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koalatysleep · 5 months

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What?! Even Keiko kissing Yusuke on the beach at the end of YYH anime has Kuwameshi subtext?!? 🤣🤣

Yup you heard that right! 🤣🤣 Let's break it down!

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The anime uses masterful Show-Don't-Tell techniques as I wrote about in this breakdown of The Chocolate Shake Date.

A big part of this technique is the body language tells and non-verbal cues, which the anime does a SUPERB job of.

(SERIOUSLY THE ANIMATION TEAM IS AMAZING FOR PUTTING IN SO MUCH EFFORT!!! HUGE SHOUT OUT TO THEM!!!! )

If you watch this beach scene, you can see how taken aback Yusuke is at Keiko throwing herself at him, and despite his lightning fast reflexes, he doesn't catch her at all or even return her hug, he lets himself fall to the ground with his arms wide open to the sides, without touching her at all.

Then when she initiates the kiss, Yusuke freezes with his eyes wide open in fear like a deer caught in headlights the entire time! You can see he only blinked twice during her kiss in a shocked "oh-shit-I-can't-stop-this-from-happening" way!

This is NOT the reaction of someone in love with Keiko who's been pining for Keiko for years in the makai, if that was really the case, he would have closed his eyes to kiss back! Or at the very least, returned her hug!

This is the reaction of someone who's totally taken aback because he doesn't have romantic feelings for Keiko, yet he loves her platonically as his found family and cares for her deeply, so he doesn't wanna hurt her in front of everyone else by outright pushing her away or stopping her kiss while everyone's watching.

Which is why he uses the excuse of the wave crashing over them to move FAR away from Keiko the first chance he gets!

Like, given the wave is washing over them at a 90 degree angle, it would not have been possible for the wave to move them back from each other, it would at most have tumbled them over each other or dislodged her off him a little. Which you know, if he had romantic feelings for her, he could easily have still kept her close with a hand on her back. But he doesn't do any of those things. In fact he sat her up and then scrambled back from her, under the cover of the wave!!

If you look at the screencap above and the physical distance between them, and the fact that they were literally doused with water (like someone doused your flames of passion with a bucket of cold water over your head), it's NOT a visual analogy of two people getting together, it's the opposite!

I also wonder whether Yusuke used Reiki to make the wave way bigger than the rest of the tiny gentle waves that have been lapping at the beach this entire scene .. in the above image of the wave, you can see Yusuke's left hand is raised into the air as the wave grows in size..

The English dub also hinted at what this scene is about when Yusuke tells Keiko "you stole that lip time from me!" / "you know I can dump this whole ocean on you if I wanted!". This dialogue is not in the Chinese or English subtitles for the original Japanese dialogue (which is more subtle in dialogue but has same subtext in the show-don't-tell techniques, body language, Reiki wave, etc), so I feel like the English dubbers also noticed the same thing about the body language cues and this one wave being abnormally bigger than the rest of the gentle lapping waves, and their dubbed English dialogue was them subtly telling us what this scene was about. 🤣🤣

Given the above, this is how I read this scene:

Keiko kissing him was her last attempt at confirming for once and for all how he feels about her, and when she feels him not kissing back and actually moving away from her under the cover of the wave, she knows he's not romantically interested in her and has subtly rejected her.

Yusuke knows Keiko knows, and they stare at each other for a moment, Yusuke worrying whether this will end their platonic found family relationship which is very important to him, and Keiko processing her emotions.

Then Keiko, god bless her soul, smiles at Yusuke even though she was romantically rejected, because Keiko really IS genuinely happy Yusuke's back, and that she finally got a clear answer so she can move on romantically!!!

Yusuke smiles back, happy and relieved he still has her in his life, and Keiko is happy she has Yusuke in hers. I'M MOVED TO TEARS I TELL YOU!!! Yusuke needs all the family he can get!!!

Like she already had a lot of doubts about them as a romantic pair before he went Makai (she wrote "anxiety", "hesitation", "doubt" in her room when studying for English and thinking about Yusuke romantically), so i think she's glad to finally resolve her own doubts once and for all and move on romantically!

That's why i think they'll be totally good as platonic found family after the anime ending, and they won't actually start dating.

I think Yusuke has been hesitant about outright telling her he doesn't have romantic feelings for her throughout the entire series, even though he knows his own feelings from the start of the series (as evident from his freaked-out reaction when she almost kissed his unconscious body when he was a spirit in the house fire episode back when they were 14, and him wanting to go on a date with Kuwabara in The Chocolate Shake date episode), because he was afraid of losing Keiko as his found family, which would have been so devastating for him, because Keiko and Atsuko are all the family he's got.

Narratively, Togashi/anime studio use Keiko's character as a romantic misdirection so they can tell the real Kuwameshi love story, because most heteronormative audience members and even all other characters in the show (with the exception of Genkai and Toguro of all people) just assumes Yusuke is in love with Keiko, but actually it's clear to me that Yusuke himself has never viewed Keiko romantically!

But i digress! This scene also mirrors The Chocolate Shake Date back in Episode 14 when our boys first started to realize their feelings for each other!!!

When Keiko and Yusuke are splashing each other in the waves in this beach scene, YUSUKE DRAWS IN KUWA BY SPLASHING HIM IN THE FACE, just like Yusuke drew in Kuwa in The Chocolate Shake Date!

And Kuwa, who has been giving Yusuke and Keiko space during this beach scene as well as throughout the series, responds immediately to jump into the water with Yusuke and grabs Yusuke into a headlock that mirrors The Chocolate Shake Date headlock!

Kuwa was watching them splash each other with a genuinely happy laugh (because he really loves Yusuke that much and just wants him to be happy even if he's not romantically with Kuwa, although I personally feel the animators were trying to hint at a bit of pained romantic angst in Kuwa's expression), then he gets shocked out of it with the water in his face, and then Yusuke mirrors what Keiko did to him during the Dark Tournament when Keiko was in love with him - he points at Kuwa with a finger gun and says Bang, as though saying you're the one!

Look at Yusuke using the opportunity to hold Kuwa's wrist during the headlock! Kuwa is also using the excuse of the headlock to touch Yusuke's cheeks just like he did in The Chocolate Shake Date! (I think Kuwa has a thing for Yusuke's soft skin okay LOL). Look at how it mirrors The Chocolate Shake Date scene!

Look at how happy Yusuke looks!!!!!

Look at how Kuwa throwing his leg over Yusuke mirrors how Yusuke threw a leg over Kuwa post Dark Tournament when he needled Kuwa for food, when our boys were almost on the verge of getting together before the whole Sensui shit hit the fan!

Food is a symbol for romantic desire / love, I'll meta another time about a HILARIOUS time in anime when the animators made Kuwa mime jerking off when he was eating with Yusuke I KID YOU NOT!!

ANYWAY!!

I think this anime ending is such a hopeful one for all the characters involved!!!! It clues us into the romantic direction Yusuke and Kuwa's relationship can head in, while telling us Keiko and Yusuke's relationship will be platonic, and that Keiko can finally move on.

And prior to this beach scene, we see that Kuwa's fixation on Yukina has reduced in intensity (I personally read Kuwa's fixation on Yukina as a desperate move on Kuwa's end to try to get over Yusuke, but I'll meta about this another time), and of course Yukina being aromantic (that's how I read her character) will be totally happy Kuwa can finally get together with Yusuke!

I JUST THINK THIS IS A VERY HOPEFUL ENDING OKAY!!! After all the sacrifices our heroes had to make in order to save others / the world, they deserve to be happy and together at long last!!!

AHHHHH What I wouldn't give just to see Kuwameshi get together and be happy at last!!

#kuwameshi #yusuke urameshi #kazuma kuwabara #yu yu hakusho #yyh #yusuke #kuwabara #kuwabara kazuma #urameshi yusuke #kuwameshi meta #yukimura keiko #yukina yyh #yusuke x kuwabara #kuwabara x urameshi #urameshi x kuwabara #kuwabara x yusuke #yyh meta

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mortallyclearwonderland · 7 months

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Top 10 Best Polish DUBs part 2

6. The Ice Age franchise, similar to the Shrek and Madagascar franchises, seems to be way more popular and liked in Poland than in the USA. While the general sentiment in the US is that the first one is somewhat of an underrated classic and the best and every single one got only worse and worse. Meanwhile, in Poland, its sequels are held in much higher regard. Yet again, it's thanks to the funnier dialogue and much better voice actors. Sid became an iconic character just like Donkey from Shrek or King Julian from Madagascar, most likely thanks to the fantastic work of Cezary Pazura, an actor and voice actor who makes everything he's in so much better. Piotr Fronczewski as Diego is also great with his warm fatherly voice he sounds way more sincere. If Diego had the same voice in the English version he would have even more simps fans. Wojciech Malajkat is great as Manfred. He would later voice Puss in Boots from Shrek. As the franchise went on not only the quality of writing went downhill but also they started casting celebrities instead of the real VAs or even regular actors. Queen Latifah, Drake who was in like 5 minutes of a movie.

7. Winx Club is way better in Polish, in my opinion. I don't know if it's because their VAs aren't actual teenagers who don't have as much experience, or if they're adults trying to sound like teens and failing miserably, or if their voices are just that annoying. Whatever the case might be the Polish actors strike a great balance between sounding mature but youthful at the same time. Like teens that are on their way to becoming adults but still with some childish tendencies. Not a twelve-year-old trying to sound grown-up or a 40-something-year -old trying way too hard to be cool and hip with the kids. And Polish versions of the songs are amazing.

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8. Totally Spies makes their heroins sound way more mature just like Winx Club. To not repeat myself let me tell you about something different, the dialogue changes. It's not censorship or completely changing the meaning of the dialogue but the vocabulary. In the show, they are very much Valley girls. In the Polish version, they still use slang that was (and still is) used in Poland at the time but they also were capable of using big words. Maybe English slang is more annoying, at least to me.

9. W.I.T.C.H. BLAH BLAH better and more mature voices BLAH BLAH better and funnier dialogue BLAH BLAH. What is worth mentioning are the voices of the male characters. Caleb's English VA doesn't fit him whatsoever. I know Greg Cipes sounds like that even as an adult but still. If Caleb looked like his comic version he would be fine but not when he looks like he is 18 or older. Imagine my shock after growing up with the Polish deep manly voices only to watch the English version and hear boys who haven't finished going through puberty yet. I've heard that the Polish language is sometimes referred to as snake language because of the ć, ś, ź, ż, sz, cz, and many other sounds, so Cedric's VA has a time to shine. English Phobos sounds more whiny than menacing.

10. Shark Tale is regarded as one of the worst animated movies ever both in terms of animation and the story. Highly exaggerated in my opinion. I mean it's not great but it's not Food Fight, Video Brinquedo, Animated Titanic, and many others. I think why it's not as hated by me and many other Poles it's thanks to its dubbing. I don't know if you know this, but there is a Polish comedy ''Kiler''. The whole plot of the movie is that the main character is mistaken for a killer. So, the Polish dubbing of Shark Tale is basically a parody of this movie. They even got Cezary Pazura (the guy playing Sid) who played the main guy in ''Kiler''. Instead of gay-lisped Jack Black we have Jarosław Boberek aka King Julian. Now that's a team-up better than the Avengers.

It was a surprisingly hard list to make, not because there are no great Polish dubbings but because there are so many good ones. Any movie or show could've been on the list. To make it easier I asked myself ''What Polish dubbings are better than the original?'' and ''What dubbings had the biggest impact on me but also on my country as a whole?''.

The reason why most of the list consists of shows and movies from the early 2000s is because that's when Poland had a little golden age. There were a bunch of great movies and shows coming out, so it was easy to strike gold. (And that's when I was born.) Now with all the trash coming out, it's way harder to do. The translators for ''Wish'' tried their best to fix those broken lyrics.

But nobody's perfect. I'm a firm believer that there is no terrible Polish dubbing but they still can make mistakes, questionable decisions, and voices that will make you switch the channel until they stop talking.

See you soon, in ''Top 10 worst Polish DUBs''.

#shark tale #dreamworks #w.i.t.c.h.#totally spies #winx club #ice age #polish dubbing #Youtube

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ultraericthered · 2 months

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Anime Update V3 17

From Me To You - Sawako and Kurumi continue their not at all firmly heterosexual friendship, where there's been purposeful attempts by Kurumi to dishearten Sawako and lead her away from Kazehaya that end up miscommunicated or misunderstood by Sawako as Sawako aspires to be as outgoing and friendly as Kurumi. Chizuru, however, is put off of Kurumi due to past experiences with her leading to her pimping out girls to Kazehaya in middle school. Sawako was also under the impression that "Kurumi" was her name. It's a nickname derived from her surname, Kurumizawa - her actual name is Ume, and Kurumi herself doesn't seem to like that for some reason. Kayli Mills in the English dub continues to perform the "snake in the grass" energy flawlessly, even though the voice she does will become a problem a bit later on. At the end Kurumi discards the subtlety regarding her feelings and tells Sawako she likes Kazehaya. Uh oh!

Hunter x Hunter - Ikalgo's cover has been blown and he's been trying to make good on his rescue mission while also surviving his lobster-like old colleague but realizing he's too much of a coward to strike efficiently or see any of this through. Pouf finally did away with the cocoon and revealed his true form while multiplying, and the way it looks is a bit Uncanny Valley to put it lightly. He cut his fight with Morel short in order to go to where Gon, Pitou and Komugi are.

SHUFFLE! - Woah. That was both the most viscerally uncomfortable I've felt watching something in a while, and not nearly as bad as I'd feared it was going to be. It's the one all about Kaede and giving us the backstory behind her and Rin living together. From the very start, Kaede's been the most vexing, boring "waifu" stereotype imaginable - the sweet, demure, faithful Good Girl who acts as the house wife for the male MC and whose exercising of agency is tied to her devotion to him rather than anything else she might want to do. But I couldn't bring myself to dislike her; I knew there was something up with her. And it's here that we finally get the shocking full context. Kaede lost her mother in the same accident that claimed both of Rin's parents when she and Rin were children, and as Rin took the fall to conceal the real reason for that trip, Kaede blamed Rin for her mother's death. And in response, Kaede bullied and abused Rin relentlessly and in horrific ways (I could not watch that boxcutter scene), even wishing death on him to his face! When she learned the truth, she was overwhelmed by regret for everything she put Rin through, so her current shtick is her perpetual atonement. Yet at the same time, she's developed very real loving feelings for the boy, feelings that have made her very...territorial. The episode plays out like a horror film as you're waiting for the big pin drop, the moment where all of Kaede's threads snap and she unleashes her yandere wrath. And oh, it comes. Right in front of Asa when Rin brings her back home with him after one of their dates. Carrie Savage's psychotic screaming as Kaede in this scene shook me to the core and it haunts me still!

On the other hand, I'd heard that this yandereification of Kaede had no basis in the original VN, so it was understandably infuriating to many fans in Japan. Because of this, I was expecting Kaede to do much worse, but physically striking and shoving Asa while screaming at her is all it amounted to. That shit is tame compared to most other yanderes in anime. Whatever it case, I think it worked for dramatic purposes and is probably one of the anime's most memorable bits.

The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II - The final episode obviously had to end things on an open note. Dr. Heartless and Faker were able to narrowly escape and are still at large. Adashino wishes to pursue Heartless as well since he's in fact her older half-brother. Reines and Olga-Marie meet and become girlfriends, which honestly feels like it was an inevitability. The holiday season begins in London as during a party, Waver privately laments to Gray about feeling inadequate as the current Lord El-Melloi, and decides he will not participate in the Fifth Grail War, and Gray finally gives him the present she bought from the department store several episodes back. Waver passes out and has a dream where he encounters Iskandar; even when it's just a dream (or is it?) and they're in different realms entirely, the bond between these two still manages to get me. It ends as Waver returns to start teaching his class again. Sorry Waver, you're no Korosensei.

KonoSuba - Kazuma's party dealt with those wild horses that were drawn out by Darkness' masochism, then later that night have to deal with undead that were drawn out by Aqua. Kazuma's conscience is actually getting to him when the party keeps getting showered with praise and rewards for cleaning the messes they caused, which is pretty rare for him. And then the story changes gears to being about a city where every asshole in town belongs to the Axess Church and are out to convert Kazuma and Darkness, which I guess is a famous part of the show especially given how it ends at a dark punchline.

K-On! - Ms. Yamanaka being a secret crazy punk rocker who was a member of the previous music club was a twist that caught me off guard, but her split personality behavior and antics are entertaining as hell, so I love that she gets to be the club's advisor now. Mio then writes a song that everyone except Ritsu seems to love and accept, but Mio is too shy to sing it herself, so Yui has to do it. Only it turns out that Yui sucks at singing and playing guitar simultaneously even when she's good at both separately. Yamanaka teaches her to do so, but at the cost of Yui's voice going hoarse, so Mio it'll be after all!

Eureka Seven - The final stretch is on as Gekkostate arrives at the Vodarac shrine near the Great Wall, with Renton and Eureka needing to infiltrate the shrine and meet with the Coaralian Maiden known as Sakuya, who was Eureka's predecessor. Through a strange lotus bud, Eureka finds a spirit library much like the one she found when she nearly merged with the Scub Coral and meets Sakuya, who's sort of a medium between Eureka and Anemone personality-wise. All while Norb also tells Renton the backstory behind he and Sakuya. When Eureka takes energy from Sakuya and comes back out the other side, she's finally rid of that stupid haircut! How did that work?

Air -AGAIN??? We're doing the "split personality based off on an unborn sister" thing that Shuffle! did here? Only this time Michiru is visibly manifested as a separate entity from Minagi, and Yukito can clearly see and hear her and has been interacting with her for quite some time now, so I think he should be more alarmed about the truth he's just now learned. And if this wasn't enough of a dark turn to watch, Misuzu randomly broke down emotionally because this tends to happen whenever she's made a new friend that she's spent a good amount of time with, as she fears she'll not be able to hold on to the friends she's made. Her "mom" has been her only constant.

#Anime Update V3 #Anime Update

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fairydares · 2 years

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Chasing Tails Chapter 2: Long-Lost and Lost Still

AO3 Link, Chapter 1 on Tumblr (please go to one of these links for a full summary/other info)

Chapter Summary:

Natsu, on the other hand, had never been less amused.

“Yes!” he shouted. Utterly frustrated, he tried to stand only to grunt in pain when he was shoved back down harder onto his knees.

“Nashi, don’t you even recognize me?!”

Her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing him closely, and he held his breath in hope. But all she did then was tilt her head and consider him a moment longer before shaking her head and shrugging nonchalantly.

“Uh, should I?”

“I’D FRIGGIN' HOPE SO!" he blared, finally losing it.

WARNING: There's implied sexual content at the end of this chapter. Also a mention of a smell bad enough to induce nausea during the flashback towards the beginning, as well as more violence and a lot of bad language. You have been warned.

Nashi and all her things are pretty excruciating at first, ngl. And I'm sure we all want to get back to Earthland. Both will happen soon, so bear with me ;)

“Many years ago, Natsu’s father left and never came back. Well, technically it wasn’t his real father–but the one who raised him. He was actually a Dragon!” - Mira’s line, S1E2 English Dub [~11:35]

---

Natsu stared unblinkingly up at the young woman he was now absolutely sure was his daughter, ignoring the way the riled audience churned and murmured around him, automatically elbowing and pushing back against anyone who tried to crowd in front of him. While Mad Cow or whatever was helped from the ring, the din vaguely registered in his new, lame ears.

“ –think the match was a fluke?”

“–no way she really pulled that off!”

“–Bron must be shoring up–”

Natsu staggered one step, then another. The crowd around him grew louder and louder as his shock faded. Still, his heartbeat drowned out the din.

“Hey!” someone shouted as he pushed past them, but he barely even heard the guy, hardly even winced when someone accidentally kicked his hot and swollen knee.

“Nashi…he choked, elbowing and shoving his way to the octo-stage or whatever more and more frantically as the disbelief inside him bloomed into joy. “Nashi. Nashi! Nashi!”

He bellowed her name that last time. So loud it hurt his throat. So loud that everyone around him went silent, searching out the source of the desperate-sounding roar.

Even Nashi, who’d been strutting around the outside of the ring, smirking at the audience with a fist still lifted in triumph, jumped, jumped. She whipped around to blink down at him as he staggered free of the crowd.

“O-oi! You can’t go up there!” someone from the group he’d been talking to said, stepping forward and reaching out a hand in some forlorn attempt to stop him.

He ripped his arm from the guy’s grasp, keeping his eyes glued to the girl now dropping her arm to her side, brown eyes round as saucers.

“N-Nashi!” his voice actually cracked this time, so unmistakably that he’d have been embarrassed if he’d been able to think straight at all. Some distant part of him was aware of the hush falling over the area, almost preternatural-seeming, what with all the stink and noise of the place. So great it overwhelmed his senses even in their weakened state.

He couldn’t have cared less. His eyes traced her face in the loving way only a parent’s really could, the way he’d refused to let himself when he first saw her. The sweaty, flushed, shock-slackened face of his firstborn child. Natsu was…meeting eyes with his daughter for the first time in seven years.

“It’s you! It’s really you! Nashi!”

He stumbled into a run, ignoring the heavy, spreading silence punctuated by various shouts, the hand that tried to grab him again, the bellowed threats from the big, suited guys still standing guard at either end of the ring.

It flashed in his head, the promise which had led him here. That promise he’d made That Day, Seven Years Ago.

---

Natsu’s hair clinging annoyingly to his forehead, getting in his eyes, dripping as the rain poured down all around them in sheets and Greige wept in Gray’s arms just a few feet away.

“I–I’m so sorry!” the ten-year-old wailed. “The portal just showed up out of nowhere, then a man in a mask came out of it…Mom [1*] was winning, but then he managed to g-grab Nashi and pull her in! Th-then Mom jumped in after her! She told me she’d b-be right back and to stay h-here! I just…I just watched it close! I didn’t even do anything–I d-didn’t even try!”

“It’s not your fault, bud.” Gray was obviously trying to sound soothing, but the tightness in his voice ruined it a little bit. Still, he clutched the boy’s shoulders comfortingly. “You listened to what your mom told you and that was exactly right. We both know she’s not one to give orders without a reason. And she’s no liar; if she said she’ll be right back, she will be, right?”

“R-right…” the boy whimpered into his father’s chest, scrubbing subtly at his eyes. The boy’s voice was so soft that even Natsu could barely hear him, over the slightly-ebbing rain.

He’d never admit it, but on some level, Gray’s words comforted him, as well. He freely and happily admitted that Juvia was strong, unlike he ever would with Gray. Years had passed since Tartaros, but he’d never forgotten watching her string Zeref’s Necrotizer [2*] or whatever.

She’ll protect Nashi, he told himself, hollow though the comfort rang.

“Oi, Flame-Brain!” Gray interrupted his thoughts. “You picking anything up?!”

Natsu growled in frustration. “No! Nothing but that smell…” Just mentioning it made him focus on it, and focusing on it made him gag. It was just like what he’d smelled back in Acalypha, when those random-ass portals–and that loser-ass Ninja guy–had tried to take him and Gray before she disappeared into one.

“It–it really stank,” Greige murmured. “Like a dead body or something. And…”

“And?” Gray pushed.

“And…and I don’t know, it was so weird and creepy! Like a mirror with no reflection. But if it had no reflection, how could it be a mirror?! And…it was all wavery…and stuff…”

“Just like–” Natsu started.

“Yeah,” Gray cut him off quickly, just as grim.

Frustrated and frantic, Natsu dropped his gaze to the ground and scanned ruthlessly, looking for any hint–any clue as to what might have happened.

His eyes landed on a small, coral-colored bundle soaking in the grass just a few meters away. Natsu gasped, then ran. His sandals squelched and squeaked in the grass as he slid to a stop and snatched it up.

The familiar, scaly sort of fabric dripped in his hands as he squeezed it between his fingers. An accessory and a gift so like the one clinging soddenly to his own neck, but stiffer. Fresher.

Inexplicably, it was only then–while holding his daughter’s precious scarf–that Natsu really registered the seriousness of the situation. His own terror and panic. His heart pounded in his ears. His hands shook. He fisted his fingers into the waterlogged yet still-sturdy fabric, fire surging through his veins.

Nashi, he thought, Just hold on. No matter what, I will find you…

---

I kept my promise, he thought, tears springing to his eyes as he gazed at her.

“Nashi!”

He’d scrambled about a third of the way up the cage when one of the big suit guys grabbed the back of his waistcoat. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” the big guy yelled in a big voice to match. “You can’t–”

“Get the hell off me!” Natsu roared, then slammed an elbow into the guy’s face. He both felt and heard something crunch as his elbow made contact. But at that moment, he couldn’t have cared less.

Seven years. Seven years, it had been since he’d seen his own daughter. Seven years of heartache, terror, desperation, and helplessness. The first weeks and months had been the worst, but they’d only been the first leg in an increasingly hopeless and seemingly unending nightmare.

How many times had he imagined this moment? How many times had he imagined seeing her again? Another set of enormous hands grasped the back of his waistcoat, and without even looking back, he swung a fist back and down, grimacing only slightly at how the knuckles he’d split earlier throbbed in the wake of the contact.

He should have felt at least a little bad, but he didn’t. Hell or high water. Dragons. Beefy black suit dudes. A Magic-napping world. None of it would keep him from his daughter, now that he’d finally found her. Mavis help anyone who tried.

Thump!

Natsu hissed slightly and staggered as he finally threw himself up and over the cage-fence-thingy and landed on the surprisingly-springy stage. His vision spotted in his pain.

Still, he refused to look away from her. Even as his eyes filled with tears and a lump formed in his throat, he refused to look away.

Her face had paled considerably in the amount of time it took him to scale the cage and swing into the arena. He limped forward a step, stumbling slightly over the squishy mat-thing. The step she took back was much smoother than his.

“Nashi…” he breathed. “Nashi…I found you! I found you!”

He staggered forward another step. She reeled in tandem. And maybe he would have noticed that if his vision hadn’t been so warped with tears, if his heart hadn’t been hammering in his ears.

“H-how?” she stammered, her voice surprisingly high, soft, and perplexed-sounding compared to when she’d been firing insults at Mad Calf or whatever. “H-how the fuck–?”

“Alright, asshole!” Two more huge hands grabbed his arms this time. Natsu whipped his glare over his shoulder. This time, it was the Black Collar guy who’d played ref in the fight glowering back at him, and–despite the fact that his Magic was dulled to the point it was surreal–his instincts started ringing. This guy wasn’t going to be so easy to deal with. Still, he instantly kicked up a fit.

“Get your damn hands off me!” he roared, throwing his elbow into Black Collar Guy’s stomach, but his instincts hadn’t been wrong. The guy huffed a grunt as the jab whammed into his gut, but his grip didn’t loosen. Natsu cursed his heavy, weakened limbs. “FIRE DRAGON–!” he started on reflex and launched a kick at the guy, bracing for the pain his injured knee would no doubt be dealt, only to yelp when his kick was used against him, the guy taking advantage of Natsu’s lack of balance to shove him to his knees, twisting his arm behind his back.

“What the hell?” he heard the guy mutter, holding him down hard. It was only there, subdued, that he remembered he couldn’t use his damn Magic. He always forgot at least a few times in Edolas, too.

He hissed through his teeth in pain.

“Let me go!” he demanded. “Let me go right now, dammit! She’s right there!”

“Are you insane?” Black Collar guy asked almost as authoritatively as Erza, making Natsu still and hunch reflexively. “I don’t care how big a fan you are, you can’t just go climbing into the ring–that shit won’t fly as long as I’m reffing!”

Natsu barely refrained from rolling his eyes as he practically felt the guy puffing his chest.

“Oi, Layla! D’you want me to call the police on this freak?”

Natsu looked up, completely ready for her to tell this guy off–even expectant for it. Instead, her wary gaze was focused on him , her expression difficult to read. He couldn’t help the way his lips parted slightly in shock.

“... Tch , you stupid, Lee?” she replied gruffly at length, folding her arms over her chest. “You really wanna bring the pigs here? Honestly, it’s whatever. At least my fans have guts…”

She grinned a bit, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes, which continued to scan Natsu suspiciously.

… Just suspiciously, Natsu realized for the first time, gasping slightly. In her expression, there was no shock…no pain…no anger. No relief or sadness or happiness.

Not even any recognition.

“N-Nashi…” he rasped, making her pause as she started to turn away. “Nashi…it’s me! I’m not this world’s Natsu, I’m Earthland’s!”

She peered over her shoulder at him, brows furrowing in an expression of bafflement. “‘ This world’s’…?” she repeated, sounding and looking almost sort of amused.

Natsu, on the other hand, had never been less amused.

“Yes!” he shouted. Utterly frustrated, he tried to stand only to grunt in pain when he was shoved back down harder onto his knees. “Nashi, don’t you even recognize me?!”

Her eyes narrowed, and he could almost have sworn the temperature of the area lowered. But all she did then was tilt her head and consider him momentarily before shaking her head and shrugging nonchalantly. “Should I?”

“I'D FRIGGIN' HOPE SO!" he blared, finally losing his shit.

“Watch it…” Black collar growled a warning which went ignored.

Nashi tilted her head and eyed Natsu appraisingly, expression more suspicious than ever. Then she shrugged, turning her back on him. “Well that’s too damn bad, I guess. ‘Cause I’ve never seen you in my life.” She started walking away, but kept talking: “Lee, I need to hit the locker room. See you in a few days.”

“Sure thing.” Black Collar Guy’s deep voice rumbled above him. Then, more gentle: “Good win, Layla…the Old Pirate would be mad proud of you.”

The girl’s steps faltered only briefly before she continued walking, not responding.

“WAIT!” Natsu shouted as Black Collar Guy hauled him onto his feet and began dragging him towards the exit at the other end of the arena. The exhausted and injured Dragon Slayer struggled against the brawny man’s grip, craning his neck around to stare desperately at the girl now slowly pulling her sweats on over her black fighting getup.

“Dammit, wait a second! Nashi!”

He swore he saw her pause, but didn’t get the chance to confirm it before his captor grabbed the back of his neck and forcibly turned his head forward. “Enough!” he snarled.

Still, Natsu struggled and fought the entire way through the dark alley and down the road–to a couple intersections down. Magical Vehicles streamed by, revving and blaring. At one point, he almost got serious and made to thrash the guy. He was certain he could do so regardless of his own injuries and exhaustion. But then, he remembered the positive exchange him and Nashi had, and thought better of it. He wasn’t gonna hurt one of his daughter’s friends. Besides, he couldn’t afford another fight which wasted time and left him even more injured.

Finally, Black Collar Guy threw him to the sidewalk with no small amount of impressive natural strength. Natsu yelped as he flopped stomach-down on the walkway. Then he groaned in pain.

“Go home,” Black Collar Guy ordered, his tone brokering no argument. “I don’t want to call the cops, but I will if I have to.”

The bossy, arrogant order snapped Natsu’s ability to think maturely.

He leapt to his feet, shaking a fist at the guy’s now-retreating back. “I’ll do whatever the hell I want! Get back here and fight me, you friggin’–!” Natsu cut himself off with a string of curses. He didn’t have time to butt heads with some random, Magic-less, Male Erza-knockoff. He had to get back to Nashi…had to talk to her before she vanished into the depths of this smelly, confusing, hopeless world.

After a quick moment of thought, he took off, limping as quickly as he could in the opposite direction Black Collar Guy had headed off in.

---

Natsu continued to grumble furiously to himself as he leaned back against the shadowed brick wall, eyes flickering frequently to the firmly locked door he’d found and tested after a frustrating dragon-nose-less search. Despite his dulled sense of smell, he was, like, basically one-hundred-percent positive this was the building Nashi had come out of, though. A couple turns and a couple backtracks had led him to a dark alley with a lot of some kind at the end, labeled by signs mounted on the brick walls. They read:

“PARKING RESERVED FOR FIGHTERS.”

There were a couple sleek-looking Magic Cars which even Natsu–vehicles’ number one hater–couldn’t help blinking at.

But what really caught his attention was a Magic Motorcycle propped up between two white lines on the pavement, decked out in flames and bearing a white plate which read simply, “DRAGON.”

He’d hesitated to wait there. Mostly because Nashi–like him–had always suffered from terrible motion sickness, even when she was just a baby. But after a much more elongated period of deep-thinking than he tended to engage in, his hunch finally convinced him to stay put. Natsu had settled against the most shadowed brick. There, he’d brooded.

The fact that she didn’t know him anymore shouldn’t have shocked him, really. After all, she’d only been five years old when she was taken away. Hell, when Natsu thought about it, he could honestly say he didn’t remember much from when he was five, either. Acknowledging that fact had helped ease the ache in his chest–slightly, anyway.

He’d taken too long to get to her. Especially considering that she seemed to be older than they’d expected, here. It was his fault. His weakness…

Obviously, Nashi still remembered certain things. Her catchphrase, for example. Then again, when Natsu thought about it, he couldn’t really pinpoint when he, himself, had started saying, “I’m all fired up, now!” She’d always been sorta forgetful like him, though fortunately not quite as bad.

He ducked his head and sighed impatiently, shifting on his tired, sandaled feet. His breath puffed visibly in the cool air.

In his defense, Lucy was, like, 75% of his thought process. Especially since they’d gotten married. And she’d never guessed Nashi might not remember them–or…if she had, she hadn’t said anything. Granted, it was somewhat of a fraught subject between them, if he was being honest.

Natsu frowned at the thought, arms tightening over his chest. But then he shook his head. He was unwilling to think of all that–not now, not when he’d just achieved the victory of finding their missing daughter (however much of a bitter victory it might be).

His thoughts lightened, but stayed fixated on Lucy. Lucy, Luke, and Happy, and–despite his current physical misery–Natsu couldn’t help grinning. He’d promised them– all of them–that he’d find Nashi, Harley, Carla, and everyone else who’d been stolen so suddenly and mysteriously That Day, Seven Years Ago. He didn’t know about Harley and Carla–not yet–but he’d found Nashi, and as far as he was concerned, that was a good start. The best one.

Man, he wished Lucy, Luke, and Happy were here–no, scratch that: he wished him and Nashi were back in Earthland, where their Magic worked and things weren’t gross. If Nashi didn’t remember Natsu, she probably didn’t remember Lucy or Luke. The thought was harrowing, but on the plus side, it would be pretty great to watch her reunite with them…wouldn’t it?

All he had to do was find out if the others were here, then find a way to get them back.

The sound of the door he’d been monitoring (in theory) screeched open, tearing Natsu from his heavy thoughts. His eyes lifted, and to his relief, they immediately found exactly who he’d been looking for. Her hair was now freed from those braids, dampened pink tresses cascading around her thoughtfully scowling face, over her shoulders. It was longer than it had been when she was a little girl but just as thick. Fortunately, though it was as thick as his, it was nowhere near as wild and spiky–only a couple endearing, fluffy tufts at the crest of her bangs and some rebellious curls near her shoulders. Even Natsu could figure out that it would’ve looked pretty weird for a girl to have his exact hair type, especially since Lucy had moaned over it a lot when Nashi was little.

The door creaked to a dramatic close behind her as she sauntered across the shadowy lot, gripping a cross-strap bag against her torso. She seemed deep in thought.

“Hey, Nashi!”

“KYAHH!”

Natsu had barely managed to prop himself off the wall he’d perched against when he was sent crashing back into it. Nash’s kick was obviously defensive–reflexive. And of course, he was way weaker than normal! But still, he’d be damned if her kick wasn’t stronger than some of the Lucy Kicks he’d been subjected to over the years.

Natsu curled in on himself against the wall, groaning pitiably.

“FUCK’S SAKE!” Nashi bellowed, huddling her bag closely against her torso. Obviously, she hadn’t only inherited her mom’s feet, but her lungs, too. “DON’T SNEAK UP ON PEOPLE LIKE THAT, CREEP-O!”

“Owwww…” Natsu whimpered, rubbing the back of his head (which had bonked into the brick). “What the hell? I mean, what was that for?” He lifted his gaze beseechingly.

As soon as their eyes met, her face slackened in alarm. She took a large step back, lifting a shaky finger to point at him. “You…it’s you! You’re that freak who climbed into the arena just now! What the hell are you still doing here? Didn’t Lee throw your ass out!?”

Natsu bristled. These days, he wasn’t as defensive about his own power; his strength spoke for itself. But that only went in terms of most people. Hearing his own daughter doubt his abilities made him feel like a kid trying to make S-Class all over again. And thus, the question pissed him off enough to make him straighten immediately. The action prompted Nashi to take another step back. “First off, I didn’t get thrown anywhere!” he snapped, scowling. “I totally could’ve beat Lame Shirt whenever the hell I wanted! I just showed mercy, and let him drag me out here so I could come talk to you!”

Her expression had deadpanned somewhere throughout his retort, looking infuriatingly (yet endearingly) like Lucy’s doubtful expressions. “Uh-huh,” she scoffed. “Suuree thing, bud…”

“Oi, are you doubting me?!” He took a half-step towards her, incensed.

She rolled her eyes then closed them dismissively, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn’t even bother opening them when she drawled, “Uhhh, yeah? No shit?”

Natsu felt as if Laxus had just stricken him with lightning.

“I mean, no offense, but from what I can tell? You’re a huge weakling compared to Lee.”

“N-Nashi–” he choked, clawing at his chest. “How could you?”

There was a pause while he tried to gather up the pieces of his heart.

Then she said darkly, “That name.”

Natsu was so caught up, trying to recover from the wound his long-lost daughter had almost immediately inflicted on him, that it took him a few moments to register the shift in her tone–in the air between them. When he finally focused, he found her eyes narrowed, fixed on his. He exhaled slowly through his nose and straightened, forcing his wounded pride to take a back seat as he met her gaze evenly. “Where the hell did you hear that name?”

Natsu blinked once, but didn’t break eye contact, feeling the soberness in his expression. His hands slackened at his sides as she scrutinized him like Laxus might scrutinize a potential guild traitor.

Seven years, he’d dreamed of this moment. Of the moment he’d finally reunite with his daughter.

And it was nothing like he’d imagined.

Sure, there was joy and relief–but it was totally one-sided, which basically made it worthless. He’d have felt less bereft if she hated him. If she was furious with him, for taking so long to find her. Instead, she didn’t even recognize him. All that lay in her gaze was suspicion, confusion, and bewilderment. And Natsu couldn’t help the way it made his chest ache and his empty stomach roll like he was on a boat.

Ever since That Day, Seven Years Ago–or, more accurately, when he and Lucy had leveled after the difficult period which followed their daughter’s disappearance–he had spoken of the future. The future where they found Nashi, and moved forward.

Now, he’d found her…and he was almost too stunned to speak. All their talking, all their preparation…yet nothing could have really prepared him for this . He doubted even Lucy–who was so clever–could’ve prepared for a daughter who didn’t remember or trust either of them.

Then again, did it really matter how prepared he was? Natsu supposed not. He’d never exactly been the type to live a pre-scripted life. All he could do was explain things, now, and convince her it was time to come back.

How hard could it be?

“Why are you asking?” he asked bluntly, watching as her eyes widened and she took yet another step back. If he’d had any doubt, the fact that the name obviously meant something to her would have killed it then and there. He took a deep breath, heart pounding in his ears. “Nashi…it’s me. It’s me. I’m your dad.”

Her entire posture and expression stiffened in shock, face going alarmingly pale. Moon-round eyes stared unblinkingly at him even as her irises started to shake.

He shuffled forward slightly and swallowed hard. He spoke quietly, “It took way too long for me to find you. I know that. But I swear–” He drew a hand up to his heart, looking her straight in the eye. “–I’ve been looking for you every day for the past seven years. Me and your mom. Plus Erza and Laxus and–well, a bunch of people! Your nakama! ” He added the last part hastily, watching her closely.

“… Seven years?” she muttered.

“Yes!” Natsu confirmed, staring at her earnestly. She had to hear him, to believe him. She just had to.

Her shoulders slackened, expression sinking into exasperation. Frowning, Natsu opened his mouth, but a bitter chuckle preemptively snuffed his words.

“Jesus,” she huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “For a second, I really thought you might be serious! Gah…you’re really good at scaring people, you know that? Nearly gave me a fucking heart attack–”

“I am serious!” Natsu nearly shouted, taking a huge, unintentionally aggressive step forwards without having meant to.

This time, though, the step she took back in response was much more casual–like she no longer took him seriously at all. She shook her head slowly. “Man,” she sighed. “I don’t know if you read my Wikipedia or what, but my parents–whoever the fuck they are–” Natsu’s heart dropped. “–ditched me twelve years ago. Not seven. So…sorry, dude, but either you’re tripping balls, or you got me mixed up with someone–”

“We did not ditch you! And I did not mix you up with someone else! It’s you! I know it is!” This time, Natsu did shout. He couldn’t help it. This whole time, him and Lucy had believed that their child was waiting for them…had continued to believe in them, the same way they had in her. The fact that it turned out she thought they’d abandoned her was too much for him to bear. His chest and eyes burned as he stared at her.

When she started to pull further back, he lunged forward and grabbed her wrist. The movement obviously startled her, but he gripped too tightly for her to pull away. Natsu couldn’t help it; he needed her to pay attention, needed her to look him in the eyes and recognize him.

And he did recognize her. Regardless of what she remembered or didn’t, there wasn’t so much as one single doubt in his mind: this was his daughter. He may have been thrown at first. It may have taken her longer than it should have. But he had recognized her– did recognize her. And nothing could or would sway him to doubt, now. The way she’d fought…there’d been no magic in it, but she still fought like fire. Just like he’d taught her. Yes, he’d initially been confused by her age, this world, the way she spoke, and even her smile–but it would be a cold day in a frigid hell that Natsu would inaccurately assess a fighter. Especially one he’d trained. That, coupled with her catchphrase…it was her. There was just no way it wasn’t her.

“Fuck you think you’re doing?!” she blustered, digging her heels into the asphalt and trying to wriggle her wrist free from his grip. “Don’t just go around grabbing people whenever the hell you want, you freak! Let me go!”

Still, Natsu held fast, thinking quickly in an attempt to find some way to make her see…

Where the hell was Lucy when you needed her? She was way better at stuff like this than him! She’d totally ditched him in his time of need!

“Twelve years…” His heart sank as he started to actually consider the number. Seven was bad enough, but twelve?

How many more years is that? He thought worriedly. Let’s see…seven minus twelve–no! Twelve minus seven…that’s like, ten, at least! Right?!

He shook himself mentally, refusing to dwell on that for the time being.

“Listen,” he said urgently. “Time must move differently between here and Earthland. Just like the Celestial World–”

“‘Earth- Land?! Selena what?!’” she spluttered, bug-eyed and still tugging.

“Earthland!” Natsu repeated loudly. “That’s the world where I came from–where we came from! It’s where both of us were born, and Lucy, and Luke, and Igneel…all of us are Wizards–well, actually, Igneel was a Dragon. But he’s your grandpa! And–”

“Alright, I’ve heard enough!” Nashi roared, finally managing to wrench free of his grip and stumble back several steps. “God! I should’ve known my first superfan-stalker would be a total nutjob! Just my damn luck!” she raged.

“What’d you call me?!” Natsu spluttered, incensed. “How dare you talk about your own Dad like that, huh?! You’re lucky–”

“YOU’RE NOT MY FUCKING DAD!”

The words didn’t just hurt; they were devastating . They struck his heart more painfully and felled it more surely than a Unison Raid from Laxus and Erza.

And she wasn’t even done.

“If you keep telling crazy lies, you’re really gonna piss me off, you got me? Fuck’s sake! Do you even hear yourself?! ‘Wizards’, ‘Dragons’, ‘Other Worlds.’ Look the fuck around you! I call myself ‘The Dragoness’ but that doesn’t make them real! Do you see any fucking Dragons?! Huh?! ” She gestured wildly around at the dingy alleyway, expression contorted in anger.

Natsu opened his mouth…but no words came out. He could only breath the dank air in his scrawny-feeling lungs, could only listen to the unending and miserable cascade of Magic Vehicles through what felt like about a bajillion layers of Aries’ Pink Wool–but nowhere near as pleasant.

“Nashi…” he finally managed to gasp around his heart, which was lodged in his throat and pounding horribly hard and fast, making him feel like he might be dying. “You really–you really don’t remember me? Not even at all?!”

The few beats of silence which followed his squeaked words spoke volumes. She glared at his now-hunched figure, inhaled slowly through her nose, then seemed to deflate on a slow exhale. Her scowl softened into one of pity.

His heart sank even lower.

“Look,” she mumbled, twisting her bag to her hip, unzipping it, and starting to dig through it. “I have no fucking clue how to deal with delusional people, or whatever. But…since I kicked you, I guess I owe you some help–especially since you’re obviously already hurt. Here, take this.”

Some flaps of paper, a lot like bills of Jewels back in Fiore but also different, were flapped in front of Natsu’s stupefied visage by a feminine yet tanned and calloused hand. He was too shocked and horrified to register the sight fully, let alone reach for them. Finally, the girl huffed in impatience and let the papers flutter to the greasy, dark ground in front of him.

“That’s all I can spare from tonight’s winnings,” she mumbled, zipping up her bag. “Got my own bills and stuff, you know? But that should be enough to get you some basic healthcare, hopefully. Plus a meal for that grumbly belly of yours.” She snorted. “So, anyways…bye, man.”

It wasn’t until she turned away and started stalking towards her motorcycle that Natsu finally stirred from his shock.

“I don’t want your money, dammit!” he burst, coming back online as she situated herself on the Magic Motorcycle and started pulling on a helmet.

Leaving the money on the ground, he ran towards her.

“What about Harley?!” he snapped, taking a risk in his desperation. A surge of hope overtook his desperation when she snapped her attention back to him, eyes bugging from within her helmet. “She’s here, too, isn’t she?! How would I know that if I didn’t know you?!”

Unfortunately, she jumped to a conclusion he hadn’t even thought to consider. “Gee, I don’t know, maybe you’re a legit stalker? How the hell do you know my cat’s name, you fucking creep?!” As she screeched this, she grabbed her bag against herself in a protective sort of gesture.

Was Harley…?

“She ain’t a cat!” he retorted, grabbing the handles of her motorcycle to keep her in place despite the way his stomach reared reflexively. “She’s an Exceed, just like Happy! Why else would she be able to fly, huh, Nashi?!”

“It’s Layla!” she screeched. To his chagrin, the Magic Motorcycle’s handlebars were ripped from his grasp– his chagrin, but his accursed stomach’s instinctive relief. “My name is Layla, dammit! And what the fuck are you talking about, ‘flying?!’ Harley’s a cat, not a damn pigeon!”

“What, she can’t fly anymore!?” he asked, still rooted to the spot.

“You’re completely insane!” she decided aloud–and loudly. “I don’t know who you are, creep, but you’d better leave me the fuck alone or I’ll murder you, got it!? Just take that money, fuck off, and get some damn help!”

“Wait!” Natsu tried once more, only to gag instantly when the motorcycle roared to life and revved. Despite the inhibition of his Magic, the sound, alone, was enough to make him double over and grip his stomach, groaning in pain. She glowered at him once more, then lifted her feet to the pedals, swung back, and started forward. “D-dammit…” he warbled as the sound of the roaring engine faded. Fruitlessly, he reached a shaking hand towards her shrinking figure, groaning again as she vanished onto a busy road at the end of the alley, several honks following just after.

Natsu cursed softly to himself, defeated and utterly lost. Now, he didn’t even know how to find her. And if he did, how would he ever convince her to come home.

He was still laying there when that locked door creaked open again, drawing his attention.

---

Layla was so agitated by the ridiculous interaction she’d just had, she took the long way home. And it still took her the entire way there to cool off. By the time she arrived, even her seedy-ass street was sorta quiet.

She parked, turned off her beloved motorcycle for a moment before scoffing to herself, still brooding. “Stupid.” She swung her leg over the seat of the motorcycle, stuffed her helmet into its hidden compartment behind the backseat, and locked it. “Geez, just how dumb are you? Thinking some crazy homeless guy cosplaying as Aladdin might be your real dad…I mean, I don’t even care about that, anymore…”

She clutched her bag against her front carefully. Her exhaustion from the fight against the big-but-disappointing freak she’d fought earlier had started to catch up with her just after she left the ring. But now, after a second adrenaline rush inspired by that delusional homeless guy, she was practically dead on her feet.

She jiggled and rattled her way into the old, fucked up door of her apartment building. Once it wheezed shut behind her, she stalked past the starey drug addicts huddled inexplicably in the hallway; wearily climbed two flights of stairs so as to avoid the questionable elevator. Then, she finally stumbled into her apartment–

–and found it full of strange dudes, all huddled on the apartment’s old, nasty couches in an attempt to drape themselves around her roommate. A loud, wet plunger sound rang across the room as the guy who’d managed to suck face with Gracie first pulled back in surprise. Layla’s weary eyes swept the suddenly-silent room without meeting any of the owlish gazes fixed on her then landed on Gracie, herself–whose face was panicked but quickly transformed into her usual, bullshit smile as Layla glared.

“Oi–,” she started.

“Layla!” Gracie interrupted, her voice an octave too high. “Well, hey, there! How did–”

“Just fucking don’t!” The door slamming behind her punctuated Layla’s order, and she reached behind her to lock it reflexively. “Are you even serious, Gracie?! One thing! One thing, I asked: don’t party on fight nights. But I come home after the semifinals and –” She gestured aggressively at the room, glowering at Gracie’s hazy-yet-quickly sombering face.

“Ooh, another girl’s joining in the fun, too?” The guy who’d just been sucking face with Gracie sounded excited in a detached, nauseating sort of way. Several of the dudes on the couch were eyeing Layla with a similarly-toned interest, making her grip her bag in front of herself to hide some of her body (carefully:)

“The feisty type, too. My favorite.” Aaaandd this guy was somehow creepier-looking and sounding than the first, eyeing her with a cold sort of hunger. Several of the other guys grinned and snickered in agreement.

Layla straightened under the fleet of creeps’ collective gaze, lifting her chin and glaring down. If these losers thought they were going to either seduce or intimidate her, they had another thing coming. In her job, the vast majority of her peers hated her guts, and made sure she knew it by either calling her unfuckable or guaranteeing they’d fuck her before trying to beat her to a pulp. This was on top of being a foster kid and a juvie kid.

She opened her mouth, but Gracie beat her to a response. “Oh, no!” she chirped like an annoying fuck of a bird. “No, no, no! Layla isn’t part of this. She’s my roommate, and she’s being serious! Trust me, if you want to keep your dicks attached to your bodies, you should leave her alone. She’s basically got gorilla strength!” The assertions were followed by a tinkling laugh and a pinch in Layla’s chest which only worsened when a bunch of the guys started laughing. It was a shitty thing for Gracie to have said, and she knew it. Layla knew she knew it because of the smug smirk she gave her while the dudes shared looks and laughed.

Ever since highschool–

But Layla stopped the thought in its tracks right there. There was no point dwelling on that. Again.

“I can do whatever the hell I want,” Gracie purred once the laughter quieted. “It’s not just your apartment, Layla.”

Rage burnt in Layla’s throat, but she deflated quickly. As badly as she wanted to point out that it was technically her apartment, seeing as only she paid rent, she had neither the energy nor the time for a fight with her infuriating roommate. The familiar sense of resentment and defeat settled over her as she exhaled.

“Whatever,” she muttered. She knew better than to ask them to be quiet before she headed to her room and pulled out the key to unlock the door while chatter and giggles crescendoed behind her. Just as she began to open the door, she swung a threatening glare over her shoulder. “My door will be locked. If even one of you losers tries to break in, I’ll fucking kill you.”

A mixture of nervous and interested looks were her response (along with a loud laugh from Gracie, who she ignored.) She shut the door behind her and locked it, glad her weird-ass room had a sink and her toothbrush in it so she didn’t have to go back out there. Thank god she didn’t need to pee.

Ignoring the loud, disgusting sounds emanating from the shared living area, she lowered her bag and unzipped it. “Harley,” she cooed. “Hey, wake up, baby…time for dinner…”

At “dinner” the face of a small, unusual-looking white cat appeared, blinking its way to a wide-eyed excitement that made Layla grin, despite everything. Harley meowed, loud and chatty, while Layla fed her with the tuna-flavored catfood she kept in her closet (Harley only liked fish flavors) then continued to mewl and purr in tandem with her munching, making Layla laugh quietly.

“Weirdo,” she muttered affectionately, staunchly ignoring every sound but Harley’s chewing.

She changed her PJs and brushed her teeth quickly, turned the lights off. Then she crawled into bed, groaning as she finally got to relax her sore, bruised body. It was after she folded her arms behind her bed and a chop-licking Harley jumped into bed and curled up beside her that she finally couldn’t suppress the question nudging at the back of her head anymore:

Just where could that guy have heard that name?

---

[1*] Now feels like a good time to mention that several of the OC's, including Juvia, are missing IN THE BEGINNING of the story and it will be a while before they start coming back. There's plenty of angst and flashbacks to supplement the loss, tho, imo.

[2*] The "Necrotizer" as Natsu incorrectly calls him is the Necromancer, Keyes, of course.

AN: Welp, that's a wrap for this chapter. Not too sure I'm happy with it but I like it better than the first one I think. I'm trying to enjoy the process of writing this story, but I'm just excited to get to the good stuff later on tbh. As I said in the beginning: I know Nashi/Layla and her life is somewhat excruciating, at the beginning, and that we want to see her get a wakeup call and get back to the canon universe. Both will happen soon, just stick with me ;)

#natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #nalu #fairy tail #gruvia #nalu fanfiction #natsu x lucy #nashi dragneel #gray fullbuster #greige fullbuster

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codegeassfacts · 2 years

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Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion Sound Episode 4 // Canon

For More information about the Sound Drama, check the post for the First Sound episode of season 1 over there

(Another very nice cover; It is impressive how early this artwork was made and how fitting it is to the ambiance between those two toward the end of the anime.)

Track List :

1 - PLATINIUM SOUL (Kallen's first character song) 2 - Short Drama STAGE 6.113 " The Name of the King" 3 - Short Drama STAGE 5.631 " A Woman's battle" 4 - Continuous Drama Stage 0.533 " The first Friend" 5 - PLATINIUM SOUL (Instrumental)

Platinum soul, Kallen's character song, sung by Ami Koshimizu

youtube

Audio Drama Stage 6.113 "The name of the King" (Takes place shortly after Arthur is recovered by Suzaku and Lelouch, after the cat chase episode)

It starts as Suzaku asks Euphemia, in a flash back, how the cat got hurt. Euphemia talks to the cat and says that the cat told her that it had a bad landing and hurt its paw. She then names him Arthur.

Later on, after the cat has been rescued, Suzaku ponders about telling Euphemia that the cat they saved earlier is now in the student council room and everyone is deliberating on what to call it. Shirley, Rivalz , Nina, and Kallen all suggest different names; Kallen seems to think that all cats should have the name Tama. Deliberations continue and when Lelouch is asked what he thinks they should call it, he says that his vote is that they don't have a cat because it will end up being his responsibility to take care of. He is quickly shot down. Milly Ashford then starts prying into Suzaku's personal life and assumes that Suzaku has a girlfriend. He denies this, but no one really believes him.

Lelouch takes Suzaku aside and admonishes him for being so gullible. They chat for a while and Suzaku reveals that the cat already has a name; Arthur. Nunnally rolls in and starts talking to the cat in the same way that Euphemia did. To everyone's surprise, Nunnally reveals that she has known Arthur for a long time. This is especially shocking to Suzaku as Nunally has somehow managed to name the cat the same way that Euphemia did. He eventually decides that it simply proves that Euphemia and Nunnally really are sisters. Finally, Arthur bites Suzaku, as is customary.

Audio Drama Stage 15.631 " A Woman's battle" (Takes place after the Mao incident, before he came back and kidnapped Nunnally) You can listen to this drama in english dub right here

It begins as Kallen and Tamaki get into an old car in order to go and do some errands. The two take off as Tamaki continues to complain about having to do so much. Kallen begins to explain the plan for the day when suddenly C.C. interrupts and asks if they can stop at a pizza place. Kallen begins to agree and then realizes that she and Tamaki are not alone.

Tamaki begins to freak out and ask why she is here. C.C. bluntly explains that she was in the car before the two of them got in and thus it is not her fault that they didn't notice her. Kallen nearly gets in a crash as she tries to reprimand C.C. ; After the near miss, Kallen begrudgingly accepts that C.C. is going to tag along but refuses to go and get pizza.as they are working; C.C. remarks that Kallen needs to be more careful or she will kill the two of them (Tamaki and Kallen). Kallen replies that she would also take C.C. with her if that were to happen, to which C.C. then wryly asks if she really thinks that she could kill her.

Tamaki then changes the topic and asks if C.C. is Zero's mistress; This causes Kallen a great amount of distress and she swerves on the road; Kallen is further distressed to hear C.C. state that her relationship with Zero is contractual. Tamaki makes a vulgar joke and C.C. decides that she has heard enough before kicking him out of the car while it is still moving. Kallen momentarily contemplates stopping for him but gets over it.

The girls then try to have a nice chat on the drive when Kallen states that regardless of how Zero really looks her feelings will remain the same. C.C. asks if she is in love with Zero and this causes Kallen to swerve again. Kallen then retorts back and asks if C.C. loves Zero while refraining to ask if else it's only a carnal affair; C.C. responds that she is his accomplice, but Kallen retorts they all are his accomplices to which C.C. states the she is an accomplice to the very man that is Zero behind the mask but even though she is the closest to Zero amongst the Black Knights, there is still another woman that is even closer to him. She also remarks that he would never involve this person and that C.C. is not even on the same league as her. She continues to say how much she likes contracts instead of friendships, as they are clear and direct in what you get, and Kallen remarks on how lonely that must be; As C.C. mumbles about true loneliness, Kallen tries to say something but C.C. put an end to the subject and ask her to forget about it so in return, she won't tell Kallen is crushing on Zero, leading Kallen to panic leading them into a car crash.

Later that day, C.C. returns to Lelouch who knows she's been hanging out to Kallen; C.C. asks him if he was worried about Kallen, to which he replies not really, leading C.C. to show a bit of compassion toward Kallen; She then tells him they spoke about him and his identity; As he tried to learn more about that, she tells him she can't reveal the content of their conversation, as it was a contract between two woman.

Audio Drama Stage 0.533 "The first friend" (Happens during Lelouch's childhood, before the invasion of Japan) You can listen to the drama in english dub right here

Lelouch, Suzaku, and Nunnally are playing the board game Suguroku. Lelouch and Suzaku playfully argue while Nunnally contemplates the strangeness of Lelouch actually having a friend; Lelouch starts getting bored with the game because it is all luck and you don't have to use your brain in it at all. He asks Suzaku if they can play the Japanese version of chess called Shogi, he wants to learn that; Suzaku hates complicated games like that and Lelouch calls him stupid so Suzaku starts tickling him.

Nunnally then comes to think about how she ran away so that she wouldn't have to marry Genbu Kururugi because she was afraid; She feels like the concern they both shared forher that day is a big reason why the two have grown close together and are probably each other's very first first friend, before deciding that their friendship is probably for the best because now Suzaku visits them all the time, eats with them, even sleep with them

Suzaku suddenly asks Lelouch how he managed to cancel the Nunally wedding, to which Lelouch replies he gave Genbu something of value to Genbu, but not to them,and which wasn't physical His words comfort Nunnally and she thinks about how she can trust him more than anyone, as he is always there for her. Suzaku eventually proposes that they go into town because there is some kind of attraction that simulates an earthquake; Lelouch doesn't know what it is and while he wants to go he is reluctant about leaving Nunally, but she tells them to go; Suzaku then tells Nunnally they will bring her back a souvenir; As they leave while bickering, Nunnally feels a little lonely but is also glad that Lelouch has someone he can relate with even if Suzaku better bring Lelouch back to her in the end.

That's about it for the 4th Sound episode CD. I added the summary for the tracks even though they were available in english in case video get taken down and also because there are always some shifting between english and japanese version.

#code geass #codegeass #lelouch lamperouge #lelouch vi britannia #C.C.#kallen kozuki #suzaku kururugi #nunnally vi britannia #lelouch x kallen #lelouch x c.c.#sound episode #original code geass #コードギアス #lelouch of the rebellion #official material #arthur the cat #Youtube

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acefaun · 2 years

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Hi! may I request for a goldfish similar to Kobeni from chainsaw man? 👉👈

The Zodiac Contract

Synopsis: Usually… Demon hunters made contracts with demons in order to fulfill their duties and stay alive. In the course of her life-threatening work MC comes across the aid of the Zodiac gods who lend her their powers in exchange for her cooperation when they need the power of the stars in her eyes.

✨Masterlist✨

Female goldfish!

A/n: So, during my lovely 9 hour road trip to Branson, Missouri, I watched all 11 episodes of Chainsaw Man(not realizing they had an english dubbed version…). Anywaaaay, at first I thought it was going to be some kind of Demon Slayer or Jujutsu Kaisen but what the heck! I wasn’t ready for all of that chaos.

Honestly, at first Kobeni annoyed me with how much she was screaming(even though she’s literally me… “We’re gonna die!”), but then she ended up being pretty brave and badass(unlike me). So I think I’m prepared to give you a Kobeni-MC now with a happy ending!

–Word Count: 5,469 –

There were vines growing along the cracks in the walls, some windows appeared to be broken, and I wasn't even going to think about how the entire building looked like it was at just the right angle to collapse at any given moment. It was maybe two in the afternoon which gave me ample daylight hours to check everything out for demon activity.

To start off, this mansion’s sudden existence in the middle of a forest was entirely unprecedented, leaving us to believe there were demons present. It wasn't fair that the other demon hunters were too preoccupied with demon attacks in the city leaving me as the only hunter from Division 4 available to patrol.

What if there was a big, dangerous demon inside? Even worse, there could be an overwhelming number of smaller demons!

WHAT IF THE MANSION WAS THE DEMON AND I WOULD BE WALKING INTO ITS MOUTH?

This was it; I was going to die all alone in a spooky mansion. Would they even come look for my remains once I was gone? I knew Denji and Power probably wouldn't care that much over the death of some other human, but I hoped that at least Aki and Himeno would cry over my grave… if I got a grave, that is.

My hands were shaking unsteadily as I finally reached the front door and gained the courage to walk in. But I had to pause… it surprised me at how beautiful the inside was. Opposed to the outside that was falling apart, the inside was all fine marble.

I blinked in confusion but I had my katana ready in my hands along with a few daggers on my belt as backup weapons. It didn't matter how nice the building was, there was always a chance of demons.

Besides, Miss Makima said there were weird powers involved with the sudden appearance of this mansion. That could only mean demons were afoot.

Steeling myself for whatever I might find, I made my way down the impeccable halls. I had to be prepared for the worst and pray that whatever I found would only be the best.

Walking around for an hour with a blade drawn yielded no results. I knew better than to let my guard down, but I couldn't help but lower my weapon to my side as I trailed the untouched building. If it was any consolation to Miss Makima, I didn't sense any demonic presence.

Well, that's what I was certain of until a door opened to my left and I screamed in fright, drawing my weapon in an attack position. In cases like these, I knew it was better to attack first and ask questions later. I swung my weapon, but all I heard was a snap before I was pinned to a wall, unable to move my limbs as my katana clattered to the ground.

Clamping my eyes shut, I prayed for a quick and merciful death. “I’m going to die, I’m going to die,” those four words were the only thing I could whimper out as tears poured from my eyes.

“It's you,” a voice said in surprise.

Hesitantly opening my eyes, I stared in shock. “You… You don’t look like a demon…” My eyes shot wide open in terror. “Oh my god. Did I just invade a civilian house and try to kill a- a man?” I paused again, my thoughts jumping to the fact that an invisible force pinned me to the wall. Did this man make a contract with the ghost demon too? “Wait. Are- Are you on assignment to his house as well? Uh… What Division are you from?”

The man blinked in confusion. “I believe you have me mistaken for someone else. Here,” he grabbed my katana from the floor as he released me from the wall. “I promise you won’t be needing your weapons here. Can I show you something?”

Now I was feeling extremely awkward in this guy's house. He said I was mistaking him for someone else, but was he mistaking me for someone else? “I… Ah… Do you know me?”

“My name is Huedhaut. I suppose I should first ask… what drew you to this mansion?”

I gazed at him warily. I was starting to have suspicions about this guy not being a demon hunter. “Miss Makima personally assigned me here. Which means-”

“That name,” he interrupted, his expression suddenly serious compared to his calm expression just a minute ago. “Where did you hear that name?”

I was very uncomfortable being in his presence—it was as if he were suddenly giving off an aura. “Look, sir, I just work here. There’s clearly been some kind of mistake. I think I should go…” Before things could get too tense or too awkward, I made my escape from the mansion—thankfully without him following or trying to stop me. Clearly there were no demons around and I didn’t want trouble with some rich dude who owned a mansion.

***

Miss Makima stared at me with slightly furrowed eyebrows. “Then… you didn’t complete your mission?”

She didn't look pleased with me, but it wasn't like it was my fault! “Miss Makima, I’m telling you, there were no demons in that house! Some rich guy was there—I think he was a civilian demon hunter who has a contract with the ghost demon. But I didn't see a single vicious being-”

“(Name),” she interrupted, the gentle smile not leaving her face as she spoke softly, “I want you to search every corner of that house.” Holding up a string with a bullet tied to the other end, she looked me in the eye. “This will direct you straight to the demon. It has a piece of the gun demon in it… You’ll be able to find it easily.”

I didn't sense anything particularly big when I was there—not that I could mention that particular talent of mine. But this new information about the gun demon made me wonder if that man was hiding a demon in his home. It wasn’t unheard of, after all, and this was a direct order from Miss Makima… I sighed. “Yes, Ma’am. I’ll try again. Um… What do I do about the civilians in the mansion?”

“Find out whose side they’re on.”

***

The next day, I made my return to the mansion, apprehensive to make my way inside someone’s home without permission. That's why this time it was a stealth mission. My goal was to avoid any inhabitants and go straight for the demon. It was in there somewhere and I was going to find it and bring the piece of the gun demon back to Miss Makima!

Now… Did I really want to go searching for a demon that consumed a piece of the gun demon? No, not really, but I was going to do my damned best! …or pretend to do my damned best while fearful tears welled up in my eyes.

The worst part was that I was stuck searching in their damned basement! And their basement was just as big and creepy as the entire outside of the mansion! The only good thing was that I finally found the door where my demon was…

But by all means, I didn't want to face a scary, powerful demon by myself.

I held my katana tightly in one hand as I kicked the locked door open. I was ready for a fight—well, I thought I was. I wasn't ready for a demon to scream the minute the door flew open and come barrelling out at me. This only caused me to scream in turn.

Much to my dismay, it knocked me flat on my back before barrelling for the exit. “Get back here! I have to kill you!” Though I had the thought of letting it run off, I didn’t want it to hurt anyone else—and I knew there were other inhabitants in this mansion. Besides, it seemed more terrified of me than anything else. Weird. Usually demons were only terrified of the unhinged demon hunters… maybe it was this weird house with that weird guy. Was he keeping this demon locked up in here like a prisoner? What a weird dude…

I chased the demon through the scary, dimly lit halls of the basement before finally cornering it. I felt pretty bold… before finding that the cornered demon was growing in size. Alright! It was probably time to kill it before it got any bigger!

However… rather than getting cut by my katana, it simply absorbed my blade as if it were made of some corrosive acid. “Huh…?” I had to jump back in order to avoid it eating my hands as well. I’d never fought a demon I couldn’t stab to death before! This absolutely wasn’t fair!

To make matters worse, it started growing arms! Absolutely nothing could make this demon worse for me until I found a hand grasping at my leg. I screamed, trying to kick it off, but I only managed to fall onto the ground where the demon had the advantage of being above me. I hated how it was gripping at my face with its filthy demonic hands—I could only wait in fear to feel the corrosive heat eating at my skin.

“I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die!” I was bawling over my soon to be pathetic death at the literal hands of a demon.

“What a beautiful expression… You poor thing.”

I didn’t know who was teasing me in such a perilous situation, but I found myself saved as a pink shield sliced through the demon, separating us. It might have left me with demon blood on my face and demon organs at my feet, but I was relieved the damn thing stopped touching me.

I quickly scrambled away, realizing the demon is what was caught in a pink bubble.

“You…” I stuttered, staring at the man with pink hair. He had a similar uniform to the man I met the other day. “You have demon powers too.”

“How rude…” Partheno pouted as he looked away from me as if genuinely hurt by my words. “You say that so casually as if I didn’t just save your life from a nasty little demon.” It's not as if I was spewing insults just because I could, I was stating genuine observations. He had demon powers!

I tilted my head in confusion. “But you… Those were demon powers… right?” Unless… he was insinuating that he was part demon. I’d seen enough humans who looked human but were not, by all means. Besides, this man had an aura that even I could pick up. Warily, I picked out one of my daggers, pointing it at him. “State your name and affiliation.”

He was surprised by my audacity to aim a weapon at him, frowning in disappointment. “All after I saved your life too. I could have let the thing eat a noisy little human like you. If only you weren’t so cute.”

The fact that he called me a human sent red flags up in my head and I was already on top of him with my dagger… if only he weren’t so fast. He might’ve saved me from one demon, but that had to have only been because he was more intelligent. “Thanks for taking care of that ugly demon… Now I only have you to deal with.” Only… once this one was taken care of, I knew that pink shield would fall and I’d be right back to dealing with that captured one. Fortunately, it looked like it was cowering away in that pink bubble. That would make it easier to deal with.

Partheno hummed, a small smile etched upon his lips. “I’ll take that as a compliment, considering you don’t find me appalling to look at. Still,” a thoughtful look crossed his features. “Staying near this demon is pretty dangerous for you. I think we should continue this dance after I’ve taken care of it. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

The minute he snapped his fingers, I was transported to a room full of men, but I was frozen in place with my bloodied face and bloodied weapons. Was that another one of his demon powers? What about these men that were just staring at me in surprise? Were they demons too? Or did they just share similar powers as well?

“Hm? (Name)?”

I turned, my eyes widening. Him again? “Hue… Huedhaut?” Well, at least he was a familiar face.

Leon's lips curled up as he observed me. “You know this goldfish?”

Huedhaut nodded, his eyes glistening in… disappointment? Why was he looking at me like that? “This is the one that came to the mansion the other day in search of demons.” His eyebrows furrowed. “I say you’ve found it…” Pursing his lips, he snapped his fingers, a towel appearing in his hands as he approached me. “That was very dangerous. I should have taken precautions, but I was certain you weren’t going to return.”

This man… had similar powers to the one with pink hair. The tears that were built in my eyes continued to fall steadily as he gently removed my weapons from my hands and wiped my face of blood. He was just cleaning me up to eat me too, wasn’t he? These men all had powerful auras. I didn’t know why I didn’t see it before. Now that it was so blatantly obvious I wasn’t feeling particularly brave against them; I was surrounded.

Rolling his eyes, Leon scoffed. “Why are you bothering cleaning it up?”

“Haven’t you noticed the stars in her eyes?” I blinked in confusion, but froze in fear as Huedhaut leaned closer to my face, using his cool fingers to wipe my tears away. It was almost as if he actually cared as he tenderly assured me, “You’re out of danger now. You don’t have to cry.”

“I…” I faltered. I didn’t have enough weapons to fight all of these demons at once. Maybe I would've stood a better chance with my katana, but that was eaten…

Huedhaut offered me a kind smile. “You must be shaken up by that encounter. Do you need to sit?”

The living room door flinging open didn’t surprise me, but what did surprise me was the voice that rang out, “Oh… You’ve managed to calm her down. Last I saw her, she was trying to kill me.”

“Oh-ho?” Leon smirked. “Not bad for a little demon hunter. She certainly knows what she’s doing.”

Partheno pouted, crossing his arms. “I wish I’d stop getting treated like I’m not a changed man.” Glancing back at me, he smiled pleasantly. “You’re looking more beautiful already without that blood on your face.”

I took in shaky breaths trying to recall what Miss Makima told me to do. My eyes flitted between them and slowly, I asked, “Who are all of you?” I paused. “What are all of you?”

Huedhaut smiled knowingly. “We’re gods.”

***

“Ew, how disgusting…” I couldn’t help but wince at the sight of the ugly little demon. The flames on my katana went out as the biggest threat was gone. Placing the katana back into its sheath, I continued investigating the quiet building.

After I officially met the gods, I decided that their evidence was indeed conclusive enough to prove that they were divine beings, the complete opposite of the demons that I hunted every day. Of course… they only divulged such information to me because I just so happened to be a reborn goddess.

Fortunately enough, a few of the gods gave me the special privilege of having contracts with them. It was mostly the nicer gods—and those who felt pity for a sad human forced to hunt demons—who agreed to share their power with me. It worked similarly to contracts with demons… only that these gods didn’t ask for horrible things in return. All they wanted in return was my cooperation when they needed the power of the stars in my eyes.

I didn't get a big explanation or anything fancy—Leon was adamant that a human not be involved with godly business. I was only fortunate enough to get a few friendships and a few contracts; I didn't need to be getting too greedy with my divine connections.

But these gods were why I could change the temperature of my katana at will. After losing my weapon to the corrosive demon in the mansion, Krioff gave me a replacement katana so I could channel his powers of fire and ice into it.

They also sort of owed me for my informational value. They didn't understand my explanation of needing the demon in their basement until I showed them the bullet from the gun demon. Realizing that these fragments were what made these demons stronger and more erratic was a big help to them—especially since they just so happened to have been hunting the gun demon as well.

I wasn't a fan of the missions that I'd been given recently. Even this one, which appeared simple at first with minor demons, was growing more challenging at a quick pace. It didn't take long into my investigation for the lights of the building to be knocked out. The demons were unusual, as of late. It seemed all of my fights were getting unnecessarily harder for my skill set.

Even with the contracts of gods, I sometimes still had to call upon them for help. It was pretty convenient that my wishes got to them easily, especially when I was having a breakdown and couldn’t lift a weapon to save my life.

However, the frequency at which this seemed to happen to me was unironically cruel. I was starting to think that bringing Denji along would be a blessing rather than a curse. At this rate, I didn’t care how much blood got splattered all over, as long as I was alive at the end of the day. But… it didn’t seem like I was going to survive today as things seemed to go from worse to worse.

But I was confused. Just as I was hiding under a desk to take a mental break and reassess what I was up against, I heard footsteps. I no longer heard the sludgy sound of a demon chasing after me. It sounded human… but my instincts told me to stay put—and I always followed my instincts.

I tensed up as the room suddenly fell silent, a short scream leaving my lips as the desk flipped over my head, breaking to bits at its impact against the wall. My watery eyes lifted to find two robed men standing in front of the door, peering down at me with eerie grins. I had never seen them before, but seeing them staring at me with hungry eyes made me feel sick to my stomach.

They weren’t familiar, and I was sure they definitely weren’t friendly. But who were they and what happened to the demon outside?

Servillah grumbled, “Looks like we finally caught up with you. These demons are absolutely worthless. They didn’t even put a scratch on you…” He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing on me.

Crow glanced at Servillah with an uncertain grimace. “Is this the right one? It’s… It’s crying, and no one touched it yet…”

Servillah glanced between me and his dark companion before shrugging. “Well, we better check before we grab the wrong, worthless human.”

Their approach made me panic, throwing up a light pink shield between the three of us and threatening, “I… Leave me alone.”

They paused, their eyes lighting up in recognition as Servillah grinned. “That answers our question…” He pointed his hand toward me, safe in my bubble. “You think your powers can match up to those gods? What a pathetic attempt to keep us back.” His hand exuded a black mist before the surrounding shield shattered into thin air. Suddenly, I felt the pressure of his dark magic; my head was pounding, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. It was as though my head and lungs were being compressed, similar to the crushing feeling that only occurs deep underwater.

I couldn’t help but whimper, “This isn’t where I want to die. I don’t want to die. I wish I brought Himeno with me… or Aki… Or anyone…” I wished for a lot of things at that moment. I wished this weren’t happening. I wished I weren’t a demon hunter. I wished the gods would save me.

Lowering his hand, the pressure was finally removed and Crow said, “That’s it. Taking them to the under realm is going to be easy now.”

Under realm? My eyes flitted to them. They were going to take me to hell? Why? Why me? Why today of all days? This was such a horrible month to be a demon hunter. Though… from the sounds of it… they were the reason those demons were coming after me in such large numbers. Rather than doing the hunting… was I being hunted this whole time?

Blinking the tears from my eyes, I pulled my katana out, flames dancing around the blade. “I- I’m not going to die. I’m not…” I hesitated. “I will not surrender!” Wiping the tears from my cheeks with my sleeve, I glared at the two men who were watching me as if they were bored.

Though, Crow seemed to get a nasty idea as he smiled and suggested playfully, “I guess since those other demons couldn’t land a scratch on you… we could do the honors of putting a human like you in your rightful place.”

Before I knew what was happening, they vanished before me. I glanced around frantically, before forcing myself to settle down. I had to relax and be calm. If they were accepting a fight with me, then I’d just do what I’d been doing to keep myself out of harm's way. Even if I couldn’t land any deadly attacks, the least I could do was anticipate their attacks and avoid them.

Closing my right eye, I could use Huedhaut’s power to see several seconds into the future. As long as I could see them coming then I’d be okay.

Only… everything was thrown upside down when a heel pressed into my spine, throwing me into a wall where I stumbled back onto the floor. My eyes were wide as I wiped the blood that dripped from my nose. How come I couldn't see that coming? I should've seen his appearance and been able to dodge him!

I desperately grabbed my katana off the ground, but they ripped it from my palm before I could act with it. Almost immediately after, I felt an impact with my forehead, throwing me back onto the floor where I felt something heavy weighing on top of me. Looking up with wide eyes, it was the demon I had escaped from after giving it quite the bit of nasty wounds.

But now it was on top of me, pinning my arms down—well, it pinned my entire body, to say the least. But it was so heavy I felt like my ribs were going to be crushed at any moment as it grew harder to breathe with it on top of my chest.

“No…” I whimpered, the tears already falling from my eyes. “No, no, no…” I wheezed, struggling my damndest to get out from under the demon. “This isn’t where I want to die. I don’t want to die.” Were they going to let it kill me? Was this the end? No one was going to save me this time… I was going to be killed by powerful demons…

Just when I thought I was going to die, there was a flash of light and everything fell silent as the weight was lifted off of me. Still, I didn't dare move, praying my thanks to the gods above that I wasn't crushed to death excruciatingly. All I had left to pray for was that those other two demons were gone.

The room was filled with a much more familiar voice. “Tch. Filthy. I got blood on my clothes.” Scorpio vigorously shook a few demon chunks off of his sleeves.

Krioff grumbled in return, “At least that’s all you got blood on. I think I got some in my mouth. Demons taste like shit.”

I stared up at the dark ceiling, weeping silently in relief as I slowly sat up. I was on the verge of dying… No, cancel that. I was on the verge of being kidnapped. Those demons were threatening to take me to hell and I couldn't forget about it.

Scorpio and Krioff ended up finding me sitting with my knees drawn to my chest as I cried out all of my anxiety, trying to catch my breath.

They were rough gods, but at least they were nice enough to let me calm down on my own. Krioff glanced down at the blade that was strewn onto the ground. “Hey, you using that weapon like I told you?”

Despite shaking on the floor, I gave him a clear “Y- yes, sir!”

“Good,” he quietly commented. If I had the brain capacity to answer him, then he was sure I would be able to understand what they had to say. “We didn't come here to save you from that low-level garbage.” That made sense, they were Punishment gods not Wishes gods. They wouldn't have heard my constant wishes for help. “We were sent here to look for you because you're being hunted by demons.”

“Huh…?” My eyes widened again, staring at the floor in disbelief. “Hunted by… demons? I… Heh. I almost died. This has to be a horrible joke…” I was right… Those two demons were the reason I was being hunted by all these horrible monsters.

Scorpio scoffed. “You’re talking to the wrong gods if you want a damn joke at a time like this.” Still, my distress seemed to register with him, and he said, “You need to return to the mansion with us; you’re in danger.”

I understood that much. I, a demon hunter, was being hunted by demons and the only people who could tell me why were standing right in front of me. “Y- Yeah. Let’s go.”

I wasn’t sure I was steady enough to be walking around and moving, but they quickly transported me to the mansion’s living room where Karno was surprisingly quick to dote on me. “(Name), you’re covered in blood. Don’t sit down yet. Come here. You’re bleeding.”

That’s right… Usually when I visited the mansion I was mostly free from any kind of scratches. Yet today, my nose was bleeding, my lip was busted, and I had a cut that trailed from my eyebrow to my hairline.

As he tended to my injuries, I quietly admitted, “I hate demon hunting…” Karno gazed into my eyes silently as he listened to me. I could only see pity on his face, the same way they all treated me. “I never wanted to do this… I just- I wanted to live in a nice place. I wanted a nice job.” His motions to clean my wounds slowed as he watched my eyes fill with tears that trailed down my cheeks. “I hate killing for a living. I hate it. I hate them. Those- those demons. They shouldn't exist.”

“(Name)-”

“Now I’m being hunted by them~” my voice cracked and just before I could completely breakdown, I was surprised as Karno took me into his arms, holding me against his chest.

No one had… comforted me like this during a panic attack before. It was all part of the job—even if it was counterproductive and demons fed off of my fear and distress. There were plenty of demon hunters just like me—not all of them survived as long either.

But the way Karno was holding me against his chest, my attention was suddenly hyper focused to his heartbeat. Why was it racing so fast? Did I startle him? Or was he just that worried for me?

Karno started off slowly, “These demons that are after you are not the kind humans should be up against. They're dark gods.”

“I’m being hunted by-”

“Shh,” he hushed me again, his hand resting on my head to keep me still. “You’ll stay here with us until they’re dealt with. If they were to use you to revive the Dark King, then the fight against these smaller demons would be hopeless.”

“But after,” Ichthys added energetically, “Once those dark gods are taken care of, we’re going to join you to hunt the gun demon!” They want to join the demon hunters?! With me? No, no, no! I hoped that this was it for me. I had the slightest hope that I wasn’t going to have to go back in the field after the dark king was taken care of, but they were sending me back? Seeing my dazed expression, Ichthys asked, “Aren’t you excited for us to join you?”

Pushing away from Karno’s chest, I whimpered, “I have to go back and kill demons?”

Zyglavis nodded, his expression telling me the necessity behind it. “There’s more to it than that. We need to be personally involved in the activities of the demon hunters. I assume it would look less suspicious for a small number of us to join with you, a veteran member as our division leader. From what Scorpio gathered, your division is already made up of members who also seek the same demon?”

“N- Not my division,” I quickly stammered out. Well, it was my division, just not under my command. “I’m in Division 4 under Aki Hayakawa.” As much as I didn't want to return, I knew these gods would take care of me just as they were now with the Dark Gods. “Aki would be more than thrilled to have members dedicated to hunting the gun demon. It would be less suspicious.”

Scorpio nodded his head, agreeing with me. “I thought that might be the case. Anyway, we don't know how long this dark god-hunt is going to last. Your excuse is that you're going private for a while. That's how you're gonna convince Hayakawa to take us in when the time comes.”

Leon’s lips curled up in amusement as he commented, “I don't think this hunt will last that long. This goldfish is going to be the perfect bait, after all.”

“B- bait?” I didn't like the sound of that at all. “Excuse…Ahem- Excuse me, can you come up with a different plan?”

Karno scoffed, bringing my attention back to him as he pulled me closer to finish what he was doing earlier. He wiped my face of tears and blood as he reprimanded Leon, “Now's not the time to make her panic again. Why don't you spend your time looking for those two instead of antagonizing her?”

I nodded silently in agreement, only drawing a chuckle out of Leon. “Our goldfish needs thicker skin before I join that division.”

My train of thought paused, my eyes following Leon out of the room despite how Karno was holding my head still. He said… ‘our goldfish…’ Did that mean they were considering me part of them? I'd been knowing them for a while now and they'd become increasingly friendly…

I wasn't entirely sure what he meant with his teasing words and egotistical smirk, but I felt safer in their care than anywhere else in the world.

It wasn't exactly a contract… But for their hard work and protection, I'd do my best to make sure they were accepted on Aki’s team and got all the information they needed to do their jobs.

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dimiclaudeblaigan · 2 years

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NGL I'm used to seeing ordinary dudes cheat on their wives/gfs/significantother it's not even a surprise when actors do it. It's pretty sad tbh

Yeah see it's not even surprising when I hear someone cheated, but it's more like a huge disappointment for me when it was someone I admired, respected and loved the work of.

One of them it seems like it's died down and it was hardly heard about afaik, so hopefully that issue is resolved and I can feel better hearing that VA now without having to be bothered by the whole thing. He's been continuing to get new roles so I'm hoping that means whatever happened for sorted out for the better.

Another one was kind of recent but not really at this point (over a year ago), but I'm not sure how the incident will affect his career and if he'll be returning to new seasons of shows he's been on.

For Eliwood's VA, he's got an insane list of voice overs he's done and he was super well known and loved for his work, and he was my absolute fave VA from the moment I first heard him voicing the main character of Tales of Graces (ironically, another major character in that game also had a cheating scandal happen, which is the first person I mentioned here). I'd heard him well before that, such as when he voiced Sasori in Naruto (I think that was actually my first time hearing him), but he wasn't my favorite until I heard his work in Graces (and him and the other guy I mentioned first here are literally huge reasons I won't listen to Graces in English instead of JP, aside from the Graces dub just sounding pretty bad and the voices sounding compressed, even though there are VAs I really enjoy the work of in the dub of that game).

It's just a huge shame that a VA who has a seriously massive list of work he's done ended up in this situation, and it's not just that he cheated, but that he cheated on his wife for ten fucking years. Like... that one cuts a lot deeper than the others for me knowing that basically ever since I adored his work, he's been cheating on someone. I can't recall which woman it was, if it was his wife or the other woman he was dating, but one of them ended up in the hospital from what I heard from the emotion and shock of it all... It's things like that that kill what I felt about someone, you know?

I'm trying to separate the art form the artist, but it's just hard to do when you're literally hearing their voice and remembering "oh that's the guy who did xyz". I remember being so excited when Heroes came out and I saw his name for Eliwood. It wasn't the voice I'd imagined for Eliwood, but it fit just for to me and I enjoyed it. It wasn't like the day I found out Takehito Koyasu was voicing Levin (which was literally my headcanon voice for gen 2 Levin so I threw a fit when I found out, and then found out he was a huge fan of FE4), but it was like "OH SHIT THAT'S HIM THAT'S MY FAVORITE VA".

It is really sad when you can't even be surprised anymore at people doing this shit. I'm not surprised when I hear someone, but I'm just so disappointed that people who did such amazing work and whose voices I loved hearing in any game or show ended up doing something so scummy. It's also disappointing when this happens and the VAs have to be recast, because personally it takes me out of the immersion of a game/show at least for a little while when the voice actor changes.

For example, dub Tales of Vesperia used to have Troy Bakey for Yuri who is the main character. When they released the edition of the game that was JP only for a pretty long time, they called back almost all the voice actors (save a few for some side characters), but didn't... call back Troy, who expressed disappointment in not even being asked if he wanted to reprise the role for the new lines given to the main character in the new edition of the game. They reused all the old voiced lines, which meant Troy's lines were still in the new version of the game, but they also had Grant George (Sigurd's dub VA) voicing him, so they literally had two different guys voicing the same character in the same game, so while you played it, the voice actor would change in different scenes, sometimes even in the same scene and you'd hear the change line to line if you were very attuned to hearing Troy. Some people couldn't hear the difference, but there were a good chunk who could and it sounded terrible because for those of us who really heard the difference, Grant and Troy sound nothing alike, and their direction in voicing Yuri was vastly different.

It really kills part of my enjoyment when I have to deal with that, and in Troy's case they just Didn't Tell Him they were releasing a game with an old role of his and didn't bother asking if he'd like to be part of it, but am I suddenly going to have hear Eliwood's VA get changed after all these years because he went and did something totally fucking stupid and awful?

Part of me wants to always hope for the best and that these guys will learn better and work to make up for what they did, maybe even doing well enough to get their roles back, but there's also a part of me that's like... bruh, what even went through your head when you did that in the first place. I feel so bad for all the people who got cheated on and had to deal with this at all.

:'(

#DCB Ask

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rationalisms · 3 years

Note

people in my country are constantly asking me where in the US I grew up or if I'm from Portugal and I can only assume it's bc i used to change yu-gi-oh's audio on the tv from pt-br to en-us during my formative years lmao

i'm just gonna let this message stand on its own if u don't mind

#i grew up w/ the german dub which was actually fairly lowkey as dubs go #and then only watched it in japanese with subs when i rewatched it as a teen #so the first time i heard the english dub i was in my 20s and uh. let's just say. unprepared. for how very american it is #culture shock was putting it mildly fsjdfhs #so the idea of that being my first exposure to english is making me cry #heterophobic-antipope #reply

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0mrs-evans0 · 3 years

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Ok but, dark!Andy Barber getting the reader who wants to break up with him pregnant so she can't leave him.

𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: ~2k

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Andy won’t just let you go. Not without a fight.

𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: Dark!Andy Barber x Younger!Fem!Reader

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: dub-con (just to be safe); this is a DARK fic; explicit sexual content; explicit language; age gap (reader is in her twenties); unprotected sex; breeding kink; bondage; possessive behaviour; pussy spanking (not described); marking; (let me know if I forgot anything)

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

if you want to be added and be notified of any of my fics, please fill this form out

you can find my masterlist here

𝐀/𝐧: Thank you so much for your request! I’m a hoe for Dark!Andy with breeding kink😏 Also, English is not my foreign language - so sorry for any mistakes!!

Reblogs and feedback would be great! I’d like to keep writing, so hopefully, you guys enjoy this (which let me know if you do)!

(badly checked; all mistakes are mine)

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!! The warning is given, you are responsible for what you read

𝐄𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲!!

Andy wanted nothing more than just to cuddle with you all night long after his exhausting day at work. He had enough with dealing with this fucking prick Neal. He was annoying Andy all week so he deserved a little treat after that.

You and Andy have been together for two years now. After a bad divorce with Laurie, he required some kind of break. His life was falling apart right in front of his eyes and he couldn’t do anything about it. Then, you came his way and Andy felt young again. You were the only good thing that happened to him for so long.

For some time, you noticed a weird change in his behaviour. He got really jealous. You appreciated this at the beginning, but then Andy started being more and more possessive. Toxic in some kind of way. It was a little too much for you. This dress is intended only for my eyes, honey. It’s too short to just go out to the club. I don’t want anyone other than myself to look at my woman, sweet pie.

Even then, you were considering your break-up. But he promised to change and of course - you believed him. He was you sweet Andy after all. However, nothing was modified. Things got even worse. He didn’t want you to hang out without him, indeed Jenny. Then, talks about settling down also began. The damn ring was the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

All he needed, was to spend some time with his sweet little girl. Andy got out of his car and made his way to your shared house. The characteristic smell of your perfume was floating all over the room. He couldn’t wait to already be in your warm arms. The man took off his coat and suddenly he was frozen in one place.

Your voice wasn’t calm as normally, you had rapid breathing and was speaking way too quickly. “I don’t know what to do, Jenny!” Andy knew that you were nervous right then. He had weird feelings about the conversation with your best friend. “I found a hidden ring in a wardrobe.” Andy thought he tucked it well enough. “I don’t need a husband now. I’ve just graduated the college.” You took a deep breath.

He couldn’t believe you wanted to break things off with him. He thought everything was on a perfect way to the marriage, not a break-up. “He’s a family type of guy. I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of attachment to anyone right now.” Andy suspected that you were at the thin edge from crying. “I’m gonna talk to him as soon as he comes back from work.” He came closer to the living room when you were sitting on the couch. You bought it together. “I love you too, Jenny.”

When he was sure you hang up, Andy made his way right to you. An angry expression on his handsome face. You’ve already known that he heard every single word that came up your mouth. You truly were screwed. “Andy!” Your voice was shocked and surprised.

“Did I understand right?” He came even closer to your scared self. “You want to break up with me, sweetheart?”

“Andy, please…” You tried to find the right words to not hurt him more. You loved him, you really did. But you weren’t ready to make everything so curious. The ring you found - only worsen the already bad situation. “I’ve just graduated! I wanna live, have fun!”

His hand started to get closer and closer to your neck. He grabbed you slightly and put you up to your legs. His body was curling over yours, gathering you in his strong arms. “I have bad news for you, honey.” The man whispered right into your ear. “That’s not happening.” Andy’s fingers thrilled over the neckline of your top. You had nowhere to go, but you had to admit that he so close to you was doing something to you. Your pussy was getting wetter within a few seconds just because of his presence and hungry touch.

“You’ve got nowhere to go.” He reminded you. A cruel smirk on his handsome face. “But I have to admit it’s cute that you still think you can just run away from me.”

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

After a few more minutes, Andy brought you to the master bedroom. Your wrists were bound to the headboard by the tie he was wearing to work that day. You were a little scared, a bondage wasn’t a kink any of you talked about in the whole relationship. You weren’t able to move, much less to free yourself. You were lying naked at his mercy. He could do whatever he wanted at that time.

Andy was on the top of your body, couldn't help himself but admire your precious body. “You’ve got me hard as a fucking rock.” He grunted right into your ear. His breath warming your cheek, one of Andy’s hands sliding up the bare body of your stomach, then your torso and finally - he was cupping your breast. Shivers ran all over you. He knew your body better than anyone, including you, did.

It was quiet for a few moments, Andy enjoyed the view spreading before him. You fluttered closed your eyes and stayed that way until the man started touching your cheek softly with the thumb of his finger. “I want you to look at me when I’m making you feel good, sweetheart.” His voice was quiet, all he wanted right then, was to let you forget about everything bad and for you to focus on the pleasure.

You didn’t say a word. It wasn’t how you imagined that day. You wanted to have an honest conversation with Andy, pack all of your stuff and move on. You loved him, but the pressure you felt was overwhelming and you didn’t think you could take it. But your boyfriend didn’t give up. He wanted all of you and you knew that he would do everything to have it. One way or another.

Andy got off of you to undress. Your watchful eye marvelled at his posture. Broad shoulders, massive arms and this happy trails of hair a little above his boxers. He was stunning. The man from the real dreams of yours. Then why not everything was so perfect?

The man lied over you, his starving hands all over you - touching every piece he could reach. Even though you weren’t sure if you really wanted that, your body spoke for yourself. You acted like a cat, rubbing up himself, weren’t able to stop any of that, just needing to have all of his undivided attention. And of course, he gave you that.

“You wanted to take this from me?” Andy grunted. He gave your pussy a few spanks. Your moanings got louder with every. “I’m gonna show you all of the things you would miss. You’re such a bad girl sometimes…” You felt the wetness running down your tighs. You knew that he had a big power over you but did not think it was so bad. “Darling…” Andy kissed one of your cheeks. You could feel the growing length on your stomach. “I think, I should draw consequences from your unimaginable behaviour.”

The urgent need to be filled and stretched and fucked within an inch of your life was enormous. Andy’s gaze took its time drinking you in, he was salivating - you were so damn beautiful. He couldn’t let you run away. You were his. Your eyes were fixed on the reveal of that glorious cock of his. It was the biggest you ever had in your whole life.

Andy took his cock in one hand and before he entered you, he gave it a few strikes and tugs as he stared down at your wet, clenching hole, mesmerized. His length grew even bigger when he kissed you so deeply and thoroughly you whimpered into his hot mouth. He spread your lower lips apart and he eased the head of his cock inside of you. The feel of stretch was amazing. You whimpered loudly, only adding to Andy’s pleasure. Your sweet sounds were the best thing in sex with you.

Groaning, Andy pushed further into your aching hole. You were gasping for air again as he rolled his hips, giving a hard rut. His cock was as deep as he could go. It's where you belonged. There wasn’t a better place - you both in one bad. Perfect. “Not so eager to run away now, huh?” He teased. One of his hands made your way to your neck - grabbing it gently but enough for you to feel the pressure from this touch. “You just needed a cock to be reminded that you can’t live without me, sweetheart.”

The hand that was capping your neck, went down to pinch your hardened nipple. You were a groaning, mindless mess for him. Just for him. “Please, please, please.” Your words repeated like a mantra. You needed a fulfil. Couldn’t survive without it that time.

You dropped your head to the sheets with a loud moan, he buried his mouth against your neck and pressed a few love bits to your sensitive skin. You knew perfectly well, that all he wanted was to mark you. “You’re doing so good for me, sweetheart.” His approval words were like a perfect solution for all of your, even the biggest, problems.

You could hear just how bad soaked you were for him. The wetness drenching the sheets. ”You always feel so fucking good.” Some inhuman noises felt from his lips. You’re both were incredibly close to an end. Just a few final pumps of his hips. Sweat was coating your body as you spread your legs even wider. Andy knew your body so well. Knew just how and where to touch you to make you see stars.

Your orgasm was building and building. The man’s finger started teasing your clit. And that’s when it snapped. You cum with a high pitched sound, body convulsing with the force of your pleasure. You clenched around his length. You could feel that his ending was near. “Don’t cum inside of me! I’ve missed some pills.” But Andy didn’t have any of that.

You tried to move but couldn’t do anything with your wrists tied. Then, Andy lost that. You felt the warm rush of his cum flooding your still fluttering cunt. Tears appeared in your eyes. He did that. He cum inside, even though you told him to pull out. He sagged against your belly with a satisfied groan, kissing it lightly.

It was quiet for a few moments, as both you and Andy were catching your breaths. He leaned closer to you, so he could see your face. You felt broken. The man wiped the tears from your cheeks and kissed a loving kiss to them then. You closed your weeping eyes, when Andy reached above your weak body and started to untie your wrist. After that, he took both of them, rubbed and left kisses along your fragile skin.

You felt Andy's arm curl around your belly and tug your body closer to his. “I’m sorry it had to happen this way.” He pressed his lips to your sweaty forehead. “But I couldn’t let you run away from me. Now we can be a real family.”

You felt more tears filling your tender eyes. That’s not how you imagined your future.

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ficsforyou · 2 years

Note

Hey! First of all I'm in love with the way you write honey <3 and my request is Dano!Riddler and his psychiatrist smut (who treated him before he became the Riddler ) but my ideia is he goes to jail in Arkam like at the end of the movie, but Eddie starts sending her letters and when he manages to escape from arkam he goes after her because he is in love/obsessed with her. (sorry my english isn't that good.)

Stay still

A/n: thank you so much! I love this idea! It took a long time, cause I’ve been struggling with writers block. So I’m sorry about that, but here it is. Hope you like it x

Dano!riddler x afab!reader

Word count: 2,5k

Summary: You were just doing your job, never in a million years would you think that it would get you here. Spreading your legs for your patient.

Warnings: smut, language, dom!riddler, mentions of stalking, mentions of murder, dub-con ish?

You stepped into your flat. Feeling drained of energy from the many hours of work. The past few weeks had been exhausting. Ever since your former patient Mr. Nashton was imprisoned, your life had been a living hell. The police had been questioning you nonstop, and you had to testify in court. Something you hadn’t done before, considering you were fairly new to the therapy business. You still could feel the way he was looking at you during those testimonies. Almost like you betrayed him. Weirdly enough that wasn’t the worst part. Literally hundreds of reporters and journalists had been trying to reach you. Asking you anything and everything. Standing outside your apartment complex all day. Waiting for you like vultures. You had seen some pretty awful stuff been said about you as well. How you probably was in on it. That you knew, but didn’t tell anyone. Some people would even go as far to say that you had an affair with him. Something that wasn’t true. None of it was true.

You walked into the kitchen, pouring a glass of water and downing it at once. Feeling the thirst that had been itching your throat for hours, finally disappear.

“Rough night?”

Your sister walked up to you, leaning against the counter.

“That’s one way of putting it.”

It got quiet for some time as you put the glass away. Walking closer to her.

“Thank you for watching the dogs on such a short notice. I wasn’t planning on working overtime tonight.”

She nodded and patted you shoulder.

“No worries, I have to get going though. I’d like to say good night to the kids.”

You nodded and smiled, as she walked over to her jacket.

“Say good night from me as well.”

You said to her as she walked towards the door.

“I will!”

She slightly yelled back. You could hear the door opening.

“Oh, and for gods sake, start getting your mail! Your postbox was overflowing again!”

She added, as you heard the door close behind her. You looked over at the pile of envelopes laying on your kitchen counter. You sighed, as you sat down on the bar stool. Starting to open the mail. One by one. A few bills, some coupons you’ll never use, a weird handwritten note from Arkham. The usual. Wait. Handwritten note from Arkham? You grabbed the letter again. Looking at the horrible writing, that was frighteningly familiar. She started to read it slowly.

“Dear Y/n.

I figured I’d write you. I want to apologise for everything that has happened to you because of me. It was never my intention. I do find it funny how so many think we had a relationship… I do think about that myself as well. If the circumstances were different, my love I promise you I’d be standing outside. Patience is key. Wait.”

You dropped the paper in shock. It wasn’t signed, but you didn’t need that to know who sent you this. You calmed your breath. It was just a letter. There was nothing to worry about. Just ignore it, and he’ll forget about it. You told yourself, as you grabbed it and threw it in the bin. You already had enough on your mind, this was nothing to worry about.

A week goes by, and there’s no letter in your mailbox. You’re finally able to relax. It had been almost two months since Edward was imprisoned. You weren’t the hottest thing in town anymore, and the news had gone back to normal. You were relieved that you could focus on your job again. On Thursday you checked your mail as you came home from a walk with the dogs. Expecting anything, but still getting surprised when you saw the letter from Arkham. You looked around. Scanning the halls of your apartment complex. You didn’t know why, but this whole thing made you feel uneasy. You hurriedly walked into your flat, feeling your heart rate go up by the second. This time the writing was more intense.

“Y/n

Why are you not answering me? I’ve given you time, you have to give me time. Don’t ignore me. Wait for me. Just wait.”

He was getting angry. A million thoughts went through your head, as a knot formed in your stomach. What did he mean by wait? Wait for him? You could either let this letter slide as well, or call the police. You calmed yourself down, and laughed at your own thought. It’s literally just a letter. He can’t hurt you, he’s behind bars. You’re not in danger, so why would you even think about calling the police? He’s probably just bored. You knew he had a temper, but it was harmless. At least he always was harmless towards you. You rubbed your eyes, feeling tired. Him sending you letters wasn’t anything to worry about, you told yourself. It wasn’t until a week later you realised that it was taking a turn. Numerous letters with short messages started arriving almost every day.

“Answer me.”

“I need you.”

“I don’t know how much longer I can stay away from you.”

“I’m sorry.”

The short letters never failed to give you chills. He was usually so talkative. Only one sentence was rare from him.

It wasn’t until a Friday night that you understood how serious he was. Your hands were shaking as you read the three sentence letter over and over. Hoping that you’ve read something wrong. But you haven’t, it’s right there. In black and white.

“I know where you live, y/n. I’m coming. Just wait.”

This was starting to get out of hand, you decided. You didn’t want to call the police before. Just to not disturb them with a few creepy letters. But now, you felt as if your life was in danger. You grabbed your phone. Starting to dial the emergency number, but suddenly stopped. A knock at the door. You froze. Was it him? No, it couldn’t be. He’s in Arkham! You pulled yourself together. Still holding your phone close to you, as you stepped closer and closer to the door. You peaked out the peeping hole. No one. With a quick exhale you opened the door. Looking around for whoever knocked on your door at this time. You looked to the right, seeing no one. Before you got pushed back into your own flat. You let out a yelp, as the door slammed shut in front of you. And there he stood. His tall frame towering over you. This was the moment you’d been dreading for the last months. Meeting him again.

“Hello, y/n. Long time, no see.”

He said as he walked closer to you. His loose fitting orange and white clothes almost glowing in the dim lit apartment. You backed away from him, feeling your breath getting heavier.

“No, no. Baby, don’t back away from me.”

He sounded desperate. Like he needed you. You looked behind you. Seeing the wall getting closer and closer. Soon you would have to be near him.

“Stay away from me.”

You said calmly. He tutted, shaking his head slightly.

“Don’t say that. I know you don’t mean it.”

You reached the wall, now locked in a corner. His face turned into a smile. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted. Your phone received a message and lit up. You looked over at it, and shortly he did as well. Before he could turn back, you threw yourself down at the floor without thinking. Feeling despair and fright fill your body. Acting on your instincts only. You crawled over trying to reach the phone. But right before you could, a strong grip formed around your hair. Pulling you close to a firm body. You screamed in pain. His free arm slipped around your waist. Holding you in place. You tried your best to struggle against him.

“Stop it, y/n.”

He said strictly. You continued regardless, feeling his grip around your hair tightening even more. Now fighting to get away from him. The phone was irrelevant at that point. But you had to stop, afraid that he’d actually pull your hair out. Shivers went down your spine, as you heard him smiling behind you. He bowed down, engulfing his face in your hair. Slightly moaning at the scent.

“At last, we’re finally together.”

He whispered in your ear.

“Don’t hurt me.”

His hand left your hair, and hooked under your arm and over your shoulder. You quickly placed your hand over his forearm. Afraid that he would try to choke you.

“I could never hurt you, my love.”

You were trying your best to not cry.

“Edward, please. I don’t- I don’t understand.”

He sighed, letting go of you and getting up.

“Stay still.”

Too afraid to do anything else, you complied. He walked over to your phone, now with a broken screen. He looked at the message you had received.

“It’s just your sister.”

He asked, placing the phone in his pocket. You looked at him confused. How did he know that she was your sister? In your contacts she was just written down by her first name.

“How do you know?”

You asked shortly. He flashed a short smile.

“I know everything about you. I used to stalk you, you know.”

You were sitting on your knees, hands folded. Just like he’d always dreamt. You looked terrified though.

“I used to stand outside your window at night. Seeing you come home from work. All exhausted and worn out. But you still looked beautiful. So beautiful.”

You nodded, adverting your eyes to the floor. You were terrified. Imagining all the things he would’ve seen throughout the years. He stepped slowly over to you again.

“Look at me.”

You looked at his shoes instead. Studying them like they were a work of art.

“I said look.”

He grabbed your jaw harshly, forcing you to look up at him.

“This is the man you’ve created, y/n. You sent me to Arkham. You made me a criminal. Why would you testify against me? I thought we had a connection.”

His hand loosened up. Now caressing your cheeks, feeling your smooth skin.

“I thought it was you and I.”

“There was never a you and I. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

You grew confidence out of the blue. Having a feeling that he actually wouldn’t harm you.

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t feel it.”

“I’m not pretending. I am a professional, it was my job to listen to you. It’s not my fault that you turned into a-“

You made the crucial mistake of raising your voice at him. And was suddenly met with a hard slap against your cheek. You looked away from him, still in shock. Tears prickled at the back of your eyelids. You had to step lightly.

“Look what you’ve done to me. Now I’m a woman beater as well!”

He screamed. Your heart was beating probably the fastest it ever had. You looked back to him.

“Let’s talk about this ok?”

You said in a calm voice. Your hand slid up his thigh. His chest started heaving at your touch.

“We can talk, just like we did before.”

He looked down at you with half open eyes. Asking, no, daring you to continue.

“Please Edward. We don’t need to solve things with harshness.”

Your hand was awfully close to his already visible bulge. And he let out a satisfied sigh as your hand went over it. The feeling he had been waiting for for years. You understood what you had to do, as you reached for the button of his trousers.

“Stop.”

He suddenly said. You looked concerned up at him. Scared of what he was going to say next. He squatted down to be at your level, grabbing your chin.

“As much as I love your beautiful mouth, I need to fuck something else. I need to feel you.”

You let out a shaky breath at his words. Never had you heard him say anything like that. A mental conflict appeared on your head. Why did you find it attractive? He’s a psychopath, a murderer. But still you could feel your body reacting to him. He grabbed your hand and helped you up from the floor. He pushed you over to the kitchen. Shoving away the stuff from the counter, making everything fall down with a loud bang. He pressed your face down onto the counter, and you immediately arched your back. Excited to see this part of him. He didn’t strike you as such a dominant man. He pressed himself against your ass, and leant over to whisper in your ear.

“Stay still.”

You nodded, and he went back up. Undressing you hastily. Once your entire lower half was uncovered, he started working on his own clothes. As fast as he could, desperate to finally be able to feel you. After so many years of lusting after you. He stroked himself a few times before pushing into you. Not giving you any time to adjust to his size, and starting a rapid, punishing speed. You moaned as he started hitting into you. Feeling your walls clench around him. You grabbed the counter, needing some sort of stability.

“Fuck- you’re so tight.”

He said as he grabbed your hips. So harshly that he was sure you’d get bruises.

“I’ve wanted you like this for such a long time.”

He continued to speak. You were unable to answer him, being fucked like no one ever had fucked you before. He suddenly slapped your ass.

“Spreading your legs for me like a whore.”

He moaned after that sentence, as you clenched around him again.

“You like that, huh?”

You nodded, feeling a tear slide down your chin. He grabbed your hair, pulling you close to his body. Still fucking into you like an animal.

“Use your words, baby. I wanna hear that pretty voice.”

He started kissing your neck from behind, still holding your hair in a tight knot.

“Yes, please-“

You could feel him smile against you.

“Please what?”

You weren’t able to form words again. The new position making him hit your spot over and over.

“Say it.”

He demanded. He reached down your body and started rubbing your clit. Another wave of pleasure flew through you.

“Please fuck me, Edward. Just like that.”

You answered. And it clearly pleased him, as he started going even faster.

“I’m going to fill this tight fucking pussy up, baby.”

You felt yourself getting closer and closer.

“I’m coming-“

You managed to say, before your entire body tensed up. As the orgasm hit you.

“Me too, baby”

He said as well, before releasing inside you. The two of you filled the room with moans and cries as you rode out your orgasms. Once finished he pulled out, tucking himself back in. You needed a few moments to recover, and fell back down onto the counter. He leaned over you again.

“You look beautiful like this.”

He said and brushed your hair away from your face. You gave him a short tired smile, and he kissed your forehead.

“I would love to stay the night, but I have places to be. They should be looking for me.”

He got off you and started walking away. You turned around.

“Wait, are you leaving?”

You asked, not sure why you were so opposed to the idea. He’s a criminal, the faster he gets out of your house, the better. But for some reason you wanted him there. He gave you a short smile, before walking over to the door.

“Just answer your mail please.”

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