Far from Image (Ludwig)

[Lovino Vargas]

He's the meanest little kitty...

"You can't be mean to him, he's your brother!"

Lovino pulled away from the crying form he had been nipping at for tugging at his ears, frowning deeply. He could see the woman quickly rushing over to cuddle the sobbing toddler, much to his Lovino's dislike. It was always him that got the attention. Him that got snuggled. Cuddled. Carried. Played with. Spoon fed. If Lovino wanted a story read to him, and the toddler wanted his juice cup filled, the toddler always took priority in the beautiful woman's eyes.

And for a five year old, that was stressful and confusing as hell.

He was here first. He was supposed to have the woman hugging him and whispering loving words in his ears, not this screaming matter of flesh. Since when was this smelly loud shit head the most important thing in the world?

Seeing the woman send him a stern look for remaining silent as she comforted the toddler, Lovino flinched and flattened his ears instinctively. He gave off a small whimper before he muttered a quick words that his mother had always told him to say when he felt this emotion of guilt, though it was towards more of making the woman's face go from her soft, light features to the dark, stern one.

"...I'm sorry."

"You can't hurt him. He's just a baby." The woman told him softly after she sighed, "...Honey, you have to be his friend, so he can be your's too. Then you two wouldn't have to fight."

---

Lovino grunted when he woke up, opening his olive green hues to stare at the ceiling. The image of the beautiful woman lingered in his mind, making him sigh deeply and give off a small whimper. Lovino never had the chance to actually show his mother how nice exactly he could be if he wanted to (not that he probably ever would have if he stayed with her anyway), but leaving on that note of him just being a bully to his brother... She probably didn't have the best image of him. That made his heart hurt a bit, knowing he would not be able to show her otherwise. It wasn't like he would get to see his brother often anymore either, and when he did, sadly for them, they always seemed to get into some sort of fight over the dumbest things in a third person's eyes. They always seemed to think of the younger Italian as the innocent one who'd do no wrong. In the end, nothing had changed from the very childhood he lived in the basement and the time spent in Weeds.

Rolling his body so that he was at the edge of the bed, he stared down at the floor in silence. He always preferred sleeping on the top bunk in the beds provided in the underground, even when alone like now. This was his very own cell at the moment; his cellmate was shuffled to another one a few days ago. It was rather peaceful, being able to eat his meals without having to worry about it being taken from him, and not having to listen to the constant rambling the other man tended to do about random things.

Rolling once more and stretching, Lovino yawned and rubbed his eyes sleepily before he decided to climb down the bed, smelling that the first meal of the day was placed inside his cell. Hearing the cart still not too far away, Lovino judged that the meal was not placed too long ago, and made his way to it. Bread, corn cream soup, and an egg. Eh, it was not too bad. Could be better, seeing they all lacked the decent taste he wished to have, but he wasn't going to complain. He didn't take long to quickly swallow down the little food portions provided and was about to start cleaning up his dishes to put it at the bars again, when he heard footsteps. He ignored at first until they stopped just as they got loud enough, and he was smacked with the scent of raw fish.

He didn't have to look up to know that one of the guards was staring down at him, tapping his foot impatiently. Lovino scowled and stood up in silence, looking at the guard in silence. "...?"

"You're moving cells, Vargas." The man said, breathing out the scent of what smelled like raw fish. Lovino grunted softly, knowing already this man's temperament being short from past encounters. Fish-man, as Lovino called him, opened the cell's door and walked in. Not wanting to get burnt by the weird electric machine (Lovino didn't know of the name) the man held, the cat mutant moved without a fight, walking down the hall where cells continued on and on for what seemed like miles.

Lovino squeaked when his shirt was grabbed suddenly, telling him to stop. He scowled deeply as the door was opened and he was shoved inside. Tsk... Even when he cooperated, he got no treats this time? This was bullshit.

The door was slammed shut and locked with a loud clink, before Fish-man walked away in silence for his next duty. Rolling his eyes, Lovino took a quick whiff of the room with his keen sense of smell, and immediately recoiled.

He could smell the faint scent of his brother, but it was faded. Was that idiot in this cell before? Perhaps so. The faded scent was still enough to make the fur on his tail stand, though Lovino himself couldn't figure on his own whether it was from stress or anxiety. Or perhaps irritation.

What was even stronger than that faint familiar scent, though, was a scent of a stranger. He remembered smelling it on his brother before as well just as faintly as he was smelling the idiot's right now, and questioned it at one point, when he was told by Feliciano that it was possibly a friend of his that Lovino was smelling. It wasn't difficult to remember that smell, it being a big impact on Lovino knowing that his brother had a 'friend'. Not necessarily someone he wanted to meet, but...

The moment Lovino caught sight of the muscular blond in the same cell, he hissed loudly and backed away. What the hell!? What was that!?!? Slamming his back against the bars, he bared his fangs and wordlessly continued the hostile feline noises, himself a frightened animal trying to scare danger away. One, it was a man, well of course. Two, the man was fucking taller than him. Well shit. But what scared Lovino the most was the buff muscular form, not a scene one would see often in the underground setting.

Lovino could feel nervous sweat dropping down his forehead, his tail fluffing up to look puffy as hell, his body quivering like a leaf weakly clinging to a tree, and his ears flattening fully against the top of his head. He continued to hiss loudly, flashing his fangs and gripping at the bars behind him, in a way having a short panic attack from the sight.

To be honest, he was expecting to see a frail, skinny form like his brother.

This was not that proclaimed image he had in his mind.

This was a fucking monster.

Word Count: 1218

Tags: Ludwig A. Beilschmidt

Notes: My poor baby calm down xD.

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[Ludwig A. Beilschmidt]

baby you're a firestorm you're a loaded cannon

Of course it had been too good to last. Sharing a cell with both his best friend and his brother had almost felt like home. The fact that they'd been surrounded by cold stone walls and had to sleep on cramped hard beds hadn't even mattered: they had enjoyed each other's company, and that had warmed the cell in a way that Ludwig's abilities couldn't reach. But then the festival had occurred, Ludwig had been forced to fight Feliciano and had hurt him badly -- not badly enough to leave any lasting damage, he sincerely hoped, but it was impossible to know, because he hadn't seen Feliciano or Gilbert since the start of that stupid showcase and at its end, he'd been moved to a different cell, alone. Worry had returned to chew at him with a vengeance. Had Gilbert or Feliciano been bought, and if so, by who? Were they being treated well? Had Feliciano been given the medical care he'd desperately needed? Did he hate Ludwig for injuring him further, even though he'd ordered it? Ludwig hated being alone with his thoughts. The new cell looked much like his old one, save for the furniture and walls seemed to be in less of a state of decay. It also had been impeccably cleaned, because Ludwig could only do so many push-ups and curls before he got bored. He'd hollowed out a fresh hiding spot for winnings in the mattress he'd claimed and had been sitting there for the last hour trying to repair a hole in the blanket he'd been given. Not because he needed the warmth, but a blanket with a hole was a blanket that couldn't do its job properly. The sound of heavy footsteps in the corridor outside his cell drew his attention away for a mere half-second: he couldn't stand to talk to the guards, not now, not after the shock collar and the arena fight and-- The door of his cell swung open with a quiet squeak, and now Ludwig did look up, curious and surprised. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe, because it was improbable, impossible, that Feliciano would be returned as his cellmate, but here he was, standing on his own feet and-- This wasn't Feliciano, though. The man standing before him had different eyes, for once, but noticeably, he also had cat ears and a tail, which Feliciano absolutely didn't have. But still, the resemblance was almost uncanny. The new arrival shared Feliciano's height and build, something about his face struck a chord of similarity, and he even had a weird little flyaway curl. Ludwig frowned, thinking. Feliciano had mentioned once or twice that he'd had a brother... hadn't he? Unfortunately, before he got a chance to ask, the new arrival completely lost it. Back against the bars of the cell, the man snarled and spat and hissed like an animal, his strange little ears going flat against his head. The sudden change even startled Ludwig, who drew back against the wall reflexively. But the man made no attempt to attack him... and as angry as the other man looked, Ludwig could see he was visibly shaking. That unsettled him. Did he really look that frightening? Dropping the blanket he'd been trying to fix, the German raised his hands in the air, palms outward in a gesture of peace. "It's okay, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," he promised quietly. "I don't know what other kinds of cellmates you had but I'm not that type of person." He watched the cat-man warily, waiting for a reaction. If he'd remembered correctly that Feliciano had a brother, and that this man was him, the two certainly couldn't have been more different in terms of demeanor. When the man still hadn't moved from the bars, Ludwig lowered his hands a little, "Um, are you alright?" Word Count: 649 Tags: Lovino Vargas Notes: omg kitty guy it’s ok

by worldie for lena

[Lovino Vargas]

He's the meanest little kitty...

Lovino continued to hiss loudly, his eyes keeping its narrowed state and ears staying flat against his head. He could feel every hair that stood on his body and was certain if he was in his more compact form, he would've looked like a dust ball with all the fur standing out protectively. Even his flyaway strand of hair that curled at the tip, sticking out his head, was jig-zagged in utter fear and surprise. Olive orbs reflected the sight of the muscular blond mutant draw back against the wall behind him. Recognizing that movement instead of a sudden leap, Lovino was able to let out a trembling breath through his hostile hisses.

With the initial surprise factor out of the picture now, at least for Lovino's side, the feline mutant studied the German carefully. He pulled his lips back to snarl every time the man made a movement he was uncomfortable with, which was pretty much at this point, moving any muscle at all. Even the action the other made of dropping the worn out blanket and raising his hands in a universal gesture of peace made the Italian flinch in reflex.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."

Yeah right. That's what they all said at first from Lovino's experience. Either that, or immediate dominance fight. Personally the boy preferred the latter, seeing then he wouldn't have to deal with it much later when he put his guard down. As soon as survival factored into their living situations, no words spoken held relevance. Only the strong ones survived while the weak ones withered away like dying plants. And whoever let their guard down first, in Lovino's eyes, were the weak ones. He did however listen, hoping to hear something along the lines of surrender or like his brother would do, start crying at the spot (that weak little excuse of a mutant...). Instead, the man continued on with his quiet one sided promise.

"I don't know what other kinds of cellmates you had but I'm not that type of person."

That earned a loud hiss from Lovino's end, his lips pulling back once again to let his fangs be shown as a threat. He couldn't fool him; did this man think that he was an idiot!? Just because he didn't have a buff figure like him didn't mean he was stupid! A stare down seemed to start, as the two mutants seemingly fell silent, waiting for each other's reaction.

How could Feliciano befriend this gorilla? He knew he was always an airhead, missing a screw or two to function and think properly, but why befriend this? One move and he could get squashed by those muscles, strangled and snapped in two... If only he could yell at his brother right now about watching out for his own well being... Ugh.

From past experiences, this was when the other mutant would either turn away to ignore Lovino (which honestly was a bliss, seeing the cat mutant took that as a temporary win), or would suddenly launch and attack in annoyance. The brunet swallowed a thick lump in his throat, his tail lashing behind him nervously. He was ready for the latter any moment, figuring with such large form he could easily be taken down. If so, he was not going to go down without a fight. He was going to have to risk himself getting hurt again to show he was not one that could be ordered around by a cellmate. Food given to him would be his, he would own his own bed and blanket, would claim one corner his own space--

The blond moved once more, causing Lovino to quickly tense his body and press himself harder against the bars, his face pale with obvious fear for his safety. He had simply lowered his hands from the peace gesture he had put up earlier, and that was enough to cause the Italian to snarl once again, a low growl passing his throat.

"Um, are you alright?"

The question was asked, and finally Lovino lowered his tensed and heightened shoulders to relax at the slightest. Minutes seemed to have passed since he was thrown in here, and he had yet to earn a new battle scar. This confused the cat mutant a bit, seeing he wasn't used to the situation. It was either dominate or be dominated within the first few minutes of entering the new cell.

Perhaps he could dominate this cell...? It had been a while since he was last able to... And testing his luck with this monster seemed like a ridiculous death wish, but Lovino couldn't help but to wonder.

"...I'm fine." He finally spoke, his trembling stopping as he finally began to gain confidence in his stance in this cell slightly. He was not going to get beaten down immediately it seemed... Though he was able to bite at any given time, making sure to also not move too far away from leaning against the bars, at this point his only completely safe zone. "What's your name...? I'm sure the idiot spoke of you before but I didn't care to remember..."

Word Count: 861

Tags: Ludwig A. Beilschmidt

Notes: Lovi no. BI Stop your nonsense.

template made by MISSO for use only by PUCHI

[Ludwig A. Beilschmidt]

baby you're a firestorm you're a loaded cannon

Ludwig had no idea what to do. He’d met mutants who had tried to start fights with him the instant they’d set foot in the same cell, he’d met mutants who dove for the safety of the bed first, he’d met jaded types, wannabe bullies, several different types of cowards, and — rarely — friends. But having someone react with both anger and fear had him at a loss. Every move he made drew a different form of snarl or hiss from the man pressing himself against the bars; even the attempted calming gesture of peace hadn’t worked. The German half-wondered if he should just stay stock still until the other man ran out of adrenaline and abandoned his cornered animal defense. From the look of things, that would have taken a while. The Feliciano look-a-like might have had the other man’s height and build, but his attitude was far more vicious, far more steely. ”…I’m fine.” Ludwig blinked. That wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting. To be honest, actually, he hadn’t expected much of an answer at all. ”What’s your name…? I’m sure the idiot spoke of you before but I didn’t care to remember…” The cat-man squared his shoulders and lifted his chin a bit, a slightly more self-assured look than before, although his ears remained warily flat against his dark hair. Ludwig took that as a good sign. Still, he refrained from reaching out to shake the other’s hand or anything like that; his new cellmate had the stability of gunpowder, apparently. ”My name’s Ludwig. Ludwig Beilschmidt.” He hesitated before shrugging, ”Just Ludwig’s fine. Or Lud. It doesn’t matter to me.” Feliciano and Gilbert called him ‘Luddi’, perhaps because ‘Ludwig’ sounded too oppressively old-fashioned and fancy for someone like him. But thinking of those two only brought up painful memories. Trying to picture them both somewhere warm and cozy, the blond turned his attention back to his cellmate. ”Have you got a name, then? And who’s the idiot?” Genuine curiosity prompted him to speak then: the Underground was large, but without anywhere else to go, nearly all of the mutants ran in the same large social circle. If he and this other man had some degree of connection, Ludwig realized, he could latch onto that and talk about it, and perhaps that would put the other man more at ease: the bitter anger in his cellmate’s eyes was easy for even Ludwig to read. ”This… might sound a bit stupid, because we haven’t met before, I’m sure, but you look a lot like someone I know,” he added, picking the blanket up from where he’d left it lying and trying to get to work on mending the hole again. Yet again, he found himself missing Feliciano. Even in his frightened and scrawny condition, Ludwig would have wagered precious extra food that his friend could have broken down the wall of distrust that currently stood between him and the man in the corner. Not that Ludwig blamed the other mutant — no, the kinds of abuse Baits like him put up with here explained his bitter attitude very well. But Ludwig wasn’t good at being warm or being friendly or making someone feel welcome. Perhaps it was how he looked, perhaps it was the frankness he’d been raised to espouse. But all he could do was move on with what he’d been doing and hope that the other man would stop viewing him as a weapon, as a threat. Word Count: 592 Tags: Lovino Vargas Notes: i am so slow, sorry ;n;

by worldie for lena

[Lovino Vargas]

He's the meanest little kitty...

Watching this man not suddenly jump up at him and try to attack anytime soon helped Lovino significantly, having been able to relax his panicked breaths and heartbeat drumming in his chest. He could almost hear his own blood rush throughout his tense body with his flattened ears. It wasn’t anything new, but wasn’t something he had happen to him often in a cell itself. In the arena is was all too common, on the other hand. Lovino’s bristled tail finally laid flat on the floor, curling at the tip as an animal gesture of a peace greeting. Hah, as if this man could understand cat… Was it all too convenient that this man quite possibly wouldn’t ever know that Lovino’s guard was now almost completely down?

Hearing the man hesitate his answer of telling Lovino his name, the cat mutant bit his tongue to stop himself from wanting to just spit out and butcher the very name given to him as an introduction. Lu… Ludwig what? Beil-what? Furrowing his brows so that creases showed in between them at his forehead, Lovino kept listening, and hearing the man say he could just be called by his first name or by an even shorter nickname, Lovino gave a grunt as a response. Ludwig… That didn’t sound Russian. Sure mutants were gathered from all over the world to these very underground cells, but often times Lovino was able to pick up where each mutant was from based on their names. This one… Perhaps some Nordic language? Or German? It was one or the other. Not that Lovino had enough interest in himself to ask; they were all here anyway and quite possibly from quite a young age if the government did their job correctly. What would be the benefit of bringing up topics of their homeland? Heck, even Lovino couldn’t explain his own. His parents were true Italians, but his brother and he weren’t necessarily born in that very country itself. So perhaps making assumptions of where other mutants were from based solely on names made no sense…

So caught up in his own thoughts, Lovino almost missed it when he was asked for his name in return. Followed by that was the question asking who this ‘idiot’ was that he just spoke of, and Lovino almost cringed. He… Honestly didn’t like talking much about that little bastard. He was an airhead, an idiot, an attention whore… And all other nicknames he could come up for being a needy little brainless brat. Shaking his head of the thought of the younger brunet, the cat mutant answered the first question real quick, figuring this man would rather call him by his name rather than some other nickname that could possibly come up.

“Lovino Vargas. Just call me Lovino.” He answered, feeling his tail twitch at the idea of being called some other idiotic name. He took a small breath before he noticed the man move a bit, feeling the fur on his tail and ears stand in an instant and his fingers curling instinctively as if he was flexing claws. When he saw that the man was only going back to work on the blanket he was holding before, he relaxed once more, keeping silent as the man explained his reasoning for acting possibly just as awkward.

”This… might sound a bit stupid, because we haven’t met before, I’m sure, but you look a lot like someone I know.”

Of course he did. Lovino rolled his eyes a bit, figuring the man would’ve found out by now by hearing his last name. But in case he was just as dense as his brother, Lovino grumbled out his response to the comment, his voice hesitant and slightly on the annoyed side of the scale.

“You’re Feliciano’s friend, right…? He’s… My poor excuse of a brother.” Lovino spat out the words, the image of his mother’s beautiful face smiling down at the baby in her arms flashing in his eyes momentarily. Closing the olive green orbs to almost savor the moment of the image being visible, sighing softly. “I know you’re friends with him… Or at least was, before. Your musky odor can mark any clothes for days.”

Word Count: 703

Tags: Ludwig A. Beilschmidt

Notes: I'm sorry Lena... I think my Lovi muse is just very grouchy orz He needs his nap. XD

template made by MISSO for use only by PUCHI

[Ludwig A. Beilschmidt]

baby you're a firestorm you're a loaded cannon

Although the majority of Ludwig’s attention remained on the torn blanket in his hands, when he stole a glance out of the corner of his eyes he could see the cat-man relaxing ever so slightly. His new cellmate didn’t look like the kind of person that would trust even genuinely honest sympathy, but if he were able to, Ludwig would have offered it in a heartbeat. The cat ears and tail belied an ability that wasn’t intimidating or frightening; if the man could turn into a tiger or a lion, Ludwig reasoned, he absolutely would have already. So logic stated that he’d been beaten up and tossed around enough to be violently wary of any strangers, even ones that didn’t pose an immediate threat. But despite that, he acted like a punk and tried to make himself bigger and scarier, spoiling for an inevitable fight instead of curling up and admitting defeat. He had to admire that a little, Ludwig supposed. Many others didn’t even have that level of fight left in them. Upon hearing the man’s surname, however, Ludwig forgot about not making any sudden moves around the other: he looked up from the blanket sharply, eyes focused. Vargas? So he’d been right to suspect that this man was Feli’s brother — and Lovino confirmed that moments later, sounding distinctly annoyed by the talk of his younger sibling. That caught Ludwig distinctly off-guard. Feliciano had made mention once or twice that he and his brother hadn’t gotten along, but the German had always assumed that Feli and his brother had been like Gilbert and him: the two had plenty of differences between them, which had lead to the occasional explosion of violence, yet the good had overcome the bad and amends were made (in most cases, at least). But Lovino sounded both ashamed and irritated by the mere idea of his brother; without even being present, Feliciano had put a bad taste in his sibling’s mouth. Ludwig had been ready to seize onto anything he and his cell mate had in common, something to diffuse the tension in the air a little more so that he could get back to behaving normally. Feliciano would have been perfect, although Lovino didn’t seem to remotely enjoy discussing his brother, and he didn’t want to talk much about Feliciano either, because his memories of the fight remained painfully fresh. Yet Ludwig couldn’t think of a single other thing to speak about right now. Just his breathing the same air had set the other man off. ”I’m his friend,” he answered, the excitement he’d felt at hearing a familiar name mentioned giving way to stoicism. ”We were roommates at Weeds for a while.” ”I know you’re friends with him… Or at least was, before.” Ludwig bit his lower lip to keep from just blurting out what he wanted to ask. Before what? Before the fight? Did you speak to him? Do you know how he’s doing? Can you tell him I didn’t mean it? He kept his composure, although he couldn’t help frowning. Feli had always teased him about the wrinkle between his eyebrows and said he would start to look like an old man if he kept frowning. Feli probably would have known how to deal with his own prickly brother, too. ”As far as I know, we’re still friends,” he muttered a bit stiffly, focusing on the blanket. Being called ‘musky’ didn’t help his mood any, and he surreptitiously sniffed at his shirt: it smelled of soap, and a little of his own sweat. It was the best he could do, washing his clothes in the sink like he did when laundry day didn’t arrive soon enough. ”So is that your ability, then?” Ludwig asked, at last seizing on a topic of conversation that wasn’t Feliciano. ”Animal hearing, a tail for balance, and you’re good at smelling things?” The Vargas brothers had terrible luck, with the both of them ending up as baits. Word Count: 674 Tags: Lovino Vargas Notes: Lovi nobody's gonna hurt you kiddo

by worldie for lena

[Lovino Vargas]

He's the meanest little kitty...

Having kept his eyes on the German mutant in the cell the entire time, when he made a sudden move, Lovino jumped back up against the cell bars behind him immediately. His tail fluffed up in an instant and his already glaring eyes sharpened right back to counter the ice blues with olive greens. A long feline growl rumbled in Lovino’s throat when the blond seemed to piece the relationship puzzle together, then continued by mumbling stating they were still friends. Lovino rolled his eyes. Of course they were… Feliciano really needed to pick his friends, seriously…

Not that he was a perfect role model, either, Lovino rethought. He didn’t exactly have close friends, and never did in school, either, so he supposed it was just another skill that his brother had that the elder brother just never managed to get. It was like the younger stole all the traits needed to be a social popular butterfly that everybody would love, while Lovino was left with everything else that the younger decided he never needed. How? Was it just a way they were raised? Couldn’t be; they were raised practically the same. Taken from their parents at a young age and brought up by this twisted so called perfect system to enslave mutants for the humans’ own gains. Why would that scrawny little shithead become friends with this man…?

To benefit himself?

…Ah, that would make perfect sense, now wouldn’t it? Lovino felt a smirk come to his face as he thought of the very possibility of the idea having actually happened. His brother was a weak little thing in school, most likely one that got bullied around a lot even after Lovino left for the higher grades, having no choice but to leave the younger behind. The feline mutant remembered when his brother was gullible enough to believe him on every word he said, from eating crayons being the right thing to do to believing monsters that crept around in their daycare, wanting to gobble up children who stayed awake or was new. It would make sense for Feliciano to make friends with a man as such to seek protection, a shield from danger.

Perhaps he was smarter than Lovino actually thought.

Blinking back to his current situation when asked what his powers were, Lovino lashed his tail behind himself, feeling it still ruffle up in attempts to look large and threatening for the enemy. He listened as his cellmate guessed, listing the powers he knew he already displayed, and simply huffed. If he was in human form, yes, that was pretty much it. Not much to call a set of ‘power’s, in Lovino’s own opinion. He hated how worthless they were when it came to real fights. The bruises ached, reminding the Italian of the very fights his powers and temper cost him.

“…I have more up my sleeve.” Lovino decided to say, not saying exactly what. He wanted to sound as if he was not pathetic. As if telling one that he had the ability to turn into a housecat was ever so threatening… Ugh. Instead of letting the other continue on throwing him questions, he asked first, his fangs showing slightly in between his lips as he spoke. “And your’s? I’m assuming you have some fucking fantastic power if that idiot decided to use you as a shield…”

Word Count: 562

Tags: Ludwig A. Beilschmidt

Notes: This is so late ;//;

template made by MISSO for use only by PUCHI

[Ludwig A. Beilschmidt]

baby you're a firestorm you're a loaded cannon

Ludwig visibly winced when the man let out yet another angry hiss and growl. The sound wasn’t an especially grating one, but in the relative quiet of the Underground, the venom behind it made Lovino sound as piercing as a siren. For heaven’s sake, hadn’t he made it clear he wasn’t going to hurt the other man? While he did feel for Feli’s brother — he’d never be able to fully understand what it might feel like to be treated so poorly for so long, although he’d witnessed Feli’s experiences with it — Ludwig was beginning to worry that he’d never be able to leave his bed or walk around the cell without eliciting some sort of sharp feline noise of disapproval. To that end, Ludwig remained on the bed, still hanging onto the torn blanket. Lovino, he noticed, hadn’t ventured much further into the cell. Ludwig wondered if he’d just settle for sleeping on the floor, then reminded himself that whatever his new cellmate wanted to do wasn’t really his problem. Lovino would probably never trust him, but maybe eventually he’d learn not to be so frightened of him. Of course, Ludwig’s thoughts wasted no time in going back to Feliciano. If he and Feliciano hadn’t met at Weeds, would the other man have reacted in a similar way? Somehow, Ludwig didn’t think so. He would have been frightened, perhaps, but Feliciano warmed up to people quickly. His brother, now… ”… I have more up my sleeve,” Lovino announced. Ludwig didn’t push the issue. If he ever had to face this one in the arena, he at least owed the other man a sporting chance. The fangs in Lovino’s mouth were unsettling, but Ludwig didn’t let his discomfort show on his face. I’m not going to hurt you, he wanted to insist. Why don’t you believe me? ”And yours? I’m assuming you have some fucking fantastic power if that idiot decided to use you as a shield…” Ludwig snorted, the corner of his mouth twitching. He hadn't smiled in ages, but the straightforward and absolute wrongness of Lovino's assumption nearly made him laugh. ”Feliciano never used me as a shield,” he explained, wondering if Lovino would even believe the whole story. In truth, Ludwig’s spirits had been crushed when he’d gotten dragged to Weeds, and while he’d been lanky and athletic as a child, he’d never been especially tall or strong. He became an easy target for bullies as a result, and not wanting a repeat of what had gotten him caught in the first place, Ludwig had just decided to take the beatings and not fight back. Feliciano, however, had the fire in his spirit that Ludwig had ironically lacked and one day, he’d intervened on Ludwig’s behalf. At Weeds, at least, Feliciano had been Ludwig’s shield. ”Anyways,” Ludwig picked up again, ”I can control fire — and heat, somewhat. So if you’re cold, let me know.” He lifted his gaze from the blanket to fix his sky blue eyes on Lovino instead, ”And please don’t think that’s any kind of a threat. I’m not going to set anything on fire, but I can make the cell warmer. It kept Feliciano from freezing to death in the winter.” He gestured slowly and carefully with his left hand to the empty bed across the cell from him, ”That one’s yours. You can have the other blanket, too, if you want it. I just have to fix the hole.” There. That had to be at least some kind of a peace gesture. Maybe Lovino would stop hissing at him, at least. Word Count: 609 Tags: Lovino Vargas Notes: I am slowest ;A;

by worldie for lena

[Lovino Vargas]

He's the meanest little kitty...

Lovino learned quickly that by hissing and growling, he was managing in keeping the bulky mutant away from himself, so he just continued doing so every time Ludwig made the slightest hint of moving. The small smile and snort however was not something he expected, and his ears gave a clear twitch at the noise that was more than unfamiliar in the underground. It wasn't common to hear people giving out noises of laughter, that even the small one Ludwig almost gave out was more than enough to make Lovino flinch slightly. As he listened to the response however, the brunet found himself rolling his eyes, not believing the German one bit. There always had to be a partnership, seeing friendship was something Lovino didn't even consider, for the two to actually want to hang out. One had to be the protector of another, the dominant one, and the other would listen to whatever their 'shield' would say.

And Feliciano, in his eyes, was always the weak one. The one who would cry the moment he was given the smallest of teases and fell to scrape his knee. And though years passed since that point of where the imagery sat, Lovino couldn't reset his minds to a different side his brother could possibly show with maturity. So when Ludwig insisted otherwise, Lovino highly doubted him. After all, how could Feliciano be protecting this buff man when he was a skinny little noodle himself? If the blond considered a frail boy clinging onto him by wrapping his arms around him 'protecting him', then maybe that was a different story... But Lovino was sure the man couldn't be that dumb.

Just as Lovino himself was about to smirk at the image of his brother trying to protect the buff man however, the mutant changed the topic back to their original conversation. Right, their powers... The Italian found himself listening intently as the German explained his, rather clearly, to Lovino's surprise, wanting to make sure he knew what to expect while living as this mutant's cellmate. Control... Fire? And heat? Lovino gulped softly, suddenly that much more afraid of his cellmate, knowing if they were to fight, he wouldn't stand a chance. He would be a barbecued feline before the starting bell even rang.

As the Italian lowered his gaze slightly to the ground in horror of the thought, he blinked slowly as the topic was changed yet again. Silently, he gave one glance to the empty bed that was gestured to, then resting his olive hues back to the male. "Yeah... Fine. Whatever. I don't care." He suddenly commented back, now just bringing his knees to his chest and hugging them tight. Though the man asked to not think of it as a threat, it was hard not to. He met elemental power controllers before, and always feared meeting one of fire. He always hoped they wouldn't exist. Yet here he was, stuck with one, for god knew how long. "I bet you're one fucking champion in the arena... Heh."

Word Count: 508

Tags: Ludwig A. Beilschmidt

Notes: Nooo I AM THE SLOW ONE SOB

template made by MISSO for use only by PUCHI

[Ludwig A. Beilschmidt]

baby you're a firestorm you're a loaded cannon

Fighting against the urge to roll his eyes, Ludwig kept a settled and steady gaze on the man — who, despite his best efforts, remained stubbornly seated against the bars of the cell. Ludwig wasn’t entirely sure what he was trying to prove, honestly. He didn’t usually go out of his way to set new cellmates at ease, and certainly not when they were as confrontational as Lovino. It had to be because Lovino was related to Feli, Ludwig reasoned eventually. Even if Lovino didn’t care for his new cellmate (or for Feli, it sometimes sounded like), the German was still somehow determined to make Lovino understand that he meant him no harm and was willing to help him in small ways. His attempts to make normal conversation were all failing, though in hindsight perhaps he shouldn’t have continued to talk about abilities. The man already seemed terrified of him, and given that he had only curled in on himself further upon learning what Ludwig could do, the information clearly had made the situation worse. And worse still, Lovino wasn’t wrong about him being a champion in the arena. ”I’ve won my fair share of fights,” he was forced to admit. ”But I hate fighting against baits. It’s not even fair. Everyone’s just there to watch someone else getting tormented.” Ludwig turned his gaze back down to the blanket, continuing to darn the hole closed as best he could, ”If someone can’t put up a fight, I just make them pass out from heatstroke. It’s blunt but it works, and it doesn’t cause any long-lasting damage.” Uncomfortably, Ludwig’s thoughts swung to Feli. He hadn’t been able to use that strategy against him that one time they had been forced to face each other. And if Feli still resented him for that, and if he ran into his own brother again, there was the real possibility that Feli would just tell Lovino that Ludwig was a liar. But unhappily, Ludwig knew there was nothing he could do about that. It was water under the bridge. He’d been able to use the heatstroke method against all other baits, at least. ”Still,” Ludwig went on, ”I can’t win all of my fights. There are mutants who’ve beaten me before.” The scars that covered his body were certainly a testament to that. Ludwig hated getting so thoroughly thrashed, but he hated more that losing meant no extra prizes aside from necessary medical treatment. He had always been able to put the rations from his victories to good use. ”Hey, Lovino,” Ludwig piped up, hitting on another idea. ”If they make me fight again, and I win, I’ll save you some food. I always saved it for Feli, and I don’t need as much as they give me.” He looked up at the other mutant, determined not to flinch away if Lovino persisted in hissing at him. ”And before you ask, I’m not going to poison it or anything. It’s too much food, and it’ll rot and go to waste if someone doesn’t eat it. How does that sound to you?” He was going to get on Lovino’s… well, at this point, Ludwig wasn’t sure Lovino had a good side, but he found his cellmate’s angry fear of him perturbing, and he was going to do his best to change that. Word Count: 556 Tags: Lovino Vargas Notes: Please tolerate me

by worldie for lena