So, I tried my best with this one, I hope you enjoy it. sorry if its a little OOC. i love crow but he's a character I've not had much exposure to. its also not been massively proof read but either way I hope you all enjoy! (I've yet to add the links to the lore books but when its not 11pm I will!)
xoxo
A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)
At first crow is a bit hesitant with affection. What if he did it wrong? What if he was too much? What if you realised you didn’t like him? This led to a rather frustrating lack of communication with crow hesitant to initiate affection and you pulling back slightly thinking his lack of affection was in response to being overwhelmed by your own actions. After it reaches its peak you both sit down and clear the air. Crow gets things off his chest and realises you more than welcome any affection he wants to give.
At first its secretive, shy. More cuddles and kisses when you’re both relaxing in your apartment. He’ll makes you tea or coffee on cold mornings before heading out, draw you baths when you get back covered in dirt, sweat and something he frankly daren’t ask about. His affection is soft and warm.
Eventually he’ll feel comfortable enough to show a little more affection outside your little slice of privacy. His Pinky will find yours, linking them as you listen to one of Osiris’s lectures, he’ll place a hand on the small of your back, thumb making soft soothing circles.
B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)
His mind is in two sorts. One side shies away, best case scenario guardians would be polite, but he could see the slight contempt for him in their eyes, especially the hunters. The other side, the side desperate for connection with someone, anyone, wants to reach out to you. Its this side that wins when you and crow are paired up on a routine patrol in the dreaming city to some more dangerous areas infested with taken. When he isn’t treated to the usual harshness, the malicious and reluctant compliance with being paired with him, he relaxes a little. Glints incessant chatter in his ear about how nice you were and how he should ask to do something with you in the tower, or talk to you more, or even just smile at you a little more.
To his surprise after the patrol, you offer to take him out to the ramen joint and, after getting over his surprise, he agrees and it blossoms from there.
You’re both very close, attached at the hip and rarely going on missions and patrols without one another. He’s a very protective and considerate friend. Zavala, Osiris, and a few others had shown him forgiveness and understanding but none like you. You truly cared. He’s the first to speak up if he feels the vanguard are putting too much on you and taking advantage of your willingness to help.
C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)
This touch starved man is desperate for anything he can get.
Crows first touch from a guardian was a female titan who had spotted him as he took his first steps into the world of guardians. She proceeded to snap his collar bone and crush his pelvis with a flaming hammer and left him to die there from internal haemorrhaging. After that he decided to cover his face and very rarely sought out the touch of other guardians.
Then came you.
he trusted you enough to sleep near you, let you touch him, knowing you wouldn’t hurt him. You would sit by the campfire, leant against one another, and slowly sink into a peaceful albite short slumber.
After you and crow get closer as friends and something more, you would both find solace in each other’s arms, whether it was after a particularly harrowing mission, loss of a friend or simply a bad day full of minor inconveniences.
After you start dating, he’s so cuddly. In your apartment, he’s all over you. Cooking? he’s there behind you, arms round your waist. Laundry? Same deal. In bed? You don’t need that weighted blanket anymore, you have an awoken male shaped pillow on top of you. He’s very fond of how your fingers gently trace the swirls of light on his face as he relaxes into you.
D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)
Crow knows the possibility of being able to settle down is slim to none. Theres always a new threat, a new enemy but he can dream.
This man can’t cook to save his life. He can make edible meals but cook something and make it taste good on purpose, not so much. He puts effort into other things though, always helping out with the chores when you’ve both got the time to do them. Being house proud tends to come second to being a guardian out in the field.
E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)
I honestly can’t see crow leaving you unless you did something heinous that he just can’t forgive. If he did it would be face to face after convincing from Osiris and saint or glint. When he does see you, you have to coax what he’s trying to say out of him because he’s just that nervous. And if you cry? That’ll just break him.
F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)
Crow is very quick to commit. As soon as he knows that you both have the same feelings for one another and that he can trust you, he will never stray from your side. Unlike Cayde who would promise to marry you when everything dies down, crow is the opposite. Nothing big or lavish and he’ll try his best to get a nice ring, but he would want everyone to know and to have that promise and commitment. A small ceremony consisting of very close friends, probably officiated by Mara, Zavala or Osiris takes place in the courtyard at dusk as the sun is setting.
G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)
Emotionally, crow is very aware. After years of picking up the subtle glares, veiled threats and reading between the lines crow is very in tuned to other people’s emotions, especially yours. He knows when your calm face remains so but your fists client and jaw sets that your moments away from punching the next annoyance that passes you, he notices the tiredness in your eyes no matter how hard you try to hide it and he always notices the glassiness in your gaze as you fight back tears. And he always knows how to help. A calming hand, a warm embrace, a hot drink, and a blanket. He’ll never dismiss your feelings.
Physically, crow is equally as gentle. Uldrens hands were tools of death, Deaths of many and he wants to be anything but that. When touching you he’s always gentle, he treats you with reverences, like you’re the most precious thing he’s held and to him its true.
H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)
This is pretty much covered in the cuddles section. At first, he was a little adverse to touch but after you hug him out of sheer relief he was addicted and realised what he had been missing out.
Crows’ coms had gone down mid mission while the pair of you had been separated during a high-risk mission. No matter what you had tried you couldn’t establish a connection. You reach the exfil point and…. nothing. he wasn’t there. You waited and just as you were about to go and look for him, he emerges looking worse for wear, armour muddied, cloak torn a little at the edges and panting. You didn’t give it a second thought you surge forward, wrapping your arms around him, telling him how worried you were. He freezes but with a little encouragement from glint he relaxes and returns the hug.
Crows’ hugs are gentle but firm, holding you close as he buries his face into your hair or the side of your neck. Nine times out of ten you will have to be the one to end the hug or you’ll be there a long time.
I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)
Crow would be the first to say it. Hed take you somewhere scenic, you’d have been dancing round one another’s feeling for a while. He’s a fumbling mess, what you didn’t see was the 15-minute prep talk he got from glint. When he does say it, it’s quiet, he’s holding your hands as he finally says the words. His eyes watching you closely waiting for the rejection or the horror that…never comes. When you return the little 3 words, he’s letting out a breath he’s been holding far too long.
J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)
He gets jealous, not a lot but he does. He likes having your attention. You’re attentive, caring, and sweet, of course he wants to be the one you focus on. He totally doesn’t move your favourite plushie across the room because you cuddled it instead of him that night…. doesn’t matter that he got home after you’d fallen asleep, it should have been him. He never voices these things because he knows its unreasonable and this manifests as frustration and frequent berating of himself. When you notice his change in behaviour and ask him, he comes clean about his feelings, he explains how he feels bad about it and is surprised when you comfort him and explain that a little jealousy is normal and okay, as long as he doesn’t let it get out of hand.
K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)
Crow’s kisses are soft and unhurried. He likes to make the most of every single one. He’s a tad inexperienced, before he got Uldrens memories, he had never kissed another, steering away from taking off his mask. And Uldren wasn’t exactly a magnet for physical affection, so crow hasn’t had much practice. Much to his delight, you’re quick to rectify this.
Crow will kiss you everywhere but he’s particularly fond of your wrists, forehead, and nape of your neck when spooning.
Crow adores any kisses you give him, be it lips, cheeks or anywhere else. He won’t admit that he’s very fond of when you kiss a particular spot just under his jaw line that makes him melt.
L = Little ones (How are they around children?)
Crow has a surprising amount of experience with children. Uldren would tell stories to eliksni children, even putting voices on, earning him delighted laughter. Crow misses this, he often tells glit about the times he would tell exciting tales to the children and when Eido suggests him coming to tell the children stories again one day., well…how could he turn down an offer like that, and of course you got an invite.
When he’s with the children, sat cross legged on the floor as the many eyes watch him with an alarming amount of attention, its like a new side of him peaks out, a soft and confident demeanour as he does all the sound effects and voices for the young ones who cant supress their giggles. Occasionally your eyes will meet as he tells the tales, and you don’t mis the faint blush that dusts his cheeks.
M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)
Mornings are slow and warm and cosy. Wrapped in the blankets and one another’s embrace. Words are hushed and murmured, quiet giggles and soft smiles as you each fight one another to prevent each other from leaving the warmth of the covers. When you eventually climb out of the bed, crow is making coffee while you cook breakfast before you leave onto perform whatever task the day holds. On occasion alarms will get slumber leading to panicked rushing and mad dashing around the room to get dressed. Once crow face planted the floor trying to put on socks and you laughed so hard you forgot you were late and got a very stern talking to from Zavala and had to put up with crows pouting all day.
N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)
Nights are spent wrapped up on the sofa. If you’ve been busy on patrols and missions, then its take out and drinks at home. Glint loves these nights, bouncing between the pair of you and your own ghost as you sit and chat. On nights when the pair of you have a little more energy, walks in the tower and trips to the few restaurants in the last city, trying new food and experiences. Crow loves the long nights sat up talking, its quiet and no one has any expectations of either of you, allowing the pair of you to just be.
O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)
Crow knows you likely know his past. Its no secret, most everyone in the tower knew, no doubt at the beginning of your friendship people warned you about him, sent you the same glares, the same spiteful words. Despite this you stick by him, and he finds himself slowly opening up to you. Small stories from Uldrens childhood, moments in the dreaming city, his experiences after being ressed and fears for the future are shared over drinks in the night.
P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)
While crow is a fairly patient guardian, he can be a little brash. Naïve and eager to fight the fight against darkness sometimes he needs to be heled back and reminded of the risks before charging in headfirst. This is even more so if its you the vanguard are discussing throwing into the fight. If you’re sent on a solo mission, he’s pacing the tower until you’re back, until he knows you’re safe. Like Cayde, he has your armour, weapons and ship committed to memory in case the worst happens and he has to go out and find you.
Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)
You are everything to this guardian and he’s going to try and commit everything to memory. Your favourite food, drinks, how you like your tea and coffee, your routines, birthday, anniversary. Everything he can remember he does, anything he’s worried about forgetting, well, glint is more than happy to help.
R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)
When you and crow began to grow closer together as friends, he starts to notice…peculiar things. His heart racing when you’re near, sweaty palms, nervousness. After multiples talks with Osiris, saint and glint he decides maybe he should talk to you. He invites you on a trip to the dreaming city on the promise of showing you his favourite part of the dreaming city’s gardens. That area is, thankfully, devoid of taken or scorn. You both sit in the soft grass surrounded by plants of all colours and the amethyst hue of the surrounding rock formations. He shares some of his most treasured memories until a nudge from glint who gave him an eager whisper about how he’s stalling. Eventually through awkward fumbled words and a new hue of blue/purple on his cheeks which you eventually figure out is him blushing, he confesses his feeling to you. And much to his delight, you reciprocate them.
S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)
Very protective. Crow has lost far too much, risked far too much to lose you. Crow would go on every mission he could with you and if he couldn’t, you can bet he’ll be on coms with you the whole time. Crow would have your 6 no matter what, god help anything that tries to take you from him.
Crow won’t admit it but he loves when you defend him against the lessening but still there harsh words of guardians who refuse to trust he is no longer Uldren. Seeing you reprimand them, scolding them with words about how caring and sweet and strong he was and how they were wrong for judging him based on a life he now had no control over. He thinks he’s slick and that you don’t know he likes it, not realising the dumb grin on his face afterwards gives everything away.
T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)
He tries, bless him. But he’s not the most experienced with courting. Dates are private affairs rather than big grand gestures. Maybe he got glint to find a recipe to cook your favourite meal ready for you when you get home, picnics somewhere not infested with fallen, cabal or hive and grabbing a meal at a small restaurant. Glint is always eager to help and offering well-meaning but questionable suggestions.
Everyday tasks, he’s making you tea, running your baths, this man will do anything for you if it makes you smile no matter how boring or laborious.
Gifts include anything from a little something you spotted in the bazar but decided not to buy because your saving glimmer to a new titan mark/warlock bond/ hunter cloak specialised just for you.
U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)
Crow is incredibly self-sacrificing and at times self-deprecating. Deep down he still holds himself accountable for Uldrens actions. To repent for his actions, he throws himself into risky missions sometime with little regard for his wellbeing. When he’s feeling the effects of nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and the horrors of Uldrens past he pulls away from everyone, choosing solitude rather than expressing to the people close and that care for him that he needs help and he’s struggling.
V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)
After being freed from spider’s grasp Osiris gifted him a cloak made by Eva Lavante which quickly becomes one of his treasured possessions which he, almost excessively, makes sure is clean and pristine. He detests being dirty after missions and patrols so regularly showers and when he comes out of the shower smelling of your body wash and shampoo you can’t help but chuckle, his embarrassed mumbles of “it just smells nice” reaching your ears. You make sure to buy plenty of that brand from then on.
He takes care of his own hair, shaving it shorter on the side himself, very carefully with a mirror. He’s very surprised one evening when you approach him and offer to cut it for him. He eyes you suspiciously and on the promise that you won’t cut it too short or make him bald, he hands you the clippers. Soon it’s a regular thing that he lets you help take care of his hair.
W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)
You are crows’ sanctuary. A place away from the nightmares, haunting memories, and fear. Somewhere warm, safe, and calming. You keep him grounded, from running headfirst into trouble. He hasn’t felt whole in a long time, especially after getting back his memories as Uldren but with your help, he slowly feels like he’s reclaiming his image, his life, and his future.
X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)
Glint ADORES you. I mean adores you. The second glint saw you treating crow as crow and not Uldren, he thought you were brilliant. crow wasn’t amazing at selfcare so seeing you look after his guardian kept glint buzzing. Glint regularly finds place on your shoulder or lap when you’re relaxing with crow and crow thanks you when on rare occasion glints chatting gets a bit much and you take the chatter box into the next room, talk of ‘the headless ones’’ drifting through the wall, reaching crows ears, and making him chuckle.
One mission crow returns tired and worn out. While he’s asleep you notice that there’s a clear rip in his beloved cloak that’s left resting on the chair. When he wakes up to see you, needle in hand, occasionally cursing as the needle pricks your finger. He’s surprised to see you diligently sewing his cloak as glint whispers hushed encouragements. That’s when crow knew. That’s when he knew he picked the right person.
Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)
People who refuse to see him as crow and only see Uldren. He understands to a degree how hard it can be but when people throw Caydes death in his face over and over and over, it grates.
Crow wouldn’t like a partner who didn’t like glint, glints always been encouraging and sweet as well as protective of crow and it works the other way to. If you don’t get on with glint or glint doesn’t like you, it’s going to be a hard time getting any closer than friends.
Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)
This guy barely slept. He would take 2-to-3-hour long power naps at best when you first get to know him. Sat in the hanger, hidden amongst the crates cloak acting as a blanket. Leant against you as you read on the sofa, one of your hands in his hair putting him to sleep in seconds.
When you two begin sleeping in the same bed together, he’s worried about keeping you up, with nightmares, restless sleep and late nights but when you both lay in bed, his head on your chest and hand in his hair he melts. And for the first time since being resurrected he has a full night’s sleep, no nightmares, no waking up only hours later, no thrashing in his sleep, just blissful rest.
HERE IS MY TAKE ON GENJI because no one asked:
Genji was once a man with nothing but anger in his heart. When he was deployed in Blackwatch, it had blinded him to their clandestine operations. Much more than that, it had blinded him from reality. Genji’s own brother, the one person he had trusted the most, was willing to sacrifice him for no other means than to uphold the very legacy Genji had been born into. In his youth, he felt blessed to be a Shimada. But after that day, he realized his name was nothing more than a curse.
But he had grown wiser, saw the error of his ways once he had trained under Zenyatta. His mind was no longer fogged with turmoil. Rather, he had come to peace with the events of his past. He had considered himself a different man, then. Forged himself anew, approached life with a different perspective. And when he met you, he felt his life changing for the better. Butterflies arose in his chest, his heart fluttered, and he cherished every moment the two of you shared.
He knew it was wrong. He knew he was feeding the dragon inside him he never wanted to awaken. But he couldn’t deny who he was, a Shimada. It was in his blood to fight for what he wanted, to possess you in anyway he could. All his efforts to suppress his desires had no effect. No amount of excess training nor meditation could stop him from thinking of you. In fact, his deepest fears were only beginning to fester further the more he tried to neglect them. Impulses and compulsions began to manifest. He followed you. Learned your routine and centered his life around it, sneaking long walks to trace your every move. You were none the wiser, thinking every meeting was nothing more than a coincidence. He endeared your naivety and your innocence that allowed him to remain in the shadows of your life.
The anger that had once consumed him before had begun to turn into something far more dangerous. Love. Because he wanted it. He didn’t want to dispel it like a plague, he wanted to nurture it, allow it to blossom into the most beautiful flower. Loving you from afar made him feel whole. Tore him apart from what ailed him, soothed his aching soul that hadn’t felt so light as when he was with you.
When Genji’s father passed, there was no room for love in his life. His father kept their family pure. He and Hanzo were unadulterated by the thirst for power, he had hardly understood it then. All he knew was the freedom to frolick in his family’s luxuries and his own youthful innocence.
Though now he had liberated himself from his former trauma, he enjoyed your company because it reminded him of those simpler times. You were kind to him, just as he remember his mother’s kindness before she too tragically passed. But he could feel the love he was yearning for in you, and he would to anything to take it.
When Movie!SonAmy is in the courting era™️, I imagine it’s Sonic who tells everyone all the details, like she told me this she did that, especially to his bros amd maybe Shadow (if he ever comes along) And as fans of Telenovelas Knuckles and Shadow are soooo invested (though Shadow would kill anyone that said he is too interested) meanwhile Tails nods along, praying that Sonic and amy will get together so that this torture will end.
Knuckles once suggests that Sonic fights Shadow in front of Amy to impress her, which Shadow shots down because he’d win and embrass Sonic. And says that Amy isn’t a prize to be won™️ Which Sonic agrees on.
Tails, as a fan of nature documentaries, searches all about hedgehog rituals but Sonic immediately refuses because he feels closer to a human than a hedgehog lol
Suprisingly Shadow is the only one with sound advice, as someone who actually spent time around a girl Amy’s age before as his sister but it amounts to something. He urges Sonic to spend time with her as much as possible, don’t forget that girls, especially Amy and Maria, like adrenaline and fun as much as he does. The stereotype that girls just sit pretty and gossip is not true.
The four have group chat and everything, Tails Knux and Shadow are all trained wingmen. Meanwhile, once asked Amy is like,yeah we went on a picnic this tuesday it was cool and doesn’t elaborate more than that, while losing her mind internally over everything. And Shadow senses this, so becomes a double agent outside of Amy and Sonic’s knowledge because he doesn’t give a heck about secrecy at this point. If these two idiots were left to their own the only person guranteed to see their wedding (assuming they stay alive until that) is Shadow since he is immortal.
Hello 😊, I saw that you are accepting orders so I thought I would send one. Overwatch Genji x reader, where they have known each other and been friends since Genji joined Overwatch, so they are already well in tune with each other's feelings. Reader has a backstory like Captain America's Winter Soldier, where they killed and hurt a lot of people while in control of Talon, some of these people even being from Reader's own family, the request would basically be for Reader to be feeling down and slowly becoming isolating, a hurt & comfort where Genji goes to reader to help and at some point in their conversation reader lets go ❛ i'm scared of ending up alone. ❜. As I already said, hurt & comfort with a happy ending, Genji and Reader's relationship can be both romantic or platonic, it's up to you. (Sorry for bad english, it's not my first language)
In your second chance at living, you learn that someone cares.
✦ CONTENT: Angst with a happy/hopeful ending, hurt/comfort, blood, assassinations and violence, near-death experiences, developing relationship. ~1,7k words
✧ NOTES: Hi anon, your English is great, no worries (it’s not my first language either ehe)! Sorry this was so short TT I hope you enjoy regardless! Thank you for the request!!
AO3 | Masterlist | Requests | @houseofsolisoccasum @interstellar-inn
Having lived in the undercity of King’s Row for most of your life, you were far more accustomed to the dark than anyone should be. Light became unfamiliar when you were recruited into Talon; in just a short amount of time, you went from a thief to an assassin. Lurk, strike, then leave without a trace—that was how you were taught to carry out your missions. That was what your commanders expected of you. A swift slash from your blade then you’re back in the shadows, prowling the night from the rooftops.
Though you were also taught not to form any attachment or bonds, it was difficult to ignore how alone you were.
There was no camaraderie in Talon. All you had was yourself, and even then, you didn’t always trust your intuition. You couldn’t rely on Doomfist and Reyes out of fear, and you couldn’t rely on Widowmaker because she’d grown cold over the years. You had no one, and that was exacerbated in your last mission when you were presumed dead and thus abandoned.
You’d never felt more alone.
You supposed that was a fitting punishment for you. After all, you’d done the same thing to others countless of times, even those that were meant to be your loved ones. Where those people had hopes and dreams and love, the only thing you had was duty. With your failure in the last, there was nothing left. Bleeding out on the ground, you’d accepted that this was your retribution.
Dying alone, uncared for, unfound.
You were within arm’s reach away from Death itself, but when you woke, you were no longer in the rubble. Instead, you were in what seemed to be a hospital room, all cleaned and bandaged up with countless tubes and wires attached to your body. And when she stepped in, you finally realised where you were—within the territory of those you were meant to eliminate.
Dr. Angela Ziegler had stepped in with a smile, pleased to see that you were conscious. You’d been out for weeks, she said. When you asked her if she knew who you were, she replied that she did, the smile never leaving her face. It confused you. Why would she go lengths to save an enemy? A threat?
Of course, you weren’t going to be let go that easily. Soldier: 76 came to interrogate you as soon as you were able to speak again. You had nothing left to lose. You were dead to Talon, and Overwatch could grant you the mercy that is death the moment you stopped being useful.
And just like that time amid the destruction, it never came.
They’d given you a choice. A chance to live your own life, away and unaware from it all, or to join their ranks in helping the vulnerable. Neither was a good option. Even if you were freed, you didn’t have a place to go, or a place to call home. You thought you’d only be a burden as their agent as well. You weren’t trained for doing good. You were trained to kill, be a dog on a leash, not save the world. But there was a glimmer of hope deep within your chest. This was your chance of atonement.
After an arduous silence, you took it.
They had you start small, do light work while your body recovered. You assisted Mercy and Winston in the laboratory, helped Pharah take care of the firearms. Then, when the pain finally eased, you moved on to more strenuous tasks—aim training with D.Va, close combat with Brigitte. It frightened you how easily you seemed to fit into Overwatch, overwhelmingly so, and instinctively, you closed yourself off. You were expendable, just like you were to Talon. It was for your own good not to get close to anyone, no matter how friendly some of them were to you.
A part of you craved to be one of them. You wanted to return Tracer’s cheery smiles. You wanted to spend hours at the arcade with the younger agents. You craved for a semblance of friendship and normalcy, but that was a luxury you thought yourself undeserving of.
It was a quiet night, much like it had been on your last mission. The glow from the holograms illuminated the path as you made it to the training range. The headquarters was mostly asleep, but you weren’t one of them. Phantom pains in your chest kept you awake and hot flashes kept you from relaxing. You thought you could take your mind off of it if you were shooting at something. The moment of solitude didn’t last long; the cyborg ninja—Genji—slipped into the room, nearly scaring you out of your skin.
“You couldn’t sleep?”
“What do you think?” you replied dryly, cocking the gun again. “People like me aren’t meant to rest.”
He approached you, quietly watching you shoot down another target.
“If it’s restitution or closure you want, you’re looking for the wrong person,” you stated. “I can’t help you get in touch with Reyes. I’m dead to them.”
“That is not what I’m here for.” He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “You… are different.”
You blinked, putting down the gun as you tried to process his words in confusion.
“There is much on your shoulders.”
“Not sure how that makes me different. Everyone has their own baggage.”
“You were made into a weapon, just like I was,” Genji said. “If it is atonement you seek—”
“Let’s spar,” you interrupted, wanting to divert the topic off of you. “You can’t sleep either, can you?”
He seemed surprised—as surprised as he could look, what with the metal plating on his entire body—at your offer. Loosening his shoulders, he nodded. There wasn’t much talking after that; only grunts and the sounds of movement could be heard, but your fists spoke more than a thousand words.
Things seemed to change for you after that. You felt less stiff, more… free. You felt lighter. Suddenly participating in group activities didn’t feel as daunting as it used to. You started to welcome the playful banter from other agents. Training with Genji also became a part of your routine. You weren’t the only one with burdens, you knew just from one look at him. It seemed to be a temporary solution—a refuge—for both of you. You found yourself letting your guard down around him, finding yourself more talkative than you used to be.
He felt familiar. Where everyone was a stranger in Talon, those in Overwatch felt like a friend, even a family. You were veering into unfamiliar territory and it scared you witless. You could lose it all at any second. People like you were meant to be alone and someone else’s to command, but somehow, it felt different with them—with him.
You were friendlier to the other agents, sometimes more willing to tag along in D.Va’s antics, but Genji was something else. It was as if he understood you to your core, able to empathise with you easily. He’d only told you a little bit about his life, about the fateful duel between him and his brother, about his reconstruction. About how it had taken him a long time to be able to accept himself as he was and how you reminded him of who he was in the past.
In turn, you felt you were understanding him better as well. Eventually your time spent with Genji wasn’t limited to only sparring. You spent your time off sitting in comfortable silence with him as he polished his armour. Fighting alongside him was fun, exhilarating, and you felt more and more drawn to his presence.
A positive outcome would usually scare you. What if you lost everything right now? What if they all left you for dead, just like your previous comrades did? You told yourself it was an irrational concern and that you shouldn’t worry about the outcome, but the anxiety in your stomach kept growing. Still, it all seemed to melt away when you were with him. He was a kindred spirit, in a way. You felt seen and heard, like someone truly saw you for who you were instead of what, and it was more relieving than you’d expected.
You plopped yourself down on the floor, chest heaving as you tried to catch your breath. Genji, on the other hand, looked unaffected by the hours of sparring, leisurely standing in his spot.
“It’s so unfair,” you complained lightheartedly, “you’re more durable than I am. I feel like I’m running several marathons.”
He chuckled. “Perhaps we should train your endurance next.”
“You mean what Brigitte and Zarya are putting me through isn’t enough?” You raised your eyebrows. “Way to treat your friends, Genji.”
“We’re friends?”
Your blood ran cold and you paled. Were you moving too fast? You parted your lips, stammering for a bit. “Well, I mean… sorry, I just assumed—”
“I am happy to be your friend.”
“What?”
You could hear the smile in his voice. “It’s nice to see you be carefree. I was afraid you would break me when we first met.”
“You? Afraid?” You laughed and elbowed him softly. Relaxing your shoulders, you glanced back outside the window where the sky was painted in hues of blue and orange. “I don’t know. I guess it just feels new. You guys treat me like a person, not an asset. I didn’t get that treatment with Talon. For most of my life, I always thought I’d end up alone… Dying alone like I almost did that day.”
As he fell silent, you continued, “Thanks for being patient with me, Genji. You didn’t have to, but… You did, and I won’t forget that.”
“I feel we are more similar than we expected,” he said. “It was difficult for me to accept others’ kindness too, but it’s important for us.”
“Yeah,” you agreed quietly. “It really does change you, doesn’t it? I don’t remember the last time I felt this… comfortable with someone.” You glanced at him. “Do you really think I’ll absolve myself one day?”
“I do.” He turned his head towards you. “I myself am doing the same thing. We can walk down this path together.”
You smiled softly. “Yeah. We will.”
You can also read the comic here.
gently hands you Cayde x Fem!YW for star gazing
here you go, anon, thank you for the request :) hope you like it and hope i captured cayde as well as you like him! :)
i'm going to motivate myself to write some 500 or so word ficlets, using this lovely prompt list. this collection will featuring various destiny ships and friendships :) if you want to see a particular ship for a particular prompt, feel free to send me an ask! It all happens in November - NaNoWriMo Mini Edition 2022 AO3 p.s. skipped prompts 3 and 5 for the time being, but they are in the works :)
You never quite forget the beauty of stars as you travel through space on a daily basis. They shine and glow a myriad of colours, and they are dead and reborn every time you as much as blink. But it is possible to forget to take a minute or two to pause and to watch as a whole realm of them expands across the night sky, comets crossing the dark expanse and stars lining up in constellations.
Two figures are seated on a mossy overlook, a grand view open in front of them, the Milky Way in all its glory. Each takes in the view and breathes in the cold nightly air. Every now and then one raises their arm, a dark shadow against the sky, pointing out something unreachable.
“Thousands of years, and we see the same stars they used to watch in the good ole days. I don’t know if it’s daunting or impressive. Kinda both.”
The Guardian looks at Cayde whose blue eyes glow slightly in the dark of the night as he speaks.
“I guess this is how it all started out?” she says thoughtfully, pulling up her legs against her chest.
“Huh?”
“When people started watching the stars and eventually it led us to other planets, and then - the Traveler.”
“Wait, wait, wait, I have a better idea. They find the Traveler, then the Darkness also watches the stars and finds us, then Eliksni, Cabal, am I forgetting anyone?”
The Guardian scoffs, laughing.
“How is this a better idea?”
“I’m not done yet! So, there is also the Hive, all of them watching the stars. But it doesn’t matter, because in the end–”
Cayde pauses, looking at her with a sudden turn of his head, thoughts swirling in his gaze before he turns to look back to the sky.
“In the end?”
“In the end, it doesn’t matter, because you and I beat them. And there is no one that can really stop us. Well, maybe an extra spicy ramen, but that would be only a delay.”
The Guardian looks at Cayde, smiling still. She bites on her lip and bumps against his side lightly.
“Is that all you really meant to say?”
His fingers fidget slightly, and she keeps on smiling, pleased with the way she can coax him into becoming… mushy. Which is surprisingly easy, knowing the right words.
“No, but if I say it, I’m going to blush, and we can’t have that.”
She leans her head against his shoulder, watching the stars.
“There, I’m not looking now. You can say it.”
She feels his cool hand slip into hers, and his exo-fingers wrap around hers almost softly.
“In the end, it doesn’t matter, because the stars lead to me meeting you.”
The Guardian closes her eyes. She takes a moment to savour those words, to remember their echo in her head.
“Can I look now?”
“Absolutely not,” he responds quietly as she presses closer against his side, their hands never apart.
⛧ He loved Halloween as a kid so he’s happy to celebrate it
⛧ Does care too much about what you two would do during that day as long as you’re together
⛧ But preferably would either go out with you or watch horror movies whole night
⛧ If asked about his halloween costume his first answer always will be “My halloween costume? Cyborg ninja!”. He thinks this answer is funny, but in fact he always has a costume
⛧ Genji always takes his time and every year wants to surprise everyone with his costume
⛧ He once happened not to have any ideas and asked you for help and ended up with his armored sprayed with paint (his 2021 weekly halloween skin “Skeleton” skin)
⛧ Definitely goes out to buy decorations and sweets
⛧ You two either go out to party with friends or stay together watching horror movies and give candy to children
⛧ Genji will buy the prettiest pumpkins he can find to carve them with you, it’s much easier for him to carve them since he’s very good with sword
⛧ If two stay at home and you don’t wanna watch a horror movies, he’s got some games to play
⛧ He never had a chance to celebrate Halloween, especially during his time in the Shimada Clan
⛧ Now that he's no longer a part of the Clan, he can celebrate Halloween all he wants
⛧ Hanzo is not a party person, so he would rather spend his time with you in the house than going out
⛧ He's not that interested in carving pumpkins at first, since he doesn't want to get dirty, but once he started, he won't stop until his satisfied
⛧ Is Hanzo going to get a costume? Absolutely
⛧ Definitely will ask for your opinion on what costume he should get
⛧ In the end he’s gonna be a vampire, cuz why shouldn't he be one?
⛧ In the halloween day, he will be proudly wandering around in his costume
⛧ If you don't want to be the one to give candy to children, don't worry he will take care of it
⛧ He just want how creative kids can get with this and he never had a chance to give them candy, so he's kinda excited
⛧ In the end, you two will probably fall asleep in watching horror movies
⛧ He was celebrating halloween since he can remember, even with the deadlock gang
⛧ Cole’s really excited to spend Halloween with you
⛧ Especially during this time of year, his favorite nickname for is “pumpkin”
⛧ He's really into matching costumes and he was the one to suggest it
⛧ He’s really into matching costumes, because he doing group costumes back in the deadlock gang and it kinda became for a tradition for him
⛧ Cole either gonna choose hot scary or just weird ones, (for both of you or for himself) depending on his mood
⛧ If you're gonna say you don't want matching costumes, he's gonna pretend he's offended, but in the he's gonna love whatever you will pick for yourself, if you're really not into his idea
⛧ If he’s costume idea requires makeup, he’s gonna come to you no matter if you’re better or worse than him at doing makeup, he’s really bad at it and trust you with it more than himself
⛧ His favorite part about going out to halloween parties, is seeing other peoples costumes, he just loves seeing people’s creativity
⛧ Gabriel may seem a bit grumpy, but he does like halloween
⛧ When was young, he really enjoyed treat or tricking, but now he’s into that too much
⛧ He would rather stay at home than going out
⛧ Gabriel won’t admit it, but he does want to get a costume to wear around the house
⛧ He’s gonna act like a mom if you mention buying new costume or decoration “We already have decoration.” “You have a costume from last year, you don’t need a new one.”
⛧ But he’s not gonna say anything if you buy anything new, in fact, he will be curious about the new stuff
⛧ He’s going to order one without you know as a surprise, since he made you thought that “He’s too old for costumes”
⛧ He loves seeing the mix of surprise and confusion on your face when he shows you his costume
⛧ Reyes gonna joke about scaring kids so he’s doesn’t have to give them candy, but you know he’s not gonna do that
⛧ Watching horror movies isn’t scary for him, but if you’re scared easily during these movies, he will tease you and maybe scare you
⛧ He will probably fall asleep before the movies ends
⛧ He’s been thinking what he should wear the whole year and when halloween is near, he has no idea what costume to choose
⛧ Expect him to ask you for help with choosing costume, which gonna take some times since he really wants to wear all of them
⛧ Lucio besides buying some decoration, will make try to find some diy videos to make some decorations himself for fun
⛧ Instead of carving, he enjoys painting the pumpkins
⛧ He’s definitely gonna take you out to party to a club or to your friends party, he’s either gonna go just with you or group of mutual friends
⛧ In the club, beside dancing, he’s gonna get both of you halloween drinks
⛧ During house party, there’s gonna be a lot things happening
⛧ Watching movies, playing games, making halloween food, making carving pumpkin contest, etc.
⛧ During horror movies he will try to hide behind you, Lucio gets scared really easily so he’s gonna hold on you for his life
Hiii!
I was wondering if u can do hazard dating fem!reader who was in a really bad abusive relationship that she’s having a ptsd attack but thank fully hazards there to comfort reader 🫶
If ur uncomfortable doing this that’s ok!
Omg hey hey hey. Thank you so much for the request! I had a very fun (not) time writing this because the subject is horrible but i had fun making the abuser eat absolute shit tho. If anyone is suffering from an abusive relationship please tell a trusted loved one, i know it is very hard with all the manipulation and everything but you are strong! and you can survive! You can also vent to me if you need to :) TW: Depression, Eating disorder mention, abusive ex, Story will go into detail with mental/physical abuse. PTSD attack, anxiety attack. I have never experienced PTSD attacks or seen anyone having them so i had to go off on what google offers. Sorry if its badly written!!
NOT PROOF READ!!! (3.5k words i think.) - She doesn’t know how this one big sweet hunk of a man had managed to slither his way past her walls. She thought her defenses would be good enough, she thought no one could ever get past them again. But here she is, walking hand in hand with him. He was chattering about his latest adventure with the phreak gang, being so enthusiastic while explaining every little detail. She loved to listen to him, she actually preferred that as well. She was not the one to open up easily about anything, not about her feelings, her needs, nothing. In the past she was in a relationship with this one guy she fell in love with madly. She would have done anything for him, she really loved him. And at first it seemed like he loved her as much too, their relationship was perfect. They were the sweethearts of their college, the perfect couple, always the prom king and queen. He would spoil her with gifts and compliments, he would take her on expensive dates and bring her along on family trips. Everything was just perfect… Then it all changed in a blink. He would stop showering her with compliments and gifts, obviously she wasn’t with him for the gifts and luxuries… But she also wasn’t with him for those cruel insults he would throw her way. He would insult anything she did, he would negatively comment on her appearance and weight. ‘Why aren’t you taking care of your skin as well as Stacey does? I can already see pimples forming on your cheek.’ ‘You should really start hitting the gym. You’ve gained a bit of weight. I don’t wanna be seen with a pig.’ ‘Get yourself together, I have standards to keep up.’ He would always compare her to the other popular girls, those who were the spoiled rotten kind girls. Blondes with green and blue eyes, having the latest designer clothing and bags. All of this really damaged her self-esteem, she couldn’t look at herself in the mirror anymore. All she would see was this hideous monster with all the flaws and imperfections. Worst of all was the fact she knew she should leave him, but every time she tried talking to him he would fire back at her, manipulating her into thinking she needed him and that he was only trying to help her take “better” care of herself. ‘No one would want you in that state, I'm the only one who still wants to help you!’ ‘Please. Do you seriously think any guy would want a pig like you? Be happy I'm even allowing you to stand so close to me.’
And she believed him…
She stayed together with him for at least a year after his cruel personality came to be. Though the insults were not the only problem. It didn’t take long for him to pick up on partying and drinking again with his friends. He would go out to parties, rarely taking her with him, he would make out with other women and sometimes even have one night stands with them. The audacity he had to bring them to HIS house where she also lived. It hurt her so much to see him with another woman. The first time it happened she confronted him the next morning after the random girl had left, she cried out yelling at him. “How could you do this to me???!!” The answer she was met with was a slap to her face. Her eyes wide as she held her cheek, afraid to even look at him again. He started yelling back at her, throwing his hands around in frustration. After many times of asking her to look at him he had enough and took hold of her shoulders forcing her to look at him with her shock filled gaze. “How am I supposed to live with a ridiculous girlfriend who can’t take care of herself AND can’t even fill my needs huh?!!” He yelled at her face, pushing her down on the floor, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. She quickly scrambled away from him, jumping straight into her bed, crying into her pillow. Never in her life did she think he would lay his hands on her, hurt her like that. She doesn’t know why she didn’t just leave right then and there, maybe it was the months of manipulation at that point that still kept her under the roof. Or maybe it was the fact he had also gone as far as to threaten her if she ever left him. She was truly stuck and scared for her life. Her mentality had been scarred for good, she was depressed, she felt lifeless. She wanted to die, she wanted out of this situation. Her eyes were dull, no life behind them. She had developed eating disorders due to his comments and she had stopped taking care of herself all together. Her head was filled with nothing except self destructive thoughts and the need to escape this hell. The emotional abuse continued, and was even worse now. He kept on cheating on her with girls to satisfy his own needs, not bothering to even touch her in any way anymore. In his words she was too hideous to even look at. Not that she really cared honestly, she was glad he didn’t pay any attention to her, but still for some reason he didn’t kick her out. As she was one night scrolling through a social platform, looking at everyones happy lives, imagining hers could be like that as well had shen ever met her bf. She decided to go on his account, see what she was up to, what she saw made her heart break even more than it already was. He was posting a lot about her, acting as if he was her savior, making himself seem like an angel. So this is why he sometimes asked her to pose for a picture, the only
times he would give her small kisses or act sweet, the little hope she had began to get, vanished in an instant. She was only a pawn for him to use, she was a prisoner .It was during a shopping trip that the very thing she had been wishing for finally happened. Her bf had decided to take her out shopping for the first time in months, tired of seeing her in the same pair of clothes. She looked at the clothes in the thrift store, yeah he wouldn’t take her to expensive places anymore, apparently she wasn’t worth more than a few bucks to him. Not that she really cared anymore, she was never worth anything to begin with. After the very short shopping session they walked out of the store. She wasn’t really looking where she was walking and accidentally bumped into someone much bigger than her. She fell down on her ass, dropping her bag in the process. “Oh shit! My bad lassie-” The voice said, clearly someone Scottish. She looked up and oh lord the sight she saw. A very tall and frankly very muscular guy. He had blonde hair, his jawline was strong. He had a very stylish leather jacket on him, he was also pretty much half cybernetic. And his eyes… those beautiful orange-ish eyes, so full of life and energy… the complete opposite of hers. She was about to open her mouth and apologize but was cut off by her boyfriend. “Don’t apologize man, she should’ve been looking ahead.” Her boyfriend scoffed, taking hold of her arm and lifting her up rather harshly. “Cmon, apologize to him.” He demanded of her, giving her that look, she knew she would be in trouble later. “I-Im so sorry mister.. It was m-my bad.” She struggled with her words, not used to talking with other people. “It’s al’right. But are ya okay las?” He asked, one eyebrow raised a little bit after witnessing the way that man talked to her. She was surprised. Someone worried about her? Someone asking if she was okay? No no… He must be talking to her boyfriend. She was about to answer again but was stopped with a hard grip on her shoulder, making her wince. “She’s alright. Now go on mate, don't stick your nose into business that ain’t yours.” Her boyfriend said, turning her around to walk off. “Ay, wait up just a second here lass. Yer partner obviously ain’t feeling too well. And based on what I’ve seen by a minute I don’t think yer treatin’ her correct.” He said, stepping closer,
stopping her boyfriend by holding onto his shoulder. “Get your fucking hand off me. She is perfectly fine with me, right babe?” Her bf asked, threateningly. She stared between her boyfriend and the stranger. This could be her chance to escape from his constant torment and abuse, but the thought lingered, his threats made her hesitate a lot. ‘No no… (Name) this is your time. Who cares about his threats, you NEED to get out.’ Her mind would yell at her. “No.. No i'm not fine! He has been tormenting me for ages… I-I need help, please!” She said loudly, escaping from his grasp, her heart beating so fast. “You little fucking bitch! I’ll kill you-” He yelled out, about to punch her, only to be stopped by the strangers hand grasping his wrist. “Will you shut yer pus and get lost dafty.” He said, the threat evident in his voice. Her boyfriend stared at the stranger, his eyes wide. He let out a yell and went to punch the stranger, only to be met by a cybernetic hand to the face, knocking him out cold immediately. She gasped, looking away from the scene, afraid. “Sorry about that wee yin. Had to teach that scabby lass a lesson. Ya alright?” He turned to stare at her, keeping his distance, not wanting to scare the poor girl more. “I- thank you… Thank you so much…” She cried out. “It was nothin’ Could tell he wasn’t treatin’ ya right. The name’s Hazard, what about yus?” The man said, holding out a hand to give a gentle shake, if she wanted to of course. “(Name..)” She gave a weak smile, accepting the handshake.
- That all happened a good two years ago. It took a lot of time for her to open up to the idea of dating again. Hazard never pushed her into anything, nor did he really talk about wanting to be in a relationship with her directly. Of course from the day he met her, he already felt a certain pull towards her. Half a year after they met and started regularly hanging out his feelings truly became clear to him. She on the other hand felt safe for the first time in her life after they began hanging out, but the fear of it all going wrong again made her very scared and wary of everything they did together. It took her a good year before she realized she liked him, she didn’t know if she should pursue her feelings, and talk to him about him. She didn’t even know if he felt the same, she didn’t know if he would want to date someone as scared and vulnerable as her. After a long talk and feelings shared they shared a deep and meaningful hug, and they began dating slowly but surely. He assured her that every step of the way he would respect her boundaries, he would never initiate anything between them, she would have all the power. She respected that, a lot. A few months into their relationship she was ready to open up more about her past with her ex. She told him how he treated her, how her mental health suffered greatly because of him. How she was still struggling with her self esteem and mental problems because his words and actions would forever haunt her. Hazard listened through everything, gave her warm hugs whenever she started breaking down while explaining her story. Telling her it was never her fault and that her imperfections were what made her beautiful. He helped her get onto her feet, helped her with her eating disorder, getting her back to a healthy weight slowly but surely. Her hair got longer and more healthy, her bones slowly getting covered and her skin becoming more colorful. She still struggled with nightmares to this day, but whenever she woke up in tears he was there to wipe them away and calm her down. At the half year mark of their relationship she finally got the courage to kiss him, to let him hold her in a more intimate way, she loved every second of it. It had been so.. so very long since someone had loved her like Hazard did. He never went further than kissing her sweetly, he never even touched her unless she guided his hand somewhere on her body.
Her thoughts got cut off by Hazard patting her on the shoulder, pointing at the cafe they were supposed to eat at. She smiled at him and they went inside, ordering their food and going outside to eat. “Ay. I’m gonna go use the restroom real quick’ ait bonny?” Hazard smiled at her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Of course darling, I'll wait out here.” She smiled at him, watching as he got up and headed into the cafe. She stared at the scenery around her, looking at all the people walking around and socializing with each other. She felt so happy with Hazard, she felt lucky that she bumped into him when she did, otherwise she feels she would still be trapped or in the worst case scenario dead. As she bit into her croissant, not really paying attention to her surroundings her ears picked up a familiar voice, her heart stopped for a moment, her eyes widening in panic. That voice… no no.. it can’t be. It can't be! She raised her gaze just slightly to see her abusive ex talking with his now possible partner. A really hot one at that, obviously he would only go for the model type girls. She stared for a moment, a mistake she would soon come to regret as his gaze wandered before landing onto her. His mood shifted, happiness turning into anger. She knew that gaze. The look he would always give her whenever he was angry or disappointed with her, the gaze he had when he laid his hands on her. He said something to the girl before walking towards her. No no no no! She panicked, immediately opening her phone and typing a panicked message to Hazard, hoping he would notice it quick enough. Her heart was racing, her anxiety skyrocketing, all the bad memories crashing down around her in an instant. She flinched as she felt a hand slam down in front of her, she almost dropped her phone in the process too but held it close. “Look what we have here. Little piggy out here eating all by herself. Still haven’t been able to let go of the treats huh? No wonder you’ve gained so much weight again!” He laughed mockingly. She couldn’t answer, she couldn’t look at him, the only thing she could do was sit completely still, eyes glued to the ground, shaking. He got irritated fast by her ignoring him, he took hold of her jaw, forcing her face to turn to him.
She screamed out alerting all the other people nearby, some of them continued on and some just stared. “Look at me when I'm talking to you bitch!” He spat at her. She refused to listen to him, this angered her ex and he was about to say something again, only to be lifted off of her into the air. She stared as Hazard held him up high by the collar of his jacket, anger filling her usually sweet and collected boyfriend. A look she had never seen before, and didn’t want to ever either. Her mind blocked out everything he yelled at her ex, she had stopped looking too, she held her head in her hands, her body shaking uncontrollably, she was about to have a breakdown. She heard the sound of a hard punch being thrown at someone and then a table getting smashed. Some people trying to get in between the fight and stop it. And as quickly as it all started it ended. Her ex was bruised and bloody on the ground, his now current girlfriend trying to wake him up, yelling profanities at Hazard. “Haud yer wheesht hackit. Yer boyfriend had it comin’ should’ve never come close to (name) again.” Hazard scoffed, before turning to (Name), seeing her in such a state broke his heart. “Come on bonny, let’s get outta here.” He said. She could only slowly nod as he took hold of her hand leading her away. The car ride was long and silent, Hazard kept looking at her, wanting to make small talk but he could tell she was in a bad place right now. As they finally arrived home she immediately got out of the car and ran inside her apartment, Hazard quickly following after. The moment she got inside her bedroom she fell to her knees breaking down completely, all the panic and years worth of memories breaking free. She cried out loudly, curling up into a small defensive ball, her body shaking like crazy. She couldn’t breathe, all she could hear and see were the memories. She could only hear her ex’s hurtful words, she could only feel the pain he inflicted on her. She was completely dissociated from the real world, being kept as a prisoner in her own memories. A few seconds felt like minutes to her. She was sweating profusely, her heart thumping against her chest.
Hazard ran into her bedroom, kneeling next to her, he didn’t know what to do. He had never seen this before, sure she had small episodes here and then but this was different. This was so much different. He tried to give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze but was met by her body twitching violently at the touch and her screaming out.
“STOP! DON’T HURT ME PLEASE!” She would yell, thinking Hazard was her ex. “No no no.. Bonny… It’s just me, you’re fine, you’re alright… I’m here.” Hazard spoke in such a sweet tone, trying to get her to calm down at least a little bit. She was still sobbing, still curled up not responsive. He didn’t give up, he talked to her through it all, he didn’t touch her, he didn’t want to trigger another reaction from her. He just talked, he told her about their old memories together having fun and laughing at stupid things. He talked to her about his gang, the things they do and the embarrassing memories of himself.
She was starting to calm down just slightly, her shaking becoming minimal, her loud cries turning into small sobs here and there. He would praise her for doing so good, for being a strong survivor. It had been almost an hour since her episode began and she was finally beginning to calm down enough for her body to relax. She wasn’t curled up into a tight ball anymore, she was still lying on the floor though, still unable to look at him.
“Yer doin’ so good wee yin. I’m proud of ya.” Hazard smiled, breathing out a sigh of relief.
“H-hazard..?” She mumbled out weakly, lifting herself up just slightly to look at him.
“Yeah bonny? I’m here, whateva you need I’ll get it for ya” Hazard said.
“D-Don’t leave me… please just.. just hold me.” She begged.
He didn’t need to be told twice, he didn’t even need to answer as his hands found themselves around her waist, pulling her into his embrace. She sat on his lap, her face in his bare chest, listening to his calm heartbeat, the warmth of his skin soothing her. His hands rubbed her back lovingly, whispering quiet praises into her ear. Her sobs disappeared completely, her body was now relaxed, her heart no longer racing and thumping against her chest. She could feel herself succumbing to fatigue, her vision slowly blacking.
“Tired.. I'm so tired…” She mumbled against his chest.
“I got ya. Let’s get into bed a‘right hun.” Hazard said, as he lifted her from the ground, holding her close.
He got into bed, still holding her close to her, having her almost on top of him. He pulled the covers over her and stared at the top of her head, giving her a small kiss to calm her down more. “Im never leaving yer side alright? Sleep well bonny.” He mumbled, still giving gentle rubs on her back. She felt safe, she could sleep without worrying about anything. She knew Hazard was a good man, she let sleep take her into dreamland. And for the first time in a long long time she did not see nightmares. She only saw Hazard in her dreams, she saw dreams of their future, living out their days together in happiness. A smile decorated her face, a sight that made Hazard's heart jump in happiness. He truly loved this woman to bits, he would do anything for her, Anything.
- our little green flag bf.
When Jaal's family is taken by the Roekaar, he asks Bridget to trust him. That's not the problem. Trusting Jaal is as easy as breathing. What isn't so easy is watching as a madman nearly kills the man who has stolen her heart.
AO3 Link
Bridget can’t think. She can’t breathe.
All she can think about is how horribly wrong things have gone.
When Jaal desperately begs for her aid, explaining that Akksul has recruited his siblings into the Roekaar, she agrees to help without hesitation.
When they come across said siblings on the battlefield, and they begin bearing down on her with insults, she tries her best to keep her cool. Even as they tower over her and spout that she’d be better off dead, she doesn’t retort. She doesn’t want to feed into Akksul’s poisonous beliefs about her kind.
Even when Lathoul is shot and tells them of the bombs that have been planted, she doesn’t lose her focus. She remains fixed on her goal.
It isn’t until they reach the Forge proper that things begin to spiral.
Once they disarm the bombs, Teviint runs to Jaal, clinging to him like the scared child she is. “I killed Lathoul! I killed him. I’m so sorry.”
Bridget stares at her in concern. This girl can’t be more than a teenager, and yet Akksul is using her as a weapon, twisting her confusion into a tool for his hatred.
Jaal, however, is less sympathetic. He stares down at her coldly, not offering a hint of comfort. “He’s not dead. You’re lucky”
She looks up at him, her expression so lost and afraid. “I lost my mind, Jaal. I want to go home.”
“But the cause!” Baranjj protests. “I joined because of you!”
“I shot our brother,” Teviint counters, looking at him as though he grew a second head.
He looks down in uncertainty, his hands balling into fists at his sides. He seems just as scared and anxious as his sister. Looking back to her, he says, “Don’t leave me-”
“Let her go.” He is cut off by Akksul appearing from the shadows, stalking forward like a villain. “I only want soldiers who are committed to our cause.” His icy gaze turns to Bridget and Jaal and he sneers, “Not weaklings who stand by and watch the destruction of our people at the hands of aliens.”
More Roekaar filter in from the upper level of the Forge, their weapons all trained on their little group. Akksul stands proudly, assured in his upper hand.
Teviint seems to shrink back, hiding behind Jaal. Baranjj also tries to make himself smaller, pulling into himself. Bridget feels herself bristle in anger. “You recruit kids and make them fight their families,” she spits, glaring at the Roekaar leader. “It’s sick and so are you.”
Akksul seems unbothered by her accusations. Stepping forward, he says assuredly, “I speak for our people and I say you’re done in Heleus.”
He raises a hand to gesture towards Bridget and she instinctively lifts her rifle, aiming at him. Simultaneously, Jaal warns her not to, but Akksul is already grinning.
Chuckling maliciously, he leans into her personal space, the barrel of the gun pressing against his chest. “Martyr me.” He urges. “Please. I dare you.”
Bridget stares him down, hissing out an exhale. Jaal had asked her to trust him on this mission, to follow his lead. And killing Akksul certainly wouldn’t plead a great case for her, especially considering his followers still have their weapons trained on her.
Everything about him infuriates her. But she somehow remains calm.
“I made a promise to my friend that you’re making really hard to keep,” she growls.
His smile falls, and he stares at her in frustration for a long while before turning his attention back to his followers.
“They move onto our planets. They they take our resources, make us weak!”
“I’ve watched Ryder make planets habitable!” Jaal appeals to the angara, his voice impatient but resolute.
“Exactly!” Akksul retorts. “And they’ll never let us forget it.”
“She rescued your beloved Moshae!” Jaal interrupts, and it has the Roekaar leader pausing.
“I know,” he admits quietly, spurring his supporters to look at one another in uncertainty.
“Saved. Her. Life,” Jaal continues, his words punctuated and strong.
“I know, stop defending them!” Akksul says indignantly, beginning to sound like an annoyed child.
Not paying him any mind, Jaal attempts to keep going. “The Moshae trusts Ryder, and-”
“Stop.”
Akksul cuts him off by aiming his gun at Jaal, clearly threatened that he’s losing control of the situation.
Jaal looks at him warily, taking a half step back and raising his hands defensively.
“We’ve been fighting the wrong enemy,” Akksul rambles. “Maybe the enemy is this traitor!”
Lowering his hands, Jaal stares him down resolutely, muttering a quiet warning, “Easy…”
Panicked, Bridget raises her gun to Akksul once more, looking at her angaran companion in distress. “Jaal?”
She hates that her voice sounds so small.
God, what is she supposed to do here? Akksul is clearly crazy. He claims to want to protect the angara, but here he is threatening to kill one of his own. She’s not about to let him take Jaal’s life. And yet, as has already been established, shooting him is off the table, too…
“Don’t!” Jaal warns, sparing her a glance and a careful gesture, his eyes pleading with her. Trust me, they say.
She does. Of course she does. It’s Akksul she doesn’t trust.
Turning his full attention back to the man before him, Jaal’s gaze hardens. “The Moshae trusts Ryder. You’ve become a danger to your own people,” he utters lowly. “Walk away.”
Reason isn’t reaching Akksul, though. Gritting his teeth, he retorts, “Or…I kill you and reveal the Resistance for the traitors they are!”
He pulls the trigger and a sharp, panicked scream tears itself from Bridget’s throat. If everyone’s attention wasn’t focused on Akksul and Jaal, she’s sure she’d be getting looks for the anguished sound she just made. But that isn’t at the forefront of her mind right now.
Jaal’s dead. He’s dead and she did nothing to stop it. She’s trembling uncontrollably, her gun still pointed at Akksul, but she’s frozen in place.
She wants to kill him. Wants to make him pay for killing the man she was easily falling in love with. He deserves it. But as desperate as she feels right now, she made a promise to Jaal…and she’s not about to break it now.
A pained groan draws her attention and her gaze immediately snaps in its direction.
It can’t be…
Akksul missed. He was at point-blank range and he somehow managed to miss. The bullet grazed Jaal’s cheek, leaving a small, shallow cut in its place. Blood trickles down his face as he stares Akksul down unwaveringly.
Bridget wants to cry with relief. To hold him close and reaffirm that he’s okay. But she can’t quite get over the shock of thinking he was lost to her, no matter how brief.
Everyone gapes at the scene in utter awe and disbelief.
Jaal has commanded the attention of the entire Forge, and rightfully so.
Akksul looks up at his followers, a lost, uncertain expression on his face. The Roekaar begin to filter out, shaking their heads in disgust as they do.
Staring Akksul down, Jaal carries a powerful weight to his gaze.
“The alien is not the monster here,” he declares with conviction.
Akksul does not answer right away. His focus is on the angara turning their backs on him. “I love my people…” he utters quietly, looking down in defeat.
Bridget believes it. Unfortunately, his heart has been poisoned and twisted beyond recognition. She wonders what he might have been like had he not been captured by the kett. Despite all the hurt he’s caused, she pities him in that moment.
Jaal does not deign to respond to him, but he seems to come to the same conclusion as Bridget. After a long moment of staring at his former classmate, he turns to his siblings and says, “Come on…let’s get you home.”
Following quietly, Bridgets walks slightly behind him. She glances up at Jaal, noticing the trail of torn flesh that had been carved by the bullet, blue trickling lightly from the edges. She can’t believe how close he came to dying. Any closer to the right and he would have been gone from her life entirely. Hell, it’s a miracle the bullet didn’t hit his cowl either. She’s not terribly familiar with angaran anatomy, but she’s certain there must be vital blood vessels there. The fact that he stands before her relatively unscathed is astronomical.
The blood that had begun pooling at the edge of his wound spills over slightly, running down his cheek. She reaches out, but stops short of touching him. “You okay…?”she asks quietly.
He spares her a glance before saying, “Yeah, thanks…” before letting out a strained grunt, a wince pulling at his lips.
They make there way back in relative silence. On the shuttle, Bridget can’t help but stare at Jaal the whole way, a sense of numbness overcoming her.
A bandage now rests over his injured cheek, but it didn’t make her feel any better.
He almost died. He almost died and she almost let it happen. Granted, she knows that shooting Akksul would have been a terrible idea, but she just can’t stop thinking about it. She cares about Jaal more than she ever thought possible. At this point, it’s more than a silly crush. Even though she knows he doesn’t return her feelings, the thought of losing him…Of never again getting to tease him about idioms or spend time working on projects together…It tears her heart apart.
She can feel Vetra’s eyes on her throughout the ride back, but her companion remains silent, for which she is grateful.
At some point, they land back where they started, Teviint apologizing to Lathoul and the mothers coming to reunite with their lost children. Jaal gently puts his hand on her shoulder and guides her to the side. She follows, her gaze still hollow and empty. She’s barely processed anything since Akksul fired his pistol.
“Thank you for trusting me,” Jaal tells her, looking out over the landscape. “Killing Akksul would have made the Roekaar stronger.”
He’s so calm. Too calm. Infuriatingly calm. He’d almost died for fuck’s sake!
It’s enough to snap Bridget out of her apathy. “He shot you,”she says, bitter.
“I’m glad he did. It exposed how far he’d fallen.”
Even still, he remains composed and collected. He even smiles.
Bridget stares at him in disbelief. “Jaal, you were this close to dying back there! Do you have any idea how risky that was?!”
He has the audacity to chuckle at her and she bristles.
“It all worked out, didn’t it? A little risk was worth it, I’d say.”
She can’t believe it. Here she is, tearing herself apart with worry and he has the gall to think her reaction is amusing.
“You idiot!” she cries, banging her fist against his chest. “You think it’s funny that you almost had your brains blown out?” She hits him again, and he takes small steps back with each advance, staring down at her with wide, surprised eyes.
“Is your life that meaningless to you?” she continues, tears beginning to form. “Or am I just stupid for daring to care that I might lose you?!”
Bridget stops assaulting his chest, though her fists still rest there, trembling. Her gaze has fallen to the ground and she shuts her eyes tightly, the tears now falling freely. Her frame shakes as sobs begin to wrack her body.
He instantly pulls her close to him, cradling her in his embrace.
She does her best to suppress her crying, though it takes her a minute. The desperate kiss he presses against the crown of her head makes it even more difficult to pull herself together, but eventually, she calms down enough to speak.
“I was really worried…” she ends up whispering, her voice somewhat hoarse.
Jaal pulls back just enough to look her in the eyes. His expression is pained, his brows drawn together in worry. Gently, he lifts a hand to wipe her tears, his thumb drawing careful arcs across her cheek.
Carefully, he pulls her forehead to his, and they both close their eyes as they lean into each other. “It will heal,” he murmurs. “All scars do.”
She sniffles slightly, her arms pulling Jaal into as tight of a hug as she can, though his bulky torso makes it impossible for her embrace to completely encircle him.
“I apologize for worrying you…” he says quietly, one hand absently petting her hair.
She doesn’t respond, just pulls him even closer.
They stay like that for a long while, and when they do part, he makes sure to plant another feather light kiss atop her head.
Bridget looks up at him, her expression full of confusion and longing. He softly trails his hand down the side of her face. He stares at her for an achingly long time before clearing his throat and stepping back. She misses his warmth immediately.
“We should get back…” he says, looking back towards the others. “I want to say goodbye before my family heads home.”
Absently, she nods, watching as he heads over.
She tries not to focus on the kisses or the gentle touches. Jaal is a naturally affectionate person. He was just comforting her. It doesn’t mean anything more. Thinking that it might…that’s just setting herself up for more hurt. She doesn’t need to do that to herself.
At least he’s alive. She can cling to that.
Sighing, she gradually makes her way back to the group.
She pushes her longing down. Far enough away where she can try to forget that he’s captured her heart so thoroughly.
——
So I haven't written anything in over 3 years...but I have an actual excuse this time. Long story short, cancer sucks. (Don't worry, I'm not in danger of dying, but having chronic pain the last few years honestly hasn't been much better...)
In any case, I've really missed writing and finally found the inspiration to finish this after starting it years ago. I have a few more projects I hope to work on, though I can't say how many more of them will be Andromeda related.
Poiché il soggetto in questione è una vera e propria leggenda nella Hall of Fame dei Transformer, la puntata di oggi è particolarmente molto lunga, per cui la suddividerò in più parti.
NOTA: Alcune immagini non sono mie, ma vengono dal sito DeviantArt. Articolo scritto da me, con l'approvazione di @jazzluca.
***
PUNTATA 7: OPTIMUS PRIME, seconda parte.
Vento di cambiamenti
Esaurito l’argomento G1 – del quale ho preferito non dilungarmi troppo, inclusa la parentesi ‘Master – saltiamo direttamente nell’universo Biocombat/Beast Wars degli anni ‘90, nel quale i Transformer “classici” fanno un cameo a cavallo tra la seconda e terza stagione, e tra questi ritroviamo proprio Optimus Prime... inattivo, insieme a tutti gli altri Autobot e Decepticon, a bordo dell’Arca. In questo specifico caso, il capo dei Maximal Optimus Primal (suo discendente e semiomonimo) gli estrae dal petto la Matrice del Comando, dopo che questi e i suoi compagni hanno riparato i corpi dei loro antenati danneggiati dall’ennesimo machiavellico piano dell’astutissimo rivale Megatron – impedendogli così la completa cancellazione di quella linea temporale.
E, di nuovo, mi fermo qui, visto che Blackjack – come lo chiamavamo noi in Italia – è un personaggio a sé stante e condivide col Comandante Autobot solo la semi-omonimia, anche dopo la sua evoluzione in un corpo Transmetal 2 (e con che nome... Optimal Optimus!). Non ho, invece, moltissimi ricordi delle serie animate dei primi Duemila in cui Commander è il classico protagonista numero uno, ovvero Robot in Disguise 2001 e la Trilogia Unicron (2002-2005); eppure, se non fossero mai esistiti non avremmo poi avuto i film di Michael Bay, i cui robot hanno ereditato alcune caratteristiche fisiche... ma questa è un’altra storia.
Anche Derrick J. Wyatt, per il suo capolavoro Animated, ha preso spunto dal passato per costruire il profilo psicologico del “suo” Optimus Prime. Nasce così non il classico comandante veterano ed esperto come ormai siamo abituati, ma un vero e proprio erede spirituale del Beast Wars Optimus Primal: un povero ragazzo che si è ritrovato suo malgrado come capo di una squadra altrettanto scalmanata – un gigante buono ma impacciato, un ragazzino indisciplinato, un ninja poco loquace e un vecchio e burbero ufficiale medico. Inoltre, Optimus non è nemmeno un soldato, ma un ordinario manutentore di Ponti Spaziali col dolore di aver lasciato a morire l’amica/fidanzatina Elita One (diventata poi Blackarachnia) su un pianeta sconosciuto e l’umiliazione di essere sempre bullizzato da quell’arrogante Sentinel Prime fin dai tempi dell’accademia.
Esteticamente Optimus ha mantenuto l’aplomb di “eroe mascherato armato di ascia energetica” dall’iconografia classica, ma la novità assoluta che ha rivoluzionato l’aspetto del personaggio negli anni a venire è la scelta di rendere retrattile quella famosa maschera, immortalando l’abitudine di sfoggiarla solo durante i combattimenti – mentre in condizioni normali è sempre a volto scoperto. Sì, avete capito bene: prendendo spunto dall’Optimus di Cybertron, e prima di lui da Beast Wars Optimus Primal, Wyatt ha disegnato la sua versione del Comandante Autobot con un vero e proprio volto... una tradizione che continua ancora oggi nelle incarnazioni successive, salvo qualche sporadica eccezione. Altra grande rivoluzione arriva per quanto riguarda il nostro doppiaggio italiano, poiché proprio Animated ha cementato il ruolo di Marco “Batman” Balzarotti come voce di Optimus in serie animate e videogiochi futuri.
Continua...
You knew him when you were an assistant under Dr. Ziegler
One day you saw Genji with no limbs and half dead
So you helped Dr. Ziegler attach him
During the process, you thought that Genji was kinda cute and very handsome
Continua a leggere
Female | Italy | more Writing than Painting
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