feel he wants to say something but is holding back. So you look up at him.

“What is it?” you ask. “Did you meet the Jedi?”

Cal just looks down at you, studying your face with an unreadable expression, and if you weren’t so worried by his silence, you would probably be very flustered by his gaze and how close his face is to yours.

“Things just got a lot more complicated,” is all Cal offers as an explanation as he takes your hand, pulling you with him, out of the vault. “C’mon.”

“Wait, what?” you ask confused, trying to keep up with his hurried pace. “What happened in there?”

“This is bigger than we could have imagined, I need to tell Cere immediately.”

That’s all you got out of him all the way back to the ship. BD kept looking back at you with questioning beeps, but Cal either didn’t hear or ignored him.

When you finally make it back to the Mantis, you’re out of breath. Cal’s pace was relentless when he was in a hurry, and he did carry you across some of the walls like before without warning, so you were looking forward to getting in there and sitting down for a moment.

“You passed the test,” Cere calls from the entrance of the ship as you approach it.

You beeline for the corner bench behind the round table, where BD hops on as well, and is immediately scolded by Greez. Cal introduces everyone to BD, telling the other two that he’s “with us” now.

Sitting down, Cal starts explaining what he learned in the vault. Some guy called Cordova hid a Holocron with a list of force sensitive children in the vault. The only way to get it though is by following his path, and the next leads are on the planets Zeffo and Dathomir.

You’re still trying to wrap your head around this whole ordeal, when Cal asks Cere why she’s no longer a Jedi. She explains that an experience changed her perspective (vague much?) and she cut herself off from the Force. But she believes that with the holocron they can rebuild the Jedi Order, and in that way fight against the Empire.

When Cere asks Cal if he’s on board with the plan, he’s about to answer, but then looks at you, and you can see in his eyes that he wants to do this. So you give a short nod.

They come up with a plan, deciding what’s the next step, and Cere and Greeze disappear in the cockpit. You find an empty cot at the back of the ship and take a seat.

Your chest tightens at the realisation that Cal isn’t who you thought he was at all. That maybe you don’t know him at all, actually. But Jedi or not, he’s the guy you fell for. Behind whatever it was he’s been trying to hide all these years, there was a personality that was just unmistakably and often unapologetically Cal. And he’s become too important for you to lose.

And now there’s this mission. A mission where, if you got things right, the weight of the universe will be placed on his shoulders. And it makes you angry, because that’s just not fair. There must be other Jedis out there that could do it, right? To make it worse, and you’re aware this might be a selfish thought, it makes you feel inadequate. Was Cal gonna drop you off on the next pit stop? You aren’t exactly an experienced fighter. You doubt they’d have a need for a thief on the run from the Empire. Would you be just a burden to him?

Cal, who survived the Purge of the Jedis, and will now attempt to restore the Order. And you, helplessly in love with him, probably holding him back, because you’re too scared to lose him.

Just as there’s a voice echoing in your mind, telling you that you’re not enough, you feel a dip in the cot beside you. Looking up, you’re met with Cal’s worried gaze.

“You okay?” he asks softly.

You slowly nod, but it quickly turns into a shake of your head instead.

“I just…” You hope your voice doesn’t betray you, giving away the tears threatening to spill. “Everything happened so fast, so much all at once. And now I’m left feeling like I don’t know who you are.”

Cal is about to retort but you quickly add, “Wait, I didn’t word that right.”

So he waits for you to collect your thoughts.

“What I mean is, we’ve known each other for some time now. And I understand why you hid who you are. I just can’t help but wonder if the Cal I know is the real Cal or not?”

You dare bring your gaze up to meet his, and your chest tightens at the hurt look in his face.

“Because I like the Cal I know,” you blurt out before you can stop yourself. “A lot.”

He gives you a smile, and you swear you can see the slightest shade of pink spreading on his ears and cheeks.

“There’s only one Cal,” he says, leaning slightly to the side, softly bumping his shoulder into yours. “And he likes you too. A lot.”

For a second, you simply watch your hands in your lap, replaying his words in your mind. You see how his hand gets into your field of vision, folding over yours, and now your brain short-circuits for real. You look up to him, searching for regret or teasing in his eyes, yet you find nothing but affection and warmth. A warmth that spreads through your whole body, and has you taking a shuddering breath.

“So what’s the plan now?” you ask him after a while, giving his hand a squeeze that he returns.

“Telling you the truth,” Cal answers. “And then you can decide if you want to actually be a part of this.”

“And if I say no, you’re just gonna ditch me?” you say with a playful scoff, but a slight panic still sneaks itself into your voice.

“What? No, of course not,” he assures you. “I already talked to Greez. You can stay on the Mantis as long as you need. What I mean is… I want you to stay by my side. But I won’t force you to. We have a pretty ambitious mission, after all.”

“Fighting the Empire?” you ask rhetorically. “Been there, done that.”

“Wait, what?”

“Why do you think I have a bounty on my head, Master Jedi?” you say with a playful tone.

“What did you do?” he asks, genuinely curious.

“Hmm,” you stroke your chin as if considering his question. “I’ll tell you after you tell me about your training and how you escaped.”

“Deal,” Cal says with a smile. “And I’m not a Master Jedi, actually. I only ever was a Padawan, an apprentice.”

“Well you have some nice moves for an apprentice,” you chuckle. “And Master or not, you look good with a lightsaber.”

Cal lets out a strangled sound at your comment, face now several shades darker.

You both turn when you hear steps approaching, seeing that it’s Greez. You instinctively want to remove your hand from Cal’s, feeling like you just got caught, but he doesn’t let you go.

“Ah, I see you’ve found the bed,” Greez says. “It’s the only extra we have. We were counting with just one Jedi, after all.”

“Technically you’re not wrong,” you say, unable to meet anyone’s eyes and looking down at the floor instead. “We’ll figure it out.”

“You’ll have to,” Greez answers with a smile as he doesn’t miss your joined hands, and turns to leave. “Come get some dinner, kids.”

Cal wants to stand up but you pull him back. He turns to look at you with a raised brow and you take the chance to plant a kiss on his cheek. You almost laugh at the surprise on his face.

“Wherever you go, I’ll go,” you tell him as you rise to your feet with a smile. “At least it won’t be boring, right?”

— — —

A/N: this may have the potential for a second part? if you'd like that let me know! ♥ // (screenshot is mine)

~~~~~

🐥 taglist: [more info in my pinned post!] @dybynyght, @galaxtic-writings (sorry for the late tag!)

#goose feathers #cal kestis x reader #star wars cal x reader #jedi fallen order x reader #star wars x reader

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mybutcheredtongue · 6 months

Text

I'll Love You 'til the Grass Around My Gravestone is Deceased

post azkaban sirius x fem!reader

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (see full series list here)

1993

"Alright, guys, have a good evening," you say to your fourth-years as they pick up their bags and start to head for the exit. You've just started to pack up your own things and head down to your room when there's a voice behind you.

"Uh, Professor?"

You turn, finding Harry standing there. You smile and nod at him and he pulls a scrap of parchment out of his pocket, holding it out to you.

He glances at his classmates leaving, some of which look back at him curiously. "One of the other teachers told me to give this to you."

That's odd. Usually the teachers would just send it themselves.

You take it anyway. "Thanks, Harry. Have a good night."

He leaves, catching up Ron and Hermione who had been waiting for him, and you lean back against your desk, unfolding the parchment.

Your heart leaps when you recognise the messy, sprawled handwriting.

My love,

I'm flying north immediately. Harry told me about his scar, I presume he told you too, and I have heard far too many strange rumours to ignore it. I need to talk to you and Harry.

I miss you so much it hurts. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think of you. Please stay safe and I'll be in touch soon. Remember how much I love you.

Yours,

Sirius

What about Harry's scar? He didn't tell you anything. So much for your whole getting-your godson-to-trust-and-confide-in-you plan.

You can practically hear Sirius' voice dripping from the page. The letter is short and looks rushed, he must've been in quite a hurry. Your stomach constricts with worry — he's completely putting himself in danger by coming here.

Whatever Harry told him, it clearly worried Sirius. Worried him enough to risk his safety to come north just to speak to Harry. And to you, too.

You ought to ask Harry what this is all about.

You read over the letter a few more times, a smile on your face, before you tidy up and start down the stairs, heading for bed.

The next morning, you wake bright and early, hoping to catch Harry at morning breakfast. To your luck, you do. He's sitting at the Gryffindor table with Ron and Hermione. As you approach, you notice him having heated words with Hermione, but they suddenly stop when they see you.

"Morning," you greet. "Harry, can I speak to you when you're finished? If you have time before your first class, of course."

He nods, immediately standing up, exchanging wary glances with his friends.

"You're not in trouble, Harry. You look like you're expecting me to expel you or something," you reassure with a chuckle and he loosens up slightly, following you out of the Hall. You lead him down the corridor until you find one that's empty and where you won't be heard.

Involuntarily, your eyes flick up to Harry's scar, and he notices, pulling his hair down to cover it up.

You sigh, lowering your voice. "Harry, that letter you gave me last night...Sirius said he's coming north because of something to do with your scar. What happened?"

Harry glances away from you, shrugging, before putting on an awkward smile. "Oh, it was nothing, really. I just, er, imagined it was hurting...bit stupid now, to be honest."

Your eyes widen. "Your scar was hurting?"

"Like I said, I imagined it — "

"An unlikely thing to imagine, Harry," you tut, unimpressed. You think for a moment, racking your brains as to what could have possibly caused a scar to be painful. "And it was just out of the blue? There was nothing that could have caused it?"

Harry blinks at you.

"Yup, very random."

He's lying. It's as plain to you as the nose on his face. "I'm not that thick, Harry, I can tell you're lying."

His eyes widen, like he didn't expect you to call him out on his lie and he raises his hands up in defense. "Honestly, you don't have to worry about me. And Sirius doesn't have to either, it's nothing really. Honest."

You just sigh, shaking your head and shrugging. "I'll worry about you regardless, Harry, for as long as you have to go to Professor Snape's classes. And, y'know, 'cause it's my job. Sirius and I will always worry about you." You shuffle on your feet, thinking of what you should do. "But...if you're really that unwilling to tell me, I'll let you off. Just — just tell me everything you hear from him, won't you? Who knows what that fool will do next..."

Harry chuckles, nodding.

"Alright, off you go. Time for class," you say, glancing down at your watch. You pat his shoulder and he hurries off back to the Hall to find Ron and Hermione.

⁠✧⁠*⁠。✧⁠*⁠。

You find yourself standing outside the castle, watching as students file down into the courtyard in single-file lines. Minerva leads her Gryffindors, throwing orders out left, right and centre.

"Weasley, straighten your hat," she barks at Ron. "Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."

Parvati Patil scowls and removes a large ornamental butterfly from the end of her plait. Aw. You thought it was pretty.

All the students are shivering, shifting from foot to foot in anticipation as they await the arrival of the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Minerva makes her way over to you, still casting a watchful eye over her house.

"I wish they would hurry up," she says quietly to you. "I fear Colin Creevey will not be able to stay still for too much longer."

You glance past her at Colin, who is practically shaking with excitement. He keeps glancing back at Harry behind him, grinning widely. Colin is quite a sweet lad, actually. He's very keen to learn and you like that about him. He's very enthusiastic in your class, even if he does have trouble discerning between Astronomy and Astrology.

"I share his excitement, honestly," you reply. "Who knows what we're in for?"

Down the line, Dumbledore speaks up. “Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!”

Many students ask 'Where?', eagerly scouring the area for any sign of the French school's arrival.

"There!"

Something large hurtles through the dark sky towards the castle, growing bigger as it gets closer.

"It's a dragon!" One first-year student, Melanie Mills, yells. She looks to have completely lost it.

"Don't be stupid...it's a flying house!" Dennis Creevey cries.

You share a look with Minerva, returning your gaze to the approaching shape. To your surprise, Dennis isn't actually that far off. You see a giant, powder-blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring towards you. It's pulled by a dozen majestic, winged horses, beating their wings as they glide through the air.

The enormous horses skid to a stop right in front of the first-years, who all rear back skittishly. The door to the grand carriage opens and a boy in pale blue robes jumps down from the carriage, bends forward and fumbles with something for a moment on the carriage floor before unfolding a set of gold steps.

You watch in shock as the largest woman you've ever seen steps out of the carriage. She's so tall all thoughts in your head genuinely just melt into pure shock. Bloody hell, she looks bigger than Hagrid. She's dressed from head to toe in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleam at her throat and on her large fingers. She's quite beautiful, but you just can't get over the sheer fact that she's about three times your height.

Dumbledore starts to clap loudly, and the students follow his lead. You clap, open-mouthed as you continue to stare at this incredible woman. Minerva elbows you and jolts you out of your stupor.

A graceful smile settles on the woman's face as she walks forward towards Dumbledore, extending a bejewelled hand out to him. Dumbledore barely has to bend to kiss it.

"My dear Madame Maxime," he says. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dorr," Madame Maxime says. "I hope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you," he replies.

“My pupils,” says Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her.

You now notice about a dozen boys and girls, all looking to be in their late teens, emerging from the carriage and moving to stand behind Madame Maxime. They're shivering, dressed only in their fine silk robes and without any cloaks. They stare up at Hogwarts with apprehensive expressions, glancing around at the students curiously.

"'Has Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asks.

"He should be here any moment," says Dumbledore. "Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?"

"Warm up, I think," says Madame Maxime. "But the horses — "

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them," says Dumbledore, "the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other — er — charges."

You're sure that means Hagrid's current muse: blast-ended skrewts. Nasty buggers, they are. You're glad you're not a student taking that class.

"My steeds require — er — forceful handling," Madame Maxime tells him, looking as though she doubts whether any Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts could be up to the job. "They are very strong..."

"I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job," says Dumbledore, smiling.

"Very well. "Madame Maxime bows slightly. "Will you please inform this Hagrid that the horses drink only single-malt whiskey?"

"It will be attended to," assures Dumbledore, also bowing.

"Come," Madame Maxime says imperiously to her students, and the Hogwarts crowd parts to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps.

The students continue to stand in waiting, their teeth chattering with the cold. Quiet murmurs sweep through the group and Madame Maxime's horses snort and stamp at the ground.

"How long are we gonna have to wait?" Sprout says from your left. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

"Don't say that to Madame Maxime," you mutter quietly and Sprout chuckles.

Then, you hear a distant rumbling and rippling of water.

"The lake!" Lee Jordan yells. "Look at it!"

The Black Lake, usually calm and serene, seems far from it at this moment in time. Some disturbance is taking place deep inside. Bubbles form at the surface, waves crash onto the muddy banks, and you squint as a small whirlpool begins to form in its centre...

Slowly, magnificently, a ship rises out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. You're impressed at the sheer size of the ship, which has an interesting...skeletal look about it. It's misty and dim, looking like it was just plucked from a silent crypt.

The ship nears the bank, and with a great thud a plank is thrown down onto the ground. People start disembarking, and you notice that as they get closer and closer, they appear to be wearing heavy coats of some kind of matted fur. The man who leads them is wearing a different fur cloak to the rest, this one is far more sleek and silver, like his hair.

"Dumbledore!" he calls heartily as he walks up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replies.

Karkaroff is quite a tall and thin man, not unlike Dumbledore, with short white hair and a goatee that ends in a twisted curl. When he reaches Dumbledore, he reaches out and shakes his hand with both of his own.

"Dear old Hogwarts," he says, looking up at the castle and smiling. It's not a true smile, you notice, it doesn't reach his eyes. It's dishonest. "How good it is to be here, how good...Viktor, come along, into the warmth...you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold."

A young man steps forward towards Karkaroff, and when the light from the castle windows hit him you realise that it's none other than Viktor Krum, the Quidditch player. Several of the students let out gasps as the sight of him. Ron looks like he's about to faint.

⁠✧⁠*⁠。✧⁠*⁠。

Time passes and the Goblet of Fire has been left in the Great Hall, where occasionally, someone puts their name forward for the Triwizard Tournament — among them Fred and George Weasley, of course, who decided to employ a cheap Ageing Potion to swindle the Age Line. It did not work out as they planned. They ended up in the hospital wing with two long, silvery beards sprouting from their chins.

Sirius would have loved this. All the excitement and bravado of the Tournament, everything about it. You can picture himself and James putting their names into the goblet, walking away with smug smirks.

You miss him. You miss him so much. Every day you worry about him, hoping that he hasn't gotten himself killed since you last heard from him. It's tough.

One night you can't sleep, mind rampant with thoughts of Sirius, so you go up the Tower to sit and watch the stars like you usually do. To your disappointment, it's too cloudy of a night for you to see much and you decide to just go for a walk around the castle instead. Dubh joins you, jumping into your arms and clinging to your shirt, purring contentedly.

It's perfectly quiet in the empty corridors, silent but for the soft echo of your slippers sliding over the stone. The paintings are all still and sleeping. Some of them are snoring. You know this castle like the back of your hand. At this point, you probably know it better than your own home. You've spent so many days here, countless times have you passed through these same hallways, at all times of the day.

You stroke Dubh's head lovingly, gently scratching behind her ears. You'd be lost without her, really. She's the best company you could ask for.

You near the Great Hall and that's when you hear a muffled bang. You stop walking immediately, furrowing your brows and trying to listen for more. Perhaps it was just your imagination.

Bang!

No, you definitely heard it that time. It's quiet, but not quiet enough, and it's coming from the Hall. Your heart starts to beat a little faster, and you pull your wand from your pocket, edging closer to the double doors of the Great Hall. You slowly, apprehensively pull one open just a crack, and slip into the Hall.

Clunk, clunk, clunk.

Moody is approaching your end of the Hall, and when he looks up and sees you he stops dead in his tracks, good eye wide.

"Sir?" You say in confusion.

He doesn't respond.

"Is, uh, is everything alright? I heard noises..."

He grinds his teeth. "No, no. It's fine. What are you doing down here?"

You shrug. "I couldn't sleep, wanted to go for a walk. Why are you down here?"

"None of your business, girl," he snaps quickly, barely letting you finish your sentence before he's jumped in.

You swallow, glancing away from him, petting Dubh anxiously. "Right, yeah, okay."

He clunks his way over to you, and you brace yourself as he passes, glass eye fixed on you. Dubh hisses at him and you just worry that'll anger him even more.

It's not long before he's left the Hall and you're still standing there, confused.

What the hell is going on?

⁠✧⁠*⁠。✧⁠*⁠。

You sit, once again, in the Great Hall. It's Halloween, so pumpkins and enchanted bats bob high in the room. Every student is watching the goblet closely, hoping it'll do something soon.

You glance down the staff table. You see Snape, who gives you a dirty look when he catches you and you scoff; Hagrid, who is eagerly chatting with Madame Maxime; Ludo Bagman, who is currently caught up in conversation with Minerva beside you; and Crouch, who could not look more uninterested and bored. What a lovely chap.

"Well, the goblet is ready to make its decision," Dumbledore announces, and several students look to each other excitedly. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them to please come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" — he indicates the door behind your table — "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

He takes out his wand, quenching every candle in the room but for the ones in the pumpkins, plunging the Hall into semi-darkness. The mesmerising blue flame of the Goblet of Fire danced and captured everyone's attention, waiting with bated breath for its decision.

Any second now, you think.

You spotted Angelina Johnson putting her name in not too long ago, you hope it's her. Such a lovely girl. You'd heard too that Cedric Diggory also put his name in, and while you think he's also a great fit for Hogwarts champion, you'd like to see a woman lift that cup this year. A Gryffindor, too, that'd be nice.

Suddenly, the flame turns red and sparks begin to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shoots into the air and a piece of parchment flutters out of it. Everyone gasps.

Dumbledore deftly catches the piece of parchment. "The champion for Durmstrang..." he booms slowly, "will be Viktor Krum."

Loud cheering and applause sweeps through the Hall as Viktor Krum stands from the Slytherin table and approaches the staff table, passing down it.

"Bravo, Viktor!" Karkaroff booms loudly, clapping heartily and grinning at his student. "Knew you had it in you!"

The clapping and cheering dies down again and you return your focus to the goblet, its flames glowing red once more. Before you can even register it, a second piece of parchment fires into the air, propelled by the flames.

"The champion for Beauxbatons..." Dumbledore reads, "is Fleur Delacour!"

Fleur Delacour's face is bright and full of smiles as she excitedly heads up past your table to the raucous applause from the room, before she too disappears into the side chamber with Viktor Krum.

Silence falls and you can feel the added tension of this one: Hogwarts next. You don't even notice the way you lean further into the table, tapping your foot in anticipation as the Goblet of Fire finally turns red again, spitting out the last scrap of parchment into Dumbledore's waiting hands.

"The Hogwarts champion...is Cedric Diggory!"

This time, the applause is by far the loudest. Each and every Hufflepuff gets to their feet, clapping and cheering loudly as Cedric Diggory makes his way past them, grinning broadly. You clap enthusiastically and smile encouragingly at him as he passes you, following the other two champions into the chamber.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore calls happily as at last the celebration dies down. "Well, now we have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real — "

Dumbledore suddenly stops speaking, and you crane your neck to look and see what's stopped him.

The fire in the Goblet has turned red again. Sparks are flying out of it. A long flame suddenly shoots into the air, spitting out yet another piece of parchment.

As if automatically, Dumbledore reached out his hand to seize the parchment. He holds it out and stares at it, his expression unreadable. You stare at Dumbledore, wondering what's going on, but his face reveals absolutely nothing as he continues to study the parchment like there's some sort of unbreakable code written upon it.

He clears his throat.

"Harry Potter."

⁠✧⁠*⁠。✧⁠*⁠。

→⁠→ read chapter nineteen here!

→ all kinds of interaction are appreciated ♡

hello lovelies! I am so so sorry that this chapter took so long to get out, I actually changed it several times 😭 sometimes I forget that this IS a Sirius fic, and that everyone reading this has most likely seen the movies/read the books before and I don't need to write every scene straight from the book that doesn't directly affect the reader! anyways. sorry for my little rant, I love you all so much and thank you for your patience 🫶🫶

hugs and kisses for my amazing taglist loves: @wholelottalove05 @izuoyarmin @hyperspeedo @carpe00diem @jennifer0305 @idkman5335

#sirius black x you #sirius black #sirius black x reader #harry potter #the marauders #angst with a happy ending #angst #fanfiction #fanfic #hp #marauders era #marauders #sirius orion black

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minggukieology · 1 year

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편지- Letter ✍️

Now that the dust has settled, I found a peaceful moment in the afternoon to sit down in silence and listen to Letter while trying to unpack all my thoughts. This lengthy post will be more in the tone of my personal stance and connection with the song, omitting going into too much detail about the grammar and explaining Korean expressions but still I will try to explain how the song makes an impression with the specific language used.

My reflections:

From the beginning onwards, the song sounds very delicate, while Jimin is singing to us in the polite form and bringing up multiple themes that are characteristic for the ARMY fandom and our path with the boys over the years: the desert, the sea, the cold winter and a warm spring day... He is wishing us to be happier and for this to last forever, while promising to be there when you feel like falling and cherishing all the memories we made together.

In that way, I, as a listener, am in a headspace where I am reminiscing on our story with Jimin as an idol and all we've been through together with him (and trust me, if you have joined just recently, there has been a lot darker times)...

Though as the song progresses and as the refrain comes on, the urgency to express his emotions intensifies together with the instrumental. And this is where Jungkook's vocals come in too. Jimin with the help of Jungkook is suddenly singing in a casual (lower politiness) form as if directly trying to reach out to the person on the listening end individually, addressing every line with a higher intensity and more personally. It just feels more intimate, even more earnest and more powerful. Moreover, the lyrics and chosen words feel more targeted at an individual rather than towards a group (even the scrapped lyrics felt more like he was writing towards a single person in this section).

Whatever the reason for Jungkook's appearance in this part, it makes the emotional impact even more convincing.

....

No matter what angle you may choose, Letter is an incredibly heartfelt track packed with strong emotions. I believe it's a song for ARMY and at the same time it is a song for someone in Jimin's life that has been his lifeline and his strong heart connection to them prompted him to write these lyrics woven with thick emotions.

That being said, Jimin sharing this unique space with Jungkook to support him in his emotional expression with his hidden layered vocals and some more audible backing vocals speaks volumes. Just the fact that Jungkook is present on a track (and on the most intense and personal part of the track) where Jimin is earnestly trying to deliver a message to the listener from the depths of his heart is special, no matter how anyone subjectively wants to interpret the song and its content: Do you think they are singing directly to ARMY? Great! I'd argue having someone that shares the same love and commitment, understands what you're feeling and is able to channel the same emotions as you, and as a testament to your bond you let them contribute to your own artistic expression with theirs, is incredibly precious.

There are things that Jimin will never comment on, so I doubt we will ever find out how this song and Jungkook's feature came to be besides what we already heard. Jimin is incredibly smart in how he tailors his message and communication with the broader audience. Thus, while on the surface the public sees him dancing sensually with female dancers, a longer careful look would give you a view of the half-half makeup and other dichotomies in the choreo/concepts, specifically chosen pieces of clothing, specially crafted details in the performance sets, etc. And the same thing applies to the song Letter too. Only after listening closely, you'll get to uncover layer by layer what lies hidden in this "hidden" track. On top of that, Jungkook casually showing he learnt the chords for this song in a random live broadcast out of nowhere prior to the release of the album just shows there is more to the story than we'll be ever told.

Personally, I will be keeping this song close to my heart and holding onto it until their military service concludes. It has become my own lifeline to my life as a fan and getting to hear Jimin and Jungkook together delivering these precious words is something I will cherish forever 🙏

#jimin #face #letter #jungkook #reflections #민꾸기 #edited for typos

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raccoonfallsharder · 2 months

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eidos-rocket headcanons

nonnie asked: Do you have any head canons for Eidos Rocket with an S/O?

sweet chickadee, do i ever. sfw & nsfw headcanons for eidos-rocket behind the cut. my headcanons are too long tho so thursday i will post the lil minific that i wrote you. gn reader & it's just a tiny bit spicy (i'll link it here once it's posted). i hope you enjoy! ♡♡

here it is: ᯓ⋆｡°✩practice (an eidos-rocket minific) ✩

also please bear with me if there are any major inconsistencies with game canon. unlike the movies, i couldn't really rewatch a million times, nor is it quite as easy to do research to fill in the gaps as it is with the movies.

initial ask | the beard | rocket smells like oneshot masterlist | headcanons & imagines masterlist | main masterlist

sfw headcanons

eidos-rocket dates a LOT. he's a big fan of the idea that two (or more) people can enjoy themselves and each other without any strings attached. unfortunately for you (and himself), the only people he's ever felt (or allowed himself to feel) committed to were lylla and tella, and to be honest, he's got a lot of hang-ups about both of 'em. one sacrificed herself so he could be free of the kree and he still feels like he owes her; the other stole the ship he hacked for her and left him to the wolves. if he's had any scrap of personal affection or optimism for biologicals left after rak-mar, it had evaporated then, and had only been resurrected by (and exclusively for) groot.

nevertheless, he'll get along with you as well as he could be expected to get along with any new person in his life. maybe you're a newbie on the guardians team, or maybe you're a stranger he picks up at a contraxian bar. hell, maybe you're a dancer at that place he likes so much on knowhere. he'll put up with you the same way he puts up with mantis: a little baffled at what he perceives as your weirdness, and surprisingly receptive to whatever endearments you accidentally levy against him. but whether your presence in his life begins with a sexual proposition, a date, or a job on the milano, once he starts developing more intense feelings for you, he'll shut down. even having a crush will feel like a betrayal of the otter who gave her life for him to escape the kree - plus he’s not really looking to get betrayed again. he'll spend way too much time hating himself, distrusting you, and trying to push you away - usually by blaming you for petty slights that he knows he's either made up or exaggerated. (better to get pissed at you for some stupid minor insult or misunderstanding than get betrayed later.) of course, every time he’s a dick, he'll feel like scut about it. he'll have a powerful urge to grovel, but he’ll ignore it - at least till he finally believes that he's safe to feel something for someone again. luckily for him, he's got you to help him get there.

remember how protective eidos-rocket is of groot? now that he trusts you and realizes how much he wants you in his life, he's starting to feel the same way toward you. well, not exactly the same way, obviously - but though it's taken him a while to come around on it, he now realizes you're just as sweet as his big best friend, and just as in-need of someone to look out for you and make sure you're not taken advantage of by all the scut n' chogs out here. you think it's just impatience at first - when he starts towing you around knowhere with your wrist clamped in his hand - but it's more about wanting to make sure he can keep track of you, and plant himself safely in front of you if any weirdos show up.

like his counterparts, eidos-rocket doesn't sleep much. if he stops thinking for long enough to rest, his mind immediately rotates wartime memories and flashbacks from the kree labs. he'll spiral out, thinking of the brain-numbingly repetitive tasks he'd been forced to do, growing more and more panicked rather than actually resting. plus, something about sleep makes his subconscious call up memories of the sensory deprivation tanks. sure, they weren't as painful or agonizing as his other memories of conditioning, torture, experimentation, and battle, but they're what he most often has nightmares of: being nothing, floating in nothing. the epitome of alone-ness. which is why he's such a sap for being touched. the first time you'd reached out instinctively to ruffle the too-soft-looking fur at the base of his thickly-velveted ears, he'd swatted at you with both hands like you were a goddamn bug. flarkin' infantilizing, he'd growled. but at some point, you'd done it again (on accidental impulse, of course; all things considered, you're probably the least invasive person he knows, so he should really cut you some slack). it had still given him a bit of panic, but no-one had been around, so he'd settled for glaring at you. fortunately for you both, it hadn't been too long before he'd admitted to himselfthat he wants you to touch him all the time.

now that eidos-rocket trusts you enough, he’s particularly partial to you grooming him. the feel of your fingers stroking through the ruff along his cheeks, running through the surprisingly-silky texture of his little beard? he loves when you braid it for him. it feels so good that he can’t help but close his eyes and tilt up his face, like a cat getting chin-scratches. if he’s in a good mood, he’ll even let you pick the beads. that’s a gesture of true intimacy, by the way. you think he’d trust just anyone to honor his aesthetic?

since we're talking about his goatee and his aesthetic, let's admit that eidos-rocket is by far the most vain of all his current incarnations. the manicured neatness of that little beard and its embellishments? the obscene fluffiness of his tail? this guy uses a high-quality oil to keep his fur and skin in good condition. it started when he stole some fancy beard-oil from some spartoi jerk for scut n' giggles, but then he'd learned the luxury was actually pretty nice. he'd eventually found a knowhere vendor he can buy some good stuff from, and for pretty cheap. he gets it custom-made, and it's mostly scentless, with undertones of something like black pepper and cedar.

speaking of fur: bury your nose in eidos-rocket's fluffy neck-scruff and you'll find that in addition to the faint cedar-and-pepper scent, he smells like iron, engine fuel, and something reminiscent of gunpowder. and maybe some kind of booze he probably didn't pay for at mantlo's - like a spicy, caramelly kind of rum. plus, he for sure smokes, so he probably smells at least a little like burnt everbloom, which gives him an additional sort of smoky, gingery scent.

nsfw headcanons

let me be real clear that rocket in almost all universes and timelines will fuck (barring certain kinds of trauma i'm not into adding to his life-story). mcu-rocket knows better than anyone that bodies aren't a good indicator of a person's worth. comics-rocket is canonically attracted to people of all shapes and sizes and numbers of tentacles or whatever. similarly, eidos-rocket seems way more interested in whether or not a particular partner or partners are going to make him feel good (and his own ability to make them feel good) than whether or not they have a certain kind of genitalia, how many limbs they've got, or their percentage of body-fat. (again, physical sensation is a whole thing for him thanks to the history of sensory deprivation…)

relatedly & since we mentioned how much eidos-rocket struggles with the memories of the deprivation tanks, it’s worth noting how much he craves your touch as a result. the truth is that having you wrapped around him for the whole sleep-cycle makes it a lot harder for his subconscious to convince him that he's still stuck in sensory-deprivation. even if he does start to drift into one of those dreams, it takes less than a second on waking to remember that he can still feel, and what he feels is you, all around him. maybe he'll press his ear to your chest: even though he can already hear your heartbeat without trying, he wants it so loud that he can taste it. sometimes, that's enough. other times, he'll wake you by pulling you fully on top of himself, needing the heat and weight of you, feeling your pulse against his mouth. if he's a certain kind of desperate, you'll wake up with his tongue or his dick inside you - as long as you've said you're okay with it, of course. i don't think eidos-rocket considers himself into somno, per se - this is far more about an urgent need for the comfort of feeling you more than kink, necessarily.

but since we're talking about kink, let it be known that eidos-rocket is the most openly-filthy rocket. he's got no problem acting out in public, touching you, trying to embarrass you. ugh, i hate gettin' wet; wet fur is the krutackin' worst, he'll say loudly in front of the whole fam. then, without skipping a beat, his eyes will dart at you mischievously. well, maybe there're some exceptions...

there's also something of an exhibitionist in eidos-rocket, as long as he's the one pulling the strings. getting you aroused in public is a fun game and it makes him smug as hell, and he doesn't generally think about being self-conscious about sex after having spent so much time on knowhere and contraxia. but on the rare occasion that you turn the tables, and he gets flustered - self-conscious, flattered, turned-on, needy - he can't hide it anywhere near as well as the other rockets. mcu-rocket might scuff his feet, scrub at the back of his neck, and look away; comics-rocket barely reveals anything beyond a brief widening of his eyes and a flicker of tail and ears (unless he's a skottie young rocket, in which case, he has no shame whatsoever) but eidos-rocket will be trying (and failing) to hide his blush so obviously that the poor guy might as well not even have any fur. i mean, hell, did you notice the scene where quill was like, "you deserve a little praise"? poor guy was curled in on himself, hiding his face, suddenly couldn't have mouthed-off to save his life. speaking of praise...

eidos-rocket generally likes to be in charge in the bedroom, like all rockets - but if you want to see his mouth snap shut, his eyes get wide, and watch him unravel into something close to subby, all you have to do is offer up some sincere, specific compliment. yeah, i headcanon all rockets as having something of a praise-kink, but how that looks can vary wildly across the multiverse. for this guy? well, let's just say that if you play your cards right and tell him just how good and deserving he is, eidos-rocket will be salivating to give you whatever you krutackin' want.

other kinks? eidos-rocket will try almost anything twice, as long as he feels safe (admittedly, that's a high bar, though you've managed to surpass it in multiple ways). but we know he's mentioned how much he enjoys "the place with the dancers." you may or may not have easy access to a pole - but offer him a chair dance, and those clever hands of his will be clutching and flexing, eyes unblinking while they drink you up. clumsy? he doesn’t care. the very idea of you dancing for him turns him on as much as actually watching your beautiful body undulate, revealing a bit more of yourself to him with every breath. let it turn into a lapdance and he'll think this is a newer and more dangerous version of the Promise — and even if it is, he ain’t tryin’ to leave. he'll fight himself to keep his hands off of you, not wanting it to end even a half-second early. eventually, it'll become a competition between the two of you: him trying to keep you writhing on him for as long as possible, and you trying to get him to break and fuck you. by the time he finally cracks, you might regret riling him up so damn much.

headcanons & imagines masterlist | main masterlist banners & dividers by @/thecutestgrotto & @/saradika-graphics

#rfh asks #rfh headcanons #eidos rocket #rocket raccoon #guardians of the galaxy #gotg game #guardians of the galaxy video game #rocket x reader #rocket raccoon x reader #eidos gotg #gotg comics #gotg eidos game #eidos gotg game #rocketraccoon #reader insert #rocket gotg #gotg rocket #rocket raccoon x oc

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readersandimagines · 6 months

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Gone Missing - Chapter 1

Okay so this took me way too long to write! I decided to try and write it in first person but also still keep it neutral enough that a reader could place themselves in the story? I may scrap this and go back to 2nd or 3rd person we shall see! Sooo let me know what you think! Only other warning I have is I didn't proof read this and quickly put it together.

But uhh essentially you're Adam's sibling and he's been missing for three days too many so you do what any sensable human would do and go to the police station to report him missing. Dectective Hoffman is on the case ;3

It had been three days. Three days wondering where in the world my brother, Adam had gotten up to. I sighed, checking my phone for what felt like the hundredth time today. Still no callback. Maybe Adam just got busy, I thought trying to reassure myself that he was fine. The last time we spoke he told me about some ex cop that was paying him pretty good money, so maybe he was just busy with that?

“I can’t do this anymore!” I exclaimed, standing up to grab my coat.

I quickly locked the door to my apartment and headed out. I needed to stay calm, but my mind raced with too many thoughts to grab hold of anything. As I walked and held my phone close; Adam had exactly 20 minutes to call me before I reported him as a missing person. I knew he would be angry, but I couldn’t lose him. He was the only family I had left.

The autumn air was crisp as I started to walk along the street. Cars and people passed by continuing on their way. Their world continued to move forward while it felt like mine froze. I could feel a lump growing in my throat as I pushed the door open to enter the Metropolitan Police Department.

The front was unremarkable dead. A small lobby with a few chairs and a main desk with an officer to greet you. Taking a deep breath, I approached the desk mentally preparing to deal with whatever bullshit these guys could throw at me. As long as they help me find him that’s all that matters.

“Name and case number?” the voice asked.

“Uhh… I don’t have one?” I answered, earning a sigh and annoyed glance from the man behind the desk.

Normally this man wouldn’t have bothered me so much. I would just sass him back and yet I couldn’t bring myself to do that.

“You don’t have a name?” the cop asked a little louder, gaining some attention from people behind him.

“I have a name, but I don’t have a case number.” I responded, feeling my chest tighten. “I… need to file a missing persons case.”

“Sweetie people go missing every day in this town, you sure they didn’t just dump you?”

Anger, confusion, sadness. Each one leaving as quickly as it came. I couldn’t understand how walking into a police station was such a problem. The man behind the desk examined me, seeming to want to say something else before another man in a suit walked up. The two officers exchanged words briefly before the man in the suit walked over. I clenched my jaw, I knew I shouldn’t have come here. I would have better luck finding Adam myself than trusting these people.

“Detective Hoffman,” the man called, extending his rather large hand out to me.

“_________ Stanheight,” I answered, taking his hand into my own.

He had a strong, but gentle handshake as he gestured to the chairs in the lobby. If this had been a regular day, I would have been having to contain my emotions as I looked over the detective. He had the brightest blue eyes and a nice smile. He wasn’t ripped like other cops, but he definitely seemed to be in shape. I just hoped he could help me find Adam.

“I couldn’t help but overhear,” Detective Hoffman said, gesturing towards the front desk. “What makes you think someone is missing?”

“I don’t think anyone is missing. I know my brother Adam is missing. We talk everyday and now I can’t get in touch with him,” I huffed, my annoyance starting to grow as the detective nodded, pulling a notebook out of his pocket.

“Adam huh? How long has it been since you spoke? Could he just not have his phone?” he asked, earning a glare from me.

“It’s been three days. Look, I know he’s missing. We talk everyday. And one of your officers hired him to follow some doctor--” I snapped before he cut me off.

“One of our officers?”

“Yes! Some old guy-- Bob Tapp? I think?” I exclaimed, mentally kicking myself for not getting the name when Adam had originally told me.

“Detective Tapp? But he’s dea--” the original guy from the desk started to say before Hoffman cut him off.

“All the more reason to take their information,” he said sharply.

“D-dead?” I stammered, my eyes widening. “No, you have to be mistaken, Adam just got hired by this guy.”

Everything around me felt like it was spinning. If the guy that hired Adam was dead-- no Adam couldn’t be dead. My thoughts grew louder and I couldn’t focus. Time seemed to freeze. I could feel tears filling my eyes before I felt a strong, but firm touch on my shoulder bringing me back to reality for a moment.

“Hey, I need you to calm down. We will do everything we can to find your brother,” Hoffman said firmly.

“He can’t die,” I whispered, trying desperately to stop the flood gates trying to open. “He’s… the only family I have left.”Hoffman’s face softened briefly and he nodded like he understood what I felt. I needed to calm down. I needed to give him the information. But I also desperately needed to go out and start my own search. It felt like the wind had been knocked from beneath my sails and yet all I could do was focus on one singular thought: Adam could be in serious danger.

#artemis rose writes #artemis writes #ask artemis!#mark hoffman #saw #adam stanheight #adam saw #x reader #saw x reader #does adam live? who knows not I the writer XD #gonna go write up some headcannons now because I get the feeling Adam may get wrecked and people are gonna be angee

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whatsnewalycat · 2 years

Text

whatsnewalycat masterlist

[ Taglist ] [ glitter_deity on AO3 ]

I'm not sure what to write here but hey hi hello thanks for looking at my masterlist! I have only dipped my toes into the cool waters of Pedro Pascal characters. Feel free to reach out to me about whatever your little heart desires.

PS—If you follow me and your account looks like you’re a bot I’m probably going to block you, just a heads up 🤟🏻

Things I write are explicit, do not read if you're under the age of 18.

series

Designated Person (Ongoing)

Pairing: Francisco (Frankie / "Catfish") Morales x F!Reader

Series Summary: When posting bail for Frankie Morales, your former employer and former lover, you unwittingly designate yourself as his third party custodian during his pre-trial release. Your often tumultuous relationship with him is given a new set of rules and put to the test. Can the two of you co-exist peacefully, or will you crash and burn?

[ Masterlist ] [ AO3 ]

Passenger (Ongoing)

Pairing: Trucker!Din Djarin AU x OFC Charlie Wanderlust

Summary: In her time tramping across the United States, Charlie Wanderlust has found life on the road to be challenging, but rewarding. When she makes enemies with a powerful figure, a bounty is put out for her capture. Din Djarin, a long-haul trucker and occasional bounty hunter, takes the job as a means to gain financial stability. Their paths cross, and as a result, the winding route of their lives are forever altered.

[ Masterlist ] [ AO3 ]

Psychomanteum (Completed)

Pairing: Dieter Bravo x OFC Louella

Series Summary: You’ve recently taken on the customer-facing responsibilities of the small-scale cannabis bakery you and your late husband ran out of your apartment, which introduces you to occasional customer, Dieter Bravo. A friendship is sparked when you realize you have something in common: you’ve both died. What Dieter doesn’t tell you about his near-death experience, though, is that it foretold his life with you.

[ Masterlist ] [ AO3 ]

Just Dumb Enough to Try (Completed)

Pairing: Javier Peña x F!Reader

Series Summary: In 1993, you met Javier Peña in San Antonio. You made an emotional and physical connection with him. Now it’s 1998 and you’re starting a new chapter of life in Laredo with your fiancé. And who else walks back into the picture, but the man who left you high and dry five years ago.

[ Masterlist ] [ AO3 ]

standalones

Dave York

Mindfuck

Pairing: Dave York x F!Reader

Summary: He said he could rattle the bees from your buzzing honeycomb brain. All you had to do was trust him with this power. So you did. And you do. Your valiant beekeeper meets you at this hotel every other Tuesday night, except on holidays.

[ Tumblr ] [ AO3 ]

Dieter Bravo

Once In A Full Moon

Pairing: Dieter Bravo x HotelStaff!F!Reader

Summary: You're the only person working when a Christmas blizzard rolls into town and snows you in with a notoriously difficult guest, Dieter Bravo.

[ Tumblr ] [ AO3 ]

Javier Peña

Bunny

Pairing: Javier Peña x PhoneSexOperator!Reader

Summary: Your first of many calls with Javier.

[ Tumblr ] [ AO3 ]

Burn It Down

Pairing: Javier Peña x F!Reader

Summary: Before that moment, he was so careful not to tip his hand. Always trying to make you think he’s content to take the scraps of love you give him and feast upon them. Because wanting more with you means more than just having you. It means mess. It means burning your lives down to the ground. It’s the unspoken truth of your relationship.

[ Tumblr ] [ AO3 ]

I Know

(Sequel to Bunny)

Pairing: Professor!Javier Peña x Professor!Reader

Summary: It didn’t take you long to figure out that your new co-worker, Javier Peña, is a former client from your days working a phone sex line. But does he know who you are?

[ Tumblr ] [ AO3 ]

Secret Admirer

Pairing: Javier Peña x f!Reader

Summary: It's Valentine's Day. Which means it's time to take a chance on your workplace crush, Agent Javier Peña.

[ Tumblr ] [ AO3 ]

Joel Miller

Mine

Pairing: BratTamer!Joel Miller x Brat!F!Reader

Summary: You act out for attention and Joel punishes you.

[ Tumblr ] [ AO3 ]

Ruthless

Pairing: Stepdad Joel Miller x f!Reader

[ Tumblr ] [ AO3 ]

Surrender

(Sequel to Ruthless)

Pairing: Stepdad Joel Miller x f!Reader

[ Tumblr ] [ AO3 ]

What Do You Need?

Pairing: BratTamer!Joel Miller x Brat!F!Reader

Summary: When you're overwhelmed, Joel gives you what you need.

[ Tumblr ] [ AO3 ]

#whatsnewalycat masterlist

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obsidiancreates · 1 year

Text

Smooth Words, Sharp Teeth (Part 2)

Kremy LeCroux has a silver tongue and steady hand, all verbal agreements on his part and written ones on the parts of others. He has no pens, yet the ink of his contracts is always pitch-black. The promises and rewards leap off of the page and the consequences and fees hide in print smaller than an ant.

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

Frost observes his companions quietly from where he leans against the wall to the lower decks. Gricko is a familiar enough face, and almost too familiar antics, as he holds a fish in front of Hootsie and moves around in an attempt to train her to do more tricks. Gideon is an interesting watch as he downs grog, his chains scrapping against the deck as he lifts the tankard higher and higher to get every last drop. Frost wants desperately to know more about those chains, about the why, the how, the story.

He could get it all if he wanted to. Just walk right into Gideon's mind and open every door, flips through every memory, glean every intent. And he's tempted.

But this... agreement? Truce? Partnership? Whatever this group is, these two duos come together, it's too fresh and new and easy to break for Frost to do any poking around where he'd not be welcome. It's also not right, morally, of course. But the mystery is so intriguing that Frost needs that extra nudge away.

Kremy is up by the helm, talking to the captain. He's got both hands wrapped around the head of his strange skull cane as he leans over the much shorter human man as the two negotiate terms.

Frost had wanted to, initially. But his two new companions had stopped him in his tracks, literally. Gideon had picked him up like an actual cat, dangling him in the air by his underarms.

"Let Kremy handle the talkin'," Gideon had said as Kremy himself re-applied that ridiculous drawn-on mustache. Up to that point, it was the most perplexing part of the alligatorfolk.

"I'm very good at negotiation," Frost had argued. "And would you mind putting me down? This is embarrassing."

"I think it looks kinda fun," Gricko had said from somewhere below. "Gideon, can you carry Hootsie around like that?"

"Uh... alright."

Frost was set down, Hootsie was scooped up with a happy hoot from her little beak, and Kremy finished touching up his "mustache". He gave Frost a confident smile.

"Trust me Frost, we're dealin' with some shady sailors here! No offense, but you're a little too... good-natured, to handle this."

Frost crinkled his nose. "Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Depends on who you are and who's givin' it. Make yourselves at home fellas! We'll be on the move in no time." Kremy had given one last grin before moving aboard the ship, the rest following behind.

And so comes the present, with Frost sitting and watching as Kremy talks with the ship's captain. He looks enough in his element, but...

Well. They met Kremy in the middle of a jewel heist, and while it was Frost's and Gricko's first real Big Crime born of a desperation, it had been clear from the get-go that Kremy and Gideon were experienced, to put it mildly.

Frost gets up and, casually as he can, moves his way across the deck. He gets all the way up to the helm, moving to look out over the harbor like he's just trying to get a better view of the goings-on of the dock. The captain and Kremy don't pay him any mind.

"It's a fine deal, lad," the captain says in a gruff voice and thick accent just made for seafaring shouting. "But ye be carryin' delicate cargo, do ye not?"

"Just some odds and ends we're lookin' to trade," Kremy says back smoothly. "Nothin' you need to worry about."

"Aye, aye. O' course, needin' to worry isn't the same as not worryin', is it?"

"What'll soothe your worries than, friend?"

Frost glances back as subtly as he can. He sees the captain grin, and though the man's human teeth are nowhere near the points of Kremy's, his smile is just as sharp. "A bit o' reassurance, lad. A cut of your profits, just to make it worth my risk, you see."

"Oh, insurance. I understand that, in fact I respect it!" Kremy taps his fingers on his cane, his claw 'clink, clink, clink"ing against the inside of the eye socket. "But I'd feel much more assured if I could have that in writin'."

"We push off in less than half an hour, lad."

"No problem there." Kremy raises on hand and snaps.

Something opens. A portal of some kind, but nothing like Frost has ever seen from his masters or in his training. The portal that opens beside Kremy's head is dark, and active.

Wailing. Dreadful wailing. Voices overlapping as they cry out in horrible regret, in warning, but there are too many to make any sense of the words.

The portal itself is strange. It's pitch black, yet swirling. Neon shapes and outlines, horrible and strangely alluring at the same time. Frost's fur stands on end, hidden by his robes and hood. He nearly hisses at the thing.

But it's only open for a second or two as Kremy just reaches in and pulls out a scroll and a pen.

The captain eyes both of them warily. "What kind of magics do ye be bringin' onto my ship, boy?"

"I'm nothin' more than a simple warlock," Kremy assures, putting the hand holding the scroll to his chest. "The Good Baron is my patron, and that means that this contract is an unbreakable agreement. As soon as you sign, our shared interest in an uneventful voyage will be assured."

Frost's tail twitches as he waits for the captain's response. The captain seems to consider it for a moment, and then snatches the scroll away roughly. He reads it over, murmuring to himself as he does.

Frost tries to get a glimpse of the scroll itself, craning his neck. Instead, he catches Kremy's eye.

Frost freezes.

Kremy winks. He taps two fingers against his forehead and then gestures them at the captain, before turning his full attention back to the man in question.

Frost isn't sure why it's been suggested, but he reaches into the captains mind as he assumes Kremy wants him to.

"Would you kindly read a little faster, friend? I'd like to get this locked in before it's time to go."

In the physical realm, Frost sees the captain's eyes glaze over for a moment. In the realm of the mind, Frost feels it halt. He feels every thought stop, fade, and senses Kremy's words take hold.

Kremy is eyeing Frost in a way that's hard to read.

Frost eyes him back. Very easy to read.

"Well, it looks alright to me." The captain clears his throat as he holds out his hand for the pen.

"Good to hear." Kremy hands the pen over.

The captain takes it and puts the contract against the wheel to sign. Kremy watches without moving, casual and calm, as the ink begins to flow. The captain pauses for a moment, and then continues, beginning to sweat even as a breeze picks up and blows past.

It hits Frost's nose.

It smells of iron.

The contract rolls itself up as soon as the captain is done signing and disappears in a puff of neon-outlines shadow smoke. Kremy tips his hat to the man and saunters over to Frost with a gleam in his eye. "Well?"

"Well what?" Frost considers pulling his earplugs out. Would that work in combating whatever spell Kremy used?

"What was it like, being his mind while I used Suggestion?" Kremy is almost excitable as he asks. "Gid says it feels like nothin' but I'm thinkin' that's more on account of, you know, the haze of the magic and all."

"You do that to Gideon? Isn't he your companion?" Frost leans away from Kremy a bit and once again considers his ear plugs.

"We've got an agreement about it, don't worry about anythin'. So? What is it like?"

"It was... halting. Like um, like his very mind hit a wall and complete shut down for a moment. Like a-a snuffed candle flame."

Kremy is grinning as he listens. It's not the same grin he'd had while speaking with the captain. It's less sharp, less conniving, but given the context of why Frost feels no less unnerved.

"And then his mind was returned, but uh, it-it was influenced. Your will imposed like a-a layer over this own thoughts."

"You've got a real way with words, Frost." Kremy pats him on the back. "That was fuckin' music to my ears."

"You uh. Don't plan on using that on myself or my companion, do you?"

"What, you and Gricko? Nah, nah, not unless he opens his big fuckin' mouth and gets us into trouble. No offense meant, he just, seems like the type."

"... I wish I could say you were wrong."

"If you want to guarantee it-" Kremy snaps his fingers, and again that horrible portal opens for a moment. This close to it, to the wailing and neon glyphs and strange magics, Frost can't help him and does hiss at it, his tail poofing up on instinct. Kremy holds a contract in his hand in moments, and Frost tries his best to smooth out his tail fur using his mage hand as he regains his composure.

"No, no thank you."

Kremy chuckles, genuinely amused, and does a quick hand-flick motion that makes the contract disappear in a thin shadowy wisp of smoke. "I was just messin' with ya. I get the feelin' y'all aren't the type I need extra magical assurances for. You seem like an honest, well-meaning type'a guy. And your friend uh, Gricko?"

"Yes, that's his name."

"Alright. Yeah, you two seem like people I can believe won't be turnin' me in anywhere or stabbin' me in the back. I think a nice firm handshake is enough here." He offers his hand out.

Frost takes it, tentatively. He feels no magic along with the act. It's just a regular handshake between two gentlemen.

Kremy tips his hat to Frost. "Well, I'm goin' down below to make sure we get the nicer spots. If we're lucky I can even snag private rooms!"

"Yes. I'm sure luck will be your only factor."

"Look at that, ya already know me like a friend." Kremy winks at him and strolls down to the lower decks.

Frost quickly moves down to meet Gricko and Hootsie on the main deck. "Gricko, do not sign any contacts that Kremy gives you."

"What?" Gricko keeps scratching behind Hootsie's little ears. "What do you mean, Frosty? He seems like a swell guy! A real upstanding citizen! Other than, you know, the whole meeting during a caper thing, I suppose."

"Just, trust me. And not him, for now."

"Well, alright, Frosty. How long will we really be traveling with these guys, anyway?"

#legends of avantris #once upon a witchlight #kremy lecroux #morning frost #fanfic #my attempts at fanfic

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askmadcomcrew · 3 months

Note

What're everyone's general thoughts on bandits?

Hank: Hardly worth killing. Boring. Unprotected and unskilled. Can sometimes be annoying on long outings in Somewhere, they like to nick your stuff when you're sleeping.

Sanford: I trust a bandit as far as I can throw 'em. If you ask me? No mercy for any bandits, even if they offer ya safe passage in exchange for food or money. They're all cannibals and they're just waiting for the chance to catch you off guard so they can swarm you and then make dinner out of you.

Deimos: Annoying little twerps, mostly. Honestly not sure how they even survive, eating literal garbage all the time. Nothin' grows out in the Outskirts, so they're living off zeds mostly, I guess. I also know they eat other people, and that's enough for me to not feel bad about shootin' 'em.

Doc: Roaming bandit tribes, as well as the more settled ones, are primarily formed by former residents of Nexus City. The ones who survived the fall, after deciding that killing each other wasn't worth the hassle, decided to form their own communities in the ruins of the city, where they were allowed to exist without being killed by what remained of the Core or MERC. Most have taken to cannibalism to suit their food needs, as food is scarce in the Outskirts, and most of what was edible was given to their MAG Bandit. For some reason they became obsessed with having the MAG Bandit grow larger and larger through excess food, even if it meant starving themselves. A strange, but interesting lot.

Dr. Christoff: Bandits are little more than ruffians and scoundrels, always looking for their next meal, or whatever's in your pockets. Some of them act nice, if they don't already know you, and will attempt to barter. I've met the handful of reputable bandits, ones who will do honest trade for supplies. I've also met plenty who would rather kill and steal from you, as well as feast on your corpse. I've personally watched a pack of Bandits descend on a would-be traveler, killing them quickly with sharpened scrap metal, and then using those same tools to gut, skin, and de-bone them for easier consumption.

Tricky: THEY TASTE AWFUL!! HARDLY ANY MEAT!!! ALL SKIN N' BONES!!! WHAT MEAT THEY GOT IS ALL STRINGY AND TOUGH 'CUZ MOST OF 'EM ARE EMACIATED!!! THEY SPEND TOO MUCH TIME GIVING ALL THEIR FOOD TO THAT STUPID MAG!!! BUNCHA IDIOTS IF YOU ASK ME!!!

Sheriff: Bandits're 'n odd sort, no one tribe of 'em operates the same as the others. The ones in the city don't bother us none, most 'a the time anyway. Had a few of their ranks join ours from time t' time. We don't discriminate here at MERC, we don't care where ya came from or who y' used to be. If yer willin' to chip in, and do honest work fer honest pay, we'll have ya. Most of 'em keep their distance tho, they know the more rowdy they get, the more likely they are fer one of our snipers t' put 'em down.

Crackpot: Oh, them? A lot of bandits are who ended up joining my religious sect after the fall of the city, some of them come down to the sewers and stumble upon our humble home down here. Some of them attack, thinking my men are easy prey, and are quickly sacrificed to the buoyant ones. Some have a little more sense and reason, and with a bit of coercion, have joined our ranks. But typically they just end up getting picked off by the zeds we have guarding our establishments. A sort of self solving problem, if you would.

Phobos: Bandits? Is that what became of the people of my glorious city? After that damned Christoff condemned it to ruination? No matter, the civilians of Nexus City were little more than a nicety. I could care less what they've evolved or devolved into.

Auditor: Bandits are a routine source of trouble for Agency outposts around Nexus City. They commonly launch raids on our bases, or attack Agency caravans with the intent of stealing and eating whatever or whomever they can. Most of the time routine patrols and guards can take care of them, but occasionally they are successful in their pursuits. They are little more than a nuisance, but one to remain vigilant for all the same.

#Everyone answers #Bandits

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desperatenymph · 5 months

Note

Coming across your tumblr and knowing immediately you're the one. You're the one I choose. Going through your whole blog all the way back to the beginning, looking at everything you've reblogged, every post you've felt so ashamed of you could only bring yourself to like, every word you've commented and tag you've added.

Making meticulous notes all about you, anything and everything I can find about you to feed my growing obsession. Then and only then when I find everything you've naively (stupidly) put about yourself on the internet, I send you a DM. Something simple, just a post I think you'd like. Just something to get started.

Slowly gaining your trust and friendship, something you make so easy to do with how starved you are for the slightest scrap of attention, eager to do whatever you have to for a hint of praise.

You don't even notice how much you're telling me about yourself until finally, one day, I send you a screenshot. You're confused. It's your own bedroom, seemingly taken from your computer. I send you a video, of you stripping and touching yourself, tongue out, eyes crossed, tits bouncing, just begging to be fucked stupid.

I tell you there's more where that came from. I lay out your full name. Your address. Your social media. Your daily routine. Your friends and family. And only when you realize just how fucked you are, do I throw you a lifeline. Or just enough rope to hang yourself with. You'll just have to trust me and find out.

You will do whatever I say. Send me anything I want. Record yourself doing the most degrading, humiliating tasks I can think of, eager, desperate, mortified but obeying my every whim, until I've taken control of your entire life and you couldn't imagine any other life.

😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

Just the idea that someone's stalking my blog gets be really excited... like, you're reading all my tags and documenting little things about me...slowly building up a plethora of information about me....

I wouldn't even be suspicious that you messaged me, you're right, I love the attention... then i let little things slip, thinking i can trust you...until one day I wake up feeling kinda cold and I notice my window open.. I'd think nothing of it until I see av little note on my bedside table "check your submissions nymphy" ...😳... fuck... there's like 10 messages... all videos of me.. one of me just sleeping, one of me getting dressed... masturbating... fuck. I'm so fucked... barely any thoughts could run through my mind.. I'm just frozen until you dm me... but this time it's a list.y name. My address. My social media...my hobbies. A rating out of 10 for how dumb I looked touching myself last night.

Do I even respond? If ignore him will he go away? ... he gives me an ultimatum. Drop everything anytime he asks... even wake up in the middle of the night... and become his personal pornstar... or risk him "accidently" sending all this information on me to someone a lot more dangerous

#fav anon #not the stalker kink stemming from me needing to feel wanted lol #ask #anon #stalker k1nk #r@pe fantasy #abuse k1nk #cnc k!nk #r@pe kink #rough cnc

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messinwitheddie · 11 months

Text

Nny "This is a NICE house... I'm going to haunt the SHIT out of this house."

Dib "Oh, goddamnit; it's just you."

Nny "Hey, Nny! Nice to see you! We missed you, man! What have YOU been up to? How's Hell treating you? Guess no one here is going to bother to ask."

Dib "That came out wrong. It's good to see you. It's just-- I... I spent SO much energy and resources on this ghost hunting project and it fell apart the second I set up my equipment."

Nny "It's fine. Everyone is on edge, I've noticed."

Dib "My dad was right YET again. Buying this house was a bad investment. At least Todd and Pep seem happy here."

Nny "Except the marital drama. Is that an ongoing thing with them lately or-?"

Dib "They've been at it for over a week. There's no drowning it out, just to warn you."

Nny "Am I to understand, you scrapped the whole project and sold this house to Squee?"

Dib "Yeah, if you're the only ghost that's going to show up, may as well scrap the whole fucking project. Make yourself at home. By the end of the month, we'll be gone and Pep and Todd will be out of town."

Nny "I mean, I'm on board with Squee buying this place off you, for selfish reasons obviously, but that's a huge loss on your end, isn't it? Wouldn't you rather stick it out at least another year?"

Dib "Not really worried about the money. I can blink twice at the lab and make up the hit to my savings."

Nny "Rich kid problems."

Dib "This was supposed to be a father and son project. This was a dream of mine, but if Reg doesn't want to live here and ghost hunt with me then what's the point? I just don't get it. A year and a half ago, that kid would have been so excited about working on something like this. What the Hell is happening?"

Nny "Reg is...?"

Dib "My son."

Nny "YOU have a kid?"

Dib "You met him at Todd's wedding."

Nny "The fuck?"

Dib "You do remember we're all in our 30's now, right?"

Nny "Sorry, my short term and long term memory is still screwed. That and in my head you guys are perpetually children-- Wait, if Squee's in his 30's that would make me almost..." *gags* "Oh g-*gag*; let's move on."

Dib "You have missed a lot. It's been a while since the last big Summerween get-together. Things get screwed up more and more each year. Maybe this was just my last ditch effort to keep us all together. I don't know. Who cares? I'm calling it. The investigation is off."

Nny "I'm still learning how to fit into this whole family dynamics thing, so I can't give any helpful advice on the subject. That's... that's rough though. Um... The bugg-oid alien in the guest bedroom; is he staying?"

Dib "No, Zim's moving back to the city with me."

Nny "Thank God. I'm taking his room when you leave."

Dib "So thrilled. Hey, I have a question and... feel free to answer with brutal honesty."

Nny "Ok, but I'm holding you to that."

Dib "Do you consider me a bully?"

Nny *shrugs* "Never personly met a bully who cared if they were perceived as a bully and you look out for Squee, which is all I care about, so I'm going to say... no?"

Dib "Thanks. Appreciate that."

Nny "Since we're on the subject, do you think I'm depraved enough to stab a baby?"

Dib "Um-- I mean, I know you've stabbed a hand full of pregnant women and dozens of teens so-"

Nny "Seriously?! You wouldn't trust me to keep an eye on your kid without killing him either?"

Dib "I wouldn't trust you to keep an eye on a pet rock without killing it, man."

Nny "Fuck you and your stab shaming! You know what? You ARE a bully! And only TWO of the women I ever stabbed to death were pregnant to my knowledge, and the third one I punched the stomach JUST TO CLARIFY. "

Dude. "...Dude."

Nny "I know..."

Dib "That didn't help your case at all."

Nny "I know..."

[A continuation of these two dialogues]

#invader zim #jthm #18-years-later #au #dib #squee #nny

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the-bar-sinister · 19 days

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Bleeding, Broken, Mended (44059 words) by VickytheSnake, thesavagesabretooth Chapters: 8/?

Summary: Law is certain that he was 'rescued' just so Doflamingo could kill him himself, but Doffy has other plans. As far as he's concerned, Law's decade-long quest for revenge was nothing more than a sad misunderstanding. He wants to remind Law how things used to be. He wants to find a way to bring Law back into the fold-- back to him-- forever.

catch up here

"So how did you and Law meet, if you don't mind my asking?" Doffy regarded the bear mink with curiosity as they paced through the corridors of the ship. Bepo had been silent thus far, but Doffy needed a distraction from his nagging anxiety about the 'chat' between Trebol and Law, and his worry that he might feel a tug at the string he'd left on Law at any moment.

Bepo looked up at him with an unreadable expression, and shrugged. "We met when we were kids. He rescued me when I was being… bullied."

"Bullied, right," Doffy nodded. It sounded like 'bullied' might be a soft word for 'attacked'. He had a hunch the reason, too, if he knew people. "What were you being bullied for?"

"For being a bear."

The expected answer. Human nature was all too predictable. Reject and destroy the 'other'. Put those who are lower than you in their 'place' to stay comfortable in your own position.

"I hope you know no one in my family is going to bully you for something like that."

Doffy's whole family was made up of the low, the wretched, the broken; the reviled who had been rejected by society, or who had rejected society themselves. He gathered them all into his arms and raised them up; his beloved army of the damned serving their king the fallen saint.

The 'heavenly demon' they called him— and he was. He knew first hand how fragile one's 'place' in the world was, and he got a sick, thrilling satisfaction out of thumbing his nose at his former peers by raising the wretched and low up above their 'station'. His royal blood had cast him out into the gutter to die, so he had made royals instead out of urchins and thieves.

A bear would fit right in.

"I know you're trying to get Law to come back to your crew. Or family. Whatever."

He chuckled. So Law had already told his surviving crewmates— or at least this one— about his proposal. Well, he hadn't expected him to keep it a secret.

"And what do you think of that?"

Bepo regarded him with another inscrutable look, his ears flattened. "I'm reserving judgment for now. But I trust my captain. I'd follow him to the bottom of the sea."

Doffy smiled very widely. "You're a loyal person. I admire that very much, and I'm sure Law appreciates it."

"Law's amazing," Bepo said, pausing mid stride to stare intently at Doflamingo. "And I am loyal. Which is why if he says we follow you, we follow you. And if he says you die, you die."

"I'll keep that in mind." He felt a laugh burst deep from his chest, and as he caught his breath he followed the sensation of the slim silvery thread from its origin point to its terminus. He could feel it wrapped around Law's warm wrist.

He admitted to Bepo, "I'm hoping there won't be any more bloodshed between us."

Bepo had a sour feeling in his stomach when he arrived with Doflamingo into the crowded galley where the rest of 'the family' was lingering over the dregs of coffee and the last scraps of breakfast.

He stood back, listening while Doflamingo was telling the motley assortment of pirates that there would be a meeting soon, and that Law would be in attendance. He did notice that they were being instructed to 'be respectful– or at least restrain any hostility'.

Doflamingo wagged a finger at them. "I'm asking you this as your beloved young master, okay? There is a chance that Law might be coming back to the family, and if he does, I want you to accept him."

There were a variety of reactions, some of them shocked, or apparently irritated, but no one directly contradicted the 'young master'. Bepo caught Komurasaki's eye– she was seated at the table next to that other girl, Baby 5– but he couldn't tell what she was thinking, or if she'd known about Doflamingo's intention before now. Her expression was completely composed.

Bepo, meanwhile, felt like he was walking on quicksand. He'd been worried about Law since the warlord plan and Punk Hazard. He'd been on suicide watch on him since after Dressrosa. Bepo had always suspected that Law had no plans to live past the enactment of his revenge in Cora's name, and he was pretty sure when they met back up afterward that the only thing that had stopped his captain from slipping away already was Straw Hat's influence, for which Bepo was grateful.

But even right away, Bepo had been able to see the cracks. Law was a man who had lived only for one purpose, for blood and revenge, and that purpose was gone.

When the ship had gone down, when they had lost the crew, Bepo had fully expected to have to physically stop Law from throwing himself right back in the ocean with the rest of the Heart Pirates if he got the chance.

He wouldn't have even been able to blame him for trying. The loss of their crew, the people they'd spent the last decade of their lives with, was devastating. Bepo couldn't even properly grapple with it. He felt numb and confused. Bepo had never been as close with the rest of the crew as he had been with Law, but they were still people he knew. He kept expecting to turn around and hear Shachi making obnoxious bear puns at him.

But instead they were here. Among people that Bepo had never met, and only known as enemies for as long as he'd known Law. Enemies who had admittedly so far been entirely pleasant enough to be around.

Enemies who wanted Law to join them.

And he was pretty sure that Law was actually, seriously considering it.

Bepo wasn't sure he was going to try to stop him. Hell. He was pretty sure the only alternative involved watching Law for the rest of his life to make sure he didn't pitch himself into the sea, until he was so tired of watching he was ready to join him. Even if they did end up joining up with the Straw Hats, or the Kid Pirates or something.

All of the fight, and drive and direction had gone out of Law after Dressrosa. Bepo hadn't expected the person to help him with that might be the same one he'd had spent a decade with Law trying to destroy— but he was willing to concede after everything he'd heard, that made there was a chance he would be. It was an insane idea, but the situation they were in was insane.

He didn't know what other kind of chance they had. So he'd do what he always had. Follow his captain's lead, and help him keep his head above water. No matter what.

After Doffy's announcement the family broke up into little clusters in and around the galley, no one wanting to go very far before the meeting began. Doffy himself got pulled aside by Violet. Baby 5 meanwhile had Bepo looming over her; the bear mink having shuffled over presumably to talk to Komurasaki.

Baby 5 had to lean her head back to look up at him, her eyes wide under the sideswept bangs of her hair. "Wa–hey there, big guy." she grinned up at him as she poked her meal around with her fork.

She'd sat by Komurasaki pretty much instantly, the two of them having come from Baby's cabin together where she'd been staying and chattering sleepily back and forth till breakfast and coffee woke them up enough to function.

What started as curiosity about the girl from Wano was swiftly starting to spiral into a sort of attachment that Baby 5 was …somewhat…familiar with. Doffy's sudden announcement interrupted one of Baby 5's stories, a tale about the first assassination gig she ever succeeded in, and stopped her and everyone else in their tracks.

Law was going to be attending the family meeting, just like old times. It wasn't official but…it sounded like there was a chance the traitor had seen the light and decided to come home. Baby was too dumbstruck to say a word as she overheard some of the other reactions explode around her.

Sugar curled into herself, and Baby 5 overheard her murmuring what sounded like a soft , one sided conversation to herself, overhearing the name 'Monet'. Derringer had cackled, loudly wondering why they couldn't get it out of their system with a fight, only to be scooped into a calming hug by a pensive seeming Giolla.

And Baby 5 stared into space until Bepo's shadow loomed in her view enough to draw her attention up to him.

Komurasaki tilted her head up like Baby 5 and smiled at Bepo. "Good morning. Can I ask where Law is?"

"He's with one of the leaders. Trebol, I think?" the bear said softly. He hesitated a moment and the Baby 5 watched him grab one of the few remaining slices of toast from the table and cover it with jam.

Baby 5 stretched in her seat with a laugh. "If he's with Tre, he's in good hands. Trebol's probably givin' him a lecture or something. Law used to get lectures from him all the time, like the pain in the ass he is."

Or drowning him in glue, but the way Doffy was acting…it was probably just the former.

Komurasaki cocked her head. "Oh, lectures? I'm curious about what kind."

If she was curious about the development Doffy had spoken about— about Law possibly returning to the family, she didn't show it. She seemed like she was always composed, even the night before when she'd been laughing at Baby 5's gossip and old stories.

"All kinds of lectures. Trebol kinda worked as our schoolteacher when we were kids, you know? He taught us math, how to read…how to cheat and kill, the basics of economy and all sorts of stuff. But Law always slacked off so he'd get the ol' Trebol lectures constantly."

She snickered raspilly, pouring herself more coffee. "Law! You're too reckless! Law you're going to get yourself killed! Law, if you want to make something of yourself in the family you'd…and on and on and on."

"His schooling sounds a little like mine, on reflection," Komurasaki laughed softly. "I also learned similar skills."

"Huh." Bepo had finished his toast and was licking jam off his claws. Strangely enough, Baby 5 found the bear mink easier to read than Komurasaki was. He seemed troubled.

"Not surprising to me, Saki! I mean, you grew up in the underground too. Makes sense the skillsets are more or less the same." She turned her attention to Bepo. "...you worried, Beps?"

Bepo looked down at her with surprise, as if he'd been caught at something. "No?" It seemed more like a question than an answer. "What would I be worried about?"

"The family meeting, maybe? Law getting lectured to death? Being surrounded by a bunch of half-insane gangsters?" Baby 5 counted off her fingertips. "My jokes. Any number of things."

"I guess," the bear grumbled. "I hope you don't mind me saying but this whole thing is weird."

Baby 5 leaned back, her chair tipping on two legs as she picked her teeth with the tip of a knife that had previously been her forefinger.

"I mean, I'm gonna be honest, Beps. It's weird for us too. We were pretty sure none of us would ever see Law again...and if we DID he'd have just replaced our heads with bombs or something and killed us all."

"Yeah." Bepo nodded. He seemed to be eying another slice of toast. "I mean, that's kind of what I expected, too. But, this isn't like I imagined at all. Law… I don't think he even wanted us to ever meet you all, even in combat."

Baby reached out and scooped a piece, one of the last, before offering it to him with a sharp huff of breath.

"...he was probably worried you guys would have sense and see that we ain't the demons he liked to make us out to be. When he came back, we were all happy to see him until …" Her jaw set, and she glowered at the table. "---until he spit in our faces and tried to tear the family apart."

Bepo quietly took the toast from her, covering it with jam again as he grumbled. "I don't want to speak for the captain, but… he seems like he doesn't really like how things went with that."

Komurasaki glanced at him. "Is he really considering…" she motioned around the table.

Bepo shrugged. "I don't want to speak for the captain."

Baby 5 bit her lip, leaning on her hands with a thoughtful frown written on her face. Law—she hadn't even gotten the chance to really talk with him again. Law, her peer, her friend— the man everyone joked would be the one person Doflamingo wouldn't have killed for trying to marry her.

She was furious with him, but at the same time…at the same time she couldn't stop herself from hoping that it was true. Maybe Law would come home again, and everything would go back to the way it used to be.

After his little announcement, Violet had pulled Doffy off into a corner and he had let her do it, despite part of him wanting to linger and listen to the reactions of everyone at the breakfast table. It was probably better not to worry about it for now though. He was already worrying about what would happen if he felt a tug on the string he'd left on Law. He didn't need to split his concentration too much. Not with the hangover still lingering.

He needed more coffee.

He leaned on the arch of the doorway between the galley and the corridor, hands in his pockets, and grinned at Violet. "What's the word, Vi?"

Violet smiled up at him, half leaned against his chest as she waved her hand. "Oh, quite a lot. I've managed to pick up quite a few tidbits almost as interesting as what's happening here with Trafalgar."

"Almost, eh? I have to admit, I'm curious about your thoughts on that."

Violet had been one of the few family members who hadn't protested when Doffy had fished Law and company out of the sea, and that was no real surprise. Not only had Vi joined them after Law had been long gone— there was no betrayal to sting— but Violet herself had been in a similar position not long ago. When Law had shaken up Dressrosa, Vi had enacted her own betrayal and nearly left the family in the lurch.

But she'd come back. She had come back. Even though her 'side'--- her blood family— had won, she had ultimately chosen the Donquixote family instead.

She smiled at him, that same subtle and mysterious smile she often wore when she was playing around with little secrets of her own. She leaned a little more firmly against his chest as she purred.

"I'm thinking of starting a betting pool on how long it takes Law to crack and join up again. I may have taken a little peek inside his mind…I think I could walk away with the pot on this one." She chuckled, low and alluringly sonorous. "...I think it's interesting to note how even us wretched traitors can't seem to stay away."

Doffy put his arm around her shoulders and chuckled. "It's the 'evil charisma'," he said, parroting a news article from back in the day that the family had passed around for a while. "You looked into his mind, though? Naughty Vi— do I get a preview?"

Violet's power was unsettling sometimes, knowing she could see straight through him. Straight through anyone. Into his mind. Into his heart. When he'd faced her that day in Dressrosa, when she'd turned on him, he thought she must have seen something there that disgusted her. That she must have been disgusted with him the entire time she'd known him. That he'd been a fool to allow her into his family instead of having her shot as a menace.

But she had come back.

Her arms looped around his hips.

"If you ask nicely, I'd be happy to share, Doffy."

Her smile was angelic…but she was anything but. 'Twisted by her devil fruit', she'd said once to him, during a late night drinking and talking about power. Maybe that had been why she couldn't really leave.

Twisted by the devil fruit. Maybe being able to know so much could drive you mad. The idea of knowing exactly what Law was thinking was too much.

"Just tell me if he's actually considering it. Please."

"Strongly," she purred up at him with a wink, her dark hair half fallen in her face. "...when I start the betting pool I'm going to surprise everyone with my dark horse bet on exactly how long it'll be."

Doflamingo's stomach lurched and he felt the grin on his face widen involuntarily. Not if, but how long. Maybe it really was like he'd said to Vergo in the dark last night— Law wanted to come back. He just needed time to process.

"I'll keep myself out of the betting pool then," he giggled. He reached out and brushed her hair out of her face for her, tucking it behind her hair and adjusting her hair pin."Alright, we'd better talk about these less interesting things."

"A shame, I could gossip about this all night" Violet purred. "...first, the unruly lout Blackbeard has made it back to his home base."

"Better for us than having him prowling all over the damned sea around here," Doffy grumbled. "He needs to be dealt with, soon."

When they got back to Cross Guild it was going to be one of the first things he brought up to Crocodile and the other. Blackbeard was clearly as much of a threat to all of them as he was to the Marines.

"Indeed…but it's a highly defended location. I know you're interested in taking him out for the good of Cross Guild, but unless we can substantially weaken him, he'll have the upper hand." Violet seemed to read his mind…maybe she did. Maybe she couldn't help it. "But for the moment he's not our problem."

Doffy grimaced at the idea that they potentially had worse problems than Blackbeard. He had enough on his mind right now. Thinking of it, he mentally followed the sensation of the thread from his fingers to Law. It was still slack. Thankfully.

"Alright, what's our problem?"

"Not exactly a problem as much as a curiosity…" Violet put her finger to her lips. "Transponder snails the world over have been hijacked with a repeating signal. It's crossing the grand line to every sea, little by little, with an invitation to the island of Elegia and the channel of a homing beacon…"

She smiled wryly "...to see a concert by a musician named 'Uta'."

Violet certainly didn't need her power to see the way that Doffy's mood abruptly shifted. His wary hesitation was immediately shoved aside by curious glee.

"You're kidding! An Uta concert?"

Maybe Doffy had a bearing to suggest at the meeting after all.

It was a miracle. Law was still reeling over how well the conversation with Trebol had gone. He'd gotten his powers back— he'd even made the man smile and laugh genuinely for the first time in over a decade.

That– that simple victory shouldn't have brought him as much joy as it did. He wouldn't examine that right now. As he rounded the corner he was surprised to see of all people, Viola…Violet. Violet and Doflamingo lingering in the doorway with her draped practically against him as she grinned up at him.

"Exciting, isn't it?" She said without taking her eyes off of Doflamingo. "...and hello Law. I see you and Trebol didn't kill one another."

"Somehow we didn't. Strange days, wouldn't you say, Violet?" Trebol chuckled. "He tried to murder me with his sass of course. But that's… forgivable."

Doflamingo grinned at Law from over Violet's head. He looked very pleased with himself. Like the cat that had gotten the canary.

"Manners was never Law's strong suit, Trebol. I'm just glad that I didn't have to rush back from my conversation to play mediator."

Law felt an almost teasing tug on his wrist– and then the sensation of the thread vanished.

Violet chuckled warmly. "Very, very strange days. Not that I'm one to talk."

Law flushed, rubbing his wrist with a huff. "It's not like anyone ever taught me 'em. Manners, I mean. And I had to give the old man something, or he'd think you'd picked up the wrong guy."

Doffy laughed. "Law, I don't think there's any mistaking you. Now come on, let's get this meeting going before we waste the whole day."

They made their way into the galley where everyone was taking seats around the mostly empty table. He caught sight of Bepo and Komurasaki coming over from a sink full of dishes, along with Baby 5. Had his crewmen already been put to work by the Donquixote family, or were they just making conversation?

Aside from the two of them, the table was packed with faces he hadn't seen outside of combat for 13 years.

Diamante was there, smoking a habitual cigarette and finishing a cup of coffee. Pica was next to him, rolling a stone back and forth through his thick fingers. He was shorter, and leaner than he had been in Dressrosa, still clearly not having regained all the mass he'd shed in the aftermath of that battle. Giolla was there too, and Derringer, and Vergo. And Sugar.

There were some people missing…He couldn't help but wonder if they'd died, or simply fled when they thought the family was finished.

The sting of guilt rolled through him again, and Violet seemed to look at him knowingly for a moment before he dropped himself into a chair beside Bepo. For some reason Baby 5 intercepted the seat near Komurasaki before he could get there…and for some reason she stuck out her tongue like she'd won something.

The expressions around the table were mixed…from curious and amused from the likes of Derringer and Vergo, to Sugar's death glare…it was clear he was still a controversial guest at the table.

Sugar. It was a good thing that Law would be able to resist her power with his haki, or he might really be in trouble, and none of the family, not even Doffy, would have been the wiser.

As Doflamingo sat down at the head of the table, and Trebol at his left, Bepo scooted his own chair closer to Law.

"You okay, captain?" he asked in a quiet voice that barely carried over the rest of the murmurs at the table.

Law nodded and whispered back as the family started their overtures of conversation. "...surprisingly, yeah. Trebol was pissed at me, but we worked it out. Convinced him that I wasn't gonna hurt Doflamingo again. He still thinks I'm a dumbass kid, though."

"I heard he used to be your teacher."

Law chuckled softly "yeah…he was. He held a ridiculous little class where he taught us shit like how to manage a black market deal, and math. In the same day." Memories of that classroom came easy…Baby 5's constant attempts to be the best student in the room, Buffalo slacking off worse than him, Trebol's weird little laugh and his lectures of 'expectations'.

They were fonder than he anticipated.

At the head of the table, Doffy rested his chin on his hand. "Alright, fam— and guests— I'm sure you're all wondering what this meeting is about, and the answer is, our heading. We started this little journey hunting marine bounties, but I admit, we got a little sidetracked.

"You don't say!" Derringer called out above the chuckles and murmurs of agreement. "I've only ruined one pair of heels with marine blood!"

Law snorted softly. The kid really had turned out to be a delightful little psychopath, didn't he? Still…that was their goal huh? Out on the seas hunting marines.

"And what a shame, you brought so many," Doffy laughed, slapping the table lightly. "But I have a hunch where some more marines might show up soon, thanks to Vi here. And if they don't, there's a few good reasons to visit anyway."

Diamante chuckled. "You're winding us up, Doffy."

"Maybe a little."

Sugar turned her glare from Law for a moment to tilt her head at Doflamingo, her voice soft as always. "Is it one of the naval bases?"

Violet closed her eyes, smiling broadly. "Not quite. I happened to pick up some rather …fun…news."

"Here's a surprise for you," Doffy giggled. "You all know Uta, right?"

There were mixed reactions of surprise and interest as Doflamingo announced that the destination he had in mind was… some kind of concert put on by a famous and reclusive singer. One that Doffy himself was apparently a fan of. The tone dials on his desk that Law had seen at dinner had been hers.

Sugar and Derringer seemed to be fans as well, having practically leapt out of their seats at the mention of her.

Giolla tilted her head to the side, laughing cheerfully "And here I thought she'd never show her face…she IS a famous recluse after all. I wonder what's drawn her into the light."

Law blinked, looking over at Bepo and Komurasaki before glancing back at Doflamingo. "...you're gonna steer us towards…some random singer's concert?"

"If it makes you more curious…Sir Crocodile and his contingent of Cross Guild swerved abruptly to visit. Makes me wonder just why a man like that's gotten interested." Violet raised her finger and spoke up.

Komurasaki– she looked merely bemused by the whole thing. Bepo on the other hand, was wide eyed, and Law almost immediately remembered why, as he leaned in and hissed a whisper to him.

"Captain, Uta's that singer I told you about."

"...the one who's been releasin' songs over transponder snail? The really bubbly sounding one that you played a bunch of times for me." Law glanced between Bepo and Doflamingo.

That, he had to admit, was a commonality he didn't expect between them. Being fans of the same weirdly mysterious musical artist. Bepo, it seemed, hadn't expected it either, and he glanced hesitantly at the smiling Doflamingo as well.

"Cross Guild will be there too," Doffy chuckled. "I never thought I'd see Croccy at a concert. Oh that reminds me, Law, you said you were headed to the end of the Grand Line before all this, didn't you?"

That certainly got some of the family's attention. All eyes were on Law again.

Law leaned on his hand, every set of eyes on him as he chuckled low under his breath. "Yeah. I am. I promised Straw Hat that we'd compete to see who got there first. We said we'd meet up there."

"It's an open secret in Cross Guild that Buggy the Clown is trying to push Crocodile to do the same thing," Doffy said, leaning on his hand. "Interesting, don't you think?"

"...Buggy the fucking Clown wants to go to the end of the Grand Line?" Law snorted. "...you know what, I'll buy that. yeah, that's interesting as hell."

Sugar huffed. "He's strong. And people follow him." she murmured softly under her breath. "He'll probably succeed in convincing Crocodile."

Law noticed Doffy glance over at Violet as he said, "I agree, I think it's only a question of when. So, with all that in mind, I think we should follow this mysterious signal. After all, we have three reasons for it. One, the marines might show up to shut down the party. Two, we regroup with Crocodile and find out if Buggy's got him by the balls yet. And three, if all else fails, it could be the concert of a lifetime."

Trebol waved a hand. "Far be it from me to cast doubt when the young master has a goal in mind." Law felt his gaze linger on him for a moment.

Law rubbed his neck, feeling the weight of the stares as he nodded.

"I think that makes sense…it's a rally point if nothing else, and one that'll be pretty good for morale. I mean— I'm not exactly a fan or nothin'---but her music's interesting to say the least."

Bepo gave him a wide polar bear smile in response to that.

But he was sure the question on everyone's mind was 'when is Law going to disembark'. "Hey, Doffy. What's your plan if Buggy HAS got him by the balls?" he continued.

Doflamingo wagged a finger. "Well, you can bet your ass I'm not planning to let the rest of Cross Guild do something like that without me and mine involved. We wouldn't want to miss out, now would we?"

"Sail to the end of the Grand Line," Diamante said, puffing on his cigarette. "People've been talking about that since we were still kids, practically."

Vergo nodded, finally speaking up for the first time during the meeting. "sure have. It's a pretty crazy goal. Not gonna lie…been wondering what was out there, myself."

Giolla laughed, her hand covering her widely smiling lips. "it would make a one of a kind painting if we found our way there, wouldn't it?"

Law raised his eyebrow. "...so you'd be headed the same way I intended to head."

Doffy smiled across the table at him, his chin resting on his hands, framed as always by the feathery bulk of his coat. "Sounds like we might be. Is that going to be a problem, Law?"

Baby 5 leaned over the table, pointing at him with a wicked grin plastered on her face. "It'd better not be a problem, 'Law D Water Trafalgar', unless the problem is you're worried we're gonna get there first!"

Law snorted softly "....sure, yeah, that's what I'm scared of Baby 5."

At the mention of his full name, Law noticed Bepo watching Doflamingo intently. But Doffy… didn't really react at all. He just chuckled.

"Well, Law? Now's the time to raise an objection if there's going to be a problem. Even if you're a guest at the table, I'm curious to hear what you have to say."

Even if he was just a guest at the table. His lips twitched into a half smile. As if they didn't all already know what Doflamingo offered him. If he took it…if. He'd be more than just a guest with an opinion.

He noticed Violet smirking at him from across the table, one hand near her eye in a v-shape , the eye itself seeming to peer right through him.

"I think that works out nicely." he finally said.

"Perfect," Doffy purred. "Then we'll lay in our course."

As the meeting broke up, Law found himself still somewhat the center of attention. Doffy himself had left the room with the executives; he could hear them talking outside briefly, but not what they were saying. A few of the others however, lingered and seemed to be trying to get his attention, or decide what to say.

Ever bold, Baby 5 was the first one to approach without hesitation. She sauntered right up and jabbed him in the chest with her fingertip.

"You know, you've been hanging around this ship for three days and the most you've said to me was 'ooooh, helloo Baby 5.'. How's that for a greeting to your childhood best friend! Your girl next door!"

Law stared at her for a moment, and then half turned to try to slip away. Sadly, Sugar was in his path, staring him down with her good and doll-like eye, the other milky and visibly damaged as ever.

Bepo and Komurasaki were flanking him from behind on either side, but he still felt trapped by the two girls.

"Oh dear," he heard Komurasaki mutter in a tone he was growing increasingly confident in identifying as masked enthusiasm.

He was also getting increasingly confident that Komurasaki was a woman who liked a good live drama. And the Donquixote Family was providing.

"I'm glad to see you. I don't know what you want me to say here, Baby...you've grown?" Law drawled. He glanced at Sugar, "and you haven't?"

Baby 5 puffed out her cheeks "Of course I've grown, idiot. It's been 13 damn years. I was SO excited to hear all about you when you were rampaging around the Grand Line— and then we see one another and you didn't even say hi?"

Sugar took a step forward, her hand half raised as she inched closer to him "...can't grow. Yet. Maybe after my awakening."

"Captain?" Bepo asked softly, glancing back and forth between the two girls. "Uh…."

He was obviously trying to figure out what the plan was. Law was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Between his 'childhood friend'...one of his closest, he was forced to admit, and the sister of the girl he'd killed.

Was she trying to turn him into a toy? I wouldn't work. He'd fought off Doc Q's weird viruses, he could fight off Sugar's toy curse. "...don't worry, Bepo." he said tensely "they're just laying into me. I knew this was comin'."

Komurasaki meanwhile had gotten distracted. Or maybe she was trying to distract Sugar for him. It was unclear. "You can't grow? Oh… is it because of a devil fruit?"

Sugar grabbed the hem of Law's coat, hanging onto it with a serious nod. She must have just been trying to keep a hold of him, rather than turn him into a toy— or Komurasaki had successfully distracted her.

"Uh huh," She murmured "I ate the Hobby-Hobby fruit. Let's me turn people into toys…but it turned me into one too. I'm a doll." She held up her arm, where the doll joint was visible at the elbow. "I can eat, I can sleep…but I can't grow. I'm 22 years old."

"My goodness, I never would have guessed how close to the same age we are," Komursaki said sweetly. "You know there are probably lots of girls who would envy you. On Wano, it's considered very charming to look like a doll."

That sealed it— Komurasaki was running interference for him. Probably.

Bepo meanwhile looked between Baby 5 and Law, again, still unsure what to make of the situation despite his reassurances.

"Charming to look like a doll…" Sugar tilted her head to the side. "do you want to look like one, then?"

"Me? Not particularly, but let me tell you about this Oiran I knew in Wano…"

Baby 5 prodded Law's side with her fingertip again, huffing. "why's Bepo look like he's about to pick you up and run? Law…I MISSED you , moron. And then when you came back what happened?"

"I stabbed you all in the back and self-destructed," Law drawled. "..look…Baby. Baby 5. I didn't wanna hurt you, I'm sorry."

Bepo once again looked between the two of them.

"We almost died, Law," Baby chided, "Your little stunt nearly got the survivors sent to Impel Down to be tortured to death. And on top of that you…"

He glanced at Bepo with a weary smile, before it softened as he glanced at Baby 5. "I know, Baby…and you can ask Doffy, you can ask Trebol…I feel like shit over it. And I am sorry, I can't make excuses but I can try and make it up to you, okay?"

Sugar tugged his coat, her expression strange for a moment.

Komurasaki had paused in her little story, also watching and listening to the scene, albeit with possibly less worry and more curiosity than Bepo.

Law's brow furrowed as he looked in her cloudy eyes. There was an expression in there that was more …recently familiar…than he expected to see.

It reminds me of Monet. But they're sisters, of course the–no, well…they're sisters by circumstance, not blood.

"You've got a lot to make up for, 'Traffy'," she started, giving Law a start when she used Luffy's nickname for him. Had she ever heard it? Had she seen him in Dressrosa? His brow furrowed as she continued in her deadpan voice, "...but I think you'll manage it. Welcome home."

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