#i'm terrible at being not open about junk

[eddiemunsons-missingnipple]

what about edging eddie everytime he comes over to visit you? Grinding or sucking him off only to stop right before he comes every single time.

The way this has been SITTING in my ask box since August :(( I'm sorry. 💕🩷

Can this be bestfriend!Eddie? Because it screams best friend eddie.

The thought of edging Eddie just does something to me. He'd be so whiny about it too whispering to make him cum but you won't and he knows it too. His soft needy cries with that deep voice as your tongue teases his leaking tip. He gets so frustrated when he's about to spill his cum in the back of your throat but you pull him out everytime

Besfriend!Eddie munson x fem!reader

Not proofread.

Your friendship with Eddie was very special. You did everything together. Even fooled around when you got lonely or drunk. You had an agreement of "as long as everything is above the waist," it's okay. Sometimes, things did eventually happen.

You and him didn't date much, so you ended up learning how to give a blow job from him. You taught him how to eat pussy. You practiced on one another. You felt like it was only right to get some experience in for whenever someone asked either one of you out.

That's just how close you two were. It never felt weird or awkward, either. But those type moments only happened once you never spoke of them again. You just heavily made out a lot and did some heavy petting.

Not that you didn't enjoy feeling each other. You most definitely did. You guys felt kinda bad about not having much experience being your early twenties. At least you have one another he'd always reassured. Deep down, Eddie always wanted to make you his.

Now he likes to come over to your place on the weekends to watch a movie and eat junk food. Usually, he brings pizza and rents a terrible b-horror flick from family video.

A loud kick to your door startles you at, and you walk over to look out the peephole.

"Pizza is here, sweetheart." Eddie greeted you with a big smile as you answered your door. That smile soon faltered when he noticed what you were wearing.

You never cared if Eddie saw you naked. You've seen him naked plenty of times when he was drunk off his ass and needed a shower. You opened the door in nothing but a thin tank top and panties that hugged your ass just right. He immediately gulped at the sight.

"It's about time Munson what movie did you pick." You giggled taking the food from his hands.

He clears his throat. "Oh, uhhhhhh, Slumber party massacre." He scratched the back of his neck as he tried to avoid looking so flustered.

"Slumber pary massacre--the movie with the chicks in lingerie getting slaughtered?" You eyed him and got plates ready for the pizza.

"Not surprised that's the movie you'd pick."

You don't really notice how he's looking at you. You're too focused getting the food ready for you and him to eat. You moved around your apartment, and his eyes followed your every step.

Eddie couldn't stop staring at you. His eyes fixed on the curve of your ass and the way your nipples were poking through the material of your shirt. He tries to discreetly readjust himself, so you see the obvious growing buldge in his jeans.

"Yeah, well, we've watched everything else in that video store." Eddie looked down at his feet with his hands in his pockets.

His cock was throbbing against the zipper of his jeans. He stood there by the door, not moving a muscle. He thought if he didn't move, you'd forget he was even there.

"Hey Eddie." You called out softly to him.

His head perks up and his eyes meet yours. "W-whats up?"

"Come sit with me." You pat the empty spot next to you on the couch.

The pizza and drinks were already laid out and ready to eat. Eddie couldn't focus on anything but you. His mind races at all the possibilities of taking you right there on the couch. Your pussy getting split open around his cock. Your cute, soft little moans in his ear. Your juices dripping down your thighs while he fucked you roughly in your living room. Your poor neighbors hearing your cries of pleasure.

The movie was playing, but he has no idea what's even happening or cares for that matter. His eyes kept glancing over at you. You're sitting with your legs criss-cross while eating your third slice of pizza. He had one foot propped up on your coffee table as he licked his lips watching you.

Your eyes focus on the shitty movie he rented. You were right he did pick this out to watch half-naked women run around in the skimpiest lingerie. The killer having a guitar as a weapon now makes perfect sense now, too. Truthfully. It was the closest thing to porn Eddie could get you to watch with him. He was a bit of perv, and he'll admit that.

He eyes keep wandering over to your figure from the swell of your breasts down to your thighs. His head leaned forward to get a tiny glimpse of what's between your legs. Your underwear doing you no justice in covering much of anything at all. He smiled to himself. his mouth watered, remembering the night he tasted you.

You could feel his eyes on you practically all night long. He was acting a little funny the second he walked through the front door. You chalked it up to him working too much and needing some rest. You tried to ignore his lingering stare. You just couldn't any longer.

"You okay?" You looked over at him. You noticed he hasn't eaten one single slice of pizza. "You seem a little...antsy I guess."

He coughed and tried to play it cool. "Me? No, no, I'm fine."

You squinted at him. "I don't believe you."

"Alright, fine." He threw his back and groaned. "it's you."

"Me?" You asked, confused. "What about me?"

"It's....you. it's always you. You always make me so hot and I feel like anytime I'm around you I can't even fucking think straight." Eddie confessed. He was speaking so fast that you barely had time to register what he was saying.

You sit there quietly, not saying a word yet. You don't want to misinterpret what he's trying to tell you. even though you have a pretty good idea of what it's about.

"I--look. Listen--Touch me. Please. We don't have to have sex. Just touch me. Make me beg. I don't even have to cum. I just need to feel you." He voice sounded so desperate.

His eyes looked into yours, and you couldn't deny him. His brown eyes are looking deep into yours. You nod and move to sit in his lap with your back against his chest. His arms instinctively wrapped around your waist, keeping you close. Your ass pressing right up against his cock. You could feel just how hard he is.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" You whispered.

"Didn't want to make shit uncomfortable." His voice muffled as he peppered light kisses on your neck.

Your eyes flutter closed when his soft lips touch your skin. "You'd never make me uncomfortable we've done lots of things together before."

"I know I just never want you to feel like I'm using you." Eddie leaves a trail of wet kisses from your neck and down to your shoulder. You moved your head back to give him better access.

His hips lift slightly to rub up into your ass. He cursed under his breath, and your hands went down to grip on his thighs

"Fuck sweetheart grind on me." He said breathlessly.

You nod and move your hips back and forth in his lap. Your ass rubbing on his cock over his jeans. His arms wrapping around you tighter as he buries his face in your neck.

"That's it, sweetheart grind that cute ass on me." Eddie grunted and bucked up his hips for some added friction.

You pressed down harder on his cock. Your hips swiveling in a circular motion. He's whimpering in your ear. His legs bounce up and down while you grind on him. You dig your nails into his thighs to hold on tight.

"Fuck please---id do anything for you sweetheart. Anything." Eddie rasped in your ear. "You can have my cock whenever you want it."

"You think I could take it?" You teased and pushed your ass on him hard, making him jerk.

"Baby ill make sure you can take it. Y-you're such a good girl." He groaned and grinded himself up against your ass.

You continued moving back and forth on his cock. You could feel his breathing quickening just by how his chest pressed into your back.

"I know how messy you can get. Thinking about having you squirting all over me." His voice is shakey as your hips switch to moving back in a circular motion again.

You whimper at his words and feel yourself growing wetter. Your panties are completely soaked through. His voice is trembling, and his arms are constricting around you. There is a small wet patch forming on his jeans from the mess you've created in your panties and his precum.

"Mmm, I'm so close." He moans, and you slow down.

You stopped your movements for a few seconds, and Eddie whines. He swallows and tries to control himself.

After a few more minutes, you start moving. His cock is so sensitive and begging for release. He needs to cum so bad but loves the feeling of you edging him. The feeling of getting so close only for you to stop is driving him crazy.

You speed up and your ass grinds down on his cock. Your pace went from fast to slow anytime he got close again. You kept getting him close to the edge only to stop or slow down. it was almost too painful for him to keep going but liked it. His face is covered in sweat.

"let me cum." Eddie beggee and bit down on your shoulder. You whimpered from the pain.

Shaking your head no and grind your ass down on his cock. The material of his boxers scratched against him. He was becoming needy for you the more you teased him.

"Fuck please let me cum baby---please." He kept begging. Your pussy was aching for some type of relief. His breath tickled your throat while he spoke. "Shit I'm gonna cum."

"Oh," your eyebrows shoot up, and you stop. You moved his arms from around your waist and went to sick back down in your spot.

"I-i thought." He swallows and sinks back. His legs spread wide open. The look he gave you almost made you feel guilty for stopping.

You could see that wet patch on his lap that's much more noticeable than you thought. His painfully hard cock straining against his pants.

"You said you didn't have to cum. Remember?" You teased and went back to watching the movie.

Eddie smirked and moved to scoot closer to you." If I make you cum around my fingers will you let make me cum?" He whispered seductively.

"Maybe... we'll see how good you make me feel first."

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #joseph quinn #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x you #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x fem reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie x reader

[straw-kid]

As He Falls In Love With You...  - Diego Brando Oneshot. 

JJBA Steel Ball Run Headcanon

It was at the Steel Ball Run race when Diego laid his eyes on you. When he rode next to you, he would stare at you with a sullen expression. He always passed you at Silver Bullet, leaving you with dust on your lips, what a annoying guy. He always seemed to want to show himself to you.

Full of himself.

Diego was very unsociable. He didn't talk to anyone, he just scowled at the Steel Ball Run members. He never smile.

For Diego, feeling some curiosity in wanting to know who you were was something that messed with his ego. Why would he want to know who you were?

Pfff you are pathetic! 

But damn, to watch you hold the bridle of your horse with a strong expression, with a desire to win the race, oh my... what good looking...

It was on an extremely hot day that you can't keep up with the race, your horse is tired, sweaty from ears to hooves. It would be fair to stop and rest. Uuuh what a terrible day. You tethered your horse and left it under one of the few shades that held a horse. You, on the other hand, almost sunbathing. Sweat ran down his forehead. Would you be able to continue this race alone?

You take the canteen, empty. Ah, bad luck.

That's when you hear a distant gallop getting louder and louder. It is then that you recognize who is there. Diego.

You give a heavy, dry sigh. "What is this guy doing here?" you think with yourself.

That superior expression washed over you and all you did was look away. Diego didn't say anything, he never speaks, and it's in that moment of intense silence brought by him, that you notice, he was a strong figure, an aura of power, it was as if he controlled the sound around him, for a moment not even Silver Bullet's hooves echoed.

Diego approached. "you look awful" took a canteen from his things. "here, drink it" it was the first time you heard his voice. it was more serious than you expected to hear.

You divide the water by filling your canteen with Diego's water. "ah ah ah, I need it more than you. It's not because I'm being nice to you that you might take advantage of me." He take his canteel back. 

"tsc" You make a mean face. "Don't look at me like that, if I didn't share it with you, you wouldn't make it past today".

Diego was bold in his words, a bit full of himself. In addition to the canteen, he offered a few snacks for your horse.

After that moment, everything seemed to be over, that diego only showed a mere pity for you and continued the race alone, but it was not what you expected. Diego then makes you a proposal. "You look like you're carrying a lot of junk on your horse. I wouldn't do that with my Silver Bullet if I wanted to win.... However, the path ahead will get colder. We're going up some hills."

Indeed, you carried a lot of junk. But as the Steel Ball Run courses were, it was definitely important that you were prepared. It was impressive the fact that Diego carried almost nothing in Silver Bullet, it made sense that he ran like the wind, he was light as the wind.

Without delay, Diego got right to the point. "I would need support during this route, as you can see I also don't have so much water because we share it. So let's make a deal, I'll take you on the safest and fastest route of this race and you give me shelter with firewood.”

It was a fair deal. you wanted to win and you weren't in the best of conditions to continue, Diego knew different paths but he wasn't going to be able to continue for that long.

"Sure" you say shaking Diego's hand and at that, he opens a naughty smile. And because of the newness on Diego's face, you not only noticed the perky lips, but what preceded his face. Diego have hazel eyes, how big and full of life they were.Diego had a harmonious face when he wasn't with a grumpy look. You felt something.

You found out that day, Diego was a pretty boy. 

Riding with Diego was like riding alone. He didn't talk to you, very silent, he just warned you about something far down the road, it was like he smelled the dangers and you had no idea how he was so good at it (his stand but you just don't know about this OR even know that this exists!)

Resting in makeshift camps with him was awkward at first.He was bossy, told you what to get and what he needed, criticized the way you arranged things, but as time went by, you got used to his way, and also, he stopped bossing you around.

Diego's company was pleasant even though he was someone in a bad mood.

Diego would never tell you this, but since he decided to give in his ego, to have you for company, it was comforting. 

There were nights when you shivered with cold, and he stoked the fire instantly. There were days when you hadn't eaten enough and Diego would say "I don't need all of this, if you don't want it I'll throw it away". You have been noticing these subtle gentle behaviors. He didn't know how to be kind.

As the journeys passed, he became more sociable with you. Having said that, he started talking more. You had kept the following information with you: a big fan of coffee, he liked the strong taste that comforted with the heat. He enjoyed the company of animals more than that of people. Too much noise disturbed him to think and sleep.

Although Diego became more talkative, he didn't bring up many facts about himself and you were more interested in that, but it seemed like asking him that was too much. Without having the facts spoken aloud, those being watched spoke much more about him.

Diego likes to eat, even if it's a goo or a delicacy from an expensive restaurant, he'll eat, no matter how much he complains, any food seems to please him. He is very fond of family, from the little he tells about his tragic childhood, he always speaks highly of his beloved mother, he seems to like the idea of ​​being surrounded by people he likes, or dreams of. In moments where you catch him off guard, he's looking at you, but he doesn't turn away when that happens.

Normally you turn, it's embarrassing!

Diego is always looking after you. But it is no longer like someone who is angry about something, however, relaxed eyes, Diego has a calm look for you, and only for you.

You  guys didn't break up after the deal, you're an unbeatable duo. You like being together. Sometimes Diego passes by you and always touches your shoulders and very rarely, touches your waist, but when you do that to him, he tends to dodge his back, you never understand.

Yeah, Diego touches you sometimes, rubs your back when cold, touches your arm when want attention, touches your hand when need to make a quick move. But don't try to do that to him, he will give you a grumpy look.

There was only one moment when the touching was more intense than the casual ones. The race was intense and Diego had hurt his forehead. you had demanded that he let you help him, he was proud, he wouldn't even let him pay triple the prize of the race. With that said, you left him in agony on the floor overnight. In the middle of the night, you woke up, with a bad feeling. Diego was lying down badly, he had a fever. He was weakened, it would not be possible to continue like this.You took his head and placed it in your lap, so you could handle his face well, clean the wound properly, and help with his fever. Your icy fingers touched Diego's hot forehead, who contracted his eyebrow in disdain, he knew it was you with him. You ignored his expression. You took his hair off his forehead, tucking it behind his ear, wiped the damp, warm cloth on his forehead.

Without realizing it, you massage your blond hair with one hand. Angel hair, fine and light, it glistened in the firelight.

Even though it was no longer necessary, you didn't remove the cloth or hands from Diego's face anymore and he had nothing but the expression of tranquility on his face.You slide your fingers across his features. Dry, plump lips, thickly wired brows, strong jawline. 

What a man to be in your lap right now, right?

Suddenly, you feel a hand touch your back, slide gently to your waist and meet your hand, Diego took your hand, waking you up from your trance. He looks you deep in the eyes and places a kiss on the back of your hand. "Thanks Y/N, you sure are sweet". He smiles. 

You are simply on fire from the heat you felt.

That never happened between you again, Diego was someone too closed for any interaction that required a lot of personal space.

Even if you didn't know about the existence of stands, Diego always used it to protect you, sensing danger for miles around and smelling fruit or animals to hunt, however he would never tell you or show you, maybe that would spoil something, maybe it would make you think he was a scary monster.

Diego is like that, he only demonstrates from afar without being direct.

#diego brando #diego #dio brando #steelballrun #steel ball run #part 7 #jojo #diego brando headcanon #diego brando x reader #diego brando fanfic #y/n #jojo x you #diego brando x you #jojo headcanon #jojo part 7 #jojo part 7 headcanon #steel ball run headcanon

[ellenchain]

Which are the preferred personal vehicles of 47, Diana, Lucas and Olivia?

I know that 47 has access to the hearse in Freelancer and while that is his brand of humor, I don't see him using it much.

I bet Lucas had a bike he drove recklessly after he escaped from the institute (misquoting B99's Hitchcock, he has nothing left to live for and drives like it). But after he got Olivia, he upgraded to a car. But I can't decide if it's funnier if he goes directly to a football mom suv or if he drives something like a muscle car and only when someone makes an offhand comment on its safety, he switches to the suv. (Hi Mr Grey. Olivia is settling in nicely. Is it true you drove her in an Impala? My husband has one as his project car and those safety ratings are terrible, I would never pick up my kids in one. .......Haha, of coirse I wouldn't either, my car's at the garage nd this is just a rental........fuck).

Diana probably has a landrover, reinforced like a small tank.

I bet Olivia drives a cute hybrid or electrical car.

47.....sleek Italian sports car? In black, of course.

oh boy how I LOVE that question! Honestly, I've been thinking about that quite a lot recently, I don't even know why, but it crossed my mind

And I like your headcanon, which I absolutely agree with! They probably all have several cars, they are rich, they can drive whatever they want. But there are one or two cars that I associate with them…

I think 47 loves cars, especially old cars. He certainly has a penchant for spending his money on classics. But an everyday car? Next to his many sports cars (e.g. Lamborghini Aventador)? Probably a rich (old) person one like a Porsche Panamera (in red because it's probably his favourite colour, I mean his tie is always red):

But I think he prefers to drive his classics. Unfortunately I don't know much about them, but he seems to love this black one in Freelancer a lot!

I can well imagine Diana in a sleek little sports car. She certainly has to get around a lot and quickly. Power woman style (but still reinforced like a small tank, as you say. She knows her enemies and how to protect herself from them). I think Diana has a lead foot on the highway (that's what we say in Germany when you drive way too fast) So why not an Audi R8 in blue? Her little show-off car

47 loves driving in it. But not so much when Diana is at the wheel (vroom vroom)

Ohhh Olivia, our cute little mouse, must have been driving around in a junk car for many years. But she values environmental protection, so she got herself a small, affordable electric car recently (after the old car died). Everyone thinks the car is ugly, but she loves her green box a lot, her Honda e:

(this car is so ugly, it's insane)

And Lucas. Oh, he probably sees cars purely as a commodity. And yes, he certainly made sure to drive a decent car in Olivia's school days so that no one would be suspicious, but I think he has several cars (despite being against capitalism). One for missions, where you get a lot in, get through every terrain, etc., probably a Dodge Ram 1500:

(I don't know much about American cars, but here in Europe these things are way too big for our streets and are more used by hunters or forestry workers because you can pack a lot onto the loading area)

He probably has a small SUV for everyday use (in the city), because the weapons have to go somewhere, right? A Dacia Duster is probably something for him - relatively cheap, yet robust, not a posh car, just an SUV:

(I'm starting to get the feeling that I am going to sell you a few cars)

BUT in the depths of his garage in Berlin he has his greatest treasure, his old Opel Corsa B in mint green:

This thing has seen a lot and is 30 years old. All doors except the driver's door can only be opened from the inside, the boot can no longer be locked properly and when you hit the gas pedal, the car only gets louder and not faster. Air conditioning: Roll down the windows manually. But he loves it with all his heart and enjoys driving around Berlin at weekends to get a Döner at his favourite Döner stand 💘

(47 only drives with Lucas in absolute emergencies in this car, which sometimes makes strange noises and the lack of insulation makes it feel like your arse is about to hit the road. 140 km/h (around 85 mph) with this car is like a death sentence, but Lucas has fun)

#Hitman aks #as you can see I mostly know European cars I'm sorry #but since Lucas (in my mind) lived in Berlin for a few years he can drive a German car #and for me 47 is a bit of a boomer when it comes to cars #only mums who drop their kids off at kindergarten or old men drive porsches here lmao #fun fact: a friend of mine still drives a 1993 opel corsa in mint green and it's an adventure every time #will we get to our destination or will the car give up before then? Who knows #my friend drives 140 on the autobahn regardless of the sounds it makes #and i love it

[littlelesbinonny]

The Devil's Den

Chapter 25: In Which Fates Begin to Spin Pt. 4

You can read this also on Ao3 at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46831621/chapters/117962293

Well, you got zero sleep the rest of the night.

The aching in your back spread to the rest of your body and you ended up running a hot bath to soothe it. It was like you were in the day-after phase of a grueling work out session. Everything was sore. Tight. And your back was still stinging. It felt like rug-burn.

Luckily the soak helped alleviate much of the tension and you were able to get up and get ready for work, although, you really didn't feel like going. Maybe you were coming down with the flu? You didn't have a fever, you didn't feel congested or have a runny nose, no headache, just physically beat to hell for literally no apparent reason.

You couldn't help the feeling of anxiety crawling up from the pit of your stomach.

Maybe something was terribly wrong with Alcina.

About 30 minutes before you had to leave for work you texted your boss that you were sick. You weren't up for it today. You felt like shit, and exhausted was putting it mildly. 

Curling up in your beanbag chair you opened your balcony blinds and watched the sunrise through another hazy fog. You did notice the plate of blueberries had been picked clean and at least that put a smile on your face. Nestling down with a fuzzy pillow you let your eyes shut and allowed a doze to wash over you.

Your subconscious filled itself with thoughts of Alcina and it was partially comforting and bothersome. Being apart from her sucked. A lot. All you could really hope for was that you were actually getting sick and nothing was wrong. Still unsure why you felt this way, you tried to abandon it, but it hung on like a pesky sibling in a needful fit of attention.

The faint screams you heard before your body had its convulsions came echoing back as you tried to rest and it pushed your nerves further to the ledge. If you didn't know any better you'd say it easily could have been Alcina. Maybe... maybe it was. Were you somehow having some kind of extra sense and experiencing things she was going through? When she told you the tale of her and Madeleine it seemed to play out like a movie in your head; like you could physically see and hear and feel what she had gone through. You chalked that up to the vivid imagination that you'd always had, but now you were starting to question a whole hell of a lot more. Like, how you could physically feel emotional changes in her, as if somehow Alcina's experiences were reflecting in or off of you. 

Or, maybe you were just out of your mind and imagining all of it. 

You groaned.

-

When Karl was finally allowed into the tent, Alcina was sitting upright on the med cot draped in a grey robe that was clearly too small for her. She looked paler than he had ever seen; her cheeks were hollow, eyes dimly lit and the slate color barely hanging on. Her lush lips that were normally the shade of blood were thinner and just as pale as the rest of her. The length of her arms that protruded from the garment showed the deep dark purple scarring of the slashes she'd endured, not to mention the bruising and scrapes down the left side of her face. They looked ugly and he winced internally.

Guilt was rarely, if ever, an emotion he felt. But somehow this was gnawing at the back of his neck and it was pissing him off. 

She was slower than normal in regarding him. He assumed she must still be in a good deal of pain, but she nodded gently as he approached.

Beside her bed was a long table that was piled high with empty blood packs, one appeared newly drained and he cocked an eyebrow.

"Look's delicious," he smirked.

While she was lacking in energy, her retorts were swift.

"If I have to drink one more cold bag of blood I might just eat you instead - though I'm convinced that would actually poison and kill me."

Karl grinned, "that would be completely accurate. I'm basically junk food, but also bitter, rancid, probably a little bit of a lot rotten and not for the weak - however," he saved himself quickly, "I had a feeling you could use a real meal."

Alcina watched with a tilt in her head as he handed her a thermos.

"Don't ask where I got it. Just drink it."

Sable was eying the both of them with pure curiosity at their exchange, and more or less what was in the bottle while she cleaned and tidied Alcina's area.

Without questioning, Alcina unscrewed the black lid and sniffed. It was hot blood.

She sighed with pure delight and began to drink it greedily. She didn't care to ask how or where he got it, she was exceptionally grateful just to have some blood that didn't taste like rusted nails found in a riverbed. It was no substitute for yours, nothing ever would be, but it was nourishing enough and the majority of her pain slowly trickled away.

"Thank you," she said softly, eyes closed and her head tilted back, "I'll keep you off the dinner menu."

Karl tried not to stare at how ragged she looked, so he quickly recovered and began scratching his chin.

"How ya feelin'?" he asked abruptly.

Taking in slow and careful breath, Alcina eyed him tiredly, "like shit."

Well, at least she was honest.

"Hey, you should see the other guy," he grinned, "he's like dead and stuff."

Alcina smiled.

  After a bit more conversation, and since it had been mentioned, Alcina requested to be taken to the tent where her deceased assailant was being examined. She wanted to look at the fucker herself, she had many questions she wanted answered. Though, there was no way she could go dressed like this.

Sable sent Gabe for some of their reserve gear. He returned not too long after with a black tactical jacket and a pair of beige pants that were baggy but a little bit short for her long legs. Oh well.

Karl didn't really stifle his snicker as she made her way slowly out of the medical tent. He so desperately wanted to make a quip at how quickly she had downgraded her class after just one short night in the company of lycans, but she threw him a warning glare. Her returning fire gave him great relief; she was getting better and she would make it through this like the warrior he knew.

Gerard and Mateo had returned, in tow was Mitch, whom she was pleasantly happy to see. He was mending quickly. 

Without much more delay, she, Karl, Sable, Mitch, Mateo and Gerard all took a little visit to the coroner's tent.

"Why is his head smashed in - how did it get smashed in?"

Karl didn't look at anybody, just stood there with his hands in his pockets and a blank expression on his face.

"Methinks it had to be a really big hammer, or something," Mitch replied smugly, thumbing his bristly chin.

Alcina looked to Karl in the deafening silence and after accepting no one was going to say anything, she raised her eyebrows at him, "was that truly necessary? Wasn't he dead already?"

He shrugged nonchalantly seemingly bored with the subject, "nothing wrong with making sure."

Mitch winked at Alcina when their eyes met, the smugness only growing stronger in his grin.

"Aside from that - " she stopped shortly and hissed; her quick movement towards the large containment bin his body was in caused a sharp discomfort all through her back.

Karl was reaching for her immediately but she put her hand up as she closed her eyes and breathed herself back to normalcy.

"I'm fine... now... aside from that, what more do we know?"

Joel, the examiner and rightfully one of their most intelligent scientists, huffed, "well, that's about it." 

It was easy to tell by his mannerisms he was just as curious but annoyed by the matter as everyone else. 

"As I said he's definitely a vampire, but he's mutated. I still don't know with what or how. It seems parasitic in nature; his body was still quite functional even after there was no way for it to be. A bashed in skull really doesn't adhere to having a reactive nature in the way of his - nerve damage can cause such effects, sure, but his body actually reacted independently of each test. When I was slicing off skin samples from his hand, it jerked away as if it was in pain. He's clearly dead. There should be no reaction as such. It wasn't until several hours postmortem that he actually stopped having any movement at all, and that leads me to believe he's infected with something. Coming to that conclusion, that's why his body is now contained the way it is. And no, I don't believe it is contagious but I want to make sure if something exists that body, it's contained."

Karl walked closer to the bin and toed it with his boot. He really wanted to kick it, but he kept his cool.

"Huh... an infected mutated vampire. Can we kill it with fire?"

Joel smirked, "well yeah, you can pretty much kill anything with fire, but from what I've heard of these heathens they're damn near impossible to catch."

Alcina mused on the sight of the vampire lying there, recalling how sporadic but effectively chaotic his increased speed was. 

"Do you have any assumptions on the weakness of this... thing? Preferably without hand to hand combat?" she asked looking back at him.

"From the damage done that you inflicted, before the head smashing, and his ability to still travel as far as he did before he died tells me this mutation has either drastically altered either his ability to feel pain, given him a complete lack of awareness of pain, or has simply made him psychotic. That would be the only real explanation for him to withstand such an attack and survive as long as he did. Examining the healing rate of the wounds tells me he's no real different than the rest of us, just utterly blind to his own limitations."

"So buddy boy here's infected with meth parasites - exciting. Well that's certainly not super helpful," Karl grumbled, "so we got a pack of psychotic mutated vampires on the loose who can't be tracked or caught because of their absence of smell and stupid fast ability to move. What the fuck are we supposed to do with that, play the Texas Chainsaw Massacre version of Where's Waldo?"

"Do we know how many more are out there?" Alcina interjected rolling her eyes.

"Not a goddamn clue," came another voice from the entrance of the tent.

Sylvia had stepped in with another guard and approached the group with a sour look on her face.

"I've got men stationed in droves around the cave. It's been silent tonight for the time being but I don't trust anything. There's no way this motherfucker was able to attack as many of my soldiers as he did in separate places even with his super mutant speed. Doesn't add up. There's gotta be more, but where is the million dollar question."

Everyone paused and mulled on the situation before Alcina stiffly straightened her posture and ran a shaky hand through her raven hair.

"After we finish here I will contact my people and get troops mobilized immediately to aid you. I would still like to keep this as quiet as possible for the time being; the less chaos we can avoid internally will greatly aid our efforts outside the underground cities to hopefully neutralize this threat before it becomes worse. Sylvia, please get me a list of supplies my military can bring."

The lycan general folded her hands behind her back and nodded at Alcina, then nodding in the direction of the tent entrance to the soldier behind her which immediately set off.

"What can we do for you in the meantime, Lady Dimitrescu?"

Alcina waved her off gently, "nothing. Your exemplary medical officers have gone above and beyond with my care and I am grateful for their expertise," she regarded Sable who smiled in return, "once my soldiers arrive I trust you and my general, Dmitri, will get things in order..." 

She paused as the overwhelming feeling of uselessness drenched her psyche. In any other situation she would be side by side with her soldiers in planning and executing any kind of military plan, but in her current state she was a liability and it made her cringe. Alcina hated being left on the sidelines, she'd never been this helpless before as a vampire. Her wounds should be healed by now goddammit.

Clearing her throat she once more tried to straighten her posture to brush off her pain and dismay, "when I am more able, I will be back in the trenches with you."

Karl was no dummy. He could tell she was running herself down internally for not being the active commander she felt she should in this. He couldn't let it go noticed.

"Well look, I dunno about the rest of you but I'm fuckin' tired of being around this dead, some kind of infected bag of flesh; can we please get onto more important things? Like, when and what the fuck are we eatin'?"

A breath of relief eased from her tight chest and Alcina let the lycans lead the way out of the tent. 

Sable was at her side and eyed her in the dimly lit night, "I know you're in hurry to get back to the warehouse but I'd like to apply more betadine to your back before you go."

Very few times in Alcina's life had she had to rely on other people for so much help. Unfortunately, she'd known long endured and intense pain for more than most when she was human. She'd gone for so long without real unmanageable pain as a vampire that this was playing mind games with her. Even at the worst of the lycan vampire wars, wounds she sustained were fast healing, and the physical discomfort was minimal through her vampire strengths. This... this took her back to the days she was bedridden by utter exhaustion and agony she couldn't wait to be freed from. She hated it. This wasn't normal. There was more to these wounds than met the eye and she hoped Joel's tests would bring back proof of whatever it may be.

Sable had to help Alcina undress, she couldn't move her arms in a way that didn't stretch the stapled, stitched skin that covered the majority of her back. 

Wincing as she lie face down on the cot, Alcina sighed and closed her eyes.

"I'm seeing improvement, Lady Dimitrescu. This is good. I think you'll need to stick with the increased blood intake for a while, at least a couple more days to continue the healing. I may even be able to remove some of these stitches by tomorrow."

The coolness of the betadine didn't hurt as much thankfully, and Alcina couldn't help but wonder how bad it truly was.

"What... what does it look like?" she asked, feeling a little sheepish.

"I can show you, if you like."

Alcina nodded at her offer and Sable took out her cell phone. Not 5 second later the screen was in front of her face with the picture that she now wished she hadn't asked for.

She may as well tell people she'd gotten in a tangle with a bear; the stapled and stitched gashes were thick enough. The coloring ranged from the deepest purple to bright red, blue, and some yellow-green where the blood had spread out under her skin. 

"Sable?" she said very gently, "if I ever ask you something like this again, remind me about right now."

She'd already placed her phone back in her pocket and smiled.

"I don't think there will be a next time, we'll be on top of this in no time, but I'll keep that in mind. You should have seen them the night it happened... you looked 1000 times worse."

~

Sitting most gingerly and uncomfortable on the ragged couch in the warehouse common room, Alcina stared out into nothingness as her thoughts had been set loose off its chains.

Donna couldn't reach Mother Miranda.

She'd been trying for 2 days and nights now and nothing.

Miranda had several residences all over the world and each phone call ended in silence. A message left. And no reply.

Donna wanted to send a team to her manor in Connecticut not too far from where they were stationed currently, but Alcina halted the action by the feral reaction in her gut. No. They would wait. Miranda was known to travel frequently, though her silence on her departure was less than common, it did not make it entirely unusual. 

Alcina heeded Donna's worry of the mutants getting to her first, but it was highly unlikely. If they had made an attack on Mother Miranda the entire city would have been made aware and the military would have been deployed faster than they could blink. No, there must be another reason to her unknown silence. She couldn't really say if she was relieved or not by this news, but for now it would just have to wait. 

Perhaps deep down, hidden and hushed, Alcina secretly hoped Donna's fears were true... so many troubles would be over if it came to pass that she had been slain. She knew it was a far-fetched prayer, but she wouldn't write off her hopes.

Donna was unconvinced Alcina should be held up in the warehouse and should come home. It may be better fortified than the lycan outpost, but with her condition she was adamant she come back to the underground city for further treatment by their doctors and where there was a larger blood supply. Alcina denied the request. In truth, she was exhausted. She didn't think she could make the journey without burdening her company for help. Just because she was weak didn't mean she should show it. She was the Matriarch; the title came with standards she had to meet at any length possible... being weak was not an option, not in the middle of something like this.

With a heavy sigh she closed her eyes and hung her head. What she wouldn't give to be safe and sound in your arms, tucked into your couch, enjoying the shared comfortable silence and calm. 

A small smile began to spread on her lips and Alcina took a different kind of sigh. 

She missed you. 

Badly. 

She hoped you were doing well, that work hadn't driven you crazy, that you were resting and taking care of yourself while she was away. That you were safe. 

A muffled commotion coming from the tunnel entrance brought her attention back to the here and now and she rose from the couch. After several hitches, winces, whines, and curses under her breath, Alcina was standing tall by the time her troops entered. 

"My Lady," Dmitri's voice echoed proudly against the empty warehouse walls upon seeing her.

Dmitri Vladislav Shurshalin was a large, towering man. His shoulder length silver hair complimented his chiseled bold features with a softness, even as striking as it was. His eyes were a deep dark chestnut, which made his appeal all the more unnerving. Alcina and he had met on the battlefield in the beginning; he was the leader of the Iron Blood Clan that had migrated from Europe long before her time. He had been in league with Mother Miranda but he had never pledged his full services to her. When he and Alcina's troops had fought together, their cohesion and battle tactics seemed to flow like meeting rivers. And when Alcina had been named Matriarch, Dmitri was the first to pledge his whole allegiance and alliance to her. Appointing him her military general was enacted immediately. They lead the vampires to victory on every mission; including the alliances made with the lycans at the end of the wars.

He approached her with the same sturdy reverence as he always had, handing her a bag she recognized as her own.

"This, is from your daughters. It does not match my outfit but they were insistent I bring it myself," he grinned, speaking low with the lilt of his Russian accent, "and in the large containers you see coming in behind me, is our blood supply... I realize the lycans taste and ours varies quite drastically... Donna informs me you will be needing it."

Alcina ignored the respectful once-over of his glances. He stood at her height which was an unusual event of itself, but made it easier for her to gauge all his facial responses.

She sighed softly and looked at him with a nod, "ever the attentive right hand - she does her job well, for that I am grateful. Come, we must speak, privately."

"As you wish, My Lady," he nodded shortly at his men who were busy setting aside the large quantities of cargo, and followed the slower moving Matriarch to the second level of the warehouse.

Once to the table at the far East corner, he pulled the folding chair out for Alcina allowing her to sit first, then taking residence across from her.

"Donna has briefed you, yes?"

"Yes."

"I am wary as hell about this cave. The lycans are reckless about it but do not let them enter that godforsaken thing without proper backup. Sylvia seems level-headed but I have no idea how Heisenberg will continue to behave. You have always held a high rapport with them and I hope it holds through this high-stakes situation. The lycans are... gnashing, for lack of a better word, for revenge on these mutated vampires."

"Still no solid numbers as to how many?"

"No," she huffed, "that is my other concern... they are..." flashes of memories of her attack sped through her, "without a doubt the most deadly force I have come across. I've seen what they can do, I've experienced what they can do, and... " she leaned in carefully, "I fear our own strengths in this fight."

#alcina dimitrescu #alcina dimitrescu/female reader #alcina dimitrescu/original female character #alcina dimitrescu/reader #lesbian #f/f #fanfic #wlw #fic #karl heisenberg #donna beneviento

[cloverdaisies]

SNAP OUT OF IT: ERIC SOHN 2

read chapter one here !

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TV interviewer: As you can see we’re reporting live from outside of the venue that global sensation rock band The Boyz will be performing at live tonight, it’s chaos, there’s screaming, crying and the boys haven’t even arrived yet! How are you guys feeling in the queue?

Girl 1: Better than ever! *screaming into the camera* I’d sell my soul for you Juyeon!

Boy 1: Hyunjae Lee you were my gay awakening!!

Girl 2: My mom accepts our marriage Eric!!

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y/n pov

A Friday night from hell, I don't think it could of been any worse. First of all being ditched by my friends back at the cab service, second of all being forced to walk home at such a late hour through the city's night club zone. Last and certainly not least almost being kidnapped by a shifty man in a burnt out junk car on the sidewalk.

Yanking at my dress ties, I strode in my heels over the sidewalk in tired drags - echoing with a concrete sounding graze below. The unknown fawn haired boy that rescued me from being thrown into the man's car following closely behind. I insisted on buying the drinks at the nearby convenience store, since he didn't have anything on him like a wallet or credit card. The little white plastic bag looped between my fingers as I placed the goods on the metal table between us with a clink. I cracked open two dark brown tinted bottles, sliding the other one across to him - which he caught casually with one hand, leaning back into his chair lazily.

"So, what's your name?" I asked briefly, looking up in confusion as he thought about his answer - who has to think about their name?

"Youngjae, Youngjae Sohn." He replied, setting his bottle on the table. His smile was cunning, his teeth white and sharp.

"Young.. Jay? " I looked at him like he'd just told me some terrible rap name before chuckling to myself lightly.

"It's Korean." He laughed to himself, enlightened by my reaction - teasing another flash of his pointy top teeth. "What about you?"

"I'm Y/N, Y/N L/N." I smiled flatly taking a swig of the open necked bottle between my fingers before asking further.

"So do you go to University or anything?" I added with a short sigh.

"Uh, no. I dropped out of high school." He responded, shyly scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh." I nodded knowingly, "I mean who needs the education system anyway."

"Too true." He giggled to himself once again, leaning over the metal table and lighting a cigarette between his lips.  "Do you smoke? Is it okay if I-"

"No but go ahead."I shook my head with a nervous laugh, as he closed the packet. Even If I did smoke, I was in no way shape or form taking a cig from the decrepit, crumpled, god knows where it's been, box he drew a light from.

"What are you doing for a living yourself?" He asked taking a puff of the lit tobacco between his lips.

"I'm just a waitress, this is the first Friday night I've had off in months." I raised my eyebrows lightly in reply, stretching back into cool metal of the chair behind me.

"Oh yeah, that's another thing." He reiterated, taking the cigarette from his lips briefly, "How come you were even stood alone in a sketchy area in the first place?"

"My friends only bought a 4 seater cab and decided to just leave me out of the ride home." I scoffed, my tongue poking the inside of my cheek in annoyance.

"That's something my friends would do to be honest." He replied with a chuckle, empathizing with me bittersweetly.

"Self absorbed assholes?" I asked with a cock of my eyebrow, referring my own friends to his own.

"Pretty much." He nodded with smirk, meeting my eyes for the first time in the entire conversation.

"I could have sworn he looked just like Eric, it was the same blonde hair." Two girls approached the convenience store, wearing matching shirts and flannels tied around their waists.

"But he had his hood up." The other one giggled, ignoring the conversation I took another sip of my drink.

The boy in front of me jolted, pulling his hood over his head and resting on the table. The girls jumped slightly at the sudden action as they walked by - shrugging it off strangely and giving me a strange look before waking inside. I took the time to notice the slits on his fingers, all shredded and the skin on them cracked toughly. His knuckles were bruised, as if they'd just been in a fight - or punched a nearby wall.

"Are you okay?" I asked as he lifted his head slightly, checking the surroundings before sitting back.

"Y-Yeah, fine." He shuddered, keeping the hood over his head conspicuously.

"Did you know them?" I pointed back into the store the two girls walked into, my bottom lip protruding curiously.

"Something like that." He chuckled nervously, quickly ducking back down as the shop door reopened.

"Uh Miss, you might wanna check your friends pulse.." One of the girls pointed to the slumped over boy in front of me.

"You might wanna stick to your bed times." I smiled bitterly at the two teenagers, watching them scoff sending me their pathetic dirty looks with their narrowed eyes. Turning on their heels, they continued to walk and turn a corner at the end of the street.

"You can get up now." Informing the boy with a light shake of his shoulder, watching him lift his head in a slight daze.

"They're definitely gone?" He asked peeping his head over my shoulder cautiously.

"Who are they?" I scoffed at the man in front of me, lips quivering like a poor train wreck, all because of some bitchy teenage girls.

"It doesn't matter." He rolled his eyes with a nonchalant flick of his wrist. I shrugged the interaction off, throwing one of the potato chips I bought on to my tongue and crushing it with a muted crunch.

The disruptive click of a camera and distant flash alerted the both of us - snapping our heads in the direction of the shuttering snap. Upon a balcony in the apartment block opposite the store, an older man holding a chunky black camera peered over the spindled balcony with a smirk.

Furrowing my brows and taking a peculiar glance at the boy opposite me. Confusion kicked in when he grabbed my hand and pulled me from the table. He pulled me down the next street, feet plodding heavily until we'd reached a busier street.

"What was that?!" I tugged my arm away from him with an alarmed huff.

"I'll explain later, I need you to trust me, so I can know you get home safe." He breathed out, signaling for me to walk ahead with him.

"Ah yes, let me trust the strange hooded man I met on the sidewalk an hour ago, the same man that I've just been photographed with by some random guy on a balcony. How do I know you're not about to put me in a car and throw me across the border?!" I asserted with a sneer dripping from each sentence that passed my lips.

"Listen I'm not taking you anywhere sketchy, there's plenty of people nearby. I'm just gonna need you to come with me, you won't believe me if otherwise." He elaborated calming the situation with his hands and trying his best to bring any comfort he could.

"Fine, but if I'm making the wrong decision right now, just know you're a piece of shit." I gave him a slight look of malice, which he shrugged off and continued to walk ahead.

Bringing me to a towering theatre looking building, supported by large brick pillars that reached from the ground to the top floor. As he said there were many people around, making sure his hood and cap covered his face. We stepped inside, cleaning staff dotted across the lobby as well as some music fans with matching shirts - the ones those girls were wearing earlier. Reading down one of the fronts of the T-shirts, in a gothic font it read:

THE BOYZ

JUYEON

ERIC

HYUNJAE

SUNWOO

On the back, a bunch of cities and venues they'd played. It was clear they had a concert here tonight, to add to the confusion being yanked back stage confused me even more.

"ID?" The guard asked the boy in front of me, taking his hood and hat up momentarily. The guard's eyes appeared shocked for a second, standing aside and letting the both of us pass.

"ERIC!" Somebody's voice boomed through the hallway, it was a male's strangely soft pitched for the yell they'd produced. "What the fuck? Where did you go?" A black haired boy stormed down the corridor, stopping when he reached our feet. Softening up when he saw me, he sent me a flirtatious nod which I returned with a weird look. If there was one thing about this boy, it was that he reeked of weed - and it was disgusting despite his attractive nature.

"Lay off Juyeon, I need to help this girl get home, her friends ditched her and the only way to get to her neighborhood is sketchy." He explained, finally taking his cap and hood down with a elongated sigh.

"No offense to this lovely lady." The boy named Juyeon sent me the same smile before switching back up, "But this is why our manager says your too nice."

The only thing passing my mind was Eric, flashing back to the T-shirt earlier... We were stood talking to Juyeon, they're in a band? A popular band? So why would he lie?.. If anything that's extra lady magnet points.

"She can take one of our cabs, where abouts is your neighborhood?" Juyeon asked further as the both of them looked at me attentively. Snapping me out of the many questions I had circling my mind.

"Just out of Central." I replied as they both shared a nod between each other.

"Yeah you're not walking through Downtown alone to get there in that." Juyeon laughed lightly eyeing up the short black dress I was wearing. I returned the chuckle nervously, partly in disgust as they brought me through to one of the back rooms , where staff were frantically wrapping things up and fanning the two other celebrity looking boys sprawled out on couches. There were electric guitars and other hardcore instruments being shoved back into their cases. Speakers and amps lying around with their wires tangled and spewed out on to the floor.

Now you tell me, who had I met on the sidewalk again?

——

For a moment, I felt as if my life had stopped in time, I stared at the ceiling for hours whilst the band smoked, drank and partied in the next room. The two other boys hadn’t bothered to greet me, instead they just stared with blank doe eyes that felt as if they stared miles past me. To be completely honest, I just wanted the warm linen of my own bed sheets wrapped around me, the comfort of my own home. It seemed as if I'd been trapped in this venue for decades before the music, the screaming, the sound of youthful life even had time to fade out. I'd already had my night out before I arrived here, but these boys wouldn't stop until the night eventually became morning.

That's how I slipped out.

With no money to get a taxi, I grabbed a merchandised hoodie that had been draped over a nearby chair and threw it over myself. The venue was like a hellish assortment of back rooms, every door led to either a cluttered storage room filthy and covered with layers of thick dust, or another room filled with feeble chairs and a stage for local performances.

There it was. A fluorescent, flickering green light attached to the ceiling 'EXIT'. It led me out to the back alley of the place, it was quiet, quite comforting actually. Whilst I made my way out to the front of the building, the sun coming up and streets clear of anyone from the night before, I looked back at the huge billboard flashing at the front of the venue.

"THE BOYZ. UK & EUROPE TOUR."

I continued on with my journey just out of town, along the deserted main road, not a vehicle nor even another pedestrian in sight.

Despite my heels feeling as if they were about to snap off, my knees shaking, struggling to stand, my eyes ready to collapse shut any minute - I managed to make it home to my block of apartments just in time for it to hit 7 AM.

Living alone has its benefits, despite failing secondary school and having no financial stability whatsoever, not having any parents screaming into your ears or any siblings you have to floor - it was a piece of complete serenity. My waitressing job seemed to be going well for me, as long as there's no proper numbers or any Scottish serial killing monarchs to get in the way of me - I'm sure I'm going to do just fine in life.

However I couldn't help but envy the absolute monstrosity of a lifestyle people like Eric have the audacity to live. It must be so easy, racking in so much money for bare minimum talent and a pretty face. It must be so easy to have women chasing after you 24/7, I bet that privileged nepo baby doesn't have a clue what the cost of living crisis even is.

Less Thinking More Sleep

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#the boyz drabbles #kpop imagines #the boyz x reader #the boyz x you #the boyz imagines #tbz #tbz eric #eric fanfic #the boyz #kpop fanfic #juyeon #sunwoo #hyunjae #the boyz fanfic #the boyz fluff #the boyz angst #kpop #kpop wattpad #the boyz wattpad #Spotify

[moecartoons]

What do your ocs (plus matt) do to celebrate Starlight Night/Christmas?

When I started writing this, I had it in my head that Starlight Night was Christmas not New Years so those who know better please bare with me and just imagine I'm talking sense, thank you.

Also this is extremely long since I go into the past, present, and future...

•When Chip was young and still had the company of their fathers, they had nearly the entire week planned out for them. At the beginning of the week, they'd ride a horse and carriage outside of their kingdom to see the untouched snow. They'd visit their 'uncle,' Old King Cole of the main Happily Ever After Kingdom. Gifts would be exchanged, and their fathers would procure more behind their darling child's back. The rest of the week is spent preparing for Starlight Night: decorating the castle, preparing for eve's feast, what shall be worn, handing out clothes and food to those with less in their kingdom.

It's all overwhelming yet wonderful for little Chip. Starlight Eve's feast is delicious and very crowded. Chip is exhausted by the night's end, but curiosity always caused them to wake before the sun and go snooping trough their gifts. They pick them up, shake them gently, weigh them, everything a small child can think to do to guess without leaving a trace.

The day of Starlight Night is calm and quiet, they spend the day opening gifts and having their family's portrait painted until night when they the entire kingdom leaves their homes to watch the stars be reset for the year.

Based on a holiday called Día de Los Reyes or Three Kings'/Wise Men's Day that I celebrated as a child, Chip's Kingdom also celebrates days after Starlight Night. Children would leave hay and water under their beds for the camel-borgs of the wise travelers. In the morning they would find the hay and water gone and a gift left behind.

After Chip's kingdom was destroyed, they simply stopped celebrating Starlight Night, going as far as to try and forget it was occurring. They once slept the entire week away. They of course never went into the town and no one ever came to visit them, so they were, sadly, left in peace.

Once Chip meets the Cybersquad and starts coming out of their shell, they still struggle with holidays. It all depends on how they're feeling that year, they may stay in their cottage or go to town for an hour or two. I think the first year will be the toughest, as the Cybersquad would probably come visit them if they can, and they won't answer the door.

• CV doesn't really recall what Starlight night was like when she and Talos lived with their parents. Now the holiday is sort of a struggle for the two since they can't really afford presents for the other. Talos usually tries to make up for it by building the prettiest tree he can out of what is lying around on Discardia. It'll light up and everything.

He tries to save up so they can have a particularly good meal that night, even skipping a few that week himself. He's not a fabulous cook, but CV loves it so that's more than enough for him. CV will try and get Talos a gift, usually clothes, so it's hard for him to feel guilty about the snelfus being spent on him. Clothes are very useful!

The two hang out outside their hut on Discardia and watch the stars reset, feeling as if they're a part of Cyberspace for once.

CV is surprisingly into Starlight Night once Talos is better and they move out of Discardia and onto Radopolis. She loves decorating, everything is flashy and covered in tinsel once they can afford it. Talos still likes building a tree for her. Maybe King Dudicus even asks if they can display it in the middle of Radopolis. A crazy tree made out of junk seems very in par with the Cybersite.

CV is a terrible gift-giver. She has no experience, she's 11 [or 12 at the time probably], and thinks ugly Starlight sweaters are the funnest thing in Cyberspace.

• Teddy used to hate the holidays. They usually mean more work for him. The closer it got to Starlight Night, the more frantic his parents became in getting him onto adverts for the season. Now if he hears someone humming a Starlight tune he'll either have to leave or will loudly chew them out, depending on how he likes you as a person.

Teddy's career usually takes a month long hiatus, beginning just a few weeks before and a few weeks after Starlight Night. He's not fond of snow, he can deal with the cold, but not snow. On Starlight Night's Eve, he'll order a ton of food for him and Ms. Kenzie, having a mini feast with just the two of them. They watch the stars reset from inside, as opening the doors or window will more than likely bring in singing.

Once Teddy finds himself making friends, celebrating Starlight Night is a little difficult. He hates having to explain that he hates the songs and having to ask if they can skip that part. The Cybersquad are more than understanding, though, and besides there's plenty of other stuff to do. Teddy does eventually express want of being outside when the stars reset, so the gang get him some stylish, sound-proof earmuffs for him. [Inez's idea, Jackie picks them out, and Matt tests them out.]

•Starlight Night is awesome for Matt, he loves Cyberspace's holidays.

Christmas is a bit more difficult. Thankfully he's still just a kid, so he gets away with not getting his parents gifts. His Ma usually put his name on a share gift for his Pa, a new tool or watch. Something useful, practical. He knows all his gifts, whether addressed from Santa or both his parents, they're really from her.

He and his Ma decorate the tree after thanksgiving, and he'll insist on helping with the lights on their home. His Ma won't let him. Every year his father complains that no one's going to see all this crap, even if they have visitors.

Every other year, family will visit, it gets a bit hectic, but he really enjoys when there's too much to do rather than not. Again, his mother tries not to let him help out too much, especially in the kitchen. Not only does she want him to enjoy his winter vacation from school, but he's just a baby in her eyes still, he shouldn't be handling a stove. The rest of his family tends to disagree.

The trio get into a tradition of making snowmen of one another if there's enough on the ground. They're usually terrible and get a good laugh all around.

Something always seems to go wrong the very day of Christmas. It feels like a curse to Matt. Parents always choose the worst time to get into a fight, don't they? They'll choose to stay, instead of locking themselves in their room, since it's such a special holiday but that's somehow worse. The silent anger. The awkward air.

He usually feels better while cleaning up the boxes and wrapping paper. It's soothing. Hot cocoa in front of the TV with his Ma while his Pa goes out to the farm to work and blow off some steam. Yeah, Christmas is nice.

#Asks #Idk why I can't answer things without writing more than 5 paragraphs but here we are #Cyberchase #My Ocs #Chip #CV #Teddy #Matt #My Hcs #ALSO TYSM DOSSY SORRY ITS SO LONG AND I TOOK EVEN LONGER OTL

[clairelsonao3]

Writer Q&A Tag Game

Thank you to @winterandwords for tagging me in this one! I love Q&As, I don't care what the questions are!

1. What motivates you to write?

The pursuit of fame and fortune.

Just kidding. No, in all honesty, there was a time when I was obsessed with writing for the market. I still want to make money with my fiction someday, I'm not gonna lie. But actually, it's always been about telling stories that I know no one else will tell and that need to be told. If I'm that invested in a story, nothing will stop me from finishing it.

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

This is the last section of the opening chapter of The Adored. And it's going to get changed, so don't get too attached. But the gist of it has stayed through all drafts:

CW: Mention of teen females (consensually?) groping a teen male:

Hell, before this year, he’d never left the state of Minnesota. He and Afton didn’t eat pie on a boat on their first date, either. They didn’t even have a first date. But he’s let the world believe it, along with a million other lies that look pretty under pastel filters and amazing in 200 characters or less. Lies that dance center stage, that come alive under the lights. The lies are Afton’s truth. Thayer’s truth. Social media’s truth.

But they aren’t ours. Micah's and my truth is different. It’s underground, rotting in basements and prison cells, and all the dark places he still prays never to have to go back to. It’s about the night I saw Afton with a man in a dark Jaguar that turns Micah pale when he sees it, about the chains that still choke his heart and soul. It’s the jagged puzzle whose pieces he relied on me to put together, then told me never to reveal — the whats, but not the whys.

It’s why we’re really quitting.

But there’s one last truth. It’s what he’s trusting me to find. Me, the gawky giraffe in borrowed Balenciaga, with a bass she can barely play. The blurry face in the background. The tacked-on name at the bottom of the story. Bandmate Isley Nash.

I want to ask him, why me?

But before I can, it’s over. He throws himself backward off the stage. His body arches through space like a supernova. This is the moment they’ve been waiting for. They caress him, groping his hair, his legs, his junk. His eyes close. He’s lost. He’s theirs. For them, there’s only tonight.

And unless I find that truth, tonight is all there will ever be. 

3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

Micah (see above) is a reluctant teen rock star, a defiant rebel, a deadpan snarker, a (probable) murder victim, and my OG sad boi, so I'm always going to go with him.

4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

Editing. Drafting is trying to make something out of nothing, which is torture. Editing, meanwhile, is sculpting something you create (which is almost always terrible to start off with) into something good, which is fun and fulfilling. I will vomit unreadable, ungrammatical crap onto the page just so there's something there to edit when I go back. For me, that's where 99% of the real work of writing gets done.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Dialogue! I think my dialogue is often funny and entertaining. Can I say that? I'm saying that.

6. What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

Getting tagged to fill out Q&As like this and ramble about myself ad nauseum! No, seriously, the community I've found on Tumblr has amazingly changed my life in the best way -- and I've really only been here a few months! Here, I've found talented writers, engaged readers, and all-around wonderful human beings, who do not only NOT judge me for my bizarre tastes, but in many cases actually share them. Finding a community like that is rare enough in the internet hellscape where we often find ourselves, let alone IRL, and I will be grateful for it always.

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

I've reluctantly come around to Grammarly, even though I snobbishly thought I didn't need it. Oh, and chatGPT. No, I'm kidding. I have tried it out, though. (Haven't we all?)

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

CW for discussing slavery in a clinical, dispassionate way (IDK, might be a trigger for some).

I've long thought you can't really understand or write about slavery without understanding the basic economics behind it, whether historically or in a fictional context. In most fiction with institutionalized slavery, it's either completely controlled by a dystopian government or by one single, massive company. To me, neither seemed realistic, and I think this is where this world differs from other related ones. In the world of GSNBTR, slavery is like any other sector under capitalism: it's multiple businesses of various sizes and with different niches competing against each other for customers, while being regulated (relatively lightly) by the government (as lobbied for by special interests, of course). And that also means thinking hard about the kinds of roles slaves would be likely to fill in a modern society built on that system, where they come from (likely many different places), who would own, trade, and manage them (whether government, corporations, or individuals) and how they would be likely to be used -- ie., it's not just domestic servants and sex workers, in fact, those are likely the minority of slaves. The majority are fast-food workers, landscapers, cleaners, dishwashers, farmworkers, general laborers, etc. etc. I suspect some are also used in the entertainment industry in some capacity (i.e. some actors/musicians/athletes are literally owned by movie studies/record companies/sports leagues), but I haven't really puzzled this out in detail. This stuff isn't necessarily fun to think about, but it's a must in a story like this, and I definitely did spend a lot of time thinking about it.

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Are you writing what you really want to write? Always write what you want, not what you think you should. And if you can't write just for yourself, write for just one person. The rest of your audience will come naturally.

10. Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

I have to of course start with the talented writers whose work was so amazing it drew me in and got me to stay: @little-peril-stories @starlit-hopes-and-dreams

And then, to my astonishment, they reached out to support me and my own work, at times in ways far beyond anything I ever could have imagined. 💕

And then! On various levels, I've been lucky enough to know and interact with @i-can-even-burn-salad @whither-wander-whump @rickie-the-storyteller @mysticstarlightduck @painful-pooch @tabswrites @burntcoffeewhump, and @winterandwords!

And there are so many more great folks that I'm only just starting to discover, such as the following I'll gently tag (as well as OPEN TAG for anyone I mentioned above -- since you're already here, after all -- and anyone else reading this! 😂)

@romanceandshenanigans @digital-chance

#tag game #q&a #my writing #writeblr #wip: the adored #gsnbtr

[beyuwol]

XTH TIME'S THE CHARM !!! hello... as usual i did not write this up nor did i post this in time. sorry about that! i hope my snail pace won't deter you from sticking around! this is velv- *sound of lorry passing by* disregard my previous failed attempts here i promise i will do better this time and today i bring you han yuwol, violin prodigy stepping into the ~band kids zone~ and who knows if that'll work out. happy to be exploring his future with you guys! without further ado, here are the notable links:

PROFILE ⋆ BACKGROUND

other than that, under the cut will be a list of general connections or plot ideas that we can work with, though i'm always open to brainstorm B) as usual, please LIKE THIS POST for me to slide into your ims for plotting purposes! i also have twitter (which sucks now) / discord (sucks less?) upon request

PLOT IDEAS !

if you peruse through his profile, you can see that he... barely has any hobbies tbh. probably not healthy. he would need someone more... free? fun? creative? to introduce him to some Fun hobbies (pls) that ISN'T music related!

more rebellious souls who would convince him to skip violin practice once in a while to hang out. take him to a bar. convince him to get his first piercing. make him Break Some Rules even if it feels like you'd be talking to a wall sometimes... IT WILL HAPPEN

fellow nepobabies who he would've "hung out" with during formal events and the like. people his parents might've told him to "befriend" and the connection remains superficial or... you two actually managed to become real friends!

would be nice if there was a pianist out there who would've performed with yuwol here and there for performances. could be friends... could be... people who were just forced to perform together. here's a ref to the vibes of yuwol's performances (usually it's hauntingly mesmerizing vibes)

other than that, acquaintances or friends from the classical music scene would be nice! people he knew from the orchestra. someone who might've trained with him. whether the connection is negative or positive, i'm open to both. he can't always have friends!

friends or people he knew from high school! he would've been a... goody two shoes, but would also have days when he would be absent performing. i... honestly haven't decided where he went to school so. lol. ehe woopsies. maybe ppl think he always seem so arrogant with how he keeps himself "busy"... or maybe you rlly are friends!

university friends! i also... did not decide where yet. haha woopsies x2! same things apply.

people from the Band Scene(tm), he's kind of 'new' as an active participant (guitarist/violinist/vocalist...?) but he always loved coming to watch performances because he simply loved music. so maybe people he knew from that circle, and now bam the violin prodigy is trying out band!

a few close friends who he can actually talk to. he isn't the most expressive person but he is usually friendly and kind, always willing to lend an ear to those he deems a close friend! he's not above laughing at you or tell you as it is if you fucked up somewhere though. even if he'll try to help out. he might sometimes crash your place when his parents are being Particularly More Unreasonable than usual and he needs an out (rare, but happens!)

can't really imagine him having mutual enemies... if someone disliked him he would just. laugh about it. and act like normal. which, granted, can probably piss people off

drinks coffee. eats junk food if he isn't told to eat properly, tbh. people who work at the cafe he frequents... people who see him eat terribly and then decide THIS HAS TO CHANGE!!! IT'S TIME FOR PROPER MEALS!!

I JUST READ ABOUT THE XMAS MARKET EVENT… so those too, please! 🙏

if you have any other ideas... please hit me with them!! i loveeeeeee brainstorming and mixing ideas and just READING. thank u all <3

#( ooc. ) #/ woooo it's 4am #perfect timing #WILL GET TO WELCOME MESSAGES TOO

[itsnothingofinterest]

Saw the ask from linkspooky and you're both definitely right, it's like the reporter lady (and presumably more since she's meant to represent others, I guess?) missed the point entirely. She wasn't in any way wrong to snap at endeavor, at least implying him as the root cause of a lot of bad happenings, because it's the truth right?

I really hope that this direction is not what hori follows through with, cause what it looks like the message is saying here, is that you shouldn't blame the heroes no matter what, even if it is their fault because that'll be 'damaging'. Despite the obvious truth that if someone had checked endeavor somehow in the first place a lot of damage wouldn't have happened. Do you feel similarly?

Also am I sending you too many negative/critical asks? Should I send less?

(in response to this)

Yeah I’m hoping the same too. Like I think I’ve shared with you before that I’m hoping all this unearned hero hype is just an excuse to end My Hero part 1 on a high note in preparation for a part 2; because boy is all this a terrible way to actually leave things.

Because what you said about how a lot of damage could have been avoided if someone had questioned and checked on Endeavor and his family way earlier into things; that’s true going forward too. If heroes keep that infallible air, what’s to stop another hero from abusing their family? Especially knowing how Endeavor's been treated by the justice system. Already horrible enough; but then what’s to stop that hero's victims from becoming a villain(s) to get revenge on that hero and all the heroes like them as Dabi did*?

It’s the main problem I always mention having with the resolution this arc and it's attitude to the status quo is heading towards; everyone’s fighting to restore order and peace, but zero counter-measures are being considered to prevent more hurt or suffering that’ll loop us right back to this chaos. There’s a few who said they’ll look out for one (1) villain-generating issue; but the method they'll do so is the same as what heroes have always done, be inspiring and nice and junk. And let’s be real; if everything that made the League happened under All Might’s nose for 40 years, what are these guys expecting to accomplish doing the same thing? Is it something different? Because Far Cry tells me that's the definition of insanity.

When I said addressing evil is incompatible with not causing a bother, that’s one of the ways I meant it; the kids and those backing them need to take a hard look at hero society and repair the cracks in it to save those who’re falling in them. Or else one of these days, one of those maggots Shigaraki talked about that are crawling back out of them will tear those whole thing down. Or it’ll last 100 or so years and get taken out alongside humanity by the Singularity that everyone was too busy with villains to deal with. One or the other; either way it can’t last.

So again, reaaaaaaaaaaaaally hoping there’s a part 2 to address all that. Or failing that; that the kids suddenly start being very open to the League being right about stuff and how that should influence their impact on hero society. Because otherwise, things aren’t looking good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also as ever I want to say that no, you are not sending me too many asks. And you shouldn’t worry about your asks being to negative or critical either; since it’s the story, or at least it’s characters’ decisions, that are giving us reason to be critical. Though I would hardly say no to an opportunity to gush over stuff rather than criticize stuff. But either way, I like getting asks; they’re prompts to give my thoughts, with the knowledge people want to hear them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*I'm sure some will say Shoto will be the counter measure to that, he'll stop such abuses. But sorry to burst any bubbles; nothing like that has ever played into his arc. It's always centred on healing the Todoroki family’s damage, and him (alone) not becoming a hero like Endeavor. Besides worries of his own behavior, he's never really thought about other heroes acting like Endeavor.

Now theoretically he could still get the idea to do something about it before series end...but at this point, that's only happening if a) he starts listening to Touya's arguments, realizes he's right, and decides to do something about it less-violently as I outlined above, or b) we get that part 2 where he might get a lot more time to figure things out on his own. So...yeah.

#ask & reply #bnha #bnha 384 #anti endeavor #hero society #class 1a #dabi #shigaraki tomura #paranormal liberation front #PLF

[deadpoolgirl23]

Scoundrel and princess

Dick grayson x reader

Warnings: none

Word count: 1,629

Authors note: I don't even know if this is good, I literally just finished watched Empire strikes back and this popped into my head. I'm sorry if this is terrible.

First person pov:

It was a calm night in the tower everyone was in the living room ready for annual movie night that happened every Thursday after Gar made the notion that "we should all should spend more time together" and Dick agreed.

Which leads us back to the living room. Currently me and Rachel are trying to decide what movie to put on. "Why don't we watch Empire strikes back?" I ask Rachel as she's still scrolling through the thousands of titles, " didnt we just watch star wars last week?" "Yeah but that was a new hope! We can't just start the original trilogy without finishing it!" I try to entice her to side with me but all I am met with is silence and a squint in her eyes seeing that she is contemplating. Gar had decided that last Thursday we should watch A New Hope so Konner could quote on quote "be whole". As a advid nerd I immediately said yes and with the whole group not caring that is what we watched.

I normally would have enjoyed watching Star Wars, being able to quote it word for word in my head with the occasional slip, but I wasn't able to out of the corner of my eye all I could focus on was the way that Dick and Kory sat close together as he whispered in her ear what was happening in the movie to make sense to her as she would continously question the movie.

It sucked having to see that and hear the little laughs that would come out of her mouth anytime Dick made a joke or the way that he would run his hand up and down her arm when they quited down. They claim to be just friends, but it just never looked that way and to be stuck not being able to tell him how I feel hurts even worse than any punch or knife thrown at me.

" Okay fine we can continue star wars, but it's just because I want to see more of luke skywalker" Rachel finally states, "really! And I happen to be more of han solo girl myself" I replied back biting my lip to hide the smile threatening to come across my lips. "Of course you are" she replies back winking, Rachel is the only one to know about my crush on Dick. She had read my thoughts one time when I got hit badly while out on a mission, she was trying to see if I was stable but came across all my thoughts about the bird brain. I was just lucky she never said anything about what she saw to anyone, but now she just teases me about it any chance she can get.

"Rachhh, let's just put the movie on and tell the others" I whine while changing the subject getting up to tell Konner, Krypto and Tim what we chose, while goes to get Gar, Dick and Kory.

I head back to the living room but make a quick stop at the kitchen grabbing some soda and popcorn to snack on while the movie plays, "hopefully this can distract me enough to tonight" I say to myself in my head. Carrying all the junk in my arms I place down on the table moving to get settled in my spot on the couch, the corner that's covered in a blue and grey flannel blanket that is only ever used by me when I'm sitting there. I close my eyes at the warm the blanket brings and open then when I hear the sounds of foot steps and voices fill the air.

As everyone takes their place in their normal spots I notice that Dick instant sitting besides Kory but is actually making his way towards me. I look over to the spot he's been sitting in for the past couple of weeks and see that Gar and Rachel have taken it over, Rachel turns her towards me and we make eye contact, she winks at me and shifts her head back towards Gar.

"Hey is it okay if I sit here?" The voice I've grown to love asks me, "Yeah sure go ahead" smiling waiting for him to take the seat. As he sits my heart begins to flutter like crazy, I know that Konner and Krypto can probably hear it and are confused as to why it sounds like I'm gonna have a heart attack but I can't find myself to care. He could have sat on the floor with Kory and Konner but he chose to sit next to me.

"Thanks, I was not going to be able to sit down there and actually enjoy the movie" " I get, that's why I got here first, you can never trust one of them to not take your seat" I reply which earns a playful "hey" from Gar and causes Dick to smile.

We start the movie after that, everyone gets comfortable and entranced into the movie as the opening sequence begins but instead of just reading the words Gar starts to them allowed in a funny voice that you can't help but laugh at. Rachel gets him to quiet down after a few jabs to ribs with elbow.

Everyone is quiet after the movie has been playing for a little bit, and this time I don't have to hear Kory and Dick laughing to eachother the entire time which feels nice. Although I still have to listen to myself repeat the words and the fluttering heart beat that hasn't slowed since Dick sat.

When Han and Leia begin to argue I have to hold myself back from whispering the scene, I did begin to do it without realizing and it earn a glance from Dick which made me stop immediately, but he leaned down to whisper in my ear the line Han said next "afraid i was gonna leave without a goodbye kiss?" . I swear if I hadn't been blushing already I was turned into a tomato right in that moment. I had to shake myself back into reality, but it didn't stop the smiled that appeared on my face.

I decided that instead of him doing it to me first again I was going to, I waited until Han and Leia were in the millennium falcon to say Leias line quiet enough in his ear "when you aren't acting like a scoundrel" and he didn't waste a second to repeat Hans line to me and we went back and forth, but when he got to last line he only looked down at my lips but never made a move. In a more hushed voice than the other lines he says " you like me cause I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life" breaking the entranced look on his face to meet my eyes and we don't move. The sound of the movie eventually snaps our attention back to it, but this time Dick doesn't just go back to sitting normal he puts his arm around me pulling me closer to him.

I've seen him put his arm around Kory multiple times when we watch movies, but this feels different. He's never pulled her close into him like this. I don't let myself over think it to much as I focus back into the movie taking one last look at him before I lay my head on shoulder. I feel a slight jump from him as if he's shocked I actually did it.

None of the others around us have said anything to us either they don't care or they haven't heard us.

We settle back down and continue the movie not saying another line to eachother until the end when he decides to grab my hand. I look up at him to see if he's waiting for my response but his gaze is on the tv. So I turn my head back and squeeze his hand in response

It's the Carbonite scene, it always crushes my heart but also makes me smile widely. Playing with Dicks fingers the scene begins to escalate when Chewie starts to fight the stroom troopers. I know this scene inside and out and I know that if I repeat the line I so desperately want to it will be towards the man holding in his arms.

I can't even catch myself before I say Leias line as she does " I love you", I don't expect any remarks from him but I hear the two little words said back to me everything around me feels to have stopped.

"I know".

This time it's my turn to be shocked, Dick has turned his head towards me eyes looking down at lips and back up to my eyes doing that a couple more times before we both move in at the same time and finally kiss. I thought that when he said Hans line that the room stopped moving but with the way his soft lips are moving against mime I definitely have to say I am on cloud 9.

We break apart after a minute to reclaim oxygen and to look at eachother, but what we don't realize is the yells and "finally's" that come from everyone.

" I've been wanting to do that for a while" Dick states, "me too" I say moving to hide my face into his neck so I don't have to face the others, especially Rachel.

Dick laughs and wraps his arms around me. The others finally go back to the movie but I can't I finally got what I have wanted for so long and now I know he wanted me too.

I hear one final whisper from him as he holds me "I love you princess".

" I love you too scoundrel".

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson #dick grayson x y/n #dick grayson imagine #titans imagine

[phynoma]

HALLOWEEN COUNTDOWN

As a countdown to Halloween, I'm sharing the original statements I wrote for the Consuming AU! (<<click for ao3 link) The statements function as horror shorts that work on their own, and I'm proud of them, ngl

Without further ado:

Statement 1: The Chocolate Pot

CW: Manipulation, supernatural compulsion, accidental dead-naming, drowning

[Tape clicks on. Head Archivist’s Office]

ARCHIVIST

Statement of Corey Garrett, regarding his discovery of a vintage, silver chocolate pot. Original statement taken August 9th, 2007. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.

Statement begins.

It was an estate auction that did it.

My cousin, Niamh Flaherty and I, would get out of mum's house by taking our bikes up and down Elvendon Lane. There aren't a lot of turnoffs, and it's one of those narrow, country lanes that seems like it keeps its own secrets. We were lonely, in the way that two young adults in the countryside could be: on the edge of adulthood and the fears of being cast into the unknown, even as we longed for it with all our fledgling desire for flight.

It was the end of summer, and Niamh was visiting from Limerick, and we were terribly bored with country life. Just eighteen, the both of us, and playing at being proper adults. Independant, all that. Both of us had a thing for antiques–though I’ve lost a bit of my taste for it, now–and we were incorrigibly curious.

There's not much that goes on around Woodcote that the whole village doesn't know about, so when Niamh and I saw the lorry at the end of a short drive, nearly blocking the narrow road into town, we stopped. The drive itself was far too small for the mini tipper to navigate; just a blind opening to a gravel track so overgrown it could have just been a path into the woods that would end, like a fairy-path, with no house or sign of humanity in sight.

My parents had moved out to the village when I was at school, and I didn’t know whose house it was that had attracted the house clearance auctioneers like flies to a decaying corpse. All I knew was folks that needed seven tonne lorries were likely old and rich, and that sounded like a magic combination. A proper treasure hunt, you know?

Maybe it was a bit ghoulish, but the idea of a dusty, mouldering house of forgotten and unwanted treasures really got to us–Niamh and me. Like I said, Niamh and I were still pretty young, but I was always impressed with her. She seemed sort of worldly, always got men's attention. She wasn't that pretty, I don't think–well, I mean, I don't know. I'm her cousin, aren't I? But she had a way about her, something that drew people in. I could never figure out if I was jealous of her or if I wanted to be her.

Anyway, watching strangers pack up a lorry with some old, unlucky geezer's worldly treasures might not seem like a good time, but we made the most of it. We made guesses of what was in the boxes, what kind of person they'd been, why they didn't have any family to collect the goods. It was an “adult” kind of fun, nothing kids would be interested in, but now that Niamh and I were grown up we could watch the delivery men carting boxes and furniture down the dusty drive and feel like we were gossiping like real people, real adults did. We were so hungry for a world beyond us.

And there was plenty to gossip about. Crates of old knickknacks and rubbish– porcelain table sets shaped like too-quaint dolls, ratty old tapestries from the 70’s made to look mediaeval and missing the mark– that sort of thing. We sat on our bikes across the lane and kept our eyes peeled for the priceless artefacts we knew we’d spot among all the junk. With our keen, young minds we had a plan that if we did see anything, we’d be the first down at the auction houses and charity shops in Reading to snatch it up. Ghoulish, like I said. But at the time we felt very clever and sophisticated as we guessed at values and made crude but cutting remarks.

We could see a bit of the house from the road–disappointingly normal, all told. Renovated maybe in the mid-90s, one of those monstrosities that was probably a fine thing when it was built two centuries ago and which had been “upgraded” nearly out of existence. We were guessing at how terribly the inside had been refurbished when a woman wearing a cream suit left the front door. For a moment, I could have sworn she looked right at us, down by the road. And she smiled. I don't know how, but I could feel it, like an itch behind my teeth. Then she turned and disappeared behind the hedges and fruit trees that blocked most of the house.

I shook off the shudder that half-imagined smile had given me, and put her from my mind. In any case, Niamh hadn’t seemed to notice the woman. I’d have almost thought I’d made her up, except after a good ten or fifteen minutes she appeared again at the bottom of the lane. She must have walked all the way down, and her cream suit was coated in a fine layer of dust. She held a small crate in her hands.

I don’t know how, but I knew that crate was full of the treasures Niamh and I were waiting to see. I tried to be subtle watching her, but Niamh and I were the only ones on a long, lonely lane, so it was pretty obvious we were gawking. I expected an annoyed glance, maybe, or for the woman to shoo us off. Instead, she looked up. Our eyes met, and I got that weird feeling again, like she was…amused, somehow. It turnt my stomach right over.

I didn’t notice that Niamh had grabbed my arm until later, when I saw the bruises, because I was so focused on that woman. She walked over to us with that little half-smile, the crate still in her arms. She said her name was…I think it was Karen? Karen…something common, I think, but like an old man name. Withers, maybe.

Anyway, she came right up to the both of us and asked if we had known the owner of the house. I don’t remember what we said–if we lied and claimed we did, or what. The answer didn’t really seem to matter. She said the owner had been old and eccentric, and he hadn’t had anyone to leave his belongings to, so they’d been called in. Hope Charities, she said, and pointed at the lorry. There wasn't a name painted on it or anything, but the men doing the loading were wearing white coveralls with B&H on the back. Don't know what the "B" stood for.

She– Karen– showed us the crate. It was open. Inside was a jumble of knick-knacks, exactly the kind of thing you’d expect: a couple of old books with faded dust covers from the 50s or 60s, some miscellaneous silverware, a snowglobe that was nearly opaque from the dissolved snow, a single Skittles pin.

She said it was a box of the things they didn’t think would sell, and offered to let us take anything we’d like. She smiled when she said it, and the smile didn’t match her eyes. Even though it’d been what we were hoping for, I was suddenly uneasy. It didn’t feel like we could say no. I wanted, desperately, to say no. I think I hoped Niamh would do it for me.

Niamh took a book–at random, I think–and I picked up a tarnished chocolate pot. I had half a mind that I could give it to my mum as a birthday gift, with a bit of polish. Karen nodded like I’d made a good choice and gave me one more of those little half-smiles. It reminded me of a crocodile, somehow.

“Enjoy,” she said, and brought the crate back to the lorry to be packed away.

Niamh and I went home after that. There wasn’t much more for us to do, really. We laughed about it, about how we thought we’d been in trouble. Niamh said I must have charmed her with my wicked good looks–but Niamh was always the charmer, and she didn’t seem to realise I didn’t have her way with people.

She showed me her book. It looked like it’d been a library book at some point, and the dust cover was a bit torn. It had one of those generic, oil-painted landscapes as the cover art, of a circle of grey-green mountains with a blue-grey sky behind. It was called A Very Windy Day, and I didn’t know what possessed Niamh to choose that over everything else in the crate. When I asked her, she shrugged and said it reminded her of something.

In the end, I was rather proud of my chocolate pot, and I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to shine it up with some of my mum’s old Wright’s jewellery cleaner. Niamh settled down with her book–I don’t know if she was actually that interested in it, but after my teasing she made a point of reading it in front of me. She even read a bit out loud–something about big spaces and the ever-expanding entropy of the universe. It was way more dry than I expected, and it made me feel sort of funny and small, so I told her to read to herself.

The chocolate pot shined up nicely, though it took a good deal of time. By the time I looked around to ask Niamh something, she had left with her book–probably to get away from the smell of the cleaner. I was a little miffed that she hadn’t said anything to me; but then again, I had been rather focused.

I cleaned the inside of the pot, and noticed that it was in good shape but had some strange scratches on the inside, like someone had gone in with a wire scrubber at some point in the past. The scratches weren’t deep enough that I was concerned it would be unsafe to drink from, and I resolved to make some tea in it, just to try it out.

I steeped a few bags of breakfast tea directly in the pot itself–after all, if the thing was to be used for brewing chocolate, it shouldn’t have any sort of flavour itself, and there was no point in putting hot water from the kettle into the pot and then pouring it over bags from there. But when I poured the tea into my cup, it was almost black, and thick as mud. It had a strong, earthy aroma that wasn’t unpleasant– a bit like a very strong, very unsweetened cocoa.

This was rather off-putting, but I figured to myself that perhaps I hadn’t cleaned the inside of the pot as much as I’d thought, and the hot water had now cleared it out. The vaguely-chocolate-like scent could be from years of accumulated grime, for all I knew. I poured out the rest, washed out the remainder, and tried again.

The second steeping, the stuff was a little thinner, and the aroma thick but sweeter. Perhaps, I thought, the boiling water was doing its job to scrape out the inside of the pot. I poured it out again and resteeped it a third time. This time, the liquid was a warm, golden brown, like a well-sweetened and milky cocoa mixed with cinnamon or turmeric. It smelled mouthwatering.

I realised, belatedly, that I hadn’t added the teabags at all, and couldn’t help but wonder if that had been the reason for the odd black sludge the first time. Whatever the reason, the fact was now that this chocolate pot was a more exciting find than I could have ever hoped for in my attempted grown-up adventure-seeking. I allowed myself a bit of childish delight, that I had something truly special.

Of course, I wasn’t a fool– I wasn’t about to start serving this mysteriously appearing chocolate to my family without some more research. I did some internet research and found very little in the way of magical chocolate pots or cursed items. There was absolutely no record of regular chocolate pots creating chocolate from hot water, although there was plenty about cast iron and other sorts of well-seasoned kitchenware, and some tales of Chinese clay teapots being used for so long that one only had to pour in hot water to get tea.

This seemed unlikely for my silver pot, but I clung to the idea that there was at least some reasonable explanation. I would have even taken a reasonable supernatural explanation–anything that meant I wasn’t simply going mad. And, just in case I was somehow hallucinating the sight and smell of the chocolate, I figured a few other senses were necessary.

For some reason, it was very important to me that I was alone. The childish feeling was stronger; that I had something special, something precious, like a stuffed animal worn to an inch of its life. I wanted to test the chocolate pot in privacy, in a little tent of my own making, someplace dim and close and warm. I imagined sharing chocolate with Niamh like we had as children in a fort made of cushions and blankets, our small hands wrapped around second-best china, in a small, dark world of our own. Safe. Intimate.

I locked myself in the bathroom and climbed in the tub, pulling the curtain around me in as much of an approximation of a fort as I'd allow myself. I poured myself a new cup of chocolate and dipped my finger into the liquid. It was pleasantly warm, not boiling, and thick and silky smooth. I rubbed it between my fingers, marvelling at it, and then without thinking I licked it from my fingers.

It was delicious, just as rich and sweet and full as it smelled. Emboldened, I took a sip directly from the cup. Flavour exploded over my tongue, rich and complex and very clearly chocolate. I finished the cup within minutes and poured another. I was starting to rethink my idea to gift the chocolate pot to my mother, when I could just as easily share its contents with her but keep the pot to myself.

I refilled the pot only once with more water–which I got straight from the bath tap– and looking back, that should have been an alarming sign. At the time, I was simply amazed at how the flavours seemed to change with every cup, perfectly setting off the previous so that each was distinct. It was impossible to tire of, and it seemed to spread through my stomach and then my whole torso and limbs like a good scotch.

I was feeling pleasantly warm and buzzing when Niamh returned. Again, I didn’t hear her come in through the door, but she was suddenly there, in front of me, asking what I was doing. I hesitated, wondering if she would want a cup. Dare I share my magic? Of course, I decided, with a warm, happy surge of devotion. How wonderful, to share in the chocolate pot! How lovely, to be embraced together in such a remarkable creation! It occurred to me that everyone was deserving of such a gift. Perhaps I could sell it. Even better, I could give it away. I could open my home to any and all and share this incredible, magical drink that tasted like the very essence of comfort!

But first, I wanted to share it with Niamh. I wanted to capture a bit of that childhood we'd been so fierce in pushing away. I invited her into the tub with me, my sanctum, my fortress.

It was then that I noticed how distant Niamh's eyes were–as if she were in the room with me, but not. I felt as if she were looking at me from the other end of a very long tunnel, like a mineshaft. She stood in a square of light, while I crouched safe and warm and hidden in the dark. It pressed around me. It was deep, fathomless, but the pressure was comforting. It was the darkness of the womb, of a mother's arms who would never grow too frail, would never turn away. There was no need to fear growing old, there. It was a place where we could huddle in the dark and drink chocolate and always be children.

By this point, it felt as if the chocolate was in my very blood. Its thickness coated the inside of my oesophagus, my mouth. In a slurring, muffled voice, I offered my cousin a cup of the magical liquor. She refused, her eyes still empty.

I felt a surge of despair that she should be so far from me, when all I longed for was closeness. I took Niamh's hand, and when she tried to pull away with a cry of anger, I simply wrapped my arms around her instead.

For a moment, it felt as if I were holding a thousand stars in my embrace–or a million dandelion seeds, about to be blown away by a breath of wind. Niamh wiggled in my embrace and then, all of a sudden, slumped against me. As I hadn’t anticipated this, I could only lower her as slowly as I possibly could to the ground, where she lay curled and sobbing. Her face was a mask of fear and anguish. She draped over the tub, spilling the pot over. Dark liquid poured from it, thick and endless, clogging in the drain and slowly rising.

I righted the pot and handed her a cup of chocolate. This batch was dark as a moonless night and it smelled bitter and woody, but it was still obviously chocolate. When Niamh trembled so much that she would spill it, I helped tip it into her mouth.

At once she became still and quiet. Her eyes were wide and very dark, and she stared at me as if she had seen unknowable horrors.

I drank the rest of the cup, as she seemed uninclined to finish it, and felt the bitterness prick through me like deadly nightshade. My head swam. For a moment, I was drowning. My mouth was filled with thick nectar, and it ran down my front in muddy rivers. My eyesight blurred.

For some reason, my only thought was that I had something in my throat, and that the solution was clearly to wash it out with more chocolate. I poured another cup with shaking hands and slipping gaze, and when I spilled it I simply raised the chocolate pot and poured the sweet liquid directly into my mouth.

There was no end to the flowing chocolate, and for a moment I had a vision of the chocolate continuing to pour, and pour, until it flooded the room and down the street. I imagined the faces of the village as they saw the approaching wave, surprised and then delighted. I pictured them licking their hands like I had, or scooping up teacups full of the stuff to fill their own, hollow bodies. Like a children's story, a fairytale. All was innocent and sweet again, simple. I could save the world with my chocolate pot. All I had to do was keep pouring.

I could imagine how it would sit in us like ballast, thick and choking and so full that no one would ever have to feel loneliness again. To be embraced, inside and out, in thick, sweet nourishment. It was horrible. I had never imagined anything better, or worse. If I’d had any air left in my lungs, if the chocolate wasn’t already pouring from my mouth in an endless fountain, I would have screamed and not stopped. I sobbed, for the fear that I might never reach the beautiful image in my head, the promise of an endless, close embrace.

I felt arms around me, and then Niamh was trying to force the stuff from my stomach, my lungs. I coughed and choked and only managed to let more of the chocolate fill in the last bits of air I had. I was drowning in it. No, that's not right–it was swallowing me. I lay back in the tub that was slowly filling with chocolate and knew it would be my tomb.

I saw, rather than felt, Niamh’s hands pound against my chest. The tub could be our tomb, if only Niamh would join me. I tried to grasp her hand, to pull her into the warmth with me, but the chocolate coating my hands was too slick and she pulled away.

I wailed for her. My consciousness slipped. I was sinking into a deep, black pit of primordial warmth, and I knew I would never escape.

Except…well, I did, didn’t I? I’m still not completely sure how. I think Niamh did it, somehow.

I woke in my bed, with a horrible pressure headache, and Niamh at my side. I could have sworn, in the moments before I woke, that I heard her reading aloud to me–though I can’t recall the story, I do have a vague memory of her setting aside that little hardcover book she’d taken from the crate when I woke.

She explained that I had fallen asleep in the bath, of all places, and nearly drowned. I asked about the chocolate pot, and she seemed confused for a moment. I reminded her about the house, and the crate, and her eyes lit up. She brought to me a small, silver teapot and claimed that this was the thing I had chosen.

I was so tired that I hadn’t the energy to argue with her, and simply decided to ask about it more when I woke again. By the time I did, I could hardly recall what the original chocolate pot had looked like, and I couldn’t truly confirm whether or not the teapot she showed me was the one I had taken from the crate.

Niamh left at the end of that summer, and besides a few emails, we’ve mostly lost touch. It’s too bad, because we were very close once and I have a strange feeling that something that happened that summer contributed to her distance. She moved to Switzerland, I think, to be a ski instructor.

I gifted the silver teapot to my mum after all. She adores it, and it makes very good tea. But sometimes, whenever I’m drinking something, I get a thick, sweet taste on the back of my tongue like the finest of chocolate.

Statement ends.

ARCHIVIST (CONT.)

If I’d read this a year ago, I’d have dismissed it out of hand. It's exactly the kind of urban legend I'd expect would flood the shelves. But perhaps The Magnus Institute is a far less interesting or gratifying audience for such creators of tall tales than the usual, hungry internet forums.

(sigh) Nevertheless, there are a few details of note.

[Paper flips]

ARCHIVIST (CONT.)

(clears throat) Hm, excuse me, it seems that–Cora Garrett has not suffered any long term effects from her experience.

(to self) Note to self, re-record the intro of the statement using the correct name and pronouns.

(aloud) From the preliminary follow-up, it seems like Cora spent a few days in the hospital to get rid of what appeared to be a sudden case of pneumonia. No police report was ever filed, and we've had difficulty tracking down any relations to the original owners of 15 Elvendon Lane, assuming that number 15 was, indeed, the correct house. It was certainly the only house on auction around the correct time. It seems to have been renovated by the new owners, and there are no pictures online of the original house to try and match to Cora's description.

Karen Withers, or Smithers, or whatever her name might be-- the auction agent-- does not seem to exist–either in the Reading area or beyond. I am exceedingly curious to know who and what she is, or if she even exists. For all we know, she could be an invention of Cora and her cousin to explain away an adolescent break-in, or a hallucination like that of a (heavy sigh, dry) overflowing chocolate pot.

The most interesting piece of this statement, to me, is of course the reference to A Very Windy Day. The details are vague, but it could very well be a Leitner, and if that's the case I–

[Door opens]

ARCHIVIST (CONT.)

Ah. Martin.

#tma #the magnus archives #horror shorts #fanfiction #original statements #the consuming au #jonathan sims #the Archivist #fanfic #ao3 #phynoma #phyn writes

[darksiders-junkie]

Hi, i just found your blog! Might i request a match up? 🤔👀🙈😳

I'm a 22 y/o girl (so yeah, She/Her) i have Autism, i seem shy in the beginning but if i notice people with the same interests i will not hesitate to info dump hehe. I'm a pretty big horror and fantasy nerd! I tend to hyperfixate alot on tons of mythical beings and horror stuff! funny enough my 2 main hyperfixations at the moment are the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Nazgûls lol. I'm 5'1 ( 1 meter and 56 cm ) in height, on the chubby side and have short hair, i wear glasses and see terribly without them. I actually love to draw and i also do cosplay and fursuiting. That's all i can think of, i hope it's enough for a match up? Hope you have a great day/night!

Oh that's plenty!

In my opinion I believe Strife would be the best for you!

Strife is the most human friendly horsemen. Unlike his siblings, he's not so closed off in the beginning. He's not willing to dump all of his junk at the doormat, but he is willing to actually knock on the door if you know what I mean!

It wouldn't take very long for you to catch his eye either! Your shyness is too alluring and you'll find yourself on the end of majority of his teasing.

He truly means it all in good fun! And if he finds you becoming uncomfortable or it seems just a tad too much he'll pull back on the reins just a bit.

Some of the things he'll do to tease:

Definitely take you glasses and hold them high over his own head and watch you jump for it. He finds it all too amusing for you to try and obtain something you'll never get unless he hands it back.

Purposely put things far out of your reach and just watch what you'll do to obtain it. (Example would be to put something on the top shelf and watch you climb the counter for it)

Poking, pinch, and pull at your cheeks anytime you become red or flustered

Light touches to your back or arms to purposely get you red just so he can pinch those pretty red cheeks! (And yes he will tell you that as he pinches them)

Once you've become more acquainted with him, and less shy. He'll calm down, but will still throughly enjoy teasing when he can.

Once he deems you as a friend, he'll start to get into what you like just so you can lore dump on him.

He'll sit there with a dopey smile on his face, even if you can't see it with the helm on, and let you talk for hours. And if you try to apologize and leave room for him to talk, he'll just say

"Oh no sunshine, you keep going. You're on a roll! You can stop now just as it's getting juicy!"

Solely so you can continue your little rant. He's sure he'll have time to rant to you as well.

Once he actually falls for you, oh boy, get ready.

He'll be the clingiest person you've ever met, you might even have to set some boundaries with him.

He'll open up more. He'll start telling stories of his battles and quests, mostly to try and impress you. And if you mention at all that you even seem slightly impressed, he'll walk around with his chest puffed out all day.

Do little things for you like pick up or clean so you don't have to, even though it's his least favorite thing to do.

Bring you little gifts and trinkets from his adventures. Anything that he thinks you'd like. He'll be the happiest man if you put them somewhere on display and boast about it to anyone who will listen to him.

And once you're together? Well, good luck finding any alone time. He'll be stuck to you like a leech. Constantly asking what you're doing and where you're going, and most importantly, if he could come along.

He'll be even more into your hobbies and will absolutely watch every single horror and fantasy movie as long as you're snuggled up with him eating popcorn.

He will look at every drawing and absolutely hype you up!

"That's the best drawing I've ever seen!"

"It belongs in the most famous museum, honest!"

And if you're making a fursuit? Well you better bet he'll be there and ready to pass you whatever you need! Scissors? He's on it! More fabric? Anything for his little sunshine! Oh you want a different movie on? No problem he's changing it as you speak!

And once it's done, you better be putting it on and doing a little spin for him! He didn't help just to not see the final product!

He'll definitely love the chubbiness too. Infact his favorite thing is to rest his head on your stomach. His own personal pillow. Your thighs are a very close second.

And if you DARE to try to take it away due to insecurity, well, he'll be teaching you all night just how much he loves you. So unless you don't want to be walking in the morning, I suggest you just let him lay in his favorite spots and look at his dopey ass smile that you can see this time.

Posted: July 9th, 2023

#darksiders strife #darksiders #matchmaking

[lilsweetruler]

Giacomo x Reader |The Friendship| Pt.1

[Some Background- This Reader is gonna be portrayed as an AFAB, and this entire story takes place after the whole Team Star Arc (Lol TSA) Anyway there might be some spoilers, but whatever. enjoy!]

|The Friendship-SFW|

You fell in love with him at first sight but knew that you couldn't ask him out due to having to fight. Oh, but now we're done fighting, right? No, we have nothing in common, golly will he even like me back as a friend. You know what? I became a straight champion of Paldea, I can at least talk to him.

Despite the stereotype of most teenaged boys being messy with their surroundings, Giacomo kept his base spick and span. The Gate stood tall and was probably recently cleaned, the big bell even looked shinier. 'Okay' the last affirmation you needed before ringing the bell.

"RRR-ING-A-LING! Hey who's at the gate? Wait, Is that Champion Y/n? O-hoh sh*t. Come on in!"

*oh sh*t? why are they worried? crap. am I that daunting?* thinking to yourself for too long at a time can prove to be dangerous, for example the gate's been open for at least a minute and every grunt is staring at you.

"Howdy." you stated with a quiver in your voice. 

There he was, as confident and busy as ever, with laptop in hand Giacomo approached. You can't read his expressions too well but you're confident in knowing that he was quite surprised by your dropping in.

"And What to I owe the pleasure in meeting with the sole person, responsible for all the ass-whooping?" he delightfully chuckled at his version of your introduction. 

*CRAP, All the grunts are here,  I don't wanna look like a damn fool in front of all these people* And you did it again, you zoned-out and went through all the possibilities of embarrassment, and he noticed.

"Suddenly not a talker? OK, how's about we talk in my tent." Giacomo was always the problem solver, thank Arceus. You nodded, and off you both went towards the head tent. 

The dread dwelled into your stomach, it's as if you got called to Director Clavell's office, but something was different. The weather was quite perfect, mid 70's, slight breeze, and some cloud coverage. But Most importantly you were going to spend some time alone with Giacomo, away from all those grunts. 

The walk was nice, but awkwardly silent, then he boomed;

"Alrighty, M'Lady we have *Arrived*" He attempted to say this in the fanciest way possibly whilst holding the flaps to the tent open. You couldn't help but chuckle a bit under your breath, but heard and was glad you're not in a terrible mood, as the sudden arrival did worry him.

Now, this was no ordinary tent it was quite spacious. It was even decorated with 2 sleeping bags, a desk, 2 chairs, a mini fridge, and an extension cord. You both sat down and kind of just stared at each other in silence after a quick hello. You broke the silence, stuttering and still very nervous.

"I know the last time I saw you it wasn't on the best of terms..."

"Put nicely. *heh*"

"*hah* .. Yeah, anyway I was hoping that maybe we could be-"

"OH THANK ARCEUS!" was the statement you were interrupted by

Now confused you gave Giacomo a look to explain himself. Unexpectedly he starts a short burst of laughter. Finally finishing, while still leaving you confused, Giacomo began to calm down and begin speaking.

"I honestly thought you came back for another round of battling, I got so nervous because I heard about the fight between you and Nemona." He made a face that could only be described as honest humility. He resumed;

"I'm assuming, but i figure you came back because you rather be friends, then just know me as the guy you beat up a while back"

"That's exactly what I planned to do. Man, I was so worried about you hating me and junk." you relaxed, finally telling him the truth. 

Now, how the hell were you gonna ask him out. YOU JUST BECAME FRIENDS. A moment of clarity hit you like a brick, you needed to slow tf down. Giacomo switched, now he looks nervous again, but only for a second does he wear that emotion. Back to a relatively normal expression, he proposed something; 

"Y'know if you wanted to hang out you could've asked sooner, but if you wanna go to Medali for some grub I wouldn't be to opposed to it" 

*Giacomo, stop reading my damn mind. But holy sh*t thank you*

"Of Course!" you piped up, a little too eager but its ok.

~*"Great, then its a date!"*~  

You got his number and more info for the date, then made up an excuse how your mom texted you and that you had to go home to help her. Walking away from that tent was chipping away at you with every step that you took.

Instead of actually going home you went and bought some clothes, for this "friend" date, nothing too fancy, yet nothing too casual. This is it, you are ready. 

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

This is my first story hope ya'll like it and i look forward to writing more.

#pokemon giacomo #pokemon s/v #giacomo x reader #first story #sfw interaction only

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 5

Episode 10: Knight & Danger (SMUT)

*smutlet wasn't planned but I had encouragement and then I was inspired and then this sinfest was born. Nothing extreme (lies), just a light sprinkling of filth to get us started. SKIP IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE BEAST WITH TWO BACKS, THE HOKEY POKEY, THE TERRIBLE TANGO, THE—you get the picture*

~Junk-N-Stuff~

Novelty lamps? Check. Assorted ping pong balls? Check. Hula skirts in various sizes? Check. Creepy clapping monkeys with cymbals? Check. New shipment of fifty glow-in-the-dark lightbulbs? Ten, fifteen, twenty—wait... Ten, fifteen, twenty... Twenty?

"Doofus, I'm trying to do something here!" (y/n) whined as she tried to count what the store above her home did and didn't have, but her attempts were thwarted by someone trying their best to distract her. 

It had been a late start to the morning and she had a lot to do because of said late start; the shop floor needed to be swept, the displays needed to be adjusted and fixed but most importantly, she needed to check her list of items in the storeroom around the back to see what they had plenty of and whether they needed to place an order. 

But that was hard when a strong pair of hands were wandering from her waist to her tummy to her hips and...elsewhere.

"It's a fake store, sweetheart. You don't need to worry so much...I don't," Ray replied, kissing down his sweet girl's neck as her shaking hands wandered through the shelves. She was trying to keep counting, hoping to come up with a figure so she could finish up and give him the attention he was so desperately craving but her brain couldn't grasp any numbers right now, even though they were her speciality. He was too good at distracting her. 

"Yeah, I know you don't, Raymond. But fake store or not, our customers are going to get suspicious when they come in to buy some junk and find that we have nothing to sell. So, that means I have to take stock, which is easier said than done when you've got hands...there," she scolded him, rolling her eyes when she felt his smirk grow against her skin and she knew that he'd never feel any shame for what he was doing, not when she showed that she loved it just as much as he did. 

His fingers were playing with the button and zipper on her jeans, flicking the metal slider and circling his finger around the cold stud, taunting that he might or might not pop it open and slide it down.

"But baby, it's been so long since this morning—since I last had you..." Now, he was the one whining, a high-pitched lilt in the back of his throat that told her that he wanted something and wasn't going to stop until he got it or got pushed away. But his statement was ridiculous; after all, there was a reason why she'd started so late, much later than she normally would on a Saturday morning when the teens were due to come in for work.

"It was an hour ago! And I've been trying to catch up on work ever since, so go...do it yourself," (y/n) muttered, feeling her cheeks heat up at the thought but she didn't have time for "action", not the sort he was after anyway. Henry, Charlotte and Jasper would be in the store any minute and she'd melt into a puddle should they see or hear or sense something that didn't involve them. 

Seriously, Henry's poop jokes would end and in the ashes would rise the endless teasing of how they did it in the back room. Nuh-uh, no way, Pedro, no thanks and goodnight. Besides, he'd loved her for years before they'd gotten together, so surely, one more round going solo wouldn't hurt.

"Hour's too long and anyway, I can't fuck my hand, sweet girl."

"And why's that?" She looked over her shoulder, inhaling sharply at how the air in the room had seemingly gone from frigid to suffocatingly hot in point five seconds. 

Only he could beat her argument of staying focused by being so crude, only he could say one thing and have her full attention, despite all her big talk about focusing on the task at hand and how he was the culprit who delayed her in the first place. She was intrigued, though. Most guys would happily take self-pleasure over no pleasure at all and they'd also probably think that they'd get lucky next time but not her doofus. He wasn't like most guys.

"I'm not interested in myself...I'm just after this," Ray whispered hotly and nipped at the skin under her ear as his fingers expertly worked the button on her jeans, poking it through the hole in the denim until it was open and then it was just a matter of slowly sliding down the zipper. 

Show off; he only had one hand but that was all he needed, just four fingers and a thumb to open her pants and pull them down by just a fraction. Not much, no more than an inch, just enough to loosen them so his fingers could dip past her waistband and into her cotton panties. Okay, so, that was his plan all along.

"Shouldn't have worn these jeans, pretty girl. Shouldn't have reached for the top shelf either," he growled, the throaty noise reverberating in her ear and causing the woman to release a soft, barely audible moan. 

Honest, he hadn't come upstairs looking for trouble, he'd actually ventured into his store to see what she was up to and if she needed help since she was on the shorter side when it came to stacking shelves but then, when he'd stepped out of the elevator, all he'd been able to see as she reached for a pink flamingo garden piece was denim pulled tight and smoothed across her ass, which was perfectly on display as her shirt rode up. 

"I walk in and I see this," the hand that had been holding her hip came back around to squeeze and knead her flesh briefly, "--this perfect ass practically presented to me," a rough slap to her left cheek and his hand left the part that had made him spiral into temptation in the first place, leaving the handprint there to sting numbly under the jean material. 

At this point, (y/n) was breathless, her breathing coming into soft pants as his digits danced and stroked around her mound, pulling back and then returning in a torturous rhythm that left her wanting what she'd originally avoided, but not on the verge of being incoherent. Not yet anyway. 

"I was—am working, d—doofus. I needed to s-stretch to get to the—the lightbulbs," the heroine argued, her voice breaking every time a fingertip dipped into her slit and brushed against her clit. There was nearly no pressure, he wouldn't allow her that luxury yet, no, Ray was going at a leisurely pace that suited nine AM and he found the way she jolted in his arms with each touch too hot to stop. A strong arm had curled around her upper body, leaving her torso immobile against his so all she could do was squirm in his hold and take what he gave her. And he had a lot to give.

"Oh, you're working? My sweet, little girl is working? Does that mean she doesn't want my hand down her pants, playing with her little pussy and the mess she made after I fucked her this morning?" He asked in a light, mocking tone, not enough to frustrate her but enough to make her wriggle when he pretended as though he was about to leave her alone. 

He would never be that cruel, not when he'd been the one to seek her out in the first place to pull more sweet moans from her lips. 

The previous hour hadn't been enough, not when she'd only come once and for a guy like him, who thrived off the pleasure of his partner, it didn't sit right. He wasn't looking for another fuck, that would take time and it would be messy and as much as he wanted to, they couldn't spend the entire day like animals, but he was looking to set the ratio right; three to one, that's how he normally played it. One had been given, two to go, but the lightbulbs still needed counting, even if the idea of a glow-in-the-dark lightbulb was ridiculous. 

Running his fingers lightly through her lips once, not enough for a lot of stimulation, but enough to explore, he could feel the wetness that had gathered there earlier and dare he say the cum he'd pumped into her, slowly leaking out, even though it belonged in her pussy and nowhere else. 

He groaned gutturally, harshly panting into her ears as she whimpered, bucking her hips into his hand when he returned to her clit, circling it once to smear the pearly stickiness that he'd left behind. Shit, did she know how hot she was?

"No—no, I'm your good g-girl. Please, s-sir—" a harsh tap landed on her clit, causing her whole body to tense and jerk at the rippling pleasure that seized her every nerve. It would've been a harder hit if he'd had the space to pull back his hand properly, but it was enough of a warning to make her bite her lips and be quiet, his good girl. But—good girls know what to call the ones giving them such pleasure.

"What do you call me, little one?"

"Captain!—I-I'm your good girl. Please, Captain, keep playing my pussy. Please, I need it." Had (y/n) not felt the pulsating need in her core, she would've been embarrassed by how needy she was, and even more embarrassed by how slick her blazing cunt was. 

It was their dirty, little secret that she sometimes walked around filled with his cum and then when he finally had another chance to get her alone, Ray took great delight in peeling her underwear down her legs and seeing what had stained the fabric. But for now, he also loved how he could switch between rubbing tight, fast circles and doing nothing.

"Precious girl, I know you need it. This cunt is insatiable," Ray murmured, savouring the sensation of silky, velvety slick coating his digits as he ran his fingers back and forth, stopping once to curl his fingertip into her clenching hole just once so he could push his seed into her again, but being filled was what so sorely craved; a fingertip wasn't enough. "But it's like you said. You have work to do."

"Wha—? Noooo, no work now. It's not important—just a—I'll just do it in a minute," the girl whimpered, fighting relentlessly against his iron grip to no avail because the minute she started whining, he began retreating. 

It was all part of Ray's game; turn her from a normal, functioning human being to a dripping mess in under five minutes and then refuse to go any further once she was aching with desire and then, he could tease her, taunt her, her until she went crazy...or at least until he decided that teetering on the brink of pleasure wasn't enough to satisfy his need to have her in his arms. 

The bulbs needed counting, it was unavoidable and his sweet girl had often said that she was the queen of multitasking.

"Count them." "W-what?" She blinked in surprise at his sudden command, having no idea what he was talking about since she couldn't think through the haze that clouded her mind. 

Count what? The number of orgasms he was going to rip from her body? The number of minutes he'd tease her for? The number of fingers he'd be able to fit inside her? The number of seconds they had left until someone came into the shop, whether they be a friend or stranger? 

She didn't know what he wanted, apart from that he wanted her like putty in his hands and wouldn't stop until she was twitching and oversensitive.

"I said, count the fucking lightbulbs, sweet girl. Do your job and I'll do mine," he ordered her, his voice deep and rough yet gentle in his command as his thumb kept its circling pace on her throbbing clit. "I'll push my cum back into your perfect, little pussy and while I do that, you can do the last job on your list. Seems fair, right?"

"No. No, I can't—Ray—I-I can't think or c-count—" (y/n) begged for mercy, knowing that focusing on anything but what he was doing to her was going to be near impossible. The pressure of her clit was heavenly, and so was the occasional finger that slid in to stroke her walls, it was too much...and yet he wanted her to do math at the same time. It couldn't be done, surely. Speech was difficult at that moment, let alone keeping track of what she'd looked at and what still needed attention.

"Yes, you fucking can, smart little girl. You can see if there's fifty bulbs here or not—and you'll take whatever I give you in the meantime," Ray snarled against her neck, dragging his canine down to her pulse point until she gasped at the sensation. 

Fuck, he could feel how her cunt clenched around nothing when he did and he suddenly became very aware of how hard he'd grown in his jeans. Rock-solid, twitching, ready to just slide into her pussy—it would take it, he could feel how wet she was—and if he wasn't trained in rarely practised patience, would've pulled her jeans over her ass and fucked her hard against the shelf, game or not.

But, where was the fun in that? He much preferred to see her cum than himself and giving in now would leave a disappointing anticlimax as if he wolfed down what he should've played with first. This was about his darling fiancée, he'd been allowed to make her orgasm more than just the meagre one she'd experienced earlier and he was gonna take that chance. Anything to hear her moans and sighs of pleasure, his be damned. 

"Come on. Count." Swallowing harshly, (y/n) looked into the crate of stock that she'd pulled from the top shelf—the action that had caught his attention. There were so many and they all looked the same, how the hell was she supposed to do this properly? 

An estimate wasn't allowed, it had to be accurate for the books and giving up would result in her being left to finish herself off and then would be downright abysmal in comparison to what her doofus could give her. His fingers were longer, thicker, faster, leagues in front of hers, so she just had to go for it, and that was precisely Ray decided to plunge into her heat.

"O-one—fuck—two—three—three—four—f-five..." It was a shaky start, but then again, she was shaking quite badly herself. Her knees felt like jelly and her core was pulled tight as one finger curled in and out of her pussy, palm brushing her clit every time it did, making it torture to keep going. Her eyes wanted to snap shut and work on grinding her hips into Ray's hand, anything to chase the climax that was on the horizon, building up in the pit of her stomach, but she knew that he wouldn't like that. 

But she was trying her best and that was what he liked, especially when he saw what he was doing to the woman who could do her sixteen times tables in her sleep.

"Good girl, keep going. This cunt is so tight, so needy, it's practically sucking my hand in—you wouldn't think it was fucked an hour ago," the man rambled, spilling whatever filth came to mind because he thrived off it as much as she did. She was so sweet when she whined for him, so sweet when he bit and suckled on her neck to leave fleeting bruises that never lasted long enough for him to admire. It was one downside to her superpower, but not one to dwell on, not when she was piecing her mind together to get the job done.

"Five—t-ten—fifteen—twen—twenty—twenty-five—thirty" her hand brushed over each bulb as she counted, ticking off clouded boxes in her head as the other gripped the metal shelves for dear life and slowly but surely, she started racking up the tally to the rhythm of his pumping finger. She could handle one, one wasn't bad, it wasn't what she needed but it was a start and not too distracting as she counted, so she was grateful. But Ray wasn't feeling merciful and it wasn't meant as a favour either. One was just the beginning.

"Thir—oh, fuck, yes..." her counting was thrown off when a second digit prodded at her entrance before sliding in to join the other, generating a delicious burn at the new thickness. Again, it wasn't enough, nothing would be unless it was his perfect cock but being filled more ever so slightly was enough to short circuit her brain and stop her fingers from tapping each lightbulb as she went. 

For a moment, numeracy was out of the window and she lost herself in the one thrust backwards she allowed herself, moaning when the fingers entered her more roughly and his palm gave hard pressure to her bud. She needed more and she found it, but as quickly as it came, Ray caught her and took it away.

"No—no. Don't test me, sweet girl. This pussy is mine to fuck or not fuck, so don't be getting ahead of yourself. Stop pouting, that mouth is better off finishing what you started before I leave you here to make yourself come on the dirty floor of the back room."

"Thirty," she knew he wasn't joking, he could easily step away and leave her a twitching mess on the floor and the idea of losing the fullness of his fingers made her break into reality again with enough clarity to finish what she started, "—thirty-five—forty—forty-f-five."

"That's it, so close, my love. So nearly there and I just know that you're almost ready to cum, aren't you?" He asked gently, kissing her cheek when she gave him a quick succession of nods. Fuck yes, she wanted to cum and there were only five left to count, not long to bring her to the die, so Ray upped the ante and slid a third finger into her hole. 

She was filled fully now, too shaky to try and add a fourth, that only happened on rare occasions when he wanted to keep her up all night, but three were satisfying enough. He pumped them slowly, wanting his girl to get used to them before he broke her into pieces and put her back together again, but for (y/n), even the slow pace was enough to drag her to the edge and hold her there.

"Yes. Yes, please, I want to cum so bad."

"Finish your job then, sweet girl. Finishing counting and you can cream this little pussy for me," he smirked, increasing the pace a little bit to make her walls tighten but not enough to push her over. He knew the signs, he knew when to stop and back off, he knew how to get her right back there because this was his game—and she was determined to finish it.

"O—kay...forty-five. One—two...three—f-four—five—fifty!" The quivering woman gasped, immediately rocking her hips into him when the winning number fell from her lips and she'd never felt relief like it. "Fifty—they're all here! Please, Captain—please, can I cum now?"

"Fuck, of course, you can. You're my good girl, aren't you? Cum on my fingers—that's it—fuck..." Ray groaned as his fingers pumped into her at a lightning speed, rubbing her clit furiously as his crotch met her ass and the ensuing hardness that ground against her taut flesh was enough to shove her across the line. 

White, hot light seemed to stab through her body as she came—hard—instinctively pressing her ass further into his hips as if she was trying to pull his cock into her further, only it was his fingers that she was clamping down on. A broken moan fell from her lips as she was crowded against the shelves, completely at his mercy as Ray got off on the sight of her facial expressions, right up until the waves of pleasure started to dissipate.

"Shit—shit, you're so hot, sweet girl, so fucking hot when you cum for me," he panted, feeling an all-to-familiar feeling creeping up his spine as his hips kept gyrating against her plump ass, his cock falling against his zipper perfectly like it was looking to slot in between her cheeks. Fuck, he couldn't take it, not when he felt her twitch again at the feeling of his hardness. Insatiable. "Fuck, pull these jeans down for me. Hurry up, need to see it—need to see your pussy before I—"

Even though the world seemed to be spinning after cumming so hard, (y/n) didn't need to be told twice, not when he practically barked the order at her. Upon hearing the sound of Ray's zipper going down and the rustling of fabric, her thumbs hooked her waistband and shoved her pants down over her ass, not to the floor, just enough to expose her glistening lips as she leaned on the shelves and presented to him. Just because she'd come ten seconds ago didn't mean she wasn't up to take him any time, any place.

"Show me—fuck—I can see my cum oozing out of you, sweet girl—" Ray's eyes darkened to the point of nearly swallowing the brilliant blue of his irises entirely when he saw the creamy mess of her puffy cunt. Dripping, clenching, vulnerable and for his eyes only as she wiggled it at him for a split second and it was enough to cement the idea in his head. He'd wanted this to be about her, he'd wanted to give her more orgasms since they'd woken up late and only had time for one each, which wasn't the usual agenda, but he couldn't ignore his throbbing hard-on any longer. 

He opened his fly, popped his jean button and pulled down his underwear, freeing himself in time to position the tip at her molten opening and push in. (y/n) had no time to react as his length slipped in with no resistance, aided by her slick-coated walls and the embarrassing amount of pre-cum that had built up as he watched her fall apart. The sudden thickness made her clench harshly and Ray couldn't stop himself from cumming; it shot up his spine and took them both by surprise the second he bottomed out, tip pressed deep inside of her as he shot his load and painted her walls white. 

"Shit, Ray—cum-cumming—again," she gasped when the hot, sticky substance filled her—the oddest sensation that she loved but never got used to—and it was enough to make her quivering walls convulse again. As if it was commanded of her, (y/n) came again, this time being wrung out dry by the perfect cock that she could clench around. 

All they could hear were ragged pants and the ticking sound of the wacky clocks on the shop floor as Ray held her to his chest like his life depended on it, pelvis not leaving her ass cheeks until his heart rate had slowed considerably. It was true, he'd cum like a teenager, one second of having her walls around him and he was a goner but to be fair to him, he did get off on her orgasms and any man would ruin themselves if they had her on their dick—not that they'd ever get the chance.

"That was unexpected," (y/n) was the first to speak, gulping with a rather dry mouth after all of her ragged breathing and moans. Ray shuffled behind her so she turned her head to find his lips, sharing a gentle kiss after an intense session to round it off sweetly and she could feel his smile against her cheek when he pulled away to kiss that too, and then her jaw, temple and the top of her head. He got soppy after sex and a quickie in the storeroom was no different, even if the aftercare couldn't be as good.

"Can't help it, sometimes. But I remembered I only made you cum once earlier and then, I definitely couldn't help it," Ray replied goofily, his need to be a dominant sex god draining away and leaving the same old, lovable idiot he was before and she shook her head at his logic. Right, he'd made it his mission and whilst she'd been fine with just one session that morning, considering they were behind in starting the day, it had not sat right with him.

"Whatever you say, doofus. Just warn me next time you want to fuck me upstairs. Y'know, anyone could walk in—"

"Nah, nah, nah, bro, I swear, Club Soda was bought by some rich kid last month."

"Henry, I know what I'm talking about! Trust me, when I went on Friday, the same old guy was still behind the bar!"

"Jasper, aren't you a little old for Club Soda? I mean, did you do your weird dance moves with a bunch of twelve-year-olds?"

"Hey, the J-man Shuffle is not weird! My mom likes it..." they couldn't make it up; they were still catching their breath as the signature sound of the T-Rex breathing fire and three voices entered the store, and they weren't customers. 

Ray didn't need to feel his girl tense and wriggle in his arms to know that play time was over and he hastily let her out of his embrace and gently pulled his softening cock from her slick, swollen pussy. A quiet grumble left his lips when he saw the mess he'd left behind; pearly white leaking through soft lips and down to her clit. The sight was glorious but if he stared any longer, he'd find himself running back down to Man Cave for a cold shower and leaving her to give his excuses. No, they were satiated...for now.

"Keep my cum inside you, sweet girl, where it belongs... That's my good girl," he grinned when she pushed her ass towards him even more when he pulled her panties back up, hiding his favourite sight from view until later that night. It was a shame but a man could daydream and they needed to straighten themselves out quickly so normality could resume. 

He tucked himself away and buttoned his jeans again as she tugged hers up and did the same, allowing him one last look at how they smoothed and shaped her ass perfectly. It made for a pretty picture, one that he could help but fondle gently one last time.

"You're such an ass man. You never leave it alone."

"I think you mean I'm a you man, babe. I can't leave you alone," he replied smugly, enjoying his dumb little joke when it tugged a smile on her lips that she couldn't smother. That was more accurate; he loved her ass, hips, tummy, thighs, boobs, face, hair, legs, feet, ears, nose, mouth, everything about her. And he didn't love them on anyone else, just her because he was what Henry would call "whipped".

"Okay, scratch that. You're such a dork, Raymond," she smiled and lifted the lightbulb tray back onto the high shelf, only to be helped by him when she couldn't quite stretch. She patted him on his pec as a small thanks and headed for the beaded curtain so they could make an appearance in the store before suspicion could be aroused and of course, Ray followed her heels like a love-sick puppy. Anything to stare at her butt as she walked away.

*AND WE ARE SAFE. Thank you for "coming", the ride is now over, please pick up your tongues and exit the smut with caution. We thank you for choosing Ruth's abomination that has landed us all in hell as we are now all filthy sinners. Bye-bye and have a lovely day.*

"Why's Ray a dork?" Henry's head picked at the noise of the infamous couple coming from the back. The three teens had perfectly clueless faces as they smiled at their boss and his fiancée, appearing like the ideal, idyllic couple as they floated into the store, him trailing after her with droll practically running down the sides of his mouth. They were so in love, it was cute, but what could he have possibly done or said to make him more of a dork than usual?

"Uh—well—he—we—"

"I told (y/n) a really funny story!" Ray quickly lied, seeing how his sweet girl was struggling to come up with something believable to tell their innocent faces. She couldn't tell them that they'd been having a steamy rendezvous in the storeroom, they would never go in there again unless it was hosed down and sterilised. 

And of course, being the funny man he was, he had material to back up his claim, so there was no need to worry her pretty little head about anything. All she needed to do was stand there, look gorgeous and admire him in his hot, blue shirt.

"Oh, right...let's hear it then," Charlotte smiled, eager to hear this story that had amused (y/n) and that would hopefully amuse them. She was all for funny stories and even if it was a little corny, enough to label him a dork, they'd never satisfy their curiosity until he spilt the beans.

"Okay, so there's this bowling alley downtown, right? Well, it used to be downtown, it got demolished a few years ago, but it was super popular back in the day, y'know when I was in my...early twenties. Anyray, I was there with a gir—a person once—" he started, plucking the most random funny story he could from his memory. It wasn't the best story, it was long and rambling, old and irrelevant but he was sticking with it. He had to, although some details were rather unfortunate. 

"Ray, I don't care if you went on a date with a girl when you were younger. I went on dates with guys too, you can say it," (y/n) told him gently, not missing how he avoided so the g-word with her around. It was silly really, unnecessary; she knew that he'd done some normal things just as she had, dates, sneaking out, making out, driving out, everything that a boy could get up to as he progressed into manhood and through his hero training, she couldn't be mad at him for that. 

Hell, he'd once taken three separate girls on three separate dates in the early days of their friendship and they'd still found their way into each other's arms. It was okay, it was normal, not some big secret.

"...Thanks, sweet girl," the hero smiled at her softly and curled an arm around her waist as they stood before the curious kids, who were hanging onto his every word, "—So, the guy that owns the bowling alley, he comes out from the back and he says to me this guy, he says, I got a hundred bucks here for anybody willing to box this kangaroo."

"You mean like...put him in a box?"  "Why would you put a kangaroo in a box?" "You should not cage animals," the teens told him, finding the tale weird from the get-go. First of all, it had been so long since Ray had confessed to (y/n)—or it felt like it anyway—so it was weird to imagine the man with anyone else. Second of all, they'd never heard of there being a bowling alley downtown, old or not. And third of all, what were these people doing to the kangaroo? They couldn't tell if this was a nice story or not, or more likely, a shaggy dog story that was a figment of Ray's imagination. 

"No, box, like boxing. Like, put on boxing gloves and fight," the large man clarified, wanting to make clear that he didn't lock up some poor kangaroo, he intended to fight it instead. Which, of course, was so much better.

"You should not fight animals." "Yeah, doofus," oh, (y/n) was loving this. Ray gave her a dry look as she smirked up at him, loving how he was forced to tell this story with no prior rehearsal. No frills, no lies, just the truth as he remembered it and as the teens found it hard to believe him, she studied his every facial twitch. A peck on her forehead kept her quiet, but not for long. If he loved to tease then so did she.

"Well, darlin', I didn't. As I put on my boxing gloves, my cousin's car comes smashing through a wall!" Ray exclaimed, letting go of his sweet girl as he got more and more animated and into the story. He could recall the thrill, the adrenaline, the craziness of the story, he almost didn't believe it himself, but he'd been there. They just had to take his word for it...with a pinch of salt.

"So, I dive out of the way before my cousin could run me over with his car, and naturally, the kangaroo, he jumps straight up into the air and he lands right—" "Uh, do you guys hear that?" Charlotte asked, butting into Ray's big climax with little animosity, merely a curiosity for what the hell was going on outside. Now that she said that, there was an awful racket going on past the glass, not that they could see anything happening on the road. It sounded like screams and crashes? Eh? Should they be concerned or had the circus arrived in town early?

"It's just a bunch of people screaming. Now, the kangaroo lands right on top of the clown! Now, we don't know if the clown is okay at this point—we don't know if he's dead, we don't know if he's alive..." Ray moved on, ignoring whatever was going on because he had started so he'd finish. He even tried to get (y/n) to stay with him, clawing for her waist absentmindedly when she wandered over to the door to see if she could find something out. Who cares? He looked good today, he had one of his best shirts on, and his biceps were out, why would she want to look at anything else as he told the best story ever?

"Uh, those screams are getting louder," Henry pointed out, feeling like the people in trouble were getting closer, not that it made a slight bit of difference.

"Then so am I. My aunt was an amateur lion tamer!" The man shouted at the top of his voice, earning him a pointed look from his sweet girl as she gave up trying to see. The view was too narrow and clearly, he needed supervision, judging by how he wasn't using his inside voice. With her back by his side, or rather, with her arms wrapped around his waist and her cheek smushed against his back in a hug from behind, the hero calmed down and returned to his story. 

"Now, everybody thought, hey, she can tame lions, she can probably tame tigers, right? As it turns out...not the case at all," the more random his story got, the worse the situation got outside, up until the point where it was turning into a Captain Man and co sitch. Come on, people were running past, screaming at the top of their voices, clearly terrified of something and trying to get away from it, how could he ignore that? Oh, right, he could ignore anything with the love of his life by his side and an amusing story to tell.

"Ray, sweetheart, those people look scared," (y/n) said to him softly, pulling away from his back so he lost the warmth she gave him and it sucked. Five minutes, that's all he needed. Five short minutes to wrap up his story, kiss her senseless and then go out to see what was going down. Was that too much to ask for? Captain Man waited for Swellview, couldn't they do the same for once?

"You wanna know who was scared? My aunt in a circus tent surrounded by tigers! Now, my cousin comes out of the back, right? And he's like, we gotta go to Florida real quick." "I think that guy's on fire," Jasper pointed out and everyone turned around to see the horror on some poor man, whose sleeve was ablaze. He was understandably panicking, waving his arm around in an attempt to smother or blow out the flames but nothing was working. All he could do was scream and pray that it didn't spread. So, it was left to the Man Cave team to wonder what the hell was out there that could set something on fire like that.

"Great! We will call the fire department after my story!" Ray told him firmly, growing frustrated at how close to ten minutes had elapsed and he still wasn't near the end. And he would've been able to finish it, probably, had a weirdo not burst through the door, shocking them all to the core. What the—? 

"What is this land? Where is Astoria?" The stranger demanded to know, which would've been rude and odd enough had he not been dressed in a full suit of armour. Not like swat team armour, no, proper solid steel, shiny, medieval, knight saves the princess armour, the kind that you'd see in an old castle full of treasures. And not only that, his entire vibe screamed weirdo, plus, he also screamed literally. He spoke with a powerful, commanding tone that held an archaic lilt as if he was from five centuries prior. All around, his sudden presence was a shock but as the teens froze and (y/n) instinctively glued herself to Ray's side, the man knew how to deal with him perfectly.

"Uh, I'll be with you in a second, pal! I'm telling a-storia right here," he replied calmly, keeping her noise down and not rising to the man's challenge. How dare he come into his store and start mouthing off. This asshat could wait patiently like all of his other customers did and maybe if he was lucky and if he didn't scare his precious girl again, he'd be served with a polite smile.

"I need a sword!" The knight demanded and to their surprise, began pushing over displays and rooting through the fallen junk to see if he could find a suitable weapon. It was like he had no etiquette at all, but Ray wasn't diverting from his zero-tolerance policy. Junk-N-Stuff was a front anyway, he didn't care if some of the items broke, as long as he got to speak before this guy did.

"Dude, that guy's breaking a bunch of stuff," Henry pointed to the man, who was seriously testing (y/n)'s patience as he knocked over piles and piles of stuff that she'd straightened out earlier that morning. Hang on, who was this dick? This was her home, her store that she ran and he was tearing everything apart—if it wasn't for the hand suddenly placed on her shoulder, she'd have stormed over there and scratched those stupid face tattoos right off his stupid cheeks. Her doofus needed to do something, use those big muscles, that big mouth, anything before she blew a casket.

"Who cares? It's a fake store." "Raymond, we went through this earlier. Fake store or not—" "Now, I don't know if the clown and my aunt were dating or not...I didn't ask any questions," Ray brushed past anyone's concerns and slung an arm around (y/n)'s shoulders as if that would be enough to keep her calm. The woman huffed in frustration, eager to rip that guy's head off if she was given the chance. It was like she'd said earlier; a fake store didn't give the knight a free pass to be a bully and neither did it mean that she wanted to piss away money on the ruined stock, something she wished she could get into her doofus' head.

"Where's the nearest castle?" The intimidating man demanded to know, no manners about him at all. He was used to getting his own way, whether that be in whatever play he was starring in or whether he genuinely had minions to order about, but now, Ray too was getting annoyed. He was the alpha around these parts, when he wanted silence, he generally got it and no one challenged his position as the leader of the team, so he wasn't going to let some asshole with ideas above his station change that.

"Hey, guy. You are interrupting my story!" He growled, but even his authority didn't do much.

"There's a Burger Castle about a mile that way." "Yeah, turn left when you walk out and keep going until you get hit by the smell of French fries," Jasper and (y/n) told him, not thinking much of it because that was the nearest thing Swellview had to a castle. A medieval-themed fast food restaurant down the road that served normal, cheap food, paper crowns and foam swords, nothing special. But it was the best thing they had to offer and maybe it would please the rude man into leaving them in peace—and apparently, a "castle of burger" was what he was looking for now that he'd found a novelty sword amongst the junk.

"Your loyalty will be rewarded when I am king. I shall consider you as queen consort," The knight pointed his stolen sword at Jasper and bowed his head at (y/n). His reply was shocking but also kinda...satisfying as he turned and stomped through the door with the same pomp that he'd entered with, leaving Ray to silently clench his jaw at how he'd mentioned taking his sweet girl as his queen. He'd quickly that she was already his queen, his love and next he'd find a boot up his ass if he dared to steal her away. Still, he was gone, nothing to worry about...story time?

"Nice!"  "No, not nice!" For Jasper, the idea of a reward sounded quite nice, but (y/n) felt a shiver run down her spine. Queen? She didn't want to be queen, not with someone like that, the worst example of a future king she'd ever seen. She wanted to be a sweet girl to a superhero doofus, nothing more, and so, she labelled the retreating weirdo as a madman.

"Dude, I think we have a bit of a situation here we need to deal with," Henry turned to his boss, deeply perturbed by what had just transpired in the small junk shop. First, he hadn't been filled with confidence by the hoarders of screaming people, then there was the man on fire and now, the storm in a teacup that was the knight was just the cherry on top of a rather worrying cake. Definitely a situation, one that needed three superheroes to swoop in and save the day. Hint-hint, wink-wink. 

"You want to talk about a situation, try driving up a mountain with your cousin, your aunt, a clown, a kangaroo—" "Hey, Ray!" and the story would have to wait yet again. As Ray tried to get it going again, y'know, inspire a bit of enthusiasm in the teens or even his sweet girl who were no longer interested, but it was useless, especially when Schwoz came barrelling onto the shop floor. He rarely came up this far, preferring to hide down in the Man Cave with his gadgets, tools and projects like Gollum, but this looked like an emergency. Why else would he be holding the emergency phone line that was weirdly stretching a hell of a long way? How did he do that?

"What?! What?! What?! Schwoz, I'm trying to tell a story here!" The hero exclaimed, frustration coating his every word. This story was meant to be a cover-up for what had occurred in the storeroom and now it was turning into a nightmare, but one he was going to finish even if it killed him. His sweet girl would listen, right? He listened to all of his stories, even if she'd heard them before and sometimes, even when it wasn't for her benefit—the benefit of being her beloved idiot.

"Emergency call from Bill Evil," Schwoz explained and held the phone out with his hand covering the receiver. Lord forbid that the most irresponsible scientist in Swellview heard someone's name or a scrap of revealing information. However, it had been so long since the portal to another dimension incident that Jasper had forgotten about it completely, including the man responsible for kidnapping Piper, and the trouble his boss and his friends had gone to save her from a really nice alien monster man.

"Who?" "Bill Evil!" "Oh, right, he's the Chairman of Evil Science Corp," (y/n) recalled the stress they'd gone through to find Piper after thinking she was being murdered. She also remembered the purple goo that she'd been covered in after going through the portal and how it made her hair smell like candy floss and boot polish for two weeks. And finally, she shivered when the memory of how Ray intimidated the man into confessing everything, using his tall stature and deepest growling voice to make a mouse out of him so he'd cop to being a massive idiot. Come on, who names their company "Evil Science Corp" and not expect to be found out?

"He opened the door to another dimension on Halloween..." Charlotte added, jogging the boy's memory. Right, that's what he split his lip open and talked funny. Fun times. But, more seriously, if the guy was calling, it had to be important, right? No bad guy phoned unless something really bad was happening. Ever. 

"I think we should take the call, dude," said Henry, who thought that they should do the sensible thing and at least hear the guy out.

"Fine! We'll take it in the Man Cave," Ray conceded, hearing their arguments and deciding that yes, it might be a good idea to take the emergency call. Something about promising his girl that he'd be a little less selfish and a little more self-aware. But, he did use his head for once though, in the form of agreeing to answer the call but only when he was in his headquarters and his uniform. That way at least, no one would see or hear anything that wasn't meant for them, even if Schwoz had gone to the trouble of coming half a mile up.

"But I brought the phone all the way up here with this hilarious long phone cord," the genius pouted, having thought that his idea was courteous, funny and cool. When was he gonna get another chance to use the mile-long cord again? Probably never.

"I said we'll take it in the Man Cave!!" One snap from Ray and he clammed up. 

"You know it's best not to argue with him Schwoz, it makes him moody. Let's go, Hen," (y/n) sighed, throwing the repairman a sympathetic look as she followed after her man-child so she, Miss Danger, could see what Bill had to say. Henry was quick to follow too, looking at his friends one last time before they disappeared through the beaded curtain and into the storeroom. Hopefully, the kid wouldn't pick up on any "vibes".

"Yeah, coming, (y/n/n)—All right, see ya! That guy's still on fire," Henry waved to Jasper and Charlotte, knowing that the time to socialise was over and that he had to do some actual hero work. And so could they if they were feeling humane, after all, the same guy from before came running into the ship with his arm still flaming and smouldering. 

Hopefully, they'd find where (y/n) kept the fire extinguisher, something Jasper should've known, because, at the end of the day, they all took an oath to help the citizens of Swellview, even if the action did seem far away sometimes. 

~Downstairs~

Having put Bill Evil on hold for a few minutes, Ray, Henry and (y/n) quickly blew their bubbles and changed into their uniforms. They preferred speaking to the man on the computer's monitor rather than crawling on top of each other to hear through one itty-bitty phone; this way, they could read his facial expressions and ensure that he wasn't bullshitting them.

So, as Schwoz sat on the floor with his legs spread out like a teddy bear, reeling in metres upon metres of red cord that had carried across the tiles, up the elevator shaft and into Junk-N-Stuff, they were content to get on with it. After all, no one could see or would pay attention to a little weirdo sitting on his lonesome.

"Okay, Bill, let's make this fast. You kinda caught me in the middle of a story and I got a lot of people who wanna hear the end, including my incredibly hot fiancée," Ray started as he meant to go on - sharp, snappy and to the point. He hadn't let the story idea go, not yet anyway, and neither did he love the idea of talking to this dick when he could be enjoying the company of his lover without the need to act professionally.

"I thought that was the end," Henry frowned, wondering how his tale could still be going when it was already so long and complex and...odd. Far-fetched is how he'd described it, certainly not one of his boss' best stories and honestly, he knew that even (y/n) had struggled to pay attention when he got onto the bit about his aunt. Where did that leave him on the boredom spectrum?

"No! Why would you think that's the end?" "Probably because you were talking for ages, doo—" the woman tried to comfort him quietly as he gave Henry a semi-betrayed look as if he couldn't believe that he'd just said that. Okay, she knew that it wasn't over but she understood why the boy was reluctant to hear anymore. 

She loved Ray, more than anything and she'd pull the stars from the sky if he asked her to, but dear god in heaven, she didn't want to hear any more about his weird cousin whom she'd been introduced to at a family wedding. The guy had suspiciously clammy hands when she went to exchange a handshake but was goofy just like Ray, so it was no wonder that they were like two peas in a pod whoever they were together.

"I just have a question..." Bill piped up, not wanting to interrupt the little domestic they had going on here because it wasn't his place to come between hero and sidekick, man and lover, but he had called for a reason. It would be nice if he got to share that reason.

"What?!" "If a scientist—not me, but a totally different scientist—were to open an inter-dimensional portal..." he started, his tone cautious as if he could predict their rightly outraged reactions. It was obvious that he was referring to himself, no other scientist would be so reckless, and the fact that he hadn't learnt his lesson from last time got their blood boiling, especially (y/n)'s, given her keen interest in the area. Bad things happen when people stick their noses where they don't belong, why didn't he understand that?

"Aw, come on, Bill! What is wrong with you?! Why?!" Ray growled as Henry and (y/n) pinched their eyes and noses in agitation. The poor computer chair took the brunt of his anger as he pulled and pushed it, back and forth, until it started creaking and then, he finally let go to snarl at the idiotic CEO. This was his life and sometimes, he loved it, but other times, he hated it; someone made a mess, he cleaned it up—all well and good—but then, not five minutes later, it was back to being ruined. 

"...And a scary-looking knight with a face tattoo jumped out and punched the scientist right in the face, and then, the scary-looking knight ran off into Swellview..." Evil carried on, sounding more like he was confessing to a massive fuck-up than asking the heroes' advice. Now that they looked closer, they could see that the entirety of his right eye was bruised quite badly, nasty violet patches swelling up to make tender skin painful. Scary-looking knight—what had he done now?

"What's your question, Bill? Enough messing around..." (y/n) asked tightly, trying to keep her calm as he danced around spilling the beans. Ray's hand slipped into hers and squeezed, the gesture small yet reassuring enough to cause her to take a deep breath and let go of the emotions bottled up inside of her.

"Would that scientist be in trouble?"

"Yes!" "No shit, Sherlock. Of course, you would be!" The sidekicks replied immediately, seeing through his bullshit despite his rubbish attempts to make his question hypothetical and light. His attempts to reflect the blame on himself were poor; they knew that he'd done something, it was obvious, just like it had been obvious on Halloween that his company was evil because it was literally in their job name and description.

"Yes, just like you were in trouble the last time you opened an inter-dimensional portal!" Ray scolded him, a stern finger pointing at the monitor to try and make the man feel bad, but for some reason, he didn't look intimidated by the hero. Maybe it was because they were separated by a virtual barrier and he wasn't in danger of getting beaten up this time, or maybe it was because he didn't fear any repercussions at all.

"Actually, I didn't get in trouble. You three just walked away, covered in goo, Captain Man flirted with Miss Danger, and left me alone, unpunished and free to open up as many portals as I want," the scientist replied nonchalantly and for once, the trio didn't have a smart answer. 

Right... After the whole Piper, monster, kidnapping thing, they'd just sort of gone home straight away and left Bill to continue his tricks—having forgotten to punish him for what he'd done because they were tired, fed up and in need of a good shower. 

Plus, once Captain Man started flirting with Miss Danger and vice versa, it was hard to get them to focus on anything else anyway, particularly when Henry was distracted and throwing up at their mushy words and kisses. 

"He's right, we did that," Henry whispered to the adults, who had gone quiet when they thought about the past and realised that he was right. Their bad.

"Yeah, well, we flirt all of the time! It doesn't mean that he should be opening portals willy-nilly! Come on, Evil, man up, take responsibility!"

"Yeah! Dang it, Bill, why do you keep opening inter-dimensional doors?" Ray agreed with his sweet girl, thinking that whilst it had been their duty to bring him to justice, and fair enough, they'd slipped up on that one, the man still should've taken responsibility to not let another disaster happen. Surely, he should've learnt his lesson after the first incident, y'know, shut the program down and locked the technology away forever.

"It's just so much fun!" Or not. Turns out, Bill Evil was a bigger kid than he was and didn't care what happened to the world as long as he got to play god with the fabric of time and reality. 

"You never know who's gonna jump out!"

"Well, starting now, you're not allowed you're not allowed to open any more portals!" Kid Danger told him firmly like he was laying down the law for an unruly child.

"Yeah!"

"What if it's my birthday?" Bill pouted, accepting the general rule, but he also wanted to see if he could push his luck just a little bit. Captain Man was a pushover with Miss Danger, maybe he could tweak the same nerve, not that he was anything like the well-loved heroine.

"Well, I mean, if it's your birthday—"

"No, doofus, no! No more portals, no more messing with stuff that doesn't concern him! Nothing!" (y/n) quickly interrupted her fiancé as he began to debate whether Bill could have birthday privileges, which couldn't be tolerated. 

"Yeah! No more portals, Bill!" That was more like it.

"Fiiine," Bill Evil rolled his eyes at their refusal to budge and ended the call a disappointed and morose man. Well, that told him, no more causing unnecessary problems, Captain Man already had enough to deal with and perhaps, next time he wouldn't be around to save the day when an alien what tearing its way through the factory. But, all in all, that went well and the trio turned away from the screen feeling relaxed and good about what they'd just achieved.

"Pfft—that guy..."

"Pffft, yeah...let's go," Henry jerked his head from his boss to the tubes. He hadn't missed the memo in Evil's story about the scary-looking knight, which he had no doubt was the asshole who'd stormed into Junk-N-Stuff earlier, so he figured that they were about to head out to catch the guy and find out why he was terrorising the city. But to his shock—well, not shock, not at this point—Ray wasn't interested, he was too busy trying to touch the back of (y/n)'s throat with his tongue. Jeez, man, they'd been off the video call for, like, three seconds.

"Hmmm? To where?" The hero pulled away from his sweet girl, who pouted at losing contact with his lips so soon. His tongue in her throat was a bit extreme and an overstatement, she wished that they'd had enough time and privacy to go that far but as always, there was an interruption and because they'd been so preoccupied, neither recalled what Bill had said, just the taste of honey clashing with bubblegum.

To stop the scary-looking knight guy, who Jasper and (y/n) just sent to Burger Castle."

"Oh, right. Him," (y/n) didn't need telling twice, getting her head back in the game as soon as Henry looked at her with raised eyebrows and said her name. 

"What scary-looking knight guy?" He asked, head titled and arms holding her tight to his chest as he looked between sidekicks. Who were they on about?

"What? The—the face tattoo? That just came into Junk-N-Stuff?" Henry said, not believing that his boss couldn't remember the events of the past hour.

"Was this today?"

"He interrupted your story...and said he'd consider making (y/n) his queen for her loyalty." Dirty tactics were never Henry's favourite method of getting a rise out of his boss, but he felt that on this occasion, they were necessary.

"Oh, that guy! I hate that guy!" Ray's hissed instantly, his arms tensing into his biceps that were rock-solid and his fists were clenched, ready to punch the guy like he was in front of his face.

"Let's go punch his interrupting, fiancée-stealing face right off his face!"

"Yeah, love the energy, doofus, but let's take it down a notch. I wasn't going to accept his offer anyway!" She winced at the snarl lodged in his throat; it was lovely that he was protective, it made her feel safe and warm on the inside when he took care of her and made sure she had everything she wanted, of which violence wasn't present. 

Without hesitation, and even if she was offered the world and all its riches, she'd decline his proposal and the knight would never win her hand. It was already promised to someone else; a grumpy, childlike idiot, whose emotions had a habit of running away from him. 

"You wouldn't?" Ray murmured questioningly as she and Henry bounced up to the tube pads where he stood, him having crossed the room in record time thanks to his angry stomping. A quick slap of Henry's belt and the tubes fell around them as he didn't want to waste any time when that psycho could be burning the Burger Castle to the ground, and for a brief moment, the world was silent before the rush. 

"I mean, he did offer you the chance to be a real-life queen...y'know, jewels, treasure, castles. You'd be marrying a king, sweetheart."

"Raymond, I know you think that what makes a king is gold, a palace and diamond rings, but I don't want any of that. I just want you. Only you," (y/n) whispered to him as her arms slid around his neck and they pressed against each other as the suction pulled them up and out of the building.

She knew he had some ever-lasting doubts floating around in that silly, old head of his but the truth of the matter was that all the kings in the world couldn't give her what she'd been looking for all these years. She wasn't one for people who tried to rule others, after landing with someone like that she'd played her cards close to her foolproof vest, only to find true love with a joker — her beloved doofus.

~The Burger Castle~

This place hadn't changed.

(y/n) had fond memories of Burger Castles, not specifically that one, but the one in her hometown. 

Every kid had their birthday party at the fake castles at least once during their childhood; they got to be the king or queen and sit at the head of the table with all of their friends as they ate their food and played with the little free plastic toys that broke two seconds later. 

Then, when everything was coming to a close, they got a crown and everyone sang happy birthday to their "ruler" as a bored employee brought out the cheapest, shittiest sheet cake in the world. Ah, good times.

But, this time, there was no cake. No laughter. No room for fun as the three heroes stepped out of the Man Van, much to the awe of the odd passerby on the street, and marched towards the restaurant with taut frowns on their faces. They meant business and that meant using their angry faces, especially when they approached the automatic doors and looked through the glass and saw their culprit borderline threatening the poor people trying to eat. 

Hell, even Piper and her dad were in there, although the former looked rather embarrassed to be out with a man who still looked for the crappy toys in the kid's meals. But they were shaking after the knight unsheathed his sword and started brandishing it about the place, demanding that they all kneel before him like the puny peasants they were.

"Okay, tin man, you're coming with us," Captain Man announced in a deep growl as he strode through the door to the thankful applause of the crowd, ignoring how his tummy rumbled when met with the heavenly scent of fried food. No, focus, he had to look tough, he had his sidekicks with him, walking like they had potatoes under their arms, acting like him as they faced the knight. Sure, he had a sword, but they had lasers. Who was gonna win?

"Thanks. Thanks, everybody," he nodded to the wide-eyed citizens, who seemed shocked at their sudden appearance, but the three assumed that it was because they were surprised that they'd swooped in so promptly to save the day. 

"I didn't know you guys were part of the show!" Piper exclaimed, standing up from the table she'd plonked at after getting fed up with her humiliating excuse for a father. Her brother and the adults accompanying him gave her a few funny looks, wondering what she was going on about because they weren't there for anyone's entertainment and neither was the psycho with the razor-sharp weapon. 

"I'm sorry, let's start again. What show?" (y/n) smiled at her kindly since in her civilian life, she got on with the girl so well. But as she looked from them to the knight, there wasn't a trace of fear on her face, rather, she seemed in wonder about what was going to happen next, something she may have inherited from her dad.

"Piper, be quiet! Let them say their lines," Mr Hart scolded his daughter, childlike excitement in his eyes as he watched the tension rise between the competing sides. Like his daughter, he thought that this was just some medieval-meets-modern-era performance, good vs evil, maybe even a promo for the heroes so they could appeal to the public. After all, there was a knight at a Burger castle, how on-brand could you get?

"Who dares challenge King Ryder?" The knight asked in a booming voice that entertained the crowd to no end.

He looked at the heroes—or intruders—with fury ripped across his harsh features and he clearly didn't understand that a king was made by the opinion of his subjects—not that any Swellviewian was his subject.

"Seriously, what is going on here?" Henry asked (y/n) and Ray quietly, the woman giving him a shrug since she was none the wiser and just as confused as him. However, her doofus didn't look perplexed, instead, all of the fighting talk seemed to excite him and he looked ready to step up to the plate because Ray Manchester could never ignore a challenge, not one that felt like the WWE moment he'd been dreaming of all of his life. And it would give him the chance to superman-punch and clothesline the guy who disrespected him and hit on his girl. Win-win.

"I'll tell you what's going on here, Kid Danger..."

"Oh, dear god..." (y/n) rubbed her temples, massaging away in advance the migraine she knew she was going to have by the end of this as she watched her doofus strut around the room like a peacock ready to brawl. Two egos, locking heads, what could go wrong?

"This guy's comin' onto our turf, trying to take on the undefeated champions of Swellview!" Ray exclaimed, his voice blending into a stereotypical wrestler's tone, and "Ryker" looked around in confusion when the crowd applauded the puny man. Baffled, he looked at their pleased expressions and wondered why they were excited by the man, who was muscular but still smaller than him, and why he felt the need to climb onto a chair.

"Actually, we got defeated last month? Remember, doof? The kid lost his powers?" (y/n) contradicted him, unable to hold her tongue since it was the truth.

"You're goin' down, brother!" Ray declared, patting her hand a few times before she dropped it in defeat. Nothing she said would tempt him away unless she wore a see-through shirt and nothing else, so if he wanted a fight, she'd stand back until he needed back up. It could be fun, to watch him in action and see the way his body used its power so carefully and with such accuracy. Yeah, fun...The crowd certainly thought so.

"I will destroy you!" Ryker bit back, looking down his nose at the hero, which drew many boos from the crowd. Okay, scratch what (y/n) previously thought, she'd take him herself if she had to, this guy was too cocky. Ray didn't seem phased, though, he was loving the fight-talk, sticking his thumbs downwards to taunt his opponent as his people backed him up. Yeah, that's right, his people.

The knight responded in turn and he must've been from out of town because had he been aware that Captain Man was indestructible, y'know, the thing that everyone knew because that was his power, he probably wouldn't have been so calm. Arrogance was thick in the air as Ryker sliced his sword through the air like a madman in danger of taking someone's eye out or cutting a limb off, but it wasn't particularly scary, more like all bark and no bite. A show that impressed the spectators but bored the heroes who didn't flinch at theatrics.

"Yawn." "Okay, bored now," Henry and (y/n) muttered and rather than engaging with the man and risk losing a few fingers or a head, they simply whipped the laser controllers from their belts and fired two green lasers into his face since it was the only patch of skin not covered by iron. He might have thought he was a tough guy, acting all big with his mean words, weapon and affinity for domination, but like any other man, he stumbled back and clutched his nose in pain as the laser stung just enough to make him drop the steel and teach him a lesson.

If that pleased the crowd then they'd love part two; in perfect synch with his sidekicks, Ray kicked out at the knight, striking him in the chest so he hit the ground like a sack of spuds with a clanging screech. The following applause was breathtaking and the trio were happy to soak it up as the nutter stayed down, although Ray was still weary for his next move and ensured that his precious girl and ward stayed behind him as he approached to place his heavy boot on the metal chest piece. The legendary alpha had retained his throne and the loyalty of his followers.

"M'lord!... Oh, and m'lady!" Mr Hart said rather embarrassingly as he appeared in front of the heroic couple when Ray took up (y/n)'s hand to press a rather sweet kiss to her knuckles, and they blushed awkwardly when he dropped to his knee in a very respectful but unnecessary courtesy. The man was just trying to bring his lover into his victory because if he fought for anyone, it was for her, there was no need to express any devotion to him, hers was enough. And (y/n) didn't agree with towering above someone else, it made her feel...icky.

"I am so sorry about him," Piper interjected shakily, swooping in quickly to drag her father away when she spotted the slightest hint of discomfort on her idols' faces. Talk about an embarrassment; she'd seen him pull some stunts in her lifetime but nothing felt this mortifying, she couldn't believe that he'd done that when Captain Man was having a moment with Miss Danger. Now, all the papers would be talking about was how some weirdo, identified as Jake Hart, was the biggest loser about, not their cute interaction, so now, the poor girl just felt awful.

"Oh, it's fine, no worries. I know what it's like to care for a man-child," (y/n) told the tween kindly, giving her the warmest smile she could before turning to Ray with her most teasing. He was looking at her with raised eyebrows, a faux-offended expression on his face as if he'd taken her joking to heart. A giggle left her lips, finding herself funny more than him and it broke through his annoyed façade, leaving Ray powerless to stop his next actions. 

His head dipped and their lips pressed together as the world disappeared around them until nothing but the kiss existed. The crowd cooed, Henry shuffled awkwardly on his feet to mask how he too was silently shipping them and everyone agreed on one thing. 

The papers would have something to write about and the photo snapped of them as they smiled and smooched would without a doubt make the front page.

~

There was one thing to say about this Ryker guy; he was a damn difficult man to haul onto a chair.

The Burger Castle goers had calmed down eventually and returned to their tables and food to gossip about how Captain Man seemed to follow Miss Danger around like a lovesick puppy, how Miss Danger was the luckiest girl in the world, and how Kid Danger was so adorably awkward around the two when they teased him for his aversion to PDA. Well, some of them gossiped, and some man-children argued about who had the best toys in the toy box, which was especially difficult for their children trying to maintain control.

With no eyes on them, the heroes were left to sort the situation out without hindrance; the staff didn't care, they were just teenagers who were longing to sneak five minutes of their PearPhones anyway. So since the knight was still dopey from the effects of the laser, Ray, (y/n) and Henry wasted no time in stripping him of his protective armour, starting with the helmet and then working on removing the shoulder plates and chest piece so he wasn't so invincible. 

Now, it would be easier for them to take him down should he get rowdy again but interestingly, he seemed placid now, non-threatening, kinda like he knew he'd been placed on the naughty step and needed to think about what he'd done.

"Get up, you weirdo. Let's go, come on. Easy."

"Haul ass, knight-man."

"There you go..." The heroes' pulled Ryker to his feet after removing the last of his armour, tossing the shin plates to the side as he staggered due to the laser's effects. He was just a man now, no metal and no threat, with just his leather under-armour left and that wouldn't protect him that much. 

Still, regardless of his weaker state, they were wary of him, well aware that he was still a large, powerful man with the stature and muscle to hurt them or someone else should he want to. Never trust a bad guy, they'd learnt that the hard way, but strangely, he was so...polite now.

"Thank you for helping me—You fools!" Or not. After taking a few steps, the knight spun around and bared his teeth at them as he raised his open palm at them, his hand high-fiving the air whilst Ray instinctively put an arm in front of (y/n), ready to shield her from danger should he need to, but the danger never came. Ryker screwed his face up with the effort of whatever his hand was supposed to do, but he did nothing more than confuse the three, who wondered what the hell he was doing.

"Is something supposed to happen?" (y/n) asked in a mocking tone that showed no trace of fear. He'd expected something awful to happen but had fallen at the last hurdle so he was as harmless as ever, lacking both his offence and defence. It was rather amusing since he'd tried to trick them, playing dead only to attack again and upon realising he was powerless, the knight deflated in defeat, downhearted at being a laughingstock in front of the lady.

"Yes, fair maiden. Usually, smoke comes out of my hand and then, you bear the Mark of Ryker and I can control your mind!" He replied, looking genuinely frustrated at his lack of power, which was probably used to having. Henry turned to Ray, who seemed a tad grumpier at the man's mention of (y/n) as a fair maiden because yes, she was fair, the fairest of them all, but he didn't like how he seemed to notice that.

"Is he controlling your mind, dude?"

"Nah, I'm thinkin' about cheese fries...and Miss Danger," he replied truthfully, looking wistfully into the distance as he daydreamed about food and his sweet girl. Or, better still, sitting in the Man Cave with his sweet girl as they watched a crappy movie and fed each other fried potatoes loaded with mozzarella. Yeah, that sounded nice.

"Now, I'm thinkin' about cheese fries...but not Miss Danger," Henry replied, liking the sound of getting a small snack after they were done here. The only thing he didn't imagine was (y/n) in any capacity similar to what his boss was thinking of. That was just...ew.

"Whoa! I'm controlling your mind!" "Whaaaat?" "You two are so weird..." (y/n) rolled her mind as they bantered back and forth about nothing special at all. It was kinda cute, though, the rapport that they had and breaking the tension was nice after being so serious - seriousness didn't come naturally to Ray, not at all.

"The cheese fries in your mind are now covered in chilli!" "Now, they are!"

"You mock me..." Ryker stated, a melancholy tone in his voice as he recognised that they were taking the piss. Where he came from, no man, woman or boy dared to make fun of him, so it was a blow to see them having fun when they should've been bowing at his feet and begging for mercy. God, he was up his own butt...

"Yeah, we definitely mock you," (y/n) nodded, shrugging nonchalantly since he seemed to get so touchy about people disrespecting him. She'd met plenty of assholes in her time and he was one of them, so she wasn't going to be intimidated because it was clear that too many people had been frightened and it had inflated his ego until he deemed himself a god amongst men. However, her bluntness was not welcome and his fury returned when she dared to speak so freely in his presence.

"Then, taste my steel, wench!" The knight shouted and plucked his sword from the ground in preparation for a second bout against the heroes. But, as before, the lasers were mightier than the sword and within a blink of an eye, Henry and Ray had pulled their controllers from their belts again and blasted him in the face for raising the weapon against Miss Danger when she'd done nothing wrong. 

A cry left his mouth as the sting bloomed across his eyes and nose, the sword clattering to the floor when his knees crumpled under the strain. Ray's eyes worriedly scanned (y/n)'s face, looking for any sign that she was scared or upset from the failed attack and he let a breath go that he didn't know he was holding.

"He said taste my steel, doofus. He's a bigger doofus than you!" The heroine giggled, melting his worry since she wasn't threatened at all, more like amused that he thought she'd cower in fear when facing a sword. It was funny; she was standing next to the biggest lump of power and punches she'd ever met and that lump would lay down his life to keep her safe—Ray had never given her a reason to fear for her life and Ryker hadn't changed that one bit. 

But, even though she was okay and laughing, a kiss placed between her eyebrows, he was still angry, furious even, because no one, not future kings or the lowest man in the land, got to terrify her.

"Hey, what's your dill, pickle? Why're you so mad?" Ray growled with a pointed stare.

"You'd be mad too if someone stole your kingdom," Ryker replied with a sadness in his eyes that disarmed the heroes, who weren't expecting an answer like that. They were still cautious, highly aware that he'd tricked them before and could do it again just as easily, but they still showed a sliver of concern. Losing an entire kingdom sounded so tragic, like something out of a fantasy film where the burning down of the village is the hero's character-defining moment. It sounded like he'd lost everything and the trio couldn't help but feel a tad sorry for him.

"Huh?" "How do you lose an entire kingdom?" "What's up, big dog?"

"I am the rightful ruler of Astoria. But my throne was taken away from me," the knight explained, eyes downcast and staring solemnly at the floor. Well, that tugged at their heartstrings; if it was his right to rule, then it must've been hard to watch the fair land, "Astoria", be lost. Maybe they'd judged him too quickly, maybe his scary look was just that—a look—and he was just a stranded soul in an unfamiliar place.

"Aw, buddy..." "That's actually pretty sad..." "That's not goooood." They gave him some very sympathetic looks and Ray pushed away his old anger so he could place a comforting hand on the man's shoulder since he looked like he was on the verge of tears. He'd hate it if he lost his home, followers and lover, he wouldn't know what to do, so as a fellow leader, he kind of empathised with what the man was going through.

"I almost got it back, but I was defeated by a squad of knights. And a wizard banished me from my realm, and suddenly, I was, well, here..." he went on, illustrating a picture and narrative in their heads that were almost heartbreaking. Who were these asshole knights who'd hurt such a...gentle man? He wasn't so bad now that he'd calmed down and although (y/n) was still a bit skittish, which was understandable given that he was, like, double her size, the boys connected with him. 

"Ah, I get it. He's not a bad guy, he's just scared." "Yeah, he's just a lost lil' puppy from another dimension...right, precious girl?" Ray nudged his fiancée as he and the kid softened their looks, but (y/n) was still unsure. Puppy wasn't the term she'd used; Ray was a puppy, adorable and goofy, clumsy and soft but this guy, looked mean and vicious, tough and bitey.

"Yeah...with a very sharp sword, scary face tattoos and a Jackanory story that has me crying my eyes out," she whispered, angling her body so half of it was hidden behind Ray. Could that be classed as cowering? Perhaps. She didn't like to look so weak, not against her possible enemies but she felt nervous and naturally when feeling nervous, she got mouthy to ward off predators.

"You are right to fear me, fair maiden. I am a stranger in your land, but I swear, I mean you nor your companions no harm," Ryker bowed his head and curled his fist to her chest in a respectful gesture and made her slouch slightly, but there was still the feeling that she was the lamb looking at a wolf in sheep's clothing. 

"Are we supposed to take your word for that? You tried to cut my head off."

"And I apologise most deeply, to you and the one who came to your defence so valiantly. He must be very fond of you," he also bowed his head towards Ray, who practically purred at the respect he was being shown, going from the snarling alpha to a pacified leader in one sentence since his target was now toeing the line perfectly, acknowledging their connection and keeping his distance. Damn right, he was fond of her, more than that.

"Well, pal, she is my beautiful fiancée," Ray replied, looked at the woman dreamily and slung his arm around her shoulders, causing (y/n) to blush since they were still in public. The contact was heavenly and being able to smell his cologne made her feel safe, especially since the display showed the knight who he'd be messing with if he tried something—the prancing hero in his red and blue spandex. 

"She is your betrothed? Then you, sir, are a lucky man indeed," it was almost as if Ryker knew every method for stroking his ego, pandering to Ray's every love; being admired for his prowess and being able to bask in the knowledge that he had the most gorgeous woman in the world as his future wife. There was no doubt in his mind now that this knight was a stand-up guy and he needed to get back to his kingdom so he could reclaim his throne, something they could certainly help him with. It was the least they could do.

"We'll get you home, little fella," he smiled and put his arm around his shoulders so they could escort him to the Man Van. Henry looked at (y/n), (y/n) looked at Henry and neither knew why his tune had changed so dramatically but the woman went along with it when the kid gave her a reassuring smile. She had nerve flare-ups sometimes, they came and went with the full moon or something, so she wrote off the uneasiness in her stomach as inter-dimensional waves or particles or something like that. It would be fine, right?

"I'm bigger than you are." "Sure you are, little buddy!" Ray laughed at the man's analysis, not realising that he was telling the truth. Ryker stood a couple of inches above Ray and whilst the hero could probably take him in a fight, there was no getting away from the fact that on this rare occasion, he wasn't the giant in the room. Well, he still had the biggest head.

"You know...in a way, I'm kinda the king in this town and I suppose that kinda makes Miss Danger my queen..." "Oh, god..." Henry groaned when the cringiest sentence he'd ever heard came from his boss's lips. Bigheaded, much?  No, he was not the king, he was just the guy who donated all of his time to save the city, he did not rule the place, no matter how much he liked to think that. But in one respect, he was right about something; (y/n) was his queen and he was the lowly joker, basking in her majesty.

~The Man Cave~

It was difficult explaining to a man from an ancient world was technology was. The most advanced kit he knew was a spell book and catapults, so seeing him freak out in the Man Van was an odd experience until they realised that the "metal horse" was frightening him. Of course, they'd never thought about it like that but eventually, he sat comfortably, listening to Ray bragging about their many adventures, which meant they had a plethora of weapons that he could borrow in his bid to regain the throne - it was no biggie, an honour, in fact. 

Maybe he'd even reward them for their service once he was crowned king.

"Help meeeeeeeee!" Ryker screamed as he went down a tube, which was a bit embarrassing for him since he was supposed to be this big, strong, emotionally unmovable knight. But the weightless feeling made his tummy flutter like it always did on the first trip and he squeezed his eyes shut, prayed for it to be over and cursed the couple in the next tube who said it would be fun. Filthy liars.

"Hey, man, it's just the tubes." "Yeah, you don't have to be so scared, they're very safe," Ray and (y/n) comforted him, quickly untangling themselves from each other's arms since he was having a mini breakdown. Whilst they understood why he was scared, it was necessary since Schwoz maintained the tubes like nothing else and if he couldn't handle them, he wasn't going to find his bravery against these enemy knights. Where was his courage?

"I wasn't scared! That was, um...brave screaming," the knight lied, trying to save face as the brave superheroes mollycoddled him. Yeah, because he looked so brave when he was near tears refusing to step into the tube opening and here came Henry, ready to pull that lie apart.

"Dude, you were so scared! I could hear you screaming the whole way down!" The boy laughed, teasing the man for how he'd betrayed his tough-guy persona so utterly. He could lie all he wanted, it was plain that he was shitting himself down and there was no shame in that; it happened to everyone when they first experienced the zero-gravity effect, although, the resident couple were certain that they'd never seen anyone react like that before.

"That was brave screaming!" "Yeah, I also scream help me when I'm being brave..." Henry rolled his eyes and brushed off the pathetic excuse, shaking his head at the banter. He didn't mean it, it was just some harmful teasing, but either way, Ryker wasn't in the Man Cave to have fun. Get the weapons, get home, get the throne, that was his plan, among friends with these people in court jester's clothes were not.

"I would like to go home now and fight for my throne!"

"Yeah, sure, braveheart, where are we on that, Schwoz?" (y/n) was best pleased with his curt tone but turned to the genius who'd been working away like a busy little bee for the past hour, trying to locate an inter-dimensional chatter on this Astoria place that Ryker was from. 

As per Ray's instructions, Charlotte, Jasper and he had gone to Evil Science Corp to confiscate the machine that Bill Evil and his team used to play with portals, so he was using that technology to listen between worlds...freaky. The hat and headphones helmet he'd created was weird but so far, he'd been able to find a few signals, just not the ones he was looking for. 

"I'm still working on it," he replied, flicking switches and adjusting his knobs so the search could continue. Now, Schwoz was a wonderful man, very kind, very gentle, very helpful and his family loved him, but none of them could deny that he was weird—both in looks and personality. So, it was no surprise that when the knight took notice of him, he thought he was a creature from his world - an odd, little, scurrying, pitiful slave with a piggy face and smooth head.

"Oh...nice troll slave. How much do you want for him?" "What?! I'm not a troll!" Schwoz protested, taking great offence that someone would deem him a slimy, grunting, tucked animal that lived under bridges or scratched a living slaving in a grubby kitchen. He was a person, he deserved some respect, which Ray sometimes forgot and took advantage of his skills.

"Quiet down, troll!" "Ra—Captain Man! Naughty!" (y/n) thumped her lover's shoulder lightly for being so mean to a key member of their team and the hero gave her a slight pout and a small yet genuinely remorseful look as she admonished him. But as he thought about his actions, a brilliant idea came to mind. "Hey, hey, hey!"

"What, what, what?!" "Let's give this dude some of our sweet weapons to take home with him so he can get his kingdom back!" Ray suggested, pulling his sidekicks close so they could huddle up and whisper, but as ever, Ray's whispering was more like shouting and Ryker perked up when he heard everything. 

For Ray, it made sense; Schwoz was forever inventing and discarding older prototypes of blasters and bombs in the Man Cave, so they had plenty to spare and this guy needed some help. Look at his little face, he was giving them puppy-dog eyes and it felt cruel to send him off into the unknown to fend for himself.

"I love that idea and I would like to do that right now," Henry stated seriously, agreeing with everything his boss said because he viewed the knight in the same way - a lost soul in need of guidance onto the right path again. 

"I don't know, guys, is this really a good idea? I mean, some of the weapons we have are kinda dangerous and we hardly know this guy," (y/n) argued uneasily, not wanting to be mean or a stick in the mud, but rationality won with her as always. 

A part of her wanted to give Ryker the benefit of the doubt and admit that she'd made a judgement of his character but also, there was a tugging on her heart, one that said that giving him proton blasters, molecular shifters or flamethrowers was foolish. This wasn't the first time she and Ray had butted heads on a problem, one thinking against the other but they always worked it out, so this time, she'd trust his judgment...and pray it wasn't misplaced.

"You have weapons here?" Ryker questioned and stepped in, butting in before the couple could debate the suggestion.

"So many weapons!" "Yeah." "Maybe..." the heroes replied, ranging from enthusiastic to a little reluctant to divulge what they kept in storage. Henry was excited, Ray was proud and (y/n), well, she was trying to stay on the fence. That way, she could see what was growing in both gardens.

"What, like swords and axes?" He asked, assuming that they'd have weapons like he was used to, basics that cut and chopped rather than blasted and burnt. That drew a few smiles because swords and the like were so five centuries ago, practically Neanderthal to the modern fighter and it was cute how he thought combat was still so brutish.

"Yeah, yeah, swords!" "Yeah, we got axes!" Ray and Henry laughed, causing (y/n) to roll her eyes as Ryker gave them a confused look. He didn't know what was so funny but Ray was about to wipe that expression clean off and replace it with wonder. Curling an arm around his shoulders, he turned the man towards the tube pads and the rooms that lay beyond them, where they kept some of the older weapons that were no longer regularly used.

"Hey, uh, let me tell you called a thermonuclear hand cannon. And after that, I'm gonna tell you a hilarious story about my cousin, a kangaroo..."

"Doofus, don't touch or give away anything before I look at it! Are you even listening to me?" And off they went. Ray was determined to find a friend in the knight, and so was Henry, whilst he was more interested in this fancy cannon thing they spoke of. That's what worried (y/n), did she need to explain how dangerous they were? Sure, Schwoz had built better things since but that didn't make it deadly, so she stormed after the giggling pack as they stumbled away, leaving the genius to scan the multiverse for an answer that came sooner than expected.

"I found it! I found someone saying Astoria!" Schwoz cried in delight as his boomerang-shaped scanner picked up a frequency of voices. Astoria, Astoria, Astoria...they kept repeating over and over, and he knew that he'd discovered what he was looking for. Sadly, it was a massive shame that there was no one around to pat him on the back for it. "I found someone saying Astori—ahhhh, I'm talking to myself!"

He sighed and continued listening to the distorted voices. A boy and a girl he was sure, they sounded quite nice, not at all evil like he'd been predicting and he figured that he'd just have to report his findings to his boss or (y/n) once the scary man was kitted out with some hand-me-downs. 

But, as he stood there, minding his own business, reality seemed to bend and before his very eyes, a blazing portal opened in front of him, revealing two people whose voices were the ones he'd been hearing through the signal. They were in a halo of swirling amber and electric pink, seemingly lost in their conversation until the door closed on their old world and left them in the new one—the Man Cave to be exact.

"Stromboli, Stromboli, strombo—oh my god, where are we?" A tall, blond, good-looking boy screamed as Schwoz turned the machine off, deeming its purpose fulfilled now that he'd found someone to take their guest home. They were an odd-looking pair, that was for certain, although he could say much about that. The boy was wearing what looked like spares from Robin Hood's wardrobe and was accompanied by a pretty, young girl with bouncy curls and a Middle Ages-themed blouse. She had a sword on her hip and Schwoz knew that he'd have to be delicate with the situation, after all, they were bound to be like cornered animals now that he'd pulled them from Astoria.

"Welcome to the Man Cave!" He greeted them warmly, throwing his arms out to show that he carried no weapons and was trying to be non-threatening but of course, most heads-of-house are normally easy on the eye. Schwoz's funny looks did him no favours as the unknown teens took him in with shock in their eyes and as Ryker had, they didn't see that he was a human like them, more like a stubby, mythical slave that was a spawn of evil.

"Oh, it's an evil troll!" The boy exclaimed, looking like he was ready for a fight in his leather armour and fighting stance, no matter how innocent and placid the genius tried to appear.

"I am Schwoz..." "It's an evil troll named Schwoz!" The girl cried, clearly panicking as Schwoz shuffled closer and her fingers twitched to draw her sword. Anything to save herself and her friend from his filthy, clawed clutches. 

"Okay, why don't you just relax and let me explain how—oh, good, you have weapons!" The small man gulped when they took their swords by the ears and yanked them from their sheaths, which meant that quickly, he was facing down two very pointy ends. His heart was hammering in his ears as they charged forward, causing him to back up quickly to avoid being skewered since any time he tried to reason with them led to him taking another step back. And another. And another until he couldn't go any further and found his back pressed to the secret door in between the auto-snacker and supercomputer. 

"Let us out of this cave!" "Why did you bring us here?!" "You best send us home right now!" They snapped at him and Schwoz found himself losing his grip on his nerve as the metal wavered under his nose. He couldn't answer them all at once but he figured that even if he could, they'd probably cut out his tongue for some misunderstanding because trying to talk with them was futile. They thought he was evil and they were the ones with razor-sharp, folded steel, it was best not to provoke them.

"This is my personal space!" He hissed back, unable to control himself any longer because there was no escape for him. He wanted them to back off or at least drop the swords and for a moment, he thought he'd gotten through to them as the boy's frown cracked, only for him to say something ridiculous.

"Wait! I'm pretty sure that if you tickle trolls, they puke gold," he smirked at the girl, whose eyes lit up at the thought of getting rich quick. Her friend was a bit far-fetched at times, but the troll was right there and it couldn't hurt to try, so she was all up for it, whether the creature agreed or not.

"No, we don't—I mean, no, they don't!" Schwoz tried to brush over his slip of the tongue, wanting to disassociate himself from any connotations of being a troll because it was so damn demeaning. And ridiculous. Very ridiculous, not that the mischievous teens seemed to care; they were willing to try anything once.

"I'll grab him." "I'll get the treasure. I am great at tickling!" Partners in crime was how Schwoz would describe them and whilst they were smirking at each other, he saw his chance and made a break for it. He didn't like tickling at the best of times, he certainly didn't want it done by two teen strangers with that cunning twinkle in their eyes. Their swords were abandoned to the tiles as they chased after him and predictably, their agility and speed far outshone his, meaning he was their prisoner, not a second later, trapped in the girl's arms as the boy got to dancing his fingers along his ribs.

His laughs filled the room as Ray sauntered back into the main room with (y/n) hot on his heels, totally unaware of what had been going down whilst they and Henry had been enjoying a little weapon fashion show with their new friend—well, his and Henry's friend. It had been great; he now had ample gear to take back his kingdom, including blasters, the cannon, grenades, electrocuting prods, the works and he looked very happy with himself, so it was time to send the knight on his merry way.

"Don't go there, dude. Don't go there!" "Anyway, my sweet girl designed these and they're sick! You pull the pin, you throw it at your enemy...boom!" Ray explained to Ryker with a huge smile on his face, failing to see what was happening to Schwoz since they were having a great conversation about how a problem could be solved with no more than a classic grenade. One that (y/n) thought up when she was still but an employee with a lot of long, lonely nights and a curious mind. That meant Ray was very fond of them and not shy to show them off to the knight, who was now armed to the teeth with guns strapped to his back and bombs pinned to his chest, all courtesy of Captain Man and Co.

"Yes, doofus, they're great but be careful how you use them. I can't tell you how many walls we've had to hose down because of splattered—what the actual fuck?!" The woman bashfully advised the man, flustered by the praise but also concerned that a grenade used in the wrong place could leave an unfortunate mess. And Ryker seemed to be taking her worries on board, listening carefully until she just so happened to look across the room after hearing a peculiar noise, only to see Schwoz being attacked by two strangers that he knew very well indeed.

"Hey!" "Whoa!" "Who are you?! What are you doing with my troll?!" If Henry and (y/n) were shocked, then Ray was infuriated, demanding to know who these strangers in his hideout were. 

Nothing happened in those four walls that he didn't know about and the fact that they'd managed to sneak in troubled him deeply, especially since these two looked like Camelot rejects. Well, one of them also bore a striking resemblance to Henry with his fair hair and fine features but that wasn't important. What was essential was finding out why they were in his home and tickling his repairman, torture that only he was allowed to inflict when Schwoz annoyed him. 

"Nugget-head, we've been through this. Schwoz is not a troll!" (y/n) snapped her head to her lovable idiot and gave him a pointed stare as his remained on the kids, who looked rather pale-faced as they looked over to see not only some strangers in funny outfits but also, the cruellest, evilest, most brutal man their land had ever known; Ryker, enemy of Astoria. The one who'd laid waste to the kingdom once before and had been trying to do so again for years—looks like he'd found a new land to purge, new people to terrorise and force into his army.

"Arc!" "Ryker! "Ciara!" They addressed each other, seemingly shocked to see each other, which was then replaced with a determined fury to claw at each other's throats. 

"Schwoz?" "Hi!" Okay, this was getting a bit weird for Ray, (y/n) and Henry, who found themselves in the middle of a standoff that they didn't understand, merely that Schwoz seemed to be okay now that he had been left alone and that if these kids, Arc and Ciara, were enemies of Ryker, then they had to be their enemies too. Because they were friends now, right?

"And Captain Man as the hero, set to save his pretty girl from the clutches of ev..." Ray joked, turning to (y/n) with a smouldering smirk on his face like he was trying out for the lead role in an action film where a sweaty, muscly underdog defies all the odds to save the sweet chick from a gang of ruffians, only to ride off on his motorcycle into the sunset together. Y'know, that kind of movie. But, as she rolled her eyes and cupped his cheek to accept the kiss he so desperately wanted to share with her, things got heated rather quickly. 

Ryker drew the blasters they'd given him and not just any old blasters, some of the most powerful, heavy-duty ones they had, which had been retired due to their tendency to work a little too well. The kids stood steadfast against him, trying not to look afraid and helpless as he pointed the weapons they'd never seen before straight at them. Hang on a second, there seemed to be a little history here and whatever had gone off, it had left some real beef.

"Hang on a second, do you know these guys?" Henry asked, eyeing the boy and the...surprisingly hot girl with a curious eye. Surely, someone as pretty as her couldn't be bad, she looked like perfect girlfriend material—not that he wanted her to be his girlfriend. Yuck, she was bad. He'd had enough date disasters. Ew. Not that he thought she was pretty in the first place, no way. 

"Yes! They took my kingdom from me!" Ryker replied and took a few steps towards the unarmed teens and something felt off to (y/n). Their swords were on the ground, not that they'd help against the modern tech, but still, they had no way of defending themselves...and her heart lurched when she looked at the boy. For a second, she could swear that it was her Henry standing there petrified.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't sound very nice but let's not be hasty. Come on, Ryker, let's put the blasters down and—"

"How dare you do that to this sweet man?!" Ray dragged her away from the children, worried about what filthy tricks were up their sleeves because if they could hurt his new friend like that, what could they do to his sweet girl? It wasn't her fault that she was the kindest, gentlest, sweetest soul on Earth and a little too trusting of young faces, those qualities endeared her to him, but so help him god, he was going to teach these punks a lesson. Anything for the man who'd laughed at the story he'd told him like it was the funniest thing in the world, which was more than Henry did.

"Sweet? He enslaved everyone in the kingdom!' 'Then, he used mind control to turn my own sister against me," Arc and Ciara argued, painting Ryker as an awful character, one that (y/n) suddenly found herself backing away from. She knew that he was more than he said he was and despite not knowing anything about them, she found herself siding with the teens, who knew more about this man than they did. Judging by their outfits, they came from the sale oldy-worldy land, so they had to know something and whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"They're making you sound pretty baaaad, dude," Henry whispered in the knight's ear, thinking, or rather, praying that what they were saying wasn't true because he'd been such a nice guy whilst he'd been with them. Kind, courteous, a little blunt after the bad start but capable of great banter as they showed him their stuff. The hot girl and her...friend that was a boy had to be lying, they just had to be.

"Oh, I am bad." "Ooooh...wait, what?" The heroes recoiled from him slightly, not liking how cool he was with that admission. It was like it didn't phase him at all and (y/n) looked at Ray with fear in her eyes for what they'd done to help this evil man. But he wasn't giving up hope yet and reasoned that maybe Ryker was just a bad boy, kinda like he was a baaaad boy when he pinched her butt when no one was looking.

"Wait, hold on. Bad, like bad bad? Or bad like I'm a bad mamma-jamma?"

"Whatever bad means evil," Ryker, the villainous coward shrugged and instantly, the trio gasped in horror and took a step back. Brutus, is that you? Why didn't he just stab in the heart as well as the back? Ray hoped (y/n) behind him and shared a wide-eyed, disgusted look with Henry as they gave the knight an appalled glare because what the hell? They'd given him their weapons, their time, their help, their everything and now, he was a bad guy. Talk about not knowing a guy.

"What?!" "You're evil?! "I told you so, doofus! I told you so! I said to be careful and you ignore my tummy again!" (y/n) facepalmed, practically shaking Ray by the shoulders as he tried to sound out a desperate apology to her but all he could do was open and close his mouth like a goldfish - his shock had stolen his voice. Whatever, she'd deal with him and his too-trusting nature later, right now she had a villain in her home, one that had more weapons than her.

"Oh, yeah...wait, aren't you guys evil? I mean, I thought the girl was a bit soft and flowery but you guys..." Ryker frowned, making them scoff at such a rude presumption. First of all, (y/n) wasn't some dainty mascot that they brought along for the fun, she was a fighter and a good one at that. And secondly, they were as pure as they came, fighting for the light or whatever and it was offensive that he thought otherwise. Captain Man, Miss Danger and Kid Danger bad? He should've washed his mouth out with soap.

"No!" "We're good guys!" "I'm not soft, okay?! And why would you think we're evil?"

"Uh, 'cause you've got this underground lair, tons of weapons, a troll slave and he threatens to break the arm of any man who disrespects his queen?" "I am not a troll!" The villain did make a fair point, some things did look a little shady in the wrong light but that was just semantics and didn't mean that they were plotting the enslavement of humanity. Ray had dedicated his entire life to the city of Swellview and its people, and so had his future wife and if he was overprotective of her then that was that, it didn't make him evil. And neither did Schwoz's coconut head make him a troll, not that anyone was listening.

"...I see what happened here. Classic misunderstanding," Ray chuckled dryly and put his arm around Ryker just as he'd done earlier as he tried to mop up his mistakes, "Sooooo...gonna need those weapons back real quick." He grabbed the end of one blaster as Henry and (y/n) took the other, and together, they pulled with all their might, only to discover that the man's grip was like iron; relentless and unbreakable. He refused to return the weapons because they'd given him a chance of stealing back the kingdom that had managed to slip the reigns of his tyranny once and he sure as hell wasn't going to let this chance go—or those blasters.

"Pretty firm grip, dude," Henry nodded to Ray, who gestured for them to relinquish the guns. Time for a change of tactics.

"Tell you what, on the count of three, you're just gonna let go and give those—" Ray smiled at his former acquaintance, doing the decent thing and giving him a chance to give up the blaster before things turned ugly. But, unlike the adored Captain Man, Ryker wasn't known as a decent or kindhearted man, hell, even his mercy was as icy as his frozen heart. So he didn't bat an eyelid when he squeezed the trigger as Miss Danger had demonstrated, sending Ray flying backwards onto the floor with burning pain in his chest, much to his sidekicks' horror. Thank god for his indestructibility.

"Shit, shit—back, everybody, back!" (y/n) shouted to Schwoz, Henry and the two kids from Astoria the moment the plasma was released from the chamber, fearful of what might happen should one of them get hit. She'd be fine, they wouldn't and since Ray was now officially preoccupied, she got to pull rank and make the decisions. So, they took covered behind the couch, ducking so the foam would take the blasts and not their bodies, but when they were safe, she made another decision, one that was rather reckless.

"That means you too, (y/n)!" Henry hissed when she dashed to run to her fiancé's side, thinking that she'd be able to help him in some way, even though no ideas were springing to mind. His harm seized her forearm, keeping her by his side, kneeling on the ground and not charging off into the fray when she'd get blown to bits. If she got squashed into jelly, would her super-regeneration be able to de-jellify itself? Now there was a question, one he didn't want to find the answer to.

"But Ray needs help! I can't just leave him with—with him!" She cried, feeling her heart break as her doofus clawed at the ground whilst fighting through the pain. And to make matters worse, the look on Ryker's face was murderous as if he enjoyed the pain he'd inflicted on his opponent, who might not have splattered on the walls like he'd been told, but then again, he had always enjoyed toying with his prey before the killing blow. 

That alone made her want to rip his head off or at the very least rush to soothe any of her doofus' hurts and it was only because Henry refused to let her go that she wasn't facing the mouth of the gun herself.

"He'll be fine, you know that! Look at him, he can take Ryker!" The boy reassured her, aware of how worried she became when her lover was in danger because on countless occasions they'd both made no secret of the fact that they couldn't live without the other. But Ray had super density on his side and that would protect him no matter what that bastard threw his way, so it was safer and wiser for her to stay leading the group. After all, the man was already getting to his feet, looking for round two.

"Get ready to suffer," Ray spat, standing to his full height so he and Ryker could begin to circle. Those blasters didn't scare him, he'd faced much, much, much darker forces and won, so this would be like a light workout, an opportunity to beat this guy up for tricking him so well.

"How? You gonna finish telling me that boring story about your mom and that clown she was dating?"  "It was my aunt and I'm not sure if they were dating!" Oooh, now that was a low blow, one that had Henry and (y/n)'s jaws on the floor because they didn't know how their boss was gonna react. He loved that story and he'd loved how much Ryker had seemed to enjoy it, which was now just another lie, one that fuelled his rage enough for him to pull the laser controller from his belt. 

However, the traitorous knight was quicker and before the hero could fire, it was shot from his hand and a piece of melted garbage before it even hit the floor. Then, there was another blast, which this time hit his arm...and another and another, so he had no choice but to duck, weave and roll his way across the Man Cave as Ryker became a madman, intent on destroying this man or causing him agony at the very least. 

Most shots missed since his aim wasn't good with the newfangled tech but occasionally, Ray took one to the back or leg and had to limp away the pain just to stay on his feet. This fight wasn't fair and it showed.

"What are you doing? We should help him!" Ciara bent down to address the boy and woman as Ray hid behind an electricity pillar, but they seemed to be reluctant to help their companion. She didn't understand, wasn't the older man his master and her lover? Why would they not want to help? If he was her friend, she wouldn't hesitate to swoop in to save him from the enemy and yet they were buying their time.

"Uh, trust me, sweetie, he insulted Captain Man's story. Now it's personal," (y/n) soothed her concerns, understanding that it looked a bit mean and mutinous to not step in but it was like Henry had said. Ray could take care of himself, as per his reputation as the greatest fighter ever and the fury fuelling his movements—she knew that better than anyone. She knew him.

So, they settled down to watch the fight, rooting for Ray since she spoke so highly of him. However, all of the prowess in the world wouldn't help Ray right now; he was seriously outgunned and unable to get even a single punch as he worked more on his defence than an offence. Another plasma bolt to the back had him yelling in pain, enough to make the spectators cringe as he started to slow down, no doubt a side effect of his body trying to recover from the excessive amounts of pain.

"So, uh, you and your boyfriend go into different dimensions a lot, or...?" Henry asked the pretty girl and the annoyingly handsome guy next to her, thinking that despite the drama going on, he could at least make some small talk and perhaps, maybe, possibly get cosy with this girl. Given that she wasn't already taken, of course, and it didn't take long for (y/n) to see what he was doing. She'd given him all the training she could give in terms of wooing girls, it was time for the student to become the master, but boy, was he bad at it.

"Uh, we're not—" "He's not my boyfriend," the girl laughed off his assumption and the boy crawled off to go and talk to Schwoz or something. Great, now he was alone with her and single which meant he was free to turn up the charm, even though he was setting himself up for heartbreak since she was from another dimension and everything.

"Nice," he whispered and made a mental note for his later flirting when (y/n) jerked her head towards the fight and gave him a knowing smirk. Right, pay attention, Hart. Ray was doing better; he'd managed to land a kick on Ryker's chest, although it was merely a way of getting him to back off for a moment to allow him to retreat and the firing didn't stop. A well-executed shot landed square on his back, causing the hero to stumble mid-leap as he hopped from the back of the room to the couch. Okay, this wasn't going so well.

"I don't know if they have music in your dimension, but I'm in a band." "Bullshit," (y/n) coughed into her hand to hide the cackle that threaten to break through her lips when she heard the outrageous lie. Rule number one when flirting; be yourself and don't make stuff up. She'd taught him that and yet he was saying ridiculous things to get some girl he'd know for five minutes to fancy him, even when Ray was getting his ass handed to him. And then, he had the gall to give her a sharp glare. Ugh, teenagers.

"You know your friend's husband is getting beat up pretty bad, right?" Ciara asked, wondering why he was acting calm enough to flirt at a time like this, and why the lady's cheeks seemed to match her satin skirt when she said that. This dimension was weird.

"Oh, uh, they're not married—not yet, and they get touchy when people mention it. And you got me, I'm not in a band—but I'm thinking about joining one...as the star," the boy deflected her question, picking out bits that he felt comfortable talking about and leaving the part about Ray sucking against Ryker. (y/n) had her eye on him, it was fine, even if she did look like she was having a breakdown every time he got hit. He was trying to impress the hot girl and those were few and far between in his life. A few fibs couldn't hurt...

"Hey..." Arc whispered, crawling back to their huddle after interacting with Schwoz. And that wasn't the only thing he'd been doing. " Check it out! I just stole the troll's wallet!" He grinned and held up the leather item that Schwoz angrily snatched back when he saw that it was missing. He had no idea how he'd been able to steal it from under his nose but he wasn't going to let those sticky fingers near him again. Jerk. 

"Arc, can you stop stealing for one second?" His friend asked tiredly. Obviously, this kinda thing happened a lot with him.

"I can't help it. It's my thing!" He replied, giving the curious sidekicks a small smirk. That was his skill set, a lowly thief training to be a knight, although he was pretty damn good at the first. But, the joking mood turned sour as Ryker tired of his puny, pathetic blasters, which had probably overheated after so much use, so he switched to the handheld cannons that had been strapped to his back. Oh, god, if Ray thought the old ones hurt, he was in for a nasty shock, one that could take him down if he wasn't careful.

"Getting tired?" The villain taunted. "I'm just getting started," he replied, staggering to his feet like a drunkard and raising his shaking fists to his chest. He wasn't fooling anyone, the man was on his last legs, barely able to stand up, let alone fight but being the most stubborn on Earth, Ray didn't surrender, merely carried on lamely dodging when Ryker ploughed on. Oh, he did love it when they fought to the bitter, bitter end.

"Uh-oh...he always says I'm just getting started right before he's about to collapse, the silly doofus!" (y/n) murmured, knowing that hardheaded comment from anywhere, as well as the sway in his step and the slur in his speech. He'd be no good to them if he fainted or strained himself and what would they do once Ryker turned on them? Henry would be squished, Arc and Ciara would be squashed and Schwoz really would be taken a troll slave, perhaps even Ryker would make good on his word and steal (y/n) to be his evil queen. 

"We have to go!" Henry told his fellow teens and nodded at (y/n) so they could charge in together. Teamwork was the only way they'd managed to get to this guy if they distracted him whilst one of them hit him.

"Let us help!" "Yeah, we're knights!...in training." However, they weren't gonna have to do it alone. Ciara and Arc offered because they knew Ryker better than anyone and were certain that they could help take him down. After all, that was in their future job descriptions and even though, the hero man was able to land one punch on the villain's face, he looked like he needed all the help he could get. Three were on-target shots as he ran away and he was back on the floor, ready to give up as his body felt numb from soothing pain only for it to rush in again. He hadn't had a beating like this in ages, so his sidekicks scrambled for an idea.

"You're a thief, right?" Henry asked his double, a plan forming in his head that might just work if they were sneaky, clever and very, very lucky.

"Okay, you got me. I stole your wallet too..." Arc confessed, holding up the Man Cave-issued wallet that Henry had for whatever Kid Danger needed to purchase on the company card. Ray and (y/n) trusted him with it, how did that guy manage to take it? Why? Was it because he flirted with the girl? She said she was single...

"What?! No!" "Oh..." "Yeah, no, give me back my wallet. Never steal from me again," Henry said sharply, snatching back his wallet quickly since he was well aware that they didn't have time to stand around chatting when Ray needed help. (y/n) was the verge of charging in headfirst and then all hell would break loose, right before he got to divulge his plan.

"I just told you, it's kinda my thing—" "Listen, I got an idea!" He cut him off, pulling everyone in close so he could whisper about what they were gonna do. Meanwhile, Ray truly was on the verge of collapsing, having resorted to pulling a drawer from a cabinet to use a shield, anything to slow the onslaught of plasma coming his way. He saved himself from a few, but lifting the heavy metal was difficult for his exhausted muscles, which begged for him to put it back down the second he pulled it over his face. He couldn't go on...

"Wait...wait, did you just say time out? I mean, I don't need one myself but if you want to take five, I'll let ya," he panted, staring at the bad guy with blurry vision, praying that he took the bait. Of course, Ryker was still at one hundred per cent, ready to finish the fight and claim victory but the small conversation had been enough to distract him from the group hiding behind the couch and Ray couldn't believe his eyes. 

Henry and those strangers had climbed onto the sofa and were diving onto Ryker, piling on him together so he fell to the floor from their combined weight and velocity. That gave (y/n) the opportunity to slide across the floor and kneel by his side, her arms rushing to wrap around and support him when he practically fell into her. Her embrace had never been softer, her words had never been gentler and her kiss had never been sweeter to his tired soul as he bathed in her care, leaving the kids to resume the fighting for him.

"Oh, wait, wait! I don't need help!" He slurred, his stubbornness rearing its ugly head again since he saw this as his responsibility, his problem, his fight, therefore, he should've been the one to finish it. His body was screaming yes, let them get on with it so he could lay and regain his strength with his sweet girl but his head was ordering him to suck it up and fight like a man. He couldn't choose, both sounded like the better option so when he moved to stand up, someone else decided for him.

"Yes, you do, Raymond. Let us help you," (y/n) whispered hotly in his ear, dragging her lips over the shell and that made his mind up then and there. He slumped into her hold again, arms loosely around her waist so he could get closer and he accepted that they knew what they were doing. Fighting would be good, but the medicine she dished out was better.

"Well, if you want to help me, darlin' I'll let ya..." he murmured back and for a moment, she thought that he was going to try and doze on her shoulder - Lord knows he needed the rest. But, in true Ray fashion, as his head dipped, it turned to the right and his lips found their place against hers, the honey taste invigorating him more than sleep ever could. It was brief, too brief to be satisfying but he still wanted to watch the fight and just having her holding him was enough.

Henry groaned as he was tossed from Ryker's back with one throw, landing awkwardly as Arc and Ciara had but he hoped that the brief pileup had been enough for the boy to work his magic in the chaos. He owed him his life too; as Ryker went to blast his new ally, Arc moved quicker and kicked the cannon from his head, meaning Henry was free to wriggle away as man and boy engaged in hand-to-hand combat. He blocked whatever punched came his way and managed to triumph against his opponent, holding back his arm as he sucker-punched him in the nose. 

Ryker stumbled backwards, towards Henry, and the kid was able to react in time to try and kick him, but not fast enough to stop him from grabbing his foot. As he was hit down, Ciara came from behind, ducking when the evil man tried to swipe at her and kicked him from the chin harshly. In a flurry of punches, she pushed toward Arc and Henry once more, who was able to land a blow on his face and then a swipe to the back of his legs, meaning he fell to the floor when she dealt the final kick.

"Schwoz, get the elevator button!" Henry cried to the genius, who scurried out from his hiding place near the controls for the portal machine as Ray found it in himself to finish the fight. Peeling himself from his sweet girl's arms, he took up his drawer again and glared at Ryker woozily, striking him on the fore hump with a satisfying thump. He was down, for now, disoriented from their attacks and they were ready to shove him in the elevator as per Henry's plan but poor Charlotte and Jasper had made an innocent trip down, unaware of the carnage.

"Oh my god!" Jasper shouted, looking at the scene with fear and confusion. Wasn't that the scary knight who'd promised to reward him? And who were these people? Why did one look exactly like his best friend? Why were they fighting? No one questioned by they were wearing the Task Bunny uniform, all pink and cute and fluffy, it was adamant that they remove the self from the danger before they seriously hurt themselves.

"Get out of the elevator, you two!" (y/n) yelled, beckoning the kids into the room as Ryker stood up like a newborn foal, wobbly and unsure. They scattered, diving to the side as Henry and Ciara came charging forward, kicking the villain hard in the chest so he stumbled backwards into the open elevator.

"Did you get the pin?" Henry asked Arc, hoping that his part of his idea had gone smoothly. Ryker was covered in so many grenades, all it would take was one to defeat him. Not necessarily blow him up, god, they weren't sick, and the teen knights promised him that his armour would keep him alive so that he'd just feel the immense pain of the blast. Hopefully, that would then be enough to subdue him, if not, they were all out of ideas.

"Oh, I got all ten!" Arc replied cheerfully and held up his fingers so they could all see that he had a small key of metal hanging off every finger. Okay, ten grenades going off at once would be a bit of an overkill but whatever. It paid to be thorough.

"I said just get one!" "No, I know, I really hate Ryker. Plus, it looks neat with one on each finger," he smiled at Henry's concern for the asshole who'd attacked his home and jingled the pins a little bit. It was less than he deserved, only a fraction of the pain he'd caused to others, so Ryker had it coming and the boy was not one bit sorry.

"Hey, Ryker..." Ray suddenly piped up, having fallen silent and back into (y/n)'s arm after smacking the villain on the head. He was exhausted, lounging in her lap but dear god, he was the king of having the last word and he wasn't going to let this fool burn without saying something cool to round off the fight. Or something stupid, his head wasn't in the best place right now. "Your story's boring!"

'What? I wasn't telling a story," he replied with a perplexed look on his face because this weirdo was talking nonsense. Charlotte closed the elevator door, which was blast-resistant so it would contain the explosion from all of those flickering grenades going off and now that he was safe in the knowledge that he'd said something vaguely witty, Ray was free to drop his head onto his girl's shoulder. She giggled at her dumb he was, but said well done all the same and rewarded him with a kiss on his damp forehead, which had him smiling more dopily than any comeback could.

And as Ray let himself be carried off into relaxation, Ryker's time was up. The explosion rocked the Man Cave but still, the elevator held up, releasing nothing but vibrations and a little smoke as ten bombs went off all at once. Some did cringe at the agony the guy was no doubt feeling, it was hard not to and the minute the dust settled, Charlotte tentatively pressed the button again, eager to see if she needed to get the hosepipe for this intimidating man.

They gathered around, seeing nothing through the thick smoke, only hearing the coughs and splutters of Ryker as (y/n) helped Ray to his feet and slung one of his arms around her shoulder. Preferably, he'd be sat down right now as she got him a hot drink and a snack but he was insistent, eager to see what had become of his enemy, even if he couldn't see properly.

"Ohhhhh..." "Yeah...." "That does not look right." "Burned mamma jamma," they winced at how crispy the man looked and boy, were they glad that that was not them. But for Ray, it was a job well done, after all, there was no way he'd have ever been able to take him down himself, so he was thankful to his fiancée for taking care of him and proud of his sidekick for saving the day. However, a slight problem came about when he stood next to Arc and patted him on the shoulder instead because both boys looked identical through a sober man's eyes, let alone ones that had been beaten up. 

"Nice job, Henry..." "Doofus, what are you tal—oh, no, no, no!—Too late..." (y/n) flinched as he smiled at the wrong kid and then felt his body slump next to hers. She was holding him up, sure, but her small frame could never hold up his six-foot body unaided, so she had no choice but to let go and regretfully watch him fall, lest he drag her down and hurt her too. He'd be fine, a little nap would probably do him good and besides, it's not like face planting the floor could ruin his perfect face.

"Who's Henry?" All's well that ends well, but the thing was, it wasn't over yet.

~

Half an hour later and Ray was back to his normal self in every sense. He'd been a little too handsy and kissy with (y/n) as per usual, which led to some awkward explanations to Arc and Ciara, he'd been as bigheaded as ever, bragging about the fight and now, with his sweet girl curled into his side, he was retelling his lame story to Schwoz. 

No one cared, no one wanted to listen to something with a non-existent plot line, so the genius just nodded and smiled occasionally as he scanned the multiverse to send the knights home, leaving (y/n) to make her doofus feel like he wasn't talking to a brick wall. She'd rather talk about something else, but as ever, she listened patiently like it was the most interesting tale in the world.

"So, now I'm in the truck with the clown, my aunt, the kangaroo and my cousin!" He exclaimed happily to the confused group. His team were used to it but the Astorians were wondering what the hell was wrong with this man as he kept rambling. Ryker had been peeled from the elevator wall too, just so he could sit and be tortured by the hero and his sucky story and his neck brace and head wrap for the burns didn't do much in blocking out the racket.

"And we're on our way back to the bowling alley when we realise—" "The portal's about to open!" Schwoz suddenly exclaimed, interrupting the story, much to everyone's relief.

"Yes!"  "Oh, thank god...." For Arc and Ciara, it was time to say goodbye and whilst the new world had been fun and slightly terrifying, they couldn't wait to get home...and away from the man who wouldn't shut up. The same violet and pink portal opened as before, showing the gateway back to Astoria and they quickly rushed towards it. It could close again at any moment and they weren't going to live the rest of their lives here, although one of them was...

"Wait, aren't you taking this guy with you?" Jasper called after them and pointed at Ryker, who they'd naughtily left behind as they strode towards the inter-dimensional door. Hang on, they didn't want to have him living with them but to the knights, it made sense that the villain stayed with them.

"Uh, no." "No way!" They chuckled, knowing that if Ryker returned to their kingdom then he'd regain his powers and try to invade again. No, it was much safer that he stay here, in the realm of twinkling lights and shiny screens and they didn't care what happened to him, not one bit as long as he stayed away from Astoria.

"Well, what should we do with him?" Charlotte asked, shocked that they were having some evil guy dumped on them by two mischievous knights.

"Anything." "Don't care. Your dimension is weird!" Arc replied, thinking that he much preferred the simple life he had back home, where normal things happened like magic and sword fights. He understood that stuff, not the strange weapons and clothes they had here, so he was more than happy to leave Ryker where he was in over his head. He was their problem now, he was glad to say.

"Good luck with your band!" Ciara, however, said kindly to Henry. She wasn't sure exactly why he'd been so weird but he was quite cute at the end of the day. Not cute enough for her to want to stay behind, no way, and cross-dimensional relationships weren't her thing but a parting smile couldn't hurt anything...except for Henry's lonely heart.

"Hey! I never got your number!" Henry jumped up from the couch and stared longingly at Ciara, hoping by some miracle that Schwoz could create a phone strong enough to send signals to her world. But, there was one small issue; Astoria was a medieval world and in olden times, people didn't use phones, so it made sense that the pretty girl had no idea what he was talking about.

"Uh, four?" She offered, thinking that he was after her lucky number or something. And just like that, before he could explain or find an answer, the portal closed forever, leaving Henry loveless once again as he would never see Ciara or Arc ever again. Passing faces in his life and for a moment, he allowed himself to be sad at the thought of another girl who'd gotten away, but as ever, he had his wingman to boost his confidence.

"That number does not help me!" "Still got it, though," Jasper commented, causing Henry to smirk and high-five him. Yeah, it was a small success on his part and he didn't let it trouble him, well aware that there were plenty more girls out there and they wouldn't be from a different dimension. They'd be perfect.

"So! I was in high school, yeah?" Ray clapped his hands, smiling that all-too-familiar smile and instantly, the teens knew that he was back on story patrol. Right, yeah, they wanted no part of that and even though it seemed cruel to leave (y/n) with him to listen to it alone, they figured that she secretly enjoyed it. After all, she got to spend time with her doofus, her most favourite thing in the world, what was not for her to love?

"Hey, you guys want to go upstairs and do anything else?" "Yes!" "Absolutely!" "Yeah, I love anything else!" Charlotte, Jasper and Schwoz quickly agreed with him and they speedily walked towards the elevator, intent on going up to Junk-N-Stuff to "work" and gossip about what had happened that day. That caused (y/n) to give them a raised-eyebrow look, but her telling smile told them that it was fine for them to go off and have fun, no matter how offended Ray looked. She got it, no one else could listen to his stories as she could and that was okay, it just left her with more time to admire everything about him.

"Hey! Who's gonna hear my story?!" Ray asked with a pout, not liking how everyone, bar his sweet girl, was walking out on him.

"Uhhhh, (y/n), obviously, she always listens to your stories, anddddd...him! Byeeeeeee!" Henry smiled happily, a glint of cunning in his eye when he saw how Ryker tensed at the thought of being alone with the loved-up couple. He'd seen how they acted, they were handsy and sickeningly cute to the point where he wanted to vomit. No, no, no, they couldn't leave him like this, it was inhumane and god, that story. That story would end him, but for Ray and (y/n), it was a perfect idea. 

So, slowly, the hero guided his lover over to the couch, slightly unsure of where to start since the villain had already said he hated it earlier. The best place to start was probably getting comfortable, so Ray sat on the end of the cushion and brought (y/n) into his lap, allowing her to snuggle in for the very long haul. She sat with her legs thrown across his, her arms around his neck with one of his around her back as she rubbed her nose into his neck and relaxed. Ryker was tugging at his chains for dear life, wishing that he'd taken a better path in life as the story/torture began.

"So, I was in high school, right? And my aunt, she met this clown. Now, I don't know if they were dating or not, I didn't ask questions. But something was definitely going on 'cause they had...a connection—" Ray started, remembering how weirdly his auntie used to look at this clown and now, that he looked back, it was pretty similar to how he looked at his beloved girl. She was drawing circles on his neck, enjoying his voice in her ears more than what he was saying, but for the dark knight, he didn't enjoy any of it. He flopped backwards in frustration and prayed for it to end soon, even though they were only getting started.

"You mean like how we have a connection, doofus?" (y/n) asked teasingly, her fingers sliding up Ray's neck, leaving shivers where they went as they moved over his jaw. She was being deliberately annoying and flirtatious, having a little fun since she saw how much their enemy hated anything fun or loving, plus, it had been a long day and Ray seemed to feed off of her smirk to fuel his own steadily growing, internal blaze.

"Yeah, sweet girl, just like that..." the man smiled and Ryker felt like puking as he saw their lips connect for the fiftieth time that day out of the corner of his eye. The ensuing smacking noises made his stomach feel queasy and he wondered how their friends put up with their constant need for affection. 

Seriously, he didn't know what was worse, the lame-ass story or this joker and his queen.

#ray manchester #ray manchester x reader #captain man x reader #reader insert #dangerverse #danger force #x reader #henry danger #fanfiction #chapa de silva #tv shows #superheroes #danger force season 3 #henry danger smut #kid danger #ray manchester smut #x ray #ray manchester fanfiction #captain man smut #captain man #cross posted on wattpad #cross posted on ao3 #reader x character #x yn #xreader #drex stinklebaum #long post #love confessions #lovers #jace norman

[raidenshogunmommy]

Hello... I glad you had came back and open to writing again. I saw the request page and an idea came out off my mind. I recalled that Thoma's voice line about birthday and ask myself "if he would knew that nether i like to celebrate my birthday nor i like surprises, how upset he gonna be?". Can you do something with a s/o that doesn't like birthday party/gift? I don't got any suggest about what characters or excuses for the dislike about the birthday thing. So if this prompt is some interesting, I would be grateful to see what you wrote.

Awh thank you sm and honestly I hate my birthday too and I really like the prompt!!

Summary: Genshin characters with an s/o who doesn't like birthdays

Genre: fluff?

Tags: hcs, genshin impact, gn!reader

Characters: Thoma, Yoimiya

Thoma

This man had started planning for your birthday like 6 months prior.

Was so fucking excited to spend your first birthday together as a couple.

I don't imagine him to be really thrilled when you finally decided to break the news to him. Cuz let's be honest you must've felt like a monster doing that to him and I don't blame you.

But Thoma being Thoma was extremely respectful and understanding of your dislike for celebrating you birthday.

He will ask you questions about it of course, to know if there was any particular reason behind it, but if you aren't comfortable with it he won't pry.

Though he would be a bit heartbroken when he has to cancel everything he had planned and prepared for.

Ok but do be ready for him to still shower you with a ton of affection on your day.

He may not be going all out on some extravagant celebration. BUT he will SUUUPPPPEEERRR clingy for the entirety of the day.

Stuck to you like glue. Will NOT let you refuse birthday cake though, no matter how hard you try (he baked it himself so you know it's fucking delicious and will give you the puppy eyes to make you eat it.)

Overall, whether you do or don't like your birthday he will make sure you feel comfortable and special on that day regardless.

Yoimiya

Let's be honest she will be very visibly upset.

OK I'M SORRY BUT SHE MAY NOT HANDLE IT VERY NICELY.

Lemme be clear though. It's not because she doesn't understand that some people wish to not make a big deal out of their birthdays. It's just that she thinks something terrible must've happened on that day to make you hate it.

You'll have to reassure her a lot.

But she does mean well.

And would even leave you all alone if that's what you wish.

Though if you ask her to stay with you, get ready for a lot of junk food and a lot of cuddles.

She might just "accidentally" Have forgotten to tell the kids in the city that the birthday plan for you was off though.

She will absolutely make you watch the fireworks she made especially for you though. You can try pleading with her a million times but once the topic of fireworks comes, there's no negotiation with her and you being her partner know that better than anyone. So you just eventually cave in. (To nobody's surprise)

Except that she will oblige to the rest of your wishes for a casual evening.

....this may just be the most late I'm replying to a request. I'M SO SORRY AGAIN. I'VE HAD A LOT GOING ON BUT I'M BACKK BITCHES HAHAJAHAJABA

#genshin hcs #thoma x reader #gn! reader #yoimiya #yoimiya x reader #genshin impact #genshin drabbles #genshin impact scenarios #hoyoverse #genshin fluff

[lowaltitude]

Long Past Dawn | Billy Hargrove

— Stranger Things.

working title

❪ FEM!oc ❫ ❪ slow updates ❫

click here to read on ao3!

───── ❝ description + disclaimer ❞ ─────

𖥻 Stranger Things 2 (2017) onwards

𖥻 Prologue is Episode 1 Season 1, rest of season 1 skipped with the main story starting from the beginning of season 2

𖥻 Major character death. Mentions of Billy being abused.

𖥻 Billy Hargrove x FEM!oc — Hawkins Indiana 1984, the news of someone new arriving had taken over Hawkins High, making many of the people move on from the mysterious events that had taken place in November of the previous year. The only girl not constantly throwing herself at the attractive new kid is the one to catch his attention. The problem, she is Steve Harrington’s best friend and accidentally gets herself involved in the events that conspire over Halloween

───── ❝ prologue ❞ ─────

Growing up in Hawkins everyone always seemed to ignore the strange things that happened. For years the people of this town just seemed to accept the mutated dead animals that were constantly found in the forest, the constant power outages and mysterious ongoings.

Despite the curious issues, the people lived easy lives. Our police weren’t very useful, but they didn’t have to be since rarely anything would be a big enough problem to involve them in. That is, until the vanishing of Will Byers.

A 12 year old boy disappears without a trace, leaving only his bike crashed on the side of the road. How likely is that to happen in small town Indiana, population 10,000?

Most people accepted that Will had run away or even died, choosing not to participate in search parties for the young boy. Those people avoided the topic at all costs, thinking Joyce Byers was crazy for screaming that her son was still out there. Alone and afraid.

I had been one of the last people to see him that night, and I was never sure what I believed.

"You just need to be able to sit yourself down and learn a subject, even though it feels more like work than play.” Another Sunday night sitting in Nancy Wheeler’s bedroom half listening to one of her arguments about my study habits.

“It’s all part of growing up"

I leaned back on the desk chair, looking away from my poorly written notes and over at the girl.

"Yeah, Wheeler, i'm really just not feeling it and your speech isn't working for me tonight."

The brunette furrowed her eyebrows and opened her mouth to protest when the sound of the phone by her bed ringing cut her off. I smiled at the chance to escape.

Nancy sighed and reached foe the phone, lifting it to her ear as she waved goodbye to me on my way out the door.

"Hey Barb"

As I scurried down the stairs I almost ran into Nancy's little brother, Mike, as he chased their mum up out of the basement.

"Just twenty more minutes"

"It's a school night, Michael” Karen Wheeler sighed, walking into the kitchen “And I just put Holly to bed. You can finish next weekend"

"That'll ruin the flow" He whined, I lifted my hand and ruffled his dark hair as I stepped past him

"Michael" Karen reprimanded

"I'm serious, Mum! It took two weeks to plan. How was I supposed to know it'd take ten hours?"

I looked over my shoulder at him as I grabbed my coat, widening my eyes in disbelief at how long Mike and his friends had been in the basement playing Dungeons and Dragons.

"You've been playing ten hours?"

He rolled his eyes at me and turned towards his father "Dad, don't you think—"

Ted, who was barely paying attention, was sat watching TV. Or trying to. The signal is terrible, he smacks the TV in an attempt to stop it from just being a flood of static.

“I think you should listen to your mother." He likely didn't even know what they were talking about. "DAGGUM PIECE OF JUNK!" He smacks the TV again and the static flares.

Mike let out a sigh in defeat, walking towards the garage door.

Another head pops up from the basement stairs and one of Mike's friends heads upstairs, pizza box in arms.

Karen walks back over to me and adjusts the collar on my coat for me, I slightly smile up at her as she opens the door for me.

As I step off of the Wheeler's property and into that welcome amber glow as the sun sets, my thoughts begin to slow. Looking up at a perfect empty horizon, I feel the soothing breeze, absorbed in the music of crickets, letting the gentle energy of nature wash in.

The few Hawkins streetlights are on, and the sun is completely gone when Mike's friends rush past me on their bikes. Their handlebar lights flickering as they guide their way.

One of them starts pedalling. Fast.

I watch Will Byers rush up the street, their other friend beginning to pedal in pursuit.

"Hey!"

But he's already too far behind.

The streetlight above me flicks off, and back on a second later.

I thought nothing of it as I walked across my front lawn and into the house, greeting my brother before heading upstairs to my room.

───── ❝ chapter one ❞ ─────

The Palace arcade was bustling with a crowd of people, moving in every direction— friends staying together with fingers entwined, ducking and weaving past other patrons. There are only joyful faces as they play games and try to make it on a leaderboard.

The door swings open and I turn my attention towards it, watching as Will Byers, Mike Wheeler and their two friends who's names I haven't bothered to learn squeeze past people and towards the Dragon's Lair machine

Will hadn't come by bike like the others, I doubt his mother would let him after what happened a year ago. Every time they come in during my shift it's the 3 other boys riding up with Joyce Byers' car pulling in behind them.

I hear a loud crunch behind me and spin around to glare at my coworker

"Keith, I told you to stop doing that"

"You're not supposed to stare at the customers"

"Leave me alone"

I roll my eyes and go back to leaning on the counter— back to people watching.

Keith stalks around the counter and behind Mike's friend group, seemingly scaring one of them off as he bolts around the arcade machines.

I watch as they begin to argue, Will taking a few steps back from the group.

"Hey. Hey, guys, do you see the..."

"Hey" I call out as he starts to look around, his friends too distracted in an argument about Nancy "Little Byers, You good?" He doesn't respond, instead he heads out the door

"Will?" Mike looks around, finally realising their friend was missing as Keith went off to irritate more people

I whistle and catch the kid's attention, gesturing with my thumb out the door.

"Will?!" He called again as the door slowly shut behind him.

A moment later they both ran back to the Dig Dug machine as if it hadn't happened, Mike giving me a swift nod. As his way of a thank you, I assume.

"Valerie" I heard one of the boys voices as they walked up to me

I sighed and smiled at him “Um, hello?"

"Dustin. Henderson. We've met like 4 times"

"Right— Sorry. I'm not great with names. What's up?"

"Do you know MadMax?" Confused by his question I nod slowly "Who are they?"

"Mel Gibson?"

"No, not—" He huffs "The one who took my top spots on Centipede and Dig Dug."

I tap the hood of Steve's parked BMW, he waves his hand at me from its position on the steering wheel as Nancy kept her eyes scanning some papers.

I haven’t ever liked to admit I was actually friends with the Nancy Wheeler and the Steve Harrington of Hawkins High to anyone. They had reputations that I didn’t want a part in, but still they were some of the only people I could stand to spend more than 10 minutes with.

One of the girls that Steve and Nancy were friends with waved at me as she leaned against a red car with 2 other girls.

A loud engine revving caught the attention of everyone around me as we all tried to make it into the school.

The sound was like a pepper mill grinding, a metallic sound followed by a staccato muffled roar. A blue Camaro— a blue Chevrolet Camaro— turning into the Hawkins High parking lot with all eyes on it.

The blue and yellow California license plates stood out alongside the beige Indiana plates on all the other cars.

A kid, a young girl, stepped out from the passenger seat. A bored expression across her face. She shut the door and dropped a worn down skateboard on the ground. Pushing herself across the cracked cement and towards the middle school.

On the drivers side, a leather boot lands on the ground. I stop walking to lean against the red car with the girls as they watch the new kid make his Hawkins debut.

Once the driver is fully out of the car, he swings the door shut behind him, glancing over at the red haired girl on her skateboard as she left. His sister, I'm guessing.

He flicked the butt off his cigarette away like nothing as he headed away from the Camaro.

Vicki couldn't stop herself from smiling "Who is that?"

"I have no idea" Tina smirked, looking at her friends either side of her "But would you check out that ass? Just look at it go"

Even Carol Perkins who was famously dating Tommy Hagan was checking him out as she smacked her gum.

Tina starts to giggle as she watches him walk away, twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger.

Nancy and Steve started to walk towards the school, both of them also trying to catch a glimpse of the new student.

I pushed off of the red car, muttering a quick goodbye to the three girls and jogging to walk alongside Steve.

"They we're talking about his ass”

Steve let out a short laugh "I saw you looking too"

"Shut up Harrington, I was not" Nancy peered forward and raised an eyebrow at me "I thought it was a nice car"

"Hey. Be there" Tina smiled as she handed out neon orange pieces of paper, printed with a poorly drawn ghost and bottle. Her address written on the page in pencil.

"Hey Nancy"

"Hey" Nancy enthusiastically responded "Thanks."

Jonathan slipped out the door and Tina pushed a flyer into my hand.

"Oh, could I get one more?" Nancy doubled back

"Yeah, sure"

"Come and get sheet faced?" I read off the flyer, looking to Jonathan who just shrugged and shook his head.

Nancy stuck out her tongue and pushed the extra flyer into Jonathan's hand as she caught up to us

"You're coming to this" She smiled happily "Both of you"

Jonathan held his flyer in front of me, mimicking my tone "Come and get sheet faced"

I smiled and nudged him slightly

"No, i'm not"

"Me either" I crumpled the flyer in my hand as we kept walking

Nancy sighed "I can't let you sit all alone on Halloween" She grabbed my flyer and began to smooth it out on her binder as we walked "That's just not... acceptable"

"Well you can relax. I'm not gonna be alone"

Nancy and I both raised our eyebrows

"I'm going trick-or-treating with Will."

"All night?" I asked

He opened and closed his mouth as he searched for an answer "Yeah."

I laughed "No, no way"

Nancy finished smoothing out my invitation and leaned in front of Jonathan to put it in my hands again.

"You're gonna be home by 8:00, listening to the Talking Heads and reading Vonnegut or something."

I perked up "Sounds like a nice night"

"Thank you, Valerie. It does." He smiled and we both silently celebrated Nancy's 'defeat'.

"Guys, just come." Nancy sounded exhausted from just trying to convince us to go out somewhere. Her eyes landed directly on Jonathan "I mean, who knows, you might even, like, meet someone."

Steve pushed off of the lockers, a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes, and wrapped his arms around Nancy's waist. Lifting her feet off the ground, she lets out a small shriek as they both begin to chuckle.

Nancy and Steve begin to whisper to each other and I feel my heart sink. If you asked most people around here you’d hear them say that I was closest with Jonathan Byers, and I knew he still had strong feelings for Nancy.

"Walk me to my locker?" I asked, hoping to get us both away from them as they started to swoon.

He nodded and we walked further down the hall together.

"What did she mean 'meet someone'?" He asked, leaning against the locker beside mine.

"She wants you to be happy, I guess. She's still your friend Byers, no matter what happens between you two"

He leaned his head back against the cold metal and closed his eyes

"Are you gonna go?"

I shut my locker and turned to face him "Are you?"

As I get closer to the Arcade after school for my shift I mentally pray that it's not busy so that I can sit with my feet up all afternoon. Maybe even try and beat some top scores— hopefully without Keith breathing down my neck.

I hear it again as I get to the door, the sound of a loud revved up car engine. It speeds into the parking lot and stops abruptly, the passenger door swinging open letting the music flood out.

The girl steps out of the car and turns to yell back at her brother, he presses his foot down on the pedal as she slams the door.

I watch as she stands there, one arm in the air with her middle finger up in the direction the Camaro sped off.

Grabbing the door I open it, allowing her to go in as I process the scene that just played out.

From the corner of my eye I see the sun reflect off of something. A pair of binoculars.

I take a deep breath and wave at Dustin and his friend. The one with the binoculars lowers them slightly and tries to duck behind the car, but Henderson just waves back with a goofy grin across his face.

Dustin runs across the parking lot to the window and ducks bellow it, his friend running after him.

"You do know stalking is against the law. Don't you?" I comment as I go inside, leaving them to peer through the glass.

The girl had already began playing Dig Dug and I finally connected the dots. She was MadMax. And Dustin was no longer threatened by someone taking his spot on the scoreboard, he had developed a crush on her.

"You're late"

I jumped at the sound of a voice in my ear "Jesus H Christ! Keith, what the fuck"

I shove him slightly, picking up a rag from under the counter and pushing it against his chest into his hands.

"Go clean up the Cheetos dust you've probably left everywhere"

───── ❝ author’s note ❞ ─────

✎ Radical! The fan-fiction made it out of my notes app! All the love, ALT ᵔᴗᵔ

#stranger things #dacre montgomery #eddie munson #billy hargrove #max mayfield #mike wheeler #eleven #jane hopper #lucas sinclair #nancy wheeler #dustin henderson #steve harrigton #jonathan byers #will byers #joyce byers #jim hooper