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mostshipshape · 2 years

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Response to Action Report 4 - “The Truth in the Pudding”

Once again, I will apologise, for the Action Report proper will take a few hours to eventuate. Your Captain’s Clerk is quite worried about how to tell this forthcoming chapter, having worked themselves up into quite a tiff over it! But well, we will turn the page eventually, and the fifth Action Report will be published before the end of the day.

We meet again on calm waters that ill reflect the mood on the ship. By all accounts, we are nearing the end of our mission and may soon return to Loegres, but such a fact does not seem so consoling as usual.

One of the casks of beef was spoiled upon opening, some sailors keep swearing that the knots they tie have been untied by some mischievous spirit or other and there seem to be rather more incidents of tripping and falling than usual, leading to a rather hassled and harried looking Dr Ibbot- not that she looks particularly at peace usually.

We had escaped an unnecessary skirmish with a hunting Hesperian last week, and came to a period of lull. The body of an unfortunate lass was consigned to the deep, not an uncommon event on a man o’ war, but they say that there was a howling or a whistling as she fell- and why, the whispers have changed in the telling, that maybe there had been a laughter as she fell. As you can imagine, this rather heightens the concern and worry of the crew.

The captain finally spoke of what is to occur- to the crew, they announce that this is to be an exchange of prisoners, one soul for the return of many, and so we shall meet the Gallian Tempête peacefully.

To the officers, they say that they know the captain of La Tempête. And they say nothing more on this matter.

And so we meet before the rendezvous with the Tempête. Shall we see what our sailors are up to?

Image generated by the AI neural network Disco Diffusion, painted over and then run through Disco Diffusion again, more information here

I’ll say that if your character has an Injury to Health but has not submitted an action this week, they will heal this Injury due to the assumption that they have spent the time in the sick bay.

Usually, I have given out a +1 forward to a result of an Exceptional Success result- but I think I shall not be so forthcoming this week, with the two actions allowed and the conclusion of the game so close. My apologies, but are we not pioneers on this voyage of gameplay discovery? Equally, some partial success results, which have often met with injury or lack of success, should be adjudicated to be less harsh in their penalties.

Any success and failures will, of course, have their own effect on things, but they may not be so visible.

But on with the show!

Lieutenant David Price has found himself quite troubled by the death of Murrie. The tension in the ship is rather palpable, and Captain Swanmay’s revelations about the prisoner and the mission has rather added to it all- and so he opts to find out more, speaking and socialising with the wardroom with an eye to find out if they know anything he doesn’t, and what the mood in the wardroom is.

(Courtesy of 3 = +1, Wardroom Reputation of +2, 2d6+1+2 = 13, Exceptional Success)

The mood in the ward room is quite reflective of that of the gun deck, though here it is a palpable air of anxiety, for while the officers do feel that the sailors are at no risk for disobedience or mutiny, their loyalty in no question, there is still something wrong. And perhaps some of the officers here do believe that this feeling of tension may come from the prisoner beneath, perhaps.

Lieutenant Murffey of the Marines, quite the talkative woman in nights past, has grown rather preoccupied and moody. She hints that she knows who the prisoner is, and confides that she has had to be very, very careful in the roster of Marines assigned to guard the prisoner.

Of course the prisoner is important, snaps Ms Bynes, the purser. Why else would the Gallians want them so much?

Mx Glyl, the Master, seems to be not listening to the current conversation so much, but she distractedly asks- why are we so close to the Gallian shore for this meeting?

The conversation is interrupted by First Lieutenant Davies, who changes the topic to more practical matters. But later, he thanks Price for keeping an eye on the ward room, for he would have liked to do it himself, but he has been busy with all the running around that the captain has had him doing.

Apart from socialising in the ward room, to keep himself busy and feel useful, Price has decided to exercise his Seamanship and share his skills with some of the midshipmen.

(Seamanship of 5 = +2, 2d6+2 = 7, Partial Success)

Middshipmen George Crawford and Peter Beale appreciate the lessons, though Eliza Fairwell seems to be more interested in spreading provocative words than paying attention. She does know when to skirt the line of saying anything too inflammatory in front of a superior officer, but her words prove a little too distracting for Mr Crawford and Mr Beale. But they do seem to learn something, at least.

Perhaps if we have to depend on the midshipmen or the ward room officers in the future, we might find them more capable.

Perhaps.

The gunner Bryn Morgan, having been unfortunately entangled in that incident during that night, has opted to rest in the sickbay to recover and recuperate under the watchful eye of the surgeon.

(Rest in the sickbay, healing a Health Injury)

And possibly while they do so, or after they have been discharged, with the intention of reporting any information to the First Lieutenant to whom they are quite close, they investigate the discontent and spreading of rumours around the ship.

(Awareness of 2 = +1, 2d6+1 = 9, Partial Success)

Some of the gossipers are quite easy to spot. Mr Davies is very much not surprised to hear that Midshipman Fairwell appears to be doing her damned best to egg on the rumours, and he says that he will have a word with her. There are some names from the gun deck who are likely just enthusiastic about ghost stories and patriotism; but it seems a major source of the stirrings comes from the Marines, who mess on their own, and it is not so easy to identify who. But perhaps that is to be expected, for they have spent the longest time guarding the prisoner from the ship, and preventing the prisoner’s escape.

But it seems that Mx Morgan has been seen creeping about. This does not harm their reputation that much further, but one of the sailors does snidely inquire about how Mr Davies is doing- quietly, for such insinuations carry implications, but I cannot imagine that such a thing was said sincerely.

Our Carpenter, Minna Peggram, stashes away the figurehead she carved after counting her blessings after that long night. She spends some time sprucing up the old figurehead, which would rather appreciate it if it could speak!

And in regards to the Carpenter’s Mate, Gwilym Parry-

“Young Parry will nonetheless receive both a scolding and a praise from me; I wouldn’t tell him out loud just yet, but I am quite impressed that he took matters into his own hands.”

After that, with the prisoner’s, ahem, aura of bad luck in mind, she manages to speak to the captain, asking if they see the need for further fortification. The captain almost sighs, keenly aware of the word on the ship, but agrees- and so Minna sets about her business, fixing up the wood and strengthening the weak spots of the ship.

(Expertise (Carpentry) of 6 = +3, 2d6+3=10, Exceptional Success)

The Pickle is armoured in wood, as sturdy as a majestic tortoise cresting the waves! Tortoises do crest the waves, yes? But she is well reinforced against both cannon fire and storm, and will benefit if such things occur in the future.

Peggram has also found herself an unlikely ally to the prized rat racer Jenny No Tails, and so she has decided to aid the gun deck in setting up a rat race, “which will surely life the spirits of all!” And she also hopes to steer the course of the discourse away from the suspicions of the prisoner below.

(Courtesy of 2 = +1, Gun Deck Reputation = +2, Rat Check Buff = +1, 2d6+2+1+1= 11, Exceptional Success)

Rem Hanover, the rodent raconteur, eagerly sets about to aid in gathering up the required racers- and perhaps this involves going suspiciously close to the bread rooms and whispering what sound like eloquent salutations to the walls, as if the rats can understand the Alban tongue.

A short while later, the rats appear to have lined themselves up on the gun deck.

The rat races themselves are such a riotous and raucous success that they are all that anyone can talk about for a while. Did you see how Jenny No Tails overtook Four Tail Frank, only to be defeated by Rachel the Rabid at the last second? It must be in Rachel the Rabid’s blood, she inherited her bloodlust from her mother, Belligerent Belinda. At least Jenny has no more tails to lose.

Unfortunately, Minna, you may now be known for putting on good rat races, especially since Rem Hanover has loudly attributed the success of these rat races to you. They take you aside and ask…

After all the unpleasant business with the prisoner is over, do you think, as the carpenter, you could build…

a rat course?

Keep the rat +1 forward for another challenge roll.

And while all of this is going on, I have elected to save our Gallians for last-

Before getting up to any Gallian mischief, Jean-Heron Toussaint has decided to partake in the rat racing revelry with some gambling, and perhaps engaging in a conversation or two. Perhaps engaging with ship life will help allay some of the suspicion on him? And he does so wish to ask- how are the rats kept alive when there are two cats on board?

(Expertise (Gambling) of 5 = +2, Gun Deck Reputation cancelled out, 2d6+2 = 11, Exceptional Success)

Having wagered a good amount on Rachel the Rabid in one race and Vile Veronica in another, Jean-Heron finds himself congratulated on his luck and/or rat connoisseurship.

When he asks how the rats stay alive and plentiful on the ship, someone claps him on the back and loudly launches into an explanation. Congratulations, Jean-Heron, you have gained the attention of resident rat pundit, the researcher of all things ratty, Rem Hanover, who says that is it not the principle of evolution, that the rats who cannot outrace the cats are the ones who are winnowed out of the rat population, while the ones who can are the ones fit for the races?

Is that one of the rats nodding?

Well, it seems that the opinion of the gun deck is that if that rat bastard who puts on such good rat races approves of such a man, than that man can’t be half bad, even if he is a Gallian.

Jean-Heron heals his Gun Deck Reputation injury back to healthy.

Now, Jean-Heron is aiming to speak with the prisoner, and so he keeps to the Shadows, spurred by his Royalist ideals, waiting for a moment when the Marine is changing guard, or is distracted.

(Shadows of 4 = +2, Agitator = +1, 2d6+2+1 = 11, Exceptional Success)

The moment is brief, and he cannot linger, but next to the door, for a brief moment, he manages to say something to the prisoner-

And what they speak of-

is not something I shall reveal to you observers, right now.

–

And also-

Our cook, Jack Laplace, has not been having such a pleasant time, for he is rather too aware of the crew’s increased hostility towards Gallians (for despite Jean-Heron’s congeniality, the presence of the passenger is not something so easily countered). Other happenings such as his failed attempt to speak with the prisoner and the spoiled cask of beef do not help matters, as well as the cat’s new habit of bringing him various halves of decapitated rats.

And so Jack has decided to attempt, again, to communicate with the prisoner. He writes a brief note in Gallian, asking about the prisoner’s name, how they came to be in this position and whether they are in need of anything, and he folds the note up in wax paper and bakes it into a pie to be served. He knows this is a desperate attempt, and there is the possibility that the prisoner will swallow it whole, but the Marine sentries are watching closely.

Though he has not quite considered how the prisoner will respond back.

(Shadows of 2 = +1, Gastronome = +1, 2d6+1+1=12, Exceptional Success)

The meal after that, when Jack delivers the food, the old plate is left on the table to be taken.

There is a note under the plate.

What that note says, again, is not something I will share with you now.

And so we end on notes of secrecy as we sail towards our rendezvous.

But for now, I remain your most obedient servant-

@cadmusfly

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#shipshape game #shipshape update #shipshape action report

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whatdoesshedotothem · 2 years

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Saturday 11 May 1839

6 35/..

12 5/..

fine but cold morning F44° inside and outside at 7 50/.. – had had A- and written her copy of another note to Mr. Washington – a few minutes or 2 with Robert the joiner – out at 7 55/.. – at Listerwick – Joseph Mann not there – round the meer – Robert Mann + wheeling engine ashes and scraplings (brought some time ago) [?] Lowest terrace – breakfast at 9 10/.. in ½ hour – some while with Mrs. Lee and Robert the joiner – had Mr. Joshua Lee and paid him for all taken from Sun wood quarry – promise to go there to hear what he has to say about trying to take the quarry of Mr. Pollard and a road and opening of me – He speaks for a farm of 20 to 30 DW. should A- or I have one to let – i.e. he would like to be remembered – does not know at present whether he shall have to move or not – out with A- about 10 ¼ - to the Lodge – Georges’ wife not downstairs or rather not up – not quite dressed – had a hard but good time – her infant a fine boy – her mother a very tidy respectable looking person – the house very clean and tidy – from the Lodge, returned home and sauntered down to the water drift for water to the paddock, and then by the wood and the fields to the meer head, and round by the boat house site home and came in about after 12 with Booth he dined here, and then with A- at luncheon, and ate a little cold roast roll of beef myself – then a little while with A- then with Booth again giving orders, and receiving Hopwood lane walling bills etc. B- gave A- before dinner his estimate of repairs at 3 places at Golcar - £116 would pay all – he would undertake all for £125 – then with Robert Mann (from about 1 ½ am) at the meer putting in (at the cascade) a piece of plank to raise the water (Groove and all) 11in. above the bottom of the bywash with him till fetched home to pay bills – came in about 4 ½ and had George Naylor John Oates [black] for L.P. head gear and rods – and Gibson for walling and Cordingley of Ringby castle for

SH:7/ML/E/23/0041

set stone (for divisions fence) for my 2 Hopwood lane fields entered to by Mr. James Shaw 2 February last – paid Sawyers, and received John Ibbotsons’ last ½ years’ rent up to the 1st instant of Breakneck cottage – all this took me till 5 20/.. A- returned home some minutes before – then till 4 40/.. wrote all but the 2 first lines of today – then out again to the meer to Robert Mann – had not got so far as the hut when Joseph Mann overtook me – returned with him, and settling with and paying him and then Robert Mann (tho’ I merely entered their bills in my rough book) took me till 7 ½ dinner at 7 40/.. – A- read French in the north parlour – coffee and read the London newspaper till now 10 10/.. Parcel from Whitleys’ – 2 dozen little blank books – 1 dozen pencils – ½ dozen red sealing wax of all which gave ½ to A- a pewter inkstand with lid – lock-up blotting book – H-x sheet almanack [almanac] and Gentlemans’ magazine of this month – came upstairs at 10 ¾ - looking over Robert Mann’s bills – fine day – F47 ½° inside and 44° outside now at 11 pm

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the-firebird69 · 30 days

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We have a lot to talk about and it's good stuff and we're going to go ahead and talk about this stuff the stuff and we're going to make sure that we understand what's going on.

Firstly we don't have time for every single interruption

We have a huge project on and we need to discuss the status it is a huge job and our father and mother ordered us to do it and helped us get the materials formulated in order to have to do it. We are giant tools and they work. We need a few more they can go through ice and Earth while we do have that but we need it to go faster. You did the calculation and it's slower in the rock and if you increase the power to the ice the melts all over everything. This is very thick. We want to avoid using a few tools. With them the method the sun came up with and her daughter came up with a few those are pretty nice and his is nice then we tested it and then he says we have a problem with melting that seems to be the issue so try your idea and you weren't sure how it go and the rocks slows it down and black diamonds don't last so we're trying to electrify it a little and it works and you can vary it and it's always saying it's kind of like ice. So we're deploying it for testing no we have to use it. And it works great. You tried a couple other methods something similar to what you're thinking it just did not work. We have a lot of work to do and we have to get to it now.

We thank you very much she says you're welcome

Uriel and Goddess wife

He's having some kind of challenge right now and I need him to slow down but

.. we're going to get those people these people damn it shortly too. Was talking about is innovation. It's pretty slick and we really needed it and the way he's saying it's kind of interesting. When to replace some stuff goes together in odd way and when you do it his way and his hers too it works out much better.. no we're hearing stuff we have to check it bud it's very good and we are working now and we're going to get to it today is a very big day there are massive losses recorded by the morlock and even the pseudo empire but some other things are happening. It's time to realize there's a larger unit that their fleet is missing and wasn't destroyed now they planned that. This guy Trump says he has the fleet.. and her son is safe didn't know who's sweet it was and was told a lie and was really concentrating who is not. Check out later they found out John remillard was telling him about it and it looks horrified for a few days and the other guys got the message later a few days and they knew but didn't know it was mostly empire and they crapped their pants. And my son says stuff that's fun our son as I said he said depressed it until you announce your ID I'm going to be a pain in the ass what's going on. They're checking and we hear the transmission to and from Saturn and corners to two that sounds very odd. Come up here so we can look at you and then no come down here so we can look at you we don't feel like going down there and then why wouldn't you look at us we're right here so we are looking at you never mind and said never mind. They got into it and said if you're not open to anyone being proud of the organization then no one is because I guess that's right it sort of declared war on them and left and some came back and had a list of questions. And the following protocol on Saturday came a little bit of laughter

Saturn Empire: WE CANNOT HELP YOU WITH THESE QUESTIONS WE'RE NOT HERE TO ANSWER THEM TURN YOUR SHIPS AWAY WE KNOW KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

Empire: WE HAVE NO BEEF OR CORAL WITH YOU AND DO NOT DESIRE ONE THEREFORE WE NEED TO KNOW WHO YOU'RE WITH AND WHAT YOUR ORIENTATION IS REGARDING TO US MAX

Saturn Empire: WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF TELLING YOU OUR ORIENTATION OR AFFILIATIONS WHATSOEVER

Empire: WE ARE AT WAR THEN WE SHALL RETURN AND GIVE THEM YOUR MESSAGES

Saturn Empire: WE HAVE REALLY NO MESSAGES WE HAVE ONLY GIVEN BRIEF KURT ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE ASKED BEFORE

Empire: YOU'RE REFUSING TO COOPERATE AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO NEGOTIATE WITH YOU BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Saturn Empire: WE DO NOT NEED TO TELL YOU WHO WE ARE WE WILL TELL YOU WHAT THE STIPULATIONS ARE WHEN YOU APPROACH OUR PLANET IF YOU FAIL TO ADHERE TO THOSE YOU'LL BE SHOT DOWN THAT IS ALL

Empire: THAT WE SHALL RETURN UNTIL OUR LEADERS THAT YOU REFUSE TO OPEN A CHANNEL FOR NEGOTIATIONS THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE

Saturn Empire: WE HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF NEGOTIATING WITH YOU. HOWEVER WE ARE ALLOWING YOU TO RETURN TO YOUR MASTERS

Empire: THEN WE SHALL TELL THEM WHAT TRANSPIRED AND WE SHALL GIVE THEM A TRANSCRIPT AND THE TAPE WE NEED TO CONFIRM WITH THEM BEFORE MAKING ANY STATEMENTS AND WE WISH TO RETRACT THAT WE ARE AT WAR WITH YOU

Saturn Empire: THAT IS FINE DO AS YOU WISH IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE AND LEAVE OUR AIRSPACE NOW AND DO NOT RETURN YOU ARE CORDONED OFF 1 MILLION MILES NOW YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT TO THEM

Empire: WE SHALL AND IT IS HORRIFIC NEWS BUT WE WILL TELL THEM

Saturn Empire: GOOD NOW LEAVE

This is what transpired this morning when the foreign fleet was destroyed the empire got on the horn and they did okay they're very nervous they followed protocol fairly well but they're shut down thought they were gone and acted too much like it that they did succeed in leaving and returning to Earth intact. These are tenuous times this is some pretty heavy stuff. All of you should be listening attently but you are not you're making jokes because you're a morons. My son is making jokes because the response was not what he was expecting they were completely shut out and shut down and he's never heard that said to the empire way so good for you guys and yes songs are made songs are being sung while the news was coming out a little about this and the song is these dreams from the 80s I think it's mid-80s however this is what transpired we're going to print is very important

Thor Freya

Zues Hera

Olympus

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crimechannels · 8 months

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By • Olalekan Fagbade Traditional Ruler, Palace Chiefs, residents flee community over Cultists attacks The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Emeka Nwonyi, said he had ordered fresh deployment of operatives to Bodo City in Gokana Local Government Area of the state to forestall further security breaches. This came as a traditional ruler and some chiefs in the area fled the community following a fresh attack by suspected cultists, who invaded the place on Monday. According to The PUNCH, two youths on surveillance duty at a pipeline belonging to Shell in the area had been shot dead by the rampaging cultists days after an oil spill occurred from the Trans Niger Pipeline over a fortnight ago. Also on Monday, it was gathered that some dare-devil gunmen stormed the community and killed a yet-to-be-identified youth. The latest onslaught caused pandemonium as some residents, including chiefs, fled to safer towns for fear of being killed. The Vice Chairman of the Bodo Council of Traditional Rulers, Joseph Kpobia, while speaking to newsmen, raised the alarm that his life and those of other chiefs were in danger, as they were being threatened by the miscreants. He revealed that he was on the wanted list of the cultists who he said wanted to kill him. Kpobia stated, “Old men and women in this community are hiding in their houses because some people are sending these bad boys to come and spoil our peaceful community. “Even as I speak, my name is with them; even the traditional rulers’ names are in their hands to kill all of us. So, I beg the state governor to come and help secure this community so that we, our mothers and our children shall know peace again.” Speaking on Wednesday, the Regent of the Bodo Community, Mene Joseph Kpai, confirmed that some persons, including chiefs, were in hiding. Kpai said: “Yes, it is true, though I am in Bodo, not in my house. I am outside, I went for something.” Asked if there was security presence in the area, his response was negative, saying the hoodlums struck again immediately after they sensed that peace had returned to the community. He stated, “On Monday after they (cultists) attacked, people were running but later there was calm. Even the first attack two weeks ago, there was calm, but just on Monday, they struck again. On the number of chiefs that have fled the area due to the attack, he said, “If I were at home I would have told you. But I do know that some of them have left home.” Also speaking, the state CP, Emeka Nwonyi, said he had personally met with the chiefs and other stakeholders in the area and charted the way forward, even as he expressed surprise at the latest developments He said, “I have already directed that some men be deployed there. So, anytime from now, they will move. Though we don’t have enough operatives, I’m trying to see where to pick out some men to that place (Bodo) to beef up the security there.”

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herbgerblin · 3 years

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The possibility of Barry J. Bluejeans making a wand from the bones of his own skeleton from another universe though.... effervescent....

:0 Barry deffo deserves a bone wand. he could make a whole slew of magic items just from how often he beefed it tbh.

#im sorry barry #from beef he came to beef he shall return #askherbgerb #bones #barry blujeans

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redorich · 3 years

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May I request the aftermath of Cleo learning about the magic restrictions please and thank you.

The unfortunate thing about the Dream SMP is that there is no such thing as neutral ground. Everyone's in a faction, and everyone's got beef with everyone else. The only "neutral ground" is the unsettled wilds. When Philza reports this back to Cleo, who reports it back to Xisuma, Cleo wears a put-upon look and says that her and Joe's castle will do just fine, thank you, so stop worrying about it.

The day of the meeting comes, and though Philza is hesitant to return to the castle that scared Techno half to death and activated Ranboo's main character energy, he didn't spend all that time with Cleo handing out the invitations for nothing. Cleo herself won't be present, but her partner in crime Joe will be.

Inside the castle, past the courtyard teeming with armor stand faux-life, there is a meeting room with a table. There are exits on each of the four walls, so no one feels trapped, and the table is circular so that no one feels less important than anyone else. It's all a very Socratic setup.

At the far end of the room, where the head of the table would be were it rectangular, Xisuma sits calm as can be despite the powder keg of important people with grudges he's invited into his presence. On his right is Joe, whose eyes are lit up bright white, though he's still wearing his glasses. To Xisuma's left is Grian, and to Grian's left is Doc. Continuing around the table, next sits Eret representing the Pride Palace and, to a lesser extent, the Dream SMP as a whole. After them, the next person is Philza representing the Syndicate, then Bad representing the Eggpire.

Given the antagonistic nature of the Eggpire, Bad's neighbors have been chosen very carefully; on his other side sits Ghostbur representing L'Manberg. (Philza had awkwardly told Cleo that inviting a L'Manberg representative wasn't necessary, since the place was gone, but she insisted that it was "the principle of the matter". Ghostbur seems happy enough to be invited, anyway.)

On Ghostbur's left, Sam attends on Dream's behalf. Obviously, no one is going to invite Dream, and as Dream's would-be warden, Sam was nominated to attend in his stead. Next to Sam there's an empty chair for George; Philza and Puffy both warned the Hermits that George was allergic to "lore", whatever that meant, but his place at the table was set nevertheless.

The last person to fill in the table is Tubbo, representing Snowchester. He quietly expresses to Sam that he's wary about how few Hermits there are in proportion to the number of Dream SMP citizens. Sam shrugs, and murmurs back to Tubbo that there's probably more Hermits hiding somewhere nearby. After all, isn't that what the Hermits do?

Xisuma claps his hands together once in a polite bid for everyone's attention. They settle down slowly, and once they do, he stands.

"Right, everyone-- thank you all for coming. Let's get right into it, shall we?" He smiles, though it's hard to see beneath the helmet. "With some help from Puffy and Philza, my friends and I were able to figure out why we were trapped in your server."

Sam crosses his arms. He doesn't give much of a shit about the Hermits, he tells himself, unless they have something to do with Dream-- Sam's greatest failure. (It's a lie. He looks at Doc, the only other creeper-person he's ever met-- the first creeper-person, who fought a god and won the right to live for all mob hybrids who came after him. Doc, whose eyes are fixed solely on Xisuma.)

Clearing his throat to cover up the moment of weakness, Sam speaks up. "That's great and all, but why do we care? No one was living in L'Manberg anyway; it was practically free real estate."

The callous words net Sam a glare from Tubbo and a hurt look from Ghostbur. Before either can protest, Xisuma cuts in smoothly.

"It's an issue with your server," he says, "one that Dream should have fixed. It's the reason for this meeting, actually; if there was a responsible admin in the server, I would have just told them. First, a history lesson-- Doc, if you please?"

Doc nods somberly, savoring the opportunity to ham it up a bit. "For those of you who don't know, there are three Eras. The first is the beginning of time, when Mojang created the world as we know it. Players had infinite respawns, the world was less advanced, and redstone had just been created."

"Don't you think you're going a little too far back in history?" Bad asks skeptically.

"He's getting there," Eret defends.

Doc picks up where he left off. "In the Mojang pantheon, there was a god named Notch who wanted to expand the world's horizons, to give them new biomes and mechanics and blocks they'd never seen before... but you can't make something out of nothing. He needed magic to make his big updates a reality, and he stole it from the players behind the other gods' backs."

Ghostbur gasps, horrified. "He stole magic?"

"And so the gods killed him and gave the magic back, end of story," Sam snaps, then instantly regrets it. He's too on edge.

Thankfully, Doc either doesn't mind it or doesn't notice. "Not quite," he says. "When Notch took the magic from players, they lost the ability to respawn at all, marking the beginning of Era Two-- the Hardcore Era. When the gods found out, they were angry at Notch, so they exiled him to the Void. They tried to give players back their magic, but Notch had already taken too much, and servers and updates kept needing more and more... That's how Era Three started. It's the one you live in now, with the three life system."

"So... why does this matter?" Tubbo asks. "I mean, what does this have to do with why you're stuck in our server?"

"There's a parasite on your server, eating up all the magic," Xisuma says carefully. "Your server needed extra magic to keep up, so when we went through the infinity portal it grabbed us. As a group comprised mostly of Era One players, we have the magic that the server needs to compensate for the parasite."

Most of the Dream SMP citizens look either nauseous or extremely worried at the thought of a parasite. With a furrowed brow and a chewed lip, Eret breaks the silence.

"Do you know who it is?"

They all look around the table with wary gimlet eyes, attempting to suss out the imposter among them.

"A parasite..." Sam snorts derisively. "Sounds like that damn egg."

"Language," Bad snaps, but doesn't resort to violence.

"No no, he's got a point," Grian speaks for the first time. He'd been told to stay silent, but he's not a man who will ever pass up an opportunity to meme.

Bad's face falls, and he takes on a placating tone in an attempt to persuade the Hermits to his side. "Hey, don't be like that, the Egg's never done anything wrong!"

Sam's eyebrows raise practically to the ceiling. He looks at Bad in disbelief. "Never done anything wrong?" he says. "Remember when you--"

"That was me, not the Egg," Bad cuts in with a nervous laugh.

"You tried to kill Puffy over it, then killed Foolish instead," Philza says solely because he wants the Hermits to be mad about the Egg.

"Hm," Joe hums to himself. Up until this point the man everyone knows as Herobrine has been quiet, fading into the background, but now that he's made his presence known they can't help but be wary.

He drums his fingers on the table. "Yeah, I think we need some backup. False, Iskall?"

"On it," Doc grumbles, and reaches under the table to flip a couple trapdoors.

Out of nowhere, as though they'd ender pearled in, a blonde woman and a cyborg man appear behind the Hermits' end of the table. Bad stands up suddenly, knocking his chair backward, but Doc presses another button and all four entrances to the room are shut by pistons.

The woman, False, vaults herself over the table with nothing but upper body strength and tackles Bad to the floor. While the demon is still stunned, Iskall dashes around the circumference of the table to flank him. Doc once again presses a button and the floor opens up to reveal a secret staircase, which False and Iskall drag Bad down kicking and screaming. Once they disappear into the depths of the basement, the floor closes back up and the doors reopen like nothing ever happened.

"Well," Xisuma says with a small smile, lacing his fingers together as he addresses the group.

They stare back at him in horror.

He clears his throat awkwardly. "So, with the removal of the Egg, your server will stabilize and we Hermits will be able to leave you in peace..."

"I'm sensing a but," Eret says tentatively. They take off their sunglasses with a minute sigh, reminding themself that it's because of these Hermits that their curse was removed, that they can take off their sunglasses and have gray eyes again.

Taking a deep breath, Xisuma speaks. "We think we have a way to fix the three-life system."

#mcyt #hc x dsmp #hermit canyon au #zombiecleo #philza #xisuma #joe hills #grian #docm77 #eret #badboyhalo #ghostbur #awesamdude #tubbo #falsesymmetry #iskall85 #me.cpp #me.txt

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gisachi · 3 years

Text

Better late than never?? Supposed to post on the day itself but of course I couldn’t. This is my rushed contribution to the prompt: domestic mixed with black knight&princess.

ShinRan Week Day 6

Prompt: Domestic (+ Black Knight&Princess)

Words: ~2.5k

“Not just once, but twice! Who was it that saved my life again? Oh, unnamed knight with the black cloak, if you will grant me my wish… Please take off that dark mask and show me your true face!”

“If that is what, uh, the princess wishes, I shall show you my sorrow- sorrowful? - face under this moonlight. Oh wow this is cheesy.”

Ran leans on the arm of the couch, bound script covering her resigned face. If she had a hundred yen for every single complaint coming out of this detective’s mouth, she’d have enough to buy two entrance passes to Tropical Land for each day of the week, plus snacks and drinks.

“I went here because I thought you’d be a more immersive practice partner than ‘tou-san. You are worse.”

“I’m sorry, princess, if my mom being an actress ruined your expectations of me.”

“Oh, for sure. And otou-san doesn't destroy the scene by dropping nonsensical comments. And lie on the couch while reading the script. So he’s better by a lot.”

Shinichi props his body up, eyes rolling sarcastically before throwing a look at the lady on the edge. “To be fair, you came barging into my house so early on a Sunday. This is justified.”

“Shinichi, eleven in the morning isn’t early.”

With a stubborn grumble, the detective flops back into the cushions, script on his lap sliding to the floor. “ ’M tired Ran, long case last night, let me sleep.”

“Please, you’re my last option! School festival is in less than two weeks, and I can’t possibly ask Araide-sensei to spare time on a weekend outside of our rehearsal schedule when he’s busy working—”

The lightning speed Shinichi jolts upright causes Ran to cut herself short. “Araide-sensei is the cloaked knight?”

“Yes, didn’t I tell you?”

“You didn’t.”

“Really? I-” she pauses, delayed in taking in the curt iciness of his response when he was so apathetic five seconds ago. On anyone else it’s clear what that tone implies, but she’s never heard it on him.

“Do you have a beef with Araide-sensei?” she asks.

“A beef?”

Ran arches an eyebrow, skeptic. Shinichi meets her gaze, eyes slightly thinning before glancing away, cheeks crimson.

“I mean— Why Araide-sensei? Shouldn’t he be busy, I dunno, being a doctor, than being a fictional knight or something.”

“All the guys in our class were too shy and declined, so Sonoko asked Araide-sensei when he happened to come in for a checkup. He agreed so easily! Would you believe he’d taken a lot of lead roles in plays when he was a student?”

“And that was fifteen something years ago.”

“He’s also good at things like emphasizing lines and handling a woman!”

“Anyone can- What?!”

“Stop being a sourpuss Shinichi, especially when you’re the first to decline.”

He looks at her quizzically. “I did?”

“You don’t even remember?” Amidst the faint pink on her cheeks, disappointment etched on the way Ran’s lips curve to a small pout. “You were the first Sonoko asked... You were so quick to turn her down, she said.”

Astounded by the revelations docking in his brain all at once, Shinichi struggles to recall the conversations he had exchanged with Sonoko the past weeks. None stands out. If she had included Ran’s name in there, he would remember instantly. But Sonoko didn’t. Suddenly, the floodgates in his mind open.

If he finds out later on about the plot and the cast, he’ll definitely find a reason or two to sulk, if not object. Whether Ran is partnered with someone else or Araide-sensei doesn’t matter, for as long as it isn’t him. Him who she’s positive would outright reject her offer to act as a prince because why would he? In any case, god knows Sonoko omitted Ran’s name on purpose for this.

The sly woman has stirred something up, and she will proudly take the front row seat on his reaction she was so sure he’d make.

Not saying Sonoko’s predictions are right. This is just how she thinks. And he won’t react the way she expects he will. She is not right.

Not. Right.

Sonoko, yaro...

“Stand up, let’s do this.”

“Huh?”

“You want immersive? I’ll give you immersive.”

Left with little time to process as Shinichi pulls her by the hand, Ran drops her script on the floor. The sudden shift in character is unbelievable. How can someone so sleep-deprived turn into someone this enthused in a span of a breath?

“But first, let me…” He leaves the room, and Ran picks up her script, still quite lost. Whatever she said earlier must have triggered something, and she’s torn if she’ll ask once he returns but considers the possibility that he may break character. Not gonna risk that. He said he’ll give her an immersive practice, and it’s oddly unexpected, but she’ll take it. This is good. After all, she needs him as the knight.

Wants him as the knight.

“Sheesh, Ran, stop…” Shying away from her own maidenly thoughts, Ran flips to the designated page, scene, and line, rehearsing as she waits.

Some minutes later, Shinichi reappears, holding his script and something else. Of all things she would expect him to own, a blue fancy Columbina mask adorned with elegant silver and royal patterns wasn’t one of them.

“Mom has these things, okay,” he explains, putting it on. Ran isn’t sure if she wants to laugh or tease, but she does neither when she gets a glimpse of him with half of his face covered, and she catches her breath at the sight.

Standing against silk red curtains and brilliant glow of afternoon sunlight, he really does seem like a mysterious knight…

“Don’t laugh, idiot. After doing this for you. Wear this,” he says, and Ran zeroes in on the line of his lips because she has nowhere else to look at as he places a small barrette tiara on her hair. Doesn’t matter what he says, what they wear, even if they fail to match the daintiness of the mask and tiara. Shinichi with this on makes Shinichi as the knight much more vivid now. And Ran as the princess...

“Sorry!” She claps a hand on her warming cheek, pulls back a dumb smile she doesn’t notice she is wearing. “And I— I wasn’t laughing!”

“Still smiling creepily though.”

“I wasn’t being creepy! Geez. Anyway! Page-”

“Page 27, Scene 8, Line 10. Got it.”

After some short blocking instructions, they drop their scripts on the couch, and begin.

“Oh, unnamed knight with the black cloak, if you will grant me my wish… Please take off that dark mask and show me your true face!”

“If that is what the princess wishes, I shall show you my sorrowful face under this moonlight.”

Two steps forward and he removes the mask, and time slows down. She’s seen the same face a million times yet this time, her heart leaps like she’s laid eyes upon the most handsome face in the universe.

“Might—Might you be Spade?” She carries on, taking everything she can to maintain composure. “Long ago, you were banned from this land by my father… but now you’ve become the prince of Trump Kingdom...”

It’s nerve wracking, the way he’s strikingly still, eyes laden on her, either waiting for her next lines or admiring how beautiful she is with the tiara, she isn’t quite sure. The mask is gone, but he isn’t breaking character. Meanwhile, she’s trying her darned best to stay as Princess Heart of Bridge Kingdom.

“If you have… not forgotten about our childhood promise, then please…”

A nervous lump forms in her throat as she wraps her arms around his shoulders, and his hands find her waist, and she nearly gasps but holds it in because right now, she’s Princess Heart, not Mouri Ran asking this of Kudou Shinichi. “Please, show me on these lips.”

“As my princess so desires...”

It should be ‘the’, not ‘my.’ And there’s supposed to be another line after that, but nothing stops him as he leans in ahead of time and her eyelids flutter to the erratic beat of her heart. It’s better to be partnered with Araide-sensei in this after all. He will not mess up his lines, and she will not lose her mind the way she’s losing it now.

Two parted lips are a pucker away when the doorbell chimes, making both jolt.

Ran is first to snap out of character, as if she hasn’t had the urge to earlier.

“That—That must be Sonoko. I forgot to tell you... I invited her in.”

“Oh, great,” Shinichi says.

Forcing her limbs into working order, Ran disentangles slowly, drawing a distance. Shinichi glances at the mask in his hand, then at her, before tossing it to the couch and turning for the door. From the window, she watches him walk to the front gate, scratching the back of his head in an annoyed manner like she just woke him from sleep, but grumpier. She hasn’t seen him display much emotion on a Sunday noon the way she’s seeing him now.

Maybe I shouldn’t have bothered him, she sighs, her turn to slump onto the couch this time.

“As I was saying, the prod already scouted the finest material for the costumes, and I decided, pink suits Princess Heart— Hello? Are you listening?”

Ran nearly drops the knife she holds if not for her inhuman reflexes. “Of course! Princess Heart in pink! Yes.” Like nothing happened, she resumes slathering jam and butter on the toast she’s preparing for the three of them. She doesn’t need to look at her side to know Sonoko’s eyeing her from head to toe.

“What happened to her?” The woman turns to Shinichi who sits at the high stool by the kitchen island.

“Dunno,” he says, sounding as noncommittal as he probably appears. Her back is turned against him, but she can see his face, and god why is she blushing?

“I just helped her rehearse. For the play,” he adds.

“Oh?” Sonoko’s brow perks up her forehead, hair whipping as she turns between her and the boy across them. “Did you?”

“Yup. Page 27.”

The dramatic gasp that tears from their friend’s throat is exactly the kind of gasp they expected; even so, Ran still flinches as Shinichi’s stool rakes the floor. “You kissed and I didn’t see?!”

“Hah?!”

“No!”

The two yelp in unison.

“That’s sly! You have to do it again! I’ll judge.”

“Excuse you! It didn’t happen, what you’re thinking!”

“Sonokooo!”

“Oh, shush, Ran, this is good practice. Good practice.”

“But—”

“Relax, rehearsal is rehearsal! In the actual play, once it’s Araide-sensei, he’ll do a better job—”

“I’m going to the toilet,” Shinichi gets off the stool, jaw stiff, out of the kitchen.

“—with a hug than a kiss. Right?” Sonoko ends, once Shinichi is out of the room.

“What?” Ran’s expression is inscrutable as she faces Sonoko completely, the flush across her face befitting embarrassment or ire. “You’re losing me here!”

“Oh, you’re not going to kiss, Ran. The lights will dim before your lips touch.”

“Then why—” she puts down the bread and walks in haste to the island to flip through the script, “Wh— That’s not in here!”

“Sonoko-sama hereby deems the script revised now that we have Araide-sensei.”

“Eh...?!” Ran cannot explain the play of her reactions. On one hand, a cloud is cleared from her mind, having to worry no more about doing something she has no experience with in front of watchful eyes. On the other, bunch of half-formed thoughts whirl through her mind that goes, Shinichi and I almost kissed for nothing, for nothing we almost k-kissed, an almost kiss with Shinichi, almost—

“That won’t do! I mean— That’s so not you! T-To choose a hug over a...”

“Duh, Ran! Even if it’s just a play, I won’t enable a kiss scene between a student and a staff member. We can fake the kiss. That, or switch to hug. Or better yet, change the male lead.”

“Change the male lead? In two weeks? Who will agree?!”

“Easy.” Just in time, Shinichi returns, hands in pocket and long face worn all the way to the stool. “I know someone who will.”

‘Once it’s Araide-sensei, he’ll do a better job…’ What? Kissing Ran? Shinichi wants to puke. Sonoko needs to think things through. If this is part of her plan, it’s unacceptable, it sucks.

There’s no way, no way anyone can do a better job kissing Ran than…

“Aaaargh, what are you thinking!” He ruffles his hair in dismay, curses here and there. He only wanted to help Ran yet he almost went for it. Not as Spade but as himself. The audacity. It’s part of the script, sure, but—

If it is part of the script, then have Ran and Araide-sensei rehearsed it before?

“That’s it,” Shinichi huffs, storming out of the bathroom. If this is the kind of reaction Sonoko wants from him, she’s in for a show. Not just a show but a lifetime of curses and mental stabs. For her to go this far is unbelievable. Did Ran even agree to that? Will such a scene really happen in the play? No matter how despicable Sonoko’s methods are, he has faith she respects Ran’s preference as the female lead. No offense against Araide-sensei, but he cannot take Ran’s first kiss, whether as Spade or not.

That is not to say he knows Ran’s preference, especially when it comes to a first kiss, but… it’s not... Araide-sensei... is it?!

He cannot ascertain, not when Ran did nothing when they were about to kiss…

Okay, halt there, self. I said immersive. That’s immersive. She was acting.

All was but an act. She’s a great actress. I suck. No need to make this a big deal.

Shinichi is a pitiful mess once he’s back in the kitchen.

“My offer still stands, you know.” Sonoko sits beside him, munching a toast, while Ran is busy returning the jam in the cupboard, back against them.

“Your offer?”

Shinichi glances at Ran, then at Sonoko, with that feral grin on her lips and Shinichi does a bad job looking pissed, and it’s maddening because he is pissed, just not obvious with the blush forming across his cheek.

Reprimanding Sonoko is what he intends to do. For doing him dirty, him and Ran dirty, for dragging a staff to be the male lead, for imploring Ran to give her first kiss she’s probably saving in a different setting. All invalid reasons, when he cared less about the play before. He’s a full-time idiot, and Sonoko knows it clearly that’s why she’s offering the role again. He doesn’t want to fall into her trap, the same way he doesn’t want anyone else to be Spade when Princess Heart is Ran.

But Ran looks over her shoulder and they accidentally lock eyes, and pink blooms across her cheeks before she turns around, and suddenly the words that leave his mouth completely betray the thought process he underwent in the bathroom.

“If Ran agrees, yeah,” he says.

#shinranweek2021 #day 6 #late entry #shinran #kudou shinichi #mouri ran #fanfic #oh my god this is all over the place AHAHA #i dont want to leave this in my draft forever tho so here ya go!!

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nachohypno · 3 years

Text

Nate and Dave - Ch. 15

Dave’s POV

I’m sure you already know how much a single person can change a whole lot of your way to see the world, or have your life take a 180° turn (Had to look this up, angles are weird.) just by standing in a corridor.

Now I was just happy to stare at my phone’s unlocked background. A pic I took of us while cuddling. I was kissing his cheek and staring at the camera, while he just laid below me, his face had a little smile and his eyes were closed.

He loved that pic. I loved it too, it was both cute and wholesome. Never been one to do those things, nor even Leslie managed to get me to change my Dallas’ Cowboys background, and we had a lot more pics together than Nate and I do.

It was a nice distraction. I would sometimes just unlock my phone to see that pic and feel a bit warm inside as I imagined spending more time with my soulmate. I loved him a lot, and I wouldn’t mind sticking around with him for a day, or two, or the rest of my life, just to make sure he has all he needs to be happy like I am when I’m near him.

We sat together at school, yeah. Nobody batted an eye. We hung out during our breaks, still no big catastrophe happened. After school, we usually have a date or spend some time together before heading to our respective houses (As much as I’d like, having daily sleepovers wouldn’t be wise).

According to… everyone in the world who knows that I’m hanging out with Nate (Which may be just 2 or 3 people that I’m aware of), the guy had a really positive impact on my behavior. He’s always encouraging me to help whenever I can and to be… nicer, in general.

I’ve already apologized to one of my favorite targets a few weeks ago, but decided to fully leave them alone. In my house, however, I’ve been trying to honor my soulmate’s wishes doing some house chores to help mom and pops around. I still don't think I'm ready to 'change my public image' that much. Kicking nerd's asses is fun... but mean and unnecessary.

Mowing the lawn, going grocery shopping, cleaning around whenever my parents seemed quite tired to do it, that kind of thing. My room wasn’t a messy place before, but now I could spend less time looking for my stuff!

And now… Nate was at his house. I left him there per his request, he told me we could hang out later today! But first, he had some homework to do.

I looked around and noticed the door was closed. I dropped my shirt and pants, felt the locket’s cold metal against my chest, and dropped on my bed.

I wasn’t intending to take a nap, just close my eyes and think of my soulmate was a nice enough plan for my evening.

As I closed my eyes, images of my first day with him invaded my happy place. Me getting his scent, slowly walking over to his locker, and noticing the guy I never paid attention to, the one that sat a few rows in front of me, and was usually in the middle of the way when I threw paper balls around.

Now that I thought of it, maybe I never noticed him because he always hid? He was hiding right now; it was obvious that he was using his locker as a cover. I stood there, though. Taking in the smell. Feeling myself realizing more and more of that nice thought I had never thought about after my pops told me about that weird phenomenon.

…I had found my soulmate. The love of my life… It wasn’t my girlfriend, but a guy from my class… I frowned both in the real world and in my fantasy.

In the fantasy world, I lifted and kissed him. He didn’t fight back, just returned the love I was giving him by returning my kiss. I didn’t care if anyone watched us. I loved this guy, and I still do now.

I love Nate Hall.

I rubbed my crotch in the real world, as I kept kissing him in my fantasy. That was more than enough. A single kiss, a single thought about my soulmate being happy and in love with me could make me so hard and horny…

“Dave?” A voice said. My soulmate’s? It sounded so different though… I kept kissing him. This was perfect. He was perfect. He was the love of my life, of course he was perfect! “Daaaaave?”

Was there someone invading my fantasy? Oh, wait…

I opened my eyes and saw a familiar face standing there, wide eyed. I had my hand on my hard crotch, rubbing it. This was definitely an uncomfortable position to be found at. I could normally hear when people are walking towards my room, but maybe I was so out of it this time that I didn’t hear him.

“Fuck, sorry— Didn’t wanna—” My cousin said. What the fuck was he doing here, anyway?! In my room! When the fuck did he arrive?!

“Shut the fuck up! And close the door!” I commanded, feeling anger building up on my chest, totally replacing the warm feeling from a few seconds ago.

Brad Walker. My cousin was my height, which was a bit funny given that he was a few years older than me. He was muscled too, but his shoulders seemed wider as his torso formed a sort of upside down triangle. He was a rugby player, maybe it had to do with that.

By looking at his face alone, he could pass as a brother because of the resemblance. He had the Walker’s smile, looking both chilled while also managing to look a bit menacing to keep everyone in their toes.

Doesn’t give him much use, given that he’s a Beta.

Brad closed the door behind him, and laid back on it. “Off to a rocky start, I guess. Let’s try that again… Hey, cuz!”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. I could feel the anger diminishing. I thought of my soulmate, how would he react if he saw me like this. He would want me to be nice and polite to my cousin. I wanted that too, I wanted to be nice to him. I’m so hot-headed sometimes…

I smiled at Brad, and took a few steps forward to give him a bro hug. After that, I walked over to my bed and sat on the edge. “Hey man, wat’cha doin’ around here?”

“Uncle hasn’t told you? Pops and him thought about doing a little reunion, so we drove over and… here we are.” Brad left his hands in his pockets as he looked around. I noticed I was still almost naked, but didn’t give it much thought. I did put some shorts on, though. “Just the big guys, though. Mom was tired and decided to stay at home with the young ones, so it’s just pops, Logan and me today. The guys asked me to get you downstairs, so… shall we go?”

I pointed to my almost naked body. “Give me a few minutes, alright?”

-----

Dressed up in some shorts and a grey tank top, I walked downstairs with Brad following me closely.

Pops was there, with his brother and my other cousin. I walked over to Logan and gave him a brohug. I liked my cousins, they were like brothers.

“Hey man,” Logan greeted me after the hug. It was nice seeing him. Well, like, nice and not nice, because he was pretty annoying sometimes. So I hoped he didn’t get very annoying tonight. “Damn, you look buffed. Taking steroids already?”

I rolled my eyes. “Why do you ask? Need some to stop being so thin, cuz?”

“I swear I still don’t know how he's not broken after kicking that ball. Y’look like a stick, bruh” Brad backed me up. I liked that about Brad, he was pretty loyal.

Logan laughed. He’s not one of those chums who get mad at every tiny insult. He’s pretty easy going in that regard. Would need to learn from him, because I am one of those chums who get mad at every tiny insult. “Don’t pull my dick, assholes” He punched my shoulder, softly.

Even though Logan was a year older than me, he was an ass. And that’s coming from me.

Logan… He was alright, I guess. Not really very muscly like me or Brad, nor our parents for that matter. That’s because he liked soccer, ugh. Not even weightlifting, nah. Just soccer and cardio.

That got him looking well in a soccer uniform with long socks and knee pads, but… I really should reconsider his standing in my pack. Meh, might as well let him in just because he’s family, but I’ll most likely order him to start working out more to be a real wolf bro. (I’ll get into this later.)

“Uh… don’t wanna be rude or anythin’ but… how long are you guys staying? Thought about having a friend coming over and-”

“Ooooh, is it your girlfrieeend?” The soccer cuz said, moving his fingers towards my face. I slapped his hand off me, and he laughed. “Big meanie Daveee has a girlfrieeeend” He was like a little kid when it came to annoying others, and the worst part was that he nailed it.

“Oh, shut it, bro. You’re just jealous- Wait, that’s not what I was going to ask”

“Dad and uncle Adam thought about doing some beefs for tonight, soooo… family dinner, I guess? We don’t really hang out often, so I thought it would be nice. Besides, we all love beef” Brad answered, holding his arms behind his head and stretching for a bit.

“We’re about to leave, actually,” Uncle Thomas said, grabbing his car keys. “Gonna buy some meat and drinks for tonight. Y’guys wanna come? Hey cub, haven’t seen you in months...”

I greeted my uncle with a firm handshake, before he gave me a little punch on the abs. “Strong as a rock. Not bad, kiddo.” He ruffled my hair, before turning his attention back to my pops.

I was a bit too worried to think about hitting the store. Nate was supposed to come after he finished his homework, so we could spend the night together. I was supposed to pick him up. Fuck, what am I gonna do?

I shook my head and remained silent. Brad followed suit with a “Yeeaaah… No, been in that car for an hour and I’d really like to move my legs.”

“Pussies,” Logan said in a snarky tone. I raised my eyebrow, but decided to take care of him later. “I’ll go, may find some hot chicks in this friggin’ town…”

My uncle looked similar to my dad, just a few little differences. Dark blond hair, a bit longer. Their sizes were similar, but my dad was bigger. It was weird to think that my uncle was the one who activated the werewolf curse in a bar fight and not my dad.

If you kill someone, whether it was intentional or accidental, you can’t transform into neither your werewolf or full wolf forms without experiencing a lot of pain. Could be avoided by never turning into those forms but…

Transformation is mandatory during the full moon. This whole thing seemed really thought out to punish those who don’t follow the rules, right?

Brad grabbed my arm “Hey, since we’re staying behind apparently, wanna catch up?” He pointed back to the stairs, probably wanting to go to my room.

I nodded, nothing better to do. And it would give me some time to think about what excuse I could give Nate.

Again in my room, Brad closed the door behind me. “So… a friend? I mean, the locket already gave me an idea but I didn’t you were bringin’ her to your place already…”

“It’s nothing, really…” It was something, a lot. I loved wearing this locket, it reminded me of Nate. Thus meaning, it was pure bliss in a single necklace.

“So, what’s the locket for? Always thought you’d end up with that Leslie chick you talked so much about” Oh, I forgot. My cousins never met my ex.

I shook my head, but was kind of hesitant to talk about it. In the end, I eased myself to the idea as I thought more about Nate. “Got a soulmate now, cuz.” Was my answer. I was proud of myself! Not even a half of the average werewolf population gets to meet their soulmate once in their lives!

I was lucky, it was like, one in a whatever-number-of-people-there-are-in-Earth!

“Waitwaitwait, not gettin’ it. So, you and Leslie… or is it another girl?”

“It’s a guy, his name is Nate” I mumbled out quickly. I wasn’t embarrassed, but at the same time, I felt like a chunk of ice just fell through my stomach.

Silence.

“So… you’re gay now?” Brad said, giving me a thumbs up. “It’s alright, I don’t mind gay people”

I honestly couldn’t get how he got that assumption. “What? What makes you think that?”

“You’re with a guy, like dating and loving him and you even have a locket… I mean, that’s pretty gay. But it’s cool, it’s not that weird. Lots o’ people take some time to discover their sexuality and stuff— Uh… Cuz?”

I stared at him. Not staring, actually. I was glaring at him.

Brad gulped. “I fucked up, didn’t I?” While he did sound afraid, his face displayed a mix of nervousness and worry. I always laughed at him when he asked if he fucked up, like it was a regular thing for him to do but still needed other’s approval about it.

I just glared at him, making sure he knew I wasn’t happy. I walked forward and held my gaze into his, trying out my favorite part of being an alpha.

As I focused on him, his expression slowly started to relax, then vanish, as his pupils dilated.

“On your knees” I commanded, making sure he got it as an order, not a ‘humble request’.

His blank face didn’t move an inch, as he dropped to his knees and looked forward. His eyes, besides the pupils being dilated, looked glazed over as his irises changed from hazel to pure yellow. The beta color!

“Who’s your alpha?” I mocked him, as he blankly stared ahead.

“You are, sir. David Walker is my alpha” Brad droned. I ruffled his hair. He was a good beta.

“And who do you have to be respectful towards?”

“My alpha, sir. Being respectful towards their alphas is the sign of a good beta, sir” Brad answered, in a matter of fact voice.

…I should probably explain what the heck is going on.

I’m an alpha. I’ve mentioned quite a few times already, but I never mentioned anything about other ranks.

You have omegas, who are wolves without a pack. They’re usually weaker than alphas and betas. Then there are the betas, werewolves already in a pack.

Omegas can survive quite well on their own, it’s not a requirement to have a pack. But if you want to get stronger… Getting an alpha is the best you can do.

That’s one of the reasons Pops is so proud of me. He and mom conceived an alpha in their first try! Nate usually nerds out about me sounding like a “Jerry Stud” whatever the fuck that is.

So, since I’m an alpha, both my older cousins are ‘my pack’ to call it some way. And you just got to see one of my favorite alpha skills.

Much like a soulmate bond, being a beta for an alpha makes them completely loyal to the alpha, which means… I have some degree of control over them. Not as much control as my love has over me, but still… It’s fun!

“So, won’t you apologize for calling me a fag— Uh… gay?” I’m still getting used to not using that word. Everything for my Nate. Can’t be a bully anymore, right?

I didn’t have to ask twice. Brad seemed to struggle a bit against it, but after a few seconds he said “I apologize, sir. I didn’t intend disrespecting you like that…” It was a cold, empty apology. But it did the trick. I’m not a picky guy, he’s my cuz after all.

But that did make me wary. Should I tell Nate to not come after all, at least until these guys leave? Fuck, they were going to ruin my evening with my soulmate.

“Uh… what do you think about my soulmate being a guy?” I walked in front of him, back and forth. I was trying to think what would be the wisest decision here. A second opinion would be useful.

“I personally don’t care, sir. You can love whoever you want, especially if you met your second half.” My cousin answered.

“I mean, yeah. But what would Uncle Thomas and Logan say if they found out about it?” I should uh… ‘wake him up’ or whatever already. But I liked him this way. You can say I’m a dominant guy. Not saying I lust over my cuz, that would be incest, but ordering him around is fun.

“I don’t really know. He’s your soulmate, they shouldn’t say anything. Logan is a fellow beta though, it wouldn’t be wise to fear anything from him. He’s as loyal to you as I am, my alpha.” Not going to lie, I loved hearing that.

Being in control of the situation, having everyone in my surroundings looking forward to being with me, or do as I say out of fear/respect/whatever… That’s why I loved the not-studying-part of school!

As a little reward for his opinion, I did what Nate would have done to me if I did particularly good: Scratch the back of his ear. Brad’s head got some emotion again, as he got closer to my hand and started panting with his tongue out.

“There, there. Good beta cuz” I mumbled, as I machinated a plan in my head. I had an idea, but it would be a bit… not ideal. I stopped scratching the good spot, and his expression blanked out again. I crouched in front of him, and looked straight into his eyes. “I want you to listen very clearly to me, understood? Listen and do as your alpha says…”

If Brad wasn’t in ‘beta mode’ before, then he definitely was now. His irises were still a bright yellow, but his pupils were even smaller now. “I’d do anything for my alpha, sir” placing a hand on his chest. I knew what that symbolized, I used that expression with Nate before. It freaked him out a little.

“Y’know, my soulmate is kinda a big deal for me so… I want you to treat him like a king, alright? No mean or cocky comments, just be nice to him and I’ll be nice to you, got it?” I had to search for the words to say this, it wasn’t really a piece of cake as I expected. “Think of him as an extension of your alpha. Make him feel good and do what he says, and you’ll be good to go.”

He frowned a bit, but his face quickly eased up. “As you command, my alpha. Your soulmate’s wellbeing will be my top priority, sir.”

Yeah, that’s more like it. “Get up now.” I said and just… walked away from him. I wasn’t interested in bossing him around anymore, not for now at least. But actually…

“Lift your shirt.” One last command wouldn’t hurt, and he obeyed without a question, like a good beta. I walked towards him and gave him a little punch on his abs. Didn’t even flinch, he was keeping up with me! Of course, I wanted the best for my pack! “And… Beta out.”

My cousin snapped out of whatever that was, his yellow irises returning to a nice hazel, as his pupils got back to normal. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and smiled. “Huh, 5 minutes. Wonder what you did there” The guy said, smiling at me.

He couldn’t get mad at me. I was his alpha! I mean, he could… but there wasn’t much he could do about it!

“Meh, you don’t really care, do you?” I said, trying to sound uninterested.

Brad shook his head. “Nah, I really don’t. I really trust ya, cuz. Best alpha around!” Couldn’t tell if he was following the ‘you don’t really care’ thing, or if he was being honest, but I didn’t really care.

“That’s a good beta” I mumbled, going closer to him again to scratch the back of his ear. God bless Nate and discovering that hidden pleasure for me. I loved when he did that to me, as I mentioned, and I loved doing it to other wolves, too!

“What are you two ladies doin’ up here- What the hell are you two doing?” Logan entered the room. My other older cousin, although younger than Brad. Rather than being as muscular as we were, he was more chilled. Yeah, he was in good shape, but he didn’t look like a big gym bro like us.

This was probably due to him preferring Soccer rather than football or rugby. Each to their own, but soccer isn’t that fun to begin with? I tried to not give it much thought and respect his hobbies.

“Brad, close the door and put on some music.” I ordered him, walking over to Logan and wrapping an arm around his small soccer player’s shoulders. “You just made my whole evening way easier, lil’ cuz”

I wondered if Nate would like this. I’d have to send him a message telling him that I wouldn’t be able to pick him up… That felt bad, but at least these guys wouldn’t bother him tonight!

-------

Nate’s POV

Dave invited me to his house, but asked me to walk over. He told me we could have a family dinner, which was alright. I liked his family. Mr. Walker was funny and Ms. Walker was really nice to us. We just had one family dinner and Dave spent most of his time zoned out.

And also, there was a full moon, which I didn’t get to see.

Was I glad they considered me ‘family’? It pushed me out of my freaking mind when Dave sent me that text.

I was walking slowly. Not like a snail and doing baby steps, but I felt like I should slow down as much as I could and… be fashionably late? It was a good walk, from my house to his. But I didn’t mind.

The town was quiet, not much stuff happening as I walked out of my house, and on the way to Dave’s neighborhood.

I thought about buying some ice cream or some nice dessert to make a good impression this time, but hey, I don’t really think they’ll care about it that much. They highly prefer meat, as far as I know.

Stopping in the middle of the way, I grabbed my phone and checked my maps app. “Should have arrived 10 minutes ago… fuck, that shortcut would have been really useful…” I mumbled to myself, changing my route and getting back on the way.

I was nervous at fuck, that maybe explained my silliness. And I also never walked to this part of town. It wasn’t… bad, but it was a bit more private than the usual neighborhoods, which fits Dave’s family pretty well due to them being werewolves, and stuff like that.

I still had some time to cancel and be like “Oh, hey. My… hamster pet is sick and I want to look after him?” I kind of sucked at making up excuses, that's why I never wanted to be late on homework due to laziness.

It was late now, just another block and...

I reached Dave’s house. It was weird arriving here on my own. Guess I really got used to my soulmate acting as my personal driver.

The rooms inside were on, Dave’s car and his dad’s were outside the garage. The closer I got to the front door, the louder I would hear laughter coming from inside. Were they having visits? It didn’t sound like Dave’s laugh. His laugh was… deep and dumb-sounding.

I stopped now. What if they had visits? What if Dave didn’t tell them I was coming? I was shaking a bit, before taking a deep breath.

Taking my final steps to be in front of the main door, I knocked and waited for someone. Loud footsteps later, Adam Walker (Dave’s dad) opened the door.

“Hey bud. Didn’t know you were coming, but uh…” He motioned inside with his head. “Come in, the big guy is in his room with his cousins. We’re having a family dinner”

“Thanks, mr. Walker-” But he stopped me as I set a foot on the door. The older man leaned in and started whispering.

“Don’t be afraid. If you don’t want to be picked on tonight, try your best to not sweat as you did the last time. Dave will probably have you covered, though.” He patted my back, and moved aside to let me in. After that, he closed the door behind me. “Dinner will be ready in a bit so… feel free to go mingle with the guys upstairs.”

Uh… that wouldn’t be needed, apparently. Dave and a pair of guys were coming downstairs, and as soon as my puppy boy saw me, he rushed towards me to give me a big tight hug. “Missed you a lot, bruh! Didn’t know there was going to be more family tonight so… I’m really sorry for that. But I’m sure we’ll have a good time!”

The other two guys just stared at me, arms folded. One of them was big, and buffed. He had an absent smile, a bit creepy but also inviting. The other was smaller than him (And Dave, for that matter).

“Uh… since your uncle is here, these are…”

“Cousins, yuh” Dave finished the sentence. I made the connection on my own, but it was good to get some confirmation. “Big one’s Brad, small one’s Logan.”

“Hey, I’m not small!” Logan complained, trying to punch Dave’s arm. He didn't seem to do much damage though.

“Yeah, and I’m a bottom, heh” My werewolf jock replied, obviously mocking his cousin. I noticed Brad chuckling, and I couldn’t help but find that funny though. I always wondered if Dave would like to bottom at least once. I feel like he’d be alright if I asked him for it, due to me having full control and all that...

After the introduction was over, and both guys shook my hand, my focus shifted again to who I wanted to be with: Puppy boy was looking at me too.

“I can’t find the words to tell you how glad I am to see you here, though” Dave said, before pulling me in for a good make out session. In the middle of the living room. He was feeling happy or romantic, I assumed? I was surprised his cousins didn’t react at all, and just looked like they were watching some kind of movie.

“Wait, what the heck?” Oh geez.

A man blasted in the living room, and tried to separate me from Dave. The puppy boy reacted quickly though, and pushed him away. “What the fuck, old man?! This is my soulmate!”

Before the guy could go back at us, Dave’s dad popped in to save the day! “You guys just had to hold on for a bit until dinner was ready!” I felt like the ‘complaint’ was more directed towards who-I-thought-was Dave’s uncle, and Dave himself.

The puppy boy seemed a bit angry, he got in front of me and made sure I was out of view. It was a cute touch. I noticed the other two guys taking a step towards us too, like siding with Dave in this.

“Just, calm down, all of you, and start setting the table. Try to not take your eyes out while you do, alright?!” Mr. Walker surely knew how to take care of these situations. Was this a normal thing?

After a long stare, both guys nodded, and we all scrambled.

-----

I was sitting next to Dave and that other guy, Brad. Across me, Mr. Walker looked around with a calm expression, as he chewed on his meat piece. Thomas, Dave’s uncle, wasn’t exactly subtle when it came to me. His eyes were like daggers, fixated on me as I nervously stared at my plate.

It was amazing, and terrifying. The resemblance and also differences between both werewolves were quite noticeable. Mr. Walker was probably calm because he already knew about my thing with Dave. The cousins seemed to be quite attentive towards my every movement and sound. I felt like their eyes would automatically fixate on me at any little sound I would make, which was killing me inside. (Were they glowing yellow? Maybe it was my head playing tricks…)

Was I doing something wrong or offensive? I should excuse myself from the table.

“So…” Uncle Thomas started, before biting a big chunk of beef and gulping it down quickly. “Uh… soulmates, that’s neat. How did you two meet each other?”

‘First family dinner all over again…’ I thought to myself, as I tried to find the words for my answer.

“School, I was just walkin’ around and smelled him. Knew he was the one so… tried my best, huhuh.” Dave saved my ass, although his story was different this time. We lied during the first dinner. I couldn’t remember the excuse anymore, and that’s what bothers me about lies.

They’re usually hard to remember. That’s also the reason I’m a bad liar, my memory is awful.

“Yeah, that’s how it usually happens. You just walk around and get the smell, all the soulmate stories start exactly like that, ain’t that right?” Dave’s uncle looked at his brother next to him, who gave him a really angry looking frown.

“Go fuck yourself, got’cha?” I understood that reaction, The man lost his soulmate, I guess the memories were still painful? I’m no psychologist to tell.

“Yeah, sorry, shouldn’t have mentioned that… So uh… back to you, kiddo.” Oh, fuck. Dinner was nice, the meat was delicious! But Dave’s uncle didn’t seem to be… really fond of me. I was glad to see (Not really, now I sound like a dick) that he was bothering Mr. Walker too, so it’s nice to see that the consensus was… Dave’s uncle was a loud mouth ass. “You don't seem to have big muscles, but that's pretty much a given when you're a human."

“I’m sorry…” I mumbled, looking up at him. I tried to sound nice and not afraid, like Mr. Walker suggested before but… it was hard. “Not really good at sports and stuff like that, I guess-”

“Can see that. At least you’re a valedictorian, right?” I shook my head. High grades weren't my top priority. I did well at school, but didn’t focus enough for high grades to be a given. “No? That’s too bad.”

“Tom…” His brother tried to calm him. I noticed Dave needed some calm too. The big guy was clenching his fist with a lot of strength, as he held his knife with the other hand. He didn’t seem eager to cut the meat though, so I decided to step in for him.

I grabbed his fist beneath the table, feeling as it relaxed the longer I touched him. At the end, he grabbed my hand too, and I noticed his expression relaxed as well.

“Dad, don’t be such a dick. The guy’s fine, cut it out.” One of Dave’s cousins, big guy, uh… Brad! He seemed to be standing up for me, for some reason. He angrily stared at Dave’s uncle, without an apparent reason.

Uh… I felt like I was missing a big chunk of information here.

The uncle just stared back at his son, a bit surprised by his reaction. But before he could answer, or even react at all, Dave’s dad spoke up. “Well, it’s been fun, a neat reminder of why we never have family reunions, heh.”

“Ow, c’mon. It’s just a big friendly talk between men and…” He looked at me, seemingly ready to strike another insult. I grabbed Dave’s hand tighter.

But Dave’s dad didn’t give him the chance. “Dinner’s over. You guys will be going upstairs.”

“Roger that” I mumbled, leaving my plate with still a good chunk of meat. I didn’t let go of Dave’s hand, but he followed right after me.

“But I wanted a bit more beef...” The other cousin said. Logan, if I remember correctly. He was small, rather than muscled and big. I related to him because of that, glad to see not all male werewolves are big muscular people.

“Take the plate” Brad whispered to him, before following us upstairs.

“Okay, what’s going on-” I started to say, but my boyfriend shushed me.

“I’ll tell you all about it upstairs, just follow me and don’t make loud noises. Remember that they can hear everything in here” Dave interrupted me, as we went to his room. ‘Great, now my werewolf seems to be part of a mafia’.

-----

Locking the door behind us and his cousins, Dave ordered his cousins to stand aside, and they obeyed right away. “I’ll put some music here and…” His phone started playing some loud rock, but not loud enough to make the place feel annoying. “There, we can talk now.”

“Whaaat’s going on? And just tell me already, it feels quite bad to be insulted for no reason.”

“You weren’t really being insulted, bruh. I was.” Dave explained, motioning for me to go closer before leading me to his bed. “Uncle has… a bit of a problem, like pops has. But while pops knows when to shut his mouth, my uncle doesn’t, huh.”

“I don’t really see the insulting part there but continue…” I pointed out, but Dave just chuckled. Which seemed to cause a chain reaction and the werewolves guarding the door in front of us chuckled too.

“Sorry, yeah. Uh, well… My uncle is just bitter because my dad got an alpha son on his first try, me of course” I could figure that out on my own. The ‘I’m an alpha’ part I mean, he says it all the time. “Brad and Logan here are my betas. They were born as omegas, yeah, but I got them in my pack by willing choice because betas are usually stronger than omegas.”

The cousins were on the other side of the room. The small one, Logan, was tasting his meal with delight, while Brad leaned in to… hear our chat? They looked directly at Dave as soon as he mentioned them, before each one of them saying a “Hey” “‘Sup?”

“Why are they so… attentive?” Nosy mode on. I wanted to get answers, mostly because my curiosity was triggered now. ‘Obedient’ would have fitted better than ‘attentive’ though.

“Asked them to take care of you for the night, because I wasn’t sure if It would look good for me to do it. Pops is usually really fond of my uncle, but I think he didn’t like seeing him insulting my soulmate to get to me, bruh” Dave then put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. “I can put them back to normal if you want me to, but… they don’t really mind, so why bother?”

Uhm… I risk myself sounding like a dick right now, but I found the idea of the two cousins under Dave’s control quite arousing… I’m not going to say it to him, of course! I didn’t want him to feel bad or anything if he saw his soulmate interested in other guys…

“Where are they going to sleep, by the way? Or are they leaving after a bit?” It was after dinner already so… it wasn’t a bad thing to ask. Like, we had school tomorrow...

“Living room, sofa. One of them, at least. I’ve got a sleeping bag, because they both can’t fit on the sofa, so while the guest room is occupied by my uncle and… yeah, I’ll go get that old thing. Gimme a sec.”

Dave got up from the bed and left the room, leaving me sitting there alone as the two cousins stared at me.

“Hope the meat is still good…” I told Logan, trying to sound nice. I felt a bit bad, Dave made them look after me, and that made them ‘defend’ me against their father. Yeah, I definitely feel bad now. “Sorry for crashing into the dinner.”

“You kiddin’? You seem like a cool guy, dad was just being an ass. It’s okay though, I think he likes you” Brad answered, and I feel like he’s the one “kiddin’” here. “He’s just… We don’t like family dinners, we do them out of courtesy. Nothing personal, dad can be naturally obnoxious sometimes”

I wanted to say sorry again or something like that, but that’s when Dave bursted in with the sleeping bag. “Y’guys play rock paper scissors to decide who’ll sleep with the alpha… Like, beside me, don’t get weird ideas.”

I chuckled, as Dave threw the sleeping bag next to the cousins, and started taking off his shirt as he walked towards me. “You’re sleeping over, right? It’s still early, but I can make up for the bad time by cuddling, if you’d like.”

To be honest, it felt like a good idea to distract me from that… failed family dinner night. Never again I’ll ‘crash’ into a Walker dinner (Even though Dave knew I was coming over). Too many surprises for a lifetime, thank you.

I laid down, rolled over to leave him room. We wouldn’t be sleeping yet, I hoped. The big guy laid down beside me and quickly pulled me in.

“Fuck…”

“Yeah!” We turned towards the other guys and noticed Brad had won the rock paper scissors game. Logan just seemed defeated, he grabbed his empty plate and looked over at us.

“Well, g’night bros. Gonna be in the living room, I guess.”

“Buh-bye” Dave said, before turning around again and holding me in his arms. “Sorry again for all that before, bruh. Let's get some sleep, a’ight?”

Honestly, I think I didn't feel as offended as I should have. Best to just let things slide off, I guess. I decided to just nod, and doze off while hearing Brad setting up his sleeping bag.

I didn’t pay him much mind, though. My puppy boy's hug felt nice enough to help me relax quite quickly...

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

Author’s note:

Took me long enough. But chapter 16 went up already, so gotta keep up with the content.

Chapter 16 is available in my Patreon, but it will go up as soon as I publish Chapter 17 there. Shouldn’t be long, I feel very inspired lately! (Hopefully it won’t take as long as this one did 😅).

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it <3.

#nate and dave #werewolf #mind control #brainwash #gay hypnosis #straight to gay #hypnotized #brainwashing

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stiltonbasket · 3 years

Note

Stilton, I was the anon who said that Wangxian getting together before Nightless City would make canon events extra heartbreaking and now I know just how 💔💔💔💔 the Qiongqi Dao ambush became 😭. For a less angsty prompt, something from Wangxian's happy year at the Burial Mounds with A-Yuan

(brief note: this verse is entirely prompt-based, so please send in more prompts/reblog for more updates!)

Cloud Recesses, Gusu Lan to Yiling City

(care of Master Xie Yanling, addressed to Lan Wangji)

Didi,

To address the problem you mentioned in your last letter, I think Wei-gongzi might have better luck with a Lan-made spirit-trapping pouch to cleanse your crops of resentment. Such mild resentful energy may not respond to Cleansing, and he mentioned that larger spirits keep answering whenever he uses Chenqing, so I think your only solution may be to pick out the resentment piece by piece. However, I know nothing about resentful cultivation, so you need not feel obliged to try it if Wei-gongzi does not agree, but I have enclosed a package of spirit-trapping pouches just in case. If you have no use for them, they can always be sold, or you can save them for night-hunts in the future.

Please inform Young Master Wei that a delivery of twelve white-jade figurines will be coming with the next trader, and he will recommend a jeweler in the next town whom you can sell them to. I regret to say that we still do not have enough silver to spare, but I have nearly half of my future bridewealth left, and there is no better use for it than to aid my brother and my future brother-in-law. Write to me at once if you need anything, and give my best to Xiao-Yuan!

All my love,

Xichen.

Lan Wangji finishes his brother’s letter with a soft smile on his face, taking out the silk spirit-trapping pouches to show to A-Yuan before putting them back into their box. He has not been back to the Cloud Recesses in over six months, though he warned no one of his departure before he left; he came to see Wei Ying and bring him news of his sister’s engagement, and then he ended up staying the night before Wei Ying asked him to live at his side, and be with him always.

It was never a choice, in the end. Lan Wangji would have chosen Wei Ying over his own fated zhiyin, even before his soulmate died on that horrible day in Heijian, so choosing Wei Ying over his sect and his family takes only a split second.

Together, the two of them have transformed the Burial Mounds into a home. Lan Wangji is no stranger to hard labor, and Wei Ying’s stubborn resolve could outstrip Shufu’s even at its weakest, so they went to work together and wrangled the resentment-ridden forest into a line of neat potato fields, chopping down the trees for firewood and long sections of log for houses. Not long after that, the Wens were all able to go to their own warm homes every night, and dine on large bowlfuls of rice and potatoes and turnips every day.

And what the Burial Mounds could not provide, they have ample money to pay for--because Lan Wangji sold his silver hairpiece in the village, and turned out all his emergency funds so that A-Yuan could keep his little stomach full of all the rich beef and vegetable stew a baby of two could want. During his last monthly check-up, Wen Qing was so pleased with his progress that she actually praised Wei Ying for it, and Wei Ying himself is growing strong and golden-skinned in the fields, so that he can wrestle with Lan Wangji in the evenings for A-Yuan’s entertainment and push the market wagon alone instead of relying on Wen Ning.

I am happier here than I ever was in the Cloud Recesses, Lan Wangji thinks, blushing like one of Sishu’s ripe tomatoes as Wei Ying breezes by with a shovel and kisses the top of his head. You have given me the world, my heart, and you said you had nothing to give!

“Oh?” Wei Ying teases, making Lan Wangji blush even harder at the realization that he said that last aloud. “When did I say I had nothing to give, hmm? Who was it that combed your hair and cooked spicy porridge for you last night?”

“It was you, my heart,” Lan Wangji acknowledges, folding his brother’s letter back into its envelope. “And if I were not a cultivator, I would have spent the morning having runs in the latrine.”

Wei Wuxian throws his head back and laughs. “But Lan Zhan, A-Yuan ate it too! And he was fine, wasn’t he?”

“I ate his share for him.”

Wei Ying pouts at this, and continues to pout until Lan Wangji kisses him a few times to make him smile. “What did Zewu-jun say?” he wonders, trying to catch his breath when Lan Wangji pulls away for a moment. “Is he well? What about Lan-xiansheng?”

“They must both be doing well, or Xiongzhang would have told me,” Lan Wangji assures him. “But he suggested the use of spirit-pouches to make the lotus seeds safe to eat. Shall we try it tomorrow?”

“Aiyah, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it!” Wei Ying cries, striking his fist with his palm. “We can’t get the traces of resentment in the crops to listen without holding everything else back, so we’ll have to clear the plots one at a time.”

Suddenly, he frowns and glances at Lan Wangji’s belt. “I don’t know if one pouch will be enough, though,” he mutters. “How old is yours, xingan? They have a ten-year lifetime, don’t they?”

“Three years, I think. But Brother sent a box of new ones, so we should have plenty to experiment with.”

“A-Yuan wants!” their son complains, plucking at Lan Wangji’s long skirts before reaching up for Wei Ying in a silent plea to be carried. “Give pouch, please?”

“You can have a pouch when you’re older,” Wei Ying tells him. “For now, A-Yuan should listen to Xian-gege and go take a nap. It’s too hot for little radishes to be out without a hat.”

Wen Yuan sulks all the way to the Demon-slaughtering cave, and then through the lullaby that Wei Ying hums to him, but he falls asleep without a fuss just as Lan Wangji gets up and puts away his qin.

“Lan Zhan?” his beloved asks, drawing a light blanket over A-Yuan’s shoulders. “Can I ask you something?”

“Hm?”

“You wrote A-Yuan’s lullaby, didn’t you?” Wei Ying is watching him through half-lidded eyes, whirling his dizi between his fingers, and Lan Wangji freezes in shame at the implication. “It’s a love song.”

It takes all the strength in his body to nod and keep fastening Wangji back into its case as if nothing were the matter. “En.”

“It’s a love song for me.”

His voice is rougher now, he thinks.

“Yes.”

“You sang it to me in the Xuanwu’s cave,” Wei Ying murmurs. “It was mine back then, too. But Lan Zhan, your soulmate--before the war, she must have still been--”

“My zhiyin was alive then,” Lan Wangji says heavily. “And I mourn them still. But the song was named Wangxian from the moment of its birth, and I wrote it not long after you left the Cloud Recesses. My betrayal will forever be the greatest shame of my life, but I chose you even then, and I do not regret it.”

Wei Ying begins to tremble. “What would you have done if you had the chance to meet her?”

“Loved you anyway,” he whispers. “What could I have done, if not that?”

It was you from the beginning, he wants to say. Wei Ying, it’s always been you.

It was Wei Ying when he tried to force his way past Lan Wangji at the gates of the Cloud Recesses, and Wei Ying when he put a volume of longyang into a book of Lan An’s poetry, and Wei Ying even when Lan Wangji’s soulbond was singing with his zhiyin’s happiness. For no matter how wrong it might have been, and how uncouth, and how much of a betrayal, Lan Wangji has never wanted another; and if he ever met his soulmate, he would never have been able to love her as he loves his chosen beloved.

Suddenly, he realizes that Wei Ying is crying, and then he buries his face in Lan Wangji’s neck and sobs.

“I thought it was only me,” he gasps. “All this time, I’ve been in mourning--but wearing this sash feels like a lie when I’m with you, and I didn’t dare take it off, but--”

“Then take it off,” Lan Wangji urges, with his own eyes full of tears. “None here will judge you, Wei Ying, least of all me!”

And then Wei Ying kisses him for what feels like hours, until the sun is low in the sky and Wen Ning comes calling after them for dinner--and then Lan Wangji takes Wei Ying in his arms and kisses him in return, for they are wholly each other’s now, and Lan Wangji will never leave him again until the end of their days.

#wangxian #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #soulmate au #mdzs fic #my fic

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consumeconstantly · 4 years

Text

Lady Cross (first aid)

Summary: Somehow, Marinette always ends up biting off more than she can chew. It started off with a kid and a nasty gash on their knee. The sudden escalation to treating the new head of Gotham’s underworld? It can only be explained by the fact that she’s catnip for trouble.

_____________________________________________

Marinette supposed she should have expected something like this to happen eventually.

Really, she patches up a few street kids and offers a meal and some resources and suddenly she's made a name for herself in the slums of Gotham. It’s not like she’s doing anything revolutionary. Well, okay, maybe she does cheat a little bit and uses her healing powers on a few of the tougher cases that really should have been out of her realm of expertise, but she’s living near the slums of Gotham for a reason. That reason being Marinette is just a little broke and can’t really afford to send everyone she comes across to the hospital, and the people who are injured certainly can’t. It’s not like she can leave them to die. That would be heartless.

When she stopped treating scrapes and cuts for kids on the streets as she came across them and instead found her apartment balcony frequented by families who needed her help, she couldn’t just say no. And so, more and more serious wounds started coming in. Kids brought their parents and friends. The parents and friends brought... well, if the police stopped by her apartment any time soon, she’s fairly certain they’d have a field day.

But again, it’s not like she’s going to turn these people into the police when they’ve come to her for help and have a small army of people who swear up and down that they’re good people and only doing what they have to do in order to get by.

Morality comes in such a variety of shades, who was she to judge? Ladybug and Marinette have both certainly had their fair share of mistakes that they’d gladly go back in time to rectify, and her hands weren’t clean of blood either. Sure, the Miraculous Cure may have brought people back, but their deaths were still on her. And Hawkmoth? Yeah, he’s alive now, but she hammered him into the pavement after dropping him from the top of the Eiffel tower, and she’s not going to pretend that she didn’t take a bit of morbid joy in that moment.

But back to the matter at hand. Which was, the notorious Red Hood—responsible for a coup amongst Gotham’s drug dealers and responsible for taking down a man whose morality truly vanished with the wind, Black Mask himself— was currently bleeding out on her second floor balcony, smoking a cigarette and lounging against the rail like he owned the place.

“Lady Cross,” he inclined his head.

“Red Hood,” Marinette returned his greeting.

God, she really didn’t want to get involved with Red Hood. She wasn’t opposed to helping out street thugs and criminals, but Red Hood was a different league. He seemed to be a fairly decent guy, ensuring that kids weren’t dealt drugs and tried to keep them out of the circuit as much as possible. He took down plenty of worse criminals while he was at it. In fact, Marinette would go so far to say the Red Hood as one the good guys.

But the issue was, once she started treating people of a certain level, she’d be open game. And that didn’t seem very enticing to her. Not at all. Everyone knew that Red Hood had beef with the Bat Family for some reason or other, and also made enemies with almost every single rogue in Gotham, and a good number of enemies outside of it as well. Basically, Red Hood was a universal enemy of both the vigilantes and rogues. Someone she shouldn’t get involved with while she was trying to investigate the darkness surrounding Gotham whole running her online boutique and going to college at Gotham University.

Unfortunately, Tom and Sabine and her own stint as Ladybug taught her that she could never ignore someone in need. Marinette sighed and slid the mesh open, leading Red Hood to her living room. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

“Real nice place you got here,” he said.

With the mask covering the whole of his face, Marinette had no facial expressions to figure out whether he was poking fun at her current living situation or not. His voice sounded genuine, but vocal emotions were easy to fake.

The apartment she was living in was not on the nice side of town. There were three bullet holes in the wall between her living room and bedroom that she just didn’t have time to patch up, some pretty nasty looking stains on the ceiling near her kitchen, and a huge, spray painted red cross on one of her walls, which was where her street name derived from. Her floor and coffee table were also in states of disarray; she hadn’t gotten the opportunity to clean up after working on two commissions and the last guest whose wounds were heavy enough to warrant several rolls of gauze, which was now half stuffed into a garbage can sitting next to rolls of fabric. Perhaps not the neatest or most sanitary situation, but she didn’t have time to clean up before every single one of her unexpected guests came in.

Look, it wasn’t her fault that she didn’t have time to fix things up real nice and neat. She’d only been living in the apartment for a month and a half, and most times, she barely spent any time in it other than to sleep, cram last minute projects for her design course, or to help heal people. Her living situation wasn’t the biggest of worries.

“Sit,” Marinette gestured to the one of the few pieces of furniture that she specifically bought for the apartment. She didn’t mind the stained, half broken, and extremely creaky couch the last owners left behind for the first week, but after she started bringing back her first… visitors, it seemed important that the couch was comfortable, sturdy, and most crucially, cleanable.

Rummaging through a cabinet, she pulled out a tattered briefcase she thrifted a while back to keep all of her medical supplies in. Not the prettiest of things, but she tried not to keep expensive looking items in her apartment because she wasn’t a fan of getting mugged. The medicine she kept was already expensive enough, she didn’t need to attract everyone’s attention by owning one of those metal containers used in hospitals. Even though most of the people who dropped by her apartment were thankful to be treated, she had a few instances where people tried to steal things from her.

“What’s the damage, doc?” Red Hood’s voice came through rather tinny through his helmet.

Marinette grimaced. The helmet must have awful air circulation. It looked like some sort of metal, and wet and metal never smelled good together. “I don’t know, you tell me.”

“Thought you were supposed to be some mystic healer who came from the far east.”

She paused and looked at the man, trying to judge whether he was racist as well as rude. “That’s rather insulting.”

Red Hood shrugged. Marinette applauded the man for showing no outward sign of pain at that, even though there was a bullet embedded in his shoulder, and shrugging had to bite. “That’s what the word on the street is, though you sound French to me. Thought I’d come and check out who’s healing Gotham’s criminals. What’re you planning?”

“Sorry to foil your plans, but I’m not planning anything other than getting my college degree and not pissing off the people I live near.” She paused, flipping the lock on the briefcase upwards. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use me as your go to healer from now on. You’re going to bring trouble my way.”

“Trouble? Me? Perish the thought.” His hand rested comfortably on the holister of his gun, ready to shoot if the girl pulled out a weapon from the briefcase. “We’ll talk about repeat appearances after I see how you do today.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Any wounds other than the obvious?”

“Just need the bullet out, and some stitches on the gash.” His shoulder and his abdomen, respectively. The gash looked nastier than the bullet; no shrapnel, but the cut on his stomach was jagged and wide. Not a normal, sharp blade. Probably needed a good cleaning.

She grabbed the tweezers, a sterilized needle, and medical thread. “That’s fine. Now are you going to undress, or am I going to have to cut your… costume… up?”

“Getting me naked already? We haven’t even had our first date yet.”

“Very funny, little Red Riding Hood. Now hop to it. I have class at 9 tomorrow and projects to finish tonight.” Somehow, trouble always seemed to find her when she least wanted it to. Not that she wanted to have trouble find her at all, but luck was a two way street, and for all that being Ladybug granted her good luck, she attracted criminals like catnip.

“And here my informants had me thinking you were a regular Florence Nightingale.”

Marinette snorted. “They wish. I’ve got to ask who told you, because everybody should know the rules. You know, the ones where they don’t speak of my existence to their higher ups?”

“I’m not a rat,” Red Hood said, taking the top part of his outfit off. “And it’s not like you would have gone unnoticed anyways. You might be treating small timers now, but people catch on to healers pretty easy.”

“Because some gauze and sewing skills make me such a prime target.”

“No, your magic does.”

Shit. Marinette never told anyone she was using magic, and she rarely used it unless it was a dire situation. If she could patch them up using regular skills, she did.

“Yeah right, if I had magic healing powers, do you think I’d be shoving my fingers into your shoulder to get a bullet out?”

“Not a very good liar, Lady Cross. You have this deer-caught-in-the-headlights look about you.”

“Thanks for the compliment. I’m also the deer that tramples through your windshield and takes a dump on the driver’s seat.” She maneuvered the tweezers a little rougher, hoping to make Red Hood hiss in pain. He just chuckled, amused. His high pain tolerance was getting rather annoying. She had half a mind to pour hydrogen peroxide over the wound just to see if that would make him show he was in pain, but thought better of it. Even though she didn’t like the man, she also didn’t want to piss him off. Or worse, have him come back and make her fix him up again.

Threading the needle, she made quick, small stitches on his shoulder, sewing the bullet hole up, then put some petroleum jelly to speed up the healing process and reduce scarring. At least the wound was in a position that didn’t require a lot of gauze. She needed to go out and buy some more soon. She barely had enough to wrap around Red Hood’s waist.

“So, the magic,” Red Hood started. “Is it a conditional thing? Can you not use it all the time?”

“Again, I don’t have magic.” Marinette did have to use some antibacterial on the knife wound. He would need to take good care of that one to make sure it didn’t get infected.

“So a meta, then. What are you doing in Gotham? Everybody knows Batman hates metas.”

“Not a meta, either, sorry to disappoint.” She tied off the gauze, then stood to wash her hands. “Make sure to clean the stomach wound well. Hope you have your tetanus shot, otherwise you should look into getting one.”

“Surprisingly, I’m inclined to believe you on the not-a-meta thing. Back to the first thing, then. Magic. Why don’t you show me the old razzle dazzle? Do you have to say one of those weird spells like the godmother in Cinderella? Bibbity bobbity boo?”

“You’re hilarious,” Marinette dead panned.

“How’s this for magic? Bibbity bobbity boo, kindly leave. Shoo.” She followed his suggestion, made a show of jazz hands as well. “Pity I don’t use magic otherwise you’d be gone now. Anyways, it’s time for you to make your exit. It would be great if you didn't visit me again. Ever. Thanks.”

She ushered him out onto her patio, then slammed the sliding door. He saluted her before dropping off the side of the building. She could imagine the man under the helmet smirking.

Marinette ran a hand through her loose hair. “He’s going to come back, isn’t he.”

@jasonette-july-2k20

#jasonette july #first aid #jasonette #marinette dupain cheng #jason todd #gotham #original content #bamf marinette #sassy marinette #miraculous ladybug #maribat #dcu #red hood hears of a mystic healer and decides to check her out

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the-crows-typist · 3 years

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Hi Lemilia-senpai! Can i ask for a romantic and fluffy ficlet with Silver and a fem crush with the word “cooking” please? Thank you!

Good day, I’m back. Work has been kicking my ass but hopefully I get to the full swing of things as the year progresses. Please enjoy this fic with some hints of familial and romantic love.

Word count: 4,735

The Possibilites are Endless

“I want to make you proud.”

Silver’s family was among the fae, it had always been, and despite being the only human many did not hesitate to show affection towards him. Try as he may, Silver had no memory of his youth before Lilia took him in though the old man did say he smelled of charred wood when he found him but that was all he could surmise. Malleus, another boy Llia raised into adulthood, looked after him and another boy, Sebek. Their lives were relatively easy but it came with the promise and training to become Malleus’ royal guards

Silver had a knack of roaming the halls alone when he wasn’t studying or practicing swordsmanship. He liked to trail the smell of the kitchen; the staff were nice to him and since he didn’t pose much trouble, they allowed him to look through their work station granted he doesn’t touch anything hot. The soft creaking of the door and pattering of feet would always be acknowledged by the chefs before they went back to work.

Ever the curious boy he was, he walked up to the one of the stations with his nose smelling salt, pepper, and thyme. His eyes would sparkle at the cooking materials before him, palms almost itching to grab it.

His small hands reached for a hammer, one made of wood and had spiked endings. He looked up at the sound of laughter, the chef smile down at him after cutting crosses into the meat he was preparing. “Interested in that?” Silver was inclined to put it back before it was lifted out of his hold with magic. “This is a meat tenderizer, it helps you make the meat softer before cooking.”

“What happens if you don’t hammer it?” Silver tipped his toes, looking at the raw meat seasoned with spices that tickled his nose.

“It’ll be tough to chew,” The chef let the hammer float out his hands, hovering over the peace of meat to beat it with hard slaps. “Why don’t you sit down over there and I’ll make you a snack and then you’ll see the difference.”

He sat obediently on a stool, watching the chef get to work with the many spices and herbs that he smelled that sizzled with the meat. Yes, he had enjoyed the luxury of his new life under the fae but it wasn’t always this comforting or relaxing. Malleus and Lilia were often busy and Sebek…While Sebek was fun to play with, his loud personality often made Silver exhausted.

“Can I help?”

There was a beat of hesitation and the drop of the shoulders that he had seen almost familiarity “When you’re able to handle the hammer with magic.” The chef smiled at him again but Silver already knew what that meant. What he could handle was different from people like Lilia could handle.

His look was dejected but it was something he was used to hearing. The limits of those of the fae and humans were vastly different and their treatment of him was a testament to that; always protected and never seeing the front, always staying behind and never someone’s side. The silence was deafening and his eyelids grew heavy, slipping into a sleep he didn’t want to go into. A dream begets one’s deepest desires, a long yearning for something so awaited for so long. He dreamed of standing next to someone, their cloak fluttering in the wind.

Ah, yes…This is what he wanted the most.

Perhaps one day, he’ll stand side by side with someone. Someday…

His eyes opened, the apple tree lending light to him from the small crevices and holes formed by leaves and branches. Riddle sat next to him, sweaty from their previous ordeal. They had cooked so much meals that day that the ghosts had asked them to take a break.

“Heat doesn’t affect us,” Said the head chef. “The students are not yet accustomed to the kitchen so it’s best to let them rest.” His head craned to Riddle and Silver. “A good thirty minutes will do.”

“Hm,” Riddle leaned his head against the bark. “The next judges are Jamil, Vil and Malleus…They’re the hardest trio to please.” Silver grimaced, first a dream that bore into his heart then having to face Malleus? Talk about bad timing. “What are we cooking this time?” Silver asks.

“Beef stew.”

There was a grimacing from both of them and Silver pushed himself off the ground. “The sooner we finish this, the better.” Offering his hand to Riddle, he pulled his classmate from the grass. “Please don’t hesitate to tell me when I’m dozing off this time.” The redhead let out a small laugh, remembering the moment Silver fell asleep while stirring some ingredients. “I will.”

The two walked back to the kitchen sharing a brief silence together, “Do you…” Silver began. “Do you often doubt your abilities?” Riddle tilted his head before Silver explained once more. “What I mean is that you question if you’re really as strong as people say you are…Or something like that.”

“I do. Many times.” Their walk slowed and Riddle looks at his pen, its pristine gem clear and pure of the ink that once dwelled within it. “Even after I became the dorm leader, I always do. My magic cancels out others, yes, people often think that my magic is the strongest they’ve seen but in reality, it’s rigid and stiff and above all, conditional.”

There was a look of remembrance in his face and Riddle sighed, pocketing his pen neatly onto his uniform. “People like Leona, Azul and all others after me hold magic far greater than what I can ever hope to achieve. I have moments when I think of myself as not being strong enough, being bitter about what I can’t do.”

Silver sighs, perhaps he shouldn’t have asked but seeing Riddle suddenly smile made him pause. “But that also means that even I have a long way to go in perfecting my magic.”

“And what better way to improve than by improving one’s talent in cooking?” Riddle’s smile was sweet and Silver couldn’t help but return it. “That’s right.”

“Ah, but…I should really get used to cutting onions.”

“You’ll get them right, eventually.”

The three judges took their seats. Silver closed his eyes, holding the meat tenderizer tightly in his hand. The presence of someone he wanted to impress wasn’t doing wonders for his insides.

Vil pulled him seat closer, eyeing Riddle with a smirk. He had been a judge in the past along with Jamil. “We’ll be in your care.” Vil says. “As far as charred remains go, I expect a lovely dish. Perhaps control the fire you use this time.” There was a noise of embarrassment and Riddle pouted. “I…I have improved my craft with Silver,” His goes back to his dignified pose, of that of a king, “I will not serve food that isn’t up to your standards.”

A huffing laughter and Vil leaned back on his seat. “Make my taste buds sing, Queen of Hearts.” Malleus regarded the two with a calculated gaze. “How is Silver in all this?” He asked his junior, Riddle had just taken out some garlic, onion and potatoes while Silver went to the back to prepare the meat, clearly not wanting to look but listening to Riddle’s criticisms.

“He has done well with a few close calls.” Riddle explained. “I cannot say for certain which of us is doing the best since I have resigned myself from that thinking. This event isn’t to see who cooks better but to teach those who want to know the craft.”

Malleus chuckles and Riddle lets him go on his way. “Then he is in good hands. I shall look forward to your creations, Rosehearts, Silver.”

Jamil looked to his side, eyes wide suddenly. “I didn’t you were coming along, prefect.” You came in with a camera and some notepads in your hands, it was clear that you rushed your way to the building. “I have to record this moment for the school newspaper.”

You waved at Silver and gave you a smile in return. While your appearance in Night Raven was sudden, you and Silver had grown close quickly and often joining each other for lunch or spending time together after school. Your presence was calming him but also an indicator that he should do well.

“Just act like I’m not here.” You ready your camera and took a shot.

Jamil’s eyes looked at how they worked through the kitchen, so far so good in terms of food prep. Riddle was meticulous with handling the knife…Though he needed some time to perfect cutting onions without crying. He can’t blame him, he had the same problem when he was starting out. The meat tenderizer hit the raw meat a few times before being cut into small pieces.

Silver seemed to have prior knowledge to cooking and he was faring out better than Riddle. The smell of garlic, onion, carrots and potato mixed together perfectly. So far, so good. It wasn’t long for you to kneel beside him to take a picture of the cooking area from a different angle. “I think they’re doing well. No bad fires or anything!” You whispered to Jamil and he only shrugged his shoulders.

“Indeed.” Jamil leaned back on his seat. “Silver and you hang out together often, correct?”

“Yup, during lunch times mostly.”

Jamil nodded his head. “Then you’ll be able to see what I’m seeing in a clearer light.” A wave of confusion washes over you and you look onto Silver without the eyes of a photographer. His eyes determined yet his shoulders tight and rigid, those shaking hands handling equipment flimsily.

“It’s only proper that you put good posture into everything you do,” Jamil lectured. “In cooking it is a necessity, no less. And while I understand he wants to do his best given the leader of his dorm will be a judge …” He placed a hand on his chin in thought.

“You think this behavior runs deeper, is that it?”

Jamil smiled at you, shrugging his shoulders. You set your camera on the table, letting your knees rest. “Silver doesn’t talk much about his dorm.” You explain. “He feels that he doesn’t need to…But out of the group he’s always with, he tries the hardest.”

Silver sets the meat and cut vegetables into a pressure cooker. “The hardest?” You look down at your feet, your memories filing to the days he chose to be vulnerable around you. It was under one of the apple trees.

“When you’re different, you do what it takes to belong. While I have been reminded time and time again that it isn’t needed…” His eyes are downcast, staring into nothing; a big sigh lets his shoulders grow and recede. “It’s harder to keep trying when the difference is so obvious.”

Jamil is silent and so were you. The pressure cooker had been set and the waiting game began, Riddle was quick to shake Silver out of what might have been a sleeping spell. “Silver’s strength is immense and his skills make him almost a danger to those who try threaten the people he loves,”

“I just wish he wouldn’t be so hard on himself.” The camera was pulled to your chest, you expression worrisome.

Jamil looks down, almost feeling guilty for prying. “I’m sorry I asked.”

“You didn’t know.” You reassured him.

The judging round was tense for both Silver and Riddle, the three students in front of them had the most refined palates in the entire school. The plates were shaking in their hands, Riddle handing one plate to Jamil then to Vil and leaving Silver to Malleus.

The flash of the camera made everything hazy, suddenly the sound of silence was too deafening. The plate rattled in his grip.

He needed to do well. He must do everything well.

“Silver?”

He closed his eyes and breathing deeply. There was anticipation and then concern as he tittered over.

“Silver.”

The light headedness was gripping him and he was swaying, he couldn’t breathe properly.

“Silver!”

The plate shatters when it slipped out of his hands and Silver goes down to the ground with a loud thud, a collective gasp runs silences the entire room. You and Riddle bolt, taking Silver up in your arms and pulled him up from the hot mess of ceramic and spilled food. He was blinking wildly, only coming into consciousness seconds later.

He sees the mess, he sees his own legs sprawled on the floor with his head reeling in confusion and fear. Then he looks up at Malleus whose green eyes bore an expression he couldn’t understand in all the panic that rose within him.

All the words said to him were things he couldn’t hear in the strong beat that rattled in his ears. Malleus blinked, a hand reaching out to him with lips speaking but couldn’t be head. “Silver, are you—?” Silver gets up and immediately runs out of the building, pushing you and Riddle aside.

“He’s not answering his phone.” You say, pulling the receiver off your ear. The mess had already been cleaned and destroyed plate disposed of. Malleus stood beside you, holding the last shard of broke plate carefully in his hands.

“Please give me the shard. I’ll take care of it—.” Riddle offered his hand but was met with only a question in return. “Tell me, Silver has been practicing with you this whole time.” The redhead faltered and his hand went limp on his side. “Has he said anything to you, anything at all?”

Riddle was silent, his head hung in thought. “All he ever told me was all about cooking but…He did ask me one question about doubting yourself..” Malleus blinks then sets the shard down on the table behind him.

You set your phone back and Malleus closed his eyes. “I see.”

Pocketing your phone, you give your camera to Riddle. “I’ll go look for him.”

“I’m coming too.”

Jamil walked to your side but before you could deny his request, he gave a sympathetic smile. “Consider it my apology for prying.”

“Silver, what is this?”

Lilia had come in at such a bad time, the stew he was trying to cook had burned in his sleep. With a flick of his wrist and snap of his fingers, the fire has disappeared into a pillar of smoke. The stew was a murky black and it smelled of charred remains.

“Papa, I—!”

Dread filled his soul, Lilia had approached the cauldron to lean down and scoop a spoonful of ruined stew and ate it in one bite.

“It’s good.”

Silver didn’t flinch when Lilia’s hand set itself on his head. “Needs a bit more salt but it’s good. You’d make a good chef one day.”

“You didn’t have to lie to me.”

Silver’s hat had been discarded and so was the meat tenderizer, the tall boy huddled between the large roots of an old tree with hands around his shoulders and legs to his chest. He closed his eyes, remembering Lilia’s smiling face as he pat his head and assuring him whatever he makes tasted good.

And yet…

His body calmed, limbs relaxed and eyes hollow. The winds blew the trees, the wood irked and the leaves hissed like rain. He blew it. He totally blew it. Everything he had been doing up until that point was perfect and thanks to Riddle he didn’t fall asleep even once.

That was until he had to present his work to the judges. Malleus was a prince, after all, it was expected that he would be served nothing less than perfection. What he did was an absolute embarrassment to him and as the appointed knight to the royal family.

“Raise your head a little higher, strengthen your grip on the sword. Yes, very good.” The young boy’s hand was adjusted, the heir apparent holding it gently with his long fingers against his wrist. “This part, your wrist, is the most valuable part in handling a blade.” Malleus’ smile betrayed his concern for him. “So take care of it for me, alright?”

Even in his youth, Malleus was so careful with him as if he were an extremely delicate porcelain doll.

“Lilia told me you had come down with a bad case of the stomach bug. Honestly, what were they thinking feeding you such a meal?” Malleus’ hand would come to feel his forehead. “I’ll have the palace healer bring you some brews to ease your stomach pain.” The prince brushed some hair off his sweating face. “Rest, Silver.”

What was the point of being a knight if all he ever did was stay behind at his orders?

“You have to stay here and protect Sebek.” Beyond the castle walls, Silver could hear the roars of invading beast of the night and corrupted village people. Malleus held the boy’s shoulders while Silver pulled at his robes. “I can’t let any one of you get hurt. No one should.”

All he ever wanted…

“Silver,” Malleus would call for him.

Was to be next to him.

His hand would come up as it always did, his fingers ready to run through his hair. “Silver,” He’d call out to him.

That’s all he ever wanted.

“Silver,”

“Found you.”

His eyes opened, your hand resting on his shoulder. The wind blew and making your hair fly, framing your face as you smiled at him. “You…” He turned his head when Jamil made his presence known

. “I didn’t expect you to choose the forest as a hiding place. It took us a while to pinpoint where you were.” Your hand left his shoulder and you sat in front of him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

The wind blew again, the warming breeze provided him time to think things through. “All my life it’s been that way.” He buries his nose onto his knees. “I don’t want to stand behind someone forever.”

“Then don’t.”

Jamil kneels down next to you Silver’s stunned silence made him look away from a moment, flushed embarrassment on his cheeks. “W-what I mean is…If you don’t like the position you’re in then you have to move. It’s a hard process but the first step matters the most.”

“I don’t know—.”

“Uncertainty comes with it, if that what you’re asking.” The boy shrugged his shoulders. “There’s no going around it.”

“Malleus was upset when you left suddenly. I think its best you talk to him, let him know you’re alright.” Your smile had become a calming factor for Silver and soon the cold grip on his insides loosened. “Can I make the beef stew again? I think I got it right this time.”

“Ah but I’ll need some help.”

You giggle, waving your hands and waggling your fingers. “You’ve got four hands readily available.”

Malleus had walked the campus to every corner he could and not once did he see the familiar mop of messy white hair in the sea of people. The prince sighed, looking down at the shard of ceramic plate tucked in his hand.

“Sebek.” He called for the guard who straightened up too much. “You’re dismissed, I can handle this on my own.”

“But Master—.”

He folded his hands over his chest, the arching brows giving the younger guard the entire message in one go. He reluctantly bowed his head, “Understood.” And left for another route but not without turning his head to Malleus one last time.

Now that he was alone, Malleus let out another sigh. As years go by, his heart becomes no stranger to loss but time did not ease the pain no matter how long or how distant the memories were. Raising Silver brought on emotions he did not expect to feel in a very long time, this human boy once so fragile and small grew to be one of the greatest guards he could ever hope to raise.

And it all happened too fast.

It made him protective, even hesitant to let Silver into any harm even if he was raised to be his guard.

“Silver, come here.”

A young boy held his robes over his knees, the sore wound red after tripping over sharp rocks. Malleus’ hand hovered over his wound, healing it shut but the pain still remained. It wouldn’t be long until Silver was taken into his arms and resting against his shoulder that his heart felt a sudden warmth, contentedness.

Lilia smiled at him where he stood and turned to leave, giving them privacy. The young boy’s small hands held Malleus’ robes into his palms with a sigh and the prince stroked his back. The warmth in his heart never stopped no matter how many years hand passed.

Yet the bitterness of lost time always found its way back.

“Silver.” The piece of plate in his glove suddenly felt more sentimental than once perceived.

“Please let us cook again.” All of you had bowed your heads in front of the ghost who was getting ready to leave for the afterlife. “Ah but—.”

“Please, I won’t fall asleep this time…Or break a plate…Or burn myself…Or—.” Silver was promptly stopped at the ghost’s laughter. “I understand, I’m in no hurry to leave but since this request is so sudden, I’ll have to relegate all the cleaning to you. It’s only fair.”

You, Jamil and Silver smiled together and the ghost only felt warmth at the spry young people in front of him. “Riddle.” He turned to the redhead. “Please show them where the meat is being stored.”

“Of course. This way, all of you.”

“We’re gonna cook, we’re gonna cook!!!” You say, pushing Silver’s shoulders as you walked to the freezer.

“They’re a bit too excited, aren’t they?” Riddle asked Jamil who only shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s just who they are.”

The comfortable silence was long and the students were cutting up their greens just as the meat seared in the pan. “Back home, my grandma taught me all the recipes I needed to know to keep the family going.” You’d explain, peeling the potato perfectly and handing it to Riddle to be cut. “Once a month, we’d have a big get-together and cook our favorite foods and eat it.”

Silver set aside the chopped onion, washing his hands knowing what happened to Riddle when he didn’t. The meat was taken and in came the vegetables into the pot. “Okay, we should stir fry the vegetables for a moment and let it cook.” Riddle says, tipping his toes to look into the pot.

“I’ve mostly cooked for necessity.” Jamil explained, leaning against the sink with a smirk. “But I can see the charm of being able to cook with or without help. It’s calming.”

Riddle sighs and begins to add water into the pot along with the meat and seasoning. “It was only recently that I started cooking, can’t say that it’s fun but the end result is rewarding. I want to perfect my skill as much as possible. I can’t always rely on others or on magic all my life.”

“What about you, Silver?” You ask, moving to cover the pot to let everything simmer.

“…My father’s cooking is not very good.”

There was collective sigh of understanding, you pat his back knowing he went seventeen years of this. “But he tries very hard,” He explains further. “More than anyone else in the Valley of Thorns. He’d cook for everyone he took care of despite the packed schedule he has.”

He remembers Lilia slaving away over a cauldron one night all those years ago, plates of mushrooms and prepared rice around him and a cookbook floating overhead. His fingers were bandaged and eyes trained to the book. Mushroom Risotto. Silver’s favorite dish.

“While I do want to cook for myself, I also want my father to enjoy tasty meals whenever he can. It’s only right that he does.” You smile, leaning your head against his shoulder while your hand rub the other one. “You’re a sweet person, Silver.”

“I’m just doing the right thing.” He reasoned.

“And that’s the sweetest thing anyone can do.”

Silver wasn’t telling the entire truth, he shamefully admitted to himself. While his father, his family, meant so much to him; you had a special place in his heart. The way you spoke to him, the way your presence soothed him, everything about you was something he cherished.

Just seeing you smile was enough to last him the day.

While he wanted his father to enjoy yummy meals by his son, he also wanted you to smile with each bite.

But he can’t say that, no, he shouldn’t. It would ruin the surprise and bitter the meal.

“It should be ready.” Riddle says, placing a protective cloth over the lid and pulling it open. Silver could not hide his smile when you let out a sound of amazement, the smell of cooked beef and the spices made your mouth water.

“I wanna try a bite.” You say but Jamil had to pull you away. “Let it cool,” He says like a tired older brother. “You’re going to burn your tongue.”

“But I wanna taste!”

Riddle sighs, shaking his head. “Let us at least plate it and have it judged.”

Your whining voice was met with a pat on the head and the food was whisked away to be plated and presented to the Jamil and then you. Silver’s huffed when you let out a sigh of delight when they delicious looking food was set in front of you.

“Dig in, both of you.” Riddle said. “Tell me what you think.”

Utensils brushed against each other and the anticipation built up when you and Jamil took a bite. You squealed at the taste, tiny jumps on your feet when the flavor exploded in your mouth. “It’s good!” You exclaim. “The balance is just right and the meat is so tender.”

Jamil nods his head, taking in another bite of the stew. “It’s good, you need to be careful with how you handle your seasonings next time. Too much of anything can ruin the dish but your method of tenderizing the meat is good and your vegetables are cooked and stewed perfectly. Good work.”

Riddle and Silver smiled to themselves, their chests beaming with pride at a job well done. You move forward, bringing your spoon to Silver’s lips. “Say ah!” You say and his cheeks go pink, you were too close and by the seven, you looked so cute.

“I—.”

“Ah!”

The spoon went into his mouth with a surprised expression, the taste of meat and the knowledge that spoon was used by you before him made his heart flutter. An indirect kiss. He chewed, his hand over his lips. “It’s yummy right? You cook really well.”

Your smile melted his heart, his shoulders hunching over and lips pursed. “Thank you. If you’d like, I can try other recipes for you.” He offered and you gleefully nodded your head and holding your hands to his. “Yes, yes! I’d absolutely love that.”

Jamil leaned over to Riddle, whispering “Smooth.”

The dorm leader chuckled. “Indeed.”

Silver stood next to you, speaking about the food you ate and sharing in the sweet clarity of a wish he didn’t know came true.

The ghost floated afar, settling just under the tree with Malleus by his side. The two watched the youth eating their creations in the kitchen, being merry and experimenting, discussing and playful. Silver’s smile was soft compared to yours but the playful personality of a young boy growing was still there.

The ceramic shard sat inside the hold of the heir apparent, the green eyes seeing world after world basking in the new reality of one he had held so dear. “He’s grown, hasn’t he?” he asked the ghost. “He has, indeed.”

You hugged Silver’s arm laughing, Malleus’ heart beating slow in tenderness for the smiling boy who stood beside you.

“To think he had troubles holding up your hammer all those years ago.”

The ghost laughed, bringing his hands behind his back. “It had been that long, hasn’t it, your majesty?”

Silver stood next to you, his wish finally fulfilled.

“Long enough to for time to pass by like in a blink of an eye.”

#works from the typewriter #silver x reader #fem reader #twisted wonderland #twst silver #twst silver x reader

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aceofspadegrass · 3 years

Text

Good Old Drama and Gossip

Characters: Hatter, Niragi Suguru, Morizono Aguni (Mentioned), Chishiya Shuntaro (mentioned), Last Boss (Briefly Mentioned), and me

Genre: Crack. This time it's just blind!Niragi being fussy and me stealing Aguni in the background

1.5k words

Part 3 of being a little shit to Hatter and getting away with it. But hey, at least there's the added bonus of Niragi being dramatic while being able to see nothing. A shame I didn't arm him with a cane and let him smack people.

Hatter was going to get them this time, he swears on it. It’s been more than a week since they last struck, and as far as he knew, there was not a single invasion into his Beach. He was always on alert, just in case something happened. It didn’t get in the way of his primary duty to his people, but the thought never left him to make sure everything he owned was in place.

Checking for any of the other’s stuff wasn’t anything Hatter worried about, thankfully. For some odd reason he could only interpret as ‘being too handsome and irresistible for his own good’ only his stuff was ever snatched like a cookie in the elusive cookie jar. He didn’t want to develop more stress lines making sure his men were okay in their personal possessions. Wrinkles shall only come to accentuate him, make him look good, not just tired and old.

That privilege can go to Aguni.

The man in question was at the very least rocking it, made him look fierce. Hatter could appreciate that in him, and it makes his job easier in subduing the more…. rambunctious of their group.

In fact, one of Aguni’s more problematic men, Niragi, had come back to a game with bad eye issues, even more worse than the appointed med staff could figure out. Apparently the game the oversaturated oil stain was in broke his eyes to the point where he couldn’t use them for a good while. In short, Niragi was left completely blind, and Aguni now had to deal with an increasingly whiny and temper hearty baked bean burrito. Hatter found it funny, but oh boy was it wearing out his poor fried dumpling.

It also left quite a hole in the defense for the intruders, so the issue of Aguni and Niragi was also an issue for the safety of the Beach (and Hatter’s stuff) as a whole.

No point thinking about this now. Hatter leans back on the sofa, sipping at a cold blend of juices and relaxing. His feet were killing him right about now, Hatter flexing his stiff toes and internally begging for a good pedicure to fly in through the doors and give his feet a touch of heaven and bliss.

The door in fact does fly open as the thought passes his head, Hatter sitting up and raising an eyebrow as Niragi stands there, breathing heavily. The sunglasses Hatter has so graciously offered to him in order to make him both sexier and protect his eyes from the sunlight so he didn’t permanently damage them further was slipping slightly off his face, Niragi fixing them after a few more pants.

“ You…..! You fucking coconut slut!” Niragi rasps out, and Hatter quirks his eyebrow in mild amusement, leaning forward and sipping his juice quietly as one arm rested on his knee. Niragi points a finger in Hatter’s direction, if Hatter was 45 degrees to the left and standing. “ You fucking left me tied on that bed for an hour! What fucking gives!”

Hatter says nothing, as Niragi storms in….. and immediately slams into the back of the other couch, Hatter bursting into laughter. Niragi on the other hand starts spouting obscenities and kicks the couch, and the red cocktail man notices the lack of real gun in Niragi’s possession, other than the super soaker that was substituted. Aguni probably replaced it, knowing that a blind trigger happy man was a danger to society and himself.

“ What the fuck is this bull?! What- Oh for fucks sakes this isn’t Chishiya’s room is it.” Niragi finally sputters out, grabbing the top edge of the couch and massaging the soft cushions underneath his long fingers.

“ Oh, I wish I was. Now what was this about being tied to a bed, hm?” Hatter croons, which earns him a hearty middle finger.

“ Like heck am I about to tell you. Okay, let’s try this again-“ Niragi turns around, but Hatter whistles at him, Niragi slowly spinning back around to face Hatter’s general position. “ What is it, I don’t have all day lobster man.”

“ Aww, not even a minute? Well, it’s just a question. Aren’t you supposed to be accompanied until you regain your senses? After all, you have nothing to guide your way.”

“ Fuck that, I don’t know where Last Boss went and he won’t fucking speak up if he’s just been following me like a sneaky little bitch this entire time, and Aguni was called away for something!”

“ Oh?” Hatter leans back again, Niragi throwing his arms up in the air as he starts pacing and nearly running into stuff again.

“ Yeah! So then that tiny mozzarella cheese ball came and said he’d help because I just look sad and stupid wandering around by myself, which I don’t believe because I know he’d push me into the pool the first chance he got, and then suddenly I’m tied to a bed as he puts on a podcast of nothing but some random guy talking about wool! It was hell!”

“ Oooh, I see. How bad was it?”

“ Fucking terrible! I did not need a wool lecture, thank you very little! Who the fuck wants to know the fastest record to shear a sheep was 39 seconds!? Not me, that’s for fucking sure!” Niragi rants, Hatter nodding and grinning as he switches his juice out for the good wine he kept by his foot the entire time, pouring himself a decent amount and taking a slow sip as Niragi continued to rant onwards. At some point Niragi managed to find the couch again (because he stubbed his toe into it, leading to an extra twenty seconds of Niragi cursing out Hatter’s poor couch) and sat down, Hatter pushing a wine glass into Niragi’s hand and filling it. Niragi downed it like he was a war orphan waiting for his arm to be donated to the war effort, Hatter lightly tsking him for not savouring it properly.

It wasn’t Aguni or any of the girls, but Hatter could appreciate the gossip as Niragi continued without a filter in his mouth, the rant going from Chishiya’s wool podcast to anything else Niragi had heard in his blind boredom. He was impressed how much information Niragi was willing to dole out just to get his anger settled for the rest of the day, and Hatter was happily sipping away as he absorbed it all.

Finally Niragi had calmed down, just nursing the wine glass that Hatter just filled with chocolate cereal instead, as Niragi refused to drink his wine like it was good wine. It was a shame really, Hatter liked hearing about Niragi’s auditory bubble day.

“ Well wasn’t that cathartic!” Hatter chirped as Niragi mumbled around his glass of chocolate cereal, draped over the entire couch as if he wanted to become the couch lord. Or wanting to be painted like the best model in the world, whatever he wanted.

“ Yeah yeah, whatever.” Niragi tips cereal into his mouth just as the crackle of his walkie-talkie alerts him and Hatter. Niragi doesn’t bother to remove the device from his side, too busy eating his cereal as a voice comes through.

And oh boy, what a voice it was, Hatter tuning into it immediately.

“ ….. Testing, testing! Are you hearing me? Hi hi, it’s me, your local menace~ The one with the robe, remember me? Yeah! Hi, don’t mind me, okay? I’m just gonna….. borrow Mr. Beef Stew with extra beef for a few hours! For personal, very important reasons and definitely not because I got a replica statue of a cute dog stuck in a window and now I can’t get it out. Anyways, bye!” The rest becomes static as it disconnects, Niragi snorting a little as Hatter takes one deep breath.

“ Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be, huh? Niragi, hand it over to me.”

“ You’re not my boss.” “ Yes, but I’m Aguni’s, so hand it over.”

Niragi grumbles, unclipping the walkie-talkie and tossing it in Hatter’s general direction, Hatter humming and pressing the button on the side.

“ Hello? Are you still there, you rascal?” Hatter leans in, pouring as much honey into his voice to lure them out.

“… Yep, still here! Hi, didn’t think you’d be there too Hatter.” “ Oh, I’m here, and I would like to kindly know where you and your little friends are. As a little house visit~” There was a chuckle on the other end. “ Oh, sorry sorry, but I can’t. We can always come over and visit though, even if it’s for a brief moment!” “ Is that so…. Well, you wound me so, you know!” Hatter puts a hand on his chest. “ For you to not even offer me the same respect, ah it hits me right here that you can’t even trust me~”

“ Sorry! Anyways, gotta go, got things to do, got stuff to move with Aguni, who was nice enough to help us.”

“ At your base? Well, what’s stopping me from asking him for directions later for a surprise visit one of these days, maybe have a meet and greet with my beloved stolen items?”

“ Not anywhere near our base, we’re not that dumb my dear red bean paste~ Don’t worry, we’ll return your man in….. 3-5 business days maybe okay byeeeeeeeee-“ The line goes completely dead, and Hatter stares at the black box.

Those cursed beings, they’ve gone too far. Too far.

#aib #alice in borderland #aib fanfic #alice in borderland fanfic #hatter #takeru danma #aguni morizono #niragi suguru #last boss #takatora samura #chishiya shuntaro #hatter rues the day he met us conniving thieves #at the very least he got entertainment before being bamboozled from right under his nose #blind niragi is funny because I can make him smack into things without a chaperone #niragi slow down you're slurping too fast-#you can't go anywhere anyways without potentially running into issues #now how did chishiya manage to distract niragi long enough to tie him down? who knows

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