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pokeexehasstoppedworking · 3 months

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Isle Connections Ch6 Invitation

The Twilight Wings series will be referenced in this chapter. Also apologies if this chapter is shorter than all the others.)

B O O M-!!

The ground beneath all of you shook as if an earthquake hit the isle. Everyone stumbled about or fell over as a giant plume of smoke and dust wafted into the skies above. Sending bird pokemon flying for their lives and wild pokemon racing for cover.

"What is happening?!," you heard Avery yell as the force of the explosion sent him stumbling forward two steps and on instinct his hands flew up to his hat to prevent it from falling off before he looked at the skies above you all.

You waved your arms around thankfully not falling over as the throbbing quake passed but also stared up at the large cloud of dust and smoke passing through the air. You snapped your head behind you to the others finding Hop protectively hugging Gloria who must've fallen onto the ground in the middle of her push ups. They looked scared and shocked but otherwise they seemed alright. Thank goodness. Silver naturally ducked behind your legs peeking out to look around. What WAS that?! Did something explode?!

"That came from the direction of the dojo!," Hop called out to everyone.

"What if someone's hurt?!"

"Goodness gracious!," Avery shouted suddenly wide eyed and horrified before snapping around, "The Master and his family!!"

Before any of you could say anything Avery ran off faster than a scorbunny on a sugar rush. You blinked before quickly following with Silver chirping and running at your heels.

"C'mon!" Hop quickly pulled Gloria to her feet and ran after you both.

You four ran through the Forest of Focus back towards the dojo where the now slowly disappearing dust/smoke cloud was disappearing. Avery was in the lead one hand holding onto his hat as the pokeballs bobbed around wildly. He cleared the forest first and dashed across the clearing towards the dojo now in clear sight. You were behind him with Silver. Behind you Hop was pulling Gloria along by the arm quickly catching up to you.

"That's coming from behind the dojo!," he called out to you and Avery.

Avery didn't respond but he must've heard Hop because instead of going through the front door, Avery headed for the back. Running around the large building in worry. "MASTER!! MASTER!! PLEASE BE ALRIGHT!!"

You three all followed Avery around the giant building and towards the back of the dojo where Gloria completed the last trial. You three got there. You three froze. Eyes going wide as literal FIRE was burnt across the battlefield. In the middle of the battlefield standing there casually was a meinfoo and a giant Charizard staring in your direction curiously. What the-!? What was going on?!

"LEON!!" "LEE!"

Two blurs of purple and brown immediately rushed past you and ran right up to-..You blinked. LEON?! Yes. Standing before you was none other than the Champion of Galar. Leon. The purple haired man laughed happily as Hop and Gloria tackle hugged him and he happily hugged him back tightly. Next to him was Mustard smiling also, Avery who was worryingly looking over his master, and...Klara? The bubblegum haired woman was staring at a piece of paper and reading it paying no mind to anyone else.

"Leon? Oh thank goodness." The Champion looked at you and smiled wider. You were relieved no one was hurt. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Y/n!" He greeted waving a hand. "I stopped by to deliver a few things to everyone but I kinda got distracted by Mustard offering to battle for old times sakes."

"I can tell " you glanced over the smoldering battlefield.

Mustard laughed. "Forgive me. I was warming up to get ready for Gloria's final battle." Gloria pulled away from the big she was giving Leon to stare at Mustard confused. "You heard me. I've been watching your progress and I decided that you are ready to take the final step in your training. Which is a remat h against me!" Gloria looked shocked at him but he chuckled. "Why look so surprised? After all you said you'd try your hardest. So...Are you ready to battle against little old me?'

Gloria was silent for a long moment before turning back to everyone else and pausing at Leon especially before inhaling turning back to him nodding. "Yes. I am!"

Mustard smiled more mischievously. "Well then. Allow us to get onto the battlefield. Then Leon can tell you why he's here."

"Uh. Shouldn't someone put out the fire first?"

"Oh. Right ..Y/n can we borrow Silver?"

You allowed them all to borrow Silver to put out the fires in the meanwhile practically EVERYONE else from the dojo came rushing in to see what all the commotion was about was had stopped staring in awe at the Champion standing there but otherwise didn't pay attention. He was more focused on Gloria and Mustard as they walked onto the battlefield finally.

"This is it. The last step of your training. You know I've been thinking more and more these days," Mustard spoke up from across the field, "About how fortunate we were to have you join the dojo. You worked hard and made so much progress. It's been a while since I've been so excited! I can feel my blood burning and my heart just dancing with anticipation! I just can't resist a battle against a worthy opponent no matter how old I get! Now then.." he suddenly struck a martial arts pose looking fiercely at her. "Let's get things going! This is the most fun time in the world!"

Gloria raised a fist back to him. "Hope her ready! Cuz 'm comin' at ye with all I got!"

"Haha! Good. Because I won't be holding back anything either!"

He didn't. I'm fact Mustard didn't even flinch when Gloria released her strongest attacks on the former Champion. HE DIDN'T EVEN GO DOWN! Even with you and Hop cheering her on she-...Gloria still hopelessly lost. She stood there hopelessly after dynamaxing her cinderance and holding the poor pokeballs to her crushed. All that training she did and she didn't even get close to beating him. Poor Gloria. She looked so defeated. So why was there... clapping? She looked up and was surprised to see Mustard coming towards her clapping his chance.

"I must say that was a perfectly fine job you did! You've really gotten stronger since the last time I saw you," he said stopping in front of her smiling widely, "Congratulations, Gloria. You've passed your last training exercise." Gloria's jaw dropped as he chuckled.

"W-What?! But I didn't win!"

"Who said you had to beat me to pass the test?" He asked with a hum raising a brow. "The test was to see how much confidence you'd grown yourself. Why you didn't even flinch at the crowd! You hadn't even noticed that everyone was watching. Not even Leon!" Gloria blinked looking around her again. "You still need to grow and train, but the rest of that will be taught to you by Kabu's wise words. He has his own things to teach you that I can't. But of this day.. Congratulations, Gloria! You've passed with flying colors!"

"I-...I did it?" She asked realization slowly sinking in before a smile slowly spread across her face. "I BLOODY DID IT!!" She turned to all of you utterly excited. "GUYS!! I DID IT!! I REALLY DID IT!!"

"ALRIGHT, GLORY!," Hop cheered throwing up a fist!

"Good job, Gloria!," Leon added with a proud smile, "I knew you could do it! Oh! That reminds me! The reason why I'm here!" Leon paused for a second as he reached into his cape and pulled out four small envelopes with an official league seal on them. "Here." He gave the first one to Hop as his brother blinked. Then to Gloria. Then to you which you took confused. Then Leon looked around until he spotted Avery and walked up to him. The blonde gulped as Leon stopped in front of him. "Here. One for you too!" Avery blinked..but slowly took it from him.

"Leon, what are these?," you asked holding up the envelope.

"It's an invitation," he said turning back to you with a wide smile. "To the first ever Galarian Tournament. The details are inside. Every gym leader and gym leader in training has gotten one. I just stopped by to make sure you all have yours. But there's also another reason why I'm here." He turned to Hop who blinked. Sonia asked me to bring you back. She's been wanting her samples."

Hop stared wide eyed before facepalming. "I knew I forgot something!"

He nodded before looking at Gloria. "But I'd like Gloria to train here just for another two months. I'll send some flying taxies to pick up everyone when it starts. Of course if that's ok with you."

Gloria nodded but sadly. "Yeah. I can do that." She turned to Hop. "But ye have ta go now? I was hoping you'd stay longer."

Hop sighed rubbing his neck. "Yeah. It can't be helped. I guess I better start getting serious about the research I came to do. But we'll see each other again really soon anyways. You'll manage through it like you always do. Besides, Y/n is still gonna be staying with you too! You won't be alone!"

She perked up at that. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

Leon had left a moment later after giving Gloria a good bye and took off once more in the flying taxi with Hop and powerful wing beats causing more wind but not before the best friends hugged tightly for a long time. Their bond strong. And then it left Avery there standing with a letter in his hands...Well curiosity got the better of him so he opened it to read the contents inside right there, and he hummed reading over the events. However one part saying he was allowed to bring a date caught his attention and stayed on his mind for the next few months. Gloria continued training until then as Y/n helped encourage her and he noticed that now she was followed around by two pokemon. Her drizzlie and the ponyta he gave her which she named Cotton Candy. Such a cute name for the elegant little creature. However he...couldn't get her out of his mind. Or the part about inviting a date. So...Maybe it was his crush on her. Or maybe it was Ms. Honey encouraging him to ask her. Or maybe it was the thought of bringing a nice date to prove he could get one. Or maybe cupid's arrow was that powerful. But either way he found himself red faced and approaching her one day outside. He had cleared his throat making her look up at him before smiling.

"Hey, Avery. What's up?"

He gulped. "I-I-I wanted t-t-to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"W-W-Will you b-b-b-be my date t-t-t-to the tornam-m-ment?"

#pokemon shield #pokemon sword #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon swsh #pokemon avery x reader #pokemon avery #avery

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echantedtoon · 3 months

Text

Isle Connections Ch6 Invitation

The Twilight Wings series will be referenced in this chapter. Also apologies if this chapter is shorter than all the others.)

B O O M-!!

"That came from the direction of the dojo!," Hop called out to everyone.

"What if someone's hurt?!"

"Goodness gracious!," Avery shouted suddenly wide eyed and horrified before snapping around, "The Master and his family!!"

Before any of you could say anything Avery ran off faster than a scorbunny on a sugar rush. You blinked before quickly following with Silver chirping and running at your heels.

"C'mon!" Hop quickly pulled Gloria to her feet and ran after you both.

"That's coming from behind the dojo!," he called out to you and Avery.

"LEON!!" "LEE!"

"Leon? Oh thank goodness." The Champion looked at you and smiled wider. You were relieved no one was hurt. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Y/n!" He greeted waving a hand. "I stopped by to deliver a few things to everyone but I kinda got distracted by Mustard offering to battle for old times sakes."

"I can tell " you glanced over the smoldering battlefield.

Gloria was silent for a long moment before turning back to everyone else and pausing at Leon especially before inhaling turning back to him nodding. "Yes. I am!"

Mustard smiled more mischievously. "Well then. Allow us to get onto the battlefield. Then Leon can tell you why he's here."

"Uh. Shouldn't someone put out the fire first?"

"Oh. Right ..Y/n can we borrow Silver?"

Gloria raised a fist back to him. "Hope her ready! Cuz 'm comin' at ye with all I got!"

"Haha! Good. Because I won't be holding back anything either!"

"W-What?! But I didn't win!"

"ALRIGHT, GLORY!," Hop cheered throwing up a fist!

"Leon, what are these?," you asked holding up the envelope.

Hop stared wide eyed before facepalming. "I knew I forgot something!"

He nodded before looking at Gloria. "But I'd like Gloria to train here just for another two months. I'll send some flying taxies to pick up everyone when it starts. Of course if that's ok with you."

Gloria nodded but sadly. "Yeah. I can do that." She turned to Hop. "But ye have ta go now? I was hoping you'd stay longer."

She perked up at that. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"Hey, Avery. What's up?"

He gulped. "I-I-I wanted t-t-to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"W-W-Will you b-b-b-be my date t-t-t-to the tornam-m-ment?"

#pokemon sword and shield #pokemon shield #pokemon sword #pokemon swsh #pokemon avery x reader #pokemon avery #reader x avery #avery x reader #Isle Connections

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gloriousstrawberryharmony · 2 years

Note

Not sure if you still take prompts but-

Could you do a lee!Grian with ler!Scar and ler!Mumbo after Grian pranked them?

Love your writing! Have a chill Valentine!!

Hello there anon dear!! Thank you so much! Happy belated Valentine's :) Sorry for responding, to this so so late. I do take prompts and they are currently open <3

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Prank goes to Plan

Tw: if you don't like tickling, kindly scroll off.

Warnings: A giggly Grian (very cute)! :D

This is all Platonic! <3

It was average day in the world of Hermitcraft. Grian was up to his daily doings. Until, an idea snapped out of his head.

"Hmm, I wonder if I could prank Mumbo and Scar with something stupid! That's a great idea Grian. They'll absolutely go crazy" Grian thought out loud laughing to himself.

Grian collected all of his resources from his chest monster, and went to get Mumbo's And flew to Boatem. No body in the boatem crew ready was there at the moment. So, Grian took the opportunity. He placed blocks from his inventory around Vol-car-bo.

It was water, made it look into a weird shape, he made sure he didn't break any redstone. Otherwise Mumbo will get annoyed, to his mercy. Grian placed slime blocks. And tried to do redstone to make them jump up and down. And adding in end crystals around.

He flew up landed Infront of the build. And placed a sign

Hello! Fellow boatem members, espically Scar and Mumbo you have a little gift within the Vol-car-bo!

And, now he just had to wait. Waiting shouldn't take that long. He hoped. And hid, within a the G-train in view of Vol-car-bo.

10 minutes past. And he heard the sound of what seems to be Mumbo's fireworks exploding from flying with the elytra. Mumbo then walked to Vol-car-bo hoping for something to be in there. He saw a disaster.

"Why is there water around Vol-car-bo?! This is rediculous!" Mumbo said slightly annoyed. Mumbo then walked towards the slime blocks and the slime blocks swung himself into the air and fell to the ground. While falling, he then noticed in his eye view, Grian silently giggling. Mumbo making sure he acted like he didn't see a giggly Grian.

"Yehehehehes!!!" Grian giggled quietly.

Mumbo bounced up into the air and flew to Scar's base. Luckily Scar was in there. Mumbo waved at Scar smiling, Scar waved back.

"Hey Mumbo! What's up?" Scar asked.

"I catched someone we both know who accidentally, which I don't assume actually, placed water and end crystals all over Vol-car-bo!" Mumbo acted like he was annoyed. Scar fake gasped.

"oh my goodness gracious! We have to do something" Scar watched Mumbo walking around.

"hmm but Grian put end crystals around which could break the G-Train and Vol-car-bo" Mumbo acknowledged sitting down.

Scar thought for a moment. "I could send X a message which commands that the end crystals can tickle Grian when ever someone touches it?"

"Yes! That's a great idea! We could collect the water and put Grian in vol-car-bo and tickle him in there too" Mumbo fondly smiled.

Scar sent the message privately to X. And X did his thing. And the their plan came to action.

Scar and Mumbo both flew to Vol-car-bo. Mumbo collecting the slime blocks. "You know Scar, for someone who doesn't know much redstone. He did good" Mumbo laughed.

"You sure said it!" Scar agreed. Scar walked around the end Crystals. The end crystals seemed to look normal.

Grian, curiously went out of his hiding zone and flew quietly behind Scar. Who was looking at an end Crystal. Bad idea. Though, good idea for Scar and Mumbo!

Mumbo moved Scar our of the way kindly, and pushed the end crystal which exploded.

"WHAHAHAHAT?! HehHEHAHAHAehehey!!!!" Grian laughed dropping to the ground. Mumbo awwed at Grian.

"This is whahahat you get!" Mumbo said pressing another end crystal.

"NoNOHOHHAHAhaha!" Grian laughed holding on to the ground, blushing.

"Aww poor little Grian" Scar teased. Pressing another end crystal.

"CUHEHEHEHAT it oh-stohohohp!" Grian didn't want it to stop and continued laughing. He didn't think of the consequences.

"How about no" Mumbo held Grian in his arms and dropped Grian in vol-car-bo.

"TEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!" Grian laughed happily looking at Mumbo and Scar.

"Didn't think a volcano would tickle someone so bad!" Mumbo spoke to Scar.

"nohohOHOHOO!!"

"Me neither! We should do this more often!" Scar replied.

"NAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NOOOOOOhohoho *hic* dohohon't *hic* plehehehehehease!!!" Grian swimmed around as he watched potatoes fly.

Scar went up to Vol-car-bo and tickled Grian from above. Grian boomed with more ticklish energy.

"S-scrahahahah!!! Mohohohove!!!" Grian tried to get out of Scar's hold.

"Nooooo" Scar smiled at Grian still ticking the poor thing. Mumbo made his way up and tickled his feathers. Which is a death spot for Grian.

"mumhohoho-NOHOAHJAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!" Grian cried with laughter.

"Mumbo get of the wayheheheheeh!! Not THEHEHEREEEE!" Grian yelped giggling loud. And did a cute noise along with it. Grian went red.

"Someone's looking a bit red" Scar pretended to not guess it was Grian.

"I'm nohoHOHOT" Grian answered back.

"Are tooooo" Mumbo joined in.

"Nohoho-" Grian covered his mouth mumbled giggles from pouring out

Grian couldn't handle being teased. Scar and Mumbo agreed Grian reached his limit and let him out. Grian being in a giggily mess.

"Awwww" Both Mumbo and Scar said to Grian.

The prank went to plan. And it was a good one. With a giggily and happy Grian.

#Hermitcraft tickle #mcyt tickle #lee!Grian #ler!mumbo #ler!scar #Tysm anon!! ❤️❤️

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luimagines · 3 years

Text

The Chain Confess While Your Hurt/ Upset Part 2

Masterlist

Part 1

This section will include the W Trio! Warrior Wild and Wind!

As per usual Reader in Wind’s scenario is the same age.

Warrior’s cut can be easily taken out of context- (in fact it technically is) but reader discretion is advised for that one. It’s basically, reader strips, teases, is shameless, and Warrior panics.

Nothing bad but you never know.

Content under the cut!

Warrior

“Warrior you can’t be serious.” You bare your teeth in a snarl and place your hands on your hips. “You did not just ask me to strip and crawl down some time forsaken tunnel while you get to wait behind and hope that the others are on their way to help us.”

“Ok, when you put it like that-”

“Why do I have to do it?” You growl. “Why don’t you strip and crawl down there? Why was I your first option?”

“You’re smaller than I am, I don’t think I’ll even fit.” Warrior groans. “It’s not like I’d just ask you-”

“To put on a show or something? Is that what you’re after?” You raise an eyebrow.

Warrior chokes on his own spit at your bluntness and he feels his face flush from it. Admittedly, he wouldn’t be opposed but he’s not going to say any of that out loud. “It’s like not that. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Oh then what ever did you mean, dear Captain? I’m almost tempted to do it just to get a rise out of you.”

Warrior begins to regret ever suggesting this. He’ll die. This will be the way he dies. He knows for a fact that if you do, it’ll get a rise out of him, if you know what I mean. It wasn’t on the forefront of his mind when he first mentioned it because the mission is first but he regrets. Oh, he regrets.

But now that it’s out, he can’t take it back.

“I mean, I can try to do it.” Warrior offers to take your place to save his pride. “I can go first. It was my idea.”

“No, no-” You put a hand up to stop him and grip the hem of your shirt with the other. “-It’s not like it was a bad idea. And since the ever gracious Hero of Hyrule volunteered me-”

“Please don’t say it like that. You do not have to do this. Please stop, oh my- For Din’s sake!” Warrior whips his hands over his eyes as you rip your shirt over your head and turns on his heel for good measure. “I’m sorry! Is that what you want to hear? Put your shirt back on. What if the others on the other side or something? Or monsters? Or spikes!”

“Spikes? Really? Is that the farthest your imagination goes?” He hears you snort.

You have no idea what’s going on in my imagination, Warrior gulps and puts his other hand on his face out of embarrassment. He knows his face is beyond ruby red and he doubts that he’ll ever live this down. If Cia and Lana are watching he’s equally dead. “Have you no shame?”

“Pretty much.” He can hear the shrug in your voice and the way your belt buckle hits the ground.

“You really don’t have to do this.” Warrior whines, forcing himself to not turn around. “I don’t know how many times I have to say this. You. Do not.”

“Too late. Shirt is off. Pants are off. Shoes are off. Hair is up.” You start going down the list. “Sword... is going to have to stay behind.”

At least at that he hears you hesitate.

“Please take a weapon.” He nearly begs. “Please take a weapon with you through the tunnel.”

You don’t respond for a second and he peeks a little beyond his fingers. He doesn’t turn around, as much as he wants to look you in the eye for this and settles for staring at his shoes.

“I’ll take my carving knife.” He hear you say and he can hear you shuffle against the stone floor.

“Not a bow or maybe something a bit more sharp?” Warrior offers.

“I’m going in.”

“I’m so sorry.” Warrior takes a breath. “I’m so so sorry.”

“Quit being a baby. I’ll be right back. Watch my clothes.”

“I’ll watch over them with my life.”

“Good. See you on the flip side.”

He waits in the time it takes for you to shimmy through the tunnel until only your feet are showing before he makes his way over to your clothes and picks them up. The tunnel is dark and long and he’s not sure what to do in the mean time you’re gone.

He sits down in front of the tunnel and begins folding your clothes.

“WARRIOR!!” You shout down the tunnel in a panic. “This is bad! FIRE! LOTS OF IT!”

He gets to his knees at the information once it reaches him.

“I’m coming back and praying it doesn’t come my way!”

“Be careful!” He shouts and knows that he can’t really do anything to help.

“OH GOD SOMETHING EXPLODED!” You shout and he can barley see you through the light that’s beginning to shine through.

There’s a panic in his chest and he shoots to his feet to stand by the tunnel’s entrance.

“Fire! There is fire! I am on fire!” You scream.

The second your hand comes even close to the entrance, Warrior gets on his knees again and pulls you through the tunnel.

He’s not so concerned about the way your pulled out of the tunnel or how you scrape against the stone.

You do have some burns that he’s concerned about and he’s quick to rip his scarf off and place it around you, covering you and snuffing out the flames that have appeared around you.

“I don’t know what happened.” You say and wince as he pats the flames out. “One minute everything’s fine and the next there’s fire and something explodes and I’m crawling all the way through that nasty tunnel again with flames up my-”

“Ok, ok, hold on, I think I have an extra potion.” Warrior pulls his scarf up to your neck and wraps it around you like a blanket.

“Everything hurts!” You cry and slowly go to lay down on the stone, it’s cool against your burns and you sigh.

“Here.” Warrior takes out the potion from his pack and uncorks it, giving it to you gently as he sits beside you.

“At least I’m not alone.” You sip it from the side and let the magic do its job.

“I’m sorry, this is my fault.”

“No, it was just your idea. You didn’t make me go through there.”

“I should have stopped you.”

“I’m not even that hurt, calm down.”

“I didn’t even go after you.”

“I thought you said you wouldn’t fit.”

“I could have tried.”

“Well at least it’s only me and not the both of us. Time would probably have both of our heads if we were both stupid.” You snort and sit up again, the relief instantaneous on your wounds.

“I wish it was me instead.”

“No you don’t.”

“I do.”

“Don’t.”

“Do.”

“Why? What is wrong with you?” You scrunch your face, the idea of getting hurt for the sake of getting hurt is unfathomable to you.

“I love you. Do I need a reason?” Warrior sighs and runs his hand through his hair before stopping half way with bulging eyes and a panicked face.

You also stop drinking the potion, letting a small drop fall from your lips and down your chin.

“Warrior.”

“You didn’t hear that.”

“Oh my god.”

“I didn’t just say that.”

“Link.”

“We don’t have to speak about this ever again. Or ever speak again. To each other. If you want. I’m going to die now. Ok. Bye.” Warrior stands up suddenly and begins to walk away from you.

“You better not die on me!” You growl and pull his scarf tighter around yourself, fighting through the swamped fabric to get to your feet as well. “I’ll kill you if you die. Don’t leave me here alone. I’ll kill you if you leave me here.”

“I’m going to find-”

“My clothes.” You cut him off. “Where are my clothes? Find those.”

“Ok. Ok. Yeah, of course, right- you’re still- Ok.” He paces around a bit before turning on his heel in a circle, finding your clothes somewhere off in the corner where he left them. He’s quick to make his way over to them and pick them up.

He clears his throat when he drops them at your feet and turns his back to you. “Any other idea where to go from here? Or how to get to the others?”

“Link.” You call his name again.

Warrior gulps and puts his hands over his face, his whole body tensing up. He nearly jumps in his skin when he feels your hand on his shoulder and your lips on the shell on his ear. He’s shaking.

Hylia help him. You make him weak.

“I love you too.” He feels you grin and he doesn’t even try to stop the shudder that rips through his body.

You give him a tiny kiss on his ear and he borderline whimpers from the contact.

“Oh this’ll be fun.” You giggle and Warrior bites his lip at the tone of your voice.

“Go easy on me?”

“Not a chance, soldier boy.” You laugh.

Warrior almost regrets this.

Almost.

Wild

Wild wasn’t sure what he was seeing or experiencing. There was colors and feelings and voices that he knew he was supposed to know... but when he woke up in the middle of the night, he couldn’t think of a reason as to why any of that would be familiar. Nothing made sense and he couldn’t even remember what his dream was about.

He tried not to be upset by it.

Every time this happened it he knew he was dreaming about his past- but any recollection of it seemed to slip through his fingers. Always so close and yet so far.

He rubbed his eyes of the not shed tears and looked around the camp.

Time and Twilight were still sleeping- so at least they won’t have to know that it happened again. Legend and Hyrule were once again asleep next to each other with Sky sprawled full eagle next to them. Wind and Warriors were next to each other, sleeping back to back and sharing his scarf like a blanket. Four was on watch and when he noticed that Wild was awake, he nodded with a small smile and went back to looking into the fire- which really meant he went back into his thoughts.

You on the other hand, were sleeping alone, curled up on yourself and clutching your blanket tightly with both of your hands.

You looked like you were in pain.

Wild felt his heart call out to you, as it usually does and watched you for a moment, trying to see if there would be reasonable cause for him to intervene.

You could be in real pain and just asleep but he wouldn’t be able to help with that. Or you could be trapped in a nightmare and he would gladly wake you up- but you weren’t showing any signs of the latter.

Wild hums and shimmies back down into his bed roll, readying himself to attempt to go back to sleep.

He’ll make you something special in the morning. Hopefully that help balance out the upset night you’re both having.

Suddenly there’s a gasp and Wild twists over to look in the direction it came from.

After waiting a few seconds, you sit up and rub your eyes, smacking your face a little as you look around the group. Your movements are a little frantic as you look around, your eyes land on Four for a split second and wave to him before hopping around and twisting to come face to face with him.

Wild freezes, not expecting you to look as shaken as you do.

There’s a whole wave of unshed tears in your eyes but you seem to relax slightly at the sight of him.

Wild doesn’t know what to feel about that.

You gulp down what sounds like a desperate breath and blink, sending the tears down your face. “Wild-” You croak. “-Are you ok?”

Him?

You’re asking him if he’s ok?

“Yeah- I’m-” He clears his throat to not sound so groggy. “I’m ok.”

“Anything hurt?”

“No.” He tilts his head. What an odd question. “I just woke up from a memory is all.”

Maybe you’re asking him why he’s also awake.

“Oh. Good.” You nod and rub your eyes again. But then you panic. “I mean- Not good good! But like.... I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

You stand suddenly and rub your arms frantically to fight the mild chill in the air.

“I’ll be right back.”

Wild doesn’t even get the chance to ask you’re ok as well. You nod once again to Four, who’s now paying a little more attention to his surroundings, and leave the camp entirely.

Wild stands up as soon as you’re out of sight and kicks away the blanket from his feet, making his way after you as quietly as he can manage.

Four looks in his direction and raises an eyebrow, not saying anything.

“It’s dangerous to go alone.” Wild hisses under his breath, just loud enough for Four to hear him. “I’m just gonna check on them.”

“Hurry back.” Four replies. “I gotta wake the Old Man soon and I don’t want to explain why two people, one of which is you, are missing.”

Wild nods and picks up his pace.

He prays you didn’t go far. The night in this forest seems to be particularly dark, and it’s hard for him to see what’s in from of him. If you went too far ahead, he’d have no way of getting to you.

Luckily, he steps a twig which tips your hand. He sees the movement in front of him, of the shadows jumps to look behind.

“It’s me.” He says in a little more normal voice. “It’s ok. Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Oh...” He hears you say. There’s a slight wobble in your voice. “Did you need something?”

“I’m fine. I’m more concerned about you right now.” Wild makes his way closer, pushing a branch away from his face and stepping into your personal space. “It’s a bit late for an evening stroll. It’s even more dangerous to go without telling anyone where you’re going.”

You chuckle but it’s half hearted. “I know, I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. It’s just... Nightmare and all that. I just wanted to walk it off.”

Wild bites his lip and tries to not audibly hiss. “Do...” Would you trust him like this? “Do you want to talk about it?”

“With you?”

Ouch.

“I mean, I’m offering.” He shrugs and smiles, even if he doubts you’ll see it.

“No...” You say after a long pause. “It’s.... I mean, not with...not with you. I’m sorry. It’s really personal.”

Wild takes a breath through his nose and ignores the hurt. “Well, I’m here if you need me. But Four’s also awake, if you want to go and talk to him instead. I mean, if you want to talk about it at all... I can stay here... and wait... until you’re done... Maybe try to fall asleep elsewhere.”

“No.” You whine and Wild has a split second thought that you might be crying. “Don’t- don’t leave me. Please. I think I... I think I just need to see you or hear you... What did- Why are you up? ...Again. You said it was a memory?”

“I don’t really remember.” Wild reaches forward and places his hand on your shoulder, followed quickly by his other one. He really wishes he can see your face. “I feel like I should but I don’t. It’s happening more often now than before and I don’t know what to think of it.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“Tell me about it.” He huffs moving his hand to brush your hair behind your ear. In the process of doing that, the back of his fingers run across your cheek and he notes that it’s wet.

You are crying.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” He tries again, heart aching in tandem with your pain, even if he doesn’t know what caused it.

“Wild-”

“It doesn’t have to be with me, just-”

“But I want to talk with you. Just not about that.”

“But you shouldn't hold it in. Talk to me, please. How can I help?”

“Wild, not with you-”

“Why not with me?”

“I don’t want to talk about it with you because it’s about you!” Your voice cracks and he can feel your hands fly to your face to cover it.

Wild can admit that he was being a little pushy towards the end there but your words strike him physically. He can feel his heart speed up at the thought and he’s quick to gulp down a breath. A nightmare? With him?

“Did I hurt you?” He asks in a whisper, leaning closer but loosening his grip on your shoulders.

He doesn’t know what hurts more.

The thought of him hurting you or the thought that you think he’s capable and willing to hurt you.

Does he scare you?

Do you actually hate him?

How does he fix this?

“No...” You finally answer him and step into his arms, placing your face (hands still there) into the crook of his neck. “You got hurt.”

Oh.

“You got hurt bad.”

Oh.

“They hurt you so bad, Link.” You break into a sob and wrap your arms around his neck. “There was so much blood- and- and- I couldn’t do anything. And you weren’t moving. And I tried calling out to you but you weren’t answering me and- and they were gonna take you away and kill you and I couldn’t- You couldn’t even fight back-”

He doesn’t even think to ask you who’s this ‘they’ you speak of. Wild tightly wraps his arms around you and buries his face into your hair. “Shhh... It’s ok. It wasn’t real. It was just a dream. I’m here. I’m alive. I’m ok.”

That explains why you were so shaken, why you asked him those questions, why he’s beginning to understand where you’re coming from by not wanting to tell him this...

“I know.” You whine and press yourself tighter. You focus on his heartbeat and try to convince your adrenaline filled brain that the boy in front of you if alive and unharmed and safe.

Wild reach up and tangles his fingers into your hair. He starts petting you, letting you cry into his shoulder without once letting go.

“I’ll be ok.” He tells you. “I won’t get hurt, I promise.”

You nod and move your hands from your face, wrapping them around his chest. Wild smiles somewhat despite himself and nuzzles you with the side of his head.

“I know you can’t actually promise that.” You mumble and take a deep breath, calming yourself little by little. “I appreciate the thought though.”

“I love you too much to not keep it.”

“You love me?”

Wild freezes and nervously laughs. “Did I say that?”

“That’s what I heard.” You sniffle and lean away from him. “Is that what you said?”

Wild can see what little moonlight is left to look you in the eye and he swallows. “Yes.”

“Do you mean it?”

“...Yes.”

Wild’s heart is pounding now and he’s trying to calm down to hear beyond the blood in his ears.

He sees you smile and you go back to leaning against him, your nose just barely brushing up against his neck. “I love you too. Stay with me?”

“Yes...” Wild holds you tight again and gulps. “Yes. I will. As long as you’ll have me.”

Four for his part, had woken up Time ages ago, not wanting to put up with whatever mess you two would have found yourselves in. Time had followed in the direction Four had pointed him in and had found both of you there, arms around each other and asleep against a tree just beyond the camp.

Time sighs and is tempted to leave you there but his conscious won’t let him.

Wild is embarrassed to be caught but you’re too sleepy to consider why you’re awake again.

You hold Wild closer in your half consciousness and he’s forced to carry you back to the camp under Time’s judgmental and knowing stare.

Wind

“Ha ha haha ha!” You cheer and wave the key in front of Wind’s face. “I got the keeyy~!”

“I see that.” Wind pouts slightly and crosses his arms. “And I would have gotten it too if you weren’t faster than me.”

“But I got it! I win!” You skip and go to open up the locked door on the other side of the room.

“We’re not done yet.” Wind reminds you and there’s a new thing in the other room that he haven’t seen before.

There’s a pedestal in the middle with an open book and multiple candles in a circle around it. The air is strangely sweet and warm and it would lull you to sleep if you were allow yourself to relax.

“This is nice for a change.” You comment. “Smells way better than-”

“Than the past three dungeons in total.” Wind interrupts.

You pause and look at him, shrugging. “I mean...I was gonna say ‘our group’ but you’re not wrong.”

“Our group? What’s wrong with our group?” Wind asks you with a tilt to his head. Do they smell? Is he smelly? Do you think he’s smelly?

“You’re all gross and smell bad.” You say with a scrunched up nose. Wind would think it was cute if it wasn’t for your words.

“I don’t smell that bad.” Wind argues. “I don’t smell at all actually.”

“You’re all smelly.”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“All teenage boys smell bad!”

“Ok fine! Who’s the worst?” Wind finds himself asking, if only so he doesn’t fight with you. “Who smells so bad that you can’t even stand to be near them?”

This causes you to pause for real this time and he stops next to you to let you think before you both go any further.

“You do.”

“What?”

“Kidding!” You smack his chest lightly with the back of your hand. “Since he’s not here, I’d have to say Sky, next is Twilight but he has a good routine of keeping clean so it’s not as bad.”

This confuses Wind slightly and he steps further into the room to investigate as he talks. “Sky? I thought you’d say Wild or Hyrule. I’m not surprised about Twilight being that high on your list. He always smells like some kind of animal.”

“I think it’s that pelt of his.” You admit. “Sky just smells strong. It’s not bad or anything but he always somehow smells like a cucco and I can’t unsmell it no matter how hard I try.”

“Ok. But why not Wild or Hyrule? They can smell pretty funky too.”

“Wild jumps into too many rivers for it to count and I think there’s something about Hyrule’s magic and his friendship with fairies that keep him from smelling too bad.” You walk up to the pedestal and get on your tip toes to look at the book. “He tends to just smell like sugar water and lemon drops.”

Wind gulps a bit as he tears himself away from staring at you when you bend over and tries to find any hidden latches on the walls or any floor tiles that seem out of place.

Nothing.

“What about me though?” He says to fill the silence. “Where do I fall on your list of smells?”

“You smell like sea salt and river water after it’s rained.” You try to latch your foot onto one of the carving and hoist yourself higher. “It’s not bad and it’s not too strong either... so like maybe an eight of ten.”

“Out of the ten of us?”

“Oh, I meant like on a scale how good verses how bad it is. Compared to the ten of us, you’re like number three. Four actually smells the cleanest with Warrior right after him, then you.” You push yourself up and try to find purchase with your other foot, not paying attention to how the flame on the candles grow.

“Four? The blacksmith?” Wind gives up on his search and turns around to see your perilous position. “Hey get down! You might hurt yourself!”

Wind doesn’t notice the flames either, but you’re tipping the pedestal at an unsafe angle.

He doesn’t want to come off as over protective and make you feel like you can’t protect yourself, knowing what that feels like, but the idea of you going face first into the floor has him incredibly nervous.

He dashes up to you and pushes it back into place.

“Oh.” You perk up and grin up at him. “Thanks. Come see what’s in this book. I don’t know what it says but it looks important.”

Wind frowns a little and lets go. The pedestal stays standing as it should and he’s a little less nervous about you falling. He comes around to your side and you hop off to make room for him. As he tries to copy your movements to get up onto it, his hand brushes your shoulder and your hair.

Startled by the unexpected proximity, you take a step back and knock over one of the candles.

“Good job.” Wind says automatically at the sound.

“Thanks Link.” You stick your tongue out and go to pick it up. “I can feel your love and support for miles.”

“That’s the idea.”

“Well do you have any idea of what to do next because I sure don’t.” You look away and suddenly notice the size of the flames. They keep growing bigger and bigger and you latch onto the back of Wind’s shirt to pull him away. “Something’s happening.”

On cue, the flames grow large enough to touch and you can begin to feel your eyes begin to close.

Wind takes out his boomerang to fight the ever growing flames and he tosses it in hopes of extinguishing it but there’s no such luck to be found. What’s worse, you fall on top of him and he’s forced to catch you as you fall unconscious.

A deep laughter resonate around the room and the flames grow upward and sideways, parting to crate two arm like figures and two beady eyes with a mouth in the middle.

“A life force is always sweetest when young.” It laughs again and tries to reach for you. Wind brings out his deku leaf and blasts the flame away from touching you, standing over your body in an effort to protect you.

“What did you do!?” Wind finds himself asking the creature. It’s in anger more than it is to learn what’s happened but the creature responds to it regardless.

“Those who read my book, are under my spell and those who are under my spell, become mine to consume. The young always have a bit of fat in them still... makes them all the more delicate a treat. You’d join your friend in the same way had you read my book for longer, but I suppose this works either way.”

Wind begins to panic and he doesn’t think his deku leaf will be enough to fight the flame, nor will his sword do any damage. There’s not enough time to reach for a different weapon and there’s no way he can run past the flames without being hurt. Maybe he would survive if it was just him, but he’s not going to leave you behind.

Not now, not ever.

Wind gets up on his feet and take a deep breath. It’s thick and laced with enough smoke to make him cough but he stands tall and firm.

He needs to buy time.

Enough time that he can think of a plan and execute it without hurting you in the crossfire.

The creature closes in on the two of you and Wind is pressed by the lack of options.

Suddenly, Wind spots Wild through the gaps of the eyes and mouth on the other side of the room. Wild stands there shocked and confused but shoots the pedestal with the most apathetic ice arrow he can manage.

The flame dies instantly and the creature is cut off with a horrible ear piercing screech.

Wind covers his ears from the sounds as it dies out and misses Wild call his name in concern when he’s noticed. Instead, when the noise is gone, he turns on his heel and crouches over you. He shakes your shoulder violently and begins to whine in concern when he doesn’t get an answer.

Wild jogs up next to him and places a hand on Wind’s shoulder. Wind turns to the older hero before he can even speak and yells. “Where’s Legend or Hyrule or someone who’s good with magic? That thing put them to sleep with a spell in that stupid book and they’re not waking up!”

“What happened to you two?!” Wild replies as he dashes toward the ice brick that he’s formed.

“Don’t look at the pages! Don’t try to read it! I think it makes him stronger.” Wind cries out as he rolls you on your side.

“What even was that thing?” Wild dashes back to Wind’s side with the book under his arm.

“I don’t know but it wanted to eat them.” Wind can feel the panic tear into his heart and soul at your unknown fate and he hates that he doesn’t know what to do. “Wild help!”

“Ok. Ok. Here, let’s get them out of here first and we can go get help the others.” Wild stuffs the book in his slate and reaches over to pick you up, trying to be gentle in case you have any injuries that he can’t see.

Wind takes out his sword and takes the lead, making sure nothing else from the room surprise attacks them and that there’s nothing in front of them that will also attack.

“What if they don’t get better?” Wind looks back at Wild and finishes with looking at your face. He’s briefly reminded of that time Tetra was turned into stone and how there wasn’t much he could do to help her. The difference here is that you’re still flesh and blood and you look peaceful despite the circumstance of your sleep.

“They will.” Something catches Wild’s attention in the distance and he goes to place you on the ground. “I think I see Time. Stay with them, watch over them. I’ll be back.”

“Ok.” Wind takes a step to let him pass and waits for a second before sitting next to you. He reaches over and runs his finger through your hair, brushing it gently from your face.

He turns away then and sighs, settling his hands on his knees. “I hope you wake up. I need to be able to tell you that I like you.”

There’s no response- as he expected and it’s tears at his heart a little.

“I just figured this out for myself and I don’t know if there’s a way for the two of us to be together after all of this. But I don’t know if I want to live with the what if if I don’t say anything.”

“Say what?”

“I like you, a lot and there’s a lot of- wait.” Wind jolts up and shifts his eyes to look in your direction.

You’re looking at him with what he would describe as a dreamy look, sleep still holding onto you and rims of your eyes but you’re smiling and happy and soft-

“You’re ok!” Wind cries and pushes his sword out of the way, jumping into your arms and resting his head against yours. “I was worried.”

“I’m ok.”

Wind grins at your sleepy voice and it makes him giggle. Only for the other shoe to drop and he shoots his head up to look you in the eyes. “How much of that did you hear?”

“Try everything.”

“Oh no.”

“It’s ok. I like you too.” You giggle and try to sit up, brushing your hair back again and poking him in the nose. “You smell like smoke now.”

“Is it bad?” He blinks and pulls at his tunic to sniff himself.

Yes, he does smell like smoke but he can still faintly smell the salt you mentioned earlier.

“No.” You smile and crawl into his personal space, using his lap as a pillow. “It’s warm.”

Wind’s breath stutters a little and he gulps, hesitantly putting his hand in your hair to run his fingers through it.

He looks back up just in time to see Wild and Time return with knowing smiles on their faces. He flushes deeply, but lets you go back to sleep peacefully, no longer afraid of any what if’s.

You’re warm in his lap and he smiles.

Part 3

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #linked universe x reader

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yeojaa · 4 years

Text

NOT YOUR FAIRYTALE - ft. myg

What do you do when you've called your wedding off but forgot to cancel your cake tastings? Why, you ask your brother's grouchy best friend, of course.

pairing. min yoongi. sort of.

genre + rating. fluff-adjacent. general.

warning / tags. mentions of infidelity, cake tasting, cake tasting isn’t a euphemism, fluff and hurt/comfort, alternate universe, alternate universe - modern setting, friendship, friendship/love, childhood friends.

reading. n/a. a stand-alone three part one-shot.

chapter i.

"You want me to what?"

The way he's looking at you makes you want to sink six feet under ground and bury yourself among the roots and bugs. There's so much judgment in the feline turn of his stare, the depths of his irises and the pupils that disappear among the hue. Still, his voice remains decidedly bored. Apathetic, even.

If you were anyone else - hell, if he were anyone else - you think you might've slunk off, proverbial tail tucked between your legs. But you aren't and he isn't, so you repeat yourself, louder this time.

"I want you to come to the cake tasting with me." You're proud of yourself for how the words don't waver, clipping off your tongue and teeth in short bursts. You're even more proud of how you meet his intimidating gaze, chin jutted out in something like defiance but admittedly softer, a little more vulnerable.

His expression is inscrutable, a palette of greys that only further the uncertainty that sinks like a stone in your chest. Every second that passes feels like an eon and you think you might crumble into dust by the time his lips move, though sound is slow to come.

It seems even he's having second thoughts.

"So, you want me to pretend to be your fiancé." A pause, incredulity written into every syllable. "For cake."

When he puts it like that, it feels like nails on a chalkboard or cardboard against cardboard. It raises the little hairs on the back of your neck and has you gritting your teeth, lids sliding over eyes in what can only be called distress. It fits onto your face - curving lips and tensing your jaw all at once. You remind yourself to breathe around the discomfort that lodges into your airway and within your skull.

Why had you thought this was a good idea? Why couldn't you have asked someone else?

Anyone but Min Yoongi.

"Everyone else is busy," you retort, though it's not quite as hard as you mean it to be. It falls like a stone in the ocean - inconsequential. "If you don't want to, just say so. I'll go on my own."

Your own, because you'd called off your engagement months ago and had forgotten to cancel this. Or rather, you'd put it off. You'd put a lot of stuff off. It kind of came with discovering your boyfriend - your knight in shining armour soon-to-be husband - was a philanderer. Still, you'd felt a little silly when you'd gotten the two-week reminder text (and email, because oh, you'd been excited!).

When you'd approached your best friend about it, she'd reacted in her patented Lee Sora way. A derisive snort - for that piece of shit ex of yours - and then a sweeter cloying laugh, insisting you go. After all, you'd booked things on his dime. 'Better to eat your cake, even if you can't have it!' were her words.

Honestly, you'd forgotten about it again - purposely pushed it to the furthest recesses of your mind - until you'd gotten the call the day before. Imagine your surprise when the assistant was chirping all over the phone line, completely oblivious to your stunned silence.

Why did you have to have the memory of something with really bad memory? Your brother wasn't like this.

So here you were, asking his best friend to take some sort of pity on you. It felt worse than tripping during your university graduation. (Because yes, you had done that, nearly face planting in front of hundreds of your peers. Clumsiness ran in the Kim family.) You hated it with every fibre of your being. Not because you had too much pride - god no - but because you'd had to ask him. Yoongi.

On a good day, he was gracious, if not distantly quiet. On a bad day, he could cut you down with just one look.

Frankly, you couldn't tell what kind of day this was.

"You know I'm not making you go alone." The man in question sounds exasperated, though it's barely hidden, an undercurrent of frustration that peeks around the edges of consonants. His expression betrays nothing as he turns back to face the array of monitors, nimble fingers already resuming their previous actions. You feel a pang of guilt - you know how much he hates being bothered when he's working. Namjoon's drilled it into your head since you were old enough to barge in without asking and though they'd taken a lunch break, it still feels a little clandestine.

You ignore the hope that sparks to life in your chest and the way your fingers curl around the door frame. Or, at least, you try to ignore it. You're grateful that his back is to you when you speak. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes." For a moment, you think he might turn by the way his shoulders shift, hands stilling. But then he thinks better of it and slides his headphones over his mop of carefully styled smoke - a clear indication the conversation is over.

Before his right ear is fully covered, you're rushing to speak. "It's at 3:30! I'll come grab you before we have to leave!" And then you're gone.

You'd thought it would be easier with someone else. Appearances and all that.

But as you're walking up to the pretty storefront - all unassuming whites to showcase the brilliant confections in the window - you somehow feel even more nervous. What if they knew? What if they could tell you two were polar opposites and you'd come to swindle them out of their painstakingly crafted cakes? Would they tell you to get out? Would they not say anything, even if they knew?

Scenarios play in your mind like the climax of a Bond film and you don't even realize you're hovering five feet away until his voice cuts through your thoughts - a hot knife through butter.

"What're you waiting for?" There's that irritation again. You try not to take it personally. This was just who Yoongi was - had always been. He was someone who didn’t suffer fools gladly, no matter how they presented themselves. You know it isn’t directed at you necessarily, but just at the strange situation he now found himself in. You tell yourself that over and over as you find your words, plastering what you hope to be a genuine smile on your face.

By the way he looks at you, lips curled around disbelief, you know it's a poor effort. You were bad at hiding your emotions. It was like Namjoon had stolen all the emotional maturity, leaving you with wide-open eyes and a face like a billboard.

"What if they know?" You say it in a voice barely above a whisper, as if they might hear you through the intimidating glass door.

"Know what?" A brow quirks, disappearing into his fringe.

"That we aren't together!" The words explode out of you, a firecracker set off too close to curious hands. Your mouth draws into a thin line of apology and you're twisting a section of hair around your index finger. It's a nervous habit and he catches it immediately.

His expression softens, just barely, and he sighs, breath blown through his nose. "It'll be fine." The confidence he reassures you with is surprising but somehow, it calms you. Maybe it's the two decades of friendship rearing its pretty, often neglected head. Whatever it is, you cling to it like a security blanket, eyes the size of dinner plates as you follow the hand that suddenly rises and inches toward you.

"What're you doing?" You speak before you can help it, admiring the softness of his skin and the long fingers built from years of piano.

Rather than speak, he grips your own. It's loose but your knuckles knock together, palms flat and moulded into one. "You want it to be believable, don't you?" Despite the bemused inflection, you appreciate his gesture. It means a lot to you.

You squeeze his hand, nodding once. "Thanks, Yoongi." It's soft and shy, filled with all the things you don't say. He reads between the lines easily, years of platonic intimacy guiding him into what could almost be described as a smile but falls just short of revealing his gums. Still, it's as good as having him shout his understanding from the rooftops so you take it with grace, dutifully following after him when he pries open the door.

The smell is intoxicating. If your life were a cartoon movie, you're sure you'd be following the smell and floating into the kitchen with hearts in your eyes.

"You must be the soon-to-be Rims!"

She's a pretty young thing with big doll eyes and a sweetly upturned nose. You recognize her voice immediately as the girl that had confirmed your appointment. She oozes honey and kindness and you can't help but smile; she's sweet as apple pie. How fitting.

So swept up in her sunny greeting, you belatedly notice the way your not-fiancé stiffens at your side, his interlocked fingers tightening imperceptibly. There's a tick in his jaw, tension running the length of his bones and steeling around the column of his neck. For a second, you're tempted to reach out with your free hand, smooth whatever consternation has him grimacing, but in the next moment, he's a blank slate. His chin dips, nods in affirmation because you've been too caught up in him to answer the poor girl.

"That's us." He hides it well, but you can still see the flicker of annoyance just beyond the flat of his barely realized smile. It's the same ebb and flow that you've become familiar with over the years. (Especially since, during a particularly annoying time during your teens, you'd been the reason for it.)

"So nice to meet you finally. I'm Siyeon." It seems the assistant is completely oblivious to whatever displeasure lies beneath the surface of Yoongi’s carefully crafted facade, her beaming smile never faltering. You can even hear it in her voice when she turns and begins leading you past the front pastry case and toward the open space further back. "Come this way! We have everything set up."

You squeeze his hand again when the whites of his eyes grow prominent by the way they roll in their sockets. "Be nice," you chastise quietly, closing the distance just enough to keep the conversation between the two of you.

"I am nice." When your gaze meets, you're mirroring each other's expression. It makes you laugh; he simply shakes his head.

"You two are so sweet," comes Siyeon's meant-to-be kind observation. She's watching you two closely from the head of the long table where she waits. There are slices of cake laid across the top, three pieces in total. Place cards sit neatly behind each plate, another three placed off to the side. There are two forks, two pens, and a bare white notepad. "Please, take a seat. Would you like some champagne?"

"Please!" You've answered before your companion has had a chance to and he levels you with a quirked brow and nothing else. You note the way Siyeon disappears with your answer, leaving you to stick your tongue out at him. "What?"

"Take it easy, party animal," he drawls, nonchalant as ever as he turns his attention to the offerings laid before him.

You know he's just teasing, so you say nothing, instead opting to do the same. Every slice is perfectly cut - a generous portion for two people - and so lovingly crafted that you almost feel bad thinking you'll never get to try it again.

"Here you go."

Two champagne flutes are presented, ice bucket with the orange label bottle set aside. You take a tentative sip, enjoying the way the liquid bursts across your tongue. You'd always been more of a beer girl, but this is nice. It feels a little like a treat to yourself - for getting through everything that's brought you here.

"So, we're pretty hands-off here." Siyeon is speaking again, the words rolling off her tongue like she's given this spiel a hundred times. You're sure she has. She's so confident, rattling off the process with practiced ease. You focus intently, grateful for the way Yoongi even leans forward - the picture of an attentive partner. "We've prepared six cakes for you. You'll taste them in groups of three, so your palate isn't overwhelmed. We leave you alone during this portion so you can discuss without any pressure or input and you can make notes on what you do and don't like. Once you're done all of the samples, you'll meet with one of our pâtissiers and discuss." There's a pause, then realization. “You also mentioned on the phone you wanted us to include a red velvet option, so that’s on the far right.” A hand gesticulates, though it’s impossible to miss. The cake is vivid maroon and off-white – a picture perfect slice presented on the minimalistic ceramic.

You don’t miss the way Yoongi’s brow knits together beneath his neatly styled crown of silk or the stare he levels you with. He doesn’t betray emotion easily, but you can feel it from your periphery, and it licks hot shame across your cheeks. You hated red velvet – called it bullshitter’s chocolate – but your stupid awful ex-fiancé had loved it, claiming it to be one of his favourite things in the world.

More than even you, you find yourself thinking bitterly before you can help it.

“Thanks.” The word is short and dismissive. Very clearly the complete opposite of how it should be but if Siyeon notices, she doesn’t comment on it. You have to applaud her self-restraint. Instead, she offers another winning smile, and retreats back a step.

“I’ll just be at the front, if you need anything.”

A part of you wants to ask to her to stay – save you from the scathing words you know are about to fire off of your pretend-partner’s tongue. You settle for returning her smile and watching as she departs, gaze trained diligently on her back as if that might protect you from the verbal barrage you know is coming.

“You hate red velvet.” It’s a statement that has you cringing because you can hear all of the implications behind it. The words he doesn’t speak but clearly thinks linger in the air between you, falling like rain drops that sink into your bones.

You don’t immediately answer, taking your time in turning your fork over in your fingers. You know this silent treatment won’t work. Yoongi’s the master of silence – and of death glares – but you push onwards, gliding tines into the nearest cake slice. It doesn’t crumble or break, held together by pure craftsmanship and quality ingredients. The pretty not-quite-purple, not-quite-red winks up at you.

Honey wine Moscato with triple berry mousse and seasonal berry compote.

A definite yes in your books. Or would be, if you were actually getting married. You take another bite, then another.

“Why the hell would you have asked for a red velvet wedding cake if you hate it?” He’s not about to let it go, though he follows suit once the question has left his lips. He’s also not about to let you leave him with crumbs when he was the one who’d been forced into coming here.

The way his jaw relaxes has you smiling just a little, an expectant gleam in the brown of your irises.

“Tasty, right?”

“Yeah, good.” But now that you’ve spoken – confirmed that you’re not mute, despite how quiet you’ve been since he’d poised his initial question – he repeats himself. “Seriously, why ask for a cake you hate?”

You know you have no reason to hold the words so tightly to your chest but you do nonetheless, not quite sure how to speak them without your voice cracking. “Red velvet was his favourite.” There. You’d thought the admission would be a weight lifted but it feels somehow worse. Like there’s shame draped across the concession, a heavy brocade that lingers in your throat once the words have left.

“You were going to have a wedding cake you’d hate? Because of him?”

It’s exactly what you’d been afraid of. The judgment that rolls off him in waves and crashes against you like a shore at hightide. Your eyes remain steadfastly trained on the next slice – almond cake soaked in Grand Marnier with honey-cream and Mariska cherries. Crimson fruit is speared on an individual tine and popped into your mouth as you continue your vow of silence.

You think the quiet is enough of an answer but when he doesn’t move, doesn’t speak, you finally look up. Whatever words of defence had been forming on your tongue die off, dragged into an abyss that opens up beneath your feet – a surprise, because you’ve never seen that look on his face before.

It’s equal parts frustration and something else but because it’s so new, you can’t quite place it in your catalog of memories.

He must realize, immediately rearranging his features into their usual stoic mask. Just the tilt of his mouth betrays him, corners turned down ever so slightly. It’s enough to know that he’s holding back, which is something he never does. Ever.

“Spit it out, Yoongi.” You don’t look at him, too afraid that both his words and stare will completely eviscerate you now that he has the go ahead. You fork a proper mouthful of cake past your lips, humming contentedly as the flavours spill over your tongue. You hadn’t expected it to taste like a creamsicle – okay, a very adult creamsicle – but it’s welcome, nonetheless.

Fork of his own spears a sizeable bite and you watch as the slice disappears before your eyes, under both of your measured ministrations. The red velvet plate sits untouched. You know Yoongi doesn’t mind it – enjoys it, in fact – but you think he must be refraining for your sake.

Solidarity in crisis, probably.

“You know you’re better off without him.”

Of course you know that. He’d cheated on you – in your home and more than once! You knew, just as you knew how to ride a bike or how to swim, that ending things was the best thing you’d ever done. Sure, it’d hurt like hell and sure, you’d had to move in with your brother until you found something else – you hadn’t yet – but it was all for the best.

So why can’t you say those three simple words? Why, instead of your usual barking hyena laugh meeting his words, was there nothing?

“How are the cakes?” Siyeon has materialized at your side as if summoned. The still intact slice draws her attention immediately, concern settling alongside the winning customer service that oozes out of her pores and fixes itself into her permanent smile. “Did you not like the red velvet?”

Before you have a chance to speak, Yoongi’s doing so for the both of you.

“She hates red velvet. She only asked for it for me.” There’s a shrug disrupting the ridge of his shoulders, shifting the soft cotton plaid that hugs his lithe frame. “Could you bring out the rest?” His tone is friendly, gentle even. It's at complete odds with the line of his mouth, terse and teetering dangerously on irate. Still, he's not unkind when his gaze meets Siyeon's and she simply nods, gathering up the plates and taking the disregarded slice in stride.

Silence stretches between the two of you but it isn't uncomfortable. It's the same quiet that's followed you throughout your lives, carried gracefully by years of close quarters.

"Which do you like best?" He breaks it first, with a gentle hand like a delicate sculptor.

"Is both an acceptable answer?"

There's a rueful tilt to your smile. It feels very you to him, so he knows it's okay to rib you, teasing colouring every syllable. "Two cakes, huh? Pretty greedy."

Whatever you're about to say falls off your tongue yet again, forgotten on the tip with the return of Siyeon.

With the same sunny smile she's adopted the entire visit, she sets the next three selections carefully before you. Just as before, they're beautifully crafted and effortlessly chic. You spy what looks like carrot cake - from the telltale chunks of golden raisins and fluffy whipped frosting - but you're not sure which the rest are.

"Their cards are right there," Siyeon supplies helpfully, noting your curiosity. You smile, grateful as she departs with another grin and a reminder. "Don't forget to take notes!"

Vanilla cake soaked in mandarin syrup and kumquat liqueur with mandarin vinegar from Jeju Island and mandarin curd.

Dark chocolate mud cake soaked in espresso with white chocolate and black truffle ganache.

You opt to start with what appears to the airiest of the three, gliding your fork through the pretty mosaic of orange and cream.

“You deserve someone who’d let you have any cake you want.” It’s soft - barely above a whisper - but kicks up gravel in its wake, drawing your attention with the grit that tracks over syllables.

You study him for a moment, masking curiosity as consideration of flavours as citrus bursts across your tongue.

“You mean someone like you?” What you’d thought to be deadpan comes across coaxing, like honey swathed in broad strokes. You’d only meant to tease - you don’t mean anything by it (or so you tell yourself). Because you’re definitely not there yet, and certainly not with him.

But when he looks at you with that inscrutable expression, you swear you’d give up any three magic wishes to read his mind.

“No, not like me.”

notes. based off of this prompt.

this will be two parts because i can’t write a short one-shot to my satisfaction. :l thank you for reading, though!

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sparklingskz · 5 years

Text

duty calls | kim seungmin

▸ genre: idol au, MC au?, fluff, a small angsty part

▸ description: five times working as an MC with Seungmin was proven to be... difficult for your heart.

▸ word count: 3k

▸ warnings: swearing

▸ a/n: I had to watch so many music show mc cuts to get ideas for this and I suffered so pls enjoy (also the rose part is taken from jungkook JKJDKSJD)

one

When you first got assigned to be one of the new MCs on MCountdown, it was expected that you would feel a little nervous, same as with any schedule that involved having plenty of attention on you. However, you felt confident in your skills acquired through MCing on other instances, so it wouldn’t be that nerve-wracking.

What you felt when you heard who was going to be your partner in the show was a different story, though.

"Kim Seungmin?! As in, Stray Kids' Kim Seungmin?" you asked your manager, your eyes wide open.

"Yes, and you should start practicing because you start in a few weeks." That was all the response you got before being left alone with your thoughts.

You were a little intimidated to say the least, as you knew that Stray Kids were an incredibly talented group and facing one of its members wasn't what you expected to come out of this job. Additionally, have you seen Kim Seungmin? You were supposed to MC alongside that face? And not mess up?

That sounded a little hard, in all honesty.

The weeks went by way too quickly between schedules with your group and rehearsing your lines, and suddenly it was already time for you to start your MCing job. You arrived to the studio pretty early to practice on set, heading over to the backstage area to meet up with everyone.

You being nervous was an understatement. While you were sure that the delivery of your lines should be good with the amount of time you practiced, you forgot to take a crucial factor into consideration... Seungmin's presence.

The first thing you had to do when arriving to the studio was to meet him, seeing as he would be your partner for a (hopefully) long time.

As you came face to face with each other, you greeted him with a bow that he quickly returned, and directed you a cute smile as he introduced himself. The air filled with something close to awkwardness, the both of you having never interacted with the other, but you didn't really have a chance to do anything about it before the staff was rushing you two to get ready for rehearsals.

While sitting in the stylist's chair, rather than taking advantage of the free time to get some sleep like you usually did, you decided to take the chance to get a good look at Seungmin, who was sitting on the chair situated right next to yours. The mirror allowed you to see that he was concentrated with something on his phone, which gave you the opportunity to shamelessly stare with less chances of getting caught.

His brown hair matched his deep brown eyes, and it was being styled to be more fluffy than usual, which looked like something that would suit him well. His overall appearance was very boyish-like, and was accentuated by the outfit he was put in (it was color coordinated with yours, which you thought was pretty cute).

Okay, enough staring.

Soon enough it was time to head over to the space reserved for the MCs and to start practicing your lines for that day together. Seungmin shot you a reassuring smile before starting the dialogue, and you tried your best to follow along without getting too lost in the way his lips moved or how his eyes met yours.

For some fortunate reason of the universe you managed to get through all your lines without greatly messing up, which earned you a small break before recordings started for the real thing.

“Hey, y/n,” Seungmin called after you before you had a chance to head backstage. “Nice job, you’ll do great for the cameras,”

You managed to let out a small “Thank you, you too,” before hurrying out of his sight so he wouldn’t be able to take notice of the flushing of your cheeks.

two

After a few times of successfully MCing with Seungmin, all of your initial nervousness had faded and you started feeling way more comfortable while being in the presence of the young boy.

Actually, being partners with Seungmin was fun. Outside of recording, you often found yourself looking forward to the times you would get to engage in conversation with him, using up your small breaks to speak about whatever was brought up that day. He also helped you a lot with any doubts you had about your lines or acting, and you tried to do the same in return.

On screen you had great chemistry; even though you had to stick to a script, everything flowed very naturally between you two. There were some instances where you’d have to exchange painfully cheesy lines as per request of the production team, that, while being delivered with a straight face in front of the camera, had the both of you bursting out in laughter whenever the cameras were off.

One of those instances went as it follows:

“Y/n! Seungmin! You’re up!” You heard the director shout in your overall direction, and the both of you were quick to stand in front of the cameras. You noticed that in addition to his script, Seungmin was holding a single rose on his other hand, and put it behind his back.

Right, it was time for that part.

The director shouted “Action!” and you immediately shifted into “idol mode”, a wide smile plastered on your face as you started to recite the first lines.

“That last stage was incredibly powerful! Right, Seungmin?”

“Totally!” he exclaimed with excitement, before his expression turned gloomier.

“Is there something wrong?” You asked with a tone that denoted much more curiosity than a normal person would probably show.

“It’s just that I’ve been meaning to say something for a long time, but I’m a bit nervous.” He turned towards you.

“Oh? And what’s is it?”

That’s when he pulled out the rose from his back, offering it to you in a gracious manner. “Will you stay by my side forever?” He said with a flirty smile, eyes opening up in… expectation?

You allowed yourself to get lost on his gaze for a few moments, forgetting that the whole crew was right there, recording your every action.

Until you had to mentally remind yourself that this was all pretend, that those were lyrics from a new song a group was promoting and that Seungmin wasn’t actually asking you something of that scale.

You stood there, frozen, maybe for a second too long before you remembered that you actually had to continue with the dialogue, and thankfully your brain decided to be useful and allowed you take the rose from Seungmin’s hand, offering a “lovesick smile” at the camera (the script’s words, not yours) and thanked the universe for the fact that the producers didn’t think of making you actually reply to his question.

While Seungmin proceeded to introduce the next group coming up on the show, you just stood there, mindlessly nodding along to his words but not fully registering them, rose in your hand.

It isn’t real, you repeated like a mantra in your head.

three

You were not having your best day.

“What can we expect for the next performances, y/n?” Seungmin asked you, before turning to stare at the cameras with a curious look on his face.

Wait, what were you supposed to say again? Oh, right, introduce the groups coming up. Yes.

“Well, we will watch an explosive performance from The Boyz with their new song ‘RPM’, and then our hearts will be exploding because of SF9’s ‘Bloom Bloom’, so stay tuned!”

Wait.

You barely managed to catch the look of confusion that flashed through Seungmin’s face before he quickly spoke. “Guess the excitement for these stages can make anyone’s head spin! Here’s ‘RPM’ by SF9 followed by ‘Bloom Bloom’ by The Boyz,” he exclaimed before the cameras showed that they stopped recording live.

Shit, you had mixed up the group names with their songs.

And of course, Seungmin, being the angel he is, had tried to make it go unnoticed, but the way your eyes comically opened right after the sentence came out of your mouth probably hinted that something was not right.

Feeling a mixture of anger and embarrassment, you quickly flew past the staff into your dressing room, closing the door with more force than necessary and just stood there, in front of the mirrors.

You knew that something was going on with your head that day, but you should’ve been cautious enough to not let it affect your work. Any second now you would be getting a scolding from your manager, which wasn’t very ideal for your current state.

While all kinds of bad thoughts ran through your head, you heard the door of your dressing room click open and you quickly blinked away the tears that threatened to fall from your eyes.

“Y/n?”

Oh, great. Seungmin.

The last thing you wanted was for him to see you in the distressed state you currently were in, but you reluctantly turned around and plastered on the most serene expression you could muster.

“Yeah?”

Seungmin stepped forward a little, cutting some of the distance that separated you two. “What’s going on?” he asked, a worried expression taking over his features.

You sighed while trying to avoid his eyes by focusing your gaze on the floor, while you internally debated about whether to avoid the subject completely or just tell him the truth.

It was Seungmin, though, and you knew that he would be the last person to laugh at anything that was bothering you.

“It’s just that my stupid self messed up the lines even though I had them all memorized, and I don’t even know what happened? I can’t believe I mixed those groups up, their fans will probably be very mad at me and that’s the last thing that I wanted to happen, and for worse you were the one that had to step up and fix my stupid mixtape as if you weren’t a good enough person already and-“

“Woah, okay, breathe.” Seungmin held on to the sides of your arms, grounding you.

You closed your eyes and inhaled a deep breath, getting back all the air you used while rambling.

“I’m sorry,” you muttered after opening your eyes, meeting Seungmin’s soft ones.

“Hey, there’s no need to apologize. The only people who could’ve noticed your mistake were the ones that knew the script, but otherwise it went unnoticed by everyone. Don’t bring yourself down because of one little slip up.” He tilted his head, as if to make sure you were listening to him. “Besides, it was cute.”

His last words made you break out into a chuckle, and you hit his arm playfully. “Shut up, it wasn’t.”

“Good thing you can’t tell me what to think, because it was.” You were about to retaliate again, but Seungmin was faster. “Now stop sulking and get ready, because we go out again in a few minutes.”

He directed a last smile at you before heading out the room, leaving behind a warm feeling inside your chest that made any bad thoughts that remained inside your head a bit duller, being replaced by just Seungmin, Seungmin and Seungmin.

four

Falling for Seungmin was something that came gradually, and, in all honestly, didn’t surprise you.

Who could blame you? When he was the sweetest, funniest and most caring human being you happened to stumble upon?

As time passed, the both of you seemed to be getting closer and closer, which earned a few pointed looks from your managers. It all escalated when you found yourself wanting to hang out with him outside of your MCing schedules, which, considering the nature of the industry you were a part of, was difficult. You had to resign to the second-best thing, which was taking advantage of any little instance you could find to be with him before, during and after filming.

You weren’t about to jump to conclusions and say that your feelings (feelings?) were reciprocated, but you had found yourself quickly spiraling down a Seungmin-shaped rabbit hole and your only option was to hope. Hard.

Though…. Hope for what, exactly? For you guys to be in a loving relationship and turn everything into sparkles and rainbows? It wouldn’t be that easy. For starters, one of you would have to confess (and you wouldn’t be the one to do it first), and then came all the challenges surrounding the fact that you two were idols and doing normal, everyday stuff was one hundred times harder.

It didn’t hurt anyone to be greedy and want a little bit more than you already had, though. The small conversations in the hallways, the fleeting gazes, the skits you had to do that maybe sped up your heart more than they should… Yeah. You hoped for more.

And, surprisingly, more is what you got.

You were heading over to your dressing room, hoping to eat a little something before you had to continue recording for your segments. You reached for your bag, as you always carried a snack with you to your schedules, but instead found a folded piece of paper resting on top of your stuff.

Huh, weird.

You took the paper and carefully unfolded it, revealing a note that was written in black pen, and neat handwriting.

meet me at the back of the building after the broadcast ends

seungmin <3

Oh. Oh.

The door suddenly opened to reveal one the hair stylists, and you quickly tucked away the note deep into your bag before it could be noticed.

A few minutes later you were called to your position in front of the cameras, and headed over to stand next to Seungmin so you could start the segment. You tried catching his gaze to see if you could get anything out of him, but to no avail, as the only times he directed his eyes at you was when it was required for the script. All in all, he seemed shyer than other days, which had you expecting the moment the director called the final “cut” so you could head over to the place Seungmin expected you to be.

If your heartbeat was a tad too fast during the rest of filming, no one had to know.

When the crew wrapped up, you resisted the wish to just drop everything and zoom over to the back of the building, but that would probably be suspicious. Instead, you calmly headed over to your dressing room, helped pack up some stuff, and told your manager that you would be having a conversation with one of the producers, and to just wait for you on the van.

A few moments later, you found yourself taking small quick steps through the corridors towards the back door, hoping that no one saw you and wondered why you looked so wary of your surroundings. You internally cheered when you managed to turn the handle and step outside with no one figuring out what you were doing, and quickly closed the door behind you before taking a look around.

And there was Seungmin, standing with a single rose in his hand.

five

“Can’t you guys go and be gross somewhere else?” You looked up as you heard Minho’s voice, and proceeded to roll your eyes at him.

“We aren’t even being gross.”

Analyzing your current position, that was definitely true. You were sitting on the couch right next to Seungmin, one of his arms draped over your shoulders, and his other hand holding a phone that was displaying the performance Stray Kids had just recorded. Okay, you were in their dressing room, but that had become such a normal thing that it shouldn’t even surprise the others anymore.

You had to take full advantage of the fact that the boys were promoting, as seeing Seungmin only during your MC duties was hard. You missed him way too often. That’s why you found yourself heading over to his dressing room right after they finished prerecording their performance, trying to enjoy some time with him before the actual show started.

“You guys did well,” you told the room in general, earning a few thank you’s and smiles.

After the video showed their finishing poses and came to an end, Seungmin put the phone down and nuzzled his head into the crook of your neck. “I’m too tired to go out and MC,” he muttered, the sound becoming muffled due to his current position.

His actions made you chuckle before answering. “Think about the fact that you’re going to be MCing with me and you’ll feel better,” you said jokingly.

He lifted his head from your neck and looked at you with an amused smile, one of his eyebrows raised. You stared at each other for a few seconds before promptly bursting out in laughter, earning a few pointed glances from the rest of the boys.

“Shouldn’t you lovebirds be getting ready by now?” Chan asked, making you catch a glimpse at the clock before abruptly standing up, leaving a shocked Seungmin sprawled on the couch.

“Shit, yes.” You quickly headed to the door, but right before leaving you turned towards Seungmin and directed a small smile at him. “See you in a few!”

You were about to close the door behind you when you heard a shout from your boyfriend. “Remember not to mix up the groups!”

“That was one time!” you huffed before shutting the door.

You headed towards your dressing room with a smile on your face, probably weirding out the staff standing in the hallways. You didn’t pay any attention to them, and just kept walking with thoughts of Seungmin dancing through your mind.

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modestlyabsurd · 4 years

Text

Alight Pt. 3 (Loki x Reader)

"That," he wiped his bleeding cheek, "was a big mistake."

He was gonna retaliate right then and there, the life leaving his eyes and rage consuming him. You prepared. He'd already gotten in a few licks leaving you pretty weakened. Arms were throbbing from blocking blows and your head burned in white hot pain. You're no match for Dickhead. But at this point if you died fighting him, so be it. It'd be better than living the rest of your life here.

As he lunged, he suddenly froze in place, and then your blood ran cold. His face disappeared - then reappeared in an instant.

Your heart beat so fast that your entire body was rendered paralyzed. Hallucinating - definitely hallucinating.

But it happens again; his face glitches from its brooding, bloodied features to a blank sheet of skin and back again.

He chuckles. His voice darkens robotically as his face goes in and out, like a TV with bad reception. "Looks like you damaged my screen."

The ground wobbles beneath your feet, but there's nothing around to steady yourself except for your own head - and it could explode at any second.

"What? Now you're scared?" He takes a small step forward, you take the same step back. "You should've been scared this entire time. You're not back home on Earth."

... What? How?

"Don't act surprised. But it's not an act, is it? You really thought you were smart. Humans are so laughable sometimes. Steadfast? Sure. But you're all so easily broken. That, and your inherent ignorance was the dead giveaway to your origins."

His dark, artificial eyes repeatedly go in and out and return to yours each time. He clears his throat and places his arms at ease. "Allow me to explain a bit about myself, since you were gracious enough to oblige me in a similar nature," he smiles, gesturing to his injured human cheek.

Your skin itches all over. Your mind is sending distress signals everywhere it can. Which, clearly, isn't far.

"I am a Chronomonitor. We are created and assigned whenever and wherever a reality is altered. I would normally explain the development process of how we're created, but I'd bet you don't know the first thing about quantum technology. Just like I'd bet you don't know the first thing about gamma radiation," he smirks.

Fuck ... what all do they know?

"But that's besides the point. I was created when the reality of Earth in the year 2012 was tampered with by undercover parties. I will cease to exist when my job is complete, which is to eliminate the threat and restore reality as it is. Until then, you're stuck with me indefinitely."

Wonderful, you bitterly think to yourself.

He dares to take another step closer, and despite yourself, you dare not to take one back.

"See how much easier things can be, if you're a good little human?"

A voice interrups through his radio, shouting urgently in their verbal codes. He tilts his head to listen and in an irritated rush he responds with an affirmation.

Now completely faceless, without concealment, he turns to leave. But not without a final word. "I feel like we've gotten to know each other a little better. No more secrets now. Right, Doe six one eight? Or, rather, little L/N."

He had the nerve to whisper your last name.

When the cell door shuts behind Mr. Chronomonitor, you start crumbling. Your legs nearly give way as you stumble back, back, until you hit the concrete wall and slide down, your throat constricting. They tracked you. They tracked the breadcrumbs, and you just gave them a freshly baked loaf with your name written on it.

You couldn't breathe. You couldn't think straight. All you could do was cry.

All you wanted was Loki.

Loki would know what to do.

Loki would know what to say.

Loki would protect you. He wouldn't let these forces get anywhere near you. He didn't! That's why your steadfast, laughable, ignorant fucking self is here in this space pit. Because he died protecting you from the true forces of the universe, and their crimes.

You wished that wasn't your last memory of him. That's why you've forced yourself not to think of him during this imprisonment. But things always come full circle. You should've known better. Loki always compared your feelings to a body of water, and said that the levee reserving the riverflow was made of fire. The flames will always succumb to the water at some point. Goddammit, you miss him. In the most selfish way possible.

He was one the few people in your life who accepted you unconditionally; he loved even the worst parts of you. Looking back, you took that for granted. A little voice keeps nagging you about it as time goes on, and in all honesty, you're starting to believe you deserve to stay here indefinitely.

You miss him. The hot, fiery tears leaving streaks down your swollen cheeks are the testament to it. You miss the real Loki. A far cry from who's out here in the timelines running amok.

It's the broken, vengeful, brainwashed monster that Thanos created in 2012 that's left. You think back to that distant, original little spark of hope; that maybe the real Loki is still alive and lost in there somewhere. Maybe you could find him, bring him to the light.

But that was then. Now, the chances of ever finding Loki are slim to none, and your chances of staying prisoner here are rising.

Oh for Heaven's sake. It was just getting good!

The melee had to end right when the mysterious neighbor had done what he couldn't do (what he truly wished to do if he hadn't a main objective) and that was provoke that oaf of a guard to the breaking point. But he remembers there's been no provoking whatsoever. Only silence.

And then a beating ensued, and even Loki had to turn away. He's not a sadist. He's more of a curious panther that's been reduced to a pathetic house cat.

Indeed while the voice of the Other continues to berate him for his childish approaches, and in a similar nature, Loki has chosen to ignore it. Temporarily, of course. It's not his fault that the daft creature cannot function under anything but its own direct orders. Loki enjoys chaos. And in this place, he doesn't even have to be the perpetrator.

Although useful in that he now knows a great deal more about these bots and their facility, this sort of chaos isn't exactly what he had in mind. Unlike the Other, as well as the Titan, hurting people fruitlessly doesn't interest Loki.

"Knock, knock," a voice sarcastically sounds outside the cell door.

Loki's ears perk and the hair on his neck dares to stand on end, but he doesn't allow it. He leans against the gray concrete comfortably, awaiting his visitor.

"Time for my interrogation already?" he chirps. The Chronomonitor - information accredited to his neighbor - opens the heavy door, bringing in shadowy dim light from the hallway. It appears as the same burly man with educated eyes and sturdy limbs, and a faint scar on its cheek. Loki cannot the smirk on his face as he eyes the robot, relishing in the secret knowledge he has. He distantly wonders how he'll use it to his advantage later.

"Afraid not," it shakes its head. "That's why I'm here. Mobius has chosen to delegate more time to another case over the next few days, so you're off without questioning today."

"What a shame. I was looking particularly forward to my session this afternoon," Loki feigns disappointment. He then inquires, "What could possibly interrupt such a cured routine?"

The robot ponders Loki, but in the moment, does not deem him disingenuous.

A mistake.

As if it's divulging a secret, the robot lowers its tone. "It's the person right next to you, as a matter of fact. She's been an absolute pain ever since she was apprehended a month ago. Mobius is even sicker of it than I am," it nearly growls, before recollecting. "But now he's finally ready to do something about it."

The way the bot's teeth shined in sticky enjoyment struck a nerve in Loki.

He tilts his head, playing along. "What do you think that something will be?"

"That's to be determined. Oh, and you didn't hear any of this," the bot threatens.

"Of course," Loki assures. Even though he heard every word of it.

The bot nods. It then scans the cell, as Loki crosses his arms and slides his tongue over the grooves of his cheek. The robot's eyes land on the uneaten breakfast tray next to the bed.

"Better eat. The cooks never cook that good."

"Merely saving it for later," he responds, voice clipped.

Awkwardly, the bot turns to leave. "Won't be another meal for a good few hours."

"Four hours. To be exact."

The bot looks back at Loki with bewilderment. Loki notes how easily angered they can become, if outwitted. Without another word it waves an arm dismissively and locks the door tightly behind.

It's just at the surface. But how did his neighbor do it so effortlessly?

A girl, he remembered. The robot referred to a girl.

He lay his head against the hard pillow of the wall, still propped against it. Outside his ever-racing mind, the world around him became quiet. Impossibly quiet; quiet enough to hear. Maybe enough to hear a pin drop, or a mouse scatter across the floor.

Definitely enough, he learned, to hear soft, barely audible cries through the thick walls of his cell. His eyes widened.

Female cries, he notes.

Loki's curiosity is getting the best of him. But he decides he'll deal with whatever repercussions there are.

Just for kicks, he creates a duplicate illusion of himself, leaving it on the bed. Then, cloaked in invisibility, he enters the cell next door.

The cells are similar - dark, unkind concrete. A bed. A sink. A toilet. A mirror, and something his own cell lacks: a door with a small window with a view, of another door. Loki's not surprised.

The prisoner is what surprises him.

A woman, indeed. Scrubbing at her face over the white sink, washing it in red. She pushed her hair back as it kept falling in her face, sticking to her blood. Wearing the TVA prison suit identical to his, her exposed arms were marked by violence. She turns off the sink and looks at herself in the mirror. If Loki were visible, they would've locked eyes right then and there.

She looked innocent, even babyish in the face. Something felt familiar about her. Strongly, strangely familiar, but he couldn't place how. It bothered him. The dark bruises littering her skin bothered him more; they pinched and scratched at his nerve endings.

He can't look away. In fact, he contemplates making his presence known to her, but hesitates as she moves to the cot.

Loki breathes.

Upon having a face to match with the body, he wonders. He's always been a good judge of character; what could that face have possibly done to be treated differently than he? He hadn't been assaulted by any guards or agents, even when he'd provoked them. Make no mistake, he's treated with less than respect, but not to the point of beatings at least. So what is it about this normal, non-threatening woman?

Still unable to look away from her, she lays on the cot, facing the wall - away from Loki. From this perspective she seems almost like a child. He sees her deep breathing and hears her silent whimpers; he watches her until she eventually falls asleep.

Resigning himself back to his own cell, he too lays on his cot. It's so boring here. Even with new guests, they fall asleep just as the story begins to barely unfold. A pity.

Who is that woman?

There's two sides to the coin that is Loki's thought process. It would be a lie to say he wasn't glad that the quiet one finally cried herself to sleep. But when has it being a lie ever stopped him from saying something?

tag list: @sydneyss-worlddd @afinedilemma @fire-in-her-veinz @belladonnabarnes @drakesfiance @internetgremlin @dragon-chica @triggeredpossum @tarynkauai @sadwaywardkid

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illustratethestars · 5 years

Text

Rain and Sun to Every Rainbow

Chapter 2: Rain and Sun to Every Rainbow

Penn unrolls a tattered green blanket on a trestle table, snapped together in moments with the help of their girlfriend Inq.

“Psst. Stranger. I’ve got another one for you. Remember how Cyan and Yellow make green? N-hey now! Don’t leave, this one’s complete! I didn’t have any trouble smuggling out the words to this one. It’s not near as sad as that last one. But it’s also not over yet. The first one was free, but I’m gonna need something from you, too.

“A drawing? Well now, that’s as good as gold to us. 2404 words for one chapter. What, you want the whole thing? I’ve got to risk my hide every time I go looking for words for this one! We’ll see how the smuggling business goes before we can go making deals like that.

“Oh yeah, uh, what’s in it? Some light entertainment, that jerkface Dial, listen it’s all fluff this time ‘round. Don’t even worry about it. Just enjoy while I go find the rest of those words from chapter 3. Ah crap, the Guardians are coming. I gotta go!”

Like that, they snap up their table and wares, and are off in an instant, leaving you with another chapter.

Chapter 1 is here.

Ch. 2 Rain and Sun to Every Rainbow

The walk was long and quiet, but Hero couldn’t get the sound out of her ears. The high-pitched whine she had only ever really heard covered in static, when RGB freaked out and that scary-eyeball version of him showed up. Without the static, she knew it could only mean pain. A sound like that couldn’t mean anything else.

She wasn’t paying attention to the walk. She was too busy crying. She cried because RGB was gone, she cried because she hated Hate, but most of all she cried because she knew RGB was in pain-- if he was even still feeling anything at all.

She was grateful at least that Dial hadn’t said anything. She hated him, too. She hated him for not helping his own cousin, his own family! If they were even truly related at all, that is.

Dial held her hand, and if she gripped back, it was only because she hoped it would hurt if she squeezed hard enough.

The tears stopped after a bit. Not the sadness or the anger, just the tears. By that point, they were trekking through what looked like a strange white hall, with familiar silhouettes cast on the walls from seemingly nowhere. Maybe the back side of the forest? This weird world seemed to have a ‘back’ side. It sort of made sense, she thought.

“Feelin’ better, princess?” Dial asked sweetly.

Hero grit her teeth and glared down at her boots. “I hate you.” She answered, finally.

“Aww, you’re just sayin’ that.” Dial cooed as if it were a compliment. He waved a hand affectionately. “I made a promise to get you safe to the market tunnel, and I’m gonna do that.” He reached over with his free hand to ruffle her hair. She ducked and gritted her teeth even harder, until her jaw ached even more than it did from crying.

They stepped out through whatever strange door Dial decided upon, and he escorted her along to one of the many marketplace entrances. There were trees everywhere, there, with violet flowers dripping from their branches. It reminded her very much of when the piece of the sun was revived.

“You’re not going to win.” She said, as they walked.

“Oh?” Dial didn’t sound surprised, nor did he sound bothered.

“Heroes always win.” She assured, looking down at her green shorts and green wellies. Heroes wore green. ‘Cyan and yellow make green. Do please try to be happy.’ She closed her eyes and tried not to cry again.

“Y’know, I never said they didn’t. The thing is, I was a Hero once, too. Now I’m a monster. So, y’know. Maybe heroes win, but who says you’re The Hero?”

For once, Dial didn’t sound so upbeat or impossibly cheery. It wasn’t a threat, nor a promise of something bad. It was more like… a sound that never should have been there. The sound of scratching in an empty home.

She thought about it.

“I do.” She said quietly, to herself. She had no doubt he heard, but she said it for herself. She said it because she knew in her heart it was true. It had to be.

“He really must love you, y’know that?” Dial mused. In the distance, Hero could see the sea. They were getting close to the Market. “I know.” Hero agreed.

“I’ve never seen him so… self-sacrificing.” Dial’s tone and body language was cheerful, but something about the strain in his tone leaked that hate that he never let out while RGB was in trouble.

“You hate him, don’t you?”

He just laughed a little.

Of course he did. How else would he have been able to sound so happy all the time? He must have loved seeing RGB suffer.

“Well, I hate you, too.”

“You sure Hate a lot for a Hero.” Dial seemed unbothered. Hero felt like she’d been slapped. She could almost feel the capital letter ‘H’. ‘You’re no better than she is.’ Maybe he was right.

They continued to walk in silence. Dial started humming at some point. Hero tried to force herself not to hate quite so much, but it wasn’t working.

She brightened as they got close to the hall. Maybe it was her youth that gave her better vision, but she saw something before Dial did-- a familiar glimmer.

Hero snatched her hand away from Dial and started running for the opening. The night was beginning to fall and the light beginning to ebb, but she would make it to that familiar glimmer, and get herself away from Dial.

“Hey-hey, wait!” Dial called after, running as well. For once, he actually sounded concerned. He had promised that she would make it to the market safely, after all. This world was many things, but there was no ‘safe’. Only ‘safer’.

About halfway to her goal, she heard his footsteps falter behind her, and a sound of static and feedback as he changed his mind abruptly.

Hero wasn’t running toward danger. Well, not a danger to her anyway.

“Hero.” said a calm, welcoming, familiar voice. “A moment, please.” and it passed by.

That voice wasn’t leaving Hero alone, oh no. It was just handling her nearest problem for her.

Dial was already retreating. He was fast, but Magnus had a long stride even at his calmest, when he deigned to walk.

This was not his calmest.

Magnus raised dial up by the front of his coat, single-handedly.

“May I ask,” he said, with the calmest and glassiest of tones, “where her guardian is?”

While his voice seemed level, if with a crystalline edge, his prism radiated heat and clouded over, as if threatening to explode into shards at any moment.

Hero followed along behind and smiled. She knew Magnus, at least, she could trust. Magnus was good and kind. She suspected that was why RGB loved him (even if he would never say that in front of her).

“N-now Magsie, we don’t want to do anything that’d muss ‘yer suit.” Dial suggested, for once sounding very nervous. He anxiously fidgeted with Magnus’ lapel to try and smooth over the situation. It did not work.

“I know a very good tailor.” Magnus replied, tone flat and disdainful. “I do wonder… how do you feel about flying? I have heard you old radios have such a difficult time with wind.” Magnus floated a few inches above the ground, gradually raising, watching Dial panic.

Hero attached herself to Magnus’ leg, somewhat surprising him as he had been rather preoccupied with threatening RGB’s cousin.

“How are you faring, Hero?” He asked, suddenly remembering she was there.

“He betrayed us to Hate and- and Hate has RGB! He made a deal to spare me and asked Dial to bring me here so I’d be safe.” Hero tattled like a small child, but in this case she felt he deserved it. RGB was suffering and she couldn’t save him. She needed to do something.

“Did he now.” Magnus clenched his fist. “How serendipitous, then, that we should be so near the sea.”

He turned toward the darkness of the Marketplace, and the sea writhing slowly over it.

“No.” Hero tugged on Magnus’ coat. Both Magnus and Dial looked at her quizzically, incredulously. She couldn’t read their faces, but it was easy enough to see. What else would they be feeling at that moment? “We’re better than Hate. We’re better than him. He kept his part of the deal. Even if he’s still a… a…”

“...Gutterberk?” Magnus proposed, slowly. Hero giggled, and Magnus settled his feet back on the ground. “A pestiwit?” More giggling.

“A Blighterpoop!” Hero agreed, cackling. Magnus flashed a little rainbow, but it was dim. The light was going down. They would have to stay the night outside.

“Ah. Very well. You’ve been spared by a most gracious Hero.” Magnus decided, and dropped Dial with all the grace and ceremony that came with realizing the rubber rat you were holding was not, in fact, made of rubber. “Now leave.”

Dial didn’t need telling twice.

“Your little sock friend is very amusing. It was nice to have them in the market.” Assok was probably out and looking for them, somewhere.

Magnus took off his coat and gently wrapped Hero up into it, then picked her up into his arms while he found a tree to sleep under.

“Don’t you… don’t you live in the market?” Hero asked warily.

“I do, largely.” Magnus agreed, looking up. “But I do like a bit of sunlight now and then. And to visit the birds.” A few fluttered down to settle in the tree above them as Magnus found a spot to sleep. Birds in red and yellow and blue.

“Can ...I-?”

“Sleep next to me? Absolutely. Unlike RGB, I don’t have any issues with dreams.” Magnus held a flicker of a rainbow at his corners, while he held Hero tight. “You’re warm.” Hero hummed softly, curling up inside his comparatively massive coat. “Mm. It’s because I’m angry, still.” Magnus admitted softly. He played idly with Hero’s hair.

“Oh, ok.” Hero was, too. But she was more relieved, knowing Magnus was there. “RGB told me not to come back. To stay in the market and live there, safely.”

“And you don’t plan to do that at all, do you?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Good girl.” Magnus petted her hair. “No. We will go to save him. In the morning, when it’s safe.”

Hero nodded firmly, glad they were together on that.

“Tell me about him?” Hero requested softly. She was tired, but she didn’t want to sleep. Not when she still had so many feelings.

“About RGB?”

“Yeah.”

Magnus thought about it a bit, prism clearing and temperature dropping just a bit. “He always was a soft-hearted fool, even if he pretends otherwise. I love him for it.”

“You do?”

“Oh yes. Just because we aren’t together doesn’t mean we don’t love each-other.” He sounded like a parent explaining a divorce, but he seemed content. “He was afraid I would leave, and I think he was afraid he would miss me when I got realized.” He looked up into the sky, where there was no moon and there were no stars, yet the trees illuminated the night gently, like fairy lights somewhere far off.

“Oh. ...Then… it must be really hard for him.”

“Mm?”

“He keeps bringing new Heroes here, and then something happens and they stop being heroes, and now… a lot of them don’t seem to like him very much.” Hero admitted thoughtfully. “It sounds lonely.”

Magnus thought on it a bit.

“I suppose you are right about that.” He sounded somewhat amused, and held Hero tight to his chest. Hero felt she could trust Magnus, maybe even more than she trusted RGB. Magnus had never scared her so much as RGB had, and Magnus told her things. RGB always made her guess and figure things out. She still cared a lot about RGB, but she didn’t have to worry about the unexpected with Magnus. At least, not that she’d seen yet.

His heavy coat smelled like some kind of exotic tea, rain, and some thick, sweet smell she couldn’t quite place. Though it was crisp like her father’s church clothes, it was warm and soft, too. Magnus’ chest didn’t have as much give as RGB’s did, but in spite of all his sharp corners, she felt comfortable there.

“Tell me about him?” Hero requested, softly. Magnus seemed perplexed at first, but thought about it.

“For all he complains about other people sleeping on him, when we were together here, he spent most of my waking hours trying to sleep on me. I dream, so he couldn’t do the same for me. I often teased him for that.”

Hero giggled a little. Magnus flashed a little rainbow smile, and continued on, telling her soft little stories. Silly things, tea times and walks in the park, held hands and rainy afternoons. Songs and songbirds, the two of them dancing, and RGB just trying to make Magnus laugh.

Hero slept, dreaming about a sunny park full of flowers and chirping crickets to chase, and RGB and Magnus dancing under a tree some ways off. It was a nice, warm dream. A safe dream.

Hero woke first, when the sun was rising early. The three birds she had seen the night before started flitting around, chirping merrily.

She pressed her ear to Magnus’ chest, curiously. She couldn’t hear anything like RGB’s white-noise heartbeat, but every time Magnus breathed it sounded like glass vials gently clinking in a pocket. Or maybe glass bottles. Were those the same thing? Nah, she was pretty sure it was vials he sounded like.

He shifted in his sleep and pressed her a little closer to his chest, protectively.

She couldn’t help but think of her dad. She couldn’t remember anymore what he looked like, but she remembered being sleepily held on the couch while her favorite cartoons were on, up way too early on Saturday morning with a bowl of overly-sugary breakfast cereal.

She tried not to cry, but she failed at that, too. Tears stained Magnus’ tie, and she hoped it wouldn’t do anything like it would to RGB with his static shocks.

He shifted his hand over her head and toyed with a messy lock of her hair with his thumb.

“It will be alright.” He assured groggily, pushing himself up at the base of the tree. “We’ll save him.”

“N-no, it’s not that, it’s just…” Hero thought about it a moment. Maybe it was, a little, about that.

“A lot of things?” Magnus proposed, tilting his head curiously.

“Yeah.” Hero looked down.

Magnus wiped her eye gently with his thumb and raised his hand up. A droplet hung from his glove, threatening to fall. Before it did, it flashed a tiny, sparkling rainbow.

“There’s rain and sun to every rainbow.” He explained. He shook his hand a little to get any excess water off, and leaned forward to start picking at Hero’s hair, taking out the little knots and straighten it out a bit. Hero huffed a little at the fussing, but sat still and let him work until he seemed satisfied.

“Now then. Shall we be off?” Magnus carefully picked Hero up, since she was still bundled in his coat, and began walking.

“Yeah. We’re gonna go save the monster!” Hero chirped excitedly.

“That’s right. We most certainly are.”

#tpoh #the property of hate #Tpoh Magnus #Tpoh Hero #Magnus [0]#Tpoh RGB #Tpoh Dial #light entertainment #fanfiction #Cyan and Yellow make Green #Rain and sun to every rainbow #Penn & Inq

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fearofaherobrine · 6 years

Text

Roleplay Server Log #375

"Swedish Furniture, Spar Redux, Robbing The Snake, Phantoms, and Drunken Herobrines”

[CP] Is in the bedroom, working on assembling the crib near Lie's side of the bed with his usual amount of frustration-

[Notch] Taps lightly on the door - Cp?

[CP] Very irritated- What?

[Notch] Sees the mess - Do you... need help?

[CP] - ... No

[Notch] Are you sure...? This looks complicated...

[CP] - It can't be that hard!

[Notch] Come on, I'm good at this stuff. - Picks up some pieces and the instructions.

[CP] - Because you're from Sweden?

[Notch] Eyebrow- You've seen my apartment. I put most of that stuff together.

[CP] Grumbles- So then what needs to be done oh master of building?

[Notch] Well, first I have something you might need later. - rustles around and pulls out the pink stuffed sheep-

[CP] Gives Notch a confused look- Why do I need this?

[Notch] So you can give it to your daughter yourself.

[CP] - You guys already gave her teddy bears?

[Notch] Yes, but this one can be special. Like Mr. Charlie is for Sally.

[CP] - Oooookay?

[Notch] Because you gave Lie Rosebud?

[CP] Looks at the small plush sheep in his hand- Ooooooh

[Notch] Nods - I knew you'd figure it out eventually. Same as the furniture.

[CP] Carefully puts it on the bed before turning back to the mess which is the crib-

[Notch] Quietly stands next to Cp and helps him -

-The next day-

[Doc] Whispers over chat- Hey Cp? Are you busy?

[CP] - ... No?- He totally is not trying to cram too much stuff into a chest

[Doc] Can you meet me on the desert side of the shrine?

[CP] - Do I have to?

[Doc] Please?

[CP] - Give me a minute- He quickly sends Notch a message letting him know to keep an eye on Lie

[Notch] Chats back- I'm all over it kiddo. -With an emoticon smiley-

[CP] - Don't do that

[Notch] chat- dawww -frowny face-

[CP] Growls but heads for the dessert-

[Doc] Is pacing a little bit. They've put their coat on an armor stand in the shade and are a little bit female today, with some small breasts under a yellow tank top.

[CP] Lands- What do you want?

[Doc] Oh... you look really tired. Do you want a potion to perk you up?

[CP] - No, I want to be able to spend an entire night sleeping with my wife, but the baby wakes her up during the night

[Doc] Well... I can't do anything about that, unfortunately. Though, I would if I could. Family life can be annoying sometimes. I certainly didn't get laid while Yaunfen was sleeping between me and Deerheart. Heh.

[CP] - I don't even want to think about you fucking... Or fucking at all

[Doc] Okay, okay, I was just offering to comiserate for bit. Or perhaps, something more to your liking...

[CP] - What is it?

[Doc] Walks closer to Cp. Wanting a good at their face when the question they've been holding at bay for so long finally, finally, falls from hir lips. - Spar with me? I could use some hand to hand practice. I feel like we've come far enough that it might be safe to ask.

[CP] - You what?

[Doc] Smiles- You know I'm fast, but not particularly good with any given weapon. Maybe it's best if I just work on punches and kicks?

[CP] - Don't you have the punching bag for that?

[Doc] The punching bag doesn't have hands to block and can't get out of the way.

[CP] Sighs- Fine, whatever, let's just get this over with- He heads out into the hot sand, just waiting to watch Doc fail

[Doc] Squares up gamely against the bigger brine and takes a massive roundhouse that's almost too fast to see. They get up and try again, this time using their speed to punch at some unprotected spots. It's hard and xe has to move insanely fast to keep Cp from getting a grip on hir.

[CP] Just looks bored- I know you can move faster

[Doc] As a dragon yes, it's a little harder when I'm on two feet and not flying! - Gets grabbed and tossed in the sand again. They try a kick only to have their foot deflected and be thrown off balance. They push themselves to move faster, trying to strike at Cp's chin and knees.

[CP] - You are pathetic, I'm not even trying... I'm too tired too...

[Doc] Sweating and a bit tired hirself- I'm doing my best! - Their hands are flying as Cp's strikes and deflects their blows. They go for a sweep and Cp just vanishes and reappears behind them before shoving them in the sand again. - Dammit!

[CP] - How's that sand tasting?

[Doc] I asked you for help. Did you make fun of Stevie when you taught him? I wasn't lucky enough to have a sibling to even try with me.

[CP] - Stevie was before I became what I am... But afterwards I absolutely did talk to him like this

[Doc] Huffs and tries again, just a blur in the sunshine as they dart around the much larger Herobrine, just trying to get one good punch in at least-

[CP] Just vanishes-

[Doc] Quickly scoots into the shade so their back is to the wall of the shrine-

[CP] Appears floating above Doc- You're open

[Doc] Gasps and vanishes straight down into the sand-

[CP] Just rolls his eyes- Scared much?

[Doc] Climbs back out of the ground a short distance away. - Okay, I give. Are you happy? You just startled me.

[CP] - You still have a lot of work to do

[Doc] I know... Are you willing to help?

[CP] - Depends on if I have time

[Doc] Better then nothing I suppose. And you didn't kill me this time. So that makes me feel a lot better about things in general. - They pull out a bucket of water and splash themselves a little before shaking off the cold droplets-

[CP] - Are we done here?

[Doc] Well I was going to run an errand, and if you joined me, I'm sure it would take way less time then if I go alone.

[CP] - What kind of errand?

[Doc] I'm going to go steal a small item from a different game.

[CP] - What kind of item?

[Doc] It's a very small, but very special gun. It looks pretty normal at first glance. I thought I'd give it to Licht to replace the one you broke.

[CP] - So we get to annoy her?

[Doc] Putting hir coat back on- I don't know? But the game has guards you can beat up.

[CP] - ... Fine

[Doc] Great! Shall we? - Makes a gracious gesture-

[CP] - Lead the way

[Doc] Makes a hole out into the void and waits for him to follow before leading them to a series of nodes- not much to pick from as far as players, just a few nostalgia junkies taking a walk down memory lane... lets see... ah! Perfect! Someone on easy difficulty and still in the first few levels. We're going to come in from high up, I know it doesn't matter so much for you, but fair warning. - They make a hole and shift as they jump into it-

[CP] Activates his flight abilities-

[Doc] Does a tight turn to catch him if needed. The sky is bright blue with smears of pixelly clouds and the jungle beneath them is dense and low poly. A military helicopter is quickly speeding away from them as well.

[CP] - So where are the guards I get to beat up?

[Doc] Down there. There's a - does the quotes thing with hir claws- 'secret' base over there.

[CP] - Explode it?

[Doc] Well no... lets get down there at least so I don't have to yell. - Xe heads for a fairly clear spot near a stream and shifts back to hirself as hir boots touch the ground.

[CP] Follows and lands quietly-

[Doc] Okay, there's two ways to do this and I think I already know which you'd prefer. The first involves catching/killing all 28 animal types in the game, and collecting specimins of the 11 plant types, and getting 8 different random collectable items..... or - they're sensing Cp's annoyance- we can mug the main player character.

[CP] - Let's do that

[Doc] I thought so. So we just have to find a camoflaged guy in this mess and beat him up. There are also patroling guards with automatic weapons.

[CP] - He won't be camouflaged if everything is on fire

[Doc] Looks around- I guess? I don't want to destroy the item I'm trying to get too though. If you despawn the player entirely we'll have to find another node or hope they make a second attempt to play right away.

[CP] - Yeah yeah, whatever- His hands are now on fire and he places them on a tree

[Doc] Yikes... Is this one of those psychological need situations?

[CP] - Probably

[Doc] Okay then... You know how to track people right? Wouldn't that be more productive?

[CP] - This will flush them out faster

[Doc] -blink blink- They scramble around a bit looking for anything useful before Cp sets it all on fire -

-There's a weird noise and three guards run towards them with guns and cock to fir. They're very low poly with blurry faces-

[CP] Just punches them and then continues setting things on fire, searching for the player-

[Doc] Goes to move and then freezes before staggering forward- Cp! Stop with the fire! You're making everything lag!

[CP] Just laughs- Really? You're getting effected by THAT!?

[Doc] Yes! It's annoying as fuck! Cut it out!

-The fire spreads to a tree and disturbs a hornet nest, the angry little bugs go for Cp because he's closer-

[CP] - Oh fine!- He does set the hornets on fire though

[Doc] There! I see someone who looks different!

-A figure suddenly makes a break for it. His gear is camo but he's wearing a hat that looks like an alligator head and a big backpack.

[CP] Lunges at him, not effected by the lag and tackles him to the ground-

-Lots of squirming-

[Doc] Steal his backpack!

[CP] Rips the bag off his back-

[Player] Runs for it, or at least tries too as the lag from the fire slows him down-

[CP] Looks through the bag-

-There are a few strange looking plants, a packet of instant noodles, and a very small gun.

[Doc] Is it in there?

[CP] Pulls out the gun- Is this what we're looking for?

[Doc] That's it! It's the EZ gun.

[CP] Tosses it at Doc-

[Doc] Catches it neatly. - Bring the whole bag, it might be useful. Other then that, we can go. I'm starting to feel like toast anyway.

[CP] - Alright, do I need to make the portal back?

[Doc] Nope, I got it. - They stow the gun and hop up into the air with a little rumbly roar, making a portal back into the darkness without-

[CP] Follows quickly-

[Doc] Takes the bag from him with two claws and puts it away as well. Xe busks up against his shoulder in a friendly way. - Thanks for coming with me Cp.

[CP] - Whatever

[Locklear] Is in Yster's kitchen preparing food. He's got two fine steaks sizzling away on the stove as he chops up some vegetables to steam. He's borrowed one of Yster's hair ties and has his own hair pulled back as he works. He knows Yster had overtime today so he hopes he's timed dinner right-

[Yster] rolls in like she hasn't slept in days and stops short at the delicious smells- oh thank goodness. That's exactly what I need right now! - she gives Locklear a little kiss- you look good with a ponytail too. Very dapper.

[Locklear] Smiles a little- Go take your shower, the food should be just done by the time you get out

[Yster] Gets a wry smile and does a quick manuver before artfully pulling her bra off and through one of her sleeves. It's red and she flips it over one shoulder before scampering off mischeviously.

[Locklear] Watches her with a bit of amusement. He returns his focus to the food and starts plating it up, slicing the steaks artfully and arranging everything nicely before putting the plates on the table and letting his hair out of the ponytail-

[Yster] Comes back more comfortably dressed, just a nice pale violet T-shirt and small shorts. [She's still braless though]. She slides into a chair and sighs. - This looks wonderful. Did you get bored waiting for me?

[Locklear] - No, I did have to return to the manor briefly because Eyeless wanted a second opinion on something and I spent a bit of time shopping for dinner. I figured since you've been working so hard, you could use a good meal with no effort from you

[Yster] Eats dantily. - It's appreciated, absolutly. So was it anything interesting? Or do I not want to know?

[Locklear] He wanted a confirmation that one of his potential victims had a certain, genetic disorder

[Yster] Slightly troubled - That's a shame on several levels I suppose... I presume your bretheren aren't as choosy with whether their victims deserve their fates?

[Locklear] - No, unfortunately

[Yster] Does Eyeless have a mate?

[Locklear] - No, the only ones that have their mates are Judge Angel and Bloody Painter, Herobrine and his mate, BEN and his, and now you and I... Although I suppose technically Jeff counts as well, but his isn't as... Smooth as ours

[Yster] Well hopefully he'll find someone who might be a good influence on him like Lie has for Cp.

[Locklear] - Who knows, right now he's just usually angry

[Yster] Noms some vegetables - This is really good. Why is he angry?

[Locklear] - His digestive tract got messed up when Insanity was removed apparently. Makes it more difficult for him to eat what he's used to

[Yster] Oh dear... Does Doc already know? I'm suprised they haven't tried to fix it.

[Locklear] - They did try, I'm sure they can tell you much more accurate information than I can

[Yster] Ah... - She eats quietly, obviously considering something.

[Locklear] - What are you thinking of?

[Yster] Work actually. This damn mob that Jeb came up with is driving us all crazy.

[Locklear] - What is it?

[Yster] It's a flying thing that looks like a manta ray. But it's causing all kinds of stupid errors. It's an ongoing problem with flying mobs.

[Locklear] - I see, perhaps you should stay home tomorrow, you've been exhausted for days now

[Yster] No, they need my help. Everyone is in on this. The deadline is coming up too. We got the bats to stop hanging around the build limit and causing lag, we can figure this out.

[Locklear] - You could say it's doctors orders~

[Yster] -eyebrow- You could always ask Cp to help out. That might speed things up.

[Locklear] - He's busy enough as is with his wife being pregnant, but I'm talking about you love

[Yster] What about me? So I'm a bit tired? That's nothing some coffee couldn't fix.

[Locklear] - I just want you to be healthy

[Yster] Don't be such a worrywart. I'll be fine.

[Locklear] - And what if I make it so you can't even walk tomorrow from being weak in the knees?

[Yster] That's quite a claim... - She takes a dainty bite of steak and licks a bit of reddish juice from her lips.

[Locklear] - But if you don't wish to listen to the doctor...

[Yster] wryly- You're a bad influence.

[Locklear] - I am the most perfect example of a good influence

[Yster] Tiny smile- Then you should help. Besides, if you let Cp drag us both in you can examine the new creature if you like.

[Locklear] - You just want to spend days in there without wasting any time out here- Fake pout

[Yster] It's time you could spend with me as well...

[Locklear] - This is true...

[Yster] Cleans up the last morsels of her food while he thinks, and then gives him an expectant smile.

[Locklear] - Stop it

[Yster] We could take a nice walk, little boat ride, picnic someplace secluded...

[Locklear] - You do drive the hardest of bargains my dear

[Yster] Sweetly- And you cook a very good steak.

[Locklear] - Well I would hope so, it did cost me about sixty bucks, but I will always spend everything for you

[Yster] Then I'l be sure to make it up to you. Actually, if you call him now I can get a whole nights sleep in the wink of an eye as well.

[Locklear] Sighs- Very well- He pulls out his cell and dials CP. It isn't long before CP's yelling can be heard

[Yster] Let me get my laptop. - Gets up and goes to her room before coming back with the little computer in a bag.

[Locklear] - Just open a damn way!- He motions for Yster to grab his coat

[Yster] Grins and passes him the coat, his mask pops out of the pocket and she holds it expectantly-

-The laptop crackles to life and a portal opens-

[Yster] Slips through and changes to her MC skin, [monochrome- white skin, black hair and a long black dress] With a smile she puts Locklear's mask on her forehead like a hat.

[Locklear] Comes through as well- I hate coming here... I don't like the feeling of being like this

[Yster] Twirls her dress a little. - Is it really so bad? I already feel better. I had full health last time I played.

[Locklear] - Only for you will I suffer through being here

[Yster] Gives him a very passionate kiss. -Thank you for that. - Looks around curiously - I wonder if Cp literally opened a portal outside and then went back into the bar?

[Locklear] - Wouldn't surprise me

[Yster] Well lets go then silly! - She takes his hand and leads him into the bar-

[TLOT] waves brightly- Hey Yster!

[GK] Gives a little salute-

[CP] - Fuck off!- He's got a bottle of whiskey in front of him

[Locklear] - As elegant as always I see

[TLOT] It's a bit of an impromptu 'guys' party.

[Yster] Then my intentions are even more in line with the situation. Cp can't help me code drunk anyway. I'll just excuse myself for a little bit. - She heads towards the crash room- Please don't get my sweetheart painfully drunk again Cp.

[CP] - I'm not drunk yet and I absolutely will get him drunk

[TLOT] Be nice Cp. Besides, I got a sobering flower from Lie for emergencies.

[Locklear] - A... Sobering flower?

[Gk] It's fucking gross but wicked effective.

[TLOT] Flourishes the little curled up blossom long enough for Locklear to get a good look and then puts it away so Cp has no chance to destroy it.

[Sam] Just relaxed and leaning on the bar in case anyone wants anything.

[Locklear] - I'm not even going to question that at the moment- He takes a seat- So what is this gathering about?

[Gk] Our man here didn't get to party before he got hitched. So we decided to take him drinking at least before Lie has the baby.

[Locklear] - Ah, so your nearing the due date? How wonderful

[TLOT] Yep. Lie looks ready to pop, we don't think it will be long. I can't even imagine how hectic his house is gonna be.

[Gk] Yeah, the baby dragons were one thing, but this one's gonna have HIS blood.

[TLOT] It's almost a certainty that she'll be born with some kind of small glitch, and... - he blinks-

[CP] - What is it TLOT?

[TLOT] Slow smile. - She won't be the first. But she will be the native to some degree for having been conceived and born here. It should enhance any inherent powers.

[Gk] Whistles- Damn... Good luck buddy.

[CP] Face plants and groans-

[TLOT] Pats him on the shoulder- From what I've felt she'll be healthy, and you'll have your friends to help look after her.

[Gk] This is gonna be fun!

[CP] - I'm just ready for Lie to not be so moody

[Locklear] - Oh you'll be in for worse

[TLOT] Babies cry a lot don't they?

[Gk] Kids get emotional.

[Locklear] - This child will get upset over everything, including their own shadow

[Gk] It's hard being a kid. Everything is scary and new and you have adults constantly telling you you can't do this or that, and you're not mature enough to understand the reasoning behind the rules.

[TLOT] That's suprisingly insightful Gk...

[Gk] Shakes a shot glass at him- Hey, fuck you man. Do you have any idea how many fucking times I've had to completely grow up from scratch in a brand new body???

[TLOT] This is true... I was a child for a very, very brief time, and it was... not plesant.

[Locklear] - I don't really recall much from my childhood. You can thank the asylum for that

[TLOT] Asylum? I thought that had something to do with asking someone to protect you from someone else?

[Gk] Fetches Locklear a moderately strong drink- that's rough man...

[Locklear] Scoffs- Protection indeed, IF you mean protecting the rest of society from those deemed criminally insane. Which is what they called me for saving the life of a child

[CP] - Well to be fair you did murder a lot of people to save that child

[Locklear] - Those I killed deserved it

[TLOT] Little cough - I take it the ones sacrificed had displeased you in some way?

[Locklear] - They were the worst the human race had to offer, rapists, murderers, and low life thieves

[TLOT] Takes a swig of his drink and flicks his gaze to Cp. - I see.

[Gk] Fuck em then. I was ready to kill my Steve to get my real body back. I ain't judging you.

[TLOT] Curiously you seem to have won Doc over to an extent as well. They can be morally peculiar at times.

[Locklear] - Indeed, I still hunt those types to benefit the lives of children. I take their organs and deliver them to the children which need them

[Gk] Snorts- I got a little sis and I'd roast anyone who hurt Endrea's kids. I get it man.

[TLOT] I'm nervous about anyone passing final judgment on others, but... that also means I'm loathe to do it myself either.

[Locklear] Lifts his drink in a slight salute before taking a sip-

[CP] Finishes his bottle and motions for another-

[Sam] Obliges with his usual grin-

[TLOT] Raises a glass to him as well. - Good to see the relationship seems to be working out. She's rather fond of you.

[Locklear] - Yes, but she's been so stressed lately. That's why she wants CP's help, to finish something a bit faster and get it over with

[CP] Downs about half a bottle- So why is it that you guys give Locklear a pass on killing but not me?

[TLOT] Slowly - Yeeeesssss..... for the most part.

[Gk] That and the fact that he's real. What the fuck could either of us do? Scold him?

[CP] - Doesn't mean I couldn't harass him

[Locklear] - You interrupt my work and you'll find no internet at the manor

[TLOT] That just reinforces my point. Besides... he is kinda killing assholes to save innocent little kids...

[CP] - And making a crap ton of money from it

[TLOT] I would hope the money wasn't the motivating factor?

[Locklear] - Well it's certainly helpful

[TLOT] Just takes a slightly larger drink.

[CP] Is checking on Lie mentally-

[TLOT] Pokes him- Stop that! You know she's fine.

[CP] - I can't help it!

[Locklear] - Checking on your little wife?

[CP] - You can shut up

[Gk] Snorts-

[TLOT] It's a little annoying at the moment, but mostly I'm just proud of you. I think you're gonna be a great dad.

[CP] Twitches a little at being called a dad-

[TLOT] I saw that. I mean it.

[Gk] This is gonna be fun...

[CP] - Shut up, both of you

[Locklear] - Ah yes, the daddy issues that he has

[TLOT] You say that in such a dismissive way. As if it were something trivial?

[Locklear] There was a bit of a game at the manor as to how angry we could get him, fastest way was to bring up his father

[TLOT] Hesitates- I was about to say 'that's not very nice' but then... it seems to be a running thing with everyone but Splender. I much prefer a calm household, where everyone makes an attempt to get along rather then infuriate eachother.

[Locklear] - I tend to keep to myself

[Gk] Works for me. Though I usually end up napping in the library since my house is so small. Can't be fucked to work on it since I'm hardly ever home.

[Locklear] - How small is your house if it's not comfortable for you to nap in?

[Gk] It's about the side of this room, no space for mah wings, yanno?

[Locklear] - Wings?

[CP] - He's a dragon

[TLOT] A rather large dragon at that. With tentacled wings and goat feet, curly horns and a tongue as long as your arm.

[Gk] Laughs-

[Locklear] - I see- He drinks some more

[CP] - Damnit, Sam, just give me the strong shit

[Sam] Brings the polish vodka with a little flourish and sets the small clear bottle innocently on the table.

[TLOT] Makes a quick copy just in case.

[Locklear] - And what is that?

[Gk] Says slightly reverently- Spirytus Rektyfikowany, it's 95% proof and burns like a punch to the gut.

[CP] - Only to you guys- Takes a swig

[Locklear] - So don't let him give it to me, understood

[Gk] I'm suprised it's even considered drinkable by humans.

[TLOT] It's too much. I feel like it doesn't even have a flavor. It's like drinking a mixture of lava and hot peppers.

[CP] - Wimps- He's starting to sway a little

[TLOT] Hey, I did find something nearly as strong that I like. It's better with a mixer though...

[CP] - Oh really?

[TLOT] Yep. Notch brought it from that trip he took out with you Lie and Flux. Sam, can I have the bottle? And some tea?

[Locklear] Watches carefully-

[Sam] Nods and comes back with a small brown bottle and a mug of tea-

[TLOT] Thank you. - He squints at the label. - Not sure how you say it, Stroh? It's apparently distilled from something like the Mooselassas my Testificates got from one of the variant touchie hives.

[Gk] Lemmie see- He takes the bottle and has a small swig before coughing a small whuff of flames- nice!

[CP] - Can I go back to my wife now?

[Locklear] - We still need your help with the coding...

[TLOT] Splashes some of the Stroh in his tea and warms his hands with it before taking a drink. - You want to try it cut a bit Locklear? I presume you don't have a huge tolerance like Cp.

[Locklear] - No, Yster would prefer I not be held up with a hangover again

[TLOT] Well there's always the flower if you change your mind. So what are you intending to do?

[Locklear] - Yster says they're having difficulty with a new mob

[Gk] What kind of mob?

[TLOT] Something new? Hostile or passive?

[Locklear] - Some sort of flying creature, I'm not sure if it will be hostile or not

[TLOT] And you weren't gonna take Doc??? I'm sure this is right up their ravine. -He sends out a mental message-

[Locklear] - I was not aware they would wish to come

[CP] - Take Doc instead

[TLOT] If it's a new mob, pretty sure they'd want to see it. Best to be prepared before updating the server to include new creatures. Annnnd.... they're headed this way.

-CP is getting drunker-

[Locklear] Finishes his drink- There's no rush

[TLOT] Smiles - They're just excited. Doc likes to examine new things. Do you think it'll be a monster or a sim of something out there?

[Locklear] - She said it would be similar to a manta ray, but those live in water...

[Gk] Weird.... welp, if they bug me when I'm flying, I'm gonna eat em.

[CP] - Endrea woulsh probably help you

[TLOT] For whatever reason I'm reminded of Pinwheel chasing my flitters....

[CP] Is just drunkenly mumbling now-

[Locklear] - My, it's not often that CP is like this

[Gk] Told you that shit was strong. Heh. Too bad his brother isn't here to join him.

[TLOT] That was adorable...

[CP] - Shush, no it washn't

[Locklear] - Brother?

[TLOT] He has a little brother. They're usually snippy with eachother, but if you get them both drunk they'll bond and reminicse.

[Gk] Stevie.

[Locklear] - How interesting

[Gk] Stevies a dork. Same as Steffan. He's just a bit luckier with the ladies.

[Locklear] - I see, and this Steffan is?

[TLOT] His Steve. And equally short. And- he pauses and smiles broadly- Doc is coming, and they brought someone somewhat relevant to your query.

-There's the sound of big paws hitting the turf outside and a soft laugh as TLOT stands in a wobbly way. After a moment the door opens and Doc comes in followed by Steve.

[Steve] Hops the booth behind them and leans way over to kiss his husband before licking his lips- Out for a night of drunken debuchery?

[TLOT] Perhaps later my lamb...

[GK] Thumbs at them- That's a Steve. We've got several.

[Doc] Hey Locklear, nice to see you joining us for a bit.

[Locklear] - I don't understand the significance of that, and greetings

[Gk] Steve is shorthand for this kind of human. They all look kinda the same.

[Steve] Mock offended - Hey!

[Locklear] - Ah, I see

[Lie] Mentally- Is CP drunk? He's trying to connect and it's just fuzzy

[TLOT] mentally- I'm sure he's trying Lie- And aloud- I can make it more clear. - He nods at his mate and they both remove their helms. The fact that they're nearly identical is much more obvious in the way. - If you looked at Cp and Stevie or Gk in his human shape and Steffan, it would be much the same. Except that Cp is brother to his, Gk is neighbor to his and mine is my loving mate.

[Steve] Smiles sweetly.

[Locklear] - How interesting. But the brine almost always matches the Steve?

[TLOT] It's the other way around actually. Steves are a common spawn, we Herobrines are a slightly glitched version of them.

[Doc] Sometimes! It's possible to become a brine too if you're digital. When a Herobrine spawns a NOTCH is also formed. So I've got a NOTCH, but no Steve.

[TLOT] And as for Cps, daddy issues, it's not his fault that another NOTCH battled his original one and then took their place. Most NOTCHs look pretty much alike.

[Locklear] - So there were multiple versions of his father? [CP] - I'd rather not talk about the asshole...- He looks down at the table

[Doc] They can vary a lot in temperment, but from a visual standpoint? Yes. Old gen NOTCHs are very uniform. The new ones have more variety.

[Gk] Lie's NOTCH is a little kid.

[Steve] Doc's is a huge muscly guy who's a little bigger then Cp!

[CP] - Fuck him with a rusty sword. He's way to happy

[Steve] Don't be like that Cp. He kinda wanted to come and we asked him not too since you hate him so much. As far as I know he's never had alcohol.

[Doc] He might refuse it just because it's unhealthy...

[CP] - Now that might be entertaining

[TLOT] I'll make a note then. Maybe for next time.

[CP] Wobbily stands up- I'm goin bacsh, too Lie...

[TLOT] If you try to leave I'm going to sober you up. Lie is fine. Your dad is keeping an eye on her.

[CP] - I'ds like to shee you try

[Locklear] - His father?

[Doc] The real Notch adopted him and his brother. He used to be real, now he's digital too. He's a nice guy. He's also dating Cp's sorta mom, Flux. She's the spirit of his orginal spawn server.

[TLOT] -sighs-

[Locklear] - That... Seems like a complicated situation

[Gk] Family is always complicated. Settle down big guy. No need to go upsetting Lie by being drunk and sloppy around her.

[CP] Growls at GK-

[Gk] Shows his own little teeth and then laughs -

[Yster] Comes back upstairs practically bouncing on her heels- That was perfect. I feel great!

[Doc] Oh, hey Yster. I heard you had something to show us?

[Locklear] Smiles at Yster a little-

[Yster] Yeah, but we'll have to go the the snapshot seed on my computer so I can get a spawn egg.

[Doc] Probably better to troubleshoot on an empty seed anyway....

[Locklear] - Spawn egg?

[Doc] Yep. If you want to have an animal and they're aren't any around, you can take an egg out of the creative menu and just make one. I think I have a mouse egg...? - They pull out the small speckled egg. - If I let it loose can you get it TLOT?

[TLOT] Mock offended. - I'm not the only cat here.

[Doc] Snorts- But you are the one who can change without help.

[TLOT] Yeah yeah, go for it.

[Doc] Taps the egg on the bar and a tiny mouse pops out and makes a break for it.

[Locklear] - Interesting. I used to keep a small mouse as a pet a very long time ago

[TLOT] Is just suddenly gone in a puff of fog and a small golden cat races out from under the booth and goes after the mouse.

[Sam] Is standing protectively in front of the bottles on the back of the bar-

[Doc] Do you want an egg? They do work out there. It won't age or die on you either.

[TLOT] Chases the mouse around the pool table.

[Yster] Is giggling-

[Locklear] - Not necessary, someone on the manor would probably harm it

[TLOT] Tears into the bathroom after the mouse and theres a tiny eek! as it despawns and a thump as he slides on the tile and bumps into the mirror on the back wall.

[CP] See's his chance to try and get away-

[Steve] Nervously gets in his way- Come on Cp, stay here.

[CP] - Move

[TLOT] Is behind him in a flash and puts a gentle hand on his wrist. - Are we done for the night Cp?

[CP] - Goin home

[TLOT] Pulls a petal off the sobering flower and tries to put it in his open mouth as he's speaking.

[CP] Jerks upwards and out of reach- No

[TLOT] Straining to reach since he's shorter. - Don't be a pill Cp.

[CP] - Fuck off

[TLOT] Do I have to press you?

[CP] - No

[TLOT] Then just take it.

[CP] - No

[Doc] Snags a petal as well and makes a very fast movement to stuff it in his mouth.

[CP] Tries to get out of the way-

[Steve] Quickly gets behind Cp on the floor and crouches down-

[TLOT] Gives Cp a push from the front-

[CP] Stumbles backwards over Steve-

[Doc] Jumps on his chest and stuffs the petal in his mouth-

[CP] Balks at the taste but does sober- FUCKER!

[Doc] Gets off him quickly- Well the alternative was poor Lie watching you barf about an hour from now.

[CP] Goes to punch Doc-

[Locklear] - And he's back to his usual violent self

[Doc] Is punched and ends up falling on Yster-

[Yster] Also ends up on the floor-

[Doc] Ow... Sorry Yster...

[Locklear] - Yster!

[Yster] Its okay. It wasn't even a tick on my hearts. You're lighter then I expected too. Is that normal?

[Locklear] - So long as you're alright

[Doc] Sometimes... I take bits out to work on them occasionally.

[Yster] That's odd... and I'm fine!

[CP] - I fucking hate all of you!

[Doc] We love you anyway Cp.

[CP] - Oh just fuck off

[TLOT] grins- Brother brines for life

[CP] Groans-

[Gk] Huzzah and some shit.

[CP] - Oh for fucks sake just shut up

[Doc] Well I'm ready to go when you guys are.

[Yster] Oh... Is there something I can plug my laptop into? The charge is lower then I thought.

[CP] - We don't need the laptop

[Doc] Give me a minute, I'll rig something up.

[Yster] But the seed is on it? The snapshot I'm editing.

[CP] - Which I can access from anywhere

[TLOT] Now who's showing off?

[CP] Flips TLOT off-

[Yster] Opens the laptop and puts it on the table.

[CP] Focus' a little and creates an opening next to him, not even remotely close to the laptop- Well? Do you want to go?

[Yster] You bet! Nice one Cp.

[Doc] Yeah, good job. You first.

[CP] Walks through- Fine, but this better be a quick trip

[Locklear] Stands and approaches Yster to walk through with her

[Doc] Snags the bottle of Stroh and follows -

-The seed is pretty empty and they come out on a narrow beach with a bunch of different contraptions scattered around. Someone obviously testing intereactions between different types of blocks.

[Yster] Scouts around until she finds a trunk with a torch next to it. -

[CP] - Ugh, I hate test seeds

[Doc] Is examining some of the devices- Any particular reason?

[CP] - To much unstable coding

[Locklear] See's that his mask is still on Yster's head and slides it down, the goggles set into them do contain night vision abilities-

[Yster] Hey... oh! That's neat!!! I didn't know it could do that.

[Locklear] - Makes stalking easier

[CP] Pulls up the code- Alright, what am I looking for?

[Yster] I've got it here- She holds up a checkered egg- We're still debating on the texture for the egg so this is just temporary. When I tap it, it's gonna fly, so you'll have to grab it. - She hits the egg and taps it twice accidently and one speeds upwards to fast to be grabbed.

[CP] Grabs one of them and draws up a copy of it's coding-

[Phantom] Flops around making garbled noises that are almost understandable to Cp-

[Doc] That's wild! - They're trying to get screenshots of the thing as it tries to get away from Cp-

[CP] - Do you have some sort of language program attached?

[Yster] No? They're just a type of undead mob.

[CP] - Hey Doc? Go grab Winston

[Doc] Sure, I'll just...- Their statement is cut off as the other phantom swoops down like an angry magpie and bites at Doc- OW SONOFA-

[CP] Snickers-

[Yster] Shit! When was the last time you slept?

[Doc] A few days? FUCK- dodging swoops-

[CP] - Is that important?

[Doc] Makes a hole and jumps through- I'll get Winston!

[Yster] Yes... they target players who haven't slept...

[CP] Just starts laughing- Oh that's going to become Doc's bane!

[Yster] I take it they pull a lot of all-nighters?

[Phantom] In Cp's hands- suddenly stops flopping and goes stiff in a T-pose.

[CP] - Well that's not right...

[Locklear] Is just keeping an eye out-

[Yster] Yeah! That's one thing. They get hung up on something and just... get stuck. They're also clipping into the extreme hills terrain. They're spazzing out over the boundries of different biomes too. Like they can't cross the edges?

[CP] Is scrutinizing the code- I can see the t-pose problem right here, give me a sec

[Doc] Comes back with a shield and Winston. They immediately hold it up like an umbrella.

[Winston] - Master? What do you need me for?

[CP] - Translation, this thing is trying to talk

[Doc] Is nearly knocked over by the second phantom as it thunks directly into the shield- Ha!

[Winston] Watches it- A new flying mob?

[CP] -Yeah- He fixes the T-pose problem and the one in his hand comes back to life

[Phantom] Is kind of muttering, it's mostly garbage but a bit is understandable- Fly high, bite deep! Seek the ones who run from sleep!

[Winston] - Riddles sir

[CP] - Let me hear

[Doc] Gets bonked again- This thing is annoying.

[Yster] Hello again Winston. You're looking artfully unwell. Sorry. It's supposed to be a challenge.

[CP] - It wants to bite those who run from sleep

[Yster] Well it's got the primary objective down then. They actually spawn above players who've been awake three days or more, rather then randomly like the other mobs.

[CP] - Found the chunk border error

[Doc] Ducks and transforms instead, snapping at the mob like a cat- Pest!

[Locklear] - They seem to really like you Doctor

[Doc] I haven't slept in some time! - They snap out suddenly and there's a pop as the phantom takes damage and despawns- PTU! YUCK. - They spit a small item at Ysters feet- That's nasty!

[Yster] It actually tastes like something???

[CP] - Everything does

[Phantom] Still flopping in Cp's hands a little- Fly! Fly! BITE!

[Doc] Tastes like greasy leather...

[Yster] Well it's not intentional.

[Winston] Finishes helping CP translate and he's updated his translation code-

[Yster] So what do you think? I'd consider you an expert.

[Doc] Has set up a command block and put the tip of the phantoms tail on it to examine it's internals.

[CP] - I'll need to give that to Lie

[Locklear] Tugs Yster out of the way of an arrow- CP? I think there are a few more pressing issues?

[CP] - Winston?

[Winston] - Yes sir- He goes to take care of it

[Doc] Hears an odd gurgly groan and looks back- There's a zombie in the water. Like underwater. Are they broken too?

[Yster] No, they're Drowned. They're kinda new. Have you not updated your server lately?

[Doc] Colors somewhat- Not in quite some time....

[CP] - Shit happens when we do

[Yster] Old server huh? Things bug out. The Aquatic update is rough on old seeds since we fixed the water physics.

[Doc] Fuuuuuck.

[CP] - We know how to fix stuff

[Doc] Nabs a Drowned zombie with one big paw and plops it next to Winston- Does this one have anything to say Winston?

[Drowned] Vaguely pirate-y nonsense.

[Winston] - Not much really, but these are new mobs, their sense of language could be only just developing

[Drowned] Pokes at Doc's foot with a pitchfork and gets shoved back a bit-

[Doc] Good point.

[Yster] Watching Cp work- Her thoughts are a bit plain, she's also wondering if Locklear would get any mileage from keeping the other mobs at bay, since he can just kill them.

[CP] - Looks like they have a problem over water too

[Yster] I know! It's annoying!- Pulls a bow out of the chest and takes careful aim before quickly putting three arrows in a creeper-

[Locklear] - That is an odd creature...

[Doc] They blow up if you let them get too close-

[Phantom] Swats at Cp with it's huge floppy wings- Let gooooooooo.

[CP] - Just a bit longer, I'm fixing you

[Phantom] !!!!!!

[Doc] Shoves the drowned zombie back in the water as it pokes hir again- I'll take that. - Xe sticks the pitchfork in the ground near Locklear.

[CP] - Oi! Anything else you want fixed?

[Yster] There's some little things,but I don't want to be a pest. Like the stupid Vindicators attacking armor stands, and the observer blocks are a complete mess.

[Doc] What's a Vindicator?

[Yster] Oh dear...

[CP] Shrugs and lets go of the Phantom-

[Phantom] Flops crazily and flops to get airborne again-

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degurechaff-tanya · 7 years

Text

“Shields Down” A Youjo Senki Fanfic

Okay, so I wrote a fanfic! The first chapter is under the read more cut. I was inspired to write the story after this drawing by @kawacy took my breath away. I got so excited that I immediately started writing.

So, the summary: Ten years into the future, the 203rd Air Mage battalion has kept World War 1 going, and the Empire just won’t fall. Things get complicated, however, when the Entente Alliance decides that they must get rid of the Central Powers’ ace, Major Tanya von Degurechaff. Conflict leads to conflict, leads to conflict, leads to conflict. And what’s going on between Degurechaff and Serebryakov, anyway...? They’re getting closer, it seems...

Misc. notes: - This is based off of what the anime has so far explained. I haven’t read much of the manga yet. - If you liked this fic, feel free to drop a like, or reblog it and share with others!

Chapter 1: Preordained

“I must say, Major Degurechaff, that you’ve substantially turned the tides of the war over the course of your career.” Colonel Hans von Zettour paced behind his office desk as Tanya stood by.

“Thank you, sir,” she nodded. “I couldn’t have done it without the men and women of my battalion.”

“Of course not. But we certainly couldn’t have gotten this far without your astounding military prowess. If you hadn’t earned that Silver Wings Assault badge so long ago, we wouldn’t have recognized your ability. And without you being deployed to the Rhine, and then later forming your mage battalion, we would’ve had a quick defeat. Strategists were predicting that we’d have to surrender after four or five years. But alas! We’re coming up on ten, and it has no sign of stopping.”

“Have you called me here to discuss an end to the war, sir?”

He shook his head. “No. I believe the it will eventually diffuse on its own, but we have to give the Entente Alliance enough time for their motivation to die out. You’re unstoppable, major. Your battalion will disintegrate any hope they have of winning. As long as we keep the confidence of our citizens strong and our allies hopeful, there will be treaties coming through every mailbox, telegraph, and radio transmission of the Empire… in due time.”

Tanya smirked. “Well then, if you don’t mind me asking, why have I been summoned?”

“We’d like to award medals to several of your soldiers for the bravery and patriotism they’ve represented. I’d certainly give you one as well, but you’ve already earned the highest honor that the Empire has to give.”

Her assault badge gleamed cheerily by the light of the oil lamps.

“The only thing we need is for you to approve of the nominations.”

Tanya gave a nod and waited for him to continue.

Zettour paused in his pacing and set a hand down on the back of his desk chair. “But first, I’m interested to see if our opinions line up. Who would you say deserves recognition the most?”

“Lieutenant Victoriya Serebryakov. Easily.”

“Oh, is that so? I didn’t have her on my list at all. I was thinking of Schwarzkopf, or K--”

“Serebryakov is the most deserving soldier I’ve ever known,” Tanya replied quickly. “I don’t only say it because I know her well. In fact, I would never nominate a soldier subjectively. She’s simply the most improved, most patriotic, most determined and most passionate soldier that I’ve met.”

“Really? Despite her original homeland being the Russy Federation?”

“If anything, that’s more reason to be recognized. Her spirit is greater than most soldiers I’ve known who were born in the fatherland. She’s accepted it as her one and true identity, and I believe that’s admirable.”

Zettour was silent for a moment. His lips tugged upward at a small smile. “Very well then. I’ll allow the committee to consider it.”

-XXX-

It was a bleak June morning when Tanya led her battalion back out to the sky. There were no current orders to ambush, capture, or burn anything. Today was a routine border defense tactic that they’d all done a thousand times.

“Commander, we have an incoming mage company from the west,” Victoriya reported, lowering a pair of binoculars.

Tanya scoffed. “That’s fine. Usual routine, everyone. We’ll--”

“Oh, wait, another is incoming from the east!” Victoriya turned herself slowly, surveying all directions. “I see another in the northwest, about 900 meters away. This doesn’t feel like a usual invasion…”

The major cocked her gun. “No, it appears to be a direct assault against the battalion.”

“You know why this is happening, right?” One of the soldiers turned to Tanya. The look of panic on his face sent an uneasy feeling down her spine. “You’ve been the greatest threat to the Entente Alliance’s victory ever since this war began. They must have decided--”

“--That if I’m dead, they have a shot at victory again.” A laugh escaped her throat on the last word. “That’s the most obvious thing I’ve heard all year. But it’s another obvious fact that the 203rd Air Mage Battalion doesn’t fall to Republicans.”

Victoria smiled a bit when she heard that, bringing a fresh air of determination to her face.

All of a sudden, there was a horizontal rain of gunfire. The battalion seemed to be stuck right in the middle of a deadly crossroads of mage companies. Everyone took off into a dance of evasive acrobatics, jumping and flipping through the air. Tanya could faintly hear a man’s scream over the gunfire and looked over to see him holding onto his arm. He was singled out quickly, and two men on equipment that resembled metal skis swooped in on him. As they dispersed, his body fell down through the air.

“Dammit, soldiers! Focus or you’ll be prey to the war!” She took a few enemies out quickly, beginning to notice a rather concerning aspect of this fight. Some of them were on skis, some rode metallic horses, and others were using equipment she’d never even encountered before. This was definitely a team-up mission to decapitate the Empire’s ace mage battalion.

She saw, with rising horror, that her men were being wiped out right from under her command. “Oh lord, please bestow me with-- agh!” A bullet flew straight past her face. How close had it been to…? Her cheek was starting to feel warm with blood, and she cursed herself, realizing the bullet must’ve grazed her skin. “Dammit! For wanting me to pray to you, Being X, you’re making it difficult!”

“Commander!” She heard Victoriya’s scream, and all of a sudden there was a massive force at her back. A man grabbed Tanya from behind and pulled her right into his arms.

“Little fucker...” She could feel his breath on her ear. “I got you good!”

BOOM! His grip loosened, and he fell as Victoriya rushed forward out of seemingly nowhere. The barrel of her gun was smoking.

Tanya gave her a nod of approval and they kept on fighting. She thought her group could handle this, but they seemed to be completely blindsided. It’d been so long since the battalion had seen a true threat like this, and Tanya knew she’d be cursing herself over and over again for letting everyone get so cocky… herself included. But right now, it was time to focus and fight--

Three more of her mages fell. A glance down at the ground revealed that the land was speckled with what could only be body parts: the entrails of the empire. The 203rd Air Mage Battalion was truly becoming prey.

“Serebryakov! Notify HQ that we need backup right now! We’ve been trapped in a wide range assault!”

“Yes ma’am!” Victoriya began yelling into her headset, so Tanya decided that the only thing she could do was find a safe point to say her prayer and charge up with energy. She flew up high, higher, higher still, trying to make sure there would be no interference.

Her body parted the clouds and shot forth into ice air. It was harder to breathe here, so it wasn’t likely she’d be followed. It was even less likely that the enemy’s equipment could handle this altitude anyway.

The distant echoes of gunfire still rang through the air, but everything was still up here. There was usually a great deal of wind when she flew this high, but not today. It was eerily quiet -- as if the wind was waiting for something, holding its breath.

“Oh lord, deliver us from our time of need, and use your gracious power to bring meaning to the lives lost while protecting the fatherland today.” She swiped her hand across the air to reveal a translucent screen of iridescent mechanics, splayed out like a dashboard. She zeroed in on each enemy soldier, locking on for the coming attack. Precision and thoroughness were key here, so as not to hit any of her own mages…

Tanya began to take notice of something rather alarming. Where were all the enemy soldiers?! Only about half of the ones from before were still visible. There plenty more bodies on the ground below than when she’d last checked, but it was too far away to tell which uniforms the bulk of them were wearing.

She sensed something. There were several magical signatures nearby - closer than she would comfortably allow. They were increasing rapidly, and she had a feeling there wouldn’t be time to lock them into her assault. Tanya would have to fire this shot and then turn in time to apprehend whoever was coming at her from behind.

The commander’s decision was officially set when she saw a man aim his gun in Victoriya’s direction. The soldier didn’t seem to have noticed yet, and without fast action it would be too late to save her. Tanya hoisted up her rifle and allowed that burning, familiar sensation to return to her eyes. It didn’t hurt; it felt like a mixture of pure adrenaline and absolute devotion. The strange power brought to her by the one and only damned Being X.

Her rigid fingers pulled the trigger over and over again. The first one took Victoriya out of harm’s way, ripping her attacker into pieces as it exploded on impact. He didn’t even have time to scream. A number of similar, more panicked deaths began to follow suit.

As soon as that was settled, the commander turned, beginning to mutter another prayer. It would be a lot of power to draw at once, but if she truly focused, she might be able to regain her golden-eyed state --

“GOTCHA!”

“Damned girl!”

“Devil of the Rhine, eh? This is the one? I thought she’d be a little more feisty in person--”

With a flash of her bayonet, the man’s arm stiffened around her body. His head rolled right off his shoulders and fell to the ground below, his body following soon after. The other Republican soldiers recoiled in shock, but that wasn’t enough to make Tanya’s escape a whole lot easier. Glancing downward, she noticed that even more mage companies had arrived, and not in uniforms of the Empire. They never seemed to stop coming. All directions -- all countries -- seemed to have their eye on one spoil of war: Major Tanya von Degurechaff herself.

“You touch me one more time with your filthy hands, and I’ll break each and every one of your necks. All of you,” she glared. Even as an adult, twenty-one years of age, she was small compared to these militarymen. It really infuriated her when things came down to brute strength instead of magic. Of course, that only meant she had to show even more confidence in that regard.

“You’re tough, sure, but you’re on your own now. We’ve got you surrounded,” one of them grinned. “The men under your command are dropping like flies, so you really don’t get to be so cocky anymore.”

One of them gave a particularly nasty smirk. “With that pretty young figure of yours, you’re really more suited for other purposes than fighting, anyway. Maybe when we bring you to HQ, that can be put to the test.”

Those were the last words to blow the fuse in Tanya’s head. Her left eyelid twitched.

“Oh Lord, allow me to cleanse this battlefield of its sins and protect the fatherland. I offer you my utmost strength and gratitude.”

“She’s praying for her life!” one laughed.

“Let’s get this over with,” another added. Meanwhile, more and more enemy mage companies were ascending through the sky toward their current location.

Tanya began to plan. If timed right, she could take a considerable amount of them out. Blowing a hole in the enemy’s forces might give the remainder of her battalion a chance to escape.

“Lord, grant my wish and offer me a chance to experience your gracious--” she flew up higher, narrowly avoiding another attempt to grab her-- “blessings.” She could feel the power drawing from her physical energy as it came, but that strange, supernatural heat began to return nonetheless. It was building in her computation jewel and resonating deep within the core of her torso, etching itself miles into her soul and intertwining with every fiber of her being.

Tanya raised her gun just as someone grabbed onto her foot. There was only a fraction of a second to do this, and do it needed to be done right. She was no longer sure if it would save her, but it might still be able to save--

BOOM!

The soldier fell from Tanya’s ankle as Victoriya flew up next to her. This was the second time she’d pulled through and saved her superior. “W-we can still do this,” she panted, “But please hurry, commander!”

Tanya pulled her trigger. A huge explosion, bigger than before, ripped through the sky. Like a downward tsunami, a horrific mass of fire began to wipe out entire mage companies. Nothing in its vertical path survived.

Just as planned, a hole opened up in the enemy’s mass of soldiers as they either fled or fell victim to the flames. “Go go go!!” Tanya yelled, making sure Victoriya was at her flank as they flew on the scorched turbulence of the fire spell. Everyone was a little disoriented, but their fellow empirical mages seemed to understand the plan. They all kicked into top speed and began to retreat.

Despite the stench of charred flesh that burned their nostrils, Tanya could see that plenty of enemies survived. One in particular -- the one who’d made the sick remark about her body -- hadn’t died either. He was hot on her tail, in fact. And the worst part of it all wasn’t that she hadn’t been able to eliminate him in any of her two all-out attacks; it was that she still wasn’t sure if she’d make it out of this whole ambush without becoming his country’s prisoner.

Men everywhere were trying to round her up like a farm animal, but it was just a little bit farther to go… the ground was so close…

So close…

A gasp to her right. Victoriya’s rifle fell from her hand and disappeared into the air below them. Tanya felt specks of fresh blood simultaneously hit the side of her cheek, and she turned her head anxiously to assess the damage.

It had just been her left hand, but now Victoriya was defenseless.

Then, like the snap of a Republican’s fingers, the lieutenant was gone. They were moving through the air so fast that it looked as if Victoriya had disappeared from thin air, and it took a Tanya a moment to understand that someone had grabbed her.

The commander had a fast decision to make. She knew that at this point, she would most likely escape, successfully retreat, and head back to HQ alive and well. Or… she could return a favor that she’d been given twice already today. The salaryman inside of her was absolutely against that idea, but in this very moment, she was feeling more like Tanya Degurechaff. If that was the case, though… was Being X winning? She decided to address that issue after saving Victoriya.

Forsaking what every nerve in her tired body was screaming for her to do, Tanya turned herself around and bolted back into the bloodshed. They had a gun to Victoriya’s head, holding her like a hostage. In hindsight, this had probably been a lure to force Tanya back into the battle, but it wouldn’t have changed her mind about what she had to do.

The commander didn’t really have a plan for this. After expending so much magical energy already, both her body and mind were lethargic. Se knew she wouldn’t be able to draw out any more divine power if she tried, so praying would be of no use. There was only one thing she could do. Tanya held up her gun, aimed, pulled the trigger--

No ammo.

It was two of them this time. One soldier pulled the rifle from her hands, narrowly avoiding another swing from her bayonet, while another pulled her body against his chest and gripped her like a vise. Victoriya called something out, but Tanya didn’t process what it was. She just thrashed against the enemy’s grip. Without her gun, her magic, or her energy… all she had was her power of will. And that alone didn’t suffice.

The man holding her gave a familiar snicker. “Hey again, pretty girl.”

Oh no. The reality of this situation began to dawn on her.

“You set me up for this moment, didn’t you, Being X?”

The military men just laughed and boasted amongst themselves, not hearing her words.

“All of it was for this, wasn’t it? Why else would you really dare to give me access to all of that power…? You didn’t have to drag so many people down with me.”

She could picture him saying something along the lines of, “You’re the one who brought them down with you. If you had just kept faith from the beginning, your precious friend wouldn’t have to die as well.”

“Hey! I have a request,” she called out.

This time, they all turned. Some of the men were still wearing ignorant, triumphant grins, as if they’d just netted a mythological creature.

Tanya pointed to Victoriya. “I know why you want me, but don’t take her. She’s just an average soldier.”

“She’s still our enemy. And none of the enemies get away scot-free,” one replied. “Let’s take ‘em back.”

Everything after that was a blur. The farther they were dragged out of the Empire’s skies, the colder a sensation Tanya began to feel. It was the opposite of the way she felt when her body was charged with magical power. She felt tired, dizzy, and some other things she couldn’t exactly explain. It was enough that her eyes began to roll back into her head as they flew. The last thing she wanted to do was lose consciousness in this man’s arms, but it didn’t happen voluntarily.

Her senses dimmed to a slow blackness as they crossed the border of the Empire.

#chapter 1 is done!#If this has a positive turnout I'll probably post it to FFN too!#youjo senki #saga of tanya the evil #fanfiction #tanya degurechaff #victoriya serebryakov #tanya von degurechaff

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ruffsficstuffplace · 7 years

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The Keeper of the Grove (Part 53)

The army of knight golems thundered towards Weiss, what semblance of chivalry and fairness they were displaying earlier gone as they assembled into a proper fighting force: melee fighters forming a front-line; shooters, crossbowmen, and cannoneers taking firing positions in the back; the giant between them lumbering towards her, its executioner's blade glimmering ominously in the light.

Weiss ran straight for them, dragging Myrtenaster's blade on the floor behind her, both hands on the hilt as her magic surged into it. She swung upwards, and a tsunami of magic rose up from the floor and crashed straight into the army.

Those that didn't collapse on impact were swept away by the tide, flying off to the sides or sent crashing into the knights behind them. Weiss was disappointed they weren't capable of speech, as she would have loved to hear their screams.

The back-line ran away from the wave, and even the giant braced itself, magic and its lighter fellows crashing into and streaming past its ankles.

Weiss laughed as she pulled up her sword. “Is that all you've got?!”

The knights of the front-line threw off or climbed over their fallen comrades, then continued the charge. At the same time, the back-line let loose a hail of bullets, bolts, and blasts, all arcing towards Weiss.

“...”

She braced herself, and formed a barrier around her.

It soon sounded like the Flood had come early, the projectiles crashing into the barrier one after the other like like pouring rain, explosions ringing in her ears like thunder, the translucent shell cloudy and chaotic from all the ripples of energy spreading all over its surface. It took all she had to keep her grip on Myrtenaster, her arms beginning to ache as her magic began to reach its limit.

Suddenly, the rain of projectiles stopped.

Weiss put her sword down, let out a sigh of relief, just as the first of the front-line came charging at her.

The knights were merciless, attacking her from all sides. Weiss dodged the swing of an axe only to get caught in the side by a sword; she dodged a spear thrust, only to get smacked in the side of the head by a hammer. She fell to her stomach on the floor, upon which all of the knights surrounded her and began to literally kick her while she was down.

The weapons were blanks, and they were all pulling their attacks so much every blow felt like being smacked around with foam bats, but somehow, the humiliation hurt worse than the broken bones, internal bleeding, and painful death she would have suffered had they been going all-out with real armaments.

Weiss gritted her teeth, pulled Mytrenaster and her arms underneath her chest, where the knights couldn't try to step on them and pin them to the floor. She closed her eyes, ignored the dull thumps assaulting her from all sides, and concentrated.

“Should I stop the simulation?!” Abner asked, switching his optics to infrared for the knights crowded around her.

A magical geyser erupted, sending the vanguard flying off as Weiss spiraled into the air, smiling and balancing on the toes of one foot.

“Not yet!” she cried triumphantly.

As she began to fall back to the ground, she noticed the titan's fist coming towards her.

Just before it impacted, she had a flash from five years ago, during her final exam at the La Maupin School of Combat Arts in the Nexus. The golem became a holo dummy, a knight just like the one she was fighting, only all of the safeties were off.

Pow!

Weiss flew off, to the far side of the arena.

There was no pain, no blood trickling down her left eye and leaving her half-blind for the rest of the fight, but it stung all the same.

“Goodness gracious!” Abner cried, the knights lowering their weapons as Weiss picked herself back up. “Should I stop the fight?”

“Keep it going!” Weiss barked, as she had that day.

The knights didn't hesitate. The vanguard reformed around the titan, and the back-line launched another hail of projectiles towards her.

Weiss put her off-hand in front of her, frost already already pouring from her fingers, and pointed her runeblade on the floor behind her, tendrils of water spiraling into the tip. It wasn't a jet of pure elemental fire, but it'd have to do.

Swoosh!

She blasted off, skating on a trail of ice that disappeared as soon as her heels slid past it, a determined grin on her face.

The bullets, bolts, and blasts landed and exploded where she was just a moment ago; the melee troops spun their heads as they watched her zoom past them, the shooters adjusted their aim. The titan used its size to run and stand in her way, raising its blade to block the tiny space between its legs.

Weiss gathered power in her sword once more.

Swoosh!

The knights that had tried chase her behind her were blasted with a solid jet of water, getting knocked flat on their backs if they weren't destroyed outright from the pressure. Weiss zoomed between the titan's legs, just before it slammed the hilt of its sword down to the floor.

She looked back over her shoulder, stuck her tongue out at it; she turned back and saw the shooters aiming their repeaters, crossbows, and cannons straight at her, before they fired.

Weiss made a mental note: “Learn how to time taunts better.”

She stepped off the ice, staggered to a stop and braced herself as she held up Myrtenaster and projected another barrier.

CRASH!

Weiss yelped, staggering back from what felt like being hit like a tidal wave. Blanks and holo effects the projectiles may have been, but there was still magic powering them...

… Magic that was all gathered up in her barrier, and only growing as the knights emptied their repeaters and readied another round of bolts and bombs to fire.

Weiss felt her body start to move on its own, like when she had first held Myrtenaster and couldn't let go. She spun herself around on one foot, the barrier disappearing as all that energy surged into the blade, now glowing the brightest it ever had.

The lens of Abner's optics preemptively shrank as he smashed a button on the console, teleporting Penny out of her little bunker and into the control room with him.

A second later, another beam of pure, concentrated magic shot out of her sword and all around the Raucous Room. It cut straight through everything it hit: the vanguard were halved horizontally, some legs still running as their top halves flew off; the row of shooters were utterly annihilated in one smooth stroke; and the titan's ankles were sliced clean off, the golem burying its sword into the ground for support as it fell to its knees.

The beam stopped, Weiss arms fell limp, the tip of her sword clattering noisily on the floor. Her body was shaking, sweat pouring down every inch of her too pale skin, her breath in shallow, laboured pants.

Penny recovered from the teleportation disorientation and looked worriedly at the carnage in the holo feeds. The damaged panels on the walls fell off and were soon replaced. Abner's lens carefully expanded as he put his mouth back to the microphone.

“… Okay…!” he said nervously. “I… I think we should stop now.”

“Yeah…!” Weiss said in between pants, “We… we really should...”

She passed out.

Weiss woke up in a luxuriously soft four-poster bed, like the one back in her old room in Manor Schnee, except in dark oak than spruce, with red velvet curtains and sheets with golden trim. The room was bathed in a low, orange glow as its fireplace crackled.

She felt similar to how she did after a good workout, or a productive day clearing the overgrowth in her farm: exhausted but happy, basking in the glow of her endorphins. Instead of aching limbs, however, she just felt…

… Empty.

“Weiss!” Ruby called out.

Soon enough, she was hugging her, arms wrapped tight around her head as she pulled Weiss' face into her chest. “Oh, Eluna, I am SO glad you're not dead, either! Could you start putting a couple of weeks between your accidentally killing people or almost dying? I don't think I can take this on a regular basis!”

Weiss would have been touched at her concern, and more than a little embarrassed by her latest blunder, if she hadn't noticed that because Abner's home/laboratory was always “comfortably warm,” Ruby was wearing just a tank top.

And more importantly, Weiss' face was buried right between her boobs.

There was a frantic knocking on the door.

Blake opened it. <Ruby, what ha--!>

Ruby and Blake looked at each other, the former still hugging Weiss' face to her chest, the latter holding onto the doorknob with one foot in the guest room.

Blake slowly, carefully closed the door, the centuries-old hinges creaking lightly thanks to carefully measured, scheduled, and applied oiling.

Click.

The door closed.

“Huh...” Ruby said. “Wonder what that was all about?”

Weiss wrenched her arms off her and gasped for breath; her face was burning bright red, and it might have been her imagination, but she could feel blazing hot streams of blood pouring down her nostrils.

“Oh, woops! Sorry about that, Weiss,” Ruby said as she pulled away, and sat back down on the chair beside her bed. “How do you feel?”

The correct answer was “Like my face is melting.” but the one Weiss gave her was “Fine, just… drained.”

“No surprise there!” Ruby said. “Man, Weiss, the power levels for your fight were insane! Oh, and congratulations about testing positive for the Gift, by the way!”

“Thanks...” Weiss muttered as she laid back on her bed, silently wishing there were some way she could remotely put out the fireplace because this room was way too warm now.

“You thirsty?” Ruby said as she pulled up a clear canister of water.

Weiss nodded. She paused. “Why is it glowing…?”

“Because it's mana-water,” Ruby replied as she opened it up. “Don't worry, Penny says you definitely won't get sick from it, seeing as you've been done with the bacteria stuff for a while. Well, that and you being a Fae/Human hybrid just like me.”

“So, did you ever know or suspect anything, or was it just a total whammy out of nowhere?” she asked as she held it to Weiss lips.

“The latter,” Weiss replied before she started drinking.

The mana-water tasted exactly like the Valley's regular supply of drinking water. Unlike it, however, she could feel the power seeping back into her system, the empty feeling inside her disappearing.

“Any guesses as to who it might be? My bet's on your grandpa Nick; he's pretty much exactly like one of the stereotypes for Fire aligned Fae.”

Weiss sighed as she finished drinking. “I don't really want to think of it right now, Ruby; got a lot of stuff on my mind, chief of which is the fact that apparently I can shoot laser beams now.”

“It's called an 'Aqua Laser' in the spellbooks,” Ruby said as she put the empty canister back on the end table. “Have you been reading them, by any chance? 'Cause you pulled off a kickass Tsunami Slash earlier, and that's like one of the most advanced spells ever, and you pulled that off in dry land, without a medium of any kind!

“That's triple the badassery right there! Even Elder Goodwitch is impressed, and that's a saying a lot!”

Weiss squeezed her eyes shut. “Later, Ruby, later...”

“Okay. Sorry.”

Knock, knock.

<Ruby...? Weiss...?> Blake asked. <You guys aren't>--she made a sexy animal noise--<in there, are you...? 'Cause if you are, just… just call me when you're done, alright? I don't mind going home late...>

After Weiss had gotten some rest, and went through a very thorough exam in Abner’s miniature hospital, she headed over to his foundry so he could make her a Weaver’s gauntlet. “It won’t amplify your powers nearly as strongly as Myrtenaster for a variety of reasons, but it will be much more versatile, can also be loaded with elemental mediums, and help tremendously with your control issue,” he explained as she put it on.

Weiss looked at the glove, turning her hand back and forth, examining Abner’s intricate stitching, the metal and crystal components embedded into the leather, how well it fit her hand despite being made from scratch.

“Shall we test it out?” Abner said, pulling out a hammer.

Weiss held out her bare hand, and projected an ice shield.

Abner hit it.

Crash!

To none of Weiss’ surprise, it shattered after three strikes. She held out her gloved hand, and made another shield, noticeably thicker and more solid than the last.

This one took several hits, before Abner was even capable of making a noticeable crack in it.

“Whew!” he said, putting the hammer down as one of his spider-limbs wiped the sweat off his brow. “Well, I think we can definitely say this is a vast improvement.”

“You can say that again!” Weiss said, dispelling the shield. “So I just put this on whenever I’m mixing up anything, and it’ll keep any more elementals from spawning or moonshine from exploding?”

“Precisely! Unless you wish it, of course, but I do suggest you get plenty of formal training and practice with the weavers at the Terrace first; the accidental creation of elemental mediums and elementals are no joke, especially with water weavers like yourself.

“Alchemy is the most popular specialty among them, after all.”

Weiss nodded.

“Any other concerns? Modifications to Myrtenaster or your gauntlet? Urgent questions about your newfound powers?”

“Nothing at the moment, Abner,” Weiss replied. “I’ll call if anything comes up.”

“Please do,” Abner said. “I may not be able to personally attend to it given my governor’s hyper-focus, but know that my answering golems always stand at the ready.” He smiled as he tapped the back of his neck. “Sometimes weeks go by before I even think of checking my messages.”

“I’ll make note of it,” Weiss said.

“Well, I guess that settles everything! Lovely meeting you in person Weiss, and what an exceptionally productive day this has been!” he tipped his hat at her. “Cheerio!”

Weiss bid him farewell, and went back to his parlor where everyone from Keeper’s Hollow were waiting.

“Well, look at that fancy piece of gear you got there!” Qrow said as he lounged on a chair, a drink in his hand. “That going to stop me from dying of alcoholism way sooner than I thought I would?” he asked before he took a sip.

“It will,” Weiss replied.

She looked at where Zwei was sitting, a cart loaded with a mix of kitchen and lab equipment near him. Among others, it had a still much more complex than the one she had used for her moonshine.

“What’s all this?”

“Equipment and modifications for making elemental mediums, and/or controlling the effects of your magic,” Penny explained. “Elder Goodwitch thought it very important that you be using designs specifically for weavers, given everything that’s already happened.”

“Don’t worry, it’s free of charge, like with your Weaver training,” Ruby said. “And speaking of new stuff: Blake’s got something for ya!”

Blake walked up with a leather belt, a holster on its side with Myrtenaster in it, and several pouches and clips, presumably for holding spare elemental mediums, mana-water canisters, and other useful things for weavers.

“Mad’ it while you ‘n’ Ruby were… bizzy,” she said as she handed it over.

Weiss bit back a sigh of annoyance and smiled at her. “Thank you.”

She put it on. It was a perfect fit. At Blake's request, she turned around and showed it off to the others.

Ruby whistled. “Looking good, Weiss! All you really need is some armour and some supplies, and you’ll be ready to head out the walls!”

Weiss smiled at her. “Let’s just head home for now, okay?”

And so they did.

#rwby #white rose #the keeper of the grove #fanfic

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lokissanctuary · 5 years

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Ru’s Dream Comes True, Ch.11

11th installment of an original fanfic wherein Loki follows a dream of a beautiful woman and ends up at a Renaissance Festival!

Ch. 11

Your breath catches in your throat at these words. Your dream is coming true, right here and now in front of you! His hand still on your chin, fingers soft but strong, his turquoise eyes wait for a response. You can almost feel his breath on you, you are so close. You struggle to answer him, but words won't come. You open your mouth, but nothing comes out save a pitiful whimper. He says the words again. “Say my name-please. “This time, they are more softly spoken, where only the two of you can hear, and the desperation and need are evident in his tone and face.

He is dearly hoping he holds the right woman in his lap, for he wants nothing more than to ravage her sweet, soft mouth with kisses, but he cannot until he confirms that it is her - that she is the woman from his dreams. He needs to hear her voice to do that, and so he waits, his burning desire growing greater every second. You try again, and finally, your throat obeys you

“Loki” sneaks out, soft but clear. Loki visibly relaxes, and before you know what is happening, his eyes have closed and his lips are on yours. You have confirmed his suspicions, and the god of mischief can wait no longer. He must have you, feel you, taste you. He is as though a man compelled, possessed by something stronger than his own will-but he has no desire to fight it. Those cool lips feel strangely perfect as they capture your own, tasting you and savoring you as though there is nothing else in the world he would rather do. One of those long, strong hands curls around the back of your throat and settles on the base of your skull, holding you close and sending delicious shivers through you everywhere it touches. You have never been kissed like this, you quickly realize, as the sensuous lord takes your mouth and claims it as his own. After a few moments of this bliss (or was it hours? Maybe days? You could no longer say with any certainty), Loki pulls away. A gracious smile lights his features as he looks at you. “I found you.” he breathes. You give a shaky smile in return, not knowing what to say. “You were looking for me?” you venture, in a voice that is weak with emotion. “Yes.” he speaks simply. “I have dreamed of you, and was compelled to find you.” At these words, your eyes widen, and before you can stop yourself, words come tumbling out. “I dreamed of you too! Last night, and the night before! I.. saw you… I was in your palace, I think…. and you turned to me and said…. what you said just now…” you trailed off lamely, lost in his gaze. At hearing that you seemed to have had the same dream, only reversed, his expressive eyes had lit with what you could only describe as joy, and his mouth twitched into a wide, genuine smile. You had been obsessed with this man (was the that even the right word, you wondered?, not that you really cared at the moment) ever since you had first seen mention of him in the Marvel Thor films. Sitting in front of you now, gazing at you with happiness spilling from his face, you realize that he looks even better in person. Every smooth line of his noble face, every sleek muscle of his body, hidden now under fragrant leather, even the strands of his jet black hair, softly falling over his shoulders and moving a bit now in the gently rising breeze, speaks perfection to you. Smiling ever wider, his eyes roam over you, taking in everything. He reaches a hand out, gently touching you, as though you are too good to be real-a dream image, that might fade if he doesn't maintain contact, however small. Those gorgeous eyes linger on you as he tucks an errant strand of hair behind your ear, and then trails his fingers down your cheek, leaving a trail of fire in the wake of his cool touch. Tracing his hands down further, along with his gaze, he reaches your collar and stops. A grin of pure amusement lights his face as he carefully touches the tooled and dyed leather, stopping on the locket watch that looks like his horns. “What is this?” he asks, clearly intrigued. His smile is infectious, you think to yourself, as you return his grin before answering-or trying to. “That, uh, that was made for me by, um, a friend.” you stutter, not exactly sure how to articulate what you are trying to say. “I, er, saw you, or a character of you, in a movie, and I liked it, and she made it for me. It says your name in runes too, look!” and you spin your collar to show him his own name, picked out in runic carving. This section was technically the front of the collar, but the locking clasp always spun itself to the front, taking the weighty locket with it, and so you had eventually stopped fighting it and let it sit where it wanted. Lokis slow smile at this made your blood heat, and you realized that you had been blushing more and more during this recitation. Suddenly regaining a bit of your head, you look around, seeking the friend who made you this item. Teia, Sage and Thor were seated now at a small round table very nearby, but far enough to give you and Loki some privacy. Looking around properly for the first time since you came to, you realize that the bench you are both seated on was one of the few scattered near the coffee shop that served the front of the grounds. Taking a deep breath, you smell the roasted beans and hear the machines as though waking from a dream. “Her” you said, weakly, because even being near Loki made you weak, “there with the red hair. She made me this.” You point to Teia, who turns at hearing your voice and the mention of red hair. When red-heads are mentioned in her presence, she is typically the one being referred to, and this moment is no different.

“Yes?” she queries. “What did I make you?”

You weakly indicate the collar with one hand.

“Oh yes.” Teia says breezily. “That was easy to make. Did you notice that it locks?” She addressed this to Loki, with a mischievous glint in her eye.

You glare at her- you hadn’t mentioned that for a reason. The reason being, you didn’t know how much redder your face could go before it exploded if he were to inquire as to why it locked. As predicted, Loki looks even more intrigued at this, and examines the collar, where it screwed closed with a locking rivet. The only way to put it on or off was to open that rivet, and unless one were skilled and flexible, that required another person and a screwdriver. This one had been made so that you could open it yourself, but you still didn’t know what the sexy lord of playfulness and pranks would think of it, and the possibilities made you blush. They also made you tingle and tighten in low-down places, and that made you even redder.

“Does it now?” he asked, slowly, and his face grew more serious. You quickly discern that he may interpret this as someone else having a claim on you, and you hastily dispel that idea.

“Yeah- normally you need someone else to open and close a lock like this, but this one is made so that I can open it myself. I...liked the idea of not being able to take it off….” you mutter this last part to your knees as you silently curse Teia and her leather skills.

One of those lithe hands brings your chin back up to see a broadly smiling Loki. He is clearly amused at this idea, and a bit honored that you would want an image of him so close, so constantly.

“Did you now?” Lokis smooth, cultured voice was so refined, these words almost purred as he spoke them. That light, British-sounding voice touched something in your soul every time he spoke, and you found it hard to concentrate on his words. One long finger hooked under the leather (which had plenty of give, so that you could get it off yourself) and pulled you towards him. When your faces were almost touching again, he stopped pulling, but he didn’t let you go. “And why would that be?” his wonderful voice intoned. His face has changed now- all simmering sensuality and burning desire. No longer a broad smile, but a thin, toothy grin, with the mischief that he is master of dancing in his green eyes. Your words are gone, but you try to answer anyway. “I wanted….you….always….” you trail off, losing what words you have at the look on his face. His smile grows, and he looks so happy at your words. He pulls you the rest of the way to him, and kisses you again. You can almost feel his joy in it, and the fact that neither of you ever want to let this go. It is as though every feeling, every moment coalesce into one shimmering magical thing, and that thing is this kiss. Both of his long hands are buried in your hair now, and you have wrapped yours around him, pressing hard into the thick leather so that he can feel you. Feelings are awakening in you that no other man, nay, no other person, has ever been able to release. You feel a tingling and a warmth between your legs, and your mind conjures images of Loki naked and on top of you, taking what no one else ever has- what you never wanted them to have. You have never wanted to have sex with anyone- until this moment. As he keeps kissing you, you realize that you are almost moaning against him, close to whimpering for him to keep going and never, never stop. You feel yourself melting into him, and all you can do is hold on and keep kissing him. The tide is sweeping over you both, and his mouth is the only thing keeping you alive. After what seems an interminable length of time, Loki breaks from you, leaving you gasping and confused. Why did he stop? You pull at him wordlessly, trying to bring back that magical moment. Loki isn’t looking at you for the moment- he is glaring daggers over your shoulder. You turn to see what could have interrupted this moment of bliss, and see a very amused looking Thor smiling sardonically at both of you.

#loki #marvel #fanfic #fanfiction #original writing #romance #renaissance festival #renfest

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cwnerd12 · 5 years

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Down in the ballroom, Andrew talks to a business man, Chloe hanging dutifully on his arm. Andrew, “I was shocked and saddened by my father’s actions, which I had no idea about, of course. I’m doing my best to repair what damage has been done. I can only hope that investors will put their faith in me.” Chloe, “Do you like guns?” From behind them, Christine’s voice, “Andrew!” Andrew grimaces, “And if you will please excuse me, I hear my mother.” The businessman steps away. Andrew turns around and sees Christine, “Hello, mother.” Christine, “It’s a shame that you and I have to go to the same social function just to speak to each other. Come here.” She hugs him and kisses him on both cheeks. Andrew hastily steps away, “This is my fiancée, Chloe Bridges.” Chloe, “You’re friends with Queen Rose?” Christine, “Oh, yes, Rose and I go very far back. I knew her when she was just another spoiled teenage girl who hated her rich parents. We got along great. I’m sure she’ll want to know you if you’re joining the Cross family.” Andrew, “I can’t talk for very long, Mother, I have forge some new relationships as the leader of CrossGen in Gilboa.” Christine, “Oh, please, half the people here are disappointed the coup failed. They’ll suck it up to anyone named Cross.” At the stairwell, the sergeant-at-arms steps up, “Announcing their royal majesties, King Silas and Queen Rose.” Everyone looks up and applauds respectfully as Rose and Silas wave and descend the stairs, cameras snapping. Behind them, Helen is escorted by a handsome army officer. Christine leans in to Andrew, “Your father always loved the applause, and was so jealous of what Silas always received. But what is it? It’s just noise. He ruined his life and put yours in danger for noise. I know you always preferred William to me, but I hope you’ve come to see that he’s not as perfect as you once thought.” Andrew, “Don’t speak to me again tonight.” He pulls Chloe away.

Cut to Rose standing at a lectern, welcoming guests to the party, “Because of my daughter, the Gilboan Heart Association has always been vitally important to the royal family. In light of recent events, it’s still of immense importance, but I’m not the one who should speak of that. Tonight, that honor falls to Helen Pardis, mother of the future king of Gilboa.” The crowd applauds, and Helen nervously approaches the lectern. She looks down at the notes that have been prepared for her, and mumbles, “Good evening, honored guests, tonight we gather here to raise money for research into heart defects such as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, which has so greatly affected both my life and the royal family.” She looks up and sees the unimpressed looks of those in the audience, and stumbles on, “New research offers new hope to those affected by such conditions…” She puts the notes down, and her tone shifts. She begins making her own speech, “I- I’m not used to speaking as a member of the royal family. But I can speak as the mother of a child affected by a heart condition. My son is alive because of the miracles of modern science, but there’s still much to be done in terms of curing heart defects. When donating tonight, I urge you not to just think of Seth, who has been blessed with good health since his initial surgeries, but of other children who aren’t lucky enough to have a king for a father. This level of healthcare is incredibly costly, and many families are left with a lifetime of debt, simply so that their child may live. These are the children that need our help. Thank you.” At their table, Silas: “How did Michelle make such a convincing Helen costume?” Rose: “Shut up, Silas.” Outside, Andrew chats with another guest, Chloe still at his side. Christine approaches, “Chloe, dear, would you like to meet Rose?” Andrew gives Christine a furious look, “I told you not to speak with me!” Christine, “I’m speaking to Chloe, not you.” Chloe, “That would be so cool!” Christine, then come, on, I’ll introduce you.” She leads Chloe inside, where Rose chats with other guests. Christine, “Rose, have you met Andrew’s fiancée?” Rose turns around, “Oh, you must be Chloe.” Chloe, star-struck, “You know my name!” Rose, “Yes, I pay attention whenever the Cross name appears in the news. I couldn't help but see you there.” Chloe laughs and snorts. Rose glances over and sees Helen chatting with Reinhardt, Lydia, and other guests. Lydia: “Seth is so adorable. I can tell he has his father’s wisdom.” Helen, “I certainly hope so.” Another guest: “You must tell us, how has Rose been treating you? She’s always been so protective of her children, I can’t imagine she’s been doing well without them.” Helen: “Rose’s relationship with her children is her own business, and I try to stay out of her way. She’s been nothing but gracious towards me.” Rose, “If you will excuse me, I have a little business to attend to.” She goes sweeping over to where Helen chats. Lydia: “Oh, your highness, we were just congratulating Helen on giving a lovely speech!” Rose: “It was lovely, wasn’t it? Do you mind if I steal Helen way from you? I have someone I’d like to introduce her to.” She pulls Helen away from them, “Never pull a stunt like that again.” Behind them, a waiter steps into the crowd. A guest tries to ask for another glass of champagne, but gets ignored. The waiter reaches into his pocket, pulls out a detonator, and the bomb strapped to his chest explodes. Helen and Rose dive to the ground. Reinhardt grabs Lydia to protect her. Chloe and Christine are knocked over. Outside, Andrew is safe, but he ducks. He looks around, sees the smoke and fire, and runs. Rose sits and looks around through the smoke and running guests, “Silas?! Silas!” Suddenly, Silas swoops in out of nowhere, “Rose!” He grabs her and helps her up. He dashes her away to safety as a security guy comes in and helps Helen get up. Silas and the security guy rush Rose and Helen into a safe room. Another security guy brings in a crying Seth. Helen rushes over and hugs him, “Oh, sweetie, it’s all right, I’m all right!” Silas: “I’m going back in!” A security guard steps in front of him, “Sir, you know I can’t let you do that.” Silas, “I can’t just hide here like a coward, I have to be seen leading my people! I’ve evacuated civilians before I know how to do it!” Security guard, “We can’t put you at rest of a secondary attack!” Silas, “Shepherd is behind this, and I have to be defiant!” Helen, "SIlas, please, don’t do this!” Rose, “There will be reporters outside soon, you can address them when it’s safe.” Silas turns around, “Get Seth ready.” Helen, “What?” Silas, “I have an address to make!” Helen, “Silas, please!” Silas, “Get him ready! This is what a king does!”

(scene in the woods, David freaks out and says this can’t be us)

In a safe place in the palace, Christine and Chloe hold hands and look anxiously on at the first responders and security guards watching the group and talking on walkie-talkies. Andrew approaches the group, and a security guy moves to stop him. Andrew barks, “You know who I am!” Security guy, “Yeah, your father tried to kill the king.” Behind the security guy, Christine walks up, “Leave him alone, he’s harmless!” She goes over to Andrew and hugs him tightly. Quietly she asks him, “Are you all right?” Andrew steps away, “I’m fine, Mother. Where’s Chloe?” Chloe greets him with a big hug. Andrew gently pushes her away, “I’m glad to see you’re both safe. What happened in there?” Christine, “A bomb went off.” Andrew, “What kind of a bomb?” Christine, “A bomb!”

Outside the palace, Reinhardt, his tux ripped and disheveled talks to security guards and first responders. Reinhardt, “What the hell happened?” Police officer, “There’s a big puddle of red goo on the ground, and a head in the chandelier. Suicide bomber.” Security guard, “I thought they only used those in Ammon.” Reinhardt, “Not anymore.” Beyond them, a massive group of news cameras and gawkers has gathered. Silas, surrounded by security men, steps out, surrounded by security guys, Seth behind him. Reinhardt sees him, “Sir!” Silas approaches, “What the hell just happened?” Reinhardt, “It looks like a suicide bomber, sir.” Silas, “I can’t believe Shepherd would sink to this!” Reinhardt, “At this time, we don’t know for sure-” Silas, “You don’t know for sure, I know it was Shepherd! You go back to your office and you find that motherfucker!” Reinhardt, “Can I at least wait until I hear that Lydia has made it home safely? She’s already left the palace.” Silas, “You have a cell phone!” He turns away, and sees the cameras all pointed at him. Back in the woods, everyone gathers around the radio. Radio announcer, “King Silas is talking to Director Reinhardt, it appears that Prince Seth is with him…” Michelle, furious, “Why is Seth there?! Why is Seth there?!” Jack puts one arm around her shoulder and gently puts his other hand over her mouth, quieting her. She pulls his hand away, but doesn’t say anything further. At the palace, cameras flash and reporters scream questions as Silas approaches them. He puts his hand up, and says, “Enough!” Everyone goes quiet. Silas, “The palace has been attacked by a suicide bomber. I was attacked in my own home, while a hosted a gathering to raise funds to help children. Only the lowest and foulest of cowards would carry out such an attack.” David and Jack exchange tense looks. Up in the safe room, Helen and Rose watch on a television. In their location, Andrew, Chloe, and Christine watch on a phone. Silas goes on, “With this attack, David Shepherd has shown who he truly is!” In the woods, everyone reacts with disbelief and dismay as David listens intensely. Silas, “Mark my word, he will not get away with this! I will not rest until I have his head! Gilboa is my country, and I took a sacred oath to keep it safe! Shepherd may be a coward, but I am not, and I will end him!”

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junker-town · 6 years

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Virginia Tech spoils Willie Taggart’s FSU debut

The Hokies were the better and luckier team. That’s a good way to live.

Fourth quarter

0:00

And the last five minutes go by pretty quickly. Tech fumbles again and recovers it again (that’s six of six on the evening, which you prrrrrrrobably can’t count on in every game), and Francois throws another pick. FSU finishes with eight more yards, and Tech finishes with 21 more points. What a huge win for Fuente’s Hokies. VT 24, FSU 3.

4:42

Laborn returns the Tech kickoff out to the FSU 25, reminding me that he made the most electric play of the game in the first half and hasn’t touched the ball since. Aaaaaand two plays later, Farley picks off another pass on another deep ball. VT 24, FSU 3.

5:11

Make that “leading by three touchdowns on the road.” The Hokies need just six plays to get past midfield, then Kumah catches a third-and-7 pass, breaks a leaping tackle, and rumbles 49 yards for a touchdown. The game was over when Akers got chased down, apparently. VT 24, FSU 3.

9:49

Guh. FSU comes out with a trick formation, and Akers, lining up at QB, screws up a read exchange and fumbles. Gaines responds. Tech ball.

There have been five fumbles in this game, and Tech has recovered all of them. Combine that with a special teams score (and a missed FSU field goal), and that’s certainly a pretty good formula for getting out-gained by nearly 100 yards and leading by two touchdowns on the road.

Also, this:

Florida State has run 11 plays inside Virginia Tech's 21-yard line for minus-11 yards and a lost fumble, not including a false start and a missed FG.

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 4, 2018

VT 17, FSU 3.