#and it happened with to hoard promises but i was gonna let it pass without comment cause jgy in that fic is a hot mess

[hizashis-lil-bunbun]

Like a Moth to a Flame Pt. 3

Back at it again and this chapter was fun! Next one we’ll be getting into some more juicy bits but I needed a setup for the scene. So enjoy my friendly little deviants!

Mild TW: mentions of blood, violence, attempted assault, and (very) minor character death

As always, I thank/blame @miscellaneous-bnha for the inspo

Part 1 Part 2

•••••

You feel numb walking down the darkened sidewalk towards home, shock and frustration making it difficult to put one foot in front of the other. It had been several weeks since you last saw Mirio, and there hadn’t been any reports of strange, paranormal activity in any other part of town. At least, not according to the papers. Even after the landlord had coughed up the money to replace the ruined fire escape, you’d yet to catch another glimpse of the golden mothman. Night after night you’d put out bowls of sugar water, stayed up late, even pulled a few strings of old Christmas lights out of storage to decorate your portion of the new railing. But come morning, you always found the bait untouched and it left you feeling drained and disappointed. You knew your nightly routine was starting to feel unhealthy, obsessive really, and that your performance at work had been gradually slipping as a result. But it wasn’t until today, when your boss called you in after your shift ended and handed you that soul-crushing pink slip, that you realized just how far it had fallen. And on top of all that, you’d missed the last bus home, forcing you to take a literal walk of shame back to your apartment.

“What am I gonna do?” You breathe into the crisp night air, unconsciously reaching into the pocket of your coat to fish out your phone. Without even looking at the screen, you unlock the device and open your camera roll, tapping on a folder marked “Moth” before finally looking down. There was only one picture on file, but you’d seen it so many times it was practically burned into your retinas. The image was grainy and blurred (not to mention overexposed beyond the point of recognition due to the flash), but you couldn’t give a damn about any of that. The only clear part of the image, the only part you cared about, was the pair of bright blue eyes staring back at you. For some unknown reason, the camera hadn’t distorted them, perfectly capturing their glassy, sapphire hue and wide-eyed expression of curiosity.

And you had spent countless hours poring over it.

In the beginning, you’d convinced yourself it was nothing more than a piece of evidence, proof of your sanity and a confirmation of his existence. But as the days passed, you’d come to take comfort in it, more often than not allowing your mind to wander freely back to the memory of his voice in your ear and the warm weight of his head on your shoulder. You hadn’t even posted it to any of the online forums, jealously hoarding it the same way a dragon protects its treasure.

“Mirio.” You exhale softly, thumb absentmindedly brushing over the cracked surface of your phone screen. “I wish I could fly away from my problems like you. Must be nice having wings…”

“Hey there, baby!”

A gruff, slurring voice abruptly snaps you back to reality, head whipping up to see a trio of men leaning against a rundown building across the street. Their faces are indistinguishable, partially obscured by shadows thrown from a lone street lamp shining over their heads. But you can clearly make out the brown paper bags they have clutched in their fists, the material crumpled and molded into the tell-tale shape of liquor bottles as they continue to heckle you.

“Why dontcha come over here and hang out with us?” The biggest brute calls out, beckons you closer with a crook of his finger. “We’ll show ya a good time.”

“Yeah, a real good time.” The man to his left cackles. His lewd remark earns him a few snickers from his seedy friends while a wave of revulsion courses down your spine. Catcalling wasn’t exactly foreign to you; in this part of town, it was practically expected. But their drunken words and leering eyes make you acutely aware of just how empty the streets are right now, devoid of other people or passing cars to offer protection (or witnesses) should they decide to take things too far. Still, you straighten your spine and snap your eyes forward, long-since trained to know it’s best to ignore their booze-fueled jeers and keep walking.

“Awww, don’t be like that, baby!” You hear one of them call from your right, “We just wanna have some fun!”

You keep your gaze trained on the looming silhouette of your apartment complex, soles of your shoes clicking against the cold pavement as you grip the phone in your hand even more tightly. You’re close enough to see some of the lights are still on your neighbors windows, probably cleaning up from dinner or settling in for a smoke and a drink. With the promise of safety so close at hand, you cast a quick glance over your shoulder….

And feel your blood run cold as you see the men casually strolling across the empty street to fall in line behind you. They’re whispering amongst themselves as they take a few more swigs from their bottles, their shuffling gait and longer legs quickly closing the gap between you. You pick up your own pace in turn, walking much more briskly now and earning a reproachful growl from the men behind you.

“Hey! I’m talkin’ to you!” One of them snarls, “Didn’t your mama ever teach you it’s rude to ignore people?”

You don’t respond to his jab, too afraid to speak regardless, and set off at a jog, determined to put as much distance between yourself and these morons as possible. But that action proves itself to be a grave mistake, as you hear the footsteps behind you pick up in speed. Before you can fully register what’s happening, one of the men appears over your right shoulder, laughing maniacally as he gives you a rough shove and sends you careening off course and into an adjacent alleyway. The unexpected move knocks you off balance, sending you sprawling to the ground and knocking your head into the concrete with enough force to set your teeth rattling. Even worse, you lose your grip on your phone, hearing it skitter off into the darkness as the men crowd into the alley after you.

“I think she could use a lesson in manners! Ain’t that right, boys?” Their leader asks mockingly, seconds before he grabs you by the hair and roughly hauls you back onto your feet.

“Please!” You yelp, both from fear and the pain shooting throughout your scalp, “I-I have money. You can take whatever you want!”

“Whatever we want, huh?” He says with a sneer, his face close enough you can smell the sour aroma of cheap bourbon and old cigarettes on his breath.

“Then gimme a kiss, sweetheart.”

His mouth is on yours in an instant, his free arm wrapping itself around your waist to keep you in place as he tries to force his tongue past your sealed lips and down your throat. Your screams for help are muffled by the kiss, and it’s all you can do to push against his chest and thrash wildly in his hold. His companions stand faithfully behind him, egging him on with bouts of derisive laughter intermingled with hoots to “hurry up and get on with it” so they can have their turn. After a few moments he pulls away for air, arm leaving your waist and clapping the hand that was tangled in your hair over your mouth. Meanwhile, his buddies move to either side of you to grab you by the shoulders and force down on your knees.

“Since you didn’t feel like talkin’…” He growls dangerously, free hand toying with the buckle of his belt. “Let’s see if that pretty little mouth is good for somethin’ else.”

Your eyes widen as his belt comes undone with a soft clink, tears pricking at the corners as he leers down at you. Instinct takes over as he attempts to undo his fly, and before he can move his hand you jerk your head back to partially free your mouth. Then you bite down. Hard.

“Fuck!”

He hastily wrenches his hand from your mouth before you can do any more damage while you take in a desperate lungful of fresh air. A quick glance at his hand shows you’d successfully broken the skin, leaving a perfect, crescent-shaped indent that was quickly beading up with fresh blood.

“Help! Somebody help! Rape! RA-!”

You’re abruptly silenced by a quick blow to your right cheek, delivered by one of the men still holding you down. Throbbing pain radiates out from the point of impact, making your vision white out and earning a cruel laugh from your captors.

“You little bitch!” The injured man spits at you, “Think you’re so tough, huh?”

A small click forces your eyes to open, only to be met with a glint of metal in the light of the full moon: a switchblade.

“Let’s see how tough you are when I slice up that pretty face of yours. Starting with that fuckin’ mouth.”

With a twirl of the blade, he advances towards you, relishing in your helpless state as greedy eyes roam the plane of your terrified face. You’re too scared to scream anymore, eyes squeezing shut as you brace yourself for the first cut. But instead of searing pain, there’s an odd rustling noise, followed by a colossal thump that seems to shake the very earth beneath you. The men holding your shoulders abruptly release you, backing away amidst a slew of bewildered curses. Slowly, you crack one eye open to find a new, dark figure standing in front of you, blotting out the moon itself and effectively shielding you from your would-be rapist.

“M-Mirio?” You gasp, voice wavering from disbelief and shock. The golden cryptid looks over his shoulder at you, only giving a chittering cry at the sound of your voice.

“What the fuck!?” The man behind him screeches, “The fuck is that thing?!”

Mirio’s head snaps around to face the terrified thug, wings slowly raising in a show of strength and dominance as he lets out a low, menacing growl.

“Y/N…” He snarls, taking a short step forward and shifting into a crouch. “Mine.”

“S-stay back!” The man stammers, jabbing the switchblade into the empty air in front of him like a puny saber. “I’m warning you!”

Mirio gives a low hiss in response, wings fully extended as he lowers himself to place one hand on the ground. You’re frozen on the spot, hardly daring to breathe as you sense the slightest movement could set him off. For a moment, everything is still. And then, spurred on by loyalty, liquid courage or a combination of the two, the other thugs charge Mirio from behind. Moving faster than you could comprehend, Mirio whips around with a high-pitched shriek, landing a powerful swipe to the center of one man’s chest and sending him crashing to the pavement beside you. The other one was luckier, successfully jumping onto the monster’s back and causing Mirio to rear up on his back legs once more. The attacker then attempts to wrap his arms around Mirio’s neck, perhaps hoping to cut off his air supply or at least distract him long enough for the third man to join the fray.

But Mirio was obviously stronger and smarter than he was expecting.

Clawed hands scratch at the attacker’s face and shoulders before the winged behemoth suddenly flops onto his back, bringing his full weight down on the foolhardy attacker with a sickening crunch. Rolling back onto all fours, the man is left gasping for air on the ground, possibly with a punctured lung or (at the very least) a few broken ribs. Undeterred by his pitiful cries for mercy, Mirio looses an unearthly roar before grabbing the man by the front of his sweat-soaked shirt, rising to his full height, and tossing him towards the empty street like he weighed no more than a ragdoll.

“MINE!” He bellows, “MIIIIIIINE!”

“Fuck you!” The remaining man screams in return, rushing towards the towering beast with his switchblade held aloft. “Die, you fuckin’ freak!”

Mirio shifts back into a fighting stance, his back to you as he lets out another spine-chilling howl and rushes forward to greet the oncoming attack. At the same time, the moon moves behind a cloud, throwing the alleyway into inky darkness as you shriek and cover your head with your hands. With your eyes screwed shut, all you can hear is the man’s incensed grunts and yells, overshadowed by Mirio’s own enraged roars and the scratch of his nails on the dirty concrete. After a few seconds of struggle, Mirio gives a piercing cry, followed by the wet sound of tearing flesh and a strangled, gurgling noise. The fight ends as suddenly as it started, the only sounds now coming from your own terrified whimpers and the clatter of the switchblade falling to the ground.

Peeking out from between your fingers, you find the sky has started to lighten once more, the moon reappearing from behind the clouds and washing the bizarre scene in an unsettling, ethereal hue. The scrawniest attacker is still sprawled out next to you, unconscious but mercifully alive given the force of his impact. Mirio stands facing towards you, breathing heavily as the wings on his back shiver and shake. And at his feet, eyes wide and lifeless, is the leader’s body, his face covered in deep claw marks and a puddle of blood seeping out from underneath him like an oil slick.

“You… you killed him.” You breathe, “Mirio, h-he’s dead.”

Mirio doesn’t make any move to acknowledge your words, simply sinking to his knees with a rumbling groan. He seems almost sad, remorseful even, with the way he hangs his head and curls his bloodied hands into fists atop his knees. In this new light, you also notice something on the mothman’s left forearm: a clean, shallow gash. That must have been the cause for his shrieking earlier.

Slowly you stand once more, swallowing the lump in your throat to take a few tentative steps toward the creature.

“Are you… hurt?” You ask softly, noting the way he jolts and then shrinks away from you. You’re only a few feet away now, close enough to make out the faint stripes and eye-spot pattern on his wings. You nervously crouch down, balancing on the balls of your feet but keeping a safe distance should he turn aggressive. A chilly breeze blows through the alley, pushing against your back and making the creature raise his head up slightly, sniffing the air. His gaze locks on your face, glassy eyes wide as he slowly puts his palms on the ground and gets back on all fours. He moves one clawed hand closer to you and you start for a second, taking a quick step back before catching sight of the streaks of blood dripping from his forearm once more.

“Hurt?” You say again, pointing a shaky finger at the wound. His eyes follow to where you’re pointing and he lets out a chittering mewl, lifting up his injured arm. His long, slithering tongue snakes out from his mouth and he begins to lap at the blood, wincing at the taste. You’re unsure if this is real or an act. On the one hand, it’s hard to believe a creature so obviously powerful as him would be so concerned over little more than a scratch. Then again, you feel certain Mirio is too much of a gentle soul at heart to fake the whole “kicked-puppy” routine.

“No. Don’t do that.” You chide gently, tone forcing the monster to stop licking at himself and look up at you. Moving slowly so as to not startle him, you reach into the pocket of your coat and fish around until your fingers close around a crumpled, but thankfully unused, piece of tissue. When you pull it out of your pocket, Mirio’s eyes narrow into slits and he bares his teeth to let out a small, warning hiss.

“Easy, boy.” You say soothingly, “It can’t hurt you. See?”

You extend your free hand and pat the tissue against your own palm, demonstrating it’s benign nature. Mirio’s face gradually relaxes as he watches your display, eventually crawling over the corpse on the ground to get closer to you. You’re now practically nose-to-nose with the mothman, dropping your empty hand by your side and using the tissue to gesture at the cut on his arm.

“Let me help.”

Mirio gives a short blink before shifting into a squatting position similar to your own, carefully extending his injured arm towards you. Doing your best to not cause him any pain, you carefully start to dab at the areas around the cut, mopping up the spilled blood as the monster watches you work.

“Y/N.” He says softly, his voice causing you to look up from your task. Mirio raises his other hand to touch the right-hand side of your face, sending a bolt of prickly pain shooting through your skull and making you wince. You’d been so caught up in the chaos and adrenaline-fueled high that you’d forgotten about your own injuries. No doubt you’ve got a sizable bruise forming from where that thug had punched you earlier. Mirio’s stiffens up at the your response, brow furrowing in concern as he quickly pulls his hand away.

“H-hurt?”

“A little…” You mumble in response, “But I’ll be alright.”

He stills for a moment and you offer him a small, pained smile, hoping to reassure him. And the next thing you know he’s moving, clutching you to his chest in a protective embrace and nuzzling his face into your neck. You squeak a little at the unexpected move, body going rigid in fear of being attacked. But soon his sweet scent and warmth fully envelop your senses, causing you to relax in his hold.

“Hurt.” He whimpers in your ear, “Y/N hurt. My fault.”

You can feel your heart clench at his words. He sounds so guilty. Helpless even. Like a child crying to their mother for comfort. Before you can think better of it, you wrap your arms around him in return, worming your hands underneath his wings to rest on his well-defined shoulder blades.

“Oh, Mirio no! It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything to hurt me.”

His body begins to shake, his breathing turning into ragged gasps as he squeezes you even more tightly. One hand leaves your back to cradle your head, the sheer size of his fingers tangling in your hair making you feel like doll-like. The two of you stay locked together like this for a few minutes, holding onto each other in the moonlight as Mirio continues to tremble beneath your touch.

“Mirio. I-” You softly breathe, causing him to raise his golden head and look you in the eye. You have so many questions for him, so many things you like to say. But all that comes out is a quiet, “Thank you.”

He cocks his handsome head to one side before a smile begins to tug at the corners of his mouth, pearly teeth reappearing as he gives a short nod of understanding.

“Mirio… keep Y/N safe.”

“Yes. Yes, you did.” You say with a weak chuckle, reaching up one hand to brush an errant strand of blonde hair away from his face. “I’m safe now.”

Mirio coos as he presses his cheek into your palm, the same way he’d done outside your apartment complex all those weeks ago. His eyes close contentedly and you can’t help but smile at his blissful expression.

“Y/N. Mine.” He purrs.

You freeze at the bold statement, pulling your hand away and earning a disappointed mewl from Mirio.

“You said that before. Mirio, what do you mean–?”

“You there! Freeze!”

A familiar voice cuts off your question nanoseconds before a powerful flashlight is aimed directly at Mirio’s back. Even though you can’t see around his massive frame, you can tell it’s the same officer who caught you the last time Mirio visited you.

Only now, the cornered cryptid hadn’t had the chance to fly away.

“Hands where I can see them!” The officer demands, flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other. Mirio makes no such move. Instead, he rises to his feet, hooking one arm under your thighs and taking you up with him.

“Wait! Mirio, don’t!” You shriek, desperately grabbing at his chest and mane as he turns to face the officer. It’s a terrifying sight for the poor man: three bodies strewn across a bloody alley, a blue-eyed beast, and a helpless civilian seemingly taken captive.

“D-drop the hostage!” He stammers out. “Do it, or I’ll shoot!”

You can tell from the way the light wavers that he’s shaking and you suspect the only reason he hasn’t fired his weapon yet is because he doesn’t want to risk hitting you. Your eyes flit wildly between his and Mirio’s face, finding his fangs are bared as he lets out a warning hiss.

“Y/N.” Mirio snarls, wings slowly unfurling behind him as he bends his knees and tightens his grip on you. “Mine!”

With that final declaration, Mirio gives his wings a powerful flap and kicks off from the ground. You scream as you take flight, tiny fingers digging into the solid muscle of Mirio’s chest and neck for safety. Between the sound of rushing wind and your own heartbeat jackhammering in your ears, you can barely make out the officer’s voice telling him to stop, followed by a rogue gunshot. And then there’s nothing. Nothing save for the wind in your hair and Mirio’s howl of victory as he carries you ever higher into the starry night sky.

“Stop!” You shriek, cold air stinging your battered face and forcing your eyes closed. “Put me down! Mirio, let go!”

Mirio doesn’t respond to your demands, either unable or unwilling to hear you as he sets off over the rooftops. After a few minutes of careful flying, he abruptly changes course, veering off westward and heading for the woods that ring the city limits.

“Keep Y/N safe.” Mirio says resolvedly, his voice rumbling through his chest and directly in your ear.

“Y/N… mine.”

•••••

Tags: @middevil465 @delightfully-anonymous

#bnha mothman au #mothrio #mothmanmirio #mha x reader #togata mirio x reader #mirio togata x reader #tw: blood #tw: violence #tw: attempted assault #mha #bnha

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Idk if you do child readers or not but if you don't mind could I get Utsuro, Mikado and/or Nikei x child!reader? Sorry for bothering you-

I do! I got a real soft/funny idea for this--

.........

"E-Excuse me, sir?"

Feeling a slight tug on his blazer, Utsuro blinked as he looked down to see who it was. And he saw you, a small child who seemed to be elementary school-aged. Though you looked as if you've been on the streets for quite some time.

"Yes?"

"I just..w-wanna say thank you for helping me. I don't know how you..c-calmed those dogs down but...you saved me." You stammered.

This man did save your life after you were cornered by large rabid dogs. He just showed up and suddenly they were laying down, perfectly calm, even letting you pet them.

"...don't mention it." He responded in his usual cold way, waiting for you to be scared off by his lingering stare.

But you weren't.

"Where are you off to?"

"Not sure. I just wander this earth without purpose."

"I...feel the same way.." You remarked, letting go of his shirt. "Could I..?"

Utsuro was quite surprised by your request, and especially at the gratitude you expressed--which is something he's never received in all his childhood.

But as much as he wanted to be on his own, he saw you and realized...you were just like him: having nowhere to go and lacking purpose.

So he sighed, picking you up effortlessly. "Perhaps we can search for a purpose together." He decided, before leaving the alleyway. "The name's Utsuro..not that you would care but-"

"I'm [y/n]..th-thank you again, Utsu. But...can I call you Dad?"

The man paused for a moment, and during that split second-silence he felt genuinely touched...but he buried the feelings and shrugged. "If it makes you happy."

You grinned and clung to him as you continued on your way.

Unbeknownst to either of you, a certain journalist had witnessed everything unfold, taking notes.

........

"You better be serious about this Nikei. Don't guide us towards false hope with some ridiculous narrative--"

"I am serious! I saw him with my own two eyes!" Nikei slammed his notepad down onto the table. "He helped some kid who goes by [y/n] and...they're accompanying him now. I don't know where but..we'll have an easier chance of finding him. I don't care what happens to that street rat."

"Oh?" The wizard's mask formed a confused expression. "Why so hostile about an innocent child? Is it perhaps...you see yourself in them? Do they reflect the way you have grown up--"

"SHUT UP!!" Nikei's eyes were glowing red at this point. "That brat doesn't know the true power of his divine luck...and they aren't worthy of hoarding it all to themselves!"

"Ooooh..temper, temper.." Mikado tutted, joyful to know he struck a nerve. "Well, you should probably get to know this [y/n] before anything else. So go get a "scoop" on their connection to him. They're not a mere obstacle. Surely they know more about him than we do, no?"

".....you tried burning down two orphanages and suddenly you care about this kid's safety?"

"People change, Nikei. I see those extreme methods aren't necessary anymore. Now be on your best behavior out there. Don't wanna scare them off, you know."

The journalist gritted his teeth, despising the way Mikado treated him like a child. But he just collected his notepad and stormed off.

..........

"So..if you just want something, you can get it instantly?"

"More or less..that's my divine luck." Utsuro shrugged, sitting back on the sofa. "But it's not as fun as one would think."

"How so?" Your curiosity was seemingly endless as you sat beside him. "I thought..it'd make you happier. I know I'd be happy."

Even though he had nothing but the clothes on his back, he managed to get a small flat for you two. It was temporary, but at least he had a reason to rest after so much wandering.

He just looked at you for a few moments. Indeed, he remembered how naive he was back then--thinking of his luck as a gift, when in fact it became a great curse.

"I used to think that too. But..do you wish to learn why I'm like this?"

You nodded. "Yeah."

And he proceeded to explain how he grew up with his divine luck, becoming apathetic after learning that there's no process to what he does--like if he wanted to drive, he already knew how to without taking any tests.

So nothing had any meaning to him anymore.

He left out his attempts to off himself, for obvious reasons, and went on to say how he goes around helping people..but it's merely to pass the time.

By the time he finished, you could only frown as you hugged him. "I'm sorry.." Was all you could say.

"Don't be." He put his arm around you. "I'm..gonna take a walk. Wanna come?"

"I'm okay. My legs aren't sore anymore but.."

"That's fine. I'm just going to the convenience store. Anything you want?"

After you told him your favorite snack, he got up and grabbed the key, departing for the store.

For some time you just watched television, though your mind kept wandering back to Utsuro and his story. At least you know understood why he was the way he was.

But your musings were interrupted by a door knock. 'Is he back already?' You got up and went to the door, only to open it and see a completely different man there, with black hair and dressed in a sandy-brown coat and hat.

"Why hello!" He greeted with a smile. "Is uh..your dad home?"

"What do you want?" You answered warily.

The man seemed taken aback by your coldness, though he forced his grin. "Well I'm a friend of his! Nikei Yomiuri! Y'know? Ultimate Journalist--"

"Never heard of you before."

Ouch. That was a stab to the heart.

"I-I'll just ignore that comment..and get the point." He sighed. "I've heard of his talent of luck and I'm hoping to get an interview. Rumor has it he's helped a lot of people in his life, including you! So if you can tell me where he is I--G-GAH!!!"

With a swift kick to the nards, you scowled at him as he crumpled to the ground almost immediately. "He said he had no friends..so you're lying. I'm not letting anyone use my dad's luck for themselves anymore! Get lost."

Nikei was mumbling a string of unintelligible curses, but he managed to get up and walk away, finally leaving you alone.

You huffed and closed the door, returning to the sofa. Only a few minutes later did you hear it unlock as you saw Utsuro return with some groceries.

"Hey, kid." After setting the bags on the table, he turned around just in time to see you hug him once more. "Hm? What is it this time?"

"Nothing..I just...I promise I won't be greedy with your luck. And I won't let anyone else be, too."

He blinked a few times, stunned. But he smiled just a tiny bit as he reached down to pat your head.

"..thank you."

Finally, there was something in this boring, dull world worth living for: And that was you.

..........

"So..what have you learned?"

"Th-That goddamn..piece of shit...a-asshole has one hell of a kick! I swear to fucking god I'm gonna--!"

"Ahaha! If only I was there to see it. But it seems we have a true child of Utsuro on our hands."

#clanask #anonymous #sdra2 x reader #utsuro #utsuro x reader #mikado sannoji #nikei yomiuri #nikei yomiuri x reader #child reader #fluff #hurt/comfort #tw suicide mention

[thefinalcinderella]

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Chapter 5 - Summer Clouds (Part 1)

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. Shiso a.k.a. perilla is a plant used a lot in Japanese cuisine

2. This is callback to Chapter 4 when Nico-chan mentions “ Don’t they say that men who are bad at driving are bad with that too?”

Previous | Next

“We can’t train in this heat.”

“But if we don’t train, we won’t have a place to live…”

Kakeru listened to the conversation going on behind him while he was boiling somen noodles for lunch. Jouta and Jouji were sprawled out in the hallway by the front door, cooling off.

Ever since Kiyose collapsed, the residents of Chikusei-sou had been more careful about their health: they had all decided to get anemia tests done once a month by the neighborhood physician who had made the house call, there was a range of supplements stocked in the kitchen, and, before going to bed, there were massage battles going on in various rooms.

Even so, there was nothing to be done about the heat.

Now that the midyear exams for university were over and summer vacation was upon them, the air temperature was boiling to an almost violent degree. Chikusei-sou—of course—didn’t have air conditioning, so the front door and the doors of each room were left open. The residents, seeking a place where they could pass the time even just a bit more comfortably, crawled around the hallways like slugs.

The heat and vapor rising from the big pot instantly stuck to Kakeru’s skin and changed into sweat. He nimbly transferred the somen to a colander and ran it under running water, then put the noodle soup base, mineral water, and ice on the dining table.

“It’s done!” he called out while wiping his sweat with the shoulder of his T-shirt. The twins slowly got up.

Jouta took a look at the table and complained, “It’s so bare. Tell me there’s condiments, at least.”

“Haiji-san is picking shiso (1) in the yard right now.”

Placing the colander heaped with somen noodles in the center of the table, Kakeru struck the bottom of the empty pot with a ladle. The residents, looking like snakes on the verge of death, appeared from here and there and gathered in the kitchen.

“How much shiso is Haiji getting?”

“Shindou is not here either. I wonder what happened.”

“In any case, the landlord’s heartless. He didn’t have to get so angry.”

“I guess we deserved it, though.”

The residents sighed as they dexterously slurped their somen.

The night Kiyose collapsed, the worried landlord had tried to enter Chikusei-sou. Shindou and Musa desperately tried to keep him out, not letting him cross the threshold.

The next day, the landlord, suspicious, entered Chikusei-sou while the residents were at school. Immediately at the front door he discovered the hole in the twins’ room. The landlord’s sadness deepened at the sight of the hole in the rundown apartment he treasured like his own child, so gathering the residents, he made an announcement.

“I need money for repairs for Chikusei-sou. In order to save up money, I’m raising the rent.”

“What!”

“Don’t ‘what’ me! Didn’t you say something along the lines of ‘We’re going to do well in the Hakone Ekiden and get a powerful sponsor to set up a new training camp’?!”

“No sponsor’s gonna go that far,” Jouta, the one responsible for making the hole, grumbled, but he fell silent at the landlord’s glare.

“You all seem to have more than enough energy, so Hakone should be a walk in the park for you. If you don’t want the rent to increase, do whatever it takes to get to Hakone.”

If they provoked him any further, the elderly landlord might suddenly die from too much rage, so they could only obediently say in unison, “Understood.”

“There’s absolutely no way I can move. I want to train for the sake of leaving the rent where it is as well, but…” Prince, who was hoarding manga in his room, said. “Running in the summer is, to put it bluntly, an act of suicide, isn’t it? What do other track teams do?”

“Most of them hold training camps somewhere cool. Like in Hokkaido,” Kakeru answered.

“Hokkaido!”

Jouji became spellbound with just that word. Crabs, sea urchins, ramen…it was so easy to see what he was thinking about that it was practically reflected in the soup. Kakeru coughed, deciding that the sooner he brought him back to reality, the less painful it would be.

“It’s impossible for us. We don’t have the money.”

Right when a disappointed Jouji was gulping down his somen along with the melted ice, Kiyose and Shindou ran into the kitchen.

“You’re late, Haiji. We’re finished eating,” said Nico-chan as Kiyose pushed the shiso leaves onto him.

“Let’s escape this scorching hell called Tokyo. We’re going on a training camp.”

The twins stood. “Hokkaido?!”

“No, Lake Shirakaba.”

It lacked the impact of Hokkaido, but Lake Shirakaba, located in the Tateshina highlands, was also a famous summer retreat.

“But, what are we going to do for the lodging fees?” Kakeru asked.

“A supporter from the shopping district is going to help us,” Kiyose said. “We’re staying at a vacation home near Lake Shirakaba that belongs to the owner of ‘Batting Center Okai.’ The food for the training camp will be provided by Yaokatsu and some others, and we’ll use the Aotake van to make the roundtrip, so it won’t cost that much.”

“Don’t worry about fundraising,” Shindou assured. “We’re advertising to the shopping district and the university staff that we’re aiming for Hakone, so our sponsors will surely increase. Besides, Nico-chan-senpai’s wire dolls are selling better than expected.”

“What?” Nico-chan said, stunned. His hands stopped plucking the shiso and dividing them among the bowls of unfinished somen. “You’re selling them? Where in the world would anyone buy something like that and for what reason?”

“I had them put in the general store, and they’re popular with girls. They’re calling them things like dolls for warding off evil spirits and ‘disgustingly cute!’ and stuff like that.” Shindou smiled. “Please keep making more from now on.”

“Hooray! Training camp, training camp!”

Jouta and Jouji took each other’s hands and rejoiced. Prince had already disappeared from the kitchen; it seemed that he had gone to his room to study what manga he was going to bring to the training camp. Everyone dreamed of a fun summer training camp.

A refreshing wind blowing across the lake shore. A beautiful girl in a white dress, riding in a swan boat with her while gnawing on roasted corn. Even when autumn finally arrives, our love will never end. We promise to meet again in Tokyo, and in the middle of a thicket of white birch trees, we shed tears over our brief parting…

“That was what I imagined, but…” Jouji got a sulky look on his face. “Why is reality like this?”

The vacation home they were borrowing from the batting center owner didn’t seem to have been used in a long time and it had half rotted away.

With Kiyose driving the white van, the group arrived at the home in the coniferous forest by Lake Shirakaba and finished the first day of camp by cleaning the rooms. With the floors scrubbed, the bath polished, and the fireplace soot swept away, the log house finally seemed to come back to life a bit.

The home built between the trees looked like a log den made by a bear at first glance. Now that they had finished fixing it up, it somewhat seemed like a dwelling for humans. Relieved, Kakeru threw the gathered branches into the fireplace.

“Jouji, your imagination is too cliché,” Jouta said, his face pitch black from the soot. “I knew it was going to turn out like this.”

As far as they could see during the day, it seemed to be mostly families and old couples that came to Lake Shirakaba to escape the heat. The swan boats were drearily swaying with the ripples on the water and music was flowing out from the small amusement park by the lake.

“It is good to feel cool, though.” Musa was wearing a hoodie over his T-shirt. “It will be almost cold when the sun sets.”

When Kakeru made a fire in the fireplace, people individually came to gather around it. It was pitch dark outside the window, and all they could hear was the rustling of the treetops.

“I’ve finished preparing for dinner; all that’s left is adding the roux,” Kiyose, who had been staring into the flames for a while, said. “Before that, let’s go for a short run.”

“Curry again?”

“No! I used up all my energy for cleaning!”

“It’s so dark, what if we get hit by a car?”

Kiyose, of course, didn’t heed their protests. As though urged forward like cattle, they put on their shoes and all went out to the unpaved forest path.

“We don’t even know the route yet.” Nico-chan scratched his head. “Which way’s the lake?”

“If we go down the slope, we’ll eventually reach the lakeside.”

With Yuki’s guidance, they formed a line and started running. Kiyose, who was at the end, gave instructions.

“One lap around the lake is 3.8 kilometers. Once everyone’s done three laps, we’ll return to the cabin and eat dinner.”

“Yes!”

When they arrived at the paved lakeside road, they started running at their own pace. The souvenir shop and small art gallery already had their shutters down, and except for a couple of large hotels, there were no other buildings with lights on. They followed this brand new route to explore it, without enjoying the scenery. 

Kakeru was next to Kiyose, running along the night road that drew a gentle curve. The presence of water nearing the shore was their only reference.

Running in a different atmosphere and on a different road from usual didn’t make Kakeru feel anxious—the sense of distance was hammered into his body. If he heard beforehand that one lap was 3.8 kilometers, then he was automatically able to grasp where he was running at that moment from his speed and bodily sensations.

The elation and fun of running in an unfamiliar land filled Kakeru.

“Where’s the coach?” he asked Kiyose running next to him. “Is he still at the go parlor?”

“Who knows. He’ll join us before long.” Kiyose tilted his head to the side a little. “For some reason, the landlord doesn’t want to ride in the car when I’m driving.”

That morning, when they were departing from Chikusei-sou, the landlord saw them off in the yard. He watched with satisfaction as the food they received from the shopping district was loaded into the back of the van, but in the end did not try to get in himself.

“But Haiji-san, you’ve gotten so much better at driving.”

After he said that, Kakeru thought, Crap, that’s not a good follow-up. However, it was true that Kiyose was improving in his driving skills at a tremendous pace; some people even fell asleep on the way to Lake Shirakaba. At the time of the first TSU meet, when they were stiff in their seats or about to pass out like they were riding a space shuttle doing an acrobatic flight, they couldn’t imagine entrusting their bodies to Kiyose at the wheel and falling asleep.

“I’m a fast learner when it comes to anything,” Kiyose said matter-of-factly. “I’m fastidious, so I throw myself into studying and training wholeheartedly.”

Recalling that common saying mentioned before (2), Kakeru, feeling gloomy, said, “Eh, then, for that too...” but didn’t have the courage to ask him. 

“Is that so? I see,” he said instead, nodding.

After passing the lagging members, Kakeru and Kiyose were the first to return to the house. After running three laps around the lake, the chilliness of the damp, highland night air didn’t bother them anymore. To relax his body, Kakeru filled the bath with hot water while Kiyose pressed a plastic bag filled with ice to his right calf to prevent inflammation in his burdened muscles.

“How are you feeling?”

“There’s no issue.” Kiyose smiled. “Go ahead and take a bath.”

When Kakeru got out of the bath and took Kiyose’s place in the kitchen to stir the curry pot, everyone else returned from jogging. They took off their sweat-drenched T-shirts and trudged off to the bath.

The sounds of fighting for the shower and off-key humming could be heard even in the kitchen. Kiyose was apparently thrown out of the bath. With his hair still wet, he opened the lid of the rice cooker, and Kakeru helped him arrange the dinner dishes on the huge slab of a table.

A heap of curry, rice, and salad; milk mixed with protein powder; peaches for dessert; everything was food donated by the shopping district.

After everyone had refreshed themselves in the bath, they went to the dining table. They were just about to grab a spoon to eat when…

“Wait a minute,” Kiyose said. “There’s not enough people here.”

They looked at each other. Musa and Shindou weren’t there.

“This is strange. Even Prince-san came back.”

“I don’t think there was anyone in front of me or behind me when I was running my last lap,” Prince said, tilting his head.

“You don’t think they got lost, do you?” King stood and looked outside from the dining room window.

“Did anyone happen to catch sight of Musa and Shindou on their way back here?” Kiyose asked.

No one raised their hands. Nico-chan went upstairs, and then they heard the sound of the second floor lights being turned on to mark their spot in the woods.

“Where did they go?”

“Shouldn’t we go search for them?”

The twins made worried suggestions.

“No. It’d be bad if more of us got lost. Let’s wait for a while.”

Though he said that, Kiyose was probably out of his mind with worry. They opened the door and stared at the forest path submerged in darkness. No matter how much they strained their ears, they couldn’t hear Musa and Shindou’s footsteps. The curry was getting cold, but now was not the time for dinner.

Kakeru stood at the door with Kiyose. Nico-chan, who came down from upstairs, patted Kiyose’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, even if they have to sleep outdoors for the night, they’ll be fine.”

Right at that moment, the kitchen door behind them burst open. When they turned around in shock, Musa and Shindou were just entering from the side of the kitchen.

There was a steep, pathless slope behind the kitchen. Kakeru was stunned, never thinking that Musa and Shindou would appear from there.

Musa and Shindou started shouting.

“This is bad, this is bad!”

“TSU has also come to Lake Shirakaba!”

Collecting themselves, everyone surrounded the table. As they ate their curry, Musa and Shindou told them that TSU’s clubhouse was apparently located just further up the mountain from the vacation home.

“It’s still a new building. There were lights on, so we approached it thinking it must be this house, but we could see the TSU guys having dinner through the window,” Shindou said.

“By the way, they’re having yakiniku. I believe it is the highest-quality wagyu beef,” Musa supplemented.

King was silent, and then gulped down his minced pork curry.

“Why did you climb up the mountain?” Kiyose asked.

“It is not as though we wanted to climb it.”

“We got lost on the path because it was dark.”

Musa and Shindou both spoke quickly.

“Shindou, aren’t you used to mountains?”

“I am, but I also have no sense of direction.”

“I am the same. To the point that even in my home country, my parents warned me not to go into the savannah, even if my friends invited me.”

Kakeru spoke to Kiyose, who was rubbing his temples, in a small voice. “What are we going to do, Haiji-san? You were planning to enter Shindou-san for the Hakone mountain climb section, weren’t you?”

“Aah,” Kiyose groaned. “We might be able to see the first real-time Hakone disaster drama in Ekiden TV broadcast history.”

“They have a leading car, so I don’t think that’ll happen,” Yuki laughed scornfully. “But if push comes to shove, we’ll have to leave it to Shindou’s wild sense of smell. We’ll have him push through Hakone’s trackless mountain paths and cut ahead to Lake Ashi first.”

“Is—is that possible?” Jouji, who overheard their conversation, brightly asked.

“Of course not. If you go off the route, you’ll be disqualified,” Kiyose chided.

“Apparently someone did it before,” King said, showing off his miscellaneous knowledge. As expected of a quiz enthusiast, he had also looked up trivia about the Hakone Ekiden.

“This was in the Taisho era, when there were only about four competing schools. Apparently, the thing all the schools were most enthusiastic about wasn’t training, but finding a shortcut through the mountains of Hakone. Well, it was an idyllic time where there were no radio relay broadcasts for the Hakone Ekiden.”

“Isn’t that cheating?” Prince said while peeling a peach. Nico-chan laughed as he took a second helping of rice.

“Sounds like something a university student would think of.”

Kakeru conjured up Taisho-era students running along the animal trails of Hakone in his mind: rivals desperately competing against each other, but also trying to figure out a way to make things a little easier. The figures of silly and cheerful students hadn’t changed much from then til now.

“Let’s find a shortcut if we pass the qualifiers.”

“I said you can’t.”

“The problem is TSU. What should we do?” Yuki asked.

“We’ll definitely bump into them on the path along the lake,” Shindou muttered.

Kakeru was wordlessly filled with fighting spirit. Like hell he was going to be overtaken by a TSU runner, even for jogging.

“Don’t fight,” Kiyose cautioned. “There’s only one lake. Let’s compromise and run together peacefully.”

Everyone in Chikusei-sou covered themselves with blankets on the vacation home’s second floor and slept in a huddle, and rose with the twittering of small birds. The first thing they would do was to stretch and go for a jog in the clean air before breakfast. With that in mind, they all headed out to the lakeside path where they immediately ran into the runners from TSU. The TSU track team members, dressed in matching jerseys, had just finished their morning meeting in the parking lot of the souvenir store before it opened. About fifty of them were about to start jogging in ranks, grouped by level.

The head coach and several people who looked like assistant coaches rode separately in cars, accompanying each group. The well-coordinated TSU members started running in order of seniority. “Wow…” Jouji breathed in honest admiration.

The Kansei University long-distance track team only consisted of the ten people from Chikusei-sou. They didn’t hold a meeting before practice, and their coach was absent as usual. Their clothing was all over the place as well; the twins, for example, were wearing extremely colorful Hawaiian shirts that considerably spoiled the scenery of Lake Shirakaba.

The TSU first-year Sakaki seemed to have noticed them. He whispered something to the teammate he was running with. A murmur speedily spread through the TSU group, and they—especially the first-years—turned and looked back at Kakeru and the others one after another.

“This is somewhat tough,” Musa said, getting fainthearted. King, who got nervous easily, seemed like he was about to return to the vacation home.

“Let’s go.” Kakeru was as confident as could be; he never fell behind in running. To anyone.

“What’s with this morning energy…”

While grumbling, everyone at Chikusei-sou seemed to let themselves be influenced by Kakeru and started running.

Kiyose said, “Leave Kakeru alone. Keep your own pace.”

Kakeru laughed a little when he heard that. Even though he told them to leave him alone, sure enough, Kiyose immediately caught up to him. Ahead of them, Sakaki glanced back and beckoned them with his hand behind his back.

“Don’t take the bait.”

“I can take it and surpass him.”

“Don’t throw off your rhythm. This morning’s jog is at a pace of five kilometers in twenty minutes.”

Kakeru looked at Kiyose. Kiyose was running forward with a calm expression on his face. He looked like he was listening carefully to the sounds of his own body. The TSU group and the bikes that sometimes passed them didn’t seem to exist at all to Kiyose, who was beginning to concentrate on running; he was simply moving his body silently in the space between the lake and coniferous forest.

“Yes,” Kakeru said.

He followed Kiyose’s example and stopped caring about Sakaki anymore. Five kilometers in twenty minutes. When he ran at this speed, he was only conscious of the functioning of his muscles and heart. It wasn’t a painful pace; he had room to confirm that his blood was circulating around his mind and body.

The birds were singing with clear voices towards the sun that was actively beginning to rise, and the wind blowing from high up on the mountain made small waves on the lake surface.

What is strength? Kakeru suddenly thought about that again. For example, this calmness of Haiji-san’s. Without wavering, calmly, running in his own world. I can run with a better time than him, but I’m not sure I’m stronger than him. I lose my cool easily, and all I can think about is how I don’t want to lose.

Kakeru wanted to know. He wanted to know what strength was and what he was lacking. It was the first time he had ever felt that way. Until now, he had always been running as his body demanded—as though he was being urged on by something.

Kiyose didn’t restrict or coerce the idiosyncratic members, instead trying to flexibly guide them. Kakeru looked back: the residents of Chikusei-sou were running along the lakeside path. While their abilities still varied a lot, they had solid forms and were working hard on jogging. Even though they had complained so much in the spring, through their hard work these last three months, they had managed to end up looking like members of a track team.

Kakeru faced forward again and cast down his eyes. His consciousness was stretching around, from his toes that kicked at the ground to the flow of his fingertips as his arms swung through the air.

If I follow Haiji-san, then I’m sure I will be able to see something. Something sparkling that I’ve always wanted to see.

The TSU first-years, with Sakaki at the center, were messing with Kansei University.

When they were running on the lakeshore path, they spread out in a horizontal line to block their path. They would run and surround Kakeru as a group, putting pressure on him. They did these things behind the head coach’s and their upperclassmen’s backs, making fun of them repeatedly.

Kakeru didn’t care much about it; he had gotten used to such harassment during club activities and competitions throughout high school. If he got surrounded, he could just break free and move ahead, and if his way got blocked, he could just overtake them by going out into the oncoming lane.

However, almost all the residents of Chikusei-sou were little more than beginners; they didn’t have any strategies for running. They completely shrivelled up under the TSU first-years’ harassment and had their pace disturbed.

“They’re doing something immature.”

Even Kiyose, who had been watching the situation from the beginning, finally couldn’t keep quiet anymore. When they finished their evening jog, they went to speak to them.

There were about twenty TSU first-years, and they were hanging out in the souvenir store parking lot. Kiyose approached them without any sign of flinching. But they couldn’t let Kiyose be the only one to go through something risky, so Kakeru and the others hurriedly chased after him.

The sound of the cicadas resounded miserably in the lakeshore air. “I’d say each of us beating up two people is a good rate,” Nico-chan said, cracking his fingers, and Musa rolled his ankles to loosen them. The TSU first-years stopped chatting and turned towards them. The runners from the two schools stood facing each other in the middle of the parking lot.

“I would like you all to stop interfering with our training.” Kiyose broke the ice quietly. Sakaki stepped out from the TSU group.

“And we would like you to stop with the false accusations. Do you have any proof that we interfered with you?”

“We do,” Yuki said, then took his phone out and thrust it at them. On the standby screen, they could clearly see the TSU students running spread out across the entire path, and Kakeru running cramped behind them.

“I wanted to be able to check my form later. And when I did that, I got some interesting shots.”

“I understand how you feel, but leave your phone behind,” Kiyose cautioned Yuki. “If you run with unnecessary stuff in your pockets, it will ruin the balance of your form.”

Is that actually the problem here? Kakeru thought. He didn’t like Yuki’s actions because he was being too studious, but he was also afraid of Kiyose, who was unfazed by this and only thought about running. Even Sakaki looked astounded and uncomfortable.

Kiyose turned back to the TSU first-years.

“That’s all I have to say. I don’t want to show this out-of-focus photo to your head coach or captain if I can help it. I hope you understand.”

“Of course I do.” Sakaki smiled thinly. “TSU is seriously training to go to Hakone. We can’t be bothered with people who are running on a whim.”

“We’re on the same page, then.” Kakeru saw a vein appear on Kiyose’s temple. “It’s really annoying when people interrupt your serious practice with childish harassment.”

Kiyose and Sakaki glared at each other furiously. Haiji-san, Kakeru whispered, gently putting his hand on his arm to calm him.

“I think we have different definitions of serious,” Sakaki said in a harsh tone. “Why don’t we have a match? You ten and ten first-years from our school will run along the lakeside and compete for time.”

Kakeru’s brain seethed at the blatant challenge. He turned to Sakaki and yelled, “Let’s do this!”

He understood that Sakaki was devoted to running, but he still couldn’t forgive him for looking down on the residents of Chikusei-sou. Sakaki’s attitude was like seeing himself as he was until recently, and he felt unbearably displeased. This time it was Kiyose who grabbed Kakeru by the arm in order to hold him back, but he shook him off and continued to say, “You have something you want to say to me? If that’s the case, you and I should compete instead. Just because you can’t beat me doesn’t mean that you can drag other people into it!”

 “You never change, Kurahara, you’re as overconfident as ever.”

Sakaki also accepted the challenge without faltering. People from both schools cut in between the two, who seemed like they were about to start exchanging blows at any minute. Kakeru, with his arms pinned behind his back by Nico-chan, glared at Sakaki who was still breathing hard, flapping his legs and trying to kick Kakeru with his arms also held down by his teammate.

“Is this the time for a match?” Kiyose said quietly, as if to admonish Kakeru and Sakaki. “Focus all your attention on training.”

Sakaki’s teammate released his arms, and he straightened his dishevelled jersey. He looked at Kakeru and everyone from Chikusei-sou in order.

“Is it fun?” Sakaki asked in a low voice. “Is it fun to run with the comrades you finally made, Kurahara?”

“Enough,” Kiyose interrupted and then turned his back to Sakaki. “Let’s go back,” Kiyose prompted, but Kakeru didn’t move.

Don’t you dare use words like “comrade.” He was so angry and frustrated that the core of his head hurt. Kakeru escaped from Nico-chan’s arm bind and stood still while still glaring at Sakaki. Sakaki continued.

“Are you satisfied running around happily with a bunch of guys who sing your praises to the skies?”

“No!”

Weren’t you guys the ones who were always praising my speed? And yet, there was a bunch of jealousy and feelings of rivalry behind the scenes. I hated that high school track team. Pretending to be friendly on the surface and sabotaging each other behind the scenes, I hate you guys so much I wanna throw up.

Kakeru wanted to say that, but he was so angry that he couldn’t form the words. In a corner of his mind, he knew that there was nothing he could do no matter what Sakaki said.

Sakaki can’t forgive what I did. Endure it. Chanting that in his mind, Kakeru clenched his fists. It’s my fault he wasn’t able to take part in the last high school meet, so it’s natural he’s angry. If I just imagine it’s Nira barking, I can endure it.

“Even though you’re running around so happily now, why couldn’t you do it before? Why would you do something that invalidated all our hard work? All you had to do was endure it a little.”

I can’t, I can’t endure it anymore. Nira is cute, but Sakaki isn’t at all! Grilled by Sakaki, Kakeru easily threw away his endurance.

“I’m not much good at enduring, you know!” he hit back with a force that would make even a lion run away. I’m the one who wants to know “why”. Why did you guys just stay silent and endure that suffocating team atmosphere? The words flooded his chest, but it always took Kakeru a long time before he could say them. Kakeru’s counterattack was abruptly trampled upon by Sakaki’s vigor, which was like a marching elephant.  

“You’re pretty full of yourself Kurahara!” Sakaki said in one breath with a low tone. “I’m guessing you thought you would be the only one who’d get an invitation from the university even if you weren’t in the meet, but too bad. You, at the end of the day, are selfish and egotistical…”

“I thought I told you that’s enough.”

Kiyose’s chilly voice froze the two who had the appearance of beasts battling in the savannah. Kakeru came to his senses and stealthily peeked at Kiyose, who was standing right behind him. Kiyose was expressionless as ice. Behind him, the twins were frantically warning him with body and hand gestures: “Stop it already” and “Haiji-san’s about to explode.”

When he perceived that Kakeru had lost his will to fight, Kiyose turned his penetratingly cold gaze to Sakaki.

“I understand your own grievances. But Kakeru’s a runner for Kansei University now. I want you to stop hurting and upsetting people so excessively.”

We’re going back now, Kiyose announced, and pushed Kakeru towards the forest path. Pulled by the hem of his shirt, Kakeru started walking with him.

“What did Kakeru do to Sakaki-kun?”

“Who knows? But I kinda get the feeling he’s pretty popular?”

King and Jouta sneakily let their imaginations run wild. Come now, Kiyose said, and the residents of Chikusei-sou started leaving the parking lot.

“The rest of you better be careful, he might betray you at the last minute.”

Kiyose turned slightly and smiled at the words Sakaki cast their way.

“We’ll show you how happily and seriously we’re running in the qualifiers. Oh, but you guys have your hands full with chores and odd jobs, so you might not have the time to watch us. Well, do your best to earn a regular position.”

“Who’s the immature one here?”

“Haiji’s getting pretty nasty.”

Nico-chan’s and Yuki’s shoulders were shaking. The fight for a regular position was irrelevant to the Kansei track club, so they were carefree and at ease.

“It means that even a small club with only ten people has its good points.” Musa looked at the frustrated TSU first-years with pity.

Kakeru peeked at Kiyose, walking next to him. The vein had disappeared, but he still had a grim expression on his face, and it seemed he was deep in thought about something. He had caused trouble again. He desperately swallowed down the sigh that was about to spill out of him.

“I’m sorry, Haiji-san.”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

Thinking that he really was angry, Kakeru hesitated before rechoosing his words.

“Thank you, Haiji-san.”

“You’re welcome,” Kiyose said. The curve of his cheek was softer than before. I see, I should say thank you in times like these, Kakeru realized for the first time. Because Haiji-san stood up for me. His anger and frustration cleared away. With his feelings lightened, Kakeru started running.

“Get the bath running,” Kiyose told him, and he raised a hand in response.

Even in the highland wind that blew in from the night, Kakeru’s body remained warm.

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#Kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru #kazetsuyo #kazetsuyo translations #run with the wind

[bethhxrmon]

passed down like folksongs, chapter thirteen- steve x reader

[gif credit to @flyingrichardgrayson​]

chapter thirteen- i didn’t know if you’d care if i came back

series summary: Living in Hawkins was never easy for anyone. However, it becomes ten times more difficult than usual when you catch feelings for one Steve Harrington. What should be a simple schoolgirl crush ends up being complicated by your step-brother, Tommy Hagan, and the mysterious goings on in the town of Hawkins. [masterlist]

pairing: steve harrington x female! hagan! reader

chapter summary: The summer of ‘85 takes a turn for the worst when Steve helps investigate a Russian Base within the mall. Though, it does leave him realizing a thing or two about his own feelings.

warnings: swearing, ANGST, season 3 shenanigans

word count: 2.5k

a/n: Sooo this is mostly a Steve-centric chapter, really hope that y’all enjoy and that this goes in the steeb tag because it’s the main way that I get more readers. Though, reblogs also help a lot!!

~*~*~*~

The only major thing left in Steve’s high school career after prom was graduation. Somehow, he managed to get through it. If he was being honest, he firmly believed that you were the main reason he got through that last month of school. You would have insisted that he was the one who pulled it off. If anything, you were just the person who helped him get ready for his finals.

No, he wasn’t going off to college like Tommy was, but he made it out of high school. Steve wasn’t sure what he would have done if he flunked. At least he didn’t have to wonder about that anymore. Instead, he had to get on with the rest of his life. Whatever that was supposed to entail

College was out of the question for the next year. He got a job at Scoops Ahoy in the new mall, but after even the first day of slinging ice cream, he knew that he wanted nothing to do with that. It was advantageous to the kids since they used his position to get to the movies for free, but it didn’t have much for him. Not unless he moved up, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be anything more than where he was at. Otherwise, that kind of implied he was going to be stuck there for a long time.

There were two pastimes that Steve didn’t mind so much. One was flirting with girls so Robin could have some kind of entertainment, and the other was talking to you whenever you showed up to the mall. Funnily enough, that was rather often.

You didn’t get a summer job, and that meant you spent most of the season bored. All you could do was either garden or go to the mall. Especially since Steve was working so often. Though, you were sure it would feel like a normal amount once you were busy with school for most of the day again.

For reasons you couldn’t quite explain, you knew that you were glad that Steve was going to be in Hawkins for just a while longer. It meant you didn’t lose your closest friend. Though, Robin would regularly tease the two of you whenever you stuck around to chat. It was nice getting to hang out with her too.

While there was still a glimmer of what you once felt for Steve two years ago, you were content with the way things were. You liked hanging out with Steve after he got done with work. Nothing was ever going to happen and you finally made peace with that. If anything, you dared Steve to ask out and flirt with his customers. Mostly because he always struck out and it was hilarious.

There was still a part of you that wanted Steve to say things like that to you again, but maybe it was for the best that nothing happened. The friendship you both had was so good.

One summer afternoon you found yourself in Scoops Ahoy and Steve was at the counter like he normally was. He always gave you a discount if he didn’t just let you take the ice cream. 

“Hey, I’m gonna have to raincheck on hanging out tonight,” he said as you stood at the counter, “My parents are having some family over and they wanted to see me since they didn’t make it to my graduation.”

You frowned a bit and then nodded, “Okay, well, then you have fun with that. Oh! Speaking of family shit, there’s gonna be a Fourth of July party at my house. Would you wanna come?”

“Depends on if we sneak off to go to that carnival,” Steve replied.

You grinned, “Obviously, I need a buddy to sneak off with, though, so what do you say?”

“I’ll be there,” he said.

Steve hated lying to you and what he hated even more was how easily it slipped out of his mouth. Once again, there was something he just couldn’t tell you. Even though you were probably someone who would want to help with sneaking into a Russian Base, he knew Dustin would have a cow if anyone else knew what was going on. Regardless of the fact that Steve knew he could trust you with his life.

Though, it wasn’t like getting into the base would be anything that could possibly take the literal days before the fourth. You’d never know what happened and it would be fine. He really wished he could tell you everything, though.

Having Robin right there with him as they snuck into the storage space with the kids was nice, but he really couldn’t help but imagine that you were there with him. It was an emotion that was only multiplied at the realization he was far too deep into this ordeal.

Getting stuck at the bottom of a Russian elevator with no hope of getting back up wasn’t something he put into the equation. Though, a part of him was glad he didn’t tell you anything because the less people having to experience this, the better. And maybe he would tell you about it this time around. This whole thing with the Russians wasn’t like everything else with the government. He could talk to you about this. Although, he was sure that you would have a hard time believing him.

Still, he knew that thinking about telling you all this stuff was more and more of a stretch in the first place. Mainly because that involved getting out of the elevator without dying. If some Russians spotted them, he knew for a fact that they were done for.

That night in the elevator was easily one of the worst nights ever. The only relief was that Robin was there to try and talk with him about the situation. A situation that had no solution.

“Do you think we could end up getting ourselves killed?” Robin asked in a low voice just in case Dustin or Erica happened to be awake.

Steve shook his head, “Nah, we’ll get out of this. It’ll be okay.”

Though, now that Robin mentioned it, the more he couldn’t help but wish that he told you everything. How he truly felt about you and what happened to him in all that time. You deserved to know.

Then he realized another reason as to why he had to get out of this okay. If he died, you wouldn’t have anyone who you were nearly as close to. No, you wouldn’t be as isolated as you had been after Barb died, but he knew it would hurt you. He knew  what you were like when you lost someone you were so close to. And worse, if everyone just said he disappeared? You would go looking and you would probably never stop.

He had to get out at any cost. If not for himself and the kids and Robin, then for you at the very least. Not even to tell you everything in his head, but just so you wouldn’t have to be alone. So you could have someone to go to that silly carnival with. There wasn’t any other option.

The main priority was to stick together and find a key to get out and use the elevator. Then, they were home free and could do whatever they decided to do. Maybe telling someone like Hopper was a good place to start, but he didn’t want to get ahead of himself. Getting out was the goal.

For the first bit of it, Steve had a cautious optimism about the whole situation. They didn’t get caught in the elevator. If they could just keep up that same trajectory, surely they would be able to get out. Then, they would be home free and there would be nothing to worry about. He would feel silly for even thinking that it was possible he wouldn’t make it out. It was silly. After everything he had been through already, this was almost nothing.

While a Russian Base as a concept was petrifyingly scary, it wasn’t anywhere near as awful as those tunnels. The base was going to be filled with people, and while they could cause a lot of harm, it wasn’t nearly as much of a death sentence as a hoard of man-eating monsters. Besides, if worse came to worse, he just wouldn’t lose the next fight he got stuck in the middle of.

Steve wasn’t sure how well sneaking around would continue to work as they got closer to where all the Russians were. The only Russian any of them knew was what was on that code, but if someone asked him to repeat it, he wouldn’t have been able to.

Still, they made it all the way in what had to be the comms room. Or something like that, Steve wasn’t sure what any of the rooms in this place could be called. Not that it mattered because they were all face-to-face with a Russian. He couldn't figure out who was more surprised to see who. Probably the Russian who was starting to pull out his gun.

Well, he promised himself he would win the next fight he was in. So naturally, Steve started off by screaming at the guy. Then, he just went for it. His heartbeat was through the roof and he hardly recognized just what he was doing as he punched the guy and tackled him. He barely realized he smacked the guy with the phone until Dustin’s voice kicked in.

“Dude, you just won a fight!” Dustin exclaimed.

They needed that key, but Robin seemed to be focused on something at the top of a staircase. Steve and Dustin went up to see what was there. He felt his heart sink to his stomach when he realized just what they were looking at.

Both of them specifically agreed that it couldn’t be this again. Yet there it was staring them in the face. Why in the world would the Russians want anything to do with the Upside Down? It was only going to get everyone killed. Now they had more of a problem on their hands than ever before.

He had to tell you, though. That was the important thing. The last thing he wanted to do was continue lying to you for the rest of his life. Though, that would have to wait as Erica noted that the Russian had left the room.

Almost on cue, more Russians came in. This wasn’t a fight he was going to be able to win. Not when all he had was himself. He wished that he had thought to bring his stupid bat. Instead, he thought fast and moved to get the kids in front of him. If anyone needed to get out, it was them.

As for Robin and himself? Well, he wasn’t too sure about getting out now.

It wasn’t that Steve gave up all hope, but he knew that he couldn’t count on anyone saving him as soon as he got taken by the Russians. All he had with him was Robin, though he supposed being alone would have been worse. He was pretty glad he didn’t tell you about any of this, though.

That was the only thing that kept him sane as he was punched across the face by one of the Russians. It didn’t matter what he said. He told a half-truth. Sure, he sort of knew what he was getting himself into, but he wasn’t involved with the US government. If he were, then he probably would’ve gone about this in a smarter way. Probably.

All that mattered to him was that Robin was okay. As long as there was no mention of Dustin and Erica, he was sure that was a good sign. Robin was still very much alive. There had to be some way to ensure they got out, but Steve had no idea.

Sure, the implied plan was for the kids to get out and get help, but he wasn’t sure how that was going to work. Although, it didn’t take long for any feelings of concern to subside. Whatever drugs the Russians had up their sleeves were, he couldn’t deny just how great they felt. It was just like the times he did weed with Tommy, only it was better.

Everything went by in such a blur that Steve could hardly describe what was going on. Hell, he barely registered what he was saying by the time Dustin burst into the room. If Steve thought everything was strange before, he knew that he was about to eat his words as he was swung through the whole base.

He couldn’t remember a whole lot before the high came crashing down around him and he was vomiting in the bathroom of the movie theater. At least, that was where he was pretty sure he was.

The only reassuring thing was that he wasn’t the only one puking his guts out. There was something nice about having an actual friend next to him as all this happened. Not that you weren’t his friend, but it was different.

“Have you ever been in love before?” Robin asked.

While the question took him by surprise, what caught him even more off guard was when he talked about Nancy. And sure, he had loved her at one time, but he was starting to realize that he had been in love more than once before.

“Wait, you don’t love me, do you?” he asked.

Robin was silent until Steve slid under the stall to see her. It seemed like she was almost in a different place entirely.

She shook her head, starting to explain that she was never in love with him. Instead, when she claimed to be obsessed with him it was because he had been the object of Tammy Thompson’s affections. Someone Robin had hoped to win over somehow.

Suddenly everything made a lot more sense and he almost felt a wave of relief. Even if learning the truth about Robin was a bit surprising. So he did what he did best, made light of everything with Tammy Thompson. Which only reminded him of the girl he actually wanted to be with.

He felt his face fall, “Shit! I was supposed to go to Y/N’s party!”

“What? Steve, it’s just a party-”

“But she doesn’t wanna be there, we were supposed to go to the carnival together. And I- I don't wanna leave her alone there.”

Robin nodded slowly, “I think I was supposed to be there with the marching band… wait, Steve?”

“Hm?”

“Are you sure you don’t love Y/N?”

Steve shook his head, “What? No, o- of course not! Even if I did, I’ve screwed it up so many times there’s no way she would ever be able to love me back and I know that.”

Maybe he did love you.

“The worst she can do is say no,” Robin pointed out.

He laughed, “Nah, she’d tell me to go fuck myself and I wouldn’t blame her.”

“You didn’t just get out of a Russian Base to not take a chance with Y/N. Come on, there’s no way she comes by almost every day just because she likes the ice cream. There’s gotta be something there.”

Dustin barged into the room and Steve couldn’t quite comprehend what the kid was saying. What he could comprehend was that he needed to finish this and quickly if he was going to get to your party.

taglist: @flyingrichardgrayson​ @stonersteve​ @scooprtroopr​ @insideafictionaluniverse​ @l0ve-0f-my-life​

#steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fic #stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things x reader #stranger things x you #folklore fic

[sincerly-kate]

Deadly kind of Luck (Joel Miller x reader)

Summary: You, Dina and Ellie go out on a supply run and have a close call with some runners. But what happens when a close call is too close? What does Joel think when he sees you at the brink of death?

A/N: Yes this does take place in part ii, but since I’m not done the game but still trying to recover from certain scenes that I’ve witnessed, this will have minor spoilers for the second game but nothing past the first chapter Jackson (Which has been slightly modified), and there will be spoilers for the first one. This will pick up where part ii would technically start. Also I’ve tried my absolute hardest to make this as gender neutral as possible so all of you can read this, enjoy! 

Requested?: No

Word count: almost 3k

Warnings: Swearing,violence, and if you know these games, you know what you’re getting into, same rules and warnings apply here for the most part.

You promised Maria that you would go with the two girls on their morning run today, not because she didn’t trust them, but because the area she wanted you three to was known for swarms of infected. You’ve known Maria for years now, you were neighbours before the whole world went to shit. When the infected started to take over the city, she ran to your house, got some supplies, told you to get in her car and you guys left. But it wasn’t until a few years ago that you two were reunited after being ripped apart by a giant hoard of infected. You ran into the forest, as far as you could, and she ran in the other direction.

Fortunately for yourself, you were found in that forest by a smuggler named Tess, who took you in; and the rest was history.

You were behind Dina and Ellie, keeping an eye on the woods as you passed on your horses. Your gaze kept going from the tops of the snow dusted trees that were bare of any form of leaves, to the bushes that looked like little clouds that were placed so intricately on the snow dusted ground. The slight movement of the water from the river was what was keeping you calm and grounded, without something as small as the stream of water, you knew you’d go insane from the silence alone. Thankfully, Dina broke the silence and brought you out of your focus and into their quiet discussion you didn’t even realize they were having. ‘Guess I was just really deep in thought then.’ You thought to yourself.

“So, y/n, you and Joel huh?”

You immediately blushed at what she was inferring and looked down at your horse, Eos. Ellie and Dina knew full well about your crush on the man, but you always felt that it was one sided. You saw how he reacted when Tess sacrificed herself for the three of you. He’d hadn’t been the same since. You always felt guilty for what happened to Tess, but Ellie constantly reassured you that there was no way you could’ve prevented that. You knew how stupid it sounded to be scared of rejection, but that was something you had constantly dealt with, even before these apocalyptic times; it just became something you’d become accustomed to now.

Thankfully, Ellie noticed your silence, and took this as enough of an answer.

“Dina, leave them alone.” Ellie said with a sigh, not because she was annoyed, but because she knew exactly what was going on in your head.

You always talked with Ellie about that kind of thing since you both have similar fears. It’s what brought you guys even closer together, knowing that you’d rather die than abandon the other. The amount of times the two of you would stay up late and just let out all of the things you could never tell Maria, Dina and Joel, you’d cry on her shoulder and her on yours if necessary. Then carry on surviving, it was all you two could do in times like these.

“What? I was simply curious is all. The two of them would be the ultimate power couple! like-”

“Dina-” Ellie said stopping her girlfriend from saying anymore, not taking her eyes of the path in front of her to look at Dina behind her. She knew the line, but Dina didn’t see the harm in slightly crossing it.

Dina sighs and stops for your sake and the brunette’s.

You silently thanked her for stopping.

~

Once you guys made it to the abandoned town, you tied the reins of the two horses onto the posts outside of the building and scoped out the area for any infected or hostiles.

It was all clear.

The three of you then regrouped and headed through the front doors together, Ellie surveying your right, her shotgun in hand, Dina on your left with her knife, and you checked straight ahead with your bow. You split off into three directions, and as you looked through the various rooms of the pharmacy, you found a pit that was a far down enough to lead straight to the basement from the middle floor.

Unfortunately, you found it by falling through the hole in the floor and onto the solid concrete floor.

You grunted from the pain of falling on your back and rolled onto your side, and as you tried to get up, you heard loud footsteps come from above you.

“Y/N! Are you okay?” You heard Ellie yell out, hearing what you assumed to be Dina’s footsteps not too far behind her.

“Yeah,” You said with some strain, you definitely bruised your side on your way down. “I think I’m okay.” You slowly began to get up, but your heart began to fill with dread.

Infected were coming your way, to check out the noise you made; it was a lot of them by the sounds of it.

“Ellie! Dina! RUN!” you yelled up to them, but Ellie heard them coming and wasn’t having it.

“Hell no y/n, there’s no way I’m leaving you down there to die!” Ellie then begins to kneel near the hole to put her hand out for you to take, “Give me your hand y/n!” she yells down to you.

You then notice some boxes that you could use as stairs and began to make your way up to meet her hand when you see them turn the corner.

“Oh shit.” You whispered, the tension and fear bloomed into your nerves.

There was at least twenty clickers, runners and god knows what else within the swarm of infected.

“Oh shit!” You yelled again as they gained speed to your location, climbing even faster to meet Ellie. A runner then grabs your ankle and drags you back down to the swarm, where you suddenly feel a pain in your side, but right now that was the least of your worries; you needed to get out of this pit.

“NO!” you hear the girls scream in agony as they see one of their closest friends get dragged into a pit of infected and swarm you; assuming the worst.

Ellie then brought out her pistol without a second to lose, to give you a chance to run, which worked.

You took your chance to get away and ran up the crates up to where Ellie and Dina were covering you so you could have a fighting chance.

“C’mon let’s go!” you heard them yell, as Ellie grabbed your hand and pulled you towards her to make sure you weren’t left behind.

Ellie practically dragged you from room to room, your arm now wrapped behind her neck so you could use her as a makeshift crutch. Dina was in front to take on any infected that came towards you and to lead you two to safety.

Once you managed to make it back to the horses, the idea of finishing the mission Maria sent you to complete on the back burner in the two young girls minds; you were far more important than supplies at this moment. You began your rushed journey home holding onto Ellie on Eos, now fighting against the clock.

Ellie’s P.O.V

As we were running through the forest on Eos and Dina taking Shimmer, since y/n was in no shape to ride Eos alone and Dina was one of the few people Shimmer allowed to ride her without me; I began to think about what I was going to tell Joel.

‘Yeah sorry Joel but I fucked up and y/n almost became clicker bait! Don’t worry though, it won’t ever happen again!’

Any scenario I tell him what happened ends in screaming matches or him leaving camp with them with him in tow, with them alive or dead. I shake my head as I try to go faster.

The thought of them dying for a minor mistake like this began to eat at me. It was scaring the hell out of me, that one of the few people I care for might die; I can’t bare losing another parental figure over some dumb ass mistake like this.

We finally made it back home in record time, and the second those gates opened, Eos ran through those gates all on her own, most likely sensing the fear going through my veins. It was almost as if Eos knew her owner was in danger, she ran towards the doctor’s house and stopped immediately.

I looked towards Dina, who was directly behind me and I didn’t even need to say anything, all she did was look at me and nodded.

“I’ll go get him; you just make sure they get better.” Then off she went, running to Joel’s house.

“Don’t worry y/n, you’re gonna make it, like hell are you going to die on me.” I said to them, but I didn’t know who I was trying to convince here; myself or them. As we walked up, with them using me again as a crutch, I noticed that their skin had paled in comparison to when we were at the store. I started walking faster towards the door.

Y/n’s P.O.V

All you could see was pitch black. Nothing more and nothing less, but your hearing began to slowly come back to focus, just like a swimmer breaking the surface after being under for a few minutes; it became overbearing almost. You managed to focus on one single voice, a voice that caused you immense comfort during your darkest times, just like this one: Joel’s.

“What the hell happened out there you two?”

You didn’t need to see him to know he was holding back on the two girls, but you didn’t blame either of them for this, hell you’re the one that went with them on the run, you knew the risks that’s why you went.

“Joel I’m so- “Ellie; you could hear the tears she was holding back. You saw her as your own daughter, that’s why you didn’t stop Joel from punching Seth, hell if it was you, he would’ve gotten a hell of a lot more than just a punch. The mere thought of him made your hand twitch in rage. That managed to get their attention, or at least Dina’s from the sounds of it.

“Guys- “

“Not now Dina- “ The two said in unison, they were more alike then they cared to say.

“Their hand moved!”

The room filled with silence, until you felt Joel place your hand in his rough yet soft ones.

“Darlin’, are you still there? Please… I can’t lose anyone else, especially not you.”

You tried to move again, but it was as if your body was made of pure lead; it wasn’t going to happen. You felt a head lay on your shoulder and a kiss on your cheek, as two drops of what you assumed to be tears, dropped onto your forehead.

“I’m not givin’ up on you y/n, not now, not ever. You’d do the same for me.”

If you were able to move, you were certainly curled up in a ball next to him and cry at how broken your boyfriend sounded due to your mistake.

-TWO WEEKS LATER-

Saying that you were beginning to get pissed off at this whole situation was the world’s biggest understatement. You could hear everyone around you, but you couldn’t talk back or move. Maria had come in to see you, hell even Tommy joined her a few times, but you felt like that was because he wanted to inform Joel on any new updates on your condition. All you wanted was to hold Joel as the two of you watched cheesy 80’s movies, which made you smile at the thought of.

You weren’t listening to what was going on around you today, for the most part it’s been a doctor coming in and making sure you didn’t kick the bucket just yet.

But now you really wished you were listening to what ever lead up to this moment.

You felt a cold piece of metal press into your forehead, and you had pissed off one too many people to know exactly what that metal was, and your stomach dropped; a gun, the doctor was going to put a bullet in your head.

It was as if your body was shocked with a defibrillator; you jumped out of the bed and hid in the closest thing you could see, which was the closet.

“Holy shit!” You heard the doctor screech and bolt out the door.

‘guess he wasn’t expecting what he got.’ you thought to yourself. ‘Never seen someone scared that shitless.’

You heard footsteps run out the door and then a different pair- no pairs- of footsteps make its way into your room.

“Y/n?” Joel. He’s just outside the closet door. You could make out his face through the gaps in the door, he had his gun out; did he think you would hurt him?

That voice made you whimper, and you scolded yourself for giving away where you were. You slowly got out of your hiding spot, your hands up in surrender, and looked at your lover, finally after who the hell knows how long you’ve been comatose.

“I’m here baby, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” You rushed into the others arms and decided that this is where you wanted to spend the rest of your days; this was home.

“Oh, thank god, oh thank god.” He kept repeating it, but you didn’t care, he was here, and you were both okay- wait the infected! You were bit! The last thing you wanted was to take him down with you.

You pushed him away in fear, you saw his face change from happy to concern, he tried to walk towards you, but you moved back to keep the space.

“How the fuck am I still alive?” You looked to Ellie, who was just as concerned as Joel was for the sudden change. “How long have I been in here?”

“I was bit! I felt it dig its teeth into my side! How the fuck am I still not turned into one of those things?!” You were just about to go into a hysterical episode as you continued, but Ellie went in front of Joel to get to you and held your arms.

She tried to get you to look her eyes, but you were too frantic to meet her eyes. So, she decided that she might as well come out with it.

“You’re just like me y/n, you’re immune.”  

That managed to shut you down immediately.

You looked at the teenager in front of you in complete shock,

‘There must’ve been mistake. You would’ve known already right?’

“I-I’m what?”

Joel moved Ellie to the side gently, and guided you to the bed you’d been comatose in so you could take all this information in, with him on your right and Ellie sitting on the floor in front of you, holding your knee to comfort you.

“You can’t turn into one of them baby.” He confirmed Ellie’s previous statement, and all you could say was something only you could’ve thought of:

“Damn, well at least this will be one hell of a scar and one badass story.” You said nonchalantly as the room filled with your family’s laughter.

“Well that’s one way to think about it. At least that means I can spend the rest of my life with you with one less worry. That is if you let me?”

You looked at him like a deer in the headlights.

Ellie hit your knee, snapping you out of your trance; realizing you didn’t say what you were thinking, you shook your head and placed your hands on the sides of his face. You leaned in and finally kissed him. The taste of that first kiss would stay with you forever; the way his lips molded with yours like a perfect puzzle piece. He placed his hands on your face, pulling you in closer, as if to shield you from the rest of the world.

You pulled away but you both kept your hands on the others face.

“That enough of an answer for you?” You both giggled and leaned your foreheads together.

You heard Ellie hit her knees and curse and walk towards the door, but before she left you saw her turn around.

“Thanks Joel, now I owe Dina a song because you didn’t have enough balls to kiss them first.” Then she walked out the door.

You both moved away from each other as you went into fit of laughter over Ellie’s comment, as Joel looked at you in adoration.

If the apocalypse has taught you anything it’s this; you would go through all of the pain its brought you if you could still have them next to you, no matter the cost , if it brought you to this very moment. You couldn’t imagine a life without either Joel or Ellie in it, right by your side; you three against the world.

#joel miller x reader #tlou joel #joel miller #gender neutral reader #The last of us part II #joel the last of us #kate writes #the last of us fic #the last of us part ii spoilers #fanfic #tlou2 #tlou

[meowdymista]

Van der Driscoll pt 4

idek how this is still going but here we are. I like to please people like our bae, I guess

Part 3 & Masterlist

Part 5

In this booth in some rundown town west of Lemoyne, you’re grateful to have Arthur’s thumb rubbing calm circles on the back of your hand. His eyes are azure in the sunlight pouring through the shutters, watching the road outside for the third day since you’ve arrived.

The sound of you pushing your plate away attracts his attention.

“You need to eat something,” he murmurs, squeezing your hand with a small frown. You shrug indifferently, although the voice at the back of your mind is nagging the same thing. Your stomach is a separate entity to you now - it will betray you at the drop of a hat by suddenly dropping through the floor and pushing bile up in its place. How are you supposed to eat when you aren’t hungry? When anything that does pass your lips tastes like dirt, and tastes worse when it passes them again?

He sighs heavily, kissing your knuckles before enveloping them beneath both of this own. It’s like you’re watching him jump forward and backwards in time. The lines etch deeper in moments like these, when you’re sat by the window waiting. They drove themselves in hoards when conversation pulled you into heated discussion about right and wrong.

“A baby shouldn’t be born on the run from the law.”

“What about the boy? Jack?”

“It was different then - there weren’t so many Pinkertons, and they weren’t so determined.”

“OK, so why is he still running with you?”

“It’s different - they’re safer with us than out there where they can be grabbed for ransom.”

“Who would hold a boy and his mother for ransom?”

A dark look reminds you of the ten dollar murder. “These guys are the law-”

“And the law hire bounty hunters, don’t they? And them bounty hunters are anyone that steps off the street.”

Despite some strong arguments that stir doubt in your already unsettled insides, you can’t help but see the twinkle in his eyes when the barman talks to you about his own newborn daughter, promising that the baby will be worth every second - although it could be the lack of sleep making him delirious.

You came to bed late last night to find him passed out on top of the blankets still fully dressed. Taking pity on him, you removed his boots, stirring him from his sleep enough to get underneath the quilt and hold it up for you to curl in next to him. You slipped in, gasping as his strong arms wrapped around your waist and pulled your back flush against his front, his nose buried in your hair.

“My lady and our baby,” he mumbled against the back of your neck as his palm flattened on your unchanged stomach.

“If you’ll have us,” you whispered in return, inhaling sharply as his grip tightened.

“I can’t be what I ain’t.” A kiss tingled your bare shoulder. “But I want you both more’n anything.”

“You promise?”

His warm breath chuckled over your back. “I ain’t lyin’ if that’s what you mean.” You turned your head, finding his heavy lids in the darkness of the room. “I’m sorry for how I acted - I loved being a father, and I’ve loved being with you. Best o’ both worlds but I know this world don’t work that way - for outlaws at least.”

“It’s worked for your brother.”

“Mm. That fool was always lucky.”

“We make our own luck in this world, Arthur. Have faith.”

He chuckled at that, burying his head deeper into his pillow. “A’ight. I’ll try.”

You push a piece of meat into your mouth and force yourself to chew. You’re sure this would taste amazing if you had found this place before you lost your appetite.

Arthur moves to his feet suddenly, eyes fixed outside. “He’s here.”

You follow his gaze to see a curt old man dismounting a stormy coloured turkoman. You recognise him instantly.

She can’t go free. Not with the Pinkertons after us.

"Arthur!" Hosea calls to the man half running off the wooden porch to meet him, hitching Silver Dollar on the side of the road. "Everything alright?"

"Hosea - you got the letter! I-" He moves his hat on his head, raking his hands through the mane of hair before setting it back down. "I didn't know who else to ask."

"Guess it fell through, whatever you intended to do?" The brown eyes drift to the window where you shrink out of view.

"Somethin' like that," he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. "I… we need to talk. I was hopin' you might be able to… to help in some way or at least lend another mind to workin' out what we gotta do now..."

"Is she worth it?" Hosea holds his son’s gaze steadily, tilting his chin towards the saloon.

"Yes. She's-" He breathes out shakily, looking over his shoulder to your peeping eyes. "She's important to me,  Hosea."

A hand clamps on his shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. “Let’s get properly introduced then.”

You hold your breath as the two men walk up to where you’re sat shrinking into the wall. Arthur slides in beside you, squeezing your leg with a small (albeit worried) smile as the stranger settles himself opposite you, his brown eyes bland and unreadable.

"So what is it you need to be telling me?" he asks calmly to no one in particular as he waves for a drink. "What's brought you all this way east for christ's sake?"

"I was gonna get her outta the country," Arthur explains lowly, his knee jittering again. "There're boats - ships that are taking people out of America. Get her away from Colm and us for that matter."

"But…?" He takes the whisky and throws it back, tucking a dollar in the garçon's pocket as he asks for the same again.

"But she- she weren't well."

"I'm pregnant." Your voice breaks, eyes blinking back tears. "Arthur's. I'm carrying Arthur's child."

He blows out his hollow cheeks, looking between the two of you as though expecting a cry of "April Fool's!" in June. Arthur's shoulders sag at his guardian's response.

"An' we ain't even told you the best part. Her cousin was on the ferry in Blackwater. Heidi. She's the one Dutch… you know."

He drags his hands down his face. "Could you bring us the bottle?" he calls before the barman can return. "The bottle and- two? Three glasses?"

“We owe it to her, Hosea!”

“Are you-” He waves his hand, looking between you. “What are your plans?”

“She’s keeping it.”

You nod in agreement, holding onto him for dear life as the man pours you each a glass and toasts. You try to follow suit, but the smell knocks your stomach before you can drink it. You set it back down, pushing the glass away as Arthur rubs your back understandingly.

“Don’t start this again,” growls Arthur, surprising you with his tired hostility. “Please.”

The old man’s voice is hushed, eager. “Think about it - this is an opportunity to get outta this life!”

“I can’t do that, Hosea.”

“This could be whatever deity is up there giving you a second chance! You’ve said it yourself, Arthur. We’re thieves in a world that don’t want us no more.”

“I ain’t leavin’, Hosea. You know I can’t, ‘specially now.”

Regret saturates his sigh, the twinkle in his eye extinguished as he leans his head against the back of the bench. “I know, son. Can’t blame a feller for hopin’.” Silence stretches out between you before the older man speaks again. “So what is it you’re wanting to do? We both know you ain’t dumb enough to want to bring her into camp.”

“What else is there to do?” Urgency cracks his voice as he tries to speak quietly. “Dutch killed her ticket outta here - we owe it to her!”

“He’s paranoid enough without introducing someone with motive. Morale is as low as it’s ever been right now - if word gets out that the girl was related to the new O’Driscoll? People will panic, Arthur. We’ve already lost too many-”

“I just want to keep the baby,” you interrupt, your eyes begging for him to find your honesty. “I know what it looks like, but I didn’t know Arthur was runnin’ with anybody.”

“How did you get caught again? After kidnapping Bill, wasn’t it?”

“That wasn’t me!” you cry desperately.

“But you were there when he was tied to a post?”

“I only went down to see what- what Heidi did. I just wanted to put a face to the story- Please believe me! I ain’t about revenge, and I ain’t about to do anything to put Arthur or the baby in danger-”

“Promises aren’t enough to vouch for you.”

“I won’t leave her side,” intervenes Arthur, squeezing you tight enough to fuse your sides together. “And if I do, you can watch her. Make sure she stays outta trouble.”

“And if both of us are away?”

His exhale is harsh, his mouth searching for words that can’t be found. Hosea tuts, more to himself than anything.

“I know I shoulda realised who I was gettin’ involved with,” Arthur says slowly, blue eyes begging. “But it’s too late for that. If there’s any way of keeping them with me, I gotta try. Please, Hosea. Help us?”

The bony man shrugs tiredly, shaking his head in defeat. "It ain’t me you need to convince, it’s Dutch."

“Do you think he’ll take it?”

“I don’t know anymore. Maybe if he sees how important she is to you.” He sighs, eyes searching the ceiling as though the answer might be hidden in the flaking white paint. “Like I said, he isn’t going to execute a woman carrying a child, and handing her back to Colm would be just that. Can’t hand her to the authorities neither in case she feeds them information.” Lips pressed together they all but disappear, he pours himself and Arthur another glass. “I suppose, until she proves herself to still be a threat we’re at an impasse.”

Arthur taps the glass with his free hand in time with the bounce of his knee. "I- I just don't wanna be the one bringing this gang to its knees."

“You won’t, Arthur.” A ghost of a smile dimples his cheek. “You know what you mean to us. Everyone knew something was happening with you - couldn’t not, knowing you as well as we do - and at the end of the day, you wouldn’t be fighting like this unless you trusted her. So… it’s time we trust your judgement.”

He throws the amber liquid into his mouth, wiping his hands over his thighs. “But - I will say this to the both of you right now-” He fixes you with an unforgiving stare, his neat voice hushed. “-if anyone in camp comes to harm as a result of your actions, I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in you. Baby or no baby.”

“Hosea-!”

“I mean it.” His gaze doesn’t flicker, holding you like a snake charmer. “We aren’t like Colm, we don’t pick people up to expand our numbers. The Van der Linde gang is family. What we have is thicker than blood. Don’t go shedding any. Understand?”

“Yes,” you croak.

“Good.” He drains your untouched glass and gets to his feet. “Arthur, you should go on ahead. Tell Dutch what’s happened, but leave out the family history. I don’t want to play that card unless we absolutely have to.”

“And Y/N?”

“We’ll be behind you in the cart. On Silver Dollar, you should get back in a day and a half at a push - if we aim for two and a bit, that should give him plenty of time to cool off and think rationally.” The older man squeezes his son's arm. “Don’t look at me like that, son. She’ll be safe with me.”

****

As promised, after two nights travelling with Hosea, you arrive back to the heartlands of New Hanover. He explains, whilst pulling out a book from his bag, that you’re waiting here until Arthur comes to fetch you both. No point walking into camp if the heat is still on.

“And if it doesn’t calm down?” you ask.

“Well, I imagine he’ll come get you and take you on to Valentine.”

You wait for a few hours - it’s only as the sun is beginning to dip lower towards the horizon that Arthur comes out from between the trees. He gives Hosea a look that can only be described as… terse. Understanding immediately, Hosea clambers down.

“Give me five minutes before coming in. No point in talking if nobody can hear what you have to say.”

The two men exchange a series of pats as they pass each other. The shadows under Arthur’s eyes are almost black as he climbs up beside you.

“How’d it go?”

Hesitating, he squeezes your knee, placing a deep kiss to your forehead before flicking the reins. “Well. Guess we’ll see if it was enough.”

He guides the wagon a little further down the dirt track parallel with the train tracks. You can see a glimmer of light through the trees for a brief moment, but it’s not until you turn down a narrow path you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise that you recognise quite how sheltered the camp is. You brace yourself for a sniper to take you out, but you make it through to the clearing without crossing anyone’s path.

Arthur parks the cart, releasing the horses before helping you down.

“How do we even know it’s his?” you hear Dutch cry from the all too familiar central tent.

"You saw how she came in, so she was telling the truth about that. Why would she bother with that get up if they knew?"

“It’s Colm! He’s been trying to take us out for years!”

“Arthur cares for her. We should give her a chance.” A hefty scoff sounds. "He isn't like you or John; they've been intimate. Of course he cares! And she’s pregnant - that baby could come out blacker than the night sky and he’d take it in as his own."

Arthur’s fingers weave through your hair, pulling your ear to his chest. His hammering heart alone almost blocks out the noise but a growl makes you lift your head.

“Herr Morgan!”

“Herr Strauss.”

“There’s a debt I need you to collect.” The man’s face is long and thin with small round glasses perched at the very end of his nose - perfect for looking down into the book he’s carrying. “A rather reluctant client by the name of Downes.”

You jump at the sinister snarl that curls from Arthur’s lips. “I’m busy.”

“You don’t need to go immediately, Mr Morgan, but the sooner the better. Fellow seems determined to die before paying his dues.”

“If it’s so important, get someone else to do it.”

“I’ve tried but Mr Bell was a little too heavy handed. We can’t collect debts from the dead.”

“Well it’ll have to wait. I got more pressing matters right now.”

His beady eyes gleam as he surveys you. “So I’ve heard. The O’Driscoll girl, isn’t it?”

“Git outta here!”

“Arthur! Y/N!” Hosea calls you both from the flaps of Dutch’s tent. With one last sneer at Strauss, Arthur leads you to the castle by the hand, his fingers interlaced with yours as he steps in front of you, entering first to take the brunt of the hostile atmosphere.

Dutch is stood, feet planted apart beside a gramophone, arms folded across his chest as his eyes burn into yours with a fierce intensity.

“What are you wantin’ from us, Miss? To kill us in our sleep perhaps?”

“Dutch-”

“Let her speak, son!”

You take a steadying breath. “Mr Van der Linde-”

“Miss O’Driscoll,” he returns sarcastically, lighting a fat cigar.

“Miss L/N, actually,” you sneer. “I’m not here to harm any one of you. We’re in a predicament, and we’d appreciate it-”

“We got a sayin’ here,” he interrupts brashly. “We save people as need savin’, shoot fellers as need shootin’ and feed those who need feedin’. Which is it you’re needin’, Miss?”

“Feedin’ if you can, Dutch,” Arthur growls, squeezing your hand as he throws you a look. “Savin’ us if you will.”

He scoffs, shaking his head in despair. “So it’s ‘us’ now?”

The apple in Arthur’s throat bobs, his chin still held high. “Yes. We’re in it together. Where she goes I go. You’re my family and I want to stay, but if you can’t accept her, I guess we’ll have to go somewhere else.”

“Come now, Arthur-!”

“She’s carrying my child, Dutch.”

“That didn’t stop John disappearin’.”

“I ain’t Marston. You know that.”

“I know you’re still holdin’ a grudge on him, that’s for sure.”

Arthur sighs harshly, pulling your body flush with his. “What’s it gonna be, Dutch? She needs to rest. Can she stay, or am I takin’ her to town?”

He takes a long drag of his cigar, casually blowing the smoke into your face. “What happened to you, Arthur? You got so sour in your old age.”

“I got tired of worryin’ about everybody else.”

“Worryin’ about everybody else? Son, you want us to take in another O’Driscoll! It’s suicide!”

His shoulders fall, his grip tightening. “Well then, I guess it’s time to thank you for all them years.”

He tuts. “You don’t mean that.”

“Dutch, I ain’t slept proper since I brought her here, an’ I’m gettin’ real tired of talkin’. I can’t risk losin’ her like I did Eliza and Isaac.” They stare at each other, both stubborn and unrelenting.

He takes another long slow drag of smoke and lets it cloud the air between them. “Fine. She can stay. But first sign of trouble and she’s out!”

“A chance is all I’m askin’ for.” Tugging you out of the tent, he keeps his body between you and Van der Linde. “Thank you, Dutch.”

“This is on you, Hosea,” you hear as Arthur leads you to a small cot a dozen feet away. “Soft, the both of you.”

#Arthur Morgan x Female Reader #Arthur Morgan x Reader #rdr2 fanfic #rdr2 fic #red dead fanfic #Arthur Morgan x O'Driscoll #meowdymista

[inkribbon796]

A Diamond in the Rough Ch. 3

Chapter 3: A Gift

Summary: The chapter in which Eric gets some much needed protection and Damien attempts another surprise adoption.

A/N: A story in which Damien and Patton share the same brain cell, and it says to adopt the sad child.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3

Eventually Eric was able to tell a little bit of what had happened. Dark had killed his father in front of him, and he was scared and his hands wouldn’t stop aching and tingling. Randall’s mother came in to help try and calm him down. Patton did pass on the message to the other heroes before going back inside and using his powers to help calm Eric down again. It resulted in him falling asleep from exhaustion.

Logan wound up calling in with information, after looking through several police reports they found out that Eric was the survivor of an accident that killed his brother and that Derek was suspected of working for Dark but the police hadn’t been able to prove it.

Currently the only thing the doctors could prove was that while Eric didn’t have evidence of being stabbed, he had a lot of old and recent bruises. And that was making Patton overprotective and unhappy, wanting to coddle and smother Eric in love but was unable to for a multitude of reasons.

Logan was standing in his outfit, trying to “reason with him” while the two were in the lobby. “We cannot adopt him, he is a teenager and most likely has extended family, he is a witness in a murder investigation.”

“Yeah, but he’s so sad,” Patton smiled and tried to continue to argue his point.

“Marie Curie and her notebook,” Logan groaned. “This is why we don’t let you be around children.”

“Princey wants and sidekick and Silver and Jackie both have one,” Patton gave a huge smile.

“No,” Logan cut in to stomp that out. “No. No! We are not taking on an apprentice. I can barely corral you and Princey, I am not adding a literal child to those complications.”

“Aww, come on, it’d be great,” Patton continued.

“No, I am figuratively putting my foot down,” Logan said and distantly he heard the faint ringing of Dark’s aura and signaled an alarm. “Dark is here, we’ll continue this at a later time.”

The two Sides followed the staticky, ringing aura until they found Dark outside of Eric’s room.

“Halt!” Logan ordered him. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

“A surprise adoption,” Dark’s blue soul answered, not-so-helpfully, despite the heroes not being able to hear him or him being able to talk to them.

“Don’t start!” Dark’s red soul pushed him out of the way.

“That’s none of your business,” Dark managed to say despite the fact his twin souls were fighting with each other, his form splintering and fracturing. Which gave an unintended nefarious air to his words.

“You’re here to kill him aren’t you?” Patton accused.

“Of course not,” Dark told him in a rare moment of honesty. He didn’t want to kill the young Derekson boy; he wanted to add him to what Anti often referred to as Dark’s “hoard”.

Dark’s blue soul was quickly winning out and Dark knew he was losing against the impulse to take the Derekson kid and just run off with him. He was already planning on introducing him to Illinois and Kay first, Bim and Arthur were a bit too high energy for a first introduction.

“You can’t have him, you fiend,” Patton proclaimed loudly and bravely.

“You really are insufferable,” Dark told him.

Silver flew down the other side of the hallway, braced for a fight.

“Why are you looking for a kid?” Silver demanded.

“You should mind your own business,” Dark scoffed.

“Not in the job description,” Silver smiled, pulling up his fists. “Let’s dance, Darkcus.”

Dark scowled at him, looking about ready to literally hiss at him and he jumped at him, his aura curling around him.

“I’ll get him out, you make sure people are safe,” Silver called at the two Sides who were already going towards Eric’s door. Patton rushed in to find Randall’s mother not in the room.

“Where should we move them?” Patton asked as Logan closed the door, the quick entrance and the loud conversation had woken both Randall and Eric up, Eric easily getting disoriented at the unfamiliar scenario.

“No, while he’s still out there it is unsafe for anyone to move,” Logan warned. “I’ve already contacted the hospital staff to help Ms. Voorhees to get up here safely when Dark is removed from the floor.”

“What’s goin’ on here?” Randall demanded groggily.

“No, everything’s fine,” Patton promised, at the same moment that Silver came through the left wall, being thrown through by Dark.

Dark stepped through the hole, looked frustrated and very disgruntled, aura a shrill ringing.

Eric let out a squeak of terror and Randall huddled next to Eric.

“I’m not going to kill him,” Dark straightened his tie. “Killing a child is beneath me.”

“That doesn’t discount the numerous things that could happen to a child under your quote-unquote care,” Logan responded.

Dark let out a long sigh, swiping the fringe of his hair to the side as a quick slew of memories of everything that his Lost Ones had done while they’d been living in the Manor. He waved his hand and a large portal opened up and dropped all of them, along with everything in the room, into a currently unused construction site. One that Marvin was currently not at because he was still at the hospital currently ten miles away.

“There, now that pesky magician isn’t in the way,” Dark growled, cracking his neck in agitation, flattening out the already pristine front of his suit coat. “I really should get around to killing him one of these days.”

Eric looked around wildly, his IV and monitor no longer hooked up and the young teen started to slip into a panic.

Silver was already moving, “I’ve got—”

Dark had already grabbed, his aura had a crushing grip on the monochrome hero’s ankle, tugging him back, “Go away!”

The hero was flung up towards the half finished ceiling and because Silver was super sturdy and already moving quickly a couple pieces of rebar came loose, chunks of concrete still and started tipping over.

For all the adults, things were moving in slow motion and Dark let go of Silver to try and reach out in time with a portal but only half of it fell in and but because of its positioning a piece of concrete broke off from where the rebar hit the portal and fell right on top of the teens.

It hit Randall square on the back, Dark let out a horrified gasp that fortunately for Dark’s reputation — but not his nerves — Patton’s equally horrified gasp was much louder and he was closer to Logan so the other Side didn’t hear Dark.

For the heroes’ sakes, and for Eric’s as well, when it hit Randall it activated a superpower in him and the concret just fell apart like it was made of flimsy plaster. All the heroes just froze, Dark felt a chill of relief come over him and he held a portal over the teens to keep any more debris from falling over on top of them. Randall felt like his whole body was on pins and needles.

His only thought was: “Never before have I been so happy to see superpowers.”

All it looked like to the heroes was that Dark was planning something. Silver flew at him and slammed into Dark as Logan and Patton raced for the two teens, hurrying to. Pull them away from the site as Jackie and Marvin rushed in. They stayed in-between Dark, and Eric and Randall.

Dark snarled at him, “Fine! Pests, the lot of you! I did that boy a favor!”

Then there was a flash of a portal and Dark was gone. All the heroes stayed braced for an attack. When it didn’t come after a couple minutes, Silver and Jackie rushed to take the teens back to the hospital where the staff and Randall’s mother were very anxiously waiting for them.

Without any other physical wounds to treat, and confirmation that Dark was his father’s killer. The police got what scarce information they could.

Then Marvin was left to talk to Eric, and it took a little bit before the very skittish teen warmed up enough to him to even look at him.

Marvin smiled, “Don’t worry, we’re not gonna let anythin’ happen ta yah.”

Eric managed a small, sad smile, trying to hope that maybe they were right.

That maybe, just maybe his luck was finally turning around.

After Eric was deemed healthy enough to leave the heroes decided that for safety’s sake and security they could keep Eric living at the base, he wasn’t the only person living there. He would repeatedly meet with social services and a doctor as a follow up for health and wellness checks until they could find any other family. Randall’s mother offered to take him in if they couldn’t. But it was determined that until Dark stopped hunting for him, he would stay at the base and learn to control his explosive powers.

Silver even offered to help teach Randall to control his super strength, and with very tentative permission from his mother, training dates were set.

Immediately upon bringing Eric to the base, Bing and Logan took one look at the prosthetics he had, then they both looked at each other. Logan’s eyebrow was raised and Bing took off his glasses to take pictures of it.

“Who has been letting the little dude use these?” Bing commented.

“How soon could we procure replacements?” Logan asked.

“Procure nuthin’,” Bing boasted. “I could build better.”

“Maybe others could also be made in the process,” Logan proposed. “The holidays are coming up.”

“I like how yah think,” Bing smiled, putting his sunglasses back on. “Let me just get some measurements from the little dude, yah think he would like some rocket shoes?”

“How about we do not include such modifications?” Logan told him as they went to go and find Eric to get some leg measurements. It would take Bing a week to make some custom prosthetics for Eric. Some nanites embedded into it to help it react to whatever terrain or environments he was in.

Upon receiving them, Eric would burst into tears, almost too afraid to touch them for fear of breaking them but after an impromptu stress test where Bing demonstrated that short of an atomizer he couldn’t possibly break the new prosthetics, Eric took them and put them on.

Eric took some time getting used to his new prosthetics, but found that like his new life he would grow into it quite nicely.

#Superhero AU #Masks and Maladies #Egoton Origins #birthday post #Markiplier #Jacksepticeye #Thomas Sanders #Eric Derekson #Derek Derekson #Randall Voorhees #Darkiplier #Patton Sanders #Logan Sanders #Silver Shepherd #Jackieboy Man #Marvin the Magnificent #wkm Damien #Damien the Mayor #wkm Celine #Celine the Seer #slight child endangerment #by all parties

[goalcaufield]

more than this - r. donovan & a. turcotte

loosely based off more than this by one direction. 

____________________________________________

you make your way through the hoard of people, there only being a handful you recognized up until you found alex, your best friend. you walk up to him and put his hand on his bicep causing him to turn away from the conversation he was having with one of his teammates.“hey lex, have you seen ryder?” you yell over the music, but it does nearly nothing as alex still has to bend down so you can yell in his ear. “where’s ryder!”

“no clue!” alex yells back, his arm wrapping around your waist to pull you closer to him as a guy slips behind you. “i think he may have gone to the bathroom? but that was a while ago and i haven’t seen him since!”

you let out a sigh - not that it was heard, but it was needed - and smile halfheartedly at alex. “i wanna get out of here and he has the keys! i’ll text you when i find him!”

alex gives you a nod and then you’re disappearing and pushing past people to find your boyfriend. you search everywhere that you possibly can; you search out in the backyard, you stand around and people watch to see if ryder passes by, but it’s no use. you know there’s absolutely no way he’ll be able to hear his phone so you don’t bother trying to call him, but the handful of text messages you send to him go unread, even 20 minutes later when he’s normally a quick replier. 

you finally resort to searching through rooms. he could be getting some space, he could be talking to one of his friends or teammates, you try to convince yourself to think of happier thoughts, but you can’t help the negative ones that snake their way in. he’s just getting space, he’s just getting space.

you sweep the upstairs first, and with no avail you head down to the first floor to continue your search. you go into a few of the rooms, most of which are empty, but the second you walk into the only bedroom on the bottom floor you wish you hadn’t. there’s ryder on top of someone you can’t quite make out, but the thing you can make out? they aren’t doing anything innocent. and the moan of ryder’s name that leaves the girl’s lips can only confirm what’s happening.

the room feels like it’s spinning, and even though you want nothing more than to run from that room your feet are planted on the carpet. you can’t take your eyes away. it’s like your mind is trying to convince you that this isn’t happening, that your boyfriend of two years that you followed to college wasn’t cheating on you. that this was all just a horrible, horrendous, horrific nightmare, and when you wake up ryder will be kissing all over your face to wake you up.

“y/n?” his panicked voice echoes through your ears. you can barely meet his eyes, and when his brain starts to function again he practically levitates off the girl and is yanking his boxers back on. “baby, i can explain.”

“i don’t want you to,” you can barely manage to get it out. “go back to what you were doing, ryder. i just hope you know it means we’re done.”

you can’t stay in there any longer, and even though you would’ve loved to see his reaction, you turn out of the spare bedroom and start to make your way out of the house with tears blurring your vision. you can vaguely hear alex yelling your name out of the crowd but you try to ignore him the best you can. you shove past people before finally making it out the back door and into the backyard. 

“y/n!” you hear as the back door opens and slams shut. “what the hell happened?”

 you walk over to the pool, careful to make sure he doesn’t see your tear stricken face. “go away, alex.”

you sit down on the concrete and dip your feet in the pool. you can hear alex walking up behind you and then he’s sitting down next to you. “you know, you’re funny if you think i’m gonna leave you alone. what kind of best friend would i be?” it feels like a stab to the heart to say it, but alex knows that’s the truth. he’s your best friend, and that’s all he’ll ever be to you.

“i walked in on ryder,” you choke as you say it. you refuse to look over at alex but you can feel his eyes on you. “he was with a girl, and i bet you can guess what was happening.”

“y/n/n,” alex breathes out, his hands going to rest on top of yours. you bite your lip to keep from crying. “i’m so sorry.”

“dont be,” you laugh and the tears eventually start to fall. you pull your hand away from alex to wipe underneath your eyes. “i was the stupid one. i was the one that followed him here. i was the one that was stupid enough to think we’d actually have a future together. i was the one that was hopelessly in love with someone who probably didn’t even love me a fraction of the way i loved him.”

alex can’t even find the words to say. the girl he had been in love with since they were 11 years old finally had her first heartbreak -- and it was with a mutual extremely close friend. alex couldn’t figure out whether he wanted to kill ryder or make him feel horrible for what he did. “y/n he was head over heels in love with you. i don’t know how much he drank to-”

“him drinking doesn’t excuse anything lex,” you scoff, finally turning to face alex. his heart nearly breaks seeing the tears falling down your face.

“i know it doesn’t. i just don’t understand what could possibly possess him to do that, that’s all, y/n/n.” alex wraps his arm around your body and pulls you closer to him. you let your head fall to rest on his shoulder, and alex presses a quick kiss to your forehead that almost goes unnoticed. “i love you, y/n.”

“i love you too, lex,” you croak out. he shushes you and lets you cry on his shoulder, but in reality that’s all you could want. alex had always been an amazing best friend regardless of his feelings for you. he tried to ignore them the best they could, and they never influenced the way he acted around you - for the most part. the only difference is that whenever he said he loved you, there was a whole new meaning. he really meant it.

“i could kill him if you really want,” alex says and it causes you to giggle, a grin spreading across your lips. “see? there’s that smile i love.”

“i don’t know what i want, i just know that i need you here with me,” you whisper, your right hand going to grab his left.

“i can do that. i promise, y/n, you’ll never have to be without me.” 

#alex turcotte #ryder donovan #team usa #usntdp #us ntdp #wisco hockey #university of wisconsin hockey #alex turcotte imagine #ryder donovan imagine #hockey #nhl #nhl imagine #hockey imagine

[tomishaped]

Rating:

Explicit

Archive Warnings:

Graphic Depictions Of Violence • Major Character Death

Category:

M/M

Fandom:

Supernatural

Relationship:

Dean Winchester!Izzy Hlton

Characters:

Dean Winchester • Izzy Hilton • Sam Winchester • Asmodeus • Dagon • Demons • Hellhound • Ellen Harvelle • Jo Harvelle • Hunters • Crowley • Charlie Bradbury • Bobby Singer • Ruby • Death • Pestilence • Famine • War • Castiel • Angels • Cain

Additional Tags:

Demon Dean Winchester • Demon Sex • Kidnapping • Gay Sex • Blood • Blood Kink • Hate Sex • Love/Hate • Major Character Injury • Major Original Character(s) • Character Death • Past Child Abuse • Past Rape/Non-con • Past Sexual Abuse • Past Torture • Past Violence • Canon-Typical Violence • Violence • Protective Dean Winchester • Bisexual Dean Winchester • Top Dean Winchester • Dean Winchester is Bad at Feelings • Izzy is too • Emotional Hurt/Comfort • Emotional/Psychological Abuse

Summary: After being pulled out of hell Dean realizes quickly that the four months he had been gone made way for a lot of changes in the lives of everyone he knows, including the life he had known for himself before he died. Nobody was treating him the same, and there was seriously something going on with his brother that he could not figure out. He was spending most of his time alone nowadays, not really hunting anymore since Bobby and Sam were against it for him, and spending most of his time drinking instead to try and forget. He was angry, pretty much all the time. That anger really worked in his favour though when walking back to the impala he came across a freaking hoard of demons getting ready to attack some blond chick. He didn't know who she was or what the hell all the demons wanted with her, but there was no way he could just walk away. Maybe if he had any idea what trying to save this person was going to lead too he would have just walked away, maybe if he had actually given any thought to the situation before him he wouldn't have put himself in the middle of it, but even before hell he made impulsive and rash decisions... so maybe not.

Previous Chapters

• Chapter One •

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Chapter Two: Welcome to the Batcave

Part One

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When they had reached the car Dean made quick work of the door locks and got them both inside before he punched it, only leaving squealing tires and smoke behind them as they took off. Dean didn’t start to relax till they were a mile or so away from the group of demons, still keeping an eye on the mirrors though just in case. “You really pissed someone off," he said with a grin as he glanced over at the other while he drove.

Izzy did manage to force himself to relax once they were in the car, though Dean still happened to look tense with the way he was looking out his mirrors for someone. Honestly, it probably helped the demon to relax with the fact that Izrael couldn't feel Dagon as close anymore. She was either losing interest or losing track of them for now, either way that worked for him. "Huh?" He was honestly confused at first when Dean said that, "Why would you think I pissed some- oh! Because of all that? Right. Yeah. They don't seem to fond of me, do they? I should probably stop crashing into their parties like that." 

Izrael shifted in the seat a little and rolled his eyes when he saw the man look out his mirrors again, "You can stop doing that now. We're fine, mommy lost us," he said with a shrug, leaning back in the seat again, trying to get comfortable. He was ready to get out of the Winchesters car now, and he would really like to do it without having to kill the hunter next to him in order to keep him from following or trying to track him. Even if he didn't have an issue with killing humans, he didn't know which way Dean's soul would go now and having it back in the pit after he killed him could possibly become… problematic. "So uh, yeah, you can just drop me off whenever now and can go get back too… whatever the hell you were doing before joining me at that lovely party tonight. I'm actually supposed to be at a different party right now anyways, so anywhere is good."

Dean snickered when the other said that they had crashed a few parties, it made sense. He did raise an eyebrow when he was told that the horde had backed off of them. Granted he hadn’t noticed any one but still, he never trusted demons to give up. “To be honest, I was out looking for a good time… guess I found it,” he said with a wicked grin, still feeling a bit of an adrenaline high from the fight and sprint to the car. “Rest of my evening is open if you want some back up,” he offered the blond. “Not saying you can’t handle yourself, I saw your moves back there but… twenty to one is a bit much,”  he said while giving him a bit of a doubtful side look. 

This is what Dean thought of as a good time? The human was either suicidal or crazy. Sure, Izzy did have fun doing shit like this too, but he was a demon- he was fucking crazy. "Mmm, yeah… it was a bit much till you showed up. Definitely would have ended up losing this jacket," Izrael laughed a little at Dean and shook his head, "See, I haven't gone and learned my lesson yet it seems since I'm definitely gonna be crashing one of their parties again. Gotta find it first though, and I can't do that in a strangers car."

Dean raised an eyebrow when the blond mentioned that they weren’t done yet and was looking to start a similar party to where he just found them. Ok sure he had been doing stupid stuff since he got back but he had an excuse. He was trying to repress what felt like forty years of Hell - literal Hell. So what was this kid's excuse? She might be crazy, but her crazy was also kinda hot and hunters like this don’t tend to stick in one place long because of the next big hunt. Besides, too often if they stayed in one place for long then all the enemies they made along the way had a tendency to catch up to them. “I can drop you off wherever your next party is so you don’t get jumped on the way again…” Dean trailed off a little as he drove, “could at least tell me your name before you get yourself killed.”

Izrael smiled at the hunter. "Why would I give someone I've never met in this life my name? Doesn't sound too smart. Besides, I don't see you passing over that information either."

Dean grinned. “Sorry, thought you picked it up before things got hairy. Names Dean, Dean Winchester," he said as he held a hand out to shake as he drove, glancing at the blond but mostly keeping his eyes on the road. “You know demons can’t keep their big mouths shut, if your next party is anything like that one, they’re going to be ready for you and you’re going to lose more than your jacket, sweetheart," he said in a matter of fact tone. “Might be a better idea to show up with back up and armed to the teeth,” he offered with a mischievous grin. “Lucky for you I know the perfect place.”

His excuse? His absolute only memories were of hell. Turning into a demon the way he had had wiped out all his human memories and the little demon only knew the last sixty years he had spent in hell training to do just this. He wasn't trying to repress hell, why repress when it was all he knew? He was just doing what Asmodues sent him off to do, and with the youngest prince of hell being the closest person to the blond and having nothing else to really do… he listened. He enjoyed killing other demons, it was a task he found fun. But when your job is to kill any demon that stands against the man you're working for, you don't exactly make any friends. And being alone only gave him more time to hunt down Asmodues's enemies. It was a vicious never ending cycle that wasn't going to change anytime soon as far as Izrael could tell. Hell either hated him, feared him, or admired him from afar - very afar. No one was brave enough to chance getting on Izzy's bad side. And those that were like the hoard tonight that actually tried to kill him were just too stupid to stay away and deserved to die anyways as far as he was concerned. 

Of course he knew who Dean was once he heard his name. But the hunter didn't need to know that Izrael had heard of him. He eyed the other’s hand for a moment before he sighed and half gave in to the man, though didn't reach his own hand out, "Izzy Hilton," he said, using the name that Asmodues had given him for when he had to pretend to be human. Though he had no idea that it actually was his name. That Asmodues called him Izrael to see if any of the once nineteen year old’s memories would spark with little clues like that. It never did. "They're always on the lookout for me… wouldn't be anything new…" he said with a little shrug, getting the gut feeling that this hunter was not about to let him go off on his own anytime soon. The last thing the little demon needed was to do spend time with a fucking Wincester, especially the one that spent all that time in hell. "No offense, but I don't really work with others. Thanks for the help back there and everything, but you're Dean Winchester… so you and I working together is a bad idea. Trust me."

With both hands back on the wheel, Dean snorted when Izzy said that demons watching out was nothing new. He understood that, that's what made the Bunker so beautiful. It was the definition of a safe house for spooky shit and basically everything else. He sucked some air between his teeth when it seemed the other knew who he was by name, having heard some of the stuff hunters thought of him while he was putting in time at the Roadhouse. “Fair, I mean we did just meet and I also just saved your ass from a fucking gaggle of demons, but okay,” he said, half joking. “We don’t know each other, and inviting you to my secret Men of Letters bunker can seem a little Silence of the Lambs but I promise, imma damn puppy dog compared to your normal party guests,” he said,.  Ane yes, he did just name drop the Men of Letters to see if that helped his case. Dean wasn’t a creep and if Izzy wanted out he’d drop them off wherever they wanted but all horn-dog habits aside, he wouldn’t rest well if he did. He’d probably end up asking around and looking into this pretty Izzy Hilton to see what her story was about. “Again, I know bunker can be off putting, but this place is huge, over twenty bedrooms to pick from. It’s armed to the teeth so nothing is getting in. I have one of the few keys to get in but you can get out whenever you like,” he added, trying to seem a little less kidnappy and rapey. “That and there's a hundred year old whiskey collection.”

Izzy had absolutely zero ideas of what other hunters thought of the man he was currently sitting next too. Up until now, he had done a really good job at avoiding them in his travels and work. Sure, to be on the safe side he did do some research on hunters who seemed to be the biggest threats but until now he hadn't actually met any of them. So, right now he couldn't figure out if it was just bad fucking luck that Dean Winchester happened to walk in on his ambush, or some weird good luck to get him out of it unharmed. Even after over fifty years as a demon, almost sixty now maybe? He honestly had never actually hurt a human. So did he deserve this kind of bad luck? On the other hand though, can demons actually have good luck? It was really confusing. 

Fact was, Izzy only knew of Dean Winchester from the mouths of other demons. His research on hunters in general was by word of mouth in hell. It wasn't like there were any books he could read on them. So he knew the man was obviously a good hunter, and not just when it came to demons. He knew the idiot sold his soul to save that dumbass brother of his that was hanging around one of the main demons on his own hit list. It was just really hard to get to the bitch when she was being protected by the hunter drinking demon blood. He only knew that from actually running across her once, he could fucking smell the demon blood radiating from the human she was with and it didn't take long to figure out who that human was and what fucking Ruby was doing with him. Little Sammy Winchester. Lovely. He also knew the man next to him spent what was like forty years in hell, being tortured for most of them by fucking Alastair. It had come as a surprise when he heard that there was some sort of angel watching out for him. Well, the angel part wasn't really known when he figured it out. It was just known that the man was pulled out of hell and Izrael knew that an Angel was the only way the man could have escaped hell and returned to his body the way he had. And really, he would prefer to avoid angels. Most demons weren't really that much of a threat to him. They could likely hurt him but Izzy was not easy to actually kill. Not that they had quite figured that out yet. But he had no idea what an angel might be able to do to him. 

Izrael couldn't remember his own torture. He actually had no idea it even happened. Ever since the day Asmodues found his newly turned demon in that cage he kept his pet in, the youngest prince acted as though that was the first day of Izzy's life. He didn't even know that he was in that cage because of that man in the first place. "I'm not afraid of you, Dean, even though I'm pretty damn sure you're no puppy dog," Izzy told him with a little roll of his eyes, the man who had spent his last few years in hell torturing other souls was far from a puppy. But he had caught Izzy's attention mentioning the Men of Letters. He vaguely remembered Asmodues mentioning them decades ago. Something about them being all dead now… about them holding knowledge no one else had. Going to this bunker… could prove useful if the knowledge thing was true.

Izzy finally looked over at Dean again, tucking hair behind his ears, "Well whiskey is always a very good and tempting offer," he said, chewing on his lip a little as he thought it over. "If you're all armed like you say you are… Do you also have books and shit? Like, books on demons and shit." Izzy knew he had been turned differently than almost every other demon that existed, he had to have been to have his own body and no ability whatsoever to jump from one meatsuit to the next, but he had no idea what happened to make him this way. And no book he had found since being set loose on the world had been able to give him the answer he was looking for. If this bunker had hidden knowledge it might be his best bet to find out how he turned, because Asmodues wasn't telling him anytime soon. "And I really wouldn't have to just stay if I don't want to. I can just walk out? Seriously?"

Dean just grinned when the other said he was pretty sure he wasn’t a puppy, calling him out like that. And he believed them when they said that they weren’t scared of him, he did find her in the middle of a demon infested alleyway in the middle of the night. His grin grew when Izzy seemed to be mulling the thought over. He raised an eyebrow and chanced a longer glance at the other when he was asked about books. That he hadn’t been expecting, didn’t peg her for a book type. There might be something they were looking for specifically that the old bats had locked away. He would definitely be doing an inventory check but hey it sounded like they were coming around to the idea. A new face and alone time might do him some good, even if they don't get handsy and this Izzy turned out to be a gigantic book worm. 

“Like I said you need a magic key to get in but getting out isn’t a problem, locks behind you but I gotta warn you the cell service sucks,” he said with a smile. He altered his route and started out of town and toward the bunker. The long ride was pretty much silent after that, Dean was honestly a bit too nervous to say something and have the blond change her mind about coming. He couldn't help wanting to help her, wanting to figure her out at least a little. From wanting to protect the little thing and knowing that he would just worry about them at this point. “Just don’t take anything, alright? Not really supposed to take people to the BatCave but…” he trailed off with a shrug after he parked by the bunker, obviously making an exception for the blond right now. 

Izzy shrugged when he mentioned cell service, that meant pretty much nothing to him. Of course he knew what a cell phone was, he had been in this world long enough. But he never felt the need to get one. Who the hell was he gonna call? "No big deal, no cell phone. I was serious, I've never worked with someone else before. Never felt the need to get one," he shrugged, as little like it was normal or something to not have a cell this day and age. He honestly didn't actually know either way though. "And I don't plan on taking anything. I've got my own weapons and shit. Just… looking for a little info is all. If you happen to have a book with what I want to know, well, then I won't really need it anymore once I read it." He ignored the Bat Cave comment for the moment, not wanting to let the hunter next to him realize he actually understood the reference. He especially didn't want him to know he found it amusing.

Dean decided to leave Baby in a little hidden knook they made for when they didn’t plan on staying long and putting her in the very nice garage. He just grinned as they walked up to the old green doors after grabbing a bag from the trunk and he pulled it open for the other. Once past the first threshold Dean unlocked the second doors and stepped through, holding it open for the other. “This is the legacy of the Men of Letters, a bit old and dusty but we’re still fixing the place up.” he said as they made their way down the spirling, metal staircase. He walked past the light up map table and tossed his bag on the first long table in the library. “Wanna tour?” he asked as he turned to the other, smiling at them.

He just wanted a fucking book that explained how humans became demons. Without their souls spending hundreds of years tortured in hell. Asmodues had no choice but to tell him that he turned differently than everyone else when he realized he couldn't just jump from meat suit to meat suit like everyone else could. His soul never left his body, something in him changed while he was still a human. But that was all Asmodues would say on the subject. Honestly it was the one thing about the man who called himself Izzy's master that drove him absolutely insane. He didn't care so much about whatever his human life was since he couldn't miss what he didn't remember or had any sort of idea what it might have been like, but he did want to know why he turned into a demon. Was he evil in his previous life? Is that how it worked? He remembered someone once saying that he must have cracked to change the way he did, but cracked from what and how? He just wanted to know how the fuck he came into existence. What made him so different from other demons. Why even Dagon, who knew that Izzy couldn't kill her without that oh so special gun, feared him to some extent. And nothing he had found so far explained any of that shit. Was he a bookworm? Mmm, debatable. Ask any demon who knew him they'd say no,, but Izzy was really good at keeping things about himself pretty damn secret. The less people knew the less they had on you and the safer you were. But the truth was that he did love books, loved to read and learn. And now that he wasn't under Asmodues' thumb at all times and had a mission to carry out, he was able to use research for said mission as an excuse to read. Sure, he was actually doing research but for so much more than anyone actually knew. 

Izzy was a bit unsure following Dean into the bunker when they got there. This could be a really, really stupid idea. But on the other hand… he was going to have info on the Winchester's no one else could possibly dream of having and he might get a few other answers out of this as well so he followed along. He looked around as Dean led him through the place, tilting his head and letting a confused little look cross his face as he tilted his head back to see the ceiling, "Uh, sure, if you want. So, do you keep the bats in some special room or something? I kinda just pictured them all over the place."

Her not havung a phone probably should have set off more red fags then it did because even if you were a loner it was useful to have one since pay phones were all but extinct. He tilted his own head when Izzy had mentioned bats, that had been a reaction he might have expected from Cas but really? “It’s not really a batca-... never mind. This is our fortress,” he said, just trying to get past what he felt was a painful moment. He turned on his heel and held up his arms out on either side as he gestured to the books. “This is the library. Nothing says stuffy bookworms like having a library right at the front door right?” He said with a laugh, turning completely to face the other as he walked around one of the tables. 

If Izrael actually cared much about completely blending in when he was going by Izzy he probably would have gotten a cell phone. But truth be told, he didn't actually care what humans thought about him and despite Asmodues having insisted he play the part on earth he could probably count on one hand how many times he had ever used the name Izzy before. Since he usually avoided hunters he rarely ever felt the need too. So really… What was the point of carrying around a little electronic box used to call people? The only person who would ever actually want to get ahold of him had his own ways of doing so. But even Asmodues left Izzy to himself for the most part nowadays as long as he kept doing what he was told and continued to work his damnedest to keep Lucifer in his box. Though if he had realized how odd it actually was to not have one, he wouldn't have mentioned it. 

Of course it wasn't actually a Bat Cave. It almost annoyed him that the hunter found it so easy to believe that the batman reference really meant nothing to the blond. Sure, part of him was glad too because he didn't want the fact that he enjoyed those comics to be known by anyone, but still… how stupid did this hunter think he really was if he believed that Izzy? He was pretty sure that Batman was popular among humans. It was the Winchester thinking he was dumb that bothered him more than anything though, because that was just not true. Izzy had always been rather smart, even before he turned, he had a near photographic memory. But with all memories of humanity gone, and those memories being from close to sixty years before anyways, all that was left was hell and the supernatural. And he figured that shit out quickly, easily. Humans, not so much. Humanity and what they were like and what they did like were never on his list of things he needed to learn about. Humans weren't his targets. "No offense, but you don't exactly strike me as the bookworm type," he said, moving around the table to go and look at the spines of the books, fingers running lightly over them. Yeah, this would definitely be his best bet at finding answers. Some of these were obviously old as fuck. "The kill first and ask questions later type. Though I suppose since all you hunters go after everything supernatural, you need the lore books, huh?" He personally didn't bother with any other supernatural beings, just the demons on Lucifer and Dagon's side. Which was probably a good thing for them, if this little demon were to ever start working as a real hunter with someone like Dean… they wouldn't stand a chance. As they had proved earlier… the two of them working on the same side had some pretty nasty consequences for those fighting against them. 

Dean chuckled when Izzy said he didn’t seem like the book worm type, oh hell no that was Sammy’s department. “Yeah no, that's more my brother's thing,” he said as he walked over to the opposite wall, towards the small table with a few bottles filled clear, brown liquid and a few glasses. “I at least wait long enough to see what I'm fighting so I know how to kill it.” Dean poured them a few glasses and headed to the closest main table to the blond. He leaned against it on his hip and took a sip from his glass while he held out the other to Izzy. The other’s wording did strike him as odd though and he raised an eyebrow a little. The way he said it was just off, but Dean wanted to think Izzy was just into demons, and therefore could know some pretty useful stuff. That or maybe he was really green and thought of himself being different from regular hunters. His gut was telling him something was still off though, but he wasn’t sure what.

Izzy was glad his back was to the hunter when he mentioned his brother so he didn't see the little demon roll his eyes and scowl at the mention of that junkie who was seriously getting in his way with that bitch he was attached to. He was pretending he didn't really know much about them… which wasn't a complete lie, but he had a serious suspicion he knew something about the younger Winchester that Dean didn't. He might know about the demon bitch Sam hung out with but he highly doubted this man knew about the blood and psychic shit that boy was playing with. The psychic shit was honestly the main reason he hadn't gone after Ruby yet, he wasn't like other demons, he had no idea how Sam's little exercising shit would affect him. 

“You know, you never mentioned what you were looking into. I’m guessing something demon related,” he mentioned to the other. There wasn’t much small talk on the car ride over.

He didn't say anything for a bit while Dean spoke and walked around the room, more interested in looking through the shelves of books for anything that looked promising. But he never let his guard down really, constantly aware of where Dean was around him or how close he was. He stiffened a bit when he felt Dean closer again and he asked that direct question. Izzy didn't really want to answer anything he was asked, but avoiding taking to him too much might just seem more suspicious. Fuck. He really should have paid more attention to the humans around him the last decade, he was really bad at trying to be one. "Yeah, demon related," Izzy finally said as he turned around and saw Dean holding out the whiskey he had promised. Alcohol didn't really affect him as much as it did humans unless he drank an ungodly amount so he wasn't worried about drinking at least. 

He took the glass offered to him and leaned against the bookshelf behind him, shrugging his shoulder a little, "Don't know if you picked up on it during that whole ambush shit, but I kinda hunt demons. Apparently I'm pretty good at it since they don't seem to like me much at all." He took a drink from the whiskey he was given, relishing in the burn that goes down his throat. As a demon, the little blond didn't need to eat. The few times he did were few and far between and it was always for some reason he couldn't figure out, but knew he just wanted whatever the hell it was that he was trying. But he did like to drink. Alcohol that is. He liked the burn. 

"Just curious what kind of people become demons and how. Always good for a guy to know everything he can about his enemies and all, yanno?" It wasn't a lie. He had actually been avoiding actually lying to the hunter. Izzy didn't like to lie, it was too hard to remember the fake information he had given to who. So the only thing he had lied about was his name, but that wasn't that big of a lie as Izzy did sound like a nickname for Izrael. Mostly, he was just leaving out details he didn't think Dean needed to know. Like the fact he was a demon and really just wanted to know how he, himself, had turned. How demons like him were made. Because as far as the books he had found about demons elsewhere knew, Cain was the only other person to become a demon this way. And almost nothing was fucking known about that man. As a matter of fact, he was the one demon who no matter how hard he tried Izzy could not fucking find. Not that he had really looked into how to find him. He didn't want to kill Cain like he did with everyone else he hunted down, he wanted answers. But even so, he knew Cain wasn't exactly like him and probably didn't have the answers he wanted. So that had just been another fucking dead end. The little blond didn't do a whole lot of shit that he actually wanted to do or something anyways, ninety percent of his time was spent following Asmodues' orders to hunt down Dagon's followers and make sure Lucifer didn't get out of that cage. 

Dean nodded a little when the other confirmed that it was demon related, easy guess. “You don’t pick up that kind of attention without being a major pain in their ass,” he said with a snicker. The man's shoulders stiffened when he took another drink when Izzy said what he was looking into. What kind of people become demons. He forced back a smile and shifted a little as he tried to keep his mind focused on the task at hand and not let it run off with the flashbacks and nightmares he has. It felt like every time he blinked he was hit with a flash of something he’d seen or had done. He told everyone he didn't’ remember any of it and refused to talk about it and self medicated with liquor like any good hunter.

Well duh, obviously he was a pain in their asses. Two dozen of them had actually gotten together without someone in power telling them what to do to try and take him out. They failed, miserably thanks to the hunter near him right now, but it didn't negate the fact that Izzy was a huge threat to them and their plans. Really though, if the whole fucking lot of them just fucking stopped trying to set Lucifer free Izzy would have no problem leaving them alone. But until that happened…. He had a job to do. What the hell would he do with himself if Asmodeus actually managed to take the crown and this mission was over? He'd actually never thought about that before. Every single memory he had had something to do with him having to keep Lucifer in the cage. 

“Well demons are mostly twisted and tortured souls. You get twisted up so much down there you turn into something else,” he said, rubbing at his brow as he fidgeted a little as he spoke. “At the end of the day they're a spirit, just nastier. You don’t normally catch one running around before they possess someone but the same tricks apply, salt and iron,” he told him, running off a few things off the top of his head, mostly from first hand experience. “I’m sure you know all about devils traps and all that,” he said, waving his hand and finally looking over at the other. It was probably a good thing Dean had been so caught up with that Izzy was looking into that he completely missed the suspicious pronoun.

Izzy couldn't help but roll his eyes at Dean when the man just told him shit he already knew. Was he actually under the impression that someone he thought was a legit demon hunter didn't know that shit already? Also. He was wrong. While holy water did have the same effect on him that it did to most demons, salt and iron actually didn't bother him for some reason. Every single voice in his head was screaming at him to keep his mouth shut for a while, to not get sucked into this conversation. But the thing was… he actually wanted to talk about this shit. He never talked with anyone about shit he actually wanted too. Demons avoided him unless they were trying to kill him, he avoided humans and hunters, and Asmodues pretty much just told him what to do. The little demon didn't actually have any memories of just talking with someone about something he was interested in. And this happened to be the biggest fucking intrest he really had right now.

"See, right there just proves you really have no fucking clue what you're actually dealing with, do you? Obviously being tortured in hell is going to fuck up any soul in some way, but not every soul in hell becomes a demon. This world would be fucked if they did. There are millions and millions of souls in hell." He only just stopped himself from pointing out that despite Dean's own torture and escapades with Alastair he didn't actually turn into a demon. No, a fucking angel actually came and pulled him from the pit. So what the hell was it that made some souls twist the same way he had even though he hadn't gone through that die and be tortured shit and made others just… well, be tortured for all eternity. Or torture as was the case with some. "Yeah, most of them are just nastier twisted spirits, and you don't normally see one walking around without someone else's meat suit… but they can. It's apparently super fucking rare for it to happen, but a human can just wake up a demon somehow. In their own skin and everything. So I want to know what makes the souls that twist that way different from those that don't. What kind of person they must have been. And what happens to those people who turn? How does that happen? But unfortunately, because it's so fucking rare, I haven't been able to find a single book in the last ten years that actually explains that shit." He sighed a little in frustration at the thought before just shaking his head and finishing the rest of his own drink before he turned his back to Dean again to start looking through the books again, waving his own hand in dismissal of the subject. Dean wasn't going to have the answers he wanted obviously. "But yes, of course I know all about devils traps. I just don't use them." He couldn't if he wanted too, not unless he wanted to get stuck inside one himself. Besides, even if he could… with the way he hunted, it would be pretty damn useless and time consuming to try since it was usually a sneak attack/ambush of his own on their own grounds. Wasting time with a devils trap when it was just so much easier to kill them just seemed stupid. "Do you have any sort of order with these books or am I gonna have to look through all of them to find the ones about demons?"

Dean was a little taken back when Izzy said that he had no clue about demons. He felt anger rise up in his belly and his face tightened some. His pride didn’t like that but the built up emotion subsided the more Izzy spoke. He did have a point, if that’s all it took then Hell would be nothing but demons. He never really focused on the fine details, he just killed them. His face became a mix of surprises and doubt when Izzy kept going and told him about the type of demons that keep their bodies. What the hell? He’d never heard of something like that before, what the hell could it be capable of? It was a worrying thought. “This keeps getting better and better,” Dean muttered under his breath. He couldn't stop his brain from thinking about his younger brother on his road trip with his little demon buddy. What if that was Ruby's plan, twist his brother into one of them? He’d fucking gank that bitch before she could try. He wanted to call and check up but that hadn’t gone so well last time. 

He made a small face when Izzy asked about an order to the crazy amount of information. He finished his half glass of whiskey and pushed off of the table, setting the glass down before walking away. “I have a feeling what we’re looking for isn’t in here, come on,” He said, motioning the other to follow him with a head nod. He led the blond down the hall a bit, through another doorway and down some stairs. He pushed one of the two heavy doors open and held it open for the other hunter. “When we started going through the stuff that was left here we found that most of the heavy reading books are in here,” He told him. The room was about 25 by 25 feet, metal shelving lined all the walls filled with books and some jars. There was a decent sized table in the middle of the room under the only light, taking up a good chunk of the free space. 

Dean just nearly kidnapped the little blond he helped out that he knew nothing about other than the fact he could kill demons pretty damn well and brought him to his secret bunker and he thought anything that came out of this idea wouldn't be completely fucked? Hell. He was pretty damn sure that Dean didn't even realize yet that he hadn't stepped in to help a pretty little girl, but actually a boy who just happened to look a lot like one. Add on to that fact that this boy was also one of those freaky ass demons he was just talking about and you could see clearly that this man definitely hadn't thought this through. "You have no idea," Izzy mumbled back, not sure or honestly even caring if Dean heard him. 

Izzy set down the glass still in his hand before he shrugged again and followed Dean through the bunker. Fuck. This place really was huge. Izzy couldn't help but grin a little when he looked into the room. Dark. Enclosed. No way for anyone to try and sneak up on him again. Exactly the kind of rooms he liked and usually worked in when he was looking for a party to crash. "Awesome," he said as he walked in the room. Creepy jars and big old books lining the walls on top of everything else, Izzy had instantly and probably noticeably relaxed more when he was in the room that was so much like a place he would actually want to be in. He didn't say anything else as he started scanning the books on one of the shelves, his eyes widening some when he saw what he instantly felt like he had been looking for for years now. It was smaller than any of the other books in here, but that wasn't surprising considering how little information there probably was at all on demons like him. Humans Turning Demon. 

Izzy grabbed the book off the shelf and took a few steps backwards to push himself up to sit on the table, just remembering that Dean was there as he went to open the book. "Uhm… thanks," he said, forcing himself to remember that he was supposed to be a human and actually used to having someone around and even weirder for him- that someone helping him. "Hey… uh, why are you being so like… nice and normal to me? As far as I've seen, people aren't just nice to strangers. Especially when said stranger is a pretty boy who can shove a knife into a human skull."

Dean noticed the small change in the others' demeanor when he showed them the room. The room didn’t bother him or his brother too much but ‘awesome’ wasn’t the normal reaction to this stuff. Though in this line of work, who’s really normal? You see a lot of weird and horrible shit fast and you pick up a few quirks along the way. He had half turned when  the other called out to him and thanked him, he was going to leave Izzy alone to do their digging. He raised an eyebrow when he was asked why he was being so helpful. He opened his mouth with a grin to say it was just the right thing to do for a lady when Izzy said that last part, his words luckily getting caught up in his throat. BOY!? WHOLY FUCK!! Dean’s back straightened as he looked the other over again. It took him a second or two to catch himself and he cleared his throat out a little. “Well you want demons dead and I want demons dead,” he said with a shrug, his brain still trying to absorb this enlightening new detail about the blond. “And I learned about a new fleshy kind of demon, win win,” Dean chuckled. Hell all of Dean seemed stiff. Right now, he honestly didn’t know what the fuck to do.

#supernatural #spn fan fic #spn fanfiction #spn #spn rpg #spn rp #tomishaped #tomishapedx #dean winchester #dean #sam winchester #fanfiction #spn fan fiction #fanfic #fan fic update #izzy hilton #m/m couple #m/m ship #m/m romance #m/m #m/s couple

[purghhappenings]

Hey hey hey!

This is technically my third time trying to post these but they won’t post and if it gives me problems again, I’m gonna go postal.

Down below I am going to give you snippets of the Strawhats daily life and what they do during quarantine, as always my HC’s are bullet points but somehow also little stories. I don’t know how I work either. It will also be mostly an AU Modern life just cause on the sea I don’t know how it would really effect them? Other than in fights and everyone would have to debate do you get six feet away and try to duke it out or do you fight like normal and just really sanitize afterwards

During this quarantine I am home 24/7 and would be more than happy to talk, I’m figuring out now how to steal episodes of different shows so that i can make AMV’s so stay tuned for that,

Lets seriously start a discord 

Or come talk to me on twitter!!! <3 

Luffy: Is really glad to not have to work or do anything really, they live with most of their friends and the ones they don’t live with, well they never claimed they wouldn’t go out so its not a promise broken really. He doesn’t know much about the virus except what everyone else tells him but he does misunderstand the “high risk=old” thing and fights anyone for an entire day who tries to go near his grandpa, and while Garp and everyone else want to correct him it’s kind of cute so they let it slide and send all the newbies to talk to Garp(okay Aokiji sends Akainu but nobody stopped him so they all go down with that secret)

Zoro: “the bars are whAT?!” is not fucking happy. He expresses this every day and let me tell you when the liquor stores closed down for not being essential it took several hours to calm him down and for Sanji to be like “i know a guy” and everyone was immediately like ?? Usually Luffy says that??? and by knowing a guy, Sanji meant Judge has several cellars dedicated to alcohol so yes, they did acquire some alcohol. And thankfully Judge can’t even leave his house to track anyone down so was it really even stolen to begin with?

Nami: Has so many side hustles she isn’t even worried about money, what she is worried about is people who don’t have supplies or food, so with Sanji they go around just making sure their neighborhood/relatives(that they like)/friends have everything they need and let me tell you when they saw people hoarding and over buying? Since police can’t go out for every little thing, you really can’t prove if they beat the shit out of you and left you only with necessities. Nor will you because once the other guys find out?? Oh its on, do not panic buy around these kids, they’ll fuck you up like it’s their job.

Usopp: Swings wildly from believing they have COVID19 and that it doesn’t even exist and somehow its all a way to control the masses(their hysteria knows no bounds) Usopp doesn’t go out much and cleans the crap out of everything every 3-4 hours just to make sure, they are considered essential at their job being an engineer so they 100% go out in a hazmat suit, works in a completely sterile environment and does not touch anything in the suit until they have taken a shower and removed their clothes from the day. Are they overreacting? Yes. Do they care? Absolutely not. Because if they get sick there's a 100000000% chance everyone in the household will get sick and that’s on Usopp, but they do make funny videos when their home with Zoro and Luffy about how the virus is affecting them. 

Sanji: As previously stated he’s okay on money(they all are with how Nami runs their finances) and has taken up cooking meals for the elderly(making sure his dad(Zeff) stays healthy) and also beating the shit out of the people hoarding and trying to upsell supplies. Its one thing to joke, and hey Sanji can take a joke, but he can’t handle anyone going without because of stinginess. Sanji also, because he’s literally the purest child starts posting videos on how to make something delicious and also nutritious taste good on a budget, or with a picky eater who doesn’t like vegetables *cough cough* Luffy *cough cough*. He helps Zeff with the restaurant but makes people tip the servers at least 20%, 

Chopper: Is stressed the fuck out, at every turn theres something new with the virus, he’s got one more exam to pass and “they’ve changed it from being in class to online which changes the rules and if he fails or has questions theres nobody there to help him-” and god save the queen Law comes in like a knight in shining armor and is like “I’ll be there to help you answer some questions you have a difficult time on” and choppers like “wut no that’s cheating” and Law and Robin are both like “yo it’s not like in the field you won’t be able to consult other doctors so it’s not” and choppers now suddenly fine with the not-cheating. While he’s not freaking out about exams, he’s freaking out about his essential friends, and that’s almost worse. Law’s thinking of writing him an anxiety prescription until all this is over(Law is also in panic mode 25/7).

Robin: calm, cool and collected, has a contingency plan for her original contingency plan. No peanut butter? She can make it. No fresh meat? Frozen will do just fine. Somebody is buying more than what they need and trying to mark it up? “Franky.” and like that the problems were handled. 100% helps Usopp and Law and Chopper with their anxiety about this, while she is concerned she also goes about her relatively normal daily business, like reading outside on a sunny day, going to the park with Luffy(they just walk, they don’t touch anything) practicing social distancing, washing her hands a bit more. (honestly everyone be like robin)

Franky: Is fine up until the store runs out of cola and now it’s fucking war. Him and Zoro are devising a plan to topple the world and Luffy will join in only because he is a child of chaos. While he’s not being melodramatic, he’s doing house repairs for the low and yard work(with Zoro and Luffy's nonessential asses) for older people who can’t get outside and do it and are too old, or for new moms and dad, single parent households, the whole shabang. If you don’t have money they take I.O.U’s because one day, they’ll need a favor that’s just their destiny. 

Brook: Was immediately placed on lockdown for being the oldest of the group(mostly as a joke but the younger ones do go to the store for him, even Usopp) but he spends his time making music and funny videos so people can have a laugh. He’ll do concerts online and remake songs about the coronavirus, and even review some other songs(kind of like Mr. Rogers and Bob Ross, he’s so affectionate) he puts up halloween decorations mixed with Christmas decorations and the entire neighborhood follows suit and one morning he and the gang walk around in renaissance gear and scream “bring out yer dead!” and while the neighborhood thinks it's funny, the police do not(but they aren’t fast enough to catch the heathens).

Jimbei: Doesn’t see his people as much as he’d like but, thankfully they social distance and walk in the park to hold him over. He also spends a lot of his time helping the elderly, and also other people in need. And if a few people who try to upsell things are suddenly hospitalized, Law’s not going to inquire about the increase in assault victims and if he doesn’t inquire and the people don’t file a claim with the police, did it even happen? Jimbei works with Franky sometimes but mostly handles his own neighborhood and stopping punks from doing dumb shit(see Eustass for example) and if the gang sneaks over at night to hang out with Jimbei well he thinks its sweet and also dumb but he loves it.

Thanks for reading! Let’s be active and talk rn!!!!!!!!

#one piece #purghs hcs #purghs back on her bullshit #monkey d. luffy #Monkey D. Garp #roronoa zoro #nami #usopp #sanji #cyborg franky #tony tony chopper #trafalgar d. water law #Nico Robin #soul king brook #jinbei #jimbei #eustass captain kid #come talk to me!!!!!! #hope you guys like these #quarantine hcs

[sunevial]

Moving Day

This is once again another case of ‘not exactly a commission, but someone chucking money at me to eventually write about space and magic gays’, except this time, it’s from @hewhowalksbehind. 

Continuation of this.

---

Of all the things Venny missed most about Ylxret at nine thirty in the goddamn morning, it was automated coffee makers. Blearily pouring water down the little spout and pushing entirely too many shiny buttons, she eventually got the machine to start blinking. With a grumble, she slotted a floral patterned mug under the funnel and slumped against the counter. 

Water was boiling, oatmeal was in the new saucepan, spoon was in the sink, bowls were…

She forgot to buy bowls. 

Fuck a duck. 

Groaning, she pressed her hands to her eyes and let out a long sigh. After a shopping trip that must’ve lasted an eternity, she had been running on fumes by the time she had a chance to pass out last night, but apparently even that wasn’t enough to calm her adrenaline addled brain. Her best guess was that she hadn’t fallen asleep until three, and even that was a generous estimate. To add insult to injury, her first night in her new apartment was plagued by restless dreams, fitful tossing and turning, and a blanket that was neither warm or cool enough.

At least the air mattress was comfortable. 

The air mattress was comfortable, and her new plush corgi was cuddly.

A steady drip of liquid gold splashed into the mug, the warm coffee revealing heat activated yellow and white circuitry lines weaving through the painted-on flowers. Not even bothering with milk or sugar, she downed the coffee fast enough to get away with only minor tongue burns and shoveled down instant oatmeal straight from the pot. Throwing both into the sink to wash up later, she scrambled into the shower just long enough to wash off yesterday’s sweat and rub away the smell of what felt like seven layers of deodorant. A fresh change of clothes later, a practical t-shirt and legging combo, and she felt half-way to being a functioning person again.

Which was really convenient considering that things would start arriving in approximately now.

Grabbing both wallet and keys, she quietly slipped out of her room and padded downstairs to the front lobby. Today was Internet access, a ‘do it yourself’ table and chair set, and the cushions for her couch. The couch itself was tomorrow, along with the bedframe and mattress, and the nightstand and dresser wouldn’t be for another week yet. Thankfully, unlike her very much not present bowls, she had remembered to buy a toolkit, so at the very least she would have somewhere else to sit by the end of today.

A quick peek outside confirmed that the Internet people hadn’t arrived yet, so Venny plopped down on one of the lobby couches and quickly scanned for any available wireless hotspots. It would’ve been laughably easy to tap into a password protected connection with a couple waves of her hand, but she knew better than to bum off someone. It was also probably very illegal. 

Eventually, she got ahold of a weak signal from the coffee shop next door, and her com link lit up with a happy beep. Her eyes flashed back and forth as she redirected the electrical signals within the device, ensuring that this much weaker and simpler form of wireless communication would end up being compatible. When she was fairly certain that it wouldn’t be running at a snail’s pace, she pulled and weaved the software code until the screen lit up and the holoprojector displayed a rotating band of images. Smiling triumphantly, she tapped on her email, she still had a hard time believing Toven still used email, and sifted through the various messages she had gotten over the past day or so.

Confirmation from her Internet provider, spam, start day and paperwork for work, coupon for shampoo, more spam…updated delivery day for her larger furniture?

“Due to upgrades in processing time, your order will instead be delivered today around ten AM, we hope to see you then,” she muttered under her breath, suppressing a loud groan and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. On the one hand, she’d have an actual bed by the end of the day if everything went right. On the other hand, this was one more group of people to talk with and one more group of things to do, and she was not convinced that all of the coffee in the world would make either of those things easier. Not much she could reasonably do about that, though, because her damn couch was coming whether she was awake enough to realize it or not. 

Whatever happened next didn’t seem to follow the proper passage of time. Sometimes it moved breathtakingly fast, other times painstakingly slow. All Venny could register through her brain-addled eyes was a never ending blur of paper signing, hauling packages, and telling people she had never met to put things down wherever they could find open space. By the time the last person was out of her apartment, and she could actually gauge the passage of time, it was exactly eleven twenty-four in the morning. She collapsed onto one of the new cushions, a nice olive green that she definitely didn’t remember picking out, and got to thinking.

Assets: She had Internet access that wasn’t siphoned off the coffeeshop.

Consequences: Her apartment was no longer able to accommodate carpet angels. 

Priority one: Bed needed to be set up. She’d like an actual bed.

Priority two: Get the couch out of the center of the living room.

Priority three: Actually build the table so she could eat without standing up.

Problem: She had the energy to do maybe half of the bed set up. 

Slowly getting back onto her feet, she shuffled towards the bedroom, though not before noticing her front door still propped wide open from all of the deliveries. She went to close it, getting about halfway there before the door across the hall opened, revealing Sol’s relatively incredulous face. 

“Morning,” she said, leaning against the doorframe and stifling a yawn. “Lot of noise over there for a weekend morning.”

“That makes two of us,” Venny replied, trying to put on as apologetic an expression as she could muster. “I didn’t wake either of you up, did I?”

She shook her head, lavender curls bouncing a little. “Nah, I’ve been up for a bit, and Clarissa could sleep through a hurricane if you let her.”

“Still gonna apologize,” Venny said, breathing a sigh of relief and laughing a touch. “You know, I didn’t think most furniture places delivered on weekends.”

“Learn something new everyday.” Her eyes glanced towards Venny’s now incredibly messy apartment for a moment. “You settling in okay?”

Venny chuckled, tapping the ground absentmindedly with a foot. Well, she could answer truthfully, she could answer in the socially acceptable way, or she could split it down the middle and hope for the best. “I think so, just need to get used to...all of this.”

“It’s not easy moving somewhere new, even harder when you’re all alone,” Sol said with a sympathetic smile, nodding her head and crossing her arms over her chest. “If you need help getting set up, I’m not really doing anything today.”

Venny blinked a couple of times, shaking her head even as every fiber of her being was saying ‘take up the offer’. As much as she’d love another pair of hands helping out, she’d already taken up enough of Sol’s time between the reading interruption and the grocery care package. Best not to take advantage of her kindness this many times in such a short period of time. Or maybe Sol didn’t care, that she just actually wanted to help and didn’t resent her for it, and this was just a combination of sleep deprivation and anxiety talking. Maybe it was both. It was probably both. “I think I’ve got it handled,” she replied, twirling a twist between her fingers. “Thanks for the offer though.”

All she got in return was an incredulously raised eyebrow.

“Or maybe I’m saying that because I don’t want to take advantage of your kindness again and seem really needy in a time of upheaval and stress,” Venny said with a defeated sigh.

“I wouldn’t be offering it if I didn’t wanna help.” Sol smirked just a touch. “I know my boundaries better than that.”

Venny could physically feel the tension in her muscles drain away as she slumped against her own door frame. “I promise I’m not this pathetic all of the time.”

“You said it yourself, a lot of upheaval and stress, and from what it sounds like, absolutely no sleep either,” she replied with a shrug, popping back into her own apartment long enough to grab her keys and phone. “Alright, where are we starting?”

 “Bedroom, cause I need a bed.”

The two of them quickly made their way to the chaotic bedroom, surveying the bed frame in its various parts and the mattress propped up against the window. Cracking open the new tool box, Sol set to work screwing everything into place while Venny sorted through a veritable hoard of metal rods and support beams. While she had no reason to doubt that Sol could wield a hammer and screwdriver, watching her work was, in a word, beautiful. Sol took to the various tools with a clear familiarity, handling them with delicacy and certainty as she aligned the wooden frame. Venny knew nothing about art, but she knew an artist’s touch.

“You’re pretty good at this,” Venny said, holding a level against the wood to see if any holes needed a quick re-drill or if something had been screwed in the wrong place.

“I’d hope so, I make things for a living,” Sol replied, wiping a little sweat off her brow.

“What kind of things?”

Sol returned with a playful smile. “You get three guesses.”

She allowed thirty seconds to come up with her answers, no small feat with how slow her brain was chugging along. “Artisanal woodworking.”

“Nope.”

“Artisanal metalworking.”

“Nope.”

“Designing prototypes for this exact style of bed frame,” Venny said with a shit eating grin that was probably more of a result of her being half way to slap happy. 

Sol rolled her eyes, closing one as she carefully twisted the last screw into place. “Okay, I’ll admit, second one was closer.”

“So what is it?”

“You’re not gonna believe me,” Sol said flatly, tapping the frame twice for good measure.

Venny pouted, planting her elbows on the footboard and resting her chin on her fists. “Come on, it can’t be that out there.”

“I promise I’m not joking.”

“You could say you build rocket ships and I’m so tired I’d believe you.”

Sol paused for almost ten full seconds. “Funny you mention that…”

“Get out, you make spaceships?” Venny’s head poked over the frame with eyes wide and excitement clear as day on her lips. “You’re with the Wisteria Space Program?”

“Technically I’m in the rocketry department, not the spaceship program, but same idea,” Sol said with a shrug, jumping to her feet and whistling. Similar to yesterday, the wind kicked up, swirling around the room almost as if it was having fun. The mattress slowly but surely floated off the ground, providing just enough lift for the two of them to set it on the frame without straining muscles or having to worry about wingspans. 

“Still, that’s so cool,” Venny continued, grabbing the sheets off of her air mattress and throwing them onto the bed. “I don’t even think I know anyone back home who does that. What do you even do there?”

Sol laughed, grabbing the sheet and stretching it over a corner. “I’d tell you, but that’s classified.”

“Is that a joke or is that actually classified?”

“‘I might actually get arrested for treason’ classified,” Sol said in a completely serious deadpan.

“Anything you can tell me?” Venny asked, head tilted as her hands quickly smoothed out her blue and white comforter over the bed.

Sol thought for a full minute, arranging pillows and plushies absentmindedly as she paced around the small room. The wind followed her, catching her shirt and blowing it in every direction imaginable, almost as if it was thinking alongside her. “Physics. Lots of physics.”

“Dang.”

A knock sounded at the door, and for the second day in a row, Venny opened it to find Clarissa standing there with a large smile on her face. She had no gifts in hand this time around, but she was scrolling through her phone. “Sol texted me she was here helping out, you done stealing my roommate? I need her for something of vital importance.”

“I offered,” Sol called as she emerged from the bedroom.

“She still stole you!” Clarissa shouted back, though with a laugh and smile on her face. 

Venny returned with a grin of her own. “We should be done pretty soon. Though if it’s really that important, I can take care of the rest.”

“It’s not important, she’s just trying to get me to set up a dating app,” Sol said with a sigh and an accusatory finger. “Because my roommate is a nosy bitch who insists on setting me up with every girl she happens to meet.”

“It’s not every girl.” Clarissa huffed indignantly.

Sol’s face told a much different story with how frustrated those eyebrows looked. “You’ve specifically set me up with three of your exes, a girl from your class, and the florist down the street.”

“All I’m saying is that she’s got a great personality and an even better ass.”

“Then why don’t you ask her out?!” Sol exclaimed, throwing up her hands.

“Because I’m already seeing two people!”

It might have just been Venny’s ears, but she swore she heard laughing from somewhere else in the apartment. 

“Alright, alright, you can have your roommate back,” Venny said, holding back a belly laugh as best as she could. Never in her life had she’d been so grateful to hear two women loudly arguing about female love interests. Her family had been concerned with her moving to Toven, knowing that not every place was as accepting of non-heterosexual identities as Ylxret. New Haven had a better track record than most, though, and conditions were certainly getting better as time went on. If nothing else, seeing her two neighbors argue about sapphic love affairs in the hallway was a good indicator that she had nothing to worry about here. “Hope the app set up goes well.” 

“I’m not setting up the app,” Sol declared with a flat tone, going over to the boxed up table and cutting away tape like a woman scorned. “I’ll get a date on my own damn time.”

“I mean, if you’re looking for someone else to add to the list, I’m into women,” Venny joked, smiling at Clarissa. She watched the pink haired woman’s eyes light up, and hastily threw up her hands. “Not that I’m looking for a relationship, I’ve just moved and I think that might’ve been me not having normal social barriers up due to lack of sleep.”

Sol audibly groaned in the background. “Damn it, you’ve given her ideas.”

“Well that’s even better! You’re new in town and need to see the sights, and I know a great little place Sol could take you for lunch,” Clarissa said, pulling out her phone and rapidly texting. “I’m sending you the directions now.”

Venny blinked a couple of times, finally just realizing the full ramifications of what she had just done. At least she knew now never to open her mouth when she was this sleep deprived, or at least, not do so when possible romantic relationships were involved. Feeling the heat rapidly rising to her face, she shot a glance to Sol, desperately trying to find a way out of this increasingly awkward situation. 

With a sigh, Sol pulled out her phone and rubbed her temples. “I’m really sorry about this.”

“Don’t be, it’s my fault,” Venny said, smiling sheepishly. “I’m really not in the place to be thinking about that anyways.”

“Then think of it like a friendly social,” Clarissa said with a large, not at all innocent smile, eyes darting first to Venny. “You need to meet people-” Her eyes flashed towards her roommate. “-and you need to get out more. Win-win situation!”

Sol’s eyes narrowed in challenge. “Clarissa-”

“Venny, what do you think?” she asked, smiling wide and oh so sweet. So this was a game for them both, a sort of give and take war between them, and this is the moment where she was supposed to choose a side. Her next move decided the winner of this match between these two equally stubborn individuals. 

She was already on the edge of the diving board, might as well take the jump.

“What’s the food like?” Venny asked, putting on her best innocent smile. 

Sol sighed in defeat, grumbling and pulling out her phone. “Stir fry and dumplings. Let me know when you’re free.”

Clarissa grinned with a smile that could split the sea. “It’s a date!”

#my writing #my stories #two together are always going somewhere #venny #sol

[petri808]

Enslaved

Chapter 5.  Sumimasen for the long hiatus!  I will do my best to continue this story :)

Nalu Fantasy Fic.  

Faerytail’s base of operations was less than an hour’s flight from Natsu’s home.  He supposed he could have lived closer but the area he had chosen was much more idyllic for the Draco.  Nestled at the base of a mountain and edge of a dense forest, the nearest village was small and filled with farmers and hunters that kept to themselves.  Aside from a small handful that he would trade with for food and supplies, no one really bothered him.  Besides, Natsu provided a measure of protection for the villagers with his notoriety and strength alone keeping most would be trouble makers away.

He had spent the entire flight mentally preparing himself or rather tamping down the internal knot roiling and bubbling at his center that the dragon was stirring up.  Gah!  He really didn’t know how this was going to go!  But there was one thing, one thought that was beginning to turn into a mantra of sorts, he couldn’t do anything to hurt Lucy.  Whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally, the immense weight of guilt that would torture his soul is what he counted on to get him through the day.  

Lucy would glance over at Natsu periodically.  Brows furrowed, eyes narrowed and not because of wind shear…. she wasn’t a fool, it was obvious that he was desperately trying to control his inner turmoil.  Well, all she could hope for was they’d get in and out with little to no trouble.  Her plan was to stay glued to his side at all times and make minimal contact especially with any males.  But aside from this issue she was a little nervous about meeting his friends.  Lucy was sure they were most likely good people but that didn’t stop the butterflies from forming.  What if they didn’t like her?  What if they were worried because of her father and his reputation?  What if they did accept her and her father did something to hurt them?  Or Natsu.  

She rubs her arms as a few shivers fall over her frame.  That idea did not sit well with her.  Maybe…. Maybe it would be better to give herself back to….  If it came down to it Lucy would rather barter herself rather than let anyone suffer because of her.  Tears prick at her corners and she tries desperately not to let them gather for fear of Natsu sensing it.  She doesn’t want to give in to her father’s demands but if it meant protecting someone she cared about, she’d do it in a heartbeat.  Only if it comes down to that….

“Just a couple more minutes and we’ll be there.”

The entrance to Faerytail was hidden behind a cloak of magic.  To the outside world, it merely looks like a waterfall flowing over a strange round, stone edifice that seemed carved by olden forest dwellers long since lost to history.  In reality, it was the entrance to the Hui and only opened by a mark placed upon its members.  It was all a beautiful magical façade.  A picturesque waterfall, the babbling brook it flowed into lined with cattails and witch hazel, honey locust trees, and wild geraniums lining the ground, and river guppies and freshwater shrimp living in its waters.  

Once Natsu and Lucy land on the river’s edge, Natsu’s Hui mark on his right forearm immediately glows red in recognition.  Lucy watches in spellbinding awe as the waterfall and river fades away leaving a wooden door in its stead.  The magic protecting this place was powerful indeed, and that comforts her.  At least here, it seems, no one will be able to get to her without first having a pass in.  Natsu takes her hand and leads Lucy through the entrance.

The moment the Hui door closes and the spell resumes, the two men that had been tracking the pair break free from the trees where they’d been watching from.  “I told ya,” the larger of the two males points out.  “But I suspect they won’t be in there long.”

“How do you know that Gajeel?  They could stay for a while.”

“Nah, gihi, that draco is in unconsummated heat.  No way he’s gonna wanna let her be in there long.”

The other male looks at his compatriot confused.  “How in the world do you know any of this?!”

“Because Totomaru,” Gajeel growls, “I’m a damn draco too, I know how it works.”

“Ohhhh, right!  Well so, what do we do now?  We can’t get into that place, so are we gonna capture her when they leave?”

“Yup, gihi, that’s why I brought ya.  That draco in there is a fire type.  He’s perfect for a fire Sprite like you.”

Totomaru grins, “I’ll knock him down, you grab the girl, and we take her back to boss Jose to get the reward money.”

“Well, and maybe have a little bit of fun with her while we’re at it.”

The Faerytail Hui was as boisterous as ever, and as soon as Natsu and Lucy walk in, Lucy’s immediately aware of just why Natsu was worried about bringing her.  The place was crazy!  The male Ice Sprite Lucy met earlier named Gray was bickering with a red-headed female Fae.  Another Fae, a brunette was sitting next to a large keg of beer, surrounded by several males of various species who appeared to be in a drinking contest with her.  In one corner a quiet Fae was hunched over an antiquated looking book.  Another draco was near the bar area that was being manned by and surrounded by elves that looked to be of the same family lineage; two females and one male.  Till finally Lucy notices an older, white-haired Spriggan sitting on the bar top itself nursing a beer mug.  What kind of group was this mix of creatures?  

Natsu’s hand tightens around hers.  “Just follow me,” he whispers as he leads them straight to the Spriggan.  Other members wave and holler at Natsu as he walks by, a few males whistling and catcalling over the blonde at his side. Lucy pulls the hood tighter around her face to hide her appearance, but it was easy enough for anyone to see she was a female.  Natsu growls at a few of the males, who quickly back away.  They knew him well enough that if he growls, not to mess with him.

“Jiji, you sent for me?” Natsu asks the tiny Spriggan.

‘So, this was the master Natsu had told me about?’  Lucy stays quietly glued to Natsu’s side, assessing the situation as it develops.  He sure didn’t seem like much.  The Spriggan was very old and so small.  From Natsu’s description of his magical fortitude, Lucy hadn’t expected him to be this tiny.

“Natsu my boy!  You finally grace us with your presence!  And I now see why you were hoarding this magnificent creature all to yourself.”  The Spriggan stands on the bar top, which barely gave him the same height as them. “Welcome miss Heartfilia, I am Makarov Dreyar, the master of this Hui.  Though everyone just calls me Jiji or gramps.”

Lucy shies back behind Natsu’s shoulder but responds politely.  “It’s nice to meet you Jiji.”

“Timid, I see,” Makarov’s brow raises.  “You have nothing to fear here Lucy.  Gray has already informed me of who you are, and who you are running from and I assure you, we would never force you to do anything you do not want to do.”

“Oi, Jiji.  Is that all you sent for?  To meet Lucy?”

“You were supposed to find Miss Heartfilia and take her back to the job’s poster.  I needed to know why you had strayed from the mission.”

Alarmed, Lucy pulls away from Natsu.  “Y-You really were supposed to take me back to my father, weren’t you?!  Were you afraid to bring me here because you would get into trouble?!”

“Lucy, please,” Natsu grabs for her arm, but she moves away another step, wrapping her arms around herself and shaking her head.  “It was the truth I told you, that I had no intentions of giving you up.”

“Please Miss Heartfilia calm down,” Makarov interjects.  “We will not return you to your father, for I have learned of your valid reasons of running away.  Natsu has taken a liking to you, and Gray suggested we make you a member of this Hui as well, which I think would be a good idea.”

“B-But why?  My father could cause you trouble…”

Makarov laughs, “nothing we at Faerytail cannot handle.  There is not much he could do to us.  Jude Heartfilia may be a chief, but he has no magic or power to do anything to us.”

Lucy body begins to tremble lightly as she wraps her arms even tighter around her chest and shakes her head in confusion.  She was anxious, nervous, this was all so much to take in.  Everything that’s happened to her was starting to overwhelm her.  Having to flee her home, ends up kidnaped by Natsu and held captive for a short time.  Now to find out he was supposed to turn her in to her father but kept her.  Now this man, this Spriggan dwarf was telling her they would protect her?  “He could hire others…”

Natsu pulls Lucy against his chest, wrapping his arms around her in an effort to comfort her.  “Lucy, I promised you,” he smooths her hair and caresses the back of her head, pulling it against his shoulder.  “I promised to protect you and I will.  We will.  Your father can go to Tartarus for all I care, cause I won’t fucking give you up without a fight.”

That barely gave Lucy any reprieve from what she was feeling.  She knew her father better than anyone, and he could be ruthless when it came to what he wants.  Her suspicions of what happened to her mother only added to those concerns.  As Natsu mentioned, Faerytail wasn’t the only Hui around, and who’s to say Phantom Lord had stopped looking for her, or that her father could have hired others to do the same.  If the Pyrite payout for her capture is a large enough an incentive, others could be still be looking for her.  

“Natsu, I think we should talk in private a moment,” Makarov places a hand on the man’s shoulder.  “Lucy is safe, you need not worry as long as one of us is around.”

“I can’t leave her with just anyone,” Natsu growls at his master.  

“How about Levy,” Makarov suggests, “I bet they’ll get along well.  Levy can keep her company while we discuss the situation.”

Natsu looks over to the bookworm Fae who peeks up at having heard her name.  “I guess,” he grumbles.  “Just no guys.”

Makarov waves the Fae over.  “I’m sure Levy can keep the guys away from her.”

After the introductions are made between Lucy and Levy, Makarov pulls Natsu into his office and they leave the two Fae’s to get better acquainted.  Makarov drills Natsu to tell him everything he’d learned about Lucy, from her magical abilities to what he knew of Jude Heartfilia.  She was powerful, Natsu told his master, more so than any other Spirit summoner he’s ever heard of.  Yukino of the Sabertooth Hui has been training her in how to use her abilities and she was surpassing every benchmark and test put on her.  It was quite amazing to see it in action.  Lucy has yet to reach her full potential, but with more training, Natsu was sure that she’ll get there eventually.  And as for Jude, all he could say was what Lucy had told him.  Natsu explains to Makarov how she believes her father had somehow made her mother disappear before the mother could teach her how to use her abilities.  “She ran because he wanted to marry her off to another clan.  I believe Jude knew Lucy inherited power, and it may have been part of the arrangement.”

“That is a sad story.  I had heard Jude can be a heartless tyrant, but to do that to one’s own wife and daughter is despicable.”

“I agree.  So, would it be okay for Lucy to join our Hui?”

“Oh, most certainly.  She would make an excellent addition once you’re able to control your dragon’s territorial side.”

Natsu blushes at the older man’s insinuations.  

Makarov was well aware of the draco’s primal instincts, having gone though it was his grandson Laxus and wife Mirajane.  It made the old man happy to see the draco and elf together because one day he knows they’ll succeed him in running the Hui and they were perfect for each other and this band of misfits.  “You really need to consummate that relationship, or you’re bound to have a problem on your hands…”  

Outside in the Hui’s main hall, Levy and Lucy chat at one of the tables.  Lucy is still coming to grips with everything, but the sweet natured Fae bookworm was making her feel comfortable.  To break the ice, Levy tells Lucy about her magic and how she uses script and magical words to summon anything she can think of.  Lucy tells Levy about her training with Yukino.  The two women talk about life in general, Lucy sticking to stories about her mother and how she inherited her gifts from her.  Levy tells Lucy she was an orphan from a poor Fae family and found her way to Faerytail.  

Keeping to Natsu’s instructions, Levy allows any female members to approach and meet Lucy, starting with the red-headed Fae she saw earlier.  Erza Scarlet, such an apt last name to match her hair color.  This Fae was from a mountain type clan, very masculine in terms of power, strength, and agility, an expert swordswoman with magic to requip into different armors.  Frankly, this Fae scared Lucy a little, but she could see why this female was one of the leaders under Makarov.  The next to stop by the table was the brunette Fae.  Lucy was surprised that for as much as the female seemed to be drinking, barely appeared drunk.  

Levy chuckles, “Yeah Cana’s tolerance level is beyond explanation.  Her card magic skills rival that of her drinking skills.”

Finally, Levy waves over a shy, young female draco and introduces her to Lucy.  “This is Wendy Marvell, she’s an orphaned draco that Natsu found and brought to the Hui last year.”

“It’s nice to meet you Wendy,” Lucy smiles at the young girl who looked to be about 12 years of age.  She found the girl to be the epitome of adorable with her long blue hair up in pigtails, hugging to a white female Chimera.  Natsu had a male blue Chimera at the house that Lucy has come to adore as well.  “What’s her name?”  Lucy asks the girl of her pet’s name.

“Charle.”

“Aww, what a cute name.  She’s just like Happy.  I like Happy too, he’s become my buddy.”

The women chat for a little longer, but the hall was growing noisier, and after a short time, Lucy is starting to feel a little overwhelmed and claustrophobic.  Levy understood completely.  “It takes time to adjust.  The magic that keeps us hidden can have side effects that give some that feeling.  You get used to it after a while.”

“Is there anywhere else we can go?  I could use some fresh air.”  

“Hmm,” Levy looks around.  “The only place would be outside.”  The only instructions she was given was to keep Lucy company and no talking to any of the male members without Natsu present.  So, not thinking it was a big deal because no one told her of the gravity of the situation, Levy leads Lucy to the front door and takes her back to the outside world.  The pair sit next to the river on a couple of boulders.  “I come out here sometimes too, when it’s a nice warm day I’ll put my feet in the water to cool off and read.”

“This is nice,” Lucy tries to relax by breathing in the scent of the forest and let her nerves unwind.  It’s been such a long time that she’s been able to just enjoy that smell.  As a child whenever she needed to get away from her father, she would hide away in the forest on the outskirts of their town.  Her nurse maid Mrs. Spetto would know where to find her and drag her home before supper, but those few hours of peace was just enough to relax her.  “Everyone seems really nice here…”

The cracking of a twig catches the women’s attentions.  They turn to look, just as two males step out from behind a couple of trees.

“Well hello, Miss Heartfilia, gihi…”  

#nalu #nalu fan fiction #natsu dragneel #Lucy heartfilia #enslaved #chapter 5 #nalu fan fic #multi-chapter fic #au fantasy #faes and dracos

[darksaiyangoku]

Lancaster Week Day 2: Queen of the Vampires

Jaune Arc was terrified. He, son of the House of Arc, valiant knight of Vale, was reduced to a mere plaything. He looked both ways to his left and right, discovering that his hands had been chained to the sides of a lavish bed. The sheets were soft and comforting, red like roses. Jaune struggled to free himself, shaking violently from side to side. It was no use. Dazed, he thought back to the moment that led him here and the promise he made to his friend.

7 hours earlier...

Jaune Arc polished his father’s old Crusader armour until it shone like the sun. Feeling giddy, he decided to put on the armour and he smiled proudly. A week ago, he was finally knighted by the King of Vale and he swore that he would bring honour to his name and kingdom. Jaune looked in the mirror and pondered for a moment. He stroked his golden blonde hair as he tried to remember what he was looking for.

“Oh that’s right, my father’s sword!” He shouted. Frantically, he rushed out of his bedroom and headed downstairs to the family armoury. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of weapons; axes, maces, knives, daggers staves and canes. But the greatest of all weapons stood at the center; his father’s sword and shield. The shield was a beautiful pure white with the golden Arc Creat engraved on it. Hidden behind it was Crocea Mors, the legendary blade that ended the life of the Great Demon Caesar. Jaune walked forwards to claim his birthright, slowly drawing Crocea Mors from the shield. The blade was a beautiful silver, with a golden cross guard and pommel and thick hilt wrapped in blue cloth. Closing his eyes, he recited his oath on the day he was knighted;

“I, Jaune of the House of Arc, pledge my loyalty to kingdom. I vow to bring honour and glory to Vale, to protect its people from the darkness and to show no mercy to my enemies.”

With his vow complete, he sheathed his sword and hung the shield on his back. Suddenly, he heard loud knocking coming from castle’s door. Quickly, he left the armoury and approached the entrance hall, opening the door to find his friend, Neptune Vasilias, standing in front of him. Neptune was a noble man, with bright blue hair, a fashionably red tunic and cream shirt, with black trousers and brown boots. However, something was wrong. His normally tan skin was pale as a ghost. Jaune Arc stared in disbelief.

“Neptune, what’s wrong?” He asked frantically.

“I-I fear that the Queen of the Vampires is going to attack.”

Jaune Arc gulped hard. The Queen of the Vampires was one of the most feared creature in all of Vale. Her power knew no bounds. When night fell, she would summon her minions of darkness and they would lay waste to Vale. Even the king feared her.

“H-How do you know this?”

Neptune pointed to the sky, and Jaune saw several black creatures, flying over the village.

“They won’t attack now,” Neptune warned. “But they’ll keep flying over until nightfall. Then they’ll attack.”

Jaune’s fist clenched tightly. “What can we do? We can’t take on an entire hoarde of vampires but ourselves.”

“You’re right. But if you can kill the Queen, the attacks will stop.”

Jaune’s eyes widened in shock. “WHAT?!”

“I know it’s a long shot and a completely stupid idea, but it’s the only one that might work. Without a Queen, these vampires will be helpless.”

“How do you know this?”

Neptune sighed. “I don’t. But it’s the only chance we’ve got. I even have something that will aid you.” He reached into his satchel and took out a small bottle with the symbol of Holy Cross. “This will give you an edge over her. It’s blessed by the church.”

Jaune felt conflicted. He didn’t know for certain that killing the Queen would stop the attacks, hell he didn’t even believe it was possible to even kill her. But if there was a chance to save the lives of the innocent, he had to take it.

“Alright,” he sighed. “I’ll do it.”

Neptune bowed. “Thank you, my friend. My life is in your debt.”

Putting the Holy Water in a small bag that hung from his waist, Jaune set out on his quest. There was no turning back now, it was time to slay the Queen of the Vampires. Hours had passed and the trek to the castle nearly killed him, but by some miracle, he found himself outside the castle of the Vampire Queen. He looked up to that her minions were flying in the direction of the kingdom. Jaune drew his sword and shield and kicked down the door. Entering the castle, he saw nothing but black walls and a red carpet hanging from the center staircase.

“Queen of the Vampires!” He shouted. “Show yourself! You have committed crimes against the Kingdom of Vale, and for that, you shall pay with your life!” Suddenly, an ominous laughter could be heard throughout the castle.

“Oh, will I?” A silky, soft and sultry voice echoed throughout. “I’m sorry, brave knight. But this is where you say goodbye to your precious kingdom.” Jaune began to feel faint, his vision was blurry and his legs were beginning to weaken. He started coughing and spluttering until he collapsed to the ground. The last thing he saw were the hideous faces of the vampires. Then, everything went black.

Present

Jaune wasn’t going to be beaten like this. He had to escape and slay the monstress. Unfortunately, he found that he was stripped of his armour and weapons, leaving himself exposed.

“Great.” He muttered. “So this is how I’m gonna die; chained up, naked, to vampire’s bed.”

As if on que, the Queen made her entrance. Jaune’s face twisted in anger as he faced his enemy. However, that changed when she got close to him. Standing in front of him was a beautiful woman. She wore a dark red dress that was cut in the middle, exposing her ample chest. There was slits above the thighs, which exposed her smooth, long legs. Her hands had black fingernails as they gently carrassed his cheek. Her most prominent features, however, were her bright red hair, gleaming silver eyes and small fangs. She smiled at him.

“Y-Y-You’re the Queen of the Vampires?” He stuttered in disbelief.

“Yes I am.” She simply said, still caressing the knight’s cheek.

“You’re so beautiful.”

She laughed quietly. “You’re not so bad yourself, for a human.”

Jaune couldn’t believe what was happening. He was finally in the presence of the Vampire Queen. He knew he had a duty to fulfil, but he was so enamoured by her beauty, he didn’t think he could do it.

“So what’s your name, my dear?” She asked in a sultry voice.

Jaune couldn’t help but blush and he gulped hard. “Jaune Arc, of the House of Arc. Knight of Vale.”

Suddenly, the Queen began to straddle him and his blush became even redder. “I am Ruby Rose,” she introduced herself. “You know me as the Queen of the Vampires.”

Trying to maintain his composure, Jaune hissed. “So are you going to kill me then?”

Ruby giggled mischievously. “Kill you? No. I want you to be my husband.”

“Wait, what?!” Jaune’s mouth gaped wide open. “What do you mean you want me to be your husband?”

“I mean exactly that. You’re a brave and honourable knight. You have courage that other men can only dream of possessing. Not even the king could approach me. But you? You didn’t hesitate.”

Jaune couldn’t help but feel flattered. He had no idea that the Vampire Queen could think so highly of him. But he had to be strong. He couldn’t give into temptation.

“Listen,” He began. “You’re ravishing, but I have to fulfil my duty as a knight. I.... I have to kill you.” For some reason, saying that brought a lump in his throat.

Ruby scowled. She thought her beauty and kind words would be enough to sway him, but it seemed he was stronger than she thought. “If you must, then I won’t stop you,” She whispered. “But before you do, let me give a taste.”

Before Jaune could protest, Ruby cupped his cheeks and kissed him. Jaune immediately melted. It was intoxicating. She tasted like sweet roses and chocolates. He couldn’t tell if she was placing him under a spell, but he didn’t want this to stop. He wanted her. He needed her. Right now. Finally, the kiss was broken and Jaune stared right into her eyes.

“I-I-I,” He stuttered.

“If you want to have me, I’m afraid you’ll have to say goodbye as a human.”

“What?!”

Ruby grabbed her forearm and bit into it, causing blood to spill out.

“Drink from me,” she said. “With my blood, you’ll be stronger than you’ve ever been.”

“B-But I-”

“Don’t worry, my darling knight. This is not a curse, but a gift. And with this gift, you shall be by my side forever. You will have me and I will have you. Together, we can rule over the night.”

Jaune pondered for a moment, he was about to undergo a new life. Today he was a knight, tomorrow he would be a vampire. He would be powerful, ruthless and feared by many. But the prospect of being with Ruby made it seem worth it.

“Give it to me.” He demanded. “Make me yours.”

The Vampire Queen smiled wickedly. “As you wish.” She put her arm to Jaune’s lips and he swallowed her blood. The taste was revolting and he wanted to gag, but he kept going. Ruby suddenly let go, staring at Jaune’s blood covered mouth. His blue eyes turned a ghastly yellow, the transformation was complete. Proud at the result, Ruby unchained her new mate.

“Well then, how to do you feel?” She asked. Suddenly, she found herself pinned down under him. Jaune stared into her eyes once more, grinning with lust. He grabbed her dress and tore it off her body, leaving her naked. Her skin was smooth as marble. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

“I am yours, my queen.” He rasped.

“Take me, my king.” Jaune captures her lips with a burning kiss as their hands caressed over each others’ bodies. Their tongues explored one another as they lost each other to their love. Jaune Arc was reborn. He was now the King of the Vampires.

#rwby #ruby rose #jaune arc #lancaster week #rwby lancaster week #rwby lancaster week 2019 #lancaster week 2019 #lancaster #rwby lancaster #lancaster rwby #ruby x jaune #jaune x ruby #ruby rose x jaune arc #jaune arc x ruby rose #knight #vampire #horror au

[takeiteasypeasybaby]

Save Me: Chapter 43 - Masked

~Hey guys! This is the introduction of the whisperers story line in Save Me, so I hope everyone is excited and enjoys this chapter!~

For so long, Molly has believed her greatest war to be at home, but soon she will discover that there are greater threats which lurk in the shadows of the world.

Rosita's POV//

'Come on!' I shouted back to Eugene who was struggling to keep up as we darted through the trees.

We were still miles away from Alexandria, in fact we were now closer to Hilltop.

Michonne had sent us out to hunt but we got caught by a large horde of walkers.

They practically had us cornered and with Eugene lagging behind we had no choice but to hide.

I ran back and grabbed his arm, yanking him forward to pick up the pace as we slid down the bank, mud and leaves cushioning our fall.

I heard walkers growling and snarling so I knew they were nearby.

I thought quickly and shovelled up mud around us and buried Eugene and I in it to conceal our scent.

My heart beat fast as I felt Eugene tremble beside me, I grabbed his hand and interlocked it with mine to steady his nerves and also admittedly mine.

I shut my eyes and just prayed that they would just walk past, until a voice made my eyes dart wide open again.

'W-where are they' a walker whispered.

'They might be close' another answered as the horde continued to pass by.

WHAT THE FUCK?!

They were talking?! Was I just severely dehydrated and hallucinating or had the dead just spoken?

'Don't let them get away' one whispered hoarsely, at this I felt Eugene stop shaking.

I think he was practically stunned into silence by the shock of what we had just witnessed.

They had finally passed as I grabbed Eugene, hoisted him up and told him to keep walking.

Of course Eugene being Eugene wanted to stop and talk about what just happened but I just ignored him, wanting to process what I had just heard as well.

We walked for hours until we found an old barn just outside of Hilltop.

I knew Eugene couldn't walk any further, he had an injury to his leg which kept bothering him since the war against the Saviours.

I helped him down into a bunker, enclosed by a trap door.

I concealed him with a mound of hay in the middle of the barn and then went on to Hilltop for help.

When I got there, I panted out of breath and Molly came running.

Molly's POV//

'Rosita? I thought you were at Alexandria? What's going on?' I asked anxiously as I opened the gates.

'I-It's Eugene, he needs help. I'll explain in a minute' she said bending down, trying to breathe normally.

I frowned in confusion but rushed over to her, ushering Jesus and Tara to follow and we followed her to where Eugene was.

'Rosita, tell me' I said sternly.

'We made it out, that's all that matters' she answered as she opened the trap door to reveal a muddied Eugene.

'What the-?' I started to say as he climbed out, wincing in pain as his leg caught the side of the door.

'What do you mean you 'made it out'?' Jesus asked as we helped Eugene to stand.

'They've evolved' Rosita said.

'Who?' I asked.

'Walkers, they were talking or whispering' she answered.

Jesus, Tara and I all looked at each other in disbelief.

'Are you sure?' Tara asked.

'Yes! I heard it, I'm not crazy!' Rosita shouted.

I suddenly heard the rustle and snarl of walkers nearby.

I told Tara to hold up Eugene while I moved over to the barn window and peered out.

I saw a large hoard moving in the distance, past Hilltop.

'Fuck' I whispered at the sheer amount of the dead that were close to us.

'Walkers' I said as Rosita rushed to my side.

'That's the same hoard that we survived. I'm telling you they've evolved' she said in annoyance.

I just sighed and went outside the barn, climbed up the ladder to its roof and lay flat on my stomach, inching myself forward to get a better view.

This was probably one of my most stupid decisions but I said 'fuck it' and shot out a flare, it soared through the sky and landed close by to the hoard.

Usually they would flock towards it because of the colour and the noise but this time they just ignored it and kept moving as one, not even one of them moved out of line.

'What the shit?' I whispered to myself as I watched them.

All of a sudden the walkers started to move out of line and paced around in one large circle.

There was nothing they were trying to feed off of, just pacing in a circle for no reason.

I had no idea what the hell was going on so I climbed down the barn roof and went back inside.

'We need to leave, now!' I said trying not to yell as the others just nodded and we slid out of the back door and went round to the back of Hilltop.

'What did you see?' Tara asked breathlessly as we paced quickly.

'They were walking in a circle, for no damn reason. What if Rosita's right? What if they have evolved?' I said nervously.

'I don't know' she answered.

I hated not being able to comfort her or tell her everything was gonna be fine because I had no clue if it would be.

For the first time ever, I had no plan.

Once we got back to Hilltop, I ran inside and called Michonne for back up.

She came with Daryl, Aaron and Gabriel a few hours later.

Our plan was to track the horde and try and get close enough to grab one and find out what was going on.

Jesus and I readied everyone with armoury and weapons, by my side were Tara, Yumiko, Magna and Luke.

Rosita stayed behind reluctantly with Eugene and promised she would defend Hilltop if the horde tried to break through.

Once we met up with Michonne's group, Jesus and I showed her where they were and the direction in which they had headed.  

It was the dead of night now, but we had no time to lose.

We couldn't risk them flocking to somewhere else and not knowing what they were.

We traced their movements, thanks to Daryl who was the best tracker out of all of us.

We came across a graveyard after walking for an hour.

It was shrouded in mist and a large iron gate encircled it.

Jesus and Aaron told us to wait behind the gate while they cleared the graveyard so that we could walk through unharmed.

I of course protested but I didn't want to argue with Jesus because I believed in him.

A few walkers moved towards them which they took out without an issue.

Jesus flipping and slashing them down with his sword whilst Aaron bashed in their brains with his badass metal arm and spiked attachment.

Soon, there were more and more walkers heading their way.

I opened up the gate and everyone followed me in.

This must have been the hoard of at least part of it, I thought.

We stood in a V formation as we took them all down as they kept coming towards us.

Daryl and I fired our arrows and knifed the ones that got too close, while Michonne sliced them open with her katana.

Tara had an axe which Luke had made her to match his and Magna and Yumiko had slingshots.

It had seemed easy for a while, that was till the mist started to rise and cloud our vision.

Even Tara who was standing right by my side started to disappear in the cloud of white.

We had had to move stealthily around the graveyard and walkers had now blocked the gate we came through.

'Shit' I heard Tara say as she saw gate being increasingly crowded.

I grabbed her hand and we moved backwards and struck down walkers as we stood back to back.

I pointed to Jesus to see the gate on the far side which we could move through.

He nodded and signalled to Daryl to get them there safely while Michonne, Tara, Jesus, Aaron and I fought off the dead.

Tara and I yanked on the gate but it was firmly shut.

'Shit' I said breathlessly as I saw it move slightly.

Daryl brought them to the gate and they continued to fire at the dead at the bars.

The gate was locked but with all of us pulling, it could be pried open.

We all grunted and panted as we used all our strength to pull it open.

'Get out of here! Go I got this!' Jesus shouted to Aaron who hesitantly came over to help open the gate as Jesus defended us.

Just as we managed to pull open the gate, Aaron looked back and yelled, 'Jesus come on!'.

He started to walk stealthily towards us as I got all of them through the gate, leaving only Aaron on the other side waiting for Jesus.

Jesus struck down one of the two walkers with a swift blow to the head and attempted to strike the other.

It swung around, pulled out a knife and stabbed him straight through the heart.

'You are where you do not belong' it whispered as my eyes widened in shock.

'NO!' Aaron yelled as I gasped in shock.

Tears rolled down my face as the walker dropped Jesus' body to the ground.

Aaron and I sprinted back through the graveyard, adrenaline and rage filling my body as I saw the walker like figures sprint towards us.

I snarled and hardened my face as I pulled out my gun.

I shot them one by one.

No mercy, that's what I had learned in this world.

Daryl shot many with his crossbow, while others took out their guns.

This was no time for knives.

When I ran out of ammo, I dropped my gun and took out my knives from my holsters and holding one in each hand I paced and leapt in the air, driving the blade into their skulls as they tried to swing at me.

Aaron continued to drive his metal hand into the skull of the now lifeless killer of Jesus.

Over and over he pounded his fist as he screamed in rage.

I stood back up, seeing no more of them around and wiped my eyes as I looked over to Aaron.

'Aaron' I said through rapid tears as I lifted him away from the body.

'NO!' he yelled as he shrugged me away and collapsed back over Jesus.

'Come here' Daryl said to Michonne as she walked towards Daryl who was standing over one of the dead whispering walkers.

I wrapped my arms around Aaron as we cried over Jesus.

I saw Daryl cutting something at the walker's head and only realised what it was when he lifted it in the air.

It was a mask...

#negan #mollychambler #twd #negan x original female character #negan's thirst squad #jdm #jeffrey dean morgan #rosita #thewalkingdead #daryl dixon #saveme

[hymn2000]

Ideal Confusion - MCU AU Fanfic - C12

(Title subject to change)

Story summary: Giving into the constant pressure from the press, Tony decides to put a rest to the rumours that Peter is his biological son - once and for all.

Previous Chapter(s): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Part of my Frostiron and Spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: family, family stuff, adoption, DNA test(s), pressure, peer pressure, social issues, mentions of alcoholism, mental health problems, potentially some minor medical inaccuracies, mentions of corporal punishment, hurt/comfort

You can also find me on AO3

Chapter 12 -  Blood And Water

-

After a lazy morning and a long walk, Jo Jo dropped Loki and Peter off at the house. Jo Jo had put on a CD for the journey, which was hugely preferable to just listening to the grown-ups hospital talk.

“You like ABBA?” Peter said, surprised.

“Of course I like ABBA - I’m Swedish!” Jo Jo laughed.

“And you’re gay” Loki said.

The journey home seemed much faster than the journey there. It was almost a disappointment when they arrived back at the house.

“Shame we only had the one night” Jo Jo said. 

“We’ll do a full weekend some time, I promise” Loki said, giving him a hug and a kiss. He lowered his voice. “Without the baby, next time”

“Thanks, Jo Jo” Peter said, leaning over from the back seat and hugging him. “Sorry again for yesterday morning”

“Hey, no worries, little guy” Jo Jo said, giving him a little hug back. “See you at the hospital some time soon? Not as a patient, though! Be good for your daddies”

“Ok. Bye, Jo Jo!”

-

Peter still felt pretty good. He’d slept well, and enjoyed his morning. He went and unpacked his bag, sorting everything out properly, and then flopped on his bed, and soon drifted off to sleep.

He woke up an hour or so later, feeling fuzzy and warm, with the sun beaming in through the window. He rubbed his eyes and got up, wandering about the landing. Tony’s keys were still missing from their hook. It was nearly three o’ clock, so Peter was surprised to see he wasn’t back yet. But he supposed he had his reasons.

-

Peter tugged on Loki’s sleeve to get his attention.

“Sweetheart, can’t you see I’m a little busy?” Loki said.

“Sorry. I just wanna ask you something”

“Uh-huh” Loki said, focusing on the light he was fixing. “Do I have to do anything?”

“Just answer”

“Ok. What is it?”

“When’s dad home?”

“I don’t know. Go and get some milk”

Peter went over to the fridge and opened the door.

“We don’t have any in”

“I know. Go to the shop”

Peter pouted. 

“Get yourself some sweets, too”

“Ok, ok” Peter said. “Anything else?”

“No. Run along now, chick”

Peter nodded and went to get his shoes on. A little afternoon stroll sounded like a nice idea.

-

Peter went down to the little shop on the corner. The dim interior was a stark contrast to the bright sun outside, but it was comfortably familiar. 

“Hey, baby Stark!” the shopkeeper said, nodding at him from behind the till.

“Hey, mister” 

Peter had first met him during the first summer he’d spent at the Stark’s. He still didn’t know his name after all this years, but they always nodded at each other when they crossed in the street, and greeted each other when Peter came into the shop. They never really spoke properly, largely due to the cultural difference and the fact the shopkeepers English was a little shaky and Peter always felt bad if he didn’t quite understand what he was saying. Peter knew some of his children, and they’d been here since they were tiny, and gone to school nearby, so they were fluent and he didn’t have the same problem with them. They were all a fair bit older than Peter, but they all talked to him quite happily if they were serving in the shop, although Peter always felt like they saw him as a lot younger than he actually was.

Peter grabbed the milk and then took his time deciding what to get for himself. He had a look through the housekeeping purse, counting the coins. He’d just grabbed it on his way out without checking, but luckily there was a decent amount in it. He eventually settled on a bottle of blue Fanta, a handful of sherbet straws, a little pack of popping candy, some fruit gums, a bar of dark chocolate, and a bag of jelly snakes.

“Too many sweets” the shopkeeper said, sifting through Peter’s choices at the till. “Bad for your teeth”

“Well, daddy told me to get some sweets, so I guess it’s ok this time” Peter said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I’ll just brush my teeth an extra time today...”

He looked at the little display by the till, and added a couple of lollipops to his stack. 

“Too many sweets!” the shopkeeper repeated. “You kids!”

Peter just smiled, and looked up when the shop door opened again with its accompanying ring of the bell. It was one of the shopkeepers sons, balancing a couple of boxes in his arms.

“Hey, Stark” he said, winking at Peter as he passed him by.

“Hey...”

“Eight forty-two” the shopkeeper said, grabbing his attention. 

“Oh right, yeah” Peter counted out nine dollars and handed the coins over. “There’s nine”

The shopkeeper handed him the change, and Peter took his shopping bag.

“Thanks, mister. See you later”

“Bye, baby Stark. Don’t eat everything now!”

“I won’t, mister. Bye!”

Peter stepped back into the daylight and let the door jangle shut behind him. He dug his hand in the bag, found a lolly, pulled the wrapper off, and stuck it in his mouth. He jumped down the step to the pavement, blinking a little. He knew he should have brought his sunglasses.

-

“Jesus, Peter!” Loki said, looking at the pile of sweets Peter had tipped onto the table. “When I told you to get yourself some sweets, I was thinking just a packet, not the whole shop!”

“I had a craving” Peter said, putting his lolly stick in the bin.

“Hmm” Loki looked disapproving. He sighed. “Who was in today?”

“Hm? Oh, just the owner” Peter said, opening his drink. “Oh, and I saw one of the boys briefly”

“Oh yeah, which one? What day is it? Was it Aamir?”

“I don’t know” Peter said. “It was the tall one with the neck tattoo”

“Aamir” Loki nodded. “His wife’s expecting, you know. I saw him in clinic a few weeks ago”

“Oh, cool. I didn’t know he was married”

“All the boys are” Loki said. “It’s only Hansamala who isn’t married”

“I like her” Peter said, sifting through his sweets. “She gives me those pink sweets, those ones it takes days to get through”

“Mm, she gave me one once” Loki said. “I’ve never had anything so sweet before. Or since. It wasn’t really my cup of tea”

“She calls me Tuka”

“It means young boy” Loki said.

“Oh. Well, that makes sense, I guess. How old is she, anyway?”

“God, I don’t know” Loki said. “Mid thirties? Say, you’re not eating all of those, are you?”

Peter looked up from his sherbet straws. “Why? Do you want one?”

“Not especially. They just remind me of the kids of Scotland who used to snort them for a dare” Loki said, and then shot him a look. “Don’t even think about it!”

“I wasn’t! People at Midtown went through a stage of doing that. It made one kids nose bleed. I’m not gonna waste it like that”

“Mm. Even so, you don’t need all those sweets now. Choose what you want now, and put the rest away for later”

“Aww, that’s no fun” Peter pouted, putting an arm protectively around his hoard.

“Peter” Loki pressed. “Do as you’re told”

Peter sighed in an exaggerated fashion. “Oh, woe is me! Alright, I’ll just have the jelly snakes and the popping candy now. And one of the sherbet straws. Oh, and-”

“Nope, three things is enough! Technically it’s more than that, looking at those jelly snakes” Loki raised an eyebrow. “You’re lucky your dad’s not home yet; he’d go spare”

“Aww, he’s even worse than me when it comes to this kind of thing” Peter said, brushing it off.

“Mm” Loki took the rest of Peter’s sweets and put them on the top shelf of one of the cupboards. “Well, maybe you should go and settle down with a DVD or something”

“Can I play on the Wii for a bit?”

“Peter, you haven’t played with that for three and a half years”

“I know, but we’ve still got all the stuff. Wanna play Mario Kart? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease?!”

“Alright, alright! Fine, but only for half an hour. It’ll make you put those sweets down, anyway”

Peter offered him the bag. “Want one?”

“I’ll pass. Dearie me, what’s wrong with battling for a chocolate coin from a tower of flour? I can understand where your father’s coming from sometimes”

“Huh?”

“It’s a game, one I was introduced to in Scotland. Basically you fill a bowl-”

“Wait” Peter interrupted, his ears pricking up. “Did you hear that? I think dad’s back”

He went rushing off, and Loki sighed. 

“I’ll tell you later then, shall I?”

He shook his head and followed after his son.

-

Peter’s ears hadn’t deceived him. Tony hugged Loki first, holding as tight as he could.

“Did you miss me?” Loki said, squeezing him back.

“Always, my darling” Tony said. “Right, where’s my little boy?”

He pulled back, and turned to Peter. Peter watched him cautiously. Suddenly all his reservations had caught up with him. He couldn’t help feeling upset that Tony hadn’t answered any of his calls or texts, and he still felt a little sore over what had happened the other day. He wasn’t quite sure where he stood now.

Tony smiled. “There he is! Come here, fella: haven’t you got a hug for your old man?”

Peter hesitantly held his arms out, and Tony pulled him close and squeezed him tight.

“My little boy! Ooh, I missed you, you know!” he looked at Loki. “Was he good?”

Peter tensed, looking over his shoulder.

“As gold” Loki said.

“Good” 

Peter looked back up at Tony, who kissed him on the nose.

“Daddy sent me a video of you singing. I didn’t know you could play the piano!”

Peter looked over his shoulder at Loki again, who just nodded slightly.

“You’re a clever little kid” Tony said, kissing the bridge of Peter’s nose and then resting a hand on the back of the boys head, holding him tighter still.

His hold was so warm, so secure - and Peter felt good. 

He still loves me, Peter thought, snuggling into his father’s chest. He still loves me!

-

Loki sat on the armchair, rubbing the space above his lip with the side of his forefinger, watching Tony and Peter together. To all intents and purposes, Peter looked happy, curled up against his father, starting to drift off. Tony looked happy too, cradling the boy in his arms. But, Loki thought, there was something off about it. He wasn’t entirely sure what, but something wasn’t quite right. 

Loki opened the drawer of the little lamp table closest to him, getting out his pipe and tobacco tin. He barely took his eyes off his husband and son the whole while he was readying it. It was only a few seconds after he lit it that Tony looked up.

“Oh, Loki, darling” he said. “Not while the kid’s in here”

“Of course” Loki said slowly. He paused, and then stood up. “I’ll be out on the balcony”

Loki leant against the railing, tapping the ceramic of his pipe against his teeth in between puffs. As much as he’d love to believe that the DNA test results hadn’t made any difference, he just didn’t buy it. He was, in part, relieved that Tony had come home and immediately started showing Peter the usual attention. It wasn’t that it seemed forced - it didn’t - but there was definitely something different. 

Loki looked down at the lights of the street below, and the traffic in the distance. If he squinted, he could just about see the hospital. He thought about everyone on the ward. He felt such fondness for that place. He didn’t always understand why. He had many regrets in life - starting at the hospital wasn’t one of them. Thor said it was his way of recompense, but Loki didn’t buy that. He’d originally started at the hospital under another persons recommendation, and even then he’d only really gone because he had a newfound interest of human health after something Tony had shown him. He hadn’t expected to get sucked in quite like he did, much less end up as a fully-qualified nurse. But, despite everything, he still loved doing it. It still interested him, and he’d grown to love his colleagues, and care for his patients. Perhaps it was keeping busy. Whatever.

Loki sucked on his pipe, turning his thoughts back to his family. He thought hard, and then something suddenly clicked. He stopped, thinking it over again, and then nodded. He set his pipe down on the glass table between the two chairs. He needed to keep an eye on things.

-

“Are you off?” Loki said, stopping Tony in his tracks.

Tony turned to him, adjusting his hold on Peter. “He’s dropped off, and it’s kinda late. Probably a good idea to settle him down”

“I can take him”

“It’s ok; I’ll do it”

“Why don’t you get him a jug?” Loki suggested.

Tony hesitated, and then let Loki take Peter from him. “Alright. I’ll just be a few minutes”

Peter had his eyes open when Loki put him down on the bed.

“...You weren’t really asleep, were you?”

Peter shook his head. “Don’t tell dad, alright?”

Loki nodded slightly. “...Are you ok?”

“I think so. Dad’s better with me than he was the other day. I think he’s ok about everything now”

“Mm”

“Hey, daddy?”

“Yes?”

“Can I get up? I don’t really wanna go to bed in my clothes”

“Hm? Oh, of course. Sorry” He moved back.

“It’s alright” Peter said, getting up and pulling his shirt off. “Are you having another flare-up?”

Loki looked at him. “What makes you say that?”

“You’ve been all quiet this evening, and you kinda looked like you were zoning out. I wondered if you were getting ill”

“I’m fine” Loki said.

“Right, here’s the jug” Tony said, bursting into the room. “Oh, you’re awake”

“I’m gonna go and do my teeth” Peter said. “...Can you two stop acting so weird?”

He locked the en suite door behind him. Loki was definitely acting strange, and the way Tony had looked was a little funny too. He hoped they’d get the hint and leave him to it. He didn’t really want to be put to bed by them tonight. They probably had stuff to talk about anyway.

-

“I know what’s going on here” Loki said after they’d closed Peter’s door behind them.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Tony said, carrying on down the hallway. “Hey, now the kids asleep, do you wanna spend some quality time together?”

“And do what?”

“I don’t know” Tony shrugged absentmindedly. “Have sex?”

“Tony-”

“Alright, not full sex. But if you’re in the mood, I’m more than happy to give you an orgasm tonight”

“Tony, stop it” Loki said firmly. “I think we need to talk”

“What about? I’ve got nothing to say. The conference was alright. How was your day away?"

“Fine. That’s not what we’re here to talk about”

“Well, what, then?”

“You know what!”

Tony did know, but that didn’t mean he'd admit it, much less talk about it. 

“Don’t give me that look!” Loki sighed irritably. “You can’t gloss over it forever! I knew there was something off with you and the way you were with Peter, an-”

“Hey, I haven’t been ‘off’” Tony scowled. “I was just as dad-ish as ever with him”

“You didn’t speak to him, n-”

“Yes I did! We’ve been talking all night!”

“Talking without saying anything. You can’t ignore the DNA results. You can’t pretend you don’t have to talk about this”

“I don’t have to talk about it!”

“Yes, you do! Not wanting to talk about it doesn’t mean you don’t need to talk about it. Peter needs to talk about it, too. You both need to discuss it properly, and- NO, DON’T INTERRUPT ME! Don’t try throwing excuses my way either. I’m not going to make you wake him up now, but you are going to talk to him, one way or another. I won’t let you weasel out of this”

“...What is there to talk about?”

“For crying out loud, Anthony!” Loki turned on his heel. “I’m going to bed, and I don’t want to talk to you until you’ve seen sense and are ready to act your age”

“Wait, Loki!”

Loki stopped and looked at him. “What?”

“Do you want an orgasm tonight or not?”

-

Peter stayed quiet when there was a knock on his door. He stayed quiet when his bedroom door opened. He stayed quiet and still when the bedside lamp was turned on and someone sat down on his bed.

“I know you’re awake, chick”

Peter still didn’t move. They rested a hand on his shoulder and gave him a little shake.

“You can’t fool me, kiddo”

Peter opened his eyes. “What do you want?”

“I want you to be honest. I know you’re having a tough time”

“Daddy, I’m tired. All those car journeys tire me out”

“That’s not what I said”

“I know, but honestly, I’m fine. Dad’s the one in denial; not me. He’s being nice to me though, so that’s something”

“Well-”

“Hey, daddy? I’m kinda ready to go to sleep now. I’m doing ok, and I’ll be even better when my eyes don’t sting any more”

“Your eyes sting?”

“I’m tired! I said that. Goodnight”

“Ok, ok” Loki kissed Peter on the cheek. “Alright. Goodnight, chick”

Peter watched him leave, and then breathed out. He had a feeling Loki was taking this whole thing a lot harder than he was.

*

#my writing #fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #frostiron #irondad and spiderson

[subasekabang]

Long Dream –Live Remix– (B Side)

Title: Long Dream –Live Remix– (B Side)

Rating: T

Word Count: 7598 total, 3840 this chapter

Characters: Coco, Joshua, Neku, Beat, OMC, OFC

Warnings: Major character death

Summary: Her Magnum Opus nears completion, and as her audience approaches, she hurriedly arranges one final rehearsal.  Elaboration on a pet theory of mine, built out of Final Remix spoilers.

Feel the people, hear the voices

They are reaching out to catch you

Feel the rhythms, hear the noises

You are beating all the visions

***

Shinjuku’s Room of Reckoning, the seat of power for its reigning Composer, was the only place in the entire city that Coco absolutely hated.  Despite being a space set aside specifically for her, she was required to keep the room exactly the way it had always been: a throwback to the Shinto roots of the city, with a gate of red wood over the entrance, two fox statues standing guard just beyond that, braided ropes and paper charms decorating every wall, and a large patch of white sand centered around a single flat stone under a narrow skylight.  Coco sat cross-legged on a cushion on that stone, rapidly tapping her fingers as she regarded her surroundings.

“This place and I have, like, the exact opposite energy.”

It wasn’t much longer until she heard footsteps.  Through the gate walked a woman who looked to be in her thirties, with slightly pale skin and straight black hair tied into a bun, wearing a simple shrine maiden uniform.  She knelt at the edge of the sand and bowed.  Coco fought back an urge to grimace, and was mostly successful.

“Sit up, Atsuko Watanabe,” Coco said in a half-assed formal tone.  “We have, like, much to discuss.”

Straightening her back, Watanabe said, “You honor me with your presence, Composer.  How may your humble servant carry out your will?”

Coco shifted in her seat.  Even now, she still wasn’t entirely sure how to begin.  “Well, uh…we got a thing we need to do…and this thing is, like, about Shinjuku’s future and stuff, so, um…”

A smile slowly crossed Watanabe’s face.  Her eyes twinkled as she asked, “Do you mean a Game?  Are we finally going to hold another Game?”

“Uuuuuh that was the plan, but—“

Watanabe brought her hands together.  “Wonderful!  It’s been so long since we’ve held a Game, we’ve built up such a stable of Players we need to test!”

“H-Hey, hold up gurl…” Coco said, reaching out reluctantly.

“I have already selected a Game Master I believe would be ideal, they need only your approval and we can begin immediately.  Of course, this is but a humble suggestion, my lady: we shall proceed in whatever way you deem best.  Oh, this is so exciting!  I can hardly wait!”  Watanabe closed her eyes and giggled, trying to sit still but bouncing just a bit.  Coco scratched her head as a wave of intense guilt washed over her.

“Big yikes…” she said.  “Um, Watanabe—“

“Yes, my lady?”

“I was saying, like, I was going to hold a Game, but…unfortunately, um, planz have changed.”

Coco could see the enthusiasm drain out of Watanabe.  In mere seconds, her cheery demeanor was entirely gone, leaving her with nothing but a hollow, dejected expression that made her look ten years older.  “…Oh.  I see.”

“Listen, I’m sorry it be like that.  Like, I know you really want a Game, and we’ll have one soon, I totez promise!  v soon.  But first, we got something else super urgent we need to deal with—it literally can’t wait, which is the only reason why I’m putting off the Game.”

Watanabe just stared down at the sand in silence.

Hesitantly, Coco asked, “…Um, Watanabe?  u good?”

“Composer…” Watanabe said quietly.  “Forgive me, but…I believe my patience has reached its limit.”

“Watanabe, listen up, this—“

“Years.  It has been years since the last time a Game was held in Shinjuku!  The Reapers need points to survive, my lady, and several of the rank and file are nearly out!  They are in very real danger of fading away forever!  And as if that weren’t bad enough, this…this entire situation could have so easily been avoided!”

Feeling just a little annoyed, Coco leaned forward and said, “I already told you, like, we’ll have one soon, nbd.”

“It’s a very big deal!” Watanabe shouted.  “At this point your men are so desperate that when we do hold a Game, the competition amongst them will be atrocious!  They won’t know when to expect another chance to earn points, so they’ll collect as many as they possibly can, hoarding them all for themselves, leaving few to none for the inexperienced to survive on!  We may have garnered an exorbitant amount of Players, but at this point I fear it still won’t be enough to go around!  And now you’re saying we need to wait even longer?!”

“Chill, fam!  You’re totez getting WAY ahead of yourself!”

“I have to think that far ahead, because you won’t spare so much as a single thought for your duties!”

Coco’s eyes widened, her veins freezing over.  “W…what did you just say about me?”

Watanabe stood up, aiming a sad glare at Coco.  “I’ve been running the UG on my own this entire time, because you won’t take your duties seriously.  You are meant to judge the worth of humanity, to learn what is necessary to guide them and us to a better future.  Does that simply not matter to you, Composer?”

Coco could hardly believe what she was hearing.  Standing, she said, “Like, of course it matters to me?  I heckin love Shinjuku!  Everything that I do is for the benefit of this city!  You sayin you for realz don’t know that, Watanabe?”

“It is hard for me to believe that, my lady.  You’ve excused yourself from your work for ages, and during all this time I’ve barely heard even a word from you!  Frankly…I feel I have no evidence to suggest that you truly care for this city, nor that you will ever behave responsibly in regards to your duty regarding it.”

“That’s a hot load of…”  Coco stopped, putting a hand to her forehead with a short huff.  “…Whatevs.  You don’t know what I’ve been doing, I never told you, so I guess I can’t totally blame you for thinking that.  But like, the reason I asked you here was cuz I’m gonna tell you what I’ve been doing, and what comes next in my keikaku.”

Watanabe waited expectantly.  Coco took a deep breath, hoping she would be able to find the words she needed.

“So tbh…I’ve been working on a Noise.  A super duper powerful Noise called a ‘Magnum Opus’, which contains, like, its own plane of existence inside of it.  I gotta strengthen it, and because it’s so complex, it’s taken a long time to get that done.  Like, a loooong time.  But it’s totez gonna be worth it!”

Watanabe furrowed her brow.  “This whole time, you’ve been making a Noise?  A single Noise?  What made you think such a thing was necessary?”

“Well…I had a vision,” Coco said.

“A vision?”

“Yeah!  I saw Shinjuku get entirely wiped out, so like, obv I had to do everything I could to stop that from happening!”

“…I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“Well the…the way it happened…”  Coco’s words ground to a halt.  She couldn’t explain an Inversion without explaining the Inferno, and she couldn’t explain the Inferno without explaining the Higher Plane, and that was something she had been strictly forbidden from revealing to her subordinates.  “Um…see, the guyz who did Teh Thing were, like, suuuuper powerful.  I knew I was totez gonna need a heavy hitter to take ‘em down!  So, Magnum Opus Noise!”

Watanabe took a few seconds to reflect on this explanation, finally saying, “I suppose that makes some sense.”

“Great!  Glad we’re, like, on the same page!”

“Wait a moment, my lady, I still have questions.  I have never heard of this Magnum Opus Noise—where did you learn of it?”

“It’s, uh, top secret Composer stuff.  Sorry, can’t share those deetz.”

“Alright then.  In that case, did your vision also come from your Composer powers?”

Coco shook her head.  “Nah…my Composer-ness does give me sum omniscience and stuff, but this was different.  Normal Composer Vision is, like, whambalam, and KABAM, yeah, that seems right, I can feel it in my kokoro.  But this vision was totez creepy af, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Watanabe paused a moment.  “My lady…if you’ve never seen anything like this vision, then why are you so sure it is reliable?”

Coco blinked.  “…Um…”

Watanabe stepped forward.  “If this has nothing to do with your Composer abilities, then what guarantee is there that these events will come to pass?  Why would you be so certain of it that you would give up everything else just to prepare for something that may never occur?”

“It…well…”  Coco looked down, her cheeks starting to burn as she fumbled for a response.  She raised her fist towards her chin and turned slightly.  “Something about it, just…terrified me, Watanabe.  I’ve never felt horror like that, so…I mean, I had to do something.”

Watanabe took another step.  “And merely because it scared you, you abandoned all of us?!”

Coco backed up to the edge of her stone.  Watanabe lowered her gaze, realizing that her foot had landed on the sand.  Turning abruptly, she covered her face with her hand and sighed, while Coco just stared at her back.

“…Watanabe…please,” she said.  “I need your help to keep Shinjuku safe.  Can I count on you?”

Watanabe looked over her shoulder.  “…I am sorry, Composer.  But I do not believe in this cause of yours.  Go and do what you must…but in the meantime, I am going to see to my duties and conduct a Game.  Shinjuku cannot be asked to wait for us any longer.”

Coco lowered her arm.  Trying as hard as she could to smile, she said, “Understandable, have a nice day.”

Watanabe walked out.  Coco dropped down and pulled her hood over her eyes, shutting them tight to keep her tears from falling.  When she eventually opened them again, the room was much darker—something had covered up the skylight, she realized.  It was then she noticed Rōjin standing at the edge of the sand.

“…Like, I knew she was gonna be annoyed,” Coco said, “but I didn’t think she’d get so pissed off.  tbh I wasn’t prepared to see her like that.  I’m…kinda shook.”

She let out a ragged sigh.

“I legit wanted her help.  If I can’t count on Watanabe, then like, none of my Officers are gonna help.  Now Tapez and I are probs gonna have to fight the Inferno on our own.”

Hopefully, she glanced up at Rōjin.  He shook his head.

“…Right.  Your hands are still tied, I guess.  The Higher Plane won’t do anything until it’s already too late.  But damn Kiryu and his Producer get off totally clean after trying to sink their city…but, that’s none of my business.”

She got to her feet and looked her Producer in the eye.

“Rōjin…I totez appreciate all you’ve done for me.  You’ve been a real bro, taking me srsly and helping out however you can.  I know I sorta take you for granted, but like, I really am gr8ful for everything.  Just wanna let u know.”

Rōjin nodded.  Coco glanced at the sand hesitantly, and then shrugged, walking right across it.

“Guess I’ll just go back to what I was doing.  If you can, plz keep an eye out while Watanabe runs her Game—I don’t know fo sho how much time we got until the Inferno makes a move.”

As she approached, Rōjin held on arm out to stop her.  She faced him with a confused expression.

“I will advocate for you,” the Producer said.

“…wat?” Coco said.  “Wait, you mean right now, you’re going up?”

Rōjin nodded.

“I…I mean thnx, that’s really generous, but u sure?  They’re getting the Game they asked 4, that should make them happy, yeah?”

“A Game run by the Conductor.  They will demand an explanation.  Anticipating this will look better, and allow me a chance to sway them.”

Coco stepped towards him.  “Rōjin, don’t put a target on your back!  The Higher Plane has, like, already been clear about how they want to deal with the Inferno, there’s no way we’re gonna be able to change that.  Even if we tell em Shinjuku will be wiped out if they don’t do sumthin, they’re totez just gonna say ‘then perish’.  I can handle this!  I mean, I know I was just lowkey freaking out, but real talk, I can—“

Rōjin turned and began to leave.

“Hey, hold up!”

He paused.  Coco fidgeted.

“…I just…I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.  Like, I know I’m a crappy Composer, and I’ve already caused you nothing but grief with the crew upstairs.  If you push em any further…”

Rōjin faced her, and to Coco’s surprise, he was smiling.  “Don’t be afraid.”

Coco couldn’t think of a reply.  Rōjin turned back around and went through the gate, leaving Coco alone.  It took some time, but eventually she was able to calm down.

Tapez’s next meal might be the last one he gets before the baddle beginz.  I need to, like, figure out how to make his power maximum with just one more boost.

Slowly, she turned her head.

…The OG strat was that, at the last second, I’d go for that pair.  And like, they’d totez gimme dat boost.  But now that Kiryu’s onto me, and it’s obv just how, uh, strained my relationship with the Higher Plane is…not convinced that’s the best play I can make rn.

Coco paced across the room as she weighed her options.  As she did, she began to feel a sharp pain in her head, and her entire body tensed.

A…again?

The pain began to spread.

No, no not another one, not already, not now!

Her vision went out all at once.  When it returned, she was looking through that same unsettling filter, only now she saw not Shinjuku, but Shibuya.  She saw Neku, the boy slowly falling over as his body went limp and lifeless.  And in front of him, she saw Joshua, pointing a gun at him with a look of malice as an unfamiliar voice echoed in her mind.

“Hello?  Is anybody there?”

The Room of Reckoning came back, and it was perhaps the only time in her life Coco had ever been glad to see it.  She clutched her head tightly in both hands, staring wide-eyed at the floor, and worked to decipher what she had just seen.

“This one…was different…Kiryu shot him?  Why would he do that?  I mean, he did it before…is this from the past?  Or is he going to do it again?”

Coco thought back to her last conversation with Shibuya’s Composer.  She remembered his parting threat.

“…Would he really…kill Neku…just to stop me from using him?”

She couldn’t know for sure.  But, it wasn’t something she would put past him.  And assuming this latest vision wasn’t a look back into the past, that meant the Neku of the world she lived in might only be around for a limited time.

“If I dun act now, I might miss my chance.”

She weighed her options again, but this information was more than enough to tilt the scales.  Clenching her fists, Coco glared in the direction of Shibuya.

“I gotta do it to ‘em.  I ain’t afraid of Kiryu!  He can try whatev he wants, but I’m totez gonna come out on top!  After this, Tapez will be unbeatable!”

***

In this long dream, can you find me?

Want you to call my name

In this hazard, chance of survival?

I need to be with you

***

Coco stood alone on the empty streets of Shinjuku.  One hand was pressed firmly against her bleeding shoulder, and the other was clamped tight around a pin emblazoned with a symbol resembling the Dissonance Tapir’s eye.  She stood there, shaking, trying her best to cling onto her composure, but it was too much for her.  Coco threw her head back and wailed into the sky.

She had sought out Neku and Beat, drawn them into the pseudo-parallel world contained within the tapir, and done her best to coax them into making their way to the outskirts of “Shibuya”.  She was almost successful.  However, Shibuya’s Producer had interfered, using some unknown technique to take control of the replica of himself within her illusion and informing the Players of where they really were.  With the easy way no longer an option, Coco had ordered the tapir to attack, but somehow, they had found a way to erase it.

Dropping to her knees, Coco cradled the pin in both hands, barely able to see it through the tears pouring from her eyes.  As she was, she didn’t even have the strength to summon the tapir from it.  Her Magnum Opus was in there, she could sense its consciousness, but it was incredibly faint.

“Dammit…damn you, Kiryu…”

In her panic upon losing the tapir, Coco had ended up shooting Neku, but Joshua had appeared and wounded her as she retreated.  She had been just on the border of Shinjuku when the Inversion occurred.  And despite all her preparations, all her determination, Coco could do nothing but watch as her entire city vanished right before her eyes.

“Why Shinjuku?  Of all the UGs, why mine?!  Why…why…”

Not a single person remained on the once-bustling roads.  The tapir was out of commission, Watanabe was likely erased, and Rōjin wasn’t returning her calls.  Coco was alone with nothing to fight for, much less anything to fight with.

“…No…”

She punched the pavement.  With teeth clenched, she glared upward.

“If Shinjuku’s gone…then I’m gonna make the Inferno pay for taking it!  I’ll play their stupid Game, and I’ll win—whatever it takes!”

Taking one last look at the pin, she carefully placed it in her pocket.  She ripped off the end of her sleeve and wrapped it around her wound, and after making sure it was tight enough, she got to her feet and wiped her tears.

“Guess that puts me at square one.  Tapez can still make some contributions, but I’m not gonna have time to beef him up like I did before.  So I’mma need a new heavy hitter…”

Coco gazed at Shibuya once more.

“He’s totez not gonna want to help me…but like, he’s not getting a choice!”

***

Feel the people, hear the voices

They are reaching out to catch you

Feel the rhythms, hear the noises

You are beating all the visions

***

“…How fortunate she managed to escape erasure.”

Coco kept her eyes down as she walked.  She adjusted her hood, keeping the pin hooked to the inside of it next to her ear.

“Clearly she’s something special,” she heard Hanekoma say.  “And let’s not forget our little Reaper friend.  We’ve got some crazy cats headed our way.”

“Which makes this the calm before the storm.”  Coco scowled at Joshua’s voice.  “There’s no telling what will become of Shibuya…but I suppose that’s THEIR problem now, not ours.”

She rolled her eyes, mumbling, “That’s, like, exactly what I’d expect from you.”

“What about Neku?”

Coco stopped mid-step.

“He served his purpose,” Joshua said, “but I don’t need him anymore.”

She pulled out the pin, saying, “Hmph.  Speak for yourself, nerd.  The Game, like, literally can’t go on without Neku…like, maybe you don’t need him, but I totez do!”

At this point, he was her best bet.  If Neku, with help, was able to defeat the Dissonance Tapir after all the work she had put into it, then that made him the deadliest weapon available to her.  She had hoped Joshua would put him into play, but that was a problem she could easily circumvent.  However, that wasn’t the only problem this new plan faced.  Coco eyed the alleyway just ahead.

“If he’s, like, even gonna stand a chance…he’s totez gonna need a zetta strong partner!”

She entered the alleyway to find an elaborate pattern painted onto the sidewalk.  Immediately, she recognized it as a Taboo Noise refinery sigil.  For just a moment, Coco hesitated, wondering if this was really the person she wanted to recruit.  She couldn’t help but be curious about the girl from the vision—the one who supposedly escaped the Inversion unharmed—but she wasn’t sure exactly where she was, or if she could fight.  Coco had to make the most of what was available to her.  She had accepted that.

“If those goons are so thirsty for a fight…” Coco said, reaching out with both hands.  “Then they can, like, come here and get rekt like the noobs they are!”

She activated the sigil.  It lit up with bright light, but only for a few seconds before going out in a brilliant flash.  Coco waved away the smell of smoke as she gazed upon the man who now sat at the center of the design.

He had a mess of medium dark hair, and brown skin that turned to the pitch black shade of Taboo Noise over his hands and forearms, with an intricate emblem decorating his torso.  The black shirt and jeans he wore were badly torn, but the silver on his necklace and belt buckle gleamed as if brand new.  Slowly, he rose to his feet.  He looked down at himself and smirked in approval.

“Seems somebody forgot to carry the one,” he said.  “Not that I’m complaining!  They say the third time’s the charm, and I’ve always had a soft spot for cubic roots!”

Coco watched as he just threw his arms apart and laughed.  The power he possessed was incredible, nearly overwhelming her senses as she tried to gauge it.  Finally, he turned to her, and she snapped out of her trance.

“So tell me…how exactly do you factor into this equation?”

“…I just, like, need to know one (1) thing,” Coco asked.  “How’d you like to take down someone even stronger than a Composer?”

The man leaned in close.  “Hm…easier in theory than in practice.”

“Tru…but I have a plan that will totez make it possible tho.”

“Hah!  And what proof validates that operation?”

Pointing down, Coco said, “Like, I brought you back, yeah?  How many people can do that?  Doesn’t that get your attention?”

He looked at the sigil, then back to Coco.  Backing up a bit, he said, “Huh…you did this all with a single variable?  That’s worth adjusting an estimation for…”

“So like, whaddaya say, bro Minamimoto?  Come hear me out.  I totez promise you won’t be disappointed.”

Minamimoto thought for a moment.  Then, with a chuckle, he said, “It’d be zetta dumb to cancel out a set like that.  Tell you want, decimal point: I’ll see where this line you’ve plotted goes.  Just make sure the solution is as good as you’ve promised!”

Coco grinned.  Turning aside for the moment, she rubbed the Tapir pin in her pocket, and said to herself, “There’s, like, no way we’re gonna lose!”

***

Is it angels?  Is it devils?

Whispering in my ears

Is it emotions?  Is it illusions?

I need to be with you

#TWEWY #TWEWY Bang 2019 #The World Ends With You #World Ends With You #Subarashiki Kono Sekai #fanfic #submission