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themonotonysyndrome · 3 years

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Emerald Onlooker

Part 2 of the Successors to the Future is here! I, uh, didn’t expect a lot of people liking it, but since I’m still pretty excited about this AU, I want to write as much as I can.

Thank you again @tri3tri for inspiring us with your Second Wive AU and many, many wonderful Yandere!Malleus content. A little summary about this AU: Yandere!Malleus married and took MC against her will. He turns her into a Queen and they had 2 daughters. However, Yandere!Malleus is pushed to take on a second wife (a Fae woman, Gekkon) to give him a son, a male heir. During the wedding ceremony, MC took the opportunity and escape to NRC with her daughters in tow and Crowley finally did them a solid and send the three of them to MC’s world.

Successors to the Future, summary: Without a court of condescending Faes and Malleus’ oppressive affection, MC and her daughters live happily in the other world. When she left Twisted Wonderland, MC didn’t realise that she was pregnant and thus, she gave birth to a son who grew up as carefree as a bird and just as kind. However, now that her eldest daughter had just turned sixteen and discover her Unique Magic, she was returned to Twisted Wonderland as a first-year student in Diasomnia. Since it’s only a matter of time before Malleus and his court discover her presence at NRC, MC and her children did their best to prepare her for that inevitable day.

This oneshot is a continuation of that.

FD/N = First daughter’s name/Renata Draconia (half-human, half dark Fae Princess. Malleus & MC’s eldest child)

SD/N = Second daughter’s name/Sherrie or Cherry Draconia (half-human, half-dark Fae Princess. Malleus & MC’s middle child)

S/S = Son’s name/Lucien Draconia (half-human, half-dark Fae Prince and the heir to the throne. Malleus & MC’s youngest child).

MC/S = MC’s surname

Sherrie enjoy going about her daily lives on her lowest brain capacity most of the time. There’s nothing like just... switching off your brain and ignore all the boring things around you.

The only thing that gets the gears and cogs in her brain spinning is when she plays video games like Portal or coming up with schemes to get her eldest sister out of trouble.

When she jokes about only having 2 braincells and that both are constantly on holidays at the same time unless Renata did something stupid, Renata howl with laughter while Lucien just rolled his eyes at his cackling sisters.

But now that Renata is playing student in Night Raven College, Sherrie is surprised to find herself looking forward to not only help her oldest sister dodged their father’s steps, but also pulling the proverbial rug underneath the Thorn Kingdom.

Especially Lilia Vanrouge.

It’s addicting. The unholy glee running within you when your cute puppets finally realised who’s been tugging on their strings all along.

Humans are easy and oblivious enough for her to practise on. Despite how monotonous school can be, the environment was a good place for Sherrie to learn and play. Everyone has a chip on their shoulder; everyone wants to stand out among the rest.

So it’s really not that hard to learn who’s the right person to blackmail, who’s desperate enough to do anything to make their crush look at them and how to make the key figures dance on the palm of her hands.

This year’s prom night was certainly a memory she won’t ever forget.

And now? Now Sherrie can’t wait to play with the so-called ‘superior’ species - their father’s ancient court and loyal retainers - once she and her sister could establish contact.

They’ve been working hard on this little project. Everyone in her little family is. Renata is off being a good little student and let the gossips travel on its own, their little brother is doing his best to assured their mother that all would be well and Sherrie?

Sherrie is busy setting up the stage for the climax once Renata usher all the important players to where she wanted them.

(Mama likes to call her a ‘smart cookie’, always rubbed her head affectionately and said, “You’re a brilliant girl, Cherry. You’re just lazy. I know you can achive anything you want with the proper motivation, just like Floyd-senpai.”.)

(Their Mama can never know just how far her daughter had use the same skill that she praise to manipulate others.)

In the middle of the evening - just shy after midnight - Sherrie heard a water drip somewhere in her bedroom.

Drip... drip... drip...

She pushes her chair away from her gaming laptop, game paused and just listen. Her eyes scan the dimly lit bedroom.

Drip... drip...

“This better not be the start of a horror movie.”

It’s coming from... somewhere near her vanity table. Sherrie ignores the clutter of make-ups, perfumes and figurines on the table and waited eagerly. Her leg couldn’t stop bouncing when the surface ripple like water’s surface once.

The ripple clears and instead of staring at her reflection, her oldest sister stares right back at her.

“It works!” Renata said incredulously. “I can’t believe the headmaster’s half-assed runes actually works!”

“The fuck? What happened?” Sherrie reply, a bit taken back. Behind her sister, Sherrie could see a bed, study table and walls and other furnishing that eerily looks similar to the ones back at the castle.

Renata waved her hand in a dismissive manner. “I had to literally bullied a grown ass man to help me contact you. It took me a week of camping in the library to figured out how, but we managed to come up with runes that allow us to create a link to every mirror in the house.” She explains in an exasperated tone. “I’ll teach you the drawing tomorrow. All you guys need to do is just draw them on any mirror and it’ll send me a signal to find a mirror of my own.”

“That kinda sounds like a phone call. Like, an interdimensional phone call!”

“I know right! I already put a compact mirror in my purse so I can call you anytime!” Renata said with a smug grin. She’s clearly proud of her clever little trick. Even with the help of the headmaster.

Sherrie never doubted that her sister couldn’t find a way to contact them. She’s a prodigy when it comes to magic.

She might be young, but she could still remember how their tutors gave out praises as if they were candies when it comes to her older sister and her affinity for magic.

It’s just too bad that their compliments are worthless when they always ended with, “If only the Princess is a full born Fae...”

“Ok, so, contact established. Now are you still in Phase 1?” Sherrie said, bringing their conversation back to important matters. She made sure to properly and slowly explain their game plan a week before the Ebony Carriage took Renata to Night Raven College. The words are clearly written, highlighted colourfully and important steps are accompanied by cartoon stickers.

Despite being a prodigy at magic, her sister woefully has short attention span when it comes to playing the long game. Her attention spans burn hot and fast, just like her anger. It also burns out just as quick as it came.

Renata rolled her eyes, unimpressed. “Yes, yes. I’m still in Phase 1. It’s hard to make friends when everyone is wary of you. Do you know they hung up portraits of past Dorm Leaders and their Vice Dorm Leaders in each dorm? It’s so annoying when everyone stares at me and at father’s portrait whenever I walk into Disomnia!”

Sherrie hums and made a quick dash to grab her tablet. The one where she wrote down her plans. She swipes the screen to the list of names that their mother had given them.

“They’re just NPCs, don’t worry about them. What you need to focus on are the students with the surnames that Mama gave us.” Here, Sherrie is tapping on the screen of her tablet to the mirror. “Have you met any of them or did you fucked up the plan already?”

“Calm your tits, I’ve been following your instructions.” Renata assured her, not the least riled up. “We’re only in the first semester; I only managed to match the names and faces of my dorm mates so far. It’s gonna take me at least a month of snooping around before I could find them.” Renata paused and her eyes suddenly lit up as if she just remembered something. “Oh, but I’ve been farming intel of the Thorn Kingdom using the Lucky Leanan spell every day after curfew. It took some trial and error but I successfully managed to find the castle again!”

Sherrie recalls that one of Renata spells - Lucky Leanan - creates a small fairy made out of pure magic that would do sneak attacks by shooting lightning bolts while Renata fights. It’s small enough to flit behind an opponent’s line of sight and take them off guard.

Small enough to sneak into the castle without anyone none the wiser.

So Sherrie nodded. “That’s a good move. You’re safely far away from the castle and you can remotely dispel Leanan if it gets dicey.”

“Yup! Look at my one braincell go!” Renata cheered. “If I keep this up and give it plenty of water and sunlight, maybe it’ll grow!”

Sherrie burst out laughing alongside her sister. Her joke took her off guard. Hopefully their laughter didn’t wake up their mother and Lucien.

Sherrie hiccups and wipe the tears from the corner of her eye. It feels nice to talk to her sister again.

She misses her disaster of sister already.

“Anyway, I need to hit the bed soon.” Renata said, breaking her train of thought. “I’ll do my best to gather as much info as I can about the ongoings inside the castle for you. Are there any heads up you want me to look for?”

Sherrie smiles brightly and reply, “Of course! If you could, be a dear and get everything about father’s... other wife. Everything - right down to the most boring shits.”

“On it.”

That first-year Diasomnia student has been the talk around campus for weeks now.

Not only is she the only girl in Night Raven College, word on the streets quickly spreads that she’s look too similar to one of the previous Dorm Leader of Diasomnia to not be related.

Staring at her while she’s busy taking a selfie of the Great Seven statues, he agrees that the similarities are too uncanny.

Now, why would he sends his own Princess to a villain school without any retainer?

That, and why under a different surname?

Something’s not right.

Renata MC/S brought with her an interesting mystery to Night Raven College. A mystery that caught his interest at the first whiff of her scent. And oh Great Seven, her delectable scent. The first time his nose caught that mouthwatering smell, it had his tail swishing in eager and his head spinning.

It’s the scent of his favourite flower - blood lily - with a hint of something... otherworldly. He still can’t quite put words into it.

He wants to unravel her. Understand what makes her tick.

Uncover what she’s hiding.

Four days later in History class, Professor Trein gave him - and Renata - their golden ticket.

“Kingscholar, MC/S - you two will be partners for this assignment. I expect you two have no objection.”

“It’s fine...”

“I don’t have a problem with the arrangement, professor.”

The professor nodded and class is dimiss. Students began making their way out of the room. Except for him... and her.

Renata steps in front of his desk when they finally have the class all to themselves. He takes a good, long look at her.

She’s certainly beautiful; a real heartbreaker. But there’s something interesting within her bright green eyes. Something volatile. He wonders what could it really be.

“Hi there. So you’re Bakari Kingscholar, hmm? Hope we can ace this assignment without any problem.” Renata said with a small smile. Is she trying to be friendly? Because it just looks condescending as hell.

But that just makes this a lot more fun.

“Same here. Girl or not, I won’t let it slide if you prove to be a dead weight.”

His warning clearly took her off guard with the how her smile froze. It was only for a moment though, before she let out a laugh. As if he just told a funny joke.

“Kitty-cat is flexing his claws, huh?” Renata had the audacity to grin. The other Savanaclaw students would’ve lowered their heads at his tone. “Don’t worry. Do your part and I promise I won’t light your tail on fire.”

Oh, his old man needs to know about this girl.

You have no idea how much fun it is to write about Malleus and MC’s children! Especially the Princessess. Unfortunately, they’re more like Malleus than they or MC even realise it. Anyway, my main reference for SD/N is none other than... TADA! Fyodor Dostoevsky from BSD!

It’s just that Sherrie is a lot more lazy and rather keep to herself and stay at home. She only goes out of her to way to mess with people because of Renata and her tendecies to get into trouble.

I’m still thinking on the draft for part 3 so we’ll see how that goes. Also, I was struggling wether to name Leona’s son or not. I think that honoured should go to @tri3tri!

#twisted wonderland #fanfic #twst mc #Draconia Family series #tri3tri #Second Wive AU #twst kids #drama is gonna kick off real soon #yandere!malleus

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sunnybimbo · 7 years

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The Witch and the Mage

ao3 link here

y’all i had so much fun with this aljdhsajdahl pls feel free to ask more about this because i love it SO MUCH

@voltron-rare-pair-week for Day Four: Free Day!

could be read as platonic or pre-slash Shunk (Shiro/Hunk)!

(MMO AU; 3908 words)

“The Goblins of Dorfenshertin should be showing up after this room, so make sure you save your buffs.”

“Shiro’s talking to you, Keith. Mr. ‘Sorry, I Was On Cooldown’.” Lance griped.

“Are you still pissy you died?” Keith sighed heavily, the sound echoing in his burgonet, only his half-lidded eyes visible through the faceplate. Nonetheless they all could hear the grin in his voice.

“Uh, yeah. I lost my Orb of Disarray! That last boss would’ve gone down like that , if you had your buffs up.”

The two of them butted heads, though Lance quickly pulled away when his bare forehead clanged hard against Keith’s metal helmet.

“Asshole.”

“Guys, kinda need your help here.” Hunk grunted, wringing his fingers as he casted Barricade on the door twice in succession. Still, it buckled and cracked under the weight of the forty or so goblins that had begun to spawn into existence.

The room of the twenty-five story castle they were currently hiding in was basically a tiny library. Thick dust lined the walls, caking dozens of book spines in a layer of dirty white. Spider webs criss-crossed the ceiling, and oozing egg sacs harmlessly swung above their heads.

(Harmless if you didn’t touch the acid, that is.)

Holes in the walls, that counted as windows if you squinted, were so high up that they would have had to stand on each other’s shoulders to peek out of them. That, combined with the night cycle outside, led to that awfully dreary lighting they were subjected to while they awaited their demise.

Lance cracked his knuckles, cocking his gun and striking a pose. “I bet you I can take them all with no health packs.”

Shiro shook his head, wiggling his fingers as purple energy crackled around them. “No bets. Not if you guys actually want to qualify for the tournament next weekend.”

He turned to the pendant that gave him a view of their base. It was safely nestled in a corner of the realm, about two kingdoms away from their current location. The pendant, a reward given to them from one of their very first missions, allowed for two way visual communication.

There, in the corner surrounded by her golems and undead pets sat their necromancer. “Pidge, how long until you finish that buff?”

“Twenty seconds. Well, that plus the fifteen more I need to be able to project it over to you. After that, Hunk should be ready to cast Vindicate.”

“Got it. Think you can hold it for 35 more seconds, Hunk?”

“Not really.” The panicking witch hissed, summoning a wall of cobblestone to block the few goblins that slipped in past the cracking wood and waning barriers.

Keith grimaced, hefting his broadsword in front of him as he widened his stance. “We might need to take them out now and just hope for the best.”

The team nodded and, with a weary sigh, Hunk let his enchantment fall as he slid to the back to provide support. Witches tended to be quite squishy, especially when it came to large mobs.

“We’ve got this!”

---

Shiro sighed heavily, dragging his hand down his face as the rest of the team respawned.

The grassy hills they got transported to were about 20 miles away from the Tower of Calamity, the exact same tower they had just got absolutely destroyed in. There was no way they would be able to walk all the way back and beat all twenty five levels again.

Not tonight, anyway.

Pidge sent them a fussy group message, seeing as she wasn’t able to contact them directly now that their direct communicator was lost. Shiro skimmed past the filtered curse words, making a mental note to have the team rerun the dungeon later to get another pendant.

‘I’ll try to find some outside help for next time. See you four tomorrow.’ Was her signing off message, and Shiro knew she was probably going to be up all night contacting guilds or mercenaries for hire.

From behind him, Lance hacked up a lung as he rubbed his throat. “I swear, these goblins get more and more ruthless the longer I play this damn game.”

The pain, of course, had faded as soon as he lost his last health bar, but the feel of their grubby fingers against his esophagus still ghosted across his skin. Nevermind the fact that his under armor extended up to his chin.

Maybe it was a glitch? Ah, well. These games were made to be realist, either way.

Keith respawned next, hands pressed across his abdomen as he let out a ragged breath. He fell hard against the grass, shoving his helm from his face, and Shiro gave him a tentative smile. “Stabbed?”

He only received a scowl in response, but by the way Keith kept checking his belly for signs of blood, he’d probably hit it right on the nose.

“What’s the point of full metal armor if I can just get stabbed between the cracks, anyway?” He pouted, pulling himself up.

Hunk was last, and the ends of his robe were singed as he materialized into view. “Oh, geez. We went down so hard.” He rubbed soot from his eyes, dusting his blackened fingers off on his trousers.

“Yeah, we did.” Shiro couldn’t help but laugh, before he heaved another sigh. “I guess we’d better call this a night, huh?”

Lance grunted as Hunk helped him up. “I guess so. I have family bonding activities tonight, anyway, so I should probably go help set up.” He stretched his arms above his head, curling his back in until it popped. “Should I port back to camp or?”

“We probably need to restock on potions and all that, so go for it. See you tomorrow, sharpshooter.”

With a click of his tongue and a wink, Lance poofed away with only a glittering ring around his feet left as proof he even stood there at all. It disappeared about two seconds later.

“What about you two?” Shiro asked as he pulled up his map, hand hovering in the air as he zoomed in on the nearest town.

Hunk and Keith slid up beside him, peering over his shoulder.

“A trip to town sounds fun to me.” Hunk shrugged, pulling out his bone whistle to call his mount.

“I’ll probably split up to buy some new gear before I log off.” Keith voiced, tapping his chin as he began a mental list of the items he’d need. “But can I hitch a ride?”

Shiro flicked the map away, blinking as his eyes refocused. Hunk just hummed his agreement as his Balmera landed.

They were round animals with sharp edges, rocky in appearance, but soft if they trusted you enough to let you pet them. Their wings were thin, but strong like expensive leather, and their eyes held a kindness that almost made Hunk cry the first time he saw them. Of course, he never admitted it aloud, since no one else ever expresses such sentiments about their digital (as in, not real ) mount.

Rumor has it, though, that if you levelled them high enough they could give you a permanent healing buff, no matter if they were with you or not. Hunk was almost there. Just a few more enchanted books and one more dungeon, and he’d have the gauntlet he needed to summon the -

“Hunk?”

“Huh?”

“We’re ready to go.” Shiro smiled, and Hunk flushed at the teasing look.

“Sorry, I just… zoned out.” He cleared his throat, following the other two as he climbed aboard his pet. “To Dimrun!”

---

Despite the name, Dimrun was a very lively borough. The homes sat so close together, they may as well have been connected townhouses. Every front porch had a personalized lantern, lit almost exactly at the same time each night.

There always seemed to be a festival happening in Dimrun, and that night was no exception. Every person in town, NPC or actual player, seemed to be dressed in silly costumes and twirling in drunken swagger.

Keith hopped from the Balmera first, weapon already out and glinting in the warm torchlit as he inspected the dents and cracks in the steel.

“I’ll see you both around.”

“Good luck finding an open shop.” Hunk offered, and coming from anyone else it probably would have sounded sarcastic. Keith took the comment in stride and offered him a curt nod, disappearing quickly in the thick ocean of the crowd that swarmed the town.

Hunk and Shiro slid from the mount, and Hunk offered it a few treats as he hooked it up in the stall.

“What are you planning for tonight?” Shiro asked, idly picking at his prosthetic. It was almost a mirror image of the one he had in real life, and Hunk always greatly admired both.

“I was probably just going to hit up the tavern; dance around. Lurk.”

“Mind if I join you?”

Hunk glanced over at Shiro, who looked very much so like a person who did not want to be alone at that moment. His eyes were averted downwards, a sharp contrast to his usual cool confidence, and Hunk hummed thoughtfully.

“Please, do.”

Shiro jerked in surprise, as if he had been expecting Hunk to blow him off. “Yeah?”

Hunk flipped off his ornamental hat, donned with jewels, ribbons, and all, and offered his elbow to Shiro, who hooked his fingers in the crook of his elbow automatically in response. “Yep!”

---

The tavern, surprisingly, was empty (other than the barkeeper) when they stepped in. Perhaps all of the drunken patrons decided the party was better in the crisp fall air instead of the stuffy, smoke-ridden bar.

The pair quickly stole a table in the back, away from the creaking door and crackling hearth.

Hunk dumped his satchel across the top, spilling charmed gemstones and thick scroll pages across the alcohol-stained wood.

“What’s all this?” Shiro tucked his elbows on top of the table as he peered down at the writings. “Making a new spell?”

“Mhm! Something for Keith when he runs into battle. Most of my spells aren’t quick enough to block the amount of hits he takes, but I was thinking I could use something like a deflection to help decrease the damage and throw it back at the enemies. It probably would have been especially helpful today, what with that one mage-goblin.”

Hunk sighed heavily. They probably would have been successful in their earlier battle if only it hadn’t appeared as soon as their skills were on cooldown.

“I swear, we’re so unlucky these days. Mage-goblins have like a 1-in-5,000 chance of showing up in a mob! He totally wiped the floor with our butts.” Hunk continued on, picking at the less-than-spectacular gems and pushing them back in the bag.

“If one of us had been able to deflect, maybe he wouldn’t have been such a problem. Then again, once Lance was out of ammo we were pretty much screwed anyway, since he still hasn’t gotten his reload buff.”

Hunk blinked his eyes, glancing up from his color-coded piles to look at Shiro, who just stared at him in something akin to amazement. Or perhaps he zoned out halfway through. “Oh, geez… I went on a rant there, didn’t I? Sorry…”

“It’s fine, Hunk. Us support-types have to rant to someone sometime, right?” Shiro lifted his hand, placating smile dancing across his lips, and a crackle of magic-electricity shot through the air.

Hunk grinned, bringing up his own fingers to call forward a halo of fire that rimmed his knuckles. Their fists touched in a show of camaraderie, and their magic sparked as soon as they met.

“Right.”

---

The two of them spent most of that night planning new strategies and organizing each other’s spells.

Hunk had no idea how Shiro survived with the disorganized mess that was his spell-cast list. His enhancements were at the very bottom, each separated by physical attacks, and he only had one or two of his favorite spells quick-slotted.

“How on earth do you even survive?”

Shiro shrugged. “I like going through the motions. It grounds me.”

Hunk didn’t argue with that. He, himself, had a few larger spells that he preferred to use his entire body to cast, other than a few hand motions. His personal favorite was Vitality, which he only ever used to speed up the growth of his herbs for his potions.

Shiro, though he prefered body magic, suggested Hunk teach him a few healing spells. If only to help himself in the midst of battle so Hunk could focus on the two damage-magnets that were Lance and Keith.

That was how the two of them found each other on the outskirts of town, sitting beneath a willow tree that seemed to want to wrap them up in its vines and steal them away forever. It had a name that escaped Hunk at the moment, but there was some sort of folk-tale he’d heard a while back about it being the spirit of an ancient creature that used to destroy cities with merely a flick of its wrist. If he remembered right, the spirit had been a woman who’d lost her daughter to a pointless war, bent on the destruction of those who’d wronged her and her family. The only reason why she stopped was because of the daughters of those who she’d killed stepped forward and were prepared to give their lives as an exchange for the safety of their people.

Heavy stuff, it was.

The lowing-hanging leaves tickled Hunk’s nose, and he sneezed.

Shiro smiled fondly as he plopped down on the roots that jutted from the ground, patting the spot beside him. “Bless you.”

They joined hands, and Hunk was pleasantly surprised at the warm pulse he felt through the prosthetic. It felt almost the exact same as Shiro’s other palm, the only discernable difference being the smooth texture of metal versus the battle-worn grooves of his skin.

“So, uh… First thing you have to do is focus your magic in your palms.” Hunk began, “Try to keep it away from your fingertips, or else it’ll shoot right up into the air, especially since you’re used to projectile spells.”

Shiro silently nodded his head, eyes fluttering shut.

Hunk followed suit, calling his magic forward to help coax it out of his mage-friend. “Try to keep your breathing steady, too. Once you get used to calling it, you won’t have to worry, but if you start panicking you might hurt yourself.”

“Got it.”

It took quite a while for the surge to pulse through, partly because it was a struggle to get the magic to bypass the metal fingers, but once it did, Hunk nearly gasped aloud.

The magic was strong. Violently so, and it washed over his skin like a malevolent deluge. A harsh shiver ran up his spine, coiling at the base of his skull as sickening thoughts took over. He saw destruction, created by his own hands, overtaking every city and forest of the realm that was Voltron.

When the flow didn’t quell after a few seconds, he had to yank his hands back to take a shaky breath, curling over himself as he counted his breath, his fingers, the stitches of his clothes… anything to calm him down as his heart threatened to break free of his ribcage.

“Hunk?” Came Shiro’s frightened tone. “What happened?”

His brow furrowed, and he had to scrub at his eyes with the heels of his hands to quash the violent images. “You didn’t feel that?”

“I felt… a pull. A soft tug, I guess. Did I hurt you?”

Hunk shooed his worried hands away. “No, no. I’m fine.” He pulled himself up, and helped Shiro to do the same. “I… we should try this another day. I think I’m just tired. Is that okay?”

“Of course.” Shiro nodded. “Come on, let’s… go look at the festivities before you log off.”

Hunk ran a shaky hand through his bangs, nearly ripping his headband from his hair.

“Yes, that sounds… great, actually.”

---

Eventually, Hunk calmed enough to stop his fingers from shaking.

It helped that Shiro constantly bought him things to keep his hands full. Hand-carved statuettes made from woods, glass, and even animal bones were given to him by his guild leader, each one some type of feline, and each one was painted a color that correlated to their teammates. A lounging blue cat for Lance, a ferocious red panther frozen mid-leap for Keith, and a tiny green margay, curled around an equally green tree for Pidge.

The carvings were safely stashed away in his satchel as they rounded on food stalls, and Shiro was quick to buy anything that seemed to catch Hunk’s eye. Half of what they ended up getting ended up in Shiro’s stomach, the endless pit that it was.

Hunk shook his head fondly after Shiro downed his seventh pheasant leg. They plucked up a pair of warm ciders to finish off the quick meal, and Hunk curled both his hands around the mug as the cool breeze of autumn nipped at his nose.

More and more booths lined the city square, and all were hand-decorated more and more intricately the farther into town they walked. Hunk stopped often to admire the smooth lines of the painted tents.

“You should set up a shop one of these days.” Shiro mentioned after the fifth or sixth stop.

“Really?” Hunk had never thought about it, but he’d be able to sell a plethora of things. Spellbooks, jewelry, advice.

“Mhm. Don’t be afraid to ask me if you need a loan.” Shiro winked, and Hunk felt his face flush at the offer.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

---

They somehow rounded back to the same tavern, through the back door this time. Because it doubled as an inn, the pair had to wander through an array of hallways to get back to the bar.

Shiro stopped them somewhere in the middle of the building, eyes catching on a painting that seemed to be featured in every main building in every town of the game. It showed up so often that most stopped paying it any attention, but Shiro seemed captivated by it.

Hunk backtracked a few steps to follow his gaze.

It was a painting of Altea, the once sparkling city that had ruled every land and region. Unfortunately, for the sake of the plot, Zarkon had destroyed it and stolen away the ever-loved royalty that once ruled them with kind hands.

These days, it was hard to go anywhere unless you announced your allegiance to the Galra, Zarkon’s denomination. Many did, if only to keep their livelihood, but others, players like Shiro, Hunk, Lance, Keith, and Pidge, fought against him every chance they got.

Once the next update patched through, they would be able to try to rescue the royal family. Apparently it was going to be the biggest update in the history of the game, and the family would not be NPCs, but real.

Those were probably just rumors, though.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Shiro clutched his arm, fingers squeaking against the polished metal. “I just… had a thought.”

Hunk gave an introspective hum, and the sound awkwardly hung in the air. Then, tentative, jittery fingers brushed against his knuckles, and Hunk took it upon himself tangle them in his own. He wanted to ask if Shiro was alright, but Shiro was a chronic liar when it came to those sorts of questions.

“I still can’t believe you’re one of the only ones ever to have escaped Zarkon after being captured. Most people stop playing, or restart, after that.” Hunk asked instead.

“Yeah, well…” Shiro shrugged, an uneasy laugh building in his throat. “I never know when to quit.”

Hunk led him to a nearby chair, the duo tucking themselves into a dirty corner. Shiro slumped down, burying his face in his human palm as Hunk clung to the prosthetic.

“Do you want to talk about it? Your thought.”

Shiro quickly shook his head. “I’d rather not.” He looked up to catch Hunk’s eye as the witch knelt before him.

Hunk let go of his hand rested his palms against Shiro’s knees, offering a bit of his calming magic to spread through the contact. “Well, I’m here to listen whenever you’d like.”

The mage leaned forward to press his forehead against Hunk’s, and Hunk let him, murmuring comforting words until the crease in Shiro’s brow faded away.

This wasn’t the first time Shiro found himself shaken by a relatively harmless item from the game, and would probably not be the last, but Hunk was getting better at pulling him back and keeping him steady.

“Thank you, Hunk.” Shiro breathed, “You’re a good friend.”

“You’re a good leader.” Hunk easily replied.

---

Eventually, the two of them had to log off. Shiro led Hunk back to his Balmera, so that he could port with his pet without having to wait for the cooldown that came with each of them porting separately.

“Thank you for helping me with my spells earlier.” Hunk said as he side-saddled his mount, fingers carding through the feather-like fur idly.

“No problem. Like I said, we support-types have to stick together.”

They shared a grin, and Shiro leaned against the Balmera, who lazily flicked its tail at him. “Are you going to be on tomorrow?” He asked.

“I should be! I might have to get off a bit early because my family is visiting for the holidays, but I doubt it. I’ll let you know for sure tomorrow.”

“That’s fine, it’s not like we have any guild-activities planned.” Shiro restlessly tapped his fingers against his bicep. “Would you mind helping me with my healing spells tomorrow? There’s no rush, of course, I just...”

“You just like perfecting your spells. I understand, completely.” Hunk waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve got you, don’t worry. We’ll practice all day if we have to.”

Shiro affectionately ruffled his hair, and Hunk hid the resulting tangle with his flamboyant hat. Then, from deep within the folds of his robe, he pulled free a statuette and tossed it to Shiro before he could get a proper look at it.

“See you tomorrow!”

Hunk and his Balmera vanished with that, transported to their base, and Shiro nearly slipped and fell now that his leaning post was gone.

The carved glass was so detailed that Shiro could make out every fine hair of the figurine. A lioness, by the look of it, stained every color of the rainbow. She stood proud on her perch, which was curved like a magnificent planet, as if she ruled it in its entirety. Underneath her feet sat the very sky itself, and Shiro had no idea if it was just reflecting the one above his head perfectly, or if the glass maker was just very very talented.

It was beautiful, and Shiro had no idea when Hunk had found the time to snatch it up for him, but Shiro appreciated it immensely. It must have cost a pretty penny.

Shiro grinned to himself, holding it close to his heart as he pulled up his IMs and shot off a quick thank-you to his favorite witch.

Maybe he could finish that deflection spell for Hunk before he logged back on?

It was already way past midnight, but… Shiro never did know when to quit, did he?

#VLDRarePairWeek #jam writes #shiro #hunk #voltron #should i tag this as shunk or nah #nah #tw for mentions of stabbing?#so i guess #impalement tw #ask me to tag more shit #for sure

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player-0ne · 6 years

Text

Mario For a Day - Chapter Five

Chapter Title: A Day in the Past

Chapter Rating: T for Teen, some fluff in this chapter

Story Rating: E for Explicit

A03

Pauline was on her regular commute to the Mushroom Kingdom. Of course, she went there whenever she could, because she hated that her work had to take her so away from her girlfriend. She had received another neatly-written letter inviting her over for a small event, and of course she couldn’t be late. Peach was so adorable when she actually worked up the guts to ask for things.

“Dear Pauline, I miss you dearly even though we’ve only just parted Will you come back to Mushroom Kingdom very soon? I want to be with you again, -Peach”

She smiled as she reread the letter. She was always so formal whenever she wrote to her, for fear that someone else might find and open the letters. Pauline was suddenly off of the train and outside of the castle, walking towards it. It was a beautiful day, full of bright, vibrant flowers and a moderately warm temperature with a small breeze. Toad eagerly greeted her as she approached.

“Hello again, Pauline!” he chirped, “Peach is still getting ready, but she asked me to send you up!”

“Thank you, Toad,” Pauline responded, walking past him and into the castle. She knew that place like the back of her hand, and at this point, it felt like a second home. The familiar scents and sounds of little mushroom people milling about made her feel at ease, and she went to Peach’s chamber on autopilot, finding the woman waiting within.

When she entered, Peach ran to hug her, grinning, before pulling back sheepishly.

“I’m so glad that you could make it,” she said, looking at her with a look of affection so strong that it made Pauline’s actual heart feel like it was being hugged. She dipped down, kissing the princess on the nose before brushing past her to sit on the loveseat near her bed.

“So,” she chuckled a little, watching the princess sit down beside her in her favorite spot, “how’ve you been since we last talked?” Peach huffed.

“Oh, come on! I know that I just saw you yesterday, but… I missed you, okay?” she asked, pouting a little.

“I know, I know… I missed you too, princess,” responded Pauline, “one of these days, we need to figure out how to live together.”

“Yes please,” whined Peach, “it would be nice to get to sleep with you and then wake up with you still there.”

“The feeling is mutual,” murmured Pauline, running a hand through her partner’s hair, “I’m just not sure about how the kingdom would react to it. To me staying over, that is. Our relationship is already taboo as is.”

“Yes, but they’ll understand,” mumbled Peach, resting her head in the crook of Pauline’s neck, “they’re toads, they have tens of thousands of genders. I don’t think that it’s even possible for them to be in a straight relationship, so they have to understand us.”

“And if not, I’ll just whisk you away to the city,” added Pauline.

“Mmm…” murmured Peach, “I really would love to visit you there more often. Just kick back and relax for a little while in your house, it sounds amazing.”

“Are you stressed out?” asked Pauline.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” responded Peach. There was a pause, and Peach looked up to Pauline to see a familiar, mischievous glint in her eyes and a smile on her lips.

“What are you planning?” asked Peach.

“We could just go now!” decided Pauline, “you could just come with me. We could relax together and nobody would even know, so long as I got you back by tonight. It could be like a little adventure, like running away together!” Peach giggled.

“You always were a romantic,” she murmured, nuzzling into the woman, “but I could never do that. My kingdom needs me.”

“I understand that,” responded Pauline, still running her fingers through the woman’s hair, “you don’t need to rush. Whenever you’re comfortable with it, we can just take a day for us and no one else.”

“I’d like that,” sighed Peach, “I’d like that a lot.”

“Then it’s a date.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Pauline! Hey!” With pain that shot through her clouded, foggy mind like sharp, jagged bullets, Pauline registered a sound. Her eyes were so heavy that she could barely manage to force one open to see Toad standing over her. He waved to her frantically, and she managed to open her other eye. Sitting up was an effort, it felt like her insides were charred, and they were rubbing against one another each time she moved to cause a pain unlike any that she had ever known.

“Pauline, I’m so glad I found you, there’s not much time! Bowser got the princess, but I have something that you need to know!” exclaimed Toad.

“Whhaaahhhhh…” croaked Pauline. Her throat was dry and cracked. Looking around her, she remembered what had happened. Right, the electrocution. So that was what losing a life felt like.

‘Now I need a one-up girl,’ she thought groggily.

“Pauline, Peach needs your help, but you need to listen to me!” said Toad.

“Hrg?” asked Pauline.

“When you find Princess Peach, take her out of the trap, but leave her asleep!” demanded Toad.

“Wh-okah…” managed Pauline. Her mouth felt… less bad? She guessed?

“I have to go now, you need to move!” Toad was suddenly gone, and Pauline lay on the floor, dazed. What. For a while, she just sat there, slowly moving her limbs and getting used to the way that it felt to be alive. It hurt. A lot. When she stood up, she almost fell down again, but she stabilized herself, for Peach.

Taking just one more moment to collect herself, she started off on her first objective.

“Goombrielle!” she yelled, “Goombrielle, are you there?!” There was nothing but silence.

“Yeah…” croaked a voice. Pauline ran in the direction of her voice, eventually finding her behind a tall, marble pillar. Bowser must have missed her.

“Goombrielle, here, wait a minute…” Pauline reached into her purse, pulling out a small tonic, which she gave to Goombrielle. It patched her up quickly and she was back to her normal self.

“Ouch, jeez!” decided Goombrielle, “you don’t look too good yourself but man- that hurt! He just hit me aside, man! I had to crawl as best I could so he wouldn’t see me. What a jerk.” Pauline paused.

“Goombrielle, I think that you should go home,” she said.

“What?” asked the goomba, laughing nervously, “what do you mean?”

“You could have died. You’re too young, you have a family who loves you, and you’ve got a village to protect. You should go home,” said Pauline. Goombrielle’s face fell.

“I… what are you saying…?” she managed, seeming very upset.

“You’re not safe, Goombrielle. That could have killed you, and he would have if you hadn’t been able to hide,” said Pauline, “I don’t want you to die because of me. You don’t need anything else, and I think that you should go home.”

“But-”

“Go home, Goombrielle.” Pauline was stern, looking the goomba dead in the eyes. It was obvious that she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“What, just like that?” asked Goombrielle. Her voice wavered a little as she spoke. “That’s how this story ends for me?”

“Goombrielle-”

“No, Pauline, I’m not just an NPC,” said Goombrielle, “I have my own thoughts and ambitions. I know that I’m taking a risk when I’m going with you, but… Heck, man… you’re my friend. I want to help you, regardless of the danger. Besides, we get to see so much cool stuff! It’s better than just dying of old age after doing nothing for my entire life. I want to go with you.” She also looked like she wasn’t taking no for an answer. They were at a standstill.

“Goombrielle, you could have died because of me. I can’t accept that,” stated Pauline.

“No, I could have died because of me. You don’t get to go and say that you have that much control over anyone else’s life, I chose to come with you, I chose to enter Bowser’s castle, and I chose to fight by your side. You didn’t make me, it wasn’t your choice, it was mine. And this, this right here, is my choice too. I’m going to help you, because you clearly need help, and someone needs to talk some sense into you so that you’re willing to take it!” Goombrielle finished with a huff. “I’m not letting you go out there alone. It’s dangerous. I started this mission, and I’m going to see it through to the end.” Pauline had no response for a long while.

“Let’s get going then…” she managed. Goombrielle nodded, pulling out the map and beginning to find new coordinates.

“So while you were out, I couldn’t move, but I could hear bowser talkin,’” she started, “they’re headed to a place called ‘Dry, Dry Desert.’ That’s where we should go next.”

“Alright,” agreed Pauline, “lead the way.” And so, they went, Pauline keeping Toad’s odd advice in the back of her mind.

#peachine #peach x pauline #pauline x peach #super mario odyssey #super mario #player-0ne #mario for a day fic #goombrielle

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