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carynsilver · 4 years

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Favorite Fics: Darcy Edition

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these. Things started going on that hurt my soul, and I just felt like, who cares about some fic recs when people are getting hurt? But… I don’t know. I still find solace and comfort in reading stories, even when things are hard—especially when things are hard. So, I finally felt like maybe it was time for another. If the fic writers out there are giving me escape, warm fuzzies, and enjoyment during these weird times, then they deserve some love directed back at them.

So far, I’ve listed my top 10 favorite Stucky, Drarry, and Stony fics. I love them all, but… that is a lot of dudes. I decided it was time for a little girl power in my fanfic recs. One of my favorite BAMF female characters is Darcy Lewis—one of the best and most under-rated, under-explored characters in the MCU.

I love Darcy as the every-girl who has the moxie and chutzpa to hold her own in a life full of superheroes. The girl tased the God of Thunder because he was freaking her out, for goodness sake! I love her being BFFs with Jane, being Thor’s lightening sister, and creating a found family. I love her living in the tower and caring for all the superheroes and science geniuses like they won’t care for themselves. There’s enough leeway in her backstory for fun twists, too, like being Jewish, or—one of my absolute faves—secretly being the daughter of Tony Stark.

There are a ton of good Darcy fics out there, but these are my top 10. Thank you, writers, for sharing these amazing stories with us!

Casa de Island Avengers by @inkbert

I clicked on this story because of WinterShock (Darcy/Bucky), which is a favorite ship of mine (I feel my love of Bucky has been previously discussed at length, lol), but it has become one of my favorite fics of all time. Not even just in the MCU—if I were listed my top five fanfics ever read, this one is on the list.

The concept is simple—post-Ultron, the Avengers started falling apart as a team, so Steve spearheads the effort to get them all on a two-week vacation to Tony’s private island in a last-ditch bonding effort. Every character (except Thor, but he does get some good screen time) has his or her own point of view for at least a chapter or two. Sometimes, this leads to characters sounding the same, but @inkbert really grounds each character in their own backstory and makes their inner monologues sound unique. Then, so many wacky hijinks ensue—camping, drinking, movie nights, girl bonding, sailing, pranks, and the most competitive game nights and challenges you’ve ever seen.

The ships included are Darcy/Bucky, Steve/Natasha, Pepper/Tony, and Clint/Wanda, but this story isn’t only about the ships. It’s about all these crazy characters bonding—found family at its finest. This is probably my favorite Darcy/Jane BFFs story ever, and the Bruce/Tony science bro connection is classic. The story is fully seated in cannon (up through Ultron and moving to the ccmpound), except no Clint/secret family and Pietro lives. Read it. Read it now! And if you enjoy it, there are several one-shots that follow, including a Wanda-centric one that shouldn’t be missed.

Best Supporting Soulmate by Valeris

I love a good soulmate fic, and this is an excellent one. The first thing your soulmate says to you is written on your skin, and there are both romantic and platonic soulmates. Darcy has Jane as a platonic soulmate, but it’s her other soulmate who made her life crazy before she even met them. What are you supposed to do when your soulmate’s first words to you are to let them die?

The two primary ships in this fic are Wintershock and Stony, which work well together, but the story delves into a lot more relationships. I don’t love the whole amnesia trope in a Stucky fic because losing all that history and friendship hurts so much, but in a WinterShock fic, I have a real soft spot for Darcy being able to help post-HYDRA Bucky learn how to person again, and she does that in spades in this one. She also cultivates friendships with just about everyone in Avengers Tower and beyond. Darcy/Johnny Storm BFFs are amazing, and the deep friendship Darcy develops with Tony in this story gives me all the feels. This is a great version of BAMF Darcy who can see what the tortured characters need and is able to help them get there. And there is some interesting conflict with the Fantastic Four, as well.

This was one of the first, if not the first, WinterShock stories I ever read. I had been trying TaserHawk, but it wasn’t really my cuppa, and then somehow found this one and got hooked.

Road Trip of Champions by @leftennant

Natasha and Steve are going on a road trip. Steve wants Bucky to come with, but they feel like they need a fourth to make things even. Natasha bribes Darcy into coming with, and over the course of the trip, we get a lovely WinterShock romance. The road trip concept is fun, and Darcy and Bucky have a light enemies to friends to lovers vibe going on. Bucky is recovering, Darcy isn’t going to take anyone’s crap, and Natasha and Steve really just want a little private time along the way. And the bit at the end of the main story when they play paintball—classic and a scene that has stuck in my mind long after reading many other fics. The protective vibe Bucky has for Darcy after all this and how it even affects paintball is adorable. There are other one-shots in this ’verse as well that should not be missed. You might never think of lemons the same again.

Daybreak by @anogete

Anogete has a really good touch with snarky, caretaker Darcy. I love all her WinterShock stories, but this is the one that’s stuck with me the most. The concept of Darcy trying to help dismantle Bucky’s trigger words by creating new memories for each one was so compelling. The therapy aspect did give me pause (a personal thing; it is dealt with as respectfully as possible in the story), but it all works out in the end. The fact that I loved it so much despite a mild personal ping with the concept speaks to how well it’s written, honestly. :-) And, if this one isn’t to your taste, Anogete has plenty of great WinterShock to read, so definitely try one of them instead!

The Run ’Verse by themonkeycabal

Though it eventually becomes a WinterShock story, my favorite thing about this universe is the Tony-Stark-is-Darcy’s-father trope. This is probably my absolute favorite version of that relationship. There is also time travel, and BAMF Peggy Carter. And even though I don’t love the Darcy-becomes-a-Shield-agent thing as much as Darcy the Scientist Wrangler, this story has a great, cannon-compliant reason for why Tony, Clint, etc., weren’t able to come help Steve, Natasha, Sam, and Maria in CA:tWS. There are a ton of stories in this ’verse, and I enjoyed every single one. My favorite, though, is the one where Darcy and Tony go visit Howard’s forgotten secret bunker and have three generation’s-worth of overdue conversations.

A Morbid Taste for Ice by sitehound

This is probably my favorite TaserTricks story, though I haven’t read nearly as much Darcy/Loki as I have other Darcy ships. I think it’s because writing Loki in character and making it believable to me that Darcy would fall in love with him, especially post-Avengers 1, is a fine line. If the fic apologizes too much for Loki’s wrongdoing without enough repentance/reformation, I don’t buy that she would legit be able to fall for him, but, go too far on the redemption and Loki gets OOC.

This story hits all those beats pretty perfectly and combines them with the whole Darcy/Jane/Thor (and now Loki) found family thing, Thor/Loki brother angst, Jane/Darcy BFFs, and a really compelling murder mystery to boot. There is also an interesting subplot with Loki being what basically amounts to a magical mechanic that I found really interesting amidst the snark, romance, and mystery solving. I’m sad this writer only has the one story up because it is so good!

Bygone by @inkbert

This story is Shieldshock (Steve/Darcy), not WinterShock, so even though I do try to only choose one fic per author (mostly), I’m totally fine having two by @inkbert on this list. Besides, this fic is amazing, and it’s not like there are anyone’s rules to follow on these fic rec lists but my own, lol! This is hands down my favorite ShieldShock story ever.

Jane’s experiment goes awry and sends Darcy into the past—specifically after Bucky left for basic but before he shipped out and Steve got tapped for Project Rebirth. Darcy ends up living with Rebecca and Mrs. Barnes, and she falls head over heels in love with tiny Steve, so much so that they get married despite not knowing what the future holds for her. Then, the night before Steve is going to report to basic, Darcy blips out again, and when she blips back in, Steve is dead. The rest of the story has Darcy blipping her way through time, making friends with Howard, Peggy, and the Howling Commandos. Ultimately, though, it’s her brother/sister relationship with Tony that is the most poignant, especially by the time they catch up to the present again. And Darcy is a complete BAMF the whole time—going on missions, learning to fly anything with wings, doing anything and everything to keep her found family together. This story also gave me a plan for what I would do if I were ever shot back into a timeline like this where I couldn’t sew or cook or make a living—become a typist… genius, Darce!

Their Hearts Said by @anogete

Another Anogete story because I just can’t resist. All her stories are really good, be they WinterShock, ShieldShock, or even her really good Loki/OC fic. I would definitely suggest giving all of them a try.

This ShieldShock story is my favorite post-Infinity War tale. It picks up a few weeks after the snap, with everyone grieving and trying to figure out what to do next. Steve is barely holding it together while the remaining Avengers try to figure out what they can do. After Jane and her family disappear, Darcy heads to Avengers Tower, hoping against hope that maybe Thor knows what’s going on. Darcy and Steve start sleeping together as more of an escape from the awfulness around them than anything else, but as the team works on a plan to save the day and bring everyone back, they develop real feelings for each other. There is also time travel and I really loved the minimalist way she wrote how the day was saved in this. It balanced well with the character stuff. This story is much preferable to End Game—too bad cannon didn’t go like this!

Good Madness by Em_Jaye

Normally, I prefer my Darcy embedded within the MCU cannon. I adore that every girl keeping up with superheroes thing. But, I do enjoy a good AU on occasion, and this is one of my faves. It’s ShieldShock and kid!fic. Darcy runs a bakery that was left to her by her mother (real You’ve Got Mail tones there, but no creepy identity porn), and Steve comes in for treats on occasion. One day, he brings his daughter, and the rest is history. I love the Steve/Darcy romance in this one, and Steve’s daughter is a sweet character. I love the Full House thing Steve has going on co-raising his daughter with Bucky and Sam. And there is a nice Bucky/Natasha subplot and some really good Tony, which I would say more about except that I don’t want to spoil the surprise. My favorite story in the series is the five rules one at the end, so definitely keep going long enough for that. And if you like Em_Jaye’s writing, you should check out The Long Way Around—a Shieldshock, time travel, Endgame fix-it WIP that is excellent, as well.

One Year by @steeleholtingon

This story is WinterShieldShock. OT3s aren’t my favorite trope, but somehow with Bucky/Darcy/Steve, it works. Maybe it’s something about the boys’ history and Darcy dragging them into the future. Kind of what she does for each of them individually in WinterShock and ShieldShock, but with even more oomph. I haven’t read the whole tag, but One Year is my favorite.

Bucky’s Winter Soldier recovery has pushed both Steve and Bucky to the edge. Steve ends up leaving (at Bucky’s demand, but also because the team is afraid he’s going to do some kind of suicide via superhero duty if he doesn’t get his head on straight). The wrinkle—the night before he left, Darcy and Steve had a comforting one-night stand that resulted in two pinks lines on the test. The resulting story takes place one month at a time. Steve tries to piece himself back together and put his feelings for Bucky in the past whilst falling for Darcy over text messages. Bucky, on the other hand, realizes how he fucked it all up and vows to be there for Darcy and Steve’s baby while Steve is gone. Darcy navigates the waters of an unplanned (but wanted) pregnancy while balancing her feelings for both of them. And all the rest of the Avengers, science crew, and other Avengers-adjacent peeps support all three of them through it all. Angst, recovery, and a happy ending. So good!

So, after all that, what are you guys waiting for? Get to reading all this Darcy goodness! :-)

And now I need to figure out what fic rec list to work on next. I have a Stranger Things one (Harringrove and Mileven) almost ready to go, and then I need to decide what to do with the ships and characters that I don’t have a full top ten for. Group them together, perhaps? Bughead and LoVe might be a good combination, lol. And WinterHawk and WinterIron.

#darcy lewis #darcy x steve #darcy x loki #darcy x bucky #wintershock #shieldshock #tasertricks #fanfic #fanfic rec #quarantine reads #highly recommend #thanks for writing these fics #bucky barnes #steve rogers

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make-it-mavis · 3 years

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Homesick (Entry #24)

(cw: 18+ SEXUAL CONTENT, drug use) ------------

01/10/88 9:46 PM

Hey.

Looking back on all this, I noticed something.

Ever since you’d left, I had been stuck in perpetual fight-or-flight mode. My first instinct was, as always, to fight. I fought to find you, to disprove the lies everyone had been spinning about you and about me, and emerge a winner over this false reality I was supposed to submit to. All my strength, my resolve, my conviction, was tied to the idea that you were still alive. After Tapper’s, I just couldn’t lie to myself anymore.

You were gone. My brush powers were gone. Whatever shred of acceptance I’d garnered in the arcade over the years was gone. What was there to fight for anymore?

Flight was the only option left.

The morning after that night, I knew it was time to be on my own again. I didn’t need company anymore. I’d stopped being afraid of murderous sprites sneaking in. I’d like to say the reason for that was I’d stopped being an idiot and really clued in that I can’t be deleted in my own game. I’d like to say that. I think the cold truth of it was that my newfound guilt dwarfed any reason I had to be afraid.

I packed up my things. I said goodbye to Wreck-it, thanked him for my stay (which threw him off again), and brought my things back to my den. Coming back to it should have felt right in some way, but it didn’t. It’s true that my den has never fully felt like home, but it’s at least been a place to be surrounded by things that belong to me. I looked at all my junk strewn everywhere, my well-guarded stolen treasures accrued over the years, and wondered why the hell I kept any of it. It almost made me angry, in a way. A small part of me wanted to just burn it all.

I spent the whole day in that junk heap, antsy as hell, just trying to keep occupied until closing. Once I’d decided to try GC, it was all I could think about. I just ran the actions through my head over and over -- the arcade would close, I would venture out alone, track down one of the few dealers willing to do business with me, buy a block of GC, come back to my pile of junk, and take it.

That’s exactly what happened.

Now, I know what you’d say right about now, and yes, it was a risky move, taking GC in my own game, especially for someone with a code deficiency. For all I knew, one hit of the stuff could have thrown my code in a blender and splattered it all over the trees. No one knew I was doing this, either, so no one would know if I corrupted, not until Fix-it inevitably found my mangled sprite. I was fully aware of the risks, but somehow, I didn’t care. There was danger, but it felt so far away. Like it just wouldn’t happen to me. Why not? I don’t know. That’s just how it felt. Risks were inconsequential.

All that mattered to me was escaping life.

And GC? Oh, GC. It was my escape.

Buffs I’d been taking up to that point had been child’s play. They took whatever warmth or pleasure that existed inside me and tried to stretch it as far as it would go. They lit a fire under my moxie and gave me a fighting edge against everything thrown my way. They blurred reality. They weakened it. But they never made it go away.

GC does. Game Changers live up to their name. They grasp you tight and yank you out of reality so hard, you almost forget it was ever there at all. I guess you could call it dreaming while awake, only ten times more vivid, twenty times more intense, thirty times more satisfying.

But, like dreams, experiences with it seem to be hard to remember and even harder to describe. I took four hits of GC over the course of about a week, and the further along we go, the more I remember of the visions, and the less I remember of the reality in between. It’s gonna be a challenge to write. If you were able to read this, you would complain about it being hard to follow and full of gaps. Well, it’s no clearer for me than it is for you, so suck it up.

Okay. That first night, that first hit.

I punched open the block, took the buff inside, and immediately thought I was corrupting.

My skin went cold with sweat, my heart punched my ribs, my brain clenched and my stomach twisted. I fell back. I felt what I would describe as each individual digit of my binary being turned backwards all at once. It was unreal.

Then, just like that, it was gone.

And the release of that pain was… let’s say I felt it in places that had otherwise been dormant for a long time.

It made me inconsolably horny, is what I’m saying. Painfully so.

At first, that appeared to be it. No hallucinations, no mental roadtrips, just extremely urgent arousal. I was a little underwhelmed, but I took what I could get. The last thing on my mind since you’d left had been sex, or anything related to it, which I trust needs no explanation. So, whatever, I figured. I’m a big girl with two hands and a brush, I can take care of myself.

Only, I couldn’t.

When I went to grab my belt, I couldn’t move either of my arms. They were glued to the ground, along with my back. While I was sitting there wondering why nothing was happening, the trees had started profusely bleeding a sticky red sap that smelled amazing, but held me down tight. My entire den began to flood with it, and the leaves above reddened and swelled into tender fist-sized cherries that sloughed into the syrup below. The bare trees stretched tall, curved over my den, and locked branches like dozens of twisting fingers weaving together. Within a minute, the trees closed all gaps, trapping me in complete darkness with a slowly growing bath of cherry pie filling.

I wasn’t scared. Not even a little. I was pissed. I was absolutely dying for any kind of contact, any relief, but of course, I had to be denied by something so unforgivingly weird as a spontaneous pie flood. As I squirmed around, trying to find some kind of pressure, I felt the goop around me start to heat up. Slowly, the entire chamber became like a sauna. Thicker sap melted into runny syrup that dripped on me from the ceiling. I could feel steam on my face mixing with beading sweat. It was around that point that I started panting. Around that point, the game changed.

In the burning, viscous syrup around me, giant cherries dragged slowly down my body like wandering hands. Some even split open, exposing positively obscene warm, soft, wet flesh that I could feel sliding directly across my skin, as if my clothes weren’t even there. I leaned into the shapes and groped around where I could in the sugary slime, and let my fingers sink deep into the velvety smooth bits of cherry heat, which somehow made me shudder right down to my bones. But it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t helping. It was just working me up even more. Every touch and smell and sound of my own desperate, frustrated breathing shot rippling euphoric waves through my very code. I’d never been so needy for touch in all my life, and the closest I could get to it was a bath of cherries.

After an agonizingly long time, the syrup had reached dangerous levels. It would have been over my head if I wasn’t already propped up on… what I can only assume entered the dream as a pillow. For a moment, the thought crossed my mind that I might actually drown there, but that’s when I heard rumbling. The entire structure around me began to shake. There was a great, rocky crack, and the roof above me split open like an egg, revealing a night sky unlike any other.

It was a kaleidoscope. The sky curved with rows of millions of tiny LED lights with colors that travelled seamlessly with one another like a scrolling electric sign. Bright and brilliant as it was, its light just barely illuminated my surroundings, like rainbow moonlight. That glimpse alone would have left me awestruck, but there was so much more.

In an instant, the cherry room crumbled and fell away. The ground around me cracked and broke off to leave me suspended on a floating patch of earth, and the bath of syrup drained thickly over the edges. I could see it all, now -- I was in a ball. I was floating directly in the center of a ball made up of nothing but the kaleidoscope lights. Gravity sort of sank in my stomach for a second, just at the sheer vastness of it, but that’s why it was freakin’ spectacular. It made me want to fly so badly, but in this dream, I still knew I couldn’t.

The next thing I saw were mirrors around me. Big, uneven shards of mirror floated in a still circle, spread maybe twenty feet out from my little chunk of land. In them, I could see myself stuck there, lying prone as my clothes dissolved into sugary slime, slowly melting off to expose my skin. I looked into my own eyes, and even in the dream, they shone a binary blue. There was a fire in them that matched the one inside me. They said to me, “What are you doing? Fight, dumbass.”

They were right. Of course they were. I may have been stuck, but how could I lie back and accept that? Have I ever been known to be passive?

So, I squeezed my eyes shut and struggled. I pushed, pulled, and thrashed against my glued-down arms and back, but it was not coming easily. In fact, it seemed like all I managed to do was make it worse. When I tried to push up off the ground with my feet, they stuck firmly to the spot. Seconds later, when I gave up and let my hips drop back down and my legs fold back into place, my calves stuck to my thighs. Even my eyes wouldn’t open. I was so frustrated I could have screamed, but just as I took a breath to do so, I was muffled.

There was a distinctly familiar, piping-hot, cherry-flavored mouth smothering mine. I made some muffled protests for my pride’s sake, but, of course, I returned the gesture. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been kissed, and it felt like a cold drink of water I didn’t know I needed. I couldn’t open my eyes to see who it was, nor could I feel any actual code at all, but I didn’t have to. He had burning-hot skin. He smelled like smoke clinging to old leather. His kiss felt like he was quite literally breathing binary right into me, pouring strength into the holes in my code until they spilled over. There’s no one else he could have been. And, at the time, I didn’t question it. Everything seemed right.

The kiss broke, and I remember the air suddenly feeling so cold on my skin. But there was heat radiating from the body looming over mine, and his touch seemed to throw fire in me. For a second, his mouth lingered at my neck and his hands squeezed my shoulders, but before long, he made his way slowly down my body. Fingers traced lightly at every rise, palms pushed deeply under every slope, all slipping in the sugary glaze that his mouth lapped up and savored in a contented, indulgent sort of way. Needless to say, I was positively aching by this point. It was teetering on the edge of painful. I remember shaking, trying and failing to suppress whimpers, and, for a minute, giving up completely on my attempts to get free. I was right where I wanted to be. Honestly, being blind and immobilized and helpless to refuse? In this context, it was hot as hell.

Makes me wish we’d dabbled in that concept a bit more while you were still around.

There came a point where things were just short of where I needed them to be. At my innermost thigh, his mouth licked and nipped lazily, as if he were settling in for a long stay. His hands just squeezed at the meat of my hips, running his thumbs over the bone. The nerve of it all.

I struggled harder than ever, and with my partner having licked off so much of the sugary glue, my feet broke free, then my legs, then my arms, one right after the other. My back peeled harshly off the ground as I threw myself upright, and I opened my eyes to stare down a glowing blue gaze looking at me from between my knees.

I froze. Where I expected to see you, there was nothing but a you-shaped figure, seemingly made of nothing but shadow. Save for his eyes, he was just an empty black shape. A void, I guess. The edges of his body were a little hard to focus on, and seemed to warp the air around him the tiniest bit, like heat off the hood of a car.

He was supposed to be you. But he… wasn’t. Not exactly. This is really hard to put into words, but I think he was just… all that was left in the you-shaped hole in my life. Take your scarf, for example. It’s a piss poor substitute for actually having you here, but it’s all I have now, so I take it. The tiny bit of you that’s still in my life? The part that I’d like to believe I still carry around with me? That’s what he was.

He was the last of your physical presence in my life.

I think that’s why I didn’t question it when I felt him kissing me. I knew who he was, and I knew I could trust him, but he wasn’t really you. He had been with me the whole time. I felt like he had been with me for a really long time.

But, still, when I saw him… something in me changed. Even though there were so many things I wanted to say, I could not find my voice. There was something about the air he gave off, about the way he looked at me, and I looked at him. Like we both knew exactly why we had come together, and there was no need for words anymore. My heart just pounded heavily and my blood began to simmer, and somehow, I knew he could sense that.

So, rather than scold him for teasing, I reached out a shaky hand and pushed my fingers through his hair. His bright eyes closed at the touch, and he leaned into my hand a bit as it curved down to hold his jaw. We lingered for just a moment. I’m not sure if we were savoring the anticipation, or what, but… I got the weird feeling that we were having a conversation. Exactly what it was about, I couldn’t say. But I know that by the time we were done, I was about ready to abandon all thought, all reason, and surrender fully to feeling.

He knew. He agreed. His eyes opened, and I remember the way their blue distinctly strayed from binary to low burning flames.

His hands curled around my thighs, and he finally ducked his head down between them and went in for the kill.

Devs, I don’t think I could come close to explaining how it felt, finally feeling something, some kind of spectacular contact, after holding that ache for what felt like forever. I fell onto my back, closed my eyes against the twisting colors in the sky, and let it all out in a sigh deeper than my lungs could hold. My memory seemed to recreate exactly what you would do, right down to every movement, but -- not to discredit you -- this was just otherworldly. The heat was intense, the syrup was slick, and my head whirled over itself. It was, in a word, sublime.

As amazing as it felt, and as perfectly as it was working me up, I really just wanted more. The motion really was a relief at first; it sated the initial ache. But the longer he drew it out, the more a deeper ache set in, one stronger than I’ve ever felt in my life. Maybe it seems like I’m being dramatic, or that I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. Not in the slightest. Before I knew what I was doing, I was mentally lamenting over how he didn’t show up sooner. I thought about how I’d been losing my mind, that I’d been in near agony over want of relief, and hoped that he would hear it. By the way he moved, I’d say that he did.

It seemed like he was being tormented by an ache of his own. He had been digging a sharp grip into my hips and yanking me hard against his mouth any time my squirming slipped me away from him, now and then pushing his hands up over my ribs to rake his nails back down. He wanted it real bad. And before too long, his patience ran out. The shadow demon raised his head and crawled over my body, radiating heat. I stared into those burning blue eyes that were really beginning to come alive with lust, and I was deeply distracted by how cold and naked I felt without the warm blanket of his tongue. Again, it wasn’t that I’d never felt that before. It’s just that I’d never been so desperately, painfully sensitive. I couldn’t stand to not be touched for a second longer.

So, when I locked my arms under his shoulders, looked into his eyes and pointedly thought about just how he had no idea how badly I needed it, I saw those eyes narrow with an obvious smirk. I got the clear impression that he did know.

Then finally, finally, he clutched painfully onto one of my hips and slipped inside me, giving me what we both so badly needed. When I tried to cry out, the kaleidoscope lights flared twice as bright, like they were standing in for my voice in its absence.

I could feel and hear the shadow shudder breathlessly, the same way you did. I could hear in it every bit of the same maddening desire that I felt myself. It was so hot, I could barely stand it.

I don’t know if the very real pleasure messed with my head or what, but things really took a turn for the strange at this point.

I tried talking. I know I did. I just couldn’t hear a word of it -- I could only see the swirling lights waxing and waning with my volume. I don’t even know what I was trying to say. Whatever it was, it felt like I needed to say it. Every word literally made me feel lighter and cleaner, like emptying out the extra junk in your bag you’d been carrying for ages. I think he liked it, too. As he moved quicker and deeper, he seemed to be encouraging me. He grabbed my hand and pinned it by my head, and he squeezed hard in response to whatever the hell I was saying.

As it got harder to catch enough breath to “speak”, I looked to the mirrors, expecting to see me and the shadow tangled up together. I didn’t see a reflection at all anymore. The mirrors had started slowly rotating around us, and each of them may as well have been windows into places I recognized. A lot of them were from your game: Behind the bleachers, your garage, the showers. Others were all over the arcade. My den, Tapper’s supply closet, among the trees in Jungle Hunt, backstage at Qix, behind the Burger Time dumpsters, inside one of the Paperboy houses, an alley in Rampage, an empty Niceland apartment, the penthouse bar, Gene’s freakin’ walk-in closet -- and then the images in the mirrors began to move, and sound began to bubble out, as if playing recorded videos. When I heard them, I realized what all these places had in common.

Breathing hard, gasping, muttering, dripping with lust, was my own voice. Doing the very same, was yours.

The kaleidoscope ball echoed with the sounds of us going at it, from over a dozen encounters at once. Through the mirrors that were gradually spinning faster, I saw footage of it all, too. I saw us. Well, what should have been us. In each of them, the shadow figure took your place. But it was close enough for me, in the heat of the moment. It sent my head spinning. The chorus of whimpering and moaning drowned out almost every coherent thought I had. I could have sworn I was reliving all of those memories at once, right down to each sensation, on top of the fiery drum already beating inside me.

I tried to tell him that. I knew he’d eat it right up. But whether I had a voice again or not, it was drowned out completely. I could hear nothing from him either, no labored breathing, even though I could feel his chest heaving. In his eyes, I could see his composure breaking. He was still squinting in a smirk, but his smile was wavering. It was too hot to handle. His eyes fell heavy-lidded, and he dropped to bite and suck at my neck. As I held him there, I got a heaping eyeful of the kaleidoscope sky twisting above us.

In an instant, I was mesmerized. Nearly hypnotized. The colors were so astoundingly bright, it should have strained my eyes to look at, but it didn’t. In fact, it felt refreshing, even healthy to drink in -- something I say near literally, because I felt the sea of color pour into me and fill me up. I could feel color inside me, far beyond what I feel using my brush. It danced and twisted on a million different axes, starting between my thighs and rolling outward in waves, bouncing off the edges of my body like ripples, even right through my fingers and toes. By some magic or trick of code, I became the kaleidoscope. Above, below, all around, the brilliant, dazzling light, was just an extension of my body.

I swear to the Devs, I became color itself.

A creature made of color, and a creature devoid of all light, rutting like filthy beasts. Oddly poetic, now that I think about it.

As I yanked his head up to kiss him, tasting myself on his tongue, the lights around us once again flared. They flashed, flickered unevenly, and only grew brighter by the second. Combined with the noisy memories growing louder and louder, the spectrum in my body, and my shadow friend’s growing aggression, my senses were mercilessly assaulted. The overload kept building, the lights turned blinding, and I was pushed right to that heart-pounding, white-hot edge…

And freakin’ sat there. Perched firmly.

At that moment, all the lights fell dark with a great hum, like a switch was flipped. The recordings cut out completely, and only then was I aware of how much noise we were making. We may not have had voices, but panting alone can get pretty damn loud. My throat was getting dry and hoarse by that point. He let out short, quivering huffs and worked against me so desperately, I was sure that he was right at the edge, too. We were stuck together, stranded just inches from the finish line.

Just then, a single cluster of lights flickered to life, casting a ghostly white light over a single mirror shard, probably the smallest of them all. I had to squint to see it, and almost couldn’t focus with how much my body shook, but once I saw it, I knew what it was immediately.

Another memory. This time, in your trailer, sitting fixed like a camera beside your bed.

This time, it was really you.

It was us. Just us, fumbling, pausing, sort of laughing. Enthusiastic, stupid, inexperienced, thrilled, enraptured by how exciting it was to finally get it right. I encouraged you, assured you I could handle it this time, urged you to give me more, let you know just how good it felt. You were so genuinely vocal, the way I was crazy for. You rasped out your approval, bits of praise, and all the things you wanted to do to me. We blew each other’s minds.

It was our first time.

I couldn’t believe I was seeing it again. I wished it had picked a bigger, louder mirror to show up on -- I loosened my grip on my shadowy partner, trying to keep as still as I could, so as to hear and see it better. The memory was pristine, with hardly a blur or gap, distorted only by the fact that it was a third-person view, when I did, in fact, experience it through my own eyes. Still, watching it sort of felt like hearing an old song you haven’t heard in forever, and finding you still remember all the lyrics. It was a good feeling. It was a good memory.

I wished it wasn’t just a memory. I don’t know if I was drawn to it purely from the fact that I could see you when I thought I never would again, or... other things that probably don’t really need to be named. Regardless of why, I wanted nothing more than to crawl right through that mirror and do it all again.

But it dissipated. It returned to being just a plain mirror. And when it did, the entirety of them began to spin around us again, rapidly picking up speed.

I felt a jolt as every light in the sphere flashed at once. My body was still in tune with them, it seemed. They flashed again in a binary blue so bright, it was almost white. Again and again they flashed, until they turned into the most intense strobe lights ever, whipping pulse after pulse of static through my code. I couldn’t contain myself. It was unreal.

I sent endless, wild, completely silent praise pouring from my mouth and raked my nails mercilessly over the shadow’s back. He quivered against the pain, but only slipped an arm under my lower back to crush me up against him. I didn’t know which way was up. I didn’t know what to do with myself anymore. I was just overcome with the need to be closer to him. He was already pressing down so hard on my body, but it just wasn’t enough. I wanted our very pixels to fuse. I wanted to feel him in every digit of my code. Everywhere.

And then, well…

I heard something strange beneath us -- rapid creaking of old mattress springs. Against my skin, I felt sheets damp with sweat. Behind my head, the very distinct sound of your bed knocking against the wall. And, through my choppy split-second frames of vision, I could see the void above me filling with life. The swelteringly hot creature, with its harsh, labored breathing, rocking against me with ravenous need, suddenly looked at me through one cracked-open, yellow eye.

You looked at me. I looked at you.

And you audibly rasped my name.

That did it.

That tackled me straight over the maddening edge I’d been teetering on -- but hell if I was going down alone. I kissed you hard, locked you in, and took you with me. We fell from a fatal height for longer than seemed possible, and the resounding SMASH when we hit the ground, well…

You know? Words couldn’t do the feeling justice.

The lights were still in-tune with my body, so they might give you some idea.

Every color in the kaleidoscope jumped to life again, whirling in a dizzying, neon blur, flickering, flashing, flaring brighter than a burning star until they all merged into blinding, humming, all-encompassing white, and then -- POW! Clusters of bulbs exploded into rainbows of sparks that flowed like sudsy champagne, again, and again, and again, popping like firecrackers. The spectacle went on for so long, you’d have thought it was a freakin’ festival, until finally, the bursts were fewer and far between. The empty sockets sparked here and there, and the remaining bulbs buzzed tiredly. It just looked like a normal starry sky, at the end.

And my partner just looked like a void again.

We both heaved like we’d just run a marathon. The shadow pulled back to look at me, a satisfied look in his eyes. I breathed a faint, voiceless laugh and smiled at him. I tried to say something, but I was interrupted by something falling on my face.

A huge dollop of syrup had splattered onto my face out of nowhere. The shadow’s body shook with silent, delighted cackles. As I tapped my fingers against the stickiness running from my mouth down my jaw, I could see leaves start to form out of the darkness above me. Very slowly, as if trying to sneak up on me, the forest settled back into place, and most of the mirrors broke, save for one, which sat right back where my real mirror is supposed to be. I was back in my den again. I was too high to decide how I felt about that.

I was observing the syrup still dripping from the leaves like water a few hours after rain, but I was rudely interrupted by the shadow straight up licking the sugar from my mouth. In a very deliberately non-sexy way.

Just then, my voice returned.

I yelped and spat and swatted him away with both my arms and legs. “Get off me! What game do you think this is, you mangy mutt? Duck Hunt?”

He leaned back from my swings, miming a smug laugh, before roughing my hair and standing up. To my surprise, he turned to push back a sheet and leave.

“Hey, hey, wait,” I said, sitting up. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

He paused, glanced over his shoulder, and made a zipper motion over where his mouth should have been, his eyes still touched by a sly smirk. He flicked a two-finger salute, and, just like that, threw the curtain aside to disappear behind it.

“Hey!” I stood with some difficulty and crossed to the curtain. “Don’t walk away when I’m talkin’ to you!”

When I pulled it back to look, he was already gone, dissolved into the darkness of the forest. I had hoped he would hang out longer. It seemed like we were having a good time.

But I knew he’d be back. He can’t leave. Not this one.

I spat in frustration into the grass and tasted the syrup on my lips, still. I wiped it off with my right hand, startled to find I was no longer completely naked -- I was wearing a glove. When I looked at it, I saw the syrup stained across my palm, red in stark contrast to white.

The sight struck a weird chord in me. Something about it seemed familiar, almost. But hell if I could remember.

From there, I very slowly came down from my high. My legs had turned to complete jelly and shook like crazy. My clothes gradually reappeared on my body, except for, not surprisingly, my pants and my left glove. The handle of my brush also looked pretty wet and well-loved. So, there was really no question as to what my body had been doing the whole time. And I’ll admit that I resumed immediately.

Hey, I had to ride anything that felt good for as long as I could. I had color pulsing through my veins, and I was going to enjoy it, Devs be damned.

You know, maybe I wouldn’t be half-bad at erotic literature. It was kinda fun trying to describe all that. It was nice to think about it again, too. To remember how much fun it was, and all that. I just kind of wish it could do anything for me now. I know it’s hot, it’s super hot, but, like… only my brain knows that. It has to send those thoughts down south for me to get anything out of it, and, nowadays, those thoughts don’t even get as far as my heart before deciding it’s not worth it and turning back.

I just don’t have it in me anymore.

That’s what she said.

#fanfiction #fanfic #wreck it ralph #make it mavis #turbo #original character #homesick

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proxyartsblog · 4 years

Text

Fallout Equestria ( Country Roads)

By proxyart.

{The introduction}

(68 years after the mega spells)

(A group of Caravan ponies and a group of Talons sit around a campfire in the forest of West Virgineigh in the shadow the the stable 76 ruins . It's cold out and the two groups sit making small talk and trading stories. After a while a pony started to notice a odd member of the talon group)

A shy young blue unicorn spoke up , she had a soft timid voice. "um m..mr Griffin... how ... uh no um why is... your back legs different from the other Griffins?" Her ears dropped as he looked Over at her.

"I'm a hippogriff" said the smooth looking avian, he was quite pretty, with his lovely golden feathers and creamy tan coat , he spoke with a unique accent, something from the old world the blue unicorn thought.

"F..forgive me but a what?" She said with a puzzled shakey voice.

(He smiled and sat up.)

"A hippogriff my dear filly" the smooth voice said, he spoke like a pony, " you don't know do you? " he asked.

(The blue unicorn shook her head.)

" no sorry I'm not aware of Griffins or anything to do with the talons " she blushes brightly noticing them stare.

(The hippogriff's beak gives a friendly smile as he steps into the fire light.)

"My name is Apple Gin, and I am not a normal creature, no matter how you look at it, I'm the descend of a earth pony who throw out all odds service the mega spells and fell in love with a Griffin , from her and their love my mother was born , my mother was a miracle my grandfather said, a foal that shouldn't exist but somehow did."

(Apple Gin saw the curiosity growing in the eyes of the young filly.)

"You want to know more don't you? " he asked with a croaked smile.

(The blue unicorn nodded happily, no longer the shy blue filly she was , this girl got closer to hear every word he spoke. )

"Please tell me what happened?!" The filly gidded as she clopped her hoofs excitedly.

Apple Gin sighed and sat back on his haunches. " so you want to know the story of my ancestor the the legendary stable 76? " he asked.

She smiled sweetly and nodded " yes!" She paused for a moment "I mean yes please mr. Gin sir"

Apple Gin gave her a odd look and sighed happily, " Gin is fine... so where to start this story? ... it's a long one to tell "

(The blue pony thought for a moment then with a smile.)

"I got all night... better then dealing with them swamp crawlers or mega beasts... right Gin ?"

(Apple Gin smiled )

"Yes ma'am " he started to tell his grandmother's story.

"To tell this tale we must start off 25 years after the war... 25 years after the mega spells dropped and all of equestria was plunged Into Darkness".

(War ... war never changes.... )

[End holotape prologue. ]

☆◇♧♡♤☆◇♧♡♤☆◇♡♧♤☆

[Chapter one] country roads.

[Memory orb holotape begin]

(A song started to play over the PA system of the stable, followed by a older mare's voice)

(A inebriated orange and creamy caramel colored earth pony falls out of her bed woken by the loudly playing music and that mare's voice, she looked around her stable room and realized it was very quiet, too quiet, there was a huge party just yesterday, and today was her 25th birthday, the day she was also supposed to leave the stable as well.)

"Shit... ouch my head, I swear one day I'll stop drinking " she always said it but she never has, after all she owed her cutie mark to alcohol, all the members of her father's family did, it was a family tradition and Apple whiskey wasn't going to be the pony to end a family tradition!

(She looked at goodmorning stable-tec window with its happy little birds and smiling sun, the stable colt smiled back at her reminding her she was late. )

"Good morning stable 76, this is the Overmare , I hope you all enjoyed the party last night, even those who might have over overindulged and overslept. But it's time to get up and get out there, we've been locked away long enough."

(She listened to the Overmare speech as she brushed her teeth and combed her mane, it didn't do anything to help, her mane and tail was a knotted mess of curls and knots, she had tried to keep her hair nice but since mother died Whiskey had a hard time with managing it.)

"Stupid mane... ouch! How am I supposed to brush this mess if I'm not a unicorn!?" She yelled frustrated by her lack of magic or her mothers hair dresser bot.

(Her mother was a robotics engineer, the best in equestria or so others told her. The stable was full of the best and brightest members of equestria and many of the ponies onces worked for stable-tec or rob-co, some were doctors and musicians, others were bankers, scientist, farmers, painters, chefs and more, if they were the best they were in 76!, and the offspring, the children of the generation of genius ponies? Why they were told daily that they were going to save equestria... and the world, that day was today... and Apple wasn't running to the stable door like the others had.)

(A robot brought Apple whiskey her pipbuck, it had a big 76 Pip‑buck 2000 in blue and silver numbers on it with the ugly brown and tan pipbuck casing , Apple placed it on her fetlock and began to adjust to it's weight, Apple thought her pipbuck was very ugly and useless, all she ever used it for was the radio and keeping track of other ponies. )

"Stupid heavy thing..." said Apple.

"Oh miss Apple I thought you'd never wake up" said the floating mr. Handy.

(The over mare's voice pulsed for a moment or two then continued )

"Today is Reclamation day, I kn..."( the voice was drowned out for a bit.)

"What? Why? " Apple whiskey asked.

"Why its Reclamation day don't you remember? Most of the stable is already gone ." Said the robot.

"All ready gone?! But its only..." Apple looked at the time. " Half past noon! How could you let me over sleep so long!?" She started to ran to get her stuff packed .

( the Overmare's voice started again)

"It maybe time to leave but I'll always remember the day you all entered stable 76, you come from everywhere walk of life, every pony race, color and creed, but you all share one very important trait, you are equestrias best and brightest but more importantly you will always be my family."

(The broadcast ended)

"Wow Overmare ... I wonder if the old mare is still here? ... would make sense that the Overmare would be last to leave right?" Apple got all the things she wanted to take with her.

(Apple whiskey packed a large saddlebag with 5 bottles of purified water, 3 stem packs, 2 boxes of big-mac and cheese, 1 picture of her parents, a hoof pistol and a hoof full of bullets, 2 Med-X , 2 healing potions, 1 sparkle cola cherry and 4 bottles of her famous Apple whiskey and the recipe so no one else could make it .)

"Miss Apple you mustn't forget about you're camp " said the Mr handy.

"My camp? What is that? ... you mean my still bot? " Apple asked.

(The Mr. handy looked insulted by her calling that metal pot a robot)

"No miss apple not that busted excuse for bolts.... the camp unit is you're home away from home miss... " he handed her the rather small box .

"This is a camp?" She looked complex.

"You need a home base out there. The Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform is designed to give you one." Said the handy.

"So this will help me serve? Good to know... uh ok " Apple took the camp and stored it in her saddlebags.

"Wow it fits a lot... one day I'll learn how it carries all my junk..." she was impressed by the bags, she thought it had to be part of the stable-tec spell Matrix.

(Apple strapped the saddlebags to her back and holstered her pistol. )

"Ok looks like that's everything Handy...what will you do onces I'm gone?" She asked.

(The mr. Handy hovered around and brought her a tiny mr. handy statuette.)

"Miss Apple please take care of yourself... I'll be here , I must lock up the stable and once I do life support will be turned off... no living creature will be able to close the stable door." The handy said .

( Apple looked sad but she understood she would never seen the first friend she had again, tears fell down her pale caramel coat.)

"Good bye old friend " Apple gave the bot a quick nuzzle and a kind smile.

(Apple set out her room and into the corredores of the stable, the gray drury walls of the stable gave her a bit of comfort, she was very nervous about leaving, if it was up to Apple whiskey she would have stayed there until she died un old mare with many grand foals running through the many hall's. )

(As Apple walked past the Overmare's office she popped her head in to say goodbye however the office was completely empty of life.)

"Overmare!... eh? ... nuna?... " Apple walked around her desk and sat in the big chair, it smelled so nice , the smell of foal hood memories.

(The Overmare loved to let the foals play in her office while their parents worked their various jobs in the stable. Her happiness memories were learning how to be a Overmare from the only grandmother she would ever know. )

"Overmare... I guess I'll never get to say goodbye to her..." Apple saw that her terminal was still on, normally she wouldn't snoop but she was as rather nosy filly .

(Apple clicked her hoof to the keyboard and ejected a holotape from the Overmare's office terminal)

"What in the seven?... a holotape? " she wondered if it was a goodbye from the Overmare.

"Overmare what could you be up to?" Apple noticed the holotape port in the side of her pipbuck, she put the holotape in .

(The holotape started to play)

"Overmare's log, or should I say, direct communication. Because whoever is listening to this had the moxy to try to find out where I've gone." It paused for a moment.

"But I'm glad you did. Truth is, I need your help. I've been given a task, and... I've decided to break protocol and tell you what it is. Because If there's one thing I've learned in these past few years, it's that we need to rely on each other." It paused for a moment.

"There were three active mega spell silos in Virgineigh before the Balefire Bombs fell. They blew up the Equestria before. We can't let it happen again. So we've got to locate and secure all of the silos, or die trying. Hopefully the former. Hmph." It paused for a moment.

"But it's been twenty-five years. I just don't know what we're going to find out there. Or where to start... My directive was to go to the nearest population center and assess the situation. I'll set up a C.A.M.P. on the way once I get my bearings. Find me there." The holotape stopped.

(Apple felt confused as she tried to figure out and take in all the information she just heard. Apple wasn't exactly sure what she could do to help her but if the Overmare needed her she would try her best to find her and help... not because of Stable tec but for the only grandmother she had... the pony who called her family. )

"Looks like we are going out there after all..." she thought to herself.

(Apple started to wake out when she stopped at the Overmare's bedroom door, she had took the time to make her bed and straighten her room, maybe she should have cleaned up her room before as well but she didn't want the handy bots to have nothing to do for all time.)

"Wow Overmare you really need to relax... hehehe " Apple said with a giggle.

(She smiled at the handy bots that met her at the hatch to the stable door.)

"Goodbye handys... I wish you all the best, look after the stable for everypony. " Apple hugged the sliver handy bot.

"Goodbye miss apple, and we will look after your sill bot... even if we think it's a waste of technology and fermented grains." Said the mr. handy.

(Apple smiled, she whipped her eyes.)

"I'll miss all of you so much " Apple tried not to cry as she walked thought the stable entrance and stepped out into the world beyond .

[End of holotape chapter one.]

https://my.w.tt/JCjbulc9R5

#fallout equestria #mlp oc #mlp oc pony #foe

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remywrites5 · 5 years

Note

15 with Jegulus?

Hi nonny! Since I got two of the same prompt for Jegulus I decided to do #14 instead. Hope that’s ok!

***********

Regulus wasn’t exactly big on Halloween. He’d outgrown his go to a party and get drunk on Halloween phase. He didn’t have any children so trick or treating wasn’t exactly a thing for him. He hardly bothered to decorate his house for the Holiday – just putting out a Jack O’lantern he’d gotten pre-carved and a spooky skeleton that held a dish of candy so kids wouldn’t knock on his door. Sometimes he felt like the Scrooge of Halloween but it wasn’t like he had anyone to share it with. Halloween was just a night where he was reminded of how little he had in his life and was accosted by oddly dressed sprogs begging for sweets.

He was flipping through Netflix, looking for something that fit the occasion, maybe something that would get him into the Holiday spirit. He put on the original Ghostbusters and started flipping through Facebook. There were a million pictures of his nephew, Teddy. He had no idea what Teddy was supposed to be, but if he had to guess it was something to do with Minecraft, as that was Teddy’s current obsession.

Unlike Regulus, his brother Sirius was very into Halloween. Every year, Siirus would decorate their house and be so completely extra about it. The flashing lights timed to “This is Halloween” from the Nightmare before Christmas, the ghosts on sticks holding hands and dancing around a fire, and Sirius himself hiding in the bushes waiting to scare unsuspecting children.

Regulus liked a few of the pictures and put his phone down. Love for Halloween used to be a common trait between Sirius and Regulus. It was the one night their strict parents would let them go out and be kids. Now that he had his own family with Remus and Teddy, Sirius had kept that love alive. It was harder for Regulus to get invested when he had no one. He could have gone over to Sirius’ and joined in on their Halloween. He knew he would be more than welcome, but for whatever reason he just couldn’t make himself go. He already felt like a burden around Christmas, ruining their lovely family hols, he didn’t want to intrude more than necessary.

The doorbell rang and Regulus groaned, scrubbing his hand over his face. “Just a minute,” he shouted, hoisting himself up off the sofa and going to the front door. He was more than a little annoyed when he opened it to find not children but an adult man standing before him.

“You’re out of candy,” the man said, gesturing towards the skeleton bowl, which had indeed been cleaned out. Regulus eyed the man up and down and fuck this guy was good-looking. Maybe it was his six-month dry spell playing tricks on him but he was pretty sure this guy was just really fucking hot. He had on a black cape and some terrible fake vampire teeth, clearly having put very little effort into his costume. Regulus was pretty sure he could put together a better costume from the shit in his closet.

“So?” Regulus asked with a shrug, trying his best to remain nonchalant. “That’s all the candy I had. Besides, aren’t you a little old for trick or treating?”

The man shifted uncomfortably. “My son is in the car,” he explained, gesturing to a black SUV parked on the street. Regulus felt his shoulders sag at the news. Of course a guy like that wouldn’t be single. Wishful thinking on his part. “He fell asleep after what I can only call an epic sugar rush. I might have let him snack a bit too much on the candy while he drove from house to house.”

Regulus cocked his head to the side. “I’m still failing to see how any of this is my concern,” he said honestly, finding that he had lost a bit of his patience for this hot stranger now that he knew he was a dad.

“Well you have to give me a treat or else I’ll be forced to trick you,” the guy said with a shrug. “Those are the rules.” The stranger grinned and shook his candy bag pointedly.

Regulus rolled his eyes. “I’m almost tempted to tell you to do your worst but I’m not exactly in the mood to get my house covered in toilet roll. Let me see what I’ve got that might be edible. Come in, I suppose.”

Regulus left the door open as he padded into the kitchen. The stranger hesitated for a moment and then Regulus heard the front door shut. “Wow,” the stranger said, whistling. “I purposefully came to the rich neighborhoods to get the best candy but this is next level.”

Reappearing into the front hallway, Regulus held up the two items he’d managed to find in his pantry. He wasn’t exactly one for cooking so his kitchen was more or less bare. “I’ve got a can of chicken noodle soup and a packet of digestives.”

“I’ll take the biscuits,” the stranger said, opening the bag so Regulus could put them in. “Thank you.”

Regulus sighed and carded his fingers through his hair. “Happy Halloween, I suppose.”

“Are you watching Ghostbusters?” the guy asked, walking past Regulus and into the living room where the telly was. “Classic!”

Regulus frowned, wondering just why this guy refused to leave his house. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to your son?” he asked pointedly, grabbing the remote and pausing the movie.

“Oh right, yeah,” the stranger said, blushing prettily. “I’ll get out of your hair.”

Regulus escorted the stranger back to the front door - because the son of Walburga Black had been raised with manners if nothing else. “Well this was absolutely bizarre. Thanks for dropping in, I guess.”

“I’m James Potter, by the way.”

“I didn’t ask,” Regulus responded, opening the door for him.

James chuckled as if unoffended by Regulus’ comment. “I like you,” he said, standing in Reg’s doorway as if refusing to leave. “You’ve got spunk.”

“Moxie,” Reg corrected. “What I’ve got is called moxie. And you’ve got a son waiting in the car.”

James only grinned wider. The man was maddening. “Aren’t they the same thing?”

Regulus huffed in annoyance. “Is there a reason why you refuse to leave my house?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Do you even have a son in the car or is it just an excuse to get free candy without looking like a creep?”

“You think I’m making up a son to get candy?”

Reg shrugged.

“Well I would go get him from the car just to prove you wrong but if I wake him up now he’ll never get back to sleep,” James informed him, glancing out towards the car. “And since it would be your fault that he was awake it would only be right that you be the one to get him back to sleep.”

This James person was absolutely unbelievable! “Since when is your son my responsibility?”

James laughed good-naturedly. “Fine, I’ll leave him be. But I do have a son!”

Regulus’ brow furrowed as he stared at the most gorgeous and most confusing man he thought he’d ever met. “No offense mate, but I really don’t care either way.”

“You wound me,” James said, clutching his heart dramatically.

“You’ll get over it,” Regulus assured him, giving James a small shove out the door and shutting it behind him. He’d had quite enough of that. Halloween indeed!

***

It had been two days since Halloween and Reg was still reeling a little bit from the hot stranger. Hot strangers were always welcome at his house but not ones that were probably married and definitely had children. Regulus had no interest in that shit storm.

Which is why it was very odd indeed when James ended up back on his doorstep with a tiny human with him. “See?” James said, grinning smugly and gesturing to the child. “I told you I had a son.”

“Hi!” the child said with a wave.

“Go on in, Harry,” James instructed his son, releasing his hand so Harry to sneak on in. Regulus stared in shock – his mouth opening and closing like a fish – as the retreating back of James’ son went into his living room and turned on the telly. He was even more gobsmacked when James walked inside and shut the door for him.

“It can’t be Halloween again already,” Regulus said, feeling a little bit hysterical because there was a man and his child in his house uninvited.

James laughed. “Nope,” he said, clapping his hand on Reg’s shoulder and giving it a small squeeze. “We just thought we’d stop by.”

“Why?” Regulus asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “You don’t even know me.”

‘”Oh, I know you, Regulus Black,” James said with a self-satisfied grin.

“Been stalking me?”

James rolled his eyes and removed his hand from Reg’s shoulder. Reg missed the warmth of the touch, just a little bit. “Harry’s primary school teacher is Remus Lupin,” he stated matter-of-factly while looking oh so smug about it. “He and Teddy are mates. We go over there for play-dates all the time.”

“Then why aren’t you over there right now?” Reg asked in exasperation. “Why are you here?”

“Because…” James said, stepping in closer to Regulus. “The last time I was here I forgot to ask you out.”

Regulus stared at James, his brow knitting together in confusion. “And…Harry’s mother wouldn’t have a problem with this?”

James playful expression grew sad and Regulus hated himself for causing it. James took his glasses off and cleaned them, clearly stalling for time, and placed them back on his nose. “Harry’s mum is no longer with us,” James said, swallowing thickly. “Complications with the birth.”

“I’m so sorry,” Regulus said quietly. Not quite sure what to do, Regulus pulled James into a hug. It seemed the most appropriate reaction to that kind of information.

“Mmm,” James hummed happily, hugging Reg back. “If that’s what I knew it would take for you to touch me I would have played the dead wife card sooner.”

Regulus shoved James away. “God, I – what is wrong with you? Is your wife even dead?”

“Oh ye of little faith,” James said, running his fingers through his messy hair and holy shit was that not playing fair. “Sometimes I make jokes about things that make me uncomfortable. Lily’s death is top of the list so sometimes I can seem a little…”

“Prickish?” Regulus supplied.

“Insensitive,” James finished with a shrug. “And I’m just starting to get to the point where I’m not miserable about it all the time. Not feeling incredibly guilty when I find someone fit or attractive as if I’m disgracing the memory of my dead wife. Then I knocked on your door and you’re incredibly handsome and funny and I didn’t want to leave because it felt so good just to flirt with you. I came back today because I couldn’t stop thinking about you and then I was looking on Facebook and it said “Regulus Black also liked this photo”’ and I thought oh right Sirius mentioned having a brother and I clicked on the picture and it was you. It felt important, you know? I know I’m a packaged deal and maybe that’s not very sexy but I like you and I’d really like to take you out sometime.”

Regulus took a moment to process James’ speech as it was a lot of information being thrown at him all at once. If he chose to do this, it wouldn’t just be committing to James, but a little boy as well. He wouldn’t be able to end things without hurting both of them if things went sour. He glanced up at James who was staring at him with a hopeful expression that nearly broke Reg’s heart. Maybe, just maybe, James Potter was too good to pass up.

Making a decision, Reg stepped forward and kissed James softly on the lips in a way that he hoped communicated his decision. When he pulled away James was grinning like an idiot. He supposed the message was received.

“So…” Reg said, biting his bottom lip nervously. “I suppose you better introduce me properly to your son then.”

“I’d love to!” James said, taking Reg’s hand and leading him into the living room where Harry was waiting.

#Jegulus #I write things #Halloween prompt #sort of #death tw #single dad James #modern day au #long post

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digressfromreality · 4 years

Text

The Future Is Upon Us

All For One asked for a favor that only this villain can provide for his successor.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6...Part 8

PART SEVEN

“Fucking gag on it.” He shuddered, feeling her clench and struggle when he was buried deep into her mouth, thrusting hard against her throat.

He rocked back harshly, holding her still until everything was spent. “Drink every last drop, princess.”

She wheezed, when he allowed her to collapse. Panting, she stared up at Tomura with such lustful eyes. Perhaps he could return the favor, he had some time before Kurogiri would be back with Mira.

He yanked her from the floor to have her sit on his lap, he could feel her arousal slipping down her thighs. He hadn’t even touch her yet and she was this excited?

“Persuasion,” he tested her name as she made quick work of unzipping his hoodie. “Why were those heroes questioning you?”

With a whiny grunt of annoyance, she replied, “Are you stalking me now?”

He growled, particularly ticked with her snappish response. He had concerns of what the heroes knew by targeting her. “Becoming a mother did little for your compliance.”

She paused her aggressive pawing to lean from him, she threw her slip off in one swoop. His eyes rightfully taking in her nude skin, while she batted her own. “Compliant enough for you?”

“Fine.” She rolled her eyes, although the distraction had been welcomed, Tomura was not going to let go of the subject. “To ask me about your barber, of course.” She anticipated getting toss from his lap but he released an irritated growl instead.

She held his face between her palms, trying to soothe him with the tender caress of her fingers. “They were interested in the league, and my relationship with it. If only, Eraserhead could see me now, snuggling with its leader after he face fucked me.”

“Such lewd language, you nasty slut.” He sounded annoyed, but his face glowed with pride. He was the one to reduce this beautiful villainess into a simpering mess. Cooing left and right for scrap of his attention. She’d do anything if he asked for it, her loyalty was unwavering. “Persuasion?”

“Yes Tomura?” He gulped, her tone was low and sweet.

“I need a favor.”

——

It had been strange that Tomura asked her to make appearances with all of her clients. It would take at least several days to a week to fit them all in her schedule. Perhaps he wanted to test the strength of her network, now that they didn’t have master to rely on.

She knew, this organization, whether it was dying or not, was one to keep friendly terms with.

“Overhaul, sir. There is some woman waiting on the doorstep.” Kai’s eyes narrowed, few knew the compound’s street entrance, let alone would make it to the front doorway.

And even fewer women would have the moxy to enter the lion’s den, “what is she wearing?”

Mimic turned toward the hallway shouting, “you heard him, what is she wearing!”

“Something red?” The subordinate answered uncertain. Overhaul pinched the skin between his eyes, an impending headache coming. The woman was a dirty and vulgar, but she did have valuable connections. He couldn’t ignore that, “Take her to the drawing room.”

Persuasion’s brows quirked upward in surprise, had the Yazuka taken a liking to birds? Or some kind of dread doctors? “Is the boss around?”

Without a word, they gestured her to follow. Which was off putting, but she could overtake them if needed.

She sighed, sitting on the sofa they directed her to. The creepy one, Chisaki or whatever must have taken over as acting boss. Something about his germophobia and intense mannerisms made her skin crawl. She had heavily avoided being left alone with him in prior meetings for those reasons. Besides his quirk was insanely powerful.

“I have been out of the game for a bit, and I see things have changed. I wanted to reach out to my contacts and see if I could be any service.” She batted her lashes, while folding over legs. Not that she was trying to appease them with her looks, but it didn’t hurt to flaunt what she had.

“We don’t need anything from the likes of you,” Mimic shouted, she raised a questioning brow at the mini bird.

“Is that from a place of insecurity, because of all the handsome men in the room?” She winked at Overhaul, “everyone who is a subordinate, remove your mask.”

Overhaul sighed in frustration, this woman had the indecency to—he didn’t understand the appeal of tolerating her games.

“You have some handsome followers,” she recognized, Hari and Nemoto. What surprised her the most was the giant head peeking out of the tiny body? What was going on with that?

“I don’t miss your mischief, Persuasion. Frankly, I’d appreciate you not...amusing yourself while inside our facility.”

She pouted, still seeming playful, although uncomfortable, “fine. You were always to the point.” She pulled out a flash drive and plugged it into her phone, pulling records from late last year. “Last year, I have orders for custom hardware. Also noted, wanting information about proxy dealers outside of Yazuka turf willing to sell quirk enhancers.” She looked back at Chisaki, whose face was still chillingly blank.

“No longer needed.” She nodded, tapping away a note on her phone.

“Is there anything you are in need of? I specialize in a variety industries. Nothing you want should shock me, so don’t be afraid to ask. Worst I’ll say is no.”

The little guy had stepped up to Persuasion rather flustered once again, “you watch your words missy. The tone of your voice commands a lack of respect toward our leader. It appears you understand little of—“

“Mimic, she understands.” Persuasion gnawed at her bottom lip trying not to sneer, these assholes acted so arrogant. She was a former ally, not a meathead capo who needed to be disciplined. “At the moment, we have no need for your services.”

She sighed, tapping one final note. A bust but at least she knew she wouldn’t have to come to this creepy clubhouse anytime soon. “Well that’s disappointing, but I have other clients I can prioritize instead.”

She began shuffling her coat back over her shoulders, and stuffing her phone into her pocket. Almost causally Overhaul spoke up again, “What of your other clients? I assume after All For One’s incarceration your business took a huge hit.”

She paused, her gaze catching his own. “My…my Overhaul,” she winked at him, followed by a devious grin, “it’s bad for business to kiss and tell.”

“It sounds like you want information.” She held up two fingers to emphasize her point, “one, I don’t usually give something up for free, and two, some information is not for sale.” He chuckled.

“Does the same apply for your lovers?” She giggled, Chisaki was hinting at something. Perhaps he knew, or perhaps he was fishing, so she would sidestep either way.

She sauntered toward him, close enough to lean but not touch, “pillow talk? Not even then, but,” her voice lowered, trying to sound sultry, “you can be my lover anytime. Just need to cross a few other names off my list first.”

“Disgusting.” He muttered, he waved his hand toward the door, “Get out.” She blew him a kiss, strutting out of the room with a pair of his cronies on her tail.

---

She snapped a picture before he could even protest about it. Tomura was sitting on the couch intently playing something on a console, while he had basically tied Mira with his hoodie to stay sitting on his lap. Her baby, whose eyes were previously glued to the television started cooing and grabbing for her.

Tomura grunted, pausing the game, letting her scoop up Mira from him. “Delete that picture.” She shook her head plopping down on the couch beside him. It had been a long week without him or Mira. But seeing him wearing cut out gloves made her heart melt, Tomura hardly ever took precautions with his quirk. If something was destroyed on accident, apparently it wasn’t worth keeping. Mira was important to him.

“Is it just you two?” She played with Mira’s hands, making her laugh. She really missed this.

“Kurogiri’s busy.” Tomura grumbled, “Did you meet with any Yazuka?”

She paused, seeing the ends of his chapped lips curl. He was smirking.

She leaned back on the couch, still playing with Mira.

“You are stalking me. I don’t know if I should be flattered, or frustrated with my lack of privacy.” He leaned in close, taking one of Mira’s hands from her grasp. His smirk ever increasing.

“It’s only fair to know what you’re getting into Persuasion. You’re always on my mind.”

#my hero academia #my hero academia imagine #Shigaraki #shigaraki x reader #shigaraki imagine #shigaraki tomura x reader #boku no hero academia #overhaul bnha

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theateared · 4 years

Text

First One to Make a Sound Loses. ❜

Summary: Sexual tension. Romantic tension. That’s it.

His original quip had been innocuous enough - ‘first one to make a sound loses, eh?’ - but in the small confines of the closet that they found themselves locked in, he was all too close to her.

“You’re an idiot,” she told him through gritted teeth, listening as he felt around for the spare key that was supposed to be on top of the doorframe. With nobody else tall enough to reach it, Edgar had figured that it was as safe a place as any to put it… and it had been, until he’d put it somewhere else while rushing around cleaning. “It’s not up there, will you stop?!”

“I am trying to get this blasted thing open,” he snapped, hands gravitating towards his hips despite the fact that she couldn’t see the authoritative pose he’d struck. “Do you want out? Or do you want to be stuck in a broom closet all day? Hm?”

“Don’t strike that tone with me, Edgar!” “I’ll strike any tone I damn well please.”

They both went quiet then, feeling a spike in tension. Lately, they’d both been feeling the effects of their bickering, a heat fizzling between them like electricity. It had always been there, from the very first day that they’d met, but it was all but unbearable now. It was like constantly dancing around how they made each other feel during heat, only half able to take part in their usual cat-and-mouse before they found it impossible to keep up.

The things I would do to you, Grace. The Gods would blush.

An ear twitched in her direction as he heard her sigh, her body slumping against the wall furthest away from him before she sank into a sitting position. Do not think about her on her knees. After redirecting his flow of blood away from his groin, he moved to mimic her, his legs awkwardly bent because of his height.

“Well… what do we do?” she asked, defeated.

“I suppose all we can do is wait for Moxie to come back,” he mumbled in response, a hand raising to rub gently at his forehead. “Can’t miss him, can you? Loudmouth mother…” His words ebbed into nothingness, frustration pinched tight within every syllable. Really, he only had himself to blame. If he hadn't put that key down, even for just a moment while he wiped a table or pushed in a chair, it wouldn’t be missing now. This was his fault - and it was completely avoidable too. “... he shouldn’t be gone too long. I sent him out this morning. It’s late now.” I really need to have this door replaced. I’m not sure why they thought it was a good idea to implement a closet door that locks itself when it’s been left to close. It’s like they’re trying to tempt me into storing bodies in it as opposed to brooms.

“Hm…”

The quiet began to nibble at him, as he was sure it did her. Are you feeling as frustrated as I am? Does this close proximity tease you so? His nose twitched, eager to detect a hint of lust, but all he could smell was age-old dust. Great. Now it’s in my nose.

She stuck a leg out, foot dangerously close to his thigh. Your scent is overpowering in this tiny box. It’s like I’ve been caged in a room that consists of nothing but your perfume. He thought briefly about it, then shook his head to himself. No… ‘caged’ makes it sound like it isn’t willing. I’m more than willing. But it drives me insane.

“No interesting commentary?” he asked with a sigh, trying not to sound too hopeful. “‘fraid there’s not much I can say about a cupboard, Eddie.” “Heh.”

I want to reach out… I want to touch you. I want to run my hand up your leg. Up and up and up, until I reach the place you need me the most. Gods, I want to kiss you--

“Don’t you think it’s kind of like a space shuttle in here?”

“A what…?” He’d been so distracted by his perverted train of thought that he hadn’t heard what she’d said in full. He’d even go far as to admit that he felt somewhat dazed; dizzy with fervour, and he knew that, despite his best efforts, he wasn’t hiding it very well. Can you smell it on me and you’re just too nice to say anything? Or too uncomfortable? I never know what you’re thinking of me. I know what I’m thinking of you. Always.

“A space shuttle…” she repeated, voice seeming to lull slightly. He found that strange, though certainly not unwelcome. He played that slight dip in confidence on loop in his head, the sound serving him the same as a gasp or a hitched breath would. “It’s tight in here…”

“Mm…” A clear of his throat followed immediately afterwards, as if trying to erase the wanton sound from history. “I, uh… don’t think it’ll be too long.” She brought out the clumsy side of him; the side that didn’t always have a quick word to say, a snappy comment to make, a confident smirk to give her. Sometimes, she would render him as human as he did others.

His mind was beginning to wander again. He thought about their outing a few nights ago. She’d kissed him on the cheek before bidding him goodnight, then thought twice and kissed him on the mouth instead. Had she lingered, he most definitely would have tried to relieve himself, to empty the passion he felt for her in one single heated motion, but she was gone before he could think to hold her. He’d walked back to the tavern with his heart in his throat, an uncomfortable heat spattered across his shoulders and neck that he hadn’t been able to nurse until he got to the bathroom, a cold shower leapt into without a second thought. Even so, he’d pleasured himself until his head spun; barely upright beneath the steady stream of water, an arm supporting his quivering frame as he rode out his highs in between heaved pants for air. It hadn’t been enough regardless of how many times he’d tried to sate his appetite.

“I can smell you, you know...” The comment was made so breezily that he almost didn’t realise that she was referring to him. So it is noticeable. Instead of acting coy, the Alpha let out a crass laugh.

“Well I’m sorry,” he remarked smarmily. “It isn’t my fault. It’s dark and cosy and…” He paused when her foot made the faintest of contact with his thigh. She’d bent it inwards while he was talking, the tip of her shoe against him, and then she began to ever-so-slightly move it. Had he been in an animated cartoon, the ‘?’ that appeared above his head would have been huge.

“What’re you thinking about?” Her voice was soft, quiet. Despite the effort he put into squinting, he couldn’t see an inch in front of his face. A lye’s sight was not the best anyway, but the closet was so dark inside that there was no hope of making out even her outline. All he had to rely on were his ears and his nose… which ironically were the reasons that he was in this mess to begin with. Even so, the subtle circle of her foot was more than enough of a reason to push on.

“Now would not be the best time to tempt me, Grace,” he told her levelly, suddenly all too aware of their limited space. He was beginning to feel restless. I need to stretch. His ears stood tall as he listened to her shift, the material of her skirt being played with echoing in his ears. Then, she began fiddling with one of her socks. I nearly forgot, they have ribbons on today. Gods, how cute can you get--?

“I disagree,” she said in a manner that he could only describe as playful. “Now’s the perfect time. It proves what kind of man you are.”

How?, he found himself thinking. I’m trapped in an enclosed space with a woman who seems to be showing interest in me. Would I really be a fool for taking my chances?

“Alright…” he mused, interested to see just how far she was willing to take this. “I’ll bite.”

Part of her reeled with excitement. She’d been feeling different about her Alpha lately. While originally she’d had no interest in him at all, she felt closer to him now. Ever since he’d started to spend time with her outside of their duties within the creed, she’d found it possible to connect with him. She wasn’t naive. She knew that the desire for sex was still what propelled his efforts. Had she believed anything else, she’d have been nothing but a stupid girl. Still… she wanted to play. You can’t use me, Alpha.

“So…?” she asked, her foot sliding out of her shoe, pushing it to the back of the closet before it pressed back into his thigh. Even though she couldn’t see him, she knew he was looking at her, could feel his eyes attempting to see through her dark. “Are you thinking about me?”

“Obviously I’m thinking about you,” he replied shamelessly. Maybe I can get myself close to you if I play my cards right. I want you. “I’m thinking about the other night.”

“Needy much?” He could hear the smirk in her voice. “You kissed me.” “You invited me to.” “I--” A quiet laugh left him, head shaking gently. “I did not. How did I?”

“You stood there and let me.” The warmth of her foot seeped through his pant leg. He could envision her expression at this moment in time: half-lidded eyes, an unimpressed line for a mouth… and by God did it make him ache. Do you think this is funny, Grace? “Even though I’m an inferior, you let me initiate it. And you raised your hand to keep me there, but I was gone too fast.”

“And you did that deliberately, I imagine.”

“Partly,” she confessed with a soft laugh, though sobriety returned a moment later. For a moment, her foot was gone, though he barely held back a sigh of relief when he felt it against his other leg. Just a little higher. Just a little bit of friction, you fucking tease-- “But it was also partly because I was afraid to let you.”

For a moment, he didn’t know what to make of the words. Why would you be afraid of me? Why would you fear an action that you yourself committed?

“Why?” Edgar asked, ears straining to hear even the faintest thing.

“I thought I might enjoy it too much,” she said quietly, her foot suddenly raising to rest over his thigh. Her heel dug gently into his hip, as if she was attempting to drag him over to her. Immediately, his mind was flooded with images; of him holding her up against a wall, her legs tight around his waist as he let his hands rake unhindered across her body; of her moaning into his shoulder as he mercilessly filled her; of her crumbling to the floor upon being put down, useless without his support. “And I thought you might, too.”

“I would have enjoyed it immensely,” he said. He clearly didn’t feel the need for secrecy like she did. It was hard for her to admit the things she had, even though they were incredibly vague and entirely non-explicit. “I think you would have too. I think part of you is curious about how I would treat you.”

She scoffed quietly, though he heard a hint of indignation as opposed to disgust; as if she was trying to deny something rather than tell him he was wrong. His grin sharpened at that, though it faltered when he felt her foot return to his inner thigh. She was dangerously close, skirting on the very edge of inappropriate, and it made his arm raise, fingers settling around her ankle. Her motion stilled, head picked up from her shoulder, and he thought he heard the fwip of her ears standing tall. Do you feel alert right now? Does my touch make you pay attention?

His skin was cool, even through her thigh-high sock, and though he didn’t try to move it, she felt the urge in the pads of his fingers like electricity. His fingers began tracing the delicate shape of her foot as he settled it atop his thigh.

“Do you want to know how I’d treat you?” he asked, voice somewhat distracted as he rounded her heel. Her toes twitched when he stroked along the underside of her foot, curling cutely.

“I don’t want to know about your perverted fantasies…” she muttered.

“Of course you do. Otherwise why are you playing this game with me?” The Alpha shuffled in his spot, then, leaning further down so that his hand could travel along her leg. It stayed respectfully at her shin, thumb the primary source of touch while his other fingers supported the weight of her leg. “I’d treat you well, but I’d also torture you. I’d take my time, in an effort to show you just how much you’ve left me wanting. I’d kiss every inch of you just to spite your indecision that night. And I wouldn’t stop until my name was the only word on your tongue.”

“You sound pretty passionate about this…”

“You incited it.” But you incited something else in me, too. You incited my lust for your company, and by Gods that hasn’t happened in so long. It terrifies me, but it’s also so sweet when we’re together. “I want you, Grace. Playing games is fun but I intend to win at some point.”

The words made her shudder somewhat, and she wasn’t sure if she was successful at suppressing it or not. He didn’t seem to acknowledge it, though perhaps it was because he was focused on his fingers crawling higher. For some reason, she didn’t want to push him away quite yet. I will. I will. Just not yet.

“Don’t you want me too?” His voice was different in that moment; more of a growl than she was used to, though coupled with a hint of confusion so compellingly true that it made him sound sweet. “You don’t feel that spark between us? That… little flame? Chemistry? Whatever you want to call it.” She bit her lip softly as his fingers glided over her knee, starting the ascent up to her thigh. He reached her very limit, fingers dancing dangerously close to the hem of her skirt, though she revoked her displeasure when all he did was dip the tip of his index finger into her sock, gently stroking along her thigh. “Mm…? I think you do. That’s why you kissed me. It was your way of telling me that the interest is mutual. You like me.”

“You like me, too…!” she bit back, almost reaching out to slap his hand away. She wasn’t quite sure what stopped her that time. She wasn’t sure why she was upset by him in that moment, either. “Don’t you? Or are you really that deranged that you would do fun things with me just to--”

“Oh, I like you,” he interjected, voice alarmingly transparent. “A lot more than I ever intended to. Perhaps a little too much.” You are the most compelling game of chess I have ever played, Grace Adler. You’re the first game I’ve had where I’ve stood a very prominent chance of losing. “... but you didn’t deny it, you know? You didn’t say I was wrong.”

Her teeth were back to worrying her bottom lip now. It was concerning to her because he was right. At what point did I stop playing with him because I found it funny? When did my intentions to mess with the Alpha’s power change? Why is he right? It made her angry-- made her feel as if she’d betrayed herself in some way.

Her ears twitched at the sound of him moving, and she realised that he was on his knees, the hand that had been on her leg now between them, supporting his weight. “Let’s have a do-over?”

“Get away from me…”

“You don’t sound convincing,” he commented, the smile in his voice evident. “I’m not going to harm you, Gracie…” Despite her resistance, she didn’t stop him from coming closer. “I wouldn’t do anything bad to you. Just a kiss. Nothing more. I’ve… been daydreaming about you since that night.”

With her breath caught in her throat: “With Raku as my witness, I will kick you--”

He chuckled softly, taking note of the way her body stiffened when he touched her cheek. Her foot didn’t meet him. She didn’t move an inch… aside from when she tilted her head slightly, her face now fitting more comfortably in his hand. Though she couldn’t see him, even with her so close to him, she knew that he was smiling that annoying knowing smile.

“Kick me, then…”

Part of her wanted to. Part of her wanted to so badly that she very nearly gave in. However, desperate to still be in control, her hand curled in his collar and tugged, the distance between them no more.

His senses were running wild immediately. With her mouth on his, all he could think about was how hungry he was to feel her. Even so, his hand remained glued to her face, knowing very well that he’d wind up betraying his words if he entertained the idea of touching her.

She pulled away slowly, the sound of their lips parting making a blush rise to her cheeks.

“Satisfied, pervert…?”

“Never,” he whispered back, smile triumphant as he tried his luck for a second time. He wasn’t quite sure why he was so eager to kiss her… it wasn’t as if he was getting an orgasm out of that. Even so, he found himself enraptured by the taste of her, by the feel of their breath mingling and becoming one, and when her hand loosened from his collar and fell to his chest instead, he felt a pang of longing flare in his gut like an engine that had started to work after aeons of inactivity. When he pulled away, his breath was still even, albeit shallower.

“Is that all…?” she questioned. Her tone would have been derisive if not for the way it trembled slightly. “All that passion for that...?”

“Would you like me to kiss you the way I want to…?” he murmured, trying to hold back the urge to laugh. She almost seemed annoyed with him.

“I thought that was the point, dumbass.”

Her insult provoked him enough to capture her lips for a third time, though this time was different. He was greedier, his thumb firm against her cheekbone with the intention of holding her in place. She met him tit-for-tat, refusing to be outdone, and when she too rose to her knees, he knew it was going to spiral out of control.

The sound she made as he shovelled his tongue into her mouth set him ablaze, heart thundering in his ears as she met his actions with her own. Forked appendages slid over one another, saliva shared and swapped, and he was surprised to feel her hand in his hair, her other landing atop the one between her legs, holding it tight. It was guided to her waist, his temperature seeping through her dress as he held her respectably.

When they parted that time, neither of their breathing patterns was even. His smile had faded with the heated nature of it all, a lustful line taking its place as he stared her down through half-lidded eyes. Her breath came out in shallow puffs, eyes all but closed as he held her to him, her fingers still loosely tangled in his hair. He smelled it then, even if it was faint.

------ Desire.

“You do want me…” he murmured, hand keeping her face propped in his direction, disallowing her from looking away. Without sight to aid him, all he had to go on was her troubled breathing; the sound of her intakes; the feel of her chest meeting his whenever she took in oxygen. “Are you satisfied, Grace…?”

“Ah… f-fu… shut up… shutup--” He felt her face turn red, the heat against his fingers all too telling. Intoxicating. More. I want to make you blush all the time.

“You wanted me to hold you.” “Shut up…” “You like it.” “I’m going to kick you for real…”

“You--” His words were interrupted by a sharp tug to his hair, breath catching in his throat at the sudden jolt of pain. Nevertheless, a delightful shiver ran down his spine, eyes feeling heavier as he suddenly felt hungrier. He was about to lean in for a fourth time, reclaim her lips with his own, when a sudden pound on the door frightened them both. He didn’t miss the way her hand tightened against the back of his head; he was sure she didn’t miss the way he clutched her slightly closer to him in a protective manner. With any luck, it would remain unspoken.

“What the fuck’re you two DOIN’ in there?!” they heard Moxie shout from the other side of the door. “What’re you talkin’ in the dark for? You fuckin’ IDIOTS or somethin’?!”

“... sort of,” Edgar admitted, voice teetering dangerously between humoured and weakened. “IIIII… left the key somewhere while tidying up. Find it and unlock the door, will you?”

There was a beat of silence save for heavy footfalls. Slowly, the Alpha released the woman in his arms, reluctant to feel her body heat fade away. The sound of the lock clicking had them both heaving out a sigh of relief, the light filtering through moments later. It was harsh enough for both of them to wince and raise an arm to shield their eyes.

“Fuckheads…” Moxie muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets before walking away. Before he disappeared from view. “Your shoe’s missin’, dumbfuck.”

If she cared about it, she certainly didn’t show it. She was gone in an instant, sparing neither of them a word.

#🞮 — if i could i'd trade my heart for a second brain. ❜ ( edgar. )#🞮 — that vixen﹐she's a master of disguise! ❜ ( grace. )#☆ — i never promised you your dream boy. ❜ ( main. )#☆ — i'm just here to destroy. ❜ ( ic. )#drabble *#/ HA HA HA

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staytiny-angel · 5 years

Text

The Demon's Lair - Part 2

Rating: Overall E, this chapter T

Main Pairing: Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch (Warning they aren't monogamous for much of the story)

Side Pairings: Roman Reigns/Jon Moxley/Renee Young, Finn Balor/Violet Balor(OC), Baron Corbin/Randy Orton/Ember Moon, Sasha Banks/Bayley/Xavier Woods, The Miz/Maryse

Summary: Fire? Meet Gasoline.

Taglist - @askauradonprep @rxllynch @neversatisfiedgirl @superrezzy00 @axelwolf8109 @swifteforeverandalways @hitory--chan @riottbliss @viperslunatic

Seth gingerly pulled his black dress shirt over the welts on his back as Violet knelt in front of him petting his face and hair "Feel better, precious one?"

Seth nodded in reply still a little spaced out from the endorphins. Finn entered the room again face clean from the paint that had given his handsome features their demonic appearance.

"So her name is Rebecca?"' he finally spoke

" Yes, she's a little younger than you. I've known her since she was a little girl. We came to America together but she moved down south when she met her former girlfriend, it was right before I met you actually. You just missed each other." Finn explained, "She's going to run the main bar since Jordan decided to return to school full time."

"I think I saw her. Orange-red hair, dressed in yellow and black leather?" Seth says as Finn helped him to his feet

"That would be Rebecca. Miss Rebecca or Miss Becky to you." Violet told him. "That shirt is much too tight to button over your back."

Seth nodded at the unspoken command "I'll keep it open"

Becky Lynch had not expected to like working at Finn's club after everything Charlotte had put her though because of her hatred of Becky's kinks, but her The Lair was like nothing she'd ever seen during her years as part of the scene. The members of the Lair acted more like a family than any other club she'd ever been a part of. It was surprising how all of them acted around one another despite many of the members' celebrity status, It had been a crazy moment, her when first night working the bar when Mike Mizanin and his wife Maryse just walked up and casually spoke to her, to her surprise the couple were very down to earth and just as funny as they were on their sitcom Miz and Mrs, though she'd wanted to slap Finn for not telling her he had the rich and famous frequenting his club. So far in her month behind the bar, she'd met several MMA fighters, a defensive lineman for the Giants, and she was currently talking to Ember Moon, a New York Times bestselling author. It was all so surreal. The only member of the club Finn ever mentioned was Seth Rollins. Becky had heard a lot about the millionaire CEO in her month at the club. Apparently, he was something of a legend around the Lair. He'd helped Finn get the club off the ground and Finn had introduced the man to the lifestyle. She knew he was at the club tonight but all she'd seen was long dark hair and a fancy suit as he headed into Finn's private domain.

The door to Finn's dungeon finally opened and Finn stepped followed by Violet who was holding on the arm of the man from before now looking much less agitated, fancy black shirt left unbuttoned to reveal a toned chest dotted with scrapes and bruises, and an impressive 6 pack.

Ember whistled from a bar stool off to the side of her "Seeing Sethie's chest is always a treat"

"What CEO looks like that?" Becky wondered aloud " and he's all banged up"

"One who served in the Army for the better part of a decade, including 3 tours of Afghanistan" Ember explained "Seth sometimes takes mercenary missions if they require his specific skill set. He's been gone on one for the last month"

"Wait, wasn't this guy born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth?" Becky looked at the other woman surprised

"Mama Trish….that's Seth's mom, by the way. Well, she may have raised a spoiled brat but he's also got a hero complex a mile wide after what went down with his Dad. Nasty business that was, Seth went into the military right after he graduated High School. Roman and Moxie, Miss Renee's boys? They followed him in. The four of them went to the same ritzy private schools, known each other since they were all little kids. One of my boyfriends was a few years above them. The silver spoon thing is funny though since Seth's middle name is Sterling"

"Hey! Are you mocking my name?" The man in question says in a raspy voice as he walks up to them.

"Your Mama named you Sterling, she cast that die for you already," Ember says hugging Seth after casting a glance at her Dom and getting a nod in answer.

"Sup, Emmy," Seth said taking a seat at the bar.

"Seth, Miss Rebecca. Becky, the Lair's chief pain in the ass." Finn introduced the pair to each other.

Seth rolled his eyes at Finn before smiling at Becky "Pleased to finally meet you Miss Rebecca" he said politely "Seth Rollins" he introduced himself properly

Becky's brain actually stuttered for a second. This man was too damn gorgeous for her own well being, after a moment she internally shook her thoughts back into place and reminded herself she was NOT looking for a new Sub, especially not a buff, tanned millionaire one.

"Be a good Kitten." Violet leaned in and kissed Seth softly "If you can find someone to play with tonight has fun! If not you are welcome to come home with us as always, my darling"

"Yes, Miss Violet. I'm taking the day off tomorrow. Moxie and Ro changed the security codes on the facility and all my work-related computer systems for 24 hours. They locked me out"

"I told them to, Mo Chroi" Finn tells him. "You need a day for yourself. Go to the gym, tend to your plants but you are not allowed near your headquarters until Wednesday understand?"

Seth bowed gracefully "Yes, My Liege"

Finn and Violet swept off to their personal VIP Booth, while Seth settled into his normal spot at the bar to chat with Ember as Becky looked on, laughing at something the tiny African American woman was telling him.

"What do you think my Queen?" Finn asks his wife

"I think they might be exactly what the other needs. Becky already thinks he's cute, I can tell" Violet replied

Are you okay?" Ember asked Seth seriously after joking around for a few more minutes. "You hardly take on solo missions anymore."

"Favor to one of Mom's country club buddies. Her friend's daughter got snatched while the girl was on a trip with her Dad. Tracked her over there, got her back relatively unharmed" Seth explained succinctly. One of Ember's Doms worked for Seth and had known him for most of his life, Sso she knew more about what he actually did for a living then most of his friends at the club.

"I'm glad. Now imma ask again cause you just tried to derail me. Are YOU okay?" Ember said grabbing the bigger man's shoulders gently and making him look her in the eye.

Becky watched as Seth ducked his head and then rolled his eyes at his friend "I'm better. Majesties worked me over a bit."

"Emmy." A deep midwestern accented voice said as Randy Orton walked back up to the bar. "Time to go. Baron's flight gets here in 2 hours"

"Yes Sir" Ember said lightly, accepting her boyfriend's hand and getting down off the barstool.

"Won't be in till Wednesday Viper, Royal decree." Seth told the older man

"Good. Tired of having to call the Doc in because your stubborn ass don't know when to go the fuck home. See you then, Boss" Randy replied before he and Ember headed out of the Lair, leaving Becky and Seth staring at each other

"Would you like a drink?" Becky asks him "Finn tells me this fancy-ass coffee set up is your doing?"

"I don't really drink, spent too many years trying to find death at the bottom of a whiskey bottle." Seth tells her bluntly "So yeah the fancy-ass coffee set up is for me."

"I'm assuming Finn told you to behave with me? He warned me about you while you were gone" Becky said easily despite being internally taken aback by the lighting fast change in attitude

She watched as Seth visibly took a deep breath "I apologize, Miss Rebecca, Miss Becky?" He said questioningly continuing when the redhead nodded "I apologize for my behavior Miss Becky, I wasn't prepared for Ember to ask about my last job and it was a…..rough one."

"Your forgiven, míshásamh," She said with a small smile that got bigger when Seth tilted his head to the side like a curious puppy "Six years being Finn's friend and sometimes boyfriend has taught me quite a bit of Irish but I don't know that word"

"Maybe, if you're a good boy, I'll tell you," Becky said with a smirk "Now if you want something fancier then a regular coffee, you're gonna have to come back here and make it yourself"

Seth grinned and nimbly leaped over the bar landing to the left of her, letting out a low cackle when she didn't budge "I can do that"

#Shai Writes #The Demon's Lair #Seth Rollins #Becky Lynch #Finn Balor #Rollynch #Ballins #Becky Lynch/Seth Rollins #Seth Rollins/Finn Balor #Seth Rollins/Finn Balor/OFC

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ambrial-blog · 3 years

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My Little Imp

Ares Goeita Ponies flying Ponies: Prestigious pure bloods Stella, Stolas and Octavia Spindle Ponies Hybrids: Blitzo. Millie Chaos Ponies: Hybrids Mixed with the Serpent-Ponies they are both wild and feral: Striker, The White devils: Moxie The Burning ones: Bombproof Sucubus ponies: Harlequin Ponies" Fizzouali, Mammon and Robo-Fizz Characters. Stolas: Ares Goeita: gray coat and feathers. Stella: Ares Goeita: Light gray coat and feathers Octavia: Ares Goeita Light gray small colt and a Healer Blitzo: A red flying spindle with bat wings and a black-heart shaped cutie mark Millie: Red Spindle: Blitzo's mamma and Moxie's wife. Moxie: The White Devil: Ivory mane: golden eyes :(Blitzo's father: Millie's husband) (Fun Fact: Blitzo like to call Moxie his brother, because he doesn't see Moxie as an authority figure: they constantly bicker) Striker: A chaos Pony: (Hybrid with the serpent pony) pushy and used to getting what he wants. He sets his sights on a young spindle horse

Someone had left the gates open, and he had slithered past them, watching the apple red horse from afar flutter about his amber-hued-ruby-red eyes, alluring beckoned him from the shadows. Spiral yellow eyes narrowed as he listened to the candy-coated colt chatter away with the prestigious Ares Goeita.

Striker's tail wraps around Blitzo's midsection, pulling him closer and away from the Goeita pony. Blitz blinks back in confusion. One moment, he was talking to a flirtatious Stolas who was offering him a bite of apple underneath the apple tree.

Next, he was staring into the blazing yellow eyes of a peach-skinned Feral. Blitzo gulped, taking a step back, listening to his tail rattle. This was bad. Blitzo was trapped in a corral with a Feral in heat. His older brother: The Moxie Pony, had drilled into his head two things at a very young age. One: you must never go near another pony while they are in the heat: and two never mingle with the wild ones: the untamable brutes who like to bully and harass the smaller.

Striker was both- a pure hybrid self-sufficient and always on the prowl looking for a Superior mate. Taking what he wanted regardless of anyone else.

The snake pony hissed evilly, Cornering Blitzo while nuzzling his cutie mark. Forcing Blitz onto his back, his hooves stomping onto tiny bat-wings keeping Blitzo pinned beneath him. His cowboy hat shades his face as he dips down, nuzzling and nipping at Blitzo's neck. Striker has his skull choker in his mouth, dragging Blitz along, making a pleasing chortling sound as Blitzo drags his hooves on the ground.

"Let go! I am not ready for this! " Striker nuzzles his butt before nipping his ear. He uses his nose to push the red-skinned spindle further into the open. Forcing Blitzo to the ground, he bares his teeth. Nuzzling his nose into Blitzo's chest. Blitzo stares up, his hooves half curled into Striker's red bandanna as he tries to push against his chest. His ruby-red eyes shine as an apple drops onto Striker's head from above.

The Ares Goeita pony is circling them, his wings gliding in the wind. Striker pushes Blitzo against the wall and hides him from view as he snarls at Stolas for interrupting. Blitz manages to wiggle out, running through Striker's legs, but before he can run far, Striker lays on him, his entire body engulfing Blitz crushing his wings. Striker laughs, swatting Stolas away: like a pesky fly with his tail.

Hissing and snarling at the Ares Goeita who was fluttering about, his bright red eyes had a murderous glow to them. "Go get Moxie and Mamma Millie," Cries Blitzo as Striker grunts and settles into the dirt, waiting for the blue blood to pass.

The Murderous foal twitched in the sky, afraid if he flew away to find the others, the little red-skinned foal and the lecherous fearl would slink away into the night. "Hurry, Stolas! Cries Blitzo earning another grunt from Striker, the rattler laughing at him from the shade of the tree. "Yea, run along, sweet prince. By the time you get back, I will have sown my seed deep into this spitfire.

"And what is that silly little miniature going to do, talk me to death while going over what's right and wrong and ask me- no, no, I prefer it if he begs me out the goodness of my black heart, to give back this frisky little foal." Striker hisses.

The Outlaw rolls his eyes, laughing as Blitzo sticks his head out, "Stolas! Screams trying to escape. Striker just bends his head, nuzzling Blitzo. His tongue licks his face as he nips on his ear. Blitzo makes a disgusted face before burrowing into Striker, trying to get the saliva off his face. "I can smell your purity Blitz, no one has broken you in, Blitzy. It must be my lucky day that I happen across your sweet-sweet- almost pheromone-like scent." " you may be only a tiny foal right now, but one day you'll grow into a superior breed, like me, and that's a day I look forward to the most. I wonder what you'll look like while in heat? Hisses Striker, flicking his tongue at Stolas. "I'll enjoy listening to the sound of your heat when your begging me to take you and make you mine." "I've been watching you for a long time, Blitz-longer than I care to admit, you smell of wilderness so this corral isn't meant for our breed I've come to take you home."

Stolas did one last sweep in the air before flying away to the stables where Moxie and Millie were last seen. Loony, the wolf-hound, looked up with sleepy eyes as Stolas entered the barn. His eyes burning red, the stables were empty.

Striker stood up so that Blitzo could get a bit of fresh air. The red-skinned pony stood underneath him, flexing his wings. His legs wobbled underneath him. As Striker brushed his face up against Blitzo one last time before running towards an open fence, grabbing a lasso with his teeth, he hooks it around Blitzo's neck.

Blitz reels back as Striker continue to tug, his body scooting across the dirt, looking up, Blitz eyes filled with tears as he no longer saw the Ares Goeita in the sky. Blitz trotted backward in hopes of stalling for Stolas, his ruby wings flapping at his side as he dove for the outsider. Snaring a hove into Striker's face. Striker snarled, throwing the Spindle into the side of a barn. "Yes, I'll definitely enjoy breaking you in," hisses Striker.

A blood-curdling scream echoes from Blitzo's mouth as Striker stomps on his wings, tearing one of them and shredding the other with his teeth. "No more flying away, no more back-talking he grunts as Blitz shoves a hoove into his chest. Striker leans down to nuzzle the little spitfire.

Blitzo cries out as Striker's teeth sink deep into his neck. He holds Blitzo down while he finishes giving him a mark, out in the open where everyone can see- A premature mating mark. Before taking him by the scruff of the neck. Blitzo had his head bowed, his eyes downcast.

He was halfway out the coral doors when A bright red horse with a black flowing mane appeared over the horizon, hellfire burning in her eyes. Not far behind was an ivory pony with golden eyes set ablaze while above circled Stolas.

Millie tears down the fields, kicking up fire and brimstone teeth bared; she rams into Striker, knocking Blitzo from his mouth. Who slumps to the ground. Moxie is beside his wife, flanking her while Stolas circled Blitzo.

The tiny foal lay motionless in the hot sun, his battered wings flap helplessly as Stolas lands. He nudges Blitz, but the colt doesn't respond.

"Blitzy... Now, come on- stop playing games, Blitzy." Stolas whines.

Millie tares into Striker's neck, ripping it open, her hooves claw at his face. Striker laughs through the pain, his teeth stained red with blood. His tail whips smacking across Millie's face. He headbutts her- but gets derailed by Moxie, who slams him into the fence.

Striker licks his teeth, tasting Blitzo's blood and some of his own. Millie staggers to her feet, seeing her husband corner the feral. She looks for her foal. Stolas had dragged Blitzo into the shade of the tree and away from the fighting.

He nuzzles the heart-shaped cutie mark giving a soft whine when Blitzo doesn't respond. He gives a sad little helpless look to the mare. Millie's eyes churn red as she charges over towards where she had last seen Moxie duking it out with Striker. They were gone. The fence was broken, with blood smeared across it. She looks around, frightened. She tares back down the brimstone, hearing her mate cry out in pain and hissing laughter.

"Millie... Moxie calls, his voice hoarse. Mildred finds her husband skewered on a broken fence. "He is after Blitz, you need to go back, Stolas is in danger," Moxie coughs, coughing up blood. "Moxie No!.... NO! we can fix this. It doesn't look too bad," Mox-baby." "Octavia she can fix this," sobs Millie. "Go unless, you want your son to be forcibly mated to a Chaos-pony, I'll be here when you get back, Mills our son needs us," chokes Moxie.

Back in the corral, Stolas had found a dirty blanket underneath an empty basin. He struggled with it before freeing it and heading over towards the red-skinned pony. Pulling the tattered cloth over Blitzo's prone form, trying his best to keep him warm. He was all-too-aware of how much blood the tiny colt lost and how on earth a slithering feral got into this corral, let alone ranch?.

He nuzzles the colt in hopes of stirring him, but Blitz is out cold. He bows his head as tears fall from his eyes. He nuzzles him repeatedly, sighing deeply when Blitzo's head drops down. " Blitzy, please forgive me for not coming quicker. I shouldn't have left you; I should have stayed, then maybe this wouldn't have happened to you my little impish one."

The Ares Goeita then tries for that empty basin, breaking the water nasal and overflowing the tin basin; he drags the bay over, splashing Blitzo in the face. He tries to cool down the colt, forcing water into his mouth. But suddenly still upon hearing the distant sound of a rattlesnake. Stolas springs into action shielding Blitz from those glowing yellow snake eyes and those blood-stained teeth that are pulled into a grin.

Striker was back, and he was ready for round two.

To Be Continued

#Hellvua Boss #My Little Pony #Fanfiction #Striker/Blitzo #Stolas/Blitzo

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valasania-the-pale · 4 years

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The Last Rose - Chapter Three

Sorry for the delay, college decided to be a bit of a pain in the ass these last few weeks. Hope you all enjoy, please read and leave a review!

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, I'm just playing in the sandbox.

X_0_X

Her Uncle leaned on Harbinger, the weapon transformed into its scythe configuration. The snath didn’t even bend underneath his not-inconsiderable mass, such was the skill that had gone into its construction. “So, kiddo. You’ve got your pig-sticker. And you’ve got me out here to teach you how to use it.” His head tilted to the side. “Do you even know what you’re asking?”

“I know, Uncle Qrow,” Ruby would not be deterred.

She had the will, she had the means, and now she had the weapon to match. She would have her teacher if she had to beg on her knees for it.

She twirled her newly-completed scythe – still no name, she hadn’t though of something fitting yet – and waited, hoping he would see something in her that would ease the thoughtful furrow of his brow.

“Heh…” he took a swig from his flask.

Ruby’s nose wrinkled in disgust as the stench prickled her senses.

“You’ve got the moxie for it too, I guess,” he chuckled, finally, his hard red eyes observing her silver, reading her. “But that ain’t the question I’m asking. Why do you want to be a huntress, Ruby? Honest answer here, this isn’t a fairy tale or some kid’s story – why should I teach you how to wield that thing?”

…

I want to help people – I’ve always wanted to help people.

To be the hero in the stories, slaying monsters, saving the day and bringing hope to a world where hope is fragile.

I want to be like my mom was, before she died. Or my dad was, before depression started eating him alive. Or even my uncle, before he started hiding from his demons in the depths of a bottle.

Being a hero… being the best person I can be - that is the standard I’ve tried to live by throughout my entire career from start to finish.

Unfortunately, slaying monsters is the easy part. I’ve never been very good at helping myself.

X_0_X

“Are you waiting for the ball to grow legs and move itself, Yatsu?” Velvet Scarlatina playfully called from her seat.

The imposing huntsman rolled his eyes at her, still circling the pool table to find the perfect vantage point for his next move. He’d done the same thing the last time it had been his turn, and the one before that – Velvet figured that if he’d been the one to break, he’d have considered his options for several minutes there as well.

Coco nudged her from the side, smirking overly wide when Velvet glanced over. Velvet sniffed. Bitch. So what if she’d drawn the short straw when it came to teams? Fox didn’t waste his time pretending to know what he was doing, sure, but he couldn’t predict shots for shit…

Finally finding his angle, Yatsuhashi leaned over the table, pool cue in hand. Velvet’s lips quirked up at the sight; the man was so big, his shadow covered nearly half the table.

“Don’t you dare start chalking up again, Yatsu,” Coco snarked.

“Impatience is no virtue, Coco.” The giant of a man didn’t even seem phased by her taunt.

He drew back, and the satisfying clack of colliding stone filled the air. “He’s going to sink one of ours, Vel,” Coco observed.

“Shut up! He is not!”

Seconds later and one enemy three-ball pocketed, Coco grinned smugly and sashayed over to claim her spot around the table. Long ears falling flat over her head, Velvet commiserated with her teammate as he plunked down into Coco’s chair.

“It’s alright, Yatsu. You know she just makes us play ‘cause she knows we all suck at this game.” She patted him on his heavy shoulder.

Yatsuhashi merely pouted.

Fox grinned widely at the two from his table, sketching away in his journal. Probably working on his shading again… He tried so hard to be the team’s cartographer-slash-chronicler, but if Velvet was being brutally honest, he wasn’t very good at it.

Well, maybe even that was too nice. Fox just kind of sucked at drawing, not that anyone was terribly surprised. Nobody else wanted to do it though, and he lost that bet with Yatsuhashi, who got tricked into it by Coco, so it was his job now.

What was it that Oobleck had called them when they showed up for class with half-baked sketches for their homework? ‘Functionally cooperative?’

Didn’t matter. Fox could smirk all he wanted. She was still the best at rhythm games by far, not this stupid bar game.

As Coco leaned over to take her shot, mouth thinning into a tight line, Velvet perked up as the door to the door loudly slid open – a stone-faced Mistral official marched in, barely pausing to shut it behind him.

That usually wasn’t good – this bar was well-known for the huntsmen that frequented it. If Mistral was bothering them this late at night, it meant something important was afoot. Her chocolate colored eyes flickered over the various faces throughout the room. Huntsmen, huntresses, some of them here in teams and some alone.

Perhaps two dozen wary eyes fixed on the official, measuring, anticipating what trouble he’d bring to their lives today.

Coco plopped herself down in her seat as her streak came to an end, handing off her cue to Velvet. Her interest waned quickly as she returned her attention to the table, now several solids short of where it had been a minute ago.

Damnit Coco…

At the bar, the owner was in deep, rapid conversation with the official. She tuned them out. They’d probably make an announcement to the bar in a second.

Velvet drew her arm back, tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth. She’d been left an easy opening this time – she could make this, sure thing.

“You said Ruby Rose?”

Mid-thrust, Velvet jerked. The cue ball clacked against the bumper, sailed off into the wrong direction and soundly pocketed the eight ball. She blinked, momentarily astounded by her bad luck - She wasn’t that bad at pool! – before whirling around to pay much closer attention to the exchange.

The barkeep was pale – well, paler than usual. Mistrallans didn’t usually have much color to begin with this far north… His hands wrung together, face a scrunched up, mess of worry. All around, the other huntsmen watched with carefully guarded interest.

They all knew Ruby. Who didn’t? The little reaper had a reputation, after all. Everything she was involved in either made for great stories, or great trouble. That was also to say nothing of the fact that she was probably on friendly terms with almost everyone in the room.

Another moment passed before the official finally cottoned onto the attention he’d drawn. He shot a questioning look at the barkeep. Getting a nod in return, the man stepped forward.

“Huntsmen, you know that the Mistral Council prefers not to interrupt your valued time between assignments,” he began, voice raised despite the entire room falling silent to listen. “Unfortunately, a situation has arisen that necessitates our action.”

The man pulled a sleek-looking scroll from his pocket and handed it to the barkeep. “Hours ago, one of our airships returned from an assignment down south without the two huntsmen it was supposed to be retrieving, as well as one of its pilots. The remaining operator has provided us with footage of why this is.”

A large holographic screen appeared off to the side – specifically installed for these sorts of situations. Velvet glanced at her team apprehensively while they waited for the image to buffer.

Yatsuhashi and Fox wore identical grim expressions, leaning forward in their seats with hands held stiffly in their laps. Fox’s fingers twitched erratically as he restrained his need to move and be active. Coco merely leaned back in her own chair, arms crossed behind her head and features perfectly blank.

Velvet squirmed. How was Ruby caught up in this? She’d heard her friend had been taking smaller missions lately. Nothing that should lead to the Council’s intervention.

The image finally loaded, the feed grainy and indistinct.

Whatever camera it came from was obviously loaded onto some sort of drone – Fox usually carried theirs around when they chose to use it. The perspective constantly vibrated and shifted as the wind picked up and changed directions.

A village in flames. Smoke rising from the ruins, masking most of the scene. What little was visible was hellish – houses crumbling under their own weight as support beams charred through and dissolved, broken stone toppling over, and the aside from the flames devouring everything in reach, a dreadful stillness unnatural for the relatively large settlement.

But then a tiny figure in a distinctive scarlet, hooded cloak stepped into the large open courtyard, carrying a scythe longer than they were tall.

Velvet felt her lips press into a line, fingers clenching the arms of her chair. Ruby.

Something else entered the frame – previously covered by the smoke. She had to restrain herself from blanching. Grimm that large were extremely rare, and often frighteningly powerful. The picture was so bad she couldn’t quite tell what its species was, but the thick armor distributed around its body was more than enough to confirm her fears.

An Ancient had surfaced in Mistral.

And Ruby was going to fight it. Had fought it already.

Velvet hoped her friend had better sense than that and ran.

The bar was mostly silent, save for the hushed whispers making the rounds as huntsmen moved toward their teams. Already, there were plans circulating. How to kill such a powerful specimen of Grimm, what sort of weapons would be needed. Rumors as well, abilities, its species, strengths, weaknesses. All things huntsmen would want to know.

In the video, the drone hovered, getting as clear an image as it could as Ruby faced off with the beast.

‘Oh dust, this has to have happened hours ago. Is she alright? Is she even alive?’

Ruby suddenly vanished, becoming nothing but a faint scarlet blur. Her scythe slashed at the Ancient, once, twice - three times to stave off an angry swipe, and then the huntress was backing away to avoid further retaliation, then turning into a whirlwind of blurring steel and rose petals. Velvet grimaced at the sight. The beast was barely fazed by the assault… Ruby was so tiny compared to it…

Velvet’s heart skipped a beat as Ruby abruptly froze in place, her legs anchored to the ground by something shadowy – what the hell were they? Some sort of subterranean Grimm? She freed herself swiftly, but Ruby had nowhere to escape as the Ancient bore down on her.

“No…” she whispered as Ruby’s hasty escape attempt was brutally punished. The camera suddenly panned away toward an approaching airship, just too slow to hide the distinctive flare-and-flicker of scarlet light around Ruby as she crashed into a crumbling house.

“The video was taken by one Bai Long,” the official spoke up once the video ended. “He had time to transmit the feed to the airship before he and his partner, Reed Bryce joined the huntress in the fight. Though it has yet to be officially confirmed, it is highly likely that she is indeed Ruby Rose – her last mission puts her near the area, and the appearances match up.”

“The Council believes that thing is Ancient?” A dark-haired huntsman spoke up from a booth on the other side of the room. His face was inscrutable.

“Correct. The Huntsmen’s Guild has already issued a Class Eight Search and Destroy mission, if Miss Rose and Misters Long and Bryce have not already eliminated it.”

“That thing isn’t going down without planning and firepower.” Another huntress leaned forward. “I know Bai and Reed – they’re strong, but even with the Reaper’s help they’re not going to kill an Ancient in one go.”

“How many teams is the mission asking for? Or is it solo?”

“Fuck the mission board, anyone who thinks that one team is going to be enough to kill that thing is suicidal.”

Velvet tuned out from the conversation, pulse speeding up to match her rising anxiety. The game was forgotten behind her as she rose to her feet and gracefully wove her way between several tables.

With huntsmen now looking at their scrolls for more details or huddling together to discuss the assignment, the Mistrallan official now sat down tiredly at the bar to nurse a glass of gin. Velvet cleared her throat anxiously to catch his attention.

Two sets of eyes, one set and tired, the other flecked by worry, locked onto her. Deep breaths Velvet, these people aren’t going to yell or laugh at you…

“Yes, Miss…?”

“Scarlatina,” she answered, shelving her worry. She was a huntress, damnit. “I was wondering if there was anything more you could tell me about Ruby?”

“Nothing much to say, unfortunately,” the official admitted. “We have only that footage to go off of. Huntsman Long took his drone with him into the fight, and our airships have limited range, to say nothing of the smoke covering up everything.”

The barkeep cut in, staring at Velvet. “You don’t think she was seriously hurt, do you?”

She belatedly realized that showing so much visible worry probably didn’t give the man much hope for Ruby’s wellbeing – she’d know better than he after all, being a huntress herself.

“I… no, I don’t think so,” she said, forcing her hands to relax. “But I can’t say for sure. That was a pretty bad hit and seeing her aura flicker like that isn’t good. If Ruby got away fast enough she’ll be fine.”

The man looked troubled.

Curiosity flared. Velvet had to ask. “Do you know her?”

“Ruby?” He seemed surprised. “‘Course. I swear, that girl is the only one who remembers my name sometimes. Probably helps that she never orders anything that’ll make her forget it, but still.” The man scowled. “’Sides, I served her uncle more times than I can count. Heard stories about her for years from him, before he dropped off the map.”

“Oh.” Velvet suddenly realized she had no idea what the man’s name was, despite frequenting the bar for several years. “I… uh. I’m sorry to hear that, sir.”

Was she supposed to ask his name now? She could write it down for the future – but didn’t that defeat the purpose of remembering it anyways, since she’d just be chea- no! She had a reason for coming over here!

“Right,” Velvet shook off the mental tangent and met the official’s grey eyes. “Is there anything being done to retrieve Ruby and the others, then?”

He nodded. “Search and Rescue mission. Class five, given how dangerous the Grimm is supposed to be. Almost got ranked higher, but you wouldn’t be asked to fight anyways, just get them out.”

His lips pursed. “To be honest, the Council doesn’t have high hopes for their survival unless they got away as quickly as possible. The mission is unclaimed though – there’s already an airship getting itself ready for departure in a few hours.”

Velvet nodded rapidly. “I – We, I need to go talk to my team about it real fast, just wait here.”

“Don’t worry about it, Vel.”

She twisted on the spot. Coco’s shades had slid down her nose, warm brown eyes crinkling sympathetically at her as the fashionista cocked her hip just slightly to the side. “You don’t really think we’d pass this up when it means so much to you, hm?”

She flushed. “I, well, thought you’d be excited to go on a mission to kill an Ancient, you know?” the faunus stammered.

Coco sniffed. “There’ll always be Ancients. Friends are a bit more important than that – and Ruby’s a friend, even if she hates going clothes shopping with us.”

“I’ll go get our stuff ready!” Fox called over, picking up on their intent. He was already jogging toward the door.

Yatsuhashi merely nodded to her from his seat, sending her an encouraging thumbs-up as an afterthought.

Velvet could feel her heart warm, filled to bursting with her gratitude. “Thanks Coco,” she said in a tiny voice. Her partner smirked.

“Anytime, Vel. But. You owe me another game of pool – a full game, so I can kick your cute little ass as thoroughly as it deserves.”

“I don’t suck that badly at pool!”

“I guess you’ll just have to proooove it~”

It was several minutes before their squabbling could come to an end – Coco efficiently moving through the mission sign-up provided by the official while deftly countering each and every protest Velvet made. When they finished, Yatsuhashi joining them in the process, they left quickly, Velvet’s smile just a bit wider around the edges after the barkeep waived their tab for the night.

It didn’t do much to assuage her nervousness and worry – and by the pallor he carried, the man felt the same – but it was a kindness.

Her eyes closed briefly as she pulled on her huntress’ garb, willing her thoughts to reach her friend.

‘We’re coming, Ruby.’

X_0_X

The village burned below her CORPSES littering the ground, battered, lifeless, bloody puddles EVERYWHERE. Fire, always hungry, raced through the crippled settlement, devouring everything in reach as creatures of GRIMM roamed freely through the village.

A twist of the hand. A finger on the trigger, pulling, letting gravity pull her to the ground as her now-bisected mount tumbled through the air. She landed on her feet, crushed stone rattling across the cobblestone, scythe held tightly in her hands.

EYES. Burning red eyes, all trained on her. The Grimm surged forward, Crescent Rose slashing slicing dicing Grimmflesh like it was nothing, THEY were nothing and deserved her fury for what they’d DONE here. With every kill she felt the fire burn brighter within her. She would AVENGE them all reap the soulless beings who had KILLED all these people and introduce HER own justice to this eternal conflict.

The village burned. It shook. A new foe appeared. Fire licked her as the Berengal threw her away. Eating at her. Her legs. She burned. Something was WRONG. Why did it hurt so much…? This hadn’t happened before the world was shaking whywasthisnothappeninglikeshereme-

“Huntress! Wake, please!”

Ruby surged awake with a gasp, body still aflame with the dream.

All was quiet save for the merrily crackling fire just a few feet away. For a brief moment she stared, looking back in time to see the shapes crumpled amongst the ashes. Faces twisted in a gruesome rictus. Darkness amidst the surging light, bright embers substituting for hateful eyes.

She shook her head thoroughly, grimacing as her leg pulsed angrily where the poison ate into her flesh.

“Miss Rose?”

Right. Her companion.

“Is something wrong?” she asked warily.

He certainly looked like something was wrong. Shoulders tense, arms held tightly to his sides, the pilot – Kohroku, he’d told her - exuded nervousness tangible enough that the hair on her arms prickled up instinctively.

“The howling. It has been growing louder and closer,” he said, a deep frown on his face.

Ruby sat up. Their flight from Horikiri had already been troubled enough by the Colossus, what with the vines erupting at random from the ground to attack them. While before they’d been a nuisance – tools used and thrown away to delay or distract her from the more important danger the Grimm itself posed – without her aura protecting her she was hard pressed to avoid having her legs snared and crushed by their powerful grip.

But worse were the lesser Grimm attracted to the negativity and destruction of such a large settlement. The Colossus might have claimed the lion’s share of victims, but Grimm were more than happy to pursue refugees at their most vulnerable.

They were hunters at heart but weren’t averse to scavenging their kills.

By the pitch she’d observed earlier, she was certain they’d picked up a pack of Beowolves. Normally she wouldn’t have been worried about such weak Grimm. Without her aura, however, fighting an entire pack was dangerous, almost tantamount to suicide.

The huntress closed her eyes, listening. Bright orange seeped through her eyelids from the fire. She didn’t let it distract her.

…

Ah.

There it was. Loud, piercing, and tinged with the fury unique to Grimm on the prowl. Kohroku was right, they were much closer now. And their numbers had swollen to several dozen, if the amount of replies the call received was anything to go by.

“You’re right,” she said finally, loosening her focus. “We’ll have to get moving in a few hours.”

“Not now?”

“No. Surprised?” Ruby smiled wanly. “They’re closer, but still miles off and not moving very fast right now. They’ll probably bed down for the night soon.”

“I see.”

He didn’t. The tension in his shoulders spoke louder than his words ever could. Something hung over him like a dark cloud, screening his true feelings from her. He sat in front of the fire to warm his hands, staring deep into the flames.

Too alert to sleep now, Ruby regarded the Mistrallan curiously. Now that they weren’t fighting or running for their lives through miles of wilderness, her bemusement from much earlier returned…

Nothing for it.

“Why are you here?” she asked bluntly.

“I… pardon?”

“The fight earlier. Why would you jump into it? You’re a pilot, not a huntsman,” she pointed out. “You might have aura, but you don’t have the training to use it in combat. Why join a fight like that?”

He shifted on the spot, pulling his knees up to his chest, khakis reflecting the flickering light and shadow. His expression twisted into something troubled.

That wouldn’t do. She scooted closer to grasp his shoulder, giving him a tight squeeze when he looked at her askance. Silver eyes glinted kindly. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, I’m just curious.”

He tried to shake her off, but it was halfhearted at best. “No, you deserve an answer. It’s just that… I hate – I…” Kohroku trailed off, eyes closing as he gathered his thoughts. Ruby’s smile dimmed, but she waited, lending him some strength through her touch.

Several minutes passed in silence, until it was broken.

“Horikiri was not the first town I have seen burn,” the pilot admitted finally. “Not even the second, nor the third… Sometimes I am bringing huntsmen to clean up the Grimm, sometimes I am finding a safe spot to land so that I can rescue survivors. It is always the same – tears or stoicism or anger, everything past the smoke is pain. When I saw you down there, and the others jumping down to help...”

Ruby felt a twinge in her stomach, her eyes squeezing shut as echoes of her dream played across her mind’s eye.

“I am not a councilor to make laws that protect people, or a doctor to cure people of their hurts and ills,” he continued, voice dipping low. “Nor a huntsman for others to look up to. I want to help people, but am I doing the most I can, just being an airship pilot?”

“You think you could be doing more.”

“Yes! I have my aura unlocked. Perhaps with more training I could even discover my semblance. I…” Kohroku sighed, and Ruby empathized with the tired look on his face. “I am tired of feeling useless in the face of suffering.”

The Beowolves howled again, backdrop to the nocturnal hum of the forest and the gentle crackling of the flames. Ruby let the moment hang, several minutes passing by as both immersed themselves deep in introspection.

Did she understand how Kohroku felt? In the cordoned section of her heart she kept under tight reign, lest it corrode her will to act, she did. Impotence was a huntress’ bane, the reason they trained their bodies and minds so rigorously every single day. Ruby hadn’t considered before how it must feel for the other people involved in their vocation; pilots like Kohroku, or the relief workers sent into villages to help them recover from failed raids, or any of the dozens of others tasked with keeping the Grimm at bay.

She was a huntress, always at the head of the action or, these days, working alone. She might talk to the people she worked beside; get to know them and develop a rapport, but none of those bonds had ever developed enough for her to hear of such personal demons, to look behind the curtain…

Time to change that.

“Twelve years ago, Beacon fell,” she said suddenly, startling her companion. “I was just a freshman then. The girl killed in the tournament was one of my best friends… Penny Polendina… When the real fighting started, so many of the people I knew, civilian and huntsman alike, were hurt or killed by Grimm or the White Fang or the Atlesian mechs rampaging through the city. I fought as hard as I could, but… a lot of the time, it wasn’t enough.”

Ruby scooped up a hand of the soft earth, appreciating the cool dampness as it crumbled through her fingers. “Later, my… partner… and I were searching for two of our friends who’d gone missing. We found one – Jaune – but he’d been separated from his partner. I ran ahead once we knew where she was, but I was too late. She died the moment after I found her, killed by the woman who orchestrated it all…”

“Huntress, I--”

“I never felt more helpless in my life than in that moment,” Ruby interrupted forcefully. “When I saw my team, they were crippled or shattered. My friends… they were dead, or grieving. My family was confused and scrambling for some way to help make everything better in the aftermath.”

She turned to look the pilot directly in the eyes, her own silver blazing brightly. “Those feelings didn’t go away.” The earth disappeared in her clenched fist. “But I kept fighting. Horikiri isn’t the first village I’ve seen destroyed either. It won’t be the last time I’m too slow to save the day.”

“You’ve done great things though!” Kohroku protested. “You’ve saved hundreds of people, killed countless Grimm! You’re the Reaper, scourge of Mistral’s bandit tribes – one of the greatest huntresses alive!”

“Being the Reaper didn’t help anyone in that village,” Ruby rebuffed. “But that’s not my point. I’ve failed a lot, in my life. Too slow, too weak, too tired, or too late.”

She jabbed a finger into his chest. He jerked backwards. “That doesn’t make the people I did save worthless. You think you can do more to help people? Fine. We can always do better. But the work you’ve done up to this point hasn’t been wasted; I’m sure there are dozens of people grateful that you were there for them in their time of need… You should be proud of that.”

A long moment passed as she glared into his shocked, steel-grey eyes. Ruby saw something click as her message got through to him. His expression softened in understanding, a tiny smile quirking his lips upwards.

“I see your meaning,” the pilot said reflectively. “Pilot or huntsman, we all face failure. I am a fool for thinking my work useless or inadequate for not achieving perfection.”

Ruby smiled. “Spoken like a true Mistrallan.”

He chuckled. “Indeed.”

Her fists loosened, earth dropping to the ground. She wiped her hand against her leg, scooting away to give him his space. Glancing up, she saw that the moon was still high in the sky. “You should get some sleep,” she said kindly.

“It is still my watch, Huntress.”

She shook her head. “I’m not tired right now. Might as well let you rest.”

She was tired, actually. Exhausted. But she doubted she’d find any sleep tonight.

“You are sure?” Though concerned for her, she could see his eyes flitting toward the makeshift bedroll they’d made for him.

She waved him off with a smile, tucking her chin up on her knee. The pilot was quick to tuck himself underneath the covers, his breathing slowing into the regular cadence of slumber mere minutes after.

Alone at last, Ruby sighed.

She hadn’t lied to the man. Every life was worth it – she’d never be able to go on as a huntress if she didn’t truly believe so. Their work benefited countless people, giving them the opportunity to live and find their own happiness. But…

Within the flames, hidden amidst the coals and embers, eyes bright and accusing stared back at her, and she couldn’t help but doubt.

X_0_X

Sun’s anxiety was starting to rub off on him.

“—knew things would go wrong when she took that mission…”

Scarlet David shot a sideways glance toward his partner Sage. They’d just ushered out the representative from the Mistral council, silently expressing their gratitude while Sun ranted in the background.

“—should have said something…!”

They’d returned to the kitchen amidst the clamor, Sun’s voice cracking like it hadn’t since their years at Haven. Scarlet eyed the stain on the far wall with trepidation, ceramic shards littering the floor: the remains of a mug of cocoa Scarlet brewed for Sun while the official delivered his message. At the table, Sage scowled into his cereal, deep in thought while they processed the news.

At least, Scarlet would be processing the news if he didn’t have to listen to the increasingly-loud, increasingly-hysterical dulcet tones of their team leader.

His partner’s fingers clenched around his spoon, unnatural strength gifted to him by his semblance beginning to warp the weak metal. If Scarlet didn’t intercede soon then more things were going to break and this time, he’d need more than a broom and dustpan to clean it all up…

“Sun,” Scarlet cut in finally, grimacing as bloodshot eyes snapped toward him. Sun’s posture screamed Hostile in a way he was deeply uncomfortable with seeing directed his way. Suddenly putting an end to his tirade seemed much more daunting. “I…”

No, idiot! Don’t lose it now! His hands wrung underneath the table. “Ruby’s going to be okay. You know that, right?”

Scarlet berated himself. Stupid! ‘What kind of weak comfort was that?!’

“No, I don’t, and you… don’t know either, Scarlet,” Sun snapped. The blonde swayed on the spot, hand rising to his temple briefly. Scarlet’s lips thinned. Sun hadn’t been sleeping well for days, even after Ruby forced him to lay down. “You… and me, we don’t know shit right now, we…” Sun’s face twisted, his eyes widening slightly. Scarlet could read the signs of vertigo as easily as if they were emblazoned in neon.

Scarlet was out of his seat instantly, slinging an arm around Sun’s torso as his legs failed him. Scarlet lowered his teammate to the floor slowly, allowing the blonde’s forehead to rest on his shoulder.

The faunus was still muttering to himself as Scarlet eased him into a seated position, back to the wall with his head between his knees. Scarlet was all business; checking his pulse, temperature, and anything else he could think of. Sage joined him, holding Sun’s shoulder steady. The spoon he’d been using was a twisted mess in his other, clenched, fist.

“…can’t…” Sun muttered faintly.

Sage growled angrily. “He needs sleep.”

“I know, Sage.”

“Well why can’t he fucking do it then! He’s been laying down for hours!”

Scarlet frowned at his partner, shoving down the same thoughts brewing in the back of his mind guiltily. “He’s got a condition Sage. It’s not his fault.”

“I know! I just…” the spoon clattered on the wood flooring. Sage ran his hand through his hair, expression tight with frustration. “Dust, Scarlet, he’s killing himself like this.”

Sun continued to mumble, eyes focused on nothing. Scarlet watched his leader sorrowfully, wishing he could do more. He didn’t have any answers for Sage; his partner spoke to their shared fears.

What if Sun died? What would they do? Losing Neptune nearly destroyed them all, and Scarlet knew that losing Sun would be even worse. Every time they went out on assignments it lingered in the back of his mind: would this be the moment Sun made a fatal mistake? Would all that missed sleep finally do him in?

All it took was a moment of inattention. A moment of dull reflexes. He and Sage couldn’t be there all the time, watching his back. Their work didn’t allow it.

Worse, he had no answers for Sun either. Not until Ruby got back alive and well. The alternative…

He didn’t like thinking about that.

“Look,” Scarlet breathed out through his nose. “Sun’s not going to get anything done like this. If you bring him to his room, we can have him take a few of those pills the doctor gave him. I’ll go over to Ruby’s place and get it ready for her to come back so he doesn’t freak out.”

“You know he hates those things.”

Don’t remind him. “They fuck him up, and he won’t be able to go on assignments for a few days after, but he’s going to hurt himself or start really messing with his body if we don’t do something,” Scarlet countered. “I’ll take the heat if he blows up about it later.”

The dark-haired man considered it, a fearsome scowl contorting his features, before he gave in with a sigh. “Fine. I’ll keep an eye on him and make sure he stays put.” Sage lifted Sun into a bridal carry, adjusting the weight with a grunt. “When you’re done, can you give the doctor a call and give him an update?”

“Done.” Scarlet got to his feet, already going over a short list in his head of what he’d need to do at Ruby’s before returning home. Before Sage left with him, he gave Sun’s wrist a quick squeeze, which went completely ignored as the faunus continued muttering to himself.

It was dark outside when Scarlet stepped out of the house, the moon and its many satellites glowing silver-white against the void. He shivered, tucking his hands deep into his pockets against the cold, wondering if Ruby was stuck out in the wild in the middle of this kind of weather.

He wasn’t close with the little reaper – not like Sun was – but she made a point of befriending everyone she could, and he’d been among the first she’d sought out in Mistral when she immigrated from the newly-recovered city of Vale. Friends of Sun were friends of hers, she’d said.

He and Sage had shared bemusement that such a tiny, tired-looking slip of a girl could be the charismatic leader Sun had described her as… until they challenged her to a fight and got their asses handed to them on a silver platter.

Scarlet now had a healthy respect for that murder-scythe she had – unironically – nicknamed ‘Sweetheart.’ Sage even had a faint scar across his back from his short-lived duel with the girl, where she’d cloven through his aura after wearing him down with her – frankly unfair – speed and avoidance tactics.

A loss was a loss, however, and both he and Sage had quickly gotten over their disappointment once they realized just how sweet a person Ruby was. She was kind, too. Confident. Friendly. Sociable… and just like his leader, damaged.

He saw it in the little slips she made; the flash of naked emotion when she heard the wrong music, the topics they’d learned to avoid bringing up, the late nights she and Sun would share together, just talking or texting, when sleep was elusive… Scarlet knew what it was like to lose a teammate. He could relate to her loss and admired her tenacity and will to move forward… it was inspiring to see in person.

But she was damaged in a way he couldn’t help. Just like Sun.

As he unlocked the door to her home, using the key he’d borrowed from Sun’s ring (itself foisted on him by the energetic reaper), Scarlet could only hope he wasn’t cleaning up for someone who would never arrive.

X_0_X

In the grey pre-dawn light, they cleared up their makeshift camp in record time.

Ruby’s eyes burned with fatigue as she crammed her bedroll into her pack, rolling it over her shoulders and tightening down the straps. Nearby, Kohroku fiddled with his dirtied uniform, eyes bright and alert. He’d snapped awake the moment she’d touched his shoulder, sunrise only minutes away.

They’d scarfed down a cold breakfast; jerky and dried fruit with a few precious mouthfuls of water to sate their appetites. Her leg complained all the while, the bandages probably needing to be changed, but there was no time.

She gave the distress beacon, retrieved from Kohroku’s survival kit the night before, one more examination to make sure it was still working. Check.

Map. Pouches. Crescent Rose. Heron. Pocket-knife. Canteen. All check.

“Let’s go,” Ruby said brusquely, just before the sky lit up with the sun’s arrival.

They froze momentarily, adjusting to the change in the light. Then, howls split the air, far too close. Ruby had hoped to put a few miles distance between them and the Grimm before they’d awaken, but she’d let the pilot sleep too long.

If they died for her mistake…

“Huntress?”

“I said let’s go!” she barked, ignoring her trepidation and breaking into a measured jog. Kohroku joined her, matching her pace easily with experience born of military training. It was a pace designed to eat up the miles with a minimum of rest. On her injured leg, Ruby knew it wasn’t sustainable in the long term, but they needed to put some distance between themselves and the Grimm before their trail was discovered.

Kohroku’s measured breathing soon synched up with her own as they moved steadily north, feet crunching through the undergrowth. He trusted her to guide them to safety. Even with something as innocuous as setting their pace. Trusted her measure of her own capabilities, and her estimation of his.

Her resolve hardened.

She wouldn’t fail that trust. They would live. She would make sure of it.

X_0_X

“Everyone’s got their weapons ready? Coco, you’ve got enough ammo?”

“Locked and loaded, Vel.”

“Fox, you’ve got all the medical supplies prepped?”

“All set!”

“Yatsu—”

“I am physically and mentally prepared for this endeavor, Velvet,” Yatsuhashi smiled, serene and towering with his curved buster sword resting on his shoulder. The giant hardly looked bothered by the weight.

Their airship shuddered again, their haste pushing it to the very limits of its capabilities. Velvet ignored it, all her focus on her team. “And I’m all set…” she muttered to herself, fingering the short sword at her waist – a compromise she’d made with Coco after an especially prolonged battle that saw her run out of pictures to fuel Anesidora.

Coco reached around Fox to pat her on the shoulder. “Hey now,” the brunette soothed, her tone at odds with the cocky smirk adorning her lips. “We’re almost there. Ruby’s going to be fine and you’ll see that you had nothing to worry about.”

“I know…” Her long, brown ears flattened over her skull, twitching in response to her nervousness. She never could control the damn things…

“Undue stress may inhibit your performance, Velvet,” Yatsuhashi counselled. “Relax and marshal your energies for when you must act.”

That didn’t help her feel better at all. “…Okay?”

“Just focus on breathing.”

Better. Velvet immersed herself in the exercises her team had walked her through since their days at Beacon, the better to handle her anxiety. In. Out.

Turbulence rattled the ship again. This time, something behind them groaned, then fizzled, then going dead silent. This of course set off an alarm that grated on her ears and completely destroyed Velvet’s concentration.

Fox coughed. “Think that was important?”

“Pilot?” Velvet called, partly annoyed, partly relieved for the distraction.

“It’s nothing worth troubling yourselves over,” the pilot responded over the intercom, professionally calm. “Ship’s not made to go this fast for so long, she’s starting to feel the strain. We’ll get her looked at once we’re back in Mistral.”

The alarm continued to blare.

“Er, we’ll turn that off for you.”

The sound died. Velvet and Fox exchanged bemused looks, and the redhead shrugged. If they were okay with it…?

“How far to go before we start our search?” Coco called up to the cockpit.

“We’re picking up on Grimm signatures a few klicks south of here. You might want to get ready to go in case they’re after your target.”

They each straightened, hands going to weapons and supplies in one last check. Velvet felt her heartrate begin to rise, her breathing hastening to match the adrenaline entering her bloodstream. This was it. More than any average assignment, this mission had serious consequences.

Do or die. Or, do or Ruby dies…

“Alright CFVY,” Coco barked. Velvet flinched, breaking out of her thoughts. She looked at the brunette, at her leader, for direction. “We’re on a time limit for this one, and we don’t know the countdown. Our job is to extract Ruby and whoever else she’s with and get out. If they’re split up, we’ll track down whoever’s missing. Nothing more, and nothing less – we’re not here to get bogged down fighting Grimm if we can help it.”

They nodded seriously, Fox and Yatsuhashi with expressions hard as stone. Velvet drew strength from them, letting their resolve fill her. They had their mission. She could do this. They could do this.

“Velvet, you and Fox take point. Yatsuhashi and I will draw the pack’s attention and hold them off while you secure the targets and get them to safety.”

“Aye aye!”

“Got it Coco.”

“Grimm signatures confirmed,” the pilot spoke over the intercom. “A large Beowolf pack is massing to the south. They’re converging on a smaller signature – Mistral standard distress beacon. That’ll be our missing pilot. Fifteen seconds to the drop zone.”

Velvet stood, drawing her short sword in one hand and taking hold of one of the overhead handles with the other. Her team lined up beside her as the door slid open mechanically, freezing wind filling the fuselage and scattering Velvet’s hair.

Should have tied it back…

With her enhanced hearing she could hear the faint pounding footfalls of dozens of Grimm below, as well as the punctuating sound of gunshots. One, low powered and quiet, the other the loud and distinctive ‘crack!’ of a rifle.

Ruby… Thank Dust.

“You’re above the drop zone now. Good luck huntsmen.”

Velvet steeled herself and leapt.

X_0_X

Two hours.

A part of Ruby felt proud of how long they’d kept ahead of the pack, given their late start and the odds stacked against them. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, she’d disregarded the pain flaring in her leg completely (as well as the twinging she felt in the other) and pressed onwards, Kohroku right beside her as they trekked northward.

It wasn’t to last, however. The first Grimm finally overcame their position an hour prior, and they’d been just barely keeping ahead of the teeth nipping at their heels since. When they needed a moment to rest, they would sprint forward, Ruby pressing into her semblance to give them the extra distance they needed. That would give them maybe a minute to breathe and take a drink before they were forced to start moving once more.

The bulk of the pack was further behind them, the massing Grimm much slower to traverse the dense woodland than the two humans. The fastest Grimm quickly died, bisected by Crescent Rose with nary more than a whimper.

She was fairly certain survival of the fittest wasn’t supposed to work that way, but she’d never been the most attentive student in biology.

Unfortunately, their numbers continued to grow. Ruby could feel the fatigue spreading through her limbs like poison. She’d been forced to relax the efficient march already, and each brief skirmish with the encroaching Beowolves sapped her of aura and stamina.

Kohroku panted as they came to another rest. Ruby pressed her forehead into a nearby tree trunk, relishing in the cool, smooth bark.

“We can’t maintain this pace, Huntress,” the pilot croaked, taking a quick swig from his canteen.

“I know,” Ruby replied tiredly. “We’ve just got to hold on until your beacon gets someone’s attention. We’re bound to get lucky soon.”

She believed those words. She did. Mistral was an efficient kingdom – and it had learned its lesson after the massacre of its huntsmen population a decade prior. It wouldn’t leave them to die. They just had to keep moving.

Ruby breathed deeply. “Alright, break time’s over. We’ve got to move.”

“Right.”

The man replaced his canteen on his belt, but Ruby’s eyes were drawn to the side, where hateful orbs glared from the thick foliage. They locked, silver and crimson, and several things happened at once.

Crescent Rose unfolded in a glory of sliding metal, not even completing its transformation before she swung upwards to intercept the pouncing Grimm. Ruby’s senses screamed at her to turn however – it was an ambush; they’d been encircled at some point, some of the faster Grimm of the pack swinging wide to overtake them and intercept their path ahead of the rest. Simple, but terribly clever, and terribly deadly for the two.

Meanwhile, off in the distance, Ruby picked up the faint, familiar sound of an approaching airship. She didn’t have the time to consider this, however. She poured her aura into her attack – into Crescent Rose specifically – praying it would be fast enough to catch the other two Beowolves behind her before they slammed into her and her companion.

The first died easily; impaled through the throat by her reactionary swing. The second died on the follow-through, its paltrily-armored chest ripped open by the murderous blade. She was too slow to stop the third, however.

Kohroku cried out as the beast crashed into him in a flash of shattering aura, one hand shielding his face and the other firing his tiny pistol into the Beowolf’s guts. Ruby finished the beast right as he hit the ground, Crescent Rose’s mournful song punctured by the sound of snapping bone and the pilot’s pained gasp.

The Beowolf dissolved immediately, revealing the pilot cradling his misshapen leg with a bloody arm. Ruby knelt beside him immediately. “Shit,” she muttered angrily, examining the injury.

Luckily the break was clean and hadn’t broken skin, while his arm was only scratched up and not seriously damaged. Unluckily, the injury was still easily bad enough to prevent him from walking any distance on his own.

Ruby stared at the broken limb for several seconds, ever mindful of the quickly diminishing gap between them and the pack…

She couldn’t carry him.

They’d last a minute if she did – if she used her semblance, at least. But she would be too slow otherwise and they’d be overtaken easily. And should she tap the last dregs of her aura she’d be totally drained from the effort, in no shape to defend them.

“Okay. Okay,” she muttered, forcing her mind into high-gear. Running was no longer an option. Her reserves were perilously low, both of body and soul. Fighting was looking like a worse option by the moment… They were only Beowolves though, she could make a stand and try to – she could buy time for the airship to circle back around and drop the huntsmen, she could probably manage that much… Probably. They had the numbers to overwhelm her – but if they played with their food then she had a chance.

“Huntress.”

“You’re going to be alright Kohroku,” she said stubbornly, a plan quickly taking shape in her head. Hopefully the Alpha of the pack – there had to be one, Beowolves weren’t smart enough to strategize on their own, and that ambush, while simple, was evidence enough – hopefully it would hang back while its underlings tested her…

“Ruby, you must run.”

What?

“What?” she hissed. “No, I’m not abandoning you! I can hold them off until the huntsmen arrive.”

The pilot cringed as he sat up straight. “No, that’s not what I meant,” he grunted and shook his head, frustrated. “You are exhausted – if the pack comes up on us then you will die; they will swarm you and there will be nothing you can do about it. Hide me and run – draw their attention, buy time until the huntsmen can deal with the pack.”

Ruby stared at him.

Kohroku glared. “Hurry! Unless you have a better idea?”

…She didn’t. Ruby cursed internally that she hadn’t thought of it herself. While she loathed the idea of leaving the pilot behind, his plan was sound, and more likely to succeed than playing on the arrogance of the Grimm.

But he would be alone. Injured. The pistol he carried was hardly enough to protect him should one Beowolf come across him, much less dozens, or the whole pack…

Dust damnit…! Why could nothing go right for once?

Fuming and frustrated, Ruby slung his arm over her shoulder, half-carrying the heavy Mistrallan to a nearby tree deeply set into a nearby hillock. There were plenty of spaces amongst the roots that would fit the pilot; Ruby chose one hidden behind the densest foliage, hoping the camouflage would be enough. The limited cover it offered would buy him time before the Grimm doubled back to scent him out.

Letting him sink into the recess, Ruby shuddered, picturing Kohroku’s face alongside the villagers, Bai and Bryce…

No.

He would survive. She would distract the Grimm and he would be rescued. For good measure, Ruby handed him the beacon, knowing that the others would be able to find her by following the Grimm.

“I’ll be back,” she promised, pausing before she left.

“Be safe, Huntress,” the pilot said solemnly, sagging against the trunk.

Ruby smiled shakily at him, feeling exhaustion tugging at her limbs. “I will.”

The pilot nodded, gripping his pistol with white knuckles, his other hand inside the small pack of rounds at his waist. Nothing that would stop a determined Grimm for long, but perhaps enough to buy a few seconds for the rescue team to arrive.

Without another word, Ruby took off from the hideaway. Pointing Crescent Rose in the air, she squeezed the trigger twice, feeling the familiar jolt along its haft as the dust rounds screamed into the sky.

Howling and bestial snarls filled the air – too close! - and Ruby felt the attention turn towards her. Distraction achieved. Dark shapes pounded through the forest like a massive, malevolent wave just behind her.

Folding Crescent Rose up to stow at her waist, Ruby poured what residual aura she had left into her semblance, warping the air around her in her desperate bid to put as much distance between herself and Kohroku as possible. Pain shot up her legs within seconds, pooling in the desiccating flesh, bruises and cuts she’d sustained over the last day. The blackened flesh of her ankle seared so badly that her entire leg threatened to give out with every step.

The Grimm howled. The heavy pounding of their feet behind her felt far too close. She poured on the speed, fighting back the agony.

Automatic fire rang out in the forest behind her, a few dozen yards from Kohroku’s hiding place. Huntsmen. They would find Kohroku and get him to safety. Her own trail would be easy to find. Just follow the Grimm.

Branches snapped behind her. Ruby felt her semblance shudder. Without warning, the last of her aura withered away, reserves totally exhausted, and she stumbled as a new wave of soul-deep fatigue washed over her. Her cloak fluttered in the weak breeze she’d created, spilling out a stream of rose petals around her.

Dive.

Muted pain bloomed in her shoulder, jolting through the rest of her body as she rolled by sheer instinct. The massive, shadowy bulk of a leaping Beowulf sailed over her just as she came up to her feet.

Turn. Slash.

Crescent Rose unfolded with a metallic ‘schink,’ its menacing song splitting the air as she swung it around.

The two halves of the now-neatly bisected Beowolf crumpled to the ground, though Ruby spared them no mind, bringing Crescent Rose back around in a wide arc. The Grimm pursuing her skidded to a halt to avoid the wicked blade, fanning out to encircle her.

Her weapon gleamed eagerly in the low light. The simple sight of the blade comforted her. Resetting her grip on the snath and taking in the circle of foes, Ruby took a few calming breaths. She met the eyes of the largest Grimm in the pack – a Beowolf larger than its fellows and covered in lean muscle, sporting the dull, boney armor all its kind were known for.

It bore several scars along its body; results of territorial fighting with other Grimm, and a few distinctive signs of huntsmen weaponry. This was the Alpha, then. Older, stronger, and more cunning than the younger Grimm surrounding her.

The pack awaited their Alpha’s command. The gunshots – now accompanied by the sound of blades parting flesh and bone – were drawing near.

The Alpha snarled, and Ruby tensed her body in anticipation.

Whirl. Slice up, across the body. Down. Right. Follow through. Reverse, and leap!

Several Beowolves died, their foul, reeking blood watering the earth.

Instincts drilled into her by Beacon’s training and years of professional experience reigned over her body in full force. Ruby relished in the experience of simply surrendering to them, exhaustion for now forgotten - of giving over to the pulse in her veins and the whirling, energetic dance she and Crescent Rose performed as their foes streamed toward them.

Left. Back. Right. Follow through. Sweep. BACK.

The Alpha leapt at Ruby, interrupting her rhythm. Every instinct in her screamed to get away as the beast crashed into where she’d been mere moments ago. It snarled, furious as it swatted at the fluttering rose petals she left in her wake, her cloak fluttering to a halt behind her.

The Alpha charged her position again Dive and Ruby slammed the transformation switch on Crescent Rose as she came up on one knee, already taking aim at its flank.

The forest trembled as the Alpha growled low in its throat, shrugging off the dust rounds that would have staggered a lesser Grimm and leaping at her again.

Dive. LEFT!

“Argh!”

Ruby howled as the Alpha’s paw slammed into her ribcage, having anticipated her movements. The small amount of aura she’d regenerated prevented it from crushing her entirely, but she felt the harsh fire of wicked-sharp claws gouging new lines into her side, and the deep pulsing throb of bruised ribs.

The blow sent her reeling on the ground, Crescent Rose clattering to the ground nearby.

GET UP MOVE DO SOMETHING THOSE WHO FALL IN COMBAT DIE.

Her head came up blearily as her senses flared intensely. She could sense the Alpha in her peripheral vision as it turned around for another charge. Could hear the triumphant howls of its pack in the background.

More howls and snarling further away, near the gunshots.

MOVE, RUBY!

Her eyes settled on Crescent Rose, alone on the ground. Her arms reached out, fingers brushing the snath, wrapping around its cool, comforting touch.

DON’T LOOK AWAY FROM IT, YOU DOLT!

Painfully slowly, she pulled Crescent Rose back to her, both hands gripping it with white-knuckled fervor. Silver eyes met malevolent crimson as the Alpha barreled toward her. Time became a crawl, and the whole world dropped away. Just the Hunter and its Prey. Everything diminished to shades of grey, save the burning orbs locked on her own.

Thump.

Slavering jaws closed around Crescent Rose, jolting her entire body backwards as the Alpha’s momentum carried them across the clearing. She held her arms ramrod-straight against it, holding the monstrous beast back from closing its fearsome jaws around her head and ending the fight.

Thump.

Her back slammed into the solid bulk of a tree. Ruby whimpered as pain shot through her entire body, arms bending under the concentrated force.

Thump.

Her heartbeat throbbed in her ears as her body strained against the Alpha. Three hundred pounds of dense muscle and inhuman fury bore down on her.

Thump.

Ruby gritted her teeth, every muscle in her body on fire.

Thump.

‘I’m going to die.’

Thump.

Her eyes widened, tears pooling over the silver lakes that had drawn her into this life. Her arms burned.

Thump.

‘Please no! Not like this! Not after everything!’

Thump.

Crescent Rose descended. Ruby could feel the Grimm’s humid, disgusting breath on her face as it overpowered her.

Thump.

‘Be strong, Ruby.’

Thump.

‘I’m sorry, Mom. I’m not strong enough this time…’

Just as her arms were about to give out, a gunshot rang through the clearing with startling sharpness. The weight on Ruby’s arms disappeared and Crescent Rose clattered into her lap as the Alpha staggered away from her with a pained yelp, the soft tendons behind one of its’ kneecaps pulped by the shot, to meet the new combatants.

Ruby stared at her hands, imprinted ugly red and white from Crescent Rose pressing into them. Without the Alpha dominating her senses it felt like the entire world had fallen away.

Thump.

The fighting seemed to grow distant, though a new sound replaced it. Steady footsteps, heavy and muffled against the ground. Ruby looked up and saw another Beowolf, smaller, younger, weaker, and no longer held back by the command of its Alpha.

The two locked eyes, icy despair rolling down Ruby’s spine as it snarled and lunged at her.

Up.

Crescent Rose whipped upwards, but too slow. Exhausted by the struggle with the Alpha, Ruby could only watch in impotent horror as the Beowolf ducked underneath the sloppy strike and closed its jaws around her forearm.

Thump.

Agony shot up past her shoulder, bone crunching beneath the razor-sharp teeth digging into corded muscle with all of the force of a bear trap. Ruby screamed and tried to pull her arm back from the Grimm, only to feel her voice die out into a whimper as the action tore flesh from bone.

Thu-ump.

Pleased with its success, the Beowolf released her arm and backed up a step, before darting forward to bat an oversized paw against Ruby’s head. The blow knocked her senseless, and she slumped limply against the tree, letting the Grimm inspect its prize.

Thump.

Pain. Dull spots of black and white danced across Ruby’s vision. Her head throbbed in time to her heartbeat, so loud in her ears. Dazed, deathly afraid, and lacking any other options to protect herself, Ruby drew her knees up to her chest and cradled her mangled arm against herself, ignoring the hot, sticky blood fitfully spurting and desperately trying to block out the pain signals everything was sending to her brain.

Distant crashes, pops, splintered wood and horrid cracks. All was nothing to the throb of her pounding pulse in her ears.

Thump.

Seconds passed.

Thump.

…

Thump.

Why wasn’t she dead yet?

Ruby cracked open her eyes weakly, before slamming them shut with a whimper. Everything hurt, and even the soft, filtered of midmorning was more than enough to set her head throbbing.

Thump.

She could hear something, just barely, over the pounding of her heart. Distant and indistinct. Something soft touched her shoulder and she cringed, expecting death at any moment.

“-by? Ruby!”

The touch on her shoulder tightened, another similar feeling appearing on the other shoulder. Hands. They shook Ruby, jostling her arm and her head. She whimpered pitifully, willing the presence away.

Thump.

“Velvet, stop! You’re going to hurt her more.”

“Oh Dust, Ruby, I’m so sorry! Fox, can you go get Yatsu over here with one of those stretchers? She needs medical attention ASAP.”

“On it. Keep an ear out though, no telling whether that pack will be back or not.”

Ruby felt her heartbeat recede as her other senses returned. The hands on her shoulder disappeared, as well as the nauseating shaking. Her whole head rang, her chest tight like a drum, the pulsating echo against it a memory of the pounding throb it had been mere seconds ago.

“You’re gonna be alright, Ruby. We’ve got you now. You’re going to be alright.”

Were she in a better state, Ruby might have been concerned by how watery the voice sounded. But as it was, it was all she could do to merely keep a hold on consciousness. She distantly heard the sound of fabric ripping. She didn’t question it until gentle hands pulled her mangled arm away from her chest and swiftly wrapped it up in something soft.

Ruby’s vision flashed red as the hands roughly tightened the makeshift bandage, bone grinding together and blood continuing to gush hot and sticky. Her ears rang, and it wasn’t until she heard the voice again soothing her again that she realized that her throat was now raw from her screaming.

The huntress withdrew in on herself, ignoring the voice. The pain. A trickle of blood ran down her cheek from her temple, warm on her clammy skin.

“Hey! You’ve got her?”

“Over here Yatsu, quickly!”

Ruby heard heavy footsteps approaching her, her heart clenching in momentary panic as memories of the Beowolves sprung to mind.

“Dust… Velvet, what happened to her?”

“She was savaged by a Beowolf… We thought she would be safe while we dealt with the Alpha, but one of the smaller ones got to her while we were distracted.”

“Help me get her on the stretcher.”

Large, calloused hands slipped below her armpits, brushing against her bruised ribs. Smaller hands – the ones she’d felt earlier, appeared below her knees to ease her into a lying position. Ruby endured the motion with grit teeth, every ounce of fortitude she possessed dedicated to not vomiting from the sudden vertigo rushing through her.

She felt a brief surge of weightlessness, before her back met something soft. The touches disappeared, and her nausea receded. For a moment she languished, everything was growing numb and grey. Ruby cracked her eyes open to look at her rescuers, and through her pain felt a deep sense of relief upon seeing them.

“You’re going to be alright, Ruby,” Velvet whispered to her as she picked up her end of the stretcher. Her warm, brown eyes were wet with unshed tears as she looked down on the cloaked huntress. Yatsuhashi led the way back to the Bullhead in silence.

Ruby wanted to ask so many questions, each flying around her spinning mind like pinballs, but settled on the simplest. “Velvet?” she rasped.

The faunus smiled weakly down at her. “Yeah, it’s me, Ruby.”

“What’re you doing here?”

“Rescuing you, silly. What do you think?” Velvet teased gently.

“I… oh. That’s good… Is Kohroku… is he alright? You found him, right?” Why was it so hard to think?

Velvet frowned. Ruby didn’t see it, her eyes were scrunched shut again against her headache… it felt as though the Beowolf was there again, kicking her skull like a perverse football. “The pilot?” the faunus asked. “Fox will have him on the airship by now, I think. We lost a minute getting to you just pulling the pack’s attention away from him. He’s a little roughed up, but he should recover.”

Ruby gritted her teeth. “T-that’s good.”

She opened her eyes again, but that was a mistake. Her vision swam sickeningly, red and grey and pulsing in time with her headache. “Velvet,” she gasped.

“We’re almost there Ruby, just hold on.” The words came out pained.

“W-why does it hurt so much?”

She wanted to curl up into a ball, but her body would not obey her. Blood already seeped out of the makeshift bandage around her arm. Ruby could feel it, hot and sticky on her stomach, smelling like old coins to her fading senses.

“I’m so s—Fox!” Ruby whimpered at the yell. “Get over here! Ruby needs medical attention, now!”

What followed quickly turned into a blur as her rescuers burst into a jog. Ruby distantly noticed when they came to a stop; she was lowered to the ground and gentle hands marked with callouses moved all over her body, testing bones and bruises and moving her arm away from her chest…!

“Sorry Ruby,” the owner of the hands – Fox – muttered after she’d stopped screaming, her abused vocal cords finally failing her.

“Is she going to be alright?”

“Don’t worry about her, hun. Fox here will take care of Ruby – you just sit tight and don’t move that leg.”

“Her legs are going to need some attention,” a deep voice commented quietly.

“One thing at a time, Yatsu. She’s going to bleed out if I don’t work on her arm first.”

She was feeling kind of cold… Ruby felt something tight wrapping around her arm – her muddled thoughts reached for the term – tourn…? – but it slipped away before she could properly grasp it.

“Alright Ruby, I’m really sorry but there’s no way around it. I need to properly check out your arm and set the bones before I can do an aura transfer.” Ruby didn’t like the sound of that. “Velvet, have her bite down on this.”

A thick strip of… something. Leather? Was pressed between Ruby’s teeth. What was…?

“Alright Ruby, on three I’m going to remove the bandage.”

Oh no.

“One.”

This was going to suck, deep breaths, deep breaths.

“Two.” Fox deftly removed the wrapping and Ruby’s vision throbbed red and black. She groaned piteously into the gag. What had happened to three?!

“Three.”

Oh, there it waaaaaa—PainpainPAIN erupted in Ruby’s ARM and she was screaming into the leather teeth GRINDING down ohDUSTmakeitstop and HER world went black.

X_0_X

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter - some of my favorite things I've ever written are in here, actually - so I hope you all enjoyed.

One thing I'd like to make a note about early on is that this story takes place in a dubious continuation of the canon. I decided early on to make the executive decision to make V5's finale the hard cutoff between Canon and The Last Rose. Before that point, the closer things get to the end of V5 the murkier things get - I had different priorities in writing this than Canon RWBY had in their narrative, so things like the Relics and Salem will take a backseat to the Grimm and the fallout of the Fall of Vale in this story, if they get mentioned at all.

I wanted to write a story about Huntsman, about Grimm, about the fallout from the Fall of Vale, and about Ruby as a character. I'm not one of those people who feel like she's had zero development in canon, but I did want to explore her character more myself. Where those goals conflicted with the canon, I defenestrated the canon with a smile.

Please leave a review! Would love to hear some feedback on this story.

#TheLastRose #Valasania the Pale #My stories #RWBY #Ruby Rose #CFVY #Chapter Three #Please reblog #Last chapter got literally zero response #If the same happens here I probably won't bother to continue posting to tumblr

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labelleizzy · 5 years

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20 questions tag

Rules: answer 20 questions and tag 20 people you want to know better. I was tagged by @wrathofthestag *waves*

1. Nickname: Liz, Lizzy if we've been friends for decades, and some family. Then going back in time there's Little Bits and Lizard lips from childhood, Tris from my first boyfriend, Yank from my favorite ex boyfriend's dad. Libby, Liberty, and Liberator and other equally silly plays on my name from my first husband. Izzy occasionally from friends I met first as LaBelleIzzy, which came from MaBelleIzzy by Xtyn and Charles DeLint. Miss Lizness from Amy. Words at Black Rock City. Those are the most memorable ones I've had.

2. Zodiac Sign: Scorpio cusp of Sagittarius

3. Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw… I'm brave but I had to work for it. I come by clever naturally

4. Height: 5′ 4″ (I think)

5. Last thing I googled: Atonement, the 2007 film with James McEvoy and Keira Knightley. It was mentioned in one of my comfort rereads I'm currently in the middle of (The Least Of All Possible Mistakes) and I've never seen it but it was used as a character note so I watched the trailer.

6. Favorite musicians: Ugh, too many, and music isn't even my primary distraction media. Folks who own multiple albums by include Florence and the Machine, Great Big Sea, Rush, Pink, Daft Punk, Helen Jane Long, Moxy Fruvous, Loreena McKennit, Roxette, Bonnie Raitt, Brian Setzer Orchestra… so many.

7. Song stuck in my head: varies by the day. Last month or two I've been waking up with a different song in my head every day, it's enjoyable, but I'm puzzled.

8. Followers: 523

9. Following: 1092

10. Do you get asks: Very infrequently. Usually, Only if I put out a prompt. (I don’t mind getting asks.)

11. Amount of sleep: I'm blessed and lucky to be able to work from home, and sleep late if I need to. When I taught high school I got around 6/night and I don't know how I survived (hint, I burned out hard, so.) Now my body really likes between 8&9. That's the difference between 40 and 50, I guess.

12. Lucky number: 13 and 1066.

13. What are you wearing: a cute little sleeveless stretchy dress in black and cobalt from this weekend clothing swap!

14. Dream job: I kinda have it. I write a lot, teach a little, without grades! Art, cooking, community service, some priesting. Taking care of my house, cat(s), and Spouse, and friends. Activism. If I'd change anything and I may still, it would be to do a lot more activism in company with others.

15. Instruments: Voice, mainly. I used to sing in a choir and was insecure about it, but I read music a bit from that and from playing violin as a child and recorder while I was teaching.

16. Languages: English, a tiny bit of Spanish, and a handful of fun phrases from a dozen other languages. I can say "bless you!" In Welsh, German, French, Spanish when someone sneezes. I'd like to learn that in Russian and Japanese!

17. Favourite song: it goes by mood and genre. When I'm angry I want something punk. When I can't get motivated to work I put on upbeat pop dance music. But I'll always start waltzing with Enya's Caribbean Blue, Metallica's Nothing Else Matters, or Seal's Kiss From A Rose. It's programmed into my feet the way Mustang Sally starts me to cha-cha.

18. Random fact: I've never smoked, not once in my life.

19. Aesthetic: ooh good one! Cute Comfortable Genderqueer Hobbit.

20. Dream trip: for a northern pass, Reykjavik, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Moscow. for an equatorial pass? Nassau, the Bahamas. Got a couple of college friends who live there.

Invited to play or pass: @dizzy-redhead @stultiloquentia , @codenamefinlandia , @valiantfoxdinosaur , @leatherjacketmixtapes , @uhisthisthingreal ,

@bitty-smol , @lizards-online , (@goodnightmoonvale ,) @1realme1 @optimistinchief , @frenchtoastpanda

(@herecomedatbitty) @lauramkaye

Or, if you see this and just wanna do it? Consider yourself TAGGED (& LMK plz)

#get to know the author #get to know the blogger #get to know me

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zerotexas1975 · 6 years

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BTS Fanfics Recommendation (hybrids au)

I don’t know why it’s so hard to find hybrids fics out there when we clearly have plenty of them made by spectacular authors, so I decided to make this and I hope you enjoy them just as much as I do! Also, if you have any other recommendation feel free to send me a ask/message!

I’ll be posting another fic rec anytime soon, I’m working on it already and it’s HUGE. I’m clearly not including hybrids au there.

♡ = super personal favorite

Completed.

Sanctuary by @btsreactsarchive (hybrid!bts) ♡

Just imagine living with seven hybrids.

Inheritance by @seokkbuns (catboy!yoongi)

"After your grandmother passed she left everything to you. Her house, her fortune, and apparently… her cat? The grumpy male hybrid you encounter at her house is anything but the tame housecat you’d expected to find. Fulfilling your grandmother’s last request to look after him becomes a lot harder when he seems to be avoiding you, and your dissatisfied relatives start stirring up trouble."

Kitten’s Little Flame by @magicalsalamander (dragon!yoongi) ♡

"He’s the calming cool you seek in the Summer, but a comforting warmth in the Winter."

One Good Purr (deserves another) by @jinpire (fox!taehyung) ♡

"Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to visit Taehyung just before your heat. (Or to ask if his best friend was available.)"

part II part III and part IV

Oneshot/mini series.

Princess, or a Queen? by @kitten-dont (bunny!jungkook) ♡

“He was your bunny, the one who you loved to sub for, but what happens when you want a change? When you come home to find a surprise laying in your bed, there’s no way that you’ll give up on making your fantasies come true.”

Silly Kitty by @seokkbuns (catboy!seokjin) ♡

"When your friend Jungkook asks you for a favour you aren’t quite expecting it to end with you taking home the handsome cat hybrid he found in an alley."

Happy Kitty by @seokkbuns (catboy!seokjin) (silly kitty afterstory) ♡

"After trying to confess your feelings for two weeks after Seokjin’s birthday, you finally trap him under some mistletoe."

Under The Bridge by @seokkbuns (bunny!jungkook)

"Your life takes a turn for the better one night when you find a bun under the bridge."

Timid by @seokkbuns (bunny!jimin) ♡

"Jimin was by far the cutest person you’d ever seen, but he always seemed to avoid you, dodging activities and events that included you. That changes when his home is compromised and he finds himself staying with you while it’s being repaired."

shorts: sweets & uno annnnd there’s going to be a sequel, I need my life back

Bobsy-die by @seokkbuns (wolf!seokijin) ♡

"Fed up after a week of being ignored by your friend and crush, you march on over there to rip him a new one with hell on your heels and find yourself in a situation with more than you bargained for."

Made Just for You by @jungoongi (hybrid!seokjin) ♡

"You are fairly new to the world of being a genetics researcher, and you’ve only held this position for six months before your boss entrusts a serious case upon you. Jin is a lab-made hybrid, and they made him wrong. Is it possible though, that even with his wrongly coded DNA, that he was made just for you?"

(pretty please give this baby lots of love, she's adorable)

Infatuation by @balmaineoark (dogboy!taehyung)

Missing you by @milkguks (catboy!yoongi)

Oh pretty kitty, this bath wasn’t meant for two by @milkguks (catboy!yoongi)

"Min Yoongi did not like bath time. Not even a little bit. Not even at all."

Take it Like a Puppy by @icyhobi (dogboy!hoseok) ♡

"You and Hoseok have been best friends since you were young. Your friendship with him, was struck as odd since you were a cat hybrid, while he was a dog hybrid. But that didn’t matter, that is until you both start attending university. What happens when one of you unexpectedly goes into heat?"

I don’t like baths but I’ll get in if you will by @choking-on-tae (catboy!taehyung) Cheeky Bunny by @yoongihime (bunny!jungkook) ♡

"You’re a predator and he’s the prey, so what happens when the tables finally turn for our dearest bunny?"

(I always come back to read this one again!)

Soft by @yoongihime (catboy!yoongi)

The Foxs Little Kitten by @ausblack (fox!taehyung) "No one knew how you and Taehyung met, but they knew how attached you two were. Even if you were completely different, everything worked just right. He was your strong fox and you were his little kitten. Nothing could change that; until Taehyung found out that someone was trying to take away his little kitten from him." And here's part 2.

Wolf in The Woods by @btsreactsarchive (wolf!namjoon) "You had always loved the woods. When you were little it was your playground, your imaginary territory. As you grew older, it became your refuge from the rest of the world. Most importantly it was the place where your home was nestled and where you met the wolf."

Tournée Du Chat Noir by @kittae (catboy!yoongi)

"You're only trying to take care of your feline boyfriend, but when you deny him his milk, you're about to find out just how much he owns you, too."

Favourites and Servants by @kittae (catboy!taehyung) "You suspect your dearest feline boyfriend of secretly stealing a taste of your freshly baked cake with whipped cream coating, and he'll do anything to prevent you from finding out."

Heavy Petting by @kittae (catboy!jimin)

"Your boyfriend is not just a cat hybrid, he's also very needy! When you come home from work and you expect him to be all over you, you're fairly disappointed to find he prefers a nap over some well-deserved quality time. You'll make sure to pay him back for that."

There's more coming for the rest of the boys and a drabble for Jimin!

Salty and Sweet by @jinpire (shifter!seokjin)

"You opened the coupon and read the label, surprised that the small grocery store could afford to have coupons in the newspaper, when you spotted the chain convenience store logo in the upper right corner."

Sunflower Power by @jinpire (shifter!seokjin) (sequel to salty and sweet)

“I’m not stalking anyone,“ he hissed, shoving the boxes back on the shelf and striding quickly to the mixed nut section. He had more coupons he was eager to use. "I’m a customer.”

Lush Brush by @jinpire (shifter!yoongi x professional cuddler au)

"Your newest customer is a surly cat shifter battling insomnia."

Cat Nap (and a hint of cat nip) by @jinpire (sequel to lush brush)

"Yoongi wants to give the bed a try this time."

Buttered Bear claws by @jinpire (shifter!namjoon) (drabble)

"You really hadn’t done anything to the bear claw, but you get why he might be suspicious. If someone offered you a free pastry with a shit-eating grin, you’d cram it back in their face."

Early Birds by @jinpire (shifter!namjoon) (drabble)

"You bring some much needed fuel to your early bird, Professor Kim."

Tell Me Your Secrets (I'm all ears) by @jinpire (shifter!jungkook) ♡

"You’re not afraid of Jeon Jeongguk. Even if he’s probably some kind of bear or giant cat shifter, and just a hint of his irritation had your instincts vibrating beneath your skin like a live wire. Your thumb brushed over the plastic dome of mini-Levi’s head, taking comfort in the cartoon scowl and dead eyes, the tiny grey sticks of his 3DM gear. Small could be pretty fucking powerful too."

associated works: nooks and naps; foxie moxie (don’t pull my tail); look before you leap; fluffles and kerfuffles

Morning Cuddles by @arrianna21 (catboy!yoongi x dogboy!taehyung x reader) ♡

"When you have to study, but have needy hybrids who just want to chill in bed all day with you."

From Sour to Sweet by @arrianna21 (catboy!yoongi) (yoongi's backstory) ♡

"When you find a new friend in the strangest way."

Growing Pains by @arrianna21 (catboy!yoongi x dogboy!taehyung x reader) (taehyung’s Backstory) ♡

"How do a cat and dog hybrid get along? Very carefully."

Of Nicknames and Kisses by @arrianna21 (catboy!yoongi x dogboy!taehyung x reader) ♡

"Your hybrids are attracted to you, but will you accept them?"

Swimming with the Pheromones by @arrianna21 (catboy!yoongi x dogboy!taehyung x reader) ♡

"Your hybrids smell something odd and things get a little heated to say the least."

Agree to Disagree I by @arrianna21 (catboy!yoongi x dogboy!taehyung x reader) ♡

"One does not simply get a cat and dog to play nice."

Agree to Disagree II by @arrianna21 (catboy!yoongi x dogboy!taehyung x reader) ♡

"When your two hybrids decide to play with their dessert"

Yep, hearts for them all ♡

Bloody Heaven by @arrianna21 (bunny!hoseok x dogboy!jimin x reader) ♡

“Mother Nature could be a real pain in the ass. Good thing your two hybrids are there to take care of you”

Don't Fox With My Heart Sweet Tart by @jinpire (fox!taehyung)

"You’re neck deep in festival toys and a pet fish named Gerard before you realize that it’s Valentine’s day and this is a date."

Lovely Spots (lords a-leaping) by @jinpire (shifter!hoseok) "One of the stage hands had been a little too careless with the costumes when preparing the backstage dressing rooms for opening weekend, which is why you’re here, half an hour before the opening act hastily trying to sew up the lapels on Romeo’s coat. "

A Herd Of Strange, Dear Creatures by @jinpire (deer!hoseok) "You’re staring at his face, at the flashes of dainty earrings dancing along the shells of his ears, when you realize. Springing from within his thick, curly brown hair are antlers. Of the same kind that you often spotted on wild deer back home, when you helped Seokjin hunt down meat for the winter. Tall, twining bone the color of eggshells and stone sprout from the top of his head, carrying tangles of thread tipped with beads and herbs amongst their bows and branches."

Wolf Boy and Snoopy Girl by @ausblack (wolf!namjoon) ♡

“I mean, he’s the alpha. He knows what he’s doing.”

Rescue by @ausblack (wolf!namjoon)

“Where you really going against the laws just to save two hybrids that you’ve never seen before?”

My Beautiful Kitty by @ausblack (hybrid reader x jimin)

“Whenever you felt insecure, he knew that you needed to be reminded how much you were loved.”

Protect by @ausblack (black panther!jimin) ♡

“Unfortunately, Hoseok couldn’t stop an hybrid’s heat.”

The Fox’s Little Kitten by @ausblack (fox!taehyung)

“No one knew how you and Taehyung met, but they knew how attached you two where. Even if you were completely different, everything worked just right. He was your strong fox and you were his little kitten. Nothing could change that; until Taehyung found out that someone was trying to take away his little kitten from him.”

Final (?)

(check her masterlist for more, they are on my to-read-list but I bet they're just as good!)

Ivory Paws by @yminie (catboy!yoongi) ♡

“ Winter time brings Christmas, and the snow outside brought you a stray cat. But your little companion is far more unique than meets the eye, and in a time of need, he becomes the biggest surprise and best holiday gift of them all. “

Ongoing.

Cat Got Your Tongue by @wonhopes (catboy!taehyung) ♡ "When your boyfriend cheats on you you’re left heartbroken and lost all hope in relationships. Santa says you’ll find love soon, but what do you do when you’re beloved cat turns into a beautiful grown man?"

Patience by @btsreactsarchive (silver tiger!taehyung) ♡

"Y/N works for the Hybrid Protective Services. She saves a hybrid during an undercover operation and becomes his foster home."

Awoo~ by @rum-n-hope (hoseok x hybrid reader) ♡

there's a drabble for this masterpiece: You Smell Weird

Don't care if it hurts by @hollyhomburg (dogboy!jimin) ♡ "After a rival gang makes an attempt on your life, your older brother, the infamous leader of Seoul’s largest gang; Kim Namjoon gets you a guard hybrid; Park Jimin, The reigning champion of Seoul’s underground hybrid fighting ring."

(please check her masterlist and read BTS Hybrid House, thank you very much)

Little Bear by @b-angst-tan (sugar glider!jimin) ♡

"You’ve always wanted a hybrid. Not truly being able to afford one makes it seem impossible that you’d have one anytime soon. Until the opportunity presents itself as if by miracle."

Sweet Tears by @kitten-dont (catboy!jungkook) ♡

"Who could have known that taking home a hybrid would change one’s whole life? How could y/n have guessed he would affect her so much? All she wants to do is help, but she doesn’t even know if he’ll let her."

Preferences by @kitten-dont (taehyung!jimin x reader)

"Preferences compliment choices. You prefer this over that, her over him, similarities over oppositions- you choose what you like most and go with it. When something is more significant than the other, you go for it- that’s just how humans are. But what about when your choice is between two things of equal importance? What then?"

(This one is actually on my to-read-list but Kitten wrote so I'm recommending it already cause we know it's good)

Aurelius by @magicalsalamander (werewolf!namjonn) (Kitten’s Little Flame universe)

"When the daughter of the secretary of the Minister for Wolf and Canine relations is the last living member of her clan, she must find a way to avenge her family. She must find a way to put an end to the hunters who’s sole purpose is to cleanse the world of werewolves. The golden one hasn’t forgotten. Will she be able to get the revenge she needs?"

The Firefly that Guards the Fox by @magicalsalamander (fox!taehyung) (Kitten’s Little Flame universe) "His mother and father weren’t supposed to fall in love. They weren’t supposed to find a mate in one another. They weren’t supposed to. After losing his father years ago, Taehyung vows to find and avenge the injustice his family has gone through. You were childhood friends with Taehyung. The four of you Taehyung, Hoseok, your older brother and you were inseparable. You were torn apart from Taehyung, your fox who’ve you’ve always vowed to protect and be with, without a warning. He called you Firefly, you called him Tae-Tae the fox. Was your fate supposed to end there in the past with your childhood?"

The Rabbit on the Moon by @magicalsalamander (bunny!jungkook) (Kitten’s Little Flame universe) "The moon was your sun. You’ve grown up working under the moonlight as long as you could remember. You served a man, who controlled the monsters that roamed the city at day and night, or rather the devil himself. When the others around you slowly start disappearing, you start wondering if it’ll soon be your turn. A hand reaches out to you, the hand of a gentle rabbit disguised as a wolf, offering a way out. Will you be able to escape the clutches of the devil in time?"

Out of the Blue by @imaginethisbts (dogboy!jungkook) ♡

“Jungkook has only ever thought of his breeding clients as just that - clients, and he’s always quite indifferent to them since he only ever knows them for a short period of time. But then you come along, and he starts experiencing feelings that aren’t being manipulated by your heat. Real feelings, that he has never harbored before with anyone else.”

Warmer Than Fur by luminaraed (shifter!jungkook) (Quotev) ♡

“"You are on the way home one rainy night until you stumble upon a poor creature half-drowned in tar. You take care of it, and upon discovering that it has only three legs, you decide to take care of this adorable little bunny. Except... it's not really a rabbit, but a little hybrid named Jeon Jungkook."

I’ve been blessed??????? this one is so precious!

updated 6.20.18 (links fixed!)

let the authors know what you thing of theirs stories;be nice!

reminder: don’t repost/translate any of them without the authors consent

if for some reason you don’t feel comfortable with this post please let me know and I’ll delete your story

i’m working on a new post so :)

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