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#short story
bundleofboys · 2 days
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April's $5+ Patreon Exclusive is extra special: a 1000 word illustrated prose story featuring catboy heat, magic rings, and the workings of a threesome between Casio, Damh, and Zarak 🔥😻💦
Patrons can read it right now, and for everyone else, a non-illustrated version will be available publicly sometime next week.
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“Has anyone seen Bells?” Asked Queen Aisha of the Bloody Republic.
“The court jester?” Replied Monarch Estragon of the Everflowering Forest.
“Jest her? I hardly know her.” Quipped Aisha. Estragon groaned. “But seriously, yes, she’s gone missing and I need to find her before we all kill each other.”
Aisha paused, then added.
“And there is also a separate matter, a very serious matter, which I need to discuss with her.”
---
In the parliament of royalty, comedy was no laughing matter. Every nation of the world sent their king, queen or monarch to represent them; almost nowhere else could you find such an incredible concentration of power. Whether inherited, proclaimed or elected, every royal who was worth talking about was there.
And where there were royals worth talking about, you had best believe that you would also find a jester.
And not just any jester, but *the* jester. The winner of the grand satirical tourney. The mirthster with the sharpest wit, the most dextrous contortions of mind and body, and the constitution to withstand immense pressure and inevitable poisonings.
The current jester, known only as ‘The Bells That Herald Ruin’, would often claim to be the single most important person out of all the assembled political powerhouses. Only she was not bound by the shackles of diplomacy. Only she could speak the truth in that house of lies, damned lies and hubristics.
And she was currently lying facedown in the gutter.
---
“C’mon.” Queen Aisha said, lifting the bloody jester up off the floor. “It’s time to court.”
“Right, yeah…” The Bells That Herald Ruin mumbled through a mouthful of blood, whiskey and teeth, none of which she was sure were her own. “I’m the most imp’tant p’son there…y’know?”
“Oh, no. You can’t see the royals in this condition.” The Queen carefully wiped some blood off of the jester’s brow.
“You should see the other guys- demons- … fuckos.” The Bells That Herald Ruin abandoned her attempt to catergorise the entities with which she’d been brawling. She decided, instead, to concentrate on nestling as closely as possible into the crook of Queen Aisha’s shoulder.
“I could hardly miss them.” Aisha said as she stepped carefully over one of the other groaning and bloody bodies in the gutter. 
“So why’d you say it’s time for court if’n we’re not going … court?”
Queen Aisha took a moment to judge the jester’s level of injury and inebriation. She bit her lip.
“I said it’s time *to* court. As in, I’m about to start courting your ass.”
“You … you would court the court jester? Double court? Court squared?”
“We’ll start with coffee, doofus. And when you’re recovered, I’ll take you out on a date.”
“I’ll wear my jangliest hat.”
“...please don’t.”
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thetravelingmaster · 2 days
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Short Story: Conquering the Dream
Male's Point of View - Hypnosis
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I watched her jump on the sofa and couldn't help but smile.
"Look Master! I got a new pair of kitty ears! Aren't they the cutest?" she said excitedly. "I think I should wear them the next time you turn me into Kitten..."
My girlfriend was so gorgeous compared to me that most people couldn't figure out how we started to date. Which always makes me laugh in a way because in truth, she was much more than simply my girlfriend, but I couldn't very well tell people that she was also my hypnotic plaything and obedient slave.
Thankfully, the story of how we met is a fairly common story in college.
Well... The beginning of it anyway...
Pretty girl takes a class she isn't interested in, but knows it will give the credits she'll eventually get on job applications. Of course, she only aimed to pass said course and isn't truly interested in the material. Since she doesn't however, she finds herself in the sticky situation where she can't maintain a passing grade. Sadly, her calculations of getting a pass from the teacher because she's cute and flirty backfired because of his strong ethics.
Now the girl is desperate because failing an extra credit course looks much worse than not applying for the class in the first place.
Pretty girl then looks for an affordable tutor to help her get back on track and earn a passing grade. She eventually found me and as expected, she was very flirty and hinted that if I would give her some sort of discount on my tutoring fees, it would be worth my wild. Not being immune to the attentions of a pretty girl even if it was obviously a ruse to get me to tutor her for free, I offered a deal.
Since I was a psychology major, I told her that if she helped me with my hypnotherapy studies, I would help her with her class studies. I was about to add that I could use our hypnosis practice to help her focus on her classes, but she interrupted me by excitedly accepting.
Saying that she found the arrangement more than fair all while looking visibly relieved she didn't have to pay me. She was VERY skeptical about hypnosis in general and that actually helped me a lot in my studies because I had to be creative in my induction plans. Thankfully, she was a real sport about it since my tutoring was already showing promising signs in her class.
Eventually though, I was able to place her in a trance and to my utter delight, she turned out to be quite the open minded and trusting subject. Since I was a geek, she viewed me as completely harmless so her subconscious didn't put up any sort of defense when I began to explore her mind.
And tweak it...
I started slow, but when I saw that she remained clueless to my influence, even after I implanted a suggestion that she needed to be in her bra and panties for her tutoring session with me, I concluded that I could be bolder.
I knew very well that she didn't find me in any way attractive, but since she had come to trust me so completely, I had a solid base to work with and after a few clever sessions, I found a part of her that had the potential to find me attractive. Nurturing that sentiment went so much better than I could have hoped and before long, she was unconsciously dressing up extra pretty when she knew she was coming over to see me.
She didn't notice it at all when her body made every excuse to pose for me or brush up against me when I tutored her. Or at least, her conscious mind didn't notice.
Her subconscious definitely did and it fueled her growing attraction even more.
Since she proved to be so pliable, I decided to do a little experiment by having her strip naked while still in her trance. She didn't resist at all and I could even see tale tell signs that part of her was enjoying it. Getting even bolder, I had her wake up with the belief that she wasn't naked at all.
Admittedly, it was more than a little entertaining to watch her unconsciously flirt with me while she wasn't wearing a stitch of clothes. Since she still remained completely clueless to what she was truly doing, I decided to leave her subconscious with a few new things to think about before she left.
It took a few more sessions, but eventually those little sprouts of thought bore fruit as her attraction to me shifted to outright arousal. Since she had an unconscious habit to wear revealing clothes, it was plain to see how horny her body became in my presence.
And thanks to a few interesting suggestions, I was glad to see it react that much more when ever I phrased my instructions with words like 'you will do this now' instead of 'you should try this next time'. Even if I was slow and deliberate with my suggestions, it still fascinated me to no end that with all the changes I was making to her behavior, she still remained clueless, even when it became clear that our hypnosis sessions weren't at all something I could use in class.
Although... I'm sure most of my fellow students wouldn't have minded it at all if we did an 'adult' demonstration of the many triggers floating around in her mind.
Eventually, all my meddling came to a wonderful head when midterms came around and she passed her exam with flying colors. She was so happy and grateful for my help that she decided to offer me a home cooked meal at her place as a way to thank me for all my hard work. I hadn't specifically suggested anything more than a deep desire to reward me for my work, so I was pleasantly surprised by her offer.
All evening, she 'doted' and flirted with me until it was time to leave, where she honestly surprised me again by pushing me against the door so she could kiss me. I was always planning for her to feel overwhelmed by her growing attraction for me, but originally thought it would take longer to break down her preconceptions of me. It didn't take long for our lustful make out session to take us to her bedroom where she wouldn't take no for an answer.
Which may or may not be something I slipped into her mind...
Regardless, we fucked and for me, it was the best evening of my life! I learned afterwards, once we were done and I took advantage of our post coital cuddling to drop her in a trance, that unsurprisingly, even though she hadn't faked her release, it hadn't been as wonderful for her. Thankfully, her mind was so open to my influence by then that it took very little convincing to shape her memory of the event into something she thought was earth shattering and deeply meaningful.
After that first night, her attraction for me wasn't just something I had nurtured in her subconscious anymore so when we had our next hypnotic 'rendezvous', her mind took to my suggestions even better than before. So much so that she didn't even think to notice that I used a hypnosis session, which was supposed to be meant only for my studies, to have her do a long erotic strip tease for me once the 'trance' was over. As expected, she thought it was all her idea as a way to seduce me into sleeping with her again.
Which we obviously did and like before, I didn't waste the relaxing cuddling we enjoyed and dropped her back in a trance so I could work on her sexual appreciation of my meager talents in bed. Surprisingly enough, my previous 'work' had already made our second session of love-making much more agreeable for her, but nonetheless, I made sure to tweak her memories to make sure it was extra special.
Since everything had gone so well and she was still so utterly clueless about my hypnotic influence, I decided to kick things up a notch during our next session. So far, I had only made her strip during her trance while only giving her hypnotic suggestions of pleasure and enjoyment. However, once she dropped in a deep trance, I tested how she would react to a suggestion that made her masturbate. I held my breath as I watched her hand slowly make its way to her already dripping folds, but to my glee, she stayed perfectly entranced as her fingers began to play with herself.
After a long edge, I had her wake up, still naked, and talked with her as if our session was done. Like before, she gave no indication she realized she was naked, but moreover, she also didn't give off any indicators that told me she was aware she had just masturbated in front of me.
Needless to say, I started to include a lot more pleasure in her trances after that, which I made sure to link it to those initial fun suggestions that made her aroused whenever I 'commanded' her to do something. By the time we had our next fuck, I could already notice a sharp shift in her attitude in bed when I flexed my authority.
Obviously, when I dropped her after our fun, I made sure to expand those feelings and tweak her memories a little to make sure she noticed the link in her conscious mind.
To my immense delight, it worked like a charm because when we met up again for our usual tutoring, she was extra flirty and VERY attentive towards me. When we switched from our tutoring to her hypnosis session, I capitalized on that feeling and made it bloom even more into a deep desire to please me as she mindlessly masturbated for me.
By the time her trance was over, she was so overwhelmed with pleasure that she didn't even register that my cock was already in her mouth as she awoke from trance. Her desire to please mixed with her mind-melting pleasure so perfectly that she didn't miss a beat and sucked me off as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Obviously, I wasted no time and placed her in a VERY deep trance once I came. Just to make sure she remembered how enjoyable it was to please me like that. However, I didn't have to change her memories all that much because apparently, she had enjoyed it a lot already. That surprised me because up until that point, she hadn't really bothered to pleasure me orally during our fucks and it had made me assume it was because she didn't enjoy doing it. Needless to say, after that little conversation with her subconscious and her blooming desire to please me, she found herself quite eager to try it again the next time we were intimate and of course, I subsequently made doubly sure she remembered how incredible it felt.
Once she was firmly convinced of how awesome and satisfying it was to suck and fuck me, I began to introduce suggestions that would trigger when ever we were intimate. Or... To be more precise, whenever she gave my cock pleasure.
It wasn't anything like a deep trance, but the hypnotic suggestion still pulled her down in a mild compliant trance, which ended up doubling her enjoyment of our carnal time together because by that point, her mind was more than a little addicted to being in a trance. Plus, as an added bonus, her increased compliant mindset and enhanced pleasure did wonders to continually condition her.
Cementing her deep enjoyment of my control...
After a while, I couldn't resist the urge to implant an oral pleasure trigger and even if I knew that with all I had already done, the odds were that she wouldn't even realize it was a hypnotic manipulation, I was still mildly anxious the first time I trigger her while we relaxed and watched a movie. My angst was extremely short lived however because all she did when I spoke the trigger was smile mischievously as she 'thought' about something erotic she wanted to do to me.
I still remember how satisfying it felt to watch her giggle naughtily as she moved down on the sofa so she could blow me.
Spending almost every available night over at her place also meant that I could work on her subconscious as much as I wanted. It made it so easy to substitute the way she called me when we were alone. And still, her conscious mind remained completely clueless to the fact that she had started to call me Master. Even when I came over one night and casually collared her, she didn't think it was odd or weird at all because to her subconscious, she had already surrendered herself to me a thousand time over.
I'm honestly unsure if it was because of my patience and skill or if it was simply because her mind turned out to be so pliable, but by the time she moved in with me, her mind was so open to my influence that a firm command, if repeated a few times, acted as well as triggers without the need to place her in a deep trance.
For example, I commanded her to kneel and feel aroused whenever I snapped my fingers and even if it didn't quite work the first few times she consciously obeyed, I quickly realized that the instructions took hold in her subconscious because it didn't take long for it to work as intended. Nowadays, if she sees me snap my fingers, she instantly kneels with a deep moan as her pussy moistens in anticipation.
The last step that admittedly caused me anxiety was to make her aware that I was still hypnotizing her on a regular basis. Because of how clueless she had been to everything else, I didn't HAVE to do it, but I desired with her a little more openly at home and having a subject become fascinated with her own triggers was something I wished to experience with her.
As with every other step, it turned out I had no reason to be nervous at all because the moment I proposed erotic hypnosis, her eyes began to sparkle with anticipation. All she could think about was how much more pleasure she could offer me if we started to play like that. 
Honestly, I was still surprised that it never even occurred to her that I could use my hypnotic talents in the way that I did. But she never did and we’ve grown so comfortable and happy in our relationship that even our friends stopped finding our relationship weird.
No doubt they chalk it up to being some sort of modern fairy tale where the nerdy average guy manages to conquer the heart of the pretty girl through his hidden charm and brilliant intellect.
I mean… They aren’t totally wrong…
After all, I DID conquer her in my own brilliant way.
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amphibiousmercurial · 18 hours
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giving too much of yourself too soon is a war cry
not the survival kind
not the emerge victorious kind
but the kind that echoes in empty chambers long after the battle is done
//too late to die, too soon to live//
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mddyhatters · 2 days
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finding the right words.
a / n : i saw this text post by @anniemainiancs on here with astarion trying to practice ways to introduce himself towards gale's colleagues / fellow magic instructors. with gale overhearing him. so, i took to myself to write after doing work in healthcare instead napping last week and finished it today. hope you don't mind, me writing this. the two give me so many worms. not beta'ed in the slightest again .. full story is up on AO3 !
"Hello darling, I'm Astarion Dekarios." He starts but scrunches up his nose and shakes his head. "Ugh, too honeyed. That won't do." Sure, he wanted to charm them but not quite like that. They were not going to victims. "How about. Hello. A pleasure, I'm Mr. Astarion Dekarios. Okay, that's too formal."
Why was this difficult? It should be easy as he starts to rub his temples to ease the tension he feels. "Hello I'm Astarion .. Dekarios. Gale is my husband. Hells, I'm terrible at this." Astarion feels himself sulking at the idea, he rather not embarrassed himself or Gale if he slips up in front of those people.
"I wouldn't say that you're terrible my star." Blinking as he turns to see his husband right there.
read more on AO3.
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nikosama13 · 1 day
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His Little Assistant (Crocodile x Reader)
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Description: Your boss, Crocodile, is feeling stressed and overworked. He’s been locked in his room all day doing paperwork. If only someone could help him out.. Maybe that person will be you. 
Side Notes: Hello my lovelies! So I'm currently sick- It’s probably my allergies, but like I've been out for a couple of days just sleeping and running to doctors. While I was napping I randomly thought this little fic up, sooo enjoy! (ಥ﹏ಥ)
(Probably spelling errors + My requests should be open)
☞ CW: Suggestive-ish + Very minor cursing 
Consider the following..?
Enjoy the read!
~~~
Crocodile looked up slowly from his desk. He was slumped over, his cigar burning out as a small groan left through his teeth. The poor man had been doing paperwork all day and still had more to complete, but he was overworked and burned out.
"Y/n..?" He called you, as you walked into his office. His voice held a slight touch of desperation and need as he said your name.
"Is it more paperwork?" Crocodile asked worriedly, hoping the answer would be anything other than a “yes”. He doesn't want to admit it, but he needs and craves emotional support.
“No, I brought you some coffee..” You thought it would be a good idea, considering that he looks half-dead, swimming within the piles of work. Crocodile visibly lets go of a breath he didn't realize he was holding. A little smile curled on his lips.
"Y/n, you know how to make a man happy." He said gratefully. You sent him a smile back. “After all, it’s my job as your assistant..”
"Indeed." Crocodile replied, accepting the cup of coffee. 
"You could make any man happy." He teased flirtatiously.
 This was the same Crocodile who was feared and intimidating. However, you know the better side of him. It was endearing, really.
After you set the coffee down on his desk and bowed, you walked out of the room with a small flush on your face.
Crocodile smirked as he watched you leave the room. Damn, he wished he could follow you out there. But, he can't. There were papers to be done. He sighed, and took a sip of his coffee.
Crocodile was once again buried in paperwork. His mind was trying to drown out the stress of it all, but he couldn't escape it completely. He was growing desperate and frustrated. All he needed was some kind of release of stress. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of any other solution other than you, his assistant.
"Y/n.." Crocodile called out, softly. He wanted you in the room with him. 
“I need you..” His voice had a tinge of desperation.
You walked over to his office and pushed open the heavy wooden doors.
“Yes..?”
"Could you stay in here with me for a bit?" Crocodile asked, hoping she would say yes.
 He didn't need to explain anything. The look on his face told the entire story. He just needed company and reassurance.
“Stressed?” You shot him a concerned look. "Understatement." Crocodile admitted, his voice laced with a hint of defeat. 
He was always so strong and confident. To see a side of him like you have right now is... Well, different. He wasn't proud of this, but he needed it.
“Why don’t you rest..?” You walked in further into the dimly lit room.
Crocodile gritted his teeth. Were you really gonna make him ask for it? You knew exactly what he needed and he didn't like being needy. However, he needed to be right now.
"I can't. I'm not done with my workload yet." He said, but he didn't make a move to continue. He just... sat there, stewing in his stress.
“So what do you want exactly..?” You smiled mischievously.
"I want... I need..." Crocodile trailed off. 
He wasn't really sure about what he wanted. Something to relieve his stress. He was desperate. So desperate he needed the one thing that made him the most vulnerable. He needed a little intimacy. A little connection.
"Just..." He slowly trailed off again, but he couldn't put into words what he really needed.
“I’m listening..” You waited patiently for his response. "Just..." Crocodile struggled to get the words out, which was rather amusing seeing how confident and prideful he was. 
"Just... C..could you.." He didn't want to finish the sentence. It made him feel so pathetic. It made him feel weak and vulnerable. But he needed it so badly.
Crocodile struggled to put into words what he wanted from you. He was so desperate he was losing his cool that he usually kept. He couldn't put into words what it was, he didn't want to admit it. But he was a desperate man right now. He needed his assistant's lips. You leaned over the desk, “A.. kiss?” A single nod was all he could do right now. The words were too damn hard. He just needed it. A kiss. Just one. That's all he was asking for. “Where..” You teased. Crocodile let out a frustrated groan. He was being teased. Now he wanted it more than anything. And this was all he could really ask for.
“You know exactly where..” Then you smirked and kissed his lips over the desk. Crocodile melted when his lips were connected with yours. The way your lips felt on his was all it took for his worries and stress to melt away. He enjoyed being vulnerable. The fact that he could trust you to comfort him like this was more relaxing than anything. His lips remained connected, wanting as much as he could get right now. (Greedy much-?) He would not move until she did. He would let you decide when it was time to pull away. Until then, it was just him and you. That’s when you pulled on his tie, deeping whatever was going on in that moment.
 He didn't anticipate the action, but he sure as heck enjoyed it. Not only was this comforting and relaxing, but now it felt sensual too. He could feel himself getting excited and wanting this to progress further. Still, he let you take the lead as he allowed his lips to remain connected, enjoying the moment.
You pulled away. “That's your limit for the night, dear.” you were trying to get as much power over him as possible. This was only because you knew that you could make him weak for you, and who wouldn’t want a Warlord protecting them. "Limit?" Crocodile asked, giving you a playful smirk. 
Your teasing had gotten him riled up. You would sure as hell pay for it later.. ~~~ The End! …maybe not ;)
Thank you so so much for reading!
Consider following..?
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{ Don’t make me mad my darling or you’ll know what will happen now don’t you~ }
🕯️🩸🕯️🩸🕯️🩸🕯️🩸🕯️🩸🕯️🩸🕯️
The chills running down his pets body was noticeable, soon he will have to turn him fully into his little vampire because he won’t stand for his love to leave his castle as his pet has done now more then once. It made him realize he had to take his life away to keep him all to himself & for him to be an obedient little dog that he should be.
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There's a demon that's been spotted around your city, around your neighborhood. All the local monster hunters are getting ready to find it, it won't be the first time some dangerous creature got loose in your city and had a hunt out for it. But this one is dangerous, she's faster than most cyptids, humanoid but not from a humanoid species that's known or common, and she's deadly, a few days after she's spotted its found that she kills. Somebody was found dead in the winter snow, on a street corner, with her claw marks on his chest.
You're not a monster hunter. But you are interested in these types of things, and you thought you spotted her one night and chose to give chase, against your better judgment you gave chase. You just want to see her, you just want to see something so strange, so inhuman. And when you see her she's as strange as you can imagine, most of her looks humanoid, slender and graceful, like the most beautiful human you've ever seen, but she has eyes with slit pupils like a cats, and long horns coming from her head, and sharp teeth in her mouth, bat like wings come out her back, and a scorpion's tail from the base of her spine, and where her genitals should be, instead there's the body and head of a snake coming out of her body. She's beautiful and horrifying.
When she comes near you she doesn't hurt you, she just looks at your camera. She doesn't seem to know what it is. When she realizes you're as harmless as you are she let's down her guard. You're afraid, but you slowly realize she's not interested in hurting you. She seems cold, it's very cold and she's not wearing any clothing. You offer to let her into your apartment, just for a night, just because nomatter what she is she deserves to be warm.
She lays on your bed for awhile, she seems so excited just to be on a bed, just to see a bed. She spends awhile under the covers. You were originally planning on letting her sleep on your couch, but she seems so excited to have a comfy bed. She finds one of your plushes and starts cuddling it at one point. You've never seen someone so happy just to have a place to rest.
In the morning the demon is still there. You don't want to kick her out. You bring her food and she seems really paranoid, it seems like a lot of people have hurt her before. You have to leave the room while she eats. But she does seem really happy to have something to eat at all.
Eventually you ask her about who she is. She says she doesn't have a name, and doesn't remember when she was born. She admits to having killed those people, which scares you to be reminded of, it scares you to hear her say it. But she tells you they shot at her, and she doesn't seem like a good enough lier to lie about that. They shot at her the momment they saw her. She was demonized for it, but it's the right of all creatures to attack someone trying to kill them, rather than die.
She really likes being in your apartment. You let her barrow your clothes, though she doesn't like wearing clothing, except for pajamas which she wears when she sleeps. You show her cartoons she can watch, and give her paper and pencils to draw with. It takes awhile for her to be willing to show you her drawings, but when she does they're quite good, you compliment them, and her face lights up. It takes her awhile to feel comfortable being touched by you too, but when she let's you she starts to love your affection, she likes being pet, and hugged, and cuddled, you don't think she's felt these things in a long time.
You let her stay longer than you expected too. There's still people hunting her. And there's still the winter, she says she's been through worse, but it's getting colder. Eventually you even introduce her to some freinds who you know you can trust. You just let her rest there, and part of you home this can just be a way she can exist, getting to draw, and have her head pet, and laying in bed when she wants to. You end up talking with her a lot, she's passionate about stories, and about things she finds pretty, and she loves asking you about the world, and about humanity, about all these things that are alien to her.
Eventually she tells you she has to leave. You try to tell her to stay a little longer, but it's a demon's nature to be free. She's been hurt by humans before, hurt by more than cold and bullets, but by binding spells, and deals she shouldn't have made. And as spring comes she needs to find a new city, and new space to exist it. You spend your last night together cuddling in your bed, and she tells you of ancient lands, and stories nobody else remembers. And then in the morning she's gone, she said she might visit you again, but for now she's gone. You thought you would see her leave but she spared you that pain, she thanked you for being warm to her as you fell asleep, and let your hands run across her cold skin. And now your room lays empty.
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shady-tavern · 2 days
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Preview for "Heartless" the May Patreon Short Story
Everyone knew of the mage who had lost his heart. Some said he had given it to a beautiful but cruel witch, who had kept it since as a trophy. Others said he had been so cruel the beautiful witch had taken it in a bid to stop him and he haunted the lands ever since, lost and searching for what had been stolen. 
Others once again said he had gambled it away in the hopes of never again fearing the touch of death and decay. 
The legend changed depending on the warning people wanted to impart, but everyone agreed on one thing: Anyone who was able to return the mage's heart was owed a wish. A powerful one at that, one that could even bring back the dead. Or so they said.
Many people had tried to retrieve the heart over the years. Older folk who desired to regain their youth, young lovers who wanted to stay together forever and grieving parents who wanted their slain children back. Even slighted nobles who wished to marry a king to climb in station and show up their rivals along with hopeful peasants who wanted to enrich their lives had given it a try.
The yearning for eternal beauty, for invincibility, the desire to grow rich and famous, love and greed, despair and dreams, all those and more had driven people to seek out the mage.
He wasn't terribly hard to find if one knew how to, people said. One needed a cloudless night during a full moon, creating a circle made of acorns and cornflowers. A bowl would be placed in four spots, facing the four points of the compass. 
A bowl of milk facing the south, a bowl of salted mushrooms to the east, a bowl of white bones to the north and to the west stood a bowl filled with iron shavings.
Once those things were in place, one had to sing the mage's song. A lament that could not be messed up even once, nor was the singer allowed to stutter. The smallest misstep meant the mage would not deign to appear.
But once the ritual was completed, he'd be there, ethereal and beautiful. And very much heartless. Some people said his eyes were empty and black like coals, others said he was relentlessly hungry, a near mindless beast driven to try and get back what he had lost.
In stories he was either cold and uncaring or a moaning beast willing to tear people apart. Some said he ripped out their hearts when they failed to get him his back and that he stuffed theirs into his chest instead, only for the hearts to turn to dust in his hands. 
Others said he was quite satisfied with his lot in life, that he liked not feeling anything, walking in eternal coldness. That it made him sharp and impossible to trick and that his magic had become all the more powerful for it.
Whatever truth there may be to these stories, one thing remained unchanged: He had no heart. No one had been able to give it back to him, no matter how hard they had tried.
You could admit that you liked hearing stories about something as wondrous and yet as far removed from your life as a heartless mage. Your life was quiet and gentle and you liked it that way. While you loved stories of kings and queens and magical conquests, of evil slain and good prevailing, of innocent people rescued, such things had no place in your day to day life.
You were the daughter of a warm, frugal man who had married a reasonably rich merchant, a woman who gave freely and happily and both of them had raised you with plenty of love and care. You had wanted for nothing when they filled the house with laughter and taught you everything they could with gentle hands.
When you had decided to become a bee keeper and candle maker, they had helped you fulfill your dream, asking around until they had found the perfect little home and plot of land for you to pay off, since you refused their money. They had already given you enough.
"What would you ask for, if you got the mage's heart?" your best friend asked when she visited you one afternoon to pick up the produce from your bees, a jar of honey and two candles you had made for her.
You paused for a long moment, looking outside the window to your flower fields and the approaching heavy rain clouds. 
"I'd probably just give it back to him," you answered and at her incredulous look, you couldn't help but shrug. "I'm happy, right now there is nothing I'd ask for."
Happiness wasn't around every day of course. You had weathered many a storm, but largely you were, indeed, quite content with life. You had learned that even if dark times came, you could fight through them until you reached the light again. You could and would do it as many times as necessary.
"I'd probably ask for all the riches I could think of," your friend mused. "I'd love to go to the big city and attend the balls, you know? Dancing with dashing noblemen and women and just..." 
She sighed wistfully, adding, "Just imagine it. Glittering jewel chandeliers and all those elegant, courteous people. No one farting at the dinner table or anything like that."
You couldn't help but laugh as you handed over the candles she had asked for. You had carved some delicate flowers along the outside per her request and her eyes lit up when she saw your handiwork. 
"Why not marry the mage then? He should be able to give you all that with how sought after and highly regarded his kind are," you asked as she put everything into her basket.
"Mages are dangerous," she answered with a shake of her head. "I won't ever tangle with that. Besides, I heard that mages only appear beautiful at first. The longer you look at them, the stranger they become. I don't know. I don't think I could have a husband that would look less and less human every day."
That was reasonable enough, you supposed, if such things were true. 
Your friend frowned a little and sighed, "Not that I'd ever get a chance to find his heart in the first place, if the legend is even true. Old Brenna swears up and down that she saw him once, but then again she also claims to have seen bog bies and little gnomes. Still, wouldn't it be nice to not be stuck here?"
"I quite like it here," you said and cast a glance outside the window. "And if you don't plan to either walk through the rain or stay for dinner you should probably get going."
Your friend leaned forward to peer up at the sky as well and made a face. "Damn, you're right. Alright, I'll see you again tomorrow?"
"You're welcome anytime," you reassured her and she left with a fond smile, telling you to drop by for dinner at her place sometime soon.
A minute after she left the first drop hit your window, followed by many more. You took a moment to stand there and close your eyes, listening to the pitter patter of rain coming down on your cozy little home. What a lovely sound.
You cleaned up around the house for a bit, listening to the calming, steady fall of rain, before you peered out the window again. It was getting late enough that you should lock the chickens in their coop so they'd be safe during the night.
Grabbing your wool cloak to stay safe from the rain and getting barefoot into your boots since you couldn't be bothered to put on socks, you stepped outside. The smell of rain and warm earth welcomed you as you walked down the small path to the coop, lightly hopping from one broad, flat stone to the next.
You hummed to yourself and before you knew it, you were singing the mage's song as you checked if the chickens were already safely inside their coop. 
For all the joy, all the joy it brought to me
My heart longs, oh it longs to be set free
All's fair in love and war they say
But when your words, oh your sweet words wither and decay
My heart drowned, oh it drowned in sorrow's flood
So set me free, set me free so I can choose to land
In someone's kind and gentle hand
You weren't too worried about summoning the mage with just his song, considering the plethora of things one had to do on top of that – if he indeed existed. You doubted he'd even hear you singing in the rain in the first place.
If you were being honest, you quite liked the song, depending on your mood, you could sing it quickly and cheerfully or slowly and with melancholy. Today you sang it light and sweet with an undertone of joy, fitting to the good mood the gentle rain had brought as you locked in your chickens.
It took you a moment to notice the steady, muffled sound of footsteps and when you turned around, curious and surprised, you stilled, the song dying on your lips.
You knew it was the mage with just a glance. He stood tall and with elegant poise, his long, flowing robes were black as night and raven-dark embroidery shimmered on it in the dim, evening light falling through thick clouds.
His missing heart was easy to see, a ring of light glowing softly on his chest, reminding you of the solar eclipse you had seen once.
His long, pale hair fell down his back like a wave of shimmering silver and his lashes were dark and thick, his eyes a soft lavender. His eyes were the only bits of true color on him. 
Even the jewelry he was decked in was pale. The delicate silver crown with it's glittering gems, the earrings on his pointy ears, the rings on his elegant fingers and the necklace around his throat, they all looked like they were woven out of starlight and white gold.
"Good evening," the mage said and your friend had been right about one thing, the longer you looked at him, the less human he appeared.
His lavender eyes held a shine that was deeper and stranger than even the oldest woods, his nails seemed just a tad too hard and long, hinting at claws, his hair too shimmering and silver and his clothes were made of no fabric you had ever seen before. 
He seemed utterly out of place, standing among the flower fields that surrounded this side of your home, rain gently drumming down.
"I had not expected to hear my song tonight," he said, soft spoken and polite, but you weren't fooled. Mages were dangerous and you had been raised with a good head on your shoulders. "Especially without any of the usual provisions. Are you to make a bid for my heart?"
"Oh, my apologies," you hurried to say, nervously gripping your woolen cloak as you peered at him past the rim of your hood. "I merely like your song, I had not intended to call upon you. I honestly thought it wouldn't work without all the other demands being fulfilled."
His head tipped slightly, the fine, delicate chain on one ear glittering with the movement. "I see. Now that I did appear anyway, do you intend to make a bid for my heart?"
You wondered if it was painful for him, to wander around without one. If he was caught in a perpetual search for the next person who could gain it and trade it back for a wish. If maybe, between being summoned by songs, he was hunting for his heart himself.
"No," you answered honestly. You personally did not much enjoy lying in the first place, it only caused problems sooner or later. "I have no desire for your heart."
He blinked once and there was a pause, as though he was carefully choosing his words. "And what about a wish?"
You couldn't help but gesture all around you. "I like my life, I like this place and my work here and those I love are happy and healthy enough." Could wishes even make people truly happy? Or were they tricks, like fae deals? "There is little I want and the things I do desire I intend to get on my own."
He seemed surprised at your answer and then he was smiling and everything about him seemed just a tad brighter, from the glow on his chest to the glittering jewelry and the silver shine of his hair.
"A fair answer from a fair heart, I am glad to hear as much," he said, a touch of real warmth entering his voice. "My apologies for disturbing you then. Have a good evening."
He offered a polite little bow and was about to move on when you realized that he was getting more drenched with every moment. And while he was a mage, you did feel a bit bad that you had summoned him into this weather unintentionally.
"Would you like to come in?" you asked and he paused, glancing at you. "At least until the bad weather is over. I've been told I make pretty good food, too."
He blinked and water trailed over his crow, dripping off at the edges and he inclined his head in agreement, appearing somewhat curios.
You led the way back to your little home and held the door open for him. Toeing off your shoes and as he stepped inside, you fetched a linen towel for him and handed him the slippers you kept around for when you had visitors with bigger feet.
"Thank you for your hospitality," he said and you felt the brief shiver of magic in the air that dried him entirely as he refused the towel with a rather kind smile.
You left him to look around your open living room and kitchen as you started to boil water for a pot of tea. He was quite respectful of your space, glancing at some paintings you kept around and your little knickknacks on display.
He did pause when he saw your work, the candles you had finished today, some already packaged to be sent out tomorrow. The temple had a regular order that you fulfilled and they were due another delivery.
"You are quite skilled," he said and gestured at the candles you had carved and painted for market day. "May I?"
"Go ahead," you told him, digging out the fancy tea your mother had gifted you as a house warming gift.
By the time the tea was done, the mage had selected a few candles and upon inquiring for their prices, paid for them.
"May I put in an order?" he asked. "Some of my spellwork requires candles. Would you be willing to make enchanted ones as well, so long as I bring you the necessary components?"
"Can I even enchant candles? I'm about as ordinary as they come," you answered and the mage's face lit up.
To your surprise, the ensuing conversation and discussion about magic and magical properties that some things inherently possessed and how ordinary people could use them as well, was quite fun and interesting.
Before you knew it, you had served dinner and the mage had complimented you for the good food and you kept talking as the rain kept falling outside, moving into your living room to get comfortable on the two seats you had placed near the small fireplace.
You genuinely had so much fun you even managed to make the mage laugh, the jewelry on his ears tinkling softly as he was gripped by mirth. You were sad to see him go when the thrum of rain stopped at last.
"Feel free to visit whenever you want," you said with a smile as you accompanied him to the door. "I'm here most days and it can get quite lonely." You loved your friends and family, but they had their own lives and their own responsibilities and relationships to care for. You didn't get to see them as often as you'd like.
"I understand that all too well," the mage said with a little smile, melancholic and soft, that told you he indeed knew what it was like. "I will take you up on that offer. Ah, may I tell my friends and acquaintances about you as well? They have been looking for a good candle supplier for some time."
"Oh, of course, though, maybe give me some time to figure out how to create enchanted candles," you answered and he obligingly bowed his head a little.
As he left, he did so with a last smile, his jewelry shimmering as though freshly polished and his hair as fine as spun silver coated in starlight. He was gone just like that, melting into the dark of night as though he had become one with it.
Closing the door you went and cleaned up and finished packing away the candles for the next day. As you went to bed, you couldn't help but think that he didn't seem to be in pain, at the very least.
Still, you couldn't imagine that being heartless was very pleasant.
*.*.*
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Thank you all so much for your support, it makes it an absolute joy to keep writing stories!
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reidiot · 10 months
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don't fucking interrupt me when i'm reading my x reader fics it's rude
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”oh so how did you get into writing?-“ no, writing got into me. Actually it infiltrated my brain, starting with the slow takeover of my room with books to the extremely fast claiming of my notes app and now there’s no way to stop it and no way for me to stop.
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strangelittlestories · 4 months
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After the occupation, the princess was confined to the palace.
Once a month she'd be taken on a walk around the city, heavily guarded of course, to show the people that she still lived. It also served, of course, as a reminder of what they stood to lose if they made trouble. The princess did her best go wave and smile and give the people what encouragement she could.
The rest of the time, her life was spent in musty rooms and dusty towers. She filled most of her time scouring the castle for materials which she would sew into more and more elaborate outfits, which she would show off on the days when she was allowed outside.
Indeed, the public loved their princess and her dresses so much they'd often sketch or paint them along the route and pass the images on so that all could see the princess at least was well.
This pleased the occupiers for two reasons. First: it kept the princess out of trouble. Second: it gave them a reason to sneer and they did love a good sneer.
"What a vain creature she is!" They would remark.
"Doesn't even care we murdered her brothers so long as she gets enough satin to make her little dresses!" They squawked.
This was unfair, of course, for to call her creations "little dresses" was to call Queen Murderfun the Needlessly Genocidal "a tad piquey". Her dresses were gravity-defying wonders lace and pearl. They were thunderstorms captured in velvet and waterfalls summoned in silk. She was a wizard with silk.
Still, she bore their mockery with a tight smile and careful deference.
"Please, good sirs, my home, my people and my city now belong to you. Let me keep, at least, this one last joy."
And they sneered and they crowed most unpleasantly, but they let her keep her sewing room.
Of course, they would have known their mockery to be doubly unfair had they realised the true purpose of the princess's elaborate designs. For hidden in the intricate embroiderings across her gowns, jackets and fans, the princess had encoded secret (and very detailed) messages. When she would go on her monthly walk, the city's loyalists would line the route, sketching down the patterns to decode later.
Thus did the princess transmit all the occupiers' secrets (unearthed while supposedly 'searching the castle for old fabrics') to the city and thus did she build her resistance.
On the day the revolution finally came, she girded herself in armour of thick spider silk and whale bone. She cut a fine figure with a lacy handkerchief in her top pocket and a razor sharp knitting needle keeping her hair up.
As she waltzed through the castle to open the door for her army, the Usurper King tried to stop her and she simply unfolded her handkerchief and showed it to him.
Upon seeing the impossible arcane pattern emblazoned across it, he fell to the floor with blood streaming from his eyes.
She always had been a wizard with silk.
---
Thank you for reading. If you'd like to support my writing, you can do so at https://ko-fi.com/strangelittlestories
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bearsockz · 10 days
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Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Part one
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thestuffedalligator · 11 months
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The goblin looked at the orc. The orc looked at the goblin. They both looked down at the crumpled shape of the Overlord, His Unholy Majesty, in his obsidian armor.
His final spasms had been mesmerizingly acrobatic. The fall down the steps leading up to his iron throne had pretzelled his body quite impressively, both arms folded behind his back and one leg bent at a jaunty angle.
The goblin looked at the orc. The orc looked at the goblin.
"Shit," said the goblin.
"Shit," said the orc.
"We're likely to get blamed for this," the goblin said. She walked over to the head of the glittering mangled heap and started pulling the helmet off.
"It's not our fault," the orc said. "It's hard to help someone choking when they wear two-hundred pounds of spiked armor at all times."
"Yeah, well," the goblin grunted. The helmet came free, and the bald head of the Overlord bounced on the stone with a hollow, coconut noise. "You know how it is in this bloody country - thieves get their heads cut off so they can't think about thieving, and all that." She fished in the Overlord's mouth with a finger and pulled out the obstructing olive on the end of her claw.
She popped it into her mouth and chewed. "What do you reckon they do for a regicide?" she said.
"We should run," the orc said. She had started bouncing her leg. "I hear that there's some places in the Alliance where they just kill you and let you stay dead. That's got to be nicer than what'll happen if we stay here."
The goblin started to nod - and then her gaze fell on the helmet.
It looked like a pineapple designed by a deranged blacksmith. It was all thorns and spikes and hard edges, as though the maker had been very determined to not let pigeons roost on it. The only bits that weren't solid iron were eyeholes. Nobody had ever seen the Overlord's face.
She held up the helmet and squinted from it to the orc. One of the thorns had been bent badly in the fall.
Nobody had ever seen the Overlord's face...
"Right," she muttered. "Right. Could work - or."
The orc had a sudden vision of the immediate future. "No," she said.
"I mean you're about his height-"
"No."
"It would just be for a-"
"Absolutely not."
"Just hear me out," the goblin said. "Outside of this room are two-thousand men and orcs and goblins who are absolutely gonzo about this man, and there's a whole country of them outside of the castle, and at any moment someone's going to walk in that door and see one dead tit in black armor and two unbelievably dead idiots next to him.
"Or." She tossed the helmet up like a basketball to the orc, who fumbled and tried to find somewhere to hold it that wasn't a knife's edge. "We chuck him out the window now, walk out the door in the armor, and ditch the armor as soon as nobody sees us."
The orc had started bouncing her leg again. "They'll know something's up the second I walk out of the room."
"No worries," said the goblin. "Leave that to me."
---
It had been a very strange year for the Empire.
Change had rolled across the land as slow and inevitable as a glacier. Roads and bridges carved the gray, blasted wildlands, and a number of social reforms had made the country a place where you could be miserable, yes, but miserable in comfort and safety, and that was an improvement.
Barely anyone got boiled alive in molten metal, and even if the disgusted sun never rose to light the Empire, at least you had a roof over your head to protect yourself from the acid rain.
"Your empire flourishes, Your Unholy Majesty," the magician said over her wine glass. She looked down from the tower's balcony over the gleaming stone battlements. Some work had been done to line the castle and surrounding city with sizzling, crackling alchemical lights at night. The whole thing glowed like something dangerously radioactive.
The suit of armor waved a languid, glittering gauntlet over to the goblin, who bowed.
"His Abominable Gloriousness Thanks You," the goblin recited. "The Prosperity Of His Empire Can Only Be Achieved Through The Prosperity Of His People."
"If I may be so bold, I am quite pleased that you had chosen to take my counsel under consideration," said the magician. "We have accomplished many things together."
Another wave. Another bow. "The Overlord, May His Presence Swallow The Sun And Stars, Thanks You As Well."
"It was quite gratifying to see you change your mind, after so many centuries of denial." The wine was swirled. "Tell me, what was it that finally gave you cause to listen to me?"
There was the slightest hesitation. The goblin's eyes flicked to the armor, then to the magician. She puffed out her chest. "Do you question the wisdom of His Austere Lugubriousness?" she asked.
The magician looked at the goblin. She looked at the armor. She tipped her head back and drank the wine too quickly.
She looked back at the armor. "I know you're the orc, you moron," she said.
The room went deathly still. An alchemical light fizzled.
The orc pulled off the helmet, sending long, untied hair down tangling, and said: "How could you possibly-"
"Because you're both idiots!" the magician said. The goblin jumped. The orc jumped with a noise like a dropped stove. "What kind of a plan was this?! If it wasn't for me, you would have been turned into fertilizer months ago."
She closed her eyes. She took a long, dramatic breath. She set the wine glass down on the balcony rail.
"How did the Overlord die?" she asked when she seemed like she had gotten a hold over herself.
"Choked on an olive," said the goblin.
"Threw his body out the window," said the orc.
"You don't have to mention the window," said the goblin.
"Right," said the orc. "Sorry."
The magician looked out over the city, hand curled thoughtfully under her nose. "Who knows about this?"
"Just us. And, uh. You. Apparently."
"And why did you accept my counsel?"
The orc blinked. "Sorry?"
"Why did you accept my counsel?" the magician repeated.
"Well," the orc said. "Well - you seemed like you had good ideas-"
"Great ideas!" the goblin said with an edge of desperation. "Don't know why the old bastard didn't listen to you!"
"Right - right," said the orc. "And when we figured we were stuck doing this - well, it just made sense, really."
The magician seemed to absorb this. She nodded. "All right," she said, striding between the two and grabbing the crystal decanter.
"Um," said the orc. "Sorry. What happens now?"
"What happens is that you two will continue to serve as Overlord," said the magician. "You will continue to take my counsel. We will continue to reform this bloody country, and gods willing, we will turn it into the crown jewel of the world by next Midwinter."
The orc looked at the goblin. The goblin looked at the orc.
"Really?" the goblin asked.
"Oh yes," said the magician. "I've worked hard to be counsel to the Overlord, and I have no reason to stop now. And besides-"
She looked the orc up and down with a deliberate slowness, poring over every microscopic detail, eyes tracing over every jagged line, and grinned like a panther.
"You look much better in the armor than he ever did," she said. Dark robes swirled like a becleavaged thundercloud, and she strode out through the high iron doors, decanter in hand.
The goblin looked at the orc. The orc looked at the goblin.
"Shit," said the goblin.
"Shit," said the orc.
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a-kind-of-merry-war · 2 months
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A guy doing marine research into phytoplankton is far out to sea and waiting for the samples to be ready when he spots a fast-moving ripple in the water up ahead.
Fully aware that this spot is home to a migratory orca pod, he assumes he's stumbled across an orca hunting a seal and settles against the railing to watch, because it's not every day you get to see that.
The ripples get closer, the shadows in the water more defined, the water choppier, and suddenly the orca and its unfortunate prey are zooming directly towards the boat and he's waiting, breath held, for them to duck right underneath--
When the water breaks, the ocean sprays, and he's suddenly smacked fully in the face by a very wet, very confused, and very pretty merman, throwing them both down onto the deck while the boat rocks as a confused and now quite hungry orca dives beneath it.
The merman, it turns out, thought that the boat was an ice float and didn't realise his mistake until it was too late. But he's very thankful for the impromptu rescue, and wow don't you have nice arms, and holy shit you've got legs, can I touch them? Is that weird? Can I touch them anyway? And your hair--
So of course they get to talking because they're both utterly fascinated with the other, and soon the sun has set and the samples are long-since ready and the moonlight is making the ocean look black and they part with the knowledge that they'll never meet again, and a kiss, and a lingering look over the shoulder for all the things that can't be...
And the researcher gets back to land, moors his boat, readies his samples. He packs up his things, shoves them into his bags, and prepares to go home. He steps onto the jetty boards and thinks of the merman and the solid wood beneath his feet seems to sway for more than one reason.
There's a splash. He turns, pulled as if by the tide, and there's a ripple in the water. A face. A pair of eyes made black by the moonlight.
And this is how the researcher acquires a merman boyfriend who helps him find samples and the merman acquires a human boyfriend who rescues him from whales.
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the-modern-typewriter · 4 months
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Imagine a villain straight refusing to fight another member of the Hero Team just cuz his hero archnemesis is not present
"Where are they?"
"Oh, not again." The protagonist could feel a headache coming on. "Look-"
"-Are they hurt?" The villain's eyes went dark and dangerous. "Who hurt them?"
"They're fine! Oh my god."
"Then where are they?"
The protagonist definitely had a headache. "It's their day off."
"They didn't tell me they had the day off. What's wrong?"
The really concerning part was that the hero probably would tell the villain which days they were working and which they weren't. The two of them were as bad as each other! The hero was going to be unbearable when they came back and found out that the team had fought the villain without them.
"Can we just get this over with?" the protagonist tried.
"No."
The protagonist sighed. They pinched the bridge of their nose and took a few deep breaths. "Okay," they said slowly. "But you realise I'm still going to have confiscate your nightmare robot."
"It's not for you. And don't think I didn't notice you dodging the question!"
The protagonist considered their options; lies, truth, everything in between.
The villain's nightmare robot hunkered down a little more pointedly in the middle of the bridge. Several people honked their horns. It was, honestly, embarrassing for everyone involved at that point.
"Their grandma died."
"Oh no." The villain's whole face softened. "Grandma L or Grandma P?"
Of course he knew the hero's grandparents. Of course he did. "Look, about the robot-"
"-I'll reschedule," the villain said.
"I can't let you keep the robot. My boss would have my head."
"That sounds like a 'you' problem. I have flowers to send."
The protagonist's eye twitched. "If you try and walk away with it-"
"-Do you really want to traumatize this entire bridge of innocent civilians?"
"I'm sure they're traumatized having to listen to you two idiots on a weekly basis."
"I'm taking the robot. When are they back?"
"They haven't said," the protagonist said, through gritted teeth. "As you know-"
"-They'll be doing all the funeral arrangements. Yeah. You know what, give me their number. I'll text them."
"I'm not giving you their number."
"Why not?"
"It's against policy."
"I'd like to express my condolences."
The protagonist looked them dead in the face. "Mm. That sounds like a 'you' problem. I have a robot to confiscate."
The robot slammed a fist into the bridge. It wobbled precariously.
The protagonist raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. They folded their arms across their chest.
"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" the villain snarled.
"I hate you too, don't worry."
"I should kill you."
"They'd have so much paperwork when they got back from the funeral. It would really improve their month, you killing me."
They ended up glaring at each other.
"If I give you the bloody stupid robot, will you give me their number?"
The protagonist smiled sweetly. "That's the only smart thing I've ever heard you say."
Everyone, generally, preferred it when the hero was around.
They all made sure it didn't happen again.
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